دار محمد Daar Muhammed

حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ يُونُسَ الْحَنَفِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ، حَدَّثَنِي أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، – وَهُوَ عَمُّ إِسْحَاقَ – قَالَ بَيْنَمَا نَحْنُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذْ جَاءَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَقَامَ يَبُولُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَقَالَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَهْ مَهْ ‏.‏ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ لاَ تُزْرِمُوهُ دَعُوهُ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ فَتَرَكُوهُ حَتَّى بَالَ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم دَعَاهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ ‏”‏ إِنَّ هَذِهِ الْمَسَاجِدَ لاَ تَصْلُحُ لِشَىْءٍ مِنْ هَذَا الْبَوْلِ وَلاَ الْقَذَرِ إِنَّمَا هِيَ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَالصَّلاَةِ وَقِرَاءَةِ الْقُرْآنِ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ أَوْ كَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ قَالَ فَأَمَرَ رَجُلاً مِنَ الْقَوْمِ فَجَاءَ بِدَلْوٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَشَنَّهُ عَلَيْهِ ‏.‏

Narrated by Anas ibn Malik (ral): While we were in the mosque with Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), a desert Arab came and stood up and began to urinate in the mosque. The Companions of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: Stop, stop, but the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Don’t interrupt him; leave him alone. They left him alone, and when he finished urinating, Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) called him and said to him: These mosques are not the places meant for urine and filth, but are only for the remembrance of Allah, prayer and the recitation of the Qur’an, or Allah’s Messenger said something like that. He (the narrator) said that he (the Prophet ﷺ) then gave orders to one of the people who brought a bucket of water and poured it over.

Muslim: 285

If you were handed black and white religion that was used to keep you “in place” instead of being conveyed to you with the purpose of enlightening your heart, guiding your young soul and helping you to flourish, keep this hadeeth close to your heart.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُسْهِرٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ دَخَلَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ الْمَسْجِدَ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ جَالِسٌ فَقَالَ اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِمُحَمَّدٍ وَلاَ تَغْفِرْ لأَحَدٍ مَعَنَا ‏.‏ فَضَحِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ وَقَالَ ‏”‏ لَقَدِ احْتَظَرْتَ وَاسِعًا ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ وَلَّى حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ فِي نَاحِيَةِ الْمَسْجِدِ فَشَجَ يَبُولُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ بَعْدَ أَنْ فَقِهَ فَقَامَ إِلَىَّ بِأَبِي وَأُمِّي ‏.‏ فَلَمْ يُؤَنِّبْ وَلَمْ يَسُبَّ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏”‏ إِنَّ هَذَا الْمَسْجِدَ لاَ يُبَالُ فِيهِ وَإِنَّمَا بُنِيَ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَلِلصَّلاَةِ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ أَمَرَ بِسَجْلٍ مِنَ مَاءٍ فَأُفْرِغَ عَلَى بَوْلِهِ ‏.‏

A Bedouin entered the mosque when the Messenger of Allah was sitting there, and (the man) said: ‘O Allah, forgive me and Muhammed, and do not forgive anyone else with us.’ The Messenger of Allah smiled and said: ‘You have placed restrictions on something that is vast.’ Then the Bedouin turned away, went to a corner of the mosque, spread his legs, and began to urinate. After he had a better understanding, the Bedouin said: ‘He got up and came to me, and may my father and mother be ransomed for him, he did not rebuke me nor revile me. He said: “This mosque is not for urinating in. Rather, it is built for the remembrance of Allah and prayer.’” Then he called for a large vessel of water and poured it over the place where he had urinated.”
Sunan Ibn Majah: 529

A few days ago, in Mishkath class, we read this hadith about the Bedouin who soiled the mosque. I’ve heard the hadith once or twice before but this time it impacted me a little differently. Thinking over it and the meanings it held made me realise what a game changer it is for those who grew up under the constant expectations of a rigid system, which was claimed was Deen, was Islam. 

The pain of coming to realise that Islam, something you love so passionately, something that was revealed to comfort and ease, was used to control you and shame you— is unique. When halal and haram were twisted at convenience and came threats of Divine punishment for the smallest mishaps from a child. To regain your power and break off the barricades that were placed from gaining peace from the Deen as it was supposed to provide you, one of the biggest comebacks that you can do for yourself is to learn the Deen. To reach for it with a present heart and to seek it from the right place.

طه •

مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَىٰ •

1. Ta-Ha.

2. We have not sent down the Qur’an unto you (O Muhammad ) to cause you distress,

Ta-Ha:1-2

Acknowledge the wound. If you were shut off as a child, you carry a legitimate fear of reaching for life. That fear is real; acknowledge it and understanding it before you try to outpace it.

What was denied to you is now yours to live. The man who soiled the masjid was met with gentleness, teaching, and mercy, not shaming, cornering, or humiliation. This serves as a model for how Deen opens doors and creates opportunities for learning. Just as it shows that piety is taught with dignity, not cruelty, or getting a jab at others, however young.

What was Denied to you is Now Yours to Live

Here is a grown man soiling the masjid. But the Prophet ﷺ instructed: Let him finish. Then he ﷺ called him close and educated him on the sanctity of the place. There was ease and gentleness and humanity. Forgiveness and eyes emanated kindness. Things that may have not been afforded to you. But things you can now live through his words ﷺ.

As Umar رضي الله عنه said, “The Muslim is more precious than the Kaʿbah”. What we need to understand here is that this is Islam yusr (ease) in action. The “transgressor” here and in similar situations is not an object of disgust but a mirror of us all: imperfect, yearning, teachable. All human.

Be the Bedouin

Be the Bedouin. Yes, be him. Of course not literally. But be him. Having done a mistake and now standing before the Prophet (sal). Except in child form, small and darting. A little unsure, very curious, and easily overwhelmed. Can you imagine what that would be like? If this was his response to a grown adult, what would it have been to a child? To you?

So be the Bedouin and reassess your mishaps and your fears through the years. That should show you if you were actually “horrible”, “difficult”, “different,” and most importantly, if you were “hopeless”. The dysfunctional family system would say yes. The Prophetic wisdom would say, you are to be hoped for.

With the guidance of the Prophet (sal) you now have,

• Permission to experiment and fail (try classes, hobbies, short commitments and courses of learning.)
• Relearning Deen as liberation (seek teachers who teach with mercy).
• Perform beautiful rituals as small reclamations (try voluntary salah, dhikr, journalling).

To immerse in the Deen and shower yourself with its truth and light. To reach it directly and seek it from the right place. To allow yourself new experiences to experience the Religion in action. These are key treatments to heal a soul against whom the Deen was weaponised in order to subjugate it. 

Acknowledge the Pain

To take advantage of a child’s complete trust on oneself and to turn into a buffer for one’s insecurities. To use that little soul, small body, small heart, to carry the weight that we ourselves fail to. Or to avoid the weight of patience needed to allow a child to grow and flourish. To make haram as convenient and halal as convenient and threaten with Divine Punishment, the smallest mishaps from a child just learning her world. To weaponsie this beautiful Deen that she loves so much to silence her into submission and nonquestion. It takes a while to grasp the extent of damage done. It takes a good while to grasp the absence of heart whilst these things were being done.

“He did not rebuke me nor revile me”: Regain Your Power

When Deen is used as an instrument of control, remind yourself of how the Prophet ﷺ prioritizes the man’s dignity over the mosque’s immediate purity. Human imperfection that was met with raw humanity. The Prophet (sal) humanised the transgressor before judgement. There is a when and a where.

Transform the pain you feel deep inside of you into possibilities and doors of opportunity.

As a child, unaware of how to do and what to do, making mistakes a child commonly makes, only to be lashed out with rage so frequently that you started making yourself invisible in order to escape the harsh athmosphere that would weigh so heavily in your heart.

Envision yourself as the Bedoiun here. No laughing, no ridicule, just some gentle guidance and life went on. True guidance enlightens the qalb (heart) rather than encaging it, so know that how the Prophet ﷺ did was the true way and true guidance. Not what you saw. And keeping this, pave your path of return. Seek experienced and devoted guardians of knowledge who will guard against further distortion and echo the Hadith’s call to educate and not exile. Go ahead from there, and you will see the doors Allah opens for you.

Allahumma Salli ala Muhammed.