Join British historian Bettany Hughes as she examines a long-buried chapter of European history–the rise and fall of Islamic culture in what is now Spain and Portugal.
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al Hasan, the son of ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with them, mentioned the following story:
A man died, leaving his wife, son, and a servant. Before passing, he implored his servant to take good care of his son. The servant did, raising him to be a good person, and, when he was of age, he helped him to get married. Then the son wanted to seek knowledge, so he asked the servant to help him in that regard. The servant prepared a mount and got him ready, and he went off.
He found a scholar, whom he questioned about knowledge. The scholar told him: “When it is time for you to leave, then tell me – I will teach you all that you need to know.”
A short while later, the man said to the scholar: “The time has come for my departure, so teach me.”
“Be mindful of Allah, have patience, and do not rush.” said the scholar.
- and in these three things there is the sum total of goodness, said al Hasan –
The man set off to return home, unable to forget what the scholar told him – how could he, when they were only three things? – when he got back, he came down off of his mount and walked into the house.
His wife was lying asleep, and beside her there was another man, also sleeping. “What should I be patient for here?” thought the man, and he rushed to his horse to get his sword. But when he was about to take up his blade, he said to himself “Be mindful of Allah, and have patience, and do not rush.” So he walked back to the house.
When he went inside and saw them still sleeping, as before, he said “No! There’s nothing to wait for here!” And he rushed back to his sword. Then he said to himself: “Be mindful of Allah, and have patience, and do not rush”. So he went back.
But when he saw them the third time, he said “There’s nothing to wait for!” and he went back. Then he said: “Be mindful of Allah, and have patience, and do not rush”. So he returned.
When he went in, the man woke up, and rushed to him, hugging him and kissing him and congratulating him on his return. “What have you learned after leaving us?” (The man was his son, i believe… travel took a long time back then.)
“By Allah!,” said the man, “I have learned great things – I have walked back and forth between your head and my sword three times this night, wanting to kill you, and it was only what knowledge I learned that prevented me.”
(Narrated by al Bukhari in al Adab al Mufrad).
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A king once got separated from his kinsmen while chasing a deer. He
wandered alone in the forest. As dusk fell, he knocked at the door of
a tiny cottage in the jungle. It was opened by a poor woodcutter who
gave the ’stranger’ a warm welcome. He offered him his own bed to
sleep along with some simple but tasty food.
In the morning, while taking leave of the wood cutter, the king
disclosed his real identity and asked him, what he could give in
return for his hospitality. The wood cutter being a simpleton
asked, “Can you give me a place where I can cut trees and sell them?”
The king took him far away to the edge of another jungle and
said, “This is yours from today. Do what you like with it.”
The wood cutter would cut trees and burn them to make coal, because
they were too heavy for him to carry to the market place. Several
months passed. The woodcutter was very happy.
When the monsoon season started, there was heavy rainfall and the
wood became wet. The ground was full of slush, so it was impossible
to burn the wood to make coal. He had no choice but to carry the wet
logs of wood to the market to sell it. When he showed the wood to the
buyer, the buyer offered a sum that was a hundred times more than he
was paying earlier.
The wood cutter was confused! Earlier he was supplying coal whereas
now it was wood and that too, wet wood! Where was the catch? The
buyer told him that the wood that he had brought was no ordinary
wood, it was real Sandalwood! The wood cutter realized what a fool he
had been. He had cut and burnt hundreds of Sandalwood trees to make
coal, little realizing the value of this precious wood. Had he known,
by now he could have been a very, very rich man.
We also need to understand the value of this precious human body
awarded to us by Supreme Lord. Without realizing its importance and
proper utility we are burning it at both ends in the fire of our
worldly desires. Most of our energies are burnt in doing futile
things that eventually have neither value nor meaning.
But, by the time we realize that we are wasting our lives, it is
perhaps too late. The whole life burnt in hoarding wealth, making
friends and getting material pleasures, brings us to a miserable
state at the end of life. At that time when nobody cares, we turn our
face towards God, but where is the energy to do any devotion
The sooner we realize the better chance we shall have. Let’s not
waste our precious human birth like that as foolish woodcutter.
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Nasrudin went to a Turkish bath. As he was poorly dressed the attendants treated him in a casual manner, gave him only a scrap of soap and an old towel. When he left, Nasrudin gave the two men a gold coin each. He had not complained, and they could not understand it. Could it be, they wondered, that if he had been better treated he would have given an even larger tip?
The following week Nasrudin appeared again. This time, of course, he was looked after like a king. After being massaged, perfumed and treated with the utmost deference, he left the bath, handing each attendant the smallest possible copper coin.
“This,” said Nasrudin, “is for last time. The gold coins were for this week.”
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Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi was a harsh and a ruthless tyrant. His famous debate with the great scholar and Mujahid Saeed Ibn Jubayr epitomises his rule as an unforgiving viceroy of Iraq who killed innocent and pious people. It is said that when he was on his deathbed, his prisons were filled with 50,000 men and 30,000 women – of which 16,00 were stripped naked. Men and women were mixed together in the jail-houses and there was no shelter from the scorching summer’s heat or the heavy rains of winter.
Whether these reports are sound or not, he was known as a violent ruler and many scholars condemned his actions. Although he made some developments in agriculture and others, people made dua to God constantly for his demise.
I thought I’d share a funny, yet very telling story of the hatred many people had for Hajjaj:
One day, as Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi was bathing in the Persian Gulf he began to drown, but he was saved by a Muslim. When the man carried him (Hajjaj) to the shore, Hajjaj said to him: “Ask for anything you desire, and your request will be granted”.
Unfortunately the man did not know who he had just saved! So he asked: “And who are you to grant me anything I request?”
Hajjaj replied in a boastful voice: “I am Hajjaj al-Thaqafi”
The man realising who he had just pulled out of the water asked regrettably: “I ask you by Allah - my only request is that you do not inform anyone that I saved you!”
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This is a Nasheed from the album ‘Sautun Noor’ (Voices of light) produced by the Students of Madresah Noor for the Blind (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa). They have a website: www.mnblind.org
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Once upon a time, there lived in Basra an old man whose only occupation was caring for and loving his only son who was a handsome young man. The old man invested all his money on his son’s education. The young man went away for a few years and acquired an education at a well known university under the great scholars of that age.
The day had arrived for the son to return from his studies and the old man waited at the door for his son. When the son came and met his father, the old man looked into his eyes and felt great disappointment. “What have you learnt my son?” he asked, “I have learnt everything there was to be learnt, father”, he said. “But have you learnt what cannot be taught?” asked the father. “Go, my son and learn what cannot be taught”, said the old man.
The young man went back to his master and asked him to teach him what cannot be taught.
“Go away to the mountains with these four hundred sheep and come back when they are one thousand”, said the master.
The young man went to the mountains and became a shepherd. There for the first time he encountered a silence. He had no one to talk to. The sheep did not understand his language. In his desperation, he would talk to them but they would look back at him as if to say he was stupid. Slowly but surely he began to forget all his worldly knowledge, his ego, his pride and he became quiet like the sheep and great wisdom and humility came to him.
At the end of two years when the number of sheep had grown to one thousand, he returned to his master and fell on his feet. “Now you have learnt what cannot be taught,” said the master.
NB. It is interesting to note that the Nabis of Allah Taala (Alayhimus salaam) at some time in their lives, generally before Nubuwwat, tended to sheep, and other such animals.
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A young woman teacher with obvious liberal tendencies explains to her class of small children that she is an atheist. She asks her class if they’re atheists too. Not really knowing what atheism is but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands explode into the air like fleshy fireworks. There is, however, one exception. A beautiful girl named Zainab has not gone along with the crowd. The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different. “Because I’m not an atheist.”
Then, asks the teacher, “What are you?” “I’m a Muslim.” The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red. She asks Zainab why she is a Muslim. “Well, I was brought up knowing and loving God. My mom is a Muslim, and my dad is a Muslim, so I am a Muslim.”
The teacher is now angry. “That’s no reason,” she says loudly, “what if your mom was a moron,and your dad was a moron, – what would you be then?” She paused, and smiled. “Then,” says Zainab, “I’d be an atheist.”
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One sunny spring afternoon Nasrudin was sitting peacefully by the imposing North gate of Samarkand watching the colourful string of caravans following each other and followed in turn by the curious glances of the populace.
A stranger, an obviously rich merchant from Persia about to leave town, felt attracted by Hodja’s honest-looking turban and stopped his convoy to inquire about the dangers of travel.
“Salutations to you venerable Mullah,” he said. “I am going to Herat. Is the road secure? Will I get there safely?”
“You will not reach your destination,” answered Hodja in a confidential low voice.
“So there are robbers on the road?” worried the merchant lowering his own voice.
“No, there aren’t. They are too afraid of Emir Timur.”
“Is the road difficult? I have good camels and my horses are strong!” continued the traveller.
“The road is good, but you will never get there.”
By now the merchant was deeply disturbed:
“Is there a lack or water and food on the path? I took many provisions in my luggage.”
“That will not suffice.”
“Other hardships to expect? I have money to replace whatever is needed.”
“No use. You better change your plan.”
The traveller grew irritated: “But I must go to Herat and I am a determined man. And who are you to be so certain that I will not arrive?”
“Look, my good man,” replied Nasrudin, “let me make it plain for you: the better the camels and horses, the more provisions, money and resolve, the less you will get to Herat. Herat is South and you are heading North.”
Comments rssby Sheikh Abdallah Adhami
By getting married you are not just getting a wife, you are getting your whole world. From now until the rest of your days your wife will be your partner, your companion, and your best friend. She will share your moments, your days, and your years. She will share your joys and sorrows, your successes and failures, your dreams and your fears. When you are ill, she will take the best care of you; when you need help, she will do all she can for you; when you have a secret, she will keep it; when you need advice, she will give you the best advice. She will always be with you: when you wake up in the morning the first thing your eyes will see will be her; during the day, she will be with you, if for a moment she is not with you by her physical body, she will be thinking of you, praying for you with all her heart, mind, and soul; when you go to sleep at night, the last thing your eyes will see will be her; and when you are asleep you will still see her in your dreams. In short, she will be your whole world and you will be her whole world.
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