Nasīhatu Ahli Az-Zamān authored by Shaykh Mujaddid `Uthmān Dan Fodio rahimahullāh 04

الحمد لله رب العالمين
والصلاة والسلام على أفضل خلق الله
وعلى آله وصحبه ومن والاه

Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh
Honored brothers and Sisters on the Platform
May the blessings of Allāh be upon you this evening
And we ask Allāh to make us of the manumitted servants this Ramadān. Āmīn

We shall inshā Allāh continue the class from where we stopped
Alhamdulillāh
_”Introduction
Thus I say, and all Success comes from Allāh Ta’ālā”_
Shaykh Uthmān Dan Fodio – rahimahullāh – said
المقدمة
فأقول، وبالله تعالى التوفيق:
فاعلموا يا إخواني أن استنقام الزمان من سوء الادب مع الله عز وجل لا يحصل من ذالك طائل غير إتعاب المرء قلبه ولسانه
_”Know, O brothers of mine, that condemning the era is a form of bad manners toward Allāh Azza Wa Jall. It results in nothing but a person punishing his heart and tongue”_
Now, the Shaykh began his talk on the dismerits of condemning and regretting the time that one finds himself
Such as saying “I hate this era”
“People of this era are nothing but evil people”
Would that I wasn’t created in this era
And statements the like of that
He said
قال الحسن اليوسي في (المحاضرات) بعد ان ذكر ذم أهل كل زمان من الشعراء وغيرهم زمانهم ، وإشارتهم إلى أن الناس الأفاضل قد مضوا وأن الارض قد تغيرت
_”Al-Hasan Al-Yūsī said in Al-Muhādarāt after mentioning the condemnation that the Poets and other than them used to make of their respective times and their mentioning that the Good People have preceded and that the earth has changed

The Imām to whom he referred is Imām Abū Alī Al-Hasan Ibn Mas’ūd Ibn Muhammad otherwise known as Nuruddīn Al-Yūsī
Rahimahullāh
He was a Morrocan Mālikī Imām refered to in his time as the Ghazālī of his era.
He was born 1040H which is equivalent to the year 1631CE and studied in the Ad-Dalā’iyyah Zāwiyah
Then he travelled across the Maghrib to study and was famous for his Ilm and Piety
He passed away 1102H / 1691 CE after spending a life of piety and scholarship
Of his works is this book to which Shaykh Uthmān – rahimahullāh – refered The Muhādarāt
This shows us the width, length and depth of the Dan Fodio Madrasah
He and his Students and Disciples had access to the books that were authored across the African Lands and took from the Ulamā who had studied widely
It is not like some people think these days that Shaykh Uthman and his students were living a life isolated from the educational crucibles of the Muslim world at the time
And of note, the Maghribī Madrasah of Islamic Literature was very rich
It had great Imams from the lands of Tunis, Jazā’ir, Fez, Maghrib, Shinqīt, Misrāta and Timbuktu
It had great Madāris in The Zaytūnah, the Zāhiriyyah, the Mahādir and the Timbuktī schools
It had great Muslim Leadership structures and Duwal such as the Dawlah of the Murābitūn, the Muwahhidūn, Banī Ummayā and that of Shaykh Bin Fodio
It also had its share of authorship in all the Muslim sciences
Alhamdulillāh

Thus, Imām Al-Yūsī urged the Muslims not to condemn their times but to thank Allāh for bestowing upon them the favour of Islam and the ability to worship Him no matter how decayed their respective eras were
He said
قد تحصل من هذا ان الدنيا لم تزل هكذا والناس هم الناس منذ خلقوا فالاحسن للانسان التسليم بل الرضى بوقته فإنه بذالك يفوز بالادب مع الله تعالى الحكيم العليم الدي هو رب الاولين والاخرين
_”What this proves is that the Dunya has not ceased being the Dunya and men had always been men since they were created. Therefore, what is better for a person is to surrender, rather, be pleased with his era. He will, thereby attain the excellence of displaying the right courtesy to Allāh ta’ālā who is the All-Wise, the All-Knower and who is the Lord of the earlier and later generations…”_
Whosoever looks deep into these words of the Imām will realise the depth of his understanding and the extent of his knowledge
Since Allāh created the earth and man altogether, and He is the One who knows and Judges, then one should render thanks and gratitude and strive to implement what one was commanded
Rather than condemning the era and wishing that the earth had not existed

We shall pause here inshā Allāh
Jazākumullāhu Khayran
And continue next class, Bārakallāhu fīkum
May Allāh grant our Ummah, from its sons, those that will raise its banners, rekindle its essence and lead it toward victory and success
Āmīn