MEMORIES OF THE HOLY LAND
Around the Holy Land in 192 hours...
Around the Holy Land in 192 hours...
All praise be to Almighty who gave us a chance to participate in this precious tour.
Companions who spoke different languages,
hailed from different cultures, travelled from far and distant lands and
belonging to all age groups… SubhanAllah (Glory be to
God) who gathered us for the single purpose under one selfless
spiritual leader - who put himself under hardship for the well
being of his students.
I ever observed many spiritual masters with different characters and read about them in books. However the attitude of our beloved Shaykh exactly reflects that of the beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as described in the books.
As the Sahabas (RA) narrated "every one of us feels about our Prophet that he loves me more than anyone else". One can feel the same way with our Shaykh.
A good leader is one who sees the positive traits of his team members and invests in them. This is exactly what the Prophet (peace be upon him) did with his companions (RA). There are many examples that show how the Prophet (peace be upon him) discovered where his companions’ excelled and how he utilized their potential and wisely invested in them.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) is reported to have said “There is no one among the people who has been more generous to me with his life and his property than Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Quhaafa (radiAllahu anhu) and if I was to take a bosom friend, I would take Abu Bakr as my bosom friend”.
لو كان بعدى نبى لكان عمر بن الخطاب
“If there were to be a Prophet after me indeed he would be Umar, son of Khattab”. [Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith 3686]
Abu Hurayra (RA) narrates that the Prophet said "Usman is the foremost of my companions in resembling my character” (reported by Ibn Asakir).
The Prophet's (SAW) statement to Hazrat Ali (RA) “You are from me and I from you”.
One of the famous companions Hazrat Bilal Ibn Rabah (RA) had a very beautiful voice and the Prophet being aware of this gift declared Hazrat Bilal to be his official muaddin (one who calls muslims to prayer).
Out of appreciation and for motivation Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) conferred some titles on his companions. For example, he told Hazrat Abu Ubaidah Bin Al-Jarrah (RA) "You are the protector of this nation".
He said to Hazrat Khalid Bin Al-Walid (RA) "You are one of the swords of Allah".
Similarly he said about Hazrat Mu`adh Ibn Jabal (RA) “The most knowledgeable of my ummah in matters of halal and haram is Muadh-Ibn-Jabal”.
It continued to most of the prominent Sahabas.
The same way our Shaykh deputes tasks to his students based on their skills.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) loved his companions and cared for them a lot. His cousin and companion Hazrat Ali (RA) is reported to have asserted this distinctive aspect of the Prophet's character thus:
“The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to win the hearts of his Companions with his kind approach. He was never harsh or hard-hearted. In his meetings he used to treat all equally; listening to them all and giving all equal chance to participate in the ongoing discussions. He was a very patient negotiator and he never withdrew himself from the discussion unless the negotiators themselves leave first. Whenever someone asked him for something, he was keen to fulfil their wish. If not, then he will please their heart with kind words. Among people he was known by good manners and to them all he was like an affectionate father”.
During the whole journey, I used to remember the great Prophets (AS), Sahabas (RA) and saints (ra) when visiting the tombs. On the other hand I never forgot to notice the actions of the living saint who is just next to me - our beloved master; wondering how exactly he resembles the beloved Prophet (SAW).
From the moment of entry into border crossing until exit, the whole scene reflects and reminds me about the day of Judgement in the Hereafter. When our group was entering into the gates of border control, we felt like uninvited guests and faced all sorts of discrimination and found ourselves in a state of unfamiliarity. During the entire period we ate, drank and chat with each other to pass the time, with some kind of frustration. But he was thoughtful about us - unless and until we crossed that border he never ate or drank and was concerned about each and every students’ safe passage. This reminded me of the time of reckoning – the way of our Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
According to authentic traditions he will never leave behind any one of his followers, and insists to Almighty unless and until the last person in my ummah (community) enters Jannah, I would never enter it.
On behalf of the whole group our beloved Shaykh put himself for the hour-long interview with the officials, waiting patiently for the outcome. This is akin to the day of Judgement when our beloved Prophet (SAW) will intercede for our safe entry into paradise.
There follows the lengthy hadith about intercession:
It was narrated that Anas Ibn Malik said Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), told us “When the day of Resurrection comes the people will surge with each other like waves. They will come to Adam and say ‘intercede for us with your Lord’. He will say “I am not fit for that. Go to Ibrahim for he is the close friend of the Most Merciful”. So they will go to Ibrahim but he will say “I am not fit for that. Go to Musa for he is the one to whom Allah spoke directly”. So they will go to Musa but he will say “I am not fit for that. Go to Isa for he is a soul created by Allah and His Word”. So they will go to Isa but he will say “I am not fit for that. Go to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)”. So they will come to me and I will say “I am fit for that”. Then I will ask my Lord for permission and He will give me permission, and He will inspire me with words of praise with which I will praise Him, words that I do not know now. So I will praise Him with those words of praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him.
He will say “O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and intercession will be granted to you, ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession will be accepted”.
I will say “O Lord, my ummah, my ummah!” He will say “Go and bring forth everyone in whose heart there is faith the weight of a barley-grain”. So I will go and do that.
Then I will come back and praise Him with those words of praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him. He will say “O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and intercession will be granted to you, ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession will be accepted”. I will say “O Lord, my ummah, my ummah!” He will say “Go and bring forth everyone in whose heart there is faith the weight of a small ant or a mustard-seed”. So I will go and do that.
Then I will come back and praise Him with those words of praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him. He will say “O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and intercession will be granted to you, ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession will be accepted”. I will say “O Lord, my ummah, my ummah!” He will say “Go and bring forth from the Fire everyone in whose heart there is faith the weight of the lightest, lightest grain of mustard-seed”. So I will go and bring them forth.
Then I will come back a fourth time and praise Him with those words of praise and I will fall down prostrate before Him. He will say “O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak and intercession will be granted to you, ask and you will be given, intercede and your intercession will be accepted”. I will say “O Lord give me permission (to bring forth) all those who said Laa ilaaha ill-Allah” ( There is none worthy to worship but Allah). He will say “By My Might, My Majesty, My Supremacy and My Greatness, I will most certainly bring forth from it those who said Laa ilaaha ill-Allah”.
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7510)
SubhanAllah, how much love our Prophet shows towards his ummah (community)...
A surprise thought came into my mind that everyone calls the place the holy land, but what is happening here for the people who are seeking God’s closeness? Why do I feel like an uninvited guest? Why do I feel terrified every time I visit the holy mosque just to pray Him alone and not for any other worldly pursuit? Why all these check- points to detect the innocent tourists? Why do I face so many restrictions? To cross the border alone one has to wait around 7 hours. Why the authorities were behaving so badly? Finally Alhamdulillah a right thought slowly started to come into my mind.
‘Oh, poor man! Don't you know on this land my Prophet Nuh (AS) called people for goodness and ask them to obey my commands for more than 900 years and none responded except a few? And he underwent such torment and hardship from his own people. Don’t you see my beloved Prophet’s patience? This happened on this land’.
‘Don't you see my beautiful Prophet Yusuf (AS) who was thrown into the well, was tortured, and later he escaped from the false claim of the wife of the king, and had to live in prison for years? This too happened on this land’.
‘Don't you see my Prophet Isa (AS), was falsified and they even attempted to crucify him so cruelly? This happened here’.
‘Don't you see how my Prophet Ayub (AS), who suffered from disease for many years and was humiliated by everyone except his wife, how he was treated? This too happened on this holy land’.
‘Don't you know how my beloved Khalil-Ibrahim (AS), was thrown into fire by the wicked king Nimrod, where he dwelled for days and even rejected the help from Arch Angel Jibril (AS), until I ordered the fire “Oh fire be cool to my beloved Khalil”. This had happened here’.
Where is the family of Sahabas (RA)? You see the tomb of Hazrat AbdurRahman Ibn Awf - the richest companion of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). How he left his family alone somewhere and was martyred in the path of Allah. If he wished he could live a luxurious life with his family.
Where are the children and wives of other beloved companions of the Prophet? They all made their wives into widows and children into orphans and sacrificed themselves for the command of Allah, and reached martyrdom on this land.
See the tombs of
Hazrat Muadh Bin Jabal (RA), he alone sleeps here.
Hazrat Said Bin Haritha (RA),
Hazrat Jafar Bin Abi Talib (RA),
Hazrat Abdullah Bin Rawaha (RA), and
Hazrat Abu Ubaidah Bin Al-Jarrah (RA).
Why are they here far from their own homeland? To attain the pleasure of God, one has to undergo some hardships. They fulfilled the order of their beloved Prophet (SAW), and achieved greatest pleasure of closeness to the Almighty's kingdom.
Hazrat Muadh Bin Jabal (RA), he alone sleeps here.
Hazrat Said Bin Haritha (RA),
Hazrat Jafar Bin Abi Talib (RA),
Hazrat Abdullah Bin Rawaha (RA), and
Hazrat Abu Ubaidah Bin Al-Jarrah (RA).
Why are they here far from their own homeland? To attain the pleasure of God, one has to undergo some hardships. They fulfilled the order of their beloved Prophet (SAW), and achieved greatest pleasure of closeness to the Almighty's kingdom.
Alas, when I compare the way the Prophets of God were treated by their people and companions of the Prophet underwent such hardships - I feel I don't have a right to lament in front of Allah, while being lodged in a star hotel, enjoying delicious food and touring the city in an air-conditioned bus, etc.
Thus I was able to understand the secret behind the name ‘the holy’. It must mean ‘sacrifice’. The attraction here is suffering for the cause of Almighty. The price tag of residency here is 'patience' in exchange for a place in paradise forever. This might be a hikmah and system of Allah.
يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَه مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلاَ إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيب
“Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, "When (will come) the Help of Allah?" Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allah is near! (Al-Baqarah 2:214)
Allah put the people through trials & tribulations – this is something that happened to the previous generations.
Allah says:
مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ
‘Al-ba`saa’ which means poverty Al-ba`saa` came to them; this means they were afflicted with poverty. And then Allah said:
وَالضَّرَّاءُ
‘Wa-dhara`a which means sickness and illnesses in their bodies. They went through problems. They were put through trials & tribulations in their wealth and their physical bodies.
وَزُلْزِلُو
‘Wa-zulzilu which translates into they were shaken severely, and put through fear and threat, threatened to be killed or banished from their countries or hometowns, or their money oppressively taken away. They were put through all types of harms, afflictions and turmoil.
So therefore, it got so severe and Allah's trial was so intense that they looked at Allah's help as something that was slow, delayed. And they asked:
مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ
"When (will come) the help of Allah?"
[They asked] even though they had certainty it was going to come. The Sahaba and the (righteous) did not doubt the promise of Allah (Subhanahu wa ta'ala). But the trial was so intense that they saw Allah's help as something long to come.
So therefore this proves the intensity and severity of the trials & tribulations that happened to previous nations and generations. So therefore the Messenger of Allah (Salallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) along with the companions (RA) and those who believed along with him said:
مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ
"When (will come) the help of Allah?"
So therefore, whenever the affair gets tight, and the problems get severe you know that the help of Allaah 'Azza wa Jal is close – it is going to come. So this is a lesson that anyone who carries out the truth will be tested by Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala and will be put through trials & tribulations. So if he is patient and perseveres in the face difficulties and hardship - then these trials and tribulations will turn into gifts & endowments. It will become a blessing for him.
That which some people look at as adversity will be a means of prosperity for them - if they are patient and persevere. And afterwards he will be given victory over his enemies, and will be supported against his adversaries.
Similarly his heart will be purified and cleansed from any type of sickness or illness that may be found therein - once he's patient and perseveres during the test of Allahu Subhanahu wa ta'ala for indeed Allahu Azza wa Jal has said in the Qur`an:
فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْراإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرا
“So verily, with the hardship there is relief. Verily, with the hardship there is relief (i.e. there is one hardship with two reliefs, so one hardship cannot overcome two reliefs). (Ash-Sharh 94:5-6)
Allah is the King of kings. Quran says,
“Say O Allah, The Sovereign-Lord of all dominion. You grant dominion to whom You will and take dominion away from whom You will. You exalt whom You will and abase whom You will. In Your hand is all that is good. You are able to do all things. You cause the night to pass into the day, and You cause the day to pass into the night. You bring forth the living from the dead, and You bring forth the dead from that which is alive. You grant sustenance to whom You will, beyond all reckoning”. (3:26, 27)
He would extend some time for those tyrants and wicked. Where is Firaun, Haman, Kharun, Nimrod, Shaddad and so on? How Almighty ruined them. Where are those strong and intelligent people on the earth - the Aad and Samud?
There is no need to disappoint ourselves. Let us trust in Allah, submit our pleas to him and try to make ourselves close to Him. Through sincere and regular practices one gets wisdom and clarity through His blessings. Masha’ Allah.
In Hebron at the holiest tombs of beloved Nabi Hazrat Ibrahim Khalilullah AlaihisSalam, Hazrat Ishaq AlaihisSalam, Hazrat Yaqoob AlaihisSalam along with their beloved wives - some of us including myself did not show proper adab. We took photos and started to meditate on our own. This could pave a way for us to keep away from receiving the blessings from there.
Later I recalled I had heard from a scholar “Allah will tolerate if any disrespect is shown in His house (Masjid), but He never tolerate if the same thing happens in His beloved’s tombs”. Since we are with our Shaykh he immediately rescued us all from the danger of Allah SWT’s wrath. And make all of us to repent at once. Alhamdulillah with this we have escaped and learnt a lesson.
Two instances brought joy to my heart and left a strong impression on me. One was before my departure to the holy land retreat and another was after arrival from the retreat.
Before the departure I was very worried about Jerusalem visa for our Shaykh, and few days before only it was confirmed. The moment I received his mail about the confirmation of the visa, true joy filled in me.
After arrival from the holy land retreat I sought his dua for forgiveness for the mistakes we did during the retreat. He replied that In sha’ Allah the repentance has been accepted.
Alhamdulillah.
May Almighty forgive our sins, and make us to be with our beloved Shaykh when entering Jannah - as he will be close to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
My humble request to all my beloved friends is this: please focus on the practices and move forward towards the merciful kingdom of Almighty Allah SWT where only eternal peace & happiness awaits us.
Abu Backer
Singapore
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