MALEK
bin DINAR RA
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Malek ibn Dinar al-Sami was the son of a Persian slave from
Sejestan (or Kabul) and became a disciple of Hasan of Basra.
He is mentioned as a reliable traditionist, transmitting
from such early authorities as Anas ibn Malek and Ibn Sirin.
A noted early calligrapher of the Quran, he died c. 130
(748).
How
Malek-e Dinar came to be so named, and the story of his
repentance - When Malek was born his father was a slave;
yet though he was a slave’s son, he was free from bondage
to both worlds.
Some
say that Malek-e Dinar once embarked in a ship. When the
ship was far out to sea the mariners demanded, “Produce
your fare!” “I do not have it,” he answered. They
beat him till he was senseless. When he recovered, they
shouted again. “Produce
your fare!” “I
do not have it,” he repeated. They
beat him unconscious a second time. When he came to, they
demanded a third time. “Produce
your fare!” “I
do not have it.”
“Let
us seize him by the feet and throw him overboard,” the sailors
shouted.
All
the fish in the water at that moment put up their heads. Each
one held two golden dinars in its mouth. Malek RA reached
down his hand and, taking two dinars from one of the fish,
gave it to them. Seeing this, the crew fell at his feet. He
walked on the face of the waters and vanished. That is why
he was called Malek-e Dinar.
Now
his conversion came about as follows. He was a very handsome
man and fond of worldly things, and he possessed great wealth.
He lived in Damascus, where Mu’awiya RA had built the Masjid,
endowing it liberally. Malek RA was very eager to be appointed
in charge of that Masjid. So he went and threw his prayer
rug down in the corner of the Masjid, and there for a whole
year continued in devotion, hoping that whoever saw him would
find him at prayer.
“What
a hypocrite for you!” he would say to himself.
A
year passed in this way. By night he would leave the Masjid
and take his amusement. One night he was enjoying music, and
all his companions had fallen asleep. Suddenly a voice came
from the lute he was playing. “Malek, what ails thee that
thou repentest not?”
Hearing
these words, Malek RA dropped the instrument and ran to the
Masjid in great confusion.
“For
a whole year I have worshipped Allah hypocritically,” he communed
with himself. “Is it not better that I should worship Allah
in sincerity? Yet I am ashamed. What am I to do? Even if they
offer me this appointment, I will not accept it.”
So
he resolved, and he put his conscience right with Allah.
That
night he worshipped with a truthful heart. The next day people
assembled as usual before the Masjid. “Why, there are cracks
in the Masjid,” they exclaimed. “A superintendent ought to
be appointed to keep it in order.”
They
reached the unanimous view that no one was better fitted for
the post than Malek. So they came to him. He was at prayer,
so they waited patiently until he was finished.
“We
have come to plead with you to accept this appointment,” they
said.
“O
Allah,” cried Malek, “I served Thee hypocritically for a whole
year, and no one looked at me. Now that I have given my heart
to Thee and firmly resolved that I do not want the appointment,
Thou hast sent twenty men to me to place this task on my neck.
By Thy glory, I do not want it.”
And
he ran out of the Masjid and applied himself to the Lord’s
work, taking up the life of austerity and discipline. So respected
did he become, and of such excellence of life, that l when
a certain wealthy citizen of Basra died, leaving behind a
lovely daughter, the latter approached Thabet-e Binani.
“I
wish to become the wife of Malek,” she announced, “so that
he may help me in the labour of obedience to Allah.” Thabet
informed Malek.
“I
have divorced the world,” Malek replied. “This woman belongs
to the world I have divorced. I cannot marry her.” |