A Quality That Will Aid Us Perfect Our Islaam

In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful The Bestower of Mercy

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiyallaahu-anhu) who said: ”The Messenger of Allaah (sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam) said, ”Part of the perfection of a person’s Islaam is his leaving that which is of no concern to him” (Hassan Hadith. Reported by Imaam Tirmidhi and others)

Imaam Muhammad Ibn Saaleh al Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah) said:

From the benefits of this narration are:

[1]. Indeed, Islaam combines all the excellent qualities. Our Sheikh Abdur Rahmaan Bin Sa’di (rahimahullaah) has written a treatise on this topic (titled): ‘The Excellence of The Religion Of Islaam’. Likewise, Sheikh Abdul Azeez Bin Muhammad Bin Sulaymaan (rahimahullaah) has written a treatise on this topic.  And the excellent qualities of Islaam are combined in two statements: Allaah (The Mighty and Majestic) said:

‘’Verily, Allah enjoins Al-Adl (i.e. justice and worshipping none but Allah Alone – Islamic Monotheism) and Al-Ihsan [i.e. to be patient in performing your duties to Allah, totally for Allah's sake and in accordance with the Sunnah (legal ways) of the Prophet in a perfect manner], and giving (help) to kith and kin (i.e. all that Allah has ordered you to give them e.g., wealth, visiting, looking after them, or any other kind of help, etc.): and forbids Al-Fahsha’ (i.e all evil deeds, e.g. illegal sexual acts, disobedience of parents, polytheism, to tell lies, to give false witness, to kill a life without right, etc.), and Al-Munkar (i.e all that is prohibited by Islamic law: polytheism of every kind, disbelief and every kind of evil deeds, etc.), and Al-Baghy (i.e. all kinds of oppression), He admonishes you, that you may take heed.” [16:90]

[2] Part of the perfection of (a Person’s) Islaam is his leaving what is of no importance to him, and that which has no relation to his affairs and needs.

[3] One cannot perfect his Islaam through preoccupying himself with what does not concern him. This happens to many people, so you either find him speaking about affairs that do not concern him, or a person asks him about affairs that do not concern him and he enters into what does not concern him.  This leads to weakening of (one’s Islaam).

[4] Indeed, it is incumbent upon the person to seek after the excellent qualities of Islaam, in order to abandon what does not concern him and be at ease. He will exhaust himself if he busies himself with affairs that are neither important nor of concern to him.

(However) there is an ambiguity on this point here, and that is: Does the slave’s abandonment of that which does not concern him (mean) that he is to abandon Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil? The Answer: No, because Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil is something that concerns the person, as Allaah (The Mighty and Majestic) said: ”Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining Al-Ma’ruf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has forbidden).” [3:104]

So if you see a person upon evil, you should say to him, ”O brother! This is evil. It is not permissible”. The person who witnesses that (evil) has no right to say, “This does not concern me”. It will not be accepted were you to say so, because enjoining good and forbidding evil concerns the entire ummah.  And there is (also) that which is connected to one’s the family, his sons and daughters (of enjoining good and forbidding evil).  It is the concern of the shepherd of the house to guide them towards good and command them with it, and to warn them against evil and prohibit them from that. He (The Mighty and Majestic) said: “O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones” [66:6]

Imaam Sa’di (rahimahullaah) said:

The Good Doer busies himself with what concerns him of obligations and abandons disobedience and evil deeds. He (abandons) that which does not befit him of the detested affairs and those permissible things that bring him no benefit, rather he loses goodness by indulging in them. So his (sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam) statement: “From the perfection of a person’s Islaam is his leaving that which is of no concern to him” has a more general meaning than what we have mentioned.  And the general meaning of this hadith is: The one who does not abandon that which does not concern him will harm his Islaam. That is why all the forbidden statements and actions are either prohibited with the verdict of “Haraam” or with a prohibition (indicating the abhorrence or repugnance of such statements and actions)

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[SOURCE: A collection of statements on this hadeeth by the following scholars: Imaam Muhammad Ibn Saaleh al Uthaimeen, Imaam Nawawi, Imaam Sa'di, Imaam Ibn Da-qeeq al Eed (rahimahumullaah): page:96]

Translated by: Abu Mu-aawiyyah (Abdullaah Al-Gambi)bit.ly/Zp2Akj

Tafseer of "Answer the Call of your Lord (i.e. accept the Islâmc Monotheism, O mankind, and jinns)...."

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Tafseer of "Answer the Call of your Lord (i.e. accept the Islâmc Monotheism, O mankind, and jinns)...."

اسْتَجِيبُوا لِرَبِّكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا مَرَدَّ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَكُم مِّن مَّلْجَأٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن نَّكِيرٍ

 

Answer the Call of your Lord (i.e. accept the Islâmic Monotheism, O mankind, and jinns) before there comes from Allâh a Day which cannot be averted. You will have no refuge on that Day nor there will be for you any denying (of your crimes as they are all recorded in the Book of your deeds). (Ash-Shura 42:47)

 

Tafseer Ibn Katheer :

When Allah tells us about the horrors and terrifying events of the Day of Resurrection, He warns us about it and commands us to prepare for it:

(Answer the Call of your Lord before there comes from Allah a Day which cannot be averted.) means, once He issues the command, it will come to pass within the blinking of an eye, and no one will be able to avert it or prevent it.

(You will have no refuge on that Day nor there will be for you any denying.) means, you will have no stronghold in which to take refuge, no place in which to hide from Allah, for He will encompass you with His knowledge and power, and you will have no refuge from Him except with Him.

(On that Day man will say: "Where (is the refuge) to flee'' No! There is no refuge! Unto your Lord will be the place of rest that Day.) (75:10-12)

(But if they turn away,) refers to the idolators,

(We have not sent you as a Hafiz over them. ) means, `you have no power over them.' And Allah says elsewhere:

(Not upon you is their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills) (2:272).

(your duty is only to convey (the Message) and on Us is the reckoning) (13:40). And Allah says here:

(Your duty is to convey.) meaning, `all that We require you to do is to convey the Message of Allah to them.'

(And verily, when We cause man to taste of mercy from Us, he rejoices there at;) means, when a time of ease and comfort comes to him, he is happy about it.

(but when befalls them) means mankind.

(some evil) means, drought, punishment, tribulation or difficulty,

(then verily, man (becomes) ingrate!) means, he forgets the previous times of ease and blessings and acknowledges nothing but the present moment. If times of ease come to him, he becomes arrogant and transgresses, but if any difficulty befalls him, he loses hope and is filled with despair. This is like what the Messenger of Allah said to the women:

)(O women, give in charity, for I have seen that you form the majority of the people of Hell.) A woman asked, "Why is that, O Messenger of Allah'' He said:

(Because you complain too much, and you are ungrateful to (your) husbands. If one of you were to be treated kindly for an entire lifetime, then that kindness was lacking for one day, she would say, `I have never seen anything good from you!') This is the case with most women, except for those whom Allah guides and who are among the people who believe and do righteous deeds. As the Prophet said, the believer is the one who:

(... if something good happens to him, he is thankful, and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and that is good for him. This does not happen to anyone except the believer.)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Taken from www.abdurrahman.org. The Status of the Arabic Language in Islâm Shaykh Al-Islâm ibn Taymiyyah Iqtidâ‘us-Sirâtil-Mustaqîm (2/207)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Taken from www.abdurrahman.org.

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The Status of the Arabic Language in Islâm

Shaykh Al-Islâm ibn Taymiyyah

Iqtidâ‘us-Sirâtil-Mustaqîm (2/207)

As for becoming accustomed to talking to one another in a language other than Arabic, which is the symbol of Islâm and the language of the Qur‘ân, so that this becomes a habit in the land, with one’s family and household members, with one’s friends, in the marketplace, when addressing government representatives or authority figures or when speaking to people of knowledge, undoubtedly this is makrooh (disliked), because it involves being like the non-Arabs, which is makrooh, as stated previously.

Hence when the early Muslims went to live in Syria and Egypt, where the people spoke Byzantine Greek, and in ’Iraaq and Khurasaan, where the people spoke Persian, and North Africa (al-Maghrib) where the people spoke Berber, they taught the people of those countries to speak Arabic, so that Arabic became the prevalent language in those lands, and! all the people, Muslim and kaafir alike, spoke Arabic. Such was also the case in Khurasaan in the past, then they became lax with regard to the language and got used to speaking Farsee until it became prevalent and Arabic was forgotten by most of them. Undoubtedly this is disliked.

The best way is to become accustomed to speaking Arabic so that the young people will learn it in their homes and schools, so that the symbol of Islâm and its people will prevail. This will make it easier for the people of Islâm to understand the Qur‘ân and Sunnah, and the words of the Salaf, unlike a person who gets used to speaking one language, then wants to learn another, and finds it difficult.

Know that being used to using a language has a clear and strong effect on one’s thinking, behaviour and religious commitment. It also has an effect on making one resemble the early generations of this Ummah, the Companions and the Taabi’een. Being like them improves one’s thinking, ! religious commitment and behaviour.

Moreover, the Arabic language itself is part of Islâm, and knowing Arabic is an obligatory duty. If it is a duty to understand the Qur‘ân and Sunnah, and they cannot be understood without knowing Arabic, then the means that is needed to fulfil the duty is also obligatory.

There are things which are obligatory on all individuals (fard ’ayn), and others which are obligatory on the community or Ummah (fard kifaayah, i.e., if some people fulfill them the rest are relieved of the obligation).

This is the meaning of the report narrated by Aboo Bakr Ibn Abee Shaybah who said: ’Eesa Ibn Yoonus told us from Thawr from ’Umar Ibn Yazeed that ’Umar wrote to Aboo Moosa al-Ash’aree radiallaahu ’anhu and said:

Learn the Sunnah and learn Arabic; learn the Qur‘ân in Arabic for it is Arabic.

According to another hadeeth narrated from ’Umar radiyallaahu ’anhu, he said:

Learn Arabic for it is part of your Religion, and learn how the estate of the deceased should be divided (faraa‘id) for these are part of your Religion.

This command of ’Umar, to learn Arabic and the Sharee’ah combines the things that are needed, for Religion involves understanding words and actions. Understanding Arabic is the way to understand the words of Islâm, and understanding the Sunnah is the way to understand the actions of Islâm…”