Bad behaviour, - * He was fasting and he told someone that he was not fasting; what is the ruling on his fast?, * Bad attitude on the part of the daa‘iyah is an obstacle to da‘wah

* He was fasting and he told someone that he was not fasting; what is
the ruling on his fast?
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I was fasting on one of the days in Ramadan, but I deliberately told
someone that I was not fasting. What is the ruling on my fast?
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Praise be to Allah
If when you said "I am not fasting", you intended to inform him that
your intention was no longer to fast, and that you had now broken your
fast, then you did break your fast, whether you ate something or not.
In the answer to question no. 95766, we explained that if a person
forms the intention to break the fast whilst he is fasting, and has
firmly resolved to do that, without any hesitation, then his fast
becomes invalid, and he has to make up that day.
But if when you said "I am not fasting", you were simply lying and you
did not intend to stop fasting, then this comes under the heading of a
lie, but you did not break your fast because of merely saying it.
The one who breaks the fast is the one who breaks it by eating,
drinking, having intercourse or otherwise, or who forms the intention
to break the fast and has decided and firmly resolved to do that. But
if someone says that and is lying, he has not broken the fast.
You have to repent to Allah for having told a lie, because lying is a
blameworthy characteristic that detracts from the reward of the fast.
And Allah knows best.
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* Bad attitude on the part of the daa'iyah is an obstacle to da'wah
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The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "There is nothing that will weigh more heavily in the balance of
the believer on the Day of Resurrection than a good attitude, and
verily Allah hates the foulmouthed person who speaks in an offensive
manner." And he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
"Shall I not tell you of the dearest of you to Allah, and the ones who
will be seated closest to me on the Day of Resurrection?" They said:
Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: "The best of you in attitude."
Does a bad attitude invalidate faith or cancel it out? Does a bad
attitude nullify good deeds? Or is bad attitude a sign of weakness of
faith?
What if a person who is a practising Muslim persists in having a bad
attitude after being advised and warned? Is such a person regarded as
persisting in sin? What is the harmful impact of a bad attitude on
da'wah or calling people to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted?
Finally, what do we say to practising Muslims who persist in their
shameful bad attitude and show bad manners towards Muslims who are
sinners, and non-Muslims?
Please advise us about these issues, may Allah bless you.
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Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
At-Tirmidhi (2002) narrated – and classed the report as saheeh – from
Abu'd-Darda' that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "There is nothing that will weigh more heavily in the
balance of the believer on the Day of Resurrection than a good
attitude, and verily Allah hates the foulmouthed person who speaks in
an offensive manner." Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh
at-Tirmidhi.
At-Teebi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The phrase, "and verily Allah hates the foulmouthed person who speaks
in an offensive manner" balances the phrase "the heaviest thing that
may be placed in the balance", so as to indicate that the lightest
thing that may be placed in the balance is a bad attitude, and that a
good attitude is the dearest of things to Allah, and a bad attitude is
the most hateful of things, because offensive and foulmouthed talk are
the worst thing in the scale of bad manners.
End quote fromMirqaat al-Mafaateeh(8/3177)
Ahmad (6735) narrated from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, from his father, from his
grandfather, that he heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah
be upon him) say: "Shall I not tell you of the dearest of you to me
and the ones who will be seated closest to me on the Day of
Resurrection?" The people remained silent, and he repeated it two or
three times, then the people said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said:
"The best of you in attitude."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Targheeb(2650)
At-Tirmidhi (2018) narrated – and classed the report as hasan – from
Jaabir that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) said: "Among the dearest of you to me and those who will be
seated closest to me on the Day of Resurrection are the best of you in
attitude, and the most hateful of you to me and those who will be
seated furthest away from me on the Day of Resurrection are those who
talk too much, those who talk down to people in an affected manner,
and those who are long winded and pompous."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Tirmidhi.
Al-Bukhaari (6035) and Muslim (2321) narrated from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar
that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: "Verily the best of you are the best of you in attitude."
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadith offers encouragement to develop a good attitude and
highlights the virtue of the one who has it, for it is a trait of the
Prophets and close friends of Allah, may He be exalted. Al-Hasan
al-Basri said: The definition of a good attitude is to do acts of
kindness, refrain from harming others and to show a cheerful
countenance. Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad said: It means mixing with people in a
gentle and cheerful manner, being friendly and compassionate towards
them, being forbearing towards them and overlooking their mistakes,
being patient with them at times of difficulty, not being arrogant or
putting oneself above them, and avoiding harshness, anger and censure.
End quote.
Secondly:
A good attitude increases faith, whereas a bad attitude decreases
faith, but does not invalidate it altogether, because faith increases
with acts of obedience and decreases with acts of disobedience.
Part of perfect faith is a good attitude; the Muslim who has a bad
attitude is lacking in faith.
Abu Dawood (4682) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "The most
perfect of the believers in faith are the best of them in attitude."
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood
Ahmad (20831) narrated that Jaabir ibn Samurah said: The Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Obscene words
and deeds are not part of Islam; the best of the people in Islam are
the best of them in attitude."
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Targheeb(2653)
This is what indicates that a bad attitude detracts from obligatory faith.
Please see the answer to question no. 10809for more information on
things that detract from faith.
Thirdly:
The basic principle is that righteous deeds are not rendered invalid
by anything except the ascription of partners to Allah, may He be
exalted. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):"And whosoever disbelieves in the Oneness of Allah and in all
the other Articles of Faith (i.e. His (Allah's), Angels, His Holy
Books, His Messengers, the Day of Resurrection and AlQadar (Divine
Preordainments)), then fruitless is his work, and in the Hereafter he
will be among the losers" [al-Maa'idah 5:5].
One of the main differences between Ahl as -Sunnah and the groups who
follow innovation, such as the Khaarijis, Mu'tazilis and others of
that ilk, is that they believe that acts of obedience may be rendered
invalid by sin.
Ahl as-Sunnah, on the other hand, say that major sin does not render
righteous deeds invalid, although faith is decreased by sins just as
it is increased by acts of obedience.
However, it is narrated in the texts that there are some sins for
which Allah warns of invalidation of good deeds for the one who
commits them, but that does not apply to every sin; rather it applies
to some specific sins, concerning which this specific warning was
narrated. This ruling should be limited to that, and no analogy can be
drawn applying it to other sins, as Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):"O you who believe! Raise not your
voices above the voice of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him), nor speak aloud to him in talk as you speak aloud to one
another, lest your deeds may be rendered fruitless while you perceive
not" [al-Hujuraat 49:2].
In the answer to question no. 81874, we explained that sins and
innovations invalidate the reward for their counterparts among good
deeds, by way of punishment.
Please see also the answer to question no. 107241
Fourthly:
The practising Muslim who adheres to Islamic etiquette cannot have a
bad attitude; rather a bad attitude only results from going against
the teachings of Islam and keeping company with bad people. Worse than
that is the failure to try to correct the bad attitude that one has
and not accepting the advice of anyone who advises him and calls him
to do that. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your
Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth,
prepared for Al-Muttaqoon (the pious).
Those who spend (in Allah's Cause - deeds of charity, alms, etc.) in
prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men;
verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinoon (the good-doers).
And those who, when they have committed Faahishah (illegal sexual
intercourse etc.) 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"
[Aal 'Imraan 3:133-135].
Fifthly:
A bad attitude is very harmful to efforts to call people to Allah
(da'wah), because people will be put off by the one who has a bad
attitude and treats people badly; they will reject his advice and will
say, "Let him advise himself first!" But people will like the one who
has a good attitude and treats them kindly; they will accept his
advice and listen to what he says.
Whoever has a bad attitude will adversely affect da'wah efforts and
will make people think badly of practising Muslims, and will make them
think that they do not treat people well, and that will put them off.
A bad attitude will also lead to bad consequences when dealing with
non-Muslims, because a bad attitude will put them off Islam and
Muslims.
So let people fear their Lord, lest their attitude and deeds be a
cause of turning people away from the path of Allah or being put off
from Islam and Muslims.
It was narrated that Abu Mas'ood al-Ansaari said: A man came to the
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and
said: I keep away from Fajr prayer because of So and so, because he
makes it too long for us. I have never see the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) so angry in exhortation as he was that
day. He said: "O people, there are among you some who put others off.
Whoever among you leads the people in prayer, let him be brief, for
among them are the elderly, the weak and those with urgent needs."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (702) and Muslim (466).
Al-Mannaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
A bad attitude will lead to trouble and evil consequences for the
individual and others, because it leads the individual to shame in
this world and, in the hereafter, to the Fire. The poet said:
How many young men have been hindered by a bad attitude, so they ended
up blameworthy, with little to be praised for.
And they said that whoever develops a bad attitude should be forsaken.
And they said that a bad attitude is indicative of an evil nature and
meanness of character.
And they said that people with bad attitudes could almost be regarded
as being among the animals.
Whoever is blessed with a good attitude, congratulations to him,
otherwise he should deal with his bad attitude until it is gone.
End quote fromat-Tayseer(2/121).
However, we would like to point out the following:
Many people are unfair towards religious people and they do not view
them in a just manner; when they see a small fault in them, they
regard it as abhorrent and evil. Rather, even if a religious person
does something that is permissible, or seeks some worldly matter that
is allowed, they attack him viciously and start gossiping about him.
If he makes a minor mistake, or falls into something that no human is
completely safe from, they go all out and raise a hue and cry. Some
people want religious people to be like the Prophets themselves!
Some of them watch out for the religious person to make a mistake and
slip up, so that they can launch a heavy attack on him, and on the
religion and the people who adhere to it. Allah, may He be exalted,
loves justice and fairness, and enjoins everyone to treat everyone
else fairly, no matter who he is.
Allah enjoins His slaves to regard people and treat them as they would
like others to regard and treat them.
Muslim narrated in hisSaheeh(1844) that 'Amr ibn al-'Aas (may Allah be
pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "There was no Prophet before me but it was
his duty to tell his ummah of the best of what he knew was good for
them and warn them about the worst of what he knew was bad for them.
The time of peace and security for this ummah has been made in its
first era, and its last era will be afflicted with trials and things
that you will be confused about. Fitnah (tribulation) will come in
waves, one after another. A fitnah will come and the believer will
say, 'This is going to cause my doom.' Then when it ends, another
fitnah will come, and the believer will say, 'This is the one.'
Whoever would like to be delivered from Hell and enter Paradise, let
him die believing in Allaah and the Last Day, and let him treat people
as he would like to be treated
And Allah knows best.
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