Stories of Repentance #6
One day, as Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه and Hussainرضي الله عنه were walking together, they heard a man supplicating to Allah. The man was begging Allah to forgive him for his evil crimes. His sincere tone and words aroused the interest of Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه , who turned to his son and said, “Do you not hear the man who is so remorseful because of his sins? Go and catch up with him and call him.”
When Hazrat Hussain رضي الله عنه caught up with the man, he saw that he was clean-looking, clean-smelling, with nice clothes and altogether handsome- except that he seemed to be paralyzed on the right side of his body. Hazrat Hussain رضي الله عنه said, “Answer the summons of the Leader of the believers, Hazrat Ali bin Abu Taalib.”
Dragging his right side, the man followed Hazrat Hussain رضي الله عنه back to where Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه was waiting for them.
“Who are you and what is your story?” asked Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه .
“My story is that of a man who did not fulfill the rights of others and is now being punished for that.” said the man.
“And what is your name?” asked Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه .
“Munaazil bin Laahiq,” said the man.
“And what is your story?” asked Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه .
“I was famous among the Arabs for my evil and sins. Merciful and kind, my father would constantly admonish me and advise me to mend my ways. He would remind me of Allah’s punishment, saying, ‘My son, do not go against He who punishes with the Hell-fire!’ When he would persist in advising me, I felt his voice grating on my nerves. I would get so frustrated that I would beat him harshly. In response to my beating, he one day said, ‘By Allah, I will fast without breaking my fast and I will pray without stopping to sleep.’ He fasted for an entire week, but on seeing no change in my behaviour, he climbed a camel and set off to perform Hajj. His parting words were, ‘I am going to the House of Allah, and there I will seek help from Allah Ta’ala against you.’ When he reached Makkah, he embraced the khilaaf of the Kaa’ba and supplicated against me, asking Allah Ta’ala to make me paralyzed on one side of my body. By the One Who raised the sky and sends down the rain, no sooner did my father finish his supplication than I became paralyzed on my right side, which became like a piece of wood. Anyone that would then pass by me would point to me and say, ‘Allah Ta’ala answered his father’s supplication against him.”
“What did your father do then?” asked Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه .
“O Leader of the Believers, after he became pleased with me, I asked him to go back and invoke Allah Ta’ala on my behalf. He agreed to do so. I walked alongside him as he rode on his camel, until we reached a place called the Valley of Arak. When we reached there, a group of birds flew away from a tree & their sudden movement frightened the camel. As the camel raced off in a state of fright, my father fell off and passed away.”
It was certainly late for the man, but not too late, and so Hazrat Ali رضي الله عنه advised him to continue to supplicate and to repent for his past misdeeds.
Stories of Repentance #5
The following story is narrated by ‘Abdul-Waaḥid ibn Zaidرحمة لله علیھ : "We were on a sea vessel once, when the wind suddenly became stormy, and we were forced to leave the high seas and seek refuge on an island. We were surprised to see that we were not alone on the island; standing there before us was a man who was busy worshipping. We said to him 'What are you worshipping?' upon which he pointed to an idol. We said, 'We don't have a person on our ship that does as you are doing'
The man asked, 'Then who is it that you worship?'
We said, 'We worship Allah.'
He asked, 'And who is Allah?"
'We said, 'He Whose Throne is in the Heavens and Whose dominion is in the heavens, the earth, and all that exists."
''And how did you come to know that?" asked the man.
'He sent a messenger to us with clear proofs and miracles, and it was that messenger who informed us about Him."
''And what has happened to your messenger?"
''When he finished conveying the message, Allah caused him to die,' we answered.
'Has he left you no sign?' the man asked.
We said, 'He has left among us Allah's Book.'
'Show it to me,' requested the man.
When we showed him a copy of the Qur'an, he said, 'I cannot read it,' and so we read a part of it for him. He then cried and said, 'The One Whose speech this is must not be disobeyed.' Not only did the man then accept Islam, he also diligently learned its teachings and then put what he learned into practice. When the weather calmed down and we were ready to leave the island, he asked us if he could be a passenger on our ship. We of course agreed to have him join us, and it was a good thing that he came with us, for it gave us the opportunity to teach him a number of chapters of the Qur'an. At the end of the first evening of travel, all of us crewmen got ready to go to sleep. Our new passenger said, 'O people, the Lord that you guided me to, does He sleep?' We said,
هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
'...He is the Ever Living, the One who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him...' [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255]
Durood Count Project
What is the Durood Count Project?
It is a project to encourage you, your family & friends to recite as much durood as possible. Every Friday send us the Total Durood read by you & your family for that Friday.
The Hadith says, "Allah's hand is over the group."[Sunan Tirmidhi]. We have noticed families who had started a Friday durood count of about 3000 now consistently sending in 15000 or more recitations of Durood (Salat alan Nabi Sallalahu Alayhi Wasalam) every Friday.
Why Read Durood?
Allāma Sakhāwī (may Allāh have mercy on him) has narrated on the authority of Sayyidunā Abū Hurayra (RA) that the Noble Prophet Sallalahu Alayhi Wasalam said, “Whoever confers ten blessings upon me, Allāh will confer one hundred blessings upon him. Whoever confers one hundred blessings upon me, Allāh will confer one thousand blessings upon him, and whoever confers more due to love and devotion, I shall intercede for him on the Day of Judgement and be a witness for him.”
The Noble Prophet Sallalahu Alayhi Wasalam said, “Whoever confers one blessing upon me, Allāh confers ten blessings upon him, forgives ten of his sins and elevates his status tenfold.”
(Virtues of Durood by Hazrat Sheikh Zakariyya (Rahmatullah Alayhi)
Stories of Repentance #4
There is an interesting story related about Deenaar Al-‘Ayaarرحمة لله علیھ. Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ had a righteous mother who would constantly advise him to repent for his wayward sinful existence, but as much as she tried, her words had no positive effect on him whatsoever. Then, one day, as he was walking by a graveyard, he stopped to pick up a bone. He was shocked to see how it crumbled and turned to dust in his hand. The sight of that bone had a profound effect on Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ. He began to think about his life and his past sins, and he then exclaimed, "Woe unto you, O Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ, you are going to end up like this crushed bone, and your body will turn into dust."All of his past sins then flashed before his eyes, and he made a firm resolve to repent. Turning his gaze towards the sky, he said, "My Lord, I now turn to you in complete submission, so accept me and have Mercy on me."
With a completely changed heart and state of mind, Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ went to his mother and said, "Mother, what does a master do when he captures his slave who had run away from him?" She said, "[To punish him] the master provides him with coarse clothing and low-quality food; and he ties his hands and feet so that he does not make another attempt to escape." Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ then said, "Then I want a garment made of coarse wool, low-quality barley, and two chains. Mother, do with me that which is done with a runaway slave. Perhaps my Lord upon seeing my humiliation and humility, will have mercy on me." Seeing that her son was adamant and resolute in his request, she complied.
At the beginning of every ensuing night, Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ would begin to cry and wail uncontrollably. And he would continue to repeat to himself the words, "Woe unto you, O Deenaar, do you have the power to withstand the Hell fire? How brazen you have been to have led a life that has made you deserving of the anger of the All-Mighty!" He would continue upon that state until the morning.Turning wan and pale, Deenaarرحمة لله علیھ's body slowly wasted away. Not being able to bear seeing him in that pitiable state, his mother said, "My son, be easy on yourself." He answered, "My mother, let me remain tied for a short while, so that perhaps I can achieve long-term comfort later on. For tomorrow, I will be waiting a long time before my Majestic Lord, and I do not know whether He will order me to go to places of beautiful shade or to places of unspeakable horror." She said, "My son, at least rest for a while." He replied, "It is not present rest or comfort that I am seeking out. Mother, it is as if I see you and other people being led tomorrow towards Paradise, while I am being led towards the Hell-fire along with its inhabitants." She left him then, and he returned to crying, worshipping, and reciting the Qur'an. One night, as he was reciting the Qur'an, he came across these verses:
.فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْأَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
"So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account, for all that they used to do." [Surah Al-Hijr 15:92-93].
