Suffa Islam's first residential educational institution

 

# Md. Abu Raihan

A place for the Nawab in the Suffa Mosque. It has been known as Al-Suffa or Al-Jullah ever since a group of poor emigrants who migrated to Madinah and stayed in that place in the Nawab's Mosque due to lack of accommodation. ( A Suffah is a room that is covered with palm branches from date trees, which was established next to Al-Masjid al-Nabawi by Islamic prophet Muhammad during the Medina period.).In short, the Prophet (peace be upon him) established As-Suffa on one side of the courtyard of the mosque-Nawab. Suffa is a spacious space with a roof. The shape of the Suffra was much like a stage, the height of the main ground was about half a meter. Initially it was 12 meters long and 6 meters wide. On the south side of the Suffa, built on the north-east side of the Nawab's Mosque, was the hujra of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) and his wives, and on the adjoining west side was the Mehrab. All those great souls of the Companions are known as Suffa, who used to stay in the courtyard of the Nawabi in the mosque to live a very ordinary life by giving up pleasures for the sake of gaining knowledge. ( Ashab al- Suffa , is a general name given to young, unmarried and poor citizens who dwelled in Suffas, which were established by the Islamic prophet Muhammad next to Al-Masjid an-Nabawi.) . It is also known as 'Suffatul Muhajirin' as it was originally built for the position of the Companions of Suffa Muhajir. Later it was used as a night lodge and a day school for the student disciples from outside and the destitute and helpless disciples of Medina. A large number of disciples could stay here. As such, Suffa was the first residential educational institution in the history of Islam. ( It was the  first  academy in the history of  Islam .).Al-Suffa's position changed when the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid Ibn Abdul Malik expanded the mosque. Which is now known as Dikkat Al-Agawat. Moddakatha Ashab-e-Suffa has a special status in the history of Islam. In the Hadith, their Sahaba is called either Suffa or Ahlus- Suffa  . The number of Suffar members in the Companions was 60 to 70. Later, however, the Prophet (peace be upon him) rehabilitated the poor emigrants. ( Roughly 70 of Prophet Muhammad's unmarried companions constantly lived in the yard of the prophet's masjid and did not leave his side.)   The members of the Companions did not care about the human needs of food, drink, clothing and so on. They used to meet their needs from whatever came to the court of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as a gift. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to sit with them, talk together and invite them to eat and drink together. The Companions used to feed two or three of the Companions from their own house. The Sahaba also used to select the best date palm and hang it on the roof of Al-Suffaar to feed the Sahaba-Suffaar. Due to the lack of work due to a combination of trade rejection and military threats, the Sufis' income was very low among the Companions.

Suffa in Nawabi Mosque.

There were two types of students in As-Suffa, firstly, full-time students, secondly, the homeless who were forced. It is estimated that at one time there were 300 people in Suffa, but their numbers were more or less the same. At one time their total number reached 400 members. Their number increased due to the arrival of delegations from different parts of Medina. If they left again, the number of students would be reduced. Allama Jalal Uddin has mentioned that the number of Suffar in Suyuti Ashab is 400. Hafez Abu Nuaim in his book Hilayatul Auliya mentions 60 permanent residents of Suffar. Hazrat Abu Huraira (RA), Hazrat Belal (RA), Hazrat Shoaib (RA), Hazrat Ammar (RA) were among the best students of Suffa. Omar (ra), Salim (ra) in Kerat Shastra, Abujar Ghiffari (ra) in spiritual pursuits, Suhaib Rumi (ra), Salman Farsi (ra), Abu Darda (ra), Abdullah bin Umm Maktum (ra), Hanjala (ra), Muaz bin Jabal (ra) in law and jurisprudence, Saad bin Abi Waqqas in military science (ra). Ra.) And Huzaifa Ibn Yaman (Ra.) Etc. Here they preached the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) far and wide. Anas Ibn Malik (RA) said, 'The Prophet. Ahl al-Suffa used to teach its members. They had no homes and no resources. Ahl al-Suffa used to teach its members. They had no homes and no resources. Ahl al-Suffa used to teach its members. They had no homes and no resources. Narrated Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: I saw 80 people (Ahl al-Suffa) in this condition. No one had) they would tie it around their necks. Then the garment would be up to the hem of one's foot and up to the ankle of another. So they used to store it by hand so that the place of shame could not be seen. ' (Bukhari-442). Hadrat Abdur Rahman Ibn Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Sufis among the Companions belonged to the poor people. Their financial situation was so deplorable that they did not have any clothes to cover them or to cover their whole body. In this situation, they were ashamed to come out with half-covered clothes. On the other hand, since the Suffar was open, dust and sand could enter freely. As a result, their clothes would get dirty. 

Hazrat Muaz Ibn Jabal (R.) used to supervise the eating and drinking of the Companions. If any sadaqa came to Rasulullah (peace be upon him), he would send it to the Companions for Suffa. And if any gift came to him, he would share it with them. Many times Rasulullah (peace be upon him) used to invite them to his house. Sometimes he would make them drink milk, sometimes he would treat them with food mixed with dates, flour and butter and sometimes he would entertain them with bread, meat and vegetable soup. In verse 263 of Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah Ta'ala has raised the issue of Suffar among the Companions. In this verse, it has been described that the companions like Suffar, who keep themselves engaged in the work of religion, have been given alms and cooperation. Because they spend all their time in religious work, they do not have the opportunity to work for their own sustenance. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): God knows what you give. " (Surat al-Baqarah, verse 263). Some of the Companions belonging to the Suffar tried to earn some income by supplying water or selling wood in their spare time. He used to buy food with the money he earned and try to feed his other brother as well. Many times they also had to fast. Narrated Fadbalah Ibn Ubaid: When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to lead the prayers of the people, some people would fall down due to hunger (weakness) and they were Ahl al-Suffah. Even the desert Bedouins used to say they were crazy. ' Once the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned to them after the prayer and said, 'If you only knew what Allaah has for you, you would have preferred poverty.' (Tirmidhi-238, Ahmad-23420).Before emigrating to Medina, the Prophet (peace be upon him) tried to create an environment for the study of knowledge by sending his eminent Companion Hazrat Musab Ibn Umayr (ra) as a teacher and preacher of Islam. But when a residential school was established here in the post-migration period, Rasulullah (peace be upon him) appointed the eminent Companion Hazrat Abdullah bin Saeed bin As (peace be upon him) as the trainer of Suffa to teach and train the Companions of Suffa. Hadrat Ubadah Ibn Samit was also one of the instructors of Suffar. He used to teach the Qur'an and other basic subjects of religion to the Companions.Students who came to Suffa tried to acquire knowledge of literacy from Qur'an, Tajweed, Fiqh, Aqeedah and other branches of knowledge. He used to observe the way of life of Rasulullah (peace be upon him) and implement it in his life. Rasulullah (peace be upon him) was in overall charge of Suffa Madrasa. Rasulullah (sa).