My respected Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb
(Rahmatullahi ‘alayh), mentioned, in his poetry, that our value is dependent on
our Nisbat (connection) with Madina Munawwarah.
When anything is purchased and brought from
Madina Munawwarah, then a lover of Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) will naturally appreciate and value it – no
matter how small or how cheap. Why? …Because it has a connection with the city
of the Beloved (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam).
It has been touched by the air of Madina Shareef, or it has been produced from
the blessed land of Madina Shareef - and this is what has made it special.
The residents of Madina Shareef are the
neighbours of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and they are the envy of the heavens, because
they have such extreme physical closeness to Nabi (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam). They are the envy of all of us as well – for we
too desire the honour of being in such proximity to Nabi (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam),
at all times.
Allah Ta’ala, in His infinite Mercy and Grace,
does not want to deprive anyone of us of this blessing of being close to
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam),
so He has given us a simple recourse to always being near to our Beloved
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam). This nearness is attained via our Nisbat
with the A`maal of Madina Munawwarah – i.e. the Sunnah (way of life) of
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam).
Our
value, in the sight of Allah Ta’ala, is dependent on our relationship with His
beloved Rasul (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam).
Allah Ta’ala has informed us of this in the
Qur`aan Shareef :
“Say (O Muhammad (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam)) : If you
do love Allah, follow me. Allah shall love you and forgive you your sins; And Allah is
Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.”
[Surah Aal-Imraan 3 : 31]
And my Shaykh had presented
the same message in poetry form:
The
footprints of the Beloved of Allah,
Nabi
Muhammad (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam),
is
the road to Jannat;
The
Sunnats of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam)
connect one with Allah Ta’ala .
It is a misconception that a person’s repeated performance of Hajj and
Umrah and repeated visits to Madina Munawwarah is to be taken as the yardstick
of piety. The yardstick of piety is not how many Umrahs or Hajj, a person has
made.
The present day scenario is saddening to say the least, since Umrah and
Hajj have become a holiday, a shopping spree, and a “tour” for the majority. …The deficit is in “sincerity of
intention”. As has been said: “The
visitors are many, but the pilgrims are scarce.”
For many, these trips are now for business and trade. And for others,
each trip is another “feather” in their caps – which must be made known and
announced to the world. There are those that boast of their yearly trips,
whether for Hajj or ‘Umrah, or both, updating us on the number of visits they
make to Makkah Mukarramah and Madina Munawwarah.
We have heard people say : “I have
made Umrah/Hajj for the past 20 or 30 years and have never missed out one.”
…Yet, the reality is that we cannot
count our Umrahs and Hajj. We cannot say how many have been performed, because
we do not know how many have been accepted. Those Umrahs and Hajj that are
accepted are the only ones that we can count. And we will only come to know of
their acceptance on the Day of Judgement.
Despite the frequent visits to the Haramayn Sharifayn, there is
generally not much improvement in our spirituality. If we have not brought a
reformation in our lives: If we have not fulfilled the rights of people, if we
have not returned to people that which is their due, if we have not asked
forgiveness from those whom we have wronged, if we are not punctual with
Salaah, and if our zaahir (external condition) and our baatin (internal
condition) do not reflect the purity and spirituality that come with visits to
the Haramayn Sharifayn, then we should truly be concerned as to the quality and
acceptance of our Hajj and Umrah.
I have mentioned many times that the “maal” (wealth/material goods) of
Madina Munawwarah is not what is available in its market places, bazaars and
shopping complexes. Unfortunately, when we visit Madina Munawwarah, then more
often than not, the objective is the “maal” of Madina Sharief.
The majority of those visiting Madina Munawwarah forget the purpose of
their visit once their gazes fall on the commercial centres of Madina Sharief.
Many who do know about the material commodities being sold, plan in advance –
that there will be an exchange or purchase of gold, there will be this
commodity and that commodity bought. …Whilst in Madina Sharief, the talk is the
latest technology, the cellphones, the best gold shops, cloak shops, and so
forth.
The
intention and pursuit becomes the “maal” of Madina and not the A`maal of Madina Munawwarah.
And this is how our stay of seven or eight days passes : “mauled by the malls” . Our Imaan, our love for Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam), our time, our energy, our money are “mauled” in
the obsession we have of shopping. We forget, and sometimes we do not even care
to give any kind of attention or express any kind of appreciation to our host,
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) because we are so caught up in material
purchases.
Instead
of filling up the pockets of our hearts with the wealth of the Love for
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and
with the wealth of his noble characteristics, we fill up suitcases and
suitcases – many a time, even purchasing more suitcases – for filling up the
material commodities of Madina Sharief.
I am not saying that it is Haraam to shop there. It will be meritorious
if a person makes purchases with the intention to support the businessmen and
traders of Madina Munawwarah.
The Hadith also makes mention that when we are on a journey, we should
bring back gifts for our families no matter how small or how cheap – because
there is always an expectation from those who remain behind, at home, that the
person on a journey will remember his loved ones and bring back something for
them – but this should not be misconstrued.
Shopping is not meant to be
the “be all and end all” – especially of our visit to the Haramayn Sharifayn.
The person should purchase a few gift items a day or two before departure. And
the gifts that we should be appreciating most are the Duas of the Haramayn
Sharifayn, Salaam at the Raudha Mubarak, the Zam Zam of Makkah Mukarramah and
the Kajoor (dates) of Madina Munawwarah.
Almost everything else is made in China, Taiwan and Japan and can be
purchased anywhere else in the world, including our own country, or city or
town. However, the Haramayn Sharifayn
offer a different “market” where such spiritual bounties are obtained, which
cannot be obtained anywhere else in the world.
The
true lovers of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) make this
trip to fill their hearts and lives with the ‘A`maal’ of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam) - with his beautiful Seerat and Soorat, with
his kindness, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, generosity, abstinence and the
treasure trove that we know of his noble life.
The visit should be purely to visit Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam), to make Salaam to our Beloved Nabi (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam), to spend time in his Mubarak city and glean
from our visit, those virtues, those qualities that will be the medium of
bonding with him and being the means of our own value increasing in the sight
of Allah Ta’ala.
If
all the visitors to Madina Sharief were to return home with the true “maal” and
wealth of Madina Sharief – i.e. the Akhlaaq (character) and A`maal of Nabi (Sallallaahu
‘alayhi wasallam),
then the value of the entire Ummah will increase.
The Sahabah were the “stars” of mankind – guides and leaders for all
nations and people. They had to thus make the great sacrifice of leaving Madina
Sharief to spread the religion of Islam. Despite them being distanced from
their beloved Madina Sharief, they
traveled with the Nisbat of Madina Sharief. This was the key to their
success. Wherever they went, there was progress and success.
On the other hand, we put price tags on ourselves by looking at our
material possessions. What are material
possessions? …Fanaa (annihilation and destruction) will come over them.
Let us introspect and consider our value in the light of the Nisbat that
we have with Madina Sharief. …The reality is that we have discarded our nisbat
with Madina Sharief, and as such our value has decreased. Today, the Ummah as a
whole is being sold very cheaply in the markets of the kuffaar. This is our own
doing and downfall.
If
we have to re-connect with the way of life, the actions and characteristics of
Nabi (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam), then most definitely, we will fetch a high price in Allah Ta’ala’s
esteem, and we will be successful in both worlds.
