Translation: " Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e. don't punish them). * " (7: 199) And
۞الْقُرْآنُ الْكَرِيمُسُورَةُ الحِجۡرِ (15:86)
﴿إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ الْخَلَّاقُ الْعَلِيمُ﴾
( سُورَةُ الحِجۡرِ (15:86) )
Translation: “ And We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them except with truth, and the Hour is surely coming, so overlook (O Muhammad!) their faults with gracious forgiveness. * " (15: 86) And
Translation: " And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, the needy, and those who left their homes for Allah's Cause. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful * " (24: 22) And 7 Purifying the soul is one of the noble objectives of Islam. The story of Abu-Bakr with Mistah, his relative who played a big role in slandering the ' Mother of the Believers ' [ a title given to all the Prophet's wives] and the daughter of Abo Bakr.The story is contained in the Qur'anic chapter entitled ANoor (the Light). As an introduction to the ' The Process of Purifying the Soul, ' Sheikh Sa'eed Hawwa wrote the following: Introduction [ Purifying the soul means purifying it from polytheism and its signs, and implanting At-Tawheed (Oneness of Allah) deeply in the heart; and to help it to mould in conformity with the Divine Attributes of Allah in absolute slavery to Allah, through emulation of the Messenger of Allah. We shall not deal with each one of them in detail, instead we will confine ourselves to the essential meanings. As a preamble to the subject, we quote: ' Allah says:
Translation: "... And were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure, but Allah purifies whomever He wills. And Allah is One Who hears and knows (all things). (24:21) The previous verse concludes the verses that speak about the fabricated slander against A'isha, the wife of the Prophet and the Mother of the Believers. It follows the verses that give warnings to the people who spread lewdness among the believers and forbid the Muslims from following in Satan's footsteps. It occurs before the verse that says:
Translation: " Let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear against helping their kinsmen, those in want, and those who have left their homes in Allah's cause. Let them forgive and pardon. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? For Allah is Forgiving, Most Merciful. * " (24: 22) This asserts the following: 1. The barriers against purifying the soul are so strong that, but for Allah's grace and bounty, it would not occur. This entails great efforts to achieve this end, and one should invoke Allah to help him in this regard. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray to Allah: " O Allah! Grant my soul piety and purify it. You are the best to purify the souls. You are its Creator and Sustainer. " 2. Forgiving and pardoning those who have done wrong to us are among the means of purifying the soul, because verse number 22 talks about Mistah ibn Athathah, one of Ab u-Bakr's relatives, who played a major role in spreading the fabricated slander against A'isha. Abu-Bakr, father of A'isha, used to help Mistah for the sake of Allah, but the latter performed an ill deed in spreading that Islander, so, Abu-Bakr stopped supporting him. When this verse was revealed advocating the Muslims not to do so, Abu-Bakr resumed his aid to Mistah. How excellent is Abo Bakr's status! And how supreme is the status purifying process! 3. Not to follow in Satan's footsteps is a means of purifying the soul. It is stated that Satan orders but lewdness and evil deeds, thus, the purifying process means shunning lewdness and evil deeds in addition to not following Satan's footsteps. Envy and arrogance are two of Satan's qualities, because he envied Adam and refused to prostrate before him. 4. Hating to spread lewdness among the believers directly or indirectly. 5. Withholding one's tongue from people's honor and giving up what causes harm except in case of an established testimony. Thus, these are five issues we learn from one verse of the Noble Koran talking about purifying the soul. So, this subject is a fertile one.
Translation: We talked about some of them in the second chapter and mentioned that there is an interference between the ends, the means, and the effects. This includes them as parts in the purifying process. The following verses attest this fact: First: There are impurities related to the heart and impurities related to the soul caused by polytheism. Allah says:
Translation: " And the parable of an evil word is that of any evil tree: it is torn up by the root from the surface of the earth, hence, it has no stability. * (14:26)
Translation: Thus, the tree of polytheism has numerous branches showing slavery to others besides Allah, following errant ways, and adopting evil characteristics like arrogance, envy, and obeying false gods. So, the first requirement for purifying the soul is to purify the heart from polytheism in every form. Second: The heart is liable to suffer from various forms of darkness like hypocrisy, disbelief, debauchery, innovation, confusion, and instability, acts of disobedience and sin, etc. Thus, encompassing the heart in the Divine Light clears from it these forms of darkness, and hence, one sees clearly through that light. Allah says:
Translation: " He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of darkness into light... * " (33 43) And
Translation: " Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire. When it had lit all around him, Allah took away their light and left them in utter darkness. So they could not see. * (They are) deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path). * " (2: 17-18) He has described the unbelievers saying:
Translation: " As to the unbelievers, their deeds are like a mirage in sandy deserts that the man parched with thirst mistakes for water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing, but he finds Allah (ever) with him, and Allah will pay him his account. And Allah is swift in taking account. * Or (their state) is like the depths of darkness in a deep vast ocean, overwhelmed with a great wave topped by a great wave, topped by (dark) clouds depths of darkness one above the other. If a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! For anyone to whom Allah has not appointed light, there is no light. * " (24: 39-40)
Translation: Thus, deafness that prevents from one from hearing the truth and accepting it, blindness that prevents one from seeing the way to Allah and following it, silence that prevents one from supporting the truth and proclaiming it are signs of the soul's and the heart's darkness. Thus, getting out from these portions of darkness is encompassed in the soul purifying process. Third: The human soul has numerous desires. Some are material and some others are immaterial. Some are lawful and some others are unlawful. Love of food and drink are from the material lusts, and love of revenge, authority, and domination are immaterial ones. Some of these desires are lawful, if man adopts lawful means to satisfy, them like the sexual desire that is satisfied through marriage. Some others are originally unlawful, or become so if man adopts an unlawful method to satisfy them. Thus, purifying the soul from unlawful desires and the unlawful means of satisfying them, are also encompassed in the soul purifying process. Fourth: The soul and the heart become ill as bodies become ill. The soul is liable to be inflicted with diseases like arrogance, vanity, envy, and rancor, thus, purifying the soul from such diseases is included in the soul purifying process. Fifth: The soul is liable to be affected by the environment, temptation, concepts, and anxiety. As a response to this, it may follow in Satan's footsteps or the errant sects, Thus, giving up Satan's temptations and the doctrines of the misled sects are also included in the soul purifying process. Allah says:
Translation: " Show us the straight way * The way of those on whom You have bestowed grace, with whom You are not angry, nor who are lost. * 1 (1: 6-7) He who knows these five elements knows the best way of purifying the soul. He knows also that purifying the soul leads to its growth. For this reason, the first chapter is allocated to this subject where we have mentioned the eleven diseases from which the soul should be purified. One of the contents of the purification process is to purify it from anything that contradicts the original nature of man. The original nature of man confesses only to At-Tawheed (Oneness of Allah
Translation: " When your Lord drew forth from the children of Adam from their loins, their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): " Am I not your Lord (Who cherishes and sustains you)? " They said: " Yes indeed! We do testify! " (This), lest you should say on the Day of Judgment: " Of this we were never mindful * 11 (7: 172) This is the original nature of man whose manifest sign is the acceptance of Allah's Guidance with which all Messengers may the peace of Allah be upon them (were sent. Thus, the original nature of man means compelling the soul into slavery to Allah and that is a sign of knowing Him. It entails fearing Him, hoping for what is with Him, thanking Him, worshipping Him sincerely, being truthful with Him, being patient with whatever He inflicts one with, loving Him, discarding what detracts one from Him, and being steadfast in worshipping Him. In this way, man realizes assuredness and belief. This forms the second pillar of the pillars of purifying the soul. It is At-Tahaqqoq (Verification) the subject matter of the second chapter that contains twelve statuses. After At-Tahaqqoq (Verification), we allocated a chapter for At- Takhalloq (Disciplining the Soul) in two articles, one for disciplining the soul in conformity with Allah's Attributes and the other for emulating the Messenger of Allah. We considered this as an important subject in understanding the soul purifying process. This is the third pillar of the process. To have a preamble of it we say: To Allah are the Highest Attributes and the Beautiful Names. Allah created man and breathed in him of His Spirit. This means that Allah has breathed in man a created spirit that He attributed to Himself, as a symbol of honoring that spirit. Through this blow man was created inclining to behave in the proper manner. In other words, Allah created in man qualities like that of Allah's, but they are not to be compared with them because there is nothing that resembles Allah as stated by the Noble Koran and the authentic Sonnah. For this reason man was created with abilities to show mercy, to take revenge, to be arrogant, etc. as Allah is able to (but taking into consideration that there is nothing that resembles Allah). In this regard, man is required to commit himself to two requirements: a) The first requirement is to forbid his soul to get close to the Divine Attributes as Greatness and Arrogance, for example, are Allah's alone. The believing servant should not get close to them. The Messenger of Allah says: " Allah says: ' Haughtiness is My dress and Greatness is My loincloth. He that disputes with Me regarding them, I destroy him uncaring about him. " " b) Man should check his soul as regards the names to which he should accustom it. Thus, mercy, generosity, benefaction, compassion, dignity, etc should be controlled in conformity with Allah's commandments. The person who searches to attain such characteristics should cling to what he knows. This is the very meaning of At-Takhalloq (Disciplining the Soul). Purifying the soul is included in admitting slavery to Allah The highest of people in this regard are the Messengers, and at the peak of all them is their master, Muhammad, the last Prophet ﷺ . Thus, absolute slavery lies in emulating him, as this is the real purification. Inheriting from the Prophet means that we should adopt the commandments of the Book and Sunna earnestly, in action and utterance, and to follow strictly what he explained to us as regards trusting, showing humility, etc. This is the second meaning of At-Takhalloq (Disciplining the Soul). As we have said, the subjects of purification are interrelated, but we are compelled to divide the subject to ease its understanding. Now, it is hoped that the reader has gained a general idea about the subject matter of the three chapters. Before we start these chapters, we should attract attention to the fact that there have been many people who were misled, due to misunderstanding the purification process. Some of the quasi-instructed people of our age claim: " As purifying the soul is the final end of the acts of worship, but since we are well-mannered, thus, we are not required to perform these acts of worship. " Such are the ignorant ones, as the purification of the soul is a ceaseless process, so, it requires ceaseless feeding by the means that Allah has imposed, because He is Well-Aware of all the souls because He is their Creator. Thus, whenever man falls short in acts of worship, the soul is lost. The statement of Allah that we have shown attests to this. Allah says:
Translation: "... And were it not for the grace and mercy of Allah on you, not one of you would ever have been pure, but Allah purifies whom He pleases. And Allah is the One Who hears and knows (all things). (24:21) We heard of one of the religious scholars who asked one of the politicians of our age: " Do you perform the prayer? " The man said: " There is no need for me to perform the prayer because my soul is a purified one. " The scholar said: ' So, are you better than Muhammad and his companions? They used to perform the prayer until they died. Thus, You have attained what others failed to attain! " The man withdrew his words and returned to Allah. We hope that his soul was taken away while in a state of belief. Some of the so-called ascetics claim that when man reaches the heartly konwledge of Allah he becomes exempted from the Divine commandments. When these people were mentioned before Al Jonayd, he said: ' Indeed, they have reached but into
Translation: " Those who spend (in Allah's Cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men, verily, Allah loves the ones who do good. * " (3: 134) And
Translation: Hellfire. " Such people misunderstand the meaning of the following verse that says: "... And serve your Lord until the hour that is certain comes unto you. ** (15: 99). They did not realize that the Messenger of Allah is the first addressee of this verse (commandment). He remained worshipping his Lord until his soul was taken away. Thus, the word that is translated as " the hour that is certain, " means death. Had such people understood that the heartly knowledge is the starting point to committing to perform the commandments; they would have not made the end point the starting point. May Allah curse them. Some sects of those who search for the concealed meanings misinterpreted the commandments under the pretext that they are " The Chosen People, " hence they refused to accept these commandments. How such people can claim this when they have abandoned the ways to the legal means of purifying the soul and have misinterpreted the texts against the sound understanding, reason, and linguistic rules. They have gone astray on account of this. ']
296. Narrated by A'isha, the wife of the Prophet: ' I never remembered my parents believing in any religion other than the true religion (the religion of Islam), and (I don't remember) a single day passing without our being visited by Allah's Messenger in the morning and in the evening. When the Muslims were put to the test (i.e. troubled by the pagans), Abu-Bakr set out to migrate to the land of Ethiopia, and when he reached Bark Al-Ghimad, Ibn Al-Daghina, the chief of the tribe of Qara, met him and said: " O Abu-Bakr! Where are you going? " Abu-Bakr replied: " My people have turned me out (of my country), so I want to wander in the land and worship my Lord. " Ibn Al-Daghina said: " O Abu- Bakr! A man like you should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out of it, because you help the destitute earn their living, you keep good relations with your kith and kin, you help the weak, and the poor, entertain guests generously, and help people stricken by calamity. Therefore I am your protector. Go back and worship your Lord in your town. "
So Abu-Bakr returned and Ibn AlDaghina accompanied him. In the evening Ibn Al-Daghina visited the nobles of Quraysh and said to them: " A man like Abu-Bakr should not leave his homeland, nor should he be driven out. Do you drive out a man who helps the destitute earn their living, keeps good. relations with his kith and kin, helps the weak and poor, entertains guests generously, and helps people stricken by calamity? " So the people of Quraysh could not refuse Ibn Al- Daghina's protection, and they said to him: " Let Abu-Bakr worship his Lord in his house. He can offer the prayer and recite there whatever he likes, but he should not hurt us with it, and should not do it publicly, because we are afraid that he may influence our women and children. "
Ibn Al-Daghinatold Abu-Bakr of all that. Abu-Bakr stayed in that state, worshipping his Lord in his house. He did not offer the prayer publicly, nor did he recite the Koran outside his house. Then a thought occurred to Abu-Bakr. It was to build a mosque in front of his house, and there he used to offer the prayer and recite the Koran. The women and children of the pagans began to gather around him in great numbers. They used to wonder at him and look at him. Abu- Bakr was a man given to weeping much, and he could not help weeping when reciting the Koran. This situation scared the nobles of the Qurayshi pagans, so they sent for Ibn Al- Daghina. When he came to them, they said: " We accepted your protection of Abu-Bakr on condition that he should worship his Lord in his house, but he has violated the conditions and he has built a mosque in front of his house where he offers the prayer and recites the Koran publicly. We are now afraid that he may influence our women and children unfavorably. So, prevent him from that. If he wants to confine the worship of his Lord to his house, he may do so; but if he insists on doing it openly, ask him to release you from the obligation of his protection. We dislike breaking our pact with you, but we deny Abu-Bakr the right to announce his act publicly. "
Ibn Al-Daghina went to Abu-Bakr and said: " (O Abu- Bakr!) You know well what agreement I made on your behalf, now you should either abide by it, or release me from my obligation of protecting you, because I do not want the Arabs to hear that my people have dishonored a contract I made on behalf of another man. " Abu-Bakr replied: " I release you from your agreement to protect me, and I am contented with the protection of Allah. "
At that time the Prophet was in Mecca, and he said to the Muslims: " In a dream I have been shown the place of your migration, it is a land of date-palm trees between two mountains, the two stony tracts. So some people migrated to Madina, and most of those people who had previously migrated to the land of Ethiopia returned and went to Madina. Abu-Bakr also prepared to leave for Madina, but Allah's Messenger told him to wait for a while, because he hoped that he would be allowed to migrate also. Abu-Bakr said: " Do you indeed expect this? Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you! " The Prophet said: " Yes. " So Abu-Bakr did not migrate for the sake of Allah's Messenger, in order to accompany him, and for four months he fed the two shecamels he possessed with the leaves of Al-Samoor tree that fell when they were struck by a stick.
A'isha added: ' One day, while we were sitting in Abu- Bakr's house at noon, someone said to Abu-Bakr: " There is
Allah's Messenger with his head covered, coming at a time at that he has never visited us before. " Abu-Bakr said: " May my parents be sacrificed for him. By Allah, he has not come at this hour, except for an emergent matter. ' So Allah's Messenger came and asked permission to enter, and he was allowed to enter. When he entered, he said to Abu-Bakr: " Tell everyone who is with you to go away. " Abu-Bakr replied: " There are none but your family. May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger! " The Prophet said: " I have been given permission to migrate. " Abu-Bakr said: " Shall I accompany you? May my father be sacrificed for you, O Allah's Messenger! " Allah's Messenger said: " Yes. " Abu-Bakr said: " O Allah's Messenger! May my father be sacrificed for you, take one of these two she-camels of mine. " Allah's Messenger replied: " I will, but I should pay its price. "
So, we prepared the baggage quickly and put some food for the journey in a leather bag for them. Asma'a, Abu-Bakr's daughter, cut a piece from her waist belt and tied the mouth of the leather bag with it; and for that reason she was named Zat Al-Nitaqain (the owner of two belts). Then Allah's Messenger and Abu-Bakr reached a cave on Mount Thawr and stayed there for three nights. Abdullah ibn Abu-Bakr who was an intelligent and wise young man, used to stay (with them) over night. He would leave them before daybreak, so in the morning he could be with the Quraysh, as if he had spent the night in Mecca. He would remember any plot [ he heard being] made against them, and when it became dark he would (go and) inform them of it.
Amer ibn Fohayra, the freed slave of Abu-Bakr, used to bring the milking ewes (of his master, Abu-Bakr) to them a little while after nightfall, in order to rest the sheep there. So they always had fresh milk of their sheep at night, which they used to warm by throwing heated stones in. Amer ibn
Fohayra would then call the herd away while it was still dark (before daybreak). He did the same on each of those three nights.
Allah's Messenger and Abu-Bakr hired a man from the tribe of Bano-Dayl as an expert guide, who was in an alliance with the family of Al-Ass ibn Wa'il Al-Sahmi, but he was on the religion of the infidels of Qoraysh. The Prophet and Abu-Bakr trusted him and gave him their two camels and made him promise to bring the two camels to the cave of Mount Thawr in the morning after waiting three nights. And (when they set out) Amer ibn Fohayra and the guide went along with them and the guide led them along the seashore.
(The nephew of Soraqa ibn Joshom said that his father informed him that he heard) Soraqa ibn Josho'om saying: " The envoys of the heathens of Qoraysh came to us declaring that they had assigned a reward equal to their blood-money (i.e. 100 camels) for anyone who would kill or apprehend Allah's Messenger and Abu-Bakr,. While I was sitting in one of the gatherings of my tribe, Bano Modlij, a man from there came to us and stood up while we were sitting, and said: " O Soraqa! No doubt, I have just seen some people far away on the seashore, and I think they are Muhammad and his companions. " Soraqa added: " I too realized that it must have been them. " But I said: " No. It is not them, but you have seen so and so, so and so, and so and so whom we saw setting out. " I stayed in the gathering for a while and then got up and left for my home, and ordered my slave girl to go and get my horse which was behind a hillock, and get it ready for me. Then I took my spear and left by the back door of my house dragging the lower end of the spear on the ground and keeping it low. Then I reached my horse, mounted it, and made it gallop.
When I approached them (Muhammad and Abu-Bakr), my horse stumbled and I fell off it. I got up, took hold of my quiver and took out the divining arrows and drew lots to decide whether I should harm them (the Prophet and Abu- Bakr) or not, and the result that not what I was hoping for. But I remounted my horse and galloped, giving no importance to the divining arrows. Then, I heard the recitation of the Koran by Allah's Messenger, who was not looking around him while Abu-Bakr however was doing so often, and suddenly the forelegs of my horse sank into the ground up to its knees, and I fell off it again. I admonished it and it stood up, but it had great difficulty removing its forelegs from the ground, and when it stood up straight again, its forelegs caused dust to rise up into the sky like smoke.
I drew lots again with the divining arrows, and the result was again that which I was not hoping for. So I called to them to make them feel secure. They stopped, and I remounted my horse and approached them. When I saw how I had been hampered from harming them, it came to my mind that the cause of Allah's Messenger (i.e. Islam) would become victorious. So I said to him: " Your people have assigned a reward equal to the blood-money for your head. " And I told them all the plans that the people of Mecca had made concerning them. Then I offered them some food and supplies for their journey, but they refused to take anything and did not ask for anything. The Prophet said: " Do not tell others about us. " Then, I requested him to write for me a statement of security and peace. He ordered Amer ibn Fohayra to write it for me on a parchment, and then Allah's Messenger proceeded on his way.
(Narrated Orwa ibn Al-Zobayr) Allah's Messenger met Al-Zobayr with a caravan of Muslim merchants who were returning from Greater Syria. Al-Zobayr provided Allah's
Messenger and Abu-Bakr with white clothes to wear. When the Muslims of Madina heard the news of the departure of Allah's Messenger from Mecca to Madina, they started going to the Harrah every morning. They would wait for him until the heat of the noon forced them to return. One day, after waiting for a long time, they returned home, and when they went to their houses a Jew climbed up onto the roof of one of the fortresses of his people to look for something, and he saw Allah's Messenger and his companion dressed in white clothes emerging out of the desert's mirage. The Jew could not help shouting at the top of his voice: " O Arabs! Here is your great man whom you have been waiting for! " So, all the Muslims rushed to their arms and received Allah's Messenger on the summit of Harrah.
The Prophet turned with them to the right and alighted at the quarters of Bano Amr Awf ibn Awf, and this was on a Monday in the month of Rabee Awwal. Abu-Bakr stood up, receiving the people while Allah's Messenger sat down and stayed silent. Some of the Ansar (the Supporters) who came and had not seen Allah's Messenger before, began greeting Abu-Bakr, but when the sun fell on Allah's Messenger and Abu-Bakr came forward and shaded him with his sheet, only then did the people came to know Allah's Messenger.
Allah's Messenger stayed with Bano Amr Awf ibn Awf for ten nights and established the mosque (mosque of Qoba'a) that was founded on piety. Allah's Messenger offered the prayer in it and then mounted his camel and left, accompanied by the people until his camel knelt down at (the place of) of Allah's Messenger's mosque in Madina. Some Muslims used to offer prayers there in those days, and that place was also used as a yard for drying dates belonging to Sohayl and Sahl, two orphans who were under the guardianship of Asa'ad ibn Zorara. When his camel knelt down, Allah's Messenger said: " This place, if Allah wills, will be our abiding place. " Allah's Messenger then called the two boys and offered to buy that yard from them so that he might use it for a mosque. The two boys said: " No, but we will give it as a gift, O Allah's Messenger! Allah's Messenger ﷺ refused to accept it as a gift and ultimately purchased it from them. Allah's Messenger ﷺ then built his mosque there. The Prophet himself started carrying the clay bricks to build the mosque, and while doing so he was saying: " This load is better than the load of Khaybar, for it is more virtuous with Allah, purer, and more meritorious. " He was also saying: " O Allah! The actual reward is the reward in the Hereafter, so bestow Your Mercy on Al-Ansar (the Supporters) and the emigrants. " (Bukhari)
Translation: 297. Narrated Ibn Mas'oud " ' It is as if I am looking at the Prophet now talking about one of the prophets whose people had beaten him and caused him to bleed, while he was cleaning the blood off his face saying: " O Allah! Forgive myP people, for they have no knowledge. " (Bukhari)
Translation: 298. Narrated Abu-Huraira: ' Allah's Messenger ﷺ said: “ The strong one is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong one is the one who controls himself while in anger. " (Bukhari)