What is Faith?
Lose all, gain all
The first Caliph, Abu Bakr, sent out Khalid ibn Walid on a military campaign. One of the pieces of advice he gave him was: “Desire of death you will be granted life.”
Knowledge is more than just information
Malik, ibn Anas said: “Knowledge is enlightenment. It comes only to a humble, fearing, pious heart.”
Affluence is the greatest trial
Saad ibn Abu Waqqas tells of the Prophet saying; “I fear for you in the trial of worldly deprivation. But I fear for you even more in the trial of affluence. You have remained patient in the face of worldly oppression, but will you not be carried away by the sweetness and luxuriance of this world?”
All man’s sins, except pride,
may be forgiven
“There is hope of forgiveness for every sin that arises from carnal desire,” said Sufyan ath-Thauri, “but not for those that stem from pride. Satan sinned out of pride, while Adam erred due to carnal desire. Adam repented and was forgiven, but the sin of Satan excluded him forever from God’s gracious mercy.”
The Prophet’s way of giving advice
The Prophet once said of Khuzaim, one of the Companions, “What a fine fellow Khuzaim would be, if only his locks were not so long and his shawl did not drag on the ground (Abu Dawud, Sunan).” When Khuzaim heard what the Prophet had said of him, he took a knife and cut off his locks. In like manner, the Prophet said of another companion, Abdullah by name, what a fine fellow he would be “if only he prayed at night.” When Abdullah heard this, he immediately started praying at night, sleeping for only a very short time.
(AL-BUKHARI, SAHIH)
When evil lives on
A wise man once said: “Blessed are those whose sins die with them. Damned are those whose sins live on after them.”
Remaining on speaking terms
Ata Ibn Hasid reports the Prophet as having said: “It is not right for anyone to break off ties with his brother for more than three days, with the two meeting and ignoring each other. He who greets the other first is the better of the two.”
(AL-BUKHARI, SAHIH)
Follow in the footsteps of
the early Muslims: that is
the only way to reform
Imam Malik once observed, “Latter-day Muslims can reform only by means of that which enabled early Muslims to reform.”
Hoping for something
is not enough. It must be
worked for
Ali, the son of Abu Talib, once exhorted the people: “People, I urge you—and myself—to be pious and obedient. Send good works before you and cherish no false hopes. For hopes will not compensate for it.
Not hating even the
direst of enemies
At the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet had his teeth broken by a stone thrown at him by one of the enemy, and blood streamed from his mouth. Some of the Companions urged the Prophet to curse these enemies who wrought such havoc. (Among the many Companions who died in the battle was the Prophet’s own uncle, Hamzah.) The Prophet’s response to this was: “I have not been sent as a curser. I have been sent as a preacher and the bearer of God’s mercy.”
A true believer shows no
hesitation in answering the
call of the Almighty
The chapter entitled ‘The Table’ in the Quran contains this divine injunction:
“Believers, wine and games of chance, idols and divining arrows, are abominations devised by the devil. Avoid them, so that you may prosper. The devil seeks to stir up enmity and hatred among you by means of wine and gambling, and to keep you from the remembrance of God, and from your prayers. Will you not abstain from them?” (5:90,91) When this verse of the Quran was revealed, the Prophet, as was customary on such occasions, recited it to the Companions. When he reached the end of the verse—“Will you not abstain from them?”—every one of the Companions shouted out: “We have abstained from them, Lord. We have abstained from them.”
The God-fearing treats
others best
Maamar, who belonged to the next generation after the Companions, tells us that the latter used often to say: “Your greatest well-wisher is he who fears God with regard to you.”
Bowing at the very name of God
The Prophet was in Aishah’s chamber when he heard two men quarrelling at the tops of their voices outside. One of them had lent money to the other, who now wanted to pay back less than he had borrowed. But his creditor was adamant. “Never will I relent, by God!” he exclaimed. The Prophet then went out to see the quarrelling pair. “Who is this, swearing in God’s name that he will not do good?” he asked. At the Prophet’s words, the man mellowed immediately. “It was I, Prophet of God,” he owned up. Then he added, “He can have whatever arrangement he pleases.”
(AL-BUKHARI, MUSLIM)
Salvation is for those who tread
the path of the Prophet
and his Companions
The Prophet said: “The Jews broke up into seventy-one sects and the Christians into seventy-two. This community will break up into seventy three, all of which will be in the Fire, except of one.” “Which one is that, Prophet of God?” the Companions asked him. “Those who follow my path and that of my Companions,” the Prophet replied.
(IBN KATHIR, TAFSIR)
Conversing with God more and
with men less
Thaur ibn Yazid tells of how in the course of his reading, he came across an interesting dialogue between Jesus and his disciples. “Converse with God more and with people less,” admonished Jesus. “How can we converse with God more?” his disciples asked him, “By prayer and supplication to Him in private,” answered Jesus.
(ABU NU‘AYM)
Remembrance of God the
greatest act of worship
Abdullah ibn Abbas once said that he preferred discussing religious knowledge for a part of the night to staying up all night in worship of God.
(JAMI‘ BAYAN AL-‘ILM)
God’s own are those who
accept the Quran
Anas ibn Malik reports the Prophet as saying: “Some people belong to God.” Asked who they were, he said, “Those who adhere to the Quran.”
(AL-DARMI, SUNAN)
Liking criticism
The Caliph Umar once came to the drinking place of the Bani Harithah where he came upon Muhammad ibn Maslamah. “How do you find me?” he asked Muhammad. “By God, I find you just as I would like you to be and just as it would please any well-wisher to see you. You are good at accumulating wealth, I see, but you keep your hands clean of it yourself, distributing it equitably.
“But,” went on Muhammad ibn Maslamah, “If you adopt a crooked course, we will straighten you, just as we straighten swords by placing them in a vice.” At these words, Umar, the second Muslim Caliph, exclaimed: “Praise be to God, who has put me among a people who will straighten me when I become crooked.”
(KANZ AL-UMMAL)
Rising above love and hate
When the Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah, the keys of the House of God in Makkah were in the custody of one Uthman ibn Abu Talhah, they having remained in the keeping of his family for several generations. One day, the Prophet asked Uthman for the keys, but the latter refused to hand them over, and spoke rudely to him. The Prophet heard him out but all he said finally was: “Uthman, perhaps you will live to see the day when I shall have these keys in my hands. I shall then be in a position to give them unto whom I will.” “It will be a day of disgrace and woe for the Quraysh when the keys of the Ka’bah are in the hands of one such as you” replied Uthman.
After the conquest of Makkah, God’s Messenger reigned supreme there, and asked for the keys of the Ka’bah to be handed over to him. When the keys were actually in his hands, his own cousin and son-in-law, Ali ibn Abu Talib, arose and asked for them to be given to him. The Prophet, however, did not respond, Instead, he summoned Uthman ibn Talhah, when he stood before him, the Prophet handed him the keys, saying, “Here are your keys, Uthman. This is a day of righteousness and fulfillment of promises.”
(IBN QAYYIM, ZAD AL-MA‘AD)
Patience and forbearance in
the face of ignorance
Zayd ibn Sa’ana, a Jewish scholar, who later accepted Islam, recounts how, when he saw the Prophet, he recognized the signs of Prophethood in his face. There were two things at that time which he had yet to see—his patience and his forbearance. He was soon to learn from his personal experience that the ignorance of another actually intensified this latter quality of the Prophet.
One day Zayd ibn Sa’ana saw the Prophet and his cousin Ali approaching and, from another direction a man, apparently a bedouin, riding up to them on a camel. The man explained to the Prophet that he was one of a group of people in a certain town who had accepted Islam, having been told by him that if they became Muslims, they would be abundantly provided for by God. Now a drought had set in there, and he was afraid that his people might forsake Islam out of greed, for it was greed, which had made them become Muslims in the first place. “If you think fit,” he suggested to the Prophet, “You could send them some assistance.” The Prophet looked enquiringly at Ali who, realizing what the Prophet’s glance meant, pointed out that such funds were all exhausted. Zayd ibn Sa’ana then approached the Prophet and offered to give him some money in return for dates. The Prophet agreed, and Zayd ibn Sa’ana handed over eighty mithqals2 of gold, all of which the Prophet gave to the bedouin, saying, “Help them and distribute this justly amongst them.”
A day had been fixed for Zayd ibn Sa’ana to be given the dates owed to him, but two or three days beforehand, he went to the Prophet who happened to be sitting in the shade of a wall along with several of his Companions, and, catching hold of him by the clothes, he said to him in a most peremptory fashion, “Why don’t you pay me what you owe me? By God, from what I know of the Banu Muttalib, they are always putting off repaying their debts!” Umar, who was sitting with the Prophet at the time, was inflamed at the Jew’s words and burst out, “Enemy of God, don’t think that I can’t hear what you are saying to God’s messenger. By the One who holds sway over my soul, it is only out of deference to him that I do not cut off your head with my sword!” The Prophet, however, continued to gaze tranquilly at Zayd ibn Sa’ana. Then, turning to Umar he said, “Umar, this man and I both deserved different treatment from you. You might have told me to be quicker at paying my debts and him to be less exacting in demanding them. Go and pay him whatever is due to him, Umar, and give him twenty sa’3 as extra for having alarmed him.”
(AL-TABARANI, IBN MAJAH)
Swallowing one’s anger
increases one’s faith
Abdullah ibn Abbas records the Prophet as saying: “The draught of one who swallows his anger is dearer to God than any other. God fills with faith one who swallows his anger for God’s sake.”
(AHMAD, MUSNAD)
Immune to flattery
A group of individuals, addressing themselves to Umar ibn Khattab as Caliph, swore that they had not seen anyone more just, more truthful or more severe on hypocrites than he was. “Next to the Prophet, you are the greatest of men.” Auf ibn Malik happened to be present at the time. He swore an oath that these people had lied: “We have seen better than Umar since the time of the Prophet.” “Who was that?” they asked him. “Abu Bakr,” Auf replied. Umar’s response to this was to say that Auf was right and that they were wrong. “By God,” said Umar, “Abu Bakr was purer than pure musk, while I am more wayward even than my household camels.”
(ABU NU‘AYM)
To praise someone to his
face is to destroy oneself
A certain individual came before Umar and began extolling the latter’s virtues. “You are destroying me and destroying yourself,” was Umar’s reply.
Not letting praise go
to one’s head
Dhiba ibn Mohsin recounts how he once told Umar that he was a better man than Abu Bakr. On hearing such praise Umar broke down, and said, “Just one day and one night in the life of Abu Bakr are worth more than the whole of my life!’ Then he asked, “Shall I tell you which day and which night I am referring to?” “Please do, Commander of the Faithful,’ replied Dhiba. “The night I am referring to was when the Prophet fled from his adversaries in Makkah. Abu Bakr was the only man to go with him. The day I am referring to was the day of the Prophet’s death. That day, many Arabs went back on their pledge to Islam, saying that they would pray but would not pay the poor-due went to Abu Bakr and advised him to be lenient with these people. He said to me, “Umar, in the old days of ignorance, (that is, prior to Islam) you were a brave man. Now, in Islamic times, you have become a coward. As for myself, I will wage war on them, by God, so long as I am strong enough to hold a sword in my hand, even if they withhold so much as a piece of string!”
(KANZ AL-UMMAL)
Blessed are those who tolerate
the severity of the righteous
Abu Saeed relates how an Arab desert-dweller came to the Prophet to demand the repayment of a debt. “I will make life difficult for you if you do not repay what you owe,”· he said. The Companions reprimanded him. “Shame on you,” they said to him, “do you not realize to whom you are speaking?” He replied that he was only demanding what was rightfully his. Then the Prophet spoke up. “Why do you not take the side of the lender?” He then sent a man to Khaulah bint Qays, to ask her to lend him some dates if she had any. “We shall repay you when we receive some,” he told her. Khaulah bint Qays then sent some dates to the Prophet, who not only handed them over to the Arab, but also gave him a meal. “You have been faithful and true,” said the Arab to the Prophet. “May God be faithful and true to you.” “The best people are those who carefully pay others their rightful due,” said the Prophet. “God does not bless a community in which the weak cannot take from the strong what is rightfully theirs without fear or repraisal.”
(IBN MAJAH, SUNAN)
Receiving praise, not with
conceit, but with humility
According to Naafi someone launching into extravagant eulogies to Abdullah ibn Umar, addressed him as “most noble of men, son of the most noble, “Neither am I the most noble of men, nor am I the son of the most noble,” replied Ibn Umar. “I am just one of God’s servants; in Him do I have hope, and Him do I fear. By God, you are bent on destroying a man with such praise.”
(HILYAT AL-AULIYA)
Reject reproof and you
reject what is good
Adi ibn Hatim once said: “What is acceptable to you today, was abhorrent to us yesterday; and what is abhorrent to you now will become acceptable to future generations. You will be following the true path so long as you continue to recognize what is abhorrent and refrain from rejecting what is acceptable; and so long as a learned man can stand up amongst you to admonish you without having scorn heaped on his head.”
(lBN ‘ASAKIR)
Working in one’s own sphere,
and avoiding conflict with
the government of the day
The Prophet asked Abu Dhar Ghefari what he would do when the leaders, or rulers started taking more than their fair share. “I will take to the sword, Prophet of God,” ventured Abu Dhar. “Rather than take to the sword, it would be better to be patient until you meet me in the hereafter,” said the Prophet. Abu Dhar never ceased to proclaim the truth, but never-right till the moment he left this world-did he take up the sword against the government of the day.
Fearing no one in giving
admonishment
One who finds himself in a situation in which he is morally bound to proclaim the truth should not refrain from doing so because he feels his own position to be weak. One who hesitates in this way will be in a sorry state on the day of Judgement. God will ask him why he did not speak the truth. He will reply, “For fear of men.” But God will say to him, “Was not God before you to be feared?”
Reckon with oneself before
being reckoned with
According to Thabit ibn Hajjaj, Umar ibn Khattab once said: “Weigh up your actions before they are weighed, and reckon with yourselves before you are reckoned with; for today’s reckoning will be easier than tomorrow’s. And prepare yourselves for the great appearance (of Judgement Day).”
(HILYAT AL-AULIYA)
Learning from everything
that happens
A cart pulled by two oxen, drove past Abu Darda. He watched as one of the oxen carried on pulling while the other stopped. “There is a lesson even in this,” said Abu Darda. “The one that stopped was whipped, while the other was left alone.”
(SAFAWAT AL-SAFAWAH)
Meditation the greatest of activities
Abdullah ibn Utbah once asked Darda’s mother how her husband had spent most of his time. “In meditation, and learning a lesson from everything that happened,” she replied.
(HILYAT AL-AULIYA)
The Companions worshipped
by thinking of God and
the Hereafter
When Abu Dhar died, a certain man rode from Basra to Madinah just to find out from his wife what the nature of her late husband’s worship had been. “He used to spend the whole day alone, engrossed in thought,” she told him.
(HILYAT AL-AULIYA)
In everything there is a
lesson to be learned
Darani used to say that whenever he went out of his house, whatever he saw would give him a glimpse of some divine blessing and instruct him in some manner.
(IBN KATHlR, TAFSIR)
The nature of a true believer
The scripture, which was revealed to Abraham, contained the following passage:
“A person of discernment should have certain special moments: of communion with God; of self-examination; of reflection upon the mysteries of creation. There should also be times, which he sets aside for food and drink. And this person of discernment should engage in activity for only one of three purposes: to accumulate (good actions) for the next world; to make a living for himself; to enjoy whatever pleasures are not prohibited. He should also be an observer of his times, a minder of his own affairs and the custodian of his tongue. His actions should be accompanied by a minimum of words and he should speak at length only on weighty matters of proper importance.” This is related as a tradition of the Prophet on the authority of Abu Dharr.
