Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Naafi (rahimahullah) mentions:
Once, Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) was going on a journey outside Madinah Munawwarah in the company of his students. At the time of supper, they stopped at a place, spread out the dastarkhaan (eating mat) and sat down to eat. Meanwhile, a shepherd passed by with his herd of goats and greeted them saying, ‘Assalaamu alaikum.’
Hazrat Ibnu Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) invited him to eat with them, but he refused saying that he was fasting. At this, Hazrat Ibnu Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) said, “You are fasting in the desert, in such hot weather, with such a hot wind blowing!” The shepherd replied, “I want to receive my reward for the Ayyaam-ul-Khaaliyah (the days that have passed).”
(By saying this, he was referring to the following verse of the Qur’aan Majeed in Surah Al-Haaqqah):
کُلُوۡا وَ اشۡرَبُوۡا ہَنِیۡٓـئًۢا بِمَاۤ اَسۡلَفۡتُمۡ فِی الۡاَیَّامِ الۡخَالِیَۃِ ﴿۲۴﴾
(And, it will be said to those in Jannah). “Eat and drink with complete
satisfaction for that which you sent ahead before you in ‘the days that have passed’.” (Surah Al-Haaqqah v. 24)
Hazrat Ibnu Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) then said to the young man in order to test him, “We want to buy a goat. Name your price and we shall pay it. We shall then slaughter the goat and give you some of its meat for iftaar.” The shepherd said, “These goats are not mine. I am only a slave and the goats belong to my master.”
Hazrat Ibnu Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) then said to him, “And how will your master come to know? You can tell him that a wolf ate a goat.” At this, the shepherd pointed to the sky and said, “What about Allah? (i.e. Allah Ta‘ala is watching us at all times, so how can we lie and say that a wolf had eaten a goat?).”
Hearing these words, Hazrat Ibnu Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) was surprised at the level of taqwa found in this simple shepherd and began to repeat the words he heard from the shepherd saying, “Where is Allah Ta‘ala? Where is Allah Ta‘ala? Is he not watching you at all times?’”
When Hazrat Ibnu Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) returned to Madinah Munawwarah after the journey, he bought the slave from his master, together with the herd of goats, freed the slave and gave the entire herd to him as a gift. This was the piety of the shepherds of those times! Even in the wilderness, they were concerned that Allah Ta‘ala was watching them.
(Fazaa’il-e-Sadaqaat [Urdu] pg. 708-709)
