As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah
Sit with the people
قال هارون بن عبد الله الحمال: جاءني أحمد بن حنبل بالليل فدق البال علي. فقلت من هذا؟ فقال: أنا أحمد. فبادرت إليه فمساني ومسيته
قلت: حاجة يا أبا عبد الله؟
قال: نعم شغلت اليوم قلبي
قلت: بماذا يا أبا عبد الله؟
قال: جزت عليك وأنت قاعد تحدث الناس في الفئ, والناس في الشمس, بأيديهم الأقلام والدفاتر. لا تفعل مرة أخرى, إذا قعدت فاقعد مع الناس
Harun ibn ‘Abdillah al-Hammal said, ‘Ahmad ibn Hanbal came to me at night and knocked on my door. I said, ‘Who is it?’ He said, ‘It’s Ahmad.’ So I quickly let him in and we exchanged greetings.
I said, ‘Did you come for any particular need, O Abu ‘Abdillah?’
He said, ‘Yes. You have preoccupied my heart all day.’
I said, ‘With what?’
He said, ‘I went past you today and you were narrating to the people whilst sitting in the shade. But the people were sitting in the sun with pens and books in their hands! Don’t do that again. If you sit, then sit with the people.’ 1
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Humbleness and Goodness
قال الإمام أحمد: الخير فيمن لا يرى لنفسه خيراً
‘Goodness lies in the person who doesn’t see goodness within himself.’ 2
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The Lone Winner
قال الإمام أحمد: يا بني! الفائز من فاز غداً ولم يكن لأحد عنده تبعة
‘O my son! The true champion and winner is he who triumphs tomorrow without having anyone follow him.’ 3
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A Sincere Supplication
‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad said, ‘I heard my father say when he was in prostration (sujud):
اللهم كما صنت وجهي عن السجود لغيرك, فصن وجهي عن المسألة لغيرك
‘O Allah, just as You have protected my face from prostrating to anything besides You, protect me from asking and begging of those besides You.’ 4
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When It Comes To ‘Aqidah (belief)
قال الإمام أحمد: من ضيق علم الرجل أن يقلد في اعتقاده رجلاً
‘It is from a man’s narrow and constricted knowledge (i.e. ignorance) that he should blindly follow another man when it comes to ‘Aqidah.’ 5
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Heedlessness
Al-‘Abbas ibn Hamza: ‘I heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say,
سبحانك! ما أغفل هذا الخلق عما أمامهم, الخائف منهم مقصر والراجي منهم متوانٍ
‘Glory be to You, O Allah! How heedless the creation is of what lies ahead of them! The one who fears (the Hereafter) is falling short and the one who has hope of it, is ever slacking.’ 6
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[1] Manaqib al-Imam Ahmad[2] Dhayl Tabaqat al-Hanabilah
[3] Tarikh Madinat Dimishq
[4] Matalib Uli-Nuhaa
[5] Talbis Iblis
[6] Tarikh Madinat Dimishq
walekum salaam wa rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu ukhti
jazakAllahu khair.
اللهم كما صنت وجهي عن السجود لغيرك, فصن وجهي عن المسألة لغيرك
Could you elaborate a bit on the word ” صنت ” “فصن” ….. Firstly, if you could put the harakaath, then beginners like myself would be able to read it correctly without error 🙂 [i read it “sAntha” “fasANNI”]
Whats the root of it…..couldnt get it in the dictionary….
if you could frame a couple of sentences with the same word, it will assist us in understanding it better….thanks.
It’s from the root:
ص-و-ن
صَانَ – يَصُونُ
(So صنت would be read as ‘sunta’, and فصن ‘fa-sun’ etc)
It means ‘to protect, safeguard, preserve’ etc.
Hope that helps 🙂
yes it definitely helped …..thanks again.
After getting the root, when i checked with our Shaykh Google 🙂 he translated with the 3rd synonym – preserve!!!
Jzk
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh,
Jazaaki Allaahu khayr for starting a new series of reminders. They are very beneficial ma sha Allaah.
Could you please explain the meaning of the quote entitled,
“The Lone Winner.”
MashAllah. Wallahi I love Imam Ahmad.
Wa `alaykumusalam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh
Imam Ahmad is referring to those who see success to be in having a large number of followers/people taking after them etc. He’s reminding his son that this is actually a fitnah (e.g. Ibn Mas’ud’s statement that following a person brings humiliation to oneself and a tribulation for the one being followed), and that success is mostly with those who triumph on Yawm al-Qiyamah free from all this, and free from such responsibility.
That’s how I understood it anyway, wallahu A’lam!
Jazaaki Allaahu khayr.
i’m glad to hear of this series you’re going to be doing insh’allah. may Allah increase you in sincerity.
assalamu alaikum
sister do you have a link to download the arabic book by any chance?
jazakiAllaahu khayr