Flicken’s Blog: The Passing of a Giant

Indeed, we are for Allah and unto Him we shall return.

Today (Friday) at fajr a brother asked me if I attended the funeral. When I asked him which funeral he was referring to, he said that of Shaykh Abu Ayman Abu Al-Shamat. I hadn’t known about it until he mentioned it.

Shaykh Abu Ayman had been in the ICU of Amir Hamza’s Hospital in Tabarbour. I was thinking of visiting him on Thursday but got busy, so I decided to visit him Friday. (Sometimes you don’t get another chance.) Alhamdulillah, I was able to visit him last Friday. He was laying on the hospital bed saying in a quiet, struggling voice (اللهم ارض عني), “O Allah, be pleased with me.” When the hospital staff asked me to leave, I kissed his forehead and sought permission to depart. He nodded his head.

Originally from Syria, Shaykh Abu Ayman passed on in his eighties, having lived in Jordan for the past fifty-odd years. Despite his diminutive stature, he was a giant in terms of spiritual state and character. Anyone who didn’t have their internal eyes closed could see the state of this immense man and would be humbled before him. He was the spiritual mentor of Shaykh Ali Hani (Allah preserve him), whose character leaves no doubt regarding the perfection of Shaykh Abu Ayman’s instruction.

May Allah grant us the love of those whom He loves and benefit us through it. Allah be well pleased with Shaykh Abu Ayman.

faraz notes:

Shaykh Abu Ayman was surely one of the “People of the Qur’an,” of whom the Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The people of the Qur’an are the people of Allah and His most elect.” The was a person beautiful in person and character; a person who exemplified the Prophetic mercy, love, gentleness, and excellence; a person who lived for the Qur’an, and who lived the Qur’an; a person who lived to teach the Qur’an, and whose example taught people how to live the Qur’an. A person who loved children–I still remember how he’d give my sons sweets (or, sometimes, small gifts of money) every time he saw them. A person who, like Allah’s description of His true servants, “tread lightly on earth.”

Shaykh Abu Ayman’s light lives on–for him in the Hereafter, and for us through the people whom he transmitted this light to, including dear scholars such as Shaykh Ali Hani, Shaykh Diya’, and a wonderful youth from America (Hafiz Yusuf) whom Shaykh Abu Ayman taught the Qur’an (after he’d memorized it, by the age of 8 or 9, under Shaykh Ali Hani) with much love and concern.

May Allah Most High envelop Sayyidi Abu Ayman in His Mercy and grant him the highest of Paradise, and make us worthy successors–people who follow on such noble footsteps on the path of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). Ya Rabb!