WEEPING OUT OF FEAR OF ALLAH
Friday Sermon Presented by Dr Mahmud Abul-Huda Al Husaini
28\9\2007, Al Adiliyya Mosque
We are in the middle ten days of Ramadan, the month whose beginning is mercy, and its middle (which we are in) is forgiveness, and soon the last ten days will begin in which there is release from Fire. How great and generous these favors and gifts are! How lovely and melodious is the speech about Ramadan and what it includes!
When the Exalted Allah said: "Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Quran" (Al Baqarah, v. 185), he stirs in us the zeal of competition with the previous nations that responded to the Book of the Exalted Allah and its words. No one nation but was addressed by the Exalted Allah by means of books and manuscripts that reveal His words. He, Exalted be He, tells us that these previous nations used to react to the verses of Allah and be influenced by them out of awe, humility and submissiveness, and they used to shed tears out of reverence to the Speaker, Exalted be He.
The Exalted Allah stirs in us this state when He tells us about the news of the previous nations who:
"whenever the Signs of (Allah) Most Gracious were rehearsed to them, they would fall down in prostrate adoration and in tears" (Mariam, v. 58).
Are the previous nation better than us when they used to fall prostrate and weep whenever they heard the verses of Allah recited to them, while we do not do as they did?
The Exalted Allah also tells us about the state of the previous nations. He said:
"It is true that those who were given knowledge beforehand, when it is recited to them, they fall down on their faces in humble prostration, and they say: Glory to our Lord truly has the promise of our Lord been fulfilled. They fall down on their faces in tears, and it increases their (earnest) humility" (Al Isra', vs. 107-109).
When the people of the Holy Book met the Prophet (PBUH) and listened to the Holy Qur'an, their eyes overflowed with tears. The Exalted Allah tells us about their state saying:
"And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger, thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth" (Al Ma'idah, v. 83).
All that must stir in us the zeal of competition and a desire to be similar to and identical with them. When we have common points in qualities; i.e., when we know the truth as they did, when we experience the same feeling of theirs, and when we listen to the Holy Qur'an as they did, we will fall prostrate on our faces in tears and our humility will increase therewith…
We should have knowledge and understanding of the Holy Qur'an not only through the mind through which we learn the synonyms of the words, but also through the heart and soul so that we live the spiritual state of recognizing its meanings when we listen and recite its verses while we are in the presence of the Owner of the Holy Qur'an who is Allah, who is He, there is no other god but He; the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the Supreme…. When we listen to theses words, we feel we are in His presence so we glorify and exalt Him.
When our Master, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) listened to the Holy Qur'an, his eyes overflowed with tears. In Sahia Al Bukhari, Abdullah Ibn Masiud (GBH) said:
"The Prophet (PBUH) said to me:
'Read to me (the Holy Qur'an).'
I said:
'How do I read it while it was revealed to you?'
He said:
'Yes, do."
Ibn Masiud read Surat Al Nisai till he reached this verse:
"How then if we brought from each people a witness, and we brought thee as a witness against these people" (Al Nisa', v.41).
The Prophet (PBUH) said:
"Enough' (meaning what has been read is suffices)."
Ibn Mas'ud said:
"when I turned to him, I found his eyes overflowed with tears."
The state of the Prophet (PBUH) was an actual application of the spirit of the verses because he (PBUH) is the Imam of the people of knowledge and cognition of Allah and His Book. His state was that of the one who was present. He did not recognize the words only, but he could also feel the awe of their meanings.
So was the state of the Companions (GBTH). Al Buhayqi narrated from Abu Huraira (GBH) who said: "When the following Surah was revealed, 'Do you then wonder at this recital?
And will you laugh and not weep' (Al Najm, vs. 59-60), the People of the Bench in the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) wept earnestly for they heard the Exalted Allah say, " will ye laugh and not weep". How could they refrain from weeping after hearing this verse?
When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) entered the mosque and found them weeping, he joined them in their vehement weeping.
Once, Omar Ibn Al Khattab was the Imam in the dawn prayer when he was the Caliphate. He began with Surat Yusuf till he reached the verse: "and his eyes became white with sorrow, and he fell into silent melancholy". Omar (OBH) wept so vehemently that he was unable to complete the Surah, so he knelt.
Abdullah Ibn Omar's friends (GBTH) heard him read the following verses and weep till he fell on the ground":
"Woe to those that deal in fraud. Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, they have exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, they give less than due. Do they not think that they will be called to account on a Mighty Day, a Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the Worlds"?‏ (Al Mutaffifin, vs, 1-6).
Abdullah Ibn Omar used to weep vehemently when he read the verse:
"Has not the time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed (to them)?"
Abdullah Ibn Abi Mulaikah told the following anecdote about Abdullah Ibn Abbas (GBH) saying:
"I accompanied Abdullah Ibn Abbas from Mecca to Medina. When we had a rest, Ibn Abbas used to perform the night prayer most of the night and read the Holy Qur'an".
When Ibn Abi Mulaikah was asked how his reading was".
He said:
"He recited the following verse with much weeping and wailing: 'And the stupor of death will bring truth (before his eyes): This was the thing which thou were trying to escape' (Qaf, v. 19).
As transmitted by Al Turmuthi in his Suunnihi, the Messenger of Allah said:
"No one who weeps out of fear of Allah will enter Hell until milk recedes to the udder."
The one who will not be touched by Fire glorifies the Exalted Allah within his heart, and the fear of Allah touches the depth of his heart, so when he feels the Greatness of the Exalted Allah, he weeps.
How could the weak restrain himself from weeping in the presence of the Strong?
How could the humble restrain himself from weeping in the presence of the All-Mighty?
How could the poor restrain himself from weeping in the presence of the Self-Sufficient?
How could the needy restrain himself from weeping in the presence of the Eternal?
How could the servant restrain himself from weeping in the presence of his Lord?
Do not weep but before your Lord, for your weeping in His presence makes you get glory.
Fall and prostrate yourself in the threshold of Allah, and mention your need before Him, and say to Him:
"I am your servant, my forelock is in your hand, your command over me is forever, your decision about me is just. I supplicate you as the destitute ".
Reveal your poverty and humility before your Lord while you feel His Greatness and Awe.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said:
"Two eyes will never be touched by the fire of Hell: an eye which weeps out of fear of Allah, and an eye which spends the night in keeping vigilance(over the enemy) in the cause of Allah."
If we read the Holy Qur'an while we find no tears in our eyes, nor do we find fear and trembling in our hearts, this means that the Holy Qur'an does not go beyond the limits of our tongues to reach our hearts, because when the Exalted Allah tells about the place of the Holy Qur'an at those who are endowed with knowledge, He said:
"Nay, here are Signs self evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge" (Al 'Ankabut, v. 49).
He, Exalted be He, did not say, "in their tongues", He rather said: "In their hearts".
Thus, if we read the Holy Qur'an thoroughly and try to understand its meanings, and if we react with it not only with our minds, but we go deeper to explore its greatness with our hearts and react inwardly with every verse we listen to from the Exalted Allah, then the Holy Qur'an will be present in our breasts not merely in our tongues. Only then we will not miss the tear in our eyes, and then we will feel the joy of prostration, and we will weep and feel the enjoyment of weeping.
Allahum…, make us from those who glorify the Holy Qur'an, and make us from those who meditate upon it. Make us from the people of the Holy Qur'an in the month of Ramadan, for you, our Lord, is the best Responder. Make us from those who listen to wisdom and follow the best of it.
I say my words and ask Allah's forgiveness.