When style becomes more important than substance..

وَحَدَّثَنِي عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، أَنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ قَالَ لإِنْسَانٍ : إِنَّكَ فِي زَمَانٍ كَثِيرٌ فُقَهَاؤُهُ، قَلِيلٌ قُرَّاؤُهُ، تُحْفَظُ فِيهِ حُدُودُ الْقُرْآنِ، وَتُضَيَّعُ حُرُوفُهُ، قَلِيلٌ مَنْ يَسْأَل، كَثِيرٌ مَنْ يُعْطِى، يُطِيلُونَ فِيهِ الصَّلاَةَ، وَيَقْصُرُونَ الْخُطْبَةَ، يُبَدُّونَ أَعْمَالَهُمْ قَبْلَ أَهْوَائِهِمْ، وَسَيَأْتِي عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَان، قَلِيلٌ فُقَهَاؤُهُ، كَثِيرٌ قُرَّاؤُهُ، يُحْفَظُ فِيهِ حُرُوفُ الْقُرْآنِ، وَتُضَيَّعُ حُدُودُهُ، كَثِيرٌ مَنْ يَسْأَلُ، قَلِيلٌ مَنْ يُعْطِي، يُطِيلُونَ فِيهِ الْخُطْبَة، وَيَقْصُرُونَ الصَّلاَةَ، يُبَدُّونَ فِيهِ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ قَبْلَ أَعْمَالِهِمْ

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Abdullah ibn Masud said to a certain man - "You are in a time when men of understanding (fuqaha) are many and Qur'an reciters are few, when the limits of behaviour defined in the Qur'an are guarded and its letters are lost, when few people ask and many give, when they make the prayer long and the khutba short, and put their actions before their desires. A time will come upon men when their fuqaha will be few but their Qur'an reciters will be many, when the letters of the Qur'an will be guarded carefully but its limits will be lost, when many will ask but only few will give, when they will make their khutbas long and their prayers short, and they will put their desires before their actions."


Imam Malik's Muwatta - Book 009, Hadith Number 091

The Prophet's(saw) Last Sermon

[This sermon was delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul-Hijjah 10 A.H. in the 'Uranah valley of Mount Arafat' in Mecca.]

After praising and thanking Allah the Prophet (saws) said:

"O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that he will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligations shall henceforth be waived. Your capital is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn 'Abd'al Muttalib [the Prophet's uncle] be waived.

Every right arising out of homicide in pre-islamic days is henceforth waived and the first such right that i waive is that arising from the murder of Rabiah ibn al Harith.

O People, the unbelievers indulge in tampering with the calender in order to make permissible that which Allah forbade, and to forbid that which Allah has made permissible. With Allah the months are twelve in number. Four of them are holy, three of these are successive and one occurs singly between the months of Jumada and Shaban.

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope of that he will be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah's trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right, then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste. O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadhan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belogs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not therefore do injustice to yourselves. Remember one day you will meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware: do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me, and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qur'an and my Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed Your message to Your people."

A poem

Salam Alaekum.

This is just awesome, MashaAllah. Do read it.


Saif

Three Conditions to Acquire Excellent Character

By Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
Excerpted from his Risâlat-ut-Tabûkiyyah

This is one example of the excellent character with which Allâh, the Exalted, has equipped his Messenger (pbuh). He described him as,
“Verily, you (Muhammad) are on an exalted standard of character.” [Al-Qalam (68): 4]

‘Â’ishah (radiyAllâhu ‘anhâ), described him as,
“His character was just [a reflection of] the Qur’ân.”[1]

Such excellent character cannot be attained without three conditions:

1) The foundation must be good. If one has a rough and dry nature, it will be hard for him to submit to this [excellence of character] through knowledge, will, or practice. On the other hand, a mild and smooth nature will be ready and willing to receive the plowing and the seeds [to prepare it for character excellence].

2)The soul must be strong and capable of conquering calls of laziness, transgression, and desire. Those matters contradict perfection, and souls that cannot defeat them will always be defeated and conquered.

3)[One must possess] a discerning knowledge of the truth of matters, enabling one to put them in the rightful position, and to distinguish between flesh and cancer - between glass and jewels.

If these three qualities are present in a man, and Allâh’s facilitation helps him, then he will be among those whom the best (husnâ) has been decreed and for whom Allâh’s care has been secured.


Notes:
[1] Muslim, Abû Dâwûd, Ahmad

The Purpose of Knowledge

The Purpose of Knowledge

A living scholar in Cairo

Written by Imam Suhaib Webb


There is a brother living next to me in Cairo. Mashallah, he is a great student of knowledge, inshallah, and studies very hard. I decided to take him to meet one of our Azhari Sheikhs here and I knew, inshallah, that we would learn more from him than just today's lesson.

But I could have never imagined the lessons we took tonight. We arrived at the masjid just after the first Tasleem. The Masjid was beautiful with its tall minarets and lighted court yard. The weather was nice the wind was sweet and pleasant. We entered the Masjid, prayed and waited for the Sheikh. Suddenly the Sheikh arrived with a bag and we greeted him. I informed the Sheikh about our guest and the Sheikh's face lit like the morning sun and a smile spread across his face. Then it was my turn to introduce the sheikh to the brother. The hard part is that this sheikh has me between a rock and a hard place.

He does, seriously, not like to be called sheikh or even ustadh! So, I was like, "This is is is is is is ...................is .........sheeeek....he looked at me like, "Boy if you do it!".....is is is is uh is, then he interrupted me, "I'm your brother ++++++ (if I write his name it would be going against his wishes). I turned, looked at the brother who was with me and saw an awe in his face. A short time later the Imam of the Masjid, recognizing the Sheikh, came and begged him to lead the prayer. The Sheikh said to him, "Please excuse me. I can't" The brother was shocked. After our lesson the sheikh demanded that he walk us home (We live around 20 minutes from the Masjid) . We begged him and begged him, however, to no avail. As we were walking I decided to buy the Sheikh some sweets. I asked him and the other student with us to please excuse me as I needed to get something. The Sheikh began to follow me and I told him, "Sheikh the brother has some questions for you." Thus, seeing an opportunity to spread the elm, the sheikh stopped in his tracks and turned to the wide eyed American. I dashed into the store and purchased some sweets for the Sheikh on behalf of us. When I exited the store the Sheikh was taken aback and said, "What is this?" I said, "This is a gift from us to you." He said no and politely said he couldn't accept it. I stated to him, "Please sheikh accepting a gift is from the Sunna." I continued, "Please Sheikh! Please! It will make us happy!" He grabbed me and said (in Ammiyah Masriyaah so the student wouldn't understand him), "Suhaib, I don't have a refrigerator. I eat what I buy and store nothing!"

Enough said. May Allah bless Al-Azhar, protect the Ulema there and increase its bounties.


Suhaib

Oh! and by the way that sack that the Sheikh was carrying were sweets he brought for us to eat.


Taken from the Hanafi Fiqh List - www.SunniPath.com

An interesting quote

Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (rahimahullah) said:


Whoever is pleased with his courage, which he applies in matters that are not for the sake of Allaah, the Exalted, full of Majesty, should know that the tiger is braver than he, and that the lion, wolf, and elephant are more courageous than he.

Whoever is pleased with his bodily strength should know that the mule, bull, and elephant have stronger bodies. Whoever is pleased with his ability to lift weights should know that the donkey can lift heavier weights. Whoever is pleased with how fast he can run should know that the dog and rabbit are faster than he. Whoever is pleased with the beauty of his voice should know that many birds sing more beautifully than he and that the winds in the wood sound sweeter than he.

Hence, what sort of pride or pleasure should one feel in traits in which the animals excel more than he does?

But the one whose mind is strong, whose knowledge is broad, and whose deeds are good should feel true happiness, because he is surpassed in these matters only by the angels and the best of men.


(al-Akhlaq wa'l-Siyar)

Salam

Salam Alaekum.

Alhamdulillah,my exams are finally over. I have time; InshaAllah I'll try to use it properly. And InshaAllah you'll see some good posts on this blog soon.

:)

Saif