Be One - 1

Society Religion & Philosophy
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“Waste no time debating what a good Muslim should be. Be one!”

    **When Friends Hurt Each Other:** P A R T   O N E

By Muhammad Alshareef, LL.B Shari’ah



Imam Malik one day entered the Masjid after Asr. Towards the
front of Masjid An-Nabawee he drew closer and sat down.
Rasul Allah had commanded that anyone who enters the Masjid
should not sit until he first prays 2 rakas as a salutation
of the Masjid. Imam Malik was of the opinion however that
Rasul Allah's forbiddance of praying after Asr took precedence
and so he would teach his students to not pray the tahiyyatul
Masjid if they entered between the Asr and Maghrib time.

At that moment that Imam Malik sat down, a young boy had seen
him sit without first praying the 2 raka's of Tahiyyatul
Masjid. The young boy scorned him, "Get up and pray 2 rakas!"

Imam Malik dutifully stood up once again and began praying the
2 rakas. The students sat stunned: What was going on? Had Imam
Malik's opinion changed? 

After he had completed the salah, the students swarmed around
and questioned his actions. Imam Malik said, "My opinion has
not changed, nor have I gone back on what I taught you earlier.
I merely feared that had I not prayed the 2 rakas as the young
boy commanded, Allah may include me in the Ayah.

"And when it is said to them, 'Bow (in prayer)', they do not
bow." - al mursalat 77/48.

Imam Ahmad held the opinion that eating camel meat nullifies
ones Wudu, an opinion that the majority of scholars differed
from. Some students asked him, "If you find an Imam eating
camel meat in front of you and - without first making Wudu
- then leads the Salah, would you pray behind him?" Imam
Ahmad replied, "Do you think I would not pray behind the
likes of Imam Malik and Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyab?"

Allah created humans with differences. It is the law of
creation. Different tongues, different colors, different
cultures. All that on the outside. On the inside, humans
were created with many degrees of knowledge, intellect,
and comprehension of concepts. This is all a sign of Allah's
all encompassing power to do whatever He wills:

"And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the
earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors:
verily in that are signs for those who know." [30:22]

Humans shall differ, that is not the issue. The issue is:
How as a Muslim should one confront these differences of
opinions and what should be our relationship with someone
of a different opinion.
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Allah ta'ala commanded us to call and advise people in this
Deen of Al-Islam. Many Muslims set off on this mission
blindfolded, not realizing that the map was there in the
Qur'an also. In fact, in the very same verse where Allah
commanded us to call and advise people in this Deen, Allah
taught us how to do it. Read the following verse carefully:

"Invite (fi'l Amr - Allah is commanding) to the way of your
Lord with wisdom and good instruction and argue with them
in a way that is best! " - Surah An-Nahl 16/125.

There is no need to philosophize. No need to talk in the
flower gardens. It is right there, plain and simple for
anyone who would take heed.

There in that Ayah are the three ingredients to apply when
we disagree with someone. The same Allah that taught us to
debate the truth, taught us how to do it:

    1 - With Hikmah
    2 - With good instruction, and 
    3 - To argue in a way that is best.

What does it mean to have Hikmah when differing with
someone?

The grandsons of Rasul Allah once set one of the most
beautiful examples of Hikmah in advising others. Al-Hasan
and Al-Husayn - in their young age - once saw a senior man
performing Wudu incorrectly. Together they arranged a plan
to teach the man without insulting him, advising him in a
manner befitting of his age.

Together they went to the senior and announced, "My brother
and I have differed over who amongst us performs Wudu the
best. Would you mind being the judge to determine which one
of us indeed performs Wudu more correctly."

The man watched intently as the two grandsons of Rasul Allah
performed Wudu in an explicit manner. After they had completed,
he thanked them and said, "By Allah, I did not know how to
perform Wudu before this. You have both taught me how to do
it correctly."

We must understand that there are two dimensions to Hikmah.
Firstly, there is the Hikmah of knowledge - Hikmah Ilmiyyah.
And secondly, there is the Hikmah of Action - Hikmah Amaliyyah.

Some people may have Hikmah of knowledge. But we see that
when they try correcting others, advising them, they lack the
Hikmah of Action. This causes many a common folk to reject
the Hikmah of knowledge.

To illustrate this hikmah of knowledge without Hikmah of
action, a brother once completed the Salah in a local Masjid
and then proceeded to shake hands with the people on his
right and left. The brother to his immediate right slapped
his hand and snapped, "That is not part of the Sunnah!"
The man replied most correctly, "Oh, is disrespect and insult
part of the Sunnah?"

&peace

"No leaf falls except that He knows of it, and no rain drop forms except that He has willed it."

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asalamualikun Hasnain,

what an awesome read! Even though differences should be kept to a minimum, its only human to have a few. Whats important is not to fall into dispute over them.

So often is the case that we get so lost in trivial matters that we loose sight of what Islam actually commands of us. Loved the article, very inspiring to say the least :k: jazakillahikhairun.

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Wa'alayku assalaam wa rahmatullaah Ammar,

wa iyyaaka ...

Yes indeed, masha'Allaah, the brother has written an excellent piece here. I shall also be posting parts 2 and 3 in due course insha'Allaah.

take care,
&peace

"No leaf falls except that He knows of it, and no rain drop forms except that He has willed it."

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Be One - 2

**"Waste no time debating what a good Muslim should be. Be one!"

    When Friends Hurt Each Other:** P A R T   T W O

By Muhammad Alshareef, LL.B Shari'ah

To show Hikmah when we differ requires the following:

Sincerity

One: If we differ, our intentions should be that we are
differing in the sincere hope of coming away with the truth.
Our intentions should be sincere to Allah.

We should not differ just to release some hate or envy in our
heart. We should not differ to embarrass someone like we may
have been embarrassed.

Rasul Allah (saw) said, "Whoever learns knowledge - knowledge from
that which should be sought for the sake of Allah - only to
receive a commodity of the material world, he shall not find
the fragrance of jannah on the day of resurrection." - An
authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawood in Kitab Al-Ilm.

Kindness and Gentleness

Two: To have Hikmah when differing means we should rarely
depart from an atmosphere of kindness and gentleness, we
should seldom allow ourselves to become angry and raise
our voices.

Fir'own was one of the evilest people that lived. Musa was
one of the noblest. Look at how Allah told Musa to advise
Fir'own.

"Go, both of you, to Fir'own. Indeed, he has transgressed.
And speak to him with gentle speech, perhaps he may remember
or fear (Allah)."

A man once entered upon the Khalifah and chastised him for
some policies he had taken. The Khalifah replied, "By Allah,
Fir'own was more eviler than me. And by Allah, Musa was more
pious than you. Yet, Allah commanded him.'And speak to him
with gentle speech, perhaps he may remember or fear (Allah).'"

Take Your Time and Clarify

Three: To have Hikmah when dealing with others is to be
patient and clarify things before snapping to conclusions.

Imam Ahmad narrates with his chain of narrators leading to
Ibn Abbas who said, "A man from Bani Saleem passed by a group
of the Prophet's companions. (At that time of war) The man
said 'as salamu alaykum' to them. The companions concluded
that he only said 'as salamu alaykum' to them as a deception
to save himself from being caught. They surrounded him and
Malham ibn Juthaamah killed him. From that event Allah
revealed the verse.

"O you who have believed, when you go forth (to fight) in
the cause of Allah, investigate, and do not say to one who
gives you (a greeting of peace), "You are not a believer,"
Aspiring for the goods of worldly life; for with Allah are
many acquisitions. You (yourselves) were like that before;
then Allah conferred His favor (i.e. guidance) upon you,
so investigate. Indeed, Allah is ever with what you do,
acquainted." - Surah AnNisa, 4/94. From Tafseer Ibn Katheer.

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Speak Kindly

Fourthly, never trade in kind words for harshness,
especially when dealing with other Muslims.

Look at the power of a sincere and polite word:

Mus'ab ibn Umayr was the first of ambassador of Rasul Allah
in Madinah. Before Rasul Allah had arrived in Madinah, Mus'ab
taught ahl al-Madinah about Islam and they began to enter the
Deen.

This enraged Sa'd ibn 'Ubaadah, one of the chieftains of
Madinah. He sheathed his sword and set off for the head of
Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr. When he confronted Mus'ab he threatened,
"Stop this nonsense you speak or you shall find yourself dead!"

Mus'ab replied in the way that should be a lesson for us all.
This man before him did not stop at rudeness and ignorance,
he wanted to slit his throat.

Mus'ab said, "Shall you not sit and listen for a few moments.
If you agree with what I say then take it, and if not, we
shall desist from this talk." Sa'd sat down.

Mus'ab spoke about Allah and His messenger until the face of
Sa'd ibn Ubaadah's face shone like a full moon and he said,
"What should a person do who wishes to enter into this Deen?"
After Mus'ab had told him he said, "There is a man, if he
accepts this Deen, there shall be no home in Madinah that
will not become Muslim. Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh."

When Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh heard what was happening, he was
infuriated. He left his home to go and kill this man called
Mus'ab ibn Umayr for the dissention he had caused. He
entered upon Mus'ab and announced, "You shall desist of
this religion you speak of or you shall find yourself dead!"

Mus'ab replied, "Shall you not sit and listen for a few
moments. If you agree with what I say then take it, and if
not, I shall desist from this talk." Sa'd sat.

Mus'ab spoke about Allah and His messenger until the face of
Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh's face shone like a full moon and he said,
"What should a person do who wishes to enter into this Deen?"

Look at what a kind word did. Sa'd ibn Mu'aadh went home to
his Madinan tribe that night and announced to them all,
"Everything of yours is Haram upon me until you all enter
into Islam."

That night, every home in Madinah went to bed with Laa ilaaha
illa Allah - all because of a kind word.

"no leaf falls except that He knows of it, and no rain drop forms except that He has willed it."

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Re: Be One - 2

Alhumdulillah ... Should the two ... Be One threads be made ... well 1?