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Riyadh as-Saaleheen is an extremely beneficial book to the person’s
heart. It also encourages the reader to act with righteous deeds – that’s why
this book must be studied.
-Ibn
al-Uthaymin
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QUESTION: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS NEEDED TO BELIEVE IN LA ILAHA ILA ALLAH?
1. Knowledge 2. Truthfulness
2. Sincerity 4. Certainty
3. Following 6. Acceptance
7. Love
WHATS THE EVIDENCE FOR TRUTHFULNESS
Read Aal-Imran. 14-19
-After mentioning the
good and desires of the Dunyaa, Allaah mentions the Akhirah and the pleasure of
Dhikr therein and then he mentions that none get this except those who make Dua
and have certain qualities
-The characteristics
of a believer: Sabr, Sidq, Qunoot i.e. steadfast, Infaaq and Istighfaar
This is the specific
order mentioned as one leads to another
What is
truthfulness?
-To (1) accept
something that is factual, believing in the (2) unseen without seeing it and
(3) not having any doubt in it
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Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The word siddeeq is a grammatically intensive form
which indicates a high level of 1) belief. The siddeeq is the one who
confirms with his 2) actions what he says with his 3) tongue. And it was said
that they (the siddeeqoon) are the best of the followers of the Prophets who
were the first of them to believe, such as Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq.
End quote from Tafseer
al-Qurtubi (5/272)
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It comprises
of:
A - Ikhlas
B - Tawbah
C - Subr
Being steadfast on the above – without these, there could be elements of
denial (كذب)
TRUTHFULNESS
الصِّدْقُ
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ
وَكُونُواْ مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ
9:119
What’s the context?
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ
وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ
وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ
وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ
وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
33:35
What is the sequence of
characteristics?
طَاعَةٌ وَقَوْلٌ مَّعْرُوفٌ فَإِذَا عَزَمَ الأَمْرُ فَلَوْ
صَدَقُوا اللَّهَ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ
47:21
What’s the context – it gives the
opposite meaning?
54 - The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Truth leads to piety and piety leads to Jannah. A
man persists in speaking the truth till he is enrolled with Allah as a
truthful. Falsehood leads to vice and vice leads to the Fire (Hell), and a
person persists on telling lies until he is enrolled as a liar".'
-Ikhlas = action and self-reflection JANNAH
(Birr, Taqwa)
LEADS TO
-Tawbah =
repentance and closeness OR
LEADS TO
-Subr =
obedience, disobedience and decree JAHANNAM
(Nifaq, Kufr)
55 -
"Give up what
is doubtful to you for that which is not doubtful; for truth is peace of mind
and falsehood is doubt".
-The above leads
to certainty, support and an easy life.
56 - Abu Sufyan (May Allah be pleased with him)
reported, in course of his detailed narration about Heraclius when the latter
questioned him about the teachings of the Prophet (ﷺ) He said that:
He (ﷺ) told (us): "Worship Allah Alone and do not associate a
thing with Him; and give up all that your ancestors said. "He also
commands us to perform Salat (prayers), to speak the truth, to observe
modesty and to strengthen the ties of kinship.
Sidq can
be:
1-belief: to be
true and firm in one’s internal, the opposite of Shirk and Nifaq
2-statement: a
person speaks with what is factual/genuine opinion, and that conforms to his
internal state, the opposite of lying and backbiting etc.
3-action: a
person’s action conforms to the internal, the opposite of sin and Bid’ah
57 - The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "He who asks Allah for martyrdom, Allah will raise
him to the high status of the martyrs, even if he dies on his bed".
إِنَّ
الأَبْرَارَ لَفِي نَعِيمٍ
(sidq)
وَإِنَّ
الْفُجَّارَ لَفِي جَحِيمٍ
(fujoor)
82: 13-14
58 – Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him)
reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
"One of the earlier
Prophets who was out on an expedition proclaimed among his people that no man
should follow him who had married a woman with whom he wished to cohabit but
had not yet done so, or who had built houses on which he had not yet put the
roofs, or who had bought sheep or pregnant she-camels and was expecting them to
produce young. He, then, went on the expedition and approached the town at the
time of the 'Asr prayer or little before it. He then told the sun that both it
and he were under command and prayed Allah to hold it back for them, so it was
held back till Allah gave him victory. He collected the spoils and it (meaning
fire) came to devour these, but did not. He said that among the people there
was a man who stole from the booty. He told them that a man from every tribe
must swear allegiance to him, and when a man's hand stuck to his, he said:
"There is thief among you and every individual of your tribe must swear
allegiance to me". (In course of swearing of allegiance,) hands of two or
three persons stuck to his hand. He said: "The thief is among you".
They brought him a head of gold like a cow's head and when he laid it down, the
fire came and devoured the spoils. Spoils were not allowed to anyone before us,
then Allah allowed spoils to us as He saw our weakness and incapacity and
allowed them to us".
-The
sun was paused for him but the moon was split for us
-Booty
wasn’t written for them but was written for us
If
this was their Ummah, then what about the best of Prophets with the best of
Ummah IF we are truthful?
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Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The highest level of sincerity is that of the siddeeq;
it is perfect submission to the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), accompanied by perfect sincerity towards the One Who sent him.
End quote from Madaarij
as-Saalikeen (2/258)
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59 - Hakim bin Hizam (May Allah be pleased with him)
reported that:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Both parties in a business transaction have a
right to annul it so long as they have not separated; and if they tell the
truth and make everything clear to each other (i.e., the seller and the buyer
speak the truth, the seller with regard to what is purchased, and the buyer
with regard to the money) they will be blessed in their transaction, but if
they conceal anything and lie, the blessing on their transaction will be
eliminated."
-We are called to be truthful in
our actions and transactions
SUMMARY:
-What is Sidq?
-Why is it so important?
-Steps to attain it?
BUT WHAT IS FROM ITS
GREATEST VIRTUE?
وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ
أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاء
وَالصَّالِحِينَ وَحَسُنَ أُوْلَئِكَ رَفِيقًا
“And whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger, then they will
be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace, of the
Prophets, the Siddeeqoon, the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent
these companions are!”
[an-Nisa’ 4:69]
As-Sa‘di
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The
siddeeqoon are those who reached the highest levels of faith, righteous
deeds, beneficial knowledge and true certainty.
End
quote from Tafseer as-Sa‘di (p. 841)
CONCIOUSNESS
المُراقَبةُ
الَّذِي يَرَاكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ
وَتَقَلُّبَكَ فِي السَّاجِدِينَ
26:218-219
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا
تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
57:4
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَخْفَىَ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلاَ
فِي السَّمَاء
3:5
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَبِالْمِرْصَادِ
89:14
يَعْلَمُ خَائِنَةَ الأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِي الصُّدُورُ
40:19
60 - 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with them) said:
Once we were sitting in the company of
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
when there appeared a man dressed in very white clothes and having
extraordinary black hair. No signs of fatigue of journey appeared on him and he
was known to none of us. He sat down facing the Prophet (ﷺ)
leaning his knees against the knees of the Prophet (ﷺ)
and placing both of his palms over his two thighs and said, "O Muhammad (ﷺ)!
Tell me about Islam". He (ﷺ) replied, "Islam is to testify that
none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and that Muhammad (ﷺ)
is the Messenger of Allah; that you observe Salat (prayers), pay Zakat, observe
Saum (fasting) of Ramadan and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) of the House, provided
you have resources of making journey to it." He replied: "You have
spoken the truth." We were surprised to see that he had asked him and
confirmed the correctness of the answers. He then enquired: "Tell me about
Iman." He (ﷺ)
said: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers
and the Last Day and that you believe in preordainment (destiny), its bad and
good consequences." He said, "You have spoken the truth." He
then enquired: "Tell me about Ihsan." He (ﷺ)
said, "It is to worship Allah as if you are seeing Him; and although you
do not see Him, He sees you." He enquired: "Inform me about the Hour
(i.e., the Day of Resurrection)." He (ﷺ) replied, "I have no more knowledge
thereof than you". He said, "Inform me about some of its signs."
He (ﷺ)
said, "They are - that a bondswoman gives birth to her own master, and
that you will find the barefooted, naked, poor shepherds competing one another
in the construction of higher buildings." Then he departed. The Messenger
of Allah kept silent for a while then he said to me, "O 'Umar! Do you know
who the questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know
better." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "He was Jibril (Gabriel); he
came to you to teach you your religion."
Ihsan
and Muraqabah is third level after:
Islam
and Eman
Therefore,
Muraqabah can only be gained after a series of strengthening and purification
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Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Muraqabah is to
constantly have knowledge of your lord; this will then affect your internal
and external states.
-Madarij as-Salikin
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Muraqabah
is also of two levels:
-As
if you see Him
-If
you can’t, then to know He sees you
61 - "Fear Allah wherever you are, do good deeds after
doing bad ones, the former will wipe out the latter, and behave decently
towards people"
How can you
gain the above?
To be in a
constant state of consciousness – to the best of your ability
Taqwa
Following good
with bad
Manners
BUT HOW CAN I
BE LIKE THIS!?
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Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Muraqabah is gained by
understanding five Names and Attributes extremely well:
Ar-Raqeeb
Al-Hafidh
Al-Aleem
As-Samee
Al-Baseer
Whoever grasps these
well then he has attained the objective.
-Madarij as-Salikin
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TASK: MATCH THE NAMES WITH THE FOLLOWING DEFINITONS:
1)
The One who observes everything, the One who tests and the One who
protects.
2)
The One who protect His
Awliya, the One who protects the creation, and nothing escapes Him.
3) The
Knower of all, how they are and how they would be had they occurred.
4)
The One who hears, responds, witnesses and protects.
5) The
One who sees, accounts and protects.
62 - One day, I was riding behind the
Prophet (ﷺ) when he said, "O boy! I will instruct you in some
matters. Be watchful of Allah (Commandments of Allah), He will preserve you.
Safeguard His Rights, He will be ever with you. If you beg, beg of Him Alone;
and if you need assistance, supplicate to Allah Alone for help. And remember
that if all the people gather to benefit you, they will not be able to benefit
you except that which Allah had foreordained (for you); and if all of them
gather to do harm to you, they will not be able to afflict you with anything
other than that which Allah had pre-destined against you. The pens had been
lifted and the ink had dried up".
Another
narration is: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Safeguard the
Commandments of Allah, you will find Him before you. Remember Him in prosperity
and He will remember you in adversity. Be sure that which you miss, was not to
hit you; and what hits you, was never to miss you. Remember that the Help of
Allah is obtained with patience, and relief emerges after distress, prosperity
follows adversity, and hardship is followed by ease".
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Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Understanding the concept of
Muraqabah extremely well, will enable you to be protected. Protected in all
of your actions. So whoever is mindful of Allah in the private, he will be
programmed to be mindful of him in public.
-Madarij as-Salikin
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63 - Anas (May Allah be pleased with
him) said: You indulge in (bad) actions which are more insignificant to
you than a hair while we considered them at the time of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
to be great destroying sins".
64 - 'Verily, 'Allah, the Exalted,
becomes angry, and His Anger is provoked when a person does what Allah has
declared unlawful".
66 - "A wise man is the one who
calls himself to account (and refrains from doing evil deeds) and does noble
deeds to benefit him after death; and the foolish person is the one who subdues
himself to his temptations and desires and seeks from Allah the fulfillment of
his vain desires”
67 - "It is from the excellence of
(a believer's) Islam that he should shun that which is of no concern to
him".
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Sahl
at-Tusturi (d. 283) said:
Whoever makes
the Sirat narrow for himself in the Dunya, then it will be wide for him in
the hereafter. Whoever makes Sirat wide for himself in the Dunya, then the
Sirat will be wide for him in the hereafter.
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65 - "There were three men among
the Banu Israel, one leper, one bald and one blind. Allah wanted to test them.
He therefore,
sent to them an angel who came to the leper and asked him what he would
like best. He replied: "A good colour, a good skin and to be rid of what
makes me loathsome to people". He (the angel) rubbed him and his
loathsomeness vanished and he was given a good colour and a good skin. He then
asked him what type of property he would like best. The leper replied that he
would like camels. He was given a pregnant she-camel. The angel invoked for
Allah's Blessing on it.
The angel then
went to the bald man and asked him what he would like best and he replied:
"Good hair and to be rid of what makes me loathsome to people". The
angel ran his hand over him and he was given good hair. He then asked him what
property he would like best. He replied that he would like cattle, so he was
given a pregnant cow. The angel invoked Allah's Blessing on it.
The angel then
went to the blind man and asked him what he would like best, and he
replied: "I wish that Allah restore my sight to me so that I may see
people." Thereupon the angel ran his hand over him and Allah restored his
sight. The angel then asked what property he would like best. He replied that
he would like sheep, so he was given a pregnant ewe.
Flocks and
herds were produced for the three men, the first having a valley full of
camels, the second one, a valley full of cows and the third one full of sheep.
THE TEST
Then the angel
came in the form of a leper, to the one who had been a leper, and said:
"I am a poor man and my resources have been exhausted in my journey, and
my only means of reaching my destination are dependent on Allah and then on
you, so I ask you by Him Who gave you the good colour, the good skin and the
property, for a camel by which I may get to my destination". He replied:
"I have many dues to pay." The angel then said: "I think I
recognize you. Were you not a leper whom people found loathsome and a poor man
to whom Allah gave property?" He replied: "I inherited this property
through generations". The angel said: "If you are telling a lie, may
Allah return you to your former condition".
The angel went
in the form of a bald man to the one who had been bald, and said the
same as he had said to the former and received a similar reply. So he said:
"If you are telling a lie, may Allah return you to your former
condition".
The angel then
went to the one who had been blind and said: "I am a poor traveller
and my resources have been exhausted in my journey. My only means of reaching
my destination are dependent on Allah and then on you, so I ask you by Him Who
restored your eyesight for a sheep by which I may get to the end of my
journey". He replied: "Yes, I was blind. Allah restored my eyesight,
so take what you wish and leave what you wish. I swear by Allah that I shall
not argue with you today to return anything you take, as I give it for Allah's
sake".
The angel
said: "Keep your property. You have all simply been put to a test, and
Allah is pleased with you and displeased with both of your companions".
TASK: What are some of the morals of this story?
Benefits of this narration:
-Everyone is tested -Parable in threes
-These people were not Prophets -Blessings are from Allah
-Some tests are superficial -Humility comes with worst tests
-Camels are harsh and sheep are soft -Allah likes that we give properly with
extra
-Islam calls us to plan ahead, economically etc.
-Not giving thanks WILL lead to downfall
-Allah is patient BUT thankful -Allah doesn’t measure by the Dunya
-People like to argue about the Dunya but don’t have that
same zeal for the Akhirah
-ITS EASY TO HAVE MURAQABAH AND LOSE IT!
-Being superficial and heavy in indulgences will make you
not attain/lose Muraqabah
-Being between Subr and Shukr = Muraqabah
SUMMARY
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Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Understanding the concept of
Muraqabah extremely well, will enable you to be protected. Protected in all
of your actions. Therefore, whoever is mindful of Allah in the private, he
will be programmed to be mindful of him in public.
-Madarij as-Salikin
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And Allah Knows best
