A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (53) | Trust in God, certainty in God, and love

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:04 The life of the salaf between speech and action.

0:11 Reliance and trust in Allah.

0:14 ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once met a group of people from Yemen.

0:21 He asked, "Who are you?"

0:24 They replied, "We are the ones who rely upon Allah (al-mutawakkilun)."

0:27 He said, "Rather, you are the ones who rely upon others (al-mutakkilun)."

0:31 The true one who relies upon Allah is he who casts a seed into the earth,

0:35 and then places his trust in Allah.

0:38 Abu al-‘Aliyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

0:41 The Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gathered around me,

0:46 and they said, "O Abu al-‘Aliyah,

0:50 do not rely upon anyone other than Allah,

0:52 lest Allah entrust you to the one you relied upon."

0:56 Sa‘id Ibn Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

1:00 "Reliance upon Allah is the essence of faith."

1:04 Hatim al-Asamm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

1:08 "I have four wives,

1:10 and nine children.

1:12 Yet, the devil has never dared to whisper to me regarding their provision."

1:17 A man asked him, "Upon what did you build this state of reliance upon Allah?"

1:22 He replied, "Upon four principles:

1:26 I knew that my provision would be eaten by no one but me,

1:29 so my soul found peace in that.

1:32 I knew that my deeds would be performed by no one but me,

1:35 so I remained occupied with them.

1:38 I knew that death would come to me suddenly,

1:41 so I hastened to prepare.

1:43 And I knew that I am never hidden from the sight of Allah wherever I may be,

1:47 so I am ashamed to disobey Him."

1:50 Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about reliance,

1:55 and he said:

1:56 "It is the severing of all expectations through despair of the creation."

2:01 It was said to him,

2:02 "What is the reality of true reliance upon Allah?"

2:06 He said:

2:07 "That one relies upon Allah,

2:09 and there remains no one in his heart among the people whom he hopes will provide him with anything.

2:16 If he is in that state,

2:18 Allah will provide for him, and he will be truly reliant."

2:22 The Vizier Ibn Hubayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

2:26 "I pondered the saying of Allah the Exalted: ﴾There is no power nor strength except by Allah﴿,

2:28 “If only, when thou enteredst thy garden, thou hadst said: That which Allah willeth (will come to pass)! There is no strength save in Allah! Though thou seest me as less than thee in wealth and children,” (18:39)

2:31 and I saw that it has three aspects:

2:34 The first:

2:36 That the one who says it absolves himself of his own power and strength,

2:40 and surrenders the matter to its true Owner.

2:43 The second:

2:44 That he knows there is no power for the created beings except through Allah,

2:49 so he does not fear them,

2:51 since their power exists only by Allah.

2:54 This necessitates fearing Allah alone.

2:57 The third:

2:59 That it is a refutation of the philosophers and the naturalists

3:03 who claim that power resides in things by their very nature.

3:07 This phrase clarifies that there is no power except by Allah."

3:13 Certainty in Allah.

3:17 Abu al-Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

3:22 "How excellent is the sleep of the intelligent and their breaking of the fast!

3:26 How could they be deceived by the night-vigils and fasting of the foolish?

3:29 For the weight of an atom of righteousness from a person of piety and certainty

3:34 is better, weightier, and greater than mountains of

3:38 worship from those who are deluded."

3:41 Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

3:45 "Certainty is that you do not please people by incurring the wrath of Allah,

3:49 nor do you praise anyone for the provision of Allah,

3:52 nor do you blame anyone for what Allah the Almighty has not given you.

3:57 For provision is not brought by the greed of the greedy,

4:01 nor is it repelled by the dislike of the hateful.

4:04 Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, in His wisdom, knowledge, and forbearance,

4:09 has placed joy and happiness in certainty and contentment,

4:13 and has placed worry and sorrow in doubt and discontent."

4:17 Khalid Ibn Ma‘dan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

4:22 "Learn certainty just as you learn the Qur'an, until you truly know it,

4:27 for I am still learning it."

4:29 Al-Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

4:32 "No servant has ever attained true certainty in Paradise and Hell,

4:37 without becoming humble, fearful, submissive, and upright,

4:41 maintaining moderation until death comes to him."

4:44 Bilal Ibn Sa‘d (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

4:48 "Whoever does not act upon certainty should not trouble himself."

4:52 Love.

4:56 The love of people for one another.

5:00 Yahya Ibn Mu‘adh (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

5:05 "The reality of love is that it neither increases with kindness nor decreases with coldness."

5:11 Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about love for the sake of Allah,

5:16 and he said: "It is that you do not love him for the sake of worldly gain."

5:21 The servant's love for Allah and Allah's love for the servant,

5:28 and the causes thereof.

5:30 ‘Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

5:35 "Allah gives wealth to those He loves and those He does not love,

5:40 but He gives faith only to those He loves."

5:44 ‘Amir Ibn ‘Abd Qays (may Allah have mercy on him)

5:48 used to say:

5:50 "I have loved Allah the Almighty with a love that has made every calamity easy for me,

5:56 and has made me content with every decree.

5:59 I do not care, with my love for Him, what state I wake up in."

6:05 Abu Yazid al-Bastami (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

6:09 "This is my joy in You while I fear You;

6:13 how then would my joy be in You if I were secure from You?"

6:16 "It is not a wonder that I love You, for I am a poor servant;

6:20 the wonder is that You love me, for You are a Powerful King."

6:25 Love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his veneration.

6:32 ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

6:36 "When the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) withdrew from his wives,

6:41 I entered the mosque,

6:43 and found the people tapping the ground with pebbles,

6:46 saying,

6:48 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has divorced his wives.'

6:52 I found Rabah,

6:55 the servant of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

6:59 sitting on the threshold of the upper chamber.

7:02 I called out, 'O Rabah,

7:05 ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).'

7:10 Rabah looked into the room,

7:13 then looked at me, but said nothing.

7:17 Then I said, 'O Rabah,

7:20 ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).'

7:25 Rabah looked into the room,

7:28 then looked at me, but said nothing.

7:32 Then I raised my voice and said,

7:35 'O Rabah,

7:36 ask permission for me to see the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),

7:42 for I think that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

7:46 thinks that I have come because of Hafsah.

7:49 By Allah, if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered me to strike her neck, I would strike it.'

7:58 I raised my voice, and he signaled for me to enter, so I entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)."

8:07 He (may Allah be pleased with him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "By Allah, you are more beloved to me than my own self."

8:16 When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out for Badr, he consulted the Companions when

8:24 news reached him of Abu Sufyan's approach. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke, but he turned away from him.

8:31 Then ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke, but he turned away from him. Then Sa‘d Ibn ‘Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up

8:39 and said, "Is it us you want, O Messenger of Allah? By Him in whose hand is my soul, if you ordered us to drive our mounts into

8:48 the sea, we would do so, and if you ordered us to strike their flanks to Bark al-Ghimad, we would do it."

8:55 ‘Amr Ibn al-‘As (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "There was no one more beloved to me than the Messenger of Allah

9:03 (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), nor anyone more majestic in my eyes than him. I could not even fill

9:11 my eyes with his sight out of reverence for him. If I were asked to describe him, I could not, because I could not fill

9:19 my eyes with his sight." When ‘Urwah Ibn Mas‘ud came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

9:26 at the time of Hudaybiyyah to negotiate peace, he began to watch the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

9:34 closely. He said, "By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not spit

9:41 without it falling into the hand of one of them, who would then rub it on his face and skin. If he commanded them,

9:50 they would hasten to fulfill his command. If he performed ablution, they would almost fight over his leftover water. If he spoke,

9:58 they would lower their voices in his presence, and they would not stare at him out of reverence for him." ‘Urwah returned

10:07 to his companions and said, "O people, by Allah, I have visited kings; I have visited

10:14 Caesar, Chosroes, and the Negus. By Allah, I have never seen a king whose companions venerate him as

10:22 the companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) venerate Muhammad. By Allah, he would not spit

10:30 without it falling into the hand of one of them, who would then rub it on his face and skin. If he commanded them,

10:38 they would hasten to fulfill his command. If he performed ablution, they would almost fight over his leftover water. If he spoke,

10:45 they would lower their voices in his presence, and they would not stare at him out of reverence for him." On the

10:53 day of Uhud, when the people fled from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Talhah

11:00 (may Allah be pleased with him) was in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), shielding him

11:06 with a shield, protecting him with his own body. Abu Talhah was a man

11:14 who was a skilled archer, breaking two or three bows that day. A man would pass by

11:22 with a quiver of arrows, and he would say, "Spread them out for Abu Talhah." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would look up

11:30 to see the people, and Abu Talhah would say, "O Prophet of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you,

11:37 do not look up, lest an arrow from the people's arrows strike you. My neck is before your neck."

11:45 Al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)

11:52 would never mention the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) without invoking peace and

11:59 blessings upon him. By Allah, I have never seen anyone more intense in his veneration of the Messenger of Allah

12:06 (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), nor more eager to follow him and support what he brought. Even

12:13 if he cited something from his hadith regarding an issue and saw that it had not been abrogated by

12:19 anything else from his hadith, he would act upon it, judge by it, and issue fatwas according to it, paying no heed

12:27 to the opinion of anyone else among the creation, whoever they might be." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said:

12:34 "Every speaker's words are used to support his own view, not as an authority, except for Allah and His Messenger."

A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (53) | Trust in God, certainty in God, and love

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