Some Islamic Principles of Living

Category: SOUND


This is just a collection of some anecdotes found from various corners of the Internet that I feel relay the essence or principles behind the Islamic philosophy of living. Words in grayed out font are from me.


Life

Mus'ab ibn Sa'd (ra) narrated that his father asked, "O Messenger of Allah (saw), who is subjected to the severest trial?" He said, "The Prophets, then the righteous, then the likes of them, then the likes of them among the people. A man is tried in relation to his religion. If he is firmly rooted to his religion then his trial will increase but if he is weak on his religion then his trial will be light. Trial does not cease to fall on a person as long as he walks on the surface of the earth until no sin remains on him."
(Tirmidhi #2398) (Ibn Majah #4023) (Ahmed 1/172)

This is an unbelievably important principle. It helps explain Qadr, or the Divine Destiny in store for us. So many people have their Iman (faith) weakened or tried by hardships because they do not take heed of this principle of how things work in Islam, in this world in relation to the next, and with believers in relation to the non-believers. Shaitan and the Nafs mislead a believer into assuming that a sin is worth doing, that they can repent for it later, and that it will bring them pleasure since they look around them at all the other people (non-believers or Muslims whose hearts have been sealed away by Allah) indulging in the sins without ill effect. The truth is that the consequences for sins of believers are felt right here, and often right now. The sins you commit today will be what makes your life miserable tomorrow in a sense. As one can see, they (Shaitan and the Nafs) mislead you even as to what will bring you pleasure in this world or not. As the Qur'an says about Shaitan: "'I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah.' Whoever, forsaking Allah, takes satan for a patron, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest." (4:119)... The true path to contentment in this world as well as the next is Islam. Those who live while indulging in all the sins they like are not happy, nor content. People who have achieved higher stations of spirituality through mujahadah (striving) can develop a more instinctive feel for this, such as illustrated in the following saying of Maulana Rumi (ra):

"If thou wilt be observant and vigilant, thou wilt see at every moment the response to thy action. Be observant if thou wouldst have a pure heart, for something is born to thee in consequence of every action."

And when one can start picking out the pattern instinctively and through reflection, then this also becomes something which will reaffirm and strengthen Iman (faith), and increase Taqwa (righteousness or God-consciousness).


Learning

Someone told Imam Abu Hanifah (ra), "In the mosque there is a circle (Halaqah) in which the people are looking at fiqh." He asked, "Do they have a head (i.e. a teacher)?" The man replied, "No." The Imam said, "These will never gain knowledge of fiqh."
[Reported by al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi, through his isnad, in 'al-Faqeeh wal-Mutafaqqih']

Imam Malik (ra) was asked, "Can knowledge be taken from a man who has not ([to his credit any) seeking (of knowledge) nor sitting (with scholars)?" He said, "No."
[Reported by as-Suyuti in 'Is'af al-Mubatta']

Imam al-Shafi' (ra) said, "Whoever takes knowledge from books loses the regulations."
(man akhadha al-'ilma min al-kutubi Dayya'a al-aHkaama).
[Reported by al-Nawawi in the introduction to 'al-Majmu']

'Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad, said, "My father said : 'Knowledge is only that in which one says : So-and-so told us . . . . And, al-Mansur asked my father to discuss [something] with Ibn Abi Du'ad, but he turned his face away, saying, 'How can I discuss with someone whom I have not seen at the door of a single scholar?!'"
[Reported by Qadi 'Iyad in 'al-Ilma']

Loss of Knowledge

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al' As:
I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it away from (the hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death of the religious learned men till when none of the (religious learned men) remains, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead the people astray."
[Bukhari: Volume 1, Book 3, Number 100]

Sufism (Tasawwuf)

“Know that Sufism is compliance with Allah’s command and avoidance of His prohibitions, externally and internally, with regard to what pleases Him, not what pleases you.”
-Qutb al-Maktum Sayyid Abu Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tijani

Marriage

"Firstly, a husband must overcome his shyness enough to actually look at his wife, and pay attention to her. If he cannot bring himself to follow this sunna, it is an insult to her, and extremely hurtful. Personal intimacy is a minefield of opportunities to hurt each other--glancing at the watch, a yawn at the wrong moment, appearing bored, and so on."

"Women shall have rights similar to the rights upon them; according to what is equitable and just; and men have a degree of advantage over them."
-Qur'an (2:216)

A bachelor once asked Imam al-Ghazali (ra): "Which should I choose: marriage, or total devotion to God?" "Both", he replied.

Bishr al-Hafi, a pious bachelor and teacher of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (rahimahullah), appeared to someone in a dream, and was asked, “How has God treated you?” He responded, “I have been given a high rank in the Gardens of Paradise. And I was allowed to look upon the stations of the prophets (alayhum salam); yet I never attained to the ranks of the married.” When asked what had become of Abu Nasr al-Tammar, he replied, “He has been raised seventy degrees above me.” People were surprised, and asked how this could be, and he answered, “He earned that by his patience with his little daughters and his family burdens.”

Regarding men having multiple wives (I don't know the authenticity of this, nor do I have reason to question it, but the principle is sound):

A dispute having arisen between the Caliph Mansur and his wife Harrah over an accusation made by the latter that the former was not a just ruler, Abu Hanifah was called in to arbitrate between them. The queen sat behind a veil in order to hear the Imam's verdict with her own ears. Mansur began by asking how many wives a Muslim was permitted to have at a time according to the Shari'ah. The Imam replied, "Four." "Do you hear?" shouted Mansur to the queen. "Yes, I've heard it," replied the queen. At that point the Imam addressed himself to the Caliph and added, "But this permission is for a man who is capable of doing justice. No other man can have more than one wife. God Himself says: 'If you doubt your ability to do justice (between your wives), have only one wife.' " Mansur remained silent. A little while after the Imam returned home, a servant came to him with a gift of fifty thousand dinars. "The queen," he said, "sends you her respectful salutations and says that she is grateful to you for your truthful verdict." The Imam returned the money with a message for the queen that he had expressed the opinion he had expressed not in the expectation of a reward but because it was his duty as an arbitrator to express it.

Now consider what state the man must be in, being that most people, men and women alike, cannot even fairly deal with their sole mother to say nothing of their sole spouse.


Lowering of the Gaze

The way a man will come to look at it:

At first you tend to only lower the gaze for other Muslims, for those who make it clear that they'd like you to do so (for which donning hijab/niqab is the most effective way to indicate). You do it for their sake, out of a need to respect the boundaries and limits they have errected because you respect their principles, you feel the love for them that all Muslims share as brothers and sisters in Islam and this is only furthered by a feeling of guilt if one does not normally observe the practice of guarding their gaze. But that doesn't apply for all the women who WANT you to look. In their case, you lower the gaze for yourself, your own sake (which is the most difficult).

Another reason that one finds to keep up the practice of lowering the gaze indiscriminately is not for fear of finding others attractive, but for fear of finding them NOT attractive. That's not something anyone deserves, to be unjustly objectified for comparison to others, whether only in someone's head or not.


Modesty (Haya)

"O ye wives of the Prophet! Ye are not like any other women. If ye keep your duty (to Allah; i.e, Taqwa), then be not soft of speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease aspire (to you), but utter customary speech."
-Qur'an (33:32)

This means don't be nice in speech towards men, revealing their femininity, because they could be attracted to that. The condition or given explanation is the mere chance that a man of Iman might waver (let alone those men who are non-believers or those who are known to be of weak Iman towards whom there should be no doubt). This applies for tone of voice ("be not soft of speech") as well as actual words used ("utter customary speech"). This applies to all women just as many of the other rules of Hijab were also derived from the verses in this section addressed towards the wives (ra) of the Prophet (saw). This is the view of all Sunni and Shi'ite scholars.


In addition to all of the above it should also be noted that the system of interaction between the sexes, the institution of Hijab, the principles of modesty, and the institution of marriage in Islam serve to endow the relationship between man and woman (romantic relationship) with the best that such relationships have to offer in this world, and remove the pitfalls (since positive potential is matched by negative potential in this world). In the next 'Quotes' update, I'll include some quotes about romantic love from non-Islamic cultures, and the idea there is that the essence of these is not only present within Islamic culture, but it is at its best since what they only hint at (romantic love tapping into the greater True Love of spirituality) is what Islam is designed to foster for everyone who would take its path. In fact, those quotes (and indeed, all the non-Muslim traditions of romantic love in any medium) are representing the vast minority of cases since for most in non-Islamic cultures today, romantic love does not exist at all and they have been left with caricatures of the caricatures their forefathers inherited.

Islamic Obligation in How to Treat Others

Category: SOUND

All are from Mufti Taqi Usmani's oral lectures in Urdu.

The religion is based on these five parts:

1. Belief - Belief must be along the proper lines
2. Worship - Prayer, fasting, pilgrimage and zakah must be observed diligently
3. Dealings - Buying and selling transactions must respect the Commands of Allah. Improper and unlawful means must be shunned.
4. Mutual Living - One must observe the Commands of Allah in day to day living and mutual, social affairs.
5. Character - One's personal character and morals, feelings and thinking must be correct.

Today, we are Muslims in our behaviour only as long as we are in the Mosque but when we step into the practical field, we hasten to cheat other people, we betray trusts and cause inconvenience to other people and hurt them. This is not entering into Islam because while one-fourth of it is made up of worship, as much as three-fourths of Islam concerns rights of other people.

It is un-Islamic to hurt anyone

The Holy Prophet(saw) has said about a Muslim that he is one from whose hand and tongue other Muslims are safe. It is a grave sin to hurt other Muslims and it is forbidden. It is as grave a sin as consuming wine, being immodest or eating pork. Every kind of hurting another or causing him inconvenience is a grave sin. It is the duty of a Muslim that they should not hurt anyone. For instance, if anyone parks their car in a way that blocks people's passage and they think of it as no more than a traffice offence, then they are really offending religion and committing a sin...

The sin still counts even if the Muslims offending each other are hardly religious or already engaged in other sin. Sins don't cancel each other out, they add up, even simultaneously.

This principle is applied through the other principle of people's rights over you (as to what constitutes an offense). I mention this because men and women freely interact when that's not a part of their rights over one another. If a strange woman pisses you off, tough luck, you have no rights over her. If a wife fights with her husband, that's a different story as he does have rights over her. It also depends on the situation. Though a man has no rights over the woman, if she goes out of her way to hurt the man (anything beyond what Islam says is allowed or required interaction would be considered going out of her way) then she will incur the sin for that (on top of the sin for the interaction). Men have no leeway, even a strange woman has some rights over you because of the position of men in society and whatnot. While everything involving women gets iffy when it's a situation of self-defense or revenge or something, men do not have that right even in principle over women. Men have to respect women while a woman's priority is to safeguard her modesty so she can do pretty much anything within that context. Just a warning to the guys, do not offend women, do not be mean to them, or any of that. As I'll paste in a second, you are held liable for breaking another Muslim's heart and a woman's might not break according to your own logic.

We are not fully entered into Islam

This is enough to tell us how grave the matter of rights of fellow men are. But, we do not even consider it to be a part of religion. The noble Qur'an calls upon believers to enter Islam completely - with all of our existence, our living, our worship, our dealings, our social life, our manners, every part of us must enter into Islam. Only then will we be true Muslims and it was only this thing that spread Islam. Islam did not spread by propagation but through the example and character of men. Whereever they went, Muslims were distinguished by their example and character and this attracted men to Islam. However, today other people observe our living and character and are repulsed by Islam.

Ironic twist here is that if you fix their perception of Islam, they will instead be repulsed by Muslims.

Sincere friends are missing

...we do not find such a friend in this world whose friendship follows the friendship of Allah. We cannot find anyone whom we can call a true friend whose friendship is subservient to Allah's and who proves true in trying times. It is difficult to find such a one. When my elder brothers spoke about their friends in the presence of our respected father, he would remark that they had made many friends in his life while he, at the age of sixty, could not make any friends. All his life, he had only a friend and a half. One could not find anyone easily who would measure correctly to the standards of friendship.

True friendship is technically impossible in this world except with Allah, what we can have is companionship. A matter of semantics, but then again... linguistics and language are serious business.

Intentions

Suppose if anyone intends to go to Lahore but boards a train that is bound for Quetta, will their intention take them to Lahore?

The Devil is clever

The Devil of a scholar is a scholar. Shaitan misguides Ulema in a scholarly way. This applies to all other fields as well, if you're a whatever, Shaitan will be in your head as an equal or superior whatever with the aid of your Nafs using every trick you know to decieve you.

The branch of Deen dealing with Social living

Category: SOUND

All from Mufti Taqi Usmani's oral lectures in Urdu.

There are five branches of Deen

I have repeatedly stated earlier that the injunctions that have been imposed on us can be divided into five branches, viz., basic beliefs, worship, business transactions and dealing with people, social living, and ethics (ethical conduct and character). These five branches make up what is called Deen. If any of these five branches is omitted then Deen is incomplete. Therefore the demands of each of these branches should be fully met.

Deen is incomplete without reforming the social life

So far we have discussed and studied the subject of ethics. Imam Nuwawee (ra) has framed a new chapter "Mu'asharah" (co-living with other people) and has cited Ahadith concerning this branch. This considers how we should eat, drink, live in the house or the neighborhood with others. All these activities form part of "Mu'asharah" i.e, social life.

Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (ra) used to say: Nowadays people have excluded "Mu'asharah" from the definition of Deen. They do not accept that the injunction concerning Deen also applies to this important subject. This is the stand even of those people who are very punctual and sincere in other activities of Deen, e.g. prayers, fasting, Tahajjud, remembrance, etc. As a result, their Deen is incomplete.

It is, therefore, necessary to know and act upon the injunctions and teachings which Allah and His Prophet(saw) have issued on the subject of "Mu'asharah". May Allah help us all to act upon these injunctions and teachings.

The Holy Prophet(saw) has taught us everything

Allama Nuwawee (ra) has commenced the first chapter on "Mu'asharah" with the etiquettes of drinking and eating. The Holy Prophet(saw) has given us very important directions on drinking and eating as he has given direction on other areas of life. Once a polytheist raised an objection to Islam and said to Hazrat Salman Farsi (ra): "Your Prophet(saw) teaches you everything, even the way of easing yourself in the latrine."

The polytheist said this by way of finding fault with Islam that the Prophet(saw) taught the Muslims such insignificant things of life like the use of the latrine. Hazrat Salman (ra) replied to him saying: We consider your objection as insignificant. In fact it is a matter of pride for us. Our Prophet(saw) has taught us everything of life, including the etiquettes of sitting in and using the toilet. He has taught us just as the parents teach their children every big and small thing in life. If children were not taught these aspects of life, they would never know them to become polished and civilized members of society. Being kinder to us than our parents, the Holy Prophet (saw) has taught us such nice etiquettes about drinking and eating that by following them our drinking and eating become an act of worship entitled to recompense.

Change the viewpoint at the time of doing every act in order to transform it into worship

Hazrat Dr. Abdul Hai Sahib (ra) used to tell us that he practiced this principle for years and years and explained by saying:

'I am sitting on the dining clothing. The food is there. I am hungry too. I refrain from eating for a moment and think that I would not eat the food. The very next moment I realize that the food before me is only Allah's bounty and not the result of any effort on my part. It was the practice of the Holy Prophet(saw) that when food was placed before him he ate it with Allah's thanksgiving. I, too, will eat the food placed before me in compliance with the Prophet's Sunnah. Thereafter, I begin eating with the name of Allah (bismillah).

I entered the house and felt happy to see the playful, lovely baby. I felt an urge to take the baby in my lap and play with him with love. Yet I kept back for a moment and thought that it was not good to take the baby only for the sake of my liking. The very next moment I remembered that the Holy Prophet(saw) loved children very much and took them in his lap. Now following his Sunnah I will also pick the baby up in my lap. With this notion, I picked up the child.'

After relating to us this practice, he recited this couplet: This means: 'It is not an easy job to make oneself used to grief and distress (in love). This is achieved by putting up with the tensions of grief and pain for a long period.'

He went on saying: I have attained this by the grace of Allah, by constant practice and I hardly miss the opportunity. Whenever some blessing of this kind comes before me, I feel at once that it is from Allah and thank Him after pronouncing 'bismillah' I do the job. I have now become used to it. This is what I call a 'change in vision'. As a result of this change, a worldly act becomes an act of Deen and an act of worship.

Compensating for an optional act

Being that Dr. Abdul Hai (ra) was a Sufi Shaykh and his pupils, including Mufti Taqi usmani (ra) were mostly Maulawis (fiqh jurists) that came to him to learn tasawuf, he often had to deal with their ingrained view of things. For instance, jurists will say no compensation is required for optional (Nafl) acts of worship, only for Fardh or Wajib. Yet, the Shaykh points out, the Prophet(saw) said in a Hadith that if you forget to pronounce Allah's name when beginning to eat, you should pronounce it when you remember it. Likewise, he recommends to make up any missed Nafl acts or prayers, whether you call it Qaza or whatever.

Right way of shaking off the dining cloth (emptying the dinner plate)

We usually just empty the plate right into the garbage. Mufti Usmani relates that he learned from his father who learned from Sayyid Asghar Husain Sahib (ra) that it's better to sort out the plate so nothing goes to waste. The bones with some meat still attached were put in a special place for the cats. The bones with no meat were put in a place for the dogs of the area. The pieces of bread were put on a wall outside for birds. The tiniest pieces of bread were placed near ant-holes. So nothing was wasted of Allah's sustenance.

The Non-Muslims have adopted Islamic principles of living

Once I had the opportunity to accompany my respected father on a journey by air to Dacca (Bangladesh). During the flight I felt the need to use the toilet. You may have seen a notice above the washbasin to this effect: After having used the wash-basin, kindly clean it with the cloth and dry it so that those coming later may not feel disgusted.

After I returned from the toilet my father said to me: The notice written above the wash-basin means the same warning which I have been giving you off and on that it is a part of our Deen to save others from distress and inconvenience. The non-Muslims have adopted this principle and Almighty Allah has bestowed upon them success and progress in this world. We, on the other hand, have excluded these principles from Deen and have confined Deen only to prayers and fasting, etc. We have totally ignored the rules and etiquettes of social living or "Mu'asharah". The result is that we are going back to deterioration and failure. Allah has planned the affairs of the world on the principle of cause and effect. Therefore, the results, good or bad, depend on man's deeds. This is a law of nature which according to Allah's Decree, applies to all, whether they are believers or non-believers.

An incident relating to an English lady

Last year I had to go to London. From there I was going to Edinburgh by train. On the way I felt the need to use the toilet. When I reached the toilet I saw that an English lady was standing there. I concluded that the toilet was engaged and the lady was waiting for her turn. I came back to my place. A long time passed neither anyone came out of the toilet nor the lady went in. I again went and saw the sign of 'vacant' on the toilet door. I asked the lady to use the toilet if she wants to. The lady told me that she was waiting for the train to move. It is the law to neither flush nor use the toilet while the train is stationed. No sooner than the train leaves the platform she will flush the toilet which she forgot earlier.

Now think about how this lady was waiting only to flush the toilet which she could not do earlier. She is not flushing it presently because the law of the railway stands in her way. At that time I remembered the advice of my father that it is a part of Deen to take care of such small matters as flushing toilets and latrines, so that you may not be a cause of inconvenience or disgust to those who come to use the facility later. Our behaviour in such matters is just the opposite. We have formed the habit of looking to our own comfort and convenience, leaving others to mind their own business.

Why are non-Muslim nations making process

Bear in mind that Almighty Allah has, in His wisdom, planned the affairs of this world on the principle of cause and effect. Following this divine principle, the non-Muslims began to work hard and reap the benefit of their labour according to the divine law of nature. They have no share in the blessings of the Hereafter because of their disbelief, yet by following the principles and etiquettes taught by the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad(saw), they have made themselves entitled to the blessings of success and progress in this world. Being Muslims and believers we feel jealous of them for their success and progress in this world, but we do not compare our way of dealings with theirs. These non-Muslims do not tell lies in business, nor do they betray trusts, nor are they lovers of ease and comfort. They work hard with honesty and self-sacrifice and reap the fruits of their labour according to Allah's dispensation. The Muslims have given up these manly traits of conduct and have confined Deen only to the four walls of the mosques and madrasahs. We have excluded from Deen other areas of life. In this way we have suffered a double loss - remoteness from Deen as well as disgrace and humility in the worldly life. In spite of the fact that the Holy Prophet (saw) has taught us all the principles and formulas effective in attaining success in matters relating to this world as well as to the Hereafter. If we find ourselves backwards and disgraced, the fault is our own. May Allah help us see things with the right perspectives. Aameen.

The influence of food on the inner self of man

Whatever has been discussed in the foregoing pages belongs to externally palpable effects of food. People whom Allah has granted inner insight can look into things much farther and deeper. They can easily find out by the light of their spiritual intuition which foods have salubrious effect on the emotions and thoughts of man and which darken the inner soul of man leading to the birth of bad thoughts and urging him to commit sins. Some foods are so full of blessings (barkat) that they please and elate the inner personality of man and provie nourishment to the soul which induces him to do good deeds. We, however, do not perceive this fine difference between one food and another and their enlightening or darkening effects. During these days of material race we have become blind to the real qualities and inner properties of things.

An incident illustrating the influence of food

This incident relates to Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Yaqoob Nanotawi (ra) who was the Rector of Dar ul-Uloom, Deoband (India) and a teacher of Hazrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi (ra). Once a man invited the Sheikh to dinner. He went to the place of invitation and began eating. After putting only one morsel into his mouth he realized that the income of the man who had invited him was not lawful. He at once left the food and came back. He said that he felt for about two months the darkness of the one morsel he had swallowed. He felt during these two months an urge to commit sins. The experience related by the Sheikh appears to us to be incredible, because our chests are filled with darkness. Take the example of a white sheet of cloth full of spots. If one more spot is added it will make no difference. On the other hand even if a small spot is put somehow on a spotless white cloth sheet, it can be easily seen from a distance. Such is the similitude of the hearts of saintly men. So it is not at all surprising that Maulana Nanotawi (ra) instantly felt the adverse effect of the unlawful morsel which created in his pure heart an urge to commit sins. This was due to the darkness spread by that unlawful morsel. There is something which is called inner "Barkat" by virtue of which man develops in him spiritual integrity and ameliorates his conduct, character, and thoughts.

These are the conquerors of Iran

It was the custom of Khosran's court that, while he was sitting on his throne, the rest were standing in their respective places. Hazrat Rub'ee bin 'Amir (ra) told Khosran that they followed the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) who had forbidden that one man should be sitting and the rest standing before him as is the custom in his court. They were, therefore, not prepared to take part in the negotiations that way. So, either they should be provided to sit down or the Emperor should also stand before them. Khosran felt his insult in meeting this demand. He refused to talk to them and ordered that they should be sent back with a basket full of earth placed on their heads. Hazrat Rub'ee bin 'Amir (ra) placed that basket on his head. While leaving the court, he said: 'O Khosran! Remember that you have bestowed upon us the earth (i.e, land) of Iran.' The Iranians were very superstitious people who took this event as an ill omen. Khosran, therefore, sent some of his men to overtake them and get back the basket of earth. They could not find Hazrat Rub'ee bin 'Amir (ra) who quickly escaped with the basket of Iran's earth.

Refer to the Prophet Muhammad (saw)'s Hadith: "After this Khosran has perished there will be no Khosran again."