Journey to Allāh’s Throne

Al-Isrāʾ and al-Miʿrāj – Part 1

Click here to read Part 2

About a year before the Hijra (which happened in 622AH), following a year full of personal tragedy in which the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) lost his beloved wife, Khadījah and his uncle, Abū Ṭālib, an amazing event happened to Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). He travelled to Jerusalem, up to the heavens and beyond and back in one night, and was shown some of Allāh’s greatest Signs. Many scholars state that this was quite possibly the greatest miracle he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was granted after the miracle of the Qurʾān.

Both the Isrāʾ and the Miʿrāj are talked about in the Qurʾān. The Isrāʾ is mentioned in Sūrah al-Isrāʾ:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِ لَيْلًا مِّنَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ الْأَقْصَى الَّذِي بَارَكْنَا حَوْلَهُ لِنُرِيَهُ مِنْ آيَاتِنَا ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ

Glory be to Him who made his servant travel by night from al-Masjid al-Ḥaram to a-Masjid al-Aqṣā whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him some of Our signs. He alone is the All-Hearing, the all-Seeing. [al-Isrāʾ (17): 1]

And the Miʿrāj is referred to in Sūrah al-Najm when Allāh describes the Prophet’s meeting with Jibrīl (‘alayhi al-Salām):

وَهُوَ بِالْأُفُقِ الْأَعْلَىٰ ﴿٧﴾ ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّىٰ ﴿٨﴾ فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَىٰ ﴿٩﴾ فَأَوْحَىٰ إِلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَىٰ ﴿١٠﴾ مَا كَذَبَ الْفُؤَادُ مَا رَأَىٰ ﴿١١﴾ أَفَتُمَارُونَهُ عَلَىٰ مَا يَرَىٰ ﴿١٢﴾ وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ ﴿١٣﴾ عِندَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنتَهَىٰ ﴿١٤﴾ عِندَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَىٰ ﴿١٥﴾ إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَىٰ ﴿١٦﴾ مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَىٰ ﴿١٧﴾ لَقَدْ رَأَىٰ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَىٰ ﴿١٨﴾

[The angel] was on the highest horizon, and then approached – coming down until he was two bows lengths away or even closer – and revealed to His servant what He revealed. His heart did not distort what he saw. Are you going to dispute with him about what he saw? A second time he saw him, by the Lote Tree beyond which none may pass, near the Garden of Rest, when the tree was covered in nameless splendour. His eye never wavered nor was it too bold, and he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord. [al-Najm (53): 7-18]

What follows is a description of the journey as recounted by the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

Just over a year before the Hijra was to happen,[1] in the vale of Abū Ṭālib, while the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was sleeping in the house of his cousin, Umm Hāniʾ, the roof of the house was opened and an angel descended, taking him to al-Ḥaṭīm or al-Ḥijr of the Kaʿbah.[2] There, lying at rest in a state halfway between wakefulness and sleep,[3] between his uncle, Ḥamza and cousin, Jaʿfar who were already sleeping there,[4] he heard a voice saying, “That one, the one between the other two.” Jibrīl and some other angels came to him, fully waking him up[5] and carried him to the spring of Zamzam. There, Jibrīl cut open his chest from the bottom of the throat to just above the pubic area. He removed his heart and washed it in a gold tray filled with Zamzam water, then he brought a second gold tray full of faith, wisdom and knowledge, emptied it into his chest, and sealed it up.[6]

A long, white and handsome animal, the Burāq, was brought to him, smaller than a mule but larger than a donkey. One of its steps would take it to farthest point on the horizon or the farthest point its eyes could see.[7] It was already saddled and bridled but it bucked when Allāh’s Messenger came to mount him. Jibrīl remarked, “Why are you doing this?! Would you do this to Muḥammad?! By Allāh, never has anyone dearer to Allāh than him ever ridden you!”

Hearing this, the animal broke into a sweat and stood still, allowing the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to mount him,[8] and mount him he did, sitting behind Jibrīl on the beast.[9]

And so began his journey by night.

During this journey, he saw Mūsā (‘alayhi al-Salām), standing, praying in his grave[10] at a place of red sandhills.[11]

He arrived at Bait al-Maqdis in Jerusalem and tethered the animal to the ring used by the Prophets. [Another narration: Jibrīl went to the rock and pierced it with his finger, and then tethered al-Burāq to the hole he had hollowed out.[12]]

Entering the Mosque, he saw all the Prophets in various stages of prayer[13] and he himself prayed two cycles of prayer.[14]

Shortly after, people gathered and the call to prayer was made. Everyone stood in rows waiting for someone to lead the prayer and Jibrīl, taking the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) by his hand, guided him to the front and he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) led them.[15]

After the prayer, Jibrīl said, “This is Mālik, the guardian of Hell, come to meet you, give your salām to him.” He (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) turned to do so, but Mālik got there before him and greeted him first.[16]

When he came out, Jibrīl proffered him a vessel of wine, a vessel of honey, and a vessel of milk and he took the milk. Jibrīl remarked, “All praise be to Allāh who guided you. You have chosen well, you have chosen the natural thing (fiṭrah) and your nation will be on the natural state. Had you chosen the wine, your nation would have gone astray.”[17]

He then placed his feet on the area where the Prophets put their feet at Bayt al-Maqdis,[18] and taking hold of his hand, Jibrīl then guided him upwards, ascending to the heavens.[19]

When they arrived at the lowest, celestial heaven, Jibrīl, knocked on one of its gates[20] and asked the guardian of that heaven to open the gate so that they may enter. He asked, “Who is this?” He answered, “Jibrīl.” He asked, “Do you have anyone with you?” He replied, “Yes, Muḥammad.” He asked, “Has he been commissioned?” He replied, “Yes.”[21] The guardian then said, “Welcome! What an excellent visit this is!”[22] and all the inhabitants of the heaven rejoiced.[23]

The gate opened and they ascended, entering therein. There they saw a man; to his right was a group of people and when he looked at them, he laughed. To his left was another group of people and when he looked at them, he wept. He (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked Jibrīl, “Who is this?” He replied, “This is your father, Ādam. The groups to his right and left are his progeny, to the right are the inhabitants of Paradise and to the left are the inhabitants of Hell. When he glances to his right, he laughs and when he glances to his left, he weeps. Give him your salām.” The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did so, and Ādam welcomed him saying, “Welcome to the righteous Prophet, my righteous son!” and he prayed for his good.[24]

Then they ascended to the second heaven and the same discussion ensued with its guardian, as it did at each of heavens they ascended to. Upon entering, he saw the two maternal cousins, ʿĪsā b. Maryam and Yaḥyā b. Zakariyyah (‘alayhima al-Salām). ʿĪsā he described as being a young, slender man, light skinned, curly haired, keen eyed and of medium build, looking as if he had just come out of a bath. He resembled ʿUrwah b. Masʿūd.[25] Jibrīl introduced them and asked him (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to extend his salām to them. They replied and added, “Welcome to the righteous Prophet and our righteous brother!” and prayed for his good.[26]

In the third heaven, he met Yūsuf who had been given half of all worldly beauty. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked Jibrīl who he was and he introduced him. He asked him (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to greet Yūsuf with the salām and he did so and Yūsuf replied, adding his welcome and prayer for well-being.[27]

In the fourth heaven, Jibrīl introduced him to Idrīs (‘alayhi al-Salām). The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), upon being prompted, extended his salām to Idrīs who welcomed him saying, “Welcome to the righteous Prophet and my righteous brother!” and prayed for his well-being. About him, Allāh, Most High says,

وَرَفَعْنَاهُ مَكَانًا عَلِيًّا

“We raised him to a high position.” [Maryam (19): 57][28]

He passed by the heavenly host and saw Jibrīl like a worn out saddles cloth from a camel’s back from fear of his Lord.[29] [One narration mentions that this was in the fourth heaven.[30]]

In the fifth heaven he met Hārūn (‘alayhi al-Salām) and after introductions, extended the salām to him. Hārūn welcomed him saying, “Welcome to the righteous Prophet and my righteous brother!” and prayed for his well-being.[31]

In the sixth heaven, he met Mūsā (‘alayhi al-Salām) who he described as a tall, imposing man with a heavy head of long hair coming down to his ears and a brown complexion. He looked like a person from the tribe of Shanūʾah.[32] The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) extended the salām to him and Mūsā welcomed him saying, “Welcome to the righteous Prophet and my righteous brother!” and prayed for his well-being.[33] When the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) walked past him, Mūsā wept and a voice called out, “Why are you crying?” He replied, “My Lord, I did not think anyone would be raised above me,[34] the Children of Israel think that I am the most honoured of Allāh’s servants, but here is someone more honoured than me![35] Here is a young man who was sent after me but more of his nation shall enter Paradise than mine![36] If he were by himself, it would be easier to bear, but he has his nation with him which is the most honoured of all nations!”[37]

In the seventh heaven, he saw Ibrāhīm, the Beloved of al-Raḥmān, an old and awe-inspiring man, resembling most the Prophet himself,[38] so much so that every limb he looked at reminded him of himself.[39] He was reclining with his back up against al-Bait al-Maʿmūr. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked Jibrīl what house this was and he replied, “This al-Bait al-Maʿmūr, every day seventy thousand Angels enter it to pray, and when they leave they never visit it again.”[40]

He (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked who the man was and Jibrīl introduced them saying, “This is your father, Ibrāhīm. Greet him with the salām.”[41] He did so and Ibrāhīm welcomed him saying, “Welcome to the righteous Prophet and my righteous son!”[42] He remarked, “Muḥammad, convey my salām to your nation and tell them that Paradise has pure, wholesome earth and sweet water. It is unplanted land and its seedlings are: subḥānAllāh, alḥamdulillāh, lā ilāha illAllāh, Allāhu Akbar [another narration: and Lā Ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh. Order them to plant many seeds.]”[43]

Points of Benefit

1. Allāh gifted this miracle to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to console and strengthen him after a very difficult year. Reminds us of His promise, “Truly, where there is hardship there is also ease; where there is hardship there is also ease” [al-Sharḥ (94): 5-6]
2. The precise date of the Isrāʾ and Miʿrāj is unknown
3. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) also had his heart washed while an infant, being fostered by Ḥalīmah al-Saʿdiyyah. That washing was to ensure he had a pure upbringing and to prepare him for revelation. This washing was to prepare him for the journey he was about to undertake.
4. The Burāq does not have wings as some claim, there is no authentic evidence for this. There arer many weak narration that tell various stories about this animal. What is quoted above is the only authentic evidence this author has found.
5. Others had ridden the Burāq before, some narrations indicate the Prophets before him, such as Ibrāhīm, had ridden it
6. The Burāq bucked and shied away out of awe when it realised just who was about to sit on it.
7. There are lots of weak ḥadīth about what the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saw and did on his way to Jerusalem, the only authentic narration this author has found has been quoted above
8. He (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) saw Mūsā praying, he would see him again in Bayt al-Maqdis, and again in the sixth heaven. How this is we do not know as the life after death is subject to rules different to the ones we know.
9. Why is Mūsā praying when there is no need for him to pray anymore? In fact, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “All the Prophets are alive in their graves and praying.” [Abū Yaʿlā #3425].

The Prophets and the righteous experience joy, peace and serenity in prayer. They love to pray because it maintains their connection with their Lord Most High.

10. Nawawī stated that in tethering the Burāq (even though it was not going to bolt) lies an example of taking the required precautions, the necessary steps before one puts his tawakkul in Allāh
11. Bayt al-Maqdis is one of three Masjids a person can make a journey to visit. It is not a ḥaram. The other two are Mecca and Medīnah and both of these are ḥarams
12. In Bayt al-Maqdis, he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) sees all the Prophets praying, and he himself prays two cycles on entering. This before taḥiyyatu’l-masjid was even legislated
13. He (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) led all the Prophets in prayer, he is their Imām and leader
14. He is the master of the Children of Ādam
15. His is not something new, he is a continuation of the line Prophets. His message is a continuation of their message.
16. Mālik, the guardian of Hell is brought to him rather than him going to see Mālik. This again shows the status of Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and also indicates that he and his message are far far removed from Hellfire.
17. His choosing milk shows that he is upon the natural way.
18. Islām is al-fiṭra, everything about it conforms to human nature and is best for mankind
19. His choosing milk shows Islām is a balanced path between hedonism and extreme asceticism
20. The heavens (samāwāt) are not the same as the gardens of paradise (jannāt)
21. There are seven heavens, at the top of the seventh, the jannāt start.
22. All the inhabitants rejoice at his (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) visit. This again shows his great status.
23. It is recommended to ask permission before entering, as Jibrīl did at each heaven
24. When a person is asked ‘Who is it,’ he should give his name as Jibrīl did so the person knows who it is. He should not just say, ‘It is me.’
25. The words that Ādam and the Prophets used to greet Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) show us that it recommended for the host to welcome the guest with good, friendly words.
26. The words that Ādam (‘alayhi al-Salām) uses to welcome Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) shows us that it is permissible to say good things about a person to his face, provided there is no fear of the person falling prey to conceit or arrogance.
27. All of mankind are there to the right and left of Ādam (‘alayhi al-Salām). This is a case in example of Allāh’s divine decree.
28. Ādam’s reaction to both groups shows his genuine concern for his progeny. He is happy at those who have succeeded, but he feels pain and grief at those who have not.
29. All the Prophets were sincerely concerned for their people, the Muslims and non-Muslims. So too should we be.
30. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did not know who Ādam (‘alayhi al-Salām) was, or any of the other Prophets, until Jibrīl told him. This shows us that he does not know everything, he does not know the unseen. He knows only what Allāh has taught him, and although that knowledge is vast, it does not encompass everything
31. All the Prophets welcome him, and pray for him. The Prophets all love him and are solicitous of him. They are one brotherhood, “The Prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one” [Bukhārī]
32. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that Yūsuf (‘alayhi al-Salām) had been given half of all worldly beauty. ʿĀʾishah said, ‘Had the Companions of Zulaykah seen the face of Allāh’s Messenger, they would have cut their hearts instead of their hands.’ [Shamāʾil Tirmidhī]
33. Beauty is two types. One that strikes you immediately and one that grows on you after reflection and association. The first is exemplified by Yūsuf (‘alayhi al-Salām), the second by Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). This is why ʿAlī said, “Whoever saw him of a sudden would be awestruck. Whoever accompanied him and got to know him, would love him.” [Shamāʾil Tirmidhī]
34. Bukhārī records on the authority of al-Barāʾa that ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was the most handsome of people, with the best of builds, and he was neither very tall nor was he short.’
35. In the fourth heaven he sees Jibrīl in the heavenly company, even though Jibrīl is also accompanying him. This is another proof that the laws of time and space as we know do not apply to this journey.
36. Jibrīl’s condition is a result of his extreme humility and taqwā and fear of Allāh, Most High.
37. In one narration in Bazzār, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) remarked, “I then realised the superiority of his knowledge of Allāh,” because true knowledge is knowledge that takes root in the heart, is acted on and increased a person is love, awe and fear of Allāh.
38. In the sixth heaven he met Mūsā (‘alayhi al-Salām). Mūsā is not jealous of Muḥammad, he does not dislike the blessings and status that he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) has been given. Rather he admires him and wishes that he were given the same.
39. Mūsā weeps out of concern and distress for his nation. When he compares the reaction of the nation of Muḥammad (generally speaking) and compares it to the denial, arrogance and disobedience of his own people, he feels distress.
40. The superiority of the ummah of Muḥammad is highlighted.
41. This highlights to us the great responsibility we have to live up to the standards expected of us.
42. Ibrāhīm (‘alayhi al-Salām) is the Khalīl of Allāh, so too is Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
43. Bayt al-Maʿmūr is the Kaʿbah of the heavens, it is a copy of what is on earth. Were it to fall, it would fall directly on the Kaʿbah on earth [Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr #12185]
44. The huge number of Angels, beyond our ability to count, “No one your Lord’s forces except him” [al-Muddaththir (74): 31]
45. Nawawī and others state that in Ibrahīm reclining against the Bayt al-Maʿmūr shows the permissibility of reclining against the wall of the Kaʿbah and turning ones back to the Qiblah
46. Ibrāhīm sending his salām to this nation especially again shows its high status
47. The great reward of the statements of dhikr mentioned and we should say them frequently.
48. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī, “Should I guide you to a word which is one of the treasures of Paradise?” He replied in the affirmative. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illa billāh.“ [Bukhāri and Muslim]
49. Muslim records on the authority of Samurah b. Jundub that the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “The most beloved statements to Allāh are four: SubḥānAllāh, al-Ḥamdulillāh, Lā ilāha illAllāh, Allāhu Akbar…”
50. Some scholars discuss why he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) met these particular Prophets. They stated that when we look at their lives there are clear parallels to the life of Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and what is to come:

Ādam: The first Prophet, left the holiest of places, Jannah, but he shall return. Likewise, Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) will be expelled from holiest place on earth, Mecca, but will return.

ʿĪsā, and Yaḥyā: Chronologically closest to Prophet. Their own people tried to kill ʿĪsā and killed Yaḥya, so too will his (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) people try to kill him

Yūsuf: his own blood brothers tried to harm him, but at the end he rose victorious, his brothers repented and accepted his faith. So too will the Quraysh reject the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), but he will rise victorious and they will accept his faith.

Idrīs: He has been given an exalted place, likewise the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) has the highest place, and is given the Maqām Maḥmūd

Hārūn: he was despised then accepted.

Mūsā: Has most experiences similar to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and has the largest nation after his (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

Ibrāhīm: Is a Khalīl, just as Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is a Khalīl [Muslim]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil 2:354-355

[2] Bukhārī #349-3207 from Anas. Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr, Bayhaqī 2:405, Wāqidī, ibn Saʿd 1:214

Ibn Ḥajr, al-Fatḥ 7:204 argued that the meaning of al-Ḥaṭīm in this ḥadīth was actually al-Ḥijr (the semi-circular space under the waterspout of the Kaʿbah) and stated that those who said that he was between al-Rukn and al-Maqām or between Zamzam and al-Ḥijr were incorrect. He also explained the various aḥādīth concerning the beginning of the journey as described above.

[3] Bukhārī #349, Muslim #164 from Anas b. Mālik

[4] Muslim #164, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 7:528

Some scholars said that Ḥamza and Jaʿfar were actually in the house, not at the Kaʿbah. cf. Ibn Ādam, al-Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 4:519

[5] Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ

[6] Bukhārī 349-1636-3342-7517, Muslim #163-164, Nasāʾī #452, Abū ʿAwānah #337 from Anas. Bukhārī #3207-3887, Muslim #264-265 from Mālik b. Ṣaʿṣaʿah

1. Ibn Ādam 4:519 where he explains it was two separate trays brought, one containing Zamzam and the other containing faith, wisdom and knowledge

[7] Muslim #162-164 from Anas b. Mālik

[8] Tirmidhī #3131, Aḥmad #12673, Ibn Ḥibbān #46 from Anas

[9] Tirmidhī #3147, Ibn Ḥibbān #45, Aḥmad #23285, Bayhaqī 2:364 from Hudhayfah. Ḥākim #8793 from ibn Masʿūd with a ḍaʿīf isnād. cf. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ and Ibn Ādam 4:523

Some scholars state that it was only the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) who sat on the Burāq, with Jibrīl accompanying him, but the narration referenced above clearly state that both did. Allāh knows best. cf. Albānī, al-Isrāʾ wa’l-Miʿrāj pg. 62

[10] Muslim #2375, Aḥmad 3:120 from Anas

[11] Nasāʾī #1631-1632, Aḥmad #13618 from Anas

[12] Tirmidhī #3132, Ḥākim #3370

[13] Bayhaqī 2:358 from Abū Hurayrah. Abū Nuʿaym and ibn ʿAsākir from ibn Masʿūd as per Suyūṭī, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ al-Kubrā 1:269. cf. Shāmī, Subul al-Hudā 12:361

[14] Muslim #162 from Anas. Bayhaqī 2:391-396 from Abū Saʿīd with a ḍaʿīf isnād also has Jibrīl praying two cycles of prayer.

[15] Ibn Abī Ḥātim from Anas. Nasāʾī #450 from Anas with a ḍaʿīf isnād. Aḥmad #2324 from ibn ʿAbbās. cf. Muslim #172 from Abū Hurayrah, ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah 3:13, Sharḥ Ibn Ādam 4:526

[16] Muslim #172 from Abū Hurayrah. Aḥmad 1:374 from ibn ʿAbbās

[17] Bukhārī #3394-3437-4709-5576-5603, Muslim #168 from Abū Hurayrah. Bukhārī #3887, Muslim #162-164 from Anas.

Some aḥādīth mention that these drinks were offered him (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) after he had arrived at the Lote Tree, and some scholars postulate that they were offered twice, at this point and in the seventh heaven. cf. Sharh Ibn Ādam 4:536

Some narrations also state that he took a small amount of the honey as well.

[18] Aḥmad #10830 from Abū Hurayrah – ḥasan

[19] Muslim #163 from Abū Dharr

[20] Bukhārī #7517 from Anas

[21] Bukhārī #349, Muslim #162-163

[22] Muslim #164

[23] Bukhārī #5917 from Anas

[24] Bukhārī #349-3342, Muslim #163, Aḥmad 4:207, Abū ʿAwānah #337

Ibn Ḥajr 1:461 was of the view that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked who he was before Ādam greeted him as proven explicitly by the narration of Mālik b. Ṣaʿṣaʿah. In each of the heavens, he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) found out who they were by asking Jibrīl.

[25] Bukhārī #3394-3437, Muslim #165. Muslim #167 from Jābir mentions that he resembled ʿUrwah b. Masʿūd. Aḥmad 1:347 from ibn ʿAbbās

[26] Muslim #162-163, Aḥmad 4:207, Abū ʿAwānah #337

[27] Muslim #162-163, Aḥmad 4:207, Abū ʿAwānah #337

[28] Muslim #162-163, Aḥmad 4:207, Abū ʿAwānah #337

[29] Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim #621, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2289

[30] Ibn Mardawayh as per Suyūṭī, al-Durr 4:152, cf. Albānī, Aḥādīth al-Isrāʾ pg. 61

[31] Muslim #162-163, Aḥmad 4:207, Abū ʿAwānah #337

[32] Bukhārī #3394, Muslim #165 from Abū Hurayrah. Aḥmad 1:257-347 from ibn ʿAbbās

[33] Muslim #163

[34] Bukhārī #7517 from Anas

[35] Bazzār #9518, from Anas. Abū Yaʿlā and Bazzār from Abū Hurayrah as per Suyūṭī, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ 1:287. Cf. Sharḥ ibn Ādam 4:530

[36] Muslim #164

[37] Amawī. cf. Bukhārī #3207-3887, Muslim #164, from Anas, Aḥmad 4:207, Ibn Ḥajr 7:211, Sharḥ ibn Ādam 4:530

[38] Muslim #167, Aḥmad 1:257

[39] Aḥmad 1:347 #3546 from ibn ʿAbbās

[40] Bukhārī #3207-3394-3430-3887, Muslim #164

[41] Aḥmad 4:207

[42] Muslim #162

[43] Tirmidhī #3462, Ṭabarānī #10363 from ibn Masʿūd. Aḥmad 5:418 from Abū Ayyūb

The post Journey to Allah’s Throne appeared first on Islam21c.

Journey to Allāh’s Throne

Al-Isrāʾ and al-Miʿrāj – Part 2

Click here to read Part 1

Before moving on to the climax of this journey, the divine audience, there are a number of events and sights that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw but are difficult to place chronologically in the narrative. The author has opted to list them here.

He never passed any gathering during this journey except that they announced, “Muḥammad, enjoin your nation to perform ḥijāmah.”[1]

At some point in this journey, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) met with Ibrāhīm, Mūsā and ʿĪsā (ʿalayhim al-Salām) and they brought up the matter of the Hour and referred it to Ibrāhīm, but he said, “I have no knowledge of it.” They turned to Mūsā but he said, “I have no knowledge of it.” They turned to ʿĪsā and he said, “As for the time of its occurrence, no one knows it except Allāh. My Lord, Mighty and Magnificent, has told me something of what will precede it: the Dajjāl will come forth and I will face him with two rods. As soon as he sees me, he will begin to melt like lead. Allāh will destroy him so much so that the very stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslim, behind me hides a disbeliever, come and kill him!’ and Allāh will destroy them. People will then return to their countries and nations and at that time Yaʾjūj and Maʿjūj shall come out from every direction. They will trample all nations underfoot and whatever they come upon they will destroy. They will drink up every body of water. At last the people will come to me complaining about them. At that time I will invoke Allāh against them and He will destroy them until the whole earth will reek of their stench. Allāh will then send down rain which shall carry their bodies away and hurl them into the sea. I have been assured by my Lord that once all this takes place then the Hour will be as the pregnant mother at the last stages of her pregnancy. Her family does not know when she shall suddenly give birth by night or by day.[2]

Jibrīl also took him around the top of the seventh heaven, he was granted entry into Paradise and walked therein.[3] There he saw domes of pearls and found that its earth was musk.[4] Shortly after entering, he heard a sound (of a conversation) coming from one side of Paradise, and upon enquiring after it, Jibrīl said, “This is Bilāl, the Muʾadhdhin,” When the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) returned to Mecca, he exclaimed, “Bilāl has succeeded, I saw this!”[5]

There he saw a palace made of gold and asked whose it was. Jibrīl replied, “It belongs to a man of the Quraysh.” Thinking it was his, he asked further and Jibrīl replied, “It belongs to ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb.”[6]

He also saw a river on which were pavilions of pearls and emeralds, and flying around it were delicate green birds. On its banks were vessels of gold and silver and it flowed over pebbles made of sapphire and emerald. Its water was whiter than milk and when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) put his hand into it, he found that its soil was very fine musk. The Prophet took one of the vessels and scooped some water and drank and found it sweeter than honey and more fragrant than musk. He asked, “What is this, Jibril?” He replied, “This is al-Kawthar which your Lord has stored up for you.”[7]

The Prophet then noticed a fragrant breeze and asked, “Jibrīl, what is this sweet scent?” He replied, “This is the scent of the lady who combed the hair of Pharaoh’s daughter and that of her children. One day, as she combed the hair of Pharaoh’s daughter the comb fell and she said: bismillāh — In the name of Allāh! Pharaoh’s daughter said, ‘You mean my father?’ She said, ‘No, my Lord and the Lord of your father.’ Pharaoh’s daughter said, ‘Shall I tell my father?’ She replied, ‘Yes.’ She told him and he summoned her and said, ‘Do you have a Lord other than me?’ She replied, ‘Yes, my Lord and your Lord is Allāh.’ He then ordered that a huge cow made of cauldron be heated up and ordered and that she and her children be thrown into it. She said, ‘I have but one request: collect my bones and the bones of my children in one garment and bury them.’ He said, ‘You have the right to ask, and your request is granted.’ Before her eyes, the children were taken and thrown in one after the other, until they got to the youngest who was still being breastfed, and she seemed to hesitate. The baby said, ‘Mother, throw me in. The punishment of this world is lighter than that of the Hereafter. Then she was thrown in with her children. Then ibn ʿAbbās commented: four people spoke in infancy: ʿĪsā, Son of Maryam, the Companion of Jurayj, the Witness of Yūsuf, and the son of the woman who combed the hair of Pharaohs daughter.[8]

He looked into Hellfire and saw people eating decaying corpses and asked who they were. “They are people who consume the flesh of people,” Jibrīl replied.[9]

He passed by some people with copper nails with which they were clawing at their faces and chests, shredding them. He asked, “Who are these?” He replied, “These are people who would eat people’s flesh and tarnish their reputations.”[10]

He saw another group of people whose lips and tongues were being cut with scissors made of fire, each time they were cut, they would return to their original state. “Who are these?” he asked. Jibrīl replied, “Orators amongst your nation, they would enjoin people to good but forget to do it themselves while reciting the Book, did they have no sense?!”[11]

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was also shown the Dajjāl in his true form,[12] while awake, not in a dream. The Dajjāl he described as being mammoth-sized, extremely pale and white, one of his eyes was sound as if a twinkling star, and his hair disarrayed like branches of a tree.[13]

Then he was taken to the Lote Tree at the Furthest Boundary, Sidratu’l-Muntahā, whose leaves were like elephant ears and its fruits like large earthenware vessels, like those of Hijar. Gold moths were flying around it,[14] and gold locusts hopping around it.[15] Then it underwent a transformation, and its beauty became indescribable,[16] truly sublime. Each time it underwent a change by Allāh’s command, it would be covered in nameless splendour.[17] It was enveloped in colours he just could not describe.[18] There, everything that ascends from earth stops and is collected, and everything that is sent down from above stops, and is collected.[19]

The roots of this tree are in the sixth heaven and its branches and trunk extend up through the seventh.[20]  From the base of this tree issue four rivers, two visible and two hidden. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked Jibrīl what these were and he replied, “The hidden ones are the rivers of Paradise and the visible ones are the Nile and the Euphrates.”[21] In the lowest heaven, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had seen two rivers and asked what they were. “This is where the waters of the Nile and Euphrates collect (before getting to earth),” Jibrīl replied.[22]

It was here that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw Jibrīl in his true form, with six hundred wings covering the horizons,[23] [24] filling the space between the heavens and earth. He was wearing a cloak made of fine silk and rubies, and his feet were like pearls resembling raindrops on a green leaf.[25] All kinds of precious ornaments were falling from the feathers of his wings like rare pearls and sapphires,[26] of kind Allāh alone knows.[27] It was concerning this that Allāh says,

لَقَدْ رَأَىٰ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِ الْكُبْرَىٰ

“He saw some of the greatest Signs of his Lord”[28]

Proceeding beyond the Lote Tree, he reached the point where he could hear the scratching of the pens (as they recorded the decree).[29]

There and then Allāh revealed to him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) what he revealed and obligated fifty prayers every day and night. He went back down to Mūsā who asked, ‘What has your Lord enjoined upon your Ummah?’ He replied, “Fifty prayers each day and night.” He said, ‘I have experience of people before you and therefore I know them better than you. I tried as hard as I could with the Banī Isrāʾīl, tested them [and found them lacking].[30] Your nation will not be able to bear this and [so my advice is to] go back to your Lord and ask him to reduce them for you.’[31] The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) then turned to Jibrīl, seeking his counsel as well and he nodded and agreed.[32]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) returned to his Lord and said, ‘My Lord, make things lighter for my Ummah because they cannot bear this,’ and Allāh reduced the number by five. Returning to Mūsā, he received the same advice and so returned again. He kept going back and forth between the two, after taking counsel with Jibrīl each time,[33] with the number being reduced by five each time until Allāh said, ‘Muḥammad, My word does not change:[34] there are five prayers every day and night, each being credited as ten, and that makes fifty prayers in the Mother of the Book. When a person intends to do a good deed and does not do it, they will have a good deed recorded for him; and if he does it, it will be recorded for him as ten. When a person intends to do an evil deed and does not do, it will not be recorded against him; and if he does it, only one evil deed will be recorded.’

Mūsā once again asked him to go back and reduce the number, saying, ‘By Allāh, I asked for less than this from the Banī Isrāʾīl but they faltered and abandoned it. Your community has weaker bodies, hearts, physique, seeing and hearing. Go back and ask your Lord to lighten it for you.’[35] But the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “How many times must I return to Him! I have asked my Lord to the point of embarrassment, I am now content and I have submitted.” Then a voice called out, “I have imposed my obligation and lightened it for My servants, and I will reward a good deed tenfold.”[36] Mūsā then said, ‘Descend then, with the name of Allāh.’[37]

In general, Allāh gifted him with three things at this place which had not been granted to any Prophet previous to him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) the five prayers, the last two verses of Sūrah al-Baqarah and the fact that whoever did not commit Shirk with Allāh would be forgiven any mortal sins he committed.[38]

When he returned, he went back to sleep and then awoke in the Sacred Masjid.[39] [40] He did return to Umm Hāni’s house and informed her of what had happened and of his intention to tell everyone. She advised against this, saying people would deride him and even those who believed in him would reject him, but he insisted on following the course of action he had decided.[41]

Having resolved to tell people what had happened, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) sat alone, despondent and terrified that people would call him a liar. While doing so, Abū Jahl walked by and seeing him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), came over and sat down, mockingly asking, ‘Has anything happened?’ He replied, “Yes, I went on a journey last night.” ‘Where to?’ asked Abū Jahl. “To Bayt al-Maqdis,” he replied. Abū Jahl exclaimed, ‘And you came back here by morning?’ Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Yes.” Seeing a golden opportunity present itself, instead of immediately accusing him of lying, Abū Jahl asked, ‘If I call everyone here will you tell them the same thing?’

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) replied in the affirmative. He called everyone over and asked the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) to repeat what he had said earlier. When they heard what he had to say, some people began clapping in derision while others held their heads in shock, assuming the story to be a lie.[42] Some Muslims who had recently accepted Islām were so taken aback that they absolutely refused to believe, apostated and left Islām altogether. Those who did so were all later slain in battle along with Abū Jahl.[43]

Someone then asked him to describe Bayt al-Maqdis as some amongst them had seen it before. So, while standing in al-Ḥijr, the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) began to describe the area but got somewhat confused. They began to pester him with questions that he was unable to answer so much so that he, himself later reminisced, “I began to feel anxious like never before!”[44]

Allāh then brought the whole place before him, near the house of ʿAqīl and he described its main features while looking on at it, and answered their queries. The people who had seen it confirmed his description.[45]

He furnished further proof for the truth of what he said, “I passed by the caravan of such-and-such tribe in such-and-such valley, and the sound of the animal [al-Burāq] startled them and so one of their camels ran away. I directed them to it being then on the way to Shām. Then I continued on until I reached Ḍajanān, where I passed a caravan of such-and-such tribe. I found the people asleep and they had a vessel containing water which they had covered. I took off the water, drank it and replaced the cover. The proof of this is the caravan is now making its way down from the pass at al-Tanʿīm al-Bayḍā. Leading it is an ash-coloured camel on which are two sacks, one of which is black and the other, black and white.” On hearing this, people hurried to the pass, the first camel was as he had described but this was insufficient proof for them, so they asked after the water and found events to be exactly as he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had recounted. They then, later asked the second caravan about the camel and they confirmed what had happened stating that a voice directed them to the stray camel.[46]

People rushed to Abū Bakr (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) clamouring for his attention, ‘Have you heard what your friend has said?!’ They told him and he asked, ‘Did he really say this?’ They confirmed it and he then remarked, ‘Then he definitely told the truth, I believe him in things far greater than this: I believe him when he tells me he receives revelation from the heaven!’ It was then that he was given the title of al-Ṣiddīq.[47]

That same day, amidst all the ongoing mockery, derision and denial, Jibrīl came to Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) at midday and taught him the times of prayer, enacting the command that had come from Allāh as soon as it was due. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) summoned the Muslims, and Jibrīl led Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) in prayer and he in turn led the people.[48]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Jibrīl led me in prayer twice at the House. He prayed Dhuhr the first day when the shadow was similar to (the length of) the strap of a sandal. Then he prayed ʿAṣr when the shadow was similar (to the length of) the object. Then he prayed Maghrib when the sun had set and the fasting person breaks fast. Then he prayed ʿIshā when the twilight had vanished. Then he prayed Fajr when dawn began and when eating is prohibited for the fasting person. The second day, he prayed Ẓuhr when the shadow of everything was similar to (the length of) the object, at the time of ʿAṣr the day before. Then he prayed ʿAṣr when the shadow of everything was twice as long as the object. Then he prayed Maghrib at the same time as he did the first time. Then he prayed ʿIshā when a third of the night had passed. Then he prayed Fajr when the land glowed with light. Then Jibrīl turned towards me and said, ‘Muḥammad, these are the times of the Prophets before you, and the time for each prayer is between these two times.’”[49]

POINTS OF BENEFIT

1. The excellence of cupping. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The best of remedies is cupping” [Bukhārī #5371]
2. During this journey, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) passed by gatherings that we have not been informed about explicitly.
3. When the greatest leaders of mankind meet, what do they discuss, what advice do they impart to their people?

– Consider the concern that Ibrāhīm has for the nation of Muḥammad when the two meet, his advice is for them to remember Allāh and to set their sights on Janna as their goal.

– When Ibrāhīm, Mūsā and ʿIsā meet, they discuss the Last Day and the events leading up to it, implying that we need to prepare for that Day

4. The beauty of Paradise
5. The virtue of Bilāl (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu)
6. He has been given the title, “The Muʾadhdhin,” showing the virtue of the adhān and calling it, even though the adhān had not yet been legislated
7. The Virtue of ʿUmar (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu)
8. Al-Kawthar that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) has been granted as a gift from Allāh
9. The story of the woman who combed Pharoah’s daughters hair shows how great her faith was in Allāh
10. It puts in context the trials and hardships we face in our daily lives, many, if not all pale in significance compared to what she had to face for her faith
11. All of us will be put to trial during our lives

الم ﴿١﴾ أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ

“ALM. Do people think they will be left alone after saying, ‘We believe’ without being put to test. We tested those who went before them: Allāh will certainly mark out which ones are truthful and which are lying.” [al-ʿAnkabūt (29): 1-3]

12. From the mercy of Allāh is that this nation is allowed to lie and pretend to fall into disbelief when tortured or threatened with death over their faith

– The Polytheists took ʿAmmār b. Yāsar and tortured him until he cursed the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and mentioned their gods in a good light. When he came to the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) he informed him what had happened and he asked, ‘What was in your heart?’ He replied, ‘Safe and sound with respect to its īmān,’ so he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “If they do it again, do what you did again.” [al-Ḥākim]

13. When an accident happens, it is legislated to say, bismillāh. Abū Tamīmah who said: I was riding behind the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) when his mount stumbled and so I said, ‘May Satan perish!’ Upon hearing this the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Do not say ‘May Satan perish’ for when you say this Satan becomes exultant and grows in stature and says, ‘It was by my power that I injured him.’ But when you say, ‘With the Name of Allāh’ he becomes humiliated and grows small until he ends up the size of a fly.” [Aḥmad #20591-20592-20690, Abū Dāwūd]
14. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) looked into Hellfire but did not go into, unlike Jannah which he entered
15. The severity of backbiting and tarnishing people’s reputations
16. The severity if hypocrisy
17. The severity of saying things we do not do

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ ﴿٢﴾ كَبُرَ مَقْتًا عِندَ اللَّـهِ أَن تَقُولُوا مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ

O you who believe, why do you say things and then do not do them? It is most hateful to Allāh that you say things and then not do them. [al-Ṣaff (61): 2-3]

18. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw the Dajjāl, in fact out of all Prophets, his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) descriptions of him were the most detailed
19. The Sidratu’l-Muntahā is at the edge of creation, above it is the Throne, and above that, in a manner befitting His majesty, is Allāh
20. Its beauty is beyond description, and once again we are alerted to the fact that the laws of time and space as we know them no longer apply here, as he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is seeing colours that he just cannot describe, they do not fall into the spectrum of colours we know in this world
21. Allāh is above creation
22. Some of the Salaf, such as Maqātil, said that the two hidden rivers were al-Kawthar and Salsabīl
23. The Nile and the Euphrates are blessed rivers, in fact they have been the source of life and the foundation of the earliest civilisations
24. Allāh knows best how they get from the heavens to the earth
25. The greatness and beauty of Jibrīl
26. Amongst the Greatest Signs that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw were: al-Bayt al-Maʿmūr, Sidratu’l-Muntahā and Jibrīl in his true form
27. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) proceeded beyond the tree by himself, indicating his great status with Allāh
28. The scratching of the Pens is either the transcribing of the decrees from the Preserved Tablet, Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ, or it is the writing of the Book which is with Allāh

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَمَّا قَضَى اللَّهُ الخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِي كِتَابِهِ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ العَرْشِ إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي غَلَبَتْ غَضَبِي»

“When Allāh had completed creation, He wrote in a Book which is with Him above the Throne, ‘My mercy precedes My wrath.’” [Bukhārī #3194-7553-7554 Muslim #2751from Abū Huryarah] cf. ʿIrāqī, Tarḥ al-Tathrīb 8:84

29. In his hearing these pens, he is being taught that everything he has been shown and will indeed himself teach, will indeed happen.
30. He is also prepared for the fact that the prayers have already been determined to be 5 in number but 50 in reward
31. There is nothing authentically reported about the actual details of the conversation between Allāh and His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)
32. This could be because this was a personal gift from Allāh to His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).
33. The obligation of the five daily prayers and how the number was reduced from 50 to 5
34. Mūsā (ʿalayhi al-Salām) gives sincere counsel to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), he does this without being prompted
35. One can use experience and custom to pass judgement and give advice as Mūṣā (ʿalayhi al-Salām) did
36. Mūsā has had experience of leading a large nation of people, like the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would do as well
37. The status of Mūsā in that Allāh spoke to none other directly in this world until Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), cf. Ibn Mulaqqin, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī 33:472
38. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asks Jibrīl for his counsel. This shows us the importance of mashwarā in important affairs

وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

Consult with them about matters, then, when you have decided on a course of action, put your trust in Allāh: Allāh loves those who put their trust in Him. [Āli ʿImrān (3): 159]

39. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) shows his sincere concern for his nation in his repeatedly going back to his Lord for further reduction

لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

A Messenger has come from among yourselves. Your suffering distresses him: he is deeply concerned for you and full of kindness and mercy towards the believers. [al-Tawbah (9):128]

40. The ease Allāh has given this nation out of His mercy in that 1 prayer is equivalent to 10 prayers
41. The ease Allāh has given this nation in that having the firm resolve to do a good deed earns but not doing it earns a person 1 reward, and having the firm resolve to do an evil deed and not doing it has nothing recorded against the person
42. Doing good deeds is rewarded tenfold, in fact even more
43. The great reward of the prayer
44. Why set the initial number to 50 instead of 5? To show us that our lives should be spent in the worship of Allāh and that the greatest expression of the worship is prayer
45. Praying 5 prayers a day is well within our ability to do, they are not difficult
46. The virtue of the last two verses of al-Baqarah:

إِنِّي أُوتِيتُهُمَا مِنْ كَنْزٍ مِنْ بَيْتٍ تَحْتَ الْعَرْشِ، وَلَمْ يُؤْتَهُمَا نَبِيٌّ قَبْلِي ” يَعْنِي: الْآيَتَيْنِ مِنْ آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ

“I was given these two verses from a treasure from a house under the Throne, no Prophet has been given them before me.” [Aḥmad #21343 from Abū Dharr]

مَنْ قَرَأَ بِالْآيَتَيْنِ مِنْ آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ كَفَتَاهُ

“Whoever recites the last two verses of Sūrah al-Baqarah, they will suffice him.” [Bukhārī #4723, Muslim 255 from Abū Masʿūd al-Anṣārī]

• Suffice him from Shayṭān, and evil on that day, some said also for the night prayer [Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ, Mubārakpūrī, Tuḥfa 8:152] – Shawkānī said all were meant

47. The severity of shirk

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّـهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَىٰ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا

Allāh does not forgive the joining of partners with Him: anything less than that He forgives to whoever He wills, but anyone who joins partners with Allāh has concocted a tremendous sin.[al-Nisāʾ (4):48]

48. Allāh will forgive those who repent from mortal sins
49. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) did not see Allāh

عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، هَلْ رَأَيْتَ رَبَّكَ؟ قَالَ: «نُورٌ أَنَّى أَرَاهُ»

Abū Dharr asked Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), ‘Do you see your Lord?’ He replied, “There was just light, how could I see him?”[Muslim #178 from Abū Dharr]

50. Those of the Salaf, like ibn ʿAbbās, who said he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) did see Allāh were talking about seeing Him with their hearts, i.e. a spiritual sight. Those who negated the sight, such as ʿĀʾishah, were talking about physically seeing Him with the eyes of the head.
51. Imām Aḥmad was also of the view that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw Him with the eyes of his heart. This is how the various narrations from him are understood when considered together
52. When he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) returns he goes back to sleep. Ibn Kathīr remarks that this shows the strength of īmān and fortitude of Allāh’s Messenger: any normal man would have gone mad at experiencing a fraction of what he did, but he did not (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).
53. The permissibility of sleeping amongst a group of people so long as they do not share the same blanket
54. The wisdom of filling his heart with faith, wisdom and knowledge
55. Wisdom and knowledge come after īmān in importance
56. The place of īmān, knowledge and wisdom is the heart, not the mind
57. Speaking the truth even when you know it will be used against you
58. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) did not sugar-coat the message, or distort it, or compromise it to make it more palatable to people.
59. The Messenger’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) humanity in his feeling anxious and getting confused over some details
60. Allāh defends his Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)by showing him Bayt al-Maqdis
61. No matter how much proof you give, some people will just not believe
62. The virtue and sincerity of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq
63. His method in affirming the truth of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): go back to basics. He already believes in the Qurʾān, he believes in the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), therefore what they say must also be true
64. Despite ongoing mockery and derision, life continues. Religion continues. The command for prayer is not delayed till a later time, it is enacted as soon as it is due
65. Allāh’s obligations are to be enacted as soon as they are due, they are not to be delayed without valid reason
66. In Jibrīl coming to lead the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) in prayer shows the importance of leading by example
67. Jibrīl leading the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) further consoles him and confirms the truth of what he had just seen
68. Initially all prayers were prayed as two cycles each, except for Maghrib which was three. These were later increased to the numbers we know today [Aḥmad #26338, Bukhārī #350]
69. The virtue of Zamzam water as this is what was used to wash his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) heart with
70. Paradise is already created
71. Paradise is above the seventh heaven
72. Hell is also already created

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Ibn Mājah #3479 from Anas. Aḥmad 1:354 from ibn ʿAbbās. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2263

There are a number of incidents related during the isrāʾ and miʿrāj which are difficult to place chronologically in the narrative. Some narrations indicate that some of these may have occurred after the divine audience, others indicate that they may have happened before, and yet others contain no indication whatsoever. The author has opted to quote them all in one place here, before the divine audience happens.

[2] Ibn Mājah #4081, Aḥmad 1:375 from ibn Masʿūd

[3] Bukhārī #3342, Muslim #163 from Anas. Aḥmad 1:257 from ibn ʿAbbās

[4] Bukhārī #3342, Muslim #163 from Anas

[5] Aḥmad 1:257 from ibn ʿAbbās

[6] Aḥmad 3:191 from Anas, Ibn Ḥibbān #54 who said that this happened on the Night of the Isrāʾ. cf. Bukhārī #3680 from Abū Hurayrah.

[7] Bukhārī #4964-6581-7517, Tirmidhī #2717, Aḥmad 3:207 from Anas. Ibn Abī Ḥātim from Anas. cf. Sharḥ Ibn Ādam 4:533

[8] Aḥmad 1:310, ibn Ḥibbān #2903 from ibn ʿAbbās

[9] Aḥmad 1:257 from ibn ʿAbbās

[10] Abū Dāwūd #4878, Aḥmad #13364. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #532

[11] Aḥmad 3:120, Abū Yaʿlā #3992, Bazzār

[12] Bukhārī #3239, Muslim #165.

[13] Aḥmad 1:374 from ibn ʿAbbās

[14] Muslim #279 from ibn Masʿūd

[15] Tabarānī, al-Shāmiyyīn #2812, Ibn Mardawayh from Anas as per Suyūṭī, al-Durr 5:7

[16] Ibn Jarīr 27:54 with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād from Anas

[17] Bukhārī #3887, Muslim #162, Abu ʿAwānah #337.

[18] Bukhārī #342, Muslim #163

[19] Muslim #173 from ibn Masʿūd

[20] Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ

[21] Muslim #164, Abū ʿAwānah #337

[22] Bukhārī #4964-6581-7517 from Anas. cf. Ibn Ḥajr 7:532

[23] Bukhārī #4856, Muslim #282, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr #10422

[24] Aḥmad 1:407 from ibn Masʿūd, Bukhārī #4858 as the words of ibn Masʿūd

[25] Ibn Jarīr 27:51, Aḥmad 1:394, Tirmidhī #3283, ibn Ḥibbān #59 from ibn Masʿūd

[26] Aḥmad 1:395-412 from ibn Masʿūd – ḥasan

[27] Aḥmad 1:395

[28] al-Najm (53): 18

[29] Bukhārī #3342, Muslim #163

[30] Bukhārī #7516, Muslim #162 from Anas

[31] Bukhārī #3207-3886 from Mālik b. Ṣaʿṣaʿah. Ahmad 4: 207.

The narration of Bukhārī mentions that the reduction happened in stages of ten, not five, but the stronger version is that of the five, cf. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ

[32] Bukhārī #7516, Ibn Jarīr 15:3-5 from Anas

[33] Bukhārī #7516, Ibn Jarīr 15:3-5

[34] Bukhārī #349-3342, Muslim #163

[35] Bukhārī #7516, Ibn Jarīr 15:3-5 from Anas

[36] Bukhārī #3207-3886 from Mālik b. Ṣaʿṣaʿah. Muslim #162, Aḥmad 3:161, 4:207 from Anas

[37] Bukhārī #7516, Ibn Jarīr 15:3-5

[38] Muslim #173, Tirmidhī #3276 from ibn Masʿūd

[39] Qurṭubī, Mufhim, Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 13:595

[40] Bukhārī #7516, Muslim #162 from Anas

[41] Tabarānī, Abu Yaʿlā, ibn ʿAsākir as per Suyūṭī, al-Khaṣā’iṣ 1:292

[42] Aḥmad 1:309, Ṭabarānī #12782 from ibn ʿAbbās, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 7:199 who said it was ḥasan

[43] Ahmad 1:374 from ibn ʿAbbās and ibn Kathīr said it was ṣaḥīḥ. Abū Jahl was killed at Badr.

[44] Muslim #172 from Abū Hurayrah

[45] Aḥmad 1:309-1:374, Ṭabarānī #12782 from ibn ʿAbbās. Bukhārī #3886-4710, Muslim #170 from Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh. Muslim #172 from Abū Hurayrah. cf. Ibn Ḥajr 7:199

[46] Ibn Isḥāq. cf. Aḥmad 1:374 from ibn ʿAbbās

[47] Dhuhlī, al-Zuhriyyāt, Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil cf. Ibn Ḥajr 7:199-8:392

[48] Dāruquṭnī #1011 from Jābir

[49] Abū Dāwud #1393, Tirmidhī #149 from ibn ʿAbbās

The post Return to Allah’s Throne appeared first on Islam21c.

Points of Benefit from the beginning verses of Chapter 96

al-ʿAlaq (Clinging Clots of Blood)

The year is 570AD, famous in the annals of Arab history as the Year of the Elephant, named for an army marching on Mecca led by the then viceroy of Yemen, Abraha, at the head of which was an elephant. A miracle occurred and the army was ignominiously defeated by a flock of birds pelting them with stones of hard baked clay.[1] That year, however, was also marked by an event orders of magnitude greater in importance, one that would change the course of history itself: the birth of Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) who, at the age of forty, began to experience dreams, each dream clear like the break of day, each dream coming true. This was the beginning of revelation.[2]

Arab society was deeply troubled, plagued by savage barbarism and these troubles led Muḥammad to seek solitude and he would do so by making a spiritual retreat in the cave of Hirāʾ in the Meccan valley. These retreats quickly became the most beloved thing to him.[3] During these times he would devote himself to the worship of Allāh alone, remaining there for a number of nights until he felt inclined to return to his family. He would go back to his wife, Khadījah, restock his provision and return.

Then, on the 17^th Ramaḍān of the same year,[4] while in retreat, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was overwhelmed by an ineffable experience which he himself later explained to his wife, ʿĀʾishah. An Angel, Jibrīl, appeared before him, came to him and gave him the curt command to read. He replied, ‘But I cannot read.’ The Angel seized him and squeezed him until all his strength left him. When he had reached the limits of his endurance, he released him, saying, ‘Read!’ Again he replied, ‘But I cannot read.’ The Angel seized him a second time and squeezed him until all his strength left him and then released him, saying, ‘Read!’ Again he replied, ‘I cannot read.’ Then he seized him a third time, and upon releasing him said:

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ ﴿١﴾ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ ﴿٢﴾ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ ﴿٣﴾ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ ﴿٤﴾ عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ ﴿٥﴾

1) Recite in the name of your Lord who created, 2) created man from clinging clots of blood. 3) Recite! Your Lord is the Most Generous, 4) who taught by (means of) the pen; 5) taught man what he did not know.

After a break of more than five centuries, Allāh’s Word had been revealed and a Messenger chosen to convey His final revelation to the whole of mankind.

Shaken, heart trembling, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) returned home to his wife, Khadījah b. Khuwaylid (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanha) and said, ‘Wrap me up! Wrap me up!’ They wrapped him up until the state of terror had left him and then he told Khadījah what had happened and said, ‘I fear for myself.’  Khadījah exclaimed, ‘No, by Allāh, be of good cheer![5] Allāh would never disgrace you. You maintain ties of kinship, you speak the truth,[6] bear people’s burdens, help the destitute, give hospitality to your guests and help those who have been afflicted by calamities.’

Khadījah then took him to her cousin, Waraqah b. Nawfal b. Asad b. ʿAbdu’l-ʿUzza who had become Christian during the Jāhiliyyah. He could write in Hebrew and wrote in Hebrew as much of the Gospel as Allāh willed. He was an old man who had gone blind. Khadījah said to him, ‘Cousin! Listen to your nephew.’ Waraqah asked, ‘Nephew, what have you seen?’ The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told him what he had seen and Waraqah remarked, ‘This is the same Nāmūs [Jibril] which Allāh sent to Mūsā. I wish that I were still young. I wish I might still be alive when your people drive you out!’ The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked, ‘Will they drive me out?’ He said, ‘Yes, no man has brought anything similar to what you have brought without being treated with hostility. If I am still alive on that day, I will lend you my strong support.’ Shortly after that, however, Waraqah died and there was a pause in the revelation.[7] This pause continued until Allāh’s Messenger became despondent, so much so that several times he wanted to throw himself off the tops of the mountains. Whenever he reached the peak of a mountain, Jibril would appear to him and say, ‘Muḥammad, you are truly the Messenger of Allāh.’  His agitation was stilled and at peace, he would then return home. When the gap in the revelation went on too long for him, he was moved to act as before. When he reached the peak of the mountain, Jibril would appear before him and say the same thing to him.[8]

Points of Benefit from the first Revelation

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ

1) Recite in the name of your Lord who created

1) This Sūrah is also called Sūrah Iqraʾ and Sūrah Qalam, although Suyūṭī does not mention this latter name in his Itqān

2) It was revealed in Mecca by consensus, before the Hijra.

3) It was revealed 40 years after the Year of the Elephant, on the 17^th night of Ramaḍān

4) The number of verses is 18 in the recitation of Syria, 19 according to the recitation of Kūfah and Baṣrah, and 20 in the recitation of Mecca and Medina. The number of words is 92.

Iqraʾ

5) Allāh is introducing Himself, this is the start of revelation, the beginning of the Book of Islām and the religion of Tawḥīd

6) Qirāʾah or recitation is to read something written or from memory

7) The object to the verb iqraʾ is not mentioned either because it is clear, i.e. recite what is to be revealed to you, or it is being treated like a fiʿl lāzim, i.e. the goal is to bring recitation into existence

8) This first interaction is a command, not some information

9) Immediately the relationship has been defined from the onset: that of a Lord and Master to His servant

10) Allāh tells us, no one tells Him

11) The duty of the servant is to receive and submit, his duty is not to invent religion or religious tenants

12) He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is effectively being told: this is not your message, you are reading someone else’s composition on whose behalf you are reading and conveying.

13) The first command revealed was not a command to worship or prostrate. It is the command to read (and study), and later writing is also referenced.

14) In Islām knowledge precedes action and statement. We have to learn and know first, not make things up

15) Therefore, this introductory message is a message to read, write, learn and study

16) In a society that was largely illiterate and oblivious of the world around it, this represented a major paradigm shift

17) An amazing miracle: In response to this command, Muslims became the most educated and literate community of its time. It was only when they left religion that this stopped and Muslim society fell behind.

18) In response to this single word, this one Book gave birth to hundreds of thousands of volumes: works on commentary, hadith, fiqh, aqidah, even science.

19) In response to this one word, the Book went straight to the hands of the Muslim people, all of whom read it, memorised it and taught it. Unlike Christianity, the scripture did not go to a select few.

20) Why command an illiterate person to read? The command is not exclusive to him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) but is directed to all

Bismi rabbik

21) Read seeking His aid and blessings

22) You will not read because of your own ability, but only through Allāh’s help

23) Recite what has been revealed to you in the Name of your Lord. In the same sense as:

وَقَالَ ارْكَبُواْ فِيهَا بِسْمِ اللّهِ مَجْرَاهَا وَمُرْسَاهَا إِنَّ رَبِّي لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

“He (Noah) said: ‘Embark. In the Name of Allāh will be its course and berthing. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’” [Hūd (11): 41]

24)  This further emphasises that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is not authoring this revelation but reading what he is ordered to do.

25) “In the Name of your Lord,” further highlights that these words are not his or Jibrīl’s.

وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ

“Never before did you recited any Book, or inscribe it with your right hand. If you had done so, those who follow falsehood would have doubted.” [al-ʿAnkabūt (29): 48]

26) The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is being told that he is not making this up, it is not a fantasy or some wild flight of his imagination

27) This revelation and guidance is not about you or me. It is not about prestige, power, or gaining fame. You are reading and speaking in the name of someone else

28) The caller to Islām must beware of making the call about himself, he must be sincere to Allāh in his call.

29) Another opinion, is that this is a command to make dhikr of Allāh all the time. So your goal is to remember Him and worship Him.

30) Rabb: Linguistically: master, owner, one who grants grace, one who sets about correcting and purifying, and one who nurtures and cultivates. It is said that the latter meaning is the core meaning of the word and the other meanings stem from it.

31) Allāh has introduced Himself as al-Rabb, using this Name rather than another Name

32) By doing so He has highlighted the aspect of His nurturing, care and cultivation. As such it is a gentle address reminding man of the many favours that Allāh has lavished on them.

33) Also generally speaking, most people believe in the existence of a higher power. So we are beginning the introduction from a point that most agree on, and then proceeding from there. This is a method of giving daʿwah.

34) The direct address in the verse, “your Lord” shows the care and solicitude that Allāh has of His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). It stresses the close relationship that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) has with his Lord.

35) The verse also stresses that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and man in general has no lord besides Allāh.

Alladhī khalaq

36) Khalq: bringing into being in a planned and orderly fashion

37) The pagans would also refer to their idols as lords, so Allāh proceeds to qualify this Name in a way that leaves no doubt as to who is meant.

38) In this respect, the relative pronoun, mawṣūl indicates ʿilliyya

39) khalq and rubūbiyyah are closely interrelated. They accepted, for the most part, that Allāh was the Creator

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّـهُ ۚ قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

“If you ask them: ‘Who has created the heavens and the earth?’ They will reply: ‘Allāh.’ Say: ‘Praise belongs to Allāh!’ But most of them do not have knowledge.” [Luqmān (31): 25]

40) Of his acts that establish His Rubūbiyyah most is that He is the Creator

41) This verse establishes the first stage of our relationship with Allāh: He is our Lord and Creator. Pondering this fact carefully will naturally lead us to the conclusion that we are His servants and that we should worship Him

ذَٰلِكُمُ اللَّـهُ رَبُّكُمْ ۖ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ ۚ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ

“That is Allāh, your Lord. There is none worthy of worship save Him, the Creator of all things. Therefore, worship Him. He is the Guardian of all things.” [al-Anʿām (6): 102]

42) In the context of what the pagans said, this verse proves that a lord who does not create is not deserving of divinity, neither should he be mentioned nor recited in the name of.

43) The object of the verb khalaq is left unmentioned to show that He is the Creator of all. A particular instance of His creation is mentioned in verse 2, by way of honouring this creation and highlighting how great it is.

44) An important lesson we learn from Allāh referring to himself as the Lord and pointing to His being the Creator: Allāh is not a creator who creates, turns away and forgets his creation. Instead, He interacts, watches, hears sees, nurtures and cultivates

45) Islām is not deistic, it is theistic

46) We should internalise the meaning of al-Rabb as much as humanly possible. Just as Allāh cultivates and nurtures, so too should we to all those under our care.

47) Mentioned here is the recipient of revelation, the One who sent the revelation, and the addressees of revelation in a succinct way.

48) The One who is able to create is also able to teach

49) An example of His teaching is mentioned next. He imparted some knowledge that was not known at that time, definitely not known to the Arabs.

خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ

2) created man from clinging clots of blood.

Khalaqa’l-insāna

50) After mentioning creation in general, a specific instance of creation is mention: our own

51) Specifically mentioning this instance highlights that it is special and honoured

52) This verse forces us to ponder ourselves: our composition, and the intricacy and finesse of our own bodies and lives

53) It is interesting to note that in order to prove the existence of a Lord and Creator to man, man himself is being used as the evidence

 

وَفِي الْأَرْضِ آيَاتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ ﴿٢٠﴾ وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ ﴿٢١﴾

On earth there are signs for those with sure faith, and in yourselves as well, do you not see? [al-Dhāriyāt (51): 20-21]

سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ

We will show them Our signs on the far horizons and in themselves until it becomes clear to them that this is the Truth. [Fuṣṣilat (41): 53]

min ʿalaq

54) ʿalaq, pl. of ʿalaqa, clotted blood which is moist and not dry, therefore clinging to what it passes over

55) The plural corresponds to the plural sense understood in the word al-insān

 

أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِّن مَّنِيٍّ يُمْنَىٰ ﴿٣٧﴾ ثُمَّ كَانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ ﴿٣٨﴾ فَجَعَلَ مِنْهُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَىٰ ﴿٣٩﴾ أَلَيْسَ ذَٰلِكَ بِقَادِرٍ عَلَىٰ أَن يُحْيِيَ الْمَوْتَىٰ ﴿٤٠﴾

Was he not just a drop of spilt-out sperm, which became a clinging clot of blood, which He shaped in due proportion, fashioning from it the two sexes male and female. Does He who can do this not have the power to bring the dead back to life? [al-Qiyāmah (75): 37-40]

56) These āyāt establish another line of argument, that the first creation – our creation, is a proof that a second can occur, indeed will occur

 

وَيَقُولُ الْإِنسَانُ أَإِذَا مَا مِتُّ لَسَوْفَ أُخْرَجُ حَيًّا ﴿٦٦﴾ أَوَلَا يَذْكُرُ الْإِنسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ يَكُ شَيْئًا ﴿٦٧﴾

Man says: What? Once I am dead, will I be brought back to life? But does man not remember that We created him when before he was nothing? [Maryam (19): 66-67]

 

وَضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَنَسِيَ خَلْقَهُ ۖ قَالَ مَن يُحْيِي الْعِظَامَ وَهِيَ رَمِيمٌ ﴿٧٨﴾ قُلْ يُحْيِيهَا الَّذِي أَنشَأَهَا أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ خَلْقٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿٧٩﴾

He produces arguments against Us, forgetting his own creation. He says: Who can give life back to bones once they have decayed? Say: He who created them in the first place will give them life again: He has full knowledge of every act of creation. [Yā Sīn (36): 78-79]

57) Shows Allāh’s power, wisdom and knowledge in that He created a human, such a complex, intricate creature from that clot of blood.

58) Ādam’s creation from clay was not generally recognised by the direct addressees, hence the reason for mentioning creation from a clot of blood

59) Sālim said that man was not witness to the absolute first stage of creation which is from dust. The next stage, the nuṭfa or sperm may or may not result in pregnancy. It is the next ʿalaqa stage that is the observable beginning of a new life.

60) Ibn al-Qayyim said that this is the only place in the Qurʾān where Allāh describes the creation of man starting with the ʿalaqah, other places start with the nuṭfa or dust etc.

61) Something that is created with such amazing intricacy shows that it is created for a higher purpose, not just to follow base desires

62) Man has a tendency towards conceit and arrogance. Here, his humble beginnings are mentioned, and hence man is put in his place

63) The foolishness of the pagans is highlighted in that they believed in other gods when evidence of His Oneness is contained in themselves!

64) In the context of introduction, with revelation descending and the first verses talking about creation, we are being told that the descent of revelation is like a new act of creation of man, a spiritual awakening as it were

65) Appointing someone as a Prophet is not greater than creating man from a clot of blood

اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ ﴿٣﴾

3) Recite! Your Lord is the Most Generous

iqraʾ

66) The verb recite is mentioned again to indicate that the skill of reading is only learned through repeated practise.

67) Or it is repeated for emphasis, because knowledge is increased through reading and more reading

68) Or the first instance instructs him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) to recite himself, and the second instructs him to propagate this reading so that others can read it as well.

Wa rabbuka al-akram

69) Karam: nobility and generosity. These two go hand in hand: when one is generous, he is noble and when one is noble, he is also generous

70) al-Akram is an attribute indicating the pinnacle of generosity since His generosity and grace is incomparable to that of any other. He is forbearing to the criminal, accepts repentance, and overlooks sin

71) We need to internalise this message for ourselves: be generous, be people who give rather than take, be the noble ones, be the better person, be the well-mannered person

72) As we increase in knowledge, Allāh will bestow more of His generosity on us

73) Therefore, take the first step towards Allāh, and He will make it easy for you through His generosity.

74) There is an interesting contrast here: man, who is created from an ignoble, lowly piece of blood,  is being contrasted to the nobility of Allāh

75) We are given another reason to follow Allāh’s injunctions: He is your Lord, a Lord unlike their lords because He is al-Karīm who has no deficiency whatsoever.

76) It is as if the Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is wondering how he can possible recite being illiterate as he is. The answer is: your Lord is most generous, He who taught by the pen can also teach you without it

الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ ﴿٤﴾

4) who taught by (means of) the pen

77) the two objects of ʿallama bi’l-qalam are omitted as context shows it: man and writing

78) This is an example of His great karam: taking man out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of knowledge

79) The pen is the means of learning, mutual understanding and spreading knowledge

80) The pen is incredibly potent in preserving knowledge

81) The benefits of literacy, and its importance and excellence are highlighted here

82) Reading has already been mentioned. Writing is alluded to here. Implied, then, is language since that is required to read and write. Further implied is a rational, thinking mind and an intellect that is able to conceptualise and translate that onto paper. Allāh has graced man with all of these.

83) The main theme so far is learning and reading and writing

84) Education is the way forward: religious and secular

85) Bukhārī records on the authority of ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr, that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.” The wording of Muslim is: A man asked the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) ‘Who is the best Muslim?’ He replied, “The one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe.”

86) The hand is not just a reference to physical harm, but also to harming through writing

87) Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘Allāh created four things with His hand: the Pen, the Throne, the Garden of Eden and Adam (ʿalayhima al-Salām). To the rest of rest of the animal kingdom, He said, “Be!” and it was [Lālikāʾī, Sharḥ Uṣūl #729-730]’

88) Qatādah said, ‘The pen is a huge favour from Allāh, without it livelihood would not stand.’ [Ṭabarī]

89) The verse alludes to the fact that Allāh wanted the revelation written down which is why the Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) took scribes early on

90) The object of what has been taught by the pen is omitted to generalise, and then further aggrandised in the next verse to again highlight Allāh’s power and wisdom.

عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ ﴿٥﴾

5) taught man what he did not know

91) Knowledge is what differentiates man from beast

92) ʿUmar and Anas report: ‘Capture knowledge by writing,’ [Ḥākim] and ‘Whoever acts by what He knows, Allāh will furnish him with knowledge of what he did not know.’ [Ḥākim]

Source: www.islam21c.com 

Notes:

[1] cf. Qurʾān: Sūrah 105: al-Fīl

[2] Bukhārī #3-3392-4955-4956-4957, Muslim #160 from ʿĀʾishah

[3] Tirmidhī #3632

[4] Aḥmad

[5] Bukhārī #6982, Muslim #160 from ʿĀʾishah

[6] Bukhārī #4953-6982, Muslim #160 from ʿĀʾishah

[7] Bukhārī #3-3392-4955-4956-4957, Muslim #160 from ʿĀʾishah

[8] Bukhārī #4953-6982, Muslim #160 from ʿĀʾishah

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The A to Z of Death

Part 1

Click here for part 2 | Click here for part 3

It is reported that one of the great scholars and ascetics of the past, Yazīd al-Riqāshī had a rhetorical conversation with himself, ‘Woe to you, Yazīd! After you die, who will perform ṣalāh on your behalf? Who will fast on your behalf? Who will make your Lord pleased with you on your behalf? Death is your promise, the grave will be your home, earth will be your bed, the worms will be your close companions – and all the while you will be awaiting the Greatest Terror. What will be your condition then?’ Then he wept so much that he fainted.[1]

This narration is one of many examples showing how death and the afterlife was foremost in the minds of the righteous: they realised that it was inevitable and they knew that it was the most important event of their lives. Death began the road to the final account which would determine whether they succeeded or failed: whether their final, eternal life was to be in Paradise or Hell, whether Allāh was pleased with them or not. They were preoccupied with the Qurʾānic injunction,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ ۖ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ

You who believe! Be mindful of Allāh, and let every soul consider carefully what it sends ahead for tomorrow; be mindful of Allāh for Allāh is well aware of everything you do.[2]

Death occupied their thoughts, they were concerned about it and they prepared themselves for it. Amongst mankind, they were in the minority: intelligent and judicious, unlike the majority about whom Allāh says

اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِي غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ

Ever closer to people draws their reckoning, while they turn away, heedless.[3]

It is ironic that, despite knowing that death is inevitable, most people are oblivious of it and what comes after. They live lives heedless of this certainty, engrossed with this worldly life, unmindful of the stark fact that it is temporal and our stay here is just for a few numbered days,

وَمَا جَعَلْنَا لِبَشَرٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ الْخُلْدَ ۖ أَفَإِن مِّتَّ فَهُمُ الْخَالِدُونَ ﴿٣٤﴾ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً ۖ وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ

We have not granted everlasting life to any other human being before you either. If you die, how can they think they will live forever? Every soul is certain to taste death: We test you all through the bad and the good, and to Us will you return.[4]

No one knows when they will die. No one knows at what age they will die. No one knows in what place they will die. No one knows in what manner they will die.[5] But die they will. From the point we are born, we are heading inexorably to the appointed time and place of our death. As soon as we are born, we are dying. It is inevitable, it is inescapable,

قُلْ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ الَّذِي تَفِرُّونَ مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مُلَاقِيكُمْ ۖ ثُمَّ تُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ عَالِمِ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Say: ‘The death you run away from will come to meet you and you will be returned to the One who knows the unseen as well as the seen: He will tell you everything you have done.’[6]

No matter how much we may try to avoid it, death itself is heading towards us and it will meet us. No matter how much we may try to cling on to this world, it is heading away from us and we will leave it.

Death is seen as a morbid subject, taboo, a topic of conversation to be avoided. Many people are averse to thinking about it, they do not want their children to think about it, they do not want to witness it. Islām, however, is totally different: we are taught that not only should we think it about it, we have to. We have to prepare ourselves for it and we have to prepare our children for it.

Preparing for Death

One time the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw some people gathering in the distance and he asked what they were doing. He was told that they were digging a grave and, terrified, he rushed to the grave and knelt by it. He wept until the earth around him became wet with his tears, then he turned to face his Companions and said, “My brothers, prepare yourselves for this day!”[7]

Abū Hurayrah reported that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

أَكْثِرُوا ذِكْرَ هَاذِمِ اللَّذَّاتِ- يَعْنِي الْمَوْتَ

“Frequently remember the destroyer of desires,” i.e. death[8]

Another narration has, “Frequently remember the destroyer of desires. No servant in straitened and difficult circumstances remembers death except that it makes them easier to bear. No servant in times of ease and luxury remembers death except that it will rein him in.”[9]

This is an example of the pithy, concise statements of the Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) – his jawāmiʿ al-kalim, where in a few choice words he expressed meanings of great import. When a person frequently remembers death, he will keep things in true perspective: Allāh’s good pleasure as compared to people’s pleasure, the Hereafter as compared to this world, and the wage with Allāh as compared to the wage of this world. He will internalise the reality of the next life, the desire to sin will decrease, his heart will soften and he will turn to Allāh in repentance and servitude.

A woman once came to ʿĀʾishah complaining of having a hard heart, a heart that felt distant from Allāh, and she advised her to remember death because it would soften it. She followed this advice and came back to her to tell her that it had worked wonders for her![10]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was once asked who the intelligent person was. His reply? “Those who remember death the most, and those who best prepare for what comes after death. They are the intelligent ones.”[11]

In another ḥadīth, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The intelligent person is the one who brings himself to account and works deeds for what comes after death. The fool is the one who follows his lusts and desires, yet still holds false hopes in Allāh.”[12]

Intelligent students prepare for exams and the greatest exam of all is life itself. It is only the truly astute who will pass it, not those who may have the highest IQ, but those who realise what is most important and judiciously work towards it.

People, foolish people, spend their entire lives oblivious of death, acting as if they will live forever, indeed trying to avoid death, preoccupied in seeking that elusive formula that will give them eternal life. They try ointment after ointment, surgery, medicines, blood transfusions not realising that death is something entirely in Allāh’s hands.

أَيْنَمَا تَكُونُوا يُدْرِككُّمُ الْمَوْتُ وَلَوْ كُنتُمْ فِي بُرُوجٍ مُّشَيَّدَةٍ ۗ

Death will overtake you no matter where you may be, even inside high, well-fortified towers.[13]

It is a reality; we cannot cheat death:

فَلَوْلَا إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْحُلْقُومَ ﴿٨٣﴾ وَأَنتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنظُرُونَ ﴿٨٤﴾ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تُبْصِرُونَ ﴿٨٥﴾ فَلَوْلَا إِن كُنتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِينِينَ ﴿٨٦﴾ تَرْجِعُونَهَا إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

When the soul of the dying man comes up to the throat while you gaze on – We are nearer to him than you, though you do not see Us – why, if you are not in our power, so you not restore his soul to him, if what you say is true?[14]

وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ ﴿١٩﴾

The trance of death will come in truth: This is what you tried to escape.[15]

Yes, Islām teaches us not to be hermits, to live in this world, to earn our livings, to support ourselves and our families. But we are also taught that this is not our permanent home. We are people of the Hereafter, our eyes must be set towards that target, towards Allāh and what lies with Him. Do not let the allure of this world distract us from that. Never let this world turn us away from Allāh, His good pleasure, His Paradise and the greatest gift of all, gazing at His face in Paradise.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُلْهِكُمْ أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّـهِ ۚ وَمَن يَفْعَلْ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ﴿٩﴾ وَأَنفِقُوا مِن مَّا رَزَقْنَاكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ فَيَقُولَ رَبِّ لَوْلَا أَخَّرْتَنِي إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ فَأَصَّدَّقَ وَأَكُن مِّنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿١٠﴾ وَلَن يُؤَخِّرَ اللَّـهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهَا ۚ وَاللَّـهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١١﴾

Believers, do not let your wealth and your children distract you from remembering Allāh: those who do so will be the ones who lose. Give out of what We have provided you with before death comes to one of you and he says, ‘My Lord, if You would only reprieve me for a little while, I would give charity and become one of the righteous. Allāh does not reprieve a soul when its turn comes: Allāh is fully aware of what you do.’[16]

So many people have passed through this world, people who lived for it and it alone: kings, queens, conquerors, millionaires, billionaires, tyrants… how many remain? How many are remembered?

وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّن قَرْنٍ هَلْ تُحِسُّ مِنْهُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ أَوْ تَسْمَعُ لَهُمْ رِكْزًا

How many generations We have destroyed before them! Do you perceive a single one of them now, or hear as much as a whisper?[17]

The very world they lived for forgot them.

When death comes, when a person is in the final throes of death, it Is too late. There is no turning back and it is too late to regret

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ ﴿٩٩﴾ لَعَلِّي أَعْمَلُ صَالِحًا فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ ۚ كَلَّا ۚ إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَائِلُهَا ۖ وَمِن وَرَائِهِم بَرْزَخٌ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ

When death comes to one of them, he cries, ‘My Lord, let me return so as to make amends for the things I neglected!’ Never! This will not go beyond his words, a barrier stands behind such people until the very Day they are resurrected.[18]

The Purpose of Life and Death

Why did Allāh create life and death? Listen to His answer:

تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿١﴾ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ

Exalted is He who holds all control in His hands: who has power over all things. Who created life and death to test you and reveal which of you does best deeds. He is the Mighty, the Forgiving.[19]

Suddī explained that the person who does best deeds is the one ‘who remembers death the most because such a person will prepare for it best, be most fearful of it and always wary of it.[20]

In an amazing āyah, Allāh says

وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّـهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِن كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّـهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

Seek the life to come by means of what Allāh has granted you, but do not neglect your share in this world. Do good to others as Allāh has done good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allāh does not love those who do this.[21]

Use this dunyā for the Hereafter, use everything that Allāh has given us to earn His good-pleasure.

Another example of how death was foremost in the mind of the righteous: even though the share of this world mentioned in this āyah is primarily talking about our worldly effects, some of the Salaf said that it means the kafan, or shroud. Of all the effects of this world, the only thing we will take with us into the grave is that shroud, everything else is left behind. They said that the meaning of the verse is do not forget your share of this world, that shroud that will go with you to your death, in effect do not forget about your death.[22]

Remembering death

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) taught us the best way to remember death,

كُنْتُ نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ الْقُبُورِ، فَزُورُوهَا؛ فَإِنَّهَا تُزَهِّدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَتُذَكِّرُ الْآخِرَةَ

I used to prohibit you from visiting the graves. Now visit them because they help you put the world in its place and remind you of the Hereafter.[23]

One time, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) visited his mother’s grave and wept, causing all those with him to weep as well. He said, “I asked my Lord for permission to seek forgiveness for her, but it was not granted to me. I then asked permission to visit her grave, and it was granted to me. So visit the graves because they remind you of death.”[24]

When we go to the graveyard, we do not just see old people there, we see children and babies – people who, as they say, ‘died before their time.’ The visit serves to remind us that we just do not know when we will go. The visit should remind us that one day we will be in that grave, we will be living the life of the grave and then we will be resurrected from that grave to face the final accounting.

Remembering death also improves our worship, “Remember death in your prayer. When a man remembers death in his prayer, he is more likely to perfect his prayer. Pray the prayer of a person who does not expect to pray another prayer.”[25]

In the sections that follow, we will discuss the journey of the soul from the point of death to the time of resurrection, not because it is an interesting narrative, but because we want to be – we need to be those intelligent, judicious people that our Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) talked about. Knowing what happens after death will inform us of what we need to prepare for it and how to prepare for it. This journey will tell us how we are supposed to live our lives in servitude to our Lord, Most High.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Abū Nuʿaym 3:51

[2] Al-Qur’ān, 59:18

[3] Al-Qur’ān, 21:1

[4] Al-Qur’ān, 21: 34-35

[5] C.f. Al-Qurʾān 31:34

[6] al-Jumuʿah 62:8

[7] Aḥmad #18601, ibn Mājah #4195 from al-Barāʾ b. ʿĀzib

[8] Nasāʾī #1824, Tirmidhī #2307, ibn Mājah #4258. Abū Nuʿaym 6:355 from Mālik b. Anas who says the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) explained the term to mean death.

[9] Ibn Ḥibbān #2993

[10] Ibn Rajab, Dhamm Qaswa al-Qulūb, pg. 27

[11] Ibn Mājah #4259 from ibn ʿUmar

[12] Tirmidhī #2459 from Shaddād b. Aws

[13] Al-Qur’ān, 4: 78

[14] Al-Qur’ān, 56:83-87

[15] Al-Qur’ān, 50-19-20

[16] Al-Qur’ān, 63:9-11

[17] Al-Qur’ān, 19:98

[18] Al-Qur’ān, 23: 99-100

[19] Al-Qur’ān, 67:1-2

[20] Māwardī

[21] Al-Qur’ān,28:77

[22] Qurṭubī

[23] Ibn Mājah #1571, Ibn Ḥibbān #981 from ibn Masʿūd

[24] Muslim #976 from Abū Hurayrah

[25] Daylamī, cf. al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2839

The post Death – No One Can Escape appeared first on Islam21c.

The A to Z of Death

Part 2

Click here for part 1 | Click here for part 3

Wanting to die

Suicide is strictly prohibited in Islām and is unanimously counted amongst the mortal sins (kabāʾir).

وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا

Do not kill yourselves, Allāh is merciful to you.[1]

وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ ۛ وَأَحْسِنُوا ۛ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

Do not contribute to your death with your own hands, but do good for Allāh loves those who do good.[2]

The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) prohibited us from supplicating for death,[3] and in one ḥadīth he said,

لاَ يَتَمَنَّيَنَّ أَحَدُكُمُ المَوْتَ مِنْ ضُرٍّ أَصَابَهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لاَ بُدَّ فَاعِلًا، فَلْيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ أَحْيِنِي مَا كَانَتِ الحَيَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي، وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا كَانَتِ الوَفَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي

You are not to seek death because of hardship you are facing. If you must do so then supplicate, ‘Allāh, give me life for as long as life is good for me, and give me death when death is good for me.’[4]

لَا يَتَمَنَّيَنَّ أَحَدٌ مِنْكُمُ الْمَوْتَ، إِمَّا مُحْسِنًا فَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَزْدَادَ خَيْرًا، وَإِمَّا مُسِيئًا فَلَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَسْتَعْتِبَ

You are not to seek death. Either a person is already doing good, in which case he has the opportunity to do more good, or he is doing evil, in which case he has the opportunity to mend his ways.[5]

He (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) also said, “No one should wish for death or pray for it before it comes. When one of you dies, his good deeds come to an end and for the believer a long life will not increase him in anything but good.”[6]

These ḥadīth prove that asking for death because a person is unable to bear Allāh’s decree patiently is prohibited, and indicates a displeasure in what He has determined. However, asking for death because a person fears for his faith and losing it is permissible. This is exemplified in the Qurʾān with the case of Maryam. Pregnant, without any human intervention, she was terrified of the accusations that would come her way, fearing that they might have adverse consequences on her faith, so she cried out

قَالَتْ يَا لَيْتَنِي مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَـٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّا

‘I wish I was dead and forgotten long before this!’[7]

Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “There are two things that the son of Adam dislikes: death, although death is better for a believer than fitnah; and he dislikes having little wealth, but less wealth means less reckoning.”[8]

In a supplication, Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “Allāh, I ask you for the performance of good deeds and the abandonment of evil deeds, and love of the orphan. If You want to put your servants to trial, take my soul to You before I am put to trail.”[9]

Another exception to the general rule is that there is one type of death that we are recommended to ask for: martyrdom. Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever asks Allāh sincerely for martyrdom, Allāh will cause him to attain the status of the martyr, even if he dies in his bed.”[10]

Our Condition at the Time of Death

What is the general condition the believer must be in at the point of death? What frame of mind should he be in? What do we need to strive for to ensure success at this juncture?

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

You who believe, be mindful of Allāh as is His due, and make sure you submit to Him in Islām to your dying moment.[11]

To that last instant, we have to remain Muslims, serving our Lord, only saying and doing what pleases Him. The essence, the beginning and end of Islām is tawḥīd, and we must adhere to that tawḥīd to the last.

مَنْ مَاتَ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ، دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ

Whoever passes away knowing that none has the right to be worshipped besides Allāh will enter Paradise.[12]

And he (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “Whoever, of my nation, dies without committing shirk will enter Paradise,”[13] “Whoever dies without committing shirk will enter Paradise. Whoever dies while committing shirk with Allāh will enter the Fire.”[14]

It is for this reason, that it is duty of those sitting with person on his deathbed to remind him about tawḥīd and to encourage him to say the statement of tawḥid:

لَقِّنُوا مَوْتَاكُمْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ كَانَ آخِرُ كَلِمَتِهِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ يَوْمًا مِنَ الدَّهْرِ وإن أصابه قبل ذلك ما أصابه

Encourage the person about to die to say lā ilāha illAllāh. Whoever says this at the time of death will enter Paradise, even if it be eventually having faced what he faced before that.[15]

The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) once visited a man of the Anṣār who was on his deathbed and said, ‘Say Lā ilāha illAllāh.’ The man asked, ‘Is it good for me to say this?’ He replied, “Yes” and so he said it.[16]

A person on his deathbed must try his utmost to have a good opinion of Allāh: knowing that He is his Lord who has sustained and cherished him, hoping for his mercy and hoping that Allāh will forgive him his shortcomings and sins.

لَا يَمُوتَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَّا وَهُوَ يُحْسِنُ بِاللهِ الظَّنَّ

None of you should die without having a good opinion of Allāh.[17]

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said, ‘People have given into foolish desires and whim, to the point that they leave this world without having done any good. They say, “I have a good opinion of my Lord!” They have lied. If they had a good opinion of Him, they would have done good deeds.’ Then he recited

وَذَٰلِكُمْ ظَنُّكُمُ الَّذِي ظَنَنتُم بِرَبِّكُمْ أَرْدَاكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُم مِّنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ

So it was the thoughts you entertained about your Lord that led you to your ruin.[18]

It is also to encourage optimism that when a person is dying we are taught to only say good things in his presence, and to supplicate for him because the angels in turn will make duʿa for us

إِذَا حَضَرْتُمُ الْمَرِيضَ، أَوِ الْمَيِّتَ، فَقُولُوا خَيْرًا، فَإِنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ يُؤَمِّنُونَ عَلَى مَا تَقُولُونَ

When you are in the presence of someone ill or on his deathbed then say good things. The angels are saying āmīn to what you are saying.[19]

Not only should he have hope, but the person on his deathbed should couple that with fear, with hope being the preponderant emotion at that time.[20] The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) once visited a young man on his death bed and asked him what his condition was. He replied, ‘By Allāh, Messenger of Allāh, I have hope in Allāh and I fear for my sins.’ He (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) remarked, “These two do not combine in the heart of a person at this time except that Allāh will give him what he hopes for and save him from what he fears.”[21]

We need to ensure that at this time, we are amongst those whom Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said would want to meet Allāh, realising that the fulfilment of their life’s aspiration lies ahead:

مَنْ أَحَبَّ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ، وَمَنْ كَرِهَ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ كَرِهَ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ

Whoever wants to meet Allāh, Allāh will want to meet him. Whoever hates to meet Allāh, Allāh would hate to meet him.[22]

When ʿĀʾishah heard this she asked, ‘But we all hate the idea of death!’ He (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) replied, “This is not what is meant. When death comes to the believer, he is given the glad-tidings of Allāh’s good pleasure and as such there is nothing more beloved to him than what lies ahead. He wants to meet Allāh and Allāh wants to meet him. When death comes to a disbeliever, he is given the tidings of Allāh’s punishment and as such nothing is more hateful to him than what lies ahead. He hates to meet Allāh, and Allāh hates to meet him.”

This realisation happens right at the last seconds of death, and will happen for those who lived a life of servitude to Allāh. ʿĀʾishah, herself explained when it happens, “when the gaze becomes fixed, when the chest rattles (as soul departs), when the skin tightens and the fingers tremble.”[23]

Death can be a gift

At the time of death and afterwards, the true believer begins reaping the reward of all he has sown in this life. Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,

تُحْفَةُ الْمُؤْمِنِ الْمَوْتُ

Death is a gift for the believer.[24]

This statement was further explained in a ḥadīth in which the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said that when a person dies either he is moving on to rest and relief or people will be rested and relieved of him. When asked to explain, he said,

العَبْدُ المُؤْمِنُ يَسْتَرِيحُ مِنْ نَصَبِ الدُّنْيَا وَأَذَاهَا إِلَى رَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ، وَالعَبْدُ الفَاجِرُ يَسْتَرِيحُ مِنْهُ العِبَادُ وَالبِلاَدُ، وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ

The believing servant is relieved of the toils of this world and moves on to Allāh’s mercy. The sinful servant, however, relieves the people around him, the environment, the trees and the animals.[25]

The Final Āyah Revealed to Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam)

The last verse that Allāh revealed to his Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) essentially contained this message. The last message that Allāh gave his Prophet and the believers around him was to remind them of the time of their death and the accounting that follows,

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّـهِ ۖ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

Beware of a day when you will be returned to Allāh and every soul will be paid in full for what it did and no one will be wronged.[26]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] al-Nisāʾ 4:29

[2] al-Baqarah 2:195

[3] Muslim #2681 from Khabbāb

[4] Bukhārī #5671-6351, Muslim from Anas

[5] Bukhārī #5673, Nasāʾī #1818 from Abū Hurayrah

[6] Muslim #2382 from Abū Hurayrah

[7] Maryam: 19:23

[8] Aḥmad #23625 from Maḥmūd b. Labīd. cf. al-Ṣaḥīḥah #813

[9] Tirmidhī #3233 from ibn ʿAbbās

[10] Muslim #1909

[11] Āli ʿImrān 3:102

[12] Muslim #26 from ʿUthmān

[13] Bukhārī #1237 from Abū Dharr

[14] Muslim #93 from Jābir

[15] Ibn Ḥibbān #3004 from Abū Hurayrah. The first portion is with Muslim #916 and #917 from Abū Saʿīd

[16] Aḥmad #12543 from Anas

[17] Muslim #2877 from Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh

[18] Fuṣṣilat 41:22. cf. Tafsīr al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī 2:267

[19] Muslim #919 from Umm Salamah

[20] Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

[21] Tirmidhī #983 from Thābit

[22] Bukhārī #6507, Muslim #2683 from Abū Hurayrah

[23] Muslim #2685

[24] Ḥākim #7900 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr. Haythamī 10:555 said the isnād was jayyid

[25] Bukhārī #6512, Muslim #950

[26] al-Baqarah 2:281, cf. Tafsīr Ṭabarī who quotes this view from ibn ʿAbbās amongst others

The post How to die a good death appeared first on Islam21c.

The A to Z of Death

Part 3

Click here for part 1 | Click here for part 2

The Throes of Death

Allāh says,

وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ۖ ذَٰلِكَ مَا كُنتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ

“The throes of death will come in truth, this is what you were trying to escape…”[1] 

This āyah tells us that all will experience the throes and pangs of death, and for the sinner and disbeliever they will be exceptionally painful,

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَاسِطُو أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوا أَنفُسَكُمُ ۖ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّـهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

If you could only see the wicked in their death agonies, as the angels stretch out their hands to them saying: Let out your souls, today you will be repaid with a humiliating punishment for saying false things about Allāh and for arrogantly rejecting His signs.[2]

The time of death is very severe, a person is in pain and apprehensive of what is to come. Allāh, Himself, refers to death as a calamity:

فَأَصَابَتْكُم مُّصِيبَةُ الْمَوْتِ

The calamity of death struck you.[3]

The Messenger of Allāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “Do not long for death because the terror that follows death is immense. It is a sign of blessing to live a long life so that a person is given the opportunity by Allāh to repent.”[4]

When we look to the state of our Messenger, Muḥammad (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) as he passed on, we can see the difficulty that he experienced. He (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) would put his hand in water and wipe his face with it, saying,

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، إِنَّ لِلْمَوْتِ سَكَرَاتٍ

“Lā ilāha illAllāh, death has its agonies,”

and said, “Allāh, forgive me, have mercy on me, and let me join the highest company.”[5] He would supplicate,

اللهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى سَكَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ

“Allah, help me bear the agonies of death.”[6]

Then he held up his hand and started saying, “With the heavenly host…” until he passed away and his hand dropped.[7]

His wife, ‘Āʾishah said, “Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) died on my chest. Having seen him in the throes of death, I will never consider a severe death bad for anyone.”[8]

The throes of death are a final means of expiation for sins committed, or having our ranks raised and it is for this reason that many of the righteous considered them to be a blessing in disguise. ʿUmar b. ʿAbdu’l-ʿAzīz said, ‘I would not like the agonies of death to be reduced for me, for that is the last thing by means of which sin may be expiated for the believer.’

ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd said, ‘I went to see the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) (during his death sickness) and found him suffering from intense pain. I put my hand on him and said, ‘Messenger of Allāh, what pain!’ He said, “Yes, I suffer twice as much as anyone else would.” I asked, ‘Will you get double the reward?’ He replied, “Yes.” Then he said to me, “Allāh will remove sins, just as a tree sheds its leaves, for any Muslim who is afflicted with sickness or any other tribulation.”[9]

However, many scholars point out that at the last instants of death, when the believer receives glad-tidings of what is to come, and wants to meet his Lord, the pain of death pales into insignificance until it gets to the point that he does not feel anything at all.[10]

No one is saved from this hardship except for the martyr. Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “The martyr does not feel anything more when he is killed than one of you feels if he is pinched.”[11]

Signs of a good end

There are numerous ḥadīth which mention signs which indicate a good end. One must bear in mind, when reading them, that these signs are not definitive proofs, they are just indicators:

1. Declaring the shahādah
2. Dying with sweat on the forehead.[12] The sweat appears as a result of the hardship of death or as a consequence of the shyness the servant experiences when realising he is about to meet his Lord while have committed so many sins.[13]
3. Dying on the night of Jumuʿah[14]
4. Martyrdom[15]
5. Dying on the frontier[16]
6. Dying from plague[17]
7. Dying from abdominal illness[18]
8. Dying from drowning[19]
9. Dying from the collapse of a building[20]
10. A woman who dies during pregnancy or childbirth[21]
11. Dying from burning[22]
12. Dying from pleurisy[23]
13. Dying from tuberculosis[24]
14. Dying while defending ones property[25]
15. Dying while defending ones family
16. Dying while defending ones religion
17. Dying in self-defence[26]
18. Dying while doing a good deed[27]
19. Getting killed by an oppressive ruler[28]
20. Getting murdered
21. Praise of the righteous Muslims[29]

Signs of a bad end

1. Dying in disbelief or while committing shirk
2. Dying while committing sin[30]
3. Refusing to say the shahādah at the time of death
4. Blame of the righteous Muslims
5. Addiction to alcohol[31]
6. Ill-treating parents[32]
7. Having no ghayrah (sense of honour) for the family
8. Sudden death[33] because it strikes a person without affording him the opportunity to repent, do good or even say the shahādah. Many scholars said that this only applies to the sinner who was doing such acts as angered Allāh.[34]
9. Dying without repenting from major sins

Saffārīnī said, ‘Some of the scholars said that the things that lead to a bad end are four: being lazy in ṣalāh, drinking alcohol, disobeying and being rude to parents, and harming Muslims.’[35]

Avoid doing innovations

Those around the deceased must avoid falling into innovation, rather they should adhere firmly to the Sunnah at all times. A stark example of this lies with Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab while on his death bed. In his presence was Abū Salamah, and during his illness, Saʿīd fainted. Abū Salamah ordered that his bed be moved so he was facing the Qiblah and when Saʿīd regained consciousness, he asked Abū Salamah if his bed had been moved. He confirmed this and Saʿīd ordered that his bed be moved back to where it was.[36]

What to do when the person has died

1. Close the eyes. Allāh’s Messenger visited Abū Salamah when he died and closed his eyes,

إِنَّ الرُّوحَ إِذَا قُبِضَ تَبِعَهُ الْبَصَرُ

When the soul is taken, the eyes follow it.[37]

إِذَا حَضَرْتُمْ مَوْتَاكُمْ، فَأَغْمِضُوا الْبَصَرَ؛ فَإِنَّ الْبَصَرَ يَتْبَعُ الرُّوحَ، وَقُولُوا خَيْرًا؛ فَإِنَّ الْمَلَائِكَةَ تُؤَمِّنُ عَلَى مَا قَالَ أَهْلُ الْبَيْت

When you are in presence of the deceased, close the eyes because the eyes follow the soul (as it leaves) and say good things because the angels say āmīn to what the family are saying.[38]

2. Make duʿā for the deceased, and also general duʿā as the angels are there saying āmīn

3. Cover the entire body.

When Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) passed away, his entire body was covered with a piece of cloth.[39]

But this is not the case for someone who has died in the state of iḥrām. A man was riding his animal on the Day of ʿArafah and it threw him off, killing him. The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,

اغْسِلُوهُ بِمَاءٍ وَسِدْرٍ، وَكَفِّنُوهُ فِي ثَوْبَيْنِ، وَلاَ تُحَنِّطُوهُ، وَلاَ تُخَمِّرُوا رَأْسَهُ، فَإِنَّهُ يُبْعَثُ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ مُلَبِّيًا

Wash him with water and lotus, and shroud him in his two garments. Do not embalm him or perfume him, and do not cover his head and face because he will raised on the Day of Rising saying the talbiya.[40]

4. Hurrying with the funeral

أَسْرِعُوا بِالْجِنَازَةِ، فَإِنْ كَانَتْ صَالِحَةً، قَرَّبْتُمُوهَا إِلَى الْخَيْرِ، وَإِنْ كَانَتْ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ، شَرٌّ تَضَعُونَهُ عَنْ رِقَابِكُم

Hasten the funeral. If it is for a good person, you are hurrying it to good. If it was not, it is evil that you are dropping from your necks.[41]

5. Paying off debts

From the deceased wealth. If it is not enough, his relatives are strongly encouraged to pay it off on his behalf.

Saʿd b. Aṭwal’s brother passed away. He had debt of 300 dirhams and he had children. Saʿd wanted to give his brothers wealth to his children, but Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,

إِنَّ أَخَاكَ مَحْبُوسٌ بِدَيْنِهِ، فَاذْهَبْ ، فَاقْضِ عَنْهُ

Your brother is being held back because of his debt. Go and pay it off for him.[42]

Once. The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) prayed Fajr prayer and then a Janāza prayer and then asked for his family to come forward and said,

إِنَّ فُلَانًا الَّذِي تُوُفِّيَ مِنْكُمْ قَدِ احْتَبَسَ عَنِ الْجَنَّةِ، مِنْ أَجْلِ الدَّيْنِ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ، فَإِنْ شِئْتُمْ فَافْدُوهُ، وَإِنْ شِئْتُمْ فَأَسْلِمُوهُ إِلَى عَذَابِ اللهِ

This man who has died is held back from entering Paradise because of a debt. If you want, ransom him; otherwise surrender him to Allāh’s punishment!

The family then rushed to pay off his debt until none was left.[43]

مَنْ مَاتَ وَعَلَيْهِ دِينَارٌ أَوْ دِرْهَمٌ قُضِيَ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِ، لَيْسَ ثَمَّ دِينَارٌ وَلا دِرْهَمٌ

Whoever dies owing a debt, it will be taken from his good deeds on the Day where there is no dīnār or dirham then.[44]

Another narration in Ṭabarānī shows that this only applies to a person who did not intend to pay back the debt.

6. Don’t cause physical harm to the body

كَسْرُ عَظْمِ الْمَيِّتِ كَكَسْرِهِ حَيًّا

Breaking the bone of a deceased is like breaking it while he is alive.[45]

7. Don’t wail or lament, but crying out of sadness is permissible

Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) wept when his son, Ibrāhīm passed away and said,

إِنَّ العَيْنَ تَدْمَعُ، وَالقَلْبَ يَحْزَنُ، وَلاَ نَقُولُ إِلَّا مَا يَرْضَى رَبُّنَا، وَإِنَّا بِفِرَاقِكَ يَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ لَمَحْزُونُونَ

The eyes shed tears, the heart feels sad, but we will only say things that please our Lord. We are saddened at your passing, O Ibrāhīm.[46]

He (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,

اثْنَتَانِ فِي النَّاسِ هُمَا بِهِمْ كُفْرٌ: الطَّعْنُ فِي النَّسَبِ، وَالنِّيَاحَةُ عَلَى الْمَيِّت

Two of the people’s practices are disbelief: dishonouring the ties of kinship, and wailing over the dead.[47]

مَنْ يُنَحْ عَلَيْهِ، فَإِنَّهُ يُعَذَّبُ بِمَا نِيحَ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

The one who is wailed over will be punished on the Day of Rising because of that wailing.[48]

This applies for the one who wanted it done for him

لَيْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ لَطَمَ الْخُدُودَ، أَوْ شَقَّ الْجُيُوبَ، أَوْ دَعَا بِدَعْوَى الْجَاهِلِيَّة

He is not of us who strikes his face, rips his clothes and makes the call of Jāhiliyyah.[49]

8. Announcing the death

Announcing is allowed to let people know of a person’s death and the time of his janāzah, but not if done by way of discontentment with Allāh’s decree, or going door to door, and so on.[50] It is in this latter respect that Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) prohibited announcing death.[51]

When al-Najāshī died, Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) announced his death and prayed the janāzah prayer over him.[52]

9. Giving condolences

مَنْ عَزَّى أَخَاهُ الْمُسْلِمَ فِي مُصِيبَةٍ، كَسَاهُ اللهُ حُلَّةً خَضْرَاءَ يُحْبَرُ بِهَا

Whoever consoles his brother during an affliction, Allāh will clothe him with a green garments.[53]

When Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) learned of Jaʿfar’s demise, he encouraged those around them to cook for them because they were engrossed with the death.[54]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Qāf 50:19

[2] al-Anʿām 6:93

[3] al-Māʾidah 5:106

[4] Ahmad #14604 from Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh. Haythamī 10:336 said the isnād was ḥasan

[5] Bukhārī #6510 from ʿĀʾishah

[6] Aḥmad #24356 from ʿĀʾishah. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 11:362 said it was ḥasan

[7] Bukhārī #6510 from ʿĀʾishah

[8] Nasāʾī #1830 from ʿĀʾishah

[9] Bukhārī and Muslim

[10] Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 11:365

[11] Tirmidhī #1668, Nasāʾī’ #3161, Ibn Mājah #2802 from Abū Hurayrah. cf. Munāwī, Fayḍ al-Qadīr 4:182 who states that the martyr may even enjoy giving his life willingly for Allāh’s sake.

[12] “A believer dies with a sweaty forehead” [Nasāʾī, al-Kubrā #1967]

[13] Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah

[14] “Any Muslim who dies on the day or night of Jumuʿah is protected by Allāh from the tribulation of the grave.” [Tirmidhī from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr]

[15] “A martyr is given seven favours by Allāh: he is forgiven with the first gush of blood, shown his place in Paradise, protected from the torment of the grave, saved from the Great Fear, adorned with the adornments of faith, married to the women of Paradise, and allowed to intercede for seventy relatives.” [Tirmidhī from al-Miqdād]

[16] “Standing guard (on the frontier) for one day and night is better than fasting the days and praying the nights of an entire month. If such a person dies, his good deeds that he used to do continue to accumulate for him; he is provided with his provisions (from Paradise) and he is saved from the interrogator (of the grave).” [Muslim from Salmān]

[17] “Dying from plague is a martyrdom for every Muslim.” [Bukhārī from Mālik b. Anas]

[18] “The one killed by abdominal illness will not be punished in the grave.” [Nasāʾī from ʿAbdullāh b. Yasār]

[19] “The one who drowns is a martyr.” [Muslim from Abū Hurayrah]

[20] “The one who dies under a collapsed building is a martyr.” [Bukhārī from Abū Hurayrah]

[21] “The woman who is killed by the child in her womb is a martyr, it will drag her by its umbilical cord into Paradise.” [Aḥmad from ʿUbādah]

[22] “The person who burns to death is a martyr.” [Abū Dāwūd from Jābir b. ʿAtīk]

[23] “The one who dies from pleurisy is a martyr.” [Aḥmad from ʿUqbah b. ʿĀmir]

[24] “Death from tuberculosis is a martyrdom” [Ṭabarānī, al-Awsaṭ from Salmān]

[25] “Whoever fights someone who is trying to take his property without due right and is killed as a result is a martyr.” [Muslim from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr]

[26] “The person killed defending his property is a martyr. The person killed defending his family is a martry. The one killed while defending his religion is a martyr. The one killed while defending himself is a martyr.” [Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī from Saʿīd b. Zayd]

[27] “When Allāh wants good for His servant, He purifies Him.” They asked, ‘How so?’ He replied, “He gifts him with the ability to do good before he passes away.”[Tirmidhī #970 from Anas b. Mālik] “Whoever says lā ilāha illAllāh seeking Allāh’s face, and that is his final deed, he will enter Paradise. Whoever fasts seeking Allāh’s face, and that is his final deed, he will enter Paradise. Whoever gives charity seeking Allāh’s face, and that is his final deed, he will enter Paradise.” [Ahmad #23324 from Hudhayfah]

[28] “The chief of the martyrs is Ḥamza, as well as a man who stands before an unjust ruler, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and is killed as a result.” [Ḥākim from Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #374]

[29] A funeral procession passed by the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and they spoke well of him. He (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam), “It has become obligatory.” Another funeral procession passed him and they spoke badly of him and he (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “It has become obligatory.” They asked him what he meant and he said, “Some of you are stand as witnesses for others.”[Aḥmad #10013 from Abū Hurayrah] “…the one you spoke well of, Paradise became obligatory for him. The one you spoke badly of, Hell become obligatory for him. You are Allāh’s witnesses on this earth. You are Allāh’s witnesses on this earth. You are Allāh’s witnesses on this earth.”[Muslim #949]

[30] “Whoever dies while doing something, Allāh resurrects him doing it.” [Aḥmad from Jābir]

[31] “The person who dies while addicted to alcohol will meet Allāh like an idol worshipper.” [Aḥmad #2453 from ibn ʿAbbās. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #677]

[32] “Three people will be prohibited from entering Paradise: one who is addicted to alcohol, one who ill-treats his parents, and one who has no ghayrah and permits evil in his family.” [Aḥmad #5372. cf. Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ #3052]

[33] “A sudden death is a sign of anger.” [Abū Dāwūd #3110 from ʿUbaydullāh b. Khālid]

[34] Munāwī, Fayd al-Qadīr; Khaṭṭābī, Maʿālim al-Sunan

[35] Al-Buḥūr al-Zāhirah 1:66

[36] Ibn Abī Shaybah 4:76 and Albānī, Ahkām al-Janāʾiz said it was ṣaḥīḥ

[37] Muslim #920 from Umm Salamah

[38] Ibn Mājah #1455 from Shaddād b. Aws

[39] Bukhārī and Muslim

[40] Bukhārī #1267, Muslim #1206 from ibn ʿAbbās

[41] Bukhāri #1315, Muslim #944 from Abū Hurayrah

[42] Ibn Mājah, Aḥmad #17227

[43] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr from Samurah b. Jundub

[44] Ibn Mājah #2414 from ibn ʿUmar

[45] Abū Dāwūd #3207, Ibn Mājah #1616 from ʿĀʾishah

[46] Bukhārī #1303, Muslim #2315 from Anas b. Mālik

[47] Muslim #121 Abū Hurayrah

[48] Bukhārī #1286, Muslim #928 Mughīrah b. Shuʿbah

[49] Muslim #103 from ibn Masʿūd

[50] Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ al-Bārī

[51] Tirmidhī # from Hudhayfah

[52] Bukhārī, Muslim from Abū Hurayrah

[53] Bayhaqī, Shuʿab #8843. Albānī, Aḥkām al-Janāʾiz said it was ḥasan

[54] Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī

The post The Throes of Death appeared first on Islam21c.

The A to Z of Death

Part 4

Click here for part 1 | Click here for part 2 | Click here for part 3

The Soul’s Journey After Death

قُلْ يَتَوَفَّاكُم مَّلَكُ الْمَوْتِ الَّذِي وُكِّلَ بِكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ تُرْجَعُونَ

Say, ‘The Angel of Death put in charge of you will reclaim you, and then you will be brought back to your Lord.’[1]

اللَّـهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا ۖ فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Allāh takes the souls at the time of death and the souls of the living while they sleep. He keeps hold of those whose death He has ordained and sends the others back until their appointed time: there are truly signs in this for those who reflect.[2]

Allāh mentions a general description of the states of the souls as they are taken in numerous verses of the Qurʾān,

قَالَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ إِنَّ الْخِزْيَ الْيَوْمَ وَالسُّوءَ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٢٧﴾ الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ فَأَلْقَوُا السَّلَمَ مَا كُنَّا نَعْمَلُ مِن سُوءٍ ۚ بَلَىٰ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Those given knowledge will say, ‘Shame and misery on the disbelievers today!’ Those whose lives the angels take while they are wronging themselves will [falsely] show submission: ‘We were doing no evil!’ ‘Yes you were, Allāh knows full well what you have done.’[3]

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَاسِطُو أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوا أَنفُسَكُمُ ۖ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّـهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ آيَاتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

If you could only see the wicked in their death agonies, as the angels stretch out their hands to them saying: Let out your souls, today you will be repaid with a humiliating punishment for saying false things about Allāh and for arrogantly rejecting His signs.[4]

وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۙ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ وَذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ

If only you could see when the angels take the souls of the disbelievers, how they strike their faces and their backs: it will be said, ‘Taste the punishment of the Fire…’[5]

With some of the scholars having the view that this āyah specifically talked about the disbelievers who died at Badr, Ibn Kathīr said, ‘This āyah was revealed with regards the people of Badr, but it is general to all disbelievers which is why Allāh did not explicitly mention Badr in the verse.’

الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ ۙ يَقُولُونَ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Those whose lives the angels take in a state of goodness. They will say, ‘Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise as a reward for what you have done.’[6]

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّـهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾ نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَاؤُكُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِي أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ ﴿٣١﴾ نُزُلًا مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ

For those who say. ‘Our Lord is Allāh,’ and then take the straight path towards Him, the angels come down to them and say, ‘Have no fear or grief, but rejoice in the good news of Paradise which you have been promised. We are your allies in this world and the world to come, where you will have everything you desire and ask for as a welcoming gift from the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.’[7]

Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) furnished us with more detail concerning what happens to the soul at the time of death:

When the believing servant is at the point of leaving this world and is about to enter the next, angels of mercy[8] descend from the heaven, their faces white and radiant like the sun. With two of them[9] is a shroud from the fabric of Paradise[10] made of the softest, finest white silk,[11] and perfume from the fragrance of Paradise. These two angels keep their distance,[12] and the others sit around him stretching back as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death arrives, having the best of forms and most fragrant of scents,[13] and sits by his head saying,[14] ‘O pure soul, at peace and rest[15] depart to Allāh’s forgiveness and good pleasure.’[16] The angels will also say words of encouragement, ‘O pure soul which was in a pure body, leave the body in a praiseworthy state [17] pleased and well-pleasing,[18] and have glad tidings of Allāh’s rest and ease. Go to a Lord who is not angry.’[19] They will repeat this until the soul leaves the body,[20] and on hearing these words, the soul will leave, exiting the body as easily as water drops fall from the spout of a water skin,[21] or sweat leaves the body.[22] The eyes follow the soul as it leaves[23] and the Angel of Death will receive it.[24]

No sooner does he take it, within the blink of an eye, the two angels rush forward and take it from his hand, place it in the shroud and perfume it,[25] and all the angels pass it amongst themselves,[26] taking in the ethereal scent.[27] This is what Allāh says,

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ

…until, when death overtakes any of you, those sent by Us take his soul, and they never fail in their duty.[28]

When the soul has left the body, all the angels between the heavens and the earth, and all the angels in the heaven send ṣalāh on him.[29] They say, ‘A pure soul has come from the earth, may Allāh send his ṣalāh upon you and upon the body in which you lived.’[30] The gates of the heavens open for him and the guardians of every gate implore Allāh that his soul ascends in their direction.[31]

From the soul emanates the most exquisite scent of musk that ever existed on earth[32] and two angels ascend with it.[33] As they pass by gatherings of angels, they are asked, ‘What is this good soul?’[34] They reply, ‘He is so-and-so, the son of so-and-so,’ using the best names with which he had been addressed in this life.[35] They say, ‘Welcome to this pure soul that used to be in a pure body.’[36] When they reach the lowest heaven, they request admission and the gates open for them and the angels there exclaim, ‘What a beautiful scent you have brought from the earth!’ The most select angels of each heaven will escort him to the next one until he reaches the seventh heaven,[37] finally standing before Allāh by the Throne,[38] and all the while the angels will keep supplicating for him.[39] Allāh then says, “Write my servants record in illiyyūn,”

وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ ﴿١٩﴾ كِتَابٌ مَّرْقُومٌ ﴿٢٠﴾ يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ

What will explain to you what ʿilliyyūn is? A clearly written record witnessed by those brought near.[40]

His records are inscribed in ʿilliyyūn[41] and Allāh will say to Angels Brought Close, “Bear witness that I have forgiven the person who has deeds such as these!”[42] The angels are then told, ‘Take him back to the earth because I promised them that from it I created them, into it shall I send them, and from it resurrect them once again. [43],[44] He is then returned to the earth and his soul returned to his body[45] and at that point, he will hear the patter of his companion’s shoes as they walk away from his grave.[46]

When a disbelieving servant is at the point of leaving this world and about to enter the next, angels of punishment,[47] severe and stern,[48] with dark faces descend to him from the heavens.[49] With them are coarse garments of the Fire and they sit around him, stretching back as far as the eye can see. The Angel of Death arrives and sits by his head, saying, ‘Vile soul, depart to Allāh’s wrath and anger.’[50] The angels will say, ‘Vile soul which lived in a vile body, leave the body in a blameworthy state,[51] displeased and with displeasure on you. Go to Allāh’s punishment![52] Have tidings of scalding water and foul pus, and other such punishments![53]’[54] They will keep repeating this until it leaves the body[55] but on hearing this, terrified, the soul clings to the body, refusing to leave. The Angel of Death will extract it by force, like a skewer is pulled from wet wool[56] causing the veins and nerves to burst.[57] It will come out from the side of his mouth (filthy and noisy) like a donkey does when its soul departs.[58]

No sooner does he take it, within the blink of an eye, the other angels take it from his hand and put it in that course fabric, and from it emanates the most repugnant odour of a decaying corpse that ever existed on the earth.[59]

Every angel between the heavens and the earth, and every angel in the heavens, curses him.[60] They said, ‘A vile soul has come from the earth!’[61] The gates of the heaven are barred to him, and the guardians of every gate implore Allāh that this soul not ascend in their direction.[62]

The angels then ascend with it. As they pass by gatherings of angels, they are asked, “What is this vile soul?” They respond, ‘He is so-and-so, son of so-and-so,’ using the worst names with which he was called in this life. When they reach the lowest heaven, they request admission but the gates are not opened for him,[63] and the angels say, ‘What a vile odour![64] There is no welcome for a filthy soul living in a filthy body here! Return disgraced and humiliated, the door will not be opened for you!’[65]

لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّىٰ يَلِجَ الْجَمَلُ فِي سَمِّ الْخِيَاطِ

The gates of heaven will not be open to them and they will not enter Paradise until a camel passes through the eye of a needle.[66]

Allāh will then say, “Write his record in Sijjīn in the lowest earth,” and they are told, ‘Take him back to the earth because I promised them that from it I created them, into it I will send them, and from it resurrect them once again.’ His soul is then cast down from the heavens without regard and it falls back into his body,[67]

وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّـهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ الطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ

Whoever associates partners with Allāh is like someone who has been hurled down from the skies and snatched up by birds or flung to a distant place by the wind.[68]

and at that point, he will hear the patter of his companion’s shoes as they walk away from his grave.[69]

Source: www.islam21.com

Notes:

[1] al-Sajdah 32:11

[2] al-Zumar 39:42

[3] al-Naḥl 16:27-28

[4] al-Anʿām 6:93

[5] al-Anfāl 8:50

[6] al-Naḥl 16:32

[7] Fuṣṣilat 41:30-32

[8] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219. ʿIrāqī, al-Mughnī #4392 said it was ṣaḥīḥ. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #1309

[9] Ibn Mandah, al-Nafs wa’l-Rūḥ as quoted by ibn al-Qayyim, Kitāb al-Rūh, pg. 134 who said it was authentic. cf. Musnad al-Ruwayānī #391 from al-Barāʾa

[10] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[11] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219 from Abū Hurayrah. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #1309

[12] Ibn Mandah, al-Nafs wa’l-Rūḥ as quoted by ibn al-Qayyim, Kitāb al-Rūh, pg. 134

[13] Ibn Mandah, al-Nafs wa’l-Rūḥ as quoted by ibn al-Qayyim, Kitāb al-Rūh, pg. 134

[14] Some of the Companions stated that the first thing the Angel of Death would do is extend his salām. cf. Ibn Abī Shaybah #34767 from al-Barāʾa, al-Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-Manthūr 5:390 from ibn Masʿūd.

[15] Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #1219

[16] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[17] Aḥmad #8769-25090 from Abū Hurayrah

[18] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219

[19] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219

[20] Aḥmad #8769-25090 from Abū Hurayrah

[21] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[22] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr from ibn Masʿūd. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2151

[23] Muslim #920 from Umm Salamah

[24] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[25] Ibn Mandah, al-Nafs wa’l-Rūḥ as quoted by ibn al-Qayyim, Kitāb al-Rūh, pg. 134, Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[26] Nasāʾī #1833 from Abū Hurayrah

[27] Ibn Ḥibbān #3014

[28] al-Anʿām 6:61

[29] Aḥmad #18614, ʿAbdu’l-Razzāq #6737 from al-Barāʾa

[30] Muslim #2872 from Abū Hurayrah

[31] Aḥmad #18614 from al-Barāʾa

[32] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[33] Muslim #2872 from Abū Hurayrah

[34] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[35] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[36] Aḥmad #8769 from Abū Hurayrah

[37] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[38] Ibn Mandah, al-Nafs wa’l-Rūḥ as quoted by ibn al-Qayyim, Kitāb al-Rūh, pg. 135

[39] Aḥmad #25090 from Abū Hurayrah

[40] al-Muṭaffifīn 83-19-21

[41] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[42] Ibn Mandah, al-Nafs wa’l-Rūḥ as quoted by ibn al-Qayyim, Kitāb al-Rūh, pg. 136

[43] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[44] Ṭa Ḥa 20:55

[45] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[46] Muslim #2870 from Anas

[47] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219

[48] Aḥmad #18614, ʿAbdu’l-Razzāq #6737 from al-Barāʾa

[49] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[50] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[51] Aḥmad #8769-25090, ibn Mājah #4262 from Abū Hurayrah

[52] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219

[53] cf. Ṣād 38:57-58

[54] Aḥmad #8769-25090 from Abū Hurayrah

[55] Ibn Mājah #4262 from Abū Hurayrah

[56] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[57] Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #1219, Aḥmad #18535

[58] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr from ibn Masʿūd.

[59] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[60] Aḥmad #18614 from al-Barāʾa

[61] Muslim #2872 from Abū Hurayrah

[62] Aḥmad #18614 from al-Barāʾa

[63] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[64] Nasāʾī #1833, ibn Ḥibban #3013, Bazzār #8219

[65] Aḥmad #8769-25090 from Abū Hurayrah

[66] al-Aʿrāf 7:40

[67] Aḥmad #18534 from al-Barāʾa

[68] al-Ḥajj 22:31

[69] Muslim #2870 from Anas

The post The Soul’s Journey After Death appeared first on Islam21c.

The A to Z of Death

Part 6

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Resurrection

During the sojourn in the grave, souls visit each other and converse with one another,[1] regardless if they are buried close together or far apart.[2] One such example is mentioned by the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam): The souls of the believers are brought to the believing soul and are overjoyed at receiving him, just as a person is when his absent, loved-one visits him. They will ask the person, ‘What has so-and-so and so-and-so been doing?[3] What has so-and-so down, did she marry again?’[4] The Angels will say, ‘Let him rest, he has toiled through this worldly life.’[5] They will ask about a person who has already passed away, he will reply, ‘He has passed away,[6] has he not already come?’ When they realise he has not, they will say, ‘Inna lillāhi wa inna ilayhi rājiʿūn.[7] He has been taken to his mother, al-Hāwiyah,[8] the worst of all mothers, the worst of murabbīs!’ [9]

The deeds he did are then presented to them and when they see the good, they delight in them and say, ‘Allāh, this is your blessings bestowed on Your servant, so complete it.’ When they see a bad deeds, they say, ‘Allah, forgive Your servant.’

This meeting will happen to the souls that are blessed, not the souls that are punished as they are too preoccupied with their punishment.[10]

In the life of the Barzakh, the souls, even though they are joined to the bodies in the graves, are simultaneously in other places as well. The souls of the Prophets are in the highest levels of Paradise. The souls of martyrs are in the bodies of green birds flying about in paradise wherever they want. Some martyrs, however, are prevented from entering Paradise because of debt. Some souls will be by a river running by the door of Paradise. Some souls will remain trapped in the grave and some will be punished in the grave.[11]

As the Last Day draws near, on earth, Allāh will dispatch a cool breeze[12] originating from Yemen and Shām. A pure wind, its scent sweeter than musk and its caress, softer than silk.[13] It will seize every believer on earth, even those with just an atoms weight of faith, under their armpits and take their lives. Only the worst of people will then be left on earth,[14] not a single person who can say Allāh Allāh[15] or lā ilāha illAllāh,[16] devoid of any shame and engaging in public intercourse just like donkeys or animals.[17] They will once again worship the idols of their forefathers,[18] having succumbed to the temptations of Shayṭān, and not a single person will be left who can distinguish good from bad.[19]

Some time later, a fire will burn from a depression in ʿAdn, Yemen and from Haḍramawt, both by the Red Sea and it will drive everyone to the place of the gathering:[20] Shām.[21] They will be driven there, walking, riding, and even crawling on their faces,[22] along with monkeys and pigs. The fire will be behind them all the way, spending the night where they spend the night, with them when they rest, and consuming any who are left behind.[23]

Friday is a day that concerns the angels brought close to Allāh, the sky, the earth, wind, the mountains and the seas. This is the day on which the Last Day will fall,[24] during the daytime,[25] soon after Fajr, before sunrise.[26] It will fall so suddenly,[27] that two persons spreading a garment between them will not be able to finish their bargain, nor will they be able to fold it up. A man will be carrying the milk of his she-camel, but cannot drink it. Another will not be able to prepare the tank to water his livestock from it. Some people will have raised food to their mouths but will not have time to eat it.[28]

The Trumpet will blast, reverberating through creation. The earth will convulse, the mountains will disintegrate, and the oceans will boil over. Everything will be destroyed and everyone will die,

إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيمٌ يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّا أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكَارَى وَمَا هُم بِسُكَارَى وَلَكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ

“The final earthquake will be a terrifying event: on the Day you see it, every nursing mother will think no more of her baby, every pregnant woman will miscarry, you will think people are drunk when they are not, so severe is Allāh’s punishment.”[29]

The first person to hear that trumpet would be someone busy in setting right the tank meant for providing water to the camels. He would swoon and the rest of man would also swoon.[30]

Then, after the passage of forty [years],[31] Allāh will send down rain which would be like dew, and from it, the bodies of people will grow out of the earth.[32] A second trumpet blast will sound and man will be resurrected, standing and looking (around),[33] coming out as if they were swarming locusts,[34]

يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الرَّاجِفَةُ ﴿٦﴾ تَتْبَعُهَا الرَّادِفَةُ ﴿٧﴾ قُلُوبٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاجِفَةٌ ﴿٨﴾ أَبْصَارُهَا خَاشِعَةٌ ﴿٩﴾ يَقُولُونَ أَإِنَّا لَمَرْدُودُونَ فِي الْحَافِرَةِ ﴿١٠﴾ أَإِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا نَّخِرَةً ﴿١١﴾ قَالُوا تِلْكَ إِذًا كَرَّةٌ خَاسِرَةٌ ﴿١٢﴾ فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ ﴿١٣﴾ فَإِذَا هُم بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

“On the Day when the Blast reverberates, and the second blast follows, hearts will tremble, eyes will be downcast. They say: What! Shall we be brought back to life after we have turned into decayed bones? They say: that would truly be a fateful return! But all it will take is single blast, and see, they will be back above the ground!”[35]

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَن بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ إِن كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ فَالْيَوْمَ لَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَلَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

“The Trumpet will be sounded and behold! They will rush out to their Lord from their graves. They will say, ‘Woe to us! Who has resurrected us from our resting place?’ They will be told, ‘This is what the Lord of Mercy has promised, and the messengers told the truth.’ It was just one single blast and then – behold! They were all brought before Us. Today no soul will be wronged in the least; you will only be repaid for your deeds.”[36]

The souls will be fully reunited with their bodies which will be the same as they were in this life except that they will be uncircumcised, they will have no need of urinating or defecating, they will not die, and, in this state, they will be able to see Angel and jinn.[37]

Man will be raised naked, barefoot and uncircumcised, in far too much terror to take note of his nakedness.[38] Some may be raised in their clothes or their shrouds, but these will quickly disintegrate leaving them naked.[39] They will all stand on a vast land that is reddish white, like a fine load of bread, with no landmarks at all.[40] Each person will only have the space of his own two feet to stand therein.[41]

The first to be raised will be the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam).[42] The martyrs will be raised with their wounds red and bleeding, exuding the scent of musk.[43] The pilgrim who died in the state of iḥram will be raised reciting the talbiyyah.[44] The Muʾadhdhin will be raised calling the adhān,[45] and having the longest necks.[46] In general people will be raised doing the deed they did when they passed away.[47]

The disbeliever will be resurrected deaf, dumb and blind,[48] as he was in the grave, and given back his sight just before he is to be hurled into Hell.[49] Some will be resurrected, crawling on their faces.[50] The arrogant will be resurrected like ants in the form of men, humiliation enveloping them from all sides. They will be driven to a prison in Hell, its hottest fire rising over them and their drink will be the puss falling from the inhabitants of Hell.[51] A leader of ten people or more, will be resurrected in chains, the only thing able to release him being justice, if he was just in this world, otherwise his injustice and oppression will seal his fate.[52] Whoever concealed religious knowledge will be raised wearing a bridle of fire and whoever spoke about the Qurʾān without knowledge will also be raised wearing a bridle of fire.[53] A person who had wealth, but did not pay the zakāh due on it, will be raised and a bald-headed poisonous serpent with two black spots over its eyes will encircle his neck and bite his cheeks and say, ‘I am your wealth, I am your treasure.’[54]

A period of time after this, people will be clothed. The first to be clothed will be Ibrāhīm from the garments of Paradise,[55] then Muḥammad (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam), also from garments of Paradise the likes of which has never been seen,[56] then the rest of the Prophets.[57] The righteous will be clothed in noble garments and the evil doers in trousers of tar and other awful garments.[58]

The sun will draw close, until it is just a mile away and people will stand in their own sweat, the level of which is determined by their deeds. Some will be ankle deep in that sweat, others knee deep, shoulder deep or bridled by it.[59] The sweat would be so copious that Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said that ships could even sail on it![60] All will be affected by this except for a select group of people who would be standing under the shade of Allāh’s Throne. Amongst these will be: a just ruler, a youth who grew up worshipping Allāh, a man whose heart is attached to the Masjid, two people who love each other for Allāh’s sake, a man who is tempted by a woman of standing and beauty but says, ‘I fear Allāh,’ a man who gives in charity and hides it such that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given, and a man who remembers Allāh in private and his eyes shed tears while doing so.[61]

There they will stand for one day the length of which is 50,000 years by the reckoning of this world. However, for the believer it will be made to seem the same as the length of one obligatory prayer he prayed in this world or less,[62] or like the time when the sun is about to set to when it has set.[63]

Man will be in such terror, difficulty and despair during that standing that they will go from Prophet to Prophet asking them to intercede with Allāh to at least start the Judgement and allow them to move from that place. Each Prophet will refuse, saying, ‘Myself! Myself!’ until finally they go to the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) who will accept the request and intercede with Allāh. Judgement Day will then begin.[64]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Rūh, pp. 17-18. Cf. Ibn Abī al-Dunyā from Jābir that Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) said, ‘Shroud your deceased well because they will have visitors in their graves,’ and ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 11:386 said the isnād was ḥasan.

[2] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Majmūʿ 24:368

[3] Nasāʾī #1833

[4] Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #443, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2758

[5] Nasāʾī #1833

[6] Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #443

[7] Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #443

[8] Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #443

[9] Nasāʾī #1833

[10] Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Rūh, pp. 17-18

[11] Ibn al-Qayyim, al-Rūḥ, pp. 344-349

[12] Muslim #2940 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr.

[13] Muslim #1924 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr. Muslim #2937 from Nawās b. Samʿān

[14] Muslim #2937 from Nawās b. Samʿān

[15] Muslim #148 from Anas. Muslim #177 from Abū Hurayrah

[16] Aḥmad #13860 from Anas

[17] Muslim #2937 from Nawās b. Samʿān

[18] Muslim #2940 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr

[19] Muslim #2940 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr

[20] Muslim #2901. Abū Dāwūd #4311, Tirmidhī #2183 from Ḥudhayfah b. Asad. Tirmidhī #223 from ibn ʿUmar

[21] Aḥmad #20022 from Ḥakīm b. Muʿāwiyah. Bazzār #3965 from Abū Dharr

[22] Aḥmad #20022, Tirmidhī #2192 from Ḥakīm b. Muʿāwiyah

[23] Abū Dāwūd #2482, Aḥmad #6871 from ibn ʿAmr

[24] Ibn Mājah #1084, Aḥmad #15548 from Abū Lubābah. ʿIrāqī said the isnād was ḥasan. Aḥmad #7687-10303 from Abū Hurayrah.

[25] Abū Nuʿaym as the statement of Abū Hurayrah. Muslim #854 from Abū Hurayrah.

[26] Aḥmad #10303 from Abū Hurayrah

[27] They ask you about the Hour, when will it arrive? Say: My Lord alone has knowledge of it: He alone will reveal it, a time that is momentous in both the heavens and the earth. It will come upon you suddenly. [Q7:187]

[28] Bukhārī #6506, Muslim #2954 from Abū Hurayrah

[29] al-Ḥajj (22):1-2

[30] Muslim #2940 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr

[31] Muslim #2955 from Abū Hurayrah where he mentioned that the period of forty but refused to say if it was days, weeks or months. Some of the Companions were of the view that the period was forty years, cf. Ṭabarī 11:27, Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkira 1:491-510

[32] Muslim #2940 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr

[33] Muslim #2940 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr

[34] Qamar 54:7

[35] al-Nāziʿāt 79:6-14

[36] Yā Sīn 36:51

[37] Ḥākim, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #1668 and Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ 7:253

[38] Bukhārī #6527, Muslim #2194 from ʿĀʾishah. Bukhārī #6525, Muslim #6860 from ibn ʿAbbās. Ṭabarānī, al-Awsaṭ #833 from Umm Salamah. Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 24:34 from Sawdah

[39] Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) said, “The deceased will be resurrected in the clothes in which he died.” [Abū Dāwūd #3114. cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #1671] “When one of you is given the duty of preparing his brother (for the funeral), cover him in his shrouds well because they will be raised in those shrouds.” [Khaṭīb, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #1425].

The scholars differed about how to reconcile these ḥadīths with the one that states that man will be raised naked, falling into one of three views: 1) They will be raised in them initially, but then they will disintegrate leaving them naked. 2) It refers to the martyrs specifically who are buried in their clothes 3) Garments here refers metaphorically to deeds, as is used in the Qurʾan in 7:26. cf. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 11:467

[40] Bukhārī #6521

[41] Ḥākim from Jābir

[42] Muslim #2278 from Abū Hurayrah, ibn Ḥibbān #6478 from ʿAbdullāh b. Sallām

[43] Bukhārī #2803, Muslim #1876 from ibn ʿUmar

[44] Bukhārī #1267, Muslim #1206 from ibn ʿAbbās

[45] Ibn Shāhīn, al-Targhīb #567

[46] Aḥmad #12729 from Anas

[47] Muslim #2878 from Jābir

[48] cf. al-Furqān 25:34

[49] Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkira

[50] cf. al-Isrāʾ 17:97 and Bukhārī #4760 and Muslim #2806 from Anas.

[51] Tirmidhī #2493, Aḥmad #6677

[52] Aḥmad #9570-22516 from Abū Hurayrah.

[53] Abū Yaʿlā #2585

[54] Bukhārī #1403-4565 from Abū Hurayrah

[55] Bukhārī #3349-3447-4626, Muslim #2860 from ibn ʿAbbās

[56] Bayhaqī 1:320, Bayhāqī, al-Asmāʾ #839. cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:480,11:467, Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkira 2:533

[57] Ibn Shaḥin, al-Targhīb #567. Bayhaqī, Shuʿab 1:549. Ḥalīmī, al-Minhāj

[58] Muslim from Abū Mālik concerning the woman who wails.

[59] Muslim #2864 from al-Miqdād b. al-Aswad

[60] Ahmad #12588

[61] Bukhārī #6806, Muslim #1031 from Abū Hurayrah.

[62] Aḥmad #11717 from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī. Ibn Ḥibbān #7419 from ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr

[63] Ibn Ḥibbān #7333 from Abū Hurayrah

[64] Bukhārī#4712, Muslim #194 from Abū Hurayrah

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Just two days spent in Calais but so much to digest, so much to think about, and so much more that needs to be done. A group of volunteers from High Wycombe, Muslim and non-Muslim, after a concerted effort to collect items that were required for the refugees, and after filling a 40ft lorry and two vans with donations from the whole community, made their way over to the “Jungle” in Calais.

The “Jungle,” packed with tents and other temporary structures, sprawls over an area of roughly four square kilometers and is really the culmination of French efforts over the last five years to consolidate various ‘jungles’ that have sprung up in their country to one single location. The land is below sea level and when it rains, water gathers and the whole place becomes a bog – extremely concerning when considering the coming winter.

The “Jungle” is broadly divided into areas by nationality: Syrian, Sudanese, Kurdish and Afghan amongst others. Although a few women and children can be found in the main camp, the majority are housed in a separate, more secure, area.

There are roughly seven temporary structures that serve as Mosques and two as Churches. One extremely nice and sturdy domed structure (donated by the French authorities we were told) serves as an area for music and arts, and a nightclub of sorts.

Our first port of call after arriving was a warehouse where all items donated are stored, sorted and shipped out to the “Jungle,” all directed by a remarkable man called John.

The scale of the operation and huge logistic effort required quickly became clear to us as did the vast amount of work that needs doing. Full of interesting facts and information, one of the things John did tell us, in extremely colourful terms, was how much he hated the term ‘jungle’ and preferred to use the term camp to describe where the refugees were living. I agree with him.

Everyone was assigned tasks to do which we set to, and during the lunch break some of us decided to pay a visit to the camp. Others would go later.

Upon entering the camp, one of the first refugees we met was a smiling, pleasant Egyptian. An Egyptian in this refugee camp? It is perhaps a testament to the power of Western media that, to my shame, the first words to cross my mind were ‘economic migrant’; one travelling with the prospect of material gain. Until, that is, a colleague enquired after his story. Until, that is, we saw the squalid conditions he was living in and that a tiny tent, rags on the ground, and a sleeping bag were his possessions. Harrowing stories like his were a recurrent feature of our conversations with the people living there. Each had their own tale. Each was tragic.[1] Some were articulate, educated people who had been forced to flee, abandoning their possessions, homes, cars and families.

Smiling was also a recurrent feature of our trip throughout the camp, and one that I found most surprising. And moving. The morale of the people there was incredible. They would consistently invite us over to share in their meals or to have a cup of tea with them; people who have next to nothing asking us to share their food with them!

Walking towards the Afghani area, we saw that some had been enterprising enough to set up shop! Prices were exorbitant: a small chocolate for 4.5 euros. The thought crossed my mind that these people must be wealthy enough to buy items at such prices. Again, until we realised that they are coming from a culture where bartering and exchange is the norm and prices written on products mean very little.

Walking to the Syrian area, we were invited by a group sitting together to have tea with them which we declined. I spoke to an elderly Syrian asking him what they needed and how we could help. Sturdy shoes, warm clothes and firewood were what they needed. They never asked us for money. No one did.

On one occasion, the next day, driving through a narrow dirt road on one side of the camp, a Sudanese man spoke to me. I made the mistake of not really listening to what he said, concentrating instead on the drive. That coupled with his heavy colloquial Arabic led me to believe he was asking us if we were from Britain. I answered yes. The next thing I know, in extreme excitement, he is trying to clamber into the back of my car. What he was actually asking, it turns out, was if we could take him to Britain with us! Though some refugees do entertain the hope of entering the UK, the majority we spoke to do not.

My own personal nightmare came to pass, the thing I feared most: a man asking to take a child with us. A request we had to decline.

There is so much more to say, but I feel I need to mention the amazing volunteers we met out there. All there at their own expense, many having spent weeks and months there to help out. One person setting a caravan up in the camp so he can be where he is needed most; another setting up a tent in the camp itself for the same reason; others booking hotel or hostel rooms for days on end; builders working all day constructing more viable shelters for the coming winter; nurses and doctors setting up medical facilities; volunteers doing the extremely unenviable task of cleaning up the area; and, of course, all the many unnamed men and women working tirelessly in the background who very few people ever see or hear about. People who have seen human beings in need and have answered the call of humanity. Truly inspiring.

Medical facilities in the “Jungle”.

As a parting piece of advice, many organisations and groups, with good intentions, go to Calais to help, taking with them items they think are needed. Quite often, those items are not needed and end up being discarded. If you want to go, first make contact with people who go regularly or are based there, who can tell you what is and what is not required.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Details of stories and pictures of individuals have been omitted at their request since they feared such information could adversely affect their asylum applications.

The post Our Trip To The Jungle appeared first on Islam21c.

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”[1]

In another narration it is reported that he said, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, a servant does not [truly] believe until he loves for his brother – or his neighbour – what he loves for himself.”[2]

And another still as, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, a servant does not [truly] believe until he loves for his brother the good that he loves for himself.”[3]

A fourth narration states, “None of you [truly] believe until he loves for other people what he loves for himself, and until he loves a person only for the sake of Allāh.”[4]

There are two more authentic narrations of this ḥadīth which shed additional light on its meaning:

1) “A person will not attain the reality of faith until he loves for his brother the good that he loves for himself.”[5]

2) “A believer will not be a [true] believer until he loves for the believers what he loves for himself.”[6]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked Yazīd b. Asad, “Do you want Paradise?” He replied, ‘Yes.’ He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Then love for your brother what you love for yourself.”[7]

Muʿādh once asked Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) about the best qualities of faith and he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) replied, “That you love and hate for Allāh’s sake, you keep your tongue busy with the remembrance of Allāh, and that you love for people what you love for yourself, and hate for them what you hate for yourself.”[8]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) enjoined the great Companion, Abū Hurayrah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu), “Avoid the proscribed and you will become the most devout of people. Be content with what Allāh has apportioned for you and you will become the richest of people. Be good to your neighbour and you will become a [true] believer. Love for people what you love for yourself and you will become a [true] Muslim. And do not laugh too much because excessive laughter kills the heart.’[9]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The Muslim has six duties of righteousness towards another Muslim: greeting him with the salām when meeting him, responding to his invitation, responding to his sneeze, visiting him when ill, following his funeral after his death, and loving for him what he loves for himself.”[10]

Points of Benefit

The aforementioned aḥādīth show that a person will not perfect his faith until he loves the good that he loves for himself for his brother. This has been declared as attaining the pinnacle or reality of faith as can be seen in the narration of Ibn Ḥibbān.

ʿĪsā b. Maryam said. ‘The faith of a person is not complete until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.’[11]

The believer should also want good for everyone as proven by the narration of Aḥmad. This quality is one of the obligatory qualities of faith.[12] “Good”, here, refers to all things that are obligatory, recommended and permissible.[13]

Part and parcel of faith is also to hate for a person’s brother the evil that he hates for himself. This has not been explicitly mentioned in the title ḥadīth since it is implied: loving something means to hate its opposite.[14] It is explicitly mentioned, however, in the ḥadīth of Muʿādh which was previously mentioned.

A person should deal with others as he himself would want to be dealt with. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever wants to be delivered from the Fire and enter Paradise must die while believing in Allāh and the Last Day, and he must deal with people the way he wants to be dealt with.”[15]

Aḥnaf b. Qays was once asked how he had learned his knowledge. He replied, ‘From my self.’ ‘How so?’ He replied, ‘Whenever I saw something in another I disliked, I made sure not to do that same thing to another.’[16]

The Muslim is humble and modest. He does not think of himself better than others. Rather, he wants good for them and this can only come about by abandoning envy, hatred and rancour.[17] A true Muslim is generous of spirit and does not want good just for himself but also for others.[18] A Muslim is sincere to another, and advises him accordingly since he only wants the good for him.[19] A Muslim is solicitous of others and concerned about them.[20] A Muslim is aggrieved by what grieves his brothers and sisters.[21]

These characteristics of magnanimity, solicitousness and sincerity with fellow Muslims are encompassed in a hadith. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The example of the believers in their love, mercy and compassion for one another is like that of the body: if one of its limbs is hurting, the entire body is afflicted with sleeplessness and fever.”[22]

This ḥadīth and those previously highlighted emphasise the importance of brotherhood in Islām as the believer, to another believer, is like one soul.[23] As such, just as we make duʿā’ for ourselves and seek Allāh’s aid for our own affairs, supplicating for our brothers is important. Further to this, as Muslims we are recommended to supplicate for the guidance of a non-Muslim as well.[24]

The ḥadīth does not mean that a person who does not have this quality is devoid of faith altogether. Faith is of different levels and deeds are part and parcel of īmān.[25] However, when a person is devoid of this quality, he becomes open prey to envy.[26]

True love for our brother in Islām must go beyond mere lip service and translate into action. So where a person is able to help his brother in good, he should do so. A strong community is one that is built on love, compassion and cooperation. Although the primary focus of this lesson is on Muslims and the brotherhood of Islām, some scholars argued that the ḥadīth also applies to non-Muslims. This understanding is strengthened by the other narrations of this ḥadīth, and the other ḥadīths quoted above that just mention “people.” As such, the Muslim wants good for the non-Muslim just as he wants good for himself. For example, he would want the non-Muslim to accept Islām just as he would want the Muslim to remain on Islām.[27]

May Allāh keep the Muslim Ummah steadfast upon righteousness and guide mankind to Islām. Āmīn.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Bukhārī #13 from Anas

[2] Muslim #70

[3] Nasāʾī #5017

[4] Aḥmad #13875

[5] Ibn Ḥibbān #235

[6] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr #8154

[7] Ahmad #16653

[8] Aḥmad #22130

[9] Tirmidhī #2305

[10] Tirmidhī #2736, Ibn Mājah #1433

[11] Ibn Wahb, al-Jāmiʿ #241

[12] Ibn Rajab, Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm

[13] Nawawī, Sharh Muslim, Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ al-Bārī

[14] Kirmānī, al-Kawākib al-Darārī, Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ al-Bārī

[15] Muslim #1844

[16] Ibn al-Mulaqqin, al-Tawdīḥ li Sharḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaḥīḥ, 1:512

[17] Ibn Ḥajr, ibn Rajab

[18] Ibn Rajab

[19] Ibn Rajab

[20] Ibn Rajab

[21] Ibn Rajab

[22] Muslim

[23] Ibn Mulaqqin, Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn

[24] Nawawī, Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn

[25] Ibn Ḥajr

[26] Nawawī, Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn

[27] Nawawī, Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn, Haythamī, Sharḥ al-Arbaʿīn, Shanqīṭī, Kawthar al-Maʿānī Sharḥ Bukhārī

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Whoever suffices with knowledge of the Qurʾān and Sunnah, confining himself to what is reported from the Companions and Successors (in matters of the religion), makes his intention sincere – seeking Allāh’s face – and turns to Him for help, He will aid him, guide him, grant him divine accord, make him firm, grant him understanding, and inspire him. Now this knowledge will sprout its special fruit: the fear of Allāh, just as He, Mighty and Magnificent, says, “It is only the learned amongst His servants who truly fear Allāh.”[1]

Ibn Masʿūd and others said, ‘It is sufficient knowledge for a person to fear Allāh, and it is sufficient ignorance for him to be deceived about Allāh.’[2] Some of the Salaf said, ‘Knowledge is not narrating a lot but knowledge is the fear of Allāh.’[3] Others said, ‘Whoever fears Allāh is the scholar and whoever disobeys him is the ignoramus.’[4] There are many quotes from them carrying this meaning.

Beneficial knowledge leads to two things:

1. Knowledge of Allāh and what befits Him: His Beautiful Names, Lofty Attributes and Awe-Inspiring Actions. This necessarily leads to venerating Him, glorifying Him, having fear of Him, being in awe of Him, loving Him, hoping in Him, trusting in Him, being content with His decree, and bearing His trials with patience.

2. Knowledge of those beliefs, actions—outer and inner—and statements that He loves and is pleased with, and those that He hates and anger Him. This leads a person to focus on doing what Allāh loves and avoiding all that He hates.

When knowledge sprouts these fruits, it is beneficial knowledge. When knowledge is beneficial and takes root in the heart, the heart fears Allāh, submits to Him, and humbles itself in awe, glorification, fear, love and veneration. When this happens, the soul is content with the most modest lawful worldly provisions; this in turn leads it to turn away from the allures of this world. There no longer remains any property, status or surplus effects that are looked at wantonly by such a person. This then removes a major cause for the decrease of his portion of the bliss of the Hereafter. Words to this effect have been reported from ibn ʿUmar and others as well as from the Prophet (sallAllāhu ʿalayhī wa sallam).

When all of this happens, a special relationship between Allāh and the servant is engendered. If he asks, He grants, and if he supplicates, He answers as is mentioned in the ḥadīth qudsī, “…my servant continues to draw closer to Me by performing the optional deeds until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing by which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would grant him, and were he to take refuge with Me, I would grant him refuge,”[5] and in another narration, “Were he to supplicate to Me, I would respond.”[6]

In his (sallAllāhu ʿalayhī wa sallam) advice that he gave to ibn ʿAbbās, he said, “Be mindful of Allāh, He will be mindful of you. Be mindful of Allāh and you will find Him in front of you. Know Allāh in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship.”[7]

The goal of the servant is that there be a special relationship between himself and His Lord in his heart. A relationship where he finds Him close all the time and takes comfort with Him in times of solitude. He finds pleasure in remembering Him, supplicating to Him, privately discoursing with Him and serving Him. No one would experience this except a person who obeys Him in open and in secret. Wuhayb b. al-Ward was asked, ‘Can someone who disobeys [Allāh] experience the sweetness of obedience?’ He replied, ‘No, and neither can someone who merely wants to disobey him.’[8]

When this actually exists, it can be said that the servant has gnosis of his Lord and a special relationship develops between the two so that when he asks, He grants, and when he supplicates, He answers. Shaʿwānah said to Fuḍayl when he asked her to supplicate for him, ‘Does there not exist between you and your Lord a relationship such that if you supplicate to Him, he answers you?’ and he fell unconscious.[9]

The servant faces hardship after hardship in this world, in the barzakh[10] and at the place of the final standing. When this special relationship exists between the servant and His Lord, Allāh will suffice him during all of this. This is what is alluded to in his (sallAllāhu ʿalayhī wa sallam) words to Ibn ʿAbbās, “Know Allāh in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship.”

Maʿrūf was asked, ‘What is it that has roused in you the desire for seclusion?’ The questioner mentioned death, the grave, the place of the final standing, Paradise and Hell as possible causes. He replied, ‘All of this is in His hand, but when a relationship exists between you and Him, He suffices you during all of this.’

Beneficial knowledge is what engenders a gnosis between the servant and his Lord. It leads him to know Him, single Him out alone in belief and worship, take comfort in Him, develop a sense of shyness (ḥayāʾ) of Him, and worship Him as if he sees Him.

This is why a group of the Companions said, ‘The first knowledge to be raised from the people would by humility (khushūʿ).’[11] Ibn Masʿūd said, ‘There are people who recite the Qurʾān yet it does not descend beyond their throats; were it to reach the heart and take root therein, it is then that it would benefit.’[12]

Al-Ḥasan said, ‘Knowledge is of two types: knowledge that is superficial utterance of the tongue, that is Allāh’s proof against the children of Ādam; and knowledge that takes root in the heart and that is beneficial knowledge.’[13] The Salaf used to say, ‘The scholars are of three categories: the scholar who knows Allāh and His commands; the scholar who knows Allāh but not His commands; and the scholar who knows His commands but does not know Allāh. The best and most complete of them is the first – he is the one who truly fears Allāh and knows His rulings.’[14]

The fundamental matter here is that the servant uses knowledge to engender a gnosis of his Lord. When this comes to fruition he will find Him close. When this happens, He will bring him close and answer his supplications. It is mentioned in a Judeo-Christian narration, ‘Son of Adam! Seek me and you will find Me, when you find Me you will find everything. However if you don’t find Me, you will have lost everything. I am more beloved to you than anything else.’

Dhū’l-Nūn used to repeat these verses by night,

Seek for yourselves

The likes of what I have found.

I have found a place of rest wherein

He never falters in His love:

If I move away, He draws me close

And if I move closer, He draws nigh.[15]

The foundation of knowledge

Imām Aḥmad, may Allāh have mercy upon him, used to say about Maʿrūf, ‘He possesses the foundation of knowledge: the fear of Allāh.’ Therefore the foundation of knowledge is that knowledge which leads to fearing Him, loving Him, drawing close to Him, taking comfort with Him, and ardently desiring Him. Then this is followed by knowledge of the rulings of Allāh, all that He loves and is pleased with of statement, action, spiritual condition and belief. Whoever realises these two types of knowledge has found beneficial knowledge; he has attained beneficial knowledge, a fearful heart, a content soul, and a supplication that is answered.

Whoever does not attain this knowledge will fall into the four matters that the Prophet (sallAllāhu ʿalayhī wa sallam) sought refuge from and his knowledge will actually become a source of misery for him and a proof against him. He will not benefit by it because it did not make his heart fearful of his Lord, it did not satisfy the desires of the soul for this world, rather it only strengthened them, his supplication went unheard because he did not obey the commands of his Lord and avoid all that He hates. This provided that his knowledge is that knowledge from which benefit can be hoped, i.e. that knowledge derived from the Book and Sunnah. Whatever knowledge may be derived from any other source is not beneficial and there is no hope of deriving benefit through it, indeed its harm is greater than its benefit!

Source: www.islam21c.com

Compiled, translated and annotated by Shaikh Abu Rumaysah Refi Shafi

Notes:

[1] Al-Qur’ān 35:28

[2] Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr #1514; Aḥmad, al-Zuhd, p. 158; ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #46 and it is ṣaḥīḥ. Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr #962 and Suyūtī, al-Durr al-Manthūr, vol. 4, p. 470, also quotes the saying of Masrūq, ‘Sufficient knowledge is it that one fear Allāh, and sufficient ignorance is it for one to be deceived by his own actions.’ It is also ṣaḥīḥ.

[3] Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr #1400-1401; Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr #8534 as the words of ibn Masʿūd. Haythamī, vol. 10, p. 235, declared the isnād to be munqaṭiʿ.

[4] Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr #1544 quotes the first half as a statement of ʿAṭāʾ with a ḍaʿīf isnād. However the meaning is established and quoted from a group of the Salaf as referenced in Suyūṭī, al-Durr al-Manthūr, vol. 5, p. 470.

[5] Bukhārī #6502 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah.

[6] Aḥmad #26193 on the authority of ʿĀʾishah. cf. Haythamī, vol. 10, p. 269; and ibn Rajab, Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm, vol. 2, pp. 330+.

[7] The wording is that of Aḥmad #2669-2763-2803 and it is also recorded by Tirmidhī #2516 who ruled it to be ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ. Albānī ruled it to be ṣaḥīḥ in Ẓilāl al-Jannah #315.

[8] Abū Nuʿaym, vol. 8, p. 154 #11689.

[9] Abū Nuʿaym, vol. 8, p. 116 #11567, the narrative continues to quote Fuḍayl as saying, ‘Ennoble us with the nobility of obedience and do not humiliate us with the humiliation of disobedience.’

[10] Al-Barzakh, refers to a barrier placed between a person who has deceased and this worldly life. It is a way of referring to the first stages of the life of the Hereafter. A very good treatment of al-Barzakh and the issues related to it can be found in Muhammad al-Jibaly, ‘Life in al-Barzakh’ [Al-Kitaab & As-Sunnah publishing, 1998].

[11] Aḥmad #23990 from Shaddād bin Aws and it was ruled ṣaḥīḥ by ibn Ḥibbān #4572 and Ḥākim #337 with Dhahabī agreeing; Tirmidhī #2653 on the authority of ʿUbādah ibn al-Ṣāmit and he said it was ḥasan gharīb and it was ruled ṣaḥīḥ by Ḥākim #338 with Dhahabī agreeing; and Ḥākim #8448 on the authority of Hudhayfah and he said it was ṣaḥīḥ.

[12] Muslim #822

[13] Dārimī #376 and ibn Abī Shaybah, vol. 13, p. 235 and it is ṣaḥīḥ.

[14] Dārimī #375 and ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr #1543 on the authority of Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah and the isnād is ṣaḥīḥ.

[15] Abū Nuʿaym, vol. 9, p. 357 #14112.

The post Ibn Rajab on Beneficial Knowledge & Gnosis appeared first on Islam21c.

Allāh, Glorious and Most High, made patience a racehorse that never falters or stumbles; a sword that never loses its sharpness; a vanquishing army that is never defeated, and a fortress that does not dilapidate and is never taken by force. Patience and divine help are like two blood-brothers that never separate.

Divine help comes with patience, relief follows difficulty, and ease follows hardship. Patience aids and supports a person more than an entire army of people ever could, and in the attainment of victory, it is like the head to the body. In His Book, the Truthful Guarantor has promised that He will repay the patient with a reward that knows no bounds. He informed us that He is with the patient, guiding them, aiding them and granting them victory. He, Most High, says,

“And be steadfast, Allāh is with the steadfast.”[1]

It is because of this ‘withness’ that the patient are victorious both in this life and the next, and through it they attain His internal and external blessings.

Allāh made leadership in the religion contingent on patience and certainty,

“We appointed leaders from among them, guiding by Our command when they were patient and when they had certainty about Our signs.”[2]

He informed us that patience is best, emphasising this truth by taking an oath,

“But if you are patient, it is better to be patient.”[3]

He informed us that the plots of the enemy are of no avail against a person who has patience and taqwā,

“But if you are steadfast and have taqwā, their scheming will not harm you in any way.”[4]

He informed us that it was the patience and taqwā of his truthful Prophet, Yūsuf (ʿalayhi al-Salām), that led him to a position of honour and authority,

“As for those who fear Allāh and are patient, Allāh does not allow the wage of a people who do good to go to waste.”[5]

Success is dependent on patience and taqwā,

“You who have faith! Be patient; be supreme in patience; be firm on the battlefield; and have taqwā of Allāh so that hopefully you will be successful.”[6]

He gave the greatest encouragement possible concerning patience to those who desire Him saying,

“Allāh loves the patient.”[7]

He gave glad-tidings to the patient of three things, each one superior to anything that could be envied in this world:

“But give good news to the patient: those who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘We belong to Allāh and to Him we will return.’ Those are the people who will have blessings and mercy from their Lord; they are the ones who are guided.”[8]

He enjoined His servants to seek aid through patience and prayer in the face of the vicissitudes of the world and religion,

“Seek help in patience and prayer. But that is a very hard thing, except for the humble.”[9]

He declared that the gift of Paradise and deliverance from the Fire is only for the patient,

“Today I have rewarded them for being steadfast. They are the ones who are victorious.”[10]

He informed us that the desire for His reward and turning away from this world and its allures can only be attained by the patient believer,

“But those who had been given knowledge said, ‘Woe to you! Allāh’s reward is better for those who have faith and act rightly. But only the steadfast will obtain it.’”[11]

Returning an evil with that which is better transforms an enemy into a close friend. As Allāh says,

“Repel the bad with something better and, if there is enmity between you and someone else, he will be like a bosom friend.”[12]

But none will attain this quality except those who are truly patient, none will obtain it but those who have great good fortune.[13] Allāh informs us and makes an oath to further stress what is being said,

“Truly man is in loss – except for those who have faith and do right actions and urge each other to the truth and urge each other to patience.”[14]

He divided the creation in two groups: the People of the Right and the People of the Left. He described the People of the Right as those who urge each other to patience and mercy,[15] and stated that the patient and grateful are those who truly benefit from His Signs. He said in four verses of His Book,

“There are certainly Signs in that for everyone who is patient and thankful.”[16]

He made forgiveness and reward dependent upon righteous deeds and patience – and that is truly easy for the one for whom He facilitates the way:

“Except for those who are patient and do right actions. They will receive forgiveness and a large reward.”[17]

Whoever trades with patience and forgiveness will definitely never face loss,

“But if someone is patient and forgives, that is the most resolute course to follow.”[18]

Allāh ordered His Messenger to be patient at His judgement and informed us that patience can only be for His sake, and through this all calamities become relatively minor and easy to bear,

“So be patient for the judgement of your Lord – you are certainly before Our eyes”[19]

“Be patient. But your patience is only with Allāh. Do not be grieved by them and do not be constricted by the plots they hatch. Allāh is with those who have taqwā of Him and with those who do good.”[20]

Patience is the rope of the believer, tying him down; he may wander for a bit but he always returns. It is the pillar of his faith to which he recourses. There is no faith, or hardly any faith, for a person who has no patience. A person who has no patience is like the one worshipping Allāh at the edge of a faltering precipice; if good comes his way he takes comfort, but if trial comes his way, the world turns upside down and he loses both it and the Hereafter.

The best livelihood that the felicitous attained was because of their patience. They rose to the most exalted stations because of their gratitude. They soared to the Gardens of eternal bliss on the wings of patience and gratitude. This is a grace from Allāh that He bestows on whoever He wants; He is the possessor of great grace.

Faith is of two halves: patience and gratitude. As such it behoves a person who is sincere to himself, who wants his soul to succeed, and who seeks its happiness not to ignore these two principles, nor swerve from these two paths. In this way, Allāh would place him in the better of the two parties on the Day of His meeting.

This article is a translation of Ibn al-Qayyim’s ʿUddatu’l-Ṣābirīn, pp. 6-10

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Al-Qur’ān, 8:46

[2] Al-Qur’ān, 32:24

[3] Al-Qur’ān, 16:126

[4] Al-Qur’ān, 3:120

[5] Al-Qur’ān, 12:90

[6] Al-Qur’ān, 3:200

[7] Al-Qur’ān, 3:146

[8] Al-Qur’ān, 2:155-157

[9] Al-Qur’ān, 2:45

[10] Al-Qur’ān, 23:111

[11] Al-Qur’ān, 28:80

[12] Al-Qur’ān, 41:34

[13] c.f. Al-Qurān, 41:35

[14] Al-Qur’ān, 103:2-3

[15] Al-Qur’ān, 90:17

[16] Al-Qurān, 31:31; 14:5; 34:19; 42:33

[17] Al-Qur’ān, 11:11

[18] Al-Qur’ān, 42:43

[19] Al-Qur’ān, 52:48

[20] Al-Qur’ān, 16:127-128

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Ibn Rajab on the Protection of Allāh

In His Book, Allāh (subḥānahu wa taʿālā) has informed us that He is the Protector of the believers and that He protects the righteous; subsumed by this is the fact that He safeguards what is good for them both in this life and the Hereafter, and that He will not abandon them to another. Allāh (subḥānahu wa taʿālā) says,

“Allāh is the Protector of those who have faith; He brings them out of the darkness into the light.”[1]

“That is because Allāh is the Protector of those who have faith and because the disbelievers have no protector.”[2]

“Whoever puts his trust in Allāh, He will be enough for him.”[3]

“Is Allāh not enough for His slave?”[4]

Whoever establishes the rights of Allāh, Allāh will safeguard everything that will benefit him in this life and the next. Whoever wants Allāh to preserve him and tend to all of his affairs, let him first tend to Allāh’s rights on him. Whoever does not wish to be afflicted by anything he dislikes, let him not undertake what Allāh dislikes.

One of the Salaf would go to gathering after gathering saying, ‘Whoever wants Allāh to preserve his well-being, let him have taqwā of Allāh.’

Al-ʿUmarī, the ascetic, would say to anyone who asked him for advice, ‘Be with Allāh, Mighty and Magnificent, in exactly the same way that you want Him to be with you.’

Ṣāliḥ b. ʿAbdu’l-Karīm said, ‘Allāh, Mighty and Magnificent, says, “By My might and magnificence, I do not look at a heart that I know loves to obey Me, and does so diligently, except that I will undertake to protect his circumstances and keep him firm.”’

One of the earlier scriptures mentions, ‘Allāh, Mighty and Magnificent, says,

“Son of Ādam, will you not tell me what gives you cause to laugh? Son of Ādam, have taqwā of Me and then sleep wherever you wish!”’

What this means is that when you establish due taqwā of Allāh you need not worry any more about those things that will be good for you. Allāh knows them better than you and He will direct them to you in the best of ways.

The ḥadīth of Jābir has the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying, “Whoever wants to know the standing he has with Allāh, let him look to himself and see the standing that Allāh has with him. Allāh grants a person the same standing as Allah has with that person.”[5]

This proves that Allāh’s concern with His servant and His safeguarding him is commensurate to the servant’s concern with the rights of Allāh, establishing them, tending to His limits and safeguarding them. Whoever’s goal is Allāh’s good-pleasure, seeking to draw close to Him, knowing Him, loving Him, and serving Him, will find that Allāh will treat him accordantly. Allāh, Most High, says,

“Remember Me, I will remember you.”[6]

“Honour My contract and I will honour your contract.”[7]

Moreover, Allāh is the kindest of the kind. He rewards a good deed tenfold and more. Whoever comes close to Him by a hand-span, He comes close to him by a cubit, whoever comes close to Him by a cubit, He comes close to him by a fathom, and whoever comes to Him walking, He comes to him running.[8]

Whatever a person is given is from his self, and nothing afflicts him that he dislikes except that it is as a result of his falling short in fulfilling the rights of his Lord. ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, ‘The servant must place his hope in his Lord and his Lord alone, and he has nothing to fear save his sins.’

One of them said, ‘Whoever clarifies and purifies will be purified, and whoever mixes will be treated accordingly.’

Masrūq said, ‘Whoever diligently observes Allāh with respect to the notions and whims of his heart, Allāh will safeguard the motions of his limbs for him.’

There is much more that can be said about this but what we have mentioned thus far suffices and all praise is due to Allāh.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

Translated from Ibn Rajab’s Nūr al-Iqtibās

[1] Al-Qur’ān, 2:257

[2] Al-Qur’ān, 47:11

[3] Al-Qur’ān, 65:3

[4] Al-Qur’ān, 39:36

[5] Abū Yaʿlā #1865-2138, Ṭabarānī, al-Awsaṭ #2501.

Ḥākim #1820 said it was ṣaḥīḥ but Dhahabī said, ‘It contains ʿUmar who is ḍaʿīf.’ Haythamī, vol. 10, pg. 77 said, ‘Its isnād contains ʿUmar ibn ʿAbdullāh, the freed slave of Ghufrah, who was declared thiqah by more than one scholar and ḍaʿīf by a group of scholars, the remaining narrators are those of the ṣaḥīḥ.’ Albānī, al-Ḍaʿīfah #5427-6205 ruled it ḍaʿīf.

[6] Al-Qur’ān, 2:152

[7] Al-Qur’ān, 2:40

[8] As mentioned in a ḥadīth recorded by Bukhārī #7405 and Muslim #2687-2743 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah with the words, “Whoever draws close to me by a hand-span length I draw closer to him by a cubit. Whoever draws closer to me by a cubit, I draw closer to him by a fathom. Whoever comes to Me walking, I go to Him running.” The narration of Aḥmad #21374 on the authority of Abū Dharr adds, “And Allāh is more exalted and greater; Allāh is more exalted and greater.” Haythamī, vol. 10, p. 197, said the isnād was ḥasan.

The post Protect Allah, Allah Will Protect You appeared first on Islam21c.

The only person who will be successful tomorrow is one who meets Allāh with a sound heart, containing none save Him, “…the Day when neither wealth nor sons will be of any use – except for he who comes to Allāh with a sound and flawless heart.”[1]

The sound heart is that heart which is safe from the filth of opposition. The heart sullied with ignominy does not deserve to live near the Holy (al-Quddūs) except after being purified by the bellows of the Fire. It is only after being purged of its stains that it becomes worthy of residing in His vicinity because, “Allāh is pure and accepts only that which is pure.”[2]

Therefore, the hearts that do deserve to live in His vicinity straight away are those that are pure, as is conveyed in the Qur’ān,

“Peace be upon you because of your patience! How wonderful is the Ultimate Abode.”[3]

“Peace be upon you! You have done well so enter it timelessly, forever.”[4]

“…those who the angels take in a virtuous state. They say, ‘Peace be upon you! Enter the Garden for what you did.'”[5]

Whoever, today, does not ignite his heart with the fire of sorrow over what he has done in the past, or with the fire of desire to meet the Beloved, should know that the Fire of Hell lies in wait for him.

The only person who needs to be purified by the Fire of Hell is the one who did not perfect Tawḥīd and did not establish its rights and duties. Amongst those who acknowledged Tawḥid, the first to be thrown into the Fire will be the ostentatious from amongst the scholar, the Mujāhid, and the one who gave in charity. As is related in the hadith by Abu Hurayrah,

‘The first man (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgment, will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought forward and Allāh will recount His blessings (which He had bestowed upon him) and he will acknowledge them. Then Allāh will ask, “What did you do with them?” He will reply, “I fought for Your sake until I died as a martyr.” Allāh will say, “You lie. You fought so that you might be called a ‘brave warrior’ and you were called so.” Then a command will be given and he will be dragged and cast into Hell.

And a man who acquired knowledge and taught it and recited the Qur´ān. He will be brought forward and Allāh will recount His blessings (which He had bestowed upon him) and he will acknowledge them. Then Allāh will ask, “What did you do with them?” He will say, “I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur´ān for your sake.” Allāh will say, “You lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called ‘a scholar,’ and you recited the Qur´ān so that it might be said, ‘He is a Qāri´,’ and it was said. Then a command will be given and he will be dragged and cast into Hell.

And a man whom Allāh had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth. He will be brought forward and Allāh will recount His blessings (which He had bestowed upon him) and he will acknowledge them. Then Allāh will ask, “What did you do with them?” He will say, “I spent money in every cause in which You wished that it should be spent for Your sake.” Allāh will say, “You lie. You did so that it might be said, “He is generous,” and it was said. Then a command will be given and he will be dragged and cast into Hell.’[6]

This was their fate because a small amount of ostentation amounts to shirk. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“What I fear for you most is the minor shirk.” When asked what that was he replied, “Showing off (riyāʾ).”[7]

The ostentatious looks to creation for a return on his deeds because of his ignorance of the greatness of the Creator. He imprints false stamps in the name of the king in order to pilfer money; he pretends that he is from the elite of that king, yet in reality he does not even know him. The ostentatious carves the picture of the king on counterfeit money that it may gain currency, but it only finds way past the uncritical.

After the ostentatious, it is the slaves of lusts and desires who will enter the Fire: those who obeyed their desires and disobeyed their Master.

As for the true servants of Allāh, it will be said to them,

“O soul at rest and peace, return to your Lord, well-pleasing and well-pleased! Enter among My servants! Enter My Garden!”[8]

The Fire of Hell debilitates when faced with the light of faith of those who lived by Tawḥīd. In a ḥadīth it is mentioned, “The Fire shall say to the believer, ‘Move on! Your light has extinguished my blaze!’”[9]

Aḥmad records on the authority of Jābir that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“There is not a righteous person or a sinner except that he will enter it. For the believer it will be a source of coolness and peace just as it was for Ibrāhīm, so much so that the Fire will raise a clamour, objecting to the coolness.”[10]

This is the legacy of Ibrāhīm (ʿalayhi al-Salām)  to the lovers amongst his descendants.

The Fire of Hell fears the fire of love in the hearts of the lovers. Junayd said, ‘The Fire said, “My Lord, if I do not obey You would You punish me with something worse than me?” He replied, “Yes, I would unleash against you My Greatest Fire.” It said, “Is there a fire which is greater and more intense than mine?” He replied, “Yes, the fire of My love which I settle in the hearts of My believing friends.”‘

In the fire of the lover is a blaze of love:

The fiercest heat of Hell is its coolest portion!

Were it not for the lovers’ tears cooling

The heat of love, burned by heartsickness would they be!

Leave him with his tears to quench the heat

Of a yearning heart, leave him, leave him!

Ask his rebukers to excuse him for a time,

For in their rebuke at his desire have they killed him!

One of the Gnostics would say, ‘Is it not strange that I am living amongst you as one of you, yet in my heart there is a longing for my Lord like a blazing furnace that refuses to go out!’

I have not seen a fire like the fire of the lovers

The further it is from its kindler, the more it blazes.

My brothers, when you understand this, you will have understood the meaning of the Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) words,

“Whoever says, ‘None has the right to be worshipped save Allāh,’ sincerely from his heart, Allāh will prohibit the Fire from him.”

Whoever articulates this testification yet enters the Fire, the reason is the lack of truthfulness in his articulation. If this testification is said truthfully, it purifies the heart of everything save Allāh, but if anything remains, it is because of a deficiency in the truthfulness with which it was stated.

Whoever is truthful in his articulation of this testification will not love any save Him, he will not hope in any save Him, he will not fear any save Him, he will not place his reliance in any save Him, and any trace of his desires and giving preference to his soul will vanish. However, let it not be presumed that the lover is required to be error free, rather it is required of him to make amends for his errors.

This is a translation of Ibn Rajab, Taḥqīq Kalimati’l-Ikhlāṣ

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Al-Qur’ān, 26:88-89

[2] Muslim #1015/2346 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah.

[3] Al-Qur’ān, 13:24

[4] Al-Qur’ān, 39:73

[5] Al-Qur’ān, 16:32

[6] Muslim #1905/4923 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah

[7] Aḥmad #23630-23631-23636 records on the authority of Maḥmūd b. Labīd and it was declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Khuzaymah #937, Mundhirī said its isnād was jayyid and Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb #32 ruled it ṣaḥīḥ.

[8] Al-Qur’ān, 89:27-30

[9] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr #668 on the authority of Yaʿlā b. Munayyah. Haythamī, vol. 10, p. 360, mentions that its isnād contains a weak narrator and it was declared ḍaʿīf by Suyūṭī #3354 and Albānī, Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ #2474.

[10] Aḥmad #14520. Bayhaqī, Shuʿab #370 said that its isnād was ḥasan. Ḥākim #8744 said it was ṣaḥīḥ and Dhahabī agreed. Haythamī, vol. 7, p. 55, said that the narrators of Aḥmad were trustworthy and precise. However both Albānī, Ḍaʿīf al-Targhīb #2110 and Arnaʿūṭ, Taḥqīq Musnad show that the isnād is ḍaʿīf due to the presence of an unknown narrator.

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The Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhī wasallam) said,

“Moderation, moderation! Through this will you attain your goal!”

This statement encourages us to be moderate in worship in a way that avoids both extremes of excess and deficiency. It is for this reason that he (sallAllāhu ‘alayhī wasallam) repeated it twice. Al-Bazzār records the ḥadīth on the authority of Ḥudhayfah (radiyAllāu ‘anhu) that the Prophet (sallAllāhu ‘alayhī wasallam) said,

“Excellent indeed is moderation in poverty. Excellent indeed is moderation in affluence. Excellent indeed is moderation in worship.”[1]

Muṭarraf b. ʿAbdullāh b. Shikhkhīr had a son who would perform a great deal of worship, expending great effort in doing so. He counselled him, ‘The best of affairs is the middlemost. A good deed lies between two evil deeds and the worst journey is one where a person tries so hard that he kills his mount and is left stranded.’[2]

Abū ʿUbaydah said: He means that excessiveness in worship is evil, deficiency is evil, and moderation is praiseworthy.

This meaning is supported by the ḥadīth reported on the authority of ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr (radiyAllāu ‘anhuma) that Allāh’s Messenger (sallAllāhu ‘alayhī wasallam) said, “This religion is powerful so walk in it with gentleness.[3] Do not let the worship of Allāh overburden you because a person who falters and is unable to continue has neither shortened the journey nor preserved his mount.[4] Work the deeds of a man who believes that he will die as an old man and beware of the fear of a man who believes that he will die tomorrow.” Recorded by ibn Zanjawayh and others.[5]

In his (sallAllāhu ‘alayhī wasallam) repeatedly mentioning the command to moderation lies an indication that one should persist in this moderation. This is because a strenuous journey in which one tries too hard is prone to ending suddenly before its end; a moderate journey, however, is more likely to reach its goal. This is why the Messenger of Allāh (sallAllāhu ‘alayhī wasallam) stated that the result of moderation was the achievement of the objective, “through this will you attain your goal.”

In this world, the believer is travelling to his Lord until he reaches Him,

“You, verily, O man, are working towards your Lord – painfully toiling – and you shall meet Him.”[6]

“And worship your Lord until the Certainty comes to you.”[7]

Al-Ḥasan said, ‘People! You must persist, you must! It is the time just before your death that Allāh has set as the point when you stop doing deeds,’ and then he recited the above verse. He also said, ‘Your souls are your mounts so tend to your mounts, in this way they will convey you to your Lord, Mighty and Magnificent.’

The meaning of tending one’s mounts is to be easy on them, to keep them fit and healthy, and not to overburden them. Therefore, if one feels that his soul is coming to a halt in its travel, he should tend to it by inculcating in it the desire to finish the journey or by inculcating in it the fear of not finishing the journey, as the situation may demand. One of the Salaf said, ‘Hope is the guide and fear is the driver, the soul is between the two like a headstrong animal.’ If the guide is weary and the driver ineffectual, the soul will stop and it will then require gentle treatment and “song” to encourage it into restarting its journey. In this respect the camel leader, who drives his herd forward by singing to it, said,

The guide gave it glad tidings saying:

Tomorrow you will see bananas and mountains.

Fear is like a whip and when a person excessively whips the animal, it could well die. As such, he must also strike it with “songs” of hope that would encourage it to revitalise its efforts and reach the destination. Abū Yazīd said, ‘I have driven my soul to Allāh without letting up, it weeping all the way, then I urged it on and it did so gladly.’[8] It is said,

It complained of the journey’s burdens so he promised it

The relief of arrival so it revitalised its efforts.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

Ibn Rajab, al-Maḥajja fi Sayr al-Duljah translated and annotated by Shaikh Abu Rumaysah Refi Shafi

[1] Bazzār #2946 on the authority of Hudhayfah. It was ruled ḍaʿīf jiddan by al-Albānī, Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ #4948

[2] Bayhaqī #3888 and Abū Nuʿaym, vol. 2, p. 209.

[3] This sentence was also recorded by Aḥmad #13052 on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik. It was declared ṣaḥīḥ by Suyūṭī #2508 and ḥasan by Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ #2246

[4] This amount is recorded by Bazzār and Suyūṭī #2509 ruled it ḍaʿīf as did Haythamī, vol. 1, p. 62.

[5] Bayhaqī, Sunan al-Kubrā #4520-4521, al-Shuʿab #3886. Iʿrāqī #1232 said the isnād was ḍaʿīf.

[6] Al-Qur’ān 84:6

[7] Al-Qur’ān 15:99

[8] ibn Mulaqqin, Ṭabaqāt al-Awliyā´, p. 278 #117.

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The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

Loving our Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is an obligatory duty in Islām and an act of obedience to Allāh. To love the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) we must first know him. In this new series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu). We will begin with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).

Abū Rajāʾ, Qutaybah b. Saʿīd informed us; from Mālik b. Anas; from Rabīʿah b. Abū ʿAbdu’l-Raḥmān; that he heard Anas b. Mālik (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short. He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown. His hair was not very curly nor completely straight. Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year and he stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Madīnah, ten years. Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year and there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard.”[2]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short

He was of medium height. His being short has been categorically negated but only his being so tall as to be clearly noticed has been negated; this indicates that he was of medium height tending towards being tall.

It is in this sense that Barāʾa said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature but closer to being described as tall.’[3]   Therefore, there is no contradiction between this and the description that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature because such a statement is relative as is proven by the narration of ʿĀʾishah that ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would seem to be of medium stature,’[4]  i.e. by way of approximation.[5]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) personality was so imposing and awe-inspiring that his very presence would dominate any gathering. Bayhaqī and Ibn ʿAsākir record that, ‘No one would be perceived to be taller than him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): sometimes two tall men would stand on either side of him and he would seem taller than them, yet when they parted, he would seem to be of medium height.’[6]  Others mention that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) sat, his shoulder seemed higher than all those sitting around him.[7] Therefore, it would seem to those around him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that just as none was spiritually and morally above him, so too was no one physically above him.[8]

He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown

This description does not contradict the fact that he had a brownish complexion mentioned in the next ḥadīth. Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘Upon considering all the various reports on this it becomes clear that the whiteness which has been negated from him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is that whiteness that has no tinge of red and the brownness affirmed for him is redness that is mixed with white.’[9]

Anas said, ‘He was white, a whiteness leaning towards brown,’[10] and Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘He was (light) brown, leaning towards white.’[11] A red-white colour is often referred to by the Arabs as asmar, brown and this is why Anas said, ‘The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was brown.’[12]

Some narrations, however, describe that ‘he was extremely white’[13] and Abū’l-Ṭufayl said, ‘I have not forgotten the extreme whiteness of his face.’[14] These refer to the lustre, sheen and glitter of his skin under the light of the sun as shown by the ḥadīth, ‘It was as if the sun were pursuing its course across his face, radiating out of it.’[15] As such, there is no contradiction between these narrations.[16]

His hair was not very curly nor completely straight

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was in-between the two and the best of affairs are those that are between the two extremes. Zamakhsharī said, ‘The predominate course amongst the Arabs is to have curly hair and amongst the non-Arabs, straight hair.’ Allāh has blessed His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) with the best of virtues and qualities and has combined in him all that He has scattered amongst the different races.[17]

Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year

Allāh commissioned him as a Prophet and Messenger, and sent him to both the worlds of jinn and man. This is an integral part of the Muslim faith and whoever rejects it becomes a disbeliever. Some scholars postulated that he was also sent to the Angels.[18]

The commentators have stated that, in this sentence, the meaning of ‘the raʾs of his fortieth year’ means the latter part and not the turn of. This is because the majority of historians and biographers state that he was commissioned after having entered his fortieth year. Ṭībī said, ‘Raʾs here is metaphorically used to refer to the end of the year [and not its beginning] in the same way as one says, “Raʾs of the verse” i.e. its last part.’ Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘[Understanding it to mean the turn of the fortieth year] would mean that he was commissioned in the month of his birth which is Rabīʿ al-Awwal; however, he was commissioned in the month of Ramaḍān and therefore his age would have been forty and a half or thirty nine and a half. Those who mentioned that he was forty years old did so by ignoring the addition or subtraction. However, both Masʿūdī and Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr mention that the correct opinion was that he was commissioned in Rabīʿ al-Awwal, so according to this view he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would have just turned forty. It is also postulated that he was commissioned when he was forty years and ten days or forty years and twenty days old. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ relates an irregular report from Ibn ʿAbbās and Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was commissioned at the turn of his forty-third year.’[19]

The “fortieth year” could refer to when a person has turned forty and moves towards the forty-first, or it could refer to when a person turns thirty-nine and moves toward the fortieth, both usages are common. However, here, the first sense is more likely.

It is said that he was born on Monday, revelation came to him on Monday, he migrated to Madīnah on Monday, he arrived at Madīnah on Monday and he passed away on Monday.[20]

He stayed in Mecca for ten years

This narration has caused some confusion since the Muslims are agreed that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) stayed in Mecca for thirteen years; the scholars have explained it by saying that those who mentioned ten years, rounded down and hence did not mention the additional three years, a style commonly used by the Arabs. Others said that, put simply, the narration of those who mentioned thirteen years is stronger and this one is weak.[21] “And in Madīnah,” i.e. after the Hijra for “ten years,” there is no difference concerning this. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remained there until Allāh perfected the religion for him and his nation, completed his favour upon them, and people accepted Islām in crowds and he passed on to the heavenly company.[22]

Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year

The statement implies that he passed away at the age of sixty, some also said that he passed away at the age of sixty-five but the strongest opinion is that he was sixty-three years old when he passed on. The different narrations are reconciled by stating that those who stated sixty-five included the year of his birth and death. Those who mentioned sixty-three did not and those who mentioned sixty rounded down. Stating that he passed away at the turn of his sixtieth year does not contradict this because the phrase can also be understood to mean at the beginning of his sixties.[23]

And there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard

Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘He had approximately twenty white hairs.’[24] Ibn ʿUmar further said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) white hairs only came to about twenty, all towards the front.’[25]  To be more precise, Anas said, ‘There were only seventeen white hairs on his head and beard.’[26] While describing his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) beard, ʿAbdullāh b. Busr said, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten,’ and he further said that these were concentrated between his lower lip and chin.[27] The remainder was on his temples and head.[28] Bukhārī records that Anas was asked if the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) used to dye his hair to which he replied, ‘He did not reach that stage, there was just something on his temples.’[29] Muslim records on the authority of Anas that the white hairs were on his lower lip, temples, and a scarce scattering on his head.[30]

There are some narrations stating that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had no white hairs, but these are understood to mean that he did not have a lot of white hairs, they were not mean to be a negation in totality. A more detailed discussion concerning his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) age and white hairs follows in the parts in this series.[31]

ʿAbdu’l-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī narrated to us; from Ḥumayd; from Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) that Ḥumayd b. Masʿadah al-Baṣrī said,

“The Messenger of Allāh  (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a goodly build. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion and when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly].”[32]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a goodly build. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion

This does not contradict the previous description of his skin as has already been explained. However, some said that this contradicts the ensuing description that he ‘was white skinned as if moulded of silver.’[33] One explanation offered is that the brownish complexion applied to his skin that was exposed to the sun and the whiteness referred to his skin that was concealed by his garments. However, this reconciliation is problematic because of the narration that mentions his neck being white as if it was made of silver and the neck is usually exposed to the sun. The more plausible explanation is that this comparison hold true when considering the lustre and sheen of his skin under the light of the sun and the smoothness of his skin.[34]

And when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly]

That is, with strength of purpose. Bazzār records that, “When he walked, he would place all of his foot on the ground,”[35] lifting each foot clearly off the ground. This steady, energetic gait is characteristic of those with firm determination, those who have a sense of gravity and dignity, and those with courage and valour. Some people may saunter, others strut and stride, parade or swagger all of which are gaits of the ostentatious or empty headed. This manner of walking, however, is the best and the gait that is easiest on the body.[36]

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“…he wore a red ḥulla. I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Bukhārī #3547-3548-5900 and Muslim #2347.

[3] This statement also recorded by Dhuhlī, al-Zuhriyyāt and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:253 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah and Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 6:705 said the isnād was ḥasan. It is also recorded by Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:252 on the authority of ʿAlī.

[4] Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil 1:298

[5] Qārī, Haythamī pg. 41.

[6] Bayhaqī 1:298, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:709.

[7] Ibn Sabaʿ, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ as cited by Qārī

[8] Qārī

[9] See for example ḥadīth #7. This is also the description reported of him by Anas in Muslim #2347 and Jābir by Ibn Saʿd as per Ibn Ḥajr 6:705.

[10] Bayhaqī 1:204

[11] Aḥmad #3410. Munāwī said the isnād was ḥasan.

[12] Aḥmad #13715 and Ibn Ḥibbān #6286. The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706. This description is also recorded on the authority of Anas by Tirmidhī #1754 and Abū Dāwūd #4863 who said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb, with Albānī and Arnaʿūṭ ruling it ṣaḥīḥ.

[13] Bayhaqī 1:208 from Abū Hurayrah. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706, said, ‘with a strong isnād.’

[14] Ṭabarānī

[15] Tirmidhī #3548 and declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6309. The full ḥadīth will be mentioned later in the chapter, ‘The manner of walking of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).’

[16] Ibn Ḥajr, Munāwī

[17] Munāwī

[18] Munāwī

[19] Fatḥ 6:707, Qārī

[20] Aḥmad 1:277 from Ibn ʿAbbās.

[21] Munāwī, Qārī

[22] Munāwī

[23] Munāwī, Qārī

[24] In Mājah #3630 and Aḥmad #5633 with a ḍaʿīf. isnād.

[25] Ibn Ḥibbān #6294-6295 and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:239; cf. fn. 15

[26] Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt

[27] Bukhāri #3545-3546. The phrase “few white hairs,” has been employed using jamʿ qillah and in the Arabic language, this does not exceed ten. It is for this reason that that Munāwī quotes it by meaning, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten.’

[28] Munāwī

[29] Bukhāri #3550-5894 and Muslim #2341

[30] Muslim #2341

[31] Qārī

[32] Bukhārī, Ṣifatu-n Nabī, Libās and Muslim, Faḍāʾil.

[33] Ḥadīth #12.

[34] Qārī

[35] Abū Dāwūd #385-386 and ruled ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #1403-1404 and Ibn Khuzaymah #292

[36] Qārī, Munāwī

The post A Journey to loving our Prophet ﷺ appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

Last week, we began with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). This shall be continued this week, inshāAllāh.

Click to read: Part 1

Muḥammad b. Bashshār  al-ʿAbdī narrated to us; from Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar; from Shuʿbah; from Abū Isḥāq; that he heard Barāʾa b. ʿĀzib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) saying,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had slightly curly hair and was of medium stature (rajil marbūʿ) with broad shoulders. His hair was thick, reaching his earlobes and he wore a red ḥulla.[2] I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”[3]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had slightly curly hair and was of medium stature with broad shoulders. His hair was thick, reaching his earlobes

Some reports mention that his hair reached below his ears and above his shoulders, others mention half way down his ears, others mention to his ears, others mention to his shoulders, and yet others mention to his shoulder blades. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ reconciled these by saying that these descriptions all related to different times; therefore, when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) delayed cutting his hair, it would grow to his shoulders, and when he cut his hair, it would reach his ears, or half way down his ears, or his earlobes.[4]

And he wore a red ḥulla

A detailed discussion follows in the chapter dealing with his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) clothes.

I have never seen anything more beautiful than him

This statement, along with proving the great beauty of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) also goes to show Barāʾa’s complete faith because believing him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) to be so is one of the branches of having complete love for him.[5]

Maḥmūd b. Ghaylān narrated to us from Wakīʿ; from Sufyān al-Thawrī; from Abū Isḥāq; that Barāʾa b. ʿĀzib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“I have never seen a person having a full head of hair, wearing a red ḥulla, who looked better than the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). He had hair that reached his shoulders and his shoulders were broad. He was neither short nor tall.”[6]

Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl narrated to us;  from Abū Nuʿaym; from Masʿūdī; from ʿUthmān b. Muslim b. Hurmuz; from Nāfiʿ b. Jubair b. Muṭʿim; that ʿAlī b. Abū Ṭālib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither tall nor short. His hands and feet were large and thick. He had a large head, large bones and a long line of [fine] hair extending from his chest to navel. When he walked, he leant forward as if descending a slope. I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.”[7][8]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither tall nor short. His hands and feet were heavy and thick

Bukhārī also recorded from Anas that “The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had large, thick hands and feet.”[9] Aṣmaʿī explained the word shathn used in the ḥadīth to describe his hands and feet to mean having thick fingers and toes. Ibn Ḥajr explained it to mean having thick fingers and palms and mentioned another narration with the wording, “He had large hands and feet.” He also said, ‘Khaṭṭābī explained it to mean thickness and longness of hand and this is what is intended here.’ It is also reported that Aṣmaʿī explained it to mean calloused, but when the narration stating that the Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hands were soft was quoted, he went silent and decided not to explain the word any further. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said, ‘Abū ʿUbayd, the linguist, explained it to mean thickness of fingers and palm coupled with shortness, but this position was criticised because it is established that he had long fingers.’ Hence, the meaning is that his hands were large, tending towards being thick, but without being short or calloused. Ibn Ḥajr said, ‘The correct position is that his hands were thick, but not short or calloused.’[10]

Bukhārī records that Anas said, “The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had large hands and feet and a handsome face. I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was like him. He had wide palms.”[11]

Ibn Baṭṭāl said, ‘His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hand was fleshy, it was large and thick, but despite this it was soft as is established in the ḥadīth of Anas recorded in the Ṣaḥīḥ, “I have not touched silk, or silk brocade, that was softer than his hand (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).”[12]

If we were to accept the explanation of Aṣmaʿī we would say it is possible that the narrator depicted the hand of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) in different situations: when he fought Jihād, his hand would become calloused, but otherwise his hand would be in its natural state of being soft.’

The ḥadīth concerning this follows and this is further endorsed by the ḥadīth mentioning that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had long hands.[13] The meaning of this ḥadīth is that his hands and fingers were long without being excessively so. This quality of hand is praiseworthy in men because it means that they have a strong grip.[14]

The Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hands were full of blessings. Muslim records that he   stroked the cheek of Jābir who then said, ‘I experienced a sensation of coolness from his hand and a scent as if he had just removed it from a perfume vendor’s box.’[15]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) visited Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ in Makkah when he was ill and stroked his face, chest and stomach. Saʿd said, ‘To this very hour it seems to me that I can feel the coolness of his hand on my liver.’[16]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) also once stroked Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī’s head and beard and supplicated, “O Allāh, make him beautiful.” Even when he had exceeded the age of one hundred, not a single white hair was seen on his beard, and his face remained cheerful and never looked perturbed or dejected until the day he died.[17][18]

Abū Juḥayfah narrates that the Messenger of Allāh  (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) went out to al-Baṭḥāʾ at noon where he performed ablution and prayed Ẓuhr as two rakʿahs and ʿAṣr as two rakʿahs, praying towards a short spear beyond which women would pass. The people stood and took hold of his hands and used them to wipe their faces. He said, ‘So I took hold of his hand and placed it on my face and found it to be cooler than ice and its scent to be sweeter than musk.’[19]

Umm Sulaym narrates that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) used to visit her and have a siesta in her house and she would spread out a leather cloth on which he would lie. He would sweat profusely and she would collect his sweat and put it in perfume. When the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked about this she said, ‘It is your sweat which we have put in our perfume, and it is perfume of the sweetest type!’[20]

Anas (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrates that when the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) passed through a road in Makkah, he would leave behind him the fragrance of musk and the people would say, “The Messenger of Allāh has passed!”’[21]

He had a large head, large bones, and a long line of [fine] hair extending from his chest to navel

“He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a line of hair extending from his navel to chest, and he had no other hair on his chest or stomach.”[22]

I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him

One should believe that Allāh created his noble body with an excellence that has not been seen before him or after him. The reason for this is that, predominantly, the good qualities of the body are a manifestation of the inner morals, manners and qualities of a person and the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) reached the peak of perfection in all of these.[23] Moreover, a Muslim sees the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) through the lens of faith and love, which enhances the sense of his beauty.

Barāʾa (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) states that ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most handsome of people, with the best of builds, and he was neither very tall nor was he short.’[24] He also said, “I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”

Anas (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) also said, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a handsome face, and I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was like him.”[25]

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“… he was the Seal of the Prophets. He had the most giving of hearts; he was the most truthful of people, the best of them in temperament, and the most sociable of them…”

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu).

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] A garment consisting of two pieces, an izār and raḍāʾ.

[3] Bukhārī #3551-5848 and Muslim #2337.

[4] Qārī

[5] Munāwī

[6] Muslim #2337 and Abū Dāwūd #4183.

[7] Tirmidhī #3637 who said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ and it was ruled ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6311, Ḥākim #4194 with Dhahabī agreeing, and Albānī.

[8] Sufyān b. Wakīʿ narrates “My father narrated to us; from Masʿūdī the likes of this with this isnād.”

[9] Bukhārī #5910

[10] Qarī, Munāwī

[11] Bukhārī #5907

[12] Bukhārī #3561 and Muslim #2329

[13] Recorded by Bukhārī in taʿlīq form. The full isnād for this was provided by Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil.

[14] Ibn al-Athīr, al-Nihāyah

[15] Muslim #2329

[16] Aḥmad

[17] Bayhaqī said it was ṣaḥīḥ and Tirmidhī #3269 said it was ḥasan.

[18] Zurqānī 5, pp. 452+

[19] Bukhārī #3553

[20] Muslim #2331

[21] Ibn Ḥajr, vol.6:711; recorded by ‘Abū Yaʿlā and Bazzār with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād

[22] Bayhaqī

[23] Munāwī

[24] Bukhārī #3549

[25] Bukhārī #5906

The post Prophetic Beauty; the likes of Musk and Silk appeared first on Islam21c.

Aḥmad and ibn Ḥibbān record on the authority of ʿAbdullāh b. al-Mughaffal (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) that a man met a woman who used to be a prostitute in the Days of Ignorance. While flirting with her, he extended his hand towards her upon which she said, ‘Stop, Allāh has removed shirk and brought Islām,’ so he removed his hand and left. He kept looking back at her, and while doing so walked into a wall. With blood pouring down his face, he came to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and informed him of what had happened. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “You are a servant of Allāh for whom He wants good.” Then he said, “When Allāh wants good for His servant, He hastens on his punishment in this world; and when He wants evil for His servant, He holds back his sin so that it may be recompensed on the Day of Judgment.”[1]

People! Your hearts are essentially pure but they are stained with splashes of sins. Splash the tears of your eyes on them and you will purify your hearts. Have the firm resolve to wean your souls off desires: fever is the best of cures. When your souls order you to fulfil their lusts, remind them of the words of this woman, ‘Allāh has removed shirk and brought Islām.’ Islām necessitates submission and willing obedience.

Remind your soul of, “The angels descend on those who say, ‘Our Lord is Allāh’ and then go straight.”[2] perchance it may lean towards uprightness. Teach it that the One who is closer to you than your life vein sees all, perchance it may feel embarrassed, “Does he not know that Allāh sees?”[3] “Your Lord is always lying in wait.”[4]

A man tried to seduce a woman in the open desert by night but she refused. ‘There are only the stars to see us,’ he said. ‘What of the One who put them there?’ she replied.

Another man forced a woman to him and ordered her to lock the doors and she did. Then he asked, ‘Are there any doors left to be locked?’ She replied, ‘Yes, the door between us and Allāh, Most High.’ So he never fulfilled his desire with her.

One of the Gnostics saw a man talking to a woman and said, ‘Allāh sees both of you! May Allāh conceal us and you!’

Junayd was asked, ‘What would help us lower our gaze?’ He replied, ‘Knowing that Allāh’s looking at you precedes your looking at the object of your desire.’

Muḥāsibī said, ‘Self-inspection (murāqabah) is the heart’s awareness of its Lord’s closeness.’

As a person’s knowledge of Allāh increases, so too does his sense of embarrassment before His closeness and sight. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) advised a man to be ashamed before Allāh as he would be in front of a righteous man of his family who never leaves him.[5]

Some of them said, ‘Be embarrassed of Allāh according to His closeness to you, and fear Allāh according to His power over you.’

One of them said, ‘For the last forty years I have not moved my foot for other than Allāh and I have not looked at anything that I found pleasing for shyness of Allāh, Mighty and Magnificent.’

It is as if Your watcher is inspecting my innermost thoughts;

And another inspecting my sight and tongue.

Hence my eyes have not set on anything, after You,

For other than Your sake except that I thought, ‘They have seen me!’

Not a word has escaped my lips, after You,

For other than You except that I thought, ‘They have heard me!’

Not even a thought in mention of other than You

Has crossed my heart except that they stopped it in its tracks.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

Ibn Rajab, Taḥqīq Kalimati’l-Ikhlāṣ

[1] Aḥmad #16806 and ibn Ḥibbān #2911.

It has witness recorded by Tirmidhī #2396 on the authority of Anas, and he declared it ḥasan gharīb; and also by Ṭabarānī on the authority of ʿAmmār b. Yāsir, Haythamī, vol. 10, p. 191, said that its isnād was jayyid.

The ḥadīth was ruled ṣaḥīḥ by Ḥakim #8133 with Dhahabī agreeing.

[2] Al-Qur’ān 41:30

[3] Al-Qur’ān 96:14

[4] Al-Qur’ān 89:14

[5] Ibn ʿAdī, vol. 2, p. 560 and vol. 4, p. 410, records on the authority of Abū Umāmah that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Be ashamed before Allāh as you would be ashamed before two righteous people of your family who never leave you.”

Ibn ʿAdī ruled it ḍaʿīf as did Suyūṭī, al-Jāmīʾ al-Ṣaghīr #971 and Munāwī, vol. 1, p. 622. Albānī, al-Ḍaʿīfah #1500 ruled it ḍaʿīf jiddan.

The ḥadīth is also reported on the authority of Saʿīd b. Yazīd by Aḥmad, al-Zuhd, p. 46, mentioning one righteous person instead of two and it is ḥasan. cf. al-Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #741.

The post Ibn Rajab on Shyness appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

Last week, we began with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). This week we learn of some of the qualities and virtues he was known for, inshāAllāh.

Click to read:

Part 1 | Part 2

Aḥmad b. ʿAbdah al-Dabbī al-Baṣrī narrated to us, as did ʿAlī b. Ḥujr and Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn – i.e. Ibn Abī Ḥalīmah – with different wordings but the same meaning; from ʿĪsā b. Yūnus; from ʿUmar b. ʿAbdullāh the servant of Ghufrah; from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad – one of the sons of ʿAlī b. Abū Ṭālib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) – that when ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) described the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) he would say,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither extremely tall nor extremely short; rather he was of a medium height. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight, rather in between. He did not have a very fleshy face, nor was it completely round, rather it was only slightly so. He was white skinned, having a reddish tinge. His eyes were large with jet black pupils and his lashes, long. His joints were large as was his upper back. He did not have hair all over his body but had a line of fine hair extending from his chest to his navel. When he walked, he would walk briskly as if descending a slope. When he turned, he would turn his whole body. Between his two shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood and he was the Seal of the Prophets. He had the most giving of hearts; he was the most truthful of people, the best of them in temperament, and the most sociable of them. Whoever unexpectedly saw him would be awestruck and whoever accompanied him and got to know him would love him. Those who described him would say, ‘I have never seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.’”[2]

He did not have hair all over his body, but had a line of fine hair extending from his chest to his navel

This description also holds true for someone who has hair on parts of his body and hence does not contradict the description that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had hair on his shins, forearms and upper chest.

When he turned, he would turn his whole body

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was, therefore, not a person who stole glances. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was not in the habit of turning his head towards someone who addressed him; instead, he would turn his whole body to a person who addressed him, showing him that he had his complete attention. After finishing the discussion, he would turn his whole body away. Otherwise, he would frequently just glance at things that he was not addressing.

Between his two shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood

A discussion of this follows later inshāAllāh.

He had the most giving of hearts

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither stingy nor miserly. He would never withhold anything of this world, and he would never conceal any knowledge concerning his Lord. His generosity did not require great effort, neither was it hard upon him, resulting as it did from the purity of his soul and gentleness of spirit.[3] Ibn ʿAbbās narrates that ‘the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most generous of people, and he was never so generous as he was in the month of Ramaḍān when he met with Jibrīl. Jibrīl would meet him every night of Ramaḍan and revise the Qurʾān with him. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was more generous than a brisk breeze.’[4]

He had the most giving of hearts because of its righteousness and the immense good contained therein. His heart was bursting with every fine, beautiful moral and quality and goodness would pour out of it. Some of the People of Knowledge said, ‘There is no place in the entire world that contained more good than the heart of Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): all good was gathered together and put in it.’[5]

Anas reports that although the eyes of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) slept, his heart would always be awake.[6]

Another valid interpretation of this sentence is that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had the largest heart, i.e. his heart never held back or grieved him. This is view supported by the report of Ibn Saʿd who says, ‘He was the most giving of people and the largest of heart.’

It is also said that it means that he had the best of hearts, i.e. he was free of all lowly traits and how could this be otherwise when Jibrīl cut open his heart, took out of a morsel of flesh, placed it in a golden tray, and washed it with Zamzam water.[7]

He was the most truthful of people

This was something that even his enemies testified to, and not one of his opponents could ever say that they had witnessed him lying – not even once – let alone the testimony of all his friends and followers. His enemies fought him, employing all means at their disposal, yet none of them ever accused him of lying: not a serious lie or even a minor, insignificant one. Miswarah b. Makhramah said,

‘I asked Abū Jahl, my uncle, “Uncle! Did you ever accuse Muḥammad of lying before he came with his message?” He replied, “Son of my sister, by Allāh, while he was still young, Muḥammad would be called al-Amīn (the truthful) by us. Even when his hair started turning white, he would still not lie.” I asked, “Uncle of mine! So why don’t you follow him?” He replied, “Son of my sister, we and Banū Hāshim were always competing with each other for nobility: they fed people and so we did too, they gave others drink and so we did too, they granted protection and so we did too. We’ve kept pace with each other like two race horses, then they said, ‘A Prophet has arisen from us,’ how could we possibly compete in this?”’[8]

Allāh, Most High says, consoling him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam),

“We know that what they say distresses you. It is not that they are calling you a liar; the wrongdoers are just denying the signs of Allāh. Messengers before you were also denied but they were steadfast in the face of the denial and injury they suffered until Our help arrived. There is no changing the Words of Allāh and news of other Messengers has come to you.”[9]

The best of them in temperament

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was easy going, gentle and compassionate. He responded to anyone who called him, judged those who required judgement, fulfilled the need of those who asked of him – never preventing them from asking him and never letting them depart disappointed or empty-handed. When his Companions desired a matter from him, he would agree with them and follow them; if he wanted to do something, he would consult them. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would accept the good from them and overlook their mistakes.[10]

And the most sociable of them

He would interact with those with him in the best of ways: he would never frown at them, treat them harshly or turn away from them. He would not point out slips of the tongue nor reprimand a person for any coarseness in speech or the likes, and he would make excuses for them as much as possible. Whoever mixed with him would think that he was the most beloved person to him due to the attention, kindness and sincere advice he received. There is no better way of dealing with people than this.[11]

In some texts the wording is ‘the best of them in lineage’ and both descriptions hold true of him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).  The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “I was passed through the best generations of the children of Ādam, generation after generation, until I reached the generation in which I came.”[12] The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is also reported to have said, “Allāh chose Kinānah from amongst the descendants of Ismāʿīl, He chose the Quraysh from amongst the descendants of Kinānah, from the Quraysh he chose Banū Hāshim, and me from Banū Hāshim.”[13]

Whoever unexpectedly saw him would be awestruck

This was due to his exceptional qualities, his heavenly sense of gravity, dignity, appearance and deluge of spirituality. Carrying oneself with an air of dignity and self-respect (mahābah) is a quality that can be confused with arrogance (kibr), yet it is the former that engenders a sense of awe. Ibn al-Qayyim explains why,

‘Dignity and self-respect arise from a heart that is filled with the glorification of Allāh, with love of Him and magnification of Him. When the heart is filled with this, it is inundated with light and tranquillity descends upon it. The person is clothed with the garments of gravity and dignity, and he inspires reverence in others. His face displays a sense of sweetness and pureness. Hearts love him and stand in awe of him; they are drawn to him and are comforted by his presence. His speech is light, his entrance is light, his leaving is light, and his actions are light. When he is quiet, a sense of dignity and gravity overcomes him; and when he speaks, he captures heart, ear and sight. As for arrogance, it arises from self-conceit and transgression, from a heart that is filled with ignorance and oppression. Servitude leaves such a person and displeasure descends upon him. When he looks at people, he looks askance; and when he walks amongst them, he struts. He deals with them as one who gives himself preference in all things rather than giving them preference. He does not begin by giving people the salām, and if he replies to a salām, he acts as if he has granted them a great favour. He does not display a cheerful face to them and his manners do not accommodate them. Allāh has protected His beloved (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) from all of these vile mannerisms.’[14]

Whoever accompanied him and got to know him would love him

This would occur to the point that that he became more beloved to him than his father, his child, and indeed the whole of mankind. This was because he obviously possessed all the qualities effectuating love such as perfect morals and manners, compassion and kindness and innate humility. He was a person who would captivate hearts and unite them.[15]

Those who described him would say i.e. by way of generalisation because of the inability to truly describe his beauty and perfection in detail.

“I have never seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.”

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“He would have his Companions walk in front of him, and would hurry to greet whoever he met with the salām,”

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu).

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Tirmidhī #3638 who said it was ḥasan gharīb, but the isnād was not connected.  Qārī and Munāwī said about the narrator, ʿUmar b. ʿAbdullāh, the servant of Ghufrah: he was declared thiqah by Ibn Masʿūd but ḍaʿīf by Ibn Maʿīn and Nasāʾī; Aḥmad said that he narrated many mursal reports. Albānī said it was ḍaʿīf: its isnād is munqaṭiʿ and contains ʿUmar b. ʿAbdullāh who is ḍaʿīf.

[3] Qārī

[4] Bukhārī #3554

[5] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām,

[6] Bukhārī #3570. Bukhārī #3569 also records on the authority of ʿĀʾishah that the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “My eye sleeps but my heart does not.”

[7] Qārī

[8] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām

[9] Al-Qur’ān, 6:33-34

[10] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām

[11] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām

[12] Bukhārī #3557 records on the authority of Abū Hurayrah

[13] Muslim #2276 records on the authority of Wāthila b. al-Asqaʿ

[14] Munāwī

[15] Munāwī

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