Humility and Sincerity

Details: Written by Sister Fajr; Category: Humility and Sincerity; Hits: 26766

flower-under-night-sky … As I pulled out one of the books, my eyes fell on a chapter which I had bookmarked a couple of years ago. Unlike most normal people who bookmark chapters which they’re currently reading or are about to read, I guess I’m from the elite-but-lunatic few who only bookmark chapters which they’ve already read and passed by… (there’s a logic somewhere there, I promise!).

It was a chapter on ‘Keeping one’s deeds a secret’. Ah, it took me down memory lane… Years ago, in fact a decade ago, I remember being in the company of sisters who were (and still are) very dear to my heart; sisters who had taken me in when I was young, carefree and zealously passionate about everything which spelt ‘Islam’. We had gathered together for a halaqah at the beginning of Ramadan. The older sisters amongst us had prepared something for us youngsters, and it wasn’t food…

“Right, so here’s a chart we’ve put together so we can gain the maximum benefit from this month,” she started.

“You can personalise it as much as you like, but as you can see it’s a daily tick-chart which lists all the good deeds we should try and do on a daily basis…” She went on to explain how to use the chart while I rushed ahead and looked at all the good deeds they prepared for us to do, ‘Hmm, pretty impressive,’ I thought. It was like a mini-Hisn al-Muslim except more practical and more focused.

“… And if you look right to the bottom, you’ll see a special addition and I’ll leave you girls to ponder on that.” My eyes zapped straight to the bottom of the page…

After the list of good deeds such as Salah, Sadaqah, Dhikr, keeping ties, good character etc, there came one sentence which embodied a specific yet non-specific deed:

‘A secret deed between you and Allah.’

A shiver ran down my spine. Wow, did that sentence throw me off or what. It was amazing, not because I was unaware of such a concept as ikhlaas (sincerity), but because no-one had ever put it quite as bluntly or as straight forward as this. ‘I gotta do a secret deed?’ I thought to myself. Hmm, I was excited. (Or perhaps my wild dreams of being an acrobatic top-secret agent, working underground and virtually invisible to the world, kinda ran away with me at that point…!).

Still, there was something about it which appealed to me.

Many years later, I find that it still amazes me.

In an authentic narration, the Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever among you can afford to have good deeds stored in secret, let him do it.” [Sahih al-Jami’]

Doing righteous good deeds in your own private moment and space without interference is actually a Sunnah. Worship performed in this way often boosts one’s love, sincerity and proficiency of that act of worship. Although each serves its purpose, doing good deeds on your own and away from the eyes of onlookers is starkly different and on a completely different level to when you do these deeds as part of a jama’ah (group). It tastes different, it often is different and you know, the outcome is also different.

Abu Umamah (radhiallahu `anhu) recognised this and urged it when he saw a man praying in the masjid, crying profusely and making du’a in prostration. He went to him afterwards and said,

“You… if only you did this in your own home.”

Muhammad ibn Wasi’ said,

“I have seen men, and amongst them would be a man whose head would be next to his wife’s head on the same pillow, and his tears would soak all that’s underneath his cheek yet his own wife wouldn’t even know it. I have seen men lining up in a row (for prayer), and amongst them a man would stand, his tears flowing down his cheeks, yet the person next to him wouldn’t even know it.”

Al-Hasan al-Basri also said,

“A man would be sitting in a gathering and a drop of tear comes to his eyes, he tries to keep it back until when he fears that it will overpower him, he gets up and leaves.”

Meaning that they didn’t wish to come off as being any more pious or any more soft-hearted then those around them. And if something did affect them or draw them closer to Allah `azza wa jall, they kept it between Him and them. An act of worship is between you and the One you worship, so it has little to do with others and hence there’s no reason for others to know about it or be caused to be know all about it.

One of the Salaf once said,

“Don’t do deeds so that you can be mentioned, rather hide your deeds just as you hide your sins.”

One of the special things about doing good deeds secretly is that the outcome is often great. Just as the Salaf used to say,

“The one who humbles himself for Allah, will be raised by Allah,”

they also recognised that doing good deeds away from the eyes of others often brought greatness.

Ibn al-Mubarak once mentioned Imam Malik (who was his contemporary) saying,

“I haven’t seen anyone become raised in rank like Malik has been. He doesn’t have much in the way of prayer or fasting, but I only see this to be due to some secret deed which he does.”

Once he was asked about Ibrahim ibn Adham and his credibility in relaying hadith and he said,

“Indeed, he has witnessed narrations from people, and he has great virtue within himself. He is someone who has secret righteous deeds, and I have never seen him even utter tasbih (words of remembrance) or do anything of good deeds openly.”

… And we all know of Ibrahim ibn Adham.

The examples are numerous amongst that sincere generation. But what can we do to increase our portion of a’mal al-sirr?

Some tips:

- Contemplate over the meaning of Ikhlaas. What does it really mean to you?

- We need to reach the state where people’s praise and criticism is one and the same to us. The stage where praise doesn’t do anything to raise us, and rebuttal does nothing to lower us.

- Have a high opinion of your Lord. He should be your greatest concern.

- Have a high opinion of yourself. You’re more valuable than being the chit-chat of others.

- Start now. And a good way to begin is to pray, or recite Qur’an in a corner far away from people at least once a day. Special ‘me’ time perhaps, except this is completely purposeful. It would also be just as good to give away something in secret charity, and this is actually the Qur’anic example…

“If you disclose your charitable expenditures, they are good; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you…” [al-Baqarah: 271]

Details: Written by Sister Fajr; Category: Humility and Sincerity; Hits: 27335

treeblue Some thoughtful quotes I came across whilst reading Shaykh al-’Affani’s book on Ikhlas (sincerity). The humbleness of the Salaf is truly admirable, this is just an insight into how they used to see themselves…

Khalaf ibn Tamim: ‘I heard Sufyan al-Thawri saying in Makkah when the people had gathered around him,

“Lost is the Ummah when the like of me is taken as an example!”‘

And whenever he was asked a question, he would say “I am not fit to answer it.” They said, “Then who shall we ask?” He said,

“Ask the scholars and ask Allah for tawfiq (guidance).”

- this was despite him being of the major scholars in his time.

Dawud al-Ta’i: “Sins have left us, but we’re shy of much of the people’s gathering.” He also said,

“The worshippers have surpassed me and I have been cut off and left behind, O’ what ruins!”

Al-Sirri al-Saqti: “I wouldn’t like to die in a land in which I am well-known.” It was said to him, “Why is that, Abu al-Hasan?” He said,

“I fear that my grave will not accept me and I would in turn be exposed and humiliated.”

Al-Hasan al-Basri:

“I have accompanied people who when compared to them I was like a criminal thief!” (i.e. due to their virtue)

Some righteous people were once mentioned in the presence of Mukhallad ibn Husayn and he began to recite the poem…

“Do not mention them along with us and thus mix the two

Indeed the healthy one when he walks is not like the crippled.”

Qatada: ‘Isa ibn Maryam said,

“Ask me, for truly my heart is soft and I see myself to be small and humbled.”

Al-A’raj (one of Madinah’s scholars who studied under Abu Hurayrah) said:

“Examine your soul and see what evil it is upon because tomorrow every single person will be gathered with his like, so whoever falls into many sins will be gathered along with the people of those sins.”

He (rahimahullah) used to rebuke himself often and lower it, saying:

“A caller shall call on the Day of Judgement, ‘O people of such-and-such sin, rise up!’ And you will rise up with them O A’raj. Then he will call, ‘O people of such-and-such sin, rise up!’ And you shall rise up them also. Then he will call, ‘O people of such-and-such sin, rise up!’ And again you shall rise up with them as well. O A’raj, I see you rising up with every sinful group…”

Ibrahim al-Nakha’i:

“I have spoken but if I could find a way, I would never have spoken. Indeed, the era in which I become the scholar of Kufa is an evil era.”

Muhammad ibn Aslam al-Tusi:

“I have travelled in the land far and wide and by the One besides Whom there is no other God, I have not seen a soul praying towards the Qiblah that was worse in my sight than my own soul.”

Ibrahim al-Taymi:

“I have never put my deeds side by side with my speech except that I feared becoming a liar.”

Ja’far ibn Barqan: “News reached me of the virtue and righteousness of Yunus ibn ‘Ubayd, so I wrote to him saying, “O brother, write to me and tell me of your state and what you are upon (of goodness).” So he wrote back to him saying,

“Your letter has reached me asking me to inform you of my state. Let me tell you that I approached my soul and told it to love for the people what it loves for itself, and to hate for the people what it hates for itself, but I found it to be far from that. I then came to it again and told it to abandon mentioning people except that which was good, but I have found that fasting in the mid-day heat of an extremely hot day in the land of Basra to be easier than abandoning the mention of people. This, O dear brother, is my state. Wasalam.”

Details: Category: Humility and Sincerity; Hits: 28468

bus One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus station, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops – a few people got on, a few got off and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on, six foot eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five foot three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn’t argue with Big John, but he wasn’t happy about it. The next day the same thing happened – Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer and so he signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what’s more, he felt really good about himself.

So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn’t pay!” The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger and screamed, “And why not???!!!”

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, “Because Big John has a bus pass.”

MORAL / LESSON:

The moral of this incident/story is quite self evident. However, it is a lesson that many of us seem to overlook and disregard in the many activities and chores of our life.

We learn from this incident that a person should not be hasty in making assumptions and judging a situation or an individual from what seems to be the apparent.

It is essential that a Muslim assumes the best of his fellow being and gives him the benefit of the doubt. If possible, one should allow the fellow being to explain himself as to clear any doubts one may have.

Our Nabi [saws] has stated that being hasty is from Shaytaan whilst steady composure is from Allah [ta].

In the same manner ‘Ulamaa have stated that if there is a single reason for doubt in a matter relating to a person then that doubt should have an effect on the decision that is made.

In conclusion, one should take all factors into consideration and avoid hastiness in judging an individual. Instead, one should try to make the matter clear as to avoid placing false accusations on anyone.

Details: Written by Umm Yusuf; Category: Humility and Sincerity; Hits: 26477

photos-of-Visions-of-Heaven-pictures When we start to practice Islaam, it can become easy to tell people what is right and wrong but to lose empathy for the struggles they may go through in making that decision. We may give up on them in frustration prematurely, not giving that individual a chance wrongly assuming their sins to be too great to be forgiven and wrongly assuming our good deeds to be too great to be held to account.

Yunus bin Matta (as) was a Prophet who also called his people to worship Allah (subhaanahu wa ta'la) alone and abandon their sinful ways. Despite a long period of time, only a few people believed; finally in despair Yunus supplicated to his Lord to send His punishment upon his people. He was commanded by Allah to preach to his people for a further short period of time. When three days remained he proclaimed amongst his people that punishment would afflict them and fled:

“And (remember) Dhun-Nûn (Yunus), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him.” (Surah 21v87)

His people gathered together and agreed amongst themselves that Yunus was a person not known to lie and when they realised that he had fled and he must be telling the truth they repented, so Allah (swt) forgave them and showed them mercy.

“Was there any town that believed (after seeing the punishment), and its Faith saved it (from the punishment)? (The answer is none,) - except the people of Yûnus (Jonah); when they believed, We removed from them the torment of disgrace in the life of the (present) world, and permitted them to enjoy for a while.”(Surah 10, v98)

In the meantime, Yunus awaited news of what had happened to his people, and finally a traveller passed by him informing him that his people had become believers and the punishment had averted them. Fearing disgrace and being called a liar he determined not to return, and embarked upon a heavily laden ship. On its journey, the ship encountered a storm. To lighten their load the travellers decided to throw passengers off the ship and drew lots. The name of Yunus (as) came up. As they were reluctant to throw him off the ship and anger Allah as they deemed him to be pious they drew lots three times. Each time his name came up.

“When he ran to the laden ship, He (agreed to) cast lots, and he was among the losers,”(Surah 37, v140-141)

Upon being thrown into the sea, Allah (swt) commanded for him to be swallowed up by a huge whale.

“Then a (big) fish swallowed him and he had done an act worthy of blame.” (Surah 37, v142)

In the belly of the whale he realised his mistake. He realised he disobeyed Allah (swt) by abandoning his people and fleeing before being granted permission by his Lord and he realised that this was the actual cause of his trial.

“…But he cried through the darkness (saying): Lâ ilâha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allâh)], Sub’hanaka [Glorified (and Exalted) are You above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Inni kuntu minaz Zalimun [Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers]." (Surah 21, v87)

At-Tabari reports on the authority of Ibn Wahb that this dua appeared beneath the throne of Allah and the angels said that they heard a very weak voice coming from a strange land. Allah said, “Do you not know who that is? He is our servant, Yunus.” The angels said, “Your servant Yunus, from whom there has ascended to You an accepted prayer and an accepted deed?” Allah replied, “Yes” and commanded the whale to throw him out on the open shore.

“But We cast him forth on the naked shore while he was sick, And We caused a plant of gourd to grow over him.” (Surah 37, v147-148)

Once he regained his health, Yunus (as) returned to his people and informed them that Allah (swt) had forgiven them, and his people welcomed him with open arms.

“And We sent him to a hundred thousand (people) or even more. And they believed; so We gave them enjoyment for a while.” (Surah 37, v147-148)

So Sisters and Brothers why am I telling you this story? Because in this story Allah (swt) has sent for those who believe a lesson:

“So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And that is how We rescue the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allâh, abstain from evil and work righteousness).” (Surah 21, v87-88)

For me one of those lessons that I just realised is that no matter how practicing we are, we have no right to assume the sins that others commit will mean that they will not firstly repent and secondly that their repentance will not be accepted by Allah subhaanahu wa ta'la. It is perhaps this sin that will make this slave so remorseful that they repent to Allah (az) with such a sincere repentance that they achieve Jannatul Firdaus. And perhaps it is the same act of giving up on informing the people of the difference between right and wrong that may render us to be punished.

Look at the Prophet Yunus (as). Allah (swt) punished him even though his duas and deeds were almost always accepted. And look at the people of Yunus (as). When they realised their mistake and they repented then Allah (swt) accepted their repentance.

If we are those who enjoin the good and forbid the evil, be that by giving talks, or writing articles, or just simply being a positive role model to our communities and trying to forbid the evil and enjoin the good, then we have been blessed with an honoured position by Allah (swt):

"You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah." (s3, v110)

And if we neglect this obligation upon us then this will render us to become vulnerable to the punishment of Allah (swt):

The Prophet (saws) said: "I swear by Him in whose Hands is my soul, you will of a surety command what is good, and forbid what is evil, or else it is very possible that Allah will send upon you His punishment, so you will make dua to Him, and you will not be responded to".(Tirmidhi)

But with this opportunity and honour to enjoin the good and forbid the evil we must not assume that the person we are advising is beyond hope, that they will never change, that they are a lost cause. Nor should we become frustrate and give up on trying on advise them. One day Allah (swt) may guide them to accept their faults and to repent and to be the best Muslims. If we look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad (saws), his beloved companion Umar (ra) was someone into alcohol, with a fierce temper who killed his own daughter. After he repented and accepted Islaam, he became one of the ten companions promised paradise by the Prophet (saws), being second only to Abu bakr (ra).

It may be in fact when we wish the punishment upon others for their sins, Allah (swt) will bring upon us punishment for our sins. But if we forgive others for their sins particularly when those sins lead to us being harmed then inshaa' Allah Allah (swt) will forgive us.

"...and let them pardon and overlook. Would you not like that Allah should forgive you? ..."(s24, v22)

So I give this advice firstly to myself: I realise now not to give up hope on those who we may see committing sins and wish for their punishment. Perhaps through Allah's (swt) Mercy and guidance they will one day be in a position better than me with Allah (swt) and I may be punished for my sins as with the example of Yunus (as) and his people. Instead I realise we should make dua for them that Allah (swt) forgives them and guides them and protects them from being punished for their sins so that Allah (swt) has Mercy upon us and forgives us for our sins.

The Prophet (saw) said:“The merciful ones will be given mercy by the All-Merciful. Be merciful to those who are on this earth, and the One in heaven will have mercy on you.”(Bukhari)

And perhaps if we ask Allah (swt) to forgive us in an effort to rescue us from our individual calamities, perhaps we ought to first make dua that Allah (swt) forgives and guides others and has mercy upon them.

Details: Category: Humility and Sincerity; Hits: 25843

thurs.1 It is narrated from Aboo Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah sallAllaahu 3Alayhi wassallam said:

“The gates of Paradise are opened on Mondays and Thursdays, and every slave (of Allaah) who does not associate any partners with Allaah is forgiven, except a man between whom and his brother there is some grudge. It is said, ‘Wait for these two until they reconcile, wait for these two until they reconcile, wait for these two until they reconcile.’” [Muslim, Maalik, Abu Dawood]

It’s Thursday! Got a Grudge?

Do Not Hold it…

Reconcile.

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