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`UMRAAN IBN HUSAIN
The Angels' Resemblance
It was in the year of Khaibar that he turned to the Prophet (PBUH), swearing to him the oath of
allegiance. Since the moment he put his right hand into the Prophet's right hand, his hand became subject
to respect. He promised himself to use it only in good and virtuous deeds, an attitude displaying how
much sensitivity this person enjoyed.
`Umraan was a clear image of honesty, humility, piety, and devotion to Allah.
Although he was blessed with a great deal of divine success and guidance, he never stopped
weeping and saying, "I wish I were ashes dispersed by the wind."
God fearing men of this type did not fear Allah because of their sins. Sins were rarely committed by
them, since the day of their conversion to Islam. The more they got acquainted with Allah's greatness,
majesty, and sublimity, the more they recognized their inability to truly thank and worship Allah and the
more God-fearing they became, no matter how much they prayed, praised Allah or submitted themselves
to Him.
Once the Prophet's Companions asked him, "O Prophet of Allah, why when we are sitting with you
do we feel calmness and tenderness in our hearts as an ascetic, seeing the Hereafter as if it were before
us, but when we leave you to meet our wives, children, and our worldly affairs, we deny ourselves?" The
Prophet (PBUH) responded, "By Allah, if you adhered strictly to your first state, the angels would have
shaken your hands clearly. So it is natural for there to be a worshiping time followed by business."
When `Umraan heard this Prophetic saying (hadith), his longing desire was moved; therefore, he
promised himself never to abstain from striving to reach such a great goal, even if it cost him his whole
life. He was never convinced to live dividing his time one hour for leisure and one hour for worship. He
wanted instead his life to be a long chain of intimate prayer and total devotion towards the Lord of the
Worlds.
During the caliphate of `Umar Ion Al-Khattaah, he was sent to Basra, to teach its inhabitants
jurisprudence. He settled there and soon people turned to him to seek his blessing and the guiding light of
his religiosity. Al-Hasan Al-Basriy and Ibn Siiriin said, "No one of the Prophet's Companions who
entered Basra can be considered better than `Umraan Ibn Husain.
`Umraan refused to occupy himself with anything but worship.
He spent his whole time doing nothing but adoring Allah until it seemed as if he belonged to
another world other than the one in which he lived among his people and walked on its ground. Yes, it is
true. He became like an angel living among angels, listening to, talking to, and shaking hands with them.
When the great uprising between the parties of `Aliy and Mu'aawiyah took place, he did not just
hold a neutral position, but appealed to people to abstain from joining the fight, adhering to the cause of
peace. He went on saying, "I would prefer to be a shepherd on top of a mountain fill I die rather than
shoot an arrow at anyone in either party, right or wrong." Any Muslim he met, he advised saying, "Keep
to your mosque. If it is broken into forcefully, then keep indoors. If the doors are broken into forcefully
by someone who aims at taking your life and wealth, then fight him."