Faris Jax

The Praise of al-Dhahabī

Al-Dhahabī said:

"By Allah, in jurisprudence he reached the rank of al-Layth ibn Saʿd, Mālik, al-Shāfiʿī, and Abū Yūsuf al-Qāḍī. In asceticism and scrupulousness, he reached the rank of al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ and Ibrāhīm ibn Adham. In memorization, he reached the rank of Shuʿbah, Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān, and ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī. But the ignorant person does not know his own rank, so how can he know the rank of others?"

The Praise of al-Shāfiʿī

Ḥarmalah said:

"I heard Imām al-Shāfiʿī say:

'I left Baghdad, and I did not leave behind in it a man more virtuous, more knowledgeable, more understanding in religion, and more God-fearing than Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.'"

And Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh said:

"Al-Shāfiʿī never saw anyone like Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal."

His Humility

Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn said:

"I never saw anyone like Aḥmad. We accompanied him for fifty years, yet he never boasted to us about any of the good that he possessed."

Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī said:

"I heard Abū ʿAbdillāh mention the qualities of the scrupulous people, then he said:

'I ask Allah not to despise us. Where are we compared to those people?'"

His Dislike of Fame

Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan ibn Hārūn said:

"I saw Abū ʿAbdillāh; whenever he walked in the street, he disliked that anyone should walk behind him."

Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Sarrāj narrated that he heard Fatḥ ibn Nūḥ say: I heard Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal say:

"I long for something that cannot be. I long for a place in which there is no one from among the people."

ʿAbd al-Malik al-Maimūnī said:

"Imām Aḥmad said: 'I found seclusion to be more comforting to my heart.'"

His Caution Regarding Dreams

When a man informed him that his mother had seen a dream promising him Paradise, Imām Aḥmad replied:

"My brother, people used to tell Sahl ibn Salāmah things like this, and he ended up shedding blood."

Then he said:

"A dream brings joy to the believer, but it should not deceive him."

His Simplicity

"I saw Abū ʿAbdillāh buying bread from the market and carrying it himself in a basket. I also saw him buying beans and wrapping them in a cloth, carrying them while holding the hand of his son ʿAbdullāh."

His Respect for al-Shāfiʿī

ʿAbdullāh, the son of Imām Aḥmad, said:

"My father mentioned Imām al-Shāfiʿī and said:

'He did not benefit from us more than we benefited from him.'"

His Noble Character

When some people told Imām Aḥmad that Abū Kurayb criticized him, he replied:

"Continue writing from him, for he is a righteous shaykh."

They said, "But he speaks against you!"

He replied:

"What can I do? A righteous shaykh has been afflicted with me."

The Love of the People for Him

Al-Muzanī narrated that al-Shāfiʿī said:

"Did you see that young man in Baghdad? Whenever he says, 'He narrated to us,' all the people say, 'He has spoken the truth.'"

I asked, "Who is he?"

He replied:

"Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal."

It was also said:

"Around five thousand people, or even more, would gather in the gatherings of Aḥmad. About five hundred would write, while the rest learned from him good manners and dignified conduct."

His Worship

ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said:

"My father used to recite one-seventh of the Qur'an every day. He would sleep lightly after ʿIshāʾ, then rise and continue praying and supplicating until dawn."

1. The prayer of the Almighty King (Allah)

2. The intercession of the Chosen Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

3. Following the example of the righteous angels.

4. Opposing the hypocrites and disbelievers.

5. Erasing sins and burdens of wrongdoing.

6. Fulfillment of needs and desires.

7. Illumination of one's outward state and inner secrets.

8. Salvation from the punishment of the abode of Fire and ruin (Jahannam)

9. Entry into the abode of comfort and permanence (Jannah)

10. The greeting of peace from the Oft-Forgiving King (Allah)

Imam ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said:

Knowledge and the happiness that comes from it are not inherited except through exerting one's utmost effort, sincere seeking, and sound intention.

The poet spoke well regarding this:

“Say to the one hoping for lofty ranks: Without striving, you have hoped for the impossible.”

Another said:

“Were it not for hardship, all people would become leaders; Generosity brings poverty, and courage is deadly.”

Noble qualities are tied to hardships, and happiness cannot be crossed to except over the bridge of hardship. Its distance cannot be traversed except in the ship of seriousness and diligence.

Muslim said in his Sahih:

“Yahya ibn Abi Kathir said: ‘Knowledge is not attained through bodily comfort.’”

And it has been said:

“Whoever seeks comfort abandons comfort.”

Had most people not been ignorant of the sweetness of this pleasure and the greatness of its worth, they would have fought over it with swords. But it has been surrounded by a veil of hardships, and they have been veiled from it by a veil of ignorance, so that Allah may single out with it whom He wills from among His servants. And Allah is the Possessor of immense bounty.

“Du‘ā’ (supplication) is of two types: Du‘ā’ al-‘Ibādah (supplication of worship) and Du‘ā’ al-Mas’alah (supplication of request).

As for Du‘ā’ al-‘Ibādah: it consists of words of praising, magnifying, and glorifying the Lord, Glorified and Exalted is He, such as saying Lā ilāha illā Allah, Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh, Subḥān Allah, Al-ḥamdu lillāh, and the like. This is called Du‘ā’ al-‘Ibādah.

The second is Du‘ā’ al-Mas’alah, which is in the form of a request: ‘Forgive me,’ ‘Have mercy on me,’ ‘Do not cause my heart to deviate,’ ‘Do not take me to account,’ and the like. This is called Du‘ā’ al-Mas’alah.

Du‘ā’ al-‘Ibādah necessarily includes Du‘ā’ al-Mas’alah. The meaning is that the person is, in reality, asking, because he only says these words while seeking from Allah that which is sought, such as His pleasure, His pardon, admission into His Paradise, and similar things.”

“The human being will wish that he had sent something ahead for his life.”

And what is his life? Do you think he desires the life of this world? No, by Allah. The worldly life has ended and passed away. In reality, the worldly life is not truly life; rather, it is worries and hardships. Every moment of ease is followed by distress, every state of health is followed by illness, and every gathering is followed by separation.

Look at what has happened!

Where are the fathers? Where are the brothers? Where are the children? Where are the spouses?

Is this a life? Never!”

Hasan ibn Thabith (radhiAllahu anhu) said after the beloved (sallAllahu alayhi wassalam) passed away:

“Shall I remain in Madinah among them after you. How sorrowful my soul is! If only I had never been born" 🥀

“Knowledge was once noble. Men would receive it directly from one another. But when it entered the books, those who were not qualified for it also entered into it.”

Tārīkh Dimashq: 35/188

O' students of knowledge upon you is to ponder over the sixth point mentioned by Shaykh Nasir al-Fahd (may Allah keep him safe) in his book "succinct methodology in seeking ilm".

He mentions:

The student [of knowledge] should not busy himself, especially in the beginning, with the structures of the path, from the strangest of issues and oddities of knowledge for which there is no value except for the passing of time and overcoming peers. Rather, he should be active in mastering the principles of the sciences and comprehending the most important matters.

[I say, what a beautiful statement from the Shaykh. He knew people would enter into matters higher than their reach]

.......

Keeping in mind what is happening all over social media, everyone has become a scholar. A student who has only just begun seeking knowledge speaks about matters such as ḥākimiyyah, ʿudhr bil-jahl, takfīr here and there, and similar issues. Some even make takfīr of scholars, one who has not even memorized the Qur’an making takfīr of a scholar who has memorized many books. Some go so far as to label the scholars Khawārij, while others call them Murji’ah. We seek refuge in Allah from such people who intrude into matters they have no knowledge of. They do not know Arabic, let alone the principles of takfīr.

Know, may Allah guide you to the truth, learn the basics first, build your foundation, and study under scholars. Deviations arose when people began entering the books and giving their own explanations based on weak, frail, and unclear thinking. So guard your tongue from speaking about matters you have no knowledge of and for which you have not prepared an answer before Allah.

On this app! Every one is a scholar, my opinion, my opnion is the most vulgar trait here those who operate and those who have fake zeal of Tawhid and attacks its people and call towards the wickedness of thier desires then Allah indeed humbles the transgressors.

It is upon you to read the book on the etiquettes of the seeker of knowledge (Bakr Abu Zayd), Succinct Methodology (Nasir Fahd), and the methodology of the Salaf regarding advising and rebuking. Regarding advising and shaming, I see that many people tend to shame more than they give advice to others on this very app. However, all praise is due to Allah, brothers and sisters here do advise me sincerely, but with others they only shame them. There is also a book by Ibn Rajab, may Allah have mercy on him, on advising and shaming, so read it, may Allah aid you.

All you need is three books

1) Tafsir Es Sadi (ponder over it and memorise al-Quran)

2) Usul al Thaltha (ponder over it and memorise it)

3) Arbaeen an-Nawawiyyah (ponder over it and memorise it)

Then you should not get any book rather learn Arabic then enter into the books of scholars of this Ummah.

May Allah grant you success. Here, people are more like enemies than friends, holding grudges, making judgments of innovation based on desires, excusing their favorite scholars for errors while criticizing others for the same. Should we conclude that this is hypocrisy? We seek refuge in Allah.

So do not be like those who walk with their eyes closed and forget the Day when every single word will be weighed and accounted for. I do not find benefit in this app. I fear its harm, lest fitnah enters my heart and casts dread upon me, and death takes me while I am asleep.

This is the advise of your brother in Islam. So be truthful with your statement which you have spoken about Tawhid and may Allah bless you and protect you from deviations.

Those who takfir scholars and speak ill of them then upon them is to sit and ponder over the matter, where are they going, are they spreading falshood or truth? Are they helping the enemies of islam by their speech and statements?

May Allah aid you and forgive you if you are reading this and make you among the righteous scholars of Islam And do not waste your time or deviate from your goal, for it will cost you years of failure and knowledge is not gained while your body is in relief. Tired! hurting eyes, stiff back and completely exhausted body is what gains knowledge.

Advice for the one who is afflicted by sadness or distress is to say what has come in the Sunnah:

لا إله إلا أنت سبحانك إني كنت من الظالمين

There is no deity worthy of worship except You; Glory be to You. Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers.

The more a person increases in the remembrance of Allah, the more his worries and sorrows are lifted, because Allah says:

“Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts find tranquility.”

“Indeed, the first thing that people began to disapprove of in the affairs of their religion was children playing in the mosques.”

“Whoever curses Abū Bakr As-Siddīq (radiAllāhu ‘anhu), he has verily left his religion and his blood has become permissible (to shed).

“Let the woman know that whatever befalls her of harm and pain during pregnancy, at the time of childbirth, or in caring for the child afterward, it is a raising of her ranks and an expiation for her sins, if she seeks the reward for that from Allah, Glorified and Exalted.”

“It is not permissible for a person to ask people for money to perform Hajj with, even if it is the obligatory Hajj, because this is asking without need. Since the one who is unable is not obligated with the duty. Asking people without need, I fear that the one who asks people without need may fall under this severe warning: ‘A man will continue asking people until he comes on the Day of Resurrection with no piece of flesh on his face,’ and we seek refuge with Allah. Because he stripped his face by asking people, so the punishment was that his face would be stripped due to this asking. So let the believer fear Allah regarding himself, and not ask except in a case of necessity, where if he did not ask he would perish or be harmed.”

“Among the special qualities of the statement ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’ is that all its letters are without dots, as an indication of freeing oneself from every object of worship besides Allah. And its letters emerge from within, with nothing produced by the lips, indicating that it comes from the heart.”

“Some of those with deep knowledge said: If a servant turned to Allah for such and such years, then turned away from Him for a moment, what he lost would be greater than what he gained.”

“Umar ibn al-Khattab (radhiAllahu anhu) grieved intensely. Nothing was more beloved to him than meeting a grieving person. He used to say: ‘Whenever the east wind blew, I remembered Zayd.’”

Zayd (radhiAllahu anhu) was the brother of Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both).

“1.6 million people performed the funeral prayer for Ahmad ibn Hanbal (rahimahullah) apart from those in inns and homes. And 20,000 Jews and Christians embraced Islam on that day.”