Who Am I and What Am I?
Al-Ẓahabī mentions in al-Siyar:
وقـال خراسـاني لأحمـد بـن حنبـل رحمـه اﷲ :الحمـد ﷲ الــذي ُرأيتـــــــك، قـــــــالَ ُ :اقعـــــــد، أي شـــــــيء ذا؟ مـــــــن أنـــــــا؟
A Khurasānī said to Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal (رحمه الله): “All praise is due to Allāh that I saw you.” He said: “Sit down [be silent]. What thing is that? Who am I?” Al-Siyar (Tahdhīb, 2/930).
وعــن رجــل قــال :رأيـــت أثــر الغــم في وجــه أبي عبـــد اﷲ ُ وقـد أثــنى عليــه شـخص، وقيــل لــه جــزاك اﷲ عـن الإســلام خــيرا، قــالً بــل جــزى اﷲ الإســلام عــَني خــيراً .مــن أنــا ومــا أنــا؟َ
And from a man who said: I saw the effect of grief on the face of Abū Abd Allāh (Imām Aḥmad) after someone had praised him, and it was said to him: “May Allāh bless (reward) you for [your aid of] Islām.” He said: “Rather, may Allāh bless Islām for [its aid to] me. Who am I and what am I?” Al-Siyar (Tahdhīb, 2/930).
Khalf bin Tamīm said:
سمعـــت ســفيان الثـــوري رحمـــه اﷲ بمكــة – وقــد كثــر النــاس عليــه – فــسمعته يقــول :ضــاعت الأمــة حــين احتيج إلي .
“I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī (رحمه الله) in Makkah—whilst many people had gathered around him—I heard him saying: “The ummah has gone to waste when I am needed [by them].” Al-Ḥilyah (Tahdhīb, 2/363).
Sufyān bin ʿUyainah (رحمه الله) said:
إني لأغــضب علــى نفــسي إذا رأيــــتكم تـــــأتوني، أقــــول :لم يـــــأتني هـــــؤلاء إلا مــــن خـــــير يظنـــــون بي .
“Verily, I become angry when I see you [people] come to me. I say: These [people] did not come to me except due to goodness they presume about me.” Al-Ḥilyah (Tahdhīb, 2/434).
NOTE: There are to be found youth who excel in memorisation of the Qurʾān and in the Arabic language and what is similar on account of cultural habits and background. While these are praiseworthey affairs, some of them are put to trial with self-amazement, being deceived with their abilities, while having paucity of understanding. They consider that Islām and the da`wah is in need of them, having grandiose visions in which they have mentally placed themselves, while they look down upon others and those who precede them.
Indeed, before the Qurʾān was revealed, the trait of trustworthiness, truthfulness (amānah, sidq) and the likes were present in people, such that the Qurʾān entered into healthy, wholesome receptacles and thus goodness was mixed and layered with goodness, producing yet more immense goodness. But today, due to the spread and preponderance of general evil, the receptacles are poisoned with the diseases of amazement, ego, vanity, seeking recognition and the likes, and of inclination to the world. When revealed knowledge is mixed and layered on top of these affairs, it leads to trials and tribulations upon these types of souls and upon those whom they draw to themselves.
Whoever sought knowledge to be an ʿabd of Allāh, then it will be in his favour and raise him and whoever sought knowledge to be an ʿabd of his ambitions and desires, then it will be against him and will debase and expose him. We ask Allāh for safety.
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Preserve your limbs from sins in your youth, Allāh will preserve them for you in old age
Ibn Rajab mentioned:
كان أبـو الطيـب الطـبري رحمـه اﷲ قـد جـاوز المائـة سـنة وهـو ممتـــع بعقلـــه وقوتـــه، فوثـــب يومـــا مـــن ســـفينة كـــان فيهـــا إلى الأرض وثبـــة ً َّشـــــديدة، فعوتـــــب علـــــى ذلـــــك، فقـــــال :هـــــذه جـــــوارح حفظناهـــــا عـــــن المعاصــي في الــصغر، فحفظهــا اﷲ علينــا في الكــبر
Abu Ṭayyib al-Ṭabarī (d. 450H) had reached over a hundred years in age and enjoyed (the soundness) of his intellect and (physical) strength. One day he leaped from a ship he was upon to the ground with a tremendous leap and he was rebuked for it (by others), so he said in response: “We preserved these limbs from sins while in young age and Allāh has preserved them for us in old age.” Al-Jāmiʾ al-Munktakhab (p. 131).
Al-Ẓahabī said of him: “The Imām, ʿAllāmah, Shaykh of Islām, al-Qāḍī Abū al-Ṭayyib… the faqīh of Baghdād…” Al-Khaṭīb said of him: “Our Shaykh, Abū al-Ṭayyib was pious, intelligent, knowledgeable of the foundations and branches (of the religion), a verifier, of good manners and sound doctrine…”
He had travelled to meet Abū Bakr al-Ismāʾīlī at Jurjān, but he only a reached a day before Abu Bakr passed away and did not manage to meet him. His intellect and comprehension did not alter in old age.
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The Salaf, the Stomach and Food (1)
Yūsuf bin Asbāṭ (رحمه الله) said: “Hunger softens the heart” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī Dunyā (4/95)
Aʿmash (رحمه الله) said: “Have you seen this stomach? If you demean it, it will honour you, and if you honour it, it will demean you.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī Dunyā (4/95)
Mālik bin Dīnār (رحمه الله) said: “Whoever masters his stomach, will master all the righteous actions.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī Dunyā (4/96).
Hussain bin ʿAbd al-Raḥmān (رحمه الله) said: “Plentiful food makes the heart die, just as plentiful water makes plants die.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī Dunyā (4/96).
ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz bin Abī Rawād (رحمه الله) said: “It used to be said: ‘Little food aids in hastiness towards good deeds’.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī Dunyā (4/97).
ʿAmr bin Qays (رحمه الله) said: “Beware of gluttony for it hardens the heart.” Jāmiʿ al-ʿUlūm wal-Hikam (p. 553).
Al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) said: “I have not eaten to my fill in over sixteen years except once, whereupon I used my hands to induce vomiting. This is because satiation (eating to the fill) burdens the body, hardens the heart, puts an end to intelligence, brings about sleep and weakens from worship.” Al-Siyar (Tahdhīb, 1/848).
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What is Knowledge?
Imām Malik (رحمه الله) said:
لـــيس العلـــم بكثـــرة الروايـــة، وإنما هو نور يضعه اﷲ في القلب
“Knowledge is not through lots of narrating, but it is light that Allāh places in the heart.” Ṣifat al-Ṣafwah (2/504)
Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله) said:
العلــــم مــــا نفــــع، لــــيس العلــــم مــــا حفظ
"Knowledge is what benefits, knowledge is not what is memorised." Al-Siyar, (Tahdhīb, 2/583).
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The Light of Intellect Recognises the True Favour of Allāh
bn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) said:
فإنّ من لم يرَ نعمة الله عليه إلا في مأكله ومشربه وعافية بدنه فليس له نصيبٌ مِن العقل البتة، فنعمة الله بالإسلام و الإيمان، و جذب عبده إلى الإقبال عليه، و التلذذ بطاعته هي أعظم النعم، و هذا إنما يُدرك بنور العقل، وهداية التوفيق.
He who does not see the favour of Allāh upon him except in his food, drink and well-being of his body, then he has no share of intellect at all. For the favour of Allāh with Islām and Īmān, the drawing His servant to turn towards Him, and finding pleasure in His obedience, this is the greatest of favours, and this is grasped through the light of intellect and [after receiving] the guidance of success.
Madārij al-Sālikīn (1/277)
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On Moderation in All Things
Muʿāwiyah (رضي الله عنه) said: “I have not seen squandering (going to excess) except that by its side is a right being neglected.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (7/479).
Sulaymān bin Dāwūd said: “We have experienced all of life (subsistence) and we have found that [taking] the least amount of it suffices [one’s needs].” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (7/477).
Muḥammad bin Sīrīn said: “Good regulation [of one’s affairs and conduct] is the key to guidance and the door of safety is in moderation.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (7/447).
Muḥammad bin Sīrīn said: “Moderation in everything is good, even in walking and sitting.” Mawsūʿat Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (7/448).
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The Pillars of Gratitude
Shaykh ʿUbayd al-Jābirī (حفظه الله) said:
“The pillars of gratitude—those which if a person combines togetherr he becomes truly grateful to Allāh—are three:
a) Affirmation of the favour inwardly, with certainty that it is from Allāh, that if He wills, He can remove it or make it remain.
b) Informing about the favour openly, when there is a need to do that.
c) Making use of this favour in what pleases the one who bestowed it, which is Allāh.
Al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿah (p. 258).
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Fools Do Not Recognise the Truth
Mālik bin Dīnar (رحمه الله) said:
يــا هــؤلاء إن الكلــب إذا طــرح إليــه الذهب والفضة لم يعرفهما، وإذا طـرح إليـه العظـم أكـب عليـه، كـذلك سفهاؤكم لا يعرفون الحق
“O you [people], verily when gold and silver are thrown to a dog, he does not know what they are, but when a bone is thrown at him, he pounces upon it. Such are the fools [among you], they do not know the truth.” Al-Hilyah (Tahdhīb, 1/419).
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Restricting Allāh's Favour to Food and Drink
Abū al-Dardā (رضي الله عنه) used to say:
من لم ير لله عليه نعمة إلا في الأكل والشرب، فقد قل تفهمه وحضر عذابه
Whoever did not see the favour of Allah upon him except in food and drink, then his understanding is little and his punishment has drawn near. Al-Zuhd of Abū Dāwūd (221).
The action Abu al-Dardā did most was thinking, consideration (iʿtibār) and reflection (al-tafakkur).(Istinshāq Nasīm al-Uns of Ibn Rajab, 49). Through ‘Min Akhbār al-Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ' (p.254).
Those who think that Allāh’s favour upon them lies in the material benefits conferred upon them such as food, drink, abodes, possessions, then they have little understanding and this is a sign of near punishment. Rather, the favour of Allāh lies in īmān, taqwā and righteous actions and guidance to the correct path, away from desires and doubts.
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☝️ Ibn Taymiyyah on Seeking Refuge from the Tribulation of Dajjāl
Quote: "The tribulation of Dajjāl is not specific to those present in his time. Rather, the reality of [the nature of] his tribulation is: Falsehood that opposes the Sharīʿah connected to extraordinary affairs (khawāriq). Whoever affirms what opposes the Sharīʿah by way of an extraordinary matter, then an aspect of this tribulation [of Dajjāl] has afflicted him."
