Bismillah.
Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah. That's the most precious du'a that touched the heart tonight [6 Jan 2013]. That Habib Salem Ba'Abad prayed - we shall not leave the majlis unless we do khidmah, serve the deen, and spread dakwah. Ameen.
Habib Salem's countenance was so calm as was his tone. He said (as translated by one akhi):
Praise be to God who is well aware of everything. Salutations be upon our master Prophet Muhammad and his companions. Praise be to Allah that we are seated here in this place upon which much goodness and His love, too, descend.
We are gathered to listen to the narrations on one as special as the Prophet. Gathered we are on account of our mahabbah for him. The strongest of association/following is one which is for the Prophet and his asbab. He is the door to Allah and Allah would be pleased with anyone who comes through His beloved's door. In a seerah (history) written by Imam Ali al-Habshi, we learned to make salutations for the Nabi whose very being is a key/door to all goodness. Allah honored the Prophet [s.a.w] with much special attributes, of beauty, of perfection, and Allah gave not to other people and not even other prophets.
He made his companions understood the risalah which he was bringing. That he would be the first to be resurrected in akhirah. That he would be speaking to people when they approach him. That he would grant syafaat. That he would gladden the hearts of people when they are sorrowful. In his hand is the banner of Al-Hamd. That he is the most honorable of the first and the last person yet he is not arrogant.
Prophet Muhammad [s.a.w] is light among the anbiya (the other prophets), he is like a gem among them. His unique position will be first witnessed by his enemies before his sahabah. He lived in a perfect manner that even the Quraysh could not fault him. He was regarded as soleh al amin. The infidels in those times (the Quraysh) acknowledged him and ascribe good names to him. But the unbelievers of this day think he is a terrorist. In the syair of Imam Busiri, we know how the Prophet is described as one who is always merciful and forgiving. When he was among people who knew him not, even the trees, rocks all loved him. But people became his enemy instead. The Prophet's heart is pure, devoid of hatred and remorse. He lived with a clean pure heart. He did not have any ill feelings towards his people (ummah) then and not now. When he was assigned prophethood, it was as though he would take his own life just so that he could preach to people.
It is amazing and it still amazes the unbelievers to this day, how someone who did not have any wealth and who was poor could establish a government. At that time, the ministry of defense and the ministry of finance were all centered at the masjid. That's where his headquarters was. The masjid was the focal place.
When it was a time of abundance, he would give out whatever wealth that was available and brought home none. The Quraysh couldn't do anything to him. He was leading in worldly affairs though he didn't have much of dunya. He had no money, no watches.
The Prophet didn't have anyone. His nasab (family lineage) was broken from the top, middle and bottom. His father died. He was an orphan. When his mother died, people found him crying by his mother grave, lamenting: "O mother, I only have you but now you have left me." His grandfather who first took care of him died, then his uncle died. Then his wife too died. His sons did not survive. He didn't have anyone by his side except Allah.
He lived a life of good deeds and occupied himself with ibadah and sincerity towards Allah. He was the best of man in maqam ubudiyah. He was mostly a musafir and was always independent and spent his life in jihad for the sake of Allah He was often mocked and attacked. His teeth got broken. He suffered a great deal until the end of his prophecy when God indicated it was time for him to leave.
People of the West who studied his story were often puzzled how a man who had nothing to support him nor any kind of aid, could form a government. Prior to him becoming a Messenger of Allah, the Arabs were always fighting. They did not say salam to one another. They were always thinking of how to become a leader among themselves. But no one could lead them until the Prophet came.
The Prophet had exemplary akhlak and that became the spiritual foundation of a religion. Without a good akhlak, religion would just be a form without function. The Prophet taught them tawaduk (humility). Taught them how to get rid of takabbur (ostentatious) and riak (pride). He taught them generosity and not be stingy and selfish. He taught them to respect one another. The Arabs at that time had the habit of burying their daughters whom they regarded as useless and worse than animals. The Prophet taught them about good values of Islam - to be a person with hidayah (a guided person) and one who guides others and to spread Islam to the East and West.
According to one historian, there was a century where people were living like barbarians, naked and smelly. The coming of the Prophet changed things for the better. He taught the people good manners and so much more that people were touched, so they loved him more than they loved themselves and their children. They loved him more than they would love cold water when they were thirsty. Their sincerity for the Prophet earned them a good mention in history. Saidina Umar al-Khattab was taught to be as heroic like a prophet because he could conquer Baitul Maqdis, even the Prophet could not do that. So too was his other sahabah like Uthman and Abu Bakar. They all had their own great achievements.
Day by day, we lose a little bit of sunnah. It diminishes, becoming little and little until we lose it all. That is why we have the unbelievers as our leaders. We become a follower of the kuffar because we didn't follow sunnah. We should go back to practicing sunnah and remembering seerah until we could lead the ummah. We want to lead not for the sake of dunya, position or wealth. We want to lead so we could bring the unbelievers out of darkness and into the heavens.
We should study the Prophet's seerah and live according to his example. He never beat a child, woman or even animals unless it was for the sake of Allah. He was full of mercy. The Prophet never said a lie, never make any mistakes. He was truthful in his words. He never cheat. He was an honorable person.
There is not a civilization that did not commit war crimes. The Prophet would constantly remind his companions about the adab of going to war. One is not allowed to cheat, steal, kill children and woman. Cannot uproot or burn trees. If people were found worshiping even if they were worshiping idols, leave them alone. Cannot kill one who is injured. Do not hunt down an enemy who tries to flee from battlefield.
Unfortunately, today, Islam is portrayed as a religion that supports terrorism. If we studied the history of the battle of Badar and Uhud, the Muslims had only gone to war to defend themselves.
There is so much to learn about this religion. We try our best to learn some if not all. Learn about the akhlak of the Prophet. May you leave this majlis with a light to guide others. Let's make the Prophet as our living example. The kuffar look at us as a weak group. We are divided. In some countries there are so many sects - the sufis, wahabis and so on. But still many more people are embracing Islam. In America, it's said that on average 500 people convert to Islam daily. People in Europe have become more interested to study other religions than their own. Praise be to Allah who give us the blessing of this deen. What is the secret to this religion? The secret is with Allah. No matter how hard people try to challenge/attack this religion, they can't win because Allah is mightier.
I ask the men, what is your contribution for the religion? I ask the women, what is your service for the religion? Have you tried to make someone who didn't like solat to want to perform solat? Do you show people to goodness? I advise those who intend to honor this religion of Allah, go make dakwah. Tell people about the beauty of Islam. Spread information about the deen. Do not let a day pass without you trying to enjoin people to do good. Habib Umar's father - Habib Hafiz said he's often asked by students for a special salawat so they could see the face of Rasulullah [s.a.w]. The habib said, if you want that, go out and make dakwah on the path of Allah! That's the salawat.
The Prophet [s.a.w] said, one who teaches others to do good will be prayed upon even by the ants and fish in the ocean. Do not leave this majlis without making an intention to serve the religion, to be one who does khidmat for the religion of Allah.
*****
Habib Salim ended his tausiyah with a lengthy and heartfelt du'a that brought much tears to my eyes.
Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah.
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Allahu a'lam. The above is just my rough notes.
The majlis ta'lim was hosted by:
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