Malfuzat – Volume I — Page 145
Malfuzat - Volume I 145 Ultimately, they were forced to accept that they were in the wrong. There was a time when Ikrimah waged an attack against the very person of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but then came a time when he annihi- lated the army of the disbelievers. Therefore, today we can present with pride-in the form of arguments and signs-the model which the companions exhibited during the era of the Holy Prophets. As such, take the example of Ikrimah. In his days of disbelief, he was prey to disbelief, and other ignoble traits such as conceit, etc. , and it was his utmost desire to expunge Islam from the face of the earth. But when the grace of God Almighty embraced him and he was blessed with Islam, he developed such lofty morals that not even the slightest traces of arrogance and conceit were left in him, and he became so humble and meek that his humil- ity y became a conclusive proof in favour of Islam and an argument in favour of the truth of Islam. On one occasion, there was a battle with the disbelievers and Ikrimah was the General of the Muslim army. The disbelievers waged a power- ful onslaught to the extent that the Muslim army had almost drowned in defeat. When Ikrimah saw this condition, he dismounted from his horse and the peo- ple asked: 'Why have you dismounted? Your horse will help you when the time comes to move swiftly. Ikrimah responded: 'At this hour, I am reminded of the time when I would fight against the Prophet of God, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. It is my desire to lay down my life as an atonement for my sins. ' Now just observe the heights to which this person reached, where time and again he is remembered with praise. Remember that the pleasure of God Almighty is with those who endeavour to gather it within themselves. In countless places, Allah the Exalted has referred to these people as: 'those with whom Allah was pleased. ' I advise each and every one of you to adopt these morals. Sound Doctrine and Good Deeds In addition to what I have mentioned already, there are two aspects which a genu- ine and sincere individual ought to bear in mind. One aspect is sound doctrine. It is an immense grace of Allah Almighty that He showed us the path of perfect and complete doctrine that is sound, through His Noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, without any toil and effort on our part. There are many scholars who are deprived of the path, which you have been shown in this day and. So be thankful for this grace and bounty of God Almighty upon you. In this context, true gratitude is to pure-heartedly perform those good deeds, which age.