The Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam said:

عينانِ لا تمَسَّهما النَّارُ ، عينٌ بكتْ من خشيةِ اللهِ ، وعينٌ باتتْ تحرسُ في سبيل اللهِ

Two eyes will never be touched by the fire of Hell; an eye which weeps out of Fear of Allah and an eye which spends the night in guarding in the Cause of Allah 

[Saheeh Targheeb on. 1229]

Al-Munaawi rahimahullah commented saying:

أي من خوف عقابه أو مهابة جلاله

“That is: from the fear of His punishment or awe of His Majesty”

[Tayseer Sharh Jami as-Sagheer (2/293)]

Also, in the Hadith about the seven people Allah will shade on the Day of Judgment when there will be no shade but His shade. It mentions:

وَرَجُلٌ ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ فِي خَلاَءٍ فَفَاضَتْ عَيْنَاهُ

“…a man who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears…”

[al-Bukhari no. 6806]

Hafidh Ibn Hajr mentioned that al-Qurtubi said:

 وفيض العين بحسب حال الذاكر وبحسب ما يكشف له ، ففي حال أوصاف الجلال يكون البكاء من خشية الله ، وفي حال أوصاف الجمال يكون البكاء من الشوق إليه

“The eyes flood in accordance to the situation of the one remembering Allah and in accordance to what is uncovered to him. In the situation when he remembers the descriptions of Allah’s Majesty, he cries out of the fear of Allah. In the situation when he remembers the descriptions of Allah’s beauty, he cries out of the longing for Him”

[Fathul-Baari]

Side Benefit: Does the above Hadith about the seven people include the women or is it specific for the men?

Hafidh Ibn Hajr rahimahullah said:

ذكر الرجال في هذا الحديث لا مفهوم له بل يشترك النساء معهم فيما ذكر ، إلا إن كان المراد بالإمام العادل الإمامة العظمى ، وإلا فيمكن دخول المرأة حيث تكون ذات عيال فتعدل فيهم . وتخرج خصلة ملازمة المسجد لأن صلاة المرأة في بيتها أفضل من المسجد ، وما عدا ذلك فالمشاركة حاصلة لهن 

“The mention of men in this Hadith is not understood to be that, rather women are included with them in what was mentioned, except in what was mentioned of the just Imam which means the great leader [of a land]. Otherwise, a woman can be included in terms of if she has children and she is just between them. She also is excluded from the mention of being attached to the masjid because the prayer of a woman in her home is better than praying in the masjid. Besides that, they share [in the categories]”

[Fathul Bari]

And Allah Knows Best

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan

Hudhayfah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took hold of the muscle of my calf (or his calf) and said, ‘This is where the izaar should stop; if you insist, it may be lower, but it should not reach the ankles.’”

(Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said this is a saheeh hasan hadeeth; see Sunan al-Tirmidhi, no. 1783)

Ibn ‘Umar said: “I passed by the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and my izaar had slipped down. He said, ‘O ‘Abdullaah, pull up your izaar!’ so I pulled it up. He said, ‘More!’ so I pulled it up more, and always made sure it was pulled up properly after that.” Some people asked, “To where did you pull it up?” He said, “To mid-calf length.”

(Reported by Muslim, no. 2086; al-Dhahabi, Kitaab al-Kabaa’ir, 131-132)

We see the power of these storms and yet we do not fear our Lord who commands them…

A little knowledge can take you a long way. It changes perspectives, alters feelings, and the blessing of knowledge is greater than material possessions.

I recall a time during Ramadhan a couple years ago where I was walking with a brother late at night. This was during Caribana, so you can imagine the activity taking place. He suddenly began to breakdown and cry, to my confusion, I asked him “what is up?”; The brother, may Allah bless him with good in this world and the Hereafter replied with a sentence which stuck to since, he replied and said “Allah has facilitated my affairs and made it easy for me to worship Him, while people are out here living and wasting away their time”. This comment was mentioned after seeing the amount of youth, as well of people of all ages trying to have a “good time”.

Regarding the first point, the blessing of knowledge. Knowledge allows us to see the world through a different perspective, to put on a pair of glasses, and the parables are endless. Knowledge separates us from the ignorant, empowers us to know and do better and is a great benefit. We can think of many ways knowledge can benefit us, both for our dunya (worldly affairs) and our akhirah (Hereafter). My point here is that Allah gave the brother understanding in order for him to learn, develop and fear his Lord.

عن معاوية رضي الله تعالى عنه قال، قال رسول صلى الله عليه و سلم:
“مَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ”
رواه البخاري و مسلم
Narrated by Mu’awiyah:
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “If Allah wants good for somebody, He gives him understanding of deen (their Islam).

Reported by Al-Bukhaari and Muslim

Pertaining the second highlight, the comment from the brother: “Allah has facilitated my affairs and made it easy for me to worship Him, while people are out here living and wasting away their time”. The reason why this stuck with me is how accurate this statement is. Allah makes it easy for whom He wills. The fact that people drive for hours to come to Toronto every year to commit zina (fornication) during Caribana, while people are in the Masajid worshipping Allah, it is definitely something to be grateful for. Sometimes we forget that being able to sit down and defecate is a blessing, being able to feed ourselves is a blessing, and the biggest blessing of all, Islam. How grateful are we for our Islam? How often do we thank Allah for making us amongst those who believe in Him, His Angels, His books, His Messengers, the Day of Judgement in which He will have the last say, and His decree (both good and ‘bad’)?

Allah says in the Qur’an:

Surah An-Nahl, Verse 18:
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

And if you would count the graces of Allah, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

(English – Mohsin Khan)

With this I would like to remind myself first and then you to be grateful for the blessings of Allah. Use His many blessings for good and fear a day in which where you will be brought to account for every single word you uttered and every single action you did (i.e The Day of Judgement).

Allah says in the Qur’an:

Surah Luqman, Verse 33:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْا يَوْمًا لَّا يَجْزِي وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ وَلَا مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْئًا إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ

O mankind! Be afraid of your Lord (by keeping your duty to Him and avoiding all evil), and fear a Day (i.e Judgement Day) when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the Promise of Allah is true, let not then this (worldly) present life deceive you, nor let the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.

(English – Mohsin Khan)

And,

Surah Luqman, Verse 34:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ

Verily, Allah! With Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).

(English – Mohsin Khan)

May Allah grant us understanding, steadfastness and gratitude,
اللهم آمين يارب العالمين

The Forgotten Sunnah of Uncovering Part of the Body at the Beginning of Rainfall

Shaikh Salih al-Fawzan hafidhuhallah was asked:

Question: May Allah be good to you, Oh Generous Parent. The questioner says: Did the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam remove the turban from his head during the beginning of a rainfall or did he remove it during the entire time the rain fell?

Answer: “At the beginning of the rainfall. He would go out during the beginning of the rainfall and allow some rain to fall on him. Yes”

[Taken from: http://islamancient.com/play.php?catsmktba=67650]

Imam an-Nawaawi rahimahullah said:

وفي هذا الحديث دليل لقول أصحابنا أنه يستحب عند أول المطر أن يكشف غير عورته ليناله المطر

“In this Hadith is evidence for the statement of our companions (i.e. the Shafi’ee Scholars) that it is recommended to uncover some part of the body, other than the awrah, during the beginning of the rainfall in order for some of the rain to fall on it”

[Sharh Saheeh Muslim]

Shaikh Ibn ul-‘Uthaymeen rahimahullah was asked:

Question: Is it from the Sunnah when the rain descends for a person to uncover his head and allow the rain to fall on it”?

Answer: “Yes, it is from the Sunnah for a person to uncover something of his body when the rain descends in order for the rain to fall on it. That is not specific to the head. When the rain fell,the Prophet sallahu alayhi wa salam used to uncover his clothing so the rain could fall on it.

On the authority of Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu who said:

A shower of rain fell on us when we were with the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) went out and removed his garment till some of the rain fell on him. We asked him; apostle of Allah! Why did you do this? He replied: Because it has recently been with its Lord”

[Saheeh Sunan Abu Dawood no. 5100]

[Taken from: http://islamancient.com/play.php?catsmktba=11657]

Note: Shaikh Ibn ul-‘Uthaymeen rahimahullah mentioned it is not from the Sunnah to remain in the rain continuously. The narration says that some of the rain fell on him, not to remain in it. He also said that the jurists said a person can go out into the rain, if he is indoors, in order for the rain to fall on him [See here: http://alathar.net/home/esound/index.php?op=tadevi&id=2294&coid=35507]

Translated by

Faisal Ibn Abdul Qaadir Ibn Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan