HUMBLENESS

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

HUMBLENESS

(Abu Hudhaifah Muhammed Karolia)

 

Let’s be honest, very few of us these days eat trotters. When sharing a portion of the qurbaani animal with friends, neighbours and family, we never even think of sending the trotters to somebody because “What will they say? They’ll call me stingy!” And you can imagine the response if somebody sends you the trotters; “Is that what he thinks of me? Can people be so stingy?” Rasulullah , however, was so humble that he used to say: “If trotters are given to me as a gift, I would accept it. And if I am invited to eat it, I would accept the invitation.”

 

Who eats barley bread and smelly (stale) fat today, and who would accept an invitation to eat such simple, insignificant food? We’d feel insulted if we are given such an invitation. Anas bin Malik , however, narrates that “Rasulullah  would be invited to eat barley bread and smelly fat and he would accept.” How did Rasulullah  know that the host was going to serve him smelly fat? Hadith commentators mention three possible answers, one of which is past experience. The same person had previously invited Rasulullah  and served him smelly fat. Knowing his financial situation it was quite obvious to Rasulullah  that this time too, he would not be able to offer anything else. However, due to extreme humbleness, Rasulullah  never even hesitated in accepting such an invitation.

 

Besides simple food, Rasulullah  also wore simple, patched clothes. And who do you think used to patch his clothes for him ? It is common knowledge that Rasulullah  had more than one wife. Unlike his Ummah who are permitted a maximum of only four wives each, Rasulullah  had special permission from Allah to be married to more than four wives at a time. Even though Rasulullah’s  wives were always eager to serve him, he  never used to ask any of them to patch his clothes for him. He  had so many enthusiastic Sahaabah رضى الله عنهم who would zealously fulfil every request of his. However, Rasulullah  never even asked any of them to patch his clothes for him. So who used to patch his clothes for him? Ummul- Mu’mineen Aa-isha رضى الله عنها narrates that Rasulullah  used to patch his clothes, mend his shoes and milk the goats himself.

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Due to humbleness Rasulullah  would accept the invitation of slaves, greet the children when he passed them and be the first to greet when people met him. One of the special favours of Allah on Rasulullah  is that he  was aided with awe from a distance of one month. What this means is that even if the distance between the disbeliever and Rasulullah  was so great that it would take him one month to reach Rasulullah , he would already start fearing Rasulullah . Ali  used to say that when a person saw Rasulullah  for the first time, he would get scared and overawed. Once, when a bedouin saw Rasulullah  for the first time and began trembling in this manner, Rasulullah  comforted him saying: “relax; I’m just the son of a woman who used to eat biltong in Makkah”.

 

On another occasion Rasulullah  accompanied some Sahaabah رضى الله عنهم on a journey. When they needed to eat, one of them said: “I will slaughter the goat.” The second person and third persons said that they would flay and cook it. Hearing what they had said Rasulullah  added that he would collect the firewood. They were astonished and said: “O Rasul of Allah, we’ll do everything for you.” Rasulullah  replied: “I know that you wish to do everything for me. I, however, dislike being different than you…”

 

Why Was Rasulullah  So Humble?

 

Firstly, there are a number of Ahaadith in which Rasulullah  exhorted humbleness and prohibited pride and arrogance. For example:

– “Whoever humbles himself for the sake of Allah is honoured by Allah and whoever is arrogant is disgraced by Allah.”

– “Allah had conveyed wahi (divine revelation) to me that: Be humble among yourselves so that nobody boasts to another or oppressors him.”

– “A person in whose heart is the smallest amount of pride will not enter Jannah.”

Being ma’soom (divinely protected from sin), Rasulullah  would have never contravened the Qur’aanic injunction “Why do you say what you do not do?”

 

Secondly, the basic reason for mankind’s creation is ‘ibaadah. “I did not create jin and man but so that they would make my ‘ibaadah.” (Adhaaiyaat) ‘Ibaadah is called ‘ibaadah because it is derived from ‘abd meaning slave and ‘ibaadah is a means of acknowledging that one is Allah’s slave. A person who discharges his ‘ibaadah with the correct fervour will therefore behave like a slave. Since nobody can achieve this better than Rasulullah , ‘abdullah (The Slave of Allah) is one of his greatest titles. Thus Allah called him ‘abdullah while praising and defending him .

“Pure is the Being who took his slave on a journey at night from Al-Masjidil

Haraam to Al-Masjidil Aqsa…” (Al-Israa)

“And if you are in doubt regarding what we have revealed to our slave,

then bring just one (small) Surah like it. (Al-Baqarah)

“And when the slave of Allah stood worshipping Him,

they crowded around him.” (Al-Jin)

This explains why Rasulullah  was so humble – slaves aught to be humble, they possess nothing to boast about.

 

The Sahaabah رضى الله عنهم

 

The success of a teacher may be gauged from the extent his students are influenced by his teachings. One of the specialities of Nabi Muhammed  is that he is the only Nabi regarding whom there is such a multitude of narrations showing how the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and thousands of other pious people were influenced by his teachings. Hence, we will now mention a few narrations highlighting the humbleness of some famous personalities.

 

Abu Bakr 

 

Prior to Abu Bakr’s  appointment to the position of khilaafah he was a trader; he would go to the market daily to buy and sell. He also possessed a herd of goats which he would often graze on his own. He would also milk the goats for the people of the locality. When he was appointed as the khaleefah a young girl said: “Now the goats of our locality will not be milked.” Abu Bakr  heard her and said: “Why not? I swear by my life I will (still) milk your goats for you. I hope that what I have entered (khilaafah) will not change my character.” He then fulfilled this promise till the end of his life. There were also occasions when, meeting a slave-girl on the road, he would ask her: “Do you desire me to take your animals to the pasture or return them to the pen?” Fully aware of his humbleness and sincerity the girls would appreciate the opportunity and ask to either take their animals to the pasture or return them to the pen. Irrespective of what they requested he would then comply.

 

Umar bin Khattaab 

 

While Umar  was Ameer-ul-Mu’mineen (head of the Islamic state) Urwah bin Zubair  saw him walking in the streets of Madinah with a water bag on his shoulder. Urwah  did not think that this befitted the status of Umar . He therefore mentioned it to him. Umar , however, explained that due to the delegations that regularly visit him and diligently obey him, pride had entered his heart. Hence he was carrying the water bag on his shoulder in public – an action that does not befit a head of state who should rather have a servant to do such chores for him – in order to crush his pride.

 

On another occasion, also during his khilaafah (leadership), Umar  distributed some clothing among the Sahaabah رضى الله عنهم and sent an expensive set of clothes to Mu’aadh  who was much younger than himself. Mu’aadh  sold the clothes and using the income thereof, he purchase six slaves and set them free. Therefore, the next time Umar  distributed clothes among the Sahaabah رضى الله عنهم, he sent a less expensive set to Mu’aadh . When Mu’aadh  objected Umar  explained “… because you sold the first set.” Mu’aadh  was not satisfied. He said: “How did that harm you? Give me my share – I’ve taken an oath to strike your head with it.” Realising his error, Umar  merely said: “My head is in front of you but the youngster is often lenient to the old man. (You may strike my head but be lenient because I’m an old man and therefore weaker than you.)”

 

Uthmaan 

 

While Uthmaan  was khaleefah he was seen riding a mule with his slave, Naa-il, seated behind him. Riding a mule instead of a camel or horse is a sign of humbleness. Having his slave seated behind him on the same mule is a further sign of humbleness.

 

At night, when waking up in order to perform tahajjud salaah, he would fetch the wudhu-water himself. Somebody once told him to tell one of his servants to bring the water for him. Uthmaan  replied: “No, the night is theirs so that they can rest.”

 

Ali 

 

Ali  one day purchased some dates. He then placed the dates in his shawl in order to take it home. A man came to him and offered to carry it for him. Ali  replied: “It is most befitting for a man who has children to carry (his load) himself.”

 

Zaid bin Thaabit  and Ibn Abbaas 

 

Zaid bin Thaabit  was once mounted on an animal (probably a horse or camel). Seeing him, Ibn Abbaas  came to him and took the reins in his hands with the intention of leading the animal. Astonished Zaid bin Thaabit  said: “No, o cousin of Rasulullah! (I am supposed to respect you because you are the cousin of Rasulullah . How can I allow you to lead me in this manner?)” Ibn Abbaas  replied: “This is what we have been commanded to our elders.” Zaid  said: “Then show me your hand!” When Ibn Abbaas  showed his hand to Zaid , Zaid  caught it gently, kissed it and said: “This is what we have been commanded to do to the family of Rasulullah .”

 

Hasan Basri 

 

Hasan Basri was a very high-ranking Taabi’ie. He was riding through a street in Basrah when a group of little boys carrying small pieces of bread in their hands came to him and asked him to be their guest and share their bread with them. Despite his vast knowledge and the status he enjoyed in the community Hasan  humbly accepted, dismounted his means of conveyance (presumably a horse) and ate the bread with them. He then took them to his house, fed them and gave them some clothes. He then told somebody that the boys had shown a greater favour to him than he had shown to them because while they don’t possess anything more than what they had fed him, he possessed much more.

 

What is Humbleness?

 

Rasulullah  defined pride as بطر الحق و غمط الناس (rejection of the truth and regarding the people with contempt i.e. looking down on them). Conversely humbleness is acceptance of the truth and avoidance of regarding the people with contempt. Hence Fudail bin Ayaad  defined humbleness as submission and obedience to the truth irrespective of who said it. He is also reported to have said that the meaning of humbleness is that “you regard yourself as worthless. A person who regards himself as worthy of anything does not possess the least bit of humbleness”. In this regard there are two thought-provoking incidents.

 

The First Incident

 

Umar bin Abdil Azeez  was informed that one of his sons purchased a ring for a thousand dirhams. He immediately wrote a letter to him instructing him to sell the ring, “fill a thousand stomachs”, then purchase a ring for two dirhams and inscribe the following sentence on its face: “May Allah show mercy on the person who recognises his worth”.

 

 

 

The Second Incident

 

Muhammed bin Waasi’ saw his son walking with arrogance. He reprimanded him saying: “Do you know for how much I purchased your mother? Only three hundred dirhams! And your father – May Allah not create more like him among the Muslims – is me … and you walk like this!

 

In concluding this article we quote the statements of two great ulamaa; Ibn Ataa and Ibrahim bin Shaibaan. The former said that: “Honour is in humbleness. A person who seeks it in arrogance is like seeking water in fire.” The latter said that: “Nobility is in humbleness, honour is in Taqwa and freedom is in contentment.”

 

May Allah guide us to ponder, understand and implement – Aameen!

و آخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين

 

أبو حذيفة محمد كروليا

الجامعة المحمودية

28 رمضان 1428

10 October 2007