Narrated Abu Huraira:
A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it." The Prophet said, "Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with him." ... (to be continued)
Ta'budu Allaha wa laa tushriku bihi shai'aa.
Worship Allah and do not associate partners with him. This was the first thing that the Prophet SAW mentioned as his recipe for Jannah. The first part of this step is, worship Allah, acknowledge Allah as your lord, and the second part is to not associate any partners with him. The Prophet is basically telling us to not commit shirk.
Now all of us know what shirk is. And we feel that we know it so well that it gets to a point where we feel it is elementary for us to talk about shirk, right? 'This is baby stuff, tell me something that I don't know', right? However, we have to be careful, because there is a tradition of the Prophet SAW that is extremely powerful in conveying a certain message, and it goes something like this:
On the Day of Judgement, the first to be brought forward to Allah will be the one who died as a martyr, and Allah will make known to him His favors and the man will recognize, and then Allah will ask , 'What did you do about this?' And the man will reply that he fought for the sake of Allah until he died a martyr, and Allah will say, No, you have lied, but you fought so that the people would say look at this man, he was so brave, he fought and died in the path of Allah, and you got what you wanted. So he will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.
And then he will be brought who had memorized and recited the Qur'an, and Allah will ask him what he did about the favours that he granted him, and the man will say that he learned the Qur'an and recited it for Allah's sake and he seeked and gained knowledge and taught it for Allah's sake, and Allah will say, No, you have lied. But you learned and recited the Qur'an so the people would say that this person is a Qari'! And you gained knowledge and taught it so people would say that this person is an Aalim! And you got what you wanted in the Dunya. And so this person will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.
And then he will be brought who never had an oppurtunity pass him by without him giving his wealth for the cause of Allah, and Allah will ask him what he did with His favors he bestowed upon him, and he will say that he donated and gave generously in the path of Allah, and he will be told, No, you have lied. Instead you gave that money so that people would say that this person is so generous! And you got what you wanted in the Dunya. There will be nothing left for him in the Akhirah. And he will be dragged on his face and thrown into the Fire.
This is the reality of Shirk, because this is what the Prophet SAW feared for his Ummah more than the Dajjal. It is the hidden shirk, which is none other than Riyaa', or showing off. And this is an issue for all of us, whether we be the layman or the greatest scholar, it is equally incumbant on all of us to correct and constantly strive to perfect our intentions. And the scholars say that this is the hardest thing for a believer to control! And all of us will know this to be true by experience!
So when we read or hear an Ayah that says Worship Allah alone, or a tradition such as this, where the Prophet SAW says Worship Allah and do not associate any partners with him, we've got to pay attention! Take heed! This isn't a point we can just skip because we're not in our houses worshipping idols, but this is such a crucial matter that it can turn the greatest of deeds, the martyr! The Hafidh! The one who gives his wealth for Allah! This minor shirk of showing off can turn these things into absolutely nothing!
Summer camp started over here, and I've been working with the kids as a counselor/teacher and what not, and our theme for this week is Niyyah or Intentions. Today the Imam took over Islamic Studies and talked about intentions and how we should make sure our intentions are pure. And so a kid raised his hand and made a comment where he said that this is so easy to talk about, but so hard to do. This kid said out loud what we all know and feel in our hearts. Easier said than done.
And so the Sheikh replied, that THIS is the struggle, for us to constantly renew our intentions, constantly ask WHY it is we are doing what we are doing, struggle with the whispers and plots of Shaytan to turn our deeds into wasted energy and wasted breath, and IF one day, some day, you are able to do this, to purify your intentions in whatever you do, know that you will be going to sleep that night as one who will enter Paradise, because you have purified yourself from the inside out.
Ya Allah, help us in our battle against ourselves and the whispers of Shaytan and help us purify our intentions and make everything for Your safe alone, Aameen.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Ata A'rabi...
Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 23, Number 480:
Narrated Abu Huraira:A Bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "Tell me of such a deed as will make me enter Paradise, if I do it." ... (to be continued)
The bedouins of Arabia were known for their simplistic and often rough or frank approach to issues and questions, as was a reflection of their rough and humble lifestyles. However, this question that he asked, a bedouin from the desert, was almost the exact same question another man asked the Prophet SAW also. This man was known as A'lamul Halal wal Haraam, the most knowledgeable about what was Halal and what was Haram, Muadh Ibn Jabal, the scholar of Islam, HE asks the Prophet SAW this exact same question on one occasion:
"O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a deed which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hell-fire."
And what did the Prophet SAW say about his question? He said that you have asked me about a GREAT MATTER. Sa'altu 'an 'adheem!
What does this show us, that the bedouin and the simple man and the scholar of Islam Muadh Ibn Jabal are asking the SAME QUESTION, that this is what is important! A lot of times we miss the point of our existence and what we are working for. Bust out a question and answer session and you'll get every question in the world but something like this! And this is an issue and a question for everybody! Not just the laypeople and not just the scholars but everyone!
So from this tradition of the Prophet SAW we can immediately learn one thing, and that is, 'What do we ask?' What is the value and the point of what we are asking, and is it benefiting us in the long run or is it just trivia and facts that we can throw down on people when we want to sound smart?
Another point to be made from this tradition is a question that stems from the first, and that is, 'Who do we ask from?' Many times people will have questions, but they just don't know who to go to? Allah SWT mentions in the Qur'an that we should ask the people of knowledge when we do not know. So we go to the scholars. That is who we ask. But then who is a scholar. And so it comes down to who is an Aalim...is it the person sitting in an interview on Fox News or Oprah, or the person with the beard who wears a thobe and kufi?
One time a person asked this same question to Sheikh Saleh Ibn Abdul Aziz, and he responded in two words. He said: Al-Aalimu NAAQIL. He said the person you should go to, the true scholar is the NAAQIL. Now what is that? The root of this word naqala means to transmit something, and even in urdu, it is said that if a person is doing naql of somebody else, they are copying them. What the Sheikh was giving this person was a criteria to judge who was a scholar and who wasn't, and this was not based on their reputation, what school they went to or their appearance, but it was in the way they actually answered the question. Were they doing Naql of somebody else, somebody before them? Were they doing Naql of the chain of transmission of all knowledge, namely that : Allah SWT says in His Book this, the Prophet SAW has said this, his companions they said this, the Tabi'een said this and those after them said this, the great Imams said this and the scholars of the past said this, the scholars of today say this, and finally, my understanding from this...is this.
Al-Deenun Naseeha
Assalaamu alaikum
Tameem ad-Daaree RA narrates:
“The Prophet SAW said, (three times) “The Religion is naseehah.” We said, “To whom?” He said, “To Allaah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and the general people.” Related by Muslim (no. 55)
The Prophet SAW mentioned these five categories that we should have this Naseeha towards. Allah, His Book, His messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the common folk. The first three were discussed already, so now the fourth category is the leaders of the Muslims. How can we perform this Naseeha towards the leaders of the Muslims? First of all, the leader doesn't necessarily have to be the Khalifa, but it can be anyone in authority over a group of Muslims, whether that be council members of a community, or the Imam of the masjid. These people are considered the leaders of the community, and we must do this Naseeha towards them.
3 things were mentioned in this Naseeha. The first was that we make Duah for our leaders. It seems like every time something goes wrong in a community, we all like to point our fingers to the authority, right? And not only do we point, but we begin to talk and criticize. The leaders did this, and the leaders did that. Why don't we ever think to follow the tradition of Rasoolullah SAW and firstly and primarily make duah for our leaders? That Allah guide them and us to the correct way and correct their mistakes as well as ours and reward them for their continuous efforts.
The second was that we ADVISE them, and when we advise them, we do so in the best of manners. That doesn't mean in front of the entire Jama'ah with hundreds listening, or during the Jumuah khutbah! It means to advise them under circumstances that would actually allow them to listen and take into consideration what you are offering to them.
The third was that we OBEY them. This means that the final decision is in the Amir's hands. We can advise them, but the decision is theirs. How can we expect to choose an Imam and make him in charge, and then all of sudden come Ramadan time, his authority has been revoked? This is just an example. If there is an issue with a person's methodology, let it be an issue from the very beginning right? We can't say that this person is our Imam, we listen and we obey, but then when a decision has been made that is contrary to our interests or preference, then this person is no longer in charge? This is part of the Naseeha that we must have towards our leaders, that we obey them when they make a decision. We see this in Masajid a lot today, that the people do not fulfill this Naseeha towards their leaders, whether it be the general people towards the council, or the council towards Imam, or whatever. And this leads to nothing else but division.
Ummul Mu'mineen Aisha RA said that she had never seen the Ummah of Muhammad SAW ABANDON a verse of the Qur'an the way they abandoned the verse, "And if two groups of believers quarrel or argue or fight amongst each other, then RECTIFY the matters and do ISLAH between them."
Rectify. Not choose sides and add to the problem. Remember that Allah mentions both parties are BELIEVERS, even though they are fighting each other, which is why we need to work to settle the differences in the best of manners.
Imam Abu Ja'far Al-Tahawy was a famous Imam who wrote a manual on Aqeedah and the belief of the Ahlul-Sunnah which is still used universally till this day. In it he wrote 105 points of belief, and in point 102 he says:
وَنَرَى الجَمَاعَةَ حَقًّا وَصَوَاباً، والفُرْقَةَ زَيْغاً وَعَذَاباً
And We understand and believe that the JAMA'AH, or the congregation and majority is the TRUTH and that which is CORRECT. And disunity is a DEVIATION and a PUNISHMENT from Allah in this life.
-----------------------------------------
May Allah forgive me for anything that i have said or paraphrased incorrectly. This is the first installment of many to come iA excerpts from the hadith halaqah's given after Maghrib prayer at our Masjid. As you might of noticed, these points were only for one part of the hadith, and that's because this was the only one i was able to catch for this specific hadith. iA, the ones to come will be more complete.
Hopefully this will benefit you and I both...wasalaam
Tameem ad-Daaree RA narrates:
“The Prophet SAW said, (three times) “The Religion is naseehah.” We said, “To whom?” He said, “To Allaah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and the general people.” Related by Muslim (no. 55)
The Prophet SAW mentioned these five categories that we should have this Naseeha towards. Allah, His Book, His messenger, the leaders of the Muslims, and the common folk. The first three were discussed already, so now the fourth category is the leaders of the Muslims. How can we perform this Naseeha towards the leaders of the Muslims? First of all, the leader doesn't necessarily have to be the Khalifa, but it can be anyone in authority over a group of Muslims, whether that be council members of a community, or the Imam of the masjid. These people are considered the leaders of the community, and we must do this Naseeha towards them.
3 things were mentioned in this Naseeha. The first was that we make Duah for our leaders. It seems like every time something goes wrong in a community, we all like to point our fingers to the authority, right? And not only do we point, but we begin to talk and criticize. The leaders did this, and the leaders did that. Why don't we ever think to follow the tradition of Rasoolullah SAW and firstly and primarily make duah for our leaders? That Allah guide them and us to the correct way and correct their mistakes as well as ours and reward them for their continuous efforts.
The second was that we ADVISE them, and when we advise them, we do so in the best of manners. That doesn't mean in front of the entire Jama'ah with hundreds listening, or during the Jumuah khutbah! It means to advise them under circumstances that would actually allow them to listen and take into consideration what you are offering to them.
The third was that we OBEY them. This means that the final decision is in the Amir's hands. We can advise them, but the decision is theirs. How can we expect to choose an Imam and make him in charge, and then all of sudden come Ramadan time, his authority has been revoked? This is just an example. If there is an issue with a person's methodology, let it be an issue from the very beginning right? We can't say that this person is our Imam, we listen and we obey, but then when a decision has been made that is contrary to our interests or preference, then this person is no longer in charge? This is part of the Naseeha that we must have towards our leaders, that we obey them when they make a decision. We see this in Masajid a lot today, that the people do not fulfill this Naseeha towards their leaders, whether it be the general people towards the council, or the council towards Imam, or whatever. And this leads to nothing else but division.
Ummul Mu'mineen Aisha RA said that she had never seen the Ummah of Muhammad SAW ABANDON a verse of the Qur'an the way they abandoned the verse, "And if two groups of believers quarrel or argue or fight amongst each other, then RECTIFY the matters and do ISLAH between them."
Rectify. Not choose sides and add to the problem. Remember that Allah mentions both parties are BELIEVERS, even though they are fighting each other, which is why we need to work to settle the differences in the best of manners.
Imam Abu Ja'far Al-Tahawy was a famous Imam who wrote a manual on Aqeedah and the belief of the Ahlul-Sunnah which is still used universally till this day. In it he wrote 105 points of belief, and in point 102 he says:
وَنَرَى الجَمَاعَةَ حَقًّا وَصَوَاباً، والفُرْقَةَ زَيْغاً وَعَذَاباً
And We understand and believe that the JAMA'AH, or the congregation and majority is the TRUTH and that which is CORRECT. And disunity is a DEVIATION and a PUNISHMENT from Allah in this life.
-----------------------------------------
May Allah forgive me for anything that i have said or paraphrased incorrectly. This is the first installment of many to come iA excerpts from the hadith halaqah's given after Maghrib prayer at our Masjid. As you might of noticed, these points were only for one part of the hadith, and that's because this was the only one i was able to catch for this specific hadith. iA, the ones to come will be more complete.
Hopefully this will benefit you and I both...wasalaam
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