Breezes of the dawn,
Breezes of the dawn.
Speak a word of optimism,
even when engulfed in the depths of despair.
A person's word leaves an impact either for or against them,
for whenever one utters it,
its effect resonates within their very soul—
for good or for bad,
bringing optimism or despair,
happiness or misery,
steadfastness or instability.
That is why our upright faith has taught us
to always speak good words,
and among such times
is uttering them in moments of hardship
afflicting a person,
when one may reach
a critical, distressing stage
of despair, anguish,
and inner turmoil.
Among the proofs for speaking good words
in times of distress
is what was narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas,
may Allah be pleased with them both,
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
visited a Bedouin
to inquire after his health.
Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him)
went in
to visit a sick person,
he would say to him: "No harm,
an expiation and purification, if Allah wills."
The Bedouin replied:
"You said 'purification'?
Not at all!
Rather, it is a raging fever,
or flaring up,
against an elderly man,
that will drive him to the graves!"
The Prophet replied: "Then so be it,
then so be it."
Ma'mar narrated
from Zayd ibn Aslam
that the Bedouin died of that very
illness.
Ibn Hubayrah said,
"In this hadith lies proof
that whenever a Muslim hears from his fellow
Muslim a word of good tidings,
or interprets his condition favorably,
he ought to accept
that,
and recognize that Allah Almighty
is the One decreeing it."
And on the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdillah, may Allah be pleased
with them both,
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
visited Umm al-Sa'ib—
or Umm al-Musayyab—
and asked:
"What is the matter with you, O Umm al-Sa'ib,
or O Umm al-Musayyab,
that you are shivering?"
She said: "It is fever,
may Allah not bless it!"
Thereupon he said:
"Do not curse the fever,
for it eliminates the sins
of the children of Adam just as
the bellows remove the dross of iron."
Likewise, in every
hardship, it behoves the wise person
to accustom their tongue
to utter words of optimism,
so as to ease
the heat of affliction from their soul,
and hope through it that Allah
will dispel their distress.
The poet said:
"Be optimistic about what you desire, and it will come to be,
for seldom is it that someone
speaks of a thing that was to be,
without it becoming fulfilled."
On the Day of the Trench,
when the Muslims experienced
such distress as Allah described
in His saying:
◁When they came upon you▷
◁from above you▷
◁and from below▷
◁you,▷
◁and when eyes shifted [in fear]▷
◁and hearts reached▷
◁the throats,▷
◁and hearts reached▷
◁the throats▷
◁and you assumed▷
◁about Allah [various] assumptions.▷
◁There the believers were tested▷
◁and shaken with a severe▷
◁shaking.▷
◁shaking.▷
◁shaking.▷
Al-Bara' said:
"When it was the Day of the Trench,
there appeared before us in a part of
the trench a massive rock that
pickaxes could not break.
So we complained of that to the Messenger
of Allah (peace be upon him).
He came to it,
took the pickaxe, and said:
'In the name of Allah.'
Then he struck a blow
and said: 'Allahu Akbar!
I have been given the keys
of the Levant! By Allah,
I can indeed behold its red
palaces right now.' Then
he struck a second blow, breaking
another piece, and said:
'Allahu Akbar!
I have been given Persia! By Allah,
I can indeed behold the white palace of al-Mada'in
right now.'
Then he struck the third blow
and said: 'In the name of Allah,'
and broke the remainder of the rock.
He then said:
'Allahu Akbar!
I have been given the keys of Yemen!
By Allah, I can indeed behold
the gates of Sanaa from where I stand.'"
And prior to that,
in Mecca, when the Muslims were
in the utmost distress and suffering,
both physical and psychological,
Khabbab ibn al-Aratt—
who was among those tortured
in Mecca—narrated:
"We complained to the Messenger of Allah
(peace be upon him)
while he was leaning against his cloak
in the shade of the Ka'bah.
We said to him:
'Will you not seek victory for us?
Will you not supplicate Allah on our behalf?'
He replied:
'Among those before you, a man
would have a pit dug for him in the ground,
and be placed into it;
a saw would be brought and placed upon his head,
and he would be split into two halves,
yet that would not turn him away
from his religion!
His flesh would be combed with iron combs
down to the bone
and sinew,
yet that would not turn him away from his religion!
By Allah, this matter
will certainly be completed,
until a rider will travel
from Sanaa to Hadramawt,
fearing none but Allah,
and the wolf for his sheep,
but you are hasty.'"
Indeed, the good word
that is uttered
by a person with optimism
may well come to pass in the future.
For Hassan
ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) expressed optimism
for the Prophet (peace be upon him)
regarding the conquest of Mecca,
saying in his famous ode,
addressing thereby
the polytheists of Mecca
and warning them:
"May we lose our horses [if you do not see them],"
and when the Day of Conquest arrived,
the women came forward, wiping
the faces of the horses
and brushing the dust off them
with their veils.
Someone remarked:
"How excellent is Hassan!"
and they wiped,
and they wiped,
and they wiped,
and they wiped,
and they wiped,
and they wiped,
and they wiped!
"How excellent is Hassan
when he said..."
and he recited the verses.
And some scholars narrated
that the people were ordered to advance toward Kuda
out of optimism through this verse of poetry,
hoping he would recover,
and it came to pass just as he said.
Likewise, an evil word
that a person utters
may also come to pass,
thus bringing harm upon its speaker.
And in speaking a good word
or keeping silent
lies safety from that.
Abu 'Ubaydullah,
the scribe of al-Mahdi, said:
"Be more eager to seek your fortune through silence
than you are to seek it
through speech;
for affliction is tethered
to the tongue."
It is mentioned that 'Ubayd ibn Sharyah
once followed the funeral procession of a man
from Banu 'Udhrah.
When he was placed into his grave,
he stepped aside
with his eyes overflowing with tears,
while a close relative of the deceased
did not shed a single tear—
meaning he did not weep
for his deceased relative.
So he recited some verses of poetry
that he used to transmit,
at the end of which was:
"A stranger weeps over him
who does not even know him,
while his own kinsman in the clan
is joyful."
Thereupon, an 'Udhri man
standing beside him asked,
"Do you know who composed these lines?"
He replied, "No, by Allah."
The man said,
"Their composer is this buried man,
Jabalah ibn al-Harith;
you are the stranger
weeping over him,
and this is indeed his kinsman
who rejoices at his death!"
'Ubayd was astonished and remarked,
"Affliction is indeed
tethered to the tongue!"
And al-Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir once encamped
upon a hill,
so a man said to him,
"To what point
would a slaughtered man's blood reach on
this hill?"
Al-Nu'man retorted,
"By Allah, it is you who will be slaughtered,
and we will surely see how far
your blood reaches!"
Some of those present remarked,
"Many a word says to its speaker:
'Leave me unsaid!'"
Therefore, O rational human being,
strive against your tongue
to speak only good words
at all times.
Utter nothing but words of goodness,
even if you find yourself in the direst
of circumstances and the most critical of calamities.
And beware of
uttering words of despair
and evil;
for if your body and soul could bear
the severity of the affliction,
can your tongue not manage to adhere to
good speech?
Be like those who are filled with confidence in Allah,
who proclaim through their state
and being:
"Despite the wounds and despite [the pain],
we remain optimistic,
even if the oppressor acts with tyranny.
Despite the darkness
that cloaks the horizons of our sky,
we remain optimistic about that
which will dispel the gloom of injustice.
Despite the calamities and distress,
we indeed
remain optimistic for a dawn of ease
shining upon the peaks.
We shall never surrender, nor shall we yield
to our wounds,
for within us lies an enduring spirit
of high resolve.
We remain optimistic for an accepted repentance
that delivers our mount
safely to meadows of bliss.
We are optimistic
in our Lord,
optimistic through our patience,
optimistic without ever growing weary."
[This is from the series:] The Dawn Breeze
in Bringing Happiness to Mankind.