The Patience of Abu Qilabah

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

I came across this story/incident, and subhan’Allah the lessons to be learnt from it are numerous. Please read…

Imam al-Awza’i narrates from ‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad that he said:

I went out to the shore as a patrolman and our patrol at the time was in al-‘Areesh in Egypt. When I arrived at the shore, I came upon an open area and there was tent on it. In the tent was a man who had no hands and legs and he was hard of hearing and sight. None of his limbs were of benefit to him but his tongue, and he was saying: ‘O Allah, grant me (the ability) to praise you a praise through which I can sufficiently thank You for the favours You have bestowed upon me and by which You have preferred me over many whom You have created a great preference.’

Al-Awza’i said: ‘Abdullah said: ‘By Allah, I will certainly go to this man and I shall certainly ask him about this speech. Perhaps it is an understanding, or knowledge or inspiration which was inspired to him?’

So I approached the man and greeted him and said to him: ‘I heard you and you were saying: ‘O Allah, grant me (the ability) to praise you a praise through which I can sufficiently thank You for the favours You have bestowed upon me and by which You have preferred me over many whom You have created a great preference’ so what favour from the favours of Allah upon you are you praising Him for? And in what way did He prefer you over others a great preference that you need to thank Him for it?’

He said: ‘Don’t you see what my Lord has done? By Allah, if He sent the sky to me as a fire which burned me, or ordered the mountains to crush me, or the oceans to drown me, or the earth to swallow me up; it would only cause me to be more grateful to my Lord for the favour of this tongue He bestowed upon me.

However, O slave of Allah, as you have come to me, I have a need of you! Perhaps you see me and the state I am in, I cannot harm nor benefit myself. I had a young son who used to come to me at the time of prayer and help me do my ablution, and when I became hungry he’d feed me, and if I became thirsty he’d provide me with a drink but I have missed him for the last three days, so please look for him on my behalf may Allah have mercy on you.’

I said: ‘By Allah, no creature could fulfill the need of another which is greater in reward with Allah than a need similar to yours.’ So I set out looking for the young boy, and I hadn’t gone far before I came by a sand hill, and behold I found the boy who had been preyed upon by a beast which ate his flesh! I did istirjaa’ (saying ‘inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un’) and said: How am I going to be able to face this man with a gentle face?!’

As I was heading towards him, the dhikr (words of remembrance) of Ayyub (‘alayhisalam) came to my heart. So when I reached him I greeted him and he responded and said: ‘Are you not my companion?’ I said ‘Yes!’ He said: ‘What did you do about my need?’ I said: ‘Are you more honourable in the site of Allah or was Ayyub the Prophet?’ He said, ‘Of course, Ayyub the Prophet.’ I said: ‘Do you know what His Lord did with him? Did He not test him in his wealth, family and children?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘How did He find him?’ He said: ‘He found him patient, grateful and praising.’ I said: ‘He was not pleased with that for him until his relatives and loved ones deserted him?’ He said, ‘yes.’ I said: ”How did His Lord find him?’ He said: ‘He found him patient, grateful and praising; make this short may Allah have mercy on you.’ I said to him: ‘The young boy you sent me in search of, I found him in a sand hill having been preyed upon by a beast which had eaten his flesh. May Allah increase for you tour reward and may He inspire you with patience.’

The tested man said: ‘Praise be to Allah Who did not create from my progeny creations who would disobey Him and He would then punish them by the fire. He then did istirjaa’ and breathed a sigh and died.’

I said: ‘Indeed to Allah we belong and to Him is our return. What a huge calamity before me; a man like this, if I were to leave him the beasts would eat him, and if I stay I won’t be able to harm nor benefit.’ So I covered him in a cloak which was over him and sat at his head crying.

As I was sitting, four men came upon me and said: ‘O slave of Allah, what is your situation and what is your story.’ So I told them my story and his. They said to me: ‘Uncover his face for us, perhaps we know him.’ I uncovered his face and the men fell upon him kissing his eyes and his hands alternately and saying: ‘May our father be sacrificed; for how long these eyes were lowered from the prohibitions of Allah. May our father be sacrificed; for how long this body prostrated before Allah while the people were sleeping.’

I said: ‘Who is this, may Allah have mercy on you?’ They said, ‘This is Abu Qilabah al-Jurmi, the companion of Ibn ‘Abbas. He had tremendous love for Allah and the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam)!!’

So we washed him and shrouded him with clothing we had with us and prayed over him and buried him. The men left and I went back to my station. When night fell, I put my head down and saw him in a dream, in a garden from the gardens of Paradise wearing two garments from the garments of Paradise while reciting the revelation (which means): “Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. And excellent is the final home.” (al-Ra’ad: 24).

I said: ‘Aren’t you my companion?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said: ‘How did you receive this?!’ He said: ‘Verily, with Allah are levels that cannot be attained except with patience at times of trial and gratitude at times of prosperity along with fear of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, in private and in public.’

- From ‘al-Thiqat’ by Ibn Hibban (copied from an online source with slight edits)

Not everyone can be your friend…

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

A chapter I took from one of my books… very insightful.

“… Know that not everyone is suited to be your friend. The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “A person is upon the Deen of his friend, so let each of you look to whom you befriend.” [Abu Dawud, 4833]

One must consider a number of characteristics (when choosing a friend):

He must be intelligent and sound of mind (astute) and generous among the people and he should not be an immoral person or an innovator or someone who desires and covets this world.

As for astuteness, then that is the capital. As ‘Ali (radhi’Allahu `anhu) said:

“Do not accompany the ignorant,
Beware of him, beware of him!
For how many of an ignorant one has destroyed,
A forbearing one when he goes to him.
A person is only weighed against another,
When he sides and walks with him.
And for everything there are indeed,
Similarities and a comparison.
Just like there is between two hearts,
A sign and an indication, when they do meet.”

So how will the matter be (for you) when the foolish ends up harming you although he intends to benefit you! For this reason, the poet said:

“I feel safe from an enemy who’s endowed with sound intellect ,
But I fear a friend who has been seized with mental illness.
For soundness of mind is of one type; I know its ways
But insanity manifests itself in so many numerous ways.”

For this reason, it is said: ‘Severing ties with the foolish means to draw closer to Allah, the Most High.’ Likewise, there is no good in the companionship of an immoral person because the one who fears Allah will never persist in a major sin, but as for him who does not fear Allah, then nobody is safe from the havoc he causes.

Allah Ta’ala said,

“… And do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.” [al-Kahf: 28]

As for good character, then ‘Alqamah ibn Qays (rahimahullah) summed it up in his final advice to his son as he was on his deathbed:

“O my son, if you ever feel the need to befriend and accompany men, then accompany the one who protects you when you help him, adorns you if you walk with him, and supplies you when your provisions run out. Accompany the one who when you stretch forth your hands in goodness, he stretches his hand too, if he sees merit from you, he remembers it, and if he sees bad from you, he remedies it. Accompany the one who gives you when you ask, who steps up when you are silent, and who consoles you when calamity overtakes you. Accompany the one who believes you when you speak, entrusts you when you engage in work, and if you fall out, he prefers you to the fallout.”

In such cases, it is said:

‘Your real brother is he who stays with you
Who harms himself in order to help you
When hard times break you and scatter you
He becomes dispersed just so he can fix you’

But before all that, he must be knowledgeable after having attained wara’ (piety), so that you can benefit from his knowledge too. Luqman said to his son, “O my son, sit with the scholars, crowd them with your knees! For indeed, hearts come to life with words of wisdom just like the dead earth comes back to life with the downpour of rain.””

- Mukhtasar Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din, by Imam al-Ghazali.

Qur’anic Gems for the Aspiring Hafidh

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Below are 15 Qur’anic gems which you might find useful during the course of your Hifdh al-Qur’an. Most of these were passed down to me from previous teachers (may Allah bestow upon them much goodness, ameen), while some were picked up along the way (and others were contributed by fellow students).

Insha’Allah, more will be added in the future. If you wish to mention some gems of your own so we can benefit each other, please feel free to comment below!

1.

وَاتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ابْنَيْ آدَمَ بِالْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَاناً فَتُقُبِّلَ مِن أَحَدِهِمَا وَلَمْ يُتَقَبَّلْ مِنَ الآخَرِ قَالَ لَأَقْتُلَنَّكَ قَالَ إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ
“And recite to them the story of the two sons of Adam in truth; when each offered a sacrifice, it was accepted from one but not from the other. The latter said to the former: “I will surely kill you.” The former said: “Verily, Allah accepts only from those who are Al-Muttaqun.” [Al-Ma'idah: 27]

لَّقَدْ سَمِعَ اللَّهُ قَوْلَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَقِيرٌ وَنَحْنُ أَغْنِيَاءُ ۘ سَنَكْتُبُ مَا قَالُوا وَقَتْلَهُمُ الْأَنبِيَاءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَنَقُولُ ذُوقُوا عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ
“Allah has certainly heard the statement of those [Jews] who said, “Indeed, Allah is poor, while we are rich.” We will record what they said and their killing of the prophets without right and will say, “Taste the punishment of the Burning Fire.” [Aal-'Imran: 181]

These two verses are the only ones in the Qur’an which contain 10 Qafs (the letter ق)! (yes, yes, go ahead and count them).

- So if you have a problem pronouncing your qaf, maybe it’ll help reciting these ayat over and over again!

2.

وَهِيَ تَجْرِي بِهِمْ فِي مَوْجٍ كَالْجِبَالِ وَنَادَى نُوحٌ ابْنَهُ وَكَانَ فِي مَعْزِلٍ يَا بُنَيَّ ارْكَب مَّعَنَا وَلاَ تَكُن مَّعَ الْكَافِرِينَ
“So it (the ship) sailed with them amidst the waves like mountains, and Nuh called out to his son, who had separated himself, “O my son! Embark with us and do not be with the disbelievers.” [Hud: 42]

- اركب معنا is the only place in the Qur’an where the letter ba (ب) is mudgham with a meem (م).

Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Ya’qub mentions something interesting about this in one of his books:

هذه أقدار, وأحكام التجويد فيها أسرار

اركمّعنا – إدغام الباء في الميم كأنها تقول: التصق بنا لنصبح شيئا واحدا
اركمّعنا – حذف الحرف إشارة إلى السرعة! ء
اركمّعنا – صرنا نحن والركوب شيئا واحدا, فكن معنا

والإدغام مع الغنة فيها معنى التماسك بعد التلاسق, فكأنه يتمسك به بشدة ولا يفلت يده من يده ولا يدعه لحظة واحدة لأنها النجاة … نجاة نفس من النار… إرادة نجاة من قلب مشفق على من يحب

Summary: There is Idgham of ‘ba‘ and ‘meem‘ and it is as if Nuh (`alayhisalam) is saying ‘Come and hold fast to us so that we can be one body.’ (This is based on the knowledge that Idgham by definition is ‘inclusion of one letter into the other such that they become one letter mushaddad’). Also, there is omission of a letter (ba) and this suggests rapidity and fast momentum (you can picture the scene here).

3.

قِيلَ يَا نُوحُ اهْبِطْ بِسَلاَمٍ مِّنَّا وَبَركَاتٍ عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى أُمَمٍ مِّمَّن مَّعَكَ وَأُمَمٌ سَنُمَتِّعُهُمْ ثُمَّ يَمَسُّهُم مِّنَّا عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
“It was said: “O Nuh! Come down (from the ship) with peace from Us and blessings on you and on the people who are with you but (there will be) people to whom We shall grant pleasures (for a time), but in the end a painful torment will reach them from Us.” [Hud: 48]

Sticking with Surah Hud… this ayah which comes up later in the story of Nuh (`alayhisalam) is the only ayah to contain the biggest number of ghunna’s in the Qur’an due to the abundant occurence of nun and meem mushaddadah (نّ – مّ).

4.

You’ll only ever find 3 places in the Qur’an where there is a direct repetition of a word/letter without any breaks:

 

a. In al-An’am:

وَإِذَا جَاءتْهُمْ آيَةٌ قَالُواْ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ حَتَّى نُؤْتَى مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ رُسُلُ اللّهِ اللّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهُ سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُواْ صَغَارٌ عِندَ اللّهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَمْكُرُونَ
“And when there comes to them a sign they say: “We shall not believe until we receive the like which was received by the Messengers of Allah.” Allah knows best with whom to place His Message. Humiliation and disgrace from Allah and a severe torment will overtake the criminals for that which they used to plot.’ [al-An'am: 124]

- The name of Allah is repeated twice without any fasil. In one case it’s majrur (due to it being in an idhafah construction) and the next it’s marfu’ which indicates a new sentence/meaning, hence waqf is preferred prior to it (i.e. one should stop after saying Rusulullah).

 

b. In al-Tawbah:

لاَ تَقُمْ فِيهِ أَبَداً لَّمَسْجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى التَّقْوَى مِنْ أَوَّلِ يَوْمٍ أَحَقُّ أَن تَقُومَ فِيهِ فِيهِ رِجَالٌ يُحِبُّونَ أَن يَتَطَهَّرُواْ وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُطَّهِّرِينَ
“Never stand you therein. Verily, the mosque whose foundation was laid from the first day on piety is more worthy that you stand therein. In it are men who love to clean and to purify themselves. And Allah loves those who make themselves clean and pure.” [al-Tawbah: 108]

- Repetition of the word فيه x2.

 

c. In al-Jathiyah:

أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَى سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَى بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
“Have you seen him who takes his own lust as his god, and Allah knowing (him as such), left him astray and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his sight. Who then will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?’ [al-Jathiya: 23]

- Repetition of the letter ha (ها) x3. One letter is part of the word ‘ilah’, the 2nd is a dhamir (pronoun) and the 3rd is the first letter of the word ‘hawa.’

5.

Remembering taqdim and ta’khir?

Sometimes in the Qur’an when two are mentioned together, one will precede the other in one place and vice versa in another place. It can get slightly confusing so here are some tips:

Throughout the Qur’an the word لعب comes before لهو except in two Surahs: Al-A’raf and Al-’Ankabut where لهو precedes لعب.

In Surah Yunus the terms ضر and نفع are repeated 3 times, in the beginning (v. 18), middle (v.49) and end (v.106). Quick way to remember, in the first two times, ضر comes before نفع and it’s only in the end that نفع is mentioned first.

لكل أمة أجل فإذا جاء أجلهم فلا يستأخرون ساعة ولا يستقدمون – this ayah at times begins with a letter waw and at times, it contains a letter fa in the jawab al-shart. Tip: If it begins with a waw, then the fa is not present. If it does not begin with a waw, then the fa will be there. These two letters (waw and fa) never come together in such sentence structures.

6.

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَرَفَعْنَاهُ بِهَا وَلَـكِنَّهُ أَخْلَدَ إِلَى الأَرْضِ وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ فَمَثَلُهُ كَمَثَلِ الْكَلْبِ إِن تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْهِ يَلْهَثْ أَوْ تَتْرُكْهُ يَلْهَث ذَّلِكَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا فَاقْصُصِ الْقَصَصَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“And if We had willed, we could have elevated him thereby, but he adhered [instead] to the earth and followed his own desire. So his example is like that of the dog: if you chase him, he pants, or if you leave him, he [still] pants. That is the example of the people who denied Our signs. So relate the stories that perhaps they will give thought.” [7:176]

- يَلْهَث ذَّلِكَ - This is the only place in the Qur’aan (riwaayah of Hafs ‘an ‘Aasim), where the letter tha (ث) is mudgham with the letter dhaal (ذَّ)

7.

الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ
وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ
وَالَّذِي يُمِيتُنِي ثُمَّ يُحْيِينِ
وَالَّذِي أَطْمَعُ أَن يَغْفِرَ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ

“Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me; And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink. And when I am ill, it is He who cures me. And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (again); And Who, I hope will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense.” [al-Shu'ara: 78-82]

- In the above passage, sometimes the word ‘هو’ is mentioned and other times it’s not. I remember one of my teachers saying that if you notice, the ‘هو’ only comes up before the mention of actions which human beings can also claim to do (the giving of food/drink, curing, guiding etc) whereas in the acts which only Allah `azza wa jall has the power to do, the ‘هو’ is absent (e.g. the power to create, give life/death, forgive sins etc).

This is because when there is a seemingly joint power to do an act, Ibrahim (`alayhisalam) reiterates by saying ‘هو’ in order to emphasis that really, only Allah `azza wa jall has the full power to do even these things.

A small point of benefit: ‘هو’ does not precede the act of falling ill (وإذا مرضت) and this gives ground to a person’s belief that harm will never befall a person without the permission of Allah. See here for more on the beautiful subtlety behind such sentence structures (in the du’as of the Prophets).

8.

The word يزيدهم appears throughout the Qur’an as being marfu‘ (i.e. with a dhamma on the letter daal) – يزيدُهم (yaziduhum) – except in two places: Surah al-Nur and Surah al-Fatir – here, it appears in a nasb state (with a fat-ha) يزيدَهم (yazidahum) :

لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
“That Allah may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and add even more for them out of His Grace. And Allah provides without measure to whom He wills.” [al-Nur: 38]

لِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ
“That He may pay them their wages in full, and give them (even) more, out of His Grace. Verily! He is OftForgiving, Most Ready to appreciate.” [al-Fatir: 30]

[For you grammar fans, the reason behind this is due to the lam al-ta'lil at the beginning of the ayah (li-yajziyahum & li-yuwaffihim) and hence the verb yazeed is ma3tuf `alayh)]

9.

The word كلا is not present anywhere in the 1st half of the Qur’an (first 15 Juz). It makes it’s first appearance in Surat Maryam, Juz 16.

Interesting incident concerning this:

Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was once approached by a woman who cried, ‘O Ameer! Forgive and release my son for he is innocent. I ask you by the One who ommited كلّا from the top half!’ [الذي حذف كلا من نصف الأعلى]

Hajjaj ibn Yusuf despite all his tyranny was well-versed in the words & structure of the Qur’aan and realised the depth and extent to which this woman went in her plea. As a result he ordered the release of her son.

Explanation: The term كلّا (kallaa) is not present in the Qur’aan anywhere in the first 15 juz – the first place it’s used is in Soorah Maryam (كَلَّا سَنَكْتُبُ مَا يَقُولُ وَنَمُدُّ لَهُ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ مَدّاً ) in Juz 16 and thereafter is repeated all the way through to the end.

This incident begs the question, how well versed and in touch are we with the Qur’aan?

10.

In every verse of Surah al-Mujadalah there is mentioned the name of ‘Allah’. No other Surah has this. Check it out!

11.

Usually in the Qur’an, the term يَومئذٍ appears with a fat-ha on the meem. But there 2 exceptions to this (in Surah Hud and al-Ma’arij) where the meem has a kasra on it (i.e. يومِئذ).

The exceptions:

جَاءَ أَمْرُنَا نَجَّيْنَا صَالِحًا وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ مِّنَّا وَمِنْ خِزْيِ يَوْمِئِذٍ
“So when Our command came, We saved Salih and those who believed with him, by mercy from Us, and saved them from the disgrace of that day…” [Hud: 66]

يُبَصَّرُونَهُمْ ۚ يَوَدُّ الْمُجْرِمُ لَوْ يَفْتَدِي مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِئِذٍ بِبَنِيهِ
“They will be shown each other. The criminal will wish that he could be ransomed from the punishment of that Day by his children” [al-Ma'arij: 11]

12.

For you grammar lovers out there:

In Surah Yunus, it says:

وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَائِمًا فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهُ مَرَّ كَأَن لَّمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَىٰ ضُرٍّ مَّسَّهُ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْمُسْرِفِينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
“And when affliction touches man, he calls upon Us, whether lying on his side or sitting or standing; but when We remove from him his affliction, he continues as if he had never called upon Us to remove an affliction that touched him! Thus is made pleasing to the transgressors that which they have been doing.” [Yunus: 12]

The word ضُر (harm/affliction) is repeated 3 times in this verse, and each time it appears in a different grammatical state (i’rab). In the first instance, it’s marfu‘ (hence it ends in a dhammah), in the second, it’s mansub (fatha), and in the third, it’s majrur (kasra).

So, if ever you get stuck, just remember the order… marfu’, mansub, majrur!

13.

Aal ‘Imran: 154 and Surah al-Fath: 29, are the only verses in the Qur’an that have in them all the letters of the arabic alphabet. Check it out!

14.

Three places in the Qur’an have the verse: نِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ (“And excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers) but in each there is a slight difference – mainly in the addition or lack of a particle (harf al-’atf):

- Surah Aal ‘Imran, it has a و (waw) at the beginning:
وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ
v. 136

- Surah al-’Ankabut, it has nothing preceding it:
نِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ
v. 58

- And finally in Surah al-Zumar, there is the letter ف (fa) attached:
فَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ
v. 74

15.

Usually in the Qur’an (and elsewhere), the word شجرة which means ‘tree‘ is spelt with a ta al-marbutah (ة) at the end.

But verse 43 of Surah al-Dukhan is the only place where ‘shajarah‘ is spelt with an open taa (ت) at the end.

إِنَّ شَجَرَتَ الزَّقُّومِ
“Indeed, the tree of zaqqum…” [al-Dukhan: 43]

The implications of this come to light if and when a person decides to stop on that word (i.e. one would have to stop on a taa sound as opposed to a haa sound which is what would happen in the case of a ta al-marbutah).

… and much much more!

Of course, we are all human and prone to mistakes, so if I’ve made a mistake, may Allah forgive, ameen.

From one year to the next

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Something interesting I came across…

In Surah al-‘Ankabut, Allah `azza wa jall describes the length of time that Prophet Nuh (`alayhisalam) spent with his people. But what do you notice about the verse?

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا نُوحًا إِلَىٰ قَوْمِهِ فَلَبِثَ فِيهِمْ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ إِلَّا خَمْسِينَ عَامًا فَأَخَذَهُمُ الطُّوفَانُ وَهُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
“And certainly We sent Noah to his people, and he remained among them a thousand years minus fifty years…” [al-‘Ankabut: 14]

In the English translation, you can’t really notice anything, but if you look at the Arabic, there are actually 2 different words being used here:

“… A thousand years (sana) minus fifty years (‘aam)”

Hmm, but hold on… don’t the words sana (سنة) and ‘aam (عام) both mean ‘year’?

Yes, they do. But usually in the Qur’an, when 2 synonyms (words of the same/similar meaning) appear in the same sentence, there is normally a key difference being highlighted between them.

So what is the difference between sana and ‘aam?

Well, there are various explanations, but one interesting view is that sana generally indicates a year of difficulty, hard work and hardship whereas ‘aam usually indicates a year of ease and goodness or blessing.

This is why in Surah Yusuf, when Prophet Yusuf (`alayhisalam) talks about the interpretation for the King’s dream, he says:

قَالَ تَزْرَعُونَ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ دَأَبًا
مَّ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ سَبْعٌ شِدَادٌ
“… You will plant for seven years (sinin – plural of sana) consecutively…”

“Then will come after that seven difficult [years]” [verses: 47-48]

The meaning carries on with the word: sana/sinin - indicating years of hard work in planting and sowing, followed by years of hardship and lack of crops etc

But then he says:

ثُمَّ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ عَامٌ فِيهِ يُغَاثُ النَّاسُ وَفِيهِ يَعْصِرُونَ
“Then will come after that a year (‘aam) in which the people will be given rain and in which they will press [olives and grapes].” [verse: 49]

And this was the year (‘aam) of ease, rainfall and growth of crops/blessings after the previous difficult years of lessened crops and growth.

It also says in Surah al-A’raf:

وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ بِالسِّنِينَ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
“And We certainly seized the people of Pharaoh with years (sinin) of famine and a deficiency in fruits that perhaps they would be reminded.” [al-A'raf: 130]

How interesting!

Subhan’Allah, now if we come back to the verse about Nuh (`alayhisalam), we then realise what this great Messenger of Allah went through with his people such that Allah `azza wa jall describes his lifespan as being a thousand years (sana) – indicating toil and hardship with his people, minus only fifty years (‘aam) – indicating a short period of relative ease and blessing.

Now, what do you guys say…

Kull ‘aam wa anta bi-khayr
or
Kull sana wa anta tayyib?

_____________
(By the way, this is just one explanation of several; some say that the difference is in whether one is speaking about the year in terms of days or months, and others put the difference down to lunar/solar year, but this viewpoint I mentioned was the most interesting masha’Allah!).

We went to visit the sick, but death visited us instead

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

A personal account…

There are so many virtues in visiting the sick. It’s often a reality check which helps us to regain focus on our own lives, be grateful for our own health and it helps us put life into perspective as the ill and ailing are often in between life and death; between this world and Hereafter.

“He who visits the sick continues to remain in the fruit garden of Paradise until he returns.” [Sahih Muslim]

“A Muslim walking to visit a sick person will be wading in the mercy of Allah. When the visitor sits with the sick one, they will be immersed in mercy until his return.” [Ahmed and Ibn Hibban]

But the other virtues of visiting the sick is that often times, your presence uplifts their mood, brings a smile to their face and helps them forget their suffering. And sometimes, as this past week showed me, visiting someone at the right time of their sickness, may be a Divine Way of Allah bringing help and assistance to the family in their time of need.

Below is an account of something that happened to me and my friend just a couple of days ago. The scenes, images and flashbacks still replay in my mind, and I find the wisdom and lessons that I learnt to be so numerous… :

Ring, ring!

Me: Hello?
Friend: As-salamu `alaykum.
Me: Hey, wa `alaykumusalam sis! Good to hear from you, how’s it going?

It was my friend calling from abroad. Her mother had been taken ill and diagnosed with advanced lung cancer, so her and her eldest daughter had travelled from their homeland to Egypt in search of good medical care and treatment. Although we never met them before, the very least we could do was visit and see how we could help. We didn’t realise they were all alone, with no assistance, unable to speak Arabic or get around easily.

Tuesday, 11am.

The aunty had received her 1st dose of chemotherapy the day before and had gone home to rest.

My friend and I decided to visit her and see how she was doing. We met up after class, grabbed some food and fruits to take to the aunty and made our way from there. As we got in, the daughter said she was sleeping. But we popped into the room to see her anyway.

“Here, let me wake her up for you” said the daughter.
“No, no, please, let her sleep” I objected.
“No, it’s ok, she’s been sleeping long enough.”
“How long?” I asked.
“Since yesterday, but she woke twice in the night and was sick.”
“Is she usually up by this time?”
“Yes, she doesn’t sleep for this long. She seems to be in a deep sleep.”
“When was the last time she ate?”
“Yesterday evening.”

I don’t know why I was asking these questions since the daughter herself is a doctor, but the situation didn’t seem right to me.

“Aunty?” I shook her myself.
No response. She was breathing deeply but normally. “Aunty?!” I shook her again, this time raising my voice. She was heavily sedated and unresponsive. I pinched her fingers, shook her, no response. This didn’t look right, we decided to get her to hospital.

Pulling out a wheelchair, we rushed to get her in, struggling under her weight. I went downstairs to get help from the doorman but he was nowhere to be seen. Ah man, I started pressing on a button. “Hello, 10th floor here.” No, wrong button! These Egyptian buildings are so random in their intercom system!

I frantically pushed another button… finally got through to him. He came out and after trying to explain, we rushed back up to the flat. Alhamdulillah we managed to get her downstairs and out on to the street.

Now, this wasn’t the UK where one can dial 999 and have a team of medics arrive within minutes to take the burden of you. This was a place where we didn’t even know the emergency number! Incredibly, a few days prior to this, someone was asking me about the emergency no. & services in Egypt. I had no clue, so I just said, “If anything happens, grab the nearest taxi; it’s probably faster and better than waiting for an ambulance.”

Subhan’Allah, was I completely living my own advice right now or what

We flagged down a taxi and struggled again to get the aunty inside, she was still unconscious.

I know how heavy it could be to lift someone who has passed out, but this was something else.

Three women in a foreign land never having done something like this, I seriously didn’t know how we could do this on our own. In circumstances like this, you realise that it’s a matter of pure tawakkal (reliance on Allah) and that what’s meant to happen, will happen – with or without you. We got into the taxi, gave the directions and set off quickly. The journey seemed to take a lifetime.

We hit Cairo traffic, and the auntie’s health plummeted right before our eyes. She seemed to be going through some internal respiratory struggle, most likely due to pulmonary aspiration. “Uncle! Step on it, please!” I pleaded with the driver. “I can’t do anything, the road is jammed!” He replied, with a look of sheer panic and nervousness on his face as he kept turning to look at the aunty. “Please, sound the horn then!”

We finally made it to the hospital grounds. I ran out to get help. Half expecting a paramedic team and half expecting a stretcher, all I got was one nurse say to a caretaker, “Yalla, help them get the patient in.” I didn’t have the energy to argue with them, so I ran back to the taxi with this caretaker. The sister and I helped him get the aunty back into the wheelchair. She was rushed into A&E.

As the docs performed vital signs procedures, my fears were confirmed. She had slipped into a deep coma. “She’s very critical, we can lose her at any point,” the doc told us. Immediate CT scans were performed and more complications came to the surface. I looked around at the equipment and hook-ups reminding me of my previous job in hospital… the Oxygen Saturation didn’t look right; 89% and decreasing to 85% (instead of ~100%). Heart rate was subsequently rising from 115bmp to 120bpm.

ICU took over. Time was ticking away, it had been 4 or 5 hours since we arrived, and her lungs were still not getting enough oxygen. They alternated between suction (as fluid had entered her lungs) and providing extra oxygen, but it kept plummeting. Heart rate kept getting higher and higher as her body went into survival mode. “Her heart can stop at any moment now.” These doctors were as frank as anything. Her health kept deteriorating and as crash teams took over and the defibrillator was brought out, it was a struggle in which they lost aunty.

Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji3un. May Allah have mercy on her soul and admit her into Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth. May Allah reward the daughter whose bravery, strength and patience was something I have never seen before – she witnessed her mother deteriorate and pass away in an unknown country, in the presence of no other family but herself. She’s truly a woman of substance.

As we continued to do what we could for her, I never imagined that the day could go like this. We had simply planned to visit, give our salam and smiles and leave. In fact the night before, I remember telling my friend, “By the way, I have a meeting at 2pm, you think we’ll make it back in time from the visit?” “Yeah definitely,” was her reply, “We’ll only be about 20 to 30mins.”

But Allah `azza wa jall had other plans and neither of us could ever predict what would happen on Tuesday. In the ICU, I stood next to the daughter watching as the morgue men wrapped the aunty in white sheets and took her away, one of them looked at us and made du’a for her.

The timing of it all, the way it unfolded, it was all just unreal and although devastating and upsetting, it further highlighted to me the power of the Qadr (Decree) and the Divine Way Allah runs our affairs. It highlighted how weak we could be, and yet how strong we could also be. It brought together strangers who previously did not know each other, but who in the end were sharing tears, struggles, hugs and supplications.

Subhan’Allah, all I can say is: Visit the sick, dear brothers and sisters, visit them. There will always be a benefit for you or for them, if not both.

May Allah grant us all a good end and a welcomed return to the Hereafter, ameen.

‎”Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and He sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Well-Aware.” [Luqman: 34]

Love to be Unknown

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Some amazing statements from Shaykh Sayyid al-‘Affani’s book on Ikhlas:

‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak: “Develop a love for obscurity, being hidden from the people, and disliking fame. Do not show that you love obscurity such that you end up raising yourself (above others). The fact that you ascribe Zuhd (asceticism) to yourself has taken you out of the realms of Zuhd because you will have drawn in the praise and admiration of people.” 1

Obscurity is not shameful for him
Who is of virtue and completeness
For the Night of Decree is left obscure
And it is the best of all nights…

“My brother, if you desire the path of sincerity, flee from the clatter and clinks of fame, and flee from the clamour that comes with being a celebrity. Be like the roots of a tree; it keeps the tree upright and gives it life, but it itself is hidden underneath the earth and eyes cannot see it. Or be like the foundations of a building; were it not for the foundation, no wall could be erected and no house could be established, but yet no-one sees the foundation.” 2

Ibrahim al-Nakha’i: “They (the pious predecessors) used to dislike showing the righteous deeds that performed in secret.” 3

Al-Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyyadh: “The best of knowledge and righteous acts are those hidden to the people.” 4

Sufyan al-Thawri: “Every deed that I have manifested to the people, I do not count it as being anything…” 5

Wuhayb ibn al-Wird wrote to a brother of his the following: “By the external appearance of your knowledge, you have attained (high) ranks and reverence with the people! So seek with Allah higher ranks and closeness by virtue of your hidden good deeds. And know that these two ranks, one cancels out the other.” 6

Khalid ibn Durayk said about Ibn Muhayriz: “… He had two characteristics which I haven’t seen in anyone I’ve met in this Ummah; He was the furthest from remaining silent over Truth after it became clear to him, regardless of who was angered or pleased, and he was the most ardent in hiding his best deeds from himself.” 7

Imam al-Shafi’i: “The scholar/knowledgeable one should have good deeds stored in secret between him and Allah the Most High. Indeed, all that he manifests of knowledge or deeds to the people, will be of little benefit in the Hereafter.” 8

And regarding the verses:

تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ
فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend out of what We have bestowed on them.
And no person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.” [al-Sajdah: 16-17]

Al-Hasan al-Basri said, “These people hid their deeds so Allah the Most High hid for them that which no eye has seen and no ear has heard.”

May Allah help us in attaining and retaining good intentions and deeds of great sincerity, ameen.
_____________________

1] Al-Atqiya’ al-Akhfiya’ by Dr. Sa’id ‘Abd al-‘Adhim
2] Al-Niyyah wal-Ikhlas by Dr. al-Qaradawi
3] Tahdhib al-Hilyah
4] Tanbih al-Mughtarin
5] See above source
6] Tahdhib al-Hilyah
7] See above source
8] Tanbih al-Mughtarin

The Fugitive Who Exposed Himself

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

An interesting incident in history…

After the killing of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (radhi’Allahu `anhu), there was a crackdown on the khawarij and one man in particular named ‘Imran ibn Hattan was being chased. He had escaped from the ruler ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (some say Hajjaj ibn Yusuf) and was being sought out in the land in order to be punished – as he was a khariji who saw the killing of ‘Ali (radhi’Allahu `anhu) to be legitimate. Now ‘Imran, despite his views, was well-versed in poetry and knowledgeable of the Arab tribes and lineages, and one of the reasons he was able to evade capture for so long was that whenever he approached a certain tribe, he would immediately ascribe to a near kindred of theirs, or ascribe to a near clan of theirs. Due to the great number of subclans and branches within a tribe, no-one really suspected him to be lying. This gave him protection under their refuge although in reality, they had no idea who he was and had never seen him before. But as is the age old custom, they honoured the near kindred and hosted him as their guest.

It’s said that during his plight as he fled, he settled with Rawh ibn Zinba’ who was from one of the Yemeni tribes. When Rawh asked about his origin, he said he was from al-Azad, i.e. a Yemeni just like Rawh, and this allowed him to be accepted as near blood. Now, coincidentally, Rawh used to attend the gatherings of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (the ruler!), and listen to poetry and stories etc. Whenever Rawh heard a peculiar or rare poem, he’d ask ‘Imran about it, and ‘Imran would not only know the rare piece, but he’d also continue in its stanzas and give Rawh more of its rare insights.

Rawh once went to ‘Abd al-Malik and said to him “I have a neighbour from al-Azad who, whenever I hear something from you O leader of the faithful, he seems to know it well and in fact increases in it!” ‘Abd al-Malik said, “Recite some of his poetry to me.” Rawh said a few lines and ‘Abd al-Malik (also of quick intellect) said, “The language is ‘Adnaniyyah (of North Arabia and not Yemen), and I think the man is no other than ‘Imran ibn Hattan!” That night, in their gatherings, they mentioned some lines of poetry but no-one in the gathering who knew the author/poet was:

يا ضربة من تقي ما أراد بها
إلا ليبلغ من ذي العرش رضوانا
إني لأذكره حينا فأحسبه
أوفى البرية عند الله ميزانا

‘It was but a strike from a pious one who intended only
To attain the Pleasure of the Owner of the Throne
I remember him from time to time and think him to be
The closest to Allah when (deeds are) weighed on the Scale’

‘Abd al-Malik said to Rawh, “Ask your friend about these lines of poetry.” When Rawh returned home, he asked ‘Imran about the poem and he said, “These are the lines of ‘Imran ibn Hattan wherein he praises ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Muljim, the murderer of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (radhia’Allahu `anhu)!” He exposed himself without knowing who he was up against! So Rawh returned to ‘Abd al-Malik and told him the answer whereupon ‘Abd al-Malik said, “Your companion is in fact ‘Imran ibn Hattan. Go and bring him to me.” He went and said to ‘Imran, “The leader of the faithful would like to see you.” Imran said, “I too wanted to see him but I was too shy of asking you (!). Go ahead of me and I will follow straight afterwards.” So Rawh went back to ‘Abd al-Malik and told him the news. ‘Abd al-Malik then said, “He will not come and when you return, you shall not find him.” He went back and sure enough, ‘Imran had fled but he left behind him a piece of writing/poem…

يا روح كم من أخى مثوى نزلت به
قد ظن ظنك من لخم وغسان
حتى إذا خفته فارقت منزله
من بعد ما قيل عمران بن حطان

‘O Rawh! How many of a brother’s home have I settled in,
Who thought the same as you from the tribes of Lakhm and Ghassan!
Until I feared for myself and departed his home,
After it was said ‘Imran ibn Hattan!

فاعذر أخاك ابن زنباع فإن له
في النائبات خطوبا ذات ألوان
يوماً يمان إذا لاقيت ذا يمن
وإن لقيت معدياً فعدناني
لو كنت مستغفراً يوماً لطاغية
كنت المقدم في سري وإعلاني
لكن أبت لي آيات مطهرة
عند التلاوة في طه وعمران

Excuse your brother O ibn Zinba’ for he has,
Grave matters of varying colours to attend to!
One day Yemeni when I do meet a Yemeni,
And if I meet an ‘Adnani, then I am ‘Adnani too!
If I were ever to seek forgiveness for a tyrant,
Then I would’ve done so openly and in secret!
But I’ve been halted by the pure verses,
Within the recitation of Ta-Ha and ‘Imran!’

(i.e. he cannot accept the leadership of ‘Abd al-Malik and other ‘tyrants’ due to verses in Surah Ta-Ha and Aal ‘Imran, hence his khuruj against the rulers).

His story goes on to say that he went to settle amongst another tribe and claimed to be an Awza’i (a near tribe of theirs) but he was exposed yet again by someone who had seen him in Rawh’s house and remembered that he was from al-Azad and was not an Awza’i! That same night, he fled and left behind him another poem…

إن التي أصبحت يعيا بها زفر
اعيت عياء على روح بن زنباع
ما زال يسألني حولا لأخبره
والناس من بين مخدوع وخدّاع
حتى إذا انقطعت عني وسائله
كف السؤال ولم يولع باهلاع
فاكفف كما كف عني، إنني رجل
إما صميم، وإما فقعة القاع
واكفف لسانك عن لومي ومسألتي
ماذا تريد إلى شيخ لأوزاع
أما الصلاة فإني غير تاركها
كل امرئ للذي يعني به ساع
أكرم بروح بن زنباع وأسرته
قوم دعا أوليهم للعلا داع
جاورتهم سنة فيما أسر به
عرضي صحيح ونومي غير تهجاع
فأعمل، فإنك منعى بواحدة
حسب اللهيب بهذا الشيب من ناع

Apparently he was never caught as he managed to evade his captures each time by way of wit, deception and quick thinking.

I couldn’t help but think to myself amusingly: imagine if there was a ‘WANTED’ man in the country and each time he fled from place to place, he would leave behind him poetry! It would create such a scene…!