Day: December 25, 2024

Section 14 – The goodness of the Prophet’s companionship, his manners and nature.

One finds multiple reports of the good companionship of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, his excellent manners and cheerfulness to all peoples. Ali described him as being the most generous and truthful of people as well as being the most lenient.

The Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, went to visit the family of Kays, who was the son of Saad. When it was time for him to leave the father of Saad brought him a donkey with a saddle-cloth whereupon the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him mounted. Then the father of Saad said to Kays, “Accompany the Messenger of Allah.” So the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, invited Kays to ride with him saying “Ride in front of me, the owner is more entitled to be in front.” With respect, Kays politely declined and the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, departed.

It was customary for the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, to draw people to him, he never drove them away. When people embraced Islam he honored their hierarchy by letting them retain their previous position over their fellow tribesmen. Although he was always cheerful and well mannered with people he was cautious and careful.

He paid particular attention to his Companions and spared time for them and whosoever of them was in his company thought that none had been more honored than he.

Whenever someone either came to him, sat down with him or asked for

something he was always patient, and was never the first to take his leave of their company. His nature was to give those who asked or say a kind word to them. He was like a father to them and his fine nature embraced all.

Abi Hala’s son described him as always cheerful with an easy disposition. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was gentle rather than off-handed. He was never rude nor did he raise his voice. He was neither obscene nor did he find fault, and he did not over compliment. He left food that he did not want and never complained about it.

Allah says, “It was by that Mercy of Allah that you dealt so leniently with them. Had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would have surely deserted you.” 3:159 and, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel with that which is most just and see, the one whom there is enmity between you will be as if he were a loyal

guide.” 41:34

The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, never refused and invitation and accepted a gift even it if was as little as a sheep’s foot, and he would in return reward its giver with more and supplicate for him.

Anas served the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, for ten years and during that time he never said “Huh” to him nor did he ask, “Why did you do it?” or, “Why didn’t you do it?”

Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, spoke of the Prophet’s character saying, “No one had a better character than the Messenger of Allah. Whenever a Companion or a member of his household called him, he replied, ‘Indeed, with pleasure.””

Jabir Abdullah’s son said of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, “Ever since I became a Muslim, the Messenger of Allah never distanced himself from me and whenever he saw me he would smile.”

The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, would mix and joke with his Companions and play with their children. He allowed them to enter and sit in his room and accepted the invitation of a free person, those in servitude and the very poor. He would visit the sick even those on the outskirts of the City and accept the excuse of anyone who offered an excuse.

Whenever someone spoke in the ear of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, he would never move his head away until the person moved his, and when anyone shook his hand, he was never the first to let go. He never placed his feet
in the face of anyone thereby complying with the etiquette of the desert Arabs. When he met someone he was always the first to greet them, likewise he shook the hands of his Companions first. He never stretched his legs so that his Companions felt cramped. Whenever someone visited him the visitor was treated with honor. Many were the times he would spread out his robe or offer the cushion he was sitting on to someone, and, if the person declined, he would insist upon his visitor to accept the invitation. It was his nature to prefer the needs of others to that of his own. To his Companions he gave endearing names, and honored them by calling them by the best of their names. As for his conversation he never cut a person short, and it was only when that person had finished speaking that he would get up. It has been reported that if someone should happen to come to him while he was praying a voluntary prayer – in which his habit was to enlong the recitation of the Koran – he would shorten his recitation and inquire as to their need, thereafter he would return to his prayer.

He smiled a lot and was very cheerful, except when verses of the Koran were being revealed, or when he was warning, or giving a sermon.

Anas tells us that the water bearers of Medina, seeking blessings, would bring their water containers to the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon
him,
in the morning and he would dip his hand in the containers even when the weather was cold.

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Rislaan Misri

Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Rislaan Misri Abu Abdur Rahman would sell a shirt in exchange for a Dirham. If his customers gave him a real Dirham in exchange for the shirt the neck would be open, however if they attempted to trick him with a fake one they would find the neck closed. Then they would come back to Abdur Rahman pay another Dirham and in return he would rectify the shirt.

(Jame’ Karamaatul Auliya)

Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibrahim Abu Abdullah al Qurashi Hashmi

Shairani states that one of his miracles was that he would take a pact from his companions that they only cook one dish in their homes and refrain from having a variety so that then there would be no difference between them.

Coincidentally one day one of Hadhrat’s mureeds asked his wife what she would like so that he could bring it home and she could cook it. His wife deferred the decision to her daughter and asked him to ask her preference. So the mureed approached his daughter and asked her,

“what do you desire today?” she replied, “You will not be able to give me what I yearn for”. Her father assured her he would be able to grant her request even if it was at the price of 1000 dinars. She spoke “I would like you to marry me to Qurashi”.

The saint Qurashi had become blind and suffered from leprosy, generally women were not attracted to this type of man. In obeying her request her father then set forth towards Qurashi and informed him of the situation. Qurashi asked for the Qadhi to be summoned. The Qadhi came and the marriage was officiated.

The young girl was adorned and left in the company of the Shaykh. When everybody had left the Shaykh retired to the washrooms but when he emerged his appearance was changed. A beautiful, young, finely dressed man stood before the girl. She hastily covered her face assuming him to be an (outsider) somebody else. On seeing her reaction Shaykh reassured her that it was him Qurashi that stood before her. She asked again, and again he gave her his word. She then questioned, “What is this state?” He explained to her that he would live with her in this form so that she wouldn’t experience any trouble or grief. “My original form will remain for the rest of the people, but you must not disclose any of this till
the day I die” .She promised him she wouldn’t tell anybody “but I prefer and like the original form of you, that you have adopted for the people. To this Qurashi praised “May Allah reward you with good”, thus she continued living with him as he was.
Munadi has also stated that at prayer times Qurashi would be cured of his illness.

Maybe the wisdom in this was that he did not perturb or trouble any of the members of the congregation.

(Jame’ Karamaatul Auliya)

Ali an Encyclopaedia of Learning

Ali was a living encyclopaedia of learning, about whom the Holy Prophet said, “If I am the city of Knowledge verily Ali is the gate of it.” According to the Shi’ite legends he was the first “Imam” of Islam. Possessed of a prodigious memory he had learned the whole of the Qura’an by heart, to become the acknowledged authority on it. He also exhibited talents in all other fields of literature, including Arabic philology and poetry. In the storehouse of his brain was a vast stock of stories, limericks and riddles. Few have been endowed with talents such as his. Those sermons and writings which have come down to us show him to have been unique in his mastery of Arabic rhetoric and eloquence. They are rich in imagery and forceful in expression, the rhythm and power of his words flowing like a torrent from a high mountain to the valley below. Similes and metaphor pour forth to be resolved at last in the slow-moving clarity of the logical and systematic conclusions to which he always brought his arguments.

Ali’s Collected Works

Ali’s works have been collected into a vast compendium called the Najh-tu’l-Bulagha, an anthology of his sermons, letters, utterances on all sorts of occasions, exhortations, complaints, advice, judgments on penal, civil and commercial law, proposed solutions of fiscal

Literary Achievements

and economic problems, and what might today be called psychological discussions. There was no topic on which Ali could not express himself and his letters to contemporary rulers and his addresses on “Jihad” have become imperishable classics.

In its import and sanctity the work is regarded by the Shias as second only to the Qur’an and the “Sunna” of the Holy Prophet.

Ali’s Literary Style

Ali developed a highly individual style, discarding the high flown and elaborate forms which had hitherto been a convention of Arabic literature in favour of the flexibility and vigour of everyday speech. He spoke, and wrote, in the language current amongst the masses; he also delighted in coining a new word or phrase, often with great wit and humour. More than any other religious teacher or preacher, he possessed the common touch, the power to stir the human heart.

Authenticity of the Contents of the Najh-tu’l- Bulagha

This anthology of Ali’s works which epitomises the divine knowledge which Ali received from his Master, is greatly venerated by the Arabs who consider every word of it worthy to be weighed in gold. The work contains, (1) Ali’s discourses, speeches and addresses. (2) The letters which he wrote to his contemporaries, (3) Ali’s aphorisms and witty maxims, (4) Ali’s mystic sermons in which he so elaborately explained the doctrines of “Tauheed” (monotheism) and
other tenets of Islam.

These addresses, letters and pithy sayings were collected and edited by Sharif Rudi in the tenth century A.D. This work recalls a long-drawn controversy which still lingers between two major sects of Islam-the Shias and the Sunnis. The former maintain that the entire

ideals. work is of Ali-that super-man genius who, as wisdom personified, had illumined humanity by those sermons in which he made clear as crystal the Islamic code of Ethics and which portrayed Islamic virtues and Islamic In the eyes of the Sunnis, Ali was not the author of the entire Najh-tu’l-Bulagha. One of the first Sunni writers to challenge the authenticity of this work was Ibn Khallikan since which time a number of Sunni critics have questioned the validity of this work, maintaining that several of the addresses are nothing short of forgeries, especially fabricated by the Shias in order to legalise their doctrinal differences and not from the We need not enter here into the con- pen of Ali at all. troversy. Suffice it to say that it is generally presumed that by far the major portion of this work is from the pen or mouth of Ali. The book itself gives a most valuable and vivid picture of Arab life during Ali’s reign. that, during his lifetime, Ali deliv-

Masudi records ered some 500 addresses which the people learned by heart, passing them on from one generation to another by word or mouth until they were collected by Sharif Rudi towards the end of the tenth century A.D. Rudi was himself considered a literary genius, by his contemporaries and the publication of this work gave rise to a number of contemporary commentaries by scholars, copies of more than three dozen of which still exist.

The Addresses and Sermons

Ali’s sermons and addresses dwelt at length on human tragedy and display a fierce hatred of injustice, hypocrisy and the lust for self-aggrandizement. Many of the utterances border on pessimism, which may well be accounted for by the failure of his own political life. In his sermons Ali has tried to show the worthlessness of vice and folly and to lay bare the blessings of virtue. Herein lay the seeds of “Sufism” because of the esoteric element which creeps into his solution of the human enigma.

Literary Achievements

The most celebrated piece of Ali’s work has still to be deciphered. It is called “Jafr wa Jame” and is written in characters to which no one as yet has managed to find a key. The Shia legends say that the parchment is a record of all the big events that are to happen on earth from the advent of Islam to the end of the world. The Shi’ite Imam, Jafar as-Sadiq, is said to have deciphered parts of it while Mehdi, the twelfth Imam of the Shi’ites is said to have deciphered the whole, but, as he disappeared leaving no records, the contents still remain a mystery. It is believed that the Imam will re-appear just before the end of the world.

The brilliance of the remaining sermons and addresses, which have been preserved in intelligible language, provide a thrilling literary experience for all who read them. Irrespective of the march of time they still have the power to captivate the heart and elevate the spirit.

Quotations from some of the Sermons and Addresses

When the people of Busra sided with Ayesha and fought the battle of Camel against Ali, the latter is said to have censured them in a public sermon thus:

“O ye people of Busra! Your country is near the water but far away from the sky. You lack intelligence and wisdom. Your wisdom has been replaced by folly. That is why you have become the target of every archer, a delicious morsel for the hungry and a victim for every hunter.”

(Sermon No. 18. Najh-tu’l-Bulagha) While exhorting his people to remain steadfast and loyal to him, Ali addressed them thus:-

■ The Importance of Gaining Knowledge Before Pursuing Sufism:

If someone desires to learn about Sufism, the first thing they must do is gain knowledge of Shariyah. Sufism is not separate from religious knowledge; it is a part of it. However, Sufism is not always formally taught in the traditional curriculum, like our Dars-e-Nizami system. Sometimes, people are advised to read specific books, but they don’t study them systematically. In the past, Dars-e-Nizami took around 15 to 16 years to complete, but nowadays, it may take only 6 years, or even less in some places. Sometimes, a certificate is awarded without thorough study, and this has caused people to lose interest.

Some people may study privately, reading religious books on their own, and by doing so, they acquire significant knowledge. Similarly, reading the books of Sufism is crucial; without it, one remains incomplete. This is my personal experience, whether one is a scholar or a Mufti, if they haven’t studied Sufi texts, there will be a noticeable difference in their understanding compared to someone who has.

Books like Minhaj al-Abidin (The Way of the Worshipper) and Ihya Ulum al-Din by Imam Ghazali are important. These books were originally written in Persian and later translated into Arabic. Unfortunately, today’s generation may not feel the urge to read such books in their entirety, but in the past, people had an immense passion for reading. Back then, they didn’t have the conveniences we have today, like computers and word processing, but their zeal for learning was unmatched.

Today, distractions like social media and harmful images are weakening our ability to focus and remember. Poor memory can also result from imbalances like excessive phlegm, which is often caused by consuming sour foods. In some cultures, sour dishes are commonly used, and people consume them without realizing the effects they can have on memory. Phlegm weakens memory, and this leads to illnesses like colds and coughs, making it harder for people to concentrate.

Therefore, studying Sufism and the essential texts like Minhaj al-Abidin and others by Imam Ghazali is crucial. If you haven’t read them yet, I highly recommend that you start, even with the shorter versions or summaries. If you don’t know where to begin or what the books are, take the time to search for them.

May Allah ﷻ bless us with the strength to pursue knowledge and understand the way of our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

● FJ 24.12.24