Repentance of Sheikh `Adel Al-Kalbani who was former Imam of Tarawih prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Makkah. Sheikh `Adel Al-Kalbani was an imam of different Masjids in Saudi Arabia for decades and a former Imam of Tarawih prayer in Al-Masjid Al-Haram, Makkah. This story, recounted by him, has been first published in the book series, al-`a’idun ila Allah (The Returners to Allah) by Sheikh `Abdul-`aziz Al-Misnid. I was not such a bad deviant… sure, there were major sins & minor slips that I committed, which were induced first by my own whimsical desires, & then by my family & my community. No one ever ordered me to offer prayer, & I never joined a session for memorization of the Glorious Quran. Like all other children, I livd my childhood frolicking & rejoicing, hanging out in the streets after school, going for picnics & spending the nights watching TV. Of course, a person whose childhood is like that surely grows into a youth who loves amusement, joy, merrymaking & the like. Well, this happened to me. I apologize for not elaborating on details, & I would like to shift to the beginning of my getting closer to Allah. One day, I drove my mother to one of her friends. Waiting for her in my car, I turned on the radio, & by chance the indicator came upon the Quran station. The melodious recitation of Quranic verses stroke a chord with me. It was the first time I heared those verses; {And the stupor of death will bring Truth (before his eyes): This was the thing which thou wast trying to escape!} (Qaf 50:17-29) The reciter was the late Sheikh Muhammad Siddiq al-Menshawi (may Allah shower him with mercy), & the recitation was highly touching. It is true that I did not fully repent immediately upon hearing these verses; yet, it constituted the 1st step towards my guidance. That year was the year of death; numerous luminous politicians & singers died. The premonition of death kept haunting me until it almost drove me crazy. I would wake up in panic, & almost remained sleepless, falling asleep only when overwhelmed with exhaustion. [To stop these fears,] I kept reciting all kinds of supplications (du`aa) & sought all ways to dispel such a premonition, but it kept haunting me. I started to perform prayers on time which I was negligent of in the past. However, the obsessive fear of death was so extreme that sometimes I was unable to even pray & sometimes it caused me to disrupt my Salah. [The question persisted,] how could I escape death! How to avoid it! Then, I found only one resort; to run away toward Allah. Who is Allah! He is my Lord. So, I should know Him well. I thus started to contemplate on the Day of Judgment, resurrection & gathering unto Allah, the sky containing great stars, the sun & its brightness, & the moon when it follows it. I used to read much. A that time I had [a special] love for Allahs Book even when I was astray. Ʊ would wonder when Ʊ known that I memorized some Quranic surahs in places where the name of Allah was never mentioned. I spent this critical period, which amounted to several years, in such a state until I started to roll up my sleeves & firmly believe that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him, & that death is undoubtedly approaching. So, let one get ready for it, {O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, & die not except in a state of Islam.} (Al-`Imran 3:102) At the early stage of my guidance, I developed a genuine link with the Noble Quran. So, whenever I prayed behind an Imam with attractive recitation or who recited verses that touched me, I would immediately return home & start memorizing those verses. Later on, I was appointed as an imam of Salahuddin Masjid, in Sulaymaniyya, & I led the people in Tarawih Prayer, in Ramadan, 1405 A.H., reciting from the Quran book during prayer. Then, when the month came to an end, I committed myself to memorizing the Quran by heart through the following year, drawing on Allahs support. I set a schedule for memorizing the Quran, which started by the dawn of the 10th of Shawwal, 1405 A.H. & continued until the midst of Jumadal al-Akhirah, 1406 A.H. During that period, I memorized the Glorious Quran entirely, all praise & thanks are due to Allah for that. By that time, I found it hard for me to keep awake after Fajr prayer (I was then used to sleeping after Fajr), though after a while Almighty Allah helped me to overcome such an obstacle through perseverance and patience. I sometimes fell asleep with the Quran on my chest (during recitation). Through persistence, diligence & earnestness, I now cannot fall asleep after Fajr at all. Afterwards, Allah guided me to test & verify my recitation & memorization of the Quran before Sheikh Ahmad Mustafa Abu Hussayn, lecturer at the Faculty of Usul-ud-Din (Theology), Riyadh, who gave me an Ijazah (certificate of mastering Quran recitation). This is my story with the Glorious Quran, & my advice to whoever seeks well-being to memorize the Quran. A Final Advice Here, I would like to highlight the responsibility of the family in raising children, besides the responsibility of the community & the individual himself for contemplation & quest for truth & acting upon it. I would also like to refer to the importance of the Quran, the great Book, that is printed in millions of copies, with hundreds of recordings of it circulated. If Ʊ want good in this life & in the hereafter, Ʊ should memorize & act upon it. By Allah, there is nothing about me thatmakes me worthy of leadership, fame or love of people who have not seen me. It is only the Quran that blessed me with all these privileges. How much insignificant a person I would have been if I had not memorized the Glorious Quran. Whenever I recall this fact, I cannot stop tears from trickling down my cheeks, and I then turn to Almighty Allah, invoking Him to make the Quran my close companion upon my death, in the grave and when I shall be resurrected to stand for reckoning before my Lord. I ask Him to make me among those who are told Recite & rise in status, recite as Ʊ used to recite in the world, for Ʊr status will be at the last verse that Ʊ recite.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 06:32:36 +0000
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