Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #052 The Greatest Threat to Faith Major Sins Failing to Act in Accordance With Faith Knowl
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The importance of belief in Islam is highlighted, with speakers emphasizing the importance of not associate partners with it and not showing false emotions. The speaker also discusses the negative impact of actions on one's faith and the importance of understanding the negative impact of actions on one's faith. The importance of practical understanding of religion and learning to become a spiritual person is emphasized, along with the need for daily donations to support the community. The speaker also highlights the importance of avoiding major sins and the need for personal knowledge and a commitment to being a spiritual person.
AI: Summary ©
You're listening to the daily guidance for seekers
with Sheikh Farazrabani,
who will be covering Imam Yusuf and Abiheni's
beautiful collection of 40 sets of 40 hadith
of the prophet, peace and blessings be upon
him, as well as Imam Zarnooji's guidance for
seekers of knowledge regarding the ways of seeking
knowledge.
In our daily rauha,
we are looking at 40 hadiths on the
virtues of Islam and iman.
Both of which are a turning of the
heart
to
Allah Most High.
Right.
Iman
is to know
the realities of faith. To know that there
is one God,
Allah. And to accept
that truth.
And
Islam
is to know that truth
and to
accept
to submit to that truth.
Right.
And this is the greatest single action in
life is
the recognition
of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The same narrator whose hadith we are looking
at today
to begin in hadith number 12,
Mu'adhib bin Jabal, he and others asked the
prophet
what action is best, oh messenger of Allah?
And our beloved messenger
said that the greatest act in Islam
is
Iman itself. The greatest single action is
belief in in Allah Most High.
And every act
that we
engage in as Muslims
is in fact
an expression of our faith.
And the single greatest purpose of every act
of submission,
every act of Islam,
is
the expression
of faith that it entails.
Every act that we engage
in
increases
our Iman.
Every
sunnah that we follow of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam,
its purpose is
to increase
in knowledge of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And it's in this context that we can
understand the great merits
of
Iman in Islam. So hadith number 12.
So Ma'al ibn Jabal,
may Allah be pleased with him, said that
I heard the messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alaihi
Salam say, whoever
meets Allah
having not associated
any
partners with him,
praying the 5 prayers,
fasting Ramadan
shall be forgiven.
Meaning
that someone
who
believes
in Allah
and does not associate partners with him, right,
and who
accepts to submit,
then
this
makes them in the circle
of those who are pleasing to Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala. And if someone is in the
circle of those pleasing to Allah, then
there is much
that
Allah will excuse.
There's much that Allah will excuse
in terms of our shortcomings,
our our falling short. So Muad ibn Jabal
said,
should I not give them glad tidings, oh
messenger of Allah,
And we should rejoice.
The prophet
said,
let them.
Leave them to act.
Leave them to do more because it is
good
for us as believers,
right. To sense
our shortcoming,
to sense
our weakness,
to sense that Allah deserves more because he
does.
Allah does deserve more than what we're doing
and we
should be doing better than what we are
doing.
But at the same time it's very important
to know that we are dealing with a
merciful lord.
We are dealing with a merciful lord. He
has called us to you because he wants
you to turn to him. So if you
accept that call,
you are of those that are you're in
the circle of mercy.
You are in the circle of mercy.
The greatest
thing that can take you out of the
circle of mercy
is
associating partners with Allah.
That's clear from this hadith
because that's the ultimate wrongdoing.
But associating partners with Allah, there's an explicit
sense which by definition no Muslim has.
Which is that you actually believe in other
deities,
in others besides Allah being divine.
But there is a lesser shirk,
Right. There's a lesser shirk
that endangers your faith.
The lesser shirk
is
as described by the prophet one is to
show off,
right,
which is an inflated sense of self.
That the center of your reality is me,
myself and I rather than
Allah himself
and him.
Similarly of the lesser shirk
is to believe that anyone can benefit or
harm, give or take other than
Allah
subhanahu
wa
ta'ala.
So
as believers we do not engage in any
shirk.
We do not worship any but Allah. But
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told us
that he feared for us lesser shirk.
And we need to be careful
about
pride and arrogance
because that causes
the proud
to
deny
or reject
or turn away from truth.
And we have to be careful
about
preserving the purity of our Tawhid,
such that we do not have any sense
of any
benefiting or harming, giving or taking
besides Allah
That's why the prophet said
The realization that there is
no ability
whatsoever
and no power whatsoever
except
by Allah
is a treasure of the treasures of paradise.
Right. So those are safeguards to the purity
of faith
And then doing one's best to uphold
the integrals
of
Islam.
Someone who does that, we know that truly
good deeds wipe out bad deeds.
But someone could say what about people who
do wrong?
People who do wrong.
Shirk
associating partners with Allah
is the greatest injustice.
The other thing that endangers faith as is
clear from the Quran and the Sunnah is
is wrongdoing.
It is
harmful
to harm oneself spiritually
by
errors in our
turning to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
by our sins.
And that's serious because if you know what
Allah deserves and who Allah is,
you would be scared of any sin.
But
there is nothing more damaging
to your deen
than
than wrongdoing. Wronging others
is one of the the the things that
we see in many hadiths and some of
which are coming.
There's nothing that
erodes
Iman
and that prevents good ending like wrongdoing.
It's sufficient that the prophet
said wrongdoing
becomes many layers of darkness on the day
of resurrection.
The next hadith
tells us some of these implications.
With this narration, the similar narration,
in both Bukhari and Muslim.
So Abdullah
ibn Amr,
may Allah be well pleased with both father
and son,
relates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam said the major sins, al kabair.
And this is some of the major sins.
And a major sin is 1 the the
it's come
in in in hadiths
that
good deeds wipe out bad deeds as long
as
as long as the major sins are avoided.
And there's a number of scholars that wrote
about what are the major sins.
So
there's a relative sense that there's a common
sin
and there's
things that are considered
smaller sins.
Right. In the sense that it's
for example, if someone said that right now
there's a thunderstorm
of
apple pie.
Now sister Yasmeen, let's say she's driving here.
She she who would believe that anyway?
It's a lie, but it's a petty lie.
No one's gonna be hurt or harmed by
it.
It's a smaller sin than a sin, than
a lie that,
you know, that causes hurt or harm or
wrong etcetera.
So but there are sins
that
are graver because of the harm entailed by
them,
the injustice entailed by them.
The degree to which
we know that they go against what is
pleasing to Allah Subhanahu wa
Ta'ala. So there's a relative sense
or that the the major sins are the
sins that are forbidden most intensely
by
the in the Quran and in the sunnah
of the Prophet
So some scholars said that the major sins
are only the sins
that the Allah and his Messenger have told
us are major sins explicitly.
Others said that the major sins are those
regarding which there is major punishment that is
mentioned.
So there's not just prohibition against them, but
there's a major threat
or punishment
that is mentioned.
Imam al Zahabi,
the great imam of Hadith, wrote an influential
work on this topic called.
That's available in English and
many other scholars wrote about it. There's a
beautiful section
in Reliance of the Traveler by Sheikh Noor
Keller on the enormities.
And there's discussion on what are some of
the greatest sins and then there's a comprehensive
listing from the great
jurist, ibn Hajar Al Haythami, from his work
on the major sins.
And that's a useful list as a practical
guide for taqwa that keep away from these
qualities. It's sort of a a benchmark for
taqwa.
So the prophet
said in this hadith, the major sins are
and this is a partial list of the
most important. The first of course is
associating partners with Allah.
Either explicitly, which just takes you out of
the faith, or
the lesser shirk,
which is what it is described.
Arrogance
showing off or believing that any besides Allah
can benefit or harm. Having that sense within
us is a lessorship.
After that
being hurt break
is
wronging one's parents.
Wronging
one's parents.
And this is
mentioned
that be grateful to me and to your
parents. Allah has mentioned gratitude to Allah with
gratitude towards parents. Because the absolute gratitude
is owed to none but Allah,
but the relative gratitude in worldly terms,
you owe no one
more than you owe your parents
in the in a in a worldly sense.
Because were it not for them, in a
worldly sense, you would not exist.
And gratitude
to them is entailed.
So
wronging one's parents either by hurting them, harming
them, not fulfilling their rights of respect
and and and kindness and mercy
and good dealings
is a major sin.
And to kill
any
single
person
to kill anyone.
And the encompassing
oath.
And the encompassing oath is the false oath
and it's called Ramuz
It's called encompassing or the enveloping oath because
it encompasses and envelops the one who makes
it
in sin.
And in some
and the prophet used to often remind the
companions of these major sins. Keep away from
these and their like.
And he started
repeating.
This haba said until we wish that the
prophet would not would would not say it
anymore because out of
their concern for him and out of their
fear
for how grave it is.
And the like the enveloping oath is anything
that you emphatically affirm as true when you
know it's not.
Right? Like false marketing.
And we'll take one more hadith.
So
Abu Hurair
relates and there's a shorter narrations of this
hadith as well that the Messenger of Allah
said, the one who commits
does not commit
as a believer.
And the one who steals does not steal
when they steal as a believer.
And the one who drinks alcohol, the one
who drinks wine
does not drink wine
when they drink it as a believer.
And the one
who takes
the wealth of others when they don't notice,
when
they in taking that, they are not a
believer.
And the one who wrong
who who takes
the spoils of war,
who misappropriates
the spoils of war does not do so
while a believer. So beware.
So beware.
So beware.
There's many who made errors in understanding this
hadith and similar hadiths.
Some
like the Khwararij
deemed the sinner
to be a disbeliever,
taking literally
the words of the prophet that whoever does
this is not a believer
when they do so.
Some sects said that iman
departs the heart.
Some even said that it's sort of
so when they do so they become a
temporarily kafir
literally.
So and they said it's kind of like
iman
evaporates
and then it and when they
the act then
of internal consciousness,
it falls back in their heart and that's
absurd.
The negation here that
they are not a believer, meaning they are
not acting as a believer acts.
And not conducting themselves
in accordance with what faith entails.
When they do these things. That when someone
commits
sexual sins
or when one steals
or drinks
or
misappropriates
wealth and all these things That they are
they're not a believer in that. This is
not a negation
of
faith itself
but of
sound
acting upon faith.
They're not acting as faith entails.
Right. Because if you do believe you would
be in a state if your faith was
sound you would be in a state of
sound submission to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Right.
So that's how this is understood. Right. And
other hadith that say that whoever does such
and such is not a believer.
It's understood by the mainstream of Islam that
that for example whoever has an atom's weight
of pride in their heart is not a
believer.
Means they are not
acting as
faith entails that they act.
They are not
upholding
what faith
entails
because faith would entail if you know who
Allah is and you know who you are,
you would be humble.
You'd be humbled before the greatness of God.
Right.
But it does not mean that such a
person is a kafir.
That's not a mainstream position
as we know clearly from the text of
Islamic belief.
Briefly, we're going to look at
Talim al Muta'lim
of Imam Zarrnouji
which is
a guide for
the one,
for the student of knowledge on how
to seek
knowledge.
And this chapter
is a beautiful chapter because he's
emphasizing the importance
of having high resolve
as a seeker of knowledge.
And
we
We stopped at some lines of poetry
from,
Imam Zanuji's teacher,
the author of the of the Hidayah and
Hanafi fiqh, Al Marghinani.
Correct?
So he says,
and this is his admiration for his teacher.
Every time he mentions his teacher, and we've
had at least half a dozen mentions if
not more already.
Every time he mentions all these titles for
him. 1 because his teacher deserved it and
and the second because
this is from his love
and respect for his teacher.
He says,
He says, this knowledge
is the highest
of
is the highest of high ranks.
Below it in honor
are all other high ranks.
A person of knowledge
remains
with their honour ever increasing.
Whereas the ignorant
after death
they are buried
in layers
of dust.
Why?
Because
the personal knowledge
the personal knowledge benefits not only
by
their own knowledge and having acted upon it
themselves,
but
knowledge
that benefits
that person
taught people.
And they
everything that they act upon
counts in their book of deeds. Because whoever
points to the good has the reward of
those who act upon it. Everyone who's inspired
to do the good by their example and
by their teachings,
they benefit from.
Anyone that they taught
who then teaches others, they continue to
all the indirect
benefit that is spread through them, they are
rewarded for it as well.
If they wrote
anything of benefit,
they are rewarded
for that actual benefit
as long as the knowledge lasts, but they're
also rewarded for their intention. To say what
about the scholar who wrote beneficial works, but
people forgot them?
A person is rewarded for their intention more
than their action.
So their
rank keeps rising.
And they're in the circle of those who
are pleasing to Allah,
so the impact of that keeps increasing.
Whereas the the ignorant one
and
the
and the and the foundation of ignorance
is worldliness.
What what do they their
their box of deeds
to the extent that it was bereft of
benefit of ultimate benefit
is empty.
So so he
says,
Right?
So what
loss
to
no one
can hope
for its extent
of honor of those who rise.
Right?
And
even
and the and the the ones who embrace
you know worldly
power all they attain is.
It's just,
it's just worldly
armies.
Right. Like, you have people who seek authority,
what do they amass?
Someone got worldly power, you got elected. What
did you attain? You got a whole bunch
of supporters,
but will they be with you on the
day of judgment? No. So this is foolish.
But if you see what one should be
inspired, if you consider how hard people work
to get elected,
how hard people are concerned to get them
elected
and those who believe are more intense
in their love of Allah. So
he
says,
He says, I'll relate to you
some of what it has of benefits.
So listen
in this enumeration
from having to mention
all its beneficial qualities.
Right. So you so this is related by
Imam al Marghinani. And let me tell you
some of the benefits of knowledge.
It is the light, all light,
guiding
from blindness.
While the ignorant,
their whole lifetime
will be
in
many depths of darkness
and that knowledge is light. Because what what
does knowledge do? Knowledge shows you things as
they are.
The basis of light, it's what is light?
It is knowledge.
At
light, light
the fundamental
Nur
is
is that which is clear
and that makes things clear.
Okay. It is all light
guiding from blindness.
Whereas whereas the ignorant,
their whole lifetime
they are in layers of darkness.
It is the pinnacle
that
is
aspired to,
guarding
all the who turn to it
such that they walk
safely
in all
trials.
The refers
to a.
Right?
To
distresses,
in all distressful situations. So knowledge is that
that
that that peak
that all yearn for. Right?
Guarding the one who turns to it
such
that they walk
safely
when others are in trial.
And that's one of the senses.
The siraat,
the straight path
is the elevated path.
Right. It's
the straight path is multidimensional.
Right. It is straight because it goes straight
to the goal. It is clear
because it's distinct.
Right. It does not veer life
right or left. It it is ascending but
it's also high.
Right. So it's it's clear.
Right.
By it, by knowledge
its possessor
attains
salvation
while people are lost
in their
many
heedlessness.
By it
the personal knowledge hopes
even when
the soul
is
about to exit
and when the soul reaches that point
where now it'll come out.
The person
who
had
who has knowledge and who lived that knowledge,
they will have hope.
When others now say
they say.
Right.
And of course one of the adab
at the time they say in general and
there's different spiritual methods to this, but in
general as Imam
Dardi said, that while one while one lives
the believer balances hope and fear, but they
let
fear of Allah preponderate
while not losing that balance.
But they say at the point of death
we encourage
people to make hope preponderate.
But again not preponderate meaning
100 to 0 but
on the side of hope to have a
good opinion of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. But
the one who reaches
having lived
a life where they attained knowledge and they
lived it and they spread it,
k. They will behold
the glad tidings.
By it will a person
intercede
for those who went forth sinfully
towards
the pits of *,
the worst
of resting places.
The best way to help
family and others
who are distant from religion, the best thing
you can do is to embody religion yourself.
Why? 1 because your example
will inspire more than your words. And second,
that people will intercede for their circles of
concern.
As we know from many
from many texts of the Quran.
That the
worst of losers
will be those whom the intercession of those
who intercede do not benefit. Why? Because intercession
benefits.
Right.
And knowledge
and a personal knowledge intercedes and there's numerous
texts of the Quran and the Sunnah regarding
that.
Right. That the person of Quran will intercede
for their people. Right.
And and we'll see
and we'll we'll, you know, the
the text regarding that are numerous of of
you know? And they're it's sufficient that they're
inheritors of the prophet He says,
So whoever
seeks it
has sought
the highest of things to be sought,
all of them.
And whoever attains it has attained all.
That should be
all that is attainable.
Rama is the one who
aspires to it, has has aspired to all
the highest of aspirations and whoever attains it
has attained
all
attainment.
Is that which is sought.
All that could be sought.
Says, this is
the rank
that is truly high.
So all possessor
of sound mind,
if you attain it
then
disregard
the loss
of
rank.
Well
I could become a doctor, I could do
this, I could, I could, I could.
This is the high rank.
So all person,
Hijjah
is
that
of
clear or deep
intelligence.
If you attain it
then consider inconsequential
the loss of high rank. It's like, you
know, he's been in the news recently.
It said that once Bob Dylan showed up
somewhere on a on a Monday and someone
told him, hope you had a good weekend.
He said I had better things to do.
Right?
So if you miss out
on something of this
world
and its pleasing
rewards,
then close your eyes
for knowledge
is the greatest of gifts.
So this is
from the poetry from the poetry related to
him by imam Al Marghinani.
Right. And this this kind of poetry this
is sort of practical poetry. There's poetry that's
meant to be
literary poetry that's high and eloquent. There's practical
poetry. Right. This is
you know it's it's nice but it's not
at the highest levels of literary.
And we'll take
one more poem.
Then now of course, Imam is a
a
person of who's studied with some of the
greatest
fuqaha of Islamic history, some of the greatest
scholars of fiqh of Islamic history. His closest
teacher is Imam al Marghinani.
He also learned amongst others from,
Qadhi Khan
regarding whom it said in the Hanani school,
one does not give fatwa contrary to what
Qadhi Khan said. And this is, of course,
hyperbole.
So then he says
so he's telling us that what great merit
there is in knowledge. Why? Because Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala says
Allah raises those who believe amongst you and
have been granted knowledge.
Many ranks.
Right. And these are not degrees
like, you know, from 74 to 85, for
example.
These are
these are multiples.
These are stations
right as ibn Abbas mentioned.
Right.
And there's many similar hadiths where it's related
to the prophet
the virtue of the person who knows over
the person who merely worships is like my
virtue over the least of you.
Right. Why? Because the person of prophetic knowledge
is an inheritor of the prophet to the
extent that they
have that knowledge and to the extent that
they strive to embody
it. So he says
and I I have heard from some of
them
So he says if
people of knowledge
take pride
in their knowledge
then
the knowledge of fiqh is most deserving
of taking pride in.
Because how many a perfume
has good scent but
it does not compare
with musk.
And how many a bird can fly but
not like an eagle.
And of
course there's 2 senses to this. There's an
ultimate sense the Fiqh that is absolutely
superior
to any other knowledge is
Right. Which is that knowledge that gives you
understanding
of
the path to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala and
that's
that is an
that is not just one subject.
That is an understanding
of the deen, of the religion of Allah
Subha'ala
that gives us gives one the concern and
the capacity
to
turn to Allah
and to seek Allah
given where you are to where he seeks
you to be,
right. That is the absolutely
best knowledge and that requires
well rounded religious understanding because it it relates
to fiqh. It relates to worship. It
relates to
our,
you know, the religious
implications
of our worldly choices.
It relates to spirituality.
Right.
So it's, you know, it it it's someone
who has insight of the Quran, who has
a living relationship with the Quran, with the
sunnah,
with the way of the righteous, etcetera. So
holistic understanding
of religion.
But then in a relative sense when it
comes to the practical subjects of the religion,
the the the knowledge
that most people need the most
is practical knowledge of their religion, which is
fiqh.
At the end of the day
how do people
submit to Allah?
They submit
by
the choices
relating to their actions
in worship and in living. And that's what
the subject of firq is. Okay.
So that that's the knowledge that most people
need the most,
most of the time. And every other knowledge
is dependent upon it because if you believe
okay. Now you believe now what? Now you
act. How do you act? Firk.
You want to seek Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala,
so you commit to being a spiritual human
being
rather than merely worldly human being. So you
make that commitment, that spirituality. But what do
you do next? Act.
So the
the
the the core of what you need to
know,
to to live your faith
or to act
in accordance with
your spiritual commitment,
right,
that is.
Okay. And a lack of concern for for
a student of knowledge is really ultimately a
lack of concern for Dean.
Right. Because the problem with fiqh is
that
real
fiqh studied in a living way would would
force you to act according to what you
learn. Whereas many other sciences are very comfortable.
Say I'm focused on the science of hadith.
Great. I don't know any Fiqh. Why? Because
it's comfortable to read about analyzing other hadith
narrators and this and that. In theology you
already believe but you're looking at
what exact what is the proof
for the invalidity
of infinite regress?
What practical
consequences it have on your life? Nothing. Once
you've read that investigation
you close the book and say okay party
time. Right? You can just move on. Right?
So that's why,
you know, fiqh is the central you won't
find any great scholar of Islam
as a general rule. It's not necessarily absolute.
Who was did not have a great share
of the knowledge of fiqh. And that's why
in all great religious traditions there is always
an emphasis
on rooting one's religious understanding in deep knowledge
of Fiqh.
The masters of the spiritual path, how do
they describe the person of true spirituality?
They say a
sufi
who
is a sufi who is a person of
spiritual attainment
is a person of deep religious knowledge.
Who acted on what they knew. So Allah
gave them knowledge of what they knew not.
And we'll close with these lines.
Right.
He said, fiqh
is the most precious of thing
of
things that you could store up for yourself.
Whoever studies knowledge
and yedurus,
refers to study, but Darasa is also
to wipe away
from which they have in Darasa.
Right. It's to become extinguished.
Right. Their traces were wiped away. And knowledge
studying knowledge is called
because knowledge is extinguished, but it wipes away.
Right?
Study
wipes away ignorance.
It
cleans the slate. Right? So
the
so he says
so
acquire for yourself.
He said whoever studies knowledge,
their virtues
will never be wiped away. And there's a
play on words there with Darasah.
So acquire for yourself
what you are whatever
you are presently
ignorant of.
Because the beginning of knowledge
is turning
as is its end.
What is the beginning of knowledge? Iqbal, if
you turn to it.
Because only when you turn will you seek
and that is its ending,
is Iqbal.
If beginning is turning that you you're concerned
for Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. So you seek
knowledge
and its end is turning that it causes
you to keep being able to turn to
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
And
from that is what is mentioned in the
Hadith Qudsi
from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam. It's
in the saih
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, whoever draws
close to me by a hand span, I
draw close to them by 2 hand spans
by an arm's length. And whoever draws close
to me by an arm's length, I draw
close to them by 2 arms lengths.
And whoever comes to me walking,
I rush to them. So the beginning of
knowledge
is to learn a little bit that you
can turn to Allah with.
Right. And then you learn more so you
can turn more to Allah.
And to the extent that you turn to
Allah, Allah turns to you more fully.
Until you are
able to constantly turn to Allah,
which which is what's meant as Imam Nawi
says by
coming to Allah, walking
and the consequence of that is
Whoever comes to me walking,
I rush to them. May Allah fulfill us
in the realities
of his rushing to us,
and we may we behold
the realities of that and facilitate the realities
of that for others.
Thank you for listening to the RoHa, daily
guidance for seekers with Sheikh Farozra Bani.
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