- Islamic Education / Rights
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- Right of Roads
The right of the road:
Dear dignified brother, we are still tackling the subject of rights, and we will go on with the rights of the road. One of the rights of the road beside lowering one's gaze, - is refraining from doing harm to sh3er or removing harmful things. This topic encourages us to refer to an introductory subject, which is modesty. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, in many of his As7adeth reassures that modesty is part of faith. I would like to reauthor some of these Noble As7adeth shortly. Let me refer now to the first Hadith. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((Iman (faith) has over seventy sections…))
There are degrees of faith, and the evidence is that Allah the Almighty says:
(O you who believe! Believe in Allah)
There is faith which is acceptable to Allah, and there is perfection in faith, so faith as well as piety has degrees:(O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared.)
Difference between faith and piety:
Faith is something and piety is something else:
(O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared.)
Also, faith is something and Islam is something else:(The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islam))
Knowing the meaning of these precise terms which are mentioned in the Noble Quran is part of faith. You should know the meaning of faith, Islam, piety, disobedience, bawdry, immorality, atheism and Kufr.Allah the Almighty says in the Noble Quran:
(The bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islam))
Thus, faith is something and Islam is something else.The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said in the Hadith we have at hand:
((Iman has over seventy sections (or affects): The highest in degree among these is to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone,…))
This indicates that the highest degree of faith is to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone. When the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: "to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone", this means that you should believe that there is no other god but Allah Alone, and when you believe in monotheism, you will definitely enter Allah's fortress.
((La ilaha illa' Allah' (declaring that there is no other god but Allah Alone) is My fortress, and whoever enters My fortress will be safe from My torment.))
You should also know that declaring that there is no other god but Allah Alone is the foremost deed ever. The good deeds before you believe that there is no other god but Allah Alone, are tinged with disloyalty, because they are useless as long as you associate partners with Allah.
((…The highest in degree among these is to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone…))
The very end of knowledge is to believe that there is no other god but Allah Alone. Man disobeys His Creator when he thinks that there is someone else other than Allah who can benefit or harm him, then he obeys him and disobeys Allah. On the other hand, when he deeply believes that there is no other god but Allah Alone, that Allah the Almighty is the very first and the very last Truth, and that He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him), in Whose Hands is the dominion of all things, to Him all shall be returned, and He is the Possessor of everything, then there is nothing left to know about. The end of knowledge is to believe that there is no other god but Allah Alone. It is said: "Slaves have learned nothing better than monotheism".
((…and the lowest among them is to remove a harmful thing from the road.))
Removing a harmful thing from the road can be by removing a rock and put it on the roadside.
Dear brother, pay attention to the fact that believing that there is no other god but Allah Alone, and removing a harmful thing from the road are two sections of faith.
((…Hayaa (Modesty) is also one of the sections (or affects) of Iman.))
This Hadith is very precise; it manifests that faith has intellectual, psychological and behavioral sides. The word faith which everyone aims at making it in the essence of his life, should be known very well. We should know that contemplating the universe is part of faith, and there are countless Ayat which provoke us to do so. Also, it is part of faith to ponder on the Book (the Noble Quran) of Allah the Exalted. In addition to these, thinking of the events and what is going on are parts of faith, because the universe is Allah's Creation, the events are His Actions, and the Quran is His Words. Therefore, thinking of these things, contemplating them, pondering on them, conducting a thorough judgment and reaching the essential facts which Allah the Almighty wants us to believe in after research, study, contemplation and meditation are all represent the first side of faith.
These actions explain why ((Iman has over seventy sections (or affects): The highest in degree among these is to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone…)) When you contemplate the universe, ponder on the Quran and think deeply of the events, you will reach the fact that there is a Great Creator, a Merciful Instructor, and a Wise Doer, Who is Allah the Almighty Who has no partner. This is the intellectual, meditating and insight process, so to speak. By the contemplating process over the universe, the Quran and the incidents alongside conducting a judgment, studying, doing research, scrutinizing and having introductions and results, man's intellect reach conclusive results, which scholars called them deductive certainty. This process is also a side of faith.
The concept of monotheism:
Whoever does not think properly, use mind, contemplate things, ponder on them or look into them, is an imitator. An imitator is not considered one of the believers. This is what monotheism scholars agreed upon, because faith cannot be copying, and whoever imitate other's beliefs may imitate their perversity. If your creed is mere imitation, you are gone astray, and if you are taught someone's false creed whom you met by chance, then possibly you will believe in his creed. Hence, it is unacceptable to copy whatever is related to the Creed, because faith has many sections as the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said: ((Iman has over seventy sections (or affects): The highest in degree among these is to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone…). This is the intellectual side.
Last lesson, I don't mean the one which is relevant to this topic, but the one which had to do with the subject of Islamic Creed, I said that if we combine faith and Islam together, and we consider them one integrated unit, we will notice that there is an intellectual side represented by the intellectual faith, there is a behavioral side represented by Islam; Islam is submission and there is a psychological-hearty side represented by the faith of the heart.
Before submitting to Allah's Order,, you should make a correct intellectual judgment, which will make you reach conclusive results. After you become upright to Allah's Order and act upon it, you will definitely get closer to Him. Getting closer to Allah, will make you a true believing Muslim who believes in the religion of Allah the Exalted, and modesty is part of it You can notice that the Muslim has an active intellectual side and a moral psychological one. He represents the highly moral traits; such as justice, mercy, tenderness, kindness, compassion, purity, chastity, beautification and patience. These traits stand for the psychological side.
As for the intellectual side, it has a certainty doctrine, which is the result of contemplation over things, thinking of them deeply, pondering on them and looking into these things. By discussing these sides, as if I am saying that there must be a conviction followed by behavior, which in its turn is followed by happiness. In other words, you are content, so your behavior is the result of your contentment which is the very cause of your happiness, and these words matches exactly the definition of worship. Worship: is a voluntary submission which is mixed with a hearty love, based on a certainty in knowledge and leads to eternal happiness. Three things; a voluntary obedience and behavior. Islam is commitment; it is controlling your senses, your income, your expenses and your social relationships.
In my previous lessons, I assured you that in Islam there are ritualistic acts of worship such as,:Salah, Siyam, Hajj, and there are transactional acts of worship. I swear to Allah that the transactional acts of worship are more serious than the ritualistic ones. In fact, the ritualistic acts of worship cannot be performed properly and their fruits will not be reaped unless the transactional ones are performed properly. When Umar saw a Bedouin pasturing the sheep and the goats, he said to him: "Can I buy this goat? I will pay you its price." The Bedouin said: "It is not mine", so Umar said: "Tell its owner that it died or that the wolf ate it". You know how the story goes on. Then the Bedouin said: "By Allah I need the money the money you will pay badly, and if I tell its owner it died or that the wolf ate it, he will believe me, because he considers me honest and straightforward, but how can I escape Allah's punishment?" Thus, having information, expectations, ambitions, feelings without religious commitment is nonsense. Beware, don't waste your time by adopting concepts that contradict your religion.
(And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad, you owe no duty of protection to them until they emigrate…)
If the beliefs of those who believe, have deep knowledge and have ambitions are not applied to their stances; their giving and refraining from giving, their connection (befriend the believers) and disconnection (keeps away from disbelievers) and their anger (when they see something forbidden is committed) and satisfaction (when they that Allah's orders are followed), they cannot be considered good representatives of Islam. Their beliefs and Creed should be manifested in concrete situations. Islam should be manifested in the Muslim's household, in his relation with his family, in the appearance of his family (their clothes) when they go out, in the appearance of his daughters (their clothes), in his business, in his shop, at his office, in his lecture halls, and in his factory. In brief, the best manifestation of Islam is in social relations and dealing with people.Someone claimed that he knew a witness, then Umar said to that person, "You might have seen him performing Salah"? He said: "Yes." He said: "Then you don't know him. Have you dealt with him in money?" He said: "No." Umar said: "Have you been his neighbor?" He said: "No." Umar said: "Have you ever traveled with him?" The man replied: "No." Umar said: "Then you don't know him."
When the dignified Companions understood that faith is about commitment, dealing with people, being disciplined, seeking Halal, they reached the highest degree of perfection.
An-Najashi asked Ja'far: "Tell me about your Prophet." Ja'far said:
((We were people of ignorance, worshiping idols, eating dead meat, doing fornication, cutting relations with our kinship, wronging our neighbors, and our powerful eating the weak. We used to be that way until Allah sent us a Messenger of us whom we knew his relations, honesty, truthfulness, and abstinence. He called us for Allah to worship Him alone, and leave off what we used to worship, like our fathers, of stones and idols. He commanded us with to be true with our speech, return the deposits, and be kind to our kinship and neighbors. He prevented us from what is wrong and from bloods, and forbad us from fornication, telling lies, eating the money of the orphans, and accusing the chaste wives.))
This is how Ja'afar defined Islam; he referred to moral stances, on which we should place our hands. Islam has intellectual-doctrinal side, which is called in modern terms ideological, and it has a behavioral side, which is the essence in Islam:
A scholar who does not implement his knowledge, is tortured by pagans.
((Learn whatever you want, by Allah you won't be rewarded until you implement what you have learned.))
The other side is the psychological one, which is about getting closer to Almighty Allah. Pay attention to this Hadith:
((Iman has over seventy sections (or affects): The highest in degree among these is to declare that there is no other god but Allah Alone, and the lowest among them is to remove a harmful thing from the road. Hayaa (Modesty) is also one of the sections (or affects) of Iman.))
Let me tell you that Islam has Sibghah (Allah's religion), and you as a human being has a high fitrah. Like you, other creatures have certain high instincts. Your fitrah is represented by being a perfectionist, and there is a difference between being a perfectionist and being perfect. Being a perfectionist is a common denominator between all mankind, while being perfect is the effect of faith. This is Allah's Sibghah the fruit of Sala, of being connected to Allah the Almighty, of patience, of honesty, of faithfulness, of chastity, of fairness and of modesty. Removing a harmful thing from the road is the effect of modesty.
Modesty:
What is modesty? When man's ownself is elevated, he will find it very difficult to misbehave, to say bad words and to have imperfect appearance. He becomes perfect due to his modesty, but why is he modest? Because he is connected to Allah the Almighty.
Have not you heard the Hadith in which the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((Your Lord is munificent and generous, and is ashamed to turn away empty the hands of His servant when he raises them to Him.))
If you are connected to Allah the Almighty, you must derive from Him the trait of modesty. Modesty is to be worried about your misbehavior; on the road, at work, at home, with your family, with your children, with your brother and at the Masjid. It is about being worried about doing something wrong by your words, deeds, appearance and stance. Being afraid of and worried about these things represent modesty.
Let me mention a very crucial point: This morning a brother asked me: "The believer is afflicted by Allah, but we see him happy, why? A believer is happy because he feels that he is on the Straight Serat, that he acts upon Allah's Method and that Allah the Almighty is pleased with him. However, this doesn't mean that his life is free from troubles. There must be troubles in his life, because the way he deals with these troubles shows his patience, and he cannot be elevated but by patience, it shows his tolerance, and he cannot be elevated but by tolerance and it shows his justice. He may be transgressed by someone, so he will be just in taking his right. Do not be deluded that when someone knows Allah, and becomes upright to His orders, his life will be rosy. No, this is not the case, but when you are very happy, it is because you always feel that Allah the Almighty, the Creator of heavens and earth, is pleased with you, and He loves you. This precise feeling is what makes you happy; you feel that you are on the Straight Serat, that you are under Allah's Guidance, that Allah is with you and that He supports you. The great prophets used to be like what the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((The most in their suffering among the people are the prophets, then the best, then the (next) best.))
The lives of the Prophet's dignified Companions were full of troubles, but these troubles were sacred, because they face them for the sake of knowing Allah, of defending their Creed, of their stands and of pleasing Allah.
How can this slave be elevated in Allah's Sight? This is a precise question, and the answer is that Allah the Almighty created this creature, and He wants him to be elevated in His Sight, to reach Him and to be connected to him, but how can he do that? Allah created this man to have a certain nature; He gives him orders which he should do, and He forbids him from doing certain things. Allah's orders must contradict man's nature, and the impermissible things He forbids man from doing must be agreeable to his nature; Allah has installed in man the love to women, but He orders him to lower his gaze. Nevertheless, Allah has made to this lust, which He has installed in man, only one clean way though which it can be fulfilled, so he cannot satisfy this lust through the way he likes.
There is a lust which Allah has installed in man and there is a charge which he is charged with. Takleef (Assignment) means that it tukallef man (costs him making efforts). You are ordered to lower your gaze, and you are allowed to enjoy only what Allah makes permissible for you:
(But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts.)
This is how you are elevated. Money is another desire which Allah has installed in you. The love to money is installed in you, and there are so many ways though which you can make money. Yet, Allah has limited the ways through which you can make your money; you are permitted to make it by Halal ways (lawfully). Also, Almighty Allah has limited for you the ways though which you can spend your money. Hence, you are not free. Bishr Al- Hafi, who is one of the noblest allies of Allah, used to be greatly indulged in sins. While he was drinking wine in a drinking wine gathering, his door was knocked. There was a man at the door, and he asked Bishr's servant: "Tell your master if he thinks that he is free, then he can do whatever he wants, but if he thinks that he is a slave, then this is not how slaves spend their life."
These words had a great impact on his heart, it made him drop his glass, and follow the person who said them. He followed him barefooted. I repeat these words: "Tell your master if he thinks that he is free, then he can do whatever he wants, but if he thinks that he is a slave, then this is not how slaves spend their life". It means that all your affairs are in the Hand of Allah the Almighty. If you say: "Praise be to Allah, things are going well; I have good health," you mean that thousands of your body systems are working regularly; the neurological system, the circulatory system, muscles and nerves, but you should always remember that any slight disorder in your body turns your life to hell, so all your affairs are in the Hands of Allah.
Pay attention to Allah the Almighty's words, He says:
(For every nation there is a direction to which they face (in their prayers).)
What is the meaning of this Ayah? It means you have the free will to choose:(For every nation there is a direction to which they face (in their prayers).)
To which man choose, but the eye-catching fact is that why does Allah the Almighty say-:(So hasten towards all that is good.)
Why? Because you are given the free will for a short period of time (life is short), not for ever. The proof is mentioned in the following Ayah:(Wheresoever you may be, Allah will bring you together (on the Day of Resurrection).)
You have the free will; you can choose either to obey or to disobey, either to do good deeds or to do bad deeds, either to pray or not, either to attend a religious gatherings or irreligious ones. You have the free will:(For every nation there is a direction)
To which man face. Then Allah addresses us:(So hasten towards all that is good.)
Because of this trait and this characteristic (the free will), you are happy. This free will which is the secret behind your happiness and the secret behind your elevation in Allah's Sight, lasts one day; it will be taken away from you when the Angel of Death comes to you. That is why:(So hasten towards all that is good. Wheresoever you may be, Allah will bring you together (on the Day of Resurrection.))
When the Angel of Death comes to you, there is no more free will. We all have the free as long as our hearts beat. You are given an irreplaceable chance; you have the free will, you can do good deeds, repent, ask for forgiveness, get closer to Allah the Almighty, lower your gaze, give the rights back to their owners:(So hasten towards all that is good.)
-Hasten; the irreplaceable chance you are given has a limited period of time, and it will come to its end one day:(Wheresoever you may be, Allah will bring you together (on the Day of Resurrection))
Thus, the secret behind the believer's happiness is that he feels that he is under the Guidance of Allah the Almighty:(…then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.)
Now we are back to modesty: The Prophet,- may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:((Modesty is all good.))
When you are modest, your modesty prevents you from disobeying Allah, from looking at what Allah forbids, from taking what is not yours, from cursing and insulting sh3er, from assaulting people's reputation and from taking their money unlawfully. I repeat what the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((Modesty is all good.))
Why are we tackling the topic of modesty? Because one of the rights of the road is removing harmful things from the road, and this will not be achieved if one is not modest, and because one of the sayings of the early Prophets which was imparted to the people - as it is reported in Bukhari is:
((If you do not feel shame, then do as you like.))
There is a very accurate interpretation for this hadith: If you do not feel shame, then do whatever pleases you. Whatever you do should be according to Shari'ah, but when you do something that is unacceptable, and you have no feeling of shame before Allah the Almighty when you do it, then fear none and go ahead doing it. Since you are not ashamed before Allah of doing whatever does not please Him, then do whatever you like. This is the first meaning of the Hadith.
Your heroism lies in having an answer to Allah the Almighty When He asks about whatever you do. You can do whatever you want, provided that you prepare answers to Allah when He asks you on the Day of Resurrection about all your stances, moves and stillness. If you want to do something that is acceptable in Islam, it pleases Allah and you do not feel shame of, you can do it with no fear. If your deeds are acceptable according to Shari'ah, and you will not feel shame of them if Allah asks you about, then do them. If you are asked to give an answer to a question such as, why you hit this orphan, and your answer is that, 'because if he were my own son I would hit him', then: hit him and correct his manners. Also, if you are asked why you deprived Zaid from money, and your answer is, 'because he spends it on drinking', then you can do it. Therefore, whatever you want to do should be done according to Shari'ah. If your answers to Allah (when you are asked about your deeds) are positive, then do them and fear nothing. This is the first meaning of the Hadith.
The second meaning: If a believer's heart is void of faith, then it is void of modesty, because modesty is one of the requisites of having faith. A person who has no modesty, can do bad deeds. What prevents him from doing bad deeds? His modesty, so if he doesn't have it, he will do everything he likes:
((If you do not feel shame, then do as you like.))
The Prophet, may Allah have his peace and blessings upon him, said:((Every Deen has a distinctive quality, and the distinctive quality of Islam is Modesty.))
You may distinguish the believer from the non-believer by his modesty, by the way he walks in the street, by the way he lowers his gaze and by the way he deals with people. You may deal with a person as such for many years without hearing him uttering one single indecent word. Even when he jokes, he watches his language, and his jokes are acceptable in Islam, not offensive. There are some educated people who occupy high positions in society, but if you attend their private gatherings, you will hear cheap and shameful jokes. Whoever does not feel shame is not a believer. Bear in mind that modesty is one of the requisites of having faith.Modesty is the outstanding good conduct of the believer; it is apparent in his behavior and in the way he sits, walks, dresses up, eats, drinks, drives and deals with people. Also, it should be obvious in his jokes, in the way he has fun, in his seriousness, at his work and at his home. In all of these aspects you see his modesty.
((Salim bin Abdullah narrated from his father that once Allah's Messenger (saw) passed by a man of the Ansaar who was admonishing his brother regarding Haya (modesty). Allah's Messenger (saw) said, "Leave him for modesty is part of Iman."))
As if the Prophet wanted to say, 'Don't bother yourself, because if he is a believer, he will feel shame, but since he has no shame, he is not a believer.'
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated:
((The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him was more shy than a virgin in her private room.))
A'isha reported:
((A woman asked the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) how to wash herself after menstruation. She mentioned that he taught her how to take bath and then told her to take a piece of cotton with musk and purify herself. She said: How should I purify myself with that? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Praise be to Allah, purify yourself with it, and covered his face, Sufyan b. 'Uyaina gave a demonstration by covering his face (as the Holy Prophet had done). 'A'isha reported: I dragged her to my side for I had understood what the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) intended and, therefore, said: Apply this cotton with musk to the trace of blood. Ibn 'Umar in his hadith (has mentioned the words of 'A'isha thus): Apply it to the marks of blood.))
The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, was so modest; he never uttered an indecent word. He said to his daughter:
((O my dear daughter, these clothes show the size of your bones.))
Listen carefully: 'O my dear daughter, these clothes show the size of your bones.'What do some people say instead of bones? They say the size of your legs, the size of your arms or any other word that provokes lust.
What does Allah the Almighty say? He says:
(And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts*except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame*but whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors)
Allah uses a very nice word (chastity) which doesn't violates modesty.
The truth is that if man's firtah is pure and is not ruined by lusts, and if he is under the protection of the Greatest, Who is Perfect, in Whose Hand is all the affairs, and His torment is severe, then he absolutely feels modest towards Him.
Imagine that a member of your family who has a great position, whose morals are high and he is a dignified scholar visits you, how will you welcome him? Will you welcome him in vulgar clothes? Of course not. Will you curse your son before him using bad words? Of course not. Will you stretch your limbs before him? Absolutely, you will not. Will you burp before him? No, you will not. He is sit a human being, yet you feel disciplined in his presence. Thus, when you feel that Allah is always with you; when you are alone, when you are with people, when you are at your home and when you are at work, the feeling that Allah The Almighty is watching you is one of the fruits of modesty. That is why the Prophet, –may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((Coarse talk does not come into anything without disgracing it, and modesty does not come into anything without adorning it.))
It is a reference to filthy language, indecent clothes, indecent manners, dirty thoughts and dirty stories.((Coarse talk does not come into anything without disgracing it, and modesty does not come into anything without adorning it.))
The Hadith which I will mention sooner is very dangerous; in it modesty is closely linked to faith. If one of them is missing, then the other will definitely be missing too. When you say that someone does not feel shame, then he is not considered a believer, and when you say that someone is not considered a believer, then he does not feel sham. You can never meet a believer who does not feel shame, because having faith and shame never meets. I repeat: Modesty is a requisite of faith, so if you have a friend, a neighbor or a colleague at work who has modesty, then expect from him goodness. As long as he has modesty then he has faith; it is a pledge of faith. If you want to see a stark sign of a believer's faith, it is modesty.
The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said
((Modesty is part of faith…))
This 'from' means that some of the believer's characteristics is modesty:((and faith is in Paradise, but obscenity…))
Such as indecent words, cheap jokes in which people describe the private parts. These dirty words make you feel that it is a shame to listen to them, let alone that they offend the souls. This kind of harmful talk is:
((but obscenity is part of hardness of heart…))
What does hardness of heart mean in this context? It means to be away from Allah the Almighty. One of the causes of hardness in heart is using dirty language in your speech:
((and hardness of heart is in hell.))
It is a very serious Hadith:
((Modesty is part of faith and faith is in paradise, but obscenity is part of hardness of heart and hardness of heart is in hell.))
If someone meets you and deals with you, he should know that you are a believer by your actions, not words. He should know that you are a believer and say about you: 'By The Lord of Ka'abah he is a believer", only because you are modest. We have a very accurate standard which is given to us by the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, he said:
((You can say what is acceptable to be heard, but do not say what you find unacceptable to hear.))
Avoid it. Would you like to listen to a traitor, a liar or a morally deviated person? If you like to listen to those people, then stay with them, but if you do not, you should stay away from them. This is one of delicate standards of modesty.
Types of modesty:
1- Modesty towards Allah the Almighty:
There are three types of modesty. Talking about modesty leads us to talk about removing a harmful thing from the road, and removing a harmful thing from the road is one of the rights of the road.
The first type of modesty is the one towards Allah the Almighty; when you do the things He ordered you to do, and abstain from doing what He forbids then you are modest towards Allah. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
(("You should be shy in front of Allah as He deserves." He, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, was asked, "What should we do?" The Prophet, Allah have peace and blessings upon him said, "If you do so, none of you will go to sleep without seeing your death with your own eyes. You should guard your mind and whatever goes on in it (the eyes, the ears, the head and the thoughts). You must guard your stomach and whatever goes into it (the food you eat should be what is made permissible for you). You should remember your grave and the fact that your body will spoil there. Whoever wants the Hereafter should abandon the adornments of the life of this world."))
If you follow those commandments, you are a true modest man towards Allah. There is an accurate scale concerning this issue: Whose piety does not stops him from committing sin when he is alone, Allah won't take whatever he does into consideration. Your heroism is represented by your actions when you are alone at home and no one can see what you are doing. If the things you do in privacy can be done in public, if the things you perform secretly can be performed before other people and if your fear to Allah in private is as the same as your fear to him before people, verily you are modest towards Allah in the best manner.2- Modesty towards people:
The second type of modesty is: Modesty towards people. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((There is no goodness in whoever has no modesty towards people.))
Modesty is a an integral whole, and the trait of modesty appears in your modesty towards Allah, towards people and towards yourself.
3- Modesty towards one's ownself:
If you do something in private, which has nothing to do with obedience or committing sin, but it is one of the things that you should not do, you have no modesty towards yourself. The minute your status collapses in the sight of your ownself, your balance disturbs. This is very serious; the collapse of one's status in the sight of his ownself. You may do something that is related to health habits or hygiene, but this deed contradicts perfection, you will feel how inferior you are before your ownself even though what you do is one of the permissible deeds, and no one watches you or judges you.
I repeat: Modesty towards Allah is represented by following His orders and avoiding the forbidden deeds, modesty towards people is abstaining from doing harm to them and modesty towards your ownself is making your deeds up to the required level.
There is a crucial point in the following well-known Hadith. The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said:
((When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it.))
If you link the obedience to its reward, and the sin to its punishment, you will never commit a sin, but rather you will always be obedient. As soon as, you disconnect obedience and sin from their consequences, you will be considered a non-believer.
Hence:
((When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it.))
How could someone commit adultery if he knows that Allah watches him?
A man wanted to commit adultery with a woman, so he closed all doors, but she said to him: "There is a door that you cannot close; it is Allah's door." He was ashamed of himself upon listening to these words. If you believe that Almighty Allah watches you when you are about to commit a sin, and if your fitrah is sound and your faith is strong, you will refrain from committing sins.
Modesty is the basis of removing harmful things from the road, dressing up decently, moves and stillness. Sometimes man feels himself inferior to other people, so he tries to exceed his limits and get what is not his unlawfully (which hurts other people). However, he knows that those people are human beings just like him, and that they have dignity, so he feels ashamed of his deed. A believer is shy if he is distinguished from sh3er, which is also out of modesty. Modesty has too many sections, and it is one of the rights of the road.
Saad bin Ubada:
We still have one thing to tackle in our lesson today. It has to do with the biography of the dignified Companion Sa'd bin Ubadah who was straightforward when he dealt with the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him. I told you last lesson how He conveyed to the Prophet Al-Ansaar's stance, and how the stance of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, was the most perfect when he referred to the favor they did to him, and to the one he, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, did to them, he said:
((Wouldn't you be willing to see the people go away with sheep and camels while you go with the Prophet to your homes?))
Let us continue with the biography of Sa'd bin Ubadah. It was said that whenever Sa'd bin Mu'az was mentioned, Sa'd bin Ubadah was mentioned too, because both Companions were chiefs of Madinah; Sa'd bin Mu'az was the chief of Awss, and Sa'd bin Ubadah was the chief of Khazraj. Both of them believed the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, at an early time, and both swore allegiance at Al-Aqaba. However, what made Sa'd bin Ubadah privileged was that he suffered a lot from the torture of Quraish. One may wonder that since he was from Madina and the chief of Khazraj, how did Quraish get to him and torture him? He says in the biography that during the pledge of their allegiance to the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, in Mecca, Quraish's disbelievers knew that he allied the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, and he agreed with him to be one of the missioners of this new religion in Madina. As a result, Quraish's chiefs sent someone to follow those who decided to be missioners, and they could capture Sa'd bin Ubadah, and to bring him back to Mecca to torture him. Now listen what he says:"By Allah I was caught in their hands, and a man with a shiny face and a white skin appeared. He was radiant, so I said to myself: 'If there is someone good among those people, it will be this man.'" Sa'd is now in their hands and they are torturing him. "When he came closer to me[this shiny, white and radiant man, who Sa'd thought was good], he raised his hand and punched me very roughly, so I told myself: 'By Allah, there is no good in them after this.'"
Sometimes man is deceived by the appearance of someone; he likes his elegance and his handsomeness but later on he finds out that this man is as wild as the wolf and that he is a very bad person. Sa'd thought that person was good as he admired his whiteness, his good looking and radiance, but "When he came closer to me, he punched me, so I said: 'By Allah there is no good in them after this.'" He continues saying: "By Allah I was in their hands and they were dragging me, when one of them came to me and said: 'Woe to you, did not you do any good for any of Quraish's people?' They were torturing him when he was asked this question. "I said: 'Of course I did. I was good to Hubair bin Mut'am; I used to protect his business and stop those who wanted to do harm to him in my country. Also, I used to be good to Al-Harith bin Harab bin Umayyah.' The man said: 'Then call the names of these two men.'" In Jahiliyyah it was enough to the Kuffar of Quraish to mention someone to whom you did a favor, so that they would call him, check the truth and stop torturing you. Therefore, the man said to him: "'Call the names of these two men and say what you did to them', 'so I did and the man went to these two men and told them, 'A man from Khazraj is being beaten up, and he is calling on your names. He said that he did you a favor.' They asked about my name, and the man said: 'Sa'd bin Ubadah.' They said: 'He is telling the truth.' Then they came and set me free."
During the period of Jahiliyyah the Kuffar of Quraish used to save whoever did them a favor. It was enough to call the name of whoever the favor was done to, and he would come and save the person who did him the favor. Doing that was one of their morals. Beside the misfortune that he endured, Sa'd bin Ubadah had other traits, and that misfortune uncovered his nature. I repeatedly say that when our Master Ash- Shafi'i was asked: "Should we ask Allah to enable us or to afflict us?" He, may Allah be pleased with him, answered: "You won't be enabled until you are afflicted."
It means Allah's slaves should be tested by Allah in prosperity and adversity, in times of hardship and times of relief, in times of bounty and the ones of scarcity, in times when the worldly life is good with us and when it is bad, in health and sickness, in richness and poverty, in highness and weakness and under all other situations in this life.
Our master Sa'd was one of the rich people, and he dedicated all of his money to serve Al-Muhajereen. He was very generous as the narrators narrate. They mention that he used to carry his big dish and accompany the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, wherever he went. Al- Ansari would take one, two or three men from Al- Muhajereen to welcome them to his house, while Sa'd bin Ubadah would take eighty men. Al-Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them, - took an ethical stand (they helped them) towards Al- Muhajereen, which is considered a historical stand. I wish that every believer does the same.
Actually, the biography has a very important goal. One may ask, how would one make benefit of knowing that Al-Ansar divided everything they had with their brother Al-Muhajerren? This is a historical event which took place a long time ago Also, those people died years ago, and they are in their graves. However, we can make use of the biography of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, and the biography of his dignified Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, by making their stances good examples for us. If one of our brother is weak, his dignified brother should assist him by offering him help, support, sacrifice and altruism. This is the least that can be done if you have faith.
I repeat what I have just said: Al-Ansari would take one, two or three men from Al- Muhajereen to welcome them in his house, whereas, Sa'd bin Ubadah would take eighty men. This dignified Companion used to make the following Du'a: "O Allah the little of things doesn't suffice me, and I am not good with the little." The generous person who likes to give other people, honor them, feed the poor and help those in need and in distress, needs a big income, so Sa'd used to say: "O Allah, the little of things doesn't suffice me, and I am not good with the little." The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, said that Allah says: " Some of My slaves cannot be but rich, because if I take away their richness, their faith will be corrupted". There is a man who is very generous and philanthropist, and he cannot rest unless he gives other people, but there is a person who may go astray if Allah takes away his richness:
(And if Allah were to enlarge the provision for His slaves, they would surely rebel in the earth, but He sends down by measure as He wills.)
"Some of my slaves cannot be but poor, because if I makes him rich, his faith will be corrupted." Herein lies the deep wisdom. What did the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, used to do when he notices the generosity, help, virility, giving, sacrifice and redemption of our Master Sa'd? He, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, - used to raise his hands to the sky and say:((O Allah have your blessings and mercy upon the family of Sa'd bin Ubadah))
The Prophet's Du'a is always answered. Our Master Ibn Abbas said: "The Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, had at all times two banners; He charged Ali with the banner of Al-Muhajereen, and that of Al-Ansar, Sa'd bin Ubadah. The last trait that we mentioned last lesson was Sa'd's extreme straightness when he said to the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him -: "This Ansar's neighborhood see that they were not treated fairly."
These are some of the excerpts from the biography of this dignified Companion. I always wish that these stories become the light which will enlighten the road of faith. I hope that they represent the light, the shining torch and the outstanding examples to us. We are believers, praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds for this. If a person is a believer he should say: 'I am a believer, praise be to Allah'. This issue has been studied by scholars, so we are believers, praise be Allah, and the people we have just talked about are the Companions of the Prophet, may Allah have peace and blessings upon him, and they were believers too. We mentioned some of their morals, so if we are believers, we should follow their steps. Our Master Sa'd endured harm, he used to help his brother and he was brave, generous and altruist.
