On Crossing the Bridge:

WHEN WE LOOK at the ummah, we look with the eye of mercy: praying for guidance for the astray among them, for forgiveness for the sinners among them, and for continued firmness for the obedient among them.

When we look at the scholars, we look with the eye of respect and reverence, even if we might disagree with them.

When we look at ourselves, we do so with the eye of self-criticism for the sake of self-knowledge and self-improvement (but not self-hatred).

Our concern must be to spread goodness, shun temptations, guard against fitnahs, and learn to view praise and criticism of ourselves in equal measure.

Then we might just have crossed the bridge.

Dangers of the Heart’s Spiritual Diseases and the Neglect of People in this Matter:

MANY THERE MAY well be who can instruct us in the outward law. But who is there to instruct us in the inward law; on how to genuinely reform our sinful and pretentious souls and practically purify our diseased spiritual hearts?

If we continue to confuse outward expressions of piety for authentic inward purity, or imagine that outer forms of akhlaq amount to the inner tazkiyah of the heart, we will continue to languish in the state in which we still find ourselves. For: Allah never changes the condition of a people unless they change what is in themselves. [Q.13:11]

The gravity of the heart’s diseases is pointed out to us by Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah in this statement of his: ‘Arrogance (kibr), vanity (‘ujb) and showing-off (riya’) are worse sins than drinking wine.’1

Sounding a similar warning, Ibn al-Qayyim wrote: ‘The major sins such as showing-off, vanity, arrogance, boasting, pride, despairing of Allah’s mercy, losing hope in Allah, feeling secure from the plan of Allah, joy and elation at Muslims suffering harm, happiness at their calamities, love of spreading obscenities among them, jealousy towards them for what Allah has bestowed on them of His bounties, the wish that such blessings are removed from them, or the likes of these, are far greater in prohibition than illicit sex, drinking wine, or the other outward major sins.’2

Hence, only through the inward voyage of purification will Allah allow us to meaningfully change our outward state and predicament - both as individuals and as a Muslim collective.

How do I start this journey, or with whom do I start? are questions that each of us must, of necessity, ask ourselves.
_______________1. Ahmad b. ‘Abd al-Halim b. Taymiyyah, al-Radd ‘ala’l-Shadhali (Makkah: Dar ‘Alam al-Fawa’id, 1437H), 114.

1. Muhammad b. Abu Bakr b. Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, Madarij al-Salikin fi Manazil al-Sa’irin (Riyadh: Dar ‘Alam al-Fawa’id, 2019), 1:172.

The Prophet’s Character ﷺ: A Bird’s Eye View

THIS IS A short piece translated from Ibn Qudamah’s Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin. It distills a picture the Quran and hadiths build up of the Prophet’s virtues and character ﷺ: integrity, honesty, steadfastness, courage, kindness, compassion, courtesy, and other qualities too numerous to list:

‘Allah’s Messenger ﷺ was the mildest of people and also the warmest and most generous of them. He would mend his own sandals, patch his own clothes and help his family with the daily errands. He was very shy; shyer than a virgin in her chamber.

‘He ﷺ would respond to the invitation of slaves, visit the sick, walk alone [without guards or fanfair], allow others to saddle-up with him on his mount, accept gifts, eat food that was sent as a gift; though he never consumed anything that had been given as charity. He did not have enough dates with which to be sated, nor was he sated with barley-bread for more than three consecutive days. He would eat whatever food was readily available and he never criticised food. He never ate reclining, and ate from what was nearest to him.

‘He ﷺ loved perfumes and disliked foul odours. He honoured people of virtue, and kept affectionate ties with nobles and dignitaries. He never snubbed anyone and would accept the excuse of those who presented excuses.

‘He ﷺ would joke, but never would he utter anything untrue. He laughed, but not loudly. He would not let any time pass without being in the service of Allah, exalted is He, or being engaged in whatever was essential for his own self-development.

‘He ﷺ never cursed women, nor abused servants. Nor did he strike anyone, except for in jihad in Allah’s cause. He did not exact revenge for his own sake, but did so when Allah’s limits had been transgressed. If he was presented with two options he took the easier of the two, unless it entailed disobedience or the severing of ties – in which case he would be the furthest away from it.

‘Anas remarked: “I served him for ten years and he never once rebuked me in the least; nor did he say about anything I had done, ‘Why did you do it?’ or anything I had not done, ‘Why did you not do it?’”

‘His description in the Torah is: “Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and My Chosen Servant. He is neither harsh nor severe. He does not shout in the market places, nor repay evil with evil, but instead he pardons and forgives” …

‘He ﷺ would sit in an assembly wherever it was convenient and would mingle among his Companions as one of them, such that when strangers came they couldn’t distinguish him from others, save after inquiring as to who he was. He would take to long periods of silence, but when he did speak he did so measuredly and clearly, repeating himself so that he would be understood. He used to pardon, even when he was in a position to punish, and he would not confront anyone with what they did not like.

‘He ﷺ was the most truthful of men; one who most fulfilled his trusts, pledges and commitments; the easiest going of people; the most affable; and the most generous in friendship. Whoever gazed on him unexpectedly, was awe-stricken by him; whoever knew him, loved him. His Companions, whenever they spoke about worldly affairs, he would join in with them; and when, in recollecting their pre-Islamic days, they would laughed, he would simply smile. He was also the bravest of men. One of his Companions recounts: When the fighting grew intense, we would seek shelter behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’*

_________________________
Mukhtasar Minhaj al-Qasidin* (Damascus: Maktabah Dar al-Bayan, 1999), 157-8.

It’s Always an Agenda!

LET ME START by citing this crucial principle from Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah sanctify his soul:

‘It is why the Saved-Sect is described as ahl al-sunnah wa’l-jama‘ah.They are the great multitude and the overwhelming majority. As for the other sects, they are followers of aberrant opinions, schisms, innovations and deviant desires. None even comes close to the number of the saved-sect, let alone its calibre. Rather, each such sect is extremely small [in size].

‘The hallmark of these sects is their splitting from the Book, the Sunnah and the scholarly consensus (ijma‘). But whoever speaks with the Book, Sunnah and ijma’ is from ahl al-sunnah wa’l-jama‘ah.’1

He also wrote about the verse: If you differ in any matter, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. [Q.4:59]:

‘They are commanded, if there is a dispute in any affair, that it be referred back to Allah and the Messenger … But if the people of fiqh concur upon a ruling then it is correct, or if the people of hadith unite on the soundness of a hadith then it [too] is the truth.’2

It’s become quite the thing, nowadays, for Muslims to accuse those who differ with them and their group to be peddling an agenda - even if me and my group are the ones contradicting the ijma’ and my critic is in line with the ijma’!

The few short paragraphs that follow are not intended to be anti-anybody as much as they are intended to be pro-truth: namely; follow the scholarly ijma’ where it is confirmed, and do not be bigoted or divisive in matters of legitimate scholarly differences and ijtihad.

With that in mind, let me say this:

Contrary to ad hoc, unintentional mistakes, any individual, movement or manhaj whose teachings consciously or deliberately undermine scholarly ijma’, or blurs and diminishes its binding nature, must be called out for what it truly is: an agenda.

Any devised or contrived plan to cast doubt on the validity of the Four orthodox Sunni schools of fiqh, or undermine their authority by luring hearts away to a contemporary clique of shaykhs who - for all practical purposes - replace the great mujtahid Imams of the past, is likewise an agenda!

And any devised attempt to saturate the Islamic book market, or Muslim social media, with literature, posts or videos peppered with regular and repeated anti-ijma’ sentiments, ijma’-amnesia or ijma’-hopping, whilst unconscionably calling it the way of the salaf, is also an agenda.

There are some who unknowingly or unwittingly propagate this agenda, and there are those who knowingly do so. Both, in their differing degrees and intentions, are part of the problem: not the solution.

I won’t say: ‘Who the hat fits, let them wear it.’ But rather, I’ll simply say: Who the hat fits … let them take it off in a hurry!
________________1. Ahmad b. Taymiyyah, Majmu‘ al-Fatawa (Riyadh: Dar ‘Alam al-Kutub, 1991), 3:345-46.

1. ibid., 1:9-10.

Dhikr is More than Just Counting Beads:

THE HOLY QUR’AN says: O you who believe! Remember Allah, and do so abundantly.[Q.1:123]

Ibn al-Salah [d.643H/1285CE] was asked when one becomes of those men and women who remember Allah abundantly? He replied:

‘When he is regular upon the [daily] remembrances (adhkar) reliably reported morning and evening, and at various other times and occasions in the day and night - as depicted in the book, The Deeds of the Day and Night - then he shall be of those who remember Allah, exalted is He, abundantly.’1

While Fakhr al-Din al-Razi [d.606H/1209CE] relates: ‘It is said that dhikr is of seven types: dhikr of the eyes is in weeping, dhikr of the ears is in listening attentively, dhikr of the tongue is in offering praise, dhikr of the hands is in giving, dhikr of the body is in loyalty and duty, dhikr of the heart is in fear and hope, and dhikr of the spirit is in submission and satisfaction.’2

Let us then be people of dhikr in each of life’s eight inevitabilities: joy and sorrow, meeting and parting, difficulty and ease, and illness and good health.

Wa’Llahu wali al-tawfiq.
_____________1. Cited in al-Nawawi, al-Adhkar (Jeddah: Dar al-Minhaj, 2008), 39.

1. Al-Razi, Lawami‘ al-Bayyinat Sharh Asma’Llah wa’l-Sifat (Cairo: Maktabah al-Kuliyyat al-Azhariyyah, 1406H) 1:60

Imam Ahmad’s Short Deathbed Advice to the Seekers:

THE DANGER TODAY is not that Islam will lack preachers, du‘at or even high-minded academics. We are currently blessed to have a growing cadre of young men and women in the Islamic studies field producing outstanding and exemplary academic works. The danger is that Islam’s goal of transformation, through deepening the realities of faith (haqa’iq al-iman), will continue to be devalued, downplayed or neglected.

So we learn Islam to know more cerebral stuff. But we do not learn Islam to become transformed. Or that we learn Islam to be practicing at the surface level; that’s it. But we do not come to the deepest aspect of Islam that brings about the degrees of love and sanctity (wilayah) with Allah in the individual — which is ultimately what prophetic emulation is all about.

The embodiment of this spirit can be seen with Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal. Throughout his life, budding hadith experts and high-minded jurists formed part of his wider circle of students. Yet on his deathbed, he was asked who they should ask questions to after him? He replied, ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Warraq. This raised some eyebrows on account of ‘Abd al-Wahhab, whilst being an individual of immense piety and sound knowledge, did not possess the breadth of learning in hadith or fiqh which others in the group did. When Imam Ahmad’s suggestion was queried, he said: ‘He is a righteous man. His like shall be enabled to do what is right.’1

Thus, what mattered to Imam Ahmad, as it must to us, was godliness and worldly detachment, instead of mere scholastic credentials.
________________1. Cited in Abu Bakr al-Marrudhi, Kitab al-Wara’ (Riyadh: Dar al-Samay‘i, 1997),7; no.4.

https://thehumblei.com/2022/05/20/educating-the-heart/

The Humble I

Educating the Heart

When we see terrible or wicked things happen in the world, we moderns are often reluctant to ask ourselves why such bad things happen? The answer, if we’re honest and objective enough, will c…

Ramadan: Connecting to Allah, Concern for the Ummah: https://www.youtube.com/live/rNaW76UuiHY?si=G9hPhuj7AOwkoZgY

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Ramadan: Connecting to Allah, Concern for the Ummah | with Sheikh Abu Aaliyah

In this livestream Sheikh Abu Aaliyah will advise in your connection to Allah during Ramadan and concern for the ummah, in light of recent events. Weblinks for Surkheel Abu Aaliyah: Blog/website: https://www.thehumblei.com YouTube: https://yout…

How Sins Can Destroy Relationships of True Love & Friendship:

THERE ARE A PLETHORA of verses in the Holy Qur’an and prophetic hadiths that speak about how the consequences of sins impact upon the well being of the social order. Their ill effect upon individuals is no less debilitating. One hadith tells us that:

‘No two people love each other for the sake of Allah, or for the sake of Islam, then fall out with each other, except due to a sin one of them commits.’1

Al-Munawi wrote while elaborating on the above hadith: ‘The punishment of seperation happens due to the sin. This is why Musa al-Kazim said: “If you see your friend change towards you, know that this is due to a sin that has been committed. So repent to Allah from every sin, and the love [between you] shall be rectified.” Al-Muzni said: “If you find from your brothers some alienation, repent to Allah, for you have committed a sin. If you find increase in affection from them, this is as a result of some act of obedience; so thank Allah, exalted is He.”’2

The hadith speaks of one sin which one of them commits. What about if it’s a case of both friends sinning or committing multiple sins?

Can relationships stand up to the divine consequences of unrepented sins?

Will sins not harm the divine blessings which keep hearts intimate or close in the first place?

So whether it be in our marriages, or our family life, or any other meaningful relationship we have with others, if there’s a rift or breakdown in friendship, we might want to consider our relationship with Allah first. It might be a case of being careful to guard against sins and not rebel against Allah’s commands. Which is to say, the solution might not be running to a counsellor to resolve marital problems or a strained relationship at the first hurdle. Instead, it could simply be the case of genuinely repenting to Allah, mending our ways, and of getting with the divine program God created us for.

One of Islam’s early pietists said: ‘If I sin against Allah, I see [the effect of] it in the behaviour of my wife or riding beast toward me.’3

Now that’s a radically different way of looking at the world, and of keeping our relationships in it. Wa’Llahu wali al-tawfiq.
_____________1. Al-Bukhari, al-Adab al-Mufrad, no.401. The hadith is hasan. See: al-Munawi, Fayd al-Qadir (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2001), no.7879.

1. Fayd al-Qadir, 5:236.

2. Cited in Abu Nu‘aym, Hilyat al-Awliya (Egypt: Dar al-Rayyan, 1406H), 8:109.

On Understanding our Times and Our People:

THE POST-RELIGIOUS person is beset by existential angst, despair and loneliness born from wrongly believing that life is bereft of meaning: we are all here by a series of huge cosmic flukes, and that despite our freedom to choose, death is our ultimate end, therefore life is pointless.

Knowing the psychology and philosophies that have created such a profane age, and have so damaged the human perception, is of paramount importance. Abdal Hakim Murad noted: ‘The greatness of a prophet, as opposed to a mere logician, is that he understands the inner life of his adversaries, and constructs arguments that help them to recognise the nature of their own subjectivity.’