Salafus-Saaliheen سلف صالحين

Imam Al-Nawawi's Riyad-us-Saliheen

Allah, the Exalted, says:

"And backbite not one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful.'' (49:12)

"And follow not (O man, i.e., say not or do not or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allah).'' (17:36)

"Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).'' (50:18)

1511. Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (sallallaahu ’alayhi wa sallam) said, "He who believes in Allah and the Last Day must either speak good or remain silent.''
[Muslim].

The Prohibition of Backbiting and the Commandment of Guarding one's Tongue

Quran 40:19. Allah knows the fraud of the eyes and what the breasts hide.

Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal [Quran, Ghâfir (40):19]

It is reported that ‘Abdullâh b. ‘Abbâs – Allâh be pleased with him – said, explaining this verse:

A man is with a group of people when a woman passes. He shows them that he has lowered his gaze from looking at her. But when he sees they are not paying attention, he looks at her. If he fears they will notice, he lowers his gaze, but Allâh has seen in his heart that he wishes he could see her body (private areas).

Hunâd b. Al-Sarî, Al-Zuhd article 1428.

Source: http://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/index.php/the-trick-of-the-eyes/www.sayingsofthesalaf.net#ixzz1X3BNmMFM

The Trick of the Eyes

It is reported that Salmân Al-Fârsî – Allâh be pleased with him – said:

I would rather die and be resurrected, die and be resurrected, and again die and be resurrected than to see the private part of a Muslim’s body or for a Muslim to see mine.

Imâm Ahmad, Al-Zuhd p192. 1st ed. 1983. Dâr Al-Kutub Al-’Ilmîyah. Beirut, Lebanon.

It is reported that ‘Abdullâh b, ‘Umar – Allâh have mercy on him – said:

Verily, part of disregarding the trust upon you is to look inside [other people's] apartments and houses.

Lowering the Gaze

Here we should mention the Hadith that Imam Ahmad recorded, in which `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«إِيَّاكُمْ وَمُحَقَّرَاتِ الذُّنُوبِ فَإِنَّهُنَّ يَجْتَمِعْنَ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ حَتّى يُهْلِكْنَه»

(Beware of the belittled sins, because they gather on a person until they destroy him.)

He then said that the Messenger of Allah gave them an example,

«كَمَثَلٍ قَوْمٍ نَزَلُوا بِأَرْضِ فَلَاةٍ، فَحَضَرَ صَنِيعُ الْقَوْمِ فَجَعَلَ الرَّجُلُ يَنْطَلِقُ فَيَجِيءُ بِالْعُودِ وَالرَّجُلُ يَجِيءُ بِالْعُودِ، حَتّى جَمَعُوا سَوَادًا وَأَجَّجُوا نَارًا فَأَنْضَجُوا مَا قَذَفُوا فِيهَا»

(This is the example of people who set up camp on a flat land, and then their servants came. One of them collected some wood and another man collected some wood until they collected a great deal. They then started a fire and cooked what they put on it.)

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said that,

﴿وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ ﴾

(And those who believe and do righteous good deeds, they are dwellers of Paradise, they will dwell therein forever) "Whoever believes in what you (Jews) did not believe in and implements what you refrained from implementing of Muhammad's religion, shall acquire Paradise for eternity. Allah stated that the recompense for good or evil works shall remain with its people for eternity. ''

﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـقَ بَنِى إِسْرءِيلَ لاَ تَعْبُدُونَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَذِى الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَـمَى وَالْمَسَـكِينِ وَقُولُواْ لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلَوةَ وَءَاتُواْ الزَّكَوةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً مِّنْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مُّعْرِضُونَ ﴾

(83. And (remember) when We took a covenant from the Children of Israel, (saying): Worship none but Allah (alone) and be dutiful and good to parents, and to kindred, and to orphans and (the poor), and speak good to people and perform As-Salah and give Zakah. Then you slid back, except a few of you, while you are backsliders.)

When Small Sins gather, They bring about Destruction

Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim writes regarding sins in his book ad-Daa wa Dawaa:

"And from it [i.e consequences] is that the sin produces more of its like and multiply, so much so that it becomes overwhelming for the slave to leave it off or find a way out"

Just like some of the salaf used to say:
From amongst the punishments of committing sins is that they lead to more sins and from the rewards of performing good deeds is that one performs more good deeds, so if a slave performs a good deed another good deed calls towards him proclaiming do me too!

And if he does it a third good deed proclaims the same thing and so on.
So the reward is multiplied and the good deeds are increased.

And the same thing applies for sins, until performing either good deeds or committing sins become firmly imbedded habits and part of a person’s character.

So if a righteous person was to leave off a good deed then that would weigh him down immensely and he would feel as a fish taken out of its water until he is brought back into it so that his heart finds peace and tranquility again.

And if the sinner was to turn away from his sins towards obedience then he would feel an immense constriction of his soul until he made himself firm upon that righteous action.

To such an extent that a lot of sinners commit sins without acquiring any pleasure from it rather they commit it due to the pain and anguish they feel leaving it off.And a slave does not cease to perform acts of obedience, loving it, but that Allah through His infinite Mercy sends angels to him encouraging him towards obedience and righteousness.

And makes him leave his bed and laziness altogether.And a slave does not cease to commit sins, loving it, but that Allah sends devils upon him edging him on [in sin].

So as for the first one then he sought strength in righteousness and asked for aid [from the angels] so they became from amongst the greatest of helpers.And the other strengthened his army of evil with help [from the devils] so they became aids against him."

Sins leads to more sins

Repentance

Shaykh Muhammad Saalih ibn al-Uthaymeen hafidhahullaah

Repentance: means turning back from disobeying Allaah to obeying Him.

Repentance: is beloved to Allaah, as He says: "Verily, Allaah loves those who repent and those who purify themselves." [Surah Al-Baqarah: 222]

Repentance: is an obligation on every believer. Allaah says: "O you who believe! Turn to Allaah in sincere repentance!" [Surah At-Tahreem: 8]

Repentance: is from the means of attaining success. Allaah says: "And O believers, all of you, repent to Allaah in order that you may be successful." [Surah An-Noor: 31] Success is when someone gets what he is looking for and is saved from what he is running from.

Through Sincere Repentance: Allaah forgives sins no matter how big they are and no matter how many they are. Allaah says: "Say: O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (because of sins), do not despair from the mercy of Allaah. Verily, Allaah forgives all sins. Verily, He is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surah Az-Zumar: 53]

O my brother who has fallen into sins, do not despair from the mercy of your Lord, for indeed the door to repentance is open until the sun rises from the west. The Prophet SAWS said: "Verily, Allaah extends His hand out at night in order to accept the repentance of the sinner by day. And He extends His hand out during the day in order to accept the repentance of the sinner by night, until (the day) when the sun will rise from its west." [Reported by Muslim]

And how many people have repented to Allaah from numerous and enormous sins and Allaah has accepted their repentance? Allaah says: "And those who do not supplicate to another god along with Allaah, nor do they kill a person that Allaah has made forbidden (to kill) except with just cause, nor do they commit fornication. And whoever does this shall receive the punishment. The torment will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection and he will abide therein in disgrace. Except those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds, for those, Allaah will change their sins into good deeds. And Allaah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Surah Al-Furqaan: 68-70]

Sincere Repentance: must meet five conditions (in order to be accepted), which are:

1. Sincerity to Allaah, the Most High: This is by the person doing it only for the sake of Allaah and seeking His reward and salvation from His punishment.

2. Remorse: for the sin that was committed, such that he is sad he did it and wishes he had never done it.

3. Ceasing: to commit the sin immediately. If the sin was against Allaah, then he should (1) stop doing it if it was an unlawful act, or (2) hasten to do it if it was an obligation that he abandoned doing. And if the sin was against a created being (such as humans), then he should hasten to free himself from it, whether by returning it back to him or seeking his forgiveness and pardon.

4. Determination: to not go back to doing that sin again in the future.

5. The repentance should not occur before the time when its acceptance is terminated, either by death or by the sun rising from the west. Allaah says: "Repentance is of no effect for those who commit sins constantly until when death faces one of them, he says: Verily I repent now." The Prophet SAWS said: "Whoever repents before the sun rises from its west, Allaah will accept his repentance." [Reported by Muslim]

O Allaah, grant us the sincere repentance and accept it from us, verily You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

Written by Muhammad As-Saalih Al-'Uthaimeen
4/17/1406

Repentance

Anas (Raliyyalaah anh) said: “You indulge in (bad) actions which are more insignificant to you than a hair while we considered them at the time of Messenger of Allah sallalaah alahi wasallam to be great destroying sins.”

(Bukhari)



Commentary: The less fear of Allah, one has the more disobedient he becomes to Him. As the fear of Allah decreases, one becomes more bold in committing sins. As the Companions of the Prophet sallah alahi wassalam were intensely fearful of Allah, they were afraid of committing even very minor sins.

Small sins

It was reported on the authority of Hassan Al Basree (Rahimahullah), who was one of the scholars from the Ta’bieen:

There was a prostitute who had a third of the beauty of Adam (Alaihis salam). She would not allow anyone to have sexual relations with her unless it was for 100 dinars. There was a slave boy who saw her one day and her beauty amazed him so much that he went and worked and toiled with his own two hands until he collected 100 dinars. So he went to her and said: “Your beauty amazed me so much that I went and worked and toiled with my own two hands and immediately collected 100 dinars!” So she said to him: “Enter!” So he entered and to his amazement she had a bed made of gold. He said: “So I sat on her bed and she said to me: “Come on!” So when he sat between her legs he remembered his standing in front of Allah!! His heart began to tremble and quiver and he said to her: “Let me leave and you can keep the money!!” She said to him: “What is wrong with you?! You were the one who said that you saw me and my beauty amazed you so you worked and toiled hard and quickly with your bare hands until you collected 100 dinars and now that you have the ability to take what is rightfully yours this is what you do?!!! “

So he said: “I am afraid of Allah and my standing in front of Him! I was once the most hated person to you (because he was a poor slave) and now you are the most hated person to me!” (because he now realizes the sin she is allowing him to commit) So she said: “If you are honest in what you say, then you are the only husband for me!” So he said: “Let me leave!” So she said: “No! Not until you marry me?!” So he said: “No! Not until you allow me to leave!” So she said: “If you leave and I go out in search of you, do you promise that if I find you, you will marry me?” So he said: “Perhaps!” So she let his garment go, he left and returned to his city. She set out in search of him remorseful and repentant for what she had done until she found the city where he resided. She asked around town about his whereabouts and she was directed towards where he lived. So someone said to him in passing:

إن الملكة قد جاء!
“The queen has come!” (He said this because her clothing and demeanor spoke that of a queen)

So when he saw her he cried so profusely and began to gag and gasp for air (as he never expected to see her again and now to his amazement, believed that she was a queen!) and he died while falling into her arms! So she said:

أما هذا فقد فاتني فهل له من قريب؟
“As for him, I have lost this one! Does he have any relatives?

So it was said to her:
له أخ فقير!
“He has a brother but he is poor!”

So she said with all candor and sincerity:

فأتزوجه حبا لأخيه!
“Thus I will marry him because of my love for his brother!!” (keep in mind they still believe that she is the queen!)

So she married him.

Translator’s Note: This narration is taken from a book called Hilyat ul Awliyaa by Abu Nu’aim Al Asbahani (Rahimahullah) and it is a book filled with narrations about amazing events during the time of the Salaf. Some of these narrations may not be authentic or we may not know the authenticity of them, however the scholars use them in the realm of what is called At Targheeb wat Tarheeb (i.e. encouragement (to be obedient to Allah) and discouragement (from disobedience to Allah) and they have stipulated 4 conditions for using these narrations and I will provide them below for the reader’s clarification:

The First: The narration can not be used to establish and/or substantiate a legislative Islamic ruling. As the Islamic rulings in Islam are established and/or supported by authentic unequivocal and concrete texts from the Qur’an, Authentic Sunnah and the Ijma’a (i.e. Consensus) of the Sahabah and the Salaf us Salih (i.e. Righteous Predecessors)

The Second: The narration can not be attributed to the Prophet (Sallahu alaihi wa salam) or the narrator unless the Isnad (i.e. chain of narrators) is affirmed by those scholars who are proficient in that respective field. So thats why the scholars will say when narrating these types of narrations “It was reported….” Or “it was mentioned about…” but they will never say such and such said.

The Third: The class of the narration has to be clarified when quoted so as not to mislead the reader and/or listener to believe that it is authentic if it is not authentic.

The Fourth: It can only be used in the realm of what the scholars call At Targheeb wat Tarheeb, as it was mentioned before.

Translated by Abu Az Zubayr Shadeed Muhammad on the 1431H./1/4 corresponding to Dec. 19 2009 in the city of Riyadh, the Capital of Saudi Arabia.

A Woman’s Strong Determination to Repent