Diving for Pearls in the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Ocean

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is adapted from a swuhbah from Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) on the 13^th October 2010. 

We are advised to work towards having our names written on the list of the righteous servants, not the rebellious. 

سُوۡرَةُ المطفّفِین

كَلَّآ إِنَّ كِتَـٰبَ ٱلۡأَبۡرَارِ لَفِى عِلِّيِّينَ (١٨) وَمَآ أَدۡرَٮٰكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ (١٩) كِتَـٰبٌ۬ مَّرۡقُومٌ۬ (٢٠) يَشۡہَدُهُ ٱلۡمُقَرَّبُونَ (٢١) 

Nay, verily the Record of the righteous is (Preserved) in ‘Illiyun.  And what will explain to you what ‘Illiyun is?  (There is) a register (Fully) Inscribed.  To which bear witness those Nearest (to Allah). (Surah al-Muthaffifin:18-21) 

As for the rebellious: 

سُوۡرَةُ المطفّفِین

كَلَّآ إِنَّ كِتَـٰبَ ٱلۡفُجَّارِ لَفِى سِجِّينٍ۬ (٧) وَمَآ أَدۡرَٮٰكَ مَا سِجِّينٌ۬ (٨) كِتَـٰبٌ۬ مَّرۡقُومٌ۬ (٩)

 

Nay!  Surely the Record of the wicked is (Preserved) in Sijjin.  And what will explain to you what Sijjin is?  (There is) a register (Fully) Inscribed. (Surah al-Muthaffifin:7-9) 

It is not a condition that everyone must be a scholar in Islam.  Every Grant from Allah (s.w.t.) to His servants carries responsibilities.  Allah (s.w.t.) Gave each person different responsibilities.  We must know what it is that is really necessary for us to do in order to please Allah (s.w.t.).  Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) brought Islam so we must believe in him and respect him.  It is obligatory since he is the Messenger from the Lord of Heavens who brought us the way of safety, a way that prevents us from falling into Hell. 

We have taken knowledge of the Prophetic tradition from the companions, and they took their knowledge from Rasulullah (s.a.w.) who took his knowledge via the archangel Jibril (a.s.), from the Lord of Heavens.  Before the advent of Islam, the swahabah were also ignorant.  They knew nothing of religion.  They did not know how to differentiate between truth and falsehood, until Allah (s.w.t.) Sent them al-Furqan.  al-Furqan is another name for the Qur’an.  It is the Divine Criterion to demarcate the limits of truth, beyond which lay falsehood.  It shows very clearly where truth ends and falsehood begins.  It is a clear distinction between good and evil.  There is a Divine Wisdom that Guides us to Paradise as good things carry people to Paradises whilst bad things drag them down into Hell.  Hence a prophet is Sent to teach us to understand the Criterion between truth and falsehood. 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنفَال

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓاْ إِن تَتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ يَجۡعَل لَّكُمۡ فُرۡقَانً۬ا وَيُكَفِّرۡ عَنڪُمۡ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمۡ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَكُمۡ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلۡفَضۡلِ ٱلۡعَظِيمِ (٢٩) 

O you who believe!  If you fear Allah, He will Grant you a Criterion (to judge between right and wrong), Remove from you (all) evil (that may afflict) you, and Forgive you: for Allah is the Lord of Grace Unbounded. (Surah al-Anfal:29) 

Rasulullah (s.a.w.) was the last Messenger, and he brought the Last Message, the final Criterion to explain to all of us until the end of time, all that is false and all that is true.  Those Blessed to receive this Message directly from him were the companions, who were entrusted to carry that Message to the future generations of believers, up until Yawm al-Qiyamah.  The source of Divine Knowledge is the Seal of Prophets (s.a.w.), and each one of the 124,000 swahabah tapped into that Ocean of Wisdom.  We must never belittle the swahabah.  We must not say, “This is not a hadits; it is merely from a swahabi,” as each swahabi had a direct link with Prophetic knowledge.  It is only the ignorant who disparage the swahabah. 

Allah (s.w.t.) Surrounded the Seal of Prophets (s.a.w.) with 124,000 swahabah.  Each swahabi took a portion of that vast Divine Knowledge that was brought by Rasulullah (s.a.w.) and taught it to the next generation.  We must give due respect to those who teach us.  The swahabah were students of Rasulullah (s.a.w.), and what they learnt, they taught us.  ‘Ali (k.w.), said, “He who teaches me one huruf, I am his servant.” 

Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib (k.w.) did not know such a thing before he became a believer.  It was the coming of Islam that brought enlightenment into his heart.  From knowing nothing, Sayyidina ‘Ali (k.w.) gradually gained in knowledge, until Rasulullah (s.a.w.) said of him, “I am the city of knowledge, and ‘Ali is the door to that city.” 

On whose authority are the Muslims of today rejecting the pearls brought by the swahabah?  Those pearls were acquired by the swahabah when they dived into the Ocean of Rasulullah (s.a.w.).  The Prophet (s.a.w.) was the Ocean, and the swahabah did not bring their own pearls.  They brought pearls from the Prophetic Ocean.  Who are the scholars of today to deride or doubt what the swahabah brought?  All the swahabah spoke with such pearls of wisdom.  The swahabah brought thousands and thousands of pearls for us.  The ignorant who speak ill of them are harming the swahabah with their tongues.  That is not adab.  Such an action is Displeasing to Allah (s.w.t.); it is He Who Arranged for these 124,000 swahabah to provide the foundation of Islam.  They had been Selected to carry the burden of the building of Islam.  They are the Chosen.  All the 124 000 swahabah were Selected to dive into the Prophet’s (s.a.w.) Ocean to retrieve pearls for the next generation of believers. 

We must use the correct Criterion to judge what is brought to us.  Whoever dives into that Prophetic Ocean will either bring back oysters containing pearls or oyster shells which do not contain pearls.  We must be able to distinguish between those who bring pearls, and those who bring shells.  What is the Criterion to distinguish between the good and bad people?  We cannot judge.  Our judgement is always wrong.  It is tainted with ego and emotion.  We must use the Criterion that was Granted to the swahabah of Rasulullah (s.a.w.).  An aspect of the Criterion is the Scale of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  The Criterion is the one that can differentiate between truth and falsehood, and the swahabah took that Scale from the Prophet (s.a.w.).  That Scale has been passed down from generation to generation to the inheritors of such knowledge.  Whom amongst the scholars use that Scale now?  We are in the worst period of Islamic civilisation today.  Muslims no longer seek out those who inherited that Scale.  They simply judge by worldly scales that have no reality.  To judge if an act is bid’ah, haram or shirk, one needs a Divine Scale.  If one is not using a Divine Scale, then he should hold his tongue.  We must name our guide, from whom we inherited that Scale and that knowledge. 

The fragmentation of the ummah of the Beloved into 73 sects is due to this type of judgement based on worldly scales.  Which sect is acceptable in the Divine Presence?  Every sect judges the other by its own standards and beliefs so everyone finds the other sects misguided and everyone upholds his own sect.  Is that how the Divine Scale of Judgement works?  Why is it that the other sects do not look to the Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah who has taken its teachings from the 124,000 swahabah of the Prophet (s.a.w.).  The Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “My companions are like stars in the sky.  Whomsoever you follow from amongst them, you will be guided.”  Each sect must ask which companion it is following. 

The Salafi ‘ulama who claim to be guides for the ummah bear a heavy responsibility, as they have cut ties with the Guided.  They claim to carry the torch of guidance for the ummah.  By doing so, they have placed barriers in the path of seekers from attaining Paradise and from acquiring Allah’s (s.w.t.) Pleasure.  We must be aware that Islam calls to people to be good and not to be evil.  This Message was conveyed by Rasulullah (s.a.w.) to the swahabah and from them to the inheritors.  One cannot invent a new Message or a new Way today by labeling the swahabah misguided.