3 In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful & Compassionate Lord I ‘Tue Beaury oF Tue Ricureous & Ranks oF Tue Eure. praises be to Allah, May He grant success to His servant, In seeking His help, I have compiled this book which contains the names and sayings of special group of people Who ae known for ther faith and piety, who have attained unique spiritual integrity that was recognized by ther contemporaries, nd who are revered to this day by every true seeker on the path of, Goa Almighty, Allah the Loed and Cherisher of the universes, blessed bbe His Name. This book comprises selected narrations of some of the eaely ‘companions of God's messenger &, upon whom be peace, and their status and signs. From the numerous prophetic sayings and those ofthe blessed ‘companions of God's messenger &, I quoted in this book, the reader will acknowledge that itis only by the grace of Allah that such Blessed beings have recognized the signs oftheir Lord, and only through, His guidance that they have forsaken the common to seek the uncommon, and intelligibly they have departed from the ephemeral to pursue the eternal. In fact, these most blessed human beings have renounced the company of the affected, the indolent and the ‘ostentatious ones, and they longed for the company oftheir Lord and His blessings inthe thither lif! to come (Aeb. Ais), ‘Abdullsh bin Mas‘oud narrated that God's messenger & once said to his companions: “What will you do when a calamity will strike at you and people come to adopt innovations, claiming them to be prophetic traditions, — innovations the young will grow to * i. Ae: The cons of ie th word and pricing othe predestined lfetherater The srs the commonly oe ern nes Eng ode "he endo nhs wold andthe begining a's pean sence eee4 ‘The Bosty of The Rightous practice as (though if they were prophetic traditions) sunna, and the elders will die satisfied to have pietistically held unto them, — and should one default im any of them, it will be said that he breached the sunna?” The people inquired: “O messenger of Allah, ‘when will that come to happen?” He replied: “This will take place ‘when your Que’an readers increase in number and your trly learned ‘nes decrease; when the numberof your leaders and princes (umar) increases, andl when your trustworthy ones turn few when worldly {gins are sought via deeds which are supposed to be done for the sake of the hereafter, and shen people solicit to acquire religious knowledge for worldly status and not for God's sakel” ‘Abdullah then added: “This is how you have turned out.” (Cf account 280; pp. 123) Inthis book, the reader will also recognize our plain and lucid approach to this most sensitive subject, and he will recognize the argument of scholars in this regard. Once the essence is understood, then these unique prophetic sayings and traditions of the blessed companions will stand clearly to refute the heretical trends of the Jnnovators, and they will adamantly reject the utter confusion of the incarnationists (hulaliyan) who adhere to the doctrine of the divine “indwelling” in the human being, or the doctrine of the anarchist freethinkers (mubshiyin), among, other types of atheists However thei lies and denials cannot affect the truth, and their vehement attacks against it do not ater its purty, or influence the attainment of the pious ones. To the contrary, they will prove themselves wrong and theie argument hollow, while the truth is lear and its adherents are exalted and pure. Ifthe believers do not ‘expose the trends ofthe innovators who clearly lack true knowledge, ‘and mostly use the weak minded ones for their personal gains, heedessness wil continue tobe the immediate cause of destruction, and the ultimate cause of eternal damnation in hellfire. As for the eligous advocates who argue agains the authenticity of spiritual experiences and its people, they prove nothing, except their lack of trueness or true knowledge, not to mention their weakness and attachment to temporary comforts and satisfaction with worldly ranks. Our predecessors have struggled against the shallowness of thse trying and desiring worldly status and personal Hiya Auiya We Tabagt' ul Agia + ‘gn, and their attempts to frustrate the efforts of the students on this path — their attempts to keep this religion on an intellectual platform only in order to tighten their grip, domincer, and widen thie control over God's creation, As for those who have experienced the divine benevolence, their endowment cannot be measured, and the entice wealth ofthis ‘world cannot weigh even an atom in comparison tothe bliss their Lord showed them. Although from a religious standpoint, our ‘purpose in this work isnot to expose the ill intentions of those who deny such divine gifts, however, it is our duty to disclose thelr schemes in order o distinguish truth from falschood. Infact, by the grace of Allah, our predecessors on this path have published famous studies in this eld, and through thei efforts, God Almighty revived the names and works of several spiritual masters at whose hhands many seekers discovered true spiritual comfor. Furthermore, how ean we permit the unjust attacks against God's deputies and blessed ones when their assailants are warned of «divine wae 4-On this subject, Abu Huraira narated that God's messenger {© said: “God Almighty said: Whosoever harms any of My deputies, 1 shall declare war on him. The striving of My servant to please Me does not receive a reward greater than that of fulfilling what Thave commanded him to do. My servant volunteers in his perseverance, offering supererogatory devotion to please Me and to earn My love, Once [cast My love upon him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with Which he exacts justice, and his foot that carries him. Should My servant then pray for something, Iwill answer is prayers, and should he seek refuge in Me, I will protect him. Indeed, there is nothing TThave decreed, and which [hesitate to do forthe sake ofa believer ‘except causing him to experience death. He dislikes it, and [hate to displease him, but I have thus erdained.” 2-Omar bin al-Khattab once found Mu'ath bin Jabal, God be pleased with both of them, siting and crying nea the grave of God's messenger a. He asked him: “Why are you crying?” Mu'ath replied “have remembered something God's messenger & said: “Thea ‘The Henuty of The Rightous lightest ostentatiousness is polythelam, and whosoever harms any ‘of God's deputies has surely earned God's wrath.” God's deputies have clear signs and known virtues. The righteous and wise people wil seek their company, and their stations are enviable even by the martyrs and the prophets, ‘3+ Omar bin al-Khattsb, God be pleased with him, narrated that God's messenger && said: "Some of Allah's blessed servants, are nether prophets nor martyrs; they are special people who on the Day of Reckoning, the prophets and the martyrs will envy them for their ranks and nearness to their Lord.” Someone asked: “O ‘messenger of Allah, who are they, and what type of deeds do they perform, so that we may love them as well?” God's messenger & ‘plied: “They are people who love one another in Allah even though they have no consanguineous tes, money ta exchange, or worldly business to barter with swear by God, that onthe Day of Reckoning, thei faces will be like effulgent lights, and they will be raised on ppulpits of light. They will not be subject to fear when the creation is seized by the awesomeness of the Day of Resurrection, nor will they be subject to sorrow when the rest ofthe cretion wil be seized by it” He then recited: «Surely, God's deputies are not subject to fear nor shall they grieved (Qur‘an 10:62) Among ther signs is that the sckers of thir circles will inherit ‘he delight of God's blessings and be encompassed with His bounty 44 Asma bint Zaid narrated that God's messenger 4 sai “Shall | tll you about your most exalted ones?” The companions replied: “Indeed.” He then said: “Such are the ones that when one sees them, one remembers God Almighty.” Such blessed beings are also protected agains trials and are shielded from suffering during tribulations ‘& “Abdullah bin Omar, God be pleased with him, reported that God's messenger & said: “God Almighty has created a flock He nurtures with His mercy. He grants them a life of purity fom, His own, and when they return to thei Lord, He permits them into His paradise. Such blessed ones are among those who endure stupendous adversities and issue in safety.” Hiya Aciya We Taga al Asin Also among their signs is poverty in this world and searity ‘oftheir food and clothing though their shares reach them without much effort on thei part 6- Abu Huraira, Goa be pleased with him, reported that God's messenger & said: “Perhaps there is amongst you a disheveled person wearing a couple of rags; when people see him they turn their faces the other way. and yet, should he cll upon God Almighty, He will answer his prayer” Indeed, it is by their eritude that mountains ate rentasunder, and the seas parted. 7- On this subject, Abu Huraira, God be pleased with him, suid *T witnessed three magnificent signs in AI ali bin al-Hadheam, teach one of them is greater and more confounding than the other We once drove in a campaign until we reached the two Krabian seas (in the North-East) AI ala commanded us to charge through, ashe took the lead in driving his own horse across the water, and we followed him. The water came up to our horses’ knees, When Tn Muka'bar,Kista’s army commander, saw that, he screamed in shock: ‘Nay, by God, I will not face such a people,’ and he {immediately mounted his ship and ordered his oldies to sal back to Persia.” {Sahm bin Minjb reported a silar miraculous event, saying: “Weonce drove under the command of Arals bin al-Hadhrami, When we reached the vicinity of the town of Dirén in Persia, there was 4 sea separating us from our enemy. AV'ai bin al-Hadhrami then prayed: ‘0 Omniscient Lord! We cll upon Thee, O Most Forbearing, Most-alted, and Magnificent Lord. We ate Thy servants, and we hhave mounted this campaign for Thy sake. Lord! Grant us access to Thy enemy.’ “ Sahm bin Minjab added: Immediately and miraculously the sea parted before our very eyes and its waters became shallow as we drove through it to win victory over the enemy,” — by God's leave, 8+ "Abdullah bau “Ams narrated that God's messenger && desribed God's deputies, saying: "Every century unveils forerunners midst my followers," and indeed, they are the forerunners i faith, certitude and determination. The rain falls and the barren land becomes fertile by the sincerity and trueness oftheir prayers,