Depend solely on your Lord

 

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

seek, then, all [your] sustenance from God, and worship Him [alone] and be grateful to Him: [for] unto Him you shall be brought back! part of 29:17


Depend solely on your Lord

In the well known historical compilation Al-Bidāya wa-n-Nihāya (البداية والنهاية), The Beginning and The End, by Ibn Kathir, there is mention of the story of the grandson of sayyidina Umar ibn al-Khattabؓ, known as Sālim ibn Abdullahؓ ibn Umarؓ.

Once when Hisham bin Abdul Malik, one of the Umayyad rulers was performing Hajj, he saw Sālim performing Tawaf around the Ka'aba.  Unadorned, with simple attire and handling pair of sandals in need of repair, the austere appearance caused an idea to form in the ruler's mind.  Perhaps he is needy and I should help him, after all, I am the rich and generous ruler. He went close to him and said,"Sālim, let me know if you are in need of anything so that I can help you."

Sālim looked visibly disturbed, and replied:  'Have some humility. How can you want me to ask other than Allah for my needs, while we are in the house of Allah?'

Hisham realized his audacious mistake and he left him alone while observing him complete the obligations of his pilgrimage. Yet not one to give up easily, he kept observing and followed him out of the House of Allah. As soon as they were outside, he caught up to him and said, 'O Sālim, now that we are outside the House of Allah, and your reason for not telling me earlier is not applicable, so now tell me what are you needs that I can fulfill them?'

Sālim asked, 'Are you referring something worldly or my needs in the Hereafter?' 

Hisham promptly replied, 'Of course, something worldly. Only Allah can fulfill your needs of the Hereafter.'

Perhaps realizing that the poor ruler needs to understand the truths of the world, Sālim said, 'O Hisham, I swear by Allah, I have yet to ask anything worldly from the One who owns the world, so how do you expect me to ask of someone who does not own it?'

This piercing lesson caused Hisham's eyes to be welled up with tears and he said, 'I would give up my entire kingdom to be like Sālim.' At that moment, he probably meant it.

Know your Limits and Limitations

بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

a Sovereign Doer of whatever He wills. 85:15


Know your Limits and Limitations

This is a story whose origins lie in a debate with one of my acquaintances who was from the Ahmadiyyah community (which us Muslims often call Qadiani or Mirzai, in a derogatory way), before reverting back to Islam after renouncing his beliefs in the community.  Knowing that I am from Kashmir, he had tried to form a connection using the name of Hakeem Noor-ud-din, who spend several years as the court physician of the Maharaja of Kashmir. Hakeem Noor-ud-din was of the most well read and well traveled of those involved in the missionary activity in the cause of the Ahmadiyyah, and was influential in shaping their discourse.  I read up on his biography, and on page 106, I found an interesting story, which not only showcases the vision of true scholars of the ummah such as Maulvi Abdul Qayyum, but also has lessons for all of us.  

The story goes like this.

When Hakeem Noor-ud-din was leaving Bhopal after studying for a while with a famous scholar of Hadith at the time, Maulvi Abdul Qayyum, he asked him for some advice. Knowing his student has not completed his studies yet, and probably realizing what the future holds for him, Maulvi Abdul Qayyum gave him the following, somewhat cryptic, advice in Urdu:

خدا نہ بننا اور رسول نہ بننا

Roughly translated, it means "Do not (ever) try to be God, nor a prophet."

Obviously flustered by such an outwardly outrageous statement, Noor-ud-din pleaded ignorance regarding understanding the message behind such a statement. Not only that, he claimed that no one present in the audience, however august, could not decipher the meaning behind the statement.

Seeing that the message has been missed, Maulvi Abdul Qayyum asked, "Whom do you consider God?" meaning, what is the quality, in your mind that defines God. Noor-ud-din blurted that "God is the One Who possesses the attribute "a Sovereign Doer of whatever He wills" (referring to the Qur'anic verse 85:15). Maulvi sahib replied "This is what I am referring to. If something that you desire does not come to fruition, then (do not distress but) tell your ego that are you God?" (that all what you want is bound to  happen).

Similarly, since a prophet gets direct commandments from God, he feels distressed when people disobey those, worrying for their well-being in this world and the Hereafter whether they might end up in the Fire. But if someone rejects your opinion, or disagrees with it, does that necessarily mean they will end up in the same Fire? So you need not take that personally.

It is not apparent that Hakeem Noor-ud-din benefited from this advice, but for sure we can benefit from it and learn to know ourselves, especially our limits and limitations.