Friday, December 30, 2016

EXCEPTIONAL AND UNBELIEVABLE SELF CONTROL

What is self-control? It is the ability to sub-due our emotions and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses in order to achieve longer term goals.
What is anger? It is an emotion that involves an uncomfortable and emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
Normally, it is difficult to control our anger and we spontaneously respond to the situation and react in an unthoughtful way which results in physical or emotional damage to the person causing the anger.
The Quraysh had gathered more than ten thousand warriors to attack Madinah and obliterate Islam once and for all. One of the companions of the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.), Salman Farsi (later named as Muhammadi), advised him to arrange to dig a trench around the city of Madinah. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.s.) agreed and a trench was dig out to ward off any attack from the infidels.
The famous Egyptian writer Muhammad Husayn Haykal described the events as follows:
Although the campaign was organized by Abu Sufyan but the fighting man of his army was Amr ibn Abd Wudd.
It is reported by the historians that he was more than a match for one thousand cavaliers.
The attacking army laid a siege of Madinah and all exit routes were closed. One day Amr and three other infidels succeeded in clearing the trench and entered the premises of Madina. He advanced into the Muslim camp and challenged the heroes of Islam to come out and fight with him. There was no answer form the Muslim camp. The idolaters saw in him their hope of victory, the Muslims saw in his challenge the sentence of their death!
Surah al-Ah'zab Ayah 10 describes their condition as , “Behold!They came on you from above you and from below you, and behold, the eyes became dim and the hearts gaped to the throats, and you imagined various (vain) thoughts about Allah.”
Amr ibn Abdu Wudd expressed amazement that the Muslims were not showing any eagerness to enter Paradise where he was ready to send them! It is true that most of the Muslims were terror stricken but there was one among them who was not. He had, in fact , volunteered to accept Amr's very first challenge but the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) had restrained him, hoping that someone else might like to face him (Amr). But he could see that no one dared to measure swords with him.
The Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) had no choice but to allow his cousin, Ali, the Lion of Allah, to go and silence the taunts of Amr ibn Abdu Wudd. He (s.a.w.a.s.) gave Ali his own battle dress and Zulfiqar and prayed to Allah as, “O Allah! You have called to your service Obaida bin Harris in Badr, and Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib in Uhad. Now Ali alone is left with me. Be his protector, give him victory, and bring him back safely to me.” When Ali was going towards his adversary, he said, “He (Ali) is the embodiment of all Faith who is going to an encounter with the embodiment of all Unbelief.”The Battle is not being described here in detail but only a part which relates to the Most Bravest Man in human history and his enormous, unbelievable exhibition of his supreme self-control!Amr struck a mighty blow with his ponderous sword which cut through the shield, the helmet and the turban of Ali, and made a deep gash in his forehead. Blood leap out from the wound in a jet but Ali was not dismayed. He rallied, and then struck a counter-blow with the famous Zulfiqar, and it cleft the most formidable warrior of Arabia into two!”
However, Charles Cameron, a former researcher at Boston University, describes the duel with Amr ibn Abdu Wudd as, “Amr hammered blows on Ali's shield and clashed with his sword . Ali dropped his sword and shield to the ground; he leap to grab Amr's throat, and kicked him out of balance. Amr crashed to the ground, with Ali now towering over him. Amr spat over Ali's face, fully expecting death. Ali rose calmly from Amr's chest and stood a few paces away and said, “I only kill in the way of Allah and not for my private motive. Since you spat on my face , my killing you now may be from a desire for personal vengeance. So I spare your life. But Amr lunged at Ali who had enough time to prepare for a fresh assault. Amr's devastating blow shattered Ali's shield, inflicting a shallow cut on Ali's temple. As the second blow blow rose Ali's Zulfiqar decapitated Amr.”

Sources: Psychology today, WIKIPEDIA, Restatement of History of Islam and Muslims by S. Ali Asghar Razvi
Fourteen Stars by Allama Sayyid Najm-ul-Hasan Kararvi


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