Allah chose for accompanying His prophet and taking knowledge from him a people who are the best of this nation, which is itself the best of all nations. He favored them in this worldly life by giving them the opportunity to see him and hear his hadith directly from his noble mouth. This is the bounty of Allah which He bestows upon whom He wills, and Allah possesses the greatest of bounties.

Indeed the Companions conveyed from Allah's Messenger that which he was sent with from guidance in the most complete and perfect form. They will have the greatest of rewards due to their companionship of Allah's Messenger, their fighting in Jihad along his side, and their noble actions in spreading Islam. They will also accumulate the rewards of those who come after them since they served as the intermediaries between them and Allâh's Messenger. This is due to his saying:

"Whoever calls towards guidance, he will have a reward equal to the reward earned by those who practice that guidance after him, and it will not reduce anything from their reward."

Our Hero today is the second of two brothers that lived for the service of the noble prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The brother of Bara ibn Malik was none other than the famous companion Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who was offered as a gift to the prophet (peace be upon him) by his mother Umm Sulaim (may Allah be pleased with her) when the prophet migrated from the holy city of Makkah to Madinah.

He had received the praise of the Messenger of Allah. He was a heroic student of the school of Suffa.The Messenger of Allah expressed his high virtue.

"There are so many people with disheveled hair, covered with dust; if they swear by Allah then He shall fulfill it. Among them is Al-Bara bin Malik."

Bara ibn Malik's (May Allah be pleased with him) only goal and aim in life was to please Allah and to gain martyrdom. Every battle that Bara fought in he done so with the aim to gain the status of a martyr. Victory in the battlefield for him was always a consolation prize.

His hair looked dishevelled and he was thin and wiry with so little flesh on his bones, yet in single handed combat he defeated and killed many opponents and in the thick of battle he was an outstanding fighter against the mushrikeen. He was so courageous and daring that Umar once wrote to his governors throughout the Islamic state that they should not appoint him to lead any army out of fear that he would have them all killed by his daring exploits.

If the tales of Baraa's heroism were to be told in detail pages and pages could be written. But let one example suffice .

This particular story begins only hours after the death of the noble Prophet when many Arabian tribes took to leaving the religion of God in large numbers, just as they had entered it in large numbers. Within a short space of time only the people of Makkah, Madinah and Taif and scattered communities here and there, whose commitment to Islam was unwavering, remained within the religion.

Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the successor to the Prophet, stood firm against this blind and destructive movement. From the Muhajireen and Ansar, he mobilized eleven armies each under a separate commander and dispatched them to various parts of the Arabian peninsula. Their purpose was to make the apostates return to the path of guidance and truth and to confront the leaders of the rebellion.

The strongest group of apostates and the greatest in number were the Banu Hanifah among whom Musaylamah the Imposter arose, claiming that he was a prophet. Musaylamah managed to mobilize forty thousand of the best fighters among his people. Most of these however followed him for the sake of Allah or tribal loyalty and not because they believed in him. One of them in fact said, "I testify that Musaylamah is an impostor and that Muhammad is true but the impostor of Rabiah (Musaylamah) is dearer to us than the true man of Mudar (Muhammad ). "

Musaylamah routed the first army sent against him under the leadership of Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl. Abu Bakr dispatched another army against Musaylamah led by Khalid ibn al-Walid. This army included the cream of the Sahabah from both the Ansar and the Muhajireen. In the front ranks of this army was Baraa ibn Malik and a group of the most valiant Muslims.

The two armies met in the territory of the Banu Hanifah at Yamamah in Najd. Before long, the scale of battle tilted in favor of Musaylamah and his men. The Muslim armies began to retreat from their positions. Musaylamah's forces even stormed the tent of Khalid ibn Walid and drove him from his position. They would have killed his wife if one of them had not granted her protection.

At that point, the Muslims realized in what a perilous situation they were. They were also conscious of the fact that if they were annihilated by Musaylamah, Islam would not be able to stand as a religion and Allah--the One God with whom there is no partner--would not be worshipped in the Arabian peninsula after that.

Khalid mustered his forces once more and began reorganizing them. He separate(i the Muhajireen and the Ansar and kept men from different tribes apart. Each was put under the leadership of one of its own members so that the losses of each group in the battle might be known.

The battle raged. There was much destruction and death. The Muslims had not experienced anything like this in all the wars they had fought before. Musaylamah's men remained firm amidst the tumult, as firm as immovable mountains although many of them had fallen.

The Muslims displayed tremendous feats of heroism. Thabit ibn Qays, the standard bearer of the Ansar, dug a pit and planted himself in it and fought until he was killed. The pit he dug turned out to be his grave. Zayd ibn al-Khattab, brother of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with them both, called out to the Muslims: "Men, bite with your jaw teeth, strike the enemy and press on. By God, I shall not speak to you after this until either Musaylamah is defeated or I meet God."

He then charged against the enemy and continued fighting until he was killed. Salim, the mawla of Abu Hudhaifah, and standard bearer of the Muhajireen displayed unexpected valor. His people feared that he would show weakness or be too terrified to fight. To them he said, "If you manage to overtake me, what a miserable bearer of the Quran I shall be." He then valiantly plunged into the enemy ranks and eventually fell as a martyr.

The bravery of all these, however, wanes in front of the heroism of al-Baraa ibn Malik, may God be pleased with him and with them all.

As the battle grew fiercer and fiercer, Khalid turned to al-Baraa and said, "Charge, young man of the Ansar." Al-Baraa turned to his men and said, "O Ansar, let not anyone of you think of returning to Madinah. There is no Madinah for you after this day. There is only Allah, then Paradise."

He and the Ansar then launched their attack against the mushrikeen, breaking their ranks and dealing telling blows against them until eventually they began to withdraw. They sought refuge in a garden which later became known in history as The Garden of Death because of the many killed there on that day. The garden was surrounded by high walls. Musaylamah and thousands of his men entered and closed the gates behind them and fortified themselves.

From their new positions they began to rain down arrows on the Muslims.

The valiant Baraa went forward and addressed his company, "Put me on a shield. Raise the shield on spears and hurl me into the garden near the gate. Either I shall die a martyr or I shall open the gate for you."

The thin and wiry al-Baraa was soon sitting on a shield. A number of spears raised the shield and he was thrown into the Garden of Death amongst the multitude of Musaylamah's men. He descended on them like a thunderbolt and continued to fight them in front of the gate. Many fell to his sword and he himself sustained numerous wounds before he could open the gate.

The Muslims charged into the Garden of Death through the gates and over the walls. Fighting was bitter and at close quarters and hundreds were killed. Finally the Muslims came upon Musaylamah and he was killed.

Al Baraa was taken in a litter to Madinah. Khalid ibn al-Walid spent a month looking after him and tending his wounds. Eventually his condition improved. Through him the Muslims had gained victory over Musaylamah.

In spite of recovering from his wounds, al-Baraa continued to long for the martyrdom which had eluded him at the Garden of Death.

He went on fighting in battle after battle hoping to attain his aim. In one of the Iraqi wars, the Persians in their fight resorted to every means of barbarity. They used hooks fixed on the ends of chains heated in fire and threw them from their castles so that they would hit any of the Muslims who could not avoid them.

Al-Baraa and his great brother Anas Ibn Maalik were assigned together with some of the Muslims to deal with one of these castles. But one of these hooks suddenly fell and caught Anas, and he could not touch the chain to save himself as it was flaming hot. When Al-Baraa' saw the scene, he hurried towards his brother while the burning chain was taking him up the castle wall. Al-Baraa grasped the chain with his hands and started bravely dealing with it till

he broke it. Anas was saved, but when Al-Baraa' and those who were with him took a look at his hands, they did not find them in their place. All the flesh on them was gone; only their burned bones remained. And the hero spent another period of time in a slow treatment till he was healed.

Is it not time for the lover of death to reach his end? Yes, it is. Here comes the Battle of Tustar

where the Muslims met the Persian armies. He fought heroically in the Battle of Tustar. At first, it looked as if the Muslims would be defeated of at the beginning. The mujahids were in a difficult situation. The Companions consulted each other, trying to find new battle strategies for victory.

During the fight some of the Companions came near Al-Baraa' and said, "Remember the Messenger's words about you":

"Perhaps there is a person with uncombed, dusty hair that people will not look at, but if he swears by Allah, He will fulfill his prayer. Among them is Al-Baraa Ibn Maalik."

Hence, Al-Baraa' raised his arms towards the sky and supplicated, "O Allah, render them defeated and us victorious, and let me catch Your Prophet today." Then the fighting intensified and the Muslims fought as

nobody in the world had done, and they were clearly victorious.

Among the martyrs of the battle was Al-Baraa', with a happy smile on his face and his right hand grasping a handful of dust soaked with his pure blood. His sword was lying beside him. It was strong, without notches, undamaged.

Finally, the traveler arrived at his home. Together with his brother martyrs, he ended the journey of a great noble age. And it will be cried out to them, "This is the Paradise which you have inherited for

what you did."

Allah Almighty rewarded him by giving him the honor of the rank of martyrdom.