Imran ibn Husayn was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) whom the angels greeted with a handshake. He belonged to the Khuza'ah
tribe. He was known by the kunya Abu Najid and had three sons: Muhammad, Taliq,
and Najid. There are no historical sources about his mother or his wife. All
that is known about his mother is that she was from the Khuza'ah tribe.
Imran ibn Husayn, along with his father and Abu Hurayrah, embraced
Islam simultaneously in the year 7 AH, the year of the Battle of Khaybar. He
pledged allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him) on Islam and jihad. He
participated in many battles with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him),
including the Conquest of Mecca, where he carried the banner of the Khuza'ah
tribe. He was not a military commander, but rather a distinguished companion, a
renowned reciter of the Quran, a judge, and a narrator of hadith. He was known
for his piety and intense devotion. He focused on worship rather than military
affairs. He was ascetic, devout, and devoted to the love and obedience of God,
and he was blessed with abundant divine guidance. Yet, he constantly wept and
wept, saying, "Would that I were ashes, scattered by the wind." He
was one of those men who did not fear God because of the sins they were aware
of, for they rarely sinned after their conversion to Islam. Rather, they feared
and revered Him to the extent that they understood His greatness and majesty,
and to the extent that they understood their utter inability to thank and
worship Him, no matter how much they supplicated, bowed, prostrated, and
worshipped Him.
Abu Hurairah narrated: “We said, ‘O Messenger of God, when we are
with you, our hearts soften and we feel like we are among the people of the Hereafter.
But when we leave you, we are captivated by this world and long for women and
children.’ He said, ‘If you were to remain in the same state you are in when
you re with me, the angels would shake hands with you even if you were in your
homes. And if you did not sin, God would bring forth a people who would sin so
that He might forgive them.’” We said: O Messenger of God, tell us about
Paradise, what is it made of? He said: “A brick of gold and a brick of silver,
its mortar (the clay with which walls are built, the material mixed and used to
bond things, like mud used to fix a wall) is fragrant musk, its pebbles are
pearls or rubies, and its soil is saffron. Whoever enters it will be blessed
and never miserable, will live forever and never die, his clothes will never
wear out, and his youth will never fade. Three whose supplications are never
rejected: the just ruler, the fasting person when he breaks his fast, and the
supplication of the oppressed, which is carried on the clouds and the gates of
heaven are opened for it, and the Lord says: ‘By My might, I will surely help
you, even if after a while.’” (Source: Sahih Ibn Hibban; Summary) The hadith
scholar (Ibn Jiyan) said: “He included it in his Sahih.”
When Imran ibn Husayn heard this hadith, his longing was
ignited…and he vowed to himself that he would not rest until he achieved that
noble goal, even if it cost him his life for an hour…and another hour…for he
wanted it all to be one continuous hour of supplication and devotion to the
Lord of the Worlds…!! It was reported that he said to Mutarrif: “I will tell
you a hadith, may God benefit you with it: The Messenger of God, may God bless
him and grant him peace, combined Hajj and Umrah, and then he did not forbid it
until he died, and no Qur’an was revealed to prohibit it. And the angels used
to greet me (i.e., the angels used to greet me), until I cauterized myself,
then I was left alone, then I stopped cauterizing myself and it returned.”
(Source: Sahih Muslim; Summary of the hadith scholar’s ruling: [Authentic]).
In Sunan Abi Dawud, on the authority of Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased
with them both), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon
him) forbade cauterization. He said: So we were afflicted and we cauterized,
but we did not prosper or succeed (Source: Sunan Abi Dawud; Summary of the
Hadith scholar's ruling: Hasan Sahih). Abu Dawud (may God have mercy on him)
said: He used to hear the angels' greetings, but when he cauterized himself,
the hearing ceased. When he stopped, it returned.
During the caliphate of the Commander of the Faithful, Umar ibn
al-Khattab, he was sent to Basra to teach its people and instruct them in the
religion. He settled in Basra, and its people flocked to him from the moment
they recognized him, seeking blessings from him and guidance from his piety.
Al-Hasan al-Basri and Ibn Sirin said: "No one among the Companions of the
Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) who came to Basra was
superior to Imran ibn Husayn." Imran refused to let anything distract him
from God and His worship. He immersed himself in worship, and it consumed him
until he seemed to no longer belong to the world he lived on. Indeed, he became
like an angel living among the angels, conversing with them. They would talk to
him... and he would shake their hands, and they would shake his...
When the great conflict broke out among the Muslims... between the
faction of Ali and the faction of Muawiyah, Imran ibn Husayn not only remained
neutral, but he also raised his voice among the people, calling upon them to
refrain from participating in that war, embracing the cause of peace in the
best possible way. He would say to the people: "To tend young goats on a
mountaintop until death overtakes me is more beloved to me than to shoot an
arrow at either side, whether it hits or misses." He would advise the
Muslims he met, saying: "Stay in your mosque... If someone enters, stay in
your house... If someone enters your house seeking your life and property, then
fight him." Imran ibn Husayn's faith achieved its greatest success when he
was afflicted with a painful illness that lasted for thirty years. He never
complained or said, "Ugh!" Rather, he persevered in his worship,
standing, sitting, and lying down. And when he was comforted... His brothers
and those who visited him comforted him with words of encouragement. He smiled
at them and said, "The things I love most are those that God loves
most."
His final words to his family and brothers when death approached
were: "When you return from my burial, slaughter an animal and feed the
poor." Yes, let them slaughter and feed the poor, for the death of a
believer like Imran ibn Husayn is not death at all. Rather, it is a magnificent
and glorious wedding celebration, in which a noble and contented soul is
ushered into a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the
righteous.
The Companion Imran ibn Husayn died in Basra in 52 or 53 AH from
an illness in his abdomen that had lasted thirty years. He initially refused
cauterization, but underwent it two years before his death. Angels used to
greet him during his illness, even before the cauterization, then their
greetings ceased and resumed shortly before his death, a testament to his
honor.
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