Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Three Tips
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
This is a reminder for those active in da’wah, naseeha and volunteers at various organizations. It is also a reminder for myself.
Three tips for my Brothers and Sisters active in Da’wah and Naseeha:
1. Be truly sincere in what you do. Everyone knows the Hadith, actions are according to the intentions. If an individual volunteers to be seen by people for his name to be publicized, to be seen by others; that individual may want to re-check his/her intention. Remember this could happen even in the smallest ways as Tip 3 will explain. Remember the Hadith of the status of individuals who were eager to get rewards from the people (ex. hearing praises), Allah will tell them in the Day of Judgement to seek their rewards from the people they wanted to please. (SubhanAllah!! May Allah protect us. Aameen). [Imam Ahmad].
2. Do not be arrogant to think your intentions are always correct – Continuously purify and monitor your intentions to make it purely for the sake of Allah, ask Allah to purify your intention. Remember the 3 individuals who will be sent to the Hellfire and told that they were liars [Sahih Muslim]. They reached a high level in Islam yet their actions were rejected & tainted because of their intentions. Think about it: An individual, who recited Qur’aan, memorized it and taught it, how many of us are at that level? An individual, who fought for the sake of Allah and “supposedly” died as a Martyr, how many of us are at that level? An individual, who gave lots and lots of charity, yet he was rejected, most of us if we spend one dollar in charity we feel like we did ourselves a great favour.
These are people who in reality worked harder than us, but their intentions were wrong. So do not be arrogant, by taking a few courses here and there, reading a couple of books, spending half the day on YouTube to think our intentions are always correct. Even the scholars spoke about purifying their intentions. "I have never tried to cure anything, that is more difficult to cure than my Niyah (Intention)" Shaikh Sufyan Ath-Thawri (Rahimullah).
3. Avoid things that can cause Ar-Riya (Showing off) – Black ant on a black rock in a moonless night, you all know this. This is what the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) mentioned, that it is almost impossible to notice it yet it could be there. So maybe it might be better to avoid mentioning our deeds, especially in terms of Deen. There are some individuals you might be with who will never mention to you that they are fasting (nafl), yet there are others who will tell you in a second.
This could come in many forms. Try your best to avoid all kinds of things that might lead to showing off as it can indirectly affect your intention. Think about it; what is the real purpose of posting pictures of ourselves on social networks delivering lectures, teaching Qur’aan or pictures of our bookshelves full of knowledge. Do we want others to see them and say Masha Allah? A profile picture is obviously something shared so that others can see. Unless if it is for da’wah, if a person indirectly puts up an image to show their righteousness or piety to others, Allah knows best what the purpose is. This is not to target anyone; rather this is an important reminder as in tip 2 we have seen that individuals who reached pinnacles have failed as well. Allah truly knows what our intentions are, May Allah purify it. Aameen.
Lastly, for those who might read this, we should not be discouraged to do a good deed if shaytaan whispers to us that our intentions are wrong. The awareness of wanting to purify the intention is a good sign in the first place.
jazakumAllahukhayran, Forgive me for any mistakes,
Your brother in Islam, wanting the best for you,
Fares
This is a reminder for those active in da’wah, naseeha and volunteers at various organizations. It is also a reminder for myself.
Three tips for my Brothers and Sisters active in Da’wah and Naseeha:
1. Be truly sincere in what you do. Everyone knows the Hadith, actions are according to the intentions. If an individual volunteers to be seen by people for his name to be publicized, to be seen by others; that individual may want to re-check his/her intention. Remember this could happen even in the smallest ways as Tip 3 will explain. Remember the Hadith of the status of individuals who were eager to get rewards from the people (ex. hearing praises), Allah will tell them in the Day of Judgement to seek their rewards from the people they wanted to please. (SubhanAllah!! May Allah protect us. Aameen). [Imam Ahmad].
2. Do not be arrogant to think your intentions are always correct – Continuously purify and monitor your intentions to make it purely for the sake of Allah, ask Allah to purify your intention. Remember the 3 individuals who will be sent to the Hellfire and told that they were liars [Sahih Muslim]. They reached a high level in Islam yet their actions were rejected & tainted because of their intentions. Think about it: An individual, who recited Qur’aan, memorized it and taught it, how many of us are at that level? An individual, who fought for the sake of Allah and “supposedly” died as a Martyr, how many of us are at that level? An individual, who gave lots and lots of charity, yet he was rejected, most of us if we spend one dollar in charity we feel like we did ourselves a great favour.
These are people who in reality worked harder than us, but their intentions were wrong. So do not be arrogant, by taking a few courses here and there, reading a couple of books, spending half the day on YouTube to think our intentions are always correct. Even the scholars spoke about purifying their intentions. "I have never tried to cure anything, that is more difficult to cure than my Niyah (Intention)" Shaikh Sufyan Ath-Thawri (Rahimullah).
3. Avoid things that can cause Ar-Riya (Showing off) – Black ant on a black rock in a moonless night, you all know this. This is what the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salam) mentioned, that it is almost impossible to notice it yet it could be there. So maybe it might be better to avoid mentioning our deeds, especially in terms of Deen. There are some individuals you might be with who will never mention to you that they are fasting (nafl), yet there are others who will tell you in a second.
This could come in many forms. Try your best to avoid all kinds of things that might lead to showing off as it can indirectly affect your intention. Think about it; what is the real purpose of posting pictures of ourselves on social networks delivering lectures, teaching Qur’aan or pictures of our bookshelves full of knowledge. Do we want others to see them and say Masha Allah? A profile picture is obviously something shared so that others can see. Unless if it is for da’wah, if a person indirectly puts up an image to show their righteousness or piety to others, Allah knows best what the purpose is. This is not to target anyone; rather this is an important reminder as in tip 2 we have seen that individuals who reached pinnacles have failed as well. Allah truly knows what our intentions are, May Allah purify it. Aameen.
Lastly, for those who might read this, we should not be discouraged to do a good deed if shaytaan whispers to us that our intentions are wrong. The awareness of wanting to purify the intention is a good sign in the first place.
jazakumAllahukhayran, Forgive me for any mistakes,
Your brother in Islam, wanting the best for you,
Fares
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