Part of Riyad as-Salihin — Gardens of the Righteous (series completed)
· Lesson 25 of 190
Riyadh Al-Salehin | Episode (35) | Chapter: Ordering the performance of the trust (2)
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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*Riyad al-Salihin* (The Meadows of the Righteous)
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From the words of the Master of the Messengers,
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may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
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Chapter: The Obligation of Fulfilling Trusts.
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On the authority of Hudhayfah and Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
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The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"Allah, Blessed and Exalted, will gather the people,
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and the believers will stand
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until Paradise is brought near to them.
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They will go to Adam (may the blessings of Allah be upon him)
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and say,
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'O our father, ask for Paradise to be opened for us!'
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He will reply,
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'Did anything drive you out of Paradise except your father's error?
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I am not the one for that;
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go to my son Ibrahim, the Intimate Friend of Allah (Khalilullah).'
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He said:
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They will then go to Ibrahim,
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but Ibrahim will say,
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'I am not the one for that;
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I was only an intimate friend from behind a veil.
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Head towards Musa, to whom Allah spoke directly.'
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So they will go to Musa,
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but he will say,
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'I am not the one for that;
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go to 'Isa,
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the Word of Allah and a spirit proceeding from Him.'
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But 'Isa will say,
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'I am not the one for that.'
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Then they will come to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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and he will arise,
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and permission will be granted to him.
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Trustworthiness and ties of kinship will be sent forth,
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and they will stand on either side of the Sirat, to the right and to the left.
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The first of you will cross like lightning."
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I asked,
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"May my father and mother be ransomed for you!
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What is like the passage of lightning?"
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He said,
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"Have you not seen how it flashes and returns in the blink of an eye?
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Then like the passing of the wind,
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then like the flight of birds,
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and the running of the swiftest of men; their deeds will carry them,
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while your Prophet stands upon the Sirat, saying,
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'My Lord, grant safety, grant safety!'
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until the deeds of the servants fall short,
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to the extent that a man will come unable to cross except by crawling.
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On both sides of the Sirat are suspended hooks,
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commanded to snatch whomever they are ordered to seize;
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so some will be scratched yet saved,
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while others will be hurled headlong into the Fire.
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By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Abu Hurayrah,
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the depth of Hell is a descent of seventy autumns."
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Related by Muslim.
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His saying "from behind a veil" (*min wara'i wara'*):
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Its meaning is: "I do not possess that lofty station."
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It is an expression uttered out of humble modesty.
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"Allah will gather the people":
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Meaning, after the Resurrection,
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on the land of gathering.
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"Paradise is brought near to them":
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Meaning, Paradise will be drawn close to them.
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"Ask for it to be opened" (*istaftih*):
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Meaning, ask for its gates to be opened for us.
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*Khalil* derives from *khullah*,
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which is the highest degree of love.
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*Al-Rahim* (ties of kinship):
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Meaning the blood relations that the Shari'ah mandates maintaining.
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*Janbatay*:
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Meaning on both flanks.
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*Al-Sirat*:
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It is a bridge extended over the expanse of Hell,
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across which the gathered multitude will pass.
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"May my father and mother be ransomed for you":
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Meaning, I would sacrifice them both for you.
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"In the blink of an eye":
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Meaning, the span of time it takes for one eyelid to meet the other.
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"The swiftest of men":
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Meaning the strongest of men in their fast sprint.
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"Until the deeds of the servants fall short":
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Meaning their righteous deeds become too weak to grant them swift passage over the Sirat.
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*Kalalib* (hooks):
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The plural of *kallub*,
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which is an iron instrument with a curved tip,
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upon which meat is suspended.
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"Scratched" (*makhdush*):
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Meaning wounded and torn.
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"Hurled headlong" (*mukardas*):
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Meaning violently driven into Hell,
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and thrown into it, piled one atop another.
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*Al-Kharif* (autumn):
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Meaning a year.
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Among the benefits of this hadith:
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It informs of the ultimate destiny of humanity,
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and that Allah will gather them to Himself on a Day about which there is no doubt,
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to hold them accountable for their deeds.
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Paradise will not be opened except through the request of the Intercessor (peace be upon him).
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The origin of mankind is Adam (peace and blessings be upon him),
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and this is a certain truth that admits no doubt.
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The humility of the Prophets,
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as each of them refers the matter to the other,
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mentioning an occurrence from his worldly life.
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The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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is the granted intercessor on the Day of Resurrection,
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and this is proof of his excellence and virtue,
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his precedence over all other prophets,
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and the sublimity of his rank with his Lord, Exalted and Glorious.
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The immense gravity of fulfilling trusts and maintaining ties of kinship,
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as they will stand on either side of the Sirat.
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The varying states of people upon the Sirat,
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and that they are saved from the punishment through their deeds,
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and enter Paradise through the mercy of Allah.
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The sheer terror of Hell and the vastness of its depth,
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and that it is the abode of the disbelievers and hypocrites.
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On the authority of Abu Khubayb 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
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When al-Zubayr stood on the Day of the Camel,
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he called me, and I stood beside him.
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He said, "O my son,
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no one will be killed today except an oppressor or one oppressed,
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and I see myself only as being killed today as one oppressed.
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Indeed, my greatest concern is my debt;
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do you think our debt will leave anything of our wealth?"
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Then he said, "O my son,
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sell our property and settle my debt."
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And he bequeathed one-third, and one-third of that third to my sons—
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meaning to the sons of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, one-third of the third.
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He said, "If anything remains of our property after paying off the debt,
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one-third of it is for your sons."
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Hisham said:
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Some of 'Abdullah's sons were equal in age to the sons of al-Zubayr:
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Khubayb and 'Abbad;
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and he had on that day nine sons and nine daughters.
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'Abdullah said:
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He kept admonishing me regarding his debt, saying,
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"O my son,
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if you find yourself unable to settle any part of it,
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seek the help of my Master in paying it."
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He said:
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By Allah, I did not understand what he meant
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until I asked,
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"O my father, who is your Master?"
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He replied,
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"Allah."
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He said:
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By Allah, whenever I faced distress concerning his debt,
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I would say,
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"O Master of al-Zubayr,
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settle his debt on his behalf,"
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and He would settle it.
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He said:
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Then al-Zubayr was killed,
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and he did not leave behind a single dinar or dirham,
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but only lands,
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among which was al-Ghabah,
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eleven houses in Medina,
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two houses in Basra,
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one house in Kufa,
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and one house in Egypt.
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He said:
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The debt he incurred was only because
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a man would come to him with wealth,
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seeking to leave it with him as a trust,
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but al-Zubayr would say,
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"No,
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rather, let it be a loan,
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for I fear it might be lost."
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He had never held a governorship,
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nor collected revenue or anything of the sort,
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except by participating in military campaigns alongside the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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or alongside Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them).
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'Abdullah said:
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So I calculated the debt he owed,
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and found it to be two million and two hundred thousand.
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Hakim ibn Hizam met 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr and said,
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"O nephew,
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how much debt does my brother owe?"
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I concealed it and said,
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"One hundred thousand."
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Hakim said,
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"By Allah, I do not think your properties can cover this."
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'Abdullah said,
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"What would you think if it were two million and two hundred thousand?"
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He said,
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"I do not think you can bear this;
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but if you are unable to pay any of it, seek my assistance."
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He said:
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Al-Zubayr had purchased al-Ghabah for one hundred and seventy thousand,
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and 'Abdullah sold it for one million and six hundred thousand.
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Then he stood up and announced,
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"Whoever has a claim against al-Zubayr,
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let him meet us at al-Ghabah."
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'Abdullah ibn Ja'far came to him,
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and al-Zubayr owed him four hundred thousand.
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He said to 'Abdullah,
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"If you wish, I will forgo it for you."
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'Abdullah said,
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"No."
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He said,
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"So if you wish, you may defer my share along with whatever other debts you defer."
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'Abdullah replied,
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"No."
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He said,
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"Then carve out a portion of the land for me."
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'Abdullah said,
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"Yours is from here to here."
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Then 'Abdullah sold parts of it,
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paid off his father's debts, and cleared them entirely,
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leaving four and a half shares remaining.
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He then traveled to Mu'awiyah, who was in the company of 'Umar ibn 'Uthman,
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al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr,
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and Ibn Zam'ah.
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Mu'awiyah asked him,
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"At what price did you value al-Ghabah?"
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He replied,
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"One hundred thousand per share."
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He asked,
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"How many shares remain of it?"
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He said,
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"Four and a half shares."
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Al-Mundhir ibn al-Zubayr said,
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"I will purchase one share of it for one hundred thousand."
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'Umar ibn 'Uthman said,
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"I will purchase one share of it for one hundred thousand."
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And Ibn Zam'ah said,
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"I will purchase one share for one hundred thousand."
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Mu'awiyah then said,
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"How much remains of it?" He replied, "A share and a half." Mu'awiyah said, "I take it for one hundred and fifty thousand."
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'Abdullah ibn Ja'far later sold his own share to Mu'awiyah for six hundred thousand. And when
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Ibn al-Zubayr had finished settling all the debts, the heirs of al-Zubayr said, "Distribute our inheritance among us."
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He replied, "By Allah, I will not divide it among you until I announce during the pilgrimage season for four years: 'Whoever is owed
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a debt by al-Zubayr, let him come to us so we may pay him.'" Thus, he made that announcement every year during
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the pilgrimage season. When the four years had passed, he divided the estate among them, having set aside the designated third. Al-Zubayr had
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four wives, and each wife's share amounted to one million two hundred thousand; his total estate amounted to
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fifty million two hundred thousand. Related by al-Bukhari. The Day of the Camel was the famous battle
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fought between 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, alongside those with
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him, and 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) alongside those with her. It was called the Battle of the Camel
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because 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, was mounted upon a large camel standing in the ranks.
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That took place in the thirty-sixth year of the Hijrah. "None will be slain except a wrongdoer
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or one wronged": for the combatants were either a Companion exercising reasoned interpretation, who was thus wronged, or a non-
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Companion fighting for worldly gains, who was thus a wrongdoer. "Waza" means equaled. "Kurbah" means a grief
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that overwhelms the soul. "Al-Ghabah" is a vast piece of land in the upper outskirts of Medina. "Salaf" means
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a loan. "Ara'aytaka" means inform me. "So if you wish, you may defer my share along with whatever other debts you defer"
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means he offered to postpone the settlement of his debt along with the other debts whose payments were being deferred.
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"Al-Mawsim" refers to the Hajj season. Among the benefits derived from this hadith is the humble self-estimation of al-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him),
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even though he was the disciple of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; his unwavering trust
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in Allah, turning toward Him, being content with His decree, and seeking His aid. It highlights the gravity of
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debt, for a man like al-Zubayr, with all his precedence in Islam
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and well-established virtues, feared debt even after death. It shows the legitimacy of
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making a bequest during wartime, since it can lead to death; the permissibility of borrowing;
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and the obligation for the heirs of the deceased to settle debts before executing bequests and distributing
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the estate. It confirms the permissibility of owning houses and lands, no matter how vast, provided they are acquired lawfully;
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the obligation to preserve trusts; and the inner fortitude and dignity of 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
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may Allah be pleased with him and his father, shown by his declining the financial assistance offered by Hakim ibn Hizam (may Allah be pleased with him)
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and the debt forgiveness offered by 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him and his father).
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When blessing is placed in something, it makes little become much,
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whereas if it is stripped from something, it becomes a grave calamity. It is incumbent to refrain from delving into what occurred
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of discord among the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, for all of them were upright, and in whatever happened
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between them, they were exercising personal judgment and reasoned interpretation. A righteous intention guides
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a person toward the facilitation of their affairs and the repayment of their debts, just as occurred with al-Zubayr
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ibn al-'Awwam, may Allah be pleased with him. Riyad al-Salihin.