The Path Towards Weeping out of Fear of Allâh
Taqwa of Allâh, dilligently working hard to achieve it, and being sincere
in it
Allâh, the Most High, says in the Qurân
“Fear Allâh and Allâh teaches you”. (2:282)
It has been mentioned in Ruh al-Ma’âni, “Fear Allâh” in what he has ordered
you to do and in what he has forbidden you from. And “Allâh teaches you” his
laws, which contain your best interests. And weeping is from that.
Allâh, the Most High, says
“As for those who strive hard in Us (our cause), We will surely guide them to
our paths”. (29:69)
And weeping is also from that.
On the authority of Anas (ra) on the authority of the Messenger of Allâh
ﷺ who said
“Three types of people will find the sweetness of imân; the
one to whom Allâh and His Messenger are more beloved than anything else; the
one who loves another person purely for the sake of Allâh; and the one who
hates to return to disbelief after Allâh has rescued him from it, just as he
would hate to be thrown into the fire”. And weeping is included in this
sweetness. (Bukhârî and Muslim)
Knowledge
Allâh, the Most High, says in the Qurân
“It is only those who have knowledge amongst His slaves that fear Allâh”
(35:28)
Allâh, the Most High, also says in the Qurân
“Say: Believe in it (ie the Qurân) or do not believe (in it). Verily! Those
who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on
their faces in humble prostration, and they say: “Glory be to our Lord! Truly
the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled. And they fall down on their faces
weeping, and it adds to their humility”. (17:107-9)
‘Abdul A’lâ al-Taymee, said with regard to these noble verse:
“Whoever is
given knowledge that doesn’t make him weep, then clearly he has not been
given knowledge that benefits, because Allâh, the Most High, has described
the knowledgeable by saying: (17:107)”.
Allâh, the Most High, says in the Qurân:
“And those who have been given knowledge know that it (the Qurân) is the
truth from your Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may
submit to it with humility. And verily Allâh is the guide of those who
believe in the Straight Path” (22:54)
On the authority of Abû Dharr (ra) who said that the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ
said,
“I can see what you do not see, and I can hear what you do not hear.
Indeed the sky groans (the large no.s of angels in the sky make it heavy so
that it groans) and it has a right to do so. There is not an area equal to
that of four fingers, except that an angel is prostrating to Allâh therein.
By Allâh! If you knew what I know you would laugh little and weep much, and
you would not enjoy your wives in bed. But rather you would come out onto
the hills, supplicating and praying fervently to Allâh” (Ahmad, at-Tirmidhî,
Ibn Mâjah, hasan)
The Remembrance of Death
There is no doubt that death ends the delights and pleasures of this life,
just as the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ has told us:
“Increase in your
remembrance of the destroyer of all pleasures: ie death. For verily one who
remembers it when enduring the hardships of life, it widens for him (ie he no
longer feels overburdened with the hardships he is experiencing). Whenever
one remembers it at times of opulence, it will cause him to feel restricted
and burdened (ie he will not be too involved with this life and will start to
reflect on the serious and heavy matters awaiting him).” (an-Nasâî,
at-Tirmidhî – hasan ghareeb, Ibn Mâjah)
The pleasures are what prevent a tear to be shed, nor any sadness and grief
to be felt in the heart. So increase in your remembracnce of death, in an
attempt to feel the terrors and horrors that will follow it, fearing an evil
destination, so that you may succeed with weeping out of fear of Allâh.
Indeed this is easy for the one whom Allâh wishes to make it easy for.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (ra) who said “I was with the Messenger of
Allâh ﷺ when a man from the Ansar came up to the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ
and greeted him with the salâm and then said:
“O Messenger of Allâh ﷺ
which of the believers are the best?” He replied “Those who are the best in
character”. Then he asked “Which of the believers are the most intelligent?”
He ﷺ replied: “Those who remember death the most and those who are best
prepared for what comes after it (death). These are the intelligent ones””
Contemplating and Reflecting over the Terrors which Follow Death
Contemplation and reflection upon death makes one fear the terrors and
horrors which follow, beginning with the terrors of the grave and the barzakh
(transitional period in the grave prior to the Day of Judgement). Do not
think that death is far off, since the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ has warned us
from thinking in this way. He ﷺ said “Paradise is closer to anyone of
you than your shoe lace as is the Hellfire”. (Bukhârî) There are many texts
concerning this, and I will be mentioning a few of them as exhortation and
remembrance.
On the authority of Abû Hurayrah (ra) who said
“We were sitting with the
Messenger of Allâh ﷺ when we heard a loud thud. The Messenger of Allâh
ﷺ asked: “Do you know what that was?”. We replied “Allâh and His
Messenger ﷺ know best”. He then told us: “That was a stone which was
thrown into the Hellfire seventy years ago, it was sinking further into the
Fire and has just reached the bottom.”” (Muslim)
The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said:
“Verily the eyes of the Companion of the
horn (blown into when the Day of Judgement is to be established, reported by
Ibn al Mubarak in az-Zuhd and at-Tirmidhî, Abû Dawûd and others) ever since
he was appointed with it are fixed, gazing towards the Throne (of Allâh) not
looking away fearing that he will be ordered to blow the horn before his eyes
fall back on the throne and his eyes are like two brilliant stars” (al Hâkim
and others)
In another narration
“How can I lead a life of ease when the angel of the
horn has put it to his lips and raised his forehead anticipating to hear the
call, so when he is ordered to blow he will blow” So the Muslims said: “What
should we say (supplicate) O Messenger of Allâh ﷺ?” He replied:”Say
Sufficient is Allâh for us and He is the best of Guardians, we put our trust
in Allâh, our Lord” – and perhaps Sufyan said: “upon Allâh we put our trust”.
How could he (the Prophet saw) take pleasure and he had the lawful things in
mind! How is it then, for the one who commits offences and sins, while the
angel of the horn has already put the horn to his lips, anticipating to hear
the call, such that when he is ordered, he will blow.
On the authority of Anas ibn Mâlik (ra) who related that the Messenger of
Allâh ﷺ said
“Weeping will be sent to the inhabitants of the Hellfire
whereby they will be made to weep until their tears have been used up, then
they will weep tears of blood until it (the blood) leaves trenches in their
faces and if ships were placed therein, they would sail” (Ibn Mâjah)
On the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (ra) that the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ
said:
“Indeed the inhabitants of the Hellfire will call upon Mâlik (an
angel) and he will not answer (their call) for forty years, and then he will
say: “Verily you are dwellers here”. Then they will call upon their Lord
saying “O Our Lord, take us out from here, for if we return (to committing
sins) then verily we are transgressors.” Allâh will not respond to their call
for a span equivalent to the time span of this world, and then the Most High
will say: “Away with them to the Hellfire, and do not speak.” Then the
people will give up all hope and there will only be (the sound) of moaning,
sobbing, and brayng. Their voices will be similar to the sounds of donkeys,
the first of them braying and the last of them moaning”. (al Mundhiri said in
at-Targheed wat-Tarheeb reportd by at-Tabrâni in mawquf form.)
Umm Darda on the authority of Abû Darda she said,
“I asked him (Abû Darda),
“What is it with you, you do not ask for that which such and such a person
asks for?” He replied: “Verily I heard the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ say:
“Indeed behind you is an insurmountable obstacle, which those with a heavy
burden will not be able to pass.” So indeed I wish to lighten my load in
preparation for that obstacle” (at Tabrâni, sahîh, also al Mundhiri)
Therefore in order to remember death and contemplate over the horrors which
follow death, one must:
Visit the Graves
The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said “I had forbidden you from visiting the
graves (before) but now you should visit them” (Muslim). In another
narration he ﷺ said:“Visit the graves for verily it is a reminder of
death”. (Muslim) In another narration he ﷺ saidL “Visitng (the graves)
will increase you in good” (Ahmad, sahîh).
In a narration of Abû Sa’id al-Khudri (ra), who said that the Messenger of
Allâh ﷺ said:
“Indeed! I had forbidden you from visiting the graves
(before), but now you should visit them for verily there is a lesson and an
admonition in this” (ahmad, al Hakim, sahîh upon conditions of Muslim,
adh-Dhahabi also delcared it sahîh)
In a narration by Anas bin Mâlik (ra) who said that the Messenger of Allâh
ﷺ said:
“I used to forbid you from visiting the graves, but now you
should visit them, for indeed the hearts are softened, the eyes are made to
shed tears, and it is a remembrance of the hereafter”. (Al Hâkim, and
others, sahîh)
Make the Hereafter your Main Concern
Abdur Rahmân ibn Uthmân ibn ‘Affan (ra) reported from his father who said,
“Zayd ibnThâbit left Marwan at midday. I said: “Nothing made him (ie
Marwan) send for him at this hour except that he wanted to ask about
something.” I asked him (about this) so he replied: “We were asked about
things which we had heard from the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ, I had heard the
Messenger of Allâh ﷺ say: “Whoever sets this world as his goal, Allâh
divides his affairs for him, He will place poverty between his eyes, and
nothing will come to him from the world except what Allâh has written for
him. Whoever sets the Hereafter as his goal, Allâh gathers his affairs for
him, gives him richness of heart and the world will come to him grudgingly
and submissively” (Ibn Mâjah, Ibn Hibban)
On the authority of ‘Abdullah who related that he heard the Messenger of
Allâh ﷺ say
“Whoever makes the Hereafter his sole concern, then Allâh
will be sufficient for him concerning his affiars and needs in the world, and
whoevers concerns (in the world) are divided amongst the affairs of the
world, then Allâh would have no care in which path he is destroyed”. (Ibn
Mâjah, and others).
On the authority of Abû Hurayrah (ra) who said that the Messenger of Allâh
ﷺ said:
“Allâh says: O Son of Adam, devote yourself to worshipping Me,
and I will fill your bosom with richness and remove your poverty, And if you
do not do this then I will fill your bosom with occupation and distraction
and I will not remove your poverty”. (at-Tirmidhî, Ibn Mâjah, Ibn Hibban,
sahîh).
Reflecting Upon the Magnificent Qurân
Allâh, the Most High, says in the Qurân:
“Do they not think deeply in the Qurân
or are their hearts locked up (from understanding it)!” (47:24)
Contemplating over the Qurân is one of the strongest ways of reaching the
state of weeping. It is necessary for one to take particular interest over
the tafsîr of the Qurân, in continously seek help from the scholars and the
people of tafsîr as much as one can. Read the Qurân as if it was revealed
to you, as some of the scholars have said.
An example of this has been established by ‘Aisha (ra) when she said:
“A man
sat in front of the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allâh
ﷺ verily I have slaves, they lie to me, are disloyal to me and disobey
me. When I came to know about this I scold them and beat them. So tell me
how have I been with them?” The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ replied: “What
they were disloyal to you about, what they disobeyed you in, and what they
lied to you about is measured, and the punishment which you inflicted upon
them is also measured. If your punishment was equal to their sins, then the
scale of balance is equal, it is not for you and nor is it against you. If
your punishment to them was not to the extent of their sins (ie less than
they deserved) then that is against you”. The man then fell back and began
to weep and scream. The Messenger of Allâh ﷺ said: “Havent you read the
verse in the Book of Allâh:
“and we shall set up balances on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be
dealt with unjustly in anything…” (21:47)
The man replied; “By Allâh, O Messenger of Allâh ﷺ I do not see anything
better for me and them than they leave me, I call you to witness that all of
them are free”. (Sunan at-Tirmidhî)
Ibn ‘Uyaynah said
“When Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir was close to death he became
anxious and worried, so they called Abû Hâzim for him. When he arrtived Ibn
al-Munkadir said to him: “Indeed Allâh says “.. it will become clear to them,
from Allâh, what they were not anticipating”. (39:47) And I am afraid that
that which I am not anticipating will appear in front of me.” Upon this they
both began to weep” (Ibn Abû Hatim)
Being concered with listening to the Humble and Effective Recitation of the
Qurân and Reading More of the Heart
Softening Books
Amongst these books are az-Zuhd – Ibn al Mubarak; az-Zuhd – Imam Ahmad;
at-Tuhfat ul-‘Irâqiyyah fil A’mal il-Qalbiyyah – Ibn Taymiyyah; the works of
Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah; Tahdheed Mawi’dhatil Mu’mineen min Ihyâ Ulum
ad-Deen – al Qasimi;
Verily this has a great effect in driving away the Shaytân, softening the
heart and shedding tears.
It has been reported that a man complained to Hasan about the hardness of his
heart. So he said:“Bring it closer to the remembrance of Allâh”, and he
also said: “The gatherings of dhikr give life to knowledge and bring about
khushoo’ in the heart. The dead heart is brought to life with the
remembrance of Allâh, just as the dead earth is brought to life with rain”.
