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| The Sahaabah-Abdullah Ibn Zubair |
Hadhrat Ja’far Tayyar RA is a cousin
of Nabi SAW and a brother of Hadhrat Ali RA. His whole family is
renowned for justice, generosity, valour and heroism, but Hadhrat
Ja’far had a special love for the poor and often mingled and
associated with them. At the time of persecution by the Quraish, he
emigrated to Abyssinia with the other Muslims, and was the spokesman
who so successfully defended the emigrants in the court of the Negus.
This story has already been given earlier..
After returning from Abyssinia, he
emigrated to Madinah and was martyred in the expedition of Mutah. On
receiving the news of his death, Nabi SAW went to his house to offer
his condolences. He called his sons Abdullah , Aunand Muhammad ,
consoled them and blessed them with his duas. All his sons were
exactly like their father, but Hadhrat Abdullah was so generous and
large-hearted that people
called him “Qutbus Sakha” (the
chief of the generous). He embraced Islam at the hands of Nabi SAW
when he was just seven.Once on his recommendation, his uncle Hadhrat
Ali helped some person in his need. The person
sent four thousand dirhams as a present to Hadhrat Abdullah , but he
returned the whole lot saying: “We people don’t sell our good
deeds.”
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On another occasion, somebody sent him
two thousand dirhams as a present, all of which he spent in charity
there and then. A trader once happened to bring a large quantity of
sugar for sale in the market, but as chance would have it, there was
no demand for sugar just then and this grieved him very much. Hadhrat
Abdullah purchased the whole lot through his agent, and distributed it
free of charge among the people. He always acted as a host to all the
strangers who were stranded in the city during the night.
Hadhrat Zubair , when participating in
his last battle, called his son Hadhrat Abdullah to his side and
confided to him that he had a strong feeling that this was going to
be his last fight, in which he was going to pass away, adding that if
it turned out to be so, then Hadhrat Abdullah was to clear all
his debts. He further advised his son
to call upon his ‘Master’ if he encountered any difficulty in
doing so. His son, looking a bit puzzled, inquired as to who his
master was? “Allah,” replied Hadhrat Zubair
The same day he lost his life. When
Hadhrat Abdullah bin Zubair checked the accounts of his father, he
discovered debts that amounted to no less than two million dirhams.
Having the reputation of being as honest and trustworthy a person as any
that ever breathed, people flocked to him for the safe deposit of
their money. Healways addressed them like this: “Dear brothers, I
possess no vaults for the safe-keeping of your deposits. I will treat
them as loans to me, and you may take the same back when you please.”
He would then spend the money on the
poor and the needy. In time, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Zubair cleared all
the debts of his father. He says: “Whenever I experienced any
difficulty, I would pray (to Allah) ‘O, Master of Zubair, help
me,’ and the difficulty would be removed.” He narrates an
incident with Hadhrat Abdullah bin Ja’farto whom he had gone for
business. Abdullah bin Zubair : “I find from the accounts of my
father that you owe him one million dirhams.”
Abdullah bin Ja’far: “All right.
You can have the money when you please.” However, on checking the
accounts once again, he found that it was his mistake, and in fact
this much money was due to Hadhrat Abdullah bin Ja’far from his
father. He therefore went to him and said: “Excuse me. It was my
mistaske. In fact my father owed you that much money.”
Abdullah bin Ja’far: “If that is
the case, then I absolve you of the debt.” Abdullah bin Zubair:
“No, I must pay it.”Abdullah bin Ja’far: “All right. You may
pay it at your convenience.”
Abdullah bin Zubair : “Will you
accept some land in lieu there of?” (He had received some land as
his share of booty, and he wanted to dispose of it.)
Abdullah bin Ja’far: “Yes, if it
suits you.” Abdullah bin Zubairsays, “I made over to him a piece
of waterless land. He asked his slave to
spread his prayer-mat on that land. He then went and said two rakaats
of Salaah, spending a long time in sajdah. On finishing the Salaah,
he pointed out a certain spot to his slave and ordered him to dig at
that particular spot. After a little digging, water gushed out from the pit.”
The qualities of the Sahaabah mentioned
in this chapter were part of their everyday life. In fact, these
things were not considered to be anything unusual.
