WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:15.259 --> 00:00:18.260 The Mawaddah Association is pleased 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:22.260 to present to you "Portraits from the Lives of the Companions" 00:00:22.260 --> 00:00:25.260 by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:27.289 may Allah have mercy on him. 00:00:27.289 --> 00:00:34.299 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, 00:00:45.030 --> 00:00:50.890 was one of the first eight people to embrace Islam, 00:00:50.890 --> 00:00:53.890 one of the ten promised Paradise, 00:00:53.890 --> 00:00:59.890 one of the six members of the consultative council (Shura) tasked with choosing the caliph after al-Faruq 'Umar, 00:00:59.890 --> 00:01:03.890 and one of the small group who used to issue legal verdicts (fatwas) in Medina 00:01:03.890 --> 00:01:10.890 while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was alive and living among the Muslims. 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:13.890 In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), his name was 'Abd 'Amr, 00:01:13.890 --> 00:01:18.890 but when he accepted Islam, the noble Messenger named him 'Abd al-Rahman. 00:01:18.890 --> 00:01:23.890 That was 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him. 00:01:23.890 --> 00:01:28.890 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf accepted Islam before the noble Messenger entered the house of al-Arqam, 00:01:28.890 --> 00:01:32.890 just two days after the conversion of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. 00:01:32.890 --> 00:01:37.890 He endured the same persecution in the cause of Allah that the earliest Muslims faced; 00:01:37.890 --> 00:01:39.890 he was patient, just as they were patient, 00:01:39.890 --> 00:01:41.890 he stood firm, just as they stood firm, 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:43.890 and he remained true, just as they remained true. 00:01:43.890 --> 00:01:48.890 He fled with his faith to Abyssinia, just as many of them fled with theirs. 00:01:49.890 --> 00:01:53.890 When the Messenger and his companions were permitted to migrate to Medina, 00:01:53.890 --> 00:01:58.890 he was in the vanguard of the emigrants (Muhajirun) who migrated for the sake of Allah and His Messenger. 00:01:58.890 --> 00:02:05.890 When the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, established brotherhood between the Muhajirun and the Ansar, 00:02:05.890 --> 00:02:10.889 he paired him with Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him. 00:02:10.889 --> 00:02:13.889 Sa'd said to his brother 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf: 00:02:13.889 --> 00:02:17.889 "O my brother, I am the wealthiest among the people of Medina. 00:02:17.889 --> 00:02:21.889 I have two orchards and two wives. 00:02:21.889 --> 00:02:26.889 Look and see which of the two orchards you prefer so that I may surrender it to you, 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:30.919 and which of my two wives pleases you more so that I may divorce her for you." 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:33.919 'Abd al-Rahman said to his Ansari brother: 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:36.919 "May Allah bless you in your family and your wealth. 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.919 Just direct me to the marketplace." 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:42.919 So Sa'd directed him to it, and 'Abd al-Rahman began trading; 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:46.919 he set about buying, selling, making a profit, and saving. 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:52.919 It was not long before he had gathered enough for a woman's dowry, and so he married. 00:02:52.919 --> 00:02:57.919 He then came to the Messenger, peace be upon him, wearing traces of perfume. 00:02:57.919 --> 00:03:00.919 The Messenger, peace be upon him, asked him: 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:03.919 "Mahyam, O 'Abd al-Rahman?" 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:06.919 — this being a Yemeni word expressing surprise. 00:03:06.919 --> 00:03:08.919 He replied: "I have gotten married." 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:12.919 The Prophet asked: "And how much dowry did you give your wife?" 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.919 He replied: "The weight of a date stone in gold." 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:18.919 The Prophet said: "Offer a wedding feast (walimah), even if with only a single sheep. 00:03:18.919 --> 00:03:20.919 May Allah bless you in your wealth." 00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:22.919 'Abd al-Rahman said: 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:27.919 "Then the world opened up to me so abundantly that I felt that if I were to lift a stone, 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.050 I would expect to find gold or silver beneath it." 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:37.050 On the day of Badr, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf strove in the cause of Allah with true devotion, 00:03:37.050 --> 00:03:42.110 slaying the enemy of Allah, 'Umayr ibn 'Uthman ibn Ka'b al-Taymi. 00:03:42.110 --> 00:03:44.110 On the day of Uhud, 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:46.110 he stood firm when feet were shaken, 00:03:46.110 --> 00:03:49.110 and held his ground when the defeated fled. 00:03:49.110 --> 00:03:53.110 He emerged from the battle bearing more than twenty wounds, 00:03:53.110 --> 00:03:57.110 some of them so deep that a man's hand could enter them. 00:03:57.110 --> 00:04:00.110 Yet 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf's sacrifice with his person 00:04:00.110 --> 00:04:04.110 came to be seen as modest when compared to his striving with his wealth. 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:08.110 For on one occasion, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:10.110 wished to equip an expedition. 00:04:10.110 --> 00:04:13.110 He stood before his Companions and said: 00:04:13.110 --> 00:04:17.110 "Give in charity, for I intend to dispatch an expedition." 00:04:17.110 --> 00:04:20.139 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf hastened to his home 00:04:20.139 --> 00:04:22.139 and quickly returned, saying: 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:24.139 "O Messenger of Allah! 00:04:24.139 --> 00:04:26.139 I have four thousand [dirhams]: 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:28.139 two thousand I have lent to my Lord, 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:31.139 and two thousand I have left for my family." 00:04:31.139 --> 00:04:35.209 The Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 00:04:35.209 --> 00:04:38.209 "May Allah bless you in what you have given, 00:04:38.209 --> 00:04:42.209 and may Allah bless you in what you have withheld." 00:04:42.209 --> 00:04:45.209 When the Messenger, peace be upon him, resolved 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:46.209 to undertake the Expedition of Tabuk — 00:04:46.209 --> 00:04:49.209 which was the last campaign he fought in his life — 00:04:49.209 --> 00:04:54.209 the need for funds was no less pressing than the need for men. 00:04:54.209 --> 00:04:58.209 The Byzantine army was immense in numbers and heavily equipped, 00:04:58.209 --> 00:05:01.209 that year in Medina was a year of severe drought, 00:05:01.209 --> 00:05:04.209 the journey was long, provisions were scarce, 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:06.209 and riding mounts were scarcer still, 00:05:06.209 --> 00:05:13.209 so much so that a group of believers came to the Messenger pleading with deep sorrow that he take them with him, 00:05:13.209 --> 00:05:17.209 but he had to turn them away because he could find no mounts for them to ride; 00:05:17.209 --> 00:05:23.209 “Nor unto those whom, when they came to thee (asking) that thou shouldst mount them, thou didst tell: I cannot find whereon to mount you. They turned back with eyes flowing with tears, for sorrow that they could not find the means to spend.” (9:92) 00:05:23.209 --> 00:05:25.209 they were thus called "the Weepers" (al-Bakka'un), 00:05:26.209 --> 00:05:29.209 and that army was named the "Army of Hardship" (Jaysh al-'Usrah). 00:05:29.209 --> 00:05:36.300 At that moment, the Messenger, peace be upon him, commanded his Companions to spend in the cause of Allah 00:05:36.300 --> 00:05:39.300 and to seek their reward with Allah. 00:05:39.300 --> 00:05:44.300 The Muslims rushed to respond to the call of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:49.300 and in the vanguard of those giving charity was 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf. 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:53.300 He gave two hundred ounces (awqiyyahs) of gold in charity. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:57.300 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said to the Prophet, peace be upon him: 00:05:57.300 --> 00:06:01.300 "I fear that 'Abd al-Rahman has committed an error, 00:06:01.300 --> 00:06:04.300 for he has left nothing for his family." 00:06:04.300 --> 00:06:07.300 The Messenger, peace be upon him, asked: 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:10.300 "Have you left anything for your family, O 'Abd al-Rahman?" 00:06:10.300 --> 00:06:15.300 He replied: "Yes, I have left them more and better than what I spent." 00:06:15.300 --> 00:06:17.300 The Prophet asked: "How much?" 00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:18.300 He said: 00:06:18.300 --> 00:06:23.300 "What Allah and His Messenger have promised of provision, goodness, and reward." 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:26.399 The army marched on to Tabuk, 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:29.399 and there, Allah honored 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:33.459 with an honor bestowed upon no other Muslim. 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:35.459 The time for prayer arrived 00:06:35.459 --> 00:06:39.459 while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was absent, 00:06:39.459 --> 00:06:43.560 so 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf led the Muslims in prayer. 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:46.560 Scarcely had the first unit of prayer (rak'ah) ended 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.560 when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrived 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:51.560 and joined the Muslims; 00:06:51.560 --> 00:06:53.560 he followed 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf in prayer 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:55.560 and prayed behind him. 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:59.560 Is there any honor greater or any virtue higher 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:02.560 than for a person to serve as the imam for the master of creation 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:06.560 and the leader of the prophets, Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah? 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:09.560 When the Messenger, peace be upon him, passed away 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:11.560 to the Highest Companion, 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:15.560 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf undertook to look after the affairs of the Mothers of the Believers. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:17.560 He would attend to their needs, 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.560 traveling with them whenever they traveled, 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:23.560 performing the Hajj with them whenever they performed it, 00:07:23.560 --> 00:07:26.560 placing protective mantles over their camel-litters, 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:29.560 and pitching their camps in places that pleased them. 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:33.560 That was one of the noble merits of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.560 and a mark of the trust the Mothers of the Believers placed in him, 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.560 an honor in which he had every right to take pride. 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:42.560 Such was the extent of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf's benevolence 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.560 toward the Muslims and the Mothers of the Believers 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.560 that he once sold a plot of land belonging to him for forty thousand dinars 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.560 and distributed the entire sum among the clan of Banu Zuhrah, 00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:55.560 the poor among the Muslims and the Muhajirun, 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:58.560 and the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.560 When he sent to the Mother of the Believers 'A'ishah, 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:04.560 may Allah be pleased with her, the share allotted to her from that money, 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.560 she asked: "Who sent this money?" 00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:10.560 She was told: "'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf." 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:12.560 She said: 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:15.560 "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:18.560 'None will show compassion to you after me except the truly patient.'" 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:22.689 The supplication of the Messenger, peace be upon him, 00:08:22.689 --> 00:08:24.689 for 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf 00:08:24.689 --> 00:08:26.689 that Allah bless his wealth 00:08:26.689 --> 00:08:29.689 continued to shelter him throughout his entire life, 00:08:29.689 --> 00:08:32.690 until he became the wealthiest of all the Companions 00:08:32.690 --> 00:08:34.690 and the most affluent among them. 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:37.690 His commerce continually flourished and expanded, 00:08:37.690 --> 00:08:43.690 and his caravans moved back and forth, departing from Medina and returning to it, 00:08:43.690 --> 00:08:46.690 bringing its residents wheat, flour, cooking oil, 00:08:46.690 --> 00:08:49.690 garments, utensils, perfume, 00:08:49.690 --> 00:08:52.690 and everything else they needed, 00:08:52.690 --> 00:08:56.690 while transporting away whatever surplus produce exceeded their needs. 00:08:56.690 --> 00:08:58.690 One day, 00:08:58.690 --> 00:09:01.690 a caravan belonging to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf arrived in Medina, 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:04.690 consisting of seven hundred laden camels — 00:09:04.690 --> 00:09:07.690 yes, seven hundred camels! — 00:09:07.690 --> 00:09:10.690 bearing on their backs provisions, merchandise, 00:09:10.690 --> 00:09:13.690 and all that the people needed. 00:09:13.690 --> 00:09:18.690 No sooner had it entered Medina than the ground trembled beneath it, 00:09:18.690 --> 00:09:21.690 and a tremendous clamor and commotion were heard. 00:09:21.690 --> 00:09:24.690 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, asked: 00:09:24.690 --> 00:09:26.690 "What is this commotion?" 00:09:26.690 --> 00:09:30.690 She was told: "A caravan belonging to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf; 00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:35.690 seven hundred camels carrying wheat, flour, and food." 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:38.690 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, remarked: 00:09:38.690 --> 00:09:42.690 "May Allah bless him in what He has given him in this world, 00:09:42.690 --> 00:09:45.690 but the reward of the Hereafter is far greater! 00:09:45.690 --> 00:09:49.690 For I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: 00:09:49.690 --> 00:09:53.690 ''Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf will enter Paradise crawling.'" 00:09:53.690 --> 00:09:56.690 Before the camels had even knelt down, 00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.690 a bearer of good tidings rushed to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf 00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:03.779 and conveyed what the Mother of the Believers had said, congratulating him on the promise of Paradise. 00:10:03.779 --> 00:10:06.779 No sooner had this glad tiding reached his ears 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:10.779 than he flew swiftly to 'A'ishah and asked: 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:16.779 "O Mother, did you hear that from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?" 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:18.779 She replied: "Yes." 00:10:18.779 --> 00:10:20.779 Overjoyed, he exclaimed: 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:23.779 "If I am able, I shall surely enter it standing! 00:10:23.779 --> 00:10:25.779 I call you to witness, O Mother, 00:10:25.779 --> 00:10:30.779 that this entire caravan, with its loads, saddles, and gear, 00:10:30.779 --> 00:10:32.779 is dedicated in the cause of Allah." 00:10:32.779 --> 00:10:35.779 From that luminous and blessed day 00:10:35.779 --> 00:10:39.779 on which 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf was given the glad tidings of entering Paradise, 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:43.779 his devotion to giving and spending his wealth increased immensely. 00:10:43.779 --> 00:10:47.779 He began disbursing it with both hands, right and left, 00:10:47.779 --> 00:10:49.779 secretly and openly. 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:52.779 He gave forty thousand silver dirhams in charity, 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:55.779 followed by forty thousand gold dinars, 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:59.779 and then donated two hundred ounces of gold. 00:10:59.779 --> 00:11:04.779 He subsequently mounted fighters in the cause of Allah upon five hundred horses, 00:11:04.779 --> 00:11:09.779 and provided mounts for yet other fighters upon one thousand five hundred camels. 00:11:09.779 --> 00:11:12.779 When death approached 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:15.779 he emancipated a great number of his slaves, 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:18.779 and bequeathed to every surviving veteran of Badr 00:11:18.779 --> 00:11:21.779 four hundred dinars of gold, 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:24.779 all of which they received; 00:11:24.779 --> 00:11:26.779 and they numbered one hundred men. 00:11:26.779 --> 00:11:31.879 He also bequeathed a vast amount of wealth to each of the Mothers of the Believers, 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:35.879 such that the Mother of the Believers 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:38.879 would frequently pray for him, saying: 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:41.879 "May Allah give him to drink from the waters of Salsabil." 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:44.879 Then, after all of that, 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:48.879 he left behind for his heirs wealth that could scarcely be counted: 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:50.879 leaving one thousand camels, 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:52.879 as well as a hundred horses 00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:54.879 and three thousand sheep. 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:56.879 He had four wives, 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:02.879 and each one's share—a fourth of the eighth—amounted to eighty thousand dinars. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:04.909 He also left behind gold and silver 00:12:04.909 --> 00:12:07.909 that had to be chopped with axes to be divided among his heirs, 00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:11.909 to the point that the men's hands blistered from cleaving it. 00:12:11.909 --> 00:12:15.909 All of this was by virtue of the supplication of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:12:15.909 --> 00:12:18.909 who prayed that Allah bless him in his wealth. 00:12:18.909 --> 00:12:20.940 Yet all that vast wealth 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:24.940 never seduced 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf, nor did it change him. 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:28.940 Whenever people saw him among his servants, 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:31.940 they could not tell him apart from them. 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:34.980 One day, food was brought to him while he was fasting, 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:37.980 so he looked at it and said: 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:39.980 "Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr was killed, 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:41.980 and he was better than me, 00:12:41.980 --> 00:12:44.980 yet we could find nothing to shroud him in except a single garment; 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:47.980 if it covered his head, his feet were exposed, 00:12:47.980 --> 00:12:50.980 and if it covered his feet, his head was exposed. 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:54.980 Then the riches of this world were showered upon us as they were, 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:58.980 and I truly fear that our rewards have been hastened to us in this life." 00:12:58.980 --> 00:13:04.009 Then he began to weep and sob until he lost all appetite for the food. 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:08.039 Blessed indeed is 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf, and worthy of all envy! 00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:13.039 For the truthful and trusted Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah gave him the glad tidings of Paradise, 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:16.039 and his bier was carried by the maternal uncle of the Messenger of Allah, 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:19.039 Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas; 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:21.039 the funeral prayer over him was led by Dhu al-Nurayn, 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:23.039 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan; 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:27.039 and he was escorted to his grave by the Commander of the Faithful, whose countenance was honored by Allah, 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:29.039 'Ali Ibn Abi Talib, 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:31.039 who said: 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:33.039 "You attained its purity 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:36.039 and outran its falsehood; may Allah have mercy on you!" 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:43.779 May Allah bless what you have given, 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:47.460 and may Allah bless what you have withheld, 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:49.460 as in the supplication of the Messenger. 00:13:49.460 --> 00:13:53.460 You have scaled a lofty edifice, O poetry, 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:57.639 and in praising them, can there ever be enough?