In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The best of generations in their conduct and example,
Following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
Mawaddah Association
Presents:
Glimpses from the Lives of the Tabi‘un
By Dr. ‘Abd al-Rahman Ra’fat al-Basha,
May Allah have mercy upon him.
Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar,
May Allah have mercy upon him.
We find ourselves now during the Caliphate of the Faruq (the Distinguisher),
May the pleasure of Allah be upon him.
And here is the city of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Teeming with the spoils of war
That the Muslims had secured from the dominion of
Yazdegerd, the last of the Persian kings.
It contained the crowns of the Chosroes, encrusted with jewels,
Their belts adorned with pearls,
And their swords decorated with rubies and coral,
Such as no eye had ever beheld before.
Along with these vast and immense treasures,
There was a large group of Persian captives.
Among them were the three daughters of Yazdegerd.
‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, purchased them for a handsome price,
And presented them to a group of the brightest Muslim youth.
One of them chose al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali,
The grandson of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And she bore him Zayn al-‘Abidin.
The second chose Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,
And she bore him al-Qasim,
One of the seven jurists of Medina.
The third chose ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, the Caliph of the Muslims,
And she bore him Salim, the grandson of the Faruq,
And the man most resembling him in character.
So let us pause to look at luminous images from the life of Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab,
May Allah be pleased with him, his father, and his grandfather.
Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah was born in the expanse of Medina,
The resting place of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the home of his migration.
In its atmosphere, fragrant with the scents of Prophethood,
And radiant with the light of revelation, he grew and matured.
He was raised under the care of his father, the devout and ascetic,
Who fasted through the scorching heat and stood in prayer through the depths of the night.
He adopted the character of ‘Umar.
His father saw in him the signs of piety and the marks of guidance,
And perceived in his conduct the characteristics of Islam and the ethics of the Qur’an,
More than he saw in his other children.
He loved him with a love that possessed the very core of his heart,
And mingled with the depths of his soul,
To the point that others blamed him for it.
He said: "They blame me for Salim, and I blame them;
Salim is like the skin between the eye and the nose."
He turned his attention to him, pouring into him what his chest had contained
Of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Teaching him the fiqh of Allah’s religion and instructing him in the Book of Allah.
Then he sent him to the Sacred Sanctuary.
The mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
Was still filled with a large group of the senior Companions.
Wherever the young man turned in any of its corners,
He found before him a star radiating the light of Prophethood,
And the fragrance of the noble Message.
Wherever he cast his gaze or lent his ear,
He saw goodness and heard righteousness.
Thus, he was enabled to learn from a group of the senior Companions,
Foremost among them Abu Ayyub al-Ansari,
Abu Hurayrah,
Abu Rafi‘,
Abu Lubabah,
And Zayd ibn al-Khattab,
In addition to his father, ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar,
May Allah be pleased with them all.
It was not long before he became a beacon among the Muslims,
And a noble master among the Tabi‘un,
And one of the jurists of Medina
To whom the Muslims would turn regarding their religion,
From whom they would learn the law of their Lord,
And to whom they would refer in the complex matters of religion and worldly life.
The governors used to command their judges,
Whenever cases were presented to them,
To refer them to these jurists.
When a question came to them,
They would gather together and examine it,
And the judges would not pass judgment except according to their opinion.
The most fortunate of governors,
The most well-spoken of,
The closest to the hearts of the people,
And the most trusted by the Caliphs,
Were those who sought the counsel of Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah
And adhered to his guidance.
As for those who opposed his command,
The people of Medina would find them unbearable,
And would not tolerate their rule.
An example of this is when ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Dahhak
Was appointed governor of Medina during the Caliphate of Yazid ibn ‘Abd al-Malik.
Fatimah bint al-Husayn, may Allah be pleased with her,
Whose soul was focused on Paradise,
Had become a widow and devoted herself to her children.
Ibn al-Dahhak approached her,
And proposed to her for himself.
She said, "By Allah, I do not desire marriage;
I have settled down for the sake of my children,
And I have dedicated myself to them."
He began to press her,
While she tried to excuse herself without being harsh,
For fear of his evil.
When he found that she refused him,
He said to her:
"By Allah, if you do not accept me as your husband,
I will take your eldest son,
And I will have him flogged on the charge of drinking wine."
She consulted Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah regarding her affair,
And he advised her to write a letter to the Caliph complaining about the governor,
And to mention her kinship to the Messenger of Allah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And her close ties to the Prophetic household.
She wrote the letter,
And sent it with a messenger to Damascus.
No sooner had the messenger departed with the letter
Than the Caliph’s order came to Ibn Hurmuz,
His official in charge of the treasury in Medina,
To come to him to submit his accounts.
Ibn Hurmuz began bidding farewell to those who had claims upon him.
He asked permission to visit Fatimah bint al-Husayn to say goodbye and said:
"I am leaving for Damascus;
Do you have any need?"
She said, "Yes,
Inform the Commander of the Faithful of what I am suffering from Ibn al-Dahhak,
And how he is harassing me,
And that he does not respect the sanctity of the scholars of Medina,
Especially Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah."
Ibn Hurmuz blamed himself for visiting her,
As he did not want to carry her complaint
Against Ibn al-Dahhak to the Caliph.
Ibn Hurmuz arrived in Damascus
On the same day that the messenger arrived
Carrying the letter of Fatimah bint al-Husayn.
When he entered upon the Caliph,
He asked him about the conditions of Medina,
And asked him about Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah
And his companions among the jurists.
He said to him:
"Is there any matter of importance worthy of being known,
Or any serious news worth mentioning?"
He did not mention anything to him about the story of Fatimah bint al-Husayn,
Nor did he hint at the governor’s stance toward Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah.
While he was sitting with him, submitting his accounts,
The chamberlain entered and said:
"May Allah grant success to the Prince,
At the door is the messenger of Fatimah bint al-Husayn."
The face of Ibn Hurmuz changed, and he said:
"May Allah prolong the life of the Prince,
Fatimah bint al-Husayn
Entrusted me with a message for you,"
And he told him the news.
As soon as the Caliph heard his words,
He stepped down from his throne and said:
"I cannot believe it!
Did I not ask you about the affairs of Medina and its news?
Can you have such news and hide it from me?"
He apologized to him, citing forgetfulness.
Then he gave permission for the messenger to be brought in.
He took the letter from him and opened it,
And began reading it while sparks of anger flew from his eyes.
He began striking the ground with a cane he held in his hand, saying:
"Ibn al-Dahhak has dared to act against the family of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And he did not listen to the advice of Salim ibn ‘Abd Allah regarding them.
Is there any man who can make me hear his voice while he is being punished in Medina,
While I am on this bed of mine in Damascus?"
He meant the voice of Ibn al-Dahhak.
It was said to him:
"Yes, O Commander of the Faithful,
There is no one for Medina but ‘Abd al-Wahid ibn Bishr al-Nazari;
Appoint him over it,
For he is currently residing in Ta’if."
He said, "Yes, by Allah, yes, he is the one for it."
Then he called for parchment and wrote with his own hand:
"From the Commander of the Faithful, Yazid ibn ‘Abd al-Malik,
To ‘Abd al-Wahid ibn Bishr al-Nazari:
Peace be upon you.
To proceed:
I have appointed you over Medina.
When this letter of mine reaches you,
Proceed to it, remove Ibn al-Dahhak from his post,
Impose upon him a fine of forty thousand dinars,
And punish him until I hear his voice from Medina."
The courier took the letter,
And set off, quickening his pace toward Ta’if by way of Medina.
When he reached Medina,
He did not enter upon its governor, Ibn al-Dahhak,
Nor did he greet him.
The governor felt a sense of fear in his heart,
And sent for him, inviting him to his house,
And asked him the reason for his arrival.
He did not reveal anything to him.
Ibn al-Dahhak lifted the edge of his cushion and said:
"Look."
He looked, and there was a bag filled with dinars.
He said:
"This is one thousand dinars,
And you have my covenant and pledge before Allah,
If you inform me of your destination and what you are carrying,
I shall hand it over to you,
and I will keep it a secret.
He informed him.
So he handed the money to him and said,
"Wait here for three nights,
until I reach Damascus,
and then I shall proceed with what I have been commanded."
Ibn al-Dahhak prepared his mounts,
and departed from Medina immediately.
He set off, urging his mounts toward Damascus.
When he reached it,
he entered upon the Caliph’s brother, Maslamah Ibn 'Abd al-Malik,
who was a noble, generous leader and a man of great courage.
When he stood before him, he said,
"I am under your protection, O Prince."
He replied, "Rejoice in goodness; what is your affair?"
He said, "The Commander of the Faithful is angry with me,
because of a mistake I committed,"
meaning a slip.
So Maslamah went to Yazid and said,
"I have a request for the Commander of the Faithful."
Yazid replied,
"Every request of yours is granted,
as long as it does not concern Ibn al-Dahhak."
He said, "By Allah, I have only come to you for his sake."
He replied, "By Allah, I will never pardon him."
He asked, "And what is his crime?"
He said, "He harassed Fatimah bint al-Husayn,
threatened her, intimidated her, and caused her distress,
and he did not listen to the counsel of Salim Ibn 'Abd Allah regarding her."
Consequently, all the poets of Medina began to satirize him,
and all its righteous people and scholars began to condemn him.
Maslamah said,
"The matter is yours to decide with him, O Commander of the Faithful."
Yazid said,
"Order him to return to Medina,
so that its new governor may carry out my command regarding him,
and make him an example for other governors."
The people of Medina rejoiced greatly at their new governor,
for they saw his firmness in executing the Caliph’s order regarding Ibn al-Dahhak,
and they became even more attached to him,
when they found him following the path of goodness,
and never deciding any of their affairs,
without consulting al-Qasim Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr,
and Salim Ibn 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar.
So bravo to the Caliph of the Muslims, Yazid Ibn 'Abd al-Malik,
and honor to the great Islam,
which created these ideals,
and fashioned those men.
And until another meeting with the noble Tabi'un,
Salim Ibn 'Abd Allah Ibn 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab.
Salim was a reliable authority,
a narrator of many hadiths, highly regarded among men, and pious.
Ibn Sa'd.
They were here, watering the clouds of our lives,
they passed away, yet their memory rises high within us.
They departed and cast a question into the conscience:
Is there a star like them that has risen and shone?
They filled life with glories through their deeds,
and the world of the ego flourished through them.