Abu Mihjan was one of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ (radhiAllahu anhum), who was suffering from an addiction to drinking wine. He was brought and flogged, then brought and flogged again, but he did not allow this problem to relieve him of his duty to strive for the cause of Islam.
During the caliphate of Umar, in the Battle of al-Qaadisiyyah against the Persians, Abu Mihjan sought to participate as a soldier, seeking martyrdom (syahadah) on the battlefield. In al-Qaadisiyyah he was brought to the commander of the army, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, for having drunk wine. However, Sa’d detained him so that the Muslims ranks would be purified from the presence of such a person.
This detention was a harsh punishment which caused Abu Mihjan a great deal of anguish. When he heard the sounds of swords and spears, and the neighing of the horses, and he knew that the fighting had commenced, and the gates of Paradise were open, he was filled with longing for martyrdom.
He called to the wife of Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas saying, “Let me go and I promise Allah that if I come back safe and sound, I will put my own feet in the chains, and if I am killed, then you will get rid of me!”
She felt sorry for him, so she released him to participate in the battle, and he leapt onto a horse belonging to Sa’d which was called al-Balqa’. Then he picked up a spear and set off (covering himself so that he would not be recognized).
In the battlefield, he did not attack any group of enemy soldier, except that he obliterated them. As the general of the war, Sa’d, who was observing and supervising the battle, was surprised and remarked, “This is the running of al-Balqa’ (my horse), and the style of attack is that of Abu Mihjan, but Abu Mihjan is in chains.”
When the battle was over, Abu Mihjan went back and put his feet in the chains. The wife of Sa’d told him this wonderful story, so Sa’d admired this man and his care for Islam and his longing for fighting in the cause of Allah, so he himself went to Abu Mihjan, released the chains with his own hands and said,
“Get up, for by Allah I will never flog you for drinking wine again.”
Abu Mihjan said, “By Allah, I will never drink it again.”
(Extracted from IslamQA “The story of Abu Mihjan”: https://islamqa.info/en/answers/26273/the-story-of-abu-mihjan-may-allaah-be-pleased-with-him
See al-Isaabah fi Tamyeez al-Sahaabah, 4/173-174; al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 9/632-633)
Here are ten amazing lessons we can derive from this story
1. Our sins hold us back from realizing our true potential
Abu Mihjan was a beast in battle. This was the talent that Allah blessed him with to add value to the nation. Yet, because of his sinful habit of drinking, he was withheld from allowing his full potential to be unleashed.
Allah has granted all of us with unique talents, skills, and abilities. We just have to seek it, nurture it, and put it to good use for the sake of Allah. Yet, we must be careful: it could be that, because of our sins – some of which we may consider ‘irrelevant’ – it holds us back from unleashing our true potential. All of that talent and potential could be rendered meaningless due to our stubbornness to repent and change.
2. Recognizing talent in other (even if they are sinners)
When Saad bin Abi Waqqas saw this man fight in battle, he immediately recognized that it was Abu Mihjan’s signature fighting style. As the general, Sa’ad knew and recognized the potential in this great man, and he knew that this guy can definitely tip the scales in the favor of his army were he to be present. But he held Abu Mihjan back in chains as a matter of principle, nothing personal.
Leaders and bosses need to recognize the specific talents of their subordinates and team members, even if they may have ‘other’ traits which may appear to be unfavorable or unlikeable. And at the same time, when it’s a matter of principle, there are lines that you just cannot cross and have to be dealt with accordingly – for example, a person who violated company Codes of Conduct have to be treated accordingly, no matter how much of a “high flyer” that person might be.
3. Owning up to our shortcomings
Abu Mihjan knew that it was his drinking habit that held him back, and so he made a deal with the wife of Sa’ad, to put him back in chains if he were to return, because he knew he deserved it, and it was nothing personal.
If we have certain shortcomings in ourselves, especially if we hear of it from constructive criticism, just own up to it, accept the consequences, and try our level best to rectify it. No need to get defensive, get personal, or launch a counter-attack.
The first step to rectifying a problem is to recognize it exists in the first place.
4. Struggles in Kicking the habit: the path to repentance
The Battle of Qadisiyyah happened in the 14th year of Hijrah. This was many years after the prohibition of khamar (alcohol) in Islamic legislation during the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ - and despite all these years knowing it is already Haram, Abu Mihjan still struggles to quit. He was still drinking by the time the Prophet passed away!
Before the coming of Islam, many of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ were themselves involved in alcohol, adultery, gambling, idol worship, and all sorts of other sinful deeds. And many of them, such as Umar, had the strength and conviction in iman to abandon them immediately when they embraced Islam. But for some, such as Abu Mihjan, it was a lot more difficult. But by the end of this battle, he managed to kick the habit.
The lesson?
#1: You CAN kick the habit. If you fail and fall back to your old ways, then stand up again. Keep trying. Fail again? No problem. Keep trying. As the Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah will not get tired until you get tired” (Al-Bukhari).
#2: Every sinner has a future. Every righteous person has a past.
Don’t be quick to look down upon person who is committing sins or place negative labels on them. Perhaps that individual is struggling to quit and is regretful of his/her actions. Yes, they are still accountable for their sins (such as the case of Abu Mihjan who was still punished, in spite of being recognized for his qualities), but perhaps they can change. We don’t know the outcome of their story yet. As long as they have a pulse, they still have a chance to repent.
Every one of us has our own shortcomings, and there are no exceptions. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Every son of Adam continuously commits sins – and the best of sinners are those who repent” (ibn Majah).
5. Prevention is Better than Cure: Old Habits Die hard
As we previously mentioned, although many companions were successful at going “cold turkey” to abandon their old sinful habits, some, such as Abu Mihjan, faced a huge struggle to kick the habit: because it has become so ingrained.
Just like any other sinful acts, such as smoking or pornography, quitting habits is hard. And the longer or deeper you have been involved in a bad habit, the more difficult it is to pull out: especially if it has settled in as an addiction. It might start off as “trying” something, and though it may feel uncomfortable at first, once you start getting that kick, deriving that pleasure from the deed, it becomes a slippery slope of escalation, from habit to addiction.
Is it possible to quit, if you are deep into addiction? Sure. But it’s very difficult, and so many people fail.
It is so much easier to refrain from ever starting in the first place, when you never felt the "pleasure" of the dirty deed or bad habits.
We can also apply this rule in parenting and raising children, on how we limit what they are exposed to, especially in our screens. Control what you expose them to, particularly those which can potentially develop an unhealthy habit or addiction. Don’t give them a harder time to quit when they grow up!
6. Eagerness towards Righteous deeds
Despite struggling with alcoholism and being publicly known for that, Abu Mihjan did not feel shame, humiliated, depressed or sorry for himself. Where there was an opportunity to do righteous deeds, he rose to the occasion, and didn’t allow this public perception to deter him from righteous deeds.
When we are guilty of sinning, shaitan plants seeds of despair and hopelessness to prevent us from doing good deeds, in the form of self-condemnation, so that our low self-esteem will paralyze us from taking action.
“Oh bro, you’re such a terrible person for your sins, and now you want to give da’wah? You’re such a hypocrite!”
Don’t give in to his tricks! As mentioned earlier, every single one of us – even the best among us – are guilty of committing sins, some of which is only Known to Allah. Don’t let that hold us back from other good deeds!
7. Honoring Commitments
One thing that stood out for me in the story was, when Abu Mihjan returned, he actually chained himself back, as per his commitment to the wife of Sa’ad who released him.
He fought so courageously that he contributed to the victory of the army. He didn’t just “let himself get martyred”, if you know what I mean. He gave it 100%.
Despite his heroic exploits, he didn’t return home as a pompous champion or the “man of the match”. He went back and chained himself, staying true to his word.
Lesson: Don’t get blinded by our achievements. Honour the commitments or the debts that we have made (e.g. Student loans)
8. What triggers change?
Despite the firm legislation of alcohol being haram, suffering the consequences of flogging and chaining, Abu Mihjan still couldn’t quit. Finally, when he went to the battlefield, was victorious, and returned, it was the remarks from Saad: “I will never flog you again”, that finally led to Abu Mihjan declaring, “I will never drink again”.
When we want to help people to change – or kick their bad habits – perhaps our approach in the past has not been effective. Yet. Keep trying, and vary your methods and approach in accordance to your wisdom. You never know which one sticks.
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got”
9. Role of the wife: the people behind the scenes
And who was responsible to trigger this sequence of events? The wife of Sa’ad.
Let that thought sink in.
This one goes for the wives, mothers, fathers, teachers, mentors, good companions, and all of the great people behind the scenes who played a part to shape who we are: your contributions matter. The people may not recognize your contributions, or even know your names, but Allah knows. And Allah will reward them full-time, even if they are not physically in the proverbial battlefield.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "He who prepares a mujahid (fighter) for struggle/war in the Path of Allah, has in fact fought (i.e. is entitled to the same reward as the fighter)” (Al-Bukhari).
10. Power of repentance
For a huge portion of his life, Abu Mihjan was struggling with alcoholism. But because he repented, his life isn’t defined by that.
Now, 1400 years later as we his story, it was not the story of “Abu Mihjan the alcoholic”, the narrative is of “Abu Mihjan, the Hero of the battle of Qadisiyyah, and the hero of his battle against alcohol”
Food for thought. So, what is the narrative that defines your life?
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