Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Waasilah bin Asqa’ (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Allah Ta’ala preferred Banu Kinaanah from the children of Hazrat Ismaa‘eel (‘alaihis salaam), and from Banu Kinaanah, He chose the Quraish, and from the Quraish He favoured Banu Haashim, and from the Banu Haashim, He chose me.”
Hazrat Jibraa’eel (‘alaihis salaam) traversed the earth in search of uncontaminated souls. However, since it was an era of spiritual ignorance, he did not search for outward actions but focused on character and capability. In this aspect, Hazrat Jibraa’eel (‘alaihis salaam) did not find anyone better than the Arabs in general and Banu Haashim in particular.
At that time, the Arabs enjoyed supremacy over the other nations in certain spheres regarding which none dared to challenge them. For instance:
1. Family Lineage:
The Arabs were so particular regarding family lineage that let alone humans, they would even memorize and record the lineage of their horses. They would even retain (seemingly mundane) information such as who was born to a free woman and who was mothered by a slave woman, who drank the milk of a noble woman and who was suckled by a despicable woman. This is evident from the statement made by Hazrat Salamah bin Akwa‘ (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) on the battlefield when he declared, “I am the son of Akwa‘ and today’s battle will attest to who was nourished by a free woman and who was nursed by a slave woman.”
A poet of pre-Islamic times says:
لو كنت من مازن لم تستبح ابلي بنو اللقيطة من ذهل بن شيبانا
“If I was of the Maazin tribe, the children of a woman picked up on the roadside attributed to Zuhal bin Shaybaan would not have outsmarted my camel.”
As a form of ridicule, the poet refers to them as the children of a woman picked up on the roadside as an orphan. In other words, they are not the children of a noble woman but the children of an orphan who was abandoned on the roadside.
