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How the Salaf were (and weren’t) when hearing the Quran and Dhikr
It was said to ‘Â`ishah – Allâh be pleased with her, “There are people who faint when they hear the Quran.” She said. “The Quran is nobler than to have people lose their minds from it. Rather, it [should be] as Allâh the Mighty and Sublime said:
Those who fear their Lord tremble with fear by it, then their skins and hearts settle to the remembrance of Allah. (Sûrah Al-Zumar: 23)
Abû ‘Ubayd Al-Qâsim b. Sallâm, Fadâ`il Al-Qur`ân p214.
It is reported that ‘Abdullâh b. ‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr said, “I asked my grandmother Asmâ` (bint Abî Bakr) – Allâh be pleased with her, ‘How were the Companions of Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh peace and praise be upon him – when they heard the Quran?’ She replied, ‘their eyes would shed tears and they would tremble (with fear), as Allâh described them (in the Quran).’ I said, ‘There are some people here who, when they hear the Quran, fall down unconscious,’ She said, ‘I seek refuge with Allâh from the accursed Shaytân.’”
Al-Bayhaqî, Shu’ab Al-Îmân 3:417; Ibn Al-Mubârak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqâ`iq 3:54 with a slightly variant wording.
It is also reported that Asmâ` was asked, “Did any of the Salaf used to faint out of the fear of Allâh?” She replied, “No, but they used to cry.”
Al-Qâsim b. Salâm, op. cit. p214.
It is reported that Ibn ‘Umar – Allâh be pleased with him – once passed by a man from Iraq who had dropped unconscious. He asked, “What is wrong with him?” [People] replied, “When the Quran is recited to him or he hears the remembrance of Allâh he falls unconscious out of his fear of Allâh.” Ibn ‘Umar said, “We fear Allâh and we do not drop unconscious!”
Ibid p214; Al-Baghawî in his Tafsîr, Sûrah Al-Zumar: 23 with a slightly variant wording.
It is reported that Anas b. Mâlik was asked about people who drop unconscious when the Quran is recited to them. He said, “That is the behavior of the Khawârij.”
Al-Qâsim b. Salâm, op. cit. p215.
It is reported that Muhammad b. Sîrîn said, having been asked about a man who drops unconscious when the Quran is recited to him, “Make an appointment between us and him, we will sit on a wall, and the Quran – from beginning to end – will be recited unto him. If he falls off the wall, he is as he claims.”
Ibid., Al-Baghawî, op. cit.
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The Weight of the Quran
It is reported that Ibn ‘Umar – Allâh be pleased with him – said, “We were the beginning [the heads] of this Ummah, and perhaps a man from the best of the Companions of Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – and the most righteous amongst them could maintain only one chapter of the Qur`ân or thereabouts. For the Qur`ân was weighty upon them, and they were given knowledge of it or action based on it. But the last of this Ummah will find the Qur`ân light [and easy] – the child and the non-Arab will recite it, without possessing any knowledge about it.”
Al-Harawî, Dhamm Al-Kalâm wa Ahlihî Vol. 5 p144.
Going out to Spread Greetings
Al-Tufayl b. Ubay b. Ka’b narrated that he used to come to ‘Abdullâh b. ‘Umar and go with him to the market. He said, “Whenever we went to the market, ‘Abdullâh b. ‘Umar would never pass a cheap goods merchant, a seller, a poor person or anyone else except that he would greet them with salâms.” He continued, “So I came to him one day and he asked me to go to the market with him. I said, ‘And what are you going to do at the market? You never stop to buy anything, you never ask about goods, you never price anything and you never sit in the market gatherings. Sit with us here and we can talk. So he said to me, ‘O Abû Batn (i.e. possessor of the belly; Al-Tufayl had a big belly)! We only go out for salâms, to greet those we meet.’’”
Al-Bukhârî, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Al-Albânî’s Sahîh Al-Adab Al-Mufrad Vol. 1 p395.
Learn Arabic, Speak Arabic
One of the reported instructions ‘Umar wrote to Abû Mûsâ Al-Ash’arî and those under his governance during the former’s Caliphate was, “Seek knowledge and understanding of (fiqh) the Sunnah and seek knowledge and understanding of Arabic.”
Ibn Abî Shaybah, Al-Musannaf Vol.6 p126.
It is reported that he said, “Learn Arabic, for it strengthens the intelligence and increases one’s noble conduct (al-murû`ah).”
Al-Bayhaqî, Shu’ab Al-Îmân Vol.4 p187.
It is also reported that he said, “Do not learn the language of the non-Arabs, and do not enter upon them in their churches on their festivals, for indeed wrath descends upon them.”
‘Abd Al-Razzâq Al-San’ânî, Al-Musannaf Vol.1 p411.
It is also reported that he was once circumambulating the Ka’bah when he heard two men speaking in a language other than Arabic behind him. He turned to them and said, “Find some way to learn Arabic.”
‘Abd Al-Razzâq Al-San’ânî, Al-Musannaf Vol.5 p496.
It is reported that Ubay b. Ka’b – Allâh be pleased with him – said, “Learn Arabic just as you learn to memorize the Qurân.”
Ibn Abî Shaybah, Al-Musannaf Vol.7 p150.
It is reported that Ibn ‘Umar – Allâh be pleased with them – used to hit his children for making language errors.
Tahdhîb Al-Tahdhîb Vol.9 p292.
It is reported that Shu’bah – Allâh have mercy on him – said, “Learn Arabic, for it increases the intelligence.”
Tahdhîb Al-Tahdhîb Vol.4 p303.
It is reported that ‘Attâ b. Abî Rabâh – Allâh have mercy on him – said, “I wish I were fluent in Arabic,” when he was ninety years old.
Al-Dhahabî, Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ`, in his biography of ‘Attâ b. Abî Rabâh.
It is reported that Ibn Shubrumah – Allâh have mercy on him – said, “Men have never worn a garment more beautiful than Arabic.”
Al-Bayhaqî, Shu’ab Al-Îmân Vol.4 p197.
Ibn Umar on Bidah [Hasanah]
‘Abdullah b. ‘Umar – Allah be pleased with them both – said:
Every bid’ah (religious innovation) is misguidance, even if people think it is good.
Al-Lâlakâ’î in Sharh Usûl I’tiqâd Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamâ’ah Vol 1. P134, no.111; and Ibn Battah in Al-Ibânah Al-Kubraa Vol.1 p219, no. 213
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