Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Tabi‘un (the Successors) (series completed)
· Lesson 22 of 37
Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (22) | Tawus bin Kaisan, may God have mercy on him (Part 2)
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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, peace be upon him, whether he hastened or lingered.
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A collection of affection,
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Proceed.
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Scenes 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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Tawus Ibn Kaysan,
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May Allah have mercy upon him.
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No sooner had the Caliph of the Muslims, Sulayman Ibn Abd al-Malik,
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Settled his belongings in the vicinity of the Ancient House (the Ka'bah),
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And quenched his longing for the Sacred Ka'bah,
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Than he turned to his chamberlain and said,
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"Find us a scholar who can give us understanding of the religion,
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And remind us on this glorious day among the days of Allah, the Almighty."
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The chamberlain went out to the prominent figures among the pilgrims,
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And began asking them about what the Commander of the Faithful desired.
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It was said to him,
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"This is Tawus Ibn Kaysan,
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The master of the jurists of his era,
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And the most truthful of them in speech when calling to Allah.
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You should seek him out."
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The chamberlain approached Tawus and said,
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"Answer the call of the Commander of the Faithful, O Shaykh."
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Tawus responded to him without delay,
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For he believed that those who call to Allah, the Almighty,
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Must seize every opportunity that presents itself,
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And hasten to every opening that arises.
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He was certain that the best word to be spoken
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Is a word of truth intended to rectify the crookedness of those in power,
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To spare them from injustice and tyranny,
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And to draw them closer to Allah, the Almighty.
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Tawus went with the chamberlain,
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And when he entered upon the Commander of the Faithful, he greeted him.
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The Caliph returned the greeting with one better,
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Honored his visitor, and brought him close to his seat.
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Then he began to ask him about matters of the Hajj rituals that were unclear to him,
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Listening to him with reverence and respect.
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Tawus said: "When I felt that the Commander of the Faithful
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Had attained his goal,
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And had nothing left to ask about,
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I said to myself, 'This gathering
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Is a gathering for which Allah will hold you accountable, O Tawus.'"
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Then I turned to him and said,
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"O Commander of the Faithful,
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A rock was on the edge of a well
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In the depths of Hell,
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And it had been falling into this well for seventy autumns
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Until it reached its bottom.
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Do you know for whom Allah has prepared this well,
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One of the wells of Hell, O Commander of the Faithful?"
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He replied without hesitation,
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"No." Then he returned to himself and said,
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"Woe to you, for whom was it prepared?"
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I said, "Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, prepared it
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For those who associate partners with Him in His rule,
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And act unjustly."
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A tremor seized Sulayman at that,
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Such that I thought his soul
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Would depart from his body.
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He began to weep,
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And his weeping had a sob that tore at the heartstrings.
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So I left him and departed,
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While he was rewarding me with goodness.
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When Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz assumed the Caliphate,
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He sent word to Tawus Ibn Kaysan, saying,
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"Advise me, O Abu Abd al-Rahman."
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Tawus wrote him a letter
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In one line, in which he said,
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"If you wish for your work to be entirely good,
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Then employ people of goodness.
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Peace."
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When Umar read the letter, he said,
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"This is sufficient as an admonition."
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"This is sufficient as an admonition."
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When the Caliphate passed to Hisham Ibn Abd al-Malik,
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Tawus Ibn Kaysan had with him
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Famous and recorded encounters.
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Among them is that Hisham came
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To the Sacred House for Hajj.
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When he arrived in the Haram,
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He said to his close associates from the people of Makkah,
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"Find us a man from the Companions of
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The Messenger, peace be upon him."
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They said to him, "O Commander of the Faithful, the Companions
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Have joined their Lord,
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Until not one of them remains."
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He said, "Then from the Tabi'un."
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So Tawus Ibn Kaysan was brought to him.
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When he entered upon him,
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He took off his sandals at the edge of his carpet,
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And greeted him without addressing him
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As Commander of the Faithful,
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And addressed him by his name without using his kunya (honorific title).
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And he sat down before he was given permission to sit.
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Hisham was enraged,
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Until the anger appeared in his eyes,
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For he saw in those actions
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An audacity toward him and a slight to his prestige
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Before his courtiers and the men of his retinue.
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However, he soon remembered
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That he was in the sanctuary of Allah, the Almighty,
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So he returned to himself and said to Tawus,
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"What prompted you, O Tawus, to do what you did?"
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He said, "And what is it that I did?"
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The Caliph's anger returned to him,
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And his fury, and he said,
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"You took off your sandals at the edge of my carpet,
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You did not greet me as Commander of the Faithful,
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You called me by my name and did not use my kunya,
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And then you sat down without my permission."
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Tawus said calmly,
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"As for taking off my sandals at the edge of your carpet,
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I take them off before the Lord of Might
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Five times every day,
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And He does not rebuke me nor get angry with me.
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As for your saying that I did not greet you
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As Commander of the Faithful, it is because all
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The believers are not satisfied with your command,
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And I feared that I would be a liar
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If I called you Commander of the Faithful.
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As for what you criticized me for, that I
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Called you by your name and did not use your kunya,
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Allah called His prophets by their names,
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Saying, 'O Dawud,'
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'O Yahya,' 'O Isa.'
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And He called His enemies by their kunyas (e.g., Abu Lahab).
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“The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish.” (111:1)
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As for your saying that I sat before you gave me permission,
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I heard the Commander of the Faithful, Ali
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Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, say:
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'If you want to look at a man from the people of the Fire,
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Look at a man sitting,
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While people are standing before him.'
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So I disliked for you to be that man
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Who is counted among the people of the Fire."
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Hisham lowered his head to the ground in shame,
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Then he raised his head and said,
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"Admonish me, O Abu Abd al-Rahman."
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He said, "I heard Ali Ibn Abi Talib,
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May Allah be pleased with him, say:
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'There are scorpions like mules,
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That sting every shepherd who does not act justly toward his flock.'"
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Then he stood up and departed.
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Just as Tawus would approach some of those in authority
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To remind and guide them,
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He would turn away from others among them
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To rebuke and reprimand them.
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His son narrated, saying,
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"We went out one year with my father for Hajj from Yemen,
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And we stopped in one of the cities,
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Governed by an official called Ibn Najih,
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Who was among the most wicked of officials,
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The most audacious toward the truth,
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And the most deeply entrenched in falsehood.
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We came to the city's mosque intending to perform the obligatory prayer,
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And Ibn Najih had learned of my father's arrival,
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So he came to the mosque,
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Sat before him, and greeted him.
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My father did not answer him and turned his back to him.
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He came to his right and spoke to him,
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But he turned away from him.
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He moved to his left and spoke to him,
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But he turned away from him as well.
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When I saw that, I stood up to him,
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Stretched out my hand toward him, greeted him,
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And said to him, 'My father did not recognize you.'
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He said, 'Rather, your father knows me,
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And his knowledge of me
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Is what made him do what you saw.'
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Then he went away, silent, saying nothing.
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When we returned to our dwelling,
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My father turned to me and said,
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'O fool, you sharpen your tongues against these people with sharp words
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In their absence,
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But when they are present, you are submissive to them in speech.
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Is hypocrisy anything other than this?'"
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Tawus Ibn Kaysan did not reserve his admonitions
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For Caliphs and governors,
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Rather, he offered them to everyone he felt
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Had a need for them or a desire for them.
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Among this is what Ata' Ibn Abi Rabah narrated:
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"Tawus Ibn Kaysan saw me
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In a situation he did not approve of,
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So he said, 'O Ata',
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Beware of taking your needs to one who has closed his door,
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And has placed a chamberlain between you and him,
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When you can seek them from the One who has opened His doors to you,
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And has asked you to call upon Him, and has promised you
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An answer.'"
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He used to say to his son, "O my son,
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Associate with the wise, for you will be attributed to them,
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Even if you are not one of them.
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And do not associate with the ignorant,
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For if you associate with them, you will be attributed to them."
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He knew that everything has an end,
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And that the end of a person is the perfection of his religion
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And the completion of his character.
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His son ‘Abdullah grew up
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following the upbringing his father provided,
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embodying his character and following in his footsteps.
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Among these instances is when the Abbasid Caliph,
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Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur,
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summoned his son, ‘Abdullah ibn Tawus.
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When they entered his presence
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and took their seats before him,
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the Caliph turned to ‘Abdullah ibn Tawus
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and said, "Relate to me something that
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your father used to tell you."
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He replied, "My father told me
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that the person who will face the severest punishment on the Day of Resurrection
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is a man whom Allah, the Almighty, granted authority,
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yet he introduced injustice into his rule."
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When I heard this statement of his,
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I pulled my clothes tightly around me,
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fearing that some of his blood might touch me.
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However, Abu Ja‘far remained silent
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for a while, not speaking,
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then he dismissed us in peace.
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Life was extended for Tawus ibn Kaysan
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until he reached one hundred years or slightly more.
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Yet, despite his old age and advanced years,
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he retained the clarity of his mind, the sharpness of his intellect,
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and his quick wit.
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‘Abdullah al-Shami narrated, saying:
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"I came to Tawus in his house to learn from him,
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and I did not know him.
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When I knocked on the door, an old man came out to me.
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I greeted him and said,
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'Are you Tawus ibn Kaysan?'
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He replied, 'No, I am his son.'
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I thought to myself that the old man might have become senile and lost his memory,
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and I had traveled from far away
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to benefit from his knowledge.
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He said, 'Woe to you!
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Those who carry the Book of Allah do not become senile.
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Go in to him.'
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So I entered to see Tawus and greeted him,
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and I said, 'I have come to you seeking your knowledge,
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desiring your counsel.'
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I will be brief;
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I will be as brief as I can, if Allah wills."
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He asked, "Do you want me to summarize for you
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the essence of what is in the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel,
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and the Qur'an?"
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I said, "Yes," and he said,
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"Fear Allah, the Exalted, with such fear
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that nothing is more fearful to you than Him.
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And hope in Him with a hope stronger than your fear of Him.
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Love for people what you love for yourself."
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On the night of the tenth of Dhu al-Hijjah,
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in the year 106 AH,
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the elderly scholar Tawus ibn Kaysan departed
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with the pilgrims from ‘Arafat to Muzdalifah
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for the fortieth time.
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When he rested in its sacred grounds,
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and performed the Maghrib and ‘Isha’ prayers,
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and laid his side upon the earth,
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certainty came to him.
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He met his end far from his family and homeland,
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seeking nearness to Allah,
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reciting the Talbiyah, in the state of Ihram, hoping for the reward of Allah,
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emerging from his sins as the day his mother bore him,
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by the grace of Allah.
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When the morning broke,
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and they intended to bury him,
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they were unable to bring out his funeral procession.
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So the governor of Makkah sent guards to them
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to keep the people away from the funeral
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until they could bury him.
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A great multitude prayed over him,
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the number of whom none can count except Allah.
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Among those who prayed was
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the Caliph of the Muslims,
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Hisham ibn ‘Abd al-Malik.
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I saw you, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman, in dreams,
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with the Prophet, peace be upon him, at its door,
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and he was saying to you:
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"Unveil your mask,
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and clarify your recitation, O Tawus."
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Remind them, O Exalted One.
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They departed and left behind a question in the conscience:
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Is there a star like them that has risen and shone?
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They filled life with pride through their deeds,
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and the world of the patient flourished because of them.