Part 5

satisfied with the necessities only, and you leave off seeking what is unnecessary for you. We will mention to you some of the stories of the fearful people that we hope will be a cause in removing some of the hardness of your heart. For you know that the Prophets ($8) and righteous people were more intelligent than you, so think about how severely they feared and perhaps you will prepare for yourself.

From the Stories of the Fearful Ones

The Intensity of Fear of the Angels (peace be upon them)

Allah said regarding their description:

Pa aod CP APCE @ at's Soec 4 “er ORE SUS CE dpabry Ago Pirro gsle “They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded.”

It was narrated that the Prophet (4%) said, “Verily, Allah has angels who tremble out of fear of Him..”"

It has reached us that from the carriers of the Throne are [angels] whose tears flow like rivers, so if [one] raises his head he

' Ibn Abi Dunya (d. 281 AH), al-Rugat al-Buqa, #104; Al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘b al-Iman, #878; Al-Khatib, Tarikh al-Baghdad, #4178 and Ibn Battah, a/-Jbdnah al-Kubra, #1196. Its chain is authenticated by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (8/297) and alHakami in Ma‘anj al-Qulib (2/671).

It was declared da‘if by al-Albani, Si/silah al-Da'‘ifah, #1988.

Chapter Seven: From the Stories of the Fearful Ones

says, “Glory be to You, You are not feared as You deserve to be feared.” Allah will say, “But those who swear oaths by My Name are liars [and] do not know this.”?

Jabir (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (#3) said, “On the night when I was raised up to the Heavens, I

saw Jibril (‘a/ayhis-salam) as if he was like a worn-out (water skin) from the fear of Allah.”?

It has also reached us that Jibril came to the Prophet (42) while he was crying. The Prophet (38) said, “Why are you crying?” He responded, “My eyes have not been dry from tears since Allah created the Hellfire, out of fear that I will disobey Him and He will throw me into it.”*

Yazid al-Raqgqashi said, ‘Allah has Angels around the Throne, their eyes cry tears as if they are rivers until the Day of Judgment. They sway as if the wind is moving them from the fear of Allah. So Allah will say to them, ‘O my Angels, why do you fear when you are close to me?” They respond: ‘O Lord, if the people of the earth saw your Glory and Majesty as we have seen, they would not eat or drink, nor would they be comfortable in their beds, and they would run to the deserts making sounds as if they were cows.’

* Ibn Abi Dunya, a/-Rugat al-Buga, #408.

* Tabarani, Mufam al-Awsat, 5/64. It was declared hasan by al-Albani, Sahib al-Jami‘ #5864.

* Al-Bayhigi, Shu‘b a/-Iman, 1/521; Suyati in Jami‘ al-Kabirand as found in Kanz

It was declared mawdii‘ by al-Albani, Sisi/ah al-Da‘ifah, ##6497.

RANKS OF THE FEARFUL

Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said, ‘When the Hellfire was created the hearts of the Angels flew from their place, and when He created Adam they returned as they were.’

It was narrated that when Iblis first revealed himself, Jibril and Mika’il began to cry. Allah asked them, ‘What is this crying?’ They said, ‘Our Lord, we do not feel safe from Your plan.’ So Allah, the Most High, said, ‘You should remain this way.’

The Intensity of Fear of the Prophets (peace be upon them)

Wahb said, ‘Adam (‘a/ayhis-salam) cried over Paradise for three hundred years, and he did not raise his head to the sky after he committed his sin.’

Wuhayb ibn al-Ward said, ‘When Allah reprimanded Nih (‘alayhis-salam) regarding his son and said,

a eter chee FZ AZo “I admonish you, lest you be one of the ignorant”

He cried for three hundred years, until there were marks under his eyes as if they were channels from the tears.

Abi’l-Darda (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, “When Ibrahim (‘alayhissalam) stood up to pray, a wheezing sound from his chest could be heard from far away from the fear of Allah.’

Mujahid said, ‘When Dawid (‘a/ayhis-salam) made his mistake, he fell down in prostration to Allah for forty days. His tears wa-

Chapter Seven: From the Stories of the Fearful Ones

tered the ground until plants grew from them and covered his head. He then cried out, ‘My Lord! The forehead has become sore, and the tears have dried, but Dawid (‘a/ayhis-salam) has not yet been forgiven.’ So it was called out, ‘Are you hungry so you will be fed, or sick so you will be cured, or oppressed so you will be assisted?’ At this he cried out a loud cry that withered all the plants that had grown, and at this time he was forgiven.’

It was also said that the people used to visit Dawid (‘a/ayhissalam) thinking that he was sick, but he had nothing wrong with him except his extreme fear of Allah.

[Prophet] ‘Isa (‘a/ayhis-salam) used to have blood drip from his skin if death was mentioned. While Yahya ibn Zakariyyah (‘alayhuma-salam) cried until his teeth showed through his cheeks, so his mother covered the openings.

The Intensity of Fear of the Prophet Muhammad (38)

‘A’ishah (radiyAllah ‘anha) narrated, ‘I never saw the Prophet (38) laughing so much that I saw the back chamber of his mouth, he only used to smile. If he saw some clouds or wind it would be visible on his face. I asked him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, when the people see clouds they become happy out of hope that it will rain, but when you see them I can tell the dislike on your face!’ He (48) said, “O ‘A’ishah, what guarantee do I have that it is not a punishment? There were a people that were punished with a wind, and a people saw the punishment and said,

RANKS OF THE FEARFUL

“This is a cloud bringing us rain!”

When the Prophet (3%) prayed, there was a wheezing sound from his crying like (a sound from) boiling kettle.

The Intensity of Fear of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)

Abii Bakr al-Siddigq (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) used to grab his tongue and say, “This is what has gotten me into danger.’ He used to say, ‘I wish I was just a plant that was picked and then eaten.’ Talhah [Ibn ‘Ubaidullah], Abi’l-Darda, and Aba Dhar (radiyAl/ahu ‘anhum) also made similar statements.

‘Umar bin al-Khattab (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) used to hear a verse from the Quran, so he would become ill and the people would visit him for days. He took a stalk of hay from the ground and said, ‘I wish I was only this piece of hay. I wish that I was nothing. I wish my mother never gave birth to me.’ He had two black lines on his face from his tears.

‘Uthman bin ‘Affan (radiyAl/ahu ‘anhu) said, ‘I wish that when I die I would not be resurrected.’

> Al-Bukhari, #4551 and Muslim, #899

Chapter Seven: From the Stories of the Fearful Ones

Aba ‘Ubaydah Ibn al-Jarrah (radiyAlahu ‘anhu) said, ‘I wish I was only a sheep so my family would slaughter me and eat my

‘Imran ibn Husayn (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, ‘I wish I was only sand that was thrown about in the wind.’

Hudhayfah (radiyAl/abu ‘anhu) said, I wish a person would take care of my wealth, and I would close my door upon myself, and no one would enter upon me until I meet Allah.’

There were two lines on the face of Ibn ‘Abbas (radiyAllahu ‘anhuma) from his tears, as if they were shoestrings.

‘A’ishah (radiyAllah ‘anhd) said, ‘I wish I was a thing that was forgotten and out of sight.’

‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, ‘I saw the companions of Muhammad and I do not see anyone like them today. They used to wake up unkempt and dusty, on their foreheads were dark marks of prostration. They had spent the night in prostration and standing in prayer, reading the Book of Allah, alternating between their foreheads and feet. When the morning came and they remembered Allah, they would sway like a tree in the wind, and they would cry until their clothes became wet. By Allah, it was as if they had spent the night in heedlessness and play.’

RANKS OF THE FEARFUL

The Intensity of Fear of the Successors (may Allah have mercy upon them)

Harim ibn Hayyan said, ‘I wish I was a plant that was eaten bya camel and then came out as dung, so I would not face the accounting on the Day of Judgment. I fear the great calamity!”

When ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn would perform ablution he would turn yellow, so he would be asked what was wrong, He would say: ‘Do you know in front of Whom I will stand (in prayer)?”

Muhammad ibn Wasi‘ would cry most of the night and almost never get tired.

‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz would remember death and then shudder as a bird does. He would then cry until his beard became wet. He cried one night so the people in his house also cried, and when their tears stopped Fatimah said, ‘May my father be sacrificed for you, O leader of the Believers, what made you cry?” He said, ‘T remembered when the people would be divided after being in front of Allah, one group in Paradise and one group in the Hellfire!’ Then he gasped and passed out.

When Al-Mansir wanted to go to Jerusalem he stayed at the place of a monk that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al ‘Aziz had also stayed at. He said, ‘Tell me about the most amazing thing you saw from ‘Umar.’ He said, ‘He spent the night on the roof of my room and it is made from marble. I saw water coming from the drain, so I climbed up to look. I found him prostrating, and his tears were coming down the drain.’

Chapter Seven: From the Stories of the Fearful Ones

It was narrated that ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al ‘Aziz and Fath al-Mawsili cried blood.

Ibrahim ibn ‘Isa al-Yashkuti said, ‘I entered upon a man in Bahrain who had isolated himself from the people and stayed busy by himself. I mentioned some affairs of the next life, and I mentioned death. He then began to gasp until he passed away.’