At Shaykhan, halfway
between Madinah and Uhud, the thousand-strong Muslim armies led by the Prophet
stopped. The sun had begun to sink beneath the horizon. The Prophet dismounted
from his horse Sakb.
He was fully dressed
for battle. A turban was wound about his helmet. He wore a breastplate beneath
which was a coat of mail which was fastened with a leather sword belt. A shield
was slung across his back and his sword hung from his side.
As the sunset, Bilal
called the adhan and they prayed. The Prophet then reviewed his troops once
more and it was then that he noticed in their midst the presence of eight boys
who despite their age were hoping to take part in the battle.
Among them were
Zayd's son Usamah and Umar's son Abdullah, both only thirteen years old. The
Prophet ordered them all to return home immediately. Two of the boys, however, demonstrated that they were able fighters and were allowed to accompany the
army to the Battle of Uhu d while the others were sent back to their families.
From an early age,
Abdullah ibn Umar thus demonstrated his keenness to be associated with the
Prophet in all his undertakings. He had accepted Islam before he was ten years
old and had made the Hijrah with his father and his sister, Hafsah, who was
later to become a wife of the Prophet.
Before Uhud he was also
turned away from the Battle of Badr and it was not until the Battle of the
Ditch then he and Usamah, both now fifteen years old and others of their age
were allowed to join the ranks of the men not only for the digging of the
trench but for the battle when it came.
From the time of his
hijrah till the time of his death more than seventy years later, Abdullah ibn
Umar distinguished himself in the service of Islam and was regarded among
Muslims as "the Good One, son of the Good One", according to Abu Musa
al-Ashari. H e was known for his knowledge, his humility, his generosity, his
piety, his truthfulness, his incorruptibility and his constancy in acts of
ibadah.
From his great and
illustrious father, Umar, he learnt a great deal and both he and his father had
the benefit of learning from the greatest teacher of all, Muhammad the
Messenger of God.
Abdullah would observe and scrutinize closely
every saying and action of the Prophet in various situations and he would practice
what he observed closely and with devotion. For example, if Abdullah saw the
Prophet performing Salat in a particular place, he would later pray in the same
place. If he saw the Prophet
making a
supplication while standing, he would also make a dua while standing.
If he saw him making a
dua while sitting, he would do the same. On a journey if he saw the Prophet
descend from his camel at a particular place and pray two rakats, and he had
occasion to pass on the same route, he would stop at the same place and pray
two rakats. In a particular place in Makkah, he once observed the Prophet's camel
making two complete turns before he dismounted and prayed two rakats.
It might be that the camel
did that involuntarily but Abdullah ibn Umar when he happened to be in the same
place at another time, made his camel complete two turns before making it kneel
and dismounting. He then prayed two rakats in precisely the same manner as he
had seen the Prophet do.
Aishah, may God be
pleased with her, noticed this devotion of Abdullah to the Prophet and
remarked: "There was no one who followed the footsteps of the Prophet, may
God bless him and grant him peace, in the places where he alighted as did Ibn
Umar."
In spite of his close
observance of the Prophet's actions, Abdullah was extremely cautious, even
afraid, of reporting the sayings of the Prophet. He would only relate a hadith
if he was completely sure that he remembered every word of it.
One of his conte
mporaries said: "Among the companions of the Prophet, no one was more
cautious about adding to or subtracting from the hadith of the Prophet than
Abdullah ibn Umar."
Similarly, he was
extremely cautious and reluctant to make legal judgments (fatwas).' Once
someone came to him asking for a judgment on a particular matter and Abdullah
ibn Umar replied: "I have no knowledge of what you ask."
The man went on his
way and Ab dullah clapped his hands in glee and said to himself: "The son
of Umar was asked about what he does not know and he said: I do not know."
Because of this
attitude he was reluctant to be a qadi even though he was well qualified to be
one. The position of qadi was one of the most important and esteemed offices in
the Muslim society and state bringing with it honor, glory and even riches but
he declined this position when it was offered him by the Khalifah Uthman.
His reason for so
doing was not that he underestimated the importance of the position of qadi but
because of his fear of committing errors of judgment in matters pertaining to
Islam.
Uthman made him agree
not to disclose his decision lest it might influence the many other companions of
the Prophet who actually performed the duties of judges and juris consults.
Abdullah ibn Umar was
once described as the "brother of the night." He would stay up at
night performing Salat, weeping and seeking God's forgiveness and reading
Quran.
To his sister,
Hafsah, the Prophet once said: "What a blessed man is Abdullah. Should he
perform Salat at night he would be blessed even more."
From that day,
Abdullah did not abandon aiyam alLayl whether at home or on journeys. In the
stillness of the nights, he would remember God much, perform Salat and read the
Quran and weep.
Like his father,
tears came readily to his eyes especially when he heard the warning verses of
the Quran. Ubayd ibn Umayr has related that one day he read these verses to
Abdullah ibn Umar:
"How then (will
the sinners fare on Judgment Day) when We shall bring forward witnesses from
within every community and bring you (O Prophet) as witness against them? Those
who were bent on denying the truth and paid no heed to the Apostle will on that
Da y wish that the earth would swallow them but they shall not (be able to)
conceal from God anything that has happened." (Surah an-Nisa, 4:41-42).
Abdullah cried on
listening to these verses until his beard was moist with tears. One day, he was
sitting among some close friends and he read: "Woe unto those who give
short measure, those who, when they are to receive their due from people,
demand that it be given in full but when they have to measure or
weigh whatever they
owe to others, give less than what is due.
Do they not know that
they are bound to be raised from the dead (and called to account) on an awesome
Day, the Day when all men shall stand before the Sustainer of all the
worlds?" (The Quran, Surah al Mutaffifin, 83: 1-6).
At this point he kept
on repeating "the Day when all men shall stand before the Sustainer of all
the worlds" over and over again and weeping until he was faint.
Piety, simplicity and
generosity combined in Abdullah to make him a person who was highly esteemed by
the companions and those who came after them. He gave generously and did not
mind parting with wealth even if he himself would fall in want as a result. He
was a successful and trustworthy trader throughout his life.
In addition to this
he had a generous stipend from the Bayt al-Mal which he would often spend on
the poor and those in need. Ayyub ibn Wail ar-Rasi recounted one incident of
his generosity:
One day Umar received
four thousand dirhams and a velvet blanket. The following day Ayyub saw him in
the suq buying fodder for his camel on credit. Ayyub then went to Abdullah's
family and asked:
"Didn't Abu
Abdur-Rahman (meaning Abdullah ibn Umar) get four thousand dirhams and a
blanket yesterday?" "Yes, indeed," they replied.
"But I saw him
today in the suq buying fodder for his camel and he had no money to pay for
it." "Before nightfall yesterday. he had parted with it all. Then he
took the blanket and threw it over his shoulder and went out. When he returned
it was not with him.
We asked him about it
and he said that he had given it to a poor person," they explained. Abdullah
ibn Umar encouraged the feeding and the helping of the poor and the needy.
Often when he ate, there were orphans and poor people eating with him. He
rebuked his children for treating the rich and ignoring the poor. He once said
to them: "You invi te the rich and forsake the poor."
For Abdullah, wealth
was a servant not a master. It was a means towards attaining the necessities of
life, not for acquiring luxuries. He was helped in this attitude by his
asceticism and simple life-style. One of his friends who came from Khurasan
once brought him a fine elegant piece of clothing:
"I have brought
this thawb for you from Khurasan," he said. "It would certainly bring
coolness to your eyes. I suggest that you take off these coarse clothes you
have and put on this beautiful thawb."
"Show it to me
then," said Abdullah and on touching it he asked: "Is it silk?"
"No, it is cotton," replied his friend.
For a little while,
Abdullah was pleased. Then with his right hand he pushed away the thawb and
said: "No! I am afraid for myself. I fear that it shall make arrogant and
boastful. And God does not love the arrogant boaster."
Maymun ibn Mahran
relates the following: "I entered the house of Ibn Umar. I estimated
everything in his house including his bed, his blanket, his carpet and
everything else in it. What I found was not a hundred dirhams' worth."
That was not because
Abdullah ibn Umar was poor. Indeed he was rich. Neither was it because he was a
miser for indeed he was generous and liberal.
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