Issue 168 » May 3, 2002 -
General
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Living the Quran
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Translation:Surah al-Kahf (The Cave)
Chapter 18: Verse 28"And keep yourself content with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Countenance, and let not your eyes pass beyond them to those who seek the pomp and glitter of this life; nor obey any whose heart we have permitted to neglect Our Remembrance, who follows his own desires, and whose affair has been lost."
Commentary
Need To Have Good Company
For various moral, psychological, and social reasons, people need good company and close friendship. We often come into contact with people and find that we like their personality enough to want to make friends with them. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes in a friend and their own preferences.
However, the type of friends you have often indicate the type of person you are. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) once advised, "A person molds his way of life (his deen) according to his friends. So you should be careful about who you make your friend!" [Ahmad]
The Prophet pointed to the value of good company when he said that it is better to be alone than in the company of the wicked, i.e. those who take you away from the real purpose of life as Muslim, and it is better to be in the company of the good than to be alone.
The True Friendship
Good company can be a great source of help and support to leading a righteous life, as principled and morally conscious individuals, while bad company can lead to crime, immorality, irresponsible behavior, and sin.
This is exactly the implication of above quoted verse, where Allah is reminding us to be with those 'who remember God morning and evening, seeking His Countenance (pleasure)', and let us not admire someone because of their social status, sinful lifestyle, wealth, their 'coolness', or 'their fashionable clothes', etc. Nor obey those whose heart Allah has permitted to neglect His remembrance.
Prophet's Advice: 'He Who Helps You Remember'
The Prophet (peace be upon him) has given similar advice in choosing companions and forming friendships. He was asked, "What person can be the best friend?" "He who helps you remember God, and he who reminds you when you forget Him," he replied. Then the Prophet was asked, "And which friend is the worst?" "He who does not help you when you remember God and does not remind you of God when you forget," he replied. The Prophet was further asked, "Who is the best among people?" He replied, "He who when you look at him, you remember God" (because of his noble character, devotion to God, and concern for others).
These are the principles that should guide our friendships. Is this the criteria we use in our friendships today? Indeed, there is no blessing greater than a friend who helps us succeed in this life and reminds us about the real purpose in this life, only if we realized before it's too late! It can be very difficult to live up to these principles when we have people of the same age urging us on to be "part of the posse", and to be involved in forbidden, illegal, immoral, or Haram fun for "the pomp and glitter of this life".
Difference Between 'Friendship' & 'Acquaintance'
It should be pointed out that there is difference between a "friend" (someone with whom you can share your values, secrets, and trust), and "acquaintence" (someone to whom you should be nice and caring, but don't neccesarily share your values and principles with). Therefore, such Quranic verses should not be used to urge people to isolate themselves from society and hate the people around them who do not necessarily share the same beliefs and values they do.
In fact, we know from the life of the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) that this was never the case. The authentic biographies of the Prophet are replete with incidences and sayings encouraging Muslims to be kind, generous, and loving towards their neighbors and acquaintances, regardless of their ethnic, religious, or social background. Very often non-Muslim bedouins, neighbors, or travellers would benefit from the generosity and extraordinary concern of the Prophet towards them.
[compiled from "Islam: The Natural Way" by Abdul Wahid Hamid (MELS, London, 1989) and
"What Islam is All About" by Yahya Emerick (International Books & Tapes Supply, New York, 1997)]
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Prophetic
Guidance
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:!: No Haya, No Life :!:
The Prophet said: "If you have lost Haya then do whatever you feel like!"
What is Haya? It is normally translated as modesty or inhibition but neither word conveys the same idea as haya. Modesty suggests shunning indecent behavior but it also implies bashfulness based on timidity. That is why the adjective based on its opposite, immodest, is sometimes also used as a compliment suggesting courage. Inhibition is defined as: "Conscious or unconscious mechanism whereby unacceptable impulses are suppressed." This is a very neutral definition with no reference to right or wrong. So one finds psychiatrist "helping" their patients overcome inhibitions.
In contrast to the moral ambiguity of these words, Haya refers to an extremely desirable quality that protects us from all evil. It is a natural feeling that brings us pain at the very idea of committing a wrong.
Along with its unique connotation comes the unique value of haya in Islam. Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: "Every religion has a distinct call. For Islam it is haya." [Ibn Majah]. Another famous hadith says: "There are more than 70 branches of Iman (Faith). The foremost is the declaration that there is no god except Allah and the least of it is removing harmful things from the path. And Haya is a branch of Iman." [Bukhari, Muslim]. What the hadith tells us is that the declaration of faith is the most important part of Iman but that is not all. Iman also has to reflect itself in all kinds of actions in real life. Moreover, Haya is a centerpiece of most of the actions that Iman calls for. It is the basic building block of Islamic morality. When it is lost everything is lost, as their is no Islamic life without Islamic morality.
Based on such teachings, Islam brought about a moral revolution of unprecedented dimensions with Haya as its cornerstone. The pre-Islamic Jahilya society of Arabia knew the word but did not understand its meaning. Nudity, the antithesis of haya, was not only common in every day life, it was even part of the most important religious ritual of tawaf (circumbulation of Ka'bah). So were all the other evils that flow from it. Islam exterminated all of those evils and changed the society in such a way that haya became one of its most cherished values. To this day in Friday sermons around the world, the Companion of the Prophet and the third of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, Sayyidna Uthman (radhi Allahu 'anh) is mentioned as the person with the best Haya. Is there any other religion that celebrates haya (moreover, haya in men) like that?
Islam's laws about hijab, its guidelines against free mixing of men and women, its teachings about gender-relations - all of these reflect a deep concern for haya.
For men and women who have not lost their haya, these come naturally. There is a moving story from the earlier Islamic period about a woman who learnt that her young son had been lost in a battle. She ran in a panic to confirm the news, but before that she took time to make sure that she covered herself fully in accordance with the newly revealed laws of hijab. She was asked how did she manage to do that in a time of great personal tragedy. She replied: "I have lost my son, but I did not lose my haya."
[for the complete article "No Haya, No Life" by Khalid Baig, visit http://www.albalagh.net/food_for_thought/haya.shtml]
:: LAST WEEK'S POP QUIZ ::How many slaves, male and female, did the Messenger of God
personally set free from their masters during his lifetime?(a) 3 (b) 15 (c) 24 (d) 59
Imam al-Nawawi lists the above by name in his introduction to Tahdhib al-Asma' wal-Lughat. Those set free by the Prophet's Companions and the First Community of Muslims are too numerous to recount.
May Allah have mercy upon them all!
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Community
& Society
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How do we keep the bonds of Islamic brother/sisterhood intact to fulfill our goals as an Ummah, especially in North America, where our diversity is even more marked than in other parts of the world? In the continuing series, we will present ten practical ways you and your community can build unity.
9) Share these tips with a wider audience
Share the tips in this series with fellow Muslims in your community. This can be by suggesting the Imam, during Friday and Eid prayers, use this article as a topic for his sermon. Or you can print this out and hand it out to worshippers or publish it in your local or mosque newsletter. It's also important to discuss it in various Muslim settings to start the thinking and reflecting process amongst Muslims.
10) Make Du'a for unity
Ask your Imam to emphasize unity as an Islamic duty in his Khutbahs and suggest practical ways it can be achieved in your country or Islamic organizations.
Also, suggest to Muslims going for Hajj to make special Du'a for Muslim unity. When the Hajis return from the pilgrimage, the Prophet has encouraged us to go forward to receive them and when we receive them, to request them for Du'a as well, another opportunity to seek Muslim unity.
Finally, make sure that you as an individual are not only thinking about, wishing for or interested in unity but working for it in your self, your home, your masjid and community, while making du'a for it as well, since results are all in Allah's Hands.