Sabr or Shukr – The Worry Stops Here
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Creator: Muhammad Alshareef
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Identifier: http://www.khutbah.com/en/return_allah/sabr.php
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Subject: tazkiyah
Title: Sabr or Shukr – The Worry Stops Here
Created on: Tue Jan 29 11:03:43 -0500 2008
Updated on: Tue Jan 29 11:03:43 -0500 2008
Version: 1
Abstract: ... s goes on and on." What happens to us happens by the will of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala. It is an article of our eman that we believe in qada' and qadr and that we are pleased with Allah’s choice. Good or seemingly bad, it is all the test of this dunya. How can we imagine that we shall not be tested when those who were better than us suffered what they suffered? They, however, came away with the pleasure of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala. Al Hasan ibn Arafah narrated that he visited Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal after he was whipped and tortured. He said to him, "O Abu Abdillah, you have reached the station of the Prophets!" He said, "Keep quiet. Verily, I saw nothing more than people selling their deen and I saw scholars that were with me sell their faith. So I said to myself, 'Who am I, what am I? What am I going to say to Allah tomorrow when I stand in front of Him and He asks me, 'Did you sell your deen like the others did?'" He continued, "So I looked at the whip and the sword and chose them. And I said, 'If I die, I shall return to Allah and say that I was told to say that one of Your Characteristics was something created but I did not. ' After that, it will be up to Him - either to punish me or be Merciful to me." Al-Hasan ibn Arafah then asked, "Did you feel pain when they whipped you?" He said, "Yes, I felt the pain up to 20 lashes then I lost all feeling (They whipped him over eighty times). After it was over I felt no pain and that day I prayed Dhuhr standing." Al-Hasan ibn Arafah started weeping when he heard what had happened. Imam Ahmad questioned him, "Why are you crying? I did not lose my eman. After that why should I care if I lose my life?" These people were better than us, but this was how they were tested. There some facts about the tests of life, the good and the bad that befalls us: 1. Much of what befalls us is the direct result of our own sins. Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala says: And whatever misfortune befalls you it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much Ash-Shura 42/30). Muhammad ibn Seereen used to say when his debts piled up and he felt sad, "I know that the cause of this sadness is a sin I committed over 40 years ago." 2. People understand that when something bad happens it is a test from Allah ‘azza wa jall. But dear brothers and sisters, the good things that happen to us are also a test. Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala says: And we tested them with good (blessings) and evil (calamities) in order that they might turn back (Al-A’raf 7/168). Abd alMalik ibn Ishaq said, "There is no one that is not tested with health and prosperity to measure how thankful he is." And the Companion AbdurRahman ibn 'Awf radi Allahu anhu said, "We were tested with hardship and were patient. And then we were tested with prosperity and we were not patient. Because of this Allah states: O ye who believe! Let not your wealth or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whosoever does that, then they are the losers (Al-Munafiqun 63/9). 3. Patience must happen from the beginning, not three days later or one day later, but rather at the first news of the calamity. The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Verily patience (is only sabr when practiced) at the first hit (of news)." 4. There are things that contradict sabr. Tearing ones shirt, for example, slapping ones face, slapping hands, shaving ones head, and cursing and wailing. Umm Salamah radi Allahu anha narrates that she heard the Messenger of Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam say: "Any Muslim who says when a calamity befalls him that which Allah commanded him: ‘To Allah we belong and to him we return. O Allah reward me in this calamity and give me better then it’ - Allah will grant ... [Full Article...]
