- Islamic Education
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- Ways of Access and Signs of Acceptance
Allah the Almighty is the source of Ihsan:
Dear brother, we are still discussing the foremost topic, in order and in importance, which is Ihsan. I have repeatedly mentioned in the series of The Beautiful Names of Allah that the fastest way towards Allah is to have good conducts that are derived from Allah's Perfection. For example, the Almighty Allah is Merciful, thus the fastest way to reach Allah is to have mercy on those around you.((If you are asking for My Mercy, then be merciful to My Creations.))
((Allah is Merciful towards those who show mercy to sh3er.))
((Be merciful to those on the earth, so that the One above the Heavens will be merciful to you))
All the Names of Allah are Beautiful and all His Attributes are Graceful, and your success is to attain conducts which are derived from the Perfection of Allah in order to draw closer to Him, for the Almighty Allah is the source of Ihsan, and the proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾Who made everything He has created good﴿
Evil deeds are the outcome of going against Allah's Method:
Man is the only creature who bore the trust, who has lust installed in him and who has been given the free well. Yet, he leads a life according to his own desires and far from the Path of the Almighty Allah. This is the deadliest mistake that can ever be committee in the universe. He will absolutely called to account for such a mistake since Allah has installed lusts in him and He has provided him with a method, but he chooses to satisfy his lusts and never follows the Divine Method, so he is the one who is responsible for his mistakes as Allah is the source of Ihsan (in this context it means goodness):﴾Who made everything He has created good﴿
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((…and evil is not attributed to You (Allah).))
Evil deed is defined as "abuse" (or misuse). To clarify this point, suppose you have three white powders, the first is sugar, the second is salt and the third is detergent, all these substances are important, useful, expensive and good for the human being, but what if you add the detergent instead of salt to an expensive meal? The meal will be uneatable. This is the likeness of evil, for it is the misuse of things.
Let me give you one more example. if a beautiful car is driven by a drunken man, and so it ends up in a valley and is totaled because it hits all the rocks hundreds of times on its way down to the bottom of the valley, can anyone claim that the strange iron wreck (this is how the car becomes after the accident) is designed by its factory? Is there any factory that designs such a shape? Absolutely, there is not.
((…and evil is not attributed to You (Allah).))
Accordingly, evil is the result of misusing and abusing the Divine Method.
Any deviation from Allah's Path is the result of ignorance:
The delicate fact is that every disaster on earth, since Adam till the Day of Resurrection, is the outcome of turning away from the Path of Allah, and this derivation is but a result of ignorance, given the latter is the fiercest enemy of mankind, for the ignorant abuses himself in ways even his enemy will not use to abuse him. Furthermore, the crisis of the people of Hellfire is ignorance crisis.﴾And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!" ﴿
As I have said earlier, the Almighty Allah is the source of Ihsan (goodness):
﴾Who made everything He has created good﴿
Man is the most perfect creation. Allah says:
﴾Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),﴿
When you hear a car horn, while you are walking in the street, the differences between the ears are the clues your brain uses to decode a sound's location. Hence, for example when a sound comes from the left, the travel distance to your left ear is slightly shorter than the travel distance to your right ear by 1 to 1620 parts of a second. The brain interprets this difference and knows the direction of the sound.
﴾Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),﴿
The best words in the universe are the Words of Allah:
The other point I would like to refer to is that the Words of the Almighty Allah are the best words in the universe. Allah says:﴾Allah has sent down the best statement﴿
The origin of man is from Allah Who has created him as a perfect human being:
﴾Who made everything He has created good﴿
Man also is the foremost creature in the Sight of Allah:
﴾Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),﴿
Allah's words are the best at all:
((The superiority of Allah's Word (Qur'an) over other words is like the superiority of Allah over His creatures.))
The best words man can ever hear are Quran, but the best words man can ever say are:
﴾And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims." ﴿
Da'wah (calling to Allah) is Fard Ayn (obligation on every Muslim)
I used to tell you that Da'wah is Fard Ayn on every Muslim. Do you know why you pray? You pray, because Salah is Fard, so is Da'wah. Hence, you should firmly believe that calling people (the ones you know) to Allah within the limits of the Islamic knowledge you have is Fard Ayn. The proof is in the following Hadith:((Convey from me even an Ayah of the Qur'an))
Here is another proof:﴾By Al-'Asr (the time)* Verily! Man is in loss* Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma'ruf)which Allah has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar)which Allah has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allah's Cause during preaching His religion of Islamic Monotheism or Jihad, etc.).﴿
Recommending one another to the truth is one quarter of salvation, and man is in loss unless he knows the truth, acts according to it and coveys it to sh3er. Thus, Da'wah to Allah is fulfilled by conveying the knowledge you have to the people you know, and within these limits, it is Fard Ayn on every Muslim. Let me repeat that the best words you can ever hear are the words of the Quran, and the best words you can ever say (and convey) are the words of Da'wah to Allah.
Satan sows disagreements among people through harsh words:
There are always daily chats between married couples, partners, friends, brother or neighbors; Allah says:﴾And say to My slaves (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) that they should (only) say those words that are the best. ﴿
Even if you are talking to your friend, you should not say something like, "Do you not understand what I am saying?", instead you should say, "I just wanted to say that what you said needs more research, and there are evidences which refute what you said." In this case you reject his opinion gently.
﴾And say to My slaves (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) that they should (only) say those words that are the best. ﴿
Satan is in a contentious pursuit to sow dissension between any two persons through harsh words. The husband might say a harsh word to his wife making her leave the house and go back to her family's house. Things between the spouses might get more complicated and end up with divorce. Partnership might be broken because of a harsh word from one partner to the other. A harsh word even causes wars such as the one which lasted for ten years and burnt everything, because of a harsh word an ambassador said:
﴾And say to My slaves (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) that they should (only) say those words that are the best. (Because) Shaitan (Satan) verily, sows disagreements among them﴿
These are laws (one should abide by). You should control your tongue while talking to your wife, because exceeding your limits by the words you say might be the reason of her divorce, and the same goes for partnership.
﴾And say to My slaves (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) that they should (only) say those words that are the best. ﴿
I am astonished about the politeness of Sahabah (the female and male Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him) when I read some of their biographies. A female Companion once came to Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and said, "O Commander of the Believers, I have never seen any man who is better than my husband. By Allah, during the night he stands to pray, and during the day he fasts. Even on hot days he does not break his fast." Umar then prayed for her forgiveness, and he praised her, saying, "It is only befitting that I should praise one such as you." Our Master Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, was sitting next to him, so he said, "She is making a strong complaint against her husband." (She was complaining to him that she is a young woman and she desires what all women desire). Have you noticed how polite she was while complaining against her husband?
Holding the tongue and saying nice words mark the believer:
Dear brother, controlling the tongue is an obligation upon the believer, so is the good word which is Sadaqah. When you talk nicely to your employee with a smile in your face saying, "How are you hanging son", "Are you comfortable?" and "Is your family fine?", believe me this employee will be gleeful for the rest of the month because of your nice words. Hence:﴾And say to My slaves (i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) that they should (only) say those words that are the best. ﴿
Because of a good word, you are able to reconcile hearts and to gather them around you. The good word is in the scope of everyone, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, had never cursed or badmouthed sh3er. The cheap jokes (sexual ones) contradict having faith, for the believer controls his tongue.
((The faith of a man cannot be straight unless his heart is straight, and his heart cannot be straight unless his tongue becomes straight.))
Paradise is the ultimate destination man can ever reach:
I am still tackling the point that the Almighty Allah is the source of Ihsan and that the best destination is Paradise. Allah says:﴾As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him* And believes in Al-Husna.﴿
Al-Husna is Paradise.
﴾We will make smooth for him the path of ease (goodness)* But he who is greedy miser and thinks himself self-sufficient* And gives the lie to Al-Husna (see Verse No: 6 footnote); We will make smooth for him the path for evil;﴿
Dear brother,
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more﴿
Ihsan is rewarded with Paradise.
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more﴿
Their reward is Paradise, which is described as follows:
((I have prepared for My pious servants which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived))
The range of sight is limited, for one can say, "I visited Makkah, Beirut, London", and may be seven other cities. However, he may hear about hundreds and even thousands of cities through media, like Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, though he never visited it. Thus, the range of the hearing is much wider (than the range of the sight), but comparatively, the range of thoughts is limitless.
((I have prepared for My pious servants which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived))
This is the reward of those who have done good deeds in the worldly life:
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) ﴿
The believer believes in Al-Husna (Paradise), and he puts into his considerations Paradise and the Hellfire every day:
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) ﴿
﴾and even more﴿
The one who obtains Allah's Pleasure is the happiest man on earth:
Scholars said, that "and even more" is to look at the Honorable Face of Allah.﴾Some faces that Day shall be Nadirah (shining and radiant)* Looking at their Lord (Allah); ﴿
It is narrated in the relic that the one who looks at the Honorable Face of Allah will faint for 50.000 years out of ecstasy. In another Ayah, Allah says:
﴾But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah﴿
He is in Paradise:
((I have prepared for My pious servants which no eye (has ever) seen, no ear has (ever) heard and no human heart has ever perceived))
In Paradise there will be:
﴾And (there will be) Houris (fair females) with wide, lovely eyes (as wives for the pious), ﴿
Also, there will be:
﴾And round about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. ﴿
Everything will be in Paradise, and on top of all of that is looking at the Honorable Face of Allah. Actually, there is still even more than that, Allah says:
﴾But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allah﴿
Every deed on earth is described either as good or as evil:
Dear brother,﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more﴿
Pay attention to the following Ayah:
﴾Neither darkness nor dust nor any humiliating disgrace shall cover their faces.﴿
The Muhsen always holds his head up high, because he does his work perfectly and completely, unlike the one who is lagged behind, for he will be upset for an entire month because of being rebuked.
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more (i.e. having the honour of glancing at the Countenance of Allah) Neither darkness nor dust nor any humiliating disgrace shall cover their faces.﴿
This is the law of honor; you cannot gain honor unless you are Muhsen, whether you are a doctor, a craftsman, a merchant, a father or a husband, for the word "Muhsen" is a wide concept and every deed in life is either considered as Ihsan or Isa'ah (wrong doing). Allah says:
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) ﴿
This Paradise is:
﴾For those who have done good ﴿
In the Ayah "done good" refers to the deeds which are done in the worldly life:
﴾But for him who [the true believer of Islamic Monotheism who performs all the duties ordained by Allah and His Messenger Muhammad, peace be upon him, and keeps away (abstain) from all kinds of sin and evil deeds prohibited in Islam and] fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens (i.e. in Paradise).﴿
There is a Paradise on earth and a Paradise on the Day of Resurrection, and the one who is not admitted to the Paradise of the earth will never be admitted to the Paradise of the Hereafter. The following Ayah proves this point:
﴾And admit them to Paradise which He has made known to them (i.e. they will know their places in Paradise more than they used to know their houses in the world). ﴿
They tasted it (He has made it known to them) in the worldly life.
Everything leads to Allah, but trials are meant to teach people lessons:
The believer's heart is full of tranquility, happiness and serenity that are enough for the population of an entire country. Suppose by way of example that we established a top notch school of the best quality in teaching, in curriculums, in books, in demonstrating tools and in labs, and the students were examined. In this case all of them should pass the exams (because the school is good). Therefore, those exams are intended to put the successful students in the right order, not to see who will exam and who will fail.Much in the same line, the Almighty Allah bestowed all upon us graces. He makes the universe indicates Allah's Existence, Oneness and Perfection, He revealed the Divine Books to us, He has sent us Prophets, peace be upon them and He made some incidents of the daily life means to lead us to Him. Accordingly, all people are supposed to pass the Divine Test (trials in life). Thus, trials are only means to put people in the right order, Allah says:
﴾Who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed ﴿
This is the precise purpose of the Divine Trial; it is meant to put people in the right order, so the one who fails the Divine Test is as far from reasoning and logic as the distance between the earth and the heaven. Remember, goodness brings goodness and Ihsan leads to Ihsan but the Almighty Allah will reward the Muhsen with something more ("and even more" looking at His honorable Face and gaining His Pleasure).
﴾and shall increase (reward) for the good-doers ﴿
Whosoever spends in the Cause of Allah will be rewarded:
By Allah dear brother, I have endless stories about people who spend generously on the needy, and they were rewarded in the worldly life before the Hereafter. They also were granted more money than the money they paid. A man said to me, "I have always dreamed about starting a project whose profits are150 million Liras, so that I can offer a deed for the Sake of Allah with this money". He said that having such an amount would need two years of hard work, and he went on, "Allah rewarded me with a project that will bring me one billion and 200 million."﴾and shall increase (reward) for the good-doers ﴿
With no exceptions, every brother of our honorable brother, who donates something in the Cause of Allah, will be encouraged by the Almighty Allah by being rewarded in the worldly life before the Hereafter.
﴾and shall increase (reward) for the good-doers ﴿
Being a Muhsen, whether you are a father, a teacher, a professor, a lawyer or a doctor, means that you are upright, honest, true-hearted and nice, and by this characteristic you are setting a good example for those who are training at your office (if you were a lawyer), for your children (if you were a father), for your students (if you were a teacher) and for your deputy and employees (if you are a general manager). Hence, every Muhsen will be a good example and accordingly he will have a double reward, one for his noble characteristics and the other one for those who follow his steps. The Almighty Allah says:
﴾Certainly, there has been in them an excellent example for you to follow,﴿
If you do good deeds and you are an example who people follow, you will be rewarded twice. A dying man asked his children not to lend any person any of the books in his huge bookcase which covered the four walls of the study room from ground to the ceiling. His children were bewildered because of that strange wish and said, "Why is that father?" He said, "Because all these books are borrowed, so they are not mine". If you borrow a book, you should return it to its owner.
﴾Then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness﴿
Returning things to their owners should be made in farness. For instance, if you borrow a book from your friend's house, go to your friend's house and give him the book instead of giving it to him while he is in the street, which is improper. Moreover, if the book is not in a good shape, fix it before rendering it back.
﴾then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness﴿
If someone lends you money, you should not say to him, "Come to my store tomorrow to take your money?" The rendering should be in the place where it was taken from.
﴾then adhering to it with fairness and payment of the blood money, to the heir should be made in fairness﴿
This behavior manifests Ihsan in rendering back things (loans, borrowed things, etc…).
Ihsan should be moderate:
Dear brother, the topic of Ihsan is a very wide one, and you should know that Ihsan should be moderate.﴾And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds, etc.) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah),﴿
﴾and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah),﴿
If you spend all your wealth, you will be throwing yourself into destruction:
﴾And do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah),﴿
Also, if you never spend, you will be throwing yourself into destruction. Hence, Ihsan lies in the middle of these two extremes, for virtue lies between two extremes.
﴾And spend in the Cause of Allah (i.e. Jihad of all kinds, etc.) and do not throw yourselves into destruction (by not spending your wealth in the Cause of Allah),﴿
﴾And do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).﴿
Al-Ihsan in this Ayah is to spend moderately.
﴾And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift), so that you become blameworthy and in severe poverty. ﴿
All sorts of virtues are between two extremes. Take for example courage; it lies between recklessness and cowardice, whereas generosity lies between wasting money and niggardliness. We can say that every virtue lies between two vices.
By Allah I am happy whenever I see an honorable brother offering good deeds, and he is generous (towards the needy and the poor). Upon seeing him, I invoke Allah from the bottom of my heart to make his worldly graces continue in the Hereafter (by being admitted to Paradise). It is outstanding to live a good life and to be granted good health, a wife, children, a good reputation and a position, for when death comes one will be admitted to Paradise (due to the good deeds he offers and the Ihsan he treats people with). This is how the blessings of the worldly life will be connected to the ones of the Hereafter. go The Almighty Allah says:
﴾And of them there are some who say: "Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good ﴿
Some scholars said, "The bliss of the worldly life is the good wife who brings her husband happiness when he looks at her, who preserves her honor in her husband's absence and who obeys him when he wills something." Al-Ihsan is manifested in many aspects. When a rich man is told that Zakat Al-Fitr this year is 50 Liras for every member of his family, he should pay, for instance 5000 Liras for every member of his family, because this is where Ihsan lies; it is to pay according to your income, not the minimum amount. Allah says:
﴾The rich according to his means, and the poor according to his means, a gift of reasonable amount is a duty on the doers of good.﴿
The rich Muhsen should not pay only the minimum amount; instead he should pay the maximum amount. Glory be to Allah, read this Hadith and feel Allah's Intimacy and Compassion:
(("O son of Adam, I was ill but you did not visit Me." He would say, "O my Rubb, how could I visit you and You are the Rubb of the worlds?" Thereupon He would say, "Did you not know that such and such a slave of Mine was ill but you did not visit him? Did you not realize that if you had visited him (you would have known that I was aware of your visit to him, for which I would reward you) you would have found Me with him?"))
There is a sense of intimacy in this Hadith.
Man's success lies in being Muhsen (good-doer) and upright:
Pay attention to this Ayah:﴾Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan﴿
If you feed a cat, this will be a goodly loan to Allah, the same goes for serving a person, rescuing a sick man, feeding the hungry, helping the seniors, giving your seat in the bus to an old man, putting a straw you find on the ground of the Masjid in your pocket or even saving an ant on the sink from drowning before you offer Wudu. All these things are good deeds, and they are considered a goodly loan lent to Allah.
If a king asks one of his people to lend him one Syrian Lira, this is an implicit hint of giving this person 100 million in return for that one Lira. I would like to give another example which I often mention. A king assigned a teacher to be the tutor of his son, and he intended to give this tutor a house and a car for his services, but this teacher was narrow-minded, so after he finished his ten lessons he said to the king, "May I receive my fees?" To which the kind said, "How much would you like me to pay you?" the teacher said "1000 for each lesson", and since he gave his son ten lessons, he received 10.000 and missed the opportunity to have a house and a car. Much in the same line, you will be prudent when you say that you are doing a good deed for the Sake of Allah, because in this case you are actually lending to Allah the Almighty, Glorified and Sublime be He, and as you know Allah is Great, and when the Great bestows upon someone a blessing, He amazes him:
﴾Who is he that will lend to Allah a goodly loan so that He may multiply it to him many times? And it is Allah that decreases or increases (your provisions), and unto Him you shall return.﴿
Some Muhsinun (plural of Muhsen) are not upright, which is a problem. The Almighty Allah says:
﴾for those of them who did good deeds and feared Allah,﴿
Success lies in being Muhsen and upright.
Allah's Mercy is His Ultimate bestowal:
Dear brother, the most delicate Ayah in this lecture is the following:﴾Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers. ﴿
The utmost motivation for your good deeds is to gain Allah's Mercy, for it is the ultimate Divine Bestowal. Allah's Mercy upon you means that you are spiritually stable, happy, secured, satisfied, wise, and that you have a disciplined household, a pious wife and dutiful children.
﴾Surely, Allah's Mercy ﴿
Allah's Mercy is Paradise itself, and His Mercy is His utmost Bestowal.
﴾Surely, Allah's Mercy is (ever) near unto the good-doers. ﴿
The Almighty Allah gives his kingdom to those He loves and to those who He does not love. For instance, Allah gave Fir'aun (Pharaoh) the kingdom though He does not him, and He gave it to Sulaiman, peace be upon him, who Allah loves. Allah also gives wealth to those He loves and to those He does not; He gave Qaroon who He does not love, the wealth, and He gave it also to Sulaiman, peace be upon him, and Abdul Rahman Ibn Awf, may Allah be pleased with him, who He loves. This means that liking people or disliking them is not a standard according to which the Divine Bestowal is granted since Allah gives His blessings to those who He loves and those He does not. However, have you ever thought what Allah gives those He loves? Pay attention to the following Ayah:
﴾And when he attained his full strength, and was perfect (in manhood), We bestowed on him Hukman (Prophethood, right judgement of the affairs) and religious knowledge [of the religion of his forefathers i.e. Islamic Monotheism].﴿
Allah bestows wisdom and knowledge upon those He loves.
﴾And thus do We reward the Muhsinun (i.e. good doers ).﴿
Ihsan is the widest gate and the shortest path to reach Allah:
There are other things in addition to Paradise, and they are wisdom and knowledge. I would like to refer to one more point:﴾Invite (mankind, O Muhammad, peace be upon him) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching﴿
"fair" is a noble characteristic.
﴾and argue with them in a way that is better.﴿
In arguments there are disagreements and opposing opinions, so people become nervous. In such a situation, if there are 100 good words, one should use the best of them. The Ayah is very precise in this regard:
﴾Invite (mankind, O Muhammad, peace be upon him) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching﴿
When you preach, you should use nice words, but in arguments, you should be even more careful in choosing your words:
﴾and argue with them in a way that is better.﴿
Ihsan is the shortest path and the wider gate through which we reach Allah.
﴾For those who have done good is the best (reward, i.e. Paradise) and even more﴿
﴾ Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good-doers).﴿