بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
It has been said that the religion of Islam revolves around the hadith of intention.
On the authority of Ameer ul-Mu'mineen (the Commander of the Faithful), Abu Hafs `Umar ibn al-Khattaab, Allah be pleased with him, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah Allah bless him and grant him peace say:
"Actions are but by intentions and every man shall have only that which he intended. Thus he whose migration (Hijrah to Madinah from Makkah) was for Allah and His Messenger, his migration was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated." (Bukhari & Muslim)
This is the most central hadith in Islam. Some of the scholars have said that it is one third of knowledge, because the actions of man involve his heart, his tongue and his limbs, and hence the intention in the heart is one third of that. Imam Abu Dawood said this hadith is equal to half of Islam because the religion is either apparent (which is practice) or hidden (which is the intention). This deals with what is hidden so it is half of the religion.
Islam is the religion of the heart and the fruits of our actions are reflected in the heart. The heart is the worth in every human being.
"A Day when neither wealth nor sons benefit, except he who brings to Allah a sound heart."
(Quran Shu'ara 26:88-89)
"Verily Allah does not look at your bodies nor to your forms; but rather He looks at your hearts." (Muslim)
Actions have a two-way connection with the heart. The actions are where the heart expresses itself and also the realm of transformation because the heart changes in response to these actions but the heart is the point. Intentions are extremely significant. It changes the focus to the quality of our actions. It makes us extremely humble, not judgmental with other people but wish the best of other people because the true worth is hidden.
Through intention, mundane activities transform to worship. Everything we do has to be intended to be for Allah, i.e., for anything we do, we want to make sure that it will be acceptable to Allah and will not in any way interfere with the upholding of His religion. A good action with the wrong intention will not get us any reward in the Hereafter. Bad intentions destroy good works. The scholars telling themselves and the world to look to our hearts before we engage in any action because if the heart is ruined, that action is ruined.
He who has made the intention to do a good deed, without actually performing it, equal to the reward of a good deed. And he who has made the intention to do an evil deed, which one then does not perform, as equal to a complete good deed [also], and if one were to act upon it then it is deemed as a single evil deed. And if one performs a good deed then Allah writes it down as ten, and this is an immense Grace, as He has multiplied for the slaves their good deeds, but has not multiplied their evil deeds against them.
"Verily Allah Most High has written down the good deeds and the evil deeds, and then explained it [by saying]: Whosoever intended to perform a good deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as a complete good deed. And if he intended to perform it and then did perform it, then Allah writes it down with Himself as from ten good deeds up to seven hundred times, up to many times multiplied. And if he intended to perform an evil deed, but did not do it, then Allah writes it down with Him as a complete good deed. And if he intended it [i.e. the evil deed] and then performed it, then Allah writes it down as one evil deed." (Bukhari and Muslim)
Allah has made it that the odds are in our favor. So this is His mercy. So we should hasten to His mercy. Tremendous shame is on the one who despite this gets trap in the anger of Allah. Allah's kindness is even more than that.
In Islam, the highest station one can be is to be the slave of God. The submission is the key to unlock the greatest bliss now in this life. This submission is on three levels--body, mind and soul (heart). Each of these three corresponds to three Arabic words. Islam is linked to physical form of submission, Iman is linked to the mental form of submission and Ihsan is linked to the spiritual form of submission.
Also on the authority of `Umar, Allah be pleased with him, who said:
One day while we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journey were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down in front of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace), with his knees touching against the Prophet's (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs he said:
“O Muhammad, tell me about Islam.”
The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Islam is to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, to perform prayers, to give zakat, to fast in Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so.”
He said: “You have spoken rightly”; and we were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly. He (the man) said: “Tell me about Iman.”
He (the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “It is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in Divine destiny (Qadr), both the good and the evil of it.”
He said: “You have spoken rightly.” He (the man) said: “Then tell me about Ihsan.”
He (the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, then (knowing that) truly He sees you.”
He said: “Then tell me about the Hour.”
He said: “The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner.”
He said: “Then tell me about its signs.”
He said: “That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, and that you will see barefooted, naked destitute shepherds competing in constructing lofty buildings.”
Then he (the man) left, and I stayed for a time.
Then he (the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “O `Umar, do you know who the questioner was?”
I said: “Allah and His Messenger know best.”
He said: “It was Jibril, who came to teach you your religion.”
It was related by Muslim.
Islam in its specific meaning refers to the physical actions. The rules and the law of Islam and the religion itself is upheld by five pillars-- testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, performing the prayers, paying the zakat, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadan.
On the authority of Ibn Umar, the son of Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with both, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah say:
"Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying the zakat, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadan." (Bukhari and Muslim)
Iman is the submission that everyone must do in their mind. It is the most important of the three forms of submission because of its consequence. It is most dire if it is negative and most great if it is positive.
The six most essential of Iman are:
1) the belief in Allah that He exist, and is described with the Lofty and Perfect Attributes, and is free from all deficient characteristics. And it includes the belief that He is One, The Truth, The Independent, and He is the Only Creator of all that exists, and He changes the creation as He wishes and He acts within His Kingdom whatever He wishes. that He is the creator, one without partner,
2) the belief in the Angels, that they are His honored slaves, and that they do not act except according to Allah's command.
3) the belief in Allah's revealed Books and they are the laws from Allah before they were meddled and altered with in the hands of people),
4) the belief in the Prophets and they were chosen by Allah for the guidance of people and they were divinely protected from sins, that they are truthful in all that they have conveyed about Allah, and that they were aided by Allah in the miracles that they performed to prove their truthfulness, and that they conveyed and explained the Message of what Allah has ordered us with. Also, we must respect and honor them all, and we must not differentiate between them.
5) the belief in the Last Day in which Allah will resurrect people from their graves, collected together on the Day of Judgment, and on that Day will be the Accounting of our deeds, and the weighing in the Mizan (Scales), and the crossing of the Sirat (Bridge), and finally the entry to either Paradise or Hellfire.The belief that Paradise is the place for rewarding the doers of good, while Hellfire is the place for retribution for the doers of evil.
6) the belief in destiny. Everything that happen in the universe is by destining of Allah and his will for a wisdom He knows. Allah knows all that has happened and all that will happen, and that He has written this down in the Protected Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz) which is with Him, and that nothing can happen except by Allah's Will and Permission.
Whoever believes will be safe and successful, whoever reject is astray and doomed. Anyone who denies Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Prophets, Day of Judgment and Destiny has gone far far astray.
Ihsan refers to the third and highest level. Ihsan is the beautifcation of a person's interior being, i.e his spiritual perfection. The real weight of the physical actions depend on the weight of the spiritual action, the intention. The pure beautification of person's practice is to worship Allah as though he sees Him, and if he does not see Allah, then he worships Him knowing that Allah sees him.
The scholars have mentioned that the higher level of worshiping Allah as though one sees Him is the level of mushaahadah. This implies that the person worships Allah seeing the effect of Allah's Names and Attributes in all the things around him. For example, when he sees mercy shown by an animal to its young he sees this as the effect of the mercy of Allah upon His creation, and so on. Thus, whatever the slave sees around him he is reminded of the perfect attributes of Allah. It does not mean that the slave sees Allah with his eyes, as this ru'yaa (Seeing) is only for the believers on the Day of Resurrection. The second and lower level of Ihsan is where the slave is constantly aware of Allah watching him at all times.
The person who attests to the two testimonies of faith (shahada) and displays the major outward aspects of Islam is considered a Muslim, while the one who goes further than that and increases in actions and beliefs is called a Mu'min. Thus the Mu'min is at a higher station than the Muslim. And the one who achieves the level of Ihsan is the best of the three and is called a Muhsin.
The religion of Islam offers people the most unimaginable joy in this life. It is joy of being with Allah, a joy of being in one with your purpose and the key of that joy is submission. Allah put man for tremendous purpose on the earth. Allah made angels bow to Adam. Man in principle is something tremendous with Allah. Allah has given man functions and capacities, that if he was to perform them, he is something tremendous with Allah, even the angels bow before the figure of man.
Iman is the single greatest thing that one can possess. Iman is the key to the Garden. Whoever dies believing in Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and not reject what the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has brought is of the people of Paradise. Whoever dies in Iman is of the people of Paradise but he might go to hell and might be for a long time because of his sins for not doing the deeds of Islam. Going to Paradise without Hell is by following the rules of Islam. Allah created the Hell. This is the mercy for the believers, to push them to enter Paradise and he made the odds to help them there.
Islam is an easy going religion. It does not ask people what they cannot bear. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant peace, was a mercy to the worlds and his way is not an unbearable hardship."I have been sent with the upright easy going way."
The religion leads to a human transformation where his very desires have transformed. "None of you truly believes until his desires are subservient to that which I have brought."
On the authority of Abu Muhammad 'Abdullaah bin 'Amr bin al-'Aas (Allah be pleased with himmaa) who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said :
"None of you [truly] believes until his desires are subservient to that which I have brought." .
Not that if your desires have not transformed you are not a believer but it means you have not yet attained the high belief. It does not say you give up but it is saying work harder for there is more to be done. the Bliss is still in front of us. Iman should take us there where the very desires transformed and if it doesn't there is a problem somewhere. There is some form of hidden hypocrisy, something internal that contradicts our Iman. It is urging us to take a retrospective look within ourselves.
Following lusts and desires is the cause of misguidance, not that the truth is not clear. Islam, Iman and Ihsan are the doorways to our bliss but what stopping them are barriers which we have to overcome, barriers which also originate from within us, primarily these desires that we have to satisfy our pleasures.
People who disbelieve it is not because after they have learned about Islam and find it does not make sense, but really it is to do with the lusts. They don't want to acknowledge Islam because it goes against what they want. Lust is the enemy for man. Man choose kufr against Iman. It is not that Iman does not have enough proofs for it. Often times the cure is not rational argument but shaking them up. It is not a rational problem to begin with, it is an internal problem.
Only human being is capable of doing what harms him. Somebody who is enslaved to his lust, who is more astray than him. Allah does not guide those people who give to wrong doing. (Qur'an 28:50) Lust- based existence is not a happy one. It is more like a compulsive addict. He cannot stay away. It does not mean he is happy. This is because it is grounded by ingratitude because he prefer the blessings over the Bestower. He is ignorant because he prefers the temporal over the infinite. That is our enemy in our journey in reaching the true station of man and the closeness to Allah.
The vision of religion as a whole is a journey that each individual man goes through and your destination is this high level of Iman and closeness to Allah. The perfect Iman is that he has a desire for what Allah and His Messenger loves which is so intense is like the desire that this drug addicts for drugs, alcoholic have fro alcohol, womanizers for women. It is to have a lustlike desire. It is to have a repulsion for what Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, hate. That's why the greatest acts of Iman is loving and hating for the sake of Allah. It is possible for someone to overcome his own desires and replace them with what Allah love without love itself as the guide unless one oneself is a person of love. So love of God is both a goal in religion and a means to the purity of this perfection in Iman, Islam and Ihsan. This is something Allah has ordered us. True love entails agreement. There is harmony.
"Say, if you love Allah, follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful." Qur'an 3:31
Following the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is harmony. This is what Allah wants. The fact that love really exists, it is shown by someone falling into line with what Allah has asked to happen. If you do that, Allah will love you. Submission is the key to this love.
"Three traits, whoever has them enjoys the sweetness of Iman: that Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, are more beloved to him than other than them, that he loves another person, only doing so for the sake for Allah, and that he detest to return to disbelief just as he dislikes to be thrown into a fire." Bukhari
There is a sweetness in Iman. If you want to taste the sweetness, you have to be people of love. All three return back to love and hate for the sake of Allah. Loving what Allah loves and hating what Allah hates is the true mark of the highest Iman and the sweetness and the greatest kufr is the opposite of this.
Part of this love of Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is that you are satisfied for what they have chosen for you. If you hate what Allah loves, you are ruined.
The companions were the greatest role models of the religion based on true love. There were many many incidents where they were intensely against something and when the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said not to do it, they transformed. Their very values transformed just upon they heard it from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is true Iman. True Iman is not that God must conform to our values, whatever they might have of what our purpose is.
True Iman is we listen, we don't dictate. The companions summarized this in the most amazing way. They give up lands for the sake of others. They were people who prefer other over themselves although they were in dire poverty. Even in moment of death they prefer each other over themselves. This is called their lust have conformed with what the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has brought to the highest degree. The result is that Allah made the world crumbled before them. Allah put blessings in everything they did, whether in war or in peace. As a group they are amazing. That is why they are the most blissful people in this life and the next.
By the lust, not necessarily the devil, but the nafs, our propensity for desires within us. These things hold us back. Religion shows us an easy steps how to overcome that.
"Verily Allah has said: Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, then I have declared war against him. And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nawafil (supererogatory) deeds until I love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge." Bukhari
The path to Allah is knowledge, practice and state. The hadith tells us if we want to acquire this rank, then learn what it is obligatory and do it. There is no way to bypass this. There is nothing else you can do that will take you to Allah more than this distance of doing obligatory. You can give charity until your money finishes, you can pray until your legs break but you are going aimlessly. If you want to go to the road of Allah it is one road, as most beloved road. It is the road of obligatory. Everything that Allah makes obligatory on us, these are His favorite actions that he wants us to do. It is not that Allah wants to make our life difficult but because Allah want us to enter Paradise. Ibn Ata'ila said, "Allah, He obliged on you to enter Paradise."
By the very fact that Allah ordering us to pray five times a day and give zakat is in effect Allah is ordering us to enter Paradise. The key to that is this obligatory actions. This concept of submission and the road to that is what makes you happy. A person who is with Allah in everything is a person who has the sweetness of Iman in his heart and nothing external can take away that sweetness.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, brought this program of change. He didn't bring philosophies. He brought things to do. Islam is our own personal school of change. Most important thing we can do is to learn what is obligatory on us for our own practice. Then comes the recommended. It is not that one waits until he has done the obligatory but obligatory is the basis. Without it there is no one is going anywhere. The flourishing of a person's religious life is by doing more and more what is recommended, e.g. extra charity, extra prayers, good character, the things that Allah loves. The 40 hadiths collection of Imam Nawawi show us the principal acts that Allah loves.
There is no door to the Ihsan of worshiping Allah as if you see him other than learning Islam and submitting to Islam. It involves doing what is not familiar and doing it whether we like it of not. This is transformation. We do more for the sake of Allah until we enter the realm of He loves them and they love Him. At that stage we have entered the world of closeness to Allah. Allah draws him to Himself and elevates him from the station of Iman to the station of Ihsan and he becomes worshiping Allah with the presence of heart, with awareness of Allah seeing Him just as if he sees him. His heart fills with knowledge of Allah, with fear of Him, with awe for Him, intimacy with Him and longing for Him until this person in whose heart is this knowledge becomes observing Him with the eye of his insight. He doesn't speak except with His remembrance. The slave doesn't move except with His commands. If he speaks, he speak through Allah; if he hears, he hears through Allah; if he sees, he sees through Allah; if he grasps, he grasps through Allah
The religion of Islam takes the man from the pits of animalistic existence to the heights of the angelic. Islam takes man to his purpose by the conviction of the mind in the reality of God. By the surrendering of the limbs to the command of God, and by the flourishing of the heart with beholding God does man fulfill his purpose. This unification of purpose bring with it contentment and fulfillment in a way nothing else can. They can seek careers, fame, they can seek what they can seek, but when they sleep at night something will feel hollow but this man does not feel hollow. He might not have fame and he might be in jail for some false accusation, but it does not matter to him because he has learned how to surrender and so whatever destiny brings him it finds a person who is content. These people are rich and all humanity are poor.
Islam offers something very tremendous in this life. Allah says they have great news in this life as well as the next life. So our job, in our relationship in this religion should not be, "I don't have to do that, let me do the minimum." It should be this religion will liberate me and enter the religion completely and wholeheartedly
"O you who believe, enter into submission one and all and do not follow the footsteps of shaytan, surely he is a clear enemy." Qur'an 2:208
Embedded in the religion is the awareness of time. Whoever is aware the clock is ticking, will make the most of his moments. There will be a time when deeds will no longer useful anymore. Only Allah knows when that time will come. One should rush to do good deeds before that time comes.
This religion of Islam stands on five supports--the shahadah (I bear witness there is no god except Allah and I bear witness Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is a Messenger of Allah), the five daily prayers (Dhuhr, 'Asr, Maghrib, 'Isha, Fajr), the fasting in the month of Ramadhan, paying Zakat and the Pilgrimagej to the House. It means if one have this five in his life, it might be a small amount, or big amount, if it is standing on this five, it is going to stand strong. If he does not have this, his building is standing on something extremely wobbly and thus exposing the building to collapse.
Allah says: "Is he who is founded his building upon duty to Allah and His good pleasure better or he who founded his building on the brink of a crumbling, overhanging precipice so that it toppled with him into the fire of hell? Allah guides not the wrongdoing folk." Quran 9:109
All of religion is basically expressing two principles: "Venerating the command of Allah and showing compassion to the slaves of Allah." Imam al-Razi.
Venerating the command is this spirit of slavehood and submission, which is the key to the closeness to Allah and the key to the greatest joy in this life, and the other of these rulings teach us the meaning of compassion to the slaves of Allah and kindness to them. Everything in Islam goes back to one of these two.
Islam is an easy going religion. It does not ask people what they cannot bear. Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was a mercy to the worlds and his way is not an unbearable hardship, "I have been sent with the upright easy going way." The basic of salvation is doing the obligatory and leaving the haram. Going to Paradise without Hell is by following the rules of Islam. Magnification of the basic rules is nothing like for a person to learn and practice.
The obligatory is confined to the best of ability.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah 'Abd-ur-Rahmaan ibn Sakhr (Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say:
"What I have forbidden for you, avoid. What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can. For verily, it was only the excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets that destroyed [the nations] who were before you". (Bukhari and Muslim)
The statement of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can" is an important principle of Islam, and is from his concise speech. Based upon this principle are countless other rulings-such as the prayer of one who is unable to complete some of its pillars or conditions, then he performs what he is able to from that which remains. The one who cannot wash all the necessary limbs of wudu', washes that which he is able to. In the case of removing evil, then if one is not able to remove it entirely then one removes what one is able to.
Sacred law takes into account of the human circumstances which is part of the preservation of this religion. There many things that need to be taken into account. An individual do not make this judgment for himself. He needs to consult a scholar.
Forming the obligatory act is leaving the unlawful. The unlawful is forbidden either they are directly detrimental or they are the pathway to something extremely detrimental. The sacred law forbade all kinds of matters to protect us, as an individual or as a society.
A Muslim has specified enjoined duties to perform in his religion, which he cannot neglect. Allah has shown us how and where not commit excesses. He has set limits and prohibitions, which also cannot be neglected. What is known clearly from the Book and the Sunnah is enough for our lives, and this is a mercy from Allah. So we should not seek after what has not been mentioned. Speculating, philosophising and hypothesising about Islam is forbidden. Allah never forgets.
On the authority of Abu Tha'labah al-Kushani - Jurthum bin Nashir (Allah be pleased with him) - that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Verily Allah Most High has laid down Religious Obligations (fara'id), so do not neglect them; and He has set limits/boundaries, so do not overstep them; and He has Forbidden some things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about some things, out of compassion for you, not forgetfulness - so do not seek after them." Hasan hadith narrated by ad-Daaraqutni and others.
Some scholars interpret the limits of everything we have been permitted to do, made things unlawful, obligatory, and giving the limits what is halal. Some give the limits of the other prescribed punishment. So one don't go beyond them neither to increase nor to decrease. This is all for a wisdom.
We should aspire to is to be the people that Allah guides to the truth by seeking sacred knowledge with the intention of listening and practicing. Listening is the most important skill that everyone who seeks knowledge need to acquire. It means calming the mind down and trying to absorb. It is not every time we are drowning in "what if?"
Part of uprightness is this feeling that "I am not completely upright." The idea is that we always have to repent to Allah and be pleased that you are trying. We seek forgiveness and we tried. We aim for perfection but we never feel we made it there. Venerating the rules of Islam especially the parameters of Islam and have a deep desire to observe all of these. Whoever does that will not go to Hell. A realization of this is not an overnight process but it is learning, doing our best, making mistakes, seeking forgiveness until we die, worshiping Allah and seeking strength through that worship and be extremely happy that Allah made us Muslims.
Islam as a term on its own is guarding the limits of Allah. Whoever guards these limits he is the person who has fulfill the rights of Islam. Performing obligations and avoiding the prohibitions guarantee the person salvation from the Fire. But how do we ensure that in truth we have avoided the prohibitions in real life for things are not all black and white. There are judgment calls that we have to make.
"The body has a lump of flesh, it is sound the whole body is sound, if it is corrupt the whole body is corrupt. Truly! It is the heart."
On the authority of Aboo `Abdillaah an-Nu`maan the son of Basheer (Allah be pleased with himmaa), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say:
"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.)
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 is firmly footed in knowledge they know the meanings of the book. They 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 laymen, 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 layman can follow anyone of the people who is recognized as being firm in knowledge (on Islam level). The layman 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. it comes through learning and practice the obligatory and keeping 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 jump it to avoid falling over.
"Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt." (Tirmidhi) "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 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.
We believe that all occurrences are by the pre-ordainment of Allah (i.e. everything that occurs has already been decreed by Allah) and everything that happens is only by His Will, both the good of it and the evil of it. Allah says, "He is not asked about His actions, but they (the creation) are asked." Surah Anbiyaa' verse 23. Allah acts as He wishes in His Kingdom, and no one else may act except by His Will.
In other hadiths, it is established that a person should not leave performing good actions, depending upon what has already been written for him in his Qadr, but rather he should act according to whatever has been prescribed for him in the shari'ah. For whoever is of the People of Bliss then Allah will make easy for him the actions of the People of Bliss, whereas whoever is of the People of Sadness then Allah will make easy for him the actions of the People of Sadness.
"Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an 'alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e. whether or not he will enter Paradise). By the One, other than Whom there is no deity, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it." (Bukhari and Muslim.)
"And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him" (Qur'an at-Talaq, 3)
So according to the degree by which a person relies upon other than Allah in his desires and by his heart, or in his hopes, then proportionately he has turned away from his Lord to those who cannot hurt him nor benefit him. And similarly in the case of fear of other than Allah, and the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, emphasized this when he said : "And know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you", and similarly in the case of harm.
On the authority of Abu 'Abbas 'Abdillaah bin 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with both) who said : One day I was behind the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) [riding on the same mount] and he said:
O young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be Mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be Mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, then ask Allah [alone]; and if you seek help, then seek help from Allah [alone]. And know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allah had already prescribed for you. And if they were to gather together to harm you with anything, they would not harm you except with what Allah had already prescribed against you. The Pens have been lifted and the Pages have dried. (Tirmidhi)
This is the essence of Iman in Qadr, and having Iman in it is obligatory, the good of it and the evil of it. And once a Believer has conviction (yaqeen) in this then he sees no benefit in asking from other than Allah or seeking help from them.
Allah says: "And We shall make easy for him (the righteous one) the path of good...and We shall make easy for him (the wicked one) the path of evil." (Qur'an Surah Lail)
"Righteousness is in good character, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul, and which you dislike people finding out about." (Muslim)
One should treat the people the way one would like them to treat oneself. "Verily the heaviest thing to be placed in the Scales will be the good character."
The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is reported to have said, "Verily the most loved of you by me and the closest of you to me on the Day of Resurrection are the best of you in Character" [related by at-Tabarani).
Good character is from the characteristics of the Prophets and Messengers and the chosen ones from amongst the believers - those who do not retaliate with evil, but rather forgive and pardon and behave well despite being treated badly.
"Have Taqwa (Fear) of Allah wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people." (Tirmidhi)
Modesty (haya') has always been considered praiseworthy, commendable and ordered with, and has never been abrogated in the teachings and laws of the earlier Prophets. "Verily, from what was learned by the people from the speech of the earliest Prophecy is: If you feel no shame, then do as you wish." (Bukhari)
The statement of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "then do as you wish" has two angles to it: The first of them is that it is not an order to do as we please, but rather it is a warning or threat that if we do so then we shall have to face the consequences. This is similar to the statement of Allah with reference to the disbelievers: "Do what you will" Qur'an Fussilat, 40). This is a threat to them as it has been made clear to them what will come about as a result of their disbelief. This is also similar to the statement of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Whoever sells alcohol then let him also make permissible the eating of swine."
Clearly, there is not in this permission to eat the flesh of pigs! The second is that if a person does not have any modesty or shame, then let him come forward and openly perform every single shameful act without any reservation. Similar to this is his, Allah bless him and grant him peace, statement: "Modesty is from Iman". Its meaning is that modesty prevents a person from committing shameful and evil deeds, but rather encourages him towards piety and good actions; just as a person's Iman prevents him from committing such acts, and instead encourages him upon obedience of the Lord. Thus, modesty attains the station and position of Iman, through its being equivalent to Iman in this.
We should have concern for attaining the reward of Allah. Such concern is from the characteristics of the Companions. Comparing oneself to another to see how many good deeds we are performing is permissible and recommended and looking towards one who is rich so that we may do good things like him is desirable. Being wealthy is not a bad thing in and of itself. Everyone can perform acts of charity no matter what his station in life. Sadaqa does not have to be monetary. Non-monetary sadaqa is of two types: that which involves an act of kindness to someone; and that which does not involves an act of kindness to someone. Remembering Allah with words is charity and conjugal relations with ones wife is a charity. A person is rewarded for abstaining from the unlawful, and instead adopting a way which is lawful.
Also on the authority of Abu Dharr (Allah be pleased with him) that some people from amongst the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) :
O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards; they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give [much] in charity by virtue of their wealth.
He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Has not Allah made things for you to give in charity? Truly every tasbeehah [saying: subhaan Allah] is a charity, and every takbeerah [saying: Allahu akbar] is a charity, and every tahmeedah [saying: al-hamdu lillaah] is a charity, and every tahleelah [saying: laa ilaaha illaa Allah] is a charity. And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity, and in the bud'i [sexual act] of each one of you there is a charity.
They said: O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfills his carnal desire will he have some reward for that?!
He (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Do you not see that if he were to act upon it [his desire] in an unlawful manner then he would be deserving of punishment? Likewise, if he were to act upon it in a lawful manner then he will be deserving of a reward." (Muslim)
"Which of the slaves is best in Judgment Day? Those who remember Allah a lot." (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)
We should spend of everything we have for the sake of Allah, make much dhikr and help with what we can.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Every joint of a person must perform a charity each day that the sun rises: to judge justly between two people is a charity. To help a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto it, is a charity. And the good word is a charity. And every step that you take towards the Prayer is a charity, and removing a harmful object from the road is a charity." (Bukhari and Muslim)
We owe for each bone in our body charity. There is no bone, vein, nerves except that on it is the mark of Allah's creation, mighty and majestic. So it is incumbent on the slaves to thank Allah for that and praise Him for making him in a perfect form. In truth, we are unable to thank Allah for His blessings. There are people who thought their actions were sufficient gratitude for the blessings and turn out that the worship of the lifetime barely equal the blessings of their eyesight.
Bearing in mind in destiny all of these good deeds we do are only from Him helping us otherwise we cannot do that either. All the slaves find himself in drowning in gratitude and then the good deeds he does to show gratitude he is grateful for them. There is nothing really he can ascribe to himself. This attitude is the door to the love of god.
"Verily Allah bestowed on his servants in the manner fitting to Him and gratitude in a manner fitting to them."
Allah gives a giving commensurate to the greatness of Allah, He is given so much, but in return He only ask to be grateful, a weak gratefulness, just like we are weak, until He is pleased by the gratitude by acknowledging His blessings in their hearts and praising him for them. This is Allah's kindness. We praise Him and he accepted that from us. We always fall on the short side not on the surplus but for the kindness of Allah, he accepts our gratitude.
On the authority of Abu Malik al-Harith bin al-Harith al-Ash'ari (Allah be pleased with him) who said : The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Purity is half of Iman (Faith). 'al-Hamdu lillaah' [Praise be to Allah] fills the scales, and 'subhaanAllah' [How far is Allah from every imperfection] and 'al-Hamdu lillaah' fill that which is between heaven and earth. And the Salaah (Prayer) is a Light, and charity is a Proof, and Patience is Illumination, and the Qur'aan is a Proof either for you or against you. Every person starts his day as a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or causing its ruin."(Muslim)
Purity is half of faith because purity is preparation to be able to address Allah. Purity is pure act of slavehood because no one maintain it except the believer of Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Without purity there is no prayer.
The realization and acknowledgment of Allah as the One deserving all praise adds weight in our favor to the Scale in Judgment Day. This coupled with the realization and acknowledgment of Allah as the Most Perfect is of great value and ensures justice to the creation from the worshiper. The prayer builds faith and shows the way. Giving charity is a proof of our faith which will be given credit on the Last Day and there is no sense of gratification about it unlike charity. Patience in our affairs beautifies them and is a sign of wisdom. Everything is to be judged by the Qur'an, which either proves our case or convicts us. We are ourselves responsible for our actions and Paradise or Hell very much depends on what we have done, how we have done it and with what sort of faith.
Seeking Paradise and seeking to be saved from the Fire is a matter of great importance and seriousness, and this concern should have the correct priority in our lives. If one fulfills the requirements of all the five pillars of Islam then one is guaranteed Paradise.
The first pillar incorporates abiding by all the compulsory acts and avoiding all that which is forbidden. The head of our affair is living Islam. Living Islam is easy when Allah makes it so. The five pillars constitute the indivisible whole that is Islam; therefore denying any one of them is kufr that bars one from Paradise. The Prayer is the central pillar that holds up our Islam, and without which there is no Islam in our lives.
The peak of Islam is Jihad in the way of Allah, and this is the highest form of worship.
Fasting, giving in charity and praying Tahajjud lead to goodness in this world and the next. Fasting protects us from sins, develops in us piety, thus acting as a shield against the Fire and evil in this world. Praying Tahajjud develops us spiritually and makes our islaam stronger and more sincere. Allah loves the act which we keep secret from people because these are the actions we are seeking out sincerity.
Giving in charity wipes out sins of a believer. One must use one's tongue with extreme caution, as wrongful use of speech will be held against us on the Day of Judgment and can land one in Hell Fire.
On the authority of Mu'aadh bin Jabal (Allah be pleased with him) who said :
I said : O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hell Fire.
He said : You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy : Worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the Prayer; pay the Zakaah; fast in Ramadan; and make the Pilgrimage to the House.
Then he said : Shall I not guide you towards the Means of Goodness ? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the Praying of a man in the depths of the Night. Then he recited : "[Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah's Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." [Surah as-Sajdah, 16-17]
Then he said : Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?
I said : Yes, O Messenger of Allah.
He said : The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the Prayer and its peak is jihad.
Then he said : Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that ?
I said : Yes, O Messenger of Allah.
So he took hold of his tongue and said : Restrain this.
I said : O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it ?
He said : May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu'aadh ! Is there anything that throws people into the Hell Fire upon their faces - or : on their noses - except the harvests of their tongues ?"
related by Tirmidhi)
It is obligatory on one doing something to do it in the best possible way. Even killing must be done efficiently and well. The knife must be sharpened before using it for slaughtering an animal. Sparing unnecessary suffering to the animal to be slaughtered is part of fulfilling the religion. One must try to do everything in life in the best and most efficient manner possible.
On the authority of Abu Ya'laa Shaddaad bin Aws (Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah Allah bless him and grant him peace said :
"Verily Allah has prescribed Ihsan (proficiency, perfection) in all things. So if you kill then kill well; and if you slaughter, then slaughter well. Let each one of you sharpen his blade and let him spare suffering to the animal he slaughters." Muslim
One must remember Allah with fear no matter where he may be and do a good act to cover up each bad act that he commits. A Muslim must behave well towards others.
On the authority of Abu Dharr Jundub ibn Junaadah, and Abu 'Abd-ir-Rahmaan Mu'aadh bin Jabal (Allah be pleased with both) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Have Taqwa (Fear) of Allah wherever you may be, and follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, and behave well towards the people." (Tirmidhi)
One character trait of the many evils spread out from is anger.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Do not become angry." "Verily anger is from shaytan", and it is because of this that the angry person is no longer able to deal justly, and he speaks falsehood, and he takes on many blameworthy characteristics, and he takes into his heart feelings of hatred and malice and other than that of the despicable, forbidden characteristics - and all of this is from anger. If one feels anger, one must take steps that it is not expressed, that is uprooting anger. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, gave us medicines for this. Controlling anger is one of the core trait of the people of taqwa. A slave does not restrain his rage for the sake of Allah except that Allah fills his heart with faith.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him):
"That a man said to the Prophet Allah bless him and grant him peace : "Counsel me", so he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said : Do not become angry. The man repeated [his request for counsel] several times, and he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: Do not become angry." (Bukhari and Muslim)
The religion is sincere well wishing ("naseehah"). 'Naseehah' is a comprehensive word, whose meaning implies the desire for all possible good for the one being advised. One cannot worship Allah sincerely without being sincere to what He has revealed, and to the people, giving naseehah according to their station in life. Also one has to respect and honor His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, which is to respect and honor what he said, did, approved of or recommended, and to love him for who he was and what he was.
On the authority of Abu Ruqayya Tameem ibn Aus ad-Daaree (radi Allahu anhu) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
'The Deen (religion) is naseehah (advice/sincerity)'. We said 'To whom?' He said 'To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.' (Muslim)
It is generally forbidden to be envious of one another, although other ahaadeeth specify that envy in certain good cases is allowed if we wish to be like them. It is forbidden to raise prices to harm others, such as through hoarding or through trying to make unjust profit. It is forbidden to turn away from being good to or helping one another. It is forbidden to undercut one another in trade. We must be brothers to one another, and true brotherhood lies in being Allah's worshipers and servants. It is forbidden to oppress one another, or fail one another on purpose, or lie to one another, or to hold each other in contempt.
Taqwa is in the heart. So the heart must be trained, purified and protected.
It is forbidden to violate the rights of another Muslim: to shed his blood unlawfully, or physically hurt him, or to deprive him of what belong to him, or to cheat him. It is forbidden to violate the honor of another Muslim.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) who said : The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said :
"Do not envy one another, and do not inflate prices for one another, and do not hate one another, and do not turn away from one another, and do not undercut one another in trade, but [rather] be Slaves of Allah and Brothers [amongst yourselves]. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim : he does not oppress him, nor does he fail him, nor does he lie to him, nor does he hold him in contempt. Taqwaa (Piety) is right here [and he pointed to his chest three times]. It is evil enough for a man to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. The whole of a Muslim is inviolable for another Muslim : his blood, his property, and his honor." (Muslim)
Muslims are encouraged to help each other. Helping each other is for our own benefit. A Muslim who makes a Muslim happy will receive the mercy of Allah on the Day of Resurrection, and He will remove one of his griefs that Day. Any Muslim who sees to the need of another Muslim, will have his own needs seen to by Allah. Any Muslim who protects another Muslim will be protected by Allah. Allah will help us as long as we help each other.
The one who strives to gain knowledge of the religion will be helped by Allah in acting upon it and propagating it. The masjid should be used to gather in to study the religion and to recite the Qur'an collectively. Such groups of people receive the peace and mercy of Allah, and are surrounded by the Angels, and are mentioned by Allah to those near Him. If one becomes lax in his religious duties, his lineage or ancestry will not avail him anything before Allah.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said :
"Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the need of a needy person, Allah will alleviate his needs in this world and the Hereafter. Whoever shields [or hides the misdeeds of] a Muslim, Allah will shield him in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah will aid His Slave so long as he aids his brother. And whoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise. No people gather together in one of the Houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that Sakeenah (Tranquility) descends upon them, and Mercy envelops them, and the angels surround them, and Allah mentions them amongst those who are with Him. And whoever is slowed down by his actions, will not be hastened forward by his lineage." (Muslim)
One who believes with the complete Iman that will save him from the punishment of Allah, and will attain for him the pleasure of Allah; then for such a person, "let him speak good, or keep silent." The one who believes in Allah and does not fulfill everything that his Iman entails, i.e. he falls into sin, then he fears His threat of punishment and he hopes in His reward, and he strives in performing what he has been commanded with, and in leaving that which he has been forbidden from.
The most important of what is upon him from this is being careful about his tongue and limbs, which are under his control, and which he will be asked about on the Day of Standing, as Allah has said:
"Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah)" (al-Israa', 36). Allah has said : "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)" (Qaf, 18).
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbor; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest. (Bukhari and Muslim)
The sins of the tongue are numerous, and because of this the Prophet Allah bless him and grant him peace said: "And what is it that throws the people into the Hellfire upon their noses, except what their tongues have harvested" and he, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has said: "Everything that the son of Adam speaks will be a proof against him, except the dhikr of Allah and his ordering the good and forbidding the evil". So whosoever understands this, and protects the rights of his Iman, then he will fear Allah and have taqwa of Him with regards to his tongue, and he will not speak except with good, or will remain silent.
Perfection of one's religion is in the care of other. A believer will not want something to happen to another Muslim which he would not like for himself.
On the authority of Abu Hamzah Anas bin Maalik (Allah be pleased with him) - the servant of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) - that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said :
"None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself. " (Bukhari and Muslim)
The perfection and completeness of Iman is negated for someone who does not wish for his Muslim brother that which he likes for himself.
Commanding the good and forbidding evil is from Iman. It is required of the one who commands the good and forbids the evil that he does so with gentleness, in order to ensure the greatest chance of attaining that which is desired, i.e. the correction and rectification of the wrong-doing individual. Imam ash-Shaafi'i rahimahu Allah said: "He who admonishes his brother in secret has sincerely advised him and has adorned him, while he who admonishes his brother openly [in front of everyone] has humiliated him and disfigured him."
It is everyone's individual duty to improve matters as far as he is able to do and whenever it is conducive to do so. If one can correct something with one's hand without bringing about more harm, then he should do so. If it is that one can only say something under the circumstances, then one should do so. One must at least hate in ones heart the evil that has happened, even if one cannot do anything about it, and this is the weakest level of Iman. If one does not feel anything in one's heart against the wrong then this indicates a lack of Iman. Seeing a sin and be pleased with it is a crime.
On the authority of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree (Allah be pleased with him) who said : I heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) say :
"Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then [let him change it] with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart - and that is the weakest of faith." (Muslim.)
An essential element of the religion is jihad.
On the authority of the son of 'Umar (radi Allahu 'anhumaa) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"I have been ordered to fight against the people until they testify that there is none worthy of Worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and until they establish the Salaah and pay the Zakaah. And if they do that then they will have gained protection from me for their lives and property, unless [they commit acts that are punishable] in Islaam, and their Reckoning will be with Allah." (Bukhari and Muslim)
People limit jihad to its military meaning but its most important meaning which was present in the beginning of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, mission: facing the falsehood with the truth is the core jihad and any manifestation return to this meaning. The bearing persecution that comes as a result and staying firm to what they believe. This is the primal jihad amongst the forms of jihad--striving to manifest the truth or daawah to Allah. The highest jihad is not with the sword but with the tongue. Everyone who is capable to explain and understand must take this dawah to the people and must do so with kind and gentle words. The best jihad is the through words to an oppressive ruler. The mujahid is the one who does jihad against himself for Allah Most High. (Tirmidhi)
The Ameer of the Muslims enforces protection of the lives and the properties of the Muslims. Ifa Muslim does something which deserves a punishment according to the rulings of Islam, then the Ameer of the Muslims must enforce that too. The punishments must be given, regardless of what Allah will judge for them (i.e. Allah may punish them or forgive them).
People have a right not to be murdered, not to be cheated on, that their religion is not to be challenged. Punishment is to preserve the right of the society. Islam is not interested to punish people. If someone come to a judge and said "I deserve to be punished," the judge shouldn't even ask him what have you done. The best thing is not to own up to one's wrongdoing but ask Allah for forgiveness. If he kept coming back to the judge, then judge must impose hadd but if he runs away during punishment, hadd is stopped. Punishment is for deterrence. We don't want to expose evil, we conceal evil. If someone is quiet and insinuates kufr but not explicit, he can do what he wants because he is not challenging the society right now. But when he comes out, then he is the greatest danger to the society so he can be brought to the judge. If he is undermining the entire society that the man is stopped by the law. Nasiha is our relationship to the entire society. We genuinely want the best for everyone. A Muslim can be killed legally only for three crimes: a) adultery b) murder and c) apostacy.
On the authority of Ibn Mas'ood (Allah be pleased with him) who said : The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said :
"It is not permissible to spill the blood of a Muslim except in three [instances] : the married person who commits adultery, a life for a life, and the one who forsakes his religion and separates from the community." (Bukhari and Muslim)
The essence of Islam is leaving the unlawful and performing obligations. The excellence of Islam is leaving matter that do not concern one including the doubtful, the disliked and an excess of permissible that is no needed.
On the authority of Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Part of the perfection of one's Islam is his leaving that which does not concern him." (Trmidhi)
The most imperative in leaving what doesn't concern one is controlling the tongue from pointless conversation. "Verily, from the excellence of the Islam of a person is little speech about what doesn't concern him. (Ahmad). Prying and interfering in others affairs is a sign of not being a good Muslim. "All of the speech of the son of Adam is against him not for him except commanding the good and forbidding the evil and remembering Allah, Might and Majestic." (Tirmidhi)
The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to encourage his Companions upon making do with little from worldly possessions and upon abstemiousness, and said: "Remain in the World as though you are a stranger, or a passing traveler." Whosoever lives in the world lives like a guest, and whatever he holds in his hand is but a loan; the guest will ultimately depart, and the loan will ultimately be returned. Ali (Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Dunya is the land that you see before you - from it eat the pious and the evil ones," and it is hated by the Awliyaa (Friends) of Allah and loved by the People of the Dunya. So whosoever joins them in their love of it (the Dunya) then they too are hated.
Renouncing the world secures the love of Allah. Renouncing the world means not to take it itself as a goal in life and not to be captivated and misled by it, to leave those things which are non-essential even though they are permissible, and to keep to the necessities of life. Renouncing what people have will secure their love for you. Renouncing what people have means not to compete in having what they own, thus saving one from mutual rivalry for gain at the cost of others and their jealousy.
On the authority of Abu al-'Abbaas Sahl bin Sa'ad as-Saa'idee (Allah be pleased with him) who said:
A man came to the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and said : O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me and the people to love me. So he (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
"Renounce the world and Allah will love you, and renounce what the people possess and the people will love you." (Ibn Majah)
All the conditions of the stranger and the traveller are beloved for the believer in this dunya, as the dunya is not his true abode of residence. Rather, the dunya is merely an obstruction that prevents him from reaching his true abode and dwelling place in the Hereafter.
On the authority of 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, Allah be pleased with father and son, who said : The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) took me by the shoulder and said :
Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a wayfarer.
And Ibn 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) used to say :
In the evening do not expect [to live until] the morning, and in the morning do not expect [to live until] the evening. Take [advantage of] your health before times of sickness, and [take advantage of] your life before your death.
It was related by al-Bukhari.
This hadith is reminding us to always be prepared for the inevitable--our death. Death is prepared for with good deeds. We should not have too many hopes and desires, stretching far into the future. We should not postpone till the morning actions that can be performed at night, but rather, we should hasten towards doing good actions. Similarly, when we wake up in the morning we should not rely upon the evening and postpone our good actions till then. We should take advantage of our good health, and strive our utmost, fearing the onset of sickness which may prevent us from good actions. We should use the days of our lives rushing to good deeds, since the one who dies has his actions cut off and his hopes lost. Then his distress will increase no end due to his neglect and previous lack of remorse.
There will be a time we will spend a great length of time under the dirt, unable to perform any action and unable to remember Allah. So upon us is to hasten to good actions while we are still capable of doing so.
May Allah guide us and grant victory to the Muslims. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. JazakAllahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Time Out!
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
If you are confused, fearful, depressed or stressed out, before Shaytan gets the chance to play on your emotions and make things worse for you, and cause others to be your victims, take time out. Perform wudu' and pray 2 raka'as. Take this as another reason to be close to Allah. Ask Him. He listens.
"And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): But those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell in humiliation!"" Qur'an Ghafir 40:60
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said that Allah is angry with those who do not ask Him for anything. (Tirmidhi)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, once said that in prayer, he would find rest and relief (Nasai). He would also regularly ask for Allah's forgiveness and remain in prostration during prayer praising Allah and asking for His forgiveness. (Bukhari).
"Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope; Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers." Qur'an al-Araf 7:55-56
Then do your part, have an action plan. Execute it to the best of your abilities.
"...Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)..." Qur'an 13:11
Leave the outcome to Allah and be patient.
"...seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard, except to those who are humble. Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord, and that they are to return to Him." Qur'an al-Baqarah 2:45-46
Always take time out at least 5 times a day, leave the world behind--do your five prescribed prayers on time (and increase your time outs with sunnah and nafl prayers). This is a means for you to start to be less attached to this temporal world, the cause of many of our worries and anxieties.
Remember that life is short and temporary, and the everlasting life is in the Hereafter. This will put everything in perspective.
Begin you day on a positive note. Get up early and thank Allah that He has given you another day.
Whenever your heart feels heavy, remember Allah and surround yourself with His Dhikr. Dhikr refers to all forms of remembrance of Allah, including Prayers, Tasbeehah (SubhanAllah), Tahmeedah (alHamdulillah), Tahleelah (laa ilaaha illa Allah), Takbeerah (Allahu Akbar), making supplication, and reading the Qur'an.
"Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying), I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favors on you) and never be ungrateful to Me.O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer). Truly! Allah is with As-Sabirun (the patient.) Quran al-Baqarah 2:152-153.
"Purity is half of Faith. 'al-Hamdu lillah' (Praise be to Allah) fills the scales, and 'subhanAllah' (How far is Allah from every imperfection) and 'al-Hamdu lillah' fill that which is between heaven and earth. And the Salah (Prayer) is a Light, and charity is a Proof, and Patience is Illumination, and the Qur'an is a Proof either for you or against you. Every person starts his day as a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or causing its ruin." (related by Muslim)
Practice giving charity regularly. Charity is a good deed and good deeds wipe out minor sins. Sins can lay heavy on our souls.
"Each morning, upon every joint of a person's body is due a charity; so every tasbeehah (SubhanAllah) is a charity, and every tahmeedah (AlHamdulillah) is a charity, and every tahleelah (Laa ilaha illa Allah) is a charity, and every takbeerah (Allahu Akbar) is a charity, and ordering the good is a charity, and forbidding the evil is a charity. These dues are fulfilled by praying two rakaa's of prayer at the time of duhaa (late morning)". (related by Muslim)
May Allah forgive our sins and save us from the trials of this life and the next. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
If you are confused, fearful, depressed or stressed out, before Shaytan gets the chance to play on your emotions and make things worse for you, and cause others to be your victims, take time out. Perform wudu' and pray 2 raka'as. Take this as another reason to be close to Allah. Ask Him. He listens.
"And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): But those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell in humiliation!"" Qur'an Ghafir 40:60
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said that Allah is angry with those who do not ask Him for anything. (Tirmidhi)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, once said that in prayer, he would find rest and relief (Nasai). He would also regularly ask for Allah's forgiveness and remain in prostration during prayer praising Allah and asking for His forgiveness. (Bukhari).
"Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope; Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers." Qur'an al-Araf 7:55-56
Then do your part, have an action plan. Execute it to the best of your abilities.
"...Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)..." Qur'an 13:11
Leave the outcome to Allah and be patient.
"...seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard, except to those who are humble. Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord, and that they are to return to Him." Qur'an al-Baqarah 2:45-46
Always take time out at least 5 times a day, leave the world behind--do your five prescribed prayers on time (and increase your time outs with sunnah and nafl prayers). This is a means for you to start to be less attached to this temporal world, the cause of many of our worries and anxieties.
Remember that life is short and temporary, and the everlasting life is in the Hereafter. This will put everything in perspective.
Begin you day on a positive note. Get up early and thank Allah that He has given you another day.
Whenever your heart feels heavy, remember Allah and surround yourself with His Dhikr. Dhikr refers to all forms of remembrance of Allah, including Prayers, Tasbeehah (SubhanAllah), Tahmeedah (alHamdulillah), Tahleelah (laa ilaaha illa Allah), Takbeerah (Allahu Akbar), making supplication, and reading the Qur'an.
"Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying), I will remember you, and be grateful to Me (for My countless Favors on you) and never be ungrateful to Me.O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer). Truly! Allah is with As-Sabirun (the patient.) Quran al-Baqarah 2:152-153.
"Purity is half of Faith. 'al-Hamdu lillah' (Praise be to Allah) fills the scales, and 'subhanAllah' (How far is Allah from every imperfection) and 'al-Hamdu lillah' fill that which is between heaven and earth. And the Salah (Prayer) is a Light, and charity is a Proof, and Patience is Illumination, and the Qur'an is a Proof either for you or against you. Every person starts his day as a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or causing its ruin." (related by Muslim)
Practice giving charity regularly. Charity is a good deed and good deeds wipe out minor sins. Sins can lay heavy on our souls.
"Each morning, upon every joint of a person's body is due a charity; so every tasbeehah (SubhanAllah) is a charity, and every tahmeedah (AlHamdulillah) is a charity, and every tahleelah (Laa ilaha illa Allah) is a charity, and every takbeerah (Allahu Akbar) is a charity, and ordering the good is a charity, and forbidding the evil is a charity. These dues are fulfilled by praying two rakaa's of prayer at the time of duhaa (late morning)". (related by Muslim)
May Allah forgive our sins and save us from the trials of this life and the next. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Don't Be Blind
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
We are created for the sole purpose to worship the Creator.
"I (Allah) did not create jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)." Qur'an Adh-Dhariyat 51:56
The Creator is our God and there is no god except Allah. Those who don't know Allah, those who are absent from Him, and those who don't recognize Him in the matters and happenings around them, have only misery in their lives because they turn away from the reason they are on this earth.
These are the people who are extremely constricted, just like their souls are constricted--no room for guidance, no space for the Light to enter. They feel depressed, they feel heavy, they don't feel the elation of the People of Faith. They feel the constriction like the People of Kufr (disbelievers).
Just like their breasts are constricted, their very lives are constricted. To them nothing makes sense and everything is dark. If they lose a job or break a leg, they are miserable. They don't see the wisdom of the All-Wise in the happenings. If they make money they are overjoyed, they forget and they waste. They don't see that this is the enrichment of the All-Provider, to whom they will return.
"And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not." Qur'an Al-Anaam 6:125
"But he who turn away from remembrance of Me, his will be a narrow life, and I shall bring him blind to the assembly on the Day of Resurrection." Qur'an Taha 20:124
Those who are ignorant of Allah are blind in the Day of Judgment because that is what they were in this life.
So the key to happiness and purposefulness is through knowing Allah and worshiping Him. Worshiping Him is obeying His commands.
"If you know the commander and you know the command, you exhaust yourself in obeying the command, while if you know the command and you don't know the commander, you try your best to avoid the command." Ratib Nabulsi
May Allah shower us with His Light. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
We are created for the sole purpose to worship the Creator.
"I (Allah) did not create jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)." Qur'an Adh-Dhariyat 51:56
The Creator is our God and there is no god except Allah. Those who don't know Allah, those who are absent from Him, and those who don't recognize Him in the matters and happenings around them, have only misery in their lives because they turn away from the reason they are on this earth.
These are the people who are extremely constricted, just like their souls are constricted--no room for guidance, no space for the Light to enter. They feel depressed, they feel heavy, they don't feel the elation of the People of Faith. They feel the constriction like the People of Kufr (disbelievers).
Just like their breasts are constricted, their very lives are constricted. To them nothing makes sense and everything is dark. If they lose a job or break a leg, they are miserable. They don't see the wisdom of the All-Wise in the happenings. If they make money they are overjoyed, they forget and they waste. They don't see that this is the enrichment of the All-Provider, to whom they will return.
"And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not." Qur'an Al-Anaam 6:125
"But he who turn away from remembrance of Me, his will be a narrow life, and I shall bring him blind to the assembly on the Day of Resurrection." Qur'an Taha 20:124
Those who are ignorant of Allah are blind in the Day of Judgment because that is what they were in this life.
So the key to happiness and purposefulness is through knowing Allah and worshiping Him. Worshiping Him is obeying His commands.
"If you know the commander and you know the command, you exhaust yourself in obeying the command, while if you know the command and you don't know the commander, you try your best to avoid the command." Ratib Nabulsi
May Allah shower us with His Light. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
A Key To The Blissful Gardens
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Islam is a religion founded on knowledge, not on ignorance. The mark of true knowledge is fearful reverence of Allah (khashiya). No one has khashiya except people of knowledge. The knowledge that doesn't give khashiya is not real knowledge. If khashiya is in the heart of that person, it takes that person to the highest Paradise. True khashiya is with knowledge of Allah. The key to the blissful Gardens is through knowing Allah
"What! he who is obedient during hours of the night, prostrating himself and standing, takes care of the hereafter and hopes for the mercy of his Lord! Say: Are those who know and those who do not know alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful." Qur'an Az-Zumar 39:9
"Allah bears witness that there is no god but He -- and the angels, and men possessed of knowledge -- upholding justice; there is no god but He, the All-mighty, the All-wise." Qur'an AleImran 3:18 Allah began attestation first by Himself, then by His angels and then the learned. It is understood by this verse that the rank of the learned and their honor are higher.
"...those to whom knowledge had been given said, 'Woe upon you! The reward of God is better for him who believes, and works righteousness; and none shall receive it except the steadfast.' Qur'an Al-Qasas 28:80
Allah mentions in the Qur'an at three places that He has beautiful Names. So learn His Names and call upon Him through them.
"Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning). And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names. They will be requited for what they used to do." Qur'an al-'Araf 7:179-180
"We have not sent down the Qur'an unto you to cause you distress, but only as a reminder to those who fear (Allah). A revelation from Him (Allah) Who has created the earth and high heavens. The Most Gracious (Allah) rose over (Istawa) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and all that is between them, and all that is under the soil. And if you speak (the invocation) aloud, then verily, He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden. Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) To Him belong the Best Names." Qur'an Taha 20:2-8
"Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful. Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rendt asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect. He is Allâh, beside Whom La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He is Allah beside Whom is La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." Qur'an Hashr 59:20-24
Allah's beautiful Names are limitless perfection. If you learn something which is perfect, would you be just satisfied with knowing it or more?
May Allah grant us khashiya and the knowledge of Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Islam is a religion founded on knowledge, not on ignorance. The mark of true knowledge is fearful reverence of Allah (khashiya). No one has khashiya except people of knowledge. The knowledge that doesn't give khashiya is not real knowledge. If khashiya is in the heart of that person, it takes that person to the highest Paradise. True khashiya is with knowledge of Allah. The key to the blissful Gardens is through knowing Allah
"What! he who is obedient during hours of the night, prostrating himself and standing, takes care of the hereafter and hopes for the mercy of his Lord! Say: Are those who know and those who do not know alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful." Qur'an Az-Zumar 39:9
"Allah bears witness that there is no god but He -- and the angels, and men possessed of knowledge -- upholding justice; there is no god but He, the All-mighty, the All-wise." Qur'an AleImran 3:18 Allah began attestation first by Himself, then by His angels and then the learned. It is understood by this verse that the rank of the learned and their honor are higher.
"...those to whom knowledge had been given said, 'Woe upon you! The reward of God is better for him who believes, and works righteousness; and none shall receive it except the steadfast.' Qur'an Al-Qasas 28:80
Allah mentions in the Qur'an at three places that He has beautiful Names. So learn His Names and call upon Him through them.
"Many are the Jinns and men we have made for Hell: They have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not. They are like cattle,- nay more misguided: for they are heedless (of warning). And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names. They will be requited for what they used to do." Qur'an al-'Araf 7:179-180
"We have not sent down the Qur'an unto you to cause you distress, but only as a reminder to those who fear (Allah). A revelation from Him (Allah) Who has created the earth and high heavens. The Most Gracious (Allah) rose over (Istawa) the (Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty). To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and all that is between them, and all that is under the soil. And if you speak (the invocation) aloud, then verily, He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden. Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) To Him belong the Best Names." Qur'an Taha 20:2-8
"Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful. Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rendt asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect. He is Allâh, beside Whom La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. He is the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. He is Allah beside Whom is La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped but He) the King, the Holy, the One Free from all defects, the Giver of security, the Watcher over His creatures, the All-Mighty, the Compeller, the Supreme. Glory be to Allah! (High is He) above all that they associate as partners with Him. He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower of forms. To Him belong the Best Names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorify Him. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise." Qur'an Hashr 59:20-24
Allah's beautiful Names are limitless perfection. If you learn something which is perfect, would you be just satisfied with knowing it or more?
May Allah grant us khashiya and the knowledge of Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Monday, January 24, 2011
Modesty
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
"If you feel no shame, then do as you wish. " related by Bukhari
The global meaning of this hadith is to be people who have modesty. It is the key aim of Islam to inculcate in people a sense of modesty (haya'). Haya' is a branch of faith. Modesty prevents a person from committing shameful and evil deeds, and encourages him towards piety and good actions.
This idea that if I do this someone might take me wrong and so I am not going to do this. There is this sense of proper conduct. Haya' always bring good with it.
For example, it is not haram to drive a hot bargain with someone selling slippers or scarves/hijabs by the masjid sidewalk, for example, but it is inappropriate. You can tell that these small vendors probably need more than your detriment of paying that slightly higher price. Their sales for the day might very well be barely enough to feed their families the next day.
Haya' looks out for what is proper and what is the higher conduct. If people were to see you trying to bargain down under this circumstance, you would be shy to do that.
Have haya' from Allah is like you have two righteous man always with you. This will naturally influence your conduct. The sense of Allah looking at you will give you this shame before Allah and Allah is more worthy of the shame.
"Haya' from Allah is that you protect the head in what it comprehends, and the stomach in what it contains, and that you remember death and decay. Whoever wants the next life leaves the adornment of this life. Whoever does that has truly had haya' from Allah." Ibn Mas'ud (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)
Someone who does not care about Allah looking at him, about people looking at him and does not care about what is proper, nothing can stop this person from any ugly act, as if he has no faith. So if you feel no shame, then do what you want. You are basically a worthless person. You cannot be guided. And you shall face the consequences. This is the specific meaning of the above hadith as what some scholars said.
Haya' is the most important trait that people can have when dealing with people. When you are going to situation when no one knows you, you can do anything and get away with it. That is when evil or selfishness comes out from people. Inculcating haya' from within us can only bring good, and destroying it will bring only bad.
Haya' applies to man and woman. Having haya' is not being wimpy or weak. It is having a sense of correctness.
The true haya' of a Muslim woman boils down to confidence when dealing with man. For example, her communication is not giggly, not talking in incomplete sentence, not having a weak physical language--leaning, head not straight, etc, her voice is not too soft and low and she avoids flowery topics. All interactions are direct and clear, and give no room for mistaken understanding. She gets to the point. Man will be forced to deal with her to the point and give her what she needs. However, the rule of thumb is we do not interact with the opposite gender except for a reason--such as learning, business and maintaining family relation.
We can learn haya' from the story of Prophet Musa, alayhissalaam, and the two women of Madyan. The Qur'an described the woman as being full of modesty when she was coming toward Prophet Musa, alayhissalaam. She was covered with haya'. Everything she did was clear to the point and she avoided all misunderstanding.
"Then, when he turned his face towards (the land of) Madyan, he (Prophet Musa) said: "I do hope that my Lord will show me the smooth and straight Path. And when he arrived at the watering (place) in Madyan, he found there a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks). He said: "What is the matter with you?" They said: "We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take back (their flocks): And our father is a very old man." So he watered (their flocks) for them; then he turned back to the shade, and said:"O my Lord! truly am I in (desperate) need of any good that You do send me!" Afterwards one of the (damsels) came (back) to him, walking bashfully. She said: "My father invites you that he may reward you for having watered (our flocks) for us." So when he came to him and narrated the story, he said: "Fear you not: (well) have you escaped from unjust people." Qur'an 28:22-25
May Allah grant us haya'. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers, Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
"If you feel no shame, then do as you wish. " related by Bukhari
The global meaning of this hadith is to be people who have modesty. It is the key aim of Islam to inculcate in people a sense of modesty (haya'). Haya' is a branch of faith. Modesty prevents a person from committing shameful and evil deeds, and encourages him towards piety and good actions.
This idea that if I do this someone might take me wrong and so I am not going to do this. There is this sense of proper conduct. Haya' always bring good with it.
For example, it is not haram to drive a hot bargain with someone selling slippers or scarves/hijabs by the masjid sidewalk, for example, but it is inappropriate. You can tell that these small vendors probably need more than your detriment of paying that slightly higher price. Their sales for the day might very well be barely enough to feed their families the next day.
Haya' looks out for what is proper and what is the higher conduct. If people were to see you trying to bargain down under this circumstance, you would be shy to do that.
Have haya' from Allah is like you have two righteous man always with you. This will naturally influence your conduct. The sense of Allah looking at you will give you this shame before Allah and Allah is more worthy of the shame.
"Haya' from Allah is that you protect the head in what it comprehends, and the stomach in what it contains, and that you remember death and decay. Whoever wants the next life leaves the adornment of this life. Whoever does that has truly had haya' from Allah." Ibn Mas'ud (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)
Someone who does not care about Allah looking at him, about people looking at him and does not care about what is proper, nothing can stop this person from any ugly act, as if he has no faith. So if you feel no shame, then do what you want. You are basically a worthless person. You cannot be guided. And you shall face the consequences. This is the specific meaning of the above hadith as what some scholars said.
Haya' is the most important trait that people can have when dealing with people. When you are going to situation when no one knows you, you can do anything and get away with it. That is when evil or selfishness comes out from people. Inculcating haya' from within us can only bring good, and destroying it will bring only bad.
Haya' applies to man and woman. Having haya' is not being wimpy or weak. It is having a sense of correctness.
The true haya' of a Muslim woman boils down to confidence when dealing with man. For example, her communication is not giggly, not talking in incomplete sentence, not having a weak physical language--leaning, head not straight, etc, her voice is not too soft and low and she avoids flowery topics. All interactions are direct and clear, and give no room for mistaken understanding. She gets to the point. Man will be forced to deal with her to the point and give her what she needs. However, the rule of thumb is we do not interact with the opposite gender except for a reason--such as learning, business and maintaining family relation.
We can learn haya' from the story of Prophet Musa, alayhissalaam, and the two women of Madyan. The Qur'an described the woman as being full of modesty when she was coming toward Prophet Musa, alayhissalaam. She was covered with haya'. Everything she did was clear to the point and she avoided all misunderstanding.
"Then, when he turned his face towards (the land of) Madyan, he (Prophet Musa) said: "I do hope that my Lord will show me the smooth and straight Path. And when he arrived at the watering (place) in Madyan, he found there a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks). He said: "What is the matter with you?" They said: "We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take back (their flocks): And our father is a very old man." So he watered (their flocks) for them; then he turned back to the shade, and said:"O my Lord! truly am I in (desperate) need of any good that You do send me!" Afterwards one of the (damsels) came (back) to him, walking bashfully. She said: "My father invites you that he may reward you for having watered (our flocks) for us." So when he came to him and narrated the story, he said: "Fear you not: (well) have you escaped from unjust people." Qur'an 28:22-25
May Allah grant us haya'. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers, Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Friday, January 21, 2011
What Throws People Into Hell
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends,
I pray that you are well.
The one who believes in Allah, fears Allah's threat of punishment and he hopes in His reward. He strives to perform what Allah commands and leave what Allah forbids. The most important of what is upon him from this is being careful about his tongue and limbs, which are under his control, and which he will be asked about on the Day of Judgment.
"Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah)" Qur'an al-Israa' 36.
"Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)." Qur'an Qaf 18.
"Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbor; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest." (related by Bukhari and Muslim)
Sins of the tongue are numerous and there is nothing that throws people into Hell except the harvest of their tongues.
On the authority of Mu'aadh ibn Jabal, Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hell Fire.
He said: You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy: Worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the Prayer; pay the Zakat; fast in Ramadhan; and make the Pilgrimage to the House.
Then he said: Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of the night. Then he recited: "[Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah's Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." [Surah as-Sajdah 16-17]
Then he said: Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?
I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah.
He said: The head of the matter is Islaam, its pillar is the Prayer and its peak is jihaad.
Then he said: Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?
I said: Yes, O Mesenger of Allah.
So he took hold of his tongue and said: "Restrain this."
I said: O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?
He said: May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu'aadh! Is there anything that throws people into the Hell Fire upon their faces - or : on their noses - except the harvests of their tongues?"
(related by at-Tirmidhi)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has said: "Everything that the son of Adam speaks will be a proof against him, except the dhikr of Allah and his ordering the good and forbidding the evil."
So, whosoever understands this, and protects the rights of his Iman, then he will fear Allah and have taqwa of Allah with regards to his tongue, and he will not speak except with good, or will remain silent.
Goodly speech is a sign of someone who is concerned about the Day of Judgment.
May Allah save us from Hellfire. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends,
I pray that you are well.
The one who believes in Allah, fears Allah's threat of punishment and he hopes in His reward. He strives to perform what Allah commands and leave what Allah forbids. The most important of what is upon him from this is being careful about his tongue and limbs, which are under his control, and which he will be asked about on the Day of Judgment.
"Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah)" Qur'an al-Israa' 36.
"Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)." Qur'an Qaf 18.
"Let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day speak good, or keep silent; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbor; and let him who believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his guest." (related by Bukhari and Muslim)
Sins of the tongue are numerous and there is nothing that throws people into Hell except the harvest of their tongues.
On the authority of Mu'aadh ibn Jabal, Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hell Fire.
He said: You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy: Worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the Prayer; pay the Zakat; fast in Ramadhan; and make the Pilgrimage to the House.
Then he said: Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of the night. Then he recited: "[Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah's Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do." [Surah as-Sajdah 16-17]
Then he said: Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?
I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah.
He said: The head of the matter is Islaam, its pillar is the Prayer and its peak is jihaad.
Then he said: Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?
I said: Yes, O Mesenger of Allah.
So he took hold of his tongue and said: "Restrain this."
I said: O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?
He said: May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu'aadh! Is there anything that throws people into the Hell Fire upon their faces - or : on their noses - except the harvests of their tongues?"
(related by at-Tirmidhi)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has said: "Everything that the son of Adam speaks will be a proof against him, except the dhikr of Allah and his ordering the good and forbidding the evil."
So, whosoever understands this, and protects the rights of his Iman, then he will fear Allah and have taqwa of Allah with regards to his tongue, and he will not speak except with good, or will remain silent.
Goodly speech is a sign of someone who is concerned about the Day of Judgment.
May Allah save us from Hellfire. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Expressing Gratitude
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Look at your body. It is a tremendous blessing from Allah. If it wasn't the bones in our body, we would be like jelly fish--unattractive, unattached!
"Every person's bones have a charity due to them each day that the sun rises: doing justice between two people is charity; assisting a man to mount his animal, or lifting up his belongings onto it is charity; a good word is charity; every step you take towards the prayer is charity, and removing the harmful from pathways is charity." (related by Bukhari and Muslim)
"There is no bone, or vein, or nerve except that on it is the mark of Allah's creation, Mighty and Majestic; so it is incumbent on the slave to thank Allah for that, and praise him for making him in a perfect form." (Ibn Rajab)
"Say, 'He it is Who brought you into being and made for you the ears and the eyes and the hearts; little is it that you give thanks.'" (Qur'an Mulk 67:23)
"O Man! What had seduced you from your Lord, Most Beneficent? Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion; In whatever form He willed, He put you together." (Qur'an Infitar 82:6-8)
"Have We not made for him a pair of eyes? And a tongue and a pair of lips?" (Qur'an Balad 90:8-9)
Fudayl recited this verse one night and started crying. He was asked about his crying and said, "Have you spent a single night thanking Allah that he made you two eyes with which you see? Have you spent a single night, thanking Allah that He made you a tongue that you speak with?"
When we do the acts of charity we don't view them as charity or an obligation but our attempts to express the gratitude that we have towards Allah.
"Then you will be asked on that Day about your blessings." (Qur'an at-Takathur 102:8)
"Verily, the first thing the slave is asked about on the Day of Judgment is of blessings. He will say to him, "Did we not make your nody healthy and quench your thirst with cold water." (Tirmidhi)
"And He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you count Allah's favors, you will not be able to number them; most surely man is very unjust, very ungrateful." (Qur'an 14:34)
In truth, we are not able to thank Allah for His blessings. There are people who thought their actions were sufficient gratitude for the blessings and turned out that the worship of the lifetime barely equal the blessings of the eyesight. We are always falling on the short side not on the surplus, but for the kindness of Allah, He accepts our gratitude.
How can we hold back from loving Allah. He is so kind to us. We should pursue all avenues for the pleasure of Allah. We should intend good deeds whenever we are able. Perform them as the means allowed. If you intend to give charity, make that intention real by giving small charity.
May Allah make us His grateful slaves. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Look at your body. It is a tremendous blessing from Allah. If it wasn't the bones in our body, we would be like jelly fish--unattractive, unattached!
"Every person's bones have a charity due to them each day that the sun rises: doing justice between two people is charity; assisting a man to mount his animal, or lifting up his belongings onto it is charity; a good word is charity; every step you take towards the prayer is charity, and removing the harmful from pathways is charity." (related by Bukhari and Muslim)
"There is no bone, or vein, or nerve except that on it is the mark of Allah's creation, Mighty and Majestic; so it is incumbent on the slave to thank Allah for that, and praise him for making him in a perfect form." (Ibn Rajab)
"Say, 'He it is Who brought you into being and made for you the ears and the eyes and the hearts; little is it that you give thanks.'" (Qur'an Mulk 67:23)
"O Man! What had seduced you from your Lord, Most Beneficent? Who created you, fashioned you perfectly, and gave you due proportion; In whatever form He willed, He put you together." (Qur'an Infitar 82:6-8)
"Have We not made for him a pair of eyes? And a tongue and a pair of lips?" (Qur'an Balad 90:8-9)
Fudayl recited this verse one night and started crying. He was asked about his crying and said, "Have you spent a single night thanking Allah that he made you two eyes with which you see? Have you spent a single night, thanking Allah that He made you a tongue that you speak with?"
When we do the acts of charity we don't view them as charity or an obligation but our attempts to express the gratitude that we have towards Allah.
"Then you will be asked on that Day about your blessings." (Qur'an at-Takathur 102:8)
"Verily, the first thing the slave is asked about on the Day of Judgment is of blessings. He will say to him, "Did we not make your nody healthy and quench your thirst with cold water." (Tirmidhi)
"And He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you count Allah's favors, you will not be able to number them; most surely man is very unjust, very ungrateful." (Qur'an 14:34)
In truth, we are not able to thank Allah for His blessings. There are people who thought their actions were sufficient gratitude for the blessings and turned out that the worship of the lifetime barely equal the blessings of the eyesight. We are always falling on the short side not on the surplus, but for the kindness of Allah, He accepts our gratitude.
How can we hold back from loving Allah. He is so kind to us. We should pursue all avenues for the pleasure of Allah. We should intend good deeds whenever we are able. Perform them as the means allowed. If you intend to give charity, make that intention real by giving small charity.
May Allah make us His grateful slaves. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Sincere Well Wishing
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Somebody who is satisfied with his prayers, his fasting and his hajj and have no concern for those around him, is in the words of Qur'an in Surah 'Asr,
"By time, man is surely in loss except for those who believe and exhort each other to the truth and exhort of each other to patience."
People who have no care for those around them will not exhort them and so they are in loss.
"'Religion is sincere well wishing.' We said 'To whom?' He, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said 'To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.'" (related by Muslim)
The word that is translated as "sincere well wishing" is the Arabic word "naseeha" (نصيحة) The basic meaning of naseeha returns to a sense of sincerity, purity in one's regard to someone else. So, it is purely and sincerely wanting what is good for someone.
In the language of the Arabs, its root ن ص ح is used sometimes to describe the purification of honey--the separation of wax and leaves behind this pure substance of honey.
Likewise when we look at a fellow Muslim, we should look to him/her with eyes that have been removed of any wax, any dirt and any filth, and there is nothing but pure regard and pure wanting the best for the person. Not envy, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, looking down, suspicion, selfishness, merciless, prejudice and bias.
What we have to work on is that our heart has a deep concern, not absent from Allah, His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, for the Muslims--the elite or the common folks, expressed in appropriate way of these two 2 ways--obligatory and supererogatory.
Naseeha is an act of worship which frames one's attitude and it is very weighty in situation when one is not able to physically do anything.
Naseeha to Allah is correct belief in the Oneness of Allah and sincere intention in worshiping Him. Obligatory naseeha to Allah is extreme concern from the person to follow the love of Allah in performing what Allah obliged and avoiding what He forbade. Supererogatory naseeha is preferring love for Allah over love for oneself. This is hallmark of this naseeha. The attention you give to Allah s greater than attention you give to yourself.
Naseeha for Allah's Book is believing in it and practicing what is in it. It is extreme love of the Book and veneration of its rank as it is the Speech of the Creator, extreme desire in understanding it, extreme care in contemplating it, pausing when reciting it, in search of meanings of what his Master wishes for him to understand from it. Naseeha is an act of worship which frames one's attitude to everything. It's just not reciting the Book, it is loving the Book. It's not just studying the Book but having a concern and desire to contemplate and learn the meanings of the Book.
Naseeha to the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is confirming the Prophethood and completely obeying him in what he ordered and forbade. Naseeha to the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is helping him in both in his life and after his death, following and spreading his Sunnah, searching for his character and manners, venerating his matters, anger and turning away from those who seek religion other than his Sunnah, anger of those who squander it out of preferring this life, love for those who have relation with him (through marriage, hijrah, support or companionship), deep concern to have everything that has to do with him.
Naseeha to the common folks is guiding them to what is in their best interest, guiding them towards that which will correct their affairs of both this life and the next, and helping them in that. protecting them from harm, to love for them what he loves for himself, to hate for them what he hates for himself. compassionate to them, show mercy to their youngsters, venerate their elders, feel sadness for their sadness, and joy for their joy.
Naseeha to the Imam of the Muslims. This is of course the rulers and the scholars. Naseeha to them is by loving their righteousness, praying for their righteousness, and loving the ummah to be gathered under them.
If people who are learned are not shown respect by the people, no good can ever come to those people. The scholars should be shown respect--listen to the scholars and encourage Muslims to listen to the scholars. Another aspect is reminding these scholars of their responsibility and reminding them that of taqwa (Godfearingness) and not sell the religion of Allah for a paltry price.
Our attitude to the rulers is not the attitude of competition. Some Muslims have this idea whoever is ruling is necessarily evil and their mission is to unearth all of the ruler's faults, to spite them and many other things and to pray against them. What is useful for the Muslims is to pray for them that Allah make them firm on the truth and to want the best for them because if the rulers are rightly guided their affairs are rightly guided. The rulers are in need of our naseeha because through them is the betterment of our position because Allah put them in the powerful position. Too much negative talk and not much positive action is not going to get us anywhere. Muslims should unite and do something positive instead of constant discord in everything.
The way we should look at rulers is not any different than we look at other people. In Islam we don't just care about social justice but we also care about orderliness.
When we go on a trip, we have a leader so we can keep on track and get to do all that was planned--hajj for example. In marriage, we have a leader and Allah put the man as the leader. He might not the best husband. In a masjid, we have the imam, Parents are leaders for their children. This is the order of life. There has to be orderliness to avoid chaos because progress does not happen in chaos.
How do we react when the leader is not the best or up to par? We show deference and respect to these people out of obedience to Allah, not because they are worthy or because they are not worthy. This is how we achieve our reward and ranks with Allah. We have own accounting to do with Allah in the end.
In a household, the husband may be stupid and the wife maybe intelligent. This is a test for the man and the woman. Orderliness entails that the woman achieves her means not through insulting the husband and if there is a difference, which is strong, that she gives deference at the end of the day to what the husband has chosen. Otherwise there is chaos in the household. Power struggles do not bring good with them. If the husband is wrong or bad but the wife fulfills her obligations to him out of subservient to Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, the wife wins the pleasure of Allah for being patient with this man. Remember the wife of Fir'aun and her rank with Allah. Pharoah was one of the most evil and wicked human being on the face of the earth.
Sometimes Allah tests us with people over us who are not worthy to be over us. As Muslims we live in this world for the next world. The orderliness of Islam has given us roles and we are to fulfill those roles no matter how difficult they are for the sake of Allah. This is our means to serve Allah to make it to the next life safe.
Sometimes it is the other way around--the leader is leading a useless bunch. They don't understand orderliness. They constantly fight and bicker and making his role extremely difficult. His test is to put up with that and to steer the ship despite the fact that the crew is useless.
All of us are test for each other. A man with a bad wife and a woman with a bad husband. Parents with bad children and children with bad parents. Our road to Allah is by observing the orderliness that Allah has ordained. In the family--by wife respecting the husband whatever or whoever he might be, children respecting the parents, congregation respecting the Imam, the country respecting the ruler. The opposite of this is chaos and civil war. We interact with Allah through interacting with these people and our means to draw close to Him.
May Allah guide us and draw us closer to Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In The Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Somebody who is satisfied with his prayers, his fasting and his hajj and have no concern for those around him, is in the words of Qur'an in Surah 'Asr,
"By time, man is surely in loss except for those who believe and exhort each other to the truth and exhort of each other to patience."
People who have no care for those around them will not exhort them and so they are in loss.
"'Religion is sincere well wishing.' We said 'To whom?' He, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said 'To Allah and His Book, and His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk.'" (related by Muslim)
The word that is translated as "sincere well wishing" is the Arabic word "naseeha" (نصيحة) The basic meaning of naseeha returns to a sense of sincerity, purity in one's regard to someone else. So, it is purely and sincerely wanting what is good for someone.
In the language of the Arabs, its root ن ص ح is used sometimes to describe the purification of honey--the separation of wax and leaves behind this pure substance of honey.
Likewise when we look at a fellow Muslim, we should look to him/her with eyes that have been removed of any wax, any dirt and any filth, and there is nothing but pure regard and pure wanting the best for the person. Not envy, jealousy, hatred, disrespect, looking down, suspicion, selfishness, merciless, prejudice and bias.
What we have to work on is that our heart has a deep concern, not absent from Allah, His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, for the Muslims--the elite or the common folks, expressed in appropriate way of these two 2 ways--obligatory and supererogatory.
Naseeha is an act of worship which frames one's attitude and it is very weighty in situation when one is not able to physically do anything.
Naseeha to Allah is correct belief in the Oneness of Allah and sincere intention in worshiping Him. Obligatory naseeha to Allah is extreme concern from the person to follow the love of Allah in performing what Allah obliged and avoiding what He forbade. Supererogatory naseeha is preferring love for Allah over love for oneself. This is hallmark of this naseeha. The attention you give to Allah s greater than attention you give to yourself.
Naseeha for Allah's Book is believing in it and practicing what is in it. It is extreme love of the Book and veneration of its rank as it is the Speech of the Creator, extreme desire in understanding it, extreme care in contemplating it, pausing when reciting it, in search of meanings of what his Master wishes for him to understand from it. Naseeha is an act of worship which frames one's attitude to everything. It's just not reciting the Book, it is loving the Book. It's not just studying the Book but having a concern and desire to contemplate and learn the meanings of the Book.
Naseeha to the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is confirming the Prophethood and completely obeying him in what he ordered and forbade. Naseeha to the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is helping him in both in his life and after his death, following and spreading his Sunnah, searching for his character and manners, venerating his matters, anger and turning away from those who seek religion other than his Sunnah, anger of those who squander it out of preferring this life, love for those who have relation with him (through marriage, hijrah, support or companionship), deep concern to have everything that has to do with him.
Naseeha to the common folks is guiding them to what is in their best interest, guiding them towards that which will correct their affairs of both this life and the next, and helping them in that. protecting them from harm, to love for them what he loves for himself, to hate for them what he hates for himself. compassionate to them, show mercy to their youngsters, venerate their elders, feel sadness for their sadness, and joy for their joy.
Naseeha to the Imam of the Muslims. This is of course the rulers and the scholars. Naseeha to them is by loving their righteousness, praying for their righteousness, and loving the ummah to be gathered under them.
If people who are learned are not shown respect by the people, no good can ever come to those people. The scholars should be shown respect--listen to the scholars and encourage Muslims to listen to the scholars. Another aspect is reminding these scholars of their responsibility and reminding them that of taqwa (Godfearingness) and not sell the religion of Allah for a paltry price.
Our attitude to the rulers is not the attitude of competition. Some Muslims have this idea whoever is ruling is necessarily evil and their mission is to unearth all of the ruler's faults, to spite them and many other things and to pray against them. What is useful for the Muslims is to pray for them that Allah make them firm on the truth and to want the best for them because if the rulers are rightly guided their affairs are rightly guided. The rulers are in need of our naseeha because through them is the betterment of our position because Allah put them in the powerful position. Too much negative talk and not much positive action is not going to get us anywhere. Muslims should unite and do something positive instead of constant discord in everything.
The way we should look at rulers is not any different than we look at other people. In Islam we don't just care about social justice but we also care about orderliness.
When we go on a trip, we have a leader so we can keep on track and get to do all that was planned--hajj for example. In marriage, we have a leader and Allah put the man as the leader. He might not the best husband. In a masjid, we have the imam, Parents are leaders for their children. This is the order of life. There has to be orderliness to avoid chaos because progress does not happen in chaos.
How do we react when the leader is not the best or up to par? We show deference and respect to these people out of obedience to Allah, not because they are worthy or because they are not worthy. This is how we achieve our reward and ranks with Allah. We have own accounting to do with Allah in the end.
In a household, the husband may be stupid and the wife maybe intelligent. This is a test for the man and the woman. Orderliness entails that the woman achieves her means not through insulting the husband and if there is a difference, which is strong, that she gives deference at the end of the day to what the husband has chosen. Otherwise there is chaos in the household. Power struggles do not bring good with them. If the husband is wrong or bad but the wife fulfills her obligations to him out of subservient to Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, the wife wins the pleasure of Allah for being patient with this man. Remember the wife of Fir'aun and her rank with Allah. Pharoah was one of the most evil and wicked human being on the face of the earth.
Sometimes Allah tests us with people over us who are not worthy to be over us. As Muslims we live in this world for the next world. The orderliness of Islam has given us roles and we are to fulfill those roles no matter how difficult they are for the sake of Allah. This is our means to serve Allah to make it to the next life safe.
Sometimes it is the other way around--the leader is leading a useless bunch. They don't understand orderliness. They constantly fight and bicker and making his role extremely difficult. His test is to put up with that and to steer the ship despite the fact that the crew is useless.
All of us are test for each other. A man with a bad wife and a woman with a bad husband. Parents with bad children and children with bad parents. Our road to Allah is by observing the orderliness that Allah has ordained. In the family--by wife respecting the husband whatever or whoever he might be, children respecting the parents, congregation respecting the Imam, the country respecting the ruler. The opposite of this is chaos and civil war. We interact with Allah through interacting with these people and our means to draw close to Him.
May Allah guide us and draw us closer to Him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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