Translated by Marcia K. Hermansen
You should know that when a need presents itself to the poor person, and he entreats God about it either verbally or through hit condition, his entreaty knocks at the door of the Divine Generosity. Sometimes the best interest will be fulfilled by inspiring the heart of a pure person to furnish the remedy for his want. Thus, when the inspiration descends and he is provoked (to respond), he is given success, God is pleased with Him, and blessings flow to him from above and below, and from his right side and his left, and God’s mercy is upon him.
One day a poor person asked me concerning a need in which he was hard-pressed and I sensed in my heart an inspiration commanding me to give, and informing me of an ample reward in this world and the next, so I gave and witnessed that what my Lord had promised me was true. The knocking at the door of (Divine) Generosity, the arousal of inspiration and its selection of my heart on that day, and the manifestation of the reward, all of that happened before my very eyes.
The Qur’an, that inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy, invigorated the barren hearts of camel shepherds and transformed them in to guiding stars for humanity. That eternal and unimpeachable writ, which laid the foundation of a civilization that carried the knowledge of late antiquity in its bosoms and brought Europe out of its darkest hours. It had occupied the minds of philosophers, theologians, jurists and politicians of yesteryears. It had informed poetry, grammar, arts, aesthetics and belles-lettre. Umar II’s politics, Al-Rumi’s gazals, Al-Razi’s logic, Al-Ghazali’s ethics, al-Hariri’s prose, al-Attar’s poetry and Ibn Al-Arabi’s metaphysics all find their origins in this heavenly mandate. It had inspired the Sufi’s chanting of the souls, the music of the dervish’s reed, the literalism of the Salafi and the speculation of the rationalist. And yet its ultimate reality lies with Allah blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things hath Power.
Originally posted in August 2010
The world we live in today has brought many tests to the Muslims. Undoubtedly, it has also brought many blessings to us. One new reality—the fact that the knowledge of our religion has become readily available through mass media—can be either a test or a blessing depending upon the scholar you speak to. As a result, we find two extremes. Some who declare that everyone must follow one juristic school or preferred scholar to be the authority without exception. Others declare that they may follow whatever opinion they like and therefore spend much of their time searching for opinions which suit their desires. In this article we beseech the support and ultimate success only granted by Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala(exalted is He) to bring the proper attitude to the availability of knowledge and scholarship in the modern world. 