Two paths leading to Allah

Allamah Isfaraini (Rahimahullah), the teacher of Imam Ghazali (Rahimahullah) supplicated for thirty years to Allah to make him sinless. He wanted to be completely free from all types of sin. This was a special status he sought. Only the one who does not want to displease Allah can make such a dua. One day he thought that although he had been supplicating for thirty years, Allah had not accepted his dua despite being Karim (generous in giving).

A voice emanated from the sky saying, “O Isfaraini, you want to become sinless when I have made two paths for becoming a wali. One is the path of piety and the other the path of repentance. Have you not recited the verse in the Qur’an wherein Allah says that He loves those who repent. When there are two windows, why are you specifying one? If due to human weakness, you commit a sin, come in close proximity to Me by repenting. Do not commit sins intentionally. When there is excessive mud, even an elephant can slip. Therefore, if you commit a sin, repent and become My beloved. Why do you only want to come via the route of piety when I have opened the door of repentance as well? When I have opened two doors, why are you appointing only one for yourself? Become My beloved via the path of repentance. Supplicate for protection from sin, not for becoming sinless.”

If you commit a sin, do not delay in repenting. Go all out in refraining from sin.

From the book A life of piety by Maulana Hakeem Akhtar (db)

Repentance of Malik bin Dinar

Malik bin Dinar narrated the following story about himself, saying, “I was a man who indulged in fun and enjoyment and suffered from an overwhelmingly addiction to wine. I bought a slave girl with whom I was very happy. She later gave birth to a beautiful girl who I loved dearly. I saw her progress from crawling to walking. Whenever I sat down for a drink, she would come and take the cup from my hands and spill the wine on the ground.

At the tender age of two years she died and left me grieving. It was the night of the fifteenth of Sha’ban and I fell asleep drunk. I saw in my dream that it was the Day of Resurrection and I came out of my grave with a huge sea serpent after me. I began to run but it chased me. The faster I ran, the faster it came. I passed by an old man dressed in clean garments who was very weak. I called out to him “O Sheikh, please save me from this monster!” He replied, “O my son, I am a very old man and this monster is too powerful for me, I cannot prevail from it. Perhaps if you carry on someone else may be able to help you.”

I continued to run, with the serpent still following me. I passed by a pit of blazing fire and was about to fall into it, but someone said, ”You are not its inhabitant,” On hearing this I turned and ran towards the mountain, I found that there were many gates to it and each gate had guards. A voice called out, ”Let this wretched man in before his enemy captures him.”

The gates opened and I saw a group of children, their faces shone like the moon, and among them was my little girl! She came towards me like a beam of light and with her right hand hit the serpant, which then fled. She sat by me and said, ”O my father, has not the time arrived for the heart of those who believe to submit to Allah’s reminder (Dhikr) and the truth (Quran) which has been revealed?” I replied, “O my child, do you know the Qur’an?” She answered, ”I lernt it from you.” I then asked, ”O my daughter, What are you doing here?” She said we are Muslim children who have died and we will live here untill the Day of Resurretion and wait for our parents.”

At this I said , ” O my daughter, who was that monster chasing and trying to kill me?” She said, ”O my father, that was your bad deeds, which you accumulated and could have destroyed you.” I then asked, ”And who was that weak old man?” She said, ”He was your good deeds, which you weakened to such an extent that they had no power to defend you. Therefore, O my father, repent and turn towards Allah, and be not among those who will perish,” Suddenly I woke up. I repented for my sins and turned to Allah.

The lesson we learn from this tory is that when young children die in infancy and their parents show patience and control of their emotions, it becomes a means of their salvation in the Hereafter. Allah Most High has taught us, when He tries us with an afflicton, to say: All praise is due to Allah. Truly, we are Allah’s and truly unto Him is the return.

Dirhams from the Sky

Abdul Wahid Bin Zaid relates, I purchased a slave on the condition that he serves me. Once, when it became dark I looked for him in the house, but could not find him.

Early in the morning he came and presented me with a dirham. I asked, “Where did you get it from?” He replied, “I receive a dirham daily and will only give it to you on the condition that you do not ask for me at night.” He would disappear every night and return in the morning with a dirham.

One day my neighbours approached me and shrieked, “O Abdul Wahid sell your slave. He is a grave digger!” This news depressed me. After this I decided to keep a vigilant eye on him. That night after Isha Salah, the slave stood up to leave, he pointed to the door and it opened. He made his way to the second door and did the same and then the same again to the door from which I was watching him. He left the house so I followed him till he reached a stretch of barren land.

He took off his clothes and put on a cloth sack and prayed till Fajr. He then lifted his hand towards the heaven and said, “Oh my Master, give me my small masters pay”. A dirham then fell from the sky. I was mystified and amazed at this. I stood up and performed two rakats and sought forgiveness from Allah, from the evil thought that had crossed my mind. I promised myself that on returning, I would free him.

As I made by way back I looked for him but could not find him. He was no where to be seen. All of a sudden a knight on an armoured horse appeared. He asked, “Oh Abdul Wahid what are you doing here?” I related the incident to him. He then inquired, “Do you know the distance from here to your city?” Oblivious to where I was, I replied in the negative. He informed me that I was approximately two years travelling distance from home. He then said, “Do not move from here till your slave returns tonight”.

When it became dark my slave came. He came with a tray full of food and greeted me with joy and said, “Eat my master, you should not have followed me here”. I ate while he prayed till Fajr. Once he had finished he held my hand and walked a few steps. Instantly we were back to my house. He said, “Oh master now that we are back, did you not make the intention to free me?” I replied affirmatively. He added, ”Free me and take the money you paid for me and you will be rewarded”. He then picked up a stone and gave it to me. I looked at it. Astonishingly it had turned into gold.

The slave soon left. His departure saddened me. Later I met my neighbours and they asked, ”What did you do with the grave digger?” I replied angrily, He is a ‘Noor’ digger and not a grave digger.’

Make use of your youth

If Allah gives us 60 years to live then it comes to around 22,000 days (60×365). All these days Allah gives us to prepare for one day of interview with Allah. That is on the Day of Judgement. On that day, Allah will ask us some questions and He wants some correct answers. Allah is so merciful that He already told us what the questions will be through Quran and Ahadith. His mercy is so great that He even told us the answers to these questions.

Now imagine, a student goes to write an exam. He opens his exam paper and finds the questions on one side. Then he finds that the answers to the questions are on the other side. Now after writting the exam, if this student still fails then what would we think of him? We would think that he is the dumbest person around. Well, tell you what, on the Day of Judgement, us people who knew the questions and answers will still fail! That is why, this is the time to wake up before we prove ourselves to be the dumbest of people.

Youth is the prime time of our lives. This is where people make important decisions like what to become in the future. Things you do in this time will most likely affect you throughout the rest of your life. That is why, it is important to bring Islam into your life during these days. Many people have the conception that when they get old then they will start practising Islam. Probably you and me also have this feeling. But look at it this way: If you want to become a famous hockey player then you would start playing right from the youth. As you grow up, you will become better and better. But if you think that you will start playing when you are an old man then the chances of becoming famous is virtually zero. That’s the reality. When we become old, we won’t have enough energy to even stand up and pray.

Because youth is the prime time of your life, that is why it is very precious to Allah. Allah has prepared a shade on the Day of Judgement for those people who used to worship Allah in their youth. On that Day, there will be no other shade except the shade from the throne of Allah. Imagine standing outside on a very hot day under the sun for hours after hours. You would definately want some shadow to rest under. But what about that Day when the sun will be much nearer to us and the heat will be much more extreme. Wouldn’t you want some shade on that day? Ofcourse you would!

You and I are all weak in terms of keeping our duties to Allah and Allah is aware of that. Allah wants that we keep trying to do our best. If a baby falls down while walking he tries to get up again and walk. He doesn’t keep sitting down. Then a day comes when he does start to walk. Similarly, we should keep trying our best and not give up. A day will come when, Inshallah, we will be strong enough to obey Allah in every situation. Let us make a small promise to Allah right now that we will start doing the things for which we were sent to this life. Otherwise, we will be like that dumb guy who will fail the test on the Day of Judgement.

May Allah make it easy for us. Ameen.
Source: Unknown

Stories of the Pious by Shaykh Ahmad Ali

Introduction

All praise is due to Allah, The Most Beneficent and The Most Merciful. We praise Him, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and the mischief of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides cannot be misguided and whomsoever Allah misguides cannot be guided. Peace and blessings be upon the final messenger, Muhammad (SAW), upon his family and his noble companions Ameen.

Whilst on a visit to Darul-Uloom AI-Arabiya, Lancashire; in search of material for a lecture, by chance I came across a very beautiful piece of work. It was the book ‘Rawdur-Ryyahen Fee Hikaayaat as-Saliheen’ written by a master of the 7th century. The book contains around 500 beautiful stories about the pious, their experiences and their karamaat (miracles). Having read this book I was very intrigued, and realizing that the author had compiled these stories because of his love for the Awliya; immediately the thought of translating the book and benefiting the English speaking Muslims came to mind. However, fearing that I may not be able to complete the translation of the whole book I decided finally to at least translate a few stories to express my love for the Awliya. I hope one day Allah will give tawfiq to somebody to translate the whole book.

The author of the original work, which consists of around 600 pages and 500 stories, was Afifud-Din Abdullah bin As’ad Al- Yamani al- Yafi’ee as-Shafi’ee. Born 696AH near Aadan, Yemen; he was a man of great capability which began to show at a very early age. He benefited from, and studied under, Qadi Najmuddin at-Tabri; Radi -ud- din at- Tabri; Salih Mohammed bin Ahmad al Bassal; Shaykh Sharfud Ahmad bin ali al-Harazi. Acknowled and praised by his teachers he was a great scholar who spent his life serving the deen and his 44 works bear witness to this. His most famous work was ‘Rawdur-Raiyaheen’. He died in 768AH (May Allah grant him paradise).

    Entering/ Leaving a House

    2.1 HOW TO ENTER
    Enter or leave your house with your right foot first, as it was the tradition of the Prophet. Imaam Abul Ala Hasan ibn Ahmad al-Hamazani, a great scholar of Hadith of his time, was so keen on applying this Sunnah to the extent that if someone entered his house with their left foot first, he would ask them to go out and re-enter with their right foot first. He was so much respected that the Sultan of the day would visit him at school and sit in front of him as a student. At one occasion, he told the Sultan to exit with his right foot first and walk on the right side of the road.

    When entering or leaving a house, do not push the door violently, or slam it shut, or leave it to close by itself wildly. Such actions stand in contrast to the gracefulness of Islam to which you are honoured to belong. Close the door quietly with your hand. You may have heard a Hadith reported by Imam Muslim whereby ‘Aisha (RA) quotes the Prophet: ‘Gentleness adorns every act. Its absence will tarnish it.’

    2.2 ENTERING WHILE OTHERS ARE ASLEEP
    If you enter a place where people are sleeping, whether during day or night, be quiet and gentle. Be considerate. Do not cause any undue noise when entering or exiting. You have heard the saying of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم): ‘Whoever is deprived of gentleness, is deprived of all sorts of goodness.’ Muslim and Al-Tirmidhi reported that the honourable companion Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad (RA) said: ‘We used to preserve the Prophet’s share of the milk, when he came back at night he would greet us with a voice loud enough for those awake to hear, without disturbing those who were asleep.’ In addition, whenever the Prophet used to pray at night, he would recite the Quran with a voice that pleased those that were awake, without disturbing those that were asleep.’

    Princess Qatrul Nada (Dew point) was famous for her intelligence, manners and beauty. She was the daughter of Khimarwaih bin Ahmad bin Toulon, the King of Egypt. She married Al-Mu’taded Billah. Qatrul Nada said: ‘My father taught me an important manner – do not sleep among sitting people and do not sit among sleeping people.’

    from the book ISLAMIC MANNERS
    By Shaykh Abdul-Fattaah Abu Ghuddah (RA)