Qiyām Reminder From An Asīr

When Al Junayd Al Baghdadi رحمه الله died, the people saw him in a dream, and they asked him, what did Allah do to you? How was your standing before Allah? He said,

“All those fancy expressions we used to say have disappeared, and all of those complicated words have gone, and all of those sciences we used to teach have disappeared, and nothing benefited us on this day except for a few units of prayer that we used to pray at night”

“We are upon the truth, you are the khawarij.”

We are upon the haqq. Living in our well-furnished homes, eating the food cooked by our beloved mother/wife, not having to worry about b0mbs falling any moment, not having to be under the constant threat of death, living in the comfort and safety of our houses. We have never gone out to battle, never got our feet dusty in the path of Allah, we’ve never known the sound of grenades or gunfire, our eyes never witnessed buildings being crushed and bodies being torn to pieces after a barrel bomb attack, we’ve hardly studied the fiqh of jhad.

 We’re on the haqq, -no doubt about that-

But you?

You are the khawarij. 

You’ve left everything you had ever loved to defend a people whom you’ve never seen, who are not related to you in any way except through the bonds of Islam and humanity. You’ve left the comfort of your beds to come sleep on rocks, on the hard, blood-stained ground; you gave up the warm meal cooked by your mothers/wives to come eat whatever you come across, even going days without food. 

You’ve left your career, job, loved ones behind to come live a life with no guarantees except death and injuries. You’ve studied deen under scholars who practice what they preach - who’ve marched forth with their guns and their pens.

But you are khawarij. 

You desire death as much as we desire life, 

But you are khawarij. 

You’re giving your blood to purify this deen and to raise the word of Allah the highest, you’re sacrificing your lives without a second thought so that the oppressed can get a new life, while we - we are sleeping in our homes and some of us don’t even have the guts to watch what our brothers and sisters are suffering from.

But we are on the haqq and you are the khawarij. 

You are treading the path of Khalid ibn Waleed, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, Al Baraa ibn Al Malik رضي الله عنهم while we have hard time getting up for fajr and standing for tahajjud.

But we are on the haqq and you are the khawarij.

SubhanAllah, strange times we live in.

“The strangeness of this ummah; no one wants to conduct jhad except the khawarij. No one wants to strive to establish the Shari’ah except the khawarij. None are feared by their enemies except the khawarij. And their khurooj is proven when death has come and they die smiling…” 

-Sayyid Qutb

A simple smile of a shaheed is enough to destroy years of propaganda. 

The small index finger of a slain Ghareeb pointing towards the sky, where the throne of His Lord and protector lies, is enough to prove that, perhaps, the “khawarij” were on the right all time long… 

That perhaps our claim of being fair and just was not true when it came to dealing with them, but we couldn’t realise because our eyes were blinded by the lies of those we thought were scholars. 

And while we were busy running our tongues in slander and heedless sin, they were:

“Rejoicing in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty, and they receive good tidings about those (to be granted shahada) after them who have not yet joined them—that there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.”

“Those to be granted martyrdom after them” that could not be us, because we were busy mindlessly shouting that one’s striving to meet His lord was extremism and heedlessness. 

“The example of the disbelievers  is like a flock not comprehending the calls and cries of their shepherd. ˹They are wilfully˺ deaf, dumb and blind so they have no understanding.”

So oh one who was granted sight after years of blindness, Oh one who was saved from accompanying the oppressors in the hellfire, Oh one who was saved from the previous generations of oppressors cursing him and his likes, rejoice, and remember Allah’s blessing upon you and How He blessed you with guidance, a guidance which you would not have attained except with His assistance. 

And as Allah says, and His speech is the greatest: 

“And you considered it bad for you, but it was good for you.”

So do not perceive their deaths to be a loss, nor perceive their losses to be due to Allah’s displeasure with them or His curse, rather in everything Allah has a wisdom, that we may or may not get to know. Alhamdulillah. 

And if their perishing causes nothing but the guidance of a single servant, then that is better for them than red camels, as stated by our dear and beloved Muhammad ﷺ, whom, if we truly known and taken as an example, we wouldn’t call his followers “khawarij”.

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said:

“(By fasting) one narrows the passageways of Shayṭān within the servant (of Allāh), by narrowing the passageways of food and drink. As well, it restrains the force of the limbs from giving way to its dominating nature of that which is harmful to it in this world and the hereafter.

And, (fasting) subdues every limb and might of the soul from (following its) whims, and harnesses it by its bridle.

For, surely (the fast) is the bridle of the muttaqūn [the righteous, those having taqwá] and the shield of the warriors [a shield between them and the Hell-fire].”

[Zaad al-Maʿad | 2/28-29]

Ibn Rajab رحمه الله said:

يا من ضاع عمره لا شيء استدرك ما فاتك في ليلة القدر فإنها تحسب بالعمر.

O you who have wasted your life, nothing can make up for what you’ve lost except the Night of Decree (Laylatul Qadr), for indeed, its value is equal to a lifetime.

(191)كتاب لطائف المعارف فيما لمواسم العام من الوظائف - ط ابن حزم

وغادرنا سفول الليل قاصرا

فلا نمنا ولا ذقنا الأمان

وأعوام مضت والعين تبكي

جميعا كلنا في الأسري عاناه

مطاعهم لعل القلب يحنو

ونسرخ تحت وطئتهم كفانا

ولكن القلوب غدت حديدا

وفيها الحقد قد بلغ العلامه

حياة كلها قهر وظلٌ

الا يا موت زرنا في ضحانا

اما والله لا ارهاب فينا

وعار ان تصدق ايا اخانا

More than half of Ramadan has passed—wake up from your slumber before it’s too late! Rise, seek mercy, and race toward the gates of Ar-Rayyan. Let these blessed nights be your turning point, for the doors of forgiveness are still open, and the chance to earn Allah’s pleasure is within reach. Strive now, before the final moments slip away

‫وَلَا تَقُولُوا۟ لِمَن یُقۡتَلُ فِی سَبِیلِ ٱللَّهِ أَمۡوَ ٰ⁠تُۢۚ بَلۡ أَحۡیَاۤءࣱ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَشۡعُرُونَ﴿ ١٥٤ ﴾‬

‫وَلَنَبۡلُوَنَّكُم بِشَیۡءࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡخَوۡفِ وَٱلۡجُوعِ وَنَقۡصࣲ مِّنَ ٱلۡأَمۡوَ ٰ⁠لِ وَٱلۡأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَ ٰ⁠تِۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِینَ﴿ ١٥٥ ﴾‬

‫ٱلَّذِینَ إِذَاۤ أَصَـٰبَتۡهُم مُّصِیبَةࣱ قَالُوۤا۟ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّاۤ إِلَیۡهِ رَ ٰ⁠جِعُونَ﴿ ١٥٦ ﴾‬

‫أُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ صَلَوَ ٰ⁠تࣱ مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡ وَرَحۡمَةࣱۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰۤىِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدُونَ﴿ ١٥٧ ﴾‬

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And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allāh, They are dead. Rather, they are alive, but you perceive [it] not.

And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,

Who, when disaster strikes them, say, Indeed we belong to Allāh, and indeed to Him we will return

Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.

إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه اللّٰه :

"Each time a charitable person gives, he feels his heart expanding and his breath relieved, as if a robe of iron were loosening for him.

Whenever he gives, it loosens, relaxes and expands; his happiness grows even stronger and his joy increases."

[The Invocation of God | Pg. 38]

A dark way unfolds before me, in it, the only source of light is the lantern of my īman, which I carry in my feeble hands tired of disobedience of their Creator. 

I only see my feet and where they lay, -not much further- unsure of wether the direction I am taking is right or wrong, wether my steps lead me to my eternal success, or to the ruin of my dunyah and akhirah. 

However, my uncertainty remains unable to shake the unwavering hopeful heart that leads me despite my veiled vision, a heart certain that Allah will not harm me wherever I end up. Solely because I sought Him despite my doubts, I sought His pleasure, I sought His forgiveness for my sins, I sought His paradise and He would never stop me in the way leading to it. Alhamdulillah.

I will become from the righteous and enter the paradise of My Lord, Biithnillah… despite my doubts, despite my sins, despite my worry and despite my pain.. not because I deserve it, but because Allah is merciful. Regardless of the plots of Shaytan and His followers, I will sit in the couches prepared in paradise for the righteous, smiling and laughing at the punishment of those who once tried to lead me with them astray.