The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to be alarmed when he saw an eclipse, as is reported in Saheeh al- Bukhaari from Abu Moosa (may Allaah be pleased with him): “The sun was eclipsed, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up in alarm, fearing that it was the Hour.” (Fath al-Baari, 2/545). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us, in the event of an eclipse, to hasten to pray. He told us that both solar and lunar eclipses are among the signs with which Allaah instills fear in His slaves. There is no doubt that the heart’s interaction with these phenomena and its alarmed reaction renew faith in the heart, and remind one of Allaah’s punishment, wrath, might and power. ‘Aa’ishah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took my hand then pointed to the moon and said, ‘O ‘Aa’ishah, seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of this, for this is “the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness” [al-Falaq 113:3 – interpretation of the meaning].”’” (Reported by Ahmad, 6/237; al-Silsilat al-Saheehah). Another example is being affected and moved when passing by places which were struck by the punishment of Allaah, or passing the graves of wrongdoers. Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his Companions, when they reached al-Hijr [??], “Do not enter upon these places which were punished by Allaah, unless you do so weeping. If you do not weep, then do not enter them, lest what befell them befall you also.” (Reported by al- Bukhaari, no. 423). Yet people nowadays go to such places as tourists and take pictures there. Go figure! Dhikr (remembrance of Allaah) is a very important method of dealing with weak faith. It brings cleansing and healing to the heart that is suffering disease, and it is the very spirit of righteous deeds. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Remember Allaah with much remembrance” [al-Ahzaab 33:41]. Allaah promises success to those who remember Him much (interpretation of the meaning): “… and remember the Name of Allaah much, so that you may be successful.” [al-Anfaal 8:45]. The remembrance of Allaah is greater than everything else, as He says (interpretation of the meaning): “… (and the remembering (praising, etc.) of (you by) Allaah (in front of the angels) is greater indeed [than your remembering Allaah in prayers etc.]…” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:45]. This was the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to the man who thought that the duties of Islam were too much; he told him: “Keep your tongue wet with the remembrance of Allaah.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3375; he said, this is a hasan ghareeb hadeeth, See also Saheeh al-Kalim, 3). Dhikr pleases al- Rahmaan (the Most Merciful) and keeps away the Shaytaan. It dispels worry and distress, and brings provision and opens the door to knowledge. It plants the seedlings of Paradise and helps one to avoid the evils of the tongue. It offers consolation to the poor who do not have the means to give charity; Allaah has compensated them with dhikr, which takes the place of physical and financial acts of worship. Neglecting dhikr and not remembering Allaah cause hardness in the heart. [poetry omitted] So the person who wishes to remedy his weakness of faith must increase his remembrance of Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… And remember your Lord when you forget…” [al-Kahf 18:24]. Allaah explains the effect that dhikr has on the heart (interpretation of the meaning): “…Verily, in the remembrance of Allaah do hearts find rest.” [al-Ra’d 13:28]. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, concerning the remedy of dhikr: “In the heart there is hardness which can only be softened by remembrance of Allaah, may He be exalted. So the slave must treat the hardness of his heart with the remembrance of Allaah, may He be exalted. A man said to al-Hasan al- Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him), ‘O Abu Sa’eed, I am complaining to you of the hardness of my heart.’ He said, ‘Soften it with dhikr.’ The more forgetful the heart is, the harder it becomes, but if a person remembers Allaah, that hardness softens as copper melts in the fire. Nothing can soften the hardness of the heart like the remembrance of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted. Dhikr is healing and medicine for the heart. Forgetfulness is a disease, the cure for which is remembrance of Allaah. Makhool said: ‘Remembrance of Allaah is a cure and remembrance of people is a disease.’” (Al-Waabil al-Sayib wa Raafi’ al- Kalim al-Tayyib, 142). By means of dhikr, the slave can overcome the Shaytaan, just as the Shaytaan overcomes those who are neglectful and forgetful. One of the salaf said: “When dhikr becomes well-established in the heart, if the Shaytaan gets too close, a person can defeat him. Then the shayateen gather around him (the shaytaan who tried to get close to the heart of the believer) and say, ‘What is wrong with this one?’ and it is said, ‘He was harmed by a human!’ (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 2/424). Most of the people who are harmed by the shayaateen are neglectful people who do not protect themselves with awraad and adhkaar (du’aa’s and prayers), so it is easy for the shayaateen to overwhelm them. For some of those who complain of weakness of faith, it is difficult for them to do some of the things that can cure it, such as praying qiyaam al-layl or observing naafil acts of worship. It is appropriate for them to begin with this kind of treatment (i.e., dhikr) and be eager to do it. They should learn some general adhkar which they can recite continually, such as “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah la shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd, wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer (There is no god but Allaah, He has no partner; to Him be the sovereignty and the praise, and He is Able to do all things),” and “Subhaan Allaahi wa bi-hamdih, wa subhaan Allaah il-‘Azeem (Praise and glory be to Allaah, and glory be to Allaah the Almighty),” and “La hawla wa la quwwata illa billaah (There is no strength and no power except in Allaah),” and so on. They should also memorize the du’aa’s which according to the Sunnah should be recited at certain times or in certain places, such as in the morning and evening, when going to sleep, when waking up, when seeing visions and dreams, when eating, when going to the bathroom, when travelling, when rain falls, when hearing the adhaan, when going to the mosque, when making a decision (istikhaarah), when stricken with calamity, when visiting graveyards, when there is wind, when seeing the new moon, when getting into or onto a means of transportation, when greeting someone, when sneezing, when one hears the cock crow or the donkey bray or the dog bark, when a gathering comes to an end, when seeing someone who is afflicted with suffering, and so on. No doubt whoever perseveres with this will see a direct effect on his heart. (Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah wrote a very useful book on the topic of adhkaar, entitled Al-Kalim al-Tayyib, which has been abridged by al-Albaani under the title Saheeh al-Kalim al-Tayyib). Confiding in Allaah and humbling oneself before Him. The more the slave humbles himself before Allaah, the closer he becomes to Him. Thus the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The closest the slave can be to Allaah is when he is prostrating to Him, so make lots of du’aa’ then.” (Reported by Muslim, 482). Prostration is the position of humility, quite unlike any other posture or position. When the slave puts his forehead – the highest part of his body – on the ground, he becomes as close as he can be to his Lord. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) spoke in the most eloquent terms expressing humility before Allaah and the contrition of the one who repents to Him: “Oh how sweet are the words of the one who speaks thus: ‘I ask You by Your power and my humility to show mercy to me. I ask You by Your strength and my weakness, by Your independence of me and my dependence upon You. Here is my lying, sinful forelock in Your hands. Your slaves other than me are so many, and I have no refuge or sanctuary from You except with You. I ask You in the manner of the poor and wretched, I pray to You in the manner of one who humbly submits, I call on You in the manner of one who is fearful and blind, one whose neck is totally bowed to You, whose eyes shed tears for you, whose heart is humbled before You.’ When the slave comes whispering words such as these, his faith multiplies exponentially in his heart.” Showing one’s need for Allaah also strengthens faith. Allaah has told us how much we need and depend on Him. He tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allaah, but Allaah is Rich (Free of all wants and needs), Worthy of all praise.” [Faatir 35:15] Not hoping for a long life. This is a very important facet of renewing faith. Ibn al- Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The greatest thing we learn from these aayaat (interpretation of the meanings) – ‘Tell Me, if We do let them enjoy for years, and afterwards comes to them that (punishment) which they had been promised! All that with which they used to enjoy shall not avail them’ [al-Shu’ara’ 26:205-207] and ‘… (it will be) as if they had not stayed (in the life of this world) but an hour of a day…’ [Yoonus 10:45] – is that the whole length of this world should not make a man hope for a long life or say, ‘I will live, I will live…’ One of the salaf said to a man, ‘Lead us in Zuhr (prayer).’ The man said, ‘I will lead you in Zuhr prayer but I cannot lead you in ‘Asr prayer.’ He said, ‘It is as if you hope to live until the time of ‘Asr; we seek refuge with Allaah from hoping for a long life.’” Thinking of the insignificance of this world until the heart is detached from it. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:185].
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 07:21:03 +0000
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