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Quotes & Traditions
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The Wisdom of Imam Abu Hanifa
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Recovering stolen goods
One night a gang of thieves broke into a man's house and stole his
household goods. They also forced the owner to take an oath to the
effect that if he identified the thieves he would be irrevocably
divorced from his wife. The next morning the owner saw the thieves
selling his goods but he could say nothing because of the oath he had
taken. He came and related the incident to Imam Abu Hanifa. The Imam
requested him to gather the Imam, Muazzin and other influential
people. When they all arrived Imam Abu Hanifa asked them : "Would you
all like to see the goods of this man returned to him?"
They replied : "Yes, we do."
He then said : "Gather all the evil people you know of amongst you in
a house or masjid. Then let them come out one at a time and ask the
owner if he is the thief. If he is not the thief he should say so. If
he is the thief then the man should remain silent. When he remains
silent you should arrest the thief."
They did as Imam Abu Hanifa had advised them and all the stolen good
were recovered. (Al-Azkiya)
Refreshing your memory
A man came to Imam Abu Hanifa and explained that he had burried some
wealth in a place but he had forgotten where it was. Imam Abu Hanifa
said to him : "This is not a question of fiqh (jurisprudence) that I
can give you guidance on. However, go home and perform Salaah the
entire night. Insha-Allah you will soon remember. The man did as he
was told. Not even a quarter of the night had passed when the man
remembered where he had burried his wealth. He came back to Imam Abu
Hanifa and told him what had happened. The Imam explained : "I knew
that Shaitaan would not allow you to perform Salaah the entire night
and he would make you remember the place. Why did you not spend the
remainder of the night in Salaah in gratitude to Allah?" (Al-Azkiya)
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The past is history, the future a mystery, but the present is a gift, which is why it's called the 'present'.
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December, 2007
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The greatest gift that Allah gave the Prophet 
is the Quran, the greatest gift that Allah gave the sahaabah is the Prophet .
And the greatest gift that Allah gave us (the ummah) is the sunnah.
When we apply the sunnah in our lives, in our thinking, and in our decision-making, we are reviving Allah's
gift to us, the sahaabah and the Prophet.
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July 29, 2007
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Said Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Salamah: Dhû al-Nûn counseled me [saying]:
The faults of people should not divert you away from your own faults.
You are not a guardian over them. Then he said: The most beloved of Allah’s
servants to Allah Mighty and Majestic is the one most understanding of Him.
The completeness of a person’s understanding and their humbleness regarding
it is to be inferred only from a person’s listening to someone even if that
person may be [more] knowledgeable than speaker, promptness in accepting the
truth even though it comes from one below him [in stature], and a person’s
acknowledging of a mistake if it comes from him.
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November 19, 2006
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Said Dhû al-Nûn: Three [traits] are amongst the tokens of true-faith (îmân): the heart grieving
due to the afflictions of Muslims, giving counsel to them while overlooking their bitter
attitudes, and guiding them to what is in their interests despite them behaving foolishly and
being averse to it.
al-Wasaya, p. 143.
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October 23, 2006
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[Gist of the Eid Khutba by Shakyh Amin]
There is a simple litmus to see if we are true believers or not.
Think about the Munkar and Nakeer's questions in the grave.
They will ask: What is your Deen?
The answer to us is obvious now in the privacy of our living room.
But if this question is posed by our employer in front of other employees at our work place - or in any other confrontational situation - what would our response be and how quickly will we answer the question?
If we believe our answer will come to us naturally and spontaneously, we can say al-Hamdulillah, we are Muslim by faith.
But if we feel our response may be delayed or even not forthcoming, then we should fear hypocrisy and ask Allah to strengthen our Iman.
The questioning of the Munkar and Nakeer will be confrontational and not against the back drop of Paradise.
Remember, this amount of Iman is the bare minimum that is required of all.
May Allah strengthen our iman and make us answer the questions in the grave with ease and comfort.
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March 20, 2006
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[Counsel] If ever you have disobeyed Allâh in any location, then do not depart from that particular location until you do an act of
obedience in that [very] location and perform in it an act of worship. For just as that location will testify against you when it is
requested to testify, likewise it will testify for you, and at the moment you will be free from it. Similar to this are your clothes
[thawb], if you disobeyed Allâh wearing them then do as I mentioned to you: worship Allâh wearing them. Similar to this is that which
separates from you from trimming your mustache, shaving the pubic regions, trimming nails, combing hair, and removing any filth.
Al-Wasiyyâ of Shaykh Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi
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