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#39 – Manners of The Muslim
May 9 – 15, 2022
Shawwal 8 – 14, 1443

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Manners of The Muslim

What have Allah and His Messenger said about

Manners of The Muslim

وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا
And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,

[Surah Al-Furqaan, Ayah 63]
حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، عَنْ أَبِي سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ “‏ أَكْمَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقًا ‏”‏
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The most perfect believer in respect of faith is he who is best of them in manners.

[Sunan Abi Dawud 4682]

Commentary

Up to this point Surah Al-Furqan has mostly discussed the proofs of the prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and answered various objections raised in this regard by disbelievers and pagans. While dealing with this subject Allah’s wrath and punishment on those who deny His injunctions was also mentioned. Now, at the end of the Surah it refers to those special servants of His who firmly believe in the Holy Prophet’s prophethood and their beliefs, deeds and dealings are all in conformity with the will of Allah and His messenger and who follow the Shari` ah.

The Holy Qur’ an has awarded the title of ` Ibad-ur-Rabman to such special servants of Allah Ta’ ala, which is indeed the highest honor. Although all creatures are governed by His will compulsorily, but here the voluntary worship by free will is alluded. That is to surrender completely before Allah and to make all deeds and desires conforming to His pleasure with one’s own choice. In these last verses of the Surah the special servants of Allah are described whom He has Himself called as His servants to grant them unique honor. Their traits and characteristics are mentioned in the last verses until the end of the Surah. In between this description repentance from infidelity and sins and its effects are also referred to.

By calling these pious persons as His own slaves, Allah Ta’ala has given to them a great title of honor. But by selecting the name Rahman (the All-Merciful) for Himself, out of all His Beautiful Names and attributes, the hint is perhaps given to the fact that these pious people, being the slaves of the All-Merciful, should reflect and demonstrate the quality of mercifulness through their general behavior.

In the verses under review thirteen traits and habits of the special and favoured servants of Allah Ta’ ala are mentioned. Included among them are correct beliefs, righteous acts, both physical and financial, to obey the command of Allah and His messenger, social dealings with other persons, Allah’s fear in His worship, refraining from all sorts of sins and carrying along wife and children on the righteous path with oneself.

Special traits of Allah Ta’ ala’s favoured servants

The first characteristic of such people is that they are “slaves” (عَبَاد) which is the plural of the word عَبد (slave). Here it means the slave who is the property of his Master. All his deeds and prerogatives together with his very life are dedicated to follow the command and will of the Master.Only such a person can claim to be Allah’s slave whose views and beliefs, thinking and desires, and deeds and actions are totally in line with the command and pleasure of his Rab (Master) and who keeps himself alert to carry out each and every command as soon as he is required to.

The second characteristic يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْ‌ضِ هَوْنًا (25:63) that is “they walk on the earth humbly”. Here the word ھَون (haven) is used in the sense of humbleness, modesty and decorum – that is one does not walk with pride or arrogance. It does not mean that one should walk very slowly, because it is against Sunnah if it is without any need. According to the description given in the books of his biography, the Holy Prophet ﷺ used not to walk slowly. Instead his walk was on quicker side. It is recorded in a Hadith کانّما الارض تطوی لہ that is “He used to walk in a manner as if ground was shrinking for him”. (Ibn Kathir) It is for this reason that the righteous elders have described the slow walk, like that of a sick person, as a symbol of arrogance, a sham habit, and something unwanted (مکروہ). Sayyidna ` Umar once saw a young man walking very slowly. He ؓ asked him” Are you sick”. He replied “No”. Then Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ raised his stick on him and commanded “Always walk robustly”. (Ibn Kathir)

The third characteristic وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا (And when the ignorant people speak to them, they reply peacefully – 25:63): It should be kept in mind that the word “ignorant” in this verse refers to a person who acts like an ignorant person, notwithstanding that he might be a knowledgeable person. Also, the word سلام (peace) is not used here in its customary sense of greeting, but for any word causing peace. What is meant here is that in response to ignorance they keep composed and answer with calmness so that others are not offended and they do not commit a sin. The same explanation is put forward by Sayyidna Mujahid and Muqatil رحمۃ اللہ علیہما etc. The intended meaning is that they do not avenge from those who talk to them like ignorant people.

[Maarif ul Quran Vol-6 (pg 509 – 511) , Maktabah Dar al Uloom, Translation by Prof. Muhammad Hasan Askari & Prof. Muhammad Shamim]

Spiritual Reminders

A Heart With No Grudge
Once, the Prophet (ﷺ) was sitting with his companions in the masjid and a sahaba (RA) heard the Prophet (ﷺ) say,

يَطْلُعُ عَلَيْكُمْ الْآنَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Coming upon you now is a man from the people of Paradise

Everyone was very excited and amazed. As the sahaba (RA) stared towards the entrance of the masjid, a man came, and there he was holding his shoes in his left hand and dripping with water from wudhu. He went on his way and began to pray. The next day, the Prophet (ﷺ) made this same comment, so again, the sahaba (RA) watched the entrance, and again, the same man came. He was from the Ansar, meaning the residents of Madinah. In the same condition, he is holding his shoes and is dripping with water from wudhu, and again he goes to pray. The third day, the Prophet (ﷺ) is sitting in the masjid with his companions, and he says the same thing, and just like before, the same man entered. Now, as with anyone, the sahaba (RA) were excited, but also curious as to why this person was so special. One sahabi, Abdullah bin Amr (RA) made up an excuse to go and spend some time with him because he wanted to see what the person’s actions were and what deeds they are committing that gives them admittance to Jannah. He went to the man and said, “I am in a dispute with my father and I have sworn not to enter my home for three days. May I stay with you?” The man said yes.

Abdullah ibn Amr begins to stay at his house and during the day he follows him very closely. During the night, he watches to see when the man gets up. However, each night, Abdullah ibn Amr was surprised to see that this man was not getting up and praying long rakats of tahajjud or making du’a, but rather, when his eyes would wake up, he would do dhikr until it was time for Fajr. He observed him like this for three days, and after these three days, Abdullah ibn Amr was confused. He did not see the man do anything extraordinary or special, so why did the Prophet (ﷺ) confirm his admittance to Jannah? Keep in mind this sahabi who is following the man is known for his great and excessive worship. He used to go to the Prophet (ﷺ) and say, “O prophet of Allah, I would like to read more Qur’an.” He would be told, “Finish the Qur’an once a month.” He said, “No, prophet of Allah; I can do more.” He would be told , “Then finish it in ten days.” Abdullah ibn Amr asked for more, and he was told to finish it in a week.
Abdullah ibn Amr then began finishing the Qur’an every week. The point is that Abdullah ibn Amr was not a lazy person; he was very diligent and amongst the leaders of the people in worshipping Allah (SWT). This was a sign of his zeal. If there was something that would guarantee his acceptance to Jannah, he wanted it. So, at the end of the three days, he sits the person down and confesses to the brother that the fight with his father did not exist and that he just wanted to observe him. The man noted that he does not do anything special, except for one thing; he did not keep grudges in his heart. He said, “I am as you have seen, except that I do not find dishonesty in my soul towards the Muslims and I do not envy anyone because of the good that Allah has given them.” Abdullah said, “This is what you have achieved and it is something we have not accomplished.”

Keeping the heart clean and pure can enter a person into Jannah. This is what the Prophet (ﷺ) demonstrated. When the Prophet (ﷺ) would say something like this and repeat it three times, he wanted people to know why and for the people to figure out the reasoning behind his messages. Once, in a battle that the Prophet (ﷺ) was in, he drew his sword and asked, “Who would take it in order to fulfil its rights?” One of the sahaba accepted. On his deathbed, his face was glowing with happiness. The people asked him, “You are in the throes of death; what makes you so happy?” He replied, “There is no deed of mine that I have more excitement and hope for than these two deeds; I did not speak about irrelevant things or things that did not concern me and I never kept a grudge against anyone inside my heart.” These are important lessons for us and they could bring us salvation, just like the salvation that was brought to the sahabi that was still in this world. One of the ways to keep our hearts clean is to not pay attention to other people’s faults and mistakes and to not make it a topic of discussion. When we pay attention to others’ faults and mistakes, we form the wrong perceptions about them. These are also from the akhlaq and conduct of Islam and the Prophet (ﷺ)’s teachings. When people enter into Jannah, they will enter with no hard feelings in their hearts and will enter in a state with no ill feelings in their hearts.

[Adapted from a talk delivered by Mufti Aasim Rashid titled: “A Heart With No Grudge”]

YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF

Sirah

Muhammad (ﷺ)’s Early Job
Muhammad [pbuh], had no particular job at his early youth, but it was reported that he worked as a shepherd for Bani Sa‘d and in Makkah. At the age of 25, he went to Syria as a merchant for Khadijah [R]. Ibn Ishaq reported that Khadijah, daughter of Khwailid was a business-woman of great honour and fortune. She used to employ men to do her business for a certain percentage of the profits. Quraish people were mostly tradespeople, so when Khadijah was informed of Muhammad [pbuh], his truthful words, great honesty and kind manners, she sent for him. She offered him money to go to Syria and do her business, and she would give him a higher rate than the others. She would also send her hireling, Maisarah, with him. He agreed and went with her servant to Syria for trade. [Ibn Hisham 1/187,188]

[Al-Raheeq Al-Makhtum, page 41, Issam Diab’s English Translation]

Sunnah Acts

Good Character
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Three are the signs of a hypocrite: When he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; and when he is trusted, he betrays his trust.”

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Adhkar/Dua

Dua for Good Manners
‏اللهم إني أعوذ بك من منكرات الأخلاق، والأعمال، والأهواء
O Allah! I seek refuge in You from undesirable manners, deeds, and aspirations

[Riyad as-Salihin 1482]
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