Friday Nasiha

Al Ankabut (The Spider)
Chapter 29: Verse 17

... Then seek sustenance with Allah, worship Him, and be grateful to Him: to Him will be your return.

Commentary:

Seeking Sustenance from Allah, not other people

Everyone needs provision and sustenance (rizq). If a person seeks this rizq from Allah, then he will be a slave to Allah and he will be enslaved by and feel in need of that being. This is why it is basically forbidden to ask for anything from another created being, although it is permitted to do so in cases of necessity. There are many sayings (hadith) of the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbidding this kind of asking from people, for example:

"Whoever begs from people when he has enough to make him independent, his begging will appear on the Day of Resurrection as scratches or gashes on his face." [Al-Tabarani]

"If any of you were to take a rope and go and gather wood, that would be better for him than asking people (for help), which they may or may not give." [al-Bukhari and ibn Majah]

Patience brings Independence

The Prophet did not like anyone to ask for anything whether he asked for it verbally or by longing in his heart. According to an authentic hadith he said:

"Whoever wants to be independent, Allah will make him independent. Whoever wants not to have to ask people for anything, Allah will help him to be free of that. Whoever wants to be patient, Allah will give him patience. Nobody has ever been given anything better and more abundant than patience." [Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Malik, Abu Dawud, al-Nisai and al-Tirmidhi]

Tell others about it ...

The Prophet advised his closest companions not to ask anyone for anything. It was reported in al-Musnad that if Abu Bakr dropped his whip (whilst riding), he would not ask anyone to hand it to him, but he would say: "My close friend commanded me not to ask people for anything."

And the Porphet said to ibn Abbas: "If you must ask for anything, ask Allah, and if you seek help, seek help from Allah." [Al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and al-Hakim]

Exclusivity in the Arabic Phrase

Ibrahim, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, "... Then seek sustenance from Allah ...". In Arabic the prepositional phrase 'ind Allah ("with Allah") comes first for a reason, which is to indicate exclusivity, as if to say: do not seek sustenance except from Allah.

[adapted from "Al Ubudiyyah" by Imam Ibn Taimiyah (may Allah have mercy on his soul). Translated by Nasiruddin al Khattab pp. 76-78]

Be Ambitious

Ambition means that a person does not live for himself and his life, but he lives for his ummah (community), as the Prophet, peace be upon him, was. When Abdullah bin Shaqeeq, may Allah be pleased with him, asked Aisha, may Alah be pleased with her, if the Prophet used to pray sitting? She said, "Yes, after the people wrecked him." [Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud.] So he used to confront people, welcome them, and warmly leave them, command them, and prohibit them, mix with them and tolerate their errors. That is how the people wrecked him and left an effect upon his body to the point that he started to pray sitting and his hair turned grey.

Deen (Islamic way of life) has three levels; Islam (Submission), then Iman (Faith), then Ihsan (Excellence in Worship). We find example of this trilateral division in the hadith of the saved group in which the Prophet mentioned Islam first which is the only guarantee for entering Paradise that is, nobody enters Jannah but a Muslim, and inside this large circle which is the circle of Islam, there is a smaller circle which is the circle of the Saved group and it contains those who stick to the right conduct and correct aqeedah (Creed), and no more than that. There is a third circle which is smaller than the second, and which is better, more noble and greater, and that is the circle of the Victorious group, those who defend and protect the deen and tolerate harm, therefore Allah Azza wa Jall gives them victory.

So the Muslim should be ambitious and reach for these levels, and look in the deen (religious matters) at the one who is above him and look in the duniya (worldy matters) at that one who is beneath him. Try to resemble the noble ones, the righteous ones, the revivers, so that you may achieve some good in this life. Have an ambitious nafs that does not get satisfied with stopping at a certain limit, and does not get enough of doing good until it ends up in the Jannah.

[Compiled from the Chapter on "Ambition" from the "Moral Code of the Daa`iya" by Sheikh Salman al Awdah.]

Baitul Mal

An Islamic treasury intended for the benefit of the Muslims and the Islamic state and not for the leaders or the wealthy.

Baitul Maqdis

Al-Aqsa Mosque, the famous Masjid in Al-Quds (Jerusalem). It was the first Qiblah of Islam. Then Allah ordered Muslims to face the first House of Allah, the Kaba, at Makkah (Saudi Arabia). Baitul Maqdis is the third greatest Masjid in the Islamic world, the first being the Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah, and the second being the Masjid al-Rasool (the Mosque of the Prophet). It is from the surroundings of Baitul Maqdis that Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. See Al-Quran, Sura Al-Isra (17:1).

[Taken from SoundVision.com's "Glossary of Islamic Terms"]