A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Layts Naswr ibn Muhammad as-Samarqandi ( r.a. ) wrote, in his Tanbih al-Ghafilin , that a man came to Sayyidatina ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr ( r.a. ) and asked, “When will I know that I am pious?”   She replied, “When you realise that you are a sinner.”   He asked again, “And when will I realise I am a sinner?”   She replied, “When you think you are pious.”   This pertains to tawhid al-af’al .  All acts Originate from Allah ( s.w.t. ) so the performance of good deeds is His, and only the intention is ours.  Therefore, when a person thinks that he is pious, he has committed minor shirk , and taken ownership of something that is not his.  And when a person thinks he is a sinner, he has admitted his poverty before the Generous and Merciful Lord.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Abu al-Layts Naswr ibn Muhammad as-Samarqandi ( r.a. ) spoke about the fasting of the Elect: “if you want to fast like Jesus ( a.s. ), then know that he would fast all the time and lived on nothing but barley.”  He continued, “If, however, you want to fast as his mother, Mary ( a.s. ) did, then know that she used to fast for two days at a time and then eat for two days.  The fast of David ( a.s. ) consisted of fasting one day for 24 hours and breaking it the next day by a day in which he took food and drank.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following was adapted from the book, Tambih al-Ghafilin by Imam Abu al-Layts Naswr ibn Muhammad as-Samarqandi ( q.s. ).  The story was first told to us by one of our shuyukh , Shaykh Ahmad ‘Arif.  The lesson is that we are always in a state of loss since nothing we have is ours.  Not even our deeds.  Our ‘ibadah is a Mercy Granted to us.  It is not the cause of Salvation.   Jibril ( a.s. ) told Rasulullah ( s.a.w. ) the following incident about a man in the past who worshipped Allah ( s.w.t. ) continuously for 500 years.  He was Granted a shelter on top of a mountain that was surrounded by salty water.  Moreover, Allah ( s.w.t. ) Caused a stream of sweet water to flow through the mountain for that individual.  The man would drink from this water and use it to make ablution.  Allah ( s.w.t. ) also Raised a pomegranate tree from which the man would eat one fruit every day.   One...