Part 8

In His hand is all good and He is capable of anything.

After that, say sabhanAllah ten times, albamdulillah ten times and Albu akbar ten times. Then recite the verse of the Footstool” and ask Allah, Glorious is He, to accept your Salah. Then, remain seated and remember Ailah, Most High, till the sun has risen. Then, pray what Allah has written for you and If you can per-

& A sahib narration: Aba Dawid, 5065, al-Tirmidhi, 3407, al-Nasa’i, 3/74, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, les chain was authenticated by al-Nawawi (al-Athkar, p. 142) and al-Hatiz (al-Futubat al-Rabbaniyya, 1/51).

Methodology of Cultivation by Day and Night

form eight units, that is good.”

” This is based on the hadith of Ummu Hani’ Fakhita bint Abi Talib where she says: “L went to Allah’s Messenger (:#é) in the year of conquest and found him taking a bath. After finishing he prayed cight units and this was at forenoon.” (al-Bukhaci, 1176, Muslim, 336, 82) A narration of Muslim says (336, 71): “Then he prayed eight units of the forenoon voluntary prayer.” Al-Nawawi said (Sharh Sabih Muslim, 4, 29): “This wording contains a delicate benefit and that is the units of the forenoon prayer are eight in number. The proof is derived from her words: ‘the forenoon voluntary prayer’ which clearly indicate that this is an established and known Sunnah which is not evident in the narration that says: ‘he prayed eight units and this was at forenoon.”

A beneficial note: The forenoon prayer (Sali? al-Duhd) is the prayer of the Awwabin i.e. those who are coming to their senses after heedlessness and those who are returning from sinning to repentance. It is ideally performed as eight Prayer units and on a normal level as four or six. It is best to perform it at the hottest time of the day and at the rising of forenoon. Generally it can be performed at any time between sunrise and midday. Refer to: Ibn al-Qayyim: Zad

Sacred Knowledge Supersedes all Voluntary Actions

NCE YOU HAVE REVIEWED YOUR lesson till forenoon, pray eight units of salah al-Duha (the forenoon prayer}. Then keep yourself busy with reading or copying texts till ‘Asr time. After ‘Asr, return to your studies until Maghrib time.” After [praying] Maghrib, pray two units, reading two Juz’ of Quran in them, and study again after praying the

7 Tt should be noted, may Allah have mercy on us all, that the specified times and methods of voluntary worship (aurad) vary from person to person whether they are related to invocation, remembrance, reading the Qur’an, beneficial knowledge or seeking forgiveness at night ot day. Ibn Qudama says (Mukbtasar Minbaj al-Qasidin, p. 82): “The traveler on the path to Afterlife is one of six: 1.a worshiper, 2. a scholar, 3. a student, 4, a man of responsibility, 5. a laborer, ot 6. someone who has immersed himself in his love for Allah and spends all his time in that.” After this the author began clarifying and arranging the preferred actions for each depending on their varying conditions. The things he mentioned are very important so do refer to it. As for Ibn al-Jawzi’s advice here, it should be known that it is directed towards a student of Sacred Knowledge who is able to dedicate all of his time for his studies with nothing to hold him back. And Allah knows best.

Sacred Knowledge Supersedes ail Voluntary Actions

Salah of ‘Isha’.” Then lay down on your right side,” say subhanAllah thirty three times, a/bamdulillah thirty three times and Allahu akbar thirty four times.”* Say: “O Allah! Protect me from Your punishment on the day You shall gather Your slaves.””>

Refer to: Zaid ahMa‘ad, 4/239: “His preparations for sleep and wakefulness.” Also, it was related (al-Bukhari, 6315, Muslim, 2710, 56) from the hadith of al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib that Allah’s Messenger (3) said: “When you come to your resting place, perform the wudu you'd perform for praying. Then lay down on your right side and say: ‘O Allah, I have submitted myself to You, turned my face to You, entrusted my affair to You and put my trust in You having my back. I have done this out of my desire to arrive to You and out of my fear of You. No shelter is there from You and no savior except You. I have believed in Your Book which You have revealed and Your prophet whom you have sent.’ Make these your final words. If you die on that night you will die on your fitrah (natural disposition)”.

8 Sahih: Abi Dawid, 5045, Ibn al-Sinni, 7337, al-Nasa’i: ‘Amal al-Yaumi wa alLaila, 452, a\-Vabarant: al-Mu {jam al-Kabir, 394, from Hafsah, the mother of the believers, where he told that whenever Allah’s Messenger (38) wanted to sleep=

When you open your eyes after sleep, know that your soul has now taken its share.” Get up, perform ablution and pray what you can in the darkness of the night. Open your prayer with two light units, and follow them with two units, reciting two Juz’ from the Quran in them. After that, start your studies, as Sacred Knowledge is better than all voluntary actions.”

= he put his right hand under his cheek and said: “Allah, protect me from Your punishment on the day You shall resurrect your slaves” three times. This narration was declared hasan by al-HMafiz (Nata’jj al-Afedr, p. 193). It has supportive narrations from al-Bara’, Hudhaifah and Ibn Mas‘ad which raise it to the level of sahih, and Allah knows best.

As for his guidance while being awake, he used to wake up when the rooster crowed, praising Allah Most High, saying Adldhu akbar and Ja ilaba illallah and calling to Him. After that he would use the tooth stick (mink), get up for ablution and stand in front of His Lord in prayer, conversing with Him through His specch, praising and hoping, desiring and fearing, Is there really anything better than this in preserving the health of one’s body and heart, spirit and strength and the enjoyment of this world and the hereafter? Refer to: Zad al-

” This has been mentioned by many Imams such as al-Zuhri, Sufyan al-Thauri, Abii Hanifah and al-Shafi'i. You should refer to Ibn Rajab’s explanation of Abi al-Darda’s hadith (p. 96, 103) as he has analyzed this issue in it in academic and fait fashion, Every student should understand his words and follow them. He said: “The scholars have differed concerning this issue: Which one is better, studying Sacred Knowledge or performing voluntary prayers and reciting the Qur’in and words of remembrance? Knowledge is better for him who studies sincerely for Allah’s sake and has a good and clear mind. However, this should still be joined with a good amount of prayers and worship. If you find him to be a serious student but notice that he’s lacking in his worship, it is a lazy and worthiess person you're dealing with, and this person is not truthful when he says his intentions are good. As for when one studies hadith and figh simply as, an intellectual pursuit, worship is better in such a case. In fact, the difference between the two is like the difference between the normative and superlative. This is a general categorization, and by Allah, I’ve have only seen a few who are sincere in seeking this knowledge.”

Beware of Pitfalls and Obstacles

RACTICE ISOLATION for it is the basis of all good,”

and beware of bad companionship, and let the books and

reading about the lives of our predecessors be your companions.

% Al-Imam al-Bukhari has a chapter in his Sahih called: “Isolation is a rest ftom mixing with bad people.” You should know that the differing of scholars here concerns the superiority of marriage and being single and that it depends on the person and his condition. One of the most important things one should pay attention to here is that an ignorant person isolating himself only harms him. A scholar was once asked: “What do you say about the isolation of an ignorant person?” and he replied: “Insane calamity.” He was then asked: “What about that of a learned one?” He said: “Why do you wish for it? Leave it, for it has its feet and water reservoir. It will drink water and eat the trees till its Lord meets it.” Al-Imam al-Khattabi has authored a great book on isolation and abridged the truth about this issue in the end (p. 117-118), saying: “The ideal here is that a person does not neglect any duties he may have towards others even if they don't ask him to perform them, and that he does not get involved in falsehood that is not binding on him even if they invite him. Indeed, whoever gets occupied with what does not concern him will miss out on what does concern him, and whoever gets busy with falsehood will become apathetic with cruth. So be with the people in good and stay away from their evil, and aim to be a witness who is like he wasn't there and a learned man who is like an ignoramus.”