WEBVTT 00:00:00.430 --> 00:00:03.430 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.430 --> 00:00:08.429 The best of generations in stances and exemplary conduct, 00:00:08.429 --> 00:00:13.429 following the Messenger whenever he strove or journeyed afar. 00:00:13.429 --> 00:00:15.429 Mawaddah Association 00:00:15.429 --> 00:00:17.429 presents: 00:00:17.429 --> 00:00:21.429 "Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un," 00:00:21.429 --> 00:00:25.879 by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:27.879 may Allah have mercy upon him. 00:00:27.879 --> 00:00:32.539 Rabi'ah al-Ra'y, 00:00:33.539 --> 00:00:35.820 may Allah have mercy upon him. 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:45.820 On a certain moonlit summer evening, 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:51.820 a knight in his late fifties arrived in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:56.820 He made his way through its alleys, riding his horse toward his home, 00:00:56.820 --> 00:01:02.820 not knowing whether his house still stood as he had last known it, 00:01:02.820 --> 00:01:06.819 or whether the passing of time had taken its toll upon it. 00:01:06.819 --> 00:01:12.819 For nearly thirty years, or thereabouts, had elapsed during his absence from it. 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:18.920 He kept wondering about his young wife whom he had left behind in that house: 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:20.920 what had become of her? 00:01:20.920 --> 00:01:24.920 And about her unborn child whom she was carrying in her womb: 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:27.920 had she given birth to a boy or a girl? 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:29.920 Was the child alive or dead? 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.920 And if alive, what had become of him? 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.920 He also wondered about that large sum of money he had gathered from the spoils of jihad, 00:01:38.920 --> 00:01:43.920 which he had left in her trust when he set out striving in the cause of Allah 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:51.920 alongside the Muslim armies heading to conquer Bukhara, Samarqand, and the surrounding regions. 00:01:51.920 --> 00:02:00.019 The alleys and streets of the city were still bustling with people coming and going, 00:02:00.019 --> 00:02:05.019 for the people had only recently concluded the Isha prayer. 00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:12.020 Yet none of those he passed recognized him or paid him any heed, 00:02:12.020 --> 00:02:15.020 nor did anyone look toward his noble steed, 00:02:15.020 --> 00:02:19.020 or to his sword slung over his shoulder. 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:29.020 For the residents of the Islamic cities had grown accustomed to the sight of fighters setting out for combat in the cause of Allah or returning from it. 00:02:29.020 --> 00:02:36.240 However, that only stirred the knight's sorrow and heightened his uneasy thoughts. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:40.240 While the knight was immersed in these reflections, 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:46.240 continuing to feel his way through those changed alleys, 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:52.240 he suddenly found himself before his house and saw its door ajar. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:56.240 Overcome by joy, he rushed in without seeking permission from its occupants, 00:02:56.240 --> 00:03:00.240 stepped through the door, and advanced deep into the courtyard. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:06.900 The master of the house heard the creak of the door and looked out from his upper chamber, 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:12.900 seeing in the moonlight a man girded with his sword and bearing his spear, 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:15.900 breaking into his house under cover of night. 00:03:15.900 --> 00:03:21.900 His young wife was standing not far from the stranger’s line of sight, 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:26.900 so he sprang up in anger, came down barefoot toward him, and said, 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:30.900 "Do you cloak yourself in the darkness of night, O enemy of Allah, 00:03:30.900 --> 00:03:34.900 breaking into my home and assaulting my family?!" 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:40.900 He lunged at him like a ferocious lion defending its lair from harm, 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.900 giving him no chance to speak. 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.900 The two men wrestled and grappled with one another, 00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:51.900 their shouts grew loud, and their clamor arose. 00:03:51.900 --> 00:03:55.900 Neighbors rushed to the house from every direction, 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.900 surrounding the stranger as closely as an iron collar clings to the neck, 00:03:59.900 --> 00:04:02.900 and aiding their neighbor against him. 00:04:02.900 --> 00:04:04.900 The master of the house seized him, 00:04:04.900 --> 00:04:08.900 tightened his grip upon his throat, and said, 00:04:08.900 --> 00:04:13.900 "By Allah, I will not release you, O enemy of Allah, except before the governor!" 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:15.900 The man replied, 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:19.899 "I am no enemy of Allah, nor have I committed any sin! 00:04:19.899 --> 00:04:22.899 Rather, this is my house and my rightful property. 00:04:22.899 --> 00:04:25.899 I found its door open, so I entered." 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:28.899 Then he turned to the people and said, 00:04:28.899 --> 00:04:31.899 "O people, listen to me! 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:35.899 This house is my house; I purchased it with my own wealth! 00:04:35.899 --> 00:04:38.899 O people, I am Farrukh! 00:04:38.899 --> 00:04:42.899 Is there no one left among the neighbors who remembers Farrukh, 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:47.899 who departed thirty years ago to strive in the cause of Allah?!" 00:04:47.899 --> 00:04:50.899 The mother of the master of the house had been asleep, 00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:52.899 but she awoke to the commotion, 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:56.899 looked out from the window of her upper chamber, 00:04:56.899 --> 00:04:59.899 and saw her husband in the flesh. 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.899 Astonishment almost tied her tongue, 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:05.899 but she soon called out, 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:08.899 "Leave him! Let him go, Rabi'ah! 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:11.899 Let him go, my son; he is your father! 00:05:11.899 --> 00:05:15.899 Disperse from him, O people, may Allah bless you! 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:18.899 Beware, O Abu Abd al-Rahman! 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:21.899 For the one you are confronting 00:05:21.899 --> 00:05:24.970 is your son and the darling of your heart!" 00:05:24.970 --> 00:05:27.970 No sooner had her words reached their ears 00:05:27.970 --> 00:05:30.970 than Farrukh turned toward Rabi'ah, 00:05:30.970 --> 00:05:33.970 embracing and holding him tightly. 00:05:33.970 --> 00:05:36.970 And Rabi'ah turned toward Farrukh, 00:05:36.970 --> 00:05:39.970 kissing his hands, his neck, and his head. 00:05:39.970 --> 00:05:42.970 The crowd dispersed from around them, 00:05:42.970 --> 00:05:45.970 and the mother of Rabi'ah came down to greet her husband, 00:05:45.970 --> 00:05:48.970 whom she had never imagined 00:05:48.970 --> 00:05:51.970 she would ever meet again in this world, 00:05:51.970 --> 00:05:54.970 after news of him had ceased 00:05:54.970 --> 00:05:57.970 for nearly a third of a century. 00:05:58.970 --> 00:06:03.089 Farrukh sat with his wife 00:06:03.089 --> 00:06:06.089 and began telling her of his circumstances, 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:09.089 explaining why news of him had been cut off. 00:06:09.089 --> 00:06:12.089 Yet she was too preoccupied 00:06:12.089 --> 00:06:15.089 to absorb much of what he said; 00:06:15.089 --> 00:06:18.089 for her joy at reuniting with him 00:06:18.089 --> 00:06:21.089 and seeing him united with his son was marred 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:24.089 by her fear of his anger over the loss 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:27.089 of all the wealth he had entrusted to her care. 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:30.180 She kept saying to herself: 00:06:30.180 --> 00:06:33.180 "What if he asks me now about that large sum of money 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:36.180 that he left in my trust, 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:39.180 instructing me to spend from it reasonably? 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:42.180 What will his reaction be 00:06:42.180 --> 00:06:45.180 if I tell him that nothing of it remains? 00:06:45.180 --> 00:06:48.180 Will it satisfy him if I say 00:06:48.180 --> 00:06:51.180 that I spent what he left with me 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:54.180 on his son's upbringing and education? 00:06:55.180 --> 00:06:58.180 Will he believe that his son's hand 00:06:58.180 --> 00:07:01.180 is more generous than rain-bearing clouds, 00:07:01.180 --> 00:07:04.180 that he keeps neither dinar nor dirham, 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:07.180 and that the entire city 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.180 knows he has spent upon his brethren 00:07:10.180 --> 00:07:13.180 thousands upon thousands?" 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:16.180 While the mother of Rabi'ah was lost 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:19.180 in these anxious thoughts, 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:22.180 her husband turned to her and said, 00:07:23.180 --> 00:07:26.180 "Bring out the wealth I entrusted 00:07:26.180 --> 00:07:29.180 to you, so that we may add this to it 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:32.180 and purchase with all of it an orchard or real estate, 00:07:32.180 --> 00:07:35.180 living off its yield 00:07:35.180 --> 00:07:38.279 for as long as our lives may last." 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:41.279 She feigned distraction and gave him no answer, 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:44.279 so he repeated his request, saying, 00:07:44.279 --> 00:07:47.279 "Come now, where is the money, 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:50.279 so that I may add to it what I have with me?" 00:07:50.279 --> 00:07:53.279 "I have placed it where it ought to be placed, 00:07:53.279 --> 00:07:56.279 and I will bring it out for you after a few 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:59.279 days, if Allah wills." 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:02.279 The voice of the muezzin interrupted their conversation, 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:05.279 so Farrukh hurried to his water pitcher, 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:08.279 then hastened toward the door, 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:11.279 saying, "Where is Rabi'ah?" 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.279 They told him, "He preceded you to the mosque 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:17.279 at the very first call, 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:22.040 so that you may catch the congregational prayer." 00:08:22.040 --> 00:08:25.040 Farrukh reached the mosque 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:28.040 and found that the imam had just finished the prayer, 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.040 so he performed the obligatory prayer alone. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:34.039 Then he proceeded toward the Noble Tomb 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:37.039 and conveyed greetings of peace upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.039 Next, he turned toward the purified Rawdah, 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.039 for his heart held deep yearnings for it 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:46.039 and a longing to pray therein. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:50.039 He chose a spot for himself within its luminous expanse, 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:53.039 and began offering voluntary prayers, 00:08:53.039 --> 00:08:56.039 praying whatever Allah willed him to pray, 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:59.039 and then supplicating with whatever he was inspired to ask. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:02.039 When he intended to leave the mosque, 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.039 he found its vast courtyard overflowing 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:08.039 with a gathering of sacred knowledge 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.039 the likes of which he had never witnessed before. 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.039 He saw the people encircling the scholar leading the gathering, 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:17.039 circle after circle, 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:20.039 leaving not a single foothold in the courtyard. 00:09:20.039 --> 00:09:23.039 He scanned the crowd 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:26.039 and saw turbaned elders 00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:29.039 advanced in age and dignified men, 00:09:29.039 --> 00:09:32.039 whose bearing showed they were men of high standing, 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.039 as well as many young men 00:09:35.039 --> 00:09:38.039 kneeling upon their knees, 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.039 pens in hand, 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.039 eagerly recording whatever the shaykh spoke 00:09:44.039 --> 00:09:47.039 as pearls are gathered, 00:09:47.039 --> 00:09:50.039 preserving it in their notebooks 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.039 as precious treasures are preserved. 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:56.039 The people were directing their gazes 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:59.039 toward where the shaykh sat, 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:02.039 listening intently to every word he uttered, 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:05.039 as if birds were perched upon their heads. 00:10:05.039 --> 00:10:08.039 Transmitters relayed what the shaykh said, 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:12.039 so that not a single word escaped anyone, 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.039 no matter how far away they were. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:18.039 Farrukh tried to make out the shaykh's features, 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:21.039 but could not due to his vantage point 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:24.039 and his distance from him. 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:27.039 He was awestruck by his brilliant eloquence, 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:30.039 his overflowing knowledge, 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:33.039 his remarkable memory, 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:36.200 and the deference of the people before him, 00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:39.200 until the shaykh concluded his gathering and stood up. 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:42.200 The people rushed toward him, 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:45.200 crowding around and encircling him, 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.200 following him to escort him 00:10:48.200 --> 00:10:51.200 out of the mosque. 00:10:51.200 --> 00:10:54.200 Thereupon, Farrukh turned to a man 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.200 who was sitting beside him and said, 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.299 "Tell me, for Allah's sake, who is this shaykh?" 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:03.299 The man replied in astonishment, 00:11:04.299 --> 00:11:07.299 and Farrukh said, "Yes, indeed." 00:11:07.299 --> 00:11:10.299 The man said, "Is there in all of the city 00:11:10.299 --> 00:11:13.299 a single person who does not know the shaykh?!" 00:11:13.299 --> 00:11:16.299 Farrukh said, "Pardon me 00:11:16.299 --> 00:11:19.299 if I do not know him, 00:11:19.299 --> 00:11:22.299 for I have spent nearly thirty years 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:25.299 away from the city, 00:11:25.299 --> 00:11:28.299 and returned to it only yesterday." 00:11:28.299 --> 00:11:31.299 The man replied, "No harm then." 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:35.299 Then he said, "The shaykh to whom you listened 00:11:35.299 --> 00:11:38.299 is one of the leading masters of the Tabi'un 00:11:38.299 --> 00:11:41.299 and an eminent figure among the Muslims; 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:44.299 He is the hadith master of Medina, its jurist, 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:47.299 and its leading imam, despite his young 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:50.299 age." Farrukh then said— 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:53.299 “If only, when thou enteredst thy garden, thou hadst said: That which Allah willeth (will come to pass)! There is no strength save in Allah! Though thou seest me as less than thee in wealth and children,” (18:39) 00:11:53.299 --> 00:11:56.299 but the man continued, saying: 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:59.299 "Indeed, his gathering includes, as you saw, 00:11:59.299 --> 00:12:02.299 Malik ibn Anas, 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:05.299 Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man, 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:08.299 Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Ansari, 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:11.299 Sufyan al-Thawri, 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:14.299 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Amr al-Awza'i, 00:12:14.299 --> 00:12:17.299 al-Layth ibn Sa'd, 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:20.299 and countless others." 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:23.299 Farrukh said, "Yet you..." 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:26.299 but the man did not give him a chance to finish his sentence: 00:12:27.299 --> 00:12:30.299 "He is gentle, approachable, and generous of hand; 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:33.299 the people of Medina have never known anyone 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:36.299 more bountiful toward friends and their children, 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:39.299 nor more detached from worldly pleasures, 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:42.299 nor more yearning for that which is with Allah." 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:45.299 Farrukh then asked, 00:12:45.299 --> 00:12:48.299 "Yet you have not mentioned his name to me." 00:12:48.299 --> 00:12:51.299 The man replied, "He is Rabi'ah al-Ra'y." 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:54.299 Farrukh asked, "Rabi'ah al-Ra'y?" 00:12:55.299 --> 00:12:58.299 The man answered, "Yes, his name is Rabi'ah, 00:12:58.299 --> 00:13:01.299 but the scholars and elders of Medina 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:04.299 called him 'Rabi'ah al-Ra'y' 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:07.299 because whenever they could not find 00:13:07.299 --> 00:13:10.299 a direct text in the Book of Allah 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:13.299 or a hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:16.299 they would turn to him. 00:13:16.299 --> 00:13:19.299 He would then exercise reasoned judgment (ijtihad) and draw an analogy 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:22.299 between that which lacked a text and that which had one, 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:25.299 resolving whatever was obscure to them 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:28.299 in a way that put minds at ease 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:31.360 and brought reassurance to hearts." 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.360 Farrukh asked eagerly, 00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:37.360 "Yet you have not told me his lineage!" 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:40.360 The man replied, "He is Rabi'ah ibn Farrukh, 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:43.360 with the kunya Abu 'Abd al-Rahman. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.360 He was born after his father left Medina 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:49.360 to strive in the cause of Allah, 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.360 so his mother undertook his upbringing and education. 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.360 And just before the prayer, I heard people 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:58.360 saying that his father returned last night." 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:01.419 At that moment, 00:14:01.419 --> 00:14:04.419 there rolled down from Farrukh's eyes 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.419 two great tears, 00:14:07.419 --> 00:14:10.419 for which the man could discern no reason. 00:14:10.419 --> 00:14:13.419 Farrukh then hurried his steps toward his home, 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:16.419 and when Rabi'ah's mother saw him, she asked, 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:19.419 "What is the matter, Abu Rabi'ah?" 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:22.419 He said, "Nothing but good! 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:25.419 I have just seen our son, Rabi'ah, 00:14:25.419 --> 00:14:28.419 in a station of knowledge, honor, and glory 00:14:28.419 --> 00:14:31.419 the likes of which I have never seen for anyone before." 00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:34.419 Rabi'ah's mother seized the opportunity and said, 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:37.419 "Which is dearer to you: 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:40.419 thirty thousand dinars, or this 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:43.419 immense knowledge and honor your son has attained?" 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:46.419 He said, "Nay, by Allah, this is far dearer to me 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:49.419 and more precious than all the wealth of this world 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:52.419 entirely!" She said, 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:55.419 "I have spent all that you left with me upon him; 00:14:55.419 --> 00:14:58.419 are you truly pleased with what I have done?" 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:01.419 He said, "Yes, and may you be rewarded 00:15:01.419 --> 00:15:04.419 on my behalf, on his behalf, and on behalf of the Muslims 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:14.460 with the best of rewards!" 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:23.460 They were once here, 00:15:23.460 --> 00:15:26.460 showering our lives like clouds, 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:29.460 and ever among us, 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:32.460 their memory soars high. 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:35.460 They departed, leaving in the conscience 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:38.460 a profound question: 00:15:38.460 --> 00:15:41.460 Did ever a star like them ascend and shine so brightly? 00:15:41.460 --> 00:15:44.460 They filled this life 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:47.460 with proud accomplishments through their deeds, 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:50.500 and the world of mankind flourished through them.