Understanding Islam

One day Hadhrat Bayazid Bastami rahmatullah alayhi while in meditation, saw himself in a synagogue dressed as a Jew. At first he was confused, but when he kept on seeing the same vision over and over again, he decided to enact it. So, he dressed himself as a Jew and went to their synagogue. When the Jews and their scholars were present, their chief Rabbi stood up to speak. But when he stood up, his tongue became stuck and he could not talk. After he had been standing quietly for some time, the Jews started to complain. The Rabbi said, "In this gathering there is a follower of the Prophet Muhammed (sallalahu alayhi wassalam) and I cannot speak because he has come to examine us." On hearing this, their anger raged like wildfire and they asked the Rabbi to give them permission to kill this follower of the Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alayhi wassalam). The Rabbi replied, "He cannot be killed without proof, so we must talk to him peacefully and respectfully and then we can decide." The Rabbi then said, "Oh follower of Muhammad (sallalahu alayhi wassalam). For the sake of your Prophet please stand up in your place. If you can remove our doubt about Islam then we shall accept Islam, but if you can't, then we shall kill you." On hearing this, Hadhrat Bayazid rahmatullah alayhi stood up and gave permission for them to question him.

Rabbi: What is one and not two? Bayazid: Allah.

Rabbi: What is two and not three? Bayazid: Night and day. [Qur'aan chapter 17 verse 12: "And we made night and day two examples."]

Rabbi: What is three and not four? Bayazid: The Throne, Chair, and the Pen of Allah.

Rabbi: What is four and not five? Bayazid: The Torah, Bible, Psalms, and the Qur'aan.

Rabbi: What is five and not six? Bayazid: The five compulsory Prayers.

Rabbi: What is six and not seven? Bayazid: The six days in which the Earth, the sky, and whatever is in between them was created. [Qur'aan chapter 50 verse 38: "And we created the Sky and the Earth and whatever is between them in six days"]

Rabbi: What is seven and not eight? Bayazid: The seven skies. [Qur'aan chapter 67 verse 3, "Who created the seven skies layer upon layer!"]

Rabbi: What is eight and not nine? Bayazid: The bearers of the throne of Allah. [Quraan chapter 69 verse 17: "And they will lift their Lord's throne on themselves on that day, eight persons. "]

Rabbi: What is nine and not ten? Bayazid: The villagers of Hadhrat Salih peace be upon him in which the mischief mongers lived. [Qur'aan chapter 27 Verse 48: "And in that city there were nine persons who created mischief on the Earth, and they didn't amend. "]

Rabbi: What is ten and not eleven? Bayazid: The person who performs a minor pilgrimage along with the major one and doesn't have the capacity to sacrifice an animal, he has to keep ten fasts. [Qur'aan chapter 2 verse 196: "So keep the three Haj days and seven fasts when you return".]Rabbi: What is eleven, twelve and thirteen things which Allah has mentioned? Bayazid: Hadhrat Yusuf had eleven brothers. The twelve months in a yea., [Qur'aan chapter 9 verse 36: "The number of months, with Allah , is twelve months".]Hadhrat Yusuf saw thirteen things prostrating to him. [Qur'aan chapter 12 verse 4: "I saw in a dream eleven stars, the sun and the moon, I saw them (for my sake) prostrating (to me)".]

Rabbi: Which is that nation which lied and went in to paradise and which is that nation which said the truth and entered hell? Bayazid: Hadhrat Yusuf's brothers lied but they went to paradise. [Qur'aan chapter 12 verse 17: "Oh father! We went out to run and we left Yusuf with our belongings, then he was eaten by the wolf."]The contradiction between the Christians and the Jews was true but they went to hell. [Qur'aan chapter 2 verse 113: "And the Jews said that the Christians are not on any path, and the Christians said that the Jews are not on any path, even though they all read the book."]

Rabbi: What is the meaning of Qur'aan chapter 51 verse 1-4: By the ships that scatter broadcast; And those that lift and bear away heavy weights; And those that flow with ease and gentleness;And those that distribute and apportion by Command?Bayazid: The meaning of flying scattered ships is air, the meaning of weight carrying ships is water filled clouds, the meaning of calmly sailing ships is boats, and the meaning of the last is the angels which distribute the sustenance.

Rabbi: What is that thing which has no soul nor any connection with breathing, yet it breathes? Bayazid: It is the dawn, for it has no soul but it still breathes. [Qur'aan Chapter 81 verse 18: "And the morning, when it breathes."]

Rabbi: What are those fourteen things to which Allah talks with honour? Bayazid: The seven earths and the seven skies, [Qur’aan chapter 41 verse 11: Then He said to it and to the Earth, come both of you with happiness or hardly, They said we will come happily.]

Rabbi: Which is that grave which moves the person in it around? Bayazid: The fish of Hadhrat Yunus alayhi salaam. [Qur'aan chapter 37 verse 142: "Then the fish took him as a morsel".]Rabbi: Which is that water which neither came up from the earth nor down from the sky? Bayazid: The water which Hadhrat Sulaiman alayhi salaam sent to Bilqis, Queen of Sheeba, for it was the sweat of a horse.

Rabbi: What are those four things which had no father nor were born from a mother’s stomach? Bayazid: The sheep of Hadhrat Ismail, the she camel of Hadhrat Salih, Hadhrat Adam and our mother Eve alayhi salaam.

Rabbi: Whose blood flowed first on the Earth? Bayazid: It was Habil's (Abel) when Qabil (Cain) killed him.

Rabbi: What is that thing which Allah created and then bought? Bayazid: A believers soul. [Qur'aan chapter 9 verse 11: "Allah bought from the Muslim's their souls."]

Rabbi: What is that voice which Allah created and then spoke ill of? Bayazid: The donkey’s voice. [Qur'aan chapter 31 verse 19: "Without doubt the worse voice is of a donkey."]

Rabbi: What is that creation that Allah created and from it’s greatness created fear? Bayazid: Women's scheming. [Qur'aan chapter 12 verse 28: "Truly, mighty is your scheming."

Rabbi: What is that thing that Allah created and then asked about? Bayazid: The staff of Hadhrat Musa.[Qur'aan Chapter 20 verse 17: "And what is that in your right hand, Oh Musa? He said "This is my staff."]

Rabbi: Who are the most pious of the women and what are the blessed rivers? Bayazid: The most pious women are Hadhrat Eve, Hadhrat Khadija, Hazart Aisha and Hadhrat Fatima. The most blessed rivers are the Oxus, Simwon, Tigris, Euphrates and Nile.

Rabbi: Which is the most blessed mountain and the most blessed animal? Bayazid: Mount Toor in Makkah and the horse. Rabbi: Which is the best of all months and the best of all nights? Bayazid: The month of Ramdhan and the Night of Power. [Qur'aan Chapter 2 verse 185: "The month of Ramdhan in which the Qur'aan was revealed."Qur'aan chapter 97 verse 3: "The night of power is better than a thousand months."]

Rabbi: There is a tree which has twelve twigs, each twig has thirty leaves, and each leaf has five fruits, two in the sun and three in the shade. What is the meaning of this tree? Bayazid: The tree means one year, the twigs mean the twelve months, the leaves represent the thirty days, and the fruits are the daily prayers, two of which are prayed in the day and the remaining three which are prayed at dawn, at dusk, and in the night time.

Rabbi: What is that thing that circled around the Ka'abah in Makkah even though it had no soul? Bayazid: The boat of Hadhrat Nuh alayhi salaam. In the time of the flood it arrived in Arabia and circled around the Ka'abah.

Rabbi: How many prophets did Allah send as Messengers? Bayazid: Only Allah knows, but in narrations it is said that Allah created 126,000 prophets from which 313 were Messengers. Rabbi: What are those four things whose roots are one but their colours and tastes are different? Bayazid: Eyes, ears, mouth and nose. The wetness of the eye are sour, the wetness of the ears is acid, that of the noses is also acid and the wetness of the mouth is sweet.

Rabbi: What is the voice of the donkey called? Bayazid: It is the curse on the tax takers. Rabbi: What is the voice of the dog called? Bayazid: Doom on the dwellers of Hell by the anger of Allah. Rabbi: What is the remembrance of the ox? Bayazid: SubhanAllah wa bihamdihi, subhanAllah il adheem.

Rabbi: What is the remembrance of the camel? Bayazid: HasbunAllahu wa ni’mal wakeel.

Rabbi: What is the remembrance of the peacock? Bayazid: Huwal wadud, dhul ‘arsh il-adheem. Rabbi: What is the beautiful recitation of the nightingale? Bayazid: So remember the pure Allah when it is morning and evening.

Rabbi: What is that thing which Allah sent revelation on, but it was not human, Jinn or Angel? Bayazid: The honey bee. [Qur'aan chapter 16 verse 68: "And your lord gave order to the honey bee."]

After this the Rabbi couldn't ask any more questions and became quiet. Hadhrat Bayazid rahmatullah alayhi said, "Now you give me the answer to my one question. What is the key to paradise?" The Rabbi replied, "If I give the answer to this question, this gathering will kill me." The gathering shouted in one voice "We shall not do anything. Now tell us the true answer!" The Rabbi then said, "Listen! the key to paradise is: There is no God worthy of worship except Allah and Muhammad peace be upon him is His Messenger!" On hearing this the whole gathering accepted Islam and Hadhrat Bayazid rahmatullah alayhi returned giving thanks to Allah.

Imam Abu Hanifah Numan bin Thabit al-Kharraz, may Allah he pleased with him, had a firm footing in shariat and a high status in tariqat. To begin with, he loved solitude and wanted to renounce the world and live a life of seclusion so as to keep away from the contamination of power and position, and position, and be fully devoted to God Almighty. However, he gave up that idea when he had a dream in which he saw himself sorting out the bones of Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) in his grave, and was giving preference to some of them over the others.He went to one of the disciples of Muhammad bin Sirrin (who was well-versed in interpreting dreams) and asking the meaning of that dream. He said, "You will reach a position in the knowledge of Hadith when you will be able to judge Hadith properly and distinguish the correct sayings from the fake ones."In another dream the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) said to him, "O Abu Hanifah, you have been created to revive my sunnah. Do not take to solitude." Imam Abu Hanifah was the teacher of some of the great mashaikhs like Ibrahim bin Adham, Fudhail bin Ayadh, Daud Tai, Bishr Hafi, etc.,It is related in the chronicles that once Emperor Mansur planned to select a qadhi (chief justice) out of the following four persons, Imam Abu Hanifah, Sufyan Thauri, Mu'sar Sallah bin Ashim & Qadhi Sharih, all of whom were great scholars in Islamic learning. Consequently, they were summoned to the court. While going to the emperor, Imam Abu Hanifah told his companions that he had a plan for each of them. They said "What is that ?" He said, "I will try to get rid of the offer on some pretext; Mu'sar should pretend madness; Sufyan should flee; and Shariah should accept the offer. Accordingly Sufyan escaped by crossing the river using a boat & disappeared. The remaining three persons were brought before the emperor.First he addressed Imam Abu Hanaifah & told him that he wanted to appoint him as the qadhi of the empire. The Imam said, "O Amir al-Mu'minin as I am a non-Arab, and a slave too, the Arab chiefs will not be inclined to accept my decision." The emperor said, "It is not race, but knowledge & competence which counts in this matter." Abu Hanifah said, "But I am not competent for the job." The emperor said, "I know you are competent." Abu Hanifahreplied, "It means I am telling a lie, in which case too I am not fit for the post, because a liar cannot be fit to be a qadhi. So, in both cases I am not fit for the job. You are a caliph of God. You should not appoint a liar to such a high post." In this way he succeeded in getting rid of the job. Now came the turn of Mu'sar. He took the hand of the Caliph and said "How are you ? And how are your children ? How are your animals ?" Seeing this the Caliph exclaimed, "He is mad, take him away." Then he asked Sharih to accept the job. He said, "I am also mentally imbalanced and short of memory." The Caliph said, "Never mind, you will be alright by treatment." Thus, he was appointed as the qadhi of the Empire.This was how Imam Abu Hanifah succeeded in avoiding the post. Henceforward he never met Sharih and kept himself away from him. This story bears testimony to his greatness from two points of view. Firstly, his wisdom to understand what he and his companions had to do and secondly, his contentment and love for solitude in which he found safety of faith. Incidentally, the cult of self reproach (malamat) also stands proven by the behavior of these scholars who had to make a show of weakness & feign imperfection on their part to avoid worldly honor & dignity, which they feared would harm them spiritually, while the pretenders do just the opposite. Being slaves of greed they worship the rich and powerful, lick their shoes, take their palaces as qiblat & their thresholds as Qaba Qausain.Once a pretender in Ghazni who feigned to profess malamat, said that the wearing of the muraqqah was bidat (heretical). I said to him, "You feel no hesitation in wearing the robes of silk which are definitely harm (forbidden) in Islam and that too you beg from the tyrannical & wicked people who amass wealth through unlawful means. had you not been overpowered by arrogance and vice, you would not have said this. Silk dresses are lawful for females but not for males. It is certainly unbecoming on your part to wear silk & condemn the patched garment obtained by lawful means."Imam Abu Hanifah says, "When Noufil bin Hayan died, I saw in dream in which mankind was busy submitting accounts on the Day of Judgment. I saw the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) standing at the edge of a pool of water with many mashikhs on his right and left. There was a handsome old man with grey hair standing nearest to the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) with his bright face almost touching the Prophet Mohammad's (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) face. Noufil bin Hayan was also there. When he saw me he came close to me and greeted me with salaam. I asked him to give me some water. He said that he would ask the Prophet Mohammad's(Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) permission first. As soon as he said this, the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) raised his finger as a token of approval and he gave us a vessel full of water which the companions and I drank to our fill. However, the vessel remained as full as before. I asked Noufil who was tht venerable personage on the Prophet Mohammad's (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) right. He said it was the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and on his left was Hadhrat Abu Bakr As Siddiq (Radhiyallaho anho). He went on introducing the mashaikhs to me and I went on counting them on my fingers. the last number being seventeen. When I woke up I still had my finger on number seventeen."Yahya bin Muadh Razi said, "I saw the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) in a dream and said to him, 'Where can I find you.' He said, 'In the knowledge of Abu Hanifah.' " Imam Abu Hanifah's merits and virtues are too many to be described.Once when I, li Uthmanwas staying at the tomb of Hadhrat Bilal(Companion of Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam)) in Damascus, I saw in dream that I was in Makkah. I saw the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam), entering the Shirne of Ka'bah through the Gate of Bani Shiba carrying as old man as one carries a child on one's bosom. I ardently ran to the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) and kissed his feet. I was wondering who the old man was. Reading my mind the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) said "He is your Imam & the Imam of your country, Abu Hanifah." My countrymen and I are indeed lucky to have that honor. This dream is enough to confirm that Imam Abu Hanifah was fani-us-siffat by himself & baqi-us-siffat with the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) by virtue of the fact that the Prophet Mohammad(Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) lifted him to his bosom. Had he been walking on his own feet he would not have been fani by himself, instead he would have been baqi with himself. Know that what is verified by the Prophet Mohammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wasallam) himself cannot be questioned.It is said that when Daud Tai had learned all the Islamic sciences and became a great scholar he went to Imam Abu Hanifah and said, "What should I do next ?" The Imam replied, "Alaik bil amal fa innal ilma bila amal kal jasdu bila rab" (Bring your knowledge (ilm) into practice, since knowledge without practice is like a body without soul). If knowledge is not followed by practice it is meaningless. He who is contented with knowledge alone is not an alim (man of knowledge) in the real sense of the word. It is like true guidance which is not possible without struggle (devotion), or like mushahadah (unity with God) which is not possible without mujahaidah (devotion). Therefore, knowledge is a necessary complement of action & no knowledge is complete without action. It is like the light of the sun which cannot be separated from the sun. I have already explained the benefits of knowledge earlier.