Hadith 19. Care of Allah Part A

On the authority of Abi al-Abbas Abdillah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) who said: “One day I was riding (In the narration found in the musnad of Ahmad, it makes clear that he was riding behind the Prophet [peace be upon him] on the same animal) behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said to me, “O young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]. Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah. If you seek help, seek help from Allah. Know that if the nation were to gather to benefit you with something, they would not be able to benefit you except with what Allah has already recorded for you. If they were to gather to harm you with something, they would not be able to harm you except with what Allah has already recorded against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried”.

Recorded by at-Tirmidhi who said: “It is a hasan sahih hadith”.

In a narration other than that of at-Tirmidhee, it states:

“Be mindful of Allah, you will find him in front of you. Know Allah during times of prosperity, He will know you in times of adversity. Know that what has passed you by was never to befall you. And [know that] what has befallen you was never to have passed you by. And know that victory accompanies perseverance, relief accompanies affliction and ease accompanies hardship”

Brief Commentary:

• Ibn Rajab who wrote a very famous commentary on the 40 hadith had also written a separate treatise on this hadith alone, which is over 100 pages
• Ibn al-Jawzi said “I contemplated over this hadith and it amazed me and made me nearly collapse. How sorry I feel for the ignorance of this hadith, and the minimal understanding of its meanings (by many)”
• In this hadith, the prophet (peace be upon him) taught a young boy, ibn Abbas, many important things e.g. victory, patience, etc. This shows that we too need to teach our youngsters these things and not say they are too young for this
• The literal translation of “احفظ الله” (translated as “Be mindful of Allah”) is “Preserve Allah”, but in this context it means preserving the boundaries of Allah, hence has been translated as such
• Being mindful of Allah/Preserving the boundaries of Allah means to leave anything that Allah has prohibited and to fulfil everything He has commanded
• The prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever preserves what is between his beard (mouth), and between his thighs (private part) will enter Jannah” (Reported in Bukhari). Again, in this context it means to preserve them from falling into sin, and is an implementation of “Be mindful of Allah” in this hadith
• Ibn Rajab said there are two ways “Allah will protect you”:
  • General way: Protects your wealth, health, etc
  • Special way: Protects your iman, diverts you away from sins, etc
• Abu Tibb Al-Tabari said to his students when questioned by them why his body is still strong at a very old age, “These are our limbs, we protected them from sins in our youth, so Allah protected them for us in our old age”
• Allah will also protect our families, as He mentioned in the story of Musa and al-khidr in Surah al-kahf that the reason why He protected the wealth of the two orphans is that {And their father was righteous} [Al-Kahf: 82]
• The opposite also applies. Scholars said they could see the effects of their sins on their families  e.g. in disobedience, etc
• When placed in a test, we shouldn’t look at the test, but look at who placed us in this test, and be mindful of Him, and then we will find peace and tranquility

Benefits and Action points to take from this part of the hadith:

• Teach our youngsters important aspects of life and Islam, and not say they are too young for this
• Preserve the boundaries of Allah by staying away from everything that He prohibited, and fulfilling everything He commanded so that you gain the protection of Allah which includes and is not limited to:
  • Protecting your wealth
  • Preserving your health
  • Preserving your Iman
  • Diverting you away from sins, and towards doing more good
  • Preserving your body and limbs at an old age
  • Preserving your mind at an old age. Have you ever seen a true scholar lose their memory or their mind at an old age or are they constantly giving lectures and teaching the people up until their deathbed? (SubhanAllah)
  • Protecting your family and children when you are away and after your death
  • Helping you and finding a way out for you when you are in a calamity, and grants you constant peace and tranquillity