Miqdad

 “O Prophet of Allah, go ahead with what Allah has inspired you to do. We will stand by you. 

By Allah, we will never say as the Children of Israel said, “So go you and your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here.”

“Instead, we will say, “Go you and your Lord and we will fight with you.

“By Allah, Who has sent you with the truth, if you take us to the end of the world, we will tolerate all hardships until we reach it with you. We will fight on your left, your right, in front of you and behind you until Allah bestows victory on you.”

Thus, Miqdad, spoke your namesake - in that delicate moment just before the Battle of Badr, when the ummah was poised between resistance and retreat.

Alhamdulillah tsumma Alhamdulillah,

7 days ago, my Miqdad, you entered this world - 

born to a silent warrior of a mother, quietly strong underneath her soft exterior; one who carried you burdened with the memory of losses few have experienced.

You enter into a family receiving you with open arms: grandparents, uncles and aunts ready to dote on you, and an elder brother so eagerly waiting to play with you.

Yet the wider world, my Miqdad, is not so welcoming.. the sacred is occupied, human lives are cheap, the truth itself under attack.

Thus we name you after an Ahlul-Badr - a warrior of Badr; 

who was, before that, a Muhajir - one who emigrated for the Truth; 

who was, before that, among As-Sabiqun Al-Awwalun - one of the first to accept the Faith.

A man who was known to be good-natured, easy to joking and laughter, yet consistently present in the struggle for the Truth; 

one who led a life long and well-spent - present from the persecution of the earliest days of the da’wah to the opening of Misr, Syam and Palestine.

A man who hated flattery and kept a low profile, but is among the lofty in the Sight of Allah.

Mummy and Papa pray, O Miqdad, that you shall emulate a sahabah who is

humble, yet courageous; amiable, yet principled; modest, yet eloquent.

Ameen