Hadrat Oways al-Qarni Radiallahu Anhu and his Mother

The great Saint Uways of Qaran! Was presented the blessed cloak of Rasulullah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam on the Beloved Prophet Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's instruction. It is preserved in Istanbul, Turkey. He reached his Spiritual status due to obedience to his mother.

Uways Radi allahu Anhu was from the village of Qaran, in Yemen. He had asked his mother's permission to visit Allah's Most Beloved Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam, and she said: "You have my permission to go, see him once, and come straight back. If the Messenger Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam is at home, you may meet with him; if not, come straight back here." Uways made a journey of three months on foot, from the Yemen to Madinah the Illuminated. When he reached Rasulullah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam's house, he knocked on the door and Hadrat Aisha Radi allahu Anha, wife of the Chosen Prophet and Mother of the Believers opened the door. She told him that Rasulullah Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam was in the Masjid.

Hazrat Owais Al Qarni (Ra)

Uwais al-Qarni or "Oveys Gharani" (Arabic: أويس القرني) (died 657 A.D.) was a Muslim resident of Qaran in Yemen who lived during the lifetime of Muhammad. His grave is in Baykan, Siirt Turkey. Although his life was insignificant from a worldly point of view, he is renowned and honored among both Shia and Sunni Muslims, Sufis in particular, for his piety, practice of zuhd (asceticism), and love for Muhammad(PBUH).

Life of Uwais Al-Qarni

Uwais embraced Islam during Muhammad's lifetime but he could not present himself before Muhammad(PBUH) because he looked after his elderly, blind mother and thus remained deprived of the honour of companionship. It is said that he spent his hours in solitude, fasting, night vigil and salat (prayers). In honour of Muhammad(PBUH), who at the Battle of Uhud in 625, had lost two of his teeth, Uwais al-Qarni drew out his own teeth. Muhammad(PBUH) called him the best of the Tabieen (successors) and he advised his companions to, “Get him to pray for your forgiveness.”

Abu Amar Owais Bin Harb Bin al Muradi bin al Qarn [d.37H/657CE] 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

 

His name was Owais, he was known as Owais al-Qarni because he lived in a town called "Qarn" in Yemen. Hadrat Owais Qarni (Allah be pleased with him) was a very pious and noble person. Although his life was insignificant from a worldly point of view, he is renowned and honoured amongst all Muslims, Sufis in particular, for his piety, practice of zuhd (asceticism), as well as a deep love and affection for the Beloved Messenger of Allah (Peace & Blessings upon him). It is said that he spent all his hours in solitude, fasting, night vigil and salat (prayers).

He had embraced Islam while the Beloved Prophet (Peace & Blessings upon him) was still alive. He naturally had a very strong desire to see the Prophet but since his mother was very old and she needed his constant care and attention, he could not visit the Beloved of Allah. As a reward of his service to his mother, he was treated as a Sahabi (Companion of Prophet) by the Prophet (Peace & Blessings upon him) even though he could not see him personally. His name entered the list of Sahaba only because of his strong intention to see the Allahs Beloved Messenger (Peace & Blessings upon him). 

Qadi Abu Yusuf 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.182H/798CE)

Qadi Abu Yusuf was a descendent of the Ansar and Sahaba Hadrat Sa'd b. Sibat. Born in Kufa in 113 or 117 H and passed away on the 5th of Rabi' al-Awwal 182 H. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaibani was born in 135 H and passed away in 189 H. He attended for about 2 yrs the lectures of Imam Abu Hanifah Radi Allahu anhu, and upon the latter's death, he completed his education under Abu Yusuf. He also studied for 3 yrs the Muwatta of Imam Malik Radi Allahu anhu under the great Imam himself, in Medina.

Imam Muhammad Ibn al Hasan al Shaibani, 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l ridwan (d.189H/805CE)

An eminent Hanafi scholar of his time, who also served as the Chief Justice in Baghdad. Imam al-Muhammad b. al-Hasan Shaibani was born in 135 Hijri and passed away in 189 Hijri. He attended for about 2 years the lectures of Imam Abu Hanifah alayhir rahman, and upon the latter's death, he completed his education under Abu Yusuf alayhir rahman. He also studied for 3 yrs the Muwatta of Imam Malik alayhir rahman under the great Imam himself, in Madina. The great Imam, Imam Shafi'i alayhir rahman said:

"Whenever Imam Muhammad expounded a point of law, it seemed as if the revealing Angel had descended upon him."

"I acquired from Imam Muhammad a camel-load of learning"

Ibn Hajar alayhir rahman quotes Imam Shafi'i as having said:

Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Shayba 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.235 H - 849 CE)

'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Shayba Ibrahim ibn 'Uthman ibn Khuwasta, Abu Bakr al-'Abasi (d. 235), described by SHAMS' AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI as the brother, father, and uncle of hadith masters and their most prestigious representative, "the master of hadith masters," "one of those who have reached the sky, an apex of trustworthiness," "one of the oceans of knowledge," the author of al-Musnad, al-Ahkam, al-Musannaf, and al-Tafsir, "one of the peers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahuyah, and 'Ali ibn al-Madini in age, place of birth, and hadith memorization." Abu Zur'a al-Razi said:

"I never saw anyone with more mastery of the hadith than Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba."

His scholarly relatives are: his brothers 'Uthman ibn Abi Shayba and al-Qasim ibn Abi Shayba; his son Ibrahim ibn Abi Bakr ibn Abi Shayba; and his nephew Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Uthman ibn Abi Shayba. All are hadith masters except al-Qasim, who is weak.'Abd Allah ibn Abi Shayba took hadith from Sharik ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qadi at age fourteen, Ibn al-Mubarak, Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna, Hushaym ibn Bashir, Waki' ibn al-Jarrah, Yahya al-Qattan, Isma'il ibn 'Iyash, Isma'il ibn 'Ulayya, and other major authorities. From him took Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Zur'a, Ibn Abi 'Asim, Buqayy ibn Makhlad, al-Baghandi, Abu Ya'la al-Musili, Salih Jazara, 'Abdan, Abu al-Qasim al-Baghawi, and others.

Seven centuries had passed since afore said Zubaydah canal was created and now it was in its worst with the passage of time despite being looked after by the subsequent rulers. Almost all the wells and springs had gone dried and dead and Zubaydah canal was filled with shifting sand and stones and its concrete wall was broken here and there and water was no more once again. It was the year 965H (1557 A.D) when all those days had returned which had urged Zubaydah to come to the rescue.

Fortunately another Zubaydah had come in to the world in the shape of the Turk princess Fatimah Khanum, daughter of the great ‘Uthman ruler Sultan Salim. When the things came to her knowledge, she under took to solve the problem once for all. She assigned the task to her trusted aide Ibrahim ibn Takrim to restore the canal and extend it to Makkah to bring it in to the easy reach of every Makkan and the pilgrims.

Umm Ja’far, Zubaydah was the darling queen of fifth Abbasid Caliph Harun ar-Rashid (170H, 786 A.D to 193H, 809 A.D). Her name was Amatul Aziz but she came to be known as Zubaydah. Her grandfather Abu Ja’far Mansur who had endearly named her Zubaydah, made very special arrangements for her education. Very competent and highly qualified teachers and scholars were hired. Zubaydah, herself was very intelligent and right-minded. She obtained education with great interest and developed an attachment with the Quran and Hadith, which persisted for the entire of her life. She excelled in Arabic literature as well as other fields of learning. Her erudition could be compared with those of the celebrated scholars of her days.

Zubaydah was a very graceful lady. She was kind hearted, generous and literary minded. Though her living was regal and her magnificence and splendour was unparalleled in the precincts of the royalties. On the one hand thousands of dinars were spent on her single dress, her footwears were studded with diamonds and pearls and her palaces were lighted with candles of amber. Her kitchen expenditures were more than ten thousand dirhams daily. Hundreds of people would live on her kitchen.

Al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.243H/858CE)

He was one of the earliest author of Sufi treatises and the teacher of JUNAYD AL-BAGHDADI, ABD 'AL-QAHIR AL-BAGHDADI, TAJ AL-DIN AL-SUBKI, and Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi Allah be pleased with them all all reiterate the statement whereby "Upon the books of al-Harith ibn Asad al-Muhasibi on kalam, fiqh, and hadith rest those among us who are mutakallimfaqih (jurist), and sufi."1 His extant works are: (theologian),faqih (jurist), and sufi."1 His extant works are:

• Kitab al-ri'aya li huquq Allah (Book of observance of the rights of Allah); Shaykh al-Islam al-'Izz ibn 'Abd al-Salam wrote an abridgment of it.2 
• Kitab al-tawahhum (Book of imagination), a description of the Day of Judgment;
• Kitab al-khalwa (Book of seclusion);
• Risalat al-mustarshidin (Treatise for those who ask for guidance);
• Kitab al-ri'aya li-huquq Allah (Book of the observance of the rights of Allah);
• Kitab fahm al-Qur'an (Book of the understanding of Qur'an);
• Kitab mahiyyat al-'aql wa ma`nahu wa ikhtilaf al-nas fihi (Book of the nature and meaning of the mind and the differences among people concerning it);
• Al-Masa'il fi a'mal al-qulub wa al-jawarih wa al-'aql (The questions concerning the works of the hearts, the limbs, and the mind);
• Kitab al-'azama (The book of magnificence);
• Al-Wasaya wa al-nasa'ih al-diniyya wa al-nafahat al-qudsiyya li naf'i jami' al-bariyya (The spiritual legacies and counsels and the sanctified gifts for the benefit of all creatures).

1] Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi, Kitab Usul al-Din p. 308-309; Taj al-Din Subki, Tabaqat al-shafi'iyya 2:275; Jamal al-Din al-Isnawi, Tabaqat al-Shafi'iyya 1:(#9)26-27.

2] Al-Subki mentions it in Tabaqat al-shafi'iyya. A copy of it is found at the Chester Beatty Library, ms. 3184

YEY49VPAZYC2

Fatimah bint Asad, was the mother of ‘Ali bin Abu Talib, and the mother-in-law of the Prophet’s daughter, Fatimah bint Muhammad. Her grandsons, Hasan and Husain are to be the leaders of the youths of Paradise. Besides ‘Ali, she had two other sons, Ja’far Tayyir who was a famous General. He led the forces of Islam in the battle of Mu’tah and was martyred in the same battle.

When the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] grew up and proclaimed himself to be the Prophet [sallallahu alayhi wa sallam] and Last Messenger of Allah, she still stood by him. All the relentless persecution did not deter her in any way. She was exceptionally fond of her son Ja’far, but for the sake of Islam she bore the separation from him and his wife, Asma bint ‘Omais, when they migrated to Abyssiniah on the Prophet’s orders with the first group of migrant Muslims.

Fatimah bint Asad, being one of the first to swear allegiance to Islam and its concept of the Oneness of Allah, faced the economic and social boycott of the Shi’ab Abi Talib for those three terrible years. She was also a member of the privileged group who migrated to Madinah.

Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l -ridwan (d.226H/840CE)

Bishr ibn al-Harith al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu was born in 150 Hijri or 767 C.E. in the city of Merv in Egypt. He was one of the early Sufi Masters and a teacher of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal Radi Allahu anhu. Imam Ahmad was the founder of the Hanbali school of Islamic thought. His title was Al-Hafi (The Barefoot). One legend explains the reason for his title that he lead a corrupt life, and then made his repentance on the hand of Imam Moosa Kazim. At that time he was barefoot. There are other legends about his title too. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal Radi Allahu anhu, in order to attain this marifa, although he was at a high degree in knowledge and ijtihad, ran to be in the service of Hadrat Bishr al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu. When he was asked why he kept close to Bishr al-Hafi, he answered, 'He knows Allah better than I do.'

Some quotes of Bishr al-Hafi :

Regarding renunciation (zuhd) he said :  "Renunciation is a king who dwells only in a free and empty heart."

Regarding sadness (huzn), Bishr al-Hafi says: 'Sadness or sorrow is like a ruler. When it settles in a place, it does not allow others to reside there.'

Regarding Imam al Azam Abu Hanifa Radi Allahu anhu he said: "None criticizes Abu Hanifa except an envier or an ignoramus".

Regarding tawakkal [trust in Allah] Bishr al-Hafi said: "One of them may say: 'I have put all my trust in Allah [tawakkaltu 'ala 'llah],' although he is actually telling a lie. For, by Allah, if he had really put all his trust in Allah, he would be perfectly content with the way Allah treats him."

Bishr al-Hafi Radi Allahu anhu passed away in 840 C.E. or 227? Hijri and is burried in Baghdad, Iraq

Fatimah bint Abdul Malik was a highly placed woman of first century Hijrah. She was wife of the great Banu Umayyad Caliph Umar ibn Abdul Aziz and daughter of Abdul Malik ibn Marwan. She was raised in palatial atmosphere like princesses and she was familiar with the royal culture.

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, himself a man of great beauty was regarded one of the few who greatly were mindful of their get-up. His diet and dress were equally worthy of royalty. But after he had to take over the charge of the Caliphate, he gave up all princely practices. He turned his mouth away from the superb and delicious cuisine. The pulses were started to be cooked daily and all the people of his household were sick with the pulses.

One day a servant complained his matron that he was fed up with the pulses. She silenced him to tell that his master, the Commander of the Faithful, too ate the same and they themselves, as well.

Narrated Abû Mûsa (radhi Allahu anhu) : Allah’s Messenger (salallahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Many amongst men reached (the level of) perfection but none amongst the women reached this level except Assiyya – Pharaoh’s wife, and Mary – the daughter of ‘Imrân. And no doubt, the superiority of ‘Aisha to other women is like the superiority of Tharid (i.e. a meat and bread dish) to other meals.” (Sahih Al-Bukharî, Vol. 4, Hadîth No. 623).

Not much is known about Assiyya, the wife of Pharaoh. She brought Moses into her home when he was a baby, as is recorded in the Quran:

And We inspired the mother of Mûsa (Moses), (saying): “Suckle him [Mûsa (Moses)], but when you fear for him, then cast him into the river and fear not, nor grieve. Verily! We shall bring him back to you, and shall make him one of (Our) Messengers.”

Abu Sulayman Dawud ibn Nusayr al-Tai al-Kufi 'alayhi al-rahmah wal-ridwan  (d. 160 or 165H/783CE)

Dawud al-Tai alayhir rahman narrated hadith from a number of the Tabi'in and took fiqh from Imam Abu Hanifa alayhir rahman who predicted that he would devote himself entirely to worship. Ibn Zyad al-Lului reported, [Abu al-Hudhayl] 'Zufar [ibn al-Hudhayl al-Anbari] [110-158] and Dawud al-Tai al-Kufi at first were colleagues, then Dawud left fiqh for asceticism while Zufar joined between the two.

Ibn al-Jawzi in 'Sifat al-Safwa' from which is quoted all the following material narrates that Abu Hanifa said to Dawud: 'Abu Sulayman! As for the instrument, we have mastered it.' Dawud said:What is left? Abu Hanifa said: 'What is left is to put it to practice!' Dawud said: 'When I heard this,my soul stirred me to seclusion and solitariness, but I told her: Sit with them for a year and do not raise a peep during that time.' During that year, he said, 'A question would come up which made me crave to answer more than someone parched craves water, but I would not answer.' After one year, he went into seclusion.

Among Dawuds sayings:

'Fear Allah and keep piety to your two parents; fast from the world and make death your breakfast; run away from people as you would from a lion, without disparaging them nor leaving their congregation.'

'Be satisfied with little from the world together with safety in Religion, just as worldly people are satisfied with the world together with corruption in their Religion.'

'Despair is the natural end of our deeds, but the hearts drag us to hope.'

'Beware lest Allah finds you where He forbade you to be; beware lest He not find you where He ordered you to be; be ashamed of His nearness to you and His power over you.'

'To a student who wished to learn archery:

'Archery is fine but your days are counted; look well how you spend them.'

Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Abi Dawud said he heard Shiduyah ask Dawud: 'What do you think of a man who enters upon those ['Abbasi] princes and commands them good and forbids them from evil?' Dawud said: 'I fear he will be lashed' He said: 'What if he endures it?' Dawud: 'I fear the sword for him.' He said: 'What if he endures it?' Dawud: 'I fear for him the deeply-hidden disease 'vain glory (al-.ujb).'

Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Sayrafi said that Dawud only came out of his house upon hearing the iqama then, when the Imam gave salam, jumped up and re-entered his house. His daily diet was bread, salt, and water. One time he ate dates out of craving, after which he swore never to touch dates again. One time his maidservant cooked him a dish but he said: 'Take it to So-and-so's orphans. If I eat it, it will end up in the refuse, but if they eat it, it will be stored up in the Divine presence.'

At a funeral one day, Dawud was heard to say:

'Whoever fears the Divine threat, all that seems farlooms near to him; whoever harbours endless hopes, his deeds are feeble; everything that is going to take place is actually near! Know, my brother, that everything that keeps you away from your Lord is a misfortune for you. Know that the dwellers of the graves are happy for what they sent forth and regret their useless occupations, while the dwellers of the world fight and compete with one another precisely over what the grave-dwellers regret.'

Visitors once said to one another, upon seeing him sitting on the dusty ground: 'This is an ascetic (zahid).. He said:

'The ascetic is one who first evaluates then leaves!'

When Sufyan al-Thawri visited him with Abu Khalid al-Ahmar the latter was miffed that Dawud did not so much as look at Sufyan, but Sufyan told him: 'He is unconcerned by affection; did you not see his eyes? They see other than what we fiddle with.'

To another visitor who offered to have the cobwebs in his ceiling swept Dawud said:

'Do you not know that He [!] detests superfluous gazes?' After that he refused visitors and communicated from behind his door.

Dawud inherited from his parents or his freedwoman twenty pieces of gold which sufficed him for twenty years, after which he would sell the wood of his roof for sustenance until he lived in the last sheltered corner of his house.

Hammad [ibn Salama] and/or Abu Yusuf said to him: 'Dawud! You are satisfied with so little of this world!' He replied:

'Do you know who is satisfied with much less? Those who are happy with all this world in exchange for the hereafter!'

To al-Harith ibn Idris who asked him for counsel Dawud replied: 'The soldiers of death await you.'

Dawud's frequent prayer:

'Allahumma! Your care has piled cares upon me and barred my way to sleep. My desire to see You has tied me up and barred me from pleasures. I am in your jail . O' Generous One, under arrest!'

Then he would repeat a verse of the Qur'an over and over. His neighbour, overhearing, said: 'It would seem to me as if all the pleasures of this world were summed up in that verse.' Abu Nuaym [al-Fad'l ibn Dukayn] said he saw an ant crawl on Dawud's face lengthwise and widthwise while Dawud did not even feel it because of his anxiety and sorrow.

Abu Dawud al-T'ayalisi said he was present at Dawud's deathbed and he never witnessed a harder agony. Hafs ibn Umar al-Jufi said the reason for his final illness was that Dawud read a verse that mentioned hellfire that affected him deeply. He repeated it all night long until morning then gave up the ghost, his head resting on a clay brick.

Ibn al-Jawzi said the report that Dawud al-Tai was a silk-maker, is probably about Dawud ibn Abi al-Hind al-Basri rather than al-Tai, who did not have a profession. That report states that for forty years, he left his house with his luncheon which he gave away as alms, then he would go home and eat dinner with his family and they never knew that he was fasting.

Sufyan ibn Sa'id ibn Masruq Abu 'Abd Allah al-Thawri al-Mudari al-Kufi 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan (d.161H/778CE)

Sufyan al-Thawri al-Mudari al-Kufi [97-161], the Godfearing, wise, grief-stricken, Mujtahid Imam, "Commander of the Believers in Hadith" – the highest level in hadith Mastership –, "Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam of hadith Masters, the leader of the practicing Ulema in his time, the author of the Jami' " (SHAMS AL-DIN AL-DHAHABI). His father was a junior Tabi'i Muhaddith and he thus began his scholarly career at home. Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i recited when he saw Sufyan coming: (And We gave him wisdom when a child) (19:12). His Shuyukh number 600. Ibn al-Jawzi claimed that his students number over 20,000 but al-Dhahabi said: "This is preposterous, they hardly reached 1,000. I know none of the hadith Masters from whom more narrated than Imam Malik, and those number 1,400 – including the liars and the unknown!"

And now permit us to mention what Ibn Taymiyya, mentioned about the definition of Tasawwuf.

"Alhamdulillah, the pronunciation of the word tasawwuf has been thoroughly discussed. From those who spoke about it were not just the the Imams and Shaykhs, but also included were Ahmad bin Hanbal, Abi Sulayman ad-Daarani, As-Sirr as-Saqati, al-Junayd, M'aruf al-Karkhi, Abdul Qadir Jilani, Bayazid al-Bistami and many others. This is a term that was given to those who were dealing with that kind of science [tazkiyyat an-nafs and Ihsan]. And it is like when one uses the term "from the Quraishi family" or from the Madani people or from the Hashemi family. It is a lineage (nasab), just as we say Hashemi for the descendants of the Prophet (Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wa Sallam) or Quraishi for his tribe and Madani for those of his city, we say Sufi (nisbatan) indicating the relationship of those people to that science."

He continues,

"the majority of the scholars (jumhour al-'ulama), did not deny that science since it complies with the Shari'ah and the Sunnah and they were supporting it."

Ibn Taymiyya says:

"thumma at-tasawwuf 'indahu haqaiqun wa ahwaalun...[man saffa min al-qadari wa amtala'a min al-fikri wasstawa 'indahu adh-dhahab wal-hajjar. At-tasawaffu kitmaanul ma'ani wa tarku-da'awi'"

"Tasawwuf has realities and states of experience which they talk about in their science. Some of it is that the Sufi is that one who purifies himself from anyting whihc distracts him from the remembrance of Allah and who will be so filled up with knowledge of the heart and knowledge of the mind to the point that the value of gold and stones will be the same.to him. And tasawwuf is safeguarding the precious meanings and leaving behind the call to fame and vanity in order to reach the state of Truthfulness, because the best of humans after the prophets are the Siddiqeen, as Allah mentioned them in the verse:

'Fa-ula'ika ma`a alladheena an'amm-Allahu `alayhim min an-nabiyyin was-siddiqeen wash-shuhada'i was-saaliheena wa hassuna 'ula'ika rafeeqa"

'(And all who obey God and the Apostle) are in the company of those on whom is the grace of Allah: of the prophets, the sincere lovers of truth, the martyrs and the righteous; Ah! what a beautiful fellowship.'" (an-Nisa', 69,70)

Ibn Taymiyya continues:

"as-Sufi hua fil-haqiqa naw'un min as-siddiqeen. Fahua as-siddiq alladhee ikhtassa bil-zuhadiwal-'ibada."

This translates:

"And the Sufi is in reality a kind of Siddiq (Truthful One), that Siddiq who specialized in zuhd and worship."
Ibn Taymiyya continues,

"some people criticised Sufiyya and Tasawwuf and they said they were innovators, out of the Sunnah, but the truth is they are striving in Allah's obedience [mujtahidin fi ta'at-illahi], as others of Allah's People strove in Allah's obedience. So from them you will find the Foremost in Nearness by virtue of his striving [as-saabiq ul-muqarrab bi hasab ijtihadihi]. And some of them are from the People of the Right hand [Ahl al-Yameen mentioned in Qur'an in Sura Waqi'ah], but slower in their progress. For both kinds, they might make ijtihad and in that case they might be correct and they might be wrong. And from both types, some of them might make a sin and repent. And this is the origin of tasawwuf. And after that origin, it has been spread and (tasha'abat wa tanawa'at) has its main line and its branches. And it has become three kinds:

1. Sufiyyat il-Haqa'iq - the True Sufis
2. Sufiyyat il-Arzaaq - the Professional Sufis (those who use Sufism for personal gain)
3. Sufiyyat il-Rasm - the Caricature Sufis. (Sufi by appearance only).

'Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d.181H/797CE) 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

He was the client of the Banu Tamim, then the Banu Hanifa. His kunya was Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman. He listened to Ibn Abi Layla, Hisham ibn 'Urwa, al-A'mash, Sulayman at-Tamimi, Humayd at-Tawil, Yahya ibn Sa'id, Ibn 'Awn, Musa ibn 'Uqba, the two Sufyans, al-Awza'i, Ibn Abi Dhib, Malik, Ma'mar, Shu'ba, and Haywa ibn Shurayh, and he studied with Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala', al-Layth and others. Ibn Mahdi, 'Abdu'r-Razzaq, Yahya ibn al-Qattan, Ibn Wahb and others related from him.

Qadi Abu'l-Fadl said that as-Sadafi mentioned, "When Ibn al-Mubarak came of age, his father sent him 50,000 to use for commerce. He sought after knowledge until he had spent the money. When it was gone, his father met him and said, 'What have you bought?' He brought out his books for him and said, 'This is my trade.' His father went into the house and gave him 30,000 dirhams more and said, 'Take this and follow your trade with them,' and he spent them." Ibn al-Mubarak said, "I studied adab for thirty years and I studied knowledge for twenty years."

Ibn Hanbal said, "In the time of Ibn al-Mubarak, there was no one who sought after knowledge more than him. He went to the Yemen, Egypt, Syria, the Hijaz, Basra and Kufa, and whoever related knowledge and was worthy of it. He wrote from young men and old men. He omitted what was rare. He gave hadiths from books." Ibn Waddah said, "Ibn al-Mubarak related about 25,000 hadiths. He was asked, 'Up until when did you study knowledge?' He said, 'I hope that you will find me doing that until I die."

Ibn al-Mubarak used to say ;

"The beginning of knowledge is the intention, then listening, then understanding, then action, then preservation, and then spreading it."

It was said, "He went on hajj one year and raiding the next year. Whenever he came to Madina, he said to its shaykhs among the people of knowledge and decrease. Whoever wants to go on hajj, come out with me. Their provision is enough for them. He did the same when he went on raids."

Al-Fasawi the worshipper said, "I was with Ibn al-Mubarak raiding on a cold, rainy night. He wept and I said, 'Are you weeping for the like of this?' He said, 'I am weeping for the previous nights which did not have the like of this hardship so that we could be rewarded for them.'"

Ibn al-Musayyab said, "Ibn al-Mubarak sent 70,000 dirhams to Abu Bakr ibn 'Ayyash and said, 'Use it to stop the lack of censure of you.'" Nu'aym ibn Hammad said, "Ibn al-Mubarak used to stay in his house a lot. He was asked, 'Are you isolating yourself?' He said, 'How can I isolate myself when I am with the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions?'

He related that Iblis came to Ibn al-Mubarak when he was doing wudu' and said, "You did not wipe.'" He said, "I did wipe." He said, "You did not wipe." He said, 'You are a claimant, so present your proof.'" Ibn al-Mubarak said to one of his companions, "Do not neglect a day which Allah has mentioned in 63 places in His Book.

A man said to Ibn al-Mubarak, "Yesterday I read the entire Qur'an in a single rak'at." Ibn al-Mubarak said, "But I know a man who did not cease to recite 'Rivalry' (102) yesterday until the Subh prayer. He could not get past it," i.e. himself.

Some of His Wisdoms, Poetry and Wit

He said;

Fight your tongue. The tongue is quick to kill a man.
The tongue is the posting of the heart. It shows man his intellect.

He said;

I see that some people are content with the least of the deen
but I do not see them pleased with meagerness in this life.
Be rich with Allah, independent of the world of the kings
as the kings are free of the deen with their worldly things.

He said:

People's enjoyment of worship and taqwa is the sweetest bliss
not the pleasure of the wine.
Their sources enjoy it for all their lives, and they, by Allah,
have provision until they reach the graves
In a moment they obtain might and taqwa.
Does not the enjoyment of life lie in piety and steadfastness?

He said:

I see every life as unhappy and miserabl
except for planting the spear in the shade of the horse
And standing in the dark nights, vigilant,
guarding the people in the furthest outpost.

A man came to Ibn al-Mubarak and said to him, "May Allah be pleased with you! Describe for me those who are wild and distracted by love of Allah. He replied, "They are as I will tell you;

Alert, on mounts as if they were a caravan desiring to pass,
that is how they are moved.
Their limbs are restrained from every foul action.
Truthfulness is their school, as well as zuhd and fear

Another person asked him to describe the fearful. He said:

When the night is darkest, they endure it,
and it travels from them while they are still bowing.
Fear dispelled their sleep, so they stood alert while the people of security
in this world were sleeping peacefully.
While they are prostrating under the cloak the darkness,
their groan pierces their ribs.

They are mute in the day by the length of their silence
They have tranquillity from their humility

He also composed:

Seize the two rak'ats of nearness if you are free and at rest.         
When you desire to speak about the false, put glorification in its place.
Seizing silence is better than plunging
even if you are eloquent in speech.

Ibn al-Mubarak has a lot of poetry in more than one subject. He had a short poem in rajaz-metre on the Companions and the Followers and long qasidas on constancy and jihad which are famous. He has the Kitab ar-Raqa'iq which is famous, and The Book of the Objectives of Jihad.

Ibn al-Mubarak was asked, "Who are the people?" "The scholars," he replied He was asked, "Who are the kings?" He said, "The men of detachment (zuhd)." He was asked, "Who are the rabble?" "Harthima and Khuzayma ibn Hazim," he answered. It was said, "Who are the fools?" He said, "The one who sells the Next World for the worldly portion of someone else.

He used to say ;

"The trace of ink on the garment of the master of hadith is better than the perfume on the bride's garment."

He was asked, "Which person has the best state?" He said, "The one who devotes himself to his Lord."

Ibn al-Mubarak said, "I passed by a weaver when I had broken the throng of my sandal and he gave me with a strap. I asked, 'Did you do it for pay?' He said, 'Yes.' When I passed by him, I leaned towards him and greeted him. Then I missed him and found that he had closed his shop. I asked one of the neighbours about him. I said, 'If he is sick, I will visit him. If he is busy, I will help him. If he is poor, I will share with him.

"They said, 'We have no knowledge of him.' I asked permission to enter his house and he came out to me. I asked him, 'What has kept you from your shop?' He said to me, 'You, Ibn al-Mubarak. People see you inclining to me, so they have put a shirt on me which I do not deserve.'

"I took his sleeve and went with him to the graves. I said, 'This is the grave of so-and-so. His business was such-and-such. This is the grave of so-and-so. His business was such-and-such.'

"He said to me, 'Ibn al-Mubarak, I do not know what you are saying. The man is not all the man whom the tongues describe and the man is not all the man whom the eyes see. The man is the one whom Allah veils in his life and makes him enter the grave veiled and then He brings him out on the Day of Rising when there is no abasement or rebellion on him. That is the man.'"

Abu Bakr al-Khatib related that al-Hasan ibn 'Isa ibn Masrajis used to pass by Ibn al-Mubarak while he was a Christian. Al-Hasan had a very beautiful face. Ibn al-Mubarak asked about him and was told, "He is a Christian." He said, "O Allah, provide him with Islam." Allah answered his supplication and al-Hasan became an excellent Muslim. He was one of the scholars of the Community and one of those who travelled in quest of knowledge and the Sunna in all regions and people studied with him. He possessed scrupulousness, intellect and reliability.

One of the men who kept the company of Ibn al-Mubarak inclined to this world and kept the Sultan's company. He met him one day and greeted him. He said to him;

      "My brother!
       All is from rice, wheat and barley bread,
       And it crushes. O person! Allah has guided you from the amir's abode
       So do not visit it! Avoid it it! They are false sparks.
       It takes away the deen and brings you near to great wrong action."

The man was ashamed and left the Sultan's company and returned to his company.

Concerning his position in riwaya and hadith

One of the Sufis who had heard him say that one of the transmitters of hadith was weak, said to him, "Abu 'Abdu'r-Rahman, do you slander?" He said, "Be quiet. If we do not clarify, who will know the true from the false?"

Ibn al-Mubarak died in Hit, returning from a naval expedition and was buried in Hit in Ramadan in 181. Al-Bukhari said that he was born in 118.

When he was near death, he told Nasr, his client, "Put my head on the earth." Nasr wept. He said, "Why do you weep?" He said, "I remember what you had in it of blessing and now you are dying a stranger and a pauper." He told him, "Be quiet. I asked Allah to let me live the life of the rich and to make me die the death of the poor." Then he said, "Put me down and do not address me again unless I speak again. Put me down so that it is my last words."

When Sufyan ibn 'Uyayna was told that Ibn al-Mubarak had died, he said, "May Allah have mercy on him. He was a man of fiqh, knowledge, worship, asceticism, and generosity. He was courageous and a poet." He also said, "No one has come to us like Ibn al-Mubarak and Ibn Abi Ziyada." Muhammad ibn al-Mu'tamir said, "When ath-Thawri died, I asked my father, 'Who is the faqih of the Arabs?" He replied, "Ibn al-Mubarak." Al-Awza'i said to Abu 'Uthman al-Kalbi about him, "If I had seen him, I would have been delighted." An-Nasa'i said, "There was not known in the time of Ibn al-Mubarak anyone more glorious or excellent than him nor anyone who had more virtues than he possessed." Salam ibn Muti' said, "No one like him came in the east afterwards. I prefer Ibn al-Mubarak to ath-Thawri." Ibn Waddah said, "I listened to a group of the people of knowledge relate, 'Knowledge, taqwa, hadith, recognition of the men, poetry, generosity, worship and scrupulousness were comibined in Ibn al-Mubarak.

Shaykh Sari al-Saqati: (d.253H/867CE) 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

One of the friends and companions of BISHR AL-HAFI Radi Allahu anhu, Sari al-Saqati was one of those who bore affection for the creatures of God and of those who preferred others above themselves.

In his book Wafayat al-'a'yan, Ibn Khallikan writes that Sari once said, "It is thirty years that I have been seeking forgiveness for one phrase, Praise be Allah's, that I allowed to pass my lips." When asked to explain he replied, "One night the bazaar caught fire, and I left my house to see if the fire had reached my shop. When I heard that my shop was safe, I said, 'Praise be Allah's'. Instantly I was brought to my senses with the realization that, granted my shop was unharmed, should I not have been thinking about others'?"

Sa'di is referring to this same story (with slight variations) where he says:

One night someone's chimney kindled a fire, And I heard that half of Baghdad had burnt down. One said, thank God that in the smoke and ashes, My shop has not been damaged. A man who had seen the world replied, O selfish man, Was your grief for yourself and no other? Would you be satisfied that a town should burn down by fire, If your own dwelling were left unscathed?

Shaykh Sari as-Saqati was the pupil and disciple (murid) of MAROOF AL-KARKHI, and the teacher and maternal uncle of JUNAYD OF BAGHDAD. Sari has many sayings on mystical unity (tawhid), love of God and other matters. It was also he who said: "Like the sun, the 'arif shines on all the world; like the earth, he bears the good and evil of all; like water, he is the source of life for every heart; and like fire he gives his warmth to all and sundry." Shaykh Sari as-Saqati died in [d.253H/867CE] at the age of ninety-eight.

Shaykh Sari as-Saqati Radi Allahu anhu also states:

"Tassawuf is the name of three qualities:

1. His 'Nur of Marifah' (Knowledge of Allah) must not extinguish his 'Nur of Wara' (Piety).
2. Never speak from the knowledge of Batin (Interior) that may contradict the Zahir (Exterior) -Qur'an al kareem and Hadith.
3. Do not let Karaamats (Miracles) caste a veil on those things which Allah has made Haraam."

Imam Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852H/1448CE) 'alayhi al-rahmah wa'l-ridwan

Abu'l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Hajar's family originated in the district of Qabis in Tunisia. Some members of the family had settled in Palestine, which they left again when faced with the Crusader threat, but he himself was born in Egypt in 773, the son of the Shafi'i scholar and poet Nur al-Din 'Ali and the learned and aristocratic Tujjar. Both died in his infancy, and he was later to praise his elder sister, Sitt al-Rakb, for acting as his 'second mother'. The two children became wards of the brother of his father's first wife, Zaki al-Din al-Kharrubi, who entered the young Ibn Hajar in a Qur'anic school (kuttab) when he reached five years of age. Here he excelled, learning 'Surat Maryam' in a single day, and progressing to the memorization of texts such as the 'Mukhtasar' of Ibn al-Hajib on usul. By the time he accompanied al-Kharrubi to Makkah at the age of 12, he was competent enough to lead the Tarawih prayers in the Holy City, where he spent much time studying and recalling God amid the pleasing simplicity of Kharrubi's house, the Bayt al-'Ayna', whose windows looked directly upon the Black Stone. Two years later his protector died, and his education in Egypt was entrusted to the hadith scholar Shams al-Din ibn al-Qattan, who entered him in the courses given by the great Cairene scholars al-Bulqini (d.806) and Ibn al-Mulaqqin (d.804) in Shafi'i fiqh, and of Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi (d.806) in hadith, after which he was able to travel to Damascus and Jerusalem, where he studied under Shams al-Din al-Qalqashandi (d.809), Badr al-Din al-Balisi (d.803), and Fatima bint al-Manja al-Tanukhiyya (d.803). After a further visit to Makkah and Madina, and to the Yemen, he returned to Egypt.

When he reached 25 he married the lively and brilliant Anas Khatun, then 18 years of age. She was a hadith expert in her own right, holding ijazas from Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi, and she gave celebrated public lectures in the presence of her husband to crowds of ulema among whom was Imam al-Sakhawi. After the marriage, Ibn Hajar moved into her house, where he lived until his death. Many noted how she surrounded herself with the old, the poor and the physically handicapped, whom it was her privilege and pleasure to support. So widely did her reputation for sanctity extend that during her fifteen years of widowhood, which she devoted to good works, she received a proposal from Imam 'Alam al-Din al-Bulqini, who considered that a marriage to a woman of such charity and baraka would be a source of great pride.

Once ensconced in Egypt, Ibn Hajar taught in the Sufi lodge (khaniqah) of Baybars for some twenty years, and then in the hadith college known as Dar al-Hadith al-Kamiliyya. During these years, he served on occasion as the Shafi'i chief justice of Egypt.

It was in Cairo that the Imam wrote some of the most thorough and beneficial books ever added to the library of Islamic civilization. Among these are al-Durar al-Kamina (a biographical dictionary of leading figures of the eighth century), a commentary on the Forty Hadith of Imam al-Nawawi (a scholar for whom he had particular respect); Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (an abbreviation of Tahdhib al-Kamal, the encyclopedia of hadith narrators by al-Mizzi), al-Isaba fi tamyiz al-Sahaba (the most widely-used dictionary of Companions), and Bulugh al-Maram min adillat al-ahkam (on Shafi'i fiqh).

In 817, Ibn Hajar commenced the enormous task of assembling his Fath al-Bari. It began as a series of formal dictations to his hadith students, after which he wrote it out in his own hand and circulated it section by section to his pupils, who would discuss it with him once a week. As the work progressed and its author's fame grew, the Islamic world took a close interest in the new work. In 833, Timur's son Shahrukh sent a letter to the Mamluk sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay requesting several gifts, including a copy of the Fath, and Ibn Hajar was able to send him the first three volumes. In 839 the request was repeated, and further volumes were sent, until, in the reign of al-Zahir Jaqmaq, the whole text was finished and a complete copy was dispatched. Similarly, the Moroccan sultan Abu Faris 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Hafsi requested a copy before its completion. When it was finished, in Rajab 842, a great celebration was held in an open place near Cairo, in the presence of the ulema, judges, and leading personages of Egypt. Ibn Hajar sat on a platform and read out the final pages of his work, and then poets recited eulogies and gold was distributed. It was, says the historian Ibn Iyas, 'the greatest celebration of the age in Egypt.'

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Hajar departed this life in 852 Hijri. His funeral was attended by 'fifty thousand people', including the sultan and the caliph; 'even the Christians grieved.' He was remembered as a gentle man, short, slender, and white-bearded, a lover of chess and calligraphy, much inclined to charity; 'good to those who wronged him, and forgiving to those he was able to punish.' A lifetime's proximity to the hadith had imbued him with a deep love of the Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), as is shown nowhere more clearly than in the poetry assembled in his Diwan, an original manuscript of which has been preserved at the Egyptian National Library. A few lines will suffice to show this well:

    By the gate of your generosity stands a sinner, who is mad with love,
    O best of mankind in radiance of face and countenance!
    Through you he seeks a means [tawassala], hoping for Allah's forgiveness of slips;
    from fear of Him, his eyelid is wet with pouring tears.

    Although his genealogy attributes him to a stone [hajar],
    how often tears have flowed, sweet, pure and fresh!
    Praise of you does not do you justice, but perhaps,
    In eternity, its verses will be transformed into mansions.

    My praise of you shall continue for as long as I live,
    For I see nothing that could ever deflect me from your praise.

Al-Dhahabi (1274-1348CE) the great Shafi'i hadith master (hafiz) and historian of Islam, the imam, Shaykh al-Islam, head of hadith masters, perspicuous critic and expert examiner of the hadith, encyclopedic historian and biographer, and foremost authority in the canonical readings of the Qur'an. Born in Damascus where his family lived from the time of his grandfather 'Uthman, he sometimes identified himself as Ibn al-Dhahabi - son of the goldsmith - in reference to his father's profession. He began his study of hadith at age eighteen, travelling from Damascus to Ba'labak, Hims, Hama, Aleppo, Tripoli, Nabulus, al-Ramla, Cairo, Iskandariyya, al-Qudus, Hijaz, and elsewhere to thirty different locations, after which he returned to Damascus where he taught and authored many works and achieved world renown. He lost his sight two years before he died, leaving three children: his eldest daughter Amat al-'Aziz and his two sons 'Abd Allah and Abu Hurayra 'Abd al-Rahman. The latter taught the hadith masters Ibn Nasir al-Din al-Dimashqi and Ibn Hajar, to whom he transmitted several works authored or narrated by his father.

His student TAJ AL-DIN AL-SUBKI said:

Our time was graced with four hadith masters: al-Mizzi, al-Birzali, al-Dhahabi, and my father the Shaykh and Imam [Taqi al-Din al-Subki]. As for our shaykh Abu 'Abd Allah, he is an ocean without peer, a treasure and refuge in time of difficulty, the imam of the living on record, the gold of our time in spirit and letter, the shaykh of narrator-discreditation and narrator-commendation (al-jarh wa al-ta'dil)... and the one who trained us in this science and brought us out into the scholarly throng - may Allah reward him greatly!

Another student of his, Salah al-Din al-Safadi, said:

I read before him many of his works and did not find in him the rigidity (jumud) of hadith scholars nor the denseness (kawdana) of transmitters. Rather, he is highly perspicuous and proficient in the sayings of the scholars and the schools of the imams of the Salaf and authorities in doctrine. What most pleased me is the care he shows, in his works, not to mention a hadith except he states whether it suffers from any weakness in its content or chain of transmission or one of its narrators. I did not see others show the same care in what they cite.

The "Commander of the Believers in Hadith" (Amir al-Mu'minin fi al-Hadith), Shaykh al-Islam IBN HAJAR AL-ASQALANI said of him:

"He was the most prolific of the scholars of his time. People yearned to obtain his books, travelling to him for that purpose and circulating them through reading, copying, and audition." "He is among those who have total mastery in the field of narrator-criticism."

 
He authored nearly a hundred works, some of them of considerable size:

• Major History of Islam ('Tarikh al-Islam al-kabir), thirty-six volume
• Talkhis al-Mustadrak
• Tadhkirat al-huffaz
• The Lives of Noble Figures (Siyar a`lam al-nubala'), twenty-three volume
• Tadhhib al-Tahdhib
• Al-Kashif fi Asma' Rijal al-Kutub al-Sittah

In his Mu'jam al-Shuyukh, in a large version entitled al-Kabir and a smaller one entitled al-Saghir or al-Latif. These Mu'jams are a fascinating chronicle of al-Dhahabi's shaykhs through meetings or correspondence. The Kabir contains biographies of about 1,300 of his shaykhs. In the entry devoted to Ahmad ibn 'Abd al-Mun'im al-Qazwini, al-Dhahabi writes the following lines:

Ahmad ibn al-Mun'im related to us... [with his chain of transmission] from Ibn 'Umar that the latter disliked to touch the Prophet's - Allah bless and greet him - grave. I say: He disliked it because he considered it disrespect. Ahmad ibn Hanbal was asked about touching the Prophet's - Allah bless and greet him - grave and kissing it and he saw nothing wrong with it. His son 'Abd Allah related this from him. If it is asked: "Why did the Companions not do this?" We reply: "Because they saw him with their very eyes when he was alive, enjoyed his presence directly, kissed his very hand, nearly fought each other over the remnants of his ablution water, shared his purified hair on the day of the greater Pilgrimage, and even if he spat it would virtually not fall except in someone's hand so that he could pass it over his face. Since we have not had the tremendous fortune of sharing in this, we throw ourselves on his grave as a mark of commitment, reverence, and acceptance, even to kiss it. Do you not see what Thabit al-Bunani did when he kissed the hand of Anas ibn Malik and placed it on his face saying: "This is the hand that touched the hand of Allah's Messenger"? Muslims are not moved to these matters except by their excessive love for the Prophet - Allah bless and greet him -, as they are ordered to love Allah and the Prophet -- Allah bless and greet him -- more than their own lives, their children, all human beings, their property, and Paradise and its maidens. There are even some believers that love Abu Bakr and 'Umar more than themselves...

Al-Dhahabi defined knowledge in Islam (al-'ilm) as "Not the profusion of narration, but a light which Allah casts into the heart. Its condition is followership (ittiba') and the flight away from egotism (hawa) and innovation."

At the mention of al-Harawi al-Ansari's Sufi manual Manazil al-Sa'irin in the Siyar al-Dhahabi exclaims:

How beautiful was the tasawwuf of the Companions and Successors! They did not probe those phantasms and whisperings of the mind but worshipped Allah, humbling themselves and relying upon Him, in great awe and fear of Him, fiercely combating His enemies, hastening to obey Him, staying away from idle speech. Allah guides whomever He wills to the straight path.