If

[Shirwac]

One prayes five times a day, fasts, pays zakat, and if able goes to haj once in a life, but doesn't adhere to the news sects -Salafi, wahabi, jihadi etc. Listens to music, goes to somali parties, reads non-religious books will he/she be considered a good muslim?

[Nur]

Shirwac walaal

 

 

Once upon a time an old man came to a place where the Prophet SAWS was sitting with companions, he asked them:

 

Old man : Who among you is Mohammed?

 

Companions : This is the Messneger of Allah

 

Old man the asked the proiphet saws similar to what you have posted, mainly that there are too uch of a faith actions, so if he does the basices and stays away from haraam, is he going ti Jannah? The prophet SAWS said he will if he indeed was honest.

 

In your case you write:

 

One prayes five times a day, fasts, pays zakat, and if able goes to haj once in a life

 

That is exactly what the old man asked, minus staying away from haraam. So the answer is if is sufficient, if you stay away from haraam.

 

You write:

 

but doesn't adhere to the news sects -Salafi, wahabi, jihadi etc Listens to music, goes to somali parties, reads non-religious books will he/she be considered a good muslim?

 

 

Forget Salafis, whaabis, Tablighis, Takfiiris, Ikhwaanis, Wadaaddo, forget them all bro.

 

Ask one question, What does Allah require me to do?

 

What does Allah forbid from to do?

 

Then you are home free to Jannah inshAllah, some beautiful women are waiting for you there, dont let them down bro.

 

 

Nur

[Kruella]

Brother Nur, I appreciate most of the advice you give, but I think you shouldn't incite guys to strive for Jannah because there will be beautiful women waiting for them rather jannah should be sought with the upmost sincerity and purity of the heart...no ulterior motives such as nice looking women. I know that your response had many other factors, but I couldn't help myself, I HAD to respond to that part. I just thought that women should be the last thing on his mind, given that the delights and wonders of heaven are Inconceivable.

 

Salamz

[Haseena]

Bismillah

 

Salamu Aleikum,

 

Kruella your answer made me come to think of an article I read almost a year ago, and I thought perhaps it would be of benefit for all of you to read it, because of the good lessons to take from it. A brother wrote it and had it posted on the old forum of muslimcreed.com

 

 

All praise is for Allaah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet.

 

I was reading Madaarij as-Saalikeen by al-Imaam Ibnul-Qayyim (Rahimahullaah) – a book full of benefit – some points I decided to note and summarize, due to their value. Of course, these are not Ibnul-Qayyim’s words, rather they are my attempt at summarizing different benefits gathered from the book in my language with some of my own thoughts and reflections (not from the book).

 

Love of Allaah:

 

I will not dare to attempt to define love, for as Ibnul-Qayyim said, it’s a word that’s impossible to define. It’s meaning is clear and obvious enough. If one cannot understand the meaning of the word, then insanity is feared.

 

We live in an era whose materialism has killed hearts and darkened souls… a moderny-day Jaahileeyah that calls to enjoyments of only the self and body… most people are not able to escape the destructive influences of this gross innovated onslaught of Shaytaan.

 

One of the effects of this onslaught on the heart is it hardens them like rock, dries them like a drought, freezes them like icicles, and kills them until they appear like dead, decapitated, mutilated, and rotting corpses. May Allaah Protect us from this evil.

 

The hearts are left with emotions and feeling that are dry. So that love becomes a statement, rather than an action and motion. You see many people, they love their family and friends, not because of the bonds between them of mercy and affection, but rather for the worldly benefits they attain from them. So if a child dies, the eyes might shed tears (if they even do), but the cause of the tears is not mercy, rather sadness over the loss of the expected gain from the child. Some find tremendous difficulty in expressing their emotions to their parents or relatives.

 

There are many examples of this hardness. If one were to reflect on the condition of today’s people, you’d see those with warm hearts are strangers amongst the rest.

 

The greatest tragedy, though, is that this dryness and coldness has even affected the love the slave has for his Lord, Allaah (Jalla Fee ‘Ulaah). Their act and motion of love is dry. Its as if it’s just a statement, rather than a motion of the heart. The heart is merely acknowledging the obligation of love, rather than feeling that love for its Lord. This is likely the result of the Jaahilee onslaught against the hearts and souls.

 

So love has become more of a dead feeling.

 

What is worsening this situation is the methodology that some parties and sects use when calling people to Allaah. They focus purely on what is referred to as “rationalism†and “intellect.†It is true, there is no contradiction between the authentic Islaamic texts and beliefs, and between sound rational and intellect. The problem though is to distract the slaves with rational and intellectual proofs for the obvious (such as the existence of the Creator, His Perfection, Lordship), and abstaining from trying to heal their sick hearts. So instead of reminding them of Allaah’s Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes, they remind them of the fact that the creation cannot exist without a Creator, the scientific proofs of the authenticity of the Qur’aan, etc. Of course, these things are good, but to make them the major focus of a group’s call, that is what is being criticized.

 

This has left an effect on the hearts, almost similar to that of the Jahmeeyah, who said that the slave can not love his Lord, and that Allaah does not love His slaves. Rather they falsely interpreted the slave’s loving of his Lord as his loving from Allaah to reward him, and Allaah’s love of His slaves as his desire to reward them (not love). This was due to their disgusting philosophies that in reality destroyed the servitude of the slave, since the basis of worship is love and humility. If there is no love, then where is the worship? They have contradicted many of the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah with these gross philosophies, that led to them denying one of the loftiest Attributes of Allaah, His Love for His pious slaves. As for refuting them, that is not the purpose of this short piece.

 

Love, like we said, cannot be defined. It is not just a statement. “I love Allaah.†It is an action and motion of the heart. It has real effects and results on the person’s actions, even on his heart itself.

 

For example, a sound person, whose heart is not dead, he loves his parents. Is that a statement of his heart? “I love my parents.†Or is that a warm action and motion, that one can feel as it moves in his heart? Is that action and motion due to purely intellectual and dry rationalism, or is it due to more than that? The fact that his parents did much good for him, and he feels grateful and thankful due to that? If his parents are described with good characteristics, this is also a force in his love.

 

As for the Creator, Allaah, the love of Him enters the heart due to two primary causes. Either because the slave realizes the blessings and bounties of his Lord upon himself, so he loves his Lord, Allaah, and the more he reflects over these bounties, his love increases and increases. Or the overall driving force in his love is his hearts realization of Allaah’s Good Names and Lofty Attributes, knowing that his Lord is perfect. So it causes a strong attachment for his Lord. This love is loftier than the first, because it is related to Allaah’s Self and Attributes, whereas the prior love is related to the good the slave receives. But both loves are real love, with real motion, not dry and hard.

 

So worship that is done out of love of Allaah, wanting Allaah’s Pleasure, Face, Closeness, etc. is loftier than worship whose overall push is the want of created things in the Jannah, such as the food, clothes, wives, etc. Although the latter intention is also a valid one. This is for the same reason, the first drive is attached to Allaah’s Self and Attributes, whereas the latter is attached to other than that.

 

Some people will quote the Prophet (Sall Allaahu ‘Alayhi wa ‘Alaa Aalihee wa Sallam) asking for the Jannah. They don’t realize that Jannah includes all delights of the Afterlife. Part of this is to see Allaah’s Face, receive His Pleasure. Since this occurs for the slave in Jannah.

 

In the end, I hope I have clarified that this love for one’s Lord should not be dry and motionless. Rather it is a real motion, that leads to greater motions, such as the slave’s longing to meet his Lord. Like in the authentic supplication, “I ask You the delight of looking at Your Face and the longing to meet You.â€

 

Try to judge your own love of Allaah, and reform it.

 

Reflections Over Events in the Dunyaa:

 

Many times we hear statements of the Prophet (Sall Allaahu ‘Alayhi wa ‘Alaa Aalihee wa Sallam) but we are not able to appreciate their realities, or grasp them.

 

For example, how many times have we heard the Hadeeth that a person with all the worst hardships will be dipped once into Jannah, and be asked “have you ever felt any hardship?†And he will respond, “No, I have never experienced any hardships.â€

 

And vice-versa, a person with the greatest worldly bounties, will be dipped once in Hellfire, and be asked if he experienced any good. He will respond by saying no.

 

Have you ever reflected over the realities of these meanings? If you felt it, what a great bounty that is for you, O slave of Allaah!

 

For sure, you may have yourself went through tremendous hardships in your life, or known someone else who has. Either he was afflicted with depression, anxiety, bad events, etc. Then something occurred in his life that was able to almost cancel out that hardship! Like marriage, for example. So you see this same person, almost free of those thoughts, free of those hardships, if they exist in reality, then for him they are non-existent in comparison to the delight he receives from this event, like marriage. His love for his spouse and her love back for him, converts his hardships into happiness. He might talk to her about them, as if they are jokes to laugh at, although when he was experiencing them, he would have never imagined to laugh at them, rather he wept due to them.

 

And to clarify the opposite, imagine this person that he loves betrays him? She hurts him, in some way that he least expects. She leaves him to suffer on his own. Do you realize that each memory he had of her, such as her kindness to him, her smiles, etc. will be turned into sorrow and sadness? Every time he remembers those good thoughts, he only increases in sadness? Although when he experienced them they were from the highest degrees of happiness attainable in his heart?

 

This is in the Dunyaa, now think of what is possible for the Afterlife!

 

Don’t rush to deny this, for it is true. As in the Saheeh Hadeeth, when the people of the Jannah look at Allaah, they do not turn to anything else of the blessings they have, until it is over (since they look at Him when He Allows them). So all the food, treats, beauty, wives, etc. are forgotten when they see their Lord. So if this is true regarding the greatest goods that they obtain – they are almost non-existent in comparison to the bounty of looking at their Lord -- what of everything else?

 

Worshippers and their types:

 

Ibnul-Qayyim discusses that people of worship are four categories regarding their outlook towards worship:

 

Those who focus on worships that are hardest on the self. So they always look for acts of worship that cause the most amount of hardships, pains and difficulties, so that they can rush to carry them out. Since they believe that the harder the act, the more its value is in the scales of the Lord.

 

The second group is those who focus on solitude, ignoring this low worldly life, reducing its importance, not giving it attention, etc. So they give priority to deeds that are of this nature, over other deeds, for they see that the farther they are from this Dunyaa, the closer they will be to their Lord in the Afterlife.

 

The third group: those who focus on deeds that benefit others in addition to themselves. They say that the deed is more valuable, when its benefits surpass themselves. Examples of such deeds include spreading knowledge, helping the sick and poor, caring for orphans, commanding the good, forbidding evil, etc.

 

The fourth group: those who work to please Allaah in every time according to the implications and job of that time. So if it is time for prayer, they go do Wudoo’, approach the Masjid, and pray in Jamaa’ah. If it is time for Hajj, they do Hajj. If it is the last third of the night, they busy themselves in night prayer. If the enemy is attacking, they busy themselves in repelling his aggression. So they busy themselves with what is most appropriate for that time.

 

Ibnul-Qayyim then goes on to say, that the first three groups are ones whose servitude is limited. The last group’s servitude is complete. They are the best group, since they worship Allaah in every type of worship when it is most fit to do that worship. They do not restrict themselves to one type of worship over others. Rather they share with all the other groups in their deeds, when its time is most appropriate. They have used their time most efficiently.

 

He says about them, in a later section of his book, that they do not name themselves or ascribe themselves to anything other than the Sunnah. They don’t have a specific act of worship with which they differentiate themselves by with others.

 

If you were to ask them, whose your Imaam? They’d respond the Messenger. What’s your Tareeqah (Usually a Sufi term meaning path)? Following the Messenger. What’s your Madhhab (school of thought)? The Sunnah. What’s your uniform? Clothes of Taqwaa.

 

So, I wanted to clarify, to my brothers, that when many of us use the term “Salafee Jihaadee,†its meant more as a clarification regarding our positions towards the Taaghoot rulers and their allies, as well as our position towards Jihaad in our times. It is not proper to use the term in a sense that leads to partisanship, sectarianism, or as a full replacement for the terms Muslims, Mu’mins, ‘Ibaad-Allaah (Allaah’s slaves), or Ahlus-Sunnah.

 

Nor does it mean that we should make the only worship of our concern Jihaad, since this will lead to horrible consequences. Many Muslims are excused from Jihaad, such as women, children, the handicapped, etc. Or some are in situations that they cannot participate, due to lack of means to travel, or due to responsibilities that one is prohibited from giving up, such as a person who’s parents are elderly and in definite need of his services, in such a sense that they’d die or some great harm would befall them, if he didn’t serve them physically (or financially, if they are poor).

 

So if these types are only addressed with “Jihaad is Fard ‘Ayn,†how will that benefit them? Their personal practice of the religion will be all theory rather than practical reality. They may cut down in fulfilling other good deeds, or be lax in their attention and concern towards their sins, thinking that their love for Jihaad is sufficient to save them. So it is a birth of a new form of Irjaa’. As if: “No sin can harm one’s Eemaan as long as he loves Jihaad!†Allaahul Musta’aan.

 

This person has a Jihaad that is also obligatory upon him in all cases, the Jihaad against his self and against the most evil Taaghoot, Shaytaan. These enemies don’t depart them, until his soul departs his body.

 

So let him use his time wisely and worship his Lord properly. Let him also prepare what he can of strength and means to weaken the Shaytaan and the evils of his self.

 

Living Dreams not Reality:

 

I am sad to say, that many of the youth, live a dream world… we’ll call it the online world. Their effort is only an online practice, that doesn’t stretch out towards reality. Allaahul Musta’aan.

 

I don’t mean to accuse anyone in particular, but look at how many speak about the obligations upon this nation, such as the obligation of manifesting and publicizing one’s hatred and enmity towards the Kuffaar with one’s pen and tongue (for example). Like Hamad bin ‘Ateeq an-Najdee said (paraphrasing) this is done by making known one’s position towards the specific Kufr of the Kuffaar of his locality, for which they are most infamous for. For example, if the people of his locality worship idols, then he manifests hatred of them making it clear that it is due to their idol worship. If they leave the Salaah, the same. If they practice democracy, the same. If their Kufr is in believing in the trinity, he manifests his hatred of this false belief and of them due to their false beliefs.

 

This is one example of an obligation that is discussed online a lot by the youth. It is a real obligation, that we all are lax in implementing and sin due to that laxity.

 

Yet, many come online to manifest this hatred amongst the Muslims. I mean, for example, coming online to a Muslim discussion forum to declare that one hates the Kuffaar. Although there is nothing wrong with that, why is the manifestation restricted to online? Why not in real life? Why not towards the Kuffaar themselves, like is obligatory, rather than just alerting the Muslims who have your own beliefs?

 

I think the problem is related to lack of group work. I mean many people are afraid of Da’wah, commanding the good, forbidding the evil, etc., because it leads to conflict with others. They don’t feel like they have backing and support when they wish to implement this. So rather than working on forming a group that can unite for Da’wah and declaring Baraa’ah, they come online to escape reality and the state of the Ummah.

 

A solution to that problem, I believe, is firstly in avoiding any jobs or situations that give position to a Kaafir over one’s self. The Salaf disliked working as employees for the Kuffaar. Of course, in our times, this is very difficult, but with effort one can obtain it.

 

Here is a scenario, imagine working for a Kaafir boss. So after giving him Da’wah (that’s if he allows it, cause many of them will say none of this talk at the workplace), you decide to let him know you hate him due to his specific Kufr. I’m sure the situation will be very unique.

 

This is one issue.

 

The second part is unifying as a group for the purpose of Da’wah, commanding the good, forbidding the evil, declaring one’s Baraa’ah from the Kuffaar with speech and writings. This is because when one feels he has brothers on the same path, he is willing to deal with the hardships that result from opposing the people in what they are used to.

 

These are some suggestions. So if the youth in a locality get together, for example, to command the good and forbid the evil as a group in a local Masjid, they will feel stronger and more at ease in doing that activity. Or printing out very short Da’wah pamphlets that focus on the fundamentals of Islaam and are free from the spirit of the deafitist-mentality. Or pamphlets refuting and denouncing the specific Kufr of these people. Or occasionally (after giving Da’wah) printing out pamphlets titled, “Why do we hate you.â€

 

Also, to keep their Eemeen and spirit alive, they can get together as a group, regularly, with a constant leader, to learn, or study, or read the Qur’aan and reflect.

 

It is also important, for those youths who aren’t married and still live with their parents and siblings, to focus on those close to him. How can one come online for Da’wah, but forget those closest to him? Didn’t Allaah Command us to fight the closer enemy? Similarly in Da’wah, one is more responsible for those closer to him than those distant from him.

 

Allaah Knows best.

[Caveman]

Excellent article above ..thnx 4 sharing

[Haseena]

Bismillah

 

Salamu Aleikum wa Rahmatullah

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it brother, may Allah bless and rewards the brother who wrote it and you for reading it /aamiin

 

I hope more of you will read it, its a very important article discussing the one thing that should be most important and vital for the believers, The love of Allah

 

wa aleikum salam