Purification of the Heart
Signs, Symptoms and Cures of
the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart
Translation and Commentary of
Imam Mawlud's Maášharat al-Qulub
by Hamza Yusuf
Blameworthy Modesty
POEM VERSES 67-72
As for blameworthy modesty, it is that which prevents one
from denouncing the condemnable or from asking a question concerning
a matter relating to religion and the like. For this reason, it is
considered a harmful quality.
As for noble modesty, such as the Chosen One's [ ]
behavior the night he married Zaynab,
when he fed his company to their full from his wedding feast,
and they all left except for three.
They lingered and yet he did not request that they leave. Such
modesty is a most excellent virtue.
Had modesty been a person, it would have been a righteous
one and would do nothing but good in whatever it did.
Definition
In general, modesty is something praised in Islam and is considered virtuous. What is blameworthy is modesty that prevents one from denouncing what clearly should be denounced, such as tyranny or corruption. This form of modesty results in meekness at a time when one needs to be forthright and courageous. Something condemnable (munkar) is condemnable regardless of the status of the person who is engaged in it—whether he or she is a close relative or a person of status, wealth, or authority.
There must be agreement, however, among scholars on what is condemnable. One cannot, for example, declare decisively that something is considered condemnable if there is a difference of opinion about it among the scholars. Scholars knowledgeable of juristic differences rarely condemn others. They refrain from such condemnation not because of modesty, but because of their extensive knowledge and scholarship. Unfortunately, too many people today are swift to condemn; which creates another disease—self-righteousness. At issue here is blameworthy modesty that results in timid failure to denounce what unequivocally deserves denouncement and to ask about important matters from those who know.
The Prophet's wife A'isha once said, "The best women were the women of the Ansar because modesty did not prevent them from learning the religion." A woman once came up to the Prophet pbuh asking a specific question about menstruation. The Prophet pbuh answered her, but the woman persisted in asking for more detail. The Prophet pbuh then asked A'isha to show the woman what he meant, for it was a bit awkward for him. Some women even sent the cloth used for their menstrual protection to seek out with certainty what constitutes the beginning and the end of the menses, which determines whether or not certain rites of worship may be resumed. Most women would not feel comfortable with that, but the modesty of these women did not prevent them from seeking out knowledge about their religious affairs.
The Imam speaks next of modesty rooted in generosity and kindness, which is an acceptable kind of modesty. He gives the example of what happened when the Prophet pbuh married Zaynab. The Prophet pbuh invited people for a wedding ceremony and meal. The guests came but lingered in his presence much longer than necessary. In fact, three of them remained late into the evening. The Prophet pbuh being as generous as he was, stayed with them and patiently waited for his guests to complete their visit. The guests, however, tarried with the Prophet pbuh because they loved his company. At one point, the Prophet pbuh stood up and left the room and came back, hinting as gently as possible that they should depart. But still they lingered. He did this again, until the verse was revealed with regard to the etiquette of being in another's home—an admonition that the Prophet pbuh himself was too shy and generous to deliver: [Believers], when you are invited, then enter. And when you have completed the meal, disperse, and do not linger on for conversation. This used to hurt the Prophet, but he shied away from [telling] you. But God is not shy of the truth (QURAN, 33:53). This verse applies to visiting such people as statesmen and scholars whose obligations and time constraints are greater than others. They too may feel shy about cutting visits short when they are the hosts.
The Prophet pbuh was too modest to tell his guests that it was time to leave. It was out of his generosity and benevolence that he did not address his guests this way. There are, of course, people who would feel no consternation at all in asking their guests to leave, and they would do so in unambiguous terms. Imagine then how pure and wonderful was the Prophet pbuh, the final Messenger sent to humanity, a man of great authority from God Himself, but a man nonetheless too shy to request his loitering guests to leave on his wedding night.
The Imam then said that had modesty been a man, he would have been a righteous man whose actions would always be virtuous.
Source: Purification of Heart
to be continued ....
No comments:
Post a Comment