blog 2 for today
Just as I had written down goals prior to my trip, and currently reflect and analyze the progression of them, I have requested readers to do the same as we journey together in retrospect. I’ve been highly reflecting on how amazing it is to see the various openings and stations that one can receive from Allah in traveling the path to learn and study this sacred deen of ours. My brother had made remarkable points in his post-rihla advice to some of the students—imagine the experience the asahaba had whilst living with the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam. Everything in their lives fell in place, they were guided by the best of guides salallahu alayhi wa salaam, and they traversed to a level of iman that will be unmatched by any one of us who comes after them. As Shaykh Hamza put it, they experienced so much meaning in those 23 years of revelation, along with 63 years of enjoying the company of the best of creation, the one who was sent down as a mercy to the worlds to perfect moral character, the blessed nabi salallahu alayhi wa salam. After his death, all of the asahaba felt the impact of the loss they immediately felt in their lives. Bilal (ra) left Madina and he only returned when he saw the prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam in his dreams. The people of Madina beckoned him to issue the adhan, and the moment he did, the masses came out weeping, remembering the days of Allah subhana wa ta`ala. The prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam was beautiful on the inside and on the outside, he was generous, and he was courageous. All of creation is dependent on Allah and the most loved are the ones who are beneficial to others. This is what strengthens one’s heart, and hearts are inclined to those who do good to them!
I’ve really been thinking about how subhanAllah amazing the companions of the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salam were. How many of us not only try to emulate the character of the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam knowing we can never achieve it, but also strive to be like the blessed wives of the prophet or his blessed companions (ra)? Whenever they heard an ayah of the Qur’an they would immediately act upon it; none of this debating that so many Muslims do today! SubhanAllah, when the ayahs of hijab were revealed, the Muslimahs immediately went to cover themselves and protect their chastity! Yet today, we are constantly found questioning things, debating things, and who are we to even question the wisdom behind things? Even if we were to know it, would we be able to fathom it? The prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salam warned us to avoid excessive questioning, as Banu Israel ran into so many problems from their questioning of Musa (as) when Allah had commanded them to sacrifice a cow—they asked what color, what size, how old? SubhanAllah just sacrifice a good cow! This religion totally is easy on us, but we are the ones to make it hard on ourselves.
SubhanAllah, sisters especially have been blessed to not have the responsibility to work. Yes Islam encourages us to get educated and Allah has given us brains for a reason, but know that the weight we take of working is something we do to ourselves (yes inshaAllah it’s for the right intention for Allah and we definitely need Muslimah professionals), but we shouldn’t complain that we don’t have time to do things for ourselves. We have the option to study if we wanted for the sake of improving our deen, but we choose not to. This in no way is to reprimand anyone, but just be grateful—especially for being able to have the right to choose if we want to work or not.
Sisters had a special session with Imam Zaid one night in Jeddah at which time he answered some of our questions—one being how the brothers tend to hog him and the other shuyukh as soon as the classes are done; sisters wish we could have more time to spend with them. Imam Zaid responded that sometimes our hearts need to be squashed so we become humble! SubhanAllah! He said, in the U.S., we’re so used to being assertive and demanding our rights to be fulfilled and alhamdulillah that we have so much freedom. Alhamdulillah we were all thankful to be in Mecca and Madinah, but we were also thankful of the freedom at home. However, we shouldn’t let our assertiveness get the best of us, if we got what we wanted all the time, would it be that easy to remain modest?
On another note, at the sisters’ deen intensive of 2006, Imam Zaid gave a class on following a madhab, at which time he discussed the issue of blind following. SubhanAllah many people (I won’t refer to their grouping =)) constantly ask, where’s the proof behind that? Where is that in the Qur`an, hadith, or sunnah? Yes—of course we should do our own research and definitely we can find the wisdom and proof behind things—but it should be with an open heart to strengthen our iman. We shouldn’t approach it already being skeptical! We should also, more importantly, analyze ourselves and the state of our heart. Question yourself, what’s in your heart? Are you already biased? What are the diseases that afflict us? This knowledge we are gaining and implementing inshaAllah is ONLY for the sake of ourselves because verily, it is only helping us in the end! How can things be blind following if an entire madhab is doing it? The imams that arrived to certain conclusions for rulings had immense wisdom that NONE of us could attain, let alone fathom.
Imam Zaid said the madhab is a refinement of following the prophet (saw). It is like seeing a snowcapped mountain, then looking at it through binoculars. The binoculars help to see the mountain and you are able to see various distinctions, but you’re looking at the mountain not at the binoculars. Similarly, a madhab is a tool to be used to see prophetic guidance with more detail/clarity than what we could have done on our own.
Furthermore, there is an evolution of specialists. Every person has their own niche in life; if all of us had the task of doing the work these scholars have done, we would never get anything else done. It is a fard kifaya (Communal obligation) for people to become doctors, engineers, etc…There is no such thing as blind following; blind following would be us following each other, not following a madhab that has been kept intact for years. If you’re following a madhab, you’re not following a single person; you are following a school of thought that was built upon the work of thousands of scholars!
So enough of my thoughts and insha’Allah I’ll continue with some of my rihla notes…
Here are just a couple of stories that Imam Zaid covered in his classes about the characteristics of the beloved Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam:
During the Battle of Uhud, the prophet’s sallalahu alayhi wa salaam tooth was broken, his lip was injured, and there was a gash on his head. He dried his blood so none of it would fall on the ground. He said that if the blood fell on the ground, Allah would wipe out their enemies. SubhanAllah how he even had mercy with the people who were trying to kill the Muslims! Some would ask the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam why he didn’t pray against his enemies and why he didn’t let the blood fall on the ground? The prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam said “I have not been sent to curse people, rather I’ve been sent as a mercy. Ya Allah! Guide my people because they don’t know what they’re doing. O Allah! Forgive my people for they know not.”
SubhanAllah! He prayed for his own people that they be guided!
There are a plethora of lessons to be learned from this story alhamdulillah. One of which being that we truly need to be introspective—like I’ve said in a previous post, it is no wonder why the Muslim ummah is so weak and in a state that we’re in all across the world, because look at us! May Allah guide us all, Muslims and non-Muslims, to the truth of Islam and may we live and die by following the sunnah of the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam and the Qur’an. May Allah open and soften our hearts to deal with each other patiently, respectfully, with mercy and with justice! May He forgive us for the weaknesses of our own nafs and forgive us for our heedlessness! Ameen!
There is another story that took place in Taif where 3 brothers of Banu Taif insulted and stoned the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam. He sat at the base of the trunk of a tree—bloody, sad, and he grieved. (SubhanAllah how this story should touch our own hearts and make us cry!) The prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam) prayed 2 rakahs under the grapevine tree and prayed “Oh Allah unto You I complain the weakness of my power, my lowliness… Oh Merciful, You are the Lord of my affair… If You aren’t angry then I’m not concerned… I seek refuge of the light of Your noble face that You reform everything. I will continue to seek forgiveness until You’re please with me.” SubhanAllah!!!
Let’s remember that the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam was sent as a mercy to ALL mankind—not just Muslims! On the day of judgment, each prophet will be with their ummah; the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam will be with ALL the people who lived after him, including Muslims and non-Muslims!
I’ve really been thinking about how subhanAllah amazing the companions of the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salam were. How many of us not only try to emulate the character of the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam knowing we can never achieve it, but also strive to be like the blessed wives of the prophet or his blessed companions (ra)? Whenever they heard an ayah of the Qur’an they would immediately act upon it; none of this debating that so many Muslims do today! SubhanAllah, when the ayahs of hijab were revealed, the Muslimahs immediately went to cover themselves and protect their chastity! Yet today, we are constantly found questioning things, debating things, and who are we to even question the wisdom behind things? Even if we were to know it, would we be able to fathom it? The prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salam warned us to avoid excessive questioning, as Banu Israel ran into so many problems from their questioning of Musa (as) when Allah had commanded them to sacrifice a cow—they asked what color, what size, how old? SubhanAllah just sacrifice a good cow! This religion totally is easy on us, but we are the ones to make it hard on ourselves.
SubhanAllah, sisters especially have been blessed to not have the responsibility to work. Yes Islam encourages us to get educated and Allah has given us brains for a reason, but know that the weight we take of working is something we do to ourselves (yes inshaAllah it’s for the right intention for Allah and we definitely need Muslimah professionals), but we shouldn’t complain that we don’t have time to do things for ourselves. We have the option to study if we wanted for the sake of improving our deen, but we choose not to. This in no way is to reprimand anyone, but just be grateful—especially for being able to have the right to choose if we want to work or not.
Sisters had a special session with Imam Zaid one night in Jeddah at which time he answered some of our questions—one being how the brothers tend to hog him and the other shuyukh as soon as the classes are done; sisters wish we could have more time to spend with them. Imam Zaid responded that sometimes our hearts need to be squashed so we become humble! SubhanAllah! He said, in the U.S., we’re so used to being assertive and demanding our rights to be fulfilled and alhamdulillah that we have so much freedom. Alhamdulillah we were all thankful to be in Mecca and Madinah, but we were also thankful of the freedom at home. However, we shouldn’t let our assertiveness get the best of us, if we got what we wanted all the time, would it be that easy to remain modest?
On another note, at the sisters’ deen intensive of 2006, Imam Zaid gave a class on following a madhab, at which time he discussed the issue of blind following. SubhanAllah many people (I won’t refer to their grouping =)) constantly ask, where’s the proof behind that? Where is that in the Qur`an, hadith, or sunnah? Yes—of course we should do our own research and definitely we can find the wisdom and proof behind things—but it should be with an open heart to strengthen our iman. We shouldn’t approach it already being skeptical! We should also, more importantly, analyze ourselves and the state of our heart. Question yourself, what’s in your heart? Are you already biased? What are the diseases that afflict us? This knowledge we are gaining and implementing inshaAllah is ONLY for the sake of ourselves because verily, it is only helping us in the end! How can things be blind following if an entire madhab is doing it? The imams that arrived to certain conclusions for rulings had immense wisdom that NONE of us could attain, let alone fathom.
Imam Zaid said the madhab is a refinement of following the prophet (saw). It is like seeing a snowcapped mountain, then looking at it through binoculars. The binoculars help to see the mountain and you are able to see various distinctions, but you’re looking at the mountain not at the binoculars. Similarly, a madhab is a tool to be used to see prophetic guidance with more detail/clarity than what we could have done on our own.
Furthermore, there is an evolution of specialists. Every person has their own niche in life; if all of us had the task of doing the work these scholars have done, we would never get anything else done. It is a fard kifaya (Communal obligation) for people to become doctors, engineers, etc…There is no such thing as blind following; blind following would be us following each other, not following a madhab that has been kept intact for years. If you’re following a madhab, you’re not following a single person; you are following a school of thought that was built upon the work of thousands of scholars!
So enough of my thoughts and insha’Allah I’ll continue with some of my rihla notes…
Here are just a couple of stories that Imam Zaid covered in his classes about the characteristics of the beloved Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam:
During the Battle of Uhud, the prophet’s sallalahu alayhi wa salaam tooth was broken, his lip was injured, and there was a gash on his head. He dried his blood so none of it would fall on the ground. He said that if the blood fell on the ground, Allah would wipe out their enemies. SubhanAllah how he even had mercy with the people who were trying to kill the Muslims! Some would ask the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam why he didn’t pray against his enemies and why he didn’t let the blood fall on the ground? The prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam said “I have not been sent to curse people, rather I’ve been sent as a mercy. Ya Allah! Guide my people because they don’t know what they’re doing. O Allah! Forgive my people for they know not.”
SubhanAllah! He prayed for his own people that they be guided!
There are a plethora of lessons to be learned from this story alhamdulillah. One of which being that we truly need to be introspective—like I’ve said in a previous post, it is no wonder why the Muslim ummah is so weak and in a state that we’re in all across the world, because look at us! May Allah guide us all, Muslims and non-Muslims, to the truth of Islam and may we live and die by following the sunnah of the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam and the Qur’an. May Allah open and soften our hearts to deal with each other patiently, respectfully, with mercy and with justice! May He forgive us for the weaknesses of our own nafs and forgive us for our heedlessness! Ameen!
There is another story that took place in Taif where 3 brothers of Banu Taif insulted and stoned the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam. He sat at the base of the trunk of a tree—bloody, sad, and he grieved. (SubhanAllah how this story should touch our own hearts and make us cry!) The prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam) prayed 2 rakahs under the grapevine tree and prayed “Oh Allah unto You I complain the weakness of my power, my lowliness… Oh Merciful, You are the Lord of my affair… If You aren’t angry then I’m not concerned… I seek refuge of the light of Your noble face that You reform everything. I will continue to seek forgiveness until You’re please with me.” SubhanAllah!!!
Let’s remember that the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam was sent as a mercy to ALL mankind—not just Muslims! On the day of judgment, each prophet will be with their ummah; the prophet sallalahu alayhi wa salaam will be with ALL the people who lived after him, including Muslims and non-Muslims!
posted by Ruby at 5:20 PM
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