Al-Bara' ibn Malik

Al-Bara' was from Banu Ghanm clan, After Muhammad migrated to Medina, al-Baraa' worked as a camel chanter and lead of men's caravan of camels whenever Muhammad and his companions goes for military expedition. During the battle of the Trench, al-Barāʾ reported on his own account when he dug out the trench outside the city along with Muhammad and other Medinese. Al-Barā' also participated in the pledge of the Tree during the first pilgrimage. During the battle of Hunayn, Al-Barā' was given Khums or a fifth portion of the goods looted from enemies he killed personally. During this battle, Ibn Hajar also noted a testimony of Al-Barā' himself that he engaged in a duel against a huge Musaylamah warrior nicknamed Himar al Yamama (donkey of Yamama). Despite suffering grave injuries which numbered over 80 wounds, al-Baraa' managed to survive in the aftermath of the Yamama battle. After the battle, Khalid ibn al Walid was said to personally visit his tents where he still treating his wound and rest. Conquest of Persia On the onset of early naval incursion against Persia which started from Oman, al-Baraa' participated the naval expedition embarked from Bahrain led by Al-Ala al-Hadhrami and Arfaja al-Bariqi to expel Sasanian Empire forces in the Island of . However, caliph 'Umar saw that it was too much for single person to acquire spoils of war that huge, so the Caliph decided that Al-Barā' should be given a four portions after it being divided into five, with one portion sent for the caliphate treasury. During Muslim conquest of Khuzestan, The highest commander of Muslim army, Abu Musa al-Ash'ari requested to the caliph to provide him with elite guards from Ansar (military) component, which was replied by Umar by sending a group of Ansaris including Al-Barā' ibn Malik along with his brother, Anas. In the campaign on Khuzestan, the Muslims faced a particularly difficult battle on the bridge of Susa, eastern of Tigris river, as the enemy gained upper hand at the first of the battle. Thus the Muslims soldiers once again came to Al-Barā' asking for prayer, and after Al-Barā' finished his prayer, the Muslims fight again until they managed to gained upper hand and seized victory. lead a small team of 35 soldiers to sneak from the waterway under the fortress wall, which has been besieged for almost one year. They killed many guards on the city gate before opened the gate and allowed the Muslims army under Abu Musa al-Ash'ari storm the city and subdue the town. According to his own word that has been recorded in ''Siyar A'lam Nubala chronicle written by Al-Dhahabi and in Usd al-ghabah fi marifat al-Saḥabah'' chronicle which written by Ibn al-Athir, Al-Barā' ibn Malik singlehandedly slayed at least 100 Sassanid soldiers during this battle alone. Death Muslim chroniclers recorded two versions regarding when Al-Barā' fallen on the battle: • According to Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani version, his death occurred during the Siege of Shushtar in Persia, but only after he rescued his brother Anas from the molten hooks, which caused he suffered grief injury to the point that his own palms melted and showing the bones in his effort to break the chain from Anas, al-Baraa' succumbed to the wound shortly after Anas were rescued. Tabari, al-Dhahabi favored this version as he deemed this authentic, == Character assessment ==

Chroniclers say al-Baraa' was thin and was extremely brave on the battlefield. Umar valued his military ability, according to modern writer Khalid Muhammad Khalid who said in his book, ''Rijala Hawla Rasulullah Shalallahu 'Alaihi Wassalam'', that during the Muslim conquest of Khuzestan, when Suhayl ibn Adiyy was sent by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari to invade Ahwaz, Umar specifically instructed Abu Musa to include al-Barā' in the Suhayl invading force. Anas ibn Malik said that al-Barā' had a beautiful voice and loved reciting poems frequently, until Anas persuade his brother to recite Qur'an instead of poetry. The Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Persia apparently held high opinion for al-Barā' and believed that his supplication will always come true, as when they asked specifically to al-Barā' for the success of the battle in Qadisiyya. == Legacy ==

Scholar analysis Al-Barā' is viewed highly in the Islamic scholarly community in general, Ibn Taymiyyah further observes the special rank within the Companions from the Ansar, which are according to him, vital for the faith, as he quoted the hadith, "love for the Ansar is a sign of Iman, while hatred against them is a sign of hypocrisy". While Ibn Mawaz, another Maliki scholar, has denied this al-Barā' tradition regarding spoils of war, However, Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam, a Shafiite scholar and Mamluk general in 12th AD century who led Baibars army against Louis IX of France crusaders and Ilkhanate Mongol, dismissed Ibn Mawaz's claim and has argued with another tradition that this practice has been done before as Muhammad during the battle of Hunayn, and Muhammad even gave the fifth spoils to al-Barā', the very same person who were given the fifth by Umar in Darin island battle. Ruling of martyrdom Since Madhhab Sahabi (opinion of the Companions of the Prophet) were accepted as one of the jurisprudence source in Islam, The historical act of al-Barā' to seek martyrdom in Jihad by plunging himself inside enemy castle in the Battle of Yamamah, where the enemy barricaded themselves, are translated by Islamist factions with Extremism view that the Terrorism act using Suicide attack with IED were allowed in modern analogy (Qiyas). Thus, leading some extremist movements such as Free Syrian Army, ISIS Kurdistan Ansar as Sunna Group, and Al-Qaeda in various regions to form a suicide squad which they named, in curiously similar theme, as "''al-Bara Ibn Malik Martyrs' Brigade''" in accordance to their apparent attempt to associate their acts with al Bara' in Yamama. However, this view were rejected by contemporary Islamic scholars, particularly those in line with the view of Abdullah Ibn Jibreen, Abd al-Aziz Bin Baz and Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymeen, three of prominent Saudi Arabia Muftis and clerics, opined that the act of al-Baraa' cannot be analogized as an act suicide bombings particularly for three different reasons: • Method which done by al-Barā' were not determinantly suicide in nature, despite the high chance of fatality for such act. The Fatwa by Abdu al-Aziz ibn Baz were particularly aimed to deny the ruling from Yusuf al-Qaradawi who viewed that the Martyrdom act ofal-Barā' in battle and Ashabul Ukhdud in Yemen were viewed the same as suicide bombers in modern time. Modern day grand Mufti of Saudi Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh, further strengthened his predecessors view by issuing Fatwa particularly disallow terrorism act of suicide bombing. Institutions & landmarks In 20th AD modern era, there are several places and institutes which named over al-Bara ibn Malik, such as Al Bara' Bin Malik Mixed Elementary School in Saudi Arabia. While in Qatar, al-Barā' ibn Malik were also used as street name. == See also ==