USMANI DISCOURSES. English translation of talks by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB.

Hadhrat Thanavi (may Allah have mercy on him) said;

“A person’s ego is a great barrier. It cannot be treated without crushing it.”

Hadhrat Thanvi RE has described a unique practical treatment for Gheebat. This treatment is very difficult, but if someone does it Insha’Allah he will be able to quit Gheebat within a few days. He said;

“A practical treatment for Gheebat is that whenever a person commits someone’s Gheebat, he should let that person know that I have committed your Gheebat. Insha’Allah this illness of Gheebat will subside within a few days of this treatment.”

Hadhrat Thanvi (may Allah be pleased with him) said;

“If there is a genuine religious need then Gheebat is permissible in those situations, for example, the way Muhaddithin (scholars of Hadith) have discussed the narrators of Hadith. However, if there is no pressing religious need, and the purpose behind Gheebat is only to do gossip and to enjoy it, then in those situations even telling someone’s true flaws (behind his back) is Haraam (unlawful), and saying something untrue without any effort to find out the truth is ‘Buhtaan’ (slander). The basis of what is said being a lie is not upon making an effort to confirm that it is a lie, but upon not making an effort to find out the truth.”  

Hadhrat Thanavi (may Allah have mercy on him) said;

“The real treatment of thinking ill of others (Badgumani), undue curiosity (Tajassus), and Gheebat (backbiting) is to adopt Tawazu’ (humility) and remove Takabbur (arrogance, grandiosity) from one’s heart. But until one gets rid of these core spiritual illnesses, until such time he should treat his illness of Gheebat in the following way; (1) reflect and ponder before you say anything, (2) fix some fine on yourself if you do slip up (and commit Gheebat), and (3) divert your attention towards Allah Ta’ala’s Dhikr (remembrance) when you get bad thoughts about others.” 

Allah Ta’ala says in the Noble Qur’an, 

“O you who believe, abstain from many of the suspicions. Some suspicions are sins. And do not be curious (to find out faults of others), and do not backbite one another. Does one of you like that he eats the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor it. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is Most-Relenting, Very-Merciful.” (49:12)

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) said;

“It has been narrated in a Hadith that if you hear that a mountain has moved from its place then accept it, but if you hear about a person that his internal attributes have changed then do not accept it. This tells us that with Riyazat (sustained effort) a person’s internal attributes do not subside totally, they just become attenuated.” 

What it means is that in the Hadith it has been negated that if you hear that a person’s anger has subsided completely, do not accept it, because a person’s internal attributes do not change completely. However, through Riyazat (sustained effort) and Suhbat (companionship) this anger can be brought under control. Then a person doesn’t get angry all the time. He may get angry but only in situations where Shariah permits him to get angry, and even in that anger he does not cross limits set by Shariah. 

Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala have mercy on him) said,

“The crux of Tasawwuf is that when a person is finding it difficult to perform a commandment of Shariah because of a lack of motivation, he should fight that lack of motivation to obey that commandment, and when a person is finding it difficult to resist temptations to commit a sin because of lack of motivation, then he should fight that lack of motivation to refrain from that sin. This is what gives rise to a closer relationship with Allah, this is what makes that relationship stronger, and this is what sustains it.”

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala have mercy on him) further used to say that the aim of treating bad moral values is not to get rid of them completely, as many of these are natural instincts and it is not possible to do so. The idea is to keep opposing them through one’s thoughts and behaviours so much that they become so weak as if they do not exist anymore. This process of enhancing and further developing good moral values, and weakening and attenuating bad moral values, is called Tazkiyah and this is the primary goal of Tasawwuf.

Tazkiyah literally means purifying something. There are many commandments of Shariah which pertain to a person’s body, as in they are carried out physically. Some of them are DOs (اوامر) for example, pray Salah, observe fasting, give Zakat, perform Hajj, etc., and some of them are DON’T’s (نواہی), for example, do not tell a lie, do not do Gheebat(backbiting), do not drink alcohol, do not steal, do not commit robbery, etc.

In exactly the same way, there are many commandments of Shariah which pertain to a person’s mind, or inner self. Some of these are DOs called Awamir (اوامر). Developing these good moral values is Wajib (necessary) and a person’s Deendoesn’t become complete unless he develops these good moral values. For example, it is Wajib (necessary) to perform Shukr (being thankful to Allah Ta’ala for His blessings upon us), observing Sabr (patience, steadfastness) if something undesirable happens, observing Tawakkul (placing one’s complete trust in Allah Ta’ala), developing Tawazu (humility, believing others to be better than oneself), and developing Ikhlas (sincerity of intention, meaning whatever a person does, he does it solely with the intention of seeking Allah Ta’ala’s pleasure and approval). Developing Ikhlas is Wajib as no act of worship is acceptable without Ikhlas. All these good moral values such as Shukr, Sabr, Tawazu and Ikhlas are called Akhlaq-e-Fazilah (اخلاقِ فاضلہ) and trying to develop them is Wajib (necessary).

Similarly, there are some bad or undesirable moral values in our minds or inner-self which are Haraam (impermissible) and we must try to remove them from our minds. These are called Akhlaq-e-Razilah (اخلاقِ رذیلہ). If these traits are present in us, then a person has to try to suppress and attenuate them so that they do not lead a person to commit sinful acts. The examples of such undesirable mental traits are Takabbur (تکبّر) (grandiosity, believing oneself to be superior to other people), Hasad (حسد) (envy, being jealous of the good things others have and wishing or making efforts that they lose them), Riya (ریا) (doing acts of worship with the intention of pleasing people, rather than pleasing Allah Ta’ala), and impatience (بے صبری) (not accepting what Allah Ta’ala has decided for us and keep complaining about fate), etc. Having the habit of becoming unduly or excessively angry without just reason is also one of these bad moral values. These bad moral values are as Haraam (impermissible) as committing a robbery or telling a lie. 

In summary, there are some good or desirable moral values (Akhlaq-e-Fazilah) pertaining to our inner-self which it is incumbent upon us to develop, and there are some bad moral values (Akhlaq-e-Razilah) pertaining to our inner-self which we are required to attenuate and control. The role of a Sufi Shaykh is to inculcate and enhance the former, and attenuate and weaken the latter, in the minds of his spiritual pupils called Mureed (مرید). 

Hadhrat Thanvi RE further said;

“Along with apologizing, it is also necessary that you praise the person whose Gheebat you had committed, in front of the same people in front of whom you had committed his Gheebat, and clarify that you were wrong.”

This is because you have apologized to him, and have also done Istighfar in front of Allah Ta’ala, but the people in front of whom you had committed his Gheebat are still carrying that bad impression from what you had said. To negate that bad impression, now you should praise him in front of the same people and admit that what you had said may not have been completely true. 

Hadhrat Thanvi then said;

“And if what you had said wasn’t wrong, it was true, then say something like, ‘please do not start doubting that person because of what I had said because now even I am not 100 percent sure whether what I had said was true or not.’ This will be توریہ because one cannot be 100 percent sure about anything without Wahy (Divine revelation).”

It means that if what you had said was true, now you cannot knowingly say that it wasn’t true. Rather, say something like “do not start thinking bad of that person because of what I had said because now I am also not sure whether what I had said is 100 percent true or not.” For 100 percent certainty one needs either direct observation or divine revelation. There is no other way of having 100 percent certainty. Therefore, it is okay to make a statement like this. Insha’Allah it will atone to some extent for the Gheebat you had committed about that person.

Hadhrat Thanvi (may Allah have mercy on him) said;

The Holy Prophet’s ﷺ Sunnah in seeking forgiveness

Once the Holy Prophet ﷺ stood in front of a large gathering of his Companions and said, “if I owe some money to someone, he should tell me and take it from me. If I had hurt someone physically he can either take revenge for it, or forgive me.” One companion stood up and said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, one day you had hit me on my back.” The Holy Prophet said ﷺ, “If I had hit you on your back, then you have a right to hit me on my back.” When the companion came close to him he said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ! When you had hit me, I didn’t have a cloth covering my back, but there is a cloth covering your back.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ lifted his cloth. The real intention of the companion was not to take revenge, it was to kiss the seal of Prophethood and so he did. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ was prepared that if he owed a right to anyone, he was ready for that person to take revenge from him.

Hazrat Thanvi RE said;

“Otherwise, with Mujahidah (sustained effort), neither a greedy person’s greed goes away completely, nor a miser’s miserliness, or Mutakabbir’s (person who has Takabbur in his heart) Takabbur (arrogance, grandiosity). However, they do get weakened.”

The bad moral values that exist in a person’s inner-self are called Akhlaq-e-Razilah (اخلاقِ رذیلہ). 

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala have mercy on him) has said;

“Salik (a mentee or pupil in Tasawuf) should get his bad moral values rectified one by one by the Shaykh. When one bad moral value becomes attenuated and comes under his full control, then he should start getting the next one rectified. He should not wait for the first one to go away or be eradicated completely as it is impossible. There are many benefits behind the existence of these bad moral values.”

Hazrat Thanvi RE further said;

“The aim of attenuating bad moral values is to weaken them to an extent that they come under the person’s control. ‘Weakening’ means that after Mujahidah (sustained effort) it becomes easier to oppose those impulses.”

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) further said;

“A person will continue to need treatment (for spiritual ills) until and unless these internal desires are completely extinguished, and there is no way of completely extinguishing these internal desires.”

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) said;

“The cure of all negative attributes of a person’s inner-self is reflection and forbearance. Whatever act he is going to perform, first he should reflect on whether it is permissible under Shariah or not. And he should not rush to do things, he should practice forbearance.”

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) said that;

“Opposing the impulse and drive to commit a sin is called Mujahidah (مجاہدہ) (sustained effort). That impulse arises from some spiritual illness or weakness. The weakening or attenuation of that spiritual illness with sustained effort is called Riyazat (ریاضت).”

Imam Shafa’i’s (RE) remaining quiet before replying

It has been written about Imam Shafa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) that when someone asked him a question sometimes he remained quiet for a period of time and did not reply immediately. Someone asked, “Hadhrat! It has been so long but you have not said anything.” Imam Shafa’i RE replied;

“I am quiet because I am reflecting on whether it is better for me to stay quiet or speak.”

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“The thing that will make people fall face down in Hell most often will be the words that have come out of their mouth.”

It is narrated in a Hadith that a Companion (Sahabi) asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, which is the most exalted act of worship?” He replied, “the most exalted act of worship is that your tongue always remains active with Allah’s Dhikr (remembrance).”

To protect oneself from Gheebat Hadhrat Thanvi (may Allah have mercy on him) has described a general rule which is;

“Do not say anything before reflecting on it first. It will happen sometimes that you won’t remember to think about it but if you keep reminding yourself about it, you will start remembering most of the time to think before you speak. Insha’Allah (God willing) you won’t neglect it then. Whenever you are about to say something, think first whether what you are about to say will constitute a sin. Insha’Allah this will lead to improvement.”

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

لا طاعة لمخلوق فی معصیة الخالق

“There is no disobeying the Creator in obeying the creation”.

It is permissible to do Gheebat in situations where the primary purpose is to save a person from coming to some sort of harm. For example, a person comes to you and asks that someone wants to marry his daughter, and asks you if you know what kind of person that man is. If you know something about that person which is important in relation to this marriage proposal, then if you tell that person about it with the intention that he and his daughter will be saved from coming to harm, then this is not included in Gheebat.

Just like it is not permissible to do Gheebat of a pious person, it is not permissible to do Gheebat of a sinner. 

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) said;

“If a person commits Gheebat or some useless conversation in front of a Salik (a disciple on the path of purification of inner-self) and he does not have the power to stop him from doing so, then he should leave that sitting, and he should not care about hurting the other person’s feelings, because not harming one’s own Deen is far more important than hurting someone’s feelings. If he is not able to leave that sitting openly then he should make some excuse to get up, or change the topic away from Gheebat.”

The Noble Qur’an says;

“…and do not backbite one another. Does one of you like that he eats the flesh of his dead brother? You would abhor it…” (49:12)

Once a Sahabi (companion) asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ, “O Prophet of Allah! If I am doing Gheebat about someone but what I am saying is true, is it still a sin?” The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied, “If what you are saying bad about a person is true and you are telling the truth, then it is Gheebat. But if what you are saying about him is not true and you are telling a lie, then you are also committing the sin of Bohtaan in addition to Gheebat.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has told us a remedy that can only come from a Messenger of Allah. If we follow this advice it would lead to peace and harmony in our society and abolition of all conflicts. That remedy is 

احب لا خیک ما تحب لنفسک

واکرہ لغیرک ما یکرہ لنفسک

It means that “like for your brother what you like for yourself, and dislike for your brother what you dislike for yourself.”

The Holy Companions used to say, “O Allah, if You had not granted us Taufeeq (motivation) we wouldn’t have received guidance, we would neither have been inclined to give Sadaqah, nor to pray Salah. Whatever good deeds we perform is because of the Taufeeq You have given us, therefore, we thank You for this Taufeeq, and seek forgiveness for our mistakes.” 

I heard the following saying of Hadhrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) from my Shaykh that if a person says the following words after performing a good deed,

“Alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah), Astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness from Allah),”

the Satan says that this person has broken my back. It is because by saying Alhamdulillah the person expresses his gratefulness to Allah Ta’ala for granting him the motivation to perform that good deed thus protecting himself from Takabbur, and by saying Astaghfirullah he does not focus too much on his mistakes under the influence of undue Tawazu’.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that the person who says that everyone else has lost the right path, is the one who has lost the right path himself. 

Hadhrat Thanvi (may Allah have mercy on him) said;

“It is permissible that you get angry with someone who commits a sin, but never think of them as being inferior to you. And if you are ever tasked with correcting someone’s behaviour, never think you are better than them. It is possible that they are like the prince and you are just the prince’s tutor. If the king orders the tutor to discipline the prince, it does not mean that the tutor has become superior to the prince.” (Infas-e-Essa)

“Those who are traversing the path of Tazkiyah (purification of inner-self) get afflicted by two types of spiritual illnesses. The first is Kibr (grandiosity, arrogance), and the second is excessive Tawazu’ (humility). Kibr is that if a person starts reciting some Tasbeehat, they start believing that they have become a great saint, if they start praying Salah they start looking down upon those who do not pray Salah. The treatment of this Kibr is to remind oneself that Kibr is one of the greatest sins and many a pious people lost their way because they had developed Kibr. Satan, who at one time was famous for his worship of Allah Ta’ala, was condemned for all eternity purely because of his Kibr.

(Unduly) Excessive Tawazu’ is that a person starts denigrating himself to the extent that he starts rubbishing his prayers, for example, people start saying things like they pray Salah but there is no Khushu’ (humbleness of heart) in it, they do Dhikr (remembrance) but do not get any spiritual benefit out of it, so their acts of worship are useless (Ma’az Allah). The treatment of this unduly excessive Tawazu’ is to say to Allah Ta’ala that ‘O Allah! I am extremely grateful to you that you have given me the motivation to pray Salah and do Dhikr. Otherwise, it was not my station to worship You without You allowing me to do so.”

Hadhrat Thanavi (may Allah have mercy on him) said;

Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ do not want delaying good deeds, rather they want people hurrying to perform good deeds. For example, it has been said in the Holy Qur’an; “…Strive, then, to excel each other in good deeds…” (2:148) and “…and hasten towards good deeds…” (3:114). Similarly, when it says in the Hadith that ‘thawab’ (reward for good deeds) are multiplied in Ramadan, it implies that when we are in Ramadan, we should hasten to perform good deeds before it finishes. Do not delay it thinking you will perform these good deeds after Ramadan. It is because the reward for performing the same good deeds is much higher if performed in Ramadan. However, it does not mean that we should postpone performing good deeds waiting for Ramadan. For example, if the Zakat year finishes on 28 Sha’ban, then not paying Zakat during Sha’ban and to keep waiting till Ramadan in the hope of getting greater reward is not correct.

Tehdees-e-Naimah (acknowledging Allah Ta’ala’s blessings upon oneself) is such an important act of worship that Allah Ta’ala has commanded the Holy Prophet ﷺ in the Holy Qur’an to perform it;

“And about the bounty of your Lord, do talk.” (93:11)

In obedience of this divine command the Holy Prophet ﷺ recounted Allah Ta’ala’s blessings upon himself on many occasions. On one occasion he said;

“I am the leader of the sons of Adam. But I do not take pride in it.”

In obedience to Allah Ta’ala’s command he acknowledged that Allah Ta’ala had made him the leader, the master, of all the progeny of Hadhrat Adam (peace be upon him). However, he was also mindful that this Tehdees-e-Naimah should not enter into the realm of Takabbur, so he immediately added that I am not proud of it, I do not boast about it. This is worth learning that even the Holy Prophet ﷺ was so careful that any of his words may not cross the line of Takabbur even in appearance.

On the day of conquest of Makkah, the Holy Prophet ﷺ was entering that city as a conqueror the residents of which had forced him to leave his city of birth, had plotted to kill him, had thrown filth over him, had thrown stones at him. Had it been anyone else entering that city as a conqueror in those circumstances, he would have been holding his head high with arrogance, his neck would have been stiff, and he would have been shouting “there is no one like me”. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ entered Makkah in a fashion that his head was bowed to the extent that his chin was touching his chest, tears were running from his eyes, and he was reciting the following verses of the Holy Qur’an;

“Surely, We have granted you an open victory, so that Allah may forgive you of your previous and subsequent faults, and may complete His favour upon you, and may guide you to a straight path,” (48:1-2)

This is true Tehdees-e-Naimah because by reciting the verses “انّا فتحنا لک فتحا مبینا” the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reminding himself that this conquest has been granted by Allah Ta’ala and that it is Allah’s blessing upon the Muslims. And this reminding oneself of blessings of Allah Ta’ala upon oneself leads a person to developing humility and gratefulness, and to orientating oneself even more towards Allah Ta’ala. These are signs that this is Tehdees-e-Naimah.

Hadhrat Thanvi (may Allah have mercy on him) said;

“Another treatment of Takabbur is to keep reminding oneself of Allah Ta’ala’s greatness, especially at those times when there is a risk of Takabbur. What is even better is to set a time aside every day to reflect on Allah Ta’ala’s greatness.”

What is also worth reminding oneself of is the reply a wise elder gave to a Mutakabbir person. He said to the wise elder, “Do you not know who I am?” The wise elder replied, “I know very well who you are. Your beginning was a drop of dirty water. Your end will be a foul-smelling carcass. You will reach a situation when even your loved ones will not be willing to keep you at home. Rather they will throw you in a ditch because if they keep you at home, your foul odour will pervade through the whole house. And in between this beginning and end, you are carrying kilos of sewage within your body at any given time.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“That person will not enter paradise whose neighbour is not safe from being hurt by him.”

In another Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“Keep the space in front of your home clean.”

TREATING ONE’S NON-MUSLIM NEIGHBOURS WELL

Hazrat Mujahid (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him), who was a special pupil of Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him), narrates that once he was sitting with him. His servant was taking the skin off a slaughtered goat. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA said to him, “When you have taken the skin off, first send the meat to our Jewish neighbour.” A person who was sitting beside them exclaimed, “Sending meat to a Jew! May Allah show you the right path.” 

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA replied, “I have heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ emphasize about treating one’s neighbours well so much that we started thinking that neighbours will be given a share in inheritance.”

Part 4 of the talk “THREE SIGNS OF BEING FORTUNATE” By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.  

It is a matter of having a great character that a person is mindful all the time that he does not hurt anyone with his words. 

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;  

“A true Muslim is one whose tongue (words) and hands (actions) other Muslims are safe from.”   

This Hadith forms the core of all rules of Ma’ashrat (ways of living with other people).  

Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) has narrated that one night it was her turn for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to spend the night in her home. Hazrat Aisha RAA wanted to prepare some special food for him out of her exceptional love for him. But how to cook special food as she spent in the way of Allah Ta’ala whatever came to her house? She cooked a roti from whatever flour was in the house. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ came, it was very cold. He said to Hazrat Aisha RAA that he was feeling cold. She arranged a warm bed for him. He lied down in it and fell asleep. Hazrat Aisha RAA was waiting for him to wake up so that she could serve him the roti she had cooked with such love.   In the meanwhile, the neighbour’s goat came to their house and took the roti that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) had cooked with such love and affection. Hazrat Aisha RAA was watching the goat take the roti, but because the Holy Prophet ﷺ was sleeping, she did not stop the goat from taking the roti even when it took the roti out of her home. She felt very sad. As soon as the Holy Prophet ﷺ woke up she ran towards the door to see if she could find that goat.  When the Holy Prophet ﷺ saw her distressed, he asked what the matter was. Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) told him the whole story that she had made that roti for him with such love and affection, and the goat had run away with it. That was why she was very sad. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “bring if any part of the roti is left. But do not hurt your neighbour because of that goat, and do not say anything harsh to them that your goat ate my roti.   

It is worth noting that the first thing the Holy Prophet ﷺ said was not to say anything hurtful to the neighbour, because it was not their fault that the goat ate the roti. And even if it was, maintaining relations with one’s neighbours is much more important that one roti.   These days we can’t even imagine the value of that roti that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her) had cooked. We live in such affluence that if we lose one roti, it doesn’t make any difference to us. But if we think back of those days, Hazrat Aisha RAA had only a little bit of barley with which she could barely make one roti, and the goat takes away even that roti. In spite of that, the Holy Prophet ﷺ advised her with emphasis not to say anything harsh to the neighbour.

Part 4 of the talk “THREE SIGNS OF BEING FORTUNATE” By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.

There is a Hadith which carries a grave warning. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“The thing which will make people fall face down in Jahannam (Hell) the most, is a person’s tongue.”

Part 3 of the talk “THREE SIGNS OF BEING FORTUNATE” By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.  

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said that there are so many rights of neighbours, and Jibrai’l (Gabriel) Amin (AS) kept stressing upon the rights of neighbours so much that I started thinking that neighbours will also get a share of inheritance.   

Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated that someone asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ;   

“O Prophet of Allah. There are two women. One of them prays Tahajjud all night, fasts during the day, does many other good deeds, and gives Sadaqah. However, she also hurts her neighbours with her tongue (words). What is the judgment for this woman?”   

The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied,   “There is no Khair (good) in this woman. She is destined for (Hell) fire.”  

Then he was asked;   “there is another woman who prays Fard (compulsory), but not Nafl, (supererogatory) Salah, and if she does give Sadaqah she only gives some pieces of cheese (meaning she doesn’t give anything valuable in charity), but she does not cause harm to or hurt anyone.”   

The Holy Prophet ﷺ was then asked about the status of such a woman. He replied;  “She will be one of the people in Jannah (paradise).”

Part 2 of the talk “THREE SIGNS OF BEING FORTUNATE” By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB  

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) has narrated a story in his sermons that there was person who had great treasures of gold and silver. He used to go to inspect his treasures every week. The padlocks of his treasures were such that they could be opened only from the outside. One day when he went to inspect his treasures and went inside, the door closed behind him. He made many efforts to open the door from the inside but was unable to do so. He was sitting among all sorts of treasure of gold and silver, but they could neither satiate his hunger, nor quench his thirst. Eventually he died of thirst sitting between all his treasures.

Part 1 of the talk "“THREE SIGNS OF BEING FORTUNATE” by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB  

The Holy Prophet ﷺ used to say the following prayer after Wudu;  

“O Allah! Please forgive my sins, please grant me spaciousness in my house, and grant me Barakah (blessing) in my sustenance.”  

In this prayer the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked for Barakah (blessing) in his sustenance. He did not pray for a great amount of sustenance, for example, he did not say, “O Allah Ta’ala, give me a lot of sustenance.” Rather, he said, “O Allah Ta’ala, grant me Barakah in my sustenance.” It means that he is asking that even if the sustenance is not large in numbers, even if the wealth is not too great, but it should have Barakah.

The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ Part 9.   

Once the Holy Prophet ﷺ was going somewhere. On the way, he saw Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) scolding his slave. That slave was Habshi (of African origin) so he was saying to him, “O’ Habshi, you are doing this.” When the Holy Prophet ﷺ heard these words, he said,   

“O’ Abu Zar! It seems like you still have some habits from the days of Jahiliyah (ignorance). That is why you are addressing your slave as O’ Habshi.”  

Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari RAA started crying upon hearing these words, and even later he used to remember again and again that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had said this about me.  

Once Hazrat Siddiq Akbar (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) was scolding one’s slave and saying some curse words to him. When the Holy Prophet ﷺ heard this, he said;  

“You are a Siddiq and you also curse! By the God of Ka’abah both of these traits cannot be combined together.”  Meaning that a person cannot be a Siddiq and also be cursing other people. If a person is a Siddiq he cannot curse other people, and the person who curses other people cannot be a Siddiq. Hazrat Siddiq Akbar RAA trembled upon hearing this and freed not just the slave he had been cursing but also many other slaves.

The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ Part 8. English translation of a talk by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB  

Hazrat Anas (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) remained in the service of the Holy Prophet ﷺ for about ten years. About how the Holy Prophet ﷺ treated him during all this time, he himself says;  

“I served the Holy Prophet ﷺ for ten years. During all this time he never even said ‘uff’ (an expression of exasperation) to me, neither scolded me, nor told me off, and never said ‘why did you do this do this’, or ‘why did you not do this’.”  

This seems simple enough in saying, but if someone tries to follow this Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, only then they will realise what supreme self-control it will require to consistently do this for ten years! We are happy following the easy Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, but this is also a Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and we must try to follow it too. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the motivation to follow all these Sunnah too. Aameen

The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ Part 7. English translation of a talk by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB  

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;  

“Your employees are your brothers. Allah Ta’ala has made them your subordinates. Give them to eat the same food that you eat yourselves, and give them to wear what you wear yourselves.”  

It is narrated in a Hadith that once the Holy Prophet ﷺ passed Hazrat Abu Masud on his way. He was being angry with his slave and telling him off. It looked as if he was close to hitting him. Upon seeing this the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;  

“Allah Ta’ala has more power over you than you have over this slave.”

The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ Part 6. English translation of a talk by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

The third advice the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave at the time of his parting from this mortal world, was related to the (Huqooq al-Ibad) Rights of People. He said;

وما ملکت ایمانکم

By using this word, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has cautioned people to be especially mindful of the rights of those people who are your subordinates, and who Allah Ta’ala has given you some sort of authority over. He emphasized it because people who are equal in status, do not hesitate in demanding their rights. But the person who is someone’s subordinate, cannot always demand his rights forcefully because of the status difference between him and his bosses. Sometimes he believes in his heart that he deserves more, but cannot demand so because of fear of consequences. Therefore, unless you have fear of Allah Ta’ala in your heart, and you are mindful that you have to fulfil his rights, then you will not be able to discharge his rights due towards you fully and completely.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said;

“When it is morning time, do not wait for the evening, and when it is evening, do not wait for the morning. Consider yourself to be one of those people who are in their graves.”

It means that keep thinking that you may be going to your grave any moment, therefore, do not postpone things you need to do, for tomorrow.

Satan has unique ways of deceiving people. So, it won’t try to convince a Muslim to give up praying Salah, or try to convince him that it is not important. It puts thoughts into a Muslim’s mind that “Salah is very important, but I will start praying it at a time when I know I will keep praying it regularly from then on. I don’t feel I am ready for that today, so what is the point of praying just one Salah or praying it for just one day. I will start from tomorrow.” When the chore for which a person had postponed his plan of starting Salah is finished, he comes across another chore, another commitment, and then another. And this way the Satan makes him keep postponing starting Salah to ‘tomorrow’, but tomorrow never comes.

The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ Part 4. English translation of a talk by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said;

“When it is morning time, do not wait for the evening, and when it is evening, do not wait for the morning. Consider yourself to be one of those people who are in their graves.”

It means that keep thinking that you may be going to your grave any moment, therefore, do not postpone things you need to do, for tomorrow.

Satan has unique ways of deceiving people. So, it won’t try to convince a Muslim to give up praying Salah, or try to convince him that it is not important. It puts thoughts into a Muslim’s mind that “Salah is very important, but I will start praying it at a time when I know I will keep praying it regularly from then on. I don’t feel I am ready for that today, so what is the point of praying just one Salah or praying it for just one day. I will start from tomorrow.” When the chore for which a person had postponed his plan of starting Salah is finished, he comes across another chore, another commitment, and then another. And this way the Satan makes him keep postponing starting Salah to ‘tomorrow’, but tomorrow never comes.

The proper way of performing Qada-e-Umri is to start praying a Qada prayer with every Fard (compulsory) prayer, for example, Fajr with Fajr, Zuhur with Zuhur, and Asr with Asr. The way of praying an individual Qada prayer to make a Niyyah (intention) before praying it that, for example, I am praying the first Fajr Qada Salah that is due towards me, and the same with all other prayers. And then keep doing it every day.

The person should also write a will that he is starting to pray Qada-e-Umri from that date, and will be praying one Qada(missed) Salah with every Fard (compulsory) Salah, and that he has three years of Qada Salah due towards him. However, if he dies before praying all the Qada Salah, then the Fidyah (compensation money) should be paid to needy people from his estate.

If a person does not leave such a will, then it is not Wajib (necessary) for his inheritors to pay that Fidyah. In Shariah, a person has full disposing authority over his assets only in his life, and before any terminal illness starts. If someone develops a terminal illness then they can dispose of only up to a third of their assets. It is not permissible for them to dispose of more than a third of their assets. So, if a person does not make a will for paying Fidyah while still alive and not suffering from a terminal illness, against his remaining Qada Salah upon his death, then it is not Wajib (necessary) for his inheritors to pay the Fidyah for his Qada Salah even if he has left behind hundreds of thousands of rupees. However, if they wish to do so out of their own free will, then they have the right to do so.

That is why everyone should make a will as soon as possible that if he dies before he is able to pray all the Qada Salahdue towards him, then the Fidyah (compensation) for the remaining Qada Salah should be paid from his inheritance. And he should also start praying the Qada Salah one by one from today. If a person starts doing these two things, then if he dies before he can pray all his Qada Salah, Insha’Allah he will be forgiven. But if a person doesn’t do these two things, neither he starts praying the Qada Salah, nor does he make a will for his remaining Qada Salah in case of his death, then he is being neglectful of one of the greatest Ibadah.

The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Part 2. English Translation of a talk by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

The Holy Qur’an and Hadith are full of commandments about praying Salah. The commandment to establish Salah comes more than 60 times in the Holy Qur’an.   It has been narrated in a Hadith that in the Aakhirah (Hereafter) the first question we will be asked, will be about Salah. We will be held accountable for how many Salah we prayed, how many we have missed, and how many we prayed after their time had passed. When a person starts preparing for Aakhirah the first thing they need to do is to take account of their Salah, as to how many they have not prayed since it became incumbent upon them after attaining puberty.  

It is for the reason above it has been the practice of our wise elders that whenever someone came to them seeking to establish Islahi Ta’alluq (mentoring relationship for self-improvement), the first teaching they received was in performing Taubah (repentance) from previous sins. There is a general or in principle Taubah, and a specific or detailed Taubah.   For general or in principle Taubah, a person should pray two raka’t with the intention of Salah of repentance (صلوٰة التوبہ), and then with a humble heart should pray to Allah Ta’ala that “O’ Allah! I beg You for forgiveness for all the sins I have committed in my previous life. Please forgive me for all the sins I have committed, major or minor. Please forgive me for all the Faraid (compulsory commandments) and Wajibat (necessary commandments) that I have neglected or not performed. O’ Allah! Please forgive me and accept my Taubah.” This is general or in principle Taubah.   

Once a person has done general Taubah, the next step is to do specific Taubah. Specific Taubah means that they look at their entire past life critically as to what wrongs they have committed in that life. Then they should reflect on which of these wrongs they can atone for now. For example, they should make a list of all the people they have hurt in their past life. Then they should try to ask for forgiveness from all those people who are still alive and they can contact, and pray for forgiveness from Allah Ta’ala in favour of all those people who have passed away or they are unable to contact any more.  

In terms of Salah, a person needs to estimate how many Salah, if any, they have not prayed (done Qada) since Salah became compulsory for them. That time starts from the age when an individual attains puberty. If they do not remember the exact age, then they should estimate it from the age of 14 years as that is the age when children usually become mature. Then they should estimate how many Salah of which time (for example Fajr or Asr) they may not have prayed since then. If they do not remember exactly, then they should make a conservative estimate. If, for example, they estimate that they had not prayed all the five Salah for 3 years. They should write that down in a copy, and then start praying a Qada Salah with each regular Salah. This is called Qada-e-Umri (قضائے عمری).

This Hadith has been narrated by Hazrat Ali (کرم اللّٰہ وجہہ). In this narration he has described the events around the time of the Holy Prophet’s ﷺ last few days before he passed away from this mortal world. Hazrat Ali RAA has narrated that on the last day when the Holy Prophet ﷺ fell really unwell, he said to Hazrat Ali RAA, “Ali, bring a tray (تھال) in which I write that advice after which my Ummah (community) doesn’t go astray.” In those days paper wasn’t very common. Sometimes people wrote on leather, on leaves of a tree, on bones, and sometimes on clay pans.   

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says that at that time the Holy Prophet ﷺ was so unwell that I feared that if I went to get something to write on, he may pass away in my absence. That is why I told him that whatever you tell me, I will remember it and write it down later. Hazrat Ali RAA says that his revered head was in my arms. The words he was saying were, “Be mindful of Salah, be mindful of Zakat, be good to the slaves you own, and be steadfast to the witness of “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad (ﷺ) is His subject and Messenger.” Allah Ta’ala will declare Jahannam (Hell) Haraam for whoever remains steadfast to this testament.”   These were the advices the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave in his last moments of life.  

The real purpose of quoting this Hadith is to highlight those advices the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave at such a crucial time and what he emphasized. It seems like these advice are the essence of the commandments of Deen (religion) that the holy Prophet ﷺ preached his entire life. These are the summary of entire Deen.  

 There is another Hadith which has been narrated by Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in which he said that during the last moments of the Holy Prophet ﷺ when the volume of his voice had become really low, when I put my ear to his mouth these were the words he kept saying till the very last moment;  “Be careful about Salah and be careful about your subordinates.”  

This Hadith tells us that among all the commandments and teachings of Deen the one among Huqooq Allah (rights of Allah) the Holy ﷺ Prophet placed the greatest emphasis on was Salah. In another narration, the words “Salah, Zakah, and rights of subordinates” have been mentioned. This tells us that among all the Rights of Allah the Holy Prophet ﷺ placed the greatest emphasis on two sorts of rights, one physical and one financial, the physical one being Salah, and the financial one being Zakat. And among the Rights of People (Huqooq al-Ibad) he placed the greatest emphasis on rights of one’s slaves, servants and subordinates.   The Holy Prophet ﷺ was worried whether his Ummah will falter in following these commandments of Shariah after him, and that being neglectful of these commandments will lead to Jahannam and wrath of Allah Ta’alah, and that is why he emphasized about following these specific commandments even in his last moments in this mortal world.

There is one more thing to know about taking or giving advice. First, we need to understand what the purpose of consulting someone is that we get an opinion from another person who has some experience and knowledge of that particular area. However, if someone has sought our opinion about a matter, he is not bound to act on our suggestion, he has full right whether he chooses to act on it, or not. If he feels that what we have suggested is not the best course of action to suit his circumstances, then, from the point of view of the Shariah, he is well within his rights not to act on it. Sometimes people feel upset and angry if they suggested something which wasn’t then acted upon. They feel that their opinion was devalued or ignored. This is not correct. The purpose of consulting someone is to find out their opinion about the matter. This opinion then doesn’t become binding on the person who sought it.  

There is another great lesson we learn from the event of Hudaibiyah. It is that Deen (religion) is not the name of fulfilling one’s own wishes, it is not the name of following one’s emotions and desires. In fact, Deen is the name of obeying the orders and commandments of Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Even when we are very emotional about something, and our emotions are tempting us to do something, Deen is the name of bringing our emotions under control at that time, and obey the will and command of Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Before the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed, the emotions of Muslims dictated that they fight the non-believers and do not accept the humiliating conditions that the non-believers were forcing on them. But once they saw what the Holy Prophet ﷺ was doing, their temperaments cooled down and they followed the example of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.

With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful. 

“…So, pardon them, and seek Forgiveness for them. Consult them in the matter and, once you have taken a decision, place your trust in Allah. Surely, Allah loves those who place their trust in Him.” (3:159)

Consulting other people is a very important aspect of Deen (religion). While describing the characteristics of Muslims in the Noble Qur’an, Allah Ta’alah says;

“…and whose affairs are (settled) with mutual consultation between them…” (42:38)

In the verse recited at the beginning, Allah Ta’ala has commanded the Holy Prophet ﷺ;

“…Consult them in the matter…” (3:159)

When a person of the stature of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is being commanded by Allah Ta’ala to consult his Companions (Sahabah), then it is much more incumbent for people like us to do so.

There are a few principles about consulting others.

1. The first principle is that we should only take an expert opinion from a person who has a full understanding of the matter we want their opinion on. When we consult such a person then Allah Ta’ala will Insha'Allah (God willing) grant us Barakah (blessing) in that matter.

2. The second thing to know regarding consulting others is what type of matters should one consult others about. We are not allowed to consult others about matters which have been Fard (compulsory), Wajib (necessary) or Haraam (unlawful) by Shariah. This is because we are bound to do what Shariah has declared Fard or Wajib, and we are required to abstain from matters that Shariah has declared Haraam. For example, it would be completely senseless if a person starts consulting other people whether he should pray Salah or not, or whether he should drink alcohol or not.

3. The third important point is that there are some duties of a person who is being consulted. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“The person whose advice has been sough, has been entrusted.” (Tirmidhi)

That is why, if a person is being consulted about something and he knows nothing about that area, he should clearly say that I know nothing about this matter and therefore I am unable to give you any advice. 

4. There is another meaning of the Hadith “the person whose advice has been sought, has been entrusted” which is that the person who has come to us to seek our advice, has made us his confidante. He has shared his personal secrets with us, has told us their personal difficulties. He has placed his trust in us. Now we must not start sharing his personals secrets with everyone and start telling everyone what he told us in private. When someone has entrusted us with his sensitive information, and made us his confidante, then his personal information is an Amanah (entrustment) with us, it is our duty to keep his secret private. Sharing that secret with others would be a breach of his trust and humiliating a person publicly, both of which are great sins.

Allah Ta’ala says in the Noble Qur’an;  

“…and those who control anger and forgive people. And Allah loves those who are good in their deeds,” (3:134)  

Allah Ta’ala tells us in the Noble Qur’an what the reward for those will be who do not take revenge and observe Sabr (patience);  

“…Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure.” (39:10)  

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said,  

“Silah Rehmi (fulfilling rights of one’s relatives) is not that one gives back what one receives. Silah Rehmi is that even if the other person cuts off relationship with him, he still fulfills the other person’s rights.”  

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;  

“Allah Ta’ala does not like any sip a person drinks more than the sip of his own anger (meaning suppressing his anger and not expressing it)”  

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, 

"if a person harms someone, and then the person who was harmed forgives him, then Allah Ta’ala will forgive the forgiver on the day he will need forgiveness most, that is, in the Aakhirah (Hereafter).”

Imam Bukhari (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) has written a book in which he has collected those Ahadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which relate to Islamic etiquettes related to different walks of life which the Holy Prophet ﷺ has taught us through his own practice. One of these etiquettes, and a Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, is that a person keeps mingling with people and greets them with a smile.   

Even though the Holy Prophet’s (ﷺ) every Sunnah is lovable, but there is one particular Sunnah which has been reported in Tirmidhi Sharif which seems to be the most difficult to follow, even though it was his usual habit.  It has been narrated that when someone was talking to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, he never turned his face away from that person until he turned away first, and never cut him off while he was still talking.   When a person has hundreds of demands on his time, someone is asking him a religious question, someone is describing his difficulties, someone is making another demand, only then it is possible to appreciate how difficult it is to follow this Sunnah in one’s daily life.   Then there are some people who, once they start talking, never stop. While listening to such people, not moving away until that person finishes is a very difficult task. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ who lived only for 23 more years after he was granted Prophethood, had to perform Jihad, had to perform Tableegh (preaching), how to teach his Sahabah about Deen, who was sent for betterment of the whole world, even despite all of these demands on his time, if an old woman stopped him on the way, he did not turn his away from her until he had satisfied her fully.  

Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him), recited the following verses from the Torah;  

“He will come as a deliverer for the illiterate (امی)”. The Arabs of the time were called ‘illiterate’ because they did not have a tradition of reading and writing.    “And you are my subject and my Messenger”.  

Further on, Allah Ta’ala has described the characteristics of that Prophet;  

“Neither will he speak harshly, nor will he have a harsh temperament.”  

“And he won’t be one to make noise in the Bazar.”  “And he won’t respond to bad behaviour with bad behaviour.”  

“Rather, he will be forgiving and will let go of things.”  

“And God will not recall him to Himself until he straightens this misguided nation in that they say ‘There is no God but Allah’.”  “and through this kalimah of Tauheed (oneness of Allah) He will open their blind eyes, and will open their deaf ears, and those hearts which are covered in wraps will open through this kalimah.”

We should thank Allah Ta’ala who blessed us with a guide like the Holy Prophet ﷺ who has provided us with solutions for all our problems through his own Sunnah. If a person comes to realize that he has made many mistakes and violated many people’s rights in his past life, and wants to atone for it, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has shown us the way how to do so. One day he stood in masjid Nabvi in front of a gathering of Sahabah (his companions) and said;

“If I have hurt anyone or have caused anyone harm in any way, then I present myself before him. If he wants to take revenge for the hurt I caused him, then I am prepared for him to hurt me in return, if he wants any compensation against it, then I am prepared to pay him that compensation, and if he wants to forgive me, then I request him to forgive me.”

This pronouncement was made by the perfect being about whom Allah Ta’ala has said in the Holy Quran;

“so that Allah may forgive you of your previous and subsequent faults…” (48:2)

And about whom it was said;

“So, never by your Lord! Never shall they become believers, unless they make you the judge in the disputes that arise between them, then find no discomfort in their hearts against what you have decided, and surrender to it in total submission.” (4:65)

So, he is the person about whom such statements have been made in the Noble Quran, and about whom it has been clearly declared that he cannot cause any unjust harm or hurt to anyone, but despite all this he is standing up in Masjid Nabvi and making this declaration in front of all his companions that if he has hurt someone unjustly, they should come and take their revenge from him.

It has been reported in traditions that after listening to this announcement by the Holy Prophet ﷺ, one companion stood up and said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ! I want to take revenge.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked, “what sort of revenge?” He replied, “One day you had hit me on my back. I want to take revenge for that.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “I do not remember hitting you, but if you do remember, come and take your revenge.” The Holy Companion said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ. When you hit me, my back was not covered.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ removed his covering sheet from his back and the mark of Prophethood became visible. That Companion stepped forward, kissed the mark of Prophethood, and said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ! I had said this only to be able to kiss the mark of Prophethood.” Anyway, the Holy Prophet ﷺ presented himself before all his Companions so that they could take revenge from him if they wanted to.

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) wrote a booklet on this topic, got it published, and then distributed it to everyone he knew. In this booklet he wrote, “Because I have come across and have been acquainted with numerous people in life, I do not know whether I violated someone’s rights, or did injustice to them. Today I present myself. If someone wants to take revenge from me for what wrong I did to them, then please do so. If I owe any financial rights to anyone, please remind me and I will pay it back. If I have caused any physical hurt or harm to anyone, then I am prepared for them to hurt me in kind. Otherwise, I request them to please forgive me.”

Along with this letter, Hazrat Thanvi RE also wrote this Hadith;

“The Holy Prophet ﷺ said that if a Muslim says sincerely to another Muslim that he had made a mistake and requests him to forgive him, then it is the duty of the other Muslim brother to forgive him. If he doesn’t forgive him, then in the Hereafter he should not harbour expectations towards Allah Ta’ala to forgive him.”

It has been narrated by Hazrat Sufyan ibn Usaid Hazrami (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet ﷺsaid;

“This is great Khiyanat (breach of trust) that you tell your brother something which he believes to be true, but you are lying to him.”

This is an act which leads to animosity, discord, and hatred between people. Telling a lie is a great sin anyway, but in this Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ is specifically mentioningthat lie in which someone places their trust in you and believes that you will tell him the truth. But you breach his trust and tell him a lie. This act carries the sin of not just lying, but also of Khiyanat (breach of trust).

It is Khiyanat (breach of trust) because the person who is seeking your opinion is doing so because he believes you to be trustworthy and truthful. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“The person whose opinion is sought, has been entrusted.”

It means that the person who is seeking your opinion and advice is trusting you to tell him the truth and what you consider to be your best option. But you have deliberately lied to him, and knowingly misguided him, therefore, you have also committed breach of his trust.

Similarly, when a person applies for the citizenship of a country, he gives an undertaking that he will obey all the laws of that country, except for any laws that may force him to break any laws of Shariah.

For example, the government of UK gives an unemployment benefit. This is an allowance to support the unemployed till they can find a job. This is a great source of support for people who are struggling financially. However, some of our brothers who have gone there have made this unemployment into a profession. These people work covertly, hide their incomes, and also claim unemployment benefits. Even people who are quite religious and regularly perform Salah, are also engaged in this practice.

Once someone asked me whether this practice was permissible or not. I told him it is completely impermissible and Haraam (unlawful under Shariah). “First of all, you are telling a lie that you are unemployed when you are not. Second, you are breaking a law of the country you live in. When you have entered this country after vowing to follow its laws, then it is incumbent upon you to follow all those laws of this country which do not force you to do something in contravention of the Shariah.” That gentleman replied that this is a non-Muslim government and it is allowed to take money from a non-Muslim government by whichever means and spend it. (May Allah protect us). O’ brother. When you entered this country, you gave an undertaking that you will follow the laws of this country, therefore, it is not permissible for you to break the laws of this country. Just like it is not allowed to break a promise one has made to a Muslim, similarly, it is not allowed to break a promise one has made to a non-Muslim, and any money obtained as result of that breach of promise will be Haraam (unlawful).

The second commandment the Holy Prophet ﷺ has issued in this Hadith is;

“Do not joke with your brother.”

The joking that is referred to in this Hadith is that kind of joking which hurts someone’s feelings. If a person is making jokes which are within the limits of Shariah, being told with the intention of making the other person happy, and the listener is enjoying it too, then there is no harm in making such jokes. In fact, if that joke is not a lie, and the intention of telling that joke is making the other person happy, then the person will also get thawab (reward) on it.

One type of fun is having fun withsomeone. Another type of fun is making fun ofsomeone. It is completely alright to have fun with friends. However, making fun of someone which includes ridiculing him, or saying things that he doesn’t like and which hurt his feelings, is Haraam (impermissible under Shariah). Some people identify other people’s weak spots and deliberately mention these again and again in front of that person so that he would become angry and they would enjoy it. It is this kind of jokes that the Holy ﷺ Prophet has prohibited.

It is narrated in a Hadith that once, while doing Tawaf of Baitullah (Masjid al-Haraam), the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“O Baitullah (house of Allah)! How exalted you are. Your status is so exalted that Allah Ta’ala deemed you His house on this earth. How grand your honour is. But O Baitullah! There is one thing the honour of which is even greater than your honour, that is a Muslim’s life, his property, and his honour.”

The third commandment the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave in this Hadith is,

“Do not make a promise that you cannot fulfil.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“That person is a hypocrite who has these three attributes; when he talks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, when he is entrusted with something he breaches that trust.”

It has been narrated by Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Abbas that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“Do not fight with your brother. Do not do inappropriate jokes with him. Do not make a promise to him that you cannot fulfil.”

Hazrat Imam Malik (may Allah Ta’ala have mercy on him) has said;

“Unnecessary arguments destroy the Noor (divine light) of knowledge.”

Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an;

“The duty of Our Messenger is only to convey the Message…” (5:99)

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“Make as much effort for this world as you are going to live here, and make as much effort for the Aakhirah (Hereafter) as you are going to live there.”

The importance of clarifying the ownership of items and property even within a family.

Another significant cause of conflict and disputes between our families is not following a specific ruling of Shariah. That ruling of Shariah is that, “live with each other like brothers, but carry out financial transactions like strangers”. It means that you should treat each other with love and affection, but when you have to carry out a business dealing, or when you have to buy and sell to each other, then conduct that transaction like you are strangers, the transaction should be completely transparent and there should be no vagueness or uncertainty in it. This is a great teaching of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that Muslims should keep all their matters very clear and transparent. The ownership of all items or wealth owned by them should be very clear.

It is Shariah’s edict that after the death of a person, his inheritance should be distributed immediately according to the shares determined by Shariah for each inheritor.

After the dispute above had subsided, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to the Ansari Sahabah;

“O Ansar! Listen carefully. You are the people who are most special to me. If people go on way, and the Ansar go on the other way, then I will go on the path taken by Ansar.”

Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“O Ansar. No injustice has been carried out with you so far, and I have love and affection for you which will remain Insha'Allah. But I am telling you in advance that once I have left this world, you will face the situation that others will be given preference over you. The rulers who come later, will not treat you as well as they will treat the Muhajirin and others.

O people of Ansar. I leave this will for you that if that happens, then you observe sabr (patience) until you meet me at Haud (pool) of Kausar.”

To be continued

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that a person who keeps interacting with people and then observes sabr (patience) on any offence caused by them, is much better than the person who does not interact with people, and therefore does not get to observe sabr as a result of distress caused by them.

If a person observes Sabr (patience), then Allah Ta’ala has promised in the Holy Quran;

“…Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure.” (39:10)

Allah Ta’ala says in the Noble Qur’an;

“And if you were to harm (them) in retaliation, harm them to the measure you were harmed. And if you opt for patience, it is definitely much better for those who are patient.” (16:126)

لا یفرک موٴمن موٴمنہ ان سخط منھا خلقاً رضی منھا آخر

No Muslim man should harbour a grudge towards a Muslim woman, meaning that a husband should not harbour a grudge against his wife permanently. If he dislikes something she does, then there must be something she does that he does like. When your wife does something that you do not like, then you get angry and upset, and keep complaining that she does this, she does that, she has this bad habit and that bad habit. You must also reflect at that time that she must have some virtues as well, and must do some good things as well which you do like. So, whenever your wife does something you do not like, think about one of her habits or acts that you do like. When you think about her good habits, you will dwell less on her bad habits.

the Holy Prophet ﷺ said a Hadith;

“A woman is like a rib. If you try to straighten it, you will break it. If you let it be as it is, then even though it looks curved to you, you will still be able to benefit from it.”

BEAUTY OF A RIB IS IN BEING CURVED

Some men think that when the Holy Prophet ﷺ resembled women to a curved rib, he was being critical of them. Therefore, when some men fight with their wives, they use this term ‘curved rib’ pejoratively. These people have not reflected on the fact that the Holy Prophet ﷺ is referring to the rib as curved. If a rib becomes straight it will lose its primary function which is protecting the vital organs in the chest, it will become useless. It is the beauty and functionality of a rib to remain curved, if it becomes straight it becomes diseased.

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“There is a Muslim who has isolated himself from other people and has withdrawn from people. For example, he sits in a mosque or a Madrassah so that he does not have to interact with people, and thinks that he will keep praying in isolation. The second Muslim is the person who did not isolate himself, rather he kept intermingling with people. He maintains relationships and friendships with people, spends time with them, and enters into financial transactions with them. As a result of interacting with people, he also gets hurt by them, and he observes Sabr when people hurt him. This Muslim is a much better person than that Muslim who remains aloof from people and because of that he does not have to observe Sabr as a result of being hurt by them.”

Hazrat Haji Imdad Ullah Muhajir Makki (may Allah Ta’ala have mercy on him) said that;

“The primary method of promoting unity amongst us is to develop two attributes. If we develop these two attributes, we will develop unity, but if even one of them is lacking we will never have unity. These two attributes are Tawazu (humility) and Esaar (sacrifice).”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ used to make this prayer;

“O Allah! Put expectation from You alone in my heart, and end all my expectations from all beings except You.”

While describing the self-sacrifice of Sahabah (Companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ) in the Holy Quran, Allah Ta’ala says;

“…and give preference (to them) over themselves, even though they are in poverty…” (59:9)

This verse refers to the Ansari (original residents of Medinah) Sahabah that no matter how much poverty they themselves are in, they prioritise other people’s needs over their own.

Once some travellers came to meet the Holy Prophet ﷺ who were poor. The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked the other Sahabah that some travellers had arrived who were not well off, so if some Sahabi could afford, they should take these guests home and arrange for them to have food.

Hearing this a Sahabi took one of the guests to his home. When he got home, he asked his wife if there was enough food to feed the guests too. His wife replied that there was just enough food that either they could eat it, or the guest could, but not all of them. The Sahabi said, “put the food in front of the guest and turn the lamp off.” So, his wife did. The Sahabiinvited the guest to start eating. The guest started eating. The Sahabi sat with him but did not eat anything, He would just take his hand to the food and would then bring his empty hand to his mouth just so that the guest would think he was also eating. In this manner, the Sahabi, his wife and their children remained hungry the whole night and fed all the food to their guest. Allah Ta’ala liked this sacrifice of theirs so much that He mentioned it in the Holy Quran by saying;

“…and give preference (to them) over themselves, even though they are in poverty…” (59:9)

It is narrated in a Hadith that there was a person in the peoples who have passed. When he passed away and was presented in Allah Ta’ala’s court, Allah Ta’ala asked the angels who record every person’s actions in life, if there was a major virtue recorded in his balance sheet. The angels replied that there was no major virtue in his balance sheet. However, he had a habit that whenever he bought something, he did not get into a fight with the seller. Whatever price the seller quoted, he would ask him to consider reducing it somewhat and then buy that item.

And when he was selling something, he dealt with people gently. He did not insist that I will charge this much no matter what. Rather, if he saw that the buyer was poor, he would reduce the price. Similarly, if someone owed him money and he learnt that they were unable to repay the loan because of poverty, he would waive his loan. This is his only virtuous act which is in his balance sheet. Allah Ta’ala said that if he forgave his loans to my subjects, then I am more deserving of forgiving him, therefore, I forgive him.

The second principle the Holy Prophet ﷺ has described in this Hadith is actually the basis of all morals. If we develop that attribute, it would lead to all conflicts between us coming to an end. He said;

“Like for your brother what you like for yourself, and dislike for your brother what you dislike for yourself.”

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“I give the guarantee for getting that person a home in the middle of Jannah who gives up a dispute despite being in the right.”

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “If two Muslims draw swords at each other to fight and one of them kills the other, then both the killer and the one who was killed will go to Jahannam (Hell).”

The Sahabah asked, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ. The killer will go to Jahannam because he unjustly killed another Muslim, but why would the person who was killed go to Jahannam?”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied, “Because he also intended to kill.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ did not tolerate division between Muslims at any cost. He said, “O subjects of Allah! Become brothers to each other.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, لیس الکذاب الذی ینمی خیراً

It means that if a person says something which is on surface inaccurate, to increase love and affection between two Muslims and to remove enmity between them, then he won’t be considered a liar.

It is narrated in a Hadith that sometimes Iblees conducts his court over a sea and all his minions report their activities in that court. One satan comes and says that one person was going to perform Salah. I made him preoccupied with something as a result of which he could not go for his Salah and missed it. Iblees says well done. Then another satan comes and says that one person intended to fast. I made him change his mind and he did not fast. Iblees says well done. The third satan comes and says that a person wanted to give some money in Sadaqah. I changed his circumstances so that he refrained from giving it. Iblees says well done.

In the end a Satan comes and says, “There was a couple who were living happily with each other. I have created such great conflict between them that they have split up and now cannot even bear to look at each other’s faces.” Upon hearing this Iblees stands up from his throne and hugs him and says, “You are my true successor. You have done the kind of work that I truly want you all to do.”

Hazrat Abul Darda (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“Should I tell you about a status which is even more exalted than Salah (Namaz), Sawm (fasting) and Sadaqah (charity)?”

The Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them all) got intrigued and said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ! Do tell us about that act so that we perform it and as a result Allah Ta’ala grant us even more thawab (reward in the Hereafter) than these acts of worship.” After that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“That act is resolving disputes between people.”

In the next sentence, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“Interpersonal discord, hatred and conflicts shave things off.”

In another Hadith, while elaborating upon this, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“I do not say that these interpersonal conflicts shave off your hair. Rather, these conflicts shave off your Deen.”

MISSING JAMA’AT FOR RESOLVING A DISPUTE

The Holy Prophet ﷺ led the Salah in Masjid Nabvi his entire life. Obviously, who could lead the Salah in his presence, and who could be more punctual in coming for Jama’at (congregation for Salah) than the Holy Prophet ﷺ? In his entire life there was only one occasion when the Holy Prophet ﷺ could not come to Masjid Nabvi for Salahand Hazrat Abdul Rahman Ibn Auf (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) led the Salah. The reason for not being able to reach Masjid Nabvi for that particular Salah was that the Holy Prophet ﷺ had been informed that a dispute had arisen between two groups of Muslims in a tribe. The Holy Prophet ﷺ had gone to that tribe to resolve their dispute and to restore peace between them. This took so long that the time of next Salah came. When the Sahabah (companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ) saw that he was not present, then Hazrat Abdul Rehman Ibn Auf (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) led the prayer.

In his entire life this was the only occasion when the Holy Prophet ﷺ could not come to Masjid Nabvi at the time of Salah in times of health. And the reason for that was that he had gone to resolve disputes and end discord between Muslims. The Noble Quran and Hadith are full of commandments that disputes and discord between Muslims should not be tolerated at any cost, and as soon any conflict arises every effort should be made to resolve it because these conflicts destroy a person’s Deen.

Hazrat Farooq Azam (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) used to patrol the city at night to keep an eye on what people were doing. One day early morning he heard a mother and daughter talking. The mother was saying to her daughter, “Milk the cow, and then because our cow is not giving much milk these days add some water to it.” The daughter said, “But mother, the Amir (Caliph) of Muslims has issued a decree that no one should add water to milk.”

The mother said, “Yes I know that the Caliph has issued that edict but he is not here. If you add some water to the milk he won’t know about it.” The Daughter said, “Mother. You are right. He is not here and he will not learn about it. But the One who is above him is watching and He will know about it. How can I do it then?”

Hazrat Omar RAA listened to this whole exchange between mother and daughter. In the morning he found out who the girl was and got his son married to her. Hazrat Omar ibn Abdul Aziz (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) who is also known as Omar the 2nd was born from the lineage of this couple.

There is only one way of developing that preoccupation with the Hereafter, and that is that we adopt the companionship (Suhbat) of those who have already developed this worry about the Hereafter, this fear of having to account for all their own actions in this world in front of Allah Ta’ala one day.

It was this companionship (Suhbat) which had transformed the Holy Companions (Sahabah) of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. These were the same people who, before the advent of Islam, were killing each other for trivial matters. History reports about wars going on between tribes of Arabs before the dawn of Islam for decades, over chicken, cattle and water wells. But once they started benefitting from the companionship of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, their love of their material possessions subsided to such an extent that they left all their belongings, their possessions, their wealth, in Makkah Mukarramah to migrate to Medinah Munawwarah to be in the company of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.

When the Muslims migrated from Makkah Mukarramah to Medinah Munawwarah, the Ansar (original residents of Medinah) said to them, “you are our brothers. We will split our lands. You take half of it and we will keep the other half.’ The Muhajirin (migrants) said, “No! We won’ take your lands like that. However, we will work hard on your lands, and we will split the produce.” This shows how they had completely lost their love for material wealth.

Once the Sahabah (Holy Companions) (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with them) were engaged in Jihad. At that time someone recited a Hadith that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“If a person martyrs themselves in the way of Allah Ta’ala, Allah Ta’ala grants them a high status in Paradise (Jannah).”

A Sahabi asked, “Did you hear this Hadith directly from the Holy Prophet ﷺ?” The other Sahabi said, “Yes I did, my ears heard it, and my heart remembered it.” The first Sahabi said, “Then it is Hara’am for me to stay away from Jihad.” He picked up his sword and entered the army of the enemy. He got shot in the chest with an arrow. The first words he said upon seeing blood flowing out of his chest were, “I swear by the Master of the Ka’abah. I succeeded today.”

In the Holy Quran Allah Ta’ala says;

“But you prefer the worldly life, while the Hereafter is much better and much more durable.” (87:16-17)

THE THREE KINDS OF WORLDS

Allah Ta’ala has created three kinds of worlds. The first is the one in which only happiness and joy exist. There is perfect bliss in this world. There is no worry or anxiety there. That world is Paradise (Jannah).

The second kind of world that Allah Ta’ala has created is a place for sadness and anxiety only. There is only suffering and sorrow in that world. There is no happiness there. That place is Hell (Jahannam). May Allah Ta’ala keep all of us safe from going there. Aameen

The third kind of world Allah Ta’ala has created is this world in which we are living now. In this world happiness and sorrow are intermixed. In it there are times when we experience distress, and there are times we experience happiness and joy. If a person wishes that they only experience joy and happiness, that they do not come across any distress any anxiety, in this world, then they do not understand the true nature of this world, as this is not possible here.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“Among people, the Prophets experience the most suffering, and then people who are closest to them.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“Remember the thing that kills all pleasures, that is death, frequently.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophetﷺ  said,

“Whoever eats through hurting a Muslim, Allah Ta’alah will feed him fire from Hell

(Jahannam) equal to the weight of that food.”

This Hadith is referring to situations where a person earns their income by causing some sort of harm to another person. This includes, for example, making a living by taking bribes, or defrauding people, or forcing someone to hand their money over against their wishes.

In another Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that none of you should take possessions of your friends or acquaintances, either in jest or in seriousness. If an item belongs to another person we are not allowed to use it or take possession of it without their permission, or in fact without their ‘happiness of heart’(طیبِ خاطر). Even if that person is a close friend or relative we are not allowed to start using their stuff unless they happily allow us to do so.

In another Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“It is not Halal to take or use the property of a Muslim unless he permits it willingly.”

Once Imam Abu Hanifah advised his student Imam Abu Yusuf (may Allah have mercy on them),

“When you buy or rent something, pay more than what other people pay, so that ‘Ilm’ (knowledge) and Deen (religion) are not devalued because of your paying less.”

Similarly, when one is collecting donations for any noble cause one should be very mindful that it is not collected under pressure or duress. Even if this collection is for a religious cause, like for a Madrassah, a Masjid, or Jihad or Tableegh, if it is collected under even the least bit of pressure it becomes Haraam. Hazrat Thanvi Rehmatullah Elaih used to say that sometimes such institutions engage people of a high social status to collect donations on their behalf, so that potential donors would feel compelled to contribute. This is using one’s social status to put pressure, and if the person contributes because they feel pressured, rather than because they wanted to contribute happily, such donation becomes Haraam.

In the next sentence the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“Even if you have borrowed a walking stick from someone, you should return it.”

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar Razi Allah Anhu has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said;

“One of the actions liked by Allah Ta’alah is making a Muslim happy.”

Even though this is a weak Hadith in terms of its authenticity, but the subject of this Hadith is supported by other Ahadith and evidences. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has made it clear in many Ahadith and through his own behaviour that making any Muslim happy greatly pleases Allah Ta’alah.

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ has described several types of Sadaqah (charity). In this Hadith he has also described a number of actions as being Sadaqah too, meaning that a person will get the same thawab (merits) on performing those actions as they would have on giving charity. In the end of that Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“It is also a Sadaqah that you meet your brother with a smile on your face.”

PREACH SOFTLY

It is hugely important that when a person does Tableegh (peaching), they take care that they do not hurt anyone’s feelings deliberately and do not cause any offence. They talk to people politely, with sympathy, love, affection, and care for them. They should do so purely with an intention to please Allah Ta’alah. The purpose should not be to vent one’s anger against someone. However, if a person refrains from preaching even in a soft and polite manner for the fear that it will hurt other people’s feelings, that thinking is not correct. Because trying to please Allah Ta’alah takes precedence over trying to please all of His creations.

In the third sentence, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said,

“On the Day of Qiyamah (Doomsday) Allah Ta’ala will hide the mistakes of the Muslim, who hid the mistakes of other people.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said;

“if a person shames his brother for a sin he had repented from, he will not die till he commits that sin himself.”

In the fourth sentence, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said;

“if a person travels or covers some distance with the purpose of learning about Deen (religion), then Allah Ta’ala will make the pathway to Jannah (Paradise) easy for him because of that travel.”

In the next sentence the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said;

“Allah Ta’ala mentions these people who have gathered for his Zikr (remembrance), in His own gathering that these people have gathered solely for the purpose of remembering Me, talking about Me, and to listen about My Deen, and mentions that gathering in front of the angels around Him.”

In a Hadith-e-Qudsi the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that Allah Ta’ala says, “The person who does My Zikr(Remembrance) in isolation, I do his Zikr in isolation, the person who does My Zikr in a gathering I do his Zikr in a better gathering (meaning if he does My Zikr in front of a group of human beings I do his Zikr in front of a group of angels).”

In the last sentence of this Hadith the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said;

“pedigree alone cannot take a person forward who has been left behind because of his actions.”

The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  was sent as a blessing for the whole world. There was a time when the non-Muslims were throwing stones at him and his feet were bleeding. Even then he kept reciting,

“O’ Allah! Please give guidance to my people. They are not aware. They do not know me. They are ignorant and they are doing this in ignorance. O’ Allah! Please provide them with guidance.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said that once a person was presented in Allah Ta’ala’s Court. (Eventually all people will be presented in Allah Ta’ala’s Court on the Day of Judgment but may be some people are shown some small sample of that sooner.) Anyways, when he was presented before Allah Ta’ala, Allah Ta’ala told the angels to check what good deeds he had performed. When the angels checked his balance sheet of good and bad acts it was found that his balance sheet was almost completely empty of good deeds. He did not perform any Salah, he did not fast, he just spent all his time in conducting his business. However, the angels further said that there was one good deed in his balance sheet, which was that he had advised his employees that if you ever sell something to a person who is poor, then deal with him with compassionately. If you have given him a loan then don’t be too harsh in demanding that loan back, and when it is appropriate just forgo that loan. So, his entire life his practice in business was to give extension to the poor in returning loans, or if appropriate, to forgive that loan completely. Allah Ta’ala will then say that if he dealt with kindness and forgiveness with My people, then I am more deserving of being forgiving to him. Allah Ta’ala will then order angels to send him to Jannah (paradise).

In another Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said that among the people who have passed before you there was a person who, when selling something, would deal kindly with people. He would tell a price to a prospective buyer. If the buyer then asked him to reduce the price somewhat then he would agree to sell that item on that reduced price, even if that meant a lower profit for him. Similarly, when he bought something he dealt softly with the seller. When the shopkeeper told him a price he would gently ask the shopkeeper once to reduce the price. He didn’t enter into arguments or wouldn’t fight with the shopkeeper over it, and didn’t force him to reduce the price. After asking gently once he would then buy the item without any further argument. Similarly, when he had to collect money from someone, for example, taking loaned money back, or recovering the price of a sold item, he would deal softly and would tell the borrower to pay back the loan later if he didn’t have the money right then, and would give them an extension. When he died, and was presented before Allah Ta’ala, Allah Ta’ala said that because he dealt kindly with my created beings in the world, therefore, I will deal kindly with him now and I forgive him.

This Hadith has been narrated by Hazrat Abu Hurairah RAA, and in it he has narrated a number of sayings of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.

The very first sentence in this Hadith is that the person who relieves one of the hardships being faced by a Muslim in this world, either through his actions, or through getting him help from someone else, this act will earn so much eternal reward for him that in return Allah Ta’ala will remove one of the distresses of the Day of Judgment from him.

In the second sentence the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said that if a person provides relief to a poor person, then Allah Ta’ala will provide relief for him both in this world and the Hereafter.

In Quran Karim Allah Ta’ala has said,

“If there is one in misery, then (the creditor should allow) deferment till (his) ease, and that you forgo it as alms is much better for you, if you really know.” (2: 280)

It means if a borrower is unable to repay the loan on time then the lender should give him extension till his circumstances change and he can easily repay the loan. And if the lender foregoes his loan due to a poor borrower completely, then Allah Ta’ala will count it as charity.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said that for as long as a person remains busy fulfilling his brother’s needs, Allah Ta’ala will keep fulfilling his needs. (Abu Daud, Kitab al-Adab)

In another Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said that on the day of Qiyamah (Day of Doom) Allah Ta’ala will relieve misery and suffering of whoever has removed the suffering of another Muslim in this world.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said that Rahman (one of Allah’s names) is kind to those who are kind to other human beings. If you are kind to those who live on this earth, the One who owns the skies (meaning Allah Ta’ala) will be kind to you.

A person cannot claim to love Allah Ta’ala, and not love His creations. That is the meaning of this verse about Tasawuf;

ز تسبیح و سجاده و دلق نیست

طریقت بجز خدمتِ خلق نیست

meaning that people believe that Tasawuf means always carrying a tasbeeh in one’s hand, always sitting on a prayer mat, wearing a certain kind of dress, but that is not true Tasawuf or Tareeqat. Tasawuf and Tareeqat is nothing but serving and helping Allah’s creations. Allah Ta’ala says that if you claim to love Me, then love My creations and serve them.

Hazrat Mufti Muhamad Shafi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) used to say that it is not always in a person’s control to increase his income, but it is always in a person’s control to reduce his expenses. If one is being bothered by the mismatch between his income and expenditure, then he should reduce his expenditure to bring it within his means, and be content with what he has. Then all his financial worries would subside.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has taught us a prayer;

“O’ Allah! Please make me become content with the sustenance you have granted me, and please grant me Barakah (blessing, برکت) in that sustenance”.

Barakah means that a small amount or income goes a long way in fulfilling a person’s needs. It doesn’t just mean an increase in numbers. For example, a person may not earn as much but his family remains healthy, and he does not have overhead expenses, against another person who earns a lot more but his child contracts a serious illness and most of his income gets spent on doctors and medicines. Even though the second person earned more, less of his income was spent on gaining comfort for him. This is what Barakah, or lack of it, means.

In the third sentence the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“O’ Allah! In place of the things I prayed for but didn’t get, please grant me better things which are better for me in Your knowledge.”

So, there are three prayers in this one prayer, please give me contentment, please grant me Barakah, and in place of things I prayed for but didn’t get, please give me things that are better for me in Your knowledge.

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that the true Ghani (غنی) (a person who is carefree with regards to material wealth) is not the person who has lots of money and material possessions. The Ghani of heart is the person whose heart is free of love for material wealth, who does not ask anyone for anything, who does not express his needs in front of other people, and who does not try to accrue wealth through unfair means. He is happy and satisfied with what he has been given, and he is contented that what hasn’t been given to him must not be good for him in Allah’s knowledge, if it was Allah Ta’ala would have given it to him.

Once an angel presented before the Holy Prophet ﷺ and said,

“If you command, the whole of Uhud mountain will be turned into gold, and it will all be your property.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ declined the offer and said,

“I want to live life this way that if I get something to eat, I eat it after doing Shukr (شکر) (saying thanks to Allah Ta’ala), and if I don’t get something to eat then I do Sabr (صبر) ) (patience), so that I get the blessings of both Shukr and Sabr. And I do not want excess of wealth. I want that Ghina (غنا) that makes me turns towards Allah Ta’ala.”

He, therefore, made the following prayer;

“O’ Allah! I seek refuge from such wealth that shall make me disobedient.”

In Surah Taubah (Repentance) Allah Ta’ala says,

“So, their wealth and their children should not attract you. In fact, Allah intends to punish them with these in this lowly life and that their souls should depart while they are disbelievers.” (9:55)

In another Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said,

“On waking up in the morning, if a person has these three things, that he is unafraid in his abode (meaning he is safe in his home and has no fear of any enemies or cruel people in power), that there is nothing wrong with his body (in that he has no illnesses and is healthy), and that he has enough food to sustain him for one day, then it is as if he has been blessed with the whole world with all its material wealth.”

In this Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  has advised us to do two things, to keep doing Shukr (thanks) to Allah Ta’ala, and to avoid being ungrateful.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah RAA that once when he came out of his home in the afternoon, he saw Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with them) walking. When he asked where they were going, they said that they were hungry but there was nothing to eat at home. Therefore, they thought they will do some manual labour and earn some money to buy food with. In a short while the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  also came out of his home. When he asked them what had brought them put of their homes, they replied that “O’ Rasool Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, hunger has brought us out of our homes”. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said, “I have come out for the same reason”. Then the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  suggested that they go to one of his Ansari friend’s orchard. The Ansari Sahabiwasn’t there but his wife was. When she learnt that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, and Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar RAA had come, she was greatly pleased. She slaughtered a goat, and served the meat of that goat, and fresh dates and cold water to her guests.

Once they had all finished eating, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  said, “These great blessings that Allah Ta’ala granted us today; such good food, good water, the excellent shadow of the dates trees we are sitting under, these are the blessings that Allah Ta’ala has talked about in the Holy Quran that We will ask you in the Aakhirah (Hereafter) that We gave you so many blessings, how did you utilize them?”

Once the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  was going somewhere. He saw a Sahabi repairing his hut. When he got near he asked, “What are you doing?” The sahabi said, “My hut had become damaged. I am repairing it.” The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم  didn’t tell him not to do it, he just said,

"ما اری الامر ا ّلا اعجل من ذلک"

that the time of death is going to come even sooner than that.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (RAA) that the Holy Prophetﷺ  said that look at people who are financially less well off than you and do not look at people who are richer than you, and who are financially better off than you.

In a Hadith Qudsi Allah Ta’ala says;

“If son of Adam gets a valley full of gold, then he would want to get another such valley. When he would get two valleys, he would want another one.” Then Allah Ta’ala further said, “Nothing will fill the tummy of son of Adam except the soil of the grave.”

In another Hadith, this saying of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been narrated as “in matters of Dunya (material possessions) look at the person who is less well off than you, that you have been given many blessings that he hasn’t been given, and thank Allah Ta’ala for those blessings, and do not look at the person who is materially better off than you. However, in the matters of Deen (religion) look at people who are ahead of you, and feel envious of them that they have made so much progress on the path of religion which I haven’t. This way you will get motivation to make progress in religion. So, in matters of Deen look at the person above you, and in the matters of Dunya (worldly matters) look at the person below you. This way you will improve your lot both in this world and the Hereafter.

In the Holy Quran Allah Ta’ala says;

“Invite (people) to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good counsel. And argue with them in the best of manners…” (16:125)

When Allah Ta’ala commanded Hazrat Musa (Moses) AS to go to Pharaoh’s court, He advised Hazrat Musa and Hazrat Haroon AS;

“So speak to him in soft words. May be, he accepts the advice or fears (Allah)…” (20:44)

Once the Holy Prophet ﷺ was sitting in Masjid Nabvi with the Holy Companions when a Bedouin came. He prayed two Raka’at and then made a supplication, “O Allah! Show your mercy towards me and the Holy Prophet ﷺ, and do not show mercy towards anyone else.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “You have narrowed Allah Ta’ala’s great mercy.”

After a short while the Bedouin sat down on the floor of Masjid Nabvi and started passing urine. When the holy Companions saw him doing this they ran to stop him and started telling him off. The Holy Prophet ﷺ stopped his companions from doing so and said, “don’t stop him now, let him finish”. When he had finished, the Holy Prophet ﷺtold the Holy Companions to wash and clean the Mosque. Then he gently told the Bedouin that the Mosque is not meant for this purpose, it is Allah Ta’ala’s home so we should keep it clean. Thus he taught him gently and with affection. Today if someone passes urine in the mosque, people would most likely get physically violent towards him. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet ﷺ did not even scold him.

Hazrat Abu Saeed Khudri (RAA) has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“If a person amongst you sees some bad deed being done, then he should change that bad deed with his hand, meaning that he should not just stop that bad deed but change it into a good deed. If he does not have the power and the authority to stop that bad deed, then the second degree is that he should change it with his tongue. It means that he should say to whoever is committing that bad deed that ‘please, what are you doing is not good. Please come towards doing good deeds.’ And if a person does not even have the power to say so, then he should change that bad deed with his heart, meaning he should believe in his heart that what is being done is a bad deed. About this third stage, the Holy Prophetﷺsaid that this the weakest stage of Iman (faith).”

In Surah Al-Asr, Allah Ta’ala has set out a general principle;

“…man is in a state of loss indeed, except those who believed and did righteous deeds, and exhorted each other to follow truth, and exhorted each other to observe patience.” (103:2-3)

In a Hadith while narrating the story of a people, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that because those people were engaged in all sorts of sins, Allah Ta’ala decided to punish them. Allah Ta’ala ordered the angels to turn their town upside down to destroy them. Hazrat Jibra’il (Gabriel) (peace be upon him) asked, “O Allah. You have ordered to destroy this nation and You have not exempted any of its residents from that destruction. However, there is one person in that town who I know has never disobeyed You even for one moment. He has spent his entire life in obedience and Ibadah (acts of worship), and has never committed a sin. Should that person be killed too?” Allah Ta’ala replied, “Yes, destroy the whole town and kill him too. It is because he kept committing good deeds, and remained busy in Ibadah. However, when sins were committed by others, he never raised an eyebrow seeing those sins being committed. He never considered any of those sins wrong. He never took any actions to stop any of those sins from being committed. Therefore, destroy him with his people.”

In another verse of the Holy Qur’an Allah Ta’ala says;

“And beware of a scourge that shall not fall only on the wrongdoers from among you…” (8:25)

What this verse refers to is that the punishment will not be for sinners only. It will also fall on those people, as referred in other verses and Ahadith, who were not sinners themselves, but they kept watching other people commit sins but did not feel bad about it, and did not say a word, or raise a finger, to try to persuade others to refrain from sins.

In the days of Hazrat Omar Farooq RAA a preacher used to give sermons in Masjid-e-Nabvi. Hazrat Aisha’s house was adjacent to Masjid-e-Nabvi. Even though there was no loud speaker in those days but that person used to deliver sermons in a very loud voice which disturbed Hazrat Aisha RAA when she did her Zikr, recitation of the Quran, or was busy in her other household chores. Hazrat Aisha RAA requested Hazrat Omar Farooq RAA to ask this preacher not to give sermons with such a loud voice so close to her house. Hazrat Omar RAA advised that person not to give his sermons at that particular place as it disturbed Hazrat Aisha RAA. The preacher stopped, but as he was very fond of giving sermons he restarted after a few days. When Hazrat Omar RAA heard about this, he called that preacher and said, “I am forbidding you for the last time. If I hear again that you have given a sermon at this spot I will break my cane on your back.”

In a Hadith, it has been narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ was asked about a woman who fasted whole day, prayed whole night, but caused a lot of distress and suffering to her neighbours. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said that she will go to Hell. While explaining this Hadith، Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RE used to say that this Hadith strictly forbids causing harm and distress to other people, and clarifies that not causing harm to other people takes precedence over Ibadah (acts of worship).

CAUSING DISTRESS TO ONE’S FAMILY MEMBERS

These days we have become very careless about the rights and feelings of our close family members. Even those people who are polite to their acquaintances, take their close family members for granted and think that if any of my behaviours is causing distress to my wife, or my child, or my brother or sister, then so what. Because they are my close family members, therefore, I somehow have a right to hurt their feelings or cause them distress. This is a great misperception and mistake. The Holy Prophet  ﷺused to be so careful about it that at the time of Tahajjud he did everything very quietly so as not to wake up Hazrat Aisha RAA. Please remember that just like it is a major sin to cause distress to or harm strangers, similarly, it is a major sin to cause distress to or harm one’s close family members.

CAUSING MENTAL DISTRESS TO OTHERS

Hazrat Thanvi RE used to say that in this Hadith causing harm through bodily actions of hand and tongue has been mentioned. However, if one does something through one’s hand or tongue which causes psychological or mental distress to someone, then that is included within the meaning of this Hadith. For example, a person takes a loan from someone and promises that I will return this loan to you at this time or within this duration. If he is then unable to repay the loan within this duration then he should let the lender know clearly that he will be unable to repay the loan within the promised timeframe, and give the lender a clear idea of when he would be able to return it. It is not permissible to keep making vague promises, or to not let him know that you are unable to return it. The poor lender keeps waiting that he will get his money back today or tomorrow, and the borrower neither returns his loan, nor lets him know when he will return it. This way the borrower is causing the lender mental anguish as he cannot make any plans about using that money because he has no idea when, or even if, he will get his money back. Such behaviour is as Haraam as causing physical harm to someone.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said;

“Like for others what you would like for yourself.”

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, 

“the thing that will most commonly make people fall face down in Jahannam (Hell) is their tongue”.

HURTING NON-MUSLIMS IS EQUALLY WRONG

In this Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has said that a true Muslim is one whose hands and tongue other Muslims are safe from. Because of that wording sometimes people misunderstand that in this Hadith Muslims have been prohibited from harming other Muslims only, and that this Hadith does not prohibit them from causing harm to non-Muslims. This is not correct. In this Hadith only Muslims have been mentioned because in most places where Muslims lived then, they generally came across other Muslims only. Otherwise, this commandment applies equally to Muslims and non-Muslims, that in conditions of peace it is as strictly prohibited to cause harm to a non-Muslim as it is to another Muslim. If there is a declared Jihad between a Muslim state and a non-Muslim state that is a separate matter, but hurting non-Muslims from nations who are not at war with a Muslim government is also prohibited under this Hadith.

It is narrated in the Holy Quran that when Hazrat Musa AS (Moses) lived in Egypt under the reign of Pharaoh, and the whole nation besides Hazrat Musa AS was involved in disbelief (Kufr), there was a fight between an Israelite and an Egyptian. Hazrat Musa AS punched that Egyptian which unintentionally resulted in his death. Even though that Egyptian was a non- believer Hazrat Musa deemed his death a sin for himself and said,

“Moreover, they have (levelled) a charge of offence against me, and I fear they will kill me;” ]26:14[

The question is that the Egyptian was a non-believer, and killing a non-believer is part of Jihad. Then why did Hazrat Musa AS deem it a sin for himself and did Istighfar (asking Allah Ta’alah for forgiveness)?

Hazrat Thanvi RE said that the reason was that even though that Egyptian was a non-believer but at that time the Israelites and the Egyptians were living in peace with each other. If Muslims and non-Muslims are living with each other and there is peace between them, then non-Muslims have all the same rights under Shariah for their worldly affairs as do Muslims. Just like it is unlawful under Shariah to cause any sort of harm to a Muslim, similarly it is unlawful under Shariah to cause any sort of harm to a non-Muslim, as it is their basic right as a human being. The first duty of a person is to become a good human being. Becoming a Muslim and a Sufi comes next, and it is a basic rule of humanity that a human being should not cause harm to another human being. The rights of Muslims and non-Muslims are no different in this regard.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“A true Muslim is one whose actions and words other Muslims are safe from.”

There are five facets or components of Islam;

(1) Aqa’id (beliefs), for example, Allah Ta’alah is the one and only God, and Muhammad ﷺ is His last Prophet and Messenger

(2) Ibadat (acts of worship), for example, Namaz (Salah), Fasting (Saum), Zakat and Hajj,

(3) Ma’amlat (financial transactions), this includes all buying, borrowing and selling,

(4) Ma’ashrat (how we should interact with people we come across in our daily lives), and

(5) Akhlaq (purification of internal attributes), meaning we are required to acquire certain positive internal or spiritual attributes like Tawazu (humility), Ikhlas (purity of intention) and Zuhud (not having love of material wealth), and get rid of certain negative internal attributes like Takabbur (believing one to be superior to others), Riya (ریا impurity of intention), and Hasad (حسد jealousy) etc.

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said that if a person forgives another person, then Allah Ta’ala will forgive him on the day he will need forgiveness most (the Day of Qiyamah).

In Quran Karim Allah Ta’ala says;

“And if one observes patience and forgives, it is, of course, one of the courageous conducts.” (42:43)

In another verse the Holy Quran says;

“Repel (evil) with what is best, and you will see that the one you had mutual enmity with will turn as if he were a close friend.” (41:34)

And in the very next verse adds,

“And no one is blessed with this (attitude) but those who observe patience, and no one is blessed with this (attitude) but a man of great luck.” (41:35)

Once Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) became angry with his slave. He uttered some words cursing that slave under the influence of that anger. The Holy Prophet ﷺ who was coming from behind, heard that curse. He said,

“You are a Siddiq and you curse too. I swear upon the God of Ka’abah that this can’t be.”

As soon as Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq RAA heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ say that a Siddiq does not curse, he immediately said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ. I grant this slave his freedom.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with her),

“Softness makes everything beautiful, while if softness is taken out of something this makes it flawed.”

In the characteristics of the Holy Prophet ﷺ mentioned in Torah and Inji’l, one of the sentences is,

“He will neither be vulgar, nor will he use foul language, he won’t be one of those who raise their voices in the Bazar, rather he will be forgiving and forbearing.”

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masud RAA has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“A Momin does not taunt, does not wish others bad luck, does not use vulgar language, and does not speak harshly.”

While giving a sermon at the time of his last Hajj, the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked the Sahabah (Holy Companions), “What day is it in which I am talking to you?” The Sahabah said, “O Rasool Allah ﷺ! This is the Day of Arafah.” Then he asked, “What is this place where I am standing?” The Sahabah said, “This is the Holy Haram.” Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked, “Which. Month is it in which I am delivering this sermon?” The Sahabah replied, “This is the Holy month of Zul Hijjah.” Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“O Muslims! Your lives, your property and your honour are as Haraam for each other as this day, this place and this month is Haraam.”

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA narrates that once the Holy Prophet ﷺ was doing Tawaaf (طواف) of Ka’abah. While doing the Tawaaf he said addressing the Ka’abah, “O Baitullah! You are so sacrosanct, so holy, so exalted.” Then, addressing Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA he asked, “Do you know of something that is even holier, even more exalted, than Baitullah?” Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA replied, as the Sahabah always replied, “Allah Ta’ala and his Messenger know best.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “I will tell you about one thing that is even holier than the Ka’abah. It is a Muslim’s life, his property, and his honour. If a person unduly harms any of these it is like he is demolishing the Ka’abah.”

In the Holy Quran Allah Ta’ala says;

“whereas for the one who feared to stand before his Lord, and restrained his self from the (evil) desire, the Paradise will be the abode." (79:40-41)

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that Allah Ta’ala has surrounded Jannah (Paradise) with those acts which people find burdensome to carry out.

Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Quran;

“Their sides remain away from their beds at night, and they keep praying to their Creator, but even then their heart is not free of fear...”

At another place Allah Ta’ala says that ‘pious people are those who sleep little at night. Rather they keep doing Ibadah, pray Tahajjud, and when it is time for Sehri (Suhur) they do Istighfar.’

It is narrated in a Hadith that Hazrat Aisha (may Allah Ta’ala bless her) asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ, “O Prophet of Allah! Sehr is not a time to do Istighfar. Istighfar is done after a sin. But these people (mentioned in the verse above) kept performing Ibadah (acts of worship) the whole night. They did not commit any sin. Then why did they do Istighfar?” The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “They do Istighfar after performing Ibadah because they feel they couldn’t perform Ibadah of a standard that was required by Allah Ta’ala’s greatness.”

“And for the one who is fearful of having to stand before his Lord, there are two gardens,” (55:46)

When Hazrat Umar Farooq (may Allah Ta’ala be pleased with him) became a Caliph he used to go around the city at night to find out what people were doing. If he found someone in distress he used to help them, if he found someone doing something wrong he would correct them. One night he was walking on the streets of Medinah Munawwarah at Tahajjud time when he heard two women talking. One of them, who was apparently the mother of the other one, was telling her daughter to mix some water in the milk she had extracted to increase its volume before selling it. The daughter said, “But mother, the Caliph Hazrat Umar RAA has issued a decree that no milk seller should add water to their milk before selling it. Therefore, we shouldn’t do it.” The mother said, “The Caliph is not here now. He would be at his home at this time. It is dark of night. If you add water to milk now how would he know that you have done this?” The daughter said, “Mother! The Caliph is not watching us but his ruler, meaning Allah Ta’ala, is watching us. I will not do it.”

Hazrat Umar Farooq RAA was listening to this conversation from outside the door. In the morning he made inquiries about who this girl was and then sent a proposal for her to marry his son Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA. Hazrat Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz (may Allah Ta’alah bless him), who is known as the fifth Khalifa Rashid (rightly guided Caliph), was born from the offspring from this marriage.

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“The person who when he gives something to someone, he gives it for Allah, when he stops from spending something, he stops spending for the sake of Allah, if he loves someone, he loves them for Allah, and if he keeps enmity with someone, he does it for Allah, his Iman is perfect.”

Once a non-Muslim made some insulting comments about the Holy Prophet ﷺ in front of Hadhrat Ali RAA. Hadhrat Ali RAA could not tolerate anyone saying anything derogatory about the Holy Prophet ﷺ. He threw that person on the ground and got on top of him. When that person saw that he was powerless, he spat on Hadhrat Ali’s RAA face. As soon as he did that Hadhrat Ali RAA got up and let go of him. Someone said, “Hadhrat! Now he was being even more insulting. Why did you let him go?” Hadhrat Ali RAA replied, “Initially when I attacked him, it was out of my love for the Holy Prophet ﷺ because he had insulted him which made me angry. When he spat on my face I became even more angry. But if I hit him now it would have been for my own person. That is why I let him go.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said in a prayer,

“O Allah! Please grant me Ghina (غنا) (being carefree) through knowledge, and adorn me with mild-temperedness.”

Whenever you start feeling angry and you feel you will be overcome by your anger, first do what the Holy Quran has advised us to do. Allah Ta’ala says;

“Should a stroke from the Satan strike you, seek refuge with Allah. Surely, He is All- Hearing, All-Knowing.” (7:200)

This means that whenever we feel that the Satan is trying to incite us to commit a sin, we should seek Allah’s refuge and recite اعوذ بالّٰلہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم.

The second act to perform when someone is becoming angry, is what the Holy Prophet ﷺ has advised us to do. He advised us that whenever you are becoming excessively angry, if you are standing, then sit down, and if you are sitting, then lie down.

In another narration, it has been said that the person should drink cold water at that time.

It is narrated in a Hadith that once the Holy Prophet ﷺ was going somewhere. On the way, he saw that Hadhrat Siddiq Akbar RAA was scolding a slave in anger. In a narration, it says that at that time the Holy Prophet ﷺ said to him,

“Remember that Allah Ta’ala has much more control and power over you, than you have on this person.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that on the Day of Judgment a person will be brought before Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’ala will ask the angels, “Tell me what good deeds he has got in his account?” The angels will reply, “O Allah Ta’ala! He doesn’t have too many good deeds in his account. He neither read too many Nawafil, nor did he pray a lot. However, he had one special virtue. If anyone hurt him or caused him harm, he used to forgive that person. Similarly, if someone owed money to him, and said that he didn’t have the means to pay it back at the due date, then he told his servants that this person cannot afford to pay so forgo my loan, and gave up his rights.” Upon hearing this Allah Ta’ala would say, “This person showed mercy towards my slaves, and forgave them his rights. Today I will show him mercy and will forgive him.” So, Allah Ta’ala will grant him Maghfirat for showing kindness to fellow human beings.

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah RAA has narrated that once a person presented himself before the Holy Prophet ﷺ and said, “O’ Prophet of Allah! Please give me some advice, and please make it brief.” 

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said to him,

"لا تغضب"

meaning “do not be angry”.

If a person correctly follows this brief advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, he may be able to stop himself from committing thousands of sins.

آواز: سید احمر

آواز: سید احمر

 آواز: سید احمر

The Holy Prophet ﷺ;

“Deal with people according to their temperament.”

Hazrat Thanvi RE said, 

“love means bringing comfort to the person you love”

It was Hazrat Thanvi’s routine practice, that whenever he wrote a letter making a recommendation for someone, he always added this statement, “If the favour being asked is not against your rules and other considerations, then kindly do it for this person”. 

Sometimes he also added these words, “If what is being asked is against your other considerations, and you chose not to do it, I won’t be the least bit upset.” The reason for adding these words, was to give the person full freedom, in making their decision, without any undue pressure, and also for making sure that they won’t feel bad, if they did not consider it prudent to act on the recommendation. This is the correct way of doing Sifarish or making a recommendation.

Deen is the name of doing what Shariah demands of us at any given time. This is not Deen that someone is sick or is dying, and we neglect their needs, saying that it is our time to perform our religious rituals. Deen is not the name of indulging our own interests, it is the name of doing what Allah Ta’ala wants us to do, at that time.

Hazrat Abu Zar Ghaffari (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“Treat people according to their nature, temperament and character.”

Hazrat Dr Abdul Hai (may Allah bless him) used to say that after Fajr Salah make this dua (prayer);

ان صلاتی و نسکی و محیای و مماتی للہ رب العٰلمین

“O’ Allah! My Salah (Namaz), my Ibadah (acts of worship), my life, and my death, they are all for you.” (6:162)

Whatever activities I carry out today, I will do those solely with the intention of pleasing You. But I am weak, I do not trust myself. Please help me to stay on the right path.

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“That person is in great loss whose today is no better than yesterday.”

If a person is committing the same number of sins today he committed the previous day without even the smallest reduction, and he is not doing any more acts of worship today than he did yesterday, then he has not made any progress.

That is why the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has taught us to say this prayer,

“O’ Allah! Please make our today better than yesterday, and our tomorrow better than today.”

Hazrat Dr Abdul Hai RE used to say that everyone of us should look at our daily routine, to make a list of which of our daily activities are in accordance with Shariah, and which are not. How many Faraid (فرائض) and Wajibat (واجبات) do we follow in our daily life, and how many we don’t? How many Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ do we follow in our everyday life? How many opportunities for good deeds are we neglecting each day? What sins are we involved in, in our daily life? Make a list of all these Do’s and Don’ts.

Once you have made such a list, then consider how many of these sins you can give up easily, without too much discomfort. Give up those sins immediately. Then consider those sins which you cannot give up immediately for some reason. Start making an effort to give them up, even a little bit if you can. And for the rest, start praying to Allah Ta’ala, “O’ Allah! I have given up all the sins that I could. But I am unable to give up the rest. Please help me in refraining from these sins too, with Your blessing.” Start making the effort that you can, and start praying to Allah Ta’ala, to help with the rest. Insha'Allah, Allah Ta’ala will help us.

There are two essential steps on the path to Allah Ta’ala; start making whatever effort you can make immediately, and then pray to Allah Ta’ala to help you with deeds that look too difficult. If a person keeps following these two steps all his life, he will Insha'Allah succeed on this path.

The Holy Prophetﷺ narrated the following Hadith-e-Qudsi. A Hadith-e-Qudsi is a Hadith, in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ says, that he heard Allah Ta’ala say this. In this Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that Allah Ta’ala has said;

“When a person commits a good deed in this world, I reward him with ten times the reward he deserves for that good deed. And if a person commits a sin, I only punish him equal to the punishment he deserves for that sin. I do not even double that punishment. I either give him punishment proportional to what he did, or forgive him altogether.”

Allah Ta’ala further describes who will not be forgiven.

“If a person fills the whole world with his sins, but then comes to Me, I will grant him as much forgiveness as the number of his sins, as long as he has not committed Shirk. (Shirk means ascribing partners to Allah Ta’ala).”

In the next sentence of this Hadith Qudsi Allah Ta’ala says;

“If a person comes one palm measure towards Me, I go one hand towards him, if a person comes one hand near Me, I go two hands towards him, and if a person walks towards Me, I run towards him.”

In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ once asked the Sahabah, “Tell me, who is truly destitute?” The Sahaba replied, “O’ Prophet of Allah ﷺ! We consider that person destitute, who has no money.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ replied, “The true destitute is not the person who does not have any money. The true destitute is the person, who will present before Allah Ta’alah on the Day of Qiyamat, having many Salah, many fasts, numerous Tasbeehat and Nawafil in his balance sheet, but on the other hand, he would have usurped someone’s property unlawfully, he would have deceived someone, he would have hurt someone’s feelings, he would have harmed someone, and in this manner, would have violated rights of many human beings.

On the Day of Qiyamat, all these people whose rights had been violated, would protest to Allah Ta’alah, “O’ Allah! This person had violated our rights in the earlier life. Please make him pay back our rights.” On that day, dollars and dinars wouldn’t be acceptable as currency. The currency of that day, would be good deeds. Someone would be given his Salah as compensation, someone his fasts, and someone his Tasbeehat and other good deeds. This way, he will eventually run out of good deeds, but there would still remain some people, whose rights he had violated. Then Allah Ta’alah would order, that since his good deeds have run out, now, put the sins of those people whose rights he violated, in his account, to compensate for the hurt he caused them. So, this person would have come with a great wealth of good deeds, but will end up with a great number of sins. He is the one who is truly destitute.”

There are five facets of Islam, and unless a person embraces each one of them his/her Islam remains incomplete.

The first is Aqa’id meaning beliefs: for example, believing that there is only one God, Muhammad SAW is His last Prophet, and that after we die there is going to be a Day of Judgment, when we will have to account for all the deeds we commit in this life.

The second is Ibadat meaning acts of worship: like Salah, fasting, Zakat, and Hajj.

The third is Ma’amlat meaning financial transactions: it means that a person conducts all his financial transactions like buying and selling, and conducting business dealings, as per the rules of Shariah, and that a Muslims should not earn any income through Haraam and forbidden means.

The fourth is Ma’ashrat meaning ways of interacting with people: The core principle of Ma’ashrat is that a person does not deliberately or inadvertently cause hurt or distress to another human being.

The fifth is Akhlaq which means purification of one’s inner-self: It means that a person should try to get rid of undesirable internal or spiritual attributes like Takabbur i.e. arrogance, or Bukhl i.e. miserliness, and acquiring desirable internal or spiritual attributes like Tawazu i.e. humility, and Zuhud meaning not having undue love of this material world.

“O’ you who believe, enter Islam completely, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Surely, he is an open enemy for you;” (Surah al-Baqarah: 208)

“…he (Ibrahim) said, “O my little son, I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you, so consider, what is your opinion?...” (37:102)

“…O my dear father, do what you have been ordered to do. You will find me, Insha'Allah, one of those who endure patiently.” (37:102)

“So, when both of them submitted themselves (to Allah‘s will), and he laid him on his forehead” (37:103)

The Holy Quran has used the word اسلما for this occasion, meaning when both father and son submitted themselves to the will of Allah. It means that in Quranic terminology “Islam” means that a person submits oneself totally to the will and command of Allah Ta’alah.

Allah Ta’alah has established two pathways to guide human beings. The first is that of the Holy books; Torah, Zaboor, Injil (Bible) and Quran Karim.

The second pathway is that of messengers of Allah Ta’alah, the Prophets of Allah. The Prophets were sent down with the Holy books to interpret for the masses what the books meant, and to show people through their words and actions what following these books meant in practice. In the Holy Quran Allah Ta’alah says;

“(We sent them) with clear signs and scriptures. And We sent down the Reminder (The Qur‘an) to you, so that you explain to the people what has been revealed for them, and so that they may ponder.” (16:44)

Allah Ta’alah sends His messengers to interpret His books and to purify people. In the Holy Quran Allah Ta’alah says;

“Allah has surely conferred favour on the believers, when He raised in their midst a messenger from among themselves, who recites to them His verses, and makes them pure, and teaches them the Book, and the Wisdom, while earlier, they were in open error.” (3:164)

The balanced approach is the one which the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself has advised us to follow in a hadith;

ما انا علیہ و اصحابی

“Follow my way, and the way of my Sahaba (The Holy Companions)”.