In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
There is no loophole in the religion. Allah has made His religion clear.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah's sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased. Truly, it is the heart.(Bukhari and Muslim.)
One important lesson from this hadith is that one can safeguard his/her religion by avoiding what is doubtful.
The life of the heart comes about through the perfection of Islam and slavehood, the Abrahamic ideal of Islam. It is not about the feel good that actually make you feel good. Allah has revealed the Book and it is not saying that riba (interest) is haram (unlawful) and is also halal (lawful). The matter has been clarified for us.
In the Book some matters is very clear, direct and obvious. Other matters strongly resembles each other in vagueness. The people who are firmly footed in knowledge they know the meanings of the Book. These are people who understood how to interpret what was vague by interpret it in the light of what is clear. But some people who are diseased and has their own agenda they run after the vague verses.
Knowing what is doubtful is in the realm of the scholars. As laypeople, we make recourse to the people of knowledge and see what they have chosen or permitted. As long we are following such a people we have protected ourselves.
At a basic level, the layperson can follow anyone of the people who is recognized as being firm in knowledge (on Islam level). The layperson can see some scholars are stricter and some are relaxed. If he follow the stricter, all scholars say he is safe but if he follows the relaxed opinion, some scholars he is missed out on something. So the way of safety is the way of strictness.
The heart, its rectification leads to goodly deeds. Leaving the doubtful leads to its rectification. The converse is that the more your heart is purified the more distance you stay on the lawful. The slave does not reach being of the Godfearing until he leaves what there has no harm in out of fear what has harm in it.
Life of scrupulousness is the goal but it does not come overnight, rather it comes through learning and practice the obligatory and keeping with the company of people who are wise and learned and righteous, and seeing what things they engage in and what things they avoid and of course having relationship with Allah and the revelation until you have a taste for it, a taste within you what is right and wrong. It is a gradual process. If you try to walk before you can stand, you will fall over.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said
Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels at ease and the heart feels tranquil. And wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and causes uneasiness in the breast, even though people have repeatedly given their legal opinion [in its favor].(Ahmad)
Leave what causes the disturbance in your soul even if the Mufti says it is allowed. This is a delicate matter. It is only true if the person is aligned with revelation and the light of certitude and mufti is giving fatwa based on opinion and not based on clear text. Part of this submission to this rule is that Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is above to everything. Everything else has to submit to them. The rule is to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah and what the scholars have told us. This idea is not an absolute "I am following the heart in everything." On delicate matters your heart is an excellent guide. Never make your heart anything paramount. The heart only comes to life by conforming to the Qur'an and Sunnah. It cannot come to life by conforming to them and somehow overwrite them. The scholars are the people who Allah has shown them on how to interact with the Qur'an and Sunnah on matters that need expertise.
At the end of the day, what is important is that we meet Allah with a sound heart. If you fill your heart with things and desires of this world, you won't have room in your heart for Allah.
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ ﴿٨٨﴾ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّـهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ[Qur'an Ash-Shu'ara 26:88-89]
The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children (88) But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.
Narrated by Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
Verily Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts." And he pointed towards the heart with his fingers.[Sahih Muslim]
So, what better way to spend the little remainder of our lives on this earth other than seeking beneficial knowledge and spreading it to our families and our communities instead of spending it on doubtful things like many so called Islamic music and entertainment, aimlessly browsing on the internet, excessive watching/reading the news, etc?
وَٱلْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِى خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ ﴿٣[Qur'an Al-Asr 103:1-3]
By time, (1) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (2) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and exhort each other to truth and exhort each other to patience. (3)
If we have neither care nor concern for those around us, we are in loss because we won't care to exhort them to patience--patience in performing the obligatory, patience in avoiding the bad and disobedience, patience in bearing dislike things.
May Allah grant us patience and a sound heart. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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