Al Bara’a Ibn Malik was born in Madinah and belonged to Banu Khazraj tribe. He was the brother of the servant of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and blessings of Allah be to him) Anas Ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him). His bravery was well-renowned and he always prayed to be martyred in the cause of Allah. He played an important role in the battles that took place after the death of the Messenger of Allah and the war with Musaylimah was a significant one.
One thing that should be noted here is that Islam cultures an individual in all spheres of life. At one point of time it teaches its followers to be patient while being oppressed, as was the case in Makkah where individuals did not even have the permission to raise the hands in self-defence, and at other point it inculcates in its followers the need to remain steadfast in the matters of religion, no matter what the case is. Hence it gives guidance in all the aspects of life and the balance it exhorts must always be kept in mind.
It was Al Bara’a’s valour which made him remain standing steadfast in a series of the most dare-devil battles in which his ultimate goal was to earn the pleasure of Allah. He was so valiant and daring that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) specifically wrote about him that he must not be made the commander of the army as his daring acts would endanger the lives of those who would be under his command. He fought bravely during the wars of apostasy that got unleashed immediately when Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) succeeded the Messenger of Allah after his death. The battle was very fierce and Muslim army was a little demoralised seeing their strength and preparations. It was at this point of time the in-charge of the army Khalid Bin Waleed (may Allah be pleased with him) called Al Bara’a to speak a few words to the army so as to boost their morale. He said, “Oh people of Median, Let no among you go back to Madinah: there is no Madinah after today. It is only Allah and then paradise.” His short address to the army brought back the confidence and left so much impact that the Muslims pursued the army of Musaylimah and pushed them backward until they reached a big walled garden.
The Musaylimah army entered the garden and locked the doors from inside so that the Muslims could not enter. It did not take him a fraction of a second to decide to scale the wall of the garden so that he could open the gates for the Muslim army to enter. He asked his fellow Muslims to throw him into the garden. He said, “Put me on a shield, raise the shield on spears and hurl me into the garden near the gate. Either I shall die a martyr or I shall open the gate for you.”
He fought like lions while killing ten of the enemies and opened the gates which resulted in the victory of Muslims. The bloodletting in the garden earned it a sobriquet “the Garden of death.” Being all alone facing the enemies got him as many as eighty wounds; however his wish to die in the path of Allah did not come true. His continuous prayer to his Lord was for martyrdom and his conviction that he will receive martyrdom was because the Messenger of Allah informed him that his prayers would be answered by Allah. His conviction was such that one day his friends came to visit him to enquire about his health and he looked at them and said, “I see you might be worried that I might die on my bed; no, by Allah, Allah will not deprive me of shahadah (martyrdom).”
It was during the Battle with the Persians that his wish of martyrdom came true. Muslims entered a fierce battle with the Persians and besieged them. However, the Persians came with a new tactics of war and began throwing the iron chains at the end of which were the hot iron hooks. The hot iron hooks caught Muslims by surprise and killed many Muslims in extreme pain and agony. His brother Anas Ibn Malik was also caught in one of the hooks. Seeing his brother in such a state, he ran towards him and tried to remove the hot iron hook with his bare hands. The hook was finally broken saving the life of Anas however his hands got badly burnt. The burn was so intense that one could easily see the skeletal bones of his hands.
The Persians were fought at Al-Ahwaz as well on the borders of Persia. This battle started with the individual duels and Al Bara’a’s fierce duelling killed more than hundred enemy soldiers. However, it is this battle in which the wish of Al Bara’a came true and he attained martyrdom. He prayed to Allah, “O Allah! Put us in control over them! O Allah! Defeat them! O Allah! Grant victory over them.” Besides he prayed to join the Messenger as well. He said, “O Allah! Make me join your Prophet.” It was then he entered the field and martyred. He was one of those who believed in the message and then were ready to give up everything for the sake of it.