Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Tabi‘un (the Successors) (series completed)
· Lesson 34 of 37
Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (34) | Al-Ahnaf bin Qais, may God have mercy on him | C (1)
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The best of generations in their conduct and example,
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Following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
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A collection of affection,
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Proceeding.
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Portraits from the lives of the Tabi'un,
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By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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Damascus was smiling at the gentle spring,
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Proud of its lush, verdant thickets,
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Vain of its fragrant gardens.
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The palace of the Commander of the Faithful,
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Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan,
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Had prepared itself to receive those arriving to see him.
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No sooner had the first visitor been granted permission to enter upon the Caliph,
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Than his sister, Umm al-Hakam bint Abi Sufyan, hurried,
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Taking her place behind the curtain,
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To listen to what was being narrated in the Caliph’s assembly
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From the hadiths of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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And to delight in what the companions of the Commander of the Faithful scattered
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Of rare anecdotes,
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Magnificent poetry, and profound wisdom.
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For she was a woman of sound judgment and high ambition,
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Aspiring toward noble pursuits.
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She knew that her brother granted people permission to enter
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According to their status:
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He would prioritize the Companions of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, over all others,
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Followed by the senior Tabi'un,
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Then the scholars and those of noble lineage.
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However, Umm al-Hakam
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Found her brother receiving his first visitor with a reception
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Tinged with a certain coldness.
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She heard him say to him:
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"By Allah, O Ahnaf, I have never recalled the day of Siffin,
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And remembered your siding against us,
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And your standing on the side of Ali ibn Abi Talib,
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Without it leaving a bitterness in my heart until I die."
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The man countered him, saying:
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"By Allah, O Mu'awiyah,
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The hearts with which we hated you are still within our chests,
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And the swords with which we fought you have not ceased to be in our hands.
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If you draw a span closer to war, we will draw a span closer to it,
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And if you walk toward it, we will hasten toward it at a run.
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By Allah, it was not a desire for your gifts that brought us to you,
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Nor a fear of your rejection;
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Rather, we came to you to mend the rift, unite the ranks,
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And gather the community of the Muslims."
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Then he turned and left from whence he came.
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Umm al-Hakam could not help
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But pull back the edge of the curtain
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To see this man who returned the stone to the Caliph from where it came,
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And measured out to him two measures for every one.
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She saw a man of short stature and slight build,
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Bald-headed, with crooked teeth,
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A receding chin, and sunken eyes,
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With bowed legs.
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There is no human defect
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But that he had a share of it.
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She turned to her brother and said:
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"O Commander of the Faithful,
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Who is this man who threatens the Caliph and warns him in his own palace?"
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Mu'awiyah sighed and said:
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"This is the one who, if he becomes angry,
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One hundred thousand of the Banu Tamim become angry for his sake,
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Without even knowing why he is angry.
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He is Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays,
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The leader of the Banu Tamim,
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And one of the unique individuals of the Arabs and their conquering heroes."
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So let us review the life story of Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays from the beginning.
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In the third year before the Hijrah,
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A son was born to Qays ibn Mu'awiyah al-Sa'di,
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A newborn he named al-Dahhak.
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However, it was not long before people
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Nicknamed him 'Al-Ahnaf' (the Bow-legged),
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Because of the curvature in his legs.
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Eventually, the nickname overshadowed his given name.
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Qays, the father of Al-Ahnaf, was not among the elite of his people,
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Nor among their inner circle;
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He was merely among the common folk.
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Al-Ahnaf was born in the dwellings of his people,
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West of al-Yamamah in the lands of Najd.
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The young man grew up an orphan,
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For his father was killed while he was still a child who had not yet begun to walk.
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Then the lights of Islam flooded his heart
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While he was still a boy whose mustache had not yet grown.
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For the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had sent,
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A few years before his passing,
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A caller from among his Companions to the tribe of Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays,
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Inviting them to Islam.
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The caller gathered the notables of the tribe,
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And began urging them toward faith,
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Presenting Islam to them.
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The people remained silent,
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And some began to look at others.
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Al-Ahnaf, who was present, stepped forward and said:
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"O my people,
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Why do I see you hesitating,
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Taking one step forward and one step back?
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By Allah, this person who has come to you
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Is a caller to goodness.
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He invites you to noble character,
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And forbids you from base ones.
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By Allah, we have heard nothing from him but good.
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So answer the caller to guidance,
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That you may attain the best of this world and the Hereafter."
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It was not long before they embraced Islam,
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And the young man embraced it with them.
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Then the leaders of the tribe went to the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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But Al-Ahnaf did not go with them due to his young age,
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And thus he was deprived of the honor of being a Companion.
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However, he was not deprived of the pleasure of the noble Messenger, peace be upon him, with him,
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Nor of his supplication for him.
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Al-Ahnaf narrated, saying:
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"While I was circumambulating the Ancient House during the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
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A man I knew met me,
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He took my hand and said:
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'Shall I not give you glad tidings?'
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I said: 'Yes.'
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He said:
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'Do you remember the day the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent me to your people to invite them to Islam?
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I began calling them and presenting the entry into the religion of Allah to them,
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And you said what you said that day.'
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I said: 'Yes.'
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He said:
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'I returned to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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And informed him of your words,
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And he said:
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"O Allah, forgive Al-Ahnaf."'"
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Al-Ahnaf used to say:
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"There is no deed of mine that I have more hope in on the Day of Resurrection
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Than the supplication of the Prophet, peace be upon him."
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When the noble Messenger, peace be upon him, joined the Highest Companion,
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And Musaylimah the Liar emerged to the people with his falsehood,
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And those who apostatized from Islam did so because of him,
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Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays went to him
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With his uncle, al-Mutashammis,
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To meet him and hear from him.
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Al-Ahnaf was in the early bloom of his youth at that time.
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When they left him, al-Mutashammis said to his nephew:
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"How did you find the man, O Ahnaf?"
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He replied:
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"I found him to be a fabricator, inventing lies against Allah and the people."
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His uncle said to him, joking:
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"Do you not fear for yourself if you tell him of your denial of him?"
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Al-Ahnaf replied:
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"At that point, I will swear to you that he is a liar."
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"Will you swear that you did not believe him as he believed him?"
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The young man and his uncle laughed,
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And they remained steadfast in their Islam.
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It is no wonder if you are filled with amazement,
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And overcome with astonishment at these firm and decisive stances
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That Al-Ahnaf took in momentous affairs,
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Despite his young age.
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But your amazement will pass,
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And your astonishment will vanish,
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When you know that the youth of Banu Tamim
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Was a rarity among the rarities of the age in sharpness of mind,
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Brilliance of intelligence,
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Truthfulness of insight, and purity of nature.
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And that he was, from his earliest youth,
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Sitting with the elders of his people,
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Attending their gatherings and witnessing their conferences,
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And learning at the hands of their wise and forbearing men.
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He narrated about himself, saying:
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"We used to frequent the gatherings of Qays ibn Asim al-Minqari
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To learn forbearance from him,
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Just as we frequented the gatherings of scholars
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To receive knowledge from them."
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It was said to him:
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"And who reached the height of his forbearance?"
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He said:
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"I came to him once and saw him sitting in the courtyard of his house,
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Wrapped in his cloak, leaning on his sword,
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Speaking to his people.
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I greeted him and sat down.
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It was only a short while
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Before we heard a commotion, and we looked,
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And he had been brought a young man bound in ropes,
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And another who had been killed.
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It was said to him:
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'This is your nephew who has killed your son, so-and-so.'
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By Allah, he did not loosen his posture nor stop his speech.
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Then he turned to his nephew and said:
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'O son of my brother,
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You have killed your cousin,
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Thus severing your kinship with your own hand,
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And striking yourself with your own arrow.'
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Then he said to another son of his:
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'Rise, my son, and untie the bonds of your cousin,
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And bury your brother.
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Then drive one hundred camels to his mother as blood money for her son,
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For she is a stranger.'"
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Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays was granted the opportunity
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To study under the great and noble Companions,
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At the pinnacle of whom was al-Faruq, may Allah be pleased with him.
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He witnessed his gatherings, heard his exhortations,
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He mastered his judicial rulings and legal verdicts.
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He was among the most brilliant students produced by the school of 'Umar.
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And he was the most profoundly influenced by its genius and singular teacher.
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It was once said to him:
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"How did you attain such gravity and wisdom?"
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He replied:
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"Through words I heard from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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'Whoever jokes excessively is held in low regard.
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Whoever does something frequently becomes known by it.
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Whoever speaks too much makes too many mistakes.
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Whoever makes many mistakes loses his sense of shame.
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Whoever loses his sense of shame loses his piety.
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And whoever loses his piety, his heart dies.'"
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Al-Ahnaf ibn Qays rose to lead his people,
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despite not being of the highest lineage among them,
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nor the most noble in terms of maternal or paternal ancestry.
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When people asked him the secret to this,
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one of them said to him:
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"Who is it that his people follow, O Abu Bahr?"
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He replied:
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"He who possesses four qualities,
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will lead his people unchallenged."
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He was asked:
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"And what are these qualities?"
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He said:
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"A religion that restrains him,
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a lineage that protects him,
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an intellect that guides him,
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and a sense of shame that prevents him from wrongdoing."
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Furthermore, al-Ahnaf was
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one of the most forbearing of the Arabs,
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whose forbearance became proverbial.
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His forbearance reached such a degree
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that 'Umar ibn al-Ahtam incited a man
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to insult him with vile, provocative language.
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Yet al-Ahnaf remained silent, head bowed.
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When the man saw that he would not answer him nor pay him any heed,
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he put his own thumb in his mouth
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and began to bite it, saying:
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"Woe is me!
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By Allah, nothing prevented him from answering me
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except his utter disdain for me."
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It so happened that al-Ahnaf
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was walking on the outskirts of Basra,
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alone by himself,
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when a man accosted him,
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began insulting and reviling him,
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and hurling stinging words at him.
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Yet he remained silent, continuing on his way.
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When they drew near to the people,
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he turned to the man and said:
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"O son of my brother,
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if you have any words left,
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say them now,
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for if my people hear what you are saying,
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you will suffer harm at their hands."
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Beyond all that, al-Ahnaf was
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a devout worshiper, frequently fasting and standing in prayer.
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He was ascetic regarding what was in the hands of others.
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When night fell upon him,
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he would light his lamp and place it near him,
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then stand in his prayer niche to pray,
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writhing like a sick man,
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and weeping like a bereaved mother,
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out of fear of the punishment of Allah
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and dread of His wrath.
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Whenever he sensed a sin he had committed,
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or a flaw of his became apparent to him,
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he would bring his finger close to the lamp and say:
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"Feel this, O Ahnaf!
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What drove you to do such-and-such on such-and-such a day?
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Woe to you, O Ahnaf!
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If you cannot endure today
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the flame of a lamp,
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and cannot bear its heat,
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then how will you endure tomorrow the flames of Hell,
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and bear its torment?
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O Allah, if You forgive me,
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then You are worthy of that;
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and if You punish me,
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then I am worthy of that."
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May Allah be pleased with al-Ahnaf
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ibn Qays and grant him contentment.
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For he was one of the wonders of his time,
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and a unique specimen of humanity.
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Indeed, al-Ahnaf ibn Qays
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attained such honor and prosperity
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that holding office did not benefit him,
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nor did dismissal harm him.
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Ziyad ibn Abihi
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was a different case and example;
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he followed the Messenger when he strove or spoke.
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They were here, watering the clouds of our lives,
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and so they remain within us;
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their memory is exalted.
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They departed, leaving a question in our conscience:
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Is there any star like them that has risen and shone?
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They filled life with glorious deeds,
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and the world of the Ummah flourished because of them.