Revenge

The great man that is Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal. Tortured unjustly for years by 3 successive rulers for the beliefs he held, when he was eventually released, he was offered the opportunity for revenge and refused.

The Night of Power

It is well known that no one knows for certain when Laylat Al-Qadr (the night of power) falls. The prophet ﷺ had once come to inform us about its precise timing, but when he saw two Muslims quarrelling, the knowledge was withheld from us. عَنْ عُبَادَةَ بْنِ الصَّامِتِ، قَالَ خَرَجَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لِيُخْبِرَنَا بِلَيْلَةِ…

If my Lord asks me…

A man once came to Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and asked him; “O Imam, what is your opinion on poetry?” He replied; “Which poetry is this?” to which the man responded by reciting the following couplets: إذا ما قال لي ربي اما استحييت تعصيني If my Lord asks me, “Have you (any) shyness in disobeying…

Sincerity’s test

Upon completing his masterpiece, he placed it in a bottle and threw it into the sea “Lord, if this was written purely for your sake, let the people benefit from it” Today it is one of the most studied books in Islamic History: Al-Ajrumiyah by Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Dau’d as-Sinhaji, known as Ibn Ajrum…

Aspiration

“The aspirant needs four things: 1) A luxurious mount, 2) An expansive house, 3) A fine garment, and 4) A radiant lamp. The luxurious mount is patience; the expansive house, intelligence; the fine garment, modesty and piety; and the radiant lamp, knowledge that benefits. My counsel to you is to uphold oaths, allegiances and promises. Guard the…

Names

“He who desires to see a martyr walking on the ground, let him look at Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh.” [Mishkat 2/566; Ibn Hisham 2/86] Growing up, I was told stories about the greatness of this companion, Talha ibn Ubaid Allah. His wealth, generosity, chivalry and courage are just some of the things which stand out from…

Finding Truth

“Do not look for truth through people. Find the truth then find its people” لا تعرف الحق بالرجال. اعرف الحق تعرف أهله — Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) [via sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoobi: Commentary on Book of Knowledge; Ihya Uloom Al-deen by Imam Ghazali] .

In praise of the Prophet ﷺ

When I saw his light shining forth, In fear I covered my eyes with my palms, Afraid for my sight because of the beauty of his form. So I was scarcely able to look at him at all. The lights from his light are drowned in his light and his faces shines out like the…

Reflection

Different states have different outcomes.       This accounts for the variety of types of action (9) Withdraw the heart into the arena of reflection – nothing helps the heart more than that! (12) [Al-Hikam of Ibn Ata’ Illah As-Sakandari]

Treasure Chest

I recently stumbled upon the following website: http://bewley.virtualave.net/ . Its a collection of all the translations Sr Aisha Bewley has done on a number of the classical texts (including Ibn Ata’ Illah’s Hikam with commentary by Ibn Ajiba http://bewley.virtualave.net/hikam.html) . There are some incredible works here masha’allah including brilliant translations to the hadith collections – such…