“In the ages long gone,” complains Ibn Qutayba- who himself lived in an age long gone- “people’s debates were about the equation of poverty (with patience) and thankfulness (for wealth), and on which of them is better than the other. And they debated about whispers (of the devils) and thoughts of the mind, and about fighting against the nafs and suppressing one’s desires.”

Those were the debates and discussions of the people of the Salaf, whereas by Ibn Qutayba’s time, as he shows in comparison, debates were about philosophical terms about Allah and other such matters in which the minds were blind, and “their desires led them to perdition.”

And where are we, the people of this modern age, from the states of the Salaf. Where are our preoccupations in comparison to theirs?

Partly as an attempt to revive- if only for an instant- the spirit and states of our pious ancestors, and partly as a way to bring together my thoughts on certain hadiths that I think I have finally understood, I write this post about poverty.

Poverty Vs. Wealth

As mentioned by Ibn Qutayba, this was a matter that was much debated by our earliest predecessors. The Shaykh al-Hujwiri in his masterpiece Kashf al-Mahjub, devotes a chapter to this topic, and presents the arguments of Sufis from both sides of the debate.

Some said that wealth was superior because it was an attribute of Allah. An attribute of man that is shared with Allah is superior to one that is not shared with Allah.

But the response of others was that the term wealth may be applied to Allah, but that Man has no right to it. Man can only be rich in a metaphorical sense but not really so. It is important to note here that the Arabic word for wealth, ghina, literally means “not needing anything”.

After going through other arguments, al-Hujwiri concludes in favor of poverty through an analysis of two Quranic verses, saying:

When God commanded us to be thankful for prosperity He made thankfulness the means for increasing our prosperity; but when He commanded us to be patient in adversity He made patience the means of drawing nigh unto Himself. He said, “Verily if ye return thanks, I will give you an increase” and “God is with the patient.”

That is a beautiful argument. However, for someone like the much later shaykh Ahmad ibn Idris (d.1837), a man of the salaf among the khalaf, all this argumentation based on reasoning and interpretation was unnecessary. For a Mohammadan Sufi like himself, there was never a need for debate: The Prophet Muhammad, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, chose the life of poverty over wealth. Then that is the superior one. It is as simple as that.

Voluntary Vs Compulsory Poverty

The people of long ago also discussed the differences between people who were compelled, by Divine decree and forces beyond their control, to live the life of poverty, and those who chose it. They discussed, for example, what each of these scenarios means for the question of whether or not it is acceptable to accept charity from others.

However this is not our concern here.

My personal concern was with understanding the following sayings of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam,

“Poverty for those among you who love me comes quicker than a flood from the top of the mountain to the bottom.”

and similarly, when a man said to him “O Messenger of Allah, I love you!”, he said, “Take care what you say!” The man repeated, “By Allah, I love you!” three times. So the Messenger replied, “If you love me, then prepare for poverty quickly.”

For a long time I struggled to understand these sayings.. How could it be so? Why would Allah cause poverty to those who love His beloved? And how can that be reconciled with the agreement of the scholars that repetition of Salaat on the Prophet, Salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, is protection from poverty?

This is based on the saying of the Messenger himself that “Salaat on me banishes poverty.” Salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam!

It is also based on many other hadiths and reports that say that salaat on him brings all that is good, and removes all causes of worry and concern.

Aren’t the people who repeat the salaat most on the Prophet, those who love him the most? Then how could they be stricken with poverty when the salaat banishes it?

But now I think I understand, alhamdulillah, that Salaat on the Prophet is protection from compulsory poverty- Involuntary poverty. If you repeat it a lot, then Allah will never strike you with poverty that you do not want, that causes you worry and concern. Insha’Allah.

However, because of your love of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam and his Sunna, you will choose it for yourself.

Thus poverty will come to you because you will want to be like him, the most generous of all of Allah’s creations.

And poverty will come to you because you will want to live like him, for he chose the life of poverty when he could have lived like the kings of Persia and Byzantium.

And poverty will come to you because you will love to spend your money on the poor and on the orphans.

And poverty will come to you because you will want little to do with this world, hoping instead for nearness to the Messenger in the afterlife. Salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

But in all these cases, you are not really poor. If you choose to be poor, then that is not really poverty. If you love giving all your money away, like Abu Bakr al-Siddique and Uthman ibn Affan, then that is not poverty. If you are not concerned about how little you have, then that is not poverty.

Abu Bakr’s Love
Sayyidna Abu Bakr said to the Prophet, “Of this world, I love three things: Looking at you, sitting in front of you, and spending my money on you.” And he did just that: he spent all of his money on the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

Thus al-Hujwiri says that Abu Bakr, who “is the foremost of all mankind after the prophets- and it is not permissible that anyone should take precedence of him- set voluntary poverty above compulsory poverty.” That is why, al-Hujwiri explains, “this doctrine (of the superiority of voluntary poverty over compulsory poverty) is held by all the Sufi shaykhs….”.

And may Allah continuously whelm the Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdallah, and his family in Salaat and Salaam that are protection from involuntary poverty. And may these salawaat lead to true and sincere love of the Messenger salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, a love that would make one want to give all their money away for the sake of seeing his blessed face.

The story’s protagonist is the Monkey King: a great and unbeatable kung fu warrior, who realizes one day that that he will eventually die. So he leaves his kingdom and travels the world in search for immortality.

Finally, in the Mountain of Heart and Mind, he finds a Taoist master and asks him for immortality. “You must learn either Buddhism, Confucianism, or Taoism,” insists the master. But the wild and rude Monkey King insists on getting immortality without doing any hard work. Eventually the Taoist master decides to give him certain powers like flight and other forms of magic.

Then the Monkey King dives into the ocean and forces the Old Dragon King to give him weapons and armor, with which he wages a revolt against Heaven. The Monkey King demands recognition as a great sage, and when he sees that he is not invited to a banquet in Heaven, he wages war against the other gods and sages, declaring himself a Great Sage Equal to Heaven. The Queen Mother of Heaven requests Buddha’s intervention, who enslaves him for 500 years.

Eventually the Monkey King, as well as other creatures who fell from Heavenly grace, are offered a chance at redemption if they would help the young Buddhist monk Tripitaka get the Buddhist scriptures, or sutras.

The five characters join forces, journeying together as pilgrims. Some scholars interpret them as representing five human frailties and strengths (the pig represents lust for food and sex, for example). Their journey is an allegory of self perfection.

At one point, the Monkey King has to rescue the young monk from falling for the Spider Woman’s sexual seductions. “You must rescue the monk before losing his virginity!” begs him one of the characters in horror. “He deserves it!” retorts the angry Monkey King, who had been unfairly treated by the monk. The audience burst out in laughter at the “horror” of the monk losing his virginity.

On that note I would like to quote the Sufi and Hanbali scholar Ahmad al-Wasiti. He says in his Key to the Path of the Awliya,

Whoever Allah graces with protecting his chastity in the very prime of his youth, his innermost self (sirr) shall become a repository of knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual states. Whoever protects his private parts while in his prime, Allah will bequeath to him wisdom when he reaches middle-age and fidelity in his old age- all according to his disposition. Allah the Mighty and Majestic shall also clothe him in hayaa’, demureness, serenity and dignity, as well as instill love for him in the hearts of the believers.

Eventually, the pilgrims arrive in the West, which is Paradise (and India), and obtain the scrolls, at which point they are given high ranks by Buddha. The monk becomes Buddha of Purest Merit while the Monkey King becomes Buddha Victorious in Strife/Battle.

All in all, I thought it was a great production. Not quite as “life-enhancing” as one review made it out to be, but interesting. It gave two of my friends an idea about the journeys of the spiritual seekers, which is a good starting point. They even noticed some similarities with what I had told them about in Sufism. At the same time, for a play aiming to teach about the importance of resisting sexual temptation, saying “I love only Allah!” (ok they said “I love only Buddha”), some of the women in the cast were made to be way too seductive. But it’s about business in the end, isn’t it? Astaghfirullah for seeing that.

And may Allah whelm in Salaat, Salaam, and blessings, His Messenger Muhammad, who revealed to us the most perfect path of spiritual growth and purification, and revealed to him in His glorious Book:

And that if they should keep to the tariqa (way), We would certainly give them to drink of abundant water (72:16).

So said the ummi Prophet, salla allahu alayhi wa sallam.

Ibn Kathir said: “Meaning: we do not need books or calculations for our worship and its times. And He Most High said, {It is He who raised a messenger among the ummi people}” (2)

Ummi, as you know, is not limited in meaning to “illiterate”. It also means without scripture. It also means unlearned. The early Muslim community that we take as role models were an ummi nation in more than one sense. Firstly, their culture was oral, not literal. The effects of our transition from the first to the other, and all that we lost- and sometimes gained- from that transition, are a topic for another day. It’s an ocean all on its own, of philosophical and psychological discussion. But one thing is certain: we can never go back to being an oral culture, and that means knowing that we can never really be just like those first Muslims that we aspire to imitate.

Instead, I want to talk about another type of ummiyya that we lost. The first Muslims, just like the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam described them, did not need books or calculations to know what month they were in, or what day of the month, or the times of prayer. They didn’t need any of that because they were capable of reading another book: the book of nature.

As for me, I need to check the prayer times on the internet 5 times a day to be certain of the time periods for each Salaat. That is a grave weakness.

I went to Wadi Rum (3) in Jordan in August this year to see a shower of shooting stars. Our guide explained to us how the Bedouin there teach their young children how to read the stars and how to know the different times of the day. That way they can herd the sheep on their own, and know when to go back home. And should they stay too late, they would know how to navigate their way back home by way of the stars.

The Qur’an repeatedly tells us that the stars are there for our guidance, and yet most of us have lost the ability to use them. As a very wise man once said to me, the stars are not only a source of guidance for physical travel: they also provide guidance for the spiritual wayfarer, if he only knew how to benefit from gazing at them. (4)

When I was being taught the introductory treatise on Maliki fiqh in Fas, I found it difficult to memorize or truly understand the ways in which to tell when the Asr Salaat began, for example, and or the Isha Salaat. It was all about reading the position of the sun in the sky, or about measuring the length of your shadow, etc. I began thinking about the need for making a more “relevant” edition of this manual, that removes all unnecessary topics that don’t apply anymore like slavery for example, or those ancient methods of knowing the prayer times.

But now I realize just how wrong I was. Instead, I should learn to “read” the positions of the sun, and the lengths of my shadow, and the positions of the stars. And until I can do that, I am suffering from a terrible loss. Until then, I am not an ummi, in the positive sense that was described by the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, but a slave to the book and calculations. And who am I kidding? Even if I had a book I wouldn’t be able to calculate anything. If I stepped outside the comfort of a town I wouldn’t be able to locate the Qibla or know when to pray. I would be in nature, but out of touch with it.

Maybe we should work on becoming ummis again.

And may Allah whelm the ummi Prophet and his family and companions with Salaat, Salaam, and blessings, as many times as the count of the stars that were created, like them, for our guidance.

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(1) Bukhari, Muslim, and related many times in the Musnad of Ibn Hanbal.

(2) See Ibn Kathir’s tafseer, aya 2:78. The aya quoted is 62:2.

(3) Originally known as Iram, which is mentioned in the Qur’an. It is due to Lawrence of Arabia’s ineptitude that the word has been changed to Rum.

(4) See for example this discussion of the significance of the constellation of the Bear: nuruddinzangi.blogspot.com/2008/01/taosim-and-qutbs.html

And I ask Allah to whelm our Messenger Muhammad in Salaat and Salaam: the Light that was mentioned before the Book in order for us to know that it is only through him that we receive the Book, and through his light and guidance that we properly understand it.

My shaykh, the Azhari imam of great fame, the great commentator of the Qur’an, sayyidi Saleh al-Jaafari al-Husayni, has in his poetry instructed his students to obtain an ijaza in Quranic recitation from a master of recitation, in order to spread the light of the Qur’an in the different parts of the world.

And so I have begun to look into the different recitations in order to decide on one to study. There are seven different recitations that are all considered to be the Qur’an. That is because they

1) Are related back to the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam) in a mutawatir chain of transmission, meaning that at every single degree of the chain, all the way from the reciter who made them famous, up until the Prophet Muhammad, they are related by a very large number of people, which guarantees their authenticity.

2) They agree completely with the written Qur’an, without any differences whatsoever.

3) They conform to the syntactic rules of the Arabic language.

However the seven recitations come to us through different students of their main teachers, which gives us different styles of these recitations.

The most famous recitation today is that of Asim as related by his student Hafs. This Hafs recitation comes from Kufa.

However I am more interested in the recitation of Nafi’, the reciter of Madina, which we get through two students: Warsh and Qaloon.

But first, why Nafi?

Nafi’ ibn Abi Nu’aym

The most simple answer is: He was the reciter of Madina.

In the words of Imam Malik, “The Qur’an was not revealed on the Euphrates.” Now that was said about where to obtain proper fiqh and hadith, because Malik saw that the Sunna was preserved better in Madina than the cities of Iraq, however I still see the quote as relevant.

And when Imam Malik was asked a question regarding the recitation of the Qur’an he said,

“In any knowledge, question its proper people. Nafi’ is the Imam of the people in recitation.”

He also said, “The recitation of the people of Madina is sunna.” He was asked, “The recitation of Nafi’?” He replied, “Yes.”

In fact Imam Malik was a student of Nafi’ both in Quran recitation and in hadith.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked by his son which of the recitations he preferred and he said, “The recitation of the people of Madina.”

The Smell of Musk

Abu Amr ad-Dani related to us,

“A man among those who learned recitation with Nafi’ said, “When Nafi’ spoke, the fragrance of musk could be smelt from his mouth. I said to him, ‘Abu Abdullah! Do you use perfume whenever you sit to recite to the people?’ He replied, ‘I do not touch perfume, but I saw in a dream that the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, was reciting into my mouth and from that moment I have smelt this fragrance from my mouth.’”

Al-Musayyabi informed us,

“It was said to Nafi’, ‘How resplendent your face is and how handsome your physique!’ He replied, ‘How could it not be when the Messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, breathed on me and I recited the Qur’an (i.e. in the dream).’”

Qaloon Means Good

Now that I have decided on Nafi’, I have to decide between the two most famous students who took from him: Warsh and Qaloon.

The Warsh recitation is the second most popular one today, so you’d think I’d go for that. But I won’t and here’s why…

Warsh was a reciter from Egypt, who recited to Nafi’ the recitation of the people of Egypt, to which Nafi’ approved. Therefore they say that it’s not really a recitation from Nafi’, but a recitation from Egypt. It just gained Nafi’s approval. However I was told by an Imam of recitation that it is much more beautiful and pleasing to hear than the Qaloon one.

As for Qaloon: His recitation is the closest one to Nafi’s. His real name was Isa, and he was of Roman descent. His mother ended up marrying Nafi’, and Nafi’ gave his stepson the nickname Qaloon, which meant “good” in Roman. Qaloon lived with Nafi’ and kept reciting the Qur’an at his hands for more than twenty years, after which Nafi’ said to him, “Until when are you going to keep taking the Qur’an from me?” And he made him teach at a certain pillar of the Mosque of the Prophet and sent students to him.

So if you want the most authentic recitation of the people of Madina, from the Imam of the Qur’an Reciters, you will get it through Qaloon.

Qaloon is also much simpler than Warsh, having less rules. And perhaps it is fitting for all the non-Arabs learning the Qur’an today to take the recitation of a Roman: It might be more suited for a Western tongue than any other. It’s also much closer than Warsh to the recitation of Hafs that the majority follow, which is a big bonus.

The only negative, as I was told, is that it won’t give you the same pleasure to recite it and hear it as Warsh would.

But if it’s the closest one to the recitation of the man into whose mouth the Messenger salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam recited, then that’s the one I want. Now I just have to make time for it and dig deep into my soul to extract the necessary power of dedication. Take the Book with power! (Qur’an 19:12).

May Allah bless me and bless all of us in our time, so that we are able to seek this sacred knowledge and become transmitters of the Qur’an, Allah’s final message to humanity.

I was thinking about this today, because I’ve been seeing a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Now I don’t think it’s wrong to see a non-Muslim doctor, and this was practiced by Muslim rulers for hundreds of years of Muslim history. But I did think it would be optimal if I could find a good practitioner of traditional Islamic medicine, or Tibb. As this system developed out of ancient Greek medicine, and evolved at the hands of great Muslim physicians as well as Sufis, it has alternatively been given names like Greco-Arabic (Unani) or Sufi Humoral medicine. An amazing introduction to this system of Medicine is laid out in Hakim Chishti’s Book of Sufi Healing.

So here I was wondering if I could find a reliable Unani practitioner this afternoon; and then I find myself listening to a talk by one such practitioner tonight! His name is Hakeem Salim Khan, and he came from Leicester to London to give a talk about this tonight. See (www.themohsininstitute.com). This friend of mine had planned to go there, and he was in the area near me, with 30 minutes to kill, so he thought he’d ring me, and it’s the first time he ever called me. So I ask him what’s he’s doing later tonight and.. You know. SubhanAllah. (But I did think about this same matter and the same saying a couple days ago as well so I’m not saying this is miraculous or anything).

After his talk, I asked the hakeem (which is an Arabic word for doctor- except its literal meaning is “wise man” because in Islamic medicine a doctor should be far more than what modern day doctors are) a question. I said how do you compare Islamic medicine to Chinese medicine.

His answer was beautiful. He said that Muslim thinkers have offered two explanations for the ancient medical knowledge in the world. The dominant explanation is that these systems of medicine, all over the world, were revealed by Allah in ancient times, so that people know how to stay healthy.

This is an idea that I had read about before- I think I saw a passing mention of the idea in one of the works of Shaykh Abu Bakr Siraj al-Din or maybe Rene Guenon or both. The argument was that these complete systems of Medicine that dealt with soul, mind, and body, could not have been discovered through study. Things like Meridians and the benefits of particular herbs, etc, and the idea that sticking a needle in one spot of the ear or of the foot can cure a corresponding organ of the body, etc.. all of this is not something you discover. It has to have been revealed through Prophets or inspired to sages.

In fact there are many famous Sufi hakeems in Islamic history who are said to have heard the different plants “tell them” what they can cure, including the personal hakeem of Muhammad al-Fateh, conqueror of Constantinople. And in the case of revelation, we know what the Qur’an says about honey and what the Prophet Muhammad salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said about certain plants and seeds, etc.

So these ancients systems of Medicine, or parts of them, were revealed along with the ancient religions of the world. I’m gonna stick with my Chinese doctor for now, so as to not cause any mixing of approaches, but maybe one day I’ll take a little trip to Leicester.

And as-Salaatu was-Salaamu upon the most noble of the mursaleen (Messengers), our master Muhammad, and upon his family and descendants until the Yawm al-Deen.

I stood this Sunday morning in London’s V&A Museum before three magnificent pieces of silk in the Islamic Arts section. The most wonderful in design and color was a red band from the Honored Kaaba, dating from the 1800s, because for hundreds of years the Kaaba’s covering was green- not black- in color, with a red band instead of the gold of today.

The two others were green pieces of the silk that once covered the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam). The first from 1517-1600, and the second from 1600 to 1700. For a hundred years each, these pieces of silk were exposed to all the blessings and mercies that were sent down from Allah upon the Noble Messenger, and to the majestic lights that rose up, emanating from the Light of the Worlds himself, Salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

Ever since Abbasid times, the coverings of the Honored Kaaba and the Noble Chamber were made in Egypt; at one point in history the latter was being changed every five years. But after the reign of the Ottomans in the lands, the coverings of the inside of the Kaaba and of the Prophetic Chamber were made in Turkey, while the outer covering of the Kaaba remained the work of Egypt.

But the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abd al-Aziz bin Abd al-Rahman Aal Saud, ordered that a factory be created in Mecca to manufacture these coverings from his day forward. Journalist Omar al-Midwahy, whose writings focus on the two Holy Sanctuaries and other important Islamic sights, was able to interview in Mecca two of the men who worked on the last covering of the Prophetic Chamber and its installation.

On the occasion of this servant’s viewing of the blessed coverings, and hoping for forgiveness and acceptance from His Lord, he will attempt to translate this interview that reveals some of the secrets of the majestic chamber of Allah’s Beloved, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, hoping to gain the favor of Allah and to one day be counted among the servants (khuddam) of His Messenger, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

Omar al-Midwahy says to Alarabiya.net:

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The Conversations of Tears and Reverence

I still remember the conversations with the two old men in Mecca, while looking at their weaving. I was in Mecca, so I headed toward the factory of the covering of the Kaaba, and there I learned that the factory has another honor, for it produces also a covering for the Prophetic Chamber.

I met at that time- several years ago- with men who partook in the production and installation, and I didn’t want to waste that opportunity as their youngest was in his sixties and I feared that they would leave this world before I could document this work.

I recorded with them conversations that were mixed with tears and reverence; sometimes words would betray them, and at others, their emotions would choke them, as they spoke of their unique experience. Their limbs shook from just the memory- as if it happened yesterday- and not a quarter of a century ago.

Shaykh Muhammad Ali Madani, head of the automated weaving division of the factory at that time, was generous with me. I learned from him that he was one of those who took part in weaving and installing the covering of the Prophetic Chamber. I said to him, tell me about the covering and the Prophetic Chamber- describe them to me.

His sight wandered far, as if he was bringing those treasured memories before him. Then he answered: On that day, I felt a state of complete amazement take over me. It is a grand spot- of utmost grandeur. I do not know its exact circumference, but it seemed to me that the Prophetic Chamber was 48 meters in circumference.

The awe of the place was so overbearing that nothing attracted my attention. I was so dazzled that I only saw the lamps hanging from the chamber ceiling, which were old gifts that would be given to the Mosque of the Prophet in ancient times. I was told that there were some Prophetic relics that were kept in another place- I don’t know where- but I do know that some historical items were kept in the chamber of sayyida Fatima al-Zahraa- the same place that she lived in.

He added: the chamber covering is a weave made of pure silk, green in color, padded with a strong cotton cloth, and it is crowned by a belt similar to that of the covering of the Honored Kaaba, except that it is red in color. A quarter of its space is taken up by an embroidery of noble Quranic verses from Surat al-Fath, made of lines of cotton and wires of gold and silver…

The covering of the Prophetic Chamber is not changed every year like the covering of the Honored Kaaba, because it is kept inside the chamber and far from the hands of the people and of the elements, and so it is only changed when needed.

Then I met shaykh Ahmad Sahirty, head of the embroidery division of the factory. It was apparent to me - back then- how old he was, and how weak his vision. He took the initiative, saying: How can I speak to you about my feelings at the moment I entered the Prophetic Chamber… I can’t.. That is a speech above my abilities of speech, and I never thought that I would one day be asked about this experience. And I guarantee you that I will not be able to go through it again.

When the Doors Were Opened

He drew nearer to me and added: Look at the lenses of my spectacles- and he pointed at their thickness- and look at my white hair and the weight of the years that I carry. My age I do not count, but I’ve heard them say that I was born in the year 1333 A.H. (1917 C.E.). And in all those years, I did not know a single hobby other than the love of beautiful scents and perfumes. I’ve spent such a long period of time in those years that I’ve lived, trying to satiate that voracious appetite that is still with me; I traveled much and learned much, but I can tell you this with confidence: that I have my own special blends that you will not find with anyone else, and that no one else could ever make.

And I tell you this because I discovered my inability and the meagerness of my knowledge on that blessed night, when the doors were opened to us, and we entered the Prophetic Chamber, and I inhaled perfumes and scents that I have never known before, and have never known since. I still do not know the secret of its composition: it was a scent above scents, an aroma above and beyond aromas- something else that us people of expertise, the people of the trade, have never experienced before.

When I asked him to describe to me the Prophetic Chamber, a slight chill struck him and coursed through his body. And he said in a faint voice: I believe that the chamber is 11 meters in height. Below the green dome is another dome on which is written: “The tomb of the Prophet, the tomb of Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, and the tomb of Umar ibn al-Khattab”. And I saw also that there was another tomb that was empty, and next to the four tombs was the chamber of sayyida Fatima al-Zahraa, which is the house in which she lived.

From our awe we didn’t know how to remove the special pieces made for the dome- our fingers would shake and our breaths would race. We stayed 14 full nights working from after the Isha prayer until the first adhaan of the Fajr, in order to finish our task. We kept removing the pieces, untying the knots of the old covering, and cleaning all the dust and pigeon feathers that were stuck in that pure place. This scene goes back to the year 1971 C.E., and the covering that we changed was old: it was 75 years old according to the date that was weaved on it, and had never been changed since.

I was the first to enter, with the Sayyid Habib, one of the notables of al-Madina al-Munawwara, As’ad Sheera the director of religious endowments of Madina at the time, and Habib Moghrabi from the factory management, and Abd al-Karim Flomban, Nasir Qari, Abd al-Rahim Bukhari and others. We were 13 men, I don’t remember most of them, for they have left unto the Mercy of Allah.

We were accompanied by the chief of the Aghas who kept the keys to the Prophetic Chamber, and a number of the servants of the Chamber. Whispering was our speech, and that was if signaling was not sufficient. I was, and still am, suffering from weakness of vision and these spectacles have not left my eyes since those days, but in that chamber I was another person… I felt it, and the difference was clear to me.

Strange Happenings

The shaykh Sahirti swore, saying: I used to put the thread into the hole of the needle without my spectacles, despite the dim light in which we worked. How do you explain that? And how do you explain the fact that I didn’t feel the allergy that I suffered - and still suffer- from? Because I cough severely from the slightest bit of dust. But that day, I was not affected by the dust of the chamber, or the sand flying into the air. As if sand was no longer sand, and as if the dust became a medicine for my ailment. I used to feel all during those nights that I was a young man, and that youthfulness had been given back to me.

Another strange thing happened to me whose secret I haven’t understood until today. We had to take out the old covering, and it was carried by whoever carried it. The embroidered band, 36 meters long, remained. I said to them wrap it and leave it. I went up to it, and despite my weakness, carried it over this shoulder. I went out of the Prophetic Chamber with it, without ever feeling its weight. But after that, they came with five young men to carry it from where I had put it down and they couldn’t.

The shaykh began to weep silently and continued, while sighing: Someone asked who carried it and brought it here. I replied saying: me. They didn’t believe me. I said to them: Ask Abd al-Rahim Bukhari, the famous calligrapher of the covering.

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[Source]

And may Allah continuously whelm the Messenger and his family with Salawaats, Peace, Blessings, and Light, until the day in which his brother Messenger, Isa son of Mary, is buried in that fourth empty grave of the Prophetic Chamber, and yet even after that, and forever.

Written by Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari al-Husayni

Right-Click on the words “Ya Qiblati” and click Save As.. in order to download.

If using a Mac, that would be Ctrl+Click, then Save Link As…

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Translation:

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[Intimate call to Allah:]

You are my obligatory worship, and voluntary devotion

You are the subject of my speech, and my preoccupation

O Qibla of my Prayer, whene’er I stand in worship.

I left behind all uns in others, and came to seek uns in myself.

(For) You are the one who’s near to me, without sense and without touch.

I ascended toward the Heavens, I left behind the Earth of the physical.

I called out: O Lord, forgiveness! Forgive my sins and my impurity!

I am the needy one who asks You when alone, O Lord, for uns in the Divine.

Witnessing You is Bliss itself, it is my objective, my wedding celebration

O Him whose door is always open, Whose door I never leave,

Seeking to taste a drink that is most sweet for the people of my kind.

[Advice to the Seeker:]

The nights cry over the loss of men, who stayed up in Dhikr and study.

They were as the moons of the night, they were as the morning, as the sun.

From Allah they gained glory, before entering their graves.

If you want to live a happy life, then let your ship cast anchor,

On the sandhill of Arrival, where the virtuous spend their nights.

There: fulfill your hopes; let not despair lead you astray.

Enter with a heart that’s sound, and look with heart and feeling.

Forbid sleep to your eyes, and in sanctity recite the Book.
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-The first lines (in bold font) were taken from a much celebrated poem by the Sultan of the Lovers, Ibn al-Farid.

Well, there are so many things I would like to write about here. But for everything I want to write, I then realize that the perfect quote or the needed information is in one of my books in Jordan. And so I end up writing nothing.

That just goes to show (my self) that I have no real knowledge… I only have knowledge of where to find real knowledge. Rabbi zidni ‘ilma!

At the same time, Ibn Arabi, in his famous lines of poetry which appear outside his tomb in Damascus, claims to be the man for every age.

I think it would be great to study the fiqh of these two great men and its importance for the modern world.

Ibn Arabi and Ibn Taymiyyah have a lot in common. They disagree with the majority opinion of scholars on many topics, in which their views in these topics are very similar, if not identical.

In fact, Ibn Taymiyyah said that he benefitted greatly from Ibn Arabi’s Futuhat. It was only his Fusus which he found unacceptable. Now it is a known historical fact that some batini sects inserted their own corrupted beliefs into the Futuhat, forcing Ibn Arabi to come to court with his own original manuscript to prove himself innocent of these passages. So If only Ibn Taymiyyah called the book (or his understanding of it) to be kufr, instead of Ibn Arabi himself… Many other works of Ibn Arabi were greatly misunderstood by Ibn Taymiyyah. I read his great work Risalat al-Furqan, and the only problem in that book is the passage that attacks Ibn Arabi, where Ibn Taymiyyah has clearly misunderstood what Ibn Arabi was saying. I was actually surprised at how such a brilliant mind as Ibn Taymiyya’s couldn’t grasp what Ibn Arabi was trying to say about that particular topic.

So if you put aside the issues on which Ibn Taymiyya attacked Ibn Arabi unfairly, you will find great similarity between them, especially in particular opinions of fiqh.

In the 19th century, the Emir Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri, having become the world’s greatest hero of his time, retired to Syria, and formed around him a circle of scholars. He taught these scholars from the books of his own spiritual guide, Ibn Arabi.

These scholars, the students of Ibn Arabi’s thought via Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza’iri, are actually the founders of the Salafi movement in Syria in the 19th century. They are the ones that rediscovered Ibn Taymiyya’s importance, found all his manuscripts in the libraries of Syria, and published them. They were the ones that preached the gospel of Ibn Taymiyyah, so to speak. For them, Ibn Taymiyyah provided all the necessary answers for the revival of the Ummah. As I said, he was the Imam of the Future.

And yet when their overzealous followers, who were perhaps less intellectually capable, or simply not as well read, attacked Ibn Arabi, they rushed to his defense, even criticizing Ibn Taymiyyah for attacking him.

(See the relevant section in Itzchak Weismann’s Taste of Modernity: Sufism and Salafiyya in Late Ottoman Damascus.)

Another great figure of the 19th century, who had met the great Abd al-Qadir when still young and predicted his future greatness, is Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi. Al-Sanusi spread the Ahmadiyya Muhammadia order in Libya, which would later be known as the Sanusiyya movement.

He wrote a great but little known work in defense of ijtihad, arguing, among other things, that the gate of ijtihad never closed. One of the most interesting things about that work is that it combines extensive quotes of Ibn Arabi and Ibn Taymiyyah, because they both agree on that issue.

So since they also agree on many matters of fiqh, maybe someone should combine the opinions of the Imam of the Future and the Imam of Every Age. That, I think, would be most interesting. Perhaps, following in the footsteps of Imam al-Sanusi, who is one of my spiritual ancestors, I will begin such work, if Allah gives me the power, time, and motivation.

I read about these ancient opinions on these things, and I wonder why they don’t come up in the discourse, not even on the side of the “orthodox”. If only these opinions were known, there wouldn’t be so much argument. It makes it feel like all the modern debates today are completely unwarranted… Surprisingly enough, Ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullah, seems to have some of the most enlightening insights on these matters.

They sometimes call Abu Hanifa the Imam of the Age, because many of his ideas of so long ago, having been formulated in a cosmopolitan setting, are far more fitting for the modern age than the opinions of other schools that were formulated in more conservative settings.

I think that Ibn Taymiyyah -properly understood, because he’s been so horribly misunderstood by so many who think they’re his followers- also deserves that title. He has such great insights and explanations of so many of these controversial issues of modern times. Perhaps he can be the Imam of the Modern Age, or the Imam of the Future. But he’s not the only one… We really need to go back to our great scholars of the past, and take a sip from their oceans.

Maybe one day, if I feel that I have the time and resources, I will dedicate a page to Ibn Taymiyya’s opinions on all these issues. I’ll try to write about them, one by one, every once in a while, until I combine them all in one page.