Part 2

Layth narrated that Mujahid said, ‘Part of it'’ is that the limbs be subservient and the gaze be lowered. When the Muslim would stand for prayer, the fear of his Lord would prevent him from turning left and right.’”’

‘Ata’ al-Khurasani said, ‘Khusha‘ refers to the humility of the heart and the subservience of the limbs.’

mentary to the verse, ‘When they stood for prayer, they faced forward in their prayer, they lowered their gaze to the place of prostration, and they knew that Allah had turned to them and so they did not look left or right.”

" Tabari, vol. 17. pg, 3.

''Tabari, vol. 17, pg. 8

"Le. standing in devout obedience (gunaf)

" Marwazi, /irzim Qadr al-Salah #138

The Meaning of Khushi‘

Zuhti said, ‘It is the quietude of the servant in his prayer.””!

Qatadah said, ‘The khushi‘ of the heart refers to fear and lowering the gaze in prayer.”

Ibn Aba Nujayh narrated that Mujahid, may Allah have mercy on him, said concerning the words of Allah, Most High,

Die SUE, “...and humbling themselves to Us.””

‘i.e. being humble and meek (#utawadi’').”*

Allah, Most High, has described the earth as having khusha‘ in his words,

RoeTrey “Among his Signs is that you see the earth laid

* Tabari, vol. 17. pg. 3 and Marwazi, Ta‘zim Qadr al-Salah #141

‘The same is recorded by ibn al-Mubarak, a/-Zuhd #169-1149 on the authority of Mujahid. ”Tabari, vol. 17, pg. 10 * Suyati, a/-Durr, vol. 10, pg. 369 and he references it to ibn Abi Shaybah, ‘Abd ibn Humayd, ibn al-Mundhir, and ibn Abi Hatim.

bare and then when We send down water on it, it quivers and swells.”*

The meaning of its quivering and swelling is that its bareness and stillness (Abushi’) has been removed and in its place vegetation grows. This then shows that the Abusha‘ that it had was stillness, lowness, and lack of growth. The same applies to the heart: when it has Ahusha’, its base desires and thoughts arising from the following of carnal lusts are laid to rest, and it breaks and submits to Allah, Mighty and Magnificent. Khushi‘ replaces the hearts remoteness, haughtiness, arrogance, and lordliness. When it settles in the heart, the limbs, organs, and motions - even the voice - are stilled. Allah, Most High, has stated that voices have khushi‘ in His words,

Ser Rgseeies seg, grees soos “Voices will be humbled before the All-Merciful and nothing but a whisper will be heard.”

The humility of voices refers to their being stilled and quieted” after being clamorous.

In a similar vein, Allah has described the faces and sight of the

* Fussilat (41): 39

as stated by ibn ‘Abbas and recorded by Suyati, a/-Durr, vol. 10, pg. 242 and he references it to ibn al-Mundhir and ibn Abi Hatim.

"ct. al-Ghashiyah (88): 2, al-Qamar (54): 7, al-Qalam (68): 43, and al-Ma'arij (70):

disbelievers with khushi‘ on the Day of Rising.” This then proves that all of these limbs can have khushi‘”

When a person affects khushi’, displaying it on his limbs while his heart is devoid of it, he has fallen prey to hypocritical khushi‘ (khushi nifaq) and this is what the Salaf would seek refuge from. One of them would say, “Take refuge with Allah from hypocritical Ahusha? When asked what it was, he replied, ‘That you see the body humble and submissive while the heart is not.”

‘Umar (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) saw a person with his head lowered and said, ‘O such-and-such raise your head for &hushu' does not extend beyond what is in the heart.’ Whoever outwardly displays more &hushi‘ than is present in his heart is guilty of hypocrisy on top of hypocrisy.”!

” Refer to Appendix 1 for a further discussion on the meaning and import of Abushii’,

“ Ahmad, a/-Zuhd, pg. 142 and ibn al-Mubarak, a/-Zuhd #143 on the authority of Aba al-Darda’.

" Bayhaqi, Sh ‘ab #6968 records a similar statement from Sufyan. Refer to Appendix Two for a discussion on hypocritical Abushii‘.

The Source of Khushi‘

The source of the Abushi‘ that takes place in the heart is the gnosis of Allah’s greatness, magnificence, and perfection. The more gnosis a person has of Allah, the more Ahushi‘he has.

The hearts vary in their &husha‘ in accordance to the gnosis they have of the One they have humbled to, and in accordance to the hearts’ witnessing the Attributes that lead to &hashi’. Some hearts are humbled by the strength of their perceiving His closeness to His servants and His seeing their innermost secrets which leads to being shy of Him, Most High, and constantly being aware of Him in every state of motion or stillness. Some hearts are humbled through their perceiving the magnificence of Allah, His greatness, and His grandeur which leads to being in awe of Him and magnifying Him. Some hearts are humbled through perceiving His perfection and beauty which leads to drowning in the love of Him and the desire to meet and see Him. Some hearts are humbled through perceiving the enormity of His seizure, vengeance, and punishment which leads to fearing Him.

He, Glorious is He, is the mender of hearts that have broken for His sake. He, Glorious is He, comes close to hearts that are filled with humility to Him in the same way that He comes close to one who is standing in prayer, privately discoursing with Him; in the same way that He comes close to one who rubs his face in

“ Hakim #861 records on the authority of Aba Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (3%) said: “When any one of you stands to pray, he is conversing with his Lord, so let him pay attention to how he speaks to Him.” It was ruled sahih by Hakim with Dhahabi agreeing, and Albani, Sabih al-Jami‘ #1538

The Source of Khushi‘

the dust when prostrating;*’ in the same way that He draws near

to the throngs of people visiting His House standing in abject humility at ‘Arafah, drawing close and boasting about them to the angels; in the same way that He comes close to His servants when they invoke Him, ask of Him, and seek His forgiveness in the early hours of the morning, and He answers their supplications and grants their requests.**

* Muslim #482 records on the authority of Aba Hurayrah that the Prophet (3g) said, “The closest a servant is to his Lord is when he is prostrating.”

“ Ibn Hibban #3853 records on the authority of Jabir that the Prophet (aig) said, “No other days are better to Allah than the first ten days of Dhi’l-Hijjah.” ‘The narrator said, ‘A man asked, “O Allah’s Messenger! Are these days better or a similar number of days of fighting in the way of Allah?” The Prophet (3%) said, “These days are better than a same number of days of fighting for the sake of Allah. No other day is better with Allah than the day of ‘Arafah when He descends to the lowest heaven and boasts of the people on earth to the inhabitants of heaven, saying, ‘Look at My servants who have come with grown hair, covered with dust, exposed to the sun, to perform Hajj. They have come by every distant road hoping for My mercy though they have not seen My punishment.’ So there is no other day than the day of ‘Arafah when more people are released from the Fire.”

Muslim #1348 records on the authority of ‘A’ishah that the Prophet (3g) said, “There is no day on which Allah releases more servants from the Fire than the Day of ‘Arafah. He comes close and then boasts to the angels saying, ‘What do they want?”

“ Bukhari #1145-6321-7494 and Muslim #756/1772-1778 record on the authority of AbG Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (3) said, “Every night, when the last third of the night remains, our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, descends to the lowest heaven and says, ‘Is there anyone who invokes Me that I may respond? In there anyone asking of Me that I may give it to him? Is there anyone who waking, My forgiveness that I may forgive him?”

There is nothing that tends to the brokenness of the servant more than closeness and response.

Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, records in his book, a/-Zuhd, with his isnad to ‘Imran ibn al-Qusayr who said, ‘Masa ibn ‘Imran said, “My Lord, where should I seek You?” He replied, “Seek Me with those whose hearts have broken for My sake. Every day I come close to them by one arm-span and were it not for this, they would surely perish.”

Ibrahim ibn al-Junaid, may Allah have mercy on him, records in his book, a/-Mahabbah, with his isnad to Ja‘far ibn Sulayman who said, ‘I heard Malik ibn Dinar saying, “Musa (‘a/ayhis-salam) asked, ‘My God, where should I seek You?’ Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, revealed to him, ‘Miisa, seek Me with those whose hearts have broken for My sake for I draw closer to them by an arm-span every day, and were it not for this, they would surely perish.” I asked Malik ibn Dinar, “What does broken hearts mean?” He replied, “I asked this question to one who rehearsed the scriptures and he said that he had asked this same question to ‘Abdullah ibn al-Salam who replied, ‘Broken hearts refers to those that have broken for the love of Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, rather than the love of anything else.”

The authentic Sunnah proves that Allah is close to the heart that is broken by His tribulation, patient at His decree, and content. Muslim records on the authority of Abi Hurayrah that the Prophet (3g) said, “Allah, Might and Magnificent, will say on the Day of Rising, ‘O son of Adam, I was ill yet you did not visit Me.’ He will say, ‘My Lord, how could I visit You while You are the Lord of the worlds!’ He will reply, ‘Did you not know that

“ Ahmad, a/-Zuhd, pg. 75

The first thing to be lost is khushi‘

such-and-such a servant of mine was ill yet you did not visit him? Did you not know that, were you to have visited him, you

would have found Me with him?””*”

Aba Nu‘aym records via the route of Damrah that ibn Shawdhab said, ‘Allah, Most High, revealed to Misa (‘a/ayhis-salam), “Do you know why, from all people, I chose you for My message and speech?” He replied, “No, my Lord.” He replied, “Because none

was as modest and humble before Me as you were.””**