Ten Useless Matters Imam Ibn ul Qayyim al Jawziyyah (rahimAllah)
Al-Fawa’id © 2004 Umm Al-Qura
There are ten useless matters:
1.
Knowledge that is not acted on
2. The deed that has neither sincerity
nor is based on following the righteous examples of others
3. Money that
is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life nor obtains
any reward for it in the Hereafter
4. The heart that is empty of love
and longing for Allah, and of seeking closeness to Him
5. A body that
does not obey and serve Allah
6. Loving Allah without following His
orders or seeking His pleasure
7. Time that is not spent in expiating
sins or seizing opportunities to do good
8. A mind that thinks about
useless matters
9. Serving those who do not bring you close to Allah,
nor benefit you in your life
10. Hoping and fearing whoever is under the
authority of Allah and in His hand; while he cannot bring any benefit
or harm to himself, nor death, nor life; nor can he resurrect himself.
Friday 13 March 2015
Backbiting..
Praise be to Allah.
Backbiting (gheebah) is a bad characteristic which Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.” [49:12]
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not betray him, lie to him or forsake him. The whole of the Muslim is sacred to his fellow Muslim –his honour, his wealth and his blood. Taqwa (piety) is here (in the heart). It is sufficient evil for a man to despise his brother.” [Muslim, al-Tirmidhi].
It was reported that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“When I was taken up into the heavens (the M’iraj), I passed by some people who had nails of copper with which they were scratching their faces and chests. I said, ‘Who are these people, O Jibreel?’ He said, ‘These are the ones who used to eat the flesh of the people and slander their honour.’” [ al-Bukhaari, Abu Dawood].
With regard to the meaning of gheebah (backbiting), it was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Do you know what gheebah is?” They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said, “(It is) when you mention something about your brother that he does not like.” It was said, What do you think if what I say about my brother is true? He said, “If it is true then you are backbiting against him and if it is not true then you are slandering him.” [Muslim, al-Tirmidhi]. Gheebah means mentioning something about your brother in his absence and saying something that he does not like to have said about him, with the intention of mocking him or making fun of him.
But if you say something about him in his absence to someone who can offer him advice so that he will advise him, or you are asking for help from someone who you hope will have an influence on him so that he will stop doing some evil action or sin that he has fallen into, and thus bring him back to the straight path –this is not gheebah. For example, if a wife talks to her husband or her son about another of her sons so that he can advise him, this is not gheebah.
Similarly, if you speak about your brother or someone else to his guardian or to someone who is able to stop him from doing wrong – with the intention of voicing a grievance and asking for help, or because he has taken something from you unlawfully and you want to demand your rights from the guardian of the one who took what is rightfully yours, such as when a man complains about his brother to his father if he has mistreated him or taken something that belongs to him, in order to have his rights restored to him, or complaining to a ruler or judge of unfair treatment –this is not gheebah.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim:
“But gheebah (speaking about a person in his absence) is permissible if it is for some legitimate (shar’i/prescribed) purpose, which includes six reasons:
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Note that the one who hears any backbiting about a Muslim should refute it and rebuke the one who says it. If he does not rebuke him in words he should rebuke him by his actions. If he cannot rebuke him by his actions or his words, then he should leave that gathering. If he hears any backbiting about his Shaykh (teacher) or anyone else who has a right over him or is one of the righteous and virtuous people, then he should pay even more attention to what we have said.
In the book of al-Tirmidhi we narrated from Abu’l-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever protects the honour of his brother, Allah will protect his face from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.” [Al-Tirmidhi] End quote. Al-Adhkaar.
What about a work colleague or close family member etc?
Strive to remind your colleague of the ruling on backbiting, and explain to him the punishment of the one who does that. Perhaps he will give up what he is doing of sin. Remind him that backbiting during Ramadhan is more sinful, and the basic principle is that you should avoid sitting with him if he persists in not responding to the command of Allah. But seeing as you work with him and you cannot leave the place, then avoid listening to him and stop paying any attention to what he says. You can use the means of threatening to report him to his superiors at work, or threaten to tell the people about whom he is talking. Perhaps if he does not fear Allah he will fear people and will stop backbiting about them, and you will be relieved of having to listen to his annoying talk.
And Allah knows best.
Backbiting (gheebah) is a bad characteristic which Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.” [49:12]
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“The Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not betray him, lie to him or forsake him. The whole of the Muslim is sacred to his fellow Muslim –his honour, his wealth and his blood. Taqwa (piety) is here (in the heart). It is sufficient evil for a man to despise his brother.” [Muslim, al-Tirmidhi].
It was reported that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“When I was taken up into the heavens (the M’iraj), I passed by some people who had nails of copper with which they were scratching their faces and chests. I said, ‘Who are these people, O Jibreel?’ He said, ‘These are the ones who used to eat the flesh of the people and slander their honour.’” [ al-Bukhaari, Abu Dawood].
With regard to the meaning of gheebah (backbiting), it was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Do you know what gheebah is?” They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said, “(It is) when you mention something about your brother that he does not like.” It was said, What do you think if what I say about my brother is true? He said, “If it is true then you are backbiting against him and if it is not true then you are slandering him.” [Muslim, al-Tirmidhi]. Gheebah means mentioning something about your brother in his absence and saying something that he does not like to have said about him, with the intention of mocking him or making fun of him.
But if you say something about him in his absence to someone who can offer him advice so that he will advise him, or you are asking for help from someone who you hope will have an influence on him so that he will stop doing some evil action or sin that he has fallen into, and thus bring him back to the straight path –this is not gheebah. For example, if a wife talks to her husband or her son about another of her sons so that he can advise him, this is not gheebah.
Similarly, if you speak about your brother or someone else to his guardian or to someone who is able to stop him from doing wrong – with the intention of voicing a grievance and asking for help, or because he has taken something from you unlawfully and you want to demand your rights from the guardian of the one who took what is rightfully yours, such as when a man complains about his brother to his father if he has mistreated him or taken something that belongs to him, in order to have his rights restored to him, or complaining to a ruler or judge of unfair treatment –this is not gheebah.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim:
“But gheebah (speaking about a person in his absence) is permissible if it is for some legitimate (shar’i/prescribed) purpose, which includes six reasons:
- The first is complaining about unjust treatment: it is permissible for a person who has been mistreated to complain to the ruler or judge, or other people who have the authority or power to deal with the person who has mistreated him. He can say, so and so mistreated me, or, he did such and such to me.
- The second is seeking help to change some evil action, and bring a sinner back to the right path: so he may say to the person who he hopes can help: so and so is doing such and such, so try to stop him, and so on.
- The third is seeking a religious ruling or fatwa: whereby a person may say to the Mufti (scholar): so and so –or my father, or my brother, or my husband – has treated me unjustly by doing such and such; does he have the right to do that? How can I deal with this and protect myself from his mistreatment etc.? This is permissible in cases of need. It is preferable to say in the case of a man or a husband or a father or a son that someone did such and such [i.e., describe it indirectly], but naming names is permissible, because of the hadeeth (report) of Hind who said (to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): Abu Sufyan is a stingy man.
- The fourth is warning the Muslims against some evil: this may take various forms, such as mentioning the faults of narrators, witnesses and authors. This is permissible by scholarly consensus. Indeed, it is obligatory, in order to protect the sharee’ah (Islamic law). It also includes describing faults when one is consulted [about a person, for a serious reason such as business, marriage, etc.], and speaking up if one sees someone buying faulty goods or a slave who steals or commits zina (adultery) or drinks wine etc. –he should mention that to the would-be purchaser if he does not know about it. This is by way of sincere advice, not to cause harm or offence or corruption. Also, if you see a seeker of knowledge frequently visiting a person who is immoral or who follows innovations, and taking knowledge from him, and you fear that he may be harmed, you must advise him by explaining the situation to him, with the aim of offering sincere advice. If you see a person in a position of authority which he cannot discharge properly because he is not qualified for it or because he is corrupt, you should tell whoever has authority over him and explain what he is really like so that he will not be deceived by him and so that he will discipline him – this is not gheebah, and it is obligatory to put things right.
- The fifth is if a person is openly committing immoral deeds or following bid’ah (innovation): such as drinking wine, confiscating people’s property unlawfully, collecting extortionate taxes, being in charge of illegal activities etc. It is permissible to speak of what he is doing openly, but it is not permissible to speak of other things except for another reason.
- The sixth is for the purposes of identification: if a person is known by a nickname such as al-A’amash (rheumy-eyed), al-A’araj (lame), al-Azraq (blue), al-Qaseer (short), al-A’ama (blind), al-Aqta’a (missing a limb) etc., this is permissible for purposes of identification, but it is haram (impermissible) to use such names for the purpose of belittling a person, and if it is possible to identify them by using other words, this is better. And Allah knows best.”
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Note that the one who hears any backbiting about a Muslim should refute it and rebuke the one who says it. If he does not rebuke him in words he should rebuke him by his actions. If he cannot rebuke him by his actions or his words, then he should leave that gathering. If he hears any backbiting about his Shaykh (teacher) or anyone else who has a right over him or is one of the righteous and virtuous people, then he should pay even more attention to what we have said.
In the book of al-Tirmidhi we narrated from Abu’l-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Whoever protects the honour of his brother, Allah will protect his face from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.” [Al-Tirmidhi] End quote. Al-Adhkaar.
What about a work colleague or close family member etc?
Strive to remind your colleague of the ruling on backbiting, and explain to him the punishment of the one who does that. Perhaps he will give up what he is doing of sin. Remind him that backbiting during Ramadhan is more sinful, and the basic principle is that you should avoid sitting with him if he persists in not responding to the command of Allah. But seeing as you work with him and you cannot leave the place, then avoid listening to him and stop paying any attention to what he says. You can use the means of threatening to report him to his superiors at work, or threaten to tell the people about whom he is talking. Perhaps if he does not fear Allah he will fear people and will stop backbiting about them, and you will be relieved of having to listen to his annoying talk.
And Allah knows best.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan: ISIS is a rogue, external criminal organisation.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan:
Our Honoured Shaykh, Sheykh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan is a member of the Council for Human Rights, a Professor in Islamic Jurisprudence and the Head of the Department of Comparative Jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad b. Saud in Saudi Arabia.
Our Honoured Shaykh, Sheykh Abdul Aziz al-Fawzan is a member of the Council for Human Rights, a Professor in Islamic Jurisprudence and the Head of the Department of Comparative Jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Imam Muhammad b. Saud in Saudi Arabia.
“ISIS is a rogue, external criminal organisation. Whoever knows of what afflicted us in Iraq and Afghanistan and the blood that was spilled unjustly at the hands of some ignorant individuals in our nation will understand the gravity of what is happening in Syria.”May Allah protect us from severe misguidance Ameen.
This moment will soon come to pass...
Bismillah.
What does this phrase mean? This moment will soon come to pass...
This (happy) moment will soon come to pass.
And Allah knows best.
What does this phrase mean? This moment will soon come to pass...
This (happy) moment will soon come to pass.
- Do not laugh too much, for laughing deadens the heart
- There can be no doubt that laughing too much has an effect on the Muslim’s heart and distracts him from thinking deeply and fearing Allaah.
- Remember in a moment of happiness, that it will soon come to pass...And the angel of death is ever ready to take your soul to your graves, where you will have no family or friend, but only your deeds.
- And remember that this moment of happiness will soon come to pass, and you will be standing on the terrifying day of judgement, where you will be taken to account... in which Allah says: "So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it." [Quran 99:7-8]
- Allah
says: "Verily, with the hardship, there is relief " [94:6] So know that
the sad moment will pass. No matter how hard the moment of sadness may
be for you...ease will come, this is Allahs promise, and He never breaks
His promise. So trust Allah and believe in Him.
the prophet may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him said, “The dunya is a prison for the believer and Paradise for the kafir (disbeliever).” [Sahih Muslim, vol.4, #7058] This dunya isn't a believers home, we are surrounded by fitnahs/tests, sadness, worry, stress, tiredness etc. Rather Paradise, with your Lord in the Hereafter is your home. Where no negative emotion or negative circumstance will ever occur. So ask Allah for the highest of Paradises and strive for it inshaaAllaah. - And remember in a sad moment that this life is a test, and put your trust in Allaah, He knows best what is good for you. He says: "...and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allaah knows, while you do not know."[1:216]
- In a sad moment know that Allaah loves those who are patient, so seek this opportunity to turn to Him and gain reward through your patience.. Abu Bakr said: "it is difficult to be patient but to waste the reward for patience is worse." For soon this sad moment will be over, and ease will come, as Allaah has promised. So use this opportunity to gain much-needed reward InshaaAllaah.
And Allah knows best.
Riba/usury/interest
Riba/usury/interest
IS it really that bad???
The prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) has compared it to sleeping with ones own mother ...and can be worse than that:
His statement,
"Riba has seventy-three doors. The least one (in sin) is as that of a man who sleeps with his mother. And worst form of Riba is harming the honor of a Muslim man."
(Al-Hakim, who graded it Sahih)
Allah says:
O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.
And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums).
Quran (2:278-79)
"Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba." (2:275)
"O you who believe! Eat not Riba doubled and multiplied ." (3:130)
And the statement of the Messenger:
"Allah curses the one who accepts Riba (usury and interest), the giver of it, the two witnesses of it, and the one who writes it." (The Sunan compilers and At-Tirmithi graded it Sahih)
"One dirham of Riba that a man devours, while knowing it is Riba, is more severe (in crime) than thirty-six acts of fornication (or adultery)." (Ahmad with a Sahih chain of narration)
One punishment narrated in Al-Bukhaari (1386, 7047) that the individual will swim in the river with rocks being thrown into his mouth because he consumed riba (usury).
We must stop ourselves having anything to do with usury immediately InshaaAllaah, it is a major sin and the ONLY sin in which Allah has declared war on the individual involved in it...what would this mean for the individual in the hereafter? How would they live in the hereafter when Allah is the ONLY One who can protect them? Yet they declared war on Allaah ...
If this terrifying thought isn't enough to stop us from staying away from it, what is?
May Allah save us and forbid us from the terrifying punishments associated with riba, Ameen.
IS it really that bad???
The prophet (may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him) has compared it to sleeping with ones own mother ...and can be worse than that:
His statement,
"Riba has seventy-three doors. The least one (in sin) is as that of a man who sleeps with his mother. And worst form of Riba is harming the honor of a Muslim man."
(Al-Hakim, who graded it Sahih)
Allah says:
O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and give up what remains of your demand for usury, if ye are indeed believers.
And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums).
Quran (2:278-79)
"Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba." (2:275)
"O you who believe! Eat not Riba doubled and multiplied ." (3:130)
And the statement of the Messenger:
"Allah curses the one who accepts Riba (usury and interest), the giver of it, the two witnesses of it, and the one who writes it." (The Sunan compilers and At-Tirmithi graded it Sahih)
"One dirham of Riba that a man devours, while knowing it is Riba, is more severe (in crime) than thirty-six acts of fornication (or adultery)." (Ahmad with a Sahih chain of narration)
One punishment narrated in Al-Bukhaari (1386, 7047) that the individual will swim in the river with rocks being thrown into his mouth because he consumed riba (usury).
We must stop ourselves having anything to do with usury immediately InshaaAllaah, it is a major sin and the ONLY sin in which Allah has declared war on the individual involved in it...what would this mean for the individual in the hereafter? How would they live in the hereafter when Allah is the ONLY One who can protect them? Yet they declared war on Allaah ...
If this terrifying thought isn't enough to stop us from staying away from it, what is?
May Allah save us and forbid us from the terrifying punishments associated with riba, Ameen.
Delaying the Prayer
Delaying the prayer
You should understand that delaying prayer beyond the time when it is due is a major sin, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salaah (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaah (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell”
[Maryam 19:59]
Ibn Mas’ood said concerning al-Ghayy [translated in the verse quoted above as Hell): This is a valley in Hell which is very deep and foul.
So these people who delay there prayers etc may be Muslim, yet Allah has promised them a particular place in Hell for them because of their act concerning the prayer.
Those who delay there prayer because of university, work, children etc will not be a valid excuse on the day of judgement as you are letting your wealth, or children distract you from the remembrance of Allah:
"O you who believe! let not your wealth, or your children, divert you from the remembrance of Allah; and whoever does that, these are the losers."
[Surah Al-Munafiqoon: Verse 9]
If you delay your prayer out of its stated time because of worldly matters (without valid excuse like travelling, unconsciousness etc) then you have indeed preferred these matters, (i.e your work, your family, your friends) over Allah. Yet Allah is the One who has provided these things for you.
If a person truly believes in Allaah, His Messengers and His Books, and believes that prayer is obligatory and is the greatest pillar of Islam after the Shahaadatayn, we cannot imagine that he would neglect to pray or be careless in performing the prayers. Rather he would never feel at ease unless he performs this important ritual regularly.
For more information visit:
http://www.islamqa.com/en/search?key=delaying+prayer+&yt0=search
You should understand that delaying prayer beyond the time when it is due is a major sin, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salaah (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaah (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times] and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell”
[Maryam 19:59]
Ibn Mas’ood said concerning al-Ghayy [translated in the verse quoted above as Hell): This is a valley in Hell which is very deep and foul.
So these people who delay there prayers etc may be Muslim, yet Allah has promised them a particular place in Hell for them because of their act concerning the prayer.
Those who delay there prayer because of university, work, children etc will not be a valid excuse on the day of judgement as you are letting your wealth, or children distract you from the remembrance of Allah:
"O you who believe! let not your wealth, or your children, divert you from the remembrance of Allah; and whoever does that, these are the losers."
[Surah Al-Munafiqoon: Verse 9]
If you delay your prayer out of its stated time because of worldly matters (without valid excuse like travelling, unconsciousness etc) then you have indeed preferred these matters, (i.e your work, your family, your friends) over Allah. Yet Allah is the One who has provided these things for you.
If a person truly believes in Allaah, His Messengers and His Books, and believes that prayer is obligatory and is the greatest pillar of Islam after the Shahaadatayn, we cannot imagine that he would neglect to pray or be careless in performing the prayers. Rather he would never feel at ease unless he performs this important ritual regularly.
For more information visit:
http://www.islamqa.com/en/search?key=delaying+prayer+&yt0=search
Khushoo during the prayer- Ibn al-Qayyim
Khushoo during the prayer
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the difference between the khushoo' of true faith and the khushoo' of hypocrisy:"The khushoo' of true faith is when the heart feels aware and humble before the greatness and glory of Allaah, and is filled with awe, fear and shyness, so that the heart is utterly humbled before Allaah and broken, as it were, with fear, shyness, love and the recognition of the blessings of Allaah and its own sins. So no doubt the khushoo' of the heart is followed by the khushoo' of the body. As for the khushoo' of hypocrisy, it is something that is put on with a great show, but there is no khushoo' in the heart. One of the Sahaabah used to say, "I seek refuge with Allaah from the khushoo' of hypocrisy." It was said to him, "What is the khushoo' of hypocrisy?" He said, "When the body appears to have khushoo' but there is no khushoo' in the heart."
Khushoo' in prayer happens when a person empties his heart for it (prayer), and focuses on it to the exlusion of all else, and prefers it to everything else. Only then does he find comfort and joy in it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "and my joy has been made in salaah."
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 5/456. The hadeeth is in Musnad Ahmad, 3/128 and Saheeh al-Jaami', 3124).
InshaaAllaah Read excellent 33 ways to improve your khushoo in your 5 daily prayers:
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=2
Ibn 'Abbaas said: "You will gain nothing from your prayer except the parts where you were focused."
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the difference between the khushoo' of true faith and the khushoo' of hypocrisy:"The khushoo' of true faith is when the heart feels aware and humble before the greatness and glory of Allaah, and is filled with awe, fear and shyness, so that the heart is utterly humbled before Allaah and broken, as it were, with fear, shyness, love and the recognition of the blessings of Allaah and its own sins. So no doubt the khushoo' of the heart is followed by the khushoo' of the body. As for the khushoo' of hypocrisy, it is something that is put on with a great show, but there is no khushoo' in the heart. One of the Sahaabah used to say, "I seek refuge with Allaah from the khushoo' of hypocrisy." It was said to him, "What is the khushoo' of hypocrisy?" He said, "When the body appears to have khushoo' but there is no khushoo' in the heart."
Khushoo' in prayer happens when a person empties his heart for it (prayer), and focuses on it to the exlusion of all else, and prefers it to everything else. Only then does he find comfort and joy in it, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "and my joy has been made in salaah."
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 5/456. The hadeeth is in Musnad Ahmad, 3/128 and Saheeh al-Jaami', 3124).
InshaaAllaah Read excellent 33 ways to improve your khushoo in your 5 daily prayers:
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=2
Ibn 'Abbaas said: "You will gain nothing from your prayer except the parts where you were focused."
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