#zuhd

“Verily,” the wise say, “it’s only a number of days”

[Ḥasan] And from Ibrāhīm - meaning al-Ashtar: [حسن] وعن إبراهيم -يعني ابن الأشتر-: That death approached Abū Ḏarr, whilst he was at al-Rabaḏah, so his wife wept. أنَّ أبا ذرٍّ حضره الموتُ وهو بـ (الرَّبَذَةِ)، فبكَتِ امْرأَتُه، He said: “What causes you to weep?” فقال: ما يُبْكيكِ؟ She said: “I weep because I cannot do anything for you, and I have no cloth large enough to shroud you in!” فقالتْ: أبْكي؛ فإنَّه لا يَدَ لي بنَفْسِكَ، وليسَ عندي ثَوْبٌ يَسعُ لك كفَناً! He said: Do not weep, قال: لا تَبْكي؛ For I heard Allah's Messenger ﷺ say one day, [and I was with him, in a group of people]: فإنِّي سمعتُ رسولَ الله - صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ -[ذات يوم، وأنا عنده في نفر] يقول: ”A man from amongst you will certainly die in a desert area: a group of the Believers will be present at his funeral.“ "ليموتَنَّ رجلٌ منكم بفَلاةٍ مِنَ الأَرْضِ، يشْهَدُه عِصابةٌ مِنَ المؤمنينَ". He (Abū Ḏarr) said: ”So everyone who was along with me in that gathering has died within a group of people or separately, قال: فكلُّ مَنْ كانَ معي في ذلك المجلسِ ماتَ في جماعَةٍ وفُرقَةٍ، and none from them remain except for me; فلَمْ يَبْقَ منهم غَيْري، and I am in a part of the desert, dying. وقد أصْبَحْتُ بالفَلاةِ أموتُ، So go out and watch al-ṭarīq (ie: the road), for you shall soon see what I say, فراقِبي الطريقَ؛ فإنَّكِ سَوْفَ تَرَيْن ما أقولُ، for, by Allah! I have not lied, nor have I been lied to.“ فإنّي والله ما كَذَبتُ، ولا كُذِّبتُ، She said: ”How can that occur, when the people travelling for Ḥajj have ceased?“ قالتْ: وأنَّى ذلك وقد انْقطَع الحاجُّ؟ He said: ”Watch al-ṭarīq.“ قال: راقِبي الطريق. He (the narrator) said: So whilst she was doing so, a group of people could be seen moving along quickly upon their riding camels, (looking) as if they were vultures. قال: فبينَما هيَ كذلك إذا هي بالقومِ تَخُبُّ بهم رواحلُهم كأنَّهمِ الرُّخُمُ، So the people came, until they stood over her, فأقْبلَ القومُ حتى وقَفوا عليْها، and said: ”What is wrong with you?“ فقالوا: ما لك؟ She said: ”There is a man of the Muslims for you to shroud, and thus be rewarded for it.“ فقالَتِ: امْرؤٌ مِن المسْلمِين تُكَفِّنونَهُ وتؤجرون فيه. They said: ”Who is he?“ قالوا: ومَنْ هو؟ She said: ”Abū Darr.“ قالَتْ: أبو ذرٍّ، So they declared that may their fathers and mothers be a ransom for him, and they hung their whips upon the necks of their camels, and they hastened to him. فَفَدَوْهُ بآبائِهم وأمَّهاتِهِمْ، ووَضَعوا سِياطَهُم في نحورِها يبْتَدرِونَهُ، So he said: ”Receive glad tidings, for you are the group about whom Allah's Messenger ﷺ said what he said. فقال: أبْشروا، فإنَّكم النَّفَرُ الَّذين قال رسولُ الله - صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - فيكُم ما قال، So today I have entered the morning as you see me; ثمَّ [قد] أصبحتُ اليومَ حيثُ تَروْنَ، and if I had a garment of mine that were sufficient to shroud me in, then I would not be shrouded in anything else besides it. ولَوْ أنَّ لي ثوباً مِنْ ثِيابي يَسَعُ كَفني لَمْ أُكفَّنْ إلا فيه، So I implore you, by Allah, let not a man from amongst you shroud me who has been a chief, a governor, or an official messenger.“ فأُنشِدُكمْ بالله لا يُكَفِّنُني رجل منكمْ كان عريفاً أوْ أميراً أوْ بريداً، So all of the people had attained something from that, except for a youth from the Anṣār who was with the people. فكلُّ القوم قد نالَ من ذلك شيئاً إلا فتيً مِنَ الأنْصارِ، وكانَ معَ القوم، He said: ”I am your companion: there are two garments in my travelling bag that were woven by my mother, قال: أنا صاحَبُكَ، ثوبان في عَيْبتي مِنْ غَزْل أُمِّي، and the newest of my garments are these two that I am wearing.“ وأجَدُ ثَوبَي هذَيْن اللَّذَين عليَّ. He said: “You are my companion, (so you shroud me).” قال: أنتَ صاحِبي [فكفنِّي]. Reported by Aḥmad, and the wording is his, and its narrators are the narrators of the Ṣaḥīḥ; and by al-Bazzār -with its like, in abridged form. رواه أحمد -واللفظ له- ورجاله رجال الصحيح، والبزار بنحوه باختصار. Muḥammad Nāṣir ʾl-Dīn al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Tarġīb wa ʿl-Tarhīb 3/295 #3314 محمد ناصر الدين الألباني، صحيح الترغيب والترهيب ٣/٢٩٥ #٣٣١٤ https://shamela.ws/book/179/1637 @ilmtest [https://t.me/ilmtest]

I heard Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah sanctify his soul) say: “al-zuhd (ie: asceticism) is to leave something that has no benefit for one's ākhirah. وَسَمِعْتُ شَيْخَ الْإِسْلَامِ ابْنَ تَيْمِيَّةَ - قَدَّسَ اللَّهُ رَوْحَهُ - يَقُولُ: الزُّهْدُ تَرْكُ مَا لَا يَنْفَعُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ. And al-waraʿ (ie: piety) is to leave something for fear of harming one's ākhirah.” وَالْوَرَعُ تَرْكَ مَا تَخَافُ ضَرَرُهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ. And this expression is from the best of what is said (i. e. most befitting definition) of al-zuhd and al-waraʿ gathered together. وَهَذِهِ الْعِبَارَةُ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ مَا قِيلَ فِي الزُّهْدِ وَالْوَرَعِ وَأَجْمَعِهَا. Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn 2/12 ابن القيم، مدارج السالكين ٢/١٢ https://shamela.ws/book/8370/506 Telegram: https://t.me/aljadwal Tumblr: https://al-jadwal.tumblr.com

Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqāʾiq no. 1056.

May Allah sanctify his secret.

Allahu Akbar