You Shall Enter Paradise Crawling
‘Abdur Rahmân Ibn
‘Auf
May Allah be pleased with him
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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’minűn (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)”[2]..
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 Shűrah
(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 ’Abű 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)[4]
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[5]…
Then he gave away as Sadaqah forty thousand Dirhams… Then
he gave away as Sadaqah forty thousand Dînârs[6]…
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[7](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 ’Abű
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[8]
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 Shűrah
(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’minűn
(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”[9]… 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‘űn, 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[10]
or even a half Mud spent by one of them”[11]…
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”[12]
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… Back
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The
[1]
Shâ’m:
The region comprising Syria, Palestine, Lebanon
and Jordan. [2]
Narrated by
Ahmad Ibn Hambal. [3]
Ansâr: The companions of the Prophet,
Allah’s
Prayers and Peace be upon him, from
the
inhabitants of Al-Madînah, who embraced Islam and
supported it and who received and entertained the Muslim emigrants
from Makkah and other places. [4]
‘Idda:
here
means a period of three monthly courses for which a divorced woman
should wait before she remarries.
[5] Dirham: A silver coin weighing 50 grains of Barley with cut ends. [6]
Dînâr: An ancient gold coin. [7]
Ghazwah:
(plural: Ghazawât): A holy battle or fighting in the Cause of Allah
consisting of a large army unit with the Prophet, Allah’s
Prayers and Peace be upon him, himself leading the army. [8]
Imâm:
The person who leads others in the Salât (prayer) or the
Muslim caliph (or ruler). [9]
As At Tirmidhi narrated that
’Abî
Kabshah ‘Umar Ibn Sa‘d
Al Anmari (may Allah
be pleased with him) said. [10]
Mud: a measure of two-thirds
of a kilo-gramme
(Approx). [11]
As Al Bukhâri narrated that ’Abű
Sa‘id
Al Khudrî (may
Allah be pleased with him) said. [12]
As Al Estiâab narrated that ‘Alî
(may Allah be pleased with him) said.
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