|
ABDIR-RAHMAN
BIN A'AOF Radhia
Allahu Anaha
He
was one of the first eight persons to accept Islam. He was
one of the ten persons (al-asharatu-l mubashshirin) who
were assured of entering Paradise. He was one of the six
persons chosen by Umar to form the council of shura to
choose the Khalifah afte r his death.
His
name in Jahiliyyah days was Abu Amr. But when he accepted
Islam the noble Prophet called him Abdur-Rahman - the
servant of the Beneficent God.
Abdur-Rahman
became a Muslim before the Prophet entered the house of
al-Arqam. In fact it is said that he accepted Islam only
two days after Abu Bakr as-Siddiq did so.
Abdur-Rahman
did not escape the punishment which the early Muslims
suffered at the hands of the Quraysh. He bore this
punishment with steadfastness as they did. He remained
firm as they did. And when they were compelled to leave
Makkah for Abyssinia beca use of the continuous and
unbearable persecution, Abdur-Rahman also went. He
returned to Makkah when it was rumored that conditions for
the Muslims had improved but, when these rumors proved to
be false, he left again for Abyssinia on a second hijrah.
Fro m Makkah once again he made the hijrah to Madinah.
Soon
after arriving in Madinah, the Prophet in his unique
manner began pairing off the Muhajirin and the Ansar. This
established a firm bond of brotherhood and was meant to
strengthen social cohesion and ease the destitution of the
Muhajirin. Abdur-Rahman was linked by the Prophet with Sad
ibn ar-Rabi'ah. Sad in the spirit of generosity and
magnanimity with which the Ansar greeted the Muhajirin,
said to Abdur-Rahman:
"My
brother! Among the people of Madinah I have the most
wealth. I have two orchards and I have two wives. See
which of the two orchards you like and I shall vacate it
for you and which of my two wives is pleasing to you and I
will divorce her for you."
Abdur-Rahman
must have been embarrassed and said in reply: "May
God bless you in your family and your wealth. But just
show me where the suq is.."
Abdur-Rahman
went to the market-place and began trading with whatever
little resources he had. He bought and sold and his
profits grew rapidly. Soon he was sufficiently well off
and was able to get married. He went to the noble Prophet
with the scent of perfume lingering over him.
"Mahyarn,
O Abdur-Rahman!" exclaimed the Prophet -
"mahyam" being a word of Yemeni origin which
indicates pleasant surprise.
"I
have got married," replied Abdur-Rahman. "And
what did you give your wife as mahr?" "The
weight of a nuwat in gold."
"You
must have a walimah (wedding feast) even if it is with a
single sheep. And may Allah bless you in your
wealth," said the Prophet with obvious pleasure and
encouragement.
Thereafter
Abdur-Rahman grew so accustomed to business success that
he said if he lifted a stone he expected to find gold or
silver under it!
Abdur-Rahman
distinguished himself in both the battles of Badr and
Uhud. At Uhud he remained firm throughout and suffered
more than twenty wounds some of them deep and severe. Even
so, his physical jihad was matched by his jihad with his
wealth.
Once
the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was
preparing to despatch an expeditionary force. He summoned
his companions and said:
"Contribute
sadaqah for I want to despatch an expedition."
Abdur-Rahman went to his house and quickly returned.
"O Messenger of God," he said, "I have four
thousand (dinars). I give two thousand as a qard to my
Lord and two thousand I leave for my family. "
When
the Prophet decided to send an expedition to distant Tabuk
- this was the last ghazwah of his life that he mounted -
his need for finance and material was not greater than his
need for men for the Byzantine forces were a numerous and
well-equipped fo e. That year in Madinah was one of
drought and hardship. The journey to Tabuk was long, more
that a thousand kilometers. Provisions were in short
supply. Transport was at a premium so much so that a group
of Muslims came to the Prophet pleading to go wit h him
but he had to turn them away because he could find no
transport for them.
These
men were sad and dejected and came to be known as the
Bakka'in or the Weepers and the army itself was called the
Army of Hardship ('Usrah). Thereupon the Prophet called
upon his companions to give generously for the war effort
in the path of God an d assured them they would be
rewarded. The Muslims' response to the Prophet's call was
immediate and generous. In the fore front of those who
responded was Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl. He donated two hundred
awqiyyah of gold whereupon Umar ibn al-Khattab said to the
Prophet:
"I
have (now) seen Abdur-Rahman committing a wrong. He has
not left anything for his family."
"Have
you left anything for your family, Abdur-Rahman?"
asked the Prophet.
"Yes,"
replied Abdur-Rahman. "I have left for them more than
what I give and better." "How much?"
enquired the Prophet.
"What
God and His Messenger have promised of sustenance,
goodness and reward," replied Abdur-Rahman.
The
Muslim army eventually left for Tabuk. There Abdur-Rahman
was blessed with an honor which was not conferred on
anyone till then. The time of Salat came and the Prophet,
peace be on him, was not there at the time. The Muslims
chose Abdur-Rahman as the ir imam. The first rakat of the
Salat was almost completed when the Prophet, may God bless
him and grant him peace, joined the worshippers and
performed the Salat behind Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl. Could
there be a greater honor conferred on anyone than to have
been the imam of the most honored of God's creation, the
imam of the Prophets, the imam of Muhammad, the Messenger
of God!
When
the Prophet, peace be on him, passed away, Abdur-Rahman
took on the responsibility of looking after the needs of
his family, the Ummahaat al-Muminin. He would go with them
wherever they wanted to and he even performed Hajj with
them to ensure that a ll their needs were met. This is a
sign of the trust and confidence which he enjoyed on the
part of the Prophet's family.
Abdur-Rahman's
support for the Muslims and the Prophet's wives in
particular was well-known. Once he sold a piece of land
for forty thousand dinars and he distributed the entire
amount among the Banu Zahrah (the relatives of the
Prophet's mother Aminah), the poor among the Muslims and
the Prophet's wives. When Aishah, may God be pleased with
her, received some of this money she asked:
"Who
has sent this money?" and was told it was
Abdur-Rahman, whereupon she said:
"The
Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace,
said: No one will feel compassion towards you after I die
except the sabirin (those who are patient and
resolute)."
The
prayer of the noble Prophet that Allah should bestow
barakah on the wealth of Abdur-Rahman appeared to be with
Abdur-Rahman throughout his life. He became the richest
man among the companions of the Prophet. His business
transactions invariably met with success and his wealth
continued to grow. His trading caravans to and from
Madinah grew larger and larger bringing to the people of
Madinah wheat, flour, butter, cloths, utensils, perfume
and whatever else was needed and exporting whatever
surplus pr oduce they had.
One
day, a loud rumbling sound was heard coming from beyond
the boundaries of Madinah normally a calm and peaceful
city. The rumbling sound gradually increased in volume. In
addition, clouds of dust and sand were stirred up and
blown in the wind. The peo ple of Madinah soon realized
that a mighty caravan was entering the city. They stood in
amazement as seven hundred camels laden with goods moved
into the city and crowded the streets. There was much
shouting and excitement as people called to one another to
come out and witness the sight and see what goods and
sustenance the camel caravan had brought.
Aishah,
may God be pleased with her, heard the commotion and
asked: "What is this that's happening in
Madinah?" and she was told: "It is the caravan
of Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl which has come from Syria bearing
his merchandise."
"A
caravan making all this commotion?" she asked in
disbelief."
"Yes,
O Umm al-Muminin. There are seven hundred camels."
Aishah
shook her head and gazed in the distance as if she was
trying to recall some scene or utterance of the past and
then she said:
"I
have heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and
grant him peace, say: I have seen Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl
entering Paradise creeping."
Why
creeping? Why should he not enter Paradise leaping and at
a quick pace with the early companions of the Prophet?
Some
friends of his related to Abdur-Rahman the hadith which
Aishah had mentioned. He remembered that he had heard the
hadith more than once from the Prophet and he hurried to
the house of Aishah and said to her: "Yaa Ammah! Have
you heard that from the M essenger of God, may God bless
him and grant him peace?"
"Yes,"
she replied.
"You
have reminded me of a hadith which I have never
forgotten," he is also reported to have said. He was
so over-joyed and added:
"If
I could I would certainly like to enter Paradise standing.
I swear to you, yaa Ammah, that this entire caravan with
all its merchandise, I will giver sabilillah."
And
so he did. In a great festival of charity and
righteousness, he distributed all that the massive caravan
had brought to the people of Madinah and surrounding
areas.
This
is just one incident which showed what type of man
Abdur-Rahman was. He earned much wealth but he never
remained attached to it for its own sake and he did not
allow it to corrupt him.
Abdur-Rahman's
generosity did not stop there. He continued giving with
both his hands, secretly and openly. Some of the figures
mentioned are truly astounding: forty thousand dirhams of
silver, forty thousand dinars of gold, two hundred
awqiyyah of gold, five hundred horses to mujahidin setting
out in the path of God and one thousand five hundred
camels to another group of mujahidin, four hundred dinars
of gold to the survivors of Badr and a large legacy to the
Ummahaat al Muminin and the catalogue goes on. On account
of this fabulous generosity, Aishah said:
"May
God give him to drink from the water of Salsabil (a spring
in Paradise)." All this wealth did not corrupt
Abdur-Rahman and did not change him. When he was among his
workers and assistants, people could not distinguish him
from them. One day food was brought to him with which to
end a fast. He looked at the food and said:
"Musab
ibn Umayr has been killed. He was better than me. We did
not find anything of his to shroud him with except what
covered his head but left his legs uncovered. . Then God
endowed us with the (bounties of) the world... I really
fear that our reward h as been bestowed on us early (in
this world)." He began to cry and sob and could not
eat.
May
Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl be granted felicity among
"those who spend their substance in the cause of God
and follow up not their gifts with reminders of their
generosity or with injury. For them their reward is with
their Lord, on them shall be no fear nor shall they
grieve". (The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 262).
|
