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The State of Affairs
From the fundamentals of
knowledge which have been neglected by many Muslims is how and when an
action becomes righteous and acceptable to Allâh.
In fact, the matter has
grown worse than that! We live in an age in which many Muslims assume that
whatever actions they undertake as regards the Dîn, then they must
surely be acceptable to Allâh!
Such assumptions -
arising from ignorance - have played a destructive role in the collective
affairs of this Ummah - may Allâh increase it in nobility - and may
possibly being destructive to one's own salvation in the Hereafter, as
Allâh says: [1]
Say! Shall we tell you of those who lost most with
respect to their actions? Those whose efforts have been wasted in this
life, whilst they thought that they were acquiring good by their
actions. [al-Kahf 18:103-104] [2]
So
"the people are of three classes: The righteous Scholar, the student of
Knowledge being upon the path of salvation and the confused rabble who
follow everyone who calls out - bending along with every wind - they are
not enlightened by the light of Knowledge, nor do they lean upon a firm
support." [3]
Two Essential Conditions
It is a must that two
great and important matters be considered for actions to be acceptable:
Firstly: That the
one undertaking the action must intend only the pleasure of Allâh - the
Mighty and Majestic.
Secondly: The
action must be in agreement with the Sunnah of His Messenger
sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam.
If any of these two
conditions are not fulfilled, then the action will neither be righteous,
nor accepted by Allâh. The proof for this is in His saying:
Whosoever expects to meet His Lord, then let him
work actions of righteousness and in the worship of his Lord associate
no one as a partner. [al-Kahf 18:110] [4]
In this noble âyah
Allâh commanded that the action should be righteous - in agreement with
the Sharî'ah - and it should be sincere - associating none with
him. [5]
Similar to this is the
saying of the Prophet - sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam:
"Indeed Allâh does not look at your faces nor your
wealth. But he looks at your hearts and your actions." [6]
So, contrary to what
many people think, sincerity alone is not sufficient for worshipping Allâh
- but along with that it must be in conformity with the Sunnah.
Thus the condition of the action must be such that it confirms.
Righteous Actions
Personal tastes, desires
and perceptions - intellectual or otherwise(7) - are not the criteria for
judging whether actions are righteous or not. Allâh says:
Who is more astray than one who follows his own
desires without guidance from Allâh [al-Qasas 28:50]
Rather, a righteous
action is one "that is commanded by Allah and his
Messenger - and that is obedience." [8] And this obedience must be
upon the understanding of the companions - radiallâhu 'anhum. Since
they are for this Ummah - after its Prophet sallallâhu 'alayhi
wa sallam - the custodians of correct Knowledge ('Ilm), action
('Aml), belief (I'tiqâd) and methodology (Manhaj). As
the Prophet 'alayhis-salâm said:
"My Companions are the custodians for my Ummah, so
when my companions go, that which has been promised to my Ummah will
come to it." [9]
And the Prophet
sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam warned us about actions which have no
basis from the Book of Allâh and the Sunnah of His Messenger, by
saying:
"Whosoever does an action that we have not
commanded then it will be rejected." [10]
Sincerity - the Essence of
Tawhîd
Sincerity demands that
one seeks to do actions which Allâh is pleased with, in way in which He is
pleased with. The root of this is Knowledge, as one of the Imâms of
the Tâbi'în, az-Zuhrî (d.124H) - rahimahullâh - said:
"The people will not trust the action of one who
acts without knowledge; and they will not be pleased with the saying of a
Scholar who does not act." [11]
As regards sincerity,
then it is "the stripping of ones intentions from
all impurities in order to draw close to Allâh, ensuring that the
intention behind all acts of worship and obedience are exclusively for his
pleasure." [12] As Allâh - the One free from all imperfections -
says:
They have not been commanded except to worship
Allâh, being sincere and making the Dîn for Him. [al-Bayyinah
98:5]
The Prophet
sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam said that Allâh - the Blessed, the Most
High - said: "I am so self-sufficient that I am
in no need of having partners. Thus, whoever does an action for someone
else's sake as well as Mine, will have that action rejected by Me to him
who he associated with Me." [13]
Thus, if a person does
an action, then even if he performs it according to the Sunnah, but
he does it so that people may speak well about him, his action thereby
becomes null and void. If the deed just became void then the following
hadîth would apply in such a case:
"How many fasting people obtain nothing from their
fast except hunger and thirst and how many people stay up at night
(praying) obtain nothing from their fast except sleeplessness and
tiredness." [14]
However, this is not the
case. For this person's action has turned into a sin, since he acted
without intending to seek only the face of Allâh, thus associating
partners Shirk along with Allâh in his action. [15]
Success for the Muslims
- individuals and groups - will not be attained except when actions are
carried out with Sincerity, following the Sunnah, upon the Path (Sabîl)
of the Pious Predecessors (as-Salaf us-Sâlihîn) as Ubayy ibn Ka'b
(d.22H) - radiallâhu 'anhu - said:
"Adhere to the Sabîl and Sunnah - who remembers the
Most-Merciful and his eyes swell up with tears due to the fear of Allâh
- except that he will never be touched by the fire. Indeed moderation in
the Sabîl and Sunnah is better than exertion in opposition
to it." [16]
And our final
supplication is that all praise belongs to Allâh - Lord of the Worlds.
1. All quotes
are translations of the meanings of the Qur'ân.
2. Ibn Kathîr - rahimahullâh - says in his Tafsîr Qur'ân al-'Adhîm
(3/112): "It (the âyah) is general regarding
everyone who worships Allâh in an unacceptable way, thinking that he is
correct in it and his action is correct in it and that his action is
acceptable, whereas he is in error and his action his rejected."
3. Part of a lengthy piece of advice by 'Alî (d.40H) radiallâhu 'anhu
to Kumail ibn Ziyâd - as is reported by Abû Nu'aym al-Asbahânî in
Hilyatul-Awliyâ (1/79-80). From the principles of correction and
reformation - O noble reader - as mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim in
Lighâthatul-Luhfân (p.397), is that: "The
foundation of all good as knowledge and Justice and the foundation of all
evil is ignorance and Oppression." Thus the one involved in
Da'wah and reformation must have adequate Sharî'ah Knowledge,
or else more harm will occur than good - as the saying of old goes:
Sa'd brought the camels leading them. O Sa'd - that is not the way to
bring in camels!
4. Ibn Kathîr says in his Tafsîr (3/114): "So
- for an action to be acceptable it has to fulfil two conditions. Firstly:
It must be sincere for Allâh alone. Secondly: It must be correct in
accordance with the Sharî'ah. So if the action is sincere, but not
correct, it will not be acceptable."
5. al-Lâlikâ'î relates in his Sharh Usûl I'tiqâd Ahl us-Sunnah
wal-Jamâ'ah that Sa'îd ibn Jubayr (d.95H) - rahimahullâh -
said: "No word is acceptable except with action and
no action is acceptable except with words and no word nor action are
acceptable except with intention and no word, action or intention is
acceptable except when it confirms to the Sunnah."
6. Sahîh - related by Muslim (2564), Ibn Mâjah (4143) and Ahmad (2/285) -
from Abû Hurayrah radiallâhu 'anhu. The wording with Muslim is:
" ... your bodies nor your faces ... "
7. Imâm al-Barbahârî (d.329H)- the Imâm of Ahl us-Sunnah
wal-Jamâ'ah of his time - says in his Kitâb Sharh as-Sunnah:
"And know - may Allâh have mercy upon you - that the
Dîn came from Allâh - the Blessed and Most High - and was not left
to the intellect and opinions of men - and knowledge of it is with Allâh
and His Messenger. So do not follow anything based upon your desires and
so deviate from the Dîn ... Since Allâh's Messenger sallallâhu 'alayhi
wa sallam explained the Sunnah to his Ummah and made it
clear to his Companions that they are the Jamâ'ah and the Great
Majority (as-Sawâd ul-A'dham); and the Great Majority is the Truth
and its People."
8. al-Hisbah fil-Islâm (p.82) of Ibn Taymiyyah.
9. Sahîh - related by Muslim (16/82), Ahmad (4/398) and al-Baghawî
in Sharh as-Sunnah (14/71-72) - from Abû Mûsa radiallâhu 'anhu.
10. Sahîh - related by Muslim (5/132), ad-Dâraqutnî (pp.520-521)
and Ahmad (6/146, 180) - from 'Âishah - radiallâhu 'anhâ. Refer to
the Booklet: Understanding the evil of Innovations by our brother
Abû Muntasir - may Allâh reward him with goodness - for a detailed
explanation of this hadîth and the principles connected to it. And
it is available from this Jam'iyyah - and all praise is for Allâh.
11. Iqtidâ ul-'Ilm il 'Aml of al-Khatîb al-Baghdâdî. Yet today, it
is sufficient for one to be a speaker and that is enough credentials for
him to be a guide for the Ummah - regardless of whether he has
knowledge or not! So let the noble reader reflect upon the saying of the
Companion Ibn Mas'ûd (d.32h), related by at-Tabaranî in al-Kabîr
(8066) and al-Bukhârî in Adab al-Mufrad (789) and declared to be
Sahîh (authentic) by al-Hâfidh Ibn Hajr in Fath al-Bârî
(10/510) that he - radiallâhu 'anhu - said:
"You are in a time whose Scholars are many and its speakers are few. After
you will come a time whose Scholars are few and its speakers are many."
How yesterday's warning depicts today's action!
12. Tazkyatun-Nufûs (p.4) of Ahmad Farîd.
13. Sahîh - related by Muslim, Ibn Mâjah (4202) and Ibn Khuzaymah
in his Sahîh (8/223) - from Abû Hurayrah radiallâhu 'anhu.
14. Sahîh related by at-Tabarânî in al-Kabîr - from Ibn 'Umar
and also by al-Hâkim and al-Bayhaqî - from Abû Hurayrah radiallâhu 'anhumâ.
15. Similar to this are actions based on party-spirit ('asabiyah)
about which our Messenger sallallâhu 'alayhi wa sallam said - as is
related by Muslim in his Sahîh: "Whosoever fights
under the banner of the blind, becoming angry for party-spirit, or calling
to party-spirit, or assisting party-spirit, then if he dies, he dies a
death of jâhiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance)." And how damaging
- O seeker of unity - has its modern counter-part, Partisanship (Hizbiyyah),
been in destroying the very fabric of comprehensive brotherhood. Such that
the one immersed in this Hizbiyyah loves and hates, builds and
destroys - not due to the ties of correct faith (Îmân) - but due to
this vile Hizbiyyah - thereby having enmity for the friends ('awliyâ)
of Allâh, competing thereby with the enemies of the Prophets!!! We seek
Allâh's protection against this and only He guides to a way that is
Straight.
16. Related by Ahmad in az-Zuhd (p.196) and the isnâd is
hasan.
http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/sunnah/0041.htm |
