Muhammad Ibn Maslamah belonged to one of the ally tribes of Aws and was among the first few of the people of Medina who embraced Islam in the initial stages of preaching by Musab Ibn Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him). He accepted Islam even before Sad bin Muadh and Usayd Ibn Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with them both). He was a quiet and contemplating person and hence the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) paired Abu Ubaydah Ibn Jarrah as his brother in Medina who was also of the same nature.
Maslamah entered into Islam wholeheartedly and had an unflinching faith in Allah. He was brave and vociferous in the battlefield and at the same time was a God-fearing person. He participated in all the battles that the Messenger of Allah undertook except for the Battle of Tabuk, as he and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) were made in-charge of the army that was left behind in the Medina to protect. He always proved himself as a dependable and trustworthy companion and he was among the men whom the Messenger of Allah trusted a lot because of his qualities. Before the Battle of Uhud Muslims were to spend a night in the open and at this moment the Messenger trusted the responsibility of patrolling of the camp to Muhammad Ibn Maslamah. He along with his fifty men patrolled the whole night and the next day fought valiantly for Islam. He was the one who was quick to respond to the call of the Messenger and during the battle when the Messenger of Allah got exposed to the enemies and was in a vulnerable position, it was Maslamah and some other companions who came for the rescue and risked their lives to save the Messenger.
His promptness was unique as he never hesitated and wasted any moment in thinking about the task when the Messenger ordered. One of the incidents of his promptness and love for the Messenger of Allah was when the Messenger ordered the assassination of Kab Ibn Ashraf, a Jew from Banu Qaynuqa. It must be noted that when the Messenger entered into Medina he signed the treaty for joint defence of Medina with the Jews which said, “The Jews who attach themselves to our commonwealth shall be protected from all insults and harassments. They shall have equal rights as our own people to our assistance…They shall join the Muslims in defending Madinah against all enemies…They shall not declare war nor enter in treaty or agreement against the Muslims.”
The Jews unilaterally broke the treaty and one of the Jews, Kab Ibn Ashraf openly started abusing the Messenger and the Muslims and in particular, Muslim women. He continued his verbal attack and did not pay any heed to the warnings of the Messenger so much so that he became an internal threat to the Muslims and Medina. It was only after this that the Messenger of Allah said, “Who will deal with Kab Ibn Ashraf? He has offended Allah and His Apostle.” To this Ibn Maslamah stood up and said, “I shall deal with him for you, O Messenger of God.” He immediately said yes however he knew that the task is formidable and not something that can be easily done. He was so cautious of his words to the Messenger that the very thought of not accomplishing the duty made him sulk and he gave up eating and drinking and focused only on how to accomplish the task. When the Messenger learnt about this, he called him and asked the reason for this to which he replied, “O Messenger of God, I gave an undertaking to you but I do not know whether I can accomplish it or not.” The consoling words of the Messenger “Your duty is only to try your utmost” relieved him from the trouble he was undergoing and he began to plan for the task and eventually carried it out with utmost perfection.
As he was renowned for carrying out the task he was given, he enjoyed high respect among the righteous caliphs as well. It was Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) who made Maslamah in-charge of the special office which was formed to investigate the complaints against the officers of the state. When Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) asked for reinforcements, Umar sent four detachments of 1000 men each with one of the leaders as Maslamah. He then wrote to Amr, “Let me remind you that I am sending Muhammad ibn Maslamah to you to help you distribute your wealth. Accommodate him and forgive any harshness of his towards you.”When Maslamah reached Fustat, he sat at the table with Amr but did not touch the food and brought out a loaf of bread from his pocket and started eating it with salt. Seeing this, Amr said, “May God bring to an end the time in which we work for Umar ibn al-Khattab! I have witnessed a time when al-Khattab and his son Umar were wandering around wearing clothes which could not even cover them properly while Al-Aas ibn Wail (Amr’s father) sported brocade lined with gold…” Maslamah immediately retorted to Amr’s statement and replied, “As for your father and the father of Umar they are in hell because they did not accept Islam.” Such was the attitude of Maslamah who could not bear anything save the truth and gave a snappish reply and perhaps his brave and outspoken attitude made him earn the position of respect among the righteous caliphs. He even served under the third caliph Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).
The life of Maslamah has innumerable lessons for the posterity and his unflinching faith in Allah and the deep love, respect and reverence for the Messenger of Allah indeed gives us a benchmark to judge ourselves as to how much we love the Messenger and how ready or reluctant we are in carrying out the orders given by Allah and His Messenger.