When Allah described people who are humble

When Allah described people who are humble, He said:

وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا
{And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth with ease, and when the ignorant address them, they say [words of] peace}

He described them as ‘walking upon the earth with ease’. Why?

Because it’s actually HARD to be arrogant. It is difficult to live your life with ego. It hurts you. It harms you. It drags you.

When you are about your ego, you have to care – a lot – about what other people think of you. You are a slave to other peoples’ attention and admiration. You have to always impress upon others why you are deserving of their respect. That’s a difficult life.

But to be humble is to live an easy life. You walk the earth with ease. Because the focal point of your life isn’t to impress others. It isn’t to gain their admiration.

If people are kind to you, or ignorant to you…in either case it’s ok. You will still say ‘peace’ to them and treat them with empathy and kindness.

Because the focal point of your life is the admiration of the Most Merciful. And He grants His Mercy to those who are themselves merciful.

Shaykh Ibrahim Hindy

Rizq and Balance

Your rizq (sustenance) is going to come your way in all cases. Seek it, but don’t lose your balance, composure, and obedience to Allah in your search for it.

The Messenger ﷺ said, ❝Rizq seeks out its recipient just as death seeks out the one who is due to die.❞ [Ibn Ḥibbān]

He also said, ❝Never consider your sustenance delayed as no slave shall die until they have reached the last portion of their sustenance. Thus, seek [your sustenance] from ḥalāl and leave the ḥarām beautifying your pursuit [of your rizq].❞ [Ibn Ḥibbān]

By Shaykh Abdul Wahab Saleem

The scholars of the four schools of thought

Most of the chains of Ḥanafī fiqh arrive at ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (ra); most of the chains of Mālikī and Ḥanbalī fiqh arrive at ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (ra), and most of the chains of Shāfi‘ī fiqh arrive at ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbās (ra).

The scholars of these four schools of thought didn’t arbitrarily draw the borders of halal and haram based on their own personal desires, and they surely didn’t lack knowledge of what the ‘salaf’ believed. Their opinions are founded on the opinions of the salaf and are traceable all the way to the companions of the Messenger ﷺ.

Shaykh Abdul Wahab Saleem

Zuhd is of Three Levels

Imam Ahmad b. Hanbal said, “Zuhd is of three levels. The first is abstaining from the unlawful, and this is the zuhd of the common folk. The second is to abstain from the lawful things that are beyond one’s need, and this is the zuhd of the elite. The third is to abstain from that which distracts one from Allah, and this is the zuhd of the sages.”
[Madaarij al-Salikin]

One Powerful Dua

“Oh Allah give me all the good that there is. And oh Allah save me from all the evil that is there. Oh Allah when it’s the time of my death, take me away as one of the highest believers. And oh Allah once you have taken me away, put my soul in the place of illiyn (where all the good souls are). And oh Allah when I wake up, on the day of judgement, bring me up amongst the Prophets. And oh Allah don’t let me seperate from them and when they go to jannah, take me with them to jannah. And when they enter jannah, make me enter jannah and I ask the same thing for my loved ones, families, friends (and the whole ummah?).”

Innovations in Islam

Al-Shāfi‘ī (r) said, “Innovations are of two types, praiseworthy innovations and reprehensible innovations.

Firstly, those which oppose the Quran, the Sunnah or the consensus. This form of innovation is misguidance.

Secondly, the acts of goodness that are innovated which do not oppose one of the previous categories. This sort of innovation is not dispraised.”

Dividing bid‘ah into good and bad has been the standard position of the scholars in every century. There have been fringe ultraconservative positions always as well, but the mainstream is as described by al-Imam al-Shāf‘ī. The word “every” in the tradition which says “every innovation is misguidance,” can’t be taken literally for many reasons. And it’s not unusual in Arabic to use the word “every” and mean “many”. This is found in the Quran as well in other contexts. For instance, “It destroyed everything by the command of it’s Lord, so they became such that nothing but their dwellings could be seen.” [al-Ahqāf:25] If their dwellings were still around, it didn’t destroy everything.

And the proofs of this are too many to list in a Facebook post. Unfortunately, many overzealous brothers who feel otherwise are largely unaware of the fact that the view that they zealously oppose has been the view of most “intelligent scholars” over history, as Ibn ‘Āshūr puts it. Whilst I do respect those who hold either view, the view which divides innovations into multiple categories and that which doesn’t, I do not extend that respect to someone who becomes a fanatical zealot without exploring everything said about a subject of this gravity.


Shqykh Abdul Wahab Saleem

Be Righteous in what Remains

Fuḍayl b. ‘Iyāḍ’s Raḥimahullāh Advice to a 60 year old man…

Fuḍayl b. ‘Iyāḍ رحمه الله said to a man: “How many (years) have come upon you?”

The man said: “60 years.”

Fuḍayl said: “So since 60 years you are heading toward your Lord, and you are on the verge of arriving.”

So the man said: “Indeed to Allāh we belong and indeed to Him we return.”

Fuḍayl said: “Do you know the meaning of that?”

You are saying that I am a servant of Allāh and to Him I will return, so whomsoever knows he is a servant of Allāh, and that to Him he will return, then let him be aware that he will stand before Him, and whomsoever is aware that he will stand before him then let him be aware that he will be questioned, and whomsoever is aware he will be questioned then let him prepare an answer to the question.”

So the man said: “So what is the strategy?”

Fuḍayl said: “Easy.”

The man said: “What is it?”

Fuḍayl b. ‘Iyāḍ said: “Be righteous in what remains and you will be forgiven for what has passed, for indeed if you incur evil in what remains (i.e. no repentance and continuation upon wrongdoing) then you will be held accountable upon it and that which has passed.”

● [جامع العلوم والحكم لابن رجب الحنبلي ص ٣٨٣]

Avoid Major Sins

Ibn Al-Qayyim رحمه الله said in Madarij Al-Salikeen,

Wherever the word ذُنُوب (sin) is mentioned in the Quran what is intended from it are the major sins. And wherever ﺴﻴﺌﺎﺕ are mentioned in the Quran what is intended from it are the minor sins (or misdeeds).

Upon reflection of the verses of the Quran we find:

That the phrase ﺍﻟﻤﻐﻔﺮﺓ (forgiveness) is paired with ذُنُوب (major sins)
And that phrase ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻔﻴﺮ (concealment, removal) is paired with ﺴﻴﺌﺎﺕ (minor sins or misdeeds)

Allah says,
“ رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا “
“Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds “

And that is because the word ﺍﻟﻤﻐﻔﺮﺓ denotes protection and safety and the word ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻔﻴﺮ denotes concealing and removal. And the proof that ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺌﺎﺕ are the minors sins and that ﺍﻟﺘﻜﻔﻴﺮ (removal and concealment)

إِن تَجْتَنِبُوا كَبَائِرَ مَا تُنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ نُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَنُدْخِلْكُم مُّدْخَلًا كَرِيمًا

“If you avoid the major sins which you are forbidden, We will remove from you your lesser sins and admit you to a noble entrance [into Paradise]”
{Surah An Nisa 4: Verse 31}

? Ya Allah forgive our major and minor sins and enter us in Jannatul firdous al alaa through your mercy without any hisaab – ameen ya rabbi.

Disorders of the Heart

Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “In the heart are disorders that cannot be remedied except by responding to Allah. In it is a desolate feeling that cannot be removed except by intimacy with Him solitude. In it is sadness which will not leave except by happiness with knowing Him and truthfulness in his dealings. In it is anxiety that is not made tranquil except by gathering for His sake and fleeing to Him from His punishment. In it is a fire of regret which cannot be extinguished except by satisfaction with His commands, prohibitions, and decrees, and embracing patience with that until the time he meets Him. In it is a strong desire that will not cease until He is the only one who is sought. In it is a void that cannot be filled except by His love, turning to Him, always remembering Him, and being sincere to Him. Were a person to be given the entire world and everything in it, that would never fill the void.”

Source: Madarij As-Salikeen 3/156

Ending the Coronavirus

The best way to put an end to the #coronavirus:

Ibn Kathīr mentions that in the year 478 AH (1085 CE) a disease and plague accompanied by severe fever broke out in Iraq, Syria and Hijaz. It caused both domestic and wild animals to die, leaving the people with no meat or milk. It was accompanied by black winds and thunderbolts that brought down entire trees. The people thought that Judgement Day had arrived!

In order to combat this epidemic, the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadī bi Amrillāh (d. 487 AH/1094 CE) commanded that everyone strive to command the good and forbid the evil. Every musical instrument was crushed and destroyed, bottles of alcohol were smashed and spilled, and the wicked were exiled from the land. Soon thereafter the disease disappeared.

[Al-Bidāyah wal-Nihāyah 13/216]