Allah, The Most Exalted, Says (what means): “… And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is fear of Allah.” [Qur’an 2: 197]
Almighty Allah made having piety a condition for the acceptance of deeds through the verse (which means): “Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].” [Qur’an 5: 27]
We are promised forgiveness and reward for having piety, for Allah Says (what means): “And whoever fears Allah - He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward.”[Qur’an 65: 5]
The people of piety and righteousness are the people of high rank in the Hereafter as well as in this life. Allah Says (what means): “That home of the Hereafter (Paradise) We assign to those who do not desire exaltedness upon the earth or corruption. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous.” [Qur’an 28: 83]
Fasting and piety:
The blessed month of Ramadan is approaching us - a month which Allah has made obligatory upon us to fast so that we might become righteous, pious, fearful and conscious of Allah.
The objective of fasting is to enhance the state of our piety which is represented by our fear of Allah, working in accordance with His revelation and being satisfied with whatever little he provides – as well as our preparation for the day of departure.
The particular type of piety that we will try to gain in Ramadan is the very sensitive type. The fasting person can only acquire this, because he/she gives up what he desires to avoid that which he is fearful of - the punishment of Allah Almighty.
A fasting heart draws closer to Allah by obedience and humble submission to Him. It fully admits the responsibility of performing all the obligations of Islam as well as refraining from all the acts prohibited by Allah. This type of heart sincerely worships Allah alone. Lusts and desires do not distract it nor does greed divert it. This is a strong and pious heart whose fasting, prayer and all other actions are purely for the Sake of Allah. In fact, the whole of its life and death are for Him.
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “He who fasts the month of Ramadan out of sincere belief and seeking Allah’s reward of its fasting, will be forgiven for all the sins he has committed prior to it”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
If the heart is rectified then the limbs will be likewise rectified. They will follow the lead shown by the heart, be obedient to Allah and stay away from His prohibitions.
Not being constantly full of food weakens or even prevents Satan from having a stronghold on such a person. Regarding this, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Satan runs in the veins of the son of Aadam just like his blood.” [Al-Bukhari & others]. Not having a constantly full stomach enables the limbs to do good deeds with ease. It softens the heart and makes it easy for tears of piety to be shed, which reduces the effect of Satan.
Miserable people:
Indeed, those who make Ramadan a month of over-eating and excessive spending are wretched, miserable people. They do not realise anything but hunger – hunger that their stomachs cannot handle and thirst which their veins cannot tolerate.
What kind of piety and how much resistance exists in these people? These people are the people of no resistance or determination in the face of hunger. Their hearts become harder the more they eat, resulting in oversleeping and laziness. Those who only desire to eat and dress well – those who surrender in defeat - in a battle against a few bites, where they have to abstain from for a few hours, such people are not worthy of an exalted and honourable life.
Behaviour of the pious:
Allah has ordained fasting to purify us and distinguish between the pious and the impious. He who starts his day abstaining from food, drinks and sexual intercourse with his objective being the pleasure of his Beloved - Allah - gets the reward stipulated in the following Qudsi narration: “Fasting is for Me and I shall reward it”. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Those who fast and have piety are those who are always alternating between prayer, recitation of the Qur’an, remembrance of Allah, keeping good relationships with their relatives and being kind to others – this is whilst they continue in their everyday work and other duties.
Righteous people who are fasting have to search amongst their relatives and neighbours for the poor and needy amongst them. They should also search for the strangers amongst their brothers, be good to them and make them share their provisions. We must remember the hunger and thirst of our poor fellow Muslims, remember the tears of the miserable ones and the situation of those who have no dwellings, remember too the loneliness of those who are away from their families. We should also supplicate for them in the month of piety and accountability.
The correlation between fasting and piety is stated in the verse (which means): “O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).
(Observing Saum - fasts) for a fixed number of days, but if any of you is ill or on a journey, the same number (should be made up) from other days. And as for those who can fast with difficulty, (e.g. an old man), they have (a choice either to fast or) to feed a Miskin (poor person) (for every day). But whoever does good of his own accord, it is better for him. And that you fast is better for you if only you know.
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs of guidance and criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number (of days of fasts must be made up) from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days) and that you must magnify Allah (i.e. to say Takbir - Allahu Akbar - Allah is the Most Great) for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.”
Ahead of us is a great month full of virtuous days and nights. So we should do well and utilise them, take advantage of them in the same way that the Salaf, may Allah be pleased with them, did.
They, may Allah be pleased with them, did not prepare for Ramadan by making and consuming more food and drinks, rather they prepared with acts pleasing to their Lord, such as acts of worship and generosity. They were obedient servants to their Lord and generous and kind towards their fellow Muslims. The best example for all of these acts was our leader, Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who used to be most generous during Ramadan.
Allah The Almighty loves deliberation
Dear brothers and sisters, if you think about the negative results of many of our deeds, you would find that rashness and lack of deliberation are the main reasons behind losing what we want.
Deliberation means not being hasty in seeking anything and acting purposefully to gain it. Consider how Allah The Almighty disapproves of haste. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.} [Qur’an 46:6]
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, praised the delegation of ‘Abd Al-Qays from the Hajar region for their deliberation and tolerance, as he said to Ashajj ‘Abd Al-Qays: “You have two characteristics that Allah and His Messenger like: forbearance and deliberation.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Those who are deliberate enjoy the love of Allah The Almighty and the praise of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. This is because the Prophet attributed deliberation to Allah The Almighty and attributed hastiness to Satan. The Prophet said: “Deliberation is from Allah and hastiness is from the devil. Allah is the one who pardons His slaves most and the thing that Allah likes most is praising Him.” [Abu Ya‘la: Narrators of Saheeh Hadith]
Fadhaalah bin ‘Ubayd narrated, “Once, while we were sitting with the Prophet a man entered the mosque and performed prayer and invoked Allah The Almighty without praising Him and without asking Him to confer His blessing on the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. The Prophet said to him: ‘You have been hasty in your supplication.’”
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, taught his Companions first to praise Allah The Exalted duly, as He deserves, then ask Him to send His blessings upon him (the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and to grant him peace, then to supplicate Him. Then the Prophet heard a man praying and praising Allah The Almighty and asking Him to send peace and blessings upon the Prophet so, he, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: ‘Invoke Allah and He will answer your invocation and give you what you ask Him for.’” [An-Nasaa’i], [Al-Albaani: in As-Saheehah]
How good is patience and deliberation, as it brings good qualities that reassure a person and enable him to avoid any harm that might afflict someone who is hasty. Patience and deliberation bring peace of mind during the night and inner peace during the day. Abu Haatim said: “The hasty person cannot be caught, while the patient, deliberate one cannot be preceded. The silent person can never regret, while the one who speaks can is never be safe of from making mistakes. The hasty person usually speaks before he is sure; answers before he understands and praises before he tries.”
Dear brothers and sisters, how much will the merchant lose if he buys merchandise that he does not know? How much will the spouses regret, if they get married without careful consideration or consultation? How great is the regret of the husband if he hastens to divorce his wife without talking to her politely or submitting the issue to two wise arbitrators? How much will the student regret if he is hasty during an exam and does not think carefully about his answer? How much will the friend feel sorry when accusing his friend without having any proof of this accusation? Will the judge be just if he is hasty with his sentence?
Great was the wisdom of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, which Allah The Almighty granted him. ‘Ali, radhiallah ‘anhu, said: “The Prophet sent me to Yemen as a judge so I asked him, ‘Will you send me as a judge and I am still young and do not know about judging?’ The Prophet replied: ‘Allah will guide your heart and fix your tongue (on the truth). When two parties come to you, you must not say your judgment unless you listen to each one of them as this would make the issue clearer to you.’ ‘Ali said: ‘Since then I became a good judge or was never in doubt regarding any judgment.’” [Abu Daawood and Ahmad] [Ahmad Shaakir: Saheeh]
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, disapproved of those who are hasty with their invocations and considered haste one of the reasons that render an invocation unaccepted. The Prophet said: “The supplication of any of you is answered unless he is hasty with it and says, ‘I invoked my Lord, but He did not answer my invocation.’” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Deliberation is part of the personality of a confident person, as a deliberate person is usually more likely to evaluate his status and position. He is characteristically self-confident, decisive and not hesitant, as he does not accept failure. He is aware of what he intends to do and scrutinises it well by studying (its implications) and consulting others until he decides to do it, while relying on Allah The Almighty. If he makes a mistake, he quickly repents without blaming himself or despairing of the mercy of Allah The Almighty. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: “Good morals, deliberation and moderation are one part of the twenty-four parts of Prophethood.” [At-Tirmithi: Hasan]
We should be deliberate and not hasty in our speech. What makes us act hastily in any matter, without giving it careful consideration? As long as we are in the process of thinking and have not uttered any words or done an action, we still have the privilege of choice . However, once we have uttered the words or done the action, then we have no choice but to wait for the results.
Do you not see how many people are in prison and if you asked them, they would all say in one voice: “We were hasty.”
Try to have strong determination in controlling your own self and restraining it from taking any step without careful consideration, as taking a step after careful thinking and knowledge is praiseworthy, especially when it comes to matters related to the Hereafter. Hence, do not be hesitant or reluctant regarding doing good deeds, but try to hasten to do them. Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas, radhiallah ‘anhu, said, “The Prophet said: ‘Deliberation should be in every matter except matters that pertain to the Hereafter.’” [Abu Daawood] [Al-Albaani: Saheeh]
Imaam An-Nawawi differentiated between deliberation and solemnity and said, “Deliberation in movements and the avoidance of frivolity is the praised deliberation, but lowering the gaze and the voice is solemnity.”
Practically, it is proved that the one who is hasty and realises this can train himself to be deliberate and when he reaps the fruits of deliberation, he continues to remain as such.
Haste is one of the qualities of the youth and may result in dangerous consequences for their deeds. Thus, it is a good idea to bring up the youth so that they are used to meditation and careful thinking, and to avoid hastening towards darkness before having the light of knowledge as the negative effects of their deeds will not only affect them, but also their families and societies.
Dear brothers and sisters, the devil deceives humans by means of their temper to prevent them from even thinking about altering or improving their tempers. Some of us believe that we have been created with the innate quality of being hasty, to the extent that we cannot conceive of abandoning it and excuse ourselves regarding many of our mistakes or hasty actions.
We should remember that being deliberate is achieved through training, so train yourself to think carefully before making any decision and before speaking. Do not cause yourself to apologise frequently because of your haste and remember that sometimes the consequences could be very bad.
Do you know that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, was very strict with those who were hasty, especially when the negative effects of their behavior could be fatal?
Usaamah ibn Zayd, radhiallah ‘anhu, said: “The Messenger of Allah sent us towards Al-Huraqah, and in the morning we attacked them and defeated them. I, and a man of the Ansaar followed a man from among them and when we took him over, he said, ‘La ilaaha illAllah.’ On hearing that, the Ansari man stopped, but I killed him by stabbing him with my spear. When we returned, the Prophet came to know about that and he said: ‘O Usaamah! Did you kill him after he had said, “La ilaaha illAllah?”’ I said, ‘But he said so only to save himself.’ The Prophet kept on repeating that so often that I wished I had not embraced Islam before that day.”
The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, reproached the hasty people in the Hadith (narration) by Jaabir, radhiallah ‘anhu, who said: “We were travelling and a man among us was injured by a stone and his head was wounded then he had a wet dream and asked his companions if he could have permission to perform Tayammum (dry ablution). They told him that he could not be excused as he had water. Thus, the man performed Ghusl and he died. When we returned to the Prophet and told him he said: ‘They killed him. May Allah kill them! Why did they not ask when they did not know, as the remedy of ignorance is asking. It was sufficient for him to perform Tayammum and wrap a piece of cloth over the wound then wipe over it and wash the rest of his body.’”[Abu Daawood]
Taste the sweetness of deliberation in all your matters as you will not aspire to something except that which Allah The Almighty has decreed and nothing will afflict you except that which Allah The Almighty has decreed, so why are you hasty?
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
Tussle with Satan
There are many among us who do not take Satan seriously. There are still others who simply laugh to scorn at the idea. For those who wish to know the truth about Satan and his clan and their technique, we quote from the Qur’an – the book of “assured certainty.”
“And surely We created you and then gave you shape, then We told the Angels ‘Prostrate to Adam’, and they prostrated, except Iblees, he refused to be one of those who prostrate.
(Allah) said: ‘What prevented you (O Iblees) that you did not prostrate when I commanded you?’ Iblees said: ‘I am better than he (Adam). You created me from fire and him You created from clay.’
(Allah) said: ‘Get you (O Iblees) down from this, it is not for you to be arrogant here, get out, for you are of the meanest ones.’
(Iblees) said: ‘Respite me till the Day they are raised up (ie the Day of Resurrection).’
(Allah) said: ‘You are of the respited.’
(Iblees) said: ‘Because you have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your straight path.’ (7:11-16)
After going through the above verses there could be no reason to be sceptical about Satan. He is one who defied his Lord out of sheer arrogance. He thought too highly of himself and too contemptuously of Adam who he took to be a murky creature made of clay. He overlooked the fact that the Lord had made Adam with His own hands and had breathed into him His Word. Satan was humbled for his haughtiness, declared an outlaw and avowed enemy of Adam and Eve.
FIRST VICTIMS: Adam and Eve were thus his first victims and unfortunately for all of us, they fell in Satan’s lap like a ripe apple. Their error of judgment cost them their peaceful abode in Heaven – they were thrown out: Adam to execute God’s plan and to establish His kingdom on earth and Satan to try his worst to undo it.
THE TUSSLE: The tussle which started with the first man goes on with ever-increasing fury. Satan’s first step is to put man off his guard and then to lead him to the wrong direction to pursue the path of divine disobedience. His second step is to demoralise him through open and concealed threats as the Holy Qur’an says:
“(Satan) commands you only what is evil and sinful and that you should say against Allah what you know not.” (2:169)
“Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to commit sins; whereas Allah promises you Forgiveness from Himself and bounty. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures’ needs, All-Knower.” (2:268)
Ordinarily one would not fall in Satan’s trap but there are ever so many who are not so careful. Satan is in our blood; he races with it in our veins as observed by the Holy Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam – peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) has also said that Satan sits stooping over the heart and injects venom through his fang.
Why Satan has a way with us is that he knows fully well our principal weakness and he exploits it to the utmost, namely man’s craving for supremacy. He entices us away as he cunningly prevailed upon Adam and brought about his fall. He bore enmity to Adam because he felt humbled before him. He continues to harbour enormous enmity to all of us; the fury of his wrath, the tempo of his hatred is ever on the increase. Man’s ignorance is only aiding and abetting Satan’s passion. Satan is out to harm man out of desperation because of the fatal blunder that he committed in disobeying Allah’s command to honour Adam. Hence the repeated warning of the Holy Qur’an to us that we should beware of Satan who is our worst enemy.
ONLY ONE ENEMY: As explained above, man has only one enemy – Satan. If he surrenders himself to him, he will find himself surrounded by a host of hostile herds each one as sharp and shrewd as a double-faced crook ready to hamstring him the moment he steps out. Once in their clutches, he can only sink deeper and deeper. But Allah Almighty is Omnipotent. If the man, the sinner calls Him, He does come to the rescue. The Qur’an tells us many stories of this kind of divine help and succour to those who lost their way through ignorance and earned their freedom once again through Divine Mercy.
Satan is in hot pursuit of us as long as we are alive. The sooner it is realised the better for all of us. Man is not an eternal sinner nor is he “born in sin.” He is a sublime being born out of a noble parentage and possesses a proud heritage. We come to know all of this from the Qur’an. The Prophet (peace be upon him) in his last Pilgrimage, exhorted his Companions gathered there and through them to all of his followers to the last day, to hold fast to the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah – the two sources of certain success. Let us therefore take them in right earnest to keep away the Satan from our midst.
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