With Those Who Cry

By Majdi Muhammad ash-Shahaawi

There are many reasons why we should cry: Fear of Allaah, regret for our sins, fear of Allaah’s punishment in the Hereafter, etc. In fact, the Prophet [sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] said, “Had you known what I know, you would have laughed only a little, and cried a great deal.” If our eyes remain dry, signifying the hardness of our hearts, then that certainly was not the case for the pious Muslims from the early generations of Islam. Let us look at some examples of our pious predecessors, so that perhaps we might follow in their footsteps.

Abu Yunus bin ‘Ubaid said, “We used to enter upon Al-Hasan, and it was [frequently] the case that he would cry for so long, that we would [always] end up having mercy on him [i.e., feeling compassionate and concerned for him].” That Sa’id bin Jubair eventually suffered from weak eyesight was attributed to his frequent fits of crying. [1]

‘Ata’ As-Salimi was once asked, “What is it that you desire?” He answered, “I want to cry [from the fear of Allaah, for my sins, etc] until I am no longer able to cry.” He was often seen with tears flowing down his cheeks.

Constant crying and constant flowing of tears left black marks on the cheeks of Malik bin Dinar. And he used to say, “Had I been able to control my tears, I would have cried throughout the days of my life [i.e., there is so much to cry over].” Would, then, that we would cry even for a part of the night!

Thabit Al-Bunnani cried so much that he eventually was on the verge of losing his eyesight. It was said to him, “We will give you some treatment [perhaps an ointment] for your eyes so that you will no longer shed any tears.” But he demurred, saying, “There is no goodness in an aye that does not shed tears.”

When ‘Ata As-Salimi was reproached for his frequent fits of weeping, he said in his defence: “Indeed, when I remember the dwellers of the Hell-fire and the punishment they will receive from Allaah [subhaanahu wa ta’aala], I imagine that I am one of them. When a person’s hands are shackled, and when he is being dragged to the Hell-fire, how can you expect him not to cry?”

And when Budail Al-‘Uqaili was reproached for the same reason, he said, “I cry because I am afraid of being thirsty for along time on the Day of Resurrection.” [2]

A woman named Burdah used to cry very frequently, so much so that some of her companions feared that her crying would weaken her eyesight, or perhaps even lead to blindness. When someone reminded Burdah of these possible outcomes, she said, “Leave me as I am, for if I am from the dwellers of the Hell-fire then it matters not if I lose my eyesight. And if I am from the dwellers of Paradise, then Allaah will compensate me with eyes that are better than these eyes.” [3]

Someone once said to Marthad bin Abu Marthad, “Why is it that, whenever we look at you, you are crying and fearful?” He said, “Indeed Allaah warned me that if I disobey Him, He will confine me in the Hell-fire. For by Allaah, had He warned me that He would confine me [forever or for a long time’ in a washroom, then that would be a sufficient reason to cry incessantly. [And how much less painful is confinement in a washroom when compared to confinement in the Hell-fire?]”

Footnotes:

[1] Hilyatul-Awliya’ 4/272 and Sifatus-Safwah 3/49
[2] Sifatus-Safwah 3/179
[3] Sifatus-Safwah 4/30

Transcribed [by islamictexts.wordpress.com] from: Glimpses of the Lives of the Righteous People, Pgs. 143-145, by Majdi Muhammad ash-Shahaawi, Published by Darussalam