Forty Hadith of Nawawi
Selections from the 40 Hadith of al Nawawi XII
2012 Summer Session (August 28 to October 23 2012)
Class taught by Shaikh Jamaal Zarabozo
Course Outline:
Hadith #38: From the portion, “My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me
than the religious duties that I have imposed upon him…”
Text:
Commentary on the 40 Hadith of al Nawawi by Jamaal Zarabozo
Great Sins by Dr Abdul Rahman al Saalih al Mahmood
Prohibitions that are taken too lightly by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
2012-08-28 Class Notes
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“Verily Allah ta’ala 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 nafil (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.’ ”
It was related by al-Bukhari.
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه ، قال :
قال رسول الله صلي الله عليه وسلم :
( إن الله تعالى قال :
من عادى لي وليا فقد آذنته بالحرب ، وما تقرب إلي عبدي بشيء أحب إلي مما افترضته عليه ، ولا يزال عبدي يتقرب إلي بالنوافل حتي أحبه ، فإذا أحببته كنت سمعه الذي يسمع به ، وبصره الذي يبصر فيه ، ويده التي يبطش بها ، ورجله التي يمشي بها ، ولئن سألني لأعـطينه ، ولئن استعاذ ني لأعيذ نه )
رواه البخاري [ رقم : 6502 ]
This is a hadith qudsi and Allah سبحانه و تعالى is describing how we can get close to him. Allah سبحانه و تعالى is telling us that to get closer to him we have to perform those actions that he has made obligatory upon us. This is one of the reasons why he has made those actions obligatory.
In the first part of the hadith we discussed who are the awliyaa or the beloved or devoted servants of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, so the question that should come to our mind is how can we become one of the awliyaa of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. The root of awliyaa comes from mawaliya which means to come close. We translate the word as devoted servants but literally it means those people who have come close to Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
The hadith tells us the ways and means by which we come close to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. We discussed that not all of the awliyaa are at the same level.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says in the Quran in Surah Fatir verse 32:
Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allah . That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty.
.... among them is one who wrongs himself, one who is moderate (muktasir or he is not excelling himself), and the one who is ahead of everyone else.
So we have two different categories of awliyaa. First category is one that performs the obligatory deeds and the second category is the one that goes beyond the obligatory deeds and perform the voluntary deeds.
The portion which says “I Love him” is a special kind of love, it is for awliyaa who go above and beyond what is expected of them. ... something about purification of the soul......
The first obligation is that of tauheed and freedom from shirk. Allah سبحانه و تعالى says in the Quran,
Polytheists are impure, according to Surah Taubah verse 28:
Sahih International
O you who have believed, indeed the polytheists are unclean, so let them not approach al-Masjid al-Haram after this, their [final] year. And if you fear privation, Allah will enrich you from His bounty if He wills. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Wise.
This impurity is a spiritual impurity, because you are not performing tauheed, your spirit is impure....
The correct meaning of ikhlaas is purity.
The first step is that you should have tauheed, and this can be seen even in the message of the Prophet (SAWS).
We also discussed the condition of la ilaaha illallah in order for it to be accepted by Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Beyond that we have other deeds which have been made obligatory by Allah and these are the deeds we will concentrate. These deeds are beloved to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
Umar ibn al Khattab said “the most virtuous deeds is to perform those Allah has made obligatory and stay away from what Allah has forbidden”
There are couple of things we can see and understands, i.e. coming close to Allah is not just statement of the tongue where you claim a kind of belief, the reality is that, claim of belief has to be followed up by deeds. There are to be deeds that corresponds that claim of faith.
The faith that has no deeds corresponding to it is either a false claim of faith or it is not correct imaan which shariah has claimed. Throughout the Quran you can find the relationship between Imaan and good deeds.
In reality according to the definition of Ahl Us Sunnah wal jamah the description of Imaan is, and they are broken into three components, statement of the tongue, belief in the heart and deeds.
Deeds do fall under the definition of Imaan, in Quran we can find Allah is defining Imaan and following it up with the good deeds.
For example, Surah al-Asr.
When Allah سبحانه و تعالى talks about Imaan, he says that good deeds are inclusive in Imaan. IN Arabic language it is not unusual to use this approach in order to emphasize the component and to distinguish it, so that no one will forget this component. Surah Al Asr is an excellent example of this emphasis, where ALlah سبحانه و تعالى emphasizes sabr and .... these are emphasized and highlighted in the verse.
You will find throughout the Quran Allah سبحانه و تعالى emphasizing the good deeds when talking about Imaan. We cannot have real Imaan without doing good deeds and we should remind ourselves of performing the good deeds.
Contrast it with the born again christians, who believe that once they have the Imaan they are saved and even if they commit sins after that, they do not count. They separate actions from the belief. WHereas in our case actions and belief go together.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى describes the one who does good deed while he is a believer....
Another example from the Quran, we have created man in the best of the mold and then we debase him until he ..... [Surah At-Teen]
Allah سبحانه و تعالى even ties entering jannah with the deeds that we do. ... enter the garden because of the good that you did in... [16:32]
Sahih International
The ones whom the angels take in death, [being] good and pure; [the angels] will say, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise for what you used to do."
You will also find that those who are thrown in the hellfire are because of their deeds.
Prophet (SAWS) has also told us that once deeds will not enter one into paradise, and they asked him not even you, and he replied not even me unless Allah سبحانه و تعالى covers me with his grace and mercy.
So how do we reconcile this hadith with the earlier verses of the Qur’an?
The reward of jannah is much greater than the value of our actions, so the reward is bestowed only by the grace and mercy of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. However He bestows this grace and mercy because of their beliefs and their deeds.
So you cannot show up on the day of judgement and say here are my beliefs and deeds where is my jannah.
We also see that Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) is telling us that if we are looking forward to that day is by doing good deeds and making sure we are free of shirk.
Sahih International
Say, "I am only a man like you, to whom has been revealed that your god is one God. So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord - let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone."
We know that Allah سبحانه و تعالى multiplies our good deeds and not our sins.
Among the deeds is the obligatory deeds. And everyone should think about how they are performing their obligatory deeds. Many of our scholars say that the obligatory are like a foundation or roots and the voluntary deeds are like the branches.
If someone performs the obligatory deeds in the proper way, then he is taking the steps to bring him closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
When you perform the obligatory deeds, you are demonstrating your willingness to submit to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. When you implement Allah’s command, you are showing your submission to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. With voluntary deeds you might pick and choose to do the deeds that you might like. But with obligatory deeds you are doing the deeds that are required by Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Some of us are failing in our Islam by not performing or paying attention to the obligatory deeds. SOme of us concentrate on voluntary deeds instead because they are appealing to them. This is a very big mistake and we will discuss this point later.
Obligatory deeds can be divided into four categories.
The first category is the obligatory deeds of the heart. THese are the actions of the heart which includes Imaan, love for Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, having fear of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, having hope in Allah سبحانه و تعالى, having trust and reliance in Allah سبحانه و تعالى, having sincerity, reputation, pure heart.
These are the foundations for what an individual does. If you neglect them then you ignoring a key aspect.
Prophet said that in the body there is a morsel of flesh, if it is sound then the entire body is sound..... and this morsel of flesh is the heart.
Even if you give half of your wealth and if it is not preceded by good intention, then this outward deed might be fruitless.
The second category of the obligatory deeds are the ritual pillars of Islam. These are in a special category is because of the statement of the Prophet which says that ... pillars of Islam are five ....
What the Prophet did not say that these are all that is too Islam, he said that they are the foundations of Islam. These are the key deeds that contribute to your Islam. They form a foundation.
The third category consists of all other obligatory acts. Any action that has been raised to be obligatory is described in the hadith #38 that we are discussing. A deed that has been made obligatory is beloved to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. And you should not take that deed lightly. It is something beneficial to you and bring you closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. When you evaluate deeds in this light, then you will give those actions their proper weight.
Sometimes you get a question of how obligatory is a deed, you should not ask this question. It is true that not all obligatory deeds are at the same level, however all obligatory deeds are beloved to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, as described in hadith #38.
The fourth category is very important but we dont think about it. Avoiding the haraam is the fourth category. This is an action on your part, because you have to strive to stay away from it.
Umar ibn Abdul Aziz said the best is fulfilling the obligatory and staying away from the haraam.
Some of the earlier ulema said that this last aspect really distinguishes people who are truly beloved. These earlier scholars said that it is easy for people to do the halal deeds, but it is harder to stay away from the Haram. This is what distinguishes those who are very close from Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) and those that are close.
Ibn Taymiyyah said “Goodness cannot grow and develop unless one leaves evil, just like a plant cannot grow unless the area around it is thatched. The soul that does not abandon evil can not be purified because evil pollutes.”
In a number of places in the Qur’an, Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) tells us that you are doing something that is purifying for you.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى said that is more purifying for them
IN a verse that Allah سبحانه و تعالى warns us about following in the steps of Shaytan, do not follow his footsteps, he will command what is shameful and haraam.......
Ibn al Qayim discussing this verse and the later part of the verse, he says that it is clear that in order to purify yourself you have to stay away from the shameful acts.
Majority of the scholars say that staying away from haraam is more important than doing the obligatory acts. They base this on the statement of the Prophet which says, if I order to you to stay away from something, stay completely away from it, and if I ask you to do something, try to do as much as possible.
We know that shariah allows exemptions for waajib, but only under extreme circumstances are you allowed to do haraam.
Prophet advised Abu Hurayrah and said to him, protect yourself from the forbidden acts and you will be among the one who ....... a lot.
Sometimes people are very careful in doing waajib but are careless in staying away from haraam, such as backbiting or taking interest, they are not careful about staying away from it.
2012-09-04 Class Notes
Handouts sent by Sh Jamaal via email attachments:
Great Sins by Dr Abdul Rahman al Saalih al Mahmood
Prohibitions that are taken too lightly by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
The concept of wali deals with getting closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and the actions that we can perform to become closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى are the obligatory deeds as prescribed by Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
We discussed what are the obligatory deeds, and the foremost obligation is tauheed and the freedom from shirk, and without tauheed there are no good deeds.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that it was revealed to you that if you associate somebody with Allah سبحانه و تعالى then your deeds will be worthless. Zumar verse 55
Allah سبحانه و تعالى describes the actions of those who commit shirk and says that their deeds will have no weight or value for them. Surah al Furqan verse 33
We should use the best of our ability to keep away from shirk. After tauheed comes the obligatory deeds of the heart, which includes belief, hope, fear and trust in Allah سبحانه و تعالى. These deeds of the heart are obligatory under all circumstances, there are no exceptions or exemption due to law of necessity. This makes the actions of the heart are unique. We should try to live upto the minimum of what is expected from us. Depending upon the time, we might discuss one or two obligatory actions of the heart at the end of this quarter.
People forget about the actions of the heart, but from the shariah perspective they are indeed actions and we have to fulfill them.
The next category of obligatory actions are the pillars of the heart as described by the Prophet (SAWS). The key to note is that it is the foundation of your Islam and you should be able to grow from this foundation. We will discuss a couple of the foundations and the effects of the actions and some of the means by which they have this effect.
We will discuss some of the obstacles between us and the benefits of the actions that are described as pillars. We hope that the next generation might benefit from them.
The next category is all of the other obligatory actions prescribed by Allah سبحانه و تعالى, since there are more obligatory actions other than the pillars of Islam. Some of the obligatory actions might be unique to your condition, such as being the leader of the household.
And the last category of obligatory actions is to avoid the haraam. THere is no doubt that sins take us further away from Allah. ibn Qayyum says that there is no doubt that the haraam cause harm to you just like poison causes harm to your body and then he asks is there any ... that has come except as a consequence of the sin..... he says that the real destruction is due to the sins that they have committed .... he further states that the real reason for our parents to be expelled from Jannah was due to the sin that have committed.
Prophet described that when an individual commits a sin, then a black mark is left on his heart, and when he leaves the sin, then the mark is removed, but if he returns back to the sin, then the mark is made stronger until it takes over his heart......???? and then Surah Mutafiffeen 14 was quoted.
Avoiding harm takes precedence over doing what is waajib. You should put your energy into staying away from haraam, it is based on the hadith that states, if I forbid something for you then stay away from it completely and if I ordered you to do something then do as much of it as you can do.
Another hadith, if you stay away from the major sins??? then you will be among the best of those who worship.
A real difference between the righteous and wicked is that the righteous stay away from haraam.??????
Staying away from haraam is a real distinguishing aspect between the righteous and the wicked people. This is the characteristic of the righteous.
We will discuss sins in particular for this class.
Protecting yourself from sin is of extreme importance. Some ulema say that even the concept of taqwa (shield and protection is the meaning of the root word...), we know that everybody is born with a natural inclination to worship Allah سبحانه و تعالى, ... we have to protect this natural inclination from any disfigurement or corruption or contaminated by shirk or other sins.
Natural inclination of a human being is designed to be good and we have to protect it by staying away from sins, this is the most important protection.
Even with respect to sins, there are many categories of sins. There is one special category of sin as described by the Prophet,... the mawbiqaat or desctructive sin, Prophet said, stay away from the seven destructive sins, when he was asked what are they, he replied, shirk, sorcery, taking life unjustly, devouring interest, devouring the wealth of orphans, and fleeing from the battlefield, slandering of chaste believing innocent women. He said that by falling into it you are falling into grave and serious sins.
Consuming riba has become a norm in many societies for Muslims. We have to stay away from these seven sins.
In addition we have to stay away from all of the kabeera or the great sins. THese seven sins are not the only kabeera, there are many more kabaaeer and we have to do our best to avoid them.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى refers to these kabaaeer.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that if you avoid the great sins we will forgive your small sins and make you enter jannah through ... Surah Najm 32
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, believers are those who stay away from great sins and only falling into small sins... Surah Nisa verse 31.
Prophet also told us, that the five daily prayers, the Friday prayers, and the Ramadan expiate the sins between them as long as they stay away from the major sins.
الصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ وَالْجُمْعَةُ إِلَى الْجُمْعَةِ وَرَمَضَانُ إِلَى رَمَضَانَ مُكَفِّرَاتٌ مَا بَيْنَهُنَّ إِذَا اجْتَنَبَ الْكَبَائِرَ
Scholars say that the blessing of wiping the small sins is only if you stay away from the major sins. So the five daily prayers, friday prayers and fasting of Ramadan do not wipe away the major sins, you have to make taubah in order to wipe away the major sins, this is agreed upon by many scholars.
From the wording of the hadith, this blessing of expiation of minor deeds due to the actions is only if you stay away from the major sins, but if you commit the major sins, then the minor sins are not expiated. This is a second reading of the wording of the hadith. When you fall into kabeer then even in the minor sins will be piled and you will be held accountable for it, until you give up the major sins and ask for repentance.
What is a kabeera or major sin?
It is importance for us to know what are kabaair and to stay away from them. Scholars give many definitions for the kabaair and there is a lot of consistency in what they are saying and they all point to it.
Ibn Abbas defined it as, Every sin that ends up with hellfire, or anger of ALlah سبحانه و تعالى or curse or punishment.
Some scholars added that a kabaair is the one that ends with a hadd punishment, such as specific punishments for zeena, for .....
You can go through the text of the Quran and the hadith and identify what has been identified hellfire, or curse or punishment or anger, and these fall into the category of kabaair.
Scholars have collected the major sins from the Quran and Sunnah. EVen during the time of ibn Abbas, somebody asked him are the major sins the seven mentioned in the hadith and he replied they are close to 70.
One of the scholars who collected these major sins was student of ibn Taymiyyah, his name was Shams al-Din al-Dhahabi.. He came up with 72 or 72 sins depending upon which edition you study. Shaikh has sent a book describing the Great Sins which are mostly based on the collection of Dhahabi. (Footnote: Skip the introduction and start from page 5 of the handout.)
IN our history there are some scholars who said that there is no difference between major and minor sins, they said that all sins are major sins. Abu Ishaaq al Isfarani, Imam al Haramayn are among the scholars who hold this view. But this view is a weaker view because of the texts that describe the major sins. But they have a valid point, we should not focus on the word minor, it is still a sin. Maybe it can expiated by our deeds, but it is still a sin. The reality of the matter is that it is still a sin. They emphasize that you have to be more concerned about the one you are disobeying and not upon whether it is minor or major. So if you think about whom you are disobeying then you will try to avoid every sin, and you would do your best to stay away from it.
Imam Bukhari records that Ibn Masood said that a believer thinks of his sin and thinks that he is at bottom of the mountain and he thinks it is going to fall upon him and the faseeq thinks that the sin he is doing is a fly on his nose.
Prophet saws said that stay away from minor sins, and then he gave an analogy of .. each individual bringing a stick of wood with fire until it becomes strong enough to light a fire.... and he continued that these small sins.....
A small sin becomes big if you continue to do it.
2012-09-11 Class Notes
We have been discussing actions that bring us closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and we have been focusing on sins, since it falls under the category of obligatory, Since it is negative command, it is obligatory upon us. Many times people neglect the fact or give this concept enough thought to keep away from things that are haraam.
Prophet has described seven sins that are destructive and beyond that there are sins that are categorized as major sins.
It is possible that a minor sin can become a major sin.
Many ulema have discussed the fact that a minor sin could be raised to being a major sin. Obviously when it comes to sins, it is better to be on the safe side. But that has to do with continually performing a minor sin, does it become a major sin? This is the majority opinion. We gave the hadith about those sins we considered insignificant -- it’s like twigs on a fire. Each twig on its own is manageable, but if you put a whole bunch of twigs together, it can become a big fire.
Other scholars say that the minor sin remains a minor sin. Scholars differ on this issue, but it is better to be on the safer side. The evidence for a minor sin becoming a major sin, even though it is not direct evidence, it could still destroy you.
The attitude in the heart can change a sin from a minor sin to a major sin and vice versa. Ibn Abil ‘Izz Al Hanafi, he said that a major sin could be accompanied with a feeling of haya and hope in Allah سبحانه و تعالى and the feeling of how great and shameful is the sin that he committed, then the major sin can become a minor sin. He continues, if a minor sin is accompanied with no remorse or feeling in the heart that you have sinned or any kind of fear of Allah سبحانه و تعالى when you committed the sin, then it could become a major sin. Basically your attitude towards the sin could make it a major sin.
Attitude towards the sins you commit would make it pleasing or displeasing to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. There is much more agreement among scholars on this point.
If an individual boasts about the sin, a sense of pride or joy in the act of disobedience towards Allah سبحانه و تعالى, for example he cheated another individual and then boasts to others how he cheated that individual, then that is a form of indication that he doesn’t take their sin seriously.
If a sin is hidden by Allah سبحانه و تعالى, if he conceals it for you, then you should also conceal it. Sins have ramifications in the society. This becomes important in the age of the Internet, since people can post about it and inform the society, this can increase the gravity of the sin, to such an extent that it could move from being forgiven by Allah سبحانه و تعالى to something that would be punished by Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَلِيٍّ حَنْبَلُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ ، عَنْ مَيْسَرَةَ السَّعْدِيِّ ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " كُلُّ أُمَّتِي مُعَافَى إِلا الْمُجَاهِرِينَ ، إِنَّ مِنَ الْمُجَاهِرِينَ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ الرَّجُلُ سِرًّا ثُمَّ يَخْرُجُ فَيُخْبِرُ بِهِ " .
Hadith of the Prophet (SAWS) All of the sins of my people will be forgiven except for the Mujaahireen. Who are the mujaahireen -- those who commit the sins openly or those who talk about their sins.
And then prophet (SAWS) continues, that the sin is concealed by ALlah سبحانه و تعالى and he boasts about it in the morning, and he spent the night being screened by Allah سبحانه و تعالى and he himself opened the screen.
So boasting about the sin and willingness to publicize it can make a minor sin a major sin.
Growing beards is obligation on the Muslims, there is a minority opinion of the Shafiees that it is mustahab. Scholars who wrote about the Muslims who do not grow a beard say, that every time they go out in public, they publicize their willingness to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and it would make this sin graver in the sight of Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Another reason for a sin becoming a major sin is dependent upon the individual who commits the sin is a role model for others, he is setting an example for others, and it increases the seriousness of the sin.
Hadith: Son of Adam killed his brother unjustly, then every murder that is committed on the earth, the son of Adam is going to have his share of the crime.
Sahih International
O wives of the Prophet, whoever of you should commit a clear immorality - for her the punishment would be doubled two fold, and ever is that, for Allah , easy.
Surah Al Ahzaab verse 30 which talks about the wives of the Prophet (SAWS), in this verse Allah سبحانه و تعالى is talking about the wives of the Prophet, whoever of you should commit immorality, your sin would be doubled. This is because of their position that is bestowed upon them. They have to respect the honor that Allah سبحانه و تعالى has bestowed upon them. So this is different than the position of the role model, here it is because of the honor that is bestowed upon them, their sins increasing in gravity.
There are two other aspects to be considered: the dignity of the time (شرف الزمان) and the dignity of the place (شرف المكان). For example, if you commit a sin during Ramadan should that sin be considered greater? Or if you are at the Haram and you commit a sin at the Haram is the sin considered greater?
You should be reminded of Allah سبحانه و تعالى because of the environment and the place you are in, and even under those circumstances, you are willing to disobey Allah سبحانه و تعالى, then it would increase the gravity of the sin.
Scholars have mentioned that there is no clear or explicit evidence that will support the view of shart al zamaan (nobility of place and time).
.... Whoever does not give up false speech and .... then Allah سبحانه و تعالى is in no need for him to forsake his food and water.
This verse does not explicitly state that the sin becomes grave. Similarly for the time of Hajj there is no direct evidence for the gravity of sins during Hajj.
Hadith .... whoever gets closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى in this night of goodness, it is as if he has performed an obligatory action in any other time, and whoever performs an obligatory act on that night, it is as if has performed 70 obligatory acts during other time.
Unfortunately this is not an authentic hadith, and this is the only piece of direct evidence to show that an act performed on the night of laylat ul Qadr is multiplied many folds to an act performed on some other time.
A sin can become a graver sin, if there is no reason or compulsion to commit the sin. So when you have no desire or emotions that drive you to commit the sin and yet you are still intent on committing the sin, then the clear intent of wanting to commit the sin.
There are three that Allah will not talk to on the Day of Judgment: a fornicating old man, a lying king, and an arrogant poor person.
رقم الحديث: 1544
(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ الأَشَجُّ ، وَعَمْرٌو الأَوْدِيُّ ، قَالا : ثنا وَكِيعٌ ، ثنا الأَعْمَشُ ، عَنْ أَبِي حَازِمٍ ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " ثَلاثَةٌ لا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلا يُزَكِّيهِمْ : شَيْخٌ زَانٍ ، وَمَلِكٌ كَذَّابٌ ، وَعَائِلٌ مُسْتَكْبِرٌ " .
The old man is lacking passion or desire in him and yet he is willing to commit zeena. Whatever a king says people are going to listen to him and he does not have any real compulsion or cause for him to lie and yet he continually lies. (Footnote: We are discussing a king and not a politician who have reasons to lie.) And there is nothing driving the poor person to be arrogant.
Avoiding sins is a part of our obligation towards Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and it is specially important to stay away from the seven grave sins. We have to learn what is displeasing to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, either knowingly or due to ignorance. If we commit a sin due to ignorance, may be Allah سبحانه و تعالى would forgive us.
We should want to know what Allah سبحانه و تعالى has prohibited, because of his wisdom and his other attributes he has ordered us to stay away from some actions.
Some of these we may not be aware of, e.g. the Prophet said that Allah سبحانه و تعالى has cursed those who torture animals.
We are not allowed to use animals as target practice or to mutilate them, and yet in many Muslim countries people mistreat animals. There are many other hadith that describe to not abuse animals. Another example is when someone asks you to do something wrong on their behalf.
Prophet said that one who assists in wrong manner in a dispute..... Allah سبحانه و تعالى is not please with him?????
There are actions that are displeasing to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and we know those actions and yet as a community or nation we are downplaying them and this is one of the reasons why Allah سبحانه و تعالى is punishing us.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى ..... be aware of the trial that not only punishes the wicked but all others who are good.
ibn Abbas explained this verse said that it is referring to those people who allow wrong to happen and they are acquiescing to the sins,
These sins are present and we are aware of them and then Allah سبحانه و تعالى would put us in tribulations and trials and these will affect everyone in the society.
There are many hadith that describe these trials..... you must order good and eradicate evil or Allah سبحانه و تعالى will soon punish them ... and then the person who makes dua, Allah سبحانه و تعالى will not listen to their dua.
Sh Al Munajjeed has a book about the common haraam things that people take lightly, which includes act of shirk, backbiting, slander and these acts exists among us and we take them lightly. It has become part of our culture.
A person who has travelled to the Muslim world will say that giving bribes is part of the Muslim culture, even though we have hadith that clearly states that giving bribes is haraam????
2012-09-18 Class Notes
We will not discuss the hadith about the five pillars of Islam, which is hadith #3 from the 40 hadith collection of Nawawi.
We will discuss salat, since Islam is built upon it, these are the minimum requirements of our relationship with Allah. By itself it is a noble act and it should have a great impact upon us. So are zakaat and hajj, they should have an impact upon us above and beyond what they have on us today.
Why or how these actions such as salat do not have an impact upon us?
Sh challenges us and says that there is nothing wrong with the actions themselves and he will discuss why they do not have impact on us.
Firstly we should have a proper attitude towards salat. Al-Maruzi scholar wrote a book called “Giving proper respect to the rank and position of Salat”, it is in 2 volumes and over 1000 pages, he discusses more than salat in this book. He says that we should have good understanding and attitude twoards the salah. Since the Prophet talks so highly about salah, we should have better understanding of his words.
Hadith just before the Prophet died he gave this admonition to the ummah, prayer, prayer, and have proper ... towards your slaves.
Prophet also said, the first issue that the slave will be brought into account would be his salah, if it is sound then his deeds will be sound, if it is bad then his deeds will be bad.
If you perform the salah in the proper way, then it would make it easy for you to obey Allah سبحانه و تعالى and avoid sin. If the salat is good and sound then the rest of your deeds will be sound and vice versa. It is like a litmus test, because it is a sign of how everything else will be.
The Prophet also emphasized the importance of salah, it is the only deed that is a clear dividing line between Islam and kufr. He said, between the person and idolatry and disbelief is the leaving of the prayer. In another hadith, he mentions, whoever leaves it has committed kufr.
There is no strong authentic narration that says the same about the other acts, so if you do not pay zakaat it does not take you outside the fold of Islam. So salah is the only deed that if you leave, then you may not be within the fold of Islam.
One of the characteristics of a believer according to the Quran is their attachment to salah.
Surah Al Maarij, those who remain steadfast in their prayer:
Sahih International
And those who [carefully] maintain their prayer:
Surah al Muminun, begins with the description of the believers, in the first 10 verses that describes the believers, the only attribute that is repeated twice is the salah
Hadith Qudsi, the most beloved deed that would get close to Allah, even among those obligatory deeds, salah stands alone.
Prophet was asked what is most beloved to Allah, he replied prayers in their appointed time
Al Maruzi’s book enumerates more, but these are just some of the texts that show how important it is.
It is important to have the right attitude to Salaat. It is one of the strongest things to help us build up our characteristics of Iman. The most important thing we have in this life is our relationship with Allah (سبحانه و تعالى). All of these things in reality are exhibited and improved and increased by the Salaat. So if the Salaat is good and sound, then the rest of our deeds will also be good and sound.
We can see many ways how the Salaat can have this positive effect on us. In the Qur’an Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) tells us to seek strength with salaat. He is telling us to seek strength and patience with salaat.
Sahih International
O you who have believed, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.
Salaat should give us great inner strength, since you are in conversation with Allah سبحانه و تعالى, your are in cotact with the real power of the universe, he is the one who has control and power over the entire universe.
When you establish salaat, you have setup a regular connection with Allah سبحانه و تعالى and he will be there to help you and assist you.
In addition, salaat should make every believer realize what is important in this reality. Sometimes we get upset by many things in our day to day life, and those are not the most important. When we establish this salaat, this relationship with Allah, we realize that it is the most important thing and no matter what happens us to us, the world cannot take away this connection with Allah سبحانه و تعالى and we realize what is most important and
Prophet told Bilal, Oh Bilal make iqamah for the salaat and make us rest. It is Salat that is a relief from our day to day life.
(حديث مرفوع) (حديث موقوف) قَالَ : وثنا قَالَ : وثنا حَفْصٌ ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ الثُّمَالِيِّ ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ أَبِي الْجَعْدِ ، عَنْ رَجُلٍ ، قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ : " أَرِحْنَا بِهَا يَا بِلَالُ " .
When you realize what is the most important priority of our life, we will not get upset about the minor things in life. For example people playing basketball and get upset over minor things that happen in the game, if the person has taqwa he will not get upset by what has happened in the game.
Quran shows us there is a direct relationship between salaat and khuluq.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى said, truly man was created impatient, he is
Indeed, mankind was created anxious:
When evil touches him, impatient,
And when good touches him, withholding [of it],
Except the observers of prayer -
A man gets upset easily and even when he is in a good condition, he is still fretful, except for those who are steadfast to their prayers.
If the salaat is proper, it will have a change on you.
Similarly Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, prayers will restrain us from immorality and munkar.
Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.
It is because you are establishing a connection with Allah سبحانه و تعالى and you are going back to Allah many times during the day.
If you stand in front of someone who is powerful and even after you leave his presence, he will still have an impact upon you. You will think about his words, his examples, etc. Similarly when you leave the standing in front of Allah سبحانه و تعالى and it not have an impact upon you.
And you know that even after you left the standing in front of Allah سبحانه و تعالى and you know that you will stand in front of him and you will surely not want to commit immorality and munkar between the two standings in front of Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
And Allah سبحانه و تعالى uses the salat to remove the sins and purify your souls. Sins have effect on you. Many of our salafs used to say that any if they failed to do any good deed\ they would say it is due to their sins.
It is very important that the individual does his best to stay away from the great sins.
Prophet said, no Muslim does his rukuh (here the prophet is emphasizing the internal acts of the salaat, which is another form of submission to Allah سبحانه و تعالى), if someone does salaat in this way then it is expiation for his sins, as long he has not committed any major sins and it is for the entire year.
(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، عَنْ حُمْرَانَ بْنِ أَبَانَ ، أَنَّ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ، أُتِيَ بِالْوَضُوءِ لِصَلاةِ الْعَصْرِ ، وَهُوَ بِالْمَقَاعِدِ ، فَقَالَ عُثْمَانُ : إِنِّي قَدْ رَأَيْتُ أَنْ أُحَدِّثَكُمْ بِحَدِيثٍ ، مَا ظَنِّي أُحَدِّثُكُمُوهُ ، فَقَالَ الْحَكَمُ بْنُ أَبِي الْعَاصِ : يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ خَيْرٌ نَتَّبِعُهُ أَوْ شَرٌّ نَتَّقِيهِ ، فَقَالَ : أُتِيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ بِالْمَقَاعِدِ بِالْوَضُوءِ ، فَقَالَ : " مَنْ تَوَضَّأَ فَأَحْسَنَ وُضُوءَهُ ، ثُمَّ صَلَّى فَأَتَمَّ رُكُوعَهَا وَسُجُودَهَا ، كُفِّرَ عَنْهُ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الصَّلاةِ الأُخْرَى مَا لَمْ يَرْكَبْ مَقْتَلَةً " ، يَعْنِي : مَا لَمْ يَرْكَبْ كَبِيرَةً .
One of the problems that we have is that of heedlessness or forgetfulness. We forget the most important acts, we forget our important goals, we are exhausted and not even in the mood to think. It is very easy for this to happen and we have to check for this occurrence.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى reminded Musa that the main aspects of the salaat is to establish dhikr,
Indeed, I am Allah . There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance. [Taha 20:14]
When you fill our day with the remembrance of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and in his mercy, he has made it obligatory for us five times a day. It is a mercy from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Some Muslims pray only once a week on Friday, they cannot imagine how much they are harming themselves. They are missing what is obligatory and what are the benefits of the action that they did not perform. They will not have the balance of the heart and still maintain their levels of good deeds, it is simply not possible.
So the fact that Allah obliged us to fast 5 times a day is actually a blessing. If we were left on our own and told “you should pray” -- you get two kinds of people in Islam. The types who emphasize the outwards aspect but the inward is missing. And then you get the people who emphasize the inward signs, but don’t pay attention to the details.
If you only prayed when you wanted to pray, then you would only pray a little bit. Without it, you would lose this going regularly to prayer.
Salaat contains so many aspects of ibaadah, it includes physical ....
Surah Alaa reminds us that one of the things that brings us closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى is salaat.
حدثنا أحمد بن صالح وأحمد بن عمرو بن السرح ومحمد بن سلمة قالوا حدثنا ابن وهب أخبرنا عمرو يعني ابن الحارث عن عمارة بن غزية عن سمي مولى أبي بكر أنه سمع أبا صالح ذكوان يحدث عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال أقرب ما يكون العبد من ربه وهو ساجد فأكثروا الدعاء
Hadith: The closest a servant is to Allah is when he is prostrating.
Scholars have reminded us about the proper place of salaat, taadim wa .........
Hadith: Allah has obligated to us five prayers, whoever performs wudu and ...... whoever does that has a promise from Allah سبحانه و تعالى that he will not punish him and whoever does not do that then Allah سبحانه و تعالى might forgive them or punish them.
But is incumbent upon us to think about the quality of our salaat.
Hadith: A person may finish his prayers and all that is recorded for him is 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, ... 1/10
حدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد عن بكر يعني ابن مضر عن ابن عجلان عن سعيد المقبري عن عمر بن الحكم عن عبد الله بن عنمة المزني عن عمار بن ياسر قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول إن الرجل لينصرف وما كتب له إلا عشر صلاته تسعها ثمنها سبعها سدسها خمسها ربعها ثلثها نصفها
You might fulfill the fiqh obligation but Allah سبحانه و تعالى knows how much you are in the salaat.
Hadith: When you turn away from Allah سبحانه و تعالى in salaat then Allah سبحانه و تعالى turns away from you.
It is both physical and mental turning away. If your mind and heart is someplace else then why should Allah سبحانه و تعالى pay attention to us?
Allah سبحانه و تعالى said that salaat should keep us away from evil deed, these are the words of Allah سبحانه و تعالى and not of somebody else. But we have to meet the conditions in order for those words to apply to us.
Sometimes we are just going through the motions of the salaat.
What are some of things that keep us from benefiting from the salaat? Sh Jamaal wants us to think about this question and what are some of the things that are keeping us away from benefiting from salaat.
Salaat is very important to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and to the welfare of the human being. And shaytan tries to keep us away from it.
We should know what we are reciting in our salaat. Once shaikh asked his students what is tahyat which we say in our salaat. What does it mean?
What is the meaning of al in ibraheemiya
Have we given much thought to the words, even Arabs take these words without thinking about them, some Arabs say that tahyat means greeting, really is that what you think it means? And then Sh mentioned that we could have a class just on the meaning of the salaat, and they did not take up on his offer.
There are two books that have been translated in English, one is titled, 33 ways of improving khusuhu in salaat and another book is just titled, khushuhu
One of the things that harm us in this society is the closeness to the masjid. When the masjid is in every corner, then you give the time of the salaat its correct priority.
The quality of the salaat is much better when you pray it in Jamaah, a good Imaam will not allow you to rush through the salaat. You have to go at the proper time of the salaat and when you reach before the salaat, then you pray the two rakats of entering the masjid, which will get you in a proper state for the prayer.
People should be taught to respect the mosque. Some of our ulema did not enter the masjid until they were seven or eight years old, old enough to learn how to respect the mosque. When the prayers are over, we should not have the kids running around the masjid, they should learn how to respect the masjid.
If the salaat is improved, you will see an improvement in every other aspect of your life.
2012-09-25 Class Notes
Last time we were speaking about the importance of obligatory prayers and we discussed the effect of the prayers. Our prayers should contribute and have some effect upon us, in particular the five pillars. Zakat, hajj should also have similar impact upon us, but because of time restrictions we will not study their impact in detail.
Our first step in getting closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى is to perform these obligatory deeds and you do not have the freedom to choose whether you do them or not.
The next part of the hadith which talks about nawaafil deeds we have a choice.
Nawaafil is plural of nafila. Nafila is something above and beyond obligatory, it is a voluntary. A word related to Nafila is the word Al Anfaal which is the name of a Surah of the Qur’an and it means spoils of war, but this word means gift. This ummah has been granted this extra gift that was not available to the previous ummah, the spoils of the war.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says when talking about Ibrahim, we gave him Ishmael and .... which was above and beyond what Ibrahim asked for.
And We gave him Isaac and Jacob in addition, and all [of them] We made righteous. [Al-Anbiya 21:72]
And from [part of] the night, pray with it as additional [worship] for you; it is expected that your Lord will resurrect you to a praised station. [Al-Isra 17:79]
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says while referring to the Prophet, and from the part of the night pray ..... and allah سبحانه و تعالى will raise you. Here Allah سبحانه و تعالى is asking the Prophet to perform tahajjud as a nafila. There are a couple of interpretations .... all of his minor omissions and commissions were forgiven so all of the actions that the Prophet did were not for the expiation of his sins, were actually means of greater reward for him in the akheera, so they were a nafila for him.
Any action that is above and beyond the obligatory is going to be covered by this hadith qudsi. So this would cover any action that is neither fard or waajib, so it would include sunnah or mustahab, or for any actions which are known as good deeds????
Not all awliyaa are at the same level, as we described earlier, the path to becoming closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى starts with fulfilling the obligatory deeds and staying away from haraam, and they are beloved to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and they will all be from the companions of the right. However there is another level beyond that, those that come even closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, these are the ones who follow up their obligatory deeds with voluntary deeds.
When you perform obligatory deeds you are showing your willingness to get closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and when you go above and beyond that, then you are acting with greater love and closeness to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Because of this extra devotion and willingness to go above and beyond what is required, their award is a special love from Allah سبحانه و تعالى, it is a love beyond the love of the first category. All of the awliyaa are beloved to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Here Allah سبحانه و تعالى is talking about a special kind of love for those who go above and beyond the obligatory deeds. So when the hadith talks about the sight with which he sees etc is the description of this special love. This special love is bestowed upon those who go above and beyond submitting to Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Usually this willingness on part of the servant is driven by the love towards Allah سبحانه و تعالى, so in return you will also get a special love from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
As humans, we frequently have shortcomings in our deeds. IF we allow ourselves to be content with our obligatory deeds and we can truly live up to them then we will be truly successful. This is proved by the hadith about the bedouin.
2532 حدثنا إسماعيل بن عبد الله قال حدثني مالك عن عمه أبي سهيل بن مالك عن أبيه أنه سمع طلحة بن عبيد اللهيقول جاء رجل إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فإذا هو يسأله عن الإسلام فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلمخمس صلوات في اليوم والليلة فقال هل علي غيرها قال لا إلا أن تطوع فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وصيام شهر رمضان قال هل علي غيره قال لا إلا أن تطوع قال وذكر له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الزكاة قال هل علي غيرها قال لا إلا أن تطوع فأدبر الرجل وهو يقول والله لا أزيد على هذا ولا أنقص قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أفلح إن صدق
And he asked should we do more than what is required of me. .... And then he said that I will not do anything more or less than what is required of me. When he left, the Prophet said that he will be successful if he does what he said.
But in reality we have shortcomings in our obligatory deeds. This can be seen from the hadith, Prophet said that the first thing that person will be held accountable would be his salat, and if it is good then ... and if they are bad then he will be in loss, but if there are any shortcomings in his farida, ...... and the rest of the deeds will be judged in a similar manner.
(حديث قدسي) رَوَاهُ رَوَاهُ أَبُو يَعْلَى الْمَوْصِلِيُّ ، ثَنَا أَبُو الرَّبِيعِ الزَّهْرَانِيُّ ، ثَنَا حَمَّادٌ ، عَنْ يَزِيدَ الرَّقَّاشِيِّ ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا افْتَرَضَ اللَّهُ عَلَى النَّاسِ مِنْ دِينِهِمُ الصَّلَاةُ ، وَآخِرَ مَا يَبْقَى الصَّلَاةُ ، وَأَوَّلَ مَا يُحَاسَبُونَ بِهِ الصَّلَاةُ ، يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ : انْظُرُوا فِي صَلَاةِ عَبْدِي ، فَإِنْ كَانَتْ تَامَّةً كُتِبَتْ تَامَّةً ، وَإِنْ وُجِدَتْ نَاقِصَةً ، قَالَ : انْظُرُوا هَلْ لَهُ مِنْ تَطَوُّعٍ ؟ فَإِنْ وُجِدَ لَهُ تَطَوُّعٌ تَمَّتِ الْفَرِيضَةُ مِنَ التَّطَوُّعِ ، ثُمَّ قَالَ : انْظُرُوا هَلْ زَكَاتُهُ تَامَّةٌ ؟ فَإِنْ وُجِدَتْ زَكَاتُهُ تَامَّةً كُتِبَتْ تَامَّةً ، وَإِنْ وُجِدَتْ نَاقِصَةً ، قَالَ : انْظُرُوا هَلْ لَهُ صَدَقَةٌ ؟ فَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ تَمَّتْ زَكَاتُهُ مِنَ الصَّدَقَةِ " . قُلْتُ : مَدَارُ حَدِيثِ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ عَلَى يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبَانَ الرَّقَّاشِيِّ وَهُوَ ضَعِيفٌ ، لَكِنْ لَهُ شَاهِدٌ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، رَوَاهُ النَّسَائِيُّ ، وَالتِّرْمِذِيُّ وَحَسَّنَهُ ، قَالَ : وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ تَمِيمٍ الدَّارِيِّ .
One of the driving factors for us to do voluntary deeds is to recognize that there are shortcomings. The first thing we do after finishing salat is to seek forgiveness from Allah سبحانه و تعالى, this is a sign that even after performing the deed most beloved to Allah سبحانه و تعالى we are asking for forgiveness. Scholars differ on exactly why we ask for this forgiveness, either for our shortcomings or for missing the time of the salat.
It is a strong incentive to make sure that we perform the voluntary actions.
Hadith:
(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُمَيَّةَ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا سُرَيْجُ بْنُ النُّعْمَانِ الْجَوْهَرِيُّ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا هُشَيْمٌ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا حُصَيْنٌ ، عَنْمُجَاهِدٍ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو , أَنّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : " إِنَّ لِكُلِّ عَمَلٍ شِرَّةً , وَلِكُلِّ شِرَّةٍ فَتْرَةٌ ، فَإِمَّا إِلَى سُنَّةٍ وَإِمَّا إِلَى بِدْعَةٍ , فَمَنْ كَانَتْ فَتْرَتُهُ إِلَى سُنَّتِي فَقَدِ اهْتَدَى , وَمَنْ كَانَتْ فَتْرَتُهُ إِلَى غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ فَقَدْ هَلَكَ " .
Prophet is saying that there are peaks and valleys and if his low points are within my sunnah then he will be successful and if they fall below then he will be destroyed.
What is meant by sunnah here is ....
There are times we are energetic and we can fast, pray and do many things and there are other times we are affected by what is happening around us, or other issues.
Imaan is very volatile, and this volatility takes you to peaks and you are fulfilling obligatory deeds and other good deeds as well then when you drop then there is room for you to drop and still be safe, since you are still doing the obligatory deeds. But if your peak is the obligatory deeds and nothing else, then your valley would be something below obligatory deeds and it would be beyond the sunnah and you may be destroyed.
The concept of nawaafil are signs of Allah سبحانه و تعالى’s mercy upon us and accept us and grant us jannah.
Your ibadaah is going to be damaged if you do not do extras so that when you have your lows you go below the minimum.
The obligatory deeds are limited and very specific, and the haraam that we have to avoid is very specific and limited. After that the door is wide open to us to get even closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Maybe a person does not pray much voluntary prayers or tahajjud, then he might be able to fast or perform umrah or some other voluntary act. You might be involved in doing good deeds, charity, you might do some of them or all of them in order to get even closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Please do not forget the obligatory deeds, you have to perform them. So here Allah سبحانه و تعالى has out of his mercy, left the door open for us and allowed us to choose from all of the positive actions, and if we choose to do the ones that are easy for us to do, then that is okay. The path to Allah سبحانه و تعالى is one path but it is very accommodating. We have to recognize this mercy from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
For example Ar-rayyan is a special door for those who fast. So this hadith qudsi about going through Al-nawaafil is showing the mercy of Allah.
I am not saying that you have to perfect the obligatory deeds, but you have to do your best to fulfill them.
Salman al Farsi said that the one who performs voluntary deeds but does not perform obligatory deeds is like the businessman who has lost his investment and is still hoping for profit.
Another scholar said that if you perform obligatory deeds and do not have time for voluntary deeds then you might be forgiven. An emir or an imaam might have obligatory deeds take so much of his time and preoccupy him then he might be forgiven for not performing the voluntary deeds. But sometimes people put voluntary deeds ahead of obligatory deeds, e.g. at a da;wah conference where they missed the Salah. If someone does this, then Shaytaan has tricked them.
For example, in Ramadan, some people stay up late doing tahajjud and then miss fajr. This is someone harming himself.
Performing al-nawafil also includes staying away from what is disliked (makrooh). Many people get into the legalese definition of mustahabb and makrooh. Some people say that Mustahabb then if you do it you get rewarded, if you don’t do it then you don’t get punished. What about Makrooh actions? By staying away from makrooh, this is like a nafilah. This is also a way of getting closer to Allah. Clearly if you do things disliked by Allah, then that is a way of pleasing Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
Avoiding doubtful matters is also a form of nafilah. If you are serious about getting clsoer to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) and you are serious about protecting your deen, then you should stay away from that which is doubtful.
It’s a path that can make you very happy. If you leave what you doubt, you don’t have worry about that action. You won’t have lingering feelings.
[ ص: 193 ] الحديث السادس عن النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنهما قال : سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : إن الحلال بين وإن الحرام بين ، وبينهما أمور مشتبهات ، لا يعلمهن كثير من الناس ، فمن اتقى الشبهات استبرأ لدينه وعرضه ، ومن وقع في الشبهات وقع في الحرام ، كالراعي يرعى حول الحمى يوشك أن يرتع فيه ، ألا وإن لكل ملك حمى ، ألا وإن حمى الله محارمه ، ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله ، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله ، ألا وهي القلب رواه البخاري ومسلم .
Extravagance is clearly haram, but over-indulging in permissible non-beneficial acts. These are permissible, but if you spend a lot of time on them, then that is not good. Every thing must be considered in terms of opportunity cost. You only have so much time in your life, resources, etc. E.g. playing basketball is ok, but what if you play 9 hours a day? You should analyze it from the point of what it is that you are losing. If you allow yourself to spend time on things that are permissible, then you’re not spending time on those things that could bring you closer to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
2012-10-02 Class Notes
Ways to draw closer to Allah:
1. Qur’an
رقم الحديث: 143
(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ صَالِحٍ الْمِصْرِيُّ ، أَنَّ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنَ صَالِحٍ ، حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ يَعْنِي ابْنَ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ وَهُوَ ابْنُ قَيْسٍ ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ , قَالَ : " مَا مِنْ كَلامٍ أَعْظَمَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ كَلامِهِ ، مَا رَدَّ الْعِبَادُ إِلَى اللَّهِ كَلامًا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ كَلامِهِ " .
Uthmaan said: If your hearts are purified, then you would never be satisfied with your reading of the Qur’an.
2. Prayer
Salat includes reading the Qur’an, thikr, making du’a to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) -- you don’t make dua to someone you don’t believe in. It demonstrates that Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) hears and responds. It is definitely one of the voluntary acts that is most appreciated.
One can pray at almost any time -- any time you have time free, you can make salaat. Usually you have to avoid fajr to sunrise, and then high noon, and then shortly before the sun starts to set. We have many well-known established voluntary prayers “what should I do now”? You should consider Salaat.
Sometimes people suggest other paths to get to Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) that are not based on the sources.
The result of the obligatory deeds is that Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) loves that slave. It is actually the combination of obligatory and optional deeds that leads to the love of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى).
Interpretations of “... the hand with which he strikes …”
More than 10 different interpretations.
- Its meaning is that Allah supports his Wali the same way your arms and legs support you. One evidence for this is the beginning of the verse.
- Al-shawkaani did not like the idea of comparing a human’s weaknesses with divine revelation.
- Another interpretation is that he protects his hearing so that he only hears what is pleasing to Allah. Similarly for his vision. But then what does it mean when the hadith says “the hand with which he strikes …”
- Muhammad Rashid Reda says that he turns his wali away from evil.
2012-10-09 Class Notes
We are discussing the portion where Allah سبحانه و تعالى says,
“And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafil (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.”
Different scholars have offered different interpretations of this hadith. Last time we discussed 8 different opinions. Today we will present two more interpretations.
Ibn Rajab’s Interpretation
He says whenever anyone tries to get closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى ..... , he will draw closer by his ihsaan, and it will be as if he is seeing Allah. .... his heart will be filled with reverence for ALlah سبحانه و تعالى, ..... he will pray to Allah سبحانه و تعالى until it becomes such that he will be seeing him with his eyes.
Ibn Rajab is describing the concept of ihsaan which is described in another hadith. You pray to Allah سبحانه و تعالى as if you see him. He is describing a state that a persons heart is filled with remembrance of ALlah سبحانه و تعالى and there is no place for anything else. When he looks he looks for the sake of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, .... and when he acts he acts for the sake of Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Ibn Rajab says the person becomes oblivious to the sin, as if the sin does not exist.
Verse of the Quran: Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, When they see something that is .... they look away and say ....
And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, [Surah Al-Furqan 25:63]
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, faithful servant of Allah are ones who walk with modestly and when the foolish ones address them, they simply say peace.
Earlier sahabah said that they did not know how to disobey Allah and if the idea of disobey does not occur to you, then the act will also stay away from you.
Some ulema say this is the essence of pure tawheed, this is the state is when your tawheed is complete. And all of your actions will be in obedience to Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
When the Prophet first came to Madinah, he told them, you must love ALlah with all of your hearts. This khutbah can be found in the seerah of ibn Ishaaq, there is some weakness to it. The idea is that you have to love Allah سبحانه و تعالى with all of your heart.
Sh’s remarks on Ibn Rajab’s interpretation.
IN the context of what this hadith says, it is missing something very important. This hadith is going the other way, it is the love of Allah سبحانه و تعالى towards his slave. It later on says how Allah سبحانه و تعالى is even hesitant to take his soul.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says when I love him, I become his hearing ..... It does not say that when the slave loves him, he sees Allah سبحانه و تعالى etc.
Ibn Rajab is lacking in the message that Allah سبحانه و تعالى is conveying.
Shawkani’s Interpretation of the hadith
Shawkani??? critiqued each of the different interpretations before him and then he says, Allah سبحانه و تعالى supports the individual by his light. And via that light, Allah سبحانه و تعالى gives special guidance to the individual.
THere is a dua recorded by Imam Bukhari that supports this interpretation.
Hadith:
(حديث مرفوع) حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ يَحْيَى بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ صَاعِدٍ الْهَاشِمِيُّ بِبَغْدَادَ ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَرَفَةَ ، حَدَّثَنَا هُشَيْمٌ ، عَنْحُصَيْنِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ ، عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ ، قَالَ : بِتُّ ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ عِنْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَصَلَّى رَكْعَتَيِ الْفَجْرِ وَخَرَجَ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ : " اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ فِي قَلْبِي نُورًا وَفِي بَصَرِي نُورًا وَفِي سَمْعِي نُورًا وَفِي لِسَانِي نُورًا وَعَنْ يَمِينِي نُورًا وَعَنْ يَسَارِي نُورًا , اللَّهُمَّ وَاجْعَلْ مِنْ فَوْقِي نُورًا وَمِنْ تَحْتِي نُورًا وَاجْعَلْ أَمَامِي نُورًا وَمِنْ خَلْفِي نُورًا , اللَّهُمَّ وَأَعْظِمْ لِي نُورًا " قَالَ : فَأَقَامَ بِلالٌ الصَّلاةَ فَصَلَّى .
http://sunnah.com/bukhari/80#13
Oh Alah place light in my heart, my sight, my hearing, light in my left side, my right side, in front of me, and make for me light.
And if you put both of these hadith together, this is in essence Allah سبحانه و تعالى giving him this special guidance. He now sees by the light of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, he hears by the light etc.
Shawkani goes on to say that ...
Shaykh’s remarks on the above interpretation of Shawkani
It is difficult for us to comprehend this last part of the hadith. He guides the individual with a special guidance. It describes a state.
We have to reflect upon the state that Allah سبحانه و تعالى is describing.
This knowledge is not something abstract, this is reality. There are individuals who obey and submit to ALlah سبحانه و تعالى and continue to perform acts .... such that they are in this state. Are we among this people or how distant are we from being with these people? We have to think about these questions when we read this last part of the hadith.
When we read about the hearing and sight, how much of it is really for the sake of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. How many times we listen or see that we should not be doing. How much is the case, And if that is a lot, then we should ask ourselves.
We should exert ourself for the sake of Allah سبحانه و تعالى and Allah سبحانه و تعالى will guide us to this reality as described in the hadith.
Everyone of us should reflect and ask yourself how much of our hearing and seeing is for the sake of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Is our seeing and hearing as if Allah سبحانه و تعالى is seeing and hearing. Or are we quite distant from this reality.
If we are distant, then it is a sad conclusion, and we should not be satisfied by it, and we should know what we should do to rectify that situation.
A day will come when we will realize and fulfill this situation and that we will feel that special guidance. And Allah سبحانه و تعالى will turn us away from the sin, such that we will become oblivious to the sins around us. And we will have no desire to partake in it. And when reach this state, we will be guided by the special guidance from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Sufi Interpretation of the later part of the hadith
Question: This hadith is quoted by Sufis to substantiate some of their concepts. How many of you are aware of fanaa, hulool or ittihaad.
Al Fanaa -- الفناء - This term is not easy to define. Annihilation, loss of our self.
Al Hulool -- الحلول - Incarnation in God
Al-Ittihad -- الإتحاد - Union with God
Footnote: Sufis are a very broad set of people, to the point that some sufis in the US have nothing to do with this stuff. They have not seen the Quran or we are not discussing them. In the Muslim world, there are tareeqahs that resort to the above concepts.
Al Fanaa is a state that you reach this state of unconsciousness, you become so engrossed in Allah سبحانه و تعالى that you do not become aware of yourself. This concept is the least of disturbing or offensive concepts.
Al Hulool and al ittihad are where you become one with Allah سبحانه و تعالى, your soul discontinues and Allah سبحانه و تعالى has now taken over it. This is a goal for sufis and when you reach this state
Al-Ittihad is a very similar to this.
Many people quote this hadith as evidence that this form of union is possible. Does the hadith that we are discussing support these concepts?
The only way you can come to this conclusion is if you take the hadith out of context. The next part of the hadith makes it clear that Allah سبحانه و تعالى is not becoming one with individual. Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that if an individual were to ask for refuge etc. So this hadith makes it clear that Allah سبحانه و تعالى and the individual are distinct, because if they were one, then he would not need refuge.
Footnote: This concept is the one that troubles Christianity when they believe in trinity, some ask where is Jesus Christ worshiping etc.
These are some of the goals that the Sufis strive for, and if we have time in our last lecture, we will discuss it.
How to reproach the Sufi interpretation of this part of the hadith
This hadith is a key for us to become awliyaah of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, the essence of wali is the one who is closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. And the path described by this hadith and sunnah is very different from the one described by the Sufis. They claim that only they have the knowledge to become an awliyyah and they claim only they have the path to become an awliyaah.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that whoever opposes my awliyaah I have declared war on them, and then Allah سبحانه و تعالى says .... my abd continues to draw closer until I love him.
Uboodiyah (Servitude to Allah سبحانه و تعالى) is the true goal of a Muslim and not becoming one with Allah سبحانه و تعالى
Allah سبحانه و تعالى describes this relationship based on uboodiyaah. The clear path is to become servant, the best servant of Allah that you can be, that is the goal. This is the process of uboodiyah, the one to become a true abd of Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى tells us in the Quran, I have not created human and jinn, except to worship me.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, .... and those who are near him are not to proud to worship him and are not to weary to worship him.
Indeed, those who are near your Lord are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, and they exalt Him, and to Him they prostrate. [Surah Al-A’raf 7:206]
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, .... al maseeh will never be proud to worship Allah ... Surah Nisa verse 172
Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah , nor would the angels near [to Him]. And whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant - He will gather them to Himself all together.
Even when Allah سبحانه و تعالى took the Prophet to Israa and Miraaj, which is even closer than the concepts described by the Sufis.
Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al- Aqsa, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى says, that he took his slave (not his messenger or prophet but his servant) to Israa and Miraaj.
Understanding tawheed is the key to becoming a proper abd of Allah سبحانه و تعالى
The real goal is to become a great abd as you can be, this is the essence of uboodiyaah. Our believe in Allah سبحانه و تعالى has to be correct and how we worship him has to be correct.
When you know what tawheed is and understand what tawheed is, yet you reach this belief of becoming one with Allah. Many
ibn Arabi said in a poetry, the lord is a reality and the slave is same reality..... and if you say slave then reality is dead and it does not exist, and if you say rabb then he does not have any obligations.....
These concepts completely misdirects what our goal should be, and if your goal is not true, then everything you have done will be like a mirage. And when you meet Allah سبحانه و تعالى, you meet him without
2012-10-16 Class Notes
We are discussing the portion of the hadith wherein Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) bestows special love and blessing upon the slave. We asked whether or not this portion can be used to justify the sufi concepts of uniting with Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and fanaa and others.
We discussed that there is diference between the creator and creation. The creation is always dependent upon the creator and there is a clear distinction between the two.
If the wali asks Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) then he will grant him his wish and grant him refuge. Allah سبحانه و تعالى is able to grant and to give to his servants.
It is in our nature to be ungrateful and take things for granted. When Allah سبحانه و تعالى gives us without us asking, then you take it for granted. But when you ask for something from Allah سبحانه و تعالى and get it, there is a special relationship or bond is formed between the wali and Allah سبحانه و تعالى. The act of asking and making the wali ask for favors, there are many benefits to it.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى is now describing another aspect of the wali. Allah سبحانه و تعالى is describing the case of his special awliyah, and when he bestows his love upon him, Allah سبحانه و تعالى is his hearing etc. We should ask how far away from this reality, we should ask what we see, what we hear, what we do and how far away are from the reality.
And here is another reality that Allah سبحانه و تعالى describes, that when this wali asks, Allah سبحانه و تعالى grants it to him.
Shawkani mentions that many times our dua is not responded to. This could be a sign that there is still room for you to grow. A dua is an essential act of worship, the Prophet ﷺ said that dua is an essence of idaadah. It itself in is a kind of dua. And the individual who knows will know that it is ibaadah. While others might not recognize that the act of asking is a form of ibaadah or worship.
There are many reasons why your dua might not be accepted, see notes for the previous sessions of the 40 hadith. Prophet ﷺ said supplicate to Allah while you are certain that Allah سبحانه و تعالى will respond to the dua... and know that Allah سبحانه و تعالى does not respond to dua that is heedless.
" القلوب أوعية ، وبعضها ( أوعى ) من بعض ، فإذا سألتم الله - عز وجل - أيها الناس ، فسلوه وأنتم موقنون بالإجابة ; فإن الله لا يستجيب لعبد دعاه عن ظهر قلب غافل " . رواه أحمد ، وإسناده حسن .
Our heart has to be attentive, it cannot become a routine or ritual. We should not accept that kind of dua to be responded to from Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
What we know about Allah سبحانه و تعالى, Allah سبحانه و تعالى responds to the dua of the believers. Allah سبحانه و تعالى tells us in the Quran, make dua to me and I will respond to you.
Prophet ﷺ said, .... as long as you have not met the conditions for not meet..... .... If you do not ask for ties of kinship to be broken or a sinful act, then one of three things will happen, either Allah سبحانه و تعالى will give you what you ask, or he may turn away some evil that would have happened to you, or he might store the reward for you in the hereafter.
In the hadith #38, it states that Allah سبحانه و تعالى responds, and this is different from giving what the individual asks.
In the last third of the night when Allah سبحانه و تعالى comes down to the lower heaven, in a hadith qudsi, Allah سبحانه و تعالى asks who makes dua for me so that I may reply, who asks so I may give, who seeks forgiveness so I may forgive.
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : { ينزل ربنا تبارك وتعالى إلى السماء الدنيا حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر ، فيقول : من يدعوني فأستجيب له ، من يسألني فأعطيه ، من يستغفرني فأغفر له }
Allah سبحانه و تعالى will respond to your dua as long as they are not doing things that prevent the dua from being responded to.
In the hadith #38, Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that this category of awliyaa, when they ask, Allah سبحانه و تعالى will give them what they ask. So this is a more specific case who are the close awliyaa of Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
ibn Rajab in his commentary states, that there are many people among the salaf when they made a dua, Allah سبحانه و تعالى responded to their dua. He gives a number of stories.
Saad ibn Abi Waqaas was well known that his dua was answered. At one time somebody lied about Saad ibn Abi Waqaas, and from the story it seemed it looked like a very bad lie, and Saad made a dua that if he is lying make him blind, give him long life and give him hardship. And this did indeed happen to the man, it was well known that he lived a long time and had many hardships.
Hasan al Basri used to give lectures in Iraq during the time when the sect of khawarij were being formed. So they would come to the lecture and disturb him. Hasan al Basri made a dua, O Allah you know this man is disturbing us so do with him whatever you wish. So the man died on the spot and he had to be carried away.
Anas Ibn Maalik: people approached him about a lack of rain. So he prayed two rak’ah and made du’a and it started to rain even before his two rak’ah were complete.
Prophet ﷺ said, that from a group of people, who were to swear by Allah سبحانه و تعالى, then it would indeed happen.
فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " إِنَّ مِنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ مَنْ لَوْ أَقْسَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ لأَبَرَّهُ "
This hadith says that if the person swore by Allah سبحانه و تعالى, then his promise would indeed occur, because of the special relationship between awliyaa and Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
These are the kind of people we should envy in a good way. Many times we are distracted by wealth, power, position. All of these things may not reflect the actual closeness to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. So we are not looking at what is truly the closeness to Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Prophet ﷺ said, should I not inform you about who are the inhabitants of Jannah. It is a very poor weak obscure person who people look down upon and Allah سبحانه و تعالى fulfills their promise. Shall I inform you of the people of hellfire? They are the ones that are violent, arrogant people.
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ ، قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ ، يَقُولُ : رُبَّ أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ ذِي طِمْرَيْنِ لا يُؤْبَهُ لَهُ لَوْ أَقْسَمَ عَلَى اللَّهِ لأَبَرَّهُ
Prophet ﷺ said, the dishevelled individual is rejected at the door (edit: he is denied entry where the rich and powerful gather), if he were to swear by Allah, Allah would fulfill his oath.
When you analyze each point of the hadith #38, it should encourage people to rise themselves to the level of awliyaa. If you recognize what Allah سبحانه و تعالى will do to you and the level that you will be raised to, if you are awliyaa of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, then this would be the greatest incentive to become closer to Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
The aspect of asking to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, is a way of reminding our relationship with Allah, he is our rabb and he is our ilah. We are always in need of him, his help, and his guidance. No matter how pious we become, we need his help. He is defending us, he becomes our sight, our hearing, and this shows that he is our ilah. And this leads us to seek refuge with him.
Al Istia’tha
The next part of the hadith says, when he seeks refuge with me, I will grant him. Seeking refuge is Al Istia’da. It has two meanings and both of them apply.
It originally comes from the word that used to describe a tent that the Arabs used to make from tree branches, called .... They used this structure to protect themselves from the elements.
It also means to be in close contact. Arabs used to say that the best meat is the one that is sticking (عاذّة) to the bones, it means to be attached to something. Arabs used to say about the camel, a female camel would stay attached with the young one in order to protect it.
Ibn al Qayyum points us out that both meanings are applicable here. Not only is Allah سبحانه و تعالى is going to protect us, but we also want to be as close to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, as a baby camel clings to her mother.
Five arkaan of Al Istia’tha
Ulema describe the five arkaan anytime anyone makes istia’tha.
1. Act of seeking refuge
2. The one who is seeking refuge
3. The one you are seeking refuge in
4. The one that you are seeking refuge from
5. Result of al istia’tha
Allah (سبحانه و تعالى) protects a lot without us asking for it. But when we make sure we are taking the step, this brings to our minds and hearts that this is coming from Allah (سبحانه و تعالى). Every human being needs the help & protection of Allah (سبحانه و تعالى). The Prophets sought refuge from Allah (سبحانه و تعالى), so then all the believers should as well.
They should recognize that they need to seek refuge it and that it is important. We are protected many times by Allah without asking, but when we ask, we get a greater reward, and we also are more likely to be protected.
It is obviously not allowed to seek refuge in anyone other Allah سبحانه و تعالى. There are some exceptions.
Can you seek refuge with the jinn?
Quran: Men ...who seeked refuge in jinn and this only caused them more ......
We cannot seek refuge in anyone other than Allah سبحانه و تعالى, his names, his attributes with one exception.
The exception is when we seek refuge in matters of the dunya with one who is capable to give us refuge. Seeking refuge from dunya things, such as seeking refuge with a powerful ruler, since he has means, even then we have to recognize that there is Allah سبحانه و تعالى behind this ruler’s power and the Allah سبحانه و تعالى is the true source of the refuge.
What is it that we seek refuge from? Hellfire, shaytan, ?
We seek refuge any kind of evil both in this dunya and the hereafter. Prophet ﷺ said I seek refuge in you from all evil, that which I am aware of and that which I am not aware of. Prophet ﷺ also used to say in the same dua, I seek refuge from the hellfire and whatever actions that take you closer to it.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ , مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ , وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ , مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمُ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ , وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِمَّا سَأَلَكَ مِنْهُ مَحَمَّدٌ , وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِمَّا اسْتَعَاذَ مِنْهُ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، اللَّهُمَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ لِي مِنْ قَضَاءٍ فَاجْعَلْ عَاقِبَتَهُ لِي رُشْدًا
When you are conscious of Allah سبحانه و تعالى and when you desire good, then you know that Allah سبحانه و تعالى is the source. And when you want to stay away from harm and evil, then the true source of refuge is Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
When a person develops true tawheed, they are very conscious of this fact. Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that every moment he is ..... So we are hoping that Allah سبحانه و تعالى will help us in the good, and help us stay away from the evil.
Every moment there could be some harm coming to you and that every moment your heart is thinking about Allah سبحانه و تعالى and leading towards Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Q&A Session
When you make dua for others, there is an angel who repeats the dua for you. There is nothing haraam in asking others to make dua for you. But you have to help yourself and make efforts. Others dua might help you but that is not the key.
One student asked a question whether the hadith qudsi that describes Allah سبحانه و تعالى descending to the lower heavens
In the last third of the night when Allah سبحانه و تعالى comes down to the lower heaven, in a hadith qudsi, Allah سبحانه و تعالى asks who makes dua for me so that I may reply, who asks so I may give, who seeks forgiveness so I may forgive.
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :
{ ينزل ربنا تبارك وتعالى إلى السماء الدنيا حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر ، فيقول :
من يدعوني فأستجيب له ، من يسألني فأعطيه ، من يستغفرني فأغفر له }
What is the meaning of sawaal and is it the same as dua?
Sh Jamaal responded with a long answer that he did research on this topic and did not find any convincing answer about this topic. (Edit: Does anybody remember Sh Jamaal’s answer to this question?)
2012-10-23 Class Notes
We have reached the final portion of the hadith #38 and the portion that we will discuss today, it is the portion that is not found in the 40 Hadith of Nawawi, but it is found in Sahih Bukhari.
It is considered acceptable for a scholar to abbreviate a hadith, as long as the meaning is not distorted. Nawawi compiled the hadith for the masses, however he does not mention why he abbreviated the hadith. One reason might have been that this portion has some akeedah issues that might be difficult to comprehend.
After describing the way Allah سبحانه و تعالى becomes the wali’s hearing and seeing and Allah سبحانه و تعالى says that anything he asks, he will be granted and he will get refuge in Allah سبحانه و تعالى. And then Allah سبحانه و تعالى says I hesitate to take his soul, and he hates death and I hate to harm him.
The additional part found in some narrations:
وَمَا تَرَدَّدْتُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ أَنَا فَاعِلُهُ تَرَدُّدِي عَنْ نَفْسِ الْمُؤْمِنِ ، يَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ ، وَأَنَا أَكْرَهُ مَسَاءَتَه
Every soul shall taste death. Death means soul leaves the body. An important part of the hadith is that it is talking about awliyaa, those that are close to Allah, yet Allah swt describes him and says that the awliyaa dislike death, these are the ones that are close to Allah swt. So it is possible that even they will dislike death.
Hadith: Whoever loves to meet Allah, then Allah like to meet them, and whoever dislikes to meet Allah then he dislikes to meet them.
We have to die in order to meet Allah. So we can understand that whoever dislikes to die.... And Ayesha asked about this, Prophet said all of us dislike death.
Why would someone who is close to Allah سبحانه و تعالى dislike death?
If someone is close to Allah swt, why would they dislike death. There are many reasons even for a strong believer, it is a natural fear or dislike. Human beings fear and are anxious about uncertainty and unknown. And every human being will face hardships of death. And if you are not prepared for it and do not have strong Imaan, then it might be a fitna for your Imaan. Death also means that you departing from those whom you love, for the sake of Allah swt, and you will not be able to do good deeds any more, your actions will come to an end. So actions that they hope that they might do one day, is no longer possible.
People of taqwaa are also the ones who have fear of Allah swt and they recognize their shortcomings, they recognize that they might not be doing the deeds to the best of their abilities, they might have committed sins, they might not have completely repented for their sins, and they are worried whether Allah swt will forgive their sins or not. We should have faith in good expectations.... but there is always a fear, feelings of dislike with respect to death.
When Ayesha said all of us dislike death, so how do you explain that you dislike to meet Allah, Prophet said that is not what I meant (ليس كذلك), he was talking about after the stage of death. Prophet told Ayesha, it is not how you understood it, when death comes to a believer, he is given the glad tidings, and at that time he is happy to meet Allah swt and Allah swt is happy to meet him. And as for the disbeliever he is told about his punishment, and he hates to meet Allah and Allah سبحانه و تعالى hates to meet him.
A'isha reported that Allah's Messenger ( ﷺ may peace be upon him) said:
He who loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him, and he who dislikes to meet Allah, Allah abhors to meet him. I ('A'isha) said: Allah's Apostle, so far as the feeling of aversion against death is concerned, we all have this feeling. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: It is not that (which you construe), but (this) that when a believer (at the time of death) is given the glad tidings of the mercy of Allah, His Pleasure, and of Paradise, he loves to meet Allah, and Allah also loves to meet him, and when an unbeliever is given the news of the torment at the Hand of Allah, and Hardship to be imposed by Him, he dislikes to meet Allah and Allah also abhors to meet him.
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الرُّزِّيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ الْحَارِثِ الْهُجَيْمِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدٌ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ زُرَارَةَ، عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ هِشَامٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ أَحَبَّ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ وَمَنْ كَرِهَ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ كَرِهَ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ " . فَقُلْتُ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ أَكَرَاهِيَةُ الْمَوْتِ فَكُلُّنَا نَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ فَقَالَ " لَيْسَ كَذَلِكِ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ إِذَا بُشِّرَ بِرَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانِهِ وَجَنَّتِهِ أَحَبَّ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ فَأَحَبَّ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ وَإِنَّ الْكَافِرَ إِذَا بُشِّرَ بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ وَسَخَطِهِ كَرِهَ لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ وَكَرِهَ اللَّهُ لِقَاءَهُ "
ولكن المؤمن إذا بُشِّر برحمة الله, ورضوانه, وجنته, أحب لقاء الله فأحب الله لقاءه, وإن الكافر إذا بُشر بعذاب الله وسخطه, كره لقاء الله, فكره الله لقاءه
So this dislike of meeting Allah سبحانه و تعالى is after we have been told about either the good news or bad news in our graves.
Not every kind of fear of death is acceptable by shariah. There is one type of fear of death that is completely blameworthy.
عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : " يُوشِكُ أَنْ تَدَاعَى عَلَيْكُمُ الْأُمَمُ ، كَمَا تَدَاعَى الْأَكَلَةُ إِلَى قَصْعَتِهَا " ، فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ : أَمِنْ قِلَّةٍ نَحْنُ يَوْمَئِذٍ ؟ قَالَ : " بَلْ أَنْتُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ كَثِيرٌ ، وَلَكِنَّكُمْ غُثَاءٌ كَغُثَاءِ السَّيْلِ ، وَلَيَنْزِعَنَّ اللَّهُ مِنْ صُدُورِ عَدُوِّكُمُ الْمَهَابَةَ مِنْكُمْ ، وَلَيَقْذِفَنَّ فِي قُلُوبِكُمُ الْوَهَنَ " ، فَقَالَ قَائِلٌ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا الْوَهَنُ ؟ قَالَ : " حُبُّ الدُّنْيَا وَكَرَاهِيَةُ الْمَوْتِ "
There is a hadith that says that other nations will come to attack the Muslims as they are attacking a plate of food, sahaba asked him is this because we are small in number, Prophet said you will be like the froth of the ocean but the fear of the Muslims will be taken away from them, and Muslims will be very weak due to love of the dunya and dislike of death.
So this dislike of death is blameworthy. You have invested all of your time and energy in this dunya and you don’t want to live this world in order to meet Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
One of the obvious questions that comes up in this portion of the hadith is the following, what does it mean for Allah سبحانه و تعالى to hesitate.
In general you hesitate, if you are lacking of knowledge or certainty, you don’t know how to proceed, whether you should do this or that. Obviously there are no reasons or causes for Allah swt to hesitate.
Scholars have given different interpretations for this part of the hadith, the exact meaning might be difficult to comprehend. We can try to get a good understanding from the various explanations.
One of the interpretations is referring to the case of death of an individual due to sickness, and the dying person makes dua and Allah swt accepts his dua and cures him, and he is rescued from dying, but then the ....... Shawkani does not like this interpretation and he rejects it. But when you look at Shawkani’s explanation, you can see his explanation is a subset of this interpretation.
Another interpretation says that Allah سبحانه و تعالى sends his angel over and over to this believing soul and the hesitation is from the angel and not from Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Angel hesitates and goes back to Allah سبحانه و تعالى, and then eventually the angel takes the soul. This explanation is also hard to justify since you are now bringing in angels into the explanation of the hadith.
Another interpretation says that Allah swt dislikes bringing harm to the awliyaa and that is the reason for the hesitation.
For example, Ibn Hajr says Allah سبحانه و تعالى is giving us his story in a way we understand. A parable is that a father needs to punish his son. But he has compassion and mercy for his son -- he knows that he has to do it. This mixed feeling at that moment can produce a kind of hesitation or something we could describe the hesitation. There was a feeling of not wanting to do it. Similarly, Allah needs to take the soul of the wali, and it is part of His decree in order for them to enter Jannah.
Al Karamani says that what is meant here is that when Allah سبحانه و تعالى takes the soul of the wali, he takes it slowly and softly. And this gradual, slow and soft taking of the soul is referred to as hesitation. Sh says that this interpretation might be difficult to accept, because you cannot prove it by other texts.
Ibn Al Salah says it does not mean that Allah swt hesitates at all, he gives an explanation similar to the one who is hesitating to do something that he dislikes. The decree of Allah swt has to be fulfilled and even though he does not want to cause harm, yet he has to take his soul.
Ibn Taymiyaah’s interpretation is close to the gist of the hadith. When servant becomes closer to Allah swt, he fulfills his wants and needs. This individual loves what Allah loves and hates what Allah hates. And since Allah swt has decreed that every soul shall taste death, and he knows that this is the best for him. In one sense death is desirable and another sense it is not desirable. And that is the meaning of the hesitation. This hesitation is not due to lack of knowledge, but because of two equally compelling reasons for it
Shawkani goes in great detail. He begins with some important premises.Hesitation must be beneficial for the wali. Nothing occurs in this existence without the will of Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى is able to do anything and there is nothing constraining him, and there is nothing stopping him from changing one decree to another.
So when a person asks something from Allah سبحانه و تعالى, Allah gives him what he asks. The Prophet ﷺ said that nothing repels the decree except supplications, and nothing increases one’s lifetime except righteousness.
عن سلمان قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يرد القضاء إلا الدعاء ولا يزيد في العمر إلا البر
يمحو الله ما يشاء ويثبت وعنده أم الكتاب
Sahih International
Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book. [Ar-Rad 13:39]
The decree of the laylatul qadr is not the same as the one that is written in the prescribed tablet. The wisdom behind it is that there are reasons for our actions.
There are different kinds of qadr or decrees.
Shawkani says that what is meant by hesitation is that Allah سبحانه و تعالى is giving the wali an opportunity to do something that would lengthen his life and if he does not do anything then he will take his life.
Shawkani takes 20 pages to summarize this argument. There are some nice and interesting things behind what he presents. He emphasizes the tenor and the meaning of the hadith, the relationship between the wali and Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Allah سبحانه و تعالىdoes something for the wali due to the closeness of their relationship. And what Allah سبحانه و تعالى does is beyond our understanding. It is a conjecture to say exactly what Allah swt means when he says that he hesitates, and it like no other hesitation that Allah سبحانه و تعالى makes.
The closeness between Allah سبحانه و تعالى and wali is such that he does not want to harm the wali and he is willing to hesitate to harm him. It is an amazing statement to think that human beings can reach that state of closeness to Allah سبحانه و تعالى. We pray that we reach this level of closeness with Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
How to correctly understand “hesitation” of Allah سبحانه و تعالى
Sh started describing other actions of Allah سبحانه و تعالى such as when he deceives and mocks the hypocrites.
Allah سبحانه و تعالى describes the hypocrites and says, when they meet those who believe the say we believe and when they meet the disbelievers they say we are mocking the believers...
وإذا لقوا الذين آمنوا قالوا آمنا وإذا خلوا إلى شياطينهم قالوا إنا معكم إنما نحن مستهزئون
And when they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe"; but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, "Indeed, we are with you; we were only mockers."
الله يستهزئ بهم ويمدهم في طغيانهم يعمهون
Sahih International
[But] Allah mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression [while] they wander blindly.
Allah swt plots and he is the best of plotters, hypocrites seek to deceive Allah swt, but they are the ones who are deceived.
وإذ يمكر بك الذين كفروا ليثبتوك أو يقتلوك أو يخرجوك ويمكرون ويمكر الله والله خير الماكرين
Sahih International
And [remember, O Muhammad], when those who disbelieved plotted against you to restrain you or kill you or evict you [from Makkah]. But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.
Sh is now describing different levels of understanding Allah سبحانه و تعالى.
At the innermost level is the names (asmaa الأسماء) of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, here we can say the names that Allah uses for himself. And it also implies the meaning of the names and it implications.
The next level is the attributes of Allah سبحانه و تعالى, the sifaat. (الصفات) Again there should be direct evidence from Quran and Sunnah for the sifaat.
The next level is the actions (الأفعال) of Allah سبحانه و تعالى. This is a very specific actions and we should have evidence from Quran and Sunnah. Each action of Allah سبحانه و تعالى has to be understood in the context and the reasons for the actions.
The next level is informative statements about Allah سبحانه و تعالى. Not everything has to be derived from Qur’an and Sunnah, as long as they are good and correct. This is the most flexible category.
And unfortunately the class had to be stopped abruptly for the Isha prayers.
Email sent by Sh Jamaal Zarabozo to explain the concept of “hesitation” of Allah swt and how to understand it properly
I pray that you are all doing well. Our class last night ended abruptly due to the iqaamah. I pray that you all found the class interesting and beneficial.
I want to add some important points about the actions or afaal of Allah. We believe in the dhaahir (“apparent”) meaning of all of the texts related to Allah’s attributes. At the same time, we know that Allah has the most beautiful, perfect and excellent names. This means that His actions as well are beautiful, perfect and excellent. Therefore, we understand all of these texts in ways that are consistent with Allah’s perfection and excellence, and free of any defects or imperfections of any kind.
For example, as we mentioned, Allah’s “hesitation” is only in relation to taking the soul of the wali. But this hesitation has nothing to do with the weaknesses of ignorance, uncertainty or not knowing what the future may hold.
Similarly, when Allah states that He mocks or deceives the hypocrites, these statements are only made in relation to the actions that those hypocrites performed. In general, rewards are of the same nature as the acts themselves. Since they mocked and deceived, they deserved to be mocked and deceived in return.
However, Allah’s “mocking” and “deceiving” is that which is consistent with His greatness, majesty and excellence and is not like that of humans. Thus, for example, He “deceives” the hypocrites by allowing them to believe that they are deceiving the believers and Allah while in reality they are not.
Finally, all of this category of actions need to be understood and stated in context and relative to the creation/people that Allah does them to. Again, this means that it is inappropriate and unacceptable to say that Allah is a deceiver or mocker, as these description do not fall under the category of sifaat or attributes.
I assume most of you have studied these concepts in courses on aqeedah and, Allah willing, when we have our classes on aqeedah we shall tackle them in detail at that time.