The Qur’ān, the word of Allah, exhorts people to the truth by compelling them to reflect on the realities of the world. It asks them to ponder over the complexities the world throws and answers the reader in the most comprehensive way. The only condition the Qur’ān puts is that the person should read or listen to the Qur’ān with sound heart, free from any preconceived notion or bias. It is only when the person purifies his heart that the Qur’ān penetrates the heart and the person realises the truth. One may come across many people who knew that the Qur’ān is true but did not accept as their ego had engulfed their hearts. Usaid Ibn Hudhair, however, was a man of sound judgement and wisdom and he changed completely after listening to the arguments which Musab Ibn Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) put before him.
Usaid was the leader of the Aus tribe in Medina and was one of the influential men in the city. The story of reversion of Usaid is very interesting as he had become completely annoyed with Musab Ibn Umair, the first emissary of Islam whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) sent to Medina to teach people Islam. One day while chatting to his friend Sa’ad Ibn Muadh, he was told that Musab is converting the people of Medina and so Sa’ad asked him to chase Musab out of Medina. Usaid immediately got up and rushed to the place where Musab was preaching people about Islam. With a spear in his hand, he asked Musab to leave the city immediately. It was the sheer wisdom and courage of Musab that he did not fear him at all and said to him in a nice and kind manner, “Would you please sit down and listen to what I say. If you like it you may accept it and if you do not like it, I will stop preaching here and leave you alone.” Musab’s confidence and genuine demand made Usaid think it to be a wise deal and he put his spear aside and sat down with Musab to learn what Islam says. He said, “This is a fair deal. Let me hear what you have to say.”
He was not known just because of his valour and extra-ordinary combating skills, but he was a man of sound intelligence and wisdom as well so much so that he was called as the ‘Perfect’ by the people of Medina. When Musab started reciting the verses of the Qur’ān and began explaining to him the principles of Islam, he got highly moved by them. He immediately realised that this Qur’ān is truth and his previous background did not make him at all reluctant in accepting the truth. The moment Musab finished his talk, Usaid exclaimed, “How beautiful this is! What do you do if we want to join this faith?” Musab replied that one needs to clean and purify one’s body and clothes and then say the shahada (declaration of faith). Usaid immediately got up and excused himself for a while and when he showed up water was dripping from his hair and he pronounced “I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
The Qur’ān had this effect on many. There were people who were staunch enemies of Islam but when they heard the Qur’ān they immediately realised that such eloquence and beauty could never come from human beings and hence became sure of its divine origin. One could realise the effect of the Qur’ān from the story of the conversion of Umar Ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) who went out with a sword in his hand to kill the Messenger of Allah, however when he heard the verses of the Qur’ān, he got overwhelmed by them and accepted Islam on the very occasion. The Qur’ān had the similar effect on Umair Ibn Wahb (may Allah be pleased with him) as well. He was known as ‘the Devil of Quraysh’ before his conversion to Islam but the Quran transformed him completely.
The moment he converted to Islam, he became its preacher. He had left Sa’ad Ibn Muadh and gone to throw Musab out of Medina, but when the truth of Islam won him, he came back to Sa’ad and wanted to tell him about his conversion and the truth of Islam, but he knew that his words would not have much effect on him. He thought that he needed to take him to Musab and hence played a trick on Sa’ad by saying that his cousin was in danger and he must go. Sa’ad immediately picked up his arms and left for the place but found everything peaceful there. He understood why his friend had brought him to Musab and he started listening to Musab and finally Islam won him too. Hence Usaid became the cause for bringing Sa’ad to the fold of Islam.
There are many other stories of valour and wisdom of Usaid but he is known for his significant advice at the time when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) departed from this world. Since the Ummah could not remain without a caliph, all the Sahabas invested their efforts in selecting the caliph and the body of the Messenger of Allah remained for two nights and three days before the burial could take place. The discussion to select the caliph turned into a little heated debate and it was at this time that Usaid gave his valuable advice. He said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) was an emigrant and the Ansar were the supporters and hence the caliph should be from the muhajirun (emigrant) and the Ansar would remain as their supporter.
He departed from this world in 20 Hijri and remained renowned for his beautiful recitation of the Holy Qur’ān.