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WELCOME TO |
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MADRASA AL-HIDAYA |
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MUSLIM SCHOOL OF RIGHT GUIDANCE |
Bismillāh ar-Rahmān ar-Rahīm
MANBA‘ AL-IMDĀD: A FOUNTAIN OF HELP
A Compendium of the talks of:
AL-HABĪB AHMAD MASH-HŪR BIN TĀHĀ AL-HADDĀD
Rady Allāhu ‘Anhu
Compiled by his grandson:
As-Sayyid Muhammad bin Mustafā Bū Numay
Rahmatullāhi ‘alayh
DARS 39: OBEY ALLAH WHETHER IN AFFLUENCE OR IN POVERTY
My master said, may Allah be pleased with him.
Allah establishes whom He pleases in whatever He pleases. So among them is he whom He establishes in acquiring so He makes easy for him the work of acquiring in business or farming and so on from all the occupations that he knows well. So the one who enters into business gets for himself a big business, and the one who enters into farming gets for himself a big farm. He says: “Done! This is what I intended!” No! Allah tests whether he will be grateful or arrogant. Is he using what he has been given as he has been commanded or is he following his own desires? All of a person’s deeds depend upon himself. Some of them are in a position to earn with reflection. O you the lucky one who earns and says:
Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter. (2:201)
And he performs the deeds of the Hereafter like Prayer, and alms-giving and doing good and attending gatherings of learning and gatherings of goodness. And in the worldly job, whatever Allah Wills, Blessed is Allah, he does whatever Allah has blessed him with. So he is blessed but he is (yet) in danger in this world.
(Allah says in the Qur’an):
Undoubtedly, man transgresses. Because he considers himself self-sufficient. (96:6-7)
And among them are those who are established in a spiritual station of renunciation. He sees the world as lowly, and its days but few and he just passes by it. So he is busy in the worship of Allah, acting on what He, the Exalted, said:
And I (Allah) have created not the jinn and the men except that they should worship Me (only). I do not seek from them any provision and I do not ask that they should give Me food. Surely, Allah is the Provider, the Powerful, the Strong. (51:56-58)
Those who have freed themselves from the pre-occupations of this world, Allah has prepared for them the means but they are sincerely in the worship of Allah, not to be seen of people. So people mock at them, the rulers mock at them, everything mocks at them. If the renunciation is purely for the sake of Allah, means become easy for him.
(Allah says in the Qur’an):
And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He will suffice him; surely, Allah attains His purpose; Allah has set a proper measure for all things. (65:3)
See how Allah provides for the bird in the sky, and the beast in the jungle, and the fish in the sea. So will He abandon the one who has renounced the world while he worships Him? The one who has freed himself from this world, his heart is opened up to love goodness, and this heart is drawn near to Allah with His help. This is the path along which many work, who see this world as insignificant.
Allah has servants who are intelligent
They have repudiated the world and fear temptation
They looked into it and when they realized
that it is not a place to live
From the depths of the sea, they took good deeds as arks (of salvation)
If man knows that things are in the hand of Allah, and under His management, he is happy in the position he is in. If he is rich, he is happy being wealthy, not for fame or pride. And if he is in poverty, he is contented in poverty.
…..
So whatever situation you are in, surrender the matter to Allah, as He is the Controller, the Glorified and the Exalted, and He is the Gentle, the All-Aware. For this reason, the pious predecessors, may Allah be pleased with them, advised their companions to recite Ya Latif (O the Gentle) by the count of the (Arabic) letters of abjad, and it is 139 times, and to recite Ya Hafiz (O the Protector) 100 times. If a person recites it every day, he creates for himself a surety that makes easy for him the means and opens for him the doors. And if a questioner asks: what is the benefit of repetition and what is the benefit of such a count, we say that indeed the Names are the keys. Each Name is a key to the treasure from the treasures of existence. It is not possible to open the treasure except with this key. So if you wish to open the treasure of Mercy, you recite Ya Rahman (O the Beneficent!), (and) of provision, (you recite) Ya Razzaq (O the Provider!), (and) of knowledge, (you recite) Ya ‘Alim (O the All-Knowing!).
Allah, the Exalted, says:
And for Allah are the Most Beautiful Names, so call on Him by them. (7:180)
These are the keys which Allah has given to you and His treasures are full. Anyone who gets hold of the key, it will open for you a door with a Command from Him.
Note: The above is an abridged translation of a longer dars.
An explanation about the count of abjad that al-Habib has mentioned
Each Arabic letter has a number attached to it that represents its count. So the letter alif has a number, the letter ba has a number, and so on till the letter ya. If you add the count of each letter in a word, you get the count of that word. In the same way, if you add the count of each letter in a sentence, you get the count of that sentence. So the count of Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim is 786. That is why we see some people write 786 to represent Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim.