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FAZA'IL-E-A'MAAL
PART 4 Commentary by Shaykhul Hadeeth Maulana Mohaammed Zakariyyah al Khandelavi Hadith 1 Hadhrat
Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) narrated that Rasulullah (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI
WASALLAM) has said, "Almighty Allah says, I treat my slave (man) according
to his expectations from Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he
remembers Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart; if he remembers Me in a
gathering, I remember him in a better and nobler gathering (i.e. of angels). If
he comes closer to Me by one span, I go towards him a cubit's length, if he
comes towards Me by a cubit's length, I go towards him an arm's length, and if
he walks towards Me, I run unto him." Note:
There are several points elaborated in this Hadith. The first point is that
Allah deals with a man according to his expectations from Him. One should
therefore always be hopeful of the mercy and benevolence of Almighty Allah and
never be despondent of His blessings. Certainly, we are extremely sinful and
justly deserve punishment on account of our evil deeds, yet in no case should we
feel despondent of the mercy of Allah, as He may perhaps totally forgive us. "Lo!
Allah forgiveth not if a partner be ascribed unto Him and forgiveth all save
that to whom He will." But
Almighty Allah may or may not forgive; that is why the Ulama say that true
belief lies in between hope (of forgiveness of Allah) and fear (of His wrath).
The Holy Prophet (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM) once visited a young Sahabi, who
was breathing his last, and asked him how he was feeling. He replied, "O!
Messenger of Allah, I am hopeful of the mercy of Allah, and yet I am afraid of
my sins." Thereupon the Holy Prophet (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM) said
"When the heart of a believer is filled with these two feelings of hope and
fear, Almighty Allah fulfils his hope and saves him from what he is afraid
of." It
is mentioned in one Hadith that a believer thinks of his sin, as if he is
sitting under a huge rock that is threatening to fall on him, while for a
transgressor his sin is no more than a fly which is easily scared off, i.e., he
takes his sins very lightly. In short, one should be appropriately afraid of
ones sins, and at the same time remain hopeful of Allah's mercy. Hadhrat
Mu'aaz (Radhiyallaho anho) died of the plague and, in the moments of death's
agony, he fainted many times. Whenever he regained consciousness for a moment,
he would say, "Oh Allah! Thou knowest that I love Thee. By Thy Honour and
Glory, Thou knowest this very well." Just before breathing his last, he
said, "0 Death, you are a welcome guest but have come at a time when there
is nothing in the house to eat." Then he said, "0 Allah! Thou knowest
very well that I always feared Thee, and today I die hopeful of Thy forgiveness.
0 Allah! I enjoyed life, not in digging canals and planting gardens, but in
remaining thirsty in the hot weather, in undergoing hardships for the sake of
Islaam, and in taking part in the gatherings engaged in zikr under the
supervision of the Ulama." Some Ulama have written that the fulfillment of expectations promised by Almighty Allah in the aforesaid Hadith is in its most general sense. It carries assurance not only in respect of forgiveness but also in respect of prayers, health, wealth and safety. For instance when a person prays to Allah and sincerely believes that Allah shall accept his prayer, then his prayer is actually accepted, but if he has doubt (that his prayer would not be accepted], it is not accepted. Thus, in another Hadith it is stated that the prayer of a person is granted so long as he does not say that his prayer is not granted. The same is true in the case of all blessings relating to health, prosperity, etc. According
to one Hadith, if a destitute person discloses his hunger to everybody, he is
not relieved of his poverty, but if he shows submission to Gracious Allah, his
condition may soon change for the better. However, hoping for the better from
Almighty Allah is one thing, and being over-confident of His help and
forgiveness is another thing. Almighty Allah has warned us against such an
attitude in several verses of the Holy Qur'an e.g. "Let
not the deceiver (the Satan) beguile you in regard to Allah" i.e. one
should not be misled by the devil to commit sins just because Allah is the most
Merciful and the Forgiver". There
is another verse, "Hath
he knowledge of the Unseen, or hath he made a pact with the Beneficent. No,
never." The
second point in this Hadith is "Whenever a slave of mine remembers Me, I am
with him." In another Hadith, it is stated, "So long as one's lips
move in My remembrance I remain with him" i.e. Almighty Allah bestows His
special care and mercy on him during all this time. The third point is that Almighty Allah mentions him with a favour to the angels, which signifies the value of zikr. Firstly, this is because Allah created man such that inherently he is liable to be good as well as to go astray, as given below in Hadith No. 8. Submission on his part therefore deserves special appreciation. Secondly, at the time of Aadam's creation, the Angels (who have no instinct for doing evil) could not understand the creation of man and had contended that he would cause blood-shed and trouble in the world, while they are always there to praise and glorify Almighty Allah. Thirdly,
man's worship of Allah and submission to His will is more commendable than that
of the Angels, because he does so on account of his faith in the unseen which,
however, is actually seen by the angels. It is to this fact that Allah refers in
the Holy Book: "How would man not have worshipped if he had actually seen
the Paradise and the Hell." It is for this reason that Almighty Allah
praises the noble deeds of those who worship and glorify Him without seeing Him. The
fourth point contained in the above-mentioned Hadith is that if a man increases
his devotion to Almighty Allah, the increase in His mercy and kindness upon him
is proportionately far greater. "Getting near" and "running"
signify immediate increase in His blessings and mercy. Thus, it is up to a
person that, if he wants to enjoy more kindness and favours from Almighty Allah,
he should increase his devotion to Him. The fifth point in the above mentioned Hadith is that the Angels have been stated to be superior to man, while it is commonly known that man is the best creation of Allah. One reason for this has already been explained in the translation (of the Hadith), that the angels are superior because they are innocent and are unable to commit sins. Secondly, they are superior because they are better than the majority of men, including even the majority of believers; and yet some selected Believers like the Prophets (Alaihimus salaam) are superior to the angels. There
are other reasons as well, which are however left out in order to prevent the
discourse from getting too long. Hadith
No.2 A
Sahabi once said, "0, Rasulullah, (SALLALLAHU
ALAIHI WASALLAM), I know that the commandments of Sharee-at are many, but of
these tell me the one that I may practice assiduously throughout my life."
The Prophet, (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM), replied, "Keep your tongue
always moist (i.e. busy) with the zikr of Allah." According to another
Hadith, Harat Mu'aaz (Radhiyal-laho anho) has said, "Once at the time of my
departure from Rasulullah (Sallallahu ALAIHI WASALLAM), I asked him to advise me
of that action which is most pleasing to Almighty Allah: whereupon he replied,
"At the time of your death, your tongue should be busy with zikr of
Almighty Allah."
Note:
By "my departure", Hadhrat Mu'aaz (Radhiyal-laho anho) refers to the
occasion when he was appointed by the Holy Prophet (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM)
as the Governor of Yemen and sent there for teaching and propagating Islaam. It
was at the time of that farewell that Rasulullah (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM)
had given him some parting instructions. By
saying that "the commandments of Sharee-at are many", the Sahabi had
meant that although observance of every commandment is imperative, to specialize
and attain perfection in each and every one is difficult; and so he wanted that
Rasulullah (SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WASALLAM), may recommend him something of
over-riding importance which he might hold fast to, and practice at all times
and in all conditions of sitting, standing or walking. According
to another Hadith, a person who possesses the following four things is truly
blessed, from the worldly as well as spiritual point of view:—
1. A tongue ever absorbed in the zikr of Almighty Allah. The phrase "moist tongue" according to some Ulama means excessive utterance (of zikr) and, idiomatically, it is used to convey excessive glorification and praise. But in my (the author's) humble opinion it can have another meaning as well. It is always very sweet and pleasant to talk of one's beloved, as is the common feeling and experience of every lover. On this basis, the phrase "moist tongue" would, therefore mean that one should glorify with love the name of Almighty Allah, so as to feel love's sweetness in the mouth. I
have observed many times that when some of my religious elders do zikr aloud,
the flavour of the sweetness enjoyed by them is so transmitted to the listeners
that their mouths also feel the sweetness and they share the ecstasy likewise.
But this phenomenon is possible only where there is a genuine yearning for zikr,
and the tongue is accustomed to excessive zikr. It is stated in one Hadith that
the proof of one's love for Almighty Allah lies in one's love for the zikr of
Allah, and in the same way lack of zikr betrays lack of attachment with Almighty
Allah. Hadhrat Abu Darda (Radhiyallaho anho) said that those who keep their tongues wet with the zikr of Allah, will enter paradise smiling.
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