Narrated By Sh. Abdur Razzaq al-Badr
I once met a man who memorized the Book of Allah in an astonishing manner. His memorization was so remarkable that I took a point of benefit from him. He said:
“In the Qur’an, there are thirty-three verses that begin with ‘Allah’ (الله). The first one is…, the second is…, the third one is…, the fourth one is…, and the thirty-third one is ‘Allah As-Samaad’ (الله الصمد).”
He recited them effortlessly, as if he were reciting Surah Al-Fatiha. Whenever I asked him about a verse, he would immediately state its place. Perfect in His Memorization
He shared his story with me, saying:
“Once, a caller came to me in my sleep, calling out ‘Ya Lateef’ (يا لطيف). The caller repeated ‘Ya Lateef’ 16,655,000 times. When I woke up, I thought, ‘This is from Allah.’ A caller from Allah—I must carry this out. I began counting on my fingers, then used beads to ensure precision. I sat from morning until Zuhr, neglecting my Qur’an revision, determined to follow the divine caller. I wrote ‘Ya Lateef’ repeatedly on paper to record the exact number.
About a day or two later, another caller came to me in my dream and said, ‘Allah As-Samad’ 30,000,000 times—thirty million times. I wrote down the number, believing it was from Ar-Rahman (الرحمن), from Allah. I felt it was not permissible to ignore this. So, I counted and counted until I became overwhelmed. I told myself, ‘I went mad. I lost the Qur’an, and it began to slip from me.’ I sat in a corner with a long string of beads, counting endlessly.”
I said to him, “These actions of yours are in vain and not from the religion of Allah. They will not bring you closer to Allah. In fact, Allah is displeased with this.”
He asked, “How is this possible?”
I replied, “The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
‘Whoever does something that is not in accordance with this matter of ours (Islam) shall have it rejected.’ 1
(Sunan Ibn Majah 14 – Grade: Sahih)
Where is the proof that this is from the order of the Prophet (ﷺ)? Since when is the religion taken from dreams or invisible callers? These are from Shaytan, distancing you from the religion of Allah and diverting you from His obedience.
Shaytan busies people with innovation, pulling them away from the Sunnah and the obedience of Allah. He found this man, who had memorized the Qur’an, was teaching it, and benefiting others, and he distracted him until he sat in a corner with beads, counting endlessly. He abandoned the Book of Allah and cut himself off from it.
This is how many people lose themselves in actions and worship, as Ibn al-Qayyim (May Allah Have Mercy On Him) warned:
Guidance comes only from the order of Allah, as conveyed by the Prophet (ﷺ), not from personal opinions, tastes, or the ways of forefathers.
Nowadays, some people call others to certain practices, and when asked for proof, they say, ‘Never. Since I was born, my father, grandfather, and entire family have followed this.’
This is not proof!
The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
‘I have left behind me two things; if you cling to them, you will never go astray. They are the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.’ 2
(Al-Muwatta 1661 – Grade: Sahih)
References:
- Sunan Ibn Majah 14 – Grade: Sahih
- Al-Muwaṭṭa’ 1661 – Grade: Sahih