Yahya Rhodus – The Rawha- Hikma 115
AI: Summary ©
The transcript discusses the meaning of discerning in Arabic language and the spiritual path of Islam, including the physical world and the importance of worship. The importance of finding intimacy in the situation of the physical world and finding one's identity is emphasized. The holy Bible's characteristics are discussed, including the holy Bible's personality, beauty, and beauty of hearts. The importance of seeing things clearly and correctly is emphasized, and the holy Bible's personality and beauty are discussed.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most
Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of
the worlds.
And the best of prayers and complete submission
is to our Master and Master Muhammad and
all his family and companions.
Exalted are You, there is no knowledge for
us except what You have taught us.
You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
And there is no power or strength except
with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.
We have reached the 115th blessed hikmah, the
115th blessed aphorism from the collection of hikmah,
aphorisms by the great imam Ibn al-Ta
'ila al-Sikandari, رضي الله تعالى عنه ونفعنا
بعلومه بالدارين.
Ameen.
We hope that we benefit immensely from this
blessed knowledge that is placed in this blessed
book.
And may our hearts be receptacles for it.
And continue to benefit from it in this
world and then eternally in the hereafter.
يَا أَرْحَمَ الْرَّحِمِينَ So this aphorism states, إِنَّمَا
يَسْتَوْحِشُ الْعِبَادُ وَالزُّهَادُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ لِغَيِّبَتِهِمْ عَنِ
اللَّهِ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَلَوْ شَهِدُوهُ فِي كُلِّ
شَيْءٍ لَمْ يَسْتَوْحِشُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ So this can
translate, The worshippers and ascetics only have an
aversion towards or only turn away from all
things because of their lack of witnessing Allah
manifest in everything.
For had they witnessed Him manifest in everything
they would not have an aversion towards or
they would not turn away from anything.
So this is essentially about how the knowers
of Allah see creation and how when someone
attains ma'rifah of Allah, knowledge of Him,
they might differ from even other righteous and
pious people like worshippers and ascetics.
And again, when we study aphorisms like this
we want to state that no claims are
being made.
Our teachers had asked us to teach us
so we're teaching in hopes that we can
attain something of its realities.
When you speak about these great people and
what it is that they experience, sometimes you
veil yourself by speaking about it because sometimes
you think that just by virtue of speaking
of them you have something of its reality.
We might be bereft of it completely but
we love these people.
And insha'Allah we want to learn how
to speak their language and hopefully that Allah
bless them with from us coming together to
try and attempting to be like them that
we will get glimpses and something of what
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave them.
So as we normally do, let's do a
linguistic breakdown of this blessed aphorism.
So when we see the word innama here,
it's adat al hasr, it's restricting the meaning.
This is where the only comes from.
And then we have this word yastowhishu.
Yastowhasha, yastowhishu means lam ya'nas minhu.
So you feel alienated from something, you feel
an inversion towards something, or you could even
say that you flee from something or turn
away from something.
And so when you think about it in
terms of people, if there's uns between you
and a close friend, you have a very
close good relationship.
If there's wahsha, the hearts are at odds
with each other.
So we think about this in relationship.
When you're close to someone, your hearts are
on the same page, you love being around
them, you want to be in their presence.
But when you're not in tune with them,
you feel an aversion towards them, distance from
them, and so forth.
So here the yastowhishu is the fa or
the doer of this verb.
The abad and the zuhad.
So the abad is the plural of abid,
and these are the worshipers, those who are
turning to Allah by doing righteous deeds of
different sorts, dedicating themselves to different types of
worship, oftentimes very rigorous forms.
And then you have the zuhad.
These are the ascetics.
These are the people, the plural of zuhad
is the plural of zahid.
These are the people that have turned to
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la on
drawing near to Him by fleeing from this
world, and by relying upon their Lord solely,
not the things of this world.
So innama yastowhishu al-abad wa al-zahad.
The worshipers and ascetics only have an aversion
towards min kulli shay.
Min kulli shay, all things.
Why?
Li ghaybatihim.
Because of their ghayba anila fi kulli shay.
And ghayba literally is absence.
So here this is probably better translated, and
there's something that I have in brackets here.
Li ghaybatihim anila fi kulli shay.
Fi kulli shay, in everything.
And so what the commentators say here is,
li ghaybatihim anila, it means, because of their
lack of witnessing Allah manifest in everything.
So their ghayba anila, it's the fact that
they're distant from Allah.
They're not present with Allah.
They're unaware of the reality of creation, that
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is manifesting Himself
to people in what is transpiring in this
world.
So then He goes on to say, falaw
shahiduhu, or had they witnessed Him.
And here the meaning of witnessing in Arabic
is shahood, divine witnessing.
Or had they witnessed Him manifest in everything,
falaw shahiduhu fi kulli shay, literally if they
had witnessed Him in everything.
Now of course, there are certain things that
are understood here.
That Allah ta'ala does not indwell in
His creation.
Allah is not in His creation.
So this is language that is pointing to
a meaning, but of course we understand in
aqidah, we do not believe that Allah ta
'ala is a part of His creation.
Hashaahu subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He is on the contrary, transcendent and absolutely
different from His creation, tabarak wa ta'ala.
So falaw shahiduhu, were they to have witnessed
Him, shahidahs to witness.
And here who?
Allah.
Shahiduhu, witnessed Allah, fi kulli shay.
Were they to see Him manifesting in everything.
But what happened?
lam yastawhishu min shay.
They wouldn't have an aversion towards anything.
They wouldn't have turned away from anything.
So there's a couple of things that we
need to understand that are underlying assumptions here.
As we mentioned, that Allah ta'ala, there's
no indwelling in His creation.
He subhanahu wa ta'ala is not a
part of His creation, nor is He detached
from His creation.
And that's all you can say, theologically speaking.
How you truly understand that, the best way
to do it is through purification of the
heart and treading the spiritual path.
And this is what is referred to as
shahood.
That's what happens.
When someone is successful in the spiritual path
from the blessing of Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala, they start to see Allah.
And ta'wudallaha ka'annaka tara, as our
Prophet said.
To worship Allah as if you see Him.
Now what does it mean to see Allah?
You witness the divine impact upon creation.
And you start to be aware of what
names and attributes of Allah are manifesting in
creation.
Because every one of His acts points to
one of His attributes subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And His attributes point to His essence.
So everything in creation and reality is pointing
to Allah.
He is teaching us about Allah.
So this is the amazing thing.
For some people, that takes them away from
Allah.
For other people, that gives them more knowledge
of Allah.
The same manifestations.
Some people turn away from Allah.
Others turn towards Allah.
And this is why it is so important
to understand Allah.
That He is Rabb.
And that He has attributes of Jalal, of
Majesty.
Just as He has attributes of Jama'ah,
of Beauty.
And people tend to incline towards knowing Allah
more in His Beauty as opposed to His
Majesty.
But you and I need to know our
Lord subhanahu wa ta'ala in His Beauty
and in His Majesty.
And turn to Him in all states.
In times of difficulty, in times of ease.
And if we get to know Allah in
times of ease.
And the vast majority of people in the
world are in a state of ease most
of the time.
Truly not everyone, but the general, the vast
majority of people in the world are in
a state of ease the most of the
time.
And then this is the time, Come to
know Allah in times of ease.
He will know you in times of difficulty.
He will help you.
He will open the doors for you to
remain firm and do what needs to be
done.
So this is a call for us to
move to a higher degree.
So this is not in any way disparaging
worship or disparaging people who've turned away from
the world.
All these things are praiseworthy.
But what He's saying is that there's different
categories of travelers on the path to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And He's giving us what we need to
know so we can reach the highest of
degrees.
And there is a benefit as well that
we can take.
Even for people that are trying to even
start following the spiritual path in the very
basic ways.
And this relates to how it is that
we see the world.
And in particular, it's multiplicity.
And one of the meanings of Al-Hakum
Takathur that mutual rivalry, vying for this world
has distracted you.
Takathur here also comes from the word Kathura
which means to be many.
Which is the opposite of Tawheed.
So the multiplicity in the world has preoccupied
most people.
And people fail for the most part to
see what the multiplicity is pointing to.
And how all of the different manifestations in
reality are different manifestations of the names and
attributes of Allah.
But He is one in His essence and
in His attributes and in His actions.
Everything points to Him in reality.
But this is the goal to be in
a state where we are aware of that.
And this is why they say that it's
only the prophets who can truly bear reality
as it really is.
Because they're the ones who see Allah as
the one who's truly manifesting in everything that
happens.
Even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Even in the most intense of states.
They see everything pointing to Allah.
So if we look at some of these
meanings that if we first speak about the
Ubad and the worshippers they're the ones that
غلب عليهم الفعل They're the ones that spend
their time doing doing here acts of goodness.
Righteous deeds.
And these are people that immerse themselves in
Ibadah in physical acts of worship.
Like praying for extended periods of time at
night.
Like fasting regularly during the day.
And for them that they have a Halawa
there's a sweetness to doing this.
As a blessing from Allah Ta'ala Allah
makes worship sweet.
Otherwise how would people do that?
For long periods of time if it wasn't
sweet.
This is a great state to be in.
This is a state that we should all
strive to be in.
And every Muslim should have a portion of
Ibadah.
And there is an obligatory amount of worship
that we all have to do.
And that Allah Ta'ala has opened up
the door for us.
For those who really want to show that
they are dedicating themselves to Him Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
And they're going through what's called Tahabbub.
Doing certain things to become especially beloved to
Allah.
And Allah Ta'ala has given us many
ways of doing that.
And so these are people that are doing
acts of goodness.
But He says there might be some veil
that they have because of the sweetness of
the actual act of doing as opposed to
them focusing more on the goal of worship
which is to know Allah.
So it's possible there's still a veil for
the worshipper.
And this is the intent here.
Whereas the Zahid غلب عليهم الترك So the
worshippers are those who are constantly doing.
Whereas the Zahid of course also the ascetics
are also worshipping.
But one of their primary focuses is what
they're leaving.
What they're abandoning.
Renouncing.
What they're renouncing.
And for them that they're fleeing from the
dunya.
And fleeing from the people of the dunya.
And as a result ذاكو حلاوة زهد So
they tasted the sweetness of renunciation.
Of being an ascetic.
And in general we encourage people to be
in community and to make friends.
Of course.
But with that also comes difficulties of living
with other people.
And there are certain people because of their
dedication to the spiritual path they've distanced themselves.
And everybody needs some time alone.
And our Prophet did tell us, Sallallahu alayhi
wa sallam that the one who mixes with
people and is patient with them is better
than the one who does not mix with
them and then is not patient with them.
Because you're not mixing with them.
The Prophet himself said that that person is
better.
But we also recognize there are زهد, there
are people that have renounced this world.
And have chosen to live a certain way.
And it is a valid archetype with certain
conditions.
So that's its own discussion in and of
itself.
And ultimately we have to find what is
right for us and it's going to be
a balance.
For the vast majority of people we are
going to be living with people.
So we need to learn how to live
with people.
And there might be certain times of our
life where we're a little bit more recluse
than others.
There might be certain seasons and ups and
downs that we go through that we're more
active with people or less.
And that's fine.
As long as we're fulfilling the rights that
people have upon us and the basics that
need to be fulfilled.
And the same thing is with worship.
You might have certain times where there's more
focus on worship than others.
And as we enter into winter for instance,
is a blessed time.
Winter according to Hadith of our Prophet ﷺ
is the spring of the believer.
Because the nights are long.
This is a golden opportunity for us to
do what we can't do when the nights
are very short.
And when it's difficult for us to wake
up early before Salat al-Fajr.
Now you can get good sleep if you
sleep at a reasonable time and still wake
up and worship Allah ﷻ before sunrise.
So the whole point in mentioning the Zahad
and the Ibad, even though the Zahad are
the ones who are focusing on leaving the
dunya and separating themselves from and the Ibad
are the ones that are focusing on worship,
is that both potentially are veiled by either
the renunciation of the world or by the
acts that they do.
And Sayyid Ahmad Zaruk mentions here is that
why are they in this state of istihash?
Why do they have an aversion towards all
of the things of this world?
He mentions three reasons.
The reality of what they are directing themselves
towards which is Allah ﷻ They found that
the vast majority of creation aren't interested in
what they are interested in.
In fact they are going to get in
the way of what it is that they
are seeking.
The second reason is And
so as a result, so the first one
is actually more like they find that the
reality of what people are doing is different
than what they are doing.
And the second one is the upshot of
that which is they get in the way
of what it is that they are seeking.
And then the third reason is We get
ourselves in trouble oftentimes by interacting with people.
And what happens when we interact with people?
And sometimes things happen in our heart and
things are obstacles for us and what it
is then that we are trying to get
towards, we are trying to move towards.
So the reason that they turn away from
or have an aversion towards all of these
different things in this world is because they
see it as cutting them off, getting in
the way from drawing near to their Lord
Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
But really what we see transpiring here is
this is due to because of their lack
of awareness, their lack of knowledge as one
commentator says from the divine manifestations of the
attributes of Allah in everything.
In other words, because of their lack of
that higher state of knowledge of Allah ta
'ala, they see the creation in a certain
way.
And even though it is good for the
state that they are in, his point here,
there is a higher state to be in.
And that higher state is still to be
among creation.
But to see everything that is happening in
creation as manifestations of the names and attributes
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And this is why the authors then go
on to explain what this means.
Were they to have known Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala the way that they should know
him, what they would see would be very
different.
And so the author says Were they to
shahiduhu, were they to have witnessed him fi
kulli shay, meaning manifest in everything.
And again, what they are witnessing is that
the names and attributes of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, not that Allah is in anything.
We want to make that very clear.
What would have happened if that would be
their state?
They wouldn't have an aversion towards anything.
But again, let's clarify here from the standpoint
of reality.
And we always have to, we've said this
many times, we're going to keep hammering this
into our hearts.
We always have to see things in two
ways.
There are two sides of the same coin.
From the standpoint of jadiyah, which is the
sacred law, and from the standpoint of haqiqah,
the spiritual realities.
And so insofar as something goes against the
sacred law, we have to dislike that.
And if it conforms with the sacred law,
we love that thing.
But then from the standpoint of reality, we
see things as ultimately everything being from Allah.
So even if someone does something wrong, and
then that wrong afflicts us, we're required to
dislike that wrong, and hate the act of
that person doing it, but also see it
as being from Allah.
Does that make sense?
And people make mistakes in both ways.
The vast majority of people are very ignorant
with understanding things as being from Allah.
But this is what we're trained to do.
This is why we repeat creed over and
over again from the time that we're young,
that I believe in the qadr al khairi
wa sharri min Allah ta'ala.
We believe that in the divine destiny, the
good and the evil of it is both
from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We drill this into our hearts from the
earliest ages.
And we're supposed to be training ourselves spiritually
to move up in degrees where that's what
we see.
And so we respond accordingly to every single
situation that we are in.
And this is what enables us to, and
we were talking about this with one of
our teachers the other day, when our Prophet
ﷺ, when Anas radiallahu anhu served him for
ten years, he never once for anything that
he did do that he shouldn't have done,
or anything that he didn't do that he
should have done, did our Prophet ﷺ ever
say, why did you do that or why
didn't you do that?
Imagine that.
Someone up close who's serving you, that you're
asking them to do things for you.
They're there to help you.
And just extend this also to your children.
This doesn't mean the times where you're supposed
to discipline and teach your children things.
But just think about how we are with
people around us.
In ten years, never once, and then there
would be times where other people, maybe even
family members of him ﷺ, would want to
criticize Anas and he would stop them.
And when he would stop them, that he
would say things like, in meaning, were Allah
to have willed it, it would have happened.
Meaning, no one had more knowledge of Allah
than our Prophet ﷺ.
So when things didn't happen, he saw that
as being from Allah.
And when things that shouldn't have been done
but did happen, he also saw that as
being from Allah.
Wow.
And I know there might be some questions
like, how do I practically implement that in
my life?
That's really deep.
And so you start to see how you
need the source of all virtue, is certitude
and strong faith.
And so if we reach a state where
we have an increased knowledge of Allah ﷻ,
and we see his names and attributes manifesting
in creation, the way that we then will
respond to what's happening around us changes.
And what they say here is that we
will start to have adab with everything that
is happening around us.
And far from having an aversion, is that
we will actually find intimacy in what is
happening.
Yes, even in things that are difficult to
bear.
Why?
Because someone's witnessing it being from Allah.
And if we're witnessing it being from Allah,
how could you not only not accept it,
but receive it wholeheartedly and find intimacy in
it?
Very easy to speak about, much more difficult
to live.
And so this is because of their basira,
because of their inner sight.
And there's this beautiful line of poetry from
one of the people of Allah ﷻ, where
it talks about the khalq as being nuwar,
and that the creation of Allah ﷻ, and
maybe you could translate this as like, behind
them is light, and then observing the right
that Allah has given in relation to them.
But then he goes on to say, They
are the greatest veil.
They're the greatest veil.
The vast majority of people are veiled from
knowledge of Allah through other people.
But the door to knowing Allah is through
them.
And there's an outward meaning there, helping them,
serving them, and that type of thing.
But then the inner meaning is seeing everything
as being from Allah.
And it's harder with people than everything else
in creation, because people have free will.
Their freedom of choice, rather.
Whereas if something just happens, like there's a
storm or something like that, you can't blame
anyone for that.
It's easier to submit to.
But when it comes on the hands of
a person, especially if it's a person that
you don't like, you're like, oh, that's the
most difficult that it gets.
To see it as being from Allah, because
human beings have volition, and they have the
freedom to choose.
But we're still required to see it as
being from Allah, even if something comes to
us from the hands of a person.
And this is one of the secrets of
a healthy marriage that you're not going to
learn in most of the manuals that are
out there.
Seeing it as everything, being from Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
So, this is the state of these great
people.
And once they reach the state where they're
witnessing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that manifesting
around them, is that what previously was something
that they feared, and previously was something that
was a fitna, it was a trial for
them, that could have potentially led them astray,
and then all of a sudden changes.
And I heard one of the righteous comment
on this meaning, in relation to the staff
of Sayyidina Musa alayhi salam.
When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, commands
him to cast that what is in your
hand.
Cast what is in your hand, oh Moses.
And then he cast it.
And then it was a serpent that was
moving.
Take it, and grab it, and don't fear.
We're going to return it to its original
state.
It's a serpent.
Who wants to grab a snake?
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala was teaching
the Prophet Moses.
And they say that this is how the
human beings can relate to the asbab, the
world of the means.
Once someone relies completely upon Allah, and see
him manifesting in everything that is happening around
them, is that then what was previously dangerous,
it looks like it's a snake that could
harm you, it will be returned to its
previous state.
In other words, everything in reality is will
take you to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
if you see things correctly.
But if you don't see everything, if you
don't see things clearly and correctly, you might
let everything distance you from Allah.
What a beautiful meaning.
We're going to return it, to the way
that it was originally.
And this is how the greatest of the
people of Allah are with the means.
Everything around them reminds them of Allah.
It's not a fitna for them.
And surely they protect themselves, to the places
that they need to protect themselves, they uphold
the sacred law and everything that it is
that they do.
But then what might take some people away
from Allah, with knowledge of Allah, it will
take others closer to Him.
Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And one of the commentators gives us a
metaphor to so we can kind of understand
this a little bit better.
But we always say, These are just to
help us understand a little bit better.
And so that he says, Imagine if you
have one person who really loves another person.
And because this person loves that other person
so much, they just can't wait to meet
that person.
But time has passed and when they actually
meet that person, and come and contact them,
they don't recognize them.
And so they actually see this person and
say, No, no, this is not the one
that I wanted to meet.
So this person is in the way now
between them and the one who, that they
think is actually their beloved.
But were they to only realize that, No,
no, this is the person that you actually
really loved.
Then instead of wanting to push this person
aside and find the person that they really
don't know, this is the person.
And what a beautiful meaning, right?
Because there's oftentimes things that happen to us,
that come from the one that we love.
But we don't interpret it right.
And it's actually really what we need.
Because it's from the one that we love
to bring us closer to him.
But we misinterpret it.
And so we let it distance us.
And if we would have read it right,
it would have brought us closer.
And this is how these great people are.
And these are people because of their knowledge
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, as Ibn
Ajeeba so beautifully states, وَأَنَّ الْأَرِفِين بِاللَّهِ غَابُوا
عَنْ شُهُولِ الْخَلْقِ وَشُهُولِ الْحَقِّ And I'm just
translating here in meanings, in hopes that we
can obtain something of these before we die.
The knowers of Allah, have, they're absent from
witnessing creation, through their witnessing of the truth,
Allah.
وَهُمْ مَعَ الْخَلْقِ بِالْأَشْبَاحِ They're outwardly with creation,
with their physical bodies.
وَمَعَ الْحَقِّ بِالْأَرْوَاحِ But they're with Allah, the
truth, with their spirits.
مَاتُوا They're still alive, but they've died.
وَبُعِثُوا And they've been resurrected, even though they're
still alive here in this world.
وَقَامَتْ قِيَامَتَهُمْ And for them, the Day of
Judgment has already happened.
They're that aware of everything that it is,
that they're aware that everything it is that
they do, what it is that they need
to do in order to be safe on
that day.
وَتَبَدَّلَتْ فِي حَقِّمِ الْأَرْضِ غَيْرَ الْأَرْضِ السَّمَوَاتِ And
in their right, is that the earth is
now changed from the way that the earth
was, as well as the heavens.
And we know that on the Day of
Judgment will be all of these physical changes.
وَبَرَزُوا لِلَّهِ وَالْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَارِ When they will then
come to Allah, the One and the Qahar.
So, they see lights while people are trapped
in the darkness of otherness.
And it's been unveiled for them in this
world, the secrets of what He's been created,
how He's created, subhanahu wa ta'ala, so
that they're able to perceive creation in ways
that other people don't.
May Allah ta'ala bless us to be
like these people, and to resemble them, and
when we benefit from these meanings.
And may we, when we go through our
nights and our days, and our weeks and
our months, learn to see everything as being
from Allah, and to embrace it, and to
place our trust in Him.
And may everything that happens in our life
be a means to draw us closer to
Him, subhanahu wa ta'ala, and to give
us more knowledge of Him.
And may Allah ta'ala protect us, and
prevent anything from taking us away from Him.
Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So, we will just look at a couple
of the blessed names of our Prophet Muhammad.
Thus far, we've only covered the four names
that relate to, that are derived from the
trilateral root, which is to praise.
We'll move on now to the fifth name,
that is mentioned in this blessed book, Heavenly
Guide to the Beacon of Pure Light, the
name of our Prophet ﷺ, and this is
translated as Repeller.
According to Muhammad al-Mahdi al-Fasi, the
Prophet ﷺ was known by this name in
the Torah.
Ibn al-Asakir, in his history of Damascus,
and Ibn al-Adi in his treatise, al
-Kamil, relate for Ibn al-Abbas, may Allah
be pleased with him and his father, in
a tradition of questionable authenticity, that the Prophet
ﷺ is reported to have said, My name
in the Quran is Muhammad.
Ismi per Quran, Muhammad.
Wa fil-Injil, Ahmad.
And the Evangel, Ahmad.
Wa fil-Tora, Aheed.
And in the Torah, Aheed.
Wa innama summitu aheedan, summitu, wa innama summitu
aheedan, li inni aheedu an ummatina rajaahna.
And I am so called because I repel
the fire of *, from my people.
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
So this is the name of our Prophet
ﷺ, Aheed.
And what a blessing to have a Prophet
ﷺ that is al-Hadithun alaykum.
He's so concerned for us, and he's so
eager to make us safe, and to be
there for us.
And we know that on the Day of
Judgment, he'll be in one of three places.
Either be at the scales, or he'll be
at the bridge over *, the Sirat, or
he'll be at his home, one of these
three places.
And he goes back and forth, goes back
and forth, to ensure the safety of his
ummah.
And everything about his teachings, sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam, repel us from the fire.
And the more that we follow them, the
more distant we will be from the eternal
blaze.
May Allah Ta'ala protect us and preserve
us.
Then we have his sixth name, which is
Waheed.
And this is a name that translates as
unique.
And he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is unique
in his station, rank, person, knowledge, divine secrets,
character, way of life, virtues, intellect, and laws.
And in the fact that no one traveled
as far as he did in their mi
'raj, or their heavenly ascent.
So everything about our Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam, is unique.
He's special when it comes to it.
And Allah Ta'ala singled him out.
And he's one of a kind.
And he stands alone, in all of these
different ways.
And in the translation, we have some of
it within the commentary.
So in relation to his maqam, which is
his station, and his har, which is his
state, his knowledge, his secrets, his light, his
character, his way of life, his characteristics, his
virtues, his beauty, his excellence, and so forth
and so on.
His intellect, and all of these other matters.
He stands alone.
He's Waheed.
He's unique.
In relation to all of these things, sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, even in relation to his
creation.
Many of the scholars point to this reality,
that he was the first of everything that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala created.
And that, There wasn't anyone else before him,
being in relation to what Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala created.
So he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is Waheed,
unique.
Now we continue our study, of the blessed
al-shamal, al-muhammadiyah.
And so we have reached the 7th hadith
in this blessed collection.
We're moving fairly slowly, but it's okay.
The most important thing is that we benefit.
And so those that are following along in
the book, we are on page number 7.
Excuse me, page number 5.
Thank you, hadith number 7.
In the name
of Allah.
The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
said, If
he walks, it is as if a rock
is crushed.
And if he turns, he turns with it.
Between his shoulders is the seal of prophethood.
And he is the seal of the prophets.
He has strengthened people's hearts.
And he has made people's dialects more truthful.
And he has softened them to a softness.
And he has honored them with a tenderness.
And whoever sees him with a gift, he
has given it away.
And whoever is close to him and knows
him, he has loved him.
He says, I have seen him.
I have never seen anyone like him before
or after him.
Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
So, Ahmad ibn Abda.
Dhabbi al-Basri.
Ali ibn Hajar and Abu Jafar Muhammad ibn
Hussain, who is ibn Abi Halima, all narrated
to us.
And the meaning was the same.
Isa ibn Yunus narrated to us.
And the daughter of Umar ibn Abdillah, the
freed slave of Ghaffar, who said, Ibrahim ibn
Muhammad from the progeny of Ali ibn Muttalib,
radiallahu anhu, narrated to me.
When Ali described the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam, he would say, the Messenger
of Allah, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, was neither
extremely tall nor extremely short.
He was of medium stature among his people.
His blessed hair was neither extremely curly nor
straight.
Rather, it was slightly wavy.
He was not corpulent.
His blessed face was not completely circular but
was slightly round.
His complexion was fair and imbued with a
bit of redness.
His blessed eyes were very black and his
eyelashes were long.
His blessed joints were large and his blessed
shoulders were broad.
He was not hair suit.
A thin line of hair ran from his
blessed chest to his navel.
His blessed hands and feet were full-fleshed
and sturdy.
When he walked, he walked with vigor, as
if descending from a height.
When he would turn to look at someone
or something, he would turn with his whole
body.
Between his blessed shoulders was the seal of
prophethood, and he is the seal of prophets.
His blessed heart was the soundest and most
generous of hearts.
His speech is the most truthful of speech,
and he is the gentlest of all people
in nature and the noblest of them in
social interactions and companionship.
Whoever saw him unexpectedly would be awestruck.
Whoever interacted with him whilst knowing him would
love him.
The one who would describe him would say,
I saw neither before him nor after him
anyone like him.
Peace be upon him and his family and
companions.
Masha'Allah.
So in this blessed narration, it is narrated
by Sayyidina Ali bin Abi Talib.
And again, some of these descriptions have come
before, and when Imam al-Tirmidhi mentions them,
every time that we hear them we should
be as if it's the first time we've
heard them, because we're imagining these blessed traits
in the password, salallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa
sallam, and then in the different narrations you
also have additional meanings that weren't in the
previous ones.
So we had spoken about that earlier, about
him being neither extremely tall nor extremely short.
He was of medium stature, salallahu alayhi wa
alayhi wa sallam.
In other words, he was of medium stature
relative to the average height among his people.
And this is how he would be described
if he walked by himself, salallahu alayhi wa
alayhi wa sallam.
But we know by way of a miracle,
every time that a taller person walked with
him, the Prophet would appear to be larger
than him.
And so one of the Imams that mentions
in the narration, at times the Prophet would
be flanked by two tall men, yet he
would appear taller than them.
And when they would leave him, they would
be described as tall, and he would be
described as having a medium stature.
And our Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa
sallam, would say, all goodness has been placed
in moderation.
His blessed hair was neither extremely curly nor
straight.
Rather, it was slightly wavy.
So it was, again, a balance in the
middle.
And then we have this description of that
he's not mutahham.
He wasn't corpulent.
That wasn't the type of body type that
he had, salallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam.
His blessed face was not completely circular, but
was slightly round.
So he didn't have a fully circular face,
nor was his face super long and oval.
It was somewhere between the two.
It was the most well-proportioned of faces,
but it had a roundness to it.
And then with his complexion, it was fair
and imbued with a bit of redness.
And there's a note here that says, Some
commentators say this slight redness would appear when
the sun would shine and when the wind
would blow.
All the while the skin color under the
Prophet's garments retained a fair complexion.
Those who described the Prophet as fair complexion
meant his skin color underneath his garments, while
those who described him as fair and imbued
with a bit of redness meant his appearance
in the sun.
Allah and his Messenger know best.
So look at the detail to which they
point out these differences.
And we all know that the limbs that
are exposed to the sun might be slightly
different than the limbs that are usually covered.
And they have in the side notes here
something of benefit.
They say point of benefit.
Several narrations mention that during the Prophet's childhood,
certain miraculous prophetic precursors appeared.
These are called irhasat.
Miracles that happened before a Prophet becomes a
Prophet.
Presaging his emergence as a Prophet and Messenger.
Among these signs were clouds that would hover
over him and shield him from the sun.
And in poetry he's known as the mudallal
bil ghamama.
He's the one that has been shaded by
the clouds.
Ibn Sa'ad, Abu Nu'aym, and Ibn
al-Sakr recorded from Ibn Abbas who said
it was Halima's, the Prophet's wet nurse's habit
to not let him go far from her
sight.
One hot afternoon, however, she was preoccupied.
In a short while later, he went with
his sister from Sakr and Shema to play
with the small sheep in their care.
Soon afterwards, Halima went out in search of
him and finally found him alone with Shema.
Then Shema, how could you venture out with
him in this heat?
Dear mother, replied Shema, my brother suffered no
heat.
I saw that clouds hovered over him, stopping
where he stopped and moving where he moved
until we reached this spot here.
So the Prophet, peace be upon him, would
move and the clouds would move with him.
Then when it stopped, when he stopped, the
clouds would stop.
Then he would move, the clouds would move
with him.
Until they reached the spot.
They kept shading him, peace be upon him,
everywhere that he went.
These are khususiat, special qualities of his.
Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, said to him at
a later time, do you know why I
believed in you?
Then the Prophet asked him why.
He says that when you were a son,
when you were a baby, you would point
to the moon and the moon would move
where you pointed.
So you know how now you get cribs
and you put like little toys so the
babies can play with them and kind of
see what's happening.
But the Rasul, peace be upon him, didn't
need any of that.
Allah subjected to him the moon itself.
That he would point to the moon and
the moon would move with wherever he would
point.
From his blessings, peace be upon him, and
other narrations show that the Prophet, peace be
upon him, stood in the sun at times
and was shaded by his companions, such as
Sayyidina Abu Bakr.
What a blessed thing to be able to
do is to shade the Prophet, peace be
upon him, who shaded his blessed body from
the midday sun during the immigration to Medina
and Manawarah.
So then we learn about the eyes of
our Prophet, peace be upon him.
His blessed eyes were very black.
In Arabic we say, This means the irises
of his blessed eyes were very black and
his, that sclera, were very white.
And his eyelashes, peace be upon him, were
long.
So he had long eyelashes.
His blessed joints were large and of course
proportionate to his blessed body, peace be upon
him.
And his blessed shoulders were broad.
So he had broad shoulders, peace be upon
him.
And he was not hair suit.
Hair suit means that someone has a lot
of hair.
So he didn't have a lot of hair
on his body, peace be upon him.
We already mentioned that previously, that a thin
line of hair would ran from his blessed
chest to his navel.
And then again we have this description of
his blessed hands and his feet as being
full-fleshed and sturdy.
When he walked, he walked with vigor.
As if descending from a height.
And then we have this incredibly beautiful description
here.
When he would turn to look at someone
or something, he would turn with his whole
body.
To give importance to the one he was
turning towards.
And for the purpose of speaking with the
person, or attending to his needs.
And so he would walk straight ahead, but
if someone addressed him, he would completely turn
towards that person.
And so you and I know if someone's
like this, and just kind of turn you
like this, it's almost as if they're saying
like, they're not really interested in what you
need, or what you're saying, or they're not
really interested in you.
But he would turn to people completely, with
his whole body.
And to give them full attention.
And what a blessed trait.
This is something we really need to bring
into our lives.
So when he would turn, he would turn
with his whole body.
Between his blessed shoulders was the seal of
prophethood.
And so this is coming in chapter 2,
in the description of the seal of prophethood.
But essentially that it was a piece of,
a protrusion of blessed flesh between his shoulders.
It was the size, roughly, of a pigeon's
egg.
Which is coming, inshallah ta'ala.
And then, we learn that he is the
seal of prophets.
So he had the seal of prophethood, and
he, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, is the seal
of prophets.
And then look at these descriptions of his
blessed heart, was the soundest and most generous
of hearts.
Sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam.
And ajwat an-nas sadran.
It doesn't mean the physical chest.
Sadran here refers to his heart.
He had the most blessed of all hearts.
And that he is the most beautiful, generous,
and he had the purest of hearts, free
of any blemish.
Sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam.
And then Imam Bajuri says here so beautifully,
wa huwa qinayana adaman malan man an-nas,
ala ikhtilafi itiba'ihim.
Is that he had an extreme amount of
patience, despite people's different natures, and their different
backgrounds.
And so that he didn't get annoyed easily.
His heart was open and vast.
He would be patient with people, and accepting
and accommodating to people.
Ajwat an-nas sadran.
Sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam.
And translated here as, the most generous of
hearts.
His speech is the most truthful of speech.
And they have a note here that says,
the word used is lahja, and literally means
tone of voice.
And they already used this word, instead of
qawwil, which means statement.
Because even those who don't accept the truthfulness
of the Prophet's statements, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam,
could feel the truthfulness of his tone.
Isn't that beautiful?
Even those who don't accept the truthfulness of
the Prophet's statements, could feel the truthfulness of
his tone.
So you see how if we are the
way we should be, people will know the
realities of Islam, through how we are.
Abu Jahl, for example, knew about the truthfulness
of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but
denied him, due to the jealousy of Bani
Hashim.
And Allah says about his beloved, nor does
he speak from caprice, it is but revelation
revealed.
And he is the gentlest of all people
in nature, and the noblest of them in
social interactions, and companionship, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi
wa sallam.
He is also read as Ashira, which means
the noblest of them in lineage and ancestry.
And then we have one of the most
famous descriptions ever, man ra'aahu badihatan abahu,
wa man khalatahu ma'rifatan ababahu.
And this is one of the most important
things of all, to memorize in this Shema
'il, this phrase.
This translates, whoever saw him unexpectedly, will be
awestruck.
Whoever interacted with him, whilst knowing him, will
love him.
And so there is a mixture of jalaal
and jamaal, of majesty and beauty, in the
Prophets, I said.
People will be in awe of him, when
they first saw him.
But, when they got to know him, and
they would spend time with him, they fell
in love with him.
And this is one of the greatest criterion
that we can use for the real scholars.
When you spend time with them, do you
come to love them?
How do they carry themselves?
What do they say?
Do they bring you closer to Allah?
Do they uplift you?
If they're really following the Sunnah of the
Prophet, they're not going to be speaking about
other people.
They're going to bring you closer together.
They're going to be a means of healing.
They're going to be a means of people
coming together.
And because of their character and how they
are, when you get close to them, you
come to love them.
And if that's not happening, we have to
look inside of ourselves, like what's wrong?
Something's wrong with us then.
We're not truly following the Messenger the way
that we should.
If we're short-tempered, and picky, and critical,
and all these other types of things, people
aren't going to love us when they get
close to us.
Alhamdulillah.
And so, whoever saw him unexpectedly would be
awestruck.
And whoever interacted with him whilst knowing him
would love him.
And I have a note here.
It says, Imam Bajuri comments, meaning whoever saw
him before observing his exalted character and splendid
states will be struck with awe of him
because of his majestic qualities and his divinely
bestowed awe-inspiring aura.
Allahu Akbar.
And then Imam Bukhari recorded in his Adab
al-Mufrad that Prophet ﷺ said, The best
of my ummah are those who, when seen,
Allah is remembered.
Scholars say this is due to their hearts
being filled with the majesty of Allah and
His love which is mirrored upon their faces
in physical forms.
If that is the case for those who
are the best of his ummah, one can
only imagine the majesty and greatness of the
leader of his ummah, our Prophet ﷺ.
The one who interacted with him would come
to love him for what he encompassed of
perfection, beauty, and majesty, and for his inner
and outer qualities of affection, mercy, and sincerity
for the well-being of his ummah, ﷺ.
The one who would describe him would say,
I neither saw before him nor after him
anyone like him.
Scholars have remarked that this was Sayyidina Ali
who was described as the door to the
city of knowledge.
Imam al-Tirmidhi al-Hakim and others recorded
that the Prophet said, I am the city
of knowledge and Ali is its door.
This hadith reveals that Sayyidina Ali felt completely
incapable of describing the Prophet's perfections and greatness
as if to say, who in this world
would ever be able to do justice in
describing what Allah has granted him.
But we say what is that we can
say so that the heart then attaches.
The more that we talk about him, the
more that we come to know him, the
more that we realize he is deserving of
our love.
And if we keep learning about him, he
will become more beloved to us than our
parents, than our children, than all people, and
more beloved to us even than our own
selves.
May Allah Ta'ala actualize that within us.
Ya arham al rahmeen wa sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
walhamdulillahi rabbil alameen