Spiritual preparation of da’ee

Spiritual Preparation of Da’ee

in the light of

Surah Muzzammil

Muzzamil,73:1-13

• 1 O you folded in garments! • 2 Stand (to pray) by night but not all night • 3 Half of it or a little less• 4 Or a little more; and recite the Qur'an in slow measured rhythmic tones. • 5 Soon shall We send down to you a weighty Message. • 6 Truly the rising by night is most potent for governing (the soul) and most

suitable for (framing) the Word (of Prayer and Praise). • 7 True there is for you by day prolonged occupation with ordinary duties: • 8 But keep in remembrance the name of your Lord and devote yourself to

Him wholeheartedly.• 9 (He is) Lord of the East and the West: there is no god but He: take Him

therefore for (your) Disposer of Affairs. • 10 And have patience with what they say and leave them with noble (dignity).• 11 And leave Me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things of

life who (yet) deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while. • 12 With Us are Fetters (to bind them) and a Fire (to burn them) • 13 And Food that chokes and a Penalty Grievous.

1-Realization of great mission

•73:1)

• (73:1) O you folded in garments!• Instead of calling him "O Prophet, or O

Messenger", he is called “O’Muzzamil’ by Allah (SWT). It has 2 meanings:

• 1-Gone is the time when you used to enjoy peaceful sleep at will;

• 2-Now you lie under the burden of a great mission, whose demands and duties are different as well as onerous

Mission assigned to the Prophet (SAW)

• We have sent to you (O men!) an apostle to be a witness concerning you even as We sent an apostle to Pharaoh.

It means he must: 1-Testify to the Truth(of Islam) by his word and deed before them in the world by Da'wah.2- Testify in the Hereafter when Allah's Court is established, that he presented the whole Truth before the people in the world.

2-The Command to stand at Night (in Prayer)-Qiyamul Lail

• (73:2)

Stand up in Prayer by night, all but a small part of it;

• This can have two meanings:

• (1) "Pass the night standing up in the Prayer and spend only a little of it in sleep"

• (2)“There is no demand from you to pass the whole night in the Prayer, but have rest as well and spend a little part of the night in worship too."

• First meaning seems to be more relevant, and the same is supported by Ad-Dahr: 26,

Tahajjad Salaah

And in some parts of the night offer the Salah with it (the Qur'an), as an additional prayer for you. It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqam Mahmud.) (17:79)

Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend out of what We have bestowed on them. (32:16)

Qiyamul Lail is voluntary

• (73:3)

• (73:4) • Half of it, or reduce it a little;• Or add to it a little; and recite the Qur’an slowly and distinctly.• Sa’id bin Hisham asked Aisha (RA) "O Mother of the believers!

Inform me about the night prayer of the Messenger of Allah .'' She said, "Have you not read the Surah Muzzamil. I said, "Of course.'' She then said, "Verily, Allah made standing at night (for prayer) obligatory at the beginning of this Surah. So the Messenger of Allah and his Companions stood for an entire year during the night (in prayer) until their feet swelled. Allah held back the revelation of the end of this Surah for twelve months. Then, Allah revealed the lightening of this burden at the end of this Surah. Then, the standing for night prayer became voluntary after it used to be obligatory

3-Recite Quran with Tarteel

• (73:5)• The recital consists of uttering the words with proper rules

of Tajweed.• It should involve thoughtful consideration of the meaning.• When there is mention of Allah's Being and Attributes, it

may awe-inspire the heart with His glory and majesty;• When it expresses His mercy, the heart may be filled with

feelings of gratitude to Him; • When it mentions His wrath and His punishment, the heart

may be overwhelmed by fear of Him; • When it enjoins something or forbids something, one may

understand what has been enjoined and what has been forbidden.

Prophet’s method of recitation of Quran

• Anas ® reported : The Holy Messenger stretched the words when reciting them. For example, when he recited Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim he would stretch and prolong the sound of AIIah, Rahman and Rahim (Bukhari)

• . Umm Salamah said that the Holy Prophet (SAW) recited every verse separately and distinctly and observed a pause at the end of every verse. For instance, he recited AI-hamdu-lillah-i Rabb-il'alamin, and paused, then recited ar-Rahman ir-Rahim, and paused, and then recited Malik-i yaum id-di'n. "(Musnad Ahmad, Abu Da'ud, Tirmidhi).

• In another tradition, Umm Salamah has stated that the Holy Prophet recited each word distinctly and clearly. (Tirmidhi, Nasa'i).

Prophet’s method of recitation of Quran

• Hudhaifah bin Yaman says: "Once I stood beside the Holy Prophet in the Night Prayer to see how he recited the Qur'an. I noticed that he glorified Allah where He should be glorified, invoked and supplicated Allah where He should be invoked and supplicated, and sought refuge of Allah where His refuge should be sought." (Muslim,Nisai)

• Abu Dharr has stated that once during the Night Prayer when the Holy Prophet (SAW) came to the sentence: in to adhdhib-hum ... (If You punish them, then they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, then You are Almighty, All-Wise), he went on repeating it over and over again until it became dawn." (Musnad Ahmad, Bukhari).

Prophet (SAW) said:

•

• Beautify the Qur'an with your voices.)

•

• He is not of us who does not chant nicely with the recitation of the Qur'an

•

• Verily, he has been given this windpipe from the windpipes of the family of Dawud.) Referring to Abu Musa

Ibn Mas’ud(RA) advised:

• It has been narrated from Ibn Mas`ud that he said, "Do not scatter the (recitation of) Qur'an out like the scattering of sand, and do not rush through it like the hasty recitation of poetry. Stop at its amazing parts and make your heart move with it. None of you should let his concern be to reach the end of the chapter.'' This has been recorded by Al-Baghawi

• "A man came to Ibn Mas`ud and said, `I read the Mufassal chapters (from Qaf to An-Nas) last night in one unit of prayer.' Ibn Mas`ud said, `This is rushing like the haste of reciting poetry. (Al Bukhari)

4-Weighty Word

• (73:6)

• Behold, We shall cast upon you a Weighty WordThe Qur'an has been called a weighty Word because the following tasks which it commands are indeed very weighty1- Acting on its commands, 2- Demonstrating its teaching practically, 3- Extending its invitation to the whole world4- Bringing about a change in the entire system of belief and thought, morals and manners, civilization and social life, according to it.

Weighty Word• Quran is a weighty Word also because bearing the burden of its revelation

was a difficult and heavy duty. • Zaid bin Thabit(RA) says: "Once Revelation came down upon the Holy

Prophet (upon whom be peace) in a state when he was resting his head upon my knee. I felt such a pressure of the weight on my knee that I thought it would break."

• `A`ishah(RA) says: "I have seen the state of the Holy Prophet's receiving Revelation during intense cold, drops of perspiration started falling from his forehead." (Bukhari, Muslim, Malik, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i)

• `A`ishah(RA) has stated: "Whenever Revelation came down on the Holy Prophet (SAW)) while he was riding on his she-camel, the she-camel would be forced to rest her chest on the ground and could not move until the Revelation was over." (Musnad Ahmad. Hakim, Ibn Jarir).

Value of standing in night prayer

•

• Surely getting up at night is the best means of subduing the self and is more suitable for uprightness in speech

• About the meaning of the word Nashi'at a!-Lail, as used in the original, the commentators and lexicographers have expressed four different viewpoints:

• (1) That nashi'at implies the person himself who rises at night; • (2) That it implies the hours of night; • (3) That it means the rising by night; and • (4) That it does not only apply to the rising in the night but rising

after having had some sleep. `A`ishah(RA) and Mujahid have adopted this fourth viewpoint.

Meanings of “ashaddu wat'an”

• 1-As the rising for worship by night and standing up for a long time in the Prayer is hard. Man seeks ease and comfort at that time. Prayer at night is most effective in controlling and disciplining the self.

• 2- This is a very effective means of producing harmony and concord between the heart and the tongue. During these hours of the night none else intervenes between the servant and his God, and whatever man utters with his tongue in this state, is the very voice of his heart.

• 3- This is a very efficacious means of bringing about conformity between the exterior and the interior of man. The person who in the solitude of the night would abandon his comfort and ease and arise for worship, would do so only out of sincerity: there can be no tinge of display and hypocrisy in this.

• 4- As this worship is harder on man than the worship of the daytime, it develops steadfastness in him: he is enabled to walk in the path of God more firmly and can face and endure the hardships of that way with greater constancy and determination

5-Occupation with worldly affairs

•

• You are indeed much occupied during the day with the affairs of the world.

• "Leisure, aspirations and activities” Qatadah

• “A long amount of leisure time.” Mujahid

• "This means for your needs. Therefore, leave the night open for your religious devotion” Zayd bin Aslam

6-Zikr of Allah (SWT)

•

• So remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with exclusive devotion.

• Importance of zikr is mentioned in other Surahs:

• And celebrate the name of your Lord morning and evening.

Insaan, 76:25

Men who celebrate the praises of Allah standing sitting and lying down on their sides and contemplate the (wonders of creation in the heavens and the earth, Ale-Imran3:191

Importance of Zikr

“

When ye have offered your (Congregational) prayers, do the Zikr of Allah, standing, sitting & lying down on your sides“ Nisa,4:103

• Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet said, "The similitude of one who remembers his Lord and one who does not remember Him, is like that of the living and the dead.'' (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

•

• Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah said, "He who recites after every prayer: Subhan Allah (Allah is free from imperfection) 33 times; Alhamdu lillah (praise be to Allah) 33 times; Allahu Akbar (Allah is Greatest) 33 times; and completes the hundred with: La ilaha illallahu, wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa `alakulli shai'in Qadir will have all his sins pardoned even if they may be as large as the foam on the surface of the sea.'' (Muslim).

Excellence of Zikr

• Abu Hurayra and Abu Sa'id reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,"No people sit remembering Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, without the angels surrounding them and mercy covering them and tranquillity descending on them and Allah mentioning them to those who are with Him." [Muslim]

• Abu Huraira (radiya allahu anh) narrated that RasoolAllah (salla allahu alayhi wa sallam)said, “Allah Tabaraka wa Ta’ala says when a person moves his lips for Zikr of Allah, I am with him. “ (Bukhari)

7- Tabattal ( Complete devotion)

•

• And remember the Name of your Lord and (Tabattal) devote yourself to Him with complete devotion

• "This means, make your worship solely for Him alone.''

• Al-Hasan said, "Strive and devote yourself to Him.''

• Ibn Jarir said, "A devout worshipper is called Mutabattil. An example of this is the reported Hadith that he (the Prophet ) forbade At-Tabattul, which means total devotion to worship while avoiding getting married.''

8-Take Allah (SWT) as your Wali

•

• He is the Lord of the East and the West; there is no god but He. So take Him alone for your Guardian

• Wakil is a person in whom one has complete faith; so much so that one can entrust all one's affairs to him with full satisfaction of the heart.

• "Do not feel distressed at the hardships that you are experiencing at the storm of opposition that has been provoked by your invitation to Islam.

• Your Lord is He Who is the Owner of the East and the West, (i.e. of the whole universe) besides Whom no one else possesses the absolute power.

• Entrust your affair to Him and be satisfied that He will fight your case, He will deal with your opponents, and He will look after all your interests well.

9-The Command to be Patient with the Harms of the Disbelievers

•

• And bear patiently the vain things they utter, and gracefully forsake them

• "Allaah surely loves those who are the Sabireen (patient)." (3:146)

• "And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad

• tidings to as-Saabireen (the patient ones).Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Inna lillaahi wa Inna Ilaihi Raaji'un (Verily to Allaah we belong and verily, to Him we shall return)."They are those on whom are the Salawaat ( i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided-ones." (2:155-157)

Four levels of response to afflictions

• 1-Anger: (Haraam)

• "And among mankind is he who worships Allah upon the very edge (i.e. in doubt); if good befalls him, he is content therewith; but if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face ( i.e. Reverts back to disbelief after embracing Islaam). He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss." (22:11)

• . This kind of anger is that which is directed toward his Lord. So he becomes angry with what Allah has decreed for him, and this is Haraam (forbidden).

2- Sabar (Wajib)

• 2-"And be patient, indeed Allah is with the patient ones." (8:46)

• Patience is like its name - bitter in taste, yet its outcomes are sweeter than honey.

• So the person sees the affliction which is very heavy upon him, yet he bears it although he dislikes that it happened. His Eemaan bears it and restrains him from being angry. So the time of affliction and the time of no affliction is not the same to him, and this (level) is Waajib

3- Pleased with affliction-(Mustahab)

• Person is pleased with the affliction and whether it happened or not, it is the same to him so it is not difficult upon him.

• He does not bear it as if it is something weighing heavy on him, and this (level) is Mustahabb(preferred)

• The difference between this level and the one before it is apparent because the affliction happening or not happening is the same.

4- Thankfulness (Shukar) in affliction

• This is the highest level. Person at this level thanks Allah for the affliction which has struck him,

• He knows that this affliction is expiation for his sins and perhaps a cause for an increase in his good deeds.

• The Prophet (SAW) said: "There is no affliction which strikes a Muslim except that Allah expiates with it (sins), even when a thorn may poke him." (Bukharee & Muslim)

Reward for Sabar

• : " Whenever a Muslim is afflicted by harm from sickness or other matters, Allah will drop his sins because of that, like a tree drops its leaves." [Bukharee and Muslim ]

10- Hajar

•

• And bear patiently the vain things they utter, and gracefully forsake them

• . "Depart from them" does not mean "Break off all ties with them and stop preaching to them“. It means;

• "Do not have intimate and friendly relations with them:

• “Disregard their foolish behavior and their nonsense."

• However, you should do so without showing any grief, anger or temper but gracefully like a noble person, who would disregard the abusive remarks of a mean person without minding them at all.

• This instruction was given in the Qur'an so as to tell the disbelievers: "It is not due to any weakness on the part of the Prophet that he is not responding to what you

11-How to deal with affluent opponents

•

• Leave it to Me to deal with the affluent ones who give the lie (to the Truth), and bear with them for a while

• Those who were inciting the common people to oppose and resist him by stirring up prejudices and by deceit and fraud were the affluent people. Their interests, were being hit by Islam's message of reform.

• The Qur'an tells us that this was not peculiar only to the Holy Prophet's case. This very class of the people have been the main obstacle to

12-Warning of Akhirah

•

• We have heavy fetters *13 and a blazing Fire in store for them;

•

• and a food that chokes, and a grievous chastisement.

Conclusion

•

• 1-Establish regular Prayer and give regular Charity;

• 2-And loan to Allah a Beautiful Loan.

• 3-And whatever good ye send forth for your souls Ye shall find it in Allah's presence yea better and greater in Reward.

• 4-And seek ye the forgiveness of Allah: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

Hadith

• 'Abdullah bin Mas`ud reported that the Holy Prophet (SAW) once asked:

• "Which of you has a greater love for his own wealth than for the wealth of his heir?

• The people said: There is none among us, O Messenger of Allah, who would not have greater love for his own wealth than for the wealth of his heir.

• He said: Consider well what you are saying. The people submitted: This indeed is our considered opinion, O Messenger of Allah.

• Thereupon the Holy Prophet said: Your own property is only that which you have sent forward