From the lamp of prophethood (9) (Allah was very pleased with what you both did)

From the lamp of prophethood (9)

(Allah was very pleased with what you both did)

Translated by: Alamgeer Usmani.

Praise be to Allah who guided whomever He wanted to what in which their success lies on the Day of Encounter. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone who has no partner, the Creator, the King, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger who is absolutely the best of all human beings.

May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, upon his family, his companions and upon those who follow them in goodness.

After that, I advise you and myself to fear Allah.

The good effects of the piety extend to the Hereafter in the form of eternal bliss and eternal peace:

 وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا قَالُوا هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ  [البقرة:٢٥].

"And give good news to those who believe and do righteous deeds that for them there are gardens beneath which rivers flow. every time they are given a fruit from there to eat, they will say, “This is what we have been given before”; and they will be given (fruits) resembling one another. and for them there shall be wives purified; and there they will live forever".

Servants of most merciful,

What a beautiful biography of the Prophet is and how well its narrations are! And what great lessons and effects it has!

Here is a narration.

Abu Huraira reported that a person came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said: I am hard pressed by hunger. He sent (message) to one of his wives (to procure food for him). but she said: By Him Who has sent you with Truth, there is nothing with me (to serve him) but only water. He (the Holy Prophet) then sent the (same) message to another, and she gave the same reply, until all of them gave the same reply: By Him Who has sent thee with the Truth, there is nothing with me but only water, whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Allah would show mercy to him who will entertain this guest tonight. A person from the Ansar stood up and said: Messenger of Allah, I (am ready to entertain). He took him to his house and said to his wife: Is there anything with you (to serve the guest)? She said: No, but only a subsistence for our children. He said: Distract their attention with something, and when the guest enters extinguish the lamp and give him the impression that we are eating. So, they sat down. and the guest had his meal. When it was morning, he went to Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) who said: Allah was well pleased with what you both did for your guest this night”. Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim.

Let us ponder over some lessons of this hadith:

1- The Messenger of Allah PBUH was a refuge for the believers in their need and distress. This hungry, extremely tired person turned to the Messenger of Allah, he did not prolong his presentation, and did not discuss at length, but rather, he only presented his need; The narrator said: “A man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and said: I am hard pressed by hunger”, to receive a quick response and to draw full attention to his condition, and to fulfill his need.

2- See that the Prophet PBUH first himself tried to fulfil the needs of this extremely tired person. He, at first, sent message to one of his wives asking her for food for his guest, and when he did not find anything with her, he sent the same message to another wife until he sent the same message to all his wives. He did not present this guest to his companions until after he had finished what he had, may Allah bless him and his family and peace be upon him.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was a role model in his actions before his words, and how much great effect it had on the hearts, as the actions of the Ansari after prophet with this guest is witnessing to that.

3- The case of Ansari with his guest is a bright picture of altruism with little; He preferred to sleep hungry with his wife and children; to feed the extremely tired guest, perhaps he has been hungry for nights.

It is surprisingly enough that this Ansari companion showed kindness towards the feelings of his guest, who would not have eaten this food, if he knew that he is satiated to starve his host.

Ansari companion ordered his wife to stand up to pretend that she is fixing the lamp in order to turn it off; So, the home get dark. Then it was seen in a representative scene that they were eating, and the guest was happily having this little food.

It is an amazing scene. Is there anything greater than it about which our Lord, the Majestic, was very much pleased, and revealed about it a Qur’an to be recited?

In the narration of Al-Bukhari: “In the morning the Ansari went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who said, "Tonight Allah laughed or wondered at your action." Then Allah revealed:

 وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَنْ يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ  [الحشر: 9]

"But give them (emigrants) preference over themselves even though they were in need of that and whosoever is saved from the covetousness Such are they who will be successful." (59.9).

4- The wonderful scene of the family member who are interacting with the situation, distributing roles and cooperating in honoring the guest in the most perfect manner and in the best condition, according to capacity and energy. The wife overcomes the emotions of motherhood as gives her daughter’s food generously, she prefers over herself in honoring the guest with her food. In order to complete the scene, she exchanges roles with her husband in honoring the guest and removing his embarrassment because of lack of food.

In all of her affairs, she was assisting her husband in obeying Allah the Almighty and in honoring the guest of Allah’s Messenger. May Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and upon his family.

May Allah benefit me and you with the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and with the knowledge and wisdom what lie in them, and ask Allah’s forgiveness; He is forgiving.

second sermon

Praise be to Allah… After that:

Some lessons of previous narrations:

5- The prophetic miracle has appeared; as the Prophet PBUH himself informed Ansari - it was said: he was Abu Talha – that how Allah was pleased with their guest, which took place in the darkness of the night. Despite Ansari companion did not inform about their guest who was with them.

 وَيَزْدَادَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِيمَانًا وَلَا يَرْتَابَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ [المدثر: 31]

“And those who believe may improve in belief, and so that those who are given the Book and those who believe may not doubt (its correctness)”.

6- The condition of the houses of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family, as there was insufficiency and very little subsistence of living. The message goes around all his houses asking for food for the guest of the Messenger of Allah, but nothing is found except water.

The prophet PBUH comforted people with himself and his money, and did not make his homes treasures for luxury, collecting money and a lot of worldly enjoyments. His companions saw him as the most generous among the people than the blowing wind, and he divided camels by two hundred, and they never saw him monopolizing them with money, or authorizing them with luxuries, or preferring himself or his relatives.

7- In sending the message of Messenger of Allah PBUH to all his homes asking for food for his guest, but nothing is found to feed him- was a nice sympathy for this hungry, hard-working man.

When he saw that this is the condition of the Messenger of Allah, he turned to himself with contentment and not being anxious about in what condition he is.

This is his imam and his role model and this is his condition! may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him and his family.