ar- Raqâ’iq - The Heart Softening Narrations

إذا نطق السفيه فلا تجبه فخير من إجابته السكوتُ
فإن كلمته فرَّجت عنه وإن خلَّيتَهُ كَمَداً يَمُوتُ

When the foolish one speaks, do not reply to him,
For better than a response (to him) is silence;

And if you speak to him you have aided him,
And if you left him (with no reply), in extreme sadness he dies!

[Imaam Shafiee]

Imam al-Shaafi'ee wrote:

تمنى رجال أن أموت ، وإن أمت *** فتلك سبيـل لـست فيها بأوحــد
وما موت من قد مات قبلي بضائر *** ولا عيش من قد عاش بعدي بمخلد
لعل الذي يرجـو فنـائي ويدّعي *** به قبل موتـي أن يكون هو الردى

Men wish that I die, and if I die
Then that is a path in which I’m not alone
And death for the one who has died, brings no injury
And life for the one who lives after me is not eternal
And perhaps the one who hopes for my demise and calls for it before my death,
Perhaps he is indeed the one destroyed

[Diwan al-Shaafi'ee]

Abu Hurayrah, radhiallahu `anhu said: If anyone has five things then he will not be deprived of five others:

1. He who is enabled to show gratitude will never be deprived of increase of blessings.

"If you give thanks, certainly I will give you more." 14:7

2. He who is guided to persevere will not be deprived of reward.

"Truly the persevering will be paid their reward in full without reckoning." 39:10

3. One who is inspired to repent will not be deprived of its acceptance:

"And He is (Allah) Who accepts repentance from His servants." 42:25

4. One who is enabled to seek forgiveness will not be deprived of receiving pardon.

"Seek forgiveness of your Lord; surely He is Ever-Forgiving." 71:10

5. He who is spurred to make supplication is not deprived of an answer.

"Call upon Me, and I will answer you." 40:60

Someone else added a sixth proposition that one who is encouraged to spend will not be deprived of reward thereof.

"And whatsoever you spend (In Allaah's cause) He will replace it." 34:39

[Imam as-Samarqandi - Tanbeeh al-Ghafileen]

إلـهُ الخَلْـق أرْفَــعُ رَغبَتِي *** و‘نْ كُنتُ يَا ذا المَنّ والجُودِ مُجْرِما

‘To You, the Creator, I raise my longing,
And even if I am, O Possessor of kindness and generosity, an evildoer, a criminal

ولمَّا قَسَـا قلبي وضَـاقت مَذاهِبي *** جَعَلتُ الرَجـا مِني لِعَفوكَ سَلِمــا

When my heart became constricted and my paths became narrow,
I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape

تعَاظَمَنـي ذنبـي فلمَّـا قرِنتـُـهُ *** بعَفوكَ ربِّي كَانَ عَـفْوكَ أعْظَمــا

My sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to Your forgiveness,
I found Your forgiveness to be much greater

فمَا زِلتَ ذا عفو عَن الذنْبِ لَمْ تَزُلْ *** تَـجُـود وتعـفو منةً وتَكَرُّمـــا

You are and still remain the only One who can forgive sins,
You grant and forgive out of Your benevolence and generosity

فلولاكَ لَـمْ يَصْمُـدْ لإبلـيسِ عَابدٌ *** فكَيفَ وقدْ أغْوَى صَفْيَك آدِمـــا

Were it not for You, then a servant could never defy Iblis
And how can that be when he mislead Your friend Adam

فيَاليْتَ شَعْــرِي هَل أصَيرُ لِجنة *** أهنـــا؟ وأمَّـا للسَّعِير فأنْدَمــا

If only I knew! Will I arrive at Paradise that I may take delight
Or at Hellfire, that I may regret?

فللّهِ دَر العَـــارِفُ الـنـدبُ إنَّه *** تَفيض لفرْطِ الوَجْد أجفانُه دَمَّـــا

How capable is Allah! For the one acquainted with lament,
blood almost flows from his eyelids due to the excess of his emotions (lament)

يَقيـمُ إذا مَـا الليلُ مَدَّ ظَلامَــه *** على نَفسِهِ مِن شدَّةِ الخَوفِ مَأتمـا

He stands when the night extends out its darkness
Stands against himself out of extreme fear, sinful

فصِيحاً إذا ما كـانَ في ذكْـرِ رَبِّه *** وفيما سِوَاهُ في الوَرى كان أعْجَمـا

Eloquent when he makes mention of his Lord
And in the mention of others than Him, he is speechless

ويَذكُرُ أيَّامـاً مَضَـتْ مِن شَبَابـه *** وما كان فيها بالجَهَـالة أجْرَمـــا

He remembers days gone by of his youth
And what was in it of ignorance, he was a criminal

فصَارَ قَرينُ الهمِّ طُولَ نهَـــارِه *** أخا السَّهدِ والنجوى إذا الليل أظلمـا

And so for the whole of his day, the companion of grief has become
the brother of sleeplessness and secret conversation when the night darkens

يقول: حَبيبي أنـتَ سُؤلِي وبَغيتي *** كفى بكَ للرَّاجـيـنَ سُؤلاً ومغنمـا

He says, ‘My beloved, You are what I request and desire
You are enough of a longing and benefit for those who have hope

ألـسْتَ الذي غذيْتني وهَــدَيْتني *** ولا زلتَ مَنـَّانـا عليّ ومُنعِـمــا

Are You not the One who has provided for me and guided me
And You have not ceased being gracious to me and full of favours

عسَى مَنْ لَـهُ الإحْسَانَ يَغفِرُ زَلتِي *** ويَسْترُ أوْزارِي ومـا قـدْ تقدَّمــا

Perhaps the Beneficent One will forgive my mistakes
And cover up my crime and what has gone forth

تعاظمَني ذنبـي فأقبلتُ خاشِعــاً *** وَلوْلا الرِّضَـا ما كنتُ يَاربِّ مُنعَمـا

My sins seemed very great to me, so I turned (to You) in humility
Were it not for my contentment in you, I wouldn’t, O my Lord, have seen any comfort at all

فإنْ تعْفُ عَني تعْفُ عَـنْ مُتمَرِّد *** ظلوم غشــوم لا يَـزايَـلَ مأتمـا

So if You forgive me, You would have forgiven a sinner,
A rebellious, oppressive tyrant still sinning

فإن تنتـقـِمْ مِني فلستُ بآيـسٍ *** ولو أدخلوا نفسي بجـُـرْم جَهَنَّمـا

So if You were to seek revenge from me, I would not despair
Even if they entered my soul into Jahannum, due to the sins

فجُرْمِي عَظيم مِن قديم وحـَـادِث *** وعفوكَ يَأتي العَبْـدَ أعْلى وأجْسَمــا

For my crimes are great, past and present
But Your forgiveness comes to the servant, more exalted and more great

حوالي َّفضلُ الله مِن كلِّ جَانِـب *** ونورٌ مِن الرَّحمـَن يُفترش السَّمــا

The bounty of Allaah surrounds me from all sides
And Light from the Most Merciful has spread in the sky

وفي القلبِ إشراقُ المحب بوَصْلِه *** إذا قارب البُـشرَى وجَازَ إلى الحمى

And in the heart is the radiance of the beloved when he is reunited
And when glad tidings draw close, it becomes feverish

حوالي إينــاس مِن الله وَحْـدَه *** يُطالعَني فِي ظلـمـةِ القبرأنجَمــا

Exhilaration surrounds me, only for Allaah
It overlooks me in the darkness of the grave, apparent and clear

أصُونُ وَدادي أن يُدنّسـه الهَوَى *** وأحفظُ عـَهْدِ الـحُبِّ أن يَتثلمــا

I protect my love, lest my desires should pollute it
And I preserve the contract of love, lest it be defiled

ففي يَقظتِي شَوْقٌ وفي غَفوَتِي منى *** تلاحـِقُ خُـطوَى نـشوَةً وترنمـا

In my wakefulness is yearning and in my slumber is destiny
That’s pursuing my footsteps in ecstasy

ومَن يَعْتصِمْ بالله يُسَلم مِن الوَرَى *** ومَن يَرْجه هَـيْهَاتُ أنْ يَتندُمـــا

Whoever holds fast to Allaah, he is protected from men
And whoever hopes for Him, then never will he regret

[Imam ash-Shafi'ee on his deathbed]

Abî Umâmah Suddî ibn ‘Ujlân al-Bâhilî reports: I heard the Messenger of Allâh (sallAllâhu alaihe wa-sallam) giving a sermon in the farewell Hajj, saying,

“Fear your Lord, pray your five prayers, fast the month of Ramadân, pay your Zakâh, and obey your leaders, in doing so, you will enter your Lord‘s Paradise.”

Reported by Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Hadîth no.73

The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam) said,

“If the Qur’aan was to be gathered inside a vessel (heart), Allaah will never punishment it with the Hellfire.”

Narrated by al-Bayhaqi from ‘Ismah ibn Maalik - Saheeh al-Jaami’ (5266)

Abu Ya’laa said, ‘I heard Ishaaq ibn Abi Israa’eel say: I heard Ibn ‘Uyaynah say, “If it was said ‘bring out the best of this city’, there would come out people that were unknown.’'

al-Karizi said so wisely:

و لا تمشِ فوق الأرض إلا تّواضعاً *** فكَم تحتها قومٌ هم منكَ أرفع
فإن كنت في عز و خير و منعة *** فكم مات من قوم هم منك أمنع

And do not walk upon the earth except in humility
For how many people underneath it are more exalted than you
If you are in glory, goodness and strength
Then how many have died that were more stronger than you

Abul Ja’far al-Baghdaadi said,

“I read upon the door of a castle in Sind:

نزل الموت منزلاً *** سلب القوم و ارتحل

“Death has descended with a great descent
It has taken the people and went away”

I said, ‘What is this?!’ They said, ‘All the people in the castle have died and in the morning this was found written on the door, no-one knows who wrote it.’

Concerning the statement of the Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him):

“Islaam began as something strange and will return to being strange, as it began”

Imaam Al-Awzaa’ee (May Allaah be pleased with him) said:

“As for this, then it does not mean that Islaam will go away, but rather it means that the Ahl-us-Sunnah will go away, up to the point that there will not remain in a land, any from them except one person.”

[From 'The Strangeness of the Sunnah and its Adherents' by al-Hâfidh Ibn Rajab]

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said:

لَمَّا قَضَى اللهُ الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِي كِتَابٍ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ: إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي غَلَبَتْ غَضَبِي

When Allah finished with the creation, He wrote in a Book that He has with Him above the Throne, `My mercy prevails over My anger'

(This Hadith was also recorded in the The Two Sahihs.)

Umar ibn Abdul Azîz said in his khutbah:

"This life is not your permanent abode. Allâh has prescribed for it to come to an end and He has prescribed for its people to depart from it. How often has a thriving population been ruined for something insignificant, and how often has a joyful resident been made to depart for something insignificant. So prepare well, may Allâh have mercy on you, for the journey with the best of what you have of preparations, and take provisions, for the best of provisions is Taqwâ."

Al-Hasan al-Basrî said:

"The believer is like a stranger. He does not become worried due to being insignificant in it (this life), and he does not compete for honor in it. His condition is one and the people are in another condition. Whenever Allâh created Adam ('Alayhis Salâm), He made him and his wife reside in Paradise. Then he was put out of it, yet was promised to return to it, he and the righteous ones among his offspring. So the believer is always longing for his first homeland..."

Laqit ibn Sabrah (radiyaAllahu 'anhu) reported that the Prophet (saw) said:

"Verily, our Lord 'azawajal laughs at the despair that His servants feel, even though His Help is so close!"

So Laqit said,

"O Messenger of Allah - may my mother and father be given as your ransom - and does our Lord laugh?"

The Prophet sallaAllahu 'alayhi wasallam replied,

"Yes!"

Laqit said,

"In that case, we will never give up hope of receiving good from a Lord that laughs!"

[Ibn Majah in his Muqaddimah]

Sufyan at-Thawri (d. 161 AH) said:

"The Angels are the Guardians of the Heavens, and the People of Hadeeth are the Guardians of the Earth"

Tahdheeb Sharaf Ashaabul-Hadeeth (p. 66-67)

"I hear certain Nukat [interesting pieces of information and comments] from people that fall into my heart, but yet I do not accept them without two witnesses: The Book [of Allah] and the Sunnah"

Abu Suleiman al-Darani

Ibn Mas'ud said,

"No one needs to ask himself about anything except the Qur'an. If he loves the Qur'an, he loves Allah and His Messenger."

Sahl ibn 'Abdullah said,

"The sign of the love of Allah is love of the Qur'an. The sign of love of the Qur'an is love of the Prophet. The sign of love of the Prophet is love of the sunnah. The sign of love of the sunnah is love of the Next World. The sign of love of the Next World is hatred for this world. The sign of hatred for this world is that you do not store up any of it except for provision and what you need to arrive safely in the Next World."

Anas ibn Malik said, "The Messenger of Allah said to me,

'My son, if you can be without any grudge in your heart against anyone in the morning and evening, be like that.'

Then he added,

'My son, that is part of my sunnah. Whoever gives life to my sunnah has loved me and whoever loves me is with me in the Garden.'" (at-Tirmidhi)