Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Hazrat Ya’laa bin Murrah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) mentions:
On one occasion during the khilaafah of Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), the companions of Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said to one another, “Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) is engaged in war and the enemy are nearby. We fear that a surprise attack may be launched against him at any time. Thus, ten people from among us should guard him every night.”
It was the habit of Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) that after performing the ‘esha salaah, he would remain at the qiblah wall of the musjid and perform some nafl salaah before returning home to his family. One night, after performing the ‘esha salaah and completing his nafl salaah, Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) turned and saw the people who were guarding him.
Seeing them, he addressed them and asked, “Why are you seated here at this late hour?” They replied, “We are merely sitting to speak to one another.” However, Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) insisted that they tell him of the actual reason for which they were seated in the musjid, to which they replied by informing him that they were guarding him.
Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then asked them, “Are you guarding me from the inhabitants of the earth or the inhabitants of the heavens (i.e. from the angels which fulfill the decree of Allah Ta‘ala)?” They replied, “We do not have any strength, before Allah Ta‘ala, to guard you from the inhabitants of the heavens. Rather, we are guarding you from the inhabitants of the earth.”
Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) then said, “Do not guard me, for when any event or occurrence is decreed in the heavens, it will thereafter be carried out by the inhabitants of the earth. The slave of Allah Ta‘ala will not find the sweetness of imaan until he has complete conviction that whatever befell him could not have missed him, and whatever missed him could not have befallen him.”
In another narration, Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) said, “No event transpires on the earth until it is first decreed in the heavens. Every person has two angels who are appointed to protect and defend him – until a calamity which has been decreed for him arrives. When a calamity that is decreed to befall him arrives, then these two angels do not intervene between him and the calamity that is destined for him.”
(Al-Istizkaar #38782 and Musannaf ‘Abdur Razzaaq #21013)
Note:
Though it is permissible for a person to adopt security measures, Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) had such a high level of reliance on Allah Ta‘ala that he did not wish to adopt the worldly means, but place his reliance directly on Allah Ta‘ala.
