It is reported that Mu’āwiyah b. Qurrah – Allāh have mercy on him – said: Those who will be taken to account most on the Day of Resurrection are those who were healthy and unoccupied. Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 4:152
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm 4:152
Zuhd (abstinence from materialism, asceticism) is of three types: (i) obligatory zuhd, (ii) virtuous zuhd and (iii) zuhd for safety. Obligatory zuhd is to abstain from what is forbidden (harām); virtuous zuhd is to be disinterested in what is allowed (of this world); and zuhd for safety is to stay away from doubtful matters. Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 905.
Abū Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 905.
I would rather die and be resurrected, die and be resurrected, and again die and be resurrected than to see the private part of a Muslim’s body or for a Muslim to see mine. Imām Aḥmad, Al-Zuhd p192. 1st ed. 1983. Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmīyah. Beirut, Lebanon. It is reported that ‘Abdullāh b, ‘Umar – Allāh have mercy on him – said: Verily, part of disregarding the trust upon you is to look inside [other people’s] apartments and houses. Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Kitāb Al-Wara’ article 71. It is reported that Anas b. Mālik – Allāh be pleased with him – said: If a woman passes in front of you, lower your eyes until she has passed by. Ibid. article 72. It is reported that Al-‘Alā b. Ziyād – Allāh have mercy on him – said: Let not your sight follow the nice looking back of a woman [as she passed], for indeed the look causes the desire in the heart. Ibid. article 77. It is reported on the authority of Al-Wakī’ b. Al-Jarrāḥ: We went out one Eid with Sufyān Al-Thawrī and he said, “The first thing we will do on this day of ours is to lower our gaze.” Ibid. article 66. It is reported that Ḥassān b. Abī Sinān – Allāh have mercy on him – went out one Eid and when he returned home his wife said, “How many beautiful women have you looked at today?” After she kept asking him, he said, “Woe to you! I have looked at nothing but my toe from when I went out to when I returned to you.” Ibid. article 68.
Ibid. article 68.
I have considered sending out men to the different regions to check on all those who are well off enough but have not made Hajj, and impose the jizyah (tax imposed on Ahl Al-Kitāb in the Muslim state) on them; they are not Muslims, they are not Muslims. It is also reported that he said: If the people abandoned Hajj, we would fight them for it as we fight them for the prayer and zakāh. It is also reported that he said: Whoever dies, being well off enough but having never done Hajj, let him die as a Jew if he wishes or as a Christian. It is reported that Al-Aswad b. Hilāl – Allāh have mercy on him – said to a freedman of his called Miqlāṣ: If you died and had never made Hajj, I would not pray over you. It is reported that Sa’īd b. Jubayr – Allāh have mercy on him – said: If a neighbor of mine died without ever making Hajj, while being well off enough to do so, I would not pray over him. It is reported that Mujāhid b. Rūmī said: I asked Sa’īd b. Jubayr, ‘Abd Al-Raḥmān b. Abī Laylā and Ibn Ma’qal (‘Abdullah Al-Muzanī) about a man who died, being well off enough, but never having made Hajj. Ibn Abī Laylā said, “I hope that if his next of kin does Hajj on his behalf…” Sa’īd b. Jubayr said, “The Fire, the Fire.” ‘Abdullah b. Ma’qal said, “He died in a state of disobedience to Allāh.” Al-Khallāl, Al-Sunnah 5:43-47, articles 1572-1576.
Al-Khallāl, Al-Sunnah 5:43-47, articles 1572-1576.
Have glad tidings, for verily Allāh makes the illness of a believer an expiation [for his sins] and a cause of being pleased, whereas the illness of a sinner is like a camel that has been tied by its owners, then released by them: it knows not why it was tied up nor why it was released. Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad in the Chapter on the Expiation [of sins through] illness. Graded ṣaḥīḥ by Shaykh Al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad.
Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad in the Chapter on the Expiation [of sins through] illness. Graded ṣaḥīḥ by Shaykh Al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad.
يَعْلَمُ خَآئِنَةَ ٱلْأَعْيُنِ وَمَا تُخْفِى ٱلصُّدُورُ
Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd article 1428.
Verily, when Allāh the Exalted wants to honor a servant of His (for his righteousness), He afflicts him with a reduced means of living, illness in his body and a fearful life (all of which expiate his sins). Until death comes upon him, and he still has some sins, death is made hard upon him because of them, causing him to meet Allāh with no sins against him. And when a person is of little value to Allāh (because of his disobedience), He makes his body healthy, broadens his means of living and makes him feel safe (the rewards for any good deeds he did are exhausted). Until death comes upon him, and he still has some good deeds, the experience of death is lightened for him because of them, and he meets Allāh with nothing. Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 2865.
Abu Bakr Al-Daynūrī, Al-Mujālasah wa Jawāhir Al-‘Ilm article 2865.
Fasting does not mean keeping away from only food and drink, it also means keeping away from lying, falsehood, inanity and swearing [by Allāh without need]. It is reported that Ibrāhīm Al-Nakha’ī – Allāh have mercy on him – said: They used to say: lying breaks the fast. It is reported that Mujāhid – Allāh have mercy on him – said: There are two practices, if a person can keep himself from them, his fast will be secured for him: backbiting and lying. It is related that Abul-‘Āliyah – Allāh have mercy on him – said: The fasting person is in a state of worship as long as he does not backbite. [1] It is reported that Ḥafṣah bint Sīrīn – Allāh have mercy on her – said: Fasting is a shield as long as one does not tear it, and tearing it is when you backbite. [2] It is reported that Anas b. Mālik – Allāh be pleased with him – said: If the fasting person backbites, his fast is broken. [3] Notes Explaining the meaning of sins breaking the fast, Shaykh Al-Islām Ibn Taymīyah – Allāh have mercy on him – states: [4] It is related from some of the Salaf that backbiting, tale carrying and the likes break the fast, and it is mentioned as one opinion in the madhab of Imām Aḥmad. The final word on this issue is that Allāh the Exalted commanded people to fast in order to achieve piety (taqwā), and Allāh’s Messenger – praise and peace of Allāh be upon him – stated: Whoever does not leave off false speech and acting by it; then Allāh is not in need of him abandoning his food and drink. So if the fasting person does not achieve piety, he has not achieved what is intended through fasting, and so the reward of [his] fast will decrease in accordance [with how much he has gone against the intended goal, i.e. commensurate with his sins]. Righteous deeds have two intended goals: gaining reward and avoiding punishment. If a person fasts while also doing forbidden things, like backbiting, carrying tales between people or consuming what is forbidden and so on, he loses the reward. Thus, when the imams say [backbiting etc.] does not break the fast, it means that the person who sins is not punished in the way a person who openly breaks his fast would be punished. And those who said it does break the fast in the sense that the person has not achieved the intended goal behind fasting, or in the sense that he has lost the reward for fasting, then this statement is in agreement with the position of the imams. One who says it breaks the fast in the sense that the person is to be punished for leaving [the fast], then he is in contradiction to the imams. Conclusion A person who disobeys Allāh while fasting hasn’t truly grasped the intent behind fasting. The real goal is to achieve piety and obedience of Allāh through the abandonment of food, drink and sin. Although a person who backbites, lies or does other sins is not considered to have physically broken his fast, he loses the reward of fasting and in this sense he has broken his fast. Allāh knows best. [1] Ibn Abī Al-Shaybah, Al-Muṣannaf articles 8975, 8980, 8981 and 8982. [2] ‘Abd Al-Razzāq Al-Ṣan’ānī, Al-Muṣannaf articles 8975. [3] Hunād b. Al-Saree, Al-Zuhd article 1204. [4] Badr Al-Dīn Al-Ba’lī. Mukhtaṣar Al-Fatāwā Al-Maṣrīyah pp288, 289. 1st edn. 1418H. Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmīyah. Beirut, Lebanon.
[4] Badr Al-Dīn Al-Ba’lī. Mukhtaṣar Al-Fatāwā Al-Maṣrīyah pp288, 289. 1st edn. 1418H. Dār Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmīyah. Beirut, Lebanon.
O Abū Umayah, by Allāh, I know not if we will meet again after today. Fear and obey Allāh your Lord until the Day of Resurrection, as if you see Him, and obey the ruler (imām) even if he is a cut-nosed Abyssinian slave: if he beats you, be patient; if he robs you, be patient and if he belittles you, be patient. And if he tells you [to do something] to the detriment of your religion (to sin), say: “I hear and obey, [but] my blood goes before my religion.” Never leave the Main Muslim Body (Al-Jamā’ah). Ibn Zanjawayh, Kitāb Al-Amwāl article 30; Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Uṣūl Al-Sunnah article 205 with a slight variation in wording. Also recorded in other collections.
Ibn Zanjawayh, Kitāb Al-Amwāl article 30; Ibn Abī Zamanīn, Uṣūl Al-Sunnah article 205 with a slight variation in wording. Also recorded in other collections.
I once came to an area in one part of which was a graveyard. After ‘aṣr, one of the graves split open and a man with the head of a donkey and the body of a human came up from it and brayed three times, after which the grave closed back up on him. I then saw an old woman weaving fleece or wool, and a woman said, “Do you see that old woman?” I said, “What about her?” She replied, “That is the mother of this [dead] man.” I asked, “What was his story?” She replied, “He used to drink wine, and whenever he would go out his mother would say, ‘O my son, fear Allāh; until when will you keep drinking wine?’ He would reply, ‘You bray like a donkey.'” The woman said, “He then died after ‘aṣr, so every day after ‘asr the grave opens up and he brays a few times, then the grave closes up on him again.” Al-Hāfidh Abul-Qāsim Al-Aṣbahānī, Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb article 471. Shaykh Nāṣir Al-Dīn Al-Albānī graded this narration ḥasan in his edition of Al-Mundhirī’s Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb. See Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb ḥadīth 2517. Al-Mundhirī quotes Al-Aṣbahānī as saying: This [story] was narrated by Abul-‘Abbās Al-Aṣam in a dictation at Naysābūr, in the presence of great preservers [of traditions] and people of knowledge, and they did not reject it.
Al-Mundhirī quotes Al-Aṣbahānī as saying: This [story] was narrated by Abul-‘Abbās Al-Aṣam in a dictation at Naysābūr, in the presence of great preservers [of traditions] and people of knowledge, and they did not reject it.