qatari_1979 Posted March 3, 2003 One day, the people of Al-Madînah were surprised by a lot of fuss and noise… ‘Âishah, may Allah be pleased with her, ’Um Al-Mu’minûn (the mother of the believers) asks about the reason… She was told: It was camels belonging to ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf that had come from Shâ’m[1]… She said: And do the camels cause all that noise?… She was told: O mother of the believers… Seven hundred camels carrying wheat, flour and food… She said: By Allah, I have heard Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, saying: “I have seen ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf entering Paradise crawling (on his hands and legs).. The news reaches ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf while the merchandise had not been taken off the backs of the camels yet… He rushes to ‘Âishah saying: O mother of the believers, be my witness that I donate the camels with all what they are carrying in the Cause of Allah, Praise and Glory be to Him, … That was ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf who was one of the richest of the Sahâbah (companions), yet he could never enjoy his money … For whenever he was offered food to eat, he would weep and say: By Allah, Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, and his family had never had their fill of barley bread until the day he, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, died, and we do not find that we have kept what will be as our reward in the hereafter… A meal was brought to ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf while he was fasting. He said: Mus‘ab Ibn ‘Umair was martyred, and he was better than I; yet he was shrouded in a Burda (i.e. a sheet) so that, if his head was covered, his feet became naked, and if his feet were covered, his head became naked. ‘Abdur Rahmân added: Hamzah Ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib was martyred and he was better than I. Then worldly wealth was bestowed upon us and we were given thereof too much. We are afraid that the reward of our deeds have been given to us in this life. ‘Abdur Rahmân then started weeping so much that he left the food. All that fear and apprehension, although he is one of the ten men promised to go to Paradise, and one of the six Shûrah (consultation) men, that ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb said about them: Before the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, died, he was pleased with them… He was also one of the first eight men to become Muslims… That was when Islam had just started being spread, and before Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, enters Al Arqam Ibn ’Abî Al Arqam’s house… He is also one of the five men who became Muslims through ’Abû Bakr As-Siddîq, may Allah be pleased with him, these men were: ‘Uthmân Ibn ‘Affân, Az-Zubair Ibn Al ‘Awwâm, Talhah Ibn ‘Ubaidullah, Sa‘d Ibn ’Abî Waqqâs and ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf… That solemn Sahâbî (companion) who had immigrated to Ethiopia during the two Hijrahs, then he immigrated to Al Madînah Al Munawwarah… He was from the early preceding men… When the emigrants reached Al-Madînah, Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, established the bond of fraternity between ‘Abdur Rahmân and Sa‘d Ibn Ar-Rabî‘. Sa‘d said to ‘Abdur Rahmân: I am the richest of all the Ansâr[3], so I want to divide my property (between us), and I have two wives, so see which of the two you like and tell me, so that I may divorce her, and when she finishes her prescribed period (i.e. ‘Idda) of divorce, then marry her. ‘Abdur Rahmân said: May Allah bless your family and property for you; where is your market?.. So they showed him the Qainuqâ‘ market. -He went there and- returned with a profit in the form of dried yoghurt and butter. Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, knew and he was pleased… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prays that Allah’s blessings affect ‘Abdur Rahmân’s earnings… The prayer is accepted… ‘Abdur Rahmân’s earnings and his money increase to the extent that he says about himself: By Allah, I find that if I lift any stone, I would find gold and silver under it… By the blessings of Allah’s Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayers to him, Ibn ‘Auf becomes one of the richest of all riches… The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, tells him: “O Ibn ‘Auf… You are from the rich, and you shall enter Paradise crawling… So give in the Cause of Allah (to the needy) so that Allah shall set your feet free”… ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf carries out Allah’s Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, advice… He gives away half his money as Sadaqah (Charity), and it was four thousand Dirhams Then he gave away as Sadaqah forty thousand Dirhams… Then he gave away as Sadaqah forty thousand Dînârs… He also gave away as Sadaqah, goods carried on five hundred horses in the Cause of Allah, then more goods on five hundred camels in the Cause of Allah… He sets free thirty slaves in one day… Although he spent a lot in the Cause of Allah, he was also a brave warrior… He never stayed behind during any of Allah’s Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, battles… He joined in Ghazwah(battle) Badr, ’Uhud and witnessed all the conquests… In ’Uhud, he was hurt twenty one times, one of which was in his leg, that made him limp for the rest of his life… He was proud that it was done in the Cause of Allah and in the company of the Prophet of Allah, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him,… Another hurt made him lose all his front teeth and he became toothless… The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, sent Ibn ‘Auf to the battle of Dawmat Al Jandal… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, placed a turban on his head with his own sacred hands, and let the tip of the cover come down between his shoulders… He, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, told him: “If Allah grants you victory, marry their king’s daughter”… Allah grants him victory… He marries their king’s daughter Tumâdir Bint Al ’Asbagh Ibn Tha‘labah… She gave birth to a son who became one of the great narrators to Al Hadîth… His name was ’Abû Salama Ibn ‘Abdur Rahmân… ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf is the only Sahâbî (companion) that Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayed behind… That was in a journey when he was Imâm to the Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, companions, then Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, approached… Ibn ‘Auf wanted to retreat, but Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, waved to him to stay in his place… He stayed as Imâm, and Allah’s Prophet Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, prayed behind him… In spite of that, he, may Allah be pleased with him, was a man who feared Allah tremendously… For when ‘Umar Ibn Al Khattâb, may Allah be pleased with him, died, and ordered that the Khilafah (caliphate) would be granted to one of the six men that before Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, died, he was pleased with them, who were: ‘Uthmân Ibn ‘Affân, ‘Alî Ibn ’Abî Tâlib, Sa‘d Ibn ’Abî Waqqâs, Az-Zubair Ibn Al ‘Awwâm, Talhah Ibn ‘Ubaidullah and ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf;.. The people came to him saying: O Ibn ‘Auf… You are most worthy of that position… He said: By Allah, if a knife was put in my throat, and gone through to the other side, it would have been better than that position… He goes to his friends, the other five Shûrah (consultation) men and tells them: Who would give up his position and choose a ruler to the Muslims?.. They do not answer him to that… He says: I deny myself the right to the Khilafah (caliphate), and I choose a Khalifah (caliph) for the Muslims… They agreed upon that and he took their vows that they would agree to his choice.. ‘Abdur Rahmân gave ‘Uthmân Ibn ‘Affân, may Allah be pleased with him, the solemn pledge, and then ‘Alî gave him the pledge of allegiance, and then all the (Madînah) people gave him the pledge of allegiance. ‘Abdur Rahmân lives obedient to Allah’s rules, spending in the Cause of Allah as if he never fears poverty while he is spending… To that, the people commented saying: The people of Al Madînah share Ibn ‘Auf his money, he lends them one third, he pays the debts of the other third, and he is kind and gives away to the last third … The more he gives away, the richer he becomes… But his fear also increases… He goes to ’Um Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, ’Um Al-Mu’minûn (the mother of the believers) and tells her while he is weeping: O mother… I fear that my great wealth shall make me perish… She tells him: O my son… Spend … ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf spends… He bequeaths fifty thousand Dînârs and one thousand horses in the Cause of Allah… He also bequeaths to the people who have survived Badr -and they were one hundred- four hundred Dînârs to each one of them… ‘Uthmân Ibn ‘Affân -in spite of being rich- insisted on taking his share saying: Ibn Auf ’s money is pure halâl (lawful)… And feeding on this money is good and a blessing… In spite of that, he, may Allah be pleased with him, still left behind three thousand sheep, one thousand camels, one hundred horses and gold that was so difficult to cut by axes, that it hurt the men’s hands while being cut… For Allah’s words are true when He says: (Say: “Truly, my Lord enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His slaves, and (also) restricts (it) for him, and whatsoever you spend of anything (in Allâh’s Cause), He will replace it. And He is the Best of providers.”). (Saba’ “Shaba”,39). For indeed, Allah’s Prophet’s, words were true when he, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, said: “Sadaqah (Charity) does not lessen the amount of any money It is the hour, the hour of the departure… ‘Âishah, may Allah be pleased with her, sends him a messenger asking him if he would be buried beside Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, and his two companions… He, may Allah be pleased with him, says: And who am I to deserve that special company… He asks to be buried beside ‘Uthmân Ibn Maz‘ûn, may Allah be pleased with him, his friend and his beloved one… They had both agreed that whoever dies last, would be buried beside the first, so that they would keep each other’s company in the grave as they had been friends in life… His soul returns to its Creator… The honest man dies at the age of seventy five… Sa‘d Ibn ’Abî Waqqâs carries him in his funeral… He weeps and cries saying: A mountain has been shattered… A mountain has been shattered (Meaning a great strong man has been lost)… ‘Alî Ibn ’Abî Tâlib stands at his grave saying: Go in peace Ibn ‘Auf for you have won its best and refrained from its vice… All the men standing by the grave remember the day that Khâlid Ibn Al Walîd and ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf were talking and disagreeing about a certain matter when Makkah was opened to the Muslims… Khâlid told ‘Abdur Rahmân: You feel you are better than us because you entered Islam before us (Spent more days as a Muslim).. The Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, heard of that, to which he said: “Do not abuse my companions for if any one of you spent gold equal to ’Uhud (in Allah’s Cause) it would not be equal to a Mud or even a half Mud spent by one of them”… How true are Allah’s Prophet’s, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, words, for who would reach the rank of ‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf that the Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him, said about him: “‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn ‘Auf, an honest man in heaven, an honest man on earth” Peace be on you, O companion of Allah’s Prophet, Allah’s Prayers and Peace be upon him,… Peace be on you in the highest ranks… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
