almagalla English December issue2011

English December issue2011
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A Glimpse from its Light

[Enough is a glimpse from its light, but
with good faith, I will endow you with its light] 29/30

Form the pearls of Imam Fakhreddin [AAH] that are far above the understanding, the brains and the hearts. He [AAH] says about it:

[for whoever hopes for protection from matters,
then the pillars of protection are in its refuge] 29/26

[The first desire of the souls is drinking
and if it becomes thirsty, then it did not get its wish] 29/27

[It is not, for the hearts or the brains,
to understand it, nor the beginning of its end] 29/28

[Whereas there is no one, except me, all-knowing
of what it contains and what is its content] 29/29

[Enough is a glimpse from its light, but
with good faith, I will endow you with its light] 29/30

Here, the word “matters” here means: the matters and affairs and whoever wants the protection from worldly life age’s matters, whether it was complicated or simple, it suffices him to know that the protection pillars are in the refuge of these poems. As its meanings are drawn from the Holy Qur'an, driven to us by a knower of Allah from those whom Allah, Almighty, said about them [And know that the Messenger of Allah is among you. If he were to obey you in much of the matter, you would surely be in trouble; but Allah has endeared the faith to you and has beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief and lewdness and rebellion hateful unto you. Such are they who are the rightly guided] al-Hujurat 49:7. The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] is in them with his Sunna, with his knowledge, with his wisdom, and with his morals. Those are the rightly guided ones. The Messenger [PPBUH] is with them, teaching them and if you want to know more, read this honorable verse [He is Who has sent among the unlettered ones a messenger from among them, recite unto them His verses, to purify them and to teach them the book and wisdom that they were in a manifest astray before ¤ Along with others of them who have not yet joined them. For He is the Almighty, the All-Wise ¤ That is the grace of Allah, which He grants unto whom He wills. For Allah is of the greatest grace] al-Jumu’ah 62:2-4. Look at these words [to purify them and to teaching them the Book and wisdom], look also at [Along with others of them who have not yet joined them. For He is the Almighty, the All-Wise] that is; which means that they have not come yet [That is the grace of Allah, which He grants unto whom He wills. For Allah is of the greatest grace]. By Allah, we have never been wronged in this worldly life, as there came to us who inherited the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. And the Hadith said (The knowledgeable scholars are the successors of the prophets). And the other Hadith says (The knowledgeable scholars of my nation are like the prophets of Bani Israel). Another Hadith says (You should follow my Sunna and the Sunna of the rightly guided orthodox Caliphs after me, bite on it with the molars and fangs). That is; hold and follow that Sunna insistently. Also there is another Hadith which was mentioned in the Musnad of Imam Ahmed [AAH], the founder of one of the main Shari'a doctrines, says “Mohamed bin Ga’far narrated from Abo-Hazem saying: I stayed with Abo-Hurayrah [AAH] for five years. Once, I heard him talking about the Prophet [PPBUH] that he said (Bani Israel were governed by the prophets, whenever a prophet passes away, another prophet succeeds him. And there will be no prophet after me, there will be successors and there will be much). They said: and what is the thing you order us to do? He [PPBUH] said (fulfill the homage of the first one then the next one, and give them the rights that Allah made for them, as Allah will ask them about whom He made them sponsor). Another Hadith said (Allah sends for this nation, on the top of each hundred year, someone who renews its religion).

Abo-Ahmed said: Mohamed ibn Ali ibn al-Husain said: I heard our companions saying: Omar ibn Abdel-Aziz was from the first hundred and Mohamed ibn Idris ash-Shafei’y was in the second hundred. Sheikh Ahmed said: we narrated from Ahmed ibn Hanbal [AAH] that he said: and Omar ibn Abdel-Aziz was at the top of the hundred and I hope that ash-Shafei’y will be at the top of the other hundred. When this Imam speaks, everyone should listen. Imam Fakhreddin [AAH] has come with many attributes and signs, from these signs, these poems that we are studying, and that the eloquence failed to reach it and which rendered the eloquent, the rhetoricians and the grammarians impotent. That is because the one who said it is a successor of he who was granted “the controls of the language” [PPBUH], and because Allah sent him out to renew. As long as Allah had sent him out, so what could we say with that?

Sorry for the expatiation. And back to the poem verses; if we said that the pillars of protection are the five basic pillars of Islam, for example, as a meaning from the meanings, we would find that this means: whoever is sheltered by embracing Islam and testified to the five basic pillars. We should know that Islam was built on the five basic pillars, but these pillars are not the whole Islam. Otherwise where is the method? Is it possible to testify to the pillars while leaving the method? The basic pillars that you testified to, must be protected by working with the method which is Qur'an. The meanings of Qur'an must be taken from a possessor of insight. And here is the possessor of insight, who brought the right meanings in the form of a marvelous poetry in order to facilitate its memorizing for us. He described for us a method and path to follow and to make it easy for us to find out what is fabricated from it. He [AAH] says:

[The first desire of the souls is drinking
and if it becomes thirsty, then it did not get its wish] 29/27

The drinking here means, in Arabic language, “the share”, as the first thing the souls wish and desire is to have a share of the meanings of the Book of Allah, Almighty, to straighten up the worshiping, otherwise, the souls will be thirsty in the clouds of light and will not get its straightness and find the way to those whom Allah blessed from the prophets, saints, martyrs, righteous people and what an honorable companions are those. Then he [AAH] says:

[It is not, for the hearts or the brains,
to understand it, nor the beginning of its end] 29/28

How can we perceive the meanings that Allah, Almighty, bestowed upon His Messenger [PPBUH] and those who have insights? As they are the ones He chose to spread and renew the religion. How can we perceive these meanings before they tell us? As long as the hearts still turning over and did not settle and become “Fo’ad” (Fo’ad also means a heart, but in another higher better state, when the heart stops turning over and becomes settled). The highly great meanings of these poems, which are drawn from the Holy Qur'an, will be the drink of the souls and the connection as the saying of the Imam [AAH]:

[My words, are the drink of the souls for connection
if you do not drink from it, then from where] 17/30

Then he [AAH] says:

[Whereas there is no one, except me, all-knowing
of what it contains and what is its content] 29/29

We always hear the common poetical phrase, in Arabic language, that (The right meaning is inside the poet), so what do you thinking of the possessor of this versified pearls, who is not a poet. As he [AAH] says what he sees with his insight and he never says except the truth.

[Enough is a glimpse from its light, but
with good faith, I will endow you with its light] 29/30

Enough from its highly great meanings and facts, is a glimpse from the light to lighten the path for us. Galaleddin as-Seyouti [AAH] interpreted that meaning also in his famous poet verse after testifying to the meaning of Shari'a, saying:

[O, Aal Ta-Ha you are the light th-
-at Moses believed it is a fire glimpse]

Ta-Ha: is a Qur'anic name of the names of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. That is; Aal al-Bait [The Household of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]] are that glimpse. The interpretation of those who are versed in knowledge interprets Moses as the heart like sayydi Mohyeddin ibn Arabi [AAH] and others from the knowledgeable scholars [AAT].

This meaning will not be strange to us if we know the Hadith Imam Ali [AHHF] “Mo’awiyah ibn Hesham narrated that Ali said “truly, we are, in this nation, like the ship of Noah and the book of Hittah in Bani Israel”. mentioned in Sunna al-Kubra of an-Nisa’y. Another Hadith was mentioned in Sunan at-Turmuzy and narrated that: Ali ibn al-Munzer - from Kufa - narrated that from zaid ibn Arquam [AAH], that the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] said (I left among you what if you adhere to them, you will never go astray after me. One of them is greater than the other, the book of Allah, an extended rope from heaven to earth and my kinship, my Household [Ahl-al-Bait]. And they will never be separated till they come to me on the river bank of al-Hawd in paradise. So, consider how you will succeed me with them). At-Turmuzy said: this a strange good Hadith.

If we have good faith in whom Allah sent out and loved his household who are the household of the Beloved, Al-Mustafa, [the Chosen One] [PPBUH] and quoted from them, this will endow us with its light and will light us with its knowledge. May Allah benefit us from them and resurrect us in their group and may Allah accept all our masters and Imams. Prayers be upon sayyduna Muhammad and all his Household and Companions.


Written by Mohamed Maqbul
Translated by Fatima az-Zahraa
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec1.htm
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Mother of believers:
Sayyda Sawdah bent Zam'ah [AAH]


She is the mother of believers, Sawdah bent Zam’ah bent Qays al-'Amereyah al-Quraisheyah. The second wife of the Prophet [PPBUH] and a wellborn one. Her mother is bent Qays ibn Zaid al-Ansareyah, from Bani Uday ibn an-Najjar, her brother is Malek ibn Zam’ah. She is the first wife that the Prophet [PPBHU] got married to her after sayyda Khadijah [AAH].
Her embracing Islam:

She [AAH] embraced Islam from an early time and pledged allegiance to the Prophet [PPBUH], she got married to a cousin of hers, named as-Sakran ibn Amro, who also embraced Islam. They all emigrated to Habasha in the second emigration. When they came back to Makkah, her husband died while she had, then, five sons from him. It was said: that he died in Habasha and when she was lawful to be proposed to (that is; completed her period of Iddah), The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] proposed to her, then married her [AAH].

[The period of ‘Iddah is the period during which a women “divorcee or widow” must stay without marriage till it is completed, it is for the all four months and ten days and for the pregnant one until she gives birth].
Her marriage to The Prophet [PPBUH]:
Ibn Abbas narrated that: Sawdah bent Zam’ah was with as-Sakran ibn Amro, the brother of Suhail ibn Amro, she saw in a vision that the Prophet [PPBUH] came walking till he tread on her neck. When she told her husband about that, he said: By your father, if your vision comes true, I will die and the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] will marry you. But she denied that for herself. Then she saw a vision in another night that a moon descended on her, from the sky, while she was lying down. She told her husband and he said: By your father, if your vision is true, I will not stay much till I die and you will get married after me. As-Sakran became ill from that day and did not last much till he died, then the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] married her. That was on Ramadan in 10 H. It was said on Shaw-wal as Imam ibn Kathir mentioned in “the beginning and the end”.

Khawlah bent al-Hakem as-Salamiya, the wife of Osman ibn Maz’oun said: I said "O, Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], will not you marry?" He [PPBUH] said: (Who?) I said "A virgin if you will or an ex-married". He [PPBUH] said (And who is the virgin one?) I said "The daughter of the most beloved one to you of Allah’s creation: Aisha bent Abi-Bakr. He [PPBUH] said (and who is the ex-married?) I said "Sawdah bent Zam’ah ibn Qays, she believed in you and followed your path". He said [PPBUH] (Go and ask them and tell me). I entered the house of Abi-Bakr first then I went to Sawdah and said “O, Sawdah what a great grace and blessing Allah gave to you!” she said [AAH] “and what is it?” I said "The Messenger of Allah sent me for proposing to you". She said: “I want that. Enter on my father and tell him about that”. And he was an old man who did not go to Hajj. I entered on him, saying "Mohammad ibn Abdullah [PPBUH] sent me for proposing to Sawdah". He said "He is a respectable match, so what does your friend say?" I said "she told me that she wants to". He said "call her". So I did, and he said "Mohammad ibn Abdullah sent to propose to you and he is a respectable match, so would you like me to marry you to him? She said “Yes”. He said to me "Let him come to me". And I did. So he [PPBUH] came and her father married her to him [PPBUH].

The act of her brother when he knew about her marriage:
Sayyda Aisha said “The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] got married to Sawdah bent Zam’ah [AAH] and when her brother, Abd ibn Zam’ah, returned from Hajj, he was putting the dust on his head - as an act of angry - however when he embraced Islam, he said: I was a fool when I put the dust on my head when the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] married Sawdah bent Zam’ah.

From the futures of her personality:
When we read her good, sweet scented biography, we will find that she was a woman who gathered from the merits the greatest and from the attributes the best and most honorable. She [AAH] had beside all that, a kindness in her association and a fun in her soul. That enabled her to blaze the happiness and joy in the heart of the Prophet [PPBUH]. From that was what ibn Saad reported in "at-Tabaqaat" [the levels] that she [AAH] once prayed behind the Prophet [PPBUH], while he was worshiping at night, and she got tired from the long prayer. The next morning when she woke up, she said to the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] “I prayed behind you, yesterday and you stayed kneeling down for so long with me behind you until I held my nose for fear of dropping blood from it”. The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] laughed. She used to making him [PPBUH] laugh, for things like that.

Her love to alms:
One of her merits was that she was so generous in almsgiving that Omar ibn al-Khattab [AAH] once sent her a vessel full of Dirhams, but she [AAH] said “what is this?” They said: Dirhams, she said “put in a vessel like dates?” Then she disturbed all those Dirhams among the poor.
Her acumen:
She preferred, in her life, loving the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] for the sake of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], and for his love preferring her position with him. He [PPBUH] used to divide his days among his wives except her with her content, as she [AAH] preferred pleasing the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH].

Sayyda Aisha [AAH] narrated that Sawdah [AAH] gave her day and night with the Prophet [PPBUH] to Aisha [AAH], out of her desire to please the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. It was mentioned in Sahih Muslem that sayyda Aisha [AAH] said “I never met a woman that I wanted better to be like her than Sawdah bent Zam’ah. She was a woman of sharpness” - sayyda Aisha wished to be like sayyda Sawdah bent Zam’ah [AAT] in her right guidance and her way of life. Sayyda Aisha [AAH] did not mean any defect in sayyda Sawdah [AAT] with that Hadith, but she described her as a woman has a strong soul and good genius which is what she meant by her sharpness - Sayyda Aisha said too about sayyda Sawdah [AAT] “When she grew old, she gave her day of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] for me, saying: O, Messenger of Allah, I gave my day with you to Aisha”. So, the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] was giving Aisha two days, her day and the day of Sawdah.

An-No'man ibn Thabit at-Taymey narrated that: The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] said to Sawdah bent Zam’ah (you are in the Iddah period). So she sat on his way one night, and she [AAH] said to him “O, Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], I do not desire men any more, but I love to be resurrected among your wives, so return me back to you”. Then he [PPBUH] did return her. For this situation this verse was revealed [if a woman feared from her husband to desert her or turn away from her, there is no blame on them if they reconcile, and reconciliation is better] an-Nesa’ 4:128. Ibn Abbas said: And whatever they reconciled on is permissible. Narrated by al-Bayhaqy this from his sunan.

From her situations with the Messenger [PPBUH]:
Abdul-Rahman ibn Saad ibn Zararah said: the prisoners of war of Badr were brought, while Sawdah bent Zam’ah [AAH] the wife of the Prophet [PPBUH] was at the house of Aal-Aaffra', with Awf and Me’waz the sons of ‘Affra', and that was before imposing the veil upon the wives of the Prophet [PPBUH]. She [AAH] said “The prisoners of war were brought, and then I went to my house. When I entered the room, I saw Suhail ibn Amro – he was one of her in laws - in a side of the room with his hands tied to his neck. When I saw him, I did not control myself, and I said: O, Abo-Yazid, you were given what was in your hands! Could not you die in honor!” She said “By Allah, I was not alerted except by the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] from inside the house, saying (O, Sawdah, is that against Allah and His Messenger?) I said: O, Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I was not in control of myself when I saw Abo-Yazid, and said what I said”.

Ibn Abbas said: a sheep of Sawdah bent Zam’ah died, she said “O, Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], the sheep died”. He said [PPBUH] (did you take its hide). She said “Do we take the hide of a died sheep”. The Messenger [PPBUH] said to her (Allah Almighty said [Say: I do not find, in what was revealed to me, aught prohibited to an eater that he eat thereof, except it be dead animal, or blood poured forth, or swine flesh] al-An’aam 7:145, as you will not eat it, but you will tan the hide to make use of it). So she sent for it and skinned its hide and tanned it. Then she made out of it a waterskin and used it till it was pierced.

Sayyda Aisha [AAH] said "Sawdah bent Zam’ah asked the permission of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] to let her push (start walking) before Him [PPBUH] and he permitted her to do that - Al-Qasem said: she [AAH] was a heavy woman - So, she pushed and we were withheld with him [PPBUH] till he pushed and we pushed with him. Sayyda Aisha [AAH] said: If I asked the permission of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], like Sawdah did, to push before people, it would have been better for me, from what is rejoiced with.

Her known situations with the companions [AAT]:

Her situation with sayydi Omar ibn al-Khattab [AAH]:
Imam Ahmed, al-Bukharey and Muslem narrated from the saying of Hesham ibn Orwah from his father from sayyda Aisha [AAH] that she said “After the imposing of the veil [Hejjab], Sawdah [AAH] went out for her need. She was a fat woman, who could not be hidden from whoever knew her. Omar ibn al-Khattab [AAH] saw her and said “O, Sawdah, by Allah, you are hidden from us, so consider how you will go out?” Sayyda Aisha [AAH] said: then she returned hurrying to her house and the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] was in my house having his dinner and he had some meat in his hand, then Sawdah entered and said “O, Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], I went out for some need of mine, then Omar said to me: so-and-so”. Sayyda Aisha said [AAH] “Then the revelation came to him, then he was relieved, while the meat is still in his hand, and he said (It has been permitted for you to go out for your needs).

Her situation with sayyda Aisha [AAT]:

Sayyda Aisha [AAH] said “I entered to Sawdah bent Zam’ah and sat down. The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] was between me and her. I had made Harirah [a kind of food made from flour, butter and milk] and brought it to her saying: Eat. She said: I will not eat. I said: By Allah, if you do not eat, I will stain you face with it. She said: I will not eat. Then I took some of it and stained her face with it. This made the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] laugh while he was between us. She took some of it too to stain my face with. The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] lowered his knee for her, laughing to give her a chance to get me. Then she took some of it and stained my face with it while the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] was laughing”.

Her situation with sayyda Aisha and sayyda Hafsah [AAT]:

Khulaysah the attendant of Hafsah narrated the story of Hafsah and Aisha with Sawdah bent Zam’ah [AAT] and how they made a joke on her, and told her that ad-Dajjal [the distorted imposter, who would come at the end of time to delude people and make them worship him] has come out, so, she hided in a house where they used to make fire. They were laughing on her, when the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] came and said (what is the matter with you?) They told him [PPBUH] about what they had done with Sawdah then He [PPBUH] went to her, she asked him “O, Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], did ad-Dajjal came out?”. He [PPBUH] said (No, but as if he is out). So, she came out and shacked the spiders’ eggs off her.

Some of her narrations from the Prophet [PPBUH]:

Al-Bukhary narrated from sayyda Sawdah, the wife of the Prophet [PPBUH], that she said “a sheep of us had died then we tanned its hide and we kept soaking food in it till it became pierced”.

She [AAH] said: a man came to the Prophet [PPBUH] and said: my father is an old man and cannot do Hajj. He [PPBUH] said (you see; if your father had a debt and you paid it instead of him, will it be acceptable?) The man said: Yes. The Prophet [PPBUH] said (Allah is more Merciful, so do Hajj for your father).

She [AAH] said too: The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] said (People will resurrect barefooted, naked, having a blaze on their foreheads, and the sweat disables them from speaking till it reaches the lobes of their ears). I said “will we see each other?” He [PPBUH] said (people will be occupied [Every one of them, on that day, will have his own matter, suffices him] Abas 80:37.

She [AAH] said that she looked in a hole of water, one time, and then The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] forbade her from doing that, saying (I fear for you, if you do this, from Satan).

Her effect on others:

From the companions of the Prophet [PPBUH] who narrated from her [AAH] are Abdullah ibn Abbas and Abdullah ibn az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam [AAT].

From the followers who narrated from her [AAH] are yahya ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Rahman, Yusuf ibn az-Zubair and Mawla az-Zubair ibn al-Awwam [AAT].

Her death:

The mother of believers, sayyda Sawdah bent Zam’ah [AAH] passed away to Allah on the end of the era of sayydi Omar ibn al-Khattab [AAH], in most sayings. It was said too that she [AAH] passed away in 54 H.



Edited by Rawya Ramadan.
Translated by Fatima az-Zahraa.
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec2.htm
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Sayydi Yusuf [PBUT]


Sayydi Ya'qoub [PBUH] was in Syria when his wife Rachel gave birth to sayydi Yusuf [PBUH], when Gabriel came to him and said “O, Ya'qoub, Allah has given you a very beautiful boy like no one else had, and He has given him half the beauty”. So sayydi Ya'qoub was so happy for that, and when he came back home and looked at sayydi Yusuf [PBUH], he did not got tired of watching him all the time. So he slaughtered many sheep for Allah for the sake of sayydi Yusuf [PBUH], and he distributed them among the poor and needy.

When Yusuf [PBUH] grew up, he saw a dream and told it to his father. As Allah, Almighty, showed us in Surat Yusuf, verse 4 [O my father, indeed I have seen eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating to me].

Sayydi Ya'qoub [PBUH] shed tears when he heard the dream, and when sayydi Yusuf [PBUH] asked him “O, father why are you crying?” He replied “O, son, no creature prostates to another creature unless in adversity and affliction. Don’t you see when Allah made the angels prostrate to Adam, how he was then afflicted by getting out of paradise!” Then he asked his son not to tell his brothers about his dream, as verse 5 says [He said, O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy].

Sayydi Ya'qoub [PBUH] was afraid that if his sons learned about this dream they would envy him and plot to hurt him, because he knew that this dream showed that Allah has chosen sayydi Yusuf [PBUH] for His message and that he was favored to his brothers. As verse 6 says [And thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the interpretation of narratives and complete His favor upon you and upon the family of Ya'qoub, as He completed it upon your fathers before, Ibrahim and Ishaq. Indeed, your Lord is Knowing and Wise.].

Jaber [AAH] narrated that a Jew once came to the Prophet [PPBUH] and said “O, Mohammad, tell me about the stars that Yusuf has seen?” So the Prophet waited, then Gabriel descended and told him about them. The Prophet [PPBUH] asked the jew (If I told you, will you embrace Islam?) and the man replied “Yes, I will”. So the Prophet [PPBUH] said (Jorban, al-Tarek, al-Dheyal, Qabess, Amoudan, al-Faleiq, al-Musbeh, al-Darouh, al-Fargh, Wethab, and Dhuel-Katefien. Yusuf saw them, and the sun and moon descended from the sky to prostrate for him). The Jew said “Yes, indeed, I swear by Allah that these are their names”.

Eventually, sayydi Yusuf’s brothers [PBUH] learned about his dream and they envied him for it, as it came in verse 8 [When they said, "Yusuf and his brother are more beloved to our father than we are, while we are a clan. Indeed, our father is in clear error] Yusuf 8.

His brothers started to plan how to kill him. So they decided to convince their father to let him go out with them, as he will be ill if he kept staying at home. But their father kept refusing as the verses 11 and 12 said [They said, "O our father, why do you not entrust us with Yusuf while indeed, we are to him sincere counselors? ¤ Send him with us tomorrow that he may eat well and play. And indeed, we will be his guardians] He refused and said [Indeed, it saddens me that you should take him, and I fear that a wolf would eat him while you are of him unaware] as in verse 13. They said [If a wolf should eat him while we are a clan, indeed, we would then be losers] as in verse 14.

So when sayydi Ya'qoub [PBUH] heard what they said, he finally agreed and told sayydi Yusuf [PBUH] that he gave him the permission to go out hunting with them. They say that what happened to sayydi Ya'qoub [PBUH] only happened because he feared too much for his son and forgot to say that he left him for the protection of Allah. And if he has done so, Allah would have protected him, but that was fate [the command of Allah is a distend fate] al-Ahzab 33:38.

When Yusuf [PBUH] left with his brothers and they showed him intimacy and kindness until they reached a remote wild area. They then were deciding what to do with him, some said to kill him, some said that kill is a horrible thing to do, and instead they should throw him is the well to be picked by some travelers. They took vows for that. So, they tied him up after they took off his shirt and threw him in the well, where he fell on the head of a lion which has fell there earlier. There was also a hole in the well’s wall where a huge snake lived. Some said that the well is located in Jordan, others said it is located in Egypt and others said in Jerusalem. After he was thrown in the well, he sat on a rock and cried heavily. Then Gabriel came to him as the verse says [But We inspired to him, "You will surely inform them about this affair of theirs while they do not perceive] as in verse 15.

Before Yusuf’s brothers [PBUH] returned home, they slaughtered a camel, cooked it, and ate it, and used some of its blood to stain Yusuf’s shirt, and hided the well with camel’s skin. They caught a wolf. Then they brought the wolf and blood stained shirt to their father and told him that the wolf ate Yusuf, as the verses 17 and 18 [They said, "O our father, indeed we went racing each other and left Yusuf with our possessions, and a wolf ate him. But you would not believe us, even if we were truthful" ¤ And they brought upon his shirt false blood]. It was narrated that sayydi Ya'qoub [PBUH] heard what they said he shouted, took sayydi Yusuf's shirt [PBUH], put it on his face and cried very heavily. Then he said “I have not seen a kinder wolf than this one; it ate my son without ripping off his shirt!” He brought the wolf and asked him “how come you ate a prophet?” the wolf said “how can I eat him while I know that he is a prophet! Look at his shirt an stretch it; it is the evidence that I did not eat him”. So, Benjamin [PBUH] wetted the shirt, stretched it and found it to be intact. The wolf continued: “I don’t wear clothes to keep his shirt intact, wasn’t I supposed to cut his shirt off?” So, Ya'qoub [PBUH] asked his sons “why would the wolf keep the shirt intact?”, which explains the meaning of the words [false blood] in the verse. The verse 18 continues [he said "Rather, your selves have enticed you to something, so good patience is fitting. And Allah is the one sought for help against that which you describe" ].

There was a convoy of traders passing by the place where the well was located and they were seeking some water, so they sent their water drawer to search for water for them to drink. He knew that there was a well in that place. So he kept hitting the ground with a bayonet until he found the well which was covered by camel’s skin. The drawer dropped a bucket down the well to fill it with water, and Yusuf [PBUH] hung onto that bucket and he got out of the well.

As the verse 19 said [And there came a company of travelers; then they sent their water drawer, and he let down his bucket. He said, "Good news! Here is a boy." And they concealed him, as merchandise; and Allah was knowing of what they did].

Written by Ahmed Abbas.
Translated by Shayma Bassyoni
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec3.htm
=======



Great Ancestors' Books

Since we are constantly in need for the non-distorted books of our predecessors, and since some irresponsible groups had intentionally or unintentionally printed distorted books and spread them either in the markets or on the internet, there aroused an insisting need to find reliable sources for the books and knowledge of the virtuous predecessors. So, we are nominating to you some sister sites that choose accurately every book they present. This way you can easily find the books and texts of our predecessors which some people tried to hide and conceal, but Allah will complete His guidance, even if biased people dislike.

We will mention some of the books, from these sites, that sheikh Fakhr Eldin quoted from in his books and lessons. More information about these sites are in the library page in our main site.


A book from the library:

Al-Mwatta'

Al-Mwatta' book of Imam Malik ibn Anas [AAH]. Imam Malik ibn Anas [AAH] is one of the Four Imams of the people of Sunna. Malik, the grand father of Imam Malik, is one of the greatest followers. It was narrated from Malik, the follower, more than two thousand and two hundred Hadith. Imam Malek [AAH] spent most of his life in Medina, during this period; he did not wear any shoes, for the fear of treading on a spot that the Messenger of Allah [AAH] had put his foot on before.
Imam Malik [AAH] was famous for his knowledge, till he became the Imam of Hijaz, and the Fiqh man of the house of Hijra. Until it was said that "nobody can give a Shari’a Fatwa while Malik is in Medina".

He was firm in his religion, courageous in his opinions, with great knowledge, and humble with his students. The caliph, then, asked him to prepare a book to be used by the people. He classified this book and named it as al-Mwatta’. He also wrote a message for preaching Haroun ar-rashid.

Al-Mwatta’ comprehends his Maliky Fiqh doctrine and his scientific way in Fiqh of analogy, unanimity, the work of Medina people and the traces of the companions. Imam Malik [AAH] combined between two ways of Fiqh deduction: the people of opinion and the people of Hadith.

Also in the book's footer, the book of (Esa’f al-Mobtta’ with the men of al-Mwatta’) by Imam as-Seyouty [AAH].

The book’s link in Al-Turath site
Introduced by the Editors
http://alturath.info/home.htm
Translated by Aseya al-Khouly



Note: to download & use these books, you need to down the compressed files (rar files) of the book and place it in the same folder and do not change their names. Then open any compressed file and you will find the book which may comprise of one (pdf) file or several ones which in turn will be decompressed to a one folder and do not change any of their names. Now you open any of them using the acrobat reader



A Selection of brother’s readings:



The Knowledgeable Glorious Scholars



Thanks to Allah who has made the knowledgeable scholars successors to the prophets to inherit their manners and became role models for everyone. Many people got strayed and got away from the guidance of the Beloved [PPBUH] when they did not take the great old knowledgeable scholars of this nation as their source of knowledge, instead they became addicted to taking from the recent simple ones. This way they got away from what their righteous ancestors used to have and what was settled by the Islamic nation for decades and centuries.

The Prophet [PPBUH] said: (People are still in blessing as long as they took their knowledge from their knowledgeable elders. When they start taking from their young unknowledgeable ones then they are doomed). The Prophet [PPBUH] also said: (This religion is knowledge, so be careful who to get from). He [PPBUH] also said: (When the knowledgeable scholars die, people will choose their leaders from unknowledgeable ones. When they ask them, they will answer without knowledge, so they will lead astray and mislead everyone, and there is no strength no power but from Allah).

sayydi Fakhreddin Mohamed Osman [AAH] said:

[If you were asked: What is the book? It is from what is narrated by the great scholars] (qasida 15:47)

All scholars agreed that no one can disparage any word from the Prophet [PPBUH] or judge it as being fabricated or weakly narrated, unless he has an absolute proof from Qur'an or Sunna of the Prophet [PPBUH]. From the start of the first century and up until now, great scholars [AAT] have taken the mission of preserving Turath of our true religion [inherited knowledge from the Prophet, His companions, and our great scholars]. They have been preserving it the same way as the Prophet [PPBUH] wanted them to do. That is how the authentic Hadith, true interpretations, and Historical events from the start of Mohammad' Message till our current day, were preserved and predicated honestly and truthfully. One of the main glorious scholars, with a great resume, is:



Imam Malik ibn Anas [AAH]



Imam Malik ibn Anas [AAH] is the trustworthy and pious imam, he is the Imam of the people of Sunna and the unanimity. He is Abdullah ibn Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi Amer ibn Amro ibn Harith, who is from the kings of Yemen. He is also Humairey and Asbahey and Medaney. The mother of Imam Malik is al-Aliah, or al-Ghaliah, bent al-Sharik, al-Azdiah. The grandfather of the Imam is Malik, who was one of the greatest followers. Imam Malik, the grandfather, was one of the best people, he is one of the four who carried Osman ibn Affan [AAH]. Imam Malik passed away on 112H. He had four sons and one daughter named Om-al-Bahaa and she was one of the people who memorized his esteemed knowledge.

His features:

Imam Malik was solemn man, highly tall, blond with a white face and he had wide eyes with blue color. His noise was pointing high and he had long beard with twisted moustache.

His birth and growth:

Imam Malik [AAH] was born on Rabi'i al-awwal in 93 H, in the city of Ze-al-Marwah. Firstly, he went to al-Aqiq city then to Medina. He [AAH] grew up in a house which was into the knowledge of Hadith. The most caring person in his family about that knowledge of Hadith was his uncle Nafei', surnamed as Abi-Sahl. An-Nadar, the brother of Imam Malik was in the business of knowledge and was accompanying the knowledgeable scholars. Imam Malik [AAH] was called; the brother of an-Nadar because of his brother's famousness. Under the effect of his environment and according to the instructions of his mother, Imam Malik began to ask for knowledge when he was young. Imam Malik said “when I reached the education age, my aunt came and told me these words “go and write”, she meant the Hadith. When Imam Malik reached ten years of age, he had memorized the Holy Qur'an and some of Hadith. Then his mother drived him to the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] to get knowledge, after he took a path and she perfumed and clothed him the best of clothes and turban. His mother selected, for him, the circle of Rabi'a from among seventy circles, gathered around the pillars of the Prophetic Masjid. Rabi'a was, at that time, the greatest scholar to use his opinion to find a judgment when there is no conclusive text. It was the habit of Imam Malik [AAH], through out his life, to take a path, perfume and wear the best clothes as long as he would sit for teaching or learning. Since that day in the beginning of the second Hijri year, Imam Malik has devoted himself to the hardship of asking for knowledge. He was not only devoted to the circle of Rabi'a, but he was also moving among scholars' circles in the different knowledge. He was not satisfied with what he was learning in the Masjid, but also sough the sheikhs in their houses to get more of their knowledge and he was patient with some of their toughness. When he was young and sitting to listen to the knowledge of Hadith, he used to have a thread and to tie, with every Hadith he hears, a knot. And by the end of the day, he used to revise the Hadith he had against the number of knots. If he found that he forgot any Hadith, he would go to that sheikh’s house, the one from whom he heard that Hadith, and memorize back what he had forgotten.

Imam Malik [AAH] devoted himself to seek knowledge. His breadwinner died and he grew up and had to provide for himself, his wife and his daughter. He had inherited, from his father, a trade of four hundred Dinars. He was busy, with seeking knowledge, from that trade until it became sluggish. He was compelled to sell some wood of his house ceiling to live and provide for his family with its cost. He began to adjure the rulers in order to allow to the knowledgeable scholars to be free for knowledge and assign salaries for them to grant them good life. Al-Laith ibn Saad met with Imam Malik, he was a young student from Egypt and they became companions. Al-Laith ibn Saad realized that his friend, Imam Malik ibn Anas, in spite of his elegance and clean good scented clothes, is so poor and he is hiding his poverty because of his modesty and sense of honor. Al-Laith ibn Saad was so rich, so he gave his friend a good deal of money and swore to him and insisted that he accept it. Al-Laith ibn Saad returned back to Egypt but kept on sending gifts and money to his companion, till Allah granted Imam Malik a good condition with money and he found of the caliphs who responded to his call for assigning salaries to knowledgeable scholars. Imam Malik [AAH] was asked for the reason that asking for salaries to the knowledgeable scholars took so long until it was finally answered. Imam Malik replied “No one can reach what he wants of knowledge until he becomes so poor and prefers it to everything. The one who asked for knowledge, has to be patient for it”. Imam Malik [AAH] accompanied ibn-Hormoz, who died on 148 H, for seven years in his early start. Imam Malik said “I used to go to ibn Hormoz's house in the morning and do not go out until night”. Imam Malik then accompanied to Nafei' Mawla [attendant of] ibn Omar, he stayed with him and learnt from him great deal of knowledge. The most correct Hadith are those which were narrated from Malik from Nafei' from ibn Omar. Imam Malik learnt also from ibn Shehab az-Zohary, who was the first one to write Hadith and was the most famous sheikh of Medina. Imam Malik [AAH] learnt from Imam Ga'far as-Sadiq [AAH] as well, who was from Aal-Albait [household of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]]. He narrated from Imam Ga'far [AAT] nine Hadith in his esteemed book “al-Mwatta'”. He also narrated from lots of scholars as well. It was said that his sheikhs were more than 300 of the followers and 600 of the followers of the followers. He [AAH] was a lover of the city of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] [Medina]. He lived in that city and never left it except for Hajj or Omra [supererogatory Hajj]. He found through Medina the divine blessings from the breaths of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. The people of Medina were applying his honorable Sunna [PPBUH] in all their sayings and deeds. Imam Malik saw that the deeds of the people of Medina in his time is considered a certain Sunna and when he gave Fatwa, he considered it as singular Hadith. Imam Malik almost glorified Medina same way as he glorified the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] himself.

Imam ash-Shafei'y narrated that he saw beside the door of Imam Malik gifts of horses from Khurasan and Egyptian mules. He said to Imam Malik “what a great horses and mules”. Imam Malik said “It is for you, take it all”. Imam ash-Shafei'y said “would not you keep some of them for yourself to ride?” Imam Malik replied “I am ashamed from Allah, Almighty, to step, by a hoof of a ride, on a land that contains the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]”.

Imam Malik hated argument and he turned down Harown ar-Rashyd, when he met him in Medina and asked him to debate with Abo-Yusuf, who was a companion of Abo-Hanifa. Imam Malik said with angry “the knowledge is not as instigation among the animals or roosters”. Imam Malik used to think that the argument in religion is a corruption of it. He was once asked “if a man has knowledge of Sunna, should not he argue for it?” He replied “he has to tell the Sunna, if it was accepted from him, it is fine, otherwise he has to stay silent”. Imam Malik [AAH] said that “I hate arguing in religion and the people of our Medina also hated it and prohibited it”. He called the people who debate about beliefs, compulsion and things like that, the people of heresy.

His setting for Fatwa:

People circled around him, asking for knowledge, when he was 17 years old, but he never gave Fatwa [Shari'a judgment] until he consult 70 scholars of the knowledgeable scholars of Medina when he was 40 years old. Imam Malik [AAH] has come to disagree with his teacher Rabi'a, so, he decided to have independent circle of his own. Yet he did not do that except after he had showed his Fiqh to 70 of the sheiks and scholars who used to teach in the Prophetic Masjid and got their permission to teach people.

Imam Malik used to abundantly give the poor of students. He was keen to get good food and elegant white clothes from the best of Egypt, Khurasan and Aden. One of his students said that when he moved his circle to his house and the students used to came to him, his young servant used to come out for them, saying: the sheikh asks you; if you want to ask about cases or Hadith? If they said cases, he would come out to them and give them his Fatwa, and if they said Hadith, she would say to them: set down for a while. Imam Malik would then wash up, wear perfume, wear new clothes and put the turban then he would come out to them with reverence. He used to light some incense to last until finishing the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. He used to glorify the knowledge to the extent that he never gave teaching unless his body was pure and washed up. He also never talked about or wrote a Hadith while standing.

Who careful he was in the knowledge and Fatwa:

Abo-Huraira narrated from the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] that He said (people will exhaust their camels asking for knowledge, and would not find a scholar who is more knowledgeable than the scholar of Medina). And more than one said that this one was Malik ibn Anas

That is why, Imam Malik used to search and investigate a lot for his Fatwa in taking and in giving. He has been asked in his circle about lots of cases and did not answer except to few of them. Imam Malik would think about some case for years and finds no answer that he fully accepts. He used to follow his Fatwa with the Qur'anic verse [we deem it not but conjecture and we are, by no means, sure] al-Gathiya 45:32. He would not tell Hadith until he was sure of it and if he had doubts, he would leave it. One of his students blamed him for being very careful about Fatwa. Imam Malik was affected and wept saying “I fear that some day that fatwa would give me a very hard day”. Once Imam Malik said to one of his students “there is nothing easy about knowledge, did not you hear the words of Allah, Almighty, [We will charge you with heavy words] al-Mozzammel 73:6. So all knowledge is heavy, specially what we would be asked about on the judgment day.

Some of people blamed Imam Malik for his care about his house furniture, clothes and food, so he said “the house is the lineage of the human being and I do not like for someone whom Allah gave blessings to not see its traces, especially the people of knowledge”.

Imam Malik disliked fighting the rulers, even if they were injustice. He gave a Fatwa that all the people have to obey the ruler even if he was unjust. He preferred to be neutral and left the politics. However, politics did not leave him, and his neutrality did not help him. As one day, he was explaining, in the Prophetic Masjid, the Hadith that says (The oath of the compelled one, does not count). He was showing the people that who gets divorced forcedly, then his divorce doesn’t happen. Then one of the grandsons of al-Husain ibn Ali [AAT], who was Mohamed an-Nafs az-zakiya revolted against the caliph al-Mansour, because he took the pledge of allegiance for himself by coercion, and people pledged allegiance to him while they were forced. Some people in Medina invalidated their pledge of allegiance for al-Mansour and joined Mohamed an-Nafs az-Zakeya following that Hadith and applying the Sunna. So, the ruler of Medina sent for Imam Malik to stop explaining this Hadith, as it instigates people for revolution and invalidating the pledge of allegiance. However Imam Malik [AAH] refused to suppress the knowledge. He also generalized the rule of this Hadith to all kinds of compulsion in treatments and life. The ruler of Medina ordered his men to whip Imam Malik. They whipped him, pulled him till his shoulder was dislocated, and imprisoned him in his house. People of Medina got angry with the ruler and also with the caliph, so did the scholars and Fiqh men from every country, because Imam Malik abided by neutrality and was avoiding politics. Then when al-Mansour curbed the revolution of an-Nafs az-Zakeya. He asked for imam Malik to satisfy him, but Imam Malik refused and did not leave his prison in his house. So, al-Mansour ordered the ruler of Medina to release Imam Malik. Then he came himself from Iraq to Hejaz in the season of Hajj, received Imam Malik and apologized to him. He also ordered to inflict the ruler of Medina with punishment that is many times what he did to Imam Malik. Imam Malik said then “my Allah protect the prince of believers and honor his abode. I forgive him for his relationship to the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] and to you”. Although al-Mansour told Malik to write to him, any time, about any one, of the rulers, who makes any fault, he did not. He was satisfied with advice and good sermon to those rulers.

The caliph al–Mansour requested from Imam Malik to write a book including all Hadith of the Messenger, the judgments of the companions, and their traces and deeds, so that it can be used like a law for whole the state, and can be applied in all its countries, instead of the differences amongst the diligent ones, the judges, and scholars. That was the advice of ibn al-Moqaffa', the writer. Imam Malik tried to excuse himself from this mission. But al-Mansour insisted on that and said to him “today, there is no one more knowledgeable than you”, and he insisted saying “as for the people of Iraq, I do not accept from them, as the best knowledge is from the people of Medina”. Imam Malik [AAH] was convinced with the opinion of the caliph to gather the diligent ones, the judges and the scholars on one opinion. The Imam then devoted himself to prepare that book. He began to write, revise, delete doubles of what he recorded, and to correct what he recorded. He named his book al-Mwatta', which means, in Arabic language, the revised book.

He kept revising this book many years, during those years his competitors from the scholars of Medina made many books in Hadith and companions traces. They named it “al-Mwatta'” too. The Imam was told about those books and he said “nothing will be raised unless it was meant for the sake of Allah”. Actually, those books disappeared and no one heard about it after that. However the book of al-Mwatta' was finished by Imam Malik after the caliph al–Mansour has died, another caliph, and another one then came Harown ar-Rashid. Ar-Rashid wanted to hang al-Mwatta' in al-Ka’ba, but Imam Malik [AAH] refused that. He quoted many people and they where mentioned in al-Mwatta'. It was narrated from him that he said “I showed my book to 70 scholars from Medina and all of them made agreed with me, so, I named it al-Muatta' [also in Arabic language means: the agreed upon book].

Imam Malik knew all the traces of the companions except the Fiqh of Imam Ali ibn Abi-Talib [AHHF] because the Amaweyown, confiscated it and veiled it and al-Abbaseyown chased it off. But this Fiqh was within the boundaries of Ahl-al-Bait, and their lovers, in books they circulated among them secretly.

Imam Malik was able to sit to Imam Ga'far as-Sadiq, and had a great respect and appreciation for him. In fact, Imam Malik benefited a lot from his company with Imam Ga'far as-Sadiq. He learnt from him depending on the mind in the cases where there is lack of text about it. He called this the discretion or the best interest. Using the mind in Fiqh of Imam as-Sadiq, gave it renewal and richness. So did the consideration of the best interest in judgment to Fiqh of Imam Malik in case where there is no text.

Imam Malik says about his relation with imam Ga'far as-Sadiq "I used to go to Ga'far ibn Mohamed, he used to be humoring and smiling until the Prophet [PPBUH] is mentioned, then he would turn green and yellow. I accompanied him for long time and never saw him except in one of three situations: praying, fasting or reading Qur'an and I never saw him talking about the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] unless he performed the ritual ablution first. He never talked about something that does not concern him. He was from the pious, worshiping, knowledgeable scholars who feared Allah. I never saw him but taking the billow from under him and putting it under me".

Imam as-Sadiq took the knowledge from his father Imam Mohammad al-Baqir ibn Ali Zain al-Abedin ibn al-Husain ibn Ali ibn Abi-Talib [AAT]. Imam Malik [AAH] accompanied Imam Mohammed al-Baqir and his son Imam Ga'far and learnt from them.

Imam Malik never dissembled the caliphs. Although he did not publicly protest against their injustice, he chose to give them good advice whenever required. One of his students, one day, blamed him for contacting the princes and caliphs, as they were injustice. His students thought that a righteous man like Imam Malik should not deal with these caliphs. Imam Malik [AAH] replied “there is a right on every Muslim or anyone upon whose heart Allah has bestowed some knowledge and Fiqh, to come to those who have the reign and advise them to do what is good and forbid them to do the bad”. When his students kept urging him to stop his relation with caliphs and princes, he [AAH] said “if I did not come to them, I would not have seen Sunna of the Prophet [PPBUH] followed in this Medina”.

He used to give his advice to the rulers in cover way in order not to embarrass them in front of their subjects, and he used to express it in a way to leave good impact. One day, he saw one of the rulers going to Hajj in a stately procession and the extravagance of luxury is appearing on him, he said to him ”Omar ibn al-Khattab, in spite of his advantage, used to blow in the fire under the cooking pot till the smoke comes out of his beard. People will be satisfied with you without this”. He said to another ruler “check on your subjects' affairs, as you are responsible for them. Omar ibn al-Khattab said: By the One who has my soul in his hands, if a camel died in al-Furat beach, I would believe that Allah would ask me about it in judgment day”. Imam Malik wrote to another caliph “take your caution from the day that nothing will save you except your work, you should take example from your predecessors and you should fear Allah”. One of the rulers one day was visiting Imam Malik ibn Anas [AAH] in his house, asking for his advice, then some Present praised the ruler. Imam Malik got angry from that, although his angry was rare. He yelled to the ruler, although he rarely yelled, and he said “Take care not to be deceived with the praise of those people for you. Who praised you with something that you do not have, is about to say something bad about you that you do not have. You know yourself well, better than they do. The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] said: (Throw the dust in the faces of the eulogists) ”.

The testimonies of the people of knowledge for his Imam leadership and their praise for him:

• Ibn Hormoz said “Call him, as he is the most knowledgeable of the people”. Ibn Shehab said to him “you are one of the vessels of knowledge”. It was said to Abi-al-Aswad “who do you think is the one fit for the subjective opinion after Rabei’a in Medina?” He said “Al-Asbahey boy (Malik)”.

• Sufian ibn Uyaynah said “who are we with Malik? we are but following Malik”. He said too “I cannot think of Medina after Malik except ruined”. He also said “Malik is the master of Medina people”. He said too “Malik is the master of Muslims”.

• Imam ash-Shafei’y [AAH] said “if the news comes, Malik is the star” and said too “Malik ibn Anas is my teacher and no one has more favor over me than him. We took the knowledge from him and I am just boy of Malik's students”. He also said “Malik and Sufian are two associates and Malik is the sharp star that no one can catch”.

• Al-Awza’y said “I saw a knowledgeable man”, he meant Imam Malik. Abo-Yusuf said “I never saw more knowledgeable than three men: Malik, Abi-Layla and Abi-Hanifa”. Imam Al-Laith said “the knowledge of Malik is pious, the knowledge of Malik is pure, Malik is safety for whoever took from his knowledge of people”. Ibn al-Mubarak said “if I was asked to choose an Imam for the Imams, I would have chosen Malik”.

• Yahya ibn Sa'id said “Malik is the prince of believers in the the knowledge of Hadith”. He said too “Malik is the highest of the companions of az-Zuhri and the most trustworthy and firm of all people in every thing”. And he said also “Malik is the star of Hadith who refrains from the weak ones and narrates from the sons of Muhajerin and Ansar”.

• An-Nasa'i said “the trustees of Allah on His revelation are: Shu’bah, Malik and Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Qattan. For me, there is no one, after the followers, who is better, more honorable, and more safe for Hadith than Malik”. Ahmed ibn Hanbal [AAH] said “Malik is better than ibn Uyayah in the Hadith narrated from az-Zuhry. And Malik is the most ascertained one from az-Zuhri”.

His students:

Most of Imams who appeared in the era of imam Malik were his students from every place on earth. They were uncountable and that was because of his residence in Medina. The Hajj people are accustomed to visiting the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. So they would find him there and learn some knowledge from him. Some of them would stay long and others would not. What also made him have many students, is that Imam Malik [AAH] lived long, as he lived around ninety years. Az-Zahaby counted his students to be more than one thousand and four hundred students.

His books:

• Al-Mwatta’ the most important book of his and the most honorable one. He wrote it with his hand. He composed it in around 40 years. It is the book which reputation went through the horizon. Imams testified to its antecedence over all Hadith books in and after his era. Imam ash-Shafei'y [AAH] said “no book appeared on earth, after the Book of Allah, more right than Malik’s book” in another narration “more correct” and another narration “more beneficial”. Al-Bukharey said “the most right Isnad at all is Malik from Nafea from ibn Omar”. Al-Bukharey named that Isnad as the golden chain. This Isnad was mentioned many times in al-Mwatta'. The judge Abo-Bakr ibn al-Arabi in the explanation of at-Turmuzy said “al-Mwatta’ is the origin, the marrow, and the book of al-Bukhary is the second source in this field, upon which, every built, like Muslim and at-Turmuzy”.

• The books of “the reply to al-Qadary”, “A message in the fate”, “the stars and calculating orbit of the time”, “Message in the destinies” in 10 parts, “the explanation of what is strange in Qur'an”, and a group of messages in Fiqh which was narrated from him and it reached around 36,000 cases and was named “the Great Record”.

His death:

After a long life full of knowledge, Imam Malik ibn Anas [AAH] passed away in Rabei' al-Awwal, 179H (795 AD) when he was around sixty eight years old. The prince of Medina, Abdullah ibn Mohammed ibn Ibrahim al-Abbasi, prayed the funeral prayer for him and escorted the deceased to his final resting place and participated in carrying his bier. He was buried at al-Baqei'. Imam ash-Shafei'y [AAH] said “my aunt said to me while we were in Mecca: I saw in this day a strange thing. I said to her: and what was it? She said: I saw like someone says: Tonight, the most knowledgeable one of the people of earth died. Imam ash-Shafei'y [AAH] said: We calculated that, and found it to be the day when Malik ibn Anas died”.

The spreading of Imam Malik's doctrine:

This is the predominant doctrine in Morocco, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Sudan, Upper Egypt, Southern Iran and Western and Middle Africa. Its followers around the world reach more than 150 Million.


Edited by G. Salah
Translated by Aseya al-Khouly
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec4.htm
======

His patience and education of companions


Allah says in His Holy Book [Or think you that you will enter paradise while yet there has not come unto you the like of those who passed away before you? Affliction and adversity befell them; they were shaken as with earthquake, till the Messenger, and those who believed along with him, said: When comes Allah’s help? Now surely Allah’s help is nigh] al-Baqarah 2:214.

This is the second verse of Qur'an that mentions the word [the Messenger], meaning sayydi Mohammad [PPBUH], where Allah, Almighty, coupled him [PPBUH] to [the believers], not just as comforting for them, but also as honoring and dignifying for the companions. Not just for them but also for all those how were ascertained with the belief. He made them all partners with the Prophet [PPBUH] and brothers to him in that deed, which is the patience on the hardship of the call to Allah. One of the fine meanings that should be mention is that the rank of the message requires the infallibility of the Messenger [PPBUH] from shaking. As the Prophet [PPBUH] is greatest believer of Allah, His destiny, and His fate, not just of all believers, but of all creation. Then, how come that the Messenger says [When comes Allah’s help?] This must have been for the sake of the believers, as he [PPBUH] has too much kindness and care for them, so he is hurrying the help of Allah, which he is the most one certain of it and believing in it and its soon coming.

The one fact is that the complain of the believers was not for themselves, but for their keenness for the religion of Allah, their fear of nonfeasance in serving Him, Almighty, and their feeling of weakness, inability, and need for Allah. This is what made their convulsing most affecting because they love Allah, His Messenger, and His religion more than their own selves.that is why their hearts were inflamed with the fire of keenness for the religion of Allah, until it was cleared and purified. So this hurrying only came after there was waiting until the Prophet [PPBUH], the teacher and the educator, knew that the hearts of the believers were cleared and purified and had nothing but Allah in it. That is why Allah did not criticize or blame them, instead Allah comforted them and insured them of the imminent victory. Allah, Almighty, obviously loves His Messenger, which is clear in all Qur'anic verses, and loves his nation for him. That is why; as soon as the Prophet [PPBUH] asks Him for anything and even before asking Him, Allah would answer him and be kind to him.

One of the greatest examples, that the beloved Prophet made for his companions to urge them to be patient on the vicissitudes of time, is what was narrated by Imam al-Bukhary in his Sahih from Khabbab ibn al-Artt, that he said "We complained to the Prophet [PPBUH] while he was laying down on his cloak in the shadow of the Ka'ba. We said to him: Would not you ask Allah for victory for us? Would not you pray for us? He said (In the nations before you a man would have been taken and put in a hole in the ground the cut in halves with a saw starting with his head, and that would not repulse him from his religion. And they would comb his flesh and nerves from his bones with iron combs, and that would not repel him from his religion. I swear by Allah that this religion will be completed until a traveler will walk from Sana'a to Hadramout with no fear except from Allah or maybe a wolf for his sheep, but you are in a hurry)". So look how the Prophet [PPBUH] assured them that the matter, they were afraid for, will be completed by Allah, but they were in a hurry.

Consideration in this Hadith:

1- What a patient and tolerant man this Generous Messenger is! He has what has with his Lord, yet he refuses to ask Him for victory out of politeness and waiting for Him judgment. He was also being patient and tolerant for his people, the polytheists, and hoping that there will come from their descendants some people who would believe in Allah. This was perfectly clear when the angel of the mountain came to him and told him that Allah gave him permission to bear down the two mountains upon his people, who do not believe. He [PPBUH] then said to him (No, I hope that there will come from their descendants some people who would worship Allah, alone with no associations). In al-Bukhary, Muslim and an-Nisa'i.

2- His bringing up of his companions on the patience and tolerance, like the teacher and students or say like the sheikh with his seekers. As bad manners are associated with seekers in the beginnings, while good manners are virtues of the sheikhs in the beginnings and ends as, they are the purified kinship and the people of the heritage. A seeker is characterized with changing while a sheikh is characterized with settling. A seeker is marked by lightheadedness, while a sheikh is marked by tranquility. A seeker is accustomed to impatience, while a sheikh is molded to patience to the end and winning and giving up to the decrees of fate and destiny. So no wonder that this companion would break the rules of silence and holding off, to ask the Beloved Prophet [PPBUH], when his impatience went to its end. And no wonder that the Prophet [PPBUH] would set him back to the track of the calm patience with nice calm words. He then stores that in the memory of his student as the state of true manhood when he tells him [PPBUH] (In the nations before you a man would have been). So what a kind father he was! And what a good educator! Sayydi Omar ibn al-Fared [AAH] said:

[O, heart, you promised me, in their love, to be
patient, so be cautious of being restless or impatient]

3- His full trust [PPBUH] in Allah when he expressed it with the swearing and it meant the full realization that Allah will complete the matter of Islam with victory. This is one of the branches of faith and a condition for it, as it is clear from the Hadith of the Prophet [PPBUH] (… and he who would want to be the richest of all people, should trust what in the hands of Allah more than what is in his own hands …).

4- His education [PPBUH] for his companions for the firmness of the belief in spite of being subjected to harm. This was clear in his saying [PPBUH] (and that would not repel him from his religion).

5- His warning for his companions of the hurrying and hasting in the matters which is an obstacle in the way of getting close to Allah and purification, as is clear from his saying [PPBUH] (but you are in a hurry).

Back to the honored verse:

Ibn Kathir said in the book of "the great Qur'anic explanation": Allah, Almighty said [Or think you that you will enter paradise] before you being tested, examined and afflicted, as with the nations before you. That is why He said [while yet there has not come unto you the like of those who passed away before you? Affliction and adversity befell them] and that is the illness, diseases, pains, ordeals, and trials. Ibn Mas'oud, Ibn Abbas, Abo-al-Aliya, Megahed, Sa'id ibn Jobayr, Morrah al-Hamadany, al-Hasan, Qatada, ad-Dahhak, ar-Rabie', as-Sadeyy, and Moqatel ibn Hayyan said that [Affliction] is for poverty. Ibn Abbas said that [adversity] is illness and [they were shaken as with earthquake] is the fear of the enemy and they were tested a very hard test.
I say: that is what we said about the fear for Allah’s religion and from being delinquent with it in front of the enemies. This is part of the Prophet’s words [PPBUH] (Paradise is surrounded with hateful things while Hell is surrounded with desires). So no other way or escape from being patient. One of the sheikhs said: You can use no sleight with the trials of the time except patience. Imam Fakhreddin said about that:

[You, who wants to reach the door of the protectress,
Would not you be patient to my easy tests]

Between patience and paradise, there are many fields, which we summarize in just one phrase “upbringing the seekers” which is, in Sufism, built on troubling the evil-inclined self until it comes back to Allah’s command and until its subjectivity follows what was brought by sayyduna the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH]. In this context, Imam ibn Ageiba said, in his book “Raising the Determinations in Explaining the Aphorisms”:

“Allah, Almighty, wanted to disturb you from everything of this world, so that you do not reckon to anything that may keep you busy from His witnessing. As it is impossible to witness anything while witnessing Him, or to love Him and love anything else with Him. The Loving denies to see anyone but its beloved. But when the loving is settled and the witnessing is completed, Allah may, if He wills, return them to His servants as guiders to guide to Him”.

Sheikh Abo-el-Hasan ash-Shadhuly said "To run from the goodness of the people is better than to run from their badness. As their goodness will hit affect you in the heart, but their badness will affect you in the body. It is better to be hit in the body than in the heart. An enemy who drives you to Allah is better than a lover who hinders you from Allah". He also said "Empowering creatures over the saints of Allah, in the beginning of their seeking, is His tradition with His beloveds and bosom ones". He also said in his Awrad "O, Allah, these people You judged to be humiliated until they became esteemed, and You judged them to be lost until they were found"… then he said "What shows you that this is the tradition of Allah with His beloveds and bosom ones, is His saying [they were shaken as with earthquake, till the Messenger said…] the verse, and the other verses which shows this meaning". End of his words.

Some knowledgeable people said "You should know that it is of the selves' innate to like staying in the place of esteem and highness. So if Allah leaves it, it will be ruined. That is why He disturbs it with the enabling the harm from the harmful people and the objection from the ungrateful ones". In this context, Imam ash-Shafie'y said:

[My enemies have a good hand and a great favor over me,
so Allah forbid their being separated from me]
[They looked for my faults, so I avoided it
and they competed with me, so I gain the highness]

I say that this verse describes both the bitter patience and the sweet paradise. Or you can say 'the loftiness and the beauty'. This is for intimidation and persuasion. What a nice saying was the saying of sayydi Abo-Bakr, when he said "Allah has coupled His good promises with His intimidation so that the servant would be loving and fearing at the same time". From the saints, the realized ones, and the knowledgeable scholars are those who interpret the Qur'an this very same way, like Imam Mohyeddin ibn Arabi, who said about this verse [Or think you that you will enter] the paradise of the revealing of beauty [while yet there has not come unto you] the state of [those who] has [passed away before you?] they were touched with the affliction of abandonment, divestment, poverty, and lacking, and the diversity of strive, exercise, and break of the self with the worship. And they were [shaken as with earthquake] with the longing and loving from the bases of their selves to forcibly show what they have within their preparedness [till the Messenger, and those who believed along with him, said: When comes Allah’s help?] i.e. until they were despaired from the long period of veiling and the much strive against separation, and until they ran out of patience from being kept away of the witnessing of beauty and the tasting of the communion. Then they asked for Allah's revealing to help them suppress their selves, increase their persistence, and increase their endurance for what the lover does of testing by abandonment and tasting of separation to increase their love. And if this is what the lover does, so how about the others? Then they were answered, when they reached the end of their effort and exhausted their power, and they were told [Now surely Allah’s help is nigh] i.e. the veil was raised and the traces of beauty were shown. End of Imam Mohyeddin's words.

In conclusion; this verse praises the Prophet [PPBUH] with some of his morals that he was sent to complete. This was the patience, the tolerance, and the politeness with Allah. The verse also describes the tests that Allah gave him and his companions, the believers, until they deserved the victory from Allah. The verse also describes the love and care of Allah for them, and how it is the tradition of Allah in His creatures, to have easiness after the hardship and relief after the distress. Until Allah knows who is truthful and who is lying. As the Prophet [PPBUH] said (do not be tired of the trails, as it is the harvesting of the hypocrites).

May Allah make the time for our victory, over our selves and our enemies, nigh. He is the All-Empowering, All-Powerful, All-Supporter, All-Forceful, and All-Strong.

Written by Dr. Ibrahim ad-Desouqi.
Translated by Sayed
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec5.htm
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Salman al-Farsi [AAH] 2
a non-depleted sea

Some of his virtues [AAH]:

Anas narrated that the Messenger of Allah once said “The pioneers are four, I am the pioneer of the Arabs, Sohayb is the pioneer of the Romans, Salman is the pioneer of Persia, and Bilal is the pioneer of Abyssinia”.

It was narrated by Kathir Ibn-Adbullah Al-Mazny, from his father from his grandfather that “The Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] drew the line of the trench and gave each ten men forty cubits to dig, so the Muhajirin [immigrants] and Ansar [supporters] argued. Each of them clamed Salman to be one of them. Salman was a strong man, so Muhajirin said: Salman is one of us, and Ansar sais: Salman is one of us, but the Prophet [PPBUH] said (Salman is one of us, Aal-al-Bait [the house hold of his])”.

Abi-Hatim al-Ataby said: Omar received some clothes and he distributed them, so every man got one piece. Then, he ascended the podium to give a speech, and he was wearing an outfit of two pieces. He said “O, people, do you hear me?” Salman said “No, we don’t hear you”. Omar asked him “and why not, Abo-Abdullah?” Salman replied “You gave each one of us one piece of clothes and now you are wearing two pieces!” Omar said “Be patient Abo-Abdullah”. Then he called “O, Abdullah!”, but no one answered him. Then he said “O, Abdullah ibn-Omar!” Abdullah ibn Omar answered him “O, yes, prince of believers!” Then Omar asked him “I adjure to you by Allah. The extra piece of cloth I am wearing, is it yours?” Abdullah said “Yes it is”. Then Salman said “Now say what you want, we will listen”.
His great knowledge [AAH]:

Abi-Gohayfa narrated that the Messenger of Allah made Salman and Abo-al-Dardaa brothers, so one day, Salman visited Abo-al-Dardaa, and found his wife, Om-al-Dardaa, in a very bad shape. So he asked her “What’s wrong with you?” She said “it is your brother Abo-al-Dardaa, he lost interest in the worldly life”. Then, when Abo-al-Dardaa came he placed some food in front of Salman, and said “You eat, I am fasting”. But Salman said “I will not eat unless you eat with me”. So Abo-al-Dardaa ate with him. When it was night, Abo-al-Dardaa went to pray, but Salman told him to go to sleep. So Abo-al-Dardaa did. When the last part of the night came, Salman said to him “wake up now to pray”. So they prayed together. Salman then said to him “Yourself has rights of you, your Lord has rights of you, your guest has rights of you, and your family has rights of you. So give everyone his rights”. When they went to the Prophet [PPBUH] and they told him what happened, he [PPBUH] said (Salman is right). Narrated by al-Bukhary.

Mohamed Ibn Sirin narrated that Salman went to visit Abo-al-Dardaa on a Friday, and he found him asleep, so he asked “what is wrong with him” they told him that “every Friday, Abo-al-Dardaa fasts, and he stays up its whole night to pray”. So Salman ordered them to prepare food on the following Friday and he came back to force Abo-al-Dardaa to eat, and he did not leave until he ate. They went afterwards to the Prophet [PPBUH] and they told him what happened. The Prophet [PPBUH] said (O, Owaymer! Salman knows better than you). – Owaymer is a nickname of Abo-al-Dardaa - the Prophet [PPBUH] repeated it three times while he was patting on Salman's leg, and he [PPBUH] then told Abo-al-Dardaa (Do not specialize Friday's night with worshiping among the rest of the nights, and don’t specialize Friday's days for fasting among the rest of the days).

Thabet al-banany narrated that Abo-al-Dardaa went with Salman to the family of Bani Layth to ask for their daughter’s hand for marriage to Salman. So Abo-al-Dardaa was telling the family about the great things about Salman and his accomplishments in Islam. But they said “we will not marry our daughter to Salman, but we will marry her to you, Abo-al-Dardaa”. So Abo-al-Dardaa married their daughter. When he left their house he spoke with Salman who was waiting outside, and told him “I want to tell you something but I feel shy”. So Salman asked him “What happened?” He said to Salman “I married the girl that you wanted to marry”. Salman said “I am the one who should be shy for proposing to the girl that Allah has destined for you”.
His asceticism [AAH]:

Al-Hassan narrated that the grant of Salman, while he was a prince over nearly 30,000 Muslims, was 5,000 (Dirham). Yet use to speak to the people wearing a cloak, that he wears part and sits on the other part. As he used to distribute all his grant, when he receives it, among the poor and needy, and he eats from his work.

Malik Ibn-Anas narrated that Salman used to sit in the shadow wherever it goes because he did not have a house for himself. One man said to him "Why do not we build you a house to protect you with its shadow from the heat and protect you from the cold. Salman agreed, but when the man went to build it, Salman called him and asked “how are you going to build it?” the man said “I will make it exactly to fit you, so when you stand up the ceiling touches the top of your head, and when you lay down its wall touches your feet”. Salman said “Yes”.

Ebadah ibn Salim said that Salman had a tent made from a cloak while he was the prince of the people.

Abd-ar-Rahman as-Salamy said that Salman married a woman from Kandah. On his wedding night, his friends went with him to the house of the woman. When they reached the house he said to them "Go back, may Allah reward you". He dod not let them in the house. When he looked at the house, he found it covered with curtains, so he said "What happened to your house? Does it have a fever? Or the Ka'ba has been transformed to Kandah?" He did not enter until they removed all the curtains except for the door ones. When he entered the house he found a lot of effects, so he asked "whose effects are these?" They said "yours and your wife's". He said "that is not what my intimate companion, the Messenger of Allah, advised me. My intimate companion advised me not to have effects except as those of a rider". He also saw servants, so he said "Whose servants are these?" They said "Yours and your wife's". He said "That is not what my intimate companion advised me. My intimate companion advised me not to keep except what marry or give for marriage. And if I did and they did something wrong, then I will carry as much sins as they did, without decreasing their sins". Then he said to the women staying with his wife "are you going to leave me to my wife?" They said "Yes", and they left. So he closed the door and the curtains. Then he came to his wife and wiped her forelock, and prayed for her to be blessed. Then he said to her are "I am going to tell you something, so are you going to obey me?" She said "Yes, I am sitting the way of an obeying one". He said "My intimate companion advised me, when I come together with my wife, to gather on the obedience of Allah". Then he stood up and she followed him to the Masjid, and they prayed as much as they could. Then they went back and slept together. In the morning, his companions came to him and asked him "How did you find your family?" He looked the other way, but they asked him again and looked the other way again, three times. Then he said "Allah veils, the hides, and the doors to hide what is behind it. You can only ask about what appears to you. But do not ask about what is not shown to you. I heard the Messenger of Allah said (whoever talks about that is like the two donkeys, doing one another in the road)".

Abi-Qulabah narrated that a man once came to Salman while he was kneading, so he asked him “What is this?” Salman said “We sent our servant out for some job, and we hated to make him do two jobs”. The man then told Salman about some one sending him a Salam. Salman said “When did you come?” the man said “Since so and so”. Salman said “if you did not tell me about that Salam, it would have been a denied trust”. Narrated by Ahmed.
His earning from his hand work [AAH]:

Al-No'man ibn Hamid said “I went with my uncle to visit Salman in Mada'in, where we found him weaving wicker. I heard him saying "I buy wicker for one Dirham and weave it and sell it for three Dirhams, I invest one in buying new wicker, the second for my family, and the third for charity. And even if Omar ibn al-Khattab forbidden me from doing so, I would not obey him"”. Al-Hassan said “Salman used to eat from his own work”.
His piety and modesty [AAH]:

Abi-Layla al-Kendy said that the boy slave of Salman said to him "contract me" [he wanted to by himself from Salman]. Salman said "do you have something". The boy said "No". Salman said "then how are going to pay?" the boy said "I will ask the people" [he meant begging]. Salman said "do you want to make me to eat the washing of the people".

Thabit narrated that Salman was a prince of the Mada'in. One day, a man from Syria was bringing a load of straw with him. He saw Salman wearing a ragged cloak. So he said to him "come and carry this", as he did not know him. Salman carried the load for the man, and walked along with him. When people saw Salman they knew him, so they said “this is the prince”. So the man apologized and said “I did not know you”. But Salman told him “I intended to deliver this load to your house, and I will not leave it until I do so”.

Abdullah ibn Barida said "when Salman would gain something, he used to buy some meat and call the leprous people to eat with him".

Omar ibn Abi-Qurrah the Kandy said "My father offered to marry his sister to Salman". Salman refused. Then Salman married a slave named Baqirah. So my father came to him, but they told him that Salman is in a legume business. So he went to him. He found him using his wood stick to carry a big basket of legume – he was carrier the legume himself and marrying a slave instead of free woman, so what a pious modest man!

Maymoun ibn Mahran narrated from a man from Abd-Qays that he said: I saw Salman in a war company. He was the prince, yet he was riding a donkey with some pants and its legs are shaking, while the soldiers were saying: here comes the prince. Then Salman said "indeed the good and evil are after today" – he meant will be seen after today.

Abi-al-Ahwas said: Qurysh bragged one day, in front of Salman. Salman said "As for me; I was created from a dirty sperm and I will go back as a rotten corpse, and I will be taken to the scale. If I am heavy then I am honorable, and if I am light then I am mean".

Ibn Abbas said: Salman came back from a long absence. Omar received him and said "I accept you as a slave for Allah". Salman said "then marry me to your daughter". Omar turned his face away. Salman said "do you accept me as a slave for Allah, but not for yourself". The next morning people came to Salman. He said to them "do you need anything?" They said: Yes. He said "what is it?" They said "you leave that matter with Omar". He said "I swear by Allah that I did not said that because of his power or his command, but I said he is a righteous man so may Allah get a good person out of him and me".

Abo-al-Aswad al-Do'aly said: One day, we were at Ali's and they said to him "O, price of believers, tell us about Salman". Imam Ali said "Where do you come with the like of Tawfiq al-Hakeim! That is a man from us and to us Ahl-al-Bait. He got the knowledge of the first and the knowledge of the last. He read the first and the last book. He is a non-depleted sea". And Moaz ibn Gabal recommended four men for a man to get knowledge from, one of them was Salman.
Of his words and advices [AAH]:

Hafs ibn Amro as-Sa'dy narrated from his uncle that he said: Salman said to Hozayfa "O, brother of Bani Abs, knowledge is vast and life is short, so take from knowledge what you need in the matters of your religion and let the rest of it, to save yourself the safering".

From Ab-Sa'id al-Wahby that Salman said "A believer in this worldly life is like a sick man that has a doctor who knows his illness and his medicine. So when he desires something that will hurt him, the doctor will prevent him, and will tell him 'do not come near it or else you will parish'. And so he keeps preventing him until he is cured from his pain. And so does the believer, he desires many things that was given to some other ones of the provisions, but Allah, Almighty, prevents him and keeps him until he dies, then He takes him to paradise".

Garir narrated that Salman said "O, Garir, be humble to Allah, Almighty, as whoever is humble to Allah, Almighty, in the worldly life, Allah will raise him in the hereafter. O, Garir, do you know what the darkness in the hereafter is?" I said "No". He said "the oppression of the people one another in the worldly life". Then he took a very small stick, that I almost could not see between his two fingers, and said "O, Garir, if you asked for a stick like this in paradise, you would not find!" I said "O, Abo-Abdullah, then where are the palms and the trees?" He said "its roots are pearls and gold, and its tops are the fruits".

Abo-al-Bokhtory narrated that Salman said "the likes of the heart and the body are like a blind man and a crippled one. The crippled man said to the blind one, I see a date bur I cannot reach it, so carry me. He carried him, so he ate and fed him".

Qatada said that Salman said "if you did something bad in secret, then do something good in secret. And if you did something bad in public, then do something good in public. So this would be for that".

Malik ibn Anas narrated from Yahya ibn Sa'id that Aba-ad-Dardaa wrote to Salman "come on to the sacred land". So Salman wrote to him back "the land does not make anyone sacred. It is the deeds that make a man sacred. I heard that you were made a doctor, so if you can cure that will be good for you. But if you are a trainee, so be careful not to kill anyone and go to hell". Then Aba-ad-Dardaa used to be careful and when he judge between two people and they left him, he would look at them and say "By Allah I am just a trainee, come back and tell me again your story".

Abi-Osman an-Nahdy narrated that Salman said "three things I liked so much that I laughed: a hoper for the worldly life while death is after him, a heedless one while he not been neglected, and a laugher with his full mouth while he does not know if Allah accepted or rejected him. And three things made me so sad that I cried: the separation of Mohammad and his party, the horror of the judgment day, and the standing in front of my Lord, Almighty while not knowing if I am going to paradise or to hell".

Hammad ibn Salamah narrated from Abo-Osman that Salman said "no Muslim would be in a shaded land, he did ablution, made Azan [call for prayer], and made Iqamah [the beginning of prayer call] unless he would be praying as Imam for soldiers of angels so many that he would not be able to see their edge", or he said "two edges". He meant the edges of the lines of the performers of the prayer.

Maymoun ibn Mahran said: a man came to Salman and said "advise me". Salman said "do not speak". The man said "no one living can stay without speaking". Salman said "if you speak, then speak with right or be silent". The man said "tell me more". Salman said "do not be angry". The man said "it would be something that I can not control". Salman said "if you get angry, then hold your tongue and your hand". The man said "tell me more". Salman said "do not contact people". The man said "no one living with people can stop contacting them". Salman said "if you contacted them, then speak the truth and give back the trust".

Abo-Osman narrated that Salman said "a servant who is used to pray to Allah in happiness, when a distress falls unto him and he prays, the angels would say 'that is a recognized voice from a weak human' then they would intercede for him. But if he is not used to pray to Allah in happiness, when a distress falls unto him and he prays, the angels would say 'that is an unrecognized voice from a weak human' and they would not intercede for him".

Salim the attendant of Zayd ibn Sawhan said: I was with my master Zayd ibn Sawhan in the market when Salman passed by us carrying a load of food that he bought. Zayd said to him "O, Abo-Abdullah, you do this while you are a companion of the messenger of Allah?" Salman said "when the self gets its food, it will feel assured, it would be dedicated to worship, and the Tempter would be despaired from it".

Abo-Osman narrated that Salman said "when the Muslims conquered Gowkhy they walked through it while there were piles of food like mountains". A man walking by Salman said "O, Abo-Abdullah, do you see what Allah gave us?" Salman said "What do you like about what you see? Each grain of what you see has an accounting for". Narrated by Ahmed.

Sa'id ibn Wahb said: I entered with Salman to a sick friend of his from Kandah to visit him. Salman said to him "Allah, Almighty, tries his servant with a distress then he cures him and it would be as a penance for him. So he would be like a camel tied by his masters then released, it would not know why they tied him or why they released him".

Mohamed ibn Qays narrated from Salim ibn Atyyah al-Asadi that Salman entered to a sick man to visit him while he was in the death struggle. Salman said "O, angel go easy on him". The man said "he says: I am kind to every believer" – it means that the man was seeing the angel of death and the angel was saying that words.
Salman's Death [AAH]:

Habib ibn al-Hasan and Hamid ibn Mwarraq al-Agly narrated that Salman when he was struggling death cried. They said to him "why are you crying?" he said "it is a covenant that the Messenger of Allah took from us, he said (let the effects of anyone of you be like that of a rider)". Then when Salman died they did not find in his house except some effects that was worth 20 Dirham.

Abo-Sufian narrated from his sheikhs that Saad ibn Abi-Waqqas came to visit Salman, at the time of his death, then Salman cried. So Saad said to him "why are you crying? O, Abo-Abdullah. The Messenger of Allah died while was pleased with you, and you will go to his basin". Salman said "I am not crying out of fear from death or caring for the worldly life, except that the Messenger of Allah bound us and said (let the subsistence of any of you be like that of a rider). And all these snakes around me". And there were nothing around him except some effects for his ablution. Saad said to him "O, Abo-Abdullah, take a bind on us so that we keep it after you". Salman said "O, Saad, remember Allah when you are about to do something, when you are judging if you judge, and when give away if you divided".

Ash-Showaby said: Salman got a pack of musk on the day of conquer of Golawlaa, so he kept it with his wife. When he was struggling death, he said to his wife "get me the musk". Then he mixed it with water and said to her "sprinkle it around me, as I am being visited with visitors who are neither humans nor gin". She did and he did not last except for a little while and he died.

The people of biography said that Salman was one of the long lifers, and he died in al-Mada'in during the caliphate of Osman. It was also said that he died in 32H.

Edited by Samir Gamal
Translated by Shayma Basiouni
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec6.htm
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Those who love one another for Allah 2

We are still talking about the love for Allah because of its great effect in the reining of the individual which reflects on all of us for rectifying the whole community. No doubt that if each of us rejected the bad morals which is the basis of all sins, embraced good morals, and followed the guidance of the Beloved Chosen Prophet [PPBUH], this will spontaneously lead to the reform of the community. Many Hadith were narrated, from the guidance of the Beloved [PPBUH], about the love for the sake of Allah, which drive the believers to love one another for Allah, and show them the virtue of those lovers for Allah over all others and their rank and reward with Allah, Almighty. It also shows them the conditions of this love and its effects on the lovers.

The two Imams: al-Bukhary and Muslim narrated in their Sahihs that the Prophet [PPBUH] said (Three things; whoever have them, he will find the sweetness of the belief. Who loves Allah and His Messenger more than anything else, love anyone only for the sake of Allah, and hates to convert back to disbelief, after he was saved from it, as he hates to be thrown into hell). So "loving for the sake of Allah" was one of the pillars that make a man taste the sweetness of the belief in his heart.

In Sahih Imam al-Bokhary, narrating the Prophet [PPBUH], that he said (there was a man who visited a brother of his in another village. Allah sent him an angel to wait for him on his way. When the man came to the angel, the angel said to him: where are you going? He said: I want to visit a brother of mine in this village. The angel said: Do you have a gift that you gave him before, and you seek a payback? The man said: No, I swear by Allah that I only love him for Allah, Almighty. The angel said: I am a messenger from Allah, that He loves you as you loved that man for Him). So the pure love for Allah has to be free of any transient request of the worldly life, only purely for Allah.

Al-Fodayl ibn Ayad [AAH] and others used to say "The look of a brother to his brother's face with love and mercy is worship. So loving for Allah is not right unless it has the condition of mercy when meeting, advice on separation, avoiding backbiting, complete loyalty, presence of intimacy, lose of estrangement, removal of loneliness, presence of delight, removal of reservation". Al-Fodayl used to say also "If backbiting comes, brotherhood goes".

Al-Gonayd said "No two got to be brothers for Allah, Almighty, and one of them felt lonely with the other or reserved from him, unless there was some thing wrong with one of them". And in the same context what was narrated from the Prophet [PPBUH] that he said (No two loved one another for Allah, unless the one who love his brother more was the one that Allah loves more).

In another narration (was the best one). In another trace (the most beloved of the brothers to Allah is the kinder to his brother).

Imam Ahmed narrated in his Musnad from Mogahed that Abo-Zarr said "the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH] came out to us and said (Do you know which deed is more loved by Allah, Almighty?) Someone said: Prayers and Almsgiving. Another one said: Jihad. The Messenger said (The most loved deed for Allah, Almighty, is loving for Allah and hating for Allah)".

Ibn Katheir narrated from al-Hakim and an-Nisa'I that the verse [If you have spent all that is in the earth you could not have attuned their hearts, but Allah has attuned them. Lo! He is Mighty, Wise] al-Anfal 8:63, was for those who love one another for Allah. Mogahed said "If those who love one another see one another, took each other's hand, and smiled at each other, then their sins will fall down like the leaves of the trees".

Praise be to Allah, Almighty, All-Wise. To this extent was the reward for the love for Allah and its benefits. As only meeting and shaking hands would make their sins and misdeeds fall off them. We are always misled away from these benefits by Satan and his soldiers. Satan always leads us to the circle of hatred, enmity, and envy to prevent us from this great blessing and its fruits, which is the love for Allah. So look with me, O, beloveds of the Messenger of Allah [PPBUH], at what we have and Allah wants us to be. Now let us obey the orders of Allah and His beloved Prophet [PPBUH], let us make the accursed Satan miss his opportunity, and let us repel the dislike, hatred, enmity, and cruelty from our hearts and put there instead the love for Allah.

Te love for Allah is also one of the signs to Belief. At-Tabarany narrated in his two big books, and al-Bayhaqy in his "Branches of Faith" from ibn Mas'oud that the Prophet [PPBUH] said (It is from faith that a man love another only for Allah with no money taken. That is the faith).

At-Turmuzy, ad-Darmy, and Imam Ahmed narrated that the Prophet [PPBUH] said (the best of the companions for Allah, is the best for his companion. And the best of the neighbors for Allah is the best to his neighbor).

In the interpretation of His saying [Whoso obeys Allah and the messenger, they are with those unto whom Allah has bestowed favor, of the prophets and the saints and the martyrs and the righteous. The best of company are they!] an-Nisa' 4:69. So Allah, Almighty, is teaching us that whosoever accepts His judgments and His Messenger and obeys their orders and keeps away from what they prohibited, will be with the best creatures with Allah. Imam al-Baydawy said that Allah, Almighty, has divided them into four sections according to their ranks in knowledge and work, and He encouraged all people not be dropped behind them. They are:

- The prophets who won the perfection of knowledge and work, and who passed the perfection to the limit of perfecting others.

- The saints whose souls have ascended; once onto the ascenders of watching the evidences and the signs and another time onto the ascenders of purification and exercise to the top of knowledge, until they were shown the reality of things and came to tell about it.

- The martyrs who were led by their eagerness to obedience and seriousness in showing the truth, until they sacrificed their souls to raise high the words of Allah.

- The righteous people who spent their lives in Allah's obedience and their whole situations in pleasing Allah. You can say that those who were bestowed with the favor of Allah are the knowledgeable of Allah. Those are either in the rank of witnessing or in the rank of deduction and evidence.

It was narrated that Thoban, the servant of the Prophet [PPBUH], once came to him [PPBUH] with a changed face and a weak body. So the Prophet [PPBUH] asked him about his condition. Thoban answered "I do not have any pain except that if I did not see you, I miss you so much and I feel so lonely until I meet you. Then I remembered the hereafter, and was afraid that I might not see you there because I realized that you would be raised with the prophets. And if I entered paradise, I would be in a lower rank than yours, and if I do not, then I would not be seeing you at all". So this verse was revealed [Whoso obeys Allah and the messenger…] to the end of the verse.

Written by Abdel-Sattar al-Fiqy
Translated by Sameh
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec7.htm
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What would you do, if you where in my shoes? 4


I went out to the street and I was distracted… what do I do? Should I go to my friend and admit to him what happened? or stay with my pride and arrogance. I was trying to cross the street, waiting for the cars to pass and looking for an opportunity to cross the street. As our streets need an acrobat to cross it, and the cars do not wait for the pedestrian crossing. I looked right and left waiting to cross, then I saw an old man leaning on his cane and desperately trying to find an opportunity to cross the street, but the cars did not slow down for pedestrians. I went up to him and asked him if he needed help crossing the street, and he said “Yes, my son… may Allah protects you and enlightens you way”. I held his hand and waived with my other hand for cars to slow down, but some stopped to let us cross, others insisted on passing before us. I got very angry and started to scream at them with curses and insults. But the old man pressed on my hand. I swallowed my insults and looked at him. He said to me “calm down”. I said “don’t you see how disrespectful those drivers are!”. And he said with a smile “it is because they have no good driver to drive them” I surprisingly said “Drive them, in what way?” he said “every one of us, humans, has a driver, some are driven by a respectful one, some are driven by the devil, and some are driven by their own heads. Thank you my son for helping me crossing the road, Salamu Alikom”. I answered his Salam while I was still amazed with what he told me, and as soon as I got back my attention and looked around me, he was completely gone as if he disappeared.

I kept walking and his words were still in my ears: of those who are driven by a devil, a respectful person, or by their heads. I said to myself “Oh my, oh my, oh my, this man came especially for me. Undeniably, I am one of those who are driven by both, the Satan and my evil inclined self. They are riding me and controlling my life and my afterlife. They drive me to any direction they want and I am blindly following them”. I, unconsciously, started cursing both of myself and the Satan loudly, until I finally noticed that people were looking at me as if I was crazy. I guess they were right, because what is happening to me is an absolute craziness.

I called my friend and asked to meet him, so he invited me to his house. When I arrived, I timidly entered and sat down for a long period of time without saying a word. He noticed my stress and tension and asked me “what’s wrong?” I was impatiently waiting for his question to tell him everything had happened in details since the last time I left his house until today. I felt a big relief and all of my anxiety and distress were removed. I said to him “Firstly, I want you to forgive me for what I said about you, and secondly, I need to understand what happened?” he looked at me and said “let’s begin with reading al-Fateha for blessing and may Allah help us understand”.

After we read the Fateha he said:

When Allah, Almighty, created us, He, Almighty, made us two paths to choose from, the first one is a safe path [straight path] and the second one is a remorseful path [the path of hell].

We learned through Allah’s prophets and messengers that what is mostly wanted from humans is to follow the straight path that leads to paradise. Satan is doing a great work to seduce and attract people to the other path, remorseful path, by beautifying it and making it easy. Moreover, Satan is working to draw away those who chose to follow the straight path. [He said: Now, since you have sent me astray, I will assuredly lurk in wait for them on Your straight path] al-A'raf 7:17. His job here is unlike his job there, for those who are following the straight path he is trying to make them hate going this way and direct them to the path of regret by praising it and illustrating the non-existed advantages that may fool them. We always recite in al-Fateha [Guide us in the right path. The path of those on whom You have bestowed Your blessings, those who have not incurred You displeasure, and those who have not gone astray] Amen. al- Fateha 1:6-7.

Now, who are those whom Allah has blessed? Allah says in His Holly Book [And whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger are among those on whom Allah has bestowed His blessings, namely, the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent companions are these] an-Nisa' 4:69.

So those who obey Allah and His Messenger. They are the ones who were blessed, and whose path is surely the straight path. They call people to the straight path. Whoever believes in them and follows them, they will teach him how to walk the straight path and stay onto it. They will teach you how to challenge any obstacles of worldly life, subjectivity, self, and Satan. You will find that they follow the same path, although they may be different, themselves, using different methods, living in different eras, and have different messages. They are still having the same approach which is [there is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his Messenger].

Those are the respectful drivers that the old man, the one you helped cross the street, has referred to.

He asked me: Are you following me? I said “Please be patient with me … I think I now know why my life was turned upside down, and it is because I was following my head, and not a respectful leader. But can you explain more, please!”

He said to me “there is a famous saying that says: If you do not know Allah, then know those who know Allah, and if you do not know those who know Allah, then know those who know them”.

I asked him “I now need to know who I should follow? You are saying that there is only one path to Allah, but there are so many religious people appear on TV, and many others in mosques and they all say different things. I have nothing else to say except … what would you do if you were in my shoes?


Written by Ahmed Abbas
Translated by Shayma Bassyouni
http://almagalla.info/2011e/dec8.htm
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