Morals and Manners – Islam Seychelles

What to do if a person who is argumentative and fond of debating comes to you?

Imam Malik said:

“If a debater comes to you, then make clear the sunnah to him but do not debate him”

Shaykh ibnu Uthaymeen comments: Because if you made clear the sunnah to him, then you have placed the proof upon him between his hands (before him). If he then (still) debates, then he is debating Allah (as the proof/sunnah is from Allah) and he is not debating you. So clarify the sunnah to him and refrain from debating about it (the issue), because what is compulsory upon the one whom the sunnah has been made clear to is to accept it without debating.

Tafsir Surah An-Nisaa V.63

Maintaining silence and avoiding hastiness

How much chaos can be prevented by maintaining silence and avoiding hastiness

Abu Haatim said:

الواجب على العاقل أن يلزم الصمت إلى أن يلزمه التكلم،فما أكثر من ندم إذا نطق وأقل من يندم إذا سكت.

What is imperative upon the intelligent (& sane) is to maintain silence until it is a must for him to speak. How many have regretted when they’ve uttered and how few regret when they’ve remained silent.

روضة العقلاء ونزهة الفضلاء (ص43)

The 3 types of Patience

Shaykh ibnu Uthaymeen said:

Patience is of three types:

1. Being patient upon obeying Allah.

By restraining yourself (from things) to carry out actions of obedience.

For example: A man wants to pray, then his soul attracts him to laziness or to sleep or to eat what he has no need for or to talk with friends but he instead made it binding upon himself to pray. This is patience upon Allah’s obedience.

2. Being patient upon not disobeying Allah.

By restraining yourself from doing something impermissible even with the presence of the means attracting you to it.

For example: A man’s soul tells him to fornicate, so he prevents himself from doing so. So we say this is patience in not disobeying Allah. Also what occurred to Prophet Yusuf (alayhissalaam) with the wife of Al-Azeez when she tried to seduce him in the most powerful of ways as she locked all the doors and called him to her. He did not do it even with the strong seducing call and absence of that which could prevent him (alone/doors locked). This is patience upon not disobeying Allah.

3. Being patient upon Allah’s decree.

Indeed Allah decrees for his slave that which is agreeable to his nature and that which is not agreeable. That which is not agreeable is in need of patience, that he retrains himself from resentment of the heart, in speech (wailing) or in action (tearing his clothes) if a calamity befalls him and that he should (instead) say that he is pleased with his lord.

Summarised – Explanation of Nawawe’s 40 Hadith by Shaykh Uthaymeen

Why were the Wives of the Prophet Referred to as “Mothers of the Believers”? Shaykh ibnu Uthaymeen

They were called mothers of the believers in regards to respect and having high regard for them and this motherhood does not indicate anything that is impermissible or permissible except for respect because indeed it is obligatory upon all Muslims to respect them. As for the impermissibility of marrying them after the Prophet then that is regarding the impermissibility of demeaning the status of the Prophet wherein his wives are not permissible for whosoever is after him forever.

For this reason the legislator has placed four months and ten days (waiting period) for one whose husband passes away as a form of showing respect for the rights of the deceased husband, for indeed that is from the rights of the deceased. And what indicates this is that a woman waits for four months and ten days even if she still has menstrual cycles or barren. And it is not opposing to this that the waiting period of the pregnant women whose husband dies ends with giving birth to the child even if it is less than four months, because we say: when the waiting period passes she is separated from her husband and is free from him and therefore there is no connection that remains for the husband to her. This is why the waiting period ends by the birth of the child.

Shaykh ibnu Uthaymeen – Fataawaa nur alaa ad-darb v.12 p.261

How to protect yourself from the punishment of the grave and Hell fire

Shaykh ibnu Uthaymeen said:

A muslim shields himself from them by performing righteous actions which brings him closer to Allah. A righteous action comprises of two conditions:

1st: Ikhlaas (sincerity) for Allah, by way that he does not intend his actions of worship except for Allah and the Hereafter. He should not intend showing off to other people in order to earn praise or something from the Dunya.

2nd: That he does not introduce a new affair (innovation) from himself in Allah’s religion, for indeed Allah does not accept an action except if it’s done sincerely for him and is in agreement with his legislation.

Allah says in a Hadith Qudsee: “I am free from having a partner (equal) whosoever performs an action and ascribes a partner with me in it, i will abandon him and his shirk” [Muslim: #2985]

And the Prophet (sallaaAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever performs an action that is not from our affair (religion), then it is rejected” [Al-Bukharee # 2550 & Muslim #1718]

And from the means to protection from the punishment of the grave is that he protects himself from urine and cleans it completely. As the Hadith of ibnu Abbaas mentions that the Prophet (sallaaAllahu alayhi wa sallam) passed by two graves and He said: “Indeed they are being punished, and they are not being punished for something that was difficult, as for one of them he never used to protect himself from his urine and as for the other he used to walk around tale-carrying” [Al-Bukharee #215 & Muslim #292]

And from the means also is for a person to constantly seek refuge in Allah from the punishment of the grave, for this reason the Prophet (sallaaAllahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded us to seek refuge from four things in the last tashahud of the salaah: “O Allah truly i seek refuge in you from the punishment of the grave, from the punishment of the Hell fire, from the trials of life and death and from the evil trial of the dajjaal” [Al-Bukharee #798 & Muslim #587]
Fataawaa Noor Alaa Ad-Darb (12/12-13)

How to take yourself into account?

Shaykh ibnu Uthaymeen said:
The way a person takes himself into account is by reflecting upon; what he has done? What he has left? What he has said? What he has remained silent upon? until he takes himself into account.

For example he says to himself: You did not say the truth in this affair, you did not do what’s good and right in this affair, you did wrong in this affair, you spoke falsely and untruthfully in this affair. This is how a person takes themself into account for what they did and didn’t do, so that he looks at the crookedness and remove the evil from it. This is the meaning of taking oneself into account.

Fataawaa Noor Alaa Ad-Darb (12/16)

The way of our salaf (pious predecessors)

Al-Hasan Al-Basri (Died 110 Hijri) said:
“By Allah, I did not meet those from the early part of this ummah except that what they said with their tongues was in their hearts. By Allah, they were in agreement with the book of their lord and the sunnah of their Prophet (sallaaAllahu alahyi wa sallam). When the night covered them, they would stand on their feet and their faces on the floor (in prayer), their tears flowing down their cheeks, they were desiring for their lord to free them. If they were to earn something from the dunya they would take from it what they needed and place the remainder for their hereafter and they would be thankful to Allah for it and if they didn’t they would be pleased and say: “this is from Allah as a test for us from him”. If they did something good, it would make them happy and they would call upon Allah that he accepts it from them and if they did something wrong, it would displease them and they would seek forgiveness from Allah.

Source: Tadheem Qadr as-salaah (2/675-677)

What Are Allah’s Rights over His Slaves?

The Prophet (sallaaAllahu alayhi as sallam) said:

Allah’s right over his slaves is that they worship him alone and not to ascribe any partners to him”

Collected by: Al-Bukhaari #2856 & Muslim #30

Note: Do not give any of Allah’s rights to anyone or anything besides him, doing so will go against the purpose of our creation and lead a person to the worst and biggest sin.