Faraz Rabbani – The Rawha #173 Guidance for SeekersHolding Fast to the Quran The Treatise for Seekers of Guid
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Bismillahir Rahman
Muhammad.
Each week,
we're looking
at Imam Al Muhasibi's work,
the the treatise for seekers of guidance.
And
this
is meant to give us reminders
regarding
what really matters in life. Reminders regarding
our priorities as believers
because it's very easy
to prioritize
what is tangible,
namely this dunya,
the immediate.
And even in
even in religious matters, it is very easy
to just limit ourselves to the forms
and formalities
of religion
and to ignore
its
realities
and what truly matters.
And this is one of the great
early texts of Islamic spirituality
by one of the truly great imams of
Islam, al Harith ibn Asad al Muhasabi
in previous weeks. We've talked a little bit
about
this great
scholar
and this work. And
as we've noted before,
our dear,
teacher,
one of the great luminaries of our time,
Imam Zaid Shakir,
has both translated this work and
commented upon it. And the
the the work is available through Firdaus books
and elsewhere.
There is also an ebook version.
We
are still looking at the opening
of the text where
Imam Al Muhasibi gives us the the framework
for
what
he will be discussing.
And just to recap very briefly,
we looked in the the previous session
at
Imam
Al Muhasibi's
statement that amongst Allah's servants
who have accepted
to believe,
accepted to submit,
there are some chosen servants. And these are
the people of insight. And
these people of insights, he mentioned 4 key
qualities about them. Right. They are people of
loyalty of.
Right?
To Allah and
to all that it matters to Allah.
They are people
of praiseworthy character.
People who have a state of awe of
the divine
and who have, as a result of that,
a state of reverence,
Such people
are transformed,
and they have
expanded
chests,
open hearts.
And the key to that, he identified and
we discussed like last week, is to uphold
the limits of the book of Allah
and to hold fast
to the way of the messenger
as upheld
by the
guided
imams of this religion.
And he referred to
various Quranic verses related to this.
So, of course, the question arises, how do
you do that? How do you hold fast
to
the
the the way of the people of insight?
How do you hold fast to the Quran?
Right.
And
he puts it, Imam Al Muhasibi
was
a theologian
and a very systematic thinker.
So he
and one of the things that theology does
is that it
gives you you know, they say it's the
reason is called,
the literally the science of speech. 1, because
that's the first
issue that there was discussion on. But
that this is if you're gonna speak, speak
in this way because this is the science
of decisis
of decisive
speech.
And the used to caution against studying too
much theology too fast
and other rational sciences.
One of the great authors in the science
of Islamic logic of,
he said that
one should not study logic right away
until one has
acquired
and nurtured
praiseworthy character and proper manners
and acquired humility.
Because otherwise, you're going to use these intellectual
tools
to bash people
and you'll
harm others and harm yourself.
But Imam al Muhaasibi
devised things in in a very beautiful
clear way. He says,
He says, know well that the rights of
the book of Allah are 4. Right?
Is to act upon its commands.
Right?
Both what Allah has called us to do
and what he has called us
to desist
from.
Right? And that is the first right of
the book of Allah.
Right?
And
Allah
describes the righteous servants as being those who
who recite it
with the recitation it deserves.
And the first thing is act upon it.
Right? Because this is the guidance of your
lord. He gives it to you. You read
it. So so Allah says,
pray. So you say,
pray, and then you don't. Right?
The first thing to do
is
to
have the commitment to act upon its commands
and and its guidance.
Both what you what you've been commanded to
do
and to desist from
outwardly,
but also as it calls you to be,
to have
good opinion of others, not to think ill
of others. Those 2 are his commands and
prohibitions.
He has called you to care
for others.
Right?
And one of the ways for those whose
language isn't Arabic
is that
just as daily
you should recite the Quran,
daily you should read something of its translation
so that you can pay heed
to the call of Allah
And for those of you who are Arabs
or who may know Arabic,
part of it is to keep a tafsir
of the Quran handy. So when Allah is
calling to something and you're not quite sure
what it means,
you should have
a simple tafsir or a translation
or anything that will facilitate for you to
understand what is Allah telling me here. The
second
is
is to have to have hope
and fear
or fear and hope with respect to his
promise
and his threats.
And one of the ways in which the
prophet
upheld this is when he recited the Quran,
particularly in his night worship.
If a verse came that promised
some good,
Allah's Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Salam would ask Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for would pause and ask
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for it.
And if there was a threat or a
warning,
he would seek refuge in Allah
from it.
And this applies to both when you're reading
the Quran,
you know, you're reciting the Quran. It also
applies within the prayer,
particularly
one's voluntary prayers. But even in the obligatory
prayer, one can make this du'a within
Asking Allah
for the good
in hope and seeking refuge in Allah out
of awe and fear of his threat.
And the third,
and to have complete belief
in
its unclear verses.
And this includes the verses that you don't
understand. They're
for you. You don't understand what it means.
Whether it relates to faith
or it relates
to the command of Allah. Say, I believe
in it
and
then seek
clear understanding of it or seek sound understanding
of it
if you need to try to understand it.
Right. Imam Abu Hanifa said that if there's
anything regard regarding
matters of faith and religion that you're confused
about,
immediately affirm
that I accept
that which is true with Allah.
And if you can stop there, then that's
fine. But if the doubt remains,
then take the means to gain clarity
regarding it.
Right?
And the third
is
and to reflect
on its examples
and stories.
Allah mentions
parab
uses things as examples in the Quran.
And they have vivid examples.
But those examples aren't understood
unless you pause and reflect on them. Try
to understand what is the point being made.
And Allah tells us about
to to reflect upon
how
the
the the ground was, you know, was barren.
And when the rain falls, it goes green
suddenly,
and it comes to the fullness of its
growth.
But then
it begins
to yellow,
and it fades away and falls.
Right? And in that are many
things to reflect upon.
But you'll you'll only get it if you
pause
and work through it and reflect.
Likewise, the stories of the past people.
Right? It's not alternative entertainment.
You're not gonna go and see whatever the
new
movie is. Instead, you're reading Quran, and there's
these interesting stories.
Right? The point there is not
some religious entertainment.
It is reflection
and taking heed.
So these are 4 of the ways that
that Imam Al Muhasibi says that one
can
nurture
one's connection
with the Quran.
He says,
If you do these four things,
then you will go out
from the many darknesses
of ignorance
into the light of knowledge. Because the knowledge
that matters is the knowledge that shows you
things as they truly are.
Right.
You know, knowing how to build a better
bomb
or knowing how
to make a better
legal argument
is not knowledge.
Right. It's just a it's just a fleeting
skill.
The knowledge that matters is the knowledge that
matters eternally.
Everything else
is just a,
at best, a means.
Right? So he said, if you do these
things, then you will leave
the darknesses of ignorance
and enter into the light of knowledge.
And you leave
the torment of doubt
to the contentment
of certitude.
Right. And
is the contentment,
the serenity,
the satisfaction,
the satisfaction
of certitude.
Says, Allah says,
Allah is
the guardian
of those who have believed.
He takes them out
from many full darknesses
into light
into the one light.
And this, however, he says,
requires true intelligence.
Right? That this
is only attained.
Right? This holding fast to the book of
Allah, giving it its dues, putting what matters
first
is only
attained
by what whom by those whom he refers
to,
by people who have understanding from Allah.
Right?
Those who have understanding
from Allah. Because that's the true intelligence
is to know what will benefit
you eternally.
And knowing that what matters is what Allah
has given us in this gift that is
his book.
They act upon
the outward
and establish it properly because this is the
command of my lord.
Right?
And they keep away from the unclear.
Right?
And the is also not just outward rulings.
The is also they
act properly
on the clear guidance of this religion,
what is clearly established.
And anything that is unclear to them, they
keep away from. You don't
know if this is pleasing to Allah. Don't
do it.
Right? And he mentions the hadith
that the messenger of Allah said,
The lawful is clear
and the unlawful is clear.
And between that are unclear matters.
What do you do? And the hadith details
it. It's
you can find the the full hadith in
the 40
Imam
Abu Hazibi summarizes it by saying,
leaving it is better than
partaking it
partaking of it. Leave it. If you don't
know
whether this is acceptable to Allah or not,
don't do it until
you find out.
Right. Stick to what is clearly
acceptable to Allah. Stick to that which is
clearly pleasing to Allah. Right.
And
and the rest of the hadith
cautions
that if you fall into the unclear, you
will inevitably fall into that which is prohibited
by Allah. And what does it affect? It
affects the heart.
Right?
Falling into the unclear
affects the heart. And we do it all
the time. Right? People start a new job,
they don't find out whether
this is
permissible,
whether this is the right thing to do.
People get into rental agreements with one another.
And now it's started happening again. People because
of Airbnb and this and that.
2 people who are studying,
both of them get into a contract.
They don't make it clear
who's the primary renting party,
who's secondary.
One person decides to to travel,
and they get into all kind of fights.
Why? It's against it's against prophetic teachings to
get to enter into any agreement
without having complete clarity regarding its details.
Right?
And, you know, and that's where Dean is
tested.
1 of the great imams of Islam, Imam
Hamidun al Hassan,
one of the great students of
who also studied with Amalek and was one
of the great teachers of.
He's a tough man.
Imam Sheffer went to him and asked to
borrow his borrow some books,
and he said, leave me alone. Imam Sheffer
insisted,
leave me alone.
So Imam Sheffer wrote poetry
saying in from the
lines
knowledge prevents its people
from preventing it from its people. That you
you're a personal knowledge, but so am I.
And
Imam
and Imam Mohammed Al Hassan disagreed on many
things. They did debate
many a times,
but and Imam
was known to have spoken against
being overweight.
But then he said,
Muhammad ibn al Hassan.
Said, no
fat person ever succeeded
unless it's Muhammad ibn al Hassan.
And he said, I took camel loads of
knowledge from this man. And he said, if
I were to say that the Quran was
revealed
on the on the language
of Mohammed Al Hassan, I I could I
would say so.
Muhammad Al Hassan
was also known for his great devotion and
righteousness, but he never wrote anything on Islamic
spirituality.
And some people found that strange because in
in that time a lot of people because
in the 2nd century of Islam,
there was this great expansion and great wealth
that was spreading. So many scholars wrote about
leaving worldliness,
Zuhud.
Muhammad Al Hassan didn't write anything about it.
People asked him why. He
said, because I've written many
books on
commercial transactions.
Because true spirituality
is to live
in a manner
that is
acceptable to Allah,
in a manner that is pleasing to Allah.
He said,
Right? Then why haven't you written regarding spiritual
renunciation? I have written many books about
transactions
because that's where they say it's
when it's the lawful and the prohibited.
There, your commitment to Allah is tested.
So,
Imam
Al Muhaasibi
continues to tell us about how change happens.
And we're going to look at 3 aspects
of change briefly
to close
today. That change begins with intention.
And you have to commit
to
and be watchful
regarding
your intentions.
So he says,
so look carefully
at your intentions.
And know
your resolve.
Because all reward is by intention.
The messenger of Allah said, actions are are
are only by their intentions.
And each person shall have whatever
they intended.
So how does one investigate one's intention?
One of the scholars said mentioned there's 4
things to ask oneself
before an action.
Right.
Anything that you do.
Right? And these are 4 basic questions that
one should ask
about
anything. Right?
That,
firstly,
what am I doing?
Right? And, honestly, if you look at people's
Facebook feeds
and you you you ask this question, what
am I doing?
If they really ask themselves that question,
I think a good percentage, depending on I
have a policy. Anyone who speaks a lot
of nonsense on Facebook, I just either if
I can, I unfollow them? There's some people
who would be offended. So I just I
unfriend them or just unfollow them. I don't
get
the the pollution
or the pollutants.
What am what am I doing? 2nd, why
am I doing it?
Right. Why am I doing it? The third
question is, how am I doing it? And
the 4th question, how do I make this
matter? How do I magnify
the intention
within it?
And the answer, what am I doing? Am
I doing what is pleasing to Allah?
Why am I doing it? Am I doing
it
to please Allah?
How am I doing it? Am I doing
it in a manner that is pleasing to
Allah? Meaning, am I striving to follow the
messenger of Allah
in this action?
And then how do I make it matter?
How do I
magnify my intention? How do I acquire multiple
good intentions
in this action?
And the second
counsel that he gave is how do I
that to
know your resolve, your.
What are you trying to do more broadly?
Right?
What is your
which way are you headed in life? And
how do you know one's resolve?
You need to have a life plan. Right?
You need to have a life plan
and a life purpose.
But a spiritual plan, just as you have
a worldly plan of what you're trying to
do in your worldly life. Do you have
a spiritual plan? That what am I trying
to achieve
as a spiritual being?
Because you're you're only you're a human, not
by your mere worldly body,
but by your spiritual soul.
The second advice he gives
is hold fast to the taqwa of Allah.
Okay.
And
taqwa has many aspects, but he gives us
a beginning
point to hold fast to.
That where is Taqwa manifest? He says,
He said because the true true Muslim is
the one others are safe
from their hand and tongue.
And the true believer
is the one others are safe from the
from their harm.
And this hadith has come in 2 ways.
The more famous narration is
The Muslim is the one whom other Muslims
are safe from their tongue and hand.
But other narrations like the one Imam quotes
and it's related by Imam Ahmed and others
mentions in that hadith,
the the Muslim is the one whom other
people
are safe
from their hand and tongue
because the mention of the Muslim in the
hadith is incidental.
Right. It's not exclusionary.
So that's the first aspect
of Taqwa. Be your watchful of Allah with
respect to the rights of people.
And then he quotes imam
and sometimes people wonder why wouldn't you refer
to this hab as imam or sheikh or
and imam Ahmed Zaruk explains
that
there's some people who are honored by mentioning
their titles
because people may be unaware of their rank.
Right. So you have to call
because people may not recognize who they are,
but there's others whose name
is more emphatic than any title. It's almost
bad to say or many would say it
is bad to say, because
his name itself is
the praise.
Although when people don't have the respect
and all the later scholars
emphasize more than the earlier scholars to say,
for example, our master.
Because people lost that attachment
to the companions of the messenger.
So Sayidina who
said,
So
that obey Allah,
right, by having
mindfulness of him and keep your hands
from
the lives
of others
and your stomach from consuming their wealth
and your tongue
from their
from their
good name.
Meaning
that don't harm other people,
don't take
other people's rights
and don't speak ill of other people. And
that is
the key to taqwa.
Right.
The taqwa
one of the tests of taqwa is how
you are with respect
to the material
rights of others
and their
rights
that you not think ill or speak ill
of them. Do not harm other people.
And then he says,
And take yourself to account
with with respect to every thought.
And this is one of the amazing things
that Allah and his messenger
have
guided us to to know,
to be able to identify
our thoughts
and how to respond to them.
So we're going to begin from here next
week
by looking at how does one take oneself
to account
or we can call how you know,
Right? Like, how does one
deal with one's thoughts
and then how to be vigilant of Allah
We ask Allah
for sincerity and steadfastness
that we make that we seek
Him
in every act of devotion
and strive to seek Him in every
action in our lives.
And likewise,
that we strive to nurture a higher purpose
in our life because we're not created
merely to live and die in this life,
but our journey is far longer. May Allah
make us of those of high purpose.
Muhammad.
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