A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib ( k.w. ) came to Baswra, and entered a mosque.   He found storytellers telling stories.   He made them get up until he came to Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ).   He said, “Lad, I will ask you about something, If you answer it, I will let you stay.   Otherwise I will remove you as I removed your companions.”   He saw that he possessed proper behaviour and guidance.   Shaykh al-Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ) replied, “Ask whatever you wish.”   Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ) asked, “What is the basic foundation of the diyn ?”   “Scrupulousness,” he replied.   He asked, “What is the corruption of the diyn ?”   “Greed,” he replied.   Sayyidina ‘Ali ( k.w. ) said, “Sit.   Someone like you can speak to people.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) said, in a swuhbah , Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) was a famous shaykh .   One of his students was Shaykh Habib ibn Muhammad al-‘Ajami al-Baswri ( q.s. ).   He was not an Arab.   He was a Persian from Bukhara.   Shaykh Habib al-‘Ajami ( q.s. ) was illiterate.   Once Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ) saw Habib al-‘Ajami ( q.s. ) praying maghrib .   When Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ) heard that he was unable to say “ al-Hamdu ”, but pronounced it “ Elhemdu ”, he thought his recitation was not correct and did not pray behind him; he prayed alone.   That night, Allah ( s.w.t. ) Said to Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ), “Apart from that prayer which you did not pray behind Habib al-’Ajami, I Accept all your prayers.”   Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ) was still looking at the words, not at the heart of the imam .   Allah ( s.w.t. ) does not l...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Once, when Shaykh Habib ibn Muhammad al-‘Ajami al-Baswri ( q.s. ) was sitting in front of his khanaqah , his takkiyah , Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) came running.  Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) said, “O Habib, hide me, because Hajjaj, the Caliph’s governor, has sent his soldiers to catch me.  Hide me!”   Shaykh Habib ( q.s. ) said. “Go in and hide yourself.”   Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) went in and found himself a hiding place.  The soldiers came running and asked Habib ( q.s. ), “Have you seen Hasan al-Baswri?”   “Yes, I saw him inside.  He is hiding.”   They went in and looked around.  They looked everywhere, even looked directly at Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ).  It is said they searched the khanaqah three times after Shaykh Habib al-‘Ajami ( q.s. ) insisted that Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) was inside.  Finally, the soldiers scolded Shaykh Habib ( q.s. ), “How could a man like you ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Once, Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) visited Shaykh Habib ibn Muhammad al-‘Ajami al-Baswri ( q.s. ).   He brought two loaves of bread, putting them in front of him as a courtesy to his guest.   Just as he was beginning to eat, someone who was hungry came and asked for something for the sake of Allah ( s.w.t. ).   Shaykh Habib al-‘Ajami ( q.s. ) took back the loaves from Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ) and gave them to that person.   Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ), said, “O Habib, you are a good person, but if you had some more knowledge of the shari’ah it would have been better for you.”   He meant to say it would have been better if Habib ( q.s. ) left one loaf for them, and one for that person, instead of taking both and giving them away.   Habib ( q.s. ) said nothing.   After a while, someone came to the door and brought a tray full of plates for them to eat.   “Yo...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani ( q.s. ) said that once, Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) was sitting at the Tigris River in Baghdad, waiting for the ferry to come so as to cross over to the other side.   His student, Shaykh Habib ibn Muhammad al-‘Ajami al-Baswri ( q.s. ) came along.   He said, “My master, what are you waiting here for?”   Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) said, “I am waiting for the ferry boat, to cross to the other side.”   “You are the shaykh .   Why are you sitting here waiting for that raft?   Come and say ‘ Bismillah ’ and walk”.   Then Shaykh Habib ( q.s. ) recited, “ Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim ,” and walked on the Tigris to the other side.   It was then that Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) cried, “This ‘ajami is crossing the Tigris and I am sitting here!”   Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) knew the power of Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim , but his student had certa...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “There is no beast more foul-mouthed, more discourteous and harsher than the nafs .”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Farid ad-Din ‘Aththar Abu Hamid ibn Abu Bakr Ibrahim ( q.s. ) wrote, in his Tadzkirat al-Awliya’ , that Shaykh Abu Sa ’ id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) arrived at Shaykh Habib ibn Muhammad al-‘Ajami al-Baswri’s ( q.s. ) meditation cell at the time for ‘isha’ .   Shaykh Habib al-‘Ajami ( q.s. ) continued praying.   He pronounced “praise” as “phrase”.   Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) thought to himself, “It is not right to pray behind him," and he performed his prayers by himself.” That night, Shaykh Hasan ( q.s. ) saw the Most Glorious Lord in a dream.   “My God, what is Your Pleasure?” he asked. “You had found what Pleases Me, but you did not recognise its worth.” “O Lord!   What was that?” “Praying behind Habib.   That prayer was to be the seal on your lifetime of prayers, but correct expression held you back from sound intention.” Shaykh ‘Aththar ( q.s. ) concluded by saying, “There is...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “When love of this world enters the heart, fear of the Hereafter exits from it.  Beware of worldly distractions, for no servant opens a door of this world without several doors of works for the Hereafter being shut for him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “If Satan looks at you and sees you consistent in God’s obedience, he will persist in coming after you.  Should you continue to maintain consistency, he will give up and leave you.  But if you do not and he sees you fluctuating, he will strive after you.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Dr. Jibril Fu’ad Haddad wrote, “The expression ‘ Ahl as-Sunnah ’ is reported from ibn ‘Abbas ( r.a. ); and ibn ‘Umar ( r.a. ); by Shaykh al-Lalika’i ( r.a. ), in Sharh Uswul ‘Itiqad Ahl as-Sunnah ; Imam Muslim ( r.a. ) narrated it from Imam Muhammad ibn Sirin ( q.s. ), in al-Muqaddimah to his Swahih ; and Imam ad-Darimi ( r.a. ), in his al-Musnad , from Shaykh Hasan al-Baswri ( q.s. ).”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Zayn ad-Din Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Rajab al-Hanbali ( r.a. ) wrote, in Jami’ ‘Ulum wa al-Hikam , “It was asked of Hasan al-Baswri, ‘Should one of us not feel too shy to ask his Lord to Forgive his sin, then do it again, then ask for Forgiveness, then do it again?’   He replied, ‘The Shaythan wishes that you would have this attitude, so do not get tired of asking for Forgiveness.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ), speaking on taqwa , God-consciousness, said, “I understood four things.  I understood my rizq cannot be taken by anyone, so my heart is content.  I understood no one can do my actions, so I started doing them myself.  I understood Allah ( s.w.t. ) is Watching me, so I felt shame to do wrong.  I understood death is waiting for me. so I started to prepare for my meeting with Allah ( s.w.t. ).”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “Every single day of this worldly life calls out, ‘O people, I am a new day, and I am witness to all that which is performed in me, and once the Sun has set, I will not return back to you until Judgement Day.’”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “Do not detest the misfortunes that befall you, for what you detest, may be the cause of your Salvation, and what you like, may be the cause of your ruin.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “Whoever learns something in the Name of Allah ( s.w.t. ), seeking that which is with Him, he will win.   And whoever learns something for other than Allah ( s.w.t. ), he will not reach the goal, nor will his acquired knowledge bring him closer to Allah ( s.w.t. ).”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “There are two races in life: the first is the son of Adam chasing his sustenance, and the second his death chasing him.  By the time he catches up with his sustenance, his death would have caught up with him.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “Whoever speaks evil about you behind your back, do not become angry for they are, in reality, giving you their good deeds on a golden platter.”   So, we should never be bothered about what people speak of us behind our backs.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ When Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) came across a group of people engaged in debates, he said, “These ones have become tired of worship, speaking has become easy for them, and their piety has diminished, and that is why they talk.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “The life of this world is made up of three days: Yesterday has gone with all that was done; tomorrow, you may never reach; however today is for you, so do what you should do today.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Shaykh Abu Sa’id ibn Abu al-Hasan Yasar al-Baswri ( q.s. ) said, “Beware of your commitments that you make in this world, for the world has a way of consuming a person.   A person makes a commitment to one thing, and he finds himself involved in ten other commitments.”