Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #107 Expressing Love Special Ranks for Gathering Upon Remembrance Religion and Love Perfec
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Muhammad
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Daily,
in we look at some of the guidance
of the prophet
and some
guidance for seekers
of knowledge.
And we have been looking at 40 hadiths
on love for the sake of Allah. What
does it mean to love for the sake
of Allah? Which as we have seen
in
the Hadith of the prophet is
described as being the best of faith. The
prophet
asked the Sahaba regarding this. Do you know
what the best of actions are? Do you
know which actions are most beloved to Allah?
And the beloved
messenger
said, as in hadith number 20 that we
looked at yesterday,
it is
that the most beloved of actions to Allah
is loving for Allah and hating
for Allah.
And so we stopped at Hadith number
22. So we're at Hadith 23.
So we're we're at Hadith number 22.
Sayna Anas, the personal attendant of the prophet
relates that there's
a man who was with the prophet
when a man passed by.
So the man who was with the prophet
said, oh, messenger of Allah,
I I really love
the I I really love him.
Love the man who was passing by.
Sorry. So the prophet asked him, have you
informed that man?
So the man said
no.
The messenger
said, inform him.
So the man said
to the man passing by,
truly,
I love you for the sake of
So
the man said to the person he loved,
truly I love you for Allah. And the
man responded,
may Allah love you.
The one for whose sake you have loved
me.
May Allah, the one
for whose sake you have loved me, love
you.
K?
May Allah love you
for it is for his sake that you
have loved me.
And this is related by Abu Dawood with
a sound chain of transmission. And there's a
number of other
similar narrations of the incident.
The
importance here,
right, is
at several levels.
Firstly, this tells us that
loving another for the sake of Allah
is a highly
praiseworthy quality of our faith.
But love
is a quality
that needs to be expressed.
Right? Love
is a quality that should not be suppressed.
Right?
And particularly for men,
they find it difficult to express
these kinds of emotions.
So it's all we almost feel it's weird
to tell somebody I love you. In Like,
it doesn't
feel masculine, but but the prophet
came with perfect balance.
Right?
There are qualities
of masculinity
that a believer
embodies,
the the qualities of strength,
but
the sunnah has come
to reinforce
those qualities of
of manness
while of manliness
while
being
while inculcating
the qualities
of of mercy
that are
traditionally regarded as
feminine
qualities
of gentleness,
modesty,
diffidence,
shyness,
etcetera as well without in any way losing
masculinity.
So the Sahaba once were criticizing a man
for being too shy, for being
having too much shyness and modesty.
And the prophet
told him, let him be because
shyness and modesty
is a branch of faith is a great
branch of faith.
Right? Though
that shyness, that diffidence
has often been considered
a feminine
virtue.
And likewise for women,
right, that Islam came
to perfect what femininity
entails,
but with that
and without compromising
femininity to manifest
the qualities of strength
as befitting
femininity
completely
of of resolve,
of not holding back from the good,
etcetera,
as we
see from the great female companions without in
any way compromising
what it means to be
feminine, and likewise, what it means to be
masculine. Right? Without any blending
of male and female.
And that's the amazing, beautiful balance that the
prophet
has come with. So part of that is
the encouragement to be expressive with one's emotions.
From that is love. That if you love
someone,
right, when you find that love for someone,
know that love is a meaning
that is for Allah.
Right?
Love is a meaning that is for Allah.
The initial inclination
of creation
for love is
the yearning
of creation for the creator.
That's
the that's the beginning of all
song.
Right?
Creation
is singing the praises
of the divine.
Mulana Rumi opens his.
Right? And this is really the story of
existence.
You listen
to the sound of the reed
as it sings
in yearning
for
its origin.
Right? That creation is from the creator,
and that
separation,
right, is the basis of all yearning and
the basis of all love.
So every human inclination
arises
from the yearning
of
the created for the creator,
for
of
the originated
for the originator,
for the temporal
of the temporal for the eternal,
of the needy
for the absolute.
But every need,
right, every
need,
every inclination,
every love,
if it is a worthy love,
it is to be expressed for the sake
of Allah.
And every
love
that cannot be for the sake of Allah,
right,
is left for the sake of Allah.
It is left for the sake of Allah
and that leaving is beloved.
And that leaving
is beloved.
So the man loved this man. So the
prophet
expressed that.
But express it how? As you know, it
is to be expressed. And this is from
the beautiful teaching of the prophet
He didn't just say he didn't just tell
the companions, say this to him.
But the Sahabi had been trained by the
messenger
So he said,
The prophet
tell him.
And he told him in the way that
they knew, and this is what the prophet
came with.
Took perfect noble
character and conduct.
Right? He
empowered And the the man responded,
may Allah love you
for it is for his sake that you
have loved me.
And this is, of course, from the sunnah
that we we should tell people we love
them. Right? And and also, we we see
from the sunnah that the basis is that
we feel
fully.
The prophet
loved, and he told so many people he
loved them because he did
because he did. The prophet
cried
because he cared.
Right? And these emotions should not be restrained
because they
it is like
your emotions are meant to be expressed in
the right ways,
but directed
to to the eternal and the noble.
The next hadith
The messenger of Allah said
that
Allah's most high will truly send forth
groups
of people on the day of resurrection
on whose
faces will be radiant light upon
Minbaras,
right, upon
platforms
of
pearl.
People
will will be envious of them,
though they're neither prophets nor martyrs.
And the prophet was describing it,
Right? So the prophet describing this amazing scene.
Right?
That on the day of judgment, Allah will
bring forth groups of people
whose faces are radiant
on
of pearl,
envied by people because of their high rank
with Allah.
Though they're neither prophets
nor martyrs.
They're
more,
quote, unquote, normal people.
So
a a desert Arab, the Sahaba, of course,
were quietly listening, waiting for the prophet to
continue describing them.
So a desert Arab got sat up on
his
knees.
Right? Because he got very excited.
Right? So he sat up on his knees.
Generally, this your people would when they're sitting
on the ground, they they would sit cross
legged. So he got on his knees. Right?
Like, he's very excited. Right? He got on
his knees, and he said,
that solve solve it for us. Right?
Tell them who they are so that we
may know them.
The messenger of Allah
said
Those
who one and love one another
for
Says those who love one another for Allah
from different
tribes,
from diverse tribes,
from diverse
lands,
they come together,
they gather together
for remembrance of Allah.
For remembrance of Allah.
To remember him.
To remember him.
And this would apply
to gathering
for zikr of Allah itself,
which is the gatherings of the remembrance of
Allah and in previous sets of 40 hadith
we've seen similar hadith on the merits of
gathering for the remembrance of Allah itself.
Gathering, why?
To engage in dhikr of Allah
or to gather
for any meaning of the meanings of
remembering Allah, of being reminded of Allah
which includes
seeking knowledge,
which includes,
talks about religion,
which includes
mutual
reminders where people review what they have learned,
right,
of mutual counsel,
mutual
encouragement.
From remembrance of Allah is when one gathers
in service,
right, what we can call people call activism,
but it's done
out of
concern for Allah.
When it's done out of concern for other
concern isn't the temporal,
but it is moved by
how do we seek,
how do we express our love for Allah
through
our service to Allah subhanahu wa'a's creation. So
this is a tremendous reward of
loving one another for the sake of Allah.
How is it fueled? It's fueled by remembrance.
And this is the diversity.
Right?
The transcendental
diversity
of
the of the believers. Right? That we love
one another for the sake of Allah.
Right?
That's.
What is?
What gathers the believers?
Right?
Allah
Right? From different tribes.
From different lands.
Come as you are. Right? Come as you
are.
Right?
To Allah.
Right? And this is a powerful meaning as
well
that
nothing gathers people
together
like the call to God.
Right?
That very often we focus on so many
things. We complicate
religion.
Right? That, well, you know, well, Muslims are
in a a growing minority. We are this.
Right? Don't talk about Muslims. Right? Talk about
Allah.
And that
right?
And that's
really the
what is the identity
of the believer that we are.
We we are
seeking God, and we are calling to God.
Right?
And this is a tremendous
opportunity. Right? That you are go you will
there'll be people you like. Like them intensely,
but like
love them intensely, but love them for the
sake of Allah. Gather for the sake of
Allah. And in that and those who have
that concern within them,
they want to remember
god.
Don't be concerned about what's their background, where
are they from,
gather
for Allah.
Right?
But it is this remembrance of Allah
that
lifts from from 1
the burdens
of worldliness.
Right?
It is the remembrance of Allah that
lifts from us the burdens
of
the heaviness
of worldliness.
Right?
And that heaviness that keeps people apart.
We ask Allah
to be realized in this intensity of love
for his
sake.
Right? And in other
narrations of this hadith, the prophet
emphasized,
right,
that
they're not related to one another,
and there are no financial dealings amongst them.
Right?
And in one of the narrations the prophet
said, that
by Allah truly their faces are light.
And truly they are upon light.
They do not fear when people fear.
And they do not
grieve. They're they're not saddened when people are
saddened.
Right? And then the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam
recited the verse
Truly,
the chosen friends of Allah,
the of Allah,
They are not to be feared nor shall
they grieve.
Right? And this
particular narration,
is related by Abu Dawood from Sayna
Umar
Right?
That we quoted a part of it.
So the message is, love people intensely. Why?
The underlying meaning is, this is Allah's creator.
People who are people,
but
They are the servants
of Allah. That is the meaning that one
sees.
K. That's the meaning that one sees and
focuses upon.
And
we look at
one more hadith, and this is a hadith
of
She said, in a hadith related by
in
a sunan,
the messenger
of
Allah
said,
Right? That
shirk,
which is
ascribing partners
to Allah,
is more subtle
than
the
steps
of an ant
on
a rock
on a dark
night.
And the least of associating partners with Allah
is that you
love something
of
of what is unjust.
And then you hate
for something of justice.
Right? That you love,
you know, that you love another, you know,
whether another person or another thing because of
some injustice.
Right?
You admire someone
because of something haram they they they do.
So you love them because of a quality
that is hated by Allah.
So you don't love for the sake of
Allah. You love what is hated by Allah,
which is all the meanings of injustice, of
wrong.
Or that you hate
another or another thing
over something that is just.
You know? So there was a prize given,
and it was given to the person who
deserved it. But you're upset at the person.
How come they gave it to them? While
I did this and this and this and
this.
But you know they did they are the
one who deserved it. So you you did
have that dislike in your heart. Why? That
dislike you dislike something that is beloved to
Allah, which is the
Allah loves
justice.
Right? How come?
Right?
And the prophet
considered
this loving and hating for the sake of
Allah from shirk. Because what is shirk?
By definition, noble there's 2 types of shirk.
Right? There's explicit shirk,
which is when someone
affirms the worship
that
I take as god.
I take as as
lord,
creator, and sustainer,
someone besides Allah. Right?
Besides
God himself.
That's outright shirk,
and that is not conceivable
for the believer
by definition
that a Muslim is someone who believes only
in one god.
So a Muslim by definition
cannot
believe in
one god,
cannot believe in leaves no place for shirk.
There is no god whatsoever
but the one god.
So a believer cannot have
any
explicit shirk,
and there is no believer
who has explicit shirk, because if they do,
they're not a believer.
And this is one of the great fitnas
of
recent centuries where people accuse believers
of shirk.
And the prophet
said it clearly,
and he is the truest of the true,
that I
do not fear
outright shirk for my
that you worship other than Allah.
An accusation that Muslims that some groups worship
other than Allah, they may be committing transgressions,
sin, wrongdoing,
it may be something that
is whatever,
but the accusation of shirk,
people who do that,
be wary of them because this is not
what the messenger
has come with.
But then there is
implicit shirk
implicit shirk or lesser shirk, which is which
is you do not believe in another,
another who is god, who is divine, who
is lord, but Allah.
However,
you believe
that but you
believe
that another
has
the capacity
to benefit or harm besides Allah.
Another
who ultimately
matters, but Allah
Right? There's categories
of lesser shirk from it is showing off.
Right? The prophet described showing off riya
as being lesser shirk.
Right? Lesser
association
of partners because you deemed
another worthy of your ultimate
concern and praise besides Allah.
Insincerity
is itself
a type of lesser shirk
because you acted
for the sake of other than Allah. That's
why what is lack of sincerity? It is
showing off because you did it for someone
other than Allah. And there's degrees of showing
off.
Likewise,
when
you deem
when you love
some someone for other than what is beloved
to Allah,
you have, as it were, diminished
the right of Allah
that
you love only for him.
If you hate something for other than Allah,
that is a lesser because you have hated
for other than his sake.
He is the one alone
who is sought.
He is the one alone that is sought,
and he is the one alone
whose favor, whose benefit
is
hoped for.
And then the prophet said,
and then the prophet said, and is religion
anything but loving for Allah
and hating for Allah?
That's an amazing statement. Is religion, is
religion
anything but loving for Allah and hating for
Allah?
That that's a meaning that the have emphasized.
If
I were to give you one advice, then
love
for
for Allah.
Because it is the love of Allah that
is the access around which all good revolves.
And
those who believe are most are more intense
in love.
No one loves
like a true believer,
but it is
for
And to hate for Allah.
But as we said, to hate for Allah
means to hate what is hated by Allah
in a manner
that would be beloved to Allah.
Right?
And you hate
those you hate
qualities and actions, not
individuals
or peoples.
Right? It's not about the person. It's about
the quality
or the action.
And then he said
that Allah most high says,
Say if you love Allah, then follow me
and and Allah will
love you. That what is our love for
the prophet
It is out of love for Allah.
And that's how you attain the love
of Allah.
It's by loving for Allah,
and
the axis of love for Allah
is the messenger of Allah. What is beloved
to Allah? All that is embodied
by his beloved.
But it also
the prophet quoted this here. Because that's what
is the messenger? Why is he?
Because he
loves
all that is beloved to Allah.
That his way is the way of love.
His way is
the way of love. But what distinguishes it?
Other people talk about the the, you know,
the religion is love, etcetera.
But
the question that the sunnah
answers
completely
is how do you live that love?
How do you express that love?
Right?
As the poet said,
or claim
union
with the with Leila, with the beloved.
But Leila does not accept
their claim.
Right? Because say, okay, religion is love, but
then how do you live that? How do
you make choices? How do I drink water
in a manner that is beloved
to Allah?
How do I use the toilet in a
manner that's beloved to Allah? How do I
relax in a manner that's beloved to Allah?
Right? How do I
eat and drink and sleep and dress and
every little thing?
Right? The sunnah is not about pedantic details.
The sunnah is
nothing.
Right?
Right?
Right? And is religion anything but love for
Allah?
Right? Why do we pray? It's out of
love for Allah. Right? This is the meaning
governing all
the actions.
That's an amazing, amazing hadith we ask Allah
to,
realize
us in its realities.
And we'll read one more hadith and stop.
And
He said
whoever loves for Allah and hates for Allah
and gives for Allah
and withholds
for Allah
has truly
perfected
their faith, has truly completed
their faith. And this is completed the qualities
of the faithful.
Right? Why? Because the the faithful are those
whose every
inclination
and every choice
corresponds
to what is
pleasing to Allah. Right?
That every inclination,
every choice
corresponds
to what is
beloved to Allah.
And
that's
the the the the perfection
of
faith, meaning the perfection of the qualities of
those who are faithful.
May Allah make us of them. This hadith
is related by Abu Dawood. So we stopped
at hadith number,
25. We'll look at hadith number 20
6,
tomorrow and also read from Imam Ghazali's
beginning of guidance.
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