Once 'Urwah Ibnuz-Zubayr came to Al-Walid Ibn
'Abdul-Malik, accompanying his son Muhammad, who was
very good-looking. Muhammad came to AI-Walid in
colored dress, plaited hair, and obviously self-confident.
Seeing him in that form, AI-Walid said:
"This is how the Qurayshite Youth should be."
Thus Al-Walid envied Muhammad so much
so that the latter went out feeling dizzy and
fell down in a stable of animals that kept
footing on him until he died. Moreover, an
irritation attacked 'Urwah's leg. AI-Walid
sent doctors to examine him. They said that
they had to amputate the leg otherwise the
irritation would creep into the rest of the
body.
Al-Walid was determined to cut it off They
did so by using a saw. When the saw reached
the shin-bone, 'Urwah fainted. When he
awoke, sweat was covering his face. He then
said: "Allah is the Greatest. There is no god
but Allah." He repeated this while holding his
amputated leg. He kissed it and added: "I
swear by Him Who has borne me upon you,
that He knows I have never walked on you to
do something prohibited or sinful, or to do
anything that Allah dislikes." Then he
proposed that it should be washed and
perfumed, and he shrouded it in a velvet cloth
after which he sent it to be buried in the
Muslims burial ground. When he left Al-Walid
to go to Al-Madinah, his household
and friends received him with consolation, but
he repeated the Qur'anic words: "Truly we
have suffered much fatigue at this (stage of)
our journey." And he said nothing more in
this regard. A little later, he said: "I will not
enter AI-Madinah, since I expect to receive
only those who will gloat over my grief or
those who are envious. Hence, he went to a
palace in AI-' Aqiq and stayed there.
Interestingly enough, When 'Urwah entered
his palace 'Isa Ibn Tarhah said to him:
May the fathers of those who hate you perish! Show
me the cause of your calamity." 'Urwah uncovered his
knee: thereupon 'Isa said to him: ''By Allah, we never
intended to prepare you to fight. Here Allah has saved
most of your body: your brain, eyes, hands and the other
leg." 'Urwah commented: "0 'Isa! No one consoled me in
the way you have done." Another noteworthy situation
was that doctors said to 'Urwah when they were about to
amputate his leg, "May we let you drink some drug to kill
the pain?'' But he said: "He (i.e. Allah) is testing me to see
how patient I will be; so should I contradict His will!" In
this context some people asked 'Urwah's son, Hisham
about what his father used to do with his amputated leg
when performing ablution. Hisham said that his father used
to rub it with water.
Imam Ahmad said: 'Abdus-Samad reported that
Salam said he heard Qatadah as saying: "A man asked
Luqman about the best of things, and he said: "Patience
that is followed by no harm." Again the man asked him
about the best of people. Luqman answered: "Who is
satisfied with what Allah has given him." The man asked
him about the most knowing amongst people, and Luqman
said: "Who takes out of people's knowledge to add to his."
He was also asked about what is better: to hoard property
or to pursue knowledge? Luqman said: it is natural that
you find good with the believer who has knowledge
whenever you need it, but in case he does not have
something to give, he does not give what he does not
possess; and it is sufficient for him"
Commenting on the Divine Words, { (For me) patience
is most fitting.} (Yusof: 18, 83) Hassan Ibn Abi
Jabalah said: "The most fitting patience is that which
involves no complaining. Ibn Abid-Dunya also traced this
saying to the Prophet (pbuh).
Mujahid commented on the same Words by saying,
"It is that which involves no panic", but 'Amr Ibn Qays
said, "It means submitting and consenting to the
tnbulation." Additionally, one of the Early Muslims said
that the most fitting patience is that which involves no
complaining."
Hammam reported that Qatadah conunented on the
Qur' anic Words,
{ And his eyes became white with sorrow, and
he was suppressed with silent sorrow.}
(Yusuf: 84)
by saying: "He was suppressed with sorrow but said
nothing but good speech."
In the same connection, Yahya Ibnul-Mukhtar reported
that AI-Hasan said: "Being suppressed here means
that he persevered patiently." But Hammam reported that
Qatadah said it means that he hid his sorrow in his heart.
AI-Hasan said: "From amongst the reactions to
bereavement, Allah likes the most that His servant faces a
sorrowful and painful calamity patiently and fairly, as well
as the reaction of the servant who forbears when being
enraged."
'Abdullah lbnul-Mubarak reported that Sa'id Ibn
Jubayr said: "Patience is to confess that what has hurt you
is mainly decided by Allah, and to wait (and wish) that
Allah rewards you, and, you may find a man in panic but he
forbears, so that you only see him patient."
Ibn Jubayr's Words, (to confess that what has hurt
you is mainly decided by Allah) seem as if they interpret
the Divine Words, {To Allah we belong } (AlBaqarah:
156), that man confesses that he belongs to Allah; thus He
does to him whatever He wants. And his words, "To which
that Allah rewards you" seem to interpret the Divine
Words, { And to Him is our return }, meaning that we will
return to Him, and He will reward us for our patience; thus
the reward is never lost. As for Ibn Jubayr's last words,
"You may find a man in panic but he forbears'', means that
patience is not to be obtained by forbearance, but it is
primarily to prevent the heart from being dissatisfied with
the predestined harm, and to prevent the tongue from
complaining. Therefore, whoever forbears but his heart is
dissatisfied with his destiny is not one of the patient.
Yunus Ibn Yazid said: "I asked Rabi'ah Ibn Abi
'Abdur-Rahma: "What is the highest degree of patience?"
He said: "It is that one behaves on the day of bereavement
the same as he did on the day before it."
Commenting on the Verse:
{ Therefore do thou hold patience, a Patience
of beautiful (contentment). }
(Al-Ma' arij: 5),
Qays lbnul-Hajjaj said, It means that no one knows
who the one in bereavement is."
When consoling someone, Shamar used to say:
"Endure patiently under the Judgment of your Lord."
'Uqayl reported that he saw Salim Ibn 'Abdillah Ibn
'Umar in the funeral of Waqid Ibn 'Abdillah Ibn 'Umar
wearing a wrap and holding a whip, by which he lashed
every woman screaming that he could reach.
Muhammad Ibn Ja'far Ibn Mahran said: "Abdullah
Ibn Muhammad Ibn lsma'il At-Tiyami told him that a man
consoled another over his son's death saying: "Allah surely
fulfills His promise for the one who holds patience
properly. So, do not add the loss of the reward to your
bereavement. No doubt, to lose the reward for patience is
greater and more disastrous than the calamity itself"
Ibn Abis-Sammak consoled a man saying: "Hold
steadfast to patience, for it is the deed held by those who
expect the reward from Allah, and it is also the only refuge
for the impatient."
'Umar Ibn 'Abdil-'Aziz said: "Contentment is a
degree that is difficult to reach, so Allah made patience to
be counted as bringing good consequences (though it is
bitter)." When a son of 'Abdul-Malik's died, his father
performed the funeral prayer over the dead body then he
said: "May Allah have mercy on you! You certainly were a
minister and a supporter to me." 'Umar added:
"His eyes projected no tears, while people kept
crying."
When Mutraf Ibn 'Abdillah lost one
of his sons, people came to console him. He
went out for them with a face full of joy, then
he said: "I really feel shy of Allah to tremble
before a calamity."
'Amr Ibn Dinar reported that 'Ubayd Ibn 'Umayr
said: "Impatience does not mean that the eye should shed
tears or the heart grieve, it is however expressed in bad
words and evil thoughts."
Ibn Abid-Duniay reported that Al-Husayn Ibn
'Abdil-'Aziz Al-Harwazi said: "When a son of mine died
after his delivery, I said to his mother: "Be conscious of
Allah, hope for His reward, and hold patience." She said:
"My bereavement is so strenuous that I could not increase it
with impatience."
Ibn Abid-Duniay also reported that 'Umar Ibn Bakir
said: "An old Qurayshite man said: "When Al-Hasan Ibn
Al-Husayn, the father of 'Ubaydullah Ibn Al-Hasan died,
his son, 'Ubaydullah, was the commander and judge of AlBasrah.
So, many people came to console him. They
argued about what reveals man's impatience, and
concluded that it is considered to be a token of impatience
that man interrupts anything he used to do (before the
calamity)."
Khalid Ibn Abi 'Uthman Al-Qurashi said: "When
Sa'id Ibn Jubayr came to console me for the death of my
son, he saw me covering my head and wandering up and
down in the house. He took the cover off and said:
"Surrender (to grief) is a sign of impatience."
Many of our jurists and others hold that there is no
problem if the bereaved person covers his head with a
particular cover indicating his bereavement in order to make
it easy for people to recognize that he is bereaved and
console him, for consolation is a Sunnah. This opinion
however is not unanimously agreed upon. Our Sheikh
rejected it, and there is no doubt that the Early Muslims did
nothing like this, nor was it reported that one of the
Companions or their successors did so. In fact, all
traditions reported, explicitly reject it. In addition, Is-haq
Ibn Rahawayh denied that the bereaved person should
desert what he used to wear before the calamity, and said it
is a sign of impatience.
Generally, they were accustomed not to change any
of their normal clothes, nor did they desert their work, as
all of this contradicts the sense of patience. It is no doubt
that Allah (Glory be to Him) knows best.
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