Build the Ship, O Nuh

The more Nuh called his people to Allah, the more they increased in disbelief, until they said, “If you do not desist, O Noah, you will surely be of those who are stoned.” (26:116) At this point, Noah prayed against them, and Allah responded to his prayer. Nuh said,

“My Lord! Verily, my people have denied me. Therefore, judge You between me and them.”

Allah instructed Nuh to built the ship/ark. “And construct the ship under Our Eyes and with Our Inspiration, and address Me not on behalf of those who did wrong; they are surely to be drowned.” (11:37)

As Nuh was constructing the ship, whenever the chiefs of his people would pass by, they would make fun of him and mock him. Imagine how hard that must have been – to be doing something like building a ship on top of a hill and there was no ocean or river. Imagine the leaders of the people coming and mocking you. What a difficult situation that must have been! It oddly made me think of bullies in school; how they are so ignorant themselves, but they come and mock the children for good in others – like being smart or having good character is something to mock one for!

So Nuh begins to build this shop by the command of Allah. Nuh told them, “If you mock at us, so do we mock at you likewise for your mocking. And you will know who it is on whom will come a torment that will cover him with disgrace and on whom will fall a lasting torment.” (11:38-39)

We Will Witness

Disbelief and stubborness became their characteristics in this world, and so it will be in the Hereafter. The Prophet (S) said:

Noah and his people would come (on the Day of Judgment), Allah will say: “Did you convey My Message?” Noah will answer: “Yes, my Lord.” Then Allah will ask his people: “Did he convey to you My Message?” They will answer: “No! No Prophet came to us.” Then He will say to Noah: “Who could bear witness for you?” He will reply: “Muhammad and his Ummah.” So we will bear wtiness that Noah conveyed the Message.” (Bukhaari)

The Ark and Its Cargo

How big was the ship? Well, there are many different opinions on the actual size, but it is reported unanimously that its height was 30 cubits, and it was a three-story deck ship, every deck with a height of 10 cubits. The bottom deck was kept for animals and cattle, the middle deck was for human beings, and the upper deck was for birds.

Allah says: “And We saved him and those with him in the laden ship. Then We drowned the rest thereafter.” (26:119-120)  The “laden ship” is one that is filed with cargo and the couples, one pair from every species, that were carried in it.

So  We  inspired  to  him,  “Construct  the  ship  under  Our  observation,  and  Our inspiration,  and  when  Our  command  comes  and  the  oven  overflows,  put  into  the  ship from  each  [creature]  two  mates  and  your  family,  except  those  for  whom  the  decree  [of destruction]  has  proceeded.  And  do  not  address  Me  concerning  those  who  have wronged;  indeed,  they  are  to  be  drowned. (23:27) Allah instructed Noah that when His Decree has come and the punishment befallen, he should load in that Ark a pair from every kind of animal, male and female, and all those which have a soul, so that the species could survive. He should take with him his family except those who have rejected his call, because Allah has decreed against them. He also commanded him not to speak to Him about them when the Punishment has arrived.

Who was on the ship from amongst his family? Well, we all know of the disbelieving son, which we will mention in detail later. He also had three other sons which were mentioned who were all in the ship as well. Nuh’s wife was of those who disbelieved. Allah says: Allah presents  an  example  of  those  who  disbelieved:  the  wife  of  Noah  and  the  wife  of  Lot. They  were  under  two  of  Our  righteous  servants  but  betrayed  them,  so  those  prophets did  not  avail  them  from Allah at  all,  and  it  was  said,  “Enter  the  Fire  with  those  who enter.” (66:10)

The number of followers of Nuh reported goes from 7 to 80. 80 is the maximum narrated. After 950 years of work, the fruit is 80 (or, the maximum would be). Let’s think about it – the fruits of Noah’s work. Whenever we work for something, we are encouraged by the fruits of that work. For example, a student would be encouraged to work hard when they get good grades for studying hard. A businessman would be encouraged when he sees his business running well. A mother would be encouraged seeing her children behave well. But what would happen if you put serious effort into something and see no change? It becomes increasingly difficult to move on. And Noah worked. For 950 years, Nuh does not see anything happening before his eyes. But Nuh has trust that Allah rewards. Allah is the one who gives ajr. That is the imaan and tawakkul in Allah. This part really struck a cord with me, because I get frustrated easily and lose hope easily. We should always remember that our situation does not reflect how much Allah loves us or how good a Muslim we are. Our attitude reflects that. And the good end will always be for the steadfast believers.

Allah says: “And when you have embarked upon the Ark and those with you, say: ‘Praise be to Allah Who has saved us from the evildoers.’ And say: ‘My Lord! Let my landing be blessed, for You are the Best Who give harbour.” (23:28, 29) Allah commanded us to say prayers or supplications before we start something so we could gain His blessing and goodness, and reach a favorable outcome.

Allah also says: “Embark  therein;  in  the  name  of Allah is  its  course  and  its anchorage.  Indeed,  my  Lord  is  Forgiving  and  Merciful.” (11:41) The Ark would start in the Name of Allah and it would finish the journey in the Name of Allah, the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

In reference to Allah’s statement: “Surely, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” – this statement is suitable here while mentioning Allah’s vengeance upon the disbelievers by drowning them all. Allah also says: “But verily, your Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind in spite of their wrongdoing. And verily, your Lord is (also) severe in punishment.” (13:6)

Waves Like Mountains

Allah says: “So it (the ship) sailed with them amidst waves like mountains.” (11:42) This means that the ship sailed with them upon the surface of the water, which had completely covered the earth until it encompassed the tops of the mountains and even rose over the mby a height of 15 cubits. The water covered the earth from easet to west, its plains and mountains, its deserts and wilds. Everything died as a result of this Flood.

It was also said that the waves rose over the mountains by a height of 80 miles. Imagine waves that high! It was not the ship that Nuh built that gave them safety. It was not the ark that saved them. This is only the part that told Allah to do; otherwise that ark would be a matchbox in the waves. Allah wanted Nuh to do his part. The ship moved under Allah’s Shade, His Help, His Protection and His Blessing.

It is the will of Allah that will take care of you and save you. You have to do your part; take the first step. Allah says, “Take one step towards Me, I will take ten steps towards you. Walk towards me, I will run towards you.”

You have to take the first step. You have to seek guidance and Allah will guide you. The victory of Allah comes after you do your part.

Allah says: “So he called to his Lord saying: ‘I am defeated, so administer Your victory.’ So We opened the gates of  heaven with pouring water met according to the decree which had been ordained. And We carried him in a ship made of planks and nails, floating under Our Eyes; a reward for him who had been rejected! And indeed, We have left this as a sign. Then is there any that will remember (or receive admonition)?” (54:10-15)

O My Son, Embark With Us

Allah continues the story, saying: “and Nuh called out to his son.” (This is just the continuation in Surah Hud). This was the fourth son of Noah, and his name was Yaam. He was a disbeliever. His father, Noah called him at the time of boarding the ship, that he might believ and embark with them. If he did so, he would be saved from the drowning like the other disbelievers.

The son replied: “I will betake myself to some mountain, it will save me from the water.” He believed, in his ignorance, that the flood would not reach the tops of mountains, and if he clung to a mountain top, he would be saved. His father Noah told him: “This day there is no savior from the decree of Allah except him on whom He has mercy.” And then Allah says: “And waves came between them, so he (the son) was among the drowned.”

What a difficult situation for Noah – to watch and know that his son will be destroyed with the disbelievers. Indeed, the Prophets were tested with the most difficult of tests.

O Earth, Swallow Your Water!

And it was said: “O earth! Swallow up your water, and O sky! Withhold (your rain).” And the water was diminished (made to subside) and the Decree (of Allah) was fulfilled (i.e. the destruction of the people of Nuh (Noah). And it (the ship) rested on Mount Judi, and it was said: “Away with the people who are Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing)!” (11:44)

All of those who disbelieved were removed from the earth; not a single one of them remained.

Mujaahid said: “Judi is a mountain in Al-Jazirah (Northwest Mesopotamia) where the mountains sought to tower above each other on the day of the drowning. On that day of destruction, all the mountains sought to be higher (to avoid being overcome by water). However, this mountain (Judi) humbled itself to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, and therefore it was not drowned. This is why Nuh’s shop anchored upon it.” (At-Tabari) Qatadah said: “The ship rested upon it (Mount Judi) for a month before they (The people) came down from it.” Qatadah also said: “Allah made Nuh’s ship remain on Mount Judi in the land of Al-Jazirah as a lesson and sign.” Even the early generations of this Ummah saw it. How many ships are there that have come after it and have been destroyed and become dust?

All Noah’s Children

Sa’eed ibn Abi ‘Arubah said, narrating from Qatadah concerning the ayah And, his progeny, them We made the survivors: “All people descended forom the offspring of Noah, peace be upon him.”

Sa’eed bin Musaybah said: Noah had three sons: Shem (Sam), Japheth (Yaafith) and Ham (Ham). Each of them had three children. From Sam came Arabs, Persians and Romans. From Yaafith posterity came Turk, Saqaalibah and Gog and  Magog. And Ham started the lineage of Copts, Sudanese and Berbers.

All of the disbelieving people in the world were killed then, and the survivors were all believers.

One Last Thing

When everything settled down, there was something Nuh wanted to ask Allah. “And Nuh (Noah) called upon his Lord and said, ‘O my Lord! Verily, my son is of my family! And certainly, Your Promise is true, and You are the Most Just of the judges.’” (11:45) Allah had promised Nuh that he would be saved with his family, so Nuh is saying, ‘O Allah, didn’t you tell me that all of my family would be saved? – and my son is from my family.’ Look at what Nuh adds - ‘Your promise is true.’ He doesn’t doubt; he just wants to understand.

Allah taught Nuh a lesson. We use words to mean some things, but Islam comes and gives them a new definition. Salah, for example, had the meaning of supplication before Islam. Family has a definition amongst us – blood relations. Nuh is considering his son to be part of his family because he is his blood son. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala is teaching Nuh the true meaning of family. Allah said, “O Nuh (Noah)! Surely, he is not of your family; verily, his work is unrighteous, so ask not of Me that of which you have no knowledge! I admonish you, lest you be one of the ignorant.” (11:46) Because his work was not righteous, he was not of Nuh’s family any more.

We Reveal

“This is of the news of the Unseen which We reveal unto you; neither you nor your people knew it before this. So be patient. Surely, the (good) end is for those who have Taqwa.” (11:49)

Allah is saying that He revealed it to the Prophet (peace be upon him) as if he witnessed it himself. Neither Muhammad (S) nor any of his people had any knowledge of it. This is so that those who rejected the Prophet (peace be upon him) couldn’t say that the Prophet learned these stories from them. Rather, it was Allah that informed the Prophet of it in conformity with the true situation. Therefore, you should be patient with the rejection of your people and their harming you. For verily, We shall help you and surround you with Our aid. Then, We will make the good end for you and those who follow you in this life and the Hereafter.

Noah’s Will

Imam Ahmad has narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saying: While we were sitting with the Prophet (peace be upon him) a Bedouin came to him waering a long garment (Jubbah) made in Saihaan, Syria, woven with silk. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “This friend of yours has put on a pure Persian style, and erased every sign of being a shepherd.” Then he seized him with his Jubbah and said: “Do I not see upon you the cloth of those who do not employ their intelligence?” Then he said to him: “When death approached the Prophet Noah ‘alayhis salaam, he gave his last advice to his children, and said:

‘I am going to tell you my will: I am enjoining upon you two things and forbidding you from two things. I enjoin upon you to keep the belief that there is no God (worthy of worship) but Allah. If the seven heavens and seven earths were to be put on one side of the scale, and the word La ilaaha illallah on the other, the latter will outweigh and excel the former. And I forbid you from shirk (associating equals and partners to Allah) and arrogance and haughtiness.”

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that it was said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah! We know what shirk means: but what is haughtiness? Does that mean when one of us has a pair of beautiful shoes with beautiful laces?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) answered: “No.” Then somebody said: “Is it to have a good dress and wear it?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied again: “No.” Another person asked him whether or not is to have an animal to ride on it? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No.” He was again asked whether it has anything to do with friendship and sitting with them? The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No.”

They then asked him: “Then, what is haugtiness (kibr)?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Haughtiness is to reject the Truth and despise people.”

And this is the end of the story of Noah. InshaAllah we will talk about Hud ‘alayhis salaam next.

On the authority of Abu Ruqayya Tameem ibn Aus (may Allah be pleased with him) the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The religion is naseehah.” The people said, “To whom?” The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied, “To Allah and to His Book and to His Messenger and to the Leader of the Muslims and to the common folk of the Muslims.” (Recorded by Muslim.)

This is a very beautiful hadith, and many of us Muslims (including myself) misrepresent the words of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in our zeal to apply them. Yes, we must give naseehah. But what is naseehah? And how must is be implemented?

The Enforcement Police

As we mentioned in our previous post, naseehah implies that one advise and guide others to what is best for them in this life and the hereafter. This was the job of the Messengers. When fulfilling the obligation of naseehah, we are following the sunnah of the noblest of creation – the Messengers.

A Muslim cannot be all to himself and not care about what is happening with his brothers and sisters. It is our obligation to make naseehah to other Muslims so that we may bringt about the best for them.

When giving naseehah, we must be kind and loving and sincere in our advice. We are doing just that – advising. It is not in our place to try and enforce the advice. We see that in ourselves these days – we advise and then want it to be implemented immediately. This was not the way of the Prophets (may Allah be pleased with all of them). Noah called his people to Allah for over 900 years!

Ibn Hazm points out that a person should nto make naseehah only on the condition that his advice is accepted. His responsibility is first and foremost to Allah. Even if the others do not accept his advice, he should still advise them. Furthermore, if they find taht his advice is not the best approach to follow, this is for them to decide.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever wishes to give advice to a ruler about a matter should not do so publicly. Instaed, he should take him by his hand and be alone with him [to talk to him] about it. If he accepts the advicefrom him [the matter is finished successfully]. If he does not [accept the advice], the person has fulfilled [the obligation] upon him.” (al-Haakim and Ahmad)

Don’t Smack Talk

This is a very simple and straight forward thing to know before giving advice: know what you’re talking about. Someone may think they know what they’re talking about, but they don’t. And we all know how deep the consequences can be for advice without any know-how. So make sure you know what you’re talking about first

For Shame

Who is the biggest scumbag of all time? The King of the Damned? Hint: I’m thinking of a baby-murdering, narcisstic, self-appointed god. If you said Pharoah, then you would be right.

How did Allah tell Moses and Aaron to approach this evil tyrant?

“And speak to him mildly, perhaps he may accept admonition or fear Allah.” (Taha, 44)

Speak to who mildly? PHAROAH? Umm….are you sure? Yes, definitely. Naseehah must be given mildly, with sincerity and love. In general, the result of giving naseehah in a harsh manner or embarassing way would result in hatred and evil as well, and not corresponding good. But what if we were to give naseehah in private, to do it with kindness and in love? Would not such words be received more kindly?

There are a few points I wanted to make here: One, of course is to speak kindly and without harshness.

The second thing to point out here is that if there were anyone, in all of time, who deserved to be humiliated in public, it would be Pharoah. But that is not how Moses approached him. Our Muslim brothers, who are trying to follow Islam and obey Allah, deserve much more that we not shame them in public or embarass them in anyway. And you know what embarassing someone is. Just because it’s not done with vulgar remarks or inappropriate language, it can still be embarassing or harsh.

I remember going to a sisters’ halaqa given by an alimah. wAllahu ‘Alam what this sister’s intentions were, but she was a very harsh teacher. She may have had good intentions, but her approach to advising us was at time very…harsh, to say the least. We began to discuss hijaab one day, and she said something to the effect of: “Well, do you think sister X’s hijab is appropriate? Do you think those pants are not too tight?” Sister X was present in the small room. My best friend and I were silent, ashamed for the alimah who insulted another Muslim sister in front of an entire halaqa and embarassed for the sweet Muslim sister, no matter what her clothing was like. Later on, I remember seeing sister X’s face after class. How humiliated she must have felt! And I felt incredible rage at the alimah’s horrible example. We had been so excited to find an alimah in our own backyard….but what was her worth if she had no manners? I did not feel that she said those words trying to advise the sister. It felt as if they were said out of anger and frustration at the way the youth in the US dressed. For shame. May Allah protect our fellow Muslims from our tongues.

Mentioning another Muslim’s faults or sins simply to blame, ridicule or shame them is forbidden. The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade his followers from rebuking the woman who committed illegal sexual intercourse although he had ordered for her to be punished. How quickly we snap at our fellow Muslims for a speck in their eye.

Al-Fudhayl ibn Iyaadh stated:

“The believer conceals [the sin] and advises the person while the evildoer exposes the sin and disgraces the person.”

On the Down Low

In the hadith mentioned about advising rulers, the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) advised us make naseehah to rulers in private. Would our friends and family not be more receptive than to being advised in private as well? This was the way of the companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them all.

Al-Bukhaari records that someone inferred to Usaama ibn Zayd that he should speak to the khalifah, ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, concerning ‘Uthmaan’s half brother who had become known for drinking. Usaama’s response was: “Do you think that I have not spoken to him simply because you did not hear it? I speak to him privately without opening a door such that I would be the first to open that door.” The “door” he was referring to was the act of rebuking rulers in public instead of privately.

Sincerity and Love

Zamarli stresses that when advising another person, the adviser should be sincere of heart. The goal of such advice is to make things better and remove some fault or evil. Deception and hypocrisy in one’s heart would probably not lead to such good results. Zamarli states that in the same way that a deed is not accepted by Allah unless it is done sincerely for His sake, advice will not have its positive, reforming effect unless it is sincere from the advisor’s heart.

Love is an important driving force behind naseehah. If one has strong love for Allah, His messenger, His book and so forth, his conduct with respect to them will be more sincere. Al-Fudhayl ibn Iyaadh said:

“Love is better than fear. Do you not see that if you have two slaves and one of them loves you while the other fears you, the one who loves you will be sincere to you while you aer present or absent due to his love for you. However, the one who fears you may be sincere to you when you are present and he fears you but he will deceive you and not be sincere to you when you are absent.”

Take it Like a Man

Just as we should give good advice, we should learn to take it with a smile as well. We should now allowe pride or any other reason to interfere with us accepting what is good for us. And we should not doubt the intentions of our brothers and sisters in Islam.

There is a sister I have known since childhood. I saw her to something at an Islamic convention which will be stuck in my mind forever. As we were all standing to pray, she left her shoes on and stood to say takbeer. A woman beside her pointed at her shoes and said, quite impolitely, “Oh, child, you can’t pray with those on.” This sister is from a well-read family (Islamically speaking), and I felt insulted for her. But the young sister took her shoes off immediately and said, “JazakAllah khayr for telling me,” with the biggest, most sincere smile on her face. May Allah give her Jannah and may He give us all the goodness to be more humble.

‘Umar ibn al Khattaab once said, “Do not think evil of anything that comes from your brother Muslim’s tongue whenever there is a way to interpret it in a good way.”

This is the end of hadith #7

On a side note – I discovered this wickedly awesome website for searching hadith: sunnah.com InshaAllah I’ll start using it as my hadith database search since the MSA one seems to be out of order. Another thing that I learned when citing hadith…there is apparently not a universal number system to look up which hadith is being referred to. Reading citations in different books and websites, I found conflicting numbers for the exact same hadith. So I guess it would be wiser to name the chapter it is listed under instead of some number which may or may not mean something

Trials and Tribulations

Today we will discuss trials and tribulations. This sign is quite a broad point and it is ongoing, meaning it has happened in the past and continues to happen.

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman narrated: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stood up among us and he did not leave out anything that is to happen until the Hour begins, but he told us about it. Those who memorized it, memorized it and those who forgot it, forgot it. These companions of mine know them, and there are some things which slip my mind, but when they happen, I recognize them just as a man remembers the face of a man who has been away from him, but when he sees him, he recognizes.” (Muslim, The Book Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour)

The severity of these fitan (tribulations) will vary. Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman reported: By Allah, I have the best knowledge amongst people about every turmoil which is going to appear in the period intervening me and the Last Hour; and it is not for the fact that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) told me something confidentially pertaining to it and he did not tell anybody else about it, but it is because of the fact that I was present in the assembly in which he had been describing the turmoil and he especially made a mention of three turmoils which would not spare anything and amongst these there would be turmoils like storms in the hot season. Some of them would be violent and some of them would be comparatively mild.” Hudhaifa said: “All (who were present) except I have gone (to the next world).” (Muslim, The Book Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour)

One of the main reasons why tribulations and calamaties happen is the lack of knowledge and the prevelance of ignorance, abandoning Islam, committing sins and acts of disobedience, and violating sanctities.

The Door

One of the greatest calamities to ever afflict this ummah happened during the time of ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, but before we discuss that, we will mention the door between this Ummah and fitnah.

Once ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab said, said, “Who amongst you remembers the statement of Allah’s Apostle regarding the afflictions?” Hudhaifa replied, “I remember what he said exactly.” ‘Umar said. “Tell (us), you are really a daring man!” Hudhaifa said, “Allah’s Apostle said, ‘A man’s afflictions (i.e. wrong deeds) concerning his relation to his family, his property and his neighbors are expiated by his prayers, giving in charity and enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.’”

Umar said, “I don’t mean these afflictions, but the afflictions that will be heaving up and down like waves of the sea.” Hudhaifa replied, “O chief of the believers! You need not fear those (afflictions) as there is a closed door between you and them.” ‘Umar asked, “Will that door be opened or broken?” Hudhaifa replied, “No, it will be broken.” ‘Umar said, “Then it is very likely that the door will not be closed again.”

Later on the people asked Hudhaifa, “Did ‘Umar know what that door meant?” He said. “Yes, ‘Umar knew it as everyone knows that there will be night before the tomorrow morning. I narrated to ‘Umar an authentic narration, not lies.” We dared not ask Hudhaifa; therefore we requested Masruq who asked him, “What does the door stand for?” He said, “‘Umar.” (Bukhaari, the book of virtues of the Prophet peace be upon him and his companions)

This meant that ‘Umar would be murdered. During his khilaafah, while he was leading the prayer, ‘Umar was murdered by a non-muslim. It’s amazing, if you read about the story of ‘Umar’s murder. There are many things we can learn from the companions’ amazing personalities. For example, even after he was stabbed, the sahabah completed the prayer. I won’t go into the details of his murder at this time though.

A Stormy Period

The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “Be prompt in doing good deeds (before you are overtaken) by turbulence which would be like a part of the dark night. During (that stormy period) a man would be a Muslim in the morning and an unbeliever in the evening or he would be a believer in the evening and an unbeliever in the morning, and would sell his faith for worldly goods.” (Muslim, the Boook of Imaan)

In another narration of this hadith, Al Hasan alBasri gave an explanation, saying: “In the name of Allah, I have seen these people. Forms, but no minds; bodies without any conscious. Like moths attracted to a fire; and flies attracted by greed. They would go for two dirhams, and a person would be willing to sell their religion for the small price of a goat.” Al Hasan alBasri was saying this at the time of the tabi’een (students of the sahabah)! What would he say if he lived to see this day?

In another hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad,  that also talks about the fitnah, the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said,

“[...] the one who is sitting is better than the one who is standing. And the one who is standing is better than the one who is walking is better than the one who is running. So break your bows and stay home. And if anyone enters your home, be like the best of the two sons of Adam.”

This means it is better to stay away from those trials. Everything is so mixed up that you cannot separate truth from falsehood. Everything is in the gray area. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is saying to withdraw. ‘The one who is sitting is better than the one is standing’ means that if you’re away from it, than you are better than the one who is standing. Once again meaning: don’t get involved. Have the least involvement and stay home. If somebody comes into your house, be like the best of the two sons of Adam. Qaabil killed Haabil. Haabil had said that ‘If you extend your hand forward to kill me, I’m not going to fight back.’

In terms of fitan, there are many that happened, and many that did not happen. RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam pointed towards the east (when he was in Madinah) and said, “The fitan come out from here.” And he said, “That’s where the horn of shaytaan comes out.” The source of some of the greatest trials and tribulations were from the east of Madinah: many of the deviants came from the east; political unrest came from there; the Mongolians. That is also where Ad-Dajjaal (pseudo-Christ) and Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog) will come from.

Now we will mention some of the trials that have already passed:

THE Fitna: Assassination of ‘Uthmaan

The assassination of ‘Uthmaan was the beginning of the fitna. It opened the door for every fitna after. We already mentioned how ‘Umar was a door between this Ummah and fitna. During his time, there was stability and security. There were no trials and tribulations during his time. During his time, there was expansion of the Muslim Ummah. After ‘Umar was  murdered, the trials began.

‘Uthmaan ibn Affaan became the khalifah. ‘Uthmaan was also assassinated. The difference between the assassination of ‘Umar and the assassination of ‘Uthmaan? Huge.

‘Umar was murdered be a disbeliever, but ‘Uthmaan was murdered by people who claimed to be Muslim. That is how the door for disunity was opened.

‘Uthmaan was the khalifah, and some issues happened during his khilaafah. There are a few things to keep in mind during this time. Islam had been spreading incredibly far and fast by now. There were many new Muslims coming into Islam. The problem was, unlike the sahabah, they didn’t know much about Islam or understand enough about it. These people began to cause trouble. In the end, some Muslims gathered and they surrounded his house and they wanted him to give up khilaafah. They wanted him to step down. Keep in mind that none of these people were from amongst the sahabah.

You may ask, well, why didn’t ‘Uthmaan just step down so that these hooligans would go away? ‘Uthmaan was told by the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, “Allah will give you a cloak, and if the people ask you to take it off, don’t.” ‘Uthmaan had no idea what this meant at that time. He understood what it meant when the people were asking him to step down. Allah gave him this khilaafah, and these people were telling him to give it up, so he refused.

At the same time, he refused to fight them. ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib and his sons were guarding ‘Uthmaan. He told ‘Uthmaan, “Give me your orders, we will fight them.” ‘Uthmaan said, “I don’t want one drop of blood to be shed for my cause. I don’t want any killing to happen to safeguard me.” He told ‘Ali not to fight for him. ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib told his sons – Hassan and Hussain – to guard ‘Uthmaan. Eventually they came in. These people were in thousands. They were in Madinah and surrounding the house of the khalifah. They came in and killed ‘Uthmaan ibn Affaan.

We all know of this famous hadith in which the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was climbing Uhud with his companions:

The Prophet ascended the mountain of Uhud and he was accompanied by Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ’Uthmaan. The mountain shook beneath them. The Prophet hit it with his foot and said, “O Uhud ! Be  firm, for on you there is none but a Prophet, a siddeeq (truthful) and two martyrs.” (Bukhari, Companions of the Prophet) The two martyrs, of course, were ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan.

The Battle of Al-Jamal

Another great tribulation followed the murder of ‘Uthmaan: a serious division amongst the sahabah themselves.

When ‘Uthmaan ibn Affaan was killed, the killers were not immediately bought to justice. This is because of the sheer number of people involved. There was also no khalifah appointed immediately. Some of the Muslims came to ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib and told him that they will give him bay’ah (allegiance).

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said not until the Muslims make a shoorah (consultation) and decide. The Muslims told ‘Ali that ‘Uthmaan was killed, there was a fitnah and the killers of ‘Uthmaan will spread all over and the problems will get bigger and bigger. Therefore, you must be the khalifah. They kept insisting until ‘Ali agreed. They had to have a leader. They needed somebody to unite the Muslims. Az-Zubayr ibn al Awwaam and Talha also gave bay’ah to ‘Ali (this is important because both of these sahabah were promised Jannah/Paradise by the Prophet).

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said, “The awliya of ‘Uthmaan have to come forth and ask for his revenge.” And the awliya are the closest relatives of the deceased. In the Islamic shari’ah, if someone is murdered intentionally, then their closest relatives are the ones who ask for justice. And they have the decision of either asking for execution or accepting the financial compensation (also known as diyah). The family decides this, not the court.

Talha, AzZubayr and ‘Aaisha bint Abi Bakr (the wife of the Prophet) wanted the killers of ‘Uthmaan to be bought to justice. So these two thoughts formed parties and eventually there came to a point where two armies met for battle. Talha, AzZubayr and ‘Aa`isha actually came to an agreement with ‘Ali and everything was fine at that time. At night time, some of these killers of ‘Uthmaan, which were in ‘Ali’s army, attacked the army of Talha, AzZubayr and ‘Aa`isha. Talha, AzZubayr and ‘Aa`isha did not come out there to fight; they came out in a big army to ask for justice. AzZubayr and Talha thought that ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib attacked and that is how the fighting started.

It was a very brief fight. In the end, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib was able to convince them that he didn’t attack and that he is right in his opinion and they agreed.

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib was once told by RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam that something will happen between you and ‘Aa`isha. This is narrated by Imam Ahmad. ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said, “Between me and ‘Aa`isha?” RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Yes.” ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said, “Then I am the most unfortunate of people.” (Meaning, he must be unfortunate if a disagreement happens between him and one of the Mothers of the Believers.) RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “No. And when that happens, then take her back to safety.” ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib went to ‘Aa`isha and told some of his army’s officers to accompany her back to Madinah. This was a fulfillment of the prophecy of RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

The Battle of Siffeen

This battle was also just around that time and followed the murder of ‘Uthmaan.

RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam mentions in a hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, “There will be a war between two big armies of Muslims and they are fighting for the same cause.” (Both of them want the same thing, but they are still fighting.) This is a contradiction. How could you fight for the same reason? Usually, you fight for different reasons. The interpretation for this is as follows: The murderers of ‘Uthmaan were in thousands in ‘Ali’s army. Mu’awiyah was the waliy of ‘Uthmaan; he was his relative. He had the authority to ask for justice in the case of ‘Uthmaan. He asked ‘Ali to hand them over. ‘Ali said, “I will, but I need to establish my authority first. The ones that killed ‘Uthmaan are in the hundreds. I cannot just hand them over like that; a fitna will happen. You have to give me bay’ah first. Everyone in the ummah has to give my bay’ah first. When I have the authority given to me by the Muslims, then I will hand them over. I can’t hand them over without authority.” Mu’awiyah said, “I will not give you bay’ah until you hand them over.”

The right side, obviously, was ‘Ali’s. Mu’awiyah made an ijtihaad and it was a wrong ijtihaad. He is still a sahabi of RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam and a katab al-wahiy (writers of the revelation). RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam entrusted him with writing down the Qur’an. And he is the brother-in-law of RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Umm Habeebah bint Abi Sufyaan (the wife of RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was his sister.

Whenever we hear of the fitnah that occurred between the companions, we should never degrade any side. They are all companions of the Prophet and they are all beloved by us. We should remember all of their virtues; we should remember that their differences were just that: differences.

The ones who were on the right track were the ones with ‘Ali. There was an indication: RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam told Ammaar ibn Yaasir that he will be killed by the transgressing side. Ammaar ibn Yaasir was fighting on the side of ‘Ali and was killed by people from the army of Mu’awiyah. We cannot accused Mu’awiyah, because RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that two groups of Muslims will fight each other. And this hadith is in Bukhari and Muslim.

By Allah, Al-Hasan bin ‘Ali led large battalions like mountains against Muawiya. ‘Amr bin Al-As  said (to Muawiya), “I surely see battalions which will not turn back before killing their opponents.”  Muawiya who was really the best of the two men said to him, “O ‘Amr! If these killed those and those  killed these, who would be left with me for the jobs of the public, who would be left with me for their  women, who would be left with me for their children?” Then Muawiya sent two Quraishi men from  the tribe of ‘Abd-i-Shams called ‘Abdur Rahman bin Sumura and ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amir bin Kuraiz to  Al-Hasan saying to them, “Go to this man (i.e. Al-Hasan) and negotiate peace with him and talk and  appeal to him.” So, they went to Al-Hasan and talked and appealed to him to accept peace. Al-Hasan  said, “We, the offspring of ‘Abdul Muttalib, have got wealth and people have indulged in killing and  corruption (and money only will appease them).” They said to Al-Hasan, “Muawiya offers you so and  so, and appeals to you and entreats you to accept peace.” Al-Hasan said to them, “But who will be  responsible for what you have said?” They said, “We will be responsible for it.” So, whatever Al- Hasan asked they said, “We will be responsible for it for you.” So, Al-Hasan concluded a peace treaty  with Muawiya. Al-Hasan (Al-Basri) said: I heard Abu Bakr saying, “I saw Allah’s Apostle on the  pulpit and Al-Hasan bin ‘Ali was by his side. The Prophet was looking once at the people and once at  Al-Hasan bin ‘Ali saying, ‘This son of mine is a Saiyid (i.e. a noble) and may Allah make peace  between two big groups of Muslims through him.” (Bukhaari, Peacemaking)

Divided, We Fall

There were people whose sole purpose was to just cause problems (in Urdu, I would call them fasaadi, or troublemakers.)  Some of them were leaders of tribes; they were the ones inflaming this problem. They existed on both sides. They said, “How can ‘Ali give up? This is the hukm of Allah. ‘Ali is putting the opinion of men over the order of Allah subhaana wa ta’aala.” What idiots, preferring killing to peacemaking.

Initially, they accused ‘Ali of making a mistake, and eventually they accused him of kufr. Look how quickly and often they change colors! They obviously accused Mu’awiyah of kufr before. These people broke off from the army of ‘Ali and that is where they got their name of khawaarij from. Khawaarij means “people who broke off”. This was the beginning of the formation of the Khawaarij sect.

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib sent ‘Abdullah ibn Abbaas to have a talk with them. ‘Abdullah ibn Abbaas convinced 4,000 of them to come back. He was the man!  We all can testify how hard it is to give da’wah to one.

The source of khawarij existed during the time of RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The major characteristic of khawaarij is extremism.

Abu Saeed AlKhudri narrates: While the Prophet was distributing (something), ‘Abdullah bin Dhil Khawaisira at-Tamimi came and  said, “Be just, O Allah’s Apostle!” The Prophet said, “Woe to you! Who would be just if I were not?”  ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab said, “Allow me to cut off his neck!” The Prophet said, “Leave him, for he  has companions, and if you compare your prayers with their prayers and your fasting with theirs, you  will look down upon your prayers and fasting, in comparison to theirs. Yet they will go out of the  religion as an arrow darts through the game’s body in which case, if the Qudhadh of the arrow is  examined, nothing will be found on it, and when its Nasl is examined, nothing will be found on it; and  then its Nadiyi is examined, nothing will be found on it. The arrow has been too fast to be smeared by  dung and blood. The sign by which these people will be recognized will be a man whose one hand (or  breast) will be like the breast of a woman (or like a moving piece of flesh). These people will appear  when there will be differences among the people (Muslims).” (Bukhaari, Dealing with Apostates)

Look at the rudeness of this man, ordering the Prophet of Allah to be just. RasulAllah (peace be upn him) is telling us that the way that they worship, you will think that the fasting and praying of the sahabah will seem like nothing compared to theirs. And though their recitation is beautiful, it will not be in their actions; in the inside, there is no Qur’aan. You may hear the Qu’raan with your ears, but there is not Qur’aan in the heart. RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam was telling that the sources of people like this were people like AlKhuwaysarah. The roughness and rudeness is the source of the sect of khawaarij. These were the same people that killed ‘Uthmaan; they caused these wars between the Sahabah; and when they saw peace between the Muslims, they broke off. Na’oothubillah.

How do we know that the ones who broke off from ‘Ali’s army were the ones that RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam was talking about? RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam gave us a sign in a hadith narrated by AlBukhari. Abu Saeed alKhudri said RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that one of the men will be a dark man and one of his arms is like the breast of a woman, meaning that there is no bone in his arm.

The Khawarij said to ‘Ali, “You have betrayed the order of Allah.” ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said, “Then I would give you a few things: you can pray with us in the masaajid, if you wish; I will give you your share of the booties of war when it is split amongst the Muslims [look at ‘Ali’s forgiveness!]; I will leave you alone as long as you leave the Muslims alone.” But they did not leave the Muslims alone.

The next story of the khawarij murdering is a little graphic, so please don’t read this if you have a weak stomach. The son of a Sahabi of RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam was travelling with his wife. The khawarij stopped him. He identified himself as the son of a sahabi. They asked him, “Whose side are you on?” He said, “I’m not against you, but I’m with the truth.” They killed him. His wife was pregnant. They opened up her stomach and killed the fetus. They killed her. After that, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib opened up war against them. Because the deal was: as long as you leave the Muslims alone, I’ll leave you alone. Because of the execution of this sahabi’s son and the brutal execution of his wife’Ali he waged war against them.

A side note: subhanAllah, look at how they stood up for each other’s honor! It seems like common sense to fight such cruel people – but in reality, it takes a lot to do that. And nowadays, we see much worse atrocities and nobody says a thing.

Battle of Nahrawand

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib defeated them and killed many of them. Abu Saeed AlKhudri, the narrator of this hadith, said that ‘Ali told us to go and search for this man whom RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam described. He (Abu Saeed) said that he saw the man; he was of the exact description that RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam described and he was laying with the dead. And that is a sign that RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam was talking about these particular people.

‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said about them that there is a great reward for the one who kills them. RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that, “If I live until that time, I would kill them like the people of ‘Aad were eliminated.” Complete elimination. Why? Because such an extreme mentality – there is no way to deal with except by elimination. You cannot reason with such extremism. These people want bloodshed; they won’t settle for peace. If you leave them alone, they won’t leave you alone.

They have caused the Muslims so many problems. Some of the biggest fitan (trials) were caused by them. The scholars of hadith say that they never find khawaarij that fabricate hadith. Many of Ahl us-Sunnah did. Khawaarij never lie, but their minds are very stubborn and they don’t mind killing.

The fitna of khawaarij was not temporary to that era. RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that whenever one generation of them leave, another generation of them will come up again, until the time of ad-Dajjaal. The continuation is not linear. They cannot continue. Why? Because they end up fighting themselves and they destroy themselves. They kill each other or they are killed by outside forces. Extremism comes into the minds of other people, then they fight each other and cause bloodshed…and so on.

They have a saying in Yemen: “He didn’t find anybody to disagree with, so he disagreed with his own people.” That is the mentality of the khawaarij.

In a hadith by Ibn Maajah, ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar said that he heard RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam say, “Whenever one generation of them comes out, it will be amputated. Then another generation will come out and it will be amputated.” ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said that RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam repeated it more than 20 times.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, “They are the worse of people, because they took the ayaat referring to the non-believers and they applied them on the believers. They accused the Muslims of disbelief.”

They are very easy in accusing people of disbelief – that is their major characteristic. So another important lesson that we can learn for ourselves here is that we should be careful in judging people!

Death of Al-Husain ibn Abi Taalib

RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam was once presented with red dirt by Gabriel. Gabriel (Jibreel) told RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam that your grandson – Al-Husain – will be killed, and this is the dirt of the area that he will be killed in.

Al-Husain, as all Muslims know, was killed in Karbala. Al-Hasan (Husain’s older brother) had the khilaafah for six months; he gave it up. After him, Al-Husain was given the bay’ah. Some tribes of Iraq promised him support, and a large group of ahl al-bayt (his relatives from the house of the Prophet sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). They fought with the army of Banu Umayyah, and these tribes which promised them support betrayed them. In the end, it was just Al-Husain and his relatives from ahl al-bayt. And they fought until the last person. They were all killed in the end. It was a big bloodshed of the family of the Prophet.

This was a dark point in the history of the Ummah, that the Ummah would do this to the family of the Prophet peace be upon him. This happened during the time of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah.

He also committed a massacre in Madinah. He attacked for days and killed many of the descendents of the Ansaar and the Ansaar (the Helpers of the Prophet). RasulAllah sallallhu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that he saw rain of trials falling on the houses of Madinah.

Both of these massacres happened during the time of Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah’s khilaafah.

And here we will end this depressing post… InshaAllah we will discuss how to protect oneself from such trials.

Ten Qarn

How much time was there between Adam and Nuh? Bukhari narrated from Ibn Abbaas that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There were ten qarn between Adam and Nuh. They all lived according to Islam.”

The question now arises – what is a qarn? Some say that it means a century, others say that it means a generation of people. If a century is the meaning, then the time between Adam and  Nuh was 1,000 years. If a generation is meant, then that number is variable. Remember, human beings used to live much longer back then. So ten qarn could mean thousands of years! wAllahu ‘Alam.

One God, One Message

Nuh (peace be upon him) was the first messenger sent to mankind to call people to the Oneness of God. He called people to worship Allah Alone, without associating any partners with him. He asked them not to worship any idols, statues or false dieties. He required them to believe in the Oneness of Allah, with no God other than Him and with no Lord other than Him. Every messenger after him came with the same message and they were all from his progeny. Allah says: “And We made his progeny to endure (on this earth).” (37:77) So is the case with Abraham (that all of the Prophets after him were from his progeny).

And We had certainly sent Noah to his people, [saying], “Indeed, I am to you a clear warner that you not worship  except Allah. Indeed,  I  fear  for  you  the  punishment  of  a  painful day.” (Hud, 25-26)

and in Surah Nuh:

That you not worship except Allah . Indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a painful day. Worship Allah, fear Him and obey me.  He (Allah) will forgive you of your sins and respite you to an appointed term. Verily, the term of Allah when it comes, cannot be delayed, if you but knew. (Nuh, 2-4)

In Every Way

Let’s look at the method of da’wah Nuh used with his people. We see in Surah Nuh that Nuh tells Allah that he appealed to his people publicly and privately, by night and by day, in every means that he knew. And what effect did all of this preaching have on his people? It fell on deaf ears.

But my invitation increased them not except in flight. And indeed, every time I invited them that You may forgive them, they put  their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their garments, persisted, and were arrogant with [great] arrogance.” (71:5-6)

Not only did Nuh invite them to Islam through different forms of da’wah, but he preached to them for 950 years. Imagine 950 years! I cannot even imagine making da’wah to someone for 950 days!

If you ever feel despair at someone not following Islam despite all of efforts remember Nuh (peace be upon him) and how he preached to his people in every way – and for 950 years! - yet most of them were heedless. Allah says that He guides whom He wills, and our job is just to spread the message.

Surely you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He pleases, and He knows best the followers of the right way. (28:56)

Nuh also teaches them the value of istighfaar - asking for Allah’s forgiveness. He tells them to make istighfaar, and he also tells them of the benefits they may reap from it. Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you in abundance; and give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on your gardens; and bestow on you rivers. (71:10-12)

Nuh ‘alayhis salaam uses another tool of da’wah. Very simplistic, and very profound. Look at the creation so that you may glorify the Creator. See you not how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, and has the moon a light therein and made the sun a lamp? And Allah has brought you forth from the (dust of) earth. Afterwards He will return you into it (the earth), and bring you forth (again on the Day of Resurrection)? And Allah has made for you the earth wide spread (an expanse) that you might go about therein on broad roads. (71:15-20)

Followers of No Worth

Nuh was giving da’wah for 950 years and only a few became Muslim. And these few tended to be from the weak and poor. The leaders, the wealthy and the political leaders, influential men of the society, noticed this. They came to Nuh and said: “We see you but a man like ourselves, nor do we see any follow you but the meanest among us and they (too) followed you without thinking. And we do not see in you any merit above us, in fact we think you are liars.” (11:27) They told Nuh that they didn’t think he was any better than them. Look at your followers, they said, the weak and downtrodden. They follow you without thinking.

Let’s look at these two aspects – the weakness of the followers of Nuh ‘alayhis salaam and their unqeustioning obedience.

When Abu Sufyan (a disbliever at the time), was on a business trip to ar-Room (or the Romans); he was visiting ash Shaam, which was part of the Roman Empire at the time. Heracul, or Hercules was the emperor of the Romans. He was there at the time and he heard about Muhammad (peace be upon him). When he heard that there was an Arab caravan in town, he said, “Go and see if any of them knows about Muhammad.” So they went and bought these men from Quraysh to the emperor. Hercules asked this group, “Who of you is the closest relative of Muhammad?” Abu Sufyan said, “I am.” Hercules started to ask him a few questions. One of these questions was, “Who are the followers of this man?”

Abu Sufyan said, “His followers are the slaves and the weak and the poor and the servant.” Hercules said, “These are the followers of the messengers.”

These were the followers of ‘Eesa [Jesus], Musa [Moses], Hud, Saleh… The people who follow the prophets in the beginning are usually the weak and the poor. Allah subhaana wa ta’aala gives them this blessing. This “point” that the rich, disbelivers of the people of Nuh are bringing up is worthless.

The second point they made (the chiefs) is that these followers followed Nuh without thinking. The word used in the ayah means that as soon as Nuh put his message to them, they accepted without any reflection or contemplation. What they are accused of was exactly what Allah praised them for. Because truth is apparent and does not need any reflection or deep thinking. Truth, as soon as it becomes clear, must be followed.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Every one I presented Islam to hesitated for a moment, except Abu Bakr. As soon as I presented the message to him, he accepted.” Without giving it a second thought.

These chiefs are accusing these followers with something that is a point of praise and honor for them! It seriously shows how rooted their ignorance and arrogance is.

No Compensation

Nuh said, “And O my people! I ask of you no wealth for it.” (11:29) It is very important that the one giving da’wah never want compensation – financial material – for what he is doing. The work should be done for Allah alone. The ayah continues: “My reward is from none but Allah. I am not going to drive away those who have believed.”

These chiefs had said you have to kick out the weak and slaves before we believe. Nuh, of course, said he would not.

Then Nuh said, “And I do not say to you that with me are the Treasures of Allah.” The Prophets of Allah do not have to be wealthy for the people to follow them. Notice that Nuh (peace be upon him) is telling them he doesn’t possess what people usually want in their leaders – wealth. We respect and honor the wealthy. If a person is poor, people usually don’t want them as their leader. The same thing happened with Talut – the people said, Him? He’s not rich. Here, Nuh is telling his people that he doesn’t control the treasures of Allah, nor does he know the unseen, except what Allah would teach him. “Nor that I know the Ghaib (unseen); nor do I say I am an angel.” (11:31)

Who Gives?

It never really occurred to me before reading this – but who gave in? Who threw in the towel after nearly a millenia of preaching? Did Nuh give up? No! It was the disbelievers that tired! SubhaanAllah. Fo’ shame, man!

They said to Nuh: “O Nuh (Noah)! You have disputed with us and much have you prolonged the dispute with us, now bring upon us what you threaten us with, if you are of the truthful.” (11:32) This one Prophet was able to stand up against all of this vile society. Imagine that – I can hardly get through the day with all of my children without whining to my husband at night Nuh (peace be upon him) preached and was rejected by these losers for how long he was.

They threatened him. They said: “If you cease not, O Nuh (Noah)! You will surely be among those stoned (to death).” (26:116)

Now, Nuh started making du’aa` against them, because they reached a level where they were threatening to take his life; they didn’t want to believe any more; they wanted to end it. Nuh said: “My Lord! They have disobeyed me, and followed one whose wealth and children give him no increase but only loss.” (71:21) They followed the wealthy and the strong families. And it was inspired to Nuh: “None of your people will believe except those who have believed already. So be not sad because of what they used to do.” (11:36)

Nuh started to make du’aa` to Allah. Allah says: “And indeed Nuh (Noah) invoked Us, and We are the Best of those who answer (the request).” (37:75) After 950 years of patience, Nuh finally made a du’aa`, and he said: “My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth.” (71:26) Why? Not because of a personal problem between Nuh and them. Nuh says, “If You leave them, they will mislead Your slaves, and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers.” And this du’aa` was received by Allah. And what a great Responder He is

Next we will begin talking about the Ark inshaAllah.

Tameem al-Daari is a well known companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He embraced Islam in the year 9 A.H. Prior to that, he was a Christian; some say that he was a monk. He participated in a number of the battles of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

He lived in Madinah. But after the death of Uthmaan, he moved to Syria. He was known for his performance of the late-night prayers and his reading of the Qur’an. He was accredited with being the first person who put lanterns in the masaajid. Furthermore, during the time of ‘Umar, he was the first person to narrate “stories” in the masaajid. He did that with the permission of ‘Umar – although it was ‘Umar’s policy to prohibit such a practice, he found that Tameem would only say what was truthful.

I found (me, not Sh. Az Zarabozo that this was the companion who narrated the lengthy hadith about meeting ad-Dajjaal. After he met him, he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and became Muslim, because everything he saw and learned about ad-Dajjaal (the anti-Christ) was what the Prophet (peace be upon him) had said. I was surprised Sh. Az-Zarabozo did not mention this in his biography of him. (see Muslim 4/2261). I found it in ‘Umar al-Ashqar’s The Minor Resurrection. inshaAllah we’ll quote the entire hadith much later in our Akhirah series.

He died in the year 40 A.H. in Palestine.

This is the only hadith narrated by Tameem that can be found in Sahih Muslim. Overall, one can find 18 hadith narrated by Tameem in the well known books of hadith.

A Love Story

Anas ibn Maalik said, “The first love in Islam was the love that the Messenger of Allah had for ‘A`isha. May Allah be pleased with her.”

The Angel Gabriel showed her to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in a piece of silk and told him, “This is your wife in this world and the Hereafter.”

‘Aisha, as all Muslims know, was the only virgin that the Prophet (peace be upon him) married. Every other wife that he married was a widow, a divorcee, etc. Every other wife he married for a reason – to bring two people/tribes closer, to strengthen his ties with another sahabi (companion), divine revelation, etc.

Khadeejah and ‘Aisha were different. The Prophet (peace be upon him) married them because he loved them.

In Islam, marriage is when there is physical and mental maturity. In general, women reach maturity much earlier than men, as we know – both physically and mentally.

If we look at Western society today, even young kids are sexually active. It’s really sad, if one looks at the statistics. I don’t need to mention them here. This society is extremely over sexualized and kids lose their innocence so early. If a young girl doesn’t have a boyfriend, then her parents will tell her, “Oh, it’s ok, honey. I’m sure you’ll find someone soon.”

On the flip side – if a girl marries young or “underage,” that is looked down upon and it’s thought of as strange. How sad. A relationship in which a woman is cared for, honored and loved is looked down upon. What a backwards culture.

These days in general, I feel, people stay immature longer. Or…they never quite mature I have met some teenagers that are mature enough to be married, and I’ve met married folks with kids who are still stuck in immaturity. Your age or marital status do not translate into maturity or immaturity. May Allah help us raise mature, responsible children. Ameen.

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) consummated his marriage with ‘Aisha, she was physically and mentally mature. The Prophet (peace be upon him) is often attacked by enemies of Islam because he married ‘Aisha at such a young age. We should not shy away from saying that yes, she was very young when he married her. We should educate ourselves on the matter and be able to defend the Prophet (peace be upon him).

I didn’t know this, but learned at a lecture. Look back to the enemies of Islam during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They used every tactic they could think of to attack him - but did any one of them ever use his marriage to ‘Aisha as an attack? Nope. Isn’t that interesting? Do you know why that was? Such  humongous age gaps were very common during that day. Rabbis and Priests used to marry such young girls at that time as well; it was not considered strange or blameworthy.

Aside from all of those things – we have to remember that this was the Prophet of Allah. He was the kindest to his wives and he was the best human being to walk the face of this earth.

The Messenger’s Sweetheart

The people used to send presents to the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he had his turn to stay at ‘Aisha’s house. The other wives gathered in the house of Umm Salamah and said to her: “O Umm Salamah! By Allah, the people choose to send presents on the day of ‘Aisha’s turn and we too love the good (i.e. presents, etc) as ‘Aisha does. You should tell Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) to tell the people to send their presents to him wherever he may be, or whereve his turn may be.” Umm Salamah relayed their message to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He turned away from her. Umm Salamah repeated what she said when he turned back to her. And when she said it a third time, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

“O Umm Salamah! Don’t trouble me by harming ‘Aisha, for by Allah, the Divine Inspiration never came to me while I was under the blanket of any woman amongst you except her.”

The wives actually sent Faatimah to talk to the Prophet (peace be upon him) concerning this issue as well. The Prophet said to her: “O daughter, don’t you love whatever I love?” She said, “Yes.” He then said, “You should love this (lady).”

This is not to say that he treated ‘Aisha better as compared to the others. He treated all of his wives equally. The Prophet (peace be upon him) made du’aa` to Allah and said, “O Allah, this is my division in that over which I have power. Do not blame me for that over which You have power and I have no power.” He was asking Allah not to hold him accountable for what he could not control in his heart. Allah is the Turner of hearts and He turns the hearts as He wishes.

Mufti #1

‘Aisha was very  knowedgable. I didn’t realize just how much until I attended this halaqa. The shaykh said that no one at that time had more knowledge than her – not even her father, Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq! SubhaanAllah. We already know how awesome the sahabah were – ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, ‘Umar ibn al Khattaab – and she knew more than all of these giants of Islam? Amazing.

The shaykh went on to say that if we combine the knowledge of all of the other sahabah (with the exception of Abu Hurayrah), her knowledge was more!

She spent only 9 years in the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from her marriage until his death, and she learned a lot in those few years. Her young age really helped her soak up the knowledge from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and she educated many of the Sahabah from what she learned. Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the most knowledgable companions. She was his teacher! Ibn ‘Abbass’ teacher! She was the teacher of the majority of the sahabah.

Abu Moosa al ‘Ashari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “Whenever a hadith was unclear to us – we the Companions of Allah’s Messenger – and we asked ‘Aisha about it, we always gained knowledge about that hadith from her.”

Al-Haakim said, “One fourth of the rule of shari’a was narrated on the authority of ‘Aa`isha.”

Az-Zuhri said, “If ‘Aisha’s knowledge is compiled and compared to the knowledge of all women, her knowledge will surely excel theirs.”

He also said: “The first person to remove distress from the people and explain to them the Sunnah regarding that was ‘Aisha.”

And there are many, many more quotes from scholars and sahabah about the knowledge of ‘Aisha.

For the Muslims, there has always been only one mufti at a time. For example, when Abu Haneefah went to Umrah and people asked Malik questions, he would say, “There is no mufti when Abu Haneefah is here.” Likewise, when  Abu Haneefah was asked, he said, “There is no mufti in Madeenah except for Malik.” (Not from a book – Don’t quote me on this!)

The point is, there is a mufti for the Muslims of every time. And who was the mufti of the Sahabah? ‘AISHA. subhaanAllah. I was so happy when I first heard this. ‘Aisha was the first ever mufti of the Muslims – and of the sahabah, at that! A woman. When the people came to the big sahabah and asked them questions, the sahabah would say, why are you asking us when ‘Aisha is still amongst us?

In the history of Islam, there was no other woman appointed as mufti. She was the first mufti ever and the only female mufti in the history of Islam. The most precious position in our deen is that of the mufti, and ‘Aisha was the first to have that honor.

Don’t Talk Trash about ‘Aisha!

When the Prophet (peace be upon him) would go on a journey and travel, he would draw lots amongst his wives and take the one on whom the lot fell. Once, it was ‘Aisha’s turn. The order of veiling had come down by this time, so she sat in a hawdaj on a camel. When they took a rest stop, ‘Aisha noticed that she lost a necklace and began to search for it. The people who carried the hawdaj onto the camel didn’t realize she was missing because she was young at that time and very light, as most of the women at that time were light in weight. So the caravan proceeded without her. ‘Aisha, thinking they would miss her, sat and waited for them, eventually falling asleep.

Safwan ibn al-Mu’attil as-Sulami adh-Dhakwani was behind the army and he recognized her when he saw her sleeping there because he used to see her from before the hijab was ordained. He said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon” when he saw her. ‘Aisha woke and covered her face. He did not speak one word to her after that. He made his camel kneel for her and then led the camel until they reached the army.

Upon their return to Madinah, ‘Aisha fell sick. This is when the slander about her spread. And here, I want to quickly point out the distinction between backbiting and slander. They are both haram, of course. Backbiting is when you say something behind someone’s back that they would not like to hear to their face – and this includes things which may be true. So, a person could have been a complete jerk to you, but if you repeat it behind their back, it is backbiting. Slander, on the other hand, is when you lie about a person behind their back.

So these rumors are spreading, and ‘Aisha doesn’t know about them intially. When she finally did come to know if it, she asked her mother. She wept the night until the morning

The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked Bareerah, her slave girl, about ‘Aisha. And Bareerah’s response was: “By Allah Who has sent you with the truth, I have never seen anything regarding ‘Aisha which I would blame her for except that she sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough of her family unprotected so that the domestic goats come and eat it.” That was her only criticism of ‘Aisha – that she was careless about the foods sometimes and animals would come eat it!

Zaynab was also asked about ‘Aisha. And though Zaynab competed with ‘Aisha for the Prophet’s attention, her piety made her tell the truth. She said to him, “O Allah’s Messenger! I protect my hearing and my sight (by refraining from telling lies). I know nothing but good (about ‘Aisha).”

The Prophet came to visit her. He recited the tashahud and then said, “Thereafter, O ‘Aisha! I have been informed such and such a thing about you; and if you are innocent, Allah will reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then ask for Allah’s forgiveness and repent to him, for when a person confesses his sin and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.”

At this point, ‘Aisha had reached the peak of her pain. When she asked her mother and father to respond to the Prophet (peace be upon him) for her, they would not respond. Even the Prophet (peace be upon him) – her husband – doubted her!

‘Aisha continues her story in the hadith: I was a young girl and did not have much knowledge of the Quran. I said.

“I know, by Allah, that you have listened to what people are saying and that has been planted in your minds and you have taken it as a truth. Now, if I told you that I am innocent and Allah knows that I am innocent, you would not believe me and if I confessed to you falsely that I am guilty, and Allah knows that I am innocent you would believe me. By Allah, I don’t compare my situation with you except to the situation of Joseph’s [Yusuf] father (i.e. Jacob [Ya'qoob]) who said, ‘So (for me) patience is most fitting against that which you assert and it is Allah (Alone) whose help can be sought.’”

Then I turned to the other side of my bed hoping that Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah I never thought that Allah would reveal Divine Inspiration in my case, as I considered myself too inferior to be talked of in the Holy Qur’an. I had hoped that Allah’s Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence. By Allah, Allah’s Apostle had not got up and nobody had left the house before the Divine Inspiration came to Allah’s Apostle. He said, ‘Aisha! Thank Allah, for Allah has declared your innocence.’ My mother told me to go to Allah’s Apostle . I replied, ‘By Allah I will not go to him and will not thank but Allah.’ So Allah revealed: “Verily! They who spread the slander are a gang among you . . .” (24.11)

(see the full hadith here)

Verses were revealed in the Qur’an to defend her honor, and they shall be recited for the rest of time. What an honor ‘Aisha received.

‘Aisha is the only one that the scholars agree that if someone says anything bad about her, then they are out of the fold of Islam. That is because they are rejecting the verses of Allah.

A Political Leader

‘Aisha was the first political leader in our history.

Just a side note – women are obviously allowed to be leaders in Islam. The only position of leadership they cannot have is that of khalifah, an Imam (duh!), or a criminal judge (that specific kind of judge which gives out the punishments of hudood). Otherwise, she can hold any position.

I don’t really want to get into the story of the Fitna, since her becoming a political leader happened at that time, but I’ll try to give the gist of it. So, basically, up until the khilaafah of ‘Uthmaan, Islam was expanding very fast. Boat loads of people were becoming Muslim and Islam was spreading like wildfire. So, all of a sudden, Islam had all of these new Muslims who were not properly educated about Islam. A lot of them didn’t even know the language that the Qur’an was revealed in properly. They were from different nationalities and backgrounds. Remember, also, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been out of the picture for a long time. You can see how all of these factors are recipe for some loony bins.

And so the crazies come out of the woodwork and people arise that cause dissent and clash between the Muslims. None of these trouble makers are sahabah, mind you. They are new to Islam, and obviously don’t know much about it. They cause problems to such an extent that they murder the khalifah, ‘Uthmaan.

Once our beloved sahabi is murdered….there is no successor for him. The Muslims face a dilemma now - should they avenge ‘Uthmaan’s death first or should they appoint a khalifah first? A group of Muslims form – ‘Uthmaan’s relatives – who want justice to be bought to the killers. (In Islam, it is the family’s right to demand justice for the murdered). And leading this group of people who are trying to bring justice to the killers is ‘Aisha, the Mother of the Believers. She bought such great sahabi such as Az Zubayr ibn Al Awwaam and Talha (the Prophet’s hawariy, or disciple). Both of those sahabah were promised Jannah. She was the leader of all of these people as she was trying to bring justice for ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affaan. And that is how she became the first political leader in Islam.

But, in case you’re wondering what happens in the story…

Things get so out of the hand, that two battillions of Muslims meet to fight. Both have many righteous people, and both sides contain companions that are promised  Jannah. Alhamdulillah, before any fighting breaks out, they work things out.

But then….something happens.

The troublemakers start a fight, seeing that things are working out, and battle breaks out because of them. Many companions are killed on both sides. It was a sad day in Muslim history. Later on, ‘Aisha and ‘Ali (who of course went on to become khalifah) made amends and kept strong ties, alhamdulillah.

*                     *                     *

Let’s look back at all of the things ‘Aisha accomplished and what sort of a woman she was. She was extremely intelligent. She was the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in this life and shall be his wife in the hereafter. She was the teacher and mufti of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). She was the first political leader in Islam. She was a brilliant, strong woman and the best role model for all women.

“You can have hayaa` and still be a leader in Islam, sister.” I loved that line from the shaykh. “Just look at ‘Aisha.”

1: The Coming of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

According to a hadith in both Muslim and Bukhari, Sahl ibn Sa’d said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gesturing with his fingers like this, the middle finger and the finger which is next to the thumb (i.e, the index finger), and he said, ‘I and the Hour have been sent like these two.’”

It may seem strange to us that this sign and the next are mentioned as being one of the signs of the day of judgment when they occured hundreds of years ago. To see an explanation of that, please see the previous post.

2: The Death of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

‘Auf ibn Maalik narrated that RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam told him of six signs of the day of judgment; the first was his death. (We’ll talk about the other five inshaAllah).

The death of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is a sign of the day of judgment and it is the biggest disaster that afflicted the Muslim Ummah. There is a hadith in which the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that whenever you are afflicted with a problem, then remember your calamity in losing me and your problem will seem insignificant.

At-Tirmidhi narrates that Anas ibn Maalik said, “When RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam came to Madinah, Madinah was all light. And when RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam passed away, Madinah was dark. And as soon as we buried RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the dirt was on our hands, we felt our hearts change.” The mere presence of RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam meant something to them, and as soon as he passed away, they felt something missing. The tranquility was felt in the hearts when he (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was around.

Imagine that the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was here today. Imagine that he was living amongst us. We could go to him with all of our problems, all of our questions, all of our woes. And he could fix it all, with the help of Allah. I have a fuzzy memory of a speaker once saying that if Muhammad (peace be upon him) were alive today, he could fix the problems of the world today over a cup of tea. May Allah join us with him in Jannah.

3: The Opening of Jerusalem - A Humble Leader

This sign happened during the time of ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab. Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn AlJarrah was the leader of the Muslim army; they had surrounded Jerusalem. Jerusalem had to surrender; they had no chance of fighting. The people of Jeruslam sent a message to Abu ‘Ubaydah, saying that they were willing to surrender, but they wanted to give the keys of Jerusalem to the khalifah of the Muslims, because of the sacredness of that town.

‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab made shoorah (councel) and asked the Sahabah what he should do – go out or stay? Some of the Sahabah told him that it was dangerous and that he should stay in Madinah. Some of the other companions told him to go, just trust in Allah.

‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab went to with his servant. They were taking turns on the camel – ‘Umar would ride for awhile, the servant would ride for awhile and then they would give the camel a break. When ‘Umar rode into Jerusalem, it was his turn to pull the camel and it was the servant’s turn to ride the camel. They passed next to a pool of mud and ‘Umar had to go through it; he picked up his clothes and passed through it. There was mud on his clothes and legs - imagine! The khalifa of all of the Muslims at that time! Can you picture a world leader doing that today? And all of this was happening in front of the people of Jerusalem. Abu ‘Ubaydah (one of the ten promised Jannah) felt that this was not appropriate – not because the leader shouldn’t be humble, but he felt that the Romans were living in a culture where the leaders are surrounded by guards and he thought that they wouldn’t give ‘Umar the respect he deserved. And ‘Umar deserved respect more than anyone else on earth. So Abu ‘Ubaydah gave him a few suggestions. ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab hit him in the chest and said,

“I wouldn’t expect this to come from you. We were a people who were humiliated; Allah honored us with Islam. If we seek honor any other way, Allah will humiliate us.”

Our honor is not based on the entourage and the motorcade or the extravagance. Our honor is in Islam, not the clothes that we wear. ‘Umar was wearing a dress with 14 patches. He was teaching Abu ‘Ubaydah that Allah will put our honor in their hearts. If we try to honor ourselves in any superficial fashion, Allah will take it away. And SubhanAllah – ‘Umar was right. When the people of Jerusalem saw him in that fashion, they started crying. The people were standing on the roofs of their houses, looking at him. They had heard of ‘Umar, but they had never seen him. They couldn’t believe their eyes at the simplicity of Islam. They gave the keys to ‘Umar ibn AlKhattaab. It is mentioned in the book of Ibn Kathir, that they had in their books the signs of the one who would take the keys of Jerusalem, and one of the signs was that he would have 14 patches in his clothes. wAllahu ‘Alam

4: Plague

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, a death that will eat you away like a certain illness that afflicts goats. This is referring to plague. It occurred in 18H, after the opening of Jerusalem, in Ash-Shaam. And we just mentioned a story from that time above. It was a major disaster for the Muslims and a great loss for the Ummah because more than 25,000 Muslims died. Among them were Abu ‘Ubaydah (one of the ten promised Jannah) and Mu’aadh ibn Jabl (one of THE greatest scholars of Islam). Many sahaabah died during that plague. It was also a blessing for them, though, because dying from the plague makes you a shaheed (martyr).

5: The Abundance of Wealth

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Wealth will be so abundant that a man will be handed 100 dinar (a small weight of gold) and they wouldn’t be satisfied.” Meaning, “What is this? This is nothing.”

This happened to a certain extent during the time of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-Aziz. It is narrated that ‘Umar ibn Usayd said: “No, by Allah, ‘Umar ibn ‘ABd al-’Azeez did not die before a man would come to us with a great deal of money and say, ‘Give this to the poor as you see firt,’ but he would soon go back with his money, trying to find out where he could give it, but he could not find anyone so he would have to take it back. ’Umar ibn ‘Abd al-’Azeez made the people free of need.” (Just FYI, in case no one knows, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-’Azeez was a very righteous khalifah).

RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “I was given the keys of the treasures of the earth. I’m not concerned that you would be poor. I’m worried that you would compete on this world and that would destroy you.” If we compete on material gains of this world, that will destroy us. The poverty that is now is not because of a lack of resources. The problem is unfair distribution and oppression (not giving charity). If you look at the world, the dependency is not on resources: it is the human being that is the greatest asset. Take a place like the Silicon Valley – it’s nothing but dirt, but it’s the richest place on the face of the earth. There’s no oil there, no gold or silver, not much agriculture. It is the human resources there. Unfortunately, we have a lot of resources in the Muslim world, but we don’t have the ability to make use of them.

Allah will not give us barakah unless we follow His Laws in in business law. A person could have money, but if it doesn’t have barakah, then there is no good in that money.

6: The Fire in Hijaaz illuminating the Necks of the Camels

It is narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

“The Hour will not come until fire comes out of the land of Hijaaz and will illuminate the necks of the camels in Busra.” (Bukhari)

The Hijaaz area is the area of Makkah, Madinah and At-Taif. wAllahu ‘Alam. Busra is a city in Syria, which is hundreds of miles away.

This event has passed by already, during the time of An-Nawawi. It was the year 654 A.H. ’Umar al ’Ashqar’s book quotes many letters and accounts that were written by people of this fire. The people recognized it as a sign of the day of judgment, and they turned to the masaajid to repent to Allah and become closer to Him. Here is one of the many accounts that were mentioned in the book; it is a quotation from a letter:

On the night of Wednesday, the third of Jumaada al-Aakhirah, 654 A.H, there was a huge explosion in the city of the Prophet (Madeenah), then there was a mighty earthquake which shook the ground, the walls, the roofs, the wood and the doors, hour after hour until FRiday the fifth of the same month. Then there apeared an immense fire in the harrah* close to Qurayzah, which we could see from our houses inside the city as if it were next to us. It was a huge fire, brighter than three beacons. Rivers of fire were flowing to the valley of Shazaa like streams. It blocked the stream of Shazaa which is no longer flowing. By Allah, a group of us went out to look at it, and the mountain was flowing with fire. The route of Al-Haajj al-’Iraaqi  (the Iraaqi pilgrims) was blocked, and the flow continued until it reached the harrah, then it stopped, after we had feared that it would come to us, and it flowed back towards the east. From the midst of it there came mountains of fire which devoured stones, and it was similar to what Allah described in His Book: “Verily! It [Hell] throws sparks [huge] as Al-Qasr [(a fort or a Qasr (huge log of wood)], as if they were Jimaalatun Sufr [yellow camels or bundles of rope].” (77:32-3)

The earth was devoured, and I wrote this letter on the fifth day of Rajab in the year 654 AH. The fire is increasing and not decreasing. It went back to the harrahs in Qurayzah. The rea from the route of Al-Haajj al-’Iraaqi to the harrah is all in flames which we can see at night from Madeenah, as if they are the torches carried by pilgrims. As to the source of this great fire, it is a mountain of red fire. The source from which the fires are flowing at Qurayzah is growing stronger and people do not know what is going to happen after that. May Allah make our end good. I cannot describe this fire.”

The judge of Damascus, Sadr ad-Deen ‘Ali ibn Abil-Qaasim at-Tameemi al-Hanafi, said: “I heard a Bedouin telling my father in Busra about those nights, when they saw the necks of their camels in the light of that fire which had appeared in the land of al-Hijaaz.”

subhaanAllah. Exactly what the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said came to pass.

7: War with the Turks

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The Hour will not come until you fight the Turks, who have small eyes, red faces and flat noses, as if their faces are flattened shields. The Hour will not come until you fight a people whose shoes are of hair.” (Bukhari)

This is the description of the people of Mangolia, and the people of Tataristan. Their clothes were made out of wool and their shoes as well; this is the description of them. SubhanAllah, the Muslims fought people with the exact description RasulAllah sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam gave. The battles with them started early on. Then the Mongolians, who are considered to be part of these people, swept through the Muslim world and destroyed it. They were under the leadership of Genghis Khan and Taymur Lang. These leaders just destroyed the world. They even went into Eastern Europe and Russia. They were a strong and forceful people. They destroyed Baghdad and killed 2 million Muslims. They would take the skulls of Muslims and build pyramids out of it. They used the books of the libraries of Baghdad and made bridges in the rivers. Just imagine the works of thousands of Muslim minds being thrown into rivers. Remember that there no printers or computers during those days; everything was hand written. Original manuscripts. It was said that the rivers were black from the ink of the books.

Interestingly enough, the Mongols later became Muslims. Though it took them time, they came to Islam. You will never find this in history: the rulers adopting the religion of the conquered. The people who are weak, or who lose, usually follow the religion of the strong and the rulers. The weak immitate the strong. Not in the case, however. Because the truth will stand by itself

*Harrah: stony area or lava field; there are several of these in the vicinity of Madeenah.

 We will end here inshaAllah and pick up next time with another minor sign of the day of judgment.

It’s funny I got it from my indian sister in law when the recipe is pakistani I’ve actually made palough before, but my chicken always came out hard and dry and the flavor was just  meh. But the way Muryum taught it, the rice is nice and tender and the chicken is too. And the flavor – yum! It’s only seasoned with three things: onions, whole garam masala and salt. But it takes time to make.

Ingredients:

• 2 big onions, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 1.5 – 2 pounds chicken
• whole garam masala (approx. 7 cloves, 15 black pepper balls, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 tsp zeera, 6 cardamoms)
• 3 cups uncooked basmati rice
• 4.5 cups water (the rice:water ratio is always 1:1.5)
• 4 tsp salt or to taste

How to Make It

The thing about this recipe is the amount of onions and oil you use. I didn’t really realize how much the oil was until I measured it out before pouring. The onions were quite big as well. To give you an idea, this is how big they look beside a 2 cup measuring cup.

1. Heat oil in an oven safe pot over medium heat and add onions. You have to cook them for a long time. A very long time. You can’t tell from my pictures, but the onions reduced a lot and they were a nice and colored light brown. I actually timed it, and it took my onions 25 minutes to go from this

to this

2. Add the garam masala and stir about 2 minutes. (Don’t add the salt yet!)

3. Add the chicken and stir until brown all over. Cover and cook about 15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 right about now. Remove the lid. The liquid in the pot will look watery. The oil will not have separated yet. If you’re desi, you should know what I’m talking about Cook it on medium high heat until it “dries” as the aunties say, or until the oil becomes clear once again. This takes some time, and you have to keep stirring. If you try to multi task like I did, your chicken will start sticking to the bottom and you’ll have to change pots :/ So this is what the chicken should eventually like:

There will be a lot of oil. Don’t freak out

5. Add the water and salt to the pot now. Stir and taste the saltiness of the water. The salt flavor should be pretty strong (not disgusting, but you should be able to taste the saltiness). I added 4 tsp to my 4.5 cups water and it tasted fine. Remember, I didn’t add any salt to the chicken or onions previous to this. Put on high heat and bring to a boil.

6. When the water comes to a boil, add the rice. This is the brand of Basmati Rice I use.

Keep the heat on high and just wait until the water boils down to about the same level as the rice. It’ll still be very wet, but you should see the water bubbling around the rice.

7. Now put the lid back on and put the pot into your preheated oven for 20 minutes.

All done! I know I should’ve plated it and made it look pretty, but I’m not really a cooking blogger… with three kids, I don’t have time for all that alhamdulillah So here it is, straight out of the oven: