The 'Aabidah of Iraaq:
Mu’aadhah [rahimahallah] was not only known for her knowledge of hadeeth, but also for her extensive worship. This is why in her time, as well as later on in classical books, we find many scholars have referred to her with the prestigious title of "Muhaddithah" (woman scholar of hadeeth), as well as the honourable title of "Al-A’abidah" (the worshipper) (Tuhfah al Ahwazee, baab al istinjaa bil maa’, vol 1, pg 77.) For example, in the famous book pertaining to the lives of our pious predecessors ‘Sifah as-Sawfah,’ we find her name appearing under the chapter Mustafiyaat min 'Aabidaat al Basrah (Selected (women) from the worshippers of Basrah).
What follows testifies to the veracity of this title (Al-A’abidah) beyond imagination, and is a proof of the fact that by no degree have our great historians and scholars over-exaggerated in referring to Mu’aadhah (rahimahallah) as an a’abidah (worshipper) – Even if such extensive worship and deep faith may seem to us, in contrast to the corrupt societies in which we live which suffer from spiritual and moral decay, as beyond imagination and incomprehensible.
We must learn and realise from the life of Mu’aadhah (rahimahallah) how much of a great legacy the righteous before us have left behind for us and how far we have fallen behind in our i’baadah (worship), so much so that a person feels ashamed comparing one’s worship to theirs.
We ask Allah (a'zza wa jall) to grant us tawfeeq, and make us also of the 'aabidaat and from those who earnestly desire to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Mu’aadhah,
{And that is not hard for Allâh.} (Surah Faatir [35]: 17)
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The Wing of a Mosquito
If we were given the chance to own and live in the biggest of mansions with our loved ones, the hugest resorts containing luxurious gardens of delight and own banks hoarded with the riches of the world by which we could purchase every asset by which to satiate our covet for this life, then there is one statement of our Noble Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) which elucidates to us the true significance and value of this whole world’s luxury and sumptuousness in the eyes of its Creator: “Were this world worth a wing of a mosquito, He would not have given a drink of water to an infidel.'' (At-Tirmidhi) Although many of us may have heard this hadeeth before, I’m sure if we truly realise its import we will be moved in a way which would awaken within us a need to redefine our stance and ambitions in this life, for those who haven’t done so as yet.
Let’s consider, that if this whole world and whatever it contains is not worth a wing of a mosquito to Allah (a'zza wa jall) then how will the next abode be like, which Allah (a'zza wa jall) describes as eternal and everlasting? Glory be to Allah! The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: "...between each heaven and the other, there is a distance of travel of 500 years, and the thickness of each heaven is a distance of travel of 500 years." (Ahmad). After the heavens comes the Kursiyy (“Footstool”) of Allah (a'zza wa jall); it is not like a footstool we imagine, this is just a term by which to name this great entity for our feeble minds. The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) described, “...and the distance between the seventh heaven and the Kursiyy (“Footstool”) is a journey of 500 years...”
Then Rasoolullah mentioned the great throne of Allah (a'zza wa jall), “...The Throne is over the water, a nd Allaah is over the Throne, and He knows what you do.” (Ad Daarimie) And when comparing the Kursiyy to the A’rsh, the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “The seven heavens are in relation to the Kursiyy like a ring thrown into a waterless desert. And the superiority of the A’rsh (the Throne) over the Kursiyy is like the superiority of the desert over that ring.” (Al Bayhaqqie) SubhaanAllah! The A’rsh (Throne) is the greatest of all things that Allaah has created, over which our Lord rose in a manner that befits His Majesty. It has pillars and is carried by bearers who are angels of immense size.
These amazing and mind-blowing facts were elucidated by the Noble Companion: Ibn Mas’ood, when he said:
“Between the first heaven and the one above it is (a distance of) five hundred years. Between each of the heavens is (a distance of) five hundred years. Between the seventh heaven and the Kursiyy is (a distance of) five hundred years. Between the Kursiyy and the water is (a distance of) five hundred years, and the Throne is above the water. Allaah is above the Throne, and nothing whatsoever of your deeds is hidden from Him.” (Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah in al-Tawheed, p. 105; by al-Bayhaqi in al-Asmaa’ wa’l-Sifaat, p. 401. This report was classed as saheeh by Ibn al-Qayyim in Ijtimaa’ al-Juyoosh al-Islamiyah, p. 100; by al-Dhahabi in al-‘Uluw, p. 64.)
Just one angel who bears the throne was described by the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) in the following hadeeth as: "I have been granted permission to speak about one of the angels of Allaah, one of the bearers of the Throne. The distance from his earlobes to his shoulders is the distance of a seven hundred years’ journey." [Abu Daawood] And in yet another hadeeth: Anas Ibn Maalik, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam (may Allaah exalt his mention) said: "I have been granted permission to speak to an angel, one of the bearers of the Throne. His feet are in the lowest earth and the Throne is resting on his horn. The distance from his earlobe to his shoulder is like that of a bird flying for seven hundred years... '" (At-Tabaraani) Truly ALL praise is due to our Lord, the Most High!
We learnt that the distance between the earth and the seven heavens. But what about the Paradise, how many grades does it have? The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) has said: “Jannah has one hundred grades which Allah has reserved for the mujaahidoon who fight in His cause, and the distance between each of two grades is like the distance between the Heaven and the earth. So when you ask Allah (for something), ask for al-Firdaws which is the best and highest part of Jannah.”{footnote}Saheeh al Bukhari{/footnote} And Sahl bin Sa’d [ra] reported that the Messenger [saw] said: “The people of Jannah will look to the upper apartment of Jannah in the same way as you see the planets in the sky.” (Muslim)
Abu Sa’eed al Khudri [ra] narrated that the Prophet [saw] said: “The people of Jannah will look at the dwellers of the lofty mansions (a superior place in Jannah) in the same way as one looks at a brilliant star far away in the East or in the West on the horizon. That is because of their superiority over one another (in rewards).” Because of that, the people said, “Oh Allah’s Messenger! Are these lofty mansions the prophets’ mansions which nobody else can reach?” The Prophet [saw] replied, “By Allah, in Whose Hands my life is, some men who believe in Allah and trust His Messengers will be able to reach them.” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim)
It is truly amazing to then read Allah's (azza wa jall) description of the the width of Paradise as being as wide as the heavens and the earth: “Race one with another for forgiveness from your Lord and for Paradise, whose width is as the width of the heavens and the earth, which has been prepared for those who believe in God and His messengers...” (Quran 57:21)
Not only is the width of Jannah mind-blowing but the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) also described Paradise as, “There would be bounties which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard and no human heart has ever perceived them.” (Saheeh Muslim) And, "A space the size of a whip in Paradise is better than this world and all that is in it". (Fath al-Baari, 6/319, an-Nawawi's commentary on Muslim 17/166.)
In truth, this is why those whose goal is to attain and acquire the pleasure of Allah and His Paradise, are longing for and awaiting the herald of the caller from within paradise when he will call out to people to enter it: “Indeed may you be healthy and never be sick again, may you live and never die again, may you be young and never grow feeble again, may you enjoy, and never feel sorrow and regret again.” (Saheeh Muslim)
After reading this, this poor and weak soul can only cry out:
{So Exalted be Allaah, the True King: Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!} (Al-Mu’minoon 23:116.)
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Anyone with deep insight, reflection and wisdom, who ponders over the temporal and changing nature of this world and Allah’s continuous reminders to us by means of hardships, tests, afflictions and even blessings and happiness and the constant processes of Allah giving life and causing death, will find that this world surely holds very little weight, as depicted by the Noble Messenger (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam). If one sincerely and desirously contemplates deeply over the fleeting nature of this world and these aforementioned realities, one will soon come to realise that as a matter of fact, there is a next-life which is fast-approaching, a reckoning in which accounts will be settled and an eternal result will be our lot. Every single thing in this expansive universe is calling out by the tongue of its existence towards this reality and decipherable truth, just as Al-Mustafaa, the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, "O Allah, there is no life but the life of the Hereafter." (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), may my parents be sacrificed for him, also said: "This world (i.e., its pleasures and duration) in comparison with the Hereafter is (similar to the amount of water) one gets when he puts his finger in the sea. Let him then see what it returns with". (Muslim)
It is not surprising therefore that this world has been described by the Rasool as being a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbelieving folk, as the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said: “The world is a prison for the believer and Paradise for a disbeliever." (Muslim) This is also emphasised by Allah ('azza wa jall) in the following verse: {Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. (It is) like a rain (Ghayth), thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment, and (there is) forgiveness from Allah and (His) Pleasure. And the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment.} (Qur'aan, 57:20)
Isn't it amazing my dear Sister, that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, said, "Paradise is nearer to any of you than the strap of his shoe, and so is the (Hell) Fire." (Ahmad 1:387) Today, people are striving in gaining worldly status and wealth. Allah (a'zza wa jall) says in the Qur’aan, comparing this world’s assets to the next:
{Look how We have bestowed more on some than on others. But verily in the hereafter there is greater difference in rank and preference.} (Isra', 17: 21.)
My Sister, after reading this we can now start to understand the great asceticism of Mu’aadhah (rahimahallah), otherwise the materialistic world in which we live surely can make it hard to understand this great zeal for worship contained within the lives of our pious predecessors.
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