Ali Ibn Talib and his Love for Abu Bakr – Farewell Speech

"The city of Al-Madeenah literally trembled on the day that Abu Bakr
(radi Allaahu 'anhu) died; in fact;other than the day of the Prophet's
death the peopleof Madeenah had never witnessed a sadder day, nor a
day upon which they had shed more tears. Upon hearing the sad news,
'Ali ibn Abi-Talib (radi Allaahu 'anhu) hurried towards AbuBakr's
house, all the while saying, "Verily we belong to Allah, and to Him is
our return."
'Ali (radi Allaahu 'anhu) then stood outside the house in which Abu
Bakr (raadi Allaahu 'anhu) had died, and made the following long
speech, which he addressed to Abu Bakr (raadi Allaahu 'anhu) himself:
"O Abu Bakr, may Allah have Mercy upon you. You were the closest
companion and friend of the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam); you were a comfort to him; you were the one he trusted most.
If he had a secret, he would tell it to you; and if he needed to
consult someone regarding a matter, he would consult you. You were the
first of your people to embrace Islam, and you were the most sincere
of them in your faith. Your faith was stronger than any other
person's, as was the degreeto which you feared Allah. And you were
wealthier then anyone else in terms of what you acquired from the
religion of Allah 'Azza Wa-Jall (The Posessor of Might and Majesty).
You cared most for both the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam) and Islam. Of all people, you were the best Companion to the
Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam); you possessed the
best qualities; you had the best past; you ranked the highest; and you
were closest to him. And of all people you resembled the Messenger of
Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) the most in terms of his guidance
and demeanor. Your ranking was higher than anyone else's, and the
Prophet (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) honored you and held you in
higher esteem than anyone else. On behalf of the Messenger of Allah
and Islam, may Allah reward you with the best of rewards. When the
people disbelieved in the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam) you believed in him. Throughout his life, you were both his
eyes with which he (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam), and his ears with
which he heard. Allah has named you truthful in his book when He said:
"And he (Muhammad (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) who has brought the
truth (this Qur'an and Islamic Monotheism) and (those who) believed
therein (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism), those are
Al-Muttaqun (the pious andrighteous persons)" (Qur'an39:33)
When people were stingy in their support for the Messenger of Allah
(salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) you comforted him.And when people sat
still, you stood side by side withthe Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu
'alayhi wa sallam), facing the same hardships that he faced. In times
of hardship, you were truly a good and noble Companion of his. You
were the 'second of two', his Companion in the Cave; and the one upon
whom As-Sakeenah descended. You were his Companion during the
migration and you were his successor regarding the religion of Allah
and His nation. And truly good sucessor you proved to be when the
people apostatized.
You did what no other Khaleefah of a Prophet did before you. You stood
up firmly and bravely when his other Companions lost their resolve and
became soft. And when they became weak, you adheredto the methodology
of the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam). You truly
were as the Messenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:
weak in your body, but strong regarding the commands of Allah; humble
in yourself, but lofty in your ranking with Allah; well-esteemed in
theeyes of people, honored and great in their hearts. Not a single one
of them had any reason to dislike you, to be suspicious of you, or to
hold you in contempt.
The weak and humble you have always treated as strong and honorable,
making sure you gave them what was rightfully theirs. And in this
regard, you have treated relatives and strangers equally. Of all
people, you respect those who are most obedient to Allah and who fear
Him the most. In your overall character, you embody truth and
compassion. Your speech has always been characterized by the qualities
of wisdom and decisiveness. And you have always struck a noble balance
between gentleness and firmness. You have always based your decisions
on knowedge, and once you have made your decisions, you have always
kept a firm resolve to execute them.
Verily to Allah do we belong, and to Him is our return. We are pleased
with, and we submit to, Allah's decree. And by Allah,other than the
death of theMessenger of Allah (salAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) Muslims
have neverbeen afflicted with a greater calamity than the calamity of
your death. Youhave always been a protector....

The Incredible Story of “The Lamp”

My father once narrated [a story to me] about an old man who had a
dream. In this dream, he met Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah in one of
the markets of 'Unayzah; It was one of the markets which leads to the
assembly (a gathering place) – a well known placein 'Unayzah.
During this meeting, Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah handed a lamp to
this old man.
When the old man [later] enquired about the [meaning of his] dream, he
was told that he will have a child who would [grow up to] be pious
(saalih) andhe would have [an elevated] stature in [islaamic]
knowledge.
So, a child was born to this old man, and he was set upon naming him
Saalih, inthe hope that his dream would be true and specific to this
child.
So, Saalih was religious anddevout, and loved the people, [just] as
they loved him [too]. He would recite the Qur.aan and stand the night
in prayer, however, he was not a student of knowledge.
Saalih then got married and had a son, whom he named Muhammad; He was
Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen. ♥
And in reality – and we consider him as such – he was the lamp which
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah had given the old man [in the dream].
And [as for] this old man, [well, he] was the grandfather of Shaykh
Ibn 'Uthaymeen – may Allaah have mercy upon him.
~Narrated by: The Shaykh'sson, 'Abdullaah ibn Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen

Islamic Article :-How Big is your Light?

You're sitting comfortably in your room when all of a sudden, the
electricity goesoff. It becomes completely dark. You can't see a
thing. Although it is your own house, life comes to an inconvenient,
complete halt.
That's because you can't see a thing! You dare not move, in the fear
that you may knock something overor worse still, you may stumble and
hurt yourself. Uncomfortable and unnerving, isn't it?
Now fast forward to an unknown time in the future……when it will be
darker and even worse…..
when you…. and I…… and all of mankind…..will be gathered in the dark,
in front of a bridge…..
a bridge that is sharper than a sword and thinner than a hair…..
a bridge called as-Siraat…….the bridge over Hellfire.
When the companions asked about the bridge, he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa
Sallam) said:
'It is a slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps and (hooks like)
thorns which are wide at one side and narrow at the other and have
bent ends… Some of the believers will cross the bridge as quickly as
the wink of an eye, some others as quick as lightning, a strong wind,
or fast horses or she-camels. So some will be safe without any harm;
some will be safe after receiving some scratches, and some will fall
down into Hellfire. The last person will cross by being dragged (over
the bridge)." [Bukhaari]
And then, it will be orderedthat we all pass over this bridge. And we
will have no choice but to comply to the order of the Lord of
theWorlds. But it will be dark, darker than any darkness one can ever
imagine…..
and on this horrific Day, mankind will be desperate… desperate to do
anything, anything, to have some kind of light that will help them see
the way and guide them to cross over the Siraat.
And then….. there will be light.
But, you know what? This light will only be accordingto the light of
Imaan that you had in your heart in the Dunya.
If your Imaan was strong, so will be this light….strongand bright and
illuminating. And if your Imaan was weak, this light will be weak too,
dim and faltering and feeble.
Ibn Kathir reported in his Tafseer:
"They will pass over the Siraat according to their deeds. Some of them
willhave a light as large as a mountain, some as a date tree, some as
big as a man in the standing position. The least among them has a
light as big as his index finger,it is lit at times and extinguished
at other times." (Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir).
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim says:
"For one person, it (the light) will be like the sun,for another like
the moon, the stars or a lamp. For yet another, this light will be
only at the tips of his toes; it will shine, then go out [then shine,
then go out]. For just as his light had been in this world, so he
shall be given when crossing the Bridge. In fact, it is the same light
that had appeared to him before. However, just as the hypocrite has no
real light in this world, or has only an outward light butnone within,
so shall he be given [on that Day] anoutward light which will vanish
in the darkness and be lost."
If you lived a life of righteousness and Taqwa, a life according to
Islaam, submitting to Allaah and repenting to Him, obeying His
commandments, hoping for His Mercy yet fearing His Wrath, taking care
not to disobey Him to the best of your ability, then good news for
you, O Muslim. Allaah will illuminate your path over the Siraat just
like He illuminated your heart in this Dunya with guidance and
righteousness.
"The Day (will surely come) when you shall see believing men and women
with their light running before them andon their right hands, (it will
be said to them): 'Glad tidings for you this Day. You shall live for
ever in Gardens underneath which rivers flow! That is indeed the
mighty triumph." (Surah Hadeed: 12)
BUT,
If you dared to disobey theLord of the Worlds, following your whims
and desires, earning haraam, lying, cheating and backbiting,involved
in all sorts of sins and forgetting the Aakhirah, then dim andfeeble
will be your light in accordance with the deeds that YOU chose to
commit.
Imagine the desperation, despair and hopelessness of a person in such
a situation!
Complete darkness….. and abridge, that he has to cross….a bridge so
sharp and so slippery and so thin,with hooks….stretching over
Hellfire….and he can't see a thing!
May Allaah protect us.
Wouldn't he give anything,anything to have a light that is strong and bright…..
A light that can illuminate his way across the Siraat….
A light that can take him toJannah??!!
Alas…for him, it will be too late…..
BUT, it's not too late for US.We still have time. We still have a
chance to make our light big and strong. All we have to do is to
submit to Allaah and repent sincerely.

HADEES :- ~

"O Allah, You know, while You are over Your Throne, that humility is
more beloved to me than nobility. O Allah, You know,while You are over
Your throne, that poverty is more beloved to me than richness. O
Allah, You know, while You are over Your throne, that I don't prefer
anyone or anything over Your love."
- Bishr al-Hafi (rahimahullah)