Sunday, February 2, 2020

The value of 'La ilaha illallah' - Habib Alwy bin Abdrurrahman Al-Habsyi

Bismillah.

Assalamualaikum,
Hi Guys,

It's strange but suddenly I've become a little more attached to this blog, again. Well...that's because I've been checking old entries to tidy them up, as in making necessary corrections and relabelling them. Occasionally, I'd also check what people read in real-time and what they've been reading in the past 24 hours. It's kinda fun as I too would read what people have just read and I found some old 'Personal Ramblings' of mine quite entertaining LOL. Oh yeah, we have a proverb in Malay to describe such self-praise, we say 'masuk bakul angkat sendiri'. LOL.

But you know we have to be our own number one supporter, our own number one fan, cos hey, we have got only one life to live and 'no one can do you better than you'. Right?

Anyway, on a serious note, I've been watching on a daily basis, sometimes twice a day, the live streamings on Nabawi TV YouTube channel. I wish I could make a proper entry about the lessons I learned in each of the majlis taalim or majlis mawlid that I watched. But I can't. Already, I have slacked a bit on my MBA research work. Haih!

So just quickly, one takeaway from the majlis taalim I watched on Nabawi TV this beautiful Sunday morning. A Sunday with a unique date: 2.2.2020. I am not sure I'll live long enough until 2.3.2030 but one thing for sure, I understand a bit better the value of La ilaha illallah and hope to fill whatever remaining years of my life, living it. Let's.



  • We all know that we should quickly follow our bad deeds with good deeds (hasanat). Habib Alwy bin Abdurrahman Al-Habsyi [pic] said the easiest and the most weighty of good deeds to follow a transgression is by reciting La ilaha illallah. This was taught by Prophet Muhammad salallah alaihi wasalam to Imam Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari, a sahabi who was famous among the angels because of the amount of La ilaha illallah he recited all his life. Imam Abu Dharr asked for a wasiat from the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam. The Prophet told him to always have taqwa. 'What else O Rasulullah,' he asked. "Recite as much as you can La ilaha illallah." So he did as told and became well-known among the angels for that. That even Jibril sent his salam to Abu Dharr. 
  • Imam Abu Dharr was also advised by the Prophet to cover up a bad deed with a good deed (hasanat) should he slip and make a mistake. Imam Abu Dharr asked the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam for reassurance if La ilaha illallah is considered a hasanat that could replace one's wrongdoings. The Prophet replied: "It is afdhalul hasanat to wipe off one's sin". It is! It is the most afdhal. The most effective sins-eraser if you will.  
  • I realized now, it is a gamechanger. Because all this while whenever I fall into error, I thought OK let's plan aside a time, say tonight, pray extra and make extra istighfar. So there is a delay of perhaps 8 hours and my idea of a good deed that could replace my bad deed, was quite a task. Today I know, it's not as effective as reciting La ilaha illallah repeatedly and wholeheartedly. Simple. Easy!
  • Habib Alwy also said, as recommended by one wali qutub Al-Imam Habib Abdullah bin Abu Bakar Al-Aydrus, we should close our eyes when reciting La ilaha illallah as it would penetrate our cells right to the core of our hearts and souls. 
  • We should also lengthen the recitation as in Laaaaaa ilaaaaa haaaaa illaaaaalllllaaaaaaah because as said Habib Alwy, there is a hadith that says when a person does this, the Arash will shake and thereby Allah would grant pardon to the person until he/she completes the phrase. So the Prophet and sahabah would lengthen their recitals to prolong the state of afuw (forgiveness) from the Lord. 
  • There is also a hadith about the Prophet salallah alaihi wasalam pointing his index finger (forefinger) upwards signifying tawhid whenever he says La ilaha illallah. This was to emphasize the fact that there is no one on earth that is worthy to be worshipped except Allah. Ma min ilaahin fil wujudi bil haqqi illallah!
I hope I heard him right, that Arabic phrase. We all love learning new Arabic words, don't we? So, don't forget afdhalul hasanat = La ilaha illallah. 

Wish you all a productive week ahead.  

As ever,
E. Ismail

Contents are in the Indonesian language though.


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