Men Around The Messenger
Among the seventy-man delegation of the Ansaar who took the oath of
allegiance to the Prophet in the Second Allegiance of 'Aqabah sat a young man
with a bright face graceful eyes and a radiant smile. When he was silent, he
attracted attention with his profound peacefulness and devoutness. On the other
hand, when he talked, he held his people spellbound. This young man was Mu'aadh
Ibn Jabal (May Allah be pleased with him). He belonged to the Ansaar, and he
was among the foremost believers who gave the second oath of allegiance to the
Prophet. Naturally, a man of such precedence, faith, and certainty would not
miss for the world a battle or an expedition. His uppermost quality was his
knowledge of fiqh (jurisprudence) - the practical aspect of Muhammad's message.
He reached the apex in knowledge and fiqh, to the extent that made the Prophet
(Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) say, "The most learned man of my nation in
halaal and haraam is Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal."
He resembled 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab
in his enlightenment, courage, and intelligence. When the Prophet sent him to
Yemen, he asked him, "How will you give a judgment or settle a
dispute?" Mu'aadh answered; "I will refer to the Qur'aan." The
Prophet then asked, "What will you do if you do not find the decree you
are looking for in the Qur'aan " Mu'aadh answered, "I will refer to
the Prophet's Sunnah." The Prophet asked, "But what will you do if
you do not find a decree even in the Sunnah?" Mu'aadh readily answered,
"I will be judge between mankind by resorting to juristic reasoning
(ijtihaad) to the best of my power." Now, Mu'aadh's staunch commitment to
Allah's Book and the Prophet's Sunnah does not mean that he closed his mind to
the countless and endless hidden or equivocal facts that await someone to
unravel and adjudicate.
Perhaps both Mu'aadh's ability in juristic reasoning and the courageous
usage of his intelligence enabled him to master the fiqh, excelling all other
scholars. The Prophet justifiably described Mu'aadh as "the most learned
man of my nation in halaal and Haraam.”
History portrays him as a man
of remarkably enlightened, resolute, and decisive mind. For instance, 'Aaez
Allah Ibn 'Abd Allah narrated that one day he entered the mosque with the
Companions of the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) at the dawn of 'Umar's caliphate. Then he sat among more than thirty men.
Let us hear him narrate the story: "I sat with a group of more than thirty
men. They were recalling a hadith of the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam). In this ring sat a dark, swarthy young man who had a sweet voice and
a radiant face. Whenever they disputed about a hidden or ambiguous meaning in
the hadith, they at once sought his legal instruction or judgment. He seldom,
if ever, spoke unless he was asked. When their meeting was over, I approached
him and asked him, "Who are you, O Allah's Slave?" He answered,
"I am Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal." So I instantly felt dose to him.
Also, Shahr Ibn Hawshab
said, "Whenever Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal was present when the Companions of the
Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) were holding a meeting,
they looked at him with reverence."
'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, the Commander of the Faithful, often consulted
him. It seemed that Mu'aadh had a highly disciplined mind and a captivating and
convincing logic that moved peacefully and knowledgeably. When we look at his
historical background, we will always see him at the center of attention. He
always sat there surrounded by people. He
always maintained a discrete silence that was only broken whenever people were
anxious to hear his judgment and whenever they were in dispute. When he spoke
he looked, as one of his contemporaries described, "as if light and pearls
were emanating from his mouth rather than speech." He reached his high
rank in knowledge and reverence when the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) was alive and maintained it after his passing away, notwithstanding
his youth, for Mu'aadh died during 'Umar's caliphate at the age of thirty-three
years.
Mu'aadh was generous, magnanimous, well mannered, and good-natured. If
anyone asked him for money, he would readily and gladly give it to him. His
generosity made him spend all his money on charity and aid. When the Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) passed away, Mu'aadh was still in Yemen, where the Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) had sent him with the task of teaching Muslims their religion
and fiqh.
When Mu'aadh returned from
Yemen during Abu Bakr's caliphate, 'Umar Ibn A1 Khattaab was informed that
Mu'aadh become wealthy, and he suggested to Abu Bakr that the community should
have half of Mu'aadh's wealth. 'Umar did not waste much time as he rushed to
Mu'aadh's house and told him about what he and Abu Bakr had agreed on. Mu'aadh
was an honest and trustworthy man. The fact that he had made a fortune did not
make him vulnerable to suspicion or sin; therefore, he turned down 'Umar's
suggestion and refuted his viewpoint. Finally, 'Umar left him. The next day,
Mu'aadh hurried towards 'Umar's house and no sooner had he laid his eyes on him
than he hugged him. His tears flowed as he said, " Last night, I saw in my
dream that I was crossing deep water. I nearly drowned were it not for your
help, 'Umar." Afterwards, they both went to Abu Bakr's presence where
Mu'aadh asked him to take half his money, but Abu Bakr said, " No, I will take
nothing from you." 'Umar glanced at Mu'aadh and said, "Now it is halaal
and blessed."
First, the pious Abu Bakr
would not take from Mu'aadh one penny unless he was absolutely positive that he
had earned it in a lawful halaal way. Second; 'Umar was not trying to accuse or
cast suspicion on Mu'aadh. In the final analysis, this epitomizes the era of ideals,
which was filled with people who were in perpetual competition to climb their
way up to the apex of perfection allowed to human beings. Thus some of them
soared up to the sky with their good deeds. Some were foremost and the rest
followed a middle course. Yet, all of them were travelers on a caravan of
goodness.
* * *
After a while, Mu'aadh emigrated to Syria, where he lived among its
people and the expatriates as a teacher and a scholar of 8qh. When Abu
'Ubaidah, the governor of Syria and a close friend of Mu'aadh, died, the
Commander of the Faithful 'Umar Ibn Al Khattaab assigned Mu'aadh to take his
place as a ruler. Only a few months had elapsed after his taking over when he
died, humble and repentant to Allah. 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) used
to say, "If I were to grant Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal succession and Allah asked
me, 'why did you make him your successor?' I would readily answer, 'I heard
Your Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) say that when those who have knowledge
stand before Almighty Allah, Mu'aadh will be among them.’”
The succession that 'Umar
meant here was not merely over a country or a governorship but over all the
Muslim lands. When Umar was asked before his death, "If you choose your
successor now, we will give him our allegiance,' he answered, "If Mu'aadh
Ibn Jabal were alive and I made him my successor to the caliphate, then I died
and met Allah Who asked me, 'Whom did you assign to rule Muhammad's nation?' I
would answer, 'I assigned Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal to rule it after I heard the
Prophet (Sallalaho
alyhi wassalam) say Mu'aadh Ibn Jabal is
the Imam of those who have knowledge of Judgment Day.’”
The Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) said one day, "O Mu'aadh, by Allah I love you dearly, so do not
forget to recite after every prayer, Allah help me in remembering You, in
offering thanks to You, and in worshiping You properly.' "
Indeed, the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) supplicated Allah to help him to remember Him. The Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) persevered in stressing this great fact that tells people that
authority belongs to Allah, He has the a power over all, and there is no power
or any might except with His permission, for He is Most High and Most Great.
Definitely, Mu'aadh had learned and fully grasped this fact. He did his
utmost to cherish' and apply this fundamental basis in his life from that
moment onwards.
One day, the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) ran into him so he asked,
"How are you this morning Mu'aadh?" He answered, "This morning
woke up as a true believer." The Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) said,
"Every truth has its manifestations, so what are the manifestations of
your belief?" Mu'aadh readily answered, "I have never woken up without
believing that I might die before nightfall. I have never slept without
believing that I might die before the morning and have never taken step without
believing that I might die before taking the next. It always seems to me that I
can see each nation humbled to its knees and each nation called to its record
of deeds. It always seems to me that I can see the dwellers of Paradise,
wherein are delights everlasting, and the dwellers of Hell, wherein they are in
disgracing torment." The Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam) commented,
"Now you know, so' stick to the truth as long as you live." Indeed
Mu'aadh had submitted himself and his destiny to Allah, for Allah was all that
mattered to him. It was just that Ibn Mas'uud described him as "an Ummah,
a leader having all the good and righteous qualities, obedient to Allah and
haniifan, who worshipped none but Allah. We used to liken him to Ibraahiim
(Abraham) (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)."
* * *
Mu'aadh advocated knowledge
and the remembrance of Allah. Moreover, he invited mankind to seek the useful
and true knowledge saying, "I warn you against the deviation of wise men.
You will know the truth when you see it, for it has a distinctive light!"
He believed: that worship was an end and a means to reach justice. One day a
Muslim asked him, "Teach me." Mu'aadh asked him, "Will you obey,
me if I teach you?" The man answered, "I will not disobey you in:
anything." He said then, "Fast, then break your fast. Pray during the
night but you must get some sleep. Earn what is halaal and what is rightfully
yours and do not earn sin. Die as a true Muslim. Finally, I warn you against
the supplication of those who have been wronged' or oppressed." He
believed that education meant knowledge and practice; therefore, he said,
"Learn whatever you like to learn, yet Allah will not make your learning
worthwhile unless you practice a what you have learned." He believed that
belief and remembrance of Allah meant the perpetual calling to mind of His
greatness and the perpetual calling of oneself to account for deeds before Allah does so.
Al-Aswad Ibn Hilaal
reported, as we were walking with Mu'aadh one day, he said, "Let us sit
down for a while to meditate on Allah."
Perhaps the reason behind
his discrete silence was his unremitting meditation and contemplation.
Likewise, his once telling
the Prophet (Sallalaho alyhi wassalam)
that he never took a step without believing that he might die before taking the
next was due to his engrossment in the remembrance of Allah and in calling
himself to account for his deeds.
At the end, death summoned
Mu'aadh. It was time to meet Allah. When the stupor of death creeps upon
someone, his subconscious takes the reins and spurs the tongue - if it is able
to - to disclose the reality of all mankind in concise words that summarize his
life story. In those blessed moments, Mu'aadh faintly uttered great words that
revealed a great believer, for he gazed up into the sky and humbly supplicated
Allah, the Most Merciful, saying, "Allah I used to fear You but now I
implore You. Allah, You know that I did not devote my life to travel in the
lands or to earn money or property but rather consecrated it to knowledge,
faith and obedience, notwithstanding intense heat or hardships."
He stretched his hand as if
he were shaking death and went into a coma. His last words were, "O Death,
welcome! You are a long-awaited beloved. "
* * *