"When did the last time you weep?" said the Limpkin to the birds. Then she continued, "O my brothers and sisters, beware of the hardness of the heart, for it can lead you to the Fire. So protect your heart from becoming hard and all that which may cause it to harden, and beware of turning away from the admonition of Allâh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala."
"Verily, weeping is a mercy which Allâh puts in the hearts of His servants. And maybe, you wil ask, 'Where is the path towards weeping out of fear of Allâh?' Recorted by al-Bukhari and Muslim, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Three types of people will find the sweetness of imân; the one to whom Allâh and His Messenger (ﷺ) are more beloved than anything else; the one who loves another person purely for the sake of Allâh; and the one who hates to return to disbelief after Allâh has rescued him from it, just as he would hate to be thrown into the fire". And weeping is included in this sweetness." So, have taqwa, dilligently working hard to achieve it, and being sincere in it.
The second path which the weep comes from, is knowledge. Allah said in Surah Al-Isra[17]:107, "Say, "Believe in it or do not believe. Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it - when it is recited to them, they fall upon their faces in prostration." And our beloved Prohet (ﷺ) said in hadith hasan recorded by Ahmad, at-Tirmidhî and Ibn Mâjah, ""I can see what you do not see, and I can hear what you do not hear. Indeed the sky groans (the large no.s of angels in the sky make it heavy so that it groans) and it has a right to do so. There is not an area equal to that of four fingers, except that an angel is prostrating to Allâh therein. By Allâh! If you knew what I know you would laugh little and weep much, and you would not enjoy your wives in bed. But rather you would come out onto the hills, supplicating and praying fervently to Allâh."
The third path is the remembrance of death. There is no doubt that death ends the delights and pleasures of this life, just as the Prophet (ﷺ) has told us, "Increase in your remembrance of the destroyer of all pleasures: ie death. For verily one who remembers it when enduring the hardships of life, it widens for him (ie he no longer feels overburdened with the hardships he is experiencing). Whenever one remembers it at times of opulence, it will cause him to feel restricted and burdened (ie he will not be too involved with this life and will start to reflect on the serious and heavy matters awaiting him)." (an-Nasâ'î, at-Tirmidhî - hasan ghareeb, Ibn Mâjah) The pleasures are what prevent a tear to be shed, nor any sadness and grief to be felt in the heart. So increase in your remembracnce of death, in an attempt to feel the terrors and horrors that will follow it, fearing an evil destination, so that you may succeed with weeping out of fear of Allâh. Indeed this is easy for the one whom Allâh wishes to make it easy for. On the authority of Ibn 'Umar (ra) who said "I was with the Messenger of Allâh (saw) when a man from the Ansar came up to the Prophet (ﷺ) and greeted him with the salâm and then said, "O Messenger of Allâh, which of the believers are the best?" He replied "Those who are the best in character". Then he asked "Which of the believers are the most intelligent?" He (saw) replied: "Those who remember death the most and those who are best prepared for what comes after it (death). These are the intelligent ones.""
Contemplation and reflection upon death makes one fear the terrors and horrors which follow, beginning with the terrors of the grave and the barzakh (transitional period in the grave prior to the Day of Judgement). Do not think that death is far off, since the Prophet (ﷺ) has warned us from thinking in this way. Visiting the graves is one of a way in order to remember death and contemplate over the horrors which follow death. Reported by Al Hâkim, a narration by Anas bin Mâlik, radiallahuanhu, who said that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "I used to forbid you from visiting the graves, but now you should visit them, for indeed the hearts are softened, the eyes are made to shed tears, and it is a remembrance of the hereafter".
The fourth path is to make the Hereafter is your main concern. Recorded by Ibn Mâjah, on the authority of 'Abdullah who related that he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever makes the Hereafter his sole concern, then Allâh will be sufficient for him concerning his affiars and needs in the world, and whoevers concerns (in the world) are divided amongst the affairs of the world, then Allâh would have no care in which path he is destroyed". Recorded by Ibn Hibban, Abdur Rahmân ibn 'Uthmân ibn 'Affan, radiallahuanhu, reported from his father, that The Prophet(ﷺ) said, "Whoever sets this world as his goal, Allâh divides his affairs for him, He will place poverty between his eyes, and nothing will come to him from the world except what Allâh has written for him. Whoever sets the Hereafter as his goal, Allâh gathers his affairs for him, gives him richness of heart and the world will come to him grudgingly and submissively"
Indeed the love of this world is a reason behind the hardening of the heart and it diverts one away from the way of Allâh. Verily abstention and renunciation of this world causes the heart to soften, increases its khushû' and causes the eyes to weep tearfully.
So beware of becoming too much at ease with the world. You must renounce this world and consider it insignificant as much as you can in this way. Contemplate the guidance of the Prophet (ﷺ) when renouncing the world, ponder over his difficult and tough lifestyle with regards to his food, drink, clothing and furniture, etc.
Hasten, O brothers and sisters, towards living like the stranger or the wayfarer in your conduct, manners, behaviour, food, drink , housing and in anything else you are able to do so. We should observe and await the arrival of our original abode (paradise). Therefore we should not expect to live until morning if we are alive in the evening and likewise we should not expect to live until the evening if we are alive in the morning. Thus we should not put off repentance, returning back to Allâh and carrying out the rights which are upon us, or even performing a good deed.
We should be conducting ourselves (in our daily lives) as if we can see the scenes of the Day of Resurrection with our own eyes. We should take from our health for our illness and assign our health towards accomplishing acts of obedience as well as to make the most of our lives so that we can be saved from the terrors that follow death. Does the stranger who is away from his country, family, children, kinsfolk and relatives strive in order to build a castle in a foreign land?! Or does the wayfarer live in an isolated cul-de-sac?!
And you - may Allâh have mercy upon you - are a stranger in this world, far away from the home of Paradise, far away from your spouse and children there. And this is only if you are from the People of Paradise. Then how is it if you have no home in Paradise, nor a family nor children, but you have the punishment; an unseen evil waiting for you?!
So beware of leading a life of ease and comfort as Allâh's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Beware of leading a life of ease and comfort for verily the real slaves of Allâh are not those who live in ease and comfort" (Ahmad, Abû Nu'aym).
Contemplating over the Qur'ân is one of the strongest ways of reaching the state of weeping. It is necessary for one to take particular interest over the tafsîr of the Qur'ân, in continously seek help from the scholars and the people of tafsîr as much as one can. Read the Qur'ân as if it was revealed to you, as some of the scholars have said. An example of this has been established by 'Aisha, radiallahuanha, when she said: "A man sat in front of the Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ) and said: "O Messenger of Allâh, verily I have slaves, they lie to me, are disloyal to me and disobey me. When I came to know about this I scold them and beat them. So tell me how have I been with them?" The Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ) replied: "What they were disloyal to you about, what they disobeyed you in, and what they lied to you about is measured, and the punishment which you inflicted upon them is also measured. If your punishment was equal to their sins, then the scale of balance is equal, it is not for you and nor is it against you. If your punishment to them was not to the extent of their sins (ie less than they deserved) then that is against you". The man then fell back and began to weep and scream. The Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ) said: "Haven't you read the verse in the Book of Allâh: "and we shall set up balances on the Day of Resurrection, then none will be dealt with unjustly in anything..." (21:47) The man replied; "By Allâh, O Messenger of Allâh, I do not see anything better for me and them than they leave me, I call you to witness that all of them are free". (Sunan at-Tirmidhî)
Being concered with listening to the humble and effective recitation of the Qur'ân and reading more of the heart softening books is the next paths the weep comes. Verily this has a great effect in driving away the Shaytân, softening the heart and shedding tears. It has been reported that a man complained to Hasan about the hardness of his heart. So he said:"Bring it closer to the remembrance of Allâh", and he also said: "The gatherings of dhikr give life to knowledge and bring about khushoo' in the heart. The dead heart is brought to life with the remembrance of Allâh, just as the dead earth is brought to life with rain".
There is no doubt that seeking forgiveness from Allâh has a great effect in purifying and polishing the heart. As well as increasing the soul in strength and firmness. The more truthful a person is in seeking forgiveness, the more khushû' one feels, and the more one's heart softens.
To increase in seeking Allâh's forgiveness - just as it was the practice of the Prophet (ﷺ)- it is necessary to take account of oneself and remembers one's sins. Allâh has ordered us to take account of ourselves, performing righteous actions and prepare for the Day of Gathering. It is reported that 'Umar ibn al Khattâb, radiallahuanhu said "Bring yourselves to account before you are brought to account, and weigh your deeds before they are weighed". (at-Tirmidhî)
The next path is perfecting prayer. It was repotred by Abû Ayyud who said "A man came to the Messenger of Allâh (ﷺ) and said "teach me in the briefest words". He (ﷺ) replied, "When you stand in prayer, pray as if you are bidding farewell (to this world) and do not utter words for which you will have to seek an excuse, and do not wish for that which the people have". (Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Abû Nu'aym in al-Hilyah; hadith hasan)
What an excellent prayer is the prayer of one who prays as if he is leaving the world and its beauties, and in which one remembers death, thereby softening the heart and causing the eyes to weep.
So know that making yourself weep earns less of a reward than actually weeping. However it is the way towards weeping, that is because the one who makes himself weep, is among those who strive hard and fight their souls, and take account of themselves, and endeavour to attain the pleasure of Allâh Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Whoever strives to make his soul weep, then Allâh will guide this person to sincere weeping and give him success in achieving it. On the authority of Anas (ra) who related that he heard the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "O people weep, for you cannot weep then make yourself weep. Indeed the inhabitants of the hellfire will weep until their tears pour down their cheeks as if they were streams until the tears are used up and then blood will pour down, and the eyes will be covered with ulcers"
So reflect over the way the Prophet (ﷺ) order us to weep or make ourselves weep. He (ﷺ) also explained the weeping of the inhabitants of hellfire, ie the tears will pour down their cheeks and faces as if streams until they tears are used up after which blood will pour forth and cause the eyes to be wounded with ulcers.
What else can you want after this, O slave of Allâh, in order for you to weep! It is a deep and serious admonition, this admonition is enough to cause you to make tawbah return to Allâh and weep. Indeed, dzikr parfumes your life. Make supplications in whisper, by the will of Allah, all wounds heal, the wounded and broken heart recovers, and the sick and ill becomes full of strength again. And Allah knows best."
Reference :"The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely." - [QS.8:2]
- Shaykh Husayn Al Awaayishah, Weaping From the Fear of Allah, Al-Hidaayah.
