Dialogue Between the Pious and the Wretched

Dialogue between Al Aswad al 'Ansi and Abu Muslim

Al Aswad al `Ansi, a man in Yemen who claimed prophethood, asked Abu Muslim to believe in him and testify that he is a messenger.  Abu Muslim told him:  "I can't hear a thing."  So Abu Muslim, one of the awliyaa' (friends, allies of Allah) from the second generation of Muslims, belied him.  Al Aswad al `Ansi prepared firewood and threw him in fire.  Abu Muslim said:  "Hasbuna'Llah wa ni`mal wakeel (Allah is sufficient for us and He is the best Protector . the words that Prophet Ibrahim `alayhis salam said when he was thrown in fire)", so Allah made the fire cool and safe for him.

[Later] `Umar hugged him in joy and said:  "Welcome, O Khaleel (i.e. referring to Prophet Ibrahim `alayhis salam) of this Ummah" - or "the man who resembled al-Khaleel Ibraheem", or as he said, may Allah be pleased with him.   Why?  Because the Taqiyy (pious one) knew Allah and the Shaqiyy (wretched one) denied Allah's favors and went beyond the limits in transgression against Allah and His awliyaa' (allies)."

Dialogue between Rab`ee ibn `Aamir and Rustum

Rab`ee bin `Aamir entered upon Rustom, the leader of Persia, who had 280,000 soldiers under him.  Rustum addressed him with arrogance of one who has power, "What brought you here?. .  Rab`ee was wearing a thorn robe and had with him a spear and an old horse.

Rustom told him laughingly, while his ministers and companions were sitting with him:  "You came to conquer the world with this spear, an old horse and a thorn robe?"  So Rab`ee ibn `Aamir responded to him, confident in Allah's help:  "Allah sent us to take servants from servitude to (other) servants to servitude of the Lord of servants, and from the narrowness of this world to the vastness of the hereafter, and from the tyranny of religions to the justice of Islam."   So the wretched one responded to him after the reply of Rab`ee bin `Aamir baffled him:  "Do not exit my palace or hall until you carry soil on your head", so Rab`ee bin `Aamir carried soil and said to his companions, "This is a glad tiding that Allah will let us own their land."

Later, Sa`d bin Abi Waqqaas entered this land victoriously and entered the hall of misguidance and smashed the den of the Persian idolatry, and said, what was related in the Qur'an, "How much they left behind of gardens and springs and crops and noble sites and comfort wherein they were amused.  Thus.  And we caused it to be inherited by another people." [Ad-Dukhaan, 44:25-28]

"These are two adversaries who have disputed over their Lord." [Hajj, 22:19]  Such end befell those who did not know Allah, who did not obey his orders, nor shunned what He forbade.

Dialogue Between Khubayb bin `Adiyy and Disbelievers

Khubayb bin `Adiyy was brought to be hung and was asked, "What do you wish o Khubayb?"  He said to the disbelieving, pagan polytheists:  "I wish to pray two units of prayer", so he stood up, made ablution, quickly prayed two rak`ahs, and then told them:  "By Allah, if you would not think that I fear death, I would lengthen the two units of prayer."  Then they raised him to hang him and he supplicated against them:  "O Allah, count them one by one, kill them to do away with them, and do not leave any one of them."  They said: "Do you wish that Muhammad be in your place and that you be with your family and your wealth?"  He said, "No, by Allah, I do not wish that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, be hurt by a thorn, and that I be with my family and my wealth."  Then they killed him.

Biographers, such as Moosa bin `Uqbah, said Khubayb bin `Adiyy said before he was killed:  "O Allah, inform the Prophet what happened to me. As-Salaamu `alayka, O Messenger of Allah, as-Salamu `alayka O Messenger of Allah, as-Salamu `alayka O Messenger of Allah."  He was in Makkah, while the Messenger, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, was in Madinah, and who said at that moment:  . `Alaykas-Salam O Khubayb, `Alaykas-Salam O Khubayb, `Alaykas-Salam O Khubayb."  Then Khubayb recited a poem about his death:

I do not care if I am killed as a Muslim,

From which side my death comes in the way of Allah.

And that is for His sake, if He wills,

He will bless parts of the body torn.

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The contemplation of the Salaf

Muhammad ibn Waas’i, may Allaah have mercy upon him, narrated: “A man from the people of Basrah travelled to Umm Tharr, may Allaah be pleased with her, after the death of Abu Tharr, may Allaah be pleased with him, and asked her about the manner in which Abu Tharr would worship, and so she replied: ‘He would spend most of his day in a corner of the house, contemplating.’”

Al-Hasan, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: "He whose words are not those of wisdom, his silence is not spent in contemplation and his observations are not to take lessons. Such a person is heedless and is squandering his time.” He, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said regarding the one hundred and forty-sixth verse of chapter Al- A’raaf in which Allaah says:

سأصرف عن آياتي الذين يتكبرون في الأرض بغير الحق

which means: “I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right…” [Al-A’raaf: 146] that it means "I (i.e., Allaah) will prevent their hearts from contemplating.”

‘Abdullaah ibn Al-Mubaarak, may Allaah have mercy upon him, once saw Sahl ibn ‘Uday, may Allaah have mercy upon him, in silent contemplation, so he asked him: “How far have you reached?” to which he replied: “The Siraat (i.e., the bridge over Hell).”

Bishr, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “If people contemplate over the greatness of Allaah, they will never disobey Him.”

Abu Shurayh, may Allaah have mercy upon him, once sat down and covered his head with his garment and began weeping. When he was asked why, he replied: “I contemplated, and realised how much of my life has ended, how few my good deeds are, and how close I am to death - so I cried.”

Abu Sulaymaan, may Allaah have mercy upon him, once advised the people saying: "Train your eyes to cry and your hearts to contemplate.”

Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: “Contemplating over good deeds causes one to perform them and regretting evil leads to one abandoning it. When the slave’s main concern is to please Allaah, He will make his silence be spent in contemplation and his speech consist of praise and gratitude to Allaah.”

Imaam Shaafi’i, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “Virtue lies is in four things: Wisdom, the basis of which is contemplation; chastity, the basis of which is controlling one's desires; strength, the basis of which is controlling oneself at the time of anger; and justice, the basis of which is being moderate in ones views”

Once Sufyaan, may Allaah have mercy upon him, was in a gathering, when suddenly, the lamp that was lighting the congregation ran out of oil, and so its flame went out; after someone had added oil and re-ignited the lamp, they found that Sufyaan, may Allaah have mercy upon him, had cried; so they asked him why he did so, and he replied: “This darkness reminded me of the grave.” Due to the hearts of such people being alive, anything around them caused them to contemplate and connect that to the important matters which one ought to contemplate over.

One of the Salaf, may Allaah have mercy upon him, was waiting for bread in a bakery, when he began staring at the fire and crying like a baby. A man asked him why, and he replied: “I remembered the Hellfire."

‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “Contemplation is one of the favours of Allaah and one of the best acts of worship that one can perform.”

‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Utbah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, asked Umm Tharr, may Allaah be pleased with her, about the best act of worship that Abu Tharr, may Allaah be pleased with him, would perform, she answered: “Contemplation.”

Al-Hasan, may Allaah have mercy upon him, wrote to ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Azeez, may Allaah have mercy upon him, saying: “Know that contemplation encourages one to do good and encourages one to shun evil and regret it.”

Muhammad ibn Ka’b, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said: “To recite only chapter Az- Zalzalah and Al-Qaari’ah all night long with contemplation is dearer to me than reciting the entire Qur’aan without contemplation.”

Source: A series on the Deeds of the Heart /Contemplation / Sheikh Muhammad Salih al-Munajid

When will your heedlessness end?

Khutbah By ‘Umar As-Subayyil

All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, his household and companions.

Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah as he should be feared, for the best provision is piety: “And fear a day when you will be returned to Allaah. Then every soul will be compensated for what it earned and they will not be wronged (i.e. treated unjustly).” (Al-Baqarah: 291).

Brothers in faith! Mans happiness and success lies in his repentance to his Lord and his steadfastness upon the law of Allaah and His religion for the entire duration of his life. It does not lie in being distracted from working towards his eternal future by the urge to acquire the beauties of this world. This is the way of the righteous and pious people whom Allaah describes as that which translates as: “Men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts them from the remembrance of Allaah and performance of prayer and giving of zakaah. They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will (fearfully) turn about.” (An-Noor: 37).

Righteous people, despite their business and worldly engagements, do not allow that to stand between them and remembrance of Allaah’s greatness; a remembrance that makes them constantly fear Him and worship Him as He should be worshiped.

This is how the true believer should be. They should spend their days in performing righteous deeds and seek the abode of the Hereafter with whatever Allaah gives them. This is because they know that this life is only a means to achieve the everlasting life and perpetual prosperity. They know this world is not an end in itself but only a finite place in which both the pious and sinful have their daily bread. They know that, however long one may live, they will eventually grow old and die. They also understand this world’s insignificance and know that it is worthless in the sight of Allaah and that it is only a bridge which people cross over to reach Paradise or Hell. 

Allaah says that which translates as:“Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion and adornment and boasting to one another and competition in increase of wealth and children – like the example of a rain whose (resulting) plant growth pleases the tillers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes (scattered) debris. And in the Hereafter is severe punishment and forgiveness from Allaah and approval. And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion?” (Al-Hadeed:  20).

The Messenger  of Allaah sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “The life of this world is sweet and green (i.e. as tempting as fruits) and Allaah makes you  succeed one another in it, so that He may observe what type of deeds you will do therein. Beware of this life and beware of (the temptation of) women.”(Muslim). He also said: “If this world was worth a mosquito’s wing in the sight of Allaah, He would not have given a disbeliever a single gulp of water.”(Al-Tirmidhi).

There are in these Qur’aanic verses and Ahadeeth the clearest picture of the worthlessness of this world and an exhortation to mankind to fulfil their objectives here. They are meant to worship Allaah, reform their souls, be pious, abstain from lusts and base desires and not become deceived with the beauties of this life. It is however, pathetic that many are in the state of forgetfulness and delusion so much so that the aspiration of acquiring the beauties of this world has overpowered them and sins and evil deeds have covered their hearts. They live as if there is no other life except that of this world. When the love of this life conquers one’s heart, it makes one forget the remembrance of their Lord and if that happens then they become deserving of the wrath of Allaah.

The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, while explaining the evil of the love of this world and its danger to one’s religion said: “Two hungry wolves sent into the midst of a flock of sheep are less destructive to the sheep than man’s covetousness for money and fame are to his religion”.

It is said that, “Love of this world is the mother of all sins”. When Imaam Hasan  Al-Basri observed the greediness of the people of his time for the wealth of this world, he exclaimed: “Do these people believe in the Day of Reckoning? No, I swear by the Master of the Day of Judgment!”

A sign of the domination of love of this world over the hearts is when one does not have concern for anything other than the search for prestige and fame, even if that is to be at the expense of one’s religion. Some have concerns only for amassing wealth even if they have to get it from dubious or forbidden means.

The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam warned against this when he said: “I swear by Him in whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul! A man may swallow a morsel of food from a haraam source the consequence of which will be that no good deed will be accepted from him for forty days”.

He sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam also said: “The fire of hell is entitled to any piece of flesh that has been nurtured by ill-gotten food”.

Brothers in faith! There are many Muslims amongst those who have been overwhelmed by the love of this life, who so yielded to their whims, desires and evil inclinations that they drank alcohol, took drugs, committed adultery, fornication and other evil acts. They are encouraged to perpetrate these evil acts by the modern mass media. This makes these malevolent things fair-seeming to them. It allures them with temptation and incites them to revolt against good moral values until many Muslims, especially the youth, begin to imitate their enemies in all aspects of their life. The following refers to them: “Then, there came after them successors (i.e. later generations) who neglected prayer and pursued desires; So they face ghayy (a valley in hell).”(Maryam: 59) So, it is their excessive passion for this life that will be the cause of them being thrown into hell.

Fellow Muslims! It is the unrestrained love for this life and preferring it to the Hereafter that weakened the Muslim Ummah in contemporary times and made disgrace, dissension and hypocrisy her lot. It is this predicament that gave her enemies the power to dictate many of her affairs, seize her wealth, conquer her lands and severely persecute the Muslims. A vivid example of this is what happens presently in Palestine where Jewish usurpers carry out criminal acts of aggression against our brothers and desecrate lives, properties and mosques. This is an actualisation of what the Messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam prophesied when he said: “When you trade by ‘Eenah[1]’ (a form of ribaa), get yourselves occupied with cattle and become pleased with cultivation  - and abandon Jihaad; Allaah will impose an ignominy on you which he will  not remove until you go back to your religion”.

Imaam Ahmad and Abu Daawood also reported that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: ‘Beware the nations all over the world shall join forces against you as diners gather around their bowl of food’. The companions asked: ‘O Messenger of Allaah! Is that because we will be few in number then?’ He sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: ‘No, rather you will rather be many, but you will only be as (voluminous and as worthless as) the scum after a flood. The fear of you shall be removed from the hearts of your enemies and weakness will be put into your hearts’. The companions asked: ‘What is the weakness?’ he answered: “To love this life and detest death”.

Therefore, let all of us desist from heedlessness and preferring this life to the Hereafter. Allaah has condemned the heedless and praised the pious when He said that which translates as: “So as for he who transgressed. And preferred the life of this world, Then indeed, Hellfire will be (his) refuge. But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from (unlawful) inclination, Then indeed, Paradise will be (his) abode”. (An-Naaziaat: 37-41).

Brothers in Islaam! Fear Allaah “And let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allaah by the chief deceiver (Satan). Indeed Satan is an enemy to you; so take him as an enemy. He only invites his party to be among the companions of the Blaze.” (Faatir: 5-6).

Brothers in faith! Fear Allaah as he should be feared and die not except as Muslims. Do not be among those who have been overpowered by negligence and overwhelmed by Satan thereby making them forget the remembrance of Allaah and the abode of the Hereafter. They are so deceived by false hopes that they do not think of anything other than the pleasure of this world regardless of the source from which that pleasure may come.

“They know what is apparent of the worldly life, but they, of the Hereafter, are unaware”. (Ar-Room: 7).

Why can you not reflect, O slaves of Allaah, and learn lessons from the misfortunes and calamities that Allaah has inflicted on people throughout history? Can you not ponder over the fate of the dead who are escorted to their burial places daily? These people who are our fathers, our mothers, our children, kings, paupers, believers, disbelievers, righteous and sinful? These people are all buried in graves and will all be resurrected on the Day of Judgment,

“The Day they will emerge from the graves rapidly as if they were, toward an erected idol, hastening. Their eyes humbled, humiliation will cover them. That is the Day which they had been promised!” (Al-Ma`aarij: 43-44).

Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah and be dutiful to Him and remember that you will one day leave this world for your everlasting abode which will be either Paradise or Hell. Get yourselves prepared for that day: “So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained (his desire). And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion?" (Aal-‘Imraan: 185). 

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Signs of a good end

1 – Uttering the shaahadah (testimony of faith) when dying, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “A person whose last words are Laa ilaaha ill-Allah [there is no go but Allah] will enter Paradise.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3116; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2673.

2 – Dying with sweat on the forehead, because al-Buraydah ibn al-Husayb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, “The believer dies with sweat on his forehead.” Narrated by Ahmad, 22513; al-Tirmidhi, 980; al-Nasaa’i, 1828. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

3 – Dying on the night or day of Friday, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “there is no Muslim who dies on the day of Friday or the night of Friday, but Allah will protect him from the trial (fitnah) of the grave.” Narrated by Ahmad, 6546; al-Tirmidhi, 1074. al-Albaani said: When all its isnaads are taken into consideration, this hadeeth is hasan or saheeh. 

4 – Dying as a fighter for the sake of Allah, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Think not of those as dead who are killed in the way of Allah. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision. They rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His Bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind (not yet martyred) that on them no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allah and that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:169] 

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever is killed for the sake of Allah is a martyr, and whoever dies for the sake of Allah is a martyr.” Narrated by Muslim, 1915. 

5 – Dying of the plague, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The plague is martyrdom for every Muslim.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2830; Muslim, 1916. 

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the plague, and he told me that it is a punishment that Allah sends upon whomsoever He will, and that Allah has made it a mercy for the believers, for there is no one who stays in his land at the time of a plague, bearing that with patience and seeking Allah’s reward, knowing that nothing will befall him but that which Allah has decreed for him, but he will be given a reward like that of a martyr.”  Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3474. 

6 – Dying of a stomach disease. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “… and whoever dies of a stomach disease is a martyr.” Narrated by Muslim, 1915. 

7 – Dying because of being crushed by a falling wall or by drowning, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The martyrs are five: the one who dies of plague, the one who dies of a stomach disease, the one who drowns, the one who is crushed by a falling wall, and the one who is martyred for the sake of Allah.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2829; Muslim, 1915. 

8 – If a woman dies as a result of childbirth, or when she is pregnant. The evidence for that includes the hadeeth narrated by Abu Dawood (3111), according to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “A woman who dies with child is a martyr.” al-Khattaabi said: What this means is if she dies with a child in her womb. ‘Awn al-Ma’bood.

 And Imam Ahmad narrated (17341) that ‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us about the martyrs and mentioned among them, “A woman who is killed by the child in her womb attains martyrdom, and her child will drag her by his umbilical cord to Paradise.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Kitaab al-Janaa’iz, p. 39.  

9 – Death caused by burning, pleurisy and tuberculosis. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Being killed for the sake of Allah is martyrdom; the plague is martyrdom; drowning is martyrdom; dying of a stomach disease is martyrdom; and the woman who dies in childbirth, her child will drag her by his umbilical cord to Paradise.” (Abu’l-Awaam, the custodian of Bayt al-Maqdis added: and burning and tuberculosis). Al-Albaani said: Hasan saheeh. Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 1396. 

10 – Dying to defend one’s religion, one’s wealth or one’s life, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever is killed defending his wealth is a martyr; whoever is killed defending his religion is a martyr; whoever is killed in self-defense is a martyr.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1421. 

Al-Bukhaari (2480) and Muslim (141) narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “Whoever is killed defending his wealth is a martyr.” 

11 – Dying guarding the borders of Islam for the sake of Allah. Muslim (1913) narrated that Salmaan al-Faarisi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Guarding the borders of Islam for one day and one night is better than fasting and praying at night for a whole month, and if he dies (whist performing this duty), he will go on receiving the reward for this great deed and his provision (continually), and he will be spared the questioning in the grave. ” 

12 – One of the signs of a good end is dying whilst doing a righteous deed, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:  

“Whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah, seeking the Countenance of Allah thereby, and that is the last of his deeds, will enter Paradise. Whoever gives charity and that is the last of his deeds will enter Paradise.” 

Narrated by Imam Ahmad, 22813; classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Kitaab al-Janaa’iz, p. 43. See Kitaab al-Janaa’iz by al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him), p. 34. 

Source

The asceticism of Easa (Jesus)

Ibn Abu Ad-Dunya narrated from Fudail bin Iyad, saying: Prophet Easa (Alaihi Salam) was asked:” O Jesus! How do you walk on the water? “ He replied: “With my faith I have (in Allah) and certainty” They said: “But we also have faith as you have faith and we also have certainty as you have certainty”.

Jesus said: “So come and walk”. So they walked with him on the waves and they drowned. Jesus said to them: “What happened to you” They said “We are frightened of the waves” Jesus said: “Do not you fear the Lord of the waves?”

Then he took them out of the water. Then he stroked the earth with his hand and took its dust, and when he opened them there was gold in one hand and pebbles in another. He asked them:  “Which one do you like most.” They said: “Gold”  He said “But they are just the same to me”.

Jesus wore clothes made of wool, ate from leaves, and had no home, no family, no wealth and property and nothing to save for tomorrow. It is said that he ate from the earnings of his mother out of her spinning work.

Sha’bi said: whenever the Day of Judgment was mentioned to him, he cried and said:” It is not befitting for the son of Mary that the Day of Judgment is mentioned in front of him, and he keeps quiet”.

Jesus said to his disciples: “As the kings and rulers have left the wisdom for you, you leave the Dunya (the materials) for them”.

He also said: “Ask me, I am kindhearted person, and I am insignificant in my own eyes.”

He also said to his disciples: “Eat of barley breads and drink of pure water and go out from this world feeling safe (from harm). The sweetness of this world is the bitterness of the Hereafter and the bitterness of this world is the sweetness of the Hereafter. Allah’s true slaves do not live in luxuries. I am saying truly that the worst of you is a scholar who gives preference of his desires over his knowledge. “

It is also reported from him sating “O weak son of Adam! Fear Allah wherever you maybe, live in this world like a guest and take the mosques as a home, and teach your eyes to cry, and your body to endure, and your heart to reflect. And do not worry about tomorrow’s provision, because it is a sin.”

Source: Stories of the Prophets (P.568) by Imam Imaduddin Abul-Fida Ismail Ibn Kathir Ad-Dimishqi 700-774H / Rendered into English by Rashad Ahmad Azami

O Prisoner

By Ali al-Timimi

Be patient O prisoner

Think not of what lies behind that door

Because you are the rain that gives life to the barren

Because you are the sun that flowers yearn for

Go forth despite your shackles

Nothing holds your spirit at bay

By sabr and yaqin, Allah made you

A leader despite the boulders in your way

You are defiant, and you are like

A brilliant star guiding the multitude

Your truthful words burn every accursed rebel

A shining blaze in an era of servitude

You are the bold one leading falcons

Perverse crows mock you with false portrayal

Their black lies did cast you

In the prison of betrayal

I know that you’re tired

But forget not your bargain

Leave cowardly hyenas to laugh and play

For you are a brave lion

I know that you’re exhausted

The evil one whispers “no longer can you cope”

Remain firm, O servant of Allah

For you are the great hopes

I know that you’re weak

Dizzy, wanting to swoon

Night envelops the world with its darkness

But you are the shining moon

I know that you’re confident

O favoured son of the nation

You never doubted Allah’s promise

That victory is for the patient

We are surrounded by the petty

Whose only goal is to eat, drink and mate

But you in your solitude

Are with the Most High, the Great

So rejoice in your prison

Let others sink in the worlds mire

Continue to speak words of truth

A devastating sword on every arrogant denier

You display determination

In following the straightest of ways

You keep watch at every mountain pass

While the petty only sleep in haze

Time has stopped in front of your prison

Your nights and days are of constant motion

Heaven and earth will sleep at your passing

Amazed at your sincere devotion

You are the boldest

Because Allah made you cling to the pious word, the firmest.

Whoever Obeys Allah, Everything Obeys Him

By Sheikh Abdullah Azzam

“Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Using one’s bodily organs in the obedience of Allah strengthens them, while using them to disobey Allah weakens them.”

He dedicated an entire chapter to this, in his amazing book, ‘al-Fawa’id,‘and I had touched upon this in previous recorded lectures of mine. Even the jinn and humans assist the believer if he obeys Allah. To make a long story short, whoever obeys Allah, everything will obey him. And we informed you that, on the day that ‘Uqbah bin Nafi’ wanted to establish the city of Qayrawan in the middle of a thick jungle, he prayed two rak’ahs, and said: “O you viscous beasts! O you wild animals! O you poisonous snakes! We are the army of Muhammad! We want to establish ourselves here, so, leave!” Minutes later, all of the animals in the area carried their offspring, and left them the jungle.

Whoever obeys Allah, everything obeys him! Everything!

On the day that they were in Persia (Iraq), one of the Companions – and the Companions had never learned the Persian, Roman, or Assyrian languages – said something in Persian, so, the Persian troops evacuated. He does not know Persian, nor does he know Pashtu! So, when they ran away, the Companions caught up with them, imprisoned them, and asked them: “Why did you run away?”

They replied: “We heard, from the tongue of your companion, that you had come to eat us up, so, we ran away!”

The Companions asked the Companion who’d said this: “What did you say?”

He replied: “I have no idea.”

The Angels had spoken on his tongue! We had mentioned before that the Angels would speak through the tongue of ‘Umar. An Angel, speaking in his name. Because of this, sometimes, a devil will speak on the tongue of the human! If he is angry, for example, Satan will speak on his tongue. Therefore, it is advised that he perform ablution, in order to expell the Devil, because “nothing puts out the Devil other than the water of ablution.”

So, the obedience of Allah…ya Salam! I am amazed at how humanity lives, my brothers!”

Source: 'Fi Dhilal Surat at-Tawbah'; p. 502