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Abdur-Rahman Ibn Awf
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).
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Source: Companions of
the Prophet-Abdul Wahid Hamid
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