Every single one of the Companions has gained the honour of being truthful, just and pious. After they entered into Islam at the hands of the Nabi , their lives were transformed, however, at the same time they had to withstand great trials and tribulations. In their hearts, there was a constant desire and passion to do good, their natural disposition was that they hated sin. The great sacrifice that these Companions made, despite the dangerous predicament they were in. They went on this mission for the sake of Allah whilst knowing that it was a very dangerous one.

And now, let us pave the way for this hero. An unsung hero of a pious companion – not many of our scholars even know about this sahabi.

His name is Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA. Remember this name well

He belonged to the Aws tribe from Al Madinah. He belonged to the Ansar. His soul, spirit, and conscience were pure, and his belief was firm. He was described by Hassan Ibn Thabit RA,

"He looked like a falcon among the Ansar. Allah endowed him with noble character and good morals."

Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA was from the blessed 313 who took part in the battle of Badr. When the standards of the Battle of Badr were lifted, he was there, a bold warrior and a daring fighter. Among the polytheists whom he killed with his sword during the battle was Al-Harith Ibn 'Amir Ibn Naufal.

After the battle was over and the defeated remnants of the Quraish had returned to Makkah, the sons of Al-Harith learned that their father had been killed. They learned the name of his killer very well by heart: Khubaib Ibn 'Adiy.

One day the Rasulullah SAW wanted to know the Quraish's secrets so as to be fully aware of the target of their movements and any preparations for a new battle. Therefore, he chose ten of his Companions, among who was Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA, and 'Asim Ibn Thabit RA as leader.

The Expedition of al Raji, occurred directly after the Battle of Uhud in the year 4 A.H of the Islamic calendar.

The story of this expenditure is narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported Allah's Apostle sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) once sent a batch of ten men as spies under the leadership of 'Aasim bin Thaabit Al-Ansaari, who was the grandfather of 'Aasim bin 'Umar bin Al-Khattaab. They proceeded until they reached Hadaa, which is an area between 'Asfaan and Makkah, and news of their arrival there reached a branch of the tribe of Huthayl named Bani Lihyaan.

From this tribe, about two-hundred men, who were all archers, hurriedly pursued their tracks until they found the location where they had eaten the dates that they had brought with them from Madeenah.

When they got there, they said: 'These are the dates of Yathrib (i.e. Madeenah),' and continued following the tracks.

When 'Aasim and his companions saw their pursuers, they climbed up to a high location, and the infidels encircled them. The infidels said to them:

"Come down and surrender; we promise and guarantee to you that we will not kill any of you."

'Aasim bin Thaabit, who was the leader of the group, said: 'I swear by Allah that we will not come down to be under the protection of infidels. O Allah! Convey our news to Your Prophet.' Then, the infidels began throwing arrows at them until they martyred 'Aasim along with six other men.

The remaining three men were again reassured by the infidels and given a guarantee that they would not be killed, which they accepted, and then they came down.

These three men were Khubayb bin 'Adiyy Al-Ansaari, Zayd bin Dathinnah and another man. When they came down however, the infidels captured them, undid the strings of their bows, and tied them up with these strings.

The third (of the captives) exclaimed: 'This is the first betrayal. I swear by Allah that I will not come with you. There is no doubt that they (i.e., his martyred colleagues) have set a good example for us.' So, they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but as he refused, they killed him.

They then took Khubayb and Ibn Dathinnah with them and sold them (as slaves) in Makkah (and all this took place after the battle of Uhud). Khubayb was bought by the sons of Al-Haarith bin 'Aamir bin Nawfal bin 'Abd Manaaf. It was Khubayb who had killed Al-Haarith bin 'Aamir at the battle of Badr. So, Khubayb remained a prisoner with those people." [Al-Bukhari]

The sons of Al-Haarith the infidel bought Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him,in order to execute him and thereby avenge their father's death. They kept him captive until they decided when the execution would take place.

While he, may Allah be pleased with him, was held captive, he borrowed a razor from one of the daughters of Al-Haarith, as in the following narration: Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated: "The daughter of Al-Haarith said: 'When the people gathered (to execute Khubayb) he borrowed a razor from me so that he could shave his pubic hair.

He also took a son of mine who had come to him while I was unaware. I saw him placing my son on his thigh while the razor was in his hand. I was so terrified that Khubayb noticed this from my face. He said: 'Are you afraid that I will kill him? No! I would never do that."

Later on she used to say, "I swear by Allah that I have never seen a finer prisoner than Khubayb. I swear by Allah that I once saw him eating of a bunch of grapes that was in his hand whilst he was in iron chains, and there was no fruit at that time in Makkah, it was nothing except provision provided by Allah to him."

When they took him outside the Sanctuary (of Makkah) to kill him, Khubayb requested them to allow him to offer two Rak'ahs (units of prayer).

They gave him permission, and he did so.

Then, he said to them:

"Had I not feared that you would think that I was afraid (of being executed), I would have prolonged the prayer. O Allah! Kill them all, without exception."

Then 'Uqbah the son of Al-Haarith got up and executed him. Therefore, it was Khubayb who set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity to offer a two-Rak'ah prayer (before being executed).

Later on, when some infidels of the Quraysh were informed that 'Aasim had been killed, they sent some people to fetch a part of his body (i.e. his head) by which he would be recognisable.

This was because Aasim had killed one of their chiefs on the day (of the battle) of Badr. However, a swarm of wasps resembling a shady cloud were sent to hover over 'Aasim and protect him from their messenger, and thus they could not cut off anything from his flesh.'" [Al-Bukhari]

Overall, this story is about the expedition of Ar-Rajee', which took place at the beginning of the fourth Hijri year.

The reason why this group, with 'Aasim, may Allah be pleased with him, as its chief, was dispatched was that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) wished to send them on an exploration mission to check upon the tribe of Quraysh.

These ten Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, headed by 'Aasim, may Allah be pleased with him, reached the area of Ar-Rajee' just before dawn and ate dates which they had brought with them from Al-Madeenah. News of their arrival there reached a branch of the tribe of Huthayl named Bani Lihyaan.They hastened to them with about 200 of their most skillful spearmen.

They almost lost them but for the fact that one of them found some discarded date pits on the sand. He picked them up and, with the amazing skill Arabs were famous for, glanced at them, then shouted loudly so that the others could hear him, "They are date pits from Yathrib"'. They followed the discarded date pits until they could see in the distance what they were searching for.

These Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were taken by surprise when the men arrived and encircled them, so they resorted to a high area, which seemed to be better for defending themselves, but this tribe was known for their excellence in archery.

The disbelievers began negotiating with them and tried to deceive them by promising them security and pledging not to harm them. The leader of the group refused to accept this and justified his position by stating that these disbelievers had no fear of Allah and would therefore have no problem in breaching their promise and pledge; so he fought until he, may Allah be pleased with him, was martyred along with six of his companions.

Aasim bin Thaabit, may Allah be pleased with him, said before his death: "O Allah! Convey our news to Your Prophet."

Allah fulfilled the invocation of 'Aasim bin Thaabit, may Allah be pleased with him. On that very day on which he was martyred, the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ( may Allah exalt his mention ) informed his companions with the news of what had happened to them.

The rest were then called and promised that they would be safe if they came down. The three descended, Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari and his two friends. The spearmen approached Khubayb and his companion, Zaid Ibn Ad-Dithinnah RA, and tied them up. Their third one recognized the beginning of their deceits, so he decided to die there where 'Asim RA and his companions had fallen.

The remaining two were then taken to Makkah as these men knew that the Makkans were enraged by the Muslims and would therefore easily buy any of them who had been captured.

From his known victims at the battle was the mushrik Harith Ibn 'Amir ibn Naufal; whose children vowed to avenge their father's death, and they finally got the chance.

The sons of Harith ibn 'Amir heard of his capture and competed to buy him. They finally bought him and imprisoned him, preparing to finally avenge their father's death.

During Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA his imprisonment, some miracles were witnessed by Harith's children. For example, Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA eating from a bunch of grapes in his hand when there were no grapes in Makkah.

One time, Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, requested a razor to shave his pubic hair with. While the guard woman was unaware, her son walked up to him and sat on his lap, which terrified the woman.

In normal cases, a person would have used this as a means of getting back at those who were imprisoning him, or use the situation in order to free himself, but as a Muslim, this is not permitted, as this boy had not committed any crime.

In his final days, the sons of Harith tried to make Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA renounces his faith in return for sparing his life. But Khubayb stood firm like a mountain and threw the light of his faith back at them. On the day of execution of this noble Sahabi, the children of al-Harith took him out of the area of the Haram in Makkah as they wanted to kill him outside the Haram.

Before the execution, Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA requested that he be given a few minute to perform two rakaah of salah, which they agreed to.

Solemnly, peacefully and humbly Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA prayed two rakaah. He felt the sweetness of faith within his soul, so that he wished that he could keep on praying and praying. However, he turned toward his killers and said to them, "By Allah, were it not for your thinking that I'm afraid of death, I would have continued praying."

After Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, prayed the two Rak'ahs he supplicated against his captors, as in one of the narrations: "

"O Allah! Destroy them all, kill them, scatter them, and do not leave a single one of them."

In another narration, there is the addition: "

"O Allah! I do not have anyone to convey my Salaam to Your Messenger, so convey my Salaam to him."

Therefore the angel Jibreel, may Allah exalt his mention, conveyed the news of Khubayb, may Allah be pleased with him, to the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam (may Allah exalt his mention).

The Companions said that on that day, the Holy Prophet SAW was seated in a gathering when he said:

وَعَلَيْكَ السَّلَامُ يَا خُبَيْبُ

"O Khubaib! May the peace and blessings of God be upon you."

He also informed the companions that the Quraish had killed Khubayb ra.

Thus, God Almighty ensured that Khubaib's greetings of peace were conveyed to the Holy Prophet SAW..

Uqbah ibn al-Harith struck him and those gathered around asked him, "O Khubayb, would you rather be with your family, safe and Muhammad be here in your place?", Khubayb replied with the famous words, "Never, rather I would not even want to see Muhammad Rasulullah be pricked by a thorn!"

At this, Abu Sufyan remarked, "I have not seen anyone love anyone more than the Companions of Muhammad love him". So one of the mushrik lashed at Khubayb until he died, and thus did Khubayb bin Adi al-Ansari RA meet an honorable end, martyred in the way of Allah SWT.

No one knows to this day where Khubayb ibn 'Adi ibn Malik al-Awsi al-Ansari RA grave lies. Maybe that is better and more respectable for him so that he remains in history's memory and in the conscience of life a hero, a hero on the cross.

Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed Qunut for one month invoking curse upon some tribes of Arabia (those who were responsible for the murders in Bi'r Ma'una and Raji'), but then abandoned it.

We also need to understand the fact that we can never lose our Imaan for the love of this Dunya, it is our responsibility to preserve our Nafs from the unending fitna of this world and ask for continuous guidance from Allah, only then can we call ourselves as successful Muslims.