In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Abu Ali, Ahmad Bin Aasim Al-Antaakee, may Allah have mercy upon him

He was well known for his fine admonitions. He was a Zahid and a devout worshipper. He narrated hadith from Abu Mu’aawiyah Ad-Dareer, may Allah have mercy upon him, and those at his level.

He said, “One of the bounties is that you rectify matters during what is left from your lifespan so that you are forgiven what has already elapsed”.

He said, “Whoever (truly) knows Allah will fear Allah more than others”.

He said, “The best companion in your worldly life is the one who cuts you off from the (excesses) of the worldly life and connects you to the matters of the Afterlife”. [1]

He said: “People are three types: Those dominated by their sound natural disposition and they are the believers. When heedless, they are reminded and they take heed. Those whose natural disposition is overcome, but when they are made to see (the truth, reality), they perceive it and return through the strength of (sound) intellect. Those whose natural disposition is overcome, possess no sound natural disposition, and there is no way of bringing them back through admonitions.” [2]

He said: “The most beneficial intellect is the one that makes you acknowledge Allah’s blessings, aids you to be grateful and oppose (evil) desires”. [3]

He said: The most beneficial type of fear is that which restrains you from sins, prolongs your sorrow over what has elapsed, and obligates to you to contemplate what remains from your lifespan and the end of your affair. The most beneficial type of truthfulness is your acknowledgement – in the presence of Allah – the faults of your own soul. The most beneficial type of shyness is that you feel shy in Allah’s presence for asking what you love while committing what He dislikes. The most beneficial type of patience is that which strengthens you to turn away from your (vain) desires. The best type of jihad is to strive against your own soul in order to return it to accept the truth.  [4] [end of quotes]

O Allah! Grant us what is good in this life and the next, and include us among your obedient servants Amin.

[1] An Excerpt from Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. 10/318

[2] Siyar A’lam An-Nubula 11/410

[3] Seerah As-Salaf As-Saaliheen. 1/1073. Chapter: A mention of the At’baa at-Taabi’een

[4] Sifatus Safwah 2/418

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee, may Allah have mercy upon him

Imam Ash-Shaafi’ee was very young when his father passed away. At the age of two his mother took him to Makkah in order that his lineage is not lost. He grew up there, completed memorisation of the Qur’an at the age of seven and memorised the Muwatta of Imam Malik at the age of ten. He acquired Fiqh from Muslim Bin Khalid, may Allah have mercy upon him, who acquired Fiqh from Ibn Jurayh, who acquired Fiqh from Ataa, who acquired Fiqh from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Az-Zubayr and other than them amongst a group of the companions, such as Amr Bin Ali, Ibn Mas’ood, Zayd Bin Thaabit and others, may Allah be pleased with them. He studied under Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy upon him.

Many senior Imams have praised him, such as Abdur Rahman Bin Mahdee, may Allah have mercy upon him, who asked him to write for him a book on the subject matter of Usul. He wrote it. Ibn Mahdee always used to supplicate for him in prayer and said that Ash-Shaafi’ee was similar to his teachers, such as Imam Maalik Bin Anas and Qutaybah Bin Sa’eed, may Allah have mercy upon all of them. Ibn Maahdee also said, “Ash-Shaafiee is an Imam”.
Abu Ubayd, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “I have not seen one who is more eloquent, intelligent and pious than Ash-Shaafi’ee”. He has also been praised by numerous scholars, such as Yahyah Bin Aktham Al-Qaadee, Ishaaq Bin Raahawayh, Muhammad Bin Al-Hasan and others, may Allah have mercy upon them.

He Was a Mujaddid

The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا

Allah will raise for this Ummah at the end of every hundred years the one who will revive its religion for it.
Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy upon him, used to say, “Umar Ibn Abdil Azeez, may Allah have mercy upon him, was one of the revivers at the end of the first hundred years, and Ash-Shaafi’ee, may Allah have mercy upon him, was one of the revivers at the end of the second hundred years”. He used to supplicate for Ash-Shaafi’ee in prayer for nearly forty years. [a]

Falsely Accused And Arrested

He was once appointed as judge in Najran (Yemen), then the people stringently began to follow his rulings and gave them precedence, then the matter was distorted to Haroon Ar-Rasheed, may Allah have mercy upon him, that As-Shaafi’ee was seeking after the Khilafah. He was then taken to Baghdad in chains on a mule and at the time he was 30 years old. He was brought in the presence of Haaroon Ar-Rasheed and a discussion took place between him and Muhammad Bin Hasan Ash-Shaybaanee, may Allah have mercy upon him, in the presence of Haaroon. Muhammad Bin Hasan spoke highly of Ash-Shaafi’ee, thus, it became clear to Haaroon Ar-Rasheed that Ash-Shaafi’ee was innocent of what they attributed to him.

Adherence to The Sunnah

He said, “If a hadith is reported with an authentic chain from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, then establish your speech based on it and abandon my speech, because it is what I would have held, even if you do not hear it from me”. He also said, “Do not blindly follow me”. “I do not have speech in the presence of the Messenger’s speech”.

He said, “It is better for a man to be put to trial with everything that Allah has forbidden except Shirk than looking into theological rhetoric. Indeed I have come across affairs from the proponents of theological rhetoric that which I never thought I would come across”.

He said, “I wish that the people acquired this knowledge of the Sharee’ah and nothing of it is attributed to me”. [end of quote] [An Except From Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. 10/251-254]

[a] More Faa’idah On This Hadeeth: [إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا – Allah will raise for this Ummah at the end of every hundred years the one who will revive its religion for it]. [إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ – Allah will raise for this Ummah]- meaning the Ummatul Ijaabah [i.e. the Muslims]. [عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ – At the end of every hundred years]- meaning at the end of every hundred years when there is little knowledge of the Islamic legislation and the authentic Prophetic Tradition, whilst ignorance and religious innovation is rife. [مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا – One who will revive its religion for it]- meaning a scholar who is alive and well known. He will clarify the authentic Prophetic Tradition and distinguish it from bidah. knowledge will be abundant again and its adherents will be aided, and the proponents of bidah will be overcome and degraded.

This reviver is non else but a scholar who has sound understanding of the religious sciences that deal with acts of worship, the underlying wisdoms of the religion and the texts that deal with beliefs of the heart. [An Excerpt from Awnul Ma’bood Sharh Sunan Abee Daawud. Vol 11. Pages 259-260. Publisher: Daar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah. 1st Edition 1419AH (Year 1998)] [End of quote]

Indeed, once again – in brief – we clearly witness the virtue of one of those beacons of guidance and piety. It’s impossible not to admire them. Therefore, when our era is replete with Fitan and many other matters that distract or ruin a person’s character, whether the corruption is big, small, apparent or hidden, one finds a clear example in the lives of these beacons of guidance and piety, while seeking Allah’s guidance for Ikhlas, Thabat, and Tawfeeq. There should be no time to waste in quarrels with the people of our era, especially when distractions are too numerous to be counted. Instead, we focus on the lives of the Salafus Salih. We ask Allah for Ikhlas, Thabat and Husnul Khatimah Amin.

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imam Al-Awzaa’ee, may Allāh have mercy upon him

Imam Malik, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “Al-Awzaa’ee, may Allāh have mercy upon him, was an Imam who was taken as an example to be followed”.

Imam Sufyan Bin Uyaynah, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “Al-Awzaa’ee was an Imam of his era. He performed Hajj several times and entered Makkah. Sufyan Ath-Thawree, may Allāh have mercy upon him, grabbed the rope of his camel, Malik Bin Anas followed behind him and Ath-Thawree said, ‘Give the Shaikh a place to sit’ until he got him to sit at the Kabah and both of them took knowledge from him”.

Imam Malik and Imam Al-Awzaa’ee engaged in discussion several times at Madinah from Dhur prayer until Asr prayer; then from Asr prayer to Maghrib prayer. Al-Awzaa’ee overwhelmed him in the subject matter regarding military expeditions and Malik overwhelmed him in Fiqh or some issues of Fiqh.

Al-Awzaa’ee said, “Follow the footsteps of the pious predecessors even if the people reject you, and beware of the speech of men even if they beautify and make it look good, because the affair is very clear and you are on the straight path”.

He also said, “Exercise patience upon the Sunnah, stop where the pious predecessors stopped, say what they said, refrain from what they refrained from, and be sufficed with what sufficed them”.

He said, “Knowledge is that which has  been transmitted from the companions of Muhammad [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] and what did not come from them is not knowledge”.

Al-Waleed Bin Muslim said, “After performing the morning prayer, Al-Awzaa’ee sat and engaged in remembrance of Allah until sunrise, and he used to attribute this deed to the pious predecessors”.

He engaged in much worship, performed the prayer in an excellent manner, refrained from doubtful matters due to fear of Allah, devoted himself to piety and used to keep quiet for a long time. He used to say, “Whoever prolongs the night prayer, Allah will make easy for him the standing on the day of judgement”, and he based this speech of his on Allah’s statement:

وَمِنَ ٱلَّيۡلِ فَٱسۡجُدۡ لَهُ ۥ وَسَبِّحۡهُ لَيۡلاً۬ طَوِيلاً

إِنَّ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ يُحِبُّونَ ٱلۡعَاجِلَةَ وَيَذَرُونَ وَرَآءَهُمۡ يَوۡمً۬ا ثَقِيلاً۬

And during night, prostrate yourself to Him (i.e. the offering of Maghrib and ‘Isha’ prayers), and glorify Him a long night through (i.e. Tahajjud prayer). Verily! These (disbelievers) love the present life of this world, and put behind them a heavy Day (that will be hard). [Al-Insaan. 26-27]

Al-Waleed Bin Muslim, may Allāh have mercy upon him, said, “I have not seen anyone who exerts himself in worship more than Al-Awzaa’ee”.

Many people have stated that once he performed hajj and did not sleep during his journey, rather he was engaged in prayer. And when he felt sleepy, he reclined on a saddle.

A woman once came to Al-Awzaa’ee’s wife and saw that his prayer mat was soaked and asked, “Perhaps a toddler urinated on it?”. His wife replied, “This is the effect of the Shaikh’s tears due to weeping in Sujud and this is what he does every day”.

He used to say, “The love for Ali and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, is not combined in a heart except that of a believer”. [End of quotes] [An Excerpt From Al-Bidaayah Wan-Nihaayah. 10/116-117]

Reflecting on these quotes from Al-Bidayah Wan-Nihayah and translating them to the best of my ability was truly enjoyable. I reflected upon the great status of these illustrious personalities, their humility, and their devotion to worship, which manifested to me the fact that there should be no time wasting in any competition other than emulating these amazing people. I had time to reflect upon the fact that while I ascribe myself to the path of the Salaf, I now – in my mid fifties – must constantly ask myself if I really understand who these amazing people were. Then I said to myself, from now on I will not allow anyone or any issues in our era to divert my attention from reading more about the lives of these personalities. Indeed, in the quiet corner of your house or even in the company of family and in-laws, one can read about these amazing people and ask Allah for guidance towards their path in Aqeedah, worship, methodology, and conduct. Indeed, true competition is to strive to emulate these illustrious people while seeking Allah’s protection from misguidance and everything that interferes with a person’s sincerity. May Allah grant all of us, in our moments of solitude and during gatherings, to emulate these amazing people Amin.