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The result when nobility courses through your veins:
ابى منبت العيدان ان يتغيرا |
ارى كل عود نابتا في ارومة |
I see every branch that sprouts in a tree, refuses to change its essence.
Another poet says:
كالرمح أنبوب على أنبوب |
شرف تتابع كابرا عن كابر |
لنجيب قوم ليس بابن نجيب |
وارى النجابة لا يكون تمامها |
Nobility passed down generation to generation, like a branch which grows on another branch.
And I see nobility does not materialise to perfection in the noble of a nation, if he himself is not the son of a noble.
This noble Imam had exemplary sons whose biographies illuminate the pages of history. We will make mention of a few of them here, a reminder to those who already know and a lesson for those who do not.
His grandfather, Ibrahim, was called Tabataba because his mother would make him dance when he was little and would say to him Tabataba. It has been said that the reason for this name was that Ibrahim would pronounce the letter Ta similar to a Qaf, and once when asking to wear a Qaba’[2] he was told that they would put on a Farajiyyah[3] for him. In protest he began yelling, “No! Taba Taba!” referring to the Qaba’ robe.
An esteemed personality unmatched in his era in terms of his virtue and character. He is amongst the narrators of Hadith and a repository of Hadith in his time. He is also amongst the grammarians of his age.
Amongst his poems is:
وَيُضحى كَئيب البال عِندي حَزينه |
حَسود مَريض القَلب يَخفي أَنينه |
أَجمِّع مِن عِند الرُواة فُنونه |
يَلوم عَلي إِن رُحت في العلم راغِباً |
وَاِحفَظ مِما أَستَفيد عُيونه |
وَأَعرف أَبكار الكَلام وَعَونه |
وَيُحسن بِالجَهل الذَميم ظُنونه |
وَيَزعم إِن العلم لا يَجلب الغِنى |
فَقيمة كُل الناس مِما يحسِنونه |
فَيا لائِمي دَعني أُغالي بِقيمَة |
He is a jealous person who conceals his groaning, and he always becomes restless and grieved.
He reproaches me when I passionately go to seek knowledge, to gather its various sciences from the transmitters.
And when I go to learn the newly developed styles of speech and when I memorise from what I assimilate…
He claims that knowledge cannot draw affluence and goes on to entertain good assumptions regarding ignorance.
So, O my reproacher, leave me to become valuable, for the value of each person lies in what he does best.
NEXT⇒ Sayyidina ‘Abdullah al Mahd ibn Hassan al Muthanna – Name and lineage
[1] The descendants of Abu Talib.
[2] Qaba’: A type of robe worn on top of ones shirt or clothes.
[3] Farajiyyah: A long robe with broad sleeves, would often be worn by scholars.
[4] Tarikh al Islam, biography of ‘Abdul Qadir al Jilani rahimahu Llah. There is a difference of opinion regarding his ancestry from the Ahlul Bayt radiya Llahu ‘anhum.