Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 57 of 72
A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (57) | Honesty, responsibility, and steadfastness in religion
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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The life of authority lies between word and deed.
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It is a matter of trust and responsibility.
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'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, once said:
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"If a camel were to die lost on the banks of the Euphrates,
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I would fear that Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, would hold me accountable for it."
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When Abu Lu'lu'ah al-Majusi stabbed him,
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he called for his son 'Abdullah.
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He said, "O 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar,
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look at what debts I owe."
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They calculated them and found them to be eighty-six thousand [dirhams] or thereabouts.
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He said, "If the wealth of the family of 'Umar is sufficient to cover it,
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then pay it from their assets.
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If not, then ask the tribe of 'Adi ibn Ka'b.
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If their wealth is not sufficient, then ask the Quraysh.
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Do not go beyond them to anyone else."
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When 'Utbah ibn Farqad arrived in Azerbaijan,
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*khabis* (a sweet dish) was brought to him.
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He tasted it and found it to be a sweet.
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He said, "If you had prepared this for the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar..."
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So they made two large containers of it for him,
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and loaded them onto a camel with two men,
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and sent them to him.
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When it reached 'Umar,
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he asked, "What is this?"
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He replied, "This is *khabis*."
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He tasted it and found it sweet.
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He asked, "Do all the Muslims eat their fill of this in their homes?"
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They said, "No."
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He said, "Return them," and then wrote to him:
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"To proceed:
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It is not from your labor, nor from your father's labor,
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nor from your mother's labor.
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Feed the Muslims the same things you eat your fill of in your own home."
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When the people suffered a famine during the time of 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
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he would not eat anything fatty or ghee until the people had eaten.
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Abu Salih al-Hanafi reported:
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"I visited Umm Kulthum, may Allah be pleased with her,
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and she said,
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'Bring food for Abu Salih.'
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They brought me broth containing some meat.
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I said, 'Are you feeding me this while you are...?'"
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She replied,
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"How would you feel if you saw the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him?
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Citrons were brought to him,
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and al-Hasan or al-Husayn took a citron for a child of theirs.
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He snatched it from his hand and distributed it among the Muslims."
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'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, used to distribute the apples of the *fay'* (public treasury).
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His young son took an apple,
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so he snatched it from his mouth and hurt him.
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The boy went to his mother, weeping.
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She sent someone to the market and bought him an apple.
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When 'Umar returned, he smelled the scent of apples.
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He asked,
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"O Fatimah,
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did you take anything from this *fay'*?"
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She said, "No,"
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and told him the story.
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He said,
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"By Allah, when I snatched it from my son,
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it was as if I were snatching it from my own heart.
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But I hated to squander my share from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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for an apple from the wealth of the Muslims."
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When 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, came to Medina as governor,
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he prayed Dhuhr,
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then called for ten men:
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'Urwah,
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'Ubaydullah,
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Sulayman ibn Yasar,
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al-Qasim,
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Salim,
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Kharijah,
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Abu Bakr ibn 'Abd al-Rahman,
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Abu Bakr ibn Sulayman ibn Abi Hathmah,
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and 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah.
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He praised Allah and extolled Him,
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then said,
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"I have called you for a matter in which you will be rewarded,
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and in which we will be helpers for the truth.
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I do not wish to decide any matter
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except with your counsel,
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or the counsel of those of you who are present.
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If you see anyone transgressing,
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or if news reaches you of an official committing an injustice,
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then I adjure by Allah anyone who hears of it
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to inform me."
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They rewarded him with good and departed.
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'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him,
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would not use the postal service
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except for the needs of the Muslims.
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He wrote to an official of his to buy him some honey,
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and not to use any [postal] transport for it.
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But his official loaded it onto a postal vehicle.
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When it arrived, he asked,
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"What was it loaded on?"
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They said, "On the postal service."
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He ordered that honey
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to be sold and its price placed in the public treasury of the Muslims.
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He said,
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"You have spoiled our honey for us."
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Muhammad ibn Wasi',
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may Allah have mercy on him, offered a donkey of his for sale.
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A man said to him,
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"Would you be satisfied with it for me?"
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He said,
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"If I were satisfied with it for you, I would not be selling it."
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Shaykh 'Abdullah al-Bassam, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"The Shaykh told me,
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Salih ibn 'Abdullah al-Zughaybi, may Allah have mercy on him,
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that during his tenure as Imam in the Prophet's Mosque,
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which exceeded twenty years,
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he never missed a prayer,
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and he never appointed a deputy."
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Steadfastness in religion and sacrifice for its sake.
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'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
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"Do not be a 'follower' (imma'ah)."
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They asked, "And what is a 'follower'?"
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He said,
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"He who says, 'I am with the people;
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if they are guided, I am guided,
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and if they go astray, I go astray.'
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Rather, let each of you resolve that if the people disbelieve, he will not disbelieve."
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He also said, may Allah be pleased with him:
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"The first to manifest their Islam were seven:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Abu Bakr, 'Ammar,
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his mother Sumayyah, Suhayb,
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Bilal, and al-Miqdad.
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As for the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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Allah protected him through his uncle Abu Talib.
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As for Abu Bakr,
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Allah protected him through his people.
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As for the others,
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the polytheists seized them,
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dressed them in coats of iron,
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and scorched them in the sun.
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There was not a single one among them
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who did not agree to what they wanted,
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except for Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him.
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He held his own soul cheap for the sake of Allah,
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and he became insignificant to his people.
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They gave him to the children,
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who began dragging him through the mountain passes of Mecca,
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while he was saying, 'One, One!'"
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Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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has made Paradise the price for your souls,
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so do not sell them for anything else."
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Al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, used to say:
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"The wonder is not at those who perished,
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[wondering] how they perished;
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the wonder is only at those who were saved,
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[wondering] how they were saved."
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It was said to Ibn al-Mubarak,
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may Allah have mercy on him:
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"By what did Ibn 'Awn rise?"
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He said, "By steadfastness (istiqamah)."
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Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah,
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may Allah have mercy on him,
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used to say:
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"Follow the paths of truth,
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and do not feel lonely because of the fewness of those who travel them."
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'Ata' ibn Yasar,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Iblis appeared to a man at the time of death,
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and said,
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'You have escaped me.'
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He replied,
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'I am not yet secure from you.'"
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'Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"When death approached my father,
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I sat beside him
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with a cloth in my hand to bind his jaw.
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He would break into a sweat,
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then recover,
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then open his eyes,
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and gesture with his hand like this:
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'Not yet,
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not yet.'
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He did this once and a second time.
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When it happened the third time,
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I said to him,
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'O my father,
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what is this that you keep repeating at this time?
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You sweat until we say,
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"He has passed away,"
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then you return and say,
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"Not yet,
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not yet."'
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He said to me,
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'O my son,
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do you not know what I was saying?'
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I said, 'No.'
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He said,
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'Iblis, may Allah curse him,
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was standing beside me, biting his fingertips,
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saying to me,
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"O Ahmad, you have tested me."
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I replied,
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"Not yet."
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"Not yet, until I die."
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Al-Hasan Ibn 'Arafah said,
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may Allah have mercy on him,
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"I visited Ahmad Ibn Hanbal,
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may Allah have mercy on him, after the ordeal.
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I said to him,
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'O Abu 'Abdullah,
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you have stood in the station of the prophets.'
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He said to me,
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'Be silent.
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For I saw people selling their religion,
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and I saw scholars who were with me speaking and wavering.
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So I said,
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"Who am I?
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And what am I?
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And what shall I say to my Lord tomorrow,
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when I stand before Him, Majestic is His Majesty?"
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He said to me,
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"Sell your religion as others have sold theirs."
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So I reflected on my situation,
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and I looked at the sword and the whip,
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and I chose them, saying,
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"If I die,
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I shall return to my Lord, the Almighty and Exalted.
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I will say,
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'I was called to say that one of Your attributes is created,
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but I did not say it.'
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The matter is His;
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if He wills, He punishes, and if He wills, He shows mercy."
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I asked,
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"Did you feel the pain of their whips?"
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He said to me,
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"Yes.
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I endured until I had passed twenty lashes,
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then I felt nothing after that."
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When the lashes were finished,
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it was as if I felt no pain at all.
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I even prayed the Dhuhr prayer standing.'
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Al-Hasan said,
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"Then I wept."
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He said to me,
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"What makes you weep?"
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I said,
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"I weep for what has befallen you."
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He said,
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"Have I not remained steadfast?
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I do not care if I perish."
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Al-Rabi' Ibn Sulayman, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"I visited Al-Buwayti, may Allah have mercy on him,
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during the days of the ordeal.
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I saw him in chains,
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reaching up to his shins,
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with his hands shackled to his neck.
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He was saying,
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'The creation was created by the word "Be" (Kun).
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If it were created,
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then every created thing
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would have been created by a created thing.'
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'And if I am brought before him,'
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meaning Al-Wathiq,
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'I will speak the truth to him,
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and I will die in these irons of mine,
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until a people come
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who know that
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he died for this cause,
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a people in their own irons.'
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Al-Rabi' said,
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"He wrote to me from prison,
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saying,
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'Times come upon me
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when I do not feel the iron
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upon my body,
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until my hand touches it.
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When you read this letter of mine,
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then improve your character
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with the people of your circle,
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and show kindness to the strangers,
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especially.'
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For I often used to hear
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Al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him,
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reciting this verse:
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"I humble my soul for them,
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so that they may honor it;
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but there is no honor for the soul
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that you do not humble."
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'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn Abi Rawwad,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"It used to be said:
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'Speaking the truth and being patient upon it
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is equivalent to the deeds of the martyrs.'"
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And Shaykh al-Islam Al-Harawi,
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may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"I was presented to the sword
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five times.
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I was not told,
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'Recant your school of thought,'
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but I was told,
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'Be silent about those who oppose you.'
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So I said, 'I will not be silent.'"
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The life of the salaf
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was between speech and action.