Journey to Bayt Al-Maqdis & Jordan – Part 5 by Mushtaq Shaikh Abdul-Rahman ibn ‘Awf (Rd) Prophet Yusha‘ / Joshua (As) Prophet Suh‘aib / Jethro (As) Jordan River Departing Jordan for Palestine On Monday morning, November 8, 2010, after breakfast we checked out of our hotel. From the moment we arrived in Jordan, our driver displayed great courtesy and hospitality, which is relatively common amongst our Arab brothers and sisters. Along with offering one of his apartments for accommodation throughout our stay in Jordan, he insisted that we have dinner at his place. We very politely declined both offers. However, upon leaving the hotel, we did inform him of our excess baggage which we did not want to take with us. Fortunately, he was more than happy to make arrangements for its safekeeping during our stay in Bait al-Maqdis. When travelling to the Occupied Territories it is very important to minimize the luggage and leave behind all unnecessary items. Today our first stop was a burial site believed to be that of a Sahaabi. Sahaabi Abdul-Rahman ibn ‘Awf (Rd) It is a popular belief amongst the locals that Sahaabi Abdul-Rahman ibn ‘Awf (Rd) is buried in Amman. Our driver took us to the small shrine (Fig. 1, 2). It was locked but the tomb was visible through a window. The surrounding residential area is one of the affluent neighbourhoods of Amman. Abdul-Rahman ibn ‘Awf (Rd) was a wealthy Sahaabi with a thriving business. The historians agree upon the fact that he travelled to Al-Shaam (Greater Syria) during his lifetime. Abdullah ibn Abbas (Rd) has narrated: Figure 1: Maqam Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf (Rd), by MS “Umar ibn Al-Khattab (Rd) departed for Al-Shaam (Greater Syria) and when he reached Sargh1, the commanders of the (Muslim) army, Abu Ubaida ibn Al-Jarrah (Rd) and his companions met him and they told him that an epidemic has broken out in Al-Shaam. Umar (Rd) said, ‘Call for me the early Muhajireen.’ So Umar (Rd) called them, consulted them and informed them that an epidemic has broken out in Al-Shaam. Those people differed in their opinions. Some of them said, 1 An area on the borders of Hijaz and Greater Syria. (Al-Hamawi d.1229CE, 1977, p. 3:211) Page 1 of 7 ‘We have come out for a purpose and we do not think it is appropriate to return.’ and others said, ‘You have with you other people and the Companions of Allah's Apostle, so we do not think it is right for you to take them to this epidemic.’ Umar (Rd) said to them, ‘Leave me now.’ Then he said, ‘Call the Ansar for me.’ So I called them and he consulted them and they followed the way of the emigrants and differed as they did. He then said to them, ‘Leave me now,’ and added, ‘Call for me whoever is here from the elders of Quraish who emigrated in the year of the Conquest of Mecca.’ I called them and even two people from amongst them did not differ in this matter. ‘We advise that you should return with the people and do not take them to this epidemic.’ So, Umar (Rd) made an announcement, ‘I will ride back to Medina in the morning, so you should do the same.’ Abu Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah said. ‘Are you running away from what Allah had ordained?’ Umar (Rd) replied, “Would that someone else had said such a thing, O Abu Ubaidah!’ ‘Yes, we are running from what Allah has ordained to what Allah has ordained. Don't you agree that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green one only if Allah had ordained that, and you would graze them on the dry one only if Allah had ordained that?’ At that time Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf (Rd), who had been absent because of some personal need, came and said, ‘I have some knowledge about this. I have heard Allah's Apostle saying, ‘If you hear about it (an outbreak of a plague) in a land, do not go to it; but if a plague breaks out in a region where you are staying, do not run away from it.’ Umar (Rd) praised Allah and returned.” 2 (Al-Bukhari d.870CE). With respect to his burial place, the more authentic and reliable opinion amongst the historians is that he passed away in Madina. Uthman ibn Affan (Rd) led his funeral prayer and eventually he was buried in Jannah al-Baqi in Madina, Saudi Arabia (ibn Kathir d.1373CE, 1997, p. 7:132) (Ibn Hajar Al- Asqalani d.1448CE, 1995, p. 7:293). K. Muhammad Khalid writes in his book, Rijal howl Figure 2: Maqam Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf (Rd), by MS al-Rasul (Men Around the Messenger), “In 32H he was breathing his last and Aishah (Rd), the Mother of the Faithful, wanted to bestow on him a special honour, proposing as he was dying, to bury him in her room near the Messenger (S), Abu Bakr (Rd) and Umar (Rd). But as a Muslim he was so well-mannered that he was too modest to put himself in this rank. Besides, he had made a previous promise and a pledge with Uthman ibn Madh‘un (Rd). One day they had promised each other that whoever died after the other would be buried near his friend.”3 (Khalid, n.d., p. 473) From here we proceeded to a town named Al-Salt / Salt. Prophet Yusha‘ / Joshua (As) Salt is located approximately 30km north-west of Amman. Its population stands at around 71,100. Prophet Yusha‘ / Joshua (As) is believed to be buried in this city (Al- Zuqruti & Mudanaat, 1997, p. 118) (Uthmani, 1994, pp. 186, 187). He was the second prophet of the Bani-Isra’il / Figure 3: Sign to Maqam Prophet Yusha‘ (As), by MS 2 The Book of Medicine, What has been mentioned about the Plague, # 5729 3 English translation of Arabic text Page 2 of 7 Children of Israel and successor to Prophet Musa / Moses (As). He has not been explicitly mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, but according to the exegetes he has been referred to twice. “Said two men from among the God-fearing, on whom Allah had bestowed His favour, ‘Enter the gate (charging) upon them. Once you have entered it, you will be the ones who will prevail. In Allah you must place your trust, if you are believers.’” (5:23) One of the two men mentioned in this verse is Prophet Yusha‘ / Joshua (As) (Ibn Kathir d.1373CE, 1997, p. 1:246) (Al-Suhayli d.1185, 1992, p. 95). “(Recall) when Musa said to his young man, ‘I shall not give up until I reach the meeting point of the two Figure 4: Masjid Prophet Yusha’ (As), by MS seas, or else I shall go on traveling for years.’” (18:60) The young man in this verse is also Prophet Yusha‘ / Joshua (As) (Ibn Kathir d.1373CE, 1997, p. 1:261) (Al-Suhayli d.1185, 1992, p. 188). Figure 5: New Masjid Prophet Yusha’ (As), by MS Figure 6: Old Masjid Prophet Yusha’ (As), by MS Prophet Muhammad (S) also spoke of him without mentioning his name. “…..so, the prophet carried out the expedition and when he reached that town at the time or nearly at the time of the ‘Asr prayer, he said to the sun, ‘O sun! You are under Allah’s Order and I am under Allah’s Order, O Allah! Stop it (i.e. the sun) from setting.’ It was stopped till Allah made him victorious…..” (Al-Bukhari d.870CE) 4 The prophet in this hadith is Prophet Yusha‘ / Joshua (As) (Al-'Aayni d.1451CE, 1998, p. 10:453). We made our way along the city roads towards Masjid Yusha’ (As). It is situated on a hilltop easily visible from a distance (Fig. 4). In the early 1980’s, a new Masjid (Fig. 5) was built adjacent to the old Masjid (Fig. 6). The old Masjid, where the grave is located, Figure 7: Tomb of Prophet Yusha‘ (As), by MS 4 Chapter of One-fifth of Booty, #3124 Page 3 of 7 dates back to the Mamluk period (Al-Zuqruti & Mudanaat, 1997, p. 118). Both buildings are easily distinguishable. We walked into the old Masjid and there in front of us was an extremely long tomb (Fig. 7). I walked the length of this tomb and it turned out to be 23-24 steps. The length of the tomb does not necessarily portray the height of the deceased. As Mufti Taqi Uthmani has stated, it is possible that in ancient times long tombs were made for religious figures as a token of respect (Uthmani, 1994, pp. 186, 187). Prophet Suh‘aib / Jethro (As) Figure 8: Sign to Masjid Shu‘aib (As), by MS Figure 9: Entrance to Masjid Shu‘aib (As), by MS From Salt we made our way towards Wadi Shu‘aib / The Valley of Shu‘aib. This valley is named after Prophet Suh‘aib / Jethro (As). His grave is thought to be in this valley (Uthmani, 1994, p. 188) (Al- Zuqruti & Mudanaat, 1997, p. 202). Opinions contrary to this exist. Wadi Shu‘aib is located around 8km south of Salt and 5km west of Mahis. The drive from Salt through Wadi Shu‘aib is a very pleasant drive. A picturesque valley with olive and fig trees blanketing the slopes. The lush greenery down the valley with a stream flowing at the lower end was extremely beautiful.