Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 45 of 72
A summary of the life of the Salaf between words and deeds | Episode (45) | The virtue of remembrance and its impact
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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 the salaf between speech and action.
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The virtue of dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and an explanation of its impact.
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'Abdullah Ibn Rawahah, may Allah be pleased with him, used to
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take the hand of some of his companions and say,
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"Come, let us believe for an hour."
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"For the heart is more prone to fluctuation than a pot when it is boiling."
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Mu'adh Ibn Jabal, may Allah be pleased with him, said to his companions as they were walking,
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"Sit with us, let us believe for an hour."
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Abu al-Darda', may Allah be pleased with him, said,
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"To say 'Allahu Akbar' one hundred times
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is dearer to me than giving one hundred dinars in charity."
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Abu Burdah al-Aslami, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
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"If a man had a lap full of gold coins and gave them away,
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while another was engaged in the remembrance of Allah,
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the one remembering Allah would be superior."
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'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said regarding the words of the Almighty,
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"The whisperer, the slinker,"
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"The devil is perched upon the heart of the son of Adam;
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when he is heedless and distracted, he whispers,
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but when he remembers Allah, he slinks away."
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'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
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"Whoever among you is too stingy with his wealth to spend it,
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too fearful of the enemy to fight them,
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and too weak at night to stay awake in prayer,
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let him frequently say:
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'La ilaha illa Allah' (There is no god but Allah),
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'Subhan Allah' (Glory be to Allah),
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'Alhamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah),
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and 'Allahu Akbar' (Allah is the Greatest)."
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'Abdullah Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said,
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"No group of people gathers to remember Allah
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but that Allah remembers them in a gathering better and more noble than theirs.
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And no people disperse from a gathering in which Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, was not remembered
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but that it will be a source of regret for them on the Day of Resurrection."
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Ka'b Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
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"Whoever frequently remembers Allah is free from hypocrisy."
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Ja'far Ibn Muhammad Ibn 'Ali Ibn al-Husayn, may Allah have mercy on them, said,
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"My father, may Allah have mercy on him, lost a mule of his,
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and he said,
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'If Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, returns it to me,
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I shall praise Him in a way that pleases Him.'
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It was not long before it was brought back with its saddle and bridle,
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so he mounted it.
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When he sat firmly upon it and adjusted his clothes,
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he raised his head to the sky and said,
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'Alhamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah).'
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He added nothing more to it.
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He was asked about that,
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and he replied,
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'Did I leave out or omit anything?
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I have attributed all praise to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.'"
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From al-Hasan al-Basri
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and Qays Ibn 'Ubadah, may Allah have mercy on them,
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who were both among the great Tabi'un,
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it is said:
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"The companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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used to prefer lowering their voices during battle,
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while reciting the Qur'an,
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and at funerals."
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Sa'id Ibn Jubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"Dhikr is obedience to Allah;
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whoever obeys Allah has remembered Him,
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and whoever does not obey Him is not a rememberer,
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even if he performs much tasbih and recites much Qur'an."
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'Awn Ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"The one who remembers Allah among the heedless
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is like a fighter behind those who are fleeing."
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He said,
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"Were it not for that man,
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the group would have been defeated;
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and were it not for those who remember Allah amidst the heedlessness of people,
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the people would have perished."
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He also said, may Allah have mercy on him,
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"Gatherings of dhikr are the healing of hearts."
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A man among the worshippers once said to his brothers,
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"I know when my Lord, the Almighty and Majestic, remembers me."
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He said,
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and they were startled by that,
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so they asked,
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"You know when your Lord remembers you?"
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He said, "Yes."
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They asked, "When?"
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He said,
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"When I remember Him, He remembers me."
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Malik Ibn Dinar, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"Those who seek pleasure have never enjoyed anything like the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted."
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Al-Rabi' Ibn Khuthaym, may Allah have mercy on him,
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when he woke up, would say,
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"Welcome, angels of Allah!
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Write:
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Glory be to Allah,
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and praise be to Allah,
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and there is no god but Allah,
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and Allah is the Greatest."
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Abu 'Ubaydah Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"If a man were to sit on the side of a road
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with a bag of gold coins,
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and he gave coins to everyone who passed by,
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while another beside him was saying 'Allahu Akbar',
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the one saying 'Allahu Akbar' would have a greater reward."
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'Ubaydullah Ibn 'Umayr, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"If you are too stingy with your wealth to spend it,
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too cowardly to fight the enemy,
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and too weak to stay awake at night,
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then frequently say 'Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi' (Glory be to Allah and by His praise).
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For by Him in whose hand is my soul,
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this is more precious to Allah than two mountains of gold and silver."
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From Ibn 'Awn, may Allah have mercy on him, who said,
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"Talking about people is a disease,
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and the remembrance of Allah is the cure."
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Al-Dhahabi said,
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"Yes, by Allah!
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It is astonishing how we, in our ignorance,
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abandon the cure and rush toward the disease."
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Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said,
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"The sixty-first,"
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meaning among the virtues of dhikr
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that Ibn al-Qayyim enumerated,
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"is that dhikr gives the one who remembers strength,
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such that he can accomplish with dhikr
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what he could not accomplish without it."
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"I have witnessed the strength of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him,
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in his walking, his speech,
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his courage, and his writing—it was something wondrous.
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He would write in a single day of scholarly work
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what a scribe would write in a week or more.
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The army also witnessed his great strength in battle."
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He said,
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"I was with Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah once;
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he prayed the Fajr prayer,
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then sat remembering Allah, the Exalted, until near midday.
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Then he turned to me and said,
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'This is my breakfast.
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If I did not have this breakfast,
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my strength would fail me,'
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or words to that effect."
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"He once said to me,
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'I do not leave off dhikr except with the intention of refreshing and resting myself,
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so that I may prepare with that rest for another session of dhikr,'
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or words to that meaning."
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The life of the salaf
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between speech and action.