(Continued from previous issue)

AN EPISODE OF GREAT ADMONITION
I shall relate an amazing and awful incident in which there is great admonition and lesson. I have personally heard this incident from Hadhrat Thanvi (rahmatullah alayhi) who said that Shaikh Dahhan. a senior Alim of Makkah Muazzamah narrated:
A certain Alim in Makkah Muazzamah passed away and was buried there. After sometime another man also died there. The heirs of the deceased desired that he be buried in the same grave as that of the Alim. In accordance with their wishes the grave of the Alim was opened. To their utter shock and astonishment they discovered that instead of the Alim, there laid the body of a beautiful young girl. On closer examination it was found that the body was of a European girl.
All stood in astonishment Coincidentally, a man from the gathering recognized the girl since he had previously seen her. He informed the people that the body was that of a French girl. She was the daughter of Christian parents, and she had studied Urdu by him. In secrecy she had embraced Islam and that he had taught her some Deeni books. The reason for the miraculous transfer of her body after death was now obvious. She was a Muslim and pious as well, hence the transfer to holy ground. But, the question remained: What has happened to the body of the Alim who was buried in that grave. It was then suggested to the instructor of the girl that upon his return to Europe after Hajj he should investigate the grave of the girl. The grave should be opened to see if the body of the Alim was perhaps transferred into her grave. This was agreed upon. A man who new the Alim well accompanied the girls teacher to Europe.
On reaching Europe, the girls teacher narrated the episode of the girl and her grave in Makkah to her parents. They were greatly perturbed when hearing this astonishing story. They finally agreed to the request to have her grave in France dug open. When the coffin was opened its contents were amazing, for it was the body of that Alim who had died and was buried in Makkah Muazzamah.
This news caused much concern to the people of Makkah Muazzamah. What was the reason for the transference of this Alims body to a place of kufr? It was decided to ask his wife for some clue to the mystery. There surely must have been some vile deed of his which was the cause of this miraculous transfer from an abode of holiness to a place of kufr. A deputation went to the home of the Alim and requested his wife: Was there anything contrary to Islam in your husband? She replied:
He was a constant and conscientious reciter of the Quran, steadfast on Salaat and performer of Tahajjud.
People asked her to ponder and reply, for his body after burial in Makkah Muazzamah has been transferred to a place of kufr. There must certainly be something in him which was in opposition to Islam. His wife then said:
The only thing that I can think of is that after sexual relations when he prepared for ghusl he would always say: A nice thing of the Christian religion is that ghusl janaabat is not Fardh. It was then said to her:
Indeed this is most assuredly the cause of the transference.
This was then the reason for Allah Ta'ala having dumped his body among the Nasara whose way he preferred.
This episode will illustrate that although externally this man was a complete and perfect Muslim, but investigation established that he contained an aspect of kufr, viz., preference for a custom of the kuffaar. Since preference for kufr is in fact kufr, it is manifest that this man was not a believer from the very inception. It should not, however, be interred that in such cases bodies will always be transferred. Such rare incidents take place by the command of Allah to act as direction and admonition for us. In this regard, the Quran says about Shaitan:
And, he was of the kaafireen.
In other words, from the very beginning, he was a kaffir. It is not that he was a believer in the beginning and later became a kaffir. This is an erroneous notion which people entertain. On the contrary, he was always a kaffir, but his kufr lay dormant and hidden, and only became manifest with his refusal to make sajdah for Hadhrat Adam (alayhis salam). Shaitan had already learnt from the Luh Mahfooz that a being will become kaffir, but because of his external piety he became unconcerned and negligent of himself. He could not conceive that being such a great worshipper, he could become kaffir, Shaitan thus was utterly destroyed by his takabbur (pride) and indifference. On the contrary, all the Malaaikah were extremely perturbed when they learnt that a being will become a kaffir. They prayed that this misfortune should not be the lot of any among them. As a result of their fikr (concern) and tawadhu (humility) they remained in the Court of Divine Acceptance, and Shaitan was rejected and cursed because he never was within Divine Acceptance. Once a person is accepted by Allah Ta'ala, he never is rejected, just like one who has attained buloogh (physical maturity) never returns to the state of physical immaturity (na-baligh).
Similarly, once a man has accepted Islam with sincerity of heart, he never becomes kafir.A mature person is one who after having accepted Islam submits his whims and desires to the Command of Allah. Not only does he submit himself, he totally annihilates himself in the obedience of the Divine Command. And, an immature person is one whose lowly desires dominate him. Maulana Rumi (rahmatullah alayhi) says:
All creation are like children (immature and inexperienced), save the one who is engrossed with Allah Ta'ala.
Only he is mature and developed who has obtained freedom from lowly desire.
Truly, once Iman has settled in the heart, its expulsion is not possible even if attempted. It is recorded in Bukhari Shareef that Hadhrat Sufyan Ibn Harb (radiallahu anhu) prior to embracing Islam was questioned by the emperor, Heracleus: Has anyone after embracing this religion of Islam reneged from it in detestation (i.e. disliking anything of it? When Abu Sufyan (radiallahu anhu) replied in the negative, Heracleus exclaimed: Indeed, such is Iman after having settled in the recesses of the heart. Iman is synonymous with love, hence the Quran states: Those who have accepted Iman are strongest in the love for Allah. In this ayat, iman is defined as love. If the love is true it will never leave the heart. This is exactly the case of Iman. It is for this reason that the devotees of Allah (the Auliya) do not accord place in their heart for even a love which is lawful so that at the time of maut their attention is not taken towards the love which is transitory and perishable. At the time of departure from this ephemeral abode they do not wish to have any love in their hearts besides the love of Allah and His Rasul (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Should we (ordinary mortals) not be able to abstain from excess of lawful love then at least we should abstain from unlawful love. This is imperative. If we desire a life and death like the chosen ones of Allah, then we should link up with them. InshaAllah, then one day we too will be bestowed with this treasure which they possess. Reverting back to our original topic, the audience of the ayat: Do not become like those who have forgotten Allah. cannot be the kuffaar. It applies to only the Believers. Further, the ayat says: thus, He caused them to become forgetful...
This statement indicates a significant point. However, before understanding this point it is necessary to explain something. Allah Ta'ala states: We are closer to man than his jugular vein. If after knowing this, man still becomes forgetful of Allah Who is closer to him than his jugular vein, then it is inconceivable that he will remember himself. It should now be obvious that the one who has forgotten Allah Ta'ala, has, in fact, forgotten himself. He who remembers Allah Ta'ala, will remember himself, albeit not directly and independently, but as a creature of Allah. He will remember himself by virtue of his bond of love with Allah; by virtue of the bounties of Allah Ta'ala; by virtue of the possessions which he holds as an amaanat (Trust) of Allah Ta'ala. Such a person remembers and thinks of everything through the Medium of Allah Ta'ala, just like an ashiq thinks of the things of his beloved. Thinking of things associated with the beloved is in fact remembering the beloved.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AHLE DUNYA AND AHLULLAH
The Ahlullah (Auliya of Allah) care for themselves and all their connections and associates in the manner of a servant. They do not behave like employers. We (Ahle Dunya the people of the world) eat merely to fill our stomach whereas they eat to care for the machine awarded by the Owner (Allah Ta'ala). It should now be simple to understand the wisdom underlying the Divine prohibition of suicide. Allah Ta'ala states: Do not kill yourself. Suicide is forbidden because life does not belong to man. Since it is not mans property, he is not at liberty to use and misuse it as he pleases. Life too is Allahs property and He has not permitted us to employ it without His Consent. In the same way, Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: Verily, your body has s right over you; your soul has a right over you; verily, your eye has a right over you. Because of the natural rights which all parts of the human body has over man, it is not permissible for man to sterilize or destroy his sexual ability or to deliberately eliminate his sight. The Arifeen -the Auliya of Allah thus regard their bodies as the property of Allah Ta'ala, hence they nourish and care for it with this intention. In material needs and fulfillment we sometimes consider the Auliya to be like us. whereas in actual fact there is no resemblance. About the Auliya it has been wisely said: the ignorant are unaware of the condition of the Arifeen; it is best, therefore, to be brief in talk in their regard. The Ahle Dunya drink cold water for pleasure and to quench thirst. But, the Arif drinks water so that he fulfils the shukr of Allah on every gulp. Truly speaking, we do not belong to ourselves. We are the property of Allah Ta'ala. Whoever remembers Allah, will remember himself. In remembering himself, he will firstly remember Allah Ta'ala and then himself. Such indirect remembrance of the self is not tawajju ital ghair (attention on others besides Allah) which is forbidden. The gaze of the Ahlullah is firstly on Allah Ta'ala. The gaze of creation is secondary, resulting from the gaze and attention on Allah because such creation belongs to Allah. On the contrary, our gaze is firstly on creation and secondly on Allah Ta'ala as the Creator and Fashioner.
(To be concluded)