*One should obey the Messenger of Allah () follow his
Sunnah, and emulate him.
*One should give precedence to the love of the Prophet ()
over the love of everything. One should respect and revere him.
*One should ask Allah to exalt the mention of the Prophet ()
and to render him safe from all evil, whenever his name is mentioned[1].
*One should abstain from sinning and should not oppose his
guidance.
*One should not give precedence to anyone's statements and opinions
over the Prophet's statements and opinions regardless who he may be.
*One should firmly believe in his prophethood, message, and all
that he has informed us of.
*One should not adulate him; rather, revere him in due right.
*One should not give the Messenger of Allah traits or
characteristics specific to Allah. One should not take an oath by him, depend
on him or ask him for any needs.
*One should love him whom he loves, and hate him whom he hates. One
should declare himself innocent of the non believers and those who hold enmity
against him.
*One should
uphold the Sunnah of the Prophet (), support it and defend the Shari'ah.
*One should
revive the Sunnah and uphold the Shari'ah.
One should give Da'wah and implement
whatever he orders us to do.
[1] One does this by saying: 'Sal'lal-laa'who
a'lai'he wa sal'lam' whenever his name is mentioned.
*One should do all good deeds sincerely
for the sake of Allah, the
Exalted.
*One should be careful not to commit Shirk (polytheism).
Allah, the
Exalted says: But
if they had joined in worship others with Allah, all that they used to do would
have been of no benefit to them.(6:88)
*One should worship Allah, the
Exalted as He ordains and do all obligatory deeds
required of him.
*One should be grateful to Allah, the
Exalted for
the graces He has bestowed upon him.
Allah, the
Exalted says: And
(remember) when your Rubb proclaimed: "If you give
thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but God), I will give you more (of My
Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e.
disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is
indeed severe.(14:7)
*One should honor and revere Allah, the
Exalted as He should be honored and
revered. One should honor the Deen of
Islam.
Allah, the
Exalted says: They
(the Jews, Quraish pagans,
idolaters, etc.) did not estimate Allah
with estimation due to Him.(6:91)
*One should not speak without knowledge.
Allah, the
Exalted says: And
say not concerning that which your tongues put forth falsely: "This is
lawful and this is forbidden," so as to invent lies against Allah. Verily,
those who invent lies against Allah will never prosper.(16:116)
*Allah, the
Exalted sees
everything and knows what we do in private and in public.
Allah, the Exalted,
says: He
knows what is in the heavens and on earth, and He knows what you conceal and
what you reveal. And Allah is the All-Knower of what is in the breasts (of
men).(64:6)
*One should be fearful of His punishment and hopeful for His
mercy.
*One should repent to Allah, the
Exalted and seek
His forgiveness.
Allah says: If
they (hypocrites), when they had
been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allah's Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged
forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts
repentance), Most
Merciful.(4:64)
*One should ask Allah, the
Exalted alone, seek His help, and beseech Him.
Allah
says: Is
not He (better than your gods) Who
responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who removes the evil,
and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations. Is there
any ilâh(god) with Allah? Little is that you remember!(27:62)
*One should not despair of His mercy
and forgiveness.
Allah says: Say:
"O 'Ibâdî(My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by
committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair
not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.(64:6)
*One should
firmly believe that benefit and harm, life and
death are only in the hands of Allah, the
Exalted.
Allah, the Exalted, says: Who
is averted from (such a torment) on
that Day, (Allah) has surely been
Merciful to him. And that would be the obvious success.(6:1)
*One should think positively of Allah, the
Exalted.
Allah, the
Exalted says: And
that thought of yours which you thought about your Rubb, has brought you to destruction, and you have become (this
Day) of those utterly lost!(41:23)
*One should be patient whenever a calamity befalls him, and believe
firmly in all that is mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah and fulfill the
commandments mentioned therein.
*One should love Allah, the
Exalted, and love whom
He loves and hate those whom He
hates.
*One should submit to His commands, and
obey Him submissively.
*One
should rule by His Shari'ah in all
aspects of life.
*One should be mindful of Allah, the
Exalted by constantly making Dhikr
(i.e. the remembrance of Allah).
*One should be modest and abstain from sinning; one should also
abstain from things that lead to sinning.
Allah, the
Exalted says: And
let those who oppose the Messenger's (Muhammad) commandment beware, lest some
Fitnah befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them. (24:63)
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 eachtrait 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
I would like to remind the reader
that since this work has been compiled through human effort, it will not be
free from all shortcomings or errors. If there is any mistake or shortcoming in
this book it is from me and from the Satan, and whatever correct information is
in it, is by the grace of Allah Almighty alone, far removed is He from every
imperfection.
[1] Summarized from the
introduction of Hade' as-Saree.
