I had the misfortune of reading the works of a supposed Sunnī who abused, in varying degrees, the noble Companions: ʿUthmān bin ʿAffān, Muʿāwiyah bin ʾAbī Sufyān and ʿAmr bin ʾal-ʿĀṣ, may Allāh be pleased with them all. As compensation I write a few words on the virtues of the third, as much has been written on the first two. Furthermore my pen already had an encounter with the honour with ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه).

I am grateful to Allāh that when I worked on the translation of Fuṭūḥ ʾash-Shām I reached a passage in which ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) spoke with a Roman general. A direct translation of the Arabic words would have made him seem uncouth and barbaric. I faced a dilemma. On the one hand, I refused to be dishonest with what the author had written, as some people do. Yet more weighty is what would I answer if I had a hand in disrespecting a Companion of Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ? They were only a few words, but I sat through the night, unable to proceed. Eventually my heart opened to such words that would be an accurate translation, without the negative overtones of those words which a dictionary which immediately suggest. There is nothing exceptional about this. Any Muslim should do the same. Sadly there are Muslims who are liberal with facts, and others who are careless with the honour of the Companions.

Being a Companion is sufficient virtue in itself, but ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) has many other virtues as well. Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ held him in esteem in both word and deed. He appointed him as a military commander. He said:

عمرو بن العاص من صالحي قريش

ʿAmr bin ʾal-ʿĀṣ is amongst the pious of the Quraysh.

[ʾAḥmad]

ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) conquered Egypt for Islām and built the first ever masjid on the African continent. He is a shareholder in whatever good is done in and from Egypt till the Final Hour –  be it a child’s first recitation of the Name of Allāh, be it Ṣalāḥuddīn’s liberation of ʾal-ʾAqṣā, be it the mountains of deeds of the countless saints and scholars of Egypt.    

As tremendous as these virtues are, there are other Companions who have comparable virtues. What distinguishes him from others however, is his tremendous respect and modesty towards Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ to the extent that he never gazed at his blessed face. Despite being blessed with being in his company for years, he was unable to describe what the noblest of faces looked like.

I quote ʾal-ʾImām Muslim’s narration from ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) in this regard:

حَضَرْنا عَمْرَو بنَ العاصِ، وهو في سِياقَةِ المَوْتِ، يَبَكِي طَوِيلًا، وحَوَّلَ وجْهَهُ إلى الجِدارِ، فَجَعَلَ ابنُهُ يقولُ: يا أبَتاهُ، أما بَشَّرَكَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عليه وسلَّمَ بكَذا؟ أما بَشَّرَكَ رَسولُ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عليه وسلَّمَ بكَذا؟ قالَ: فأقْبَلَ بوَجْهِهِ، فقالَ: إنَّ أفْضَلَ ما نُعِدُّ شَهادَةُ أنْ لا إلَهَ إلَّا الله ، وأنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسولُ اللهِ، إنِّي قدْ كُنْتُ علَى أطْباقٍ ثَلاثٍ، لقَدْ رَأَيْتُنِي وما أحَدٌ أشَدَّ بُغْضًا لِرَسولِ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عليه وسلَّمَ مِنِّي، ولا أحَبَّ إلَيَّ أنْ أكُونَ قَدِ اسْتَمْكَنْتُ منه، فَقَتَلْتُهُ، فلوْ مُتُّ علَى تِلكَ الحالِ لَكُنْتُ مِن أهْلِ النَّارِ، فَلَمَّا جَعَلَ الله الإسْلامَ في قَلْبِي أتَيْتُ النبيَّ صَلَّى الله عليه وسلَّمَ، فَقُلتُ: ابْسُطْ يَمِينَكَ فَلأُبايِعْكَ، فَبَسَطَ يَمِينَهُ، قالَ: فَقَبَضْتُ يَدِي، قالَ: ما لكَ يا عَمْرُو؟ قالَ: قُلتُ: أرَدْتُ أنْ أشْتَرِطَ، قالَ: تَشْتَرِطُ بماذا؟ قُلتُ: أنْ يُغْفَرَ لِي، قالَ: أما عَلِمْتَ أنَّ الإسْلامَ يَهْدِمُ ما كانَ قَبْلَهُ؟ وأنَّ الهِجْرَةَ تَهْدِمُ ما كانَ قَبْلَها؟ وأنَّ الحَجَّ يَهْدِمُ ما كانَ قَبْلَهُ؟ وما كانَ أحَدٌ أحَبَّ إلَيَّ مِن رَسولِ اللهِ صَلَّى الله عليه وسلَّمَ، ولا أجَلَّ في عَيْنِي منه، وما كُنْتُ أُطِيقُ أنْ أمْلأَ عَيْنَيَّ منه إجْلالًا له، ولو سُئِلْتُ أنْ أصِفَهُ ما أطَقْتُ؛ لأَنِّي لَمْ أكُنْ أمْلأُ عَيْنَيَّ منه، ولو مُتُّ علَى تِلكَ الحالِ لَرَجَوْتُ أنْ أكُونَ مِن أهْلِ الجَنَّةِ، ثُمَّ ولِينا أشْياءَ ما أدْرِي ما حالِي فيها، فإذا أنا مُتُّ فلا تَصْحَبْنِي نائِحَةٌ، ولا نارٌ، فإذا دَفَنْتُمُونِي فَشُنُّوا عَلَيَّ التُّرابَ شَنًّا، ثُمَّ أقِيمُوا حَوْلَ قَبْرِي قَدْرَ ما تُنْحَرُ جَزُورٌ ويُقْسَمُ لَحْمُها، حتَّى أسْتَأْنِسَ بكُمْ، وأَنْظُرَ ماذا أُراجِعُ به رُسُلَ رَبِّي

…There was none more beloved to me than Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ, nor anyone more majestic in my eye than he, but I was unable to fill my two eyes with him because of respecting his majesty. If I should be asked to describe him, I would not be able to do so, for I never let my eyes fill with him…

Even his choice of words is astounding. His eyes were empty and yearning to be filled with the vision of Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ, but he never allowed them to.

My mind cannot grasp how any Muslim can utter a word of disrespect to these men and women whom Allāh had selected for the Companionship of His Beloved ﷺ, nor how can anyone with an ounce of faith have more love and devotion for sports and movie stars than what he has for the Companions.

The example of ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) is a most eloquent lesson to us in regards love for Allāh’s Messenger ﷺ, and a call towards introspection for the celebrity scholars of the cyber era. You love to have your face advertised on every possible medium. What value is your pose on your profile pictures, videos and posters? What benefit is there in your book of deeds that millions know your face, whereas ʿAmr (رضي الله عنه) did not know the face of Muḥammad ﷺ? In which way is your face better and more important?

May Allāh grant us sincerity and love for those who are worth loving.

سليمان الكندي

Twitter/X: @Sulayman_Kindi