Words of Wisdom
From the Sayings of His Excellency Al-Muhaddith Ash-Shaykh ^Abdillah Al-Harariyy His Excellency said advising his students:
I advise them in avoiding laziness and anger, and exercising steady patience for enduring the hardship of ad-da^wah. Lessen enjoying the mubah or quit it completely. Avoid rushing into judging a Muslim with kufr or accusing him with committing a major sin just because
you relied on the news delivered by only one trustworthy person. One may become skeptical when just one trustworthy individual tells him that another person has done so and so. That doing of the latter can be kufr or haram (like a major sin). It is possible that he has done one of these two possible doings. In this case, one does not belie the informer nor does he believe him to become certain about what the former person has said. Let them have good thoughts about the person who is apparently a Muslim until what either strengthens that, or strengthens its opposite becomes clearer to them. Let them not humiliate others because they are not of our jama^ah. Allah made the awliya’ of Allah unknown to his slaves. There may be awliya’ in a bad village and those awliya’ are not known to the people. I advise them to love each other, stretch ties to each other, and visit one another.
I advise them to be gratified with little sustenance, because being gratified with little sustenance provides safety for the Religion and life. There are many people who were imprisoned and killed because of greed and the intense engagement in acquiring more sustenance and money. Even in Arab countries, they deal with haram dealings and some of them cheat to increase their money. He cheats his brothers. The one who is gratified with little halal is secure from that and is secure in the Hereafter. Talk a little, remember death and pray lot in night while the people are asleep.
His Excellency, Sheikh ^Abdullah, said that the hadith of the prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, to one of the companions was: Feed the food, visit the relatives, spread as-salam and pray in night while the people are asleep, you will enter Paradise with peace (Ibn Hibban).
His Excellency said: Be aware all of you from laziness (al-kasal). The prophet, ^alayhi-s-salatu was-salam, said as part of his du^a’: Wa^udhu bika minal^ajzi w-al-kasal. Al-^ajz means the weak endeavor in working for the Religion. It is not the weakness of the body. Many people have weak bodies, but when it comes to endeavor they are stronger than men with strong bodies. Both, weakness and laziness delay the person from reaching higher ranks.
His Excellency said: Don’t anyone of you let his heart rest on disdaining the opinion of someone else. Someone may do that because he may be older in age or has more knowledge than the other. Take the companions of the prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, as an example. They cleared their intentions of that.
His Excellency said: Make yourself used to being patient on the harm with which people inflict you. Don’t inflict your harm on them. Treat people with good manners- those who treat you with good manners and those who treat you with its opposite.
His Excellency said: Do abide by the Knowledge of the Religion. Knowledge is the life of Islam. The one who ignores it is lost and misled. He swings with any wind and follows any caller. Verily, Knowledge protects you, while you protect the money.
His Excellency said: I advise you to treat people with gentleness (ar-rifq). Ar-rifq means to extend goodness to others in a way that one benefit from it.
His Excellency said: Do abide by following one another. Leave away haughtiness over your brothers. Do tie yourselves with each other, love one another, visit and sacrifice for each other.
His Excellency said: Become used to practicing forgiveness among yourselves and not hurting one another. It’s of no goodness to have enmity in the heart and to act in accordance to that. Don’t practice that against one another even when you are mistreated.
His Excellency said: The teacher should be humble to the one whom he teaches and should refrain from showing haughtiness. Similarly, the one being taught should be humble to the one from whom he learns and should exercise good ethics.
His Excellency said: Working with the obligation makes one blessed by Allah more than working with the optional deeds. Do abide by giving precedence to the obligation over the optional deed thus following the rule: The one who is preoccupied with fulfilling the obligation instead of the optional deed is excused, but the one who is preoccupied with performing the optional deed instead of the obligation has false security.
His Excellency said: Do abide by talking a little, because a great deal of talking leads to ruin. It leads to kufr and to what cause breaking the bonds- breaking the bonds between the relatives and the beloved ones.
His Excellency said: Be careful when talking to people. You may think that some of the speech does not irritate the soul, but in reality it does. Do seek kindness in your dealings, conversations and movements. His Excellency said: Be aware of enjoying a great deal of what is mubah (at-tana^um). At-tana^um jeopardizes social support and may push one to stretch ones hand to haram money. Many people may possess what is sufficient for satisfying their basic needs but they got used to at-tana^um. They then stretch their hands to acquiring haram money so that the tana^um to which they have been used is not wasted. At-tana^um also results in neglecting the necessities which include uprooting mis-guidance, kufr and what is an inferior munkar.
His Excellency said: A trait of good manners is to pardon the one who wrongs you and to treat him with goodness beyond equity instead of mistreating him.
His Excellency said: Do strive hard for accumulating the supply for the Hereafter. This life is to an end, while the Hereafter is the abode of everlastingness. You have to desert anger, talk less, and keep learning the Religion. Be satisfied with little sustenance.
His Excellency said: Do abide by working with as-sunnah, taking the example of al-’a’immah (pl. of imam), agreeing with the worshipper and obedient, sitting with the one who repents and has fear, socializing with the loyal and submissive, and visiting the one who makes sujud and ruku^.
His Excellency said to one of his students: Seek to become greatly knowledgeable, possess great patience that prevents anger and have a great tolerance to others.
His Excellency said: By not submersing oneself in enjoying the mubah (at-tana^um) the heart will be straightened, because it helps for preparing for the Hereafter. The one who is used to at-tana^um will miss a great deal of goodness. This may also lead him to seek money in a haram way. The prophets and al-’awliya’ do not exercise at-tana^um. This is not because at-tana^um is haram, because it is not haram if it was from what Allah made lawful, but deserting it helps for preparing for the Hereafter. The one who is satisfied with the little of sustenance and did not seek at-tana^um, will have his life and religion saved.
His Excellency said to one of his students: I advise you to fear Allah, choose the Hereafter instead of this life and accept the little of sustenance. Desert anger and have good thought about the brothers. Have ties with them, love them and be humble. None of you may have highness over his brother even if he was of lesser knowledge. None of you may despise following the opinion of his brother who has lesser knowledge and good deeds as long as his brother is calling him to goodness.
His Excellency, may Allah protect him, said: I advise you to have mercy among yourselves and defeat yourselves. Enjoy humbleness and good manners. Listen to the advice of those who are younger or older. Talk less except for what is good. I advise you to seek the praised traits and submit to one another. Have sincere intention in your deeds. I remind you with the hadith of the prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam: Allah grants for practicing mildness what He does not grant for roughness.
His Excellency said: Do abide by working hard and fulfilling the necessities and teaching it. Avoid laziness and desert at-tana^um. Have patience on the hardships of obedience and the hardships of different types of worships. Bear it and conquer the self for fulfilling it. Be humble with the slaves of Allah the little and the big. Allah said to his prophet: Waqul rabbi zidni ^ilma. The prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, was told to ask Allah for the increase in knowledge. No order was mentioned in al-Qur’an for the prophet to ask the increase of anything other than asking the increase of knowledge. I advise you to be steadfast on striving acquiring the knowledge of Ahl as-Sunnah in ^Aqidah and Rules. Do not become bored.
His Excellency, may Allah protect him, said: One of the bad traits is for the Muslim to think badly of others because of a word that his brother uttered, while he may interpret it in a good way. Nevertheless, the individual likes people to think well of him. Let him then do in return the same thing for other Muslims.
His Excellency said: One should not rush in praising a person or another. One may not also rush in dispraising a person or another. Be aware from labeling a person with righteousness (al-wilayah) because his talk is a little and his food is a little. Al-wilayah has a prerequisite which is straightforwardness.
His Excellency said: A great number of people experienced catastrophes because of much talking. His Excellency said: Impose on yourselves to abide by humbleness, because humbleness is the leader to perfection. His Excellency said: The prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said: You neglect the best of worship, humbleness.
His Excellency said: Ignorance devastates its possessor as poison devastates the one who takes it. His Excellency said: The meaning of Allah’s saying: Wat-taqullah is to perform all the obligations including learning the knowledge which is an obligation on every accountable person. It also includes avoiding all the sins. However, to practice plenty of optional deeds is taken from the hadith al-qudsiyy narrated by al-Bukhariyy: ... The slave of Allah will continue performing the optional deeds until he reaches the rank of the one loved by Allah. He then becomes one of those loved by Allah. At-taqwa does not happen without learning the Obligatory Knowledge. It’s from at-taqwa to learn the obligations. The saying of Allah: Wat-taqullah means perform the obligations which include learning the knowledge and avoiding the prohibitions.
A Du^a'
Alhamdulillahi rabbil ^alamin. Wa sallallahu ^ala sayyidina Muhammad wa ^ala alihi wa sahbihit-tayyibinat-tahirin. As’alullah an yaj^ala niyyatina khalisatan liwajhihi.
We ask Allah to make us safe and to protect us and guide us and to make us die on the creed of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to make us live as Muslims and die as Muslims. And We ask Allah to make us steadfast on the straight path. and to make us die on the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama^ah. We ask Allah ta^ala to make us adhere to the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah throughout our lives, and to keep us distant from the people of bida^. We ask Allah to make us die on the creed of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam.
We ask Allah to make us among the humble. We ask Allah to guide us to stay Muslim all our lives and to die as Muslims. We ask Allah tabaraka wa ta^ala to protect us from being misguided and to make us steadfast in following the Sunnah of the Prophet, and to end our lives as Muslims. Wa subhanallahi wa bihamdihi wallahu ta^ala a^lam.
We ask Allah to make us among those who adhere to the rules and methodology of the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and I ask Allah to give us a good ending.
We ask Allah to make us steadfast in the religion that Nabiyy Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallm, brought until we die. And we ask Allah to guide us to follow the Prophet and to be guided by his teachings.
We ask Allah to protect us from blasphemy. We ask Allah to end our lives in complete belief and to admit us to Paradise out of His Mercy and to protect us from the torture of hellfire. Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi wallahu ta^ala a^lam
O Allah, You are the Alive, the Qayyum, the Forgiver of sins, the One Who accepts the repentance, the One Who creates the guidance, the One Who endows the endowments on the people and sustains them, the Generous and Most Merciful. O Allah, We ask You by the virtue of Your Good Names to raise the rank of our Prophet Muhammad, to guide us to mention You a lot, to make us rely deeply on You, and to make us satisfied with what You give us without leaning towards acquiring worldly matters from other than You, and to do the good deeds. We ask You to give us a perfect belief and a strong certitude, and to gather us on the Day of Judgment with the prophets, the martyrs, and the righteous Muslims. We ask You for all of that by the virtue of our Master, Muhammad, the Master of the Messengers and the Special beloved person to His Lord. Praise be to Allah, the Owner of the humans and the jinns. May Allah raise the rank of our Prophet, Muhammad, and protect his nation from that which he fears for them. Amin.