Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf al-Zuhri al-Qurashi. His father, Awf,
was killed at al-Ghumaysa by the Banu Jadhima. Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf's lineage
connects with that of the Prophet through Kilab ibn Murra, and he is attributed
to Zuhra ibn Kilab. The Banu Zuhra were the Prophet's maternal uncles; hence,
he is called al-Qurashi al-Zuhri. His mother was al-Shifa bint Awf ibn Abd ibn
al-Harith ibn Zuhra ibn Kilab. His siblings were Abdullah ibn Awf, al-Aswad ibn
Awf, Atika bint Awf, and Hala bint Aw. f. He had many wives, the most famous of
whom were Umm Kulthum bint Utba ibn Rabi'a, Umm Kulthum bint Uqba ibn Abi
Mu'ayt, and Sahla bint Asim ibn Adi. God blessed him with many sons and
daughters.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf was one of the ten Companions promised
Paradise, one of the first to embrace Islam, and one of the six members of the
council chosen by Umar ibn al-Khattab to select his successor. His name in the
pre-Islamic era was Abd Amr, or, as some say, Abd al-Ka'bah, but the Prophet
Muhammad renamed him Abd al-Rahman.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf was born ten years after the Year of
the Elephant. He embraced Islam at the hands of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. He migrated
to Abyssinia in the first migration, then to Medina, and participated in all
the battles during the Prophet's lifetime, including the battles of Badr, Uhud,
and the Trench, as well as the Pledge of Ridwan. Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali,
Talha, Zubayr, Sa'd, Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf, and Sa'id ibn Zayd stood before the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in battle and behind him
in prayer.
During the Battle of Uhud, he was among those who stood firm
when the people fled. He was wounded at Uhud, losing his front teeth and
sustaining twenty wounds, some of them on his leg.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent him on a
military expedition to Dumat al-Jandal (in Sha'ban of the 5th year of Hijra) to
fight the Banu Kalb after they had fled from the battle. He instructed him to
wear a turban (the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave Abdur-Rahman
a black turban and let it fall over his shoulders as an example for him), to
say "Allahu Akbar" upon encountering the enemy, to say "La ilaha
illallah" upon approaching, and to say "Alhamdulillah" and
"Istighfar" upon descending, in addition to constantly remembering
Allah and asking for victory. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon
him) also instructed him to marry the daughter of their king if Allah granted
him victory. The Prophet Muhammad arrived in Dumat al-Jandal with an army of
700 men and spent three days inviting them to Islam. Their king, al-Asbagh ibn
Tha'labah, embraced Islam on the third day, along with many of his people. Abd
al-Rahman made the rest pay the jizya (tribute). He then married al-Asbagh's
daughter, Tamadhur, and brought her to Medina. She was the first woman from the
Kalb tribe to marry a Qurayshi man, and she bore him the scholar Abu Salamah
ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf. After the conquest of Mecca, the Prophet sent Khalid
ibn al-Walid to the Banu Jadhimah. Khalid accidentally killed some of them, so
the Prophet paid blood money for the slain and compensated them for what had
been taken from them. The Banu Jadhimah had killed Awf ibn Abd Awf, the father
of Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, and al-Fakih ibn al-Mughirah, Khalid's uncle, during
the pre-Islamic era. Abd al-Rahman said to Khalid, "You only killed them
because they killed your uncle." Khalid replied, "They killed your
father." He spoke harshly, so the Prophet said, “Do not revile my
Companions, for by Him in Whose Hand is my soul, if one of you were to spend
the equivalent of Mount Uhud in gold, he would not attain the reward of even a
handful of one of them, nor half of that.” (Narrated by Abu Hurairah; Sahih Ibn
Majah; Al-Albani graded it as authentic).
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him,
prayed behind Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf during the Battle of Tabuk. When the Prophet
and the Muslims reached the enemy, Abdur-Rahman had already begun praying and
performed one rak'ah. The Prophet signaled to Abdur-Rahman to complete his
prayer, and then the Prophet and Al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah prayed another rak'ah
behind him after Abdur-Rahman had finished. Thus, the Prophet completed what he
had missed of the prayer.
Abd al-Rahman was a wealthy and generous merchant. During
the Prophet's time, he gave away half his wealth, amounting to four thousand
dinars, then forty thousand more. He purchased five hundred horses for jihad
and five hundred camels. It is also narrated that he sold a piece of land to
Uthman ibn Affan for forty thousand dinars, distributing the proceeds among the
poor of Banu Zuhrah, the Mothers of the Believers, and other needy people.
Al-Miswar said, "I went to Aisha, may God be pleased with her, with her
share of this. She asked, 'Who sent this?' I replied, 'Abd al-Rahman.' She
said, "The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said, 'Do
not be stingy. After me, you must be patient. May God Almighty grant Ibn Awf a
drink from the Salsabil of Paradise. (Narrated by: Aisha, Mother of the
Believers; Source: Takhrij Mushkil al-Athar; Summary of the Hadith scholar's
ruling (Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut): Authentic). When the Prophet arrived in Medina, he
established brotherhood between the Muhajirun and the Ansar. He paired Abd
al-Rahman ibn Awf with Sa'd ibn al-Rabi'. Sa'd offered to share his family and
wealth with him, but Abd al-Rahman said, "I am the wealthiest of the Ansar,
so I will divide my wealth in two. I have two wives; choose the one you prefer,
and let me divorce her. When her waiting period is over, you can marry
her." Abd al-Rahman said, "May God bless you in your family and
wealth. Show me the way to the market." So they showed him the market of
Banu Qaynuqa'. He bought some dried yogurt (a traditional food made from dried
and sour milk) and ghee and married a woman from the Ansar. After a few days,
he came back with traces of yellow on him. The Prophet said to him, "What
is the matter, O Abd al-Rahman?" He asked him about his news, and he said,
"O Messenger of God, I married a woman from the Ansar." He said,
“What did you give her as a dowry?” He said, “The weight of a date pit in gold
(a small amount of gold equivalent to the weight of a date pit).” The Prophet
said, “Hold a wedding feast, even if it is with a sheep.” Abdur-Rahman used to
say, “I have seen myself, even if I lifted a stone, hoping to find gold or
silver beneath it.”
Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf held a high position during the reign
of Umar. Umar ibn al-Khattab used to consult him. When the plague of Amwas
broke out in 18 AH and then spread to the Levant, Umar ibn al-Khattab wanted to
go to the Levant at that time. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf advised him with the Prophetic
hadith: “If you hear of an outbreak of plague in a land, do not enter it; and
if it breaks out in a land where you are, do not leave it.” I said, “You heard
him narrate this to Sa’d, and he did not deny it?” He said, “Yes.” (Narrated by
Usama ibn Zayd; Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Summary of the hadith scholar’s
ruling) (Al-Bukhari: Sahih). Then Umar and his companions returned to Medina.
When Persia was conquered in 22 AH, the Companions differed regarding taking
the jizya (poll tax) from the Magians. Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf came and informed
Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had taken the jizya
from the Magians of Hajar. Umar accepted Abdur-Rahman's testimony and sent a
scribe to Juz' ibn Mu'awiyah, instructing him: "Look after the Magians in
your region and take the jizya from them, for Abdur-Rahman ibn Awf informed me
that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took the jizya
from the Magians of Hajar."
In 23 AH, Umar ibn al-Khattab appointed him as his deputy
for the Hajj pilgrimage that year. Abdur-Rahman led the people in Hajj and also
performed Hajj with Umar. This was the last Hajj Umar performed in the year 23
AH. That year, Umar permitted the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) to perform Hajj, and they were carried in litters. He sent Uthman ibn
Affan and Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf with them. Uthman rode ahead of them on his
mount, preventing anyone from approaching them, while Abd al-Rahman rode behind
them on his mount, also preventing anyone from approaching them. They would
stop with Umar at every resting place. Uthman and Abd al-Rahman would take them
to the mountain passes, where they would rest, and they would camp at the
beginning of the pass, preventing anyone from passing by. During the reign of the
third Rightly Guided Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf enjoyed a
position similar to that he had held during Umar's reign. In the year 24 AH,
Uthman appointed him as his deputy for the Hajj pilgrimage that year. Abd
al-Rahman led the people in the Hajj. He was indifferent to leadership. Sa'd
ibn Abi Waqqas sent a man to Abd al-Rahman while he was delivering a sermon,
saying, "Raise your head to the affairs of the people" (i.e.,
"Call me to you," said Uthman). Abd al-Rahman replied, “May your
mother be bereaved of you! No one will assume this position after Umar without
people blaming him.” Uthman had intended to designate him as his successor.
When Uthman suffered a nosebleed, he summoned his scribe, Humran, and said,
“Write the covenant for Abd al-Rahman after me.” Humran wrote it and went to
Abd al-Rahman, saying, “Good news!” Abd al-Rahman asked, “What is it?” Humran
replied, “Uthman has written the covenant for you after him.” Abd al-Rahman
then stood and prayed between the grave and the pulpit, saying, “O God, if this
appointment of me by Uthman is the reason for my succession, then let me die
before him.” He lived only six months before he died.
Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf died in 32 AH during the caliphate of
Uthman ibn Affan, or, according to another account, in 31 AH, though the former
is more widely accepted. He was seventy-two years old, though some say he lived
seventy-eight, and others seventy-five. He lived for a year. He had bequeathed
four hundred dinars to each of the remaining men of the Battle of Badr, and
they numbered one hundred. They took it, and Uthman took it among those who
took it. He also bequeathed a thousand horses for the sake of God. He was
buried in al-Baqi', and Uthman ibn Affan, or, it is said, al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
led the funeral prayer for him. Ali ibn Abi Talib said at his funeral, "I
leave you, Ibn Awf, for you have attained its purity and preceded its blemish.
" Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas was among those who carried his bier, holding onto
the two legs of the bier while under him, saying, "O my mountain!" It
is narrated that he fainted before his death, then awoke and said, "Two
stern and harsh angels came to me and said to me..." "Let us take our
case to the Almighty, the Trustworthy," they said. Then an angel met them
and asked, "Where are you going?" They replied, "We are taking
our case to the Almighty, the Trustworthy." He said, "Leave him
alone, for he is one of those for whom happiness was decreed even in his
mother's womb."
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