Brief introduction
The Kuniyyat[1] of Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ is ‘Abu Muhammad’. He is one of those ten fortunate blessed companions who, during their lifetime, were given the glad tiding of being the ‘definite dwellers of Paradise’ by the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. He رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ belongs to those eight individuals who first embraced Islam[2]. He was so generous that the great titles such as ‘Talha-tul-Khayr’ on the day of the Battle of Uhud, ‘Talha-tul-Fayyad’ on the occasion of battle of the ‘Zil-‘Asheerah’ [ذِی العَشِیرہ], and ‘Talha-tul-Jood’ on the occasion of the Battle of Hunayn or the Battle of Khyber[3] were bestowed upon him by the Holy Prophet صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.
On 10th Jumadal Ukhra 36 AH, during the battle of Jamal, an arrow hit the blessed leg of Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, cutting the blood vein badly and causing a sudden gush of profuse bleeding. Due to this severe injury, he embraced martyrdom at the age of about 60 years.[4]
Source of income
He was a trader of clothes[5]. The slave, freed by Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ, has stated that the daily income of Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ was one thousand Waafi[6]. ‘Sayyiduna Ibrahim Taymi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه’, the grandson Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ stated that Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ used to earn 0.4 million dirhams from Iraq and more or less 10000 dinars from another source. Moreover, He also used to receive income from the surrounding areas of Madinah.[7]
Business trips
The blessed life-history of Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ describes that he travelled Busra[8] for the purpose of trading before accepting Islam. During one of his trips, one monk asked him about the arrival of the last Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. The discussion with the monk motivated him and his heart got deeply inclined towards Islam that on his return from the journey, he embraced Islam at the hand of Sayyiduna Siddeeq-e-Akbar رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ.[9]
Excessive wealth troubled Sayyiduna Talhah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ
‘Sayyidatuna Su’ada Bint ‘Awf رَضِیَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا’, the blessed wife of Sayyiduna Talhah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ said, once when Sayyiduna Talhah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ came home, I found him worried. So I asked him: Did I hurt you?
He said: No, you are the best wife. Instead, the reason of my trouble is that I have accumulated sufficient wealth. I cannot figure out how to resolve it.
The blessed wife humbly said: If you are worried about it then you can distribute it among people.
So, Sayyiduna Talhah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ distributed that wealth among his people.
The blessed wife said: Upon inquiring about the figure of the distributed amount, the treasurer informed: ‘0.4 million dirhams[10] have been distributed among people’.
Staying awake all night long
Once Sayyiduna Talhah رَضِىَ اللهُ عَـنْهُ sold a piece of land for 0.7 million dirhams, then he had to stay awake all night long out of fear of theft. Finally, As soon as the day dawned, he رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ distributed all the dirhams.[11]
Incredible generosity
A Tabi’ee pious predecessor Sayyiduna Qabaisah Bin Jabir رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه narrated: I had been in the company of Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ. I did not find anybody other than him who would distribute wealth among people in abundance without being asked for.[12]
Glimpses of some kind acts of Sayyiduna Talhah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ
٭ Upon receiving his income, Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ would send 10,000 dirhams to Umm-ul-Mu`mineen Sayyidatuna Aishah Siddiqah رَضِیَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهَا every year.
٭ Upon finding any individual of his tribe ‘Banu Taim’ in the state of need, he رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ would fulfil his need and pay off his debt. Once he paid off a debt worth 30,000 dirhams owed to a Taimi person.[13]
٭ Upon knowing about the severe poverty of one of his blood relatives, he رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ donated 300 dirhams to him.
٭ One day Sayyiduna Talhah Bin ‘Ubaidullah رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ distributed 0.1 million dirhams whereas he did not even have appropriate clothing on that day that he could wear and go to perform Salah.[14]
We pray to the Almighty Allah that He may grant us Taufeeq to earn Halal sustenance and spend in His path.
اٰمِيۡن بِجَاهِ النَّبِيِّ الۡاَمِيۡن صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيۡهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم
[1] Kunyah refers to that name which begins with “ام,اب, این or ابنۃ. (At-Tarifaat, pp. 132) For Example: Abul Qasim, Abu Bilal, Abu Rajab or Ibn-e-Ahmad etc.
[2] Tareekh-e-Ibn-e-‘Asakir, vol.25, pp. 54
[3] Siyar-e-A’alam-un-Nubala, vol. 3, pp. 19 – Mu’jam-e-Kabeer, vol. 1, pp. 112. Hadees 197
[4] Al-Isti’aab. Vol. 2, pp. 320
[5] Tilbees-e-Iblees, pp. 345
[6] One Waafi is equivalent to one Dirham and four Daniq. One Daniq is the sixth part of a Dirham. (In layman’s terms, daily income was about 1,666 dirhams.)
[7] Siyar-e-A’alam-un-Nubala,, vol. 3, pp. 21
[8] Busra is the city of Juran province and is located between Damascus and Balabak. On the other hand, Basrah is another city located in Iraq. A few people consider this (i.e. Busra) to be Basrah which is wrong.(Mirat-ul-Manajeeh, vol. 5)
[9] Mustadrak, vol. 4, pp. 449, Hadees 5640
[10] Mu’jam-e-Kabeer, vol. 1, pp. 112, Hadees 195
[11] Az-Zuhd Lil Imam Ahmad, pp. 168, Raqm 783
[12] Hilyat-ul-Awliya, vol. 1, pp. 130, Raqm 273
[13] Siyar-e-A’alam-un-Nubala, vol. 3, pp. 21
[14] Fayd-ul-Qadeer, vol. 4, pp. 357, Taht-al-Hadees 5274
Comments