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My friend, ‘The Conscious Muslim’ blogged a series recently on the 10 Companions of the Prophet ﷺ. I benefited from reading his posts, and wanted to share the links here so others can also benefit, inshaAllah ta’Ala.
Daily reflections, reminders and stories about our beloved Prophet Muhammad sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam throughout the blessed month of Rabi’ al-Awwal 1433 on Healing Hearts.
Contributions by: Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, Shaykh Walead Mosaad, Imam Tahir Anwar, Ibrahim Long, Idris Kamal, Aftab. A. Malik, Aaron Sellars, Mona Haydar, Umm NoorBilal Petersen, Hosai Mojaddidi, Mas’ud Ahmed Khan, Mazen Atassi, Adil Hussain, Asma Gill, Naosheen Pervez, Zakia Khan, Ata’ul Khabir, Naadiyah Ali, Zahraa Kazee, Sarah Soliman, Yousaf Seyal, Zeshan Zafar, Farhat Khan, Jamilah Bashir, Mohammad Ghilan, Asme Fahmi, Tun Wildan, Taslim Rashid, Hatice Baltaci Colakoglu, Nayyar Ddin
May we all benefit from this special series, and may it be a source and means of increasing our understanding, love and connection to the beloved Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam.
A big thank you to all the contributors! May Allah the Most Generous reward you all in abundance. (Please keep all the contributors and their families in your blessed prayers.)
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad, mercy to the worlds.
In 2006, Dr Umar visited the UK and delivered a superb lecture on the “Famous Women in Islam” in Birmingham. I was just going through my notesbook today and found some of the notes I made during the lecture, and thought I’d share them here so others can benefit from, and be inspired inshaAllah ta’Ala. (Photo credit: Mas’ud Ahmed Khan)
Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah- Famous Women in Islam- 25th November 2006
* Many greater women were Sufis and they trained men.
* Status of women has changed.
*Many of the stereotypes heard in the west and Muslim world (women’s job is to clean, cook etc) developed in the early modern world.
* The working class women in Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco; who have 1-2 jobs as well as looking after the household needs and children whilst their husbands are in different countries working, are true heroines!
* The prophet SallaAllahu Alayhi Wasalam didn’t hurt women. Women were essential to his life. This started with Khadija RadiAllahu Anhu, she gave the prophet SallaAllahu Alayhi Wasalam Strength to overcome the initial period of revelation.
* Aisha RadiAllahu Anhu was the defender of Islam.
*Islam began in the hands of a women, i.e Sayyida Khadija was the first women to take Shahada.
*The prophet SallaAllahu Alayhi Wasalam gave special timings for teaching women. Even when he SallaAllahu Alayhi Wasalam was ill, near death and didn’t have much strength, Bilal RadiAllahu Anhu held him up so he could counsel women.
* The prophet SallaAllahu Alayhi Wasalam accepted womens influence (his aunts and wives). For example; Umm Salamah advised the Prophet SallaAllahu Alayhi Wasalam to go out and shave his head and slaughter sheep so the companions would follow his example. (*look up story in seerah)
* One maxim of Islamic Law is everything is permissible until proven impermissible and it’s not an easy task to *prove* something.
*Men and women completely equal in Islamic law until proven they are not.
* The army never went out to battle without women. Women were always equal in number.
*Women tend to be more religiously devoted.
* Throughout history, we have come to know about men who had fabricated hadiths, but not one single women fabricated a hadith and there have been thousands of women muhaddiths!
Exceptional women in Islam:
Zubaida Bint Jafir
*Wealthiest and powerful women in her time.
*Generous; gave to the poor, Christians, poets etc
* Her palace sounded like a beehive. She had thousands of maid servants who had hifz the Quran. They would complete the Quran at least 10 times a day.
* Eloquent master of Arabic language, known for her intelligence.
* The people of her time said that she was the women who brought earth to life.
*If you want to affect people and change them, tell stories! Stories affect people greatly, just like when we read stories in the Quran.
* 19/20 century is a very difficult time for us. Tipu Sultan was the last magnificent ruler, everything declined and changed after that.
*Also, never feel disempowered when you are unable to do things or don’t have the means to acquire
May Allah bless and preserve Dr. Umar, Amin!
Please be aware that these are my notes, they are not comprehensive at all but I pray what I do share is of some benefit to the readers. Any mistakes, errors or misinterpretations of words are from me alone, so please do forgive and overlook my shortcomings! You are welcome to share these notes but *please* do not just copy and paste anything without referencing where you got them from as I do not want my notes to be taken out of context or misinterpreted.
A kind soul (may Allah bless this person) shared something a noble Moroccan Shaykh (may Allah bless and preserve him) said:
‘Weeping is a prayer that will surely be answered.’
SubhanAllah! When I read this statement, I was really moved and thought to myself that this again shows the Mercy of our Lord and how He has created so many different ways for our supplications to be answered. Alhumdulilah.
I was further reminded of the famous story of the passing away of the Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam’s son Ibrahim, when the Prophet sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam wept, and said to the Companions when they were surprised by this:
‘Not this do I forbid. These are the promptings of tenderness and mercy, and he that is not merciful; unto him shall no mercy be shown. O Ibrahim, if it were not that the promise of reunion is sure, and that this is a path which all must tread, and that the last of us shall overtake the first, verily we should grieve for you with a yet greater sorrow. Yet, we are stricken indeed with sorrow for you, O Ibrahim. The eye weeps, and the heart grieves, nor say we anything that would offend the Lord.’ (Martin Lings, Muhammad, p. 325)
So next time when we are overwhelmed by tears, we should remember that they are a form of prayer, and the All-Compassionate, All-Loving, All-Hearing is listening. He understands our tears, and the pain/distress/hurt/sadness/anguish they express. There really is no other comfort other than knowing He knows how we feel, and whether we express that through tears, words or deeds, He is aware. Just like silence can sometimes be the most powerful expression of one’s feelings, so can crying- especially if it means one’s prayer is to be answered through that.
This is dedicated to all my brothers and sisters around the world who are facing tribulation and hardships. May the Most-Loving, Most-Merciful, Most Gentle be with you, ease your pain, remove your hardships and answer your prayers. Amin ya Rabb!
I came across this on YouTube; Shaykh Hamza Yusuf speaks about the last moments of the Prophet salla’Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam’s life. One cannot help but cry whilst listening to this really moving and beautiful speech. May our love and attachment to the prophet salla’Allahu ‘alayhi wasalam increase, and may we be granted his company in al-jaanah. Amin!
Title : You Are With Those Whom You Love
Date/Location: July 2007 – Talk delivered in Rochdale, Jamia Chistia
Speaker: Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Yahya Al Ninowy
NoteTaker: Anonymous (itb075@hotmail.com)
The shaykh talked about the very famous Ayah in the quran:
“Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline: or the dwellings in which you delight – are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until Allah brings about His punishment: and Allah does not guide the fasiqeen.” [Surah At-Tauba Verse 24]
If we are to summarise this religion of Islam, then we can say that it is a religion of love.
Allah (subhanahu wa’tala) encourages us through the Quran to love our parents and informs us not to even say ‘uff’ to them [Surah Al Israa].
The Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) informs us about love of the family, where he says “The best amongst you is he who is best to his family and I am best to my family”. He (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) also teaches us about loving our daughters, when he says “Fatima is part of me”, showing his deep love and affection for her. He also expresses his love for Imam Hassan and Husayn (Radiallahu Anhum) ,when they are on his shoulders and he is kissing them and a man comes and says , “Do you love them? I have 10 sons, I don’t kiss any of them.” The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) replied “What can I do if Allah has taken away mercy from your heart?”.
He also teaches us love for our neighbours, where he says “Gibreel keeps coming to me and keeps saying neighbours, neighbours, as though he is inheriting from the neighbours”.
Allah (subhanahu wa’tala) orders us Ihsaan (be good) towards our society by saying in the Quran… “Allah orders you to be just and to do Ihsaan …” We should be positive contributors to society, because our beloved (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) came as a mercy to the entire worlds, therefore we should be an extension of his mercy to the entire creation of Allah.
The more you learn about his beautiful qualities (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam), the more hostage you become to his love and his beautiful qualities…
Furthermore, the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) also taught us about love of his companions. Loving the family of Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) is also talked about in the Quran where Allah says “Tell them , I am not asking of you any reward in return, expect that you are kind to my offspring”. This is the wasiyah of the beloved, so don’t neglect it. There are Hadith that also emphasize this.
The Quran also teaches us to love the mothers of the believers… One should love their mother. The Quran also teaches of love of Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta Alaa) and his Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) . This is all contrary to the saying of those who say that Islam is a religion of violence and hatred, but in reality, it’s a religion of love and forgiveness.
Note that the verse which is the theme of the talk says “That if you do not love Allah and his Prophet more than your family, your parents etc…” you shall await the punishment of Allah. This is actually waajib and fard upon you. Allah finishes the ayah by saying “Allah does not love the Fasiqeen”. Fisq from a Fiqh point of view is a “major sin” not a minor sin…
We need to ask ourselves the question “What number on the list of your priorities is the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam)?” If he is not number one , then make him number one!
If you have hardships in life, in your marriage, in your work, in your rizk, then take a look at where the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) is in your list of priorities..
Allah says in the Quran “whoever avoids my Dhikr , then we will fill their life with difficulties… and in the akhira they will be assembled blind…” The person shall ask “I had my vision in the duniya? “. Allah will say, “Our ayahs came to you , you forgot them, so today you shall be forgotten”.
Dhikr is amongst the name of the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) as Allah says in the Quran “Zikran Rasoolan”…
Allah also puts his own name with the name of the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam), in the same verse that we are talking about, therefore, Allah is glorifying the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam). If you put the love of the Prophet second, that’s not good enough, because in a race, the one that comes number two, is the first looser followed by many others.
There is usually a sign for everything, similarly, there is a sign for his love. One of the signs for his love is “Shauk (yearning) ” which we will focus on today….
When you hear his name (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam), your heart moves, you think about him, you dream about him, he is in your heart, your mind, your thoughts all the time….
A poet says “If you are far away in distances to me, you are in my heart, present and with me. Your image is in my head, your dhikr is always on my tongue, your dhikr is in my heart, where will you go?” We need to check our hearts to see if we have the yearning for the beloved (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam).
The Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) said “By the one who has the Nafs of Muhammad, there will be a time when one of you will not see me, then one of you will wish that you will give your whole family and everything you own , just to see me” [Sahih Muslim]
Lets look at some examples of Shauk, so that we can see the love of the Companions (Radiallahu Anhum) towards the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam).
In one of the battle, a woman was waiting, a man came to her and told her “Your husband was next to me in the battle, and he was martyred”… She asks about the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) instead and asked “How is he?”
Another man came and said to her “I was next to your son and husband, both are marytred”… She asked “How is Rasoolullah? ”
Another man walked by and told her that her brother is also martyred. She just marched on and looked for the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam), and when she saw him eventually, she said “Every calamity happening to other than you is insignificant”.
When Bilal (Radiallahu Anhu) was on his death bed and his family was next to him crying saying “how sad will we be when you are gone”. Bilal (Radiallahu Anhu) said “I have been waiting for this day for a long time, tomorrow I will be with Muhammad and his companions”.
A man from the Shawk of the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) every night before he went to bed, he repeated all the names of the Sahaba and then said the name of the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam). He then said “Those are my origin, oh Allah my heart falls for them, do not make me leave without seeing them .”
Abdullah Bin Zain (Radiallahu Anhu) was told that the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) passed away and he then made Sujood to Allah and said, “The last thing i saw was your Prophet, take my vision away, so i don’t see anyone other than him”… and Allah accepted his dua…
If there is no Shawk, then the heart does not move when you hear the name of the beloved sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam, then it’s time for resuscitation of the heart, otherwise it’s a sign of Fisq..
Why should we love him ?
1) You should love him because he loves you as Allah mentions in the Quran.
2) He guided us to the path of success, without him we would be perished. He did not leave a good single thing, but showed us how to do it and he did not leave a single bad thing, but showed us how to avoid it.
3) The Prophet recited the verses that Ibrahim (Alaihis Salam) recited and he cried “Oh my lord, my ummah , my ummah”… Allah sent Gibreel to ask him why he was crying after sending his Salams… Allah informed Gibreel “Go and tell Muhammad, that we will give you until you are pleased (Surah Ad-Duhaa) ” . Ask and you will be granted, interceed and you will be granted…
4) Love him because he would have loved to be with you, he would have loved to meet you… He said “I loved to meet my brothers who believed in me, yet who did not see me”… Allah says in the Quran that he is caring about you more than you care about yourself. He use to say , “If any of the believers who die, and they owed people, tell them to come to me and I will pay them back on their behalf”.
5) Loving him in the world has a special effect on the believers. There is a Hadith where a companion asks him about how much time he should spend on making Salah and Salam on him, he said, “Then you will be sufficed from all your hardships in the duniya”.
6) He will benefit you on the day of judgement, his love will help you in the Akhira. As he said “those of you who have the closes seats to me on the day of judgement, will be the one who sends the most Salah and Salam on me”.
Anas (Radiallahu Anhu) said “Allah is my witness that I love Abu Bakr, Umar, the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam)
All the companions present said we have never been so happy about a Hadith, if you do your Faraid and you love the Prophet, you will be with him. We should check our heart and see who we love.
7) A Bedouin came and asked the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam) when the day of judgement is, he replied “What have you prepared for it?”. This is an important point and should give us the realisation that we should not waste our time on secondary non important issues and focus on preparing for the Akhira. Our priority list is confused, we are giving other things high priority, we indulge in secondary issues, indulging for the sake of argument. Your Qiyamah is when you die… The Bedouin replied, “Nothing, except I love Allah and his Prophet”. The Prophet then replied “You will be with those whom you love” and I pray that Allah assembles me with them..”
Ibn Ata’Allah said “The heart is either filled with Haqq or Batil, not both, the love of Quran and love of Shaytaan can not be in the same heart.”
The Quran will come as a witness for some, the Masjid will come as a witness for some on the day of judgement. It is natural to feel comfortable at your own house, regardless of where you are, the Awliya of Allah feel most comfortable in the house of Allah, the Masjid..
The lecture should enable us to understand the high status of the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasalam), so that we can remember him day and night, so that his image is in front of us all the time, so his Dhikr is on your tongues and in your hearts all the time…..
N.B If you have any questions regarding these notes, please contact the note taker on the e-mail address provided above. All credit and du’as should go to the note taker- I’ve just posted them on this blog in order for people to benefit from them.
A very touching an inspiring story of one of the greatest female companions of our beloved prophet sallaAlahu alayhi wasalam
When we are afflicted with hardships and tests, or simply do not get something we anticipated or hoped for, then the story of Umm Salamah (radiAllahu anha) brings much comfort to the heart. It also encourages us to build up our own strength and increase our trust in Allah subhanahu wa tala, for surely He is the best of planners and providers.
…
When Abu Salamah (my husband) decided to leave for Madinah, he prepared a camel for me, hoisted me on it and placed our son Salamah on my lap. My husband then took the lead and went on without stopping or waiting for anything. Before we were out of Makkah, some men from my clan stopped us and said to my husband:
“Though you are free to do what you like with yourself, you have no power over your wife. She is our daughter. Do you expect us to allow you to take her away from us?”
They then pounced on him and snatched me away from him. My husband’s clan, Banu Abdul-Asad, saw them taking both me and my child. They became hot with rage. “No! By Allah,” they shouted, “we shall not abandon the boy. He is our son and we have a first claim over him.”They took him by the hand and pulled him away from me. Suddenly, in the space of a few moments, I found myself alone and lonely. My husband headed for Madinah by himself, and his clan had snatched my son away from me. My own clan, Banu Makhzum, overpowered me and forced me to stay with them.
From the day when my husband and my son were separated from me, I went out at noon every day to that valley and sat at the spot where this tragedy occurred. I would recall those terrible moments and weep until night fell on me.
I continued like this for a year or so until one day a man from the Banu Umayyah passed by and saw my condition. He went back to my clan and said:
“Why don’t you free this poor woman? You have caused her husband and her son to be taken away from her.”
He went on trying to soften their hearts and play on their emotions. At last they said to me, “Go and join your husband if you wish.”
But how could I join my husband in Madinah and leave my son, a piece of my own flesh and blood, in Makkah among the Banu Abdul-Asad? How could I be free from anguish and my eyes be free from tears were I to reach the place of hijrah not knowing anything of my little son left behind in Makkah?
Some realized what I was going through and their hearts went out to me. They petitioned the Banu Abdul-Asad on my behalf and moved them to return my son.
I did not now even want to linger in Makkah until I found someone to travel with me, and I was afraid that something might happen that would delay or prevent me from reaching my husband. So I promptly got my camel ready, placed my son on my lap and left in the direction of Madinah.
I had just about reached Tan’im (about three miles from Makkah) when I met Uthman ibn Talhah. (He was a keeper of the Ka’bah in preIslamic times and was not yet a Muslim.)
“Where are you going, Bint Zad Ar-Rakib?” he asked.
“I am going to my husband in Madinah.”
“And there isn’t anyone with you?”
“No, by Allah. Except Allah and my little boy here.”
“By Allah, I shall never abandon you until you reach Madinah,” he vowed.
He then took the reins of my camel and led us on. I have, by Allah, never met an Arab more generous and noble than he. When we reached a resting place, he would make my camel kneel down, wait until I dismounted, lead the camel to a tree and tether it. He would then go to the shade of another tree. When we had rested he would get the camel ready and lead us on.
This he did every day until we reached Madinah. When we got to a village near Quba (about two miles from Madinah) belonging to Banu Amr ibn Awf, he said, “Your husband is in this village. Enter it with the blessings of God. ”
He turned back and headed for Makkah.
Their roads finally met after the long separation. Umm Salamah was overjoyed to see her husband and he was delighted to see his wife and son.
Great and momentous events followed one after the other. There was the battle of Badr, in which Abu Salamah fought. The Muslims returned victorious and strengthened. Then there was the battle of Uhud, in which the Muslims were sorely tested. Abu Salamah came out of this wounded very badly. He appeared at first to respond well to treatment, but his wounds never healed completely and he remained bedridden.
Once while Umm Salamah was nursing him, he said to her:
“I heard the Messenger of God saying. Whenever a calamity afflicts anyone he should say, “Surely from Allah we are and to Him we shall certainly return,” (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon). And he would pray, “O Lord, give me in return something good from it which only You, Exalted and Mig hty, can give.’”
Abu Salamah remained sick in bed for several days. One morning the Prophet came to see him. The visit was longer than usual. While the Prophet was still at his bed-side, Abu Salamah passed away. With his blessed hands, the Prophet closed the eyes of his dead companion. He then raised these hands to the heavens and prayed:
“O Lord, grant forgiveness to Abu Salamah. Elevate him among those who are near to You. Take charge of his family at all times. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the Worlds. Widen his grave and make it light for him.”
Umm Salamah remembered the prayer her husband had quoted on his deathbed from the Prophet and began repeating it, “O Lord, with you I leave this my plight for consideration . . .” But she could not bring herself to continue … “O Lord give me something good from it”, because she kept asking herself, “Who could be better than Abu Salamah?” But it did not take long before she completed the supplication.
The Muslims were greatly saddened by the plight of Umm Salamah. She became known as “Ayyin al-Arab”–the one who had lost her husband. She had no one in Madinah of her own except her small children, like a hen without feathers.
Both the Muhajirun and Ansar felt they had a duty to Umm Salamah. When she had completed the Iddah (three months and ten days), Abu Bakr proposed marriage to her, but she refused. Then Umar asked to marry her, but she also declined the proposal. The Prophet then approached her and she replied:
“O Messenger of Allah, I have three characteristics. I am a woman who is extremely jealous and I am afraid that you will see in me something that will anger you and cause Allah to punish me. I am a woman who is already advanced in age and I am a woman wh o has a young family.”
The Prophet replied:
“Regarding the jealousy you mentioned, I pray to Allah the Almighty to let it go away from you. Regarding the question of age you have mentioned. I am afflicted with the same problem as you. Regarding the dependent family you have mentioned, your family is my family.”
They were married and so it was that Allah answered the prayer of Umm Salamah and gave her better than Abu Salamah. From that day on Hind al Makhzumiyah was no longer the mother of Salamah alone but became the mother of all believers, Umm al-Mu’mineen.
…
Umm Salamah’s du’a is also narrated in Muslim:
“Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying, “When a person suffers from a calamity and utters: `Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji`un. Allahumma ujurni fi musibati, wakhluf li khairan minha (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah! Compensate me in my affliction, recompense my loss and give me something better in exchange for it), then Allah surely compensates him with reward and better substitute.” Umm Salamah (ra) said: When Abu Salamah (ra) died, I repeated the same supplication as the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) had commanded me (to do), so Allah bestowed upon me a better substitute than him [Muslim].
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