A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is adapted from a post by Dr. Jibril Fu’ad Haddad.   Shaykh al-Islam Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn ‘Utsman ibn Qaymaz ibn ‘Abdullah at-Turkmani ad-Diyarbakri al-Fariqi al-Dimashqi adz-Dzahabi ash-Shafi’i ( r.a. ), is the imam, , head of ahadits masters, perspicuous critic and expert examiner of the ahadits , encyclopaedic historian and biographer, and foremost authority in the canonical readings of the Qur'an.   Born in Damascus, where his family lived from the time of his grandfather ‘Utsman, he sometimes identified himself as ibn adz-Dzahabi - son of the goldsmith - in reference to his father’s profession.   He began his study of ahadits at age eighteen, travelling from Damascus to Ba’labak, Homs, Hama, Aleppo, Tripoli, Nabulus, Ramla, Cairo, Iskandariyyah, al-Qudus, Hijaz, and elsewhere to thirty different locations, after which he returned to Damascus where he taught and authored many ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) was a student of  Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah  ( r.a. ).   However, he differed with his teacher on the issue of tabarruk , taking blessings from the relics of the pious.   He stated explicitly that those who opposed it were like the Khwarij .   He cited, as evidence, that Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) himself, used to engage in tabarruk , from the relics of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ).   He wrote, in his Siyar A’alam an-Nubala’ , “‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad said, ‘I saw my father take a hair that belonged to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), put it on his mouth, and kiss it.   I believe I saw him put it on his eyes.   He also dipped it in water and drank the water to obtain cure.   I saw him take the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) bowl, wash it in water, and drink from it.   I saw him drink Zamzam water in order ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) wrote, in his Siyar A’alam an-Nubala’ , that Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ), the son of Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ), said, “I saw my father take a hair that belonged to the Prophet ( s.a.w. ), put it on his mouth, and kiss it.   I believe I saw him put it on his eyes.   He also dipped it in water, and drank the water to obtain a cure.   I saw him take the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) bowl, wash it in water, and drink from it.   I saw him drink Zamzam water in order to seek cure with it, and he wiped his hands and face with it.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) had at least twenty female teachers.   He noted that amongst the female narrators of hadits , there were none found to be fabricators.   The integrity and independence of female scholars in Islam was unimpeachable.

‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) wrote, in his Siyar al-A’alam an-Nubala’ , that once, there was a drought in Samarqand.  People tried their best; some performed swalah al-istisqa’ but still it did not rain.  A renowned saint, known as Swalih, went to the qadhi , and suggested they go to the maqam of Imam al-Bukhari, in Khartank, and ask for his intercession.  The qadhi agreed, and much of the town, including its important personages, went to the maqam .  He qadhi lead the du’a , and people started to cry near the grave, and started to make him a wasilah .  Allah ( s.w.t. ) immediately Granted their du’a , and the rains came.  The people stayed in Khartank for about seven days; none of them wanted to return to Samarqand although the distance between Samarqand and Khartank was only 3 miles.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It was related by Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ), in Siyar A’alam an-Nubala’ , that Imam Abu Muhammad Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah ( r.a. ) said, “He, whose sin is due to desire, then have hope for him; and he, whose sin is due to pride, then fear for him.  Because Adam sinned due to desire, and he was Forgiven; and Iblis sinned due to pride, and he was Cursed.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) wrote, in Bayan Zaghl al-‘Ilm wa ath-Thalab , about his teacher, Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah ( r.a. ), “If you were to excel in the uswul and its affiliates – logic, ethics, philosophy, the sayings of the ancients and the conundrums – all the while protecting yourself with the Book and the sunnah as well as the doctrines of the Salaf, then joining between reason and transmission, still, I do not think you would reach the level of ibn Taymiyyah.  No, by Allah, you would not even come near it.  Yet, I saw what happened to him – how much opposition he faced, desertion, rightful and wrongful declarations of heresy, apostasy, and mendacity!  Before he entered into this science, he was shining with light and enlightening others, bearing the signs of the Salaf on his face.  Then he became lightless, dark and sombre to countless drov...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Regarding Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) istiwa’ , Establishment, on the Throne, Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) disavowed the term “ bi dzatihi ”, “in person”, saying, “There is no need for this expression, and it disturbs the soul.”  Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad ibn ‘Ali ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalani, ( r.a. ) also rejected the statement that Allah ( s.w.t. ) is on the Throne “ bi dzatihi ”, “in person”, as equally preposterous as saying that He is everywhere.   Some of the Mu’tazilah have claimed that Allah ( s.w.t. ) was everywhere on the basis of the hadits , “If one of you stands in prayer, let him not spit in front of him for Allah ( s.w.t. ) is in front of him.”  This is evident ignorance, because the hadits then states that he should spit under his foot, which invalidates their principle.  The hadits also constitutes a refutation of those who say that Allah ( s.w.t. ) is on the Throne “...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) said, “There remains no scholar in Madina after the tabi’in comparable to Imam Malik in knowledge, jurisprudence, eminence, and memorisation.”  He was referring to Imam Malik ibn Anas ( r.a. ).

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) wrote, in Siyar A’alam an-Nubala’ , “Fudhayl ibn ‘Iyadh said, ‘Whosoever feels depressed because of loneliness, and yet feels tranquil when they are around people, then surely that one is not safe from pretending to be virtuous.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi ( r.a. ) wrote, in Siyar A’alam an-Nubala’ , “Imam Muhammad ibn Isma’il al-Bukhari was distinguished by three qualities in addition to the rest of his praiseworthy traits: He never spoke much; he never yearned for what people had; and he would never occupy himself with other people’s affairs; all his attention was towards knowledge.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is written in Imam Shams ad-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmad adz-Dzahabi’s ( r.a. ) Mu ’ jam ash-Shuyukh , that Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hanbal ( r.a. ) was asked about touching the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) grave and kissing it, and he saw nothing wrong with it.   His son, Imam ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ( r.a. ) related this from him.   He said, “If it is asked, ‘Why did the companions not do this?’ we reply, because they saw him with their very eyes when he was alive, enjoyed his presence directly, kissed his very hand, nearly fought each other over the remnants of his ablution water, shared his purified hair on the day of the greater pilgrimage, and even if he spat, it would virtually not fall except in someone’s hand so that he could pass it over his face.   Since we have not had the tremendous fortune of sharing in this, we throw ourselves on his grave as a mark of commitment, reverence, and acceptance, even to kiss it.  ...