The Taqwa Lifestyle, A Case Study Of a Queen

The Taqwa Lifestyle, A Case Study Of a Queen

By Umm Sulaym

The eyes are pink-red,

Heart’s a little blue,

She’s got everything,

If she only knew…

Life passes her by,

People zoom past too,

Selfish is this dunia’s very air…

With no one to turn to…

A sincere duaa reaches the Heavens,

The Angels hear her cry,

They rush to their Rabb,

Awaiting in line, the Decision of the Most High.

‘That’s My slave, you see there supplicating,

Bint of my beloved slaves so-and-so,

With every tear and heartache,

I allow her Paradise to grow.

Noor shall fill those eyes that are pink-red,

Over-joyous will be hearts that are blue,

I am with those who hurt themselves for Me,

If they only knew…’

***

Musa ibn Imran once said, ‘My Lord, where should I seek You?’

He replied, ‘Seek Me with those whose hearts have broken for My Sake. Every day I come close to them by one arm-span and were it not for this, they would surely perish.’ [isnad to Imran ibn al-Qusayr, recorded by Imam Ahmad, Kitab az-Zuhd, pp. 75]

Dearest Readers: Asalamoalaykum warahmatullah,

Nothing will resuscitate it back. Not the medicines. Not any human. Not any psychologist/psychiatrist, nor any Imam.

Regrets of the past and fears of the future will continue to invade the fragile heart. The ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ will cooperatively continue to plague the mind.

 ‘If only I had known before’ ‘…if only he cared’.

‘ If only I had married someone else or if only I was married.’

‘ If only I was accepted in that school. ‘

‘If only mum was alive.’

‘ If only I had kids, I wouldn’t be so unhappy. ‘

But you can put an end to it all and have a past with no regrets and a future with no fears:

‘O Children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers from amongst you, reciting to you, My Verses, then whosoever fears (has Taqwa)  and reforms himself, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.’ [7: 35]

We all need examples to motivate and  teach us how to reform ourselves. What better a way than learning from a fascinating story? A story that’ll prove it to you that Taqwa is really:

1. an antidote for loneliness and lack of love [3:76]

2. a means of a way out of problems [65:2-3]

3. a source of honor [13:13]

4. a means of survival amidst bad news [10:63-64]

5.only in those who have knowledge of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’la [35:28]

I will narrate to you a story of a woman who adopted the Taqwa lifestyle despite the challenges she faced. From loneliness,  lack of love,  loss of ‘status’,  challenges from family to being plotted against despite wishing well for others. She lost everything and everyone except Taqwa. She didn’t complain, give up on her Lord, or go into depression. She moved on. And so shall all of us dear sisters. And so shall all of us…as we tread the path to Taqwa inshaAllah.

She was a Queen who was entitled as the Cream of Royalty. A Muslim Queen surrounded 360 degrees by kings because she was a daughter of a king, sister of a king, later on wife of two kings, mother of two kings, and grandmother of a king. SubhanAllah! Our lovely lady of taqwa was called Zummurud bint Jawlee (Rahimullah) who was born in 470 AH (1074 CE) in Damascus or Ash-Shaam. She did have a royal upbringing but her father wanted her to be raised with knowledge as well. Unlike most rich fathers today, he did not spoil her even though he could afford to. Zummurud (Rahimullah) was surrounded by kings left and right, why would she need knowledge to make decisions when she would have the power to summon scholars by a single command? Her father ensured that little Zummurud  memorized  the  Quraan and as she grew older, she was taught the Fiqh of the Hanafi Madhab. 

Around that time period, a kingdom would hold onto one type of Madhab very strongly and thus promote only that specific Madhab. Naturally then, as she was raised in a pure Hanafi environment, she got more opportunity to learn about that specific Madhab, adab and akhlaaq. As she was growing, she started learning about Hadith sciences and since a lot of scholars used to visit Damascus, she learned from them and got her Ijaaza. Therefore being nurtured in an environment of scholars, it is no surprise that she soon mastered the Hanafi Madhab and was in her life-time considered a scholar in that field. 

As her life story goes she got married to King Boorie. King Boorie was one of the greatest kings of his time and he too belonged to the Seljuk Turks. He has been known as a great fighter in battles against the Crusaders and the Baatinees. Queen Zummurud (Rahimullah) and King Boorie made a couple much loved by their community. He divided his time between his work and wife. King Boorie concentrated on building armies/allies and meeting delegates while he asked his wife to be responsible for education and community affairs. Because of her knowledge and the community’s interests at heart, Queen Zummurud (Rahimullah) quickly became the community’s favourite as she continued to support education. 

As a daughter of a king earlier and now a wife of the king, she had been exposed to the evil designs of the Crusaders and how with time, the Crusaders divided Muslim lands and weakened the Muslim economy. She saw how instead of being united, every Muslim region formed its own government with its own king and how they just fought with each other. As a result, despite not needing to be bothered about political affairs, she was well-informed and she knew what was happening around her.

She even witnessed the movement of ‘Imaad Ad-Deen Zinkee who wanted to unite all the small Muslim regions under his leadership in order to attack the Crusaders as a single force. If the Muslim regions did not agree, he would invade that area and force them  to comply with his ideas. He did not think highly of Damascus and so the relationship with him and the royalty of Damascus was not very good. 

It is hard to say what was the major turning point of Zummurud (Rahimullah)’s life but it would be not an exaggeration to claim that things totally changed as soon as her husband, King Boorie, passed away. 

Like things always happen, things changed for her too. She might’ve planned otherwise but Allah subhaana wa ta'aala had planned better things for her…like for me and you.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story or better still, find out about her yourself.

And Allah subhaanawa ta’ala knows best.

Love,

-Umm Sulaym


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