Bismillāhir-Rahmānir-Rahīm
Sun 14th June - Hadhrat Zulfiqar (db)
Lā yamussuhu illal mutahharūn (None shall touch it (Qur’ān), except those who are clean)
The other Prophets (alayhimusalām) also got their scriptures in Ramadān, Adam (as) got it in 3rd Ramadān; Ibrahim (as) received his on the 6th of Ramadān etc etc
Qur’ān and Siyām (fasting) go hand in hand. They will both intercede for us on the Day of Judgment. Qur’ān is the kalām of Allāh swt and fasting is the sifat of Allāh swt. Allāh swt says fasting is for me, and I will also give the reward for it. When we pray Qur’ān, we get showered with blessings - similar, is with fasting.
The sahabā kirām used to say they love praying the Qur’ān. If you want to see how much you love Allāh swt, look at how much you love the Qur’an. Just like a wife examines how much her husband loves her by analysing how much he loves her children - in the same way love for Allāh and love for Qurān are directly proportional.
Our pious predecessors loved the Qur’an. Hadhrat Uthmān bin Affān loved the Qur’ān so much that he died in the state whilst reciting Qur’an. Their hearts would never be satisfied - they would always want to read. Look at the following examples;
Imam Abu Hanifa (rah) would finish 63 Qur’āns. Imam Shafi’ī (rah) would finish 70 Qur’an. He travelled once from Makkah to Madinah (and it took him 16 days - and he finished 16 Qur’āns in this time). There is a lot of blessing in the Qur’ān. The way a groom waits for his bride at night, this is the way the pious predecessors waited for the night to pray to Allāh swt.
A husband and wife got married - the husband said I will pray two rakāts and then we will meet. He prayed two rakāhs and he was so into it that he forgot his wife was waiting. His wife later said you stayed up the whole night, and you made me stay up waiting for you too. Later, he saw his friends at Fajr who asked him about how his night was and so he said he didn’t meet with his wife. They laughed that what kind of man are you that you didn’t meet your wife on the first night and then he told them it was because salāh occupied him. SubhānAllāh
Sayyidina Abu Bakr (ra) was the companion of Rasulullāh ﷺ - we can be the companion of the Qur’ān. It will bring barakah in the day, and barakah in the night. The night and day once argued that which one from us is better - the day said I am because 3 of the 5 mandated salāhs are in the day and only 2 at night. Even Jum’uah salāh is in the day; the sun comes out in the day; people earn rizq halāl in the day - and at night, people only sleep. The day also said that fasting is in the day! He gave all these proofs and advantages of the day, and he thought i definitely have won this debate. The night replied that my sun is the illuminated hearts of those who love Allāh swt - they shine at night. He said Allāh swt gave the command to Rasūlullāh ﷺ- ‘Qumil-layla illā qalīla - stand up part of the night. He continued to say that the night is where the lovers of Allāh swt meet as Rasulullāh ﷺ went on mi’rāj at night. When humans were gifted Qur’an, they were given it at Laylatul Qadr. Layl = night. The day was defeated and agreed the night was better!
Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal rah would finish a Qur’ān weekly! In my own life, i have seen my father do this for years - every Friday, my father would finish a Qur’an.
Malik ibn Anas (ra) - he would stop hadith dars in Ramadān and would say ‘hathā shahrul-Qur’ān - this is the month of the Qur’ān.
Mansoor ibn Zā’dan - he would finish one Qur’ān between Zuhr and Asr
Hadhrat Ayesha (ra) would finish a Qur’an daily before Asr. One night she cried a whole night praying one ayah - wa badā lahum sayyi’ātu mā kasabu wa hāqa bihim…(Thus, the evils of their deeds will confront them, and they will be encircled by that which they used to mock at).
Nabi ﷺ would cry an entire night praying one āyah - in tuazzibhum fainnahum ibāduk... (If You should punish them - indeed they are Your servants; but if You forgive them - indeed it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise). He would cry so much like rain falls. Hadhrat Qatadah (ra) would finish a Qur’an weekly, and every three days in Ramadan. In the last ten days, he would finish a Qur’an daily. Hadhrat Ayesha (ra) once asked a beautiful question to Rasūlullāh ﷺ that are there people who are going to go Jannah without account. He said yes, those slaves who cry (whilst praying) Qur’an! The eye that cried due to the fear of Allāh swt will not be touched by Hellfire.
Allāhu nazzal ahsanal hadīthi kitābam-mutashābiham-mathāniya taqshairu julūdullathina yakshawna rabbahum...(Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord...). Imam Qurtubi rah said Allāh has praised those people in the Qur’an who cry whilst praying it.
Once Nabi ﷺ was praying Tahajjud - he prayed tasmiyah, and then he started crying! He then prayed tasmiyah again, and he started crying. Then he prayed it a third time, and he cried again. Imagine the effect of the Qur’ān on his heart. Our eyes remain dry today because our hearts are covered with darkness due to sins. And due to this darkness, our eyes cannot cry.
Abdullāh ibn Umar (ra) said one day Nabi ﷺ went to my sister Hafsa’s house, and he was resting there - I heard he was there, so i also went to see him. I started praying Tahajjud, Nabi ﷺ was resting. Hafsa (ra) said i felt some sensation on her foot - and she realised that Nabi ﷺ was crying, and so she asked what made him cry so much as the pillow had become wet. He said I’m crying because haven’t you heard of what your brother is praying? The ayah was that the kuffār will not get to see Allāh swt on the DoJ - and Nabi ﷺ was crying because he was thinking how unfortunate they are. SubhānAllāh
Hadhrat Abu Bakr was very soft hearted that whenever he prayed Qur’ān, he would cry. Nabi ﷺ suggested for him to lead the salāh whilst Nabi ﷺ was in his final stages of his life. Hadrat Ayesha (ra) said to Rasūlullāh ﷺ that my father is very soft hearted, hence he shouldn’t lead it.
Hadhrat Umar (ra) - two lines had formed on his cheeks because he had cried so much - imagine how much he cried. Hasan Basri (rah) - cried so much that it would create puddles. Rabiyya Basriyyah (rah) - her tears would flow on the ground! Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (rah) cried so much that he nearly become unconscious due to the āyah 'fa anzartukum nāran talazzā' (Therefore do I warn you of a Fire blazing fiercely)
Waithas-suhūfu nushirat (When the scrolls are laid open) - when Hadhrat Umar (ra) heard this, he became unconscious - because he thought imagine what would happen when our book of deeds is presented to Allāh swt on DoJ
Wa in minkum illa wariduha. kāna alā Rabbika hatman maqdiyyā - (not one of you but will pass over it: this is, with thy Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished) - A scholar cried so much ..? [stream went]
Imām Nawawi used to say that the person who doesn’t cry whilst praying Qur’an should cry because of the blessing he is devoid from!
So why don’t we cry? The reality is we can’t taste it’s sweetness. Just like an immature child does not understand the pleasure of being mature, in the same we can’t understand its pleasure. The way we need to be pure (physically) to touch the Qur’ān, we also need to have our hearts pure to understand the Qur’ān. If we clean our hearts then we will understand the subjects of the Qur’an and we will also cry and taste its sweetness.
The judge of Basra, Zarārā bin Awfa (?) passed away in salāh after he was overtaken with emotion by the āyah - fa itha nuqira fin-nāqur (when the trumpet will be sounded…)
Imām A’zam, Imām Abū Hanifa (rah) cried a whole night praying ‘wamtāzul yawma ayyuhal mujrimūn - but stand apart today, oh criminals'
Nabi ﷺhad quran prayed to him once, and he became unconscious at the āyah ‘falanas’allathina ursula ilayhim, walanas’alannal-mursalīn - then we shall question those to who our message was sent, and those by whom we sent it'
Sālikīn should really think about this - if Nabi ﷺ cried praying this, then why don’t we cry?
We should make du’ā to Allāh swtto grant us feelings of this Qur’ān. A lot of the youth write to Hadhrat Jee db to say we finished 30 Qur’āns this Ramadan - its possible, and there are youth who get happy when they finish one. We need to make du’a that Allah swt grants us love for the Qur’ān!
When a child is dirty, the mother bathes the child. Allāh swt sees us in the same way, and he uses this month of Ramadān to clean us - 'ghusle ruhāniyyat’ We have a soul in our body which is the reason we are alive - we have another spirit too. Wa kathālika awhayna ilayka rūham-min amrinā - this Qur’ān is also a ruh for us.
Sahabā kirām were kept alive with the Qur’an. We keep these Qur’ans in our velvet coverings etc, nicely placed - we only use it when we need to swear an oath on it during arguments! We don’t remember it otherwise. We have been so disloyal to the Qur’ān. If someone sent their child to your house, and you didn’t talk to them at all, nor gave them salām, you didn’t register they were even there- they would go back and tell the father of this maltreatment. This is a great sin of ours that we do this to the Qur’an.
We need to fast the 'special fast' - that we don’t even do ghaflah. We should fast in a way that we gain the qurb of Allāh swt. Its up to us to make the most of this mercy present in Ramadan.
Shayateen are locked in Ramadān! When Allāh swt has locked shaytān up, we should definitely be forgiven in this month.
There are two types of happiness for the person fasting - 1) when he does iftār 2) when he meets Allah swt on the DoJ.
Nabi ﷺsaid that at the time of suhūr, du’ās are accepted and even at iftār - analogy of 60 cheques - we can fill it with whatever we want; yet the small Shayātīn make us ghāfil at iftār so we don’t make du’ā - they make us remember the samosas, chips, kebabs etc - and we lose the opportunity of making du’ā.
15 mins before iftār, finish your food prep - sit everyone down, and use the last 15 mins to make du’ā. If a wali of Allah swt was to tell us to make a du’ā at the same time, we would definitely make du’ā with so much passion and happiness - here our Nabi ﷺ told us to make it, so we should make a lot of du’ās with enthusiasm.
Ham to mayal ba-karam hai, koyi sā’il hi nahi, Jalwā e Tūr to mawjūd hai, mūsā hi nahī (may have totally got that wrong)
Every night of Ramadān, 1000s of people destined for the hellfire are freed. We should also ask Allāh swt to be freed from the hellfire - if our Allāh swt loves our crying and washing of sins, we will also be saved.
Laylatul Qadr - make niyyah from now that we are going to FIND it! How do we know when it is? Allāh swt has HINTED to us in the Qur’an - tannazalul malaaikatu war-rūhu…angels say amīn to the du’ās we make. There is tranquility on that day. Allāh swt didn’t tell us the starting point. we just know it iss till ‘matla’il fajr’ - its like Allāh swt has given us a hint just like teachers do for exams. Leave half an hour before Fajr - and USE that to make du’a - from the 30 nights, at least one will be laylatul qadr - so you’ve definitely hit it.
Allāh swt has given us Ramadān to be forgiven! May Allāh swt give us tawfiq to realise its value.
Think about it; its only a month! A month is nothing. If Allāh swt said stay up 30 nights, then we still would - but Allāh swt hasn’t even told us this. We just need to stay awake for the last 30 mins at least before Fajr.
Our pious predecessors say that the rest of the year will be spent according to how you spent your Ramadhān. Whatever you want to become habitual in, do this properly all throughout Ramadhān and beseech Allāh swt to allow you to do it for the rest of the year too, and it will become very easy for you.
We do not know whether we will receive this bounty of Ramadān again. We should think about the Qur’ān more than we think about food. Previosuly, our pious predecessors would judge someone’s piety by the amount of Ramadāns they lived - we cannot use this anymore!
Ask forgiveness on behalf of the ummah too. The last ten days is for freedom from hellfire- we definitely need to be amongst these people. Like someone in the world begs by holding someone else’s feet; with the same passion, we should ask Allāh swt. May Allāh swt grant us forgiveness and make it easy for us, ameen.
No comments:
Post a Comment