1. His safeguarding him in that which would benefit him in his

worldly life such as His protecting his body, children, family and wealth. lbn 'Umar reports that the Messenger of Allah (� never left saying the following supplication when he awoke and when he went to sleep, "O Allah, I ask You for well-being in this world and in the Hereafter. 0 Allah, I ask You for pardon and well­ being in my religion, my worldly life, my family and my wealth. 0 Allah, cover my faults and dispel my fears, safeguard me against what is before me and behind me, what is to my right and to my left, and what is above me. I take refuge with Your grandeur lest I be seized from beneath me." The l:iadith was recorded by Af:imad, Abu Dawu.d, Nasa'I and ibn Majah.4 This supplication is derived from His saying, ''Everyone has a succession [of Angels] in front of him and behind him, guarding him by Allah's cornmand."5 4 A}_imad #4785, Abii Dawiid #5074, Nasa'i #5531-5532, ibn Majah #3871. It was declared �al:iil.i by ibn J:Iibban #961, l:lakim #1902 with Dhahabi agree­ ing, Albani, $apip al-Tatghib #659, and Arna'ii� et. al. Ibn I;lajr said it was }_iasan gharib as per ibn 'Allan, al-Futiipdt a/-Rabbtin!J.yah, vol. 3, pg. 109. 5 a/-Ra'd (13): 11 32 Ibn 'Abbas said, 'They are the angels who guard him by Allah's command and when the decree comes they withdraw from him.'6 'Ali (raefiyAl/tihu 'anhu) said, 'Two angels accompany every per­ son guarding him against all that has not been decreed. Then, when the decree comes, they withdraw, leaving him to it. Be­ hold, the appointed time is a fortified shield.'7 Mujahid said, 'There is no servant except that he has an angel safeguarding him against Jinn, man and harmful animals in his moments of sleep and wakefulness.

There is nothing that comes to the servant except that he says, "Away with you!" except for something that Allah has allow ed which will then afflict him.'8 2.1 Allah's Safeguarding Health & Wealth Another example of Allah's safeguarding His servant is His preserving his health, strength, intellect and w ealth. One of the Salaf said, 'The scholar does not become senile.' Another said, 'Whoever memorises the Qur>an will find his intellect blessed.' Some explained His saying, 6 Tabari #20216-20217. Suyiip, al-Durr al-Manthiir, vol. 4, pg. 614 additionally references it to 'Abdu'l-Razzaq, FaryabI, ibn al-Mundhir and ibn AbI J::latim. 7 Tabari #20247, he said this when he was told that some people had plotted his murder. 8 Tabari #20245 33 "Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low, except for those who have faith and work right­ eous deeds."9 stating that the lowest of the low referred to the decrepitude of old age.10 Abii'l-Tayyib al-Tabari exceeded the age of one hundred yet his intellect remained very much intact as did his strength. One day he leapt off a large ship he was on onto the ground. When reprimanded for this he said, 'We safeguarded these limbs from sins in our youth, so Allah has safeguarded them for us in our old age. '11 In the opposite vein, J unaid saw an old man begging people and remarked, 'This person was negligent of Allah in his youth so Allah has neglected him in his old age.' Allah will also safeguard a person, by virtue of his righteous­ ness, through his children and grandchildren.

It is said in expla­ nation of His saying, 9 al-Tin (95): 5-6 10 mentioned in "Allah created you and then will take you back again. And some of you revert to the lowest form of life so that, after having knowledge, you know nothing at all." [al-Nap/ (16): 70). cf. al-Jjajj (22): 5 This explanation was given by ibn 'Abbas and recorded by Tabari. Suyiip , ai­ Dutr, additionally references it to ibn Abi J:Iatim and ibn Mardawayh. 11 Ibn Kathir, al-Bid4Jah wa'l-Nihiiyah, vol. 1 2, pg. 80 34 "Their father was righteous." 12 that they were safeguarded by virtue of the righteousness of their father.13 MuQ.ammad ibn al-Munkadir said, 'Allah will safeguard the chil­ dren and grandchildren of a person by virtue of his righteous­ ness, He will safeguard the city he is in and the settlements sur­ rounding it. They will always be in the protection of Allah and His cover. '14 Ibn al-Musayyab said to his son, 'Son of mine, I increase my prayers because of you in the hope that I will be safeguarded through you, then he recited, "Their father was righteous." 1 5' 1Umar ibn 1Abdu'l-1Aziz said, 'There is no believer who dies except that Allah will safeguard him though his children and grandchildren.' 12 al-Kahf (18): 82 13 This was stated by ibn 'Abbas and recorded by ibn al-Mubarak, al-Zuhd #332 and'fabari. It was ruled �al:UIJ. by l:liikim #3395 with Dhahabi agreeing. 14 Abu Nu'ayrn, al-l:li/yah, vol. 3, pg. 148 and ibn al-Mubarak, al-Zuhd#330 15 al-Kah/ (18): 82 35 YaJ:iya ibn Isma'il ibn Salamah ibn Kuhayl said, 'I used to have an older sister who became confused, lost her sanity and became unruly.

She would stay in a room in the furthest part of our loft and stayed there for ten-odd years. Then at midnight, while we were sleeping, somebody knocked at the door. I said, "Who is there?" She replied, "Kajjah." I said, "My sister?" She replied, ''Yes, your sister." I opened the door and she entered the house for the first time in ten years and said, "Someone came to me in a dream and said, 'Allah has safeguarded your father, Isma'il, by virtue of your grandfather, Salamah. He has safeguarded you by virtue of your father so if you wish, supplicate to Allah and what has afflicted you shall leave you, or you can be patient and Para­ dise will be yours. Abu Bakr and 'Umar have interceded for you with Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, through the love your father and grandfather had of them.' So I said, 'If it must be one of the two, I choose patience so that Paradise can be mine. However, Allah is generous to His creation, nothing is too great for Him, and if He wishes to grant me both, He can.' So it was said to me, 'Allah has granted you both and is pleased with your father and grandfather because of their love of Abu Bakr and 'Umar.

Stand and go down,"' and Allah relieved her of her affliction.' When the servant devotes himself to obeying Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, Allah will safeguard him in that state as is re­ corded in the Musnad oflmam AJ::imad on the authority of f:Iumayd ibn Hila! on the authority of someone who said, 'I came to the Prophet (�) and he showed me a house and said, "A woman used to live here and she went out as part of a Muslim raiding party leaving behind her twelve goats and her weavers hook with which she would weave. She lost a goat from her flock and her hook and so (supplicated) , 'My Lord! You have guaranteed the safeguarding of a person who goes out in Your Way. I have lost a 36 goat of mine and my weavers hook. I implore You to return them to me!"' The Messenger of Allah (aID commented on the inten­ sity of her imploring her Lord, Blessed and Exalted. He said, "So she awoke in the morning to find her goat and hook with her and the likes of them in addition.

If you wish, go and ask her." I said, "I believe you."'16 Shayban al-Ra<! would tend to his flocks in the open fields, on the Day ofJumu<ah he would draw a line around them and go and pray the Friday Prayer. He would return to find them in the same place that he had left them.17 One of the Salaf would have a balance with which he would weigh dirhams. He heard the call for prayer and so, leaving them scattered on the ground, he went to pray. When he returned, he gathered up the money and nothing of it had been taken. 2.2 Allah's Safeguarding Against Harm Another example of Allah's safeguarding His servant is His preserving him in his worldly life from every Jinn and man who may wish to harm him. He, Most High, says, ''Whoever has taqwa of Allah - He will give him a way out and provide for him from where he does 16 Al:.imad #20664 HaythamI, vol. 5, pg. 277 said the narrators were those of the �a:t.in:i. 17 AbU Nu'aym, vol. 8, pg. 3 1 7 37 18 not expect." < A'ishah said, 'He will suffice him from the distress and worry of this world.'19 Rabt ibn Khuthaym said, 'He will provide him with a way out from everything that burdens a man.'20 < Nishah wrote to Mu<awiyah, 'If you have taqwa of Allah, He will suffice you in place of people, and if you fear people, they will not be able to avail you in anything against Allah.'21 One of the Khalifs wrote a letter to l:fakam ibn < Amr al-Ghif"ari in which he commanded him to do something that opposed the Book of Allah. In reply, l:fakam wrote to him saying, 'I looked into the Book of Allah and saw that it came before the letter of the Leader of the Believers.

If the heavens and earth were fused together seamlessly as one unit and a person were to have taqwa of Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, Allah would give him a way out. Peace.' One of them composed the following couplets, By the taqwa of Allah is one rescued Victory attained and hopes pursued Whoever has taqwa, He will provide Him a way out; this He did decide. 18 al-Taltiq (65): 2 19 Suyii.p, a/-Drmreferences this to ibn Abi Hatim 20Taban 21 Ibn Abi Shaybah, vol. 1 4, pg. 61 38 One of the Salaf wrote to his brother saying, ' ... to proceed, whoever has taqwii of Allah has safeguarded himself, and who­ _ ever neglects the taqwii of Allah has neglected himself and Allah has absolutely no need of him .' 2.3 Allah's Safegu arding Against Animals One of the amazing ways that Allah safeguards those who safe­ guard Him is that He makes animals that are normally dangerous guard a person against harm and help him. This is what happened with Saf"tnah, the freed-slave of the Prophet (�, when his boat sank and he drifted to an island. There, he saw a lion and said, 'O Abii'l-l:Iarith, I am Safinah, the freed-slave of the Messenger of Allah, so the lion walked with him and guided him along the way. Then it purred as if bidding farewell and left. '22 Abu Ibrahim al-Sa'il). fell ill at a place close to a monastery and said, 'If only I were at the door of the monastery, the monks would have come and treated me.' So a lion came and carried him on its back and dropped him by the door of the monastery; the monks, four hundred of them, saw him and accepted Islam.'23 Once, Ibrahim ibn Adham slept in a garden.

By him was a ser­ pent in whose mouth was a circle of daffodils and it remained on guard for him until he awoke. 22 Abu Nu'aym, vol. 1, pg. 369 and Tabararu, al-Kabir#6432. It was ruled �al:Ul:i by l;:lii.kim #6550 with DhahabI agreeing. 23 Dhahabi, S!Jar, vol. 11, pp. 228-229 and he said it was munkar. 39 So whoever safeguards Allah, Allah will safeguard him from predatory animals and, moreover, have those animals protect him . Whoever neglects Allah, Allah will neglect him to such an extent ·that he will be harmed by things which he expected benefit from. He may even find the closest members of his family and the most beloved harming him! One of them said, 'If I disobey Allah, I see the effects in the mannerisms of my servant and donkey.'24 He meant that his serv­ ant became unruly and disobedient and his donkey refused to carry him . All good is to be found in obeying Allah and turning towards Him All evil is to be found in disobeying Him and turning away . from Him .

One of the Gnostics said, 'Whoever leaves the door of his master will never be able to plant his feet firmly on the ground.' One of them composed the following couplets, By Allah, never have I come to visit you Except that the earth compacted before me. I have never resolved to leave your door Except that I tripped over my garment's tail. For Allah's sake! Pardon, overlook and mend My faults for my state with you is as you see. 2. The best and most noble form of preservation: Allah's safe­ guarding His servant in his religion. 24 This was stated by Fuqayl ibn 'Iyaq as in Abu Nu'aym, vol. 8, pg. 1 09 40 2.4 Allah's Safeguarding Against Doubts and Desires During his lifetime, Allah preserves the servant's religion and faith by safeguarding him against all vile doubts, misguiding in­ novations and unlawful desires. Allah also preserves his religion at the point of his death such that he dies on the religion o f Islam.

I:Iakam ibn Aban narrated that Abii Makk:I said, 'When death comes to a person it is said to the angel, "Smell his head!" The angel will say, "I smell the fragrance of the Qur,an." It will be .said, "Smell his heart!" The angel will say, "I smell the fragrance of Fasting." It will be said, "Smell his feet!" The angel will say, "I smell the fragrance of the night prayer." He safeguarded his self so Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, safeguarded him.' It was re­ corded by ibn Abi al-Dunya.25 The Two Sal; UQ.s record on the authority of al-Bara>a ibn 'Azib that the Prophet (ii) taught him to say, when going to sleep, "O Allah, if You are to take my soul, bestow mercy on it; and if you are to grant it reprieve, safeguard it with that which You safe­ guard Your righteous servants."26 25 It is also recorded as a saying of FuQ.ayl ibn 'Iyad by Abu Nu'aym, vol. 8, pg. 109 26 This is the wording of the J::iadith recorded by Bukhari #6320-7393 and Muslim #2714 on the authority of Abu Hurayah, The J::iadith of al-Bara'a is recorded by Al-Bukhari#6311-6313-7488 and Muslim#2710 with the words, "When you retreat to your bed, perform ablution in the way you would for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say, 'O Allah, I have submitted my face to you ... "' 41 The Q.adith of 'Umar mentions that that Prophet (fg) taught him to say, 'O Allah, safeguard me w ith Islam w hen standing, safeguard me w ith Islam w hen sitting and safeguard me with Islam when lying dow n. Answ er not the (request) of an envy ridden enemy concerning me.' It w as recorded by ibn I:Iibban in his $apip.21 When the Prophet (ti) would bid a traveller farewell he w ould say, "I consign your religion, trust and your final assertive deeds to Allah's care,"28 another narration mentions that he used to say, "When Allah consigns something to His care, He safeguards it." This w as recorded by Nasa'i and others.29 27 Ibn l:Iibban #934 with a 9a'if isnad. It has a supporting l}adith recorded by J:lakim #1924 on the authority of ibn Mas'iid with the words, "O Allah, safeguard me with Islam when standing, safeguard me with Islam when sitting, safeguard me with Islam when lying down. Do not cause an enemy or envier to rejoice (at a misfortune that befalls me). 0 Allah, I ask You for every good, the treasure of which is in Your hand, and I take refuge with You from every evil, the treasure of which is in Your hand." SuyiiJi, al-Jami' al-$aghir#1486 said it was �al}il:i and Albani, al-$apipah #1 540 ruled it l}asan due to both l:iadiths supporting each other. 28 Tirmidhl #3442-3443, Abii Dawiid #2600, Nasa'i, 'Amal alYawm wa'l-Laylah #524, ibn Majah #2826 on the authority of ibn 'Umar. Tirmidhl said it was l}asan i?aQlQ gharib, i t was declared �al).t"'Q by ibn J:Iibban #2693 and J:Iakim #2475 with Dhahabi agreeing.

Ibn 'Asakir, MuJam ai-ShttJiikh, vol. 2, pg. 780 said it was l}asan as did ibn J:lajr as quoted from him by ibn 'Allan, al-Futlipatai-Rabbanf1yah, vol. 5, pg. 116. Albani, al-$al;ipah # 1 4 ruled it �al}il}. The same wording is recorded by Abii Dawiid #2601 on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn Yazid and Nawawi. Riydt/ al-$dlipin #294 and al-Adhktir, pg. 279 said the isnad was �al).t"'Q as did Albani, al-$apipah # 1 5-1605 29 Nasa'i, 'AmalalYawm wa'l-Laylah #506-509-5 1 7, ibn l:Iibban #2376 (Mawaridj, Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kabir, vol. 9, pg. 1 73 on the authority of ibn 'Umar with a l}asan isnad. 42 'fabariini records a J::iadith in which the Prophet (ii) said, ''When a servant prays the prayer as it should be prayed it rises to Allah having rays like the rays of the sun and it says to its performer, 'May Allah preserve you as you have preserved me.' If he was lax and lazy in performing it, it will be wound up like an old garment is wound up and then used to strike the face of its per­ former while saying, 'May Allah waste you as you have wasted me!"'30 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (rar/fyAlliihu 'anhu) would say in his ser­ mons, 'O Allah, protect us with Your preservation and keep us firm on Your command.' A man once said to one of the Salaf, 'May Allah preserve you,' to which he replied, 'My brother, do not ask that he be preserved, ask instead that his faith be preserved!' What he meant was to stress the importance of supplicating for the preservation of ones religion; this is because worldly preservation could be conferred on both the righteous and the sinner, but Allah only safeguards the religion of the believer and comes between it and anything that would pollute it via numerous means, some of which the servant is unaware of and yet others he may dislike. 30 'fabararu, al-Awsd!#3095 on the authority of Anas. 'Iraqi, al-Mughni #382 said the isnad was qa'if, he also said that it was recorded by 'fayalisi on the authority of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit with a qa'if isnad. HaythamI, vol. 1, pg. 302, said concerning the l_iadith of Anas, 'Its isnad contains 'Ubbad ibn Kathir and his weakness is agreed upon,' and Albani, J)a 'if al-Ta'l,hib #221 -280 ruled it qa'if jiddan.

Concerning the l_iadith of 'Ubadah, HaythamI, vol. 2, pg. 1 22 said that it contained the narrator al-Al_iwa� ibn I:lakim whom ibn al-MadinI and al-'Ijli declared thiqah whilst a group declared him qa'if. 43 This is how He preserved Yusuf ('alayhis-sakim) as He said, ''That happened so that We might avert from him all evil and lust. He was Our chosen servant."31 2. 5 Allah's Safeguarding Through Intervention Whoever is sincere to Allah, Allah will safeguard him against evil and indecency, He will guard him against them via means that he is not even aware of, and He will come between him and the routes leading to destructive sin. Ma'riif al-KarkhI once saw some youths preparing themselves to go for forth for battle at a time of fitna and said, 'O Allah, preserve them!' It was asked of him, 'Why are you supplicating for them?' He replied, 'If He were to preserve them, they would not leave to carry out what they intend.' 'Umar heard a person saying, 'O Allah, you intervene between a person and his heart, so intervene between me and my disobey­ ing You.' This pleased 'Umar and he supplicated for that person. In exegesis to the saying of Allah, Most High, 31 Ytistif (1 2): 24 44 "Know that Allah intervenes between a man and his heart. "32 lbn 'Abbas said, 'He intervenes between the believer and (his committing) sins that would drag him into the Fire . '33 One of the previous people performed l:Iajj, while sleeping at Mecca with a group of people, he had the sudden urge to com­ mit a sin and heard a voice crying out, 'Woe to you!

Are you not performing I:Iajj?!' Hence Allah guarded him against perpetrating the sin. One person went out with a group of people desiring to com­ mit a particular sin, when he was about to do it, a voice cried out, .i.:...A . ,,,,.J . � >." .... :J "Every self is held in pledge against what it has earned,"34 and so he abandoned it. A man entered a thicket dense with trees and said, 'I could commit my sin here in secret, who is there to see me?' He then heard a voice reverberating throughout the thicket (reciting the verse) , 32 al-Anja/ (8) : 24 33 Tabarl #1 5880-1 588 1 . It was ruled �al:iiJ:i b y f:lakim #3265 wi th Dhahabi agreeing. 34 al-Muddaththir (74) : 38 45 �· �--t. Ur>---- � - :- .:1� ve�� i,,.-.,, u- : "l --,--- "Does H e who created not then know? H e i s the All-Pervading, the All-Aware."35 Another desired to commit a sin and left to carry it out.

While walking, he passed by a story-teller plying his trade amongst the people. He stood there listening and heard him saying, 'O you who desire to commit a sin! Do you not know that the Creator of desires is fully aware of your intent?' At this he fell in a swoon and, when he regained consciousness, immediately repented. One of the righteous kings had fallen in love with a beautiful subject of his. He feared for himself and so stood in prayer by night, seeking succour from Allah . That same night, the subject fell ill and passed away three days later. 2.6 Allah's Safeguarding Through Exhortation Some people were safeguarded through an exhortation given by someone they wanted to be an accomplice in sin.

An example of this lies with one of the three who entered the cave that was subsequently blocked by a boulder. (fhe J:i.adith) mentions that one of them, when he lay with the woman ready to perform in­ tercourse she said, 'Fear Allah and do not break the seal except by due right,' so he left her.36 35 al-Mulk (67): 1 4 36 Bukhari #221 5-2272-2333-3465-5974 and Muslim #27 43 on the authority of ibn 'Umar 46 Another example lies with the story of Kifl, a man of the Chil­ dren of Israel who committed sin frequently. He was attracted to a woman and gave her sixty dinars and then lay with her ready to perform intercourse. She began trembling with fear and so he asked her, 'Arn I forcing you?' She replied, 'No, but I have never done such a thing before and it was only need that has forced me.' He said, 'You are fearful of Allah, should I not fear Him as well?' Then he stood and left her, leaving her the money as a gift. He then said, 'By Allah, Kifl will never disobey Allah again.' He passed away that same night and the following morning saw these words inscribed on his door, 'Allah has forgiven Kifl.' This was recorded by Imam Af:unad and Tirrnidhi on the authority of ibn (Umar to the Messenger (;i) .37 A man sought to seduce a woman and ordered her to lock the doors, which she did. She then said, 'One door remains open.' He asked, 'What door would that be?' She replied, 'The door between Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, and us.' So he turned away from her.

Another sought to seduce a desert Arab. He said, 'Who is there to see us save the stars?' 'What of the One who put them there?' she replied. 38 All of these are examples of Allah's providence and His inter­ vening between the servant and his committing sin. While men37 Af:imad #4747 and Tirmidhi #2496 Tirmidhi said it was l).asan but ibn Kathir, al-Bidiiyah wa'l-Nihqyah, vol. 1, pg. 226, said, 'It is a very odd l).aclith and its isnad is problematic.' Albani, al-J)a'ifah #4083 ruled it qa'If and Arna'ii� et. al. ruled the isnad qa'If. 38 c£ ibn al-Jawzi, Dhamm aJ-Hawti', pg. 272 47 tioning the sinners, al-l:lasan said, 'Their worth was diminished with Him, so they disobeyed Him. Were they to have held a po­ sition of worth and honour with Him, He would have preserved them.' Bishr said, 'One who is noble or honoured would never persist in disobeying Allah and neither would the sagacious give preference to this world over the Hereafter.' 2.7 Allah's Ensuring the Best for His Servant Another example of Allah's preserving the religion of His serv­ ant is that a servant could pursue a worldly office such as leader­ ship or undertake a worldly enterprise such as trade and Alla h, knowing what is good for him, intervenes between him and his goal. The servant, heedless of what has taken place, hates what has happened. lbn Mas ' iid said, 'A servant intends to undertake a trading ven­ ture or aims for leadership hoping that it will be facilitated for him. Allah will look at him and say to the Angels, "Avert him from it for if I was to make this matter easy for him, I would cause him to enter the Fire!" So Allah would avert him from it and he, in a state of agitation, will complain, "So-and-so beat me!

So-and-so outsmarted me!" Yet all it is, is Allah's good-grace, Mighty and Magnificent is He!' Yet more astonishing is that a servant could strive to do an action of obedience, however this particular action would not be the best course for him , so Allah will intervene between him and it in order to preserve him, and he, all the while, remains heed­ less. 48 Tabararu and others records the l).adith of Anas that the Mes­ senger of Allah CM) said, "Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, says, 'Amongst My servants are those whose faith can only be made good through poverty, and were I to give him freely, his faith would be sulli e d. Amongst My servants are those whose faith can only be made good through affluence, and were I to make him poor, his faith would be sullie d. Amongst My servants are those whose faith can only be made good through sound health, and were I to make him ill , his faith would be sullied. Amongst My servants are those whose faith can only be made good through illness, and were I to make him healthy his faith would be sul­ lied. Amongst My servants are those who seek to do an act of worship but I prevent him from doing it lest he fall prey to con­ ceit. I regulate the affairs of My servants in accordance to My knowledge of what is in their hearts.

I am the All-Knowing, the All-Aware. "'39 One of the early people would frequently ask for martyrdom, so a voice called out, 'If you were to embark on a military expe­ dition, you would be capture.cl and during your captivity you would convert to Christianity, so stop asking for this.' Therefore, in summary, whoever safeguards the limits of Allah and carefully tends to His rights, Allah will undertake to safe­ guard him in his worldly and religious life, in this world and the next. 39 Ibn Abi al-Dunya, al-Awltyti', pg. 100, Abu Nu'aym, vol. 8, pg. 3 1 8, Bayhaqi, al­ Asmti' wa'l-$iftit, pg. 1 50. Abil Nu'aym said that the �adith was gharib and ibn Rajab, Jami' al-'U/Nm, vol. 2, pg. 333 said, 'It contains al-Khushani and Sadaqah both of whom are cJa'if, and Hisham who is not known.' Albani, al-J)a'ifah # 1 775 ruled it cJa'if jiddan. 49 2.8 Allah is the Protector o f the Believers In His Book, Allah, Most High, has informed us that He is the Protector of the believers and that He protects the righteous; subsumed by this is the fact that He safeguards what is good for them in both this life and the Hereafter, and that He will not abandon them to another. All ah, Most High, says, "Allah is the Protector of those who have faith; He brings them out of the darkness into the light."40 .&_ V •-'��{.... • , ,,, _, :1� /. ,, L�1 ,. ��.,..� ui� \4.1!,, !_,:...\ -��\Jy4'.il\�'!�j 6' tit " .,.,. _ "" . "' � "That is because Allah is the Protector of those who have faith and because the disbelievers have no protector."41 "Whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will be enough for him. "42 40 al-Baqarah (2) : 257 41 Mul;ammad (47) : 1 1 42 al-!akiq (65): 3 50 "Is Allah not enough for His slave?" 43 Whoever establishes the rights of All ah, Allah will undertake to upkeep everything that will be of benefit to him in this life and the next.

Whoever wants Allah to preserve him and tend to all of his affairs, let him first tend to the rights of Allah upon him Whoever does not wish to be afflicted by anything he dis­ . likes, let him not undertake that which Allah dislikes. One of the Salaf would go to gathering after gathering saying, 'Whoever wants Allah to preserve his well-being, let him have taqwti of Allah.' al-'Umarl, the ascetic, would say to anyone who asked him for advice, 'Be with All ah, Mighty and Magnificent, in exactly the same way that you want Him to be with you.' �a. J.i. Q. ibn 'Abdu'l-Karim said, 'Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, says, "By My Might and Magnificence, I do not look at a heart that I know predominately loves to adhere resolutely to My obe­ dience except that I undertake to protect his circumstances and keep · him firm."' One of the earlier scriptures mentions, 'Allah, Mighty and Mag­ nificent, says, "Son of Adam, will you not tell me what gives you cause to laugh? Son of Adam, have taqwti of Me and then sleep wherever you wish!"' What this means is that when you establish what is due to Allah 43 al-Zumar (39) : 36 51 of taqwd then do not worry any more about those things that will be good for you, for Allah knows them better than you and He will direct them to you in the best of ways. The J:i.adith ofJ abir has the Prophet (ii) saying, ''Whoever wants to know the standing he has with Allah, let him look to himself and see the standing that Allah has with him Allah grants a per­ . son the same standing as Allah has with that person."44 This proves that Allah 's concern with His servant and His safe­ guarding him is commensurate to the servant's concern with the rights of Allah, establishing them, tending to His limits and safe­ guarding them.

Whoever's goal is Allah's good-pleasure, seeking to draw close to Him, knowing Him, loving Him, and serving Him, will find that Allah will treat him accordantly. Allah, Most High, says, ?J� �j1� "Remember Me, I will remember you."45 ./, ./, "" ,,. . � tG,�i!Jt. J-�-- · t"ffl"'.J r--- .,, .,. . lJ "Honour My cont�act and I will honour your 44 Abii Ya'la #1865-2138, 'fabarlinI, al-Awsa/ #250 1 . I;:lakim #1820 said i t was �aJ::u1:i but Dhahabi said, 'It contains 'Umar who is <1.a'If.' Haythami, vol. 10, pg. 77 said, 'Its isnlid contains 'Umar ibn 'Abdullah, the freed slave of Ghu frah , who was declared thiqah by more than one scholar and qa'If by a group of scholars, the rem aini ng narrators are those of the �alµJ:i.' Albani, al-J)a'ifah #5427-6205 ruled it qa'l:f. 45 al-Baqarah (2) : 1 52 52 contract. "46 Moreover, Allah is the kindest of the kind. He rewards a good deed tenfold and more.

Whoever comes close to Him by a hand­ span, He comes close to him by a cubit, whoever comes close to Him by a cubit, He comes close to him by a fathom, and who­ ever comes to Him walking, He comes to him running. 47 Whatever a person is given is from his self, and nothing afflicts him that he dislikes except that it is as a result of his falling short in fulfilling the rights of his Lord. 'All (rat/!J.Alltihu 'anhu) said, 'The servant must place his hope in his Lord and his Lord alone, and he has nothing to fear save his sins.' One of them said, 'Whoever clarifies and purifies will be puri­ fied, and whoever mixes will be treated accordingly. ' Masriiq said, 'Whoever diligen_tly observes Allah with respect to the notions and whims of his heart, Allah will safeguard the motions of his limbs for him. ' There i s much more that can b e said about this but what we have mentioned thus far suffices and all praise is due to Allah . 46 al-Baqarah (2): 40 47 As mentioned in a l).aclith recorded by Bukhari #7405 and Muslim #26872743 on the authority of Abii Hurayrah with the words, ''Whoever draws close to me by a hand-span length I draw closer to him by a cubit. Whoever draws closer to me by a cubit, I draw closer to him by a fathom. Whoever comes to Me walking, I go to Him running." The narration of Al).mad #21 374 on the author­ ity of Abu Dharr adds, "And Allah is more exalted and greater; Allah is more exalted and greater." Haythami, vol. 10, p. 1 97, said the isnad was l).asan. 53 Allah is With You The Messenger of Allah (i1.) said, "Safeguard Allah and you will find Him in front of you," another narration mentions, "Safeguard Allah and you will find Him before you." The mean­ ing is that whoever safeguards the limits of Allah and carefully tends to His rights will find Allah with him in all affairs, encom­ passing him, aiding him; preserving him, supporting him, setting his foot firm and granting him divine accord.

He is "standing over every se!f seeing everything that it does, nt and He, Most High, "is with those who have taqwa of Him and with those who do good. '12 Qatadah said, 'Allah is with those who have taqwti of Him. Whoever has Allah with him, then with him is the party that will never be overcome, the sentry that will never sleep and the guide who will never go astray. '3 One of the Salaf wrote to one of his brothers saying, 'As for 1 a/-Ra'd (1 3) : 33 2 a/-Na/J/(1 6): 1 28 3 Abu Nu'aym, vol. 2, pg. 340 54 what follows . If Allah is with you then who do you have to fear? . . If He is against you then who can you hope in?

Peace! ' This 'withness' i s the specific and special type which i s reserved for those who have taqu1d. It is not the general 'withness' that is mentioned in His saying, "He is with you wherever you are."4 ,., >. � .... ...... ._j ... .;,,� �.J E J � �.J! • , • "" :1 .::..u .) � - ....� w .. .. 41) .. ... r. J , v,,. " . . . but they cannot conceal themselves from Allah. He is with them when they spend the night saying things which are not pleasing to Him."5 The specific 'withness' dictates aid, support and preservation as All.ah said to Musa and Hamn, , ,,,,, > .,,,. ..... - , .... * ,,, ,,,. -: , ...JJ� �\ • Le.a�� "I am with you, All-Hearing and All-Seeing."6 He, Most High, says, 4 al-lfadid (5 7): 4 5 al-Nisri' (4): 108 6 Ta Ha (20): 46 55 V:�;�\ -:,_)._cJ 77,., � � ... • "He said to his companion, 'Do not be despond­ ent, Allah is with us."'7 He (:I) had said to Abii Bakr in that situation, ''What do you think of two, the third of whom is Allah?"8 The meaning of this 'withness' is not the same as that men­ tioned in His saying, "Three men cannot confer together secretly with­ out Him being the fourth of them, or five with­ out Him being the sixth of them, or fewer than that or more without Him being with them wher­ ever they are."9 This is general and refers to any group of people. 10 The mean7 al-Tawbah (9): 40 8 Bukhari #3653-3922-4663 and Muslim #2381 on the authority of Abii Bakr 9 al-Mujadilah (58): 7 10 The author.

Jami' al- 'Uliim, vol. 1 , pg. 47 1 here adds, 'This 'withness' dictates that He knows what they are doing, He is fully aware of them and is carefully inspecting them; this then effectuates fear of Him.' 56 ing in its specific sense is what is referred to in the l)adith, "the servant continues coming close to Me through performing op­ tional deeds until I love him. When I love him, I become his hearing by which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks." 1 1 There are many texts of th e Book and Sunnah that prove that the Lord, Glorious is He, is close to those who obey Him and have taqwti of Him, who safeguard His limits and carefully tend to His (rights) . While on the way to Tabiik, Bunan al-J:Iammal entered an open land and suddenly felt alone; a voice cried out, 'Why do you feel alone? Is not your Beloved with you?'12 Therefore, whoever safeguards Allah and carefully tends to His rights, he will find Him in front of him and before him in every 11 Bukhari #6502 on the authority of Abu Hurayrah Similar al_iadith have also been reported on the authority of'A'ishah by Af:imad; Abu Umamah by TabaranI; 'Ali by Isma'III, M11snad �fi; Ibn 'Abbas by Tabararu; Anas by TabaranI; and Maymiinah by Abu Ya'la. Ibn Rajah, Tapqiq Kalimalll '/-!khkif, said, 'The meaning is that when love fills the heart and overcomes it, the limbs will then do only that which is pleasing to the Lord. At this point the soul will find tranquillity and peace for it will have been obliterated such that it follows the desire of its Lord as opposed to its own desires.

Servant of Allah, worship Him as He desires of you, not as you would desire of Him. Whoever worships All ah in this latter way is worshipping Him as if on a crumbling precipice: if good comes his way, he is happy; but if trial conies his way, he turns on his heel and loses out both in this world and the Hereafter. When gnosis and love become strong, the person will desire only that which his Master desires.' 12 Abu Nu'aym, vol. 1 0, pg. 324 57 circumstance. He will take comfort with Him and suffice with � in lieu o f His creation. The l;tadith mentions, ''The best (quality) of faith is that the servant knows that Allah is with him wherever he be." This was recorded by Tabararu and others.13 To explain this point fully will cause the discussion to become very lengthy. 14 One of the sagacious scholars was given to travelling alone, once some people came to bid him farewell and he replied by reciting the following couplet, When we embark by night with You before us Your mention is sufficient provision to guide us Shibli would repeat these couplets and would sometimes end his gathering with them. 13 Tabararu, al-Kabir and ai-Awsat #8796, Abu Nu'aym, vol. 6, pg. 1 24 on the authority of 'Ubadah ibn al-�amit. It was declared ga'If by Suyiip, al-Jami' al-$aghir #1 243 and Albaru, a/-I;Ja'ifah #2589. 14 lbn Rajah, Kashf a/-Kllrbah, writes, 'Many of them would not have the strength to interact with the creation and, as a result, would flee so that they could be alone with their beloved; this is why many of them would spend long periods of time in seclusion.

When one of them was asked, 'Do you not feel the bite ofloneliness?' He replied, 'How can I when He has said that He is the companion of one who remembers Him?' Another said, 'How can one feel the bite of loneliness when he is with Allah?' Yet another said, 'Whoever feels the bite of loneliness when alone does so because of his lack of solace with his Lord.' Yal;iya ibn Mu'adh would frequently seclude and isolate himself, when his brother censured him for this by saying, 'If you are a man amongst men, you need the company of men,' he replied, 'If you are a man amongst men, you are in need = 58 of Allah.' It was once asked of him, 'You have migrated from the people, with whom do you live?' He replied, 'With the One for whose sake I migrated.' Ghazwan was once censured for his seclusion to which he said, 'I attain relief in my heart by sitting with One who meets my needs.' Because they are regarded to be strange, it is possible that some of them be accused of insanity just as Owais was accused. Abu Muslim al-KhawliinI would frequently perform dhikr, his tongue would always move in the remembrance of Allah and so a man asked one of his companions, 'Is your friend mad?' Abu Muslim replied, 'My brother, no, rather this is the cure for madness!' al-I:lasan said, while describing them:, 'When the ignoramus looks at them, he thinks them ill, yet far are they from illne ss! He would say they have lost their minds, indeed they have lost their minds to a great matter, far loftier than their accusations, by Allah they are busied with it from your worldly lot!' It is in this regard that the poet said, By love's sanctity! I find none to replace You, 0 Master! I have no objective save You. Talking about You makes them say, 'He has a malady!' I say, 'May that malady never leave me!" 59 I<nowing Allah The Messenger of All ah (�) said, "Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship," the meaning is that the servant, when he has taqwa of All ah, preserves His lim­ its, and carefully tends to His rights in times of ease and well­ being has come to know Alla h.

This gives rise to a gnosis be­ tween · himself and Allah and, as a result, his Lord will know him in times of hardship: He will know the deeds he worked during times of ease and by virtue of that knowledge will relieve him of hardship. This too is a specific gnosis which leads to the closeness of All ah, Mighty and Magnificent, His loving His servant and His responding to his supplication. What is not meant is a general gnosis for nothing of His creation is hidden from Allah. Allah, Most High, says, �%� �t:.--=�� � y�� . t'>_ ·tJ·;t1'µ'-t' " . J·li" �!>-"' 1 ,,,,.; - >('f-: .'t :-, :I �.,J} l.:..) l .>i. "He has most knowledge of you when He first produced you from the earth and when you were 60 embryos in your mothers' wombs.

"1 ''We created man and We know what his own seJf whispers to him. "2 This specific knowing is alluded to in the J::iadith qudsi, " ... my servant continues to draw closer to Me by performing the op­ tional deeds until I . love him . When I love him, I am his hearing by which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would'grant him, and were he to take refuge with Me, I would grant him refuge."3 Fuqayl met Sha<wanah, the worshipper, and asked her to sup­ plicate for him. She said, 'What bars you from Him? If you in­ voke Him, He will answer you,' upon which he swooned and fell unconscious. 4 Abii Ja'far al-Sa'iJ::i said that al-l:Iasan came to I:Iabib, Abu MuJ::iammad, on the run from l:Iajjaj .

He said, 'Abu MuJ::iammad! Hid� me from the police; they are hot on my tracks!' He replied, 'Abu Sa1id, I am ashamed of you! Is there not a (relationship) of 1 al-Najm (53) : 32 2 Qtif (50): 1 6 3 Bukhari #6502 on the authority o f Abu Hurayrah. 4 Abu Nu'aym, vol. 8, p. 1 1 6 #1 1 567, the narrative continues to quote Fuqayl as saying, 'Ennoble us with the nobility of obedience and do not humiliate us with the humiliation of disobedience.' 61 trust between you and your Lord so that you could invoke Hirn and have Him conceal you from these? Enter the house.' The police entered after him but they did not see him. This was men­ tioned to I:Iajjaj and he commented, 'Rather, he was in the house but Allah obscured their sight so they could not see him. ' When this specific knowledge comes about, a special gnosis is engendered between the servant and his Lord that effectuates a sense of comfort and intimacy with Him coupled with a sense of shyness to Him.

This special gnosis is not the same as the general gnosis that exists for all believers, and it is to this gnosis that the Gnostics aspire and their words allude to. Abu Sulayman heard a man saying, 'I spent last night talking about women.' He said, 'Woe to you! Have you no shame before Him? He sees you spending the night mentioning something besides Him! But how can you be bashful before One you do not even know!' Al:imad ibn < A �im al-Antaki said, 'My wish is to die after know­ ing my Master. Knowing Him does not mean affirming (His ex­ istence), rather it is that knowledge which, if you know, leads you to being shy of Him .' This special gnosis and specific knowledge leads the servant to be content with his Lord, to rely on Him and trust Him to de­ liver him from every hardship and distress, just as it leads to the Lord responding to his supplication.

When al-I:Iasan al-Ba�rI hid from I:Iajjaj it was suggested to him to flee to Ba�rah for fear of his being discovered. He wept and said, 'I should leave my town, family and brothers?! My knowl62 edge of my Lord and His blessings which He has graced me with leads me to believe that He will save me and deliver me from him, if Allah, Most High, so will s .' J:lajj aj never harmed him at all, instead, after this, he would greatly honour him and speak well of him . It was asked of Ma1riif, 'What is it that has roused in you the desire for seclusion and worship?' The questioner mentioned death, the barz.akh, and Paradise and Hell as possible causes to which he replied, 'What is this! All of this is in His hand, when there exists a gnosis between you and Him, He suffices you dur­ ing all of this.' The J;iac:Uth recorded by Tirmidhi on the authority of Abu Hurayrah further clarifies this: the Prophet; (� said, ''Whoever wants Allah to answer him at times of hardship should frequently invoke him in times of ease."5 Ibn AbI al-Dunya, ibn AbI Hatim, ibn J arir and others record the J;iacilth of Yazid al-Raqashi, on the authority of Anas that the Prophet (ii) said, ''While in the belly of the whale, when Yiinus (alayhis-saltim) was supplicating, the Angels said, 'This is a famil­ iar voice, yet coming from a strange land!' Alla h said, 'Do you not know who this is?' They asked, 'Who is it?' He replied, 'My ser vant, Yiinus. ' They said, 'Yiinus, Your servant, the one whose deeds have always been accepted and whose supplication has al­ ways been answered?' He said, 'Yes.' They said, 'Lord!

Will you 5TirmidhI #3382 who said it was gharib. It was ruled �aQil._1 by l:lakim #1 997 and DhahabI agreed Mundhiri, ai-Targhib, . vol. 2, pg. 388 said that its isnad was �aQil._1 or l._lasan. It was declared l:iasan by Suyiip, al-Jtimi'al-$aghir#8743 and Albam, al-$abibah #593, $aflifJ al-Targhib #1 628 63 not show mercy on him in this time of adversity by virtue of what he used to do in times of ease?' He replied, 'Of course,' and ordered the whale to cast him out on the desert shore."6 l)aJ:il;tak ibn Qays said, 'Remember Allah in times of ease and He will remember you in times of adversity. Yiinus (alayhis-saltim) would remember Allah, then when he was swallowed by the whale, Allah, Most High, said, ,.. -:,� ,,,, ,....:, , Jjlt $5J�!�lj�z��4\0 �\�5� "Had it not been that he was a man who glori­ fied Allah, he would have remained inside its belly until the Day they are raised again."7 Pharaoh was an oppressor, heedless of the remembrance of All ah. When he was drowning, he said, "I believe!" and Allah, Most High, said, & � . �> i"1 "' �J:; 1 ·� ,,.. . ,,,. ,, ·::--- -:- .�t\"' � �� � � '-1'-':" �...\9.J � .. - • "What, now! When previously you rebelled and were one of the corrupters?"8' Rishc:Un ibn Sa1d said, 'A man asked Abu'l-Darda' to advise him. 6 lbn Abi al-Dunya, ai-Fart:f} ba'd ai-Shidda, pg. 25 with a qa'if isnad 7 ai-5dffit (37): 1 43-1 44 8 Yunus (1 0): 91 64 He replied, "Remember Allah in times of ease and He will re­ member you in times of hardship.'"9 Salman al-Parisi said, 'If a man is given to supplicating in times of ease and is then faced with hardship, and supplicates to Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, the Angels say, "This is a familiar voice. . . ," and intercede for him If he is not given to supplicat­ . ing in times of ease and is then faced with hardship and suppli­ cates to Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, the Angels will say, "This is an unfamiliar voice," and they will not intercede for him .' The �adith about the three people who entered a cave only to be blocked in by a falling boulder also lends weight to this; they were saved because they invoked Allah, adducing righteous deeds they had previously performed while in a state of ease: being dutiful to parents, leaving a lewd act, and fulfilling a trust that would not have been known to people at large.10 It is now known that knowing Allah in times of ease leads to Allah's knowing His servant in times of hardship.

It is also known that there is no hardship that the believer will face in this world worse than death; this hardship is actually lighter than what fol­ lows if the destination of the servant is not good, or it is the worst he will face if his destination is good. As such, it becomes obligatory for the servant to prepare for death before it sets on him by performing righteous deeds and hastening to do so. A person does not know in which day or night he will be beset by 9 Abu Nu'aym, vol. 1, pg. 209 10 Bukhari #221 5-2272-2333-3465-5974 and Muslim #2743 on the authority of ibn 'Umar 65 this hardship. Remembering righteous deeds at the time of death vivifies one's good opinion of his Lord, helps alleviate the throes of death and strengthen one's hope. One of them said, "Ibey would consider it recommended for a person to have a cache of righteous deeds that would serve to alleviate the onset of death,' or words to that effect. They would also consider it praiseworthy for a person to die after having completed an action of worship such as pilgrimage, or jihad or fasting.

Nakha'I said, "Ibey would consider it praiseworthy to remind a servant on his deathbed of his good works so that he could make good his opinion of his Lord.' While sick, Abu · Abdu'l-Ral).man al-SulamI said, 'How can I not have hope in my Lord seeing that I have fasted for his sake for eighty Ramaqans?'11 When death came to Abii Bakr ibn 'Ayyash and those around him wept, he said, 'Do not cry, for I have finished the Quran in this place of prayer thirteen thousand times!' It is reported that he said to his son, 'Do you think that Allah would waste forty years of your fathers life every night of which he completed the Quran?'12 11 Abii Nu' ayrn, vol. 4, pg. 1 92 12 Khapb, Tarikh, vol. 1 4, pg. 383 66 While on his deathbed, one of the Salaf saw his son crying and said, 'Do not cry for your father has never committed an inde­ cent act.' Adam ibn Abii Iyas finished the Quran while he was already shrouded, waiting for his death . He exclaimed, 'By my love of You! Be gentle to me at this terrible time. My hopes and expecta­ tion were in You all this time in preparation for this day. There is none worthy of worship save Allah!' and upon saying this, he passed away, may Allah have mercy on him. 13 On his deathbed, 'Abdu'Hiamad, the ascetic, said, 'My Master, it is for this time that I have kept You as my hidden store, it is for this day that I have secured You, give reality to my good opinion of You!'14 At the time of his death, the women around him weeping, ibn 'Aqil said, 'I have been sealing verdicts for Him for fifty years, leave me alone to prepare for meeting Him . ' When the Qaramitah attacked the pilgrims, slaughtering them while they were performing fawtif, 'Ali ibn Bakwayh, the �iifi, was also performing it, yet he did not stop his tawtif despite being struck repeatedly by swords, until at last he fell.

He was reciting the following couplets, You see the lovers lying in their homes prostrate, 13 Khaµ"b, Ttirikh, vol. 7, pg. 29 14 Ibn al-Jawzi, $ijatu'l-.$ajwah, vol. 2, pg. 272 67 Like the people o f the cave, unaware of how long they tarried. By Alla h! Were the lovers to swear that on the day of conflict They are like those already dead, they would not be untruthful. Whoever, during his life, obeys Allah and safeguards His lim­ its, Allah will take care of him on his deathbed and allow him to die on faith. He will make him firm with the firm word in his grave when questioned by the two angels and repress the punish­ ment of the grave from him, and He will give solace to his lone­ liness at that time of isolation and in that darkness. One of the Salaf said, 'If Allah is with you when you enter the grave, you will not be harmed nor will you be lonely.' After his death, one of the righteous scholars was seen in a dream and was asked after his condition.

He replied, 'My Lord, Mighty and Magnificent, keeps me company.' Whoever, in this world, has Allah as his companion in times of retreat and being alone, he can truly hope that Allah will be his companion in the darkness of the grave's niche when he leaves this world. It is in this sense that one of them said, When I feel isolated, lonely My Lord! Be my companion. For I have believed completely in Your revelation. That to All ah I do journey, leaves me with no trepidation. 68 More than my family, He show� kindness, compassion! The same applies to the terror of the Day of Rising, its horrors and hardships: when Allah takes care of his obedient servan t, He will deliver him from all of this.

Qatadah said in explanation to His, Most High's, saying, 0"'�� � l�� �� \ w!' . '/ if � 4.11 �O'"J ... ''Whoever has taqwd of Allah He will give him a - way out."15 '(He will give him a way out) from the hardship of death and the terrors of the Day of Rising.'16 (All ibn Abu Tall:iah narrated that ibn (Abbas (raefiyA.lltihu anhumti'j said in commentary to this verse, 'We will deliver him from every hardship in this world and the Hereafter.' 1 7 Concerning the saying of Allah, Most High, 15 al-Talaq (65): 2 16 Suyiip, al-Durral-Manthur, vol. 14, pg. 537 references this to 'Abd ibn l:lumayd and Abii Nu'aym, al-lfi!Jah (vol. 2, pg. 340) 1 7 Tabari, vol. 23, pg. 43. SuyiiP,, al-Durral-Manthur, vol. 1 4, pg. 538 references this to ibn al-Mundhir and ibn Abi l:latim 69 "Those who say, 'Our Lord is Allah,' and then go straight, the angels descend on them: 'Do not fear and do not grieve but rejoice in the Garden you have been promised."'18 Zayd ibn Aslam said, 'He will be given glad-tidings at the point of his death, in his grave and the Day he is resurrected. He will find himself in Paradise before the joy of the good news has a chance to leave his heart!'19 Thabit al-Bunaru said in commentary to this verse, 'It has reached us that the two angels who accompanied him in this world will meet the believer when Allah resurrects him from his grave. They will say, "Do notftai, do not grieve, " and Allah will alleviate his fear and give comfort to his eye.

There is not a single terror that will overcome man on the Day of Rising except that it will be a source of comfort for the believer because All ah has guided him and because of what he worked in this life.'20 All of these were re­ corded by ibn AbI J:latim and others. 1 8 FU!}!}ilat (41): 30, cf. al-Ab,qtif(46): 1 3 19 Suyiip, al-Du" al-Manthiir, vol. 1 3, pg. 1 07 references this to ibn Abi Shaybah and ibn Abi l:fatim 20 Suyiip, al-Du"al-Manthiir, vol. 1 3, pg. 1 08 references this to ibn al-Mundhir and ibn Abi l:fatim 70 As regards one who does not know Allah in times of ease, he will have no one to know him in times of adversity, not in this life or in the Hereafter! Seeing the condition of such a person in this world testifies to this fact and their condition in the Hereafter will be even worse for they will have no protector or helper. Asking Allah The Messenger of Allah (ii) said, "When you ask, ask Allah." All ah, Mighty and Magnificent, commanded that He Alone be asked and prohibited asking another. Allah, Most High, has or­ dered that He be asked, .I . .... -'l -'- " .•. ask Al1ih for His bounty." 1 Tirmidhi records the }:iadith of ibn Mas<iid that the Messenger of Allah (ii) said, "Ask Allah for His bounty for Allah loves to be asked."2 1 al-Nisa' (4): 32 2 Tirmidhi #3571 , Tabariini, al-Kabir, vol. 1 0, pg. 1 24. 'IjliinI, .Kashfal-Khafa' # 1 507 said that it was declared Q.a'if by 'Iraqi and lµsan by ibn J::lajr. It was declared Q.a'if by Albani, al-J)a'ifah #492.

'Iraqi, al-Mughni #987 said that its isnad contains J::lammad ibn Waqid who ibn Ma'In and others declared qa'if. Sakhawi, Maqfi!id al-lfasanah # 1 95 quotes Bayhaqi as saying, 'J::lammad was alone in reporting it and he is not strong.' 72 He also records the l;iadith of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (ai) said, "Allah is angry at whoever does not ask of Him."3 He also records the l;iadith, "Allah loves those who are earnest and persistent in supplication."4 Another l;iadith mentions, "Each of you must ask his Lord for all his needs, even the strap of his sandal should it break."5 There are many l;iadiths having this meaning. There are also many 3 Al,imad #9701 , Tirmidhi #3373, ibn Majah #3827 Its isnad was ruled Qa'If by DhahabI, al-Miz.an, vol. 4, pg. 538 and Arna'ii! et. al. However the Q.adith was ruled l,iasan due to suppo_rts by Albani, al-$aflifiah #2654 4 Tabararu, al-Du'ti #20, BayhaqI, Shu'ab al-iman # 1 1 08, QuQa'I # 1 069 on the authority of 'A'ishah. The l,iadith is not recorded by Tirmidhi Ibn 'Adi ruled it batil as did Albani, al-Pa'ifah #637 and he ruled it mawQii' in al-lnva' #677. cf. lbn l:{ajr, Talk.his al-ljabir#71 6, 'Uqayli, vol. 4, pg. 1 554 #2085, ibn 'Adi, al-Kami/, vol. 8, pg. 500-501 Bukhari #6340 records the Q.adith of Abii Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (:I) said, "Your supplications will be answered as long as you are not impatient by saying, 'I have supplicated to my Lord but He has not answered."' Muslim #2735 records the J::i.adith of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (� said, ''The supplication of the servant will always be answered provided that he does not supplicate for something sinful or supplicate to sever the ties of kinship and provided that he is not impatient." It was asked, "Messenger of Allah, what is impatience?" He replied, "He says: 'I have supplicated and suppli­ cated but I have not received an answer' then he becomes frustrated and leaves off supplicating." 5 Tirmidhi #3682 on the authority of Anas and he said it was ghano. It was declared Qa'If by Albani, al-Pa'ifah # 1 362 73 authentic l;tadiths prohibiting asking creation.

Ibn Mas'iid reports that the Messenger of Allah CM) said, "A person, despite being rich, will keep on asking until his face wears out and he will then not have a face with Allah ."6 The Prophet (M) took an oath of allegiance from a group of his Companions not to ask people for anything7 amongst whom were Abii Bakr al-Siddiq, Abii Dharr and Thawban. If their whip or the muzzle of their camels fell down, they would not ask anyone to retrieve it for them. Know that asking Allah, Most High, rather than His creation is what is required, both from a rational and legal standpoint. Asking is a form of sacrificing one's honour and humbling one­ self to the petitioned, and that is only viable for Allah. Humbling is only for Allah through worship and request and is a sign of true love. Yiisuf ibn al-l:lusayn was asked, 'What is with the lovers that 6 Bazzir #91 9, 'fabarinI, al-Kabir, vol. 20, pg. 333 #790 on the authority of Mas'iid ibn 'Amar and not ibn Mas'iid Ibn Abt f:litim, al-Jm-P wa'l-Ta'dil, vol. 8, pg. 282 said the l;iadlth was munkar.

Bukhari #1 474 and Muslim #1 040 record on the authority ofibn 'Umar that the Prophet (ai) said, "A person will keep asking of people until he will come on the Day of Rising devoid of a single morsel of flesh on his face." Al;imad #22420 and Bazzir #923 record on the authority ofThawban that the Messenger of Allih (ii) said, "Whoever asks for something and is in no need of it, it will m ar his face on the Day of Rising." Bazzir said the isnid was J;iasan and it was ruled �al;il""l;i by Arna'ii! et. al. 7 Muslim #1 043 on the authority of 'Awf ibn Malik. 74 they take such delight in humbling themselves in love?' He re­ plied, For love, a person's humility is nobility, Submissiveness to the beloved is dignity. This act of humbling and this love is only valid for Allah Alone, they are the components of true worship which is particular to the True God. Imam Af:imad, may Allah have mercy on him, would say in his supplication, 'O Allah! Just as you have prevented my face from prostrating to other than You, prevent it also from asking other than You!' Abii'l-Khayr al-Aqta' said, 'I was in Mecca one year and was afflicted by harm and need, each time I went out to beg, a voice would cry out, "You would offer a face that prostrates to Me to someone else?!"' In this sense, one of them said, One who offers Him his face when asking will never accept another in His place even if begging him brings affluence. Were you to weigh asking against any gifts conferred, Asking would preponderate and every gift secondary. If you must proffe� your face by begging, 75 Offer it to the One who is kind and generous.

It is for this reason that one who is given to begging without need will come on the Day of Rising without a morsel of flesh on his face as is established in the Two Salftl:i.s.8 This is because, in this world, he took away the nobility of his face, its sanctity and its honour, so Allah, on the Day of Rising, will take away its physical beauty and grace, leaving a fleshless skeleton in its place. So too will He take away its inner beauty and grace and the per­ son will be left having no status with Allah. Asking Allah expresses servitude of a profound nature because in doing so, one displays his need of Him and acknowledges His ability of answering that need. To ask a created object is oppres­ sive because that object is unable to procure good for itself, or repress harm from itself, let alone do so for another! To ask of it is to put something that is unable in the place of One who is able. This meaning is testified to by the Q.adith in SaQ:iQ.

Muslim on the authority of Abu Dharr that the Prophet (;i) said, "My serv­ ants! If the first and last of you, the man and Jinn of you, stood in one plain and asked of Me, and I granted every one his re­ quest, it would not decrease what is with Me except as a needle decreases the (volume) of an ocean when dipped in it."9 TirmidhI and others record an additional wording, " ... and that 8 Bukhari #1 474 and Muslim # 1 040 9 Muslim #2577 76 is because I am the generous, rich beyond need, glorious. I do what I wish. My gift is a word and My punishment is a word. When I wish a thing to be, I only say, 'Be!' and it is." 1 0 So how can one who is needy and incapable be asked yet the One who is rich and able be left?! This is truly astonishing!

One of the Salaf said, 'I am ashamed to ask Allah for anything of this world even though He owns it, so how can I possibly ask someone who does not own it?!' i.e. an object of creation. One of the Salaf came upon difficult times and decided to ask one of his brothers for help. He saw a person in a dream saying, Is it acceptable for one who is free, When he finds all he wants with Allah, To incline his heart towards the servants? he awoke to find that he was, amongst people, the most con­ tent of heart. One of the Salaf said, 'I read the following in one of the heav­ enly scriptures: "Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, says, 'Is some­ one other than Me hoped for during adversity?! Adversity is in My hand and I am the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Someone other than Me is hoped for and his door is knocked on in the early hours?!

In My hands are the keys to all treasures and My door is open to whoever invokes Me! Who can say that he placed his hope in Me during hardship yet I cut him off? Who can say 10 Al:imad #21 367-21 369, TirmidhI #2495, ibn Majah #4257 TirmidhI said it was l:iasan and Arna'iit et. al. said it was �al:iil:i due to witnesses. 77 that he placed his hope .in Me during adversity and I cut short his hope? Who can say that he knocked on My door and I did not open it for him? I am the source of hopes, so how can hopes be severed before Me? Am I a miser such that the servant finds me niggardly?

Is not the world, the Hereafter, kindness and grace entirely with Me? What prevents the hopers from placing their hope in Me? Were I to gather the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth and grant each and every one of them what I grant all of them together, and were I to fulfil the hope of each one of them, my dominion would not be decreased an atoms weight! How can a dominion decrease, the sustainer of which is Me? Wretched is the state of those who despair o f My mercy, wretched is the s tate o f thos e who disobey Me and boldly encroach My proscriptions!"" Allah loves to be asked and is angry at someone who does not ask Him . He wants His servants to desire Him, to ask Him, to invoke Him and show their need of Him.

He loves those who are earnest and persistent in supplication. Creation, generally, hates being asked because it is needy and incapable. Ibn al-Sammak said, 'Ask not one who will run away from you rather than listen to your request, instead ask One who has or­ dered you to ask Him .' Abii'l-< Atahiyyah said, Allah is angry if you leave asking Him, The child of Adam is angry when you ask him. Direct your request to God since In our Lords blessings do we vacillate. 78 Ya}:iya ibn Mu'adh would say, 'O You who are angry at whoever does not ask of You, do not hold back from someone who does ask You!' Allah, Most High, requests His servants to ask of Him . Every night He calls out, "Is there one asking of Me that I may give him? Is there one invoking Me that I may respond?" 1 1 Allah, Most High, says, .. /;' ,, -:: # -" ,,,, . ,, > 1-,, ..-:: : , . ,,,,. / "If My servants ask you about Me, I am near.

I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me."12 Regardless of what time the servant supplicated to Him, he will find Him hearing, close and responsive; there will be no screen between the two and no sentry at the door. Were he to ask a created being, quickly would he find barriers erected, doors be­ ing closed and he will find it very difficult to reach the person most of the time. 11 Bukhari # 1 1 45-6321 - 7494 and Muslim #756 record on the authority of Ahil Hurayrah that the Prophet � said, "Every night, when the last third of the night remains, our Lord, Blessed and Most High, descends to the lowest heaven and says, 'Is there anyone invoking Me that I may respond? Is there anyone asking of Me that I may give it to him? Is there anyone who asking My forgive­ ness that I may forgive him?'" 12 al-13aqarah (2): 1 86 79 Tawus said to 'Ata', 'Beware of seeking your needs from one who would shut the door in your face and erect a barrier. Instead, go to One whose door is open till the Day ofJudgment, who has ordered you to ask of Him and has promised you to respond. '13 Wahb ibn Munabbih said to one of the scholars, 'Have I not been informed that you go to kings and the sons of kings (sell­ ing) your knowledge to them?

Woe to you! You go to one who would close his door in your face and make out that he is poor, hiding his richness, and you leave One who has opened His door for you at midday and midnight and shows His richness to you saying, "Invoke Me and I will respond"?!' Maymiin ibn Mihran saw some people gathering at the door of one of the rulers and remarked, 'Whoever's need is not fulfilled by the Sultan should know that the houses of the All-Merciful are always open. Let him go to the Masjid and p�ay two rak'ahs and ask Him for his need. ' Bakr al-Muzani would say, 'Son of Adam, who i s there like you! Whenever you wish you can purify yourself and privately discourse with your Lord with no barrier between you and no need for a translator. ' A man asked one of the righteous to intercede for him in get­ ting his request answered by someone.

He said, 'I will not leave a door that is open to go instead to a door that is closed. ' In this respect, one of them said, 13 Abu Nu'aym, vol. 4, pg. 1 1 , vol. 8, pg. 1 41 80 The courtyards of kings are barred Allah's door is open, unbarred. Another said, Say to those hiding from the petitioners In houses that are barred approach, Should the sentries prevent your entry, 'At His door, Allah has no sentry.' Another said to one of the scholars, Sit not at the door of one Who would refuse you entry. You reason: My need will remain Unmet if I do not visit his house. Leave him; go instead to its Lord, It will be met, the former begrudging! Ibn Abi al-Dunya14 records the l}.adith of Abu 'Ubaydah ibn 'Abdullah ibn Mas'iid that a man came to the Prophet (al) and said, 'Messenger of Allah, Banii so-and-so have attacked me and taken my son and camels.' The Prophet (M) said, "The family of Mul}.ammad live in such-and-such a place, they do not even pos­ sess a mudd or fa' of food, so ask Allah, Mighty and Magnificent." He returned to his wife and she asked, 'What did he say to you?' so he told her." She said, 'What an excellent response!' It was not long after that Allah returned his son to him along with more camels than he had in the first place!

He then came to the Prophet (;i) and told him of what had happened, so the Prophet (ji) 14Ibn Abi al-Dunya, al-Far'!} ba'd al-Shidda, pg. 1 0, and al-Qanti'ah wa'l-Ta'effuj, pg. 54; Bayhaqi, al-Dalti'il, vol. 6, pg. 1 07 81 ascended the pulpit and praised Allah, eulogising Him. Then he ordered the people to ask of Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, and to place their desire in Him. He recited, t!. � ,,,,._ ''Whoever has taqwa of .Allah He will give him a - way out and provide for him from where he does not expect." 1 5 A man asked Thabit al-Bunaru to intercede for him with a judge in order that a particular need of his be met. Thabit stood to go with him and each time he passed by a Masjid on the way, he entered, prayed and supplicated. When they finally reached the court, the Judge had left. The petitioner set about blaming him and he said, 'All this while, I have only been responding to your need!' All ah fulfille d his need without his needing to go to the j udge.

Once, while Is]:iaq ibn < Ubbad al-Ba�ri was sleeping, he saw a person in a dream saying, 'Relieve one who is overly anxious! ' Wh en h e awoke h e asked, ' I s t h e r e anyone n e e d y i n the neighbourhood?' They replied, 'We don't know.' Then he slept and the same dream occurred a second time, and then a third time with the man saying, 'You are sleeping without relieving him?!' He awoke and, taking three hundred dirhams with him, rode his mule to Ba�ra. There he stopped at the door of a Masjid which was holding some funeral prayers. He entered and saw a man praying, when the man realised he was there, he completed his prayer and came to him. (ls}faq) said, 'O servant of Allah! IS aJ-Tafaq (65): 2 82 (What are you doing) at this time and in this place?

What do you need?' He replied, 'I am man who possesses only one hundred dirhams which I have lost, and I also have a debt of two hundred dirhams. ' He took out his money and said, 'Here is three hun­ dred dirhams, take them.' He took them and then (Isl).aq) asked, 'Do you know me?' He replied, 'No.' He said, 'I am lsl).aq ibn 'Ubbad and should you face adversity, come to me, my house is in such-and-such a place.' He replied, 'May Allah have mercy on you! If adversity afflicts us, we will resort to the One who brought you here to us in the first place!' 1Abdu'l-Ral).man ibn Zayd ibn Aslam said, 'One morning, my mother said to my father, "By Allah, there is no meat at all to eat in this house of yours ! " He stood, performed ablution, put on his usual clothes and prayed in the house. My mother turned to me and said, ''Your father will do no more than this, so you go. " I left and a friend of ours who sold dates came to mind so I went to his market.

When he saw me he called me, took me to his house and fed me. Then, out of his own volition, without my saying anything about our difficulty, he took out a purse contain­ ing thirty dinars and said, "Convey my greeting to your father and tell him that we have made him a partner in our business and that this is his share. " ' Ibrahim ibn Adham left for a military expedition with some of his colleagues. They decided to share the expenses and each per­ son gave his share, he started thinking about which of his com­ panions he could take a loan from, then came to himself and wept saying, 'Woe to me! I seek from the servants and leave their Master?! He 'says to me, "Who is more deserving of your re­ quest, them or Me?" ' He performed ablution, prayed two rak'ahs, and when in prostration said, 'My Lord!

You know what I have 83 done and that it was done out of error and ignorance. If You were to punish me, I deserve it, and if You were to pardon me, You can do so. You know well my need so fulfil it by Your mercy!' He raised his head to find some four hundred dinars with him, from those he took one dinar and left. A!?bagh ibn Zayd said, 'I and those with me went three days without eating anything. My two young daughters came to me and cried, "O father! We are hungry!" So I went to the basin of water, performed ablution, prayed two rak'ahs, and I was inspired to say a certain supplication, the last words of which were, "O Allah, open the gates of provision for me and let me not be in­ debted to anyone in its grant, nor make me to be responsible to You in the Hereafter, concerning it, by Your mercy, 0 Most Mer­ ciful of the merciful." I went back to the house and my oldest daughter stood and said, "Father, my uncle just came with this purse containing dirhams, this carrier laden with flour and this carrier laden with everything in the Market!

He said, 'Convey my greetings to my brother and tell him that whenever he is in need, he should supplicate with that supplication and his need will be met."" A!?bagh then said, 'By Allah, I do not have a brother and I did not know who the person was, however Allah is omnipotent!' I:Iakam ibn Miisa said, 'I woke up one morning and my wife complained about not having any flour or bread. I left knowing that I would be unable to get anything and while walking down the street I said, "O Alla h! You know that I know that You know that I have no flour or bread or money, so grant them to us !" A man met me and asked, "Do you wish bread or flour?" I replied, "Either." Then I walked around during the day trying to find means to acquire what I needed but was unable. When I returned home my family had prepared a veritable feast of bread and meat. 84 I asked, ''Where did you get this?" They replied, "From the per­ son you sent!" I remained silent.' Awza«i said, 'While performing fawtif, I saw a man clinging onto the sheets of the Ka«bah saying, "My Lord! You see that I am poor. You see my children naked.

You see my camel emaciated. So what see You, 0 one who sees and is not seen!" A voice called out behind him saying, "«A�im, A�im, go to your uncle, he has passed away at Ta'if and left behind him one thousand ewes, three hundred camels, four hundred dirhams, four slaves and three Yemeni swords. Go and take them for you are his only inheritor!" I said, '"A�im, the one you were invoking was close to you!" He said, "Have you not heard His, Most High, saying, .. ,,-,, "" -: .- ,,, , . ,. > 1-M.I/ --:;: ': ,,, ., .,, "If My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me." m 1 6 The narrations and incidents concerning this are many and men­ tioning them would make this treatise very lengthy. They can be read in works such as al-Fartfi ba'd al-Shiddah and Mujabi al-dawah of ibn Abi al-Dunya, Kitab al-MustfJ!rikhina bi'Alkihi 'inda Nuziili'l­ Bala' of Qaq. I Abu'l-Walid ibn al-�affii r, Kitab al-Mustaghithina bi'Alkih 'inda Nuziili'l-Baki' of I:Iaf� Abu'l-Qasim ibn Bashkwal al-Andulusi and other works dealing with asceticism, heart melt­ ing issues and history.

Shaykh Abu'l-Faraj records in his major work on history, with 16 al-Baqarah (2) : 1 86 85 his chain of narration to I:Iasan ibn Sufyan al-Fasawi that he was residing in Egypt with a group of his colleagues, writing }:tadith. They were in need so they sold their possessions to meet them, eventually they had nothing left to sell and were forced to go hungry for three days being unable to find anything to eat. They woke up on the fourth day having decided to beg because of their dire need. They drew lots to decide who would go begging and it fell on I:Iasan ibn Sufyan. He said, 'I felt confused and dismayed and could not resolve myself to beg.' Instead I went to the prayer area of the Masjid and prayed two long rak'ahs in which I supplicated to Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, to relieve us of our adversity. I had not yet finished my prayer when a man en­ tered the Masjid with his servant who has carrying a cloth.

He asked, 'Who here is calle d I:Iasan ibn Sufyan?' I raised my head from prostration and replied, 'I am.' He said, 'Amir ibn Tiiliin conveys his greetings to you and welcomes you. He asks your forgiveness for not keeping up with your affairs and not fulfilling your rights. He has sent you all that you would need to meet your expenses. He himself will visit you tomorrow and ask to be ex­ cused by yourselves.' He placed in the hands of every one of us a purse containing one hundred dirhams. We were astounded and asked him how this had happened. He said, 'He was sleeping today and in his dream saw a knight in the sky saying, "Stand and go to I:Iasan ibn Sufyan and his companions in the Masjid of so­ and-so for they have gone hungry these past three days!" He asked, "Who are you?" He replied, "I am Riqwan, the guardian of Paradise!"' I:lasan said, 'We thanked Allah, Mighty and Magnifi­ cent, then we made ready our belongings, set things right and left Egypt that same night out for fear that the Amir may actually visit us and, as result, we gain fame and status amongst the masses leading to ostentation and pomposity.' 86 He also records with his isnad to MuJ:iammad ibn Hartin al­ Ruwayaru that he and Mu}:iammad ibn N�r al-MarwazI, Mul:iammad ibn < Ulwayh al-Warraq, and Mu}:iammad ibn Isl_iaq ibn Khuzaymah all met together, and he mentioned the same story as above in meaning, and he mentioned that the supplicant was actually ibn Khuzaymah.

He records via another isnad that they were four and they were Mul;iammad ibn Jarir, Mul_iammad ibn Na � r, Mul_iammad ibn Khuzaymah and Mul_iammad ibn Hamn. 87 Seeking Allah's Help The Messenger of All ah � said, ''When you seek aid, turn to Allah." After ordering us to safeguard Allah and to know Him in times of ease - this being the very essence of worship, he di­ rected us to ask Allah Alone and to invoke Him: "Du<a is worship," as is mentioned in the J::iadith of Nu<man ibn Bashir, and after stating this, the Prophet (;I) recited, 11. � ::- ··t'CJ.Y.l .· > ..., � ��..)"' J"' f� "' Y-J�l � llJ � ''Your Lord says, 'Call on Me and I will answer you."'1 This was recorded by the authors of the Four Sunans. 2 1 Ghtifir (40): 60 2 Abu Dawii d #1479, Tirmidhi #2969-3247-3372, Nasli'i, al-Kilbrti #11464, ibn . Majah #3828 Tirmidhi said it was l;iasan �aJ:u1:i . Nawawi, al-Adhle4r, pg. 478 said its isnad was �$1:i, ibn l;:lajr, Fat!;, vol. 1 , pg. 64 said that its isnlid was jayyid, ibn l;:libbiin #2396 ruled it �alfil:i as did l;:llikim #1 902 with Dhahabi agreeing. AlbiinI, .$al;�h al­ Targhib # 1 627 said it was �$1:i. 88 After all this, he directed us to seek the aid of Allah Alone, and this is derived from His saying, ''You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help." 3 This verse lays out a comprehensive principle and it is said that the essential message of all revealed scripture revolves around it. Th.ere are two benefits in seeking the aid of Allah Alone: