THE PROPHETIC ALLUSION TO THE REIGN OF UMAR IBN ABDUL-AZEEZ
The prophetic allusion to the reign of umar ibn abdul-azeez, crown of the umayyads
Hudhaifah narrated that he asked the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), “Is there any bad time after this good one?” He said: “Yes.” I asked: “Will there be a good time again after that bad time?” He said: “Yes, but therein will be a hidden evil.” I asked: “What will be the evil hidden therein?” He said: “(That time will witness the rise of) the people who will adopt ways other than mine and seek guidance other than mine. You will know good points as well as bad points.”
Al-Baihaqi and others interpreted this second good time as the reign of Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez.
Hudhaifah also related that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The Prophethood shall remain with you as long as Allah wills. He will then remove it whenever He wills. Then, there will be a caliphate that will follow the path of Prophethood. It will also abide as long as Allah wills. He will then remove it when he wills to do so. After this, there will be a strong kingdom, and it will abide as long as Allah wills. He will then remove it. After this, there will be a coercive kingdom, and it will last as long as Allah wills. He will then remove it. After that, a caliphate that will follow the path of Prophethood will emerge.”
A sub-narrator of this Hadith added: “Then Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez came, accompanied by Yazeed Ibn Nu‘man. I then wrote to him to tell him about this Hadith. I included in my letter to him, ‘I hope that you will be the commander of the faithful after the coercive kingdom.’ Yazeed took the letter from me and gave it to Umar who was very happy when he read it.”
Qatadah narrated that Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez said: “In my dream, I saw the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) while Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali were with him. He said to me, ‘Come closer.’ And I came closer to him until I stood before him. He then looked up to me and said, ‘Indeed, you will assume leadership of this Ummah and you will rule them with justice’.”
Nafi‘ narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar who said: “It reached us that Umar Ibn Al-Khattab said, ‘There will be among my descendants a man who will assume the leadership of this Ummah and who will fill the earth with justice.” Nafi‘ said, “I have no doubt that the man is Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez.”
This issue of his rule had already been known before he assumed authority; rather before he was born. It was already known that a man from Banu Umayyah shall attain the leadership of this Ummah and that he will be called, “The fissure-headed man of Banu Marwan.”
His mother is Arwa Bint Asim Ibn Umar Ibn Al-Khattab; and his father is Abdul-Azeez Ibn Marwan, appointed by his brother Abdul-Malik Ibn Marwan as the governor of Egypt. Abdul-Malik used to honor Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez and would send him gifts which the latter would accept. He once sent him a gift of one thousand dinars which he accepted.
One day, Umar entered his father’s enclosure and a horse kicked him, causing him a fissure on his forehead. His father wiped off the blood from his head, saying, “If you were the fissure-headed man of Banu Marwan, then you are indeed fortunate.” The people used to say, ‘The fissure-head man and the defective man are the most just of Banu Marwan’.” The fissure-headed one is Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez and the flawed man is Yazeed Ibn Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik. It is about Yazeed that a poet said:
I saw Yazeed Ibn Al-Waleed, a blessed man strong enough to bear the burdens of governance.
After the death of Sulaiman Ibn Abdul-Malik, Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez ruled for two-and-a-half years during which he filled the earth with justice and the wealth was so abundant that one would be worried about finding a needy person to whom he could give his alms.
Abu Ma‘n Al-Ansari said: While Umar Ibn Abdul-Azeez was traveling to Makkah on a desert, he saw a dead snake and asked those who were with him to bring him the digger, for he wanted to bury it. They said, “We will do that.” He said, “No!” He then dug a hole and folded the snake in a piece of cloth and buried it. Then a caller called, “May Allah have mercy on you, Surraq!” Umar asked the caller, “Who are you, may Allah have mercy upon you?” The caller said, “I am a person from among the Jinns and this is Surraq. And no one remained alive from among the Jinns who pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) except me and him. I bear testimony that I heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) say, “Surraq, you will die in a desert and the best of my Ummah (at that time) will bury you!”
Another narration of questionable authenticity in which Wahb Ibn Munabbih is praised and Ghailan is disparaged
Abu Hurairah was reported to have narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Shaitan will make a screaming sound in Sham that will make two-thirds of its residents deny predestination.” Al-Baihaqi said, “This and other reports allude to Ghailan and what occurred in Sham of denial of predestination, which he was instrumental in. Ghailan was eventually killed.
Allusion to Muhammad Ibn Ka‘b Al-Qurazi and his memorization of the Qur’an and knowledge of Tafseer
Abu Burdah Az-Zafari related from his father from his grandfather who narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “There will come out from the two tribes of soothsayers a man who will study the Qur’an in such a way that none will do after him.”
Rabee‘ah Ibn Abi Abdur-Rahman said that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “There will be from among the two tribes of soothsayers a man who will study the Qur’an in such a way that none will do after him.” Rabee‘ah said, “The scholars believe that the man is Muhammad Ibn Ka‘b Al-Qurazi. Abu Thabit said, “The two tribes of soothsayers are Quraizah and Nadeer.
Prophesy about a disturbance that would occur after a hundred years fulfillment of that prophesy
Abdullah Ibn Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) led us in ‘Isha prayers one night during his last days. After concluding the prayer, he stood up and addressed us, “Do you realize (the importance of) this night? Nobody present on the surface of the Earth tonight will be living after the completion of one hundred years from this night.”
Jabir Ibn Abdullah said: I heard Allah’s Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) say this one month before his death, “You asked me about the Last Hour whereas its knowledge is with Allah. I, however, take an oath and say that none upon the Earth, the created beings (from amongst my Companions), would survive at the end of one hundred years.” This and similar Ahadeeth are cited by some scholars to support a view that Khidr no longer exists.
Another Hadith
Abdullah Ibn Busr said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) put his hand on my head and then said, “This boy will live for a hundred years.” And Abdullah Ibn Busr lived for hundred years.
Other narrators of this report added: There were warts of Ibn Busr’s face and the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “And he will not die until the warts on his face are gone.” And, indeed, the warts on his face disappeared before he died.
His informing about Al-Waleed and the strong threat against him
Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab said: Umm Salamah’s brother had a baby boy and he was named Al-Waleed. When the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) heard that he said, “You are naming (your sons) after your tyrants. A man will appear in this Ummah whose name will be Al-Waleed. He will be more harmful to my Ummah than the Fir‘awn to his people!”
Abu Amr Al-Awza‘i said: “The people used to think that it was Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik. We then realized that it was Al-Waleed Ibn Yazeed due to the tribulation people suffered because of him that they eventually revolted against him and killed him.”
Az-Zuhri said: “If Al-Waleed Ibn Yazeed assumed the caliphate, then he is the one meant in the report; if not, then the one meant is Al-Waleed Ibn Abdul-Malik.”
Al-Hasan said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “A man will appear whose name shall be Al-Waleed. He will be made to occupy one of the corners of Hellfire.”
Another Hadith
It is reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When the rulers from among the children of Abul-As reached forty men, they will use the religion to deceive people, enslave the servants of Allah and distribute the money belonging to Allah among themselves.”
It is reported on the authority of Abu Dharr that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) say, “When the rulers from among the tribe of Banu Umayyah reached forty men, they will take people as slaves, they will take the money belonging to Allah as their personal property and they will use Allah’s Book to deceive people.” This is also a narration with a missing link between Rashid Ibn Sa’d and Abu Dharr.
Abu Sa‘eed narrated that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “When the rulers from among the tribe of Banu Abul-As reach thirty men, they will use Allah’s religion to deceive, they will take Allah’s money as something to be distributed among themselves and they will take people as slaves.”
Amr Ibn Murrah, who was a companion of the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Al-Hakam Ibn Abul-As came to the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) seeking permission to enter upon him. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) recognized his voice and said, “Allow him in. He is a snake or son of a snake. May Allah curse him and all his offspring except the believers among them – and these are few. They will be honored in this world but will be disgraced in the Hereafter. They are deft in trickery and deception. They will have much in this world but in the Hereafter they will have no share.”
Rashid Ibn Sa‘d reported that when Marwan Ibn Al-Hakam was born, he was given to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) to supplicate for him and he refused and said, “Son of Zarqa’! Destruction of my people shall be in his hand and in the hands of his descendants.” This is a Mursal report.
His informing about rulers of Banu Umayyah in general and alluding to the length of their rule
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I saw in my dream children of Hakam or children of Abul-As leaping unto my pulpit like monkeys.” The narrator said: The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was never seen thereafter laughing until he died.
Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab narrated: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), in his dream, saw members of Banu Umayyah tribe on his pulpit, and he was saddened by that. It was then inspired to him, “It is just the authority of this world that they are given.” Then, he became happy. This is an interpretation of Allah’s statement:
“And We made not the vision which we showed you (O Muhammad) but a trial for mankind.” (Soorah AlIsra’ 17:60)
Yoosuf Ibn Mazin Ar-Rasibi said: A man stood up to Al-Hasan Ibn Ali after he had pledged allegiance to Mu‘awiyah and told him, “You have blackened the faces of the Believers!” Al-Hasan responded, “Do not blame me, may Allah have mercy on you! For, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) saw Banu Umayyah (in his dream) delivering speech on his pulpit one after the other. He was grieved by that and it was revealed to him: “Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) Al-Kawthar (a river in Paradise).” (Soorah Al-Kawthar 108:1) It was also revealed to him: “Verily! We have sent it (this Qur’an) down on the night of Al-Qadr (Decree) And what will make you know what the night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is? The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months (i.e. worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months, i.e. 83 years and 4 months).” (Soorah Al-Qadr 97:1-3) This is the lifespan of Banu Umayyah rule.
Al-Qasim (a sub-narrator) said: We estimated the period of Banu Umayyah’s rule and found that it was exactly one thousand months, not a day more and not a day less.
Umm Darda related that she heard Abud-Darda’ say: “When the young caliph of Banu Umayyah kills a wronged person between Sham and Iraq, obedience to the authority will be taken for granted and blood will be shed unlawfully.” The young caliph is Al-Waleed Ibn Yazeed.
However, matters like this can only be accepted if they are authentically attributed to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) alone.
By Ibn Katheer
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