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He was a simple man, but don’t let that fool you.
It was his simple way that vividly expressed the beauty of our religion.
To those in his presence, he would often proclaim with certainty that the only reason for their visit was to gain the pleasure of God. His assuredness was derived from the fact that he owned nothing of this world–he had no worldly position, he wore no garments of recognition, and his possessions were only of the kind that would further his saintly mission. His was a life of ascetic beauty and balanced austerity, a life untouched by the tainted passions of men, a life filled with the light of prophetic guidance.
I met Shaykh Muhammad Ma’moon (may God have mercy on his noble soul) almost a decade ago during a period of deep personal crisis. Although I had studied for several years at an elite institution of religious learning, and had met many scholars, teachers, and students of knowledge, I had yet to meet a man that affected me as much as Shaykh Muhammad Ma’moon.
He counseled me through my crisis with experiential wisdom and with prophetic statements. Some were statements I had heard before, but, when infused with his unique state of being, it was as if I was hearing them for the first time and in an entirely new manner. My mind asked, “How can this be?” and my heart answered, “He is an inheritor.”
Through Shaykh Muhammad Ma’moon, I discovered that there was much more to learning the religion of Islam than just memorizing scholarly sayings and endless quotations. Islam, I began to understand, was about my state of being, about how my heart engages with the world.
I finally began to realize that all the knowledge that I had studied, all the books I had read, and all the information that I had acquired was all worthless unless it was coupled with a true sense of inner piety and a real concern for the inclinations of the heart. He taught me by his very state of being that the source of contentment, the origin of tranquility, and the key to all success was to be found in the remembrance of God: “Verily, by the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction!”
So who are the inheritors? Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) once said: “The (true) scholars are indeed the inheritors of the prophets. The prophets have bequeathed neither dinar nor dirham, but rather, they have bequeathed knowledge. So whoever takes such knowledge, they have indeed taken a vast portion (of good)” (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi).
Being in the presence of the inheritors of the prophets is like basking in the warmth of the sun’s brilliant rays, rays that emit both radiance and light. Even with your eyes closed you can feel their presence; you can sense the transmission that is taking place.
These men and women are indeed rare, and rarer still in an age when many have become increasingly, if not completely, severed from the sacred. I pray that we all have the blessed opportunity to meet men and women like Shaykh Muhammad Ma’moon (may Allah have mercy on his blessed soul).
I can tell you with certainty that they still exist. They are here.
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Oh Allah, we ask You with one voice to show us the inheritors of the prophets, to allow us to meet with them, to raise their ranks in the Hereafter, to bless them beyond measure, to make us pleasing to them, and to help us to benefit from their legacy. Amin.
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