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When Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki (rahimahullāh) passed away, many
people mourned this great loss. His casket had to be brought to a
ground where there were many people gathered to perform the janazah
salaah and pay homage to him. When it was time to read the janaazah
salaah, a man came forward and said: “I am this man’s wali (legal
guardian) and he has asked me to convey his wishes to all of you
present here for the salaah. Kaki (rahimahullāh) wishes that
only the person with the following four qualities be allowed to lead
his janaazah salaah. They are:
1.
He always joins the jamaat at the first takbir.
2.
He has never missed tahajjud salaah.
3.
He has never stared at a non mahram woman.
4.
He is so pious that he has never missed the sunnah salaah
before Asr.
The crowd was shocked and so silent that they could’ve heard a pin
drop. They looked around trying to see who had these qualities. They
were quite sure that none of them possessed these qualities. Just then
a man walked upto the casket with tears in his eyes. He uncovered
Kaki’s (rahimahullāh) face and said: “You have died and left me
in an embarrassing situation. I swear by Allah that I fulfilled all of
these requirements.”
The people stared at this man in disbelief. He was their king
Shamsuddin Altamash and they never knew that he led such a virtuous
life.
Respected readers, if a king, who has an entire kingdom to control,
can lead such a pious and virtuous life, then can’t we, with far less
responsibilities than a king, also do the same?
Hadrat Abu Umamah
t
narrated: “I heard Allah’s messenger
e
during the sermon of the farewell pilgrimage saying: “Be mindful of
your duty to Allah, offer your five daily salaat, observe fasting
during the month of Ramadhan, pay the zakaat on your properties and
obey your leaders, (if you do so) you will enter your Lord’s Paradise.
(Tirmidhi Shareef)
This worldly life is very short. Each person’s life is an average of
60 to 70 years. When is it that mankind will awaken from their slumber
and become those that have taqwa and those that realise their purpose
for creation? Wealth and properties of this world are like fresh
fruit, which are sweet and attractive for all. Once you’ve eaten the
fruit, its flavor and sweetness is forgotten and gone. It only lasts a
short while. Similarly, the attractiveness and value of this world is
very little and very short. It is about time that we open our eyes and
become the men of Allah and fulfill our purpose of life, i.e. to
recognize who our Allah is and to please Him in every action by doing
those actions which will gain His pleasure, (salat, saum, carrying out
the sunnah and abstinence from sin). By us recognizing Allah and doing
good actions, we will automatically gain taqwa and we will lead a
pious and virtuous life.
May Allah
Y
accept all our good actions and inspire us to lead a life of taqwa and
piety. Āmīn.
C
(Excerpt from Story Time part 4, p.72,73)
Hafez Husain Ismailjee |