“I dream of becoming a scientist”
“I dream of becoming a scientist”
“Whoever wants see a person from among the inhabitants of Paradise, let him look at Urwa ibn az-Zubayr” and Abd ul-Malik ibn Merwan.
People gathered in small groups around the majestically towering Kaaba. They never tired of looking at its noble splendor and had conversations in which there was neither idle talk nor anything sinful. Near the Yemenite corner of the Kaaba sat four young men of noble birth with bright faces and a fragrance emanating from them. They were Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr, his brothers Mus’ab and Urwa, as well as Abd ul-Malik ibn Merwan. The pious young men had a calm, unhurried conversation. Suddenly one of them said, “Let us dream, and let everyone say what they want to receive from the Almighty.”
They gave free rein to their imagination and their thoughts took them far... Finally, Abd Allah ibn az-Zubayr said, “I dream of becoming the ruler of the Hijaz.”
His brother Mus’ab said, “I would like to rule the two cities of Iraq: Kufa and Basra, and that no one would dispute them with me.”
Abd ul-Malik ibn Merwan said, “You limited yourself to this, but I did not. I want to rule the entire earth and become caliph after Muawiyah ibn Abu Sufyan.”
However, Urwa was silent. Seeing that he was not saying anything, the other young men looked at him and asked, “What do you want, Urwa?”
He said, “May the Lord make what you dream of blessed for you... I dream of being a scientist, zealous for the pleasure of Allah ﷻ, so that people would learn from me knowledge from the Book (Koran) of their Lord, emulating their Prophet ﷺ through the Sunna and the norms of their religion...”
Days passed and each of them, by the will of the Almighty, received what he dreamed of. Here we talk about the life and dreams of Urwa ibn az-Zubayr.
Urwa ibn az-Zubayr was born a year before the end of the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab in the family of one of the most noble companions of the Prophet ﷺ. His father was az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, one of the ten, who during their lifetime, were delighted with the good news of Paradise awaiting them. And his mother was Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr, popularly known as the owner of two belts. She was known as this because one time she collected food for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and her father Abu Bakr when they moved to Medina, but she had nothing with which to tie the bundle and then tore her belt in half and tied one part of it around the supplies and the girded herself with the second half.
His maternal grandfather was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, the successor of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his closest companion, who was with him in the Savr cave during the resettlement. And his paternal grandmother was Safia bint Abd ul-Muttalib, the aunt of the Prophet ﷺ on his father’s side.
Urwa’s maternal aunt was the mother of believers, Aisha. When she was buried, Urwa went to the grave, laid her body there himself and leveled the ground on her grave. Can you imagine a more noble origin? In order to fulfill his dream, for the fulfillment of which he asked Allah ﷻ from the blessed Kaaba, Urwa began acquiring knowledge and devoted his entire life to it. He took advantage of the fact that many companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were still living at that time. He constantly visited their homes, prayed under their guidance and attended their meetings. Over time, he began to transmit hadiths from Ali ibn Abu Talib, Abd ur-Rahman ibn Awf, Zayd ibn Thabit, Abu Ayub al-Ansari, Osama ibn Zayd, Said ibn Zayd, Abu Hurayrah, Abd Allah ibn Abbas, an-Nu’man ibn Bashir and others.
Urwa also learned a lot from his aunt, Aisha, the mother of believers. Eventually, he became one of the seven chief fuqahas (jurists) of Medina, to whom Muslims turned on religious issues and whose help righteous rulers sought to properly govern the areas entrusted to them.
When Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz arrived in Medina after al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik had appointed him as governor of the city, people came to greet him. Having performed the midday prayer, Umar summoned ten fuqahas of Medina, among whom was Urwa ibn az-Zubayr. When they gathered with him, he warmly received them and showed them honour, after which he praised the Almighty Lord and said, “Truly, I called you for a cause for which you will receive a reward, so that you will be my assistants in establishing the truth. I do not want to make decisions without hearing your opinions. If you see that someone is making an attempt on someone’s life, or you become aware that someone appointed by me is acting unfairly, then I ask you for the sake of Allah ﷻ, that you let me know about it.”
Urwa ibn az-Zubayr addressed the Almighty with a prayer, asking for prudence and the following of the straight path. Urwa ibn az-Zubayr not only acquired knowledge but also successfully applied it and put it into practice. He fasted during the day and stood at night in prayer and his tongue constantly remembered the Almighty. In addition, he almost never parted from the Book of Allah ﷻ and read it frequently. Every day he read a quarter of the Koran and at night he repeated the verses he had memorised in additional prayers.
Urwa ibn az-Zubayr found rest in prayer. It was the delight of his eyes and his Paradise on earth and he performed it in the most impeccable manner, carefully performing all the prescribed actions. They say that one day he saw a man who was praying very quickly. After the prayer, Urwa called him and said, “O son of my brother. Do not you need anything at all from your Lord? Truly, I ask the Almighty for everything in prayer, even salt.”
Urwa ibn al-Zubayr was a generous, indulgent and magnanimous man. They say that he owned one of the largest gardens in Medina. There were clear water, pleasant shade and many palm trees. Throughout the year, the garden was surrounded by a fence to prevent cattle and mischievous children from damaging the garden. When fresh dates appeared and were ready to be eaten, the fence, at his order, was partially removed so that people could enter the garden and eat. People came to the garden and ate their fill of the fruits, taking with them as much as they wanted.
Once, during the reign of Caliph al-Walid ibn Abd ul-Malik, the Almighty wished to subject Urwa ibn al-Zubayr to a test that only those with hearts in which faith and firm conviction live are able to withstand. The Caliph invited Urwa ibn al-Zubayr to visit him in Damascus. Urwa accepted the invitation and, taking his eldest son with him, set off. When Urwa arrived, the Caliph greeted him very cordially, showed him honour and a wonderful welcome. Urwa’s son went to al-Walid’s stables to look after his horses and there one of the animals kicked him so hard that he died.
Before the grieving father had time to shake off the dirt from his hands after his son’s funeral, gangrene began on his leg. The leg was swollen. The tumour grew and spread further and further with terrifying speed. The Caliph summoned doctors from all regions for his guest and ordered them to save the patient by any means. They all unanimously said that there was only one way out: to cut off the bad leg. Urwa had to agree.
To be continued…
Adil Ibragimov
Theologian
