Asceticism is the Way to be Loved - II

The Righteous Follow the Way of the Prophets
The righteous follow the way of the Prophetas he was the model
example. 'Alisaid, "All goodness is for those who are ascetic in this
worldly life and those who incline to the Hereafter. They are those
who took the land as their rug, its dust as their mattress, its water
as their perfume, the Quran as their slogan, and supplication as their
garment. They completely renounced the worldly life."
Abu Ad-Dardaa'wrote a letter to some of his friends, saying, "I advise
you to fear Allaah, to be ascetic in this worldly life, and to desire
what is with Allaah. If you do so, Allaah will love you for your
desire for what is with Him, and people will love you for leaving
their worldly lives for them. As-Salaamu Alaykum."
'Urwah ibn Az-Zubayrreported that the Mother of the Believers,
'Aa'ishahonce received eighty thousand Dirhams from Mu'aawiyahand by
that evening she did not have even a single Dirham left. Her maid said
to her, "Should you not have bought a Dirham's worth of meat for us?"
She replied, "If you had reminded me, I would have done."
Ibn Mas'oodsaid, "The worldly life is the home of those who have no
home and the wealth of those who have no wealth. The one who has no
knowledge accumulates in it."
When 'Umarreached Ash-Shaam )greater Syria(, his soldiers met him
while he was wearing a lower garment, a pair of leather socks and a
turban. He was pulling along his riding animal and walking in puddles.
The soldiers said to him, "O commander of the believers, Will the
soldiers and patriarchs of Ash-Shaam meet you while you are in this
state?" He replied, "We are people whom Allaah has honored by Islam,
so we will not seek honor in anything else."
A man visited Abu Tharrand looked around at his house and said, "O Abu
Tharr, I do not see any belongings or furniture in your house!" He
replied, "We have another house ]i.e., his house in Paradise[ to which
we send our good belongings." He added, "The owner of the house ]i.e.,
Allaah[ will not leave us in this house."
'Amr ibn Al-'Aassaid in a sermon that he delivered in Egypt, "What a
huge difference there is between your way and the guidance of your
Prophet! He was the most ascetic of people in this worldly life while
you are the most inclining of people towards it."
'Alisaid, "I married Faatimah while we had no bedding but the skin of
a ram that we would sleep on at night and place the fodder for the
camel on it during the day. I had no one to serve me but her, and she
would get so exhausted that her forelock would fall on the edge of the
bowl when she kneaded."
When Mu'aath ibn Jabalwas about to die, he said, "O Allaah, You know
that I did not love this worldly life and longevity in it for the sake
of digging rivers or planting trees ]i.e., the sustenance in this
worldly life[. Rather, ]I wanted it[ for the sake of fasting during
the day, performing voluntary prayers at night, and attending the
assemblies of remembering Allaah, despite them being crowded."
Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbalmentioned that the best person from the
generation that succeeded that of the Companions of the Prophetin
terms of knowledge was Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyibbut the finest in general
was 'Uways Al-Qarni. 'Uwayswould say, "Take death as a pillow when you
go to sleep and put it before your eyes when you are awake."
Maalik ibn Dinaarsaid, "A person intends to marry the most beautiful
woman in the district, so she says to him. 'I want garments made of
wool', then she takes away his religion."
Many of the righteous predecessors would refuse to take lawful money
that was offered to them and would say, "We will not take it lest it
ruins our religion."
Hammaad ibn Salamahwould open his shop, and if he earned just two
Dirhams, he would close it.
Sa'eed ibn Al-Musayyibwould trade in oil, and after his death he left
four hundred Dinaars, saying, "I left them to protect my honor and
religion."
Sufyaan Ath-Thawrisaid, "Asceticism in this worldly life is to not
have the hope of a long life, rather it is to eat rough food or wear
rough clothes."
Ash-Shaafi'ialso dispraised this worldly life and being attached to it.
Abu Sulaymaan Ad-Daaraaniwould say, "All that distracts you from
Allaah The Almighty, whether family, wealth or children, is a
misfortune."
People Far Better than Us were Deprived of the Pleasures of this Worldly Life
It is enough to know that being ascetic is a part of taking the
Prophetand his companions as examples. This act is perfect reliance
upon Allaah The Almighty and instills contentment in the heart, which
in turn leads to the comfort of this worldly life and the happiness of
the Hereafter. The ascetic person is loved by Allaah The Almighty and
by other people. Therefore, if you have possessions, praise Allaah The
Almighty and do not let your heart be attached to the worldly life.
Likewise, if you are poor, be patient, for people who were better than
you were deprived of the pleasures of this worldly life. Our
Prophetwould sleep on a mat such that its marks appeared on his body,
and he died while there was no provision on the shelf of
'Aa'ishahexcept a handful of barley that she would eat from. If one
were to enter the rooms of his wives, his head would touch the
ceiling. 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaabthe caliph of the Muslims, once
delivered a sermon wearing a garment that had twelve patches.
These people were not deprived of the pleasures of this worldly life
because of their abasement in the sight of Allaah The Almighty, rather
because of the abasement of the worldly life in His sight, which does
not even equal the weight of a wing of a mosquito; and the two
voluntary units of prayer before Fajr prayer are better than this
worldly life and what it contains. In order for one not to despair
over what has eluded him, he should not exult in pride over what
Allaah The Almighty has given him. The believer does not become
disappointed over being disgraced in it nor compete with others over
its glory, as he has his own concern and they have other concerns.
Be the slave of Allaah The Almighty at times of hardship and ease, and
at times of activity and suffering. Whether the worldly life
approaches you or turns away from you, its approaching is refraining
and its turning away is approaching. The basic rule is that it
approaches you with what you dislike, and when it approaches you with
what you like, this is an exception.

The garments of Taqwa: What are you afraid of?

There is a famous story about an emperor. This emperor was cruel and
unjust to his people, so a tailor decided to play a trick on him. He
went to the king and offered to make for him the finest clothes ever.
But instead of making a suit for him, he just pretended to make a
suit, and fooled the emperor into thinking that he was working hard by
taking a long time.
Eventually after a long period of waiting, he gave the emperor a
handful of air and told him that it is the best set of clothes ever
made. In fact, the tailor told him that the clothes are so fine to the
point that the wearer doesn't even feel that he is wearing them.
Blinded by his own arrogance and not wanting to appear dumb in the
eyes of the tailor, the emperor immediately showed happiness with the
'new suit' and ordered a parade to take place in the town so that he
could show his subjects his new appearance. Of course, everyone was
too scared to tell this tyrant that he was actually naked. Instead,
they salute and flatter him—all except for one boy. He was too young
to know of social convention or to have fear of tyranny, thus he
pointed out to the truth and said what others could not dare to
express. Amazingly, this act, at least for that moment, made the fear
change its place. Fear so overwhelmed the emperor he became
astonished, dumb founded. His surprised subjects, on the other hand,
easily slid out of their worries, ridiculed him and laughed so hard at
what he gotten himself into.
While this emperor seemed to have been blinded by his own arrogance,
the reality showed us that he was, in fact, blinded by his own fears;
and his people, whose opinions he feared, were also held back by their
own fears—reality showed his arrogance not to be a sign of strength,
but one of weakness. This situation represents a community paralyzed
out of weakness and fear, all because of an attitude that had gotten
used to the status quo.
This very old story is of particular significance to the time we live
in. We live in a time when there are so many pressures to conform to
the images in the media and the lifestyles of our non-Muslim peers.
Sometimes we are startled to find that we have even started to imitate
the same type of foul language and habits in our own free time. Maybe
we used to worry about being around alcohol when our colleagues
enjoyed it, but have become used to their customs. Maybe we wear tight
or revealing clothes )both men and women( because not doing so would
make one unfashionable. Maybe we find ourselves scared to make a
change in society, against the expectations of the community or even
the world around us. All this comes from a type of fear. A fear to
seek truth even when falsehood prevails and even when it might lead to
difficult answers. I am talking about a fear which prevents us from
asking questions about why people's attitudes are the way they are,
and makes some people desperately feel like we are living in
isolation, even though we have more gadgets that connect us than ever
before. I am talking about a fear to emulate the great scholars and
scientists of Islam's past. These men were pioneers in the worldly and
the intellectual planes—men who loved knowledge for the service of
God. I think we are afraid to strive like them. And there is no reason
to be afraid.
Fear comes from human vulnerability. If I were to place a Quranic
moment, where human vulnerability is first mentioned, it would be in
Chapter 7 verse 20. In this verse, Satan affects Aadam and Eve with a
psychological trick, which makes them feel a need to cover their
bodies with clothes; whereas they had felt no such need before, and
Allaah had not told them to make clothes for themselves. What
happened?
Satan had pledged to attack them )and eventually their progeny(,
Allaah Says on the tongue of the devil )what means(:}Then I will come
to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and
on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful ]to
You[.{]Quran 7:17[—from every angle of observation, in order to find
out what makes us tick and learn how to push our buttons. Satan became
familiar with human weakness and bodily imperfection, and manifested
it to Aadam and Eve. So when we came to this earth, we came in a state
of vulnerability, fully aware of our more carnal desires. This is one
of the bases of our being tested.
And what did Allaah do then? Allaah promised us when we came to earth
of the knowledge of how to make clothing and beautiful adornments, but
He Almighty told us that:}But the clothing of righteousness — that is
best.{]Quran 7:26[ The use of normal clothes by human beings serves to
cover their nakedness and vulnerability to others. But what is the
clothing of righteousness with respect to our relationship to God?
Righteousness is the means by which we surpass that fear of others'
physical nakedness; it is similar to the 'nakedness' we feel when we
are in danger of being seen. Righteousness, therefore, brings us from
Dunya-consciousness to God-consciousness. Righteousness is about
caring for and embracing the ever-seeing and ever-nurturing vision of
God. But in another dimension, righteousness is a kind of fear
itself... because Allaah made us into creatures who become happy, sad,
and fearful, so righteousness, in this sense, is a means and an end,
of and for, the human faculty of fear. Our fear should not be wasted
solely on roller-coasters, scary movies, or other people's opinions
and actions. Our faculty of fear is for Ibadah )worship(, which will
transform our fear into something much higher and more suited towards
our lofty purpose—the Amanah )trust( that God has placed on the human
being.
Allaah mentioned this when Satan tried to deceive us )our parents,
actually( and lead us )them( astray. Also, it is helpless to try to
defeat him on our own; Allaah Says )what means(:}Indeed, he sees you,
he and his tribe, from where you do not see them.{]Quran 7:27[ So we
come under psychological attack that will play on all of our
subconscious desires and potentials )this is a huge realm of modern
psychology—the study of the subconscious(. Consider what goes on today
all around us. We are bombarded by millions of messages that tell us
to manifest our hidden desires through infinite means, which vary from
"scandalously sexy" people to "sinfully indulgent" chocolate. The sad
thing, however, is that people, since the time of Freud, have
succumbed to this on a widely popular scale. A quick look at how
people appreciate their existence and what they think of the purpose
of life reveals the reality that many do not admit the need to
religion or accept its existence because, to them, people are animals
who seek out wealth, power and sexual gratification. It is true that a
good portion of this may he attributed to the fact that people have
rejected God and His message, but a larger portion is definitely due
to their denial of the Garments of Taqwa )righteousness(—thus all they
are left with is human nakedness and human imperfection.
Allaah tells us that the devil has such deep psychological insight
into us, and he is always trying to deceive us all the time, and that,
indeed, is the constant companion to those who choose to let
themselves be led away from Allaah: Allaah Says )what means(:}Indeed,
We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe.{]Quran
7:27[ When we carelessly )or aimlessly( walk around in a culture which
does not see and seek the Garments of Taqwa and which does not shield
itself from its own desires and weaknesses, we are in fact setting
ourselves up for failure because we are, as such, walking targets and
easy prey for the devil. Immersing ourselves in this sort of
environment and literally trying to make it on our own, while
surrounded by material delights, materialistic visions and diminishing
spiritual perceptions, we are actually facing the danger of deceiving
ourselves into disbelief in the Unseen. We have to be careful because
thinking that certain improper behavior can benefit us and knowingly
seeking the company of those whose hearts are dead, are sure signs
which indicate that we may have already crossed the limit. Those who
are at that point, are in fact living in fear of this Dunya )worldly
life(. Simply, they are busy trying to stitch useless fig leaves
together for themselves, but are settling on second best—they have
lost the Garments of Righteousness.
If we soul-search and look into what it is that we fear the most, we
will find a similar collection of items: money, job, public opinion,
etc. There is nothing wrong with any of these things as long as we
establish a hierarchy with Taqwa of Allaah at the top and as a guiding
light. Even if we do not really understand this at the moment, or at
any moment, it is of vital importance to clearly
recognize—intellectually and—practically this hierarchy. When we do,
we will see a real result in our attitudes. If we do it often, it
could become a reoccurring remembrance of Allaah, which in turn,
becomes a chance for us to put Allaah before harmful action—because
this hierarchy will come to mind. If we repeat it often, we will find
it easier to realize our weaknesses as human beings, to believe in
ourselves and in our noble human dignity. Doing it often will
guarantee a covering shield and a protection, which Allaah has
designated for the believers and desired for them to seek from Him and
have it.
Eventually, this will turn into a solid character that will help us
increase our Taqwa, which once we do, will help us naturally
recognize, read and maintain Allaah's boundaries. Thus secure peace
and happiness. Not only in this world, but also, and more importantly,
when we reach the life-to-come. There, we will find that our Garments
of Taqwa in this earth have become for us, in Jannah )Paradise(, the
basis of the fine silk, gold and pearls of everlasting eternity which
Allaah, the Most Mighty and Magnificent, will swathe us in.
It was only the innocent child who pointed out to the tyrant emperor's
folly because of his connection to his Fitrah outside of the realm of
human convention, which the Prophethad told us that it distorts our
true selves. Let us step down from our thrones of heedlessness and
delusion, embrace this purity, the Fitrah, which God has put within
us, and cherish it until we die and rise up again.

Dought & clear, - He is asking about the cost of the fidyah for removing hair

What is the cost, in riyals, of the fidyah for removing hair or
clipping the nails (when in ihram)?
Praise be to Allah.
Things that are forbidden when in ihram include removing hair from the
head or body and clipping the nails. For each of these a fidyah must
be offered. The individual has the choice between sacrificing a sheep;
feeding six poor persons, giving each poor person half a saa'; or
fasting for three days. That is because Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"and do not shave your heads until the Hady reaches the place of
sacrifice. And whosoever of you is ill or has an ailment in his scalp
(necessitating shaving), he must pay a Fidyah (ransom) of either
observing Saum (fasts) (three days) or giving Sadaqah (charity -
feeding six poor persons) or offering sacrifice (one sheep)"
[al-Baqarah 2:196].
And because of the hadeeth of Ka'b ibn 'Ajrah (may Allah be pleased
with him). When he needed to shave his head whilst in ihram, the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: "Shave
your head, and fast for three days, or feed six poor persons, or offer
a sacrifice."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4190; Muslim, 1201
It is not permissible to offer the fidyah in the form of cash, and it
is not valid to do so, because that is not mentioned in the texts.
Rather it must be given in the form of food, as enjoined by the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
If the question is about removing something from the hair or nails
after the month of Dhu'l-Hijjah has begun, in the case of one who
wants to offer a sacrifice but is not in a state of ihram for Hajj or
'Umrah, in this case even though it is haraam, no fidyah is required;
rather he has to pray for forgiveness and repent.

Dought & clear, - His wife is breastfeeding; should he delay Hajj until next year?

I intended to do Hajj this year, but my wife is breastfeeding, so I
decided to delay Hajj until next year, in sha Allah. Please note that
my financial situation is good, praise be to Allah. Do I have to do
anything?
Praise be to Allah.
If you have already done the obligatory Hajj, then you have the choice
with regard to a voluntary Hajj between doing it this year or delaying
it until next year, because of what you mentioned about being busy
with your family or wanting to stay with them and so on. In that case
you can choose not to do it at all, because it is voluntary and not
obligatory.
But if the question is about the obligatory Hajj, then it depends.
There are two scholarly views, one of which is when one becomes able
to afford it, Hajj becomes obligatory and must be performed in the
same year; the other view says that it may be delayed. However, the
more correct view is that it becomes obligatory with immediate effect
and must be performed in the same year. The one who can afford
provisions and a means of transportation is obliged to do Hajj, and it
is not permissible for him to delay it. Please see question no. 41702
Based on that, if your leaving your wife will not cause her or the
child any harm, then you must do Hajj this year and you do not have
the option of delaying it in the hope that your family could go with
you. But if your wife has enough money to do Hajj, or you can pay the
expenses of Hajj for her, and it will not harm her or her baby if she
goes to Hajj, or she can leave the baby with someone who can look
after him, then she is obliged to go for Hajj. Otherwise, it is
permissible for her to delay it.
The point is that Hajj may be obligatory for the husband but not for
the wife, depending on whether the conditions are met or there are any
impediments. So the husband should not delay his obligatory Hajj
because of wanting to take his wife with him for Hajj.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked the
following question: My wife has not yet done the obligatory Hajj, and
we have a baby who is four months old and he is being breastfed by his
mother. Should she do Hajj or stay with her baby? And is it better, if
she goes for Hajj, to take pills in order to stop menses, or not?
Please advise us, may Allah bless you.
He replied: If the baby will not be affected or harmed by her leaving
him, in that he can be breastfed by someone other than his mother, and
there is someone who can look after him properly, then there is
nothing wrong with her doing Hajj, especially if it is the obligatory
Hajj. But if there is any fear for the child, then it is not
permissible for her to do Hajj even if it is the obligatory Hajj,
because the breastfeeding mother is permitted to not observe the
obligatory fast if she fears for her child. So how can it not be
permissible for her to postpone Hajj if she fears for her child? If
she fears for her child, then what she must do is stay, then when he
is older she can do Hajj next year. There is no blame on her if she
stays home and does not do Hajj, because in this case she is not
obliged to do Hajj immediately.
With regard to using pills during Hajj or 'Umrah, there is nothing
wrong with that, because this is a need. But it is essential to
consult a doctor, because the pills may be harmful and may cause her
harm.
End quote fromal-Liqa' ash-Shahri, 10/25
And Allah knows best.