Jalaluddin al-Suyuti (d. 911 A.H.) He is considered the mujaddid, the renewer of the faith, at the end of the 9th Islamic century. It’s not necessary to list all his great accomplishments, so I will jump straight to the point about his hadith collections.

Al-Kittani called him “the seal of the Hadith Memorizers (huffaz)”.

His pupil al-Dawoodi said, “He was the most knowledgeable of all the scholars of his time in the science of hadith…and he said of himself that he had memorized 200,000 hadiths and said ‘If I found more I would have memorized it”.

Ali al-Qari al-Makki said, “He is the one who revived the science of tafsir…and he collected all the scattered hadiths in his famous Jaami‘.”

Once he reached the age of 40, he went into seclusion in his house and dedicated all his time to worship and authoring, leaving all his prestigious positions and refusing all gifts from the rulers.

He was seen in a dream asking the Prophet (pbuh) questions about the hadith and the Prophet replying to him, “Ask, oh Shaykh of the Sunna”.

He himself saw in a dream that he was asking the Prophet (pbuh) about hadiths and the Prophet said, “Ask oh Shaykh of the Hadith”.

And he confided to his friend, shaykh AbdulQadir al-Shadhili, that he saw the Prophet (pbuh) in the waking state, saying to him, “Oh Shaykh of the Hadith!” So he said, “Oh Messenger of Allah, am I of the people of Paradise?”, so he, peace be upon him, said “yes”. “Without prior punishment?” So he said “yes.”

So AbdulQadir al-Shadhili asked him, “How many times have you seen the Prophet (pbuh) while awake?” And he replied, “Seventy-some times.”

Al-Sha’rani said, “I saw in Shaykh Jalaluddin al-Suyuti’s own handwriting a letter, (preserved) with his companion Shaykh AbdulQadir al-Shadhili, to someone who had asked his intercession with Sultan Qaytbay. Its text is as follows:

‘Know my brother that I have been united with the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) until now, seventy five times in which I both saw him and spoke to him, in a waking state. And if it were not for my fear that I will be veiled from him, peace be upon him, if I approach the rulers, I would have entered the Citadel and interceded for you with the Sultan. But I am a man among the servants of his hadith, peace be upon him, and I need him to show the (true) hadiths that the hadith scholars have deemed weak as correct, and that is undoubtedly of greater benefit than assisting you, my brother.’ “

Therefore I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when someone like the self-taught modern-day Al-Albani, compiles a list of the “sahih” hadiths in the collection of al-Suyuti! Who does he think he is, correcting the Shaykh of the Hadith, and undoing the work of the Prophet (pbuh), and going against his will, peace be upon him? The Prophet, peace be upon him, appears to al-Suyuti in order to salvage the correct hadiths that have been deemed weak by previous scholars, and so al-Suyuti shows their correctness, and then al-Albani weakens them again!

As for the matter of seeing the Prophet (pbuh) awake and asking him about the correctness of hadiths, that is normal for the greatest awliya. For example, al-Zawawi (d. 1517 CE) said, “We recite the tasliya on behalf of the Prophet so often that he then sits with us while we are in a waking state (hattaa yaseera yujaalisunaa yaqzatan) …. Then we question him about matters of our religion and about hadiths which are held to be weak in the opinion of our religious scholars. Subsequently we base our behavior on his words.”

Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari (d. 1979 CE) wrote,

“In the year 1385 A.H. a man from Upper Egypt came to me and said, ‘I have something to tell you which, had I not been commanded to tell you by a higher authority, I would not have told it to you: Know my brother that I was sitting in your lesson at the Azhar Mosque after the Friday Prayer, and you were saying in your lesson, “Jalaluddin al-Suyuti used to study the science of hadith with the Prophet (pbuh), and al-Suyuti would ask him about the correctness of the Prophetic hadiths.” And then I saw the Prophet (pbuh) in the waking state, sitting next to me, and he said, peace be upon him, “Tell this son of mine to strive hard as did al-Suyuti in order to see me as he did.” Then a man came and was about to pass between us and I wanted to stop him but he said, peace be upon him, “Let him for I am Light”. ‘

So when he said this to me I was greatly astonished and surprised, so he said to me, ‘I swear by Allah that had I not been commanded to, I would not have told you what I just told you.’ And he said this to me in the courtyard of the Azhar Mosque, so I saw a man sitting called Ahmad Mahmoud from the town of Moosha in Asyut so I took him to him and said, ‘Listen oh shaykh what this man is telling me’, so he repeated what he said to him.”

I’ve written earlier, in Farewell Visits 1 and Goodbye Cairo, about my visits to the resting places of the greatest men of Cairo, those that made it a blessed city. I had to go back to Cairo for three days last week, so I thought I’d use this opportunity to visit the last ones that are important to me but that I could not visit before. Thus these were final because they made me feel that I have visited everyone who is important to me personally, for now, though there are so many more great scholars, awliya, and Ahl al-Bayt to be visited. Insha’Allah I will get to return to Cairo many more times and visit many more people.

I began by visiting al-Sayyida Aisha bint Jaafar al-Sadeq, who you can read about in Farewell Visits 1. Thought I had visited her before, I decided to begin with her since she was the nearest of the Ahlul Bayt to the awliya that I wanted to visit, and they say that it is ill-mannered to visit awliya before visiting Ahlul Bayt.

After visiting her I went to al-Shafi’i and Zakariyya al-Ansari, again, since they were also on the way. You can read about their significance in Goodbye Cairo. Right next to al-Shafi’i’s Mosque and tomb complex is a small alleyway on the left, which if you take, and keep going straight until the very end of the road, you will reach a dead end, a small square surrounded by buildings. If you go into the building right in front of you, you will enter to the tomb of the Prophet’s companion Uqba bin Aamir, about whom you can read in Goodbye Cairo. I visited him once more.

From the same small square, if you look to the right, you will find a small pathway, and the first building on the right will be the resting place of three great persons:

- Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya. Muhammad is the son of Ali ibn Abi Talib, but he is named after his mother whom sayyidna Ali married after sayyida Fatima passed away, radiya’Allahu ‘anhum ajma’een. I wrote about his political and religious importance after the martyrdom of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, radiya’Allahu ‘anhum, in my introduction to The Shii Doctrine of Isma.

- Right next to him is buried Dhul-Nun al-Misri, the infamous ancient Egyptian Sufi.

- And right next to Dhul-Nun is Rabi’a al-Adawiyya. I’m not sure if she’s burried there or if it is just a mashhad, a place where she was seen, but either way it’s worth visiting her and reading the Fatiha on her there, for Allah will notify her of it and allow her soul to be at that place when you visit, insha’Allah.

Then I was lucky to find at the tomb of Uqba someone who told me where to find Jalaluddin al-Suyuti. Visiting al-Suyuti was my main objective of this trip, but no one seemed to know where he was. Turns out he’s very close to al-Rifa’i and to sayyida Aisha. He’s buried in a large tomb (not in a mosque complex), in the middle of a cemetery, and it’s locked so you can’t go in, just read the Fatiha from outside. Al-Suyuti means a lot to me, as a great scholar and the mujaddid of his century, and I really like what little I have read from his works. I have discussed some of the main arguments of his book on the possibility of seeing the Prophet (pbuh) in the waking state, in Waking Vision of the Prophet.

I asked if anyone had the key so I can go inside and someone said that the caretaker of the Rifa’i mosque had it, so we went there to ask but it turned out that was wrong information. Anyway, I re-visited the shaykh al-Rifa’i, a descendant of the eponymous founder of the Rifa’i tariqa.

Then I concluded with visiting sayyidna al-Husayn and saying goodbye to my shaykh, Saleh al-Jaafari, may Allah raise us with them on the Day of Rising. I also said goodbyes to the most beautiful spot in all of Egypt, if not on the entire planet: the courtyard inside the Al-Azhar Mosque.

By visiting al-Suyuti, Rabi’a, Dhul-Nun, and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya (who I had no idea was in Cairo), I felt I achieved a sense of completion. May Allah allow me to return to Cairo again and again and again.

The Prophet Daniel is not mentioned in the Qur’an or Hadith, only in the Bible. However there are many stories in the Islamic traditions about how his body was discovered in the reign of Umar ibn al-Khattab (r.a.), with jewels, scrolls, and a ring in which was engraved his picture, surrounded by two lions. Then, they gave him an Islamic burial and kept the new location of his burial hidden so that Jews do not find it.

There are many countries that claim to have the tomb of Daniaal, as it is pronounced in Arabic, including Iran, Turkey, and Egypt.

The reason the ring is said to have an engraving of Danial with two lions is that he was thrown into a den of lions by the Emperor Darius, but they never harmed him. After that Darius released him and issued a decree saying,

Then king Darius wrote unto all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: ‘Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end; He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth; who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.’

So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. (The Book of Daniel, 26-29)

I have read in The Perfumed Garden, a world-famous 16th-century “sex manual” by Shaykh Nafzawi, a Tunisian jurist and judge on marital affairs, an interesting side note regarding the Prophet Daniaal. It said that if anyone calls out his name in front of a lion, it will not attack him, because lions gave the prophet a promise not to harm anyone who calls out his name. Then it concluded with the word mujarraba, which means “tried and tested”.

This brings us to another famous scholar from Tunis, but of the 14th century: Sidi Tohfa. Sidi Tohfa was born Anselm Tormeeda in Spain and became a well-known Christian priest and scholar. He moved to Bologne, a center for Christian learning at the time, and lived with an aged priest,

He was greatly respected by the people because of his knowledge and religiousness and asceticism, which distinguished him from the other Christian priests. Questions and requests for advice came from everywhere, from Kings and rulers, along with presents and gifts. They hoped that he would accept their presents and grant them his blessings. This priest taught me the principles of Christianity and its rulings. I became very close to him by serving and assisting him with his duties until I became one of his most trusted assistants, so that he trusted me with the keys of his domicile in the church and of the food and the drink stores. He kept for himself only the key of a small room were he used to sleep. I think, and Allah knows best, that he kept his treasure chest in there. I was a student and servant for a period of ten years, then he fell ill and failed to attend the meetings of his fellow priests.

During his absence the priests discussed some religious matters, until they came to what was said by the Almighty Allah through his prophet Jesus in the Gospel: “After him will come a Prophet called Paraclete”. They argued a great deal about this Prophet and as to who he was among the Prophets. Everyone gave his opinion according to his knowledge and understanding; and they ended without achieving any benefit in that issue. I went to my priest, and as usual he asked about what was discussed in the meeting that day. I mentioned to him the different opinions of priests about the name Paraclete, and how they finished the meeting without clarifying its meaning. He asked me: “What was your answer?” I gave my opinion which was taken from interpretation of a well known exegesis. He said that I was nearly correct like some priests, and the other priests were wrong. “But the truth is different from all of that. This is because the interpretation of that noble name is known only to a small number of well versed scholars. And we posses only a little knowledge.” I fell down and kissed his feet, saying: “Sir, you know that I traveled and came to you from a far distant country, I have served you now for more than ten years; and have attained knowledge beyond estimation, so please favour me and tell me the truth about this name.” The priest then wept and said: “My son, by God, you are very much dear to me for serving me and devoting yourself to my care. Know the truth about this name, and there is a great benefit, but there is also a great danger. And I fear that when you know this truth, and the Christians discover that, you will be killed immediately.” I said: “By God, by the Gospel and He who was sent with it, I shall never speak any word about what you will tell me, I shall keep it in my heart.” He said: “My son, when you came here from your country, I asked you if it is near to the Muslims, and whether they made raids against you and if you made raids against them. This was to test your hatred for Islam. Know, my son, that Paraclete is the name of their Prophet Muhammad, to whom was revealed the fourth book as mentioned by Daniel. His way is the clear way which is mentioned in the Gospel.” I said: “Then sir, what do you say about the religion of these Christians?” He said: “My son, if these Christians remained on the original religion of Jesus, then they would have been on God’s religion, because the religion of Jesus and all the other Prophets is the true religion of God. But they changed it and became unbelievers.” I asked him: “Then, sir, what is the salvation from this?” He said “Oh my son, embracing Islam.”

So Anslem Tormeeda took the next ship headed to the Islamic world and ended up in Tunis, where he declared his Islam in front of its Sultan who appointed him as a translator, where he became known as Abdullah bin Abdullah al-Tarjuman (The Translator). He wrote a famous book called Tohfat al-Areeb, or The Gift to the Intelligent for Refuting the Arguments of the People of the Cross, and ever since the people came to know him as Sidi Tohfa (Master ‘Gift’).

Now, back to the Prophet Daniel. I visited him tomb in Alexandria the last time I went, and also visited a group of Shadhili masters who are buried there: Abul Abbas al-Mursi, the successor to Abul Hasan al-Shadhili, and his two disciples Ibn Ata’Allah al-Sakanadri (author of the famous Aphorisms) and al-Busiri (author of the most famous poem in praise of the Prophet pbuh). Also there is Yaqut al-Arsh and Makeen al-Deen al-Asmar.

Makeen al-Deen al-Asmar was the head of the Qur’an reciters of Alexandria and a companion of al-Shadhili who reached such a high spiritual level that he would know what the great Pole of the time al-Shadhili was thinking when he was at his home. Al-Shadhili also said that Makeen was one of the seven Abdaal.

Makeen al-Deen said, “I prayed one time in the Mosque of the Prophet Daniel, and then the Prophet came out of his tomb and greeted me and said, ‘lead me in prayer’.

I said, ‘God forbid that I lead one of Allah’s prophets in prayer!’

He said, ‘No, I pray behind you because you are one of the followers of the Master of Creation, Muhammad, peace be upon him.’”

Then when Makeen al-Deen said the word “Muhammad”, the Prophet Daniel kissed him on the mouth “so that the word ‘Muhammad’ is not wasted in the air.”
SubhanAllah how one of Allah’s prophets teaches us the worth of our Messenger, peace be upon him, and what respect his name deserves, peace be upon him.

Power is necessary and should be developed; but when man is anxious to develop power, either of body or of mind, he ought to remember that the will power is behind it all; that if the will is developed, the physical and mental power can easily be developed. The will power governs the body and the mind.  - Hazrat Inayat Khan, Mastery, p. 211

In the East I have seen a man lifting a heavy stone on one finger. One might wonder how that can be possible, but it is the power of the will alone which sustains the heavy stone; the finger is only an excuse. - Ibid, p. 170

Love, hate, make enemies and friends, according to what pleases Allah, for you do not acquire Allah’s wilaya except through that. And no man will taste the sweetness of faith, no matter how much he prays or fasts, until he is like that. Today, people’s friendships are about the affairs of this world, and that will count for nothing on the Day of Judgment. - Ibn Abbas (r.a.)

You must dare to disassociate yourself from those who would delay your journey… Leave, depart, if not physically, then mentally. Go your own way, quietly, undramatically, and venture toward trueness at last.—Vernon Howard

The knower of Allah Most High, my master shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari, may Allah be pleased with him, says:

Standing before Allah on the Day of Rising is a mighty matter that terrifies the soul and frightens the heart, and incites one to flee from all that angers Allah Most High. He, Most High, has said: {Do they not think that they shall be raised again * For a mighty day * The day on which men shall stand before the Lord of the worlds?}

And so the Calling to Account is a matter that incites the self to criticize its works of action and word, for he who knows that he will be taken to account, takes himself to account. The poet said,

And if only upon death we were left alone, death would have been the resting of every living thing

But when we die we will be raised again, and will be asked after that about everything.

And among these stands is Salaat, for the one who is praying speaks with His Lord, and once he remembers that he stands before Al-Haqq Most High every day five times, that will be a deterrent for him from falling into that which angers Him.

And know, brother, that the Call to Prayer is in the place of the Call to the Rising at Soor*, and the rising (qiyam) for the Salaat is in the place of the resurrection, for it is a standing before Allah Most High, and in it is listening to the speech of Allah, and dhikr of Allah, and humility and reverence to Allah.

And if it is so then everyone who remembers that he will stand this stand, then this remembrance of the Salaat and its stand and its fear, and what it contains of submissiveness to, and fear from, Allah Most Mighty, and pleasure at hearing His great speech, and glorification of Allah for the witnessing of the awesomeness of the perfection of the majesty of al-Haqq the Transcendent, all that cannot but be a deterrent and a restraint from entering into a matter that Allah does not like or accept, verifying His saying, Most High: {The Salaat restrains from the indecent and unacceptable}.

If you understood these words of mine then a wondrous meaning for this noble Verse must spark in your heart.

And many people say: So-and-so prays but does that which is evil, because they understood that the one who prays cannot possibly commit that which is evil, but perhaps the word “restrains” differs according to the differences between people. For some of them, it restrains them from falling into sin in the meaning of “prevents him”, but for others it does so after the fall in the meaning of “blaming him and chastising him”. Thus the first has prayed the Salaat of those who have arrived, and the second: the Salaat of the travelers {Perhaps Allah will relent toward them}. And likewise the recitation of the Qur’an is considered like Allah’s taking man into account, and so he who has prayed is like he who been at the stand (of the Resurrection), and he who has heard the Qur’an is like he who has been to the Taking of the Account:

How many times do you stand (before Allah) without thinking about it.

And how many times are you taken to account without deliberating it.

And your sleep is a death, and your waking a resurrection.

So how many deaths do you have but you are in play and diversion.

And how many times are you resurrected but you pay no attention.

——————

* The blowing (al-nafkh) in the Soor, which will cause the bodies of all mankind to rise from their tombs, is mentioned in the Qur’an. There are different interpretations of what this phrase means, and most people today think of the Soor as a large horn into which an angel will blow. However, shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari says that it is not so, and that the Prophet, peace be upon him, explained it as not a blowing, but an Angelic address from a place called the Soor, which will be heard by the entire world. Thus the Call to Prayer (the adhaan) is its parallel on earth, calling us to rise up from our “sleep” and stand before Allah Most High.

Ubayy ibn Ka’b (r.a.) said to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

“O Messenger of Allah, I do a lot of prayer on you. How much prayer should I allot for you?”

He said, ‘However much you like.’

I said, ‘A quarter?’

He said, ‘However much you like, but if you do more, it will be better for you.’

I said, ‘A half?’

He said, ‘However much you like, but if you do more, it will be better for you.’

I said, ‘Two-thirds?’

He said, ‘However much you like, but if you do more, it will be better for you.’

I said, ‘I will allot all my prayer for you.’

He said, ‘Then you will be spared from worry and forgiven your wrong action.’”

- [al-Tirmidhi and al-Haakim]

Haven’t found a spiritual guide yet? Here’s what you do until you find one:

“Many of the imams of the path who are fit for following have said that occupying oneself with salaat on the Prophet (pbuh) is one of the greatest causes of Fath (opening) on the servant, and that it takes the place of the shaykh in (spiritual) upbringing, and many knowers (aarifeen) have arrived through it to knowledge of Allah Most High, having no shaykh other than that.”

- Shaykh Ahmad Zayni Dahlan (d. 1886), the Mufti of the Shafi’is of Mecca.