Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf

All you want to know about Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf

Abdur Rahman bin Awf, (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن عوف‎) (died 652^{[citation needed]}) was one of the sahaba.

1 Name
2 Biography
3 Sunni view
4 Shi'a view
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Name

His name has also be tranlisterated as Abdur Rahman Ibn Awf, Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf, Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf and Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf.

Biography

Family

Abd-al-Rahman was born with the name Abdu Amr ibn Awf into the tribe of Banu Zuhrah ^[1].

He married the Uthman ibn Affan's half-sister, the daughter of Uthman's mother Urwa bint Kariz by her second husband. ^[2].

Sa`ad ibn Abi Waqqas was his first cousin ^[2].

Conversion to Islam

He was one of the first eight persons to accept Islam. He was one of the ten persons (al-asharatu-l mubashshirin) who were assured of entering Paradise. He was one of the six persons chosen by Umar to form the council of shura to choose the Khalifah afte r his death. His name in Jahiliyyah days was Abu Amr. But when he accepted Islam the noble Prophet called him Abdur-Rahman - the servant of the Beneficent God.

Abd al-Rahman and Umayah

Abd al-Rahman was friends with Umayyah ibn Khalaf, a stern opponent of Islam. When Abd al-Rahman emigrated to Medina, the two formed a written agreement, according to which Abd-al-Rahman was to protect Umayah's property and family in Medina, while Umayyah would protect Abd-al-Rahman's in Mecca. When Abd al-Rahman wanted to sign the document, Umayyah protested, saying "I do not know Ar-Rahman" and requested that the pre-Islamic name "Abdu Amr" should be used, to which Ad al-Rahman yielded. ^[3]

The two met again in the Battle of Badr:

A narration attributed to Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf reports:

“

On the day (of the battle) of Badr, when all the people went to sleep, I went up the hill to protect him. Bilal(1) saw him (i.e. Umaiya) and went to a gathering of Ansar and said, "(Here is) Umaiya bin Khalaf! Woe to me if he escapes!" So, a group of Ansar went out with Bilal to follow us ('Abdur-Rahman and Umaiya). Being afraid that they would catch us, I left Umaiya's son for them to keep them busy but the Ansar killed the son and insisted on following us. Umaiya was a fat man, and when they approached us, I told him to kneel down, and he knelt, and I laid myself on him to protect him, but the Ansar killed him by passing their swords underneath me, and one of them injured my foot with his sword. (The sub narrator said, " 'Abdur-Rahman used to show us the trace of the wound on the back of his foot.")

”

Sunnis tend to view this as Sahih and have included it in Sahih Bukhari ^[4]

contrubutions to ISALM]] == ==

One day, a loud rumbling sound was heard coming from beyond the boundaries of Madinah normally a calm and peaceful city.The rumbling sound gradually increased in volume. In addition, clouds of dust and sand were stirred up and blown in the wind. The peo ple of Madinah soon realized that a mighty caravan was entering the city. They stood in amazement as seven hundred camels laden with goods moved into the city and crowded the streets. There was much shouting and excitement as people called to one another to come out and witness the sight and see what goods and sustenance the camel caravan had brought. Aishah, may God be pleased with her, heard the commotion and asked: "What is this that's happening in Madinah?" and she was told: "It is the caravan of Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl which has come from Syria bearing his merchandise." "A caravan making all this commotion?" she asked in disbelief." "Yes, O Umm al-Muminin. There are seven hundred camels." Aishah shook her head and gazed in the distance as if she was trying to recall some scene or utterance of the past and then she said: "I have heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: I have seen Abdur-Rahman ibn Awl entering Paradise creeping." Why creeping? Why should he not enter Paradise leaping and at a quick pace with the early companions of the Prophet? Some friends of his related to Abdur-Rahman the hadith which Aishah had mentioned. He remembered that he had heard the hadith more than once from the Prophet and he hurried to the house of Aishah and said to her: "Yaa Ammah! Have you heard that from the M essenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace?" "Yes," she replied. "You have reminded me of a hadith which I have never forgotten," he is also reported to have said. He was so over-joyed and added: "If I could I would certainly like to enter Paradise standing. I swear to you, yaa Ammah, that this entire caravan with all its merchandise, I will giver sabilillah." And so he did. In a great festival of charity and righteousness, he distributed all that the massive caravan had brought to the people of Madinah and surrounding areas. This is just one incident which showed what type of man Abdur-Rahman was. He earned much wealth but he never remained attached to it for its own sake and he did not allow it to corrupt him. Abdur-Rahman's generosity did not stop there. He continued giving with both his hands, secretly and openly. Some of the figures mentioned are truly astounding: forty thousand dirhams of silver, forty thousand dinars of gold, two hundred awqiyyah of gold, five hundred horses to mujahidin setting out in the path of God and one thousand five hundred camels to another group of mujahidin, four hundred dinars of gold to the survivors of Badr and a large legacy to the Ummahaat al Muminin and the catalogue goes on

Role in successions to the Caliphate

In 634 CE, the dying Caliph Abu Bakr called in Abd al-Rahman (along with Uthman) and informed him of his designation of Umar ibn al-Khattab as successor. (See Hadith of the succession to Abu Bakr.

In 644, the dying Umar nominated a board of six members who were required to elect one of themselves as the next caliph. The group consisted of Sad Ibn Abi Waqqas, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, Talha ibn Ubayd Allah, Ali ibn Abi Talib and Uthman ibn Affan. Uthman was chosen as the third caliph ^[5].

Sunni view

Sunnis regard him as one of The Ten Promised Paradise.

Shi'a view

Ali Asgher Razwy, a 20th century Shi'a Twelver Islamic scholar states:

“

Umar, on his deathbed, had appointed six Muhajireen as members of a panel which was to choose one out of themselves as the future khalifa of the Muslims. They were Ali ibn Abi Talib, Uthman, Talha, Zubayr, Abdur Rahman bin Auf and Saad bin Abi Waqqas. All the members of the panel were pious men who followed the Prophet's teachings. When they came from Makkah, they were penniless and homeless but within twelve years, i.e., from the death of Muhammad Mustafa in 632 to the death of Umar in 644, each of them, by the blessing of Allah had become well off.

A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims on Al-Islam.org [2]</ref>

”