In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate.
Say (O Muhammad), “Come, let us call our children and your children, our women and your women,
ourselves and yourselves, then let us pray earnestly and invoke the curse of Allah upon the liars.” (Qur’an 3:61)
The story began around 2009, when I started working at Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta. Since I am an English translator, I would naturally receive new Muslims who came seeking answers to their questions.
That day, a young woman, about 19 years old, came in. She had come to Egypt to work, but something had caught her attention in the place where she was staying, along with another young girl, i.e. her roommate.
Her roommate had developed a habit of visiting the mosque of Imam al-Husayn every Sunday.
She wanted to know why her roommate was drawn to go there, who Imam al-Husayn was, and why she felt compelled to do this? So, she came to Dar al-Ifta to ask and to understand.
In my role as a translator, I spoke with her. Praise be to Allah, the session with the Sheikh went well, but she began to feel a personal connection during the meeting.
She then asked me to stay in contact, and a week later we met in the mosque of Imam al-Husayn. I began noticing her expressions and reactions as she saw the devotees standing, people making supplication,
people praying, and people crying. She wanted to understand the secret behind these emotions. She said to me in her own language, “Why do people get so emotional?”
Why are they crying? Why are they so deeply moved?
This continued for four months. She would ask, and I would answer. Then, on the first day of Ramadan, I was surprised to learn that she had embraced Islam because she had
encountered the places of Ahl al-Bayt. Throughout that period, she had been reading about Lady Khadijah, peace be upon her, and through her research she discovered that the source of this noble lineage of Ahl al-Bayt is Lady Khadijah.
What struck me was how she connected the dots: that one must search for the source. Lady Khadijah established the family alongside the Prophet (PBUH). All of Ahl al-Bayt trace their origin back to Lady Khadijah.
A family that was founded first upon trust, honesty, and truth.
Those who newly enter Islam often have a special state with Allah, and they become a reminder to those who were born Muslim. Sometimes, those of us born into Islam overlook these blessings.
But people like Sofia and others remind us that we are living in a great blessing, and that from time to time, we need to thank Allah for it.
We seek intercession through the beloved one, the pure and chosen virgin, through the Prophet (PBUH), then through the Companions, hoping that the supplication may be answered.
Episode 6
The Ark of Salvation
Disbelief is a great trial, from which Allah saves whom He wills by placing in the heart the light of guidance to Islam.
Yet life contains many trials against which our master Muhammad (PBUH) warned us. He described them as surging, crashing waves, and he guided us that holding fast to his Household, peace be upon them,
is the path to salvation from drowning in this dark and turbulent sea.
If we seek to understand the meanings of words, we must first turn to the Qur’an, for the foundation of the language is rooted in the Noble Qur’an. There, the term “fitnah” appears with the meaning of testing and trial, as in the saying of the Most High:
“Your wealth and your children are but a trial.” It also appears with the meaning of disbelief in His saying, “Fitnah is worse than killing,” where it refers to disbelief. It likewise comes with the meaning of killing in the verse concerning the shortening of prayer: “If you fear that those who disbelieve may harm you.”
However, the intended meaning in these hadiths is the first meaning: trial and testing from Allah, Glorified and Exalted.
For this reason, when metal is to be tested to determine whether it is genuine and pure, it is exposed to fire. Gold is placed in the fire so that it becomes clear whether it is pure or mixed with impurities.
In the same way, a human being is tested and tried throughout life until his true essence is revealed and the reality of his faith becomes manifest. Thus, these trials came to surround people.
Fitnah is accompanied by confusion, instability, and chaos; everything that lacks order is fitnah (trial).
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “After me there will be trials like patches of a dark night. A man will wake up a believer and go to sleep a disbeliever,
and he will go to sleep a believer and wake up a disbeliever.” The Companions were astonished, and the Prophet (PBUH) responded to what was in their hearts, saying: “It is whoever sells his religion for a share of worldly gain.” This is the reality of our time.
Why did the Prophet (PBUH) liken times of trial to waves or to a turbulent sea? In the Qur’an, Allah, Glorified and Exalted, describes the sea in Surah an-Nur as layers of darkness,
one above another. Water itself produces darkness, and through this imagery the Prophet (PBUH) illustrated the loss of clarity and vision.
A person loses stability and balance, accompanied by fear, anxiety, and tension, until he is left in complete confusion. This is the reason for the comparison: we are living in profound bewilderment.
Truth and falsehood, right and wrong, people surge like the waves of the sea. As the poet Ibn As-Saifī said: “Why do I see people in utter confusion?”
It is an age in which matters become entangled and conditions grow unstable, and a person can no longer distinguish truth from falsehood. When truth and falsehood become confused, the importance of knowledge and worship during times of trial becomes clear.
The Prophet does not speak from his own desire. He knew that entering these trials without focusing on self-purification, reform, and discipline
could lead a person, in one way or another, to fall into trial and become among the people of falsehood without realizing it. Therefore, the Prophet (PBUH)
taught that the first step during times of trial is to begin with oneself in order to avoid participating in fitnah. When one builds a spiritual state with Allah, Glorified and Exalted, one reflects on what Allah has commanded
and what He has forbidden, works on reforming the self, builds a spiritual connection with the Prophet (PBUH), and reads the Prophetic biography.
Invoking salawat in abundant upon the Prophet (PBUH) strengthens this connection. The forms of invoking blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) taught by our Sheikhs and by the righteous friends of Allah (awliyaa’).
This includes reading Dalā’il al-Khayrāt—all help to build this spiritual state with the Prophet (PBUH) and to purify the heart.
O Allah, send Your prayers and peace upon our master and patron Muhammad, and upon the family of our master Muhammad, whose greatness and rank are proclaimed by the Qur’an.
A Muslim must distance himself from fitnah—that is, from chaos and turmoil. The way out of this, as our Prophet (PBUH) said, is: “If you see disagreement, then adhere to the great majority.”
Meaning that we should always seek the collective body of the Ummah and remain with it, so that we may avoid fitnah.
For this reason, whoever wishes to live rightly in this age must always be on the side of Allah and follow behind the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) upon a straight path, and must always remain
distant from these divisive currents, even if he lives alone with his Lord, remembering the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) by sending prayers and peace upon him.
O Allah, send Your prayers and peace upon our master and patron Muhammad, and upon the family of our master Muhammad, whom Allah has placed as a veil and a barrier between him and those who do not believe in him or in His signs.
Our master ʿUmar—one of the greatest people of insight and knowledge—once asked the noble Companions while they were seated, “Which of you recalls the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) concerning fitnah?” Our master Hudhayfah replied:
“The fitnah of a man lies in his wealth, his children, and his spouse; it is expiated by prayer, fasting, commanding what is right, and forbidding what is wrong.” Our master ʿUmar said, “That is not what I am asking about.”
Rather, I am asking about the trials that surge like the waves of the sea.” From here came the expression: surging like the waves of the sea.
Hudhayfah—who was the keeper of the Prophet’s secrets—said, “You have nothing to fear from them, O Commander of the Believers. Between you and them there is a door.” ʿUmar asked, “Will it be broken, or will it be opened?”
He replied, “It will be broken.” ʿUmar said, “Then it will never be closed again.” The Companions asked Hudhayfah, “Did ʿUmar know what the door was?” He said, “Yes, just as surely as he knew that tonight comes before tomorrow.”
He was then asked, “Who was the door?” He replied, “ʿUmar.” Thus, the comparison of trials to a turbulent sea with crashing waves is a Prophetic metaphor, and this is what our master ʿUmar clarified.
Our master ʿUmar—one of the ten promised Paradise—used to fear fitnah and ask about fitnah. In this is a lesson for all who came after him: that one must be aware of the trials of one’s time and fear falling into them.
For falling into fitnah is destruction; it is the loss of this world, religion, and the Hereafter.
Confronting trials without staining the heart: if we return properly to the Qur’anic verses and Prophetic hadiths related to fitnah, and reflect deeply on the lives of the imams who lived through times of trial, we will be able to face the trials of our own age.
Trials are indeed misleading. Did the Prophet ever speak to us about them? One day, our master, the Messenger of Allah, stood upon one of the elevated places of Medina, overlooking the city, and he said (PBUH):
“Indeed, I see trials entering your homes like the places where rain falls.” These trials will surely come. On one occasion, the beloved (PBUH) delivered the longest sermon of his life—one single sermon, yet comprehensive and complete—as reported in al-Bukhari and Muslim.
It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) addressed the people from after Fajr until Dhuhr, then descended and prayed with them, then stood again delivering a sermon until ʿAsr, and in another narration, until Maghrib. There was nothing except that he informed them of it.
Through this, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) made known what would occur in every era—trials, stages, upheavals, and transformations. So what should we do, O Messenger of Allah? We return, as he instructed, to the legacy and to the two weighty trusts,
the greater and the lesser: the Book of Allah and the family of my Household.
Thus, our master Muhammad (PBUH) did not merely warn us about trials; rather, he provided the means of salvation from them: holding fast to the Book of Allah and to his family, Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them.
O noble family, you shine with piety,
beloved to Allah, chosen and near.
O noble family, you shine with piety,
beloved to Allah, chosen and near.
From the light of light comes a radiant smile;
my heart is mad with love for ʿAli,
my heart is mad with love for ʿAli.
When it is mentioned in the hadith that trials are like a sea with surging waves, the question arises: how can one face such towering waves? Among people are those who can swim, and among them are those who cannot. Thus came this powerful metaphor.
“The likeness of my Ahl al-Bayt is that of the Ark of Noah.” Trials come and go, and a person’s heart and mind are exposed to many of these waves.
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “My Household among you are like the Ark of Noah among his people: whoever boards it is saved, and whoever remains behind it perishes.”
This, then, is the metaphor by which the Prophet (PBUH) likened his Household to the Ark.
The ship here is a depiction of this religion to which we belong. Whoever does not board the ship has, in effect, cast himself into the depths—placing himself in destruction—and will ultimately drown.
This is what the disbelievers, atheists, and those who live without religion do. Whoever lives without being attached to his faith will drown. And this ship
has a captain, and that is the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Those who assist him are his Companions, foremost among them Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Whoever is with Ahl al-Bayt of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)
and with the Companions of the Messenger of Allah is saved, for he is aboard their ship.
Thus, whoever follows Ahl al-Bayt of our Prophet today will likewise be saved, just as the people of Prophet Noah were saved when they followed him and boarded the ship with him.
Of course, for a ship to sail safely at sea, it must be guided by the stars. For this reason, the Prophet (PBUH) also guided us in another hadith,
“My Companions are like the stars; whichever of them you follow, you will be guided.” Thus, the path of safety in our time is to follow Ahl al-Bayt of our Prophet (PBUH)
and the Companions of our Prophet (PBUH).
Some people say, “I can be saved from trials by my own knowledge.” We say to him: you cannot. For whoever dispenses with the ship and relies on a boat he made himself,
or on a plank or a floating log upon the surface of the sea, cannot be saved when the surging waves—like mountains—come. But whoever boards the ship is saved. Thus, the ship is the guaranteed means of salvation
for you in times of trial. So why turn away from it, when this ship is ready—having a captain and a leader who knows the course? Board it and be saved, as the chosen one (PBUH) has made clear.
All people drowned in the time of Prophet Noah except those who boarded the ship with him. They were around eighty or slightly more—about eighty individuals—those were the ones who were saved.
Thus, the Prophet establishes a clear distinction: whoever is not with my Household is among the drowned, among the destroyed. The one who thought he would be saved said, “I will take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water.” Do not think that any illusion or outward glitter before your eyes,
whether intellectual or psychological, can make you among the saved outside the specific path of Muhammad (PBUH), a path that is definitively and exclusively tied to his Ahl al-Bayt as the way to salvation.
Whoever harbors hatred toward Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet cannot be among the saved. Whoever does not take from the knowledge of the Ahl al-Bayt cannot be among the saved.
Someone may say, “Can I not follow anyone?” My dear one, the conclusion in this age—and the door of reform—is through his Ahl al-Bayt. He said: “If there were only two days left in this world, a man from my Ahl al-Bayt would emerge and fill the earth with justice
just as it had been filled with tyranny and oppression.”
The Ark of Salvation in this age refers to the two foundations spoken of by the Messenger of Allah (PBUH): “If you hold fast to them, you will be upon what Allah and His Messenger desire—the Book of Allah and the ‘Itrah.”
If I cannot reach the ‘Itrah, then I hold firmly to the Book of Allah and turn to Allah through the Qur’an, asking Him to guide me to them. When Allah opens their door to me, I will have attained the Book and attained the Prophet (PBUH) as embodied within it.
I remain upon this path, facing one of two outcomes: either I die upon what Allah wills, or I live until I reach the final time in which I will be with the Imam whom Allah has made the seal of the saints—indeed, the greatest of them without exception.
This ship, as we say, is the Ark of Salvation and the beginning of the journey to Allah, Glorified and Exalted. Everyone who boarded the ship that Noah built by Allah’s command “Construct the Ark under Our instruction”
was saved. And whoever remained behind it—like his son—what was his fate? Destruction.
Ahl al-Bayt of our Prophet (PBUH) are the finest model for following the Prophet (PBUH). Whoever follows them and remains attached to love for them
will be saved, through their character and guidance, from the dangers of the trials faced in this age.
When we speak of Ahl al-Bayt, we do not mean an extremist or mythical understanding that declares disbelief upon anyone outside certain sects. There are many such factions, and we do not speak of them collectively.
Rather, we mean what the Prophet (PBUH) himself stated: whoever seeks salvation must love me; whoever loves me must love my Ahl al-Bayt; and whoever loves my Ahl al-Bayt must follow in their footsteps.
Following in their footsteps means adopting their understanding of the Qur’an of the Lord of the worlds and the Sunnah of the trustworthy Prophet. This is embodied in the four legal schools—the four madhhabs—whose roots lie in Ahl al-Bayt. This is the Ark of Salvation.
The Ashʿari and Maturidi traditions are part of the Ark of Salvation. Likewise, the established spiritual paths of the people of Allah—such as the Shadhiliyyah, Naqshbandiyyah, Khalwatiyyah, and others—are part of the Ark of Salvation. When examined, all of them are found to be founded upon Ahl al-Bayt.
There is nothing among these traditions whose foundation is not rooted in this path. Thus, it is truly the Ark of Salvation. The Prophet warns us not to take scattered paths far from this way, for there are surging waves from which one cannot be saved.
O Inspirer who grants success,
send prayers upon the one who was created,
whose character surpassed all creation—
and send peace as well.
The Ark of Salvation is for all of Allah’s servants, sailing by His command and guidance on a straight path, following the guidance of His noble Prophet, our master Muhammad (PBUH). But what must a Muslim do to qualify to board it?
Allah (Glorified and Exalted) chose the best of His creation to board the Ark of Noah, just as He chose the best of His creation for that ship to save them from drowning.
Similarly, whoever Allah loves, He allows to board the Ark of the Prophet’s (PBUH) Ahl al-Bayt.
This requires turning sincerely to Allah, asking Him to allow me to board this Ark. Even for someone who does not yet feel an emotional connection to Ahl al-Bayt personally, I say: complete a Qur’an recitation with the intention of understanding the status of the Prophet (PBUH) from Allah,
and the status of Ahl al-Bayt in relation to the Prophet (PBUH). Look at the verses and hadiths; if you disagree on authenticity, you will find both valid and weak narrations, but return to the Qur’an,
study it, see the rank of the Prophet (PBUH) from his Lord, and see the rank of Ahl al-Bayt in his life. Examine the stories narrated in the Qur’an about their lives.
Look into tafsir of specific verses, for example, the verse about those who spend their wealth day and night, secretly and openly—this was revealed about Sayyidina Ali.
He had four dirhams: he spent one at night, one during the day, one secretly, and one openly, covering all types of giving. Today, if the Ark of Salvation is the scholars,
the Prophet (PBUH) designated the scholars from among Ahl al-Bayt. So in this age, I must sincerely turn to Allah, asking Him to open their door to me, to guide me to them, and to make me follow in their footsteps.
The great saints we learn about from Ahl al-Bayt filled the world with knowledge, light, and blessing. Sayyid al-Badawi is from Ahl al-Bayt, and when you see his teachings and how he spread them,
and witness the blessings that descended because of him, you see a way out of the surging trials. Sayyid al-Dusuqi, Sayyid Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, Sayyida Nafisa—and we should not forget anyone from the Ahl al-Bayt because there are so many
they were a source of comfort in this world and filled it with blessing. When we reflect on this, we see that it removes both material and spiritual trials.
The metaphor of the ship is accurate: the sea is stormy, the waves crash violently in a dark night, yet you are riding the ship and being carried safely because you are on the Ark.
This is the meaning of the Prophet’s (PBUH) command to hold fast to Ahl al-Bayt and board their Ark, because they are a lifeline extending to the Prophet (PBUH).
They are the ones whom Allah Almighty says: “Allah only intends to remove filth from you, O people of the House.” Today, in a time of widespread corruption, as the Prophet (PBUH) taught us.
Lady Aisha said: “O Messenger of Allah, will we be destroyed while there are righteous people among us?” He (PBUH) said: “Yes, when corruption becomes widespread, people will pray but not be answered.” Today, corruption has indeed increased.
We can only be saved by people of true purity, spiritual cleanliness, and authentic inner integrity—not acquired virtue, which can fade. This true purity is only found in Ahl al-Bayt, because Allah Himself purified them.
The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Whoever wants salvation, this is the Qur’an, and this is the Ark, and this is Ahl al-Bayt.” So how do I board this Ark? The true boarding is complete emulation of them, outwardly and inwardly.
In their sayings, their actions, their states, their morals, their love, their interaction with others, their dealings with the truth: how they fasted, how they prayed, how they worshiped, how they guided people, how they advised others.
They are living embodiments of the Muhammadan reality. Just as the Prophet (PBUH) exemplified conduct in words and deeds, Ahl al-Bayt embody this Muhammadan way perfectly.
So if I want to be among the saved, aboard this Ark, there is no path except complete emulation of them (peace be upon them).
We must cling to Ahl al-Bayt for several reasons. First, Allah commanded us to love the Prophet’s household, so in obedience to Allah—and in this age of turbulent trials, rapid change, and widespread misguidance toward materialism and atheism—our love for Ahl al-Bayt becomes obligatory and increasingly necessary.
Second, the Prophet (PBUH) commanded us to honor his Household. He said: “All lineage and ancestry will be severed on the Day of Judgment except mine and that of my household.”
O Allah, send Your blessings upon our master Muhammad and upon the family of our master Muhammad, filling the world and the Hereafter; bless our master Muhammad and his family, filling the world and the Hereafter; have mercy upon our master Muhammad and his family, filling the world and the Hereafter.
Reward our master Muhammad and the family of our master Muhammad, filling the world and the Hereafter; and send peace upon our master Muhammad and the family of our master Muhammad, filling the world and the Hereafter.
The concern of the Prophet (PBUH) for his nation during times of tribulation, and his guidance to help them face difficult situations,
reflects his continuous and enduring mercy, taking the hand of his community and leading them toward Paradise, by the will of Allah.
It also reflects the morals and character of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, which make them worthy of emulation, so that we may protect ourselves in this age.
And this will be the topic of our next episode, by the will of Allah.
