Month: January 2020

Ibrahim ibn Adham’s (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ)  advice against disobedience

This is the true story of famous saint Ibrahim ibn Adham (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ) and a man who wanted to clean his heart of disobedience of Allah swt .

A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), may Allah be pleased with him, and said, “Abu Ishaq, I am unable to control myself. Please give me something to help me with it”

“If you accept five conditions,” said Ibrahim, “and are able to put them into practice, your disobedience will not cause you any problem.”

“Just tell me what they are, Abu Ishaq!” the man said.

“The first is that when you want to disobey Allah you do not eat anything He provides.”

“Then how will I get anything to eat? Everything on the earth is from Him!” “So is it right to eat His provision and disobey Him at the same time?” replied Ibrahim.”No, it is not. What is the second condition?the man asked .”

The Second is  “When you want to disobey him, move off His land.”

“That is even more difficult! Exclaimed the man. “In that case where will I live?””Is it right to eat his provision and live on His land and then to disobey Him?” asked Ibrahim. “No, it is not,”the Man replied .

“What is the third condition?” “When you want to disobey Him in spite of eating His provision and living on His land, find a place where He will not see you and disobey Him there.”

“What do you mean, Ibrahim? He knows everything that happens even in the most hidden places!” “So is it right to disobey Him when you eat His provision and live on His land and when you know that He can see everything you do?” “It certainly is not!” the man replied.

“Tell me the fourth condition.” “That when the Angel of Death arrives to take your soul, you say to him, ‘Give me a reprieve so that I can repent and act righteously for Allah.’”

“But he won’t listen to me!” “Then if you cannot ward off death long enough to give yourself time to repent, and you know that when it comes there will be no reprieve, how can you hope to be saved?”

“What is the fifth?” “That when the angels of the Fire come to you to take you to the Fire, you do not go with them.”

“They will take me whether I like it or not!” exclaimed the man.”So how can you hope to be saved?” “Enough, enough, Ibrahim! I ask Allah’s forgiveness and I turn to Him!” saiid the Man.

The man’s repentance was sincere and from that time on he was assiduous in his worship and avoided acts of disobedience until the day he died

Amazing advice right ? The saint Ibrahim ibn Adham (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ) was amazing too. He was the  king of Balkh, and a whole world was under his command; forty gold swords and forty gold maces were carried before and behind him. One night he was asleep on his royal couch. At midnight the roof of the apartment vibrated, as if someone was walking on the roof.“Who is there?” he shouted. “A friend,” came the reply.“I have lost a camel, and am searching for it on this roof.”. “Fool, do you look for the camel on the roof?”cried Ibrahim. “Heedless one,” answered the voice, “do you seek for God in silken clothes, asleep on a golden couch?” These words filled his heart with terror, he could not sleep any more.

He renounced his throne for a spiritual kingdom and wandered to live a life of complete asceticism, earning his bread in Syria by honest manual toil until his death in c. 165 AH (782 AD). According to Arabic and Persian sources like al-Bukhari and others, Ibrahim ibn Adham (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ) received a warning from God through Khidr who appeared to him twice, and as such, Ibrahim abdicated his throne to take up the ascetic life in Syria. He is described in the Kashf-al-Mahjub, written by Ali Hujwiri (Data Ganj Bakhsh (رحمتہ اللہ علیہ)), as “unique in this path; the chieftain of his contemporaries, and a disciple of al-Khidr.”

 

Urdu Translation: Sayyidna Anas bin Malik RadiyAllahu Anhu farmate hain: “Rasool Akram Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam ne hamare liye Munchen katne, Nakhun tarashne, Baglon ke baal ukhadne aur Zere Naaf balon ki safayi ka (zyadah se zyadah) waqt ye Mutaiyyan farmaya ke ham inhen 40 din se zyadah na Chhoden.”

[Urdu Ref :: Sahih Muslim :: Vol. 1 :: Hadith 599]

Islam is the religion of peace, and it is one of the most sacred and trustworthy religions, which has given us guidance in every aspect of life. Islam has given us education with knowledge which has no limits. The Holy Quran is the most sacred book of Allah revealed on Prophet Muhammad (SAW), for the upliftment guidance and enriched messages to the humanity.

Education is the knowledge of putting one’s potentials to maximum use. Without education, no one can find the proper right path in this world.

This importance of education is basically for two reasons. Education makes man a right thinker. Without education, no one can think properly in an appropriate context you. It tells man how to think and how to make decision. The second reason for the importance of education is that only through the attainment of education, man is enabled to receive information from the external world. It is well said that

“Without education, man is as though in a closed room and with education he finds himself in a room with all its windows open towards outside world.”

This is why Islam attaches such great importance to knowledge and education. When the Quran began to be revealed, the first word of its first verse was ‘Iqra’ that is, read..

The reflective book of Holy Quran is so rich in content and meaning that if the history of human thought continues forever, this book is not likely to be read to its end. Every day it conveys a new message to the humanity. Every morning, it gives us new thoughtful ideas and bound us in the boundaries of ethics.

Islamic Education is one of the best systems of education, which makes an ethical groomed person with all the qualities, which he/she should have as a human being. The Western world has created the wrong image of Islam in the world. They don’t know that our teachings are directly given to us from Allah, who is the creator of this world, through our Prophets.

The Muslims all over the world are thirsty of acquiring quality education. They know their boundaries and never try to cross it. It is the West, which has created a hype that the Muslim are not in a path of getting proper education. They think that our education teaches us fighting, about weapons, etc., which is so false. This is true that there are certain elements, which force an individual to be on the wrong path, because as we will mould a child, they will be like that, but it doesn’t mean that our religion teaches improperly to us.

Our Holy Prophet (SAW), said,

Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.

And:

Seek knowledge even [if it is to be found in a place as distant as China. At the battle of Badr, in which our beloved Holy Prophet (SAW) gained victory over his foes, seventy people of the enemy rank were taken to prison. These prisoners were literate people. In order to benefit from their education the Prophet declared that if one prisoner teaches ten Muslim children how to read and write, this will serve as his ransom and he will be set free. This was the first school in the history of Islam established by the Prophet himself with all its teachers being non-Muslims. The Sunnah of the Prophet shows that education is to be received whatever the risk involved.

Today, the Muslims are acquiring good ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and skills, from all corners of the world. The world is moving very fast, and in this industrialize world, It is the duty of the teachers to give quality ethical integrated education to the Muslim students worldwide, because children are invaluable assets of future generations.

The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) encouraged all Muslims to acquire knowledge and share it. He said:

“Acquire knowledge, for he who acquires it in the way of Allah performs an act of piety; he who speaks of it, praises the Lord; he who seeks it, adores Allah; he who dispenses instruction in it, bestows alms; and he who imparts it to others, performs an act of devotion to Allah.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

All the teachers of either secular or religious education should give more attention to the pupils inside the classroom. It is necessary that in the Islamic system that we should consider these dear children as our own children, and put aside all other considerations, and rise above all such things and realize our duty and our mission. We should raise the standards of education and attend to the needs of these children. We should realize our duties with earnestness and awaken to the sense of responsibility. It has been seen that there are certain teacher who are not fulfilling their duties with keen interest. I would like to request all the teachers that for the sake of God, for the sake of your revolutionary duty, teach the children with devotion and dedication.

It is important that we advance our work through discussions, debates, studies, and through proper distribution of work among ourselves.

We must never forget that we are living in an Islamic State, and our aim should be simultaneously to create both an independent as well as an Islamic culture in character. Independence and richness of content are indeed among the characteristics of the Islamic culture. Our system is an ideological system.

We should make our child enthusiastic, dynamic, and this search should pervade every corner of our society. We should aspire them to be truthful and sincere.

Self-sacrifice and generosity, love of freedom, the resolve for resistance and headstrong perseverance, the courage to welcome martyrdom-all these are the new values of the new generation, which should be taught according to the teaching of Islam.

The doors of the school should always be kept open for the sake of Islam, for the sake of the Muslim Ummah.