Islamic Biography - Biography of Prophet's Companions- The 4 Rightly-guided Caliphs- Abu Bakr Assiddiq- Lesson (1-5): His nature and morals before Islam
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest.
Oh, Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us. You are the All- Knower, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us what is good for us, and benefit us from what You taught us, and increase our knowledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep away from them.
O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
Dear brothers, you know that some of the idols: like lat,uzza, manat, na'ela, hobal, were worshipped beside Allah in the Ignorance period before Islam, but I always say to you that Allah has honored man with the gift of mind, and those who enjoyed the sound mind in Al-Jahelyya, their minds guided them to establish the alliance of Al-fudhool, in which they pledged to support any oppressed one against the oppressor;
It was a habit that one allows or orders his wife to have sexual relations with another man in order to have a child from him, then he calls him his son, and it was common that women sleeps with ten men at one time, the marriage system in that period was incredibly depraved and corrupt.
And the people in the period of ignorance used to say: the death of one thousand good people is easier than having one wretched person prosper, therefore, when our master Ali, may Allah honor him, was asked, he said: By Allah then by Allah, to dig two wells using two needles, and to sweep Al-Hijaz land with two feathers, and to wash two black slaves till they become white is easier for me than to ask a wicked person for anything to repay a loan.
It is unbearable to see a wicked person become prosperous, souk (market) Ukaz was one of the features of that period, what was happening in that souk? It was a meeting where all the genius and wise people were competing in delivering poetry (and other types of literature), it was a literary meeting.
Through his reflecting on the universe, our master Ibrahim [p.b.u.h] said: the sun is my Lord, and once he said: the moon is my lord, and once he said: the star is my lord, Allah said:
Al-Mutala'mmiss bin U'mayya Al-Kinani said in that time (Al-Jahilyya,i.e. Ignorance era) when he was beside Al-Ka'ba: obey me and you will be guided (to the right path), you have worshipped many gods, (and you know that) Allah is your Lord and the Lord of all that you worship ", he said these words before the Prophet [p.b.u.h] was sent, no message, no divine revelation or qur'an, but by his sound mind, he realized that there is a Lord (One and Only) of all people, and He is their Creator.
Zu'hair bin Abi Sulma caught new green leaves off a tree, after they was dry and said: " If it were not that the Arabs would swear at me, I would believe that Who made you green again, He will certainly give life to the decomposed bones after they have become dust", and he said this famous line of poetry:
When man reflects deeply upon the creation, he finds that everything speaks of the Wahdaniyyah of Allah ( Being Allah the One and Alone Ilah(God) of everything), everything expresses that there is a Wise, Merciful and Gracious God for this universe, there were three men who believed in the religion of Ibrahim (p.b.u.h): Qess bin Sa'eda Al-E'yaadi, Zaid bin A'mr bin Nufail and Wa'raqa bin Nau'fal
Zaid bin A'mr rested on the wall of Ka'ba announcing: " O Quraish, By Whom whose my souls in His Hand (Allah), no one is now holding the religion of Ibrahim except me, I followed the religion of Ibrahim and (his son) Isma'il [Ishmael] after them, and I am waiting a Prophet from the progeny of Isma'il (i.e. Muhammad), but I think that I will not see him[i.e. will not live enough to see him)", then he saw A'mer bin Rabi'a and called him: "O A'mer bin Rabi'a if you are still alive and see him, convey my wishes and peace to him".
Our master Abu Bakr reacted to the words of Qess and A'mer, he said when he heard those words: By the Lord of Ibrahim (Allah), this is the truth, but how and when will we become sure of it?
We can call these things as "searches", those grand men used their sound minds, by which they knew that there is a Great God for this universe, and what people were worshipping in that period is not the religion of Allah, the Great and Almighty, it was just injustice, absurdity, superstitions and charlatanism.
Waraqa bin Naufal devoted himself to study and recite the Gospels, so that they may guide him to the religion of Ibrahim, Zaid was roaming in his faithful longing, walking in Mecca, sometimes resorting to the Ka'ba, another time calling his Lord, he said:" O Allah, had I known what is the best way that You like to be worshipped, I would have worshipped You by it, but I don't know it". They were eager to find out the truth.
Some scholars say this Talbiya (pronouncing labbaika) in their pilgrimage, and of course you know the famous talbiya " 'Labbaika Allahumma labbaik, Labbaika la sharika Laka labbaik, Inna-l-hamda wan-ni'mata Laka walmu Lk, La sharika Laka' (I respond to Your call O Allah, I respond to Your call, and I am obedient to Your orders, You have no partner, I respond to Your call All the praises and blessings are for You, All the sovereignty is for You, And You have no partners with you.
We, in this chapter, put ourselves in the atmosphere that the Siddiq had lived in; a man lived in the time of the Ignorance, who never drank wine, nor worshipped an idol, and those who say: man is son of his environment; harsh experiences (or data), corrupt medium, all of this is nonsense.
said:
Our master As- Siddiq saw that this chaste, honest, pure, faithful and truthful man is who would end this discord, with that simple way of course, so Abu Bakr's famous statement: maybe the first comer is he who ends the quarrel again, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed, again, and again and again.
There was eagerness and expectation for the truth, and when man waits relief, it will certainly come.
I previously gave a unique example, the thermos (flask) that people use in their picnics, has an opening in its top and a tap at the bottom, so what you put from the top is what you take from the bottom, the most dangerous /serious thing in man's life are the sources of the cultural feeding, a student of Elm attends lessons on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, he listens to the Friday's Khutba (sermon), reads a book in his house, all his cultural resources are about the truth, about religion, Sunna, the Companions; so what do you expect from him if he wants to speak? He will speak about the truth. Certainly he isn't like one whose cultural feeding is derived from the news of the actors and actresses, serials, cheap works of art and magazines, which feed minds of people; If this man wants to speak, what do you think he would he speak about? This process is the same of the process putting water from the top opening then taking it from the bottom tap, it doesn't give you but what you put inside it.
But the believer imagines no one but the Prophet [p.b.u.h] and his gracious Companions, he always reprimands himself, therefore, when one feeds himself with the religious thoughts and Islamic heroism, he wouldn't speak but about the truth, his conceptions are based on what he has heard; he loves to help the poor and anxiouspeople, he loves to be generous, virtuous, objective, the cultural sources are the origin of all the virtues. On the other hand,, the seriousness of the cheap works of art is that the boy or the girl live in the ethical corruption and the carnal desires, so if one is surrounded with these cheap resources, he would be as a writer said: if you read a story or a poem, and you feel that it stimulates the "bottom" senses or feelings, then you are reading a cheap work of art, and a whole society can be destroyed by this cheap works.
We should, before everything, choose the cultural supply, and By Allah's Grace, the mosques are a good cultural supply wherein the Qur'an, the sunna and the biographies of the gracious Companions, and if one is eager to feed himself with these great thoughts, values and principals, his speech and behavior would be led by what he has already been fed.
Our brothers who do the Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage) stand towards the Prophetic shrine to speak to him, then they step slightly aside to stand towards the shrine (grave) of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and there is good statement delivered in his honor, you feel indescribably happy when you stand close to the the first man after the Prophet [p.b.u.h] who said about him:
Oh, Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us. You are the All- Knower, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us what is good for us, and benefit us from what You taught us, and increase our knowledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep away from them.
O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
The social status of Abu Bakr before Islam:
Dear brothers, this is the first lesson on the biography of our master Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, this the great Companion, who reached the rank of As-Siddiqqiia (i.e. those who are very righteous and believe in the Words of Allah ), the first rank after Prophethood and Messengership, and Maryam (Mary, mother of prophet Isa [Jesus]) was also Siddiqah (the feminine noun of Siddiq), his nearness from the Prophet [p.b.u.h] reached the level that the Prophet didn't ever say or see think but Abu Bakr said: You said the truth, O Allah's Messenger, because their vision are alike, the nearest rank to the standing of Allah's Messenger is Abu Bakr's rank, and the traditions that speak about his high rank are many,
"The sun doesn't rise on a man better than Abu Bakr"
"I vied with Abu Bakr and we were like these" and he (the Prophet) made a gesture by his middle finger and forefinger
This great Companion didn't ever worship an idol and didn't ever drink wine in the Ignorance era ( the era before Islam).
The Mind is a great Devine gift to man:
Our lesson today is about Abu Bakr's life before Islam, we are in the first chapter, beginning with the verse in which Allah, the Great and Almighty, says:
"..and We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)"
The interpreters said that one of the meanings of this verse is that a messenger means, here, the mind, and whom he is given a sound mind ( or intelligence) is enough to guide him to the truth without a message from the heaven or an informing from Allah, the Great and Almighty, hence our master Khalid bin Al-Walid when he lately embraced Islam, the Prophet[p.b.u.h] said to him:
"I wondered at you, Khalid, I see you have a mind (i.e. so why you be late in embracing Islam?)"
We will discuss in the lesson the pre –Islam stage, how did this Siddiq deal with the worshipping of idols in Al-Jahelyya ( Ignorance) era? How did he receive their beliefs? Did he accept them? Did he seek after the truth? Did the truth appear to him?Dear brothers, you know that some of the idols: like lat,uzza, manat, na'ela, hobal, were worshipped beside Allah in the Ignorance period before Islam, but I always say to you that Allah has honored man with the gift of mind, and those who enjoyed the sound mind in Al-Jahelyya, their minds guided them to establish the alliance of Al-fudhool, in which they pledged to support any oppressed one against the oppressor;
Abu Huraira Narrated: Allah's Apostle was asked, "Who is the most honorable amongst the people?" He replied, "The most Allah fearing." The people said, "We are not asking about this " He said, "The most honorable person is Joseph, Allah's Prophet, the son of Allah's Prophet, the son of Allah's Prophet, the son of Allah's Khalil" The people said, 'We are not asking about this." He said," Then you want to ask me about the origins of the Arabs? People are of various origins. The best in the pre-lslamic period are the best in Islam, provided they comprehend (the religious knowledge)."
Man, certainly, will find the truth if he enjoys sound mind and nature, he can find the truth or its great principles through his sound mind, no one benefits from his mind like the believer.
The system of the former pre –Islamic life:
Dear brothers, the priceless and indescribable gift is your mind that Allah has given you, we will see what is the value (or benefit) of mind without the guidance of Allah, a dark ignorance; worshipping idols that cannot harm and avail, usury where money is piled into a few hands; a severe inequity and absurdity, and destructive internecine wars for less than trivial reasons, that was the life of that time, and maybe, I don't exaggerate if I say that the pre –Islamic (Ignorance) period that Allah described with (former), that means that there will be another time of ignorance; the ignorance of the twentieth century is worse than the former one, every era has its times of ignorance, but this is more terrible and more corrupt, our master As-Siddiq lived in that time where the idols were worshipped besides Allah, the society was suffering from the atrocities of the vast classes distinction, and the family system was weak.It was a habit that one allows or orders his wife to have sexual relations with another man in order to have a child from him, then he calls him his son, and it was common that women sleeps with ten men at one time, the marriage system in that period was incredibly depraved and corrupt.
What did the mind of Abu Bakr lead him to?
This great Companion, who was gifted with the sound mind, to what did his mind guide him? a few people in the pre –Islamic era enjoyed sound minds and natures, they established the alliance of Al-fudhool to help the weak oppressed people against the oppressors, and the Prophet (p.b.u.h) was young when this alliance existed, and he praised those men who established it., The good deed remains good at all times, the good deed doesn't decay, and the sin is unforgettable, and Ad-Dayyan (one of Allah's Good Names) doesn't die, man stays himself a man in any time and place, Allah said:
“1-O mankind !Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam) and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa(Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women; and fear Allah through Whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (do not cut relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All –Watcher over you.”
The soul has one entity; injustice harms it and equity comforts it, the good rises the rank of the good doer, as does modesty. The sacred months were well known and valid in that period, and their importance is not less than the importance of Al-fudhool, because people suffer from the woes of the atrocious wars, and it is very hard for a warrior to drop his weapon, except in these sacred months, where every party can save face, and due to that fighting in these months was forbidden, the war stops without any of them being victorious or defeated, and it was an opportunity for the situation to go back to normal.
Spending evenings in chatting and reading poetry is a feature of Jahilyia:
One the achievements of the sound mind in that period is the sacred months, there were many virtues practiced in that period also, the generosity; Hatem At-Ta'ie was very famous for his generosity, and there are other values; helping one another, bravery, meekness or patience, modesty and eloquence.And the people in the period of ignorance used to say: the death of one thousand good people is easier than having one wretched person prosper, therefore, when our master Ali, may Allah honor him, was asked, he said: By Allah then by Allah, to dig two wells using two needles, and to sweep Al-Hijaz land with two feathers, and to wash two black slaves till they become white is easier for me than to ask a wicked person for anything to repay a loan.
It is unbearable to see a wicked person become prosperous, souk (market) Ukaz was one of the features of that period, what was happening in that souk? It was a meeting where all the genius and wise people were competing in delivering poetry (and other types of literature), it was a literary meeting.
The dominant beliefs in the Ignorance period:
All of you know that some people worshipped the sun, and some worshipped the angels, and some worshipped the jinn, and another group worshipped the planets, and some worshipped Ad-Daher (i.e. the time), these pagan beliefs were dominant in that period, the proofs are what Allah the Almighty says:“28-And the Day whereon We shall gather them all together, then We shall say to those who did set partners in worship with Us: "Stop at your place! You and your partners (whom you had worshipped in the worldly life)." then We shall separate them, and their (Allah's so-called) partners shall say:
" It was not us that you used to worship."”
And His Statement:
“49- And that He (Allah) is the Lord of Sirius (the star which the pagan Arabs used to worship).”
That star which you are worshipping besides Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, Allah is its Lord, and there were, as previously mentioned, people worshipped Ad-Dahr (time), Allah Almighty said:
“24- And they say:"There is nothing but our life of this world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except Ad-Dahr (time). And they have no knowledge of it: they only conjecture.”
Amidst these pagan beliefs, and the economic, social and intellectual turmoil, a few people held the religion of Ibrahim (Abraham).
Informed Muslims are charged with branches of the religion:
Dear brothers, there are some people who think that if man is not informed (or does not have knowledge) about the religion, he will not be brought to account, but let I tell you this truth: man is always asked (about his religion) due to what Allah has given him (mind) before informing him, Hasn't Allah given you a mind? so: the mind is the pivot (cause) of charging, don’t you have a sound nature? You will be brought to account according to the mind and nature that Allah gave you, so: by your mind you can recognize Allah, and by your nature you can distinguish between right and wrong, when man deviates, lies, transgresses, takes what doesn't belong to him..etc, his sound nature will apprise (forewarn) him of his misdeed. Is there any Qur'anic verse (ayah) which affirms this meaning? Allah Almighty says:
“30-…, Allah's Fitrah (Allah's Islamic Monotheism) with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Khalq-illah(i.e the religion of Allah--- Islamic Monotheism): that is the straight religion, but most of men know not.”
And there is another verse which is clearer, His Statement:
“8-Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him.”
This means that if one is not informed about Islam or the charging of duty, he may be exempted from the details of this charging; if you know that there is a God of this universe, and you would be very careful that you do not wrong any creature, this is the sole essence of the religion, so: by the mind and your nature (fitrah) you can reach (understand) the generals of religion, to its purposes, and by informing and charging (of duties) you have to apply the details of the religion such as: the five prayers, paying Az-Zakat (tax money), the rules of selling, speculation, rent, conveyance..etc.Through his reflecting on the universe, our master Ibrahim [p.b.u.h] said: the sun is my Lord, and once he said: the moon is my lord, and once he said: the star is my lord, Allah said:
“79- (then Ibrahim said ): Verily I have turned my face towards Him Who has created the heavens and the earth Hanifa, (Islamic Monotheism, i.e. worshipping none but Allah Alone), and I am not of Al-Mushrikun (polytheists).”
This is the religion of Ibrahim, to not direct to the creatures but to the Creator of creatures, you know, there are still some people who worship the cow, the sun, the woman, the animals, in some regions of southeast of Asia, some people worship the dragon in their festivals and ceremonies, but man cannot elevate himself except when he turns his face towards Him Who has created the heavens and the earth.
Examples of people of Al-Jahelyyah (Ignorance period) who knew Allah before time of our master Muhammad's Prophethood:
I will mention to you some of statements of those people, the point of this lesson is what Allah Almighty says:
“..And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning)”
I tend to understand that the messenger mentioned in this verse is the mind, A'mer bin Ath-Zerb Al-Ud'wani talked about his thoughts: " I have never seen a thing that created himself/ itself, and nothing that exists without being created, and nothing comes but it will go (end), if the disease is what causes death to people, so the medicine is what gives them life ", then: there is very big power that all things and matters are in His Hand.Al-Mutala'mmiss bin U'mayya Al-Kinani said in that time (Al-Jahilyya,i.e. Ignorance era) when he was beside Al-Ka'ba: obey me and you will be guided (to the right path), you have worshipped many gods, (and you know that) Allah is your Lord and the Lord of all that you worship ", he said these words before the Prophet [p.b.u.h] was sent, no message, no divine revelation or qur'an, but by his sound mind, he realized that there is a Lord (One and Only) of all people, and He is their Creator.
Zu'hair bin Abi Sulma caught new green leaves off a tree, after they was dry and said: " If it were not that the Arabs would swear at me, I would believe that Who made you green again, He will certainly give life to the decomposed bones after they have become dust", and he said this famous line of poetry:
So do not conceal your thoughts about Allah inside your souls to be hidden,
Because whatever you try to do, to Allah is very known
And Abu Qais turned away from Quraish and their idols, and made a (private) mosque in his home where no menstruating woman or in a state of Janaba (i.e. in a state of sexual impurity and haven't yet taken a bath) are allowed to get in, and he declared: I am worshipping the Lord of Ibrahim (the Prophet Abraham[p.b.u.h]).Because whatever you try to do, to Allah is very known
When man reflects deeply upon the creation, he finds that everything speaks of the Wahdaniyyah of Allah ( Being Allah the One and Alone Ilah(God) of everything), everything expresses that there is a Wise, Merciful and Gracious God for this universe, there were three men who believed in the religion of Ibrahim (p.b.u.h): Qess bin Sa'eda Al-E'yaadi, Zaid bin A'mr bin Nufail and Wa'raqa bin Nau'fal
Another example of those who search for the truth
Our master As-Siddiq, whom we are speaking about, who lived part of his life in the era of ignorance, never worshipped an idol, nor did he drink wine., what guided him to that ? His sound mind, he was a friend of the Prophet [p.b.u.h] and they grew up together, one day the Prophet was sitting with his Companions, recollecting the days of his youth, he said: I do not forget Qess bin Sa'eda, riding his camel in Souk Uqaz, he delivered a speech that I do not think remember! our master Abu Bakr said: O Allah's Messenger, I remember it, I was there that day, he stood upon his camel and said: O people, listen and understand, if you understand you should benefit; whoever is alive, he will die, and he who dies, becomes forgotten, and all what is coming, will certainly come, there is news from the heaven, and examples on earth; a set bed (i.e. the surface of the earth), and a roof (or canopy) raised high (i.e. the sky), and moving stars, and seas that never sink, a dark night and heaven holding big stars, Qess is truly swearing that Allah has a religion that is more beloved than your religion, why I see the people go but they don't return(from their death), are they satisfied with their abode? Or are they left to sleep [in their graves]? Then he recited these lines of poetry:
In the end of ancient people we have lessons
Where there is no escape from the death's causes
And all of my people go towards them (these causes) alike the nobles and ignoble ones
And I ascertained that I will definitely face the same ends
These words were delivered in that period; the Ignorance period, when there was not yet a prophet nor was there a message, this is one of the achievements of the human mind, the mind, dear brothers, harmonizes with the transference.Where there is no escape from the death's causes
And all of my people go towards them (these causes) alike the nobles and ignoble ones
And I ascertained that I will definitely face the same ends
Zaid bin A'mr rested on the wall of Ka'ba announcing: " O Quraish, By Whom whose my souls in His Hand (Allah), no one is now holding the religion of Ibrahim except me, I followed the religion of Ibrahim and (his son) Isma'il [Ishmael] after them, and I am waiting a Prophet from the progeny of Isma'il (i.e. Muhammad), but I think that I will not see him[i.e. will not live enough to see him)", then he saw A'mer bin Rabi'a and called him: "O A'mer bin Rabi'a if you are still alive and see him, convey my wishes and peace to him".
Our master Abu Bakr reacted to the words of Qess and A'mer, he said when he heard those words: By the Lord of Ibrahim (Allah), this is the truth, but how and when will we become sure of it?
We can call these things as "searches", those grand men used their sound minds, by which they knew that there is a Great God for this universe, and what people were worshipping in that period is not the religion of Allah, the Great and Almighty, it was just injustice, absurdity, superstitions and charlatanism.
Waraqa bin Naufal devoted himself to study and recite the Gospels, so that they may guide him to the religion of Ibrahim, Zaid was roaming in his faithful longing, walking in Mecca, sometimes resorting to the Ka'ba, another time calling his Lord, he said:" O Allah, had I known what is the best way that You like to be worshipped, I would have worshipped You by it, but I don't know it". They were eager to find out the truth.
Attitudes of scholars towards events occurred before the prophecy
The scholars said: these are signs, proofs of nearness of the arrival of the Prophet [p.b.u.h], and the confidence and quietude of our master As-Siddiq were increasing whenever he saw Zaid bin Amr shouldering his way into Ka'ba, saying fearlessly: " labbaika ( I response to your call and I am obedient to your orders) truly truly, with devoutness and servitude ".Some scholars say this Talbiya (pronouncing labbaika) in their pilgrimage, and of course you know the famous talbiya " 'Labbaika Allahumma labbaik, Labbaika la sharika Laka labbaik, Inna-l-hamda wan-ni'mata Laka walmu Lk, La sharika Laka' (I respond to Your call O Allah, I respond to Your call, and I am obedient to Your orders, You have no partner, I respond to Your call All the praises and blessings are for You, All the sovereignty is for You, And You have no partners with you.
He who seeks the truth, will certainly find it:
I would like to till you this fact, as it seems that you all seek after the truth; By Allah, Who no god but Him (none has the right to be worshipped but He), Allah would not guide one to the truth except if he searches for it, it is impossible to find a believer who found the truth without him having searched for it, everyone reviews his past life, he says: I am searching for something, but I do not know where it is, what is this thing? It is the truth, the absolute and biggest truth; to know where you are, Where were you, and what is the end? What is the philosophy of the existence and life? Man's search after the truth is the reason that guided him to it, the clearest verse about this subject is Allah's Statement:
“69-As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths(i.e. Allah's religion—Islamic Monotheism). And verily Allah is with the Muhsinun (good doers)."”
Dear brothers, if you seek sincerely after the truth, by Allah, the destruction of the universe is easier to Allah than your being unable to reach it, at any time and in any place; in the time of Fitan (polytheism, trials, calamities, afflictions) just search for the truth and you will find it, the price of the truth is to search for it sincerely, Umayya bin Abi As-Selt said:
Will we find a prophet amongst us to tell us where we are going (our fate)?
I seek refuge with Whom people do pilgrimage for Him (Allah) [ from staying in our puzzlement]
Our master As-Siddiq said: is there no man who gather us to the truth after he guides us to it? There was a searching for the truth.I seek refuge with Whom people do pilgrimage for Him (Allah) [ from staying in our puzzlement]
A comparison between the modern man and As-Siddiq !!
Those who disabled their minds and indulged in their lusts and desires, do not know where their position is in this life, at the rear, or at the front, or on the margin of life!! I remember a line of poetry which is the most satiric one that the Arabs have ever said, the poet is Al-Hutai'a, who was imprisoned for it:
Leave the noble deeds, do not seek for them and rest, for you are the feeder and dresser
This line of poetry maybe considered a slogan of everyone in the time of the second ignorance (this time); as long your income is high, you have a comfortable house, your trade is profitable and your wife and children are in good health, so why do you trouble yourself in seeking the truth?!! People advice each other: stay in your house, it's better for you, if one wants to learn his religion, to be with faithful virtuous friends, he finds dozens of people warning him: leave this, this line became a habit of the modern man.We, in this chapter, put ourselves in the atmosphere that the Siddiq had lived in; a man lived in the time of the Ignorance, who never drank wine, nor worshipped an idol, and those who say: man is son of his environment; harsh experiences (or data), corrupt medium, all of this is nonsense.
Man is the son of himself:
Once, a professor said: they say that man is son of his heredity, he said: that is right, the man is the son of his environment; that is true, man is son of his parents, that is right, and he gave many sentences about this subject, then he said: the most appropriate thing is that man is the son of hisself, this means that he chooses something, you sometimes find a righteous young man who came from a wretched dissolute family, this young man who grew up in corrupt family is a proof of the falseness of this opinion, you can find also a young man who grew up in a wealthy family but he loves the Elm (Islamic science; religion), you are the son of yourself, you have your independence, you are free in your choices, Allah said:
“69-As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths(i.e. Allah's religion—Islamic Monotheism). And verily Allah is with the Muhsinun (good doers)."”
His attitude towards the Prophet on the Day of Ka'ba:
Dear brothers, it is a well known that the Kaaba existed in the pre-Islamic period ( the Ignorance period) Allah the Exalted and Glorioussaid:
“96-Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Mecca), full of blessing, and a guidance for Al-'Alamin (mankind and jinn).”
I do not say that our master Ibrahim is who started its construction, but it is the first House appointed for mankind, so it is a sacred place even in the Ignorance period, and when they wanted to rebuild it, all the tribes quarreled about the Black Stone (which is fixed in one of the corners of Kaaba); who should carry it and put it in its proper place ? all of you know that long- term wars broke out between Arabs for silly reasons, once, a man in SouK of Uqaz stretched his leg out and said challengingly: Let whoever is more honorable than me cut it off [his leg], so a man came and cut it off, and this was the cause of ten-year war, but here the case is very big, it is about a holy subject (i.e. the Black Stone of Kaaba), and the dissension among the tribes of Quraish started, the oldest and wisest man of Quraish, Umayyah [Umayyad] bin Al-Mu'ghira advised them to make the first comer a judge in their dispute, and they should be content with his judgment, who was that man? He was Muhammad {p.b.u.h], they said: this is Muhammad, the faithful, the honest, he is the judge, who if his contemporaries in the time of Ignorance(before Islam) found a small fault in his behavior or dealings, they would have mentioned it after his Prophethood (after being sent to them), but they never saw anything but chastity, purity, faithfulness and honesty, and, the believer should be like this, and As-Siddiq (Abu Bakr) used to say: Yes, the judge is Muhammad [p.b.u.h] who was a young man at the time of that event, and he saw that they were on the brink of a fierce fighting, he said: "bring a dress to me", they brought it, he put the Stone on it, and asked every tribe to hold one side of it, then they all contributed in lifting it up, and when the Stone was near its proper place, Muhammad [p,b.u.h] took it with his hand and put it in its place, were they were allcontent, this discord ended happily, which otherwise would have been a disastrous evil.Our master As- Siddiq saw that this chaste, honest, pure, faithful and truthful man is who would end this discord, with that simple way of course, so Abu Bakr's famous statement: maybe the first comer is he who ends the quarrel again, to judge between people in matters wherein they differed, again, and again and again.
There was eagerness and expectation for the truth, and when man waits relief, it will certainly come.
Man's convictions are what stimulates him:
Do not think that the faith happens or comes suddenly, there is something called "accumulations", the accumulation of convictions, man thinks, reflects, watches the events, listens to speeches, whatever he receives, he stores it in his unconscious, for instance, when one attends a lesson of Elm (religious sciences), and no one there requests righteousness from him, but he felt at ease with this lesson, so he attended it, this lesson led to accumulations stored in his unconscious, these facts, sobering thoughts, holy verses and ahadith, explanations and directions..etc, settle in the subconscious, until this subconscious or, so to speak, this conviction becomes the stimulus or guide for him, you should know that all the "cultural store", at the end, reacts with you and guides your behavior, maybe this is the most serious idea that I have mentioned to you.I previously gave a unique example, the thermos (flask) that people use in their picnics, has an opening in its top and a tap at the bottom, so what you put from the top is what you take from the bottom, the most dangerous /serious thing in man's life are the sources of the cultural feeding, a student of Elm attends lessons on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, he listens to the Friday's Khutba (sermon), reads a book in his house, all his cultural resources are about the truth, about religion, Sunna, the Companions; so what do you expect from him if he wants to speak? He will speak about the truth. Certainly he isn't like one whose cultural feeding is derived from the news of the actors and actresses, serials, cheap works of art and magazines, which feed minds of people; If this man wants to speak, what do you think he would he speak about? This process is the same of the process putting water from the top opening then taking it from the bottom tap, it doesn't give you but what you put inside it.
Man should supply himself with a pure and clear resource:
I always say to you that you are throughout your life, willingly or unwillingly, three persons, one of them is you ie the personality you currently have, the second is a personality that you wish to be, the third is a personality that you don't like to be, so if tell me what is the type of personality that you wish to be, I tell you who you are, everyone imagines something about his future before he goes to bed, the vendors imagine themselves as successful businessmen, the junior lawyer imagines himself a famous one, the graduate doctor imagines himself a well-known one, everyone according his career and class imagines a person of a higher status.But the believer imagines no one but the Prophet [p.b.u.h] and his gracious Companions, he always reprimands himself, therefore, when one feeds himself with the religious thoughts and Islamic heroism, he wouldn't speak but about the truth, his conceptions are based on what he has heard; he loves to help the poor and anxiouspeople, he loves to be generous, virtuous, objective, the cultural sources are the origin of all the virtues. On the other hand,, the seriousness of the cheap works of art is that the boy or the girl live in the ethical corruption and the carnal desires, so if one is surrounded with these cheap resources, he would be as a writer said: if you read a story or a poem, and you feel that it stimulates the "bottom" senses or feelings, then you are reading a cheap work of art, and a whole society can be destroyed by this cheap works.
We should, before everything, choose the cultural supply, and By Allah's Grace, the mosques are a good cultural supply wherein the Qur'an, the sunna and the biographies of the gracious Companions, and if one is eager to feed himself with these great thoughts, values and principals, his speech and behavior would be led by what he has already been fed.
The status of Abu Bakr in his people:
In this chapter, we discussed the life of this great Companion, who is the first Companion of all, he is the Siddiq that the Prophet [p.b.u.h] described him as:
"Abu Bakr has never hurt me"
By Allah, I always feel shaken whenever I repeat these words, the Prophet [p.b.u.h] said:
" I have never invited anyone to (embrace) Islam but he had a stumble except my brother Abu Bakr".
For this reason I read the biography of this great Companion, the most honorable Companion, of the highest degree of trueness, sincerity and dedicating himself to love of Allah, and to serve the Messenger of Allah [p.b.u.h], so his is great in the eyes of Allah's Messenger.Our brothers who do the Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage) stand towards the Prophetic shrine to speak to him, then they step slightly aside to stand towards the shrine (grave) of Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, and there is good statement delivered in his honor, you feel indescribably happy when you stand close to the the first man after the Prophet [p.b.u.h] who said about him:
"There shall be left open no window in the mosque except Abu Bakr's window."
And in the holy mosque of Mecca, beside the Bab As-Salam [ i.e. the door [or gate] of the peace], there is a green plaque which reads: "This is Abu Bakr's window", which means that his house was here.
Summary:
Many ahadith about this great Companion have been mentioned, but now what concerns us is to stop a few minutes on his life and we will, Allah willing, continue with his biography for a couple of weeks or more, but today I wanted to mention some of the features of life of Al-Jahelyya (Ignorance, pre-Islam period) that this Companion lived in, and how he, by his sound nature and mind, avoided worshipping idols and drinking wine, he was on tenterhooks waiting this Devine Message, he was a loyal and sincere friend of the Prophet [p.b.u.h], and I showed how some men embraced the religion of Ibrahim at that very time, and how the mind can guide you to Allah, the Great and Almighty, and how the sound nature prevent s you from committing sins and falling down.
Translation : Saud Abdul-Razzaq
Edited by : Ghada Homad
No comments:
Post a Comment