Saudi Arabia – Earliest Islamic (Kufic) Inscription. This very well preserved inscription is located on a red sandstone block of rock south of Qa’a al Muatadil, north of Sharma in al-Ula, northwest of Saudi Arabia on the ancient trade and pilgrimage route connecting the early Islamic city of al-Mabiyat with Madain Saleh. It is the oldest Islamic inscription found so far. It mentions the date of the death of the second Caliph of Islam, Omar bin al-Khattab and reads as follows: “In the name of God, I Zuhair wrote the date of the death of Omar the year four and twenty (Hegrah)”. Caliph Omar bin al-Khattab died on the last night of the month of Dul-Hajj of the year 23 Hegrah, and was buried next day on the first day of Muharram of the new year 24 Hegrah (corresponding to 644 AD).
I am Zuhayr, Mawlā of the Bani Salamah [tribe]
Father! How sweet (beautiful) the speech of the Companions is! [Al-Fuḍayl] said, “Son, do you know why it was so sweet?” He replied, “No father, I do not.” He said, “Because they sought Allāh the Exalted when they spoke.” Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-īmān 2:299
Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-īmān 2:299
Allāh the Exalted distinguished Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq – Allāh be pleased with him – with four qualities He did not distinguish anyone else with: He called him Al-Ṣiddīq (the true believer), and He never named anyone else Al-Ṣiddīq; [Abū Bakr] was the companion of Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – in the cave, and his companion during the Migration (Al-Hijrah); and Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – told him to lead the prayer in the presence of the rest of the Muslims. Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 2815.
Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 2815.
The Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allah’s praise and peace be upon him – did not consider the leaving of any action to be kufr (unbelief), except the prayer (ṣalāh). Al-Tirmidhī, Al-Sunan ḥadīth 2622. Graded ṣaḥīḥ by Al-Albānī in his edition of Sunan Al-Tirmidhī.
Al-Tirmidhī, Al-Sunan ḥadīth 2622. Graded ṣaḥīḥ by Al-Albānī in his edition of Sunan Al-Tirmidhī.
Those who strive and exert themselves (al-mujtahid) amongst you today are like those who used to play around amongst those before you. Wakī’ b. Al-Jarrāh, Al-Zuhd article 221.
Wakī’ b. Al-Jarrāh, Al-Zuhd article 221.
Whoever loves Abū Bakr has upheld the religion, whoever loves ‘Umar has made the way clear, whoever loves ‘Uthmān is enlightened by the light of Allāh, and whoever loves ‘Alī has taken the firmest handhold. Whoever speaks well of the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – is clear of hypocrisy (nifāq), but whoever belittles any one of them or dislikes [any one of them] for something he did, then he is a heretic (mubtadi’), an opponent of the Sunnah and the Righteous Predecessors (the Salaf), and it is feared that none of his deeds will be raised to the heavens until he loves all of [the Companions] and his heart is clear towards them. Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Uṣūl Al-Sunnah article 189.
Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Uṣūl Al-Sunnah article 189.
I heard Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿAyyāḍ say, “It has reached me that Allāh has barred repentance from every adherent of bid’ah (religious innovation), and the worst of the people of bid’ah are those who hate the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him.” He then turned to me and said, “Make the firmest of your deeds with Allāh your love for the Companions of His Prophet, for [then], were you to come to the standing of judgment (on the Day of Resurrection) with the likes of the Earth in sins, Allāh would forgive you; but if you come [on that Day] with even the smallest amount of hatred for them, no [good] deed will benefit you.” Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 5: 412.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 5: 412.
The enemy was never able to stand up to the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him, so when the news of the defeat of the Romans came to Heraclius at Antioch he asked [his people], “Woe to you, tell me about these people who fight you, are they not humans like you?” They replied, “Indeed, they are.” He asked, “So are you more in number or them?” They replied, “We outnumber them greatly in all places.” He said, “So how is it that you are defeated whenever you meet them [in battle].” A senior and esteemed elder amongst them replied, “Because they stand in prayer at night, fast during the day, fulfill their agreements and promises, enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil, they are fair and just amongst themselves; and because we drink wine, fornicate, commit sin, break our agreements, steal, oppress and do injustice, enjoin the committing of what angers Allāh and forbid what pleases Allāh the Mighty and Majestic, and we cause evil and corruption in the land.” Heraclius said, “You are the one who has told me the truth.” Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 4:91.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 4:91.
Those who fear their Lord tremble with fear by it, then their skins and hearts settle to the remembrance of Allah. (Sūrah Al-Zumar: 23) Abū ‘Ubayd Al-Qāsim b. Sallām, Faḍā`il Al-Qur`ān p214. It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. ‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr said, “I asked my grandmother Asmā` (bint Abī Bakr) – Allāh be pleased with her, ‘How were the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh 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 Allāh 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 Allāh from the accursed Shayṭān.’” Al-Bayhaqī, Shu’ab Al-Īmān 3:417; Ibn Al-Mubārak, Al-Zuhd wa Al-Raqā`iq 3:54 with a slightly variant wording. It is also reported that Asmā` was asked, “Did any of the Salaf used to faint out of the fear of Allāh?” She replied, “No, but they used to cry.” Al-Qāsim b. Salām, op. cit. p214. It is reported that Ibn ʿUmar – Allāh 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 Allāh he falls unconscious out of his fear of Allāh.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “We fear Allāh and we do not drop unconscious!” Ibid p214; Al-Baghawī in his Tafsīr, Sūrah Al-Zumar: 23 with a slightly variant wording. It is reported that Anas b. Mālik was asked about people who drop unconscious when the Quran is recited to them. He said, “That is the behavior of the Khawārij.” Al-Qāsim b. Salām, op. cit. p215. It is reported that Muḥammad b. Sīrīn 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-Baghawī, op. cit.
Ibid., Al-Baghawī, op. cit.
ʿAbd Al-Razzāq Al-Ṣanʿānī, Al-Muṣannaf 4:225. ‘Amr b. Maymūn Al-Awdī reports, “The Companions of Muḥammad – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – used to be the quickest to break the fast and the slowest in taking the pre-dawn meal.” Ibid. p226. Ibn Al-Musayyib also reports that ʿUmar wrote to the commanders of the various regions, ‘Do not be of the procrastinators when breaking the fast, and nor of those who wait for the stars before they start praying [al-maghrib].’ Ibid. p225. Mūsā b. Anas reports that Anas [ibn Mālik] used to have his slave-girl go to the top of his house, instructing her, ‘When the horizon becomes even (evenly lit, marking sunset), tell me.’ Ibn Abī Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf 2:430. Abū Al-Tiyāḥ Al-Ḍabaʾī reports that “he used to break fast with Ibn ʿAbbās during Ramaḍān. When evening approached he would send a girl from his household to the roof [to look out], and when the sun set he would make the call to prayer (adhān). He would eat with us, and when he had finished, the call for the commencement of prayer (iqāmah) would be given, and he would pray, and we would pray with him.” Ibid. p429.
Ibid. p429.