Egypt - A Land of Secrets | Madani Travelogue

Madani travelogue

A Land of secrets

(Part 2)

On the morning of 5^th March, after breakfast and taking care of other important matters, we left our residence to visit shrines of those souls whose names we had only heard of up until now.

Visiting sacred mausoleums

First, we wished to visit the shrine of Imam Ja’far Al-Sadiq’s daughter, Sayyidah ‘Aaishah رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْهَا. We offered Zuhr Salah in the eponymous masjid adjacent to her resting place. Egypt is brimming with centuries-old masjids that are still in use and properly maintained. After Salah, we presented ourselves at the radiant shrine of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْهَا where we made collective supplications with other brothers before making some recordings for Madani Channel.

The lineage of Sayyidah ‘Aaishah رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْهَا is as follows: She is Sayyidah ‘Aaishah daughter of Imam Ja’far Sadiq s/o Imam Al-Baaqir s/o Imam Zayn Al-‘Aabideen s/o Imam Husayn s/o Sayyiduna Ali Al-Murtada رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُم. The shrine of her brother, Sayyiduna Imam Musa Al-Kaazim رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, is located Baghdad.

Practice of the believers

Witnessing the vast number of shrines of noble companions and saints in Egypt as well as many other countries, and seeing countless Muslims visiting them and seeking their blessings, only strengthens one’s conviction about the universality and virtues of visiting these sacred sites.

The Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم said: ‘مَا رَاٰہُ الْمُسْلِمُوْنَ حَسَناً فَھُوَ عِنْدَ اللهِ حَسَنٌ’ ‘Whatever the Muslims deem to be good, it is good in the sight of Allah Almighty,’ (Mu’jam Awsat, vol. 2, p. 383, Hadith 3602).

This Hadith refers to the people of knowledge and piety from this Ummah, (Mirqat-ul-Mafatih, vol. 3, p. 480).

اَلْـحَمْـدُ لـِلّٰـه! Just as visiting the sacred shrines is encouraged by the Quran and Sunnah, the custom of the noble scholars and righteous Muslims is further proof of the validity of this practice.

Imam Jalal-ud-Deen Al-Suyuti رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه

We then visited the shrine of Sayyiduna Imam Jalal-ud-Deen Al-Suyuti (849-911 AH), the acclaimed jurist of the Shaafi’i school of jurisprudence, and accepted reviver of Islam in the 9^th century AH. A prolific author with over 600 books across most fields of study, he was a leading authority in hadith who committed 200,000 Hadith to memory. He is reported to have remarked, ‘If I found more hadith than this, I would have surely memorised them too.’ His services to Islam earned him a lofty position in the prophetic court, and he was honoured with seventy-five wakeful visions of the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. Perhaps his most renowned work is his exegesis, Tafseer Al-Jalalayn, which remains a pivotal textbook of Islamic curricula worldwide, including the Dars-e-Nizami (Aalim course) in South Asia. His teacher, Imam Jalal-ud-Deen Mahalli رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه, began the exegesis but passed away before its completion. So, in Ramadan of 870 AH, aged only twenty-two years, Imam Al-Suyuti رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه began working on it, completing the remaining fifteen parts in forty days on 10 Shawwal.

Sayyiduna Lays Bin Sa’d رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه

We then journeyed to the shrine of Sayyiduna Lays Bin Sa’d رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه (94-175 AH), one of Islam’s most erudite Hadith authorities from the third generation of Muslims (Atba Al-Tab’in) who passed away on 15^th Sha’ban. A magnanimous soul, he regularly distributed a sweet dish made from butter and honey in the winter and a meal of parched grain, sugar, and almonds in the summer, (Siyar-A’lam-ul-Nubala, vol. 7, p. 448). The spirit of his generosity is still alive at his shrine where food is served to all visitors. During our visit, we were also blessed to partake in a meal of bread, jaggery, and a local dish known as Dukka.

Imam Ibn-e-Hajar Al-‘Asqalani رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه

We also visited the mausoleum of perhaps the most widely known Imam of Hadith, the erudite genius Ahmad Bin Ali Bin Hajar Al-Asqalani Al-Shaafi’i رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه who was born in 773 AH in Cairo, Egypt, and passed away there on 28^th of Zul Hijjah, 852 AH. He رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْه was a hafiz of the Quran and Hadith, a seasoned linguist of Arabic, and a prolific poet. From the 150 books he authored, his Magnus opus, Fath Al-Bari Sharh Sahih Al-Bukhari, has acquired particular acceptance.

Visiting the mausoleums of two companions

On the same day, we also had the privilege of visiting the mausoleums of two noble companions: Sayyiduna ‘Uqbah Bin Amir and Sayyiduna ‘Amr Bin ‘Aas رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُما. Sayyiduna ‘Uqbah Bin Amir رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ is from those who served the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم continuously while Sayyiduna ‘Amr Bin ‘Aas رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ led the successful conquest of Egypt.

Along with visiting and supplicating at both shrines, which are housed in the same building, some Madani pearls about their lives were shared. To learn about the life of Sayyiduna ‘Amr Bin ‘Aas رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ, one can consult page 38 of the July 2018 edition of the Monthly Magazine, Faizan-e-Madinah.

Madani parable of Madani Channel

Upon arriving in Egypt, we shared the detailed schedule on our social media accounts, after which, alongside many other devotees of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, a brother residing in Egypt contacted us. He began to cry due to his intense passion as I spoke to him over the phone on the night of 4^th March. The next day, we invited him to a place that we were visiting. He informed us that due to sheer anticipation, he could not sleep that night, arriving at the agreed place at 9 am the following morning where he waited for us for many hours.

Due to forced circumstances, we were unable to go to that place so we rearranged to meet him at the mausoleum of the two companions. He told us that he has been watching Madani Channel for the last ten years and through it, he became attached to Dawat-e-Islami.

During that meeting, with great insistence and love, he invited our Madani Qafilah to his home. On the night of 7^th March, we went to his house where many devotees of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم from Pakistan had gathered. The generous dinner was complemented with pleasant exchanges and words of encouragement. Many of the guests made intentions to join the Madani works of Dawat-e-Islami. At the end of the meeting, our host too made an intention to adorn his face with a beard.

May Allah Almighty have mercy on us for the sake of the companions and saints of those mausoleums and allow the call to righteousness to spread to every home in Egypt.

اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن  صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم