The Book of Stations

1. Mawqif 357 · “A man who does not love what is vain”

   In brief✦AI

   Starting from the ḥadīth in Usd al-Ghāba in which al-Aswad recites praises to the Prophet and the Prophet silences him on ʿUmar's arrival, as ʿUmar “does not love what is vain”, the Emir answers a brother's question. The praiser's aim was a gift, and the vanity belongs to the praiser, not to God or the Prophet. It is something contrary to the preferable, not forbidden. The Prophet knew the aim but would not confront anyone, while ʿUmar, ruled by sharpness for God's sake, would have rejected the eulogy.

   See the print: Damascus 1966, p. 1196, Damascus 1966, p. 1197 (archive.org)

   سَأَلَ بَعْضُ الْاِخْوَانِ عَنِ الْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي فِي أُسْدِ الْغَابَةِ الْمَرْوِيِّ عَنِ الْأَسْوَدِ بْنِ سَرِيعٍ- رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ- قَالَ: «أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- فَقُلْتُ: يَارَسُولَ اللَّهِ، اِنِّي قَدْ حَمِدْتُ رَبِّي بِمَحَامِدَ وَمِدَحٍ وَاِيَّاكَ! قَالَ: هَاتِ مَا حَمِدْتَ بِهِ رَبَّكَ! فَجَعَلْتُ أُنْشِدُهُ، فَجَاءَ رَجُلٌ آدَمُ فَاسْتَأْذَنَ قَالَ: فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- سْ، سْ• فَفَعَلَ ذَلِكَ مَرَّتَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلَاثَةً• قَالَ: قُلْتُ: يَارَسُولَ اللَّهِ، مَنْ هَذَا الَّذِي اسْتَنْصَتَنِي لَهُ! قَالَ: هَذَا عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ، هَذَا رَجُلٌ لَايُحِبُّ الْبَاطِلَ»•

   One of the brethren asked about the ḥadīth found in Usd al-Ghāba, transmitted from al-Aswad ibn Sarīʿ (may God be pleased with him), who said: “I came to the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) and said: ‘O Messenger of God, I have praised my Lord with praises, and with eulogies of you!’ He said: ‘Bring what you have praised your Lord with!’ So I began reciting it to him. Then a dark-complexioned man came and asked leave to enter. He said: Then the Prophet (God bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Shh, shh!’ He did that two or three times. He said: I said: ‘O Messenger of God, who is this for whom you made me fall silent?’ He said: ‘This is ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb; this is a man who does not love what is vain.’”✦

   ¶ 3706

2. اعْلَمْ أَنَّ هَذَا الْمَادِحَ كَانَ قَصْدُهُ الْعَطَاءَ بِمَدْحِهِ لِلَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ- صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ- كَمَا هِيَ عَادَةُ الْعَرَبِ فِي تَقْدِيمِ الْأَبْيَاتِ أَمَامَ حَاجَتِهِمْ،

   Know that this praiser's aim, in his praise of God and His Messenger (God bless him and grant him peace), was the gift, as is the custom of the Arabs of putting forward verses ahead of their request,✦

   ¶ 3707

3. وَاللَّهُ- تَعَالَى- وَرَسُولُهُ أَحَقُّ بِالْمَدْحِ مِنْ غَيْرِ شِرْكَةٍ فِي مَدْحِهِمْ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ أَسْخَى وَأَعْلَا فِي أَنْ يُسْتَمْنَحَ بِالْمَدِيحِ،

   whereas God (exalted is He) and His Messenger are more deserving of praise with no partnership in praising them, and the Messenger of God is more generous and loftier than to have gifts sought from him by eulogy;✦

   ¶ 3708

4. فَالْبَاطِلُ صِفَةُ الْمَادِحِ لَا هُوَ فِي الْمَدْحِ وَلَا فِي الْمَمْدُوحِ.

   so what is vain is an attribute of the praiser; it is neither in the praise nor in the one praised.✦

   ¶ 3709

5. وَهَذَا الْبَاطِلُ الَّذِي لَايُحِبُّهُ عُمَرُ لَيْسَ هُوَ بِحَرَامٍ حَتَّى يُقَالَ اِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ـ أَحَقُّ وَأَوْلَى أَنْ لَايُحِبَّ الْبَاطِلَ،

   This vain thing that ʿUmar does not love is not something forbidden, such that one could say that the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) had more right and more reason not to love what is vain;✦

   ¶ 3710

6. وَاِنَّمَا هُوَ خِلَافُ أَوْلَى وَخِسَّةُ هِمَّةٍ وَسَفْسَافُ وَصْفٍ وَسُوءُ أَدَبٍ،

   rather, it is contrary to what is preferable, baseness of aspiration, a paltry trait and a lapse of courtesy;✦

   ¶ 3711

7. وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ـ كَانَ يَعْلَمُ قَصْدَ الْمَادِحِ، وَلَكِنَّهُ ـ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ـ لَايُوَاجِهُ أَحَداً بِمَا يَكْرَهُ لِشِدَّةِ حَيَائِهِ وَسَعَةِ أَخْلَاقِهِ.

   The Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) knew the praiser's aim, but he (upon him be peace) would not confront anyone with what they dislike, because of the intensity of his modesty and the breadth of his character.✦

   ¶ 3712

8. وَعُمَرُ ـ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ـ كَانَتِ الْحِدَّةُ فِي اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ غَالِبَةً وَمُسْتَوْلِيَةً فَلَمْ تَكُنْ لَهُ مِنَ الصِّفَةِ مَا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ ـ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ـ

   As for ʿUmar (may God be pleased with him), sharpness for God's sake prevailed over him and held sway in him, so he did not have of that quality what the Messenger of God (God bless him and grant him peace) had.✦

   ¶ 3713

9. فَلَوْ سَمِعَ هَذَا الْمَدِيحَ مَعَ قَصْدِ الْمَادِحِ الشِّرْكَةَ فِي الْمَدِيحِ لَأَنْكَرَهُ.

   So had he heard this eulogy, together with the praiser's intention to take a share in the eulogy, he would have rejected it.✦

   ¶ 3714

Translations, word glosses and term notes are AI-generated (Claude) and marked as such; no published translation is reproduced.Word analysis is automatic (CAMeL Tools), guided by the text's vowelling. How this text was established.