Qur'an: Spending the cherished

"You shall never attain righteousness

until you spend from what you love.

And whatever it is you spend,

God is fully aware of it."

(Surah Aal Imran, Verse 92)

Spending the cherished:

to give away what one likes and holds dear,

preferring another over one's self,
knowing with certitude that God recompenses.

Umar: Spiritual well-being

"Pay a great deal of attention to your heart.

Talk to your troops, exhort them

and remind them of the importance of good intentions

and of checking on themselves.

Patience, patience.

For the help of God comes

in accordance with how much one checks himself.

Ask God to keep you safe and sound,

and frequently repeat the words:

'There is no power and no strength except with God.'

Fear God and put your hope in Him,

and do not take anything for granted..."

(Snippets of Umar ibn al-Khattab's advice to Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas [may God be pleased with them both] when he appointed him commander over the Muslim army in Iraq)

The etiquettes of giving in charity

Here's some lessons on giving charity taken out from verses 261 to 274 of Surah Al-Baqarah:

1. Give to attain God's approval, and as an affirmation of your faith, and not to be seen by people.
2. Do not follow your giving with reminders of benevolence or hurtful words.
3. A kind word and forgiveness is better than a charitable deed followed by hurtful words.
4. Give from the good things you have acquired and not from the bad things which you yourself would not accept.
5. To give openly is good, and to give in secret is even better, and know that God is well aware of all that you do.

Ikhlaas

Some say, it's
sincerity,
good faith
and a pure intention.

Ultimately, it's
that secret
none knows
but God and I.

Ma'ariful Qur'an: Blessings – The tangible and intangible

Food, wealth, health, family, security.

Honour, happiness, intelligence, wisdom, guidance.

You alone our Lord

To You alone we direct our worship.
Free we are from submission
to any beside You.

From You alone we seek our help.
Free we are from dependence
on any beside You.

In Your hand we are our Lord.

Congratulations resistant soul...

Congratulations for the one who never found pleasure praying,
never throughout his life,
yet he persisted
in obedience to God's command.

Congratulations on him who continued praying
through compulsion and heaviness,
finding no enjoyment,
of an increased reward.

Congratulations
for enthusiasm was never demanded,
nor a condition for the acceptance of deeds,
only sincerity.

O Allah, accept from us our deeds. Indeed You are the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

It's rude to point :)

"...If for some reason he [sallallahu 3alayhi wa wasallam] made a gesture or pointed at something, he did it with a full hand..."

"... The ulama say the reason being is that it is against humbleness to point with one finger only. Some ulama say it was his noble habit to signal the oneness of Allah with one finger, therefore he did not signal anyone in that manner..."

(Source: Shamaa'il Tirmidhi)

Evils of debates

As well as the conditions to test your sincerity against (see previous post), Imam Ghazzali (may Allah have mercy on him) specifies ten evils of debates, as follows:

"(1) Envy... A debater is never free from envy and hatred. Envy is a burning fire. One who falls in it gets punishment in the world...
(2) Pride...
(3) Rancour [i.e. a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will]. A debater is seldom free from the evil of rancour...
(4) Back-biting... A debater ascribes to his opponent foolishness, ignorance and stupidity.
(5) Declaration of self-purity...
(6) Spying and prying into the secrets of [one's] adversary...
(7) Hypocrisy. A debater expresses his friendship for his adversary outwardly but he cherishes hatred for him inwardly...
(8) To turn away from truth. The most hateful thing to a debater is to reject the truth revealed to his adversary and thus he takes to deception and deceit...
(9) ... show and battering [flattering?] the people in an effort to win their favour and to mislead them. Hypocrisy is the greatest disease with which a debater is attacked and it is a major sin.
(10) Deception. Debaters are compelled to deception."

Conditions of Debates

Just found a beautiful characterisation of debates and the debater in Imam Ghazzali's Ihya-Ulum-Id-Deen. Imam Ghazzali specifies eight conditions which provide a good means of identifying when we are debating for the sake of God and when we are debating for other purposes. Here's the fifth and sixth conditions:

"(5)... the debate should be held in private in preference to open meetings in presence of noted people and in grandeur because privacy is more suitable for clear thinking and to examine what is right and what is wrong."

"(6)... the debater should like truth in the same spirit as a lost thing is searched for. He should not mind whether the truth is found by him or by his adversary. When Hazrat Umar was once given sermon, a woman pointed out to him his mistake to which he submitted. At another time, Hazrat Ali was asked a question by a man and he replied. When the man pointed out his mistake, he admitted it."

Signs of the Learned Man

"... Another sign of the learned man of the next world is that he has got no attraction for various kinds of foods and drinks, luxury in dresses, furniture and houses, but rather he adopts moderate courses in all these things following the other sages and he is best satisfied with the least of everything. The less a man is attracted towards luxuries, the more he will be close to God and the more he will be in association of the learned men of the hereafter and in rank...

... In short, use of ornamentation in permissible things is not unlawful but it creates fondness for these and to give them up at the end becomes difficult..."

(Source: Imam Ghazali's Ihya Ulum-id-Deen)

Let us ponder:

The learning of the learned man goes back to whom?
The Companions of the Apostle of God.
The learning of the Companions goes back to whom?
The Apostle of God.

The Apostle of God erected palaces for himself where?
Not in this world.
The Companions erected palaces for themselves where?
Not in this world.

And so we ask:
Who is our master and our teacher?
The likes of Pharaoh and Namrud?
Nay, rather, in the Prophet of God do we find an excellent example, Sallallahu 3alayhi wa sallam.

13.2, Weeping out of fear and yearning for Allah

Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted, says in the Qur’an, “Do you then wonder at this recitation (the Qur’an)? And you laugh at it and weep not, wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements.” (53:59-61)

From the first part of the article, insha-Allah, we now understand the importance of weeping out of fear and yearning for Allah. In this part I hope to provide two examples from the Prophet (SAWS) himself - examples from which we can draw inspiration insha-Allah.

The first example: Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported:

The Prophet (SAWS) said to me, “Recite the Qur'an to me.”

I said, “O Messenger of Allah! Shall I recite the Qur'an to you, when it has been revealed to you?”

He (SAWS) replied, “I love to hear it recited by others.”

So I recited to him a portion from Surat-an-Nisaa'. When I reached the Aayah (verse): “How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad (SAWS)) as a witness against these people?” (4:41)

He (SAWS) said, “Enough for now.”

When I looked at him I saw his eyes were shedding tears.

(Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

This Hadith tells us that besides reciting the Noble Qur’an alone, we should also recite it with others and listen to it being recited by others so that we can contemplate further on it.

A second lesson we take from this Hadith is that reciting the Qur’an and listening to the Qur’an being recited should penetrate our hearts, so much so that it causes our eyes to shed tears.

The second example: Abdullah bin ash-shikhkheeri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I came to the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) when he was performing prayers. He was sobbing and his chest sounded like a boiling kettle.

(Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi)

This Hadith tells us how the Prophet (SAWS) sometimes wept in prayer out of fear of Allah, and as discussed in the first part, to weep in the course of supplication and at the thought of our appearance before Allah reflects piety.

We ask Allah to unite our hearts, to fill our hearts with the light of the Qur’an, and to beautify our character with understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the final Messenger (SAWS).

13.1, Weeping out of fear and yearning for Allah

I begin in the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, Who says in the Qur’an, “And when they listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger (Muhammad (SAWS)), you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they have recognised. They say: ‘Our Lord! We believe; so write us down among the witnesses.

And why should we not believe in Allah and in that which has come to us of the truth? And we wish that our Lord will admit us along with the righteous people.’

So because of what they said, Allah rewarded them Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), they will abide therein forever. Such is the reward of al-muhsinoon (the good-doers).” (5: 83-85)

My aim in writing this article is simple: to give advice after advice, example after example to demonstrate the humility that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) and the Companions (RA) had before Allah. I intend to do this here by focusing on just one manifestation of this humility, which was their weeping out of fear and yearning for Allah.

Insha-Allah each of us will come away from this article wanting to take a time-out, lock our self away, sit in private, reflect and weep out of fear of Allah and out of a yearning to meet Allah (SWT) in a good state.

I intend to cover this topic in two parts: In the first part, by selecting just three Sunan (actions and sayings) of the Prophet (SAWS), I hope to establish the high merit of weeping out of fear of Allah. In the second part I hope to provide two inspiring examples of the Prophet (SAWS) himself weeping out of fear of Allah.

The first Hadith: Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) delivered a Khutbah to us the like of which I had never heard from him before. In the course of the Khutbah, he (SAWS) said:
“If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.”
Thereupon those present covered their faces and began to sob.

(al-Bukhari and Muslim)

What do we see here? We see here proof of the fact that the Companions of the Prophet (SAWS) would sometimes weep out of fear of Allah when they heard sermons and preaching. A stark contrast to today; preachers like me that utter words that have not yet reached our hearts and audiences that are present in person, physically, but whose minds are elsewhere.

The second Hadith: Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) said:
“One who weeps out of fear of Allah, will not enter the Hellfire till milk returns back in the udder; and the dust raised on account of fighting in the path of Allah and the smoke of Hell will never exist together.”

(At-Tirmidhi)

A person who has such a fear and awareness of Allah that he weeps on account of it; it is hard to imagine that he can be disobedient to Allah. Rather, his would be a life spent in obedience of Allah and strict abstinence from sins, and we can quite comfortably say that it is impossible for such a person to go to Hell just as it is impossible for milk to return in the udders.

Similarly, one who fights for the sake of Allah, and Allah (SWT) knows best who fights in His path, is perfectly safe from Hell because the dust that falls on him whilst he is out in the path of Allah cannot mix with the smoke of Hell.

Indeed, such is the excellence of fearing Allah that it keeps us away from disobeying Him (SWT), and such is the excellence of shedding a tear out of fear of Allah that it is a drop beloved to Allah.

Not only does weeping out of fear of Allah make the Hellfire forbidden for us, but this category of people are one of the seven whom Allah will provide His Shade on the Day (of Resurrection) when there will be no shade other than this shade.

“… a man who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes become tearful.”

(al-Bukhari and Muslim)

When the world comes knocking at your door...

"Rabia-b-Asem said: Caliph Yezid sent me once to Abu Hanifa and he wanted to appoint him as cashier of the state treasury. On his refusal to accept the post, he was given twenty stripes.
...
It is narrated that he (Imam Abu Hanifa) was once offered the post of chief justice of the state, but he said: 'I am not fit for this post.' When he was asked about the reason, he said: 'If I have told the truth, it is good for the post: and if I have told a lie, I am unfit for that post as I am a liar.'"

(Source: Imam Ghazali's Ihya Ulum-id-Deen)

A great Imam, a great ascetic, a God-fearing man,
good in character, good in conduct, good in deed;
seeking the pleasure of the One Most High,
eternal and absolute, as He is;
fleeing from the prizes of this world,
temporary and unfulfilling, as they are;
preferring a king's punishment
to that of the kingdom's Possessor.
May Allah have Mercy on him and us all.

Tips for a better delivery

Some advice for a better sermon, insha-Allah:

(1) Words from the heart reach the hearts. Speak words that hold true for yourself and your own internal state.
(2) Project your voice and speak into the microphone. Get your stomach into it!
(3) Maintain eye contact with your audience; all of them, at the front, at the back, to the right, to the left. Don't look at one particular person for too long.
(4) Don’t hide behind your papers; keep your papers low so that they do not act as a barrier between you and your audience.
(5) Use visual aid whenever possible (hands, facial expressions etc).
(6) Don't speak in a monotone voice; fast to slow, slow to fast, high to low, low to high, keep the audience attentive and on their toes.
(7) Don’t fidget and keep your hands out of your pockets.
(8) Say “we and I” and do not say “you!”. Remember: You are advising yourself first and foremost. Do not forget this.
(9) Relax; speak slowly and clearly. Take deep breaths and pause between points. Allow the audience to absorb your arguments.
(10) Don't prepare too much that you have to rush to get through it all in the short time allocated.
(10) Repeat important points. Three times is a good number.
(11) Check your intention and seek assistance from Allah: "O my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and boldness). And ease my task for me; and loose the knot from my tongue. That they understand my speech." (Dua of Prophet Moses (upon whom be peace) from the Qur'an; Surah 20, Verses 25-28)

12.2, Uprightness and Steadfastness

In the Name of Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted, Who says in the Qur’an,

"Verily, those who say: 'Our Rabb is (only) Allah,' and thereafter stand firm and straight, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Such shall be the dwellers of Paradise, abiding therein (forever) – a reward for what they used to do." (46:13-14)

From the first part of the article, insha-Allah, we now understand the importance of coupling faith with actions. But is this enough to achieve salvation?

Abu Hurairah (RA) reported: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, "Follow the right path of faith strictly, and be steadfast; and keep in mind that none of you can achieve salvation through his (good) actions."

Someone asked, "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?"

He (SAW) said, "Not even me, unless Allah grants me His Mercy and Grace." (Muslim)

Although the importance of faith and actions is beyond doubt, this Hadith tells us that we cannot depend entirely on this. In particular, this is important because very often there are shortcomings in our actions. It is therefore essential that we pray to Allah that He accept from us our good deeds, that He grant us His Infinite Mercy and that He grant us sincerity because even the greatest noble deed is invalid without it.

Khutbah: Sincerity: Part 2

The Prophet (عليه الصلاة والسلام) said, “When two Muslims are engaged in a combat against each other with their swords and one is killed, both are doomed to Hell.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah! As to the one who kills, it is understandable, but why the slain one?” He (عليه الصلاة والسلام) replied, “He was eager to kill his opponent.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

This Hadith leads to the conclusion that a person will be punished for a sinful intention for which he has made a firm determination and for the commitment of which he has adopted necessary measures, even if he does not succeed in committing it because of a certain obstruction.

Thus determination to commit a deed is different from a thought that occurs in our mind but which we dismiss immediately. A thought is excusable while a person is accountable for his determination.

The one who equips himself, sets out to attack and unlawfully kill another, and then dies in this state is in trouble. Similarly, the one who grooms and perfumes himself, sets off for a rave or a night out in the bar and is struck down by death on his way is in trouble.

Not to end on a pessimistic note, we end with a Hadith Qudsi (Sacred Tradition) which makes clear the Mercy and Grace of Allah and which mentions the magnitude of Divine blessings that Allah bestows upon his faithful slaves on the Day of Resurrection.

The Messenger of Allah (عليه الصلاة والسلام) said that Allah, the Glorious, said, “Verily, Allah Ta’aalaa has ordered that the good and the bad deeds be written down. Then He explained it clearly how: He who intends to do a good deed but he does not do it, then Allah records it for him as a full good deed, but if he carries out his intention, then Allah the Exalted, writes it down for him as from ten to seven hundred folds, and even more. But if he intends to do an evil act and has not done it, then Allah writes it down with Him as a full good deed, but if he intends it and has done it, Allah writes it down as one bad deed.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

So I conclude and I remind myself before any other, keep your heart in check and your thoughts clean, intend nothing but goodness and follow through with acts that you will be proud to see on your scales on the Day of Judgement.

Khutbah: Sincerity: Part 1

I begin in the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and I begin with His Most Splendid of Words as revealed in the Quran: "And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone, and perform As-Salaat and give Zakaat, and that is the right religion." (98:5)

Further, Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted says, "Say (O Muhammad (ﷺ)): Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it." (3:29)

When we gather here every Friday, we all do so for the same purpose and for the same duration, yet there is something that distinguishes the act and the reward of one of us from that of the other.

What is it that distinguishing mark?

It is as ‘Umar bin Al-Khattaab (رضي الله عنه) reported that the Messenger of Allah (عليه الصلاة والسلام) said, "The deeds are considered by the intentions, and a person will get the reward according to his intention…" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

It may be that one of us has come here as a chore, he dreads attending, looks forward to the end and feels that his hour is wasted. For him will be his reward as he deserves.

But then, it may be that his brother sitting next to him has come here with a totally different mindset. He has checked his self and has made clear his intention. He has left his assignments behind him and has set aside this hour to absorb himself in the remembrance of Allah, to listen attentively to the sermon and to meet and greet his brothers – only for the sake of Allah. For him will be his reward as he deserves and it will be far greater than anything he can imagine.

The reward of each of us is according to the deed AND our intention.

On the basis of this Hadith, it is clear that the real basis of one’s actions is Niyyah (intention) and everyone will be rewarded according to his Niyyah.

Where is this Niyyah (intention) formed and found? It is not an expression said out of routine, as some people do prior to prayer. Niyyah is to consult your heart and to make up your mind as to what you intend to do and for whom you intend to do it.

As an example, the one who stands in prayer, putting on an attentive posture and elongating it, all the while his heart and mind are busy thinking about how the people will praise him, for him will be the flattery and praise of people but that is where his reward will stop.

On the other hand, the one who stands in prayer, praying as though he is seeing Allah and knowing that Allah is aware of his thoughts and intentions, and he cares nothing for the praise of men, for him will be the Good Pleasure of Allah.

Another point evident from this Hadith is that Ikhlaas (sincerity) is a must for every action. In every righteous deed we should seek only the Pleasure of Allah; otherwise, that deed is in vain.

And those deeds and pursuits that we would otherwise think of as “worldly” can easily become a source of reward for us. How? By means of a sincere intention.

For example, if you are studying purely for status, then you will receive the certificates and the attention that you desire. On the other hand, if your intention for studying is sincere and your aim is noble, for example, to be of benefit to others, then for you will be the reward of this life and the excellent reward of the Hereafter.

Another example, if you are working so that you can buy the fanciest of cars and the latest of gadgets, then for you will be what you desire. On the other hand, if you are working and earning money with a sincere intention and your aim is noble, for example, to support and build a righteous family, then you will see the fruits of your work in this life and the next.