Royal Advice!

Ibn Qudamah narrated through his chain of narrators in his heart-softening book: “The Repented”[i]:

Al Fadhl bin Al Rabee’ [ii] said:

It was a time when the Prince of the Believers (Amir Al Mo’meneen) Harun Al-Rashid was in one of his pilgrimage travels. While I was asleep, I heard a knock on the door. I inquired: “Who is he?” It was said: “Answer the Prince of the Believers”. I hastened out and said: O Prince of the Believers if you would have notified me I would have come to you. He said: “Awe! Something (i.e. a disturbing idea) struck me. Find me a man to speak to.” I said: Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah[iii] is close by. He said: let us go to him.

I knocked on the door. Sufyan answered: “Who is there?” I said: answer the Prince of the Believers. He hastened out and said: O Prince of the Believers if you would have notified me I would have come to you. He (i.e. the caliphate) said: We are here for a reason, may Allah have His mercy on you. They spoke for an hour, and then Harun asked: Do you have any debts? He replied: yes. He asked me to pay his debts and we left the house. When we were out, the caliphate turned to me and said: your friend did not clear out any of what I have. Find me another man to speak to. I said: close by is Abdul Razak bin Hammam[iv]. He said: let us go to him.

I knocked on the door. Abdul Razak answered: “Who is there?” I said: answer the Prince of the Believers. He hastened out and said: O Prince of the Believers if you would have notified me I would have come to you. He (i.e. the caliphate) said: We are here for a reason, may Allah have His mercy on you. They spoke for an hour, and then the caliphate asked: Do you have any debts? He replied: yes. He asked me to pay his debts and we left the house. When we were out, the caliphate turned to me and said: your friend did not clear out any of what I have. Find me another man to speak to. I said: close by is Al Fudhail bin Iyadh [v]. He said: let us go to see him.

When we were close to the house, we heard the voice of a recitation of the Quran. The caliphate said: “knock on the door”. It was answered: “Who is there?” I said: “Answer the Prince of the Believers!” he said: “What do I have to do with the Prince of the Believers?” I said: “May Allah be exalted! Do not you have to obey him?!” He came down, opened the door, then went quickly back up to the upper room, lit off the lanterns and sat in one of the corners of the house.

We entered. It was dark, so we started touching the surroundings with our hands in search of him. The palm of the caliphate was quicker than mine in reaching him. Al Fudhail said: “What a soft and malleable palm, only if it is saved tomorrow from the punishment of Allah”. I said to myself: he is going to speak to him tonight pure speech coming from a pure heart. The caliphate said: We are here for a reason, may Allah have His mercy on you.

Al Fudhail said: When Umar bin Abd al-Aziz was appointed as a caliphate, he called upon Salim bin Abdullah[vi], Mohammad bin Ka’b Al Karzhi[vii] and Raja’ bin Hayawah[viii] and said: “I have been trialed with this affair (i.e. caliphatehood). Help me over!” He considered it a trial, while you have considered a bounty!!

Salim bin Abdullah said: “If you desire to be saved from the punishment of Allah, then fast from this world and make the death your breakfast.”

Mohammad bin Ka’b said: “If you want to be saved from the punishment of Allah, then let the elderly of the believers be your father, the middle-aged be your brother, and the younger be your son. Deal in respect with the elderly, in generosity with the brethren and in tenderness with the young. “

Raja’ bin Hayawah said: “If you seek safety from the punishment of Allah, then love to your brother Muslims what you love for yourself, and hate to them what you hate for yourself. If you wish, die after that. I mention this while I am in the greatest concern for you in the day in which feet shall slip.”

Alfudhail continued: “Do you have such men as consultants to give you similar advice?”

Harun wept until he fainted!

I told Alfudhail: You have to be gentle with the Prince of the Believers!

He replied: O son of the mother of Al Rabee’! You kill him, and so do your mates, and then you ask me to be gentle with him?!

When Harun Al-Rashid gained his conscious he said: Tell me more, may Allah have His mercy on you! Al Fudhail said: “O Prince of the Believers, I was told that a complaint was filed against one of the workers (leaders) of Umar bin Abdel Azeez. Umar wrote a letter to him: “O my brother! Remember the sleepless nights of the people of the fire with mortality in the Hell fire. Such remembrance should push you away towards the door of the Lord, whether you are awake or asleep. I warn you to be in a state where you are sent away from Allah (i.e. location of interrogation) towards the Hell fire; to be your final destiny and the end of your hopes.

When the worker read the letter, he crossed the deserts and stood in front of Umar. “What brought you here? Asked Umar. He said: You have shattered my heart with your letter. I do not want to be involved in any of your tasks (leadership) until I meet Allah.

Harun wept sourly. He then said: Tell me more, may Allah have His mercy on you!

Al Fudhail said: “O Prince of the Believers! Al Abass, the uncle of the prophet of Allah - prayers and peace be upon him, came to the prophet – prayers and peace of Allah be upon him – and said: “Can you give me some responsibility (i.e. leadership appointment)? The prophet said – prayers and peace of Allah be upon him – O Abass! O the uncle of the prophet! A soul that you can make safe is better than a responsibility that you cannot afford.”[ix] Leadership is sorrow and regret in the last day. If you can avoid leading anyone, then do it.

Harun wept again bitterly.

Harun said: Tell me more, may Allah have His mercy on you! Al Fudhail said: “O the owner of this beautiful face! You are the one whom Allah will ask about this (beautiful) creation, so if you can save this face from the Hell fire, then do it. I warn you to witness a morning or an evening with a cheating heart towards your people. The prophet – may Allah have His prayers and mercy upon – said: “Whoever becomes a cheater to them (i.e. the people) will not smell the fragrance of the Heavens”[x]. Harun kept on weeping. Finally he said: Do you have any debts? He said: “Yes, a debt to my lord, which He did not account me for yet. Owe to me if He asks me! Owe to me if He discusses it with me! Owe to me if I do not get inspired with a reasonable reply! Harun said: “I meant the debt of people”. Alfudhail said: “Allah did not ask me for this. He asked me to fulfill His promise and obey His order. He said: (I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me * No Sustenance do I require fo them, nor do I require that they should feed Me * For Allah is He Who gives (all) Sustenance, Lord of Power, - Steadfast (forever))[xi]. He said: “This is a thousand Dinaar. Take it, spend it and use it help you in your worship. Alfudhail said: “May Allah be exalted! I direct you towards safety, and you reward me with this?! May Allah save you and grant you success. He then became silent and refused to speak any word after.

We moved to depart. When we were close to the door, Harun turned to me and said: “If you want to guide me towards a gentleman, then guide me to someone alike this man. This is the master (sayyed) of the believers today.”

 Shortly after our departure, we heard a lady (his wife) get to his room. She said: “do not you see our miserable state! Why do not you accept this money to remedy our situation? Alfudhail said: “my example with you is similar to a group of people who owned a camel. They used him to earn money. When it got older, they slaughtered it and ate its meat”. When Harun heard that, he returned to the house hoping that he accepts the money. When Al fudhail learnt that we are back, he went up to the roof and sat on a heap of sand besides the door. Harun sat beside him and started speaking to him. Alfudhail spoke none, until a black servant came up and said: “O you! You have hurt the sheikh this night. Take your leave! May Allah have His mercy on you!”

We took our pardon and left!

---

[i] “The Repented” (Al Tawabeen) is a book written by the famous Hanbali scholar Ibn Qudamah. He recorded in this book many stories about how different people entered Islam or discarded the sinful life.

[ii] Al Fadhl bin Ar Rabee’ bin Yunus was a prince of high rank and influence during the caliphatehood of Harron Al-Rashid. See his biography in Wafayat Al A3yaan by ibn Khillikan.

[iii] Sufyan bin Uyaynah is a famous hadith scholar. He was born in 107 HJ and passed away on198 HJ. Imam Al Shafi said: Without Malik and Sufyan the knowledge of Hijaz (Mecca and Madina) would have been lost. He also said: I have found all the hadiths about jurisprudence with Sufyan except six hadiths. An English biography of his life can be found in this print.

[iv] He is the author of the large hadith collection known as “Al Musanaf”.

[v] Al Fudhail bin Iyadh is an early Muslim saint. He is the student of Ibrahim bin Adham. He was a highway man before repenting. He passed away on 187 and his grave is in Mecca. Abdullah bin Al Mubarak said: To me, there is no man left on earth better than Al Fudhail.

[vi] Salim bin Abdullah bin Omar. His grandfather is Omar bin Al Khataab, the second caliphate. He is considered one of the masters of the followers (Al Tabee’n). He is also considered one of the masters of hadith transmission, with one of the most authentic chains of narrations. He passed away in Medina on 106 HJ.

[vii] A master of hadith and tafseer. His father was a Jew. He was born during the era of Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and passed away on 108 HJ.

[viii] A famous scholar and politician. Originally from Yemen but born and raised in Palestine. Umar bin Abd Alaziz was appointed as a caliphate upon his advice. He is one of the twelve engineers that designed the “Dome of the Rock” in Jerusalem.

[ix] Narrated by Albayhaqi in AlSunan AlKubra and he said it is Mursal. See also, Al Hafidh Al Iraqi hadith commentary on Ihya’ Ulum Aldeen.

[x] Narrated by At Tabarani, Ibn Saad, Ibn Udaay and Ibn Abi Adunnia. See the commentary on the authenticity of the hadith at Majma’ Al Zawaid by Al Hafid Al Haythamy. A similar hadith with the same meaning and different wordings is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim by Ma3qill bin Yasaar.

[xi] The Holy Quran, Chapter 51, Verses: 56-57. Translation by Yusuf Ali.

© Copyrights of Qutaiba Albluwi