Esteemed brother, in the series of lessons “Reviled Traits”, that we started a while ago, based on the saying of our master Huthayfa, may Allah be pleased with him, when he said, “people used to ask the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, about (what is) good, and I used to ask him about (what is) evil out of fear of committing it.” (agreed upon)

Among indecent manners: Helping sh3er on wrongdoings

 Through this series we will see that this is the most dangerous of reviled traits for a believer, cooperating on malicious deeds and hostility, Allah, exalted be He said what can be interpreted as,

﴾And help one another to benignancy and piety, and do not help one another to malicious deeds and hostility, and be pious to Allah﴿

(Al Maa’edah, 5:2)

1. Meaning of ithm

 The literal meaning of the word ithm (malicious deed) is what we have to guard ourselves from according to our faith and our nature. By that we mean that there is complete conformity between the semantics of Islamic law and the characteristics of the soul. Everything your soul longs for was decreed onto you by Allah, and everything that causes you contempt, Allah forbade you; therefore you stay away from it due to Islamic laws and your nature.
 Some said, “a vice and vices are deeds that delay fair rewards and soil their doer so that he is little in the eyes of Allah and people.”
 Moreover, vices are what makes the soul deserve punishment and should only be attributed to what is forbidden, and this is one of the extreme definitions and vices here are synonymous to forbidden.
 A dhanb (sin) is a bad deed in its absolute meaning whether it was done deliberately or inadvertently. Straying from the methodology of Allah is in itself a sin, and its doer deserves punishment. However Ithm (malicious deed) is something done deliberately, a sin could have been committed inadvertently but an ithm (malicious deed) is intentional.

2. Difference between Ithm, thanb, and wizr:

 As for the difference between ithm (malicious deed) and wizr (guilt), they bare the same meaning even if from different angles. The root of the word Ithm (malicious deed) in Arabic refers to taking pleasure in doing something, while that of wizr (guilt) implies the strength or weight of the deed. Generally speaking, Man takes pleasure in some wrongdoings. Wizr (guilt) implies strength and ithm (malicious deed) implies pleasure and they are both sins.

3. Meaning of hostility:

 Hostility means aggression, be it verbally, physically or psychologically: verbal hostility, physical hostility and psychological hostility.
 Some said: Hostility is overstepping the prescribed limits.

﴾And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is[due]from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers.﴿

(Ash-Shoora, 42:40)

 

 Sometimes people tend to seek twice the revenge and this becomes hostility, they are only allowed to take their right.

The meaning of the verse,

﴾And help one another to benignancy and piety, and do not help one another to malicious deeds and hostility﴿

(Al Maa’edah, 5:2)

Rule: if together they differ (in meaning), if separate they unite (in meaning).

 If you look at the expression “malicious deeds and hostility”, you will find many pairs in the Qur’an that are always mentioned together, for example: the poor and the needy
If you say the poor, it implies the poor and the needy and if you say the needy, it means the poor and the needy. However, if you say the poor and the needy, the poor is the one who cannot provide for himself, his income does not cover his needs but he lives in a house and owns clothes. On the other hand, the needy is the one unable to earn a living due to a handicap, therefore if together they differ (in meaning) and if separate they unite (in meaning).
 Similarly, malicious deeds and hostility separate in meaning when they appear together. Malicious deeds are mainly sins accompanied by a pleasure. As for hostility it is an act of transgression. However, if you say malicious deed alone it includes hostility and if you say hostility alone it includes malicious deed.
 Al-kurtuby said, “hostility is transgressing the limit and injustice is putting something in a place not suited for it.”
The only reference in the Qur’an is this verse,

﴾And help one another to benignancy and piety, and do not help one another to malicious deeds and hostility﴿

(Al Maa’edah, 5:2)

 However the Sunnah goes into the subject in detail.

It is illegal to help each other of wrongdoings and hostility:

 The prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him said,

((Listen, there will be rulers after me, whoever testifies to their falsehood and lies, and helped them in their treachery, he is not from me, and I am not from him (i.e. I have nothing to do with him). He shall not come near me at the Hawdh (fount-lake). And whoever does not testify to their falsehood and does not help them in their treachery, he is from me and I am from him and he shall meet me at the Hawdh.))

[an-Nasa'i]

 Whoever helps a transgressor with as little as half a word, come on the Day of Judgement, written on his forehead: he despaired of God’s mercy.

1. One should not approve sh3er on sin and disobedience:

 You have a friend in high position and you go to visit him one day and he says, “I did so and so” and what he did was unfair. If you go along with what he says, and approve and praise it, and say, “this is a wise thing to do”, know that you take a share of the punishment for this bad deed.
 Therefore it was said, “Whoever did not witness a wrongdoing but approved it is as though he has witnessed it. And whoever witnessed a wrongdoing and disapproved of it, it is as though he did not witness it.”
 If we take an exaggerated example: you are in Damascus and someone did something really bad in Canada and you said to yourself, “He is so clever” though he committed a wrongdoing or hostility or embezzled money or committed forgery, or lied, and you said, “he is really clever” believe it or not you will carry the sin in Damascus just like him.
 Whoever did not witness a wrongdoing but approved of it bares the guilt of one who witnessed it. And whoever witnessed a wrongdoing and disapproved of it, it is as though he did not witness it.

2. Don’t be a friend of a disobedience person:

 It is said that the sin is a bad omen on the one who did not commit it. It goes without saying that it is a bad omen on its doer but also on the one who did not do it, i.e. the friend of the person who did it.
 Some people say: to be the friend of someone who owns a farm is better than to own the farm yourself, and to be the friend of someone who owns a car is better than to own the car yourself, but to be the friend of a wrongdoer might have its repercussions.

3. Don’t taunt a sinner of his sin:

 First, if you mention the sin to every person you meet then you have slandered him. And if you have approved it you are his accomplice. And if you taunt him, something similar might befall you.
 A friend of yours committed a sin, if you say, “he sorted himself” then you carry the sin with him.

((A man amongst you will say a word giving it no consideration at all, and it will drag him seventy years in the hell fire.))

(At-tirmidhy)

4. Don’t disgrace a disobedient peson:

 If you say, “Where is his common sense” to discredit and disgrace him, Allah might try you by inflicting on you the same sin, and this is very common.
 You are being very condescending, saying, “where is his common sense!” While prophet Yussuf was very polite,

﴾He said, “Lord! Prison is more beloved to me than what they call me to; and in case You do not turn about from me their plotting, I would court them, and I would be of the ignorant.﴿

(12- Surat Yussuf:33)

 That is to say, O Lord you have preserved me, to you I owe my chastity. A man can sometimes truly be virtuous but forget that it is Allah who preserved his virtuosity and become full of himself thinking, I have a strong will, I grew up obeying Allah. This is arrogance, and our master Yussuf was more virtuous than us,
He said,

﴾Lord! Prison is more beloved to me than what they call me to; and in case You do not turn about from me their plotting, I would court them, and I would be of the ignorant.﴿

(12- Surat Yussuf:33)

 The people we least expect to worship anyone but Allah are the Prophets, What was Ibrahim’s supplication?

﴾And as Ibrahîm (Abraham) said, “Lord! Make this land secure and make me and my seeds (Or: sons) avoid worshiping idols.﴿

(14-Surat Ibraheem:35)

 This is slavery: to see that Allah is the Protector.
 In any case, talking about the sinner to anyone and everyone is backbiting. Mocking him and discrediting him may bring whatever he’s done upon you. And if you approve of what he did you are his accomplice in sin.
 If your friend has committed a sin you should say, “may Allah forgive him, o Allah protect me from such a sin, O Allah help me obey you and do not lead my heart astray after you have guided me.” For when you pray Allah to preserve you and pray for your friend to repent this is the ideal thing to do.
 You might have a friend in a position of power like in the customs. He might say to you, “I stopped him and made him pay two hundred thousand, and he paid in total resignation.” What do you say to him, “Well done, may Allah be with you!” You will be accountable in front of Allah, this is an injustice. Accustom yourself not to flatter anyone in such instances. Don’t flatter people about their mistakes or you will be at fault too. Even an act as little as a nod with your head is wrong because it’s a sign of approval and you are not allowed to make it.
 A person in high position once came to me and said, “I was in Hajj” so I congratulated him, he said, “I have 300 female employees, the older ones are like my sisters so I shook hands with them. The younger ones are like my daughters. What do you say?” I said, “this is wrong” He hoped to get a fatwa from me that the older ones are like his sisters and the younger ones are like his daughters so he shook hands with all of them after Hajj.

The advantage of Muslim nation:

 You should not remain silent, because the good of this Ummah lies in commanding benefaction and forbidding malefaction. Allah exhalted be He says what can be interpreted as,

﴾You have been the most charitable nation brought out to mankind: you command benefaction, and forbid malefaction, and believe in Allah.﴿

(3- Surat Aal Imraan:110)

 Therefore if we do not command benefaction and forbid malefaction, rather if we command malefaction and forbid benefaction, or if benefaction becomes malefaction and vice versa we lose the goodness of our nation and we become like any other nation that has no weight before Allah. This is the reality. Be daring, there are people that jump on problems, that face problems. Our nation has become religiously retarded.  Don’t say, “We are the nation of Muhammad, he is the master of all creatures, the beloved of the Truth. Rather we do not follow his tradition, nor his methodology, and the proof is that we are tried every day, and Allah says what can be interpreted as,

﴾And in no way indeed would Allah torment them, (while) you are among them; and in no way would Allah be tormenting them (while) they ask forgiveness.﴿

(8- Al-anfaal, 33)

Stick to the essence not to the shape:

 It is absolutely impossible that we are tormented while following the methodology of the messenger of Allah, applying it in our homes. Therefore, what we should applaud is not being within an Islamic frame but being within an Islamic content.
 Heroism is not when your speech is Islamic but when your household is Islamic, when your deeds comply with Islamic teachings. Appearances are very manageable and the least religious people can comply with Islamic appearances. They can pray perform minor and major pilgrimage, yet there earnings are not acceptable islamically, there spending is not Islamic, their celebrations are not Islamic, their daughters outings are not Islamic. Do not hold on to formalities but hold on to the content. We hold on to formalities. If you visit all the Islamic countries you will find mosques, prayers, conferences, libraries, religious programs, but Muslims do not practice, therefore Allah disregarded these appearances and delayed what he promised them.
 I remember that before the last war in Iraq, all mosques performed the prayer of Kunoot, and Allah did not answer our prayers.
And now I say, if we perform the rain prayer without asking forgiveness, rain will not fall. Thanks to Allah, we produce 6 million tons of wheat yearly. Therefore it is not a question of formalities with Allah, but substance. We should celebrate the substance and not the titles.

Advice, advice!!

 And the Prophet said in a narration of an-Nasaa’y,

((When Allah has a good purpose for a ruler, He appoints for him a sincere minister who reminds him if he forgets and helps him if he remembers; but when Allah has a different purpose from that for him. He appoints for him an evil minister who does not remind him if he forgets and does not help him if he remembers.))

(An-Nasaa’y)

 Therefore, your close circle of people is of great importance, let them be advisers. You show character when you let people who give honest advise get close to you and keep those who flatter you away. Bring closer to you those who give you honest advice with regards to family, university, organization. Be close to honest advisers and keep away from flattering hypocrites.

((When Allah has a good purpose for a ruler, He appoints for him a sincere minister who reminds him if he forgets and helps him if he remembers; but when Allah has a different purpose from that for him. He appoints for him an evil minister who does not remind him if he forgets and does not help him if he remembers))

(An-Nasaa’y)

 It was also narrated by Jaber Ibn Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that the Prophet also said to Ka’b Ibn Ajra,

((May Allah protect you from the rule of the foolish. He said, ‘What is the rule of the foolish?’ He said, ‘Rulers that will come after me, that don’t follow my guidance, and don’t uphold my tradition, and those who believe them despite their lies and support them despite their injustice are not from my people and I am not one of them and will not pass by my fountain. And those who do not believe their lies and support their injustice, they are of my people and I am one of them and they will come to my fountain. O Ka’b, fasting is heaven, and alms erase mistakes, and prayer is a proof, O ka’b, people are two kinds of early travelers, those who buy their souls and set them free, and those who sell their souls and let them perish.))

Don’t be contradicted and have two standards:

 My esteemed, brother, does anyone believe that the United States came to Iraq to spread democracy and freedom? Impossible, because the reality is the total opposite.
 The reality tells of plundering resources, stirring sectarian hatred. When lies are spread, the society is based on lies. When someone says false things, address him politely and say, “what you’ve said is not true.” When people face criticism and stand corrected, they restrain themselves.
 Abu Hurairah and Abu Saeed, may Allah be pleased with both of them, reported that the prophet said,

((If the dwellers of heaven and earth killed a believer jointly, Allah would through them on their faces in hellfire.))

 Allah said, “So they hamstrung her”(Ash-shams) The only one person hamstrung her still the ayah says, “they hamstrung her” which means that the people of the doer approved of what he did. Therefore in democratic countries the voters who elect an unjust government that oppresses other nations are accountable for the free choice they made.

((If the dwellers of heaven and earth killed a believer jointly, Allah would through them on their faces in hellfire.))

 In another hadith reported by Al-Haakem, Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said,

((whoever assists in a dispute unjustly has earned Allah’s wrath))

(Al-Haakem)

 I swear by Allah the one and only that in 90 % of the cases, if the son is at fault, the mother will support him against his wife, if the daughter is at fault, her father will support her against his son in law. If the son of the partner makes a mistake, his father will support him against the other partner, and so on… blind bias. No fairness no justice. We think that justice is the virtue of the judge. You are the judge for your children, for your sons in law, for your daughter and her husband. Most people are bias to those who seek their help, this is blind biased and it is unfair.

((If the dwellers of heaven and earth killed a believer jointly, Allah would throw them on their faces in hellfire.))

((whoever assists in a dispute unjustly has earned Allah’s wrath until he refrains))

 I know a wealthy young man who wanted to get married, so he chose a stunning young woman, who came from a religious background. To him, beauty was enough and he thought that in time he would be able of ridding her of her old fashioned ways. After marriage, it turns out that she is a true believer. She refused mixed gatherings and going to hotels and clubs and sitting with his friends. However her dowry was quiet high. Thus his mum put up a plan to let his wife give up the dowry. She gave her son clear instructions to come home at 2 o’clock, and show his wife all sorts of humiliations and injustice. The woman could not take this and after a while she asked to be separated from her husband and gave up her dowry. He then remarried with a woman who does not know Allah, just like him. And his old story became a joke he relates whenever he faces a problem and gets over it he says, “I got out of it just as I got out of paying the dowry of my first wife.” He considered himself a smart man, he had a car and a summer house. One summer day, he was driving the car, his mum in the seat behind him, his wife next to him and behind her his father. They had a fatal car crash and the son and his mum died on the spot. The father used to condemn his wife’s actions towards the first wife. God is great and there are so many similar accounts.
 Never support a tyrant, never support a tyrant. Sometimes a son is unjust and still his mother supports him against his wife. The mother’s heroism is to stand by the truth.
 Esteemed brother, an hour of fairness equals eighty years of worship of Allah. A word of fairness takes you to lofty ranks, even if you give justice to your son’s opponent.

Danger of helping each other on wrongdoings and hostility:

 The Messenger of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said,

((One who defects from obedience (to the Amir) and separates from the main body of the Muslims--if he dies in that state--will die the death of one belonging to the days of Jahiliyyah (i.e. would not die as a Muslim).One who fights under the banner of a people who are blind (to the cause for which they are fighting, i.e. do not know whether their cause is just or otherwise), is angered for sectarian reasons, calls (people) to fight for the honour of their people, and supports his kith and kin (i.e. fights not for the cause of Allah but for the sake of his family or tribe)--if he is killed (in this fight), he dies as one belonging to the days of Jahiliyyah.Whoever attacks my Ummah, (indiscriminately) killing the righteous and the wicked of them, sparing not (even) those staunch in faith, and not fulfilling his promise made with those who have been given a pledge of a security--he has nothing to do with me and I have nothing to do with him.))

(Saheeh Muslim)

 Killing indiscriminately is against our methodology, and may cause you to kill an innocent person, a child, a woman and that is a huge problem.
On the other hand,

((Whoever calls to guidance will have the same reward as all those who follow him in that guidance but this will not take anything away from their reward. Whoever calls to untruth will carry the same sin as the same sin as all those who follow him in that, but that will not take anything away from their sins.))

(Saheeh Muslim)

 Random killing is against the methodology of Islam. You are not allowed to kill a child or a woman. You are not allowed to kill without a legal ruling. This is a big problem. On the other hand:

((Whoever calls to guidance has a reward similar to the rewards of those who follow him, without this detracting from their reward in any way. Whoever calls to misguidance has a sin similar to the sins of those who follow him without this detracting from their sin in any way.))

 Partiality is to support your own people regardless whether they are right or wrong, be it your son, daughter or work partner. This blind partiality is sectarianism and the prophet said about it,

((He is not one of us who fights in the cause of tribal partisanship and he is not one of us who dies in the cause of tribal partisanship))

(Ahmad)

There must be deep emotion:

 There is a subtle advice by one of our scholars, Saeed Ibnul Musayyab said, “Do not look at those who help tyrants without condemning their deeds in your hearts, lest your good deeds go in vain.”
You see a person who helped a tyrant, with a fancy car and a fancy house. No! If you go to a drug dealer’s house, and his house was very opulent, do you respect him? God forbid! You have to distinguish between first impressions and deep feelings. A thoughtful considerate person despises a man who gathered his wealth at the expense of people’s lives. Drug dealers gathered their wealth by destroying the youth.
You have to be more insightful. If the person has a mediocre income, but a hundred percent halal, and is a pious Muslim then they deserve your respect, esteem and love. You should keep away from those whose houses are full of opulence and wealth from suspicious sources. You should support the right and the righteous. It goes without saying if you buy stolen goods knowing that they are stolen, it is as though you are a partner in the crime, even in the legal system you are considered an accomplice.
 It was said, “the worst sanctity a man can violate is to help one’s brother (in faith) commit a wrongful deed then make it easy on him.”
Do not assist in committing malicious deeds, or in making them seem insignificant. Stand by the truth and do not fear any reproach when upholding Allah’s decrees.

The consequences of helping one another to malicious deeds.

 My esteemed brother, this reviled trait is very dangerous, it can earn you other people’s sins. You will be as accountable because of a simple nod, or a pen you handed. Don’t even let a tyrant use your pen to sign an unjust decision. When there are alert, bold people who give good advice, society will progress. Teach yourselves not to be complaisant towards wrongdoings. Do not assist in wrongdoings or injustice. The most serious consequence is that whoever supports a tyrant, God turns him against him. So you are most likely to be the victim of the tyrant you stood by. Whoever supports a tyrant, God turns him against him.