Part of The Pre-Dawn Breeze (series completed)
· Lesson 15 of 30
Breeze of Magic | Episode (15) | Say a word of optimism even if you are in the depths of despair
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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Breezes of the dawn,
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Breezes of the dawn.
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Speak a word of optimism,
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even when engulfed in the depths of despair.
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A person's word leaves an impact either for or against them,
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for whenever one utters it,
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its effect resonates within their very soul—
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for good or for bad,
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bringing optimism or despair,
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happiness or misery,
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steadfastness or instability.
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That is why our upright faith has taught us
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to always speak good words,
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and among such times
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is uttering them in moments of hardship
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afflicting a person,
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when one may reach
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a critical, distressing stage
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of despair, anguish,
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and inner turmoil.
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Among the proofs for speaking good words
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in times of distress
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is what was narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas,
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may Allah be pleased with them both,
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that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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visited a Bedouin
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to inquire after his health.
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Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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went in
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to visit a sick person,
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he would say to him: "No harm,
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an expiation and purification, if Allah wills."
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The Bedouin replied:
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"You said 'purification'?
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Not at all!
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Rather, it is a raging fever,
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or flaring up,
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against an elderly man,
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that will drive him to the graves!"
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The Prophet replied: "Then so be it,
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then so be it."
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Ma'mar narrated
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from Zayd ibn Aslam
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that the Bedouin died of that very
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illness.
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Ibn Hubayrah said,
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"In this hadith lies proof
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that whenever a Muslim hears from his fellow
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Muslim a word of good tidings,
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or interprets his condition favorably,
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he ought to accept
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that,
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and recognize that Allah Almighty
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is the One decreeing it."
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And on the authority of Jabir ibn 'Abdillah, may Allah be pleased
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with them both,
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the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
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visited Umm al-Sa'ib—
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or Umm al-Musayyab—
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and asked:
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"What is the matter with you, O Umm al-Sa'ib,
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or O Umm al-Musayyab,
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that you are shivering?"
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She said: "It is fever,
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may Allah not bless it!"
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Thereupon he said:
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"Do not curse the fever,
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for it eliminates the sins
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of the children of Adam just as
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the bellows remove the dross of iron."
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Likewise, in every
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hardship, it behoves the wise person
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to accustom their tongue
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to utter words of optimism,
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so as to ease
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the heat of affliction from their soul,
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and hope through it that Allah
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will dispel their distress.
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The poet said:
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"Be optimistic about what you desire, and it will come to be,
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for seldom is it that someone
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speaks of a thing that was to be,
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without it becoming fulfilled."
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On the Day of the Trench,
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when the Muslims experienced
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such distress as Allah described
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in His saying:
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◁When they came upon you▷
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◁from above you▷
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◁and from below▷
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◁you,▷
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◁and when eyes shifted [in fear]▷
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◁and hearts reached▷
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◁the throats,▷
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◁and hearts reached▷
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◁the throats▷
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◁and you assumed▷
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◁about Allah [various] assumptions.▷
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◁There the believers were tested▷
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◁and shaken with a severe▷
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◁shaking.▷
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◁shaking.▷
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◁shaking.▷
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Al-Bara' said:
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"When it was the Day of the Trench,
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there appeared before us in a part of
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the trench a massive rock that
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pickaxes could not break.
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So we complained of that to the Messenger
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of Allah (peace be upon him).
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He came to it,
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took the pickaxe, and said:
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'In the name of Allah.'
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Then he struck a blow
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and said: 'Allahu Akbar!
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I have been given the keys
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of the Levant! By Allah,
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I can indeed behold its red
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palaces right now.' Then
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he struck a second blow, breaking
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another piece, and said:
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'Allahu Akbar!
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I have been given Persia! By Allah,
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I can indeed behold the white palace of al-Mada'in
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right now.'
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Then he struck the third blow
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and said: 'In the name of Allah,'
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and broke the remainder of the rock.
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He then said:
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'Allahu Akbar!
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I have been given the keys of Yemen!
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By Allah, I can indeed behold
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the gates of Sanaa from where I stand.'"
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And prior to that,
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in Mecca, when the Muslims were
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in the utmost distress and suffering,
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both physical and psychological,
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Khabbab ibn al-Aratt—
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who was among those tortured
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in Mecca—narrated:
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"We complained to the Messenger of Allah
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(peace be upon him)
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while he was leaning against his cloak
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in the shade of the Ka'bah.
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We said to him:
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'Will you not seek victory for us?
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Will you not supplicate Allah on our behalf?'
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He replied:
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'Among those before you, a man
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would have a pit dug for him in the ground,
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and be placed into it;
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a saw would be brought and placed upon his head,
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and he would be split into two halves,
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yet that would not turn him away
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from his religion!
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His flesh would be combed with iron combs
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down to the bone
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and sinew,
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yet that would not turn him away from his religion!
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By Allah, this matter
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will certainly be completed,
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until a rider will travel
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from Sanaa to Hadramawt,
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fearing none but Allah,
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and the wolf for his sheep,
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but you are hasty.'"
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Indeed, the good word
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that is uttered
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by a person with optimism
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may well come to pass in the future.
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For Hassan
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ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) expressed optimism
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for the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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regarding the conquest of Mecca,
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saying in his famous ode,
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addressing thereby
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the polytheists of Mecca
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and warning them:
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"May we lose our horses [if you do not see them],"
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and when the Day of Conquest arrived,
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the women came forward, wiping
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the faces of the horses
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and brushing the dust off them
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with their veils.
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Someone remarked:
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"How excellent is Hassan!"
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and they wiped,
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and they wiped,
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and they wiped,
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and they wiped,
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and they wiped,
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and they wiped,
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and they wiped!
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"How excellent is Hassan
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when he said..."
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and he recited the verses.
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And some scholars narrated
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that the people were ordered to advance toward Kuda
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out of optimism through this verse of poetry,
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hoping he would recover,
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and it came to pass just as he said.
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Likewise, an evil word
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that a person utters
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may also come to pass,
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thus bringing harm upon its speaker.
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And in speaking a good word
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or keeping silent
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lies safety from that.
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Abu 'Ubaydullah,
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the scribe of al-Mahdi, said:
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"Be more eager to seek your fortune through silence
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than you are to seek it
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through speech;
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for affliction is tethered
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to the tongue."
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It is mentioned that 'Ubayd ibn Sharyah
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once followed the funeral procession of a man
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from Banu 'Udhrah.
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When he was placed into his grave,
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he stepped aside
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with his eyes overflowing with tears,
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while a close relative of the deceased
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did not shed a single tear—
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meaning he did not weep
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for his deceased relative.
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So he recited some verses of poetry
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that he used to transmit,
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at the end of which was:
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"A stranger weeps over him
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who does not even know him,
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while his own kinsman in the clan
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is joyful."
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Thereupon, an 'Udhri man
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standing beside him asked,
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"Do you know who composed these lines?"
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He replied, "No, by Allah."
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The man said,
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"Their composer is this buried man,
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Jabalah ibn al-Harith;
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you are the stranger
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weeping over him,
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and this is indeed his kinsman
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who rejoices at his death!"
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'Ubayd was astonished and remarked,
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"Affliction is indeed
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tethered to the tongue!"
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And al-Nu'man ibn al-Mundhir once encamped
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upon a hill,
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so a man said to him,
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"To what point
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would a slaughtered man's blood reach on
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this hill?"
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Al-Nu'man retorted,
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"By Allah, it is you who will be slaughtered,
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and we will surely see how far
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your blood reaches!"
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Some of those present remarked,
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"Many a word says to its speaker:
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'Leave me unsaid!'"
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Therefore, O rational human being,
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strive against your tongue
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to speak only good words
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at all times.
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Utter nothing but words of goodness,
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even if you find yourself in the direst
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of circumstances and the most critical of calamities.
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And beware of
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uttering words of despair
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and evil;
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for if your body and soul could bear
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the severity of the affliction,
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can your tongue not manage to adhere to
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good speech?
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Be like those who are filled with confidence in Allah,
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who proclaim through their state
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and being:
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"Despite the wounds and despite [the pain],
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we remain optimistic,
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even if the oppressor acts with tyranny.
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Despite the darkness
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that cloaks the horizons of our sky,
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we remain optimistic about that
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which will dispel the gloom of injustice.
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Despite the calamities and distress,
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we indeed
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remain optimistic for a dawn of ease
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shining upon the peaks.
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We shall never surrender, nor shall we yield
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to our wounds,
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for within us lies an enduring spirit
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of high resolve.
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We remain optimistic for an accepted repentance
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that delivers our mount
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safely to meadows of bliss.
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We are optimistic
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in our Lord,
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optimistic through our patience,
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optimistic without ever growing weary."
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[This is from the series:] The Dawn Breeze
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in Bringing Happiness to Mankind.