In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The finest of generations in conduct and exemplar,
Following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
Mawaddah Association
Presents:
Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un,
By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
May Allah have mercy upon him.
'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah,
May Allah have mercy upon him.
Here we are in the final ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah,
In the ninety-seventh year of the Hijrah,
And this Ancient House
Is surging with pilgrims journeying to Allah from every distant pass:
On foot and mounted,
The elderly and the young,
Men and women,
Among them the black and the white,
The Arab and the non-Arab,
The master and the servant.
All have come before the King of mankind, humble and proclaiming His praise,
Hopeful and expectant.
And here is Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik,
The Caliph of the Muslims
And the greatest monarch on earth,
Circumambulating the Ancient House,
Bareheaded and barefoot,
Clad in nothing but an izar and a rida',
No different in that from the rest of his subjects among his brothers in Allah.
Behind him were his two sons,
Two youths as radiant and handsome as the full moon,
And as fresh and fragrant as rosebuds.
No sooner had he finished his circumambulation
Than he turned toward one of his close attendants and asked:
"Where is your master?"
The man replied: "He is over there, standing in prayer,"
Pointing toward the western side of the Sacred Mosque.
So the Caliph, followed by his two sons, made his way toward where the attendant pointed.
The royal courtiers moved to follow the Caliph to clear a path for him
And protect him from the crushing crowd,
But he restrained them, saying:
"This is a place where kings and commoners stand equal;
No one holds precedence over another here
Except through acceptance and piety.
Many a disheveled, dust-covered soul has presented himself before Allah,
And He accepted him in a way He never accepted kings."
Then he proceeded toward the man,
Only to find him still engaged in prayer,
Immersed in his bowings and prostrations,
With people seated behind him and to his right and left.
So he sat down wherever the gathering ended,
And seated his two sons beside him.
The two Qurayshi youths began
To gaze intently at this man whom the Commander of the Believers had sought out,
And beside the common folk sat waiting for him to conclude his prayer.
He turned out to be an elderly Abyssinian man:
Dark-skinned, with tightly curled hair,
And a flat nose;
When seated, he appeared like a black raven.
Once the man completed his prayer,
He turned toward the side where the Caliph sat.
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik greeted him,
And he returned the greeting in like manner.
Thereupon the Caliph approached him
And began asking him about the rites of Hajj, rite by rite,
While the man gave exhaustive answers to every question,
Explaining each matter in such detail that it left no room for further inquiry,
Tracing every single statement back to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
When the Caliph finished questioning him,
He prayed for Allah to reward him with good
And said to his two sons: "Stand up."
So they stood,
And the three of them walked toward the Mas'a.
While on their way to perform the Sa'y between al-Safa and al-Marwah,
The two boys heard criers proclaiming:
"O gathering of Muslims!
No one is to issue fatwas to the people in this sacred place
Except 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah;
And if he cannot be found,
Then Abd Allah ibn Abi Najih."
One of the two boys turned to his father and asked:
"How can the governor of the Commander of the Believers command the people not to seek fatwas from anyone
Other than 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah and his companion,
And then we ourselves come to seek a fatwa from this man
Who paid no regard to the Caliph
And did not accord him the deference due to his station?"
Sulayman said to his son:
"This man whom you saw, my son,
And before whom you witnessed our humility,
Is 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah,
The authority of fatwa in the Sacred Mosque,
And the heir to Abd Allah ibn Abbas
In this lofty station."
Then he added, saying:
"O my son,
Acquire knowledge,
For through knowledge the humble is ennobled,
The obscure becomes renowned,
And slaves rise above the ranks of kings."
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik was not exaggerating in what he told his son concerning knowledge.
For 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah had, in his youth,
Been an enslaved servant belonging to a woman of Makkah.
Yet Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, honored this Abyssinian youth
By guiding his steps onto the path of knowledge from his earliest years.
He divided his time into three parts:
One part he devoted to his mistress,
Serving her in the finest manner possible
And fulfilling his obligations toward her in the most complete way they could be fulfilled;
A second part he dedicated to his Lord,
Devoting himself to His worship in the purest and most sincere devotion to Allah Almighty;
And a third part he reserved for seeking knowledge,
Where he approached those who remained alive of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
And began to draw copiously from their pure, abundant springs.
He studied under Abu Hurayrah,
Abd Allah ibn Umar,
Abd Allah ibn Abbas,
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr,
And other noble Companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
Until his heart was filled with knowledge, fiqh,
And transmissions from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
When the Makkan noblewoman saw
That her servant had sold his soul to Allah
And dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge,
She relinquished her claim over him
And emancipated him seeking closeness to Allah Almighty,
In the hope that Allah would benefit Islam and the Muslims through him.
From that day forth,
'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah took the Sacred Mosque as his dwelling:
He made it the home to which he retreated,
The school in which he studied,
And the sanctuary in which he drew near to Allah through piety and obedience,
So much so that historians remarked:
The mosque served as the bed of 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah for nearly twenty years.
The eminent tabi'i 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah attained a station in knowledge
That surpassed all measure,
Rising to a rank attained by only a few of his contemporaries.
It was narrated that Abd Allah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father,
Arrived in Makkah for Umrah,
And the people flocked to him, questioning him and seeking his fatwas.
He said:
"I am truly astonished at you, O people of Makkah!
Do you gather questions to ask me while you have among you 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah?"
'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah achieved this lofty rank in religion and knowledge
Through two distinct qualities:
First, he mastered complete control over himself,
Never allowing his ego free rein to indulge in that which brought no benefit;
And second, he exercised strict mastery over his time,
Never squandering it in idle speech or useless action.
Muhammad ibn Suqah addressed a group of his visitors, saying:
"Shall I not narrate to you a hadith that may benefit you just as it benefited me?"
They said: "Yes, indeed."
He said: 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah once advised me,
Saying: "O my nephew,
Those before us used to detest superfluous speech."
I asked: "And what was superfluous speech in their view?"
He said: "They considered all speech superfluous
Except the Book of Allah Almighty recited and understood,
Or the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, transmitted and comprehended,
Or enjoining good and forbidding wrong,
Or knowledge through which closeness is sought to Allah the Exalted,
Or speaking of your necessary needs and livelihood without which you cannot manage."
Then he gazed intently into my face and said:
"Do you deny that there are over you guardian scribes, honorable recorders,
And that with each of you are two angels?"
“When the two Receivers receive (him), seated on the right hand and on the left,” (50:17)
“He uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready.” (50:18)
Then he said: "Is not one of us ashamed
That if his scroll—which he dictated throughout the early part of his day—were spread before him,
He would find that most of it concerns neither his religious affairs nor his worldly well-being?"
Indeed, Allah Almighty brought benefit
Through the knowledge of 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah
To diverse groups of people:
Among them were specialized scholars,
Among them were professional craftsmen,
And among them were others besides.
Imam Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man related of himself, saying:
"I fell into error regarding five matters of the pilgrimage rites in Makkah,
And a cupper-barber taught them to me.
That happened when I wished to shave my head to exit the state of ihram,
So I went to a barber and asked:
'For how much will you shave my head?'
He said: 'May Allah guide you!
A rite of worship is not bargained over;
Sit down and give whatever is easy for you.'
Overcome with embarrassment, I sat down,
But I sat facing away from the Qiblah.
He gestured to me to face the Qiblah,
So I did, feeling all the more embarrassed.
Then I presented the left side of my head for him to shave,
But he said: 'Turn your right side.'
So I turned it, and he began shaving my head
While I sat in silence, looking at him in utter astonishment.
He said to me: 'Why do I see you silent?
Proclaim the Takbir!' So I began reciting the Takbir,
Until I stood up to leave.
He said: 'Where do you intend to go?'
I said: 'I want to head back to my lodging.'
He said: 'Pray two rak'ahs,
Then go wherever you please.'
So I prayed two rak'ahs,
And I thought to myself,
"Such knowledge could not possibly come from a mere cupper,
unless he were a man of profound learning."
So I asked him,
"Where did you learn these pilgrimage rites that you instructed me to perform?"
He replied, "May Allah preserve you!
I saw 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah doing them,
so I learned them from him,
and I have been guiding the people to him ever since."
Indeed, the worldly life came pursuing 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah,
yet he completely turned away from it,
rejecting it with the utmost resolve.
He lived his entire life wearing a simple garment
worth no more than five dirhams.
The caliphs frequently invited him to join their court,
but he never accepted their invitations,
fearing for his religion from the temptations of their worldly allurements.
Nevertheless, he would still travel to visit them
whenever he saw in doing so a benefit for the Muslims or a good for Islam.
Among such accounts is what 'Uthman ibn 'Ata' al-Khurasani narrated, saying:
"I set out with my father heading toward Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik.
When we approached Damascus in the morning,
we suddenly came upon an old man riding a black donkey,
wearing a coarse shirt, a worn-out cloak,
and a small cap clinging tightly to his head,
with stirrups made of wood.
I laughed at his sight and asked my father, 'Who is this?'
He said, 'Be quiet! This is the master of the jurists of the Hijaz:
'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah.'
When he drew near to us,
my father dismounted from his mule,
and 'Ata' dismounted from his donkey.
They embraced and inquired about each other's well-being,
then remounted
and rode on until they arrived at the gates of Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik's palace.
No sooner had they sat down
than permission was granted for them to enter.
When my father came out, I said to him,
'Tell me what happened between you two.'
He replied,
'When Hisham learned that 'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah was at the door,
he promptly granted him entrance;
and by Allah, I only gained admittance because of him.
When Hisham saw him, he exclaimed,
"Welcome! Welcome!
Come over here, come over here!"
And he kept saying to him,
"Come over here, come over here!"
until he seated him beside him on his couch,
with his knee touching his own.
Present in the assembly were the most eminent of the people,
who had been speaking amongst themselves,
but they fell completely silent.
Then Hisham turned to him and asked,
"What is your request, O Abu Muhammad?"
He said,
"O Commander of the Faithful!
The people of the Two Holy Sanctuaries—
who are the people of Allah and the neighbors of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—
distribute to them their provisions and stipends."
He replied, "Yes.
Boy!
Write down that the people of Makkah and Madinah be granted their stipends and provisions for a full year."
Then he asked,
"Do you have any other request, O Abu Muhammad?"
He replied, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.
The people of the Hijaz and the people of Najd,
who are the origin of the Arabs and the vanguards of Islam—
let the surplus of their charity be redistributed among them."
He replied, "Yes.
Boy!
Write that the surplus of their charity be returned to them.
Do you have any other need besides that, O Abu Muhammad?"
He replied, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.
The garrison frontier guards,
who stand in the face of your enemies
and slay those who seek evil against the Muslims—
ensure continuous stipends to be distributed to them,
for if they perish, the frontiers will be lost."
He replied, "Yes.
Boy!
Write an order to dispatch their stipends to them.
Is there any other request, O Abu Muhammad?"
He replied, "Yes, O Commander of the Faithful.
The non-Muslim subjects under your covenant of protection (Dhimmah)—
do not burden them with what is beyond their capacity,
for what you collect from them serves as an aid for you against your enemies."
He said,
"Boy!
Write an order regarding the protected non-Muslim subjects that they must not be overburdened beyond their capacity.
Is there any other request, O Abu Muhammad?"
He replied, "Yes.
Fear Allah regarding your own soul, O Commander of the Faithful!
Know that you were created alone,
you will die alone,
you will be resurrected alone,
and you will be held accountable alone;
and by Allah, not a single one of those you see around you will be with you."
Thereupon, Hisham bowed his head, scratching at the ground while weeping profusely.
Then 'Ata' stood up,
and I stood up with him.
When we reached the door,
a man suddenly followed him carrying a pouch—I know not what was in it—
and said to him,
"The Commander of the Faithful has sent this for you."
'Ata' replied,
"Far from it!
'And I do not ask you for any reward for it;
my reward is only from the Lord of the worlds.'
So by Allah, he entered upon the caliph
and departed from him,
without having drunk even a single drop of water.'
To conclude:
'Ata' ibn Abi Rabah lived a long life,
reaching one hundred years of age,
which he filled with sacred knowledge and righteous deeds,
imbued with piety and devotion,
and purified through ascetic detachment from what people possessed
and eager longing for that which is with Allah.
So when the certainty of death arrived for him,
it found him carrying a light burden of worldly entanglements,
abundantly provisioned with righteous deeds for the Hereafter,
and having accomplished alongside that
seventy pilgrimages,
during which he stood seventy times upon the plains of 'Arafat,
imploring Allah Almighty for His pleasure and Paradise,
and seeking His refuge from His wrath and the Hellfire.
"I have never seen anyone who sought the Countenance of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, through sacred knowledge
other than these three:
'Ata', Tawus, and Mujahid."
— Salamah ibn Kuhayl.
Did any shining star ever ascend and illuminate like them?
They filled life with glorious deeds through their lofty heights,
and through them the horizons of humanity flourished with splendor.