HOW TO BE A SEEKER OF TRUTH IN THIS TIMES OF STRANGENESS?
The seeker of truth it is incumbent upon him to be distinguished from others from the people of partisanship, fanaticism and blind following. He should not cease to be upon the path of truth to the truth up until he reaches clarity and the whiteness that the prophet (sallalāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) left the companions upon.
So what are the characteristics of the seeker of truth?
Allāh said:
وَأَمَّا مَن جَاءَكَ يَسْعَىٰ
“But as for he who came to you striving earnestly”
وَهُوَ يَخْشَىٰ
“While he is afraid (of Allāh and His Punishment)”
The seeker of truth should be striving, hurrying earnestly towards the Qur’ān and Sunnah while he is afraid of the Punishment of Allah. It is for this reason he is seeking the truth. And he does not seek the truth in other than the Qur’an and Sunnah.
The seeker of truth he traverses upon the path of evidences, i.e. the Book of Allāh and the guidance of the Messenger (sallalāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) upon the understanding of the righteous Salaf. He goes with the evidences wherever it leads him even if it leads him to be boycotted by all of the people of his land.
For indeed, the truth is clear and upon clarity. Its night is like its day.
So beware! O seeker of truth, do not be from those whom Allāh described when He said:
“And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the āyāt of his Lord, but turns away from them forgetting what (deeds) his hands have sent forth. Truly, We have set veils over their hearts lest they should understand this (the Qur’ān), and in their ears, deafness. And if you call them to guidance, even then they will never be guided.”
“There is no good in an Ummah where the sword is in the hands of the cowards, and the wealth in the hand of the thieves and the pen in the hand of the hypocrites”
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “ Islam began as a something strange and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers .”
One thing I have noticed from most of the (95%) shuhadha I know. They all came from a dark past. Gang fights, drinking, drug dealing, and many other sins.
Its was the ALLĀH ta'ālaa that gave them guidance. I noticed they all had a drive to do be better. Maybe because they understood how they were in the past. As a muslim who inherited the dīn, I also noticed a sudden urge, a driving force to do good, when I first knew about haqq.
Those few of the few left everything for the Hereafter. All their family, friends, jobs, money, house. All of it. Just to be secure on the Day of the Greatest Terror (Judgment Day). Thats a journey! An evolution! Ya, Shaheedh you amaze me!
As Prophet ﷺ said "those who were best in Jahiliyyah are best in Islam, if they have religious understanding" [muslim]
They are those who raced with us to be in the hearts of greenbirds. The best of the best. Few amongst many. Strange amongst few. Strange amongst strangers.