Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #007 Those Who Challenge God Obligatory Knowledge of the Heart
AI: Summary ©
The church's "has been through" concept is recognized as the church's teachings, and it is related to their teachings. Discussions about affirmations and claims, while being centered around rewarding actions from Allah, are also important. The importance of affirmations and understanding the values of the heart for obligatory knowledge is emphasized, and advice is given on the importance of being full of the heart for health and contentment. The use of "will" in affirmations and negative impacts is also discussed, as well as the importance of seeking knowledge and understanding all aspects of life.
AI: Summary ©
The messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be
upon him, encouraged us to strive for uprightness
by seeking assistance in the early mornings, late
afternoons at and something of the depths of
the night. From this tradition, the scholars made
it a habit to briefly read text of
religious guidance in the late afternoon and often
term such readings the daily.
The term refers to the late afternoon, but
also to a time of rest from worldly
toils and reinvigoration of one's spirit.
In this day, Sheikh Harazrabani will be covering
2 texts, imam Zarnunji's primer on the etiquette
of seeking knowledge,
and imam Youssef An Nabhani's beautiful collection of
40 sets of 40 prophetic hadith.
We've been looking at
4 d's
sacred hadiths,
4 d hadith from
Sheikh Yusuf and Nabahani's collection
of 40 sets of 40 hadith.
And the first collection is on these
hadith
the sacred hadiths,
divine words inspired
to the beloved messenger
and this particular collection
is very powerful because they highlight
they
highlight what we believe about Allah
They highlight the praises of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. They highlight particular
attributes
of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So why there
are 40
sacred hadiths in praise of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala, but the praise is through
the qualities that it highlights.
So one of the things as a student
of knowledge you could look at
as you go through the hadiths,
what
divine attributes are being highlighted.
Some are most are very, very obvious and
others require
some reflection, but that's part of is
that it is acquired
through
reflection.
Right? And, you know, the what the do,
they encourage us to to to think as
the Quran and Sunnah
encourages
encourage us to think. Right? So we
take that as a personal task. We've touched
upon some of
these qualities, but particularly with the hadith number
8, the hadith of Abu Zar,
which we looked at,
which we looked at in the previous class.
There's many.
Each part of the hadith, each of you
is misguided
except those whom I guide.
So seek my guidance.
And so you say, okay,
guiding is one of the names of Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Right? So what are the
divine names related to that?
Right? Etcetera. So these are these are ways.
And sometimes you you realize, you know, oh,
you know, guess what?
I don't know much about the divine names.
So where do I find out more about
them?
So there are dependencies in one's knowledge. Sometimes
you realize, oh, this is something that I
need to work on much more.
What names do these hadiths relate to? Secondly,
which attributes do they go back to?
All of you have will
have studied
and which attributes do they most directly go
back to. Right?
And the previous hadith,
hadith number 8,
Many attributes
are mentioned in there.
And it also
highlighted an important adab
of slavehood,
an important adab of slavehood
at the end.
Oh, my servants,
it is but your actions.
Which I
encompass for you.
Right? I encompass for you.
Then I repay you for them in full.
But
has a sense of Allah
keeps track of all our works.
But
is also
who gave them to us.
Right? It is I who give them to
you,
and then I reward them for you
fully.
Right? Which is why and this idea
of we didn't touch upon this.
It is but your actions.
It is I who encompass them for you.
But the encompassing is one that Allah keeps
track of them, but secondly, where did your
actions come from?
Right?
Did you create them? No.
K?
He says Allah who has created you and
all that you do. So your actions were
all from Allah
but Allah attributes them to you.
Why?
Because he granted us choice.
But even the choice, who who gave it
to you? Allah.
So it is all encompassed by Allah. So
they granted to you
because you're his.
But that's an honor. He didn't have to
give you a choice.
And
then
for you. So that
facilitation of the actions is from Allah,
and he keeps track of them because he
gave you choice.
Yeah. But and I'll reward you for them
fully.
So whoever finds good,
so whoever finds good, let them praise Allah.
Because who created your actions? Who facilitated them?
Who inspired them?
Who fulfilled them?
Allah.
Let them praise Allah by seeing that it's
from Allah.
And whoever finds other than that,
let them only blame themselves.
Why?
Because the one who created, facilitated, inspired
did give you a choice.
And when you did other than the good,
you
choose that.
So slavehood entails recognizing
the reality of your choice
there.
Let them blame only themselves.
But the blame here, the loom,
there is a positive blame,
loom al Mahmoud.
Right? Positive blame, which is
to
recognize
what one did wrong and to look and
to rectify
moving forward.
To recognize what one did wrong,
to redress any wrong
arising from it
is recognition, redress, and rectification.
Recognize
what one did wrong,
redressing
the wrong. So if, you know, you stole
from somebody, you can't say that was bad.
I won't do it again. No. You have
to give it back. You have to compensate
for it, etcetera.
If you're sinful, you have to repent. So
recognition, redress, and
rectification
moving forward.
That is positive blame.
Negative blame
is blameworthy
where
you stop and say, I'm a loser.
I can't do it.
That is against the teachings of Allah and
His Messenger, the Prophet
said,
do not deem yourself
incapable.
So that was just a recap of Hadith
number 8. Hadith number 9
It is related by Ibn Abbas, may Allah
be well pleased with both with son and
father.
Allah Most High
says
Allah says
my
the child of Adam
lies
regarding me and they don't have the right
to do so And they insult me, and
they don't have
the right to do so.
As for their
ascribing a lie to me
or
as for their denial,
right,
of regarding me is their imagining that I
am not able
to return them as they were.
The servant,
the the child of Adam
saying that
how could
God create us anew, you know, denying the
hereafter.
We don't have proof of the hereafter, which
is an absurd thing that scientists say
Because science is
is based on observation of what already exists.
Something that is beyond
this dimension is beyond
scientific knowledge.
There's no there's no bay there's no way
to know of that through
through science.
So people talk about scientific proofs for the
hereafter. It's it's absurd because it is from
the unseen. It is of the things that
are beyond
this
worldly dimension.
So that denial
of resurrection,
The denial of a life after this life
is
a denial of who god is.
Right? And so denial of divine power,
which is, of course, entails a denial of
reality
because if you deny that there's god then
how does
how does reality exist,
which is absurd.
And as for their insulting me, it is
they're saying regarding me
that I have a child
So glory be to
me beyond
taking
a partner
or child.
This is the
insult
of affirming
that
Jesus is the son of God.
Affirming divinity
to
to Christ
or the like of that. These are two
examples
and there's others other things
that are insults
to the divine
affirming
other gods,
affirming
false beliefs.
Some things entail
denial of divinity because if you say if
you deny the hereafter
you're saying that God and when God has
informed you of that then you're denying divine
power. And if you deny divine power,
then you're denying
the divine because God is necessarily characterized
by
all his
attributes.
Both his personal attribute of existence
is
intrinsically necessary.
All the attributes of negation
are necessary
for God.
His oneness, his distinctness,
his independence,
his
distinctness from creation,
etcetera, his being first without beginning and last
without end. All of these are intrinsically necessary.
Likewise is affirmative attributes. He is God is
necessarily
characterized by knowledge,
will, power,
life,
hearing, seeing, and speech.
So denying any one of those is denying
the divine.
But
each of these is entailed by divinity,
which is why these faults under we do
have a shared
point of belief
with
Christians, for example. They affirm belief in one
God. We share a point
There's a shared point with even those who
affirm
multiple
gods
such
as Hindus.
In that they do affirm that there is
divinity, that there is a supreme being. That
is a shared point.
And it's a point
through which we can convey tawhid.
But
we are not fine with these alternate
understandings. Why?
Because they are
they're either denial of the divine or they're
insults to divinity
in that sense. But this is not how
we talk to them about this. Right?
And
dispute with them
in the best of ways.
Discourse with them in the best of ways.
Well, Al Asan is the ways that will
be of most benefit, and this is related
by Imam
Buhari
and there's similar
narrations
elsewhere
as well.
Highlighting. In other words, this highlights why it's
important to have clarity regarding what we affirm
about
Allah The 10th hadith which
we're going to look at as well today
is related by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be
all pleased in the mukal,
Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings and peace be
upon him, said
Allah Most High says,
The Messenger of Allah relates that Allah Most
High says
Adam
The child of Adam
hurts me
for for they
for they curse
time
and I am time.
In my grasp
is
are all matters.
It is I who turn over the date
the day the night and day.
The child of Adam harms me or hurts
me. Right? And does anything hurt Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala?
Meaning this is odious to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. This is odious to Allah. This is
displeasing
to Allah.
But not because
it takes something away from him but it
is contrary
to what
he has sought for, what he has called
his servants to do.
Right?
Because we know that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
Allah Most High is absolutely free of need
in any way whatsoever from his creation.
So this hurt is in order to that,
it is hurtful meaning displeasing.
And what is displeasing that which is contrary
to his command.
What is displeasing?
They
insult,
they curse
time. Now the Arabs used to do this.
When the rain didn't come, when it was
very hot, when things didn't work out when
they wanted, a person went to look for
water and they got lost. They didn't bring
it. They showed up late.
Right? They would curse.
And sometimes they're like, who and what do
you curse? They just curse time itself.
Right? That's direct cursing of time. But also
when we complain
about time related things,
that's indirect.
Right? The curse, time, a dahar,
which is either
time or the age.
Right? Dahar has many meanings. Imam Abu Hanifa
was asked what does a dahar mean?
He says,
I don't know.
There's only 3 issues to which Abu Hanifa
said I don't know.
Amongst them because Dahar is used in a
number of ways. It can refer to time
specifically
or a lifetime or time itself.
Time or the age or a lifetime.
It has many uses but it curses time.
It could be some part thereof as well.
The the child of Adam curses time, and
I am time.
What does it mean I am time?
He is the lord of time.
He is the creator of time.
When you insult the creation,
when you insult the creating,
you're insulting the creator.
When you insult the creating,
is there a creator
other than Allah? So if you complain about
the way things are, you are complaining about
the way he made them that way. You
complain about the times, you're complaining about the
one who made them that way. And that
has to do with many things that we
people go on. This is a time of
so much fitna and this and that.
Oh my god. I wish I lived in
the time of tasalaf. And, like, they they
were, like, sitting there
eating quinoa salad
that tasted much better than it does now.
Right? Everything was perfect. No. It was difficult
then. It's difficult now. When people complain,
right,
and this is why this relates to the
important concept of
contentment with destiny.
Why did this have to happen?
If only I had
you're not in
you have
none of
this affair is in your hands. It's in
the hands of Allah, which is why
the hadith completes
in my hand is the affair.
Say it is all
from Allah.
Does anything fall out of that circle?
Say it is all
from
It is I who make
night
and day
turn over, alternate.
The principle of time,
all of it is from Allah
and all that happens therein.
So this is a very powerful hadith highlighting
the
you know and highlighting both qualities related to
Allah recognizing
what it mean
recognizing
that all happens by His willing it,
by His
creating it, right, goes back to His will
and power
and that complaining about
times or people or events
is a complaint against the creator. Imam al
Ghazali here has a very powerful section about
complaining, and it's in the reliance of the
traveler.
Complaining
about things can be a complaint about
is from
not being content with destiny.
Right? And the believer may be displeased
with matters,
right,
insofar as
but one can be displeased with something but
yet content.
So this does not mean that if someone
you know, you try to get your iPad
repaired and they ruined it,
say, oh, that's fine.
Allah destined it. No.
1 must one is content
with it insofar as it's from Allah.
But one what is displeasing,
one is displeased with,
and what is pleasing,
one is pleased with, and one can combine
pleasure and displeasure
at the worldly
as well as
the spiritual. This doesn't mean that you commit
a sin and say, oh it's from Allah.
No. 1 is displeased with
sin, one is displeased with the bad,
but one is content
with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. One sees it
being from Allah, so one
deals the believer looks with 2 eyes.
You know, these hadith ultsi also highlight many
adab of slavehood
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Any questions here before we move on to
to briefly look at the
adab of seeking knowledge from Ta'lim Mutalim?
Go
ahead.
Yeah.
Com complaining against destiny. It's easy to find.
It has a good good index.
And if you email me, we'll send it
out inshallah.
We'll include it also in the podcast notes.
We'll take the question after inshallah. So
we've also been looking the second part of
of the of the daily roha. We've been
looking at adab of seeking knowledge and we
began
by looking at
the introduction
and we looked at the intention
for seeking knowledge.
And
where did we get to?
We
looked at how he broke down, how Imam
al Zarnouji broke down
the what knowledge is incumbent upon you. And
this idea of Ilmulhal,
essential knowledge, what you must know as a
believer,
that which is the knowledge that enables you
first to be in a state of obedience
to Allah
in all that you do by doing what
he's obligated
and and avoiding what he's prohibited
in any sphere of our activities
that we know
the limits of Allah
in terms of what he has made
incumbent upon us
and to do and incumbent upon us to
leave.
That entails seeking the knowledge related to it
and if any field of activity
one engages in, one learns that and it
applies, he said, to our acts of worship.
It applies also
to
our
work
and vuor,
financial transactions.
And all work
arises from one concept,
which is which is contracts.
Contracts
are agreements
between 2 parties and anytime you work,
you're either working for somebody
or with somebody
or
you,
even if you're self employed,
you
either have a product that you provide other
people or a service that you provide other
people.
And all of these
require
contracts
and the reason they talk about sales, BUIWA,
because the foundational contract
rationally, the most basic contract is the contract
of sale.
You know, which
is why they call it the
foundational contract.
And technically,
even marriage
is derivative conceptually
from the sales contract. It's not a sales
transaction. No one's buying anyone else.
But and that's why some people get confused.
Sometimes they see some of the things that
jurists say, but you don't know what they're
saying.
All contracts conceptually
come from the sales contract. A gift
is like a sales contract,
except that it's not a contract of exchange
between 2 parties.
But it goes back conceptually to the same
thing except
that it is only giving from one side,
but all the other elements of the contract
are there. There's an offer, there's an acceptance,
there's a possession that's taken, etcetera.
So even with gifts,
the fiqh of sales arises.
So if you don't know the basics of
trade and transaction, you don't even know about
gifts and all kinds of drama happens with
gifts. Someone gives something to their sister and
then say, I want it back.
Why? I lent it to you. No. You
gifted it to me,
which is why
if you don't know
the halal and haram and the limits related
to sales,
the basics of contracts,
you're in trouble. You're in trouble because you're
probably inevitably falling into the haram
unwittingly,
Which is why we left off with his
mentioning.
Why don't you author a book on
Zuhud, on spiritual renunciation,
on leaving worldliness
which is a foundation
of embracing the hereafter
and turning to Allah.
He said I have written a book
on
sales,
on transactions,
on trade,
on commerce
because renunciation
is to renounce that which is displeasing to
Allah. So he explains,
Meaning
that the person of spiritual renunciation
is the one who
keeps themselves away from doubtful matters and dislike
matters
in
their
trading and in their dealings,
their financial dealings
for a number of reasons. 1, because these
are things that one inclines towards. One's worldly
life depends on
the
one's contracts and agreements.
One needs money to survive,
but
the test of your renunciation is can you
renounce what is displeasing to Allah
in
the needs of your life.
And it's tested
because Allah has created in us both a
neediness
for money
and you love
wealth
with intense love.
That is given.
And
we have been created being needy.
We cannot survive just on our own.
We need
to to to deal with people, to trade,
to work,
to get on with things in life for
survival.
So in that tests our commitment to avoid
what is displeasing to Allah.
And likewise,
in all types of transaction,
and all lines of work.
And then he mentions the guiding principle.
So whoever
engages in anything
of it, in any type of transaction,
in any line of work, they need to
acquire
it is obligatory for them to acquire the
knowledge that will enable them to avoid what
is prohibited in it. Because if it's obligatory
to do the obligatory,
then it's obligatory
to have the knowledge that will enable you
to do the obligatory.
If it's obligatory
to avoid the prohibited, it is obligatory for
you to have the knowledge that enables you
to know what is prohibited and how to
avoid it.
And if it's
sunnah for you to follow the way of
the Prophet SAWH, it is praiseworthy then it
is praiseworthy for you to to know
in anything that you do how do you
uphold the sunnah and how do you avoid
going against the sunnah
in any line of work.
And then he says,
and likewise, it is obligatory
for 1 to know
the states of the heart.
So
you don't just need knowledge related to worship,
but you must live in this life so
you need to know how your life
is made
an act of obedience
and that relates to knowing about
contracts,
to know about work and what is halal
and haram
in those.
That's why one of the most important courses
and often easily overlooked, we have this course
on seekers called the fit of life.
And
you one can cover
the basics of contracts
in one
lesson.
All of it, just to point you in
the in the direction,
is summarized
in one divine statement.
Do not consume each other's wealth
in false ways.
Except that it be through
trade
on the basis
of
clear
mutual agreement between you.
So all
of commercial law
goes back to this one divine statement. And
actually,
if you follow
if you
follow
you know if you do your formal transactions
in accordance within the limits of what is
permitted
in
even secular commercial law and you uphold best
practices
you are
going to be well within
the limits of the Sharia
on most matters.
But we don't follow those in our in
a lot of our day to day dealings.
You can take this.
Even myself, I gave somebody my copy of
Al Hadil Alaiyah,
and I have a lot of
I don't know who it was. Right? And
the guidance related to those, did I give
it to them? Did I lend it to
them?
How long it was for, etcetera?
These are things that
are best defined. So I say, take this.
And they thought I
I gifted it to them, but I thought
I lent it to them could lead to
a lot of drama
and it does.
So
the
how that is detailed,
you know, one needs to know that because
it gives one clarity in one's life and
it preserves the good for the believer.
And one needs to have knowledge also
regarding
the states of the heart.
The states of the heart.
So this is a third clear area
of obligatory knowledge and we're going to look
at that next.
But
Imam Al Ghazali has a powerful statement that
Allah
only
in reality Allah most high only commanded
with respect to you and forbid it forbade
your heart.
As for
your limbs,
they are the servants of your heart.
That if you are
if you are like a city,
the castle is your heart
and the limbs are like
the outposts
for protecting your heart.
If they are guarded the heart will be
guarded
to the extent that they are compromised
your heart will be compromised.
So what is obligatory knowledge of the heart?
We'll touch upon it briefly.
But
you know the the virtues of the knowledge
of the heart this is something that you
can look up in the hadiths.
The prophet
tells us that in the body there's a
morsel of flesh
there there's a piece which if sound the
entire body is sound and if corrupted the
entire body is corrupted truly it is the
heart.
Allah does not look at your bodies.
He does not look at your forms
rather he looks at your hearts.
Some narrations only mention that. Others mentioned he
looks at your hearts and your actions.
But even the the reality the actions though
are only a form. The reality of your
actions
are the meanings that are found in your
heart of sincerity,
of trueness, of love,
etcetera.
And the states of the heart and the
qualities of the heart are as obligatory
as
the outward
obligatory actions. Rather more so because each quality
of the heart, each praiseworthy quality results in
numerous
acts of obedience.
They're the founts of good
or
pools
of
harm.
And from the praiseworthy states of the heart,
Tawakkul, reliance upon Allah.
Rely on me if you are believers
and being penitent
Having awe of Allah
which is a condition for knowledge
Allah is only held in awe amongst his
servants from the by the people who have
knowledge. So if your knowledge does not come
with awe as Ibn Atha'ala
said it will count against you rather than
for you.
And contentment
Allah is well pleased with them and they
with Him.
For These arise in all one states.
Your heart is never empty. There's always something
going on.
Like a wall
is never free of certain qualities.
The heart also
is never free of any qualities. And
we'll close with the advice of 1 of
of a very distinguished
scholar,
the father of
Mufti Mohammed ibn Adam,
when I visited asked him for advice about
for students of knowledge and he pointed to
the wall
and he said
that if you want to adorn
yourself with knowledge
then you have to take care
of
the of the heart
because that is the preparation
for the adornment
of knowledge.
He said
if you try to paint a wall
without
without preparing the wall for the paint, what's
going to happen?
The paint
won't stick.
It'll not look good
and you have to keep
fiddling with it.
The first thing that comes is you make
have to make
the wall ready for the paint,
and if you make the wall ready for
the paint, then even one light
the
The condition isn't that we completely purify our
hearts
to be considered of the people of purity
of hearts.
Because Allah judges us by our intentions
and by our efforts.
So we may be full of faults.
Nasallallahu
alafiya.
We may be full of faults but if
we are committed
to purity of heart,
to purity
of the states of the heart
and we are striving
for that purity of heart that Allah judges
us and he gives to us
and he rewards us according to
our
sincerity
of commitment
and our
steadfastness
in striving.
And he magnifies the consequences of both beyond
measure. We ask Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala to
grant us by His generosity and grace and
to make us of
his righteous servants.
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