General Reminders

From Kitab Ar-Ruh by Ibn Al-Qayyim:

What causes people to be tortured in the grave?

The response to this question is general and specific.

The general response: they are tortured for their ignorance and disobedience, hence no soul is tortured by Allaah which is beloved and obedient to him, nor the body which contained it. The torture of the grave and the nextlife is the result of the anger of Allaah toward his servant. Thus, whoever has angered Allaah on earth without repenting will be tortured during the intermediate stage according to the extent of his anger, and this is affirmed and denied.

The specific response: the prophet (may Allaah send salutations upon him) has informed us of the two men whom he saw being tortured in their graves. One was a tale carrier while the other did not protect himself from his urine. The later neglected obligatory purification while the formed created hostility among people, but was truthful. There is a warning here that a greater punishment awaits one who falsely creates hostility between people, as well as one who neglects prayer where purity from urine is a prerequisite.

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I was reading Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali’s The Compendium of Knowledge and Wisdom (translated by Abdassamad Clarke) and I came across some points on seeking knowledge, that would be a good reminder for everybody, starting with me.

We read on pg. 15, under the section of Intention:

At-Tirmidhi related a hadith of Kab ibn Malik that the Prophet(SAW) said ‘Whoever seeks knowledge in order to argue with foolish people, or to compete with people of knowledge, or to turn people’s faces towards him, then Allah will put him in the Fire’(At-Tirmidhi 265). Ibn Majah related the same meaning from a hadith of Ibn Umar, Hudahfah, and Jabir is, “Do not learn knowledge in order to compete with people of knowledge or to argue with foolish people or to do well in assemblies. For whoever does that, then [beware of] the Fire! The Fire!” (Ibn Majah 253) Ibn Masud said, ‘Do not learn knowledge for three reasons: to argue with foolish people, or to dispute with fuqaha, or to turn people’s faces towards you. Seek from your words and your actions that which is with Allah because it endures and what is other than it will go away

And to add this idea, Imam Zaid Shakir also reminds about the ‘The Proper Approach to Debating”, by quoting the statement of Imam Shafi`i:

Never do I debate a man with a desire to hear him err in his speech, or to expose the flaws in his argument, and thus vanquish him. Whenever I face an opponent in debate I silently supplicate, ‘O Lord, help him so that truth may manifest itself in his heart and on his tongue. If it be that the truth is on my side, may he follow me; and if the truth be on his side, may I follow him.’

May Allah (SWT) purify our intentions to seek knowledge for His Sake!

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا حيوة بن شريح ويزيد بن عبد ربه قالا ثنا بقية قال حدثني بحير بن سعد عن خالد بن معدان عن أبي قتيلة عن بن حوالة انه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : سيصير الأمر إلى ان تكون جنود مجندة جند بالشام وجند باليمن وجند بالعراق فقال بن حوالة خر لي يا رسول الله ان أدركت ذاك قال عليك بالشام فإنه خيرة الله من أرضه يجتبي إليه خيرته من عباده فان أبيتم فعليكم بيمنكم واسقوا من غدركم فان الله عز وجل قد توكل لي بالشام وأهله

The Prophet Muhammad said:

“It shall reach a point when you will all be joining [opposite] armies: one army in shaam, one in Yemen, one in ‘Iraq. Abdullah ibn Hawaalah said, “Choose for me Oh Rasulullah!” He said, “You must join Shaam, for it is Allah’s chosen land in His earth. In it shall the chosen ones among His servants have protection. Otherwise, go to Yemen but be prepared to drink from still water. For Allah has given me a gurantee concerning Shaam and its people.” [This is the translation of Shaykh G.f. Haddad and It is correct.]

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I recall hearing a christian once tell me that my religion, “Izlam”, was not a religion of forgiveness & mercy. In fact, in his view, it is impossible for God to forgive sins without “sacrifice”, as he saw it. No matter what verses I quoted him, ahadith (narratives of the Prophet Muhammad), or scholarly quotes, he was adamant that the Qur’an does not preach forgiveness of man’s sins. One can guide the donkey to the water, but can not make him drink. I believe that a single verse from the Qur’an can respond to the christian view, or anyone else’s view, that Islam is a religion that teaches God will forgive as long as one is sincerely repentant.

Allah says,

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

“Say, [God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

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 by Abul Layth

 Allah Allah ! Our Shaykh Nuh, May Allah bless him and his family Amin, encouraged the travellers on the path to read the Adhkaar of Imam An-Nawawi (rahimahullah). So, I bought it, and must say that I have benefitted immensly within the last few weeks. I even got to sit down with Umm Layth at the lake and go over some beneficial Shafi’i opinions from it. At times I wish I could share everything I read the readers of SeekingIlm, but time and other things are far more important. I am, insha’allah, going to start sharing more of the benefits I experience in the Adhkaar with those who care to better themselves.

I came across a beautiful hadith that goes (here is the scan),

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