Mark of Hero Hasan al Basri

Mark of Hero: Hasan al-Basri

Introduction

I really don't know how you guys are doing it, mashallah, one speech after another, that's kind of interesting. But since we have only 15 minutes left, I will make sure that we stop, inshallah, on time. So this should be not a very long session, especially after this powerful words that we heard from our beloved Shaykh, Imam Siraj, hafidhahullah ta'ala.

Background and Family Origins

Al-Hassan al-Basri, just by a raise of hand, I would like to know how many of you read something about this man? Al-Hassan al-Basri, okay. How many of you never heard of this name before? Which is, that's very, not a problem at all. Okay, good.

So he's very famous person, he's very famous person. Can anyone know what is his father's name? Have you heard about his father, about family? Al-Hassan, it's a name. Al-Basri, it is the country where the city that he lived at and he died in, which is Al-Basra.

Al-Basra, where is it? In Iraq, very good. So basically, we don't know much about his family. And all what we heard about his family, that he descended from the father, his name is Yasar, and his mother, her name is Khaira.

The Significance of Humble Origins

Why I'm bringing this up? Why I'm bringing this up? Because so many people think that in order for you to be a great person, it means you have to be raised in a house of a righteous or religious family. His family were typically unknown. As a matter of fact, he descended from a family, his father and his mother used to be slaves.

They used to be slaves. They were not rich people, they were not scholars, they were not very famous, they have a special status in society. They were just like people who were slaves and they freed later on by Anas ibn Malik radiallahu anhu.

The Blessed Beginning

And his mother used to go and serve, work as a maid and serve Umm al-Mu'mineen, Umm Salamah radiallahu anha. The Prophet's (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wife Umm Salamah. One time, she left her baby, Al- Hassan al-Basri, when he was a baby.

This was in Medina. She left the baby with the Prophet's (صلى الله عليه وسلم) wife, Umm Salamah. And his mother was busy and Al-Hassan started crying, started crying.

So Umm Salamah, she felt bad for the baby and she brought him closer to her breast, just to make him feel like as if the mother about to breastfeed him. And she said that her breast start producing milk even though she is a widow and she's not supposed to be having any milk, but it produce milk and the baby breastfed from her, a sucker or two. And that was something like a miracle happened to this man in the beginning of his life.

The Impact of Blessed Beginnings

Some scholar even comment on this narration by saying, that's why because of the blessed milk that it came into his mouth, his mouth became so pure and his words were known as words of, as if it is the words of a Prophet.

When he speaks, you will think this is hadith.

Even sometimes a famous quote from Al-Hassan al-Basri, some people think it's a hadith from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Sounds very similar to the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). This man was born about 642 CE. So he is in the 7th century and he died 728. So he lived a fairly very long life, very long life.

Umar's Prophetic Du'a

When he was a baby, he was brought to Umar ibn al-Khattab. Umar ibn al-Khattab known as a person, his du'a is accepted. When he saw the baby, he looked at the baby and he said:

"Oh Allah, give him fiqh (understanding) in the religion and make him beloved to the people."

And I just pause here for a little bit. Listen to what Umar said. He said, Oh Allah, give him a good understanding of the religion. I heard, I came late, I had a lecture in another hall and I just came here and when I came, Imam Siraj was saying something caught my attention. When he talked about Malcolm X and he said that he knows a little bit about Islam.

Maybe he's not a specialist in aqeedah, hadith, tafsir. He's not a scholar. But his impact was a scholarly impact.

Understanding vs. Memorization

And this is something very noticeable about the companions. Do you think the amount of information that the companions had equal to the amount of information that some of the jurists accumulated later on? No way. When you hear somebody say, I memorized a hundred thousand, a million narration, I memorized 50,000 lines of poetry and stuff like that.

Is that make the, and you compare the impact, there's no comparison. And this is something very important. The good understanding of the religion is a key point.

It's not about how much you really memorize. It's not about how much you know. It's all about how much you implement and how much you really committed to and how much that you practice.

How much, how, it's not about memorizing. It's about understanding the religion. And that's what made this man very different than anybody else.

And the du'a that Umar chose was absolutely good, amazing du'a. And it came from the sunnah because the prophet said the same thing, almost the same, almost the same words to Ibn Abbas. He said, "Oh Allah, give him fiqh in the religion."

(Bukhari 75, Muslim 2477)

Not make him memorize the religion. When we go to Sunday school, all what we do just memorize things sometimes. They make us just memorize it, but not just to live it, not to love it.

Beloved by All People

And that's what make these conferences are very attractive to so many of us and so many young people because what they learn, they live it in these days. Then he said, make him a person who will be loved by the people. And indeed he was, indeed he was.

He was loved by the people to the extent, in his time, in his lifetime, there were a conflict and a big fitna happened. It's called fitna to Ibn Ash'ath. Without going to the details, this man rebelled against the Umayyads.

Anyway, Ibn Ash'ath, while he has his army and about to face the Umayyads, Al-Hassan Al-Basri avoided this conflict. He said, I don't participate in conflict, Muslim fighting with one another. I'm outside.

The Extent of His Popularity

I'm outside. Okay, listen to this narration to show how much he was loved. Somebody went to Ibn Ash'ath and told him, if you want the people to gather around you, in the same manner, they gather around the camel of Aisha in the battle of camel, put Al-Hassan Al-Basri on a camel.

People will defend this man with their own souls, will die before letting anyone reach Al-Hassan Al-Basri, like the people did with Aisha radiallahu anha, protecting her. Because everybody loved this man, not only the Muslims and the non-Muslim as well. His funeral was witnessed by Christians, Jews and Muslims.

They said Al-Basra as a city, the only day in history, the only day known in history that Salat Al-Asr, the Asr prayer was not established in the Masjid of Al-Basra, was the day Al-Hassan Al-Basri passed away. And he was, the day of his funeral, because everybody left the city to attend his funeral. No one was left in the city to call Adhan, to make Salat.

It was empty. Everybody outside. When Allah loves someone, He will call Jibreel and say, I love so and so person. So love him. And Jibreel will tell the angels, and the angel will love this person. And Allah will put acceptance for this person on earth, that he will be loved by people.

Divine Love and Acceptance

You don't know him, you don't know anything about him, you just love him. I'm not from Al-Basra, I don't know anything about Jibreel, but I just love him. And I love to talk about him.

That acceptance, that love that you have in your heart to that person, it is so amazing how many person loves you. How you feel when you're on your Facebook and you have 700 or 7,000 people said about something that you post on your Facebook, like it, like it, like it. You feel good, that's right? Can you imagine that this check on your Facebook by 30 million angels? Like it, like it, like it.

Can you imagine the angel up there said, I like it, I like it, I like what you just did. He love you. You feel so special.

We so fan, I'm so happy because my Twitter account became like several hundreds or something like that. I'm feel so special. So you know what, I should feel special already because there's so many angels and good pure creation like this already likes me as a Muslim.

And that's a great lesson. It's not about Al-Hassan, Al-Hassan passed away. We're not talking about people who died. We talk about what this life can impact us today and how this can impact us today.

Physical Description and Character

You know, when you talk about Al-Hassan Al-Basri, let me explain to you how this man, it looked very different. He was a very tall man, big man. Like, you know, he's like football player kind of. He's a big guy. He's really a big guy.

The biceps and triceps of his, it was like where a hen stand white, like here up here and down like this. That's a big guy. Tall, no way bigger than me, I guess.

And basically with muscles and he was very, has a fair color. And he used to dye his beard with blonde color, dye his beard blonde. And sometimes with reddish color, with reddish color.

So interesting, one of his students said he was a good... Okay. He said if I would describe him, I wouldn't describe him with anything but saying he looked like a prophet. The way he looked like a prophet.

Did we see a prophet? No, but prophets always have that perfect look. So that's what he meant, that he's perfect. All his senses were good. His face, his look is very good.

Cultural Adaptation

Anyway, he used to wear, this something caught my eye. He used to wear taylasan. What's taylasan? Taylasan is a type of dress or clothes that it is something common in Iraq. And common, it was also something the Jews used to wear, the Jewish priests and basically it's part of their culture. It's known they have a taylasan.

Arabs, they don't know taylasan. They don't dress taylasan in Medina, Mecca where he was raised, in Medina. He started dressing this when he moved to Iraq because that's the culture of the people of Iraq.

And it became something the Muslim dominated, basically the Muslim there used to wear it and he used to wear this taylasan, this type of robe. And that shows you also that his open mind, he didn't say I have to keep the same exactly type of clothes that I used to wear in Mecca and in Medina and wear it in Iraq. He basically was dressing in a way that it was accepted by the culture of his time.

Political Neutrality and Courage

This man lived through having a lot of things in his life. A lot of fights, a lot of problems. But one thing is very clear about this, that he was able to maintain himself neutral from these conflicts.

He was never aligned with one against another. When there is a conflict between Ali ibn Abi Talib, he was not taking side. When against Mu'awiyah, he didn't take a side.

He didn't never take a side. He always remained neutral, even though he participated in 70 Ghazwah. They said al-Hassan al-Basri in the battlefield, we will be in the middle, in the midst of the fight.

We will come and basically line behind him. He's a big guy. So we will be behind him. We get so scared that we'll run back behind him and he will be leading basically the army. Very brave.

Engagement with Society

And that shows me something. That knowledge and da'wah, it doesn't make you a person live in isolation. It doesn't make you a person away from people. You should be in the street.

You should be living with people. You should be basically fighting the battles. And I don't mean the battles of the war, but I mean the battles, the challenges that we as a Muslim community face it today.

You should not leave that and said, you know what, I'm going to be like learning and studying and I know nothing about what's happening. You should share the community, their challenges and their good and bad.

Witness to History

Also this man have seen different states. He's the khulafa, the khalifas, Rashidun - Umar and Uthman and

Al-Hasan al-Basri

Ali. He witnessed the Umayyads. He witnessed the regime of al-Hajjaj, very oppressive regimes and he challenged that man in a very smart way, in a civil way until Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala removed that person from power.

He also witnessed a lot of new ideas, good and bad happened to the Muslim world. He accepted what Islamically accepted, and correct, and he rejected the innovations and the new sect like al-Khawarij and al-Qadariyyah and so forth.

Recognition by Scholars

One of the scholars said, I never met a scholar at that time unless he said, I learned, I benefited from al- Hassan al-Basri.

So every scholar admitted at that time that al-Hassan was a person who they learned from. Even Anas ibn Malik, the companion, said once to his students, ask this boy, ask, he referred to al-Hassan al-Basri, to ask him about whatever question that they have. He said, he remembers and I forgot.

Master of All Fields

Also, this imam, it was said, and this is very special quality about him. It was said, if you want the science of inheritance, go to so-and-so. If you want to know about Hajj, the fiqh of Hajj, the fiqh of the seerah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, you ask so-and-so.

If you want to learn about basically the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam's history, you ask so-and-so. You want to talk about that tafsir, you ask so-and-so. And if you want somebody who master all these fields, that will be al-Hassan al-Basri.

That's a great lesson right there. Not every sheikh master every field in sharia. You might very good in this area and he's good in that area. We need to accept that. Don't expect your sheikh, your teacher to be a super teacher. There is only few people who really master all these fields.

And this is make the person set a person apart at different level in knowledge.

Character and Humility

He has a great character. This knowledge, it make him humble. Humble and very friendly. One time he was sleeping in his house and he wakes up. When he wakes up, he found basically his students in the house eating.

His wife already let them in and provide them food. So he said, when did you came? He said a while ago and you were sleeping. We don't want to wake you up.

Then he said, now you just proven to me that you are my brothers and my true friends. That you enter the house even though I was sleeping and you ate from my food even though I wasn't awake. That closes to me proven that you are my friend.

True Brotherhood

He said once to one of his followers, do you put your hand in your brother's pocket and you take whatever you want money? He said, no. He said, you're not brothers yet. I made sure that my pockets are empty before I came to this session.

Hey, by the way, this is when he said that, you putting your hand in my pocket and take whatever you want. Wallahi, I have no problem with that. But you have to be a person who deserve to do that first.

You don't come to the conclusion before you do the means and the steps that take you to that level. It's our brotherhood and love for one another is that strong to take us to that level. That's what Al-Hassan Al- Basri tried to say.

That our brotherhood and sisterhood, our relationship, our closeness should lead to that level. You don't just go grab the fruit before you put the seed and you take care of the tree and you make it grow up. That's what Al-Hassan Al-Basri is trying to say.

Eloquence and Wisdom

Al-Hassan Al-Basri, rahimahullah, was known also as a very eloquent speaker. Let me end with that. One of his nice quotes, he said once:

"What trouble companions are the dirham and the dinar. They don't benefit you until they leave you. They only benefit you when they leave you. They are very bad companions."

And that's true, you know. Money, no benefit if you keep it for yourself. You have to spend it to make it happen.

Understanding True Asceticism

I always say money, and this man was rich even though he was very ascetic. And that shows you his understanding of the religion. Being ascetic, being a worshiper, being a person who avoiding the dunya, it doesn't mean that you live poor.

It doesn't mean that you basically wear less. No. He was not like that, even though he was well known as an ascetic person.

But he knew that ascetic, it means that he have no interest in haram. He is content with whatever he has. I'm fine. I'm not looking, dying for other things.

Story of True Richness

Once al-Fudhail ibn lyad, a man came to him and he said, I want to give you a gift. He said, I only take gift from rich people.

He said, Oh, I'm rich, man. He said, how much you have? He said, I have 8,000 dinar, a piece of gold. And that's a lot of money, like 8 million dollars, something like that, today.

Then he said, you think you're rich? He said, yeah, absolutely. 8,000 dinar? That's a lot of money. He said, would you like to make them 16? He said, absolutely.

He said, so you are faqeer. Because rich, it means you're not in need anymore. Faqeer, it means somebody needy, in need.

So he said, since you still want to make, you need to make it more, you still faqeer. Allah is the only one who's rich. He doesn't need anything. So he said, if you became rich, I will take your gift. Al-Hassan al- Basri, he worked that way, rahimahullahu ta'ala.

The Crying Tree Hadith

Once he narrated a hadith from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he stopped the narrator, who was narrating the hadith, and he started crying.

You know which hadith? It's very interesting. I just, it's amused me. It's a hadith, me and you maybe heard it and read it so many times, and it made him cry.

I never thought about it this way. The hadith where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to give khutbah on a minbar, you know the hadith? On the trunk of a tree. Then a woman came, said, ya Rasulallah, why you don't have a minbar? Basically build a minbar so everybody can see you clearly.

Three steps to be higher. Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam liked the idea. Basically he had a minbar and he basically abandoned what that tree's trunk, the trunk of the tree.

Next day they heard that trunk weeping, (حنين له - weeping), crying. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam stepped down from the minbar, and he went and he hugged the tree. He hugged the tree.

(Bukhari 918)

And he said, if I didn't do that, that tree, that trunk will keep crying until the day of judgment.

Reflection on Love for the Prophet

I read this hadith so many times, I'm sure some of you heard it, now you heard it. What make you cry?

What made him cry? He said a very interesting comment, words mixed with tears.

He said:

"Subhanallah, a piece of wood yearns for the Messenger of Allah, while our hearts are hard."

Allahu Akbar. He said, a dead tree cry because it missed the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so much, it loves the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, it missed the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam so much, and we don't have the same feeling toward the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The dead tree has more feeling toward the Prophet than so many of our hearts today. How many times that for a moment you miss the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) you feel like, you know, wish that there with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and your tears came down. He was al-Hasan al-Basri.

If a tree cry for that and I never did, that means tree better than me. In that sense, rahimahullahu ta'ala.

Mercy and Forgiveness

Those people, al-Hasan al-Basri once was told that somebody stole something from him. Then he said:

"O Allah, make him be satisfied with it so he would never steal again."

The Story of Imam An-Nawawi

You know, there is a scholar, his name is Nawawi. Anybody heard this name before? Nawawi.

Was praying in the night. Was praying. And while he is praying, a thief jumped into his house. He couldn't find anything in his house except what khuf, shoes. He took the shoes and he started running. And now he finished the salah quickly and he started running after him.

After him, not after the shoes, okay? After him. And he said to him, he said to him, it is a gift to you. Say, I accept.

Because Islamically, one of the condition for a gift to be accept, you offer it and somebody accept it. You cannot take basically my pen and you walk away and say, oh, this is a gift. No.

It has to be an offer and acceptance. Because it's a transaction. So Nawawi is a jurist. He was running after the thief. He said, hey, it is a gift. Just say, I accept.

So you will not be sinful. He cares about that man not to fall into the sin of stealing. That what made those people, their hearts is completely different than our, the way they look, the way the religion made them.

Hearts of Mercy

Made them a people of mercy. Not a people of arrogance or arrogance. The religion made them to humble themselves and to be so close to the community.

And that's one thing you see it in this man's life, rahimahullah. He used to cook the food with his own hand for his students. And you feast to feed them. Rahimahullah ta'ala.

Confronting Authority with Truth

In 721, Amr ibn Hubayra, a very serious governor, al-Fizari, the ruler of Iraq. He called Ibn Sirin, al-Imam al-Shaabi, and al-Imam al-Hassan al-Basri to his house.

And he said, you know, I became the ruler of Iraq. So what do you say? This is something I've been given as a basic responsibility to be the governor and the ruler of Iraq. What do you have, what advice you have for me? And the one who appointed me the great king of Muslim at that time, Amir al-Mumineen, the caliph, the Umayyad caliph.

So immediately Ibn Sirin and al-Shaabi, it's a very tense situation at that time in Iraq. They gave him general advice and, you know, nice words. And he said, what about you, al-Hassan al-Basri?

Bold Advice to the Ruler

He said, oh son of Hubayra. See the way he addressed him. Not, no tiger. Son of Hubayra.

"Fear Allah more than Yazid. And don't fear Yazid more than Allah. Yazid is the, basically his boss. Allah can protect you from Yazid. But Yazid cannot protect you from Allah."

Very soon, Allah will send to you an angel to strip you from your kingdom and take you down from your throne to your grave. He will take you out of your white palace to a tiny hole, it's called grave. Nothing can save you at that time except your good deeds. Wow.

That's what he called advice. He gave them, he gave Ibn Sirin and al-Shaabi a gift and he gave al-Hassan al-Basri a big gift. So Ibn Sirin looked at al-Shaabi and he said, man, we gave him a cheap advice and he gave us a cheap gift.

And he gave him a very valuable advice. That's why he got a valuable gift.

Fame vs. Greatness

There's a lot to be said about these great men. You know, to be a great person, to be a great person, a lot