Someone from the early days from the era of the sahaba went to Sham, and there, they saw a young man who was seated. Around him where seated the great people of the sahaba and the people who were learning at that time. Whenever an issue arose, they consulted with him, and when he would give an answer, they would agree on his answer and act accordingly. He asked around, “Who is this man?” He was told that this man was Mu’adh ibn Jabal, a companion of the prophet (SAW). Mu’adh (RA) was a young boy when he accepted Islam and he was from the first people to come to Makkah from Madinah and accept Islam from the hands of the prophet (SAW). He took it upon himself to learn from the prophet (SAW) and stay as close to him as he could. People would come to deen and the knowledge of deen with varying levels of ability and aptitudes – some would absorb everything and some would take lesser amounts. Mu’adh (RA) was one of those who absorbed a great deal of knowledge in a very short amount of time. In fact, in the prophet (SAW)’s lifetime, he had announced that the one who had the most knowledge of halal and haram was Mu’adh (RA). This is why he was appointed by the prophet (SAW) as the governor, judge, mufti and representative of Yemen. The prophet (SAW) walked with him out of Madinah, even though Mu’adh (RA) found it awkward that he was seated and the prophet (SAW) was walking. Still, he was walked out of Madinah while being given advice. During that conversation, Mu’adh (RA) was asked, “How will you make your decisions?” He replied, “I will make my decisions based on the book of Allah (SWT).” The prophet (SAW) said, “What if you find an answer that is not clearly defined by the Qur’an?” He replied, “I will look to the sunnah of the prophet (SAW).” The prophet (SAW) asked him, “What if you do not find a clear answer in the sunnah?” he replied, “I will put what I understand from Qur’an and hadith together and I will form a conclusion based on this.” The prophet (SAW) praised Allah (SWT) for giving Mu’adh (RA) this knowledge and understanding. The prophet (SAW) said, “It is quite possible that, the next time you come to Madinah, you will not find me here, but rather, my grave.” Mu’adh (RA) cried a lot.
This is exactly what happened; when Mu’adh (RA) came back, the prophet (SAW) had left this world. At a young age, the people had achieved knowledge and wisdom. Can you imagine how much confidence the prophet (SAW) would have had in this young man to appoint him as judge, ruler and teacher of an entire nation? It tells us that there is a lot that we can achieve than we allow ourselves to believe. There is a great deal more that we can get out of our lives than we sometime allow ourselves. May Allah (SWT) enable us to walk in the footsteps of Mu’adh ibn Jabal (RA) and also become like him.
