Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Yayha an Ninowi

Living the Sunna

Its a fortune for those who taste fortunes

Some people can't taste fortunes

Imam Suyuti (May Allah's Ta'ala mercy be with him) said, “Every time I read the Quran and do tafsir, I find something different."

Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala) always gives us (human beings) examples. The knowledge of man is imperfect because you still have to learn

We are either a slave to one or a slave to many

Some people are a slaves to their desires of drink, etc

When you are a slave to creation (that is true slavehood).

Bishr Al hafi’s (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) house used to be the party centre in Baghdad. One of his servants was dumping some food when he was approached by a very dark, thin man who was called Musa ibn Jafir ibn Zayn Al abideen ibn Hussein ibn Ali ibn abu talib (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with them). Musa (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said, “Let me ask something before you dump this food, your master a free man or a slave.” “If he was a slave to Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala) he would’ve feared him.”
When the servant informed Bishr (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him), he ran out to find out who this man was.
(This was the beginning of Bishr (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) repentance.)

Our problem is how we bring out Islam to the people

Ali ibn Abu talib (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) found a servant crying, “Why are you crying?” he asked, ther servant told him that he had brought some dates that were bad and the shopkeeper refused to take them back. Ali (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) went to the shopkeeper to ask him to change them, he refused and pushed Ali (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) away until some of the companions (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) came and informed the shopkeeper that he had pushed the Caliph. The shopkeeper became scared and asked if there was anything that he could do to please the Caliph, Ali (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said, “I would be pleased, if you pleased Allah with yourself.”

From hadith, “He who cheats is not from us.” Islam came to perfect noble character.

If you please Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala), Allah Subhanu wa Ta’ala will make people pleased with you.

The people who wanted to burn Ibrahim (upon him peace) took 6 months to collect the wood and when they lit it, the birds could not fly over it.

You follow the Sunna by loving the one who gave you the sunna.

The truth is usually unpopular

Effort and distance should not matter

We have too many chiefs and not enough Indians

Bilal (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said on this deathbed, to his wife, “What is wrong with you? Tomorrow I’ll be with my beloved Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him), I have been waiting to this moment all my life.

Some people don’t realise what it is to life with the Sunna

You need to make the Sunna more important than anything else

One of companions (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) was put on a piece of wood, nails were driven into him, his eyes were gouged out. Just before the Quresh were going to kill him they asked him, “Would you rather be at home with your family and Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) here.” He replied, “No, I swear by Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala), I would rather go through this 70 times than Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) to have thorn in his hand.”

Zayn Al abideen (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) was doing Wudu, his servant was scared and she looked at him, he was yellow. He said, “You don’t know who I am going to stand in front of soon.”

You only follow, if you love

We need to think about how long we think about the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) (this is a sign of love.)

A sign of love is to love what the person you love, loves, food, books, the people who he loves.

Majnun kissed the walls of a city because of who lived in the walls

The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) honoured the black stone and so was the Ka’ba because he encircled it

Listen with the ears of you heart

You don’t live your Sunna, you live his sunna

You should have a yearning to follow the Sunna

When you read/hear a hadith you should imagine that he is talking to you, there are two kinds of love: love of faith and love of beauty.

Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala) gives you and maintains blessings, he gives to us and we decrease in our need to follow him (We think its from ourselves.)

Loving is being the presence of Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala) as though he sees you but you know you can’t see him.

Abdul qadir Jilani (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) stated three levels of fasting;
1. To abstain from food and drink,
2. Everything that disobeys Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala),
3. Abstain from everything except Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala)

Love of Allah (Subhanu wa Ta’ala) is like being in an academy in which you go up in levels.

There is a difference between substance and subversion (theres difference between true knowledge and what people think is knowledge.)

The signs of love;
1. When love someone you are totally abosorbed by them
2. You abandon what you love for they do
3. You are still behind them and need to catch up.

Jabir ibn Abdullah Al Ansari (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) said after the Minbar had been built and the tree was left, the tree began to moan, all the companions (May Allah Ta’ala be pleased with them) could hear it. The Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) came down from the Minbar and hugged the tree and then the tree began to calm down. He (peace and blessings upon him) said, “If I had not done that, the tree would’ve been crying to the day of judgement.”

What’s wrong with you, if a tree was screaming.

One of the companions used to cry because he couldn’t be with the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) all the time

Living the Sunna means getting close to the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him)

You can see him by being persistent

He (peace and blessings upon him) said, “I have left you with two things, if you hold fast to them, you will not go astray, the book and my family.” A hadith in Tirmindi and ibn Hakim (May Allah's Ta'ala mercy be with them).

Worry about yourself not others

If you want to learn how to drive you go to a driving instructor, so we need to find an instructor. So we can learn how to drive.