Hadhrat ‘Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) narrates that Rasullullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said:“Allah exalts many people by means of this Book (the Holy Qu’ran), and He also degrades and disgraces many others by means of the same.”
People who believe in the Holy Book and act upon it are given by Allah position of honour and respect, both in this life as well as in the Hereafter, while those who do not act upon it are disgraced by Allah. This principle is also borne out by the various ayaat of the Holy Qur’an. At one place it reads:
“He misleads many by this Book and guides many thereby.” ( Qu'ran 2:26)
At another place we come across:
“And We send down in the Qur’an that which is a healing and mercy for believers, though it increases for the evil-doers naught save ruin.”
The Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) is also reported to have said: “Many hypocrites of this Ummat will be the qurraa, i.e., those who recite the Qur’an correctly.” In ‘Ihya-ul-Ulum’ it is reported from some Mashaa’ikh. “As soon as a man starts reading a surah (chapter of the Holy Qur’an), the Angels start invoking mercy for him and they continue to do so till he stops reading; on the contrary another person starts reading a surah and the Angels start cursing him and they continue to do so till he completes the reading.”
Some scholars have stated that sometimes a man reads the Holy Qur’an and invokes curses on himself without even knowing it. For instance, he reads in the Holy Qur’an:
“Beware, the curse of Allah is on the wrong-doers” and he exposes himself to this warning because of his wrong-doings.
In the like manner, he reads in the Qur’an:
“The curse of Allah is upon the liars”.
In fact he exposes himself to the warning by reason of his being himself a liar.
‘Aamir ibn Waathilah (Radhiyallaho anho) says that Hadhrat ‘Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) had appointed Naafi’ ibn Abdul Harith as the Governor of Makkah. Once he asked the latter as to whom he had appointed as the administrator of forests. “Ibn Abzi” replied Naafi’. “Who is Ibn-e-Abzi?” said Hadhrat ‘Umar (Radhiyallaho anho). “He is one of our slaves” was the reply. “Why have you appointed a slave the ameer (leader)?” objected Hadhrat ‘Umar (Radhiyallaho anho). “Because he recites the Book of Allah” said Naafi’. At this, Hadhrat ‘Umar (Radhiyallaho anho) narrated the hadith that it had been said by Rasullullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) that, because of this Book. Allah elevates many people and degrades many.
As we all know, the adab of fasting doesn’t just involve thirst and hunger, but also involves fasting with all the parts of the body. Those include the heart, the tongue (hence avoiding Al-Ghiba), the eyes, ears, hands and feet.
“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband’s fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.”
(Quran:Surah 24: verse 30 and 31)
The eye is an opening to the heart and a door to the spirit. Ali ibn Abi Talib once asked the Prophet (saw) about the gaze. He (saw) replied: ‘Lower your gaze’Hence whoever does not lower his gaze will be afflicted by 4 calamities.
1. The disposing of the heart in every direction, and its tearing apart in every field. As a consequence, it has no stability and enjoys no inner peace. Neither is it able to mobilize all its power. It is wounded and weakened and quite rightly complains of the misdeeds of the eyes, its gazes and glances.
2. Punishments of the soul and training it with the loss what is saw and did not get. the soul, because of the act of the eye, is in constant distress, anxiety and turmoil.
3. With the release of forbidden glances, the sweetnesses of worship and obedience is lost. Thus, say goodbye to the light of faith if the eye is not disciplined and made to fast from the unlawful sights. The souls will neither taste faith not find conviction except through the control of the eye.
4. Because of the great sin incurred by its violation of honour and privacy, the eyes would be rewarded with great sin. No one ever fell into filth and perversion except after his eyes had gone astray. Surely there is no movement and no power except with Allah the most High, the most Magnificent.
5 Benefits of Lowering the gaze:
1. Obedience to Allah (swt) command to lower the gaze and hence a blessing and honour in this world and the akhirra inshaAllah.
2. Peace of the heart, its nourishment as well as its realization of its full potential, comfort, happiness and ease.
3. Avoidance of calamaties and safety from trials and misdeeds.
4. Allah opens for His servants the doors of Ilm, understanding, success and uprightness; a fitting reward for piety.
5. Allah will instil a sense of discernment in the heart of the learned and His perfect light in the souls of the truthful; again a reward for those who lowered their gaze.
So the eyes are expected to fast in obedience to the Ever living, the Selfsubsisting. There are people whose stomach fasts from food and dirnk but their eyes graze shrubbery of forbidden sights. Such people do not know the real essence of fasting. So, let our eyes fast from the unlawful things in the same way that we abstein from food and drink inshaAllah. Let our hearts be healthy and our spirits relax. Truly by controlling our every action, and controlling every part of our body in accordance with the correct islamic adab we will be of those who will have taqwā….insha’Allah
The ear is responsible before Allah for what it hears. The righteous people are those who listen carefully to what is said and follow it. The ears fast from listening to obscenities, music and lewd material. To the righteous there is an illustrious fast from hearing things that may anger Allah (SWT) both in and outside of Ramadhan. There are those amongst us, that fill their ears with forbidden sounds and sinful words and forbid their ears from the Noble Quran, the noble, distinct and divine audition. Listening to the Quran bears the fruit of faith, guidance, light and prosperity; filling the heart with wisdom, tranquility, intimacy and contentment. It is a source of protection from dangerous, deviant, and sinful thoughts. So the power of the ears lies in rememberance, beneficial knowledge, good advice, profound manners,and good speech.
Advice from the Qurān and Sunnāh on the fasting of the ears
And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not, etc.) that of which you have no knowledge (e.g. ones saying: “I have seen,” while in fact he has not seen, or “I have heard,” while he has not heard). Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah).
(Surah Al-Isra: Verse 36)
And surely, We have created many of the jinns and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.
(Surah Al-Araf: Verse 179)
Or do you think that most of them hear or understand? They are only like cattle; nay, they are even farther astray from the Path. (i.e. even worst than cattle).
(Surah Al-Furqan: Verse 44)
And when they (who call themselves Christians) listen to what has been sent down to the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), 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. (Surah Al-Maeda: Verse 83)
And whenever there comes down a Soorah (chapter from the Quran), some of them (hypocrites) say: “Which of you has had his faith increased by it?” As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice. But as for those in whose hearts is a disease (of doubt, disbelief and hypocrisy), it will add suspicion and doubt to their suspicion, disbelief and doubt, and they die while they are disbelievers.
(Surah At- Taubah: Verse 124-125)
And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allah has forbidden).
(Surah Al- Mu’minoon: Verse 3)
And when they hear AlLaghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk), they withdraw from it and say: “To us our deeds, and to you your deeds. Peace be to you. We seek not the ignorant.”
Q. ....and the students refer back to you and to the major scholars and ask them. So what do you advise them. Do you advise them that you approve of entry into the like of these Jamaa'ahs: Jamaa'atul-Ikhwaan, Jamaa'atul-Tableegh, Jamaatul-Jihaad, Jamaa'ah so and so..., or do you advise them to remain upon seeking knowledge with the students of knowledge from the Salafi da'wah?
All praise is for Allaah and may Allaah extol and send blessings of peace upon his Prophet. We advise them all to unite upon a single way, and that is … (words unclear) seeking knowledge, and attaining understanding of the Book and the Sunnah - and to proceed upon the methodology (minhaj) of the Salafus-Saalih. But as for partisanship (tahazzub) for the Ikhwaanul-Muslimeen or Jamaa’atut-Tableegh or so on, then I do not advise that. That is a mistake. Rather we advise them that they should be together upon a single way, a single Jamaa’ah - advising one another upon the truth and…(words unclear), and having allegiance to the Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah. This is the correct way to prevent differences, and if there are groups (jamaa’ahs) upon that way - then that will not harm - for example a group in …(words unclear), or a group for example in San’aa - but all of them are upon the Salafi way - following the Book and the Sunnah, calling to Allaah and having allegiance to the Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah, without partisanship (tahazzub) and without bigotry (ta’assub - rigidity upon a way even if it is false) - that will not harm, even if there is a number of groups as long as their way and their goal is one.
{From the taped cassette (no.11), recorded in the month of Dhul-Hijjah 1408H (1987CE) at ‘at-Tawiyyatul-Islaamiyyah.}
Here are a few completely random quotes that caught my eye from the Imām of the Imāms, the Faqīh, the Walī, the one who needs no introduction, Imām al-A‘dham Nu’man ibn Thābit otherwise known as Imām Abū Hanīfah (radhyAllāhu ‘anhu). He wrote this piece to his illustrious and great student, theQādhī, Imām Abū Yūsuf Muhammad al-Shaybānī, an advice intended to all those who are in positions of authority such as the Scholars, the Students of Knowledge and the Du‘āt: those callers to Allāh who are followed by the people, their advice taken, their actions acted upon and copied.
This specific advice encompasses this great responsibility the People of Allāh have taken upon themselves, in order to help them, protect them, purify their intentions, and fulfil this role which has been accepted by Man, “Indeed he was Unjust, Ignorant.” (33:72)
(These gems have been collected by the Imām, the Hāfidh, Zayn’l-Dīn Ibn Nujaym (d. 970h) in his book“al-Ashbāhu w’l-Nadhā’ir ‘alā madhab Abī Hanīfah an-Nu’mān”.)
“Be with the Ruler like you are with the Fire, benefit from it, but keep your distance.”
To get close to those in authority has always been recognised as the way to becoming rich and successful and thus has always been very tempting and indeed many scholars suffered in falling for this trap; likewise today many activists are courted by world authorities in the same way. This excellent example above shows how one would act with fire, benefiting from it by keeping warm and using it as a fuel to survive, but not getting too close so as to get burnt. This was the way of our blessed Salaf, not wasting their days and nights cursing the Ruler or on the other hand, lavishing him with praise etc, but the middle way, ensuring the best for themselves and the society without compromising the Deen or their honour.
“Seek the sacred knowledge first and then pursue the earning of wealth…”
Because if one is to seek the earning of wealth at the time of learning, then you will be unable to seek the sacred ‘ilm after that because you’ll become occupied with your business, your accounts, buying and selling, the dunya, and then its women and then one is to be married and so on, all before the gaining of knowledge. And how many of us bear witness to this immense truth…
“When you are walking in the street, do not keep turning to your right and left, but keep your eyes on the floor.”
This wonderful quote comes under adab and might be difficult for some people to appreciate. As a person who is respected, one must also act with respect and honour. It is well known amongst the people of manners, that to unnecessarily look around and about, twitching nervously etc is an indication of one’s “instability” almost, and is considered even shameful and damaging to one’s noble character or what is known in Arabic as marū‘ah. Also, one should walk with purpose and intent as the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to do so, and not loiter around in the street, glancing here and there needlessly, also avoiding the risk of seeing things which are not good for one’s soul, as well as other harmful matters. It’s a hard precedent to follow in our time of visual delights which makes this statement all the more alluring.
“When you enter the Hammām don’t pay the same as the normal people, rather, pay more.”
This almost sounds insignificant, but the opposite could not possibly be truer. This is indeed the Prophetic Guidance in the transactions and business affairs of the society. When we look back at the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), we see a man of immense honour, always over-paying when doing some kind of business with his people, easy in bartering, happy to accept what the other party wishes, never looking to cheat the other party or to gain a penny here or there by being miserly.
The generous one is always seen in a good light, with honour, even and especially more so if they are not particularly rich. And the Dā‘ī and other callers to Allāh must never be looked down upon by society, for maybe your actions will lead to a people turning away from the blessed and perfect religion of Islām.
A Hammām by the way is a specific place, what we could best describe today in the West as a Turkish spa at the gym, although there are still a few in the Muslim cities in the East. Of course, the focus in this quote is not on the Baths themselves but rather the principle to be applied everywhere in daily life as I’ve explained above. The Hammām was chosen here because it was a very common place that people would frequent to get a nice hot bath, although it did develop a bad-name after a while once illicit activities started to proliferate there.
“Do not be satisfied with that amount of worship except so that it is more than what the rest do.”
This is very important for those who are seen as examples for the community, for if the people in the society do not see you to be increasing in these acts of ‘ibādah, they will then believe that that you have little desire for the religion, and even worse, that your knowledge has not benefited you at all. So if that is what they see from you, then how will they have the desire to increase in there ownactions? And this is vital for the Du‘āt to know and understand, and know also that this is not contradicting the principles of ikhlās and pure intention just as long as you follow the final piece of golden advice, given by the Imām below.
“Do (worship) in private as you do in public.”
This kind of statement is well known amongst the pious predecessors, and is seen as the perfect cure to showing off and the dangers of riyā’. When one is required to be strict in front of the people and constantly wary of the attention of others whilst you teach, advise, and guide, one allows the perfect opportunity for the devious Shaytān to enter and try and ruin the intentions, and make ones’ actions for the sake of fame and the people. Therefore, follow this simple principle: worship Allāh in private as excellently and perfectly as you do in public in front of the people. This is the real worship of Allāh, the actions of those who are al-Muqarrabūn, al-Mukhlisūn, those close, sincere and beloved to His Majesty; those who stand in the night prayer knowing that it is Allāh alone who Sees them now; those who pay sadaqah so privately, the left hand does not even know what the right hand gave; those who look after the families, their next of kin, involve themselves with good work, all whilst the rest of the people are unaware. This is the ‘ibādah of the pious, the blessed. May Allāh give us the tawfīq to be from them, amīn.
