A valuable lesson from Abu Dajanah

Abu Dajanah always used to pray behind the Prophet, (peace be upon him, PBUH). But as soon as he finished his prayer, he went quickly out of the mosque. This caught the eyes of the Prophet (PBUH) and one day he stopped him and asked him:

“O Abu Dajanah, don’t you need anything from Allah?”

Abu Dajana said:

“O Messenger of Allah, Yes I do. I can’t live without Allah even with a blink of an eye.”

The Prophet said:

“So why don’t you stay with us after prayers and ask Allah what you need?”

Abu Dajana said:

“The reason is that I have a Jewish neighbor who has a date palm tree, and its branches are in the courtyard of my house.

So when the wind blows at night, the dates fall into my courtyard.

That is why you see me coming out of the mosque quickly, so that I can collect the dates and return them to the owner, before my kids wake up.

Because once they wake up, they will eat them as they are hungry.

I swear to Allah, O Messenger of Allah, that one day I saw one of my children chewing the date, and I put my finger in his throat and took it out before he could swallow it.

When my son cried, I said to him:

‘Aren’t you ashamed of standing in front of Allah as a thief?”

When Abu Bakr heard what Abu Dajana said, he went to the Jew, bought the date palm tree, and gave it to Abu Dajana and his children.

When the Jew learned about the story, he quickly collected his children and his family and went to the Prophet (PBUH), and they announced their entry into Islam.

This is how the companions of the Messenger of Allah made people enter Islam. They were advocates of their deep-rooted faith, and their actions were a reflection of their faith.

Be a good ambassador of Islam wherever you are, both by what you say and what you do.