THE INTEGRITY OF AL-FUDAYL BIN 'IYAAD
Ar-Rashid, a first century ruler, once said to al-Fudayl bin Iyad, "Admonish me."
"O
Leader of the believers!" said al-Fudayl. "Indeed your grandfather,
al-Abbas, the uncle of the Prophet, once went to the Prophet and said,
'O Messenger of Allah, appoint me to be a leader.' The Messenger of
Allah said, 'My uncle, indeed, being a leader leads
to sorrow, and regret on the Day of Resurrection. If you are able to go
without ever being a leader, then do so!'"
Moved to tears, ar-Rashid said, "Give me more."
al-Fudayl
looked at ar-Rashid and said, "O one who has a handsome face, if you
are able to protect that face from the Hell-fire then do so. And beware
of ever cheating or betraying your people."
Being much moved by al-Fudayl's words, ar-Rashid wanted to reward him.
"Do you have any debts?" he asked.
"To my Lord, yes, and He will hold me accountable for them," said al-Fudayl.
"I am of course referring to debts to other human beings," said ar-Rashid.
After
al-Fudayl answered in the negative, ar-Rashid said to one of his
assistants, "Give him 1000 dinars, which he can use to help his family."
Al-Fudayl
was greatly offended by these words and said, "How perfect Allah is! I
am guiding you to safety and you want to reward me with this paltry,
worldly sum!" He then left, refusing to take anything.
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