Shiekh Abdullah Azzams Immense Zuhd

[fisabililah]

'Believe me when I tell you that I hate buying new things, new clothes, etc.

One day, I came home to find new sponge cushions with matching sheets. When I saw them, I lost my mind. I said, 'By Allah, women have no religion. This must go,where did this come from?' They said, 'It is a gift.' I said, 'It must leave the house. It cannot remain in the house,' and I spoke such words to my wife that she was going to pass out. By Allah, she was going to pass out and lose consciousness, and she began to shake. I began to fear for her sanity, by Allah.

But, believe me, brothers, I did not enter the house. Really, I sai,: 'Where did this gift come from?'

She said, 'Why does it matter to you? Your guests are here day and night, coming in and out, and I wash the sheets of these mattresses and change them. I change them everyday because the cotton in these Pakistani sheets gets stuck in the creases of the cushions. I am tired, and I found some gold that I had, which I then spent on this to relieve myself a bit.'

I said to her, 'While the Mujahidin are dying of hunger?'

She said, 'I donated a third of the value to the Mujahidin.'

I said to her,'Even then, it cannot remain.'

From then until now, believe me when I tell you that I never enter the home and see these except that my chest becomes tight. Believe me, we tried removing them from the home in a way that would not result in her passing out again, and may Allah Forgive us all'

A footnote to this story says that the Shaykh remained insistent upon this until he finally sold the cushions and sheets to a brother for less than their original price.

[Fi Dhilal Surat atTawbah, p. 222]

May Allah increase the likes of this shiekh amongst us, and may he expose the monks of the tawagheet. Ameen.