In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The finest of generations in stature and example,
following the Messenger in all his endeavors and speech.
Mawaddah Association
presents:
"Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un"
by Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Scarcely had the late afternoon sun gathered its golden threads
from the Sacred House of Allah,
signaling the cool breezes
to drift through its pure courtyards,
when those performing tawaf around the House began to gather—
among the remaining Companions of the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and the senior Tabi'un—
perfuming the air with declarations of Allah's oneness and greatness,
filling the surroundings with righteous supplications,
until people began gathering in circle after circle
around the Venerated Ka'bah,
resting in the heart of the Sacred Mosque with majesty and awe,
filling their eyes with its radiant splendor,
and conversing among themselves.
“There they pass from hand to hand a cup wherein is neither vanity nor cause of sin.” (52:23)
Near the Yemeni Corner,
sat four bright-faced young men
of noble lineage,
fragrant in attire,
as though they were doves of the two Sacred Mosques:
pure in garments and united in heart.
They were 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
his brother Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr,
his brother 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
and 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.
Lighthearted conversation flowed easily among these righteous youths,
until one of them soon said:
"Let each of us express his fondest wish to Allah."
Their imaginations took flight in the vast world of the unseen,
and their dreams roamed through green gardens of aspiration.
'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr said:
"My wish is to rule the Hijaz
and to attain the Caliphate."
His brother Mus'ab said:
"As for me,
I wish to rule the two Iraqs,
without anyone disputing my rule over them."
'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan said:
"If you two are content with that,
I am not content unless I rule the entire earth
and attain the Caliphate after Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan."
But 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr remained silent and said nothing.
So they turned to him and said:
"And you, 'Urwah, what do you wish for?"
He replied:
"May Allah bless you in what you have wished for regarding your worldly affairs.
As for me,
I wish to be a scholar who acts upon his knowledge,
from whom people learn the Book of their Lord, the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
and the rulings of their religion;
and that I attain Allah's pleasure in the Hereafter
and gain entry into His Paradise."
Then time took its course,
and 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr
was pledged allegiance as Caliph following the death of Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah,
ruling over the Hijaz, Egypt, Yemen,
Khurasan, and Iraq,
before he was slain near the Ka'bah not long after.
Then Mus'ab ibn al-Zubayr
assumed the governorship of Iraq on behalf of his brother 'Abdullah,
and he too was killed while holding his post.
As for 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan,
the Caliphate devolved to him after the death of his father,
and the Muslims united under his leadership following the killing of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr
and his brother Mus'ab at the hands of his troops;
he thus became the greatest monarch on earth in his time.
What, then, became of 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr?
Let us begin his story from the very beginning.
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr was born when only one year
remained of the Caliphate of al-Faruq 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
in one of the most noble households among the Muslims in status
and highest in prestige.
His father was al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
the disciple of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
the first to unsheathe a sword in Islam,
and one of the ten promised Paradise.
His mother was Asma' bint Abi Bakr,
known as "She of the Two Girdles."
His maternal grandfather was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq,
the successor of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and his companion in the cave.
His paternal grandmother was Safiyyah bint 'Abd al-Muttalib,
the paternal aunt of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
His maternal aunt was the Mother of the Believers, 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her;
he personally descended into her grave when she was buried
and smoothed the earth over her niche with his own two hands.
Do you think there is any lineage grander than this,
or any honor above this honor, save the honor of faith and the dignity of Islam?
In order to fulfill the wish he had expressed to Allah at the Venerated Ka'bah,
'Urwah devoted himself entirely to the pursuit of knowledge, turning away from all else,
and seized the opportunity to learn from the remaining Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He began frequenting their homes,
praying behind them,
and attending their gatherings, until he narrated from 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf,
Zayd ibn Thabit,
Abu Ayyub al-Ansari,
Usamah ibn Zayd,
Sa'id ibn Zayd,
Abu Hurayrah,
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas,
and al-Nu'man ibn Bashir,
may Allah be pleased with them all.
He learned extensively from his aunt 'A'ishah, the Mother of the Believers,
until he became one of the seven jurists of Madinah
to whom the Muslims turned for guidance in their religion,
and whose counsel righteous governors sought
regarding the affairs of the people and the land entrusted to them by Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.
Among such instances was when 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz
arrived in Madinah as governor on behalf of al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik;
the people came and greeted him.
After performing the Dhuhr prayer,
he summoned ten of Madinah's jurists,
foremost among them 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr.
When they joined him, he welcomed them warmly,
showed them great hospitality,
praised Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
and extolled Him as He deserves.
He then said:
"I have invited you for a matter for which you will be rewarded,
and in which you will be my helpers upon the truth.
I do not wish to decide any matter except with your counsel,
or the counsel of those present among you.
If you see anyone committing an injustice against another,
or if you hear of any grievance regarding one of my officials,
I adjure you by Allah to report it to me."
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr then prayed for his well-being
and asked Allah to grant him success and guidance.
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr combined sacred knowledge with righteous action.
He frequently fasted during the intense heat of midday
and stood in prayer during the dark hours of the night,
his tongue ever moist with the remembrance of Allah Almighty.
In addition, he was a constant companion to the Book of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
devoted to its recitation.
He would read a quarter of the Qur'an every day by looking into the Mus-haf,
and then stand in prayer at night reciting it from memory.
He was never known to have abandoned this practice
from his early youth until the day he died,
except once due to a grave calamity that befell him,
news of which will reach you shortly.
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr
found in prayer the comfort of his soul,
the delight of his eyes, and his paradise on earth.
He performed it with utmost perfection,
fulfilling its rituals with total precision,
and lengthening it to the utmost degree.
It is reported that he once saw a man praying hastily;
when the man finished his prayer, 'Urwah called him over and said:
"O son of my brother, did you not have any need from your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic?
By Allah, I ask Allah, the Blessed and Exalted,
for everything in my prayer, even salt."
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, may Allah be pleased with him,
was generous-handed, openhearted, and munificent.
Among the recorded instances of his generosity
was that he owned one of the finest orchards in Madinah,
with sweet water, abundant shade, and tall date palms.
He would fence his orchard throughout the year
to protect its trees from damage by livestock and playful children.
But when the season for fresh dates arrived,
and the fruits ripened, sweetened, and became desirable,
he would breach the wall of his orchard in several places
to allow people free entry.
They would come and go as they pleased,
eating whichever fruits delighted them
and carrying away whatever they wished.
Whenever he entered this orchard of his,
he would repeat the words of the Mighty and Majestic:
“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)
In a certain year during the Caliphate of al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik,
Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, willed to test 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr with a trial
through which none could remain steadfast except those whose hearts were filled with faith and overflowing with certainty.
The Caliph of the Muslims invited 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr to visit him in Damascus,
so he accepted the invitation, taking his eldest son along with him.
When he arrived before the Caliph, the latter welcomed his arrival with the utmost warmth,
honored his visit with full hospitality, and showed him great reverence.
Then Allah, Glorified be He, willed that events take an unforeseen turn;
'Urwah's son entered al-Walid's stables
to look at his noble thoroughbred horses,
whereupon a beast kicked him a fatal blow that ended his life.
Scarcely had the grief-stricken father dusted his hands of the earth of his son's grave
when gangrene struck one of his feet;
his leg swelled, and the swelling began to spread with alarming speed.
The Caliph summoned physicians for his guest from all directions,
urging them to treat him by any means possible.
However, the physicians unanimously agreed that there was no alternative to amputating 'Urwah's leg
before the swelling spread throughout his entire body
and caused his death.
He had no choice but to submit to the procedure.
When the surgeon arrived to amputate the leg,
He brought with him his scalpels to cut the flesh,
and his saws to saw the bone.
The physician said to 'Urwah,
"I think we should give you a draft of an intoxicant,
so that you will not feel the excruciating pain of the amputation."
He replied, "Far from it!
I will not seek help through what is unlawful to attain the well-being I hope for."
So the physician said to him,
"Then let us give you an anesthetic."
He replied,
"I would not like to be deprived of one of my limbs without feeling its pain,
and anticipating the reward for that with Allah."
When the surgeon prepared to cut the leg,
a group of men stepped forward toward 'Urwah.
He asked,
"Who are these?"
He was told,
"They have been brought to hold you down,
for the pain may become so intense
that you might jerk your foot, causing yourself harm."
He said,
"Send them back;
I have no need of them.
Indeed, I hope to suffice you of that through remembrance and glorification of Allah."
Then the physician approached him,
and cut the flesh with the scalpel.
When he reached the bone,
he placed the saw upon it
and began sawing through it,
while 'Urwah was saying,
"There is no god but Allah,
and Allah is the Greatest."
The surgeon kept on sawing,
while 'Urwah continued proclaiming Allah's oneness and greatness,
until the leg was completely severed.
Then oil was boiled in iron ladles,
and 'Urwah's leg was dipped into it
to stop the flow of blood
and cauterize the wound.
He then fell into a deep, prolonged swoon,
which prevented him from reciting his daily portion
of the Book of Allah on that day—
and that was the only time he missed that noble devotion
since his early youth.
When 'Urwah regained consciousness,
he asked for his severed foot,
and they handed it to him.
He began turning it over in his hand, saying,
"By the One who carried me upon you in the darkness of the night to the mosques,
He knows that I never walked with you toward anything unlawful."
Then he recited lines of poetry by Ma'n ibn Aws,
in which he says:
"By your life, I never stretched out my hand toward suspicion,
nor did my feet carry me toward an indecency;
Nor did my hearing or sight lead me to it,
nor did my judgment or intellect direct me toward it.
And I know that no calamity has ever stricken me
from time, except that it had stricken a young man before me."
This weighed heavily upon Al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Malik,
for 'Urwah had lost his son and lost his leg within a matter of days;
so he began seeking ways to console him and give him patience over his loss.
It happened that a group from the tribe of Banu 'Abs stayed at the Caliph's residence,
among whom was a blind man.
Al-Walid asked him about the cause of his blindness,
and he replied:
"O Commander of the Faithful,
there was no man in Banu 'Abs who possessed more wealth than I,
nor more family and children.
I settled with my wealth and family in the belly of a valley among the dwellings of my tribe,
when a flash flood struck us, the likes of which we had never seen.
The flood swept away all my wealth, family, and children,
leaving me with nothing except a single camel
and a newborn baby.
The camel was wild and bolted from me,
so I set the infant on the ground
and ran after the camel.
I had gone only a short distance when I heard the child's cry;
I turned around
and saw his head in the mouth of a wolf, which was devouring him.
I rushed toward him,
but I could not save him,
for the wolf had already finished him off.
So I went back after the camel,
and as I drew near it,
it kicked me in the face with such force
that it crushed my forehead and destroyed my sight.
Thus, I found myself transformed in a single night
into a man with no family, no child, no wealth, and no sight."
Al-Walid then said to his chamberlain,
"Take this man to our guest, 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
and let him relate his story to him,
so that he may know that among the people are those afflicted with greater trials than his."
When 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr was carried back to Medina
and entered upon his family,
he initiated the conversation by saying to them,
"Let not what you see dismay you.
Indeed, Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, granted me four sons,
then took one of them
and left me three;
so to Him belongs all praise.
And He granted me four limbs,
then took one of them
and left me three;
so to Him belongs all praise.
And by Allah,
if Allah took a little from me,
He has surely left me much;
and if He tested me once,
He has surely granted me well-being many times."
When the people of Medina learned of the arrival of their leader and scholar, 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr,
they poured into his house to offer solace and condolences.
Among the finest consolations offered to him
were the words of Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Talhah,
when he said to him:
"Glad tidings, O Abu 'Abdillah!
For a part of your body
and one of your children
have preceded you to Paradise,
and the whole shall follow the part, if Allah Almighty wills.
Allah has preserved for us that part of you of which we stand in dire need—
and without which we cannot do—
namely your knowledge, your fiqh, and your counsel.
May Allah benefit you and us thereby;
Allah is the Master of your reward,
and the Guarantor of your gracious reckoning."
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr remained for the Muslims a beacon of guidance,
a guide to success,
and a caller to goodness throughout his life.
He gave his utmost attention to the upbringing of his own children in particular,
and the rest of the Muslim youth in general.
He never missed an opportunity to guide them without seizing it,
nor did he leave a chance to advise them without benefiting from it.
Among his habits was his constant encouragement of his sons to seek knowledge,
as he used to say to them:
"O my sons, acquire knowledge and give it its due right,
for if you are today the small ones of a people,
Allah may well make you through knowledge their leaders tomorrow."
Then he would say:
"What a disgrace!
Is there anything in the world more hideous than an ignorant old man?"
He also used to urge them to regard charity as a gift offered to Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He,
saying:
"O my sons, let none of you offer as a gift to his Lord
that which he would be ashamed to offer as a gift to a noble figure of his tribe;
for Allah Almighty is the Most Noble of the noble,
the Most Generous of the generous,
and the Most Deserving of having the finest chosen for Him."
He used to grant them insight into people,
penetrating to their true essence, saying:
"O my sons,
if you see a man perform a splendid good deed,
expect good of him,
even if he appears to people to be an evil man,
for that deed has sister-deeds in his character.
And if you see a man perform a terrible evil deed,
beware of him,
even if he appears to people to be a good man,
for that deed also has sister-deeds in his character.
Know that a good deed points to its sisters,
and an evil deed likewise points to its sisters."
He would advise them to be gentle in demeanor,
pleasant in speech, and cheerful of countenance,
saying:
"O my sons, it is written in wisdom:
'Let your speech be pleasant
and your face be cheerful,
and you will be more beloved to people than one who bestows gifts upon them.'"
Whenever he saw people inclining toward luxury
and savoring ease,
he would remind them of how the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, lived—
with austerity and hardship.
Among such instances is what Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir related, saying:
"'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr met me,
took me by the hand, and said,
'O Abu 'Abdillah!'
I said, 'At your service.'
He said,
'I entered upon my mother, 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
and she said,
"O my son!"
I said, "At your service."
She said,
"By Allah, forty nights would pass
without a fire being lit in the house of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
neither for a lamp nor for anything else."
I asked, "O mother,
on what did you live?"
She replied,
"On the two black items:
dates and water."'"
To conclude,
'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr lived seventy-one years,
brimming with goodness,
abundant in righteousness,
and crowned with piety.
When his appointed time came,
it reached him while he was fasting.
His family urged him to break his fast, but he refused—
For he refused,
hoping that his breaking of the fast would be with a drink from the River of Kawthar,
in vessels of silver,
served by the hands of the houris with beautiful, wide eyes.
"Whoever would be pleased to look at a man from the people of Paradise,
let him look at 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr."
'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan—
They water our lives like rain clouds,
so they have not truly died among us,
for their memory continues to rise high.
They departed, leaving a question echoing in the conscience:
Has any star like them ever ascended into the heavens and shone bright?
They filled life with glorious deeds through their actions,
and through them, our horizons shone with splendour.