Page 16 Page 17 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 16 For a study of Islam, the Qur’an and Hadith are the two primary textual sources. The Qur’an is the paramount source of which every word was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed. Hadith literally means a narrative and as the second primary source for Islam, it means prophetic narrative. That is, a report of what the Prophet (pbuh) said or did. His sayings and deeds were later narrated by his companions to their disciples and so on until these narratives were assembled and recorded in the second, third, and fourth centuries of Islam by a number of hadith scholars. Unlike Qur’an, Hadith is not the Word of God. It is nevertheless an expression of Divine revelation, for when Mohammed (pbuh) spoke as the Prophet of God, “he did not speak from his own mind”. Hadith Qudsi, however, is a report of what God said, though not necessarily in His Words. The Divine authority in the context of the Hadith Qudsi gives this group of Hadith a special spiritual character and significance to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For a more in-depth study of Hadith Qudsi, there are a number of volumes available for the serious scholar. We have brought a few of the Hadith Qudsi together here merely for your enjoyment of the beauty of these narratives. On the authority of Abu Hurairah (ra) the Holy Prophet (pbuh) said: Allah revealed to my dear brother Uzair, “Oh Uzair! If a calamity befalls you, do not complain to my creation (to the people). How much wrong you have done to me and I never complained to my angels (about you). Oh Uzair! Disobey me as much as you can bear my punishment, and ask me your needs according to your good deeds towards me, and never feel secure of my decision (punishment) until you enter my paradise. Then Uzair started shaking and crying. So Allah revealed to him “if you disobey me out of ignorance, I forgive you out of my mercy, because I am generous and don’t wish to punish my creation, as I am the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.” I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assemble better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed. Allah has written down the good deeds and the bad ones. Then He explained it [by saying that] he who has intended a good deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds to seven hundred times, or many times over. But if he has intended a bad deed and has not done it, Allah writes it down with Himself as a full good deed, but if he has intended it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed. Our Lord (glorified and exalted be He) descends each night to the earth’s sky when there remains the final third of the night, and He says: Who is saying a prayer to Me that I may answer it? Who is asking something of Me that I may give it him? Who is asking forgiveness of Me that I may forgive him? And thus He continues till [the light of] dawn shines. Your Lord delights at a shepherd who, on the peak of a mountain crag, gives the call to prayer and prays. Then Allah (glorified and exalted be He) say: Look at this servant of Mine, he gives the call to prayer and performs the prayers; he is in awe of Me. I have forgiven My servant [his sins] and have admitted him to Paradise. The first of his actions for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order, then he will have prospered and succeeded: and if they are wanting, then he will have failed and lost. If there is something defective in his obligatory prayers, the Lord (glorified and exalted be He) will say: See if My servant has any supererogatory prayers with which may be completed that which was defective in his obligatory prayers. Then the rest of his actions will be judged in like fashion. O son of Adam, I fell ill and you visited Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so had fallen ill and you visited him not? Did you not know that had you visited him you would have found Me with him? O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant So-and-so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me. Faith is that you believe in Allah (Tawhid) and His angels and His messengers (Rislah) and in the life after death (Akhirah). Islam is that you worship Allah and not associate anyone with Him, keep up Salah (prayer), pay Zakah, and observe Sawm (fasting) in Ramadan. Ihsan is that you worship Allah as if you see Him and if you do not see Him, surely He sees you. (Supplication for Seeking Guidance) Feeling Confused? ... Undecided?Follow this proven recipe for success... it works every time! It is natural that in our day-to-day affairs Muslims are confronted with important issues requiring decision making. This is sometimes accompanied by much thinking, anxiety and worry before one is able to decide one way or another, if at all! It is in regard to these types of situations that the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) recommended a voluntary prayer for a person to employ which will enable them to seek from Allah (SWT) (the best decider) guidance in reaching the proper decision over a particular matter. This is a prayer known in Arabic as Salatul-Istikhara and its importance is such that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) used to teach his companions about it the same way he used to teach them the verses of the Holy Qur’an. The companion Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (pbuh) used to strongly encourage us to practice Isstikhara for all our affairs. The manner of performing this prayer is that the person comes up with a voluntary prayer of two rakaats (units) at anytime during the day or night. Upon completing this the person then recites a private supplication in which he/she seeks the guidance of Allah (swt). This goes as follows: “ALLAHUMMA INNI ASTAKHYIRUKA BI’ILMIKA WA ASTAQDIRUKA BI QUDRATIKA WA AS-ALUKA MIN FADHLKA-AL-AZIM, FA INNAKA TAQDIRU WALAA AQDIRU WATA’LAMU WALAA A’LAMU, WA ANTA ‘ALLAMUL-QUYYUB. ALLAHUUMA IN KUNTA TA’LAMU ANNA HADHAL-AMRA... (Here the person makes mention of the matter for which guidance is sought, i.e., “should I move, take that job, marry her, etc.”) ...KHEIRUN LEE FII DINII WAMA’AASHII WA’AAQIBATA AMRII FAQDURHU LII, WA YASSIR-HU LII THUMMA BAARIK LII FIIHI, WAIN KUNTA TA’ LAMU ANNA HADHAL-AMRA... (also at this point the person makes mention of the matter for which guidance is sought) ...SHARRUN LEE FII DINII WA MA’AASHII WA’AAQIBATA AMRII, FASRIFHU ‘ANNII WASRIFNII ‘ANHU WAQDUR LEE AL-KEYRA HEYTHU KANA THUMMA ARDHINI BIHII.” Which means: “O Lord, I seek your guidance, through Your knowledge and power; and I ask You of Your great bounties; for You decree and I do not decree; and You know and I know not; You are the Knower of invisible things. O Lord, if You know that this matter (here the person makes mention of the matter for which guidance is sought, i.e., “should I move, take that job, marry her, etc.”), is of benefit to me in my religion, in my livelihood and in its outcome, decide it for me and make it easy for me and then bless it for me. And if You know that this matter (here again the person makes mention of the matter for which guidance is sought) is bad for me in my religion, in my livelihood, and in its outcome, turn it from me and divert me from it and decree good for me wherever it may be and make me pleased with it.” Having sought Allah’s guidance as above, the person then resumes his/her routine affairs and waits for the due response from Allah. This can appear to the person by way of the feeling you have in your heart about the matter of either confidence or further indecision. Thus, when you feel in your heart a sense of vigor, optimism or confidence about the intended undertaking, you may construe this as a positive response from Allah (swt) and may accordingly proceed forward with the intended undertaking. If, on the other hand, the opposite is true and your sense of doubt or worries have not cleared, then you may want to avoid the proposed undertaking as it could mean a bad outcome. Allah (swt) says: “...It is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye may love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth and ye know not.” (Qur’an 2:216) Indeed the essence of this prayer is to test someone’s trust in Allah, hence, the need to abide by the guidance of Allah whether it means pursuing or abandoning the intended undertaking. Allah also says: “...and if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is Allah for him. For verily Allah surely accomplishes His purpose: Verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion.” (Qur’an 65:3) Hadith Qudsi istikhara
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