The story About Umar bin Abdul Aziz and the dog

Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training – Bro, in the book Tafsîr al-Qur’ân al-‘Adhîm, Imam Ibn Kathir narrates an interesting story about Umar bin Abdul Aziz encountering a dog. Curious about the story?

Muhammad bin Ishaq said: I was told by some of our companions who said: “We were with Umar bin Abdul Aziz on the road to Mecca, then a dog came, and Umar pulled off (part of) the shoulder (or front thigh) of his goat, and threw it to the dog.” It was said: “The people with him said: ‘Indeed, that dog is deprived (mahrûm)’” (Imam Ibn Kathir, Tafsîr al-Qur’ân al-‘Adhîm, Riyadh: Dar Thayyibah, 1999, vol. 7, p. 419).

Bro, before we discuss the story, let’s look at the meaning of the word “mahrûm.” This word appears in the verse of al-Dhariyat:

وَفِي أَمْوَالِهِمْ حَقٌّ لِّلسَّائِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ

“And in their wealth, there is a right for the one who asks and the deprived.”

Bro, in the Indonesian translation of the Qur’an, the word “mahrûm” is translated as “the poor who do not receive a portion.” But actually, this word is more complex than that. Sayyidina Ibn Abbas and Imam Mujahid interpret it as “al-muhârif,” which means:

لا سهم له في بيت المال، ولا كسب له، ولا حرفة يتقوت منها

“He has no share in the treasury, no livelihood, and no job that can sustain him” (Imam Ibn Kathir, Tafsîr al-Qur’ân al-‘Adhîm, vol. 7, p. 418).

Bro, interestingly, Sayyidah Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, understood “al-muhârif” as “a person who struggles to find work.” There’s also a story of Imam Abu Qilabah where in Yamamah there was a flood, and someone said, “hadzâ al-mahrûm” (this person is mahrûm). Even Imam al-Sha’bi was confused about its meaning, he said:

أعياني أن أعلم ما المحروم

“It has exhausted me (the effort) to know the meaning or intent of the word al-mahrûm” (Imam Ibn Kathir, Tafsîr al-Qur’ân al-‘Adhîm, vol. 7, p. 419).

Exactly, Bro! The story above is a great example of how to apply the teachings of the Qur’an in everyday life. The good commands from the Qur’an are not just to be understood in the mind but must be realized in actions. Sometimes we can understand “this is good” or “that is good” in our minds, but if it just stays there, it will be forgotten eventually.

Moreover, when doing good requires understanding, meaning, and comprehension as explained in the story above. To realize that a dog or animal falls into the category of al-mahrûm, we need knowledge. But more impressively, this understanding must be accompanied by good character and a generous heart. So, there is no need to think too much or over-calculate to do good, especially when it comes to animals. Awesome, right?

Bro, we often think too much before giving to humans, even though we have more than enough wealth. For example, some wealthy people are very reluctant to pay zakat or taxes. As for animals, we often only give food that is no longer needed. So, it feels like the giving is not truly giving.

In fact, if there were no animals, we would throw that leftover food in the trash. So, essentially, we are giving “trash” for them to eat. Of course, not everyone is like that, but we can learn to give more sincerely, especially to animals. Cool, right?

Bro, this shows that our generosity is still far from “growing.” We are still stuck in the room of stinginess. The knowledge about “giving” and “charity” that we have is just like decoration in our minds, and we are not making enough effort to turn it into action. We even consider it as nothing significant.

Therefore, we need to look at the example of Sayyidina Umar bin Abdul Aziz. He firmly gave the shoulder meat of his goat to the dog. Not leftover food, Bro. He took the whole meat and directly gave it to the dog. Then, the people around him said that the dog was al-mahrûm. Cool, right? We can learn a lot from such actions.

Bro, if even animals fall into the category of al-mahrûm, how about humans? The question now is, can we do what Sayyidina Umar bin Abdul Aziz exemplified? Wallahu a’lam bish-shawwab… hopefully, we can become more generous.

Source:

• https://islam.nu.or.id/hikmah/sayyidina-umar-bin-abdul-aziz-dan-seekor-anjing-soJyW
• https://www.freepik.com/free-ai-image/los-reyes-magos-epiphany-cartoon-illustration_95020804.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=12&uuid=6558b68d-27e4-4ec5-9371-4835db5aae42