Chosen Islamic Manners
Introduction
All praise is due to Allah alone.
We praise Him, seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from
the evil of ourselves and our sinful deeds. Whomever Allah guides aright none
can lead astray and whomever He leads astray none can guide aright. I bear
witness that there is no god worthy of being worshipped except Allah alone, Who
has no partner. I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger ().
O
you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared and die not except in a
state of Islam (as Muslims with complete
submission to Allah). (3:102)
O
mankind! Be dutiful to your Rubb, Who
created you from a single person (Adam),
and from him (Adam) He created his
wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them
both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your
mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely,
Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you.
(4:1)
O
you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear Him, and speak (always) the
truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your
sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger he has indeed achieved a
great achievement. (33:70-1)
Indeed the most truthful of
speech is the Book of Allah and the best of guidance is the guidance of
Muhammad (). The most evil of matters are the innovated ones and every
religious innovation is a means of misguidance and every misguidance leads to
the Hell-Fire.
One should spend their precious
time to learn the Shari'ah (i.e.
Islamic Law) which was conveyed to us by the best of mankind. This knowledge
consists of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah
of our Messenger (). All other types of knowledge are used to understand the
Qur'an and Sunnah, or have nothing to
do with them.[1]
A Muslim should apply the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ()
in their lives and it should be apparent in their actions and statements.
Indeed, the rank of a believer is considered by their obedience to the
Messenger of Allah (); the more one applies the Sunnah, the higher their rank is with Allah ().
Therefore, Muslims should try their best to emulate and uphold the Sunnah and manners of the Prophet ()
in their daily lives.
Allah Almighty blessed me by giving me the
great opportunity to read a number of books which pertain to Shari'ah manners. I have also been
fortunate to attend many lectures for our Sheiks, may Allah have mercy on them,
with whom I spent many pleasant days. I noted down all the benefits I learned
from them and thereafter presented this knowledge to the people in a series of
short talks. Due to the need, I compiled these manners into a small handbook,
so that a person can easily access and read about these beautiful manners
whenever they wish.
The purpose of this work is not
solely to pass knowledge on; rather, the purpose of this work is to make it
easier for people to apply these manners in their lives. We should realize that
not putting knowledge into practice will indefinitely diminish its blessing
upon an individual. Knowledge which is learned and not practiced will be held
against an individual on the Day of Resurrection. Allah, the Exalted,
says:
O
you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do? Most hateful it is
with Allah that you say that which you do not do. (61:2-3)
That is why our Pious
Predecessors were extremely keen on applying what they learned. The great
Companion Abdullah b. Masood () said:
'One
of us would not memorize ten verses from the Qur'an unless they knew the
meanings (of those verses) and what they
required of them in terms of action.'
Bishr al-Haafi, may Allah have mercy on
him, said: 'Give out the Zakat (poor-due) in relation to Hadeeth, which is to use and apply 5 Hadeeth from every
200!'[2]
Imam adh-Dhahabi, may Allah have
mercy on him, said about the people during his time:
'Today,
nothing of the knowledge is left except a diminutive portion, which is only
applied by a few! Very few indeed are they who apply the knowledge that they
have! We raise our complaint to Allah, for He is the best Guardian.'[3]
When we compare our state of affairs with
their state of affairs, I can only say as Imam
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
'When
examples of how the Salaf (Pious
Predecessors) lived their lives (and
excelled in doing the good) are brought
up, we seek forgiveness from Allah for speaking in matters we are not fit for.'
It has been said:
'Knowledge 'seeks' that it be interpreted into action;
if it is not applied, the
individual will forget that knowledge.'
In this book, which I have named:
'Chosen Shari'ah Mannerisms', I
compiled the appropriate manners for each trait under a single
chapter. The manners are presented in point form and in brief, so that the
reader can benefit from them in the best possible
manner. I have not mentioned the sources for every single manner, for this
would have enlarged the size of this book.
Dear brothers and sisters, I
present to you these manners and beneficial traits, which originally have been
written by Imams and Sheiks in their great works and mentioned to me from my
Sheiks, may Allah admit them into Jannah
(i.e. Heavenly Abode). Ameen
[1] Summarized from the
introduction of Hade' as-Saree.
[2] Adab al-Imlaa' wal-Istimlaa' pg. 110
[3] Tadhke'ratul-huf'faadth 2/1031
Your
brother
Majid b.
Saud b. Abdul-Aziz al-O'shan
Riyadh/5/1423H
Email: majeds@hotmail.com
P.O. Box 381434 - Riyadh 11345
to be continued . . . .
