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 after 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 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. Fro m Makkah once again he made the hijrah to
Madeenah.
Soon after arriving in Madeenah, 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 Madeenah 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 sooq 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 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 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 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 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 Qur'ân, Surah al-Baqarah, 2: 262)
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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