Diligence is the Way to Success

There are norms and laws in the universe that man is not permitted to
contradict. Instead, he should abide by them so as to enjoy a good
life and eternal happiness in the Hereafter. One such norm is that if
one works hard, he will find results; if one exhausts oneself a little
bit, he can enjoy a long rest. Indeed reaping noble benefits depends
on experiencing difficulties. Pleasure and perfect qualities cannot be
gained except with some difficulty. If it were not for difficulties,
all people would be leaders.
A Person who Prefers Comfort has Scarce Potential for Success
Work in the worldly life relies upon diligence. Therefore, man
isrequired to work hard and actively, leaving behind laziness. The
Quran and Sunnah direct us towards this understanding. Allaah The
Almighty Says (what means):
{And say, "Work, for Allaah will see your deeds, and [so, will] His
Messenger and the believers."} [Quran 9:105]
{It is He who made the earth tame for you - so walk among its slopes
and eat of His provision - and to Him is the resurrection.} [Quran
67:15]
The Prophet educated the Ummah (Muslim Nation) in different ways on
how to be diligent. For instance, he urged Muslims to earn a living
and provide from their own work, saying: "Nobody has ever eaten a meal
better than that which he has earned from working with his own hands.
The prophet of Allaah, Daawood [David], would eat from the work of his
own hands." [Al-Bukhaari]
The Prophet also advised us to work hard without giving in tofeelings
of frustration, saying: "Cherish that which gives you benefit [in the
Hereafter], seek help from Allaah and do not lose heart." [Muslim]
He also said: "If the Hour comes while one of you has a shoot that he
is able to plant, he should plant it." [Ahmad, Al-Bukhaari in Al-Adab
Al-Mufrad]
Moreover, the Prophet assured people of the assistance of Allaah The
Almighty, that He further increases the high motivation and ambition
of people according to the sublimityof their ambition, saying: "Help
from Allaah comes to the servant according to his diligence."
[Al-Bazzaar]
Of course hard work is exhausting, but it has great pleasure,
especially when the diligent person reaps the outcome of his work.
Ibn Ul-Qayyim said:
The sages of every nation agree that welfare cannot be obtained
through welfare, that anyone who prefers comfort will miss it, and
that joy and pleasure dependon the level of risks and difficulties
that are experienced when getting them. There is no joy for a person
who has no resolve; no pleasure for a person who lacks patience; no
bliss for a person who endures no hardships; and no comfort for a
person who has no hard work. If a person is exhausted for a short
time, he will relax for longer. If he endures difficulties for a short
while, this will lead him to eternal welfare. People who will receive
eternal delight [the people of Paradise] earned this status due to
their patience in this very short worldly life. Truly, Allaah alone
gives help, and thereis no power except in Him.
The loftier one's self is and the higher his aspirations are, the more
a person's body is exhausted and the less his comfort is. Yahya ibn
Katheer said. "Knowledge cannot be acquired when the body is in
comfort." [Muslim]
"All those who are sensible undoubtedly believe that perfect comfort
depends on the level of exhaustion, and perfect bliss relies on the
level of difficulties that are endured when achieving it. Comfort,
pleasure and bliss arefree of exhaustion only in Paradise, not in this
worldly life. [Quoted from 'Uluww Al-Himmah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn
Ismaa'eel]
A person who takes diligence to be a slogan in life does not depend on
his ancestors or familybackground, nor does he rely on boasting of his
fathers and forefathers. Instead he builds his own glory, adding it to
that of hisforefathers'.
Quotations from Sages and Scholars
Some sages have said, "Utilize your diligence as long as you are in
good health, and take the opportunity to work while you are at
leisure, for time will not bealways on your side, nor will you be able
to restore what you have lost."
A scholar once said, "Work is like an armor that protects a person
against afflictions, and diligence is like a sword that wards off
misfortune."
Another said, "Nothing is better than having a reason that is adorned
with forbearance, a deed that is adorned with knowledge, and
forbearance thatis adorned with truthfulness!"
Some scholars have said, "Could itbe true and logical that crops are
harvested without prior sowing of seeds, fruits are reaped without the
planting of trees, firecomes from two stones without striking them
together, or that money yields without effort?"
It was also said, "There is a causefor every provision and whoever
diligently seeks something, finds it."
Indeed, what a great saying was that of the Commander of Believers,
'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab "Do not stop pursuing livelihood and
supplicating, 'O Allaah, provide for me!' You knowthat the sky does
not rain gold orsilver. Allaah The Almighty provides for people by
virtue of their interaction."
Therefore, work hard and do not be indolent. Your Muslim nation is
waiting for a push from you like that of 'Umar a push thatilluminates
the torch of enthusiasm in its heart, amidst the darkness of this
gloomy stateof obliviousness. It is also waitingfor a cry from you
like that of Salaah Ad-Deen Al-Ayyoobi (Saladin) a cry that plants
hope in the desert of despair. Help from Allaah comes in accordance
with diligence, therefore seek help from Allaah and do not lose heart!

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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Tawbah - He is afraid to return themoney to the bank in case he is questioned and put in prison; shouldhe give it in charity?

I took a loan from a bank six years ago, without knowing anything
about what in sharia we call Riba, and Ipaid some instalments. After
few months, I left my job and took my savings, including the loan
money, abroad to get married and buy a property and have not paid
anything to bank ever since. Now, I realised that this is haraam, and
I am willingto return the loan money that I have taken,in order to
clean myself from sins, but I am concerned about going directly to the
bank, as that will complicate things in term of legal liabilities and
debt repayment penalties, and may involve prison term. So, is it
possible to give the money to very poor families instead of giving it
to the bank?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It is haraam to take a loan on the basis of riba;the one who does that
has to repent to Allah, may He be exalted, but he does not have to
return anything except the capital. As for the interest (riba), he
does not have to pay it and hecan use a trick to avoid paying it so
long as that will not result in harm for him.
Secondly:
You have to return the loan to the bank by any possible means, and it
is not acceptable for you to give the money in charity, because giving
the money in charity is only an option when theowner or the one to
whom it rightfully belongs is not known, orit is not possible to send
it to him, in which case you may give it in charity on the basis that
if you find the rightful owner, you will give himthe choice between
approving of the charity or taking his due.
The bank is the rightful owner in this case, and is known. So you have
toreturn the money to it and you have to look fora means that will let
you avoid questioning and punishment.

Tawbah - He reviled Islam a great deal, and every time he wanted to repent the Shaytaan whispered to him that he was excusedbecause he was angry

I reviled Islam on many occasions, Allah forbid, but when I repent he
says to me: you were angry and you did not do that deliberately. Then
I doubt myself: wasI angry or not? was it deliberate or not? What
should I do?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Reviling Islam is kufr andapostasy from Islam, according to scholarly
consensus. The one who does that has to repent to Allah sincerely, by
regretting what he has done and resolving not to go back to it. If he
repents, Allah will accepthis repentance. Allah, may He be exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Say: O 'Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves
(by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of
Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful"
[al-Zumar 39:53].
It was narrated from AbuMoosa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allaah holds
out His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who have
sinned during the day, and He holds out his hand by day to accept the
repentance ofthose who have sinned at night - until the sun rises from
its place of setting."
Narrated by Muslim, 2759
You have to repent and do a lot of righteous deeds. With regard to
thinking about whether this was done in a state of anger or not, this
comes under the heading of waswasah (whispers from the Shaytaan), who
wants todivert you from repentance or weaken your fear of Allah and
your efforts to do righteous deeds. If you understand the abhorrent
nature and seriousness of what you did, that impels you to strive to
do good and to instil in your heart humility before Allah; it makes
you pin your hopes on His grace, kindness and pardon. But if your nafs
makes falsehood attractive to you and detracts from the seriousness of
the crime by claiming that it happened in a moment of anger, then this
will weaken you resolve and distract you from turning to Allah.
It should be noted that anger is not an excuse inall cases; rather the
anger that may excuse a person is anger in whichhe loses his ability
of discernment to the extent that he does not know what he is saying.
If this happened once, it does not happen repeatedly. Many of those
who have the problem of reviling Islamcould never revile their fathers
or someone they hold in high esteem or the father of an opponent in an
argument and the like, no matter how angry they become, but they do
revile the religion because their hearts are devoid of faith and they
are lacking in respect towards Allah, His Messenger and His religion.
We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound. If there was any faith in his
heart it would prevent him from reviling religion.
So ignore this waswaas (whisper). You have committed a grave sin, but
you have a Lord Whois Most Merciful, Most Generous, Who accepts
repentance of the one who repents, forgives sins, and replaces evil
deeds with good deeds. So prepare to strive hard, fill your heart
withveneration and respect towards Allah, may He beexalted, and His
religion,read a lot of Qur'aan anddo a lot of righteous deeds.
We ask Allah to accept your repentance and forgive your sin.
And Allah knows best.

Tawbah - He repeatedly reviled Allah, the Messenger andIslam, and waswaas comes to him telling himthat he did not do that deliberately

On one occasion I was riding behind my friend on a motorcycle and he
"popped a wheelie" (lifted the front wheel off the ground), and I
reviled the Lord, Allah forbid. Then I repented from that but waswaas
comes to me telling me that because the incident took me by surprise,
I was not thinking and I will not be brought to account for that.
Similarly, this waswaas comes to me about many occasions on which I
have reviled Allah, Islam and the Prophet, Allah forbid. This has made
me doubt myself: did I do it deliberately or not? Especially since
these incidents happened to me a number of years ago and I do not
remember the details precisely, so I say: O Allah, if I did that
deliberately and with intent, then I repent from it.
Praise be to Allaah.
Reviling Allah or reviling Islam constitutes kufr and apostasy from
Islam,according to scholarly consensus. The one who does that has to
repent sincerely to Allah, by regretting what has happened and
resolving not to go back to it again. If he repents, Allah will accept
his repentance. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Say: O 'Ibaadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves
(by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of
Allaah, verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful"
[al-Zumar 39:53].
It was narrated from AbuMoosa (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Allaah holds
out His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who have
sinned during the day, and He holds out his hand by day to accept the
repentance ofthose who have sinned at night - until the sun rises from
its place of setting."
Narrated by Muslim, 2759.
So you have to repent, turn to Allah and do a lotof righteous deeds.
As for thinking about whether this reviling was done deliberately
ornot, this is whispers from the Shaytaan who wants to distract you
from repenting or weaken your fear of Allah and your efforts to do
righteous deeds. If you understand the abhorrent nature of what you
did, and its grave seriousness, that will make you strive to do good
and will generate in your heart feelings of submission and humility
before Allah; it will make you pin your hopes on His grace, kindness
and forgiveness. But if your nafs makes falsehood appealing to you,
and makes the offence seem less serious by claiming that it was done
in a state of anger, then this will weaken your resolveand lessen your
desire toturn to Allah.
You should understand that the kind of anger that causes a person to
lose his mind, that a person may be excused for, is that which causes
him to lose the ability to distinguish matters to such an extent that
he does not know what he is saying. If this happens once, it does not
happenrepeatedly. Many of those who have the problem of reviling
Islam, or reviling Allah orreviling His Messenger (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) would not be able to revile their fathers or a
person whom they hold in high esteem or the father of his opponent and
the like, no matter how intense his anger is,but he can revile Islam
because of the lack of faith in his heart and his lack of respect for
Allah and for His messenger and His religion. We ask Allah to keep us
safe andsound. If there were any faith in the heart of sucha person,
it would prevent him from speaking in this abhorrent manner. Hence we
say: Ignore this waswaas, for you have committed the greatest evil,
but you have a Lord Who is Most Merciful and Most Kind; He accepts the
repentance of the penitent, forgives the sinner, and turns bad deeds
into good. So make your resolve firm, fill your heart with respect for
Allah, may He be exalted, and respect for His religion, and reada
great deal of Qur'aan and do a lot of righteousdeeds.
We ask Allah to accept your repentance and forgive you your sins.
And Allah knows best.

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
M NajimudeeN Bsc- INDIA

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