3.   When I hear صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب, اُذۡكُرُوا اللّٰه, تُوۡبُوۡا اِلَى اللّٰه, etc., I will reply loudly with the intention of gaining reward and pleasing those who make Sada [call out] loudly.

4.   After the Bayan, I will approach people to say Salaam, shake hands and to make individual efforts upon them.

صَلُّوۡا عَلَى الۡحَبِيۡب                          صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلٰى مُحَمَّد

A neighbourhood of people who fast

Sayyidunā Mālik b. Dīnār رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه was a great saint of Allah Almighty. Like all the saints رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَلَيْهِمَ, he strived to suppress his desires. The renowned spiritual guide and leader of Ahl al-Sunnah, Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ, writes in his book Blessings of Ramadan:

Sayyidunā Mālik b. Dīnār رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه did not eat a date for 40 years in order to refrain from succumbing to his desires. When he was overwhelmed with an extreme urge to eat a date after 40 years, he fasted for an entire week to stifle his self. During the day, he purchased dates and entered a masjid in Basra. As he took out the dates to eat, a child cried out, “Father! A non-Muslim has entered the masjid.” Upon hearing this, the child’s father rushed over with a stick in his hand, but when he recognised Sayyidunā Mālik b. Dīnār رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه, he asked for forgiveness and said, “All the Muslims in our neighbourhood fast during the day. Nobody eats during the day except for non-Muslims, which is why the child said this. Forgive us for this mistake.”

Sayyidunā Mālik b. Dīnār رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه responded out of spiritual passion, “The tongue of a child is a tongue from the unseen.” Then he took an oath to never eat a date again.^[1]

Dear Islamic brothers! There are two lessons for us in this beautiful incident.