Abdullah ibn. Mubarak (r.a) was born in second century 726 AD or some scholar quoted that he was born on 736 AD (118 Hijri), just 100 later after the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He collected Hadith, included in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Muslim and other six books of Hadith (traditions of the prophet Muhammad) and remained famous for his memory and quest of knowledge. He lived in the age of a prominent jurist Abu Hanifa and some scholar quoted that he used to be the pupil of Imam Abu Hanifa. He was born Mard, a city of Khorasan, then he moved to Iraq, stayed there for a long time. It was the reign of Hisham ibn Abd Al Malik.
Prominent Scholar of Hadith were criticized including Imam Al-Bukhari, even Abu Hanifa and Imam Shafi were criticized for the understanding or selection of Hadith but the only person, never criticized once regarding his selection of Hadith is Abdullah ibn Mubarik. He was a wealthy man, not some ordinary guy.
As we know, he was a wealthy man, from a rich family. Wealthy people seldom pay attention to God and sometimes they never seek any help from God either, because their sources are enough to feed them, people around them are 'mini gods' in every battle of life. Islam is a religion of peace and prosperity and it never welcomed any kind of god instead of God. There is only one, the most beloved and the most High. Once in his luxurious hours, Abdullah ibn Mubarak received a wake-up call from Allah.
He was playing with his friends like some kind of party in the house. When he slept, a dream came to him in which a bird perched on a tree reciting the following verse of the Quran,
"Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe to be affected by the reminder of Allah, and that, which has been revealed of the truth. (Quran 57:16)"
That was a wake-up call from Allah, to enjoy the worldly life but to remember him day and night.
