Trials of Imam Bukhari

In his later years, Imam Al-Bukhari was decided to move to Nishapur because of animosity of some people of the ruling elite of Bukhara against him. Nishapur was a learning place with some great Muhadditheen including Imam Muslim.

When people of Nishapur heard that Imam Bukhari was coming, they came out to welcome him in huge numbers. It is said he was welcomed by 4000 horse-riders, along with a huge number of people on camels, donkeys and on foot. Even the kings would envy such a welcome.

Some even setup tents outside Nishapur to be able to greet and welcome Imam Al-Bukhari, one of those including al-Dhuhli, who encouraged his students and everyone to give him a good welcome.

Imam Al-Bukhari was well received and started giving lectures on hadith which were attended by a large number of people. Which reduced the popularity of al-Dhuhli and other scholars. And things soon started to change.

So they soon started conspiring against al-Bukhari by claiming that he believed that a “person’s wording of the Qur’an is created.

They sent people to confront him, he declined to answer but when the people insisted, al-Bukhari answered by saying, “The Qur’an is the speech of

Allah and is not created. But the actions of the slaves are created. And to test someone is an innovation”

This gave people the opportunity to misinterpret Imam Al-Bukhari’s words. Al-Dhuhli, who was the most influential scholar in Nishapur, declared Imam Al-Bukhari to be an innovator, a person of defective aqidah and said that no one should sit with him or listen to him.

And soon, everyone turned their backs on Imam Al-Bukhari and abandoned him. Only two people stood by him, who attended his lectures and sat with him, Imam Muslim and Ahmad ibn Salama.

Imam Muslim even took a step further and sent back all of Al-Dhuhli’s books that he had, and stopped recording any hadiths that he had heard from him, effectively suggesting that he was not a reliable narrator of hadith.

But Imam Al-Bukhari advised both scholars to not cut ties and alienate their peers within their own city. He suggested that since he was an outsider and people of the city no longer feel that he can benefit them, the more appropriate thing for him would be to leave the city.

Thus, the great Muhadith, who was welcomed by thousands of people on his arrival left alone and at night.

He had decided to go back to Bukhara and spend the rest of his days there but his trials hadn’t yet ended. On his return to Bukhara, the governor, Khalid ibn Ahmad al-Dhuhli sent a messenger and invited him to come to his palace and privately tutor his children.

Imam Bukhari replied that he wanted to benefit maximum number of people with his knowledge and cannot limit his knowledge and himself to a selective few, so it’d be more appropriate if the children of governor come to Masjid or his house and study with the rest of the people.

The governor was deeply offended by his response and took it upon himself to expel Al-Bukhari from the city, a task in which he soon succeeded. After being expelled from Bukhara, Al-Bukhari decided to go to Samarkand.

However, when the scholars of Samarkand heard of his imminent arrival, they sent him a message imploring him not to come and that they feared the situation of the city will get bad if he comes.

Upon hearing this, Imam Al-Bukhari prayed to Allah to take his soul as the world has become restricted for him despite all its expansion.

Allah accepted his dua and he spent his last days in the village of his aunt, by the town of Khartank, near Samarkand. He passed away on the last Friday of Ramadan, after Friday prayers.

These were the last days of the greatest scholar of hadith, compiler of the most correct book after Quran. Allah preserved his legacy and honoured him by making his work one of the foundational documents of Ahle-Sunnah’s corpus of knowledge.

People turned their back on him and abandoned him. They didn’t even award him the courtesy of being able to explain himself which would have cleared the misunderstanding in a few short sentences but he endured and passed that test and Allah honoured him.

That’s what I have learned from life too. People will abandon you and turn their backs on you in an instance. Often those claiming to love you and promising to stand by you wouldn’t even grant you the courtesy of asking an explanation or respect of listening to one.

Which is why in Allah alone we should place our trust and on Allah alone we should rely upon.

Sadness

“The word sadness (الحزن) does not appear in the Quran except in the form of forbidding it (ولا تهنو ولاتحزنوا) or in the form of negating it (فلاخوف عليهم ولا هم يحزنون).

The reason for this is because there is no benefit for having sadness in the heart. The most beloved thing to Shaytan is to make the believing slave sad by taking him off track.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) sought refuge in Allah from sadness (اللهم إني أعوذ بك من الهم والحزن) (in a Du’a).

Sadness weakens the heart and diminishes determination and wanting to go forward. And there is nothing more beloved to Shaytan than sadness of a believer.

For this reason, be happy, optimistic and think good about Allah. Have trust in what Allah is able to do and depend on Him. You will find happiness and pleasure in all situations.

Don’t ruin your happiness with worry, and don’t ruin your mind with pessimism. Don’t ruin your success with deception and don’t ruin the optimism of others by destroying it. Don’t ruin your day by looking back at yesterday.

If you think about your situation, you will find that Allah has given you things without asking, so have trust in Allah that He doesn’t prevent anything you want except there is goodness for you.

You could be sleeping and the doors of the heavens are being opened with dua’as (supplications) being made on your behalf, subhan’Allah (Glory be to God) perhaps from someone poor whom you helped, or someone sad whom you brought joy, or someone passing by and you smiled to him, or someone in distraught and you removed it…so don’t ever underestimate any good deeds.

One of the righteous predecessors said: I make dua’a (supplication) to Allah for something I want, and if He gives it to me then I’m happy once and if He doesn’t give it to me then I’m happy ten times because the first was my choice and the second was Allah’s choice.”

Ibn al Qayyim al Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him)

How to deal when a calamity befalls the Muslim

Praise be to Allaah.Firstly:
Calamities and disasters are a test, and they are a sign of Allaah’s love for a person, because they are like medicine: even though it is bitter, despite its bitterness you give it to the one whom you love – and for Allaah is the highest description.

In the saheeh hadeeth it says: “The greatest reward comes with the greatest trial. When Allaah loves a people He tests them. Whoever accepts that wins His pleasure but whoever is discontent with that earns His wrath.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2396) and Ibn Maajah (4031); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Calamities are good for the believer in the sense that reward is stored up for him the Hereafter thereby; how can it be otherwise when he is raised in status thereby and his bad deeds are expiated?

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah wills good for His slave, He hastens the punishment for him in this world, and when Allaah wills ill for His slave, he withholds the punishment for his sins from him until he comes with all his sins on the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2396); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Do not resent the calamities that come and the disasters that occur, for perhaps in something that you dislike will be your salvation, and perhaps in something that you prefer will be your doom.”

Al-Fadl ibn Sahl said: “There is a blessing in calamity that the wise man should not ignore, for it erases sins, gives one the opportunity to attain the reward for patience, dispels negligence, reminds one of blessings at the time of health, calls one to repent and encourages one to give charity.
Through calamity the believer seeks reward, and there is no way to attain it but patience, and there is no way to be patient except with resolute faith and strong will.

Remember the words of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999).

So if calamity befalls a Muslim, he must say Inna Lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (Verily to Allah we belong and unto Him is our return), and say the du’aa’s that have been narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

How wonderful are those moments in which a person turns to his Lord and knows that He alone is the One Who grants relief from distress. How great is the relief when it comes after hardship. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“but give glad tidings to As‑ Saabiroon (the patient).

156. Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: ‘Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.’
157. They are those on whom are the Salawaat (i.e. who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones”
[al-Baqarah 2:155-157]

Muslim (918) narrated that Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “There is no Muslim who is stricken with a calamity and says what Allaah has enjoined – ‘Verily to Allaah we belong and unto Him is our return. O Allaah, reward me for my affliction and compensate me with something better’ – but Allaah will compensate him with something better.”
She said: When Abu Salamah died, I said: Who among the Muslims is better than Abu Salamah, the first household to migrate to join the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Then I said it, and Allaah compensated me with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Secondly:
There are things which, if the one who is stricken with calamity thinks about them, that will make the calamity easier for him to bear.

In his valuable book Zaad al-Ma’aad (4/189-195), Ibn al-Qayyim has mentioned several things, including the following:

1 – If he looks at what has befallen him, he will find that what his Lord has left for him is similar to it or better than it, and if he is patient and accepts it, He has stored up for him something that is many times greater than what he has lost through this calamity, and if He willed He could have made the calamity even greater.

2 – The fire of calamity can be extinguished by thinking of those who have been hit even harder. Let him look to his right, does he see anything but calamity? Then let him look to his left, does he see anything but loss? If he were to look at the people around him, he would not see anything but people who are tested, either by missing out on something that they like, or by having happen to them that which they dislike. The pains of this world are like dreams or like a passing shadow. If you laugh a little you will weep a lot, and if you are happy for a day you will be miserable for a lifetime, and if you have what you want for a little while, you will be deprived for a long time. There is no day of happiness but it is followed by a day of pain. Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: For every moment of joy there is a moment of sorrow, and no house is filled with joy but it will be filled with sorrow. And Ibn Sireen said: There is never any laughter but there comes weeping after it.

3 – It should be noted that panicking will not make the calamity go away, and in fact it makes it worse.

4 – It should be noted that missing out on the reward for patience and surrender, which is mercy and guidance that Allaah has granted as the reward for patience and turning to Him (by saying Inna Lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (Verily to Allah we belong and unto Him is our return)), is worse than the calamity itself.

5 – It should be noted that panicking makes one’s enemy rejoice and makes one’s friend feel sad; it makes Allaah angry and makes the shaytaan happy; it destroys reward and weakens resolve. If he is patient, seeks reward, strives to please Allaah, to make his friend happy and to make his enemy sad, and seeks to relieve his brothers of their burdens and to console them before they console him, this is steadfastness and a sign of perfection – not slapping one’s cheeks, rending one’s garment, wishing for death and being discontent with the divine decree.

6 – It should be noted that what comes after being patient and seeking reward is pleasure and joy that is many times greater than what he could have got from keeping what he lost. Sufficient for him is the “house of praise” that will be built for him in Paradise as a reward for his praising his Lord and turning to Him (by saying Inna Lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (Verily to Allah we belong and unto Him is our return)). So let him decide which of the two calamities is greater: a calamity in this world, or the calamity of missing out on the house of praise in eternal Paradise. In al-Tirmidhi it is narrated in a marfoo’ report: “On the Day of Resurrection people will wish that their skins had been cut with scissors in this world, when they see the reward of those who were struck with calamity.” One of the salaf said: Were it not for the calamities of this world, we would come empty-handed on the Day of Resurrection.

7 – It should be noted that the One Who is testing him is the Most Wise and the Most Merciful, and that He – may He be glorified – did not send this calamity in order to destroy him or cause him pain or finish him off, rather He is checking on him, testing his patience, acceptance and faith; it is so that He may hear his du’aa’ and supplication, so that He may see him standing before Him, seeking protection, filled with humility and complaining to Him.

8 – It should be noted that were it not for the trials and tribulations of this world, a person could develop arrogance, self-admiration, a pharaonic attitude and hardheartedness which would lead to his doom in this world and in the Hereafter. It is a sign of the mercy of the Most Merciful that He checks on him from time to time with the remedy of calamity so as to protect him from these diseases, to keep his submission and servitude sound, and to eliminate all bad elements that may lead to his doom. Glory be to the One Who shows mercy by means of testing, and tests by means of blessing, as it is said:
Allaah may bless us with calamities even if that is hard, and Allaah may test some people with blessings.

9 – It should be noted that the bitterness of this world is the essence of sweetness in the Hereafter, as Allaah will turn the former into the latter. Similarly the sweetness of this world is the essence of bitterness in the Hereafter. It is better to move from temporary bitterness to eternal sweetness than the other way round. If this is still not clear to you, then think of what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Paradise is surrounded with difficulties, and Hell is surrounded with desires.” End quote.

Secondly:
In many cases, if a person responds well to calamity, they understand that it is a blessing and a gift, not a test. 

Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: A calamity that makes you turn to Allaah is better for you than a blessing which makes you forget the remembrance of Allaah.”

Sufyaan said: What a person dislikes may be better for him than what he likes, because what he dislikes causes him to call upon Allaah, whereas what he likes may make him heedless.

 
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) regarded his imprisonment as a blessing that had been caused by his enemies. 

Ibn al-Qayyim said: One day he – meaning Ibn Taymiyah – said to me: What can my enemies do to me? My garden is in my heart; wherever I go it is with me and never leaves me. My detainment is seclusion (an opportunity for worship), my being killed is martyrdom, and being expelled from my city is a journey.

He used to say of his detainment in the citadel: If I were to spend the fill of this citadel in gold, that would not be sufficient to express my gratitude for this blessing. Or he said: That would not be sufficient to reward them for what they have brought to me of goodness.
When he was imprisoned, he used to say when prostrating: “O Allaah, help me to remember You, give thanks to You and to worship You well. Ma sha Allaah. He said to me (Ibn al-Qayyim) one day: The one who is really detained is the one who keeps his heart away from his Lord, and the real prisoner is the one is captive to his whims and desires. When he entered the citadel and was within its walls, he looked at it and said: “So a wall will be put up between them, with a gate therein. Inside it will be mercy, and outside it will be torment” [al-Hadeed 57:13]. Allaah knows that I have never seen anyone who was more content with his life than him, despite all the hardship that he experienced, and the lack of luxury and comfort, in fact the opposite of that, and despite the imprisonment, threats and exhaustion that he faced; despite all of that, he was the happiest of people with his life, the most content, the most courageous, the most satisfied. You could see the signs of joy and happiness in his face. When we felt afraid and were expecting calamity, and we had nowhere to turn, we would go to him and as soon as we saw him and heard his voice, all those fears disappeared and were replaced with contentment, courage, certainty and tranquillity. Glory be to the One who showed some of His slaves His Paradise before they met Him, and opened its gates to them when they were still in this world of deeds and actions, so some of its breezes and fragrance came to them, which made them devote their energy to seeking it and competing in attaining it. End quote.

Al-Waabil al-Sayyib (p. 110).

Whoever wishes to attain the levels of the strangers

“Whoever wishes to attain the levels of the strangers, let him bear with patience the harm he will meet from his parents, his wife, his brothers and relatives. If one were to ask, “How can they harm me seeing I am beloved to them and they to me?” It is said in reply:

You have opposed them in their love of this world and their great desire for it. They, in order to attain this world, do not care what they lose of their religion, if you follow them in this, they will love you; if you oppose them and instead traverse the path to the Hereafter by following the truth, they will behave coarsely towards you. Your parents will be pained and angry at your actions, your wife will be vexed at you and seek separation, and your brothers and relatives will rarely meet you. You will be, amongst them, saddened and disturbed, and it is then that you will look at yourself with the eye of a stranger and you will understand the circumstances of all strangers, you will feel isolated from your brothers and relatives, and you will find yourself alone, traversing the path to Allah, the Noble.

Be patient for just a few days, bear the ignominy of this world for a few minutes, partake scarcely of this lowly life, you will find that this leads you to the Abode of well-being, its land is pure, its gardens resplendent, its fruits bountiful and its rivers sweet; therein you will have all the soul desires and all the eye takes delight in, therein you will abide for eternity.“

– Ibn Rajab