بسم ﷲ الرحمٰن الرحیم
Reading the Ahadith of My Beloved Nabi (ﷺ)
Bina Farooqi
TIL Women English – Year 4
Alhamdulillah being born in a muslim family means that Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is a part of your life. We grow up with his name and durood on our tongues. We are taught ahadith that are supposed to be practiced upon and reminders that are supposed to help us. We are supposed to love Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) more than our parents, our children, our siblings, and even more than ourselves. But all of these ideas were only theoretical and ‘aqli until we began Dawra Hadith in Year 4.
I remember very clearly opening our first book, Jami’ Tirmidhi and reading the first hadith in Abwabul At’imah. The hadith was about the dislike of Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for eating on a raised platform. Although intellectually this is something I’ve known probably my whole life, reading it in that moment truly felt like Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was speaking to me. Reading the names in the sanad felt like sitting in the company of those who held onto these words like they were the most valuable treasure of their life. I could feel the words resonating in my heart. I could feel the effect they had on the Sahaabah who witnessed them. I remember telling my husband, “I just read a hadith in Sahih Bukhari that I read in Zaad ut Talibeen, and then in Ryadh us Saliheen, and then in Mishkaat Shareef, but now it’s not the same at all, it feels like i’m hearing it for the first time.”
As the year progressed, reading hadith after hadith, is like remembering a long lost love. The more we read, the more I want to know. At the end of every hadith, I’m left with the emotions of those precious moments of the life of Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and I long for more. I try to connect one hadith to another like infinite pieces of a puzzle that will connect my heart with Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Sometimes I’m left pondering over the personalities and emotions of the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم). When I read familiar names describing events and moments they cherished with Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), I feel overwhelmed by the grandeur of their character. I feel ashamed of myself when I try to assess their level of patience, their bravery, their resilience, and above all the endless depth of their love for Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Fueled with their love and respect for Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم), they watched, they understood and they imitated. This is what I want in my life when reading ahadith. I want to read, understand and imitate. May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) help me.
As I’m learning, there’s a burning desire growing in me to also share all of this with everyone around me. I want my husband, my children, my parents, my brothers, everyone to know and to feel what I’m feeling. I try to find moments that will connect to a hadith and share it with love and respect hoping that the person listening will also feel the love and respect. When I’m sitting in a gathering, I lose interest in other conversations, because how can anything be more beautiful than these ahadith? I am not bored, and I am not looking for things to keep me busy, i just want to get away from all the mundane tasks of daily life and be lost in the life of Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). But I am a mother, a wife, and a daughter and I have responsibilities that cannot be put aside. I realize that the people around me are not on this journey with me. So I have to be patient with them and they have to be patient with me.
It’s not always easy to find that balance between studying Deen and managing family life. I try to look at the lives of the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم), they are the vessels through which we learn the Sunnah. The lives of the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم) span the entire spectrum of social differences and personalities. They contain examples for men and women, diverse financial backgrounds, big and small families, owner and slave, master and servant, extroverted and introverted, young and old, parent and child. In mathematical terms, the Shari’ah is made up of formulas and the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم) are the variables. When they applied the Shari’ah to their lives, the results they got are the answers we are looking for. There is the example of the Ashaabe Suffah who had removed themselves from all worldly affairs and dedicated their time entirely to learning from Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) . Then, the practice of ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) who would take turns with his neighbor to spend one day managing his business and household and then next day learning from Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Even Rasoolallah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sent one group of Sahaabah for a ghazwah, while another group stayed back to learn, so that when the Sahaabah who were fighting returned, they could teach them what they had missed. Being able to learn about the lives of the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم) and understanding how they implemented the Deen is a huge blessing for us and anyone who discredits their actions is in fact denying herself of the mercy of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
May Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) bestow us with beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and the true understanding of His Deen. آمين
جزاك اللّٰه خيرا كثيرا
