Stories of Repentance #12
Abdullah bin Marzuq رحمة لله علیھ was drunk one day and consequently missed Salaah. His female servant came to him with a piece of burning wood and placed it on his leg. He jumped up with an expression of pain on his face.
"If you cannot withstand the fire of the earth, then how will you withstand the Fire of the Hereafter [which is 70 times more intense than the fire of this world]?"
Having understood the point of the painful lesson, Abdullah bin Marzuq رحمة لله علیھ repented. Thereafter, he performed his Salaah on time and gave away a great deal in charity. After some time passed, Hazrat Fudayl ibn Iyaad رحمة لله علیھ and Hazrat Ibn Uyaynah رحمة لله علیھ visited him, and just by looking at him and the furniture of his home, they noticed a drastic change in his lifestyle. They asked, "No one forsakes something for Allah except that Allah compensates him with something equal or better, so what did Allah compensate you with for what you abandoned?"
"Contentment for the situation I find myself to be in," he replied.
Stories of Repentance #11
There was once a butcher who fell in love with his neighbour’s daughter. One day, the girl's parents sent her on an errand to the neighbouring town. Seeing that she was alone, the butcher followed her until she reached a secluded place, whereupon he made his presence known to her. When he tried to seduce her, the girl said, "Do not do so! Indeed, I love you even more than you love me, but I fear Allah."
The butcher's jaws dropped and he said in self-reproach, "You fear Allah and I don't!" He left her alone and repented for his intentions.
On his way back, he became extremely thirsty. He soon came across a Prophet from the Prophets of the Children of Israel. Noticing the expression on the butcher's face, the Prophet asked, "What is the matter with you?"
"Extreme thirst," said the butcher.
"Let us go supplicate to Allah for rain."
"I have no good deed that makes my supplication worthy of being answered," said the butcher.
"Then let me invoke Allah while you say 'Ameen' to my invocations," said the Prophet.
He then began to supplicate, and the butcher said, 'Ameen,' after each of the supplications.
Suddenly, a cloud appeared, and rain fell from it upon the nearby town, after which it approached the two men. Wherever the butcher walked, the cloud followed after him, instead of hovering over the Prophet.
"You claim that you have no good deeds," said the Prophet. "Yet despite the fact that it was I who supplicated while you said 'Ameen' the cloud shaded the city and then it followed you. What is your story?"
The butcher then told him what had happened with his neighbour’s daughter.
"One who repents to Allah has a ranking that no other person can achieve," said the Prophet.
Stories of Repentance #10
Maalik ar-Ruaasi رضي الله عنه reported that he, along with others from Banu Kilaab, attacked a group of people from the Banu Asad tribe. They killed some and dealt indecently with female prisoners. News of what happened reached Nabi, who then cursed the attackers and supplicated against them.
When Maalik heard this he tied his own hands, went to Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم and said, "O Messenger of Allah, be pleased with us, may Allah be pleased with you."
Nabiصلى الله عليه وسلم turned away from him, but he went around Nabi صلى الله عليه وسلم to face him. He then repeated his previous plea, "Be pleased with us, may Allah be pleased with you." He then said, "For by Allah, when one tries to please the Lord, He becomes pleased with Him."
Nabiصلى الله عليه وسلم drew nearer to Maalikرضي الله عنه and asked him, "Have you repented for what you did, and asked Allah to forgive you?"
"Yes," answered Maalikرضي الله عنه.
"O Allah, pardon him and be pleased with him," said the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
New Year. Painting the Town Red!
In the Hadith we are cautioned about the harms of imitating other nations and customs.
The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: "You will imitate the nations before you very closely to the extent that if they went into a lizard's hole, you would enter it as well” his companions, may Allaah be pleased with them, inquired: “(Do you mean) the Jews and Christians, O Messenger of Allaah?” He sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam replied: "Who else?” (Bukhaari & Muslim).
The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam also said: "The Day of Judgment will not come until my Nation closely imitates the nations before them.” It was asked: “Like the Persians and Romans, Messenger of Allaah?” He sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam replied: "Who are the nations (I could mean) except those?”(Bukhaari).
Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam “He who imitates a people will be from among them (on the Day of Judgement).” (Abu Daawood) and in another narration he sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: “The one who imitates people other than us (i.e., in faith) is not from us. Do not imitate the Jews or the Christians” (Tirmithi).
In Aap Beti Vol 6 of Hazrat Sheikh rahmatullah alayhi we come across the following stories that we should take heed of.
Story No. 4:
Another example of how the environment affects people, is something I have seen in my own house. When my own children were between the ages of four and seven years, and musical sounds from the street processions were heard, they used to put their fingers into their ears in order to avoid listening to the trumpets and drums. They also used to make a lot of noise while shouting that the noise from outside, was the voice of the Shaytaan speaking. They would then ask their mother or elder sisters whether the Shaytaan had gone or not.
But now I see when my grandchildren hear this same noise of trumpets and drums, they call each other to come and see what is going on. I try to make them feel ashamed, that this new trend is as a result of their mothers doing and that their acts will have an effect upon their own children.
Story No. 5:
I have also seen a practise in our whole family, that during the time of Holi (a hindu festival of colouring), no one would wear any coloured clothing. Even bride-grooms, would only wear white kurtahs and black trousers, avoiding red at all times. Nowadays this practise is not strictly adhered to.
There is another story which in my childhood, I had heard from the womenfolk of our household quite often. I do not recall having ever hearing it being related by any men: There was once a very pious man, very punctual and diligent in his performance of salaah, zakaat and his wazeefas. After his death someone saw him in a dream, where he was seen sitting comfortably on a honoured platform in a finely decorated place. However on his lips was a small snake attached.
The person seeing the dream, asked him: "Hazrat, how is it that together with this great honour afforded to you, there is a snake attached to you?" He replied: 'During the time of holi, I was eating paan. It so happened that a lean donkey passed in front of me. In jest, I spat at the donkey, and jokingly remarked: "This is holi-time. Everyone is being coloured. No one coloured you. Let me colour you also."
This story was very widely known in my family circle and I know that even the paan-eaters, used to become frightened. The ladies of the family made a special point of making bridal couples and young children aware of it.
Therefore, dear readers, parents and ulema, please do refrain from celebrating New Year and caution our family and friends to do the same.
