'Gems and Jewels: Wise Sayings, Interesting Events and Moral Lessons from Islamic History'

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
This thread is a collection of excerpts from a book of the same name compiled by Abdul Malik Mujahid. The book itself is available in Kalamullah and contains sayings, advice, admonitions and history from the time of the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and the Sahabah to a few centuries afterwards. This includes well known scholars such as Imam Malik, Fudail Ibn Iyad and others.

I want to share the wealth of knowledge and vast volume of information contained from it. I will post passages from the book with regularity inshallah in the hope that I benefit first and others reading it will also find something for their akhirah as well.
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Some newspapers related the account of how Professor Arthur Alison, Head of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department of the University of London, accepted Islam. He participated in the first Islamic International Conference on the Medical Inimitability in the Qur'an, it was held in Cairo in September 1985.

As one of the speakers of the conference, he presented a paper on spiritual and psychological methods of therapy in light of the Noble Qur'an. He presented another paper on sleep and death....

After presenting his lectures, Professor Alison [he was not Muslim at the time] attended lectures presented by other speakers, which mainly dealt with the many miracles of the Noble Qur'an; he was impressed with the religion of Islam- which he found to be a religion of knowledge and enlightenment. He began to ask the other attendees many questions about Islam, and he became more and more certain that Islam is the religion of truth and is the final religion revealed to mankind.

It didn't take long before he openly announced on TV that Islam is the true religion and the religion that is innately accepted by the hearts of men....

The Professor said, 'If the scholars of the west understood Islam, they would have entered into the fold of Islam as I did. I found the disparity between Islam and other religions or creeds that I had hitherto studied was great indeed: Islam never contradicts knowledge and the sound mind, so I believe with certainty that it is the religion that is revealed from Allah, the One." (P 86-7)
 
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Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Abu Hanifah and a man from Basrah were partners in a business. On one occasion, Abu Hanifah sent 70 expensive garments to him saying, 'One of them is defective, and it is such and such garment, so when you sell it, make sure that you point out the defect.'

The man sold it for 30, 000 dirhams, and when he came with the money to Abu Hanifah, the latter asked, 'Did you point out the defect?' He [the man] said, 'I forgot.' Abu Hanifah took nothing from the profit, but instead gave it all in charity." (P 124)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"A disbeliever once said to a believer, 'Do you not say that nothing afflicts you except that which Allah has written upon you.?' The believer answered, 'Yes.'

He [the disbeliver] said, 'Then throw yourself down from the peak of this mountain, and if Allah decrees safety for you, you will be saved.'

The believer said, 'Listen, indeed it is Allah who tests His slaves and not the slave who tests his Lord.' (P 133)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"It was said to a ruler, 'What has made you reach this level?' He said, 'I forggave when I was able to exact revenge, I was soft even when I was severe, I was just even regarding my own self, and I left enough place in my love and hate so that I could still easily change from one to the other." ( P 170)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"The ruler of Germany once visited Turkey. A member of the Turkish Congress wanted to show the German leader how 'civilised' thiey had become. He prepared a group of schoolgirls to welcome him, and he dressed them up in a gaudy manner, and each one of them was to give him a bouquet of roses.

The German ruler was shocked to see the dress of the young girls, and he said to those in charge: 'Indeed I was hoping to see the Hijab and modest dress in Turkey, which is in accordance to the ruling of your Islamic religion.

And here I am witnessing lewd dress, which we are afflicted with in Europe, and which is leading us to the loss of family, to the destruction of societies, and to to the ruin of children." (P 174)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"I advise you to fear Allah. I advise you to adhere to the Qur'an- for it is light in the darkest of nights and it is a guidance during the day. Apply it... but if a trial, such as poverty, comes to you, give precedence to your religion over wealth. If that trial worsens, continue to put your religion before your wealth and your soul, for indeed the only one who is destroyed is the one whose religion is destroyed; the one who is poor is the one who has lost his religion. Know that there is no poverty after Paradise and there is no richness after the Hellfire." (P 39)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Aisha said: A woman came to me with her two children, asking for help. All that I could find with me was a single date. I gave it to her and she divided it into two, giving half of the date to each of her two daughters, herself abstaining from eating anything from it.

I left her, and when Allah's Messenger (SAW) came to me, I informed him of what happened. He said, 'Whoever is put to trial with daughters in any way, but then does good by them, they will be a barrier between him and Hellfire." (Sahih Bukhari, Muslim & Tirmidhi, P 70)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Aisha said that she saw a dream in which three moons fell into her dwelling. She asked Abu Bakr concerning what she had seen. He replied,

'O Aisha, if indeed your dream is true, then the three best of Allah's slaves will be buried in your house. '

When the Prophet (SAW) died, he was the best of those three moons and he was the first of them. Thereafter Abu Bakr and Umar too were buried there." (P 71)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"When you perceive hardness in your heart, weakness in your body, and paucity in your sustenance- then know that you have spoken about that which does not concern you!" (Malik Ibn Dinar to his students, P 151)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"It is related that Umar Bin Khattab passed by a man who proudly said, 'I am from the valleys of Makkah.' He [Umar] stood over him and said,

'If you have religion, then you have honour;

if you have sound mind , then you have dignity,

if you have knowledge then you have respect;

Otherwise, you are on an equal footing with donkeys." (P 152)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"It has been said, 'Honour during the days of Ignorance was achieved by eloquent speech, by bravery, and by forbearance; and in Islam by religion and piety." (P 152)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Abu Darda said to his wife, 'If you see that I am angry, then appease me; if I see that that you are angry, I will appease you- otherwise why should we keep company with one another?' When this saying reached Imam Zuhri, he said, 'That is how companionship should be." (P 176)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Qasim Bin Muhammad [a highly knowledgeable and respected Sheikh several centuries ago] was asked about a certain issue and he replied, 'Indeed I am not too familiar concerning this matter.' And the one who questioned said, 'Indeed, I have come to you and I do not know anyone other than you.'

Qasim replied, 'Do not look at the length of my beard or the vast number of people that surround me. By Allah, I am not learned in this issue.'

He [Qasim] continued, 'By Allah, it is more beloved to me that Allah cuts my tongue than for me to speak concerning that of which I have no knowledge." (P 73)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Al-Masih Bin Maryam [Prophet Isa AS], passed by a gathering of Jews who spoke evil words to him to which he responded with kindness.

It was said to him, 'Why do you reply to their evil with good?'

And he [Prophet Isa AS] answered, 'Each person spends from that which he has." (P 79)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Whoever makes pure [his intentions and deeds], then his life is made pure [and good] for him. Whoever does the opposite, then his life is made bitter and spoiled for him.

Whoever does good deeds in the night is provided for during the day. And whoever does good deeds during the day, is provided for during the night." (P 325-6)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Do not let the temporary and little charms of this world distract you and entice you... and do not say tomorrow and tomorrow, for indeed you do not know when you will be heading to Allah." (Hasan Basri in a sermon, P 32)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Ibn Qayyim said, 'Whoever has profound knowledge of what Allah has revealed to the Prophet (SAW) will notice that most of the people are reputed to be religious are often the leastr religious.

What kind of religion or goodness is in a person who sees evil being committed, Allah's boundaries being transgressed, religion being lost, the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) being abandoned and warned against- and yet remains cold in his heart?

His tongue is quiet; he is a mute devil just as the one who speaks against religion is an articulate devil.

Is not affliction in religion the situation of those who, when they attain leadership and sustenance from religion, care not about what happens regarding the religion?

Certainly, the best of them are those that are at the very least saddened by the evil state of affairs . If one were to attack such a person in his honour, wealth or status,. he would surely take all necessary steps to prevent himself from that attack.

Such people have been tested, have failed, and have fallen from Allah's eyes, yet they do not perceive it

The trial they have been afflicted with is the death of the hearts. When the heart is alive and functioning at its peak, it rises to anger for the cause of Allah and His Prophet (SAW) and will seek to promote His Religion." (P 33)

Personal Comment: This is a reference to the following people

1. Those who have a higher degree of knowledge of Shariah law than the common Muslim
2. Those in positions of Islamic authority able to influence people
3. Those trained in fields of higher Islamic knowledge
4. Those with expertise in certain branches of Islamic knowledge, but without authority
5. Those who support wrong even when they know it is wrong

It also refers to the following themes

1. Creating False Divine Verdicts
2. Deliberately Distorting Knowledge
3. Deliberately Misinterpreting Knowledge
4. Removing Knowledge from the masses so that they are unaware of certain things
5. Challenging and opposing those who reveal True Knowledge
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"A Scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, Bakr Al-Muzani, saw a labourer carrying goods with him while constantly uttering 'Alhamdulilah' and 'Astaghfurullah'.

The scholar said that he waited for the labourer to rest from his load before he spoke to him. When he did, Al-Muzani asked him, 'Do yo know anything other than this?'

The labourer responded, 'Indeed I know much else and I do read the Book of Allah, except that a slave of Allah is constantly shifting between a state of blessing (from Allah) and sin.

This being the condition of man, I praise and thank Allah for the blessings He has given me and seek His forgiveness for my sins.'

The scholar said, 'Certainly this labourer has a deeper understanding of the religion than Bakr (himself)" (P 34)
 

Abu Juwairiya

Junior Member
"Research has shown that Siwak, a tooth stick from a tree that is used to clean teeth and whose use is highly recommended in Islam, consists of many beneficial elements from nature- minerals like chloride, sodium, potassium and other elements that contain a pleasant odour.

It also contains certain elements that strengthen the gums, as well as purifying agents that prevent ulcers in them. This is taken from Rostock University in Germany." (P 42)
 
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