In the Name Of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
After the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed away, some Arab tribes refused to pay zakat. Abu Bakr, Allah be very pleased with him, who was appointed to succeed the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, wanted to fight them.
'Umar, Allah be very pleased with him, came to the Khalifah and said how could he fight them when they testified that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger and they were praying. Abu Bakr swore that he would fight whoever differentiate between prayer and zakat and if they were to prevent him even a camel that they used to pay zakat to the Prophet, he would fight them over it. 'Umar asked him to be lenient with those Muslims because the situation of the Muslims were difficult after the death of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace--apostasy on the rise and disastrous news that were coming from every direction. Abu Bakr grabbed the beard of 'Umar and said, "O son of Khattab, you were a tyrant before you became Muslim and now when you became Muslim you want to become lame, feeble and weak." Then he said, "the religion has been left by Muhammad complete. I am not going to allow the religion of Allah be diminished." Abu Bakr waged war against those who refused to pay zakat until they surrendered.
Islam is a full package. As Muslims, we cannot take some and leave some--whatever is convenient we take and whatever is not, we leave or seek dispensations so we don't have to do it. If you want to keep the favor that Allah has bestowed upon you, i.e. your faith (Iman), and if you want Allah to continue to give you favors, then you have to do everything Allah tells you to do. You cannot believe some and not believe the other. If you do that, then you are not being truthful. Allah knows if you are truthful when you say you believe in Him. Remember Paradise is only for the believers.
"The believers are those who believe in God and His Messenger, then have not doubted, and have struggled with their possessions and their selves in the way of God; those -- they are the truthful ones.
Say: 'What, would you teach God what your religion is, and God knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth? And God has knowledge of everything.' They count it as a favor to thee that they have surrendered! Say: 'Do not count your surrendering as a favor to me; nay, but rather God confers a favor upon you, in that He has guided you to belief, if it be that you are truthful. God knows the Unseen of the heavens and of the earth; and God sees the things you do.'" Qur'an Al-Hujurat 49:15-18May Allah guide us and make our ending better than our beginning and in the highest of Iman. Ameen, Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
