Mus’ab ibn Umayr: “If His Head Was Covered, His Feet Became Naked”
Mus'ab ibn Umayr: "If His Head Was Covered, His Feet Became Naked"
Mus'ab ibn Umayr: "If His Head Was Covered, His Feet Became Naked"
There is a burial at Uhud that the companions never forgot. It began with a problem: the body of a martyr, and a single sheet too short to cover him.
Khabbab bin Al-Art tells us the background. The early believers had left their homes for Allah's sake:
"We migrated in the company of Allah's Messenger, seeking Allah's Pleasure. So our reward became due and sure with Allah."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4047
Some of them died before tasting anything of ease in this world, and Khabbab said:
"one of them was Mus'ab bin 'Umar who was martyred on the day of the battle of Uhud, and did not leave anything except a Namira (i.e. a sheet in which he was shrouded). If we covered his head with it, his feet became naked, and if we covered his feet with it, his head became naked."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4047
So they took the problem to the Prophet ﷺ, and he guided them:
> «غَطُّوا بِهَا رَأْسَهُ، وَاجْعَلُوا عَلَى رِجْلِهِ الإِذْخِرَ»
"Cover his head with it and put some Idhkhir (i.e. a kind of grass) over his feet or throw Idhkhir over his feet."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4047
And Khabbab closed his account with a picture of the others who lived on:
"But some amongst us have got the fruits of their labor ripened, and they are collecting them."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4047
Khabbab's account is also recorded, in a separate telling, in Sahih Muslim:
"We migrated with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the path of Allah seeking Allah's pleasure alone. Thus our reward was assured with Allah."
Sahih Muslim 940 a
Of Mus'ab he says in this telling:
"Mus'ab b. 'Umair was one of them. He was killed on the Day of Uhud, and nothing but a woollen cloak was found to shroud him. When we covered his head with it, his feet became uncovered, and when we covered his feet, his head was uncovered."
Sahih Muslim 940 a
And the Prophet's ﷺ instruction is worded in this telling as:
> «ضَعُوهَا مِمَّا يَلِي رَأْسَهُ وَاجْعَلُوا عَلَى رِجْلَيْهِ الإِذْخِرَ»
"Place it (this cloak) on the side of his head and cover his feet with grass."
Sahih Muslim 940 a
"And there is one amongst us for whom the fruit is ripened and he enjoys it."
Sahih Muslim 940 a
Years later, the memory of that short sheet could still stop a man in the middle of a meal. A meal was brought to Abdur-Rahman bin Auf while he was fasting, and he said:
"Mus`ab bin `Umar was martyred, and he was better than I, yet he was shrouded in a Burda (i.e. a sheet) so that, if his head was covered, his feet became naked, and if his feet were covered, his head became naked."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4045
He added that Hamza too had been martyred, and Hamza was better than him. Then he looked at what had come to them afterwards:
"Then worldly wealth was bestowed upon us and we were given thereof too much."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4045
"We are afraid that the reward of our deeds have been given to us in this life."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4045
And the narration ends with the fasting man unable to eat:
"`Abdur-Rahman then started weeping so much that he left the food."
Sahih al-Bukhari 4045
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🌿 Stop and Think About This Scene
Mus'ab died owning one sheet that could not cover him. Khabbab's sentence explains why that poverty was not a loss: "So our reward became due and sure with Allah." The sheet was short, but nothing of his reward was short. And notice what that memory did to Abdur-Rahman: fasting, with food in front of him, he wept and left the food, fearing for his own heart amid plenty.
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❤️ The Greatest Lesson
The greatest lesson is that the true measure of a life is what is stored for it with Allah, not what is gathered in the hand. From the two men we learn to be content when we have little, as Mus'ab was, and watchful when we have much, as Abdur-Rahman was.
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📚 Important Lessons From This Hadith
1. Those who strive for Allah's pleasure alone have their reward with Allah, as Khabbab said: "So our reward became due and sure with Allah."
2. A believer's worth is not measured by his possessions. Mus'ab left only a Namira, and Abdur-Rahman still said of him, "he was better than I".
3. The Prophet ﷺ cared for the dignity of the dead in small details, guiding the companions to cover Mus'ab's head with the sheet and his feet with Idhkhir grass.
4. Wealth that comes after hardship should make a believer thoughtful, not heedless: "We are afraid that the reward of our deeds have been given to us in this life."
5. Remembering the sacrifices of those before us protects the heart: one remembered sheet made a companion weep and leave his food.
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🏠 How Can We Apply This Hadith in Our Daily Lives?
When money is tight, we can remember Mus'ab and refuse to measure ourselves by what we own. When money is easy, we can remember Abdur-Rahman and let gratitude be mixed with fear, checking whether comfort has made us forget Allah. We can keep the memory of righteous people alive at our tables: Abdur-Rahman spoke of Mus'ab and Hamza while fasting, and it softened his heart. And when someone poor dies among us, we can honour the lesson of the Idhkhir: dignity in burial does not depend on wealth.
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🌹 The Most Beautiful Message
The most beautiful message is that the sheet was too short, but the reward was not. Mus'ab's cloak could not reach from his head to his feet, yet Khabbab testifies that his reward with Allah was complete and assured. What the world could not give him, Allah had already guaranteed him.
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📖 Authentic Reference
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4047 — Chapter: The Ghazwa of Uhud — Grade: Sahih — Sahih al-Bukhari 4047
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4045 — Chapter: The Ghazwa of Uhud — Grade: Sahih — Sahih al-Bukhari 4045
- Sahih Muslim 940 a — Chapter: Shrouding the deceased — Grade: Sahih — Sahih Muslim 940 a