LESSON
8
How to
preserve one’s actions
Have
them accepted and blessed
Warning
against creating a new way which has never been seen before
BEING BALANCED IN ACTS OF WORSHIP
طه، مَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ
الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى
(20:1-2)
-It’s easy for some but difficult for
most; those who turn away
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“Verily Allah has His own people among
mankind.” They said: O Messenger of Allah, who are they? He said: “They are
the people of the Qur’an, Allah’s own people and those who are closest to
Him.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
Ibn
al-Qayyim
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يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ
بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ
(2:185)
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This comes in the context of Rukhsah; there
is a negation and affirmation which gives a reason for a very important
principle in Islam.
Ibn Ashur
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142 – The Prophet (ﷺ) came in when a woman was sitting beside
me. He asked me, "Who is she?" I said: "She is the one whose
performance of Salat (prayer) has become the talk of the town." Addressing
her, he (ﷺ)
said, "(What is this!) You are required to take upon yourselves only what
you can carry out easily. By Allah, Allah does not withhold His Mercy and
forgiveness of you until you neglect and give up (good works). Allah likes the
deeds best which a worshipper can carry out constantly".
-Is it better to have consistent quality
rather than a block of enthusiasm?
143 - Three men came to the houses of the
wives of the Prophet (ﷺ)
to inquire about the worship of the Prophet (ﷺ). When they were informed, they considered
their worship insignificant and said: "Where are we in comparison with the
Prophet (ﷺ)
while Allah has forgiven his past sins and future sins". One of them said:
"As for me, I shall offer Salat all night long." Another said:
"I shall observe Saum (fasting) continuously and shall not break it".
Another said: "I shall abstain from women and shall never marry". The
Prophet (ﷺ)
came to them and said, "Are you the people who said such and such things?
By Allah, I fear Allah more than you do, and I am most obedient and dutiful
among you to Him, but still I observe fast and break it; perform Salat and
sleep at night and take wives. So whoever turns away from my Sunnah does not
belong to me".
144 - "Ruined are those who insist on
hardship in matters of the Faith." He repeated this three times.
145 – “"The religion (of Islam) is easy,
and whoever makes the religion a rigour, it will overpower him. So, follow a
middle course (in worship); if you can't do this, do something near to it and
give glad tidings and seek help (of Allah) at morn and at dusk and some part of
night".”
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The one who does not let his mount rest
will not reach his destination and he will become like one who is cut off,
because his mount is no longer able to continue, so he is close to doom. Had
he been kind to his mount and taken it easy during his journey, his mount
would have been able to travel the distance with him and get him to his
destination.
Fath al-Baari
by Ibn Rajab (1/136-139).
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146 - The Prophet (ﷺ) came into the mosque and noticed a rope
stretched between two poles. He enquired, "What is this rope for?" He
was told: "This is Zainab's rope. When during her voluntary prayer, she
begins to feel tired, she grasps it for support". The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Untie it. You should perform
prayers so long as you feel active. When you feel tired, you should go to
sleep".
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Ibn al-Muneer said: This hadeeth is one of
the signs of Prophethood. We have seen and the people before us saw that
everyone who goes to extremes in religious matters will be cut off and
doomed.
It does not mean that we should not seek to
be more perfect in worship, for that is something praiseworthy. Rather what
is forbidden is the kind of extremism that leads to getting bored with it, or
going to such extremes in doing voluntary acts that one ends up forsaking that
which is better.
Fath al-Baari
by Ibn Hajar (1/94).
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147 – "When one of you feels drowsy
during prayer, let him lie down till drowsiness goes away from him, because
when one of you performs prayers while feeling sleepy, he does not know whether
he seeks forgiveness or abuses himself".
148 - Jabir bin Samurah (May Allah be pleased with him)
reported:
I used to perform prayer with
the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Salat was of a moderate length and his Khutbah too was
moderate in length.
149 - The Prophet (ﷺ) made a bond of brotherhood between Salman
and Abud-Darda'. Salman paid a visit to Abud-Darda' and found Umm Darda' (his
wife) dressed in shabby clothes and asked her why she was in that state. She
replied: "Your brother Abud-Darda' is not interested in (the luxuries of)
this world. In the meantime Abud-Darda' came in and prepared a meal for Salman.
Salman requested Abud-Darda' to eat (with him) but Abud-Darda' said: "I am
fasting." Salman said: "I am not going to eat unless you eat."
So, Abud-Darda' ate (with Salman). When it was night and (a part of the night
passed), Abud-Darda' got up (to offer the night prayer) but Salman asked him to
sleep and Abud-Darda' slept. After some time Abud-Darda' again got up but
Salman asked him to sleep. When it was the last hours of the night, Salman
asked him to get up and both of them offered (Tahajjud) prayer. Then Salman
told Abud-Darda': "You owe a duty to your Rubb, you owe a duty to your
body; you owe a duty to your family; so you should give to every one his due.
Abud-Darda' came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and reported the whole story. Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Salman is right".
150 – 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as (May Allah be pleased
with them) reported:
The Prophet (ﷺ) was informed that I said that I would perform prayers the
whole night and observe fasting every day as long as I live. Messenger of Allah
(ﷺ) said, "Is it you who said this?" I said to him,
"O Messenger of Allah! I ransom you with my parents, it is I who said
that." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "You will not be able to do
that. Observe fast and break it; sleep and get up for prayer, and observe fast
for three days during the month; for every good is multiplied ten times and
that will be equal to fasting the whole year." I said, "O Messenger
of Allah! I can do more than that." He said, "Observe fast one day
and leave off the next two days." I said, "O Messenger of Allah! I
have strength to do more than that." Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Observe fast every other day, and that is the
fasting of Dawud (ﷺ) and that is the most moderate fasting".
151 – Hanzalah Al-Usayyidi (May Allah be pleased with
him) who was one of the scribes of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), reported:
I met Abu Bakr (May Allah be
pleased with him) he said: "How are you O Hanzalah?" I said,
"Hanzalah has become a hypocrite". He said, "Far removed is
Allah from every imperfection, what are you saying?" I said, "When we
are in the company of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he reminds us of Hell-fire and
Jannah, we feel as if we are seeing them with our very eyes, and when we are
away from Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), we attend to our wives, our children,
our business, most of these things (pertaining to life hereafter) slip out of
our minds." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "By Allah,
I also experience the same thing". So Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with
him) and I went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and I said to him, "O Messenger of
Allah (ﷺ), Hanzalah has turned hypocrite." Thereupon Messenger of
Allah (ﷺ) said, "What has happened to you?" I said, "O
Messenger of Allah, when we are in your company, and are reminded of Hell-fire
and Jannah, we feel as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but when we go
away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, much of these
things go out of our minds." Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand is my life if your state of
mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in
remembrance (of Allah), the angels will shake hands with you in your beds and
in your roads; but Hanzalah, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and
time should be devoted (to prayer)". He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said this thrice.
152 - Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
152 - Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
While the Prophet (ﷺ) was delivering Khutbah (religious talk), he noticed a man who
was standing, so he asked about him and was told that he was Abu Israel who had
taken a vow to remain standing and not sit, or go into the shade, or speak
while observing fasting. Thereupon Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Tell him to speak, to go into the shade, to sit
and to complete his fast".
Benefits:
-It is not prescribed nor
is it required for a person to obey Allaah by doing acts of worship that cause
him hardship
-Conditions
that are set in Islam that go against Shariah are null and void and not to be
carried out. Conditions which add hardship to acts of worship are null. The
Prophet denied the conditions that were extra and Batil for the man who swore
to fast and stand in the heat (Itisam 2/169)
SUMMARY:
Al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Sa’di (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said:
-How great this hadeeth is and how concise
and good is its beneficial advice and comprehensive principles: “Religion is
easy”
-If a person has the pillars of Eman
internally, the external is easily acceptable and act upon.
-He will find in the religion perfect morals
and deeds; all that work in his best interests in both worlds.
-He will see himself accountable because all
of it is sound – sound mind creates a sound nature.
-Offering the pillars of Islam in
congregation is wisdom because doing things collectively is easier.
-The five prayers come at the appropriate
times.
-One of the pillars is only Wajib if he has
the Nisaab and had it for a year; to purify wealth and hearts, to ward off
calamities from them and their wealth, to cleanse them of their sins, to offer
comfort to the needy and to bring about harmony in society. But despite that it
is a very small amount when compared with what Allaah has given them of wealth
and provision.
-As for fasting, it is obligatory for one
month of the year; to remove his desires and Allah compensates them for that by
His grace and kindness.
-With regard to Hajj, Allaah has only
enjoined it on the one who is able to do it, and only once in a lifetime. There
are many religious and worldly benefits in it, more than can be counted.
…
But the one who overburdens himself and is
not content…will be overwhelmed and in the end he will be unable to continue
and will stop doing it…and will find himself going backwards.
He enjoined avoiding extremism and trying to
be near perfection, and encouraged people to be hopeful and not to yield to
despair.
Avoiding extremism means saying and doing the
right thing, and following a wise path; it means saying and doing the right
thing in all senses.
…
Thus it is known that a number of principles
may be derived from this great hadeeth:
1.
Islam is easy in general
2.
Hardship opens the door to relief
3.
If I tell you to do something, do as much of it as you can.
4.
It encourages those who strive hard and gives them glad tidings of goodness and
reward that stem from their actions.
5.
Comprehensive advice on how to reach Allaah, advice which may be sufficient on
its own and no other advice could take its place.
May the blessings and peace of Allaah be upon
the one who was given the power and benefit of concise speech. End quote.
Bahjat Quloob al-Abraar wa Qurrat ‘Ayn
al-Akhyaar fi Sharh Jawaami’ al-Akhbaar (p. 77-80).
Islamqa/124611
PRESERVING ONE’S GOOD DEEDS
أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَن تَخْشَعَ
قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلا يَكُونُوا
كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ
قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَاسِقُونَ
(57:16)
وَقَفَّيْنَا بِعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَآتَيْنَاهُ
الإِنجِيلَ وَجَعَلْنَا فِي قُلُوبِ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ رَأْفَةً وَرَحْمَةً
وَرَهْبَانِيَّةً ابْتَدَعُوهَا مَا كَتَبْنَاهَا عَلَيْهِمْ إِلاَّ ابْتِغَاء
رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ فَمَا رَعَوْهَا حَقَّ رِعَايَتِهَا
(57:27)
وَلاَ تَكُونُواْ كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَهَا مِن
بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ
(16:92)
وَاعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَكَ الْيَقِينُ
(15:99)
153- "Should anyone fall asleep at night and
fail to recite his portion of the Qur'an, or a part of it, if he recites it
between the Fajr prayer and the Zuhr prayer, it will be recorded for him as
though he had recited it during the night".
154- 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'as (May Allah be pleased
with them) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "O Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so. He
used to get up at night for optional prayer but abandoned it later."
155- When Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) missed the optional night Salat
(Tahajjud) due to pain or any other reason, he would perform twelve Rak'ah
during the day time.
How would you give advice
to others to follow the correct Manhaj?...
COMMAND TO PRESERVE THE SUNNAH
QUESTION:
What is the Sunnah?
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What
is meant by Sunnah is his way - his worship, his manners, his dealings;
everything he said, everything he did and approved of.
-Ibn al-Uthaymin
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وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا
نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا
(59: 7)
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى
إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ وَحْيٌ يُوحَى
(53:3-4)
قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ
فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ
غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
(3:31)
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ
أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ
اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
(33:21)
فَلاَ وَرَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّىَ
يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَجِدُواْ فِي أَنفُسِهِمْ
حَرَجًا مِّمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُواْ تَسْلِيمًا
(4:65)
فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ
أَن تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
(24:63)
وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
(42:52)
وَاذْكُرْنَ مَا يُتْلَى فِي
بُيُوتِكُنَّ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَالْحِكْمَةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ لَطِيفًا
خَبِيرًا
(33:34)
Accepting the Sunnah Wholeheartedly:
156 - "Do not ask me unnecessarily about the details of
the things which I do not mention to you. Verily, the people before you were
doomed because they were used to putting many questions to their Prophets and
had differences about their Prophets. Refrain from what I forbid you and do
what I command you to the best of your ability and capacity".
157- 'Irbad bin Sariyah (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported:
One day Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) delivered us a very eloquent Khutbah on account of which eyes
shed tears and hearts were full of tears. A man said: "O Prophet of Allah,
this is as if it were a parting advice. So advise us". He (ﷺ) said, "I admonish you to fear Allah, to listen and obey
even if an Abyssinian slave is appointed as your leader. Because whosoever
among you shall live after me, will see much discord. So hold fast to my Sunnah
and the examples of the Rightly- Guided Caliphs who will come after me. Adhere
to them and hold to it fast. Beware of new things (in Deen) because every
Bid'ah is a misguidance".
Follow the Sunnah preserves the path to Jannah:
158- "Everyone of my Ummah will enter Jannah
except those who refuse". He was asked: "Who will refuse?" He (ﷺ) said, "Whoever obeys
me, shall enter Jannah, and whosoever disobeys me, refuses to (enter
Jannah)".
Arrogance in Against Accepting the Sunnah:
159- Salamah bin Al-Akwa' (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported:
My father said that a person ate in the presence of
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with
his left hand. He (ﷺ) said,
"Eat with your right hand". He said, "I cannot do that."
Thereupon he (the Prophet) said, "May you never do that." It was
pride that prevented him from doing it. And he could not raise it (the right hand)
up to his mouth afterwards.
160- "Straighten your rows (during Salat) or
Allah would create dissension amongst you".
The sunnah saves life and property – one MUST LEARN
it to benefit from it:
161- A house
in Al- Madinah caught fire at night and the roof and walls fell down upon the
occupants. When this was reported to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) he said, "Fire
is your enemy; so put it out before you go to bed".
The sunnah builds Eman and economy:
162- "The
similitude of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like a
rain which has fallen on some ground. A fertile part of earth has absorbed
water and brought forth much grass and herbs. Another part, which is solid,
held the water and Allah benefits men thereby, who drank and gave others to
drink, and used it for irrigation. But some of it has fallen on a portion of
sandy land which neither retains the water nor produces herbage. Such is the
likeness of the man who understands the religion of Allah and who gets benefit
of what Allah has sent me with; he learns and teaches others. It is also the
likeness of the man who neither raises his head on that account (meaning he
does not benefit from what the Prophet (ﷺ) was sent with) nor
accepts Allah's Guidance with which I am sent".
163- "My
parable and that of yours is like a man who kindled a fire. When it has
illuminated all around him, the moths and grasshoppers began to fall therein.
He tried to push them away, but they overcame him and jumped into it. I am
catching hold of your waists ties (to save you) from fire, but you slip away
from my hands".
The sunnah is medicine:
164- Messenger
of Allah (ﷺ) commanded the licking of fingers (after eating) and the
cleaning of the dish, saying: "You do not know in what portion the
Blessing (of Allah) lies".
The sunnah creates unity and security:
165- Messenger
of Allah (ﷺ) said, "On the Day of Resurrection you will be assembled
barefooted, naked and uncircumcised". He then recited: "As We began
the first creation, We shall repeat it. (It is) a promise binding upon Us.
Truly, We shall do it," and continued: "The first to be clothed on
the Day of Resurrection will be (Prophet) Ibrahim. Then some of my Companions
will be taken to the left, (i.e., towards Hell-fire) and when I will say, 'They
belong to my Ummah, O my Rubb!' It would be said: 'You do not know what they
invented after you had left them.' I shall then say as the righteous
slave [i.e., 'Isa (Jesus (ﷺ)] said: 'And I
was a witness over them while I was amongst them, when You took me up, You were
the Watcher over them and You are a Witness to all things. If you punish them,
they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily, You, only You are the
All-Mighty, the All-Wise.' I shall be told: 'They continued to turn on their
heels since you parted from them".
The sunnah makes people responsible and not
cultural:
166- 'Abdullah bin Mughaffal (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited flicking pebbles by the index finger and the thumb
(الخذف);
and he said, "It does not kill a game animal nor does it inflict wound on
the enemy, but breaks the tooth and gorges the eye".
The sunnah liberates, gives intellect and most of –
it gives him a path to Allah:
167- 'Abis bin Rabi'ah (May Allah be pleased with him)
reported:
I saw 'Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased
with him) kissing the Black Stone (Al-Hajar Al-Aswad) and saying: "I know
that you are just a stone and that you can neither do any harm nor give
benefit. Had I not seen Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
kissing you, I would not have kissed you".
Conditions
for Calling to the Sunnah:
1)
Ikhlas
2)
Knowledge
3)
Knows the state of the
people
4)
Knows the opinions they
follow
5)
What they are following
is ACTUALLY a confliction
6)
Ability to call and
challenge
7)
It doesn't lead to
greater harm; e.g. insulting deities and religious holidays
QUESTION: When does a person leave
Ahl Sunnah?
ANSWER:
When they leave the Manhaj OR knowingly the
Ijmaa of the Salaf OR adopt an Usl from the Usool of the people of innovation
(this could also be a matter of Furoo).
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An innovation by which a person is counted as being
from the people of desires is that which is when he opposes the Book and the
Sunnah, such as the innovation of the Khwarij, Rawafid, al-Qadriyyah and the
Murji’ah.
-Ibn Taymiyyah
-The people of desires often refers to the
Imaam who act upon their Shubhaat (thus not necessarily all followers of
innovation).
-However, this DOES include the layman who
vehemently clings onto an opposing view because of his partisanship.
-The general layman who doesn’t know that he’s
following an innovator may not be sinful, BUT is not from Ahl as-Sunnah.
-ash-Shatibi
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