Commentary on the Last Chapter in the Book Al-Murshidu Al-Mu’īn 05

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على المبعوث رحمة للعالمين وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين وبعد

Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh

Honored and respected brothers and sisters on the Platform,

You are welcome to this morning’s session of the Halqah where we shall continue from where we stopped in our Commentary on the Last Chapter of the Book Al-Murshid Al-Mu’īn which was written by the Imām Abdulwāhid bn ‘Āshir Al-Mālikī rahimahullāh

We stopped at where the Imām rahimahullāh said

يَغُضُّ عَيْنَيْهِ عَنِ الْمَحَارِمِ                        يَكُفُّ سَمْعَهُ عَنِ الْمَآثِمِ

كَغِيبَةٍ نَمِيمَةٍ زُورٍ كَذِبْ                    لِسَانُهُ أَحْرَى بِتَرْكِ مَا جُلِبْ

يَحْفَظُ بَطْنَهُ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ                              يَتْرُكُ مَا شُبِّهَ بِاهْتِمَامِ

يَحْفَظُ فَرْجَهُ وَيَتَّقِي الشَّهِيدْ              فِي الْبَطْشِ وَالسَّعْيِ لِمَمْنُوعٍ يُرِيدْ

_”He lowers his gaze away from the forbidden things , he precents his ears from this sinful things_

_Such as slander, fabrications, lies; His tongue more deserving of avoiding those sinful things_

_He protects his stomach from Harām; Abandoning in it’s cause what is ambiguous and doubtful_

_He protests his genitals from Harām and fears the Witnesses; While holding and walking toward a forbiddance that is sought”_

And we explained it’s meanings. Then the Shaykh rahimahullāh said

وَيُوقِفُ الأُمُورَ حَتَّى يَعْلَمَا                      مَا اللهُ فِيهِنَّ بِهِ قَدْ حَكَمَا

_”He stays down things until he knows; What Allāh concerning them has judged”_

In this line, the Imām alludes to the impermissibly of doing or implementing anything without having a knowledge of the Ruling of Allāh concerning that action. This is because, knowledge must precede any action

About this, Allāh said in the Qur’an

 فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

 _”So ask the people of the Knowledge if you do not know.”_

This is a part of the journey to Allāh. That a Servant wants to know the Ruling and decision of Allāh concerning a matter before he ventures into it

Then he said, rahimahullāh

يُطَهِّرُ الْقَلْبَ مِنَ الرِّيَاءِ                          وَحَسَدٍ عُجْبٍ وَكُلِّ دَاءِ

وَاعْلَمْ بِأَنَّ أَصْلَ ذِي الآفَاتِ               حُبُّ الرِّيَاسَةِ وَطَرْحُ الآتِي

رَأْسُ الْخَطَايَا هُوَ حُبُّ الْعَاجِلَةْ          لَيْسَ الدَّوَا إِلاَّ فِي الاِضْطِرَارِ لَهْ

_”He purifies the heart from Riyā; and Hasad, Ujub and all Diseases_

_And know that the cause of all other defects; Is the love of leadership and procrastination_

_The Head of all Evils is the love of the temporal and there is no cure except in showing desperation to Him (Allāh)_

Here the Shaykh moved into the matters of the Heart and it’s purification. All of the Ulamā warned against the Diseases of the Hearts in their various manifestations

The first of them mentioned here by Imām Ibn ‘Āshir is the Disease of Riyā : the ostentatious display of been religious. And some of the Ulamā described it as the opposite of Ikhlās

About it, Ibn Qudāmah Al-Hanbalī rahimahullāh said

_”And the branches and subtle manifestations of Riyā are so many and cannot be counted. So whenever a person realizes that Within himself there is a difference between his solitude and public Ibādah,then in him is a trace of Riyā but not every trace denies rewards and destroys the deeds. Rather there is categories and more details entailed.” The summary of Riyā is as mentioned by Ibn Qudāmah, a situation where the opinions and perceptions of others become a factor in the rate or quality with which an act of Ibādah is done

We shall pause here today and elucidate on the diseases mentioned by the Imām in our next session.

Bārakallāhu Fīkum jazakumullāhu Khayran

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك