Sergeant

Endurance and PerseveranceThe Prophet (peace be upon him) worked hard to instil complete trust in God in his followers. He believed that as God's servants, Muslims must place all their trust in God, regardless of what may happen to them. Khabbab ibn al-Aratt was a Muslim whose lowly status in Makkah placed him in a most vulnerable position. He suffered immense torture. He reports:
We complained to God's Messenger as he was reclining on a sheet close to the Kabah. We said: "Will you not pray to God to help us? Will you not pray for us?" He said: "In days before your time, a believer might be taken away and a hole in the ground would be dug and he would be placed in it. A saw would be placed over his head and then he would be cut in half. Or else, he would be tortured with combs of iron tearing his flesh and baring his bones. None of this would make him turn away from his faith. By God, He will bring this matter of ours to full victory so that a single traveller would go from Sanaa to Hadramout, fearing no one other than God, and that a wolf may kill his sheep. You only precipitate matters." (Related by al-Bukhari, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Nasai and others.)
We know from the wealth of accounts that speak about the Prophet and his character that he felt for everyone of his Companions. Whenever they encountered a difficulty, he shared their feelings. When they suffered persecution, his pain was not less than theirs. This hadith, however, tells us that a few of those who suffered most at the hands of the Quraysh, who resorted to all methods of torture, complained to the Prophet about what they had to endure and requested him to pray for them. He met their request very calmly and told them that there was nothing unusual about what they had to endure. The forces of evil will always try to suppress the voice of the truth. He wanted them to place their trust in God and be reassured that Islam would triumph.


We err, however, if we think that by placing our trust in God we will be spared all adversity, physical or otherwise. The Prophet suggested that Khabbab and those who were complaining should endure the torture and persecution while placing their trust in God. He confirmed that although the ultimate result would be the triumph of the truth of the Divine faith, endurance of hardship and perseverance in adversity were always necessary.


The requirements of submission to, and reliance on God, do not mean that a Muslim leaves everything up to God to take care of. On the contrary, reliance on God requires that a Muslim should take every measure possible in order to face any situation. When this has been done, the servant of God then trusts God to bring about the best outcome. This was clear in the Prophet's behaviour throughout his life, and this is an example that we must follow.

"The sun has never stopped for any man besides Yusha when he wanted to conquer Bayt al-Muqaddis."

When Musa passed away, the leadership of Bani Isra'il passed to Yusha ibn Nun. Yusha ibn Nun is not mentioned directly in the Qur'an but he is the servant of Musa who is referred to in the following verse of the Qur'an.

"AND LO! [In the course of his wanderings,] Moses said to his servant (fata), 'I shall not give up until I reach the junction of the two seas, even if I [have to] spend untold years [in my quest]!'"
Al-Qur'an 18:60
The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, mentions the name of Yusha ibn Nun as this servant of Musa in a number of authentic narrations – see for example 3/124 and 55/613 of Sahih Al-Bukhari.

Being a servant of Musa he was close to the Revelation, close to the teacher (Musa) and he was a righteous student of this teacher. And so, when Musa, 'alayhis-salam, passed away, the leadership of Bani Isra'il was passed down to Yusha ibn Nun, and he became their nabi.

Under the leadership of Yusha ibn Nun, Bani Isra'il is made victorious and returns to the Holy Land, an event which did not occur under Musa or Harun (who both passed away whilst Bani Isra'il was still in the wilderness). The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, gives us a clue as to why this victory was delayed when he said:

"None of the ones who worshipped the calf entered into Jerusalem."
The Children of Isra'il who came out of Egypt were raised up in slavery and servitude so they were weak and were not fit for victory. Allah made them stay in the wilderness for 40 years until all of that generation had passed away. And they were replaced by a new generation raised in freedom and taught the guidance of the Taurah by Musa and Harun, and it was this generation that was given the victory.

Musa is undoubtedly the greatest Prophet that was sent to Bani Isra'il and he strived eagerly to have this victory, yet we see that victory was not at his hands but rather at Yusha's. What do we learn from this? That it is not enough to have an excellent leader alone – applying this to our times, it is not enough for us simply to wait for Al-Mahdi but rather we need to ensure we are a generation capable of victory and to be led to that victory by an excellent leader (be that Al-Mahdi or someone else).

And through the example of Yusha we see how Allah grants victory to those who have prepared for it. Yusha ibn Nun led the Children of Isra'il against the Jababirah (the inhabitants of Jerusalem), who were a large giant-like people. The fighting was furious and the sun was about to set. Yusha ibn Nun knew that he could not defeat these people except if the day was longer as, if night came, the Jababirah would be able to regroup. So Yusha pointed to the sun and said, "You are receiving orders and I am receiving orders from Allah, O Allah stop the sun!" Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, caused the sun to stop for Yusha ibn Nun until he defeated the people of Jerusalem. If you have Allah on your side, don't worry! It's not a matter of numbers, or weapons, or artillery when Allah is on your side.

The full story of Yusha ibn Nun is told to us in a sahih hadith of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, recorded in Sahih Muslim 19/4327. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:

"One of the Prophets made a holy war. He said to his followers: One who has married a woman and wants to consummate to his marriage but has not yet done so; another who has built a house but has not yet erected its roof; and another who has bought goats and pregnant she-camels and is waiting for their offspring-will not accompany me … "
This Prophet did not want any person to come with him whose heart may be attached to anything else. This is a Prophet who is not looking for numbers but rather for ikhlas (sincerity).

The Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, continued:

" ... So he marched on and approached a village at or about the time of the Asr prayers. He said to the sun: You are receiving orders and I am receiving orders from Allah, O Allah stop the sun! It was stopped for him until Allah granted him victory."
We know this Prophet was Yusha ibn Nun because of a separate narration recorded by Imam Ahmad in which the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:

"The sun has never stopped for any man besides Yusha when he wanted to conquer Bayt al-Muqaddis."