Sahaba

Someone asked Al-Abbas (radiallahu anhu), the uncle of rasulullah, a question: are you akbar than rasulullah?

In Arabic, literally, this means “are you greater than rasulullah.” But the obvious connotation is that the questioner asks about age: are you older than him?

Al-Abbas said:

رسول الله أكبر مني و لكن ولدت قبله

Rasulullah is greater than me, but I was born before him.

He wanted to set the record set, and give a clear message to all of us. The respect the sahaba had for rasulullah was amazing. Uthman ibn Affan, in Hudaybiyyah, refused to make umrah before rasulullah. One of the messengers of Quraysh said “I have seen kings and ceasers, but I never saw people who loved their leader as much as him.” The sahaba even tried to catch his wudoo water! So can we learn to respect him as he deserve?

One of the unique characteristics of the battle of Mu’tah is that rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) appointed not one, but three commanders in the chain of command:

`Abdullah bin ‘Umar said: Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) appointed Zaid bin Haritha as the commander of the army during the Ghazwa of Mu’tah and said, “If Zaid is martyred, Ja’far should take over his position, and if Ja’far is martyred, Abdullah bin Rawaha should take over his position.” (Saheeh Bukhari)

Note: This is post #10 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.

In Surah Layl, Allah says:

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى

وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى

وَمَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَى

إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّى

Translation: By the night when it covers, and [by] the day when it appears, and [by] He who created the male and female: Indeed, your paths are diverse. [Surah Layl, verses 1-4]

In Arabic (and in English), people talk. And when you want to really draw attention to something, you make an oath. Compare:

Child 1: I didn’t break the cookie jar.

Child 2: I swear by my mother’s grave, that I didn’t break the cookie jar.

Which would you pay more attention to? Obviously, the second child (by the way, don’t swear by other than Allah, it’s shirk).

Now imagine two people talking–your brother or sister, who you’ve known forever, and the President of America. Who would you pay more attention to?

Lillahi mathalu al-‘alaa. This is Allah talking to you. And He’s making an oath–not just one, but three things! We should really pay attention here!

And what does He testify to?

Verse 4–that your paths are different.

In a report by Abdullah bin `Amr bin `Aas (radiallahu ‘anhu), he related that a woman came to the Messenger of Allah with her daughter. On the daughter’s wrist were two heavy gold bracelets. The Messenger asked her, “Do you pay Zakaat on this?” She replied, “No.” The Messenger said: “Would it please you that Allah will encircle you with two bracelets of fire?” The reporter commented that she took them off and threw them down in front of the Messenger, and said: “They are for Allah and his Messenger.” [Recorded in Ahmed, Tirmidhi]

Bismillah

عن انس قال النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏لا يؤمن ‏ ‏أحدكم حتى أكون أحب إليه من والده وولده والناس أجمعين ‏

Anas radi Allahu anhu narrated that the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “None of you truly believes (has emaan) until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all of mankind.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Bismillah.

As Muslims, the phrase “alhamdulillah” الحمد لله (all praise and thanks is for Allah) is an integral part of our deen; we are taught to say it from both the Qur’an and Sunnah. Linguistically, Hamd is from ha-meem-daal ( حمد or ح م د) and it is to mention the good attribute of a person, such an attribute that is the at the level of perfection. Hamd is based on mahabbah (love) and ta’dheem (greatness). Hamd is not a fake praise, meaning it is not done to please the person or with no significance, Hamd is always true. Hamd implies admiration, love and magnifying the praise of mahmood (one who is praised). Hamd is a sincere and true praise, that the mahmood (one who is praised) deserves. The one doing hamd is doing submission to the one being praise–out of humility. Hamd also includes sincere gratitude and mentioning the kamaal (best) traits of someone.When we say alhamdulillah, it implies exclusivity and entirety, meaning that praise is entirely and only for Allah. The ‘al’ (ال) before ‘hamd’ is called “istighraaq” in Arabic, and when “al” comes before this phrase its means that entire praise, all kinds of praise and all the time, hamd is due to Allah. The “li” (in lillah, meaning for Allah) implies limitation which is known as “ikhtisaas” in Arabic and it means that Allah is the only One who deserves the hamd.

Bismillah

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an,

“(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, so that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may remember.” Surah Saad: verse 29.

(linguistic explanation of the word yaddabaroo is in the comments)

It is the science of tafseer which is the fruit of ‘pondering over its verses’. Tafseer comes from the root letters fa seen ra, or fassara and means to explain, to discover, elucidate, to disclose (a hidden thing), and to interpret. In Uloom al-Qur’an (the sciences of the Qur’an), tafseer is defined to be, “the science by which the Qur’an is understood, its meanings explained, and its rulings derived.” It is the crux of Uloom al-Qur’an, even though Uloom al-Qur’an comprises many other branches.

‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه‏) was the second khalifa, and one of the ten companions promised Jannah in their lifetimes.

‘Umar (رضي الله عنه‏) used to be a soldier–one of the best. But when he became the khalifah, the other companions refused to let him fight–he disagreed with them, but in the end, he stayed back in Medinah while the battles waged. Yet he always made one du’a, publicly and privately, throughout his khilafah: “Allahumma ruziqniy shahaadah,” “O Allah, provide me with martyrdom.”

Bismillah.

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an,

Translation: It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom although they were before in clear error. [Suratul Jumu’ah, verse 2]

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) sent Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) to do four things:

SubhanAllah, we all know the story about the accusations that were forged against ‘Aishah (رضالله عنها), but in addition to that story, the tafsir for Surat An-Nur (Surah 24), ayah 22, reveals another story–a story of forgiveness, a story of compassion, a story demonstrating the superiority of those who act for the sake of Allah (may Allah make us of them).

Mistah was the cousin of As-Siddiq (رضالله عنه). He was the son of Abu Bakr’s maternal aunt, and a poor man with no wealth except whatever Abu Bakr spent on him. He was one of those who had migrated for the sake of Allah, and he invented the lies and the slander against ‘Aishah (رضالله عنها).