All praises are due to Allah Ta’ala the Possessor of Might and Greatness, who destined Creation and perfected the fashioning of the Creatures. Salutations and Benedictions upon the Messenger of Allah whose Message illumined the earth and revived the quintessence of existence, the One who was sent as a Mercy to the Creation, and upon his family, his household, his companions, and those who follow His Message till the day of reckoning, Aamin.
And Thereafter;
Mankind found himself walking on the surface of the earth, breathing, eating, drinking, sleeping and attending the toilet. He is forced to ask what his existence was for and how he came into being. It is known that everything in nature has its source, its cause and its purpose. Imam Fakhrud Din Ar-Razi, alayhi Rahmatullah, said; “If you stand behind a wall in whose front there is a small child who has not attained the age of discernment and throw a stone across the wall, the child will look behind the wall to know the source of the throw.” This is because the nature of existence is that everything has its source.
Allah Ta’ala tells us in the Qur’an:
((و ما خلقت الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون* ما أريد منهم من رزق وما أريد أن يطعمون* إن الله هو الرزاق ذو القوة المتين*)) الذاريات: 56-58
“And I created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong. Adh-Dhariyaat: 56-58
The Ulama have explained the meaning of these verses and they have prolonged their elucidations of its commentary. What is apparent of it is that Allah Ta’ala did not place the Creation for fun or pastime. He Ta’ala, said:
((وما خلقنا السماوات والأرض وما بينهما لاعبين* لو أردنا أن نتخذ لهوا لاتخذناه من لدنا إن كنا فاعلين)) الأنبياء: 16-17
“We did not create the Heavens and the Earth and what is in between them in play. Had We willed to take fun We would have taken it with us, indeed We are Executors of things” Al-Anbiya: 16-17
It becomes clear that when Allah Ta’ala said He created us for the purpose of Ibadah he was neither making fun nor catching a pastime, but He, Ta’ala, meant exactly what He said.
This counts that every act which is executed by man and does not agree with the purpose behind his creation will be a source of grief and regret on the Day of Qiyamah.
The things around us, the air we breathe, food we eat, water we drink and everything were not given to us and made available to us by the Almighty unless that they may assist us and aid us in the rendering of Ibadat and in the perfection of our servitude to Him, Subhanahu.
This was originally what Allah placed for us as a mission in creation.
((الذى خلق الموت والحياة ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا)) الملك: 2
“The One who created death and living so as to put you to test, which of you is Best in deeds” Mulk: 2
And that was the assignment but some portion of mankind got deceived into taking the things which were placed as means to the goal of Ibadah, as the goals in themselves. They made eating, drinking, sleeping and other things as a goal in themselves so they live to do these things as if to say they were created for that purpose, they made it their primary purpose.
Time elapsed and many got trapped in this quagmire until the Angel of Death payed visit to them and took their souls from them to return them to their places of origin in the inevitable eternity of gloom, grief and sadness.
And the 21st Century specie of man is even worse in this perspective. The torchbearers of the banner of Shaytan have carefully designed the affairs of man as if to say living in the Dunya is the entire goal. The whole aim and goals of the earthly man today is centered around this secondary things which were not originally placed but to assist man in the deliverance of his Primary Assignment: IBADAH to Allah Alone in his 24 hours, 7 days a week lifetime.
Not only the Kuffar have been caught in thus vicious cycle, Muslims alike have found themselves in this cat race. Competition in the purchase of cars, the building of houses, the western education of children, the wearing of ostentatious clothes and so on, have become the order of the Day. Generation after generation, the same disease and ailment is inherited and carried across.
By that, the affairs of the Din, Ibadah, became the Secondary purpose and became so irrelevant to the moving of affairs in the society to such an extent that the sciences of Islamic knowledge are no longer studied. How can a people comprehend the Commandments of their Lord and appreciate the Essence of their Din if they do not study its sciences and exhaust a part of their time in its pursuit. Backwardness, poverty, misfit and archaicism have become synonymous with closeness to the commandments of Allah, religiosity and the pursuit of Islamic Knowledge. The choice to practice Islam is the choice to be a misfit in the society.
However, the society is responsible for making it so. When we gave some part of our time to the learning of our Din and the appreciation of its Commandments, we discovered that what are found in the texts of the Shari’ah; the Qur’an. Sunnah and Elucidations of our predecessors, were complete poles apart with the society and what the society practice. Every person who is sincere to himself and his Lord will come to agree that he must choose between either the commands of the Shari’ah or the demands of the society. Choosing to comply with the commands of Islam implies being at war with the society, and complying with the demands of the society necessarily implies pitching a tent in the garden of the wrath of Allah. They never meet! Every Wise mind knows which of both options he should opt for if ever he has to choose between both.
The attempt to artificially produce a compliance between the both is what has led many to the manufacture of what is known as ‘Modern Islam’, the version of Islam whose principles are built upon ‘Maslaha’, ‘darurah’ and ‘Rukhsah’ and which the Prophet – صلى الله عليه وسام -, his companions, and his Ummah are innocent of. Whether or not the societal demands agree with the commands of Islam is not the concern of these “Intellectuals”, what they do is to make the societal demands and the requirements of the lowly desires the guide to what portions of Islam they should practice, and how they can comfortably bend an twist the texts to suit into these passions.
Those who are sincere in their pursuit of the pleasure of Allah must be patient in the strangeness that the society imposes on them, for the peak of what price the society gives is nothing but an enjoyment and luxury the exorbitance of which is temporary and fleeting. But the choice opted for by the possessors of balanced intellect and sane mind is the been at peace with Allah and His Messenger in exchange for the wrath of mankind and the displeasure of the society. And what is the price for this?
Imam Ibn Hibban, Alayhi Rahmatullah, narrated from the Hadith of A’ishah Bint Abi Bakr, Radiyallahu Anhuma that Rasul SAW said:
((من التمس رضي الله بسخط الناس، رضي الله عنه وأرضى عنه الناس ومن التمس رضى الناس بسخط الله، سخط الله عليه وأسخط عليه الناس)) موارد الظمآن؛ رقم 1542
“Whomsoever seeks the pleasure of Allah in the wrath of Mankind, Allah will be pleased with him and will make the people pleased with him. And Whomsoever seeks the pleasure of mankind in the wrath of Allah, Allah will be wrathful on him and will make the wrath of the people to be upon him.” Mawaridu Adh Zhaman; #1542
The return of it is nothing other than the Gardens of Jannah in the Company of the Hours and the solace of the Almighty Allah. The pursuers of this reward are the true lovers of luxury and enjoyment for they are the ones who weighed upon the scales the temporary and the everlasting luxury and their scales prepondered the everlasting over the temporal. Imamu An-Nawawi, Alayhi Rahmatullahi, said in the introduction to his Majestic treatise, “Riyadus-Salihin”:
طلقوا الدنيا وخافوا الفتنا إن لله عبادا فطنا
أنها ليست لحي وطنا نظروا فيها فلما علموا
صالح الأعمال فيها سفنا جعلوها لجة واتخذوا
“Indeed to Allah are some Intelligent Servants
Who divorced the Dunya and feared its fascinations
The took a pondering glance into it and when they realized
That it is not for a dwelling and lasting life
They took it as a deep ocean and pious deeds
As a Ship to cross it over”
The Believing Muslim must therefore be strong, patient and diligent in the rendering of Ibadah, the purpose of his Creation, to his Lord. He must not wane and must not allow himself to be carried away by the snares of the Shaytan and the demands of the Jahili society in the compromise of his Din. The greatest property of the Believer is his Din and not his soul for with the Din, the soul will live forever in everlasting happiness. And indeed Allah doesnot waste the reward of the Doers of good.
((هل جزاء الإحسان إلا إلإحسان)) الرحمن: 60
“Is there any reward for Good other than Good?”
وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين
23:52HRS
17TH SAFAR 1432 HIJRIYYAH
