The beautiful Advice from the Messenger of God

Anas Ibn Malik once mentioned that a Bedouin came to the Prophet and greeted him in the mosque. The Messenger of God asked the Bedouin where he was from and the Bedouin answered to the Messenger of God that he came from far away to ask questions on behalf of the Bedouin’s master. The following transpired as reported by Anas Ibn Malik:

I wish to be an intelligent man, what should I do?
The Prophet replied: FEAR ALLAH.

I wish to be a loyal servant to Allah and do what He wants me to do.
The Prophet replied: READ THE QURAN.

I wish to be enlightened and have peace of heart.
The Prophet replied: REMEMBER DEATH.

I wish to be protected against my enemies.
The Prophet replied: TRUST IN ALLAH.

I wish to follow the straight path.
The Prophet replied: DO GOOD TO OTHERS FOR ALLAH’S SAKE.

What should I do so that Allah will not abandon me.
The Prophet replied: DO NOT RESPOND TO THE DESIRES OF YOUR FLESH.

I wish to have a long life.
The Prophet replied: PRAISE AND THANK ALLAH ALWAYS.

I wish for prosperity.
The Prophet replied: BE IN A STATE OF ABLUTION AT ALL TIMES.

How can I save myself from hell fire?
The Prophet replied: PROTECT YOUR EYES AND YOUR TONGUE AND YOUR HANDS AND WHAT IS BELOW YOUR WAISTLINE AGAINST EVIL.

How can I cleanse myself from my sins?
The Prophet replied: SHED TEARS FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE AND REPENT BY UNDOING WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WRONG.

I wish to be a respectable person.
The Prophet replied: THEN DON’T ASK FOR ANYTHING FROM ANYBODY.

I wish to be honorable.
The Prophet replied: THEN DON’T DIVULGE THE WRONG DOINGS OF ANYONE.

What should I do to protect myself from the tortures of the grave?
The Prophet replied: RECITE THE SURAH MULK.

How should I calm my fear of the day of judgment?
The Prophet replied: REMEMBER ALLAH BEFORE YOU EAT ANYTHING AND BEFORE YOU SLEEP.

What should I do to feel the presence of Allah when I make my prayers?
The Prophet replied: GIVE THE UTMOST CARE IN TAKING YOUR ABLUTIONS AND IN BEING CLEAN AND PURE.

Some Examples of Great People(in Islam)

There are many great men and women in history. They were rare examples of piety, morals, and the best qualities a human being can ever have.

Allah the Exalted has told us in the Holy Qur'an a lot about such men and women; on the top being the infallible Messenger Muhammad sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam and the other Messengers `alaihimus salaam who were great examples of patience, faith and Jihad in the way of Allah. They also fought the people of heresies and they were really the ideal people to be followed. Allah the Exalted described the morals and manners of the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam as:

"And verily, you (o Muhammad) are on an exalted (standard of) character." (68:4)

Narrated Anas radiyallahu `anhu: "I have never touched a velvet or silk that was more tender than the hand of Allah's Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam and I have never smelt any perfume more nice than the smell of the Messenger's body. I served the Messenger ten years, he never said "of" (a puff of uneasiness) to me and he never asked me about something I had not done (why not?) and he never asked me about something I had ever done (why?)." (Bukhari and Muslim)

The caliph of the Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, Abu Bakr radiyallahu `anhu, supported the Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam by money and jihad by himself and was the first to believe the Prophet sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam. When some people apostated from Islam after the Prophet had died, Abu Bakr bravely stood up against them and said: (By Allah, if they refuse to pay - in zakat for Allah's sake) a goat (in another narration, a goat rope) they used to give to the Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam I will fight them.

Umar ibn al Khattab radiyallahu `anhu, though he was the Emir of the believers, used to carry flour on his back for Muslims and also used o cook for the orphans at night. The Satan used to run away from Umar's way, as reported (in hadeeth), because of his piety and closeness to Allah.

Uthman bin Affan radiyallahu `anhu, the third Caliph, financed a Muslim expedition that was called "The Expedition of a Hard Time", as Muslims were very poor at that time. And Ali bin Abi Talib radiyallahu `anhu, the fourth Caliph, was appointed by the Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam as a leader of Muslims in a war and he, sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam, said: "I will give the leadership to someone whom Allah and His Messenger love." That was Ali bin Abi Talib, radiyallahu `anhu, the great brave fighter.

Rabee` ibn Amir radiyallahu `anhu, when he went as an ambassador the the leader of the Persians, refused to bow to Rustom, the Persian Monarch. And he said (meaning), "We have come to take you from the worship of creation to the worship of the Creator."

Faith makes the impossible look possible.

In the battle of Badr, Umair ibn al-Hamam al-Ansari radiyallahu `anhu heard the Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam saying: "He who fights facing the enemy and not (turning away) showing his back to him will enter Paradise." Umair was chewing some dates, he threw them up and said: "It is a long life then, if I wait to eat up these dates, they will impede me from Paradise." Then he fought facing the enemy and was killed as a martyr. When the Messenger was told about him, He sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam said: "He is now in Paradise, enjoying its bounties."

Amr ibn al Jamouh radiyallahu `anhu was disabled. The Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam told him, "Do not worry (about Jihad), you are limping and there is no blame on you." And Allah revealed, regarding Jihad of the disabled, "...there is no restriction on the lame..." (24:61)

But all this did not stop Ibn al-Jamouh to fight in the way of Allah. He said, "I wish to enter Paradise limping", then he went and fought until he died as a martyr.

Another example of great men is Abu Dijana who made himself a shield for the Messenger sallallahu `alaihi wa sallam on the Day of Uhud to protect him against the enemy's arrows. There are many other great people to mention here but the space does not allow. The books of Islamic history have numerous examples of such great people who sold themselves for the pleasure of Allah.

Allah the Exalted says in this regard:

"Men who have been true to their covenant with Allah (i.e. they have gone out for Jihad and showed not their backs to the disbelievers); of them are some who have fulfilled their obligations (i.e. have been martyred); and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed in the least (i.e. never proved treacherous to their covenant with Allah)." (33:23)




Shaykh Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Mu`taz

Al Insaan - Dhaalika al Makhlooq al `Ajeeb

The Great Human Consciousness of `Umar ibn al-Khattaab

Once a caravan came to Madinah. It had women and children too with it. `Umar said to Abdul Rahman ibn `Auf, "Can you stand guard on them tonight?" So `Umar, the second caliph, and he, kept awake that night together and kept vigil over the caravan. During that nightly vigil they both offered Tahajjud (late night) prayer as well. `Umar on hearing a baby's cry and approaching, said to the mother, "Fear Allah and do look after your child carefully." Saying this he came back to his own position. Once again he heard it crying, and going over to her mother once again gave her the same advice. When during the last part of the night the child cried once again, `Umar came to its mother and said, "Woe to you! You appear not to be a good mother. How is it that your child could not sleep peacefully during the night." The woman little suspecting that she was speaking to the Amir of the believers, said in reply, "May Allah bless you, O man, you have pestered me several times during the night. I want to wean it forcefully (before time), but the child is intractable." `Umar asked her, "And pray, why wean it forcefully?" She said in reply, "Because `Umar grants allowance only for such children that have been weaned." `Umar asked her, "How old is your child?" And she told him it was only a few months old. And `Umar asked the woman not to be hasty in weaning her child. Then he led the morning prayer in such a state that his weeping made the recital of the Quran inaudible and unintelligible. At the end of the prayer he said, "`Umar is ruined. He killed the children of the believers!" And at this, he ordered the crier to proclaim in the town of Madinah that the mothers should not wean their children only for the sake of allowance for the suckling. From now on, every child, suckling or weaned, shall receive a stipend. And it was also proclaimed throughout the length and the breadth of the Islamic state. Unparalleled in the Entire History of Mankind

By Allah! The entire history of mankind is unable to produce such a brilliant and glorious incident. None among the civilizations of the world can present any personage like `Umar. He kept awake the whole night, keeping guard over the caravan and the caravan slept in peace. And we should keep in mind that he was the head of the Islamic state, and wielded great authority and power that had conquered the then mighty empires of Rome and Persia. And in spite of all that he did what a petty guard detailed to patrol the vicinity of a caravan in its sojourn would not do. He drew the attention of the crying child's mother to her babe and asked her to restrain it from crying. Is there anyone who can mete out that treatment to the children in a passing Caravan, like `Umar? Who is there among the greatest personages of the history of mankind who can even touch the great human consciousness of `Umar?