Rabbana Zidna ‘Ilma!!

“I will be with the mihbarah (inkwell) all the way to the maqbarah (graveyard).”

In the Name of Allah , the Most Merciful, the All-Merciful, may His salâh and salâm be upon His Final Messenger.

Imâm Ahmad had two sons, ‘Abdullâh and Sâlih, whom were half-brothers. Sâlih relates that “A man saw my father carrying a mihbarah (a wooden inkwell that students used to carry along with their pens) and said, ‘O Abâ ‘Abdillâh! You are the Imâm of the Muslims!’

 ”This man spoke like this since he was surprised to see Imâm Ahmad carrying his mihbarah as the young students would carry it, or indeed that he would still read books, or shoulder the same responsibilities that the youth did. Note also how all the people were fascinated by him (by Imâm Ahmad), even the elders of the people!
 
Imâm Ahmad replied with a statement that nullified this man’s whole understanding. He said:

“I will be with the mihbarah all the way to the maqbarah (graveyard).”What did he mean?

 He meant, “I will be busy with knowledge until I die.” Another narration mentions that he said this same statement on a separate occasion to another group of people:“As for me, I will seek knowledge until I am placed in the grave.”When the time of his death came near, he said to those around him:“Relate to me the statement of Hushaym.” (Hushaym was Hushaym ibn Bashîr, Imâm Ahmad’s first teacher. He met him in the year 179AH, when he began seeking knowledge at the age of 16) So they read to him what he had requested. This narrated tradition mentioned that Ibn Sîrîn used to dislike a person groaning from pain. At that time, Imâm Ahmad had became very ill and he used to groan due to the pain yet when they informed him that Ibn Sîrîn used to dislike groaning at such a time, he did not groan again until he died.This is the reality of his statement, “I will seek knowledge until I am placed in the grave,” meaning, “I must continue benefiting from knowledge.”
So if you have left your youth behind and become a teacher or an educator, or a lecturer or professor in the university, or an author, and you say, “I have finished seeking knowledge,” know that this is the situation of someone who does not know the reality of his affairs.Al-’Ilm is knowledge of what? It is knowledge of the Speech of Allah and the speech of His Messenger, peace be upon him.

Has anyone reached a level of awareness of the meanings of the Speech of Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him, and also the statements of the scholars explaining the Book and the sunnah, a level of awareness that is sufficient?No one has reached that level. No one who has the right intention and a proper heart has reached that level. Regarding this, Imâm Ahmad said, “With the mihbarah all the way to the maqbarah.” He was addressing everyone, advising us to continue seeking knowledge and not to give it up for any petty reason.In the study circles of our mosques we have seen a great number of students who are eager to learn for two months, and then they abandon it.

Three months or so only. What is this?! Some of them seek knowledge for 3, 4, 5, or 7 years and then they abandon it.Why is that? Is it because the lure of the world has come to you, so you are finished and now you head off into the world? Is it because a position was offered to you and you took it?  Is it because you have reached a certain status, you have become a school director or professor in the university? For this you reason you have stopped seeking knowledge? No! You must continue seeking knowledge until you die. This is what will correct the society’s problems, if their scholars take this advice. As for the students of knowledge, then they must hold fast to this advice, “With the mihbarah all the way to the maqbarah.”He must stay with his book until he dies - reading, learning, memorizing, reviewing, teaching, until his end.

What are the people saying these days? “The rulings related to prayer, we know them, no problem.” If you asked them about many of the rulings, you will find that they do not know them. Why is that? It is because they have become satisfied with the knowledge they have, even delighted that they have the knowledge they have. We ask Allah that He excuses us and that He is pleased with us.If you asked them about affairs even greater than the prayer, issues of creed, issues of tawhîd, you will find that they have not fully grasped the issues, and they used to be students of knowledge! Why is that? Because they were negligent, and thus abandoned it.

Knowledge is honor, if you abandon it, it will abandon you. If you take the task seriously, you will be given some of it, from what Allah has decreed for you.

From the Life and Works of al-Imâm Ahmad

From a lecture by Shaykh Salih aalish-Shaykh

Posted By: Sis Shaykha

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 Allah ’s creation  

The sun, sky, stars and sea
Watch and marvel at their beauty
The sun gives us spring and summer
A relief from the cold and cruel winter
In the morning it rises turning darkness into light
Such overwhelming beauty, such a breathtaking sight
In the evening it sets, leaving behind the dark night
But the moon and stars appear with their light so bright
Everyday the sky looks wonderfully pristine
Brand new, clear blue, aquamarine
During sunset its beauty increases,
its beauty never ceases
From shades of blue to shades of lilac and pink
Does this creation not make you think?
Does it not make you wonder?
Does this creation not make you ponder?
There must be something greater than us, greater than all that exists
For he, Allah , He is the one that created the sun, sky, stars and sea
He created the mountains, rivers, animals as well as you and me
To him belongs all creation, and to him do we return
He gave us life, he takes life and it is his love that we must strive hard to earn.

Poem & Post by: Sister Hina

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| Ahamed Ameen|

It is impossible to achieve any reform without first developing our willpower.

If we want our youth to be able to keep their emotions in check, refrain from overindulgence, exhibit courage in times of hardship, and uphold justice in the face of oppression, then we must realize that all of our advice will be of no avail to them if they lack willpower. People need to develop their willpower before they can put their convictions into practice. It takes willpower for a person to do something arduous, even if he thinks it is for his own benefit. Likewise, it takes willpower for him to shun temptation, even when he knows that indulging such temptations will be harmful to him. You can advise him all day long if you like, but it will do no good if the one receiving your advice is weak-willed.

How, then, can we cultivate our willpower and strengthen it?

Consider a child who wants to learn to ride a bicycle. When he starts off, he cannot even keep the bike standing straight, let alone go forward on it. When he does get going, he weaves wildly to the left and to the right and ultimately ends up falling flat on the ground. With a lot of hard work and perseverance, he gets it in the end. He learns to ride smoothly and easily. He even learns to do a few stunts.

What happened? The bicycle definitely did not change – except for possibly a few dents. It is just as willing to obey its rider as it ever was. All the changes have taken place with the rider.

The same can be said for all of our goals in life. We have to get control of ourselves before we can tackle our environment. The first step in this is to develop our willpower.

A weak-willed person is as shaky when it comes to life’s problems as that child was when he first climbed onto his bicycle. If this person begins trying to strengthen his will, he will slowly but surely learn to move through life more steadily. And just like when our nascent cyclist first took to the road, the weak-willed person is going to need a lot of hard work and perseverance to get through his problems. However, as time goes on, facing his problems will become easier and smoother. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The time for patience is when misfortune first strikes.”

Strengthening our willpower is arduous at first, but once it is strengthened, life will become much easier.

A weak-willed person always resolves on something and then gives up. He goes through life like a weaver who constantly unravels his own yarn. However, once a person actually goes forth with determination until he reaches his goal, he will find that he can do so again with much less difficulty.

A pious man finds the performance of good deed as easy as a sinner finds indulging in vice. The difference between the two is that the pious man directed his willpower toward virtue while the other directed his towards sin.

Many young people get into bad habits without thinking. They just go with the flow, thoughtlessly aping their peers without thinking about the consequences. Many of our youth succumb simply because they are weak-willed.

Imagine a boy sitting with a couple of his friends. They start smoking and urge him to join them. He declines and they start to put pressure on him. They justify what they are doing by saying that it eases stress or by offering some other baseless claim. So he takes his first puff, but he finds it irritating and has no desire to smoke again. However, a few days later he finds himself in the same situation again. This time the irritation is not so bad. Now he joins in with them wholeheartedly. Another bad habit is born.

If this boy had been strong-willed to begin with, he would never have smoked. It takes willpower to resist peer pressure, whether the temptation at hand is smoking, drinking, or chasing girls.

Our youth have to learn to follow their reason instead of their desires. They need to have a strong sense of responsibility.

When a person stays in bed even though it is time for the Fajr prayer or time to go to work, he gives in to sloth and laziness and this weakens his willpower. However, if he has a strong sense of responsibility and obeys his intellect, he will be able to get himself out of bed and do what he has to do. The same thing goes for every other aspect of life. Whether a person gives in to sleep or to peer pressure, he dulls both his mind and his willpower and he becomes less responsible as a person.

The great people we read about in history were strong willed people who obeyed their minds and not their fancies. They built up their willpower by working hard and surmounting the obstacles that faced them. Great people take pleasure in resisting temptation and in the sense of power and self-control that doing so gives them. Our history testifies to a great number of such people.

Take Abû Bakr at the time when many of the Arabs turned their backs on Islam and refused to pay Zakâh. Many people advised Abû Bakr to be lenient on them. However, he rejected their advice and demanded that the Arabs accept Islam wholeheartedly without subtracting anything from it. We can see in this his determination, his strength of will, and his ability to stand up in the face of the most trying of circumstances.

Consider Ibn Taymiyah’s stance when the ruler wanted him to abandon the opinions that he had arrived at through careful study. When Ibn Taymiyah refused to do so, he was imprisoned and tortured but he still refused to recant. Instead, he spent his time in prison writing books wherein he explained and defended his principles and teachings. When they took away his pens and paper, he took up pieces of coal and began writing on the walls. His determination in the face of imprisonment and torture is a great example of the triumph of the human will over adversity and his writings are an enduring legacy of this triumph.

Willpower is one of the greatest secrets of success. By cultivating our willpower and strengthening it, we can stand up to the trials that face us. A strong-willed person is someone who can improve himself and someone who can benefit from the advice and guidance of others. By contrast, a weak-willed person cannot improve himself and will not be availed of the efforts of others to better him. Before anything else, he needs to strengthen himself. He needs to treat his weakness as if it were a disease and be patient during the healing process.

www.Islamtoday.com

Posted by: Sister Nazma/Ebadah

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