KISS

Have you heard about acronym KISS? Keep It Simple Stupid. Well, Actually, the meaning is don't underestimate one simple act that have been done continuosly. About this KISS, don't bother think about doing too great act we can't handle and we even haven't any capability of doing. Just choose one simple good deed and stick with it! Do it continuosly, and it will bear its fruits someday, as it accumulates day by day you do it.

Well actually, there's a story about how this KISS finally bear its fruits; a story about Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal rahumahullah when he traveled to Shams. And we may change the KISS to : Keep It Simple Sunnah :)

Imam Jauzi rahimahullah wrote a book about al Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal rahimahullah : The Virtues of Imam Ahmad rahimahullah.

At the peak of his life, Imam Ahmad was the most famous man among the muslims ummah, hands down. In the day of his death, one point three million peoples came to pray janazah for him, this is how popular and how beloved he was.

Imam Ahmad rahimahullah used to go around to his student halaqahs, used to go around seeking knowledge from other people wrapping his face, so that people wouldn't notice him, very humble person, cause he didn't want people to put him on the pedestal.

One day, he was travelling to AsShams - where no one knew how he looks like -, he walked into a masjid to spend the night. The guard of the masjid told him, "Get out, masjid's closing!".

He said, "But, i have nowhere to go".

Then the guard replies, "Get out, masjid's closing, get out!!".

He didn't even sit there and said, "By the way, I am Imam Ahmad", He didn't play that card. So he picked his stuffs and he slept on the steps of the masjid.

The guard came and started, "Hey, move! Go! You can't even sleep here. Move away!"

Imam Ahmad replied like, "Where am i gonna go? I don't know anyone here".

Then this man, not knowing who he was messing with, picked up Imam Ahmad rahimahullah by his legs and he dragged him by the middle of the street and dropped him. Well Imam Ahmad rahimahullah was like okay.

Then there was a baker, who owned a bakery right accross the street, he came to Imam Ahmad and said, "You can come and sleep in my bakery. Tonight I'm gonna do some works, you can come sleep here". So he opened the way for him.

Imam Ahmad rahimahullah observed this man, he was sitting there and he was putting the dough together and put it into the oven. And everything that he did while he was leading the dough, he was going, "subhanallah, alhamdulillah, laa ilaha ilallah, Allahu akbar". The entire night he was making tasbeeh.

Imam Ahmad shocked, usually people get tired of tasbeeh after two or three minutes. while the man was doing it constantly in his workplace.

Imam Ahmad rahimahullah then asked, "How long have you been in this situation?".

The man said, "What situation?".

Imam Ahmad said, "Making tasbeeh to Allah subhanallahu wa ta'ala".

He said, "My whole life, this is what i do".

Then Imam Ahmad rahimahullah said,"What have you seen from Allah subhanallahu wa ta'ala as the result of these tasbeeh that you make?"

Well, He said, "I never made du'a to Allah for anything, except that He answered it".

Then the Imam said, "Subhanallah, you never made du'a to Allah except he gave it to you?"

Then, he repeated, " I never made du'a to Allah subhanallahu wa ta'ala for anything except he gave it to me". Then he continued,"Except for one thing".

Imam Ahmad asked,"what is that?"

He said, "To have a chance to see Imam Ahmad". Then Imam Ahmad rahimahullah brought to tears embraced this man.

But, then he said, "Subhanallah, HA HUWALLAH! Qadjaa aka bi Ahmad, yajuuruhu bi rijlihi ila makhbazak. Here's Allah! He brought you Ahmad, dragging him by his feet to your bakery. For wasn't for you I could have slept in peace at the masjid"

How beautiful was that. Just by doing tasbeeh continuosly in his workplace from the heart, Allah honoured this man having anything he asked for :)

Keep It Simple Sunnah, and stick with it! ^^b