28 July 2010

Sufyan Thawri

by Shaykh Gibril F. Haddad

Sufyàn ibn Sa'ïd ibn Masruq Abu 'Abd Allàh al-Thawrï al-Mudarï al-Kufï (97-161), the God-fearing, wise, grief-stricken, Mujtahid Imàm, "Commander of the Believers in Hadïth" - the highest level in hadïth Mastership -, "Shaykh al-Islàm, the Imàm of hadïth Masters, the leader of the prac­ticing Ulema in his time, the author of the Jàmi'" (al-Dhahabï). His father was a junior Tàbi'ï Muhaddith and he thus began his scholarly career at home. Abu Ishàq al-Sabï'ï recited when he saw Sufyàn coming: (And We gave him wisdom when a child) (19:12). His Shuyukh number 600. Ibn al-Jawzï claimed that his students number over 20,000 but al-Dhahabï said: "This is preposterous, they hardly reached 1,000. I know none of the hadïth Masters from whom more narrated than Màlik, and those number 1,400 - including the liars and the unknown!"

Among the praises related about him:

· "I wrote from 1,100 Shaykhs, but from none better than Sufyàn." (Ibn al-Mubàrak)

· "I never saw better than Sufyàn." (Yunus ibn 'Ubayd - he had seen Sa'ïd ibn Jubayr, Ibràhïm al-Nakha'ï, 'Atà', and Mujàhid.)

· "If 'Alqama and al-Aswad were present they would stand in need of Sufyàn." (Abu Hanïfa)

· "I never saw one resemble the Tàbi'ïn more than Sufyàn al-Thawrï" (Ibn Abï Dhi'b).

How the adhaan was prescribed

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi said: “When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) decided to use a bell, he did so reluctantly because that was like what the Christians did. Then at night whilst I was sleeping, a man walked around me [in my dream], wearing two green garments and carrying a bell in his hand. I said to him, ‘O slave of Allaah, will you sell the bell?’ He said, ‘What will you do with it?’ I said, ‘I will call (the people) to prayer.’ He said, ‘Shall I not tell you of something better than that?’ I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘Say: ‘Allaahu akbar…’ (to the end of the adhaan). The following morning I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and told him what I had seen. He said, ‘It is a true dream, in sha Allah. Go out with Bilaal to the mosque and teach it to him, for he has a more melodious voice than you.’ I went out with Bilaal to the mosque, and I started teaching him the words and he was calling them out. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard the voice from his house and came out dragging his lower garment and saying, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! By Allaah, I saw the same (dream) as him.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘To Allaah be praise.’”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 189; Abu Dawood, 499; Ibn Maajah, 706

This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by Ibn Khuzaymah, 1/189; Ibn Hibbaan, 4/572; al-Albaani in Tamaam al-Minnah, p. 145.

http://islamqa.com/en/ref/21517/dream

24 July 2010

An extraordinary incident of brotherhood….

On the day of the battle of Yarmuk, I went out to find my uncle on the battlefield, and I had with me a container of water. I said to myself that he had some life left in him, then I would quench his thirst with the water and wash the dirt from his face. Suddenly, I came across him, and he was going in and out of conciousness. I asked him: “Do you want me to give you some water?” so, he nodded his head. Suddenly, he heard another wounded man in the distance calling out in pain. So, my uncle motioned for me to go tend to him. I went to him and saw that he was Hisham, the brother of ‘Amr bin al-’As. I came to him and asked if he wanted me to give him some water, and suddenly, we heard the sound of another man calling out in the distance in pain. So, he motioned for me to go tend to him. I came to him to find that he had already died. So, I went back to tend to Hisham only to find that he had died as well. Then, I went back to tend to my uncle only to find that he, too, had died.” So none of them, in their love for others had died without quenching their thirst. Such a proof of sacrifice and brotherhood is unparalleled in human history.
This incident was reported by ‘Abdullah bin al-Mubarak in ‘az-Zuhd’ (1/185), Ibn Hajar in ‘al-Isabah’ (7/34), and also in Ibn al-Mubarak’s ‘al-Jihad’ (1/100) by way of Abu al-Jahm bin Hudhayfah al-’Adawi, by way of ‘Umar bin Sa’id. The muhaqqiq of ‘al-Jihad’ mentions that the chain’s narrators are all trustworthy, and Allah Knows best.

Source:http://izzatulillah.wordpress.com/stories-of-the-companions/

17 July 2010

A sermon by Umar ibn Abdul Azzez

According to Abdallaah bin Bakr bin Habeeb al-Sahmee: We were told by a man in the mosque of al-Junaabidh that `Umar bin `Abd al-`Azeez delivered a sermon to the people in Khunaasirah in which he said:

O people, you were not created in vain, nor will you be left to yourselves [See 75:36]. Rather, you will return to a place in whichAllaah will descend in order to judge among you and distinguish between you. Destitute and lost are those who forsake the all- encompassing mercy of Allaah, and they will be excluded from Paradise, the borders of which are as wide as the heavens and the earth. Don't you know that protection, tomorrow, will be limited to those who feared Allaah [today], and to those who sold something ephemeral for something permanent, something small for something great, and fear for protection? Don't you realize that you are the descendants of those who have perished, that those who remain will take their place after you, and that this will continue until you are all returned to Allaah? Every day you dispatch to Allaah, at all times of the day, someone who has died, his term having come to an end. You bury him in a crack in the earth and then leave him without a pillow or a bed. He has parted from his loved ones, severed his connections with the living, and taken up residence in the earth, whereupon he comes face to face with the accounting. He is mortgaged to his deeds: He needs his accomplishments, but not the material things he left on earth.

Therefore, fear Allaah before death descends and its appointed times expire. I swear by Allaah that I say those words to you knowing that I myself have committed more sins than any of you; I therefore ask Allaah for forgiveness and I repent. Whenever we learn that one of you needs something, I try to satisfy his need to the extent that I am able. Whenever I can provide satisfaction to one of you out of my possessions, I seek to treat him as my equal and my relative, so that my life and his life are of equal value. I swear by Allaah that had I wanted something else, namely, affluence, then it would have been easy for me to utter the word, aware as I am of the means for obtaining this. But Allaah has issued in an eloquent Book and a just example (sunnah) by means of which He guides us to obedience and proscribes disobedience.

He lifted up the edge of his robe and began to cry and sob, causing the people around him to break into tears. Then he stepped down. That was the last sermon he gave before he died, may Allaah have mercy on him.

/For variant versions of this sermon, see Ibn `Abd al-Hakam, Seerah 43-45, 132-33; Ibn Katheer, Bidaayah, IX, 199; This translation was taken from The History of al-Tabaree, Vol XXIV, by D.S.Powers/

Source: http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=83

15 July 2010

A description of pious people by Al- Hasan

Al-Hasan Al-Basri once said "I have known people and kept company with groups who neither rejoiced when the things of the world came to them, nor grieved when they lost anything in the world. The life of this world was more insignificant than dust. One of them might live for a year or for sixty years without having a garment that would cover him, and without ever having anything to come between him and the ground, and without having any food that he could ask to be prepared for him in his own home.

When night came, they would be on their feet,with their foreheads flat against the earth, tears rolling down their cheeks, secretly calling to Allah to save them on the day of judgment. If they did some thing good they never stopped being grateful for it,and were always asking Allah to accept it.If they did something bad they would be saddened by it, and would keep on asking Allah to forgive them for it. By Allah they were not safe from wrong actions, and were only saved by their constant turning in repentance. May Allah be pleased with them and grant them His Mercy.

Source: From the book "Purification of the soul" by Ahmed Farid

Amazing story of a police officer

A police officer in a Muslim country wrote the following letter to a shaykh describing the events that led to his return to Allah. He recalls:

Seeing accidents and crash victims was a normal part of my day, but one incident was different.

My partner and I had parked on the shoulder of the highway and began to chat. In a random second, the scene shattered to the hideous sound of metal bodies becoming one. We threw our heads back to see what had happened. It was a head-on collision, the result of a vehicle slipping into the lane of the oncoming traffic.

We couldn’t describe the carnage. Two young men sprawled in the first car, both in critical condition. We carried them gently away from the car and rested them on the ground.

Quickly we returned to assist the owner of the second car. He was dead. Back we went to the two young men lying side by side on the pavement.

My partner began dictating the Shahaadah to them. "Say la ilaaha illAllah (There is no god but Allah), la ilaaha illAllah…"

Their tongues wouldn’t acknowledge it. They started humming the hypnotic lyrics of some song. I was terrified. My partner had experience however, and he kept repeating his instruction.

11 July 2010

Habib Ibn Zaid (RadiyAllah anhu)

A Legend of Sacrifice and Love

In the Second Pledge of a `Aqabah 70 men and two women of Al-Madiinah gave their allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH). Among those blessed men and women were Habiib lbn Zaid and his father Zaid lbn `Aasim (May Allah be pleased with both of them). His mother was Nusaibah bint Ka'b, one of the two women who were the first to give allegiance to the Prophet (PBUH). The second woman was his maternal aunt. Thus, he was a veteran believer in whose backbone and ribs faith ran rather than blood. He lived near the Prophet (PBUH) after he emigrated to Al-Madiinah. There, he never missed an expedition in the cause of Allah or lagged behind.

One day the south of the Arab Peninsula witnessed the emergence of two presumptuous and arrogant liars who claimed prophet hood and tried to drag people into the swamp of sin and disbelief. One of these impostors was called Al-Aswad Ibn Ka'b Al `Aansiy, from San'aa'. The other was Musailamah the Liar from Al Yamaamah. Both impostors incited people against the believers in their tribes who responded to what Allah ordained and who believed in His Prophet. They also goaded them against the Prophet's messengers whom he sent to their lands. Moreover, they even went so far as to ignite suspicion against prophet hood itself and committed hideous mischief in the land, causing corruption and disbelief

10 July 2010

Lessons about death from Arabic poetry

A poet once said:
"Nothing of what you see will keep its beauty.
Allah will remain whilst wealth and children will pass away.
The treasure of Hormuz was no help for him,
And 'Aad tried to live forever, but they failed.
Sulaymaan did not live forever,
Although the wind was subjugated to him,
As were men and jinn, who paraded before him.
Where are the kings in whose honor
Delegations came from all directions?
Like a trough from which all and sundry come and drink,
One day we too shall drink from it, just as they did."

Another poet said:
"We walk the steps which are written for us.
Whoever is decreed to walk certain steps will do so.
Our provision is scattered,
So if a person's provision does not come to him, he will go and get it.
Whoever is decreed to die in a certain land,
Will never die in any other land."

Another poet said:
"If you put in charge of some people one night,
Know that you will subsequently be responsible.
If you carry a person in his grave,
Know that one day you too will be carried."

Another Poet said:
"Take provisions from this world, for you never know
When night comes, will you live until morning?
How often has a bride been adorned for her husband,
When it has been decreed on Laylat al-Qadr that their souls will be taken that year?
How often has a young man hoped for a long life,
Then his soul has entered the darkness of the grave?
How many healthy people have died without illness,
And how many chronically sick people have lived for years?
How often young people have spent day and night in play,
When their shrouds have already been prepared for them, but they do not know?
How many of those who started the day dwelling in palaces,
Have ended up dwelling in the tomb by night fall?
Be sincere, and always do good,
Maybe you will earn the reward.
Always fear Allah because
That will be your protection from the horrors in the place of gathering."

07 July 2010

Prophet Muhammad's (Pbuh) Miracles

Imam an-Nawawi

The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) possesses many manifest miracles and signs demonstrating [his veracity], reaching thousands and they are well known.

From amongst them was the Qur'an, the manifest and clear miracle and brilliant proof, falsehood cannot approach it from before it or behind it. It is a revelation from One Who is All-Wise and Praiseworthy. It incapacitated the most eloquent of people in the most eloquent of times to produce a single chapter that would be comparable to it, even if the whole of creation were to gather for that purpose. Allah, the Exalted says,

"Say: If the whole of mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like of it, even if they assisted each other." [Al-Israa' (17): 88]

It challenged them to this despite their large numbers, their eloquence and their severe enmity, and it challenges them to this day.

As for the other miracles, it is not possible to enumerate them all due to their huge number and renewing and increasing nature. However, I will mention some examples:

The splitting of the moon, water flowing from between his fingers, increasing the quantity of food and water, the glorification of the food, the palm tree yearning for him, stones greeting him, the talking of the poisoned leg [of roasted sheep], trees walking towards him, two trees that were far apart coming together and then parting again, the barren [and therefore dry] sheep giving milk, his returning the eye of Qatidah bin an-Nu`man to its place with his hand after it had slipped out, his spitting lightly into the eye of Ali when it had become inflamed and its being cured almost immediately, his wiping the leg of `Abdullah bin `Atiq whereupon he was immediately cured.

05 July 2010

35 Statements From the Salaf Regarding Sincerity

1 - Bishr al-Haafi said: "That I seek the world with a wind instrument is more beloved to me than that I seek it with my Deen."

2 - Ibraaheem an-Nakha'i said: "When Shaytaan comes to you while you are in prayer and says: 'You are showing off,' make it longer."

3 - One of the Salaf said: "Direct me to an action by which I will never cease to be performing for Allaah the Exalted." It was said to him: "Always intend good, because you will never cease to be performing even if you do not perform any actions. The intention is made even in the absence of any actions. Whoever intended to pray at night and then slept, the reward for what he intended will be written for him."

4 - One of them said: "I love that I have an intention for every single thing; even my eat, drink and sleep."

5 - It was said to Sahl: "What is the hardest thing for the soul (to achieve)?" He said: "Sincerity, when there is no other desire in it."

6 - Ya'qoob al-Makfoof said: "The sincere person is the one who hides his good deeds just like he hides his evil deeds."

Weeping for Fear of Allaah

Muslim Ibn Bashir (ra) says that during his last illness Abu Huraira (ra) began weeping bitterly. He was asked the reason of his weeping. At this he said, 'I am weeping because I have a long journey to cover and have the least provisions with me. In the morning I have found myself at a hillock which leads to both paradise and to hell, and I know not wither I would be made to go.'

[Ibn Sad Vol IV p62 and Al Hilyah Vol I p383]

Abd Allah Ibn Masud (ra) says that the Prophet (pbuh) asked me to recite the Quran for him. He said to the Prophet, 'Should I recite the Quran before you whereas it has been revealed unto you?' At this the Prophet said, 'I love it more to hear the Quran from someone else.' Then AbdAllah Ibn Masud recited the chapter of 'An-Nisa'. When he recited the verse, 'How will it be them, when We shall bring out of each community, a witness, and We shall bring thee against these as witnesses..' (4:41), the Prophet said, 'This is enough.' When Ibn Masud saw the face of the Prophet, he saw tears rolling down both his eyes.

[Baihaqi, Al Bidayah, Vol VI p59]

Abu Raja (ra) said that the cheeks of Ibn Abbas (ra) were just like a spring (from which gushed forth tears constantly).

[Al Hilyah Vol I p329]

Uthman Ibn Abu Sudah (ra) says that he saw Ubadah Ibn Samit near the parapet (the rampart towards the valley known as the valley of Hell) with his chest resting on the rampant, and he was weeping. He said to him, 'O Abu Walid! What makes you weep?'. At this he said, 'This is the very spot form where, as he was told by the Prophet (pbuh), had seen the Hell.'

[Al Hilyah Vol VI p110]

03 July 2010

He memorised the entire Quran in just two months

Yes. Within 2 months. This is his account and he says:

“I declared a state of Jihad upon my soul and put death before my eyes. I made an intention to memorise the Noble Qur’aan. So I abandoned telephone calls and unnecessary visits, and I changed all the negative thoughts associated with hifdh (memorisation) to positive and practical ones e.g. When a thought came to me saying ‘I can’t do it!’ I’d say, ‘I can do it.’ If it said, ‘My memory is weak!’ I’d say ‘I take pleasure in having a great memory.’

I chose the masjid as the place of my hifdh as it preserves three:

1. The eyes

2. The ears

3. The tongue

I followed a specific dietary program consisting of eating dates, fruits and honey – and fasting helped me a great deal in that. I used to wake up before salaat al-Fajr by 2 and a half hours and I slept 2 hours after ‘Isha. I used to wake up for Tahajjud (the night prayer), prolonging my sujood wherein I would call upon Allaah ta’alaa to ease for me my affair. I would also seek forgiveness 100 times.

WHAT DOES AZ-ZUHD MEAN?

Az-Zuhd is, "The opposite of being eager and concerned about the Dunya (the life of this world)." Further, ibn Al-Qayyim said, "Az-Zuhd, in the Arabic language, the language of Islam, entails abandoning a matter while despising it and while belittling its significance, so that one will exchange it for what is more significant."

The Muslim ancestors who set good examples in the application of Islam have various opinions with regards to the meaning of Az-Zuhd.

Ibn Al-Qayyim for example said, "I heard Shaikh Al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah say, 'Az-Zuhd entails abandoning what does not bring about benefit in the Hereafter. Al-Wara' (abandoning a part of the permissible for fear of falling into the impermissible) entails abandoning what you fear its consequences in the Hereafter.'" Then, ibn Al-Qayyim commented, "This statement is one of the best and most comprehensive definitions of Az-Zuhd and Al-Wara'."

In addition, Sufyan Ath-Thawry said, "Az-Zuhd in this Dunya entails having a short hope (or avoiding having hopes that one will live long), not by wearing the thick clothes or wearing the garment (as some people who observe fake Zuhd think is a part of Az-Zuhd)."