From Alcoholic to an Outstanding Scholar
Date:
Channel: Moutasem al-Hameedy
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AI Generated Summary ©
The importance of trust in Islam's actions and strong faith in Islam leads to evil behavior. It is also important to have a strong faith in actions of the people around them. The speaker emphasizes the importance of learning hadiths and avoiding evil behavior, and encourages individuals to change their ways and lead positively to change their lives. The importance of avoiding mistakes and mistakes is also emphasized.AI Generated Transcript ©
All praise is due to Allah, we praise
him. We seek His aid and we ask
for His forgiveness.
We seek refuge in Allah from the evils
of ourselves and the evil
consequences of our actions.
Whomsoever
Allah guides none can lead astray and whomsoever
Allah leaves to go astray none can guide.
I testify that there is none worthy of
our worship and devotion but the almighty
Allah
alone.
And I testify that Muhammad sallallahu
alaihi
wa sallam
is his servant and his messenger. O you
who believe,
fear Allah as he should be feared and
die not,
except in a state of submission.
Oh mankind,
be dutiful to your Lord who created you
from a single person,
and from him he created his wife, and
from them both he created many men and
women. And fear Allah through whom you demand
your mutual rights and observe the rights of
your kin. Surely Allah is ever and all
watcher over you, all you who believe.
Keep your duty to Allah. Fear him and
speak the truth. He will direct you to
righteous deeds and will forgive your sins. And
whoever obeys Allah and his messenger has indeed
attained a great achievement.
The best words are the divine words of
Allah,
and the best guidance
is that of prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam. And the worst things in the religion
are the newly invented matters, for all the
newly invented matters in religion
are considered to be heretical innovation
I e bid'ah, and every bid'ah is misguidance.
Time,
it was around
the year 1
80 after Hijra.
Place,
city of Basra
in the south of Iraq.
We're going to talk about
a great man in the history of Islam.
We want to learn some lessons
from that beautiful man, may Allah have mercy
upon him.
Some people described him they said,
Every time he made dua Allah granted him
his dua.
He was described
as Rahibul Islam,
the hermit, the monk of Islam for his
worship,
for his devotion.
The great hadith
critic and authority on the narrators of hadith,
Abu Hatim Al Razi.
Probably the highest authority on the state of
the narrators of hadith.
His judgment is the final.
He says,
and he would ever this Abu Hatta Marazi
would hardly give a narrator
the title
thikka.
Trustworthy,
honest,
fully reliable.
He would use that
very sparingly.
Only with someone who scores a 100%
on his skill.
So he gave that title to a small
number of people.
So he describes
our the man we're talking about today,
He's not only reliable and trustworthy,
he's an absolute trust.
And when he engaged in the hadith or
narrated the hadith, his state would be a
state of kushoor, which is a high level
of taqwa and iman
and fear of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Yaqi Abdul Madini another one of the greatest
scholars of hadith and narration.
He
says,
I don't know anyone who's more trustworthy and
more reliable in hadith than this man we're
talking about today.
This man was the one of the teachers
of an ul Imam al Bukhari.
Al Imam al Bukhari narrates
from him, through him,
a 123
hadith that are in Sahih al Bukhari until
today.
He was also the teacher of Al Imam
Muslim.
Al Imam Muslim in his Sahih narrates from
him 70 hadith, 70 narrations.
Also the great imam Abu Dawood,
the author of one of the collections of
a sunnah, sunani sununu Abi Dawood, was also
one of his students.
A great man
held in high esteem,
and he was There was a consensus about
his righteousness,
his goodness in knowledge
and in worship.
Interestingly,
at the time that we mentioned in Al
Basra,
around 1 year
around the year a 180
after Hijra, around that time, plus or minus,
or maybe just before that,
he was a young man.
And he had he was part of a
gang.
And they were known for
drinking
alcohol
and creating trouble. He was a troublemaker,
and he was so daring
and so bold that he would be one
of the only ones who would drink in
public
as a teenager and as a young man.
And one day he had
he was waiting for his friends, for his,
the rest of his gang to come and
join him where they would go about drinking
alcohol
and creating trouble.
So he's waiting for them,
and he notices something catches his attention.
In the street, he sees a man
seated on his donkey. A simple man
that is surrounded by a huge number of
people.
That puzzled him because
the only one who would have such a
huge number around him
would be an official,
a king, a minister,
someone important,
someone rich maybe. But this man looked
humble and simple and right right and plus
he was riding what a donkey.
So he was not this kind of wealthy
or official person.
So that caught it up his attention and
the the kind of attention that this man
was given by the people around him, they
were holding him in high esteem, respecting him,
that puzzled him. And being this brave and
daring man,
he decides to find out what's going on.
So he approaches the crowd and he asked
them, who's this?
Who's this guy who's riding a donkey, right?
And the donkey you could say this is
like a budget kind of vehicle at the
time. It's just like an old Toyota Corral
Corolla, right? Or an old Honda Civic like
p or an old Dodge Caravan.
So he approaches the crowd and he says
who's this?
They said this is Shur'ba.
One word his name his first name Shur'ba.
This is the great scholar of hadith Shur'ba
Abdul Hijaj.
Who doesn't know Sho'ubah in Al Basra?
Not only in Al Basra,
people all cross
the Muslim world at the time knew who
Sho'ba was, one of the top narrators of
Hadith.
This man doesn't know Sho'ba.
He says then who's Sho'ba?
Obviously he's not part of this circle, he's
not interested in knowledge, he just lives his
own life of mischief and trouble.
So he says who's Shaba? They said, Muhaddith.
This also puzzles him further, like what is
Muhadith? So obviously he doesn't even know the
basic terminology.
Muhadith is a scholar of hadith, a narrator
of hadith, someone who dedicates his life for
the sake of
learning the narrations that came from the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam from the proper scholars,
documenting them,
and then passing them down to future generations.
This was a full time profession
and something that was held in high esteem,
a muhadith.
So he said what's a muhadith? They said,
yarwil hadith.
In narrates the hadith.
So being this bold man still he doesn't
show respect,
and he doesn't really bother about social norms.
Right? So he's defiantly
approaching
Al Imam Shur'ab ibn Hijad. He approaches him
and he holds the harness
of the donkey and he says
Hadithni bi Hadith.
So if you're a narrator of hadith, relate
a hadith to me. Tell me one hadith.
And something about the muhaddithin, about the scholars
of hadith.
You know, they would only teach
someone who deserves
to be taught.
Someone that they trust. Someone they see is
trustworthy, and someone is worthy of carrying the
hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
It wasn't something cheap for them. They like,
they treated the hadith of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam with sanctity.
If you wanted to learn the hadith, then
you should be qualified for that in terms
of your mannerism,
in terms of your dedication,
and in terms of your appreciation and understanding
of the value of this hadith so that
you would act on it, so you would
live by it. But obviously he didn't look
the part.
He said hadithni bi hadith. Suraba was a
very intelligent man. His life is just a
different story, a beautiful example
of what a scholar and an insightful scholar
is. So he looks at this man.
He understands the situation.
So he says to him,
He says to him,
our teacher Mansur
taught us what he learned from his teacher,
rebay,
who heard from the companion Abu Mas'udin al
Badri
that he heard Allah's messenger salallahu alayhi wa
sallam
say this statement.
Part of the old prophethood, the message of
previous revelations that was give to previous prophets
that survived until today
was not changed,
that people caught up with at our times.
It survived until these times. This statement,
if you have no sense of shame
then do whatever you want.
If you don't have this decent character
then nothing stops you from doing the most
despicable things. You can behave as you wish.
That's what they call freedom today. Right? Freedom
to do whatever I want.
That's the immoral freedom.
That means you have no morality, no sense
of decency that holds you back from what's
shameful,
from what's evil,
from what's harmful.
Man sure imam sure. But, he said,
if I have he obviously wanted to deescalate.
He could have said, you know you're not
qualified for this hadith.
You're not qualified for this request.
But he realized that this is a very
daring
young young man who's a troublemaker.
So you know what? Let's de escalate
and maybe
maybe the advice would help him. And SubhanAllah
it was at a time that Allah opened
the heart
of this man called
Abdullah
ibnu Maslama
al Qanabi.
Abdullah
ibnu Maslama.
The word, the advice, the prophetic word
hit him.
It woke him up.
It changed him.
One word, one statement.
Not a full explanation, not so many details,
nothing about the exceptions and what about this
and what about that.
He took the advice to heart.
Allah opened his heart and Allah guides whoever
He wishes
and Allah guides the right people.
Allah's guidance when it's given it. Allah knows
who to give guidance to and who to
withhold guidance from.
According to his knowledge, according to his wisdom,
his justice, and his mercy.
So opens his heart. It wakes him up,
and he apparently thinks about it. He rushes
home to his mother.
And he had
a lot of supply of alcohol, jars of
of alcohol at home.
And because he decided to change his ways
at that time,
he his heart woke up.
He decided to change and not to look
back again ever.
So he wants to sever all of the
connections, cut off all of the connections to
his evil past.
Leave no possibility that hid his past would
chase him or get hold of him or
come back to him. So he wanted to
cut off everything about his evil past.
So he destroys all of the alcohol jars
that he has at home,
and he was waiting for his friends to
come and join him. So he says to
his mother, when my friends come tell them
what I did that I got rid of
all the alcohol and I don't want to
see them anymore.
So they would lose hope. They would give
up on me. They would realize, okay,
yes.
He changed.
And that takes courage
because a lot of us want to change.
A lot of us wanna improve.
A lot of us wanna give give up
on the sins that we are guilty of,
that we are stuck with,
But you know what? It's peer pressure that
is holding us. What are they gonna say
about me? Are they gonna say I'm a
coward?
I'm a cop out?
I'm a snitch?
I don't have loyalty.
I betrayed them. I stabbed them in the
back.
That happens
but you know what he decided I don't
care what you think.
I don't care what names you give me.
I don't care about your opinions. It's time
that I choose Allah and never look back
again.
And that's what he did.
So he asks,
Who's the most knowledgeable person on this earth?
I want to learn, I want to change
my ways. So imagine he breaks the alcohol,
the jars of alcohol
and he decides to look for the best
teacher in this world.
So he decided
decisively
to change his ways and start to take
practical steps.
He didn't say tomorrow,
He didn't say next month,
He didn't say when I finish my supply
I'll change my ways.
If Allah opens your heart to guidance never
delay it. Seize the moment.
So they tell him, Al Imam Malik. He's
in Al Basra. Imam Malik is in Madinah.
He travels to Madinah.
He spends 30 years with Al Imam Malik.
He becomes one of the best of his
students.
Imam Malik has the book Al Muwatta, the
collection of hadith, and it has different it
was narrated through different,
you know,
through his students, some of his prominent students.
The best some of the critics of hadith,
they say the best version
we have of Muwatta al Imam Malik is
the one that is narrated by Abdullah ibn
Muslim Al Qanabi.
Al Khurayibi one of the scholars of hadith
he says
Al Qa'anabi studied with Ma'lik and
with me. In my opinion he's better than
Imam Malik.
And he became a great scholar of hadith.
He would teach in Mecca,
in Madinah,
and in
Basra.
And he was known for his righteousness.
Now he decided to make that change. Allah
Subhanu wa Ta'ala opened his heart
and that's not a gift that is special
to
Abdullah no Muslim Al Qanabi
But Allah opens all of our hearts.
But
some people
seize the moment,
utilize the opportunity,
while others say, you know what, let me
just do this thing for the last for
the last time,
one more time,
or maybe one more day,
one more week,
one more month, or maybe next year.
What are my friends gonna say about me?
What do you think people are gonna say
about me?
And things like that.
But when Allah opens the way for positive
change in your life, seize it.
Don't let it go, that's a golden opportunity
And all of us
are the type of person that sins.
All humans are in error. All of us
have our flaws, our mistakes, our weaknesses,
our sins that we are stuck with. We
need to change.
We need to change before it's too late.
And people can change their way. Look at
this man from one of the most wicked
young men in Al Basrah, troublemakers,
an alcoholic,
a drunkard,
to someone who is at the pinnacle of
Muslim scholarship and contribution.
If He could make that change that means
every human being has the capacity to make
that kind of change.
Don't let your sins bog you down.
Don't let them hold you back from Allah,
from change. Don't ever give up. It's not
about how good you are. It's not about
how intelligent you are, or how strong you
are, or how brave you are. It's about
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Allah is the one who changes the heart.
Allah is the one who fixes the heart.
Just prove to be sincere.
And ask Allah from the bottom of your
heart to help you fix your ways, to
grant you tawbah,
to open your heart to this positive change
and we can change.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gave us this month
of Ramadan and it was gone.
Some people have utilized it,
some people have not, some people missed out
on it. It's not the end.
Allah says,
Oh my servants who have transgressed.
My servants
who have gone too far
in transgressing the limits
and wronging themselves.
Never give up on the mercy of Allah.
Don't lose hope in Allah.
Allah forgives all sins. He's the most merciful.
He's the forgiving.
He's the one who pardons.
That's Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And don't ever fall for the trap of
Shaytan that tells you tomorrow.
Tomorrow
tomorrow might never come, And maybe you would
live to witness tomorrow but maybe your heart
has lost that state
that is open
to change.
Who guarantees?
Who guarantees?
So when Allah opens an opportunity don't miss
it out. Ramadan was an opportunity.
And if you have not done well in
Ramadan that doesn't mean you have to wait
for next Ramadan.
The time to change is now,
the time to start fixing your ways is
now
that's the only way to go forward.
Is it gonna be hard? Yes, because it
takes courage.
Is it gonna be challenging? Yes. Because you
have built bad habits and you will have
to change them.
You will have to start working on them.
People think when I start practicing, I just
become an angel.
No. You've done so much damage to yourself,
and now you're on a journey to undo
all of this damage. Change these habits, and
build something new, rewire yourself,
and that's what Allah reward you for.
It takes courage, it takes strength,
it takes resolution,
someone with a strong will to choose Allah
and say no, and say I'm not looking
back at my past.
And not giving in to people's doubts and
people's words and people's opinions.
Change for the sake of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
Cut off every connection
that still ties you up to your past
evil.
As we know the prophet salallahu alaihi wa
sallam told us about the man who killed
99
people. Talk about serial killers.
What's the maximum number or what's the record
a serial serial killer has?
16, 20, 25, 30?
This man killed 99
people.
What do you think of a man who
killed 99 people? What kind of heart does
he have?
Yet Allah opened his heart
and he wants to repent and because the
man said, you know you're too evil there's
no way there's Tawba for you.
He killed him, 100.
But he turns to a man who has
the knowledge.
Someone who knows Allah.
So he tells him who holds you back
from Tuuba? But you know what?
You are around a bad company,
bad influence. You need to cut off
that connection.
So you can change, so you can free
yourself.
So travel to that city. There are good
people out there. You can have a fresh
start. You can have good companions.
The environment is important.
And that's If you notice, that's what Abdullah
ibn Maslaba Al Khanabi did. Although Basra was
a city of scholars, but you know what?
His past would still chase him. His old
companions will still be around.
So he wants to cut off the relationship
with them. So he decided to make the
move to Makkah.
Now the history of the Muslim Ummah and
the world around us even today,
there are people who change their ways
so bravely
and they made a drastic change in their
life and they chose Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Why? Because the mercy of Allah is not
limited to a specific generation
or specific type of people
as long as you are sincere.
And part of the sincerity
is to
take any opportunity that Allah offers you and
act on it and never look back. Take
the decisive measures to change your ways.
And it starts sometimes with reflection.
With reflection because with Abdullah ibn Maslaban Al
Qarnabi, it was a statement from the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wa sallam that got him to
think and ponder
and opened his heart up.
So it's time for us,
time for us to open our hearts and
to start contemplating
our lives.
Where am I going? What am I doing?
What am I guilty of?
Today, make it today. Make a decision today
that I'm gonna pick one of my mistakes,
one of my flaws, one of my crimes
that I know are poisoning my heart, and
I'm gonna change it, I'm gonna start changing
it today. I'll take the necessary measures.
Figure it out. All of us have our
private sins.
There are people who watch evil things, bad
things that are haram. Decide today that I'm
not gonna do it,
And take all the measures that lead to
it,
like being with your device alone,
or looking at things that might lead you
to look at things that are worse,
or not making good use of your time,
or maybe hanging with the wrong people
who are a bad influence
or maybe I'm a young man or a
young woman and I don't
treat my parents well. I disrespect
them.
Maybe I should change my ways today.
Even if I don't like what they say
or I don't like their lifestyle,
they are my parents, and it's an obligation
on me to treat them well,
to respect them. They are the gate to
paradise.
And there are husbands who mistreat
their spouses, their wives, or their children. It's
time maybe to change now.
And there are wives
who don't treat their husbands fairly, and they
take advantage of certain situations,
or they don't give their children their rights,
Maybe it's time to change today.
Or if you have been dealing with haram,
you've been consuming maybe haram substances,
or maybe you have a source of income
that is doubtful or that is haram, or
I'm engaged in something that displeases Allah financially.
Maybe it's time now that I really make
a decisive
moment in my life where I say never
again I'm gonna start taking the steps today
to change that and never go back.
Or maybe you have a click of friends
that are a bad influence, so maybe it's
time to leave them.
And, yes, Shaypa will come and say, you
know you want guidance for yourself and you
leave these poor people misguided maybe you should
guide them. That's shaitan.
That's shaitan.
Cut off the relationships that take you to
the hellfire.
Start building yourself
maybe sometime in the future, maybe Allah will
make you influential and Allah will guide some
of those through you. Or maybe they would
start you would get them to think why
did he leave
us? Why did he change his ways? And
maybe Allah will guide some of them through
you. So figure out a mistake today that
you have in your life that you can
assist you are consistently guilty of
and bravely decide for the sake of Allah
I'm gonna change today.
One thing, start with one thing,
don't make it overwhelming.
Take one thing,
one baby step today
and try to put a plan and be
decisive
and ask Allah for help.
you are sincere.
you are sincere.