Ibrahim ibn Adham, he is known to be Ibrahim ibn Adham ibn Mansour ibn Yazeed ibn Jabir Al-Ajly Al-Tamimi. His origin is from Balkh, a country located in central Asia, and his nickname is Abu Ishaq. His grandfather was the ruler of Khurasan and his father was one of its kings. Naturally, Ibrahim was going to inherit the kingdom.
He is also a well-known Follower (Tabi`i, the second generation after the Companions). He met some of the Prophet’s Companions and narrated hadiths after them. He was fluent in speaking classical Arabic. He inherited a fortune and lived as a negligent king until one day an old man told him:
“Ibrahim, you were not created for leisure, *{Did ye then think that We had created you in jest, and that ye would not be brought back to Us [for judgment]?}*(Qur’an; Al-Mu’minun 23:115) Fear Allah, and prepare yourself for death.”
From this moment Ibrahim repented and became a sincere worshiper. He deserted his status as a ruler and moved to live in Jerusalem. He did not miss a fight for the sake of Allah and fought for His cause devotedly, especially in the Roman lands. This was even in the moments of poverty. He wore coarse clothes and ate modest food. He died in Sur in Lebanon in AH 161 / 778 CE.
Many stories were spread about his asceticism. Again, some of them we can never be sure of. It is said that he once passed by a sad man and told him, “I want to ask you about three things, so answer me. Does anything in this universe happen against the will of Allah?”
The man denied and Ibrahim said, “Does your daily bread decrease from what Allah has decided for you?”
The man again denied and Ibrahim said, “Will your life end even one second earlier than Allah has decided for you?”
And again, the man denied. So Ibrahim said, “So why is the sadness?”
Another story was that a man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham and said, “I do a lot of bad deeds, so tell me things that can forbid me from doing wrong.”
Ibrahim answered, “If you accepted five traits and were able to do them, you would not commit any bad deed again. The first one is if you want to disobey Allah, do not eat from His bounty.”
The man said, “So where can I eat from and all the earth belongs to Him?”
Ibrahim answered, “Is it right to eat from His bounty and disobey Him?”
The man said, “No. Tell me the second.”
Ibrahim said, “If you want to disobey Him, do not live in any of His lands.”
The man said, “This is harder, so where can I live?”
Ibrahim said, “Is it right to eat from His bounty, live in His lands, and then disobey Him?”
The man denied and asked for the third.
Ibrahim said, “If you want to disobey Him while you eat from His bounty and live in His lands, then disobey Him in a place where He cannot see you.”
The man said, “How and He even knows what is going on inside my head?”
Ibrahim answered, “So, can you eat from His bounty, live in His lands, disobey Him while He sees you and knows what you want to say and what you have kept secret to yourself?”
The man said “No” and asked for the fourth.
Ibrahim said, “If the angel of death comes to take your soul, tell him ‘Leave me till I repent and do good deeds.’”
The man said that he would not accept and Ibrahim replied, “If you cannot escape death and know that if it comes it will not be delayed, how can you wish to be saved?”
The man asked for the fifth and Ibrahim continued, “If angels of torment come to you on the Day of Judgment to take you to Hell, do not go with them.”
The man said, “They will not let me go.”
Ibrahim replied, “So how do you wish to be rescued, then?”
And the man responded, “Ibrahim, enough, enough! I will repent to Allah.” His repentance was a true one and he kept worshiping till the end of his life.
This answer was kindly provided by Brother Yahia Hamed, a member of Ask About Islam Editorial Staff.
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