The Fragrance of Abdur Rahman’s Virtues

Abdur Rahman ibn ‘Awf was one of the first people to embrace Islam, and he attended the battle of Badr and all other battles with the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). Also, he is one of the ten persons that were informed the glad tidings of getting in Paradise. More- over; he was one of the six persons whom Omar told that the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) died while being pleased with them. And he is one of the rich Muslims who provided all their properties for Allah’s cause.

The following are some of his virtues (may Allah be pleased with him);

He is one of the great economic institutions in Islam; he helped Islam by his money to the extent of saying that the money of Abdur Rahman ibn ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) was for the religion of Islam. In other words, the portion of Islam in Abdur Rahman’s money was greater than the portion of Abdur Rahman himself.

Paradise is the ultimate goal. The Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Abu Bakr in Paradise, Omar in Paradise, ‘Uthman in Paradise, ‘Ali in Paradise, Talha in Paradise, Az-Zubair in Paradise, Abdur-Rahman ibn ‘Awf in Paradise, Sa’d ibn Abu Waqqas in Paradise, Sa’eed ibn Zaid in Paradise and Abu ‘Ubaida ibn Al-Jarrah in Paradise.” [Reported by At-Tirmithi 3747 and authenticated by Al-Albani]

Also, it is narrated that the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed after him in Tabuk battle. Actually, this is implied testimony from the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) that he (i.e. Abdur Rahman) is righteous, because the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) would not have to pray after a disobedient person.

It is narrated on the authority of Al-Mughira ibn Shu’bah that he participated in the expedition of Tabuk along with the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) went out to answer the call of nature before the Morning Prayer, and I carried along with him a jar (full of water). When the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) came back to me (after relieving himself), I began to pour water upon his hands out of the jar and he washed his hands three times, then washed his face three times. He then tried to tuck up the sleeves of his cloak upon his forearms but since the sleeves were tight he inserted his hands in the cloak and then brought out his forearms up to the elbow below the cloak, and then wiped over his shoes and then moved on. Mughira said: I also moved along with him till he came to the people and (he found) that they had been saying their prayer under the lead of Abdur Rahman ibn ‘Awf. The Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) could get one Rak’a out of two and said (this) last Rak’a along with the people. When Abdur Rahman ibn ‘Awf pronounced the Tasleem (ending prayer), the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) got up to complete the prayer. This made the Muslims terrified and most of them began to recite the glory of the Lord. When the Messenger of Allah (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) finished his prayer, he turned towards them and then said: “You did well,” or said with a sense of joy: “You did the right thing”, that they said prayer at the appointed hour [Reported by Muslim: 274]