26 Aug The soul is hungry
Shaikh Yasir al-Dosari, the Imaam of Masjid al-Haraam, narrated this incident from his childhood. He narrates:
“This was a situation I can never forget. It has been planted in my memory and I have learned a lot from this. This is something that happened some twenty years ago when I was learning the Qur’aan with my Shaikh, Sa’ad Sunbul. He is a big scholar and a teacher of the Qur’aan, and the one who knows the ten Qiraa’ah (recitations) of the Qur’aan.
The Shaikh (Sad) used to conduct Qur’aan classes after the Isha prayer, and I used to recite the Qur’aan to him. One day, it happened, and Allaah Willed it to happen, that on that day I was the last student to recite the Qur’aan to him.
When I was reciting to him, a young man entered through the door of the Masjid. When that young man had entered, it was apparent from his face, the signs of fatigue, anxiety, sadness, and that he was away from Allaah (i.e., not practicing).
He came to the Shaikh and said to him: “O Shaikh! I want you to recite the Qur’aan over me (as Ruqya). I am troubled and I want you to recite the Qur’aan over me.”
The Shaikh looked at him and said: “I don’t mind reciting the Qur’aan over you, but I have this student who is reciting to me, and I am busy with him. In the meanwhile, go to the front of the Masjid, make Wudhoo pray two Rakaaat prayers, and recite the Qur’aan from the Mus-haf (while I finish with this student).”
So, this youth did as he was instructed. He went to the front row of the Masjid, prayed two Rakaaat, and started reciting the Qur’aan.
The Shaikh intentionally told me to keep on reciting the Qur’aan. Half an hour went by, and I was still reciting to the Shaikh. After more than half an hour had passed, the Shaikh asked me to stop the recitation and called on the young man. From the front of the Masjid, this young man came to him, and I was looking at him.
By Allaah! The face with which he returned from the front of the Masjid – after having recited the Qur’aan – was different from the face with which he had first entered the Masjid while I was reciting to the Shaikh. Now, signs of tranquility and calmness were apparent on his face. It was visible that now he had become more relaxed, content, and that his chest felt easy.
He came to the Shaikh and the Shaikh said to him: “Sit down and I will now recite the Qur’aan over you.” The youth replied: “O Shaikh! Jazaak Allaahu Khairan, but now I do not feel the need for you to recite the Qur’aan over me.” The Shaikh said: “What’s the matter? Just a while ago you had asked me to recite it over you! What happened now?”
The youth said: “I don’t know what happened! When I went to the front of the Masjid and prayed two Rakaaat and recited the Qur’aan from the Mus-haf, I don’t know what happened to me. I felt relaxed, and my chest felt expanded. Now I don’t feel the need for you to recite over me.”
So, the Shaikh said to him – and this is the crux of the whole incident: “O my son! When you first entered the Masjid and when I looked at your face, at that moment itself I realised that your soul is hungry. This is why I instructed you to go to the front of the Masjid, pray two Rakaaat, and recite the Qur’aan because I knew that this soul will not be satisfied, and it will not feel relaxed till it is fed.” And this is what happened. “O my son! You are a product of two components: the body and the soul. Your body is created from the earth and that is why its nourishment is from the earth. Your soul was created in the heavens and that is why its nourishment is from the heavens. You cannot live a stable life till you have a balance between your body and soul.” He also said concerning the soul: “Leaving the body (malnourished) is also against the religion of Allaah. A person needs to have a balance between the soul and the body.”
From the Lecture: [قرآني حياتي]
*Notes*:
The nourishment of the soul is the daily prayers, recitation of the Qur’aan, listening to it.
Allah Ta’ala give us and guide us on the true understanding of His most beautiful Deen and make us and the entire Ummah from those that show utmost respect to His Deen, by following Quraan and Sunnah in every facet of our lives, and unite us with Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم and our loved ones in Jannatul Firdous. آمــــــــــين ثـمّ آمــــــــــين
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