*Riyad al-Salihin* (The Meadows of the Righteous)
From the words of the Master of the Messengers,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Chapter: The Obligation of Fulfilling Trusts.
On the authority of Hudhayfah and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Allah, Blessed and Exalted, will gather the people,
and the believers will stand
until Paradise is brought near to them.
They will go to Adam (may the blessings of Allah be upon him)
and say,
'O our father, ask for Paradise to be opened for us!'
He will reply,
'Did anything drive you out of Paradise except your father's error?
I am not the one for that;
go to my son Ibrahim, the Intimate Friend of Allah (Khalilullah).'
He said:
They will then go to Ibrahim,
but Ibrahim will say,
'I am not the one for that;
I was only an intimate friend from behind a veil.
Head towards Musa, to whom Allah spoke directly.'
So they will go to Musa,
but he will say,
'I am not the one for that;
go to 'Isa,
the Word of Allah and a spirit proceeding from Him.'
But 'Isa will say,
'I am not the one for that.'
Then they will come to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
and he will arise,
and permission will be granted to him.
Trustworthiness and ties of kinship will be sent forth,
and they will stand on either side of the Sirat, to the right and to the left.
The first of you will cross like lightning."
I asked,
"May my father and mother be ransomed for you!
What is like the passage of lightning?"
He said,
"Have you not seen how it flashes and returns in the blink of an eye?
Then like the passing of the wind,
then like the flight of birds,
and the running of the swiftest of men; their deeds will carry them,
while your Prophet stands upon the Sirat, saying,
'My Lord, grant safety, grant safety!'
until the deeds of the servants fall short,
to the extent that a man will come unable to cross except by crawling.
On both sides of the Sirat are suspended hooks,
commanded to snatch whomever they are ordered to seize;
so some will be scratched yet saved,
while others will be hurled headlong into the Fire.
By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Abu Hurayrah,
the depth of Hell is a descent of seventy autumns."
Related by Muslim.
His saying "from behind a veil" (*min wara'i wara'*):
Its meaning is: "I do not possess that lofty station."
It is an expression uttered out of humble modesty.
"Allah will gather the people":
Meaning, after the Resurrection,
on the land of gathering.
"Paradise is brought near to them":
Meaning, Paradise will be drawn close to them.
"Ask for it to be opened" (*istaftih*):
Meaning, ask for its gates to be opened for us.
*Khalil* derives from *khullah*,
which is the highest degree of love.
*Al-Rahim* (ties of kinship):
Meaning the blood relations that the Shari'ah mandates maintaining.
*Janbatay*:
Meaning on both flanks.
*Al-Sirat*:
It is a bridge extended over the expanse of Hell,
across which the gathered multitude will pass.
"May my father and mother be ransomed for you":
Meaning, I would sacrifice them both for you.
"In the blink of an eye":
Meaning, the span of time it takes for one eyelid to meet the other.
"The swiftest of men":
Meaning the strongest of men in their fast sprint.
"Until the deeds of the servants fall short":
Meaning their righteous deeds become too weak to grant them swift passage over the Sirat.
*Kalalib* (hooks):
The plural of *kallub*,
which is an iron instrument with a curved tip,
upon which meat is suspended.
"Scratched" (*makhdush*):
Meaning wounded and torn.
"Hurled headlong" (*mukardas*):
Meaning violently driven into Hell,
and thrown into it, piled one atop another.
*Al-Kharif* (autumn):
Meaning a year.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
It informs of the ultimate destiny of humanity,
and that Allah will gather them to Himself on a Day about which there is no doubt,
to hold them accountable for their deeds.
Paradise will not be opened except through the request of the Intercessor (peace be upon him).
The origin of mankind is Adam (peace and blessings be upon him),
and this is a certain truth that admits no doubt.
The humility of the Prophets,
as each of them refers the matter to the other,
mentioning an occurrence from his worldly life.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
is the granted intercessor on the Day of Resurrection,
and this is proof of his excellence and virtue,
his precedence over all other prophets,
and the sublimity of his rank with his Lord, Exalted and Glorious.
The immense gravity of fulfilling trusts and maintaining ties of kinship,
as they will stand on either side of the Sirat.
The varying states of people upon the Sirat,
and that they are saved from the punishment through their deeds,
and enter Paradise through the mercy of Allah.
The sheer terror of Hell and the vastness of its depth,
and that it is the abode of the disbelievers and hypocrites.
On the authority of Abu Khubayb 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
When al-Zubayr stood on the Day of the Camel,
he called me, and I stood beside him.
He said, "O my son,
no one will be killed today except an oppressor or one oppressed,
and I see myself only as being killed today as one oppressed.
Indeed, my greatest concern is my debt;
do you think our debt will leave anything of our wealth?"
Then he said, "O my son,
sell our property and settle my debt."
And he bequeathed one-third, and one-third of that third to my sons—
meaning to the sons of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, one-third of the third.
He said, "If anything remains of our property after paying off the debt,
one-third of it is for your sons."
Hisham said:
Some of 'Abdullah's sons were equal in age to the sons of al-Zubayr:
Khubayb and 'Abbad;
and he had on that day nine sons and nine daughters.
'Abdullah said:
He kept admonishing me regarding his debt, saying,
"O my son,
if you find yourself unable to settle any part of it,
seek the help of my Master in paying it."
He said:
By Allah, I did not understand what he meant
until I asked,
"O my father, who is your Master?"
He replied,
"Allah."
He said:
By Allah, whenever I faced distress concerning his debt,
I would say,
"O Master of al-Zubayr,
settle his debt on his behalf,"
and He would settle it.
He said:
Then al-Zubayr was killed,
and he did not leave behind a single dinar or dirham,
but only lands,
among which was al-Ghabah,
eleven houses in Medina,
two houses in Basra,
one house in Kufa,
and one house in Egypt.
He said:
The debt he incurred was only because
a man would come to him with wealth,
seeking to leave it with him as a trust,
but al-Zubayr would say,
"No,
rather, let it be a loan,
for I fear it might be lost."
He had never held a governorship,
nor collected revenue or anything of the sort,
except by participating in military campaigns alongside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
or alongside Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them).
'Abdullah said:
So I calculated the debt he owed,
and found it to be two million and two hundred thousand.
Hakim ibn Hizam met 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr and said,
"O nephew,
how much debt does my brother owe?"
I concealed it and said,
"One hundred thousand."
Hakim said,
"By Allah, I do not think your properties can cover this."
'Abdullah said,
"What would you think if it were two million and two hundred thousand?"
He said,
"I do not think you can bear this;
but if you are unable to pay any of it, seek my assistance."
He said:
Al-Zubayr had purchased al-Ghabah for one hundred and seventy thousand,
and 'Abdullah sold it for one million and six hundred thousand.
Then he stood up and announced,
"Whoever has a claim against al-Zubayr,
let him meet us at al-Ghabah."
'Abdullah ibn Ja'far came to him,
and al-Zubayr owed him four hundred thousand.
He said to 'Abdullah,
"If you wish, I will forgo it for you."
'Abdullah said,
"No."
He said,
"So if you wish, you may defer my share along with whatever other debts you defer."
'Abdullah replied,
"No."
He said,
"Then carve out a portion of the land for me."
'Abdullah said,
"Yours is from here to here."
Then 'Abdullah sold parts of it,
paid off his father's debts, and cleared them entirely,
leaving four and a half shares remaining.
He then traveled to Mu'awiyah, who was in the company of 'Umar ibn 'Uthman,
al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr,
and Ibn Zam'ah.
Mu'awiyah asked him,
"At what price did you value al-Ghabah?"
He replied,
"One hundred thousand per share."
He asked,
"How many shares remain of it?"
He said,
"Four and a half shares."
Al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr said,
"I will purchase one share of it for one hundred thousand."
'Umar ibn 'Uthman said,
"I will purchase one share of it for one hundred thousand."
And Ibn Zam'ah said,
"I will purchase one share for one hundred thousand."
Mu'awiyah then said,
"How much remains of it?" He replied, "A share and a half." Mu'awiyah said, "I take it for one hundred and fifty thousand."
'Abdullah ibn Ja'far later sold his own share to Mu'awiyah for six hundred thousand. And when
Ibn al-Zubayr had finished settling all the debts, the heirs of al-Zubayr said, "Distribute our inheritance among us."
He replied, "By Allah, I will not divide it among you until I announce during the pilgrimage season for four years: 'Whoever is owed
a debt by al-Zubayr, let him come to us so we may pay him.'" Thus, he made that announcement every year during
the pilgrimage season. When the four years had passed, he divided the estate among them, having set aside the designated third. Al-Zubayr had
four wives, and each wife's share amounted to one million two hundred thousand; his total estate amounted to
fifty million two hundred thousand. Related by al-Bukhari. The Day of the Camel was the famous battle
fought between 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, alongside those with
him, and 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) alongside those with her. It was called the Battle of the Camel
because 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was mounted upon a large camel standing in the ranks.
That took place in the thirty-sixth year of the Hijrah. "None will be slain except a wrongdoer
or one wronged": for the combatants were either a Companion exercising reasoned interpretation, who was thus wronged, or a non-
Companion fighting for worldly gains, who was thus a wrongdoer. "Waza" means equaled. "Kurbah" means a grief
that overwhelms the soul. "Al-Ghabah" is a vast piece of land in the upper outskirts of Medina. "Salaf" means
a loan. "Ara'aytaka" means inform me. "So if you wish, you may defer my share along with whatever other debts you defer"
means he offered to postpone the settlement of his debt along with the other debts whose payments were being deferred.
"Al-Mawsim" refers to the Hajj season. Among the benefits derived from this hadith is the humble self-estimation of al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him),
even though he was the disciple of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; his unwavering trust
in Allah, turning toward Him, being content with His decree, and seeking His aid. It highlights the gravity of
debt, for a man like al-Zubayr, with all his precedence in Islam
and well-established virtues, feared debt even after death. It shows the legitimacy of
making a bequest during wartime, since it can lead to death; the permissibility of borrowing;
and the obligation for the heirs of the deceased to settle debts before executing bequests and distributing
the estate. It confirms the permissibility of owning houses and lands, no matter how vast, provided they are acquired lawfully;
the obligation to preserve trusts; and the inner fortitude and dignity of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
may Allah be pleased with him and his father, shown by his declining the financial assistance offered by Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him)
and the debt forgiveness offered by 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him and his father).
When blessing is placed in something, it makes little become much,
whereas if it is stripped from something, it becomes a grave calamity. It is incumbent to refrain from delving into what occurred
of discord among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, for all of them were upright, and in whatever happened
between them, they were exercising personal judgment and reasoned interpretation. A righteous intention guides
a person toward the facilitation of their affairs and the repayment of their debts, just as occurred with al-Zubayr
ibn al-'Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him. Riyad al-Salihin.