Vulture then told the story of Jurayj, he said, "Jurayj al-Abid was a man of the Children of Israel. He was a deeply devoted worshipper and an ascetic. He was engaged in worship all the time. But a man's worship is not enough for him if he is not learned and lacks knowledge. If a man does not have proper knowledge, then he is constantly in danger of going astray. Thus, it was lack of sufficient knowledge that became a severe trial for Jurayj." Sparrow asked, "How was that? Why was he tried? How did he come out of the trial?" Vulture replied, "Listen to the following hadith.
Narrated Abu Hurayrah, radhiyallahu 'anhu, that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,
This Hadith has been narrated on different occasions, and Al-Bukhari and Muslim have narrated it under different chapters in their respective Sahih. If we keep all the narrations before us, the summary would be something like this,لَمْ يَتَكَلَّمْ فِي الْمَهْدِ إِلاَّ ثَلاَثَةٌ عِيسَى، وَكَانَ فِي بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ رَجُلٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ جُرَيْجٌ، كَانَ يُصَلِّي، فَجَاءَتْهُ أُمُّهُ فَدَعَتْهُ، فَقَالَ أُجِيبُهَا أَوْ أُصَلِّي. فَقَالَتِ اللَّهُمَّ لاَ تُمِتْهُ حَتَّى تُرِيَهُ وُجُوهَ الْمُومِسَاتِ. وَكَانَ جُرَيْجٌ فِي صَوْمَعَتِهِ، فَتَعَرَّضَتْ لَهُ امْرَأَةٌ وَكَلَّمَتْهُ فَأَبَى، فَأَتَتْ رَاعِيًا، فَأَمْكَنَتْهُ مِنْ نَفْسِهَا فَوَلَدَتْ غُلاَمًا، فَقَالَتْ مِنْ جُرَيْجٍ. فَأَتَوْهُ فَكَسَرُوا صَوْمَعَتَهُ، وَأَنْزَلُوهُ وَسَبُّوهُ، فَتَوَضَّأَ وَصَلَّى ثُمَّ أَتَى الْغُلاَمَ فَقَالَ مَنْ أَبُوكَ يَا غُلاَمُ قَالَ الرَّاعِي. قَالُوا نَبْنِي صَوْمَعَتَكَ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ. قَالَ لاَ إِلاَّ مِنْ طِينٍ."None spoke in cradle but three: (The first was) 'Isa, (the second was), there a man from the Children of Israel called Juraij. While he was offering his prayers, his mother came and called him. He said (to himself), 'Shall I answer her or keep on praying?" (He went on praying) and did not answer her, his mother said, "O Allah! Do not let him die till he sees the faces of prostitutes." So while he was in his hermitage, a lady came and sought to seduce him, but he refused. So she went to a shepherd and presented herself to him to commit illegal sexual intercourse with her and then later she gave birth to a child and claimed that it belonged to Juraij. The people, therefore, came to him and dismantled his hermitage and expelled him out of it and abused him. Juraij performed the ablution and offered prayer, and then came to the child and said, 'O child! Who is your father?' The child replied, 'The shepherd.' (After hearing this) the people said, 'We shall rebuild your hermitage of gold,' but he said, 'No, of nothing but mud.'" [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 3436]
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said that only three new-born babies have spoken in their cradle. One of them wass Prophet 'Isa, alayhissalam,, who had spoken in favour of his mother, Maryam. Allah says,
The second was the child who spoke in favour of Jurayj Al-Abid. Jurayj was an ascetic of the Children of Israel. He has constructed an hermitage outside the town. Hermitage was an exclusive place in the earlier times set aside for worship. It was built on a raised ground and its upper portion was narrower than the lower portion.فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ قَالُوا كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا"So she pointed to him. They said, 'How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?'" - (QS.19:29)
قَالَ إِنِّي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ آتَانِيَ الْكِتَابَ وَجَعَلَنِي نَبِيًّا"['Isa] said, 'Indeed, I am the servant of Allah. He has given me the Scripture and made me a prophet.'" - (QS.19:30)
Jurayj Al-Abid secluded himself in this hermitage and was occupied in worship all the time. One day, his mother visited him and found him engaged in Salat. The Prophet (ﷺ) described practically the condition of his mother. He said that she covered her eyes with her hands (as people do on ascending some place because of sunlight). She raised her head and saw that he was offering Salat.
She identified herself. "Jurayj. I am your mother. Speak to me!" Jurayj considered the situation. He was occupied in Salat (and was perhaps lost in it with delight and repute), "O Allah! Here is my mother and here I am engaged in Salat (what shall I choose?)" In the end, he chose Salat and his mother turned away back home from there.
She came back again the next day. (He was offering Salat, as usual.) She said, "Jurayj, I am your mother. Speak to me!" Again, he thought, "O Allah! It is between my mother and Salat (what shall I do?)" and continued to pray. His mother returned as before.
She came again on the third day and Jurayj was praying. She called out, "O Jurayj!" He said to himself, "O Allah! On the one hand, it is my mother and on the other it is Salat, what shall I do?" And, he chose to go on with Salat.
The mother, who had been unsuccessful in her efforts to meet and speak to her son, was very disappointed and angry. She prayed against Jurayj, saying, "O Allah! This Jurayj, here, is my son and I wish to speak to him, but he has refused to talk to me by his behaviour. O Allah! Do not let him die until he sees the faces of immoral, indecent women."
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said that (his mother had prayed against him that he may see the faces of those women) if she had cursed him to be involved in their mischief, he would have fallen to their ploys. (A mother's curse is an arrow right on the target).
The mother's supplication against her son took shape in this way. The Children of Israel talked of Jurayj and spoke highly of him. They praised his devotion and acts of worship. An indecent, sinful woman lived among them. She was very beautiful and seduced men through her charms and beauty. She challenged the people that the Jurayj they spoke of, as very pious, could easily fall into her trap if they agreed to that.
So, she went to him. She stood before him and offered herself to him but he did not raise his eyes towards her and simply did not pay any attention to her. She was very hurt. There was a shepherd who lived near the hermitage of Jurayj. He tended sheep and goats.
The woman left Jurayj and went to the shepherd and she let him sleep with her. She became pregnant with his child. When the child was born, she decided to take her revenge on Jurayj and she told everyone that the child belonged to Jurayj, who lived in the hermitage.
Reference :When they heard this, the people were infuriated and rushed to the hermitage. They called Jurayj but he was offering his Salat and did not talk to them. They began to pull down the hermitage and compelled him to come down. They beat him severely and he asked them, "What is wrong?" They told him that he had had illicit relations with a prostitute, and asked him to find out from the woman what she had to say. He appealed to them to give him some time to offer Salat. So, he offered Salat and came to them while they had brought the child who they said was his.
Jurayj looked at the child and with a slight smile stroked his head. Then patting his stomach slightly with his finger, he asked the child, "Child! Who is your father?" The child answered, "My father is the shepherd" and he identified him as the one who grazed the sheep.
When they heard the new-born boy speak in this fashion and absolve Jurayj of the accusation, they repented having punished him unnecessarily. This is what foolish people do. It is mass hysteria. They do not investigate but they accept whatever they hear. This is ignorance and foolishness.
In short, the people realised that they had been unjust to Jurayj and now they took hold of him, kissed him and embraced him. They offered to rebuild his hermitage with gold and silver but he said, "That is not necessary. Just return it to its former condition remaking it with mud." Thus, it was rebuilt as it had been."
Sparrow said, "Something is lacking!" Vulture was sruprised, raised his eyebrows, then said, "What.. what's missing?" Sparrow said, "You haven't delivered the lessons and messages!" Vulture laughed while saying, "O my brothers and sisters, an intelligent person can find innumerable teachings in this story. The basic lesson, this story imparts is that a mother must be respected and her rights must be given to her. Even a slight sign of disappointment from her, can drive man to unbelievable trouble. We have seen that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "If she had prayed that he should succumb to the treachery of women then he would have fallen to their seduction.'' This tells us how serious it is to disobey a mother.
A mother is the only being whom the Lord of the universe has placed on an exclusive level so that a worshipper may suspend his worship for her. We are commanded to suspend our Salat if our mother calls us without knowing that we are engaged in Salat, and we must pay attention to her. We must repeat our Salat later on. Some of the Ulama hold that this command applies to Salat that are not fard obligatory which may be suspended only if there is a serious situation.
Next lesson is, if anyone disobeys his mother then a man becomes subject to worry and difficulty in spite of his devotion and worship and piety. Disobedience to a mother is the cause of much anxiety for anyone.
Third, the Hadith also discloses that Allah absolves His pious slaves of accusation and blame. It happened in the case of Jurayj Al-Abid that Allah demonstrated His Powers and gave speech to the new-born child so that his words acquitted Jurayj of ·the false accusation against him.
Fourth, the guile of women is very difficult to resist and it is not possible to keep safe from it without the help of Allah. The Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) has called women the rope of the devil with which he enshares men. The Prophet (ﷺ) has sought refuge with Allah from the trial at the hands of women as he has sought refuge from other trials. Fairly learned and pious people get involved in trial at the hands of women.
Fifth, if anyone is subject to anxiety and hardship and endures them patiently turning to Allah and beseeching Him to remove his problem, then the anxiety and hardship become easy for him and he is blessed with goodness. It happened with Jurayj too that he turned to Allah when he faced anxiety and showed patience. Then Allah turned his difficulty into a means of raising his rank and he received respect and honour.
Sixth, the Hadith is evidence that the people who are close to Allah, his saints, do perform extra-ordinary deeds. While it is true that the awliya (the friends of Allah) do perform unusual deeds yet it is not necessary that they always do that, neither is a condition of their recognition. Some people suppose wrongly that the awliya are bound to do unusual and extra-ordinary deeds called Karamah.
Seventh, the best way to turn to Allah and seek His help when one is worried and faced with trying circumstances is to engage in as-salah (prayer). This is the practice of the Prophets, alayhimassalam, and the men of Allah. Jurayj Al-Aabid. when he faced the accusation, first performed ablution and offered Salat. The Qur'an also commands us to do that.
The Believers must observe this behaviour. These days people depend on material means when they encounter anxiety and difficulty and do not resort to Salat and religious discipline.يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلاةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ"O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient." - (QS.2:153)
Undoubtedly, the means and agencies must be utilised and Allah has commanded us to do that, but we must not rely and place trust on them. Our hopes must always be on Allah and we must observe Salat and do good deeds whose blessings attract the mercy of Allah and His favours.
Eighth, the sinful and irreligious people are always after eliminating the religious and righteous men, and they try to torment and disgrace them. On their part, the pious people must not worry about that, but they must turn to Allah for He alone is the One to defeat the schemes of the immoral people.
Ninth, we must not accuse anyone falsely and without verifying the facts. It is a most grave sin to accuse anyone and it is one of those few crimes on which Allah has prescribed the hadd (punishments whose limits are defined in the Qur'an or Ahadith). These are crimes against which a ruler or judge cannot determine punishment according to his conclusions but is bound by what Allah has prescribed. Hence, the punishment for false accusation is eighty stripes. It is known as hadd al-qazf (punishment for slander) and Allah also punishes the false accusers both in this world and in the next and He also proves the innocence of the accused through an uncommon and extra-ordinary demonstration. We have seen that in the foregoing narrative. Also a verse of the Qur'an was revealed for Aishah, radhiyallahu 'anha, when she was accused falsely.
Finally, it is a worst kind of sin to entertain doubts about men of Allah. Anyone who hears it, must not become suspicious of a man of Allah without verifying the facts, for it is the main weapon of the devil whereby he creates bad impression about men of Allah. And Allah knows best."
- Maulana Muhammad Zakaria Iqbal, Stories from the Hadith, Darul Isha'at.
