Part of Glimpses from the Lives of the Tabi‘un (the Successors) (series completed)
· Lesson 13 of 37
Pictures from the lives of the followers | D. Abdul Rahman Raafat Al-Basha | Episode (13) | Amer bin Sharahbil (Al-Shaabi), may God have mercy on 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 best of generations in stances and exemplary deeds,
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Following the Messenger whenever he strove or spoke.
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Mawaddah Association
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Presents:
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Portraits from the Lives of the Tabi'un
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By Dr. Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
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May Allah have mercy on him.
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'Amir ibn Sharahbil,
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May Allah have mercy on him.
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Six years into the caliphate of al-Faruq, may Allah be pleased with him,
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A boy of frail body and slight build was born to the Muslims.
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That was because his twin brother crowded him in their mother's womb,
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Leaving him little room to grow.
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Yet after that, his brother was never able—
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Nor was anyone else—to rival him in the realms of knowledge, forbearance,
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Memory, comprehension, and sheer genius.
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That was 'Amir ibn Sharahbil al-Himyari,
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Known as al-Sha'bi,
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The genius prodigy of the Muslims in his era.
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Al-Sha'bi was born in Kufa and grew up there,
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Yet al-Madinah al-Munawwarah
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Was the longing of his heart and the aspiration of his soul.
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So he would travel to it from time to time
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To meet the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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And to learn directly from them,
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Just as the noble Companions used to journey to Kufa,
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Taking it as a launching base for jihad in the cause of Allah
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Or as an abode for their residence.
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Thus, he had the opportunity to meet around five hundred of the noble Companions,
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And to narrate from a large number of their eminent figures,
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Such as 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
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Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas,
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Zayd ibn Thabit,
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'Ubadah ibn al-Samit,
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Abu Musa al-Ash'ari,
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Abu Sa'id al-Khudri,
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Al-Nu'man ibn Bashir,
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'Abdullah ibn 'Umar,
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'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas,
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'Adi ibn Hatim,
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Abu Hurayrah,
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'A'ishah, the Mother of the Believers,
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And many, many others,
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May Allah be pleased with them all.
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Al-Sha'bi was a youth of blazing intellect and an alert heart,
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Possessing a refined mind and precise comprehension,
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A marvel in the strength of his retention and memory.
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For it was related from him that he said:
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"I have never written black ink on white paper,
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Nor has any man narrated a hadith to me without my memorizing it,
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Nor have I ever heard words from anyone
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And wished that he would repeat them to me."
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The young man was devoted to knowledge and infatuated with learning,
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Expending his life and his most precious possessions for their sake,
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And deeming all hardships trivial in their pursuit,
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For he used to say:
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"If a man were to travel from the farthest reaches of the Levant to the farthest reaches of Yemen,
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And memorized a single word that benefited him in the rest of his life,
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I would consider that his journey was not wasted."
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Such was the extent of his knowledge that he used to say:
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"The least of what I have learned is poetry;
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Yet if I wished, I could recite it to you for a whole month
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Without ever repeating anything I had already recited."
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A study circle used to be held for him in the Grand Mosque of Kufa,
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Around which people gathered in crowds,
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While Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) were still alive,
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Going about their daily lives among the people.
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Indeed, 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
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Once heard him recounting to the people the accounts of the military expeditions,
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With all their intricacies and subtle details.
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So he listened attentively to him and said:
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"I witnessed with my own eyes some of what he is recounting,
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And I heard it with my own ears,
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Yet he has memorized and transmitted it better than I have!"
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The testimonies to the vastness of al-Sha'bi's knowledge
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And his sharp presence of mind are abundant and plentiful.
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Among these is what he narrated about himself:
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He said, "Two men came to me boasting of their ancestry;
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One of them was from the tribe of Banu 'Amir,
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And the other was from Banu Asad.
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The 'Amiri had overpowered his companion and gained the upper hand over him,
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Grabbing him by his garment and dragging him forcefully toward me,
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While the Asadi was humiliated before him, pleading with him:
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'Let me go! Let me go!'
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But the 'Amiri said to him:
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'By Allah, I will not let you go until al-Sha'bi judges between me and you!'
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So I turned to the 'Amiri and said to him:
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'Release your companion so that I may judge between you two.'
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Then I looked at the Asadi and said:
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'Why do I see you yielding meekly to him,
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When you possess six marks of glory
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That belonged to no other among the Arabs?
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The first of them
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Is that from among you was a woman sought in marriage by the master of creation,
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Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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And Allah married her to him from above the seven heavens,
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With Gabriel, peace be upon him, serving as the emissary between them;
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She is the Mother of the Believers, Zaynab bint Jahsh.
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Thus, this noble distinction belonged to your people,
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And to no other among the Arabs besides you.
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The second
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Is that from among you was a man destined for Paradise walking upon the earth:
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'Ukkashah ibn Mihsan.
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This belonged to you, O Banu Asad,
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And to no one else among mankind.
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The third
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Is that the very first banner tied in Islam
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Belonged to a man from among you:
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'Abdullah ibn Jahsh.
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The fourth
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Is that the very first war booty distributed in Islam was his booty.
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The fifth
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Is that the first person to pledge allegiance at the Pledge of al-Ridwan was from among you;
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For your companion Abu Sinan ibn Wahb came
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To the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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And said: 'O Messenger of Allah,
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Stretch out your hand that I may pledge allegiance to you.'
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He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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'Upon what?'
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He replied: 'Upon whatever is in your soul.'
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He (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
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'And what is in my soul?'
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He replied: 'Either victory or martyrdom.'
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The Prophet said: 'Yes,'
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And accepted his pledge of allegiance,
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Whereupon the people began pledging allegiance following the example of Abu Sinan's pledge.
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And the sixth
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Is that your people, Banu Asad,
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Made up one-seventh of the Emigrants on the day of Badr.'"
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The 'Amiri was dumbfounded and fell silent.
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There is no doubt that al-Sha'bi
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Intended to support the weak and defeated against the strong and triumphant;
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Had the 'Amiri been the humiliated one,
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He would have recounted to him virtues of his people beyond what he ever knew.
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When the caliphate passed to 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan,
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He wrote to al-Hajjaj, his governor over Iraq:
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"Send me a man well-suited for matters of both religion and this worldly life,
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Whom I may take as a confidant and companion."
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So he sent al-Sha'bi to him.
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The caliph made him one of his closest intimates,
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Turning to his knowledge in complex dilemmas,
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Relying upon his counsel in grave crises,
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And dispatching him as an ambassador between himself and other monarchs.
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He once sent him on a mission to Justinian, the Emperor of the Romans.
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When al-Sha'bi entered his presence and the Emperor heard him speak,
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He was captivated by his intellect, astounded by his shrewdness,
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And impressed by his vast erudition and powerful eloquence.
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So he detained him at his court for many days, contrary to his usual custom with envoys.
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When al-Sha'bi insisted that he grant him permission to return to Damascus,
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The Roman Emperor asked him:
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"Are you from the royal household?"
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He replied: "No;
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I am merely an ordinary man from among the common Muslims."
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When the Emperor finally permitted him to depart,
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He said to him:
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"When you return to your sovereign—
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Meaning 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan—
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And convey to him all that he wishes to know,
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Deliver this letter to him."
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When al-Sha'bi returned to Damascus,
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He hastened to meet 'Abd al-Malik,
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Disclosing to him everything he had seen and heard,
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And answering all that the caliph asked him about.
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As he stood up to take his leave,
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He said: "O Commander of the Believers,
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The Roman Emperor entrusted me with this letter for you."
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He handed it to him and departed.
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When 'Abd al-Malik read it,
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He said to his servants:
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"Bring him back to me!"
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So they brought him back.
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'Abd al-Malik said to al-Sha'bi:
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"Do you know what is in this letter?"
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He replied:
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"No, O Commander of the Believers."
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'Abd al-Malik said:
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"The Roman Emperor has written to me, saying:
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'I marvel at the Arabs!
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How could they make anyone their ruler other than this young man?'"
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Al-Sha'bi quickly remarked:
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"He only said this because he has not seen you;
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Had he seen you, O Commander of the Believers,
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He would never have said it."
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'Abd al-Malik said:
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"Do you know why the Roman Emperor wrote this to me?"
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Al-Sha'bi replied:
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"No, O Commander of the Believers."
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'Abd al-Malik said:
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"He only wrote this to me
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Because he envied me for having you,
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And wished to incite me to execute you and rid himself of you."
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When news of this reached the Roman Emperor,
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He remarked:
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"How remarkable he is!
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By Allah, I intended nothing other than that."
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Al-Sha'bi attained such a high standing in knowledge
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That made him one of the four foremost scholars of his era;
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Al-Zuhri used to say:
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"The premier scholars are four:
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Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib in Medina,
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'Amir al-Sha'bi in Kufa,
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al-Hasan al-Basri in Basra,
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and Makhul in the Levant."
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Yet al-Sha'bi,
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out of profound humility, felt embarrassed
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whenever anyone conferred upon him the title of "scholar."
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A man once addressed him, saying:
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"Answer me, O learned jurist!"
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So he said:
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"Woe to you!
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Do not praise us for qualities we do not possess.
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The true jurist is one who refrains from what Allah has forbidden,
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and the true scholar is one who fears Allah.
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And how far we are from that!"
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Another person asked him about a legal matter,
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and he replied:
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"'Umar ibn al-Khattab ruled such-and-such concerning it,
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and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib ruled such-and-such."
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The questioner asked him:
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"And what do you say, O Abu 'Amr?"
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He smiled bashfully and said:
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"What will you do with my opinion
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after having heard the verdicts of 'Umar and 'Ali?"
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Al-Sha'bi was
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adorned with noble traits and illustrious virtues.
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Among these was
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that he detested disputation
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and carefully refrained from meddling in what did not concern him.
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One of his companions spoke to him one day, saying:
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"O Abu 'Amr!"
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He replied, "At your service."
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The man said:
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"What do you say regarding the dispute among the people concerning these two men?"
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Al-Sha'bi asked:
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"Which two men do you mean?"
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He said:
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"'Uthman and 'Ali."
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Al-Sha'bi replied:
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"By Allah, I have no desire whatsoever
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to arrive on the Day of Resurrection as an adversary of 'Uthman ibn 'Affan,
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or of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
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may Allah be pleased with them both."
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Al-Sha'bi combined profound knowledge with forbearance;
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it is related that a man once insulted him in the foulest manner
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and hurled the most offensive words at him.
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Yet he did no more than say to him:
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"If you are truthful in what you accuse me of,
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may Allah forgive me;
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and if you are lying,
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may Allah forgive you."
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Despite his eminent stature and abundant virtue, al-Sha'bi
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never disdained acquiring knowledge or receiving wisdom from the humblest of people.
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A Bedouin used to attend his gatherings regularly,
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yet he remained perpetually silent.
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So al-Sha'bi said to him:
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"Will you not speak?"
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The Bedouin replied:
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"I remain silent so that I remain safe,
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and I listen so that I may learn.
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Indeed, the benefit of a person's ear accrues to himself,
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whereas the benefit of his tongue accrues to others."
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Al-Sha'bi continued to quote the Bedouin's words throughout his life.
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Al-Sha'bi was endowed with an eloquence of speech
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and a mastery of expression
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granted only to the rarest of lucid orators.
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An example of this is
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that he spoke to 'Umar ibn Hubayrah al-Fazari, the governor of the two Iraqs,
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concerning a group of men he had imprisoned, saying:
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"O Emir!
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If you have imprisoned them unjustly,
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then justice demands their release;
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and if you have imprisoned them justly,
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then your pardon can encompass them."
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The governor was so impressed by his words
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that he released them out of respect for him.
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Despite al-Sha'bi's consummate dignity
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and his lofty standing in religion and knowledge,
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he possessed a pleasant spirit and an engaging wit,
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never missing a humorous remark when an occasion arose.
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A man once entered upon him
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while he was sitting with his wife,
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and asked:
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"Which of you is al-Sha'bi?"
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He replied, "This one,"
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pointing to his wife.
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Another person asked him:
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"What was the name of Iblis's wife?"
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He replied:
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"That was a wedding we did not attend."
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Perhaps what best illustrates al-Sha'bi's character
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is what he recounted about himself, saying:
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"I never unfastened my posture-wrap to look at anything scandalous that people gaze upon;
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I never struck a servant of mine;
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and no relative of mine ever died in debt
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without my settling it on his behalf."
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To conclude,
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al-Sha'bi lived a long life,
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reaching well over eighty years of age.
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When he answered the call of his Lord
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and news of his death reached al-Hasan al-Basri,
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the latter said:
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"May Allah have mercy on him!
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For he possessed vast knowledge
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and immense forbearance,
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and he held an esteemed place in Islam."
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Al-Sha'bi was indeed vast in knowledge,
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immense in forbearance,
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and held an esteemed rank in Islam.
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Al-Hasan al-Basri—
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a paragon in deeds and an exemplar—
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followed the Messenger in every endeavor and word.
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They were here, watering the dry clouds of our lives,
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so even if we honor them, their renown rises far higher.
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They departed, leaving a question echoing in the conscience:
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Has any star ever soared and shone as brightly as they did?
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They filled life with glorious achievements through their deeds,
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and by them, humanity's realm was brightened and adorned.