Da’wah Bitesize by Talib Jaleel - HTML preview
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When difficulties descend in this world then it is for the reformation of peo-ple, it is from the mercy of Allah. These small difficulties are for the people to reflect on and return to the servitude of their lord, thus saving from dif-ficulties which are infinitely more severe and permanent.
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11 .
Only With Firm Yaqin One
can Leave Means for A'mal
The true nature of means is apparent to the person with correct yaqin. Hav-ing correct belief, aqeedah, is not sufficient to come on to a’mal. If the yaqin is weak it will fail to bring the person to a’mal.
There are three types of people who claim, ”Allah does everything” yet they fail to benefit from the qudrah of Allah I:
• Mushriks - The mushriks of Makkah believed ”Allah does everything”
yet they used to associate partners to Allah. One mushrik thought
Rasulullah r was under a spell and suggested that he is allowed to try
certain wizardry after which Allah will give cure.
• Those who belief ”Allah does but only with asbabs.” Thus they set a
condition on Allah’s qudrah!
• Those who say Allah does but only with pious saints. They are despon-
dent of the power of their own dua.
The consequence of weak eman is all around us and is so abundant nowa-days. Eman is so weak that many people are unable to fulfil the most im-portant command after eman. When someone misses salat while residing in the vicinity of the masjid, it does not mean they do not believe in Allah, it does not mean they do not hear the adhan, it does not mean they don’t know how to do wudhu or salat, the problem is that their belief is in the tongue and it has not fully penetrated the heart.
As a child grows, it develops yaqin from the environment. He will prioritise various activities according to the yaqin at the heart. One may have the knowledge of the importance of certain activity and knows how to perform that activity yet he may not have the necessary strength or determination to successfully perform it. For example, a soldier may be required to carry a 35kg weight on his back for 12 miles. So to perform this he will lift weights to develop the higher stamina. Similarly, the higher the sacrifice or higher the test the stronger the yaqin needs to be. Thus yaqin requires developing.
When yaqin is weak, the person practices deen according to circumstances, when the condition is favourable then the person performs a’mal, as soon as the condition becomes difficult they leave a’mal. Their nature of deen is according to condition, not according to the commandments!
There are others who rely on means for dunya and a’mals for akhira - this is wrong. Dunya for Muslims is dar-ul-am’al, not just dar-ul-asbab. We are not supposed to leave asbab as everybody has to be tested with asbabs and with lack of asbabs. Allah I says in the Qur’an:
* اًلَمَع ُن َسْحَٔا ْمُهُّئَا ْمُهَوُلْبَنِل اَهَل ًةَنيِز ِضْرَٔاْلا ىَلَع اَم اَنْلَعَج اَّنِٕا
Verily! We have made that which is on the earth as an adornment
for it, so that We may test them as to which of them is best in
deed. [18:7]
Thus first do the a’mals for the situations because promises are on them, then go to asbab. Rasulullah r directed one sahabi d to pray two rakats before travelling for business.
Allah I is the one who looks after and provides for us. We only approach job, food, medicine etc. simply because we are commanded to do - however, it’s Allah who empowers these means to become potent. If someone has yaqin upon this then he will leave these means to fulfil commands of Allah- the a’mals of deen will not become a burden or getting in the way. So we approach and leave means for the sake of Allah. Five times a day we get a rehearsal of leaving means for a’mal when adhan is called we respond to it by leaving all pre-occupation.
So spending time with family is from deen but if it prevents them from other commands such as congregational salat then it’s not from deen. A’isha g says that, “Rasulullah r would be sitting with us, when salat time would come he would get up as if he didn’t even know us…”
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Promise of benefit is not for those who practice according to circumstances. We must practice deen to please Allah I, not to remove condition. Yaqin on a’mal will make the person practice in all conditions. A’mal is only for Allah I, obedience is the right of Allah I and only this should be the inten-tion of a’mal, not for benefit. Benefits are guaranteed, but purpose is the pleasure of Allah I.
Sahaba f held means of this world in the palms of their hands and a’mals which please Allah I in their hearts. So when the time came to do so they left means and hastened to do a’mal. On the contrary, if effort on eman is not made, then when push comes to shove, one will leave a’mal and hold fast to means!
Sahaba f did work of dunya as pretence and kept deen in their hearts. Today how many people follow deen as pretence but keep dunya in their hearts? Pretending to follow deen is hypocrisy and pretending to do things of dunya is a sign of eman.
Muslims spare time & sacrifice wealth and lives to increase their eman. When eman takes a firm root then correct a’mals will come out of the limbs - true Islam will manifest.
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12 .
Allah I Will Test Eman of
the Person, Community &
Nation, He Will Exhibit
Their Reality
It is not eman to have yaqin on apparent things, rather eman is believing in the unseen and realise it as truth. Eman is to have yaqin on Allah I with His Names and Attributes, and to have yaqin on the a’mals and facts which are
contrary to the observations on apparent things and customs [16]. Eman is not in the basis of logic - eg. Abu Bakrd accepted the miraj of Rasulullah r without asking, “how”.
Allah I tests people differently. The following four types of tests will con-tinue to come to workers of deen till Qiyamah:
1. Capability. The command of Allah I contrary to human wealth, power,
technology, intelligence etc. This caused downfall of Iblis.
2. Desire. Sahaba f followed Rasulullah r against their desires, eg. at
Hudaybiyah.
3. Zeal. Umar d 22 told a lady with leprosy not to do tawaf- this was
against her zeal.
4. Routine. Change of Qibla from Jerusalem to Makkah was a change of
routine by the command of Allah.
Today our eman is just of thought. It should display itself by a’mals. When a person has eman he will have the desire and drive from inside to obey Allah. If we claim to have eman, definitely Allah will test our eman. Allah I will test a person’s eman through fitnah.
* َنيِبِذاَكْلا َّنَمَلْعَيَلَو اوُقَد َص َنيِذَّلا ُهَّللا َّنَمَلْعَيَلَف ۖ ْمِهِلْبَق ْنِم َنيِذَّلا اَّنَتَف ْدَقَلَو
And We indeed tried those before them. And Allah will certainly
make evident those who are truthful, and He will certainly make
evident the liars. [29:3]
The trials of pain and loss are very difficult, but in some ways the trials of prosperity are even more difficult. Abdur Rahman ibn Awf d , said, “We were tested with hardship alongside Rasulullah r and we were patient.
Then we were tested with prosperity after that and we were not patient.” [5]
* َنوُعَجْرُت اَنْيَلِٕا َو ۖ ًةَنْتِف ِرْيَخْلاَو ِّرَّشلاِب ْمُكوُلْبَنَو
And We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good, and to
Us you will be returned. [21:35]
* َنوُرِب ْصَتَٔا ًةَنْتِف ٍضْعَبِل ْمُك َضْعَب اَنْلَعَجَو
And We have made some of you as a trial for others: will you
have patience? [25:20]
Maulana Umar Palanpuri ? said [23]:
…It’s one thing to ‘test’, it’s another thing to inflict ‘punishment’.
When a Muslim is doing good deeds and some troubles come to
him, then this is a test by Allah - because if he fulfils the com-
mand of this situation, Allah will reward him. But when a Muslim
is doing evil deeds and some troubles come to him, this is a pun-
ishment - which is inflicted upon him because of his evil deeds.
People often go on considering punishment as test due to their
misunderstanding…
We respond to ten questions as we pass various stations in this life and next. Two in this life: Are we grateful for the blessings bestowed on us? Are we patient with the trials and tribulations of life? Three in the grave: Who is our sustainer? What is our way of life? Whether we recognise the picture of prophet Muhammad r? Five on the Day of Judgement: How did we spend our life? How did we spend our youth? Whence we earned our income and how we spent it? Did we act on the knowledge given to us? 54
Trials are necessary to exhibit inherent strengths and weaknesses in people. Allah I said in the Qur’an:
ِرِّشَبَو ۗ ِتاَرَمَّثلاَو ِسُفْنَٔاْلاَو ِلاَوْمَٔاْلا َنِم ٍصْقَنَو ِعوُجْلاَو ِفْوَخْلا َنِم ٍء ْيَشِب ْمُكَّنَوُلْبَنَلَو
ْمِهْيَلَع َكِئَٰلؤُا * َنوُعِجاَر ِهْيَلِٕا اَّنِٕا َو ِهَّلِل اَّنِٕا اوُلاَق ٌةَبيِصُم ْمُهْتَبا َصَٔا اَذِٕا َنيِذَّلا * َنيِرِبا َّصلا
* َنوُدَتْهُمْلا ُمُه َكِئَٰلؤُاَو ۖ ٌةَمْحَرَو ْمِهِّبَر ْنِم ٌتاَوَل َص
And surely We shall try you with something of fear and hunger,
and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give glad tidings to
the steadfast, who, when afflicted with calamity, say: “Truly! To
Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.” Such are they
on whom are blessings from their Lord, and mercy. Such are the
rightly guided. [2:155-7]
When Ibrahim (the son of Rasulullah r), hardly two years old, was in his last breaths, Rasulullah r sat holding Ibrahim in his lap. Rasulullah r kissed him and smelled him, and then his eyes started shedding tears. ’Abdur Rahman bin ’Auf said, ”0 Rasulullah r, even you are weeping!” He said, ”0 Ibn ’Auf, this is mercy.”
Then he wept more and said, ”The eyes are shedding tears and the heart is grieved, and we will not say except what pleases our Lord, 0 Ibrahim! Indeed
we are grieved by your separation [3].”
Allah I bears witness to the tremendous tests that sahabaf lived through:
َرِجاَنَحْلا ُبوُلُقْلا ِتَغَلَبَو ُرا َصْبَٔاْلا ِتَغاَز ْذِٕا َو ْمُكْنِم َلَف ْسَٔا ْنِمَو ْمُكِقْوَف ْنِم ْمُكوُءاَج ْذِٕا
* اًديِد َش اًلاَزْلِز اوُلِزْلُزَو َنوُنِمْؤُمْلا َيِلُتْبا َكِلاَنُه * اَنوُنُّظلا ِهَّللاِب َنوُّنُظَتَو
When they came upon you from above you and from below you,
and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached to the throats,
and you were harbouring doubts about Allah. There, the believ-
ers were tried and shaken with a mighty shaking. [33:10-1]
This clearly separated the believers from the munafiqs:
* اًروُرُغ اَّلِٕا ُهُلوُسَرَو ُهَّللا اَنَدَعَو اَم ٌضَرَم ْمِهِبوُلُق يِف َنيِذَّلاَو َنوُقِفاَنُمْلا ُلوُقَي ْذِٕاَو
And [remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts
is disease said, “Allah and His Messenger did not promise us ex-
cept delusion!” [33:12]
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Separation from munafiqs is not a calamity, it is a blessing when facilitated
by Allah, [2]:
ْمُكيِفَو َةَنْتِفْلا ُمُكَنوُغْبَي ْمُكَلاَل ِخ اوُع َضْؤَاَلَو اًلاَبَخ اَّلِٕا ْمُكوُداَز اَم ْمُكيِف اوُجَرَخ ْوَل
ۗ ْمُهَل َنوُعاَّمَس
Had they marched out with you, they would have added to you
nothing except disorder, and they would have been active in your
midst sowing sedition among you. And there are some among
you who would have listened to them. [9:47]
Narrated from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri d 23 who said:
I said: O Rasulullah r, which people are most severely tested?
He said: “The Prophets.”
I said: O Rasulullah r, then who?
He said: “Then the righteous, some of whom were tested with
poverty until they could not find anything except a cloak to put
around themselves. One of them will rejoice at calamity as one of
you would rejoice at ease.”
Muslims are also tested in this world with great acts of oppression com-mitted by others, here we must remember the laws and promises of Allah to respond correctly, ie having patience and persevere in fulfilling His com-mands. Regarding the trials of Children of Israel Allah I said:
َنوُيْحَت ْسَيَو ْمُكَءاَنْبَٔا َنوُلِّتَقُي ۖ ِباَذَعْلا َءوُس ْمُكَنوُمو ُسَي َنْوَعْرِف ِلٓا ْنِم ْمُكاَنْيَجْنَٔا ْذِٕا َو
* ٌميِظَع ْمُكِّبَر ْنِم ٌءاَلَب ْمُكِلَٰذ يِفَو ۚ ْمُكَءا َسِن
And (recall) when We did deliver you from Pharaoh’s folk who
were afflicting you with dreadful torment, slaughtering your sons
and sparing your women. That was a tremendous trial from your
Lord. [7:141]
Hasan al-Basri? , who had witnessed the oppressive blood-shedding regime of Hajjaj bin Yusuf, said:
If the people had patience when they are being tested by their
unjust ruler, before long Allah will give them a way out. How-
ever, they always rush to their swords, so they are left with their
swords. By Allah, not even for a single day did they bring about
any good [14].
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Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamand reported [4]:
I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, no doubt, we had an evil time
and Allah brought us a good time through which we are now liv-
ing. Will there be a bad time after this good time?”
He (the Holy Prophet) said: Yes.
I said: Will there be a good time after this bad time?
He said: Yes.
I said: Will there be a bad time after good time?
He said: Yes.
I said: How?
Whereupon he said: There will be leaders who will not be led by
my guidance and who will not adopt my ways? There will be among
them men who will have the hearts of devils in the bodies of hu-
man beings.
I said: What should I do. Messenger of Allah, if I (happen) to live
in that time?
He replied: You will listen to the ameer and carry out his orders;
even if your back is flogged and your wealth is snatched, you should
listen and obey.
Sahabaf would listen to their ameer even if it was against them. Narrated
on the authority of Zaid bin Wahab [3]:
I passed by a place called Ar-Rabadha and by chance I met Abu
Dhar and asked him, ”What has brought you to this place?”
He said, ”I was in Sham and differed with Muawiya on the mean-
ing of:
O you who believe! Verily, there are many of the [Jewish] rabbis
and the [Christian] monks who devour the wealth of mankind in
falsehood, and hinder (them) from the way of Allah. And those
who hoard up gold and silver (Al-Kanz: money on which zakat has
not been paid) and spend them not in the way of Allah, announce
unto them a painful torment. [9:34]
Muawiya said, ’This verse is revealed regarding the people of the
Book.” I said, It was revealed regarding us and also the people of
the Book.” So we had a quarrel and Mu’awiya sent a complaint
against me to ’Uthman.
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’Uthman wrote to me to come to Medina, and I came to Medina.
Many people came to me as if they had not seen me before. So
I told this to ’Uthman who said to me, ”You may depart and live
nearby if you wish.” That was the reason for my being here for
even if an Ethiopian had been nominated as my ruler, I would
have obeyed him.
Some people from Kufah met Abu Dhard to fight the khalifa. Abu Dhard said to them: No; even if Uthman asked me to march from the east to the
west, I would obey him 24.
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13 .
Allah I Made the Transient
Dunya a Place to Discharge
Duties & Eternal Akhira for
Retribution
This world is temporary and this life is temporary. Similarly, all the condi-tions in it, whether of pleasure or sorrow, are also temporary. The short-ness of the earthly life, which is terminated by death, does not diminish its importance. The biggest reality of death is that at death the person’s op-portunity to make his akhrira ends. Allah I reminds us:
ۗ ٍةَدَّيَشُم ٍجوُرُب يِف ْمُتْنُك ْوَلَو ُتْوَمْلا ُمُكْكِرْدُي اوُنوُكَت اَمَنْئَا
Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you even if you
are in fortresses built up strong and high! [4:78]
This worldly life serves a very important purpose, if we live through this life minding the commands of Allah the way shown by prophet Muhammad r, then this life is worth living as it becomes our means of pleasing Allah I and entering a place which has no grievance, where one fulfils their desire and which never ends.
When death meets a person, there is no greater loss than finding oneself empty-handed, leaving everything one worked for. But the worse is still to come: the pangs of death, the problem of the grave, the problem of the day of judgement, the problem of the bridge over the Jahannam etc. Disbeliev-ers will regret when they enter Jahannam and sink in its agonising fire when all their pleas will be of no avail:
* اًليِب َس ِلوُسَّرلا َعَم ُتْذَخَّتا يِنَتْيَل اَي ُلوُقَي ِهْيَدَي ٰىَلَع ُمِلاَّظلا ُّضَعَي َمْوَيَو
And the Day when the wrong-doer will bite at his hands, [in re-
gret] he will say: “Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the
messenger.” [25:27]
Man has been given the choice on how to use the blessings of life, health (intellect, eyes, ears, tongue etc.) wealth & capacity given to him. Death is the ending of a person’s choice on those blessings. He will not get a second opportunity to make correct use of these.
ْلَمْعَن اَنْعِجْراَف اَنْعِم َسَو اَنْر َصْبَٔا اَنَّبَر ْمِهِّبَر َدْنِع ْمِهِسوُءُر و ُسِكاَن َنوُمِرْجُمْلا ِذِٕا ٰىَرَت ْوَلَو
* َنوُنِقوُم اَّنِٕا اًحِلا َص
And if you only could see when the guilty hang their heads be-
fore their Lord (saying): “Our Lord! We have now seen and heard,
so send us back (to the world), we will do righteous good deeds.
Verily! We now believe with certainty.” [32:12]
Many people get deceived by this world. Their obsession with material well-being is akin to children’s sand-castles as both activities are for temporary pleasures, both neglect the purpose of their existence, both make the doer forget the intention of the higher being. Allah I reminds us:
* ِروُرُغْلا ُعاَتَم اَّلِٕا اَيْنُّدلا ُةاَيَحْلا اَمَو ۗ َزاَف ْدَقَف َةَّنَجْلا َلِخْدُٔاَو ِراَّنلا ِنَع َحِزْحُز ْنَمَف
And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Par-
adise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the
enjoyment of deception. [3:185]
Narrated by Abdullah bin Umard that Rasulullah r took hold of his shoul-der and said:
Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveller [3].
Mujahid ? added: Ibn Umar d used to say, “If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death.”
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Rasulullah r said:
On the Day of Resurrection the feet of the son of Adam will not
move away till he is questioned about five matters:
1. on what he spent his life,
2. in doing what he made his youth pass away;
3. whence he acquired his wealth,
4. on what he spent it, and
5. what he did regarding what he knew [5].
Once Rasulullah r drew a square and then drew a line in the middle of it and extended it outside the square and then drew several small lines attached
to that central line, and said [3]:
This is the human being, and this (the square) is his lease of life
(day of death) encircles him from all sides, and this (line) which
is outside (the square) is his hope, and these small lines are the
calamities and troubles (which may befall him), and if one misses
him, another will snap him, and if the other misses him, a third will
snap him.
If men do even the minutest amount of work they will have to leave it in this world when they die. On the contrary even the minutest amount of a’mal done, they will have to take it forward. If we worry about materials and not a’mal then it is a big deception. Whatever comes out of the land will be obliterated, and whatever a’mal that comes out of the body will remain
with us forever - whether good or bad [16].
Man is created with weaknesses - he is in need of food, sleep, dwellings, spouse, security etc. Allah I created the means to fulfil these needs. Now, if these means are utilised in accordance with the commands of Allah with-out corrupting belief then they will be successful in this world and next.
On the contrary, when someone does not have the correct belief, they will consider success in amassing the means, they will fulfil their needs accord-ing to their whims and desires. For this person there will be no end to needs
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and wants, they will go through a life of stress and deception, they will be-come slaves of means. Moreover, waiting for them is an eternal life of re-gret and punishment.
So we should never leave the deeds of akhira for a little difficulty in this life, for the difficulty will end one day, but its benefit will remain forever. Similarly, we should never disobey the commands Allah I for a little free-dom or comfort in this life, for that will end one day, but the sins and its consequence will remain for eternity (if not forgiven).
Allah I warned us to not get distracted:
* ِميِرَكْلا َكِّبَرِب َكَّرَغ اَم ُنا َسْنِٕاْلا اَهُّئَا اَي
O man! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, the
Most Generous? [86:6]
ۚ ِضْرَٔاْلا ىَلِٕا ْمُتْلَقاَّثا ِهَّللا ِليِبَس يِف اوُرِفْنا ُمُكَل َليِق اَذِٕا ْمُكَل اَم اوُنَمٓا َنيِذَّلا اَهُّئَا اَي
* ٌليِلَق اَّلِٕا ِةَرِخٓاْلا يِف اَيْنُّدلا ِةاَيَحْلا ُعاَتَم اَمَف ۚ ِةَرِخٓاْلا َنِم اَيْنُّدلا ِةاَيَحْلاِب ْمُتيِضَرَٔا
O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that when you
are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to
the earth? Are you pleased with the life of this world rather than
the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared
with the hereafter. [9:38]
Allah I wants rectification within us, not amassing means - in fact, He pro-vides means. When people go beyond their needs and reach for desires, then they are deceived as desires are limitless. Limitless desires cannot be fulfilled in a limited space. The place to fulfil desires is Jannah - that is the place for eternal pleasures. This is stated in the Qur’an - Jannah is filled with things your hearts desire! So make akhira the target. Rasulullah r said:
Whoever is focused only on this world, Allah will confound his af-
fairs and make him fear poverty constantly, and he will not get
anything of this world except that which has been decreed for him.
Whoever is focused on the hereafter, Allah will settle his affairs for
him and make him feel content with his lot, and his provision and
worldly gains will undoubtedly come to him 25.
The important thing is the people, not the created universe. If people are employed properly then the rest of the creations will be utilised properly.
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Our effort is fundamental, created universe is not. If we can rectify our a’mals through effort and send good a’mals to sky, then favourable deci-sions will be made. And if we send corrupt a’mals to sky, then decisions will
be made for destruction, oppression, fitnah, hypocrisy and betrayals [16].
Because of widespread neglect of deen we have reached such conditions that Rasulullah r warned us against. Narrated by ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar d
that Rasulullah r met them and said [7]:
O Muhajirs, you may be afflicted by five things – May Allah forbid
that you should live to see them.
If fornication should become widespread, you should realise that
this has never happened without new diseases befalling the people
which their forebears never suffered.
If people should begin to cheat in weighing out goods, you should
realise that this has never happened without drought and famine
befalling the people, and their rulers oppressing them.
If people should withhold zakat, you should realise that this has
never happened without the rain being stopped from falling – and
were it not for the animals’ sake, it would never rain again.
If people should break their covenant with Allah and His Messen-
ger r, you should realise that this has never happened without
Allah sending an enemy against them to take some of their posses-
sions by force.
If the leaders do not govern according to the Book of Allah, you
should realise that this has never happened without Allah making
them into groups and making them fight one another.
Rasulullahr upon whom we brought eman, any decrease in that eman which renders a person non-Muslim, he r said about this world is that it has no re-ality, its value in the sight of our creator Allah I is even less than the wing of a mosquito, not even worth the carcase of a dead baby goat. If anything has any value, then that is the life of akhira, so whatever effort you can make towards that, do that now, otherwise that never-ending life will be full of misery.
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14 .
Trials & Adverse Conditions
are Necessary for Our Own
Development
For believers, trials are a sign that Allah intends to raise our ranks and expi-ate our sins. Rasulullah r said:
If Allah intends good for someone, then he afflicts him with tri-
If Allah loves a people, then he afflicts them with trials. Whoever is
patient has the reward of patience, and whoever is impatient has
the fault of impatience [8].
The extent of the reward will be in accordance with the extent of
the trial. Verily, when Allah loves a people he will test them. Who-
ever is pleased will be satisfied, and whoever is displeased will have
Allah I chose Ibrahim u as a leader of mankind after putting him through incredible tests:
ۖ اًماَمِٕا ِساَّنلِل َكُلِعاَج يِّنِٕا َلاَق ۖ َّنُهَّمَتَٔاَف ٍتاَمِلَكِب ُهُّبَر َميِهاَرْبِٕا ٰىَلَتْبا ِذِٕاَو
And (remember) when the Lord of Ibrahim tried him with (cer-
tain) Commands, which he fulfilled. He (Allah) said (to him), “Ver-
ily, I am going to make you a leader of mankind.” [2:124] Allah will bring such conditions to see what we prefer, how we perform. Take for example high jump - the player performs many trials. If the player succeeds then he raises the bar. Someone who doesn’t know why he is doing it will think the jumper is mad, but by raising the bar the jumper will ensure greater success.
A door may be closed out of wisdom and other doors may be opened out of qudrah of Allah I. Thus we should have good expectations from Him. Allah I has limitless doors through which He can provide.
The promise of benefit is not for those who practice according to circum-stances. We must practice deen to please Allah, not to remove circum-stances. We don’t want deen of environment, or deen of circumstance, we want deen of commandments. In every age, in every circumstance that this ummah finds itself reminds it to turn their sight away from creation and
turn to Allah, thus solve the problems through salat, du’a and patience. At َكَرْد َص َكَل ْحَرْشَن ْمَلَٔا hard times recite “ …” Disbelievers would keep on saying, “We did this” or “that” etc. But Allah is with us, we must not get affected by the worldly people.
At every time, man is in one of the two stages: good or bad, happy or sad, worried or content etc. So, in whatever state we are in, we should run to-wards Allah. Unfortunately, we turn our backs to Allah, towards dunya and desires. It should be opposite. If we do tabligh for our desires, accumu-late wealth for desire, then this is worshipping of desire. What we need to follow is the command of Allah and forgo desires etc.
In an environment of evil, the heart becomes hard, harder than rock, no good word can penetrate it. When Children of Israel heard that they were accused of being hard-hearted, they killed seventy prophets!
All conditions due to da’wah and tabligh, in jamat outing or at home, are from Allah. We should take them as a means of tarbiya from Allah. The adverse conditions that still exist are actually a mercy from Allah for our tarbiya.
We should look at what the creator of all circumstances, favourable or un-favourable, wants us to do. It’s natural to get affected by the circumstances, it’s not a defect, eg. Musa u run away from Egypt after killing the person, he got scared when his staff turned into a snake.
65
Allah I explains this episode in the Qur’an:
* ٰىَغْطَي ْنَٔا ْؤَا اَنْيَلَع َطُرْفَي ْنَٔا ُفاَخَن اَنَّنِٕا اَنَّبَر اَلاَق
They said, “Our Lord, indeed we are afraid that he will hasten
[punishment] against us or that he will transgress.” [20:45]
ْف َخَت اَل ٰىَسوُم اَي ۚ ْبِّقَعُي ْمَلَو اًرِبْدُم ٰىَّلَو ٌّناَج اَهَّنَٔاَك ُّزَتْهَت اَهٓاَر اَّمَلَف ۚ َكا َصَع ِقْلَٔاَو
* َنوُلَسْرُمْلا َّيَدَل ُفاَخَي اَل يِّنِٕا
And [he was told], “Throw down your staff.” But when he saw
it writhing as if it were a snake, he turned in flight and did not
return. [Allah said], “O Musa, fear not. Indeed, in My presence
the messengers do not fear… [27:10]
What brings our downfall is if we don’t perform the command of Allah at that very moment. So Musa u grasped the snake as commanded by Allah, he went back to Pharaoh to give da’wah as commanded by Allah I.
Following the demise of Rasulullah r Muslim ummah faced three impend-ing problems:
• Enemy planning new attacks
• Zakat refused by some Muslims
• Despatch of army of Usama bin Zaydd.
Many sahaba f gave opinions based on adverse conditions in Medinah but followed the authority of Abu Bakrd when he decided to send the army of Usama bin Zayd d.
Abu Bakrd said, “Whatever the circumstances Usama must go as directed by Rasulullah r .” He said, “I would not be affected by the condition of the time”, he was only interested in the commands of Allah. When the number of men of Medina reduced to a few, and some suggested halting any more despatches, he said, “Even if dogs come and take mothers of believers and take them to streets, I will not stop the army of Usama bin Zayd. It cannot be while Abu Bakr is alive and deen is lacking.” He kept on despatching until a time came when no man was in Medina for three days.
At the moment, we are living according to situations. When adversity comes we are learning du’as and praying so that it is removed. When it is removed then we forget deen. The rule (in Qur’an) is that one who practices accord-ing to situations will not be helped, and the one who practices fulfilling the commandments of Allah I will be helped in every condition. 66
There are lots of hidden benefits for the slaves in the trials and difficulty that comes from Allah. However with the condition that the slave, while keeping his thoughts of Him good, tries to earn the pleasure of His sustainer by reviving His deen with their life and spending whatever wealth they had, seeking His help for his needs, and reflect on his weaknesses and inability in his heart.
When difficulty comes to people of evil a’mal then it is for their return to obedience.
* َنوُعِجْرَي ْمُهَّلَعَل ِرَبْكَٔاْلا ِباَذَعْلا َنوُد ٰىَنْدَٔاْلا ِباَذَعْلا َنِم ْمُهَّنَقيِذُنَلَو
And verily, We will make them taste of the lower torment (in life)
prior to the greater torment (after death), in order that they may
return. [32:21]
Narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’udd:
Rasulullah r said, “No person (“no believer” in another rep.) suf-
fers any anxiety or grief, and then says:
، َكُمْكُح َّيِف ٍضاَم ،َكِدَيِب يِتَيِصاَن ، َكِتَمَٔا ُنْباَو ،َكِدْبَع ُنْباَو ،َكُدْبَع يِّنِٕا َّمُهَّللا
يِف ُهَتْلَزْنَٔا ْؤَا ، َك َسْفَن ِهِب َتْيَّمَس ، َكَل َوُه ٍمْسا ِّلُكِب َكُلَٔاْسَٔا ،َكُؤا َضَق َّيِف ٌلْدَع
َلَعْجَت ْنَٔا ،َكَدْنِع ِبْيَغْلا ِمْلِع يِف ِهِب َتْرَثْٔاَت ْسا ْؤَا ، َكِقْلَخ ْنِم اًدَحَٔا ُهَتْمَّلَع ْؤَا ، َكِباَتِك
يِّمَه َباَهَذَو ،يِنْزُح َءاَلَجَو ،يِرْد َص َروُنَو ،يِبْلَق َعيِبَر َنٓاْرُقْلا
“O Allah, I am your slave, the son of your slave and the son of your
maid-slave. Your command over me is forever executed and Your
decree over me is just. I ask you by every Name belonging to You,
which You have Named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or
You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the
knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Qur’an the
life of my heart and the light of my chest, and a departure for my
sorrow and a release for my anxiety.”
except that Allah will remove his sorrow and replace it with happi-
ness.”
They asked, “O Rasulullah, should we memorize these phrases
(of the du’a)?” He responded, “Yes, whoever hears these words
should memorize them 26.”
67
Allah mentions the story of Prophet Ayyub u who was tested with regard to his wealth, children, and physical health. He had plenty of livestock, cat-tle and crops, many children and beautiful houses, and he was tested when he lost everything he possessed. Then his health deteriorated so much that he was left alone on the edge of the city, no one to treat him except his wife. Ayyub u had the utmost patience and trust in Allah; thus he invoked Allah alone for help:
اَنْفَشَكَف ُهَل اَنْبَجَت ْساَف * َنيِمِحاَّرلا ُمَحْرَٔا َتْنَٔاَو ُّر ُّضلا َيِنَّسَم يِّنَٔا ُهَّبَر ٰىَداَن ْذِٕا َبوُّئَاَو
*َنيِدِباَعْلِل ٰىَرْكِذَو اَنِدْنِع ْنِم ًةَمْحَر ْمُهَعَم ْمُهَلْثِمَو ُهَلْهَٔا ُهاَنْيَتٓاَو ۖ ٍّر ُض ْنِم ِهِب اَم
And Ayyub [Job], when he called to his Lord, “Indeed, adversity
has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful.”
So We responded to him and removed what afflicted him of ad-
versity. And We gave him [back] his family and the like thereof
with them as mercy from Us and a reminder for all who worship
Us. [21:83-4]
We should not feel overly troubled if we are afflicted with sickness, death, or loss of wealth. When the believers enter the Jannah, they will say:
* ٌروُكَش ٌروُفَغَل اَنَّبَر َّنِٕا ۖ َنَزَحْلا اَّنَع َبَهْذَٔا يِذَّلا ِهَّلِل ُدْمَحْلا اوُلاَقَو
And they will say: “All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who
has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed Oft-
Forgiving, most ready to appreciate. [35:34]
Abu Sa’eed al-Khudrid said:
I entered upon Rasulullah r when he was suffering from a fever,
I placed my hand on him and felt heat with my hand from above
the blanket.
I said: O Rasulullah, how hard it is for you!
He said: We (Prophets) are like that. The trial is multiplied for us
and so is the reward.
I said: O Rasulullah, which people are most severely tested?
He said: The Prophets.
I said: O Rasulullah, then who?
He said: Then the righteous, some of whom were tested with poverty
until they could not find anything except a cloak to put around
themselves. One of them will rejoice at calamity as one of you
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Thus afflicted with calamity, we should remain patient and happy with Allah. Rasulullah r gave many other good news to the patient ones:
The servant will continue to be tried until he is left walking upon
the earth without any sin [5].
Wondrous is the affair of the believer for there is good for him in
every matter and this is not the case with anyone except the be-
liever. If he is happy, then he thanks Allah and thus there is good
for him. If he is harmed, then he shows patience and thus there is
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15 .
Allah I Does not Look at
One's Looks or Possessions,
But He Looks at the Heart
In this world, we can fool people and impress them with sweet talks and mesmerizing presentations. However, Allah I knows the conditions of our hearts better than ourselves, not even a stray thought or glance evades His knowledge.
* ِدا َصْرِمْلاِبَل َكَّبَر َّنِٕا
Verily, your Lord is Ever Watchful. [89:14]
Rasulullah r said:
Allah does not look at your figures, nor at your attire but He looks
at your hearts and accomplishments [4].
If anyone loves for Allah’s sake, hates for Allah’s sake, gives for
Allah’s sake and withholds for Allah’s sake, he will have perfect
A person can fulfil the demand of eman if he has ikhlas. If he has ikhlas he would follow the commands of Allah. Ikhlas of kalima prevents a person from haram. True eman will drive the person to good deeds. On the day of judgement, people will be raised upon what they intended.
The heart directs the actions of man, the limbs simply follow what the heart craves. So we should have sincerity at the heart. In order to rectify our intention da’wah should be given for correct thought, desire and concern. Hence habituate in checking intention in performing any deed, at the be-ginning, middle and at the end, finish with istighfar.
* اَهاَّكَز ْنَم َحَلْفَٔا ْدَق
Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself. [91:9]
We should study the signs and characteristic of eman. Among the many qualities of believers, Allah I mentions the condition of their hearts when Qur’an is recited.
اًناَميِٕا ْمُهْتَداَز ُهُتاَيٓا ْمِهْيَلَع ْتَيِلُت اَذِٕاَو ْمُهُبوُلُق ْتَلِجَو ُهَّللا َرِكُذ اَذِٕا َنيِذَّلا َنوُنِمْؤُمْلا اَمَّنِٕا
* َنوُلَّكَوَتَي ْمِهِّبَر ٰىَلَعَو
The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel
a fear in their hearts and when His verses are recited to them,
it increases them in faith; and they put their trust in their Lord
(alone). [8:2]
On the contrary, Allah I likened some hearts as dead:
اَل اَهَّنِٕاَف ۖ اَهِب َنوُعَم ْسَي ٌناَذٓا ْؤَا اَهِب َنوُلِقْعَي ٌبوُلُق ْمُهَل َنوُكَتَف ِضْرَٔاْلا يِف اوُريِسَي ْمَلَفَٔا
* ِروُد ُّصلا يِف يِتَّلا ُبوُلُقْلا ىَمْعَت ْنِكَٰلَو ُرا َصْبَٔاْلا ىَمْعَت
Have they not travelled through the land, and have they hearts
wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear? Verily, it
is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in
the breasts that grow blind. [22:46]
Rasulullah r said that whoever possesses the following three qualities will
have the sweetness of eman [3, 4]:
1. The one to whom Allah and His messenger become dearer than any-
thing else;
2. To Love a person and love him only for Allah’s sake;
3. To hate to revert to disbelief after Allah saved him from it as he would
hate to be thrown into the fire.
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We can find more qualities of an enlightened heart in the following conver-sation Rasulullah r had with Harith ibn Malikd:
Rasulullah r asked: ‘How are you this morning?’
He replied: ‘I am a true believer this morning’
Rasulullah r said: ‘Every claim has a reality (proof), so what is the
reality (proof) for your claim?’
He replied: ‘Since this morning, I have distanced myself from the
world, I spent my night awake in worship and my day fasting.
I can almost see the throne of my Rabb being brought for ac-
countability. I can almost see the inhabitants in Jannah visiting
one another therein, and I can almost hear the screams of the
inhabitants of Jahannam.’
Rasulullah r said to him: ‘[You are] a slave whose heart has been
illuminated with eman. Remain steadfast on this perception of
yours. 27 ’
Sahaba f distanced themselves from that which is profane & temporary. They distanced themselves from that which angers Allah I and got busy with that which pleases Him. These a’mals are lofty a’amal because they raise the rank of the person in His sight. Allah I directed even Rasulullah r to join their company. The value of such a’mals is not affected by the mate-
rial condition of those involved. Narrated by Abu Sa’id Al-Khudrid [6]:
I was sitting in a group of destitute Muhajirs, and some of them
had taken cover behind others as they did not have enough clothes
on them, and one of them was reciting the Qur’an to us, when
Rasulullah r entered and stood by us. At this, the one who was
reciting the Qur’an became silent.
Rasulullah r greeted and then said: What were you all doing?
We said: O Rasulullah, one of our reciters was reciting and we
were listening attentively to the Book of Allah Ta’ala.
Rasulullah r said: Praise be to Allah Who has created in my Ummah
such a people, with whom I have been ordained to sit.
Then Rasulullah r sat amongst us, to be equidistant from every-
one. Then he gestured with his hand, and we sat in a circle with
all of us facing him. I noticed that Rasulullah r did not recognize
any of them other than me.
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Rasulullah r said: O community of destitute Muhajirs, glad tidings
for you of a perfect light on the Day of Resurrection. You will enter
the Paradise half-a-day before the rich people, and that is (the span
of) five hundred years.
Narrated Sahl bin Sa‘d As-Sa‘idd [3]:
A man passed by Rasulullah r and the Prophet r asked a man
sitting beside him, “What is your opinion about this (passer-by)?”
He replied, “He is from the noble class of people. By Allah, if he
should ask for a lady’s hand in marriage, he ought to be given her
in marriage, and if he intercedes for somebody, his intercession
will be accepted.”
Rasulullah r kept quiet, and then another man passed by and
he r asked the same man again, “What is your opinion about this
(second) one?”
He said, “O Rasulullah r ! This person is one of the poor Muslims.
If he should ask a lady’s hand in marriage, no-one will accept him,
and if he intercedes for somebody, no one will accept his inter-
cession, and if he talks, no-one will listen to his talk.”
Then Rasulullah r said, “This (poor man) is better than such a
large number of the first type (i.e. rich men) as to fill the earth.”
The criteria for nobility in the sight of Allah I is only taqwa. Colour, status, tribe, intelligence, education, wealth, profession, etc. do not have value with regard to this - Allah I blessed all his slaves with these, some without requiring any effort on their part. However, taqwa is a quality the individual must make effort to develop.
Allah I says in the Qur’an:
َّنِٕا ۚ اوُفَراَعَتِل َلِئاَبَقَو اًبوُعُش ْمُكاَنْلَعَجَو ٰىَثْنُٔاَو ٍرَكَذ ْنِم ْمُكاَنْقَلَخ اَّنِٕا ُساَّنلا اَهُّئَا اَي
* ۚ ْمُكاَقْتَٔا ِهَّللا َدْنِع ْمُكَمَرْكَٔا
O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and
made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one an-
other. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (be-
liever) who has at-Taqwa. [49:13]
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Rasulullah r said [6]:
Allah, Most High, has removed from you the pride of the pre-Islamic
period and its boasting in ancestors. One is only a pious believer
or a miserable sinner. You are sons of Adam, and Adam came from
dust. Let the people cease to boast about their ancestors. They are
merely fuel in Jahannam; or they will certainly be of less account
with Allah than the beetle which rolls dung with its nose.
Allah I will make a way out for him from every difficulty for those who posses taqwa:
ىَلَع ْلَّكَوَتَي ْنَمَو ۚ ُبِسَتْحَي اَل ُثْيَح ْنِم ُهْقُزْرَيَو * اًجَرْخَم ُهَل ْلَعْجَي َهَّللا ِقَّتَي ْنَمَو
* ۚ ُهُب ْسَح َوُهَف ِهَّللا
And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will
make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will
provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whoso-
ever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. [65:2-3]
Without taqwa:
• life will be simply exhausting but not achieving anything, or
• one will gain wealth but not the means required (eg. Have money but
not medicine, have medicine but no cure), or
• one achieves all of the means but needs still not fulfilled.
With every action, we should be grateful to Allah I for the tawfiq, we should seek only His pleasure & seek reward only from Him. There should not be
any desire to further any worldly motive. Rasulullah r said [4]:
Verily, the first people to be judged on the Day of Resurrection will
be a man who was martyred. He will be brought, the blessings of
Allah will be made known and he will acknowledge them. Allah
will say: What did you do about them? The man will say: I fought
in your cause until I was martyred. Allah will say: You have lied,
for you fought only that it would be said you were brave, and thus
it was said. Then, Allah will order him to be dragged upon his face
until he is cast into Hellfire.
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Another man studied religious knowledge, taught others, and re-
cited the Qur’an. He will be brought, the blessings of Allah will be
made known and he will acknowledge them. Allah will say: What
did you do about them? The man will say: I learned religious knowl-
edge, taught others, and I recited the Qur’an for your sake. Allah
will say: You have lied, for you studied only that it would be said
you are a scholar and you recited the Qur’an only that it would be
said you are a reciter, and thus it was said. Then, Allah will order
him to be dragged upon his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
Another man was given an abundance of blessings from Allah and
every kind of wealth. He will be brought, the blessings of Allah
will be made known and he will acknowledge them. Allah will say:
What did you do about them? The man will say: I did not leave
any good cause beloved to you but that I spent on it for your sake.
Allah will say: You have lied, for you spent only that it would be
said you are generous, and thus it was said. Then, Allah will order
him to be dragged upon his face until he is cast into Hellfire.
In seeking the pleasure of Allah even a small deed will fetch huge rewards. It’s the connection the a’mal has with Allah I that makes it great, no matter how small it may appear. Conversely, even a great action will be of no value
if the intention is not the pleasure of Allah. Rasulullah r said [3]:
Guard yourself from Jahannam even with half of a date in charity.
If he cannot find it, then with a kind word.
Thus, this deen gives everybody a level playing field. It doesn’t really matter whether someone is rich or poor. Everyone has a heart - so anyone can work on their heart and become beloved of Allah. No one has an excuse for not being able to reach the nearness of Allah for lack of means (lineage, status, intelligence, stamina etc.) or materials.
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16 .
Power, Fame and Wealth are
Intoxicants. Those Who Have
it Think Success Cannot be
Gained Without it
Power, fame and wealth are intoxicants. Those who have it think success cannot be achieved without it. Throughout the ages this has been the case with all nations, big and powerful except those saved by the Will of Allah (eg. kingdom of Sulaiman u). They begin to attribute their rise to prosper-ity and importance to the accumulation of materials, technological know-how and manpower. Allah I warns the entire humanity from such fallacy and resulting failure in this world and next.
اَّلِٕا ْمِهِدْعَب ْنِم ْنَك ْسُت ْمَل ْمُهُنِكا َسَم َكْلِتَف ۖ اَهَتَشيِعَم ْتَرِطَب ٍةَيْرَق ْنِم اَنْكَلْهَٔا ْمَكَو
اًلوُسَر اَهِّمُٔا يِف َثَعْبَي ٰىَّتَح ٰىَرُقْلا َكِلْهُم َكُّبَر َناَك اَمَو * َنيِثِراَوْلا ُنْحَن اَّنُكَو ۖ اًليِلَق
* َنوُمِلاَظ اَهُلْهَٔاَو اَّلِٕا ٰىَرُقْلا يِكِلْهُم اَّنُك اَمَو ۚ اَنِتاَيٓا ْمِهْيَلَع وُلْتَي
And how many a town have We destroyed, which was thankless
for its means of livelihood! And those are their dwellings, which
have not been inhabited after them except a little. And verily,
We have been the inheritor. And never will your Lord destroy
the towns until He sends to their capital a messenger reciting to
them Our ayat. And never would We destroy the towns unless
the people thereof are oppressors. [28:58-9] Look how Pharaoh was trying to fool the people.
ْنِم يِرْجَت ُراَهْنَٔاْلا ِهِذَٰهَو َر ْصِم ُكْلُم يِل َسْيَلَٔا ِمْوَق اَي َلاَق ِهِمْوَق يِف ُنْوَعْرِف ٰىَداَنَو
َيِقْلُٔا اَلْوَلَف * ُنيِبُي ُداَكَي اَلَو ٌنيِهَم َوُه يِذَّلا اَذَٰه ْنِم ٌرْيَخ اَنَٔا ْمَٔا * َنوُرِصْبُت اَلَفَٔا ۖ يِتْحَت
* َنيِنِرَتْقُم ُةَكِئاَلَمْلا ُهَعَم َءاَج ْؤَا ٍبَهَذ ْنِم ٌةَرِوْسَٔا ِهْيَلَع
And Pharaoh proclaimed among his people, saying: “O my peo-
ple! Is not mine the dominion of Egypt, and these rivers flow-
ing underneath me. Then do you not see? Am I not better than
this one [Musa], who is Mahin [lowly and despicable] and hardly
makes himself clear? Why then are not golden bracelets bestowed
on him, or angels sent along with him? [43:51-3]
Nowadays people have yaqin in the military even though Allah destroyed Abraha’s army with tiny birds thereby proving their yaqin false. All things from a blade of grass to nuclear bombs to rockets to government power etc. are all temporary. These are in control of Allah’s qudrah which is unalterable and permanent. Bombs of today will only do what Allah wants.
Often people think they would be successful due to them being in majority. But Nooh’s minority succeeded. Allah I gave victory to the small army of Saul (Talut) against mighty Goliath and his army.
َنيِذَّلا َلاَق ۚ ِهِدوُنُجَو َتوُلاَجِب َمْوَيْلا اَنَل َةَقاَط اَل اوُلاَق ُهَعَم اوُنَمٓا َنيِذَّلاَو َوُه ُهَزَواَج اَّمَلَف
* ۗ ِهَّللا ِنْذِٕاِب ًةَريِثَك ًةَئِف ْتَبَلَغ ٍةَليِلَق ٍةَئِف ْنِم ْمَك ِهَّللا وُقاَلُم ْمُهَّنَٔا َنوُّنُظَي
So when he [Saul] had crossed it (the river), he and those who
believed with him said: “We have no power this day against Go-
liath and his hosts.” But those who knew with certainty that they
were to meet their Lord, said: “How often a small group over-
came a mighty host by Allah’s Leave?” [2:249]
People think farming, gardens and plantations make life, yet Allah I de-stroyed the nation of Saba despite their gardens and plantations. As for Ismail u, Allah I sustained him in barren land that didn’t have any sign of gardens or plantations.
Allah gives success with materials and failure with it. In the end, nothing happens from materials, it is by the permission and qudrah of Allah that everything happens.
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Much like many showbiz and super-rich of today, Karun amassed huge wealth that would inspire awe and respect from people. But this made them un-grateful and arrogant to the extent they belied the truth. Allah says in the Qur’an:
َيِتؤُا اَم َلْثِم اَنَل َتْيَل اَي اَيْنُّدلا َةاَيَحْلا َنوُديِرُي َنيِذَّلا َلاَق ۖ ِهِتَنيِز يِف ِهِمْوَق ٰىَلَع َجَر َخَف
* ٍميِظَع ٍّظَح وُذَل ُهَّنِٕا ُنوُراَق
So he went forth before his people in his pomp. Those who were
desirous of the life of the world, said: “Ah, would that we had
the like of what Qarun (Korah) has been given? Verily! He is the
owner of a great fortune.” [28:79]
اوُناَك اَمَو ِضْرَٔاْلا يِف اوُرَبْكَتْساَف ِتاَنِّيَبْلاِب ٰىَسوُم ْمُهَءاَج ْدَقَلَو ۖ َناَماَهَو َنْوَعْرِفَو َنوُراَقَو
* َنيِقِباَس
And (We destroyed) Qarun, Pharaoh, and Haman. And indeed
Musa came to them with clear signs, but they were arrogant in
the land, yet they could not outstrip Us. [29:39]
So overpowering are these materialistic sentiments on the human psyche that even among those who tout for Islam come to think we cannot bring honour to the ummah without acquiring power and wealth!
The so-called great powers are weaker than the spider’s web in front of Allah I. With the effort of Rasulullah r , when a group of pious people emerged, then Allah cleared all the webs of Roman and Persian empires. These empires tried to use their might and wealth to impede the march of Islam but failed at a time when the ummah had the least amount of power and wealth. This ummah led the world and prospered because of the firm yaqin, sincerity and sacrifices of sahabaf.
Rasulullah r said [4]:
Verily Allah I does not diminish the welfare of the believers. He
will be paid in this world and rewarded in the hereafter. On the
other hand, the disbelievers will be given livelihood and welfare in
accordance with what they work for in this world. When it comes
to the hereafter there will be no more good to be rewarded for
them.
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Temporary material gains should never be magnified in ones heart. Allah I cautions and reassures us in the Qur’an:
ٍة َّضِف ْنِم اًفُقُس ْمِهِتوُيُبِل ِنَٰمْحَّرلاِب ُرُفْكَي ْنَمِل اَنْلَعَجَل ًةَدِحاَو ًةَّمُٔا ُساَّنلا َنوُكَي ْنَٔا اَلْوَلَو
ۚ اًفُرْخُزَو * َنوُئِكَّتَي اَهْيَلَع اًرُرُسَو اًباَوْبَٔا ْمِهِتوُيُبِلَو * َنوُرَهْظَي اَهْيَلَع َجِراَعَمَو
And were it not that mankind would have become one commu-
nity (all desiring worldly life only), We would have provided for
those who disbelieve in the Most Gracious, silver roofs for their
houses, and elevators whereby they ascend, and for their houses,
doors and couches of silver upon which to recline, and adorn-
ments of gold. [43:33-5]
َسْئِبَو ۚ ُمَّنَهَج ْمُهاَؤْاَم َّمُث ٌليِلَق ٌعاَتَم * ِداَلِبْلا يِف اوُرَفَك َنيِذَّلا ُبُّلَقَت َكَّنَّرُغَي اَل
* ُداَهِمْلا
Let not the free movement of the disbelievers throughout the
land deceive you. A brief enjoyment; then, their ultimate abode
is hell; and worst indeed is that place for rest.
. [3:196-7]
ُقْزِرَو ۚ ِهيِف ْمُهَنِتْفَنِل اَيْنُّدلا ِةاَيَحْلا َةَرْهَز ْمُهْنِم اًجاَوْزَٔا ِهِب اَنْعَّتَم اَم ٰىَلِٕا َكْيَنْيَع َّنَّدُمَت اَلَو
* ٰىَقْبَٔاَو ٌرْيَخ َكِّبَر
And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given
for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendour of worldly
life by which We test them. But the provision (in akhira) of your
Lord is better and more lasting. [20:131]
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’udd:
If the people of knowledge were to preserve it and impart it to
those worthy of it they will most certainly be the leaders of their
age by virtue of it. But they passed it on to the people of the
world to attain some portion of their world, so they fell in their
estimation. I heard your Apostle r saying:
Whoever centres all his thoughts upon one object, viz. the thought
of the akhira, Allah will provide him with the worldly needs, and
he whose whole distraction is worldly ends, Allah does not care in
what wilderness of the world he perishes [5, 7].
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Mu’adh ibn Jabald reported Rasulullah r sent him to Yemen and he said,
Beware of luxury. Verily, the servants of Allah do not live luxuri-
It is not wealth that we are looking for and it is not poverty either. The purpose of life is to seek Allah’s pleasure. How can we determine if the good fortunes we receive please Allah? One can recognize the real bless-ings when he shows gratitude to Allah upon the gifts. If he uses them for righteousness and it makes him more sincere in his commitment to Allah, then all the gifts he received is a real blessing from Allah that He’s pleased with. When the purpose of life is to seek Allah’s pleasure, undoubtedly we will be safe in this dunya and akhira.
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17 .
Straight Path is of Eman &
A'mal. Stray Path is of
Means & Materials
Everyone wants success, no-one wants to be a failure. Man seeks two paths to success:
By Reason and Science- This path is stray - one who follows this, Allah be-
come displeased with him. This is the path of materials: Gold & Silver,
Farming & Trading, skills & degrees and so on. One who keeps these
in front of him keeps the world in front of him. This path is laid with
stress. They have corrupt beliefs, ungrateful attitudes - yet Allah still
shows benevolence, He doesn’t punish them straight away. He gives
them respite. Allah I makes arrangement for their hidaya, He sends
prophets, He offers means and circumstances which make them re-
flect and turn back.
The field of reason and science is severely limited as they are unable to
inform us anything from ghayb such as souls, angels, jinns, graves, par-
adise & hell from the hidden treasures and systems of Allah. True suc-
cess is not in following reason and science - a success is not a true suc-
cess if it’s not permanent. Pharaoh, Nimdrud and Karun were failed by
their reliance on reason and science. Nowadays in most educational
institutions, youths are taught such things until their hearts become
hard, until their hearts turn away from the Creator.
When people only rely on their observations, senses, intellect and kno-
wledge, they get deceived by means. They think success is in acquiring
means - thus their yaqin gets corrupted, they exert all their efforts on
those means, which is cruel to themselves and others, even if they get
plenty of these means. Eventually, they lead to their failure.
Abilities given by Allah I are sadly being used solely to improve ma-
terials! But this effort does not improve the people. They invent new
things, refine existing means & materials, but sadly as the quality of
these things improve they degrade themselves lower!
These people have a phobia of deeni people. Nimrud tried to set an
example out of Ibrahim u. But Allah I had a plan too, He made an
example of Nimrud. Karun thought he didn’t need to pay zakat as the
wealth was due to his policy, idea, hard work etc. Allah I proved He
doesn’t need water to sink, He can sink in the earth.
Allah I has shown the end of many nations that believed in apparent
power in the majority, agriculture, technology, kingdom etc.
By Virtue of Deen- This is the path of eman & a’mal. One who threads this
path masters the biggest achievement, that is to be accepted by Allah
and to please Him. So let yaqin be correct and a’mal be good.
The prophets show the path to the creator of everything. Allah I kept
success in the knowledge that He bestowed on man through prophets.
True success is in the pleasure of Allah before death, in obedience to
Him in the manner shown by Muhammad r.
Deen is a means to get close to Allah I. Only obedience to Allah I will
lead to success. Without Allah, if someone accumulates everything he
wishes still it is nothing. On the contrary, if he has nothing but Allah
then he has everything.
Difference between man and animal is deen. Deen is a collection of
a’mals. With deen, dunya will become correct. The one without deen
will ruin his dunya. Even everyday mundane acts, if done according to
sunnah, will be counted as a’mal of deen. Dunya becoming deen is like
mud becoming gold. Life of every a’mal is eman and ihtisab.
Many people say that they have no time because of earning rizk. But
Allah I has taken the responsibility of rizk, which is apparently the
main problem for men. In reality, what they need the most is hidaya. 82
Imagine telling someone that putting one seed of date, thousands of
fruits will come out. People would believe it because they have seen
it. Similarly, one who acts by the deen will see the benefit of deen.
One who doesn’t will be left behind.
The straight path is straight and clear like the motorway or freeway, no one with guidance and sincerity will ever fail to reach the destination. But there are many crooked paths which comes off it, only the wretched, one with a crooked heart will follow it. The straight path is the path of all the prophets and sahabaf , khulafa ar-raashidun and all those who followed them there-after.
Ibn Mas’udd 28 reported:
Rasulullah r drew a line in the sand with his hand and he said,
“This is the straight path of Allah.” Then, the Prophet drew lines
to the right and left, and he said, “These are other paths, and
there is no path among them but that a devil is upon it calling to
its way.” Then the Prophet recited the verse:
Verily, this is the straight path, so follow it and do not follow
other ways. [6:153]
When eman comes, all parts of the body will display eman by its action. When the command forbidding alcohol came, sahabaf did not say we drank before we heard the command, rather they vomited. When we have eman, we will have taqwa. A person with taqwa, he cannot eat haram.
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18 .
When Allah I Wants to
Punish a Person or Nation,
He Leaves Them on the Path
of Oppression
When Allah gives limited respite (istidraj) to people, we should not be de-ceived by it. Respite deceives only the ignoramus. So the man keeps on harbouring corrupt beliefs in the heart; enjoining and accumulating wealth unlawfully and persists in other shameful deeds. His condition is similar to a fish caught in the hook. The fisherman lets more thread, this relief is only temporary, soon the fisherman will pull the line and the fish with it. This fish will then be cooked on a frying pan and eaten by people with 32 teeth, and its bone will be given to the cats!
The men of istidraj despite indulging in sins think that Allah I loves them. They look down on those who take religion seriously, such as boasting ar-rogantly, ”Look! he goes to the mosque every day and night, but he can’t afford to buy even a…. If he adopted my attitude he would be able to be-come rich like me.” In reality, sometimes Allah I gives a lot of fortune to someone in order to destroy that person.
Another similitude of these people is termites which “stay quiet under the rocks or crawl beneath the dead leaves while they do not have the wings, but when Allah wants to end their lives He gives them wings. Then they would turn into winged termites (alate). When they have acquired the bless-ings (wings), the winged termites would fly and try to resist the fire. Like-wise, when a human being acquires good fortunes, he would try to resist Allah I.”
These people are deceived by the dunya as Allah I warned us about it:
ۖ ِداَلْؤَاْلاَو ِلاَوْمَٔاْلا يِف ٌرُثاَكَتَو ْمُكَنْيَب ٌرُخاَفَتَو ٌةَنيِزَو ٌوْهَلَو ٌبِعَل اَيْنُّدلا ُةاَيَحْلا اَمَّنَٔا اوُمَلْعا
ِةَرِخٓاْلا يِفَو ۖ اًماَطُح ُنوُكَي َّمُث اًّرَف ْصُم ُهاَرَتَف ُجيِهَي َّمُث ُهُتاَبَن َراَّفُكْلا َبَجْعَٔا ٍثْيَغ ِلَثَمَك
* ِروُرُغْلا ُعاَتَم اَّلِٕا اَيْنُّدلا ُةاَيَحْلا اَمَو ۚ ٌناَو ْضِرَو ِهَّللا َنِم ٌةَرِفْغَمَو ٌديِدَش ٌباَذَع
Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement,
pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect
of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain,
thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries
up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in
the hereafter there is a severe torment, and (also) forgiveness
from Allah and His good pleasure, whereas the life of this world
is only a deceiving enjoyment. [57:20]
Rasulullah r said :
When you see Allah I gives good fortunes to his slaves who are al-
ways committing sins, know that the person is being given istidraj
Pharaoh is another proof of istidraj. His riches was beyond measure, he was never sick, not even a sneeze because Allah gave him the blessings of good health. Other people got sick many times, but not Pharaoh, other people died, but he still never showed any sign that he was going to die until the feeling of arrogance and pride came into him and straight away claimed himself, God. But it was with those “blessings” that Allah destroyed him.
The magicians of Pharaoh realised the power behind Musa u was the qudrah of Allah. It was not a conflict between Pharaoh and Children of Israel, it was between Allah and Pharaoh and his people. Allah said in the Qur’an that He removed Pharaoh and his people from all wealth, power etc. and then de-stroyed them and gave power and wealth to Children of Israel.
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Allah I explains their affair:
اَهَلَو اَّلِٕا ٍةَيْرَق ْنِم اَنْكَلْهَٔا اَمَو * َنوُمَلْعَي َفْو َسَف ۖ ُلَمَٔاْلا ُمِهِهْلُيَو اوُعَّتَمَتَيَو اوُلُكْٔاَي ْمُهْرَذ
* ٌموُلْعَم ٌباَتِك
Leave them to eat and enjoy, and let them be preoccupied with
(false) hope. They will come to know! And never did We destroy
a township but there was a known decree for it. [15:3-4]
اَنْل َسْرَٔاَو ْمُكَل ْنِّكَمُن ْمَل اَم ِضْرَٔاْلا يِف ْمُهاَّنَّكَم ٍنْرَق ْنِم ْمِهِلْبَق ْنِم اَنْكَلْهَٔا ْمَك اْوَرَي ْمَلَٔا
* ْمِهِبوُنُذِب ْمُهاَنْكَلْهَٔاَف ْمِهِتْحَت ْنِم يِرْجَت َراَهْنَٔاْلا اَنْلَعَجَو اًراَرْدِم ْمِهْيَلَع َءاَمَّسلا
Have they not seen how many a generation before them We have
destroyed whom We had established on the earth such as We
have not established you? And We poured out on them rain from
the sky in abundance, and made the rivers flow under them. Yet,
We destroyed them for their sins… [6:6]
Pharaoh feared a child, born amongst the Children of Israel, who will de-stroy his kingdom and thus commanded that all boys borne in them should be killed:
ْمُهَءاَنْبَٔا ُحِّبَذُي ْمُهْنِم ًةَفِئاَط ُفِع ْضَت ْسَي اًعَي ِش اَهَلْهَٔا َلَعَجَو ِضْرَٔاْلا يِف اَلَع َنْوَعْرِف َّنِٕا
ۚ ْمُهَءا َسِن يِيْحَت ْسَيَو
Verily, Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people
factions, oppressing a group, killing their sons, and letting their
females live. [28:4]
Children of Israel came to Musa u for advice & help. Musa u told them that Allah I will take the oppressor to task. The oppressor is given all the means of oppression. Bani Israel said, “Our babies are killed before and now it is going to happen again, why has the oppressor not been destroyed?” They were told the delay is from you, not from Allah I. You must establish salat for the help to come. So all the Children of Israel begun to establish salat.
Allah I commanded them to leave for Baitul Maqdis. They left in the dead of the night. Pharaoh followed to kill them. During the crossing, they were told by Allah I to come out quickly so that the following army of Pharaoh could be destroyed. Similarly, we must come out quickly from job, shop, home etc. to deserve the help of our Lord.
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Muslims need not worry about those who deny Allah, deny His message and break His rules, provided that they enjoin good and forbid evil. Allah I in-formed Rasulullah r how to respond to their attitude:
ُمَلْعَي ُهَّنِٕا* * َنوُدَعوُت اَم ٌديِعَب ْمَٔا ٌبيِرَقَٔا يِرْدَٔا ْنِٕا َو ۖ ٍءاَو َس ٰىَلَع ْمُكُتْنَذٓا ْلُقَف اْوَّلَوَت ْنِٕاَف
* ٍني ِح ٰىَلِٕا ٌعاَتَمَو ْمُكَل ٌةَنْتِف ُهَّلَعَل يِرْدَٔا ْنِٕاَو َنوُمُتْكَت اَم ُمَلْعَيَو ِلْوَقْلا َنِم َرْهَجْلا
But if they turn away, then say, “I have warned you all alike, al-
though I know not whether that which you are promised is near
or far. Indeed, He knows that which is said openly, and that
which you conceal. And I know not; perhaps it is a trial for you
and enjoyment for a time.” [21:109-11]
Abu Bakrd said: 0 people! you are given to reading this verse:
ْۚمُتْيَدَتْها اَذِٕا َّل َض ْنَم ْمُكُّر ُضَي اَل ۖ ْمُك َسُفْنَٔا ْمُكْيَلَع اوُنَمٓا َنيِذَّلا اَهُّئَا اَي
O you who believe! Take care of your ownselves. Those who
have gone astray cannot harm you if ye are rightly guided. [5:105]
but I have heard Rasulullah r saying that when people see something evil and do not seek to liquidate it, they will soon find themselves encompassed by the wrath of Allah.
Similar was the explanation by Imam Nawawi 29 ?:
The consensus of opinion of the learned personages regarding
the meaning of his verse is that, ”when you have performed the
duty enjoined on you, the headlessness of those who refuse to
profit by your counsel will not harm you,” as says Allah Ta’ala:
ٰىَرْخُٔا َرْزِو ٌةَرِزاَو ُرِزَت اَلَو
And no bearer of burdens shall bear another’s burden. [35:18]
and of the several injunctions addressed to all, one is that re-
garding enforcement of good and prevention of evil. Therefore
when an individual has performed this duty and the addressee
proves refractory, the former shall not be penalised for it. He
has performed his duty of ”amr-o-nahi” and acceptance or rejec-
tion of it by the other party is not within his competence. Allah
knows best.
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19 .
Allah I Kept Complete
Success (of Dunya and
Akhira) of the Whole
Humanity in Complete Deen
The person who makes a machine knows how to operate it and knows what makes it function good or bad. If gasoline is used to fill a diesel car it will only ruin the car! This is why machines are usually despatched with instruc-tion manuals from the manufacturers. For more complex machines it comes even with a trainer.
Allah I created human with His qudrah. He created them in the mother’s womb, where nobody else’s hand can reach, only He knows how this human-machine can be developed properly, how it can be used for progress, for benefit or destruction. Allah I sent prophets to explain this reality and the last of them is Muhammad r. Now whoever will apply himself according to his way will be successful. And whoever will contradict his way will be unsuccessful. And the degree of his failure will fully manifest in akhira.
Life is made with deen. Life is wrecked with other than deen. Asbabs are for getting through life - not to make life. People are looking for success in asbabs but it is only Allah I who gives success and He did not keep it there! Allah did not keep our success in the things scattered in this world - rather our success is in eman and a’mal which are from our own internal qualities. One will find success within themselves if their a’mals becomes correct, even if they live in a hut. In contrast, if they disregard the deen of Allah and looks for success in asbabs, they will be disappointed even if they possess all the asbabs for it. Allah I says in the Qur’an:
* اًميِظَع اًزْوَف َزاَف ْدَقَف ُهَلوُسَرَو َهَّللا ِعِطُي ْنَمَو
And whosoever obeys Allah and His messenger he has indeed
achieved a great achievement. [33:71]
The one who looks for success in other than deen, his example is like the person who looks for the lost key under the lamppost in the market. When asked where he lost it, he says it was at his home. So when he is further asked to search at home he explains there is no light at home but the market has light. Instead, he should take light to home to look for the key!
Every person leaving home is coming out to solve his problems. They are acquiring wrong solutions, so their problems are increasing and not get-ting solved. The solution is in turning to Creator and stop turning towards creations.
ُهْد ِجَي ْمَل ُهَءاَج اَذِٕا ٰىَّتَح ًءاَم ُنٓاْمَّظلا ُهُب َسْحَي ٍةَعيِقِب ٍباَر َسَك ْمُهُلاَمْعَٔا اوُرَفَك َنيِذَّلاَو
* ِبا َسِحْلا ُعيِرَس ُهَّللاَو ۗ ُهَبا َسِح ُهاَّفَوَف ُهَدْنِع َهَّللا َدَجَوَو اًئْيَش
As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are as a mirage in a
desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up
to it, he finds it to be nothing, but he finds Allah with him, Who
will pay him his due. And Allah is swift in taking account. [24:39]
Therefore having means with us is not necessarily important, rather having Allah I with us is important. Leaving means is not deen, the same way utilising means is not deen.
Leaving or utilising the means becomes deen when it is done according to commands of Allah I. So one sits at his business not because it gives rizk, but rather sitting in the business so that the giver of rizk becomes happy with him. Because of this understanding, he will conduct his business in a way that makes Allah I happy, he will follow the way of Rasulullah r in his business, he will not do haram in the business, he will only busy himself in the occupation for as long as he is permitted. Such a person will approach means and leave means easily when deen demands it.
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The one who fulfils the commands of Allah I may face difficulty initially but becomes successful. This person apparently will be in difficulty but in-ternally he will be at peace - he finds this difficulty sweet because he keeps the promises of Allah I in front. In the tragedy of Bir Ma’oona when the polytheists treacherously attacked Haraamd with a sphere as he delivered the letter of Rasulullah r to Bani Aamir clan of Najd, Haraamd proclaimed,
”By the Rabb of the Ka’ba, I have triumphed 30,” and passed away. Such dif-ficulty which is experienced by a believer is like a knife that hurts a person in the hand of a surgeon.
The value of deen is far more than all the treasures of the universe. One single tasbih or tahlil is more valuable than all the treasures of the universe. One single sunnah is more valuable than all the treasures of the universe. All the worldly powers are insignificant compared to the deen because the power of Almighty Allah I is with deen.
So what is deen? Deen is following the commands of Allah the way shown by Rasulullah r and it pervades every facet of life. Shari’a, which is vaguely translated as Islamic law, guides them to correct deeds. Every story related in the Qur’an is there to provide a principle of human behaviour, individu-ally and collectively, resulting in success here or in akhira. Whatever Rasul-ullah r has brought, we must take it and whatever he has forbidden us from we must refrain from it.
Complete success is only possible with the practice of complete deen.
ۚ اًنيِد َماَل ْسِٕاْلا ُمُكَل ُتيِضَرَو يِتَمْعِن ْمُكْيَلَع ُتْمَمْتَٔاَو ْمُكَنيِد ْمُكَل ُتْلَمْكَٔا َمْوَيْلا
This day, I have perfected for you your religion, completed My
favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion. [5:3]
A brand new car which is missing say a wheel cannot deliver the benefit of a complete car, even if it has all the other parts. Similarly, when deen is practised as it suits one’s whims and desires, this deen is handicapped and consequently will not deliver complete success. Allah I warned us against following deen partially:
ٌّوُدَع ْمُكَل ُهَّنِٕا ۚ ِناَطْيَّشلا ِتاَوُطُخ اوُعِبَّتَت اَلَو ًةَّفاَك ِمْل ِّسلا يِف اوُلُخْدا اوُنَمٓا َنيِذَّلا اَهُّئَا اَي
* ٌنيِبُم
O you who believe! Enter perfectly in Islam and follow not the
footsteps of Shaitan. Verily! He is to you a plain enemy. [2:208]
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Once somebody went to get a tattoo of a tiger on his body. When the work began with the needle, it felt quite painful. So the man asked, ”What are you making?” He replied, ”First of all drawing the tail of the tiger.” The man said, ”Leave the tail, you can still draw a tiger without the tail.” So he left the tail and started drawing from the other side. So he asked, ”What are you making now?” The tattooist replied, ”The ear.” He said, ”You can make the tattoo without the ear of the tiger, leave the ear, you draw the tiger without the ear.” So tattooist said, ”What kind of tiger is that without tail or ear?” Similarly, if Islam is made out according to our wishes and fancies then what would remain of Islam? That would be a man-made thing.
Reciting kalima, praying five times salat, fasting in Ramadan, doing hajj, giv-ing zakat is not complete deen - that’s the foundation! The effort for com-plete success is not limited to working on just own-selves and family, rather it demands making effort on others and persevere when things get difficult. Along with salat, hajj and zakat, we must enjoin good and forbid evil. If we fail to do so then even our dua might be rejected. Narrated by A’isha g:
Once Rasulullah r entered the house and I guessed from his face
that something of great importance had happened to him. He
did not talk to anyone, and after making wudhu he entered the
mosque. I stood behind the wall to hear what he said. He sat at
the pulpit and after praising Allah, he said,
0 Muslims! Allah has commanded you to call people to good deeds,
and prevent them from committing sins; otherwise a time will come
when you will pray to Him, but He will not listen to you; you will
ask your needs of Him, but He will not grant them; you will demand
His help against your enemies, but He will not help you.
After this he came down from the pulpit [7, 11].
It was narrated that Abu Madeenah al-Darimi said: When two men among the companions of Rasulullah r met, they did not part until one of them recited to the other: “By time. Verily, man is in loss…”, then one would say
salam to the other 31. The indication here is that the success is not com-plete without exhorting each other to uprightedness, beyond own-selves and family, and when one does that patience becomes necessary due to inevitable obstacles.
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20 .
True Understanding of Deen
Flows From the Sahaba f
Meaning of Qur'an & Hadith
is Elusive Without Them
The true understanding of the deen was imbibed in the lives of the sahabaf. They lived and died to gain the pleasure of Allah I and they earned that. No other generation of people on the face of the earth can claim that till the Day of Judgement:
ْمُهْنَع ُهَّللا َيِضَر ٍنا َسْحِٕاِب ْمُهوُعَبَّتا َنيِذَّلاَو ِرا َصْنَٔاْلاَو َنيِرِجاَهُمْلا َنِم َنوُلَّؤَاْلا َنوُقِباَّسلاَو
ُهْنَع او ُضَرَو
And the first forerunners to embrace Islam of the Muhajirs and
the Ansars and also those who followed them exactly - Allah is
pleased with them as they are pleased with Him. [9:100]
Rasulullah r said:
The best of mankind is my generation, then those that come after
them, then those that come after them [3, 4].
My sahaba are the custodians for my ummah, so when my sahaba
go, that which has been promised to my ummah will come to it [4, 8]. This is why their similitude is as the stars in the sky. Just as those who follow the stars they reach their destination, similarly if we follow the understand-ing of the sahabaf with respect to Qur’an & Sunnah, we will reach the same destination, i.e. pleasure of Allah I.
As Maulana Umar Palanpuri ? explains the superior status of the best gen-erations is so not because of time, place or anything material - they were so because of the strength of their belief, mission and deeds of utmost purity.
It is incumbent upon believers to follow the way of the salaf as they were the ardent followers of Rasulullah r. Threading their path is the only way of salvation of the latter generation. Knowing the ways of the salaf: their struggle to live by and propagate deen, their attitude in times of trial and tribulation, through authentic stories and narrations become an important part and parcel of knowing the deen of Allah. Through their examples, we shall find the true meanings of obeying Allah and His messenger r.
Imam Malik ? said:
…So that which was not part of the deen at that time, cannot be
part of the deen today. The latter part of the ummah will not be
rectified except by that which rectified its earliest part 32.
The way of the sahabaf is the only correct and acceptable implementation of deen as Allah I declares in the Qur’an:
ٰىَّلَوَت اَم ِهِّلَوُن َنيِنِمْؤُمْلا ِليِب َس َرْيَغ ْعِبَّتَيَو ٰىَدُهْلا ُهَل َنَّيَبَت اَم ِدْعَب ْنِم َلوُسَّرلا ِقِقا َشُي ْنَمَو
* اًريِصَم ْتَءاَسَو ۖ َمَّنَهَج ِهِل ْصُنَو
And whoever contradicts and opposes the messenger after the
right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than
the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen,
and burn him in hell – what an evil destination! [4:115]
ُمُهَكيِفْكَي َسَف ۖ ٍقاَق ِش يِف ْمُه اَمَّنِٕاَف اْوَّلَوَت ْنِٕا َو ۖ اْوَدَتْها ِدَقَف ِهِب ْمُتْنَمٓا اَم ِلْثِمِب اوُنَمٓا ْنِٕاَف
* ُميِلَعْلا ُعيِمَّسلا َوُهَو ۚ ُهَّللا
So if they believe as you believe, then they are rightly guided,
but if they turn away, then they are only in opposition. So Allah
will suffice you against them. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-
Knower. [2:137]
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In light of this ayat, the correct understanding is what mirrors the beliefs and understandings of the sahaba f. They were the most fortunate peo-ple as they learnt the deen directly from Rasulullah r. Consequently, their understanding was the purest, they were the most successful.
When people do not follow sahabaf then they will wrongly interpret Qur’an and conduct themselves contrary to the commands of Allah while thinking they are following Qur’an. The following three instances serve as good ex-amples of this.
(1) Narrated by Alqama ? [3]:
’Abdullah (ibn Masud) said, ”Allah curses those ladies who prac-
tice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those
ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make
artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beau-
tiful whereby they change Allah’s creation.”
His saying reached a lady from Bani Asad called Umm Yaqub who
came and said, ”I have come to know that you have cursed such-
and-such?”
He replied, “Why should I not curse these whom Rasulullah r has
cursed and who are cursed in the Book of Allah!”
Um Yaqub said, “I have read the whole Qur’an, but I did not find
in it what you say.”
He said, “Verily, if you have read it (Qur’an), you have found it.
Didn’t you read:
ۚ اوُهَتْناَف ُهْنَع ْمُكاَهَن اَمَو ُهوُذُخَف ُلوُسَّرلا ُمُكاَتٓا اَمَو
And whatever the Messenger has given you – take; and what he
has forbidden you – refrain from. [59:7]
She replied, “Yes, I did,”
He said, “Verily, Rasulullah r forbade such things.”
She said, “But I see your wife doing these things?”
He said, “Go and watch her.”
She went and watched her but could not see anything in sup-
port of her statement. On that he said, “If my wife was as you
thought, I would not keep her in my company.”
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(2) One youngster was eating pork using the following verse as evidence:
ۖ ْمُهَل ٌّلِح ْمُكُماَعَطَو ْمُكَل ٌّلِح َباَتِكْلا اوُتؤُا َنيِذَّلا ُماَعَطَو ۖ ُتاَبِّيَّطلا ُمُكَل َّلِحُٔا َمْوَيْلا
This day [all] good foods have been made lawful, and the food
of those who were given the Scripture is lawful for you and your
food is lawful for them. [5:5]
When the verse that explicitly makes pigs haram was mentioned, he pointed to the fact that pigs of today are cleaner than before!
(3) In one place people announced to fast only in winter and not in summer when it’s hot using the following verse as evidence:
َر ْسُعْلا ُمُكِب ُديِرُي اَلَو َر ْسُيْلا ُمُكِب ُهَّللا ُديِرُي
Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things
difficult for you. [2:185]
So we will never understand the Qur’an without following the understand-
ing of the sahabaf. Imam al-Awzae ? said [24]:
Hold fast to the narrations of the salaf, even if people were to
abandon you. Beware of the opinions of the people, no matter
how much they beautify it with their speech.
Sufiyan at-Thawri ? 33 said:
You are in a time which the sahaba f used to seek refuge from
reaching, and they had the ’ilm that we do not have, and they had
precedence which we do not. So how is it for us, when we reach
that, having little ’ilm, little patience, few helpers upon what is
good, corruption of the people and pollution of this world? So
take to the original state of affairs and cling to it.
Sufiyan at-Thawri ? repeated thrice:
This deen is based upon narrations, not opinion [24].
This stance is so beautified in the following famous verses of a poem by Abu Zayd al-Faqeeh:
Every speech after the Qur’an is heresy, Except for the hadith
and except for understanding (fiqh) in deen.
And ’ilm emanates from ”It was narrated to us.” (haddathanaa),
And everything beside this is a whispering from the devils [18].
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Rasulullah r has given clear guidance on how to identify people who are upon truth:
Fear Allah regarding my sahaba. Do not treat them with bias after
me. He who loves them does so from love of me, and he who hates
them does so from hatred of me. He who abuses them has injured
me, he who abuses me has abused Allah, and he who abuses Allah
will soon be punished by Him [5].
How beautiful were the words of ‘Abdullah ibn Masudd:
Whoever among you wishes to follow (someone), let him follow
one who has died, for the one who is still alive is not safe from
fitnah. The companions of Muhammad r were the best of this
ummah, the most righteous of heart and the deepest in knowl-
edge and the most straightforward, people whom Allah chose to
accompany His Prophet and establish His religion. So acknowl-
edge their virtue and follow in their footsteps, and adhere as
much as you can to their morals and religion, for they were fol-
lowing right guidance 34.
Al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi ? said in al-Kifayah:
Even if there was nothing narrated from Allah or His messen-
ger about them, the things that they did such as migrating, en-
gaging in jihad, supporting (Rasulullah r and Islam), expending
their lives and their wealth, killing their fathers and sons (in ji-
had), sincerely following the deen, believing strongly and with
certainty, is definitive proof of their good character and sincer-
ity, and shows that they are superior to all those sincere people
of good character who come after them, for all time. This is the
view of all the scholars, and of the fuqaha’ whose opinion counts.
To summarise upon us is the duty of imitation as Allah I said:
* ُساَّنلا َنَمٓا اَمَك اوُنِمٓا
Believe as the people (followers of Muhammad r, Ansars and
Muhajirs 35) have believed. [2:13]
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21 .
Sahaba f Vowed to
Follow Rasulullah r in Ease
& in Difficulty, Whether