Assabiqun – Those in Front – Maulana Maseehullah Rahmatullahi Alayh

Extracted from “For Friends – Extracts of Maulana Maseehullah Rahmatullahi Alayhs Bayanaat”

Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an:

“And the foremost in the race, the foremost in the race: Those are they who will be brought nigh.”
(Surah Waqiah, Ayat 10–11)

This reminds me of the following incident which is worth pondering over.

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) instructed a small group of four Sahabah (Radiyallahu anhu), “Depart immediately for a certain place. As far as possible, try and reach there by this time.” A time was specified.

These instructions are vital, so let me repeat them: Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) ordered four Sahabah (Radiyallahu anhu) to depart immediately for a certain place. As far as possible they had to reach there by the time specified by Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).

It was a Friday. The time for Jumu‘ah salah came and the salah was performed by Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam). After the salah, one of the four Sahabah presented himself before Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to make salam and musafahah (shake hands) before departing on his mission.

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) commented, “I had instructed four of you to depart. You are alone. What happened to the other three?”

The Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) replied, “The other three had saddled their horses and had left at that time.”

“And you?”

The Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) said, “I thought to myself that today is Friday and there is great virtue in attending the Jumu‘ah salah. Because of a tremendous desire to acquire the virtues attached to this salah, I did not depart immediately. A further temptation was the blessing of performing salah behind you. The intense desire to attain these cumulative virtues made me stay behind and not depart then.”

Let us analyse his attitude. The Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) is saying that those deeds which are greater in virtue and blessings, logically, will be means of greater Qurb-e-Ilahi—i.e. the degree of qurb is proportional to the degree of virtuous deeds performed. The virtues he was counting on were that of attending the Jumu‘ah salah and being led in salah by Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).

The Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) continued his explanation: “I have a horse that is faster than those of my companions. I will now depart and easily catch up with them along the way, and still reach our destination with them. In this way I will have attained the virtues of Jumu‘ah here, as well as carrying out your instruction to reach our destination at the time specified.”

Do you understand the points the Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) made? He wished to acquire the blessings of the Jumu‘ah salah, led by Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), as well as that of carrying out his earlier instruction.

Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “Whatever you have said has its merits. However, you have not obeyed my instructions to the letter. Therefore, you have not acquired the qurb that the other three have acquired.”

The lesson is: “Was-sabiqūna as-sabiqūn, ūlā’ikal-muqarrabūn.”
Which is to say that the Qurb-e-Ilahi that the other three had attained by departing immediately—thus fulfilling the order of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to the letter—this Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) had not attained.

You should understand this well, and safeguard yourself from merely fulfilling your desires. Merely giving expression to one’s inner feelings is meaningless in relation to a specific instruction.

These are points to turn over in one’s mind, points to ponder over.

On the surface, what a beautiful intellectual argument, with proofs, was presented by the Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu): the virtues of Jumu‘ah, of performing salah behind Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), and, at the same time, the virtue of arriving at their destination according to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)’s instruction. Despite this, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said that he had not attained the qurb that his companions had attained by leaving immediately.

We can safely conclude: In the face of nas, there is no value to ijtihad.

In other words, in the face of explicit instructions from Allah Ta’ala or His Rasul (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), one’s own deductions and conclusions are meaningless.

This Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu) had used ijtihad (his own deductions and conclusions) in the face of nas—the specific instruction of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) to depart immediately.

No matter how many virtues are attached to a particular action, and no matter how much qurb is attached to those virtues, these fade into insignificance in the face of obedience (ittiba‘).

To repeat: ijtihad is meaningless in the face of nas. It is apparent that ittiba‘ is basic. It is fundamental. Nothing is attained by mere expression of affection.

A further conclusion one can draw from this is: in the face of a command by one’s senior, one should not be self‐opinionated.

Of course, it goes without saying that the person who is one’s senior or elder is accepted as such and not merely recognised as such. There is a difference.

A person acting on his own deductions and conclusions is merely gratifying his own desires. He is merely satisfying his own passions. He feels his progress lies in following his own viewpoint—that his line of action is good for him. In that case how can one say he has accepted his senior as such? His verbal acknowledgement of his senior is meaningless.

Accepting someone as one’s senior and elder is to be obedient to him, provided that he is not commanding one to commit sins by disobeying Allah Ta’ala’s orders.

Therefore, in the face of a command by one’s senior, if one puts forward one’s own deductions, one will only land oneself in unnecessary problems. Then, can one expect one’s senior to come to one’s assistance?

The Sahabi (Radiyallahu anhu), on face value, had a good and perfectly logical intellectual argument. But it was contrary to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam)’s instruction.

The final verdict of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was that he had not attained the taqarrub ilallah which the other three had attained, even though they were deprived of attending the Jumu‘ah salah led by Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).

To re‐iterate: The basis of qurb is ittiba‘!

This point is emphasised time and again in the Qur’an:

“Say (O Muhammad, to mankind): If you love Allah, follow me.”
(Surah Aal-e-Imran, Ayah 31)

“Whoso obeyeth the messenger obeyeth Allah, and whoso turneth away: We have not sent thee as a warder over them.”
(Surah Nisa, Ayah 80)

“O ye who believe! Obey Allah and His messenger and turn not away from him when ye hear him (speak).”
(Surah Anfaal, Ayah 20)

The crux of the matter is: Do not intellectualise (i.e. do not put forward your own deductions and conclusions) in the face of an instruction from your senior and elder.

We had drifted to this topic when speaking of the headlong rush to sit in the majlis khana. An ayah of the Qur’an was recited earlier wherein Allah Ta’ala is instructing us about mu‘asharat.

The root of the word “mu‘asharat” is “ishrat”, which means gaiety, happy social life, pleasurable.

We are thus to spend our life in this world in aysh wa ishrat—in gaiety and happiness; in delightful ease and comfort; in peace and tranquillity with one another.

Mu‘asharat is dependent on a compatible relationship, and relationships are dependent on acceptable behaviour from all sides.

Each person should have such a relationship with the next person that there is nothing but sheer joy and comfort. There should be no displeasure. Relationships should be full of ease—not disease!

One should avoid harshness in speech and action. One’s words and the tone of one’s voice should be such as to convey ease and comfort, otherwise the desired mu‘asharat is disrupted.