The Destruction of Nations Part 3 - Thamud

THAMUD PART 1

The destruction of ‘Aad is something we ourselves cannot comprehend but we see in a hadith related by ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) the distress it would cause the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him). She mentions that whenever the sky was covered (with clouds), his face would change, he would come in and out (of the house) and he would pace up and down. Being the caring and loving wife she was, ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked him as to why he does this to which the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) would reply and say,

“It could be what ‘Aad have faced: “So, when they saw it as a cloud proceeding towards their valleys, they said, ‘This is a cloud that will bring us rain!’” (Surah Ahqaf)

And so the people of ‘Aad were destroyed and Allah replaced them with another tribe upon whom He bestowed countless bounties but they to forgot their transgressed. They were the tribe of Thamud and there are two opinions as to why they were labelled with this name. The first opinion is because of the vicinity in which they lived in. In Arabic, the word ‘Thamad’ means a lack of water and the area which was inhabited by the people of Saleh (peace be upon him) had a deficiency in water. The opinion of Ibn Katheer is that the nation were named after their forefather whose name was Thamud.

Like the people of ‘Aad forgot about the punishment suffered by the people of Nuh (peace be upon him), Thamud too forgot about their predecessors (‘Aad) and they too followed in the footsteps of their accursed ancestors. The people of Thamud were similar to the people of ‘Aad in their strength, abilities and arrogance. Allah the Almighty had given them bounty upon bounty and like ‘Aad, Thamud became poisoned by the beauty of this world. They began to feel as if they would never die and they started with the words that brought destruction upon ‘Aad. They would say,

“Who is stronger than us?”

And so they began to make huge palaces (pictured) upon the earth and in the mountains. Their disobedience had no bounds and they would happily work contrary towards the way of Allah. Thus they forgot about Allah and Allah caused them to forget about themselves. They began to oppress themselves in ways their eyes did not perceive and such is the statement of Allah in the Qur’an:

إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَظۡلِمُ ٱلنَّاسَ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ أَنفُسَہُمۡ يَظۡلِمُونَ ٤٤

"Surely, Allah does not wrong people at all, but the people do wrong their own selves."

It was then that Allah decided to send a mercy to them, a messenger from amongst themselves to guide them towards the truth. Verily, Allah is not pleased by those who spread trouble upon the earth. From amongst the community, He erected a prophet by the name of Saleh (peace be upon him). Saleh (peace be upon him) was a man of a noble lineage, piety, intelligence and when he grew up, Allah blessed him with the wisdom that was needed for Saleh (peace be upon him) to carry out his mission. Prior to becoming a prophet, Saleh (peace be upon him) was a very popular figure in society. He was considered by many as being a luminary, a man who was more articulate and upright in his conduct than any other man from amongst them. When he would walk past people, they would whisper,

“That is Saleh! That is Saleh!”

His people and in particular his father had high aspirations of him and they all dreamt that he would grow up to own palaces with large, beautiful gardens. They envisaged him having servants running back and forth for him but Saleh (peace be upon him) had no interest in the materialistic society he was living in. On the contrary, he was selected to convey the message of His Lord, a status far loftier than anything anybody else could have perceived. He (Saleh (peace be upon him)) then stood up in the midst of his people and said the words which brought all of the Prophets (peace be upon them all) so much anguish, he said,

يَـٰقَوۡمِ ٱعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَكُم مِّنۡ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيۡرُهُ ۥ‌ۖ هُوَ أَنشَأَكُم مِّنَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱسۡتَعۡمَرَكُمۡ فِيہَا فَٱسۡتَغۡفِرُوهُ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهِ‌ۚ إِنَّ رَبِّى قَرِيبٌ۬ مُّجِيبٌ۬ ٦١

"And to (the people of) Thamud (We sent) their brother, Saleh. He said, 'O my people, worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. He has created you from earth and made you settle therein. So, seek His forgiveness, then turn to Him in repentance. Surely, my Lord is near, responsive to the prayers.'"

And they replied to him,

يَـٰصَـٰلِحُ قَدۡ كُنتَ فِينَا مَرۡجُوًّ۬ا قَبۡلَ هَـٰذَآ‌ۖ أَتَنۡهَٮٰنَآ أَن نَّعۡبُدَ مَا يَعۡبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا وَإِنَّنَا لَفِى شَكٍّ۬ مِّمَّا تَدۡعُونَآ إِلَيۡهِ مُرِيبٍ۬ ٦٢

“O Saleh, we had hopes in you before this. Do you ask us not to worship what our fathers used to worship? We have serious doubts that have disturbed us about the faith to which you are calling us.”

After this encounter, the people Saleh (peace be upon him) would socialise with became hugely disrespectful to him. The rich who were in power knew for sure that if Saleh (peace be upon him) would prevail with his mission then they would no longer remain in power and so they launched a scathing attack on Saleh (peace be upon him). They began to defame him amongst his own people and removed their high aspirations of him. This is recorded in the Qur’an, they said,

وَقَالَ ٱلۡمَلَأُ مِن قَوۡمِهِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَكَذَّبُواْ بِلِقَآءِ ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ وَأَتۡرَفۡنَـٰهُمۡ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا مَا هَـٰذَآ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ۬ مِّثۡلُكُمۡ يَأۡكُلُ مِمَّا تَأۡكُلُونَ مِنۡهُ وَيَشۡرَبُ مِمَّا تَشۡرَبُونَ (٣٣) وَلَٮِٕنۡ أَطَعۡتُم بَشَرً۬ا مِّثۡلَكُمۡ إِنَّكُمۡ إِذً۬ا لَّخَـٰسِرُونَ (٣٤) أَيَعِدُكُمۡ أَنَّكُمۡ إِذَا مِتُّمۡ وَكُنتُمۡ تُرَابً۬ا وَعِظَـٰمًا أَنَّكُم مُّخۡرَجُونَ (٣٥) ۞ هَيۡہَاتَ هَيۡہَاتَ لِمَا تُوعَدُونَ (٣٦) إِنۡ هِىَ إِلَّا حَيَاتُنَا ٱلدُّنۡيَا نَمُوتُ وَنَحۡيَا وَمَا نَحۡنُ بِمَبۡعُوثِينَ (٣٧) إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا رَجُلٌ ٱفۡتَرَىٰ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ڪَذِبً۬ا وَمَا نَحۡنُ لَهُ ۥ بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ ٣٨

“Then said the chiefs of his nation who were disbelievers and who denied facing the Hereafter and whom We made affluent in the worldly life, ‘This (man) is nothing but a human being. He eats from what you eat from, and drinks from what you drink. If you obey a human like yourselves, then you will be absolute losers. Does he promise you that, when you die and are turned into dust and bones, you are to be brought forth? Far too improbable is what you are being promised. There is nothing but our worldly life. We die and we live, and we are not to be raised again. He is nothing but a man who has forged a lie against Allah, and we are not going to believe in him.’”

They had really abused Saleh (peace be upon him). They attached many vulgar lies against Saleh (peace be upon him) and they would taunt his family and his father in particular. They targeted his father because they knew of the high hopes he kept with regards to the future of Saleh (peace be upon him) and then they would tell the father that his previously successful son had become of the fruitless. This would truly hurt the feelings of Saleh’s (peace be upon him) mother, father and family. Despite these hardships, Saleh (peace be upon him) would continue to proclaim Monotheism out aloud but the people would look at him and merely say,

إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُسَحَّرِينَ (١٥٣) مَآ أَنتَ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ۬ مِّثۡلُنَا فَأۡتِ بِـَٔايَةٍ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ ١٥٤

“You are merely one of those bewitched. You are nothing but a human like us. So, bring a sign if you are one of the truthful.”

The Mufassireen mention that during this assembly Saleh (peace be upon him) admonished his people and warned them of a painful torment. They said to him,

“If you could produce from this rock a she-camel with these qualities (they then mentioned what it should be like.”

Hazrat Saleh (peace be upon him) enquired,

“Tell me, if I responded to your requirement would you believe in what I am asking you to believe and regard me as the Messenger of Allah?”

The people of Thamud replied in the affirmative and so Hazrat Saleh (peace be upon him) offered prayers and then asked Allah to respond to their demand. Thereafter a she-camel came out of the mountain and the people became bewildered and dumbstruck. However, despite the various emotions felt, one emotion that was prevalent that day was arrogance. Even though they witnessed a sign from Allah with their own eyes, they still rejected it and did not believe and Saleh (peace be upon him) would say,

يَـٰقَوۡمِ ٱعۡبُدُواْ ٱللَّهَ مَا لَڪُم مِّنۡ إِلَـٰهٍ غَيۡرُهُ ۥ‌ۖ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡڪُم بَيِّنَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ‌ۖ هَـٰذِهِۦ نَاقَةُ ٱللَّهِ لَڪُمۡ ءَايَةً۬‌ۖ فَذَرُوهَا تَأۡڪُلۡ فِىٓ أَرۡضِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ وَلَا تَمَسُّوهَا بِسُوٓءٍ۬ فَيَأۡخُذَكُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ۬ ٧٣

“O my people, worship Allah. You have no god other than Him. There has come to you a clear sign from your Lord. This is the she-camel of Allah, a sign for you. So, leave her to eat on the earth of Allah, and do not touch her with mischief, lest a painful punishment should seize you.”

The threat was put forth by Hazrat Saleh (peace be upon him). Nobody was to harm this she-camel and if they did, there punishment of Allah would be let loose upon them. The people understood this until the emergence of Qudar bin Salif...

In the next post we shall discuss how Qudar bin Salif attempted to slaughter the sign of Allah because of his love for a woman... Next Thamud Part 2

Poetry: From Darkness to Light

Darkness & Light are the only true colours in this life,

One day we live in glimmering joy & other days in lonely strife.

Only the Creator can bring one 'From Darkness towards the Light',

And only His guidance lets one soar to new heights.

The Darkness of this world lies in our progressive sins,

Nothing but the Light of the heavens can help the confused Mankind and Jinn.

And thus your life will be written for you in black & white...

And successful will be those who were brought ...

'From Darkness to Light'

مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّوُرِ

Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the evil ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (Forever). [Surah Baqarah 2:257]

Hardship In Taqwa, Not In Worship

In worship is lazzat (enjoyment), not hardship. We feel hardship in worship because we are sick, and just as a sick person will not be able to experience enjoyment in biryani due to his illness, in the same way, because of our spiritual sicknesses we do not experience enjoyment in our worship.

Hardship is in refraining from sin i.e. adopting taqwa, and this is what leads us to becoming friends of Allah. We are not told to “bring imaan” and worship Allah in this way or that way, we are told to “bring imaan and adopt Taqwa”. Of course after adopting Taqwa, if we increase our worship then closeness and friendship with Allah will only increase.

Taken from Shaykh.org

Indeed the strongest of people are those who can go against their desires even in the hardest of situations.

A person may be in the market place where he sees a beautiful young woman and his eyes are on her, the words of shaytaan are telling him to keep looking at the woman, knowing that if he keeps on looking eventually his eyes will meet hers. The wild desires within are being soothed by what his eyes are seeing. But a faint whisper in the background can still be heard amongst all this commotion... "Lower your gaze and indeed you will taste the sweetness of imaan" are slowly echoing within.

This is where the real strength is needed. Where the real power is needed to bring control to your mind and soul. Where the person is forced to decide between the pleasure of his Lord or the pleasure of his nafs/desires. Time and time again situations like these arise but time and time again which option do we choose?

The man knows that if he keeps his gaze fixed upon the woman he may get something out of it, a smile, a hug or maybe even a number. But if he lowers his gaze he protects his eyes, his heart and he gains closer to Allah.

We see in the qoute of Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi Rahimahullah where he says that the "One who guards his heart has guarded his Deen" and indeed this is a true statement. The heart has its own sight, where it sees this world and it sees what it wants from this world. Whatever the eyes see the heart sees and what ever the eyes see that the heart likes, the heart saves an image of it.
Mankind has been created with a heart to love. At every moment in a person's life his/her heart will love one thing or another. Whether it is a BMW, GHD hair straightners or even the man at the local corner shop.

The heart is a delicate organ of the muslim body and if it isn't fed the right "food" it will end up dark and unhealthy. Unrestrained glances at the opposite sex is one of the poisons of the heart and it destroys the soul and peace of a person. Whilst in Salaah a man may have the faces of certain women popping up in his mind totally distracting his concentration and leaving him confused over what rakaat hes on.

Shaytaan Will attack mankind from the left, from the right, from infront and from behind, but Shaytaan cannot attack a person from above or below. The reason Shaytaan cannot attack a muslim from above is due to the fact that when a muslim is in need of help all he has to do is raise his hands to the sky up above and beg his Lord for forgiveness and help, and indeed he will recieve it. Shaytaan cannot attack a muslim from below, because when the eyes are lowered then what of the world will the muslim see? Nothing but the dirt of the streets, therefore preventing his heart from getting attached to the glitter and sparkle of this world.

The eyes are indeed a gift that Allah has given to us but with this gift comes great trust and responsibility...

Alcohol Leaflet

The Punishment

The punishment for a drink that will not be able to quench the thirst felt in Jahanam:

The Prophet of Allah (may peace & blessings be upon him) said,

“Whoever drinks wine, Allah will not accept his prayers for 40 days. If he seeks forgiveness then Allah will forgive him. And if he repeats it again Allah will not accept his prayers for 40 days. If he seeks forgiveness Allah will forgive him. And if he repeats it again Allah will not accept his prayers for 40 days. If he seeks forgiveness Allah will forgive him. if he repeats it a fourth Allah will not accept his prayers for 40 days. If he seeks forgiveness from Allah, Allah will NOT forgive him and he will be made to drink the water of impurities (of the inmates of hell). [Tirmidhi, ibn Majah, Nasai’]

The Messenger of Allah (may peace & blessings be upon him has also said, “There are three that will not enter paradise: a habitual DRINKER, one who cuts blood ties (relations) and one who believes in sorcery. [Ahmad]

In another hadith, the Prophet (May peace & blessings be upon him) has said, “There are three on whom Paradise is forbidden. A habitual drinker, one disobedient to parents and a careless husband who establishes impurity in his family.

And if a person dies drinking alcohol, then he will stand before his Lord just like the one who ascribes partners to Him and the one who ascribes partners to Allah will never be forgiven!

The Muslim youth are drinking alcohol to such much that it is becoming a huge addiction. Remember, the taste is only on the tongue but the consequences will remain in the Hereafter. What will you say, when you stand before your Lord, on a day which is like no other. The situation of mankind will be such, that the Hadiths narrate,
“There will be no veil between man and Allah on that day (Qiyamah)”

Know, that alcohol stays within the body for 40 days and if in these 40 days you happen to die, say your car happens to crash, you happen to get run over, you happen to fall over and breathe your last. You will be raised before Allah like the one who commits the sin which is not worthy of forgiveness, Shirk! There will be no translator on that day, man will abandon his brothers, his mother and his father, his wife and his children and he will not move till he has answered the question,

“What did you do with your youth?”

If you are not able to provide a sufficient answer to Allah then you must prepare for the torment of Hell for Paradise is forbidden for habitual drinker. Let us forget about the questioning on that day, let us question ourselves with the same question right now, as we are reading this.

“What am I doing with my youth?”

Because if your life from the time you were small up to the age of 20 or so is full up with nothing but sin and you have no goodness to show Allah on the Day of Reckoning, then prepare to be thrown impetuously into the fire of Hell.

The habit should stop now for death is around the corner and after we breathe our last, we cannot come back and do more. Imam Ghazzali gives a beautiful example, he says:

A man was walking in the jungle when suddenly, a lion began to chase him. As he ran away he fell into a well and as he fell he grabbed onto a rope. He thought he was safe but below him there was a huge serpent with its jaws wide open, waiting for him to fall. Then as he was holding onto the rope, a black mouse and a white mouse began to nibble away at the rope. This man began to panic and became very scared until he saw a honeycomb on the side of the well. So he put his finger into it and then placed it on his tongue. For a second, he forgot about everything and enjoyed the taste. He had nothing to worry about but reality soon came crashing back to him, he was going to die.

Imam Ghazzali mentions that,
The lion is death that we all run away from.
The serpent is the grave which we all must fall into.
The rope is our life.
The black mouse and the white mouse are the night and the day which nibble away at our lives.
And the honeycomb is the dunya (world) that we are in, which is so fruitful in our eyes that we expect to live forever but as Allah the Almighty says in the Qur’an:

“Every soul has to taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your reward in full. So whosoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but anillusionary enjoyment.” Surah Imran 3:185

In your life, what have you done? What is on your CV to present to Allah? The Employer of Jannah? What makes you think your so special that you deserve a place in these high ranked positions. Never lose hope and feel Allah will not forgive you, that is a major sin. Allah says,

“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me, and hope in Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds in the sky and were you to then ask forgiveness of Me, I shall forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with a world full of sins and you were then to face Me, without having ascribed anything with Me, I shall grant you a world of pardon.” [Tirmdhi]

Lets Leave It In The Past

Sometimes a person needs to make a mistake to become better. However, not everybody understands this statement and often we find people who live very tough lives because of the criticisms they receive from others with regards to their ‘past’; their days of ignorance. This is a problem which is destroying society and causing severe harm to the hearts of young Muslim boys and girls who want to change but are caught out by envious, hate filled colleagues. This article will probably be lengthy but I urge you to read it in its fullest so that you may understand that the great, early Muslims who came before us also slipped up to become better. I begin by putting forth a Hadith which must be carried out by every Muslim,

"A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim. So he should not oppress him nor should he hand him over to (evil). Whoever fulfils the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfil his needs; whoever removes the troubles of his brother, Allah will remove one of his troubles on the Day of Resurrection; and whoever covers up the fault of a Muslim, Allah will cover up his fault on the Day of Resurrection". (Bukhari)

This Hadith deals with a few issues that need to be highlighted:

1. To oppress another Muslim and beckon him towards evil is completely Haram.
2. Whoever helps his brother with regards to anything good, Allah will help him.
3. This is very important: whoever covers the sin of another, Allah will cover his sin on the day of Qiyamah.

Some from amongst us have led an alternate life prior to their reformation and recognition of Allah. They have lead a life full of various sins ranging from fornication, drugs, alcohol, assault, gang wars and many other vices of evil. However the guidance of Allah is such that He mentions,

“So, whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He makes his heart wide open for Islam, and whomsoever He wills to let go astray, He makes his heart strait and constricted, (and he feels embracing Islam as difficult) as if he were climbing to the sky.” 6/125

When a person changes himself so that he may befriend Allah, he needs the full support of all of his friends. Often we see that when a person does decide to change himself, all of his friends turn against him and they feel that he is a hypocrite. If he urges them to pray their salaat or advices them in relation to Islam, he becomes severely hated and he gets interrogated,

“Who are you?! Who gave you the right to speak to us about Islam when you had a girl, drunk alcohol, done drugs?! Go sort yourself out you hypocrite.”

Sisters suffer similarly, when Allah gives them the ability to cover themselves with the Hijab, Abaya and Niqab, they will not be encouraged by their one time friends but they will be mocked and ridiculed as being those people who would take pictures of themselves excessively and bathe in perfume and make up. There are people in the community who like to raise their fingers and point at others saying Astagfirullah but they never ever question their own wrong doing. These people are such that they will happily exploit the past sins of their brothers and sisters but not ever recognise the simple fact that, while they themselves have stayed corrupt, their friends have exceeded them in matters of religion and are now firm believers. This is something that needs to be erased from society as we must all help one another change. There is a perception that,

“If you are bad once, you are always bad.”

This is not the case at all, this is the intellect kept by a bewaqoof. Let us look at the lives of those people who came prior to us.

Hazrat Fuzail ibn Iyaaz (May Allah have mercy upon him) was the chief of a band of highway robbers. He was alive in the time of the Tabi’een (a nation that came after the Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them) and were known to be blessed). He operated in the desert looting and attacking passing caravans. He was a real stud and had a girlfriend who he was in love with too. However, even while a bandit, he wore simple garments and woollen topi. A tasbeeh was always strung around his neck and he always performed prayer in congregation. Infact he would banish any member of his clan who did not pray in congregation. He was deeply in love with his girlfriend and would send her his share of the looted wealth. One day he went to meet her in the sacred city of Makkah and on his way, he heard the verse of the Qur’an being recited,

أَلَمۡ يَأۡنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ أَن تَخۡشَعَ قُلُوبُہُمۡ لِذِڪۡرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلۡحَقِّ

“Has the time not yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and for the truth that has descended (through revelation)?”

This verse pierced the heart of Hazrat Fuzail and he began to weep terribly whilst saying,

“Alas! How long will I continue to ruin my life? The time has come to travel in the path of Allah.”

He flipped his life around and he soon after came to be known as the ‘Aabidul Haramayn (Worshipper of the Two Sacred Mosques) because there was not a portion in either mosque where his tears did not fall out of the fear of Allah. Abdullah ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy upon him) mentions,

“When Fuzail ibn Iyaaz died, the heavens and the earth wept. An eerie silence was perceived.”

This was a person who would rob people of their wealth and had a relationship with a girlfriend but look at the reformation. Are we going to call him a hypocrite for changing and then advising people to change also? Let us look at Hazrat Bishr Haafi (May Allah have mercy upon him).

Hazrat Bishr Haafi had a problem that many of the youth suffer from today – alcohol. He would walk the roads slumbering and falling over completely intoxicated. He would drink all day long and one day he was walking when he saw the name of Allah on a piece of paper which had been dropped on the floor. Hazrat Bishr was a true lover of Allah and His Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) and so he picked up the piece of paper, perfumed it and placed it on a high shelf before proceeding towards the pub. In the same locality there was a respected buzrug (elderly wise person), that night when he went to sleep, Allah came into his dreams and said,

“Go to Bishr and tell him: You have perfumed and honoured My Name, I shall cleanse you of your sins and elevate you.”

The buzrug thought that this dream was shaytaani (influenced by shaytaan) and thus did wudhu, performed 2 rak’aat nafl and then went back to sleep. He had the same dream again and again performed wudhu and prayed as he could not ever imagine Hazrat Bishr befriending Allah. It was then when he fell asleep the third time that he had the same dream again and he realised that he had to go find Hazrat Bishr in the early hours of the morning so that he could convey the message of Allah. He searched for Hazrat Bishr everywhere until he found him... in the pub... lying knocked out on the floor. When the buzrug conveyed the message, Hazrat Bishr left all of his sins and continued to tread upon the path of perfection.

Hazrat Bishr became so loved by his Allah that it is narrated from Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (May Allah have mercy upon him),

“When his hand would touch any unlawful thing it would not cooperate (his hand would become momentarily paralysed, in this way Allah would protect him from doubtful matters.)”

After Hazrat Bishr’s death, he came in to a buzrug’s dream. Thereupon the buzrug asked Hazrat Bishr,

“How did Allah deal with you?”

Hazrat Bishr replied,

“He reprimanded me and said, ‘Bishr, why did you fear me so much? Were you not aware that I am the All Merciful, the Very Merciful?”

My friends, this was the situation of another great ‘Aabid from the time of the tabi’een, are we going to remember him for his drinking or for his worship? Today we see brothers and sisters wanting to change but the second they try to do so, the people in the community begin to highlight the people ‘they were’ and refuse to accept the people ‘they are’ now. Are we going to label Hazrat Bishr a hypocrite for he was once a drunkard but he rectified himself so much so that he was one of the greatest Wali’s (friends of Allah, saints) to have ever lived. Finally, we recall the life of Abdullah ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy upon him).

Hazrat Abdullah ibn Mubarak was a man who had another ailment that many young Muslims suffer from today. He was in love. In his neighbourhood there was a beautiful young maiden whom he had fallen in love with intensely. His love for her continued for a very long time and it was of a very deep, passionate nature. One winter night, he stood near her house hoping to get a glimpse of her. He stood watching the entire night until morning but his efforts were in vain as he did not get to see her. By being rejected, he felt so much anguish and sorrow that he said to himself,

“If I had spent the night in worshipping Allah, it would have been a thousand times better than what I have done.”

Allah’s mercy then opened his heart and that perishable love was replaced by Divine Love. He no longer felt the need to embark on a relationship with this beautiful maiden. Hazrat Sufyan Thawri (may Allah have mercy upon him) once came into the dreams of a buzrug where he was asked,

“How did Allah deal with you?”

Hazrat Sufyan replied,

“Allah Ta’ala forgave me.”

It was then said,

“What about Abdullah ibn Mubarak?”

He replied,

“Allah has included him in that group of His devotees who are daily admitted into the Divine presence.”

My friends, can we not see the trend in these people? Prior to their reformation, they lived lives which were completely against the essence of Islam. However we remember them today in the highest opinion because of their change. In Hazrat Fuzail we had a bandit who robbed people, in Hazrat Bishr we had a alcoholic, in Hazrat Abdullah ibn Mubarak we had an intense lover but after their reformation we found great Friends of Allah. If this was the situation of people who lived in a time which foretold to be blessed by the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) then who are we today to ridicule and deride those people who have suffered from similar ailments? Who are we to bring up the past of a person when he/she has left that life? It is very sad that we see people around us upset and depressed because they are being persecuted by people with animalistic behaviour. When a person reforms himself to become a slave of Allah then everyone should take that person as an example. It is quite disgusting that we see people hating on those who have become reformed and thinking themselves as better. I ask you, who is better, the sister who has committed sins but repents and puts on her Hijab so that she can advise others to do the same or that sister who looks at sisters with a ‘bad past’ and then exploits them? Hazrat Molana Saleem Dhorat Saheb mentions,

“Look into yourselves my friends, what are you?

Imagine a big beautiful garden, with thousands of wonders to view and smell. However somewhere in the garden a dog has come and relieved itself. Now if you went into the garden would you pay any attention to the excrement? Definitely not!

However, if a pig were to stroll in, it would miss out all the flowers and beauty and would certainly trace the excrement”.

A person who always looks for faults in others has the similitude of an animal. Who are we to degrade those who are higher in Imaan and in the sight of Allah than we are? A lot of questions need to be asked to ourselves, the phrase Astagfirullah rolls of the tongue so easily but if a person were to look in the mirror and assess his own self, he would not be able to enumerate his istigfaar.

My final advice to brothers and sisters who may be suffering from these problem is this: Never let the perception of others be the perception that you keep of yourself because everyone struggles at different levels but people will never understand as people are unforgiving but Allah is the Oft-Forgiving; so continue to forgive people as many times as you expect Allah to forgive you. Sometimes... a person needs to make a mistake to become better and Hazrat Fuzail, Hazrat Bishr, Hazrat Abdullah are all examples of this.

“All of the son of Adam are sinners but the best amongst those who sin, are those who repent.”

I urge those of you who read this to copy and paste this and turn it into a forwarded email so that many people can benefit from this. Please make sure you add the link to the website so that it can be accessed by many other people. May Allah give us the ability to live life without making major mistakes but also give us the ability to rectify ourselves. Ameen.

Diamond Under The Hijab

It is well known that Allah guides whomsoever He wills and if a person is guided by Allah then it is also correct to say that He is loved by Allah. Thus we have the conclusion that Allah guides who He loves.

Allah created men rough, broad and aggressive in structure and conduct. These qualities were given to men so that they can carry out those purposes that they were created for. Using these and many more characteristics - a man is able to work, build, farm and provide for his family. However, from within this man, Allah created an opposite... A diamond in the rough.

Allah has made women tender, soft, caring, loving and more compassionate than men. These features will enable them in future to become beautiful spouses, mothers and people who contribute to the survival of society. Men have been made strong and tough but women have been made beautiful and elegant. It is due to this elegance that they are considered diamonds in the eyes of Allah. And so accordingly a diamond must be kept hidden and treasured.

This is why Allah has laid down the order in the Qur’an for all believing women to cover themselves. The command is for all believing women but if we observe our communities, not too many people wear the Hijab (Abaya and headscarf). The people who do wear it are truly beloved to Allah because just like the way we would provide our most adored item with the utmost protection... Allah has provided His treasured diamonds with the ability to cover themselves. Therefore, whomsoever Allah has given the ability to wear the Hijab is truly loved by Allah.

Allah’s guidance only comes to those who want it,

لَهُ ۥ مُعَقِّبَـٰتٌ۬ مِّنۢ بَيۡنِ يَدَيۡهِ وَمِنۡ خَلۡفِهِۦ يَحۡفَظُونَهُ ۥ مِنۡ أَمۡرِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِہِمۡ‌ۗ وَإِذَآ أَرَادَ ٱللَّهُ بِقَوۡمٍ۬ سُوٓءً۬ا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ ۥ‌ۚ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ مِن وَالٍ

For every one (from among you) there are angels replacing one another, in front of him and behind him, who guard him under the command of Allah. Surely, Allah does not change the condition of a people unless they change themselves. When Allah intends evil for a people, there is no way to turn it back, and for them there is no patron other than Him.

Allah does not change the condition of a person till she changes the condition of herself. Allah mentions in a Qudsi Hadith,

“O My Servant, If you take one step towards Me, I will take ten towards you.”

At the end of the day, it is only a cloth... a thin sheet which could determine the love of Allah or the wrath of Allah.

We pray that Allah makes it easy for every sister to cover herself in accordance with the Qur’an & Sunnah. May He give our beloved sisters the ability, strength -and most importantly - the courage to carry out all deeds of great virtue. Ameen.