Part 11

which means, "Verily, | am going to place (mankind) generations after generations on earth." (Al-Baqarah, 2:30)

And He, the Almighty says,

62 * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

which means, " Go, and whosoever of them follows

Whatever faced the sons of Adam during this worldly life is the purpose of their existence. They are humans and will follow Satan sometimes so they will have to repent. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you did not commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace you with those who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would pardon them."

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which means, "And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you." (Al-Baqarah, 2:216)

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created himwith His hands), nor pride (as Allah breathed into him from His spirit), instead he obtained benefit through humility to Allah. As Allah says that Adam said,

which means, "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves." (Al-

As it was once said: when he obeyed in wearing the clothes of monotheism on his thankful body, the arrows of his enemies did not kill him, they wounded him but he mended, so it returned as it was and the wounded man stood up as if he had not had any pain.

13 He is Salman Al-Farisy, who was a great companion. His roots went back to Magus of Asbahan. He was brought up in a village called Jiyan. He read the books of the Persians, the Romans, and the Jews. He traveled to Arab countries, met the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Quba' Mosque, embraced Islam, and the Muslims helped him until he freed himself from slavery. He died (may Allah be pleased with him) in 36 A.D. See Usd Al-Ghabah, vol.2, p. 417, Tajrid Asma’ As-Sahabah, vol.1, p.230, Al-Ist?'ab, vol.2, p.634, Al-isabah,

‘* al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah bin ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Makhzam. He was from the judges of Arabia during the Pre-Islamic era and from the chiefs of Quraish. He showed enmity toward Islam and resisted it. He died three months after emigration. See Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah, vol.3, p.246.

64 * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

Now we shall recount the story of Salm4n Al-Farisy, and we should start from the beginning. We mentioned that he was a Majian as were all his countrymen. He knew about Christianity and converted to it. He argued with his father and beat him with proofs so his father tied him up as punishment. This indeed, is the way of the people of evil. Fir'awn (Pharaoh) responded in the same way with Mtisa (Moses, peace be upon him). Allah says that Fir'awn said,

which means, "Fir'awn (Pharaoh) said: “If you choose an i/ah (god) other than me, | will certainiy put you among the prisoners." (Ash-Shu'ara’, 26:29)

Al-Jahmiyyah’” also did the same with Imam Ahmad and whipped him. The people of innovations imprisoned lbn Taimiyah. Salman was persecuted like them. After escaping from his father’s clutches, Salman found a caravan that was

"8 Bilal bin Rabah Al- -Habashy, Abu ‘Abdullah. He was the Mu'adhin (caller to prayer) of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the guardian of the public treasury. He witnessed all the battles and passed away in Damascus 20 A.H. See Usd Al-Ghabah, vol.1, p.246, Tajrid Asma’ AsSahabah, vol.1, p.56, Ab-sti’b, vol.1, p.178, Al-isabah, vol.1, p.326.

They are a devious group that claim to be Muslims. Its principle is to deny the attributes of Allah. It claims that Hell and Paradise will perish and that faith means to know Allah while being ignorant. They are the followers of Jahm bin Safwan Ar-Rasiby. See Sharh Al-'Agidah At-Tahawiyah, p.522.

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Lessons and Warnings e Sins are wounds and one wound may cause death.

e lf your mind was free from the manipulation of your whims, the authority would return to it (mind).

e If you indulge in pleasure, you are gambling with your life.

e if you see a forbidden act, know that it will start a war, and you should protect yourself as Allah says,

66 * AL-FAWA'ID: A Collection of Wise Sayings

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which means, "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do." (An-

If you do so you will be safe from the consequences. Allah says,

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which means, "Allah sufficed for the believers in the fighting." (Al-Ahzab, 33:25)

e The sea of pleasures may drown its owner and the swimmer fears to open his eyes under the water.

e Allah promised you the pleasures of the Hereafter, so do not be ina hurry and seek them in this worldly life as if you are cutting plants before their harvest time, while they are much better if you wait. Likewise, the pleasures of the Hereafter are so much better.

e Buy for yourself (through doing good deeds) while there is still a market and you have the ability to buy.

e Everyone will pass through times of sleep and neglect (following his lusts), but do not sink into sleep as the morning of the hereafter is close at hand.

e The truth will only be shown to perceptive people who will use the light of their minds to see the consequences of the matters they face.

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Get yourself out of this limited world of diseases to the wide world of the Hereafter, which has what the eyes have never seen. Nothing is impossible there, and love is not lost. O you who sold yourself for the sake of something that will cause you suffering and pain, and which will also lose its beauty, you sold the most precious item for the cheapest price, as if you neither knew the value of the goods nor the meanness of the price. Wait until you come to the Day of mutual loss and gain and you will discover the injustice of this contract. “There is no god but Allah" is something that Allah is buying. Its price is Paradise, and the Messenger is its agent, and you will be pleased to part with a small part of this worldly life to obtain it. The part you lose isa small part of something that as a whole is not worth a mosquito's wing.

You have a weak will and the path of life is hard. Adam tired on this path, NGh (Noah, peace be upon him) lamented for it, Ibrahim (Abraham peace be upon him) was thrown into the fire because of it, Isma’il (Ishmael, peace be upon him) was about to be slaughtered in its cause, Yasuf (Joseph, peace be upon him) was sold for a cheap price and was imprisoned for several years, Zakariyah (Zachary, peace be upon him) was sawed in half, Yahya (John, peace be upon him) was slaughtered, Aiydib (Job, peace be upon him) suffered distress, Dawid (David, peace be upon him) cried, ‘Isa (Jesus, peace be upon him) accompanied dangerous creatures, and Muhammad, (peace be upon him) suffered poverty and many kinds of harm. You say that you are enjoying yourself with pleasure and delight!