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Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum was a cousin of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, Mother
of the Believers, may God be pleased with her. His father was Qays ibn
Said and his mother was Aatikah bint Abdullah. She was called Umm Maktum
(Mother of the Concealed One) because she gave birth to a blind child.
Abdullah witnessed the rise of Islam in Makkah. He was amongst the first
to accept Islam. He lived through the persecution of the Muslims and suffered
what the other companions of the Prophet experienced. His attitude, like
theirs, was one of firmness, staunch resistance and sacrifice. Neither
his dedication nor his faith weakened against the violence of the Quraysh
onslaught. In fact, all this only increased his determination to hold
on to the religion of God and his devotion to His messenger.
Abdullah was devoted to the noble Prophet and he was so eager to memorize
the Quran that he would not miss any opportunity to achieve his hearts
desire. Indeed, his sense of urgency and his insistence could sometimes
have been irritating as he, unintentionally, sought to monopolize the
attention of the Prophet.
In this period, the Prophet, peace be upon him, was concentrating on
the Quraysh notables and was eager that they should become Muslims. On
one particular day, he met Utbah ibn Rabiah and his brother Shaybah, Amr
ibn Hisham better known as Abu Jahl, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and Walid ibn
Mughirah, the father of Khalid ibn Walid who was later to be known as
Sayf Allah or 'the sword of God'. He had begun talking and negotiating
with them and telling them about Islam. He so much wished that they would
respond positively to him and accept Islam or at least call off their
persecution of his companions.
While he was thus engaged, Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum came up and asked
him to read a verse from the Quran. "O messenger of God," he said, "teach
me from what God has taught you."
The Prophet frowned and turned away from him. He turned his attention
instead to the prestigious group of Quraysh, hoping that they would become
Muslims and that by their acceptance of Islam they would bring greatness
to the religion of God and strengthen his mission. As soon as he had finished
speaking to them and had left their company, he suddenly felt partially
blinded and his head began to throb violently. At this point the following
revelation came to him:
"He frowned and turned away when the blind man approached him ! Yet for
all you knew, (O Muhammad), he might perhaps have grown in purity or have
been reminded of the Truth, and helped by this reminder. Now as for him
who believes himself to be self-sufficient, to him you gave your whole
attention, although you are not accountable for his failure to attain
to purity. But as for him who came unto you full of eagerness and in awe
of God, him did you disregard.
Nay, verily, this is but a reminder and so, whoever is willing may remember
Him in the light of His revelations blest with dignity, lofty and pure,
borne by the hands of messengers, noble and most virtuous.' (Surah Abasa
8O: 116).
These are the sixteen verses which were revealed to the noble Prophet
about Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum, sixteen verses that have continued to be
recited from that time till today and shall continue to be recited.
From that day the Prophet did not cease to be generous to Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum, to ask him about his affairs, to fulfill his needs and take
him into his council whenever he approached. This is not strange. Was
he not censured by God in a most severe manner on Abdullah's account?
In fact, in later years, he often greeted Ibn Umm Maktum with these words
of humility:
"Welcome unto him on whose account my Sustainer has rebuked me." When
the Quraysh intensified their persecution of the Prophet and those who
believed with him, God gave them permission to emigrate. Abdullahs response
was prompt. He and Musab ibn Umayr were the first of the Companions to
reach Madinah.
As soon as they reached Yathrib, he and Musab began discussing with the
people, reading the Quran to them and teaching them the religion of God.
When the Prophet, upon whom be peace, arrived in Madinah, he appointed
Abdullah and Bilal ibn Rabah to be muadh-dhins for the Muslims, proclaiming
the Oneness of God five times a day, calling man to the best of actions
and summoning them to success .
Bilal would call the adhan and Abdullah would pronounce the iqamah for
the Prayer. Sometimes they would reverse the process. During Ramadan,
they adopted a special routine. One of them would call the adhan to wake
people up to eat before the fast began. The other would call the adhan
to announce the beginning of dawn and the fast. It was Bilal who would
awaken the people and Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum who would announce the beginning
of dawn.
One of the responsibilities that the Prophet placed on Abdullah ibn Umm
Maktum was to put him in charge of Madinah in his absence. This was done
more than ten times, one of them being when he left for the liberation
of Makkah.
Soon after the battle of Badr, the Prophet received a revelation from
God raising the status of the mujahideen and preferring them over the
qaideen (those who remain inactive at home). This was in order to encourage
the mujahid even further and to spur the qaid to give up his inactivity.
This revelation affected ibn Umm Maktum deeply. It pained him to be thus
barred from the higher status and he said:
O messenger of God. If I could go on jihad, I would certainly do." He
then earnestly asked God to send down a revelation about his particular
case and those like him who were prevented because of their disabilities
from going on military campaigns.
His prayer was answered. An additional phrase was revealed to the Prophet
exempting those with disabilities from the import of the original verse.
The full ayah became:
"Not equal are those who remain seated among the believers, except those
who possess disabilities, and those who strive and fight in the way of
God with their wealth and their persons . . ." (Surah an-Nisaa, 4: 95).
In spite of thus being excused from jihad, the soul of Abdullah ibn Umm
Maktum refused to be content with staying among those who remained at
home when an expedition was in progress. Great souls are not content with
remaining detached from affairs of great moment. He determined that no
campaign should by-pass him. He fixed a role for himself on the battle
field. He would say: "Place me between two rows and give me the standard.
I will carry it for you and protect it, for I am blind and cannot run
away. "
In the fourteenth year after the hijrah, Umar resolved to mount a major
assault against the Persians to bring down their State and open the way
for the Muslim forces. So he wrote to his governors:
"Send anyone with a weapon or a horse or who can offer any form of help
to me. And make haste."
Crowds of Muslims from every direction responded to Umar's call and converged
on Madinah. Among all these was the blind mujahid Abdullah ibn Umm Maktum.
Umar appointed Saud ibn Abi Waqqas commander over the army, gave him instructions
and bade him farewell. When the army reached Qadisiyyah, Abdullah ibn
Umm Maktum was prominent, wearing a coat of armor and fully prepared.
He had vowed to carry and protect the standard of the Muslims or be killed
in the process.
The forces met and engaged in battle for three days. The fighting was
among the most fierce and bitter in the history of the Muslim conquests.
On the third day, the Muslims achieved a mighty victory as one of the
greatest empires in the world collapsed and one of the most secure thrones
fell. The standard of Tawhid was raised in an idolatrous land. The price
of this clear victory was hundreds of martyrs. Among them was Abdullah
ibn Umm Maktum. He was found dead on the battlefield clutching the flag
of the Muslims.
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