Ta’leem and Tarbiyat Series #13

Ta’leem and Tarbiyat Series #13

Qur’aan and Tafseer

“Undoubtedly it (Salaat) is difficult except for those whose hearts are tranquil.

(Surah Baqarah, 45)

Here the solution to making Salaat easy is stated. The cause of its difficulty has been diagnosed and the prescription offered. In summary, the cause of Salaat being difficult should be ascertained. What is it?

Man’s heart/mind is in the habit of drifting in the valley of thought; and the body trails the heart. This demands that the body, too, remains free and unfettered, whereas Salaat is entirely restrictive – don’t laugh, don’t speak, don’t eat, don’t drink, don’t walk, don’t move, etc. By virtue of these restrictions, firstly the body becomes confined and the effect of this wears onto the heart. The heart becomes vexed.

In short, the reason for this “difficulty” and “vexation” is the impulses of thought of the heart/mind. Its cure should, therefore, be tranquillity. Thus, the reason for ease has been declared to be tranquillity of the heart. The nature of tranquillity of the heart again is learnt by the comparison to the heart’s/mind’s impulses of thought. Since thinking is its action, it follows that arresting its action of thinking is its tranquillity.

(Bayaanul Qur’aan)

Hadeeth and Sunnah

What was Rasoolullah’s (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) frame of mind? Hazrat Ibn Abi Haalah (Radhiyallahu anhu) answers: “Rasoolullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was perpetually worried (about the Aakhirat), constantly in thought (about matters pertaining to the Aakhirat) and he was ever restless.”  (Nashrut Teeb)

Rasoolullah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:

“Wallah! It is not poverty which I fear for you. I fear for you, however, the world becoming easily accessible to you like it had become easily accessible to those before you. You will then vie for the world like they vied for it, but it will devastate you like it devastated them.” (Bukhari, Muslim – Mishkaat)

The concern of a parent at the time of death is the financial wellbeing of his/her child or children. A parent cannot contemplate his/her child suffering on account of poverty. Parents wish to see their offspring successful in this world by being financially secure. This was not, however, Rasoolullah’s (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) concern. In fact, he feared the very thing which parents wish to see of their offspring, viz. wealth and opulence. The reason for this fear of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was the consequence of being wealthy in most cases, viz. ruin to one’s Deen and Aakhirat. (Mishkaat)

Comment: The focus of a Mu’min should always be the Aakhirat. In striving for the Aakhirat, if Allah Ta’ala grants one worldly comfort and prosperity then that is a ni’mat (favour/bounty) from Allah Ta’ala. If not, then too it is a favour of Allah Ta’ala to have saved one from indulgence in the luxury of this world which almost always leads to harm to one’s Aakhirat.

Fiqh and Masaail

• The objective of some in presenting a gift (hadyah) is some worldly benefit. This is not hadyah; it is rishwat (bribery). Some, again, desire reward in the Aakhirat for presenting a gift. This is sadqah. Hadyah is that which is given purely out of love and to please the next person. It is not contaminated with any other motive.

• The nature of Isaal-e-Thawaab is to perform some virtuous deed and then supplicate humbly to Allah Ta’ala to convey the thawaab (reward) of the deed to a deceased.

(Ashraful Ahkaam)

Tasawwuf and Sulook

• Gheebat [backbiting] is the father of enmity and the son as well. In other words, sometimes enmity spawns gheebat and sometimes gheebat spawns enmity. This obscene lineage of gheebat is adequate testimony to its obscenity. Furthermore, it is witnessed that when someone tracks another, then consideration for Deen is totally discarded; neither does he give second thoughts to harming the other person and nor does he abstain from falsehood and deception. When enmity builds up then each one desires to harm his enemy even if it leads to one’s own destruction.

• Assuming that a person lacks religious principles, but he possesses decency, then too he will remain immune to many vices. On the other hand, if a person lacks Deen and decency, then it is futile to expect him to stay away from shameless acts. A semblance of family dignity may still prevail today, however, morality has departed and hence humans descend to bestiality when becoming enemies to each other.

(Kamaalaat-e-Ashrafiyyah)