thefinalmessage|THE FRIDAY NOTE
Weekly Hadith – Rights
and forgiveness;
Allah (Subhanawa taála) says in His Perfect Word, "Let not those among you who are endued with grace and amplitude of means resolve by oath against helping their kinsmen, those in want and those who migrated in the path of Allah. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Indeed Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Al-Nur 24:22]
It was narrated by
‘A`ishah (radiAllahu anha) that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasallam) said,
‘The bankrupt person from my ummah will be the one who will turn up on the Day
of Resurrection having prayed, fasted and given zakah, but he comes having
hurled abuse upon this one, slandered that one, unlawfully consumed the wealth
of someone else, shed the blood of another and struck yet another; so his good
deeds will be credited to this one, that one and so on. If however, his good
deeds are depleted before his account is settled, then a compensatory amount of
their sins will be cast upon him, and he will then be thrown into the Fire.’
[Sahih Muslim/Al-Birr wa As-Silah wa Al-Adab]
From this hadith we can
see the significance Allah azza wa jal has placed upon our duties to fellow
man, and underlies the fact that Islam isn't just about worship, it is a
holistic approach to life, it is the balance that we often hear about
associated with our deen, and how there are different rights we must fulfil, as
is beautifully found in the advice of Salman al-Farsi to Abu Dardaa.
It is also a reminder of
Allah's Rahma. We are encouraged and know from other hadith, that if we have
wronged someone, then we should seek their forgiveness directly, since Allah
will not forgive us for an oppression we committed against another person,
whereas if we have sinned against our Lord, then His mercy is always open to
us. This in turn encourages us to be good to people in this life, and if by
error we do wrong someone, to seek their forgiveness, and what does Allah
advise the wronged person? It is to forgive and overlook the error of their
brother/sister, as given in the above aayah. SubhanAllah, how perfect is this
deen of ours!
Pearls of Wisdom;
“Be hard on yourself. Be easy on others” Imam Shafií (rahimAllah)
Weekly Q&A;
Q. Should one advise brothers/sisters at work to offer their salah? What if they use the excuse of impure clothes?
Praise be to Allaah.
You should not
hesitate to advise your colleagues and remind them about the prayer, rather
that is what Allaah has enjoined. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Let there arise
out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islam), enjoining
Al-Ma‘roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do) and
forbidding Al-Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islam has
forbidden). And it is they who are the successful” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:104]
“O my son!
Aqim-is-Salaah (perform As-Salaah), enjoin (on people) Al-Ma‘roof
(Islamic Monotheism and all that is good), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar
(i.e. disbelief in the Oneness of Allaah, polytheism of all kinds and all that
is evil and bad), and bear with patience whatever befalls you. Verily, these
are some of the important commandments (ordered by Allaah with no exemption)” [Luqmaan 31:17]
And the Prophet (Peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever among you sees an evil
action, let him change it with his hand (by taking action); if he cannot, then
with his tongue (by speaking out); if he cannot then with his heart (by hating
it and feeling that it is wrong), and that is the weakest of faith.” [Narrated by Muslim, 49]
Not praying is a
great evil, indeed it is kufr that puts one beyond the pale of Islam, according
to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions, because the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Between a man and kufr and shirk
there stands his giving up prayer.” [Narrated
by Muslim, 82]
And he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The covenant that stands between us
and them is prayer, whoever gives it up is a kaafir.” [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2621; al-Nasaa’i, 463; Ibn Maajah, 1079]
You should not
even entertain the notion of not praying, rather you should hate that thought
as you would hate to be thrown into the fire, as the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three things, whoever attains
them has found the sweetness of faith: when Allaah and His Messenger are dearer
to him than anything else; when he loves a person and only loves him for the
sake of Allaah; and when he would hate to go back to kufr as he would hate to
be thrown into the fire.” [Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 49; Muslim, 60]
With regard to
the excuse that your colleague may give about his/her clothes being impure, the
answer is that he can also set aside pure clothes for praying in. You
should note that one who truly respects the prayer and understands its
importance and the seriousness of not praying would not give such an
excuse.
It is essential
to advise this man and others, and explain the ruling concerning one who does
not pray, and the obligation to offer prayer on time, and that it is haraam to
delay it until after work or before going to bed, because Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Then, there has
succeeded them a posterity who have given up As-Salaah (the prayers) [i.e. made
their Salaah (prayers) to be lost, either by not offering them or by not
offering them perfectly or by not offering them in their proper fixed times]
and have followed lusts. So they will be thrown in Hell” [Maryam 19:59]
Ibn Mas’ood said
concerning al-ghayy (translated above as “Hell”): This is a valley in Hell
which is very deep and has a foul taste.
And Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“So woe unto
those performers of Salaah (prayers) (hypocrites),
Those who delay
their Salaah (prayer from their stated fixed times)” [al-Maa’oon 107:4-5]
Delaying prayer
until its time is over is a major sin, and not praying at all is major kufr –
we seek refuge with Allaah from that.
And Allaah knows best.
(Source: Islam QA – www.islamqa.com)
Weekly Suggested Good Deed - Apologise;
Many of us will on a daily basis bicker with our siblings, spouses or even friends, to the point where it can become confrontational and result in bitterness towards one another.
But in light of the aayah and hadith included
in todays note, make sure that you are the first person to
apologise in a situation where there may have been a
disagreement or arguement between you and someone else, or otherwise
if you have been rude or offensive to another person.
Often it is seen as a hit to one´s ego to admit their
mistake/retract from their stance, but we should take a step back and think of
the consequences of our actions, and the reward of initiating reconciliation.
Hence don´t miss the opportunity to earn the hasanah of saying you are sorry.
More often that not your apology will be accepted, and
the situation will be resolved. And even if this is not the case, you should
still remain content in the knowledge that you have acted in accordance with
the etiquette of a good Muslim, upheld the right of your brother/sister, and
inshaÁllah Allah will accept your intentions and action. This in itself if the
best of rewards.
Dua of the Week;
Dua to Recite Before Sleeping:
Transliteration:
“Bi'ismika 'allãhumma
'amootu wa 'ahyã”
Translation:
“It is in your
name O' my 'ilãh that I die and I live.” [Bukhãri and
Muslim]
Email: thefridaynote@gmail.com
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