Jordan: Land of the Sahaba

Back in 2006, I went to visit the graves of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib, Zayd ibn Al-Haritha, and Abdullah ibn Ruwaha (Allah be pleased with them) in Mu'ta, near Kerak, Jordan. I didn't have a car at the time, but transportation to them is easy by bus. It is sufficient to say the Ja'far ibn Abi Talib was the one whom the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said most resembled him in appearance and character. As for Zayd ibn Al-Haritha, he had the title, "Beloved of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)" as he was the adopted son of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). He was known as Zayd ibn Muhammad before the Qur'an enjoined people to be attributed to their actual fathers. (Read more here.)

There are many other Companions buried in Jordan, but I didn't have any affordable means of getting to them before I purchased a car. Last week, I drove down to the Jordan River Valley (Ar. ghor) with the family. We took University Street through Amman, past Sweileh in the direction of Salt and followed the signs towards Deir Alla. (Jordan is a tiny country if you're used to living in North America. This is closer than it seems.) We drove down the long, winding roads through the green hills and valleys. When we finally reached the bottom of mountain pass, we turned right, drove a short distance, and found the shrine and masjid of Dirar ibn Al-Azwar (Allah be pleased with him). The masjid's gate was closed. We greeted the Companion in the way that is indicated in the sunnah:

سلام عليكم دار قوم مؤمنين أنتم السابقون و نحن اللاحقون و يرحم الله المستقدمين منا و المستأخرين نسأل الله لنا و لكم العافية

meaning:

Peace be upon you, abode of believing people. You are the preceding ones and we are those who will follow. May Allah have Mercy on those among us who precede and those who come later. We ask Allah well-being for us and you.

I was about to leave at this point when some boys told us that the entrance of the masjid was on the other side. We drove up the road and around and found the entrance. I renewed my wudu', prayed in the masjid, and then went to greet Our Master Dirar (Allah be pleased with him) and supplicate.

After leaving the shrine, I realized that I didn't explain to my children the etiquettes or reasons for visiting graves. I told them that one first starts by offering two units of prayer to Allah Most High and then proceeds to greet the deceased. I asked them why we should pray near the deceased to which my youngest daughter said, "We should pray for them." I told her that this was correct, but in addition to praying for them, we should pray for ourselves near them. Allah has appointed certain people, places, and times as more sacred than others. As is mentioned in the Qur'an (Surah Aal `Imran), when the Prophet Zakariyya (peace be upon him) found that Maryam (peace be upon her) was given fruit that was out of season, he prayed for a son in that area, as it was a place where the Largesse of Allah had manifested itself. Thus, prayer near the pious is prayer in the vicinity of the Favour and Mercy of Allah.

Further up the road, we found the masjid and shrine of Abu Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah (Allah be pleased with him). The area around the masjid had a sweet scent. As we entered the masjid's courtyard, the scent became more intense, thought it was still subtle. I finally found the source of the scent: the courtyard was full of blossoming orange trees. We prayed, greeted the venerable Companion, and continued along our way to the shrines of Sharhabeel ibn Hasanah and then Amir ibn Abi Waqqas (Allah be pleased with them).

We drove further up to the souq of Northern Shuna, where there is a monument mentioning the Venerable Mu'adh ibn Jabal (Allah be pleased with him). It appears that we had driven too far up. We stopped to buy some vegetables and fresh yoghurt, and then returned a short drive down the street and turned towards Irbid. When we finally came to the site of his shrine, it was almost maghrib. We prayed maghrib and then visited him and his son Abdurrahman.

(For more information on the Companions buried in the Valley, read this article.)

The Jordan River Valley is right next to Israel and the Occupied Territories, so there are a number of security checkpoints along the way. Mostly, the officers just waved us along. Once, they stopped us to help us navigate around some bricks. At the shrine of Mu'adh, I tried making a phone call with my cell, only to get a message in Hebrew and English announcing that I was on Shalom Net and that the number was unavailable. After visiting the sites, I continued north through Irbid and then drove down to Amman. I didn't want to go through checkpoints or drive a mountainous, winding road at night.

There is one more shrine that I need to visit in Jordan: that of the the Companion Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl (Allah be pleased with him). Other than these clearly demarcated shrines, many Companions are buried in the battlefields of Mu'ta and Yarmouk.