Rukaana was a very wealthy, strong and undefeated wrestler of the Banu Hashim who grazed goats in the valley of Adm. He once saw the Holy Prophet walking by and approached him, saying, “Muhammad! You’re the one who’s been insulting our gods Laat & Uzza and has been proclaiming the greatness of Allah alone! If I wasn’t family, I would’ve killed you; but I challenge you to a wrestling contest instead! You call out to Allah and I’ll call out to my gods, and we’ll see which one of them is the most powerful.” The Holy Prophet replied, “If we have to wrestle, then so be it. I’m ready.”
This answer surprised Rukaana. Nevertheless, he stood up in pride to face the Messenger…and was swiftly brought down to the ground by him in just one move (the first time anyone had ever defeated him)! After the Holy Prophet sat on his chest, the ashamed Rukaana exclaimed, “Get off my chest and give me one more chance. Maybe Laat & Uzza weren’t paying attention to me.” Rasulullah agreed, and after standing up and facing Rukaana a second time, he again effortlessly brought the wrestler to the ground (!), prompting Rukaana to say, “Maybe Laat and Uzza are angry with me today while your Lord assists you. Give me one more chance. This time I’m sure they’ll assist me.”
Rasulullah again agreed, and on the third occasion, after Rukaana was brought down by him a third time, the wrestler forsook the challenge in humiliation and said, “Muhammad, take as many of my goats as you wish.” The Holy Prophet replied, “I’m not in need of any wealth. You should become a Muslim instead and be saved from Jahannam.” “I don’t mind becoming a Muslim, but what would the women and children say after seeing such a strong wrestler defeated and turning to Islam?”
Before turning around to leave, Rasulullah answered, “Then congratulations to you for all the wealth you’ve acquired.” At this time, Hadrat Abu Bakr Siddique and Hadrat Umar were both looking for the Prophet and saw him approaching them from the Adm valley. Hoping he was not troubled by anyone, they quickly presented themselves before their beloved and said, “O Rasulullah, why did you go there alone?! There’s a very strong and great enemy of Islam (i.e. Rukaana) who lives in that area!” Rasulullah smiled and said, “Why should I worry about Rukaana when Allah is constantly with me?”
He then related to them all that had happened, after which the two Companions expressed their happiness and said, “Rukaana was such a wrestler that no one ever brought him down before. This was something only the Messenger of Allah could’ve accomplished.” – Abu Dawūd, Vol. 2, Pg. 209
Lesson: Our Beloved Prophet is a treasure of strength, excellence and perfection, and no one will ever match him in anything, no matter how much they devote themselves to the worship of Allah. We also see that even the enemies of Islam recognized the excellence of our Beloved Prophet, but their fear of worldly humiliation prevented them from ever becoming Muslims. Supplementary Historians say that the wrestler Rukaana eventually did accept Islam (some say during the Conquest of Makkah).
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