What is Qalb? part-12: Suhbat of Ahlullah

Suhabat (Company) of Ahl-e-Dil as a Cause of Revivification of Qalb
(Whole hearts are the receiving stations of the Divine Light)

Allah Ta’ala says in Qur’ân:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ

"O Believers! remain with the truthful”. (9:119)

The Qalb also needs watering as the land needs rain. The water of Qalb are the words of pious people and company of  the Ulema. How is it possible that one’s dead and dry heart will get revived in the company of such people? Remember that the Nafs and the Shaitân are two things which cause opacity of Qalb by way of sins. The Shaitân’s origin is fire. So, a person has two kinds of fires with him, one is the fire of his baser self (Nafs) and other is the fire of Satan (Shaitân), the smoke of these fires is blackening his Qalb all the time. When a person sits in the company of the pious Muttaqi people who have got their hearts purified and enlightened by the Noor of Allah Ta’ala the Tajalliyaat of Allah Ta’ala that are always falling on their hearts change the condition of this person miraculously. When they talk, this divine light i.e., Noor mixes up with their words and when they utter such words from their mouth, they penetrate deep into the sincere listener’s heart and revivify it. The fire of Shaitân and that of his baser self gets extinguished by the Noor of the hearts of these pious people.

One can observe this light (Noor) when he goes to such a pious man who advises him to offer Salâh regularly or to tell the truth. This person after returning from starts offering Salâh regularly. This person was knowing it already that Salâh is compulsory and should be offered, or that one should tell the truth but still he was not doing so. What has happened by a simple sentence of this pious man that now this person has started offering prayers? Again, the same thing, he was very well knowing that Salâh should be offered but his baser self i.e., Nafs and Shaitân were very strong and were not allowing him to do so. When he remained in the company of a pious person for some moments, the Noor emanating from his heart extinguished the fire of Shaitân, so he could easily overpower Shaitân and Nafs and thus started offering Salâh and acquired the habit of telling the truth.

If one wants to do good deeds which he already knows, it is obligatory for him to sit in the company of Sâlihîn (the pious people).

Suhbat-i-Sâlihîn is a very exalted thing in this world. It is said that there are many advantages to remain in solitude, but one of the biggest disadvantage of this is that in it Suhbat-i-Sâlihîn is not available and such people lose the blessings of their pious company. One of the reasons mentioned for the Iblees becoming Mardood (condemned) is that he was avoiding the company of Noori angels when he was living with them and was proud of his worship.

Allah Ta’ala ordered Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam),

وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ

"And keep yourself content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His face”. (18:28)

Though Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was always in the company of Allah Ta’ala but this Aayat was still revealed for the teaching of Ummah.

Effects of good company (Suhabat)

حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ يَحْيَى التَّمِيمِىُّ وَقَطَنُ بْنُ نُسَيْرٍ - وَاللَّفْظُ لِيَحْيَى - أَخْبَرَنَا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ إِيَاسٍ الْجُرَيْرِىِّ عَنْ أَبِى عُثْمَانَ النَّهْدِىِّ عَنْ حَنْظَلَةَ الأُسَيِّدِىِّ قَالَ - وَكَانَ مِنْ كُتَّابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قَالَ - لَقِيَنِى أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَقَالَ كَيْفَ أَنْتَ يَا حَنْظَلَةُ قَالَ قُلْتُ نَافَقَ حَنْظَلَةُ قَالَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ مَا تَقُولُ قَالَ قُلْتُ نَكُونُ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- يُذَكِّرُنَا بِالنَّارِ وَالْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى كَأَنَّا رَأْىَ عَيْنٍ فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- عَافَسْنَا الأَزْوَاجَ وَالأَوْلاَدَ وَالضَّيْعَاتِ فَنَسِينَا كَثِيرًا قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَوَاللَّهِ إِنَّا لَنَلْقَى مِثْلَ هَذَا. فَانْطَلَقْتُ أَنَا وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ حَتَّى دَخَلْنَا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قُلْتُ نَافَقَ حَنْظَلَةُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- « وَمَا ذَاكَ ». قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ نَكُونُ عِنْدَكَ تُذَكِّرُنَا بِالنَّارِ وَالْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى كَأَنَّا رَأْىَ عَيْنٍ فَإِذَا خَرَجْنَا مِنْ عِنْدِكَ عَافَسْنَا الأَزْوَاجَ وَالأَوْلاَدَ وَالضَّيْعَاتِ نَسِينَا كَثِيرًا. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- « وَالَّذِى نَفْسِى بِيَدِهِ إِنْ لَوْ تَدُومُونَ عَلَى مَا تَكُونُونَ عِنْدِى وَفِى الذِّكْرِ لَصَافَحَتْكُمُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ عَلَى فُرُشِكُمْ وَفِى طُرُقِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَا حَنْظَلَةُ سَاعَةً وَسَاعَةً ». ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ.

Hanzala Usayyidi, who was amongst the scribes of Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). reported: I met Abu Bakr. He said: How are you? He (Hanzala) said: Hanzala has turned to be a hypocrite. He (Abu Bakr) said: Hallowed be Allah, what are you saying? Thereupon he said: I say that when we are in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) we ponder over Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our very eyes and when we are away from Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) we attend to our wives, our children, our business; most of these things (pertaining to After-life) slip out of our minds. Abu Bakr said: By Allah, I also experience the same. So I and Abu Bakr went to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and said to him: Allah's Messenger, Hanzala has turned to be a hypocrite. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: What has happened to you? I said: Allah's Messenger, when we are in your company, we are reminded of Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but whenever we go away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, much of these things go out of our minds. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels will shake hands with you in your beds and in your paths but, Hanzala, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation). He (the Holy Prophet) said this thrice.

From this incident many lessons are derived but I will confine myself to my topic only that is in the Suhabat of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), the Sahâbah were experiencing strange things which they lacked in his absence. Sahâbah Al-Kiram said that they noticed dramatic change in themselves after the departure of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) from the world so soon that they had not even finished the burial ceremony of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and the clay of the grave was still sticking to their hands.

Effects of bad company (Suhabat)  

Once Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was reciting Qur’ân- i-Sharief in Salâh while he was Imâm of Sahâbahh-Kirâm (RA). During the course of recitation of the Qur’ân, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) experienced some difficulty in reciting. After the completion of Salâh (prayer), Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) turned towards the Sahâbah (RA) and said,

"What has happened to the people that they are joining the Salâh (prayer) without proper Wudhu(ablution).” (Mishkat Sharief)

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) had come to know {through the intuition) that a person had joined the congregational Salâh without proper Wudhu and the effect of this was experienced by Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in the form of difficulty in recitation of the Qur’ân. You can imagine that the effect of the company of a person who had not made the Wudhu properly was such that it even effected Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), who was the most perfect of the mankind. From this one can easily judge how one's Qalb must be getting ruined in the company of bad people who are always engaged in the disobedience of Allah Ta’ala. May Allah Ta’ala protect us.