‎وَكَانَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْأَوْقَصُ عُنُقُهُ دَاخِلًا فِي بُدْنِهِ , وَكَانَ مِنْكَبَاهُ خَارِجَيْنِ كَأَنَّهُمَا زَجَّانِ , فَقَالَتْ لَهُ أُمُّهُ: يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تَكُونُ فِي قَوْمٍ , إِلَّا كُنْتَ الْمَضْحُوكَ مِنْهُ الْمَسْخُورَ بِهِ , فَعَلَيْكَ بِطَلَبِ الْعِلْمِ , فَإِنَّهُ يَرْفَعُكَ قَالَ: فَطَلَبَ الْعِلْمَ قَالَ: فَوَلِيَ قَضَاءَ مَكَّةَ عِشْرِينَ سَنَةً قَالَ: فَكَانَ الخَصْمُ إِذَا جَلَسَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَرْعَدُ حَتَّى يَقُومَ قَالَ: وَمَرَّتْ بِهِ امْرَأَةٌ يَوْمًا وَهُوَ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ أَعْتِقْ رَقَبَتِي مِنَ النَّارِ قَالَ: فَقَالَتْ لَهُ: يَا ابْنَ أَخٍ وَأَيُّ رَقَبَةٍ لَكَ؟

Muhammad ibn Abdur-rahman al-Awqas’ neck used to be inside his body and his shoulders used to protrude as if they were two spears. His mother said to him: O my son, you will not be with the people except that you will be one who is laughed at and mocked. So upon you is to seek knowledge, for verily it will raise you. So he sought knowledge. Then he was appointed as a judge of Makkah for twenty years and if an opponent [in argument] used to sit in front of him, he would shake [out of fear of him and his knowledge] until he stood up. Once a woman passed by him and he was saying: “O Allah, free my neck from the fire. She said to him: O nephew, which neck do you have?”

[Reported by Khateeb al-Baghdaadi in Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih (no. 119) and graded Saheeh by the verifier of the book ‘Adil al-‘Azaazi (1/141)]

Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan