Ramadaniyyat are itemized comments in Hausa written and shared daily on social media during Ramadan by arguably the most knowledgeable Muhaddith in Nigeria, Dr Muhammad Sani Umar Rijiyar Lemo. Though the contents are largely familiar to a typical Muslim with the average familiarity with the basics of Islam, they highlight the crux of the message in a unique Ramadan-inspired style.
Today I translate the Ramadaniyyat [5] and part of [6] of the ongoing Ramadan into English to share it with the readers of this column. Space constraint doesn’t allow for including the whole of the [6]. Here we go,
Ramadaniyyat 1442H [5]
Sahaba: the only means of knowing the religion of Allah
- They were who endured the burden of disseminating the message of Islam and preserved it by preserving every bit of the Prophetic teachings starting from the Qur’an, which they learned from the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and indeed memorized. It was the same with his words, deeds and his other explanations; they (Sahaba) were who narrated it to the succeeding generation.
- We worship Allah the Almighty the way they narrated; we learned the Qur’an thanks to them; it’s through them we know the Halal, Haram, right and wrong. It’s thanks to them that we imbibed our Faith and the way of our interactions; it’s through Sahaba we got all these.
- Sahaba were that sincere and honest generation who Allah the Almighty appointed to bear witness (that He had equally sent messengers) to the previous nations. They were the generation that every sincere Muslim prays for all the time, as Allah the Almighty maintains where He says “And those who came after them say: “Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who have preceded us in Faith, and put not in our hearts any hatred against those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful.” [Hashr: 10] (As translated by Dr Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan).
- Therefore, they were the generation that whenever any one of them is mentioned a Muslim should pray for Allah’s Forgiveness for him. Because all the successes that saw Islam reaching to different parts of the world within a short period were achieved through them, as Allah the Almighty says” And if they intend to deceive you, then verily, Allah is All-Sufficient for you. He it is Who has supported you with His Help and with the believers. And He has united their (i.e. believers) hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah has united them. Certainly He is All-Mighty, All-Wise. [Al’anfal: 62-63] (As translated by Dr Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan).
- They were able to achieve that thanks to the moral training they got from the Messenger of Allah (SAW), which enabled them to confront and indeed defeat the world’s tyrannical powers then.
- What particularly defines Sahaba was what Rib’i (Bin Aamir) (R.A) told Rustum (the supreme commander of the Persian army) during the battle of AlQadisiyya. Persian Empire was then one of the largest empires in the world. It and Roman Empire enclosed Arabia; Iraq was under Persia while the Levant territories were under the Roman Empire. The two empires were then the most advanced in terms of development and the strongest militarily. However, with Rustum seated in his luxury-carpeted and mind-boggling palace, a desert-dwelling people from the Arabian Peninsula overran it. Riding towards Rustum and poking his spear on the luxury carpet, the horseback-mounted Rib’i (Bin Aamir) stood before Rustum. And when Rustum asked him what their mission was, Rib’i (Bin Aamir) answered: “Allah has commissioned us to save whom He likes among His slaves from worshipping His slaves to the worship of the Lord of the slaves, and to save whom He likes among His slaves from the tyranny of religions to the justice of Islam, and to save whom He likes among His slaves from the stress of the world to the happiness of the Hereafter”.
- He (Rib’i Bin Aamir) addressed Rustum with confidence and was unimpressed by the imperial magnificence all over the place. He was never interested and instead behaved as though it never existed because the Messenger of Allah had inspired them in such a way that no worldly thing could impress them as earning the Pleasure of Allah was always their goal.
Ramadaniyyat 1442H [6]
The Sahaba-Prophet bond: the secret of success and source of inspiration
- Sahaba weren’t able to prevail over Persians and Romans due to their (Sahaba) number, for their number, which was thirty thousand couldn’t be compared to an army of one hundred and fifty thousand warriors. The horseback-mounted Sahaba from the desert confronted a well-trained and well-experienced elephant-mounted warriors armed with heavy weapons, yet, they (Sahaba) defeated that huge army decisively.
- They weren’t, therefore, able to achieve that victory due to their number or weaponry; they were instead able to achieve it thanks to their piety and the inspiration, righteousness and perseverance they had imbibed from the Messenger of Allah (SAW).
- That way they equally succeeded in running the affairs of every nation they prevailed over where they led in absolute commitment to the principle of justice.
- That endeared them to their enemies who turned their allies while multitudes of people continued to convert to Islam for what they observed of Sahaba’s righteousness, justice and nobility the kind of which they had never witnessed before.
- That explains why, apart from the prophets of Allah, there has never been a generation on earth like that of the Sahaba.
