WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:03.399 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:08.400 The best of generations in stances and exemplary conduct, 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:13.400 He followed the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke. 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:15.400 Mawaddah Association 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:17.399 presents: 00:00:17.399 --> 00:00:21.399 "Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un" 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:26.460 by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha, 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:28.460 may Allah have mercy on him. 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:32.640 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:34.640 may Allah have mercy on him. 00:00:42.659 --> 00:00:45.659 Speaking of the devout and ascetic caliph, 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:48.659 the fifth of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, 00:00:48.659 --> 00:00:50.659 is a discourse sweeter than the fragrance of musk 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:53.659 and more radiant than blooming gardens. 00:00:53.659 --> 00:00:55.759 His remarkable and illustrious biography 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:57.759 is a fragrant oasis: 00:00:57.759 --> 00:00:59.759 wherever you alight within it, 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:02.759 you find tender verdure, 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:04.760 splendid blossoms, 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:06.760 and ripe, harvest-ready fruit. 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:08.760 And if it is not within our power 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:10.760 to fully encompass that biography right now— 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:13.760 one that has adorned the brow of history— 00:01:13.760 --> 00:01:15.760 that does not prevent us 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.760 from plucking a flower from its garden 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:21.760 and drawing a gleam from its radiant light; 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:23.760 for what cannot be attained entirely 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:25.760 should not be abandoned completely. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:27.859 Here, then, are three portraits 00:01:27.859 --> 00:01:30.859 from the life of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, 00:01:30.859 --> 00:01:33.859 to be followed by further portraits in a subsequent volume, 00:01:33.859 --> 00:01:38.230 if Allah wills and grants ease. 00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:40.230 As for the first of these portraits, 00:01:40.230 --> 00:01:43.230 it is related to us by Salamah ibn Dinar, 00:01:43.230 --> 00:01:46.230 the scholar, judge, and elder of Medina, 00:01:46.230 --> 00:01:48.230 who said: 00:01:48.230 --> 00:01:50.230 "I came before the Caliph of the Muslims, 00:01:50.230 --> 00:01:52.230 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, 00:01:52.230 --> 00:01:55.230 while he was at Khunasirah in the district of Aleppo. 00:01:55.230 --> 00:01:58.230 Advanced age had already overtaken me, 00:01:58.230 --> 00:02:01.230 and a long time had passed since I had last met him. 00:02:01.230 --> 00:02:04.230 I found him seated at the head of the room, 00:02:04.230 --> 00:02:06.230 yet I did not recognize him, 00:02:06.230 --> 00:02:09.229 so greatly had his condition changed from what I had known of him 00:02:09.229 --> 00:02:12.229 back when he was governor of Medina. 00:02:12.229 --> 00:02:14.229 He welcomed me and said, 00:02:14.229 --> 00:02:17.229 'Come close to me, O Abu Hazim.' 00:02:17.229 --> 00:02:20.229 When I drew near to him, I said, 00:02:20.229 --> 00:02:23.229 'Are you not the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz?' 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:25.330 He replied, 'Indeed, I am.' 00:02:25.330 --> 00:02:26.330 I said, 00:02:27.330 --> 00:02:30.330 'Was your face not radiant, 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:32.330 your skin supple, 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:34.330 and your life comfortable and opulent?' 00:02:34.330 --> 00:02:36.330 He said, 'Indeed, it was.' 00:02:36.330 --> 00:02:37.330 I said, 00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:39.330 'Then what has altered your appearance so, 00:02:39.330 --> 00:02:42.330 now that you possess the gold and silver of the world 00:02:42.330 --> 00:02:45.330 and have become the Commander of the Faithful?' 00:02:45.330 --> 00:02:47.330 He asked, 00:02:47.330 --> 00:02:50.330 'And what has changed about me, O Abu Hazim?' 00:02:50.330 --> 00:02:51.330 I replied, 00:02:51.330 --> 00:02:53.330 'Your body has grown emaciated, 00:02:53.330 --> 00:02:55.330 your skin rough, 00:02:55.330 --> 00:02:57.330 your face pale, 00:02:57.330 --> 00:03:01.330 and the luster in your eyes has grown dim.' 00:03:01.330 --> 00:03:03.330 He wept and said, 00:03:03.330 --> 00:03:07.419 'How then would you find me if you were to see me in my grave after three days, 00:03:07.419 --> 00:03:10.419 with my eyeballs having flowed down upon my cheeks, 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:13.419 my abdomen ruptured and split open, 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:17.490 and worms freely roaming through my body? 00:03:17.490 --> 00:03:21.490 Had you seen me then, O Abu Hazim, 00:03:21.490 --> 00:03:25.490 you would disown recognizing me even more than you do today.' 00:03:25.490 --> 00:03:28.550 Then he raised his eyes toward me and said, 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:31.580 'Do you not remember a hadith 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:35.580 that you once narrated to me in Medina, O Abu Hazim?' 00:03:35.580 --> 00:03:36.580 I replied, 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:39.580 'I narrated many hadiths to you, 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:41.580 O Commander of the Faithful; 00:03:41.580 --> 00:03:43.680 which one do you mean?' 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:44.680 He said, 00:03:44.680 --> 00:03:47.680 'The hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah.' 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:49.680 I said, 'Yes, 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:51.680 do you recall it, O Commander of the Faithful?' 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:52.680 He said, 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:54.680 'Recite it to me again, 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.740 for I wish to hear it directly from you.' 00:03:57.740 --> 00:03:58.740 I said, 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:01.740 'I heard Abu Hurayrah say: 00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:05.740 I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say: 00:04:05.740 --> 00:04:10.740 "Ahead of you lies a steep, rugged, and arduous mountain pass; 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:14.740 none shall cross it save those who are lean and slender."' 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:17.740 Thereupon, 'Umar wept so intensely 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:21.740 that I feared his gall bladder would burst. 00:04:21.740 --> 00:04:25.839 Then he wiped away his tears, turned to me, and said, 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:28.899 'Do you blame me, O Abu Hazim, 00:04:28.899 --> 00:04:31.899 if I starve and emaciate myself for that steep ascent, 00:04:31.899 --> 00:04:34.899 hoping thereby to be delivered from it? 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:36.899 Yet I scarcely think I will be saved.' 00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:42.379 As for the second portrait from the life of 'Umar, 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:46.379 al-Tabari relates it to us on the authority of al-Tufayl ibn Mirdas, 00:04:46.379 --> 00:04:47.379 who said: 00:04:47.379 --> 00:04:50.379 When the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, 00:04:50.379 --> 00:04:52.379 assumed the caliphate, 00:04:52.379 --> 00:04:55.379 he wrote to Sulayman ibn Abi al-Sari, 00:04:55.379 --> 00:04:58.379 his governor over Sogdia, a letter in which he said: 00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:01.500 'Establish inns throughout your lands 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:03.500 to host Muslims. 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:06.500 Whenever any of them passes by, 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:08.500 host them for a day and a night, 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:10.500 attend to their needs, 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:12.500 and care for their mounts. 00:05:12.500 --> 00:05:15.500 If he suffers from exhaustion or fatigue, 00:05:15.500 --> 00:05:18.500 host him for two days and two nights 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:20.500 and comfort him. 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:23.500 If he is stranded, having no provisions 00:05:23.500 --> 00:05:25.500 and no mount to carry him, 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:28.500 give him what will satisfy his need 00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:30.500 and convey him back to his homeland.' 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:33.500 The governor promptly complied with the command of the Commander of the Faithful 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:37.500 and erected the inns he had ordered him to prepare. 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:40.500 News of this spread far and wide, 00:05:40.500 --> 00:05:43.500 and people across the eastern 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:47.500 and western reaches of the Islamic lands began speaking of it, 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:51.500 extolling the justice and piety of the Caliph. 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:54.540 Consequently, the notables of Samarkand 00:05:54.540 --> 00:05:57.540 went as a delegation to its governor, Sulayman 00:05:57.540 --> 00:05:59.540 ibn Abi al-Sari, and said: 00:05:59.540 --> 00:06:03.540 'Your predecessor, Qutaybah ibn Muslim al-Bahili, 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:06.540 invaded our lands without prior warning 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:09.540 and did not follow the proper conduct of warfare that you, 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:11.540 the community of Muslims, observe. 00:06:11.540 --> 00:06:14.540 For we have learned that you invite your enemies 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:16.540 to embrace Islam; 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:20.540 if they refuse, you call upon them to pay the jizyah; 00:06:20.540 --> 00:06:24.540 and if they refuse, you declare war against them. 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:28.540 But we have witnessed such justice and piety from your Caliph 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:31.540 as to embolden us to lodge a complaint against your army to you, 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:35.540 and to seek your justice against what was inflicted upon us 00:06:35.540 --> 00:06:37.660 by one of your commanders. 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:39.660 Therefore, grant permission, O governor, 00:06:40.660 --> 00:06:43.660 for a delegation from among us to travel to your Caliph 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:45.660 and submit our grievance to him. 00:06:45.660 --> 00:06:47.660 If we are in the right, 00:06:47.660 --> 00:06:48.660 let it be granted to us; 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:52.699 and if not, we shall return as we came.' 00:06:52.699 --> 00:06:55.699 Sulayman granted permission for a delegation from among them 00:06:55.699 --> 00:06:58.819 to go before the Caliph in Damascus. 00:06:58.819 --> 00:07:01.819 When they arrived at the seat of the caliphate, 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:04.819 they presented their case to the Caliph of the Muslims, 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:06.819 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz. 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:14.899 Thereupon, the Caliph wrote a letter to his governor, Sulayman ibn Abi al-Sari, saying: 'To proceed: When this letter of mine 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:22.180 reaches you, appoint a judge for the people of Samarkand to look into their grievance. If he rules 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:29.060 in their favor, order the Muslim army to evacuate their city, instruct the Muslims residing 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:34.819 among them to depart, and return to the state you and they were in before 00:07:34.819 --> 00:07:41.850 Qutaybah ibn Muslim al-Bahili entered their lands.' When the delegation returned to Sulayman ibn Abi 00:07:41.850 --> 00:07:48.290 al-Sari and delivered the letter of the Commander of the Faithful to him, he immediately appointed for them the chief judge, 00:07:48.290 --> 00:07:55.050 Jumay' ibn Hadir al-Naji, who examined their grievance, investigated their account thoroughly, 00:07:55.050 --> 00:08:01.850 and heard the testimony of a number of Muslim soldiers and commanders. Once the validity of 00:08:01.850 --> 00:08:09.069 their claim became evident to him, he ruled in their favor. At that, the governor commanded the Muslim troops 00:08:09.069 --> 00:08:15.589 to vacate the city for them, return to their military camps, and confront them anew: 00:08:15.589 --> 00:08:22.069 either entering their land through a peaceful treaty, prevailing over 00:08:22.069 --> 00:08:28.660 them in open warfare, or failing to conquer it altogether. When the notables 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:35.860 of the people heard the verdict of the chief judge of the Muslims in their favor, they said to one another, 'Woe to you! You have 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:42.059 mingled with these people, lived alongside them, and seen their conduct, justice, 00:08:42.059 --> 00:08:49.059 and truthfulness. Therefore, let them remain among you, be pleased to live beside them, 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:57.419 and find comfort in their companionship.' As for the third portrait from the life of 'Umar, 00:08:57.419 --> 00:09:04.620 may Allah be pleased with him, Ibn 'Abd al-Hakam relates it in his precious book entitled 00:09:04.620 --> 00:09:11.539 *Sirat 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz*, saying: 'When death approached 'Umar, 00:09:11.539 --> 00:09:17.740 Maslamah ibn 'Abd al-Malik entered upon him and said, 'O Commander of the Faithful, you have weaned 00:09:17.740 --> 00:09:25.340 the mouths of your children from this wealth, so would that you entrust their care to me or to whomever you prefer 00:09:25.340 --> 00:09:33.740 from your household.' When he finished speaking, 'Umar said, 'Help me sit up.' So they helped him sit up, and he said, 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:40.899 'I have heard your words, O Maslamah. As for your statement that I have weaned the mouths of my children 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:47.179 from this wealth, by Allah, I have not withheld any right that belonged to them, nor was I ever 00:09:47.179 --> 00:09:53.700 going to give them anything that was not theirs. And as for your suggestion that I entrust them to you or to 00:09:53.700 --> 00:10:00.820 whomever I prefer from my household, my only guardian and trustee over them is Allah, Who revealed 00:10:00.820 --> 00:10:08.340 the Book in truth, and He protects the righteous. Know, O Maslamah, that my sons 00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:16.259 are of two kinds: either a righteous, God-fearing man whom Allah will enrich from His bounty and grant 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:23.659 a way out in his affairs, or a wicked man bent on sin, and I will never 00:10:23.659 --> 00:10:31.100 be the first to assist him with wealth in disobeying Allah Almighty.' Then he said, 'Call 00:10:31.100 --> 00:10:38.460 my children to me.' So they summoned them, and they were a dozen or so boys. When he saw them, his eyes welled 00:10:38.460 --> 00:10:44.700 with tears, and he said, 'May my soul be ransomed for youths whom I leave in poverty, possessing nothing!' 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:53.149 He wept silently, then turned to them and said, 'O my sons, I have 00:10:53.190 --> 00:10:59.029 left you immense good; for you will not pass by any Muslim 00:10:59.029 --> 00:11:06.950 or dhimmi without them acknowledging that they owe you a right. O my sons, before you 00:11:06.950 --> 00:11:12.389 lies a choice between two matters: either you become wealthy and your father enters 00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:18.509 the Fire, or you remain poor and he enters Paradise; and I believe nothing other 00:11:18.549 --> 00:11:24.230 than that you would prefer your father's rescue from the Fire over wealth.' Then he looked 00:11:24.230 --> 00:11:30.629 at them gently and said, 'Stand and go, may Allah protect you; stand and go, may Allah provide 00:11:30.629 --> 00:11:37.460 for you.' Maslamah then turned to him and said, 'I have something better than that, O 00:11:37.460 --> 00:11:45.019 Commander of the Faithful.' He asked, 'And what is it?' He replied, 'I possess three hundred thousand dinars, 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:53.730 and I gift them to you: distribute them among them, or give them away in charity if you wish.' 'Umar said to him, 00:11:53.730 --> 00:12:02.000 'Or something even better than that, O Maslamah?' He asked, 'And what is that, O Commander of the Faithful?' He said, 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:10.009 'Return it to those from whom you took it, for you have no rightful claim to it.' Tears welled in the eyes of 00:12:10.009 --> 00:12:17.809 Maslamah, and he said, 'May Allah have mercy on you, O Commander of the Faithful, in life and in death! You have softened 00:12:17.809 --> 00:12:25.570 our hardened hearts, reminded them when they were heedless, and preserved for us a legacy 00:12:25.570 --> 00:12:34.159 among the righteous.' Later, people traced the fortunes of 'Umar's sons after his passing, and they observed 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:40.710 that not one of them ever fell into need or poverty; and true are the words of Allah the Almighty when He says... 00:12:40.710 --> 00:13:08.470 'Umar Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz is counted by the people of knowledge among the practicing scholars 00:13:08.470 --> 00:13:20.889 and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, radiant in his principled stances and exemplary conduct, following the Messenger whenever 00:13:20.889 --> 00:13:31.889 he strove or spoke. They were once here, reviving the drought of our lives, and in our midst their memory continues 00:13:31.889 --> 00:13:42.169 to soar high. They departed, leaving within the conscience a question: has any star ever risen 00:13:42.169 --> 00:13:52.710 and shone like them? They filled life with glories through their deeds, and through them, the world of patience blossomed.