One short line: “The Christian is dead.” In other words, Allah had decreed his death; but would the bookkeeping of the public treasury grind to a halt because one man died? With that single sentence ʿUmar extinguished Abu Musa’s hope.

Now, to the story of ʿĀsim ibn Thābit—may Allah be pleased with him. He refused to surrender under the pledge of the unbelievers, for they are not to be trusted; every disbeliever is unreliable. The Hudhayl tribesmen then loosed a volley of arrows at the ten Companions, killing ʿĀsim and six others and leaving three alive. The remaining three said, “Let us come down and see whether they will honor their word.” Hudhayl seized them, unstrung their bows, and tied their hands with the bow-strings. One of the three declared, “This is the first act of treachery. I will not go with you.” They tried to persuade him, but he adamantly refused, so they killed him.

Hudhayl then took Khubaib and his companion to Mecca and sold them. Some Meccans purchased Khubaib—he had slain one of their chiefs at Badr—and they saw in this a chance to exact revenge. They kept him as a prisoner, his hands shackled.

One day, while Khubaib was confined inside the house, a young child of the household toddled over to him. Khubaib felt compassion and mercy for the boy, as people naturally do for the young. If you find within yourself such tenderness toward children, it is a sign of Allah’s mercy upon you, for “The Merciful shows mercy to those who are merciful.”

Al-Aqraʿ ibn Hābis once saw the Prophet ﷺ kissing—so it appears—al-Hasan and al-Husayn. He remarked, “I have ten children and I have never kissed any of them.” The Prophet replied, “What can I do if Allah has stripped mercy from your heart? Allah shows mercy only to His servants who are merciful.”