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

Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh
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 Brothers and Sisters on the Platform
You are welcome to this Morning’s session of the Halqah
Where we shall begin a Commentary on the Last Chapter in the Book _Al-Murshidu Al-Mu’īn_ which was written by the Polymath Imām Abū Muhammad Abdulwāhid Ibn ‘Āshir Al-Mālikī rahimahullāh
As mentioned, we will be commenting on the Last Chapter which he called _”Mabādi’u At-Tasawwuf Wa Hawādi’u At-Ta’arruf”_
Which Translates directly as _”The Foundational Concepts of Tasawwuf and the Guidelines of Recognizing (Allāh)”_

As for the Author, he is the Polymath Imām, the Servant of Allāh and the Pious Ālim Abū Muhammad Abdulwāhid bn Ahmad bn ‘Alī bn ‘Āshir. He is Al-Ansārī by attribution but an Andalusian by Origin
He grew up and lived in the City of Fez
In the Modern Country of Morocco
He was born 990 years after the Hijrah into the progeny of the Imām Abū Al-‘Abbās bn ‘Āshir As-Sallāwī rahimahullāh who passed 765 years after the Hijrah
He memorized the Qur’an at an early age in the hands of the Imām Abū Al-‘Abbās Ahmad bn ‘Uthmān Al-Lamtī and Muhammad bn Sharīf At-Talmisānī

Then he began to study the sciences of the Sharīah especially Fiq’h from the foremost Ulamā in the City of Fez among them the Imām Muhammad Al-Jinān, Abū Al-‘Abbās bn Al-Qādī Al-Miknāsī, Imām Muhammad bn Abī Bakr Ad-Dallā’ī and many others, Rahimahumullāh
Then he travelled to the East in the Muslim world and learnt from it’s Great Ulamā
In the year 1008 AH he observed the Hijrah and met with more Ulamā there from.whom he studied and compared notes
His entire life was dedicated to studying and teaching and he was foremost in his era as one of the Proponents of the Maliki Madh’hab

He became renown in Fiq’h but his expertise was not restricted to Fiq’h for he excelled in the Sciences of Lugga, ‘Aqīdah, Hadith and Qur’an as well
Among his students was the ‘Allāmah Abū ‘Abdillah Muhammad bn Ahmad Mayyārah who by all regards was a Star among the Ulamā by his own right, Ahmad Az-Zamūrī, Abdul Qādir Al-Fāsī who was a reviver of Knowledge in his era, and many others.
Ibn ‘Āshir Al-Mālikī rahimahullāh was known for his depth of knowledge and his adept understanding of Fiq’h and The Arabic Language

All of these came to fore in his many books which he authored with dexterity and brilliance
He authored several books among them are _Al-Murshid Al-Mu’īn_ which is the book whose last chapter we are treating today and primarily based on Maliki Fiq’h and _Dalīlu Al-Hayrān_ a Commentary of _Mawridū Azh-Zham’ān_ in the Science of _Rasmu Al-Qur’ān_
Imām Ibn ‘Āshir passed away at the age of fifty when he was afflicted by a disease after living a life full of dedication to Knowledge Seeking and Teaching
This was in the year 1040 AH
Rahimahumullāh

We go straight into the Last Chapter as indicated
The Imām said, rahimahullāh
وَتَوْبَةٌ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ يُجْتَرَمْ                تَجِبُ فَوْرًا مُطْلَقًَا وَهْيَ النَّدَمْ
_”Tawbah from every Sin committed;_
_Is obligatory immediately without precondition by way of regret_
بِشَرْطِ الاِقْلاَعِ وَنَفْيِ الإِصْرَارْ             وَلْيَتَلاَفَ مُمْكِنًَا ذَا اسْتِغْفَارْ
_”With the condition of abandonment (of the Act) and no lt being adamant_
_And let him compensate for what he is able to alongside Istightār (Seeking forgiveness)”_

The Imām in these two lines mentioned the first thing that every believer that intends to journey to Allāh must do: it is to make Tawbah
If you want to journey to Allāh and return to him, seeking the Path to rectitude and His Pleasure, the first thing you must do is to make Tawbah

And Tawbah is to return to Allāh
It is Wājib – Obligatory by the consensus of the Ulamā and the generality of the Ummah
In the Qur’an, Allāh said:
وتوبوا إلى الله جميعا أيه المؤمنون لعلكم تفلحون
_”And make Tawbah (Repentance) to Allāh all of you O believers that you may attain Success”_
This is a command from Allāh that the Believers must repent from their sins to Allāh
And indicates that Tawbah is a precondition for Success in the Hereafter
In Sūratu At-Tahrīm He said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَصُوحًا
_”O You who believe make Tawbah (Repentance) to Allāh a very sincere Tawbah”_

The Ulamā, while explaining the Sincere Repentance ( _Tawbatan Nasūhah_ ) referred in the verse gave it’s manifestations by saying : It is a Repentance about which one does not go back to the sin committed just as milk cannot go back to the udder from which it came. This is the explanation of Umar bn Al-Khattāb, Ubayy bn Ka’ab and Mu’ādh bn Jabal

It is a Repentance about which it’s doer regrets what he has done and is determined not to return to the sin. This is the explanation of Al-Hasan Al-Basrī Al-Kalbī said: it is a Tawbah about which the Tongue makes Istighfār, the heart regrets and the limbs and the organs refrain from a repeat
Sa’īd bn Musayyib said: A Tawbah with which you warn and guide yourselves

Whosever looks at the entirety of these explanations will see that they are speaking all about the same thing.
The encompassing statement is what was mentioned by Al-Kalbī above, rahimahullāh
In the same verse, Allāh mentioned the reward of Tawbah when he said
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ ۖ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
_”O you who believe! Turn to Allâh with sincere repentance! Hopefully, your Lord will expiate from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow ( Paradise ) – the Day that Allâh will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their Light will run forward before them and ( with their Records – Books of deeds ) in their right hands. They will say: « Our Lord! Keep perfect our Light for us [ and do not put it off till we cross over the Sirât ( a slippery bridge over the Hell ) safely ] and grant us forgiveness. Verily, You are Able to do all things. »”_

Clearly here Allāh mentioned that the possible and hopeful reward for a sincere Repentance is expiation for Sins, Admittance into Jannah and ease at crossing the _Sirāt_
May Allāh make Sincere Tawbah easy for us and grant us the rewards of Tawbah as mentioned
*The Imām also mentioned that Tawbah is obligatory immediately*
In other words, it is not permissible to delay the Tawbah
A delay in Tawbah is itself a sin from which Tawbah must be done

Imām An-Nawawī and many of the Ulamā recorded the Consensus of the Ummah on this.
An-Nawawī said in his Commentary on Sahih Muslim:
_”And they (the Ulamā) agreed that Tawbah from all sins is obligatory and that it is obligatory to hasten to it’s doing immediately and it is not permissible to delay it whether the sin is a small one or a big one”_
And in the Qur’an Allāh said
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
_”And Whomsoever does not make Tawbah is of those who are Oppressing (themselves and others)”_
May Allāh save us from that
*He also mentioned in the first line that Tawbah is Nadam (Regret)*
We have referred to this earlier that regret is one of the things that makes Tawbah sincere
*Then he proceeded to mention the other Conditions for Tawbah to be accepted*

The first he mentioned is abandonment of the Act
In this regard Allāh said while he was describing the Believers
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
_”And those who, when they have committed Fahishah (foul actions) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins; – and none can forgive sins but Allah – And do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know.”_
So they do not persist in the doing of wrong, these are the Believers who have His Mercy
Then He said, Tabaraka Wa Ta’ālā
(أُولَٰئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ)
_”For such, the reward is Forgiveness from their Lord, and Gardens with rivers flowing underneath (Paradise), wherein they shall abide forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers (who do righteous deeds according to Allah’s Orders).”_
May Allāh make us among them, Āmīn

*The Second he mentioned is not to be persistent*
This is also addressed by the verse above
*Then he referred to Compensation*
What this means is that if it’s the right of a human and can be compensated for by paying back, the he must do so

In the Hadīth that was recorded by Hākimu An-Naysābūrī from Ummu Al-Mu’minīn ‘Ā’ishah radiyallāhu ‘anhā, the Rasūl salallāhu alayhi wasallam said
الدواوين عند الله عز وجل ثلاثة ديوان لا يعبأ الله به شيئا وديوان لا يترك الله منه شيئا وديوان لا يغفره الله –
_”The Records before Allāh Azza Wa Jall (on the Day of Qiyāmah) are three. Records about which Allāh doesn’t hold back, Records about which Allāh does not overlook anything in it and the Records that Allāh does not forgive”_
She – radiyallāhu ‘anhā – then went further to explain each of them
The Record that Allāh does not hold back forgiveness is the one that a person oppressed himself. That is a transgression that a person does against Allāh. In this one, he has not trampled on the rights of anyone
As for this, Allāh forgives Whomsoever He wills

The Second Record is the one that Allāh does not overlook
This is a Sin where a person has transgressed the rights of a fellow person
As for this, Allāh does not interfere and such a person must seek to compensate the person whose right he violated or seek his forgiveness before Allāh can overlook
And the third Record is a Sin that Allāh does not forgive, that is Shirk
May Allāh protect us from that, Āmīn

This Hadīth was also recorded by Imām Ahmad in his Musnad, Imām Abū Al-Qāsim At-Tabarānī in Al-Mu’jamu Al-Kabīr and Imām Abubakr Al-Bayhaqī in As-Sunanu Al-Kubrā
Though the Hadīth by way of Isnād was graded Weak, it’s meaning is regarded as Sound and Sahih
What this tells us is that we must compensate the people whose rights we trampled otherwise Allāh will not interfere by forgiving us

And Allāh knows best
We shall pause here for today and ask Allāh to ease a continuation next week inshā Allāh
Bārakallāhu Fīkum
Jazakumullāhu Khayran
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh