WHAT A PERSON LOVES AND HATES MUST BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ORDER OF ALLAH AND HIS PROPHET (SAS)

The obligation upon every slave of Allah, then, is to look very closely into his or her likes and dislikes, and the intensity of his love for that which he loves and his hate for that which he hates: is it in harmony with the order of Allah and His Prophet (sas)? This, then is the guidance of Allah which He sent down upon His Prophet such that he was ordered to have these loves and hates. In this way, a slave of Allah will avoid putting himself ahead of Allah and His Prophet (sas), because Allah said: Read the rest of this entry »

THE FOLLOWING OF HAWAA IN THE PREVIOUS RELIGIONS

The following of hawaa in matters pertaining to religion and worship is more grievous and serious than the following of hawaa in matters of ordinary worldly desires. The first of these is the condition of those who became kuffar from the Christians and the Jews and the polytheists, as Allah said about them:

[And so, if they do not answer your call, know that they only follow their own hawaa, and who is more astray than the one who follows his own hawaa without guidance from Allah, and Allah does not guide those who oppress.] Qur’an 28/50 Read the rest of this entry »

WHAT EXACTLY IS HAWAA

The meaning of hawaa is the loving and the loathing which is in the self. It is not in and of itself blameworthy, since it is not under the control of the person, rather what is blameworthy is the following if these likes, desires and dislikes. Allah said to Dawood:

[O Dawood, we have made you a successor on the Earth, so rule between the people with the truth, and do not follow hawaa lest it lead you astray from the path of Allah.] Qur’an 38/26 Read the rest of this entry »

THE LOVE AND HATE OF THE HEART

What is upon the believer in terms of his actions must not be confused with his obligations in terms of the actions of the heart. It is obligatory upon the believer for his hatred of evil and his love of good, and his desire to do good and his desire to oppose and avoid evil to be perfect, complete, and without doubt or hesitation. Any lack in this area is none other than a lack in faith (imaan). This is in contrast with the actions of his body which is only within the bounds of his ability. Read the rest of this entry »

THE LOVE OF GOOD SHOULD BE IN HARMONY WITH WHAT ALLAH LOVES

This principle is that the love of a believer for what is good, and his hatred for what is evil, and his desire for the accomplishment of the good and his desire for the avoidance and prevention of evil should be in harmony with what Allah loves and hates. Allah loves all that He has enjoined upon us in His shari’a, and dislikes all that He has forbidden us in His shari’a. Furthermore, the action of the believer in that which he loves (the good), and his avoidance and opposition to that which he hates (the evil), must be to the extent of his ability and his strength, for verily, Allah does not demand from any of us more than what is within our ability. Allah says:

[Fear Allah (have taqwa of Allah) as much as you are able] Qur’an 64/16.

IT IS OBLIGATORY TO MEASURE ALL THINGS BY THE CRITERION OF THE SHARI’A

The only criterion for measuring the above-mentioned harm and benefit is with the scales of the Shari’a. Whenever one is capable of following a text directly, it is not permitted for him to turn elsewhere. If he cannot find a text for the exact problem confronting him, he can exert his reason to understand the ruling by way of analogy. The legal texts are seldom without someone capable of knowing their implications, and how they point the way to the rulings of the shari’a. Read the rest of this entry »

THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF ENJOINING AND FORBIDDING

All of what we are saying comes under the general principle which says that when benefit and harm are mixed up together, and one must choose between doing good with some bad side effects, or leaving that good to avoid its bad side effects, it is obligatory to choose the course having the greater overall or net benefit. This is because enjoining and forbidding though they entail the attainment of some benefit, and the prevention of some harm, its opposite must also be considered. If, in carrying out this enjoining or forbidding, there is benefit lost greater than the benefit gained, or harm is brought about greater than the harm which was avoided, then this is not part of that which Allah has ordered us to do, rather it is haram, because of the fact that its net harm is greater than its net benefit.

REBELLION AGAINST THE IMAM OF THE MUSLIMS

For this reason, the Prophet ordered us to be patient when there is injustice on the part of the ruler of the Muslims, and forbad us to fight them, as long as they maintain the prayer, and he said:

“Give them what is due to them, and ask Allah what is due to you.” (Muslim and others) Read the rest of this entry »

PITFALLS OF ENJOINING RIGHT AND FORBIDDING WRONG

Two groups of people fall into error in this area:

One group leaves what is obligatory upon them in the area of enjoining right and forbidding wrong, clinging to an incorrect interpretation of the aya quoted previously:

[O, you who believe, your selves are your responsibility, those who go astray will not harm you when you stick to guidance.] Read the rest of this entry »

METHODOLOGY OF ENJOINING RIGHT AND FORBIDDING WRONG

Enjoining right and forbidding wrong is done sometimes with the heart, sometimes with the tongue, and sometimes with the hand (i.e. physical force). As for practicing it with the heart, it is obligatory upon everyone in every time and situation, since its practice brings no hardship. whoever fails to do even that is not even a believer as in the full version of the previously cited hadith: Read the rest of this entry »