"Surely, the true religion in Allah's sight is Islam" (3:19)
“Purity has 4 levels:
1) Purifying the external body from impurities
2) Purifying the limbs from the disobedience of Allah
3) Purifying the heart from bad habits and character
4) Purifying the soul from everything besides Allah.’
Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi
Ahkam al-Islam, pg 21
A honest and truthful girl.
One night, as per his usual practise, Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – was walking around Madina Shareef with his slave.
In fact, it was his habit to walk around the streets and pathways of Madina Shareef during the night with the intention of looking after the people in the blessed city and also to see that no harm came to them. As he walked along, at a certain stage, he felt tired and he decided to lean on the wall of a certain house to have a small rest. Morning was also fast approaching.
From this house, the voice of an old lady was also heard and she was commanding her daughter to mix some water with the milk. However, her young daughter was refusing to do this. The daughter told her mother that the Ameerul Mo’mineen had prohibited people from mixing water in the milk and he had also publicly made this announcement. However the mother said, “At this time, ‘Umar is not watching you that you should be so frightened.” However, the young girl mentioned, “Even if ‘Umar is not watching at this moment, the Creator of Umar is still watching.”
Hadrat Sayyiduna Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – who was listening to this conversation was extremely impressed by the honesty of this young girl. He then ordered his servant to keep an eye on this house.
During the day, Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – found out that this girl was the daughter of Hadrat Sayyiduna Sufyan bin Abdullah Saqafi – may Allah be pleased with him – and whose name was Umme Amaarah.
When Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – came to know about this that she was not yet married, he called all his sons and asked them which one was prepared to get married. Among his sons, Hadrat Asim – may Allah be pleased with him – replied that he was prepared to marry this girl.
Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him – then approached the family and had his son Hadrat Asim marry this young girl. The first child that was born was a girl whose name was Umme Asim. This was the granddaughter of Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with him. When she became mature, she married the son of Marwan bin Hakam whose name was Abdul Aziz. From this marriage, the first child born was a boy and his mother, Umme Asim, gave him the same name as her grandfather, ‘Umar. This child later on was to become known as the famous Hadrat Sayyiduna ‘Umar bin Abdul Aziz – may Allah be pleased with him.
Sayyiduna ‘Iyad ibn Himar رضي الله عنه narrates:
Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“Allah has revealed to me, ‘You should show humility to the extent that neither one considers himself superior to others nor oppresses others.’”
(Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2865)
You can’t see your reflection in boiling water; similarly, truth cannot be seen in a state of anger.
One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops – a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.
At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on, six foot eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down at the back.
Did I mention that the driver was five foott three, thin, and basically meek?
Well, he was. Naturally, he didn’t argue with Big John, but he wasn’t happy about it. The next day the same thing happened – Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.
This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John
was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer and so he signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.
By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what’s more, he felt really good about himself.
So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said,
“Big John doesn’t pay!” The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger,
and screamed, “And why not?”
With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Big John has a bus pass.”
MORAL / LESSON:
The moral of this incident/story is quite self evident. However, it is a lesson that many of us seem to overlook and disregard in the many activities and chores of our life.
We learn from this incident that a person should not be hasty in making assumptions and judging a situation or an individual from what seems to be the apparent.
It is essential that a Muslim assumes the best of his fellow being and gives him the benefit of the doubt. If possible, one should allow the fellow being to explain himself as to clear any doubts one may have.
Our Nabi صلى الله عليه و صلم has stated that being hasty is from Shaytaan whilst steady composure is from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
In the same manner ‘Ulamaa have stated that if there is a single reason for doubt in a matter relating to a person then that doubt should have an effect on the decision that is made.
In conclusion, one should take all factors into consideration and avoid hastiness in judging an individual. Instead, one should try to make the matter clear as to avoid placing false accusations on anyone.
Jazakallah to Maulana Zain for writing up a moral for the story.
You can’t see your reflection in boiling water.
Similarly, you can’t see the truths in your life in a state of anger.
When people are trying to better themselves, do not use their past against them. Always remember, people learn, people change, people grow and people move on.
So help them, encourage them, and wish the best for them, do not hurt them and do not try to bring them down.
Maulana Imtiyaz Sidat
Recently a colleague was mentioning that each year he had to make a declaration to his professional body, that he has undertaken through the year CPD (Continuous Professional Development) activity to fulfill a requirement in order to enhance and maintain a certain skills and knowledge level. It is widely believed that these skills and knowledge kept up to date would equip a person to carry out their duties and responsibilities well.
Why am I even mentioning the above?
Well it got me thinking that for our careers, personal development and worldly objectives we make sure we do enough CPD periodically. However we pay little attention, if any, to our personal development when it comes to the deen.
For those fortunate enough, to have even had a Madrassah education, have we even looked at our books or notes since the day we left? Every day we depend on some of the basic aspects of the deen, performing Wudu, praying salaah, ensuring we are pure but do we review these every so often to make sure we are doing it correctly? Do we sit in the circles of learning in the Masajid when lectures and talks are given?
May Allah grant us the ability to continually develop islamically and spiritually, and give it the priority in our life that it deserves, ameen.
Raise your words, not your voice. It’s rain which grows flowers, not thunder!
Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi