'They are people with high status prestige' (qasida 15:48)

This is the motto of this section, which is for talking about the companions and beloved ones to our prophet Mohammad [PPBUH].

You can find all special expressions in the Glossary. We need your comments to develop this site for you.

one of Badr's people: Abo-Doganah [AAH]

In honor of great company of the Messenger of Allah; there came many Hadith and stories to prove how high ranking this companionship, of the Prophet [PPBUH],

He is Abo-Doganah ibn Aws ibn Kharshah ibn Lawazin from Bani Sa'dah ibn al-Khazrag. He was one the poor people of Ansar [the people of Medina who supported the Prophet PPBUH] and he was a brave man. The Prophet [PPBUH] made him brother to Otbah ibn Ghazwan. He witnessed Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] and he pledged allegiance to the Prophet [PPBUH] on the death for the sake of Allah. He also witnessed al-Yamamah fighting Musailamah and he was ambushed and was martyred.

On conquest of Uhud, when the Prophet [PPBUH] was wounded in the face, Ali ibn Abi-Talib gave his sword to Fatima and tended to the Prophet [PPBUH] to wash his wound. The Prophet [PPBUH] said to him (O, Ali, If you did good fight today, so did Abo-Doganah, Mos'ab ibn Omair, al-Harith ibn as-Sammah, and Sahl ibn Honayf) Then the Prophet offered that sword to his companions. Anas said: the Prophet [PPBUH]took his sword while his companions around him and said (Who takes this sword?) They expanded their hands asking for the sword. So the Prophet [PPBUH] said (Who takes it with its right?) Then the people were refrained. Then Abo-Doganah said: I take it with its right. So the Prophet [PPBUH] gave it to him. So he destroyed the heads of the polytheists with it.

Az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam taked about that day and said: When the Prophet [PPBUH] offered his sword after Ali ibn Abi-Talib [AAH] gave it back. He [PPBUH] said (who takes it with its right?) I said: O, Messenger of Allah, I do. But he turn away from me, so I said to myself: He did not turn away from me unless I have something wrong. The Prophet then said (Who takes this sword with its right?) I again said: I do. But he turned away from me again, twice or three times. Then Abo-Doganah said: I take it and hit with it until it gets bent -or some word like that- then the Prophet gave him the sword. Az-Zubair said: I followed him to see what he would do, and he went with the sword and did not came across anyone of the polytheists unless he killed him. So he came across a man who was fighting hard and he killed him. The he came across a woman who was walking with the fighters encouraging them with dirty words, and he raise the sword onto her. But she shouted asking for help and no one answered her. So he left her. I said to him: O, Abo-Doganah. I liked all what you did so far except for that woman you left. He said: She shouted and no one answered her, so I hated to hit, with the sword of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], a woman with no one to help her.

Mohamed ibn Ishaq said: When Abo-Doganah took the sword from the hand of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], he fought with it very hard fight, and he said: I saw some one who was stimulating the people very hard. So I aimed for him, then when I tried to kill him, she screamed, and I found out it was a woman. So I honored the sword of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], from hitting a woman. Then he improvised a poem: I am the one who had a covenant with my intimate friend [Khalil], down the hill between the palms, not to stay with the women and hit with the sword of Allah and his Messenger.

Ka'b ibn Malik said: I was among who went out to this conquest. I saw how the polytheists mutilated the Muslims. So I went deep and I saw a man from the polytheists standing with his shield and helmet as he was shouting to the Muslims: come together like the ship, And I found a man of the Muslims waiting for him with his helmet on. So I went to him until I was behind him, and I compared between them and found that the polytheist was better in body and arms. So they fought, and the Muslim hit him to split him in halves. Then he took the helmet off and said to me: O, Ka'b, I am Abo-Doganah.

Abo-Doganah was one of those who pledged allegiance to the Prophet [PPBUH] to die on Uhud, as there were a group of his companions who pledged allegiance to him to die on Uhud. Until the Muslims were defeated, but they were patient and generous, as they kept protecting him [PPBUH] with their bodies, anyone of them would say: myself is for your self, O, Messenger of Allah. My face is a protection for your face, O, Messenger of Allah. And they kept protecting him and covering him with themselves, until many of them were killed. Out of those were: Abo-Bakr, Omar, Ali, az-Zubair, Talha, Sa'ad, Sahl ibn Hunayf, ibn Abi-al-Aflah, al-Harith ibn as-Summah, Abo-Doganah, and al-Habbab ibn al-Munzir. And the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] stood to rise over a rock between two arms, but he could not. So Talha carried him and helped him get over it. So the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] said (Talha gained paradise).

Mahmoud ibn Amro ibn Yazid ibn as-Sakan said that Abo-Doganah acted like a shield for the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] with his body, as bent over the Prophet [PPBUH] and the arrows kept hitting him in the back, until he had so many of it.

Ibn Shehab said: no one knew what happened to the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] that day except for six men: az-Zubair, Talha, Sa'ad ibn Abi-Wakkas, Ka'b ibn Malik, Abo-Doganah, and Sahl ibn Hunayf. He meant what was said that he [PPBUH] died.

In the day of Khaibar [Kippur], when the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] stood for a castle called Samwan, and fought its people a hard fight. A Jew man, called Gazal, came out and asked for fight. A-Habbab ibn al-Munzir came to him and they fought until al-Habbab killed him. Another Jew man came out and a Muslim came out for him, but he killed the Muslim and asked for another fight. Abo-Doganah came out for him with a red band on his head, swaggering in his walk. And he hit him once and killed him. And he got his sword and shield to the Prophet [PPBUH], and the Prophet gave them to him. Then the Jews stopped asking for fight. The Muslims said "Allah Akbar" and attacked the castle and entered it, with Abo-Doganah up front. They found that its people left everything and ran away.

When the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] left Khaibar to the valley of al-Qurah, he set his companions for the fight. He made them lines, and gave the main flag to Sa'ad ibn Ubadah, another flag to al-Habbab ibn al-Munzir, and a third flag to Sahl ibn Hunayf. Then he called the Jew to Islam, and told them that if they would to become Muslims they would get to keep all their money and belongings, and they would live as Allah would be the one they account for. However a man of them came out to fight. Az-Zubair came out for him and killed him. Another one came out, and Ali came out for him and killed him. A third one came out, so Abo-Doganah came out for him and killed him. And so on until eleven ones were killed, and each time someone died, the Prophet would call them to Islam again. Until the Muslims were victorious.

So Abo-Doganah was always giving himself up for the sake of Allah, bravely, and loving to the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. Jaber ibn Abdullah [AAH] said: Once we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] in Medina Masjid, when some of our companions mentioned paradise. Then the Prophet [PPBUH] said to him (O, Abo-Doganah, Did not you know that whoever loved us and was tested for that love, then Allah would make live in paradise with us) then he recited the verse [In an Assembly of Truth, in the Presence of a Sovereign Omnipotent] al-Qamar 54:55.

Edited by Sa'id Salih

Translated by Shayma

Whoever wants to read more about the great companions, can browse the companions pages in al-Ahbab site.

Editors Team