Abdur Rahman ibni ‘Auf a companion of
rasulullah has fascinated me, a successful generous merchant, a millionaire
in Madina. There were several accounts about him and some of them:
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 .
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 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
because 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. From 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 dispatch an
expeditionary force... He summoned his companions and said:
"Contribute
sadaqah for I want to dispatch 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
foe. 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 with 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
and 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 . 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
their 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.
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 all
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 produce 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 people 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 Auf 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 Auf 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 Messenger 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
has been bestowed on us early (in this world)." He began to cry and sob
and could not eat.
Crawling into Paradise
One day he heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying to him, "O lbn `Awf,
you are a rich man, and you are going to crawl into Paradise .
So lend to Allah in order to set your feet free." Ever since he heard this
advice from the Messenger of Allah, he started lending to Allah a goodly loan.
Then Allah increased it manifold to His credit in repaying.
One day, he sold some land for 40,000 dinars and
distributed it all to the people of Zuhrah tribe, the Mothers of the Faithful,
and the poor Muslims. Next day, he provided the Islamic armies with 500 horses,
on the third day with 1,500 camels.
When he was about to die, he bequeathed 5,000 dinars in the
cause of Allah and 400 dinars for each one who was still living of those who
had witnessed ! Even `Uthmaan Ibn `Affaan, May Allah be pleased with him, took
his share of the bequeathal in spite of his riches and said, "Abd Ar-Rahman`s
money is halaal and pure. Its food gives health and blessing".
His death
In A.H. 32 his Soul ascended to its Creator. `Aa'ishah, the Mother of the
Faithful, wanted then to bestow on him a special honor, proposing as he was
dying to bury him in her room near the Messenger (PBUH), Abu Bakr, and `Umar.
But as a Muslim he was so refined that he was too modest to put himself in this
rank. Besides, he had made a previous promise. One day, he and `Uthmaan lbn
Madh`uuun ( from The biography of `Uthmaan Ibn Madh'uun is written in the
earlier part of this book.) had promised each other that whoever died after the
other would be buried near his friend.
While his soul was preparing for its new
journey, his eyes were dripping tears and his tongue was stammering, "I'm
afraid of being held up by my friends because of what I had of abundant money.
But soon, Allah's calmness overwhelmed him, and tender happiness covered his
peaceful face. His ears listened closely, as if there were a sweet voice coming
near them. Perhaps he was listening then to the truth of the Messenger's words
(PBUH) to him, "`Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn `Awf will enter Paradise ."
Maybe he was listening also to Allah's promise in His book:
"Those who spend
their wealth in Cause of Allah, and do not follow up their gifts with reminders
of their generosity or with injury, their reward is with their Lord. On them
shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve" - (2: 262).
Almighty Allah knows
best.
Wallahu'alam
