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ABDULLAH
IBN U'MAR Radhia
Allahu Anaha
At
Shaykhan, halfway between Madinah and Uhud, the thousand
strong Muslim army 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 sun set, 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 the 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 act ion of the Prophet in various
situations and he would practise 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 makin
g 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 occa sion 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 h e 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 stan d 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:<
P> 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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