Verily all Praise and thanks are due to Allah alone and may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon His messenger.  With what proceeds.
 
Dear Brothers/Sisters, I never actually wrote to you before, I usually try to forward e-mails I feel might help you achieve good in this life as well as the next, but I have had stuff hanging on my chest and I want to share it with you. First let me start by mentioning a quick story about Hafsa Bint Umar (Radhiullah 3n Huma).  She was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab.  She was beautiful and a pious women.  She got  married to Khunis ibn Hudhafa Ibn Qays as-Sahami who was from Quraish.   He was a part of the two emigrations (Abyssinia and Madina).  He fought  in Badr and Uhud. In the latter battle he was fatally wounded and died  shortly thereafter (Radhiullah 3nhu).   Hafsa was 18 by that time.

Umar was depressed for his daughter's affliction who became a widow at such a young age.  Whenever he went home and saw his sad daughter, he grieved.  After a long period of thinking he decided to choose a husband for her to provide her with what she had lost of repose along 6 months or more.

He first choose Abu Bakr (Radhiullah 3nhu) the dearest person to the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam).  Umar at once went to Abu Bakr to offer him his daughter for marriage.  Umar thought that Abu Bakr would not refuse to marry a young pious woman who was the daughter of the man by whom Allah supported Islam.  Having sympathetically listened to him, Abu Bakr did not respond.

Umar went back with a broken heart and almost did not believe what had happened.  He then went to Uthman Ibn Affan whose wife, Ruqayya (Radhiullah 3nha), the daughter of the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam) had recently died.  Having offered him his daughter to marry, he apologized by saying, "I think I would not like to marry at the present time."

Umar's gloom Increased by Uthman's refusal, which followed by Abu Bakr's.  He became angry with his to companions.  He then went to the Prophet of Allah (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam) complaining about Abu Bakr and Uthman.  Therupon the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam) smiled and said "Hafsa will get married to someone who is better than Uthman and Uthman will get Married to someone who is better than Hafsa." (Bukhari)

Accordingly Umar was elated to receive such a great honor which he never thought about.  He went off to tell whomever he met.  When Abu Bakr met him, he realized the source of his joy.  Therefore, he congratulated him and apologized by saying, "Do not be angry with me ya Umar.  The Prophet has mentioned Hafsa before and I could not disclose the Prophet's (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam) secret.  Had he left her, I would have married her. "

All people in Madina was pleased with the Prophet's marriage to Hafsa bint Umar.  It was contracted in the month of Sha'ban in the 3rd year of Hijrah.  They blessed the marriage of Uthman to Umm Kulthum bint Muhammad (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam) in the month of Jumada al-Akhirah in the same ear as well.  Thus, Hafsa joined the rank of the Prophet's pure wives, mothers of the faithful who were by then, Sawdah and Aisha (Radhiullah 3n Huma).

Among the other wives of the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam), Aisha was the most intimate and closest one to Hafsa.  His father, once said to her, "How would you be like Aisha and how would your father be like hers?

It is Hafsa and Aisha who backed up each other against the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam).  Consequently Allah the almighty said: "If you two turn in repentance to Allah, your hearts are indeed so inclined; but of you back up each other against him, truly Allah is his protector and Gabriel." {Tagrim:4}

It is narrated that the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam)  divorced Hafsa once when she backed up against him.  then he (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam)  took her back according to Jabreel's command: "Take Hafsa back; she fasts and prays in the night all the time." Hafsa realized the gravity of what she had done to her noble husband when she disclosed his secret.  But after the Prophet forgave her, she lived in tranquility and repose again.

When the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam)  died and Abu Bakr (Radhiullah 3nhu) succeeded him, it was Hafsa who was chosen to keep the first copy of the Noble Qur'an.  She kept on worshipping Allah devoutly, fasting, praying,and keeping the copy of the Muslims constitution, the immortal miracle and the source of legislation and belief.

When her father the caliph of the Muslims felt he was about to die after he was stabbed by Abu Lu'Lu'a the Zoroastrian in the month of Dhul-Hijjah 23 AH, Hafsa was the guard of what he left of inheritance.

She (Radhiullah 3nha) died in Mu'awiyah ibn Sufyan's (Radhiullah 3nhu) era after she commanded her brother Abdullah with what she had been commanded by her father.  May Allah be pleased with the guard of the Qur'an, Ameen.

I know it may be a little late but, I wanted to share this story with you because I was reflecting on the dream Sheikh Fowzan, one of the students of sheikh Uthaimeen from the Mahad in Fairfax VA., had for the last couple of days since he death of the Mujhaid and Zahid, Sheikh Uthaimenn (Raheemahullah).  A couple of hours before he died Sheikh Fowzan dreamt he went to go visit him at his house.  He said the house was very big like a castle.  There he saw the sheikh taller than usual and very bright and healthy.  He looked with amazement and asked the sheikh (Raheemahullah) to explain all of what he is seeing.  Sheikh Uthaimeen said "Hadha min fadhlirubbi" (This is from the Bounty of My Lord.)  He took sheikh Fowazan's hand and showed him gardens that went beyond what the eye can see.  To shorten the story, Sheikh Fowzan woke up and called other scholars of Ilm, and he concluded either the sheikh's condition would be better or he would die soon.  About four hours later one of the guardians of the Sunnah in our times, Sheikh Uthaimeen died.

My conclusion is this.  I notice that every pious person deticated to Allah has died in a noble position in life.  As the Prophet (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam) said to humanity "You are Allah's witnesses on earth." I have been reflecting on how Blessed the sheikh is now and those who died before him who preserved this deen (insha'Allah).  I thought to myself how I envied to be in his position so bad rather than the state I was in now in meeting my Lord.  I got depressed for a moment and realized that I most likely will not reach his level specially at the rate I am moving.  So I felt, "then how will I go to Jennah????"

I came to the conclusion that either I have to go in path of Allah and/or try my best to help spread the dawah by rolling up my selves higher and getting more involved in helping institutes like Dar al-Arqam that are pushing the religion of Allah and the Sunnah of His messenger (Sallahu 3laihi Wasallam).  I am no sheikh and don't know how far I will go in this life with my obedience to Allah (Azawajal) so why wait and see?  I will continue trying to enjoin the good and forbid the evil till then isnah'Allah.  In saying this brothers/sisters there is a lot of Islam and there are a lot of people and Allah does not need our help.  Wallahi we need Allah.  So you can be one of the two types of people, either the type who talk about things that are happening, or the type who make things happen while others talk.

Let us stop looking for each other's short comings, stop comparing our selves to the people of this world and time, and compare our selves to the Salaf us Sauliheen (Pious Predecessors) and realize where we stand with Allah.  I think if more of us (Myself so included) would just look at our sins serriously and who we are sinnig against, this should silence us and wake us up.  I ask Allah to guide me and the all the Muslims to the straight path, the path of Allah and His Messenger and those who followed it with caution, Ameen.

Please pass this to others if you fell there is benefit in it, and my Lord surely knows Best.

Your brother,

Nabil Gharbieh