Day: December 26, 2024

Section 16 – The integrity of the Prophet, his honesty in contracts and uprightness in maintaining family ties

Al Hamza’s son Abdullah, relates the occasion when he made a sale to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, however, not all of the goods were present at the time of sale so he promised go and fetch it while the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, waited. However Abdullah forgot, and three hours passed before he remembered whereupon he took the goods to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. Rather than being angry and taking him to task, he simply said, “Young man, you were hard on me, I have waited for you for three hours.”

Anas tells us that a gift was given to the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and he said, “Take it to such-and-such a lady’s house, she was a friend of Khadijah and loved her.”

Lady Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, said, “I was never jealous of any lady the way I was jealous of Khadijah when I heard him mention her. When he sacrificed a sheep he would send some to her friends and when her sister asked permission to enter he was happy to see her.” She also said, “A lady came to him and he welcomed her with kindness and inquired about her at length. When she left he said, ‘She used to come to us when Khadijah was with us. Maintaining ties is part of belief.”

A scholar of Islam described the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, saying, “It was his custom to maintain ties with his kinsmen without preferring them over those who were their better.”

Lady Zaynab, may Allah be pleased with her, the Prophet’s daughter, had a daughter named Umamah whom he used to carry on his blessed shoulders. When he prostrated he would put her down, and when he stood up he would pick her up.

When a delegation from the Negus of Abyssinia visited the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, Abu Katada tells us that he got up to serve them. The Companions said, “Let us do it for you.” Whereupon he said, “They were generous and honored our Companions, and it is my wish to do the same for them.”

After the encounter at Hunain, when Shaymah – the daughter of Halima, the foster mother and wet nurse of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, whom he had not seen for many years, was taken captive so she went to him and made herself known. He immediately spread out his cloak for her to sit on and kindly offered choices saying, “If you would like, you can stay with me in honor and compassion, or I will give you supplies and you can return to your tribesmen.” Shaymah chose to accept the supplies and her tribesmen.

We find on another occasion when the Prophet’s foster parents, and brother visited him, Amr son of As Saib said that he would spread out his garment for them to sit on.

After the Archangel Gabriel brought Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, the first Revelation, he was shaken and returned to his wife Lady Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with her. She immediately comforted him and attested to the uprightness of his character saying, “By Allah, be happy. Allah will never cause you to grieve. You preserve the ties of kinship, you help those
in need, you are hospitable to guests, and assist people to receive what is due to them”

Muhammad Siqawia was a saint that was renowned for his miracles. Once some adversaries of the saints spoke against Muhammad Siqawia in the presence of the king. The king in a mocking manner sent 2 containers of alcohol with a servant to the Shaykh. Shaykh took the containers and asked his companion to open them. One of the disciples questioned this act saying by doing this we are showing disrespect condemning our place of worship, as he assumed the containers held alcohol. Shaykh Siqawia replied there is no harm in opening them, open them and check what they hold. The command was carried out revealing one container to hold honey and the other the finest ghee. The messenger became unconscious at this sight, then the Shaykh sent some of this back with him to the king, who then repented for his actions. (Jame’ Karamaatul Auliya)

Ali’s Aphorisms and sayings

Ali the Second Solomon

Ali, a giant of knowledge and wisdom has been called “a Second Solomon”. His witty sayings, which in Muslim countries are still on the lips of the people, dwell on all conditions of life and cover practically all phases of human behaviour. If the wisdom of a nation can rightly be judged by the meaning of its proverbs and aphorisms, then that nation to which Ali belonged must excel all the nations of the world. Great as are the words of Ali, they reveal in even greater degree a personality which was ever in communion with the divine power. Full of ripe wisdom, concise and to the point, they breathe a spirit of selflessness, of devotion to God and regulation of life; they also express eloquently the most profound experiences of human life. They are drawn in general from the precepts of Islam, some of them being ecclesiastical-those wise sentences which have the same force as proverbs and consequently passed into popular usage in a very short time. Some of these, the briefer ones, contain more wisdom than some writers can put into volumes.

Adverse Criticism by Europeans

Some European critics maintain that there is nothing new in these sayings, that some of them had been com-

posed by the ancient philosophers, many by the Hebrew prophets: and that analogous expressions can be found in the folk-lore of many nations. Nevertheless nowhere else do we find a stronger impression of Ali’s originality than in these sentences. They are strongly stamped with the impress of his personality and experience. He has been considered unique because of his breadth and depth of knowledge, prudence, fore-sighted vision and his humane and catholic sympathies. It is Ali’s sufferings that were epitomized in most of his sayings, together with his personal and universal love for humanity, a sympathy which was in no way superficial or sentimental but which was an essential charact- teristic of his personality. Muhammad (may peace be upon him) was the culmination of the Prophetic line: Ali is the testator of his will, invested with the authority to re-awaken his message and lead it to its fulfilment.

Some of the Aphorisms

Several hundred of Ali’s aphorisms have been recorded of which the following two hundred are a fair example, ranging as they do over a variety of subjects.

1. On God

1. Fear God and you will have no cause to fear anyone else.

2. O God! Shower your bounties on one whose principal treasure is hope and whose chief weapons are tears.

3. O Lord! Forgive me those sins as impede my prayers from reaching thee.

4. O Lord! Forgive me those sins as bring down thy wrath.

5. O Lord! Forgive me those sins as mar my fallibility. 6. Resignation to God’s will is the cure of the diseases of the heart.

7. Glorify God even for little blessings.

8. May fear of God check the soul from committing sins and restrain one from transgression.

9. Shedding tears for the fear of God enlightens the heart and fortifies it against the repetition of sins.

10. The word of God is the medicine of the heart. 11. To repose one’s trust in God is the Believer’s castle. 12. Resignation to God makes the greatest affliction. easy.

13. The most detestable person to God is he whose. thoughts are fixed upon his belly and his lust.

14. Pray to God to protect you from the mischievous; your wealth and children are trials for you.

15. If you are grateful to God for blessings, He will increase them but to be ungrateful is to stop His gifts.

16. Do not make provision for tomorrow, for God will provide you with subsistence.

17. Ô God! Strengthen my limbs for Thy service, and harden my wings to reach Thee. 18. He who fears God is safe.

19. A believer always remembers God and is full of thoughts: he is thankful in prosperity and patient in adversity.

20. Fear of God purifieth the heart.

2. World and Life

21. Lead such a life in this world that when you die, people may mourn you and while alive they may long for your company.

22., The days of life pass away like clouds, so do good deeds during these days which are numbered. 23. Love of the world is the source of misery.

24. The world is the shadow of a cloud and the dream of a slumber.

25. Remember that the worldly pleasures shall come to an end but sins shall remain (for ever).

26. This world is a bridge which leads to the next.

27. This world is a shop of misery.

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Literary Achievements

28. Of all the follies the greatest is to love this world. 29. The world is bitter with all its sweetness. 30. Live with your body in this world and with your faith and works for the next. 31. The diligence of the world is idleness, the honour of it vileness, the height of it lowness. 32. The world is worse than the bone of a pig which is in the hands of a leper. 33. Opportunity is swift of flight but slow to return.

3. Women

34. Pride, cowardice and miserliness are bad for men but good for women.

35. A woman’s Jihad (participation in the war of God) consists in pleasing her husband.

36. Woman is a scorpion whose sting is sweet. 37. The most happy is he to whom God had given the wherewithal to be content and a good wife.

38. Remembrance of youth is a sigh.

39. Happy is he who conquers himself.

40. He who knows himself, knows his
Lord.

41. It concerns thee more to flee from thyself than from a lion.

42. Your conscience is precious indeed. Do not sell it for anything but Heaven.

43. The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body.

44. What a pity to have a sickly spirit and a handsome body.

45. To fight against one’s own desires is the greatest of all fights. 46. The strongest from amongst you is he who subdues self.

47. The man who entertains a mean opinion of himself demonstrates the gravity of his understanding and the abundance of his excellence.