Riyad Nadwi – 36. Ikhlas Configuring and Ranking of Intentions
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of facing one's mind and not letting things happen in a way that is not aligned with who is living. They stress the importance of remembering the time for reckoning, understanding the length of time spent on Earth, and not being afraid of the person or situation. They also discuss the benefits of following guidance and finding one's own values in order to achieve their goals. The importance of clear mind and strong values is emphasized, and caution is emphasized in the use of negative hadiths and the need for preparation and contemplation.
AI: Summary ©
All for coming.
So first first session of the term,
We are going through
by Imam Ghazali,
and, I believe all the previous sessions are
all on YouTube.
And yeah. Just.
Allah
says, survive with one another in seeking to
attain your Lord's forgiveness.
And the garden whose width
is as the width of the heavens and
the earth.
One which has been prepared for those who
believe in Allah, his messengers,
and
Allah's
bounty.
And that is Allah's bounty which he bestows
upon whomsoever he pleases.
Allah is the lord of abounding bounty.
Everyone has their direction towards which he turns
in prayer.
So try to excel one another in good
works.
Flee therefore to Allah. Surely, I am a
clear warner
to you from him.
Brothers and sisters,
Welcome to lecture number 36 in this series,
which we are studying Imam Ghazali's Ikhlas, Ikhazam
Zali's,
and the topic of Ikhlas
and related issues,
topics that are related to Ikhlas.
I trust that you've had a good break,
good Ramadan, and
happy Eid with your families.
In our final session last time,
we
were reading from Kitab ul Niyati ul Ikhlasan,
and we
dealt with we delved into the
topic
of Hissab,
which is the reckoning. Reckoning on the day
of judgement.
And in that, we,
listed
a series of thinking points to
keep our minds occupied and to steer
our concentration
in our day to day lives to remember
that there is reckoning, there's accountability
in the life beyond this life.
And towards that goal of contemplation
and reflection on accountability,
we
listed
11 points
to keep in mind. The first three
were related to our sense of time.
In that, we said that,
our sense of time differs
from the creator of time,
and
there is a need
to recognize that difference.
And in the, and in 7 of them,
we listed
the
questions that have been mentioned specifically in the
Quran and Hadith,
questions that will be asked in our reckoning
on the day of judgment. And finally,
the last one, which was the 11th one,
was about the trap of Shaytan. So I'll
quickly go over them so that you just
to refresh your memories. I know you've been
revising and,
memorizing them all,
thoroughly. But,
I so but just for,
the purposes of refreshing,
I'll go through them.
So the first one was the the
that there is no limitation on time for
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
He has time beyond the time of this
world,
and he can expand it and increase
it as much as he wishes. And this
is explained in the Quran where he
in there are indications to it where as
in Surat Al Mahari, he says
that the angels, the spirit, ascend
to to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala during a
day that extends
of which is a a day which is
of a 1000 years of of what we
of of a normal day. A day of
a 50,000 years. Sorry. So
Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, will not run out
of time to question and to take account
for each of our deeds and our moments
spent in this world.
The second point is that Allah, subhanahu wa
ta'ala, is capable of
taking account all at once.
And the reason for that is that he
is not limited in his attention as we
are. Human beings, we are limited. We can
only focus on one reality at a given
time.
We can only deal with 1 person at
a time. But Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is
sustaining
all of humanity
and all its creation.
From the largest galaxies
and angels that are larger than these galaxies.
Angels that extend from the heavens to the
earth. There's
angels that are that are as large as
that and larger.
He's
sustaining those,
and he's sustaining also
the minute microscopic creatures that are smaller than
us, that are 1000,000 of times smaller than
us.
Every every creature is being sustained
all at once. He's he doesn't say to
us, okay, you take a breath and now,
line up and you take another breath. We
are all breathing together. We are all having
the gift of time. We're all having life
and sustenance
from Allah all at once. And that is
through through to Allah's,
power and his,
his ability to sustain and to to suffice.
So he and
he says in Surat Al Ghaffir, he says,
That Allah is swift in account. So he
can do it all in a jiffy.
The third thinking point was to remember that
our time for reckoning is not far away
because we tend
to,
this is a problem with the human being
is although we know that we have a
finite time,
we live in the world and act and
and behave as if we have endless time,
as if we have infinite time.
And that we seldom think about the fact
that
our time was set specifically when in the
5th month of of pregnancy. When our mother
when we were in our mother's womb, the
angel came
and that was set. It was you were
given the amount of breath you will take.
So every
breath you take is that second that passed
will never return. You're it's a countdown to
your end of time in this world.
So and
so so he makes it Allah
corrects that view
that of seeing ourselves as being here in
eternity
in the Quran by saying
That the time for their reckoning, for their
account has approached people. It is near. It's
it's
close
while they are heedless and turning away.
And, of course, in the Tafsir, I I
reminded you of Imam Qurtubi's,
sentence, Waqul U'tin Kharib that everything that is
approaching is definitely close.
And
and death is definitely something that is approaching.
That upon the death, your each individual's
kiyama begins. That is where everything starts for
your kiyama. That is your death. Your death
is where your kiyama begins. Because whatever happens
at at death, if it's good if you
find good at the point of death, then
whatever comes after it is better. And if
you find tragedy at the point of death,
then whatever comes after it is worse.
So
those were the 3 that were related to
time.
And
the 7 that were related to
questions, specific questions.
The first question was that,
The first thing is you'll be questioned about
is your prayer.
Is how how did what did he do?
Is is it a fasidat fasidat sahir ra'analihi.
That if this goes if we fail on
our salah, then everything fails. He said so
that was the first question. The second question
was,
which is your oaths, the that you have
taken your your word, a Muslim's word. You'll
be asked about the the we we value
our promises.
And
as he says in Surat Al Isra, That
that and, of course, the big oath that
we have taken is that,
am I not your lord and Allah? In
front of Allah, we gave that oath that,
yes, indeed, you are our lord. Allah is
our creator. You are our sustainer. So, therefore,
we are to obey him.
Number 3 was that,
that you'll be asked about the pleasures you've
enjoyed in this world. And now,
we living in,
at a time when we can have any
everything we want. But at the time of
the Sahaba, they they they had limited,
luxuries.
And Sahaba, when this verse was revealed,
that you'll be questioned about the bounties, the
favors, the blessings of that you ex that
you experience, that you enjoy in this world.
And the Sahabi said, Zubayr, and he said
to Rasulullah salallahu alayr, you know, that,
You Rasulullah,
What bounty? What luxury
are we going to be asked about?
That this these are only the 2 black
things. What are the 2 black things?
The dates and the water. That's all we
have.
And the response of Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wa
sallam to that was that
I'm a inahu sayyakoon,
that even upon that, you will be questioned.
So it is possible. Sayyakun.
So
and
in a lot, Rua Rua tell me the
and he says, did
we not give you healthy healthy body? Did
we not did we give you a healthy
body? And did we not give you water
to drink cold water? Did you not taste
cold water? And and have that luxury of
enjoying the taste of cold water descending into
your throat. That that that that's a luxury.
So
so and, of course, the actual question is
hal Shaka raka. Hal Shaka raka, did he
was he grateful for what he was given?
Are we grateful for the bounties that we
receive in this world?
Did he fulfill the right of it? That
did you drink that water? Did you say
what did you say? Did you say Alhamdulillah?
Did you thank Allah?
Did you connect it to Allah? To the
Munayim from where it came? Did you connect
it to Allah?
Did he use it in the obedience of
Allah?
So those are questions that are linked to
that. Number 4 would be the questions about
dulam. The questions about oppression, about blood spilling,
about murder,
about dolom, generally. And he said,
And, of course, the ayah, the surah in
Surat
Din Nisa. That the one who kills a
Muslim willfully,
for him, it's
the recompense will be
the hellfire. Jahannam. That's the first thing. So
there are 5 things that Allah says about
about about murder. He says, first, jaza. Jahannam.
So we see people killing Muslims and think,
you know, are Muslims killing Muslim? If you
willfully kill a Muslim,
then Allah is making it clear here. He
said the 5 things is happening.
The the consequences are 5
catastrophic consequences. The first is jayalam. What can
be bigger than that? Then he said, Khali
and then number 2, Khali then feeah forever
and ever in it. And then
feeah.
And Allah's anger will descend upon him. That's
number 3. Wala Anahu and then he will
curse him. Number 4. And then Wa'adalaahu azaaba
an Adima. And then he has prepared for
him a
terrible torment,
punishment.
So,
we should not feel that people are getting
away with what they do.
Number 5. Questions about the use of the
ears, the eyes, and about our minds? How
do we use these things?
That
the your your
sight, your hearing, your sight, indeed, the the
hearing, the sight, and the heart, all about
all of these, you'll be questioned.
Number 6 was about those who are in
your care.
Those over whom you have responsibility.
So kullukum ra'in wa kullukum mas kullunang ra'i'atil.
That you're all shepherds and you're all responsible
for your shepherds. So the new committee, take
note.
This is you're you're now a you're now
a shepherd and you have to take care
of your flock.
Yeah. So yes.
So it's
you'll be asking.
He will ask each one, did you do
you take control? Did you did you protect
or did you waste them?
So the person will be asked about his
family.
Number 7 was the the 7th thinking point
was about,
the things we like to take pride in,
like a long life, knowledge, and wealth
that you'll
be asked. What when what did you spend
your your your life?
And his
what did he do in his?
Your
knowledge, the things that you knew, what did
you do? And then your wealth, where did
you get it? And and
where did you spend it?
And your body, where did you use it?
And then the 11th point, which was the
additional one, which was to avoid falling into
the trap of Shaytan.
From the whispering of Shaytan. Because Shaytan, when
you read all of these and you hear
all these things about reckoning and about then
Shaytan comes along and says, well, all of
these will be questioned, you know. And then
he puts he puts a doubt in your
mind. And
if, well, first of all, it may not
happen. And if it happens, then perhaps it
is
not fair. So this is something he'll come
and tell you. And what you want to
know, what you need to have in your
mind, in your heart very clearly
that
this is that
That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
does not commit oppression, does not oppress
even one atom's weight. Allah's,
Allah's
justice
is perfect, and that's the place where perfect
justice will be enacted. That is where it
will be manifested.
In this world, our justice
is whatever we try to do, it has
shortcomings. But there,
every atom's weight of everything will be brought.
So there's no injustice as far as Allah
is concerned.
And this has to be very clear in
our minds.
And Allah is saying, Hadith
That I have made dolom I've made dolom
haram on myself, and I've made it haram
between you as well.
Right. Now, today, what I want to do
is to return
to the chapter,
the the subsequent chapter, which is the chapter
that follows the one that we just completed.
And in that, it's,
this is a chapter I've read the first
two paragraphs several times
in the past few lectures.
Well, over the course of the lectures, I've
I've visited this chapter
many times, but only the the first two
or three paragraphs,
because of the importance of it. But there
are other,
themes in this, Imam Ghazali, lists in this
chapter which are important,
which are useful
for dealing with ranking,
What I meant by the ranking of intentions?
Because we
in the last few lessons, we were talking
about
multiplicity
of
intentions, how you can multiply your intention
and create
several intentions for things.
But
but we also need to have a sense
of the weighting, the ranking of the of
intentions, which ones is bet which which intention
is better and which one is which one
is favorable, and how to position our our
hearts and our inclinations
towards seeking the better intention.
Because these are things that,
that vary,
on the basis of conditions and situations and
the states of the individual.
Now, because shaitan is always up to, you
know, stop you from doing what you if
you intend to do something good, shaitan will
try to stop you from doing it. But
if you persist,
what he does then is that he doesn't
give up. He doesn't say, okay. Well, oh,
I lost. Let him go. No. He comes.
He comes and tries to
reduce your reward
in it as much as he can.
So so so if you are familiar with
the quality and the weight of the ranking
of your intentions,
then you'll be able and and this is
a battle. This is an ongoing
battle that you have to,
fight with the nafs, which are
lower self and with Chetan.
Now I'm gonna quickly read the first portion
of this,
but but re read it again,
because this is,
it's important,
we're,
to to refresh our minds with this. You
would have heard this before.
Adam, Imam Rehail writes that,
the person hears this,
that what we are saying about the need
for intention, and then he says at the
beginning of doing something, of teaching or of
doing his business, that
that I make intention to teach for the
sake of Allah. And he runs this script
on his town
or I may or eat for the sake
of Allah or trade for the sake of
Allah.
And he thinks that that is niya and
wahayat, hayat, fadarika,
hadithunaf. That that is not. Certainly, it's not
niyyah. Just by saying it. By running the
script is not wahayhathadisunaf.
That that's just speaking to yourself. Wahadisulisanin.
It's running a script or or a thought
in the mind or intaqal min khathilimillahathilim.
It is
a
a transition from thought to thought. That's what.
But nia is something completely different from that.
That
that nia is
the motivation
that
focuses the the heart towards something in which
it perceives its interest and its benefit in
it.
Either an immediate benefit or or an eventual
benefit.
And if the inclination is not there,
And if that inclination towards doing something, internal
inclination towards doing something
for the sake of Allah is not there,
then you cannot create it just by running
a script. So you're saying you get, it'll
be mujaradirad.
You cannot create it by will. Say, I
will do this for the sake of Allah.
You cannot do that. That's not how it
works. But that he called the Shaban. He
said, think about the the fact that that
is like a a person who is satiated,
who's eaten his full, you know. And he
says to himself that that
I I now intend
to develop an appetite. I I now intend
to have an appetite for the food.
You cannot do that. Right? Or an inclination
towards the food. In fact, when you are
full, you're disinclined
and from it, and you you have some
sort of repulsion in your in yourself and
your fault, depending on how much you have
eaten, which must have happened a lot in
Ramadan.
Yeah.
Yeah. As I say, you know, we've turned
Ramadan as a month of feast
of feasts, not month of fast. Every day,
we are feasting.
The the feast is supposed to come at
the end of the month, but we've turned
it into an everyday we have feast. Yes.
With,
we're in Ramadan. I said we used to
before Ramadan, we used to eat 3 times
a day. In Ramadan, we're eating 4 times
a night with double the calories. Yeah.
Anyway,
so this is the example he's giving. It's
it's to be inclined to it. He said,
oh, or and then he gives an exit
another example. He says, a
person who is disengaged, he says,
you know, I I I made intention to
love someone, To
love and to,
to and I I will ingrandize this person
in my heart. If you are completely disconnect
disengaged from something, then that cannot happen.
That's impossible. So he's saying,
That so you cannot get inclined and,
being drawn to your your intention to to
build intention towards something towards,
towards focusing and having an an inclination towards
something,
Except if you follow if you adopt
the means through which, the causes through which
this develops.
And this develops
in in very specific ways.
And some and sometimes it may happen and
sometimes it may not.
That this motivation in in the self, it
it it is activated. The inclination develops in
the perception of
a benefit that you can see in that
in that goal that you that you want
to do. You you have to have a
you you have to recognize something that is
favorable
and beneficial for you in that thing.
If you do if you do not see
that,
your if
deep down in your heart, you do not
believe and you do not have that
configuration that this action will benefit me in
a certain way, then
you cannot you you will not be able
to make intention for
The the heart and sometimes you might have
some you might have some of the inclinations
you might understand, but the heart is occupied
with diversions and other diverters, things that that
that are drawing you in in another direction.
So you all you also have to have,
space
for that inclination to develop,
for to be drawn towards doing something, for
the heart to see it. So not only
the knowledge of what is beneficial,
but also
a clearance from
diversions and distractions from it. That you also
need that. You can infer. With Anika, Layum
can
And it's not possible to have it all
the way.
The distractions
and diversions.
There are lots of reasons. There are lots
of causes of diversion and distractions.
That this differs. The the
these these defects and these,
conditions differ on the basis of the person
and the kind of actions they're doing and
and their states.
And then he gives examples,
an example of seeking marriage to explain
these differences in weights and ranking. And he
says,
he says,
Every person has this inclination
to,
to get married,
and
it's based on desire
without and he doesn't have any correct intention
about
having children,
either for any reason, for religious reason, or
for a worldly reason.
That he will not be able to have
relations in in marriage with the intention of
having children.
The the only reason he will get married
is
for fulfilling his desire.
It
is it is the the intention comes from
the
the motivation that he has.
And if a person's only motivation is fulfilling
their desire,
So how is he supposed? If the desire
is is just
for,
if it's only fulfilling fulfilling desires, then there'll
be no such
could the the it will be difficult to
think about the fact that or to have
a Niya, to have an intention for children.
So
and now
he says
now here he is telling you about the
fact that
intention
for using this example. Now he's going into
the example and he's saying that, look,
that if he if it is not dominant,
if it's not prevalent in the heart,
that the establishing, the following the Sunnah of
Rasoolallah salallahu alaihi wa sallam of marriage. Because
what did Rasoolallah salallahu alaihi wa sallam say?
He said, as an nikah means sunnati. That
this is my sunnah. So if we do
not have a strong a stronger urge
for
following the sunnah of Rasulullah salallahu alaihi wa
sallam that's prevalent in our heart, then that
will not overpower the one for that is
linked only to desire.
So he says, Itiba'alli rasulullah hirallahu alaihi wa
sallam.
So
and then it goes on to say what
it it is not where your that
he has to have in his heart
in a
great,
a great
value
for the following the sunnah.
If that person does if that is if
his heart is not configured
to following the sunnah, then that's the first
thing that will fail.
But and then
if he only knows this and says it
and says it on his tongue, you know.
If a person just say these things that,
oh, you know, I'm getting married for sunnah.
But in the heart, the heart is not
configured
for that yearning to fulfill sunnah, then the
niyyah will not be sunnah. Even if he
says it with his tongue.
So so he said,
So how do you go about? He says
now how does one go about building this
capacity to foster
the kind of intention that and we are
talking here about ranking. Right? So, yes, there's
nothing wrong in getting married, fulfill your desire
to say, look. I'm gonna protect myself from
from sin and what's not. But
that's a
a basic level intention. But the
to build intentions above that, to follow the
sunnah, to have children for the sake of
mukasirumbikul
bikul al That's
what will take pride in in his in
the size of his Umrah. So he said
the first thing that you should do, he
says, is that you have to,
strengthen your iman
in the value of Sharaha. The value of
the guidance.
Where's this guidance from? Who is the one
that's sending it? It is Rasool it it
comes it comes to Rasool Allah sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam from whom? From Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is the Sharia.
Many sharia Allah. Shara'ala kum minadeenima wasabihenuha.
That it is he who was prescribed for
you this deen, this religion has come, and
that has come to Noah. Right? And then
he said, waladi aw hayna ilay. This is
the one that we have this is to
say, Allah who sent who sent guidance to
Noah. He is the one who's sending it
to you, oh, Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Ibrahim
or Musa Waisaa.
So what we have sent, what we have
said, we're enjoying upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
So this is nothing new.
Allah is the one. So you taqwiyah to
imaninabi
sharah, which is
emphasizing our iman,
our belief in the value
of this guidance that this is from Allah.
That's the first thing.
The second thing is to
That he
strengthens his iman
with the greatness of the reward
for
the one who strives
to increase the ummah of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam.
That is another,
point that has to be in the mind
in this in this this
example that he's given. And why is that
so? Because Rasool Allah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said
it very clearly. He said, kana Rasoolallahu
Alaihi Wasallam in the Hadith.
He says,
He used to order us. He used to
command us to marry.
Yes. And and he used to,
And he used to sternly
forbid celibacy.
Yeah. And I can see lots of people
are agreeing with this one strongly.
Yeah. Yeah. So he used to
and he also used to say,
Marry women who are beloved,
who due to their good characteristic
and who are prolific in bearing children.
For verily,
I shall outnumber the prophets by you on
the day of judgment. With you do it.
So now, if a person has that hadith
in mind, that look, this is this is
one of the wish of Rasool Allah sallallahu
alaihi. He says that I'm gonna increase his
ummah. Then that
Then number 3 is that he has to
do is that Yedfar
and nafsihi
jami al munafiraat
anil walid.
That he has to
repel from his mind. He has to clear
his mind of all the thoughts,
all
the contradictory thoughts that come in the mind
in regard to children.
All all the things that that will that
will that that will create
thoughts of minasiklilmu'una,
wa'toolitaabu
alayrihim. Thinking about, oh, the hardship of taking
care of children or bringing up children, the
cost of children, the the the the difficulties
that you will have with children. All of
that has to go. He has to he
has to
override those in his mind. He has to
dismiss those.
And if he does that,
So the the third the third thing, you
know, is is that you have to clear
your mind from the from the things that
that contradict the that that divert, that
pushes you away from the intention that you
want to form, that you want to create,
that that that you that is necessary, the
higher intention.
If he does these three things,
That then he will have the real intention
will come for getting children, for for for
having children for the sake of reward, for
the sake of the of the words that
are attached to it. And when that happens,
then the true near, the intention is formed
is is is fostered.
A?
Then that motivation
motivates him to act in a certain way.
And that act is that he will go
seeking or she will go seeking a,
to get married. You'll seek a a a
spouse. You'll seek and then the the the
fact that you will, you will accept
the,
the kaboo the German kaboo,
nawyen.
All of that will be will will fall
into the category of this salawab, of this
higher level of understanding, this higher level of
niya.
So the heart goes with it.
If you do not do this, fa'inlamya kun
kadarik,
from a you kadiro
That if he doesn't have this, these this
configuration in the heart, then whatever you say
on the tongue about getting children and about
the about,
marriage and all of that is, there are
just scripts on the tongue. They are like
wiswas.
And so it is for all good things
that the Sharah that the the guidance
is calling you towards. It has,
there are Munafura. There are things that are
there to divert you from it.
There are impulses that will come that you
have to fight. Khamandakala fees fees.
And you have to make sure that the
one that is most important
is
prevalent in the heart. That's what that's the
point he's making here.
That the reasoning in the heart has to
be that the prevalent the one the one
of prevalence is the best one, is the
one that gives the most reward. And he
gives this example. He says,
Yeah. Okay. I will translate without yeah. If
somebody
is fasting and Nafil fast, and then his
parents said to him, no. You must know.
His mother cooks food and said, no. I
want you to eat. Now you can do
that. The response
if in the if in the person's heart,
obedience to the parents is uppermost
than in the heart, then they will do
that. They will break the fast and get
reward for it.
Because my obedience to my parents and I
will fast again another time, then that will
be very beneficial for that person. But if
that is not so, the
nafs will come in and says,
another opportunity to eat mother's
tasty food.
So then the shahua gets it. Then
the desire takes the the intention then it
becomes then that is not correct.
That is so
he he's giving you the,
the
the know how of
what should be more prevalent in the in
the heart.
And this requires
preparation. This requires contemplation. This requires
thinking. This requires knowledge. This requires the
the the familiarity
with Fadha Ilil Amal.
That this is why the knowledge is so
important.
Now
and and then he goes on to give
several examples, which we've which you heard about,
you mentioned before, but I will say them
again. He's, the
when he heard the internal Ajamat
the what he had there.
And they've
we find that many of the of the
early scholars have avoided many,
doing many many permissible thing, many many obediences,
many many good deeds. Islam
They didn't the right intention didn't arrive in
their heart, so they abstained.
They used to say that, oh, the niyyah
has not arrived. It's not it's not I
I have not managed
to get the niyyah. The correct niyyah has
not been formed in my heart.
That when
Ibn Sirin did not attend the janazah of,
Hassan al Basri, and he said, well, I
didn't get the correct intention, so I couldn't
come.
And the example of the man with the
comb, he says to his wife, bring me
the comb. And she said, I'll bring the
mirror. And then he went quiet. And then
when he asked and then he said, okay.
Bring it. So when she bring the comb
and he when she comes, she says, well,
Wawa, what took you so long? Well, to
answer and he said I had an intention
for the comb. I was combing it, but
I had an intention.
And, presumably, that's an intention to please Allah
that I will I'm gonna comb my hair
and stand and put in front of Allah.
But I did not have an intention for
the mirror. So I waited for the intention
of the mirror to come that I will
read I will say to Allah in front
of the mirror,
Allahumma hassant.
O Allah, you beautified my outer form. Now
beautify my inner form. That sort of intention
for standing in front of the mirror. A
Muslim doesn't stand in front of the mirror
and say, oh, well, I'm getting fat. You
know? I'm
going I need to lose a few pounds.
Muslim
thanks Allah for what he gets because
and I'm mentioning this specifically
because
we're living in a time when people are
big BDD, you know, body dysmorphic disorder
is is a big thing now. It's it's
spreading like wildfire.
Everyone looks and they're ungrateful to Allah. And
Allah has Allah has proportioned you Allah has
blessed you with bodies that are that are
certain that are suitable for you. So you
must not become this,
ungrateful
when you stand in front of the mirror.
You must say this dua.
Oh, Allah, you have beautified my outer form.
So beautify my inner form, my character. This
is necessary. So we don't,
fall into the trap of people who are
deceived and corrupted by Shaitan.
Now more generally,
he says,
The same example.
When they were asked to do good deeds,
you know, like, give charity and send. They
said, well, if Allah they didn't do it
out of pressure, out of the kaluf,
out of showing showing off or wanting to
for, just
because of the awkwardness of the situation, feeling
obliged and no. They didn't allow that kaluf.
We don't have a an English word for
this word, kakaluf, to explain it. But it
is when you are in a situation, you're
doing things
not for the right intention. You're doing you're
not doing it for Allah. You're doing it
because of
the situation.
The
the the the moments you you you are
obliged you feel obliged to do it. So
you're putting yourself into unnecessary
hardship because you you you feel that you're
going to do it. Or you're doing it
for ria. That's one of the other reason
why you might do it,
which is to show.
Another example, he says,
the you know, that's kind of Ta'us.
Ta'us here, this is a great Ta'us.
He was,
the,
Mujadis.
He met
over nearly over 50. 50 Sahaba. So he
was, an great scholar. He he was the
main teacher of Omar Ibn Arabi. He's,
a great.
So he he says,
Imam Ghazali is mentioning him. He says,
He would not give a lecture or speak
to teach people unless
he had the correct. So,
and sometimes people would ask him to speak,
and he wouldn't
wouldn't. And then sometimes he would start speaking
without people asking him to speak. And so
people ask him, well, what's this word? We
ask you to speak, you don't speak. And
now sometimes you're speaking. And he he would
say,
after the hebuna
and ohhadithad raydin?
Do you want me to speak without intention?
Because he used to wait for his intention.
Now
another example,
which is
reading with
a higher goal than to criticize.
And this is particularly,
pertinent to our time nowadays,
thanks to
our postmodern
our indoctrination with postmodern philosophy.
We are all literary critics.
You know, we we when we read, we
are we we we want to deconstruct everything
that everyone says.
So,
and if that's not
the case, then we're we're affected by by
another
trend.
Why are you using, you know, the spot
or weak hadiths? Say, oh, brother, why are
you using weak hadiths? You know, that that's
a, popular thing. We're the only weakness we're
concerned about is is in hadiths.
But when it comes to but what about
weakness
in our iman?
Weakness in our salah? Weakness in our ability
to get up for fajr? We're not concerned
about those weaknesses.
But, yeah,
we're out to, you know, pick weakness in
people's ear. Oh, that brother, that's a weak
a weak hadith. This story,
is very useful for those people who are
afflicted by this problem.
This is a great scholar. He wrote a
book, of,
of
of the mind.
Intelligence.
He came,
for Talibah, we asked him for the book.
So he for another rafi'i, Ahmad, Safhan,
you know, he
skimmed through the book for and then he
gave it back to him.
What? What? What? What? Why did you give
it back? And he said, fihi asaididun gharif.
Now,
Imam Ahmed al Hanbal was a Mahadeeth.
Right? So he knew
the levels of hadith. So he said that
there are some weak narrations in there, some
weak chains of narrations in there.
For Khalilah who the
the the the scholar then said to him,
that I did not write this book.
I did not write this book from the
perspective
of a critique
of al Said, of of reports. I did
not do that for the to weigh. This
was not a critical analysis of
Hadith. This was not about that.
That I looked
my my purpose of writing this, the perspective
for which I approach this text,
was for benefiting myself, was for benefiting people
and myself.
Having heard that,
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal
did not say, okay, well, you know, you
have weak hadiths, so that's weak hadiths anyway,
so I don't want anything to do with
that. He didn't say that. What did he
do? He said,
give me the book again.
For Abdul,
a'layhihadtaamthurrafihi
bilayin latinavat.
Give me the book again so that I
can look at it from the perspective from
which you have approached it, from which you
wrote it.
And then he did. For Akazahu.
Imam Ahmed takes the book for Akazahu.
Then he took kept it a long time
studying the book.
And then at the end he says,
May Allah reward you.
May Allah
reward
you.
That I have benefited tremendously from it.
Yes. So
this
is an approach.
The example is is that
we have to be
careful about not dismissing large chunks of our
deen because of these simplistic,
critiques that we have learned. If we are
looking to critique and critique earth, then you
should be critical about your own your own
deed, critical about your own self. Look looking
at where am I? Where's the weakness in
my iman? Where's the weakness in my practice?
Where's the weakness in my ability to get
up to fajr? Where's the weakness in my
ability for qiyam at night, for reading Quran,
for spending time
with Quran? Where's my weakness in that? That
that's the weakness that should obsess me.
The scholars know about
the variations of different types of weak Hadith
and strong Hadith.
So,
anyway, we have run out of time today.
Inshallah, we'll continue,
next week.
But Inshallah,
yeah. This is an important chapter.
We remember Gazali goes
on to talk about,
the the battle the battle with Chetan and
how things are managed.
And also,
how one should not,
overwhelm themselves. You should pace yourself,
because if you go doing too much all
in one go, you can end up,
burning out. So,
that's a modern term, but that's precisely what
he means by
it. Anyway
so, yeah,
we should pray now.