Tuesday, October 16, 2007
SOMEBODY was at the door. A salutation of peace was heard, "Assalaamu'alaikum..." and a request for permission to enter. Fatima got up, opened the door a crack, and said, "Please excuse us, my father is ill and in fever," before closing it again. She returned to the side of her father, who had by then opened his eyes. He asked who was at the door. "I do not know, O my father, somebody I have never seen before."
Her father, the noble Prophet Muhammad (shallallahu 'alayhi wassalam, peace and blessing be upon him), watched the beautiful daughter's face with a gentle look as if trying to memorise even the minutest part. "Know, O my daughter, he it is who will take away the transient joy of this world, who will separate unions in this world. He is the Angel of Death."
Fatima struggled to hold back her tears. Izrail entered. The Prophet asked, why the Angel Gabriel was not with him. At that moment, Angel Gabriel, who had been ready at the doors of the heaven to welcome the ruh of the Beloved of Allah, descended and entered
"O Gabriel, please tell what my rights will be before my Lord," said the Prophet in his weakened voice.
"All doors leading to Heaven have been opened wide and the angels are awaiting the arrival of your ruh. Paradise awaits you."
That did not allay the look of worries and concern in the Prophet's eyes. "You do not seem to be happy about this, O Beloved of Allah," Angel Gabriel said.
"Tell me how my ummah will fare," the Prophet insisted.
"Worry not, O Messenger of Allah, for I have heard Allah say, 'Paradise I shall keep haram for anyone else until after Muhammad's ummah are inside'."
The Angel of Death approached. Drops of perspiration dotted his body and the veins in his neck became taut."O Gabriel, how painful the throes of death are," the Prophet whispered. Fatima shut her eyes tightly. Gabriel averted his glance.
"Why have you turned your face away, Gabriel?"
"Who could stand watching death wrest life from Allah's beloved?" Gabriel said. Again the Prophet whispered his pain. He had by him a vessel of water into which he took to dipping his hand in order to wipe his face, saying, "O Lord God! Mitigate for me the agonies of death!"
Fatima said, "How great is my sorrow at your sorrow, father!" But the Prophet said, "There shall be no more sorrow for your father after this day."
The Prophet's lips trembled and formed another whisper: "Uushiikum bis shalati, wa maa malakat aimanukum; keep your solat and protect the poor and the weak among you." Outside the door, the companions of the Prophet broke down and wept even as they comforted one another.
"Ummatii, ummatii, ummatii...my ummah, my ummah, my ummah," the Prophet whispered and drew his last breath, leaving behind him an ummah that would soon face turmoil that tested the strength of their faith.
Today, more than 1400 years since the Beloved of Allah began his prophetic mission, we understand and experience for ourselves what it was that had the Prophet's eyes clouded with worries and concern. We are an important part of the world's community, all 1.6 billion of us, but the state that we are in today leaves a lot to be desired because too many have forgotten Ar-Ribat.
Ribat means maintaining vigil at the frontier of an Islamic country, for security and defence purposes. Thus, it is a continuous process of jihad. However, continuous good deeds and 'Ibadah have also been compared with Ribat. The Messenger of Allah once said, "Should I not direct you to something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates (your) ranks?" "Performing Wudu' properly, even in difficulty, frequently going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next solat (prayer) after a solat is over; indeed, that is Ar-Ribat." [Muslim].
We had one month of Ribat during Ramadhan the question is how best can we maintain this state of vigil for the next eleven months?
Her father, the noble Prophet Muhammad (shallallahu 'alayhi wassalam, peace and blessing be upon him), watched the beautiful daughter's face with a gentle look as if trying to memorise even the minutest part. "Know, O my daughter, he it is who will take away the transient joy of this world, who will separate unions in this world. He is the Angel of Death."
Fatima struggled to hold back her tears. Izrail entered. The Prophet asked, why the Angel Gabriel was not with him. At that moment, Angel Gabriel, who had been ready at the doors of the heaven to welcome the ruh of the Beloved of Allah, descended and entered
"O Gabriel, please tell what my rights will be before my Lord," said the Prophet in his weakened voice.
"All doors leading to Heaven have been opened wide and the angels are awaiting the arrival of your ruh. Paradise awaits you."
That did not allay the look of worries and concern in the Prophet's eyes. "You do not seem to be happy about this, O Beloved of Allah," Angel Gabriel said.
"Tell me how my ummah will fare," the Prophet insisted.
"Worry not, O Messenger of Allah, for I have heard Allah say, 'Paradise I shall keep haram for anyone else until after Muhammad's ummah are inside'."
The Angel of Death approached. Drops of perspiration dotted his body and the veins in his neck became taut."O Gabriel, how painful the throes of death are," the Prophet whispered. Fatima shut her eyes tightly. Gabriel averted his glance.
"Why have you turned your face away, Gabriel?"
"Who could stand watching death wrest life from Allah's beloved?" Gabriel said. Again the Prophet whispered his pain. He had by him a vessel of water into which he took to dipping his hand in order to wipe his face, saying, "O Lord God! Mitigate for me the agonies of death!"
Fatima said, "How great is my sorrow at your sorrow, father!" But the Prophet said, "There shall be no more sorrow for your father after this day."
The Prophet's lips trembled and formed another whisper: "Uushiikum bis shalati, wa maa malakat aimanukum; keep your solat and protect the poor and the weak among you." Outside the door, the companions of the Prophet broke down and wept even as they comforted one another.
"Ummatii, ummatii, ummatii...my ummah, my ummah, my ummah," the Prophet whispered and drew his last breath, leaving behind him an ummah that would soon face turmoil that tested the strength of their faith.
Today, more than 1400 years since the Beloved of Allah began his prophetic mission, we understand and experience for ourselves what it was that had the Prophet's eyes clouded with worries and concern. We are an important part of the world's community, all 1.6 billion of us, but the state that we are in today leaves a lot to be desired because too many have forgotten Ar-Ribat.
Ribat means maintaining vigil at the frontier of an Islamic country, for security and defence purposes. Thus, it is a continuous process of jihad. However, continuous good deeds and 'Ibadah have also been compared with Ribat. The Messenger of Allah once said, "Should I not direct you to something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates (your) ranks?" "Performing Wudu' properly, even in difficulty, frequently going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next solat (prayer) after a solat is over; indeed, that is Ar-Ribat." [Muslim].
We had one month of Ribat during Ramadhan the question is how best can we maintain this state of vigil for the next eleven months?