The Life of Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak

Introduction -
The pages of our Islamic history and heritage are filled with the lives of men and women
whose influence on our history can only be retold by history itself. They served as beacons
of light, illuminating the path set by this Ummah’s Messenger (sallallaahu `alayhi wa
sallam), and yet they were the heroes who protected this very path. Their interests didn’t lie
in worldly gain nor were their efforts for selfish reasons but they worked hard in sincerity
and under burden to deliver this message of Islam to you and I. They strove day and night
purifying their societies and correcting what had become corrupt in this Ummah. They were
true ‘ubbaad (slaves) of Allah who had put the Hereafter before their eyes and hence worked
only towards this one goal.
Their nights were not the same as ours, nor are our days comparable to theirs – and it
wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that a lifetime of ours could not equal a number of their days
in virtue and achievement. For they were a people who valued time, knew how to live fully
and work hard in ease and under pressure, in poverty and in health. They knew no bounds
when it came to aiding the religion of Allah and they refused to acknowledge any limits to
their efforts and struggles. They were the Companions, the Tabi’in (successors), the Atba’ al-
Tabi’in (successors of the Tabi’in), they were the righteous of this Ummah in the past and
they are to be the righteous of those to come.
From amongst such figures are those who excelled in certain fields be they in leadership,
scholarship, political thought, arts of war, business and literature to name but a few. You
could say that one was a leading figure in such-and-such field; another would be an Imam
on a different platform. However, rarely has history in the post-Prophethood era witnessed
personalities who had gathered all these characteristics and succeeded across numerous
fields and avenues. Rarely has it witnessed lives that were so enriched and yet enriching, so
influential and inspiring, so powerful and empowering, so humble and yet so humbling.
One of these rarities lies in the very being of that scholar from Khurasan, the Mujahid
between the army ranks, the faqeeh (jurist) and muhaddith (narrator) of his time, the righteous
‘aabid (worshipper) of his Lord, the successful merchant across cities, the well-known zahid
(ascetic), the poet and writer, the grammarian and linguist, the respected and the leader of
the Pious – ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak.
But who was ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak? Who is he about whom Isma’il ibn ‘Ayyash, the
scholar of al-Sham said, “There is none like ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak on the face of this earth, nor
do I know of a single good characteristic created by Allah except that He has put it in ‘Abdullah ibn
al-Mubarak.”
Let us delve into learning more about the life of this man whose input into Islamic
Scholarship and history still benefits not just the masses today, but even the heirs to
Prophethood; the scholars themselves.
Farhia Yahya
Ramadan 1431
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