Ibrahim bin Adham; Garden Keeper Sufi

 

Ibrahim bin Adham; Garden Keeper Sufi

Ibrahim bin Adham was one of the great Sufis of the early generation. He is a descendant of a king from Balkh (Balkan). Sufyan al-Tsauri and Buqayyah bin Walid said that Ibrahim bin Adham came from the Balkans and then he moved to Sham by removing all his clothes of greatness to find something halal and live his life in full asceticism. He settled there in a very poor condition. But even if he is poor, he is a generous person (Muhammad Ibn Hibban, Al-Tsiqah : vol.6, p.24).

Ibrahim bin Adham has the full name Abu Ishaq al-Balkhi (relative to the city of balkhan). As did Hasan al-Bashri's mother's parents, Ibrahim bin Adham's baby also asked his mother to pray for a great scholar so that he would grow up to be a pious child.

Abu Dawud Sulayman stated that Ibrahim bin Adham died in the year 162 H. He was buried on the coast of Sham (Muhibbudin bin Najjar al-Baghdadi, Al-Mustafad min Dzaily Tarikh al-Baghdad: tt ).

The story of Ibrahim bin Adham and the owner of the garden

It is said that Ibrahim bin Adham ra became the caretaker of a garden belonging to a rich representative. He took care of the garden and prayed more. Once the owner of the garden came and asked him for a pomegranate. Ibrahim bin Adham granted his request. The pomegranate tasted sour so the owner of the garden scolded him, "Can't you tell the difference between sweet and sour pomegranates?" The Shaykh replied, "I haven't felt it yet." The employer said to Ibrahim bin Adham, "O liar, you are like this and like this for today." "I don't feel it," replied Ibrahim and then he "wandered" to perform the prayer. Al-Wakil said to him, "O hypocrite, I have not seen anyone who is more liar than you and no one is more hypocrite than you." Ibrahim replied, "My employer is right. That is what is seen from my sins. As for the unseen, it's much more." Then the master turned away from Ibrahim.

Another day, the master came back a second time and asked for more pomegranates. Ibrahim took the best he knew. The pomegranate tasted sour, so the master cursed and shouted at him, and said, "O liar, you must be fired." Then he left. Suddenly someone came close to dying from hunger. Ibrahim gave him a pomegranate from the garden. His master came wanting to fire his gardener and give him wages. He paid wages and fired. Ibrahim bin Adham said, "O my master, calculate the price of the fruits that I give to someone who is nearing death to continue his age." The master asked, "Didn't you steal other than that?" "Not. Had it not been for the fear that he would die, I would not have fed him. Because of that, take some of my payment." Ibrahim bin Adham gave the price agreed upon by his employer then prayed and left.

Then someone else came to take care of the garden. After a year, the master came to him and asked for a pomegranate. He was given the most fragrant pomegranate. He said to him, “The gardener before you gave me a sour pomegranate and said he had never tasted a pomegranate from this garden. Then when I fired, he said that someone who was almost dying of hunger had come to him and given him a pomegranate. Then he gave some of his wages for the value of the pomegranate. He always prays so that I see him. I have never seen anyone more deceitful and treacherous than him." The new gardener said, “By Allah, my master, I was a hungry person. And the person you are talking about is our leader. Ibrahim bin Adham ra who became king of this land, but then he left the kingdom and became ascetic." The owner of the garden took the dust and sprinkled it on his head lamenting, "Alas, woe, I have squandered a wealth that I did not find."