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He was so generous and hospitable that he used to say, `The people of Al-Madiinah are partners of
Ibn `Awf in his money. He lends to a third of them, pays the debts of a third, and strengthens his ties of
kinship and gives away a third."
These riches would not have made him comfortable or happy if they did not make him capable of
adhering to his religion and supporting his brethren. Nevertheless, he was always apprehensive of these
riches.
One day when he was fasting, he was served iftaar (the meal at sunset which breaks the fast). He
had hardly seen it when he lost his appetite and cried saying, "when Mus'ab lbn `Umair was martyred-
and he was better than me - he was wrapped in his garment so that if it covered his head, his feet showed,
and if it covered his feet, his head showed. When Hamzah was martyred - and he was better than me -
they found nothing to wrap him with except his garment. Now the world has been expanded for us, and
we have been given much I'm afraid our blessings are hastened."
One day some of his friends gathered around food in his house. Just as it was put in front of them,
he wept. They asked him, `What makes you weep, O Abu Muhammad?" He answered, "The Messenger
of Allah (PBUH) died when he and his family had not even satisfied their appetites with barley bread. I
can't see that our latter days have shown something better."
In addition, his large fortune never brought pride on him, so much so that they said of him, "If a
stranger sees him sitting among his servants, he wouldn't be able to distinguish him from the others." If
only this stranger would know a part of lbn `Awf's fortitude and good deeds - that, for example, he was
wounded on the Day of Uhud with twenty wounds, one of which left a permanent lameness in one leg,
and that some of his teeth fell out on the same day, leaving a clear defect in his articulation - then the
stranger would know that this tall man who had a bright face but had lost his front teeth as a result of his
injury at Uhud was Abd Ar-Rahman Ibn `Awf (May Allah be pleased with him).
Mankind's nature makes it a habit that riches court power; that is, the rich always like to have
influence that protects their fortune, multiplies it, and satisfies the lust of pride and selfishness usually
caused by riches. If we had seen Abd Ar-Rahman lbn `Awf with his large riches, however, we would
have seen a marvelous man conquering human nature in this field and surpassing it preeminently. This
showed itself when Umar lbn Al-Khattaab (May Allah be pleased with him) was dying. He chose six
Companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) for them to select from among themselves the new
successor. The fingers were pointing at lbn `Awf. Some Companions even conversed with him about his
right to win succession, but he said, "By Allah, it is better for me to put a knife in my throat and
penetrate it to the other side."
Thus, the six chosen Companions had hardly held a meeting to select one of them to succeed `Umar
Al-Faaruuq (The One Who Distinguishes Truth from Falsehood), when Ibn `Awf informed his five other
brothers that he was renouncing the right given to him by `Umar when he made him one of the six from
whom the successor would be selected, and that one of them would be selected from the other five. Soon,
this ascetic attitude made him the judge of the noble five. They agreed that he would select the successor
among them. lmam `Aliy said," I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) describing you as honest among
the people of heaven and earth." Finally, lbn `Awf selected `Uthmaan Ibn `Affaan successor, and all the
rest agreed with him.
This is a real rich man in Islam. Did you see what Islam did to him, putting him above riches with
all its temptations, and how it molded him in the best way? In A.H. 32 his Soul ascended to its Creator.
`Aa'ishah, the Mother of the Faithful, wanted then to bestow on him a special honor, proposing as he was
dying to bury him in her room near the Messenger (PBUH), Abu Bakr, and `Umar. But as a Muslim he
was so refined that he was too modest to put himself in this rank. Besides, he had made a previous
promise. One day, he and `Uthmaan lbn Madh`uuun 1 had promised each other that whoever died after
the other would be buried near his friend.