Ismail ibn Musa Menk AbdurRahman ibn Awf

Khutbah: Abdurrahman ibn Awf - The Grateful Wealthy Companion

Opening and Introduction

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Bismillahir rahmanir raheem. Alhamdulillahi wassalatu wassalamu ala rasoolillahi wa ala alihi wa ashabihi ajma'in.

We praise Allah. We send blessings and salutations upon Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). We ask Allah to bless his household, his companions, and every one of us and humanity at large. Ameen.

The Wealthy Companion - An Introduction

My brothers and sisters, I'm honored to be given the task to speak about one of the wealthiest of the sahaba radiallahu anhum. He was very rich, and it didn't start at the beginning of his life. He did not inherit that wealth from someone, but rather he earned it. He earned it more so after the hijrah.

This is a very important lesson that we're going to learn. Sometimes we lose things. Sometimes we lose wealth. Sometimes we've lost a lot of money. We might have lost a job. Never lose hope in the mercy of Allah. A day will come when Allah will bestow upon you whatever was written for you and you will never die until you eat the last morsel that is written next to your name. You will never die until you have in full whatever wealth, whatever sustenance was supposed to be yours.

The Name and Early Life of Abdurrahman ibn Awf

So who is this great man? His name is Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu. He was born and his parents had given him a different name. Some narrations say they gave him a name Abd al-Ka'bah, the worshipper of the Kaaba. Some narrations say he was given the name Abd Amr, the worshipper of Amr. And so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) gave him the name Abdurrahman.

From this we learn that although most of the companions when they accepted Islam, they did not change their names. It's not a condition that the name be changed except when the meaning of that name is bad, then it should be changed especially when it is haram. Like you say worshipper of the Kaaba. He had a better name worshipper of Ar-Rahman, the most merciful.

Abdurrahman ibn Awf was 10 years younger than Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam), which means when Prophethood had come to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam), the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was 40 and Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu was 30.

Accepting Islam Through Good Company

So how did he accept Islam? He accepted Islam by the effort of the man I spoke about earlier today, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu anhu. Remember I told you to have good company because your company will

remind you about what is right and wrong. If you are not interested in having good company, how do you expect to be reminded time and again? And when people remind you, don't feel bad. Listen to the reminder. If they are right, take it from them. If they are wrong, excuse them with a smile.

May Allah make it easy for us. Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu, he was in the company of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu anhu. You know who their friends were? And I want to show you when you interact with the best, you can become one of the best.

The friends of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu anhu: Az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Abdurrahman ibn Awf, Talhah ibn Ubaydillah, Uthman ibn Affan, Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. Did you hear five names? Five of them are from among the ten who were given good news of Jannah by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). And all five of them were encouraged to enter Islam by Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu anhu.

So not only did he encourage them to enter Islam, but it was so powerful, so convincing that they became the best of the Muslims. Imagine you are a friend of someone, they go to Jannah and suddenly because you also became a good person, you're granted Jannah. That's exactly what happened with Abu Bakr As-Siddiq radiallahu anhu.

The Promise of Paradise and Its Impact

He was a friend of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). He accepted the message first. He went to his buddies and he told his buddies, you know what guys, you need to listen to this. This is the man. He's come with a message. He's speaking the truth. He's speaking whatever is correct. We better follow him and you guys better come along. He took them to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). They heard a few words. They became Muslims, subhanallah.

Each one has a unique story, but Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu, who was not so wealthy at the beginning, but guess what, he was one of those who became even wealthier by being told, you are from Jannah. May Allah make it easy for us. I always sit and I think imagine, if we were told you are from Jannah, I wonder what we would do, subhanallah.

I see a lot of the young people, you know what they might say, wow, I've achieved my goal. I no longer need to pray. I no longer need to do anything. I don't need to worry about anything. With the sahaba radiallahu anhum, that was not the case. When they were told you are from Jannah, it made them stronger because Jannah has ranks, subhanallah. It made them more powerful, closer to Allah. May Allah grant us Jannah. Ameen.

And may Allah grant us goodness in the dunya as well.

Physical Description and Early Persecution

So this man, as he grew older, like I explained, he became a Muslim. What was his description? He was

tall. He was reddish, fair in complexion. He was actually a person who was quite big, you know, tall, a big person, fair in complexion. And at the same time, very good looking, mashallah, handsome guy.

Initially, they began to persecute him among others and he made a hijrah to Abyssinia. He actually had to flee. He went with the people who went to Abyssinia to An-Najashi at the beginning.

The Importance of Proper Priorities

Listen to the beginning because a lot of us, we make money the main aim in our lives. Not realizing that yes, while it is very important, it's not the main aim. It is there and we will give it some importance because we'd like to live and a lot of us would like to lead a comfortable life. But ask yourself, the more the comfort, are you becoming closer to Allah or distant? That's the thing.

We sometimes get a lot of wealth and as a result we forget Allah. Well, here is an example of a person who started getting so much wealth. And you know what? That brought him so close to Allah that he had a few names that were given to him. You know, like you have Abu Bakr As-Siddiq. As-Siddiq was like a title given to him. You have Umar, he had a title Al-Farooq. You have Abdurrahman, he has a title Al- Ghaniyy Ash-Shakir. That means the one who is so wealthy and yet so thankful to Allah.

Humility Despite Wealth

Humble, humble, so humble that you won't even tell this is the man who gave so much. I remember I went to one country recently and I was sitting with a brother who had built a few masajid. And speaking to him, we asked him about some of the interesting things that happened in his life.

And he says, you know, I was once going for Salat al-Jumu'ah and there was a parking slot. They didn't allow me to park there because the warden or whoever was there told me to move just like everyone else. No one knew that he had built the masjid. And he says, as tempting as it may have been to tell him, hey listen, let me park here, you know, I'm the one who built the masjid. He said, I didn't say that. Because in my heart I told myself, I will sell my whole contribution for a parking, subhanallah.

So he said, I left it, I parked with everyone else and I walked. Later on he said, there was another masjid sometime later in a different city, 10 o'clock in the night, he needed to wash up and so on. And he thought, you know, we've built a masjid here, let's go there and we will try and see what happens. And as he went there, they told him, sorry, it's closed. We're not going to open this place. It's closed. Everyone's gone. And he says, again, as tempting as it may have been to tell the guy, you know what, I built this masjid. I just like to use the bathroom, you know. I didn't do that because I thought to myself, relieving myself and I probably sold the whole project for the wrong cause.

May Allah make us from among those. Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu had this habit. He used to do good quietly. They only found out later what he used to do. He used to send finances, money as gifts

to a lot of the people, the widows, and subhanallah, those who were poor without anyone knowing that he did this.

The Hijrah to Madinah and Brotherhood

Now, how did he get this wealth? Well, he made the hijrah to Habasha. Thereafter, he made the hijrah to Al-Madinah. When he got to Madinah Munawwarah, there was something unique happening, something amazing that was happening. It was called Al-Mu'akhah, the fostering of a brotherhood between the people from Makkah and the people of Madinah.

So there was a man by the name of Sa'd ibn Ar-Rabi'ah. Sa'd ibn Ar-Rabi'ah radiallahu anhu was one of the wealthiest of the Ansar, meaning of the people of Madinah. So they loved the people who came from Makkah so much. Although in our terms today, if people had to come in similar circumstances, we would call them refugees. Agree? Refugee, that's a camp. They've come from refugee camp and so on.

At the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam), it was so easy. The thousands who came from Makkah, each got a family from Madinah, each family taking one family. And you know what? They were dispersed and they were looked after, well looked after by their brothers and sisters from the Ansar. May Allah make us from among those who care for each other.

The Importance of Charity and Giving

Today when a donation is being asked for and it shouldn't be asked for, we should donate before they ask us. But even if it is being asked for, we sometimes feel ashamed. You know what? My sister, my brother, even if it means one pound, one dollar, even if it means two or five, it makes a difference. I'm sure you might have seen the signs at certain businesses where they say, your change will make a change. Your change will make a change. That's a very good catch line. I tell you why.

Your change does make a change. You think, well, it's 25p, 10p. That 10p, 25p means a lot. Imagine if a thousand people gave 10, 25p. What do we have? We've got 200 pounds, 250 pounds. If my calculation is correct. If not, then at least 25 pounds. Subhanallah. We can do something with it. May Allah make it easy.

The Generous Offer of Sa'd ibn Ar-Rabi'ah

So Abdurrahman ibn Awf had this brother of his by mu'akhah in Madinah Munawwarah known as Sa'd ibn Ar-Rabi'ah radiallahu anhu. Sa'd came to him and said, my brother, I am one of the wealthiest from the Ansar. And I tell you, I'm going to split everything I have into half. And I will give you half and I will remain with the other half. Wow.

We would not do that for our real brothers and sisters, would we? We cheat them. When someone's passed away, inheritance comes. It has to be shared. What's legitimately not yours, it belongs to them. We still don't want to give it to them. And we have millionaires sometimes. I've seen the problem is

bigger with those who have more wealth. They become more miserly. You find a multi-millionaire fighting for 100,000 because his father passed away. It's supposed to go to his sister and he doesn't.

That is a test for him. He was never going to get wealth besides that which was written for him. And if he ate something that wasn't his, the hadith says:

It is indeed a piece of the fire of Jahannam, of hellfire. He can either take it or leave it.

Subhanallah. What a powerful piece of advice of Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). May we be encouraged to sort out our matters and on top of that, be charitable. Especially when it comes to our family members, my beloved brothers and sisters.

The Rejection of Charity and Pursuit of Self-Reliance

Take a look at Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu. So what happened? He says, May Allah bless you. Show me where is the marketplace. I'm a businessman. Show me where is the marketplace. So he refused to take from the wealth of Sa'd ibn Rabi' radiallahu anhu. Although legitimately, had he taken it, it would have been okay. He refused to take. He says, Show me the marketplace.

And this shows us, my brothers, my sisters, when you work hard, your own perspiration and you've earned something, there is greater blessing in it than you can imagine. There is greater blessing in it than you can imagine. Call out to Allah. Don't give up your faith. Don't give up your duty unto Allah. Call out to the same Allah who is the owner of your sustenance to give you and Allah will open your doors.

The First Day of Business

Abdurrahman ibn Awf radiallahu anhu, he came back the same day. Imagine he arrived at the souq of Banu Qaynuqa' where there were a lot of Jewish people. He dealt with them for the day. The same evening, he came back with some foodstuffs. Subhanallah.

When he left, he had no money on him. Zero, nothing. He went, he did some deal somehow, a few dealings. Mashallah. He came back with some food items. Mashallah. The following day, he went. A few days later, he got married.

The Marriage and Prophet's Dua

Now to get married, you know what you need, isn't it? You need to pay a mahr. You actually need to do quite a bit. Subhanallah. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) saw him some days later. And he had a yellow mark on his clothing. Some say it was of perfume, a mark of perfume. You know when you use a perfume, sometimes it leaves a bit of a mark on your clothing.