Part of Pictures from the lives of the Companions (series completed)
· Lesson 15 of 93
Pictures from the lives of the Companions - Episode (30) - Abdul Rahman bin Awf, may God be pleased with him
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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 Mawaddah Association is pleased
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to present to you "Portraits from the Lives of the Companions"
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by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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may Allah have mercy on him.
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him,
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was one of the first eight people to embrace Islam,
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one of the ten promised Paradise,
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one of the six members of the consultative council (Shura) tasked with choosing the caliph after al-Faruq 'Umar,
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and one of the small group who used to issue legal verdicts (fatwas) in Medina
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while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was alive and living among the Muslims.
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In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), his name was 'Abd 'Amr,
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but when he accepted Islam, the noble Messenger named him 'Abd al-Rahman.
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That was 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him.
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf accepted Islam before the noble Messenger entered the house of al-Arqam,
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just two days after the conversion of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.
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He endured the same persecution in the cause of Allah that the earliest Muslims faced;
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he was patient, just as they were patient,
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he stood firm, just as they stood firm,
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and he remained true, just as they remained true.
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He fled with his faith to Abyssinia, just as many of them fled with theirs.
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When the Messenger and his companions were permitted to migrate to Medina,
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he was in the vanguard of the emigrants (Muhajirun) who migrated for the sake of Allah and His Messenger.
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When the Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, established brotherhood between the Muhajirun and the Ansar,
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he paired him with Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him.
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Sa'd said to his brother 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf:
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"O my brother, I am the wealthiest among the people of Medina.
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I have two orchards and two wives.
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Look and see which of the two orchards you prefer so that I may surrender it to you,
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and which of my two wives pleases you more so that I may divorce her for you."
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'Abd al-Rahman said to his Ansari brother:
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"May Allah bless you in your family and your wealth.
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Just direct me to the marketplace."
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So Sa'd directed him to it, and 'Abd al-Rahman began trading;
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he set about buying, selling, making a profit, and saving.
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It was not long before he had gathered enough for a woman's dowry, and so he married.
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He then came to the Messenger, peace be upon him, wearing traces of perfume.
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The Messenger, peace be upon him, asked him:
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"Mahyam, O 'Abd al-Rahman?"
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— this being a Yemeni word expressing surprise.
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He replied: "I have gotten married."
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The Prophet asked: "And how much dowry did you give your wife?"
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He replied: "The weight of a date stone in gold."
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The Prophet said: "Offer a wedding feast (walimah), even if with only a single sheep.
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May Allah bless you in your wealth."
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'Abd al-Rahman said:
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"Then the world opened up to me so abundantly that I felt that if I were to lift a stone,
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I would expect to find gold or silver beneath it."
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On the day of Badr, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf strove in the cause of Allah with true devotion,
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slaying the enemy of Allah, 'Umayr ibn 'Uthman ibn Ka'b al-Taymi.
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On the day of Uhud,
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he stood firm when feet were shaken,
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and held his ground when the defeated fled.
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He emerged from the battle bearing more than twenty wounds,
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some of them so deep that a man's hand could enter them.
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Yet 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf's sacrifice with his person
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came to be seen as modest when compared to his striving with his wealth.
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For on one occasion, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him,
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wished to equip an expedition.
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He stood before his Companions and said:
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"Give in charity, for I intend to dispatch an expedition."
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf hastened to his home
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and quickly returned, saying:
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"O Messenger of Allah!
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I have four thousand [dirhams]:
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two thousand I have lent to my Lord,
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and two thousand I have left for my family."
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The Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
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"May Allah bless you in what you have given,
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and may Allah bless you in what you have withheld."
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When the Messenger, peace be upon him, resolved
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to undertake the Expedition of Tabuk —
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which was the last campaign he fought in his life —
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the need for funds was no less pressing than the need for men.
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The Byzantine army was immense in numbers and heavily equipped,
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that year in Medina was a year of severe drought,
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the journey was long, provisions were scarce,
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and riding mounts were scarcer still,
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so much so that a group of believers came to the Messenger pleading with deep sorrow that he take them with him,
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but he had to turn them away because he could find no mounts for them to ride;
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“Nor unto those whom, when they came to thee (asking) that thou shouldst mount them, thou didst tell: I cannot find whereon to mount you. They turned back with eyes flowing with tears, for sorrow that they could not find the means to spend.” (9:92)
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they were thus called "the Weepers" (al-Bakka'un),
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and that army was named the "Army of Hardship" (Jaysh al-'Usrah).
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At that moment, the Messenger, peace be upon him, commanded his Companions to spend in the cause of Allah
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and to seek their reward with Allah.
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The Muslims rushed to respond to the call of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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and in the vanguard of those giving charity was 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf.
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He gave two hundred ounces (awqiyyahs) of gold in charity.
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'Umar ibn al-Khattab said to the Prophet, peace be upon him:
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"I fear that 'Abd al-Rahman has committed an error,
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for he has left nothing for his family."
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The Messenger, peace be upon him, asked:
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"Have you left anything for your family, O 'Abd al-Rahman?"
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He replied: "Yes, I have left them more and better than what I spent."
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The Prophet asked: "How much?"
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He said:
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"What Allah and His Messenger have promised of provision, goodness, and reward."
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The army marched on to Tabuk,
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and there, Allah honored 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf
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with an honor bestowed upon no other Muslim.
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The time for prayer arrived
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while the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was absent,
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so 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf led the Muslims in prayer.
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Scarcely had the first unit of prayer (rak'ah) ended
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when the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, arrived
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and joined the Muslims;
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he followed 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf in prayer
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and prayed behind him.
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Is there any honor greater or any virtue higher
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than for a person to serve as the imam for the master of creation
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and the leader of the prophets, Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah?
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When the Messenger, peace be upon him, passed away
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to the Highest Companion,
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'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf undertook to look after the affairs of the Mothers of the Believers.
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He would attend to their needs,
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traveling with them whenever they traveled,
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performing the Hajj with them whenever they performed it,
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placing protective mantles over their camel-litters,
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and pitching their camps in places that pleased them.
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That was one of the noble merits of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf
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and a mark of the trust the Mothers of the Believers placed in him,
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an honor in which he had every right to take pride.
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Such was the extent of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf's benevolence
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toward the Muslims and the Mothers of the Believers
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that he once sold a plot of land belonging to him for forty thousand dinars
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and distributed the entire sum among the clan of Banu Zuhrah,
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the poor among the Muslims and the Muhajirun,
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and the wives of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
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When he sent to the Mother of the Believers 'A'ishah,
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may Allah be pleased with her, the share allotted to her from that money,
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she asked: "Who sent this money?"
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She was told: "'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf."
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She said:
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"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
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'None will show compassion to you after me except the truly patient.'"
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The supplication of the Messenger, peace be upon him,
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for 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf
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that Allah bless his wealth
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continued to shelter him throughout his entire life,
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until he became the wealthiest of all the Companions
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and the most affluent among them.
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His commerce continually flourished and expanded,
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and his caravans moved back and forth, departing from Medina and returning to it,
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bringing its residents wheat, flour, cooking oil,
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garments, utensils, perfume,
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and everything else they needed,
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while transporting away whatever surplus produce exceeded their needs.
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One day,
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a caravan belonging to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf arrived in Medina,
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consisting of seven hundred laden camels —
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yes, seven hundred camels! —
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bearing on their backs provisions, merchandise,
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and all that the people needed.
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No sooner had it entered Medina than the ground trembled beneath it,
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and a tremendous clamor and commotion were heard.
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'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, asked:
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"What is this commotion?"
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She was told: "A caravan belonging to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf;
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seven hundred camels carrying wheat, flour, and food."
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'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, remarked:
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"May Allah bless him in what He has given him in this world,
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but the reward of the Hereafter is far greater!
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For I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say:
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''Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf will enter Paradise crawling.'"
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Before the camels had even knelt down,
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a bearer of good tidings rushed to 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf
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and conveyed what the Mother of the Believers had said, congratulating him on the promise of Paradise.
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No sooner had this glad tiding reached his ears
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than he flew swiftly to 'A'ishah and asked:
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"O Mother, did you hear that from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?"
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She replied: "Yes."
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Overjoyed, he exclaimed:
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"If I am able, I shall surely enter it standing!
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I call you to witness, O Mother,
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that this entire caravan, with its loads, saddles, and gear,
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is dedicated in the cause of Allah."
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From that luminous and blessed day
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on which 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf was given the glad tidings of entering Paradise,
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his devotion to giving and spending his wealth increased immensely.
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He began disbursing it with both hands, right and left,
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secretly and openly.
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He gave forty thousand silver dirhams in charity,
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followed by forty thousand gold dinars,
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and then donated two hundred ounces of gold.
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He subsequently mounted fighters in the cause of Allah upon five hundred horses,
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and provided mounts for yet other fighters upon one thousand five hundred camels.
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When death approached 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf,
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he emancipated a great number of his slaves,
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and bequeathed to every surviving veteran of Badr
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four hundred dinars of gold,
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all of which they received;
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and they numbered one hundred men.
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He also bequeathed a vast amount of wealth to each of the Mothers of the Believers,
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such that the Mother of the Believers 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
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would frequently pray for him, saying:
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"May Allah give him to drink from the waters of Salsabil."
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Then, after all of that,
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he left behind for his heirs wealth that could scarcely be counted:
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leaving one thousand camels,
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as well as a hundred horses
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and three thousand sheep.
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He had four wives,
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and each one's share—a fourth of the eighth—amounted to eighty thousand dinars.
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He also left behind gold and silver
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that had to be chopped with axes to be divided among his heirs,
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to the point that the men's hands blistered from cleaving it.
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All of this was by virtue of the supplication of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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who prayed that Allah bless him in his wealth.
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Yet all that vast wealth
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never seduced 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf, nor did it change him.
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Whenever people saw him among his servants,
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they could not tell him apart from them.
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One day, food was brought to him while he was fasting,
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so he looked at it and said:
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"Mus'ab Ibn 'Umayr was killed,
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and he was better than me,
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yet we could find nothing to shroud him in except a single garment;
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if it covered his head, his feet were exposed,
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and if it covered his feet, his head was exposed.
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Then the riches of this world were showered upon us as they were,
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and I truly fear that our rewards have been hastened to us in this life."
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Then he began to weep and sob until he lost all appetite for the food.
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Blessed indeed is 'Abd al-Rahman Ibn 'Awf, and worthy of all envy!
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For the truthful and trusted Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah gave him the glad tidings of Paradise,
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and his bier was carried by the maternal uncle of the Messenger of Allah,
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Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas;
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the funeral prayer over him was led by Dhu al-Nurayn,
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'Uthman Ibn 'Affan;
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and he was escorted to his grave by the Commander of the Faithful, whose countenance was honored by Allah,
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'Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
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who said:
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"You attained its purity
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and outran its falsehood; may Allah have mercy on you!"
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May Allah bless what you have given,
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and may Allah bless what you have withheld,
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as in the supplication of the Messenger.
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You have scaled a lofty edifice, O poetry,
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and in praising them, can there ever be enough?