Advise for Insightful people

[boriqee]

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent


All praise is due to Allah, and may He mention His Messenger and grant him peace.


as-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah;

This Is Some Advice For Insightful People


The Messenger of Allah (sall Allahu `alayhi wa sallam) said:


“The people who are most severely tried are the Prophets, then those who are closest to them, then those who are next closest.” (Ahmad, 26539; graded saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah, 1165).


According to another version: “A man will be tested according to the level of his religious commitment, and the trials will keep affecting a worshipper of Allaah until he is left walking on the face of the earth with no burden of sin whatsoever.” (Recorded by Ibn Maajah, 4013; graded saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah, 3249).


And he (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) said:


“How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” Recorded by Muslim, 2999

Regarding the ayah (which means):


“Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning.” (Az-Zumar 39:10)

Shaikh `Abdur-Rahman bin Nasir As-Sa`di said in his Tafsir:

“So Allah has promised that the patient will get their reward without reckoning, that is: without limit, without number, without enumeration. And that is not but due to the virtue of patience and its stature before Allah and that (in this) it is specific above all other matters.”


But the real patience, the patience that counts, the patience that gets the reward, is genuine patience for the sake of Allah, for His Face, not for the creatures, not out of showing off, not to please one’s friend. Real patience is the patience that starts at the beginning of the calamity, as the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) taught us:


“The real patience is at the first stroke of the calamity.” It was recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Commenting on it, Ibn Hajar clarifies that it refers to when the calamity first strikes, and the heart grieves, it is from there that patience is to start: “Then that is the patience that the reward is granted for.” (no. 1283)


Then that is the patience, that is the patience, that is the real patience that the reward is granted for. I wish that we had patience with patience, that we could have, “real” patience. May Allah grant us real patience.


The patient person is not the same as the person who has a temper tantrum, abusing, and belittling everyone around him, unless he gets his way!


But the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) said: “Information is not like observation” Recorded by Ahmad and others and graded saheeh by Shaykh al-Albani, may Allah have mercy upon him.


What wisdom and lessons there are in this hadith, some people, no matter how much you inform them, no matter what you explain to them, no matter what lengths you go through to help them understand, still – “Information is not like observation” – only when they see it with their eyes shall they believe.


But the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) is to be believed in, his Message is to be trusted, so when he said:


“There will always remain a group in my Ummah, victorious upon the truth…not harmed by those who detract from them…”


What good is the information for those who require observation?! What good will it do to inform that our manhaj is not wishy-washy, it does not fluctuate based upon he said she said?


Nay! They will not be harmed by their detractors, they will not be harmed by their detractors, they will not be harmed by their detractors!


They are the patience ones, they have real patience, they really believe in the Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam), not just for show.


The believe that faith is in the heart, upon the tongue, and upon the limbs. They believe that changing evil requires recognizing it first; they do not tell you to learn from this person today, and, tomorrow tell you that this person was really a Shaytan, for they have knowledge, knowledge of evil, they know before they speak, because they believe, their creed states, that utterances are from faith. They know that what they say is religion, then it is faith, they know that:


“Whoever is silent, he is saved” (it is in Saheeh al-Jami` as-Sagheer)


When it is required to:


“Hate it in his heart, that is the weakest of faith.”


Do they speak to be heard, do they act to be seen? Do they encourage evil today, clothing it in rhetoric to prove it is good, and tomorrow tell you that it was evil? What is this manhaj that can not recognize evil? Is it the manhaj of the salaf?


Nay! The religion is complete, it does not change daily because someone said it did, it is the religion of Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam), understood by:


“What I and my Companions are upon”


But it is one of the qualities of the believer, to honor our elders, and, to have mercy upon our young. For the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) said:


“He is not one of us, who does not respect our elders, nor have mercy with out young.” It is in Saheeh al-Jami.‘


You young people have to respect our elders, and you elders must treat our young with mercy.


Since I have seen that some brothers who felt they were wronged by some fitnah, have engaged in vengeful statements about some of the Muslims, taking it upon themselves to talk abusively about their brothers, belittling them, making fun of them - all out of revenge because that was done to them; and since we all know that in Islam, two wrongs do not make a right, just because he raped my wife, does not give me the right to rape his, and just because he violated my honor, it does not give me the right to violate his - since all of the Muslim is haraam, his blood, his wealth, and his honor –


Then I wanted to relate a story from which I ask that Allah grant my brothers the wisdom to do what is right for the Face of Allah, rather than continuing in their spiral into the deep abyss of fitnah, laughing and rejoicing at what they see to be their success, and the humiliation of those who have humiliated them. Rank this under the chapter of helping your brother who is an oppressor - for even if you were oppressed, it does not give you the absolute right to oppress of like kind.


Salamah bin al-Akwa` narrated: “Once, I went towards (al-Ghaabah) before the first athaan (of Fajr). The she-camels of Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) used to graze at a place called Thi-Qarad. A slave of `Abdur-Rahmaan bin `Awf met me and said: ‘The she-camels of Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) have been taken.’ I asked: ‘Who took them?’ He replied: ‘(The people of) Ghatafaan.’……” He said: “Then I rushed onward and caught up with the thieves while they were watering the camels. I started shooting arrows at them…..” He said: “Until I saved the she-camels. I also took thirty burdah (garments) from them. Then the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam came there, and I said: ‘O Allah’s Prophet! I have stopped the people from taking water and they are thirsty now. So send (some people) after them now.’ On that the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) said:


‘You have overpowered them, so pardon them.’”


In no. 3946 of Sunan at-Tirmithi, Abu Hurairah narrated:


“A man from Banu Faz[[a°]]rah gave a gift to the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) of she-camel from his camels which they had taken at Al-Ghaabah. So he reciprocated for it with something in return, but he was upset with it. So I heard All[[a°]]h’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam), upon [this] minbar saying: ‘Indeed one of the men from the Bedouins gave me a gift so I reciprocated for it to the extent of what I had. Then he became very upset with me. By Allah! After my experience with this Bedouin man, I shall not accept a gift from anyone except from a Quraishi, Ansari, Thaqafi, or Dawsi.’” It was graded sahih by Shaykh Nasir in Sahih Sunan at-Tirmidhi. Similar was recorded by Ahmad, no. 7918 (2:292) and he said about the camel: “And it was one of my she-camels, I recognize it as I recognize one of my family.” But there is some problem with the chain containing that addition.


There are a number of important benefits that we can derive from this event.



These people stole, which is a form of oppression.


These people stole from Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam)


The Companion that caught them shot at them and grabbed some of their belongings. Based upon what is mentioned in the story, his behavior was intended to keep them at bay, until they gave up the camels. And Allah knows best.


After the Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) caught up with them, he told Salamah: “You have over-powered them, so pardon them.”


Either these camels, or, as some say, it was the camels sent with the people of `Urainah (al-Bukhari no. 233) when Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) sent some camels with them, and told them to drink their urine and their milk to cure their ailment, and they killed the camel herdsmen, and drove off the camels – someone then brought one of these stolen camels to Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) and presented it as a gift.


He taught that gifts should be reciprocated, meaning one should give a gift in return if able, and supplicate for the giver if not able to give in return. So he did that.


The person who gave him the camel which was stolen from him as a gift, was not satisfied with the gift Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) gave in return!


Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) decided not to suffer that problem again, by only accepting gifts from peoples of the tribes he mentioned.


And there are many other points of benefit to be derived from this story. But what I want to stress, is that some of you were wronged, and you caught up with those who wronged you, and you have been shooting your arrows at them, and picking up whatever they dropped while fleeing. So take the advice of Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam), and: “Pardon them” since, “You have over-powered them.”


Strive to end the fitnah, not to add to it, strive to put out the fire, not add fuel to it, ask Allah to guide yourself and your brother, and to forgive yourself and your brother, busy yourself with learning about what is required in the religion, so that you can develop in iman, not the fisq of abusing your brother,


Do not become the kind of person about whom we have to decide not to suffer this problem again, and not accept your gift, for we have a precedent to do so if you but reflect!


Rather, seek the beneficial knowledge, for seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim. That is the knowledge that is obligatory is the knowledge that every Muslim is required to seek. Not knowledge about the dark side of the moon, not knowledge about how deep an ocean is, not knowledge about how many bones are in the human body, not knowledge about he said she said, not knowledge about…..rather the obligatory, beneficial knowledge.


O you young people! Please be patient with our elders, supplicate for them, be kind to them and give them the respect they are due. O you elders! Please have mercy upon our young, be patient with them, be patient with them, be patient with them.


And since Allah grants the patient ones reward without reckoning, I beg that Allah grant us real patience, the type that warrants the reward.

was-salamu `alaykum

from Abu Khaliyl