Zakariyya Harnekar – Naseehah Hadith #6 contagion and pandemics
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Once again.
All of you guys. I saw you all
of you this morning, but now I'm listening
again. The companions would actually at times, if
they were just you know, they were walking
on a road and something would come between
them, like a tree or something, they would
greet each other on the other side again.
So
there's no
harm. We were busy with the book,
singing from fate to fate,
compilation of hadith on pandemic contagion,
medication, etcetera.
We didn't do all of the,
but I selected some of the from the
first section of the book. Today, I wanted
to look at number 6, which is actually
the first,
in the second section on the book, the
section on preventative measures.
Now, I don't specifically want to look at
it from the perspective of preventative measures.
I did speak about that a little bit
last week, but I just want to look
at some lessons,
that the study teaches us, world view shaping
lessons that the study teaches us.
Tells
us as as narrated to us by
His name is
because it's Rehman Sahib. Right?
This hadith, it was actually memorized.
This is the hadith. It's
really that short.
The hadith is narrated by Ibn Umayyah.
And
in addition to this hadith,
being a hadith, it's also like one of
the similar
maxims
of Islamic law.
1 of the one of the universals in
Islamic law.
It it applies
throughout the sharia.
What does it mean?
So so firstly, I mean, maybe you can
help me translate it. This liar, what what
kind of lie is this?
Is it?
That's good. Yes.
What does that do?
Well, how do you firstly, how do you
identify it? Or what does it do?
The just thing impact on the
Say again? It's a
impact of the law on the next word.
Right. So the impact of the law on
the next word. You may just keep an
example in your mind. And the first one
that comes to the Quran.
Very first verse.
The next word will
be Mansub.
Right? It will be Nosp, and, generally, there
is no other note on me.
The it is an emphatic way of indicating
something.
To say almost
there is no harm whatsoever.
There is no harm whatsoever.
Guys, in the second year, tell me quickly
today.
You identify this word, DeRora.
Even from the 3rd year, you can tell
me.
Which part does it come from,
and what
type of word is it?
The 3rd part? No. No. No.
It comes from the 3rd purpose.
And what else?
Which part what kind of word is
it?
Isn't
the?
Isn't this word?
They're all on
Just take me now.
And what's the quality of the set, Bob?
We did it right today.
Neutrality.
Neutrality.
Mhmm. Neutrality.
Okay. So
means harm.
There is no harm.
And we understand that as there is no
harm to yourself, and
means mutual harm.
There's no harming one another.
There is no harming yourself, and there is
no harming one another. That's that's what the
hadith says.
There is no harming yourself whatsoever, and there
is no harming one another whatsoever.
It's a principle in the sharia.
It's one of the seminal principles of
the,
the maxims that underlie Islamic law sharia.
It's also one of the principles that form
the Maqasid of the Sharia, the high objectives
of the Sharia, and all of that is
so it's basically telling you this hadith is
embedded in the Islamic worldview.
This hadith is embedded in the Islamic worldview.
Whenever I come across something
whenever I come across something, as a believer,
I always want to ensure that I'm neither
harming myself in any way nor am I
harming anything else.
Why? Because
only after not harming can I ensure benefit?
But the first part of ensuring benefit is
not removing the benefit that is already there,
not removing the good that is already there.
And so, this hadith is similar in that
regard. It tells me that as a believer,
I must always ensure that I'm neither harming
myself nor am I harming anyone else.
And you can apply this in
almost
any
context. You can we can apply it in
the big discussions that this, that this book
is, relating the hadith in relation to about
medication and pandemics and all of that stuff
taking precaution.
Right?
But you can you can apply it also
in the in the situation of dealing with
a bigger
right? If you're not gonna give him something,
if you're not in a good mood, you
don't have anything to give him, you're not
gonna give him anything,
at least don't take his dignity away from
you.
At least don't say something bad to you.
Why? This is who we are.
This is who we are as believers. We
don't harm.
And even when we do harm,
right,
then we harm only because it's supposed to
bring about a greater good.
And and and only because that's the only
necessary way to prevent to prevent even greater
harm.
Like, I give you an example. Allah says,
is worse than
than killing. What's it speaking about? It's speaking
about when there's a perpetuation
of shirk and anti
Islam,
right, then it is better to fight.
The only reason that we can fight over
thee
is because that fighting prevents
greater harm to society.
Then a it's it's it's
that greater harm to society is having an
Allah less society.
A society that is completely oblivious to Allah.
So,
even when the Sharia
encourages us to get into
situations of superficial harm,
then it is to prevent greater harm
and to bring about benefit.
1st need to prevent greater harm and then
to bring about about benefit. That is that's
extremely important. That's extremely important because, you know,
sometimes, you know, from a from a nafsi
perspective,
sometimes we, as believers,
there's situations in which Islam perhaps
allows some degree of assertiveness or even harshness.
But we lose the spirit of Islam in
that regard.
You're allowed to be assertive.
You're not allowed to desire home.
You're allowed to maybe be severe.
You're not allowed to desire
to detest.
What I mean by that is
it may be that there is a situation
that in a situation somebody comes to you.
I I give you another example.
Person a comes to you.
They'll ask me about person b.
Now person b is someone that you know
a lot of. You have all the dirt
on person b.
Right? But person a is asking you for
valid reason. He's asking you because,
you know, person b is approaching them for
marriage or for business.
They are going to get into a relationship
with the person. And so it's your Muslim
responsibility
to be truthful to them when they ask
you about person b.
But now what happens?
You you think to yourself, okay. According to
Sharia, I cannot
tell this person bad things about person b.
But in your heart,
you're not looking at 3 you're not looking
at,
keeping a away from harm.
In your heart, you're looking at harming b.
And so it may have been sufficient for
you to tell person a, look.
I had an encounter with person b in
which they didn't hold up their their word
in business.
And so
and the same
occurred with a number of other people,
and therefore, I can't recommend
you. I can't recommend the person to you
as a business partner, for example.
And stopping over there,
you go tell a guy about little person
b. You're Europe off like this, Europe that
person off like that. And, you know, I
treat his mother and his dog and and,
you know, yo, he's just like a he's
sweet and he has this problem. He eats
too much and
your objective over there is not to protect
a virus storm b.
And that is contrary to the,
what the world and the mindset of a
believer is supposed to be.
I have to say something about b now
that is going to be somewhat incriminating.
Help your brother.
Help your brother
whether he is
the oppressor
or he's being oppressed.
Help your brother
whether he is oppressing
or he's being oppressed.
The companions asked Rasulullah
we know how to help our brother when
he's being oppressed,
but how do we help him when he's
the oppressor?
Rasulullah
says
prevent him from doing that thing from preventing
from doing that operation.
Prevent him from doing that operation.
Why? Though he's doing something wrong, he may
even be arming somebody that you love.
What do you want? You don't want
him to be damned to the hellfire forever.
No. You want him to stop arming. You
want him to make amends,
but you also want good for him. It's
not within the nature of the believer to
desire harm.
Harm.
Right? And so with that, well, we're in
mind
on a on the level of our physical
action,
on the level of our internal state as
well, and on the level of our internal
desire, that is something that we must strive
for.
That is something that we must strive for
and allow to shape our world.
But it's in light of that
principle, that that that universal principle
that permeates throughout the Sharia that,
the starts
this
this discussion on preventative measures here.
And
he speaks a little bit about
the purposes
of Islamic law.
Now
this is actually a quite a deep discussion.
So I don't know if I'm gonna skip
into it right now. But
what do you think the purpose of Sharia
is?
Who have touched on it or mentioned it
before many times?
Anybody?
What do you why is Shariasi?
Chef.
Okay.
As you've said,
for Hokoku and Hokoku.
We have another person
in as well.
Chef, is there to have a guide,
a guide
certain guidelines of what the of of how
we go about and learn about that?
Okay. Yes. That's good as well.
And then there was,
the to live in accordance with Allah's laws.
We have to to regulate, and we had
as well. I think
was gonna say something.
Molena,
I feel it is
a,
a means of
those who is following the right path and
those who have gone
astray off the right path from,
and that we, like,
show that compassion and mercy,
that we are not our own self gonna
rectify and
do the inner muhasaba and that inner journey,
but that we also have that love and
compassion for others, even the transgressors
or the wrongdoers,
and that we find a way with wisdom,
obviously,
to also get them
to see the right path and to understand
it because their influence that they radiate is
all negativity.
And if they also come onto the right
path, surely, they will also influence so many
people.
So if we look, for example, at the
politicians of today and all that, and we
think, like,
Mandela and the grandson, Mandela Mandela, becoming Muslim,
then we see how it influenced people to
see the Islam now in such a beautiful
way as well.
So
yes.
So so all of the answer that we
got are, you know,
valid answers. But when you said laws to
enable us to succeed in this world and
the year after,
Mindwise Clinic
says,
to protect life property, lineage, and intellect.
All correct.
So
all of those are correct.
But if we look at Sharia
Sharia is is Islamic law.
It's Islamic law.
It is there to regulate.
It is there to create rules. It is
there to, you know, to do all of
those things.
But
that is simply being the question why the
need for for those rules? Why the need
for those laws? Why the need for regulation?
And I think that's the deeper question that
I'm asking.
And
the way that the scholars of the Sharia
have answered that is that
the Sharia
is there
to ensure
a wholesome life in this world and in
the next.
To ensure
the greatest degree of benefit
to everyone in this life and in the
next.
Right? This is not speaking about the purpose
for why you love.
Right? This is speaking about what's the purpose,
what's the function
of Islamic law.
And so they say, you know, many and
and again, I bring up this point. Oftentimes
in our mind, Sharia was that thing that
just restricts and, you know, you just invest
in the the the shackles that keep you
from having fun. No.
We should actually change that. The Sharia is
there to ensure the ultimate or the greatest
degree of benefit and pleasure
for everyone in society in this life and
in the next.
And that is achieved
by preserving
a variety of fields. Preserving
faith and religion,
preserving
life,
preserving,
impact, preserving
progeny and and,
yep, preserving progeny and preserving.
Wow.
And
that's it's
we
we restrict the Makassi to those 5 headings.
But under those headings,
like,
everything is included. Preservation of our environment, preservation
of people's honor, preservation of,
or can I
say the world we live in?
Environment.
Everything
that is required for us to have wholesome
lives in this life and the next is
included in that. And that's what the Sharia
is there for.
Right? To to prevent harm and to bring
benefit.
Alana, can I ask a question?
Sure,
on Sharia,
we have governments. Okay. Each government has has
the Muslim Turkmen Muslim countries. They have their
own
interpretations
of Sharia
sometimes.
It is good. Yeah.
They enforce it.
But what what do you have to say
about that enforcement, for example,
in in
in Muslim countries where women are
forced to wear,
as the scarf, and some women
prefer not actually to wear a scarf. Can
you force women
in a country or is it the right
that you should actually force them or or
can they not use their own prerogative
whether they wanna wear a scarf or not?
That's a decision of,
that's a decision of politics. Firstly, on a
philosophical level. Right?
All governments, even the most liberal of them,
they curtail freedoms.
They they definitely do.
So even the most liberal of governments, they
they do curtail freedom freedoms. The question is,
you know, what what gets curtailed? What freedoms
get curtailed? Generally, in Sharia,
this
like like, we don't compel people to do
things.
If it is such
that people expressing their freedoms bring about greater
arms to society,
then
then that may be a situation
wherein curtailing freedoms become,
justified.
So
for us,
living in a African society,
forcing a female to wear a scarf seems
absurd,
and even in many Muslim societies, they would
never force that.
But if we come to a question of,
will we allow people to walk around in
bikinis?
No.
It's the responsibility
of the leader there
to to not do that because it contributes
to the over sexualization of a society.
So it's a deep question.
As a deep question, Sharia
is deeply bought into the idea of
of maintaining personal freedoms,
personal freedoms, but when it
when it negatively
affects the the the broader society, then those
freedoms can be cut out. Listen
here, here's a space
for ladies, whatever, and and and and and
you see,
what we have by way of Sharia governments
in the world today are not really representative
of what the Sharia should be like. Like,
for example,
barring women from driving, like,
how you you you even get to that
from a Sharia perspective.
Like, what
what an Islamic government is supposed to be
doing, what a Khalifa is supposed to be
doing, he's supposed to be creating safe spaces.
You know,
like,
you know, like, in in
in an Islamic state and in Sharia law
as well, if a female
in a marriage,
even has the slightest degree of fear that
she's going to be harmed by her husband,
she has the right to leave.
And there's supposed to be safe spaces in
the society where she can go to and
just live.
So, I mean, it's not directly related to
your question, but what I was saying is
that that there's supposed to be safe spaces.
If a female wants to be outside
without a scarf on, then there should be
safe spaces in the society where she can
do that without causing harm to society.
But, obviously, that
is a whole lot of broader questions.
Shukran Malena, so I get the point that
the each country has their own interpretation
of what is enforceable
and what is not enforceable.
Yeah. But I think
so so so they will have they will
have degrees of interpretation. But, obviously, that interpretation,
it has to get its scope from
the actual,
from the actual
that exists in the in the and it
comes from the Quran, the hadith. You can't
just make up your own stuff.
So they should they actually
introduce politics into it then. Put it down
to it. Yeah. Yeah. That definitely does.
The Sharia
then assert holistic benefit of society. Certainly, it
does. Individual,
individual benefit and also societal benefit.
Okay. So I think we're gonna end there
for now inshallah. We'll pick up on another
at least next week, evening.
We're in there for now.