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 Abbad ibn Bishr [radhiallahu anhu (RA)] is a name, which shines brightly in the history of the prophetic call of Muhammad [sallallahu alayhe wa sallam {saws}]. His reputation among those famed for their piety stands out, for he was pious and pure-hearted, spending long nights in prayer and recitation of the Qur'an.
Among those known for heroism, he was famed for being a brave, bold warrior willing to charge into any battle for the sake of right. As a governor, he was renowned for decisiveness and trustworthiness in caring for the property of the Muslim citizens. All of this is what led Aisha (RA), mother of the believers, to say: "There are three of the Ansar (Madinites) whose virtue is overshadowed by none, and all of them are from Banul Ash'hal: Sa'ad ibn Mu'ath, Usayd ibn al-Hudayr, and Abbad ibn Bishr (RA)."
When the first rays of the light of Islam began to shine over the city of Madina, Abbad ibn Bishr al-Ash'hali (RA) was an energetic youth with the softness and freshness of innocence and chastity. His manner revealed a dignity typical of older men, though he had not yet reached the age of twenty-five.
It happened that he met with the Makkan preacher, Mus'ab ibn Umayr. Very soon their hearts were joined in the common bond of faith, as well as by the virtues and good qualities they had in common. When Abbad listened to Mus'ab reciting the Qur'an in his warm, silvery voice, which so beautifully expressed the meaning of the Scripture, he was filled with the love for the word of Allah. He opened his heart to the Qur'an, making it his sole interest in life. He would recite it day and night, whether he was busy or unoccupied, until he became known among the Companions as the Imam and the friend of the Qur'an.
Abbad (RA) accompanied the Prophet {saws} in all his military expeditions, and in each one he performed in a way befitting the reciter of the Qur'an. One of his famous adventures was when the Prophet {saws}, was returning with his Companions from the expedition of Dhat-ir-Riqa, where he led the Muslim army into a small ravine in which they were to spend the night. During the expedition, a pagan woman had been taken captive, and her husband did not discover this until the Muslim army had left. When he found out what had happened, he swore by the idols, al-Lat and al-Uza that he would catch up with the Prophet's army and not to return unless he had shed somebody's blood.
Meanwhile, the Muslims were busy making their camp and getting their camels to kneel so they could tie them up for the night. Then the Prophet, {saws}, asked: "Who is going to stand guard over us tonight?"
Abbad ibn Bishr and Ammar ibn Yasir got up together and volunteered. They had been made brothers by the Prophet {saws}, when the Mhuhajirun (emigrants) had first gone to Madina. When they went and took up their position at the entrance to the ravine, Abbad ibn Bishr said to his brother Ammar ibn Yasir: "which half of the night do you prefer to sleep in, the first or the last?" "I will sleep for the first half," said Ammar and he lied down to sleep a few paces away from Abbad.
The night was clear, calm and peaceful. Every star, tree and rock seemed to give praise and glory to its Lord, and the heart of Abbad longed to share in the worship by reciting the Qur'an while he was offering Salah, (prayer) and thus he enjoyed the pleasure of reciting along with that of the ceremony of worship.
He faced the Qiblah (direction for prayer), started the prayer, and then began to recite from Qur'an Surah (chapter) of Kahf, in his sweet, emotional voice. Like one swimming in an ocean of divine light, he seemed to be overcome by the spirituality of his setting. Engrossed in worship, he did not notice a man who had appeared on the scene and was rapidly moving towards him. When the man Abbad in Bishr standing at the entrance to the ravine, he knew that the Prophet {saws}, and his Companions were camped inside and that this person was their watchman.
Drawing an arrow from his quiver, he set it in his bow, took aim, and shot it into Abbad ibn Bishr, who simply pulled it out of his body and continued his worship! The man shot him again and hit him, but Abbad only pulled this arrow out, as well; so the man shot him a third time. Abbad pulled the arrow out again, but this time crawled over to his friend and awakened him, saying: "Get up, for I have been seriously wounded."
When the man realized that there were two people keeping guard, he fled. Ammar took a good look at Abbad, and realized that he was bleeding heavily from three wounds, so he exclaimed: "Glory be to Allah, and why did you not awaken me as soon as you were hit the first time?" "I was in the middle of reciting a Surah from the Qur'an," answered Abbad, "and I did not wish to interrupt my reciting in the middle, before I finished. I swear by Allah, if I had not feared that I would leave the army unguarded after the Messenger of Allah {saws}, had commanded me to keep watch, I would have preferred death to being interrupted!"
During the time of the Khilafah (regimen) of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (RA), the wars or Riddah (Apostasy) flared up, so as-Siddiq outfitted an army to go and put an end to the civil wars caused by the false Prophet Musailimah, to bring the renegades into submission, and to return the people to the fold of Islam. In the vanguard of the army was Abbad ibn Bishr.
During the early battles in which the Muslims did not make much headway, Abbad ibn Bishr made an important observation. He noticed how the Ansar would depend on the Muhajirun to lead the way in battle, while the Muhajirun were expecting the same of the Ansar, which irritated Abbad. Then after the battle, he would be infuriated upon hearing them blame each other for the fact that the battle had not gone well. It occurred to him that the only way for the Muslims to succeed in these crushing battles was for each group to be made separate and distinct from the other, so that each would bear a separate responsibility, and it would be clear who was giving his best effort in the battle.
The night before the decisive day of the long battle of Yamamah, Abbad had a dream in which hethat the sky opened up to him so he entered it, and it closed itself upon him like a house with a door. When he awoke told Abu Sai'd al-Khudri about his dream and said: "I swear by Allah, Abu Sai'd, it can only mean that I am to die as a Shaheed (Martyr)."
When morning broke, and the battle was resumed, Abbad ibn Bishr ascended a ridge on the field and called out: "People of the Ansar! Come out and step forward, away from the others! Break the scabbards of your swords and do not let Islam be overtaken while you still alive!" He repeated this call, until he had collected about four hundred fighters, at the head of whom were Thabit ibn Qays, al-Bara ibn Malik, and Abu Dujanah, who was carrying the sword of the Prophet {saws}.
Abbad ibn Bishr moved forward with this group of fighters, breaking through the ranks of the enemy with his sword and facing death fearlessly, until the forces of Musailimah retreated and sought shelter in the Orchard of Death. At the walls of the Orchard Abbad finally fell as a martyr, covered with blood. He had sustained so many wounds that a birthmark on his skin was the only way his body could be identified.
[From: Al Jumu'ah Vol. 13 Issue 10]
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