Saturday, January 28, 2006

2 weeks in Hayward, California

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah,

Alhamdulillah I had the honor of meeting several of the people that make up the Bay Area Muslim community (including Zaytuna) over the past two weeks while visiting my sister and her kidS mashaAllah. (: The winter session of classes at Zaytuna began the day I arrived and so here are the notes from whatever classes I was able to attend, in that order. These are just mere scribbles that I was able to jot down (I missed many things and must have incorrectly recorded others) but nonetheless I pray that Allah swt benefit you from these inshaAllah ta'ala and may He forgive me for any mistakes that I made in writing&typing these up--ameen*

Saturday, Jan. 14, 2006 3:30pm --
Class: Shamail -- The Prophetic Characteristics (saw)
Teacher: Ustadh Yahya Rhodus

At first Sidi Yahya discussed the importance of seeking sacred knowledge, to instill in our minds the greatness of this matter before Allah swt. He mentioned that Allah swt has said that He likes the 'higher' things, and seeking sacred knowledge is amongst these. One's intention when doing so should be to learn and to teach others, to benefit one's self and to benefit others, to improve one's self and to improve others...

Seeking sacred knowledge is foundational for our relationship with Allah swt as well as for the health of the community. Communities and lands (like our hearts) are brought to life by knowledge, coupled with action & da'wa. And the ultimate example we have is that of the Prophet (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him). For the first 13 years in Makkah, the Muslims sat with the Prophet (saw) and learnt! So this is how our hearts and communities will also come to life. There is a hadith that says that whoever goes out to seek knowledge (to bring life to Islam) and death comes upon him, there will be between him and the Prophets (as) one degree in Jannah. Sidi Yahya pointed out that this is not referring to a learned scholar, but rather one who simply makes the intention in their heart and sets out on this path, wherever he may be upon it. Then he continued, while it is important to study the other worldly sciences, sacred knowledge is different in that inherent in it is nur...and this is the nur of the Prophet (saw).

There are various sciences that have been codified to get to know the Prophet (saw)--seerah, khasais in nabawiyya (the distinguishing/miraculous Prophetic qualities), poetry etc. We will talk about the shamail--the inward and outward attributes or characteristics of the Prophet (saw). This is one of the greatest ways to come to love the Prophet (saw). If one establishes this love in their heart then everything else will be 'bashar' (good). And there are 6 ways to do this:
1. To establish a heart connection with him, i.e., that you think about him (saw) all the time--how he was, how he acted etc.--longing to see him and be with him.
2. To read his seerah and his shamail (saw).
3. To pray upon him often, i.e., send salawat upon him.
4. To have ta'dheem (exaltation) for his sunnah and the desire to follow it.
5. To serve his shariah -- to learn it, act upon it and teach it to others.
6. To help his ummah by taking care of the needs of the Muslims, for how concerned and compassionate was he (saw) towards them/us.

When we study the shamail is it not to merely hear a historic narrative. Rather there are 3 things to keep in mind when studying this:
1. The Prophet (saw) is our door to Allah swt. He is the means through which we come to know tawhid. So a study of his life is directly related to our relationship with our Creator.
2. He (saw) is the one who has translated this revelation to us. He (saw) had the ability to bear that which no one has/had the ability to do so. Even Jibrail (as) during the isra & mi'raj did not go past a certain level but he (saw) was allowed in. In the Quran Allah swt says that if this (the Quran) was sent upon a mountain it would split asunder, and yet it was revealed upon the heart of our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
3. He (saw) is a human being and Allah (swt) sent him as a human being. He has: i) physical attributes ii) inward attributes iii) a ma'na or an understanding of his reality, granted to some.

In Surah Kahf Allah swt says what is translated as: Say I am only a human being like you. I receive revelation that indeed your Lord is one God. In this ayah alone you can see the 3 things mentioned above to keep in mind with regards to the Prophet saw when learning about him. [SubhanAllah I would never arrive at such depth of reflection when reading this single ayah of the Quran!]

There are various reasons for which people love someone. 1. It could be something physical. 2. One could love the mannerisms or characteristics of another. 3. Naturally we love those who do good to us. 4. As humans we love perfection, as it is a part of our fitra. Allah swt combined all of these in the Prophet (saw) for us, for he was a physically and internally beautiful person who was the perfect human being. It is important to note here that while the Prophet saw was a human being, he was not like any other human being. (:

Finally...the concern of our Prophet (saw) for us has reached us even to this day. For ex. once the Prophet (saw) prayed fajr with the companions and he turned to them and said [here Sidi Yahya interjected with his own reflection, urging us to imagine what the salah of the Prophet saw must have been like, the closeness he must have felt and what was it that caused him to then turn and immediately ask] 'who has the most amazing belief?' The sahaba replied, the angels! He said (saw), 'how could the angels not believe when they see the realities in front of them?' So they said, the prophets! 'How could they not believe if revelation is coming to them?' So they then said, your companions! to which the Prophet saw again replied 'how could you not believe when you see the miracles before your eyes?' Finally he (saw) said, 'The people who have the most perfect belief are the ones who come after me...[the hadith continued in a most beautiful manner describing them/us! but I wasn't able to write it cuz I was simply soaking it in]...they are my brothers.'

Sidi Yahya then gave out an outline of the book that they're using for the class and talked about the author of that book. SubhanAllah it was amazing to just hear about him, and other shyukh, may Allah swt grant them the station near their beloved (saw) in the Akhira. The book is 'Wasail al-Wusul ila Shamail al-Rasul' (The Means of Arrival ot the Characteristics of the Prophet saw) by Shaykh Yusuf Nabahani, and he is translating it from Arabic himself over the course of the class. SubhanAllah.

May Allah swt bless Sidi Yahya and his family and all those who attended this class as well as those who yearned to attend it and may He swt grant us all the love for our Prophet saw that is our hearts' desire, allowing it to be a direct means for us to draw ever closer to Him 'azza wa jal-ameen*

wassalamu 'alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu