TALHA IBN UBAYDULLAH

Talhah left Makkah in one of Quraysh's trade caravans between Makkah and ash-
Sham. Although he was younger than the other merchants and lacked their
experience, his wit and cleverness permitted him to surpass any of them and
succeed in acquiring more transactions.

When the caravan reached Busrah, a town in Syria, the ciders among the
merchants rushed towards its busy market buying and selling. Talhah was coming
and going in the marketplace which was crowded with people coming from all
places, when he heard a man calling, "O merchants is there any one of you coming
from Makkah?" Talhah turned around and saw a monk. Being the one closest to
him he answered him. The monk asked, "Has Ahmad appeared among you?"
"Who is Ahmad?" asked Talhah. "He is the son of Abdullah," replied the monk,
"and this is the month he is due to come forward. He is the last of the prophets,
and he will appear from your land, the land of the sacred House. He will emigrate
to a land of black rocks, that has date palm groves, its salty soil oozes water. Do
hasten to believe in him young man." This conversation with the monk was to
change the life of Talhah.

Talhah prepared his mount, rounded up his camels, gathered his goods, and
hurried back towards Makkah, leaving the rest of the caravan behind him. There,
he asked his wife, "Anything new had happened while I was away?" "Yes," she
said, "Muhammad ibn Abdullah has come forth, pretending he was a prophet, and
Abu Bakr has followed him." Talhah knew Abu Bakr well. Abu Bakr was a
merchant of easy going nature, much beloved by people, and of the most praised
manners. He went to him inquiring about the matter. Not only did Abu Bakr
confirm the news but he also called Talhah to Islam and suggested that he meets
Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam. It did not take long for Talhah to realize
that indeed Muhammad was the foretold prophet and that his name and description
matched the one given by the monk. The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam,
explained Islam to him and recited some of the Qur'an to him. Talhah narrated to
the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, what he has heard from the monk, then
he pronounced the shahadah and joined the small group of Muslims. He was the
fourth person to accept Islam.

The news of Talhah's acceptance of Islam hit his parents like a thunderbolt. His
mother was especially afflicted for she had hope that he would one day be a leader
of his tribe, given his fine character, and wealth. In vain did his people try to
convince him to abandon his dee'n. When they gave all hope they resorted to
harass him and torture him. One of the Prophet's companions narrated, "I was one
day walking between as Safa and al-Marwa when I saw a large crowd following a
young man, his hands tied to his neck, pushing him in the back and hitting him on
the head. Behind him was an old woman who was cursing him and yelling at him.
I asked what the matter with the man was and I was told that he was Talhah ibn
Ubaydillah who forsake the religion of his forefathers for a new one. Then I asked
who the old woman behind him was? I was told that she was his mother." Things
got worse for Talhah as time went by. One day, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid, nick
named "Quraysh's lion", took hold of him and tied him up. Then he tied Abu Bakr
up and bounded them together, and delivered them to the mob of the tribe to be
tortured without mercy. For this incident, Talhah and Abu Bakr were nicknamed
the Qareenayn (The two linked together).

Talhah migrated to Madinah with the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, when
the order came to migrate having no doubt in his heart that this was the fulfillment
of what the monk in ash-Sham informed him. He witnessed all the battles with the
Prophet and passed all the tests with success to the point that the Prophet,
sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, nick named him Talhah the generous, the open-
handed, and the living martyr. Each of these attributes was earned by Talhah
following events where he alone stood up when others fell.

He earned the title of the living martyr on the battle of Uhud. Many Muslims fled
the battlefield that day leaving the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, with only
a handful of his companions. The Prophet and the companions climbed the
mountain when a group from the pagans followed them seeking to kill him. He
asked, "Who can drive those men away and he will be my companion in
Paradise?" "I can O Messenger of Allah," said Talhah. "No, stay where you are,"
replied the Prophet. Then a man from the Ansar offered to be the one, and the
Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam, said yes. The man fought until he was killed.
The Prophet asked, "Who can drive those men away and he will be my companion
in Paradise?" Again Talhah said, "I can O Messenger of Allah." The Prophet,
sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "No stay in your place," And another man from
the Ansar offered to fight. He fought until he was killed. The Prophet, sallallaahu
alayhe wasallam climbed the mountain with those with him, and the pagans were
still following them. He continued asking his companions to drive them away and
each time Talhah offered to help, but the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wasallam,
would allow another Ansari to fight instead until all the Ansar around him were
killed, and only Talhah was left with him. The Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wa
sallam, then said, "Now you can." Talhah sprang like a lion chasing away the
enemy, and protecting the Prophet who was by then exhausted from fighting, his
front tooth was broken, his forehead was gashed, blood was running all over his
blessed face. Talhah would charge at the enemies keeping them away and then he
would go back to the Prophet helping him climb higher. He would do this again
and again until he drove away all of them and got the Prophet to a safer place. By
that time Abu Bakr and Abu Ubaydah who were fighting the pagans in an area far
from the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, came up to him to help him, but he
said, "Leave me and go help your friend," meaning Talhah. When they got to
Talhah, they found him bleeding profusely; his body pierced in more then seventy
places by the swords and the spears of the pagans, his hand was severed and he
was laying unconscious in a ditch. Later the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam
said, "Whoever would like to see a man who is still walking on earth after he has
met his death, he should see Talhah ibn Ubaydillah." And that is how he earned
the title of the 'living martyr'. Whenever the battle of Uhud was mentioned to Abu
Bakr, he would say, "That was a day that belonged all to Talhah (meaning that he
had saved the day)."

Talhah was no less known for his generosity, spending his wealth in the sake of
Allah. He was a wealthy and successful trader, his caravans traveled north to ash-
Sham and south to Yemen. One day he had received the revenue of his trade from
Yemen, which totaled seven hundred thousand Dirham. He spent the night
worrying, looking at the large sum of money sitting in his house. His wife Um
Kulthoom the daughter of Abu Bakr came to him asking, "What is the matter, Abu
Muhammad? Is there anything I have done that displeased you?" "O no," he
replied, "But I was wondering about this money and said to myself, a man who
can sleep with all this money in his house, while he does not know if he will be
alive the next day, is really arrogant towards his Lord!" "Does not worry," she
said, "Tomorrow, look for the needy among your people and friends, and divide it
among them." "May Allah have mercy on you," he said, "you are a wise woman,
daughter of a wise man." The next day, he divided the money into bundles and
distributed it to the poor until not a Dirham was left.

This was not the only time when Talhah gave all his money for the sake of Allah.
It was said that he did not leave a single poor person from among his tribe but he
provided for him. Jabir ibn Abdullah said, "I never saw a man who gave more
abundantly without being asked than Talhah ibn Ubaydillah". Another said, "I
have accompanied Talhah in his travels and I was with him in town, and I have
never seen a man more generous in giving money, food and clothing than Talhah."

Talhah lived a long life until he witnessed the great trials of the Muslim Ummah
when the Khalifah Uthman was slain, and he was among those who asked for his
killers to be executed. Talhah was about to participate in the battle of al-Jamal
against the Khalifah Ali, but he turned away after he realized that it was a fitnah
(trial), and that Muslims should not fight against each other. This did not deter one
of the opposing parties to hit him with an arrow that left him dead. When Ali
heard of his death, he cried and said, "I heard with my own ears the Messenger of
Allah say, 'Talhah and az-Zubair are my neighbors in Paradise."