THE IDEAL MUSLIMAH

Abdullah ibn Al-Mubarak used to often stay at home, so he was asked, "Don’t you get lonely?" He replied,

"How can I get lonely when I am with the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wasallam, i.e. I read his hadith)?"

(Ibn ‘Asâkir, Târîkh Dimishq Vol. 32 p458.)

***

Even if I were to spend my whole life,

Fighting off the soul’s strife,

Completing the day-to-day chores of a wife,

But studying the Prophetic Narrations with a heartfelt drive,

By the Will of Allah, the Most Wise,

I’d surely have made the most of my life.

Each time the soul endures,

The painstaking hours by which to adore,

Each word from the ahaadeeth of the Prophet of our Lord,

Allowing each breath and heart beat to run with it in unison and flow,

Pushing away the sadness and worries deep inside below,

By walking into a door,

Not only travelled by me, but also by many of those who lived afore.

I wasn’t given the chance to live in his time,

Nor see the Prophetic seal, the Prophetic Sign,

But I will strive hard to go back in time,

And live those moments through the narrations passed down in line…

Regarding the man who was the last Prophet before the end of time.

Then, just maybe, maybe I will see him,

Allah is All Forgiving, although right now the chances seem dim,

For I have a lot yet to learn and win,

But I hope that I am on the path, even if it’s just virtually on the brim,

Of catching on to something great,

By studying about him and refuting those who hate

His Noble ways, before it’s too late.

O Allah make me not wait,

Till the hereafter to see him, make it in my fate,

That I see him in this life within my dreams,

Beams upon beams, light upon light,

To take away my heart’s plight,

And give me the drive to study, teach, write and cite,

Although I know I’ll never truly fulfil his blessed right.

Even if I were to spend my whole life on this path,

I ask Allah for sincerity, His Pleasure and to save me from His Wrath,

So that although I came from the last,

I hope to be among the first to run into Paradise

….at last.

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It was once said to ‘Abdullah b. Al-Mubârak, “O Abû ‘Abd Al-Rahmân, you often sit alone at home.” He said,

“I am alone? I am with the Prophet – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – and his Companions.” Meaning: reading hadîth. (Ibn ‘Asâkir, Târîkh Dimishq Vol. 32 p458.)

Shaqîq b. Ibrâhîm reports:

It was once said to ‘Abdullah b. Al-Mubârak, “After you have prayed with us you don’t sit with us?” He replied,

“I go and sit with the Sahâbah and the Tâbi’în.”

We said, “And how can you sit with the Sahâbah and Tâbi’în (when they have all passed away)?” He replied,

“I go and read the knowledge I have collected, I find their narrations and deeds. What would I do with you? You sit around backbiting people.” (Al-Dhahabî, Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ` in his biography of ‘Abdullah b. Al-Mubârak)