Another Mother of the Believers by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
The land of Chinguett, more commonly known to the English-speaking world as Mauritania, is renowned for producing great scholars, saints, and erudite women of note. Scholars traveling to Mauritania have observed that “even their women memorize vast amounts of literature.” Mauritanian women have traditionally excelled in poetry, seerah, and genealogy, but some who mastered the traditional sciences were considered scholars in their own right.
Maryam Bint Bwayba, who memorized the entire Qur’an and the basic Maliki texts, was one such Mauritanian woman worthy of note. I had the honor of knowing Maryam, a selfless and caring woman, and the noble wife of Shaykh Murabit al-Hajj, having first met both of them twenty-five years ago in a small tent in the remote spiritual community of Tuwamirat in Mauritania.
My journey to that destination began four and a half years earlier, in 1980, at a bookstore in Abu Dhabi, where I met Shaykh Abdallah Ould Siddiq of the renowned Tajakanat clan. I knew immediately he was from West Africa, given the dir’ah, the distinct West African wide robe he was wearing, as well as the turban, a rare sight in the Gulf at that time. I had met scholars from West Africa when I was in Mali two years before and was interested in studying with them, so I asked the shaykh if he knew anyone who taught the classical Maliki texts in the traditional manner. He affirmed that he himself was a teacher of that very tradition, gave me his number, and said I was welcome anytime to come to his house for lessons. That began my Islamic education in earnest.
I started to study with Shaykh Abdallah Ould Siddiq in addition to my required classes at the Islamic Institute in Al-Ain. Unlike most Mauritanian teachers, he did not emphasize rote memorization or use of the wood slate known as the lawh. I studied directly from books. After a few years and much benefit from him and two other great Maliki jurists, Shaykh Shaybani and Shaykh Bayyah Ould Salik, my education took a major turn when I met a young electrician from the Massuma clan named Yahya Ould Khati. He was of the view that while these scholars were excellent, the truly illustrious man of his age was Murabit al-Hajj, who lived in a forgotten part of Mauritania, far away from civilization and the distractions of this world. He informed me that Shaykh Abdar Rahman, the son of Murabit al-Hajj, was now in the Emirates.
Shortly after, at the house of Shaykh Bayyah, an elder of the Massuma clan who had taken me under his wing and from whom I benefited greatly in my studies, I met Shaykh Abdar Rahman. Upon meeting him, I was struck by the otherworldliness of his presence, which is not unusual for Mauritanian scholars, but it was clearly pronounced in him. I remember thinking, “If this is the son, I must meet the father.” I also began studying with his close friend and companion, Shaykh Hamid, after I helped him get settled and, with the help of Shaykh Bashir Shaqfah, another of my teachers and at that time the head of the Office of Endowments at Al-Ain, secure a position of imam for him in the main mosque of Al-Ain, where I was serving as a muezzin.
From Shaykh Hamid, I learned about the merits of memorization. Although I had studied several texts, and my Arabic was quite fluent by this time, Shaykh Hamid was adamant that without rote memorization, one was dependent upon books and did not really possess knowledge within oneself. Mauritanians, he told me, distinguish between daylight scholars and nighttime scholars. A daytime scholar needs light to read books to access knowledge, but a nighttime scholar can access that knowledge when the lights are out, through the strength of his memory and the retention of knowledge. Hence, he felt that I should start over.
I had studied Ibn Ashir, al-Risalah, and sections of Aqrab al-masalik privately; I had studied the early editions of al-Fiqh al-Maliki fi thawbihi al-jadid, which were used at the Institute; and I had studied hadith with Shaykh Ahmad Badawi, one of the great hadith scholars of Sudan. But I had put little to memory other than what I naturally retained. Shaykh Hamid procured a slate for me and began teaching me the basics again, but with rote memorization. It was humbling, but edifying, to see how this tradition has been carried on throughout the ages with these time-tested models.
I then became an imam in a small mosque near the large one, and was leading prayer for a community of mostly Afghan workers, who were sending their earnings back home to support families and the war effort against the Russians, who had invaded Afghanistan four years earlier.
It was then that I began to have dreams in which I saw a great man, whom I learned later was Murabit al-Hajj. One of those dreams included an elderly woman whom I had also never seen before.
**** ***** ****
I decided to leave my very comfortable and enjoyable life in the Emirates in 1984 and headed towards Mauritania via Algeria, where I planned on spending some months memorizing the Qur’an. I made this decision even though I was warned that there was a draught in Mauritania and living conditions were extremely harsh. Somehow, I felt compelled to go and nothing could deter me.
After spending some months with Sidi Bou Said at his madrassa in Tizi, Algeria, I traveled on to Tunisia, obtained a visa to Mauritania, and took a flight to Nouakchott, which lies on the Atlantic coast of the Sahara. I arrived in that capital city, with its extremely primitive conditions and vast slums that surrounded a small city center, with no addresses and no specific plan, other than to find Murabit al-Hajj.
I went to the marketplace and asked around if there was anyone from the Massuma clan, and was directed to a small shop where I met Abdi Salim, a very friendly man who was from the same branch of Massuma as my teacher, Shaykh Hamid. When I told Abdi Salim I wanted to find Murabit al-Hajj and study with him, his face lit up and he wholeheartedly endorsed the idea. He then took me to someone from Mukhtar al-Habib, the branch of the Massuma clan that Murabit al-Hajj was from, and they took me to the house of Mawlay al-Maqari al-Massumi, a small place made from tea boxes with open sewage in the back. Similar houses were all around, as far as the eye could see. Mawlay al-Maqari al-Massumi was one of the most hospitable and welcoming people I had ever met; I later learned he was loved by all who knew him. I stayed with him and his family for several days.
Providentially, Shaykh Abdar Rahman soon arrived from the Emirates to visit his mother and father and, not surprisingly, it was his wont to stay with Mawlay al-Maqari whenever in the capital. He would accompany me to his family’s school in Tuwamirat, but the journey required camels. A message was sent to the encampment of Murabit al-Hajj via the government radio announcements, which was how people in the capital communicated with the nomads in the desert. The message stated that Shaykh Abdar Rahman and Hamza Abdal Wahid (my given name when I converted and used at that time) would be arriving in the town of Kamur on such-and-such a date and were in need of camels there to take them to their village, Tuwamirat. We then set out on a rather unpleasant journey in a truck to Kamur, which was several hundred kilometers inland into the Sahara desert. The road at that time ended at Bou Talamit, and two-thirds of it was simply rough desert track worn down over time by loaded trucks and jeeps. It was the bumpiest, dirtiest, and most difficult road journey I had ever taken in my life.
After two grueling days, we arrived in a beautiful town known as Geru, which at the time had no technology, and the buildings there were all a lovely adobe. Hundreds of students studied at seven madrassas, called mahdhara in Geru. At night, with the exception of a few flashlights, candles, and kerosene lamps, all was dark so the Sahara night sky could be seen in all its stellar glory. The entire town was filled with the soothing sounds of the recitation of Qur’an and other texts.
We stayed with Shaykh Khatri, the brother of Murabit al-Hajj’s wife, Maryam, and a cousin of Murabit al-Hajj. While in Geru, I came to know a great saint and scholar, Sidi Minnu, who was already an old man at the time. He memorized all of the Hisn al-Hasin of Imam al-Jazari and recited it everyday. His other time was spent in praying for the entire Ummah. Once, we were sitting on the sand and he picked some up with his hand and said to me, “Never be far away from the earth, for this is our mother.” He then said something that struck me to the core: “I have never regretted anything in my entire life, nor have I ever wished for anything that I did not or could not have, but right now I wish that I was a young man so that I could accompany you on this great journey of yours to seek knowledge for the sake of God.”
After a few days, we set out for Kamur, which we had passed on our way to Geru, and then took camels and set out for Murabit al-Hajj; by nightfall we arrived in Galaga, a valley with a large lake that rises and lowers with the rainfall and the seasons. After breakfast the next morning, we set out for the upper region some miles from where Murabit al-Hajj’s clan was encamped.
*** *** ***
As we came into Tuwamirat, I was completely overwhelmed by its ethereal quality. It was the quintessential place that time forgot. The entire scene reminded me of something out of the Old Testament. Many of the people had never seen a white person before and the younger people had only heard about the French occupation, but never seen French people or other foreigners for that matter. I entered the tent of Murabit al-Hajj.
My eyes fell upon the most noble and majestic person I have ever seen in my life. He called me over, put his hand on my shoulder, welcomed me warmly, and then asked me, “Is it like the dream?” I burst into a flood of tears. I had indeed experienced a dream with him that was very similar to our actual meeting. He then went back to teaching. I was given a drink, and some of the students began to massage me, which I most appreciated, as my entire body ached from the difficult journey.
Murabit al-Hajj insisted that I stay with him in his tent and sleep next to him. I soon came to know his extraordinary wife, Maryam Bint Bwayba. Completely attentive to my needs, she took care to see that I was comfortable, and provided me with a running commentary on the place and its people. Maryam was one of the most selfless people I have ever met. She spent most mornings with her leather milk container called a jaffafah, which she used to make buttermilk for her family, for the poorer students, and for the seemingly endless stream of guests that visited. She surrounded herself with wooden bowls to dispense the morning and evening milk collected from the cows, and she knew which cows were producing more milk and which ones were not. She was ably assisted in her domestic chores by her faithful and selfless servant, Qabula, who had been with her since childhood and who smiled all the time.
During my time there, I came to know Maryam as this noble and joyful woman, especially her nurturing nature. At one point, I became severely ill from the endemic malarial fevers in Mauritania, and Maryam took motherly care of me. One day I remarked that I was used to eating vegetables and that their diet of milk and couscous, with some cooked dried meat, was hard on me. Maryam immediately began giving me dates everyday before the meal and also asked some of the Harateen to plant carrots for me. Soon, she began preparing small cooked carrots and serving them with my meals.
Maryam was always in a state of remembrance of God. Her full name was Maryam Bint Muhammad al-Amin Ould Muhammad Ahmad Bwayba. At an early age, she married Sidi Muhammad Bin Salik Ould Fahfu al-Amsami, known as Murabit al-Hajj Fahfu. She was an extraordinary woman of great merit and virtue and was noted for her more than sixty years of service to the students of the Islamic College of Tuwamirat. Maryam grew up during a time of great hardship in Mauritania and told me that people were so poor that many simply covered their nakedness with leaves. Her father, Muhammad al-Amin, who was known as Lamana, was a scholar as well as a skilled horseman and expert marksman. Maryam always displayed the greatest pride in her father and related to me his many exploits. I once praised her husband, and she laughed and responded, “You should have seen my father!”
Maryam was in a state of complete submission to her Lord and always encouraged people to study. Her world was that of a small tribal province, but her spirit was truly universal. When she married Murabit al-Hajj, he was already recognized for his scholarship, mastery of Arabic, and complete disengagement from worldly matters. After he had married Maryam, her father said to him, “You might want to think about the means to a good livelihood now that you are married,” to which Murabit al-Hajj replied, “The means of this world are as multitudinous as the night stars to me, but I would not like to sully my soul with their pursuit.”
In their early years, Maryam studied several texts with her husband. She memorized the entire Qur’an in addition to the basic Maliki texts. Furthermore, she studied with him the entire al-Wadih al-Mubeen of Sidi Abdal-Qadir Ould Muhammad Salim with its hundreds of lines on matters of creed. She also read his extensive commentary, Bughyat al-Raghibeen ‘ala al-Wadih al-Mubeen, which she kept at her side for many years. She knew the text and its meaning by heart and was extremely adept in matters of creed. Maryam also memorized and practiced Imam al-Nawawi’s book of prayers and supplications known as al-Adhkar.
Those who have had the blessing of spending time in Tuwamirat would always see her sitting under her tent or the lumbar surrounded by her pots and milk bowls and her prayer beads. When new students arrived, she always asked about them, their parents, brothers, and sisters, and where they came from. She would laugh and say she had “luqba,” a Mauritanian colloquialism for “curiosity,” but in reality she delighted in the students and desired to make them feel at home. Incredible as it sounds, she never forgot anyone who had studied at the school and when they visited years later, she would call out their names and ask about their family members, name by name! When I first arrived, she had asked the names of all of my family members, which, given that they were Christian names, would have been harder for her to remember than Mauritanian names. But when I returned many years later, she asked about each of the members of my family, whose names I had mentioned to her only once. “Kayfa Elizabeth? Kayfa David? Kayfa John? Kayfa Troy? Kayfa Mariah?” I was completely stunned. I remarked to her that in another time she would have been a great muhaddith scholar, with her uncanny ability to recall names. The Western students and visitors who were fortunate enough to have lived there or even visited briefly all remember Maryam well. But more importantly, Maryam not only remembered each one of them, but she prayed for them by name. Many years ago, I took a friend, Abdal Razzaq Mukhtar, a Libyan who was living in Northern California, and his son Haytham to see Murabit al-Hajj. Even after many years had passed, Maryam never failed to ask each student from the West how “Abdar Razzaq and Haytham” were doing and then go on to recite a litany of names of other visitors who they might know and have news of their lives. Moreover, she sent many letters to those who visited Tuwamirat. The letters were usually accompanied by gifts from her. Students would receive a letter with some local perfume or incense or sometimes a key chain as a token of her love and remembrance of those people who had made such an arduous journey to visit her husband and his school. She even sent me some of her butter ghee that lasted for a few years in my house. She left an indelible mark on all of us fortunate and blessed enough to have spent even an hour with her. It was an hour neither she nor her visitor would ever forget.
*** *** ***
I first saw Maryam in one of the dreams I had in 1983 in the Emirates, a year before I actually met her. One day, I was sitting in the tent studying with Murabit al-Hajj, when I saw her in the background and realized she was the person in my dreams.
The last time I saw Maryam, her world had changed considerably in her lifetime, but there was something unchanging about her. Despite the fashionable colored milhafahs that the women of the clan began to wear, she clung to the old-fashioned ways of her ancestors, and wore the traditional blue-dyed nilah that left a ghostly shade of indigo on the skin of the women, as well as the men who wore turbans made of the same material. And regardless of the outward difficulties of her life, she remained one of the most happy and joyful people I have ever known.
Maryam had always hoped to make the pilgrimage but felt obliged to first take care of her responsibilities, to her family and the school that she felt were binding upon her. She was never in the limelight, but the blue image of her milhafa could be seen in the background of meetings when dignitaries and visitors would come and pay their respects to Murabit al-Hajj, always in service to all. Once, when a group of Western students visited, one of the women asked Murabit al-Hajj for his prayers and he replied that they should also ask Maryam for her supplication as her prayers were ones that, insha’ Allah, God listened to and would answer. Although she was not famous like her husband, nor noted for any distinguished achievements, she was a luminary in her own right. Her son once told me, “She was one of the hidden ones, far more learned and accomplished than the people who knew her or lived with her realized.” I couldn’t agree more. In many ways, the Quranic verse about Maryam the mother of Jesus “and she was among the righteously pious ones” aptly suites our beloved Maryam bint Bwayba. When I told her brother, Khatry, she was like a mother to me, he replied, “She was a mother to all the believers.” No words could be more befitting.
Maryam Bint Bwayba, the beloved wife of the great scholar and teacher Murabit al-Hajj Ould Fahfu, and beloved selfless servant of the students of sacred knowledge at the mahdhara of Murabit al-Hajj, died after a brief but intense illness at approximately six in the evening on Sunday, the 15th of Rabi al-Thani, 1430 AH. In her honor, we are establishing the Maryam Bin Bwayba Scholarship Fund for Women, with all proceeds to be used for scholarships for qualified women in financial need attending Zaytuna’s educational programs. Donations should be sent to Zaytuna Institute, 2070 Allston Way, Suite 300, Berkeley, California, 94704, and the Memo line of checks should be marked as “Maryam Bint Bwayba Scholarship Fund.” For those who wish to send donations to the family of Murabit al-Hajj, please call Zaytuna at 510.549.3454.
In the Pursuit of Wealth Part 2
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
For what price do we sell ourselves for this dunya? This was a question that I became intensely interested in increasingly, particularly as I witnessed more and more people becoming occupied with the dunya and its acquisition. Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala asks the same question in the Qur’an, but is also unequivocal about the position of those who sell their lives for the sake of the dunya:
بِئْسَمَا اشْتَرَوْاْ بِهِ أَنفُسَهُمْ أَن يَكْفُرُواْ بِمَا أنَزَلَ اللّهُ بَغْياً أَن يُنَزِّلُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ عَلَى مَن يَشَاء مِنْ عِبَادِهِ فَبَآؤُواْ بِغَضَبٍ عَلَى غَضَبٍ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
“Miserable is the price for which they have sold their souls, in that they deny (the revelation) which Allah has sent down, in insolent envy that Allah of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have they drawn on themselves Wrath upon Wrath. And humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith”. (Qur’an, Al-Baqarah 2:90)
Miserable indeed is the price for more than one reason. The greatest reason is that man takes all the blessings of Allah and then at the same time rejects Allah. Or that man would knowingly reject the Prophets (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all) whilst knowing they brought with them the truth and only sought to guide people to the path of truth and never asked from them anything of profit. These two reasons are fairly compelling however, the words with which Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala addresses this situation and anyone who rejects guidance in favour of a life of this world is very strong indeed for they incur the greatest of all punishments which is “wrath upon wrath”. Why is that so? In order to understand exactly what Allah was asking from us in terms of our obedience, which was for our own benefit, and how He was going to reward us for following guidance, we have to examine this issue at a deeper level. I took one very simple example of trade, of what we trade with Allah, what He is asking of us, and how He rewards us for our efforts. For example, through following His guidance and the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala promises us eternity in the Graden. Now, simply put, there is no amount of striving for the sake of Allah that would literally qualify us to attain such an immense blessing. And yet out of His generosity and mercy Allah rewards us beyond our imaginings.
Taking the idea of trade, or what we give to Allah in exchange for what He rewards us with I specifically analysed how we spend our time, and ultimately how much time Allah is asking from us for granting us Paradise. The equation is as follows:
On average, life expectancy for those living in developed countries is approximately 80 years.
LIFE EXPECTANCY = 80 yrs
Of those 80 years one might discount the first 30 years because our knowledge and experience tends to be fairly limited. And we might discount the last 20 years of our life because after the age of 60 our physical strenght has already peaked, most of the strenght in determination to achieve our dreams and aspirations have usually waned and faded, and we’re now in the homeward stretch, closer to death than life. So that leaves us with 30 years.
LIFE EXPECTANCY- YOUTH – OLD AGE = 30 yrs
80 yrs – 30 yrs – 20 yrs = 30yrs
Of those 30 remaining years here’s approximately how they will break down:
SLEEPING = 8 hrs = 10 years
WORK = 8 hrs = 10 years
Out of 24 hrs in a day one third is spent sleeping and one third is spent at work, which leaves us with one third, or 8hrs. Hence, after discounting youth and old age we’re left with 30 years in our equation, from that we lose 10 years to sleep and another 10 years to work which leaves us with 10 years, which if we equate to a 24 hrs period means we have only 8 hrs of life remaining. Of those remaining 10 years/8 hrs here is how they might be spent:
GETTING DRESSED/SHOWERING/WASHING/ EATING = 1.5hrs = 1.2 yrs
TRAVELLING TO WORK = 2 hrs = 1.6 yrs
SHOPPING/TALKING = 1hrs = 0.8yrs
TV/ENTERTAINMENT/INTERNET = 1.5hrs = 1.2yrs
TOTAL = 6 hrs = 5 yrs
When we take into account these mundane activities they will account approximately 5 yrs of our life. This figure will of course vary from person to person according to their habits but as an approximate 5 years is fairly representative. Hence, from 80 years, and after taking into account 75 yrs of our time spent, we’re now left with a mere 5 years! If we equate our 80 yrs life expectancy to a 24 hour day:
80 / 24 = 1 hr = 3.3 yrs
75/3.3 = 22.7 hrs
24 hrs – 22.7 hrs = 1.3 hrs
This means that of our life were 24 hrs long then even before we have begun to live it we have used up 22.7 hrs, which leaves us with 1.3hrs to use for the worship of Allah. This is the trade that Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala presents us with, that merely through giving back this time to Allah in worship and seeking knowledge that He may reward us with Paradise. However, one would be quite confident verging on the edge of arrogance to think that ones salah and the sum of ones efforts in that final hour were so perfect that it is likely they would be accepted and such a person granted paradise. It might happen but one is taking a considerable risk in leaving ones entire eternal existence in ones activity for that final hour.
Hence, it is for this reason that those endued with understanding and intellect seek, as much as possible, to converge all their actions into one action, so that they increase the time available to them to worship Allah and hence maximise their chances of success, and then, the greatest possible success. Hence, for example 10 yrs would be returned to us, giving us 15 years, if our work consisted of serving Allah in some way. If we reduced our sleep from 8hrs to 4hrs then another 5 yrs would be returned to us, giving us 20 years instead of 5 years.
Of course there is also considerable overlap in that, 8 hrs of work may be considered as worship if undertaken for the sake of Allah although one wasn’t directly doing something for the benefit of others. Or that the time spent shopping or cooking was done for the sake of Allah and to feed ones family, friends, guests, travellers, relatives and the poor. And this example may be extended to almost all the other human activities we undertake. But what has been presented here is the scenario of the one that either does not seek to follow guidance, and hence the pittance for which he sells his existence, or the one that seeks only to give back to Allah the absolute minimum. This minimum by the way includes praying five times a day, fasting completely every year, giving charity, giving zakat and if possible going on Hajj or Umrah. Hence we if return to our last equation of 24 hrs – 22.7 hrs = 1.3 hrs, then we have just over 1 hour left in our day. If we assume that 5 prayers a day equate to approximately 1 hour, then we have barely a few minutes left of our life. Thus on the basis of the assumptions presented above, and one would have little reason to despute those assumptions of time spent, then what we might say is that once all that time is taken into account, our life, through the way we are likely to spend our time, has already been taken into account before its begun. The question then arises as to what can we alter in those variables that will increase the possible time we might be left with?
Maximising Time
It is this very principle the Prophet (s) came to enjoin, which was to maximise our time as much as possible through undertaking all our activities for the sake of Allah. So rather than live in the hope that we might give back to Allah those 5 yrs or that final hour with perfect prayer and worship, we seek to be in a constant state of worship in the remembrance of Allah. Hence it is for this reason that Taqwa is consider the highest state of ibadah. The saliheen, the people of righteousness constantly seek out people to help rather than wait for people to find them, they seek to feed the poor, give of their time and wealth to those that really need it, seek knowledge and teach it to others, enjoin the virtues of patience and forgiveness, embodying their beliefs into their actions and into their state of mind. You will find these people in the constant remembrance of Allah, in Whom they find their greatest joy, and to Whom they constantly yearn to return. Insha’Allah in the next post I will present a more detailed description of the righteous as according to Imam Ali (ra).
وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَوَتَبَتَّلْ إِلَيْهِ تَبْتِيلًا
“But keep in remembrance the name of thy Lord and devote thyself to Him whole-heartedly”. (Qur’an, Al-Muzzamil 73:8)
May Allah bless our time here on earth, enable us to seek Him in all our endeavours, to Him remember Him constantly, and sincerely take as our guide the Prophet (s) who said about his sleep, ‘My eyes may be closed but my heart is awake and in the remembrance of my Lord’. Ameen.
Amazing Grace…
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Amazing Grace,
Thou art most elusive,
The shiest of God’s blessings,
But sought you we did…
In knowledge and in understanding,
in happiness and in success,
in courage and in compassion.
We sought you in love, and in the pursuit of justice,
in expression, and in allieviating human suffering,
in serving the poor, and in protecting their rights.
We sought you in peace.
In the pursuit of all these things,
came finally the end of the journey.
The end of all those journies was the same.
That end was Grace.
Shores unimaginable to the heart and mind.
To which ones does not bring oneself, but is brought,
for the journey is too long and ardous,
beyond ones capacity to achieve.
The success of all successes,
the joy of all joys we found Grace,
but not before finding fear and hope,
courage and determination,
faith and longing.
Our companions through those tribulations,
Through whom one understood,
why the journey might be as it is,
for the end is quite humbling, ’tis Grace.
Grace is but the embodiment,
of all those journies mentioned afore,
a place born in ones heart,
before ones heart was yet born.
Grace is love, Grace is peace,
Grace is goodwill towards all people,
Grace is elegance, Grace is beauty,
Grace is beautiful, Grace is fragrance,
Grace is knowledge,
Grace is free, Grace is freedom.
Grace is air, Grace is high,
Grace is elevated, Grace is dignity,
Grace is our gracefulness towards God’s creation,
Grace is the Gracefulness of our Lord to us.
Through all that,
Grace is our longing and our yearning,
for our Lord Most-High.
Grace is our Lord reaching down to comfort us,
to lift us upon plains high,
noble and esteemed.
Grace is ones heart’s eternal longing for its eternal love,
Grace is Grace – is no less than the blessing of ones Lord.
The Light of His guidance,
contained in the submission to His Will.
Grace is what we seek to attain,
to be granted that place,
that beautiful home,
in this life and in the next,
that we might all one day come to know Grace,
And with one voice, one day say,
what we were taught, when we first read,
Grace is but our Lord, One God,
“La Illaha Ill Allah”.
___________________________
Amazing Grace
by John Newton (1725-1807)
“Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me….
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.
T’was Grace that taught…
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear…
the hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares…
we have already come.
T’was Grace that brought us safe thus far…
and Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me…
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be…
as long as life endures.
When we’ve been here ten thousand years…
bright shining as the sun.
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise…
then when we’ve first begun”.
Prosperity is Sincerity to Allah
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
What you will find below is guidance from the Qur’an and Sunnah about the purpose behind our existence insha’Allah, and Allah alone has full knowledge of all things. May it be of benefit to you and me, for now and for the future. And may it be a source through which we are able to achieve greater sincerity, a renewal of intentions, and our furthering towards Allah, and not towards a life of this world. Ameen. What I will convey to you here is how one should seek prosperity in Allah alone, refuge in Him alone, protection from shaitan the accursed through Allah alone, and protection from wreaking destruction upon oneself, by oneself.
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّن قَرْنٍ هُمْ أَحْسَنُ أَثَاثًا وَرِئْيًا
“But how many (countless) generations before them have we destroyed, who were even better in equipment and in glitter to the eye?” (Quran, Maryam 19:74)
Some people traverse their entire lives without ever having arrived at the point of self-realisation, in their acknowledgment through self-honesty, that prosperity is through sincerity, and sincerity is through Allah alone. Knowing this is quite different from understanding it through experience and hence living by it. Knowing it alone provides scant benefit, and only seeking to know it without its implementation, will eventually lead to a hardening of the heart. Thus in finally acknowledging, that amongst other things, this path of genuinely serving the poor, weak, and destitute, and ones Lord is immense and necessitates an immense commitment to The Truth, Self-Sacrifice, Hardship, Learning, Humility, Suffering, Honesty and most importantly Sincerity – one recognises – this path is not something a person claims for themselves. It is an invitation from Allah, for not everyone is capable of it. Thus it is better in the Sight of Allah, out of humility, to make the sincere intention of not being able to undertake this path, than to make the insincere claim of being capable of undertaking it, and when faced with it, turn on ones heels. Allah prefers the servant that is honest about who he is, than the one who claims what he is not.
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَن تَدْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَعْلَمِ اللّهُ الَّذِينَ جَاهَدُواْ مِنكُمْ وَيَعْلَمَ الصَّابِرِينَ
“Did you think that you would enter Heaven without Allah testing those of you who fought hard (In His Cause) and remained steadfast?”(Qur’an, Al’e Imran 3:142)
Thus, it is often the case amongst people who make great claims about their religion and sincerity, to have little by way of proof to demonstrate those claims. This is a sign for those that are truthful, that sincerity is in itself a gift from Allah to those that seek Him and seek to be truthful, in which case He rewards those people with the opportunity to seek Him, as opposed to being granted sincerity simply by asking for it. The opportunity to seek Him comes about through an invitation to goodness, and seeking that goodness, establishing it, following it, living by it, in turn brings a person sincerity and closeness to Allah. However, it is usually at the point of this invitation that most people decline the invitation to goodness, and return it back to Allah. For every claim there is its equivalent proof.
Allah does not need our goodness, He wants us first and foremost, to be honest with ourselves, not to make claims we cannot fulfil. Thus, rather than seeking to construct a facade of sincerity, ones efforts are better plied towards understanding the composition of sincerity, and seeking to establish it in one’s life. Again, it is not uncommon to find people exchanging stories of the courage, valour and chivalry of the Sahaba, their self-sacrifice, suffering and efforts, are considered as mere fables to while away the hours, rather than one’s own genuine aspirations. Thus without their realisation and as Allah often reminds us, ‘their desires leave them in the lurch’. They forego the greatest of all blessings, that of sincerity, of not believing in what they say, and not acting upon what they believe. This was not the way of the Prophet (s) and nor of his blessed companions. It is better to undertake a small act with sincerity, than to use great words and make great aspirations that lack sincerity.
Remember, that to taste the sweetness of emaan and sincerity first begins by being sincere in speech and action, through which that sincerity translates into being sincere with others. How we are with others is a reflection of what our hearts contain. Always seek to present yourself to others as you are at this moment in your life, and not how you would like to be in ten years time. That person is yet to be made, and whilst it is good to possess this aspiration, who you are now is where you are now, in your knowledge, experience and development, and who people need to see. Do not seek a pace other than the one Allah has assigned to you.
“Be like the reed that bends in the wind, bend to His will, if you do not, you risk being broken by His will”
In that submission you will find much greater peace than forcing something that will occur only as Allah has intended. Be happy with that, it may be that Allah will change you, but not before you strive to change yourself through a genuine acceptance of who you are and where you are. Only then might you put yourself in the best position to gain knowledge of which you have no knowledge. Empty your heart of everything else and you will find Allah in your heart. For Allah does not occupy the hearts of those occupied with other than Allah.
Seek sincerity of speech through avoiding false eloquence’, the Prophet (s) hated it. It is disingenuine, which might sound good to the ears of some, will readily cause the sincere to depart from you as swift as darkness is dispelled by the presence of light. Make your aspirations the highest, but only for the akhira. Be wise not to use the gifts of Allah as ostentatious displays, or used towards the dunya. Do not use the precious gift of aspiration, and all the other beautiful gifts of Allah for a paltry gain for the dunya, for this is a sign of ignorance and spiritual deficiency. Instead, if you genuinely seek Allah then you will find Him through good, righteous, sincere people, so seek them, for you will not find Allah with the insincere. You have been forewarned. Apply the words of Allah when He says,
وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ
“But seek, with the (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on thee, the Home of the Hereafter…” (Qur’an, Al-Qasas 28:77)
In these words is contained the entire purpose for which wealth is sought. It is Allah alone Who determines provisions and it is He alone that will choose yours. There is nothing contained in the heavens nor on earth that has the power to add or take away what Allah has already assigned to you. So, do not fear poverty, for it is not a sign of God’s displeasure. And nor is wealth a sign of God’s good pleasure. They are mere tools for the achievement of another much greater purpose. Do not fear people, for only Allah is worthy of being feared. Do not use wealth and status as display signs to others, of God’s favouring of you. It is insincere and misleads people. Only Allah determines the stations of people with Him.
Guard yourself from falling into the pitfall of seeking a station greater than you possess, or you will be rewarded with one much less than you deserve. Be happy where you are, it is where you are meant to be, be happy where you are and Allah will cause you to move forward when He determines you are ready. Do not seek to display a station to others that is not of your belonging, it will again cause the righteous and sincere to depart from you as swiftly as blessings leave the unrighteous, and may well result in your being awarded a station much less than the one Allah had prepared for you. Do not allow yourself to be led by your insecurities and nor allow the fear of poverty to overcome you, both are the tools of shaitan, who will use them against you at every opportunity. Seek a life of this world and you may well find yourself amongst the insincere. Seek sincerity and you may well find yourself with a reward much greater than you could ever have calculated or imagined by yourself. Read and reflect on the following verses, in them you will find much guidance and wisdom. And Allah has full knowledge of all things. In Him we place our trust and in Him we seek refuge. Ameen.
Surah as-Saffat (v. 83-111)
83. Verily among those who followed His Way was Abraham.
84. Behold! he approached his Lord with a sound heart.
85. Behold! he said to his father and to his people, “What is that which you worship?
86. “Is it a falsehood, gods besides Allah, that you desire?
87. “Then what is your opinion of the Lord of the worlds?”
88. Then did he cast a glance at the stars.
89. And he said, “I feel sick!”
90. So they turned away from him, and departed.
91. Then did he turn to their gods and said, “Will you not eat?
92. “Why do you not speak?
93. Then did he turn upon them, striking with the right hand.
94. Then (his people) came towards him hastening.
95. He said: “Do you worship what you yourselves carve,
96. “When Allah has created you and what you make?”
97. They said, “Build him a furnace, and throw him into the blaze”
98. And they wished him ill, but We made them the undermost.
99. He said: “I will go to my Lord! He will surely guide me!
100. “O my Lord! Grant me one of the righteous.”
101. So We gave him the good news of a wise son.
102. And when (his son) was old enough to walk with him, (Abraham) said: “O my son, I see in a vision that I offer you in sacrifice: Now what is your view!” (The son) said: “O my father! Do as you are commanded: Allah willing, you shall find me steadfast.”
103. So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead,
104. We called out to him “O Abraham!
105. “You have already fulfilled the vision. Thus do We reward those who are excellent”.
106. For this was a clear test.
107. And We ransomed him with a great sacrifice:
108. And We left for him among later generations (the salutation):
109. “Peace upon Abraham!”
110. Thus indeed do We reward those who are excellent.
111. He is one of Our believing servants. (Quran, as-Saffat 37: 83-111)
The Righteous guide people to Allah and to the garden, sacrificing all they have for His cause. The unrighteous and ignorant guide people to other than Allah and to the Fire, sacrificing all they have for other than Allah. Many sacrifice their most precious possessions to this world, and yet those that truly recognise the preciousness of their gifts give them to none but Allah. That is one of the wisdoms behind the story of Ibrahim (as).
May Allah count us amongst the righteous and save us from the ignorance of our own souls and from the ignorance of others. May we seek protection in Him, from Him. May we not be left for the blinking of an eye to our nafs, as was the dua’a of the Prophet (s). May we be of great benefit to our entrusted soul, to our Lord and to His religion. A light among lights. Amidst this beautiful religion that is Islam. Ameen.
Perception part 6a: “The Heart’s Response”
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Introduction
Insha’Allah we continue this series of discussions regarding perception, with a slight but not radical alteration in our course, this time assessing the heart and its response to the trials and tribulations set for it by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. I wrote this article last March, largely for the need to tackle two main problems that arise when we face difficulties and tests in our lives. One is that if we can understand the purpose of tests, and have a deeper understanding of how the heart is caused to react when tested, we will be in a better position to understand ourselves and hence deal with our situation. And secondly, we will avoid the much greater calamity , much greater than any test, of blaming Allah for our test, but instead actually be moved to thank Him because we have gained an insight into the wisdom of that test. Hence gratitude and ingratitude are the two sons of Adam (as), which metaphysically means that people are too, they are either grateful or ungrateful. And we know this to be true because they are the the two dominant aspects of the story of Adam (as) and hence of us as Bani Adam. Adam (as) accepted his response in terms of his mistake and sought forgiveness from Allah when he prayed:
قَالاَ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.” (Qur’an, al-Araf 7:23)
However, on the other hand Iblis actually blamed Allah for causing him to do what he did in seeking to mislead Adam (as). These two responses are the fundamental differences between good and evil, between gratitude and arrogance, between success and failure – the ability to humble oneself before Allah, or turn away from Allah. Iblis could not:
قَالَ رَبِّ بِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي لأُزَيِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
“(Iblis) said: “O my Lord! because Thou hast put me in the wrong, I will make (wrong) fair-seeming to them on the earth, and I will put them all in the wrong” (Qur’an, al-Hijr 15:39)
Narrated by Abu Hurairah, the Prophet (s) said in a hadith Qudsi (the words of Allah):
“I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.”(Bukhari and Muslim). In other words if when tested we turn to Allah, seek His help and guidance and actually thank Him, our thanking of Him is how we see Him, as our Lord seeking only our betterment and guidance. Conversely if we are moved to despair, rejection and disbelief as a result of our trials and hence blame Allah, then that is how Allah appears to us.
Thus the reason I wanted to discuss this topic here during this blessed month is to inculcate within us, to gain those eyes of insight in which we only think good of Allah, because out of our love for Him, He can do no wrong. And if we truly want to test our claim of loving Allah, then the truth of this claim can only be assessed according to our ability to remain steadfast. The article below is referring to some complex ideas, which if they can be understood will insha’Allah will help us all to become more reflective and introspective of our true internal states. By developing the ability to see with our inner-eye, insha’Allah, we will begin to judge ourselves, not only according to our outward states, but according to our inner comportment.
The Heart’s Response
It is common to think that difficult trials and tribulations in a person’s life are the originary reasons that give rise to negative feelings in the heart. What people wrongly assume is that tests in themselves give rise to negative feelings. However, what will be argued here is that this is not necessarily the case, but instead is something that is easier for people to claim so as to avoid considering any weakness in their own characters. There are always two tests contained in every test, and for every test there are always one of two responses.
Two Tests and Two Responses
وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ
أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ
كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ
“The good deed and the evil deed are not alike.
Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo!
he, between whom and thee there was enmity (will become)
as though he was a bosom friend”. (Quran, Fussilat 41:34)
Let us begin by saying that, each test contains two tests. The test itself is one, and the manner in which a person responds to the test is the other. To this there are also two responses, either one turns towards God or turns away from Him.Hence we are reminded of the prophet (s) who gathered the people of Quraish in order to proclaim his prophethood to them. Standing on a hill he said, “O people if I were to say to you there was an army approaching from the other side of this hill, would you believe me”. They all replied, “Of course we would, you are al-Amin, the trustworthy”. Yet when the prophet proclaimed his prophethood to them they all laughed and rejected the one they had themselves referred to as al-Amin. The point here is that those that rejected the prophet (s) from the outset had an element of doubt and disbelief in their hearts, which was almost instantly drawn out by the truth of the words of the prophet (s). For many this doubt was removed from their hearts, hearts which became pure enough to contain the truth of the Qur’an and Sunnah, but for others that never happened and they died in a state of disbelief. Thus the entire purpose of being tested, is that tests are the sounding stick of the heart, they separate what is true from what is false in terms of the belief of the heart, and they purify the heart so that it can contain the Qur’an. As Allah says:
إِنَّهُ لَقُرْآنٌ كَرِيمٌ
فِي كِتَابٍ مَّكْنُونٍ
لَّا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
“That this is indeed a Qur’an Most Honourable,
In Book well-guarded,
None shall touch it save the purified ones”. (Qur’an, al-Wakiah 56:77-79)
What those, that blame the test for their negative response, are actually failing to accept is that their negative response was actually their heart’s genuine and negative response to the test. In other words a true reflection of their level of emaan. Not wishing to see a true reflection of their selves in the mirror of their heart’s response, they seek to blame the test itself for their response. Sometimes going so far as to justify that response whilst knowing it was wrong.
The Negative Response
However, the negative response to a test is a manifestation of the negativity already possessed in the heart by that person, prior to the test. So, there is a subtle yet vast difference between thinking ‘tests give rise to negative feelings and negative feelings giving rise to tests’. The main purpose of a test from Allah is not the test in itself, but rather to show the person the true level of their yakin (certainty) in His existence.
Thus the one that responds negatively does so because he is unable to accept that his response is actually part of who he is. If he did not possess that character, those traits, that heart, then he would not have fallen into despair because of the test. It is easier to blame the test, and hence seek to blame God for testing him, rather than being courageous enough to look at the worst of ones characteristics, accept they came from him and then seek to remove them from the heart. As the Quran says:
“Yet when We bestow Our favours on man, he turns away and becomes remote on his side (instead of coming to Us), and when evil seizes him he gives himself up to despair!” (Quran, al-Isra 17:83)
The Positive Response
Given the idea, negative feelings of the heart giving rise to tests, what is the proof to show this principle is true? The most powerful proof is contained in response of the prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, to the bad actions against him, which he responded with pure goodness. Who despite all the deep tragedies of losing his closest family, the opposition he faced from his clan, the rejection, suffering and hatred, he never allowed even an atoms worth of negative feeling to be generated in his heart towards either those opposing him or towards the test. Such opposition must have been even more accentuated because of his deep sensitivity, love and utterly pure desire to guide the very people that had suddenly become his bitterest enemies for no other reason than an envy towards his vast and pure character, peace and blessings be upon him.
Hence the response of the heart of the messenger of Allah is a proof that no matter how difficult tests may be, it is not the test that gives rise to negativity and disbelief, but instead it is disbelief that was always present in the heart, which the test drew out. Hence another proof that the person responding negatively deserved the test was the way he responded to it. Hence his own response provides a proof against him. Now one may question why Allah would choose to draw this disbelief out of the heart? The purpose behind this is that the test acts as a form of a mirror, reflecting back to the person the essence of his character in order that he may remove and correct these negative traits before finding himself with such a heart on the final day. As Allah says:
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart.” (Qur’an, ash-Shuara 26:88-89)
Conversely, the person that responds positively by being increased in his certainty and not shaken in his faith, sees a sign of a heart in which is contained faith which, when tested, was only increased in its love for Allah. The heart was not debilitated by the pain of the test but saw beyond the material pain, seeing only benefit contained in the love, contained in the test, all intended to improve him, to draw him closer to his Creator. So the heart’s response was to accept the wisdom of the pain of the test, whereas those that responded negatively were blinded by the pain (or change expected of them) and hence failed to see beyond this to the wisdom for which they were tested.
Insha’Allah we wil continue to the conclusion of this article in the next post.
Seasons Change
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
My Lord’s House is spacious, my house is small. And although to my eyes it is a House with four sides, its space and volume is one I cannot comprehend just in the same way as I cannot comprehend His wisdom or His generosity. I love the warmth, the warm weather, the sun, the gentle caress of the summer sun on my face, warming my heart and body, the brilliant blue skies, the whitest of clouds as they float like cotton wool through golden fields. Each year I would long for its arrival, would love the glorious sight of spring blossoms, a prelude to the abundance of love and warmth conveyed in the peace found when all is light and bright. And yet as the summer passed through its phases of growth it would draw ever nearer to the time when the leaves of trees would again lose their colour, in an act of final brilliance they would turn every hue of autumn, of bright colours – orange, yellow, crimson and scarlet, and would for a brief moment lighten up the skies just before they rested for the winter. The winter is what is rapidly approaching and the trees have again taken refuge from its harsh wind, and with that hearts sink for the peace found in green is lost, and the sun inspired growth of summer has given way to dormancy and waiting. Or at least this is what I used to think. This year was different. Quite inexplicably, and whilst awaiting that same feeling of retreat it did not arrive – that actually, I felt the warmth of the sun in winter’s breath whilst there was no sun. I found the warmth of the sun, not from the sun, but from within the heart and no longer disdained the dark nights and long shadows. Quite the opposite I found a longing for the rain and cold. Longed to hear the sound of raindrops on my umbrella as I struggled to hold onto it in the driving rain. I see not an early sun and long nights but the long night as a cloak that wraps itself around us as a protective coat as we traverse the winter skies awaiting the dawn of spring. How arbitrary is man. He longs for the things that inspire him in that moment, longs for seasons far away whose time is not nigh, and disdains the moments given to him. My Lord’s House is indeed spacious – we have to embrace that House, live in it, eat of it fruits and know its seasons. Our Lord is Master of all and only He knows the true nature of the universe, it is not a knowledge we possess and so we cannot guide ourselves through the seasons, live according to its meaning, unless and until resides in our hearts, with quietude, the belief that our Lord is One, The Eternal – Seasons change but our Lord always remains the same.
وَكَذَلِكَ نُرِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ
فَلَمَّا جَنَّ عَلَيْهِ اللَّيْلُ رَأَى كَوْكَبًا قَالَ هَـذَا رَبِّي فَلَمَّا أَفَلَ قَالَ لا أُحِبُّ الآفِلِينَ
فَلَمَّا رَأَى الْقَمَرَ بَازِغًا قَالَ هَـذَا رَبِّي فَلَمَّا أَفَلَ قَالَ لَئِن لَّمْ يَهْدِنِي رَبِّي لأكُونَنَّ مِنَ
الْقَوْمِ الضَّالِّينَ
فَلَمَّا رَأَى الشَّمْسَ بَازِغَةً قَالَ هَـذَا رَبِّي هَـذَا أَكْبَرُ فَلَمَّا أَفَلَتْ قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِّمَّا تُشْرِكُونَ
إِنِّي وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ
“So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude”.
“When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: “This is my Lord.” But when it set, He said: “I love not those that set.”
“When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: “This is my Lord.” But when the moon set, He said: “unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray”.
“When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: “This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all). “But when the sun set, he said: “O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah”.
“For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah.” (Qur’an al-An’am 6:75-79)
Balance Through Tolerance, Diversity and Justice
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Photograph: Earth from the Air (http://www.wecommunic8.com/EarthFromTheAir/) Bora Bora, Polynesia
God’s creation always reflects the same universal principles – beauty, simplicity, balance and symmetry
Introduction
The subject of our thesis here is the importance of the development of balance as a means of governing and regulating our lives as good Muslims desiring to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet (s). Following in the footsteps of the Prophet (s) denotes that only he knows the way, only his direction is the best direction, that we give up our claims to be able to guide ourselves, that we firmly commit ourselves to following the best of creation (s). Balance is a topic whichis not often discussed or mentioned in modern Muslim literature because Muslims have taken to mostly dealing with the effects of problems rather than their root causes, and tend to react to problems rather than having the confidence to guide others through the wisdom of the Noble Messenger (s). If we as Muslims truly believe in the Quran and Sunnah, if we truly believe in Allah and His Messengers, and if we truly believe in the Prophet (s) then we ought to be completely committed to the idea that the myriad of social problems occuring in the world today is because we as individuals are falling considerably short in implementing the wisdom of the Prophet (s). The responsibility is ours and we should consider the responsibility to be ours because no other people in human history have been granted the immense honour of possessing the Quran and Sunnah or having been chosen to belong to the most esteemed and noblest of prophet’s, whose Ummah will be the first chosen to follow him (s) through the gates of paradise. It is my desire that we live up to the highest ideals of this great religion through bringing the wisdom and humanity of the prophet Muhammad into the lives of Muslims and non-Muslims alike because what humanity lacks today is humanity and I believe with all of my heart that we do possess an answer to each and every simple and complex social problem we witness in the world today. We have the opportunity to change this if we truly believe through implementing the wisdom of the prophet (s).
Balance and Justice
One of the main reasons for choosing the subject of balance, tolerance, diversity and justice at the moment is because I believe its correct understanding is not only something that Muslims lack at the moment, but I believe that its proper understanding is one of the most important gateways to success in this life and the next. Specifically when we refer to success in this life and the next what we mean is possessing and developing those particular skills and understandings that will enable a whole different world to open up to us by the Will of Allah. One particular focus of ours here will be the verse in the Quran when Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala said:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا
“Thus, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced, that ye might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves….”
(Qur’an, al-Baqarah 2:143)
This verse is located exactly in the middle of Surah al-Baqarah so as to further emphasise the essential need to maintain a balanced heart and intellect without which we are likely to develop a whole host of misunderstandings beginning with ourselves. The idea of balance is, in Islam, directly associated with justice as it is in Christianity and Judaism because as a law of Allah, He has determined that true justice can only flow from those most balanced. In order to illustrate this point so as to not leave any doubt in the minds of people He sent to mankind the Prophet Muhammad (s) who was the most just and balanced of all human beings. But what gave rise to that balance that enabled him to be fair, just, compassionate, tolerant, honest and sincere with everyone no matter who they were or what they had done? The answer to this is already contained in the previous sentence, for in order to describe balance we need the use of adjectives such as just, tolerant, honest and sincere besides many more. In other words balance comprises a host of additional understandings which we may think of if we consider a set of traditional scales often the same scale used to dipict justice. When those scales are balanced we get justice, and when they are imbalanced or in other words, biased towards any particular direction then we get injustice. The composition of balance is, as we have said, the acquisition of these pre-requisites where each of these pre-requisites have in themsevles some weight. Hence if we have an over-balance of compassion we will not be dispensing justice according to the Quran and Sunnah. In this respect the Prophet (s) who was the most compassionate human being to have ever been created did not allow his compassion to prevent him from obeying the command of Allah. This did not mean that He applied the laws of Allah literally so that if a person stole something he would lose his hand. But rather it was the desire of the prophet (s) to make the lives of people as easy as possible and to give them the greatest leaniancy he could, so that in the case of theif he would consider the social circumstances of the person and what led him to steal. If he had to steal as a result of poverty then he would not carry out the punishment but would provide the person with the means to be able to earn for himself a living. As a result of this example set by the prophet Muhammad of the need to understand people and to formulate complex judgement through a balanced application of good characteristics, ensured that the law of taking the hand of those that stole was enacted very rarely for centuries.
Now if we consider that justice flows from balance and balance is comprised of the good traits mentioned above, then it stands to reason that how just we are with other people is directly related to how balanced we are as individuals. This means that whilst we remain imbalanced we are also very likely to be acting unjustly with people and more than likely without our realisation. In society in general we tend to find that Muslims, even educated professional Muslims, tend to lag behind their European counterparts vis-a-vis their social awareness, tolerance and justice because they lack balance. But what has led to this state, what is maintaining and what can we do to remove it? These are three very important questions that most Muslims will agree with because the idea of justice is one which permeates throughout the Quran, and as He mentions many times:
وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَاللّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ
“And as to those who believe and do good deeds, He will pay them fully their rewards; and Allah does not love the unjust”. (Qur’an, Al-e-Imran 3:57)
Truth, Right and Rights
Also, in a Sahih hadith (a hadith with sound and irrefutable narration) the Prophet (s) that he would be an advocate of the Dhimmi on the day of judgement that spoke the truth against a Muslim that did not. This is a very strong statement intended to leave no doubt in the mind of the believer that one of the reasons why he has been accorded the privelidge of being a believer is because he stands for what is true and just. His being a Muslim accords him absolutely no rights and priviledges with God if does not speak the truth and act according to it, and in fact the disbeliever is elevated above him for that he spoke the truth. Rarely does Allah refer to Himself in the first person in the Quran, but in one very simple yet profound statement in Surah Saad He says:
قَالَ فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ
“He said: The Truth is, and the Truth I speak”
(Qur’an, Saad 38:84)
Allah not only speaks the truth but one of His names is al-Haqq, The Truth, from which comes the word Haqqiqa which means rights. In other words the rights of others, of people comes from speaking the truth. For example the rights of those suffering from poverty comes from those that speak the truth regarding the suffering of these people. Conversely, if people did not speak the truth but simply turned away from this suffering, this would not diminished their God-given right to food, water, shelter and protection but would result in their loss of rights and hence justice. What we should have seen so far is the connectoin between balance, justice, truth and rights and their inter-connectedness and inter-relatedness. In other words what is ‘right’ usually refers to ones ‘rights’, or to put it another way, ones ‘rights’ are those truths that we know to be ‘right’. That is the reason why rights can, in the Eyes of God, never be diminished is because if a person does not get their rights here on earth then they will get them with Allah in the hereafter. Hence rights are eternal and universal because they come from Him and He never diminishes.
One of the key reasons why I am presented this suite of connected ideas is because they cannot be considered alone. One cannot be committed to the truth without being committed to justice, and one cannot be committed to justice if one is not committed to rights, one cannot be committed to the rights of others without being balanced and one cannot have balanced without understanding diversity and tolerance.
Application
Why are the skills I mentioned and this commitment to the truth so important? Well to begin with they are more than just skills, in Islam they are considered essential for the success of individuals and societies. In Islam the society in not atomised and Islam does not encourage people to live individual lives separate from their other fellow human beings hence we find a host of practices in Islam orientated around the community and social engagement. These include congregational prayers the merits of which were said by the Prophet Muhammad (s) to be twenty-seven times greater than individual prayer. The obligatory Friday Prayer (Jumu’ah), and obligatory Eid Prayers – all performed in congregation. The obligation and immense merity of giving charity (Sadakah and Zakat) which connects those people that lack basic material needs including food, water and shelter is also intended as a means by which we become whole, connected human beings part o a much greater tapestry of human existance which does not begin and end with us but one which is part of a continuation of the same ideals and principles enjoined by the first prophet Adam (as) and the last prophet, Muhammad (s). As Allah says:
الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
“Establish the Prayer and pay the zakat and obey the messenger, that you might find mercy”
(Quran, an-Nur 24:56)
Hence in aspiring towards a more connected life Muslims seek to follow, for want of a better word, a “radical” life, which literally means “rooted”, that is to say rooted in the Sunnah, whose leaves draw their sustanance from prophetic wisdom and whose branches have the potential to reach the highest heavens, we connect ourselves. Hence the idea that we are drawing upon is that balance is something that can only be achieved through ones feet being firmly rooted in the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) which is a tradition than spans an unbroken chain of narration and transmission all the way back through those that took their knowledge from those that took their knowledge those that heard it from the noble Messenger (s) himself. Balance cannot be achieved through isolation which can and does have the opposite effect of causing imbalance within a person which in turn results in a very biased perception. Whereas as a just and tolerant perception results in a thoughtful and considered approach to every thought, word and judgement. One tends to listen more than speak, and one tends to think more than act. When actions are undertaken it is with a view to their honesty, sincerity and truthfulness which invariably means that one places the needs of other before oneself and always seeks to aid others. In doing so one lives by one of the highest ideals of being a Muslim which is contained in the words of the Prophet (s) when he said, “The best of you are those that are the most benefit to others”. We cannot live according to this principle through thinking only about ourselves but in fact we begin to learn to balance, on our own scales of justice, the noble attributes the prophet (s) came to teach us so that we may be most balanced and just in the application of those attibutes. And in doing so we lose ourselves and begin to reflect the names of our Lord through our character, because in reality there is no us, there is only Allah and in order to literally reach Allah we must first reach Him here on earth through the perfection of ourselves.
Conclusion
Imam al-Ghazali narrates a saying about God not taken from Islam but perhaps from Judaism but one which still reflects the truth of His magnificent existence when He said, “I was a hidden treasure, I wanted to make myself known so I created the universe”. In reality this universe is not about us but about Him, He is to us the entire universe, He is our universe, but in order to reach Him we must go through His most beloved whose name He wrote next to His on His Throne. Whose name He placed next to His in the Basmallah. If we aspire to be the vision with which Allah created us,then we must lose ourselves, our nafs, and live according to the highest ideals of the prophet Muhammad (s) and then and only then might we be in a position to be drawn near to Allah, the longing of every soul, such that,
“My slave does not cease to draw near to Me with devotions of his freewill until I love him; and when I love him I am the hearing with which he hears, the sight with which he sees, the hand with which he grasps and the foot on which he walks”.
When we see those closest to Allah they remind us of Allah and this is true because the hearts of those people are with Allah as a famous scholar once said:
“Love entails God’s taking his servant’s heart away from everything but him”
(Imam As-Shadhali)
Justice, Compassion and Suffering
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
In our previous post we wrote about the need for balance and its essential connection with justice. We also learnt that justice does not exist in and of itself, that justice as it was practiced by the Messenger of Allah (s) entailed a large degree of compassion and forgiveness in the absence of which one cannot claim to be dispensing true justice. In other words justice does not simple comprise a literal adherence to Qur’anic injunction without sensitivity, without compassion to those that may have committed a sin, or simply made a mistake. Simplistic and idealistic interpretations of the Qur’an and Sunnah, which run entirely contrary to the spirit of Islam, are unfortunately what face us today even though Allah has stated very clearly in the Quran about the necessity for compassion, tolerance and understanding. To be compassionate is not simply a Sunnah, or in other words a praiseworthy action which is rewarded as opposed to being punished if not undertaken. Compassion is so deeply embedded within the message of Qur’an that it becomes an imperative rather than something additional we do when we’re feeling especially good. Compassion is the single defining characteristic of what truly makes us human, and this sets us apart from the creatures God has created with compassion, hence we care because we choose to, not because we have to:
وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوا أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah’s cause: let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”. (Qur’an, Nur 24:22)
“Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you”, is a rhetorical question because of course every believer would want to be forgiven especially, if brought in front of him, were the results of his actions. It is also an injunction to forgive others if we too want to be forgiven. If we seek mercy from Allah then we must also be merciful to others. If we seek kindness from others then we too must be kind, if we seek patience from others for our faults then we too must be patient with others. As the Prophet (s) said, “Love for humanity what you love for yourself”. (Al-Bukhari). In other words be consistent, not arbitrary. To be arbitrary would be for someone to pray all their prayers one day and the next day overlook them completely whilst still expecting that Allah would be, to them, kind, generous, forgiving, overlook their faults, and forgive their shortcomings. If these are our expectations of Allah, and indeed they should be, for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful (Ghafur-ur Rahim), then they can only be so if we are consistent, for in consistency is found sincerity. If we know this to be true, that we as human beings err, and we absolutely rely on the forgiveness and compassion of Allah, then we ought to be able to find compassion in our hearts for the suffering of others. How can we possible claim for ourselves this religion and yet not adhere to its most fundamental cornerstone of compassion?
To forgive and overlook is to be compassionate and that compassion stems from the knowledge that we could very easily find ourselves in the same situation in which case we would want others to be compassionate with us. Hence in order to achieve the justice of the Qur’an actually entails, in its greater part, our ability to be balanced which will enable us to be tolerant, overlook the faults of others, be patient, and above all else, compassionate, all of this equates to the justice of the Prophet (s). And if we are truly sincere in achieving the same justice for ourselves, our communities and our Ummah then we must begin by seriously examining how compassionate we are towards the suffering of other people whether they are Muslim or non-Muslim. Umar ibn al-Khattab the second Caliph of Islam said,”My greatest concern is the suffering of animals. If an animal in Baghdad is being mistreated I want to know about it”. Imagine that in the young Islamic State with so many important considerations and so many matters of State to deal with, the greatest concern of the Head of the Muslims was the welfare of animals, which demonstrates that if his concern for animal welfare was so great then clearly his concern for people would be one-hundred fold greater. What, I wonder, is our greatest concern?
The Nickell Story
A case which you may have read about recently in the news is about the long campaign for justice by the Nickell family whose daughter Rachel Nickel, at the age of twenty-three, was murdered whilst out walking one morning in Wimbledon Common, South London in 1992. She left behind a grieving mother, father, brother, husband and a two-year old boy who was found clinging to his mother’s body repeating the words, “wake up mummy!”. His mummy did not and it took sixteen painful years and considerable suffering, which is an understatement, before the family finally received their true justice in the capture and prosecution of the real killer. The pain however continues. May Allah ease their suffering.
It is difficult for someone that has not been through the pain of injustice and suffering to know what it is like to suffer, what the heart experiences, and the impact it has on the self. Our own prophet (s) went through tremendous suffering, with not only the rejection of his tribe, but spent a life without his father who died before he was born. He suffered the loss of his mother around the age of five, lost his grandfather, and two close uncles both of whom protected him, Khadijah (ra) his beloved wife of twenty-five years, countless of his closest friends, and six of his seven children. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala did not need to put the him (s) through such loss and suffering because he was already beloved to Allah and had already been granted paradise. But yet he suffered more than any other prophet or human being in human history for his heart was the most sensitive and his love the purest, so when he felt pain it was the most severest of all. Why then did Allah test him in this way? One of the primary reasons for this was to show those that were present and those of later generations, that the truly exalted are those who Allah places through suffering. That, hearts are only truly born through suffering, and the hearts of those that suffer are not like the hearts of those that, do not or have never, suffered deep pain. The capacity of the hearts of those chosen to suffer is quite unlike the capacity of other hearts and hence their status is much greater, their rewards much higher, their understandings much more rarefied. And this is evident to see in the lives of all the prophets (s) that had to suffer some great hardship or other, hence the only reason why they were chosen to be prophets and messengers was because of the hearts they possessed. If one answers this by saying that it stands to reason they were able to withstand their suffering was because of the hearts they were given – has either never suffered or does not understand suffering. The very reason for the exalted status of prophets, peace be upon them all, is because they were not only able to withstand the considerable pain of their suffering, the like of which we cannot ever imagine, but that despite all of their pain and suffering they still remained steadfast in their test and even moreso, grateful to their Lord.
If we are ever tested by Allah in the loss of our family and loved ones, in the loss of our wealth and standing, in the loss of our health and well-being then we ought to know that this is one immense reward from Allah as its His raising of us to a new station. But we if, on top of and despite our suffering, not only bear that suffering but are increased in our love for our Lord and increased in our gratitude to Him then we ought to know of His immense love for us for purifying our hearts and granting us stations we do not deserve. Below is a statement made today by the father of Rachel Nickell which captures so profoundly the depth of the suffering felt by this family at the loss of their daughter. May she rest in peace and may Allah grant her family peace and sakeen and peace and sakeen to all those in a state of suffering whoever they may be. Ameen.
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوفْ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الأَمَوَالِ وَالأنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere.” (Qur’an, Baqarah 2:155)
A statement released by Andrew Nickell, father of Rachel, on the impact his daughter’s murder has had on the Nickell family – 18 December 2008
We have been asked to provide an impact statement to try and describe how Rachel’s murder has affected us. This is a bit like trying to describe how you felt after being run over by a very large truck. In both cases you come out of a coma months/years later, having lived through a period when you were not really conscious of what was going on but you keep on automatically breathing and eating. When you come to, you gradually realise what you have lost.
The greatest loss is your future. All the things that any family hopes for and expects are completely smashed. There will be no daughter to talk to in our old age, no grandchildren to love and admire. At a stroke all this has been removed.
The next loss is your anonymity. Your life is trampled on by the media. You are “gawked at” in supermarkets. You are avoided by so-called friends who think some bad luck will rub off on them. Your son is devastated as he is very close to his sister. He avoids any close relationship because he fears losing someone else. Your mother, in her eighties, cries every day and wished she had been taken instead.
The greatest loss is your future. All the things that any family hopes for and expects are completely smashed.
Your daughter’s partner retreats into pain and blame without the guidance and love of your daughter. After a few years he moves abroad and later you are stopped from seeing your only grandson. You become ever more wary of strangers. You reveal nothing because they might be media or have contacts with the media. Copies of your phone bills are obtained and friends abroad ring up to try to discover where your grandson lives.
You fight the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board for recompense for Alex for losing his mother in horrible circumstances and the loss of her love and parenting skills for the 15 years until he is 18. After seven years he is rewarded a derisory amount. The home secretary tells you that there is no appeal against this award.
You deal year after year with the machinery of the Crown and the ever-changing teams of police and specialists. Some of them care deeply, but they come and go. To say one man has destroyed our lives is too strong. But that one man has changed it forever. You learn to accommodate these changes, but the pain remains with you every minute of every day. Every day Rachel’s name is mentioned, her photograph published or her home videos shown, everything comes flooding back.
We hope the man who committed the crime will spend the rest of his life in prison. That is the sentence he has given us.
A. Nickell
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/law_order/andrew+nickells+impact+statement/2888002
The Yielding Stone (As Sakhra al Musallima)
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Introduction
This is a true story about the journey of a stone, a young pebble born in the foothills of the mountain from which it came, and the trials and tribulations it faced as it navigated its way in the streams and rivers of its life on its epic journey back to the ocean. How it made it to the ocean and the difficulties it faced is the tale I would very much like to recall to you today – I hope you are ready for our story of courage, wisdom and adventure.
Beginning
Once upon a time on a cold early spring’s morning high up in the hills where the air was fresh and clean all was still and peaceful. The sun had just arisen above the mountains and its rays shone, on the glissening the newly laid carpet of white snow which stood out even moreso against the brillant blue of winter’s late sky. The landscape was epic and breathtaking but what was even more breathtaking was the journey of our young intrepid explorer, a young but brilliant stone full of energy and enthusiasm. As the sky rose over this special morning so our young stone rolled gently down the slopes of the mountain, from the arms of its mother, and laid quietly in the pure waters edge next to the stream that was to be its home from now on. In anticipation the stone prepared himself for the journey into the unknown, for until now he had only known the safety of the mountain and its gentle slopes, now he must descend to lands unknown to him, not knowing what to expect so far away from home. But he knew it was a journey he had to make for every stone born of a mountain, like every snowflake that melted to a drop, must find its way to the sea. Made of brilliant stuff was the stone because the mountain from whence it came was an object of beauty, but yet the stone was rugged and unrefined as it gently entered the stream thus beginning its formative journey of wisdom and discovery. At the beginning the stream was gentle and timid, flowing and gliding smoothly, bending and swaying as it came upon obtacles too difficult for it to negotiate – the stream much like the stone was young and yeilding.
The Tribulation of the River
So the journey continued and as time passed so the stream began to grow into a river and as more rain fell and more tributary streams joined it so they added to its weight and with that speed. Stronger grew the stream and ever faster did it flow down the mountain until it could no longer contain its desire to become a proud river. Until now the stone had skillfully floated along in the smooth current of the stream without much bother but he noticed that things were not as easy as they were before when the stream was still a stream and its waves were ripples. Now its size and speed tossed the stone hither and thither and sent it crashing against the rough stone bank and gravel bed. As much as he tried he could not avoid colliding into the other stones in the river all of whom were also trying to make their way back to the ocean. Each time they did collide against one another each of them lost something of themselves but also gained something as well. They began to lose their rough edges in doing so they also gained something which was smoothness and roundedness. With each collision with the bank or river bed or with other stone, with the action of the river, with all of this energy did not diminish the stone but gave it shape and purpose. From a rough and indistinguishable object did begin to appear a discernable object shaped by the hands of the river and time. By the elements within which it was subsumed did begin to emerge a beautifully polished stone gleeming in the light, purified by the water.
The End of the Journey
Just as the river did begin its life as a gentle stream so its long journey and life were nearly complete as it came upon the final part of its journey on the plains that reside before the ocean, and with that journey we have come nearly to the end of, at this portion, of the life of our stone. A stone that did begin its life so roughened and without shape, had now, not only shape, but direction. It had been carried hundreds of miles over the land quite often unaware of the dangers the river protected it from as that river overcame one obstacle after another, turning this way and that it charted its difficult path down from the slopes of the mountain to the sea from where it once came. As the river enters the sea so do all the stones shaped by their own individual journies, who will now begin a new life in the sea. What that life may be is perhaps a story for another time but for now let us reflect on the signs of this story and let us reflect on its meaning.
The Meaning That Shaped Our Existence
The signs provided are from Allah and the meaning contained within this story is one that reflects so much that is analogous to human existence on earth. We began our journey high up at the foot of a magnifcent mountain from which our stone came. The stone as you may have gathered represents human beings, who begin their lives, much like this stone, with roughened edges, without shape nor direction. The mountain from which it came represents the parents of the stone which are so highly praised in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Thus the stone will forever be a physical and spiritual part of the mountain and will itself become a mountain one day from which will come other stones. The mountain in our story also represents the soul, or the Light of Allah as contained within every human body. The reason why the mountain represents both the Light of Allah and parents is because life for a child begins with the soul which is breathed into the body of the unborn child at five months. This is the spiritual component of the human being, his physical component are his parents through which his spiritual self enters the physical world. However, there are pure souls that come from less than pure souls and visa versa, hence what flows does not have to represent from whence it came and visa versa, such is the Mercy of Allah.
At the beginning of the journey we began with a gentle stream. This stream represents two things, firstly it represents our parents that are there to guide us at the beginning of our journey. Life is at that time gentle and forgiving as we spend our time immersed in the garden of youth, playfulness and innocence which is what our parents seek to protect. The stream and then latterly the river also represents the prophets and also Divine Guidance and the land through which the river passes represents Divine Will. Divine Guidance is composed of Divine Mercy and Justice, but just as Allah has said, “Verily My Mercy has overcome My Anger” (Bukhari). In other words whilst one of the name of Allah is Al-Adl (The Just), He is also Ar-Rahman (Most-Compassionate), and whilst Allah can exact justice from His servants He has chosen as His dominant quality forgiveness, mercy, love and compassion. Within the river is the guidance, protection and mercy of Allah and without is His Will and Justice. This it is that the land represents His Will and Justice and the river which softens that land represents His Mercy. Only the river can guide itself, the stones within it are at the mercy of the power of the river and the direction it takes and that direction is a path only the prophets and messengers have been given as they have come to either renew the river or to forge a new one. The river does not seek its own path to the sea and nor does it impose its own will on the land but yields to the force of the land which shapes its direction back to the sea.
The sea in our story represents the hereafter but it also represents Allah, the Light from which we came, and back to Whom we dearly desire to return. One aspect of the journey from the mountain is that every stone will reach the sea, or in other words, every human being will return to Allah but in what state depends entirely on one condition, submission. Our entire journey and story was about the submission of the stone to the river, or the submission of the will of the stone to the guidance and direction of the prophets. Some stones yield entirely their selves and hence become smooth and refined, and yet other refuse to be smoothened but instead become even rougher through their experiences. They are the ones who refuse to yield their souls to their Lord, who refuse to bend their will to the Will of their Lord, who refuse to bow before the Power and Majesty of their Lord. They have not yet realised the journey they are on and have not realised the futility of the stone fighting the power of the river, the might of the land and strength of the sea. But the wise amongst those stones know who they are, where they have come from and where they are going. Insha’Allah let us be amongst those wise servants who return to their Lord in a state of submission and humility, refined and smooth. There is much more that we can draw out of our analogy here but I hope that insha’Allah the more we think about this analogy more knowledge and wisdom will flow into our hearts. Ma’salaama.
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart” (Qur’an, ash-Shuara 26:88-89)
Fear and Psychology of Power
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Introduction
As sure as night follows day and day follows night what we might say about the current global impasse of the Muslims is that one is no more or less than a product of what he or she spends his or her time thinking about, speaking about and acting on. The purpose of this article is to examine the idea that the root of empowerment, as it is taught in Islam, is to believe that all power is with Allah and that the basis for external change resides with each individual believing that he can make a just change through changing himself.
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللّهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَى قَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
“Because Allah will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily Allah is He Who hears and knows (all things).” (Qur’an, Al-Anfal 8:53)
We Are What We Think
Most people know the oft-quoted saying that we are what we eat, the same principle may be applied within a spiritual and intellectual dimension in that we are a product of our thoughts, ideas and actions. There is nothing revolutionary about this idea and most Muslims understand, at least at some cognitive level, about the idea that one is judged in Islam according primarily to ones intentions. In other words if a person intended to do some good and exerted all effort to achieve this good but did not accomplish it for whatever reason then we have been informed by the Prophet Muhammad (s) that the person will be rewarded according to the good he intended. The point here is that we are being taught about the dual operation of both a physical component as well as a metaphysical component governing our actions and outcomes. Action without sincere intention is as deleterious as intention without sound action. The Islamic way is the perfection of both in equal measure.
Now it is at this point when we apply this principle to the Muslims in general that our shortfalls begin to unravel and where the weakness of our belief begins to become apparent on the shaky foundations upon which it stands. We make this statement in reference to the continued and unfortunate humiliation of Muslims around the world. However, contrary to popular belief amongst Muslims this demise has absolutely nothing to do with the foreign policy of Western governments and Muslims in this regard need to extricate themselves from the bandwagon of blaming others for their own weaknesses and faults. The primary and irrefutable reason why it is abhorrent for any Muslim to begin to attribute the difficulties they find themselves in to external forces is because it completely diminishes the power of Allah. By blaming any government for the situation of the Muslims is to fundamentally reject the Qadr of Allah and to assign power to other than Allah. And yet what is all to often to hear is that such and such a government is to blame or such and such a government should do something to alter the condition of the Muslim Ummah. My question is why should they?
Enjoin Right and Forbid Wrong
The foundation of the question of why we think non-Muslims should help us is rooted in the Sunnah of the Prophet (s) who never blamed the non-Muslims for the condition of the Muslims. He simply saw the tribulations the Muslims were facing as coming from Allah, he (s) turned only to Allah for help and never sought to humiliate himself by begging the very people that were persecuting the Muslims for help. And yet if we apply prophetic teaching to the modern day political situation of Muslims we find a contradiction in the understanding of those that blame Western and Eastern governments for the condition of the Muslims and yet at the same time call for their destruction. Whilst on one hand they seek their help they also condemn them for subjecting Muslims across the world to persecution. What do we see in this contradiction? We see self-humiliation. We see such Muslims humiliating themselves by turning to other than Allah for their provision and assigning their condition to other than Allah.
Whatever the Muslims are being subjected to today is from Allah and no one and nothing else, to seek an answer elsewhere is foolish. The question is then where does the problem lie and what wisdom may we draw from this continued mental impasse amongst Muslims around the world? Well, we began with the statement that we are essentially a product of how we spend our time. In other words the person that becomes all passionate and heated because some incident occurs regarding the abuse of Muslims is foolish if for all those other times he spent his time occupied with other than Allah. In other words we are defined entirely by what occupies our hearts and mind each and every day of our life. If we spend our time thinking about entertainment, the pursuit of wealth, the pursuit of a career, obtaining a fine education and so on then this comprises our beliefs. Our beliefs are not those stated in the Qur’an and Sunnah, this is Islam, unfaltering and unchanging. The degree to which our practice converges and reflects the Qur’an and Sunnah depends entirely on how we spend our time. In which case do we really have anything to complain about if Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala sends against us a reminder to relieve us our of this mental lethargy? These are the signs of Allah intended to wake us up from this long slumber so that we may ask ourselves what is it exactly we stand for, who exactly we are and how exactly do we define ourselves.
The Psychology of Power: The Biggest One
These are the times for hard questions and each and everyone needs to ask themselves what is it they stand for and who is it they are truly living for, whether Allah and His Messenger (s) or for someone else? A pertinent example is that of Ibrahim (as) who broke all the smaller idols but left the biggest one so that when he was asked who committed this grave act he solemnly pointed to the biggest one and said, “Him!”
فَجَعَلَهُمْ جُذَاذًا إِلَّا كَبِيرًا لَّهُمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ يَرْجِعُونَ
قَالُوا مَن فَعَلَ هَذَا بِآلِهَتِنَا إِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا فَتًى يَذْكُرُهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ
قَالُوا فَأْتُوا بِهِ عَلَى أَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْهَدُونَ
قَالُوا أَأَنتَ فَعَلْتَ هَذَا بِآلِهَتِنَا يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ
قَالَ بَلْ فَعَلَهُ كَبِيرُهُمْ هَذَا فَاسْأَلُوهُمْ إِن كَانُوا يَنطِقُونَ
“So he broke them to pieces, (all) but the biggest of them, that they might turn (and address themselves) to it. They said, “Who has done this to our gods? He must indeed be some man of impiety! They said, “We heard a youth talk of them: He is called Abraham. They said, “Then bring him before the eyes of the people, that they may bear witness.” They said, “Art thou the one that did this with our gods, O Abraham?” “He said: “Nay, this was done by – this is their biggest one! ask them, if they can speak intelligently!”
(Qur’an, Al-Anbiya 21:58-63)
One of the ideas this verse indicates is the psychology of the delusion of material power, and it is this psychology that Ibrahim (as) sought to present for its stupidity. In other words it is common for people to look towards the greatest power of their time and assign a type of god-head to it. In this case the people of the time of Ibrahim (as) took the greatest of their idols as being the most powerful. In our times today Muslims will quite often hold the US and UK as these chief “gods” responsible for every global injustice. In other words in their minds they consider these governments as the “greatest god” responsible for creating havoc in the world. They end up assigning material power to these governments as though the injustice is a function of their power. The truth is that whichever century we evaluate and whichever power we evaluate the same conclusion can be drawn which is that power is only with Allah, and everything that happens, be it good or bad in our eyes, is a function of His power, subhanahu wa ta’ala. If we want to know where Allah resides in our thinking then we ought to pay attention to who we seek to ascribe power to because these times are no different to any other time when Allah tested the believers. In the example of the Prophet (s) he never blamed anyone else when the Muslims were in difficulty but that he turned to Allah and sought His help, guidance and protection. This action is particularly exemplified when the Prophet (s) was chased out by the people of Ta’if who abused him and threw rocks at him. And yet we find in his noble example that he never blamed them for this action. He never said that the condition of the Muslims was due to the disbelief of the people of Ta’if. And he reiterated this in his decision to refuse punishment for them because he said, ‘Maybe from them will come people that believe’.
فَرَجَعُوا إِلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ فَقَالُوا إِنَّكُمْ أَنتُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
ثُمَّ نُكِسُوا عَلَى رُؤُوسِهِمْ لَقَدْ عَلِمْتَ مَا هَؤُلَاء يَنطِقُونَ
So they turned to themselves and said, “Surely ye are the ones in the wrong!” Then were they confounded with shame: (they said), “Thou know full well that these (idols) do not speak!” (Qur’an, Al-Anbiya 21:64-65)
Hence the delusion of material power represents the belief that power resides in ‘things’, in stones, and wood, in planes that bomb, and hearts that hate. Power does not reside in stone, and as people of Taqwa we need to know and understand that by turning to stone and asking it for power or to change its actions and placing hope that through its change will come change in our situation is to believe in ones heart that power resides in stone. Allah is He and there is none comparable to Him. As people of Taqwa we need only to turn to Allah and need only to seek His help, and whilst we are petitioning our Lord we need to remain constant in enjoining right and forbidding wrong. This was the way of the Prophet (s), this was the way of the Companions of the Prophet (s) and this was the way of the righteous, we will find no change in the ways of Allah.
To hold others to account we must first begin by holding ourselves to account
As people of Taqwa, reflection, understanding and wisdom we must question ourselves and ask what we have done to contribute to this situation and what we are doing to rectify it. Are we truly following the example of the Prophet (s) or are we simply exerting our own pathologies and weakness in front of others. Insha’Allah in whatever times we might find ourselves let us follow the example of the Prophet (s) who whether faced with difficulty or ease would raise his hands up to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and pray:
“O Allah, by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation, keep me alive so long as You know such life to be good for me and take me if You know death to be better for me. O Allah, make me fearful of You whether in secret or in public and i ask You to make me true in speech, in times of pleasure and anger. I ask You to make me moderate in times of wealth and poverty, And i ask You for everlasting bliss and joy which will never cease. I ask You to make me pleased with what You have decreed and for an easy life after death.. I ask You for the sweetness of looking upon Your Face and a longing to encounter You in a manner which does not entail a calamity which will bring about harm nor a trial which will cause deviation. O Allah, beautify us with the adornment of faith and make us of those who guide and are rightly guided. (Nasa’ee and Ahmad).
∙5 Muharram 1430∙
Remember Allah
َبِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللّهَ لَمْ يَكُ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ
“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction”. (Quran, Al-Rad 13:28)
Introduction
We said in our previous post that we are a product of what we think. In other words a person is composed entirely of those elements towards which his heart and mind are directed. The one whose heart and mind are occupied with remembering Allah through various sincere acts of devotion and worship is moving towards a perception, and a witnessing of the reality of Al-Haqq. What this means is that the one that sincerely wants to know the truth will be gradually brought closer and closer to the truth – the truth in this case means a greater and deeper understanding of ourselves and our relationship with God. However, there are many that have confused this idea in various ways. Many rightly understand that traditional learning in Islam occurs through the humble process of the student gaining knowledge from the teacher through learning by sitting in his company. This also ensures authenticity and validation of the knowledge gained, at that moment the student becomes part of a branch, a tradition and an unbroken chain of transmission of authentic knowledge all the way back to the prophet Muhammad (s) himself. This physical relationship of the student and the teacher is true and understood. But what is less understood is that to become a student begins with the self and it comes from the heart. In other words if it was simply a case of making oneself a student then we would have many very bright and intellectual students of knowledge in Islam. Alhamdulillah we do have many bright students of learning but no way near enough and much of this is to do with two misconceptions and pessimistic ideas. One is that without a teacher one cannot learn and the second is that without the God-given ability to learn one cannot learn. Both of these are false ideas usually perpetrated by those that would seek to justify their lack of action. The point we are making here is that even without a teacher and even without having knowledge of possessing some great ability one can become very knowledgeable and pious. That is not to say we should not seek a teacher, on the contrary the point here is that one begins the learning process by possessing a sound and sincere desire in the heart to want to know and want to learn. But in order to make this desire pure and sincere that desire has to be for the greater good, for the benefit of others and not just so that one may seek to stand apart from the crowd. When knowledge is sought selflessly then Allah increases that person in knowledge, and when it is sought for personal gain Allah humiliates that person. As the Prophet (s) said, “God has never dignified anyone due to his ignorance, nor humiliated anyone due to his knowledge. And wealth is never diminished as a result of charity”. (Ad-Daylami)
The Heart
This point being made is not a minor point it is perhaps one of the most significant issues of our times as Muslims living in this age where scholars are few and those seeking sacred knowledge from the heart are fewer. In order to know, to understand, to learn and to be brought close to Allah is not a function of our intellectual capacities but the desires in our hearts. Allah is just and fair and this desire applies as equally to Muslims as well as to non-Muslims, the distinguishing factor is the sincerity with which one seeks to want to know the truth. Hence what we find today is that convert Muslims are often playing a significant role in the protection of Islam simply because of their desire to want to know the truth. Allah answered their prayers and brought them into this religion and continued to reward their sincerity.
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ
إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
“The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,
But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart.” (Qur’an, ash-Shuara 26:88-89)
The Memory of Allah
Before arriving at the key point in this article I wanted it to precede with the idea of the power our hearts contain, as given by Allah, in its ability to change the person, communities and societies simply through desiring good. However, the limit of this significant power within the human being in not just the desire for the truth or the desire to want change. It goes even deeper than this and resides at the very heart, the very foundation of who we are as Muslims. It is our inner sanctum, the inner most secret chambers of our hearts, it is no less than who we are. It is Allah. Allah occupies the hearts of the believers day and night, morning and evening, during prosperity and adversity, during war and peace. He is He. Neither day nor night, neither the sun or stars. That is why we never exclusively worship Him during the day and nor only during the night. He is neither war nor peace, and that is why we neither exclusively worship Him during times of war or times of peace. He is neither prosperity nor adversity, and hence we neither solely worship Him during those times. But that we worship and remember Him during all times, during all weathers and all seasons. He is He. And we love Him for it. It is as beautifully simple as that. We love Him for it because He is not any of those things, those things that cause pain and suffering, those things that people desire, live for and fight for. We love Him because He is fair and just, always consistent, always forgiving. In Him we never find change as we might in the seasons He has created or the movement of the universe. He is now as He always was and will continue to be that is why we love Him so.
سُنَّةَ مَن قَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَا وَلاَ تَجِدُ لِسُنَّتِنَا تَحْوِيلاً
“(This was Our) way with the messengers We sent before thee: thou wilt find no change in Our ways”. (Qur’an, al-Isra 17:77)
People may change, those that claim to love us may desert us, those that we once loved may die or abandon that love because of strife and difficulty. Those that claimed to give us justice may fail and falter, those that claimed to act for the good of others may only be acting for their own good. But Allah, He is fair with all His servants whether rich or poor, black or white, believer or disbeliever. He is there for everyone all the time. That is why we love Him so, or at least that is why we should love Him so. But unfortunately this is not always the case amongst us believers today and consequently we are faced with a darkened earth because there are an ever decreasing number of people calling their Lord from their hearts. They live for other than Allah from morning until evening and then wonder why the skies are so dark? I wonder? But this is not a tale of woe or hopelessness, this is a message of hope that we are only a heartbeat away from radical change if our hearts would so desire it. However, there is also a severe warning in this message, one that we must all heed if we are to take seriously our obligations and responsibilities. That warning is against those that seek to erase the memory of Allah.
To Erase the Memory of Our Beloved
“To erase the memory of Allah?,” you ask? Yes indeed! We have many literalist thinkers amongst us that think the greatest enemy that Islam is facing is an external one that possesses missiles and media. And that through the use of those weapons these people are aiming to cause the decline of Islam. This could not be further from the truth in its understanding. Indeed there are people that are working day and night, plotting and planning, but there has never been a time when this has not been the case. We faced them before and insha’Allah we will face them again. But lest we are to forget we have an avowed enemy who has made it his ambition to assault the believers, then let me remind us all that this is the norm not the exception.
ثُمَّ لآتِيَنَّهُم مِّن بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَن شَمَآئِلِهِمْ وَلاَ تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ
“Then will I assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor wilt thou find, in most of them, gratitude (for thy mercies).” (Qur’an, al-Araf 7:17)
It is the purpose for which God chose to create us. It is not this simple ignorant people we are concerned with but rather the greatest enemy we face is already with us, it is inside us. It is the heart that beats in our chest, it is the tongue in our mouth, it is the hand with which we eat, the feet with which we walk, and the mind with which we think. Our greatest enemy is us. How do we know this to be true? With one simple yet profound question. How do you erase the memory of something? The answer is you never mention its name. By never mentioning something you will slowly forget it, forget its details and characteristics. In your mind and heart its memory will weaken until one day you will not know it at all. This is an undeniable phenomena. However, what many Muslims do not realise is their participation in erasing the memory of their Lord by not mentioning His name. Whenever some crisis affecting the Muslims occurs they remember politics, or they will take the name of some corrupt leader, or they will refer to western States and so on. But they will never mention the name of Allah. And by not doing so their tongues not only belie what is in their hearts, but they are also actively working to erase the memory of Allah from the hearts and minds of their brothers and sisters. Such people, whether they do this wittingly or unwittingly, are still actively working against Islam and as such should either be educated or avoided. As Imam Ali said, “A man’s heart lies under his tongue”. Hence if you want to know what a person loves the most then listen to what he speaks about the most.
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللّهَ لَمْ يَكُ فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَاسِكَكُمْ فَاذْكُرُواْ اللّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ آبَاءكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلاَقٍ
“So when ye have accomplished your holy rites, celebrate the praises of Allah, as ye used to celebrate the praises of your fathers,- yea, with far more Heart and soul. There are men who say: “Our Lord! Give us (Thy bounties) in this world!” but they will have no portion in the Hereafter”. (Quran, al Baqarah 2:200)
Our Mission
We must recall our mission which as Isa (as) said, “The world is a bridge so get across it as quickly as possible”. And the best way to do this is by reminding people of their mission, of the purpose for which they and us are here which is only for knowledge and worship so that one day we might find ourselves somewhere better than where we are today. It is not for the purpose of growing roots, settling down and seeking to live a life of luxury. Our mission is to remind people about God. And this includes both Muslims and non-Muslims. When we talk we must talk about God, whenever we see a problem we must question why God placed it there and what we did to contribute to it. Whenever we are faced with difficulty we do not say that such and such are conspiring against us but that we say it is by the will of Allah and it is Allah that we must seek to please in order to remove our difficulties. There are people that say everything is by the will of Allah and then they go onto say but this is happening because of so and so. This is a lie and a contradiction. All power is with Allah all the time. If some difficultly faces us it is from Allah, and if some good then it is from Allah. Everyone and everything are in His power and all are His instruments. He choose whomever He wills to test others with. In which case we should not turn to the instrument and ask it why it is doing such and such a thing but we should turn to the Originator of the Heaven and the Earth seek His forgiveness, His guidance and His Mercy alone. Ameen.
ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللّهَ لَمْ يَكُ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيراً وَانتَصَرُوا مِن بَعْدِ مَا ظُلِمُوا وَسَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا أَيَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ
“Except those who believe, work righteousness, engage much in the remembrance of Allah, and defend themselves only after they are unjustly attacked. And soon will the unjust assailants know what vicissitudes their affairs will take!” (Quran, Al-Shuara 26:227)
Remember Allah Part2
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Introduction
Continuing from our last post where we specifically made mention of one of the most important issues affecting Muslims in these times which is the lack of referring to Allah as the Originator of Power. All power belongs to Him and everything that happens in the heavens and the earth is by His will alone. The key point we were referring to is avoid the grave offense of ascribing partners to Allah by referring to events that may occur as a direct result of the actions of others. In other words we should not say that if we are afflicted with oppression that this is because of the actions of the oppressor but rather that it is from Allah and only through sincerely turning to Allah repenting, and seeking His forgiveness and guidance may that oppression or injustice end. Now, that is not to say that we do not hold to account those that may be acting unjustly but the point here is that by ascribing the act as a function of the power of Allah we are both testifying to the truth as well as looking at ourselves to understand what of our actions have contributed to the situation. In this post what I would like to cover in greater detail is one of the ideas I mentioned in the previous post which was the idea of seeking to avoid inadvertently working to erase the memory of Allah from the hearts and minds of the believers. This post tells us how to recognise when we are acting against ourselves and our fellow Muslims and how this may be avoided.
Reminding Ourselves and Others of Allah
Following in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad (s), the best of believers have always been those that constantly remind others of God through their actions and intentions, through their knowledge and speech and through what they do and what they avoid. People are thus graded in Islam according to the degree to which they act for the common good of the people, whether believer or non-believer, but specifically for the good of his fellow believing brothers and sisters. Thus the best amongst us tend to be those are constant in reminding others of Allah. This specifically has several effects upon the individual:
(i) Fitra
Firstly, it has a direct bearing on the Ruh, whose inclination is towards the remembrance of its Lord. The fitra or innate nature of all human beings is to remember Allah, to be selfless and to do good through helping other people. Hence when we remind people of God it is a message that the eyes see, the ears hear, the message enters the mind and the heart and all bear witness to what they all once heard and saw when their Lord brought forth the whole of humanity in front of Him and asked, “I am I not your Lord”?
مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتَ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُواْ بَلَى شَهِدْنَا أَن تَقُولُواْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غَافِلِينَ
“When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?”- They said: “Yea! We do testify!” (This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment: “Of this we were never mindful” (Qur’an, Al-Araf 7:172)
Hence whether believer or not through the simple act of reminding people of God of speaking about God when referring to other matters we are appealing to the innate nature of human beings as created by Allah that of His knowledge and remembrance. With reference to non-Muslims we must remember the actions of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and the fact that every Muslim, before he became a Muslim was a non-Muslim. There were no Muslims at the time of the Prophet (s), his message in its entirety went to disbelievers and often to those of extreme actions and beliefs. But it was only by his constancy and not judging who may be recieving the message that so many people entered the faith. Hence our role is simply to remind people of goodness and hopefully through that process awaken the goodness in them. For those already aware of and believe in goodness, through reminders of God, are being invited to identify with God, and those that identify with God are being invited to the ranks of the believers.
(ii) Taqwa: Continual Worship
As believers we are all at various states and stages in our remembrance of Allah. During the day our remembrance fluctuates, usually at its highest during periods of worship and perhaps weakest when we are occupied by work or play. That is why as believers we seek as much as possible to converge all our actions into one state, that of a continuous form of worship through remembering Allah during all actions. Hence it may be that we’re cooking a nice meal, we will begin by being in a state of wudu. When we’re cutting the meat or vegetables we should say bismillah in order to affirm that it is not the knife that cuts but the properties given to it by Allah. When we put the food in the pan to cook we should do so with the right hand and also say bismillah. And throughout the cooking process we are showing our gratitude to Allah for providing us with so many ingredients with which to flavour our food. Making continual dua and thanking Allah when cooking is one way in which we make this otherwise mundane act an act of deep ibadah in which our food becomes full of flavour and barakah. Conversely, if we rushed our cooking and forgot the One that provided our ingredients and enabled us to cook them together to produce a filling meal, then we have forgone an opportunity to thank Allah for an immense blessing. This is one example but in all good deeds and actions, no matter how small we can remember Allah because every good action we take part in contains the signs of Allah.
It is for this reason that Taqwa is the highest form of worship of the greatest reward because it entails a continuous remembrance of Allah in all our actions. The prophet (s) once said, “I do not sleep except that my eyes are closed, my heart is awake and in the presence of its Lord”. In other words the Prophet (s) had the station and state of heart and mind where He was constantly aware of his Lord even when he slept. Following the same principle, as believers, the more we get into the practice of remembering Allah in all acts great and small the easier it becomes to acquire a state of heart and mind where we find it easy to remember Allah.
(iii) The Benefits of His Remembrance
فِيالْأَرْضِ وَابْتَغُوا مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَثِيراًلَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“And when the Prayer is finished, then may ye disperse through the land, and seek of the Bounty of Allah: and celebrate the Praises of Allah often (and without stint): that ye may prosper”.(Qur’an, Al-Jumu’ah 62:10)
However, acquiring this state of remembering Allah is not simply something we do, of no other benefit, other than the reward of His remembrance. The entire reason why it is enjoined is because when one is in a state of worship, their heart and mind with its Lord, it is very difficult for that person to become perturbed as a result of difficulties. When all around people are losing their heads we keep ours because we acquire forbearance (hilm), which is one of the results of continual mediation on the existence of Allah. Given that this earth is the arena of tests, trials and tribulations as commanded by Allah, it stands to reason that the better prepared we are for those tests the more likely we are to be successful in them. And the greatest route to success in those tests is to acquire a state of heart and mind that does not become perturbed as a result of difficulties. Constantly keeping Allah to mind is the best way of ensuring success when, and not if, those difficulties arise.
(iv) Fear Allah and avoid those that do not fear Him
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
“O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) He has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do. And be ye not like those who forgot Allah; and He made them forget their own souls! Such are the rebellious transgressors!” (Qur’an, al-Hashr 59:18-19)
We said in our previous post:
But they will never mention the name of Allah. And by not doing so their tongues not only belie what is in their hearts, but they are also actively working to erase the memory of Allah from the hearts and minds of their brothers and sisters. Such people, whether they do this wittingly or unwittingly, are still actively working against Islam and as such should either be educated or avoided.
This is a very important and serious point because it has a direct bearing on the success to which we have been referring as a result of our being tested. In this case we are being tested with both believers and non-believers alike because in both cases they are ascribing the power of action to other than Allah. How does this work? The believer that mentions the name of othan than Allah when referring to a global situation affecting Muslims is denying that Allah has any power in the situation. At the same time by not mentioning the name of Allah he is also working to remove the memory of Allah in the person. Conversely, imagine the person who continually reminds people of Allah, imagine then how firmly rooted the memory of Allah will be in those people. People who, whenever they are afflicted with tests remember Allah rather than war or politics.
Remembrance is also a sign of a fear of Allah, and hence those that continually remember Allah, He subhanhu wa ta’ala has placed in them a sign of His fear. Hence instead of referring to other than Allah they remember Allah during all times and all seasons, during times of war and peace alike. Compare this to a person that does not fear to mention the name of other than Allah. Which one has a greater fear of Allah? Which one has greater right to be listened to?
As we also previously mentioned there may be good believers that may be inadvertently forgetting to remember Allah and seeking to describe a situation through describing the effects of the instruments of Allah. There are three key points here. Firstly remembering Allah takes time and practice and hence we need to be patient with people and give them gentle reminders to ascribe all power to Allah. Secondly, they may not be acting intentionally and hence should be forgiven, their faults overlooked, as the Prophet (s) said, “Veiling the faults of the faithful is akin to restoring life to the dead.” (At-Tabarani).
Thirdly, given that the first two points are true we still need to be vigilant of the potentially detrimental actions of others. If a person does not ascribe all power to Allah and if a person, to whatever degree, remembers politics and other people much more than Allah then he is ineffect working to remove the memory of Allah from the minds of the faithful. Knowing the intention of the person in this case in not important because his actions still have the effect of forgetting or denying Allah when in actual fact the name of Allah should be mentioned and His aid sought. But in either case we should be forgiving and gentle when dealing with those that may inadvertently err because that is what we too would want should we also err, which we all inevitably do. The best of our actions are when we are calling others to the remembrance of Allah and not to war or politics. When we remind others of Allah. When we follow the example of our Prophet (s) without whom we would not be believers at all.
وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا مُوسَى بِآيَاتِنَا أَنْ أَخْرِجْ قَوْمَكَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَذَكِّرْهُمْ بِأَيَّامِ اللّهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ
“We sent Moses with Our signs (and the command). “Bring out thy people from the depths of darkness into light, and teach them to remember the Days of Allah.” Verily in this there are Signs for such as are firmly patient and constant,- grateful and appreciative”. (Qur’an, Ibrahim 14:05)
The Purpose of Seeking Sacred Knowledge
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Introduction
The Messenger of Allah said, “Pursue knowledge even to China, for its pursuance is the sacred duty of every Muslim.” Ibn Abdal-Barr
It is said that it is only during times of crisis we really see the true natures of people. At times when people are challenged with the truth, a truth that they may not wish to see, we often see the true natures of people. During these times what had previously remained hidden, we see, become manifest. For example the tribe of the Prophet Muhammad (s) referred to him as Al-Amin, or the trustworthy because of the nature of his character. People came to know him as someone that never lied, stole or cheated anyone in anyway. He was always fair, consistent, truthful with everyone and everyone knew that he was a man of his word. They trusted him so implicitly that when one day he summoned them all to a gathering, he stood atop a small hill and said, “If I were to say to you that there was an enemy approaching from the other side would you believe me”? They all said in unison, “Yes of course we would, you are Al-Amin”. It was at that moment he announced to the people of his clan that he was the prophet and messenger of God chosen by Him to be the last of the prophets – most disbelieved him except a few who were aware of the signs of an imminent prophet and knew that he met all the criteria that had been prophesised. However, it is understandable that it would have required much more faith, courage and conviction to go from believing implicitly that a person was trustworthy to them believing he was a prophet – they needed time and there was no one more patient and understanding with people than the Prophet (s).
The purpose of this article is not about how the Prophet (s) eventually won over and united the clans of Arabia under the banner of Islam through his vast character, but rather about how truth impacts people in different ways, how the same truth can illicit entirely different responses from different people. In other words the truth has the power of drawing out of the heart the true natures of people – either they incline towards it or they reject it. This is an act of great mercy from Allah because it is better to have withdrawn from ones heart all of ones good and bad deeds, to be rewarded for our good actions and rewarded for acting to remove our bad traits, than to stand before Allah on the final day with a heart full of disease.
The Messenger of Allah said, “God does not regard your externals or your riches but rather your hearts and your deeds.” Muslim
Strength of Heart
“Whoever covets knowledge that was barred from him, discontented with the limits of his understanding, shall be veiled from pure unity, unadulterated comprehension, and sound faith on account of his covetousness. He will then vacillate between belief and disbelief, assertion and negation, and resolution and denial. Obsessive, aimless, sceptical, and deviant, he is neither an assertive believer nor a resolute disbeliever.” (The Creed of Imam Al-Tahawi, No.43., translation by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, 2007)
What this demonstrates is the inherent arbitrariness of human beings who will absolutely stand by one principle one day but will abandon it the next because accepting a truth is a bridge too far for them. In other words, the point of no return, their saturation point, their ability to accept a certain version of events, a certain narrative that is not consistent with the view they would prefer to hold. But how is this related to the purpose of seeking knowledge? When we referred to a crisis we were in particular referring to two types of crisis; (i) self-crisis and (ii) crisis of belief. Both are related but we can also understand both of them from different perspectives. What both have in common is that they initiate a response from people, in particular crisis tends to draw out our true natures, or specifically latent characteristics contained in the heart. For example, a person may not consider himself to be courageous but when faced with some difficult situation finds that he possesses more courage than he thought. Conversely, a person that thought he was courageous, when faced with a similar situation, did not have the heart to deal with it as he should. There are many other examples that relate to almost every other human characteristic. In other words what I am seeking to demonstrate here is that there are always at least two aspects to us at any given time; (i) the self we know through our manifest attributes, and (ii) the self we have yet to discover through our hidden attributes. One of these attributes is the extent to which we are able to withstand the truth. Or in other words, the capacity of our heart, its strength as a vessel, to be able to hold the truth. The stronger the heart the greater its capacity to hold the truth, and holding the truth relates to courage. In other words ones capacity for the truth is entirely dependent on the courage a person possesses. The word courage in old English is derived from ‘Cor’, the inner-most, or pith of something. In other words, its heart. Courage comes from the core, from the heart. In essence courage was the very thing that defined man, the very thing that made him different from the ordinary. Similarly the Arabic word for heart, which is Lubb, was derived from an ancient Sanskrit word which meant something that leapt which was not only a reference to the ‘beating heart’ but also referred to a ‘leap of faith’ which could only be achieved with courage. Hence what we are presenting is the idea that when we refer to heart, in its greater part, it refers to courage, and when we refer to the truth and knowledge – our ability to withstand the truth is entirely a function of the courage we possess.
Why do we learn?
The Messenger of Allah said, “The best charity a Muslim practices is acquiring some knowledge and teaching it to his brother.”Ibn Majah
The Messenger of Allah said, “To acquire some useful knowledge is of greater merit than to perform a hundred devotional prayers voluntarily”. Ibn Majah
Let us now take the ideas we have presented thus far to the premise of this article which is, “what is the purpose of seeking sacred knowledge?” Something that we have mentioned previously is the idea that whilst knowledge to an extent may be acquired through books, understanding is entirely granted by Allah. Thus it is entirely possible to possess knowledge without understanding, and understanding without knowledge. As any student of sacred knowledge will be able to tell us, the purpose of seeking knowledge is the continuation of the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (s), in transferring guidance, knowledge and learning of the prophetic tradition and sacred law to people – in order to facilitate their journey through life in order to achieve success in this life and the next through learning about our roles, responsibilities and obligations. In short how we can be the best human beings possible – knowledge that only the Qur’an and Sunnah can truly provide – but fragments of which exist in many other traditions and may be found in many peoples and cultures by the Mercy of Allah. But it is only in Islam that it exists entirely intact and in the same complete and pristine form in which it was delivered by the Prophet (s). However, understanding that knowledge is not easy and requires many years of dedication, devotion and complete commitment. Furthermore, unlike other forms of knowledge such as medicine or law, which do not have to be practiced continually, sacred knowledge requires a continuous and consistent application from morning, evening and night, each and every day.
Sincerity and humility are the cornerstones of knowledge
The Messenger of Allah said, “Practice humility until no one oppresses or belittles another”. Muslim
Our commitment to learning demonstrates sincerity to God Who rewards the sincere seeker of knowledge with understanding and insights. In other words the key attribute that sincerity demonstrates is humility, which is continual practice without reward but with its hope. By working consistently towards something without sign of immediate reward and perhaps without sign of reward in our lifetime demonstrates our humility to Allah that we cannot gain knowledge from any tangible means except by His will and permission. By showing Allah our humility it is that humility that He rewards and not necessarily the knowledge we have gained through our studies. The greatest proof of this is the fact that Allah chose Jibrael (as) through which to teach the Prophet (s) the Qur’an. Allah could have taught the Prophet (s) directly so why did he choose Jibrael (as) even when the Prophet (s) was better than Jibrael (as)? The answer is humility. The process was intended to teach us humility, that to gain knowledge requires a teacher, without whom knowledge can neither be known or understood. That, knowledge is but a small portion of what a teacher really teaches, at the heart of what he is teaching is humility. Hence if to learn requires humility then consider the degree of humility required to possess sacred knowledge? Sincerity and humility purify the heart and prepare it for sacred knowledge.
The Messenger of Allah said, “The servants God loves the most are those most sincere with God’s servants.” Imam Ahmad
Once we have understood that humility is the entire purpose of seeking knowledge then it entirely changes the way we approach knowledge and how we use it in our daily lives and with our interactions with people. Knowing less and being humble is better than knowing more and being arrogant. But knowing more and being humble is the best of stations and one that we as Muslims should all be striving towards. So knowing that humility is the purpose of seeking knowledge coupled with the understanding that it is our scholars are our teachers, who are the trustees of prophetic guidance, where then does that bring us? It brings us to the key point in this thesis which is that the purpose of seeking knowledge is not so that we can pick up the Qur’an and Sunnah and seek our own interpretations by going to the primary sources ourselves, but instead the purpose of seeking knowledge is so that we possess the requisite humility and knowledge to be able to understand the knowledge of our scholars and follow their understanding. That is it!
But unfortunately there are many Muslims that are eroding the meaning of Islam through seeking to interpret the Qur’an and Sunnah through their limited knowledge which they then promulgate as validated opinion. In doing so, such people seek to bypass a process that God Himself decreed which was the separation of access to sacred knowledge by various stages according to ones sincerity and humility and according to what knowledge has been written from them by Allah.
The Veiling of Sacred Knowledge and the Stages of Illumination
The Messenger of Allah said, “Honour scholars, as they are the inheritors of the prophets. Anyone who honours them has honoured God and His Messenger.” Al-Khatib
In other words, through consistency of practice and seeking to gain knowledge, we demonstrate to God our sincerity and humility. This humility is rewarded by Allah through greater understanding, insight and perhaps some wisdom. This insight enables us to see beyond what we would ordinarily see. We are able to see the spirit of Islam, its meaning and where its orthodoxy lies. Without being able to see where its orthodoxy lies and what it looks like – one will be in the dark, seeking a door to exit a vast room. But by the light of humility our way is illuminated, we see who the true carriers of sacred knowledge are and are attracted to them. We seek their words and sit at their feet. Even at this stage we have not even begun to get into the depths of sacred knowledge, we have barely skimmed the surface. Just to get this far may have taken several years which is one way in which Allah is both testing us, and showing us the value of sacred knowledge – it cannot simply be read about in a book and nor can it be acquired in a short space of time. It is only through spending several years as a student to the master that the master knows to what extent the student can be given sacred knowledge. Everything we had learnt prior to meeting our teacher was simply for the preparation of his company, was simply to acquire the level of humility and adab required to gain knowledge from a teacher who had devoted his entire life to learning knowledge. Hence in this we find a sign that Allah will not disgrace a teacher by sending him students that will disrespect him. That it is better such a teacher possess only a handful of noble students than an abundance of insincere students – Islam does not promote quantity over quality which is how sacred knowledge has been preserved through our scholars.
Hence we conclude this thesis by saying that in order to preserve this great tradition of Islam requires us to understand the value of sacred law, the respect it must be accorded, the years of devotion and seriousness it requires – and above all else to remember that its entire purpose is so that we may learn humility and with that humility sit at the feet of those that sat at the feet of those that sat at the feet of the Noble Messenger himself (s). The best of students were the Companions of the Prophet (s) and when the Prophet (s) spoke it is said they sat so still as though there were birds perched on their heads. This was the respect the companions accorded the Prophet (s) and this is the same respect we should accord to those that have worked tirelessly to preserve the words of the Prophet (s) – our noble and venerated scholars.
وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ
“And strive in His cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no difficulties on you in religion; the faith of your father Abraham (is yours). It is He Who has named you Muslims, both before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold fast to Allah! He is your Protector – the Best to protect and the Best to help”! (Qur’an, Al-Hajj 22:78)
There Is No Victory Without Allah
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Painful were the experiences of the heart when it lost Allah”
The heart, what can be said of it. There are some that are closed to experience because the pain is too great for it to bear. There are some so open that they become overwhelmed with pain of existence. There are others attracted to good hearts. And there are others attracted to bad ones. There are some that exude goodness and others that exude darkness. It is neither for us to open our hearts to such an extent that we cannot bear emotions rising and falling like tides. And nor is it for us to close our hearts so that we do not feel. Ours is to recognise the beauty of the heart created for each and every soul by Allah. Hearts that love and forgive. Hearts that show compassion and give a helping hand. All these emerge from the heart beyond the comprehension of the mind. But when the heart begins to awaken to the possibilities of the world, to the possibilities of how much good it is capable of, it dives in without a care. We live inside our hearts and whatever they contain is what we see through our eyes. What we feel and understand is a translation of who we are and who we are, are our precious hearts. Ours is to understand this most precious of our gifts from Allah, learn to use them as they should so that we may learn to unlock their immense potential. We must remember not to allow our hearts to dive into the world and to pursue its meaningless treasures. The only treasure to seek is the translation of the stories written in our hearts, to unravel the meaning of who we are so that we may understand one beautiful wisdom that, “There is no victory without Allah”.
Joyful were the experiences of the heart when it found Allah”
The joy of hearts that learn love is found only with Allah. And pain for those contained in their love for things created. When we do not acquire what we seek of life we do not realise, the pain is not the failure to acquire but the pain of the heart in not gaining closeness to Allah. Each time we call upon the heart to guide us, the heart seeks its Lord, and each time we gain other than Allah the heart weeps. Not for what has been gained but what has been lost, the opportunity to find its Lord again. Everything besides Allah is dunya, it is all dunya and must all one day end, but the Face of our Lord must endure. This is what the early Muslims understood and that is why, no matter what, they stood proud and proclaimed, “There is no god but God”. There literally is ‘no god but God’. That God will not be found in things, and not even in the best of dreams. He is none of those things. Those things, even if they are noble dreams, are still His creations and will perish. Hence if we pursue those things for themselves then we are not seeking God. There is a subtle yet vast difference between the idea of seeking Allah through His creation and seeking Him. The same idea may be applied to Muslim Lands where there are many people fighting for soil whist thinking they are fighting for Allah. Consequently it is a fight that will always result in defeat because the land already belongs to Allah, yet those hearts do not. The challenge is not to fight for what we already possess, but for what we do not, free hearts. Hearts free from occupation so that those hearts are free to worship Allah alone. It is Allah that we should be fighting for, but instead we find ourselves fighting for His creation. Locked in the grip of this unholy alliance, unless we break free our life is nothing more than wonderings of what could have been, what should have been. Defeat is contained in being unable to separate Allah from His creation. Victory is contained in being able to see Allah alone, free from His creation. And in that we find – it is better to have defeat with Allah than victory without Allah - There is no victory without Allah.”
Perception part 6b: “The Heart’s Response”
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Continued from the previous post “Perception Part 6a: The Heart’s Response”
Who is the Owner of Hearts?
Another perspective to the question of the heart’s response is that in both cases of the negative and positive response, it is not necessarily the person responding but their heart. The person is the heart, the heart is the person. His heart represents who he really is. How he responds to any given situation depends entirely on the heart given to him. So thus by witnessing ones heart’s response to tribulations, a person’s truest character is being brought out before him. However, this does not mean that a person seeks a defence of his negative response by claiming that he had no choice but to respond in the way he did. However, if we understand that the heart’s true nature is hidden and only brought forth through the medium of tests, then the purpose of tests is understood as a means by which one is purged of weakness of heart through being able to witness the content of one’s character through the heart’s response to tests. If he responds negatively then it is a blessing so that he may correct his faults while he has the opportunity to do so.
However those that respond positively also have to face a secondary test that of avoiding exulting in their response by being proud in themselves for their response. If it is understood that ones response is based on the heart given to him by Allah then his response was indicative of the blessing of possessing such a heart and not necessarily because of any great effort on his part. And although he may well have consciously striven to ensure he only responded positively, one cannot remove from that response the possibility that his positive response was primarily because of the heart given to him in the first place. When Ayesha, radia’anha, asked the prophet, sall’Allahhu alayhi wasallam, why he stood for such long hours in the night prayer given that he had already been granted paradise? The response of the prophet was to say, “Should I not be a grateful servant?” This is an indication that all good is attributed to Allah and that we are the mere recipients of His countless blessings, blessings which do not necessarily directly correspond to whatever good we may consciously strive for. So even in our good, what we ought to take credit for is considerably less than what we deserve.
If we consider it true that a proof that tests are primarily intended to purge the heart of negativity, weakness and disbelief to varying degrees depending on the individual, then some may be moved to question the proof offered for this principle. Namely that the response of the prophet was only natural, for he was after all, the prophet of God and the best of all creation, so how could he react any other way. This is actually the very point being made. For, because he was the prophet he had been given the purest of all hearts, a heart only able to respond with gratitude, kindness, forgiveness and mercy, towards even those that sought to harm him. Countless examples exist of him forgiving those that had at one time gone to great lengths to harm him, and yet when they eventually they recognised his prophethood and inclined towards him, he forgave them. His response was based on the heart he had been given by Allah. This heart’s response was also coupled with an understanding of the wisdom behind the test, so that both the intellect and heart combined to respond in the best manner. The combination was a perfect balance between the use of reason, intellect and the spiritual response of a pure heart overflowing with compassion.
Again to this some may pose a similar reply from a different perspective by saying that he responded thus because he was the messenger of Allah. This argument is posed as a means of avoiding tackling ones faults. However to employ such an argument would be to seek to reject the Quran and Sunnah. By stating only the messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, could respond in such a high manner would be to say that following the Quran and Sunnah are impossible. Thus whenever a difficult question arises he invokes this reason instead of striving for nothing short of the highest standards if conduct as enjoined by the Quran and Sunnah, rather than as an avoidance of responsibility.
Summary
Thus tests are the perfect truth serum of the heart, for they draw out what is contained in the heart, some of which may be known but much of which is hidden. One of the most unsubstantiated claims to make with Allah is in claiming purity for oneself, as Allah says in the Quran:
“Those who avoid enormities of sin and abominations, save the unwilled offences – (for them) lo! thy Lord is of vast mercy. He is Best Aware of you (from the time) when He created you from the earth, and when ye were hidden in the bellies of your mothers. Therefore ascribe not purity unto yourselves. He is Best Aware of him who wardeth off (evil)”. (Quran, at-Tur, 53:32)
Allah is reminding us not to claim purity for ourselves for we do not truly know what is contained in our hearts. The best position is to suspect oneself and ones intentions by being honest with Allah about ones faults and complete dependency on Him. As He states:
“Say: “Whether ye hide what is in your hearts or reveal it, Allah knows it all: He knows what is in the heavens, and what is on earth. And Allah has power over all things”. (Quran, Al-e-Imran, 3:29)
Thus if we understand tests as a necessary means of purging the heart of negativity and also as a means of viewing its composition we are placed in the fortunate position of being able to alter ones response through correctly ones faults. Similarly, those that have responded positively to tests have greater grounds for showing gratitude because firstly they were tested which demonstrates God’s love for them, they responded positively which is a sign of their sound heart, and also a sign of the heart granted to them. To witness this ought to generate gratitude and the generation of gratitude is in turn a sign of being brought to the doors of gratitude before Allah, which is another great blessing.
The Messenger of Allah, sall’Allahu Alayhi wasallam
Thus if we want to judge our true states we ought to examine carefully how we have reacted to difficulties and tragedies and the degree to which either negative or positive feelings have resulted in the heart. In either case one ought to be moved to be grateful to Allah for the test. A person would show considerable gratitude to ones doctor for saving his life if that resulted from having his infected limb severed by the doctor. The patient does not consider the loss of the limb as a cause for grief but a cause or joy for through this mercy his life was saved. In the same way if we take to heart the view that God is all good, and all goodness is attributed to Him as the Originator and Creator of Goodness, then we think nothing short of Allah than our Lord and Creator who is helping us at every instance, through both prosperity and adversity alike. The servant that understands this is the servant that beings to become the beloved of Allah. We are thus reminded of the most beautiful prayer of the prophet, sall’Allahu alayhi wasallam, at Ta’if when he prayed so beautifully and showed us his true heart’s response in his unbounded love, gratitude and humility to Allah.
“O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favour is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You”.
If the Messenger of Allah (s) responded in such a beautiful and humble manner given his exulted position then how are we to respond?
Love, Beauty and Knowledge
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
I pray you are all doing well insha’Allah. Its been a while since I’ve committed pen to paper during these times of deep reflection. A gift from Allah, a gift of time to reflect on ideas that many have not been granted for which I am eternally grateful. It has indeed been a pleasure and honour for me to have written these posts over the past few months, and to have shared my thoughts and ideas with you. And insha’Allah I will continue to do so for long as my Lord wills. What I would like to begin with is a retrospection of the ideas I have written about. These ideas that are universal and timeless. Like a well crafted time piece, if defined with precision, it is unaffected by time or space. Likewise are the eternal concepts of love, the highest of which is Divine love; beauty, the highest of which is Divine beauty; and knowledge, the highest of which is sacred knowledge.
The Quran, one way to look at this book of guidance and wisdom, is as a book of universal and timeless concepts. Our lives are governed by concepts, and given that over nine-tenths of the Quran deals with concepts and not laws, in this alone is a sign. It is essentially these three concepts of love, beauty, and knowledge, that will appear as the thread that binds itself to the fabric of the constant of all constants. The One Who is eternal, everlasting, without limit, beyond infinite. Allah. Because these are concepts not constrained by anything, being governed by Allah Himself, is the reason we love them so because their truest definitions are not subject to change. And this is because neither the Quran or Sunnah change, although how we understand them can and does over time. This is where we are in this moment in time in history. A time where there is general confusion about the true defintions of these ideas. Thus, it falls upon us to seek the best for this beautiful faith by searching for the highest, noblest, and purest definitions of the concepts such as love, beauty and knowledge. And how could this faith not be beautiful and blessed and honoured, if the prophet, salallahu allayhi wasallam, the best of creation himself, has been chosen to be its leader…..
On Beauty
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Someone sent me this beautiful quote recently which I would like to share with you.
“Beauty is part of the objective reality of each being. It is not dependent upon the beholder except to the extent that each beholder perceives beauty according to the particularity of his or her soul and to the extent that his or her soul is beautiful and able to appreciate beauty. [...] [W]e must cultivate our eyes and ears to see and hear beauty, and that can only be done, spiritually speaking, provided the soul has been trained and cultivated and made beautiful through the acquiring of virtue…”
- Seyyed Hossein Nasr
The Test of Goodness
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala tests us the most with the things we love the most – even if those things may be goodness itself – the desire to do good, to be good, to do good to others, to do good deeds. This is by way of reminder that all goodness comes from Allah, belongs to Allah, and goes back to Allah. Goodness is His greatest gift and blessing to us, placed inside us, inside our breasts. In reality, it is not us, but Him. It is the heart.
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
“We shall show them Our sign on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice, since He is Witness over all things? (Quran, Fussilat 41:53)
•18 Rabi-al-Awwal 1430•
Ya Sin: Loving Allah through the Prophet (saw) Part1
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
The weekend previous I attended a most beautiful and blessed gathering, blessed because of the company, but even moreso blessed because we had been graced with the presence of Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani, a direct decendent of the Prophet (s) through Hassan (ra). Insha’Allah I have attempted to gather together the words of the Shaykh from that evening so that those not present may benefit, and those present may re-live the blessings of that evening.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
17 Rabi-al-Awwal 1430
NOTES FROM SHAYKH MUHAMMAD AL-YAQUOBI TALK 14 MARCH 2009 B’HAM – DRAFT
I pray this message finds you in good health and emaan insha’Allah. I’ve not long since returned from what has been an amazing and blessed evening with one of the grandson’s of the prophet (s), our beloved Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi al-Hassani. Insha’Allah permit me to share what I have learnt from this evening while his light is still strongly present in my heart and still shining on my face, insha’Allah. His love for the Messenger of Allah (s) is palpable, quite evident and quite discernable even without his speech. But with his noble speech it is even more intensified and finds itself like an arrow direct into ones heart without much resistance. I left the talk with a heart brimming full, with renewed hope and emaan, with clarity and guidance. Subhan’Allah! May Allah bless Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi and all the other Shu’ukh, and all those that guide to the straight path, the path of righteousness. And may Allah bless the Noble Prophet (s) and bless his noble family. Ameen.
The topic of this evening, if that is, one could begin to call it a topic, was love of Allah and His Messenger and in particular how we gain closeness to Allah through following Habib Allah, the mercy of Allah on this earth for all of mankind (saw). The Shaykh began by asking us the question, how do we know someone, to which he gave the answer, there are several ways to know someone. Then referring to Allah he said, “We have to know Allah”. Thus referring to the verse in the Quran, “We shall show them Our sign on the horizons and within themselves until it will be manifest unto them that it is the Truth. Doth not thy Lord suffice, since He is Witness over all things? (Quran, Fussilat 41:53). In other words, as I understood it, that the signs of Allah are present in us, in people and thus we know Allah through those that are the closest to Allah. This of course being the Messenger of Allah (s). The Shaykh used the analogy that if one needed a specific specialist then one would call upon him, i.e. a physician if one needed ones child to be tended to or an accountant if one needs ones finances seen to. One would not employ a doctor for ones finances and not an accountant to treat an illness. Hence, if one sought closeness to Allah, there was no one
better (saw), than the Messenger of Allah (s). He further illustrated this point by mentioning that Allah can be known through His signs which are present in His creation. But that the great Ulamah considered this approach to be for beginners – ‘Why should I be occupied with the signs of Allah instead of seeking Allah Himself’. Hence the Shaykh mentioned that the Ulamah saw these signs as obstacles getting in the way of seeking Allah directly. But how do we get directly to Allah?
Then the Shaykh went onto the question of knowing the prophet (s). That people who spend time with the wali’s of Allah cannot but help but also become wali’s of Allah and that is one way by which one can get to know the Prophet (s). Another way is to see the prophet (s) directly and the Shaykh emphasized that no one can know the prophet (s) better than if he had himself seen the Prophet (s). This would relate to either having physically seen him or through seeing him in a dream (saw). This led the Shaykh to make the statement, “The key to knowing Him is him”. In other words the key to knowing Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is through the prophet (s). Then the Shaykh referred to the following verse of the Quran: “I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me”. (51:56). He said that this verse is often mistranslated in that ‘worship’ ought to be translated as ‘know’ which is closer to its meaning– that Allah has only created jinn and humans to know Him. This idea of knowing Allah is further emphasized by the two verses that follow which state: “No Sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me”; “For Allah is He Who gives (all) Sustenance,- Lord of Power,- Steadfast (for ever).” (56:57-58). In other words Allah does not need His creation to worship Him, and hence has not created His creation to worship Him as He has created the Angels or other of His creation. But rather the elevation of Bani Adam is to know Allah, and hence Allah says that He does need sustenance from anything for He is the one that sustains everything. The Shaykh then said that in this regard, “The only way to know Allah is through ibadah.” “The best way to know Allah is find the one that knows Allah the best, the guide”. One of the beautiful names of Allah is al-Hadi, the One Who created guidance. Allah also gives this name to the prophet (s), who is the one that guides. Allah says in the Quran, ‘it is not you who guides, it is Allah Who guides’. In other words even though the prophet (s) wanted the guidance of everyone, it was not him that guided but it was Allah. But then Allah says with regards the prophet (s) in another verse, ‘ you are indeed the one that guides on a straight way’. Hence, to follow the guidance of the prophet (s) is to follow the guidance of Allah. Then the Shaykh referred to how this knowledge of following the prophet (s) should be applied by us. He said first we should develop our character, honesty, integrity, sincerity and other attributes before we can help anyone else. We cannot give out a light wherewith to guide others if we do not first possess it ourselves. But when we possess these characteristics, the Shaykh said, would cause us to “shine”. The Shaykh mentioned about the many difficulties the Ummah finds itself in and particularly Muslims in non-believing lands. As comfort and truth he said that the prophet (s) expected our difficulties, and was and is, well aware of them. That even whilst many centuries separate us and the prophet (s) whom we cannot take as our physical guide, the Shaykh said people take his family as guides, i.e. the Ahl-ul-bait.
Insha’Allah I will conclude the second part in the next post.
Ya Sin: Loving Allah through the Prophet (saw) Part2
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Following on from the Shaykh mentioning the prophet (s) being made aware of the condition of the Ummah and all the tests and trials currently facing it, the Shaykh mentioned the words of the Prophet (s) when he said, “I have the greatest knowledge”. In other words his knowledge extended far beyond what we can ever imagine, for he has knowledge not only of what is manifest but also of what is hidden. The Shaykh gave the beautiful example of how the Sahaba, out of their muhabah of the Prophet (s) would seek to emulate him in every action, but that the prophet (s) said they could not for he was not like other humans. The Shaykh gave the example of when the Prophet (s) would be fasting. One day it came time to open the fast but the Prophet (s) did not do so, but continued until the next day, as did his companions. And again came the next day to open the fast but the Prophet (s) did not and continued for a third day, but by this time, the companions, feeling the fatigue of thirst and hunger could not continue. Upon seeing this he said to them, “You are not like me”. In other words as the Shaykh explained, the prophet was commanded to say in the Quran, ‘Say: I am a human being like you’. In that he would eat and drink like a human but he was not comparable to any other human. The Shaykh used the analogy that as humans we are composed of the same material, that we are like stones, but that if we are ordinary stones, the Prophet (s) is a ruby, a diamond, an emerald. The two cannot be compared. The prophet mentioned he was a human being only so that it would be known to the people that he was not an angel, for Allah sends His prophets and messengers to their like. Hence, the Shaykh further emphasized that the Prophet (s) was similar to us in one aspect but different in many others. For example his noble sight extended not only towards what was before him but also what was behind him. The Prophet (s) would say, “Indeed, I hear see what you cannot hear and see what you cannot see”. He said, “I can hear the cracking of the heavens”, which the Shaykh explained as the sound of leather on a saddle. The Prophet (s) also said, “There is not a footstep space on the ground except that there is an angel in prostration there before Allah!” When the prophet (s) would walk through a street and the people would the next day enter that same street they would know the prophet (s) had been there, and this they would know because of his beautiful fragrance, still present in the air. The Shaykh mentioned the scent of the prophet (s) contained in his sweat, which for all other humans is odorous, and yet his noble sweat would smell better than the finest musk and would be used to scent perfume itself. He was a human being but he was not like other human beings.
The Shaykh then went on to mention that there is no way for us as believers to apply Islam without the prophet (s). The prophet (s) is our life, our blood and our happiness. The Shaykh mentioned the following verse: “Be sure we will test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Who say, when afflicted with calamity: “To Allah We belong, and to Him is our return” (2:155-156). The Shaykh emphasized the imperative at the beginning of the verse when Allah refers to Himself in this context as “We” and states He “will” do something. In other that is what will happen – that He will test us with something of fear, hunger and poverty. The Shaykh mentions a subtle point here in the words of Allah, in that when Allah begins by saying He will test us with so and so, the syntax of the verse suggests it will end with Allah saying and ‘We will give glad tidings to the patient’. However, instead Allah commands the prophet (s) to give glad tidings, which gives us an indication of the station of the noble messenger (s) as the mercy of Allah on this earth and indeed on the final day. It is only the Messenger of Allah (s) that has been chosen to intercede for us on the final day and hence as the Shaykh mentioned, if we are successful on that day, if we are loved by Allah, it is only through the prophet (s). This principle is illustrated by the words of the Prophet (s) when he said, “If you truly love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you”. Love of Allah is inextricably linked to our obedience towards the Prophet (s). The Shaykh mentioned, “If you want to know how much Allah loves you then look at how much you follow the Prophet (s).” The guidance being given here by the Shaykh was in absolutely following the Messenger of Allah (s) in everything, and doing so through those that followed him and those that followed those that followed him and so on in a continued and unbroken chain. “The road has been paved by the Prophet (s)”, said the Shaykh.
Ya Sin
The Shaykh then mentioned about Surah Ya Sin. The Prophet (s) said, “Everything has a heart, the heart of the Qur’an is Ya Sin”. He also mentioned the hadith of the prophet (s) when he said, “There is a piece of meat in the body, if it is sound the whole body is sound and if it is corrupt then the whole body is corrupt, is it not the heart?” In other words, if the Quran is our guide then Ya Sin is the heart of that guidance, and guides our own hearts. Our knowledge and practice of Ya Sin corresponds to the heart of our practice. The Shaykh mentioned many of the chapters of the Quran beginning simply with letters, one of the explanations of this being that Allah challenged the Arabs with the best of what they had, their language, and asked rhetorically, whether they could produce a Book like the Quran, using the same letters to which they had access, but that they could not for this was no ordinary book. The Shaykh mentioned that both Ya Sin and Ta Ha are names of the Prophet (s), which number some 200, including Muzammil, Mudathir, Ahmed, Muhammad. The Shaykh said, “Anyone who recites Ya Sin on a night solely for the sake of Allah, Allah will forgive Him that (very) night.” And also, “anyone that recites Ya Sin at the beginning of the day, all his works that day will be made easy”. Ahl-ul-Jannah, the people of Jannah, recite Ya Sin and Ta Ha. The Shaykh emphasized the importance of reciting Ya Sin everyday.
“Ya Sin”
“By the Qur’an, full of Wisdom”,
“You are indeed one of the messengers”
“On a straight way.” (36:1-4)
With reference to being on a straight way, the Shaykh mentioned for us not to grieve at what the disbelievers may say to us, for us not to get upset and even if they accuse us of something false, for if we remain steadfast an hold onto the Quran and Sunnah we will be on a straight way. He said that we must continue our journey to Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala with what will benefit us ourselves. Ya Sin is the treasure, Ya Sin is the heart of the Qur’an.
END
I pray I have conveyed accurately and fully what the Shaykh said, and have not omitted or added anything (in principle). Any mistakes in this text are entirely mine and I pray you will forgive and overlook any errors therein. May this be of great benefit to you as it has been to me and insha’Allah I hope we will both gain from the knowledge, wisdom, humility and efforts of our Shaykh in coming to these lands to provide us with much needed guidance. Ameen.
Dua’a when under stress and anxiety
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Alhamdulillah, here are some beauitful dua’a to make when under stress and anxiety – as a means of dispelling fear, of seeking forgiveness of Allah, seeking His aid, protection and guidance. May it be of benefit to us all. for there is not a time in the life of a Mu’min when he does not need the protection and guidance of Allah. And those that turn to Allah sincerely imploring His aid, know that in reality it is Allah that is turning to His slave and servant. Ameen. And know that “When Allah wants to be good to someone, He tries him with some hardship.” (Abu Hurairah)
Link to the original article: http://makkah.wordpress.com/2006/12/02/stress-management-part-2/
General advice from Prophet Muhammad (s) when you are in distress or suffering from anxiety:
In hadith #599 narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas in Sunan Abu Dawood, The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If anyone continually asks pardon, Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress, and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide for him from where he did not reckon.
When in distress or difficulty or sorrow:
Source for this dua subsection: Fiqh-us-Sunnah, volume 4, no 128
1. Ibn ‘Abbas reported, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, at times of sorrow and grief used to supplicate, La ilaha illa Allah Al-’Azim, Al-’Alim, la ilaha illa Allah, Rabbul ‘arshil ‘Azim, la ilaha illa Allahu, Rabbus-Samawati wa rabbul ardi wa rabbul ‘arshi karim (There is no god but Allah, the Mighty, the Forbearing, there is no god but Allah, the Lord of the mighty throne, there is no god but Allah, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, and the Lord of the throne of honor)’.”
Source: Bukhari and Muslim.
2. Anas said that when the Prophet, peace be upon him, was faced with a serious difficulty, he would always supplicate, “Ya Hayyu, ya Qayyumu, bi-rahmatika astaghithu (O the Living, O the Eternal, I seek help in Your grace).
Source: Tirmidhi
3. Abu Hurairah reported that whenever the Prophet, peace be upon him, was faced with a serious difficulty, he would raise his head to the sky and supplicate, “Subhan-Allah al-’Azim (glory be to Allah, the Mighty).” And when he implored seriously and strongly, he would say “Ya Hayyu, Ya Qayyum (O the Living, the Eternal One).”
Source: Tirmidhi
4. Abu Bakrah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The supplications of distress are, ‘Allahumma rahmataka arju, fala takilni ila nafsi tarfata ‘ain, wa aslah li sha’ni kullahu, la ilaha illa anta (O Allah, I hope for Your mercy, so give me not over to my self even for as little as wink of an eye, and set right all my affairs, there is no god but You).”
Source: Abu Daw’ud
5. Asma, daughter of ‘Amais, reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked her, “Shall I tell you words that you may say in times of pain or distress. These are, ‘Allah, Allah, Rabbi la ushriku bihi shai’an (Allah, Allah, my Lord, I associate none with Him).” Another narration says that these words should be said seven times.
Source: Abu Daw’ud
6. Sa’d ibn Waqas reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The supplication made by the Companion of the Fish (Prophet Yunus) in the belly of the fish was, ‘La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, inni kuntu minaz-zalimin (there is no god but You, You are far exalted and above all weaknesses, and I was indeed the wrongdoer)’. If any Muslim supplicates in these words, his supplication will be accepted.” In another report we read, “I know words that will cause Allah to remove one’s distress. These are the words (of supplication) of my brother Yunus, peace be upon him,”
Source: Tirmidhi
7. Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If any servant of Allah afflicted with distress or grief makes this supplication, his supplication will be accepted: ‘O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of your maidservant. My forehead is in Your hand. Your command conceming me prevails, and Your decision concerning me is just. I call upon You by every one of the beautiful names by which You have described Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your book, or have taught anyone of Your creatures, or which You have chosen to keep in the knowledge of the unseen with You, to make the Qur’an the delight of my heart, the light of my breast, and remover of my griefs, sorrows, and afflictions‘.” A supplication in these words will be answered. Allah will remove one’s affliction and replace it with joy and happiness.
Source: Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Hibban
8. Anas reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to supplicate, “O Allah, there is no ease except what You make easy, and you alone can turn a difficulty into ease.” (Ibn As-sinni)
Source: Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, #131
9. Allah’s Apostle used to say at the time of difficulty, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Majestic, the Most Forbearing. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Lord of the Heavens and the Lord of the Honourable Throne.”
Source: narrated by Ibn Abbas in Sahih Bukhari, volume 9, #526.
Remember that sickness expiates evil deeds and wipes out sins.
Abu Hurairah narrates that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “When Allah wants to be good to someone, He tries him with some hardship.”
Abu Hurairah also reports that Allah’s Messenger, peace be upon him, said:
“For every misfortune, illness, anxiety, grief, or hurt that afflicts a Muslim
-even the hurt caused by the pricking of a thorn – Allah removes some of his
sins.” Ibn Mas’ud said: “I visited the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
while he had a fever. I exclaimed: ‘O Messenger of Allah! You have a high
fever! ‘ He said: ‘My fever is as much as two among you [might have]. ‘ I
asked: ‘Is it because you have a double reward?’ He replied: ‘Yes, that is right.
“No Muslim is afflicted with any hurt, even if it is no more than the pricking of a thorn, but Allah wipes off his sins because of it and his sins fall away from him as leaves fall from a tree‘.”
Abu Hurairah (r) said: “The Prophet, peace be upon him, remarked: ‘The example of a believer is like a fresh tender plant; from whichever direction the wind blows, it bends the plant. But when the wind dies down, it straightens up again. (Similarly a believer is tested by afflictions to strengthen his faith and heart, and he remains patient and firm). And an evil person is like a pine tree which remains hard and stiff until Allah breaks it whenever He wills.”
Source: Fiqh-us-Sunnah, volume 4, #1
The Keys to Knowing Allah
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
In relation to the previous post about stress and anxiety, quite often this can be related to not understanding the feelings we are experiencing at any one time and not being able to associate those feelings with a cause. In other words, whilst it is true that specific events in our lives do cause us stress, it is also true that there isn’t any pain or anxiety experienced by a believer which is not intended as source of guidance towards Allah. Fyodor Dostievski once said, “The origin of conscious is suffering”, which entirely reflects our understanding in Islam. That in every suffering there is reward and the greatest reward is to be directed towards Allah. Hence, for the greatest part suffering is a means by which we may begin to think about our condition, about who we are, about we are suffering and what has caused it. And more importantly it causes us to turn to Allah in order to allieviate the suffering. Hence, contained in the suffering is immense blessing and an opportunity to turn to our Lor, seek His guidance, help and aid. It is not an opportunity to turn down or imply seek to remove the suffering from us, but rather try to understand why Allah has placed us in that condition. Suffering is the beginning of the path to knowing Allah, it is the opening and unfolding of the heart, and the heart is the place of cognisance of Allah, about which a well-known Shaykh said something very beautiful and true:
The key to the knowledge Allah made available to man is embedded in OUR divine personality. Specifically, He has implanted in each person one of His divine attributes which is his key to opening his relationship with his Lord…….therefore whoever seeks to approach his Lord must know the attribute in himself, that is the key.
Mercy Oceans of The Heart – Shaykh Nazim the Cypriot.
Seeking Divine Will and its Relationship to Sincerity Part1
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Introduction
What do we mean why we say khair insha’Allah? We say khair whenever we’re undertaking any task or action in which we seek goodness from Allah. It is our declaration and our testifying to Allah that only He possesses knowledge of the unseen, that only He possesses the knowledge and wisdom of where goodness resides, because as the Prophet (s) said, “All goodness comes from Allah and all evil from ourselves”. Hence, in khair we transfer our desire for something, for some outcome, we forego our wants and our will and replace it with the Divine Will. In this action we seek to replace our will in exchange for the Divine Will with the understanding that our sight is limited, His without limit, our understanding limited, His without limit, our knowledge limited, His knowledge without limit. So whenever we make the testifying of khair it is our acknowledgment that all goodness is truly with Allah and from Allah.
Seeking and Understanding Divine Will
Now, given that we have established this as being true what does it mean in relation to how we then go about undertaking an action? One perspective may be that we approach every action tentatively, without certainty because we do not know its outcome and do not seek to presuppose its outcome because we lack the knowledge of what may be good. Hence because of this lack of certainty we do not commit our hearts fully, for in doing so we may consider this as being equated to having knowledge of what is good and then hoping for a particular outcome. However, there is only partial truth in this approach, an approach which does not fully understand the Divine Will or the full nature of conviction, certainty and sincerity. It is true that there is not a legitimate and halal action that we seek to undertake in which we will have complete certainty of its goodness, except that which has already been prescribed by the Prophet (s) and by Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala such as prayer, fasting, charity and zakah. And even then although in the act itself there is no doubt and absolute certainty, there is doubt within the self as to the extent of one’s sincerity and the purity of one’s intention.
In the case of prayer and fasting, they are undertaken in a state of purity, and in the case of charity and zakah with wealth which has been obtained through halal means. There are other prescribed acts such as Hajj and Umrah which are also halal but whose determination is slightly different according to when they are undertaken. Hence, again if undertaken with good intention there is the certainty of goodness in them, but with its complete knowledge only with Allah. However, the unknown component in this case is their timing. If we have the means to perform Hajj with halal wealth and there are no other obligations upon us at that time such as tending to family or debt, and no other pressing legal obligations that may taken precedence then our uncertainty of the goodness in the matter is decreased and our certainty increased. So we are freed to pursue the goodness, and consider this freedom as a sign from Allah of the goodness therein to use that freedom to gain His favour and His closeness. So the critical dimension here is the element of certainty we have about an action that we use to determine whether we should undertake a particular halal action at a particular time.
Now, how does this principle translate itself into the sphere of other halal actions undertaken for the good pleasure of Allah but about which its certainty we cannot be sure and nor about its timing? Both these components of certainty and timing have been veiled from us, in which case how should we proceed with something and how do we determine the goodness therein in the absence of possessing certainty about them? One perspective is that being veiled from certainty of the outcome of an action or the goodness therein is a sign for us to use our reasoning and intellect in order to determine the finer properties of the action we wish to undertake. In the case for example of choosing a prospective spouse we may examine their qualities and evaluate them against the character and qualities of the Noble Messenger (s). We may examine a person in relation to what the Prophet (s) has told us in terms of what to seek in a prospective partner. We will also examine them according to their understanding of Islam, their practice, their aspirations and also the degree to which we see the Divine Will manifest in their hearts and desires, which is a sign of their sincerity. Hence a strong criteria is always to seek the signs of Divine Will and Divine Guidance within a person which is an outward manifestation of their inner state, their sincerity, the state of their heart and also a reading of their history. The former are easily understood, but in relation to their history, it is difficult for a person to achieve a state whereby the Divine Will is apparent in their character and actions without such a person having resolved to be guided by Divine Will for a considerable length of time and also without their having been chosen by Allah to be guided by His will. Although all human beings, and more so all believers, have the potential to be guided by Divine Will, and are guided by Divine Will, we distinguish between people in their finer states according to the degree to which the Divine Will is apparent in them.
Certainty and Absolute Certainty
Hence, with the Prophets and Messengers (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all) they are closest to Allah because they are guided by His will. But most importantly, and this is the key point they are closest to Allah because they do not allow their lack of knowledge about the certainty of an action, which they know will please Allah, and is good, determine their hearts conviction, or lack thereof, in pursuing it with conviction. In other words, in our example of choosing a prospective partner, will we never be absolutely certain that a particular person is absolutely the right person save that we are blessed with Divine inspiration through dreams which reduce uncertainty and increase our certainty. However, to a large extent this is not the case with people, even when we pray Istikhara which may give us good indications which reduce uncertainty without giving us absolute certainty of the goodness in the action. Hence given the truth about absolute certainty what we are being told by Allah is that it is not necessary to possess certainty to the level of absoluteness in undertaking an action, and to have made known to us the goodness in the action, in order for us to undertake it. Much of this is related to our station with Allah, the state of our hearts and also to the level of our understanding. It may be that where we are with our understanding, that Allah may be teaching us to lean towards a greater dependency on faith with a lessening inclination towards absolute proofs because we may not yet be in a state to possess absolute proofs. In which case, it may be better for us to undertake an action, after an exhaustive use of our intellects to its ability, a consultation of the heart, and seeking guidance through prayer.
Now, given that we have established a degree of truth with regards to what extent we can act without possessing absolute certainty in a matter that we know is good outwardly. How then does this principle relate to our saying ‘khair insha’Allah’? As we have mentioned, this term is our testifying that knowledge of the unseen and knowledge of goodness are only with Allah. Hence unless Allah has provided us with an absolute proof of undertaking a certain action then we are being directed towards undertaking the action with the proofs we possess without necessarily seeking greater proofs beyond what has already been given to us.
(Continued in ‘Seeking Divine Will and its Relationship with Sincerity Part 2′)
The Wrappings of Gratitude Seeking Divine Will and its Relationship to Sincerity Part2
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
Certainty in Uncertainty
This being true, presents us with one of two choices and which one we choose depends on the level of Yakin (certainty) we possess with regards faith, our level of understanding of the Divine Will, our understanding in general, the state of the heart and the level of our sincerity. In other words, as an outward proof of our internal yakin and emaan, we may undertake something of which we have reached the limit of its external proofs but yet we undertake the action with full conviction. This we do, not because we do possess full conviction, or that we seek to replace the certainty we possess with a certainty we have generated in order to make up the difference. But rather we undertake what we know and have established as being good, with conviction, and without seeking to presuppose its outcome. Hence in our example of a prospective spouse, our yakin, our reliance on Divine Will and guidance determines that we approach the matter with absolute conviction whilst also and always allowing there to exist the uncertainty of the outcome of the process.
In other words the process of becoming acquainted with a prospective must be undertaken with conviction irrespective of what the outcome may be because as we have already established the outcome has been veiled from us and so has knowledge of the absolute goodness of the action. Hence, our reliance is based on what is left over which are the outward signs and our emaan manifest in the sincerity of our full conviction of the process, but with the knowledge of the uncertainty of the outcome.
This is a complex understanding which is often over-simplified through a misrepresentation of ‘khair insha’Allah’, for ‘khair insha’Allah’ actually denotes the understanding presented above as opposed to its use to as a preventative and negative term that prevents us from being fully committed to an act of goodness. In other words, if not applied with sincerity its use is more akin to allowing us not to commit to something, to use the principle that, ‘only Allah knows best’, to prevent oneself from fully engaging in and committing oneself to a particular good action.
Now, here some might say in the case of a prospective spouse, to what extent ought we commit our hearts to the process, knowing the outcome is uncertain and knowing that risking the heart in such a way may be painful and/or detrimental? It is true, that with conviction of heart comes the real possibility of pain. But again we have to think this idea through carefully and ascertain exactly what we are referring to. At the outset of considering a prospective partner we do not begin by giving them our hearts and nor do we do that mid-way through and nor at the end. In fact at no point do we commit to giving our hearts to our prospective partner unless and until in the marriage itself. So, with this being the case what do we mean by giving our heart? Giving our heart means that we do not allow the heart to dictate a matter that first requires serious thought. Secondly, giving our heart also means that we are not led nor dictated by what may seem like a pure conviction, or a sign of our sincerity, but is in fact the nafs’ way of preventing us from thinking clearing by presenting false certainty through strong emotion. Hence, the heart being the repository of certainty cannot simply be given away to every stranger.
What we have said so far it that we are fully engaged and committed, without knowledge of the outcome but without what we may describe as giving our heart. Taking this further what this means is that it is not to the prospective person that we seek to give our heart, but in the process of getting to know them with a view to marriage, our hearts remain with Allah. What this means is that we are fully engaged in the process through Allah, seeking His guidance direction, with clarity and for the right reasons. But what it also translates into is that in order to gain His full guidance and blessing our hearts have to fully engage with Him and hence fully engage in the process of getting to know our prospective spouse.
And once we have as far as practically possible determined the goodness of the person, and goodness contained in the action, according to the proofs given to us by Allah, then we commit to the person with sincerity and most importantly, with a desire for the a union between the two people. This view in no way presupposes Divine Will but rather is an indication to Allah that we place our trust in Him, do not fear His wisdom, but rather we trust in it.
However, if one holds in their mind that they should not fully engage in the process because nothing may come of it, is to an extent being insincere with themselves, their prospective and with Allah – seeking to protect themselves rather than rely on Allah to protect them. Seeking to guide themselves rather than relying on Allah to guide them. Hence, the extent to which such a person may receive, and be aware of the Divine Will and Divine Guidance, the extent to which that guidance will be apparent to them, and the extent to which they see it in others, entirely corresponds to how much of their heart they have committed to and with Allah.
In other words, each prospective spouse, after a certain initial period of evaluation through intellect, has to be fully committed to and engaged with, with the acceptance, that by doing so, we demonstrate our faith in Allah to guide us to whatever may be good. It removes the self from the picture to a great extent, increases ones emaan, and demonstrates ones yakin. Indeed, there will always be the possibility of pain caused through acting with conviction towards an unknown end, but in the process and in our belief in khair what we have demonstrated above all else is our desire to be truly guided by Allah. Not fearing the outcome, but only fearing Allah. For fear is a creation of Allah, not worth fearing, which free’s us to risk our heart’s, not for dunya, but for the sake of Allah. There is no greater sign of trusting in Allah, than those that entrsu their hearts to Him, fisibilillah, for the sake of Allah. Hence, if there is khair in an action then let Allah be the judge of that and let us only seek to be guided by His will to whatever may be best, but with the full knowledge that we have for His sake, fully committed to Him, to good and to all that is right, without fear of the unknown or hesitation but with love, awe, fear and hope in Allah – hope contained in the absolute knowledge in the words of the Prophet (s) when he said, “All goodness is with Allah”. Those that truly believe in this, such hearts are with Allah, and what better place do true hearts seek than to be with Allah? “Allah is with those whose hearts are broken for His sake” (hadith).
Insha’Allah I will mention something about hearts that have been broken for the sake Allah in the next post.
An Invitation to Goodness
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
“By doing good, by being obedient to Allah we are not doing anyone a favour and nor are we doing Allah a favour. But rather, goodness when it comes to us, when it finds us, is our opportunity to gain the reward of Allah, gain closeness to Allah, gain the blessing and good favour of Allah. Our doing good is in reality Allah doing good to us. It is our opportunity to be good, and invitation to do good. So that we may know Allah is One, the Absolute, the Eternal, that in reality all goodness belongs to Allah, and Allah alone.” (SAA 07 May 2009)
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ
“Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they strive to change their own condition; and when Allah intends evil to a people, there is no averting it, and besides Him they have no protector”. (ar-Rad, 13:11)
Surah al-Hadid (The Iron)
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
“Know that like iron, the eyes of man will perish, and the one that judges with the eye, his life will be short-lived. But the one who relies on Allah, in adversity and prosperity, that comes to Allah with a sound heart, a heart full of humility and sincerity, it is only he that will prosper. When one day all else will disappear, it is only the one who sought Allah with a pure heart will reside forever with his Lord”. (SAA 11 May 2009)
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالشُّهَدَاء عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ وَنُورُهُمْ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْجَحِيمِ
مُصْفَرًّا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ حُطَامًا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانٌ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ
“And those who believe in Allah and His messengers- they are the Sincere (lovers of Truth), and the witnesses (who testify), in the eyes of their Lord: They shall have their Reward and their Light. But those who reject Allah and deny Our Signs,- they are the Companions of Hell-Fire know ye (all), that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying, (in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children”. (Quran, al-Hadid 57:19-20)
Surah al-Hadid (The Iron)
“Whatever is in the heavens and on earth,- let it declare the Praises and Glory of Allah: for He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: It is He Who gives Life and Death; and He has Power over all things.He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things.He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of Authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah sees well all that ye do.To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: and all affairs are referred back to Allah.He merges Night into Day, and He merges Day into Night; and He has full knowledge of the secrets of (all) hearts. (Quran, al-Hadid 57:1-6)
Believe in Allah and His messenger, and spend (in charity) out of the (substance) whereof He has made you heirs. For, those of you who believe and spend (in charity),- for them is a great Reward.What cause have ye why ye should not believe in Allah?- and the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord, and has indeed taken your Covenant, if ye are men of Faith.He is the One Who sends to His Servant Manifest Signs, that He may lead you from the depths of Darkness into the Light and verily Allah is to you most kind and Merciful. And what cause have ye why ye should not spend in the cause of Allah?- For to Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth. Not equal among you are those who spent (freely) and fought, before the Victory, (with those who did so later). Those are higher in rank than those who spent (freely) and fought afterwards. But to all has Allah promised a goodly (reward). And Allah is well acquainted with all that ye do. Who is he that will Loan to Allah a beautiful loan? for (Allah) will increase it manifold to his credit, and he will have (besides) a liberal Reward. (Quran, al-Hadid 57:7-11)
One Day shalt thou see the believing men and the believing women- how their Light runs forward before them and by their right hands: (their greeting will be): “Good News for you this Day! Gardens beneath which flow rivers! to dwell therein for aye! This is indeed the highest Achievement!”One Day will the Hypocrites- men and women – say to the Believers: “Wait for us! Let us borrow (a Light) from your Light!” It will be said: “Turn ye back to your rear! then seek a Light (where ye can)!” So a wall will be put up betwixt them, with a gate therein. Within it will be Mercy throughout, and without it, all alongside, will be (Wrath and) Punishment(Those without) will call out, “Were we not with you?” (The others) will reply, “True! but ye led yourselves into temptation; ye looked forward (to our ruin); ye doubted (Allah’s Promise); and (your false) desires deceived you; until there issued the Command of Allah. And the Deceiver deceived you in respect of Allah. “This Day shall no ransom be accepted of you, nor of those who rejected Allah. Your abode is the Fire: that is the proper place to claim you: and an evil refuge it is! (Quran, al-Hadid 57:11-15)
“Has not the Time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed (to them), and that they should not become like those to whom was given Revelation aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors.Know ye (all) that Allah giveth life to the earth after its death! already have We shown the Signs plainly to you, that ye may learn wisdom.For those who give in Charity, men and women, and loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan, it shall be increased manifold (to their credit), and they shall have (besides) a liberal reward. And those who believe in Allah and His messengers- they are the Sincere (lovers of Truth), and the witnesses (who testify), in the eyes of their Lord: They shall have their Reward and their Light. But those who reject Allah and deny Our Signs,- they are the Companions of Hell-Fire know ye (all), that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting and multiplying, (in rivalry) among yourselves, riches and children…..And what is the life of this world, but goods and chattels of deception. (Quran, al-Hadid 57:15-20)
Be ye foremost (in seeking) Forgiveness from your Lord, and a Garden (of Bliss), the width whereof is as the width of heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His messengers: that is the Grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom he pleases: and Allah is the Lord of Grace abounding. No misfortune can happen on earth or in your souls but is recorded in a decree before We bring it into existence: That is truly easy for Allah: In order that ye may not despair over matters that pass you by, nor exult over favours bestowed upon you. For Allah loveth not any vainglorious boaster, such persons as are covetous and commend covetousness to men. And if any turn back (from Allah’s Way), verily Allah is Free of all Needs, Worthy of all Praise”. (Qur’an, Surah al-Hadid 57:21-24)
O ye that believe! Fear Allah, and believe in His Messenger, and He will bestow on you a double portion of His Mercy: He will provide for you a Light by which ye shall walk (straight in your path), and He will forgive you (your past): for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.That the People of the Book may know that they have no power whatever over the Grace of Allah, that (His) Grace is (entirely) in His Hand, to bestow it on whomsoever He wills. For Allah is the Lord of Grace abounding. (Qur’an, Surah al-Hadid 57:28-29)
The most beautiful dua’a
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful
As was the custom with the tribes of Arabia prior to Islam, people’s allegiances were to tribes under whose protection one was, which meant other tribes, particularly less influential ones, would avoid entering into a feud with anyone from a more noble tribe. The Prophet (s) belonged to the most noble of them all, the tribe of Quraysh, and within that tribe, the noble tribe of Bani Hashim. After the death of his grandfather Abd-al- Muttalib it was Abu Talib the uncle of the Prophet (saw) who gave him protection. And when Muhammad (s) became a prophet, although his uncle did not accept Islam, he nevertheless loved his nephew very much and maintained that protection from the increasingly hostile Quraysh. However, Abu Talib died, and the Prophet (saw) sought protection from another of his uncles, Abu Lahab, who accepted his request very reluctantly, unable to refuse out of tribal custom. However, this protection was considerably nominal as the Prophet (s) was to discover, and led on more than one occasion, to Abu Lahab inciting violence against the Muslims. It seemed the family of the Noble Messenger (saw), the tribe of Quraysh, had turned their backs on him, that there was no one to protect him in his (saw) mission, and that hope of gaining any other support was remote. The situation looked bleak for the young Muslim community who were suffering both persecution through exile from Makkah and now also economic boycott from the Quraysh, meaning they were desperately short of food. With no other avenues open, and seeing the suffering of his family and community, he (saw), he travelled on foot from Makkah to Ta’if, a day’s journey. There was no other time when a noble prophet of Allah, the noblest of them all, was in a humbler state before people. And yet by the will of Allah, he entered the city of Ta’if seeking its leaders, hoping that they would accept Islam and help him. But they proved to be even more vociferous than the Quraysh. Hearing enough, the Prophet (s) stood to leave, but as he did the Noble Messenger (saw) was set upon by the slaves and children of Ta’if with stones, he ran, his feet cut and bleeding, he saw a garden, a private orchard, and sought refuge within its walls. Sitting under a tree cut and bruised, and perhaps at his lowest point, he turned to his Lord for ease and guidance. He had set out to Ta’if for the sake of God, for the sake of his religion, for the sake of His believers, and now it seemed all paths had been closed, where was he to go, who could he turn to for help? At that moment the Prophet (s) made, what is considered, as his most beautiful dua’a to Allah, a dua’a of complete sincerity, grace abounding, noble eloquence and utter humility before his Lord. Here are his words, read them slowly, for in them you will find the complete truth and beauty of Islam, in them you will find the true state of man to his Lord, in them you will find your Lord, and in them you will find the best of all people, the Messenger of Allah (saw).
Dua’a at-Ta’if
“O Allah! Unto You do I complain of my weakness, of my helplessness and of my lowliness before men. O most Merciful of the merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. Into whose hands have you entrusted me? Unto some far off stranger who receives me with hostility? Or unto a foe whom you have empowered against me? I care not, so long as You are not angry with me. But Your favouring help, that were for me the broader way and the wider scope. I take refuge in the light of Your countenance whereby all darknesses are illuminated and all things of this world and the next are rightly ordered, lest You make descend Your anger upon me or lest Your wrath beset me. Yet it is Yours to reproach until You are well pleased. There is no power and no might except through Thee.”
(The Prophet Muhammad (saw))
