Ata bin rabah

'ATA' BIN RABAH

The Slave who became a Teacher, to King (d. 104 A. H 225

The characteristic typical of all the Muslim heroes was their effort to direct their work for one and only one purpose; that is, the Pleasure of Allah. Whether in the Battle or in the mosque, in the royal courts or in the market-place those heroes' conduct never faltered.

Ata bin Rabah was an eminent personality of the second generation of Muslims who met or accompanied many Companions of the Prophet (pbuh). 'Ata' ibn Rabah was once at the doorsteps of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn 'Abdul Malik in Damascus. Let us listen to what goes on between him and the Caliph.

The Caliph: What can we do for you, Abu Muhammad?

Ata : The people of the two Harams (Makkah and Madinah), the guests of Allah (i.e. pilgrims) and the neighbors of the Messenger, give them their allotted annual gifts.

_ We will (Turning to Secretary): Write a decree to that effect. What else, Abu Muhammad?

_ The people of Hijaz and Najd are the heart of the Arabs and leaders of Islam. , request that you return to them the surplus of their charity.

- Yes, anything else?

_ Yes. leader of the faithful, the soldiers at the frontiers of the Muslim lands. They are there in the face of your enemies, fighting whoever attempts to attack the land of Islam or hurt the Muslims. These people deserve generous salaries and supplies to be sent to them. For if they are lost our frontiers are gone.

- Yes. (Addressing the Secretary) Write a decree to that effect. Anything else I can do for you?

- (the non-Muslim subjects living in the Muslim State who, in return for paying tax, enjoyed protection and safety) should not be asked to do things beyond their means. For whatever tax they pay you is a help against the State's enemies.

The Secretary was ordered to write a decree to that effect. The Caliph asks: Anything else, Abu Muhammad?

- Yes. Fear Allah for your own sake. Remember that you were born alone; you will die alone, will be raised on the Day of Resurrection alone, and you will receive the Judgment alone. No one of your friends or relatives can be of any help at those times."

With these words Ata bin Rabah bid farewell to the Caliph.

Before going out a man sent by the Caliph offered a pouch full of money for him. 'Ata ibn Rabah, declined to take the money, quoting from the Qur’an: "I ask you no reward (for the advice). For my reward is with the Lord of the universe."

Now let's go back to the earlier day’s life in Makkah. 'Ata ibn Rabah was an Ethiopian, born a slave to a Makkan lady. Since his childhood he became interested in learning. He divided his time into three portions: one third he spent in the service of his mistress carrying out his duties as a faithful servant. The second portion he devoted to worship and prayers, and one third he devoted to learning whatever he could from the former companions of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). The Makkan lady was impressed with her bondsman's devotion. So she set him free, giving him the chance to spend all his time in the Sacred Mosque of Makkah, learning first then teaching and engaged in devotions.His knowledge and piety earned him a high place in the hearts of the rulers and the ruled alike. Of his knowledge we are told that a great man like 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar was reported to have been surprised that people in Makkah needed to seek religious guidance from anyone while they had a man like 'Ata ibn Rabah amongst them.

In the presence of 'Ata' even the greatest of Muslim Caliphs humbled themselves as we saw in the incident mentioned earlier (where we witnessed the encounter between Hisham ibn 'Abdul-Malik and Ata bin Rabah). In Makkah, another Umayyad Caliph, Sulaiman ibn 'AbdulMalik, accompanied his two sons to sit humbly in the presence of the ex-slave to listen to his teachings in the Sacred Mosque. When he was asked about the man by his sons, the Caliph answered, "This was 'Ata ibn Rabah." Then he said, "My children seek knowledge. For through knowledge and learning the humble becomes great. The fool becomes wise, and slaves become superior to kings."

He lived about one hundred years and performed pilgrimage (Hajj) no less than seventy times.'ATA' BIN RABAH

The Slave who became a Teacher, to King (d. 104 A. H 225

The characteristic typical of all the Muslim heroes was their effort to direct their work for one and only one purpose; that is, the Pleasure of Allah. Whether in the Battle or in the mosque, in the royal courts or in the market-place those heroes' conduct never faltered.

Ata bin Rabah was an eminent personality of the second generation of Muslims who met or accompanied many Companions of the Prophet (pbuh). 'Ata' ibn Rabah was once at the doorsteps of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham ibn 'Abdul Malik in Damascus. Let us listen to what goes on between him and the Caliph.

The Caliph: What can we do for you, Abu Muhammad?

Ata : The people of the two Harams (Makkah and Madinah), the guests of Allah (i.e. pilgrims) and the neighbors of the Messenger, give them their allotted annual gifts.

_ We will (Turning to Secretary): Write a decree to that effect. What else, Abu Muhammad?

_ The people of Hijaz and Najd are the heart of the Arabs and leaders of Islam. , request that you return to them the surplus of their charity.

- Yes, anything else?

_ Yes. leader of the faithful, the soldiers at the frontiers of the Muslim lands. They are there in the face of your enemies, fighting whoever attempts to attack the land of Islam or hurt the Muslims. These people deserve generous salaries and supplies to be sent to them. For if they are lost our frontiers are gone.

- Yes. (Addressing the Secretary) Write a decree to that effect. Anything else I can do for you?

- (the non-Muslim subjects living in the Muslim State who, in return for paying tax, enjoyed protection and safety) should not be asked to do things beyond their means. For whatever tax they pay you is a help against the State's enemies.

The Secretary was ordered to write a decree to that effect. The Caliph asks: Anything else, Abu Muhammad?

- Yes. Fear Allah for your own sake. Remember that you were born alone; you will die alone, will be raised on the Day of Resurrection alone, and you will receive the Judgment alone. No one of your friends or relatives can be of any help at those times."

With these words Ata bin Rabah bid farewell to the Caliph.

Before going out a man sent by the Caliph offered a pouch full of money for him. 'Ata ibn Rabah, declined to take the money, quoting from the Qur’an: "I ask you no reward (for the advice). For my reward is with the Lord of the universe."

Now let's go back to the earlier day’s life in Makkah. 'Ata ibn Rabah was an Ethiopian, born a slave to a Makkan lady. Since his childhood he became interested in learning. He divided his time into three portions: one third he spent in the service of his mistress carrying out his duties as a faithful servant. The second portion he devoted to worship and prayers, and one third he devoted to learning whatever he could from the former companions of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). The Makkan lady was impressed with her bondsman's devotion. So she set him free, giving him the chance to spend all his time in the Sacred Mosque of Makkah, learning first then teaching and engaged in devotions.His knowledge and piety earned him a high place in the hearts of the rulers and the ruled alike. Of his knowledge we are told that a great man like 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar was reported to have been surprised that people in Makkah needed to seek religious guidance from anyone while they had a man like 'Ata ibn Rabah amongst them.

In the presence of 'Ata' even the greatest of Muslim Caliphs humbled themselves as we saw in the incident mentioned earlier (where we witnessed the encounter between Hisham ibn 'Abdul-Malik and Ata bin Rabah). In Makkah, another Umayyad Caliph, Sulaiman ibn 'AbdulMalik, accompanied his two sons to sit humbly in the presence of the ex-slave to listen to his teachings in the Sacred Mosque. When he was asked about the man by his sons, the Caliph answered, "This was 'Ata ibn Rabah." Then he said, "My children seek knowledge. For through knowledge and learning the humble becomes great. The fool becomes wise, and slaves become superior to kings."

He lived about one hundred years and performed pilgrimage (Hajj) no less than seventy times.

Umar Bin Abdul Abdul Aziz - The Righteous Caliph

Umar Bin Abdul Aziz

The Umayyads, who gained control of the Islamic Caliphate, after the four Righteous Caliphs, chose Damascus for the capital of the Islamic Empire.  Umar Bin Abdul Aziz was not a man of war and military battles but rather a simple man who strived to live a very humble life in the midst of that type of life of luxury and affluence. What makes this all the more remarkable is that 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz did all this after he became the Caliph or the ruler of a great Empire. 'Umar the Caliph who was accustomed to the life of ease and comfort shunned all the amenities and luxuries of royal life and led a humble life like any of the ordinary citizens of the Empire he ruled. 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz was born in Madinah around 59 A.H. (680 G.). He was a descendent of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab on his mother's side. So his life of material luxury and richness did not spoil the moral and religious aspects of his life. In his youth he memorized the Holy Ouran and kept the company of many religious scholars in Madinah and elsewhere. At the age of twenty-six, 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz was appointed Governor of Madinah. This was the first test of his character. 'Umar successfully passed the test. For as soon as he was appointed, he chose ten 'Ulama' (religious scholars) to help him carry out his duties, by giving him sincere advice and warning him of any injustices incurred by the citizens. In the year 99 A.H. (ca. 720 G.) 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz ascended to the throne in Damascus after the death of Sulaiman ibn 'Abdul-Malik who chose him for a successor.

And according to the conventions of the time, people swore the oath of allegiance to 'Umar who told them to make their pledge conditional on his obedience to Allah; in other words, he did not want allegiance of his subjects to be a blind one. People had to obey him and be loyal to him only as long as he did not break any of the Divine laws; otherwise, they did not have to obey him. In this great attitude 'Umar ibn' Abdul-Aziz was certainly following the path of the four Righteous Caliphs, who always insisted that subjects should show obedience to the ruler only so long as he broke no law of Allah.

To him worldly comfort and wealth had no meaning but rather were considered hindrances in the path of piety. He had never transgressed the laws of the faith; neither had he caused any harm to anyone intentionally. When he became the Caliph, however, in contrast to many or most rulers, he rejected the soft way of life and started a new way of austerity and hard work for the Pleasure of Allah. He refused to be accompanied by the official parade, and he sent off his royal guards saying: "I have no need for this; for I am only a member of the Muslim community."

Another practice discontinued by 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz was the practice of giving rewards and incentives to the poets who praised the Caliphs. To him this was an unfair way of wasting the money of the public treasury. For that money should only go to the people who really needed it.

What makes 'Umar ibn 'Abdul-Aziz a heroic model is the fact that to him piety and justice were not matters of preaching only, but they were matters of practice, and that practice began at home. He divested himself of all the unnecessary amenities of life and asked his wife Fatimah to return her dearest and valuable jewelry to the Muslim treasury. To him, members of the royal family were no better than the common people, and they deserved no special favors.

It was In fact this sense and practice of justice and sincerity in carrying out the duties of the caliphate that made the whole empire free of the poor and needy people, which made it difficult to find people who deserved the poor dues (Zakat).

Another important aspect of his personality was his extreme modesty and humility. He, the ruler of one of the greatest empires in history, wore the simplest of inexpensive garments, lived the simplest way of life and served himself whenever possible. His order to his servant was: "Rulers usually appoint people to watch over their subjects. I appoint you a watcher over me and my behavior. If you find me at fault in word or action guide me and stop me from doing it."

Animal Rights in Islamic Perspective

Prophet Peace Be upon Him - Love for Animals

Once, when the Prophet Peace be upon him was on a journey with his companions, he stopped over to answer the call of nature. Meanwhile, some of his companions noticed a redstart bird with two chicks. He took the chicks away. The bird came and began to circle around them flapping its wings. When the Prophet ~ came and saw the scene, he turned to his companions and said, "Who distressed the bird by taking its chicks from it? Return the chicks to the bird!"

With animals

On a different occasion, the Prophet! Ii noticed a burnt ants' nest. "Who burnt the nest?" he demanded. One of his companions replied, "I did." The Prophet Peace be upon Him became angry and said, "No one but Allah punishes with fire!" The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM was so merciful that if he saw a cat whilst he was performing ablution, he would lower the utensil down for the cat to drink from and then perform ablution from the leftover water.

Once he passed by a man who had laid a sheep on the ground and placed his foot on its neck to slaughter it while sharpening the knife as the sheep looked on. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM became angry upon seeing this and said, "Do you want it to die twice? Why didn't you sharpen your knife before you laid it on the ground?"

On another occasion, he passed by two men in the middle of a conversation and each of them was sitting on his camel. When he saw this, he felt pity for the camels and therefore forbade people from using animals as chairs, meaning that one is not to mount  it except when required and that when the need is fulfilled, one should dismount and allow it to rest. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM also forbade branding an animal on its face.

A story is related of the Prophet ~ and his camel called al' Adhba: Once a group of pagans attacked some camels belonging to the Muslims on the outskirts of Madinah. They took away all the camels including al-'Adhba, as well as a Muslim woman. Whenever they stopped over on their way, they let the camels loose so they could pasture. When they stopped over at a certain place and fell asleep, the woman got up in order to escape. She went to the camels so as to mount one of them. Each time she went near a camel, it made a noise, causing her to avoid approaching it lest the pagans woke up. She kept approaching the camels one by one until she came to al-'Adhba and moved it to discover that it was docile and well-trained. She then mounted the camel and made her way back to Madinah. When she felt safe, she was overcome with joy and said,"0 Allah, I vow to you that if you save me by means of this camel, I would sacrifice it for you!"

When the woman reached Madinah, the people recognized the Prophet's camel. The woman then went home and the people brought the camel to the Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM. Later, the woman came and asked for the camel so that she could slaughter it. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM  said, "How evil is the reward you give it! Allah saved you on it and now you want to slaughter it!"

The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM then said, "A vow is not valid if it is in disobedience to Allah, or with that which one does not own."

The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM would give Friday sermons resting his back on an erect trunk of a date-palm tree in his mosque. A woman from the Ansaar said, "0 Messenger of Allah, shall I not make something for you to sit on? I have a servant who is a carpenter, The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM said, "If you wish." The woman made a pulpit for him. The next Friday, the Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM climbed the pulpit she had made, and as he sat on it, the tree-trunk behind him mooed like a bull screamed as if it was about to split in half. The mosque shook. The Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM descended from the pulpit and embraced the trunk and it wailed like a child. Thereupon the Prophet PEACE BE UPON HIM said, "I swear by the One who has Muhammad's soul in His Hand, were it not that I embraced it, it would have continued crying until the Day of Resurrection."

Dua for different Occasion

American way of buying justice

How to buy justice............ American way?

These two incidents will show you how America buys justice across world, their soldiers and acts are immune all others can be punished without trial and any crime.

American are immune even after doing crime.

Afia Siddiqui - Some more news

There are many more such incidents

When american do, it is democratic change, when others try it is terrorism.

The judges in the trial in Egypt of 43 people, including 19 Americans and other foreigners, over the funding of non-governmental groups, have resigned.

The case caused a serious rift with the United States after police in Cairo raided several NGOs in December.
Some of them are backed by US groups. Egypt says they received illegal foreign funding and stopped the accused from leaving the country.
Egyptian media said the three judges resigned in "embarrassment".
The precise reasons for the move remain unclear.
US officials had earlier said the case was putting at risk the $1.3bn military aid it sends to Cairo each year.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested the two sides were moving towards a resolution.
She said "very intense discussions" on the issue were taking place.
"We've had a lot of very tough conversations and I think we are moving toward a resolution," she said.
Egyptian prosecutors confiscated documents and computers when they raided the NGOs in late December. Their members were charged with obtaining international funds illegally and failing to register with the government.

The real issue is "Regime change" 

It may be Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq - America want a regime which toe American Line, line of American empire and their lobbies, this is called Justice and all other who do not toe this line are terrorist.