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How can we expect to choose an Imam and make him in charge, and then all of sudden come Ramadan time, his authority has been revoked?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.

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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