Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah by abiding by His commandments and abstaining from all that He forbids, for fear of Allaah is the gateway to all good while disobedience and sin is the gateway to all evil. Be aware that one’s position with his Lord depends on his faith and conduct and that man’s value before Allaah and His slaves depends on his faith and good deeds; and not on his wealth and strength. Allaah says:

Good deeds are superior to one another in reward, so do commendable characters outweigh in reward and degree in accordance with their general usefulness to their owner and to mankind. Equally, evil deeds and deplorable characters increase their owners in punishment and torment according to their harm. Allaah says,

Truthfulness is a noble character that can only be possessed by people of sound hearts. Allaah enjoins it in His Book when He says,

Truthfulness reveals man’s upbringing, pure mind and good nature while lying reveals man’s filthy mind and bad conduct. Truth saves while lying destroys. Truth is loveable intellectually and naturally. The Prophet enjoined saying the truth when he said,

Allaah promises a great reward for truthfulness in this world and the next. In this world, Allaah provides for the truthful good name and love of Allaah and His creatures. His words will be valued, people will feel safe with him and from his evil deeds and he will do good to himself and others. He will also be saved from evils and calamities that afflict the liars. He will have peace of mind, no fear and worries. Hasan ibn Alee narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allaah saying,

The end of the truthful one is always good in his life as was indicated in the hadeeth of Ka’b ibn Maalik when he was absent from the Battle at Tabook. He said

As for the reward of truthfulness in the hereafter, it is the pleasure of Allaah and high degree in Paradise in which there are pleasures which no eyes have seen, no ears have heard and no heart has thought of. In the Qur’aan Allaah says,

Brother in faith! What is essence of this truthfulness on which Allaah promises the best reward and salvation from torment? Truthfulness means to be sincere in sayings and deeds. It also means conveying the Word of Allaah or that of His Prophet to mankind, to enjoin truthfulness, forbid falsehood and saying what is concordant with reality. Allaah says,

The Prophet said,

Truthfulness in deeds is to worship Allaah with sincere intention, honesty, love and certainty; and to relate with sincerity, compassion and honesty. Allaah says,

Further, the origin of eemaan is truthfulness and belief. We can rightly say then that truthfulness can be in sayings and deeds. Our righteous predecessors used to be the most adhering to truth of all people in their relationship with their Lord and fellow mankind. Ka’ab ibn Maalik said:

Allaah also described the early immigrants to Madeenah with truthfulness when He said,

Brothers in Islaam! Fear Allaah, obey Him and seek nearness to Him with what pleases Him.Fellow Muslims! Truth is a conduct that Allaah and His Messenger love. It is a character whose virtues the reasonable and wise people recognise. The Prophet of mercy called onto it along with his call to the worship of Allaah at the beginning of his mission. Abu Sufyaan narrated that the Heracleus (the Roman Emperor of that time) asked him about the Messenger of Allaah

Allaah says,

Therefore, endeavour to be among the truthful in your speech and deeds for truthfulness is one of the gateways to Paradise. Truthfulness does not bring early death, nor prevent wealth or one’s interest.

From Encouraging truthfulness and warning against lying, by Imâm al-Madîna al-Munawarrah ‘Alî Abd-ur-Rahmân al-Hudhaifî (given on Rajab 11, 1422/ September 28, 2001), as translated and transcribed at http://islaam.net/main/display_article_printview.php?id=410

May Allahu ta’aala make us successful in our attempts to follow the example of our prophet sallahAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who was referred to by his own people (prior to prophethood) as as-saadiq (the truthful) al-ameen (the trustworthy).

waAllahu ta’aala a’alem (and Allah, the Exalted, knows best).

Let us return to the hadîth. He passed by the market place “ and the people were around him.” Here I would like to pause a little in order to remind people about some of the guidance of the Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam that most of the Shaykhs of today have neglected.

The Shaykhs of today walk with their students behind them. This was not the way of the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam. The ahâdîth describing this are many and the following is from them:

Moreover, it is authentically proven that the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam used to say to his Companions radiallâhu ’anhum, when he used to walk with them:

Here he highlights two matters from one saying. People do not see angels, they see only people. Therefore, if anyone saw the Messenger sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam walking, they would only see people walking in front of him. The Prophet sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam said in the authentic hadîth:

His humbleness raised him to a degree whereby the angels walked behind him. Therefore, is a noble person one behind whom people – good or bad – walk; or is he the one who is followed by those described by Allâh in the following verse:

The nobility of the Prophet manifested itself in a visible and an invisible side. The visible side is that the Companions used to walk in front of the Prophet and not behind him. The invisible side is that the angels walked behind him.

Of course, the first phenomenon is the one in which we are ordered not to act proudly with our companions and our brothers in faith, even those who may be less than us in knowledge, morals, worship and righteousness. This is enough for us, because Allâh says:

It is sufficient for us at least, to walk with people side by side. Whosoever intentionally goes against this Sunnah, without doubt, does not truly love the Messenger of Allâh sallallâhu ’alayhi wa sallam. This is because one’s degree of love from him, is based upon following him. This is established in the Qur’ân by the statement of Allâh:

So, if this was the case with the Prophet who was infallible and protected from the whispering of the Shaytân and this was an indication of the level with his Companions, then what can we say about ourselves? We are not infallible and are not protected from the Shaytân. We must adhere to this Sunnah as if it were obligatory. It is better for us to walk with people around us than to walk looking with our eyes at the backs of their shoulders. The statement of the Prophet, at the end of the hadîth: “By Allâh, this world is more insignificant to Allâh than this (goat) is to you all,” is to be reflected upon by people of intellect!

…

 We ask Allâh not to put love of this world in our hearts, but to guide us to earn in this life what helps us to worship and obey Him. And all praise is for Allâh, Lord of the Worlds [Ameen]

Excerpt from ”The Righteous Action,” by Muhammad Nasir ad-Din al-Albani rahimahul-Lah, as posted at http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=421&category=12  The article is long, but worth the read in my opinion, waAllahu ta’aala a’alem.

~ Attributed to Ahmad ibn Harb rahimahul-Lah

“The world is the believer’s prison. The best action in the prison is patience and control of one’s anger. The believer has no country in the world, His land will be there tomorrow in the Afterlife.”

~ Attributed to ‘Abdullah ibn Mubarak rahimahul-Lah

“Renew your hearts with the remembrance of Allah because it rushes into forgetfulness.”

~Attributed to Yahya ibn Mu‘adh rahimahul-Lah

Cited as coming from: “From the Characteristics of the Salaf,” Compiled by Shaykh Ahmad Farîdwith.  Transliteration-related modifications © 1996 Jami’at Ihyaa’ Minhaaj Al-Sunnah.

Part of his compassion towards his community was that he made things easy for them. He disliked doing certain things out of the fear that they would become obligatory for them. He said, “If I had not been compassionate to my community, I would have commanded them to use the siwak every time they did wudu’.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari.)

There is also the tradition about the night prayer and the one forbidding them to fast continuously and the one about his dislike of entering the Ka’ba lest it became incumbent on his community and his desire that his Lord should make his curse against them a mercy to them. When he heard a child weeping, he would shorten the prayer.

An instance of his compassion was that he called on his Lord and made a compact with Him saying, “If ever I curse a man or make an invocation against him, make it zakat for him and mercy, prayer, purification and an act of drawing-near by which he will draw near to you on the Day of Rising.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari and Abu Hurayra)

When his people rejected him, Jibril came to him and said, “Allah has heard what your people say to you and how they reject you. He has ordered the angels of the mountains to obey whatever you tell them to do.” The angel of the mountains called him, greeted him and said, “Send me to do what you wish. If you wish, I will crush them between the two mountains of Makka.” The Prophet said, “Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins those who will worship Allah alone and not associate anything with Him.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari and the Six Books)

Ibn al-Munkadir related that Jibril told the Prophet, “Allah has ordered heaven, earth and mountains to obey you.” He said, “Reprieve my community. Perhaps Allah will turn to them.” (Mursal hadith)

‘A’isha said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was never given a choice between two things but that he chose the easier of the two.”

Ibn Mas’ud said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was careful when he admonished us, fearing he would tire us.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari)

‘A’isha was riding an unruly camel which was recalcitrant and started to hit it repeatedly, The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “You must have compassion.” (Al-Bayhaqi)

No one can achieve complete understanding of Islam until he condemns people for the sake of Allah and then returns home and condemns himself even more.

Quoted from http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/purification/0037.htm

waAllahu ta’aala a’alem.

There is no captive in a worse state than the one who is captivated by his worst enemy and there is no prison which is tighter than the prison of hawa and there is no bond/fetter more strong than the bond of desire.

How, then, will a heart which is captivated, imprisoned and fettered travel unto Allaah and the Home of the Hereafter. How will a person take a single step forward when the heart is bound and harmful things approach it from every direction. The harmful things approach it to the extent that it is tied up [i.e. imprisoned by its desires and whims..].

The example of the heart is like the example of a bird. Every time is ascends it becomes distant from the harmful things and every time it descends the harmful things hurt it. In a hadeeth there occurs that Shaytaan is like a wolf to people. Just as when a sheep has no protector and is in between many wolves, they are quick in causing damage and injury; likewise the servant who does not have guardianship from Allaah, then his wolf [i.e. his desires, whims etc.] is to him a predatory animal.

[Thus] there is no escape for the servant from having protection from Allaah. Taqwaa is a safeguarding for him and a strong shield between himself and the punishment of this world and the Hereafter.

Every time the sheep is close to its shepherd it is more safe from the wolf and every time it becomes distant from its shepherd it is closer to destruction. So its sanctuary is when it is close to its shepherd because the wolf takes the lonely one from the flock and this is the one which is the furthest one of the flock from the shepherd. The basis of all of this is is that every time the heart is distant from Allaah the harmful things are quick in approaching it and every time it is close to Allaah the harmful things become distant from it.

Remoteness from Allaah has levels/degrees, some of which are more severe than others. Heedlesness distances the servant from Allaah and some acts of disobedience are greater than some acts of heedlesness. Some innovations are greater than some acts of disobedience and some things from Hypocrisy and Shirk are greater than all of what has preceded.

From:Captivation and Imprisonment by Sin
Author: Ibn al-Qayyim
Source: Al-Jawab al-Kafi (trans. Abu Iyaad)
Viewable via http://www.salafipublications.com/sps/ (Article ID : TZK020006)

“If sins had an odor then nobody would be able to

sit with me.”

 From The Evil of Craving for Wealth and Status by Imaam ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee rahmat Allah ‘alayh, courtesy of http://www.fatwa-online.com/wordsofwisdom/sins/0010505_5.htm

Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi recorded from Ibn `Abbas that Abu Bakr said, “O Messenger of Allah, verily your hair has turned gray.” The Prophet [sallahAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam] replied,  “Surahs Hud, Al-Waqi`ah, Al-Mursalat, `Amma Yatasa’lun [An-Naba'] and Idhash-Shamsu Kuwwirat [At-Takwir] have turned my hair gray.” In another narration he said, ”Surah Hud and its sisters…”

*********From “An Introduction to the Science of Hadith” by Dr. Suhaib Hasan:

According to Ibn Kathir, if reporters disagree about a particular shaikh, or about some other points in the isnad or the text, in such a way that none of the opinions can be preferred over the others, and thus there is uncertainty about the isnad or text, such a hadith is called mudtarib (shaky).

For example, with regard to idtirab in the isnad, it is reported on the authority of Abu Bakr that he said, “O Messenger of Allah!  I see you getting older?”  He (sallahAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is reported to have replied, “What made me old are Surah Hud and its sister surahs.”  Al-Daraqutni says,

“This is an example of a mudtarib hadith.  It is reported through Abu Ishaq, but as many as ten different opinions are held about this isnad: some report it as mursal [i.e. the link between the Successor and the Prophet sallahAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam is missing], others as muttasil [i.e. uninterrupted chain of reporters]; some take it as musnad of Abu Bakr, others as musnad of Sa’d or ‘Aisha.  Since all these reports are comparable in weight, it is difficult to prefer one above another.  Hence the hadith is termed as mudtarib.

*******************************************************************************************************

This excerpt was posted with the quote from Ibn Kathir’s tafsir because I heard a narration about one particular ayah from surat Hud making the hair of the prophet sallahAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam gray and, when I was searching to find a primary source for the narration, I came across this reference as well.  I thought it was a good lesson to remind myself about the importance of being careful and being patient when it comes to knowledge of Islaam.  SubhaanAllah! If we reflect upon the importance of being careful and patient, it appears that there is yet another blessing/mercy in it, for how quickly can we apply all that we may learn?

And from “Knowledge Mandates Action” (or Iqtidaa-ul-’ilm al-’Amal) by Imaam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin ‘Alee Al-Baghdaadee:

“There was a young boy that would often go to the Mother of the Believers, ‘Aa’ishah (radiyaAllahu ‘anha), and ask her questions, so she would narrate hadeeth to him. One day, he went to her  and asked her some questions, so she said: ‘My dear child! Did you act upon what you heard from me (previously)?’ He said: ‘No, by Allaah, dear mother.’ So she said: ‘My dear child! Then why do you seek to gain more of Allaah’s proofs against us and you?’”

And Allah knows best.