On one occasion a Bedouin came to The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and accepted Islam. He then expressed his desire to remain with The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), due to which The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) instructed some of the Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them) to look after him and make arrangements for him.
After some time had passed, the Muslims fought a battle against the disbelievers and were victorious, gaining booty in the process. When The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) distributed the booty among the Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them), he also set aside a share for this Bedouin Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him). However, on account of this Bedouin Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him) attending to the animals of the other Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them), he was away at the time of the distribution. Hence, the Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them) gave him his allotted share on his return.
On seeing his share of the booty, he asked, “What is this?” The Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them) replied, “A share (of the booty) which The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) allotted for you.” Hearing this, he took the share and proceeded to The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When he came before The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he asked, “What is this?” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied, “I allotted this share for you.” The Bedouin Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him) responded, “I did not follow you and accept Islam for this wealth.” He then gestured towards his throat and said, “I followed you so that I could be struck here by an arrow and pass away (as a martyr), gaining entry into Paradise.” When The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard this, he said, “If you are true to Allah Most High, Allah Most High will be true to you (in fulfilling your desire and rewarding you).”
Not too long thereafter, the Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them) again engaged the disbelievers in battle. After the battle, the body of the Bedouin Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him) was carried to The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). Seeing that an arrow had struck his throat on the exact area to which he had gestured, thereby causing his martyrdom, The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked, “Is this the same Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him)?” When the Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with them) confirmed that he was the same Bedouin Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him), The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “He was true to Allah Most High, and so Allah Most High was true to him (by blessing him with the martyrdom which he desired).”
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then covered him in his own blessed jubbah and performed his janaazah salaah. While making du‘aa for this Sahaabi (Allah be pleased with him), The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said the following, “O Allah! This is your slave who performed hijrah in your path and was then killed as a martyr. I bear witness to this!” (Sunan Nasai #1955)
Lesson:
Every Muslim claims to love Allah Most High and His Rasul (ﷺ). However, how true are we in our claim? If we truly mean what we say, we will follow the commands of Allah Most High and adhere to the blessed sunnah of The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). When we do so, Allah Most High will answer our du‘aas and bless us with the rewards that he has promised us. On the contrary, if we fail to be true to Allah Most High by neglecting Deen and the blessed sunnah, how can we expect to receive the divine assistance of Allah Most High?