Habib Salim bin Umar at Masjid Muadz bin Jabal - Kuala Lumpur

Bismillah.

The weekly majlis ta'lim organized by Darul Murtadza on 12 April was special because it was our first time to sit in a majlis with the son of the venerable Habib Umar bin Hafiz of Yemen. MashaAllah tabarakallah - Habib Salim bin Umar - his voice sounded almost exactly like his father, it felt as though it's Habib Umar who's speaking. Subhanallah! And in an instant, Allah soothed all hearts who could be missing and longing for Habib Umar's presence.

Habib Salim bin Umar bin Muhammad BenHafidz

Habib Salim bin Umar said, as interpreted by Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin al-Hamid:

Praise be to Allah, He who is Ahad, He who witnesses there is no God but He, as do the angels and people of knowledge. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. May Allah gather us with Prophet Muhammad salallah alaihi wasalam and his families.  

We are in a majlis which is a heritage of the Prophet. The Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam did not leave dinar and dirham as inheritance. He left us with knowledge to inherit. Whoever takes that, takes the best part. Whoever is present, takes the best part of the inheritance. 

There will always be a gathering of all sorts. People get together for properties, for power, for popularity, for fulfilling their desires, but we gather to grab the Prophet's heritage.

In every age and place, there will always be gatherings organized by certain corporations, organizations, societies, countries. There are all kinds of event organizers. But we are at a gathering which is sponsored by Allah. 

Events taking place out there may be considered special. Some are being organized in a large scale at a luxurious place with good infrastructure, at vast public spaces, on the roads, in grand ballrooms. But we gather in the house of Allah. It is the most sacred of places.

It is indeed a great bounty of Allah to be here, to reap the heritage of the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam in the company of angels. How can there be a better gathering than this? If Allah were to unveil our hijab and let us see the angels, we would see them, many of them filling up from down here to the highest skies and none of us would want to leave. He who told us about this, was one who never said a lie. 

The angels are with us, when we say a prayer, they say ameen. When we ask something from Allah, the angels serve as shafaat. When we leave, we leave not unless our sins are pardoned and Allah replaces our bad deeds with good ones. Let no one say, there is a better gathering than this. Attending majlis ilm is the best of all good deeds. The rewards exceed that of sending 1000 janazah, or visiting 1000 sick persons and better than performing 1000 rakaat of solat.

Praise be to Allah for this blessing. This masjid is named after Muadz bin Jabal who is sheikhul ilmi. One who is well known among sahabah for having a high degree of knowledge. The Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam once said: "He who is most knowledgable on matters of halal and haram is Muadz." 

Muadz knew the Prophet when the latter was in Makkah. Muadz was present during bay'atul aqabah. He was an Ansar of Madinah - one who welcomed the Prophet to Madinah. Muadz participated in the battles of Badar and Uhud. He possessed plenty of knowledge and understanding but what is most significant is that he won the love of Rasulullah salallah alaihi wasalam. There is a hadith where the Prophet said to him: "O Muadz verily I love you..." It is a great honor for one to have love for Rasulullah but it is even a greater honor to have the love of Rasulullah in return. Muadz was already a learned person, still the Prophet taught him, that it's not enough to just have the knowledge. One must also have a grateful heart, a tongue that makes zikir and limbs occupied with ibadah - Allahumma a'inni ala zikrika, wa shukrika wa husni ibadatik. 

The Prophet sent him to Yemen. Unlike all others, Muadz was given permission by the Prophet to accept gifts. But upon returning to Madinah, Saidina Umar asked him to forego his properties. Muadz contested, saying he had obtained special permission from the Prophet. Nonetheless, he went to see Saidina Abu Bakar afterwards, to give away whatever bounties he had accumulated in Yemen. Such was the character of one who's 'aleem who sacrificed what was deemed halal for him to keep. 

It was narrated that Muadz was referred to not as a person but as ummat who was obedient to Allah. Saidina Abdullah bin Mas'ud thought he heard it wrong and that it was in reference to Prophet Ibrahim. Muadz was regarded as ummat because he had many followers. He was a devout man. Everything he did was for Allah. As related in a hadith, Muadz will be resurrected before the ulama. 

Here we are present at this masjid named after him. May we belong with Saidina Muadz bin Jabal together with the ulama who practice their knowledge. One who does not practice, is like a tree devoid of fruits. However big the tree is, without fruits, it has no value. It's better to know little and practise much and not the reverse.

I am happy to be here in this majlis where people read the Qur'an, hadith and learn about the inheritors of Allah. We are actually living in akhirah though we are physically here. Angels are all around us. Allah says our names and is pleased with us. Our grave shall be bright with this act we perform tonight. The graves of our parents are well lit too due to this act of worship we do. 

There was an incident where the angel exempted someone from punishment in the grave all because his son had gone to learn the Quran and recited Bismillah. Imagine, you recited more than Bismillah just now. We pray so that Allah grants us istiqamah in acquiring knowledge and performing amal; gives us the tawfik so that we could teach others; that Allah accepts our deeds and purify our hearts from riya', ujub and from having worldly intentions. May Allah clean our heart from depending on anything other than Allah. May Allah, He who knows the wishes of each one of us, may He fulfill our hajat in this dunya and akhirah.

[Ameen]
[May I be forgiven for any errors and omissions]

Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin al-Hamid

12 April is the birthday of our much adored and respected Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin al-Hamid, the leader of Darul Murtadza of KL, Malaysia. One whom we have been quoting a great deal.

We pray Allah grants him sihah wal 'afiah, increases him in knowledge and makrifah, grants him continued strength to propagate beneficial knowledge on Islam to more and more people; may he become the source of hidayah to those in need, far and wide. Whilst he busies himself for the good of the deen, we pray so that Allah takes care of his family affairs in the best of manners; that Allah grants him and his loved ones continued sakinah and happiness. Ameen.

________________________

Pic credit: Darul Murtadza.com