iPause

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم 

(In the Name of Allah, The Ever-All-Merciful, The Ever-Specifically Merciful.)

   It has been a long time since I wrote my last post.  Working to advance oneself in life is a tolling job.  I had planned on writing the second part to the "No Cell Phone!?" post but, as you can probably guess from the title of this post, I am going to take a little pause from that and share something else with you.  And, no, sorry, this is not going to be about an iPod, or an iPad, or any other iWhatever-you-might-think-of.  It is an iPause, nonetheless.  By the way, you can now share any of my posts on the dreaded facebook, twitter, the buzz, and good-old email.  I added those buttons at the end of every post. :)

   I wanted to share a khutbah (religious sermon/talk) with you about akhlaaq.  Al-hamdulillah, I have "full rights" to type it up and even add some annotations that might not have been part of the original.  So, following is a transcription of the khutbah with my annotations in parentheses (...) .  It should be noted that this khutbh was given to an audience who subscribe to a specific line of thought so most of the references are from scholars of the same line of thought; this should not hinder from the main message, which is applicable all across the board. I pray to Allah that we all benefit from it, Aameen:

Indeed (without doubt) all praises, thanks, glory, etc., are due to Allah; we praise/thank/glorify Him and we ask Him for help and guidance. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and from the evil of our deeds.  Whomever Allah guides, there can be none to misguide him/her, and whomever He allows to be led astray, there can be none to guide him/her.  And we bear witness that there is no true god worthy of worship except Him, One and unique, without any partners/parts/equals. And we bear witness that Muhammad in His slave, and last and final Messenger.  We send our salutations and peace upon the Prophet Muhammad and upon his family, his companions and all those who follow him in sincerity until the end of times, all together. 

Thereafter, "O humankind! Have Taqwa(consciousness/awareness/fear of punishment/love) of your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him He created his mate, and from them both He created many men and women, and have Taqwa of Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and revere the wombs (the bonds of kinship). Surely, Allah is always watching over you. " (4:1)   "Oh you who have believed! Have Taqwa of Allah and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great victory. " (33:70-71) Then, thereafter, respected brothers and sisters in Islam, Allah, the Most High and Exalted, says in the Noble Book, the Praiseworthy Criterion (between right and wrong, good and evil, light and darknesses), the Holy Qur`an:  "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good (or most excellent) example to follow for him who hopes in (the meeting with) Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much. " (33:21) And in another place, He, Exalted and Praised, says,  "And verily, you are on an exalted (or most excellent set/standard of) character. " (68:4).

(The above part is a translation of the Arabic.  The following is the transcription of the English part):

Dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam,

Allah, Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa (Glorified and exalted is He), says in the Qu`ran, "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah... (refer to above (33:21))."  Time and again, lecture after lecture, khutub after khutub, we hear this ayah and we are told of the importance of following the example of the Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), but do we actually understand the significance of this ayah?   Do we ever go back home and actually open up the Qur`an and try to find out the meaning of the ayah for ourselves?  Al-hamdulillah, we are blessed to have many translations and tafaseer (explanations) of the Qur`an available in many different languages (but do we bother to take advantage of that?). 

If we look at this ayah closely, Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall (Esteemed and Exalted), does not just say that Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), is uswatun hasanah, the best or most excellent example to follow, and leave it at that, but He continues to say that this is true only for certain people.  Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall, puts a condition to this statement; only those people who have the following three characteristics will realize that Rasulullah, 'Alyhis-Salaatu Was-Salaam (Upon him be salutations and peace), is uswatun hasanah, or he, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), is uswatun hasanah only for those who have the following three characteristics: for him/her who 1) hopes in the meeting of Allah, 2) hopes in the last day, and 3) Remembers Allah a lot or in abundance.   How can a person hope to meet Allah?  There two aspects to this: first a person has to understand, accept, and believe that he or she will have to meet Allah one day and stand in front of Him to answer for all his or her deeds; secondly, how can a person hope to meet Allah unless he or she is sure that he or she will be pleased with the meeting? unless a person is sure that he or she has worked hard in this life to acquire good deeds and stay away from things Allah has made forbidden and then put their hope in the Mercy of Allah?  Only then can a person truly hope  to meet Allah.  In the same way hoping in the last day entails two things: first a person has to understand, accept, and believe that there will be a last day when he or she will be held accountable for all his or her deeds.  Secondly, it entails that a person hopes to meet the last day.  How can a person hope  for the last day if he or she has accumulated the worst deeds possible all his or her life?  The third characteristic of those who truly have Rasulullah, 'Alyhis-Salaatu Was-Salaam (Upon him be salutations and peace), as uswatun hasanah are those who remember Allah much or in abundance. (It is only through remembering Allah all the time that a person can preserve himself from all evil.) That is why Allah, Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa (Glorified and exalted is He),  says that the ulu al-albaab, the people of intellect,  praise/remember Allah while standing, sitting, and while lying on their sides.


After all that, there is still another important aspect of this ayah that we must look into.  Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall,  says that Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), is uswatun hasanah as a blanket statement and stops there.  He,  Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa (Glorified and exalted is He), does not say that Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), is uswatun hasanah  only in his salah (prayer), or zakah (yearly obligatory charity), or sawm (fasting), or hajj (pilgrimage).  Rather, He, 'Azza Wa Jall, says that Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), is uswatun hasana period (as an example for all aspects of life).

One of those aspects that we must not neglect, is mentioned in Suratil-Qalam or Noon, Surah number 68, where Allah, Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa (Glorified and exalted is He), says, "And verily, you are on an exalted (or most excellent set/standard of) character. " (68:4). (That aspect is of having the best character, attitude, or disposition.)

How sad and disgraceful is it if we claim to hold on to the Qur`an and sunnah and Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), himself told us to hold on to these two when he said, "I am leaving behind me two things: kitaabullah wa sunnatee, the book of Allah and my Sunnah, " and we disregard a part of the sunnah, even one aspect, when it is especially separately mentioned in the Qur`an?  If we do this we risk falling into the warning of Allah in the Qur`an when He asks Bani Israeel, the children of Israel, a question in Suratil-Baqarah.  We must remember that whenever Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall, questions, warns, or reprimands Bani Israeel it is not so we scorn them, laugh at them or hate them, but it is a warning for us not to fall into the same mistakes as they did.  For it was Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), who warned us that the Muslim Ummah will follow the Bani Israeel step by step, so much so, that if they were to fall into a lizard hole so would the Muslim Ummah.  So Allah asks Bani  Israeel, and it is a question for us as well, "Then do you believe in a part of the Book and reject the rest Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do." (2:85).  

Do we follow one aspect of the Sunnah of the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), and neglect another?  Do we follow one command about him, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), in the Qur`an and neglect another?  If we do so, we risk becoming of those who are disgraced in this dunyah (world)  and in the aakhirah (life to come after death) they will suffer the most severe of torments.  Oh, Allah do not make us amongst those, Aameen.

It may very well be that this may be the most important aspect of the sunnah as "It was narrated that Abu Hurairah [RA] said: The Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), said: 'The most perfect of the believers in faith is the one who is best in attitude.'" Reported by At-Tirmidhi (1162), who classed it hasan saheeh, and by Abu Dawood (4682). 

Let us look at how the scholars viewed the importance of this hadeeth.  Ibn Taymiyah [RH] commented on this hadeeth:

It is well known that the most beloved of His (Allah's) creation to Him are the believers, and if the most perfect of them in faith are those who are best in attitude, then the most beloved to Him are those who are best in attitude, and khuluq [character, attitude] is religion as Allah says:  "And verily, you are on an exalted (or most excellent set/standard of) character. " (68:4)  Ibn Abbas [RA] said it means "On a high standard of religion." 

Having a good character then, is an even higher standard of religion.  It is no wonder that Ibn Qayyim [RH] dedicated a whole chapter in his book, Madaarij Al-Salikeen, to this when he titled it, "The religion is all morals; whoever has better morals than you is more committed to the religion than you."

(Another hadeeth puts further emphasis on khuluq.)  It was narrated that Abu Hurairh [RA] said: The Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), was asked about that which will admit most people to Paradise.  He, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), said, "Fear of Allah and a good attitude. " Narrated by At-Tirmidhi, who classed it as saheeh ghareeb; classed as saheeh by Al-Albani in Saheeh At-Tirmidhi.  How unfortunate it would be if we were excluded from that?

How dis-heartening is it when we look around at the rampant dichotomy?  How sad is it if people associate  the brother with the biggest beard or the sister in full hijaab  with the most deceitful person, the cheater, the liar, the one who is least likely to complete a task assigned in a timely and proper manner?  How disgraceful is it if people associate the brother or sister who is most frequently praying or visiting the masjid with the one with the harshest tongue or rudest behavior? 

Such people risk wasting all of their ibadaat (acts of worship) as

It was narrated that Abu Hurirah [RA] said: A man said: "O Messenger of Allah, So-and-so [a woman]" --and he mentioned how much she prayed and fasted and gave charity-- "but she annoys her neighbors with her [sharp] tongue."  He, [Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him)], said, "She will be in Hell."

He (the man) said: "O Messenger of Allah, So-and-so [another woman]" --and he spoke of how little she fasted and gave in charity -- "but she gives cheese in charity and she does not annoy her neighbors with her [sharp] tongue." He, [Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him)], said: "She will be in Paradise. " 

 Narrated by Ahmad in Al-Musnad (2/440); classed as saheeh by Al-Albani in Silsilah As-Saheehah (No. 190).  
Subhaan-Allahi Wa bihamdeehee Subhaan-Allahil 'Adheem.  Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), gave us two examples; one of a woman who prayed a lot but wasted all her deeds because of her bad attitude and the other woman who prayed less comparatively, but had a good character and Allah rewarded her with Jannah.  May Allah allow us to not waste our deeds due to bad character, Aameen.  Having a bad character not only risks destroying all our 'ibadaat but it also goes against following the uswatun hasanah of khuluqun 'adheem [exalted or most excellent set/standard of character].  Ibn Katheer [RH] explained this khuluqun 'adheem in his tafseer to that ayah, "...Allah gave him [the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him),] the exalted character, which included the qualities of modesty, kindness, bravery, pardoning, gentleness, and every other good characteristic."

In the Saheehayn (first two Saheeh books of hadeeth), Anas [RA] said: "I served the Messenger of Allah for ten years and he never said a word of displeasure [uff] to me, nor did he ever say to me concerning something I had done, 'why did you do that?' and he never said to me concerning something I had not done, 'why didn't you do this?'..."   In another hadeeth about the character of the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), Imam Ahmad [RH] recorded: 'Aishah [RAA] said, "The Messenger of Allah never struck a servant of his with his hands, nor did he ever hit a woman.  He never hit anything with his hand, except for when he was fighting jihad in the cause of Allah.  And he was never given the option between two things except that the most beloved of the two to him was the easiest of them, as long as it did not involve sin; if it did involve sin, then he stayed farther away from the sin than any of the people.  He would not avenge himself concerning anything that was done to him, except if the limits of Allah were transgressed. Then in that case, he would avenge for the sake of Allah."

This is the wonderful character that the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him),  had; the khuluqun 'adheem.  And it was this same standard that he held the best of his sahaabah (companions) to.  There is a well known incident of when Abu Bakr [RA] and another man were sitting in the presence of Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him). The man was insulting Abu Bakr [RA] but Abu Bakr remained quiet and Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), kept smiling.  Finally, Abu Bakr could not take it any longer and responded to the insults of the man.  At that moment, the Prophet's, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), expression changed and he got up and left.  This made Abu Bakr [RA] even more upset and he went after the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), and asked him, Ya Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), why were you just smiling when this man was insulting me and then got up and left when I responded to him?  Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), replied, "while the man was insulting you and you remained quiet, the angels of Allah were responding on your behalf but the moment your decided to reply the angels left and shaytaan came and I don't sit where shaytaan  is."  Aww kamaa Qaala 'Alyhis-Salaatu Was-Salaam.  Even though it was Abu Bakr's [RA] right to exact revenge, the higher standard of character was to ignore the insults and let the angels of Allah deal with such a person, for who can better deal with such people than Allah? And whose curse is more hefty in the site of Allah than that of His  closest angels?  It is no wonder, then, that Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurairah [RA] that the Messenger of Allah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), said, "Inna maa bo'ithto li otammima saalihal akhlaaq." "I have only been sent to perfect righteous behavior/character/attitude."  

There are many characteristics of good character and attitude, some of which we have already mentioned; they are summarized in an essay of one of the salaf (he is also considered a great mystic by the mystics), Yahya Ibn Mu'adh:

It is to be full of modesty and to be harmless too. To be full of goodness and not to be corrupt.  For the tongue to be truthful, for the words to be little and to be plentiful in good action.  To have little slip-ups and not to be excessive.  To be good to one's relatives, building closeness to them.  To be dignified and grateful.  To be full of contentment if Allah restricted some provision.  To be forbearing and friendly to his brothers.  To be compassionate and chaste.  Not to curse, swear, insult, backbite, nor to gossip.  Not to be hasty, envious, hateful, arrogant, nor vain.  Not to lean towards worldliness, nor to extend long hopes or wishes.  Not to sleep too much nor to be absent minded, not to show off, not to be hypocritical.  Not to be selfish, but to be soft and cheerful, not servile.  Loving for the sake of Allah, being pleased for His sake and being angry only for His sake.  His [such a person's] provision is taqwa.  His worries are what will happen to him in the afterlife.  His friends remind him. His beloved is his Master and Protector, Allah.  His struggle is for the afterlife.

 May Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall, make us like the salaf-as-Saliheen, the sahaabha, and, most importantly, the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), in his khuluqun 'adheem.   May Allah help us to adopt the three characteristics that will allow us to accept Rasulullaah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), as uswatun hasanah.  May He make it easy for us to follow the uswatun hasanah  in all aspects, especially one of the most important ones, khuluqun 'adheem. Aameen.  
Aqoolo qawlee hadhaa was-sataghfirullaaha lee wa lakom.  Fas-staghfiruho innahu huwal-Ghafooror-Raheem.  

(This is part 2 of the Khutbah)
All praise/thanks/glory/etc. are for Allah, the one who guided us to Islam, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us. And we bear witness that there is no true god worthy of worship except Allah, One and Unique, without any partners/parts/equals. And we bear witness that Muhammad in His slave, and last and final Messenger,  may the most blessed salutations and peace be upon him and all his family and righteous companions.  Thereafter, Allah, Tabaaraka Wa Ta'alaa (Blessed and Exalted) says,  "And by the mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you; so pardon them, and ask forgiveness for them; and consult them in the affairs." (3:159).

There are many facets to good character; many of them were mentioned already, but one important aspect remains and that is our interaction with one another in terms of correcting each other.  Many times, we are blessed with some knowledge of the deen (religion) by Allah and we become over-enthusiastic to share this knowledge with others.  Even if the knowledge is very small compared with the amount of full knowledge that is available we become zealous in doing our duty as the best ummah raised for humankind "enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil."  But in so doing, we must never forget that the knowledge we have is from Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall,  and, had He wished, we would not have been able to gain that knowledge, or comprehend it, or even be allowed to open our mouth to share it with others or to correct others with.  Even if we have the most saheeh, authentic, knowledge, we must remember that true ultimate knowledge is with Him only and we cannot even have a small amount of it if He does not allow as He informs us in ayatul-Kursee, "And they will never encompass anything of His Knowledge except that which He wills. " (2:255).  

Even in this, (amar bil-ma'roof nahi 'anil-munkar; enjoining good, forbidding evil) we must follow the uswatun hasanah.  How did he, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), do it?  There many examples of how Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), maintained a good character when correcting the worst of mistakes.  One of the most famous, which appears in Saheeh Al-Bukharee, is of the Bedouin who urinated in the Masjid of the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), and the sahaabah in their zeal were ready to chop off his head, but the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), told them to stop and let him finish and clean-up after he leaves.  In another incident a Bedouin came to the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), and asked about something that caused the sahaabah to get upset but Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), kept his good nature and responded so nicely, that before leaving the masjid, the Bedouin made dua'a out loud saying, "O Allah bless me and Rasulullah, [Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him)], and no one else."

Looking at these examples, we may say that this is how Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), dealt with people whom he did not know, but with his close companions he may have been different.  But we must look into the Qur`an and see how he was equally kind with his close companions even in the most difficult of times.  Allah, Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa, says, "And it is by the mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from about you; so pardon them, and ask forgiveness for them; and consult them in the affairs." (3:159). We must look at the context of this ayah.  The context of this ayah was the battle of Uhud, when the Muslimeen were suffering because of the mistake of some of them.  It was a time when the survival of the entire Muslim ummah depended on that small group of sahaabah.  Compared to such a situation, any error that any one makes in this day and age is nothing.  It was a time when the direct order of the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), was disobeyed.  It was the same moment in time that Allah describes a few verses earlier by saying: "(And remember) when you ran away without even casting a side glance at anyone, and the Messenger was in your rear calling you back." (3:153). In such a situation, the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), dealt with them kindly and lovingly forgave them, and continued to include them in the decision making. And in fact Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall,  encouraged him to do so. It is exactly because of this good character that the people would flock to Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him).  

My respected brothers and sisters in Islam,
It is imperative for us to have a good attitude/character with everyone including the non-Muslims and there are numerous authentic examples of the khuluqun 'adheem  of the Prophet, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), with the non-Muslims.  Unfortunately, I do not have time to go into them now.  I want to impress, however, that it is especially important to be excessively kind with the believers. No matter what mistakes they may or may not have, as long as they profess the shahaadah, they deserve that we melt in humbleness for them and are kind toward them.  As Allah, Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa,  describes the true believers with characteristics of excessive kindness and humbleness amongst one another in two places of the Qur`an:  "...humble towards the believers, stern towards the disbelievers [who fight/harm them]," (5:54)  Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall,  describes the believers as those who become completely humble, down-to-earth, in front of the believers and are strong and upright against those who mean harm.

In the other ayah Allah, Subhaanahu Wa Ta'alaa, says, "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those who are with him are severe against disbelievers, and merciful among themselves." (48:29) The believers are merciful with one another (and strict against those of the disbelievers who try to harm them. The context of this ayah refers to only those disbelievers who fight and harm the Muslims.)

May Allah, 'Azza Wa Jall, make us of those who truly follow Rasulullah, Sallallahu 'Alyhi Wa Sallam (May the Peace and Salutations of Allah be upon him), in his uswatun hasanah in its entirety.  May Allah make us of those who hope to meet Him, hope in the last day, and remember Allah a lot.  May Allah make us of those who have best akhlaaq.  May Allah help all the oppressed Muslims all over the world, from among the men, women, and children, who say "Our Lord take us out from this town whose people have been oppressed by the oppressors, and make for us from with You[r (true believers)] a friend/advocate, and make for us from You[r (true believers)] a helper;"  Oh, Allah, so take them out of the town of oppressors, and make (prepare) for them an advocate/friend, and make (prepare) for them a helper.  Aameen. Rabbanaa Aatinaa Fidd-Dunyaa Hasnatan Wa Fill Aakhiratin hasanatun Wa Qinaa 'adhaaban-naar.  Aameen.