Tears of the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم – Heartfelt reminder by Shaykh Abdullah Ad Dhamari

Shaykh Abdullah Ad Dhamari:

Narrated from ‘Ata may Allah have mercy upon him he said: Umayr and I went to Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her—so Umayr asked her: ‘inform us of the most amazing thing you have seen from the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم . He said: So she began to cry. Then she replied:

One night he was with me and he said: 0 Aisha, leave me alone so I may devote this night to my Lord. She said: I replied: ‘0 Messenger of Allah—by Allah—verily I love to be close to you, and I love that which makes you happy.’ She said: So he stood and began to pray, then he began to cry until his beard became wet, then he cried until his thoub became wet, then he cried until the ground became wet. Then Bilaal came to call him for the prayer and he found him crying. He found him crying so he said: 0 Messenger of Allah, you undergo this while you have been forgiven for your past and future faults?! He replied: Shouldn’t I love to be a grateful slave?! Surely tonight a verse was revealed to me—woe to the one who recites it but does not reflect upon it :

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَْْرْضِ وَاخْتِلََفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ
Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day (Soorah Al Baqarah 2:164)

And this is the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم the one who has been forgiven for his past and future faults. He cried until his beard became wet. He cried until his thoub became wet. And he cried until the ground became wet.

Baraa ibn ‘Azib—may Allah be pleased with him—said: The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw some of his Companions gathering, so he said: ‘What are they doing?’ He replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, they are going to the burial for a Janazah.’ So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم rushed off. Baraa said: ‘So I rushed off to see what he was going to do.’ When he (the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ) reached the grave he kneeled on his knees and looked at the grave. He began to cry until the soil became wet. He cried until the soil became wet and then he said: ‘For the likes of this, let us put forth actions O my brothers.’ Meaning for this place (the grave) let us work O my brothers.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would think about his nation, and think about their standing and the standing of the previous Messengers and cry, due to the mercy he had for his Ummah, because of the mercy he had for his Ummah, and the fear he had for his Ummah.

It has been collected by Muslim in his collection of authentic narrations from the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr—may Allah be pleased with them. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم recited the statement of Ibrahim peace be upon him:

فَمَنْ تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُ مِنِّي وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ
But whoever follows me, he verily is of me. And whoever disobeys me, – still You are indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Soorah Ibrahim 14:36)

And he recited the statement of Eesa peace be upon him:

إِنْ تُعَذِّبْهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ عِبَادُكَ وَإِنْ تَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ فَإِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ
“If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.” (Soorah Al Maidah 5:118)

Then he began to cry…
Then he صلى الله عليه وسلم began to cry…

Allah said: ‘O Jibril go to Muhammad and ask him what makes him cry, and your Lord is more knowledgeable of him than you.’ So Jibril peace be upon him said: ‘O Muhammad what makes you cry?’ He replied: ‘My Ummah, my Ummah.’

He said: ‘My Ummah.’ He cried over his Ummah…

The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم cried for me and for you O my brother.

He cried for me and you fearing for us the punishment of the fire while we don’t even cry for ourselves!

He cried for his Ummah, he cried for those who fall into sins and transgressions, he cried for those who are apathetic concerning the prayer, he cried for those who consume intoxicants, he cried for those who consume interest and usury, he cried for those who exceed the bounds, he cried for those who rule by other than what Allah has revealed, he cried for those who disrespect their parents. He cried, he cried for the sinners due to the punishment of the fire.

He feared for them the punishment of the Lord of all that exists, while they do not fear for themselves! The Messenger of Allah is more merciful to us than we are to ourselves! He is more merciful to us than we are to ourselves. He cried due to the mercy he had for us and fearing for us. Thus Jibril said: O Messenger of Allah, what makes you cry? He replied: My Ummah, my Ummah. He cried for his Ummah. So Allah said: ‘O Jibril say to Muhammad, verily We will please you regarding your Ummah and We will not displease you.’ (Collected by Muslim 202)

O Muslims, this is the best of mankind crying for his Ummah as a mercy for them and fearing for them from the punishment of Allah while his Ummah is heedless. Heedless; his Ummah is in a deep sleep his Ummah is in a deep sleep. Heedless of obedience, falling into sins; they have become busy with this worldly life, obeying their desires and lusts. They do not remember the meeting with Allah, and they do not remember the intense heat of the Hell-fire. They do not remember the intense heat of the Hell-fire; they do not remember the intensity of the standing on the Day of Judgment for the reckoning.

O Muslim nation, it is more befitting that we cry for ourselves. Beware of the fire, the fire! The fire does not show mercy to anyone. So have mercy upon yourself my brother in faith.

It has been collected by Imaam At Tirmidi, and Imaam Ahmad, and ibn Maja and others; from the hadith of Abu Dhar, may Allah be pleased with him; he said: The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Verily I know what you know not, and I hear what you do not hear, the heavens moans and it is only befitting that it should do so, there is no space in the heavens the width of four fingers except that there is an Angel there prostrating on his forehead to Allah. By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little, weep much, and you would not enjoy women in your beds, but would go out to the open space beseeching Allah.

O Islamic nation, if we knew what the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم knew our crying would increase and our laughing would decrease. We would spend the night and day weeping for ourselves and we would not enjoy women in our beds; meaning our desires would die, our desires would die. And we would go out into the street and the open areas beseeching Allah to save us from the fire.

The Messenger of Allah swore that if we knew what he knew from the punishment of Allah and the fire then our hearts would not be at ease, and our hearts would not be happy, rather we would always live in sadness and we would live in fear. But heedlessness frequents our hearts so we have become oblivious towards the future.

O Muslims beware; beware of the punishment of Allah. Beware of the punishment of Allah. And cry while crying can benefit you. Crying in this life is beneficial. As for crying in the grave, and crying on the Day of Judgment, then it will bring no benefit.

Crying at this moment will not benefit those who cry. For this reason—O Muslims—our Salaf were always weeping and sad. They feared the meeting with Allah. They feared the punishment of Allah. They feared standing before Al Jabar (Allah) on the Day of Judgment; despite their obedience and their worship and their righteous actions.

Like this was the mother of the believers Aisha—may Allah be pleased with her. Her nephew Qasim ibn Muhammad said: If I was going to the market I was first go to Aisha—and she was his aunt—may Allah be pleased with her. He would visit her first. He said: One day I went to her while she was standing in prayer. She was reciting the statement of Allah the Exalted:

قَالُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا قَبْلُ فِي أَهْلِنَا مُشْفِقِينَ) 62 ( فَمَنَّ اللهُ عَلَيْنَا وَوَقَانَا عَذَابَ السَّمُومِ) 62 ( إِنَّا كُنَّا مِنْ قَبْلُ نَدْعُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ البَرُّ الرَّحِيمُ) 62
Saying: “Aforetime, we were afraid with our families (from the punishment of Allah).”But Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire. “Verily, We used to invoke Him before. Verily, He is Al-Barr (the Most Subtle, Kind, Courteous, and Generous), the Most Merciful.” (Soorah At Tur 52:26-28)

She continued to repeat these verses while weeping. She recalled the inhabitants of paradise and she cried.

Saying: “Aforetime, we were afraid with our families (from the punishment of Allah).”But Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire. “Verily, We used to invoke Him before. Verily, He is Al-Barr (the Most Subtle, Kind, Courteous, and Generous), the Most Merciful.” (Soorah At Tur 52:26-28)

He said: ‘She would recite the verse and cry, so I waited for a lengthy period of time and then I went to the market place and then I returned to her and I found her in the same state; reciting the verse and crying.’

She was like this although the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم gave her glad tidings that she is his wife in this world and in the hereafter. Despite this she would cry fearing Allah the Lord of all that exists. We are more in need of crying for ourselves. Reflect upon the journey to the next life.