Al Ashaath Ibn Qays of the tribe of Kindah was a strange Companion of the Prophet. He was unique among them for two main things. Al Ashaath, which means the man whose hair is not combed, was not his real name. His name was Maadi Karib. But he never combed his hair, so his appearance and the scene of his hair replaced his name. This nick-name, however, reminds me of an interesting saying of the Prophet wherein he says: It may be that a man with an uncombed hair covered all over his body with dust, but he swears and prays to God to grant him something and God responds to his prayer and answers his request and fulfils it. This means that Islam does not concentrate on outward appearance of a man. It rather relies on the inward intentions, feelings and deeds.

The second unique thing about Al Ashaath is that he was one of the very few Companions of the Prophet who returned to apostasy after he embraced Islam which is no doubt a rare incident in the biography of the Prophet. The Companions of the Prophet, as we have seen from numerous examples in the previous stories, were the staunchest believers in the new faith. They were ready to surrender their lives for the sake of Islam. Various examples can be cited here which was the rule. People loved the new Prophet and preferred him to everything in life so much so that when some Arab leaders, who were still non-believers, observed this they said: We have seen many kings in their courts but we never saw people love their own leader as we find the comrades of Muhammad love Muhammad. Al Ashaath was, however, an exception to this rule. He was of that type of Arab leaders who were very sensitive and who would go to extremes. His grandfather was called Kindah because he rejected to obey his own father. So the same attitude was in the family long before Al Ashaath. But who among men can have no faults or frailties? Very few no doubt. From the Islamic point of view only Prophets are faultless, and to err is human as the English proverb goes.

Al Ashaath Ibn Qays, may God be pleased with him, came to the Prophet to embrace Islam at the head of seventy other members of Kindah. Al Ashaath says: When I came to the Messenger of God leading the delegation of Kindah he asked me: Do you have any children? I said: Yes a small one who was born when I came to meet you. Al Ashaath then added: I would that, in his place, many people should have their fill and get what they need. When the Prophet heard this, he said: Don't say this. The pleasure of our eyes is in our children and we shall be rewarded abundantly if they die in our life, provided that we are patient believers. But if you say this, it can't be the real expression of your feelings, because children are, by nature, a cause of cowardice, sadness and miserliness for their parents.

In this tradition we see the type of man Al Ashaath Ibn Qays was. He was telling the Prophet that he was ready to sacrifice his own son for the sake of his people, which is against the nature of things. This is what the Prophet told him. He said how can you say that when we, as parents, love our children more than anything else in life. Not only this, but for their sake we usually become cowards, sad if anything should happen to them and misers to save something for them.

Al Ashaath reported a number of traditions. One of them is reported by Abu Wa'l who said: Al Ashaath told us that the following was revealed about me. It says: As for those who sell the faith they owe to God and their own plighted word for a small price, they shall have no portion in the Hereafter; nor will God deign to speak to them or look at them on the Day of Judgment; nor will He cleanse them of sin; they shall have a grievous penalty. (3-77)

Al Ashaath adds: I had a dispute with a man so we went to the Messenger of God to judge between us. He asked me: Do you have a clear proof? I said: No. He said: Should he swear? I replied: Let him swear. Then the Prophet said: Whoever swears upon a false oath so that he may snatch money, will meet God Who will be angry with him. A beautiful comment on this is the following: All our duties to our fellow creatures are referred to the service and faith we owe to God. But in the matter of truth an appeal is made to our own self-respect as responsible beings: is it becoming that we should be false to our own word, to ourselves? Falsifying God's word or being untrue to ourselves is but a miserable price. We get at best something very paltry as the price for selling our souls.

Ibrahim Al Nakhee says: Al Ashaath returned to apostasy along with a group of his tribe Kindah. He was besieged by Muslim warriors and taken prisoner along with seventy others. They were all given safety and security when they surrendered except Al Ashaath, he did not ask security for himself. Thus he was taken to Abu Bakr Al Siddiq who was then Caliph of the Muslims. Abu Bakr said: We are going to kill you. You have no security. Al Ashaath pleaded: Will you grant me freedom if I embrace Islam once again? Abu Bakr said yes. So Al Ashaath returned to the faith once again and Abu Bakr gave him his sister in marriage. It was Al Ashaath who asked for her hand as another version puts it. He said: Let me marry your sister. So Abu Bakr gave him his sister Farwah Bint Abi Quhafah and he got married to her.

More interesting details about this story are the following: When Al Ashaath was brought to Abu Bakr as a prisoner of war he was tied in chains. So Abu Bakr at once untied his chains and gave him his sister in marriage. Al Ashaath carried his sword, entered the market of camels and whenever he saw a camel male or female, he struck it with his sword. The people cried: Al Ashaath returned to disbelief! Then he threw his sword and said: By God! I did not return to disbelief, but this man has given me his sister in marriage, and had I been in my country we would have a better party than this. O people of the city! Slaughter the camel and eat! And you owners of the camels! Come and take their price. Thus Al Ashaath celebrated his marriage in his own unique way.

Al Ashaath Ibn Qays never forgot that he committed a grave sin when he returned to apostasy. He was always sorry for it. Qays says: I attended a funeral in which Al Ashaath was present along with Jareer. To lead the prayer Al Ashaath introduced Jareer and said: He did not return to disbelief, but I did. Thus Al Ashaath tried to compensate for this sin all through his life.

In the battle of Siffeen Al Ashaath was on the right hand of Ali. He supported Ali against Muawiyah and his troops. It is reported that the latter came at the head of ninety thousand warriors. He preceded Ali and camped near the Euphrates. Then Ali Ibn Abi Taleb came with his troops, but Muwayiyah forbade them to approach the water or touch it. Ali sent Al Ashaath with two thousand men. Muawiyah had on the water Abul Aawar with a force of five thousand. The two sides fought very toughly until Al Ashaath overcame and seized the position on the water.

Hayyan Abu Saeed Al Taymi says: Al Ashaath was warned against mischief. He was asked: How can you march to the war with Ali? He said: Where can you get a leader like Ali Ibn Abi Taleb? And yet on account of his strange personality it is reported that Al Ashaath once entered upon Ali to ask him something. In the course of the discussion he threatened to kill Ali, who was called by the Prophet the lion of God and His Apostle thanks to his great bravery. Against Al Ashaath's threatening Ali said: Do you threaten me with death? I do not fear it at all. Then he asked for chains and signaled to his comrades to kill him. When Al Ashaath saw this he repented and retreated.

Abul Salt Al Hadrami says: We deprived the people of Iraq from water. Then a riding warrior came to us. When he showed his face, he was Al Ashaath Ibn Qays. He said: Fear God! Fear God! O Muawiyah in treating the nation of Muhammad peace be upon him. Suppose that you killed the people of Iraq, who will take care of the emissaries and the children? Or suppose that we could kill you who will remain to defend the emissaries and the children. God Almighty says: If two parties among the believers fall into a quarrel, make peace between them. ( 49-9 ) When Muawiyah heard this he asked: What do you want? Al Ashaath said: Leave us to approach water. Then Muawiyah ordered his men to let other Muslims take their need of water.

During the caliphate of Uthman Al Ashaath Ibn Qays was made ruler of Azerbayjan in central Asia. One day he swore on something and his oath was not fulfilled. So he paid 15,000 dirhams to make amends for it. In another version he despised all the money he had and said: By God I swore only on what is true. Then he paid thirty thousand dirhams.

Abu Ishaq said: I prayed dawn once in the mosque of Al Ashaath. When the imam finished prayer I discovered in front of me a bag of money and a pair of slippers. I looked around me and found the same thing in front of every man who prayed with us. I asked: What is this? The people around me replied: Al Ashaath came tonight and said: Look! Any man who attends dawn prayer in our mosque put in front of him a bag full of money and a pair of slippers. In another version the gift is said to be a suit and two slippers.

Maymoon Ibn Mahran says: The first rider with whom numerous men walked was Al Ashaath Ibn Qays. When Al Ashaath died Al Hassan Ibn Ali said: Make ablution for him with Kafoor. As a matter of fact, Al Hassan was the son-in-law of Al Ashaath Ibn Qays. He died in Al Kufah 40 nights after Ali and lived for 63 years. His son Muhammad was one of the prominent leaders after him. May his soul rest in peace, and may we benefit from this short biography of his.