Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
‘Adnaan
He was from the progeny of Qaydar bin Ismaa‘eel.
Ma‘ad
Ma‘ad was an extraordinarily strong and gallant warrior. He spent his entire life fighting against the Banu Israa’eel and was triumphant in all his battles. His appellation was Abu Nazar. (“Appellation” refers to a name by which the father is called in attribution to his eldest child e.g. Abu Muhammed – Father of Muhammed)
Ma‘ad bin ‘Adnaan was a twelve year old lad during the reign of the famous king, Bukhtenasr. Allah Ta’ala informed the Nabi of that era, Hazrat Armiyaa’ bin Halqiyaa (‘alaihis salaam), through divine revelation, to convey the following message to Bukhtenasr: “We (i.e. Allah Ta‘ala) pledge to grant you (i.e. Bukhtenasr) dominance over the Arabs. And you, O Prophet! Take this young boy, Ma‘ad bin ‘Adnaan, away with you on your horse (Buraaq) so that he does not suffer any harm. I will extract from the spine of Ma‘ad a noble prophet (Hazrat Muhammed (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)) with whom I will seal the succession of prophets (i.e. he will be the seal of all prophets) Accordingly, Hazrat Armiyaa’ (‘alaihis salaam) mounted his Buraaq, seated the young Ma‘ad bin ‘Adnaan with him, and left him in Syria. Here, in Syria, he grew up and lived with the Banu Israa’eel. This is one of the reasons for the lineage of Ma‘ad bin ‘Adnaan being so well known amongst the ‘Ulamaa of the Ahl-e-Kitaab (Jews and Christians).
Nizaar
When Nizaar was born, his forehead was glittereing with the Noor (radiance) of Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). His father was overjoyed and in celebration, invited people for a feast. He also remarked, “All this, which I am doing, is ‘Nazr’ (very little) compared to the rights of this child.” This is how he received the name Nizaar. Nizaar was the most handsome and brilliant man of his times. Some are of the opinion that “Nizaar” means “skinny and weak”. He was thus referred to as “Nizaar” due to his slender built.
He is buried in Zaatul-Jaysh, an area close to Madinah Munawwarah.
Mudhar
His actual name was ‘Amr while Mudhar was his title. “Abu Ilyaas” was his appellation.
The name “Mudhar” is derived from the word “Maadhir” which literally means “sour”. He was given this title as he was fond of sour foods and sour milk.
He was a remarkably talented and wise man. Some of his words of wisdom are as follows:
من يزرع شرا يحصد ندامة وخير الخير اعجله فاحملوا انفسكم على مكروهها واصرفوها عن هواها فليس بين الصلاح والفساد الا الصبر
“He who sows evil will reap sorrow. The best form of goodness is that which is carried out without delay. Therefore compel your nafs to embrace that which it loaths carrying out (i.e. good deeds) and divert your nafs from succumbing to its base desires. There is no distinguishing feature between righteousness and evil except patience and steadfastness.”
He was a man with a beautiful and melodious voice. He formulated the technique of “Hudaa’” (a method of chanting which urges the camels to move at a more rapid pace).
‘Abdullah bin Khaalid narrates that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Do not speak ill of Mudhar as he was a Muslim.” Hazrat ibn ‘Abbaas (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) said, “‘Adnaan, his father, his sons, Sa‘d, Rabee‘ah, Mudhar, Qays, Tameem, Asad and Rudayyah, all passed away on Millat-e-Ebraaheemi (the creed of Hazrat Ebrahim ‘alaihis salaam).”
(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/19-22)
