A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Some have tried to discredit Imam Abu Hanifah Nu’man ibn Tsabit (r.a.) by stating that not all ahadits had been compiled during the time of Imam Abu Hanifah ( r.a. ), implying that his opinion or ijtihad on many issues is not reliable.   Those who make this charge do not realise its implication.   If this statement had any weight in it, then nothing, even up to now can be considered to be proper, absolute and sound as not all sayings of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) have ever been compiled.   This would also mean that whatever swahabah and tabi’in did is not sound either because compilation of ahadits did not even start in their era.   The compilation of ahadits was not concluded until the 5 th century with Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ) being the last of the great recognised muhadditsin to compile ahadits with his own asanid .   This means that any doubt thrown on the veracity of Imam Abu Ha...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ) wrote, “It is said that two deviants came to the gathering of ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak and asked him if they could recite a hadits to him.   ibn al-Mubarak replied, ‘I do not want to hear a hadits from you.’   They asked if they could recite a verse of the Qur’an.   Again, ibn al-Mubarak replied, ‘I do not want to hear a verse from you.  Either you both leave, or I will leave.’  So, they left.   The students asked why he did not hear a verse for surely, they cannot fabricate a verse.  Imam ibn al-Mubarak replied, ‘What if they incorrectly commented on the verse, and that commentary touched my heart?  I would have also become misguided.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ) wrote, in Shu’ab al-Iman , “As narrated by Abu Zakariya ibn Abi Ishaq, who said that he went to the gathering of Abu al-Husayn ibn Sam’un, where a person asked him, ‘ What is taswawwuf ?’   He replied, ‘It has a name and also reality.  Which of the two have you asked about?’   The questioner said, ‘Both.’   He replied, ‘In name, it means to forget the world and its residents, whereas the reality of it is to deal courteously with Creation, not to harm them, and also to share their pain for the sake of Allah ( s.w.t. ).’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ), in his Shu’ayb al-Iman , recorded that Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) said, “I heard my father say, ‘I performed haj five times; thrice on foot and twice riding,’ or he said, ‘thrice riding and twice on foot.’   ‘Once when I was on foot, I lost my way; I started to exclaim, ‘O Allah’s servants, show me the way.’   I kept on repeating this until I came back on track.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ayyub ath-Thabarani ( r.a. ) related from Sayyidina ‘Utbah ibn Ghazwan al-Mazini ( r.a. ) that the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, “If one of you loses his way with respect to anything whatsoever or wishes help when he is in a land in which he has no friend, let him say, ‘O servants of Allah, help me!  For Allah has servants whom he does not see.”  The transliterated Arabic phrase is, “ Ya ‘Ibadullah a’inuni. ”  This hadits is hasan , and is found in Imam ath-Thabarani’s ( r.a. ) Mu’jam al-Kabir .  It was also recorded by Qadhi Abu Ya’la Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn al-Farra ( r.a. ); and Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ), who recorded it in his Majma’ az-Zawa’id wa Manba al-Fawa’id .   Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ) related something close to it, on the authority of Sayyidina ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ), in Kitab al-Adab : “Allah...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( q.s. ) said, “The example of the scholars on Earth is that of the stars in the sky: when they appear, the people are guided, but when they disappear, the people get confused and lost.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Dr. Muhammad Muswthafa al-Badawi said, when the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) entered the Sacred Mosque after the conquest of Makkah, he went around the Ka’bah, pointing at the idols with his stick or his bow.   There were three hundred and sixty idols on and around the Ka’bah, their feet fixed with lead, in addition to Isaf and Na’ilah, where the pagans slaughtered their offerings.   As the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) passed by each of the idols, he pointed at it, reciting: سُوۡرَةُ بنیٓ اسرآئیل / الإسرَاء وَقُلۡ جَآءَ ٱلۡحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ ٱلۡبَـٰطِلُ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱلۡبَـٰطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقً۬ا (٨١) And say, “Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehood perished: for falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish.” (Surah al-Isra’:81) When he pointed at them, the idols fell on their faces one by one.   This is recorded by Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ) in his Dala’il an-Nubuwwah .   It was also recorded, by Imam Abu ‘Abdullah M...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ If my thanking God for His Blessings is a Blessing, Then I must thank Him in the same measure again. How can one thank Him save by His Grace, As time goes on, and life goes by? If a good thing comes, I rejoice heartily, If a bad one comes, I receive a reward. In both cases He gives me a Gift too large For the minds of men, and the land and sea. From Imam al-Bayhaqi ( r.a. ), 'The Seventy-Seven Branches of Faith'