Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Defending Truth
Al-Baqara (The Cow) Chapter 2: Verse 143 (partial)

"Thus we have made you a middle nation, so that you may be witnesses for humankind"

A middle nation enjoins justice and reminds humanity of God's rights. When people give up enjoining what is right or even admitting that there are absolute and objective values that are not subject to the whims of mankind, then evil spreads. The best of witnesses was the Prophet (peace be upon him), then his Companions, and then their Successors. Each generation subsequently takes on this office of witnessing, although hardly to the degree exhibited in the early generations. At the end of earthly time, the world will virtually be without witnesses to truth, and truth itself will be scarce. No one will defend it. Humanity has the right to have witnesses living among them, those who are willing to defend the truth no matter how unpopular it may be.

Compiled From:
"Purification of the Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, p. 132

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Loans and Debt

Abu Yasif reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever is owed by one of his brothers and allows respite for the payment of the debt will be given the reward of charity for each day he gives respite to the debtor." [Ahmad]

Abu Musa al-Ashari related that the Prophet said: "After the major sins which must be avoided, the greatest sin is death in a state of debt, having left behind no asset to pay it off." [Ad-Darimi]

Abdullah bin Amr reported that the Prophet said: "If a person is killed in the cause of Allah, all of his sins are forgiven except his debt." [Muslim]

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: "The soul of the believer is held back because of his debt until the debt is discharged." [Tirmidhi]

Compiled From:
"A Treasury of Ahadith" - Mazhar U. Kazi, pp. 159, 170

Blindspot!

Four Stations

[... continued from previous issue]

4. Khulafaullah

‘Khalifa’ is a representative, delegate, vicegerent, and ambassador. A ‘khalifa’ must only exercise delegated power on behalf of a sovereign and not follow his or her own whims. A ‘khalifa’ establishes the commands, wishes and guidance of the one who sent him or her. Given how Allah does not establish His divine way of life among humans directly, those who fulfil that responsibility and establish the divine way of life are considered as the ‘Khulafa’ of Allah.

We know that those who try their utmost to establish the divine way of life are the Ansarullah (helpers of Allah). Ansarullah may or may not be successful in establishing the divine way of life.  However, if the Ansarullah become successful in establishing the divine way of life then they reach the station of Khulafaullah. Only through the establishment of divine way of life can the station of Khulafaullah be achieved.

When Allah decided to send humans to the earth He mentioned to the angels that He wanted to send His ‘khalifa’ to the earth [Baqara 2:30]. Being a ‘khalifa’ is the ultimate success of a believer in this world. Allah loves those who strive to reach this station of being His ‘khalifa’. Therefore, those who do not strive for this station have failed themselves. The Ansarullah who are striving to establish the divine way of life have the opportunity to reach the station of Khulafaullah.

One cannot reach any of the four stations offered by Allah at the expense of ignoring the rest. In reality, the true station of a believer is to be close to Allah and gain His pleasure. Only those who try to please Allah by reaching the station of Ibadullah, Waliullah, and Ansarullah are granted the station of Khulafullah as a reward of their struggle in this world. May Allah give us the ability to reach all of the four stations.

Compiled From:
“Four Stations of Believers”  - Ghulam Azam