Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #057 Attaining the Prophets Intercession The Affairs of Those Characterized Living Faith
AI: Summary ©
The Saba's inter acknowledgements and intercessions of honor and mercy are designed to achieve inter chronic love. The message is that it is for the people who commit to their community's values and that they should not seek their inter acknowledgements. The focus is on finding individuals who are most pleasant to be in a certain state and are not in a position of benefit. The importance of learning to be knowledgeable and constantly striving to understand and retain information is emphasized, along with the need for active repetition and a habit of learning to be knowledgeable to avoid losing it. The importance of community responsibility and positive collective responsibility for knowledge is also emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
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collection of 40 sets of 40 hadith of
the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him,
as well as imams are noogy's guidance for
seekers of knowledge regarding the ways of seeking
knowledge.
Alhamdulillah, we're continuing our look at
40 hadiths
on the virtues of Iban and Islam
by Sheikh
Yousaf
and
and
we have reached hadith number
25.
The the hadith of Abu Huraira
And
this Hadith, of course, tells us about the
degree of the concern
of the Sahaba
for the good.
Right?
Instilled in
them by the prophet
So they didn't just ask
for the good
in its Ijmaal that tell us something of
the good and we'll we'll just do that.
But they asked
about the good in so many different ways
and in so many
aspects of it. Why?
Because the prophet taught them that
Allah, I ask you for the good,
all of it.
I
ask you for the good, all of it.
Right? Not just some parts thereof.
And we know from their practice
is that they
deliberately
sought out
all aspects of the good, right, and upheld
it in the most amazing of ways.
So here,
Oh messenger of Allah, asked Abu Huraira,
who is
the most
successful of people
in attaining
your intercession
on the day of resurrection.
The people of greatest felicity,
right,
who will attain
the greatest of your intercession
on
the day of resurrection.
And this expression itself,
right, tells us that there are degrees of
intercession
that will be granted to to people,
but also tells that it's not just that
you want the intercession of the prophet but
is
success that is accompanied by
joy.
And what's the difference between saadah
and foes,
for example, or
hushul, you know, by
just success or attainment.
Right? Salaadah translates felicity.
Right? It's attaining something
and becoming joyous at it.
And this is also telling us about the
degree of
love
of the Sahaba.
Who will be the people of greatest felicity
in attaining your intercession
on the day of resurrection?
The prophet
said to him said to Abu Huraira,
I had thought to myself that no one
would ask me regarding
this before you do because of what I
have seen
of your avidness
for my words.
For my your avidness for my words.
And this is from the adab of of
a that the prophet taught us,
for a teacher that if someone
asks a pertinent good question,
for example,
to recognize
that when appropriate.
Then the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam responded,
The prophet
said, the people
who have most
felicity
in in attaining onto my
intercession
on the day of resurrection
will be those who say,
There is no God but God
sincerely
from their heart. This is related by Muhammadu
Buhari.
And so we see here
the the asking about virtue.
Because one you know, if you know the
good,
it would be entailed by then you see
strive to maximize the good that you attain.
And if you have the source of knowing
what the greatest good is, then you would
seek it from its source. So the the
Saba went to the messenger to ask him.
It also tells us about the intensity of
love that they had. What are they concerned
about? His intercession because they know his his
place with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And there's a reason why Allah granted intercession
to the greatest intercession
is granted to the prophet
both the Shafa'a
al
kubra, the general intercession,
but also there's many degrees
of interceding of the prophet
intercessions of honor
and intercessions
of mercy.
Right? So the prophet said for example,
It is related. The prophet said, my intercession
is for the people who commit enormities
of my community.
Right? That even they attain
of I mean, of that,
intercession. There's degrees of but others intercede
as well.
Right?
One of the greatest sources of loss for
disbelievers is
that those who rejected faith,
the intercession of those who intercede will not
benefit them.
And it's understood from that
that
there are those that the people of faith
of the things that they are honored with
is
that they are those who intercede for them.
Both there's intercessions of honoring and intercessions
of mercy.
Right?
And we know that
people intercede and certain actions
intercede.
The
Quran comes
as an intercessor for its people.
The infant child
intercedes
for their parents.
The infant child includes both the unborn child
and
the child who died
in his or her infancy.
Many other categories of people,
yeah, of both people and actions intercede
as we know. The
family ties, right, which is intangible thing,
right,
intercedes
for the people who maintain family ties and
also against those who cut family ties.
And, of course, closeness
to prophetic favor is from closeness to Allah.
Right?
For not for the means,
what it is an end to would
would go,
would disappear.
Right?
And
and, of course, what who is the the
person who will be closest
in favor
to the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, whom
the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, will intercede
most for? Right,
and whom Allah will grant that intercession. Intercede
and your intercession will be accepted and ask
and you shall be granted.
Right? And we know the prophet told us
that that's what Allah will say on the
day of resurrection. Right? So why would an
intelligent believer not seek his intercession on the
day of resurrection?
But the messenger
who is
the the the prophet
Muhammad
is the messenger of Allah. Right? That is
the definition of Muhammad.
Right?
Muhammad.
He's the messenger of Allah. What is his
message?
His message is
he is
I am calling to Allah. It is all
about Allah
That's what he has come with.
Pure
So
the greatest
meaning that can be in the heart of
the true follower of the prophet is
purely,
sincerely, truly
in the heart,
which requires perfection.
Right?
Right. Because at
purity
and. Right? That there be no imperfection in
it.
So that and there's degrees of imperfection.
Right?
There's impurity
and that which renders it filthy.
There's that which does not belong in it.
Right.
So there's filth,
there's gross,
there's dilution.
Right. So purity leads to being rid
of qualities not befitting something,
but purity also has to do with the
perfection of the quality
of the thing itself.
Right?
So it is both
a faith
that has been purified
of wrong understandings
and
wrong states
and been purified of heedlessness,
but it's also a faith that has been
nurtured. So it goes from being may mere
faith to being sound faith
to becoming to the degrees of perfectiveness
of faith.
Right? So it's not just say it with
sincerity.
Sincerity
has
degrees
that
degrees unending
And the idea of purity
has an aspect of takhlia,
of removing
imperfection,
but but purity also has
the sense of
tahliyah,
of adornment, of perfecting something.
You don't say this is pure olive oil,
but it's the lowest grade. Right? No. It's
just something pure. It's not
it's it's free of impurity,
but
true purity is that this is the
the perfect this is the perfect potential
of the qualities of of a thing.
Hadith number 26,
said that the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam said,
Ajaban,
how strange
is the matter of the believer
or is the matter meaning the affairs
is all that happens to a
believer.
Truly.
The in is for tawkid.
In the tawkid, truly.
Their affairs,
meaning all that happens to them, all of
it
for them is good.
Right?
So there's many degrees of emphasis. To begin
with, how strange.
Of course, when,
when someone is mentioned
by a descriptive
name,
then that descriptive
quality
is being highlighted. I would say
because you could refer
how strange are the affairs of the believer.
So the manna of the manna of the
wasf
there is
the the meaning of the quality there
is
being pointed out.
Right?
So that's the distinction. Why this sometimes it
refers to the servant?
So for example, in eating,
sometimes refer to to
know so pay attention to what word is
being used to describe something because, think and
take different names.
So here,
the believer. Why? Because the quality that makes
all their affairs for their good is the
quality of faith.
What is it that makes whatever happens for
them to be for their good? It's the
quality of iman.
And then this is why this hadith belongs
here because this is what
iman
when sound does.
How strange are the affairs of the believer
for indeed
their affairs,
all of it
is for them good.
Is for them good.
Even if it may appear
to the contrary.
And that is for no one
but the believer,
And that's for no one but the believer.
And the believer is not someone who said
here is not we're not talking about mere
belief.
So this is not referring to all the
believers.
Right?
As opposed to those who who don't have
the quality of iman. But here, we're talking
about
someone
who is in a state of belief.
Right?
Who is
who is characterized by the qualities that a
believer
should have.
They have
a living faith.
Why? So what is the implication of that?
In
when
If
good things
befall them,
they are grateful.
And if
distressful things befall them,
they are steadfastly
patient.
So it is
all good.
And this is one of those things that
is a test of faith.
A test of it. And, of course, the
term
is for something to come down on someone.
Right?
To befall
as they say. Right?
Right? And it this is used because the
pleasing things, right, the believer
is the one
who
realizes. Right? It's called
that there's
no doer,
there's no actor except
So when the good things happen, they see
the good as
by its reality that it is from God.
So they see they see the good befalls
them.
Right? So they are grateful.
So they don't see that when they when
their spouse gives them the cheesecake,
Right?
They see the cheesecake
as
Right?
It's come down upon it is
It is all from Allah,
But
that state could lead one to negate
the means,
which is why the prophet cautioned
that
whoever
whoever is not thankful to people is not
thankful to Allah. He's not fully thankful to
Allah.
But they say that Syedah Ayesha
experienced
the the the state because when
she was, you know, there's a great divine
wisdom
and one of so many proofs
that
confirm that, you know, the prophet did not
did not choose when to have revelation.
Even his enemies couldn't say that he's just
making it up because
when his wife
was falsely accused,
he left it to Allah, and it was
delayed for
a period of time.
And it was very difficult for the prophet
and even more difficult for say the Aisha.
But he left it to Allah and he
was delayed
that for great wisdom. But when it came,
you know, Sayna Ubaka and his wife
and they say and family went to say
the Aisha. And the prophet said, thank
thank the the messenger
says, she said, I will not thank any
but Allah.
And she thanked him later that that moment
was a moment of beholding only the bestower.
Right? Of beholding only
the bestower.
But we affirm both the absolute we affirm
both the absolute and the relative.
Right?
But one must train oneself to see things
from Allah first.
When
and likewise,
when distressful things befall,
the distressful things, you also see them as
what?
Say it is all from Allah.
K. You're patient. Why? Because you know what's
the purpose of the it's a test and
its purpose is
your response.
To try you. Which of you will be
best in deeds?
Even
expressed this so beautifully said,
Let it diminish
the pain
of your tribulation to know that it is
he who is trying you.
Right? Which is why he also even Atha'Ila
also said in expressing this meaning,
you
know, a realization of faith that
if you see
the bestowing
in the preventing,
then prevention becomes
from bestowing itself.
If
you behold
the giving in the beholding
The prevention
becomes
from
giving itself.
It's all from Allah.
So the preventing is also from his giving.
As Sheikh Mohammed said
in a beautiful poem,
my being distant or being close
is all the same to me.
Because my right guidance my right guidedness in
in is in what you apportion from me.
It's all from you.
And the servant is a servant in all
states.
And this is related by Imam Muslim.
And then
tomorrow, we'll see the see a number of
hadiths
starting with hadith number
27
regarding the the absolute necessity on believing
in what the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam has come with for one whom
the message of Islam
has reached.
So we do believe
in
the transcendent oneness
of true religion, that there is one true
religion,
and there
and
that is what the messenger of Allah
has come with.
On the ways of learning.
Okay.
So
Imam al Zhanuji
is talking about has been in in the
current chapter in how one goes about structuring
one's lessons
and ordering them and advice related to one's
classes.
So
he and he is very fond of poetry,
from the olema.
Taumadin Safar from
who related
Imla'an that he'd written it down from,
Khalil Muhammad as as said
regarding
this aspect of,
striving in in in knowledge. Right? Because he
said knowledge is not attained except through striving.
You have to strive
to retain it.
Right?
Strive to understand
it.
Right? The the virtue of that. Then let
nothing pass by except
that you
understand it. And if you don't understand it,
to ask about it
and to reflect on
and to retain it, etcetera. So he says,
So he says, serve knowledge
with the service
of one seeking benefit.
Why could the prophet say
be avid,
be keen
for all that would benefit you.
And remain constant in studying it
with a praiseworthy
mind
And Al Aql Hamid
is a is one that is characterized by
sincerity.
You're sincere. Why are you learning? You have
a sincere intention.
You are committed to
to truth.
Right? You are trying
to be in a good
state
so that
in in those states that facilitate
sound
and divinely facilitated understanding.
So Al Aqal Hamid
is,
you know, the the the heart
is the vessel
for the intellect.
Right? We're talking about the spiritual heart. Right?
So
a heart
that is
polluted
by sin,
by sinful acts and sinful states
and brain worthy traits and so on
it'll affect
the praiseworthy intellect even if the intellect may
be sharp but will not be sharp in
the right directions.
Okay? So
you you may become
really good
at some particular sciences but not in a
manner that's of benefit
to you or to others.
So it's not
a so he says serve knowledge
with the service of one seeking benefit
and be constant in studying it with a
praiseworthy
mind.
And there's high motives
behind it. Right? Why are you studying this?
Because you want
to benefit
yourself to draw closer to Allah. You want
to assist others in drawing closer to Allah
so that
which is
the people most beloved to Allah are those
of most benefit to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's
servant.
So you want the closeness of Allah, and
this is of the greatest of means
it. Who is more pleasing in speech, meaning
to Allah.
Right?
Then one who calls to Allah
who does righteous deeds and who says I
am of those who
submit. And if you memorize
something,
if you memorize anything,
repeat it
and then confirm it.
Right? Make it firm.
Is to confirm or to make something firm
with the utmost of confirmation.
Right?
Knowledge
Knowledge is what remains,
not what was taken.
And that's why it is called
one of the
it's called because it becomes the alum.
Right? It's imprinted.
Right? It's imprinted.
Right?
Then he
says and this so this is repetition because
even just in when you understand something,
if you don't review it, that understanding may
leave. If you memorize something,
right,
memory
things can leave your memory quite easily
unless it's repeated to the extent
that
it doesn't
leave. And that's why
active repetition is
a habit that one needs to nurture.
That's why the difference between the people whose
is very strong and whose is weak is
the extent to which they they repeat it.
It. So we heard from Sheikh Rayeem Raja
Hafizullah
who used to be the wiz rightfully,
the sheikh in Quran
of of of Syria,
the sheikh of the Quran reciters, and one
of the greatest,
one of the senior most living. He
he said that, you know, he gave advice
of material memorizing Quran, said
Whoever reads, you know, 5 Jews a day
makes it stay.
Right? And said there was a period while
studying when
he'd memorized the Quran that he was doing
a of the Quran daily.
After after memorizing the whole Quran to retain
it.
So,
it
requires effort.
And
it says
And then hang it up so you can
return to it
and to studying it
forever. Right? Hang it up has several senses.
One is hang it up. You mean put
it somewhere where it's easily accessible.
If you just put it put everything away,
you put it away, then you you you've
gotten over it. But the things you've studied
recently,
you should put up such that they're easy
to go back to and review.
Right?
And you always go back to it. So
one of the the scholars in Damascus
and you already had you already graduated, you
already had Ijazah
of the Kharruj, of completion of his phase
of studies from all the senior scholars of
Damascus,
but still he had a routine every 6
months. He would review everything that he'd studied
in the previous 6 months.
Just himself.
He'd have okay. What what what did I
cover?
And once a year, he'd go back and
do, like, a, like, a broad review of
the things that he'd covered. So, okay,
these are the the the texts that I
know in this. So he'd give himself.
Like, there'd be
every 6 months, there'd be a week, maybe
2
off where along with everything else, he'd schedule
in time
for review of what he'd taken. On an
annual basis,
there'd be
a few weeks of a comprehensive
review
because
this is the the discipline of the seeker
of knowledge. So
that anything that you knowledge is is no
one cares what you say you've studied.
I read this. I read this. Great.
Standing ovation. Now let's get on with the
actual business. Right?
Knowledge is only what remains.
Right?
And then he says
and once you are sure,
yeah, what when you're safe that you will
not lose it,
then
direct yourself after that to something new.
Because the point isn't just to keep blur
studying new things because not
it's not this is not the amusement park.
Right?
Some people are amused by new things.
Others
find
their
pleasure in their purpose.
Fools look for amusements.
People of purpose find pleasure in their purpose.
Because if this is worth seeking, then your
fulfillment is in seeking that.
It says,
He said, so only once you've retained something
you're sure that you retained something, move on
to something new,
yet
repeat what you took before
of it
with concern
for this new
the the new thing that you're studying.
K? So even when you move on,
keep going back to what you have studied.
So let's say you're studying
a particular text in Akita,
but before you studied other things,
keep going back to those things.
One, because knowledge is interrelated. So if you're
studying one text in and you've studied other
ones before,
go back to those notes. Want to review
them
just
as a review of what you studied before,
but also connect the different things that you
studied together.
So if you're studying
the relationships of Allah's attributes in one text,
they've come up elsewhere.
So go back to those notes.
And he says,
says review with others
in
the
in
the sciences.
In the
so that it comes to life
and do not be from the people of
intelligence
distant.
Are smart people. You wanna be smart?
Hang out with smart people. We we know
what Abu Hanifa said to Abu Yusuf. Said
you you are dumb.
You aren't smart.
And
my company made you intelligent.
Right? That he it it it
sharpness of mind is acquired.
Right? But review with people
the sciences.
And that's something you attend a class,
take a few minutes, review together. Even at
the end of a class, do a quick
review. Okay. Today, what were the main points?
Okay. So we covered Surat Al Masad.
What what were
the main points? So you do a quick
review so that you retain it.
So review and keep the company of the
intelligent. Who are the intelligent?
The intelligent are those
who
act purposefully.
Okay? And who direct them towards who direct
themselves towards the things of benefit.
So even when they're relaxed, their concerns are
they're not they're not just fools.
And he and he warns, if you conceal
knowledge,
you'll be made to forget it until you'll
only be seen
You will not be seen except as one
ignorant and foolish.
And there's some people the people of knowledge
will disregard you.
Right? If, you know, if you don't retain
because, you know, people of meaning don't really
care, sir. Sheikh Nafulan and Sheikh Nafulan, my
Sheikh, so and so and we did. And
you just keep talking about all that you've
done,
but no one care really cares about that.
What do you know?
The the worth of a person is what
they know well,
what they're good at.
But one of the keys to that, if
you conceal knowledge, meaning
if you don't the purpose of knowledge is
it's an that
you convey it to others as
conveying
entails.
Right? And one of the big mistakes in
our time, people go around starting to teach
and so on, and they even say I'm
a student of so and so.
Did they even give you permission to teach?
Did you consult them about teaching?
Right?
And there's people like if they oh, but
they wouldn't say yes.
And that's, you know, that's
that's
a problematic
state to be in.
Right?
But,
you know, because
a student whose teachers don't approve of them
is like,
you know, is like
a child with with
whose parents don't accept
their their parents. It's a bad situation to
be in.
So so but at the same time, if
you attain knowledge, then you cannot conceal it.
Right? Because if you do, you will forget
it. Now at the level of our community,
the big bigger concern is we have people
of knowledge in our communities
who whom the community is not facilitating
for them to be able to teach. So
they're not teaching.
So that diminishes their capacity to be able
to benefit people, and then communally,
we complain that the people of knowledge are
not addressing the issues of the age.
Right?
But the the the collective responsibility
the positive collective responsibility that we must take
the means for knowledge not to get hidden.
Right? Because no one wants to hide knowledge.
Right? People get busied by dunya because at
the end of the day, one must survive.
And then there's great sin in it.
And then you will be,
granted
be
be tied with a noose with a noose
of fire
on the day of resurrection
and you will burn in intense punishment
because knowledge is a responsibility.
There are those who need it.
Right? And denying people knowledge is worse than
denying people food and drink
for their survival. Right? Because the survival of
souls is dependent on the transmission
of knowledge.
So this is
a beautiful advice that Imam Zalnuji
shares from that he heard from his teachers
from. Imam
Khali
So we are the servants of the sandals
of this horse.
This is,
right?
Right? And consistency of learning,
retaining, and even when you memorize it, keep
going back to it so it becomes
firm,
and keep going back to it.
And when you learn some more, don't forget
what you took took before. Right?
Review with others. So the knowledge comes to
life. And part of review is not just
repeat the lesson, but then you ask, okay,
so what if this happens? What if that
happens? You know, you so it comes to
life.
And seek
out the company of the intelligent.
There's the intellectually
smart, but also the spiritually smart. And all
the characteristic of the great Imams
was
of the outward sciences that they kept the
company of the very learned, but they also
sought out the company of the righteous.
And if you look in the biographies
of
Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Ahmed,
Imam Malik, Imam Shefri, they all surrounded themselves.
They also
sought out the company of the righteous servants
of Allah. And they may not have been
as knowledgeable and so on because they you
get a different benefit from them
than you
get
from
the, you know,
the the from the learned. And there are
those who gather both things,
but there are different classes of people whose
company one keeps to attain
benefit.
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