This Was The Stance Of Shaykh Sulāyman Al-Alwān In Prison When He Smiled And Swore:

Never think highly of yourself when people praise you. The only reason they are praising you is because Allah has veiled your sins. Without that veil I swear by Allah many people would look at one another with pure disgust

Shaykh Sulaymân al-‘Alwân فك الله أسره was asked: What is the ruling on abandoning Suhûr?

He answered: Abandoning Suhûr is an imitation of Ahlul-Kitâb, and some of the people are lenient regarding the matter of Suhûr, claiming that they do not desire it. It is a priority for the Muslim that he does not miss Suhûr, even by drinking a sip of milk to differ from Ahlul-Kitâb, and to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet ‎ﷺ.

It has come in the report from ‘Amr ibn al-‘Âs that the Prophet ‎ﷺ said: “The difference between our fasting and the fasting of Ahlul-Kitâb is eating shortly before Fajr.” Narrated by Imâm Muslim.

This is indicates that [having] Suhûr is a differentiation from Ahlul-Kitâb, and differing from them is a very [important] aim in the Sharî’ah.

When Al Junayd Al Baghdadi رحمه الله died, the people saw him in a dream, and they asked him, what did Allah do to you? How was your standing before Allah? He said,

“All those fancy expressions we used to say have disappeared, and all of those complicated words have gone, and all of those sciences we used to teach have disappeared, and nothing benefited us on this day except for a few units of prayer that we used to pray at night”

Ka’b ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said :

عَنْ كَعْبِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِنَّ أَرْوَاحَ الشُّهَدَاءِ فِي طَيْرٍ خُضْرٍ تَعْلُقُ مِنْ ثَمَرِ الْجَنَّةِ أَوْ شَجَرِ الْجَنَّةِ

Verily, the souls of martyrs are in green birds, hanging from the fruits of Paradise, or the trees of Paradise.

(1641) سنن الترمذي كتاب فضائل الجهاد باب ما جاء في ثواب الشهداء

انما هي ايام قلائل والموعد الجنة

It is but a few days and Jannah is the promise

I heard someone last night crying, but it wasn’t a normal type of cry. This person was crying in the tashahhud, weeping at “كما صليت على إبراهيم وعلى آل إبراهيم”

This is not to assume someone’s inner state, but a cry like this is from the tightness of the dunyā…

It brought back memories سبحان الله, when I used to cry like this too… my eyes were constantly extremely swollen and I’d cry everywhere, and make no exception of my salāh.

In a way, I wish I cried out of fear for Allāh, the way the righteous do, and their genuine longing to Allāh, not out of the pressure of some dunyā matter. I did long for Allāh in those days, a lot, but did I long for Him during my times of ease in the same way? At the same time, these type of tears taught me that I really had none but Allāh, among many other lessons, and forced me back to Allāh to rectify my affairs between me and Him.

Though, there’s a difference between ورجل ذكر الله خاليًا ففاضت عيناه (or as Rasūlullāh said) and someone who tears up due to a dunyā matter and then redirects that pain to Allāh.

It’s not wrong at all, and actually the servant finds immense sweetness in constantly returning to Allāh, and in times of hardship it has a special sweetness to it. But I say this to remind myself and to keep it in check, my nafs needs to distinguish between the fine line of sincerity and true inābah (in times of ease and other than it) and simply feeling dunyawi pain.

It’s the same thing for wishing for shaهـādah, when do we long for it most? When we’ve got all we want out of this dunyā and have every want and need of ours? Or is it when we’ve been afflicted and want a way out of this dunyā completely? Again, I’m not saying wrong or right or shaming anyone (but myself), but remember that the only condition to be granted the level of shaهـādah even if one dies upon their bed (as in the Hadīth) is: sincerity. Do you think asking for it in the latter situation is more sincere than the former?

May Allāh grant us sincerity and make us among the truthful. May Allāh make us among those who truly enjoy His company in all times.

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه اللّٰه :

"Each time a charitable person gives, he feels his heart expanding and his breath relieved, as if a robe of iron were loosening for him.

Whenever he gives, it loosens, relaxes and expands; his happiness grows even stronger and his joy increases."

[The Invocation of God | Pg. 38]

How can the tears of a believer not flow over the departure of this month when he does not know whether he has enough of his life to see it returning [the following year]?

— Lataa’if Al-Ma’aarif | P. 373

Do not be surprised if, in our times, the voice of delusion is loud while the voice of truth seems quiet.

Remember, Abu Jahl loudly proclaimed his falsehoods near the Ka’aba, while Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم quietly recited the Words of Allah in the house of al-Arqam.

And what was their fate?

The first was slain and discarded into the well at Badr!

The second ascended to the Highest Heavens, where he conversed with his Lord at Sidrat al Muntaha