WEBVTT

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Riyadh al-Salihin

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From the words of the Master of the Messengers

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Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him

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Chapter: The Virtue of Circles of Dhikr (Remembrance)

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And the encouragement to consistently attend them

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And the prohibition against leaving them without a valid excuse

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Allah the Exalted says:

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“Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.” (18:28)

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"In the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance."

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“Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.” (18:28)

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On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"Allah the Exalted has angels who roam the roads,

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Searching for the people of dhikr.

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When they find a group remembering Allah the Almighty,

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They call out to one another, 'Come to what you are looking for!'

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They surround them with their wings, reaching up to the lowest heaven.

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Their Lord asks them—though He knows better than they:

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'What are My servants saying?'

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He said: They reply, 'They are glorifying You, magnifying You,

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Praising You, and extolling You.'

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He asks, 'Have they seen Me?'

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They say, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen You.'

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He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen Me?'

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He said: They reply,

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'If they had seen You, they would have worshipped You even more intensely,

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Magnified You even more, and glorified You even more.'

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He asks, 'And what are they asking for?'

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He said: They reply, 'They are asking You for Paradise.'

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He asks, 'And have they seen it?'

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He said: They reply, 'No, by Allah, O Lord, they have not seen it.'

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He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen it?'

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He said: They reply, 'If they had seen it,

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They would have been even more eager for it and sought it even more intensely,

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And their desire for it would have been even greater.'

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He asks, 'And from what are they seeking refuge?'

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He said: They reply, 'They are seeking refuge from the Fire.'

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He asks, 'And have they seen it?'

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He said: They reply, 'No, by Allah, they have not seen it.'

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He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen it?'

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He said: They reply,

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'If they had seen it, they would have fled from it even more intensely,

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And feared it even more.'

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He says,

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'I call you to witness that I have forgiven them.'

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He said: One of the angels says,

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'Among them is so-and-so, who is not one of them;

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He only came for a need.'

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He says, 'They are companions; their associate shall not be miserable.'"

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Agreed upon.

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In a narration by Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,

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From the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:

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"Allah has roving angels, beyond the [standard] recording angels,

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Who track down circles of dhikr.

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When they find a circle in which there is dhikr,

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They sit with them,

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And surround one another with their wings,

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Until they fill the space between them and the lowest heaven.

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When they disperse,

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They ascend and rise to the heaven.

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Allah the Almighty asks them—

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While He knows better:

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'Where have you come from?'

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They say,

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'We have come from Your servants on earth,

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Who are glorifying You, magnifying You,

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Declaring Your oneness, praising You, and asking of You.'

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He asks, 'And what are they asking of Me?'

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They say, 'They are asking You for Your Paradise.'

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He asks, 'And have they seen My Paradise?'

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They say, 'No, O Lord.'

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He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen My Paradise?'

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They say, 'And they are seeking Your protection.'

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He asks, 'And from what are they seeking My protection?'

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They say, 'From Your Fire, O Lord.'

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He asks, 'And have they seen My Fire?'

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They say, 'No.'

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He asks, 'And how would it be if they had seen My Fire?'

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They say, 'And they are seeking Your forgiveness.'

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He says, 'I have forgiven them,

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I have granted them what they asked for,

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And I have granted them protection from what they sought protection against.'

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He said: They say,

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'O Lord, among them is so-and-so, a sinful servant,

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Who merely passed by and sat with them.'

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He says, 'And him, too, I have forgiven;

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They are the people whose associate shall not be miserable.'"

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"Call out": meaning they call to one another.

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"Come": meaning approach.

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"Surround them":

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Meaning they draw their wings close around those remembering Allah.

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They circle them and revolve around them,

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Until they fill the space between the heaven and the earth.

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"Extolling You": meaning they declare Your greatness.

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"Roving angels": meaning those who travel the earth.

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"Beyond": meaning in addition to the recording angels.

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From the benefits of the hadith:

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The virtue of circles of dhikr and those who remember Allah.

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The virtue of gathering for that purpose.

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The associate of the righteous who remember Allah

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Is included with them in all the grace that Allah the Exalted bestows upon them,

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As an honor to them,

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Even if he did not participate in the act of dhikr itself.

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The angels' love for the children of Adam,

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And their care for them.

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A question may be posed by the asker,

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Even though He knows more about the subject of the question than the one being asked,

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To demonstrate concern for the subject of the question,

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To highlight its importance,

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And to announce the nobility of its status.

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The permissibility of swearing an oath regarding a confirmed matter,

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To emphasize it and highlight its importance.

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That which Paradise contains of various types of goodness,

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And the Fire of various types of detestable things,

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Is beyond what they have been described with.

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Desire and asking of Allah,

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And being earnest in that,

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Are among the causes for obtaining what is sought.

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On the authority of Abu Hurayrah and Abu Sa'id, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:

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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

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"No group sits remembering Allah the Almighty,

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But the angels surround them,

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Mercy covers them,

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Tranquility descends upon them,

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And Allah mentions them to those who are with Him."

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Narrated by Muslim.

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"Covers them": meaning it encompasses them.

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"Tranquility":

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It is a state by which the heart finds peace,

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So it becomes calm, refraining from inclining toward desires,

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And [it provides strength] in times of fear.

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From the benefits of the hadith:

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The virtue of dhikr, its circles, and its people.

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The reward is of the same nature as the deed;

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So whoever remembers Allah, Allah remembers him.

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On the authority of Abu Waqid,

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Al-Harith ibn 'Awf, may Allah be pleased with him,

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That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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While he was sitting in the mosque with the people,

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Three men approached.

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Two of them came forward to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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And one went away.

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They stood before the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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As for one of them,

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He saw a gap in the circle,

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And sat in it.

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As for the other,

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He sat behind them.

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As for the third,

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He turned away and left.

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When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, finished,

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He said, "Shall I not tell you about the three men?

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As for one of them,

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He sought refuge with Allah,

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So Allah gave him refuge.

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As for the other,

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He felt shy,

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So Allah felt shy of him.

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As for the other,

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He turned away,

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So Allah turned away from him."

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Agreed upon.

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"Gap":

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It is the space between two things.

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"Circle":

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Anything circular,

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Empty in the middle.

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"Sought refuge with Allah":

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Meaning he turned to Allah.

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"Felt shy":

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Meaning [he was shy] of crowding others.

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"Turned away":

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Meaning he left, turning away without an excuse.

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From the benefits of the hadith:

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Circles of dhikr

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Are the circles of knowledge,

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Held in the houses of Allah,

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For learning, teaching, and gaining understanding of the religion.

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The life of knowledge

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Is through studying and discussing it,

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And spreading it among the Muslims.

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The virtue of consistently attending

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Circles of knowledge and dhikr.

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It is recommended for the student of knowledge

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To sit where the

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Circle ends.

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It is recommended for anyone who sees a gap

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To fill the space,

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Just as encouragement has been reported for filling

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The gaps in the rows during prayer.

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It is recommended to sit in a circle in

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Circles of dhikr and knowledge.

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Encouragement to compete

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In seeking goodness.

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Whoever arrives first at a place

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Has more right to it.

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Turning away from circles of knowledge

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Without an excuse

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Exposes the person to the displeasure of Allah.

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The permissibility of informing [others]

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Regarding those who commit sins and their conditions,

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as a means of warning against them,

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and that this is not considered

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backbiting.

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Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

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Mu'awiyah, may Allah be pleased with him, went out

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to a circle [of people] in the mosque,

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and he said,

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"What has made you sit here?"

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They said,

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"We sat to remember Allah."

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He said,

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"By Allah,

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is that the only reason you are sitting?"

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They said,

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"We are sitting for no other reason."

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He said,

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"I did not ask you to swear an oath

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because I suspect you,

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and there was no one in my position

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relative to the Messenger of Allah,

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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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who narrated fewer hadiths from him than I did.

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Indeed, the Messenger of Allah,

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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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went out to a circle of

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his Companions,

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and he said,

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"What has made you sit here?"

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They said,

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"We sat to remember Allah

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and for how He guided us to Islam

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and favored us with it."

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He said,

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"By Allah,

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is that the only reason you are sitting?"

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They said,

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"By Allah, we are sitting

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for no other reason."

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He said,

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"I did not ask you to swear an oath

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because I suspect you,

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but rather, Jibril came to me

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and informed me that

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Allah boasts of you to the angels."

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Narrated by Muslim.

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Among the benefits of the hadith:

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The virtue of

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Mu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan,

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may Allah be pleased with them both,

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and his keenness to follow the example

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of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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in conveying knowledge

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and spreading it.

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The permissibility of asking for an oath without

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suspicion, to draw attention

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to the importance of the matter being asked about

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or the information that

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is about to be heard.

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The virtue of gatherings of dhikr

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and attending circles of knowledge,

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and that Allah loves them

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and boasts of them to the angels.

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The Sunnah is revelation

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that used to be brought down

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by Jibril to the Messenger of Allah,

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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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but it is not an act of worship

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to recite it [as one recites the Qur'an],

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rather, it is an act of worship to follow its rulings.

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Riyad al-Salihin.

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Riyad al-Salihin.

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Riyad al-Salihin.