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the journey of the seeker,The student of knowledge.(part1)



Bismillah Ir-Rahman, Ir-Raheem. I begin with ALLAH's auspiciousness,whose Name is the Best among all the names. All Revences, All Sanctities and All Worships are due to ALLAH alone. Ashahadu An Laa illaaha illal llahu Wa Ash Hadu Anna Muhammadan Abdu Hu Wa Rasooluhu ''I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah who is without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) is the Rasool.'' "O Allah, Shower Your Peace come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have brought peace to Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious. O Allah, Shower your blessing upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as you have blessed Ibrahim and his family. Truly, You are Praiseworthy and Glorious". Iam Satisfied with Allâh as My Rabb and Cherisher,Iam Satisfied With Islam as My Din(religion) and I am satisfied with Muhammad as a Rasulallah (Messenger)sallallahu alaihi was salam) I seek Protection with ALLAH! With the Glorious and Noble Face of ALLAH! With the Complete and Perfect words of ALLAH! With the Exalted Attributes of ALLAH! From the Punishment of Hell; From chastisement in the Grave; From the Trial of Life and Death; From the Mischief of the dajjal. There is no power nor strength with (anyone) save Allah. ALLAH is Good and Only accept that which is Good. ALLAH is the Truth and only accept that which True. ALLAH is Pure and only accept that which is Pure. Ya ALLAH! ALL the praises are for You,You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are are the Substaner of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for you;You have the Possession of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All the praises are for You; You are Light (Nur) of the Heavens and Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. Ya ALLAH! All praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the Truth, And Your word is the Truth and the Meeting with You is true, And Parardise is True And Hell is true and All the Prophets(peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad Rasulallah(sallallahu alayhi wa salam) is true,And the Day of Resurrection is True. Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your promise is the truth,Ya ALLAH! You have promise and Your words is the truth, Ya ALLAH! You have promise and You are the Truth!. ------------------------------------------------------- This is just a brief overview of the importance placed by Islam on seeking and acquiring knowledge and the importance of etiquette and Manner. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said: “One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by ALLAH…” Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said: "If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, ALLAH will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge. The inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and (even) the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of Anbiyaa(the Prophets) and Anbiyaa(the Prophets) leave (no monetary inheritance), they leave only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.

It is said that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said “seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” And it is said that Umar said "A believer always seeks wisdom and he must claim it wherever he finds it. The early Muslims embarked upon the pursuit of knowledge and learning, the blessings emanating from which were to inspire a great civilisation in which Muslims and non-Muslims alike lived creative and useful lives and which, by its achievements, enriched the whole world. Islam developed from among an unlettered people far removed from the crossroads of civilisation and human thought to become the standard-bearer of enlightenment in the then known world. The journey of seekers! The One who travels on this journey is a seeker and he is moves by knowledge and faith through an ocean of knowledge that increases his faith as he travels. when the heart is awakened by the power of faith, and then one travels through a sea of awareness, realization and understanding. His knowledge is reflected back to him by everything he travels through. then his heart realizes the gift of light,(the Nur) that is within it,and the immensity of gifts of Allah upon him,The believer's heart glances at the gifts and bounties of Allah and is overwhelmed by his own sense of inability to even count them, let alone thank Allah for them all. As he is Moving onward in his journey, the knowledge he is seeking transforms into al-itqan, the illuminated wisdom. And as his heart is sharpened by these two realisations and the knowledge derived from this insight make it incumbent upon him to notice more and more the innumerable inner and outer, open and hidden gifts of Allah and recognise his own shortcoming in thanking the Giver adequately. (On this journey, one can cross every sea and reach the opposite shore. But in truth, there is but one destination for the voyager on this journey and that is toward ALLAH , that is because just as the shore is light, also the ocean becomes the light of knowledge, and the ship becomes, a ship of the light of guidance and the traveler himself becomes enlightened and inspired. As the seeker travel through all of the stages of this voyage and we begin in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. At this point the believer, the seeker realizes that In the Grand scheme of things, Indeed, the Earth itself is tiny compared to a galaxy in the scheme of things, for example, in that it's a small piece of rock hurtling in the solar system, which itself is in fact a tiny system in comparison to other systems in the galaxy among innumerous other galaxies in the whole universe... this Earth is as insignificant, as a grain of sand on a desert ,or on a beach or a drop of water from the ocean, humans are on that tiny rock ,in that tiny solar system in a Gigantic Galaxy, among gigantic galaxies, when looking through a telescope into the vastness of space, Men are able to see how insignificant the Earth is and how insignificant he is on the earth, in the vast scheme of things, and If a muslim prays to Allah and seeks His help, his affliction will be al­leviated. If he does not seek the help of Allah, he will become insignificant, he will be left suffering. Thus Allah says, "Say (O Prophet), had it not been for your prayers unto Him, my Rabb would care not for you." (25:77) taking one individual who's praying to ALLAH that one who created the Universe and its vastness, how insignificant the world is, and how insignificant he is standing before ALLAH, The ALL- Powerful Rabb!, The Originator, The Planner, The Fashioner, The Designer, The Maker, The Architect of The Heavens and the Earths, his prayer make him significant, So how can the human heart have anything other than a profound love, respect and great humility before ALLAH. Will such a Rabb who is the Owner of Might, Glory and Honor, who is over the entire creation, who is far beyond anything that we can comprehend. Will He accept us being such insignificant creatures? who are full of weakness and shortcomings.

As he travel on the believer,the traveler,also realizes that if Allah were to punish all the dwellers of Heavens and the Earth, He would not be in the wrong. And If on the other hand, He were to exonerate and reward them all, his reward and mercy would far exceed their deeds. The believer, therefore, realises that he must be ever mindful of Allah's bounties and his own shortcomings. Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said, “Any person of whom Allah wishes to make good (al-khair), He will make him knowledgeable in the Din (religion). Allah is the Giver, while He, Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam)is the distributor of the knowledge (al-qasim).”This Ummah shall be governed by the order of Allah. The Ummah of believers who are the Ummah of Allah (al-Umma) will not be harmed by any people who act with disrespect or disregard unless the order of Allah commands it. Allah teaches whomever He wishes. He makes whomever He wants to understand and to become knowledgeable in the order, the judgment, the laws (Shariah) of the Din (religion), and the teachings of the Holy Qur’an. The person or people to whom Allah has taught the word of al-Qur’an and judgment, encompasses the good of this world and the next. Allah leads to the light whom He wills. Whomever Allah wishes to lift out of the turbulent water of this dark ignorance world, He (ALLAH) grants that person or those people guidance. The seeker, the traveler inevitable realizes his sins and failings, and feels that he is in serious danger on account of them. He remembers Almighty Allah's censure for those who forget the verses of Allah after they have been reminded of them: "And who is more wrongful than one who is reminded of the verses of Allah, yet he evades them, and forgets what is awaiting him." [Al-Qur'an 18:57 (al-mu`minin). Since true Islamic knowledge is the light of the heart, the secret of its life, and the source of its power, it is a must for its seeker to come to know the manners related to it, and to strive his utmost to obtain these manners. Otherwise, he will be going in one direction, and knowledge will be going in another, as it is said: It went east, and I went west * What a difference there is between the east and west! One should also realize that these islamic manners are not like any other manners, where it is the same whether you obtain them or not, or that they are all of one level. Rather, some of them are obligatory upon every muslim everywhere, whether or not they are students of knowledge, seekers. The purpose of attaining knowledge of the Shari’ah is to perfect one’s clarity of expression, and the purpose of perfecting one’s clarity of expression is to single out Allah and to worship Him. Therefore, the purpose of seeking knowledge is to single out Allah – the Mighty and the Majestic – and to worship Him, and the message gets across much better when the one who has positioned himself to deal with this knowledge – whether he is a student or teacher –clearly shows these signs of singling out Allah and worshipping Him by submitting completely to the pure Shari’ah and noble Religion. Based on this, the manners of seeking this knowledge are completely inseparable from the person who deals with it, because this is what the texts show, and because these manners include vast principles of the Din(Religion) that are not within anybody’s luxury to contradict or look to without taking seriously. And these manners are at all times a definite obligation upon the seeker of knowledge, and Allah is the source of help, and upon Him is all reliance. What follows is a collection of the manners that the seeker of knowledge must abide by: {Purify Your Intention for Allah in Seeking Knowledge}. Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “Know that intention (niyyah), will (iradah), and goal (qasd) are various terms that all mean the same thing, and it is a description of the state of the heart when it is a source for two things: knowledge and action. Knowledge comes first - as it is the foundation and condition - and action follows it, since it is the fruit that branches from knowledge. This is because every action – that is, every intentional movement and motion – does not occur without three things: knowledge, will, and ability. Nobody does something without knowing of it. So, he must have knowledge. Likewise, nobody does something without having the will to do it. So, one must have the will to do something, and the meaning of will (iradah) is that the heart reaches out to what it sees as being in accordance with what it seeks. The human was created such that he sometimes does that which is in accordance with what his heart seeks, and sometimes does that which conflicts with what his heart seeks. In such a case, he needs to draw near to that which is good for him, and to drive away what will harm him. This requires that he know and understand what will benefit and harm him, such that he can bring this close and avoid that, since whoever does not see or know what food is cannot reach over and pull it towards him, and whoever does not see fire cannot escape from it. So, Allah has Created guidance and knowledge, and has provided certain means of attaining them, and these are the external and internal senses. So, intention is essentially the will and the act of reaching out to and leaning towards what one seeks, whether this occurs retrospectively or at the time of seeing what is sought after. Therefore, the first step in one being pushed to do something is that he has a goal which motivates him to act, and the goal is the target of one’s intention. One is pushed to go out and do something when he has a goal and intention, and directs his power and ability towards his goal by way of physical movement, and this is known as action.” Because of this, it is established in the Din(Religion) that Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – does not accept actions except those that are done purely seeking His Face,seeking His pleasure,and Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) indicated the significance of the intention and the obligation of purifying it from what can corrupt one’s goal and nullify his action. ‘Alqamah bin Waqqas al-Laythi (may Allah be Pleased with him) said: “I heard ‘Umar bin al- Khattab (may Allah be Pleased with him) on the pulpit, saying: “I heard Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) say: “Indeed, actions are by intentions, and for every person is what he intended. So, whoever migrated to Allah and His Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahiwa salam), his migration is to Allah and His Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahiwa salam). And whoever migrated to obtain a portion of the world or to marry a woman, his migration is to what he migrated for. an-Nawawi (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “The Muslims are unanimous in regards to the significance of this hadith, the numerous benefits contained within it, and its authenticity. ash-Shafi’i and others said: “It constitutes one quarter of Islam.” ‘Abd ar-Rahman bin Mahdi and others said: “It is a must for whoever writes a book to begin it with this hadith in order to remind the student of knowledge to renew his intention.” And al-Khattabi reported this from the scholars in general, and al- Bukhari and others applied this. They started with it before anything else, and al-Bukhari included it in seven places in his book. And the majority of scholars, linguists, and jurists said that the word ‘indeed’ is indicative of totality – it confirms what is mentioned, and denies everything else – rendering the meaning of the hadith to be that actions are considered based on the intentions behind them, and are not considered at all if there is no intention behind them. {Purify Yourself Inwardly and Outwardly From That Which Contradicts the Shari’ah} It is upon the student of knowledge to purify himself outwardly by steering clear of innovations, beautifying himself with the sunan (sunnah) of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) in all aspects of his life, preserving his wudu’, and keeping his body and appearance clean – all within reasonable means, and as much as he is able. Ibn Abi Hatim reported that ‘Abd al-Malik al-Maymuni said: “I do not know that I have ever seen anyone who wore cleaner clothes, was more attentive to trimming his moustache and grooming the hair on his head and body, or wore purer and whiter garments than Ahmad bin Hambal.” And this was because every single movement of Ahmad (may Allah have Mercy on him) was in accordance with the Sunnah, as he said: “I never wrote a single hadith except that I acted upon it, to the point that I came across a report that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) got cupped and gave Abu Taybah (his cupper) a dinar. So, I got cupped and gave the cupper a dinar.” One shouldn’t misunderstand the encouragement to have clean clothes and be excessive and obsessive in regards to his clothing. Rather, one should be slightly less than this, considering that it is reported that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said: “Badhadhah is from faith.” Ibn al-Athir said: “Badhadhah is to have a plain, ascetic appearance…and he (sallallahu alayahi wa salam) meant that one should be humble in his clothing, avoiding vanity.” And al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (may Allah have Mercy on him) reported that Abu ‘Abdillah al-Bushinji said: “As for the badhadhah that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said is from faith, it is the plainness one displays in dress and garment, and this is humility from owning flashy, expensive clothing and garments. This is how the people of zuhd dress in this world.” al-Khatib (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “The student of knowledge must set aside amusement, useless talk, and low speech when meeting and gathering with others, such as immaturity, laughter, giggling, and excessive joking. It is allowed for him to laugh mildly and rarely in a way that does not exceed the limits of the manner and style of one who is dealing with knowledge. As for constantly doing this, speaking about inappropriate, immature, and childish matters, excessive laughter and joking – this all reduces one’s esteem and manhood. Malik (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “It is upon the student of knowledge to manifest calmness, humility, and tranquility, and to follow in the footsteps of those who came before him.” { Completely {Free Your Heart for Knowledge and Remove All Obstacles} Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “Getting what you want depends on cutting off habits and attachment to anything else. Habits are when one leans towards what is more relaxing, such as the systems and traditions that people are accustomed to and place at the same level as the Shari’ah. In fact, they might even treat these habits with greater reverence than the Shari’ah, and reprimand those who do not abide by them - even declaring such a person to be a disbeliever, innovator, or misguided, and boycotting and punishing him for going against these traditions and habits. For the sake of these traditions, they kill off the traditions of Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) , and make their own traditions as partners with him (peace be upon him) – declaring alliance and enmity for them. So, the good in their eyes is what goes along with these traditions, and the bad is what contradicts them. These habits and traditions have taken over various groups of the children of Adam – the kings, the leaders, the jurists, the Sufis, the impoverished, the authority figures, and the general populace. So, the young are taught them at an early age, and the old are raised upon them, and they are treated like sunan. Rather, they are more important in the eyes of those who abide by them than sunan. Whoever is restrained by such habits is imprisoned, cut off, afflicted with great misfortune, and end up abandoning the Qur’an and Sunnah for them. Whoever seeks any type of honor with them is a fool with Allah, and whoever follows them instead of the Qur’an and Sunnah will not be accepted by Allah. These are the greatest barriers and obstacles for the slave on his journey to Allah and His Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) . As for these obstacles, they are the many types of outer and inner contradictions to the Shari’ah that injure the heart upon its journey to Allah and render it immobile, and they cut it off on its path. They are three things: shirk, innovation, and sin. So, the obstacle of shirk is overcome by grasping onto Tawhid, and the obstacle of innovation is overcome by implementing the Sunnah, and the obstacle of sin is overcome by true repentance. These obstacles do not become evident to the slave until he actually begins his journey to Allah and the Hereafter. Only then are these obstacles noticed, and he will notice their handicapping effect in accordance with how intensely and attentively he is traversing this path. Otherwise, he will simply remain still, not feeling their hidden effects. {Eat Little, Be Cautious, and Constantly Remember Allah} Ibn Jama’ah said: “From the best ways to help yourself understand the knowledge you are dealing with and to prevent boredom from it is to eat very little, and from what is halal. ash-Shafi’i said: “For the past sixteen years, I never ate my fill.” The reason for this is that eating excessively leads to excessive drinking and sleeping, dulling of the senses, and laziness of the body. This is all in addition to the fact that doing so is disliked in the Shari’ah, and exposes the body to all types of dangerous disease, as it was said: Indeed, most of the diseases you see * Are from eating and drinking…And none of the famous scholars or awliya’ were ever described as having eaten much, or was ever praised for doing so. Rather, excessive eating is a trait of mindless animals. A person’s intellect is the source of his deeds, and it is too noble to be hampered and wasted by such a despicable thing as excess food. If there were no downside to eating too much other than that it forces one to use the bathroom, this would’ve been enough for the intelligent one to steer clear of such a practice. And whoever attempts to be successful in seeking knowledge while insisting upon excessive eating, drinking, and sleeping is attempting the impossible.”
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “The desire of the stomach is the most destructive of them all, and it is what caused Adam (peace be upon him) to exit Paradise, and from the desire of the stomach comes the desire for sex and wealth. These leads to many problems, all the result of satisfying one’s appetite. ‘Uqbah ar-Rasibi said: “I entered upon al-Hasan while he was eating, and he said: “Come eat with me.” I said: “I have already eaten until I can eat no more.” He said: “Subhan Allah! Does the Muslim eat until he can eat no more?!”” Eating in moderation consists of raising one’s hands from the table while he is still a bit hungry. This strengthens the body and wards off disease, and this is because such a person does not reach for food unless he is hungry for it, and raises his hands back while he is still hungry for it. However, eating too little can also weaken you, and some people were so deficient in what they ate that this caused them to be lax in their obligations. Out of their ignorance, they thought this to be something good while this was not the case, since those who praised and encouraged hunger were referring to moderate hunger that we have described above.” All of this revolves around being cautious in all affairs, and cautiousness (wara’) is from the stations of the journey to Allah, the Exalted, as Ibn al-Qayyim said: “And Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) combined everything related to cautiousness in one phrase: “From the perfection of a man’s Islam is that he leaves that which does not concern him.” So,this includes not talking about, looking at, listening to, touching, walking towards, or thinking about that which doesn’t concern him, as well as involving any other outer or inner movements that are of no concern to one. So, this statement is more than enough to illustrate how to be cautious, and Ibrahim bin Adham said: “Cautiousness is to abandon anything doubtful, and to leave what does not concern you is to leave anything you don’t need. And the essence of cautiousness is to leave what is doubtful, and Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) encouraged this in the narration of an-Nu’man bin Bashir: “The permissible is clear and the forbidden is clear, and between them are doubtful matters. So, whoever leaves what he suspects is sin will be farther from what actually is sin, and whoever is bold enough to fall into what he suspects is sin will fall into what actually is sin. Sins are the boundary that Allah has placed, and whoever hovers around a boundary will cross it.” Abu Musa al-Ash’ari (may Allah be Pleased with him) narrated that Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said: “The likeness of the one who remembers his Rabb and the one who doesn’t is like that of the living and the dead,” and this is al-Bukhari’s version. Muslim’s wording is: “The likeness of the house in which Allah is remembered and that in which He is not remembered is like that of the living and the dead.” ash-Shawkani (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “And this parable shows the lofty beauty and noble virtue of the one who remembers Allah, and it shows the life that is granted to him and his soul as the result of the light he is surrounded with and the reward that he is granted. Likewise, it shows that the one who bandons the remembrance of Allah – even if he is literally alive – is not considered to be alive. Rather, he is likened to the dead, who do not contain any of what the living who are busy obeying Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, contain. And what is in this hadith is also in the verse: “Is he who was dead, and We gave him life…”This means that the disbeliever is likened to the dead, and guidance to Islam is likened to Life.” And al-Bukhari titled one of his chapters ‘Chapter: the Virtue of Remembering Allah.’ In it, he included the aforementioned hadith of Abu Musa, as well as this hadith of Abu Hurayrah in which Rasulallah(sallallahu alayahi wa salam) said: “Allah has Angels who roam the roads, seeking out those who remember Him. So, if they find those who remember Allah, they call out: ‘Come see what you’re looking for!’ and the Angels encircle them with their wings up to the sky. Then, their Lord asks them - though He Knows better than them – ‘What do My slaves say?' The Angels reply: ‘They say: subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, and al-hamdu lil-Lah.’ Allah then Says: ‘Did they see Me?' ’ The Angels reply: ‘No! By Allah, they didn't see You.’ Allah Says: ‘How it would have been if they saw Me?’ The Angels reply: ‘If they saw You, they would worship You more devoutly and praise You more, and declare Your freedom from any resemblance to anything more Often.’ Allah will Say: ‘What do they ask Me for?’ The Angels reply: ‘They ask You for Paradise.’ Allah Says: ‘Did they see it?’ The Angels say: ‘No! By Allah, Ya Rabb! They did not see it.’ Allah Says: ‘How it would have been if they saw it?’ The Angels say: ‘If they saw it, they would have greater desire for it, and would seek it with greater zeal.’ Allah Says: ‘From what do they seek refuge?’ The Angels reply: 'They seek refuge from the Fire.’ Allah Says: ‘Did they see it?’ The Angels say: ‘No, by Allah, Ya Rabb! They did not see it.’ Allah Says: ‘How it would have been if they saw it?’ The Angels say: ‘If they saw it, they would flee from it swiftly, and would have extreme fear of it.’ Then, Allah says: ‘I make you witnesses that I have Forgiven them.’ One of the Angels would then say: ‘There was such and such a person amongst them, and he was not one of them. Rather, he had just come for some need of his.’ Allah would then Say: ‘These are people whose companions will not be saddened.’ al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar (may Allah have Mercy on him) said: “What is meant by remembrance here is that one pronounces the words that are encouraged to be said, and does this constantly, such as saying subhan Allah (glory be to Allah), al-hamdu lil-Lah (praise be to Allah), la ilah illa Allah (there is none worthy of worship except Allah), Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest), la hawla wa la quwwata illa bil-Lah (there is no might nor power except with Allah), bismil-Lah (in the Name of Allah), hasbuna Allah wa ni’m al-Wakil (Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of our affairs), as well as seeking Allah’s Forgiveness, and supplicating for the good of this world and the next. The remembrance of Allah also includes doing that which Allah has obligated or encouraged, such as recitation of the Qur’an, reading Hadith, studying knowledge, praying optional prayers, etc. And dhikr sometimes occurs with the tongue, and the person gets rewarded for it without even having to know the meaning of what he is saying. Rather, he must not mean other than what it means, and if he adds to this pronouncement the presence of his heart, this is better. If he then adds to this the understanding of what this dhikr means - what it contains of the glorification of Allah and denying any shortcomings in Him - this is even better. If he does this during any righteous action – whether it is prayer, Jihad, etc. – it only increases in virtue. If he turns completely towards Allah and is sincere to Him in doing this, this is best and most complete.” In regards to the hadith reported by Muslim: “The likeness of the house in which Allah is remembered and that in which He is not remembered is like that of the living and the dead,” Ibn Hajar said: “What is described as being truly alive or dead is the inhabitant, not the house, and what is intended by describing the house as alive or dead is that its inhabitant is alive or dead. So, he (peace be upon him) likened the person who remembers Allah – who is outwardly beautified with the light of life, and inwardly beautified with the light of knowledge – with one who is alive, and he likened the one who doesn’t remember Allah with the house that is outwardly and inwardly ruined. It was also said that the likeness to the living and dead was because of how the living person can help his allies and harm his enemies, while the dead cannot.”