Imam Abu Hanfia & Three Questions

Many years ago, during the time of the Taabi'een (the generation of Muslims after the Sahabah), Baghdad was a great city of Islam. In fact, it was the capital of the Islamic Empire and because of the great number of scholars who lived there, it was the center of Islamic knowledge. One day, the ruler of Rome at that time sent an envoy to Baghdad with three challenges for the Muslims. When the messenger reached the city, he informed the Khalifah that he had three questions which he challenged the Muslims to answer. The Khalifah gathered together all the scholars of the city and the Roman messenger climbed upon a high platform and said,

I have come with three questions. If you answer them, then I will leave with you a great amount of wealth which I have brought from the king of Rome." As for the questions, they! were: 'What was there before Allah?' 'In which direction does Allah face?' 'What is Allah engaged in at this moment?'

The great assembly of people were silent. (Can you think of answers to these questions?) In the midst of these brilliant scholars and students of Islam, there was a man looking on with his young son. "O my dear father! I will answer him and silence him!" said the youth. So the boy sought the permission of the Khalifah to give the answers and he was given the permission to do so.

The Roman addressed the young Muslim and repeated his first question, "What was there before Allah?" The boy asked, "Do you know how to count?" "Yes," said the man. "Then count down from ten!" So the Roman counted down, "ten, nine, eight, ..." until he reached "one" and he stopped counting. "But what comes before 'one'?" asked the boy. "There is nothing before one - that is it!" said the man. "Well then, if there obviously is nothing before the arithmetic 'one', then how do you expect that there should be anything before the 'One' who is Absolute truth, All-Eternal, Everlasting the First, the Last, the Manifest, the Hidden?"

Now the man was surprised by this direct answer which he could not dispute.

So he asked, "Then tell me, in which direction is Allah facing?" "Bring a candle and light it," said the boy, "and tell me in which direction the flame is facing." "But the flame is just light - it spreads in each of the four directions, North, South, East and West. It does not face any one direction only," said the man in wonderment. The boy cried, "Then if this physical light spreads in all four directions such that you cannot tell me which way it faces, then what do you expect of the Nur-us-Samawati- wal-'Ard: Allah - the Light of the Heavens and the Earth!? Light upon Light, Allah faces all directions at all times."

The Roman was stupefied and astounded that here was a young child answering his challenges in such a way that he could not argue against the proofs. So, he desperately wanted to try his final question. But before doing so, the boy said, "Wait! You are the one who is asking the questions and I am the one who is giving the answers to these challenges. It is only fair that you should come down to where I am standing and that I should go up where you are right now, in order that the answers may be heard as clearly as the questions." This seemed reasonable to the Roman, so he came down from where he was standing and the boy ascended the platform. Then the man repeated his final challenge, "Tell me, what is Allah doing at this moment?" The boy proudly answered, "At this moment, when Allah found upon this high platform a liar and mocker of Islam, He caused him to descend and brought him low. And as for the one who believed in the Oneness of Allah, He raised him up and established the Truth. Every day He exercises (universal) power (Surah 55 ar-Rahman, Verse 29)." The Roman had nothing to say except to leave and return back to his country, defeated.

Meanwhile, this young boy grew up to become one of the most famous scholars of Islam. Allah, the Exalted, blessed him with special wisdom and knowledge of the Deen (religion). His name was Abu Hanifah (rahmatullah alayhi - May Allah have mercy on him) and he is known today as Imam Abu Hanifah (Imam-e-Azam) , the Great Imam and scholar of Islam.

Loving Allah

Without loving Allah, you cannot be a professional worshiper of Allah. Those who really love what they do, succeed in their work.

A teacher, who loves to teach, succeeds in teaching more than a teacher who teaches for money. A chef, who loves to cook, succeeds more than a chef who does not like their job.

Applying the same logic, only a person who genuinely loves Allah is equipped to worship Him wholeheartedly. It is impossible to worship that which you know not and love not. Worship and love are intimately related.

The highest level of love is worship and love is the foundation and essence of godly living. True and genuine worship of Allah does not take place except through loving Him.
Allah’s Messenger said, “None of you believes until I am more beloved to him than his family, wealth and all the people.”

If the authenticity of your belief is conditional upon loving Allah’s messenger more than anything else, then the obvious reality is that one does not even smell the fragrance of faith until they love Allah more than anything else individually and collectively.

Our love to Allah is the very foundation of our faith. Since, love is as good as the entity in which it is placed, achieving close to perfect faith is directly related to the perfection of the beloved.

Allah’s perfection infinitely exceeds our perception of perfection. He is free from any deficiency and all his attributes are occasion for praise. Thus, those who know Him, love Him more than they love anyone and anything else. Therefore, they freely submit themselves to Him, not because they have to, but because they love to; they love it and enjoy it.

Worship is the submission and subordination internally and externally to the beloved Lord out of love and adoration.

You and I psychologically are neither willing nor able to subordinate or submit ourselves, both internally and externally in all conditions except through worshipful love. Hence, this love must be dispensed only to Allah. This type of love provides the long term impetus for worship and service. Love without subordination and servitude is not worshipful love.

Without love, subordination and servitude do not constitute worship. However, when love is coupled with servitude, humility, submission, subordination, adoration and veneration, the result of combining these attitudes of faith is true and genuine worship. This love-based submission brings about liberation from worldly control.

Love and Servitude
Man cannot experience peace and tranquility without knowing his Maker. When man knows his Lord and understands his intended relationship to Him, he falls in love with Him. Allah is not distant or hard to get to know. He is neither mysterious nor capricious, but rather evident in the world around us and in us and easy to know. When man knows his Lord not, he fails to love Him. Certain destruction is indeed the result of man not truly loving his Lord and acknowledging his subservience to Him.

Full love and servitude are suitable only to Allah (Jehovah). “Love your Lord with all your heart” (Mk 12:30). Loving Allah produces servitude and submission all the time and in all places internally and externally. Loving Allah is the emotion that puts lovers in motion, starts them on the path of devotion, eases for them difficulties, shortens for them otherwise long distances and relieves hardships as the sweetness of love offsets the bitterness of difficulties. When you are love-borne, you can cover the distance to come closer to Allah faster and easier. A poet has said,

My religion is love
This is my religion
There is no compulsion in the religion
The one whose religion is dislike moves as if dragging his feet in the mud
The one passionate for his religion advances
The one who is passionless slacks.

Excerpt taken from Radwan's upcoming book "Live Your Life On Purpose".

Emailed to the blogger by Mastura