What is the matter with us, that our eyes do not shed tears, even when the glorious words of al-Rahmān are recited to us?
Do the words of the Qur’ān not melt our hearts and soften our eyes? How about the description of Hell, or the promise of Paradise?
What about the stories of Nūh and his son? Hūd, Sālih, or Lūt? May peace be upon them all.
Don’t the outcomes of ʿĀd, Thamūd, and Madyan stir our souls, even though they were enough to turn the Messenger’s blessed hair white?!
Abu Juhayfa (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) said,
‘O Messenger of Allah, we notice that you have turned grey!’
The Prophet ﷺ said, ‘The [Surah of] Hūd and its sisters have caused me to turn grey!’” [1]
Surely, the mighty stories of Mūsā and Pharaoh, or the best stories of Yusuf, Maryam, and ʿĪsā (ʿalayhim al-Salām) must reduce us to tears?
Okay, fine. If the above do not have that effect, then how about Gaza? Palestine? How about the killing of our granddaughter Hind Rajab, or of our grandfather Khaled Nabhan, or of our grandson Muhammad al-Durrah?
Then we have the ongoing crises in Sudan, Yemen, the Rohingya in Myanmar, the starvation, oppression, and injustice the world over.
Does anything, anymore, cause us to weep, let alone shed a tear?
Don’t let the eyes become dry as rock!
Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) says,
ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَهِىَ كَٱلْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةًۭ ۚ وَإِنَّ مِنَ ٱلْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ۚ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ ٱلْمَآءُ ۚ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ
Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder.
For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah.
And Allah is not unaware of what you do.” [2]
What has caused our eyes — and indeed our hearts — to become so stern, so hard? Why and how have we become so indifferent, so desensitised?
Do we see weeping and tears as a sign of being “soft” or “weak”? Has the gym and all the training made us too “hard” or “macho” to cry?
Have we become too educated, sophisticated, professional, or have we not sinned? Or might it be our vanity and arrogance that prevents us? Or perhaps it is our preoccupation with the world that distracts us.
The greatest men wept!
The greatest of those who ever walked the Earth all shed tears.
The beard of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (radiy Allahu ‘anhu), despite his strength and physique, was frequently soaked with tears from reciting the Qur’ān.
The greatest general to have lived, Khālid ibn al-Walīd — “the Sword of Allah” — cried while reciting from the Qur’ān.
As did all of the following:
- ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀs, Conqueror of Egypt
- Sa’d ibn Abī Waqqās, Conqueror of Persia
- Tāriq ibn Ziyād, Conqueror of Spain (al-Andalus)
- Muhammad ibn Qāsim, Young Conqueror of Sindh
- Nūr al-Dīn Zangī, the Predecessor of Salāh al-Dīn.
All of them wept profusely; radiy Allahu ‘anhum!
We all know Salāh al-Dīn al-Ayyubī as the Liberator of Jerusalem…
It is reported that his companion once said,
“By Allah, I have never seen anyone cry more than Salāh al-Dīn when he stood before his Lord.”
And we all know of the great Abbasid Caliph and Commander of the Faithful, al-Mu’tasim–billāh, who famously heard a Muslim woman cry out for help from a Byzantine prison with the words “Wa Mu’tasimāh!” (O Mu’tasim, help me!).
He wept and vowed to rescue her.
All wept profusely in public and no doubt in private. They cried in front of their Lord while acknowledging their weaknesses and gratitude toward Him, glorifying Him for His greatness, His help, and His favours (subḥānahu wa ta’āla).
Did their weeping make them any “softer”, or was it the key to their success? Are we any bigger, better, stronger, or more successful than any of the great people mentioned?
Allow your tears to fall
Abu Umāmah Sudayyī ibn ʿAjlān al-Bāhilī (radiy Allahu ‘anhu) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said,
“Nothing is dearer to Allah than two drops and two marks: a drop of tears shed out of fear of Allah, and a drop of blood shed in Allah’s way.
Regarding the two marks, they are: marks left in the Cause of Allah, and a mark left in observing one of the obligatory acts of worship of Allah, the Exalted.” [3]
With the last few days remaining in this Ramadan, let us remove all the false inhibitions we may harbour, and give free reign to our eyes so that they may offload all those tears that we’ve stored up for far too long!
Allow your tears to travel so their surface area is assured protection from the fire of Hell.
Immerse yourself in the beauty of the Qur’ān, listen to its wonderful reciters, reflect on its meanings, parables, and lessons.
Let those tears turn into resolve, which turns into change, and which in turn becomes action.
May Allah (subḥānahu wa ta’āla) make us from those who truly repent and shed tears only for His sake, āmīn.
Source: Islam21c
Notes
[1] al-Shamāʾil al-Muhammadiyah, 42; https://sunnah.com/shamail:42
[2] al-Qur’ān, 2:74
[3] Riyād al-Sālihīn, 455; https://sunnah.com/riyadussalihin:455
