58 - Companions of the Prophet - A JURIST PAR EXCELLENCE ABDULLAH BIN ABBAS The qualities of the companions of the Holy Prophet varied from person to person. Some were known for their leadership and steadfastness such as Hazrat Umar bin Khattab, some for their courage and bravery in front of odds such as Khabib bin Adi and some were great warriors such as Khalid bin Waleed, Abu Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah, and Saad bin Abi Waqas. Some however excelled in the knowledge of Hadith and the Holy Quran such as Abdullah bin Masud and Maaz bin Jabal who benefited their contemporaries with their knowledge they had learned from the Holy Prophet. Abdullah bin Abbas, son of Prophet’s uncle Abbas, is another name which stands out for the immense knowledge of Hadith and the Holy Quran and is known as Raees-ul-Mufasareen. Abdullah bin Abbas was born three years before the migration of the Holy Prophet to Madinah. His father Hazrat Abbas bin Abdul Mutalib (1) brought him to the Holy Prophet who, after putting his saliva (Lua’ab) in his mouth, prayed for him: ‘O Allah spread the light of knowledge through him.’ Although Hazrat Abbas accepted Islam a little before the conquest of Makkah in 8 Hijra but Abdullah’s mother, Umme Fadhal, had accepted tawhid from the beginning. She therefore influenced Abdullah and brought him up as a Muslim. From his childhood, Abdullah was very intelligent, serene and pure. Although he was only a young boy during the time of the Holy Prophet, yet he learned a lot from him. Umm-ul-Momineen Syeda Maimunah was the sister of his mother and she was very fond of him. Abdullah would often stay over in her house where he would observe the routines of the Holy Prophet. Once, while he stayed over with Syeda Maimunah, he saw the Holy Prophet getting up during the night for prayers. He brought the ablution water for the Prophet. When the Holy Prophet stood for the prayer, he beckoned Abdullah to stand with him but he stood behind him. After finishing the prayer, the Holy Prophet asked him: ‘Abdullah, why didn’t you stay beside me?’ ‘How could I stay beside you O Messenger of Allah? My place is behind you.’ replied Abdullah. Pleased at his answer, the Holy Prophet prayed for him: ‘O Allah, make him Fiqih (Islamic Jurist) of the Deen and grant him wisdom.’ And his prayer was answered. (Fawad ul Fawad). There were many occasions thereafter when the Prophet would repeat this dua. Abdullah remained in the Holy Prophet’s company and learned as much as he could from him. After the Prophet passed away, he would go to other companions to learn what the Prophet had taught them. He was only thirteen years old when the Holy Prophet left the world. He had already memorized 1660 Hadith by this time, which have been quoted by Imam Bukhari and Muslim. Then the first caliph also did not live long after the death of the Prophet. Hazrat Umar, seeing his abilities, paid special attention to him and urged him to attend the meetings with all other prominent sahaba. He would let him sit most of the time with the sahaba who had fought in the battle of Badr. Once they asked Hazrat Umar why the young man Abdullah accompanied him in the meetings instead of enjoying the company of his age group. At this, Hazrat Umar replied: ‘Abdullah is a young man whose abilities and knowledge is not hidden from you.’ Hazrat Umar would often encourage him to answer the most difficult questions when he hesitated to express his opinion in the presence of other prominent sahaba. Once he asked the companions to explain the first part of Surah al-Nasser, which basically states: ‘O Messenger, seek Allah’s forgiveness when the victory is given to you.’ Some said that after the victory we should be thankful. Then he asked Abdullah if he had the same opinion. Abdullah did not agree with the explanation and said that the Surah indicated the departure of the Holy Prophet. Hazrat Umar agreed with Abdullah and explained further that when people started converting to Islam in groups with Allah’s help, the Prophet’s mission came to end. By asking to seek Allah’s forgiveness it was indicated to him to spend his time mostly in the worship of Allah because he was about to leave this world. Everyone was impressed by the depth of his thinking and knowledge. The third caliph, Hazrat Uthman, could not go to Hajj when he was under siege by the rebels. So he asked Abdullah bin Abbas to represent him. When he returned from Hajj, the Caliph had already been assassinated and the people were insisting that Hazrat Ali become the next caliph. Hazrat Ali asked his opinion about this matter, to which Abdullah very honestly replied: ‘In such circumstances no one can dare to assume this huge responsibility because the new caliph would be blamed for the martyrdom of Hazrat Uthman. However, people need you at this crucial time.’ Hazrat Ali was elected with the consensus of Madinites. Hazrat Ali wanted to make Abdullah bin Abbas the governor of Syria instead of Amir Muawiyah but Abdullah was of the opinion that by retaining Amir Muawiyah he should win his confidence. Hazrat Ali however refused. Later, Abdullah’s fear became a reality in the form of battle of Jamal and Siffin. When the problem started with Amir Muawiyah, Hazrat Ali wanted to make Abdullah as his mediator (Hukam) but this was opposed from different quarters. Instead, Abu Musa Asha’ri was made the mediator. His mediation confused the things and a group called Lashkar-e-Haidri separated out and called themselves Kharjis. This group believed that to appoint a Hukam in the matter of Deen was kufr (blasphemy) and therefore both the Hukam and the one who appointed him were kafir. Kharjis gathered in Nehravan and started a rebellion. Hazrat Ali, who had set out to deal with the Syrian problem, had to return to quell the revolt. He then appointed Abdullah bin Abbas the governor of Iran to deal with the rebels. However, the untimely martyrdom of Hazrat Ali changed the entire scenario. His son Imam Hasan was elected as the caliph and he made Abdullah the governor of Basra. The political maneuvering of Amir Muawiyah forced Imam Hasan to give up the Caliphate in favour of him after an agreement. Abdullah was considered to be the most learned scholar of Quran, Tafseer, Hadith and Fiqah of his time. Abdullah bin Masud who was his contemporary scholar always appreciated his ability of explaining the Holy Quran. Abdullah bin Umar, who himself was a well-versed scholar, directed people to Abdullah bin Abbas if they asked to explain a religious confusion. His immense knowledge is further reflected in the following example. A Christian scholar, once, sent a few questions to Caliph Umar bin Khattab and asked him to provide answers. The questions were as follows: 1) A mother gave birth to two sons on the same day and time. They died also on the same day but one received hundred years of age more than the other one. How was it possible and who they were? 2) Which land saw the sun only once since the beginning of this world and it will never see the sun again? 3) A man went into the grave but remained alive in it. The grave took him around for few days. Later the man came out alive and died a normal death after some time. Which grave it was? 4) A prisoner lives in a prison alive but without breathing. What is that prison? Caliph Umar asked Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas to answer the questions. Abdullah gave the following answers. Answer to Question No. 1 The two brothers who were born and died on the same day and time were Hazrat Aziz and Hazrat Azeer. Allah put Hazrat Azeer to sleep (in the state of death) for one hundred years. He was given life again and then both brothers died on the same day. That way one lived one hundred years longer than the other one. Answer to Question No. 2 That land is the bottom of Red Sea where Firaun drowned and Prophet Musa crossed the river. This land saw the sun for the first and last time. Answer to Question No. 3 The grave was the fish that swallowed Prophet Younus. He remained alive in the belly of the fish. Later, at the command of Allah, fish disgorged him and after living for some time he died a natural death. Answer to Question No. 4 The prisoner who lives in a prison without breathing is the unborn child in the womb (called grave) of his mother. Allah has not mentioned him taking a breath but the child lives. In the later years of his life, Hazrat Abdullah became blind. He left the world at the age of seventy-one. Saad bin Abi Waqas, a very devoted companion of the Prophet, paid him tribute in the following words: ‘I have never seen amongst the companions a person more intelligent, knowledgeable and wiser than Abdullah bin Abbas.’ ___________________________________________________ 1 - Hazrat Abbas bin Abdul Mutalib, uncle of the Holy Prophet, was two years older than him. He had a very impressive personality with a powerful voice. He used to arrange water for the pilgrims in the holy Ka’bah, a responsibility that was considered a special privilege. He loved the Holy Prophet very much and always supported him in his divine mission. In the valley of Shaab Abu Talib when the Holy Prophet and his followers were confined by the Quraish for three years, Hazrat Abbas also stayed with him and went through all the hardships. During that time, Hazrat Abbas’s wife, Umme Fadhal, gave birth to Abdullah bin Abbas. Hazrat Abbas brought the baby to the Holy Prophet who named him Abdullah. At the time of Ghazwa-e-Badr, Hazrat Abbas was in Makkah. At the insistence of Abu Jehl and other Quraish leaders, he came along with the Quraish army to confront the Muslims in the battle of Uhad. The Holy Prophet knew that he was forced to come and therefore he asked his sahaba not to hurt him. He was captured and asked to pay fidya (ransom) for his release. He was returned to Makkah with respect. Later, he returned to Madinah and accepted Islam. The Holy Prophet respected him very much and often prayed for his children. In the battle of Hunnain he remained close to the Holy Prophet and called the sahaba with his powerful voice to regroup and fight the enemy, which they did. He died at the age of 80 and was buried in the cemetery of Jannat-ul-Baqee. __________________________________________________ (The story is taken from my book - Companions of the Prophet, published by FEROZSONS, Lahore, in 2011). Note: Salutations are mentioned in the beginning of the book. To keep the flow of the text they are not repeated all the time. However, I expect readers to say them for the Holy Prophet and Sahaba when they read the story.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Sep 2013 15:10:01 +0000
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