Do we still remember the personality of one Sumayyah? She is known as the first Shaheedah in Islam. Sumayyah Binti Kahiyyat and Yasir had been tremendously tortured by Abu Jahal Bin Hisham in the middle of the scorching desert. The moment Rasulullah SAW knew about it, he came over and said, “O family of Yasir, be patient! You have been promised the rewards of paradise.”In fact, they were even threatened to be killed if they did not leave the religion of Islam. Both these parents of Ammar, Yasir and Sumayah, remained holding on tight to Islam and bravely said in front of the mushrikeen, “we, who have been clean with Islam do not want to make ourselves dirty again.” Hearing that, the mushrikeen became angry and ended up killing them both with spears.
Sumayyah chose to hold out though she could just choose to give in and return to ignorance (Jahiliyya). But she was a Muslimah who was conscious of a true choice. She chose to die as the first Shuhada in the history of Islam. And of course the reward for her should be greater, jannah and the pleasure of Allah were over her.
Today, we are also faced with a wondrous incident . A lady in this century chose to remain defiant with the jilbab that she put on. Marwah Al Sharbini, a 32 year old Muslimah, was stabbed to death by a 28 year old Russian-born immigrant from Germany, in a court of law in the German city of Dresden on Wednesday, 1st July 2009. The pregnant lady was stabbed 18 times, before she gave her witness against the German man who had been harassing her for long months, and calling her a “terrorist”. (He also allegedly removed her head scarf by force from her head on several occasions.) Marwa Died on the spot. Her husband who rushed to save her was both stabbed by the man and shot by the police. He remained in coma for 3 days. Her young son Mustafa who is 3 years old was also stabbed by the man but survived. It was all simply because she wore hijab. Tragic!!!
These two incidents gave our hearts a whack, telling us how hidayah is too precious for them. Because they saw that there is no “ilah” that must be obeyed besides Allah. There is no other purpose in life to be looked for except to find the pleasure of Allah. They would do anything as long as it could bring about the pleasure of Allah. In fact, even if they have to die in achieving it, they would certainly do it.
From here we learn that having the religion of Islam means submitting ourselves wholly to the decision of Allah. Whatever Allah wants, whatever Allah wishes, we will endeavor to do it sincerely. Without hoping for profit, no hidden motive and no demand of any kind. We will also avoid words that cause Allah's anger and actions that make Allah displeased with us. We will be very careful in our speeches, in our actions and in our performances. Because for us the hidayah of Allah is so precious and more meaningful than the riches of the whole world.This is the value that we must inculcate in the Muslimahs and our young daughters. That holding hidayah tightly is as important as seeking hidayah itself. Seek hidayah with our utmost ability and when we have found it don’t let go just like that. Defend it with all the might that we have in our spirits and physical bodies.
