Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Atik (may Allah be pleased with him), the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah Almighty likes some forms of jealousy and dislikes some, similarly, He likes some types of pride and dislikes some. The jealousy that He likes is related to suspicion (of immorality), and the jealousy that He dislikes is when there is no suspicion or assumption. Likewise, the pride that Allah Almighty likes is when a servant takes pride in himself for Allah’s sake at the time of fighting, and takes pride in giving charity, and the pride that He dislikes is related to arrogance.

Qais bin Bishr Taghlabi narrates, he says: My father told me, while he was a companion of Sayyiduna Abu Darda, he said: There was a companion in Damascus, he was called Ibn Hanzaliyah, he was a man who preferred solitude and sat with people very little, he was always engaged in prayer, when he finished, he would begin tasbih and takbir, until he reached his family. One day he passed by us while we were sitting with Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Tell us something that will benefit us and not harm you. He said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a detachment, so when I arrived, a man from that detachment also arrived and sat in the gathering of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to the man sitting beside him: What do you think, if we encounter the enemy, such-and-such Muslim man attacks and while striking with his spear says: Take this, and I am a Ghafari youth, what do you think about his statement? He said: I think he has wasted his reward. But when a third man heard this, he said: There is no harm in saying such a thing. They began to dispute about this until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) heard their conversation and said: It is amazing, there is no harm if a man is praised and he is also given reward. I saw that Sayyiduna Abu Darda was pleased with this and he raised his head and began to look at that man and asked: Did you hear this from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? He said: Yes. Then he kept repeating this statement until he repeated it so many times that I thought he would surely lean on his knees.

It is narrated from Abu Hayyan, he says: I heard from an elder in Madinah Munawwarah, he was stating that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abi Awfa (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote a letter to Ubaydullah, this was at the time when he wanted to fight the Haruriyyah, that is, the Khawarij. His scribe was my friend. I said to him: Write it for me as well, word for word. He did so. Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not wish to fight the enemies, and ask Allah for well-being. But when you encounter them, then be patient, and know that Paradise is under the shade of swords. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would wait until the sun had declined, then he would stand towards the enemy and make this supplication: "O Allah! Revealer of the Book, Mover of the clouds, Defeater of the confederates, defeat them and grant us victory over them."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Do not wish to meet the enemies, but when you encounter them, be patient. In another narration it is stated: Because you do not know what will happen in that battle (therefore do not wish for it).

Sayyiduna Suhaib (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray, he would quietly say some words; neither could I understand them nor did he (peace and blessings be upon him) tell us. (One day) he (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: Did you notice that I say some words? We said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I remembered a prophet to whom many armies from his people were given; he said to his nation with pride: Who is there who will be equal to them? Or who is there who can face them? Or he said something similar. Allah Almighty revealed to him: Choose one of these three matters for your people: We will impose their enemy upon your nation, or hunger, or death. He consulted his people. They said: You are Allah’s prophet, the matter is entrusted to you, so you choose yourself. He began to pray; whenever they became anxious, they would resort to prayer. He prayed as much as Allah Almighty willed, then said: O my Lord, do not impose their enemy upon them, nor hunger; let it be death. Allah Almighty imposed death upon them; in one day, seventy thousand of them died. This was my humming, as you saw; I said: “Allahumma bika uqaatilu, wa bika usaawilu, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.” (O Allah! By Your help I defend, by Your help I attack, and by Your help I fight.)