On Brotherhood
May 2, 2025 § Leave a comment
Imām Al-Shāfiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “The example of brotherhood for the sake of Allaah is like that of the hand and the eye—if the eye weeps, the hand wipes away its tears, and if the hand is in pain, the eye weeps for it. If you have a friend who helps you in obedience to Allaah, then hold fast to him, for taking someone as a friend is difficult and parting with them is easy.”
Ḥilyatul-Awliyā, 4/101.
The Humility of Shaikh Ibn Baaz’s Teacher and the Mufti Before him, Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm
May 18, 2024 § Leave a comment
وكان إذا أثنى عليه أحد أو مدحه يقاطعه بقوله: اللهُ يَتُوْبُ عَلَيْنَا، اللهُ يَعْفُو عَنَّا
“When someone would praise or compliment him he would cut him off by saying, ‘May Allaah turn in Mercy to us, may Allaah pardon us.’”
Sīrah Samāḥatish-Shaikh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, p. 23.
Ibn Baaz’s Teacher’s Humility, Shaikh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm. Compare it to Today’s Juhhāl who Don’t Mind Having Titles They Don’t Deserve Before Their Names
May 17, 2024 § Leave a comment
The Muftī of Saudi Arabia before Ibn Baaz was Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, may Allaah have mercy on them both. Shaikh Ḥamad al-Farhūd said about him:
“I accompanied him for more than eighteen years and never once did I hear him refer to himself as ‘Shaikh’ or ‘Mufti,’ … when he would mention his [own] name he would mention it without any titles, except for one time only. And that was when he hosted a dignitary from the Gulf who was a good man. So he wanted me to call the hotel so that he [could speak to them and] make a reservation for the guest [from the Gulf]. When he spoke to the receptionist, who was Egyptian [and he asked for his name], he told him, ‘Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm,’ but he never recognised him. So he said, ‘Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Āl ash-Shaikh,’ but he still didn’t recognise him. So he repeated it a number of times but with the same result. So then he said, ‘The Mufti [of Saudi Arabia].’ Then when he ended the call he said, ‘May Allaah grant him guidance, he forced me to say that word [i.e., Mufti’].’”
Sīrah Samāḥatish-Shaikh Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm, p. 23.
On Backbiting
December 1, 2023 § Leave a comment
Al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Walīd said, “My father said, ‘I heard al-ʾAwzāʿī saying, ‘It has reached me that on the Day of Resurrection it will be said to a servant, ‘Stand up and take your due right from so and so.’ So he will reply saying, ‘[But] I’m not owed any rights from him.’ So it will be said, ‘But you are. He mentioned you on such and such a day saying this and this.’’’”
Shuʿab al-Īmān, p. 98.
Aḥmad ibn Hanbal’s Mercy
November 30, 2023 § Leave a comment
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥussain ibn ʿAbdullah al-Khiraqī said, “I spent the night along with Aḥmad ibn Hanbal. I never saw him sleep, he just cried until the morning. So I said, ‘Abū ʿAbdullah, you cried a lot this night, what happened?’ He said, ‘I remembered how al-Muʿtaṣim beat me and I came across this āyah in the dars, ‘And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation—his reward is [due] from Allāh,’ [42:40] so I prostrated and in the sajdah I forgave him for beating me.’”
Manāqib al-Imām Aḥmad, p. 467.
Manners Related to the Mosque
November 16, 2023 § Leave a comment
The Shaikh of Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “So whoever is one of the first people to come to the mosque but then doesn’t stand in the front row has opposed the Sharīʿah.”
Majmūʿul-Fatāwā, vol. 22, p. 262.
ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAwn when He Would Get Angry
June 3, 2023 § 2 Comments
“ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAwn wouldn’t get angry. If someone did happen to anger him he would say, ‘May Allaah bless you. (Bārakallāhu fīk).’”
Ḥilyatul-ʾAwliyā, vol. 3, p. 39.
Shaikh ʿAbdur-Razzāq al-Badr said, “Would that we would take heed of this and compare it to what we do and say when we get angry. He used to say this great duʿā to someone who made him angry, so what would he say when happy and relaxed? It is true strength and firmness that he contained himself like this when angry.”
Source.
Imām adh-Dhahabī’s Humility
May 26, 2023 § Leave a comment
This is a page from the book, Dhail Dīwān aḍ-Ḍuʿafā of Imām adh-Dhahabī, which is a work where he wrote about narrators, weak ones, abandoned ones, trustworthy ones etc.
Under the names that begin with the letter م he wrote:
“Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān al-Ghāfiqī: he has a bad memory, he is not precise and nor is he mindful of Allaah [muttaqī]. May the Most High forgive him.”
He was talking about himself, Imām adh-Dhahabī is Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān al-Ghāfiqī, raḥimahullah.
The Man from Banī ʿAbs and the Porter
May 26, 2023 § Leave a comment
A man from Banī ʿAbs went to the al-Madāʾin market and purchased a large amount of goods and then looked for someone to carry them for him. He saw a man standing in the market and called him and said, “Carry these for me, may Allaah have mercy on you.” So the man came and picked up his wares and started to walk next to him.
Every time they passed by a group of people they looked at the man who was carrying the goods and said, “As-Salāmu ʿalaika, O Abū ʿAbdullah!”
So the man from Banī ʿAbs was surprised at this porter who was carrying his goods and who all the people of the city knew and who the nobles and dignitaries feted and revered and respected and who they gave this most respectful of salāms to.
So he said, “Who are you, may Allaah have mercy on you?” He replied, “I am just one of Allaah’s slaves.”
Then they passed by another group of people and they said to the man carrying the goods, “As-Salāmu ʿalaika, O Abū ʿAbdullah!” So then the man from Banī ʿAbs took one of them by his hand and said, “Who is this man?”
He replied, “That is Abū ʿAbdullah Salmān al-Fārisī—[most noble] Companion of the Messenger of Allaahﷺ and the Amīr of al-Madāʾin.”
So the man felt embarrassed and ashamed and said, “May Allaah have mercy on you, I didn’t know who you were, please give me my goods so I can carry them.”
Salmān said, “No, wallāhī, I will carry them right until you get to your house.”
Siyar Aʾlām an-Nubalā, vol. 1, p. 546.
Talking Too Much and Going Out Too Much
August 20, 2022 § Leave a comment
About 1200 years ago, al-Fuḍail ibn ʾIyāḍ used to say, “This is not the time to talk. It is the time to remain silent and stay at home.”
Ar-Risālah al-Mughniyah fis-Sukūt wa Luzūmil-Buyūt of Ibn Abid-Dunyā, p. 37.
“Alhamdulillah that I Became a Muslim Before I Met These Muslims.”
July 14, 2022 § 1 Comment
The ʿAllāmah, the Shaikh Muḥammad Sulṭān al-Maʿṣūmī al-Khujandī al-Makkī, who some of you may know through the English translation of his book on blind-following which you can find here, said:
“One of the people who was guided and became enlightened through this Divine Light was a man from the West, from those who ascribe to Christianity. He read the translation of the meanings of the Qurʾān in English and so Allah allowed him to see the truth and enlightened him. He learnt Arabic and came to understand some meanings of the Qurʾān and thus became certain that Islam was the true religion which could make a person happy in this life and the next and so embraced it. Then he migrated from his country intending to settle in a Muslim land and so ended up settling in the two ḥarams [Makkah and Medīnah].
But when he saw those who called themselves Muslims here, and their manners, and how they dealt with people in a manner which opposed Islam and its teachings he was shocked and confused, and said to me:
‘Alḥamdulillāh that I became a Muslim before meeting these Muslims. This is a blessing from Allah on me. If I had seen these people before that I would have fled both from them and Islam, but I understood Allah’s address to us when He said, ‘O Mankind! …’ and I am one of mankind, and that meant that I had to fear Allah who created and nurtured me and that I must believe in His Messengers and Books, and I was certain that everyone who fears Allah, his Lord, will be happy in both abodes, and that whoever disbelieves and denies [the Truth] then Allah’s Punishment is severe, and no-one has the excuse of ignorance as long as he can understand …’ etc.!
So look how this European learnt knowledge and sought guidance, in the same way every individual from mankind has the ability to learn and understand his Lord’s Speech, that is why Allah addressed them in general terms, and ordered them to have faith and fear Him, and to follow the Messenger who He sent with the Truth, a Messenger who was sent to all of mankind as a mercy for them, whether man or jinn …
This gentleman who was guided to Islam has accompanied me since 1937 and attended my lectures. He often asks me about the meanings of āyahs from the Qurʾān and ḥadīths, and has become a good Muslim. I ask Allah, the Most High, to make both me and him and all Muslims firm in īmān, to always grant us success and to give us a good ending, āmīn.”
Tamyīzul-Maḥẓūẓīn ʿanil-Maḥrūmīn fī Tajrīdid-Dīn wa Tawḥīdil-Mursalīn, pp. 39-40.
This is Shaikh Muḥammad Sulṭān al-Maʿṣūmī al-Khujandī:
I Don’t Know
July 13, 2022 § Leave a comment
Ibn al-Qayyim said, “ʿUqbah ibn Muslim said, ‘I was with Ibn ʿUmar for thirty-four months, when asked a question he would very often say, ‘I don’t know.’’ And Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib would hardly give a fatwā or say something without adding, ‘O Allah, save me, and save them from me.’”
Iʿlāmul-Muwaqqiʿīn, 6/134.
Excuses
March 16, 2019 § Leave a comment
“Abu Qilaabah Abdullaah ibn Zaid al-Jurmi said, ‘If you hear something about your brother which you dislike then exert yourself in making an excuse for him. And then if you can’t, say to yourself, ‘Maybe he has an excuse I don’t know about.’’ [Al-Hilyah, 2/285]
Shaikh Abdur-Razzaaq al-Badr said, ‘What a difference there is between someone who strives to find an excuse for his brother and someone who invents lies and fabrications against him and twists what he says or does.’”
At-Tuhaf bil-Ma’thoor ’anis-Salaf, p. 11
Al-Hasan’s Patience and Humility Upon Being Abused
April 4, 2018 § Leave a comment
Awf said, “A man verbally abused al-Hasan excessively so al-Hasan said to him, ‘You’ve left things out. And what Allaah knows [about my shortcomings] is even more.’”
Al-Mujaalasah wa Jawaahirul-Ilm, vol. 8, p. 34.
When Sworn at or Verbally Abused
April 3, 2018 § Leave a comment
A man came and abused al-Ahnaf ibn Qais but he remained silent. Then he reviled him again persistently but al-Ahnaf still stayed quiet. So the man then said, “O what regret! Nothing stops him from answering me back except how worthless I am in his eyes.”
Al-Mujaalasah wa Jawaahirul-Ilm, vol. 8, p. 28.
Gifts of Knowledge 