the beauty of prophet muhammad by maulana yusuf motalaba

8/15/2019 The Beauty of Prophet Muhammad by Maulana Yusuf Motalaba

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The Beauty of

Prophet Muhammad .

y

AS REFLECTED IN LECTURES ON ṢAḤĪḤ AL-BUKHĀRĪ


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In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise be to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds, and

peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muḥammad,

Mercy to the Worlds.


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The Beauty of

Prophet Muhammad .

y

AS REFLECTED IN LECTURES ON ṢAḤĪḤ AL-BUKHĀRĪ

A Collection of Lectures

Delivered by

SHAYKH AL-ḤADĪTH MAWLĀNĀ YUSUF MOTALA


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Forthcoming Titles

from the Author

○

Obedience to the Messenger

Final Moments of the Saintly Elders

Miracles and Excellence of the Friends of Allāh

The Beauty of Prophet Muḥammad as Reflected in Lectures onḤadīth

The Beauty of Prophet Muḥammad as Reected on theCulmination of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī

The Beauty of Prophet Muḥammad as Reected Through OurHearts


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Undoubtedly, the Messenger of Allāh is an excellent role model for the one who has hope in Allāh and the Last Day,

and who remembers Allāh frequently.—Qur’ān 33:21—


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CO N T E N T S

Transliteration Key xxiiTranslation Note xxiv

Preface 2

1BE A T I N G O F DR U M S I N BO T H WO R L D S T O GR E E T T H E BE A U T Y T H A T BR I G H T E N E D A N D I L L U M I N A T E D T H E WO R L D

Travelling Becomes Dicult for Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh h 6The Attempt of a Soothsayer of Makkah Mukarramah 6Divine Illumination (Nūr ) of Prophethood on Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh’s h Forehead 7Trial for Humanity 8Upbringing of an Orphan Gem 8Envisaging This Orphan Gem in Meditation (Murāqabah) IsSucient 9Seclusion (Iʿtikāf ) of the Noble Prophet in the Cave of Ḥirā forYears on End 9The Noble Prophet Had to Discover His Own Means of Living 10A Challenge Through Sūrat al-ʿĀlaq 11The Challenge of the Holy Qur’ān 11The Initiation of Propagation (Tablīgh) 12Oppression of the Unbelievers upon the First and Foremost fromthe Believers 12Sayyidah Sumayyah i 13Sayyidunā Bilāl and Sayyidunā Khabbāb Ibn al-Aratt k 13An Iraqi in the Gathering of Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmar h 14Financial Position of the Noble Prophet and His RespectedCompanionsj After Migration 14Sayyidunā Dhū ’l-Bajādayn h 15Letters Dispatched to Kings in a State of Indigence 16Hiraql (Heraclius) Also Identied the True Prophet Through Signs 17Tubbaʿ of Yemen 17Was Islam Really Spread by the Sword? 18An Army of Hardship 18Hiraql Saved Himself and His People by Treating the NobleProphet’s Letter with Due Reverence 19Kisrā and His People Destroyed 19The Respect for the Name ‘Muḥammad’ in the Court of SayyidunāʿUmar h 19


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2H A P P I N E S S E X P R E S S E D B Y S I N G I N G OD E S AT T H E B I R T H O F T H E R E A S O N F O R A L L C R E A T I O N

The Greater an Event the More it Is Publicised 24

News of Shaykh Abrār al-Ḥaq’sr Passing Away 25Prior to the Messenger of Allāh Gracing the World 26ʿAbd al-Masīḥ and His Maternal Uncle 27Sayyidunā Danyāl n 28Musnid al-Hind Shāh Waliyullāh r 30Three Great Saints of Dehli 32Three Saints of Thana Bhawan 32The Supplication of Sayyidunā ʿUmar h 34The Condition of Sayyidunā Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārīh 35

A Female Companion Gave Her Life at the Blessed Grave of the Noble Prophet 35A Bedouin Gives His Life at the Blessed Grave of the Noble Prophet 35Sayyidunā ʿUmarh Addresses the Noble Prophet from the Pulpit 36The Messenger of Allāh, Sayyidunā Abū Bakr and Sayyidunā ʿUmar k 37Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, Sayyidunā ʿ Umar and Sayyidunā Abū

ʿUbaydah Ibn al-Jarrāḥ j 38Fleeing the Decree of Allāh Towards the Decree of Allāh 38The Plague of ʿAmwās 39

3T H E L I G H T O F PR O P H E T H O O D O F T H E I L L U M I N A T O R O F BO T H WO R L D S , H I S BL E S S E D B I R T H , A N D H I S PR E S E N C E I N M A K K A H , M A D I N A H , M A D Y A N , MO U N T T U R A N D BE T H L E H E M

Two Great Blessings 48

The Light (Nūr ) of Prophethood (Nubuwwah) 48The Poem Of Sayyidunā ʿAbbāsh Pertaining to the Light (Nūr ) of Prophethood 49The Purpose of Listening to and Reciting Poetry 49The King of Yemen and Madinah Munawwarah 50The House of Sayyidunā Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī h was Built by Tubbaʿ 51Sayyidunā Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī h 52The Perseverance of a Soothsayer to Acquire the Light (Nūr ) of

Prophethood 53Auspicious Birth 54Sequence of Events Before Kisrā’s (Chosroes) Downfall 54Have it Interpreted! 55‘Abd al-Masīḥ 55


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Saṭīḥ of Shām 55Holding a Sta During Sermons 56Interpretation of Saṭīḥ 57Do Not Raise Your Voices 57The Respect Displayed by Imām Mālik h 58The Respect of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh Ibn ʿAbbās and SayyidunāʿAbdullāh Ibn Masʿūd j 58The Respect of Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī r 58Spiritual Raptness of Shaykh Zakariyyā r 59The Genius of the Holy Qur’ān 59Angel Jibra’īln Descended With Revelation on Twenty-FourThousand Occasions 59Sanctied Places 60Sayyidunā ʿUmar h 61A Holy Verse 61Proof in Support of the Miʿrāj 61Madinah Munawwarah, Madyan, Mount Tur and Bayt al-Laḥam(Bethlehem) 62

4T WO GA T H E R I N G S O F A N G E L S F O R T H E L E A D E R O F T H E C H I L D R E N O F Ā DA M

Education at a Maktab 68The Perceptiveness of Shaykh al-Ḥadīth r 68Shaykh Zakariyyā’sr Clairvoyance 69Who Deserves the Role of Oratory 70Shaykh Zakariyyā’sr Precious Words 70The Outcome of Hiraql’s (Heraclius) High Regard 70Hiraql’s Final State 72Kisrā’s End 72Kisrā’s Envoys in the Court of the Noble Prophet 73

Your Kisrā Has Been Murdered 74Who Should Orate and When? 74The Eect of Shaykh Gangohī’s r Speech 75Wisdom Behind Addressing the Noble Prophet with ‘O Prophet’ 75What Is the First Creation? 76The Type of Prostration Performed by the Angels 77Establishing Darul Uloom Deoband 77The Dream of Shaykh Qāsim Nanotwīr and its Interpretation byShaykh Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī r 78

A Distinguishing Quality of the Saints 79Angels Were Assembled on Two Occasions 80Various Other Reasons for the Address of ‘O Prophet’ 81The Noble Prophet’s Prophethood Is Antecedent to All 82The First Revelation Is of Apostleship (Risālah) 82


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The Final Moments of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah’si Life 83Lengthy Introductions on Stage: A Way Of Imitating the Unbelieversand Inconsistent with Islamic Teachings, and thus Impermissible 84Shaykh Zakariyyā’sr Adherence to Ḥadīth 84The Noble Prophet’s Testimony on the Day of Judgement 85The Master of Both Worlds Is both a Bearer of Good News and aWarner 87We Must Change Our Disposition 88May We Eradicate This Inadequacy 89To What Extent Did the Master of Both Worlds TolerateHardships 90Shaykh Niẓāmuddīn Awliyā’r and Qāḍī Ḍiyā’uddīn Sanāmī r 91Simāʿ Gathering in the Presence of Shāh ʿAbd al-Quddūs r 91The Meaning Of ‘For Him Who Holds Fast to My Sunnah at the Timeof its Corruption Is the Reward of a Hundred Martyrs’ 92A Story of Shāh ʿAbd al-Quddūs Gangohī r 93Seeing the Noble Prophet Whilst Awake 94Make Us Visit the Noble Prophet 95

5R E A D I N G A N D L I S T E N I N G T O P O E T R Y I N PR A I S E O F T H E D I V I N E L Y E X T O L L E D PR O P H E T I S WO R S H I P

The Master of Both Worlds 99Poetry Has a Profound Impact 100He Laid Down His Life for a Poem 101The Poets Among the Respected Companions j 101Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah i 102Sayyidunā Abū Bakr h 102Contests of Poetry and Oration 102A Poem Dedicated to the Esteemed Person of the Master Of BothWorlds 103

The Most Valuable Poems 104He Laid Down His Life After Reciting a Poem 105Shaykh Sayyid Aḥmad Rifāʿī r 105Faḍā’il Durūd Sharīf 106Listening to Qaṣīdahs 107Shaykh Jāmī r 109

6T H E R E S P E C T E D MO T H E R i O F T H I S OR P H A N GE M ; I m Ā m Bu k h Ā r ī r ; Sa y y i d u n Ā M U ʿĀ w i y a h h ; A N D T H E MO T H E R O F I m Ā m aʿ ẓ a m u

And He Does Not Speak out of (His Own) Desire 113Why Did Sayyidah Āminah i Take the Noble Prophet to Madinah Munawwarah? 115


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The First Visit of the Noble Prophet to Madinah Munawwarah 116Imām Bukhārī’sr Honourable Mother 117The Most Tolerant: Sayyidunā Amīr Muʿāwiyahh 117My Tolerance Killed Him 119Receive a Second Reward! 119Pay the Compensation (Diyah) from Me 120Imām Aʿẓam Abū Ḥanīfahr: My Patience Killed Him 120The Noble Prophet Preserved the Holy Qur’ān Merely By Listeningto It 122Train Your Children to Acquire Three Characteristics 123Three Morsels from the Noble Prophet 124The Story of the Governor of Samarqand 125Sufyān Ibn ʿUyaynahr and a Student 125Bābūjī’s Jeep 127Relate to Me the One Hundred Ḥadīths of Al-Zuhrī 127The Water of Zamzam Is for that for Which It Is Drunk 128Ḥadīth Recitation in the Lectures of Shaykh Zakariyyā r 129Ḥadīth Lectures of Shāṭibī r 130Why Did Imām Bukhārir Culminate His Book with This Ḥadīth? 131Glorify Allāh Most High Upon the Eloquence and Diction of theUnlettered Prophet 132The Final Ḥadīth Brought as a Challenge for the Eloquence and

Diction of the Noble Prophet

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7BL E S S I N G S A N D PE A C E I N V O K E D O N T H E NO B L E P R O P H E T ON LY A F T E R C L E A N I N G T H E MO U T H W I T H A RO S E WA T E R M i s w ā k : ‘ TO U T T E R YO U R NA M E E V E N A F T E R C L E A N I N G T H E MO U T H A T H O U S A N D T I M E S W I T H RO S E W A T E R I S S T I L L D I S R E S P E C T ’

Ḥakīm Sʿad Rashīd Ajmerī r 139

Repentance Before Presence 141Freewill Alms (Ṣadaqah) Before Presence 141Mountains Communicate with Each Other 142That Day [the Earth] Will Describe All its Happenings 142Why Aren’t the Pillars of Riyāḍ al-Jannah Aligned? 143A Dry Branch Cries Due to Separation 143

8T H E U N L E T T E R E D PR O P H E T C H A L L E N G E S T H E SA G E S O F T H I S WO R L D T H R O U G H ‘R E A D I N T H E NA M E O F YO U R L O R D ’

There Is Only One Creator and Lord 149The Life of the Noble Prophet Is a Challenge for the World 150Sayyidunā Dhū ’l Bajādayn h 151Sayyidunā Dhū ’l Bajādaynh – The Man with Two Sheets 151


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The Claim that Islam Spread by the Sword, Despite the Hardships 152Witticism 153Shaddād Ibn Aws’h Complaint 153The Condition of Masjids in 1968 154Sagacity of the Saints 155The Faith (Īmān) of Shaddād Ibn Aws h 155One Should Never Question Allāh Most High 156The Battle of Tabuk And the Expedition to Tabuk Are Two SeparateEvents 156Four Leaders of the Tabuk Expedition – Each One of Them Equal toa Thousand Men 157Confronting the Enemy and Victory for the Muslims 158

Jarjīs’ Question: Why Did We Taste Defeat? 158The Bravery of Rabīʿah Ibn Abī ʿĀmir h 159Proposing Peace 160We Do Not Make Peace for Worldly Gains 160How could Islam Have Spread by the Sword? 160A Conversation with the Priest 161First Question 161Second Question 162Third Question 162The Priest’s Acceptance of the Truth 163Attack on Sayyidunā Rabīʿah Ibn Abī ʿ Āmirh and the Manifestationof Sayyidunā al-Ṣiddīq’sh Truthfulness 163A Single Man Overpowered One Thousand Men 164Shaddād Ibn Awsh Appointed to Look over the Spoils of War 164All the Tears of ʿArafah Are in It 165Shaddād Ibn Awsh Entered Masjid Nabawī Before Anything Else 166

9T H E L O V E R S O F T H E BE L O V E D O F A l l Ā h S E N D GR E E T I N G S

W H I L E E X P E R I E N C I N G T H E PA N G S O F DE A T HThe Hearts of the Respected Companionsj Were Decorated withthe Remembrance of the Noble Prophet 170Invoking Greetings of Peace from a Gibbet 170Salām Conveyed to the Noble Prophet on the Final Lash 171Sayyidunā Bilāl h 173Collecting Ḥadīths and the Endeavours of the RespectedCompanions j 173Shujāʿ al-Asadīh in the Court of Ghassān 174

Shujāʿh and Ḥārith Of Ghassān 174A Letter to the Leader Of Ḥimyar 175Ḥāṭib Ibn Abī Balṭaʿah h 176Muqawqis – The King of Egypt 177His Knowledge of My Condition Suces Me 178


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Muqawqis Is Sending Greetings of Peace (Salām) 178Sayyidunā Khuraym al-Asadī h 179I Thought One Thousand Was the Largest Number 180The Question Is Known but its Answer Is Unknown 181

10T H E E M I G R A N T T O M A D I N A H , A N D T H E M I G R A T I O N O F Sa y y i d u n Ā I b r Ā h ī m n

The Household of Sayyidunā Ibrāhīmn and the Noble Prophet 185The Prophetic Model and the Faith of Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm n 186Shāhjahān, ʿĀlamgīr and Dārāshakwah 188Do Not Lend Support to Religious Dierences 189Sayyid Ādam Binorī r 189

Two Scholars Visit a Saint 189Sayyid Ādam Binorīr in Surat 190Shājahān’s Dream 190The Mabsūṭ of Sarakhsī 191Kissed by Beasts of Prey 192

11T H E K I N G O F BO T H WO R L D S A N D T H E T R O U B L E S O M E H Y P O C R I T E S

Cause of Sūrat al-Nūr’s Revelation 198Under Which Circumstances Did Sayyidah ʿ Ā’ishahi Convey to UsHalf of Our Faith (Dīn) 199Conversations of Love 200A Thousand Nights 200Who Is Khurāfah? 201Fullment of Spousal Rights 203The Ḥadīth of Slander (Ifk) 204

12A N A N N O U N C E M E N T F R O M T H E H E A V E N S O F T H E I N N O C E N C E A N D C H A S T I T Y O F T H E PU R E A N D C H A S T E MO T H E R O F T H E BE L I E V E R S , Sa y y i d Ā h ʿĀ’ I S H A H i

The Splitting of the Moon (Shaqq al-Qamar ) Miracle Comprises So Many Miracles 214The Tolerance of the Master of Both Worlds 215Comparisons with the Story of Sayyidunā Yūsufn 215

Proof of Islam Being a True Religion 217Sūrat al-Nūr Contains Guidance in the Hundreds 217Light - and How to Attain It 218Everything Is Engaged in Proclaiming the Purity of Allāh Most High (Tasbīḥ) 219


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Witticism 220A Prominent Attribute of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishahi: Devotion [to herHusband] 220Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah’si Innocence 221

13T H E MO T H E R O F T H E BE L I E V E R S ’ i U N I Q U E R E L A T I O N S H I P W I T H H E R BE L O V E D

A Religion of Patience and Tolerance 228The Dierence Between the Qur’ān and Ḥadīth 229A Story of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishahi During Her Mortal Illness 229The Extreme Diligence of Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh Ibn ʿAbbās k 230The Generosity of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah i 231

The Paying Of Blood Money (Diyah) on Killing a Snake 233An Amulet (Taʿwīdh) For Protection Against Snakes 233Expiation (Kaārah) for Violating an Oath 234Lavishing Praise in Front of a Person Is Detested in Sharīʿah 235The Ḥadīth of the Slander (Ifk) Is Sucient for One’s Guidance 236

14T H E MO T H E R O F T H E U m m Ā h ’S i TA L E O F PA T I E N C E A N D CO N T E N T M E N T

The Patience and Tolerance of the Master of Both Worlds 242The Condition of a Common Ummatī of the Master of BothWorlds 242May We Receive the Thirst for the Love of the Master of BothWorlds 244

15A L O V E R r O F T H E C R E A T O R ’S BE L O V E D , A N D H I S U N I Q U E

M A N N E R O F E M U L A T I N G T H E NO B L E P R O P H E T : SH A Y K H Z a k a r i y y Ā’S r S TAY I N J I R A N A A N D H I S ʿ U MRAH The Battle of Hunayn 250Valour of a True Prophet 251A Remarkable Sign of the Veracity of Islam 252Today’s Rulers 252Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah’si Camel Sat Right Here 253Spending the Night in Jirana 254Mercy for All the Worlds 255

A Method of Intensifying One’s Enthusiasm to Study 257Final Moments of the Saintly Elders 259The Saints of Ahmadabad 259Pledge of Allegiance (Bayʿah) 260


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Pledge of Allegiance (Bayʿah) Is in Actual Fact Made to the NobleProphet 260Pīr Ghulām Ḥabīb r 262The Same Conduct with Us 262

16A L T R U I S T I C F I R E F L I E S DE D I C A T E D T O T H E L A M P O F PR O P H E T H O O D O F T H E R E A S O N BE H I N D T H E U N I V E R S E ’S BE A U T Y : T H E Ṣa ḥ Ā b a h j

The Anger of Shaykh Zakariyyā r 268The Master of Both Worlds 269Criticism Aimed at the Anger of the Respected Companions j 270Sayyidunā Abū Dhar Ghifārī h 270

He Criticised the Noble Prophet Too 272Criticism Levelled Against the Prophets 273Anger of the Imāms Towards One Another 274A Mountain of Knowledge: Imām Aʿẓam r 276The Anger of Imām Awzāʿī r 278Ibn Abī Laylā And Imām Aʿẓam r 279The Reason Behind Imām Bukhārī’s r Anger 281The Umayyad and ʿAbbāsid Caliphates 282The Tribulations of Imām Mālik r 283

Rabīʿ Muzanī and Buwayṭī 285Buwayṭī in Prison 286The Foresight of Shaykh Zakariyyā r 287The Trial of Imām Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal r 288

17T H E NO B L E M A N N E R S O F T H E ON E W H O E S P O U S E D G O O D C H A R A C T E R

Dealing with the Malevolent 294Habbār Ibn al-Aswad 294ʿUmayr Ibn Wahb 296Thumāmah – The Chief of Banū Ḥanīfah 296Forgiveness and Pardon 297Forgiving the Bloodthirsty 298The Need for Elegant Manners 299

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T H E BE S T O F M E N WA S CO N S C I O U S O F H I S H U M A N I T Y A Magnicent Verse 304A Female Companion (Ṣaḥābiyyah) of the Noble Prophet 305 Al-Ism al-Aʿẓam (The Greatest Name of Allāh Most High) 306The Miracle of Splitting the Moon 307


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Miracles and Human Attributes 309Rain Fell as the Blessed Hands Were Raised 310Sayyidunā ʿAlī h 310A Corpse Comes Back to Life 311Sayyidunā ʿUmar h and Sayyidah Asmā’ i 311The Inclination of the Respected Companions j at the Time ofNeed 313One Should Be Conscious of His Human Weaknesses 315

19S T O R I E S O F T H O S E W H O GA T H E R E D T H E S C A T T E R E D PE A R L S O F T H E OR P H A N GE M

The Acceptance of Supplication (Duʿā’) at the Completion of Ṣaḥīḥ

al-Bukhārī 319The Primary Task 321The Second Priority 321The Third Duty 323126,000 Students Participate in a Ḥadīth Lecture 324Ibn Ḥaywah’s Travels for Acquiring Ḥadīth 325Shaykh Islamul Haque, Qārī Raḥīm Bakhsh, Shaykh ṢiddīqAḥmads 326The Most Important Religious Duty in Current Times 328

20T H E L E A D E R O F T H E F I R S T A N D T H E L A S T SU P P L I C A T I N G I N PR O S T R A T I O N

The Miracle of Islam 333Only One Concern – The Ummah 334The Prostration of Supplication (Duʿāiyyah) 334Sayyidah Āminah i 334The Prostration of Supplication (Duʿāiyyah) and the Prostration ofGratitude (Shukr ) 335The Narration of Sayyidunā Saʿd Ibn Abī Waqqāṣ h 336

21T H E I N D I V I D U A L I T Y A N D U N I Q U E A S C E T I C I S M O F T H E I m Ā m O F T H E A S C E T I C S A N D L E A D E R O F BO T H WO R L D S

It Is Inconsiderate to Pray for it Not To Rain, for One’s Own Benet 342The Supplication of the Noble Prophet 342

Supplication at the Time of Rainfall 343A Story of the Noble Prophet to do with Rain 343Adherence to the Sunnah 344Every Particle in the Universe Acknowledged the Position of the Master of Both Worlds 345


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The Sunnah Method of Performing Istinjā’ 346Date Trees 347The Pillars of Riyāḍ al-Jannah 347The Noble Prophet’s Bedding and Chair 348Our Lifestyles 348How Did the Respected Companions j Preserve the Day and Nightof the Noble Prophet 349The Stairs of the Noble Prophet’s Residence 350Islam Gave Protection to Women 352The Total Contents of the Noble Prophet’s Blessed Home 353Indigence out of Choice 354The Blessings of the Darse Nizāmī 355The Selection of the Six Authentic Books of Ḥadīth (Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah) 356Imām Bukhārī’s r Orphanhood 356The Master of Both Worlds’ State of Orphanhood 356Supplicating for Rain Through the Blessings of His Radiant Face 357Supplicating for Rainfall Through the Blessings of SayyidunāʿAbbās h 358So Why Do They Object to Supplicating Allāh Most High with theIntercession of the Pious? 358The Mother’s Supplication and its Acceptance 359Imām Bukhārī r Memorises Books by the Age of Sixteen 359The Compilation of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and its Approach 360Completing (Khatam) the Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī at Times of Hardship 360Circumstances Surrounding Imām Bukhārī’s r Death and HisSupplication (Duʿā’ ) 361The Master of Both Worlds Awaits 362Imām Bukhārī’s r Dream Prior to its Compilation 362The Martyrdom of King Fayṣal 362Ḥadīth Musalsal bi ’l-Awwaliyyah 363

22T H E HO M E O F T H E K I N G O F T H E PR O P H E T S

A Story of a Companion 367The Lifestyle of the Master of Both Worlds 368Yawm al-Aswadayn 369The Final Days of the Noble Prophet’s Life 370The State of Our Extravagance 370

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T H E M A D I N A N L I F E O F T H E BE N E F A C T O R O F T H E U N I V E R S E :A C H A L L E N G E

A Comparison with the Pure Life of the Master of Both Worlds 376The First Priority 377The Second Year 378


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The Third Year 379Fourth Year 380The Fifth Year 381The Sixth Year 381The Seventh Year 381Eighth Year 382The Ninth Year 382The Tenth Year 383Muḥammad Ibn Muqātil r 384Ḥātim al-Aṣamm r 384She Saw Paradise in this World 385A Story of Ḥātim al-Aṣamm r 386A Miracle (Karāmah) of Shaykh al-Islām Madanī r 387Another Story of Ḥātim al-Aṣamm r 388Not a Single Prostration Which could be Relied Upon 389It Seems Like the City of Pharaoh 390Master of Both Worlds Deprived of Food 391The Master of Both Worlds was Deprived of Basic Provisions 391

24PA R A D I S A L S T R E N G T H I N T H I S WO R L D F O R T H E DW E L L E R O F T H E H I G H E S T PA R A D I S E

Power Defying Rules and Notions 396The Noble Prophet’s Faculty of Vision 396Sayyidunā ʿUmar’s h Power of Hearing 397The Noble Prophet’s Grappling Power 398The Noble Prophet’s Strengths - A Fascinating Theory 399

25T H E ḥ u s a y n ī WAY: ‘H E SA C R I F I C E D H I S H E A D B U T R E F U S E D T O PU T H I S H A N D I N T H E H A N D O F Ya z ī d ’

The Virtue of Compassion 404Avenging an Injustice 404Sayyidunā Ḥusayn’s h Head Was Decapitated but it Refused toBow 405Imām Aʿẓam Abū Ḥanīfah r and Imām Mālik r 406Mūsā Kāẓim r and Caliph Mahdī 407Mūsā Kāẓim r and Hārūn Rashīd 408Ḥusaynī Blood 409Sayyidāh Uthaylah h 411


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26S P E C I F I C GU I D A N C E F O R ʿĀ s h ū r Ā’ G I V E N B Y T H E GR A N D F A T H E R O F ḥ A S A N A Y N

What Is Sunnah to Begin with when Eating 418

Starvation is sunnah 418A Narration Regarding ʿ Āshūrā ’ 418The Gift of ʿĀshūrā’: A Practice of Shaykh Zakariyyā r 419Many Obligatory Acts (Farḍ) Neglected for the Sake of a Non-obligatory (Na) Act 419How Much Reward Have You Sent (Īṣāl al-Thawāb) to the Martyrs of Karbala 420Love for Grandchildren: A Way (Sunnah) of the Noble Prophet 420Most Resemblance to the Noble Prophet 421

Seventeen Patches on Sayyidunā ʿUmar’s h Clothing 421The Condition of the Home of the King of Both World’s During His Mortal Illness 422The Wish and Supplication of Shaykh Abū’l Ḥasan ʿAlī Miyā Nadwī r 422No Water to Drink 423He Sacriced His Head but Refused to Put His Hand in the Hand of Yazīd 424Prior Knowledge of Sayyidunā Ḥusayn’s i Martyrdom 425

The Dream of Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās h 425A Practice of Completing a Whole Qur’ān Daily for the Martyrs of Karbala 426The Practice in the First Ten Days of Dhū ’l-Ḥijjah 426

27T H E M A T E R N A L GR A N D F A T H E R O F ḥ A S A N A Y N A N D T H E M A R T Y R S O F K A R B A L A j

A Lamp Is Lit by Another Lamp 432

Memorising the Qur’ān 432The System of Memorising the Holy Qur’ān In Saudi Arabia 433How Much Reward Did We Send (Īṣāl al-Thawāb) to the Martyrs of Karbala on the Day of ʿĀshūrā’ 433The Practice of Shaykh Zakariyyā r from 1st Muḥarram to 10th Muḥarram 434Sayyidah Umm Salamah’s i Dream on the Day of ʿĀshūrā’ 434The Dream of Sayyidunā IbnʿAbbās k 434Remaining Content with the Decrees of Allāh Most High 436

Objections and Complaints 437The Blessed Practice of the Master of Both Worlds at the Demise of His Son 437We Need to Share in the Noble Prophet’s Grief 438The Miracle of Memorising the Holy Qur’ān 439


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Memorising the Holy Qur’ān in Three Months Alongside UniversityStudies 439A Blind Person Memorised the Holy Qur’ān in Just Three Months 440Sayyidah Ṣayyah’s i Dream and its Interpretation 441Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq h Was an Expert Interpreter ofDreams 441Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishah’s i Dream and its Interpretation 442A Dream Regarding the ‘Imām of the Dream Interpreters’, ʿ AllāmahIbn Sīrīn r and its Interpretation 442A Dream and its Interpretation 443 Ibn ʿAbbās’ k Astonishing Interpretation of a Dream 444

28

T WO P R A C T I C E S A F T E R FA J R PR A Y E R O F T H E L E A D E R O F T H E PR O P H E T S

Interpretation of Dreams 449Istikhārah and Dreams 450The Reality of Our Dreams 450The Reality of a Correct and True Dream 451A Dream of Imām Mālik r 451The Interpretation of Imām Mālik’s r Dream 452

29DE D I C A T I N G A N I G H T A N D DAY, ON C E A W E E K , T O T H E S E A L O F T I M E A N D PL A C E : T H E N I G H T A N D DAY O F J U M U ‘A H

Reciting Sūrat al-Kahf on a Friday 458The Recitation of Sūrat al-Kahf disappears in the name of Religiousinnovation (Bidʿah) 459One Should Avoid Being Stern 459Do Not Relate Contentious Issues 459These Issues Are Very Delicate 459Regard for the Respect of the Master of Both Worlds 460Objectivity Even in Issuing Judicial Decrees (Fatwās) 461Observance of the Night and Day of Jumuʿah and Reciting DurūdSharīf Abundantly 461The Love for the Master of Both Worlds Is an Obligation AboveAll Obligations 461We Ought to Inspect Our Hearts 462A Scale for Measuring and weighing Love 462What a Severe Tone! 463Allāh Most High Has Left Us to Decide 464Corroboration from Shaykh Gangohī’s r and Shaykh Thānawī’s r Speech 464We Should Be Stricken by Remorse upon Neglecting this Farḍ 465Three Conditions of a Companion (Ṣaḥābī ) 465


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Allāh Most High Changed His Law for the Love of the NobleProphet 467Abū Ṭālib’s Love and Goodwill 467Even this Much Love Proted Abū Lahab 468Shaykh ʿAyn al-Quḍāt’s Dream and His Travelling to Tarkeshwar 470Seeing the Noble Prophet in a Dream 470Dierent Individuals Seeing Sayyidunā ʿĪsā n in Their Dreams 470

30T H E S E A L O F T H E PR O P H E T: A l l Ā h ’S M E S S E N G E R , M u ḥ a m m a d

The Seal of the Master of Both Worlds 475Ibn ʿArabī Mālikī r and Salayyah 476The Ingenuity of Imām Aʿẓam Abū Ḥanīfah r 477

Imām Mālik r and the Rulers 477Shāh Waliyullāh and the Shīʿah Governor 478The Trials of the Four Imāms 479The Ingenuity of Imām Aʿẓam r 479Another Story Pertaining to Imām Aʿẓam’s r Intelligence 480The Seal of Ḥasan IbnʿAlī h 481I Am with You on the Face of this Earth: This Is My Karāmah (Extraordinary Act) 481O My Mountain of Sins 482

Shaykh Sirrī Saqaṭī r 483Shaykh Thābit ʿAlī r 483A Story of Transformation of Appearance (Maskh) 484Seeking Forgiveness upon Reciting Al-ḥamdu li ’llāh 486Those Who Are Burnt Are Also Mine 487The Testimony of Stones 488The Earth Speaks 489

31

T H O S E W H O VA L U E D T H E U T T E R A N C E S O F T H E T E A C H E R O F T H E WO R L D

Our Ṣalāh Resembles Our Lectures 496Whose Love Prevails? 496The Condition of Shaykh Zakariyyā’s r Writing 497Adversity Is Appointed with Speech 498Love For Shaykh al-Islām Ḥusayn Aḥmad Madanī r and ShaykhRāipūrī r 499Five Days Spent in Search of a Single Ḥadīth 499The State of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Lucknowī r 500Water Is Sought but Vinegar Is Given Instead 501


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T R A N S L I T E R A T I O N K E Y

ء ( ) ’ (A slight catch in the breath. It is also used to indicatewhere the hamza has been dropped from the beginningof a word). a, ā b t th (Should be pronounced like the th in thin or thirst ). j

ḥ (Tensely breathed h sound). kh (Pronounced like the ch in Scottish loch with themouth hollowed to produce a full sound). d dh (Should be pronounced like the th in this or that ). r z s sh ṣ (A heavy s pronounced far back in the mouth with themouth hollowed to produce a full sound ḍ (A heavy d/dh pronounced far back in the mouth withthe mouth hollowed to produce a full sound). ṭ (A heavy t pronounced far back in the mouth with themouth hollowed to produce a full sound). ẓ (A heavy dh pronounced far back in the mouth withthe mouth hollowed to produce a full sound). ʿ, ʿa, ʿi, ʿu (Pronounced from the throat).

gh (Pronounced like a throaty French r with the mouthhollowed to produce a full sound).

f q (A guttural q sound with the mouth hollowed to pro-duce a full sound). k


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l m n w, ū, u h y, ī, i Ṣalla ’llāhu ʿ alayhi wa sallam – used following the mention

of Prophet Muḥammad, translated as, ‘May Allāhbless him and give him peace.’

n ʿAlayhi ’l-Salām – used following the mention of a

prophet or messenger of Allāh, translated as, ‘MayAllāh’s peace be upon him.’

p ʿAlayhimu ’l-Salām – used following the mention of morethan two prophets or messengers of Allāh, translatedas, ‘May Allāh’s peace be upon them.’

h Raḍiya ’llāhu ʿanhu - used following the mention of amale Companion ( ṣaḥābī ), translated as, ‘May Allāh bepleased with him.’

i Raḍiya ’llāhu ʿanhā - used following the mention of afemale Companion ( ṣaḥābiyyah), translated as, ‘MayAllāh be pleased with her.’

j Raḍiya ’llāhu ʿanhum - used following the mention ofmore than two Companions, translated as, ‘May Allāhbe pleased with them.’

r Raḥimahu ’llāh - used following the mention of a right-eous male Islamic personality who came after the

Respected Companions ( ṣaḥābī s), translated as, ‘MayAllāh have mercy on him.’

u Raḥimaha ’llāh - used following the mention of a right-eous female Islamic personality who came after theRespected Companions ( ṣaḥābī s), translated as, ‘MayAllāh have mercy on her.’


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T R A N S L A T I O N NO T E

I T A L I C S A N D NO N-I T A L I C S

All words which are foreign to the English speaking audience, withthe exception of proper nouns, have been italicised in this book.

For plurals of such words, the pluralisation rules of the Englishlanguage have been followed. For example, although the plural ofmasjid, in Arabic, is masājid, when the plural has been used, an s has been added to the singular form, and the arabic plural has notbeen used. Thus, the plural of masjid has been written as masjidsand not masājid. Also, the s used to create the plural of the wordhas not been italicised to indicate that it is not foreign, althoughthe rest of the word is.

D I A C R I T I C S

Diacritics have been applied to foreign words to clarify the pronun-

ciation. They appear above, below, before or after letters.


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س ا ش ا ش د دں

!ا ل اے ا ئا رش ا ش

) ا ۃ ر ر ا ش رف ء ا ا ا (


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PR E F A C E

I rst met Shaykh Abū ’l Wafā’ r quite unexpectedly on the coastof Domar. He had come there to recuperate after suering tempo-rary paralysis. Although he was due to return home on that day,during our brief acquaintance between ʿAṣr and Maghrib prayer weformed such a connection that he bestowed me with the practiceof extracting jinns along with a few other things. The next day, hesent a car to take me to his residence in Surat city square opposite

the Jāmiʿ Masjid, where he made me practice what he had taughtme on an aected person.After the demise of Shaykh Abū ’l Wafā’r, I once asked Shaykh

Asʿad Madanī r if he knew any orators of Shaykh Abū ’l Wafā’s r

calibre, as the need for such a speaker at a certain venue had arisen.He replied, ‘Where will you now nd an orator of his calibre, whocould deliver speeches on the Noble Prophet’s blessed life ( sīrah)

lled with the most brilliant poetry in praise of him!’ةس ةح ح(Shaykh) Yusuf Motala


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BE A T I N G O F DR U M S I N BO T H WO R L D S

T O GR E E T T H E BE A U T Y T H AT

BR I G H T E N E D A N D I L L U M I N A T E D T H E

WO R L D


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با عا اقابا دش د ى ة وتابذك ا ا

شا و اابااك اهدق قد و ااى ى د دء قد غاث ا قو ك ة و وس اغ دهشااغ ك ع وا ا كر طا ى رس سة

و شاعة ش كاق وس ع وس

)ن ط(


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ا و ، ع كو ؤ ر د د ض ض د ،ا ع ا س ا د س هد ، د هد ، ا ع ا ع ، سو عد د ا نا و ، ك ك َ س رق﴿ ر ح ر ، ر ا ا وعأ ﴾ا د: ذ خ سا

THIS IS THE MONTH of Rabīʿ al-Awwal. It is the month in which

the Leader of the Universe, the Pride of Both Worlds,graced the world with his presence. Some scholars say that

he was born on the eighth of Rabīʿ al-Awwal whilst others say thetwelfth. Research carried out by various scholars suggests thataccording to the Gregorian calendar, the Messenger of Allāh was born on 29th August, 570 AD.

The anticipation and talk of the Leader of the Universe, the Pride

of Both Worlds, began even before the creation of SayyidunāĀdamn and continued until the Noble Prophet graced theworld with his presence.

Close to his birth, it is unlikely that there were any tribes or


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areas whose attention was not turned towards the advent of thisgreat event. The noble birth of the Last Prophet occurred in Rabīʿal-Awwal, nine months to a year, prior to which numerous women -who possessed the knowledge of previous religious scriptures thatinformed them of the time this great event was to occur (the arrivalof the Leader of the Universe) - awaited his arrival. This is whyHiraql (Heraclius), the ruler of the largest empire at the time, theRoman Empire, was always on the lookout for signs of his advent.

T R A V E L L I N G BE C O M E S D I F F I C U L T F O R Sa y y i d u n Ā

ʿa b d u l l Ā h h

Travelling became dicult for the respected father of the Masterof Both Worlds, Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāhh, because wherever hewent, he would be stared at from every direction. In particular,women tried to seduce him in order to compel him to do their bid-ding. Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh h found this unbearable, for there were

so many women, at home and on travels, in Makkah Mukarramah,Madinah Munawwarah, and everywhere, who were sacricing theirfood, drink, rest and other comforts just to get a glimpse of him.

T H E AT T E M P T O F A SO O T H S A Y E R O F M A K K A H M U K A R R A M A H

A soothsayer of Makkah Mukarramah made numerous marriageproposals to Sayyidunā ʿ Abdullāhh. She not only tried to persuadeSayyidunā ʿ Abdullāh h directly, she also tried coaxing his familymembers into accepting her marriage proposal. She was just onefrom the many women who proposed to Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāhh.

She did not lose hope even after learning that SayyidunāʿAbdullāh h had become engaged to Sayyidah Āminah i and thatthe nikāḥ ceremony was imminent. Even after the nikāḥ had beensolemnised and the marriage was made public, she continued inher eorts to entice him. One day, however, some time after themarriage, a peculiar event occurred.


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Sayyidunā ʿ Abdullāh h says, ‘I would walk through her neigh-bourhood with great diculty. I would fully prepare myself andplan beforehand as to how I was going to pass through, but myamazement was left boundless, when, upon reaching her locality,this same woman turned away and rushed back into her house,crying and screaming.’

Up to that point, she had always welcomed him, wanting hisgracious sight to fall upon her every time he passed by. But whenthis happened, it made him wonder why.

Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh h asked her, ‘Before today, you would tryeverything possible to meet me and insist that I marry you - butthat is not the case anymore. Why is that?’

She then clearly related the whole story to him.

D I V I N E I L L U M I N A T I O N (N ū r ) O F PR O P H E T H O O D O N Sa y y i d u n Ā ʿa b d u l l Ā h ’S h FO R E H E A D

She replied, ‘You are no doubt aware that I possess knowledge ofprevious scriptures. Because of these scriptures, I perceived thelight of prophethood on your forehead. I insisted and persisted that

you marry me so that this light of the Last Prophet, the Leader ofall the Prophets, the Chief of Both Worlds, may pass through me.But when I saw you at that moment, I realised that this light hadbeen transferred away.’

The soothsayer was the rst person through whom SayyidunāʿAbdullāh h realised that his wife had conceived. Through thewords, ‘The light of prophethood which I used to see on your fore-head has been transferred,’ he realised that Sayyidah Āmināh iwas expecting. Thus, nine months later, Allāh Most High decreedthat the Master of Both Worlds would now grace the world withhis presence.


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T R I A L F O R H U M A N I T Y

On the day the Noble Prophet was born and from that pointonwards, staggering events which shook the world continued tooccur. Whether in Kisrā’s (Chosroes) palace or at Hiraql’s (Heraclius)fort, vast empires such as Persia and Rome, with their own eyes,witnessed those events which Sayyidah Āminah i was relating inher own home at the time of the Noble Prophet’s blessed birth.

Until then, the wisdom of Allāh Most High required that human-ity be informed of the arrival of that exalted personality becauseof whom the world was created and adorned. After the Prophet had graced the world with his presence and the evidence had beenpresented, Allāh Most High’s wisdom sought to put humanity totrial. But how could humanity be possibly put to trial?

Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh h passed away before the blessed birth ofthe Noble Prophet, which left him an orphan who never saw hisfather. He was born and raised an orphan, in the care of SayyidahĀminahi , Sayyidah Ḥalīma i and Sayyidah Umm Aymani .

U P B R I N G I N G O F A N OR P H A N GE M

On the one hand, great events were taking place to capture theattention of humanity, whilst on the other, Allāh Most High’swisdom decreed that the Noble Prophet be raised an orphan.

The Noble Prophet’s mother decided to take him to MadinahMunawwarah to visit the grave of his respected father, so that hecould be sure that his father was buried in Madinah Munawwarah.On the way back, accompanied by no soul other than SayyidahUmm Aymani and the six year old child, his mother, SayyidahĀminahi, fell ill in the barren desert, and passed away at a placecalled Abwa, near Juhfa and Rabigh.

Friends, as I have already said on numerous occasions, if theworld wants to see a real orphan, they should take a look at thisorphan: He never saw his father, and at the tender age of six helost his mother in the barren desert, with no one around to give


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her water, shroud her and perform her burial, except her maid,Umm Aymani.

E N V I S A G I N G T H I S OR P H A N GE M I N M E D I T A T I O N (M U r ā q a b a h ) IS SU F F I C I E N T

If you aspire to become a saint, want to polish your knowledge,enlighten your heart or are seeking spirituality, then you do nothave to go through intense spiritual exercises. Do this instead;whenever you see a six year old child, think of that orphan who

stood over the corpse of his mother in the wilderness of the desertat Abwa.

The poems which Sayyidah Āminah i recited at that timecause the heart to tremble. How must she have felt leaving her onlychild in the lap of a maid? She addressed the Noble Prophet inher poems. How dicult it must have been for her to let go of thissix year old child who in every respect, be it food, drink, hygiene,

clothing, speech or education was totally dependent on others. Inaddition to this, he was in need of love and aection.

When I look at my son, Sulayman, who is six, my mind driftsto the desert wilderness. I think, ‘O Allāh, what wisdom you pos-sess! You intended to demonstrate and proclaim to the world, “Opeople! Look at my power! The one I destined to be an orphan frombirth, the shade of both his mother and father has gone by the age

of six, and one after the other, his grandfather [ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib]and uncle, Abū Ṭālib, leave him.”’

SE C L U S I O N (i ʿ t i k ā f ) O F T H E NO B L E PR O P H E T I N T H E CAV E O F ḥ i r Ā F O R Y E A R S O N E N D

I recited to you the verse: ذ خ سا رقRead with the Name of your Lord Who created [everything] (Qur’ān 96:1).


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It was the month of Rabīʿ al-Awwal when the Noble Prophet set out for seclusion in the cave of Ḥirā. This had been his practicefor many years. His iʿtikāf would not last for a day or two, or even amonth; for whenever the Noble Prophet set out to observe seclu-sion in the cave of Ḥirā, he would not return for months on end.

It was during this iʿtikaf that Jibra’īln came to the NobleProphet and revealed the verse: ذ خ سا رقRead with the Name of your Lord Who created [everything] (Qur’ān 96:1).

This is why we begin the recitation of the Holy Qur’ān with thewords ر حر ‘Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm’ (In the nameof Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful). Allāh instructs us in thisverse to begin by saying His name rst.

At the moment, we are in the month of Rabiʿ al-Awwal too, amonth full of blessed days and precious moments, a month in whichthe world witnessed many signicant events.

Ultimately, Allāh Most High destined through his innitewisdom that the Noble Prophet should be born an orphan andraised in an environment of disregard wherein there was nobodyto enquire about his welfare.

T H E NO B L E PR O P H E T H A D T O D I S C O V E R H I S OW N

ME A N S

O F

LI V I N G

The Messenger of Allāh was once with the Companions in aforest as they picked fruits o a Salvadora persica ( pīlū) tree. Hetold them: وسا ع

Pick the black ones (because they are ripe).

The Companions began asking each other, ‘How does theMessenger of Allāh know which fruits to pick and which ones to


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avoid? Only those living in the desert wilderness know this andonly they can distinguish the ripe fruits from the raw ones.’

The Noble Prophet said, ‘To earn a living, I used to take goatsbelonging to the people of Makkah Mukarramah to graze, and inreturn for each goat, they would pay me one qīrāṭ .’ Indeed, he wasan orphan who had to make his own arrangements to make endsmeet.

A C H A L L E N G E T H R O U G H Sū r a t A L-ʿĀ L AQ

The Noble Prophet was given glad tidings of prophethood(nubuwwah) via the verse of Sūrat al-‘Alaq, and thereafter, the greatresponsibility of prophethood was given to him: وس ر ا ا O Messenger, convey (all that has been sent down to you from your Lord)

(Qur’ān 5:67).

Here, the command of propagation (tablīgh) was given to theNoble Prophet.

In the past, up until his youth, the Noble Prophet had tomanage all alone in a weak and vulnerable state. Allāh Most Highwanted to send out a message to the world:

‘This is My Messenger whose father passed away before hehad even opened his eyes (i.e. before birth). Despite the absence

of anyone who could bring him up, educate him and feed him, Ihave made words such as خ ذ سا قر ow o his tongue,such that the whole of Arabia is unable to match its language andeloquence. Such is the speech I have granted him. It is a challengeto the world from an unlettered individual.’

T H E C H A L L E N G E O F T H E HO LY Q U R ’Ā n

While the Holy Qur’ān was still being revealed to the NobleProphet, the polytheists of Makkah Mukarramah were given a


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formal challenge by Allāh Most High:ا عد ا ع ز ا كن And if you are in doubt about that which We sent down on Our servant

(Qur’ān 2:23).

They were initially presented with a challenge to produce aQur’ān like it, which was then reduced to ten verses, and nally, toa single verse. Yet the great Arab linguists lowered their heads insubmission, for they were well aware of their inability to producesomething resembling the Holy Qur’ān or even a single verse like it.

Allāh Most High showed the world that His Messenger wasneither nurtured nor formally taught even a single word, yet whatmagnicent speech he presented to the world!

T H E I N I T I A T I O N O F PR O P A G A T I O N (T a b l ī g h )

Moving on, Allāh Most High revealed the verse: ؤر دا ‘Now,proclaim what you have been commanded to’ (Qur’ān 15:94),instructing the Noble Prophet to openly propagate the message.He proclaimed the message to the people in the streets of MakkahMukarramah, in the Ḥaram, at Mina, during the festivals held bythe pagans and in the market of Ukaz. This proclamation tookplace in an environment where there was nobody to support himin fullling this command. Amongst the rst to accept Islam was

Sayyidah Khadījāh al-Kubrāi but how much can a single womanhelp when dealing with ruthless oppressors and entire tribes?

OP P R E S S I O N O F T H E U N B E L I E V E R S U P O N T H E F I R S T A N D FO R E M O S T F R O M T H E BE L I E V E R S

The rst to embrace Islam amongst the children was SayyidunāʿAlīh and the rst amongst the men was Sayyidunā Abū Bakral-Ṣiddīqh. A ḥadīth which makes reference to the persecutionsuered by the Noble Prophet at the hands of the non-Muslims


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states that Sayyidunā Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīqh intervened to preventthem from oppressing the Noble Prophet. However, the non-Muslims rushed at Sayyidunā Abū Bakrh and beat him mercilesslytill he was covered in blood and had passed out. When he regainedconsciousness in the evening, his very rst words were concerningthe welfare of the Noble Prophet.

SA Y Y I D A H SU M A Y Y A H i

Sayyidah Sumayyahi was the rst woman to be martyred in the

cause of Islam. She was tortured in every way possible. Abū Jahlpunished her with every method available and eventually mar-tyred her by driving his spear into the most private and delicatepart of her body. Throughout the ordeal, all that she uttered was‘I can die a thousand times, but I cannot break my pledge to theMessenger of Allāh.’

Sa y y i d u n Ā B i l Ā l A N D Sa y y i d u n Ā K h a b b Ā b I B N A L -A R A T T k

Sayyidunā Bilālh was forced to lie down on scorching sandand blistering rocks. Sayyidunā ʿUmarh would sometimes callSayyidunā Khabbābh and ask him to turn around and lift his shirt.

Upon seeing his back, Sayyidunā ʿUmarh

would cry and say, ‘OKhabbāb, How did you withstand the torture of the unbelievers? Ihave never seen anyone with such a [badly scarred] back.’

Sayyidunā Khabbābh would answer, ‘My screams could notcool the re of their hatred towards me, but the melted esh ooz-ing o my back would cool down the hot rocks.’

Friends, the Respected Companionsj were precedent-settingexemplars.


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A N I R A Q I I N T H E GA T H E R I N G O F Sa y y i d u n Ā I B N ʿu M A R h

Once, in the midst of a gathering made up of Companions andFollowers (tābiʿīn), an Iraqi addressed the Respected Companionsj,saying, ‘If only we had spent time in the company of the NobleProphet. Just as Allāh Most High had decreed this blessing ofserving the Noble Prophet for you, I wish He had ordained itfor us as well. We would have protected and defended him fromthe torture perpetrated by the unbelievers, due to which he wasinjured at the Battle of Uhud and was made to endure hardshipand agony at many other stages of his life.’

Sayyidunā Ibn ʿUmark responded, saying, ‘Son! This is justa gment of your imagination. Had you witnessed the real worldat that time you would have struggled to remain a Muslim.These Emigrant Companions, the Companions from MakkahMukarramah, despite all the oppression, aictions and calamities,remained resolute and steadfast on īmān.’

He further stated, ‘It was Sumayyah who protected her faith,whereas you would have struggled to protect yours.’

Friends, what we witness today, in the form of masjids, theechoing of the adhān and takbīr s, and the mention of Islam todayis undoubtedly due to the sacrices the Respected Companionsj made for the sake of the Messenger of Allāh and the true religion.May Allāh Most High grant them the best of rewards on our behalf.

F I N A N C I A L PO S I T I O N O F T H E NO B L E PR O P H E T A N D H I S R E S P E C T E D CO M P A N I O N S j A F T E R M I G R A T I O N

The topic was concerning the [challenging] situations the NobleProphet was made to go through in order to show the world

and the human race that he is denitely a true prophet. Had hereceived support from any tribe or government, or by means ofsomeone’s wealth and assets, then the oppressors and antagonistswould have attributed his accomplishments to that. Therefore,


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Allāh Most High removed everything from the Noble Prophet,and he was left without food, drink, clothing and security for sometime. There was nothing in his possession. His life was always atrisk and he had no wealth at his disposal. What a lengthy periodthis was! What a lengthy period! Just the Makkan life after prophet-hood was thirteen years long.

When after Migration (hijrah), the time came for the NobleProphet to dispatch letters inviting the kings and emperors ofthe world to Islam, the letters began with these words:

،زر ك وس د ر ع قر وس د From Muḥammad, Messenger of Allāh, to Kisrā ibn Hurmuz.’ [and] ‘FromMuḥammad, Messenger of Allāh, to Hiraql (Heraclius), the ruler of Rome.

Even then, his own nancial position and that of his Companionswas weak since they possessed barely anything, not even food or

drink. If you were to glance at the hundreds of worshippers in theMasjid Nabawī, you would nd that each one of them was wearing just a single sheet of cloth.

Sa y y i d u n Ā Dh ū ’ L-Ba j Ā d a y n h

When Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāhh, whose title was ‘Dhū ’l Bajādayn’,

reached Madinah Munawwarah on the momentous occasion ofMigration, as I have previously mentioned, the situation was sodire that you would rarely see any of the Respected Companionsj wearing two pieces of cloth. At that time, a glance across the MasjidNabawī would have undoubtedly forced one to conclude that themajority of the Companions possessed only one sheet which theywrapped round their bodies, often with diculty. The only sheet

they possessed would perform the role of covering the lower partof the body (which a lungī [a piece of cloth that is used to tie aroundthe waist to cover the lower part of the body] would usually cover),whilst at the same time, it would somehow be stretched to cover


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as much of the upper body as possible. Moreover, if an individual’ssheet was so small that it could not cover both areas, he wouldcover his satr only, this area for men is an area from the navel tothe knees, whilst the rest of the body would remain exposed.

As soon as Sayyidunā Dhū ’l-Bajādaynh entered Masjid Nabawī,the Noble Prophet’s eyes fell on him.

He remarked aectionately, ‘So you are the one with two sheets!’Sayyidunā Dhū ’l-Bajadaynh replied, ‘When I began to leave my

house with the intention to emigrate, my mother tore a sheet shehad into two; one piece I wrapped around my lower body, whilstthe other I used to cover the upper body.’

L E T T E R S D I S P A T C H E D T O K I N G S I N A S T A T E O F I N D I G E N C E

These were their circumstances in Madinah Munawwarah. Boththe Respected Companionsj and the Noble Prophet did not

even have enough clothes to cover the whole body. In fact, theNoble Prophet’s household endured lengthy periods of hungerwhich is revealed in the words of Sayyidah ʿĀ’ishahi, ‘We wouldsee three new moons [i.e. three months would pass] and our stovewould not have been lit [to cook a meal]. Why would the stove notbe lit? She says, ‘We did not have anything to eat, and if we felthungry, we would have the odd date lying around followed by a

drink of water. Even the supply of water was scarce.’Ultimately, this individual, struggling for the basic need ofwater, not having enough food to eat, and lacking clothing wrote:

د سو ك رز قر وس د

From Muḥammad, Messenger of Allāh, to Kisrā ibn Hurmuz,’ [and]

‘From Muḥammad, Messenger of Allāh, to Hiraql.

Rulers far and wide, which included two vast empires, were sentletters of this kind.


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Allāh Most High established this pattern right from the noblebirth till that day (and onwards), to set a challenge to the unbe-lievers. It was to say, ‘I will ensure that my beloved Prophet - whopossesses little food and water for consumption and lacks clothingto cover his blessed body - emerges victorious, the same personwho you have seen living in such poverty.’

H I R A Q L (H E R A C L I U S) A L S O I D E N T I F I E D T H E T RU E PR O P H E T T H R O U G H S I G N S

As the letters reached the various leaders and their govern-ments, Hiraql’s eyes immediately fell on the top part which read وس د ‘From Muḥammad, Messenger of Allāh.’

Just like the soothsayer of Makkah Mukarramah, who kept hereye out for Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāhh, Hiraql too had mastered theprevious scriptures. As I mentioned, their books did not contain amere verse or two regarding the coming of the Noble Prophet.

Instead, contained in these books, were chapters upon chapterscarrying glad tidings of the arrival of the Noble Prophet, detailsabout his homeland, about Madinah Munawwarah, the moment inwhich he was due to grace the world and information about thegrievous maltreatment he was to endure at the hands of his ownpeople in Makkah Mukarramah that would compel him to emi-grate. And to where was he going to emigrate? It was to Madinah

Munawwarah.

T U B B Aʿ O F Y E M E N

I previously stated that upon acquainting himself with the signs ofthe Prophet of the Last Era, Tubbaʿ of Yemen, in his anticipation,ordered for many houses to be built in Madinah Munawwarah toaccommodate those people who wished to relocate there, in thewait of his arrival.

Allāh Most High ordained for this service of his to be accepted.Hence, the house of Sayyidunā Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārīh, where the


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Noble Prophet stayed, was one of the many built by Tubbaʿ. Hehad comprehensive knowledge of these events.

Therefore, upon seeing the letter sent to him by the NobleProphet, Hiraql looked up to the heavens, gazed at the stars,and within his heart he instantly accepted, ‘Verily, he is the trueprophet, this is the period of his arrival, and the letter is indeedfrom him.’ A detailed account of this story is found in Ṣaḥīḥal-Bukhārī .

WA S IS L A M R E A L L Y SP R E A D B Y T H E S W O R D?

Friends, the religion of Islam is a true religion. Baseless allegationsthat Islam was spread by the sword are simply propaganda, whenperhaps, they may well be the ones who have perpetrated suchevils. Not once did the Master of Both Worlds, the RighteousCaliphs or those who invited towards Islam demonstrate atrociousbehaviour.

A N A R M Y O F H A R D S H I P

Islam spread and ourished because of the force of truth it car-ried. From the day it started till the day it prevailed, even whenthe Noble Prophet sent Hiraql the letter and later on set o

with an army to pose a challenge to him, the Muslims remainedin a state of indigence. During the journey to Hiraql, six to eightCompanions were forced to share one ride between them, whilstothers travelled on foot. Thus, the whole expedition is referredto as the Army of Hardship ( Jaysh al-ʿUsrah) because of the scantresources at their disposal.


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H I R A Q L SA V E D H I M S E L F A N D H I S PE O P L E B Y T R E A T I N G T H E NO B L E PR O P H E T ’S L E T T E R W I T H

DU E R E V E R E N C E

When the Noble Prophet set o for the Battle of Tabuk, even thenhe had nothing. With hardly any weapons, who was he setting outto confront? It was Hiraql, ruler of the world’s largest empire, theRoman Empire. However, Hiraql was convinced that ‘Muḥammad is a true prophet who through this letter of his is merely fulllinghis responsibility of cautioning me.’ Hence, he kept delaying, anddespite not entering into the fold of Islam, he saved his communityand the Christians. The profound reverence he showed towardsthe letter he received from the Noble Prophet ensured thattheir empire and territorial holdings remained, and Christianityourished as a result, and it is still around today.

K i s r Ā A N D H I S PE O P L E DE S T R O Y E D

In contrast to Hiraql’s conduct, Kisrā (Chosroes) chose to treat theNoble Prophet’s letter with utter contempt. Neither he nor hiskingdom survived and even the name of his empire did not remain.May Allāh Most High enable us to acknowledge the worth of theNoble Prophet, and may He bestow us with the ability to valuethe esteemed person of the Noble Prophet. May He enable us to

embed the love of our Noble Prophet into our hearts. Just likethe naʿt about the Noble Prophet recited [earlier] proclaims -even his name is so beloved and sweet.

T H E R E S P E C T FO R T H E NA M E ‘M u ḥ a m m a d ’ I N T H E CO U R T O F Sa y y i d u n Ā ʿu M A R h

Once, Sayyidunā ʿUmarh was going somewhere when he heardan individual rebuke someone with the words, ‘This Muḥammadis like this; he is corrupt, he has perpetrated such and such an act.’

Upon hearing these words, Sayyidunā ʿUmarh stopped and


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gathered everyone together, before announcing, ‘From today, donot name anyone Muḥammad! Why? Because every time a personnamed Muḥammad does something bad, I cannot tolerate himbeing rebuked by anyone with words like “Muḥammad stole” and“Muḥammad committed a wrong”. Hence, do not keep this name!’This was agreed as a future guideline, but what about the manyindividuals who had already adopted this name before that day?Concerning them, Sayyidunā ʿUmarh said, ‘Change their namestoo!’ He then asked, ‘What is your name?’

The man replied, ‘Muḥammad.’Immediately, Sayyidunā ʿ Umarh changed it to ʿ Abd al-Raḥmān

and said, ‘If you perpetrate a wrong, I will not be able to toleratethe display of disrespect towards this name (Muḥammad).’

Consequently, a man was sent to the tribe of Banū Ṭalḥah whereseven to nine people bore the name Muḥammad. The messengerof Sayyidunā ʿUmarh relayed the message given to him andordered that the name Muḥammad be changed. Upon hearing thisannouncement, the leader of Banū Ṭalḥah chuckled and remarked,

‘Return and impart the message to the Leader of the Believers thatI myself am named Muḥammad, and that the Messenger of Allāhhimself blessed me with this name.’

As soon as Sayyidunā ʿUmarh came to know of this, he said,‘From today onwards, my order is suspended. If the Messenger ofAllāh himself has chosen and sanctioned the name Muḥammadfor people, then who am I to oppose it?’

May Allāh Most High endow us with the same level of defer-ence and courteous regard that Sayyidunā ʿUmarh exhibited inthat he could not tolerate any wrong being attributed to the nameMuḥammad. May Allāh Most High bestow us with true love for theNoble Prophet.

ا د اوع رخ


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H A P P I N E S S E X P R E S S E D BY S I N G I N G

OD E S AT T H E B I R T H O F T H E R E A S O N

FO R A L L C R E A T I O N


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اغ ؤ ا ر عس ةسع نع ذ ىع اا وضا أ د

خ أ نع خ خا وس ءان دنع ر وعاغر ة

)ن ط(


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، ع كو ؤ ر د د ، د ض د ،ا ع ا س ا و ، د هد ، ا ض ع ع ، سو عد د ا نا و ا د س هد

،ا د: ك ك َ س ا FRIENDS, THESE BOOKS CONTAIN the pure and authentic treasuresof ḥadīths from the Leader of Both Worlds - and Ṣaḥīḥal-Bukhārī is one of them. You have been participating in itsinitiation ceremony since morning. May Allāh Most High accept

our participation and make it a means for our salvation.The Respected Companionsj once asked the Messenger of

Allāh, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, tell us something about yourself.’The Messenger of Allāh replied by relating his own circum-

stances with his holy tongue: خ ر وع ا I am the supplication of [Sayyidunā] Ibrāhīm Khalīlu ’llāhn.

He was referring to the supplication of Sayyidunā Ibrāhīmn:


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هن وس ه ا Our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from among them

(Qur’ān 2:129).

Furthermore, the Messenger of Allāh mentioned variousthings including the events that occurred prior to and at the timeof his blessed birth.

T H E GR E A T E R A N E V E N T T H E MO R E I T IS PU B L I C I S E D

The greater an event the more it is mentioned. In today’s world,the media hype is created when a single story is published in eachand every newspaper and through radio and television broadcasts.Similarly, in the unseen world, angels spread news from the eastto the west, to all those places connected to the incident and to allthose who feel the eects of the incident.

The tragedy that happened in London a few days ago was an

atrocity that should not have happened. It was a blot on the repu-tation of humanity, a great crime against innocent souls, and wastotally unjustied. Such acts are abominable, regardless of whoorchestrates and perpetrates them. All we can do is supplicateAllāh Most High to restore all the injured to the best of health andto grant patience to the families of all those who lost their lives.Those who suered nancial loss, we pray that Allāh Most Highhelps them recover in the best possible way.

As previously mentioned, the greater an event, the more hypeit generates. Soon after this atrocity occurred, Shaykh Ismailphoned me. He was in London at the time and, incidently, is pre-sent in today’s gathering. He said, ‘This tragedy happened in themorning. The press report that it happened at 9:45 am. Last night,I dreamt that you were weeping profusely in prostration.’ This wasa prophecy from the angels about this catastrophe. All we can dois supplicate that Allāh Most High safeguards the world from suchtragedies, establishes peace and harmony in every corner of theglobe, and endows the human race with the qualities of humanity.

Before the birth of the Noble Prophet there was a grand build


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up. Like I have mentioned before, during Shaykh Zakariyyā’sr visit to England, someone saw the Noble Prophet in a dream.The man was in a conversation with the Noble Prophet when heheard the sound of a lot of commotion and noticed signs of franticactivity taking place above. The Noble Prophet asked him, ‘Do

you know what is happening up there?’He replied in the negative.The Noble Prophet revealed, ‘It is the excitement in the

Highest Assembly (al-Mala’ al-Aʿlā - the Heavenly court of angelsclosest to Allāh Most High) that has been generated by ShaykhZakariyyā’sr journey to Britain.

The shaykh’s visit to England created an atmosphere of excite-ment and exhilaration throughout Europe. Thousands of peopleconstantly remained in his company. Almost thirty years havenow passed since his visit, yet we have not seen such an upsurge ofenthusiasm among the Muslim masses, such spirituality, showersof divine light and days of enlightenment since.

N E W S O F SH A Y K H A b r Ā r A L -ḥ A Q ’S r PA S S I N G AWAY

Shaykh Abrār al-Ḥaqr passed away in India recently. A week priorto his death, I asked Qārī Ṣaḥib, who was a teacher at his madrasah and on a visit here, to provide me with Shaykh Abrār al-Ḥaq’sr home telephone number as I planned to call him in Hardoi.

The same day, I had a dream that Shaykh Zakariyyār was onhis bed and I, along with Muftī Maḥmūdr and Shaykh Abrāral-Ḥaqr, was standing in front of him. Shaykh Zakariyyār askedus, ‘Which prayers are the two of you responsible for leading?’ MuftīṢaḥib would usually lead the Jumuʿah prayer, whilst I would leadthe ve daily prayers. Whenever Shaykh Abrār al-Ḥaqr arrivedfrom Hardoi, Shaykh Zakariyyār would instruct me to consult

him about prayers, and (usually) he would then lead the Fajr prayer.Shaykh Zakariyyār asked me in the dream who led which

prayers. Muftī Maḥmūdr hastily replied, ‘Shaykh, I am responsi-ble for leading Ẓuhr and ‘Aṣr prayers.’ I awoke laughing at the fact


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that just as he was very sharp and quick in life, he was the samein the world of dreams.

I wanted to relate this dream to Shaykh Abrār al-Ḥaqr, but hepassed away before I had the chance to call. I contacted his familymembers to console them, and I also related this dream to them.

When I called my brother in Canada and related this dreamto him, he mentioned three names before stating, ‘A particularindividual that very night had a dream in which he saw the NobleProphet pass away.

He approached me after Fajr prayer and related this dreamto me, so I interpreted it, saying, ‘The death of a great saint is

imminent.’ That evening, I received the news of Shaykh Abrāral-Ḥaq’sr demise.’

He passed away in Hardoi, India, but the repercussions of hisdeath were felt in Canada, England and so many other places. Thegreater an event, the more interest it creates.

PR I O R T O T H E M E S S E N G E R O F A l l Ā h GR A C I N G T H E WO R L D

Even before the Noble Prophet honoured the world with hispresence, he was being talked about everywhere. Every gatheringcontained his praise. Glad tidings about him had been revealedto previous prophets, to such an extent that the prophets, after

learning of his greatness and the glad tidings surrounding him,aspired to be amongst his followers. Supplications of dierent prophets were answered in dierent

ways. How was Sayyidunā ʿ Īsā’sn supplication answered? How wasSayyidunā Danyāl’sn supplication answered? The latter madevarious requests, one of them being that if he cannot meet theNoble Prophet, then at least he be endowed with the opportunity

to meet his Companions.Allāh Most High had decreed that Sayyidunā Danyāln wouldnot be able to meet and visit the Respected Companionsj anddevotees of the Noble Prophet [in this worldly life], but that


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his wish be fullled from the life of the grave. The prophets, afterthey have departed from this life and progressed to the life of thehereafter (from the earth to the grave), are merely veiled from thisworld - وق اء اء ‘the prophets are alive in their graves’.

I was in the process of relating a ḥadīth in which the NobleProphet related his own circumstances through the words , ‘Iam the result of Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm’sn supplication, and I amthe interpretation of my grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib’s dream.On numerous occasions, my mother saw a divine light emanat-ing from her and illuminating the entire world before, after, andat the time of my birth. She would also see the royal palaces of

Shām [Modern-day Syria, Jordan and Palestine] and Madain [aplace inhabited by the people of Thamud].’ The Messenger ofAllāh has also said that around the time of his birth in MakkahMukarramah, his mother, whilst fully awake, saw a divine light.At rst, she used to see only a single light which showed her thewhole world. All those areas where Islam was destined to reachwere shown to Sayyidah Āminahi through these illuminations.

She also saw the fourteen turrets of Kisrā’s palace collapse. Shewitnessed all this from Makkah Mukarramah.

Over in Persia, as soon as Mūbidhān, [Persian Emperor] saw theturrets of his palace come crashing to the ground like stones rainingdown from above, he rushed out and pondered, ‘This magnicentstone building has been standing tall for centuries, and with nosign of an earthquake or any other calamity, what has caused the

fourteen turrets to collapse in such a manner, especially since thecarved stones around them are still intact?’

ʿa B D A L-M a s ī ḥ A N D H I S M A T E R N A L U N C L E

Mūbidhān then remembered a bizarre dream he had that night. He

had seen huge camels riding other camels and large Arabian horseson top of them, spreading all over Persia. He gathered interpretersof dreams to have this dream explained. When they were unableto interpret it, they told him that only one man was capable of


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interpreting it - namely ʿAbd al-Masīḥ, who lived in Shām close tothe land of the Arabs. They advised him to send a messenger toʿAbd al-Masīḥ so that the dream may be interpreted accurately.

When the king’s messenger reached his destination, he relatedthe dream to ʿAbd al-Masīḥ and told him about the fourteen turretscollapsing. ʿAbd al-Masīḥ replied, ‘I am indeed quite experiencedat interpreting dreams; however, my uncle is more adept at it thanme.’

ʿAbd al-Masīḥ’s uncle was living his last moments at over ahundred years of age. Upon hearing Mūbidhān’s dream and ofthe collapsing turrets, he said, ‘This is news of the advent of the

Prophet of the Last Era. He has indeed appeared.’He was then asked, ‘Very well, but what does the collapsing of

the fourteen turrets signify?’He explained, ‘This means fourteen Persian rulers will govern

Iran during the reign of this Prophet or his followers.’When this interpretation was relayed to Mūbidhān, he rejoiced

greatly, saying, ‘Our rule will remain for fourteen more genera-

tions and what happens thereafter can be dealt with as and whenit comes.’

The historians state that Mūbidhān wasn’t aware of the fact thatءا م زن اء ؤ ا ه ق ‘Allāh is the Master ofKingdom, He grants kingdom to whomsoever He chooses and Hetakes it away from whomsoever He wills (Qur’ān 3:26).’

Before the caliphate of Sayyidunā ʿUmarh had even started,

ten Persian kings had already ruled and died in quick succession.Some ruled for just a few months and others for just a few days.

Sa y y i d u n Ā Da n y Ā l n

Friends, since Sayyidunā Danyāln longed to meet the Noble

Prophet, Allāh Most High informed him, ‘Your desire cannot befullled in your worldly life, but I will full your yearning to meetwith the Respected Companionsj of the Prophet of the Last eraafter you have left this world.’


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Consequently, Iran was conquered by Sayyidunā Abū Mūsāal-Ashʿarīh during Sayyidunā ʿ Umar’sh caliphate. Upon reach-ing Mūbidhān’s palace, they searched his treasury (treasures werenot kept in cupboards or chests; they had huge underground cham-bers to store away their weapons, their wealth, their cherisheditems and other valuable possessions).

When Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarīh and his companionsreached the treasury, their eyes fell on something quite astonishing.They opened one of the chambers to nd a bier on which a corpselay. The shroud and the corpse were in perfect condition. It wasalmost as if this corpse had been prepared and placed on the bier

that very same day. A book was found near the head of the corpsewhich they immediately sent to Sayyidunā ʿUmarh. Here, theybegan trying to identify the corpse by calling for the caretakersof these royal chambers who subsequently informed them thatthe corpse on the bier was Sayyidunā Danyāln, whilst the bookwhich lay by his head was the book that had been revealed to him.

Sayyidunā ʿUmarh called for Kaʿb Aḥbār and had him translate

the book. Similar to the Holy Qur’ān, this book mentioned incidentsof previous prophets and nations, their histories and propheciesof events still to occur before the Day of Judgement.

Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarīh and his companions per-formed his funeral prayer, dug a grave for him and buried him. Inthis way, Sayyidunā Danyāl’sn desire to meet them was fullledby Allāh Most High.

In Madinah Munawwarah, Sayyidunā ʿUmarh remembered aḥadīth of the Noble Prophet about Sayyidunā Danyāln. Thisprompted him to write to Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarīh, askinghim which individual initially entered the chamber and discoveredSayyidunā Danyāl’sn body. Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarīh informed him that it was Ḥarqūs ibn Zuhayrh. SayyidunāʿUmarh said, ‘Send him over to me.’ Once he reached Madinah

Munawwarah, Sayyidunā ʿUmarh related to him the saying ofthe Noble Prophet about Sayyidunā Danyāln.

The Respected Companionsj were physically and wholeheart-edly seless for the cause of Islam. At all times, and at every step,


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they witnessed with their own eyes the verity of each utterancethat the Noble Prophet had made.

Sayyidunā ʿUmarh related to him the saying of the NobleProphet: ع ا ا نة

Whosoever discovers [Sayyidunā] Danyāln, give him glad tidings ofParadise.

Sayyidunā ʿUmarh further said, ‘I called you here all the wayfrom Persia to relate to you the glad tiding of the Messenger of

Allāh who prophesied this whole event to us. We were certain that you would conquer Persia, discover the blessed body of Sayyidunā

Danyāln, and that his book would reach us. This is how SayyidunāDanyāl’sn lifelong desire to meet the Respected Companionsj and for them to perform his funeral prayer was fullled. Allāh MostHigh had predestined for all this to happen. I called you so thatI may relate the glad tidings of Paradise to you.’ Truly, the more

signicant an event, the more interest it generates. Well, you have all been participating in this conference with

great enthusiasm since this morning, so you must be tired, whereasI am fresh because I just arrived. I will therefore conclude withinthe next half hour to forty-ve minutes.

Friends, I studied Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī under Shaykh Zakariyyār at Saharanpur in the nal year that he taught the whole of this.

He had cataracts in both eyes and needed operations to removethem. He would often say to me out of aection, ‘I didn’t plan onteaching Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī this year. I am only teaching it because of

you.’ Thus, owing to the shaykh’s aection, I was fortunate enoughto study the whole of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī under him.

MU S N I D

A L

-HI N D

Sh Ā h Wa l i y u l l Ā h r The shaykh would relate his chain of transmitting ḥadīth ( sanad)by saying that he studied ḥadīth under his father Shaykh Yaḥyār,who had studied under Shaykh Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohīr. Shaykh


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Zakariyyār also studied ḥadīth under Shaykh Khalīl AḥmadSahāranpūrīr. The latter had been authorised and given per-mission (ijāzah) to transmit ḥadīths by Shaykh Rashīd AḥmadGangohīr. Thereafter, the shaykh would communicate variousother chains of transmission of which he was a link.

Finally, he would say, ‘Once, I sent out hundreds of lettersthroughout the Indian subcontinent, Asia and the two holy placesof Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah (Ḥaramayn )informing them that I was interested in knowing the content oftheir chains of transmission, the names of their teachers and theteachers of their teachers, i.e. their entire chains of transmissiongoing back to the Noble Prophet.’

For example, the student has just recited to us the chain of trans-mission by commencing with the words د ا ن ث د . Here, ImāmBukhārīr says that he heard the ḥadīth from his teacher, Ḥumaydī,who heard it from his teacher, who heard it from his teacher andso on. In this manner the chain reaches Sayyidunā ʿUmarh whoinitially heard this ḥadīth from the Noble Prophet.’ This is theportion of the chain of transmission from the Noble Prophet to Imām Bukhārīr.

The next portion of the chain of transmission is from ImāmBukhārīr to Shāh Waliyullāhr.

The last portion proceeds from Shāh Waliyullāhr and reachesShaykh Zakariyyār. Indeed, this makes it a complete chain of nar-ration: rstly, from Shaykh Zakariyyār till Shāh Waliyyullahr;

secondly, from Shāh Waliyullāhr till Imām Bukhārīr; and lastly,from Imām Bukhārīr till the Noble Prophet.

Shaykh Zakariyyār also said, ‘We knew too well that our chainsof narration reached Shāh Waliyullāhr, and from him the nextpart of the chain reached the author of the ḥadīth book in ques-tion - who, before each ḥadīth in the actual book itself, providedthe names of individuals through whom the actual text (matn)

reaches the Noble Prophet.He further adds, ‘I wrote to every Islamic establishment known

to me throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the rest of Asia andthe Two Holy Places (Ḥaramayn ). Whether Deobandī, Barelwī or


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Happiness Expressed

Ahl al-Ḥadīth. I wrote to every seminary without discrimination,requesting them to provide me with their chain of transmission.

Shaykh Zakariyyār says , ‘I received thousands of chains oftransmission in reply to my letter, and there was not a single onefrom them which did not include Shāh Waliyullāhr in its chain.From that day on, I attached the honoric title of Musnid al-Hind to Shāh Waliyullāh’sr name. This bears testimony to the factthat Allāh Most High selected him for the magnicent work ofpropagating ḥadīth, and so the whole of Asia is indebted to him.No chain of transmission reached me which did not contain hisname somewhere in the middle.’

Allāh Most High granted Shāh Waliyullāhr a very lofty status,be it through gaining prociency in the eld of sacred knowledge,or through mastering ḥadīth, qh, history or politics. His bookḤujjatu ’llāh al-Bālighah is a masterpiece and Shaykh Qārī Ṭayyibr used to deliver lectures on it in his old age.

T H R E E GR E A T SA I N T S O F DE H L I

This brings to mind a story. Shaykh Fakhruddīn Dehlawīr and afamous saint of the Naqshbandī order, Shaykh Mirzā Maẓhar Jān

Jānār, were amongst Shāh Waliyullāh’sr contemporaries. Basedin Delhi, the three saints were closely connected to one another.

T H R E E SA I N T S O F T H A N A BH A W A N

Not long after them, three saints lived in Thana Bhawan, namelyḤājī Imdādullāh r, Shaykh Ḍāmin Shahīd r and ShaykhMuḥammad Thānawīr. They oered their ṣalāhs in the samemasjid. In their room, Ḥājī Imdādullāhr would sit in one corner,Shaykh Muḥammad Thānawīr in another, and Shaykh ḌāminShahīdr would be on his bed by the entrance. It is obvious thatanyone arriving would meet Shaykh Ḍāmin Shahīdr rst.

Nowadays, a new trend of opening Shisha cafes to smokehuqqah has become the norm. On my visit to Bolton, to attend


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Happiness Expressed

a Janāzah prayer, I was told that such places of deb

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