Having grown up jaded through ignorance, it is during encounters such as these that we can appreciate the Sunnah in flesh-and-blood practice.
Alhamdhulillah, we had the honour and pleasure of hosting one of the respected scholars of Yemen, Shaykh Abdul Hameed al Hajoori, during one of his recent trips to Sri Lanka. Our meeting with him brought to mind what the Messenger (salla Allah 'alaihi wassalam) said:
"...and [the people of Yemen] are more gentle and soft-hearted..."1,2
The Shaykh, a cheerful man, was true to his Yemeni roots.
His humility and generosity was truly remarkable. One night, we visited him as a group of ten, bringing him a clamshell box of fried rice; a good meal for one person, a decent one for two. The Shaykh, may Allah (ta'aalaa) preserve him, insisted that he would not touch the food unless all ten of us had had a share of it.
He was always making du'a for us.
May Allah reward him for his strict adherence to the knowledge for which he'd probably shed sweat and tears; he was a man who reveled in the sweetness of 'ilm and the Sunnah. The Shaykh would, during our meetings with him, question us on our knowledge of the deen from time to time, following the tradition set forth by the Angel Jibreel when he visited to quiz the Messenger salla Allah 'alaihi wassalam on what he had been taught. 3
In emulation of the sahaba, he gave as gifts all of his thawbs to the younger brothers among us.
He tried to inculcate a love for 'ilm in us during the little time we had with him; he has us try and memorize small ahadith. He'd repeat them over and over again until we had them in firm grips; we learned five ahadith in the two days we spent with him. He urged us to pursue knowledge, be it in the Kingdom or in Yemen.
He seemed to always be making dhikr of Allah (ta'aalaa).
The Shaykh and us headed out one time for some fresh air, we admired his adherence to the Sunnah. Lowering his gaze, he would steer clear from women, murmuring astaghfirullah if he happened to catch glimpse of the impropriety from which our city suffers.
We hear the adhan, and the Shaykh slows down on our way from the masjid to speak to a group of men who were at work. He was advising them to to pray.
We could not organize public lectures, despite our great need and desire for one, since the Shaykh wasn't planning on staying for longer than two and a half days. The government require all religious lecturers to have applied for permits; an arduous and time-consuming process.
We were sad to see him go, but glad to have spent time with him. May Allah ta'aalaa grant us the pleasure of meeting with him once again, and may He allow the city at large to benefit from his efforts. Ameen.
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1. Narrated by Abu Huraira, Saheeh Al-Bukhaari, Book of Military Expeditions, Hadeeth No. 4070
2. Allah (ta'aalaa) testified to the truth of the Messenger's (salla Allah 'alaihi wassalam) speech in Surah Najm, in which He said (in the translation of the meaning): "Your companion [Muhammad salla Allah 'alaihi wassalam] has neither gone astray nor has erred.| Nor does he speak of (his own) desire."
3. The Hadith Jibril is as follows:
`Umar ibn Khattab (Allah be well pleased with him) said:
“As we were sitting one day before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), a man suddenly appeared. He wore pure white clothes and his hair was dark black-yet there were no signs of travel on him, and none of us knew him.
He came and sat down in front of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), placing his knees against his, and his hands on his thighs. He said, “O Muhammad! Tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Islam is to bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and to perform the prayer; pay zakat; fast Ramadan; and to perform Hajj to the House if you are able.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth,” and we were surprised that he asked and then confirmed the answer.
Then, he asked, “Tell me about belief (iman).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to believe in Allah; His Angels; His Books; His Messengers; the Last Day; and in destiny-its good and bad.”
The man said, “You have spoken the truth. Now, tell me about spiritual excellence (ihsan).”
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “It is to serve Allah as though you behold Him; and if you don’t behold him, (know that) He surely sees you.”
“Now, tell me of the Last Hour,” asked the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “The one asked knows no more of it than the one asking.”
“Then tell me about its signs,” said the man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “That slave women give birth to their mistresses; and that you see barefoot, unclothed, beginning shepherds competing in the construction of tall buildings.”
Then the visitor left, and I waited a long time. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked me, “Do you know, Umar, who the questioner was?”
I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
He said (Allah bless him and give him peace), “It was Jibril. He came to you to teach you your religion.”
[Sahih Muslim]
