Salaam Alaikum wa RahtmatuAllah,
I was listening to a talk the other day and began to have some interesting thoughts I thought I might share with you.
The speaker was discussing the issue of the appointment of 'Umar Ibn alKhattab as the Khalifah by Abu Bakr as Siddiq. He commented that it was one of best thing Abu Bakr has done for this ummah and mentioned the hadith of Ibn Masud in which he said, "The three with the greatest intuition amongst mankind were the wife of Musa ('Alaihis Salaam), the Master of Yusuf ('Alaihis Salaam) and Abu Bakr as Siddiq." The speaker commented that the appointment of 'Umar would be counted amongst the greatest hasanaats (good actions) of Abu Bakr, since the Khilafah of 'Umar was incalculably beneficial to the Muslim Ummah. This made me think.
So often have we stated that the Sahaaba are the greatest generation, and of course we have been justified in doing so. There are an innumerable number of hadiths which attest to this fact. Perhaps the clearest of them is a statement recorded by Muslim: “The best generation is my generation, then those that after them and those that come after them...”
The reasons why they are the best generation are many, but one often not mentioned is due to their enormous collection of hasanaat or good reward arising from good actions. The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) once said, “Whoever amongst you starts a good action, then he will be reward for that action every time this action is performed till the day of judgment”. It is from this hadith and others like it, including verses of the Quran, that the scholars of Islam have extracted a general principle. This principle states that if your action (in whatever way) results in someone else performing a good deed, then you will be rewarded all the time this deed is performed by that person. In other words, if your actions (perhaps through Da’wah) lead a person to become Muslim, then every good action this new Muslim performs, i.e. their Hajj, their Salawaat, their Dua’a , their Dhikr, their Taqwa etc will all be added to your account of good deeds. And this will continue till the Day of Judgment. Now, consider if this new Muslim were then to be the cause of another person’s Islam and that person to be the cause of another person’s Islam and so on, how much reward will the first person be accumulating? Incalculable!
How is it that you and I are Muslim? Of course ultimately it is due the Qadar of Allah, but how did this Qadar manifest itself? I am Muslim of Bengali origin. My forefathers were Hindu, but they were liberated from their own false ideals by the Mujahideen of Islam (principally of Persian descent). Had they not took up the command of ‘Amr bil Ma’ruf wa Nahiya ‘Anil Munkar (commanding good and forbidding evil), then perhaps, just perhaps, I may not be here to as a Muslim. And similar will be your own situation. We owe our Islam to those that came before us. And it is this chain, that eventually leads us back to the Noble Companions of the Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam). How much reward are they accumulating in their banks of hasanaats for every action of good that we do today? Is it not mind boggling?
So brothers and sisters, hold the Sahaaba in high esteem, take guidance from their actions, and remember their sacrifices, for they are truly the best of generations.
Was Salaam Alaikum
I was listening to a talk the other day and began to have some interesting thoughts I thought I might share with you.
The speaker was discussing the issue of the appointment of 'Umar Ibn alKhattab as the Khalifah by Abu Bakr as Siddiq. He commented that it was one of best thing Abu Bakr has done for this ummah and mentioned the hadith of Ibn Masud in which he said, "The three with the greatest intuition amongst mankind were the wife of Musa ('Alaihis Salaam), the Master of Yusuf ('Alaihis Salaam) and Abu Bakr as Siddiq." The speaker commented that the appointment of 'Umar would be counted amongst the greatest hasanaats (good actions) of Abu Bakr, since the Khilafah of 'Umar was incalculably beneficial to the Muslim Ummah. This made me think.
So often have we stated that the Sahaaba are the greatest generation, and of course we have been justified in doing so. There are an innumerable number of hadiths which attest to this fact. Perhaps the clearest of them is a statement recorded by Muslim: “The best generation is my generation, then those that after them and those that come after them...”
The reasons why they are the best generation are many, but one often not mentioned is due to their enormous collection of hasanaat or good reward arising from good actions. The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) once said, “Whoever amongst you starts a good action, then he will be reward for that action every time this action is performed till the day of judgment”. It is from this hadith and others like it, including verses of the Quran, that the scholars of Islam have extracted a general principle. This principle states that if your action (in whatever way) results in someone else performing a good deed, then you will be rewarded all the time this deed is performed by that person. In other words, if your actions (perhaps through Da’wah) lead a person to become Muslim, then every good action this new Muslim performs, i.e. their Hajj, their Salawaat, their Dua’a , their Dhikr, their Taqwa etc will all be added to your account of good deeds. And this will continue till the Day of Judgment. Now, consider if this new Muslim were then to be the cause of another person’s Islam and that person to be the cause of another person’s Islam and so on, how much reward will the first person be accumulating? Incalculable!
How is it that you and I are Muslim? Of course ultimately it is due the Qadar of Allah, but how did this Qadar manifest itself? I am Muslim of Bengali origin. My forefathers were Hindu, but they were liberated from their own false ideals by the Mujahideen of Islam (principally of Persian descent). Had they not took up the command of ‘Amr bil Ma’ruf wa Nahiya ‘Anil Munkar (commanding good and forbidding evil), then perhaps, just perhaps, I may not be here to as a Muslim. And similar will be your own situation. We owe our Islam to those that came before us. And it is this chain, that eventually leads us back to the Noble Companions of the Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam). How much reward are they accumulating in their banks of hasanaats for every action of good that we do today? Is it not mind boggling?
So brothers and sisters, hold the Sahaaba in high esteem, take guidance from their actions, and remember their sacrifices, for they are truly the best of generations.
Was Salaam Alaikum
for the reminder.