لحمد لله رب العالمين، الذي أعطى فأجزل، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، له الحمد، وله الشكر
Assalaamu alaykum warahmatullaah wabarakaatuh
Beloved ones here, you are welcome to this week’s Halqah session, may Allah make it a beneficial and fruitful one for both the presenter and the readers, aameen. Our topic is centered around: The Islamic Spirit and its revival. Baarakallaahu feekum.
Islam is centered around a Message that is universal and generic Implicitly and explicitly the Message of Islam is that of mercy and justice. For this reason, Allah told the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam:
وما أرسلناك إلا رحمة للعالمين
“We have not sent you but as a Mercy to the Creations”.
The mercy of Islam is that justice be delivered on earth to the creations. Justice of all kinds that implies the growth of generations and the balance of humanity. Even in war, the spirit of Islam remains mercy. For this reason, the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – was a mercy even to his own enemies.
Imaam Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami – rahimahullaah – said, ” ففي إرساله صلى الله عليه وسلم رحمة حتى على أعدائه من حيث عدم معاجلتهم بالعقوبة
“And in his been sent – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – is a mercy even to his enemies. This is from the perspective of the fact that he did not hasten the punishment on them.”
(Ref: Fataawa Al-Hadithiyyah)
The Ulamaa did not agree on any authentically reported number of people that were killed by the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – on the battle field with his own hands except for one person:
Shaykhu Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – rahimahillaah – said:
” والنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان أكمل الناس في هذه الشجاعة التي هي المقصودة في أئمة الحرب ، ولم يقتل بيده إلا أبي بن خلف ، قتله يوم أحد ، ولم يقتل بيده أحدا لا قبلها ولا بعدها”.انتهى من “منهاج السنة النبوية” (8 / 57)
“And the Prophet – salallaahu alayhi wasallam- was the most perfect of people in terms of bravery and courage that is required of a Commander in War. And he did not, by confirmation, kill anyone with his hands but Ubayy Ibn Khalaf. He killed him on the day of Uhud. And he did not kill anyone with his hand before him, not before or after that.”
(Ref: Minhaaju As-Sunnati An-Nabawiyyah.)
The Ulamaa explain that this does not, of course mean that those that deserve to be killed should not be killed rather, it’s a reflection of the mercy in Islam because of the Hadith in which the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – said:
( أَشَدُّ النَّاسِ عَذَابًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ رَجُلٌ قَتَلَهُ نَبِيٌّ أَوْ قَتَلَ نَبِيًّا وَإِمَامُ ضَلَالَةٍ وَمُمَثِّلٌ مِنْ الْمُمَثِّلِينَ )
“The worst of people to be punished on the Day of Qiyaamah is a man who was killed by a Prophet or who killed a prophet, then a leader of misguidance, and a mutilator among those that mutilate.”
This was recorded and transmitted by Imaam Ahmad from Ibn Mas’ud and graded as Sahih by many of the Muhaddithun. Probably, Allah aimed at multiplying the punishment of this man Ubayy Ibn Khalaf for he was of the worst enemies of Islam and Muslims in his lifetime, the intent in the above is to draw attention to that fact.
Islam brings together a community of people, imbibes in them the Message of the Rasul: Mercy and justice, and then have this community of people propagate that on its entirety and exemplification to humanity.
On this course, the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – produced the most dedicated and astute of followers in the Sahaabah. These men were the carriers of this Message and the torchbearers of Guidance. They bore the brunt of the sacrifice they were called upon to deliver and propagated this message far and wide.
About them the Ulamaa of history have dedicated volumes and whosoever reads through their lifetimes will reach the conclusion that they were specially raised for mankind. For this reason, Imaam Abu Ja’afar At-Tahaawi – rahimahullaah – said in the Aqidah:
[ونُحِبُ أصْحَابَ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ، ولا نُفْرِطُ في حُبِّ أحَدٍ مِنْهُم، ولا نَتَبَرَّأُ مِنْ أحَدٍ مِنْهُم، ونُبْغِضُ مَنْ يُبْغِضُهُم وبِغَيْرِ الخَيْرِ يَذْكُرُهُم، ولا نَذْكُرُهُم إلاَّ بِخَيْرٍ، وحُبُّهُم دِيْنٌ وإيِمَانٌ وإحْسَانٌ، وبُغْضُهُم كُفْرٌ ونِفَاقٌ وطُغْيَانٌ
“And we love the Companions of the Messenger of Allah. We neither go into extreme in the love of any of them nor do we dissociate ourselves from any of them. We hate those that hate them and mention them with other than good. We do not mention anything of them but excellence. Loving them is of the Din, Imaan and Ihsaan. Hating them is Kufr, hypocrisy and transgression.”
The Companion Ka’ab Ibn Zuhayr – radiyallaahu an hu – was right in his description of them in his legendary ‘Al-Burdah’ when he said:
فِي فِتْيَةٍ مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ قَالَ قَائِلُهُمْ
بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ لَمَّا أَسْلَمُوا: زُولُوا
زَالُوا فَمَا زَالَ أَنْكَاسٌ وَلاَ كُشُفٌ
عِنْدَ اللِّقَاءِ وَلاَ مِيلٌ مَعَازِيلُ
“In a group of Quraysh youths of whom one of them said –
When they became Muslims in the valley of Makkah: leave our lands”
“So, they migrated and they did not cease to be heavy men; neither were they cowardly in battle, neither compromising nor dropping their weapons”.
They didn’t compromise the message of Islam, they didn’t leave a stone unturned they were at the zenith of Imaan, Nobel characters for which purpose the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – was sent, as an embodiment of the virtues that bring balance to society.
This Message, when embodied in a person makes him to aim at perfection to reach it, and to arrive at simplicity and humility, none of the Companions of the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – were arrogant, none of them were lazy nor lax in discharging their duties.
Islam liberates Man’s thinking, calculations, perceptions and deeds, makes him a model for all of the creation to look toward.
Then the Message of Islam took the form of a society where everyone was taken into account: everybody mattered neither was the poor made to realise he was poor nor the rich made to feel he was better than any.
That society became an exemplar, economic growth was true and real balanced and based on sharing, love and care. Financial growth was guaranteed with the growth of commerce and artisans. Islam encouraged all of that and the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – ensured all of that but its cornerstone was Ilm (knowledge), the love of it, the seeking of it, its propagation.
The Companions of the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallam – would spend their whole days with the Rasul – salallaahi alayhi wasallam, they would pair themselves so that when one of them was spending the entire day with the Rasul – salallaahu alayhi wasallm – so as to study and learn, the other will spend the day either in the market or in the farm then they would return in the evening to benefit each other with the day’s benefit.
So, they had brotherhood in studies same in economic growth – and gladly so the Ulamaa explained that in that era, it took just for non-Muslims to visit Madinah to become Muslims due to the societal perfection of the embodiment of the peak of morals and character. The Companions inter-related with themselves with purity of heart, there were no heart diseases, malice, envy, hatred, pride, arrogance, avarice, selfishness, cowardliness, love of praise was not found in them.
Brothers and Sisters, this was the Message of Islam. This was the Spirit of Islam. This was the Message that the Companions delivered. May Allah make us among those that embody it, aameen. Baarakallaahu feekum. We shall put a pause here and continue next weekend inshaaaAllaah.
Assalaamu alaykum warahmatullaah Wabarakaatuh
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
وَصَلَّ ى اللهُ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى سَيِّدِ وَلَدِ آدَمَ أَجْمَعِينَ ، مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَالتَّابِعِين . آمِين
