Explanation of the Author's Statement: The Chapter on Seeking Blessing from a Tree, a Stone, or the Like
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The Shaykh : Then the author said: "The Chapter on Seeking Blessing from a Tree, a Stone, or the Like". *Tabarruk* is a Form VI verb derived from *barakah* (blessing). *Barakah* means the abundance and permanence of good. It is derived from *al-birakah* (with a kasrah on the ba), which, as you know, is a pool of water. A pool of water is distinguished from a watercourse by two things: first, abundance, and second, permanence, because it is a collection point for water. When water flows in, for example, from a second source, it gathers in this pool. Therefore, it is distinguished from others by two things: first, spaciousness and abundance, and second, permanence. Thus, *barakah* is the abundance and permanence of good, and *tabarruk* is seeking that blessing.
The student: The water of the pools.
The Shaykh : And *tabarruk* means seeking blessing. Seeking blessing is not free from certain matters:
First, that the seeking of blessing be in a tangible, known matter or through a known religious ruling. As for the tangible matter, seeking blessing is through knowledge, supplication, and the like. For example, a man is sought for blessing because of his knowledge and his calling to the truth and his guidance. This is a blessing because we have received much good from him. Likewise, through his supplication for us. Also, among the blessings is what has a tangible effect, such as how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) liked good omens. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) liked good omens, and Asid ibn Hudayr said:Sahih al-Bukhari 4607 Indeed, Allah the Exalted may cause matters of good to flow through the hands of some people that He does not cause to flow through the hands of others, whether that is with their knowledge or without their knowledge. Yes.
The questioner : What is intended by his statement:?
The Shaykh : He intends by this the incident when the necklace of 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was lost and the people were detained in searching for it without water, so Allah the Exalted revealed the verse of dry ablution, and dry ablution was prescribed for this reason.
The student: Blessing means...
The Shaykh : No, the meaning of blessing is that you may be a cause for good. You are causes; the good things that occurred through your hands, which Allah placed through your hands, are abundant. This is the meaning.
The second meaning of seeking blessing. We said this is seeking blessing, what? Tangible, known seeking of blessing.
The second type: known, religious seeking of blessing. This is like the Noble Qur'an, for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:[Sad 38:29] And among the blessings of this great Qur'an is what occurred through the hands of those who acted upon it. From what? From the great conquests by which Allah saved many nations from associating partners with Allah and disbelief. This is a known, religious blessing. And among its blessings is that a single letter from it is worth how much? Ten good deeds. This is a great reward that saves the person effort and saves him time. It saves him effort because a person does not toil over a letter, and it saves him time because how much time does a letter take?
The student: A little.
The Shaykh : Very little. This is also from the blessings; much good is obtained with this little time and this little effort. So this is also from the known, religious blessings established by the text. There are imagined blessings that are not known. Imagined blessings are what those charlatans claim, saying that so-and-so, the dead person they claim is a close friend of Allah, has sent down blessings upon you, and the like. These are false blessings with no effect. It may be that Satan or the devils have effects in this matter, but those effects are nothing more than tangible ones, such that the devils serve, for example, the one about whom it is said that the blessing of so-and-so the Shaykh has descended upon him or settled on him. They serve him and facilitate matters for him, and in that there is a trial. There is a trial in this for the one whom Allah intends to test. And how do we guard against this type, and how do we know the truth from the lie? That is, how do we know that these are imagined blessings or known blessings of the first type, the tangible ones? That is known by the state of the person. Is this person among the close friends of Allah, the pious, through whose hands Allah may cause good and blessing to flow that does not occur from others? Or is he among the deviant, charlatan people? This is known. If we know that this man is a believer, pious, and adhering to the Sunnah, with no religious innovations or superstitions, we know that what Allah causes to flow through his hands of blessing is a known matter. And you know, for example, the great blessings that Allah caused to flow through the hands of the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him), by which people benefited in his lifetime and after his death. But if we know that this man has superstitions, contradictions of the Sunnah, and false claims, then we do not trust him and we say: these are imagined blessings, and perhaps the devils fabricate them for him to help him in his falsehood. Such as what happens with some of them: they stand with the people at 'Arafah, then return to their homeland and sacrifice with them in their homeland. This is one who is delayed by the airplanes. The Shaykh al-Islam said: "Indeed, the devils carry them there in order to deceive the people". Did this occur as a contradiction or not? What is the contradiction? That he did not complete the Hajj. And the Shaykh al-Islam said: "Among their contradictions is also that they pass by the miqat and do not enter the state of ihram from it". And this word that the Shaykh al-Islam said, we can take a ruling from it now, which is that those who delay entering the state of ihram on the airplanes until Jeddah, we consider them to be in contradiction regarding its time. There are no airplanes, but the devils that carry these people... through the miqats and they do not enter the state of ihram. So the important thing is that these last ones, these imagined blessings, are known by the state of these people.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : It is necessary to observe the miqats. No person passes by a miqat or is not adjacent to one, because the miqats are a circle around Makkah.
The student: ... they pass by.
The Shaykh : Yes, they go... they do not enter the state of ihram unless they land. They have nothing to enter the state of ihram with, they are on the broom or on the *naj'ah* or on the like of that, because they are present in the brooms. He says, "In the name of Allah," I do not know if he names it or not. He gets on it immediately. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, he spoke... but I gave it as an example.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He did not mention this among the blessings, nor did he divide the blessings. Rather, he mentioned it as part of their contradictions and deceptions of the people, that they do this act, contradicting the Shari'ah in that they do not enter the state of ihram from the miqat, and in that they come without completing the Hajj. Yes.
The student: The water of the pools.
The Shaykh : And *tabarruk* means seeking blessing. Seeking blessing is not free from certain matters:
First, that the seeking of blessing be in a tangible, known matter or through a known religious ruling. As for the tangible matter, seeking blessing is through knowledge, supplication, and the like. For example, a man is sought for blessing because of his knowledge and his calling to the truth and his guidance. This is a blessing because we have received much good from him. Likewise, through his supplication for us. Also, among the blessings is what has a tangible effect, such as how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) liked good omens. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) liked good omens, and Asid ibn Hudayr said:
It is not the first blessing of yours, O the family of Abu Bakr.
ما هذه بأول بركتكم يا آل أبي بكرThe questioner : What is intended by his statement:
This is not the first of your blessings
ما هذه بأول بركتكمThe Shaykh : He intends by this the incident when the necklace of 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was lost and the people were detained in searching for it without water, so Allah the Exalted revealed the verse of dry ablution, and dry ablution was prescribed for this reason.
The student: Blessing means...
The Shaykh : No, the meaning of blessing is that you may be a cause for good. You are causes; the good things that occurred through your hands, which Allah placed through your hands, are abundant. This is the meaning.
The second meaning of seeking blessing. We said this is seeking blessing, what? Tangible, known seeking of blessing.
The second type: known, religious seeking of blessing. This is like the Noble Qur'an, for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you
وهذا كتاب أنزلناه إليك مباركThe student: A little.
The Shaykh : Very little. This is also from the blessings; much good is obtained with this little time and this little effort. So this is also from the known, religious blessings established by the text. There are imagined blessings that are not known. Imagined blessings are what those charlatans claim, saying that so-and-so, the dead person they claim is a close friend of Allah, has sent down blessings upon you, and the like. These are false blessings with no effect. It may be that Satan or the devils have effects in this matter, but those effects are nothing more than tangible ones, such that the devils serve, for example, the one about whom it is said that the blessing of so-and-so the Shaykh has descended upon him or settled on him. They serve him and facilitate matters for him, and in that there is a trial. There is a trial in this for the one whom Allah intends to test. And how do we guard against this type, and how do we know the truth from the lie? That is, how do we know that these are imagined blessings or known blessings of the first type, the tangible ones? That is known by the state of the person. Is this person among the close friends of Allah, the pious, through whose hands Allah may cause good and blessing to flow that does not occur from others? Or is he among the deviant, charlatan people? This is known. If we know that this man is a believer, pious, and adhering to the Sunnah, with no religious innovations or superstitions, we know that what Allah causes to flow through his hands of blessing is a known matter. And you know, for example, the great blessings that Allah caused to flow through the hands of the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him), by which people benefited in his lifetime and after his death. But if we know that this man has superstitions, contradictions of the Sunnah, and false claims, then we do not trust him and we say: these are imagined blessings, and perhaps the devils fabricate them for him to help him in his falsehood. Such as what happens with some of them: they stand with the people at 'Arafah, then return to their homeland and sacrifice with them in their homeland. This is one who is delayed by the airplanes. The Shaykh al-Islam said: "Indeed, the devils carry them there in order to deceive the people". Did this occur as a contradiction or not? What is the contradiction? That he did not complete the Hajj. And the Shaykh al-Islam said: "Among their contradictions is also that they pass by the miqat and do not enter the state of ihram from it". And this word that the Shaykh al-Islam said, we can take a ruling from it now, which is that those who delay entering the state of ihram on the airplanes until Jeddah, we consider them to be in contradiction regarding its time. There are no airplanes, but the devils that carry these people... through the miqats and they do not enter the state of ihram. So the important thing is that these last ones, these imagined blessings, are known by the state of these people.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : It is necessary to observe the miqats. No person passes by a miqat or is not adjacent to one, because the miqats are a circle around Makkah.
The student: ... they pass by.
The Shaykh : Yes, they go... they do not enter the state of ihram unless they land. They have nothing to enter the state of ihram with, they are on the broom or on the *naj'ah* or on the like of that, because they are present in the brooms. He says, "In the name of Allah," I do not know if he names it or not. He gets on it immediately. Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, he spoke... but I gave it as an example.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He did not mention this among the blessings, nor did he divide the blessings. Rather, he mentioned it as part of their contradictions and deceptions of the people, that they do this act, contradicting the Shari'ah in that they do not enter the state of ihram from the miqat, and in that they come without completing the Hajj. Yes.