Life Lessons

Umar b. Abd al-Aziz, the righteous Umayyad Caliph (d. 720), came to know that one of his sons had bought a diamond ring for one thousand dirhams. Umar wrote to him: I heard, you bought a ring for one thousand dirhams. I order you to sell the ring and feed one thousand starving souls with the money, and then get for you an iron- ring for two dirhams, with the inscription, "God have mercy on him who knows his true state."

Aishah, the mother of the faithful, related the following:
 
Once in an effort to settle an argument between the Prophet (p.b.u.h) and I, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) asked, "Who should I call to settle this matter? Would you like Abu Ubaydah?".  To this I replied, "No, he is soft and lenient and would judge in your favor." "What about Umar b. al-Khattab?" inquired the Prophet (p.b.u.h). To this I replied, "I fear Umar." Finally, he asked, "Would you like Abu Bakr [my father]?" I instantly agreed.
 
Accordingly, he sent someone to call my father and when he came, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) told him, "I want you to arbitrate this matter between Aishah and me." Surprised, my father exclaimed, "I, O Messenger of Allah?" "Yes, you" the Prophet (p.b.u.h) replied. 
 
With that out of the way, the Messenger of Allah began to speak, I interrupted saying: "Be fair when you talk, O Messenger of Allah!" As soon as I said the words, my father stretched out his hand and slapped me saying, "Woe to you! Who would be fair, if not the Messenger of Allah?"
 
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) immediately came to my defence saying, "We didn't come to you to settle the matter in this way! We will settle our dispute ourselves!"

A person sets out on the path of knowledge, while carrying a heavy load of sins on his shoulders. A piece of wisdom he hears pierces his heart: his heart melts, he repents and makes amends for his sins; he returns home without sins. Therefore, one must never shy away from attending knowledge-sessions.

Seek knowledge before aspiring for leadership. Once you become a leader you may be too proud to learn, and thus end-up being ignorant. If the knowledge does not benefit you, it won't hurt. So be a diligent seeker of knowledge and pick up serenity --the fruit of knowledge.

Abd Allah b. Mas'ud, one of the pioneer Muslims, and a close companion of the Prophet, peace be on him, said, "I accompanied the Prophet, peace be upon him, in his expedition to Tabuk. One night, while the army encamped in a place, I stood up praying; suddenly, a dim lamp shining far away caught my attention. After finishing my Prayer, I went out to look. As I drew near, I saw the Prophet, Abu Bakr and Umar gathered to bury Abd Allah Dhul Bijadayn (one of the companions who had passed away). They had prepared the grave, and the Prophet was standing inside, telling Abu Bakr and Umar, "Hand over your brother to me"; when they handed him over to him, he positioned him in the grave, and supplicated thus, "O Allah, I had been well pleased with him, and so You too be well pleased with him! On hearing his words, I wished I was in that hole in his place!"

Suyfan b. Waki, a scholar of the pious generations, described the Prophet's assembly thus:

'The Prophet was ever smiling, kind, affable, and gentle with his companions, and never rude, harsh, clamorous, or (fault) finding.

In regard to his own self, he shunned three ( negative) habits: ostentation, wastefulness, and frivolity. In regard to others, he spared them of three (negative) traits: he condemned no one, nor insulted them. When he spoke, his companions remained silent, paying rapt attention to his words as if birds perched on their heads. They would speak only when he was quiet, when one of them spoke, others remained quiet, and paid attention to him until he had finished. The Prophet was tolerant of strangers and their crude expressions; and he always reminded his companions, 'When someone approaches you with a need, help them!'. He never expected praise from anyone... neither did he interrupt anyone who spoke.

Ibn Abbas narrated the following story about the Prophet's 'feast' on the occasion of the fall of Makkah: He was a guest of Umm Hani bint Abi Talib. In the morning, he asked her,' You have any food? ' She said,' Nothing but a dry piece of bread, which I am too shy to offer to you! ' He said,' Let me have it. ' Accordingly, when she presented the bread, he broke it into small bits with water; then asked her,' Any condiment? ' She said,' Only some vinegar'; he said,' Give me some'. He ate the bread with salt and vinegar; and on finishing his meal, he thanked Allah, and said,' How excellent is vinegar as a condiment! ' Then he turned to Umm Hani and said,' A house with vinegar can never be poor! ' When some visitors, who had come to congratulate him, addressed him, saying,' you are our master', the Prophet told them, ' Allah alone is our Master; say whatever you wish to say, but don't let Devil lead you astray !'.

Anas b. Malik, who accompanied the Prophet, peace be on him, for over ten years, had the deepest emotional attachment to the Prophet just as everyone of his companions did. His face would brighten up if he ever mentioned the Prophet's arrival in Madinah; he sobbed while mentioning his death. He said, "When the Prophet arrived in Madinah, he brightened up the entire city. But, when he died, it was as though dark clouds had moved over Madinah, and everyone became sullen." Anas yearned for the day when he would rejoin his beloved (in paradise after death). For, like all other Companions, he never rejoiced more than when the Prophet said, "After death, a person rejoins those he loves most". Anas added, "Certainly, I love the Messenger of Allah, Abu Bakr and Umar, and by virtue of my love for them, I hope to rejoin them in paradise".

On the occasion of the fall of Makkah, the Prophet, peace be upon him, entered Makkah to find little to no resistance. His return is hallmarked to be one where no blood was shed. However, one of the deepest symbolic acts he performed upon his return was to ask Bilal, a former Abyssinian slave, to climb to the roof of the Kab'ah and deliver the call to prayer (adhaan). To the Quryash, this was like directing a dagger straight into their heart. They, who despised slaves, the destitute and weak, could only bring themselves to look upon such individuals with derision. Consequently, the mere sight of a black man standing on the roof of the Ka'bah (former home to their idolatry) and delivering the adhaan sent shock waves through Makkah.

Sitting nearby watching the scene unfold with horror were three chiefs of the Makkan oligarchy, namely: Abu Sufyan b. Umayyah, who was chief of the Quraysh (and the only one in the group that had recently embraced Islam), Attab b. Usayd, and Harith b. Hisham. Upon witnessing the historic event, Attab could not help but say, "[my recently deceased father] was honored by God as he is spared from hearing this!" Harith remarked, "By God, if I knew for sure that Muhammad was on the path of truth, I would not hesitate in following him [thereby implying that Muhammad (p.b.u.h) was not on the path of truth]." To this Abu Sufyan retoted, "I wouldn't utter a word. For if I do, I am afraid these pebbles would testify against me!" A statement which reflected his new-found belief in the special relationship Muhammad (p.b.u.h) shared with the Creator of the world.

The Prophet (p.b.u.h), who was far away from the group at the time and could not possibly have overheard, soon came upon them and said, "I know of what was said." He then proceeded to relay what they had uttered amongst themselves. Shocked, both Harith and Attab shouted in one voice, "We bear witness that you are indeed God's messenger, for no one else could have heard what we said!" Later that day, the Prophet (p.b.u.h) addressed them saying, "O Quraysh, through Islam God wants to erase from your hearts your false pride and boasting over ancestors. Know well that all of mankind have descended from Adam and Adam was created of earth."

Luqman, the wise one, advised his son of the following six points he himself had learned:

Work for this world according to the extent of your stay in it.

Work for the next world according to the extent of your stay in it.

Work for God according to your own need for Him.

Work to accumulate sins according to your ability to endure punishments for them.

Do not beg favor of anyone except from He who needs nothing from anyone.

Should you choose to disobey God, do so where He cannot see you.

Uthman b. Affan, the third Caliph (d.656), was one of the pioneer Muslims: He was devout, and legendary for his great philanthropy. He never missed any opportunity to be charitable, during the Prophet's time or after. He was chiefly responsible for financing the Prophet's campaign to Tabook.

In the reign of Abu Bakr, a similar opportunity knocked. Madinah was experiencing one of the worst economic conditions, when a trading caravan of Uthman arrived with a hundred camels' load of goods. No sooner the news reached the merchants, eager to make rich profits, they rushed to his house offering to buy the goods to sell them at lucrative prices to consumers. They continued to outbid one another until Uthman told them, "I have an offer that none of you can beat!" Surprised, they asked, "We want to know the identity of the bidder!" He replied, "Allah has promised me to multiply the dividends ten times or more. Can you offer a better deal?" He continued, "Allah is my witness! I offer the entire merchandise in charity to the poor people of Madinah!".

Imam Hasan al-Basari (d. 720), the sage/scholar of Islam, said, "He who worships without sound knowledge is no different from a person travelling without a sense of direction: One who acts without knowledge ends up doing more harm than good. So pursue knowledge without being remiss in worship; and engage in worship without being remiss in the pursuit of knowledge. There were zealots in the past who devoted exclusively to worship, while shunning knowledge: They ended up unleashing their swords on the Ummah of Muhammad, may Allah’s blessings and peace be on him. If they had been armed with sound knowledge, they would not have been so misguided."

When Abu Bakr as-Siddeeque (d.634),  may Allah be pleased with him, succeeded the Prophet (peace be upon him) as a ruler (khalifah), he addressed the people saying:

“I have been given the authority over you, although I am not the best of you.  If I do well, assist me; if I do wrong, correct me. Steadfast adherence to truth (on the part of the ruler/leader) is a trust (placed on him), while falsehood is treason. The weak among you shall remain strong with me until I have secured his rights for him; and the strong shall remain weak with me until I have wrested from him the rights due to others--God willing. Obey me as long as I obey Allah and His Messenger. But if I disobey Allah and His Messenger, then you owe me no obedience. Arise for your prayer; may Allah have mercy on you.”

In the aftermath of the Battle of Hunayn, when the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be Allah's blessings and peace) distributed the spoils of war exclusively among those members of Quraysh and other Arab tribes who were new to Islam (and therefore needed to be reconciled to it), and he allocated none of the shares to any of the Ansaar (Helpers), feelings rose high among them. One of them expressed his feelings thus, "The Messenger of Allah has been reunited with his people!" Then Sa'ad b. Ubadah, one of the chiefs of Ansaar, went to the Prophet and conveyed their feelings to him; whence Prophet asked him, "Where do you stand in this?" He said, "I am one of my people." Then Prophet ordered him to gather them all in the enclosure he pointed to; and to let him know when they have done so. Accordingly, Sa'ad announced the news to them; when they all came together, he informed the Prophet. When Prophet came, he first praised and glorified Allah, and addressed them saying: "O People of Ansaar! Didn't I find you astray, and Allah guided you, poor and Allah enriched you, and enemies and Allah reconciled your hearts!" They answered, "Certainly, O Messenger of Allah!." He asked, "Won't you answer me?" Perplexed, they asked, "With what we would answer you? Allah and His Messenger are the most bountiful and most gracious." He said, "If you wanted you could have said, and you would have been confirmed in it, 'you came to us an outcast and we sheltered you, poor and we generously welcomed you, in fear and we made you feel secure, and forlorn and we helped you'..." They said, "Allah and His Messenger are the most bountiful and most gracious". He continued, "O People of Ansaar! Are you upset that I used the trifle things of this world to reconcile the hearts of those who have been recently converted to Islam, and I entrusted you to your share of Islam that Allah has gifted you with! Aren't you pleased, O Ansaar, that when the people take with them their sheep and their camels, and that you take with you the Messenger of Allah to your homes? By Allah, who has my soul in His hands, if all people but the Ansaar went one way and the Ansaar another, I would go the way of Ansaar. If not for (the factor of) hijrah, I would have reckoned myself as one of the Ansaar. O Allah! Have mercy on Ansaar, and the offspring of Ansaar, and the offspring of the offspring of Ansaar." Upon hearing his words, they wept until their beards were wet, and with one voice, they said, "We are well content with Allah as our Lord, and His Messenger as our lot and share!" Then he left, and they also left."