There once lived a pious woman in Bahrain, named Muneefah bintu Abi Taariq (rahimahallah), who would spend nearly all of her time engaged in salaah and ‘ibaadah. Such was her passion for ‘ibaadah that when the night would come, she would say to herself, “O soul, how wonderful! The pleasure of a believer has come.” She would then prepare herself and proceed towards her place of ‘ibaadah, where she would engage in salaah until the morning with such devotion and engrossment that she would resemble a firm tree trunk.
During the day as well, Muneefah (rahimahallah) would continuously be engaged in salaah until the time of ‘Asr, after which she would rest till sunset. Once, someone suggested to her, “If you would move this sleeping time to the night, it would be more relaxing for your body.” She replied, “No! By Allah, I will not sleep in the darkness of the night as long as I am alive.”
One of her family members explained that the above habit of hers continued for forty years until she passed away!
On one occasion, a certain woman spent the night in the company of Muneefah (rahimahallah). She relates that Muneefah (rahimahallah) spent the entire night repeating a single verse while continuously crying. The verse which she was reciting was:
وَكَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَنتُمْ تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتُ اللَّهِ وَفِيكُمْ رَسُولُهُ وَمَن يَعْتَصِم بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ هُدِيَ إِلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
“How could you disbelieve whereas you are the ones to whom the verses of Allah are recited, and His messenger is present amongst you? And whoever holds on to Allah, is surely led to the straight path. (Surah Aal ‘Imraan v101)
After she had passed on, a man from Bahrain, ‘Aamir bin Mulaik (rahimahullah) saw her in a dream and asked her regarding the condition of those who had passed on. She replied, “Which condition of theirs are you asking about? The abode for the people of obedience is one; (however,) their rank in it varies according to their actions, but do not ask regarding the condition of the people of Jahannam.” Upon hearing this, ‘Aamir (rahimahullah) began crying. He then turned around (to leave) and heard her voice saying, “O ‘Aamir, be determined and strive (in the obedience of Allah Ta‘ala) so that you may walk on the path of the forerunners tomorrow (on the Day of Qiyaamah).” ‘Aamir (rahimahullah) further says, “By Allah, I had fallen ill for an entire month because of (seeing) this dream.”
(Sifatus Safwah vol. 2, pg. 279)
Lessons:
1. When a person is in love, then his greatest yearning and desire is to meet his beloved and spend as much time as possible with him. In fact, no matter how much of time he may spend in the company of his beloved, it will always seem to be less and insufficient. The lovers of Allah Ta‘ala thus pine for the moments in which they may ‘seclude’ themselves with their beloved – Allah Ta‘ala, and their desire is that those special moments should continue without coming to an end. May Allah Ta‘ala bless us with a portion of this true and pure love, aameen.
2. In the case of Muneefah (rahimahallah), she most probably did not have other responsibilities and obligations (such as seeing to a spouse and children, running a home, etc.) and she was consumed by the love of Allah Ta‘ala, hence she would spend nearly all her time in salaah and ‘ibaadah. Although we cannot even come close to this, due to our obligations and responsibilities, as well as our weaknesses, the least is that we must be extremely punctual on our fardh and sunnah salaahs, together with taking out some quality time daily for our beloved – Allah Ta‘ala. This time must be exclusively for His ‘ibaadah without any distractions and disturbances (as far as possible).
3. The pious have such conviction in the words of Allah Ta‘ala, and in the Hereafter that they are deeply affected and moved by it. Hence, Muneefah (rahimahallah) cried the entire night whilst reciting just one aayah of the Quraan Majeed, and ‘Aamir bin Mulaik (rahimahullah) fell ill for an entire month on seeing the dream.