The one washed by angels is Hanzala ibn Abi Amir al-Ansari
al-Awsi, from Medina. His father was Abu Amir al-Ansari al-Awsi, who remained a
polytheist and was one of the fiercest enemies of Islam.
Hanzalah married Jamilah bint Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. She
was brought to him on the night before the Battle of Uhud. He had asked the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) for permission to spend
the night with her, and he granted it. When he spent the night with her, he
became ritually impure. When morning came, he heard the call to jihad and
hastened to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
After he went out to fight in the cause of God, his wife, Jamila,
sent word to four men from her tribe, asking them to witness that he had
consummated the marriage.
After he was martyred, she was asked: "Why did you have them
witness?"
She replied: "I saw as if the sky opened up and Hanzala
entered it, then it closed again. I said: 'This is the testimony.' So I had
them witness that he had consummated the marriage, to protect her honor and
chastity, and to silence the slanderers and those with ill intentions who
sought to tarnish her reputation and purity."
In the battle, Hanzala ibn Abi Amir and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb
clashed. When Hanzala gained the upper hand and was about to kill him, Shaddad
ibn al-Aswad saw him and struck him with his sword, killing him. When he
was martyred, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
"Your companion is being washed by the angels." (Narrated by Abdullah
ibn al-Zubayr) So they asked his companion (his wife: Jamilah bint Abdullah ibn
Ubayy ibn Salul).
She said: He went out when he heard the alarming call (the call to
jihad, i.e., he heard the Prophet's call to jihad) while he was in a state of
ritual impurity. The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him,
confirmed the truth of what he said: “The angels washed him.” (Source: Takhrij
Sahih Ibn Hibban).
As-Suhayli, quoting al-Waqidi and others, mentioned that Hanzalah,
may God be pleased with him, was searched for among the slain and found with
water dripping from his head, though there was no water nearby, confirming the
Prophet's statement, peace and blessings be upon him: “Your companion is being
washed by the angels.” The angels' washing of Hanzalah (may God be pleased with
him) was a sign of his favor and honor. Al-Munawi said, "This (the angels'
washing of Hanzalah) is sufficient honor for him, and this does not contradict
the narrations prohibiting the washing of a martyr, because the prohibition
applies to those accountable among the children of Adam."
After the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon
him) went to check on the wounded and the martyrs. He saw that many of his best
companions had passed away in the cause of God, including Hamza ibn Abd
al-Muttalib, Mus'ab ibn Umayr, Sa'd ibn al-Rabi', Anas ibn al-Nadr,
Hanzalah ibn Abi Amir, and others (may God be pleased with them all). Abdullah
bin Jabir narrated on the authority of the Prophet, saying: The Prophet, may
God’s prayers and peace be upon him, would gather two men from among the
martyrs of Uhud in one garment, then he would say: Which of them knew more of
the Qur’an? When one of them was indicated to him, he would place him first in
the grave, and he would say: I am a witness for these on the Day of
Resurrection. He ordered that they be buried in their blood, and they were not
washed, and the funeral prayer was not performed for them. (Source: Sahih
al-Bukhari).
These early Muslims were a source of pride for their families,
their tribes, for us, and for generations to come until the Day of Judgment.
The Aws and Khazraj tribes, for example, take pride in the men from their ranks
who distinguished themselves in Islam, men who excelled in ways unmatched by
other Muslims. Anas (may God be pleased with him) said: “The two tribes of Aws
and Khazraj boasted to one another. The Aws said: ‘Among us is the one washed
by the angels (Hanzala ibn al-Rahib), and among us is the one for whom the
Throne of the Most Merciful trembled (Sa’d ibn Mu’adh), and among us is
the one protected by wasps (Asim ibn Thabit ibn al-Aqlah), and among us is the
one whose testimony is equivalent to the testimony of two men (Khuzayma ibn
Thabit).’ Anas ibn Malik said: The Khazraj said: ‘Among us are four who
compiled the Quran, and no one else has done so: Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Zayd,
Ubayy ibn Ka’b, and Mu’adh ibn Jabal.’” (Source: Tarikh Dimashq).
Hanzala participated in the Battle of Uhud. He attained martyrdom,
an honor for himself and his religion. For jihad is the highest aspect of
Islam, its very pinnacle, about which the Messenger of God, peace and blessings
be upon him, said: "The pinnacle of Islam is jihad." In the path of
God, none but the best of them attain it (Narrator: Abu Umamah al-Bahili;
Source: Al-Nawafih al-Atirah; Summary of the Hadith scholar's ruling:
Authentic). He is among the martyrs, the chosen ones of God Almighty and those
close to Him among His servants. They are the role models for those who wish to
be with the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, confirming
the words of God Almighty: “And whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad
SAW), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His
Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddiqun (those followers of the Prophets who were
first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddiq), the martyrs,
and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are!” (Surat An-Nisa:
69). He is one of those who have been true to their covenant with God, with
faith and certainty in God’s words: “Among the believers are men who have been
true to their covenant with Allah [i.e. they have gone out for Jihad (holy
fighting), and showed not their backs to the disbelievers], of them some have
fulfilled their obligations (i.e. have been martyred), and some of them are
still waiting, but they have never changed [i.e. they never proved treacherous
to their covenant which they concluded with Allah] in the least” (Surat
Al-Ahzab: 23). They are among those who sold themselves and their wealth to God
as the price of Paradise, whose width is like the heavens and the earth. They
fought in the cause of God, killing and being killed, and their reward is that
they are alive with their Lord, receiving sustenance. The words of God Almighty
are true of them: “Think not of those who are killed in the Way of Allah as
dead. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision” (Surat Al
Imran 3:169), and His words: “Verily, Allah has purchased of the believers
their lives and their properties; for the price that theirs shall be the
Paradise. They fight in Allah's Cause, so they kill (others) and are killed. It
is a promise in truth which is binding on Him in the Taurat (Torah) and the
Injeel (Gospel) and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah?
Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded. That is the supreme
success"” (Surat At-Tawbah: 111)
We ask God to make us among them and with them. And may God bless
our beloved Prophet, may God bless him and his family and grant them peace.
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