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Hadith #5 - You Will Be Asked About Your Potential

March 16, 2017Dr. Omar Suleiman

Often it is a small charitable deed that is most appreciated by Allah. One of the reasons small deeds are so appreciated is because the person doing such a deed doesn’t think much of the deed itself, but is thinking highly of the One for whom the deed is done. Also there is an expectation of the wealthy to give charity; we usually don’t have such expectations of those who have less to give. The question is what is your expectation of yourself. More importantly, what is Allah’s expectation of you?

Transcript

This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings.
Now with the discussion that we really had last week, which is a very powerful discussion. And who narrated the last hadith? Abu Dharr al-Ghifari radiallahu ta'ala anhu. Alright, so you guys got the first question down. What's Abu Dharr's actual name? Jundub. Jundub. Okay? Jundub al-Ghifari, i.e. Abu Dharr al-Ghifari radiallahu ta'ala anhu. Now the last two weeks have been narrated by Abu Dharr radiallahu ta'ala anhu. The first hadith which we narrated from him was the one with the scrolls of Ibrahim alayhi salam, Suhuf Ibrahim. The last hadith was when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told him that you are not fit for leadership. And he told him, do not ask for leadership. Don't seek leadership. This hadith is in a similar context, Qala qultu ya Rasool Allah. Abu Dharr says, I asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So it's in a similar context. And Abu Dharr radiallahu ta'ala anhu is asking the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam for practical ways by which he can do his part. So this hadith is special. It's narrated in many different narrations, many different forms. The first thing I want you to know, you'll find it in different books and you'll find it with slightly different wordings. So you may have heard me actually say this hadith before with a slightly different wording because Abu Dharr is narrating a long conversation between him and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. So one word might be different here or there, but it's the same context, the same conversation that's taking place. The hadith is actually narrated, this one that we're going to go over is in At-Tabarani. It's narrated by Abu Kathir radiallahu ta'ala anhu who asked Abu Dharr this question or he asked Abu Dharr about this hadith
during the time of Hajj, literally, precisely narrated at the second of the Jamarat, Jamarat al-Wusta. So the middle of the three pillars as they were stoning and Abu Dharr was crowded, he said, I went to Abu Dharr radiallahu ta'ala anhu and I asked him, what are the things that protect a person from hellfire? What are the things that would stop a person from being punished by the fire? So he says, I asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam this question, qala qultu ya Rasulallah, I said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, maada yunjil abda minan naar? What is it that will protect a servant of Allah from the fire? What is it that protects someone from hellfire? So he said that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, al-imanu billah, faith in Allah. So to have faith, iman is what protects from hellfire. That's the starting point that would protect the person from punishment. It starts with faith. But he knows, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam knows the inquisitive nature of Abu Dharr radiallahu ta'ala anhu and he knows that there's a follow-up question to this. So he gives Abu Dharr a very simple answer, knowing that Abu Dharr's next question will highlight what he's really looking for with that question. Does that make sense to you? Meaning, Abu Dharr clearly is about to ask the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam many questions, so if the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam makes an assumption about what angle Abu Dharr is coming from when he says what protects a person from hellfire, then he might not give Abu Dharr what he's looking for. So he gave Abu Dharr a very simple answer, faith in Allah. Now what is it that you're really looking for? Because Abu Dharr always has a follow-up question radiallahu ta'ala anhu. Qala qultu ya Rasulallah, he said, I asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a-inna ma'al imani amala? Are there actions that accompany faith? So what are the deeds that accompany faith?
So that's really what he's trying to get at. What are the practical tips that I can do to protect myself from hellfire? Now it's important here because the way that this hadith goes on, the way this narration goes on, Abu Dharr does not get the answer that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gives the Bedouin, where he teaches him the five pillars. And basically the man says, I'm not going to do any more or any less, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, if he's telling the truth, then he will enter paradise. He will be protected from the fire. He doesn't give Abu Dharr the five pillars because he's talking to a different person. And Imam As-Safarini rahimahullah ta'ala said that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam understood that Abu Dharr is at a different level. He doesn't have to teach Abu Dharr the five pillars right now. Abu Dharr is asking for more. What are the deeds that are really going to protect me from hellfire? So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam responded and he said, yardaq, or yurdakh, some of the narrations have a dhamma on the ya, yardaq mimma razaqahullah. He should spend out of that which Allah has provided for him. Now the word rath, and you probably heard me say this hadith at a fundraiser, and I didn't have a chance to dissect it the way that I'm going to tonight. The word rath, or yardakh, is different from yunfiq, which is to spend. Usually when we talk about spending, we talk about nafqa, we talk about infaq, spending. But this is a very interesting word and it has certain implications. And basically, rath means a very small amount. So spending a very small amount out of what you have, from what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave you. Why is he doing that? He's understanding, he's telling Abu Dharr right away, I know you're not rich, I know you don't have a lot of money, and it's not about a lot of money because the order for charity does not apply to just those who are well off.
The command for charity, first and foremost, is a command for the individual to purify themselves. It's a form of tahara, it's a form of purification of the soul, it's a form of taskiyatul qulub, to really cleanse a person's heart, and to cleanse their wealth from any haram that would come in, even unintentionally. So first and foremost, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam wants to remove, because he knows if he tells Abu Dharr, yunfiq fee sabeelillah, he'll just come back and say, I'm poor. Or maybe he'll think it doesn't apply to him, like, okay, what's next? But he's telling him right away, yardaq mimma razaqahullah. He spends out of the small amount, a very small amount, out of that which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave to him. This is a very consistent trend in the hadith of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam about charity, and even within the Quran. But before I get to that, before I get to the trend, you need to understand something very important. Poverty is discussed within the hadith of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam as a form of injustice. Because poverty is often an inflicted condition. It's an inflicted disease. It's not natural. It's not that some people just happened to make it and some people did not. There is usually exploitation and there is stealing, and there are things that happen in that process. It's not just that the few people, literally the handful of people that own over 85% of the world's wealth today, just happened to make it. There is exploitation, there is stealing, there is oppression, there is racism, there is systemic facilitation of that wealth to the elite of society. So faqr, poverty is discussed within the context of zulm. And that's why some of the historians or political scientists, if you will, of the Civil Rights Movement say that economic injustice is the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement.
That's before we realized that none of the business of the Civil Rights Movement actually has ever been wrapped up and it's all back. But economic injustice, to put someone in a place where they're economically disadvantaged, will usually lead people down a dark path. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam discusses it within that context. That's number one. But then getting back to the qilla, getting back to the little amount of charity that you give as a form of purifying yourself and as a form of bringing yourself close to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Think about all the ahadith of the people that ended up in paradise for something that they did in service to mankind. One thing that's consistent is the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam never mentioned to us this person who got into Jannah because one day they saw a bunch of people and they went out and this was a multi-millionaire and he went out and gave $100,000. The ahadith are what? About these simple people that did a simple deed that ended up being appreciated by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and getting them into paradise. It's always in that context, whether you're talking about the woman with the dog or you're talking about the man who removed something harmful from the road or you're talking about the woman that tore it into two pieces and gave it to her children. This is the context we're usually speaking about with charity. A small charitable deed ending up being appreciated by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. And it could be that one of the reasons is that the person when they did it didn't think much of it but they thought a lot of the one they were giving it for. They thought a lot about Allah so they thought it was something small. They're programmed in that charitable way but they thought highly of Allah as they did that deed. But it's usually in that context. Many of the scholars would say that the Uthman's of the world, radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, are the exceptions.
Uthman radiAllahu ta'ala anhu is really the exception. This man who just is truly super wealthy and every time he's called to action outdoes the expectation of him because there's generally always an expectation of the wealthy to give. But there isn't an expectation of the poor. So when the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, Ittaqun naaf, fear the fire, even if it's with half a date. You could protect yourself from it even with half a date. When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says, La tahqiranna minal ma'rufi shay'a, do not belittle any of the good deeds that you would do. When Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions the first trait of the people of Ihsan, the first trait of those in excellence, Allatheena yunfiqoona fissarra'i waddarra' Those who spend in both good times and in hard times. When the expectation is not on them to give charity, they still give charity within their capacity. They do what they can because they still feel obligated even if society does not obligate them. And that's really the underlying notion here. Society has no expectation of you to give, but you place an expectation on yourself to give, even when you are in a difficult situation. Walaw kana bihim khasasa, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran, yu'firoona ala anfusihim, you prefer others to yourself, even when you are in need of that which you are giving. And the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam telling us that the best charity is the one that's given, actually when a person takhshal faqr, when a person fears poverty, when a person actually fears poverty, wa ta'mana al'ish, you have that fear of poverty, you hope for good, and you're hoping for security, but you actually have a fear of poverty, and even in those moments, you still feel obliged to give charity. Because your expectation of yourself is higher than society's expectation of you. And that sets the trend for the rest of the hadith.
What is the expectation you're placing on yourself? Before you talk about what society expects of you, what have you placed on yourself? And of course, more importantly, what does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala expect of you in your situation? So the best form of charity is that small amount that you give, even as you yourself are in difficult circumstances, that is a means of warding off a great injustice to society, because it starts and ends with money, greed. Greed is what leads people to war and destruction and to ravage and destroy entire continents and countries. It's greed. And the victims of that greed are likely to start off from a place of poverty where they don't have a fair chance in the first place. So the Messenger salallahu alayhi wa sallam, he starts off with that. Innal musaddiquna wal musaddiqati wa akradullaha qardan hasana yudha'af lahum. That those who spend from the men and from the women, and they loan a beautiful loan to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would multiply that charity for them. And it's not a fundraiser. I'm not talking to you guys about charity. Because it's a fundraiser. There's no fundraising. So if you want to donate, you can go to yaqeeninstitute.org. Alright. We also see that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions to us that nothing causes a person's lifespan to be expanded like sadaqah, like charity. That Allah expands the life of one who is charitable at times. And you think about what that means. A person's qadr could have been that they were going to live for 32 years. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala saw that they are generous people, that they are kind. And Allah extends their lifespan in this world as a result of that charity.
Meaning what? They serve such a tangible benefit to the people around them that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala leaves them on the earth longer, even though by that indication they're one of the beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And they have a reward that is waiting for them afterwards. Now anyway, this is for, again, the idea of a person giving charity. Still a person thinks of himself in those moments as someone who is capable of giving charity. You have to have some level of capability. So he says, Abu Dharr continues, qala qultu ya rasool Allah. He said, I said to the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam, arayta in kana faqiran, what if that person is too poor? He is completely in poverty. la yajidu ma yurdakhu bihi. He cannot find anything to give. Let's just say hypothetically, I don't even have half a date to give in charity. I am completely in this devastating state of poverty to where there is no obligation on me whatsoever and I have no capability. qala ya'muru bil ma'ruf wa yanha anil munkar. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam said, then in that situation he should enjoin good and he should forbid evil. And this is referring to what facility or what faculty are you using from what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave you. al-amru bil ma'ruf wa anha anil munkar, usually it refers to the tongue. And in other narrations the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions it particularly with qawlun ma'ruf, to say a word, to speak a word when a person is capable of speaking a word. And this is really important here because the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam is giving us the next go-to. If you are incapable of physically changing a situation, da'wah is free, speech is free,
talking, leading by example, doing things that don't cost any money, that's all free. And you can find yourself subhanallah, even within the capacity of charity. And this is what Ibn Hajar rahimahullah, because there is a form of this narration in Bukhari, a shorter one. Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam even mentioned within charity itself, so you don't even have to think about other ways to get good deeds, that within charity itself a person could insert themselves in the process of that charity and end up getting the exact same reward as the one who gives the charity. You could be the one who delivers the charity. You could be the one who somehow facilitates that charity. You could be the one that invites someone to that good. But the point is that you engage in al-amr bil ma'ruf wal-nahi anil munkar, to enjoin good and to forbid evil. Now of these two, by the way, enjoining good and forbidding evil, which one is more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? This comes back to the methodology that we're laying for the rest of the issues inshallah as we go through them. What's easier, to do good or to forbid evil? Do good. To do good is easier than forbidding evil. But, nahi anil munkar, and this is from Abdullah bin Mas'ud radiyaAllahu anhu, to forbid an evil is actually more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, has a higher degree in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Why? Because usually good is done as a reaction to some form of evil. So it's solving the root cause, number one. You remove the evil, you remove the root cause. Number two, a person will usually face more opposition and face more consequences for forbidding evil than doing good. No one says anything about doing good.
It's when you start to forbid evil, when you start to challenge the evil in your society, that at that point you start to face consequences for it. And that's the one that's more beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's the higher degree in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Of course you have to have tools, you have to do it with ilm, you have to do it with hikmah, knowledge, wisdom, do it in a prophetic way. But stopping injustice, forbidding evil is far higher in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala than doing good. And the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions, by the way, in the discussion of sadaqah, he mentions that every amr bil ma'ruf and nahi anil munkar is a form of sadaqah. Every time a person commands good or forbids evil, that is a form of charity as well. So it actually counts as a sadaqah with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So you have the ability to do something, you have the ability to speak up, you have the ability to influence some sort of change in your society, to enact some sort of change that is beyond the financial elements of it. Do so. Do so. Now the next part of the hadith is the most interesting part of the hadith by far. And it's the one that, when you look at the sharh of the hadith, the explanation of the hadith, if it's 20 pages, this part of the hadith takes up about 13 pages. Because it's a very interesting wording. He says, qala qultu ya Rasulullah, he said, I said to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, arayta an kana ayiyan la yastati'u an ya'mur bil ma'ruf wala yanha'an an munkar? What if that person is in a position in society where they are too vulnerable to be able to enjoy good and forbid evil? It's too dangerous for them.
They're in a vulnerable state because they don't have the authority, they don't have the platform, or they themselves would put themselves in danger by trying to do so. An example, people came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in the early days of Mecca, and they asked the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to proclaim their Islam publicly, and he stopped, he told them not to do so. Abu Dharr is actually one of those people. When he came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told him, uqtum, he said, hide your Islam until I tell you otherwise. Abu Dharr couldn't hold himself. And so he shouted out his Islam and almost got beaten up. Ibn Mas'ud radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, it was dangerous for Ibn Mas'ud to proclaim his Islam. When he proclaimed his Islam publicly, he almost died. His collarbone was broken, beaten unconsciously for proclaiming his Islam. So for some people, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam understood that that was not their role, that's not your path. The Abu Bakr's of the world, who have that clot in society, the Umar's in the world, who you can send 40 people to beat him up, he's going to end up beating up all 40 of them, he'll be just fine, the Hamzah's of the world, you go ahead and you do your thing. You publicly challenge it, you do everything that you can, because you have that position to do so. But the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recognized that people have different aqsam, they have different levels and different capacities. Some people also, ayiyan can mean vulnerability in regards to the way of conveyance. And this is probably the hardest thing to do, but it goes back, it really connects well to last week's thing about leadership, pursuing leadership. You need to understand when you are not the best carrier of that message. And this is really hard for people to do, to step aside, because they recognize, you know what, maybe I have a language limitation,
maybe I have a cultural limitation, maybe I'm just not connecting with this person the right way, but this person can connect better. So let me bring this person in and let them do the part, let me facilitate that good. So let me purposely step aside and facilitate the good instead, instead of trying to claim it, where I might in the process do harm to the cause. Maybe I'm not the best spokesperson for this cause. Maybe this is not my role, this particular one. It might damage the cause because of my own deficiency. That's the peak of ikhlas, you recognize sincerity, you recognize that your deficiency might not give the cause its full effect, so you step aside. So what did the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam say? He said to Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, yasna'u li akhraq. And in one narration, the Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he said to Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu anhu, yu'eenu sani'an aw yasna'u li akhraq. Now let me translate this in two different ways. Yu'eenu sani'an is to assist someone who's skilled. Assist someone who's skilled. Yasna'u li akhraq is to do something even for the one who has no skill. So the one who's skilled and the one who is not skilled. Okay? Now I don't want you guys to get lost here, so I want you to pay very close attention as part of this hadith because it's complicated. Alright? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is giving us three different elements or three different layers that the scholars mention here. If you are not in a position to enact change yourself, then you want to find someone who is in a position to enact change but maybe does not have the skills to enact that change. Okay? Or they don't have the knowledge to enact that change. What does that mean? I'm not a good public speaker. I know someone who's a good public speaker.
I have more knowledge than that person, but I'm not a good public speaker. Let me go try to make that person more knowledgeable. Let me offer my assistance to teach that person or to give them what they need to know so that they can go and represent it better because they're better public speakers than I am. Okay? That's one form of yasna'u liakhraq. The person is in a position. Let me go give them the skills. Another way is looking at a policymaker. Influence the policymakers. I can't be in a policy position. I'm a weak person in society. I don't have much authority. Let me go to those that do have authority and let me try to give them what they need so that they can then enact that change. And that's extremely, extremely effective. And you would be so amazed at how little some of the people who are in authority know. Like you'd be amazed at some of the blind spots they have. And you just assume right away it's all devious and it's all malicious. But sometimes, subhanallah, there are people that have authority and that authority doesn't necessarily need to be at a federal or state or local level, but some form of authority and power in society and they really don't know any better. And so they're making all these blunders and mistakes. But they say really dumb things in a smart way. So you assume them to be malicious, but they just don't know any better. So one way of yasna'u li akhraq is, you know what, I can't do anything. I'm going to go to that person. I'm going to give them the facts. I'm going to give them everything they need to do. I'll provide the roadmap. Then I'll step aside and I'll let them enact that change, resting assured that the reward is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. See how it connects to the... Keep in mind, the one who is being spoken to is Abu Dharr. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is having this conversation with Abu Dharr radiAllahu ta'ala anhum. So that's one element of understanding this. Now another element, I'm going to give you guys some of the other wisdoms that the scholars derive from this.
Ibn Hajar rahimahullah ta'ala, he actually says that sana' and akhraq, that these two terms, it's really amazing if you consider the current climate and context. He says that people that are laborers, that are in the working class, so he took sana' as someone who is a skilled laborer, someone who is doing work. He said people that are working, sometimes their poverty or the injustices that they're suffering are a lot less obvious than someone who is overtly disadvantaged. I'll give you an example. It's in Fath al-Bari, he quotes it from Ibn al-Munir radiAllahu ta'ala anhum. He said, this hadith indicates that helping the skilled takes precedence over the unskilled because those who have disabilities and are unskilled are understood to be in need of assistance. But sometimes those that are laborers and are generally known to have trade skills and they have some sort of skills in society, they are neglected and charity is not given to them nor are their debts paid off and then they go completely into the dark. I'll give you an example. When you go to the haramain, remember this, the people most deserving of your charity are those that are working around the haram. Now they're cleaning up around, you might assume, well that person has a salary, right? Let me go help this person. And I'm not saying don't help the person on the side of the street. I'm saying that you might, what Ibn Hajar Rahimallah is saying actually has great wisdom to it and he says this is what the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam is conveying to us with conveyance as well, that you might overlook the one who's working or who appears to have some sort of skill and some sort of trade and think that they can't possibly be disadvantaged but they might be suffering. And you can read the old writings on the trade unionists and the working class
and the labor class throughout the history of the world often gets caught in between and frustration and anger grows. Yes, Donald Trump has appealed to the xenophobia in many ways that exists in this country, has exploited those divisions, exploited that fears, but in many ways it's populist politics. He spoke to the angry white working class. That's what every political scientist will say and he was able to offer something, some hope that I'm going to give it back to you the people. Sometimes those people in the middle, the working class gets lost and they feel neglected. Not to bring it to too much current political discourse, but in many ways this is what Ibn Hajar Rahimallah is saying that the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasallam is saying to Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu. You assist someone that appears to not have a disadvantage, appears to not be unskilled or not be in a dangerous position of poverty because people might be neglecting that person. The second one, the second fa'idah, the second wisdom we take from this hadith is the very famous saying of teaching a man to fish versus giving a poor man, a hungry man a fish. So yasna'u li akhraq has the layer as well that sometimes there are people that are inherently disadvantaged and the best thing that you could do for them is to teach them a skill and to put them in a position, instead of bandage, always using the bandage work within charity, to put them in a position where they can long term provide for themselves. So yasna'u li akhraq, go help someone, learn something that you know that maybe they don't know. So maybe you're not in a position to give charity, you're not in a position to make any change in society, but you are in a position to teach someone who's disadvantaged in a certain way, something that will help them throughout society. And then third was influence the influencers. Influence the influencers.
Go to those which I already spoke about, go to those who are in positions of influence and try to give them the necessary knowledge and skills and facts so that they can carry out righteous agendas, proper agendas on your behalf. Addalu alal khair ka fa'ili. Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned the one who guides to something good is just like the one who does it. So that's in this capacity. And also the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, man sannaf al-Islami sunnatan hasana. Whoever starts off a good or establishes a good tradition, so you give charity and other people give charity, then you have the ajr of the one who did it and the one that you guided to without losing anything that you yourself did. So it could be in the capacity of charity, facilitating charity, and it could be in the position also facilitating a good, leading someone to a good that they otherwise would not have been led to. So that's also one of the implications of yasna'u bi akhraq. Abu Dharr radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu says, Ya Rasulullah, O Messenger of Allah, arayta in kana akhraq? Abu Dharr said, what if this person has no skills whatsoever and no knowledge whatsoever? He wants to keep on squeezing and squeezing and squeezing and getting these things from the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. So let's say I have nothing to contribute, no skill set, no knowledge, nothing to benefit people with. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam didn't stop. He kept going with Abu Dharr radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. Qala yu'ino maghloobah aw yu'ino mazlooma. They both mean the same thing. That you should support someone who's oppressed. You should go to the one who's wronged. You should go to the maghloob. The maghloob is one who's defeated, mahzoom. I mean he's got nothing left.
Go to the one who's wronged and say, I stand with you. I'm with you. Meaning what? I could not change the circumstances that led to your misfortune. But the least I can do is I can stand with you in your misfortune. I can be with you in your misfortune. Now I know when we think of solidarity, we think of protests and stuff like that. Let's bring it to a very human level. Ibn Abbas radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu is sitting in the masjid in the last ten nights of Ramadan doing i'tikaf in the masjid of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he sees a person walk into the masjid who looks visibly disturbed. And he goes to him and says, what's wrong with you? Malik. And he tells him that I owe someone money and I can't pay him off and I'm afraid to face that person. Ibn Abbas doesn't have the money to pay off his debt. Ibn Abbas says, well, you know what, let me go talk to the guy you owe money to and let me see if I can get him to extend the period, the loan period. Let me see if I can get him to give you a grace period. Ibn Abbas was not in the position of yarda minma razaqahullah, to spend from what Allah gave him. He didn't have any money to do that. But at least he said, you know what, let me go talk to that person. Subhanallah, if you think about it, the effect on that person, when Ibn Abbas tells him that, let's say Ibn Abbas went to the guy and spoke to him and the man said, no, I'm not giving him a grace period. Didn't it still bring him some relief that his brother noticed him and came to him and said, listen, let me try to help you out here. Let me go speak to him. Sometimes, subhanallah, that type of support, even if the support does not lead to any tangible difference in your circumstances, means something. Mental, emotional, bring it back to a very human level. Sometimes, someone just telling you, I'm here for you. I've got your back. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry I can't do anything. But still, sometimes that means a lot to a person.
That's the essence of support. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is saying, look, you couldn't give charity, you couldn't do da'wah, you couldn't stand up to an injustice, you could not employ someone with the proper skills or knowledge to stand up to an injustice or help themselves, then the least you can do, the very least you can do, yu'inu mazrooma, go to those that are being oppressed, go to those that are being wronged and saying, I have your back, I'm with you, and support them in any way. Now there are many things we can take from this, many hadith that I'd share with you. One of them, the Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, there are many so I'll go through them a little quickly. The Messenger Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, man hama mu'minan min munafiqin, whoever protects a believer from a hypocrite, whoever protects a believer from a hypocrite, ba'athallahu lahu malaka, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will send an angel, yahmi lahmahu minan nari yawm al qiyama, and will protect his flesh from the fire on the Day of Judgment. So you went and you protected, you offered support to someone that was being oppressed and wronged, all you did was some form of himaya, some form of protection, that could be anything, sheltering, I don't want to get too political here, but sanctuary, that's a movement that exists today, the idea of let me protect you from this force that's harming you, and on an individual level, let me protect you, let me have your back. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he also mentions, again to a very human level, qala man radda'an muslimin bi dhahr al ghayb, whoever responds on behalf of the believer when he's not present, what is this speaking about? Someone is backbiting another brother or sister that you know, and you stand up, and it's all bi dhahr al ghayb, it's all behind that person's back. They don't know that you're defending them. So man radda'an muslimin bi dhahr al ghayb,
whoever stands up for his brother or sister, when that person is not present, kana haqqan ala Allah an yu'qiqahu minan naar. Allah has made it a right upon him to protect that person from the fire. You know, it's all protection, right? Protection, protection, protection. So it's all in that context. You protect your brother or sister, Allah will protect you from punishment. Allah will protect you. And if you look at the hadith, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, al muslim akhul muslim, that the muslim is the brother of his muslim, la yadhlimuhu wala yakhdiluhu wala yuslimuhu. So he doesn't wrong him, that's number one. You don't oppress. But then look at the other two. He does not betray him, or she does not betray her, or he does not betray her, or she does not betray him. But you don't betray that person. So you're not the active doer here, the agent, but you don't do something to harm that person further. Wala yuslimuhu, and you don't turn them in to be harmed. Okay? Now, for the purposes of monitoring, if a terrorist comes to the masjid, please turn them in. If there's a criminal, then turn the criminal in. We're not talking about any of these things, okay? I'm talking about, la yuslimuhu, by the way, can also come back to that very human level. That very human level, the opposite of defending your brother or sister when they're being wronged, is to actually partake in it, or to submit them. Submit them in the sense that you would present them to be harmed or abused. That's the exact opposite of protecting them in their absence. That you actually put them forward to be abused. So these involve, you know, all of these involve just standing with someone who's being harmed, standing with someone who's being abused. That in and of itself is something between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Did Abu Dharr quit? No, Abu Dharr didn't quit.
Abu Dharr radiyaAllahu ta'ala anhu, qala qultu ya Rasulullah, he said, I said to the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, arayta an kaana dha'eefa? What if that person himself is weak, or maghloub, or that person himself is oppressed? la yastatee'u an yu'ina mazlooma. And in one narration, la yastatee'u an yaf'alu shay'a. So he can't do anything. Like, he himself is oppressed. He's in solidarity with someone who else is being oppressed. So the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam says, ya Abu Dharr, oh Abu Dharr, ma turidu an tatruka li sahibika min khayr? You're not going to leave any form of good for your companion to do? Like, are you really incapable of all of these things? Do you really think you can't do charity to this? And this is so beautiful, the Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam says, li yumsika athaahu an annas. Then, restrain your evil from people. If you can't do any good for people, then you better not be doing any harm to them. Restrain your evil from people. You can't support them? Then be quiet. Don't contribute to their misfortune. You have nothing good to say? Zip it. man kana yu'minu billahi wa liyawmul akhira falyakul khayr awliyasmut Whoever believes in Allah on the last day, say something good or be quiet. Stop it. Don't talk. Don't type. If you can't do anything positive or productive, stay away. Yes, keyboard trolls count. Armchair activists count. People that have nothing to do but sit back and yell at those that actually do work about how they're doing their work wrong. Don't count. If you have nothing good to say, don't say it at all. Don't type it at all. If you can't offer people support, then don't hurt people when you're not in their presence. So if you're sitting in a gathering and someone's being backbited and you can't defend them, get up and leave.
Don't contribute. liyumsika athahu anil nas Withhold your own harm from people. This is subhanAllah. I was actually going to do this. I just gave away one of my khutbas. I can't do this as a khutba now. But this is so powerful to me. Abu Dujana radiAllahu ta'ala anhu Abu Dujana, just read about his history. Abu Dujana, this man who was this amazing warrior in the battlefield, always fighting alongside the Prophet SAW, with the Sahaba, taking all sorts of wounds. Great mujahid fi sabiilillah. Sahibal red bandana. That's what he was called. I made that joke with one of my sheikhs. He used to have literally a red bandana he'd tie around his head before every battle. And this man, when he's passing away, and his wife is talking to him, he actually died a natural death. SubhanAllah, just like Khalid bin Wareed radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. He said, the only thing I'm depending on Allah SWT for is that I never use my tongue to say anything bad about another person. That's what I'm depending on with Allah. I'm not depending on all those years of battle. I'm not depending on all the stuff I've done. The only thing I have to depend on Allah with is that Alhamdulillah, ma sababtu mu'mina. I never used my tongue to curse a believer. I never said anything bad about anyone. I always restrain my tongue from people. That's what I'm counting on with Allah. SubhanAllah, that's what he's counting on. So li yumsika athahu anil nas. You've got nothing good to give, nothing good to contribute to the discussion, nothing productive to say, nothing productive to do. You better not be a force of evil or a force of harm in your society. And this is significant to Abu Dhar al-Ghifari radiAllahu ta'ala anhu because as I said, Abu Dhar found it difficult to live amongst the people because he was harsh on them for their materialism. And eventually, at the recommendation of Uthman ibn Affan radiAllahu anhu, and remembering the advice of the Prophet SAW, he just withdrew himself. Qalas for him it was withdrawal.
You know what, I'm going to keep on yelling at people, I'm going to keep on being mad at people, and it was not being productive. He decided to withdraw himself from it. And sometimes that is the solution. If I cannot help but be harmful, the solution is withdrawal. It is. I know that doesn't sound like something you hear usually at the masjid, but seriously, don't get involved if it's going to be harmful. Don't speak if it's going to be counterproductive. Be quiet. So liyumsika athahu AAan annas. And what did Abu Dhar say at the end of this hadith? That's all he wanted from the Prophet SAW at the end of it. Qala qultu ya Rasulullah, idha faAAala tharika dakhala aljanna? He said, I said to the Messenger of Allah SAW, if that's all he does, will he enter into Jannah? Now think about this. The beginning of the hadith started off with, what are the actions I can do with iman? And then the Prophet SAW gave him every action. He said, well, can't do that, can't do this, can't do that, can't do this, can't do that. Then just withhold your harm from people. Abu Dhar obviously was not just talking about himself, but it's a general rule. It's guidelines for people, for the believers, for those that he would speak to. So the Prophet SAW said, yaa abadhar ma min mu'min yaqlubu khaslatan min hadhi khisal illa akhadat biyadhi yawm alqiyamati hatta tutkhilahu aljanna. He said, the Prophet SAW said to me that there is no believer that pursues any one of these things, except that on the Day of Judgment it would grab his hand until it enters him into Jannah. Your charity would come and take you by the hand. Your word of truth would come and take you by the hand. Your helping your brother or sister would come and take you by the hand. Defending them, bi zahra alghayb, in difficult times, or when people were back, that'll come and take you by the hand. These deeds will come and take you by the hand. And they would protest at the gates of Jannah until you are entered into Jannah. They would walk you into Jannah.
That's the beautiful hadith that the Prophet SAW is mentioning to us in this context. So what are some of the lessons that we can take from this? There are a few, okay, and I want us to really think about this. Abudhar, number one, another hadith that Abudhar narrates. You know there's a famous hadith where the poor muhajireen, the fukra of the muhajireen, they complained to the Prophet SAW that the rich companions were taking all the good deeds. Why? Because they pray like we pray, they fast like we fast. But what is it? They have money to give charity and we have no money. You know who the narrator of the hadith is? Abudhar al-Ghaffari radiyaAllahu ta'ala al'anhu. Abudhar was the one making that complaint to the Prophet SAW that we're poor, we have no money to give, these rich people from the Ansar, they have all this money so they're beating us in prayer. We're equal to them in prayer and fasting, whatever it is, but they're beating us with sadaqah. So the Prophet SAW told Abudhar what? Didn't Allah give you something to give charity with too? Even the way the Prophet SAW framed him, in a way that wasn't exclusionary. He framed the answer in a way that wouldn't make Abudhar feel left out. Like, that's okay when you get rich inshaAllah. Or you know, innama al-a'malu binniyat. Actions are but by intentions. Pat him on the shoulder. No, he said, didn't Allah give you something to give in charity too? He said, what is it ya Rasulullah? He said, every tasbih, every Allahu Akbar, every alhamdulillah is a sadaqah. And taught him to say it after the prayer. So Abudhar went back and told all the poor people that this is what we do. The rich people found out and they started doing it too. And Abudhar came back to the Prophet SAW protesting once again. Now they're doing that too. And the Prophet SAW said, dharika fadlullah yu'tihi man yasha' wa Allahu dhul-fadl al-adheem. Look, that's just the bounty of Allah. He gives it to who he wants.
And Allah SWT is the bestower of all bounties. But that's Abudhar radiAllahu anhu. That's his personality. What do I do? What can I do? Looking for the potential that he has. And he is the one that narrates the hadith. The main thing that I want us to focus on in this entire hadith and the main lesson that I want you to take home. Our issue as people is not the impossible things that we dream of doing. The problem is the contributions that are within our reach that we fail to take advantage of. Our problem is not that which we're thinking we wish we would be able to do. Our problem is the things in our reach that we fail to do. And that's the main thing that we take from this hadith. All of the opportunities, all of the potential to do good that Allah has given you with your position, with your skill set, with your knowledge, with your personality. Allah has given you this whole set of opportunities and you're sitting there saying, one day inshaAllah. What do you mean one day? You've got it all right in front of you. Abdullah ibn Mubarak rahimahullah ta'ala when he said that to cover a child at night when they're feeling cold is more beloved than fighting in the battlefield. That's Abdullah ibn Mubarak who was someone who used to be in the battlefield. Those little things. When the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions to us the morsel of food or the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mentions to us these small acts of kindness that we could do. The good that we neglect that's at our disposal that you just let go. Yasna'u li akhraq, helping someone with a disability fill out an application. Taking someone who can't drive to somewhere that they need to be. Teaching someone who just converted to Islam the basic alphabet to read the Quran even if you're not a master of tajweed yourself. Things that don't require a position or certain skill sets or leadership and you fail to do them.
That is one of the greatest signs of insincerity that a person could have. And Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu, think about the things that made Abu Bakr great. Abu Bakr radiyaAllahu anhu going out to the outskirts of Medina, cleaning the houses of elderly women. And he still did it when he was khalifa. But he did it before he was khalifa too. You don't have to be a khalifa to go clean those homes. You don't have to be a khalifa to volunteer. You don't have to be in these leadership positions. So neglecting the good that is at your disposal is a problem. What the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam was teaching Abu Dharr to do and by extension the entire ummah, look at what you have and Allah will ask you about what you have and how you're using it or or enacting some form of change. Seriously subhanAllah, sometimes I see the people that are dedicated, that are doing such amazing things. I'm talking about at a grassroots level. I'm talking about within the capacity of charity or whatever it is. And subhanAllah, it's like you've got someone who's really, really, really busy and who doesn't have much but they're always there and they're always at people's disposal. They're always working. They're always volunteering. They're doing their part. They're doing their part. That's what Allah will ask you about on the Day of Judgment. The last thing about this hadith is that the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam taught us not to look to the easier or more convenient option if we are capable of the more difficult and the one that requires more azeemah and determination. So I should not cop out of the opportunities that I have and instead opt for a lower opportunity and then make myself feel better by talking about the ajr of that lower opportunity. Because Allah has given me this. I need to do this then. If Allah has given you this much potential, this much reach, this much ability, you better live up to it.
And that's why we find, you know, subhanallah, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz rahimahullah who I mentioned. I want you guys to remember these personalities and these names so that inshallah you'll always sort of connect back to them when you are in your moments where you're trying to develop that azeemah, where you're trying to develop that determination again. Fatima bint Abdul Malik, the wife of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, she says that I once entered upon Umar ibn Abdul Aziz rahimahullah ta'ala and he was laying down after his salah. So he had prayed and he put his head back and he was laying down after his salah. This is his wife and she says that he started to sob while he was laying down after his salah. So I went to him and I said to him, ya ameer al mu'mineen, she addressed her husband as commander of the believers. She did that to sort of make him feel better. Ya ameer al mu'mineen, oh commander of the believers, why are you crying? What's making you cry? So he said to her, I was given this position without any interest for it on my part. So I didn't want this position. I was given this khilafah without any desire for it on my part. He said, so I started to think about the hungry orphan. I started to think about the direly destitute. I started to think about the widow. I started to think about the needy. I started to think about the elderly parents with many children and little wealth. And I realized that my Lord will ask me about them on the day of judgment and that my opponent in their defense will be the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. So he said, I feared that no argument that I would make would stand in my defense against the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam. So he said, I pitied myself and I started to cry. He views Allah as the judge and he views the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam as his prosecutor on behalf of all of the people that he thinks he could help and he's not helping.
That mindset. I could be doing something for those people and I'm afraid Allah will hold me accountable and the Prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam will be the one who's prosecuting on behalf of all of those people that I could be helping. That's something we nurture within ourselves. Who are the people that I can do things for and I'm not doing enough for? Umar knew about these people before he became the Khalifa, but it's different now because he has the capability to do something for them. That's why now it makes him cry. It's not like he was a man with no empathy before he was Khalifa. But now he feels like he has that responsibility even further because he can do something for them. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala guide us to do that which is in our capacity sincerely for his sake and may Allah forgive our shortcomings when we either fail to do a good that's within our reach or do wrong with something that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave us to do good by. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala employ us for the goodness of his religion, for the goodness of the people around us. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala use us and spread righteousness through us and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not allow us to be diverted either in our intentions or our actions from that which is pleasing to him. Allahumma ameen.
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Assalamu Alaikum, I'm Aqsa. I can help you find and explore content published by Yaqeen Institute. I can also assist in responding to questions based on our papers, videos and related resources on a variety of Islamic topics. I am not qualified to respond to fiqh related questions.

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