Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari - The One Who Housed the Prophet ﷺ
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This is the story of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari, the man who received the honor of housing the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ upon his arrival in Medina. His name was Khalid ibn Zaid, the grandson of Malik ibn An-Najjar, but he was most known as Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari. The nickname of Al-Ansari comes from him being one of the Ansar, or the first Muslims of Medina. Read about this brave and honorable man.
Background
Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari was one of the people who lived in Medina when news of the Prophet ﷺ and Islam spread. He met the Prophet ﷺ once before he emigrated to Medina and remained a strong and loyal Companion.
Meeting the Prophet ﷺ
The first time Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari met the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was during the second Pledge of Aqabah. This was a gathering of 70 men and women from Medina who gave their pledge of loyalty to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
The second time Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari met the Prophet ﷺ was when he, the Prophet ﷺ, emigrated (or made Hijrah) to Medina. The Muslims in Medina gathered at the edge of the city to welcome Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the Muslims from Makkah, or Muhajireen. Every Ansar, or Muslim from Medina, wanted the Prophet ﷺ to stay at their home, but he told them that the camel which he was riding on was given a direct Command from Allah SWT. Wherever the camel stopped and rested, would be where the first Masjid would be built, and the residence of the Prophet ﷺ. The camel continued walking into Medina, passing by many homes and tribes until it rested at the door of the house of Malik Ibn An-Najjar, who was the grandfather of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari. In this two-story house lived Abu Ayyub. What a great honor given by Allah SWT!
Living in the Home of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari
The family home of Abu Ayyub was a two-story home. The Prophet ﷺ preferred to live in the first floor, which meant Abu Ayyub would live on the second floor. But as soon as Abu Ayyub went up to the second floor, he felt uncomfortable and his heart trembled. He could not imagine himself sleeping in a place that was higher or more elevated than the place where the Prophet ﷺ was sleeping and standing. What strong Iman, or faith, Abu Ayyub had!
He went to the Prophet ﷺ requesting that he take the upper floor of the house. They agreed on the switch and the Prophet ﷺ stayed in the second floor until the Masjid was completed. Beside the original structure of the Masjid, a house for the Prophet ﷺ was built.
Abu Ayyub lived such an honorable life, both in battle and out. One day, he heard the Prophet ﷺ speaking and took his words to heart, immediately implementing them. The Prophet ﷺ said, “If you offered a prayer, then pray as a man who would leave this world after it. Do not say anything [wrong] for which you would be forced to apologize. Do not race [rush] to take what is in the hands of the people.” SubhanAllah, think about these powerful words! If we were to live our lives simply by these words, we would be people that have nothing held against them.
The Battles of Jihad
Abu Ayyub continuously showed his faith and bravery by standing alongside the Muslims in battle against Quraysh. The phrase he was known for saying was, “go forth in parties or go forth all together”. This showed the value they had for the community and for the Muslims to stick together in faith and battle. There were records of his fighting bravely in the Battles of Badr, Uhud, and Al-Khandaq (The Trench). It was also said that he did not leave a single Battle except that he fought alongside the Prophet ﷺ, except for one.
For one battle only, he did not join the Muslims in Jihad because he was not convinced with the leadership they were under. At this time, a fight broke out between Ali (RA), the Caliphate or Khaleefa at the time, and Mo’awiyah, who became the first Khaleefa of the Umayyad period. Abu Ayyub took the side of Ali (RA) as he was the leader at the time and he had pledged his allegiance to him. However, when Ali was martyred, the leadership turned to Mo’awiyah.**
After this time, Abu Ayyub wished for nothing more than to be a fighter for the sake of Allah SWT and for his end to come as a martyr.
The Death of Abu Ayyub
When the Prophet ﷺ was alive, he had prophesied that the first army to enter Constantinople, which is present day Istanbul, would enter Jannah. Years later, when Abu Ayyub heard of a Muslim army going towards Constantinople, he rushed to join them. At this point, Abu Ayyub had grown to be an old man but he insisted on joining the fight. However, he got significantly injured and could not continue the fight.
The leader of this army, Yazid ibn Mo’awiyah, went to visit Abu Ayyub and asked him if he needed anything. Abu Ayyub only had one request: when he died, he wanted his body to be taken as far into the land of the enemy as possible and buried there. Then, he wanted the Muslim army to continue pushing forward until they reached that point, so that he could hear the footsteps of the Muslims above his grave. Subhan Allah! This was a man who lived his life for the sake of Allah SWT and even wanted his death to encourage the Muslims in Jihad to spread the message of Islam. He is buried in Istanbul and you can visit his grave, even today.
** It is important to note that the leaders of Islam after the death of the Prophet ﷺ were sectioned into different periods of time. The first period was the Rashidun Period, where there were 4 Khaleefas. Ali (RA) was the last of those Khaleefas. After his death, the Umayyad Period began with the leadership of Mo’awiyah.