On a moonlit summer night, the Mujaahid cavalier returned home after being away for thirty years fighting Jihaad. He had left behind his newly-wed bride with an unborn baby inside her. The horseman looked right and left trying to remember the house where his wife and child, about whom he knew nothing, lived. Features of the Prophetic City, Madeenah, had changed and there was a dense population. No one paid attention to him while he was heading to his house. No one took any interest in his return after a long absence. Would any of them remember him, nevertheless? Would anyone remember the Mujaahid cavalier who immediately answered the call of Jihaad, leaving behind his pregnant wife after a few months of their marriage?
For a third of a century, the horseman moved with the Muslim armies from one conquest to another and from one victory to another. He was almost never affected by the yearning for his wife and child, whether it was male or female. His wife waited for him until she was hopeless of his return. People had different views as to his condition. With the long period of time and lack of news, it was most likely in the sight of the wife and people that he had died as a martyr.
The Mujaahid cavalier proceeded to the place where he recognized his house. He did not even bother knocking on the door. Who could prevent him from entering his own house? Once he entered, a thirty-year-old man pounced on him like a lion attacking its prey. How could this old man enter the house, violating its privacy? The situation worsened, with the young man fighting the old man in defense of his privacy, while the old man was swearing that the house was his own. Their voices were loud and the neighbors came and encircled the old man in defense of their young neighbor. The old man tried to remind them about himself, but no one knew him or believed him. The noise reached the mother who was asleep. She woke up due to the clamor of people, looking from upstairs. What a disaster! She could not believe her eyes.
She looked again so that she might be sure of what she saw. It was her husband Farrookh, the Mujaahid cavalier, as she saw him for the first time thirty years ago. She immediately remembered the day when he gave her some good advice, reminding her of the thirty thousand dinars which was the total sum that he had reaped from Jihaad before he got his freedom from the great Companion, Ar-Rabee‘ ibn Ziyaad Al-Haarithi, may Allah be pleased with him. She still remembered his words, “Keep them [the dinars], invest them and spend on yourself and your child reasonably until I come back to you safe and sound or achieve my wish for martyrdom.” Her husband's words still rang in her ears as if he was speaking to her at that very moment. She thanked the gathering of neighbors and asked them to leave. Those quarreling were just her son and her husband, Farrookh, the father of their young neighbor.
The two men could not control themselves; both of them embraced the other and the son fell on his father's hands kissing them. The son apologized to his father, and was delighted. Both of them had mixed feelings, and tears rolled down their cheeks. They were happy with a meeting that was unexpected by either or both of them.
The wife sat with her husband who spoke to her about the thirty-year journey of Jihaad with the Muslim armies, telling her why he had been absent for that long a time. The cavalier continued to speak while the wife was engrossed in other thoughts. She tried to find a satisfactory answer for him if he asked her about the sum that he had entrusted her with to invest and provide for herself and for her child reasonably. She tried to find an answer that would not stimulate his anger, but how? He asked her about the money and she pretended to be busy. Would she tell him that not a single dinar remained? Would he be convinced that she had spent all the money on teaching and educating his child? What sort of knowledge would cost so much money? Would he believe that his son was generous and that he spent a lot in charity?
In her rapid thoughts which were disturbing her joy of meeting her husband again after having been in despair, the husband interrupted her. He said, “Umm Rabee‘ah, I have brought you four thousand dinars. So bring the money which I entrusted you with so that we will buy property or an orchard and live on its yield.” The wife tried to occupy herself with something else, but he persisted with his request. She feared his anger if he knew the truth. What should she do? She gave him a firm and wise answer, “I put it where it should be. I will bring it to you, Allah Willing."
Thereupon, the Athaan (call) for Fajr prayer was made. They stopped speaking and he headed to the mosque, asking about the whereabouts of Rabee‘ah. However, Rabee‘ah had gone before him to the Masjid of the Prophet, . The man proceeded to the mosque yearning for the Rawdhah (a special part of the Mosque) of the Prophet, , motivated by longing throughout the thirty years that he had spent in Jihaad. He had a strong desire to pray, supplicate and do Athkaar (mentioning of Allah) in that place. He was now leaving the mosque, but it was full of people. The place was packed.
People formed consecutive circles around a dignified Shaykh. The man could not make out the features of the Shaykh because he was far from him. The Shaykh's way of expression was impressive. He was rich in knowledge that indicated a sharp and scholarly memory. The man was astonished at the people's submissive mode in the presence of the Shaykh, for their gathering around him, and their rushing behind him after he finished his lesson.
Many questions crossed his mind: Who was that dignified young man who was escorted with such reverence? He asked a man next to him about that Shaykh. The other man wondered how was it that someone did not know the Shaykh, and condemned the fact that a man from Madeenah did not know him. It was an absence of thirty years, so how could he know a Shaykh like that? He also did not recognize his features. Farrookh apologized and explained to the man the reason for his long absence from Madeenah, and the man understood. The man said, “My brother, the Shaykh you do not know is a leading figure from the Taabi'oon [successors of the Companions]. He is the scholar of Hadeeth in Madeenah. In spite of his young age, he is the jurist and Imam of Madeenah. Do you not see that his audience includes Maalik ibn Anas, Abu Haneefah An-Nu‘maan, Yahya ibn Sa‘eed Al-Ansaari, Al-Awzaa'i, Al-Layth ibn Sa‘d and many others? In spite of that, he is very humble and very generous.”
Farrookh interrupted the man, “But you did not mention his name!”
The man replied, “He is Rabee‘ah Ar-Ra'y (Rabee‘ah of the standard opinion).” Farrookh turned around, but the man stopped him, saying, “He is called so due to his good opinion in deciding any disputable matter of Sharee‘ah for which there is no revealed text by using analogy.” Farrookh longed to know the full name of the scholar. The man told him, “He is Rabee‘ah, the son of Farrookh who is nicknamed ‘Abd Ar-Rahmaan. He was born after his father left Madeenah to make Jihaad in the Cause of Allah The Almighty. His mother undertook the task of raising and educating him. People say that his father returned home last night.”
Thereupon, tears trickled from Farrookh's eyes. His tears rolled down his cheeks until he arrived at his home. Anxious about him, his wife asked what the matter was. He said, “Nothing. I am well. Today I saw our son in a state of knowledge, honor and glory that I never saw in anyone before.” At that moment, the mother, the good and conscious wife had a big smile on her face; she realized that it was the time when she could answer the question that greatly concerned her.
She seized the opportunity, and said, “Which is dearer to you: thirty thousand dinars or the glory of your son?” The Mujaahid husband replied, “By Allah, the latter is more lovable and preferable to the wealth of the whole world.” She said, “I have spent all the money you left with me on him. Are you pleased with what I did?” He said, “Yes. May Allah reward you finely on behalf of me and all the Muslims.”
If children are raised in this way, the Ummah (Muslim nation) will assume its rightful position of leadership. Could there be mothers like Umm-Rabee‘ah at a time when the likes of her are rare?