Selfless Consideration
BismillāhirRahmānirRahīm.
Glory be to Allāh and salutations on Nabi Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam
When Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was stabbed whilst leading the Fajr Salaah, the wound proved to be fatal. Hence, his condition steadily deteriorated and his time in this world rapidly drew to an end.
During these final moments, he sent his son, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), to the home of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha). Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) instructed him thus, “Tell her that ‘Umar conveys salaam. Do not tell her that Ameerul Mu-mineen conveys salaam, as today I am no longer Ameerul Mu-mineen (as I am about to pass away). After conveying salaam, tell her that ‘Umar bin Khattaab requests permission to be buried alongside his companions, (Rasulullah
[sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam] and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr [radhiyallahu ‘anhu]).”
The area in which they were buried formed part of the home of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha). Hence, Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) sought her permission to be buried there.
Following the instruction of his father, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) proceeded to the home of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) where he found her sitting and crying (over the loss that the Ummah would suffer through the demise of Sayyiduna ‘Umar [radhiyallahu ‘anhu]).
He conveyed the salaam of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) to her and then said, “‘Umar requests permission to be buried with his companions.” Hearing the request, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) mentioned, “I was hoping to be buried there myself. However, I will give preference today to ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) over myself.”
When Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) returned, and mentioned that Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) had granted permission for him to be buried alongside Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) further instructed his son saying, “After I pass away, carry my body (for the burial). Then repeat the request to Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) by saying, ‘Umar has requested permission to be buried with his companions.’ If she again grants permission, then bury me there. If not, then bury me in the cemetery of the Muslims.”
Sometime later, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) mentioned that when it was just Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) buried in the room, then when she would enter, she would not wear her outer garment, as it was her father and husband (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) buried there. However, after Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was buried in the room, she said, “By Allah! Thereafter, whenever I entered the room, I wore my outer garment, out of hayaa (modesty) for ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).”
(Saheeh Bukhaari #3700 and Musnad Ahmad #25660)
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Lessons:
- Who would not desire the good fortune of being buried alongside Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)? However, despite this being his ardent desire, Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) ensured that Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was not inconvenienced or oppressed in the process of fulfilling his wish. Hence, he insisted that the request be placed before Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) for a second time, after his demise, in case she had a change of heart, or had initially found it difficult to refuse due to her respect for him.
- Although Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) had the right to decline the request of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), especially as she herself wished to be buried in that area, she wholeheartedly sacrificed her own right and gave preference to Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) over herself. This was no small sacrifice, as this piece of land is the most beloved in the sight of Allah Ta‘ala! Hence, from this sacrifice, we can gauge the heart which she had, as well as the honour which she showed to Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) as her senior. Conversely,we are sometimes so petty that we are not prepared to give the next person preference for even a trivial item, and instead continuously complain as to why we are not given preferential treatment.
- Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) possessed such a high level of hayaa, and shamefulness was so embedded in her nature, that she even desisted from removing her outer garment before the grave of Sayyiduna ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu)! When this was her level of hayaa before the grave of a non-mahram, we can well imagine the hayaa she displayed in regard to non-mahram men who were living.
Source: haqqseeker
