By Ishrat Ali
A long time ago, there lived the wife of a mujahid (someone who fights or struggles in the way of God) named Aasiyah. She became a widow after giving birth to three sons. In the absence of her husband, she took good care of her children. She was a very compassionate mother. Her sons, Ahmed, Asim, and Aziz always gave their mother lots of respect and treated her with honor. They would visit the masjid near their house everyday. They were not very rich but they were content with everything they had.
All of the sons of Aasiyah were very skilled. Ahmed was known for his skills in archery; Asim was great at wrestling; and Aziz could fight with three swords at once. Since childhood, their mother and father always made sure they had a strong bond of brotherhood. All three brothers were treated equally. Not one of them was given food until all three were present. If one was done with homework, he couldn’t go play until the other two were done as well. This was the rule of their home—”No one is treated better than the other and no one should get left behind.” Due to this rule, all three brothers helped one another in everything. They loved their mother and father very much. They wanted to be just like their father, Mus’ab. Mus’ab loved to go fight for the sake of Allah subhana wa ta`ala (exalted is He). He always believed in truth and justice. He spent many years fighting against oppression and passed away trying to protect the people in his small village.
Ahmed, Asim and Aziz called themselves the “Soldiers of Allah.” They would do everything to protect others no matter how old they were. Ahmed, the eldest, was 12. Aziz was 10 years old, and Asim was 9. Each of them mastered great skills at a very tender age because they wanted to end the oppression in their town. They never showed others their grief for losing their father. However they felt it in their hearts and did their best to stay strong.
One day, unexpected news reached the three brothers. They were told that the village would be under attack the next day. Upon hearing this news, Aasiyah began making lots of du`a’ (supplication) asking Allah subhana wa ta`ala for help. Ahmed, Aziz and Asim had a plan. They knew that their village was surrounded by mountains. They decided to climb the mountains and gathered as many men who knew archery to join them. Next, Aziz gathered others to hide behind the bushes, so when the enemy came they could attack by surprise. Asim, on the other hand, sent messages to his friends all over the village to help them out. All the men gathered in rows ready to make jihad (struggle in the way of Allah). Each person was told to create an uproar by saying that the village was under the protection of many other villages. If this village was attacked, all the other villages would attack the outsiders and destroy them.
When the enemy came, Ahmed’s archery covered them in arrows. Many ran away for their lives. The remaining army was attacked by the men with Asim and Aziz. They and all the villagers fought bravely. The soldiers of Allah (swt) had Allah with them and alhamdulillah (praise be to God) they won the battle. They thanked Allah subhana wa ta`ala and asked Him for forgiveness.
Narrated Abu Huraira radi allahu `anhu (may God have mercy on him): “I heard Allah’s Messenger ﷺ (peace be upon him) saying, “The example of a mujahid in Allah’s Cause—and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause—is like a person who observes saum (the fast) and offers salat (prayers) continuously, Allah guarantees that He will admit the mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty.” [4:46-O.B] Sahih Al Bukhari