(Sayyidah Juwairiyah bintul Haarith [radhiyallahu ‘anha] – Part Two)
Sayyidah Juwairiyah’s (radhiyallahu ‘anha) name was originally Barrah. However, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) changed it to Juwairiyah, as he had done with Sayyidah Zainab bintu Jahsh and Sayyidah Maimoonah (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) as well. (Saheeeh Muslim #5606 and As-Seeratul Halabiyyah vol. 2, pg. 280)
Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) explains that Sayyidah Juwairiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was a woman who spoke sweetly and possessed exceptional beauty. (Musnad Ahmad #26365)
Being the wife of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Sayyidah Juwairiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) also lived a life of simplicity and austerity, and at times she did not even have any food in her home. Hence on one occasion, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) came to her home and asked her if she had any food to eat. Sayyidah Juwairiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) replied that the only food which was present in the home was a bone of meat which was given to her servant as sadaqah. (Saheeh Muslim #2483)
Once, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) left for Fajr Salaah from the home of Sayyidah Juwairiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha). As he left, he noticed her seated in her place of salaah, engaged in the zikr of Allah Ta‘ala. Thereafter, when it was midmorning, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) returned to her home and found that Sayyidah Juwairiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) was still seated in her place of salaah. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) thus asked her, “Did you remain in the same condition (engaged in the zikr of Allah Ta‘ala) as you were when I left you?” When she replied that she had indeed remained engaged in zikr for the entire time, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “After I left, I recited four phrases three times. These phrases are such that if they have to be weighed against all the zikr that you made today, these phrases will outweigh your zikr.” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then taught her the following words:
سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ وَرِضَا نَفْسِهِ وَزِنَةَ عَرْشِهِ وَمِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِهِ
“I proclaim that Allah Ta‘ala is free of any imperfection together with praising Him, equal to the number of His creation, equal to the amount that will please Him, equal to the weight of His throne and equal to His words.” (Saheeh Muslim #6913)
(NB: The reason for Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioning this to Sayyidah Juwairiyah [radhiyallahu ‘anha] was to explain the great virtue of reciting these words, and not to discourage her from spending this amount of time engaging in zikr.)
Sayyidah Juwairiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) passed away in Madeenah Munawwarah at the age of 65 in the year 50 A.H. and was subsequently buried in Jannatul Baqee’. (Sharhuz Zurqaani vol. 4, pg. 428)
Lessons:
1. If material comforts and luxuries were a sign of acceptance and a benchmark of success, the Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his family would have enjoyed them the most. However, they experienced such difficulties that at times there was absolutely no food in the home, as witnessed in the above-mentioned incident.
2. In the modern world we live in, ‘efficiency’ is a sought-after quality in everything. Efficiency basically means to get the most out of something with the least amount of resources and effort. Therefore, people opt for fuel-efficient cars, energy-saving globes, energy-efficient appliances etc. In a similar manner, there are certain acts of ‘ibaadah or du‘aas shown to us by Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) which may not take too much of time or effort, but they reap great rewards and blessings from the side of Allah Ta‘ala. We should therefore strive to learn these ‘high-powered’ acts and make every effort to practice on them.
3. One of the special moments for ‘ibaadah and zikr is the time after the Fajr Salaah, as has been encouraged in various verses of the Quraan Majeed, as well as the ahaadeeth. Hence, we should make an effort to stay awake at that time and enjoy the special blessings which are descending from Allah Ta‘ala.
4. When a person is in love with someone, no amount of time is too long when communicating with him or sitting in his company. The pious servants of Allah Ta‘ala enjoy such a relationship of love with Allah Ta‘ala, that spending hours on the musalla, engaging in tilaawat, zikr, du‘aa etc. is not only easy for them, but actually extremely enjoyable.