"The Sahabi (RadiAllahu Anha) Who Ran Away"
Tha‘labah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan was an orphan boy of the Ansaar, who was no older than sixteen years. He often used to sit with the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), who sent him on an errand one day to the markets of Madinah. He passed by one of the houses of the Ansaar, and looked at the door of the house, which was open. There was a curtain to the hamaam (bathroom) that was closed, but the wind came and lifted the curtain, behind which there was a woman who was doing ghusl. He immediately lowered his gaze. With an extreme feeling of guilt and hypocrisy his mind ran. Thinking to himself, “How could I be of the companions, one that is close to the prophet pbuh, one who runs his errands and be so horrible as to disrespect peoples privacy?”
He was afraid that verses would be revealed concerning him and that he would be described as one of the hypocrites because of this sin. He was afraid to go back to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), so he went out into the desert, and no one knew where he had gone. When three days had gone by, (the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) instructed some of the Sahaabah to go and look for him in Madinah, but they found no trace of him. He waited until forty days had passed, then he instructed them to look for him in the wilderness areas, because he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was worried about him.
The companions asked the nomads if they had seen a young man with Thalaba’s characteristics. They told the companions about a weeping boy. He had been here for 40 days. He came down from the mountains once a day weeping and drank the milk they would offer him. Then he went back up the mountains weeping, crying, always asking for Allah for forgiveness, and saying words of repentance. So the companions waited until he came down and watched him. He had lost weight. His countenance reflected sorrow as he drank the milk that was mixed with his tears. They caught him and carried him to his house, because he was exhausted from weeping so much.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) went to him, and Tha‘labah asked him whether any verses had been revealed concerning him. The Prophet pbuh assured him that there were no such verses. He laid out Thalaba’s tired, weak body and placed Thalaba’s head on his lap. He said, “Oh Prophet of Allah remove the head of a sinner away from you.” The Prophet pbuh comforted him until he told the Prophet pbuh I feel as though ants are walking between my flesh and bones. The prophet told him it was death and his time had come. He witnessed while Thalaba’s head was on his lap, Thalaba proclaim “There is no god worthy of worship other than Allah, and that Mohamed pbuh is the messenger of Allah.” The Prophet pbuh washed Thalaba and carried him to the grave. Then they offered the funeral prayer for him and when they carried the bier to bury him, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was walking on tiptoe. ‘Umar asked him about that and he said: "O Umar, By Allah, I cannot find any place to put my feet because so many of the angels are crowding around me.”
Look at the condition of Muslim Ummah today ! Let alone looking at a woman we go on dates ! Touch Non-Mehram and yet no feeling of guilty comes to us. What "Taqwa" we have got !
May Allah bless us with the gift of Hidayah.Ameen.
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