(Sayyiduna Tufail bin ‘Amr Dawsi [radhiyallahu ‘anhu] – Part Three)
After the demise of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), when some of the Arabs had turned away from Islam, Sayyiduna Tufail (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) joined the Muslim army fighting against them.
When they proceeded towards Yamaamah, he mentioned to his companions, “I saw a dream, so (please) interpret it (for me). I saw my head shaved, and a bird coming out of my mouth. (I then saw) a woman meeting me, then placing me into her womb. (Then) I saw my son, ‘Amr, searching for me hurriedly, then I saw him being kept away from me.” His companions replied, “(This is) an excellent dream!”
Sayyiduna Tufail (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then stated, “As for me, I have interpreted it as follows: As for the shaving of my head, that represents my head being cut off. The bird is my soul (exiting my body), the woman who is placing me into her womb is the ground which will be dug for me, wherein I will be buried. As for my son searching for me and then being kept away from me; I interpret it to mean that he will strive hard to be afflicted by that which afflicted me (i.e. martyrdom, but will not attain it).” Sayyiduna Tufail (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) thereafter drank from the cup of martyrdom in Yamaamah.
His son, ‘Amr bin Tufail (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), was injured in this battle; losing his hand. Sometime later, when he was sitting in the company of Sayyiduna ʿUmar bin Khattaab (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and food was presented to him, Sayyiduna ‘Amr ibn Tufail (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) moved away. Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) enquired, “What is the matter? Perhaps you have moved away because of your hand (i.e. you feel that your severed hand is unsightly and will cause us to lose our appetite)?” When he replied in the affirmative, Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) remarked, “By Allah, I will not taste it (i.e. the food) until you mix it with (what remains of) your hand. By the oath of Allah, there is no one amongst the people who has a part of him (already) in Jannah other than you!” Sayyiduna ‘Amr bin Tufail (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) finally met his coveted end as a martyr during the Battle of Yarmook in the khilaafah of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).
(Tabaqaat Ibni Sa’d vol. 4 pg. 240 and Usdul Ghaabah vol. 2, pg. 487)
Lessons:
1. The Sahaabah’s (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) greatest aspiration in life was to sacrifice their lives in the path of Allah Ta‘ala. This desire was such that both father and son strove hard to achieve it.
2. Losing a limb in the path of Allah Ta‘ala (as is happening so commonly in Gaza) is a great fortune and blessing for the individual, since he has not lost a limb, rather that limb has actually preceded him to Jannah. Hence, some part of his body is already in Jannah, whilst he is still walking on this earth. Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) attached so much of value to it that he even asked Sayyiduna ‘Amr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) to stir his food with the stump of his arm, in order to acquire the divine blessings resulting therefrom.