‘Abdullah bin Jud‘aan was the cousin of Hazrat ‘Aa’ishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) i.e. her father’s brother’s son. Once, Hazrat ‘Aa’ishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) asked Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! ‘Abdullah bin Jud‘aan was an extraordinarily hospitable manand would feed the people often. Will this benefit him in any way on the Day of Qiyaamah?” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, “No! This is because he did not say:
رب اغفر لي خطيئتي يوم الدين
O my Sustainer! Pardon my sins on the Day of Reckoning!
In other words, he did not seek forgiveness for his sins at any time in his life (i.e. he did not bring Imaan).
Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Whilst walking during summer, I would sometimes stand in the shade provided by the pot of ‘Abdullah bin Jud‘aan.”
This shows that the pot of ‘Abdullah bin Jud‘aan was so big that a person could stand in its shadow. It was as though this pot was a specimen of the huge basins that the Jinn had constructed for Nabi Sulaiman (‘alaihis salaam), as described in the following words of the Qur’aan Majeed:
وَ جِفَانٍ کَالۡجَوَابِ
Basins as large as reservoirs
(Extracted from Seeratul Mustafa 1/95)
