Is fainting upon hearing the Qur'an considered among the miracles (karamat) that occurred to some of the Tabi'un but not to the Companions, and does this indicate superiority?

The Shaykh : And especially in what came after that as well. Yes. In the time of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him), there was nothing of the sort; he did not do what al-Hajjaj did. Yes.

The questioner : May Allah reward you. It is reported that some of the Tabi'un would faint or sometimes die when they heard the Qur'an, and we do not find this in some of the Companions. Does this imply superiority?

The Shaykh : No, this indicates that this person is deficient. The one who dies or faints is deficient, because this indicates the weakness of his heart and his inability to bear the admonition that came to him. And we know with certainty that they were not more reverent and awed of Allah than the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and yet he did not reach this state. He would weep (peace and blessings be upon him), but he did not reach this state. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab heard a reciter reciting, or he was reciting, and he fell ill for days, and the people used to visit him, but this does not mean that he was better than Abu Bakr or the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This indicates weakness of the heart and inability to bear it, just as it was mentioned to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) that a certain man, when his child died, would smile and laugh. And it is as if this questioner is saying that this state is higher than the state of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), who would weep and say, "The heart grieves and the eye sheds tears." So Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "This indicates the weakness of this man and the inability of his heart to bear it" because he was unable to balance beautiful patience with bearing this calamity. Rather, he would laugh as if he wanted to drive the matter away with this laughter and joy, and it was an apparent joy. So this indicates his deficiency.
There is among the Sufis, yes, what is called fana', fana' from witnessing other than Allah. Because fana' is mentioned as being divided into three categories: fana' from the desire for other than Allah, fana' from witnessing other than Allah, and fana' from the existence of other than Allah. "Other than Allah" means other than Allah.
Fana' from the desire for other than Allah is a fana' for which a person is praised, because it means sincerity, that you do not desire anything but Allah. But the Sufis call it fana', and we do not call it fana'; we call it sincerity.
Fana' from witnessing other than Allah is when a person enters into worship and does not feel anything other than Allah, until he becomes so occupied with Allah that he is distracted from the worship. He does not know if he is in worship or not, because his heart is consumed with what? His heart is consumed with Allah. He does not know if he is praying or relieving himself in the restroom, or if he is buying and selling; he does not know. He is absent. What is this? Fana' from what? Witnessing other than Allah. Until some of them reach a state of fainting, they faint and disappear for a while, and some of them fall dead, and some of them are overtaken by madness and they start to jabber: "I am Allah, I am Allah, I am Allah." Yes, there is nothing in the robe but Allah, my tent is pitched over Hellfire. Glory be to Allah! You pitch your tent over Hellfire, you madman. But this is where their state leads them, because they become consumed at times with what? With the object of worship instead of the worship, and with the One who is remembered instead of the remembrance.
As for the third category, and I seek refuge in Allah, fana' from the existence of other than Allah, they say: There is no existence except Allah, everything is Allah, even his wife is Allah, the one he lies with is Allah, everything is Allah, and I seek refuge in Allah. For this reason, Ibn al-Qayyim said:
"O nation whose object of worship is the one she lies with *** Woe to this passion and these minds"
So the conclusion, my brothers, is that a person fainting or dying upon hearing admonitions does not indicate perfection, but rather indicates deficiency. Did not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) hear the crying of a child while he was praying?
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : And he understood, so he would shorten his prayer. He would carry his daughter Ummah bint Zaynab while he was praying. Al-Hasan and al-Husayn would come to him, and al-Hasan would ride him while he was prostrating, and he would prolong the prostration. Was he unaware of them? Or was he immersed in worship? He was aware of them, and he was more perfect.
Even 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said: . He combined prayer and jihad, so do not be deceived by such things.
The reciter: "It has been stated regarding ta'wil (figurative interpretation) in which they exerted effort: whoever among them was correct would receive two rewards, and whoever among them was mistaken would receive one reward, and his mistake would be forgiven for him.
And we see that it is obligatory for us to refrain from their faults, so that we do not mention them except with the praise they deserve, and that we purify our hearts from resentment and hatred toward any of them, due to His saying (Exalted is He) about them: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan."

The Shaykh : No, there is no need.
The reciter: Without it.

The Shaykh : Without it, because this is during the recitation, whereas in the case of citing evidence.
The reciter: And without the Basmala?

The Shaykh : And without the Basmala and nothing else.
The reciter: Due to His saying (Exalted is He): , and His saying (Exalted is He) about us: .