ANSWER TO A QUESTION
CONCERNING CRYING FOR FEAR OF ALLAH
Question :
I am a man and I never cry.
How can I make my eyes weep for fear of Allaah in accordance with the hadeeth:
“Two eyes that will never be touched by the Fire” in which it mentions “The eye
that weeps for fear of Allaah”? May Allaah reward you with good.
Answer :
Praise be to
Allaah.
Undoubtedly
your feelings of regret for missing out on this blessing is a very good sign.
You should note that the Muslim can accustom himself to weep for fear of
Allaah, by doing the following:
1 – Making
yourself feel fear of Allaah.
This weeping is
the fruit of beneficial knowledge, as al-Qurtubi says in his commentary on the
verse (interpretation of the meaning):
[al-Isra’
17:109]
This is an
eloquent description of them and praise for them. It is the duty of everyone
who acquires knowledge to reach this level, so that when he hears the Qur’aan
he is filled with fear and humility. In Musnad al-Daarimi it is narrated
from Abu Muhammad that al-Taymi said: Whoever is given knowledge and does not
weep, he deserves not to have any knowledge, because Allaah has described those
who have knowledge; then he recited this verse.
Al-Jaami’ li
Ahkaam il-Qur’aan,
10/341-342.
2 – Reading the
Qur’aan and pondering its meanings
Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O
Muhammad to them): Believe in it (the Qur’aan) or do not believe (in it).
Verily, those who were
given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces
in humble prostration.
108. And
they say: Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the Promise of our Lord must be
fulfilled.
109. And
they fall down on their faces weeping and it increases their humility”
[al-Isra’
17:107-109]
“Those were
they unto whom Allaah bestowed His Grace from among the Prophets, of the
offspring of Adam, and of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nooh (Noah),
and of the offspring of Ibraaheem (Abraham) and Israel, and from among those
whom We guided and chose. When the Verses of the Most Gracious (Allaah) were
recited unto them, they fell down prostrate and weeping”
[Maryam
19:58]
It was narrated
that Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me: “Recite the Qur’aan to me.” I
said: “O Messenger of Allaah, shall I recite it to you when it was revealed to
you?” He said: “I like to hear it from someone else.” So I recited Soorat
al-Nisa’ to him, and when I reached this verse – “How (will it be) then,
when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a
witness against these people?” [al-Nisa’ 4:41] – he said: “That is enough
for now.” I turned to him and saw his eyes were streaming with tears. Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 5050; Muslim, 800.
3 – Knowing the
greatness of the reward for weeping, especially when one is alone.
It was narrated
that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of
Allaah (S) said: “A man who weeps for fear of Allaah will not enter Hell until
the milk goes back into the udder, and dust produced (when fighting) for the
sake of Allaah and the smoke of Hell will never coexist.” Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi, 1633; al-Nasaa’i, 3108; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani.
“until the milk
goes back into the udder” is a metaphor for it being impossible, as in the
verse where Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “and they will not
enter Paradise until the camel goes through the eye of the needle” [al-A’raaf
7:40]. Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi.
And it was
narrated that he said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “There are seven whom Allaah will shade with His shade on
the day when there will be no shade but His: a just ruler; a young man who
grows up worshipping Allaah; a man whose heart is attached to the mosque; two
men who love one another for the sake of Allaah, meeting and parting on that
basis; a man who is called (to commit sin) by a woman of high status and great
beauty and he says, ‘I fear Allaah’; a man who gives in charity so secretly
that his left hand does not know what his right hand is doing; and a man who
remembers Allaah when he is alone and his eyes flow with tears.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
660; Muslim, 1031.
Weeping when
alone is singled out because being alone is a time when the heart tends to
become harder and there is a stronger motive to commit sin, and it is farthest
removed from the possibility of showing off. So if a person strives to do this,
and makes himself feel the greatness and might of Allaah, and his eyes flow
with tears, then he deserves to be beneath the shade of the Throne of the Most
Merciful on the Day when there will be no shade but His shade.
4 – Thinking about
your situation and your boldness in committing sin, and fearing to meet Allaah
in such a state.
One of the
righteous people used to weep night and day, and something was said to him
about that. He said: “I am afraid that Allaah will see me committing sin and
will say: ‘Go away from Me for I am angry with you.’” Hence Sufyaan used to
weep and say: “I am afraid that my faith will be taken away at the moment of
death.”
Ismaa’eel ibn
Zakariya described Habeeb ibn Muhammad, who was a neighbour of his. He said:
“Every evening I heard him weeping and every morning I heard him weeping, so I
went to his wife and said: ‘What is the matter with him? He weeps in the
evening and he weeps in the morning!’ She said to me: ‘By Allaah, when evening
comes he fears that he will not live till morning and when morning comes he
fears that he will not live till evening.’”
The salaf used
to weep and grieve a great deal. When Yazeed al-Raqaashi was criticized for
weeping a great deal and it was said to him, “If the Fire had been created
exclusively for you, you would not weep more than this,” he said: “Has the Fire
been created for anyone other than me and my companions and brothers among the
jinn and mankind?”
When ‘Ata’
al-Sulaymi was asked: “What is this grief?” he said: “Woe to you! Death is
close at hand, the grave is my house, on the Day of Resurrection I will stand
and my path is over a bridge across Hell, and I do not know what will become of
me.”
Faddalah ibn
Sayfi used to weep a great deal. A man entered upon him when he was weeping and
said to his wife: “What is the matter with him?” She said: “He says that he
wants to undertake a long journey and he does not have proper provision for
it.”
One night
al-Hasan woke up weeping, and he disturbed the other people in the house with
his weeping. They asked him what was the matter and he said: “I remembered a
sin that I committed and I wept.”
It was narrated
that Tameem al-Daari (may Allaah be pleased with him) recited this verse
(interpretation of the meaning): “Or do those who earn evil deeds think that
We shall hold them equal with those who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah
Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds” [al-Jaathiyah 45:21] and
he started repeating it and weeping until morning came.
Hudhayfah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) used to weep intensely, and it was said to him:
“Why are you weeping?” He said: “I do not know what is ahead of me – Divine
pleasure or divine wrath.”
Sa’d ibn
al-Akhram said: I was walking with Ibn Mas’ood and he passed by the blacksmiths,
who had brought a piece of iron out of the fire. He stood and looked at the
molten iron and wept.
5 – Making
yourself feel regret and feeling that you have fallen short in your duties
towards Allaah.
The tears of
the repentant at night quenches thirst and cure sickness, as the Shaykh of the
Mufassireen, Abu Ja’far al-Tabari, said in his commentary on the verse
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Do you then
wonder at this recitation (the Qur’aan)?
60. And you
laugh at it and weep not”
[al-Najm 53:59-60]
Do not weep at
the warnings contained therein to those who disobey Allaah, when you are people
who commit sin, “Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements
(singing)” [al-Najm 53:61] – you are heedless of the lessons and reminders contained
therein, turning away from its verses.
Jaami’
al-Bayaan ‘an Ta’weel Aayi al-Qur’aan, 27/82.
6 – Weeping out
of fear of a bad end.
It was narrated
that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by al-Hijr (the land
of the people of Thamood) he said: “Do not enter the dwellings of those who
wronged themselves, lest what befell them befall you, unless you are weeping.”
Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
covered his head and walked quickly until he had left the valley. Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 3380; Muslim, 2980.
Al-Nawawi
included this hadeeth in a chapter entitled “Weeping and feeling fear when
passing by the graves of the wrongdoers and the places where they were killed,
and expressing one's need of Allaah, and being careful not to be negligent in
that.” Riyaadh al-Saaliheen, p. 373.
7 – Listening
to moving speeches and lectures that will soften the heart.
It was narrated
that al-‘Irbaad ibn Saariyah (may Allaah be pleased with him), who was one of
those who used to weep, said: “The Messenger of Allaah delivered a deeply
moving speech at which our eyes began to overflow and our hearts melted.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2676; Abu Dawood, 4607; Ibn Maajah, 42; classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani.
May Allaah help
us and you to do that which our Lord loves and is pleased with him.