Miscellaneous by Al-Albani-302

The Shaykh : We have given this fruit to every one who is afflicted with a trial and is patient with it. This is the previous hadith: how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) purifies the one afflicted with a calamity from his sins, just as fire purifies iron from its dross. It is very obvious that if the sinful Muslim is purified by Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) because of his sins and transgressions, he will enter the Paradise of his Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) without any punishment. So if the hadith of the black woman is explicit in the promise of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that she went to Paradise, then the hadith before it includes such a promise for every one who is afflicted and is patient with his trial. Indeed, there are other hadiths that are explicit regarding some trials, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) about Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—that is, a Holy Hadith— And also, as our brothers who attend our lessons feel, the hadiths concerning patience with trials are numerous and very varied in wording and meaning, but they all converge on one result: that the patient one’s outcome is that Allah will forgive his sins according to his patience and according to his trial, and that the end of that will be that he enters Paradise. Therefore, the meanings of these hadiths should be concentrated in our hearts so that they help us to live a happy life in this worldly life. Even though the disbelievers and hypocrites, who do not believe in our faith and do not share in our religion, think that we live a difficult, narrow life—as our reality as Muslims testifies first, and then from the faith perspective, which is the original basis—the divine news comes to say: As for the one who believes in Allah (Mighty and Majestic), We will give him a good life. So it does not mean that the one who turns away from My remembrance should not be wealthy, should not be comfortable, or should not enjoy all the luxuries of this world. No, the matter may be so, and yet these disbelievers live a narrow life, as Allah the Exalted said. Reality testifies to this, especially regarding the educated class of people who follow the news of the disbelieving European and American world: how the world has opened up to them, and the more they increase from it, the more their life becomes narrow. And Allah the Great has spoken the truth. As for the believer, you will find him, even if he lives in material hardship, to be content in eye and at peace in soul; he does not get bored or complain. That is because the matter is as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in a hadith in Muslim: But what does the prisoner usually seek? To be released from this place where he was thrown, which is a narrow place, to a wide place. So when the believer believes in what came in the Shari'ah regarding the resurrection and rising, and a Paradise whose width is the heavens and the earth, he can hardly believe that he will come out of this prison to that good, wide land. Unlike the disbeliever, who lives in a Paradise from the material aspect, but from the psychological aspect, as you heard in the previous verse. I return to say that we should remember the meanings of these hadiths so that we may live this happy, good life. And I want to draw attention to another thing on the occasion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) presenting to this woman the choice between being patient and having Paradise, and between his calling upon Allah for her. She chose Paradise and chose the patience that leads to Paradise. I want to mention that people differ in their natures and their patience. This woman, in this respect—because she chose patience with the trial of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)—was better than that man. This is contrary to the rule; the rule is that men are better than women, but every rule has exceptions, and this is of that kind. That man, whose story is well known and is often mentioned by those who seek nearness to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) through the servants, the awliya (close friends of Allah), and the righteous, is the blind man who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to complain of his blindness and ask him (peace and blessings be upon him) to call upon Allah for him, exactly as the black woman did. The position of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is consistent and does not differ in his advice to the community; there is no difference for him between men and women. Just as he said to the woman here, “If you wish, be patient and you will have Paradise, or if you wish, I will call upon Allah,” so he said to the man exactly the same: “If you wish, be patient, and that is better for you, or if you wish, I will call upon Allah.” He said, “No, call upon Allah for me.” The man did not want to be patient; he wanted to enjoy looking and seeing as people look and see. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him that instruction which people have transmitted and inherited in the books of the Sunnah, where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Go to the place of ablution, perform wudu, and pray two rak'ahs for Allah, then say:” So the man went, performed wudu, and called upon Allah with what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) taught him, and he sought nearness through the seeking of nearness included in this Prophetic instruction, which returns to seeking nearness through the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is his saying: “O Allah, I ask You and turn to You by Your Prophet, the Prophet of Mercy. O Muhammad, I have turned to You by him to my Lord to cure me.” As if he is saying to him: O Messenger of Allah, you are the best of those who promised and fulfilled. You promised me that you would call upon Allah for me and ordered me to pray and call upon Allah. So here I am, I have prayed the two rak'ahs and turned to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with this supplication. So now help me, enable me to fulfill my need. The entire hadith, as explained in our treatise “Types of Seeking Nearness and Their Rulings,” revolves around seeking nearness through the supplication of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and not through his person. And I do not want to delve into this issue now, especially since it is explained in that treatise. Rather, I intended to remind by this hadith of the difference between one person and another: the difference between an old black woman who is patient and another person who is not patient and asks the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to call upon Allah for him, so he actually calls upon him because he promised him, and the blind man returns seeing. This is a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person) from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and a mu'jizah (a prophetic miracle) for him that will not be repeated, no matter how much the seekers of nearness seek nearness and no matter how much the wrongdoers call with such a supplication. Indeed, they are deceiving themselves, because in the supplication the caller says: Now this mutual intercession is impossible. And so I say, no matter how much these wrongdoers who interpret the hadith contrary to its correct interpretation call, this history is fourteen centuries, and the wrongdoers regarding blindness are in the millions, not thousands; this incident will not be repeated. Why? Because there is no one who calls with this specific supplication, not because there is no Prophet after him (peace and blessings be upon him). So if we take a lesson from this story, we must emulate the black woman in what we are afflicted with, where she acquired Paradise by her patience with her trial. As for that man, Allah knows about him, and he did not engage in the cause by which reward is acquired, which is patience. So we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to make us among the patient. What does Professor Ali remind us of with this shameful, regrettable difference? This woman is exposed involuntarily, and yet she engages in the possible causes to get rid of this exposure, in which she has no choice or will. Her last resort is to come to her Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and ask him to call upon Allah for her to cure her of this epilepsy that results in the aforementioned exposure. Then she asks the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) finally, when she chose to remain in this trial for the sake of Paradise, “Call upon Allah for me that I not be exposed.” This is a woman who is exposed against her will, and yet she asks her Prophet to call upon Allah for her. Where is this compared to our women today who are exposed intentionally? And not only that, but they are exposed out of love, display, tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment), and boasting over their female counterparts. Where are these women from that black woman? Thus, people differ in faith and in distancing themselves from responding to correct faith. Now we return to answering some questions to the extent that we are able to answer.