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is a strange person: he is inclined to momentary faith as
opposed to the faith received from you.” The Prophet
replied, “God bless Ibn Rawaha! He likes sittings of which
even angels envy!” In fact, what Ibn Rawaha suggested was
an expression of a deeper realization which they failed to
understand.
2. Faith to such as Ibn Rawaha means total surrender to God.
The apprehension of life away from the path of God is
agony to them. On the revelation of the verse, ‘…They who
hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of God,
unto them give tidings (OMuhammad) of a painful doom,’
(9:34). The Prophet said, “Woe to gold! Woe to silver!”
This proved hard on the companions and they said among
themselves, “What then should we keep?” Then Omar
went to the Prophet and laid this matter before him. The
Prophet then said, ‘Let each one of you take a tongue that
remembers God, a thankful heart and a wife who helps one
to faith!” (
Tafsir Ibn Kathir
, Vol. 2, p. 351).
3. Such people have a perfect capability of acknowledging the
worth of others. The following incident illustrates this. A
companion of the Prophet, by the name of Jabir Ibn Azraq
Ghaziri, once came on his she-camel to join the Prophet
on one of his journeys. On the way the Prophet halted at
a certain point and went inside his leather tent. A crowd
gathered at the tent door. A man tried to push Jabir aside,
but the latter said: “If you push me now, I shall beat you.”
At this, the other said, “O worst of men!” Jabir replied,
“By God, you are worse than I!” The man said, “How can
you say such a thing? I have come fromYemen to hear the
words of the Prophet and to convey them to my people on
my return, and you are barring my way!”At this Jabir’s anger
cooled, and he exclaimed, “Yes, you are right. By God, I am
worse than you!” (
Kanzul Ummal
)
4. They aremore interested in their duties than in their rights.
Imam Ahmad quotes the Prophet’s wife, Umme Salma’s
