Project "Revive a Sunnah" Week 24
Kemal Smajlovic
Project "Revive a Sunnah"
Be sure to check out:
http://project-revive-a-sunnah.blogspot.com/
To join the e-mail list, please visit: http://groups.google.com/group/project-revive-a-sunnah
OR e-mail: albo...@gmail.com
March 17th, 2007 (27th of Safar 1428 AH)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), his
family, and his companions.
Week 24: March 16
th-23rd
2007
This worldly life is filled with trials and tribulations. And one of these trials which Allah has decreed for us in this life is illness. For a believer, even becoming ill is a good thing. Through His infinite mercy, this is one of the ways in which Allah forgives the sins of his servants. But, what do we do when our brother or sister in Islam gets sick? A Muslim should visit his fellow Muslim in the time of an illness. As we will see from the ahadith, it is one of the rights that a Muslim has over another Muslim. Unfortunately today, this is not widely practiced amongst us. We hear all of the time about this brother being sick, or about that sister being sick, but do we really do our best to visit him or her? I hope the following ahadith will encourage us to revive this praiseworthy sunnah, Insha Allah.
From the Ahadith:
1.
Abu
Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah
(PBUH) said, "Every Muslim has five rights over
another Muslim (i.e., he has to perform five duties for another Muslim): to
return the greetings, to visit the sick, to accompany funeral processions, to
accept an invitation, to respond to the sneezer [i.e., to say: `Yarhamuk-Allah
(may Allah bestow His Mercy on you),' when the sneezer praises Allah].''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
2.
Abu Musa
(May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Visit the sick, feed the hungry, and (arrange for
the) release of the captive.''
[Al-Bukhari]
3.
`Ali bin
Abu Talib (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of
Allah (PBUH) saying, "When a Muslim visits a sick
Muslim at dawn, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for him till dusk. If
he visits him in the evening, seventy thousand angels keep on praying for him
till the morning; and he will have (his share of) reaped fruits in Jannah.''
[At-Tirmidhi]
This sunnah was nominated by a sister. May Allah reward her and all of those who take part in reviving the sunnah of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).
What is Project "Revive a Sunnah"?
Let's face the reality of today. There are many, many Sunnahs of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) which are not being practiced. This may be due to reasons such as negligence, laziness and/or ignorance. Project "Revive a Sunnah" is a project dedicated to bringing back the forgotten Sunnahs of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam).
Why the Project "Revive a Sunnah"?
This question can be answered from two sources: Qur'an and Sunnah.
Firstly, Allah ('azza wa jall) says in the Qur'an:
1.
"…Help you
one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do
not help one another in sin and transgression. And fear Allâh. Verily, Allâh is
Severe in punishment." [5:2]
2.
"Say (O
Muhammad (peace be upon him) to mankind): "If you (really) love Allâh then
follow me ( i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the Sunnah),
Allâh will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful." [3:31]
Secondly, from the Ahadith, it is reported that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Whoever revives an aspect of my Sunnah that is forgotten after my death, he will have a reward equivalent to that of the people who follow him, without it detracting in the least from their reward." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 7/443; this is a hasan hadîth because of corroborating asânîd).
Hence, we start off
by responding to Allah's ('azza wa jall) call. We do our utmost to follow the
Sunnah of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam). We obviously do this in
order to earn the love of Allah ('azza wa jall). What a better way of doing so
than helping each other to achieve this (solely for the sake of Allah ('azza wa
jall)).
How does it work?
Initially, when this project was first launched, it was conducted solely via e-mail. Starting with Week 4, the project will be available on-line, so that a broader audience may participate. A blog entry will be posted each week. The entry will describe what the Sunnah is, provide evidence from the Sunnah, and shed light on how it can be implemented, insha Allah. The project will still continue through e-mail (simultaneously to the blog). If you are not receiving the weekly Project "Revive a Sunnah" e-mails and would like to, then please visit: http://groups.google.com/group/project-revive-a-sunnah
How can you participate?
You can be a part of this project in a number of different ways. Some of them include:
- nominating a "forgotten sunnah" to be focussed on for one week
- forwarding the Project "Revive a Sunnah" URL to your friends and family
- encouraging others to participate
- spreading the word
You are most welcome to
direct any Feedback/Comments/Suggestions/Nominations
to albo...@gmail.com
May Allah reward you
all.
Praise be to Allah and may the blessings be upon the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi
wa sallam).
Wa Salaamu Alaykoum,
Kemal Smajlovic