Human Action

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Each human action has a ruling attached to it and we will see the consequence in the Judgment Day. Every single action you do, whether it be moving your hand, looking at something, hearing something, sleeping, walking, talking, or using the bathroom, Allah assigns a particular ruling, since eternity, to that action.

We should know then whether what we are going to do is *Obligatory (fard), Necessary (wajib), Emphasized Sunnah (sunna mu'akkada), Recommended (mustahabb), Permissible (mubah), Somewhat Disliked (makruh tanzihan), Prohibitively Disliked (makruh tahriman), or Forbidden (Haram).

1) Obligatory (Allah firmly commanded us to do it. Denying it is disbelief; obeying it is rewarded and leaving it is sinful, e.g. 5 daily prayers, fast in Ramadhan, pay zakat, perform hajj, cover your nakedness, lower your gaze, kind treatment of our parents, seek personally obligatory knowledge.)

2) Necessary (Allah firmly commanded us to do it. Denying it is corruption, not disbelief; obeying it is rewarded and leaving it is sinful. e.g. witr prayer)

3) Emphasized Sunna (what the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, generally did and rarely left and was not of worldly habits. Performing it is rewarded, leaving it, without some excuse, is blameworthy but not sinful. However, habitually leaving it is sinful because it entails to "turning away" from the guidance of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, whom we have been commanded to follow. e.g. certain cycles of sunnah prayers before and after the prescribed daily prayers, tahajjud prayers)

4) Recommended (what the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, did sometimes and left it sometimes, or was of his worldly habits. Performing it is rewarded but leaving it is not sinful or blameworthy but leaving it one is losing out on a great good by doing it.)

5) Permissible (acts which are neither rewarded nor punished but rewarded if conjoined with good intentions. e.g. drinking water, going to work, going to sleep, talking. There is a consequence of time. A person should realize he owes Allah. Life is short and consequence is great. So when you go to sleep, you intend to sleep for the sake of pleasing Allah, giving your body strength so you can serve Allah.)

6) Somewhat Disliked (things that are best to leave even though it is not sinful. Leaving it is rewarded and doing it is acting suboptimally)

7) Prohibitively Disliked (we are firmly commanded to leave. Denying such a command is misguidance but not disbelief. Performing the action is sinful, leaving it is rewarded)

8) Forbidden (Allah firmly commanded us to leave it. Leaving it is rewarded, doing it is sinful. e.g. dealing with riba/interest, backbiting/slandering/talebearing, stealing, cheating, lying, gambling, adultery/fornication, pornography, certain music and musical instruments, hurting others)

Everything you do carries weight. Even something permissible it has weightiness.

يَوْمَئِذٍ يَصْدُرُ ٱلنَّاسُ أَشْتَاتًا لِّيُرَوْا۟ أَعْمَـٰلَهُمْ ﴿٦﴾ فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُۥ ﴿٧﴾ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُۥ

Upon that day men shall issue in scatterings to see their works, (6) and whoso has done an atom's weight of good shall see it, (7) and whoso has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it. (8)

(Qur'an Zalzala 99:6-8)

If you really understand this, it will change your view of life and the world, and how you prioritize and conduct your life. You will not be wasteful with the resources which Allah blesses you with, including your time, health and wealth. Instead, you are conscious in what you do with them.

All of a sudden you will find enjoyment in reciting and listening to the Qur'an or listening to a Shaykh's lessons or speeches and not bored by them, and you no longer feel entertained with singing or listening to music or watching movies or aimlessly surfing the internet, aimlessly wondering in shopping centers or malls, gabbing on the phone or reading People's magazine or reading news that cause you to waste your time or news that fall in the category of backbiting/slandering (e.g. about a royal wedding or about so and so) or watching people kicking and throwing balls on the big screen. No longer we will buy things that appear in the market so as to conform with other people or to keep up with the technology. For example, we don't buy a new laptop or cell phone for the sake of changing but we work it to death before we replace it and only for the purpose of what could bring us closer to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. These are just some examples of the transformation that could happen once we understand what each of our actions, to its finest detail, means. No doubt, all our actions need to conform to His law. By following the law we are doing ourselves a favor in this life and the next, and by turning away from it we are harming ourselves.

لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّمَا تَدْعُونَنِىٓ إِلَيْهِ لَيْسَ لَهُۥ دَعْوَةٌ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَلَا فِى ٱلْءَاخِرَةِ وَأَنَّ مَرَدَّنَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَأَنَّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ هُمْ أَصْحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ ﴿٤٣

...because our returning is to God; and because the transgressors will be inmates of Hell. (Qur'an Ghafir 40:43)

ثَمَـٰنِيَةَ أَزۡوَٲجٍ۬‌ۖ مِّنَ ٱلضَّأۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ وَمِنَ ٱلۡمَعۡزِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ‌ۗ قُلۡ ءَآلذَّڪَرَيۡنِ حَرَّمَ أَمِ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِ أَمَّا ٱشۡتَمَلَتۡ عَلَيۡهِ أَرۡحَامُ ٱلۡأُنثَيَيۡنِ‌ۖ نَبِّـُٔونِى بِعِلۡمٍ إِن ڪُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (١٤٣)

...But waste not by excess: for Allah loves not the wasters. (Qur'an Al An'am 6:141)

Allah sets the limits to all our actions. If we go beyond these limits, we are subjecting ourselves to His anger. If we maintain within the limits, we are subject of His pleasure, by His Mercy.

Allah puts us here to worship Him and so our goal in life should be just that--to serve and please Him alone, and not to earn His anger. By knowing our limits, we can maximize the fulfillment of our responsibilities that Allah has placed on our shoulders as His khalifah/vice-regent on earth. We should be reminded of our invocation during our daily prayers.

ٱهْدِنَا ٱلصِّرَ‌ٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ ﴿٦﴾ صِرَ‌ٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا ٱلضَّآلِّينَ ﴿٧

You only we serve; to You alone we pray for succor. (5) Guide us in the straight path, (6) the path of those whom You have blessed, not of those against whom You are wrathful, nor of those who are astray. (7) (Qur'an Al-Fatiha 1:5-7)

Ameen.

Please keep us in your prayers. JazakAllahu khairan.

And Allah knows best,
Wassalaam
*-based on Hanafi Mazhab