Abdullah Ibn Umar(ra) Followed the Footsteps of the Beloved

𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒂𝒇𝒊' 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 "𝑰𝒃𝒏 𝑼𝒎𝒂𝒓 (𝒓𝒂) 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉ﷺ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆ﷺ 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒕ﷺ 𝒔𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 '𝑰𝒃𝒏 𝑼𝒎𝒂𝒓 (𝒓𝒂) 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒚".🌹

Truly love causes one to follow the beloved and there’s no meaning to love which does not translate into imitation of the object of one’s love.

Allah(swt) said:

“Say (O Muhammadﷺ to mankind): If you really love Allah, then follow me… .”[TMQ 3:31]

 Abdullah Ibn Umar(ra) grasped the true meaning of these words. Ever since he became a Muslim as a boy with his father Umar Ibn Al Khattab(ra), his love translated to complete obedience, emulating and loving everything about the Prophetﷺ.

Aisha(ra) said: “No one followed in the footsteps of the Prophetﷺ more closely than Ibn Umar did.”[At Tabaqat by Ibn Sa’d]

Much of human behaviour is learnt by looking up to role models, who possess qualities we aspire to. It’s from them we take the lead in life and manage life’s problems. It’s not even a pre-requisite to have to meet one’s role model to inspire you. We have only to see that in today’s society.

Consider celebrities or now, social media personalities; they’ve become role models for legions of their followers, some of whom learn about their lives obsessively reading interviews or following their movements on social media from afar. But to what purpose? For the rare few who get to meet them up close, the most they could get out of the interaction might be a selfie. So who is the best role model?

Allah(swt) says; “Certainly you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes to reach Allah and the Last Day,” [TMQ 33:21]

If fan adulation can be born from limited interactions, so why can a child (indeed anyone) not come to love the Prophetﷺ by simply knowing about his incredible life, personality, his likes and dislikes? If we raise kids to learn to love the Prophetﷺ before they become aware of what the world offers, it’s only natural they should begin to see him as their role model in line with their fitra and want to emulate the Prophetﷺ over others in their lives.

Anas ibn Malik(ra) said: The Messenger of Allahﷺ, said, “I wish I could meet my brothers.” The Companions said, “Are we not your brothers?” The Prophetﷺ said, “You are my Companions, but my brothers are those who have faith in me although they never saw me.”[Musnad Aḥmad]

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