Raqim?

Raqeem

The Qur’an says “the People of the Cave and the raqeem” (18:9), and there has been great controversy among the Quranic commentators on what the word raqeem means. Most said it refers to a book or inscription on which their story was written down after their death and placed in the cave, but it is all guessing. However, it seems that the area where the Cave exists is called Raqeem, and if this name was really there since before the revelation of the Qur’an, then the mystery is solved! Raqeem is the name of the area of the cave! This possibility is mentioned in the famous commentary of shaykh as-Sawi who said that it is said that it is either the valley, mountain, or town in which the cave is found.

http://riyada.hadithuna.com/cave-of-the-sleepers/


"The name of Petra itself is Greek for 'rock'. Judging from their own inscriptions, the Nabateans themselves called their capital Reqem, meaning 'of varied colours' - apparently in reference to the varied colours and shades of the sandstone cliffs which formed the narrow confines of the city."

- Salibi, Kamal. The Modern History of Jordan.





Perhaps they were inhabitants of Petra and escaped from it? Maybe the Raqeem is Reqem. Petra.

Coming of the Mahdi

It is said by shaykh ash-Sharqawi in his commentary on the wird of al-Bakri:

"When he is given his first bay'a, his age will be 25 years, and it was said: no, he will be more than 700 years old."

Shaykh Sha'rani said:

"The Mahdi is from the descendants of imam al-Hasan al-Askari, and he was born in mid-Sha'ban, 1255, and he will stay until he meets Isa ibn Maryam, alayhi assalam. This is what shaykh Hasan al-Iraqi...told me, and sayyidi Ali al-Khawwas agreed with it."

al-Sha'rani also said in Bahjat an-Nufoos wal-Asmaa':

"Sayyidi Hasan al-Iraqi told me that he met imam al-Mahdi in the Umayyad Mosque, and he taught him his dhikr, and commanded him to fast every other day, and to pray 500 rak'ats every night as long as he lived, and to travel in the lands.

He said: So I left to [sic! probably, "from" instead of "to"] Sham as a traveler, and traveled 57 years until I reached the dam of Dhul-Qarnayn and held the lock in my hands until it went away.

And the Mahdi said to me: My age now is 137 years."

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If it's true that he was born in 1255, and Allah knows best, and we take the estimation of 700+ years when he emerges and receives the bay'a, then that means..

1255 + 700 = around 1955 Hijri.

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Imam Ahmed Reda Khan al-Barlawi said:

"Through a certain type of knowledge, I feel that there is a possibility that in 1837 A.H. there will be no Islamic government left, and in 1900 A.H. Imam Mahdi (radi Allahu anhu) will appear.

He was asked if he knew this by the science of Jafr, and he said:

"Yes. Eat the mangoes, do not count the trees."

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Thus there is an agreement on 20th Hijri century, which is 470 lunar years from now.

470 * 354.37 (length of lunar year) = 166553.9
166553.9 / 365.2425 (length of solar year) = In 456 solar years from now.

2009 + 456 =

The emergence of the Mahdi, if all of this is true, is around 2465 A.D.


If you look at all the hadiths on the signs of the Last Day, and the coming of the Mahdi, you will see that there is still a long time for it. This sounds about right.

As for Mahdi's living long, it is reported in the hadiths that the Dajjal is already alive and has been alive since the time of the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa aalihi wa sallam.

And the Qur'an and Sunna speak of many people who lived hundreds of years, such as Prophets, and companions of Prophets (the Sahaba met a companion of Prophet Isa in the conquests, and there are reportedly Sahaba of our Prophet who lived for hundreds of years (one reportedly lived to 700 years).

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Of course, no one has true knowledge of any of this. This is just an interesting agreement on a certain date that I found, which seems to go well with the hadiths about the coming of the Mahdi. Most of the signs still need a lot of time to happen, (Islam spreading to every house on the planet, the Qur'an being almost completely abandoned, and many many other things).


Just random notes for myself.

And Allah knows best!

Three things...

قال العجلوني في كشف الخفا 1/407 :
(( .. تنبيه قال في المواهب (1) وههنا لطيفة روي أنه عليه الصلاة والسلام لما قال حبب إلي من دنياكم النساء والطيب وجعلت قرة عيني في الصلاة قال أبو بكر وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنياالنظر إلى وجهك وجمع المال للإنفاق عليك والتوسل بقرابتك اليك والنهي عن المنكر والقيام بأمر الله وقال عثمان وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إشباع الجائع وإرواء الظمآن وكسوة العاري وقال علي رضي الله عنه وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنيا الصوم في الصيف وإقراء الضيف والضرب بين يديك بالسيف قال الطبري (2) خرجه الجندي (3) والعهدة عليه انتهى .
ونقل الشبراملسي في حاشيته على المواهب عن الذريعة لابن العماد أنه قال فيها وعن الشيخ أبي محمد النيسابوري أن أبا بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه لما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ذلك قال وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث القعود بين يديك والصلاة عليك وانفاق مالي لديك فقال عمر رضي الله عنه وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر وإقامة حدود الله فقال عثمان رضي الله عنه وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إطعام الطعام وإفشاء السلام والصلاة بالليل والنيام نيام فقال علي رضي الله عنه وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث الضرب بالسيف والصوم بالصيف وقرى الضيف فنزل جبريل عليه السلام وقال أنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث النزول على النبيين وتبليغ الرسالة للمرسلين والحمد لله رب العالمين أي الثناء عليه ثم عرج ثم رجع فقال يقول الله تعالى وهو حبب اليه من عباده ثلاث لسان ذاكر وقلب شاكر وجسم على بلائه صابر وفي بعضها مخالفة لما في المواهب انتهى .
وفي المجالس للخفاجي بعض مخالفة وزيادة وعبارته قيل انه صلى الله عليه وسلم لما ذكر هذا الحديث قال أبو بكر وأنا يا رسول الله حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث النظر اليك وانفاق مالي عليك والجهاد بين يديك وقال عمر وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث الأمر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر وإقامة حدود الله وقال عثمان وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إطعام الطعام وإفشاء السلام والصلاة بالليل والناس نيام وقال علي بن أبي طالب وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إكرام الضيف والصوم في الصيف والضرب بالسيف فنزل جبريل عليه السلام وقال وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث إغاثة المضطرين وإرشاد المضلين والمؤانسة بكلام رب العالمين ونزل ميكائل فقال وأنا حبب إلي من الدنيا ثلاث شاب تائب وقلب خاشع وعين باكية انتهت .
وفي كلام بعضهم أن أبا حنيفة لما وقف على ذلك قال وأنا حبب إلي من دنياكم ثلاث ترك الترفع والتعالي وقلب من حبين خالي والتهجد بالعلم في طول الليالي وان مالكا لما وقف عليه أيضا قال وأنا حبب إلي من دنياكم ثلاث مجاورة تربة سيد المرسلين وإحياء علوم الدين والاقتداء بالخلفاء الراشدين وأن الشافعي رضي الله عنه لما وقف عليه أيضا قال وأنا حبب غلي من دنياكم ثلاث ترك التكلف وعشرة الخلق بالتلطف والاقتداء بطريق أهل التصوف وأن أحمد لما وقف عليه قال وأنا حبب إلي من دنياكم ثلاث عطاء من غير منة ونفس مطمئنة والاتباع للسنة )) أهـ
___________
(1) المواهب اللدنية بالمنح المحمدية 2/180
(2) هو المحب الطبري وأورد ذلك في الرياض النضرة في مناقب العشرة 1/265
(2) كذا في المطبوع والصواب الخجندي (بفتحتين)

Ayn al-Qudaat

لأن العشق يا عزيزي دين المريد، وجمال المعشوق مذهبه... فمن عشق الله اصبح دينه لقاء جمال الله


عشق الله هو رأس مال الطالب السالك ولقد قال شيخنا: لا شيخ ابلغ من العشق


وحينما سألت الشيخ: ما الدليل على الله؟ قال دليله هو الله. ان في هذه الكلمة بيانا بليغا: يعني أن الشمس لا ترى بالقنديل بل اننا نعرف الشمس بالشمس. وهذا هو معنى عرفت ربي بربي.

أما أنا فأقول: العشق دليل السالك الى معرفة الله، وكل من اتخذ شيخا غير العشق فلا يعد سالكا اذ لا يتوصل العاشق إلى المعشوق الا بالعشق، وإنه ليرى المعشوق على قدر عشقه وكلما كان العشق اكمل زاد في نظر العاشق جمال المعشوق



- عين القضاة الهمذاني، التمهيدات

The Lookout Point of the Heart

Al-Tabari relates with his isnad to Ibn Mas'ud (radi Allahu anh),

The Messenger of God said, "The Qur'an was sent down on seven ahruf. Each harf has a back (zahr), and a belly (batn). Each harf has a border (hadd) and each border has a lookout point (muttala').


Sahl al-Tustari "understands the muttala' as a vantage point of the heart, an overview from which one can understand what God meant by certain verses of the Qur'an while still in his life.

Every verse of the Qur'an has four kinds of meanings: an exoteric sense (zahir), an inner sense (batin), a limit (hadd), and a lookout point (muttala'). The exoteric sense is the recitation, the inner sense is understanding (fahm), the limit is what [the verse] permits and prohibits, and the lookout point is the elevated places of the heart [beholding] what was intended by it as understood from God Almighty.

(p. 8-9)


Najm al-Din al-Nisaburi says:

The Muttala' is "the point of ascent (mas'ad), a place to which one arrives where one understands [a thing] as it is (yafhamu kamaa huwa).

(p. 11)

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam

Seeking al-Khadir's Knowledge

Then they found one from among Our servants whom We had granted mercy from Us and whom We had taught knowledge from Ourselves. (18:65)

Imam al-Tabari relates with his isnad to Ibn Abbas:

حدثنا ابن حميد، قال: ثنا يعقوب، عن هارون بن عنترة، عن أبـيه، عن ابن عبـاس، قال: سأل موسى ربه وقال: ربّ أيّ عبـادك أحبّ إلـيك؟ قال: الذي يذكرنـي ولا ينسانـي قال: فأيّ عبـادك أقضى؟ قال: الذي يقضي بـالـحقّ ولا يتبع الهوى قال: أي ربّ أيّ عبـادك أعلـم؟ قال: الذي يبتغي علـم الناس إلـى علـم نفسه، عسى أن يصيب كلـمة تهديه إلـى هُدَى، أو تردّه عن رَدَى قال: ربّ فهل فـي الأرض أحدٌ؟ قال: نعم قال: ربّ، فمن هو؟ قال: الـخضر قال: وأين أطلبه؟ قال: علـى الساحل عند الصخرة التـي ينفلت عندها الـحوت

http://www.altafsir.net/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=64&tDisplay=yes&Page=2&Size=1&LanguageId=1


Musa asked his Lord: "Lord, which of your servants is most beloved to you?" He said, "The one who remembers Me and does not forget Me." Musa said: And which of your servants is most judicious?" He said, "The one who judges by the truth and does not follow his own inclination (hawaa)."

Musa said: "O Lord, which of your servants is the most knowledgeable?" He said: "The one to whose knowledge the knowledge of the people aspire, that perhaps they might receive a word that would lead them to guidance or save them from ruin."

Musa said: "Lord, is there such a one on earth?" He said: "Yes." Musa said, "Lord, who is he?" He said: "Al-Khadir." Musa said: "Where shall I look for him?" He said, "Upon the shore by the rock where the fish will slip away."


Translated by
Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 81

Polishing the Heart

Rashid al-Din al-Maybudi says:

Polishing the heart consists of three things:

- replacing the danger of security with fear

[What! do they then feel secure from Allah's plan? But none feels secure from Allah's plan except the people who shall perish. (7:99) ]

- replacing the misfortune of despair with the blessing of hope

- replacing the tribulation of distraction in the heart with thanksgiving of the heart


The substance of this polishing consists of:

- Pursuing knowledge

- Eating Halal

- Persistence in litany (wird)


The fruit of this polishing is:

- an innermost heart (sirr) which has become adorned with knowledge from the Lord

- a soul set ablaze by the sun of eternity

- God-given knowledge (ilm ladunni) found without intermediary.




Taken, with editing, from:

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 90-91

If you find a seeker

It is said that the prophet Dawood alayhi assalam was inspired: "If you see someone seeking Me, be a servant to him."

On the Qur'anic words

"He made Zakariyya her guardian" (3:37) Ruzbihan says: "only a wali can serve a wali".


From

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 101

The Healing Hand of the Broken Hearted

When sayyida Maryam alayha assalam gave birth, a voice told her to shake the trunk of the palmtree behind her, and it was a dry tree without fruit.

It said: "Shake the trunk of the palmtree towards you and fresh dates will fall down to you." (19:25)


al-Maybudi says in his tafsir, that it was as if God was showing her that:

"We Wanted the blessings of your hand to reach the tree so that it would bear fruit. Then the people of the world would understand that whoever is sad and grieved for Us, their hand is a remedy for pains."


Quote taken from:

Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Qur'an in Classical Islam, p. 105

The weakness in drunkenness

"Commenting on verses of al-Hallaj that would seem to describe union with the divine, Ruzbihan writes that this is a fancy (wahm) born of human weakness as it contemplates God, and he notes that 'the intoxicated speak in this way frequently, even though they know that the essence of divinity is unattainable by the created' ".

- Kristin Zahra Sands, Sufi Commentaries on the Quran in Classical Islam, p. 109

Ilayka wa Illa

إليك وإلاّ لا تشدّ الركائب ** وعنك وإلاّ فالمحدّث كاذب
وفيك وإلاّ فالغرام مضيّع ** ومنك وإلاّ فالمؤمّل خائب

- Imam al-Qastalani, in al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya

White Hairs

Shaykh Saleh al-Jaafari says in a poem:

بالله يا ابن الأكرمين تكرّما * العمر ولّى والزمان قد انقضى
والشيب لاح بعارضي سبحان من * قَلَبَ السّواد فليت قلبي أبيضا