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At Shaykhan, halfway between Madinah and Uhud, the thousand strong Muslim
army led by the Prophet stopped. The sun had begun to sink beneath the
horizon. The Prophet dismounted from his horse Sakb. He was fully dressed
for battle. A turban was wound about his helmet. He wore a breastplate
beneath which was a coat of mail which was fastened with a leather sword
belt. A shield was slung across his back and his sword hung from his side.
As the sun set, Bilal called the adhan and they prayed. The Prophet then
reviewed his troops once more and it was then that he noticed in their
midst the presence of eight boys who despite their age were hoping to
take part in the battle. Among them were Zayd's son Usamah and Umar's
son Abdullah, both only thirteen years old. The Prophet ordered them all
to return home immediately. Two of the boys however demonstrated that
they were able fighters and were allowed to accompany the army to the
Battle of Uhud while the others were sent back to their families.
From an early age, Abdullah ibn Umar thus demonstrated his keenness to
be associated with the Prophet in all his undertakings. He had accepted
Islam before he was ten years old and had made the Hijrah with his father
and his sister, Hafsah, who was later to become a wife of the Prophet.
Before Uhud he was also turned away from the Battle of Badr and it was
not until the Battle of the Ditch the he and Usamah, both now fifteen
years old and others of their age were allowed to join the ranks of the
men not only for the digging of the trench but for the battle when it
came.
From the time of his hijrah till the time of his death more than seventy
years later, Abdullah ibn Umar distinguished himself in the service of
Islam and was regarded among Muslims as "the Good One, son of the Good
One", according to Abu Musa al-Ashari. He was known for his knowledge,
his humility, his generosity, his piety, his truthfulness, his incorruptibility
and his constancy in acts of ibadah.
From his great and illustrious father, Umar, he learnt a great deal and
both he and his father had the benefit of learning from the greatest teacher
of all, Muhammad the Messenger of God. Abdullah would observe and scrutinize
closely every saying and action of the Prophet in various situations and
he would practise what he observed closely and with devotion. For example,
if Abdullah saw the Prophet performing Salat in a particular place, he
would later pray in the same place. If he saw the Prophet making a supplication
while standing, he would also make a dua while standing. If he saw him
making a dua while sitting, he would do the same. On a journey if he saw
the Prophet descend from his camel at a particular place and pray two
rakats, and he had occasion to pass on the same route, he would stop at
the same place and pray two rakats. In a particular place in Makkah, he
once observed the Prophet's camel making two complete turns before he
dismounted and prayed two rakats. It might be that the camel did that
involuntarily but Abdullah ibn Umar when he happened to be in the same
place at another time, made his camel complete two turns before making
it kneel and dismounting. He then prayed two rakats in precisely the same
manner as he had seen the Prophet do.
Aishah, may God be pleased with her, noticed this devotion of Abdullah
to the Prophet and remarked: "There was no one who followed the footsteps
of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the places where
he alighted as did Ibn Umar."
In spite of his close observance of the Prophet's actions, Abdullah was
extremely cautious, even afraid, of reporting the sayings of the Prophet.
He would only relate a hadith if he was completely sure that he remembered
every word of it. One of his contemporaries said:
"Among the companions of the Prophet, no one was more cautious about
adding to or subtracting from the hadith of the Prophet than Abdullah
ibn Umar."
Similarly he was extremely cautious and reluctant to make legal judgments
(fatwas).' Once someone came to him asking for a judgment on a particular
matter and Abdullah ibn Umar replied: "I have no knowledge of what you
ask." The man went on his way and Abdullah clapped his hands in glee and
said to himself: "The son of Umar was asked about what he does not know
and he said: I do not know."
Because of this attitude he was reluctant to be a qadi even though he
was well qualified to be one. The position of qadi was one of the most
important and esteemed offices in the Muslim society and state bringing
with it honor, glory and even riches but he declined this position when
it was offered him by the Khalifah Uthman. His reason for so doing was
not that he underestimated the importance of the position of qadi but
because of his fear of committing errors of judgment in matters pertaining
to Islam. Uthman made him agree not to disclose his decision lest it might
influence the many other companions of the Prophet who actually performed
the duties of judges and juris consults.
Abdullah ibn Umar was once described as the "brother of the night." He
would stay up at night performing Salat, weeping and seeking God's forgiveness
and reading Quran. To his sister, Hafsah, the Prophet once said: "What
a blessed man is Abdullah. Should he perform Salat at night he would be
blessed even more."
From that day, Abdullah did not abandon qiyam alLayl whether at home
or on journeys. In the stillness of the nights, he would remember God
much, perform Salat and read the Quran and weep. Like his father, tears
came readily to his eyes especially when he heard the warning verses of
the Quran. Ubayd ibn Umayr has related that one day he read these verses
to Abdullah ibn Umar:
"How then (will the sinners fare on Judgment Day) when We shall bring
forward witnesses from within every community and bring you (O Prophet)
as witness against them? Those who were bent on denying the truth and
paid no heed to the Apostle will on that Day wish that the earth would
swallow them but they shall not (be able to) conceal from God anything
that has happened." (Surah an-Nisa, 4:41-42).
Abdullah cried on listening to these verses until his beard was moist
with tears. One day, he was sitting among some close friends and he read:
"Woe unto those who give short measure, those who, when they are to receive
their due from people, demand that it be given in full but when they have
to measure or weigh whatever they owe to others, give less than what is
due. Do they not know that they are bound to be raised from the dead (and
called to account) on an awesome Day, the Day when all men shall stand
before the Sustainer of all the worlds?" (The Quran, Surah al Mutaffifin,
83: 1-6). At this point he kept on repeating "the Day when all men shall
stand before the Sustainer of all the worlds" over and over again and
weeping until he was faint.
Piety, simplicity and generosity combined in Abdullah to make him a person
who was highly esteemed by the companions and those who came after them.
He gave generously and did not mind parting with wealth even if he himself
would fall in want as a result. He was a successful and trustworthy trader
throughout his life. In addition to this he had a generous stipend from
the Bayt al-Mal which he would often spend on the poor and those in need.
Ayyub ibn Wail ar-Rasi recounted one incident of his generosity:
One day Umar received four thousand dirhams and a velvet blanket. The
following day Ayyub saw him in the suq buying fodder for his camel on
credit. Ayyub then went to Abdullah's family and asked:
"Didn't Abu Abdur-Rahman (meaning Abdullah ibn Umar) get four thousand
dirhams and a blanket yesterday?" "Yes, indeed," they replied.
"But I saw him today in the suq buying fodder for his camel and he had
no money to pay for it." "Before nightfall yesterday he had parted with
it all. Then he took the blanket and threw it over his shoulder and went
out. When he returned it was not with him. We asked him about it and he
said that he had given it to a poor person," they explained.
Abdullah ibn Umar encouraged the feeding and the helping of the poor
and the needy. Often when he ate, there were orphans and poor people eating
with him. He rebuked his children for treating the rich and ignoring the
poor. He once said to them: "You invite the rich and forsake the poor."
For Abdullah, wealth was a servant not a master. It was a means towards
attaining the necessities of life, not for acquiring luxuries. He was
helped in this attitude by his asceticism and simple life-style. One of
his friends who came from Khurasan once brought him a fine elegant piece
of clothing:
"I have brought this thawb for you from Khurasan," he said. "It would
certainly bring coolness to your eyes. I suggest that you take off these
coarse clothes you have and put on this beautiful thawb."
"Show it to me then," said Abdullah and on touching it he asked: "Is
it silk?" "No, it is cotton," replied his friend.
For a little while, Abdullah was pleased. Then with his right hand he
pushed away the thawb and said: "No! I am afraid for myself. I fear that
it shall make arrogant and boastful. And God does not love the arrogant
boaster."
Maymun ibn Mahran relates the following: "I entered the house of Ibn
Umar. I estimated everything in his house including his bed, his blanket,
his carpet and everything else in it. What I found was not a hundred dirhams'
worth."
That was not because Abdullah ibn Umar was poor. Indeed he was rich.
Neither was it because he was a miser for indeed he was generous and liberal.
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