Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (89) - Abdullah bin Omar bin Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:15 The Mawaddah Association is pleased

0:17 to present to you portraits from the lives of the Companions,

0:21 by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,

0:25 may Allah have mercy on him.

0:26 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with them both.

0:52 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar—

0:54 and what can make you know who 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar was!

0:56 As for his father,

0:58 he was the Commander of the Believers

1:00 and the second of the Rightly Guided Caliphs,

1:02 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab.

1:04 As for his mother,

1:06 she was the steadfast, dignified lady,

1:08 Zaynab bint Maz'un.

1:10 As for his sister,

1:12 she was Hafsah,

1:14 one of the Mothers of the Believers.

1:16 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar was born

1:18 in Mecca the Honored.

1:20 He embraced Islam while still a young boy,

1:22 and was raised in the school of the Messenger,

1:24 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

1:26 He grew up in the embrace of Islam,

1:28 never tainted by the ways of ignorance (Jahiliyyah),

1:30 nor ever defiled by the worship of an idol.

1:32 He then migrated with his father to Medina

1:34 before reaching the age of puberty.

1:36 On the day of the Battle of Badr, he was

1:38 twelve years

1:40 and a few months old.

1:42 He came along with a group

1:44 of his young peers,

1:46 hoping that the noble Messenger,

1:48 upon him be the best of blessings

1:50 and purest of peace,

1:52 would permit them to march out with him.

1:54 He permitted some of them

1:56 and turned others away

1:58 on account of their young age.

2:00 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar was

2:02 among those whom he turned back.

2:04 So the noble,

2:06 righteous youths returned weeping,

2:08 because they had been deprived of that to which

2:10 their great souls had aspired:

2:12 the honor of participating in jihad alongside

2:14 the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah

2:16 be upon him.

2:18 On the day of the Battle of Uhud,

2:20 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar had reached

2:22 thirteen years and a few months of age.

2:24 He came to the Messenger,

2:26 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

2:28 accompanied by his peers,

2:30 seeking his permission to march out with him

2:32 to jihad.

2:34 The Prophet looked at them with a

2:36 deliberate gaze, then examined them

2:38 one by one.

2:40 He accepted those he accepted

2:42 and turned back those he turned back.

2:44 Among those turned back was

2:46 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar.

2:48 So they returned weeping,

2:50 because their tender age

2:52 had stood between them and jihad.

2:54 On the day of the Battle of the Trench (al-Khandaq),

2:56 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar had turned

2:58 fifteen years old.

3:00 So he and a group

3:02 of his peers came forward,

3:04 dragging their swords on the ground

3:06 and stretching their statures

3:08 upward,

3:10 asking the Prophet, peace be upon him,

3:12 to permit them to fight in jihad.

3:14 This time, he granted them permission.

3:16 At that moment, they were overwhelmed

3:18 with joy;

3:20 delight overflowed upon their faces,

3:22 and radiant happiness beamed from them.

3:24 Thereafter, he took part in

3:26 all the military expeditions undertaken by

3:28 the Muslims.

3:30 He entered Mecca alongside the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah

3:32 be upon him,

3:34 in the Year of the Conquest,

3:36 being then twenty years of age.

3:38 When the noble Prophet,

3:40 upon him be the best of blessings

3:42 and purest of peace, saw him,

3:44 he began to praise him and say:

3:46 "'Abdullah is indeed..."

3:48 "'Abdullah is indeed..."

3:51 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar was

3:53 a singular exemplar of a young man

3:55 who grew up in the obedience of Allah,

3:57 so much so that it was said:

3:59 "The most master of himself among the youth of Quraysh

4:01 was 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar."

4:03 And no wonder,

4:05 for he was a young man

4:07 whose heart was attached to the mosques.

4:09 The mosque was his dwelling place

4:11 whenever he sought rest,

4:13 and the mosque was his sanctuary of worship

4:15 whenever he desired devotion.

4:17 He related about himself, saying:

4:19 "Indeed, during the lifetime of the Messenger,

4:21 peace be upon him,

4:23 whenever anyone saw a vision,

4:25 he would recount it to the Messenger of Allah,

4:27 peace be upon him.

4:29 At that time, I was an unmarried,

4:31 young lad,

4:33 and I used to sleep in the Prophet's Mosque.

4:35 Then I saw in a dream as if

4:37 two angels seized me and took

4:39 me to the Fire,

4:41 and behold, it had two horns like a well,

4:43 and behold, I saw therein

4:45 people whom I recognized.

4:47 I began to say: 'I seek refuge in Allah from the Fire!

4:49 I seek refuge in Allah from the Fire!'

4:51 Then another angel met me

4:53 and said:

4:55 'You have nothing to fear; you

4:57 shall not be alarmed.'

4:59 So I recounted my dream to my sister,

5:01 Mother of the Believers Hafsah,

5:03 and she recounted it to the noble Messenger,

5:05 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

5:07 Thereupon he said:

5:09 'What an excellent man 'Abdullah is,

5:11 if only he would pray during the night!' "

5:13 No sooner had he heard that

5:15 than he resolved

5:17 never to sleep at night except a little.

5:19 And so it was that

5:21 when people laid their sides down

5:23 upon their beds, he would pray

5:25 as much as Allah willed him to pray,

5:27 then he would retire to bed

5:29 and doze briefly like a bird,

5:31 then rise, perform ablution,

5:33 and pray,

5:35 and then doze briefly like a bird.

5:37 He would do that throughout the night

5:39 four or five times.

5:41 Indeed,

5:43 the noble Companions testified to 'Abdullah

5:45 Ibn 'Umar's profound righteousness,

5:47 and the youth of the 'Umari lineage validated their testimony

5:49 concerning him and fulfilled it

5:51 through his deeds.

5:53 It was narrated from Jabir that he said:

5:55 "There is none among us

5:57 who lived to see the worldly life

5:59 but that it swayed him and he swayed toward it,

6:01 except for 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar."

6:03 When 'Umar

6:05 Ibn al-Khattab, may the pleasure of Allah

6:07 be upon him, joined the Highest Companion,

6:09 and the caliphate passed to the Possessor of the Two Lights,

6:11 'Uthman Ibn 'Affan,

6:13 he wished to entrust the office of judgeship

6:15 to 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar.

6:17 He said to him: "Judge between

6:19 the people, O 'Abdullah,

6:21 for you are among the most knowledgeable of Muslims

6:23 in the religion of Allah, and the most prolific among them

6:25 in narrating the hadith of the Messenger of Allah,

6:27 peace be upon him."

6:29 But he adamantly

6:31 refused, saying:

6:33 "I will not judge between two people,

6:35 nor will I lead two people in prayer."

6:37 'Uthman said: "Your father

6:39 used to judge between the people while the Messenger,

6:41 peace be upon him, was alive;

6:43 so what prevents you?"

6:45 He replied:

6:47 "My father used to judge,

6:49 and whenever an issue perplexed him,

6:51 he would ask the Prophet, peace be upon him;

6:53 and whenever

6:55 an issue perplexed the Prophet, peace be upon him,

6:57 he would ask Gabriel,

6:59 peace be upon him;

7:01 but I find no one

7:03 whom I can ask." Then he said to him:

7:05 "Have you not heard the Prophet, peace

7:07 be upon him, say:

7:09 'Whoever seeks refuge in Allah

7:11 has indeed sought refuge with a true protector,'

7:13 meaning he has turned to an ultimate sanctuary

7:15 and sought refuge in a true haven?"

7:17 He replied, "Indeed,

7:19 I heard it."

7:21 Then he said, "I seek refuge in Allah

7:23 from your appointing me as a judge."

7:25 So 'Uthman exempted him

7:27 from that, and said to him,

7:29 "Do not inform anyone of this,

7:31 for the Muslims

7:33 are in need of someone to judge among them

7:35 with justice."

7:37 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar was not

7:39 merely a devout worshipper and an ascetic;

7:41 rather, he was alongside that

7:43 a courageous warrior.

7:45 He campaigned with the Muslim armies

7:47 in the Levant, Iraq,

7:49 Basra, and Persia,

7:51 and took part alongside 'Amr ibn al-'As

7:53 in the conquest of Egypt.

7:55 He resided there for a considerable time,

7:57 and hadiths were narrated from him

7:59 by more than forty of its people.

8:01 And when the fitnah

8:03 erupted between 'Ali ibn Abi Talib

8:05 and Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan,

8:07 may Allah be pleased with them both,

8:09 some people began searching

8:11 for someone other than the two of them for the caliphate.

8:13 A delegation

8:15 of influential leaders and decision-makers went

8:17 to 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar and said,

8:19 "Give us your hand so that we may pledge allegiance to you,

8:21 for you are the master of the Arabs

8:23 and the son of their master,

8:25 and the best of people, and the son of the best of people."

8:27 But he said,

8:29 "I am not the best of people;

8:31 rather, I am just a servant among the servants of Allah,

8:33 hoping in Allah and fearing Him.

8:35 By Allah, you will never cease

8:37 excessively praising a man until

8:39 you ruin him!

8:41 And if you pledge allegiance to me,

8:43 what then

8:45 shall I do with the people of the East?"

8:47 They said, "They will pledge allegiance to you,

8:49 or else you fight them until they submit

8:51 in allegiance to you."

8:53 He replied, "By Allah,

8:55 I would not want the caliphate to yield

8:57 to me for seventy years,

8:59 if because of me there were killed

9:01 even a single Muslim man."

9:03 The heart of 'Abdullah

9:05 ibn 'Umar remained throughout his life

9:07 deeply attached to the Messenger of Allah,

9:09 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

9:11 He would be guided by his guidance,

9:13 follow his actions,

9:15 tread his paths,

9:17 memorize whatever he heard from him,

9:19 and hold fast to it with his molar teeth.

9:21 The Messenger,

9:23 peace be upon him,

9:25 was never mentioned in his presence

9:27 without him weeping bitterly over his parting.

9:30 In addition to that, he was

9:32 possessed of immense fear of Allah,

9:34 and his eyes would overflow

9:36 with tears at the recitation of the Qur'an.

9:38 Never did he recite the words of the Exalted:

9:40 "Has the time not come

9:42 “Is not the time ripe for the hearts of those who believe to submit to Allah's reminder and to the truth which is revealed, that they become not as those who received the scripture of old but the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened, and many of them are evil-livers.” (57:16)

9:44 for their hearts to humble at the remembrance of Allah..."

9:46 except that weeping completely overcame him.

9:48 On one occasion,

9:50 'Ubaydullah

9:52 ibn 'Umayr recited before him,

9:54 and he wept profusely, shedding tears

9:57 until his garments were soaked,

9:59 and his sobbing almost tore

10:01 the strings of his heart.

10:03 A man was present in the gathering

10:05 who felt such pity for him that he was about

10:07 to step up to the reciter

10:09 and say to him, "Stop,

10:11 for you have caused distress to the elder!"

10:13 Many

10:15 seekers of knowledge used to write

10:17 to him, wishing

10:19 that he provide them with his sincere counsel

10:21 and precious guidance.

10:23 He would answer their requests

10:25 with enduring words

10:27 that stand the test of time.

10:29 Among these was that one of them

10:31 sent a letter to him, saying,

10:33 "Write to me, O Abu 'Abd

10:35 al-Rahman, the sum of the entire religion."

10:37 So he wrote back to him, saying,

10:39 "Indeed, knowledge is vast;

10:41 but if you are able

10:43 to meet Allah with your back light

10:45 of the blood of Muslims,

10:47 your stomach empty of their wealth,

10:49 restraining your tongue from

10:51 their honors, and adhering to their community,

10:54 then do so."

10:56 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar made it

10:58 his constant practice to feed others

11:00 and to show benevolence to the poor

11:02 and orphans, to the extent that

11:04 numerous accounts were narrated about him in this regard,

11:06 and there were recorded

11:08 abundant traditions concerning him.

11:10 Among them is that

11:12 he once craved

11:14 a fish, so his wife

11:16 Safiyyah searched for a fish

11:18 until she found one.

11:20 Then she prepared it exquisitely

11:22 and brought it before him.

11:24 Just then, he heard the call

11:26 of a poor beggar at the door,

11:28 so he said, "Give

11:30 the fish to him."

11:32 Safiyyah said, "I adjure you

11:34 by Allah to strengthen yourself

11:36 with some of it!"

11:38 But he insisted, "Give it

11:40 to him." She then said,

11:42 "We will satisfy him with something else instead."

11:44 She went and said to the beggar,

11:46 "He had craved this

11:48 fish." The beggar replied,

11:50 "By Allah, I crave it as well."

11:52 So she bought it back from him

11:54 for a dinar, thus satisfying him,

11:56 and then said to her husband,

11:58 "We have satisfied the beggar

12:00 and given him a generous gift."

12:02 Ibn 'Umar asked the man,

12:04 "Did they satisfy you, are you pleased,

12:06 and did you receive the price?"

12:08 He replied, "Yes."

12:10 So he turned to his family and said,

12:12 "Now, give it

12:14 to him!"

12:17 His wife was once reproached regarding his emaciation,

12:19 and it was said to her,

12:21 "Will you not show gentleness to this elder?"

12:23 She replied, "What can I do

12:25 with him? By Allah,

12:27 whenever I prepare food for him,

12:29 he invites others to eat it with him."

12:31 So she sent word to the poor

12:33 who used to sit along his path

12:35 whenever he left the mosque,

12:37 fed them,

12:39 and said to them, "Do not sit

12:41 in his path."

12:43 When he came home, he said,

12:45 "Send food to such-and-such poor people."

12:47 She replied,

12:49 "We have already sent them

12:51 what you desire, and even more than you desire."

12:53 He said,

12:55 "Rather, you only intended

12:57 that I should have no dinner tonight!"

12:59 Then he got up and did not eat

13:01 a thing.

13:03 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar,

13:05 alongside all of that,

13:07 used to draw close to Allah, Mighty and Majestic,

13:09 through every possible means;

13:11 whenever his soul fancied anything

13:13 of wealth or possessions, he would give it away.

13:16 His enslaved servants came to know this,

13:18 so they began to use it as a stratagem

13:20 with him; whenever

13:22 one of them longed for emancipation,

13:24 he would roll up his sleeves in worship

13:26 and dedicate himself to the mosque.

13:28 Whenever he saw him in that state,

13:30 he was pleased with it from him

13:32 and would set him free.

13:34 His companions would say to him,

13:36 "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahman,

13:38 they only wish to deceive you

13:40 with this worship of theirs!"

13:42 But he would reply, "Whoever deceives us

13:44 by Allah, we allow ourselves to be deceived for His sake."

13:46 Moreover, he would frequently

13:48 not merely stop

13:50 at freeing the slave,

13:52 but would bestow upon him ample wealth

13:54 to facilitate for him the means of a decent

13:56 and comfortable life.

13:58 An example of this is what 'Abdullah ibn Dinar reported,

14:00 He narrated,

14:02 "I set out with 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar

14:04 toward Makkah, intending to perform 'Umrah.

14:06 We stopped to rest along the way,

14:08 when there came down toward us

14:10 a shepherd from the mountain.

14:12 Ibn 'Umar wanted to test him,

14:14 so he asked, 'Are you an enslaved shepherd?'

14:16 He replied, 'Yes.'

14:18 Ibn 'Umar said, 'Sell me a sheep

14:20 from the flock,

14:22 and if your master asks you about it,

14:24 tell him that a wolf ate it.'

14:26 The shepherd responded, 'Then where is Allah,

14:28 the Mighty and Majestic?'

14:30 Thereupon, 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar wept

14:32 and said, 'Indeed,

14:34 where is Allah, the Mighty and Majestic?'"

14:36 Later, he sent for the shepherd and bought him

14:38 from his owner,

14:40 along with the flock he had been tending,

14:42 and set him free.

14:45 Last but not least,

14:47 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar was

14:49 extraordinarily generous, never holding back

14:51 his wealth.

14:53 On one occasion, he was brought twenty-some

14:55 thousand dirhams,

14:57 and he did not rise from his gathering until

14:59 he had spent every last bit of it in the cause of Allah.

15:01 What is more,

15:03 a beggar then came to him

15:05 when he had nothing left,

15:07 so he borrowed an amount from someone

15:09 and handed it to the beggar.

15:11 Furthermore,

15:13 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar lived

15:15 until he was well over

15:17 eighty years of age.

15:19 When certainty (death) approached him,

15:21 he said to some of his companions,

15:23 "I do not grieve over anything

15:25 in this worldly life except for three:

15:27 the thirst of mid-day fasts,

15:29 the struggle of standing in nightly prayer,

15:31 and that I did not fight

15:33 the rebellious faction."

15:35 May Allah be pleased with this Companion,

15:37 may Allah be pleased with the illustrious 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar

15:39 Ibn al-Khattab.

15:41 He lived righteous and devout,

15:43 and died as an ascetic worshipper.

15:45 Even as a youth,

15:50 'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar was

15:52 deeply attached at heart to the mosques.

Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (89) - Abdullah bin Omar bin Al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him

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