The way of the companions
Al-Risala (English), July 1986, p. 24
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
The way of the companions
1986 7 July 24 The way of the companions (248) Yazid, son of Muawiyah, the first Umayyad Caliph, sent a proposal to Abu Darda, a companion of the Prophet, asking for the hand of his daughter, Darda, in marriage. Quite unaccountably, Abu Darda turned the proposal down. One of Yazid’s acquaintances then asked his permission to marry Darda himself, but, at first, Yazid refused. Later, when the man became insistent, he withdrew his objections. This second proposal of marriage was then sent to Abu Darda, this time, he gave his consent. People were amazed at Abu Darda’s rejection of Yazid’s proposal and his acceptance of that of a humble Muslim. “I did it for Darda’s sake,” he explained. “What would you have me do? Were Darda to have eunuchs standing at her bedstead, and were she able to gaze on mansions dazzling to the eye, what, then, would become of her faith?
The simple fact of Abu Darda’s being a companion of the Prophet largely explains his attitude to his daughter’s future. His refusal of Yazid, heir to the expanding Islamic empire, and his acceptance of a commoner illustrates the aspirations that, as a Muslim parent, one should have for one’s child. One should be concerned, above all, about the faith of all of one’s children. Over and above temporal security, it should be the eternal well-being of one’s progeny with which one should be preoccupied. A child’s worldly future should be of minimal concern; it is his or her everlasting future that should come first and foremost.
