ALMISKEENAH

Alhumdulillah we are have been blessed with the month of Sha’ban, the month that according to Hadith is our Beloved Prophet’s month, which heralds the fast approaching Ramadhan, known as the month of his Ummah, our month. Sha’ban is the expiator of sins, while Ramadhan the purifier. Let us take this time to search our hearts and souls for all that will jolt them into a state of reformation. Grabbing every opportunity to sink to new depths of understanding our purpose and enhancing our appreciation for the unrelenting sacrifice the Blessed Al-Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam made for us, his Ummah. And so I post a long extract for us to contemplate the extent of his SallAllahu alaihi wasallam’s overwhelming love for us and our Akhirah. May we be moved. Moved to actualize reforms, to shed all that may prevent us from attaining that which is favoured. May our devotion reach greater heights this Sha’ban, the month of our Master, Insha’Allah, and thus be honoured to reach our month of Ramadhan. Ameen.

One gracious divine gift to our blessed Master, the Glory of the Universe, is the standard called the Banner of Praise [liwa’ al-humd]. Under this Banner the Community of Muhammad will find shade on the Day of Resurrection and the Messenger, on him be peace, will make intercession for them when they are gathered there. Till then, the Banner of Praise is planted on a mountain called the Mount of praise, on a boundless plain in Paradise on High. Its handle is white, its shaft is bluish-green and its point is of ruby. The Banner carries three lines of writing:

The first line reads:

bismi-illahi’ r-rahmani’ r-rahim

“In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful and Compassionate…”

The second line reads:

La ilaha illa-llahu

Muhammadun rasulu-llah

“There is no god but Allah;

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”

The third line reads:

al-humdu li-llahi rabbi-l’alamin

“All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.”

If anyone repeats these noble formulas, it is a sign that he will be resurrected beneath the Banner of Praise and will enjoy felicity and bliss on the Day of Resurrection.

Beneath the Banner of praise there are seventy other standards, beneath which seventy thousand mighty angels will form ranks, proclaiming the divine dominion. They will sanctify and glorify Allah, the Lord of Majesty, as they display the Omnipotence of the Absolute Creator.

When the Banner of Praise has been put at the command of the Messenger, on him be peace, more angels in their thousands will carry it aloft as they escort him to the Place of resurrection. As they make their procession towards Paradise, all the great Prophets and noble Messengers will congregate beneath the Banner, along with all those who have affirmed the Divine Unity.

THE PRAISEWORTHY STATION

The place where our blessed Master will intercede for his suffering Community on the Day of Resurrection is called the Praiseworthy Station [al-maqam al-mahmud]. The Praiseworthy Station is a lofty and splendid dais, prepared for the blessed Messenger by his Exalted Lord. It will be set up in the shade of the Throne, in the midst of the daises granted to the other Prophets. Here the Glory of the Universe will plead with the Exalted Lord, as intercessor for the sinful and disobedient members of his Community; in response to these supplications he will be granted leave to intercede.

According to some traditional accounts, when the Praiseworthy Station has been established beneath the Exalted Throne and our Master has prostrated himself in worship thereon, the Glory of the Messengers will go to the aid of his sinful Community and will heal their incurable ills. By his intercession he will rescue them form the fire of Hell. He will implore his Lord to bestow His Mercy upon them and will ensure their admission to Paradise by divine leave.

Many authoritative texts support the belief that this place of intercession is the Praiseworthy Station, including this glorious Verse of the Qur’an:

Perform the prayer at the sinking of the sun till the darkening of the night, and the dawn recitation; surely the dawn recitation is witnessed. And part of the night: keep vigil in it, as an extra worship for you; maybe your Lord will raise you to a Praiseworthy Station.   (17:78-79)

THE FOUR STATIONS OF THE BLESSED PROPHET

The venerable Anas ibn Malik said: “I heard from Ahmad ibn Fadl that our Master, the noble Messenger of the Lord of all the worlds and the Intercessor for sinners, had four Stations, from each of which he will make supplication to the Lord on behalf of his Community and will plead with Him for its disobedient sinners. The Lord of Majesty has promised His beloved Messenger that He will bestow divine pardon upon the sinful and disobedient Community of Muhammad.”

One of these Stations is the Station of Witnessing [al-maqam al-mashhud]. This is the Station where, on the night of his Ascension, at the Two Bows Lengths, our blessed Master begged mercy and pardon for his wayward Community from the Most Merciful of the merciful, the Lord of Sovereignty and Dominion, who said to His Beloved: “O My Beloved, by night and day, you have longed to behold the Beauty of My Countenance. Now look upon My Beauty.”

At this Station, where He allowed His Beloved to behold His perfect Beauty, in the intimacy of the transcendent realm, the Lord conferred many other favours upon His Messenger, addressing him wordlessly, from no point in space, but in a manner intelligible only to Allah and His Messenger. When He promised to grant a thousand remedies for a single pain, a thousand cures for a single ill, saying: “I shall be Generous to you till you are content,” the blessed Messenger responded with the plea: “My Lord, my Community is weak; my Community is poor; give me my Community.”

“O My Beloved,” came the good tidings, “I shall grant them My Paradise and My Beauty. Do not sorrow, be not sad: I have given you your Community. You are My loved one. I have accepted all your requests, which are less weighty to Me than a handful of dust. I have given you your Community and spared them for your sake. When set against My Mercy and Compassion, all their offences and sins are a mere pellet in the beak of a bird. You are the Sultan of both worlds and for you I have created My paradise. Whatever you wish will be given you.”

At this our Master, the Lord’s Beloved, cried: “only my Community ….only my Community.” He sobbed and sighed imploringly as he recited the Verse”

[We beg] Your forgiveness, our Lord; to You is the homecoming. (2:285)

That night many more divine good tidings concerning the Community of Muhammad passed between the One Unique and Everlasting Lord and His Most Praiseworthy Messenger, who was sent as a mercy to the eighteen thousand worlds, and who learned from the Self-Subsisting One, without intermediary, of the divine favour he would bestow on his Community:

Tell My servants that I am indeed the All-Forgiving, the All-Compassionate.  (15:49)

The second Station is the Station of Divine Communion [maqam munajati-l’ ma’bud]. This is the name given to the Station where our Master, the Glory of the Messengers, begged the Most Merciful of the merciful, night and day throughout his life and especially on holy days and nights, with every prayer and supplication, to pardon his sinful and offending Community.

The third Station is the Station Beyond [al-maqam al-mafqud]. When our Master, the Imam of the Righteous, had been summoned to union with the Ever-Living and Everlasting Lord, and after his most radiant soul had left his blessed body, it was from this Station that, as he was leaving his earthly life behind, he appealed to his Glorious and Exalted Lord to pardon his Community, crying: “My Community…my Community!”

The venerable Imam Ali relates: “Our blessed Master had but a few moment to live when he said to us: ‘My last instructions to you are that you obey your Exalted Lord, that you fear Him, that you perform your ritual prayers and that you fulfill your duty to those under your control.’ After giving these final instructions and advice he cried: ‘The Comrade on High…the Comrade on High!’ Then his triumphant spirit departed. However his blessed lips were still stirring, so softly that only by holding my ear close to them could I hear the Messenger, on him be peace, uttering these words: “My Community…my Community….my Community….’”

The fourth Station is the Praiseworthy Station. As we have already explained, this Station will be established at the Place of Resurrection and from it the blessed Messenger will implore the Everlasting Lord to pardon and forgive his Community. Said Aisha the Veracious, Mother of the Believers, beloved wife of the noble messenger and pure and precious daughter of the venerable Abu Bakr: “The most excellent of men, Allah bless him and give him peace, was in my apartment. We lay down together and slept. When I awoke, our Master was no longer at my side. I looked around and saw him praying in a corner of the room. He was prolonging the upright and bowing sections of his ritual prayer as he called upon his Lord with the words: ‘O my God, my Community! O my God, my Community!’ On raising his head from the bowing position, he would again plead: ‘O my God, my Community! O my God, my Community!’ Indeed he was repeating this same supplication constantly at every stage of his prayer: ‘O my God, my Community! O my God, my Community!’ When he had given the final salutation and completed his prayer, I said: ‘My mother and father be your ransom. O Messenger of Allah; what is his this Community for which you have been begging your Lord and pleading “my Community…my Community”? You have become disturbed over them and lost your composure. Who are they, this fortunate Community?’

“’O Aisha, he replied, ‘This Community is my Community. Are you surprised that I should lose my sleep and my rest begging that they be given to me? Not just tonight, but as long as I live, I shall say: “My Community…my Community.” Not only while I am alive and well but when I depart this life, in my tomb, when the Trumpet is blown, when I arise from my grave and at the Place of Resurrection. At the Balance and on the Bridge I shall be pleading: “O Lord, save my Community …save my Community.”  Only is I am together with my Community will my heart achieve happiness.’”

ASALATU WASALAMU ALAIKA YA SAYYEEDY YA RASULULLAH

ASALATU WASALAMU ALAIKA YA SAYYEEDY YA RASULULLAH

ASALATU WASALAMU ALAIKA YA SAYYEEDY YA RASULULLAH

SallAllahu alaihi wasallam

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.