Tag: haqq

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Poems

A Pillar of Justice

An attentive listener, A sincere sympathiser, A generous giver, A considerate thinker, A beautiful soul, A ready giver of love, A noble mind, A deep carer, A nourishing heart, A pillar of justice, A man of principle, A heart of gold, A purified soul, An embodiment of truth, An ocean of knowledge, A wealth of experience, A treasure of advices, A pearl of wisdom, An angel personified…

In Memory of my Late Father – Haji NazirAhmed Daud Satia RH, who returned to Allah on this day, 4 years ago.

new scales

 

You held my hand when I was small, you caught me when I fell,

The hero of my childhood, and of latter years as well.

Every time I think of you, my heart just fills with pride,

And though I’ll always miss you, I know you’re by my side.

 

Not a day passes by, that you don’t cross my mind,

Not all of you departed when you left us all behind.

In my heart there is a place that only you can hold,

Filled with loving memories more priceless than silver or gold.

 

You never looked for praises, you were never one to boast,

You just went on quietly working, for the ones you loved the most.

You were a firm foundation through all our storms of life,

A sturdy hand to hold on to, in times of stress and strife.

 

Remembering you is easy, I do it every day,

Missing you is the heartache that never goes away.

You dwell among the angels now, but you left us too soon,

I can see you gliding across a golden field, above the harvest moon.

 

A thousand words won’t bring you back, I know because I’ve tried,

And neither will a million tears, I know because I’ve cried.

In laughter and in sorrow, in sunshine and in rain,

I know you always prayed for me, so now I pray for you…until we meet again.

 

He wasn’t a hero known by the entire world,

But a hero he was to his little world (his family).

If only you could see me, I’d want you to know this is true,

That everything I am today, is all because of you…

We will remember your values, teachings, morals, justice and principles.

Your beauty internal and external will never be extinguished from our minds.

Allah grant you everything you prayed for and much more, Allah fill the sorrowful void of your loss with Divine Consolation. Ameen.

Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)

9th Rabiul Awwal 1439

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Shaykh Saleem Dhorat

The Demise of the ‘Ulama

By Shaykh-ul-Hadīth, Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

On Tuesday 11th July 2017, upon awakening I received the sad news of the demise of Hadrat Mawlānā Ismail Badat rahimahullāh, the khalīfah of Shaykh-ul-Hadīth Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Zakariyyā rahimahullāh. Mawlānā Ismail Badat rahimahullāhhad settled in Al-Madīnah Al-Munawwarah in the 1970s and lived a life of piety and devotion. Māshā’allāh, it was his daily practice to recite the entire Qur’ān. He would begin reciting at home and come to Al-Masjid An-Nabawī before ‘Asr Salāh, where he would continue reciting until he had completed the Qur’ān. May Allāh ta‘ālā accept his efforts and worship, and elevate his status in Jannah.

I was still in a state of grief, when a few hours later I received the sad news of the demise of another great luminary of our era, the great muhaddith, Hadrat Shaykh-ul-Hadīth Mawlānā Muhammad Yunus Jonpuri rahimahullāh. He was also a khalīfah ofHadrat Shaykh rahimahullāh and a very knowledgeable person with a very high status in piety. He was a master in the science of Hadīth, due to which he was given the title ‘Muhaddith-ul-‘Asr’, the muhaddith of our era.

Naturally, I was very grieved and overwhelmed by the loss of two great personalities in one day, both of whom I had personally derived benefit from. The passing away of great ‘Ulamā one after the other is clearly a sign of Qiyāmah. The demise of such ‘Ulamā, who cannot be substituted by others of equivalent calibre, is a clear indication that the Day of Qiyāmah is drawing closer. Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam says,

Verily, Allāh does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the ‘Ulamā till no ‘ālim remains. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, (the result being that) they will go astray and will lead others astray. (Al-Bukhārī, Muslim)

The knowledge of Dīn diminishes with the passing away of such ‘Ulamā. And as knowledge decreases, the Ma‘rifah (recognition) of Allāh ta‘ālā decreases. And when the Ma‘rifah of Allāh ta‘ālā will remain no more, there will be no one to remember Allāh ta‘ālā and this will bring Qiyāmah. Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam has mentioned:

Qiyāmah shall not arrive until it is not said in the earth: ‘Allāh, Allāh.’ (i.e. Qiyāmah shall only arrive when Allāh ta‘ālā is no longer being remembered in this world.) (Muslim)

In the past 20 years, many great luminaries have left this world. Each one of them held a place of his own in the field of ‘ilm and ‘amal and accomplished great achievements. Sadly, their demise has left a vacuum unfilled. During such occasions, we should take lesson and start to prepare for the hereafter. The following lessons will benefit us:

1) Nobody stays in this world forever. Even the close friends of Allāh ta‘ālā must leave this world one day for the hereafter. Allāh ta‘ālā says to His Messengersallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam:

We have not prescribed eternal life for anyone before you. (21:34)

2) By studying the lives of these pious people and their efforts, we should learn the method of acquiring the success of this world and the hereafter. These people truly became the embodiment of the hadīth of Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam:

(The best is he) whose life is long and actions are good. (At-Tirmidhī)

    Hence, we should study the lives of these great luminaries and strive to follow in their footsteps, in both ‘ilm and ‘amal.

3) When a great ‘ālim and friend of Allāh ta‘ālā passes away, we feel remorse for not having benefitted from him in the way we should have. Therefore, upon realising this, we need to take maximum benefit from the ‘Ulamā who remain behind; from their academic and spiritual expertise with regards to Dīn, lest we are again left with nothing but regret. Rasūlullāh sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam has said:

The righteous will continue to depart (from this world) one after the other, and the useless people, like the husk of barley and dates, shall remain. And Allāh will not care the least for them. (Al-Bukhārī)

May Allāh ta‘ālā accept the efforts of these great personalities and give them the best of rewards in the hereafter. And may He give us the ability to follow in their footsteps and acquire success in this world and the everlasting success of the hereafter. Āmīn.

© Riyādul Jannah (Vol. 26 No. 7, July 2017

Categories
Dhulm/Oppression Poems

A man was born…

dead

A man was born 69 years ago,

Brave, courageous, a fighter for the truth,

A man was born 69 years ago,

Who was no ordinary man, not a weak man but strong and valiant.

A man was born 69 years ago,

Who was kind, loving, warm and friendly,

A man was born 69 years ago,

Who had a heart of gold, but stayed firm and bold.

A man was born 69 years ago,

Who loved helping people, but never asked for help,

A man was born 69 years ago,

Who was thoughtful and caring, but fierce and daring.

A man was born 69 years ago,

He couldn’t see wrong in front of him, didn’t matter if it was his own kith and kin,

A man was born 69 years ago,

Selfless, sacrificing, noble and respected.

This man left us three years ago,

Silently, returned to his Lord SWT,

This man left us three years ago,

Our lips were silent, but our hearts spoke

This man left us three years ago,

Even if we tried to forget him, it’s difficult to hide the painful tears.

In Memory of Abba

Ismail Ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s Forgiveness, Mercy and Pleasure).

27 Safar 1437

Categories
Dhulm/Oppression

The Greatest Jihad

kendal-james-632902-unsplash.jpg Jihad for Truth

A man asked the Messenger of Allah (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) “What is the most virtuous struggle (Jihād)?” The Prophet said, “A word of truth in front of a tyrannical ruler.” [1]

When people think of Jihād today, they often think of it in the military sense only because of rogue groups and with the help of the media notoriously tarnishing the word ‘Jihad’, the mass hold a misconception of it’s deeper meaning. In both cases thus the true essence of Jihad—such as standing up against injustice and oppression—is forgotten.

In Islām, truthfulness is the very cornerstone of the upright Muslim’s character and the springboard for his/her virtuousness deeds. Allāh says:

“O you who believe! Fear Allāh, and be with those who are true (in word and deeds).” [2]

‘Abd-Allāh ibn Mas’ūd (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said: “The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: ‘You must be truthful, for truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A man will keep speaking the truth and striving to speak the truth until he will be recorded with Allāh as a siddeeq (speaker of the truth). Beware of telling lies, for lying leads to immorality and immorality leads to Hellfire. A man will keep telling lies and striving to tell lies until he is recorded with Allāh as a liar.” [3]. This hadīth indicates that truthfulness leads to righteousness (al-birr), an all-embracing concept that includes all kinds of goodness and different kinds of righteous deeds.

It is narrated in the hadīth in al-Bukhāri and Muslim that no baby spoke in the cradle except three (and some say four), those being ‘Īsā (ʿalayhi al-Salām), Juraij, and another baby from the Banī Isrā’īl, and others mention the story of the Companions of the Trench, where a baby spoke to its mother to become a martyr. What you will notice is that Allāh made all the babies speak out of some impetus for justice. He made ‘Īsā (ʿalayhi al-Salām) speak to absolve his mother of charges of indecency; the baby in the story of Juraij spoke for a similar reason, the child of the Banī Isrā’īl spoke to differentiate a man that was a tyrant from a girl that was falsely accused. Allāh made miracles speaking for justice. And if Allāh made babies speak up for what is right, do you not think this is expected of you and me? [4]

As we can see from the above, it is from the fundamental teachings of Islām that truth cannot make concessions with falsehood. We are taught that wherever we see falsehood, we should run towards it to confront it with the truth, however bitter it may sound. Indeed this was from the way of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), the following is a very good example of this.

When the Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) uncle, Abū Tālib died, you can imagine the anxieties he was facing now that he lost his main protection from among the people. During this period, one of the biggest enemies of Islām and of those who caused most suffering to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), Abū Lahab said: “O Muhammad, pass on freely as you want. Do whatever you did when Abū Tālib was alive. No, by al-Lāt (an idol), I swear no harm will befall you before I die.”

When the Quraish heard this, they said to Abū Lahab, “Ask your nephew where your father has been sent”. So he then went and queried this with the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) who said that Abū Lahab’s father (who of course is the Prophet’s grandfather) ‘Abd al-Muttalib was with “his people”. When Abū Lahab told the people of Quraish this, they said to him “ask your nephew is ‘Abd al-Muttalib in the hell fire”. So Abu Lahab asked the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) this. Now before giving you his response, think about the Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) predicament – he has lost one of his most important pillars of support which now made him an open enemy of the Quraish and they could do with him what they wished and yet surprisingly, he now had gained the support from one of his biggest enemies, Abū Lahab.

He could have easily given him a vague response to please him, to have dressed his response up in order to ensure that Abū Lahab remained on good terms with him. But such was the firmness of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and his certainty in his greatest ally and protector, Allāh jalla wa’alā and his principle in standing with the truth that he responded as follows, and in doing so, invited on himself once again the wrath of Abū Lahab:

“Na’m (yes), whoever dies in the state of ‘Abd al-Muttalib was in, goes into hell-fire.”

On hearing this, Abu Lahab announced, “By God, I shall always be your enemy for your claiming that he is in the fire!”.[5]

Fulfilling the needs of people is one of the greatest acts of worship, and proof enough for this are the Prophet’s words, (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam):

“For me to walk along with my brother to fulfil his need is more beloved to me than to make I’tikaf in this mosque of mine for a month.” [6]

To our brothers who are being maligned in this difficult time, we pray that Allāh keeps you firm, protects you and makes these deeds of yours weigh heavily on the scale of deeds. And know that you have done what many great men have done before you such as Ibrahīm (ʿalayhi al-Salām) against Nimrūd, Mūsā (ʿalayhi al-Salām) against Fir’awn, and Malcolm X RH against the oppressive racist powers of his time; in each case, accounting the powers that be and inviting scorn on themselves in the process. Dear brothers, I leave you with the statement of the great sage and scholar of Islam, Ibn al-Qayyim RH which I hope you will take heart from in this testing time you are facing:

“Truthfulness is the greatest of stations, from it sprout all the various stations of those traversing the path to God; and from it sprouts the upright path which if not trodden, perdition is that person’s fate. Through it is the hypocrite distinguished from the believer and the inhabitant of Paradise from the denizen of Hell. It is the sword of God in His earth: it is not placed on anything except that it cuts it; it does not face falsehood except that it hunts it and vanquishes it; whoever fights with it will not be defeated; and whoever speaks it, his word will be made supreme over his opponent. It is the very essence of deeds and the well spring of spiritual states, it allows the person to embark boldly into dangerous situations, and it is the door through which one enters the presence of the One possessing Majesty. It is the foundation of the building of Islām, the central pillar of the edifice of certainty and the next level in ranking after the level of prophethood.” [7]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Ahmad

[2] Al-Qur’ān 9:119

[3] Muslim

[4] Riyād as-Sālihīn

[5] [Ibn Katheer’s, Life of the Prophet (S.A.W) Volume 2.

[6] Al-Tabari

[7] Madārij al-Sālikīn

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Poems

Two swords: Of Flesh & Of Steel.

In the name of Allah, the Just

.IMG-20121124-WA006

The truth is the truth; right is right,
To me it is clear – black and white.
At times you feel odd and at times you feel alone,
Tired, troubled and torn.

You may not seem intelligent or even very bright,
But speaking the truth will raise you in Allah’s sight.
It may cause a dispute; it may end up in a fight,
As the truth is bitter and certainly not welcomed with delight.
Sometimes you feel scared and just want to run,
But remember – that’s the cowards way, son.
You’d rather speak with courage and great might,
Go on, give them a fright! They might understand, this matter isn’t light.

We must use our intellect and insight,
To stick up for the truth and keep our left shoulder light.
As the dazzling day ends followed along by the dark night,
Similarly, it is clear what is wrong and what is right.

So dear friend, as I now end,

I hope my words didn’t bite, this is my last and final plight….

Please, stand firmly for truth and for justice and for what is right.

Ismail ibn Nazir Satia (One who is in dire need of Allah’s forgiveness, mercy and pleasure)

18 Safar 1436

(Written in memory of my late father, Haji NazirAhmed Daud Satia RH, one year after his demise. I believe he taught me courage, justice, morals, values and principles – Alhumdu Lillah. Out of sight, but not out of mind, Abba. Your voice has left us, but your legacy of justice remains In Sha Allah).