Martyrdom of Hadhrat Khubaib, Hadhrat Zaid and Hadhrat 'Asim (Radhiyallaho anhum):

The Qureysh writhed with fury and rage at the loss of some of their greatest men in Uhud. Sulaifah, whose two sons had fallen in action, had taken a solemn vow that she would drink wine in the skull of 'Asim (Radhiyallaho anho), who had killed both of them, If she could get possession of his head. She had proclaimed a prize of one hundred camels (a stupendous sum for the place and the time) for the person who brought 'Asim's head to her. Sufyan bin Khalid worked out a plan to secure the prize. He sent a few men of Adhai Waqarah to Madinah, who pretended to em-brace Islam: they be sought the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) to detail some persons to accompany them to their locality to preach Islam to the populace. They made a special request for 'Asim (Radhiyallaho anho) saying:

"Our people will very much appreciate his mode of address."

The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) deputed ten (or six according to another report) of his companions to go with them, and `Asim (Radhiyallaho anho) was of course in-cluded in these. They started satisfactorily from Madinah, but treachery awaited them on the way; they were attacked by not less than two hundred of the enemy, including one hundred crack selected archers. The, Sahabah climbed up a hill called Fadfad. The enemy called out to them:

"We do not want to kill you; we shall only take you to Mecca and sell you to the Qureysh."

The Sahabah (Radhiyallaho anhum) rejected this parley and chose to fight to the finish. When they ran short of arrows, they attacked the enemy with their spears. Hadhrat Asim (Radhiyallaho anho) called out to his companions:

"No doubt you have been betrayed by these treacherous people. but you should not lose heart; because martyrdom is itself the acme of your aspirations. Allah, the most beloved, is with you, and your celestial spouses are this minute waiting for you."

With these words, he rushed into the very thick of the enemy, and when his spear broke he fought on with his sword. Thus he fell fighting to the last. His last prayer was:

"O, Allah! inform the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) about our fate."

Allah, in His compassion, answered his prayer by revealing the news to the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam). As 'Asim (Radhiyallaho anho) had come to know about Sulafah's vow to drink wine in his skull, he also prayed:

"O, Allah! I have laid down my life in Thy cause; O, Allah, do save my head from the sacrilegious hands of these unbelievers."

This prayer was also granted. After his death, a swarm of bees (or wasps according to another report) settled upon his body, and foiled all attempts of the enemy to sever his head. They left the body alone, intending to do their dirty job during the night, when the bees would have gone. But during the night, there was a cloud-burst, which washed the body away.

'To return to the fight, when seven out of the ten Sahabah (Radhiyallaho anhum) had attained martyrdom and the remaining three, Khubaib, Zaid bin Wathnah and Abdullah bin Tariq (Radhiyallaho anhum) were still sticking to their position on the hilltop, the enemy again called out to them:

"You three should come down the hill; of course we would do no harm to you.

The three trusted them and came down the hill, but the enemy immediately pounced upon them, and pinioned them with the gut strings of their bows. Upon this, Abdullah bin Tariq (Radhiyallaho anho) protested:

"So this is the very first breach of your solemn prom-ise. I would rather join my martyred brothers than go alive with you."

He then refused to follow them in captivity. They tried their best to make him walk, but could not, and ultimately perceiving that he would on no account budge an inch from the spot, dispatched him there and then. The two remaining captives were taken by them to Mecca and sold to the Qureysh. Safwan bin Umayyah paid fifty camels for Zaid bin Wathna (Radhiyallaho anho) to kill him in revenge for the death of his father Umayyah in Thud', and Hujair bin Abi Ahaab bought Khubaib (Radhiyallaho anho) for one hundred camels to avenge the fall of his father in the same battle.

Safwan made over Hadhrat Zaid (Radhiyallaho anho) to his slave to be killed outside the limits of the Haram. A crowd followed them to watch Hadhrat Zaid (Radhivallaho anho) meet his end, and Abu Sufyan (Radhivallaho anho) also happened to be one of the spectators. When Zaid (Radhiyallaho anho) stood prepared to meet his doom, Abu Sufyan asked him thus:

"Don't you wish Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) to be in your place today, and you be let off to enjoy life with your family?"

Zaid's (Radhiyallaho anho) reply amazed them all:

"By Allah!" he said, ''the very thought of enjoying life with my family is unbearable to me, if the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) were even to suffer a thorn-prick in his foot for that."

The Qureysh simply could not understand this reply, and Abu Sufyan (Radhiyallaho anho) remarked:

"There is absolutely no parallel, anywhere in the world, to the love that the companions of Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) bear him."

Hadhrat 'Zaid (Radhiyallaho anho) was then martyred.

Hadhrat Khubaib (Radhiyallaho anho) remained in the captivity of Hujair for a long time. A woman slave of Hujair (who later embraced Islam) says:

"When Hadhrat Khubaib (Radhiyallaho anho) was in captivity with us, I noticed one day that he was eating grapes from a bunch as big as a human head, though it was not the season of grapes in Mecca at that time. When the day for his execution drew near, he asked for a razor, which was handed over to him. Meanwhile a child of the house, in his play, went close to Hadhrat Khubaib (Radhiyallaho anho). All the inmates of the house got alarmed at the sight. Hadhrat Khubaib (Radhiyallaho anho) having been marked for death, they thought there was nothing to prevent him from killing the child with the razor. But to remove their fears on observing their alarm, Hadhrat Khubaib (Radhiyallaho anho) remarked: 'Do you think that I would stoop to the killing of an innocent child? This heinous crime is simply not possible for me.'“

When he was brought to the gallows, and asked to make his last wish, if any, he requested:

”Allow me to say two rakaat of Salaat, for it is time for me to leave the world and meet my Allah."

They let him say his Salaat. On finishing the two rakaat most calmly, he said:

"But for your thinking that I was afraid of death, I would have said another two rakaats."

He was then tied to the gallows. At that time he said:

"O, Allah! There is nobody to convey my last Salaam to Thy Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam)."

And Allah sent his Salaam to the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) through an angel. The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) answered:

"Wa alaikumus salaam! O Khubaib,"

and observed to the Sahabah:

"Khubaib has been martyred by the Qureysh."

At the gallows, forty of the Querysh speared him simul-taneously. One of those teased him:

Say by Allah, if you now wish Muhammad (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) to be in your place and you to be let off."

He replied:     "By Allah the Most Magnificent, I will not tolerate a thorn pricking the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) in ransom for my life."

Every word of this story is a lesson for us all. The de-votion and love of the Sahabah narrated therein is really something to esteem and covet. They would lay down their very lives, but they would not tolerate even a thorn pricking the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam). Again, look at Hadhrat Khubaib's (Radhiyallaho anho) last wish. He neither remembers his family members nor wishes to see any of them; what he wishes is to send his last Salaam to the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) and to say two last rakaats of Salaat.