Friday 29 October 2010

Allah is King



Note: The attribute of seizing the earth, folding the sky, the Hand of Allah, and the like are all Truth, the reality of which is beyond our grasp as it does not have any resemblance with the attributes of creation. Allah has no resemblance to His creation; neither in His Entity, nor in His Attributes, but in words alone. Allah and His Attributes are far above the comprehension of any of His creation.





Monday 18 October 2010

SubhanAllah - Free Images











Scattered Pearls

Selected excerpts from the book
'Scattered Pearls' vol. 1
by Maulana Muhammad Yunus Palanpuri
Translated by Zahra Bainter
Published by Darul-Ishaat, Karachi, Pakistan







The amazing virtues of bidding good and forbidding evil.

 Sayyidina Anas (r.a.) said: ''Should I not tell you about people who are neither Prophets nor martyrs, but yet, on the Day of Judgement, their rank shall be so exalted that even the Prophets and martyrs will be astonished. They shall be on special pulpits, and they shall easily be recognised.' The Companions said: 'O Messenger of Allah! (s.a.w) Who are those people?' The Noble Prophet (s.a.w) said 'They are those who make Allah's servants dear to Allah, and who make Allah dear to His servants, they walk on the earth well- wisher of everyone.' I said 'I understand how they make Allah dear to His servants, but I can't understand how they make Allah's servants dear to Allah.' The Noble Prophet (s.a.w.) said: 'These people ask others to do such deeds which are dear to Allah, and they stop them from deeds which are disliked by Allah. So if they do deeds which are liked by Allah, then they will become dear to Allah.' '' (Hayatus-Sahabah 2/805)


A handful of dates, which the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.) gave to Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (r.a.) of which he and others ate for 27 years.

 Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (r.a.) related: ''After accepting Islam, I encountered three calamities, the like of which I never encountered before. One of them was the demise of the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.), for I was one of those people who would always stay with him. The second was the martyrdom of Sayyidina Uthman (r.a.), and the third was the loss of my food container.' The people asked 'O Abu Hurairah, what do you mean by the loss of your food container?' he said: 'Once we were on a journey, when the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.) said to me: 'Oh Abu Hurairah, do you have anything with you?' I said: I have dates in my food container.' He said: 'Bring it here.' I took out the dates and presented them to the Noble Prophet (s.a.w.), who passed his hands over them and prayed to Allah for blessing. Then he told me to call ten people. I called ten people, and they ate to their fill. Then came another group of ten, and another group, until the whole army had eaten to their fill, and yet there were dates left in the food-container. The Noble Prophet (s.a.w) said to me: 'Oh Abu Hurairah, when you want to have dates, then take them out with your hand, do not turn over this container.''
 Sayyidina Abu Hurairah (r.a.) further narrated: ''Throughout the life of Allah's Messenger (s.a.w.), I had dates from this container, throughout the life of Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r.a.), I had dates from this container. Throughout the life of Sayyidina Umar (r.a.) I had dates from this container, and throughout the life of Sayyidina Uthman (r.a.) I had dates from this container. Then, when Sayyidina Uthman (r.a.) was martyred, my belongings were stolen too, and so was this food-container. Should I not tell you how many dates I took out from this container? I took out more than two hundred wasq (i.e. camel loads) of dates.'' (Hayatus-Sahabah 3/711)


Sayyidina Umar's (r.a.) questioning Munkar and Nakir in the grave.

 In one tradition comes that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said: ''By Him who sent me with the truth! Sayyidina Jibril (Angel Gabriel, alayhis salaam) just told me that Munkar and Nakir shall come to you in the grave and ask you: ''Oh Umar, who is your Lord?'' You shall then reply:

''My Lord is Allah, and who is your Lord?
Muhammad (s.a.w.) is my Prophet. Who is your Prophet?
And Islam is my religion. What is your religion?''

 These two shall then say: ''How strange, we don't know whether we were sent to you, or you were sent to us.'' '' (Hayatus-Sahabah 3/99)



A most enviable person

 It has been related from Sayyidina Abu Umamah (r.a.) that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said: ''The most enviable person among my friends, is such a believer who has the least liabilities (i.e. he does not have a large family or much wealth), he spends much of his time in prayer, and his worship bears the characteristic of Ihsan. He is obedient to Allah, and always conscious of Him. All this he does secretly and in solitude. No one knows who he is, no one points fingers at him. His livelihood barely suffices him, and he is patient and content with whatever he gets.'' Then the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) shipped his fingers (so as to express his amazement). Then he said: ''He dies an early death, and there are only a few women to cry for him, and he leaves behind only little.'' (Musnad Ahmad, Jami Tirmidhi, Sunnah Ibn Majah)


What Sayyidina Abu Ad-Dardaa said to his wife who desired affluence

 It has been related from Sayyidina Um Ad-Dardaa (r.a.) who was the wife of Sayyidina Abu Ad-Dardaa (r.a.) that once she said to her husband: ''Why don't you aspire for affluence and office like others do?'' He said: ''I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) say: 'Ahead of you lies a valley which is indeed difficult to cross. People who have burdened themselves shall not be in a position to go through it easily.' This is why I prefer to remain unburdened, so that I can cross that valley without trouble.''(This is why I do not aspire for affluence and office.) (Baihaqi, Shuib -ul-Iman)


How Allah's Messenger (s.a.w.) exhorted his daughter to be patient

 Sayyidina Usamah bin Zaid (r.a.) narrated that once Sayyidah Zainab (r.a.), the daughter of Allah's Messenger (s.a.w.) sent someone to her father to tell him that her child was about to breathe his last, and she also requested him to come. He conveyed his salaam to her as well as the following message: ''Daughter, no matter what Allah takes from someone, it is His alone, and whatever He gives to someone, it is His alone, and there is an appointed time for everything, so be patient and hope for reward.'' His daughter then again sent someone beseeching him to come, so he and some of his companions, namely Sayyidina Saad bin Ubadah (r.a.), Muadh bin Jabal (r.a.), Ubay bin Kaab (r.a.), Zaid bin Haritha (r.a.) and some other people got up and went there.
 The child, whose breath was fast and irregular, was placed in the lap of Allah's Messenger (s.a.w.), who on seeing the child, began to shed tears. Sayyidina Saad bin Ubadah (r.a.) asked ''What is this, O Messenger of Allah?'' he said: ''This is the outcome of the compassion which Allah has kept in the hearts of his bondsmen, and Allah is compassionate only to those who are compassionate to each other.'' (Bukhari and Muslim)

Sunday 17 October 2010

Story of a Slave Girl

 Once upon a time, Hadrat Malik b. Dinar (mercy be upon him) was walking in the streets of Basra. On the way, he happened to see a female servant walking with such pomp and show as the maidservants of kings generally do. Hadrat Malik (mercy be upon him) after witnessing the manner in which she walked, called her and said:

 ''Oh handmaid! Would your master like to sell you?'' She was surprised to hear his voice. She said ''What? Repeat it again.'' Hadrat Malik did accordingly. She said to him:

''Would a beggar like you, be able to purchase me if master agrees to sell at all?'' He replied in the affirmative and added that he could purchase a better one than she. On hearing this reply she laughed and ordered her servants to take this beggar along with them (just for making fun of him). The servants obeyed her orders accordingly.

 On reaching home she narrated all this story to her master, who too laughed boisterously and ordered to bring him (Hadrat Malik) before him. When he was brought before him, he (the master) was invested with fear and asked him: ''What do you want?'' In reply, he advised him to sell his handmaiden to him. He asked him: ''Can you pay her price?'' Hadrat Malik replied:

 ''For me, her price is not more than two stones of dates.''

 On hearing this the whole audience began to laugh. The master asked him: ''What prompted you to fix this price for her?'' He replied that there were many shortcomings in her. The master asked him to let him know these shortcomings. Hadrat Malik enumerated them thus:

''Incase she applies not perfume, her body emits a foul smell.
If she cleanses not her teeth, these begin to putrefy.
If  she combs not her hair, the dishevelled and untidy hair are infested with lice.
She on becoming a bit old, would bear the appearance of an old woman not worthy to be loved.
She menstruates.
She makes water and relieves herself. In other words she emits all sorts of filths (spittle, mucus, saliva)
She suffers from agonies and hardships.
She being much greedy, shows her love to you merely for her self interests.
she shows her love to you only for her material benefits.
Today, if any loss is incurred by her because of you, the whole edifice of her love will within no time, be crumbled down.
She is absolutely faithless and fulfills not her promise.
Her love is based on falsehood. As soon as you breathe your last, she will sit by the side of another person and sing the song of her permanent and everlasting love for him, in the same way as she did for you.''

 ''On the contrary,'' said Hadrat Malik (mercy be upon him). ''I have a handmaid a thousand times better than your handmaid. Her price is much less than hers.''

''She is made out of camphor's essence
She has been fashioned out of musk and saffron.
She is covered by pearls and light.
If her spittle is caste in saltish water, it will become sweet.
Incase she speaks to a dead man, he will be restored life.
If her wrist is shown to the sun, it will suffer darkness and eclipse.
If she visits a place of darkness, it will begin to illuminate.
If she happens to appear in the world with all her elegance, the whole world will become fragrant.
She is brought up in the gardens of musk and saffron.
She has played amidst the branches of ruby and coral (a small pearl).
Her abode is a place of great blessings.
She drinks water from Tasnim (a fountain in Paradide).
She never backs out to her words.
Her love is constant.''

 Hadrat Malik (mercy be upon him) then asked the master to let him know what handmaid is, according to price, more beneficial to him. All said unanimously that the handmaid had been more valuable about whom Hadrat Malik (mercy be upon him) had told them. He added:

''Everyone can afford to buy her at any time and in every age.''

The people asked Hadrat Malik to tell them her price. He told them:

''If they want to purchase such an important and valuable thing, they will have to spare some time at night and observe two raka's of Tahajjud prayer in order to seek the pleasure of the Almighty God;
 They shall have to invite some poor and the needy to meals at the time of eating;
 They shall have to give preference to Allah's pleasure to their own wishes;
 They shall have to remove away any troublesome thing lying in the way;
 They shall have to lead simple lives and they will have to be more anxious for the eternal abode than this mortal world.''

 Then Hadrat Malik (mercy be upon him) told them that if they could act upon this advice, they would lead an honourable life and would be blessed with honour and veneration in the Hereafter and would abide in the paradise (a place of great blessings) under the shadow of Almighty God.

 After that the master asked the maid-servant whether she had listened to the advice of the venerable old man. If so, what was her opinion. She told that the preachings of the venerable old man were true and were calculated to promote good and virtue. The master set the maid-servant free and gave her a portion of his property as a gift. He also set his slaves free and bestowed upon them some property. He donated his house and all its belongings for the welfare of the poor. After casting off his elegant dress giving it too the poor, he covered his body with a thick cloth of  a door's curtain. The maid-servant told her master that she could not live without him. After sacrificing her elegant dress and her property for the welfare of the poor, she also accompanied her master.
 Malik b. Dinar (mercy of Allah be upon him) prayed for them and departed.

 Both of them bade farewell to the worldly pleasures and dedicated themselves to the divine worship and died in that very state.
(May Allah bless them and all of us)

From the book 'The Spectacle of Death' including Glimpses of life Beyond the Grave
by Khawaja Mohammad Islam

The Last Days

Hadrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) states that the Prophet of God (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) observed:

''When the spoils of war will be regarded as personal property (instead of collective estate) and the things kept in trust shall be expropriated;
 when the zakat shall be regarded as an  indemnity;
 and religious knowledge shall be gained merely to serve worldly interests;
 when the husbands shall follow the counsels of their wives and shall subject their mothers to harassment;
 when men shall be thicker with their friends and estranged from their fathers;
 when mosques shall resound with the talk of the world;
 when the leaders of the tribe shall become unbelievers;
 when base people shall be appointed as leaders of nations;
 when the mischievous shall be respected on account of fear;
 when the number of singing and dancing women shall proliferate and musical instruments gain popularity;
 when posterity shall begin to despise their pious forebearers;

then at that juncture wait for the red windstorms and earthquakes;
look forward then to being buried alive in the earth and expect your appearances to be distorted, amd await the falling of stones from the skies - along with calamities, await other signs too which shall follow in rapid succession, as beads fall one after the other when the string is broken (Tirmidhi)

The last indications of the approach of  the Doomsday are these:
The first sign of the fall of doom will be that for three or four years people shall remain unaware and the worldly pleasures and lusts will be widespread.
 Early in the morning on a Friday (which will also be a day of 'Ashura) people shall engage in their daily tasks, a voice will be heard by the people. This will be the trumpet sound.
 People in all corners shall hear the voice equally clearly and they shall be wonder-struck as to what is this voice and whence it comes.
 Gradually this voice will rise hard and sharp like the thunderbolt. There shall be a great commotion among the people due to this.
 When the voice shall rise to the highest pitch, people shall start dying out of fear.
 An earthquake will come; people shall run out of their homes in fright and come into the plains.
 The wild beasts will run out of the forests in panic and rush into the crowds of people.
 The earth will divide into fissures here and there.
 The oceans will overflow their shores and inundate the habitations all around.
 The fire will die out.
 The heaviest and tallest mountains will be broken into pieces and theses pieces will fly about in fast winds like the grains of sand.
 The universe will be plunged into darkness by the rising clouds of dust and windstorms.
 The voice of doom will continue to grow harder and harder till by the impact of its terrible pitch, the skies will burst asunder and the stars will be broken into shatters.

Hudhaifa (may God be pleased with him) relates that the Prophet of God (peace be upon him) affirmed:

''The doom will not fall until the time when the most foolish person or a son of the most stupid fellow becomes the most fortunate and the richest man (i.e. until the time when the men of evil nature and foul character capture authority and rule in the world and become masters of its wealth) (Mishkat)

(Description of the end of time is from the book: The Spectacle of Death (including Glimpses of Life Beyond the Grave) by Khawaja Mohammad Islam)



Allah (s.w.t.) says in the Holy Qur'an:

“and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al‑Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)” (Holy Qur'an 7:31)

The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said:

“No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach. Sufficient for any son of Adam are some morsels to keep his back straight. But if it must be, then one third for his food, one third for his drink and one third for his breath.” (Ahmad,Tirmidhi, Nasaa’i)

Ibn ‘Umar (r.a.) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) said:

“The believer eats in one stomach whilst the disbeliever eats in seven.” (Bukhari (5081) and Muslim (2060))

Ibn ‘Umar (r.a.) said: A man burped in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he said: “Keep your burps away from us, for the one who eats his fill the most in this world will be hungry for the longest time on the Day of Resurrection.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2015))

It was also narrated that Aisha (r.a.) said, “The family of Muhammad never ate their fill three days in a row till the Prophet passed away.” (Bukhari)

Thursday 7 October 2010

The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) Invites an Unnamed Person to Islam

 A person from the Baladawiyyah tribe narrates the following from his grandfather :

 "As I was coming to Madinah, I pitched my tent in a valley where I saw two persons trading. The buyer was saying to the seller, "Make me a good deal on this purchase." I said to myself, "Could this not be the Haashimy who is misleading his people?" As I watched them, another man approached. He was extremely handsome with a broad forehead, slender nose, fine eyebrows and a black line of hair running from his chest to his navel. He was wearing two old sheets of cloth.

 He greeted us with "As Salaamu Alaykum" and we all replied to his greeting. He has just arrived when the buyer said, "0 Rasulullaah (s.a.w.)! Tell this seller to make a good deal with me." To this, Rasulullaah (s.a.w.) raised his hands and said, "You people are the owners of your goods. All I want is to meet Allaah on the Day of Qiyaamah without any of you claiming from me any wealth, any blood or any honour that I may have wrongfully taken from you. Allaah showers His mercy on a person who is lenient when he sells, lenient when he buys, lenient when he takes, lenient when he gives, lenient when he pays his debts and lenient when he asks for payment." After saying this, Rasulullaah (s.a.w.) left.

 I said to myself, 'By Allaah! I must certainly have to find out about this man because his words are excellent." I therefore followed him and shouted, "0 Muhammad" He turned around to face me and said, "What is it?" I asked, "Are you the person who has misled your people, destroyed them and stopped them from worshipping what their.forefathers worshipped?" He replied, "That is Allaah." I asked, "To what are calling people?" "I am calling the servants of Allaah to Allaah," he responded. "What have you to say?" I asked further. He said, "That you should testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allaah, that Muhammad is the Rasul of Allaah, that you believe in everything revealed to me, that you renounce Laat and Uzza and that you establish salaah and pay Zakaah." "What is Zakaah?" I asked. "Wealth that our rich give to our poor," came the reply. I responded by saying, "These are excellent things you are calling towards."

 Prior to this, there was no one on earth whom I hated more than Rasulullaah (s.a.w.) However, it was not long that he became more beloved to me than even my children, my parents and all of mankind. I then said to him, "I have understood." "YOU have understood?" he asked. "Yes," I replied. He asked, "Do you testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allaah, that I Muhammad am the Rasul of Allaah and do you believe in everything revealed to me?" "Yes, 0 Rasulullaah" I replied. I then asked him, "There is an oasis where many people are settled. May I invite them towards that which you have invited me? I feel that they will want to follow you." He replied, "Yes, you may invite them." "

Consequently, all the men and women of the oasis accepted Islaam and (in appreciation and happiness) Rasulullaah (s.a.w) stroked the head of this Sahabi.

 Abu Ya'la. Haythami (Vol. 9 Pg. 18) says that although the narrators of the report are reliable, the identity of one of them is unknown.

(from Hayatus Sahabah by Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Khandhlawi)




                        
 Islamic wallpaper by Al Mubid. Image found on http://islamicstyle.al-habib.info/

Tuesday 5 October 2010

Hadhrat Faatima (r.a) Weeps at the Pale Appearance of Rasulullaah (s.a.w) Caused by his Exertion In the Duty Allah Entrusted to him

 Hadhrat Abu Tha'laba Khushani (r.a.) narrates that Rasulullaah (s.a.w) once returned from a battle and entered the Masjid to perform two Rakaahs of salaah. Whenever he returned from a journey, Rasulullaah   (s.a.w) always liked to proceed first to the Masjid to perform two Rakaahs of salaah and then go to the house of Hadhrat Faatima (r.a.) his daughter before proceeding to the homes of his wives. Consequently, he went to the home of Hadhrat Faatima (r.a.) upon returning from a particular journey before going to see his wives. Welcoming him at the door, Hadhrat Faatima (r.a.) started kissing Rasulullaah (s.a.w) on his face and his eyes. She then began weeping. When Rasulullaah (s.a.w) asked her what it was that made her weep, she replied, "0 Rasulullaah! It is because I see your face so pale and your clothing so tattered (because of the strenuousness of the journey) ."

To this, Rasulullaah (s.a.w.) said, "Do not weep, 0 Faatima. Allah as sent your father with a Deen by means of which He will enter honour or disgrace into every baked and unbaked home and every skin tent on the surface of the earth (those who accept Islaam will have the honour while the others will hiave the disgrace). It (the Deen) shall reach wherever the night reaches (everywhere) ."

Tabraani, Abu Nu'aym and Haakim, as quoted in Kanzul Ummaal (Vol.1 Pg.77). Refer to Ilaythami (Vo1.8 Pg.262) and Haakim (Vo1.3 Pg. 155) for commentary on the chain of narrators.

(from Hayatus Sahabah by Maulana Muhammad Yusuf Khandhlawi)