Muslim Warrior Tales Vol 2 Suhayl ibn Amr The Orator of Quraysh

Suhayl ibn Amr was a prominent person among the Quraysh. He was clever and articulate and his opinion carried weight among his people. He was known as the khatib or spokesman and orator of the Quraysh. He was to play a major role in concluding the famous truce of Hudaybiyyah. When Suhayl became a Muslim he made a vow to himself which could be summarised in these words: to exert himself and spend in the cause of Islam at least in the same measure as he had done for the mushrikin. With the mushrikin, he had spent long hours before their idols. Now he stood for long periods with the believers in the presence of the one and only God, praying and fasting. Before he had stood by the mushrikin and participated in many acts of aggression and war against Islam. Now he took his place in the ranks of the Muslim army, fighting courageously, pitting himself against the fire of Persia and the injustice and oppression of the Byzantine empire. In this spirit he left for Syria with the Muslim armies and participated in the Battle of Yarmuk against the Byzantines, a battle that was singularly ferocious in its intensity. Suhayl was someone who loved his birthplace dearly. In spite of that, he refused to return to Makkah after the victory of the MusIims in Syria. He said: "I heard the Messenger of God, peace be on him, say: 'The going forth of anyone of you in the path of God for an hour is better for him than his life's works in his household.' "He vowed: "I shall be a murabit in the path of God till I die and I shall not return to Makkah." For the rest of his life, Suhayl remained true to his pledge. He died in Palestine in the small village of 'Amawas near Jerusalem. "And whoever obeys God and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom God has bestowed favor - of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions!" (Quran 4:69)