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The
Scholar of This Nation!
Ibn ‘Abbaas was similar to Ibn
Az-Zubair in that both experienced the
Prophetic era while still children. The
Prophet (PBUH) died before Ibn ‘Abbaas
had reached manhood. He had also been
granted, while still very young, all the
basic materials of manliness and the
principles of life by the Prophet (PBUH),
who liked him most, praised him, and
taught him pure wisdom.
Due to
his firm belief, gentleness, good
character, and the richness of his
knowledge, he was able to occupy a very
high rank among the men around the
Prophet (PBUH).
He was
the son of Al-'Abbaas Ibn 'Abd Al-Mutlalib
Ibn Haashim, the Prophet's uncle. His
epithet was "The Nation's
Scholar". He deserved the title and
position due to his vast knowledge, the
enlightenment of his mind, and his
versatility.
Ibn
"Abbaas came to knowledge at a very
early age, a knowledge which increased
as days went by. That is because the
Prophet (PBUH) was always drawing ‘Abd
Allah close to him, patting his
shoulders and asking Allah, "O
Allah, bless him with the full knowledge
of the religion and interpretation of
the Holy Qur'aan."
The
Prophet (PBUH) repeated the same prayer
for his cousin ‘Abd Allah in various
situations. In this way ‘Abd Allah Ibn
‘Abbaas realized that he had been
created to acquire knowledge, and his
intellectual capabilities inclined
strongly in that direction.
Although his age did not exceed 13 when
the Prophet (PBUH) died, he had not
spent his childhood in vain. He had
attended the Prophet's assemblies and
learned his words by heart.
When
the Prophet (PBUH) died, he was eager to
leam from the Companions what he had
failed to hear or learn from the Prophet
(PBUH) himself.
He
turned into a continuous question mark.
Whenever he heard that someone had
acquired wisdom or learned a hadiith by
heart, he hurried to leam it from him.
His bright ambitious mind forced him to
examine all that came to his ears.
He was
not just concerned with gathering
information, but with examining it and
its sources. He once said about himself,
"If I wanted to know something
about an issue I would ask 30
Companions."
He
drew a picture demonstrating his concern
to reach truth and knowledge: When the
Prophet (PBUH) died, I said to one of
the Angaar youth, "Let's go to the
Prophet's Companions to ask them, as
they are still numerous." He said,
"O Ibn 'Abbaas, how strange you
really are! Do you think that people are
in need of you while the great
Companions are still among them?"
The young man dropped the matter,
whereas I turned to ask the Prophet's
Companions. Whenever I was informed that
someone had related a hadiith, I would
go to him in the afternoon while he was
napping. I put my gown as a pillow under
my head in front of his door. The wind
scattered the dust over me. When he
finished his nap and came out and saw
me, he said, "O Prophet's cousin,
what is it that brought you here? Why
didn't you send for me ?" Then I
would say," No, it's you who
deserves to be visited." Then I
would ask him about the hadiith and leam
from him.
In
this way our young man went on asking
and asking and asking, then examining
the answers and discussing them with a
curious mind.
Every
day his wisdom and knowledge developed
until he achieved, while still a youth,
the wisdom, patience, and eloquency of
the elderly, so much so that the
Commander of the Faithful 'Umar (May
Allah be pleased with him) was eager to
consult with him in every great issue.
He called him, "The young leader of
the elderly". Ibn ‘Abbaas was
once asked, "How could you acquire
all that knowledge?" He answered,
"By means of a questioning tongue
and a reasoning mind." Through his
continuously inquiring tongue, his
ever-detecting mind, and, moreover, his
humility and gentleness, Ibn "Abbaas
was to become the nation's scholar.
Sa'd
Ibn Abi Waqqaas described him in the
following words:
I've never seen one with such presence
of mind nor more intellectual and milder
than Ibn 'Abbaas. I've seen 'Umar (May
Allah be pleased with him), although
surrounded by those who attended Badr,
inviting him to discuss difficult
problems. Whenever Ibn ‘Abbaas spoke
out his viewpoint,Umar always stuck to
it.
‘Ubaid
Allah Ibn ‘Utbah once said: I've never
seen anyone more knowledgeable in the
Prophet's hadiith than Ibn "Abbaas.
Neither did I see anyone more
knowledgeable during Abu Bakr, 'Umar or
'Uthmaan's caliphates than him; or more
accurate in what he says in terms of
jurisprudence or more knowledgeable in
terms of poems, the Arabic language,
Qur'aanic interpretation or religious
matters. He divided his time, each day
teaching one subject or another,
jurisprudence, Qur'aanic interpretation,
invasions, poems, and history, each one
a different day. I've never seen a
scholar listening to him without
submitting himself completely to him,
nor asking without being impressed by
his vast and rich knowledge.
Ibn ^Abbaas,
who was appointed governor of Basra
during the caliphate of ‘Aliy Ibn Abi
Taalib (May Allah be pleased with him)
was once described by a Muslim in the
following words: He stuck to three
matters, and gave up three. He dazzled
men's hearts whenever he talked. He was
a good listener whenever he was spoken
to. He chose the easiest of two matters
whenever he was opposed. He gave up
hypocrisy. He gave up the companionship
of wicked people. He gave up all that is
excusable.
His
diverse culture and vast,comprehensive
knowledge were admirable. He was the
skillful, shrewd authority in every
field of knowledge: Qur'aanic
interpretation, jurisprudence, history,
Arabic language and literature.
Therefore, he was a recourse for the
seeker after truth. People traveled to
him in groups from all parts of the
Islamic world in order to listen to him
and to leam from him.
A
Companion who was contemporary with him
narrated: I've seen one of Ibn
‘Abbaas's scholastic assemblies. If
the whole tribe of the Quraish would
have been proud, it would have been
enough for their pride. I've seen people
gathering in front of his door until the
whole path had become so crowded that no
one could enter or exit.
I
entered, informing him that a great
number of people were sitting in front
of his door. He asked me to prepare his
water for ablution, which he performed,
then sat down and said, "Go out to
them and invite those interested in
Qur'aanic interpretation."
I went
out and let them in. They entered,
filling the house. They didn't ask about
anything without being answered in a
satisfactory manner. Then he said to
them, " Don't forget your
brethren." They went out to allow
others to enter. Then he said, "Go
out and invite those interested in
jurisprudence."
I went
out and let them in. They entered,
filling the house. They didn't ask about
anything without being satisfactorily
answered. Then he said, "Don't
forget your brethren." They went
out to allow others to enter. Then he
said, "Go out and invite those
interested in religious duties."
I went
out and let them in. They entered,
filling the house. They didn't ask about
anything without being satisfactorily
answered.
Then
he said, "Don't forget your
brethren." They went out to allow
others to enter.
Then
he said, "Go out and invite those
interested in the Arabic language and
literature." I went out and let
them in. They entered, filling the
house. They didn't ask about anything
without being satisfactorily answered.
Ibn
‘Abbaas had not only a sharp memory
but an extraordinary one, and extreme
brilliance and intelligence. His
arguments were as dear, bright, and
cheerful as sunlight. He would not let
his opponent leave until he was not only
convinced but, in addition, completely
satisfied and pleased with the
magnificence of his logic and brilliance
of his speech.
In
spite of his rich knowledge and
effective argument, he never considered
his discussion and conversation a battle
of intellects in which he could be proud
of his vast knowledge and victory over
his opponents. On the contrary he
considered it a straightforward path to
visualize and realize truth.
For a
long time his fair and sharp logic had
been a source of alarm to the Khawaarij.
Once Imam ‘Ally (May Allah be pleased
with him) sent him to a large group of
the Khawaarij. They had a wonderful
discussion, in which he was in control
of the talk, arguing in a very admirable
way. The following is an extract of that
long conversation:
Ibn
"Abbaas asked them, "What do
you have against ‘Aliy?"
They
said, "We are discontent with three
matters. First, he let men judge in
Allah's religion, whereas Allah said,
< . . . surely judging is only for
GOD > (6:57).
"Second, he is a murderer. However,
he didn't take any captives or war
booty. If they had been disbelievers,
then their wealth would have been
permissible, and if they had been
Muslims, then their murder would have
been prohibited.
"Third, during the arbitration, he
agreed to give up the title 'Commander
of the Faithful' in response to his
enemies. If he isn't Commander of the
Faithful, then he must be Commander of
the Disbelievers."
Ibn 'Abbaas
began to refute their claims. "As
for letting men judge in Allah's
religion, what's wrong with that? Allah
said, < O you who believe! Do not
kill animals of the hunt while you are
on the Pilgrimage, and whoever of you
kills it intentionally, he shall make
recompense the equal of what he has
killed from the cattle, which shall be
judged by two just men among you >
(5: 95). Tell me, by Allah, is letting
men judge in sparing the Muslim blood
not worthier than letting them judge in
the case of compensating a killed rabbit
that is worth a quarter of a
dirham?"
Their
leaders stammered in speech under the
pressure of that sarcastic but decisive
logic. Then he continued his talk.
"As for your claim that he is a
murderer who didn't take prisoners or
war booty, did you expect him to take 'Aa'ishah,
the Prophet's wife and Mother of the
Faithful, a prisoner and her belongings
as booty?" At that moment their
faces went blank out of shame and they
tried to cover them with their hands.
Ibn
"Abbaas went on to the third claim.
"As for your claim that he agreed
to give up the title 'Commander of the
Faithful' to give arbitration a chance,
let me tell you what the Prophet (PBUH)
did on the Day of Hudaibiyah. While he
was dictating the agreement between him
and the Quraish, he said to the scribe,
'Write. This is what the Messenger of
Allah agreed upon.' The representative
of the Quraish said, 'By Allah, if we
believed that you were the Messenger of
Allah, we wouldn't have hindered you
from entering the Sacred House or fought
against you.' The Prophet (PBUH) then
said, "Then write. This is what
Muhammad Ibn "Abd Allah has agreed
upon. By Allah, I'm the Messenger of
Allah even if you deny that. Write
whatever you like.'"
The
discussion between Ibn 'Abbaas and the
Khawaarij went on in such a miraculous,
magnificent way. The discussion had
hardly ended when some 20,000 of the
Khawaarij announced their conviction in
what was said and announced the end of
their oppositon to 'Ally's imamate.
Ibn 'Abbaas
not only possessed a great fortune of
knowledge but also a greater fortune of
manners of knowledge and the
knowledgeable. He was a great figure in
his generosity. He spent his wealth
abundantly for the people's sake with
the same willingness with which he
shared his knowledge. His contemporaries
said, " We've never seen a house
more filled with food, drinks, fruits,
and knowledge than Ibn 'Abbaas's
house."
He
possessed a pure soul that never carried
any spite. He never tired of wishing all
the good for people, those whom he knew
and' those whom he did not. He said
about himself, "Whenever I recited
a verse, I wished that all people had
acquired the knowledge I've acquired.
Whenever I heard about a just ruler
ruling fairly, I was filled with delight
and prayed for him, although I did not
need him. Whenever I heard about rain
falling on Muslim land, I was filled
with delight although I did not own any
livestock grazing on that land."
He was
a devoted repenting worshiper, praying
at night and often fasting. No one could
miss the stream of tears on his cheek.
That is because he cried so much
whenever he prayed or recited the
Qur'aan. Whenever he read a scolding or
threatening verse, or the mention of
death and resurrection, his wail and
laments grew louder and louder.
In
addition, he was honest, brave, and
eloquent. He had his own viewpoint and
opinions about the dispute between Imam
‘Aliy and Mu'aawiyah, which proved his
capacity for stratagem.
He
preferred peace to war, kindness to
violence, logic to compulsion.
When
Al-Hussain (May Allah be pleased with
him) intended to go to Iraq to fight
Ziyaad and Yaziid, Ibn 'Abbaas did
everything he could to prevent him.
Afterwards, he was informed about his
martyrdom. He felt deep grief and kept
indoors.
Whenever
a dispute between two Muslims arose, he
could always be seen carrying the banner
of peace, forgiveness, and tenderness.
It is
true that he himself was involved in the
battle between ‘Aliy and Mu'aawiyah
when he fought on "Ally's side. But
he did that because, at the beginning,
the war represented a necessary
eradication of a movement which was
causing a terrible split within the
Islamic community, threatening the unity
of the faith and of the believers.
As
long as he lived he filled the whole
world with knowledge and wisdom,
spreading among people his scent of
piety.
When
he reached the age of 71, he was invited
to meet Allah. The city of Af-Taa'if
witnessed a great scene for a believer
who had been promised Paradise. While
his body settled safely in its grave,
the horizon was shaken by the echo of
the truthful divine promise:
<"O
soul at peace. Return to your Lord, well
pleased and well pleasing. Enter you
among My servants. And enter into My
Paradise!" > (89:27-3O).
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