It's not Zayed Khan. Neither is it Zahid, or Zaahir. Or Syed. Or Sa'id.
Our son's name is Muhammed Zayed. From the purists' perspective, it should be mono-syllabic and spelt as Zyd, as it is written in Arabic. But to avoid mis-pronounciation in this multi-linguistic community of ours, we decided to spell it the way it should be pronounced so that Zayed doesn't have a tough time explaining his name in school (like I did!).
We gave the name Muhammed as it is the Prophet's (s.a.w.) name, which brings with it infinite blessings and peace. As for Zayed, there are two distinct personalities in Islamic history who inspired us to give this name to our son, in the hope that our some will carry some traits of these great men. I will talk about the first personality in this post.
Zayed ibn Harithah (ibn means "son of" in Arabic) was a small child when his mother decided to visit her family tribe in the deserts of Arabia. His dad Harithah prepared a caravan for his wife and son to visit the tribe, and when the moment came to part, he was overcome with emotion with the thought that he would miss his son very much.
It was a premonition of the bad news to come. When Zayed and his mother were with the family tribe, they were attacked by an enemy tribe. Surprised and unprepared, some of the tribe members were taken as prisoners - one of them being Zayed. In medieval Arabia (circa 600 AD), such warfare was common. Tribes attacked each other to gain power and property. This case was no different.
Zayed's mother survived to return to Harithah to tell him what happened. Harithah, being the father he is, fainted at the news and lamented at the loss of his son. He searched for his son everywhere but to no avail. It is also important to note that this was a period of time before God sent down the revelation to Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.) to indicate to him to spread the Message to the world. Thus, at this time, the Prophet was not officially a Prophet yet.
Once again we have to examine the context of Arabia with regards to slavery. Slavery was the norm of the greatest civilised powers at that time. Athens and Rome practiced slavery, and in this world order, Arabia was no different. Victors of tribal wars were at liberty to take their prisoners to be sold at markets for a handsome price.
Likewise, little Zayed was sold at a market known as Ukaz to a Hakim ibn Huzam, who in turn gave Zayed to Khadijah, a rich businesswoman. She presented it to her husband, who was our Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.). Sayyidina Muhammed s.a.w. was taken in with Zayed and immediately freed him. He gave the boy a lot of love, care and attention, and treated Zayed like his own child. It was indeed a rarity to see a slave given such treatment, when most were not even treated like human beings.
Many years later, some persons from Zayed's tribe visited Mecca, and recognised Zayed. They revealed to Zayed his parents' anguish at his abduction, to which Zayed replied that he had in Mecca, a truly loving and generous father. The tribe went back and relayed the message to Harithah, who set out for Mecca with his brother to see his son.
Harithah knew about Sayyidina Muhammed's (s.a.w.) generosity and fairness, and appealed to him to return his son. The Prophet had immense attachment towards Zayed, but also understood Harithah's pain. He told Harithah that that Zayed would have to make the choice of whether to stay with his foster father, or to go with his real father Harithah. When he conveyed this to Zayed, with Harithah and Zayed's uncle in view, Zayed said," I will not choose anyone but you, for you are a father and an uncle to me."
Alhamdulillah! Zayed chose Sayyidina Muhammed as his guardian over his natural father. Such was the power of love that the Prophet had over Zayed, and vice-versa. Harithah was satisfied that his son was a free man, and the son of a noble, trustworthy and respected man, and returned home.
Shortly after this, God sent down the first revelation that Sayyidina Muhammed was the Prophet of God. Zayed is said to be either the first or second person to embrace the message of Islam.
Zayed was deeply devoted to his foster father. His being black was in no way an obstacle for the Prophet to shower him with love. The Qur'an destroyed the concept of colour segregation when it says:
"Surely, the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah are the most pious of you."
Al-Hujurat, 49:13
Fast forward to a few years later. In the battle of Mu'tah, the Roman army had its mind fixed in destroying the new movement known as Islam. 200,000 Roman soldiers were ready to do battle against the poorly-equipped, under-sized Muslim army. Zayed led the army, as he was always asked to do.
He led the army to fight the enemies hard, with total disregard for the number inequality. Eventually, he was slain in the battle - his life given for the sake of God.
Zayed was the well-loved adopted son of the Prophet s.a.w., who gave his life for the pleasure of God. Surely, we should all strive for his commitment to Allah and his commands, and seek the pleasure and love of the Prophet s.a.w. And this is the first great Muslim personality who inspired us to name our son.
Our son's name is Muhammed Zayed. From the purists' perspective, it should be mono-syllabic and spelt as Zyd, as it is written in Arabic. But to avoid mis-pronounciation in this multi-linguistic community of ours, we decided to spell it the way it should be pronounced so that Zayed doesn't have a tough time explaining his name in school (like I did!).
We gave the name Muhammed as it is the Prophet's (s.a.w.) name, which brings with it infinite blessings and peace. As for Zayed, there are two distinct personalities in Islamic history who inspired us to give this name to our son, in the hope that our some will carry some traits of these great men. I will talk about the first personality in this post.
Zayed ibn Harithah (ibn means "son of" in Arabic) was a small child when his mother decided to visit her family tribe in the deserts of Arabia. His dad Harithah prepared a caravan for his wife and son to visit the tribe, and when the moment came to part, he was overcome with emotion with the thought that he would miss his son very much.
It was a premonition of the bad news to come. When Zayed and his mother were with the family tribe, they were attacked by an enemy tribe. Surprised and unprepared, some of the tribe members were taken as prisoners - one of them being Zayed. In medieval Arabia (circa 600 AD), such warfare was common. Tribes attacked each other to gain power and property. This case was no different.
Zayed's mother survived to return to Harithah to tell him what happened. Harithah, being the father he is, fainted at the news and lamented at the loss of his son. He searched for his son everywhere but to no avail. It is also important to note that this was a period of time before God sent down the revelation to Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.) to indicate to him to spread the Message to the world. Thus, at this time, the Prophet was not officially a Prophet yet.
Once again we have to examine the context of Arabia with regards to slavery. Slavery was the norm of the greatest civilised powers at that time. Athens and Rome practiced slavery, and in this world order, Arabia was no different. Victors of tribal wars were at liberty to take their prisoners to be sold at markets for a handsome price.
Likewise, little Zayed was sold at a market known as Ukaz to a Hakim ibn Huzam, who in turn gave Zayed to Khadijah, a rich businesswoman. She presented it to her husband, who was our Prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.). Sayyidina Muhammed s.a.w. was taken in with Zayed and immediately freed him. He gave the boy a lot of love, care and attention, and treated Zayed like his own child. It was indeed a rarity to see a slave given such treatment, when most were not even treated like human beings.
Many years later, some persons from Zayed's tribe visited Mecca, and recognised Zayed. They revealed to Zayed his parents' anguish at his abduction, to which Zayed replied that he had in Mecca, a truly loving and generous father. The tribe went back and relayed the message to Harithah, who set out for Mecca with his brother to see his son.
Harithah knew about Sayyidina Muhammed's (s.a.w.) generosity and fairness, and appealed to him to return his son. The Prophet had immense attachment towards Zayed, but also understood Harithah's pain. He told Harithah that that Zayed would have to make the choice of whether to stay with his foster father, or to go with his real father Harithah. When he conveyed this to Zayed, with Harithah and Zayed's uncle in view, Zayed said," I will not choose anyone but you, for you are a father and an uncle to me."
Alhamdulillah! Zayed chose Sayyidina Muhammed as his guardian over his natural father. Such was the power of love that the Prophet had over Zayed, and vice-versa. Harithah was satisfied that his son was a free man, and the son of a noble, trustworthy and respected man, and returned home.
Shortly after this, God sent down the first revelation that Sayyidina Muhammed was the Prophet of God. Zayed is said to be either the first or second person to embrace the message of Islam.
Zayed was deeply devoted to his foster father. His being black was in no way an obstacle for the Prophet to shower him with love. The Qur'an destroyed the concept of colour segregation when it says:
"Surely, the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah are the most pious of you."
Al-Hujurat, 49:13
Fast forward to a few years later. In the battle of Mu'tah, the Roman army had its mind fixed in destroying the new movement known as Islam. 200,000 Roman soldiers were ready to do battle against the poorly-equipped, under-sized Muslim army. Zayed led the army, as he was always asked to do.
He led the army to fight the enemies hard, with total disregard for the number inequality. Eventually, he was slain in the battle - his life given for the sake of God.
Zayed was the well-loved adopted son of the Prophet s.a.w., who gave his life for the pleasure of God. Surely, we should all strive for his commitment to Allah and his commands, and seek the pleasure and love of the Prophet s.a.w. And this is the first great Muslim personality who inspired us to name our son.
4 comments:
Did you know that Syadina Zayed ibn Haritha is mentioned in the Quran by name?
Go check it out: al-Azhab:37-38
He is known in the Quran as 'one who had received The grace of Allah and thy (Rasul saw) favour before he is being mentioned by name in the same verse.
Yes!! How could I leave that out... gosh...
Thanks so much for putting it in.
Salam. Thanks for the informative post. Got the link from your wife's entry :) Alhamdulillah, I had managed to visit the site Mu' tah and also visited the graves of the famous 3 Companions, martyred during the war. It was a very heartfelt visit...reflecting on their lives and the war, right on the site itself. SubhanAllah.
Alhamdulilah - must've been quite an experience, a surreal feeling that you were standing on the ground that once saw a great battle.
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