SPEAK TO PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THEIR LEVEL

Rafi' bin Amr At-Tha'i was a thief.

He was the type of thief who would raid caravans alone.

You had gangs/groups that would attack caravans; and then you had these lonely figures who would do their own thing; They don't need any gangs, they would just attack on their own. They have enough confidence in themselves to do it by themselves.

Rafi' bin Amr was one of these characters, who would go on his own; he is his own army, and he would go and raid caravans.

This (Rafi') was the best -guide- that the army of Islam could find at the time (in the context of this story).

Rafi' bin Amr was the best guide; for he knows his way around the path of the desert very well. — Because that's his job.

So the army of Islam hired Rafi' to take them around. So Rafi' spent time with this Muslim army. And Rafi' was quite impressed with what he saw.

And he narrates this following story himself:

I saw this man — who had this cloth on; Whenever he is riding, he would hold the cloth with a pin; and then whenever he sits down, he would take out that pin and take off the cloth. (Who he meant by that is Abu Bakr As-Siddiq r.a.)

So I went to him and said, "O you, the one with the pin (Abu Bakr). I can see on you some marks of intelligence. And I'm choosing you out of all of the people, coz I have a question for you".

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq says, "What do you want?"

Rafi' said, "I want you to teach me something, so I can be like you. BUT DON'T MAKE IT LONG because then I'm gonna forget."

Hhhh. I think he meets the profile of a thief. Not interested in a lot of education. Hhhh.

~Give me something brief and fast, I wanna be like you. But make it easy~

So Abu Bakr As-Siddiq made it as easy as he could.

Abu Bakr said, "Do you remember that your hand has five fingers?". Hhhh.

Rafi' said, "Yes, I do".

Abu Bakr said, "Then remember this:

1. The first finger. أشهـد أن لا إله الا الله وأشهـد أن محمد رسـول الله
2. The second finger. You pray five times a day.
3. The third finger. You pay zakah if you have money.
4. The fourth finger. You fast in the month of Ramadhan.
5. The fifth finger. You make haj to the House of Allah.

Did you remember that?"

Rafi' said, "Yes".

Abu Bakr said, "Then I will add something else: "Never assume a position of authority, even over two people"".

Rafi' said, "We have given all position of authority to you, the settlers".

[A little background information]: In Arabia, the Bedouins used to have this respect for the settlers/people-of-the-urban-towns; And they would give them the authority.

And thus Rafi' said, "We don't take authority. You know that. The authority is for you, the urban people".

So Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said, "A time will come, when they will be so many positions of authority, that it will reach you and it will even reach the people who are below you. And when you are a leader among people, and there is any oppression that goes on, you will be asked about it on the Day of Judgement".

And what Abu Bakr As-Siddiq said came true: The Muslim Khilafah grew so fast and it expanded with a swift speed, that there were so many post that needed to be filled. And it reached the people like Rafi', and the people who are lower than him.

__________________________________________

Lessons from the conversation between Abu Bakr and Rafi' bin Amr At-Tha'i:

Number One

Speak to the poeple according to their level.

-This- is a thief. He didn't go to school. He has no education background. Don't give him Bukhari and tell him to memorize it; and don't tell him "you have to go on a syari'ah course for a few years and study 'ilm".

People have different capabilities.

Not everybody will become a great Sheikh and scholar. And not everybody will become an Imam.

Imagine if Abu Bakr As-Siddiq r.a. recite to this man Suratul Baqarah and told him to memorize it. He could barely remember the five fingers. That's it.

So with the gangsters and brothers from that background, take it easy with them.

Take it easy with them in your da'wah.

And Alhamdulillah. Some of these brothers turned out to be wonderful brothers when Allah guides them to the truth.

The spirit that they have is sometimes a spirit that you cannot find with the scholar. It happens that it's a rizq from Allah. I mean, Imam Ibn Hambal once he heard somebody speaking about Bishr Al-Hafi; People said, "Bishr Al-Hafi is not a scholar".

Bishr Al-Hafi wasn't a scholar in terms of memorizing a lot of Hadith; He's nothing to compare to Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal. But what did Imam Ibn Hambal said? Imam Ibn Hambal said, "He (Bishr Al-Hafi) already has the fruit of knowledge. Which is: The Fear of Allah".

What does the ayah say? إنما يخشى الله من عباده العلماء

"The ones who have fear of Allah, the scholars". [Qur'an, 35:28]

So Allah s.w.t. is saying that the fruit of knowledge is The Fear of Allah.

There is no benefit in knowledge that's not make you fear Allah.

If you have all the knowledge in the world, but if you don't fear Allah 'Azza wa Jal, then it's worthless.

Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal's saying, "This man already has the fruit of the knowledge. Therefore, really in this situation (knowledge is important, but) Bishr Al Hafi is a scholar in that sense. He has The Fear of Allah 'Azza wa Jal.

[Back to the point]: Rasulullah s.a.w. would speak to people differently. And the sahabah understood that. Now Rasulullah s.a.w., when he's speaking to Ibn 'Abbas (even though he was a child, but because he had a mind of a scholar) Rasulullah s.a.w. would speak to him on a very high level. While a Bedouin would come to Rasulullah s.a.w., he would give Bedouins very brief orders that are easy to remember.

So you have to have hikmah in da'wah. Speak to the people according to their abilities.

Number Two

Be honest.

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq r.a. did not hold back anything. He said, "Don't be a leader".

And this is the first conversation he's having with the man. Abu Bakr doesn't even know him well.

—Don't be a leader—

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, for some reason or another saw some things in this man that do not be fit position of authority, so he was very honest with that man. He told the man, "Don't be a leader".

So also when you see something wrong in your brother, correct them. It's fine. It's okay. Do it in a very nice way.

He's From Jannah

Rasulullah S.A.W. saw a man coming in, he told the sahabah: "The man who's gonna come in now; he's from Jannah".

— So this obscure individual came in. He wasn't famous. Even in the Hadith, his name wasn't mentioned.

— And then the next day, the same thing happened: Rasulullah S.A.W said, "The man will come in, and he's from Jannah."

Third day, it happened.

— And then Abdullah ibn 'Umar; he went to the man and said, "I had a fight with my father ('Umar Al-Khattab). Can you please allow me to stay at your house for three days?".

The man said, "Sure, you're welcomed".

— Abdullah; he went there not because there was any fight. He wanted to see what this man is doing in privacy. Because the sahabah believed that what you'd do in privacy is what is really special; That is the sign of ikhlas.

— He (Abdullah) said, "The man went to sleep."

Subhaanallah, the man is not praying (qiamullail). He went to sleep.

"What's so special about him?"

And then before fajr he (Abdullah) woke up and prayed, made witr.

"I thought that he's gonna have sahur and fast. (But) He had breakfast. — What's going on? He's not fasting? What's so special about him? — But maybe he's gonna do it tomorrow. Maybe I came in the wrong day."

The next day he did the same thing: Went to bed. Didn't fast.

The third day the same thing.

— Abdullah ibn 'Umar went to him and said, "Listen. I didn't have any problem with my father. The reason why I came here is because Rasulullah S.A.W. said that you're from Ahlil Jannah, and I want to know what's special about and unique about your 'ibadah. And to be honest with you, I didn't find anything that is special. What makes you qualified to this position?"

He said, "Before I go to bed, I cleanse my heart from any hatred. And I fill it with love for every Muslim. I love every Muslim. Before I go to bed, I do that every night."

Berdakwah Sambil Menagih Dadah

I heard this story from Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki; And Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki heard this story from the guy in this story himself. So yeah, it's an authentic, true story alhamdulillah.

There's a brother from Canada (at the time, was a non-Muslim); He said that he started having interest in learning religion at a very early age; Around the age of 9. He started studying religion. That's quite early.

He said, but he was turned away from Islam because of a lesson that he was taught in school about Islam. He was shown some images that turned him away from Islam.

And then he said, he was going through some problems in his family. His father left; And his mother was on drugs. So he said he completely forgot about this issue of religion. Even though he had some early interest in it.

He said, and then he became a drug user; And then he was promoted to be a drug dealer, and he went to jail at the age of 14. So he had a miserable life.

He said, "later on, towards my later teenage years, after I came out of jail, I used to go to this park in Canada. It's in the center of the city. And that's where the drug addicts would usually congregate. And we would all smoke and use our drugs and you'd find needles all over and.... that's where we would all come together and get high."

He said, "So I went there, and I was sitting next to this guy who looked foreign, and I was smoking my dope and I saw something interesting."

He said, "The way that this guy next to me used to wrap his marijuana..." or...hasheesh or.. *whatever it was... I'm not very familiar with their specific terms*. He said "The way he used to wrap it was different. So that caught my eye. I asked him, [I see that the way you wrap your hasheesh (or hash) is different? Where are you from?]"

He (that guy) said, "I'm from Morocco".

He (Canadian guy) said, "So you must be a Muslim?"

He (Moroccan guy) said, "Yes. I am a Muslim".

He (Canadian guy) said, "Can you tell me something about Islam?"

Now he's remembering his early years of studying about religion.

He said, "so this Moroccan guy was going through the tenants of Islam and we were all smoking and we were very high and.... I mean... he's speaking and I'm just receiving all of that information and absorbing it, and we were both high."

"He's speaking very well and I'm understanding very well."

He said, "For 2 hours continuously, we were talking about Islam. Until we ran out of drugs. We had nothing left. And then we continued the conversation for another 2 hours. 4 hours in total."

And then he said, "Allah s.w.t. sent another person to sit next to us."

Subhaanallah, it was qadr of Allah.

: An Algerian person.

Who wasn't on drugs or anything. He was just there. He happened to be there.

He said, "Allah s.w.t. sent him (Algerian guy) to us to correct whatever mistakes that that person (Moroccan guy) would make."

You know, people have different understanding of Islam. So they will correct each other. And whenever one of them would mention something wrong, the other person would correct the false information.

He said, "We continued the conversation for 4 hours. After then I became Muslim."

He said, "Now, neither the Algerian or Moroccan person know that I became Muslim. Coz I left and then became Muslim on my own. And I stopped using drugs."

And Imam Awlaqi actually met him (that Canadian guy) and he (that Canadian guy) was doing da'wah at the time.

When he was telling us his story (there was a group of us), one of the brothers who were sitting and hearing the story, said a bad word about that Moroccan person, because of using drugs.

This Canadian Muslim brother; His face turned red, and he became very upset and angry. And he said, "Don't speak about him! Because I became Muslim through him! And every single thing that I do; My solah; My siam (fasting); My zakah; My zikr; Every single thing that I do, a copy of it will be deposited in his account."

Now, only Allah knows where that person is. He might still be in the park using drugs. He might be lost. And he never knows that in his account is solah, and siam, and zakah, they're all deposited and he knows no idea about it. He'll come on the Day of Judgement and see all of these and not know where it came from. "I was in those park using drugs. Where did all these good deeds come from?".

It all happened because of a few words that he said to a drug addict like himself. Now maybe he never knew that this person will become Muslim. Maybe he never intended it, he just, was conversing. Talking.

But he threw something good out there, and these are the fruits of it. So never belittle anything. Maybe there's a small thing that you would do here and there, and these would be the cause of your salvation on the Day of Judgement. While the big thing that you do; And the big projects; The things that you spend a lot of time on, wouldn't bear such a harvest.

And this is something that is in the hand of Allah, so you'll never know, therefore you should do whatever good you can. And leave it out there, just throw the seed and Allah s.w.t. will make them grow. But do not belittle anything.

ولو أن تلقى أخاك بوجهٍ حسن

"Even if it is as much as smiling in the face of your brother" - Al-Hadith.

Bunuh Diri

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.86]
Dari Abu Hurairah r.a., katanya Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: "Siapa yang bunuh diri dengan senjata tajam, maka senjata itu akan ditusuk-tusukkannya sendiri dengan tangannya ke perutnya di neraka untuk selama-lamanya; dan siapa yang bunuh diri dengan racun, maka dia akan meminumnya pula sedikit demi sedikit nanti di neraka, untuk selama-lamanya; dan siapa yang bunuh diri dengan menjatuhkan diri dari gunung, maka dia akan menjatuhkan dirinya pula nanti (berulang-ulang) ke neraka, untuk selama-lamanya."

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.88]
Dari Tsabit bin Dhahhak r.a., katanya Nabi s.a.w. bersabda: "Siapa yang bersumpah menurut cara suatu agama selain Islam, baik sumpahnya itu dusta mahupun sengaja, maka orang itu akan mengalami sumpahnya sendiri. "Siapa yang bunuh diri dengan suatu cara, Allah akan menyiksanya di neraka jahannam dengan cara itu pula."

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.89]
Dari Abu Hurairah r.a., katanya: "Kami ikut perang bersama-sama Rasulullah s.a.w. dalam perang Hunain. Rasulullah berkata kepada seorang lelaki yang mengaku Islam, "Orang ini penghuni neraka." Ketika kami berperang, orang itu pun ikut berperang dengan gagah berani, sehingga dia terluka. Maka dilaporkan orang hal itu kepada Rasulullah s.a.w., katanya: "Orang yang tadi Anda katakan penghuni neraka, ternyata dia berperang dengan gagah berani, dan sekarang dia tewas." Jawab Nabi s.a.w., "Dia ke neraka." Hampir saja sebahagian kaum muslimin menjadi ragu-ragu. Ketika mereka sedang dalam keadaan demikian, tiba-tiba diterima berita bahawa dia belum mati, tetapi luka parah. Apabila malam telah tiba, orang itu tidak sabar menahan sakit kerana lukanya itu. Lalu dia bunuh diri. Peristiwa itu dilaporkan orang kepada Nabi s.a.w. Nabi s.a.w. bersabda, "Allahu Akbar! Aku mengaku bahawa aku hamba Allah dan RasulNya." Kemudian beliau memerintahkan Bilal supaya menyiarkan kepada orang banyak, bahawa tidak akan dapat masuk syurga melainkan orang muslim (orang yang tunduk patuh). Sesungguhnya Allah menguatkan agama ini dengan orang jahat."

Istilah Kafir bagi yang Meninggalkan Solat

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.63]
Dari Jabir r.a., katanya dia mendengar Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: "Sesungguhnya tali penghubung antara seseorang dengan syirik dan kafir, ialah meninggalkan solat."



Agama ialah Nasihat

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.45]
Dari Jabir r.a., katanya: "Aku berjanji kepada Rasulullah s.a.w. akan setia dan patuh, dan memberi nasihat kepada setiap orang muslim. Lalu beliau bersabda kepadaku, "Lakukanlah sekuasamu."

Peristiwa Isra' dan Mikraj

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.137]
Abu Dzar r.a. mengabarkan bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. bercerita: "Pada suatu ketika, waktu aku masih di Makkah, atap rumahku tiba-tiba terbuka. Lalu Jibril a.s. turun dan membelah dadaku, kemudian dibersihkannya dengan zamzam. Sesudah itu diambilnya sebuah bejana emas penuh berisi hikmah dan iman, lalu dituangkannya ke dadaku, dan setelah itu dadaku dipertautkannya. Kemudian dipegangnya tanganku, dan ia membawaku naik ke langit. Ketika kami sampai di langit dunia, Jibril berkata kepada penjaga langit, "Buka pintu!" Tanya penjaga, "Siapa itu?" Jawabnya, "Aku Jibril!" Tanya: "Adakah orang lain bersama Anda?" Jawab: "Ya, ada! Bersamaku Muhammad s.a.w." Tanya: "Apakah dia sudah diutus menjadi Rasul?" Jawab: "Ya, dia sudah diutus." Maka terbukalah pintu untuk kami. Ketika kami telah sampai di langit dunia, tiba-tiba kami melihat seorang lelaki, yang di kanan kirinya tampak menghitam. Apabila dia melihat ke sebelah kanannya dia tertawa, dan apabila dia melihat ke sebelah kirinya dia menangis. Dia berujar kepadaku, "Selamat datang, hai Nabi dan anak yang saleh." Aku bertanya, "Siapa ini, hai Jibril?" Jawab Jibril, "Ini Adam 'alaihissalam. Yang kelihatan menghitam di kanan kirinya itu ialah ruh anak-cucunya. Yang sebelah kanan penduduk syurga dan yang sebelah kirinya penduduk neraka. Kerana itu, kalau dia menengok ke kanan, dia tertawa dan apabila dia menengok ke kiri dia menangis." Kata Nabi s.a.w. selanjutnya, "Kemudian Jibril membawaku naik ke langit kedua. Kata Jibril kepada penjaga, "Buka pintu!" Penjaga bertanya seperti pertanyaan penjaga langit dunia. Sesudah itu barulah pintu terbuka. Kata Anas bin Malik, "Nabi s.a.w. menceritakan bahawa di beberapa langit beliau bertemu berturut-turut dengan para Nabi: Adam, Idris, Isa, Musa dan Ibrahim shalawatullahi 'alaihim ajma'in. Beliau tidak meceritakan selengkapnya bagaimana pertemuan beliau dengan para Nabi itu selain hanya menceritakan pertemuannya dengan Adam a.s. di langit dunia, dan dengan Ibrahim di langit keenam." Katanya, "Ketika Jibril a.s. bersama Rasulullah s.a.w. lewat di tempat Idris a.s., Idris berkata: "Selamat datang wahai Nabi dan anak yang saleh." Aku bertanya kepada Jibril. "Siapa ini?" Jawab Jibril, "Ini Idris!" Kata Nabi s.a.w. selanjutnya, "Kemudian aku bertemu dengan Musa a.s." Kata Musa kepadaku, "Selamat datang wahai Nabi dan anak yang saleh." Aku bertanya, "Siapa ini?" Jawab Jibril, "Ini Musa!" Kemudian aku bertemu dengan 'Isa a.s. Kata 'Isa, "Selamat datang Nabi dan anak yang saleh." Tanyaku, "Siapa ini?" Jawab Jibril, "Ini 'Isa Ibnu Maryam." Cerita Nabi s.a.w. selanjutnya, "Kemudian aku bertemu dengan Ibrahim a.s." Katanya, "Selamat datang wahai Nabi dan anak yang saleh." Aku bertanya, "Siapa ini?" Jawab, "Ini Ibrahim!" Kata Ibnu Syihab, Ibnu Hazm mengatakan bahawa Ibnu 'Abbas dan Abu Habbah Al Anshari r.a., kedua-duanya berkata, bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. pernah bercerita: "Kemudian aku dibawa naik ke Mustawa, di mana aku mendengar bunyi coretan kalam." Kata Ibnu Hazm dan Anas bin Malik, Rasulullah s.a.w. menceritakan: Lalu Allah mewajibkan atas umatku solat 50 kali sehari semalam. Setelah itu aku kembali membawa perintah itu, dan bertemu dengan Musa a.s. Kata Musa, "Kewajipan apa yang diperintahkan Tuhanmu atas umatmu?" Jawabku, "Allah memerintahkan solat wajib 50 kali." Kata Musa, "Kembalilah kepada Tuhanmu! Sesungguhnya umatmu tidak akan sanggup melakukan sebanyak itu." Kerana itu aku kembali kepada Tuhanku, lalu Tuhan mengurangi sebahagian. Sesudah itu aku kembali kepada Musa dan kuceritakan kepadanya bahawa Tuhan mengurangi sebahagian. Kata Musa, "Kembalilah kepada Tuhanmu, sesungguhnya umatmu tidak akan sanggup melakukan sebanyak itu." Kata Nabi s.a.w., "Aku kembali kepada Tuhanku (sampai berulang kali) sehingga akhirnya Allah berfirman: "Hanya lima, namun nilainya sama dengan lima puluh; dan putusan ini tidak dapat diubah lagi." Sesudah itu aku kembali pula kepada Musa. Dia menyuruhku lagi supaya aku kembali kepada Tuhanku, lantas kujawab, "Aku malu terhadap Tuhanku." Kata Nabi s.a.w. selanjutnya, "Kemudian aku meneruskan perjalanan bersama Jibril, hingga sampai ke Sidratul Muntaha. Tempat itu dipulas dengan aneka warna yang aku tak tahu warna apa namanya. Sesudah itu aku dimasukkan ke syurga, yang di dalamnya terdapat kubah-kubah dari permata dan tanahnya dari kasturi."

Syafa'at

Syafa'at (Pembelaan)

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.152]
Jabir bin 'Abdullah r.a. mengabarkan bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: "Sesungguhnya Allah akan mengeluarkan suatu kaum dari neraka kerana syafa'at (pembelaan)."

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.154]
Dari Anas bin Malik r.a., katanya Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: "Akan dikeluarkan dari neraka, orang yang mengucapkan 'La ilaaha illallah', sedangkan dalam hatinya terdapat iman seberat biji gandum. Kemudian orang yang mengucapkan 'La ilaaha illallah', dan di dalam hatinya terdapat iman seberat beras. Kemudian yang mengucapkan 'La ilaaha illallah' dan di dalam hatinya terdapat iman seberat debu."

Masuk Syurga Tanpa Hisab

Masuk Syurga Tanpa Hisab (Tanpa Diadili)

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.170]
Dari Sa'id bin Musayyab, Abu Hurairah r.a. mengatakan bahawa dia mendengar Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: "Nanti akan masuk syurga satu rombongan umatku, terdiri dari tujuh puluh ribu orang. Muka mereka bersinar-sinar bagaikan cahaya bulan purnama. Kata Abu Hurairah selanjutnya, "Mendengar sabda Nabi itu, 'Ukasyah bin Mihshan Al Asadi serta-merta berdiri sambil mengacungkan tangannya dan berkata: "Ya, Rasulullah! Doakanlah kepada Allah, semoga aku termasuk dalam rombongan mereka." Lalu Rasulullah s.a.w. mendoakannya, "Wahai, Allah. Masukkah dia di antara mereka." Kemudian berdiri pula seorang laki-laki Anshar, katanya, "Ya, Rasulullah! Doakan pulalah kepada Allah, semoga aku termasuk di antara mereka." Sabda Rasulullah s.a.w., "Ukasyah telah mendahului anda."

[Hadith Sahih Muslim Jilid 1, No.171]
Dari 'Imran Ibnu Hushain r.a., katanya Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda: "Kelak, akan masuk syurga tujuh puluh ribu orang umatku tanpa diperiksa." Para sahabat bertanya, "Siapa mereka itu ya, Rasulullah?" Jawab Rasulullah s.a.w., "Mereka ialah orang-orang yang tidak berubat memakai jampi-jampi, tidak mempercayai suara burung (tathayyur), tidak berubat dengan tusukan besi panas (Kai) tetapi mereka tawakal kepada Tuhan mereka."