The habits and character of the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ are worth following because they were the people specially chosen by Allah Ta’ala to be the friends of His beloved Nabi ﷺ . Nabi ﷺ says: “I have been sent in the best period of human history.” The time of Nabi ﷺ was itself a blessed period and his companions were really the best of all people.
Nabi ﷺ was once returning from a funeral, when a woman invited him to have some food at her house. He went in with some of his Sahaabah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَنْ ثُمْ . When the food was served, it was noticed that Nabi ﷺ was trying to chew a morsel, but it would simply not go down his throat. He said: “It seems that the animal has been slaughtered without the permission of its owner.” The woman said: “O, Nabi of Allah! I had asked a man to buy a goat for me from the market, but he could not get one. My neighbour had recently also bought a goat, so I sent the man there with some money to buy the goat from him. My neighbour was out and his wife sold the goat to my man.” Nabi ﷺ asked her to go and serve the meat to the prisoners.
It has been seen in the lives of many pious Muslims that doubtful food would simply not go down their throats, so this is not such a surprising thing in the case of Nabi ﷺ , who is the most pious of all people.
Once, Nabi ﷺ could not sleep at night. He was turning from side to side. His wife asked him: “O Nabi of Allah! Why can’t you get sleep?” He answered: “A date was lying about. I picked it up and ate it so that it does not go to waste. Now I am worried that it might be from Sadaqah (charity).” Most probably the date belonged to Nabiﷺ himself, but because people sent him their Sadaqah as well (for distribution), he could not sleep with the worry that it might be from Sadaqah. This shows the perfect honesty of Nabiﷺ that he could not sleep because of a doubt in his mind. How is it that those who claim themselves to be the slaves of that very master ﷺ , but indulge in usury, corruption, theft, plunder and every other type of ‘haraam’ business without the least conscience?
Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ had a slave who used to give him some of his daily wages as the master’s share. Once he brought him some food and Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ took a morsel from it. Then the slave said: “You always ask about the things that I bring to you, but today you have not done so.” He replied: “I was feeling so hungry that I did not do that. Tell me how did you get this food?” The slave said: “Before I accepted Islam, I practiced fortune-telling. During those days I met some people for whom I practiced some of my magic. They promised to pay me for that later on. I saw those people today, while they were busy in a wedding, and they gave me this food.”
Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ said: “Ah! You would have surely killed me?” He then tried to vomit the morsel he had swallowed, but could not do so, as his stomach had been quite empty. Somebody suggested to him to drink water to his fill and then try to vomit the morsel. He sent for a cup of water and kept on drinking water and forcing it out, until the morsel was vomited out. Somebody said: “May Allah Ta’ala have mercy on you! You put yourself to so much trouble for one single morsel.” To this he replied: “I would have forced it out even if I had to lose my life. I have heard Nabi ﷺ saying, ‘The flesh that is fed by haraam food, will end up in the fire of Jahannam.’ I therefore hurried to vomit this morsel, in case any part of my body should receive nourishment from it.” Many stories like this have been reported about Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ . He was very particular and would not taste anything unless he was perfectly sure about it. Even the slightest doubt about it being halaal would make him vomit what he had eaten.
A person once brought some milk for Hadhrat Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ . When he drank it, he saw that it tasted funny and asked the person where he got the milk from. The person replied: “The camels given in Sadaqah were grazing in the desert, and the person looking after them gave me this milk from those camels.” Hadhrat Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ put his hand in his throat and vomited all the milk that he had drank. These Allah-fearing people not only totally stayed away from haraam food, but would also avoid eating any doubtful food. They would not dare eat anything that was haraam, which is so common these days.
Ibn-Seereen writes: “When Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ was about to pass away, he told his daughter Hadhrat Aa’ishah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ , ‘I did not like to take anything from the Bait-ul-Maal, but Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ insisted on it, to relieve me of my business and to allow me to spend all my time on the duties of the Khilaafat and I was left no choice. Now give that garden of mine to the next Khalifah, in exchange of what I have received from the Bait-ul-maal.’” When Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ passed away, Aa’ishah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا asked Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ to take that garden, as instructed by her late father. Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ said: “May Allah Ta’ala bless your father! He has left no chance for anybody to open his lips against him.” Hadhrat Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ received his allowance (wages) from the Bait-ul-Maal in the interest of all the Muslims, and that too at the request of the most important Sahaabi رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ . The amount taken was almost the minimum possible, and hardly enough for him, as we have already seen in the story (in the last chapter) about his wife’s not able to cook one sweet dish during the whole month. In spite of all this, he was so particular that he gave his garden to the Bait-ul-Maal in exchange for what he had received from the public funds.
Ali bin Ma’bad رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْهِ was a Muhaddith. He says: “I was living in a rented house. Once I wrote something which I wanted to dry up quickly. The house walls were made of mud and I wanted to scrape a little mud from there to dry up the ink, but I thought: ‘This house is not mine, and I cannot scrape the walls without the owner’s permission.’ After a moment I thought: ‘After all what difference does it make? It is only a very little mud that I am using.’ So, I scraped a little mud from a wall and used it. That night, while asleep, I saw a person in my dream, scolding me: ‘Maybe tomorrow, on the Day of Qiyaamah, you may regret that saying of yours; It is only a very little mud that I am using.’” Piety in different people is of different levels. The high rank of the Muhaddith demanded that he should have been particular even about a small amount of mud; though for a common man it was something within permissible limits.
Hadhrat Kumail رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ says: “Once, I was with Hadhrat Ali رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ on a journey. When we reached a lonely place; he came to a grave and said: ‘O you people of the graves! O you who live amongst ruins! O you who live alone in the wilderness! How is it with you in the other world? How has it gone with you there?’ He continued: 'The news from our side is that all the wealth and riches you left behind, has long been distributed. Your children are orphans and your widows have long since remarried. Now let us hear about you.’ He then turned to me and said: ‘O Kumail! If they could speak, they would have told us that the best provision for the Hereafter is Taqwa.’Tears flowed out of his eyes, as he added: ‘O Kumail! The grave is a container of the deeds; but one realises it only after death.’” Our good or bad actions are stored in our graves. It is said in a Hadith that every person meets his good deeds in the grave in the form of a good friend who befriends and consoles him there. But his bad deeds come to him in ugly shapes and with bad smells, which add to his suffering. In another Hadith it is said: “Three things go with a person to his grave, namely: His wealth (as was the habit of the early Arabs of the time), his relatives and his deeds. His wealth and his relatives turn back after his burial, but his actions go in and stay with him in the grave.” Once, Nabi ﷺ asked the Sahaabah ﷺ : “Do you know how your relatives, your wealth, and your deeds are related to you?” The Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ wanted to know about it. He replied: “It is like a person who has three brothers. When he is about to die, he calls one of his brothers and asks him: ‘Brother! You know my problem? How can you help me?' The brother replies: ‘I shall call the doctor, nurse you and look after you. When you pass away, I shall bathe you, enshroud you in kaffan and carry you to the grave. Then I shall make Dua for you after you are buried.’ This brother is his closest family.” He puts the same question to the second brother, who replies like this: “I shall remain with you as long as you are alive. As soon as you are dead then I shall go to someone else.” This brother is his worldly wealth. He then asks the third brother in the same way, who replies: “I shall not leave you even in your grave and I shall come with you into that place of total loneliness. When your deeds are weighed on the scale, I shall immediately put my weight to the scale of your good deeds and weigh it down.” This brother represents his good deeds. “Now, tell me which of the brothers was most useful to the person?” The Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ replied: “O, Nabi of Allah! The last brother is really the most useful to him. There is no doubt about it. The other two brothers were of no use.”
Nabi ﷺ once said; “Because Allah Ta’ala Himself has no faults, He, therefore, blesses only pure things. He instructed the Muslims, as He had instructed His Ambiyaa عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ . He says in the Noble Qur-aan:
Translation: “O Ambiyaa! Eat of the pure things and do good actions. I am definitely aware of what you do.” (Surah Mu’minoon - Aayah 51)
Translation: “O You who believe! Eat of the pure things which we have given you.” (Surah Baqarah - Aayah 172)
Then Nabi ﷺ spoke about a person who is a traveller with untidy hair and dusty clothes. He raises his hands towards the skies and calls out: “O, Allah! O, Allah!” but his food, drink and clothing are all haraam. So, Allah Ta’ala would never listen to him and would not answer his duas, even though outwardly he seems to be worthy of help. People wonder why the duas of the Muslims are not always answered by Allah Ta’ala. The reason is easy to understand from the above Hadith. Allah Ta’ala does sometimes accept the dua of even a Kaafir (and also the dua of a sinful Muslim). It is the dua of a pious person that is always answered. That is the reason why people ask the pious people to make dua for them. Therefore, those who wish to have their duas accepted must stay away from haraam. No wise person would take a chance of his duas being rejected.
Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ once received some musk from Bahrain. He said: “I want someone to weigh it, so that it may be equally distributed among the Muslims.” His wife said: “I shall weigh it." Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ kept quiet. A little later he again asked for someone to weigh the musk and again his wife offered to do so. He kept quiet this time too. When she repeated her offer for the third time, he said: “I do not like you touching the musk with your hands (while weighing it) and rubbing those hands on your body afterwards, as that little extra would be more than my rightful share.” Any other person weighing the musk would, have had the same advantage, but Hadhrat ‘Umar رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ did not like this little extra for any member of his own family. Look at how particular he was so that no one could point a finger at him. A similar story is related about Hadhrat ‘Umar bin Abdul Aziz رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْهِ (who is known as the second ‘Umar). While he was Khalifah, musk belonging to the Baitul-Maal was being weighed. He closed his own nostrils, saying: “The use of musk is to smell it.”
This was how particular the Sahaabah رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ , their followers and our elders in Islam were.
Hadhrat ‘Umar-bin-Abdul Aziz رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْهِ appointed a person as the governor of a province. Somebody said that this person had been the governor of Hajjaaj-bin-Yusuf (a very big oppressor) also. Hadhrat ‘Umar bin Abdul Aziz رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْهِ immediately removed that person. The man said: “I had been with Hajjaaj only for a very short time.” The Khalifah said: “His company for a day or even less is enough to regard a man unfit for public service.” “A man is known by the company he keeps.” The company of pious people leaves a mark of piety on the character of a person and, likewise, evil company has its evil effect. That is why keeping company of bad people is always discouraged. Even the company of animals is not without its own effect. Nabi ﷺ said: “Pride and arrogance are to be found in those who own camels and horses, while softness and humility are found in those who look after sheep and goats.” Nabi ﷺ said, “A person who joins a pious man is like one who sits with a musk-seller. Although he does not receive any musk, the lovely smell would still be enjoyed by him. But bad company is like a fire; a man sitting near it cannot escape the smoke and the fumes, even though a spark does not fall on him.”