anger lust forgetfulness 2

8/3/2019 Anger Lust Forgetfulness 2

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Short temper

A person may complain: “I get very angry very quickly. If there is the slightestprovocation, I quickly explode and start to break things, swear, curse and issuethreats of divorce. This problem has caused me so much embarrassment, and hasmade most people hate me, even my wife and children and closest friends. What can

I do to rid myself of this awful disease and extinguish this devilish fire?”

Anger is a tendency that comes from the Shaytaan. Only Allaah knows how muchevil and sin results from it. Hence Islam has a great deal to say about this negativecharacteristic and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)described remedies for ridding oneself of this problem and limiting its effects. Theseinclude the following:

Seeking refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan. Sulaymaan ibn Sard said: “I wassitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and therewere two men swearing at one another. One of them was red in the face and theveins of his neck were standing out. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) said: ‘I know a word which, if only he would say it, this [anger] would

leave him. If he said, “A’oodhu billaahi min al-shaytaan (I seek refuge with Allaahfrom the Shaytaan),”, this [anger] would leave him.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 6/377). He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also said: “If a mangets angry and says ‘A’oodhu billaah (I seek refuge with Allaah),’ his anger willcease.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, no. 695).

Keeping quiet. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you gets angry, let him keep quiet.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 1/239; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 693, 4027). Anger usually makes a person losecontrol, often to the extent that he may utter words of kufr (Allaah forbid), or curses,or the word of divorce (talaaq) which will destroy his family, or foul language thatwill earn him the enmity of others. Keeping quiet is the way to avoid all of these

evils.

Keeping still. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)said: “If any one of you gets angry, let him sit down if he is standing. If his angergoes away, (that is good), otherwise let him lie down.”

The narrator of this hadeeth was Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him), whotold the following story: he was watering his animals at a trough, when some otherpeople came along. He said, “Who among you will help Abu Dharr to water hisanimals and....?” A man said, “I will,” but he broke the trough. Abu Dharr wasstanding, so he sat down, then he lay down. Someone asked him, “O Abu Dharr, whydid you sit down then lie down?” He said, “Because the Messenger of Allaah (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) said … [and quoted the hadeeth].” (The

hadeeth with the whole story is reported in Musnad Ahmad, 5/152. See also Saheehal-Jaami’, no. 694).

According to another report, Abu Dharr was watering his animals at a trough whenanother man made him angry, so he sat down… (Fayd al-Qadeer al-Mannaawi,1/408).

One of the benefits of this Prophetic teaching is that it prevents the angry personfrom doing something crazy and out of control. An angry person could inflict harm or



even kill – as we shall see shortly – or he could destroy property and so on. Sittingdown makes it less likely that he will explode in this fashion, and lying down makes iteven less likely that he will do something reckless or harmful. Al-‘Allaamah al-Khattaabi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on Abu Dawood:

“The one who is standing is ready to move and destroy things. The one who is sittingis less likely to do so, and the one who is lying is not able to do anything of the sort.

It seems that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commandedthe angry person to sit down or lie down in order to prevent him from doing anythingthat he would later regret. And Allaah knows best.” (Sunan Abi Dawood wa ma’ahuma’aalim al-sunan, 5/141)

Remembering the advice of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him). Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that a mancame to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “Adviseme.” He said: “Do not become angry.” The man repeated his request several times,and each time the response was, “Do not become angry.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari,Fath al-Baari, 10/465).

According to another report, the man said, “I thought about what the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had said, and I realized that anger isthe source of all evil.” (Musnad Ahmad, 5/373).

“Do not get angry, and Paradise will be yours.” (A saheeh hadeeth. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7374. Ibn Hajar attributed it to al-Tabaraani. See al-Fath, 4/465).

Remembering what Allaah has promised to those who avoid the causes of anger andstrive to control themselves is the best way to extinguish the flames of anger. TheProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has told us about this greatreward: “Whoever suppresses his anger at the time when he could express it openly,Allaah will fill his heart with contentment on the Day of Resurrection.” (Reported byal-Tabaraani, 12/453; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 176).

Another immense reward is described in the hadeeth: “Whoever suppresses hisanger when he is able to vent it, Allaah will call him before all the people on the Dayof Resurrection and let him choose whoever of the hoor al-‘iyn he wishes.” (Reportedby Abu Dawood, 4777, and others. Classed as hasan in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6518).

Knowing the high rank and distinction that is bestowed upon the one who controlshimself. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said,

“The strong man is not the one who can wrestle another to the ground; the strongman is the one who can control himself when he is angry.” (Reported by Ahmad,2/236. The hadeeth is agreed upon). The more angry a person gets, the more highlyvalued is his self-control. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)said: “The real strong man is the one who gets intensely angry, so that his face

reddens and his hair stands on end, but he suppresses his anger.” (Reported byImaam Ahmad, 5/367; classed as hasan in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3859). The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used an incident that took place in frontof his Sahaabah as an opportunity to reinforce this lesson. Anas reported that theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by some people whowere wrestling, and asked, “What is this?” They told him, “So-and-so is a strongman. No one challenges him but he beats them at wrestling.” The Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Shall I not tell you who is stronger thanhim? A man who is mistreated by another, but suppresses his anger, has defeated



his own shaytaan and the shaytaan of the one who mistreated him.” (Reported by al-Bazzaar. Ibn Hajar said that its isnaad is hasan. Al-Fath, 10/519).

Following the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)with regard to anger.

He is our example, and his attitude towards anger is clearly demonstrated in manyahaadeeth, of which one of the most famous was reported by Anas (may Allaah bepleased with him), who said: “I was walking with the Messenger of Allaah (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he was wearing a Najraani cloak with astiff collar. He was accosted by a Bedouin who pulled his cloak roughly. I looked atthe Prophet’s neck and saw the marks left by the collar. The Bedouin said: ‘OMuhammad, give me some of the wealth of Allaah that you have!’ The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) turned to him and smiled, and orderedthat he should be given something.” (Reported by al-Bazzaar. Ibn Hajar said that itsisnaad is hasan).

Another way in which we may follow the example of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) is by making our anger for the sake of Allaah, when

the limits set by Allaah are violated. This is the worthy kind of anger. The Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) became angry when he was told aboutthe imaam who was putting people off praying because his recitation was too long.He became angry when he saw a curtain decorated with pictures of animatecreatures in ‘Aa’ishah’s house. He became angry when Usaamah spoke to him aboutthe Makhzoomi woman who was guilty of theft, and said to him, “Are you intercedingconcerning one of the punishments prescribed by Allaah?” He became angry when hewas asked questions he disliked. His anger was only for the sake of Allaah.

Knowing that suppressing anger is one of the signs of taqwa (piety).

Allaah has praised certain people in His Book, and the Prophet (peace and blessings

of Allaah be upon him) highly commended them. There have been prepared for themGardens as wide as the heavens and the earth. One of their characteristics is thatthey “… spend (in Allaah’s Cause) in prosperity and in adversity, [they] repressanger, and pardon men; verily, Allaah loves al-muhsinoon (the good-doers)” [Aal

‘Imraan 3:134 – interpretation of the meaning]. These are the people whose goodqualities Allaah has mentioned, people whom others admire and want to catch upwith. Another of their characteristics is that “when they are angry, they forgive” [al-Shoora 42:37 – interpretation of the meaning].

Paying attention when one is reminded.

Anger is something natural, with regard to which people differ. It may be very hardfor a person not to get angry, but a sincere person, if he becomes angry and is

reminded about Allaah, will remember Him and will stay within the limits that He hasprescribed. Some examples of this follow.

Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that a man askedpermission to see ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), and permission wasgiven. The man said, “O son of al-Khattaab, by Allaah, you are not giving us much,and you are not ruling us fairly!” ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) became soangry that he was about to hit the man, but al-Hirr ibn Qays (who was among thepeople sitting with ‘Umar) said, “O Ameer al-Mu’mineen, Allaah said to His Prophet



(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): ‘Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good,and turn away from the foolish (i.e., don’t punish them)’ [al-A’raaf 7:199 –interpretation of the meaning], and this man is one of the foolish.” By Allaah, ‘Umar(may Allaah be pleased with him) did not take the matter any further when this wasrecited to him. He adhered to the words of Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted.(Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 8/304). This is how the Muslim should be, not like

the evil hypocrite who, when he got angry and was told about the hadeeth of theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and was advised by one of theCompanions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to seekrefuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan, said, “Do you think there is something wrongwith me? Do you think I am crazy? Go away!” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath,1/465). We seek refuge with Allaah from failure.

Knowing the bad effects of anger.

The bad effects of anger are many, harming both the self and others. A person mayswear and utter obscenities, and may hit others, lashing out with no control. It mayeven lead to killing. The following story contains a lesson.

‘Alqamah ibn Waa’il reported that his father (may Allaah be pleased with him) toldhim: “I was sitting with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) when a man came along, leading another by a twisted rope. He said, ‘OMessenger of Allaah, this man killed my brother.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked, ‘Did you kill him?’ He said, ‘Yes, I killedhim.’ He asked, ‘How did you kill him?’ He said, ‘He and I were hitting trees to makethe leaves fall (so we could use them for animal fodder). He swore at me, so I gotangry and hit him on the side of the head with an axe, and I killed him.’…” (Reportedby Muslim in al-Saheeh, 1307).

Even if anger does not go as far as this, there may still be broken bones and injuries.If the person with whom a man is angry runs away, he may turn his anger upon

himself, tearing his clothes, slapping his cheeks, falling unconscious, or breakingdishes and furniture.

One of the worst things that result from anger and cause social ills and familybreakdown is talaaq (divorce). Ask many of those who have divorced their wives howand when it happened, and they will tell you, “It was in a moment of anger.”

Lives are shattered and children are lost as a result. Feelings of regret and failurehaunt people’s minds, and life becomes bitter – all because of anger. If only they hadremembered Allaah and come back to their senses, restrained their anger andsought refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan, what happened would not havehappened. Going against sharee’ah only ever results in loss.

The physical harm that results from anger is very serious, as the doctors describe,such as thrombosis, high blood pressure, fatal heart attacks, diabetes, etc. We askAllaah for good health.

The angry person should think about himself at the time of anger.

If the angry person could see himself in the mirror at the time of anger, he woulddespise himself and how he looks when his colour changes, he shakes uncontrollably,his face reddens, the veins of his neck stand out and he behaves like a crazy person.



He would be put off by his own appearance, but it is well known that the uglinessthat exists inside a person is even worse than any that may appear on the outside.How happy the Shaytaan must be when someone is in this state! We seek refugewith Allaah from the Shaytaan and from failure.

Du’aa’.

This is the believer’s constant weapon. He asks his Lord to rid him of evils, problemsand bad characteristics, and he seeks refuge with Allaah from falling into the pit of kufr and wrongdoing caused by anger, because one of the three qualities which willsave a person from Hellfire is being just and fair both at times of contentment and attimes of anger. (Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3039). One of the du’aa’s of the Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) was:

“Allaahumma bi ‘ilmika’l-ghaybi wa qudratika ‘ala’l-khalqi aheeni ma ‘alimta’l-hayaata khayran li, wa tawaffani idha ‘alimta’l-wafaata khayran li. Allaahumma waas’aluka khashyataka fi’l-ghaybi wa’l-shahaadah, wa as’aluka kalimat al-ikhlaasi fi’l-ridaa wa’l-ghadab, wa as’aluka’l-qasda fi’l-faqri wa’l-ghinaa, wa as’aluka na’eeman layanfad, wa qurrata ‘aynin la tanqati’, wa as’aluka’l-ridaa bi’l-qadaa’, wa as’aluka bard

al-‘aysh ba’d al-mawt, wa as’aluka ladhdhat al-nadhr ila wajhika wa’l-shawqa ilaaliqaa’ik, fi ghayri darraa’ mudirrah wa laa fitnati mudillah. Allaahumma zayyinnaa bizeenati’l-eemaan wa’j’alnaa hudaatan muhtadeen (O Allaah, by Your knowledge of the Unseen and Your power over all creation, keep me alive so long as You know lifeis good for me, and bring about my death when you know death is good for me. OAllaah, I ask You to make me fear You in secret and in the open, I ask You to makeme speak sincerely at times of contentment and at times of anger, I ask You tomake me be moderate in poverty and in wealth, I ask You for a blessing that doesnot end, contentment that never ceases, and for acceptance of Your decree. I askYou for a good life after death, and I ask You for the joy of looking upon Your faceand the longing to meet You, with no harmful adversity or misleading trial (fitnah). OAllaah, adorn us with the beauty of faith, guide us and let us be a means of guidance

for others).” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i in al-Sunan, 3/55; and by al-Haakim. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1301).

Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds.

I Want to Fight My Soul, so What is the Way?

By Nawwâl Bin Abdullâh

Adapted with slight modifications from a translation by Abû Iyâd Amjad Rafîq

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All Praise is due to Allâh the Rabb of all the Worlds and prayers and peace upon thebest creation of Allâh.



To proceed:

We hear many complaints from the people. Most of their complaints are related totheir souls, which command them what is evil. They also complain about the evil of their actions. One of them says:

Indeed I have been put to trial with four, they did not afflict meExcept due to my misfortune and wretchednessIblîs, the world, the soul and the desireHow will this end when they are my enemies, all of them

So we find some of them saying ‘I have tried many times, repeatedly, to turn mysoul away from committing these specific acts of disobedience but my efforts havefailed.’

Another one says: ‘I tried to get my soul to perform acts of obedience (to Allâh),good and righteous deeds but I am not able to remain firm upon them, I leave themso quickly.’

And we hear a third one say: ‘I have repented from many evil actions and promisedmyself that I would not commit them again. However after the passing of time andbeing occupied much it did not take long before I returned to them. In fact I fell intoothers and increased in them.’

If we were to look at the condition of these people we would realise that among thereasons for their not being able to dominate and control their souls and not beingable to remain firm upon what they have promised themselves is their lack of striving against their souls. In fact they have left the fetters and reins for the soul sothat it leads them and plays with them however it wills. The soul is such that if it isnot fought against and controlled it commands its possessor to commit evil andobscene deeds. These people, because they have not fought against their souls and

controlled them in that which Allâh loves and is pleased with, are not able to remainconstant in their (good) actions. For this reason it is necessary for them to controltheir souls for Allâh's pleasure and His obedience. Not that it should control them andas a result destroy them

It is vital that a person launches a war against his soul. One which is not haphazardor aimless but rather a firm and determined one in which he uses the weapons of faith (îmân), sincerity to Allâh (ikhlâs), patience (sabr) and supplication (du‘â). Heuses them until he is able to overcome this mischievous enemy which is concealedbetween the two sides of his body [the soul, which commands the evil]. As a resulthe tames and pacifies it and makes it obedient, humble and submissive to thecommand of Allâh.

For this reason we find that Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) says: ‘Since the jihâd against theenemies of Allâh outwardly (i.e. physically) is a branch of the jihâd of the servantagainst his own soul for the sake of Allâh...’

The jihâd that is greater and mightier than the jihâd against the disbelievers andpagans is the jihâd of a person against his own soul for the sake of Allâh, just as theMessenger of Allâh said: “The Mujâhid is the one who struggles against his own soulin Allâh’s obedience.” [Tirmidhî who said it was Hasan Sahîh and Al-Albânî said: ‘Itsisnâd is good’]



And when a person is not able to struggle against his own soul and overcome it inthat which Allâh loves, he will not be able to fight against the external enemy, norovercome it. How can he, when he is defeated and weak, both mentally andspiritually, and cannot even gain control of his own feeble soul?

Before entering into the discussion of how to fight against the soul it is necessary tomention a little section about the soul and its nature. Then we shall mention the curefor the soul and the way to purify it from its desires and lusts, if Allâh wills.

The Reality of the Soul

The soul continuously calls its owner to transgression, preference of the world, thedesires and love of the delights and pleasures. But Allâh calls His servant to fear of Him, awe of Him and forbids the soul from its whim. He has prepared a mightyreward for the one who follows His command. The Exalted said:

And as for the one fears the standing in front of His Lord and restrains the soul from

impure evil desires and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode. [Sûrah Nâzi‘ât79:40-41]

The soul in its essence calls and commands the evil. Allâh the Exalted said:

Verily the (human) self is inclined to evil, except when my Lord bestows His Mercy(upon whomsoever He wills). Verily, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful. [SûrahYûsuf 12:53]

The soul was originally created ignorant and given to transgression. Knowledge,guidance and righteousness are things that befall it due to inspiration from its Lordand then by the struggle against it by its owner and his nurturing it and engaging it

in jihâd. Allâh the Exalted says:

And those who strive in Our way We shall guide them to our paths and verily Allâh iswith the doers of good (muhsinûn). [Sûrah Ankabût 29:69]

Allâh Azzawajall guaranteed the one whom He found trying and striving (against hissoul) that He will be with him, will help him and will bring into reality his wish ordesire (of domination over his soul). What then can a man desire after that?

And Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) said: “The travellers to Allâh, in all their different paths anddiversity of their ways are agreed that the soul is a barrier between the heart andAllâh and that it (the heart) will not come close to Him, the Sublime, or arrive to Himexcept after killing his soul, abandoning it by opposing it and being victorious over it”

For this reason, it is obligatory upon us to fight and strive against it in order to travel(by this striving) in the straight path and to the clear success which Allâh Azzawajallhas prescribed for us and which the best of the creation of Allâh, Muhammad hasexplained to us.

Know that striving against the soul does not occur except by four ways. Whoeverfollows them and applies them to his soul will have fought against it and protected it



with the help of Allâh. Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) has mentioned these ways and they are asfollows:

Firstly: By holding the soul to accountSecondly: By opposing it and not following its whims and desiresThirdly: By making it patient in Allâh’s obedience

Fourthly: By making it patient in refraining Allâh’s disobedience

The First Way: Holding the Soul to Account

The destruction of the soul and the heart and their corruption is due to the neglect of calling the soul to account. There are very few amongst Allâh’s servants whom youwill find calling their souls to account. One will ask it constantly: What did I intendwith that word of mine, or that advice I gave, or when I called unto Allâh or when Icommanded the good and forbade the evil (on a particular occasion)? Was that wordwhich my tongue engaged upon and which my mouth uttered a word sincerely forAllâh? Did I desire the Face of Allâh with it? Or did I desire a portion of the world

with it? What did I desire with that action, whether it was prayer, charity, fasting orputting and end to a certain evil? What did I hope for from it and what was thedesire behind it? Did I hope for reward from Allâh for it and His pleasure, or was myhope for reward and praise from Allâh’s creation, showing off and seeking to beheard of?

In such a way does he question his soul and hold it to account for every word,movement and moment of rest. What did I hope for from it? And what did I desire byit?

May Allâh show mercy to Al-Hasan al-Basrî who said: “You will not find a believerexcept that he is (constantly) holding his soul to account. What did I intend with that

word of mine? What did I intend with my food? What did I intend with my drink?”

Imâm Ahmad wrote: “The intelligent person is the one who controls his own soul(calls it to account) and acts (in preparation) for what comes after death...”, andwhat is after death? After death is the barzakh. After death there is accountabilityand punishment. After death are the Scales (upon which the deeds are weighed) andthe Sirât (the bridge over Hellfire) and then it is either Paradise or Hellfire. So whathave we prepared for what comes after death?! “...and the incapable person is theone who makes his soul follow its whim and has many expectations from Allâh.”

Such a person is the one who says ‘Allâh will forgive me, Allâh will show mercy uponme’, he covets all these things from Allâh and yet he does not perform the righteousactions and falls into many sins and acts of disobedience. Righteous actions are one

of the means of entering Paradise. It is not sufficient for someone to haveexpectations (from Allâh) without making some effort and sacrifice and striving withhis soul to perform righteous actions. Allâh Azzawajall frequently links îmân withrighteous actions and it is also one of the ways of entering into Paradise. We askAllâh to grant us His Gardens.

Umar ibn al-Khattâb said: “Call your souls to account before you are called toaccount and weigh your souls (i.e. your actions) before you are weighed for it will



make the accountability easier for you tomorrow if you call your selves to accounttoday” [Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad]

Mâlik ibn Dînâr (rh) said: “May Allâh show mercy to a servant who said :’Are you notthe perpetrator of this action? Are you not the perpetrator of that action? Then herebukes it, strikes it and confines it to the Book of Allâh and is becomes its master

and guide.’”

How many souls are their who control and lead their owners into the darkness andthen into destruction and refuge is sought from Allâh! Let a person therefore, be theleader, the commander and the forbidder of his soul and not the soul of him.

And Al-Hasan (rh) said: “A believer is a guardian over his soul. He calls his soul toaccount for the sake of Allâh. The reckoning on the Day of Judgement will be lightupon a people who call themselves to account in the world and the reckoning on theDay of Judgement will be hard on a people who take this matter lightly.”

And Ibn Kathîr (rh) said: “The believer (constantly) returns to his soul (holding it toaccount) so he says: ‘What did I intend by this action?! What is for me and what is

for it?! By Allâh I shall never return to it.’ If it is an act of disobedience for example,it is a way of guarding his soul. He asks it constantly and calls it to account with anintense and hard reckoning in this world so that the reckoning on the Day of Judgement is easy.”

How Do I Call Myself to Account?

Holding oneself to account is of two types: One before the action and the other afterthe action.

The First Type: It is necessary for the one who calls himself to account before heengages upon saying something particular or a particular action or any action for

that matter, that he stops and looks with clear insight, not with his whim or desire,at this action. Is this action in itself good for him, will he acquire recompense andreward for it from Allâh? Or is this action disobedience which will lead to earning eviland increasing ones burdens?

If he sees that this action is good and there is benefit in it for his religion, his life andthe Hereafter he then moves onto another matter.

And this is to see whether Allâh’s Face, His pleasure and the home of the Hereafter isdesired by this action or is it merely for showing off, fame and seeking to be heardof? If he had desired Allâh’s Face by it then he should proceed with this action, whilstrelying upon Allâh and seeking help from Him.

When he has finished from his action it is still necessary for him to call himself toaccount after he has acted. This enables him to see whether he made it sincerely andpurely for Allâh or whether he was deceived (into thinking that it was) and satisfiedwith just merely performing the action, perhaps due to the praise of people. Then heforgets his initial desire and intention which was seeking the Face of Allâh. Was itbetter for him to perform that action or to fall short in executing it and abandoningit?



For this reason we find that the Prophet has strongly encouraged us to be quiet if we do not find any good and useful words to speak. He said: “Whoever believes inAllâh and the Last Day let him speak good or remain silent.” [Reported by Bukhârî and Muslim] Imâm an-Nawawî said: “When a person desires to speak, if there isdefinite goodness in his words for which he will be rewarded then let him speak andif it does not appear to him that there will be good in his words and that he will be

rewarded then he should refrain from speaking.”

When a servant is strict and hard upon himself in such a way he will travel upon thepath of goodness and success as a result of it. However, if he abandons his soul andneglects it he will be lead to the path of destruction and ruin by it, and intocommitting sins very easily without having the desire to seek forgiveness and repentfrom them.

The Second Type: Calling the soul to account after the action has been completed.This itself is of three types:

The first: A person brings the soul to account for an act of obedience which wasperformed and which fell short in fulfilling Allâh’s right. This means that it was not

performed in the best possible way. The right of Allâh upon the servant in every actof obedience consists of six matters:

Sincerity in the action (for the sake of Allâh alone), Pure devotion to Allâh in it,Following and imitating the Messenger in it, Seeing and observing excellence in itSeeing Allâh’s Benevolence in it Seeing one’s shortcomings (in performing thisaction) after all of this. So a person will call himself to account. Has he considered allthese things with care and attention, the way they ought to be? And did he fulfilthem all in this action?

The second: A person calls himself to account for every action that he did, theabandonment of which would have been better for him than actually doing it.

The third: A person calls himself to account for a matter that is mubâh (permissible -with no reward or punishment resulting from it). Why did he do it? And did he desirethe Face of Allâh and the home of the Hereafter by it so that he will have profitedand succeeded? Or did he desire by it, the world and its temporary rewards anddelights as a result of which he loses that success

A person will call himself to account so that one day when he is sixty years old hewill be counting his days and will find that they are twenty-one thousand and six-hundred in number. He lets out a scream and says: “Woe be to me, I will meet myLord with twenty-one thousand sins.

How will it be when there are thousands of sins in a day?!” Then he falls to the

ground unconscious, and dies.

Let us therefore, look at the strictness and intensity of the way he called himself toaccount and the way in which he saw his sins to be against him. What then, will ourcondition be?!

One amongst the Salaf would choose a certain time, late at night, to call his soul toaccount. He would ask himself about the obligatory duties first and if he found any



deficiency in them, he would complete them, either by fulfilling them or by makingup for them.

Then he would call his soul to account with respect to the forbidden matters since hedid something which the Sharee‘ah has forbidden or which the Prophet () warnedagainst. So he would make up for it by seeking forgiveness from Allâh and then

being remorseful and repenting from it.

Then he would hold his soul to account for its heedlessness. If he had been heedlessof what he had been created for he would make up for it with the remembrance of Allâh, directing his attention towards Him and performing His worship. If he hadbeen heedless with respect to a certain sin and went on to commit it, he wouldreturn to Allâh, seeking forgiveness from Him, repenting to Him.

He then goes on to call himself to account about what he said and uttered on acertain day, or to what his feet walked towards or what his hands grasped or whathis eyes saw or what his ears heard and so on. He would therefore, see whether hisaction was in agreement with what Allâh is pleased with and whether he desiredAllâh with his action and made it sincerely and purely for Him. Or did a blemish or

impurity mix with his action such as showing off or seeking to be heard of, oropposing the command of Allâh (in the way that he performed his action).

Therefore, he throws against every one of his actions or his words two questions: Forwhom did I do it?! Was it for Allâh or other than Him? This a question about sincerityto Allâh. The other question: How did I do it?! Was it in agreement with the Book of Allâh and the Sunnah? Was it in agreement with the Sharî‘ah or did it oppose andcontradict the Sharî‘ah (this is a question about following and imitating the way of the Messenger of Allâh .

There are Great Benefits in Calling the Soul to Account

Amongst them are:

1. Realising the shortcomings and weaknesses of the soul. Whoever does not knowthe weaknesses of his soul will not be able to put an end to them.

We can observe this quality in our Pious Predecessors. Due to the intensity withwhich they called their souls to account, they knew all their shortcomings and faults.Yûnus bin Ubaid said: “Indeed, I know of a hundred characteristics from among thecharacteristics of goodness and I do not know whether I possess a single one of them.” Therefore, we find him to be the most knowledgeable of people of his ownself. He knows what his soul is in need of and what it hopes for and other suchmatters.

And Muhammad bin Wâsi‘ said: “If sins were to produce a smell, no one would beable to sit next to me”

2. Knowing the right of Allâh upon oneself. This will instill in the servant hatred of hisown soul and its contempt. It will purify him from being amazed with his actions andalso from showing off. Ibn al-Qayyim said: “Verily, hatred of the soul for the sake of Allâh is one of the characteristics of the Siddîqûn (the truthful and the sincere).”



Imâm Ahmad has mentioned in his book az-Zuhd that Wahb (ibn Munabbah) said: “It has reached me that the Prophet of Allâh, Mûsâ, passed by a man who was callingupon Allâh and was humbling himself. He (Mûsâ) said: O my Lord, show mercy toHim as I have shown mercy to Him. Then Allâh inspired to him: If he calls upon meuntil his...... I would not respond to Him until He looks at My right over Him.”

Looking at the right of Allâh opens the door towards submission, humility and defeatin front of Allâh. The one who reflects about the condition of the people nowadayswill find that most of them do the opposite of this. They look at their own rights uponAllâh, at their needs from Him but do not look at the right of Allâh upon themselves.

We will find one of them when he is inflicted with a calamity or misfortune onaccount of what his own hands have committed, angry, irritated and grumbling. Hedoes not even ask his ownself: What is the cause of this misfortune, this calamity?And he is not aware that it is due to his sins and his disobedience to Allâh.

Likewise we find that many amongst mankind have been cut off from Allâh and theirhearts have been veiled from knowing Him. To Allâh then, is the complaint and thereis no power nor movement except by Allâh.

The Second Way: Struggling Against the Soul by Opposing it and not Following itsDesires

Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) says: “And this is by not following its desires and opposing whatthe soul desires. Opposing the soul occurs by opposing its desires and its desires donot arise except by following Shaytân. Therefore it is vital to oppose Shaytân andseeking refuge in and recoursing to Allâh from his whisperings and his plans.Shaytân enters upon the soul and penetrates into it with two matters or from twodoors. It is necessary for us to know them, oppose them and to close them tight in

the face of Shaytân the Accursed and Rejected:

The First: Due to excessiveness and squandering. This happens by giving ones soulwhatever it desires of food, speech, sleep and other such matters which the soulmakes its owner aspire for, what it cannot do without and what it loves. Therefore itis incumbent upon a person that he does not give his soul its need and desire in itsentirety. He should not be extravagant and excessive in giving it food, sleep andother such delights and pleasures. When he shuts this door, against his own soul andagainst Shaytân he will acquire peace and security.

Thus, we will find that a person has been forbidden from excessive food and speech,letting the gaze wander too much, mixing with people and accompanying them inexcess since giving the soul whatever it desires is among the things which if done

excessively and continuously hardens to heart and makes it heedless. This leads tothe hearts death and refuge is sought from Allâh! Thus, the door of fasting has beenopened and we have been urged to fast. Even voluntary fasting has been stronglyencouraged. Fasting puts an end to the desire and excessive eating. Thus Islam hasencouraged fasting and made it beloved to its adherents.

Likewise, there is an excellence attached to the night prayer (tahajjud). It prevents aperson from excessive sleep. A person will strive against his soul and wage waragainst it in order to pray during the night and fast during the day. He will continue



in this until his soul submits and humbles itself to these acts of worship. The soul willthen find the joy and delight of fasting and praying at night.

It is also, from the wisdom of Islâm that urges the Muslim to be silent unless he hassomething beneficial to say. The Messenger of Allâh said: ‘Whoever believes in Allâhand the Last Day, let him speak good or remain silent.’ Perhaps, due to his excessive

speaking and shouting he will not be on his guard from the danger of falling intobackbiting, lying, slandering and other such matters.

The Second: Being ignorant and heedless of Allâh’s remembrance. Shaytân exhaustshimself in gaining mastery over the soul so that he can prevent it from Allâh’sremembrance. The one who remembers Allâh is in a strong fortress, protected fromShaytân as long as he does not forget or become heedless. Whoever becomesheedless, he will open up a small gap for the enemy by which he can get to him andthen penetrate into his soul and whisper to it. This is why there is a strongencouragement and recommendation for making the various supplications andreciting portions of the Qur’aan during every moment and in every place until theybecome a sanctuary and a preventive measure for the one who uses them.

There exist, for example, supplications for the evening, the morning, for enteringinto the house and leaving it, for sleeping and awakening and others besides them.Fighting against the soul occurs by checking and curbing the defiance of its desiresand its lusts. And with the abundant remembrance of Allâh a preventive barrier is setup against every destructive lust or transgressing desire.

Abû Hafs said: ‘Whoever does not oppose his soul at every moment and situationand does not make it perform those things which it dislikes, at all times, is deceivedand has destroyed it (his soul).’

Al-Hasan (rh) said: ‘A believer becomes amazed with something (that he likes) andsays: By Allâh, I desire you and you are certainly one of my needs. But by Allâh,

there is no way towards you. How far you are, there is a barrier between me andyou!’

A person knows what his soul wants and desires. It is therefore, essential for him notto give it everything that it covets and desires. It is also vital for him to confine andstraiten his soul so that he does not go to excesses in giving it what it seeks.

We know that Umar (ra), when his wife desired a sweet (dish), forbade her from itbecause he knew than if she asks for a sweet (dish) today, she will ask forsomething else tomorrow which is greater. So he closed the door upon her at thevery beginning. The condition of most people however, is that a person will begenerous to his soul and shower upon his soul whatever it asks of him and evenwhat it does not even ask of him. So his soul becomes tired and fed up due to his

extravagance and excess. What is our condition then, when compared to that of ourPious Predecessors? We direct our complaint to Allâh!!”

The Third Way: Making the Soul Patient in Allâh’s Obedience

The soul runs away often from some acts of worship because they are amongst thethings it does not desire. This continues due to certain causes prevent a person from



desiring these acts of worship. Amongst them are laziness in performing acts of worship (such as prayer) and the love of sleep. As a result, the opportunity toperform much worship passes him by. It can also occur due to miserliness. A personwill not give the obligatory charity or other things which are required of him so thatthey become endeared to the soul and the soul begins to aspire for them after it hadbeen fleeing from them.

It is vital that there is a spiritual war, which can be intense and hard, but with astrong will, turning to Allâh, making continuous du‘â (supplication) to Allâh andrequesting His help in this act of obedience to Him, this matter will be made easy forhim. And Allâh will lighten his burden for him until these acts (of worship) arebeloved to the soul.

All of this cannot occur except after fighting and struggling against the soul. A personwill find himself in many trials and intense battles along with his capability of avoiding such actions. This means that a person, even though he is in need andcapable of fasting, will not fast due to following his whims and even though he iscapable he will not pray and as a result please his desires and his soul whichcommands the evil.

However, we find that another person fasts voluntarily, although he is not in need of fasting voluntarily (to curb his desires) and neither does his soul aspire towardsfasting. Yet he still declares war upon his soul and fights against it (with fasting andprayer) so that he makes it do what he desires and not let it make him do what itcommands and desires.

Therefore, patience when accompanied with performing those actions (such asprayer and fasting) upon which the soul perseveres is considered the greatest andmost perfect form of patience as Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) has explained. And Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) said: “Verily, having patience in obedience (to Allâh) occurs byperforming an act of obedience, then guarding it and being persistent in (performing)

it.”

This is the thing which very few amongst us are able to do, that we show patience incontinually observing obedience to Allâh and persisting in such obedience. This isbecause the soul gets bored with it and does not have the desire to perform itanother time. At this stage showing patience and realising the great excellence thisaction has in the sight of Allâh is required. The actions most loved by Allâh are theones which are performed continuously, even if they are small actions. TheMessenger of Allâh used to love, when he performed an action, that he remainedconstant upon it.

The saying of the Prophet to Abdullâh bin Umar: “Do not be like so and so whowould pray during the whole of the night and then abandoned it”, was nothing but a

means of encouraging him to be constant in his good actions. It is also necessarythat along with being continuous in ones actions, a person also beautifies them andexcels in them and this occurs with having Ikhlâs (sincerity) and dings them inaccordance with the command of Allâh and His Messenger .

The Fourth Way: Fighting Against the Soul and Making it Patient in Refraining fromAllâh’s Disobedience



This means that a person holds his soul to account in order to make himself distantfrom falling into disobedience while also bearing in mind that the reasons andmotives of falling into the sin are numerous. Among such reasons are the strength of ones youthfulness and manhood, since the youth are known to love the pleasuresand joys of this world.

When a person turns away from an act of disobedience even though he has theopportunity and is capable of performing it, he has turned his soul away from theunlawful and has opposed his soul, pleasing Allâh thereby, and being obedient toHim. He has struggled with his soul and fought against it with a strong and intensebattle. As a result of this he overcomes and dominates it and he will receive successand prosperity in this world and the Hereafter with the permission of Allâh.

And Shaikh-ul-Islâm (rh) said: “Showing patience in (avoiding) the unlawful things ismore excellent than showing patience in calamities and afflictions. Whoeverabandoned an act of disobedience although he was capable of performing it is onewhose fight against his soul is most intense and most excellent. This is because heleft a thing which his soul tempted him with and made him aspire for. So he opposedit and was capable of defeating it.”

This is why the youth who is tempted by a women of rank and beauty and says toher: “I fear Allâh” will be amongst the seven whom Allâh will shade on the Day whenthere will be no shade except for His, because he prevented his soul from committingwhat it desired and wanted and at the same time he was capable of performing it.

Likewise, the one who lowers his gaze although he has the opportunity and capabilityto look at something unlawful is amongst those who fight against and deter theirsouls. Along with that he will receive a mighty reward in this world and the hereafter.

Also, the one who keeps his hearing away from the forbidden things such as musicand singing, backbiting, slandering and lying, is a fighter against his soul and he will

obtain a reward from Allâh if his action was to please Allâh.

A similar analogy can be made for every matter that makes a person distant from hisLord or earns His anger. It is vital for a person to be far from it and to oppose hissoul in performing it.

And how excellent is the saying:

Oppose the soul and shaytân and protect it (the soul)They (seem to) give you sincere advice, so restrain them both

Therefore, a person must oppose his soul and call it to account constantly. As aresult of this he must make it patient in doing acts of obedience and refraining from

acts of disobedience. He should also make it patient in being continuous inperforming the righteous actions so that he ascends with them, to the highest of positions, to the pleasure of Allâh and to everlasting happiness.

I ask Allâh, the Most High and the Powerful to benefit us with what He has taught usand to teach us that which will benefit us and that He forgives our mistakes. We askhim to help us against our souls and that He does not leave us to rely upon ourselvesfor a single moment, verily, He is capable of that and Allâh knows best.



Prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family.

Written byNawwâl bint AbdillâhMay Allâh forgive her, her parents and all the Muslim men and women.

What will your excuse be tomorrow before Allaah?

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Praise be to Allaah Who has created us to worship Him and has prescribed Hisreligion and sharee’ah for us to adhere to, and Who accepts our excuses for ourmistakes and for what we forget or are forced to do.

Allaah has commanded us to adhere firmly to His religion, as He says (interpretation

of the meaning):

“Hold fast to that which We have given you” [al-Baqarah 2:63].

Religion is a serious matter that distinguishes truth from falsehood, it is not a thingfor amusement [cf. Al-Taariq 86:13]. Many people do not take the matters of theirreligion seriously, and they offer feeble excuses. This is one of the signs of theMunaafiqoon (hypocrites), who take their religion for mockery and fun [cf. Al-Maa’idah 5:57], and when they are rebuked or advice is offered to them, they comeup with excuses which in fact are worse than the sin for which they are offeringthese excuses.

Often we hear strange responses from people when we seek to offer advice orconfront them about their evil actions and sins. For example:

Why do you not give up this sin?

- These are difficult times, and everyone is like this.

- I have not been guided yet.

The joke you told is a serious matter, and it is making a mockery of Islam.

- My intention is sound, and I only meant to have some fun.

How can you work in this haraam job?

- I can’t find any other job. Do you want me to die of starvation?

How could you shake hands with a woman who is a stranger to you (non-mahram)?

- My heart is pure.

Why do you not wake your child up to pray Fajr?



- Poor kid, he didn’t get enough sleep and he has to go to school.

Your daughter has passed the age of ten and she is still wearing short clothes; whydon’t you tell her to wear hijaab?

- She is still young. When she reaches the age of puberty we will tell her towear hijaab.

Wear the correct Islamic hijaab.

- It doesn’t look good on me. What will people say about me? The coverrestricts my breathing.

Fear Allaah and do not wear abaayahs (outer garments) that are colourful or havepatterns.

- This is what is available in the stores.

How can you bring the means of forbidden entertainment (TVs etc.) into your home?

- Our wives and children put too much pressure on us.

Why don’t you pray in the mosque?

- The Imaam’s voice is off-putting, and there are too many offensive smells.

Why do you shave off your beard, my brother?

- Because it doesn’t look nice, I can’t grow a full beard.

Thus people come up with excuses one after another, for major and minor sins alike,in a failed attempt to avoid feeling guilty and avoid the advice of sincere people. Inorder to find out the rulings on this matter and to learn more about this dangerousphenomenon, we will refer to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the words of the scholars.

Some of the incidents of false excuses referred to in the Qur’aan:

Allaah has mentioned in His Book some examples of false excuses, many of whichwere made by the Munaafiqoon, such as their excuses for failing to performobligatory duties, the chief of which was jihaad for the sake of Allaah, and otherduties.

(1)

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“They (the hypocrites) will present their excuses to you (Muslims), when you returnto them. Say (O Muhammad) ‘Present no excuses, we shall not believe you. Allaahhas already informed us of the news concerning you. Allaah and His Messenger willobserve your deeds. In the end you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the



unseen and the seen, then He (Allaah) will inform you of what you used to do.’” [al-Tawbah 9:94]

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Here Allaah states that when the Muslims returned to Madeenah, the Munaafiqoon

would offer excuses. “Say (O Muhammad) ‘Present no excuses, we shall not believeyou” means, we will not accept it as true. “Allaah has already informed us of thenews concerning you” means, Allaah has already told us about you. “Allaah and HisMessenger will observe your deeds” means, your actions will be made known topeople in this world. “In the end you will be brought back to the All-Knower of theunseen and the seen, then He (Allaah) will inform you of what you used to do” means, and He will inform you of your deeds, both good and bad, and will requiteyou accordingly.

Ka’b ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) explained what happened when hestayed behind from the campaign to Tabook. He said:

“When I heard that (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was

on his way back from Tabook), I was filled with remorse and I began to think of a liethat I could tell so as to escape his anger and I consulted some of my relatives toask for their advice. But when I heard that the Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) was close at hand, thoughts of falsehood left meand I knew that I would never find a way out by lying, so I resolved to tell the truth.In the morning, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered(Madeenah), and whenever he returned from travelling he would always go to themosque first. So he prayed two rak’ahs there, then sat down to await the people.When he did that, those who had stayed behind came and began to make excuses,swearing oaths. There were eighty-odd of these men. The Messenger of Allaah(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) accepted their public declarations andoaths of allegiance, and prayed for forgiveness for them, referring their secret

thoughts to Allaah. Then I came to him and greeted him with salaam, and he smiledas a person who is angry smiles, then he said: ‘Come here.’ So I came and sat downbefore him. He said, ‘What kept you back? Did you not buy a mount (riding animal)?I said, ‘Yes. By Allaah, if I were sitting with anyone else in this world, I would thinkthat I would be able to escape his wrath by making some excuse, for I am skilled inargument. But by Allaah, I know that if I told you a lie that you would accept, thensoon Allaah would provoke your anger against me. But if I tell you the truth, whichwill make you angry with me, I hope that Allaah will forgive me for it. By Allaah, Ihad no excuse. I have never been stronger or richer than when I stayed behind.’ TheMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘As far asthat is concerned, he has told the truth. Get up (and wait) until Allaah decidesconcerning you.’ So I got up, and some men from Banu Salimah got up and followedme, saying, ‘By Allaah, we have never known you to commit any sin before this. How

come you were unable to offer an excuse to the Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) as the others who stayed behind did? It wouldhave been sufficient if the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) had asked for forgiveness for your sin.’ By Allaah, they kept at me until Iwanted to go back and give the lie to myself. Then I asked them, ‘Is there anyoneelse who is in the same position as I am?’ They said, ‘Yes, there are two men whosaid something like what you said, and the same answer was given to them. I said,

‘Who are they?’ They said: ‘Muraarah ibn al-Rabee’ al-‘Amri and Hilaal ibn Umayyahal-Waaqifi.’ They had told me the names of two righteous men who had been present



at Badr and who were exemplary characters. I remained silent when they mentionedthem to me.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4066).

When Allaah mentioned those who told lies to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) and offered false excuses for staying behind, Hementioned them in the worse way that they could ever be mentioned: “They (thehypocrites) will present their excuses to you (Muslims), when you return to them.Say (O Muhammad) ‘Present no excuses, we shall not believe you. Allaah hasalready informed us of the news concerning you. Allaah and His Messenger willobserve your deeds” [al-Tawbah 9:94 – interpretation of the meaning].

(2)


“And when a party of them said: ‘O people of Yathrib (Al‑Madinah)! There isno stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!’ And a

band of them ask for permission of the Prophet saying: ‘Truly, our homes lie open(to the enemy).’ And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.” [al-Ahzaab 33:13]

This is the excuse that the Munaafiqoon used when they wanted to stay behind fromthe campaign of al-Ahzaab and go back to their houses, claiming that the houseswere unprotected. Their excuse was unacceptable, because they did not really wantto protect their houses; what they actually wanted to do was to run away. Allaahsays (interpretation of the meaning): “And they lay not open. They but wished toflee.”

“And a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet.” It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that they said: “We are afraid that our

houses may be robbed.” This was stated by more than one (of the scholars). Theyused the excuse of going back to their houses, claiming that they lay open (toattack), i.e., there was nothing to protect them from the enemy, so they were scaredthat the enemy may attack their houses. Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):

“And they lay not open” – it was not as they claimed. “They but wished to flee” –i.e., to run away from battle.

(Tafseer Ibn Katheer).

(3)


“And among them is he who says: ‘Grant me leave (to be exempted from Jihaad)and put me not into trial.’ Surely, they have fallen into trial. And verily, Hell issurrounding the disbelievers.” [al-Tawbah 9:49]

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy upon him) said: Allaah says, and among theMunaafiqeen are those who will say, O Muhammad, Grant me leave to stay behindand do not put me into trial by making me go out (to fight) with you, because of theyoung women of the Romans. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Surely,



they have fallen into trial” meaning, they have fallen into trial (fitnah) by their sayingthat. Muhammad ibn Ishaaq narrated that Az-Zuhri, Yazeed ibn Roomaan, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Bakr, ‘Aasim ibn Qutaadah and others said: One day, when he waspreparing to go out [to fight the Romans], the Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Al-Jadd ibn Qays, the brother of BaniSalimah, “O Jadd, how do you feel about going to fight Bani’l-Asfar (the Romans)?”

He said, “O Messenger of Allaah, will you grant me leave to stay behind and notexpose me to trial (fitnah)? For by Allaah, among my people there is no man who ismore tempted by women than I am, and I fear that if I see the women of Bani’l-Asfar I will not be able to control myself.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him) turned away from him and said, “I give you leave(to stay behind).” Then there was revealed concerning al-Jadd ibn Qays the followingwords (interpretation of the meaning):

“And among them is he who says: ‘Grant me leave (to be exempted from Jihaad)and put me not into trial.’…” i.e., because he feared the temptation of the women of Bani’lAsfar. But this is not the case. The trial into which he fell by staying behindfrom accompanying the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be uponhim) and preferring his life to the life of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) was a far greater trial… “And verily, Hell issurrounding the disbelievers” means, they will not be able to find any way out ormeans of escape from it.

(4)

Allaah also says concerning the excuses of the Munafiqeen (interpretation of themeaning):

“If you ask them (about this), they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allaah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?’

Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of you,We will punish others amongst you because they were Mujrimoon (disbelievers,polytheists, sinners, criminals).”

[al-Tawbah 9:65-66]

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

If a person says words of kufr or divorce (talaaq) in jest, his wife is thereby divorcedand he is counted as a kaafir, even if he was only joking, because when he said it hemeant to say it. The fact that he was joking is not an excuse. This is unlike the casewhen a person is forced to do something, or he makes a mistake, or he forgets – all

of which are excused. A person who is forced to say something is excused, and whathe said may be deemed as allowable, but the one who jokes is not allowed to utter in

jest words of kufr or of divorce. When he said the words, he meant to say them, andhe cannot claim that he was forced or that he made a mistake or said it out of forgetfulness or ignorance. Allaah and His Messenger do not accept joking as anexcuse that will ward off the punishment; indeed, the one who jokes is moredeserving of punishment. Do you not see that Allaah accepts the excuse of theperson who is forced to speak words of kufr if his heart is filled with true faith, but



He does not accept any excuse from the one who jokes. On the contrary, He says(interpretation of the meaning):

“If you ask them (about this), they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allaah, and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?’” Make no excuse; you

disbelieved after you had believed” [al-Tawbah 9:65-66]

(I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, 3/63)

We say to every heretic and hypocrite who propagates kufr and clearly makesstatements of kufr in works of fiction or journalistic articles and song lyrics, thengives that excuse that he did not intend to insult religious symbols or the things thatIslam holds sacred or the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him), we say to these munaafiqeen in every place and time: “Present noexcuses, we shall not believe you” [al-Tawbah 9:94 – interpretation of the meaning].We say to them: wait until the Day comes when it will be said to you:

“O you who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allaah — Islamic Monotheism)! Make no

excuses this Day! You are being requited only for what you used to do” [al-Tahreem66:7 - interpretation of the meaning].

(5)

Another of the foolish excuses of which Allaah has told us in His Book, is that whichthe Children of Israel made to their Prophet Moosa (peace be upon him) when hewas leading them towards the Holy Land (Palestine).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said concerning these Jews: One of the ways in which the Shaytaan played with them is when Allaah had saved themfrom the tyranny and oppression of Pharaoh, and had parted the sea for them, and

had shown them the signs and miracles, and had helped them and protected themand granted them glory, and given them what He had not given to any other amongthe ‘Aalameen (mankind and jinns, in the past) (cf. Al-Maa’idah 5:20),

Then He commanded them to enter the town which Allaah had decreed was to betheirs. This included the glad tidings for them that they would prevail and conquerthe land, and that that town would be theirs, but they refused to obey his orders,and they responded to this command and these glad tidings by saying: “So go youand your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here” [al-Maa’idah 5:24 –interpretation of the meaning].

Think about how kind the Prophet of Allaah Moosa (peace be upon him) was towardsthem, and how gently he treated them, and how he reminded them of Allaah’s

blessings towards them and His promise that the town would be theirs. He told themnot to disobey him by turning on their heels, and warned them that if they disobeyedhim, they would be losers. So he combined commands and prohibitions, glad tidingsand warnings, encouragement and threats, and a reminder of previous blessings. Butthey responded in the worst manner and rejected the command of Allaah by saying:

“O Moosa! In it (this holy land) are a people of great strength” [al-Maa’idah 5:22 –interpretation of the meaning]. They showed no respect to the Messenger of Allaah,the one with whom Allaah had spoken, and they even addressed him by his first



name, instead of saying “O Prophet of Allaah”. They said that there were strongpeople dominating that town, and they forgot the power of the One Who dominatesthe heavens and the earth, Who could subjugate those tyrants to the people whoobeyed Him. Their fear of those tyrants, whose forelocks were in the Hand of Allaah,was greater than their fear of the Compeller, the Most High, may He be exalted, andthey had more fear in their hearts of them than of Him.

Then they clearly stated their disobedience and their refusal to obey:

“and we shall never enter it till they leave it” [al-Maa’idah 5:22 – interpretation of the meaning]. Thus they confirmed their disobedience in several ways:

(1) They stated the reason for their disobedience: “In it (this holy land) are apeople of great strength”.

(2) They stated that they would not obey; the sentence starts with the word “inna” which signifies affirmation (e.g., verily, indeed), followed by the word “lan”, anegation which implies “never”, i.e., we will not enter it now or in the future.

Then they stipulated a condition for their entering the town, which was that thetyrants should leave. Then “Two men of those who feared (Allaah and) on whomAllaah had bestowed His Grace” [al-Maa’idah 5:23 – interpretation of the meaning] –by obeying His command, from among those who feared Allaah – this is the view of the majority and this is correct. “[They] said: ‘Assault them through the gate’ [al-Maa’idah 5:23 – interpretation of the meaning], i.e., the gate of that town: attackthem, for they are filled with fear of you.

“for when you are in, victory will be yours” [al-Maa’idah 5:23 – interpretation of themeaning]. Then they guided them to that which would bring them victory, namelyputting their trust in Allaah. But the people’s response was to say:

“O Moosa! We shall never enter it as long as they are there. So go you and your Lordand fight you two, we are sitting right here.” [al-Maa’idah 5:24 – interpretation of the meaning]

Glory be to the One Whose patience was so great that when they responded to Hiscommand in this manner and addressed His Messenger in this way, He wasforbearing towards them and did not hasten to punish them. His patience andkindness was so great that the worst punishment He gave them was to make themwander in the desert for forty years, with the clouds shading them from the heat andwith manna and quails sent down for them.

(Ighaathah al-Lahfaan, 2/313).

Having read the aayat in which Allaah mentions the false excuses and responds tothem, we should go back and think about our duties and what is required andexpected of us. We should think of our own shortcomings and the excuses that wehave in mind or that we give to others.

Allaah has sent down His Book to us Muslims and He has obliged us to obey Himand follow His commands. We have no excuse not to follow the sharee’ah, and wehave no option when it comes to Allaah’s commands.



Let us remember what Sa’d ibn al-Rabee’ said to Zayd ibn Thaabit with his dyingbreath: “Tell my people the Ansaar that they have no excuse before Allaah if someharm reaches the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)and their eyes are still blinking (i.e., they are still alive).” Then his soul slipped away;may Allaah be pleased with him.

People’s excuses for not adhering to Islam

There are many things that a lot of people say to excuse themselves for not obeyingthe commands of Allaah and His Messenger:

“The rulings are too difficult; these are difficult times; I haven’t been guided yet”…and other examples such as those given above. Another thing that they say is: weare afraid of people!

They fear the people, but Allaah is more deserving of being feared. Is He not the OneWho says to us (interpretation of the meaning):

“so fear them not, but fear Me’ [al-Maa’idah 5:3]

“Therefore fear not men but fear Me” [al-Maa’idah 5:44]

Is it not a form of Shirk for a person to fear other people as he fears Allaah or evenmore so?

Mu’aawiyah wrote to ‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen (may Allaah be pleased with her)saying: “Send me a letter and advise me, briefly.” So ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah bepleased with her) wrote to Mu’aawiyah saying: “Peace be upon you. I heard theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, whoeverseeks to please Allaah by making people angry, Allaah will protect him from people;whoever seeks to please people by making Allaah angry, Allaah will leave him to the

people. Peace be upon you.” (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 2414).

People come up with many foolish reasons for not implementing the commands of Allaah and His Messenger, in an attempt to make excuses so that they will not feelguilty, and in order to justify what they are doing by saying that they are underpressure or by misinterpretating things to suit themselves. Ibn al-Qayyim (mayAllaah have mercy on him) said, refuting that:

No one has any excuse whatsoever for disobeying Allaah and going against Hiscommands when he knows of them and is able to do what he is commanded andavoid what is forbidden. If there (really) was an excuse, he would not deserve to bepunished and blamed, either in this world or in the hereafter.

(Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/189)

Blame yourself, done not blame someone else * and die of regret, for you have noexcuse.

Some people use the Shaytaan as an excuse.

Some people use al-qadaa’ wa’l-qadar (divine decree) as an excuse.



This is the worst kind of excuse.

Allaah connected the adornment of this world and sin to the shayaateen, as He said(interpretation of the meaning):

“and Shaytaan (Satan) made fair‑seeming to them that which they used to

do” [al-An’aam 6:43]

“And so to many of the Mushrikoon (polytheists) their (Allaah’s so‑called) ‘partners’ have made fair-seeming the killing of their children” [al-An’aam 6:137].This does not contradict the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Thus We have made fair‑seeming to each people its own doings” [al-An’aam6:108] – because when this is connected to Allaah, it means that it is the matter of al-Qadaa’ wa’l-Qadar (divine decree), but when it is connected to the Shaytaan it means thathe is the means by which it happens. Moreover, when sin is made attractive, this is apunishment for them liking and accepting that which the Shaytaan made fair-seeming to them, because the punishment for sayi’aat (bad deeds) is more bad

deeds, and the reward for hasanaat (good deeds) is more good deeds.

What is meant is that using al-qadar as an excuse contradicts the idea of repentance, and it is not an acceptable excuse at all. In some reports it is stated thatif a person commits a sin, then says, ‘O Lord, this was Your decree and this is whatYou ordained for me,’ Allaah says, ‘You did this, you earned it, you wanted it and youstrove for it, and I will punish you for it.’ If he says, ‘O Lord, I did wrong and I erredand I transgressed,’ Allaah says, “I decreed it and ordained that it would happen,and I will forgive you for that.’ If he does a good deed and says, ‘O Lord, I did it andI gave in charity and I prayed and I fed others,’ Allaah will say to him, ‘I helped youand I guided you.’ And if he says, ‘O Lord, You helped me and supported me andblessed me,’ Allaah will say, ‘You did it and you wanted it and you earned it.’

So there are two kinds of excuses: those in which a person does not admit that hewas wrong – which contradicts the idea of repentance, and those in which a persondoes admit that he was wrong – which makes repentance complete.

(Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/184)

Some people may have some kind of excuse, but it is very slight and it will not be of much use if they want to use that excuse before Allaah. If you want to know howvalid an excuse is, ask yourself, will this be of any benefit to me before Allaah? Andfear

“The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to Zaalimoon (polytheists,

wrongdoers and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah). Theirs will be the curse, andtheirs will be the evil abode (i.e. painful torment in Hell‑fire)” [Ghaafir 40:52– interpretation of the meaning]

Each person knows best about himself and whether his excuses are genuine orfalse. On the Day of Resurrection all matters will become clear, as Allaah says(interpretation of the meaning):



“Nay! Man will be a witness against himself [as his body parts (skin, hands, legs) willspeak about his deeds], Though he may put forth his excuses (to cover his evildeeds)” [al-Qiyaamah 75:14-15]

Acceptable excuses

On the other hand, there are some sincere people who Allaah knows that they didnot do some of the things that were enjoined upon them because of something thatprevented them from doing so. These are some examples:

It was reported from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was on a campaign and he said: “Thereare some people in Madeenah and we did not travel through any valley or mountainpass but they were with us, and they were prevented from coming with us for agenuine reason.”

(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2627).


“And those who made excuses from the Bedouins came (to you, O Prophet) askingyour permission to exempt them (from the battle), and those who had lied to Allaahand His Messenger sat at home (without asking the permission for it); a painfultorment will seize those of them who disbelieve” [al-Tawbah 9:90]

Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Allaah explained the situation of those who had excuses not to go out for jihaad andwho came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)to make their excuses and explain to him that they were weak and unable to go outfor jihaad. They came from Arab tribes who lived around Madeenah. Ad-Dahaak said

that Ibn ‘Abbaas used to recite it “jaa’a al-ma’dharoon” – without a shaddah –meaning those who had excuses… This meaning is more apparent, because Allaahthen says: “and those who had lied to Allaah and His Messenger sat at home” meaning, others from among the Bedouin stayed at home and did not come to offerexcuses. Then Allaah warned them of a painful torment and said: “a painful tormentwill seize those of them who disbelieve”.

(Tafseer Ibn Katheer).

It was reported from Ibn Abi Maleekah that Ibn ‘Abbaas recited (interpretation of themeaning):

“Except the weak ones among men, women and children” [al-Nisaa’ 4:98] He said:

my mother and I were among those who were excused by Allaah… (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4222).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to accept the excuseof those who had valid excuses. It was reported that al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah said:I ate garlic then I came to where the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah beupon him) used to pray, and I had already missed one rak’ah. When I entered themosque, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) noticed the smellof garlic. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)



finished his prayer, he said, “Whoever has eaten from this plant, let him not comenear us until the smell has gone away.” When I finished my prayer, I came to theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “OMessenger of Allaah, give me your hand.” And I put his hand inside the sleeve of myshirt so that he could feel the wrapper around my chest. He said, “You have anexcuse.” (Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3330. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, may

Allaah have mercy on him; Saheeh Abi Dawood, 2/726).

“the wrapper around my chest” – their custom was that when a person was hungry,he would wrap something tightly around his stomach, and sometimes they wouldplace a stone beneath the wrapper.

(Awn al-Ma’bood, Kitaab al-At’imah; transmitted from al-Nihaayah by Ibn al-Atheer).

Excuses have a great impact on the soundness of good deeds and the application of the rulings. Some texts were narrated concerning those who have excuses, and if these texts are not connected to people who have excuses they will be open tomisinterpretation. An example of this is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah which statesthat the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said; “Whoever

catches up with one rak’ah of Subh (Fajr) prayer before the sun rises has caught upwith Subh, and whoever catches up with one rak’ah of ‘Asr prayer before the sunsets has caught up with ‘Asr. (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: the hadeeth of AbuHurayrah is a saheeh hasan hadeeth). This is the hadeeth on which our companionsand al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad and Ishaaq based their opinion. They interpreted thishadeeth as referring to a person who has an excuse, such as a man who sleeps andmisses the prayer, or forgets it and then wakes up and remembers it just before thesun rises or sets. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 545; al-Tirmidhi, 171 – this version wasnarrated by him).

Another example of how excuses affect the ruling on a matter:

Permissible excuses for missing prayer in jamaa’ah:

It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) said: “I nearly decided to tell my servants to gather firewood, then Iwould have told them to give the iqaamah and start praying, then I would haveburned the houses of people who did not attend the prayer.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 201; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him;Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1/69).

Abu ‘Eesaa said: the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah is a saheeh hasan hadeeth. It wasalso narrated from other companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaahbe upon him) that they said: “Whoever hears the call [to prayer] and does notrespond, his prayer does not count.” Some of the scholars said: this is a strict

emphasis: there are no concessions for not praying in jamaa’ah, except for thosewho have valid excuses.

What are the valid excuses for not attending prayer in jamaa’ah?

There are several valid excuses for not attending prayer in jamaa’ah, including thefollowing:

1. Sickness.



Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: I do not know of anydifference of opinion among the scholars concerning the fact that the sick personmay not attend prayers in jamaa’ah because of his sickness.

Ibn ‘Abbaas narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

said: “Whoever hears the call (to prayer) and has no excuse not to respond to it -” They said: “What excuse could he have, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “Fear orsickness, otherwise the prayer that he performed will not be accepted.” (Narrated byAbu Dawood, 464; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy on him ,without the phrase “What excusecould he have?”, in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1/110)

Whatever the case, the sick person has a legitimate reason which means that he isexcused from doing acts of worship or may make them up later. In al-Bukhaari itwas reported that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)was terminally ill, Bilaal would come to him and call him to pray, and he would say,

“Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.”

But not every sickness is an excuse for not praying in congregation. What is referred

to here is debilitating sickness.

Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen said in al-Mumti’ (4/438-439): thesickness which excuses a person from attending prayers in jamaa’ah and Fridayprayers is the sickness which will cause him great hardship if the person goes topray.

The evidence (daleel) for that is as follows:

1. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “So keep your duty to Allaah andfear Him as much as you can” [al-Taghaabun 64:16]

2. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah burdens not a personbeyond his scope” [al-Baqarah 2:286]

3. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “There is no restriction on the blind,nor any restriction on the lame, nor any restriction on the sick” [al-Noor 24:61]

The second excuse: heavy rainfall or strong winds:

Naafi’ said: Ibn ‘Umar gave the adhaan on a cold night in Dajnaan, then he said:Pray where you are. He told us that on a cold or rainy night during a journey, theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would to tell themuezzin to give the adhaan, then immediately afterwards he would say: pray whereyou are. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 596).

It was reported that Jaabir said: we went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) on a journey, and it rained, so he said, “Letwhoever among you wishes, pray where he is.” (Narrated by Ahmad, 13827; Muslim,1127; Abu Dawood, 899).

It was reported that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said to hismuezzin on a rainy day: After you have said ‘Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasool-Allaah (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah), do not say



‘Hayya ‘ala’l-salaah (come to prayer); say ‘Sallu fi buyootikum (pray in your houses).It was as if the people found that strange, so he said: Do you find it strange whensomeone who is better than I did that? – meaning the Prophet (peace and blessingsof Allaah be upon him) – Calling people to pray Jumu’ah is emphatically obliged, butI did not want to make you come out to walk in the slippery mud. (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 850; Muslim, 1128). According to a hadeeth narrated by Abu ‘Awaanah

from Ibn ‘Umar: a cold or windy night.

The third excuse: fear

Because of the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abaas quoted above – if it is saheeh – in which itsays “ (the excuse of) Fear or sickness.”

Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (1/631):

Fear is of three types: fear for oneself, fear for one’s wealth or property, and fearfor one's family.

1. Fear for oneself: when a person fears that he may be seized by a tyrant,

enemy, thief or wild animal, etc., which would cause him harm.

2. Fear for one’s wealth or property: when a person fears a tyrant or thief and thelike, or he fears that his house may be robbed or burned down etc., or he has breadin the oven or something cooking on the stove and he fears that it may burn if hegoes and does something else, or he has some good which he left with anotherperson, and if he does not catch up with him, he may disappear with his good. Theseand similar cases are valid excuses for not attending Jumu’ah prayers or prayers in

jamaa’ah.

3. Fear that one’s child or family may be lost, or a person’s child is lost but thereis the hope of finding him at that time, or he has a sick family member who needs

him or he has to stay close to the sick person.

Ibn al-Mundhir said: It was reported that Ibn ‘Umar called upon Sa’eed ibn Zayd inthe late morning, and he came to him in al-‘Aqeeq and missed the Jumu’ah prayer.This was the view of ‘Ataa, al-Hasan, al-Oozaa’i and al-Shaafa’i.

The fourth excuse: when food is ready.

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you is eating, let him nothasten (to finish eating) until he has eaten his fill, even if the iqaamah is beinggiven.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 633)

Ibn Qudaamah said in al-Mughni (1/629):

If dinner is ready at the time of the prayer, it is mustahabb to eat first and thenpray, because then one’s heart and mind will be more focused. Ibn ‘Umar ate eventhough he could hear the imaam reciting (in the prayer).

Then he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:



Our companions said: eating dinner takes priority over the prayer in congregation if one is desperate to eat. Al-Shaafa’i also said something similar.

But this excuse will not be accepted from someone who deliberately serves food atthe time of the prayer in jamaa’ah, because this is a trick.

The fifth excuse: urgent need to pass urine or stools.

Muslim (869) reported from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You should not pray if there is food ready or if you needto pass urine or stools.”

Ibn Qudaamah (al-Mughni 1/630) said: this means, if a person is suppressing (theurge to pass urine etc.), it is makrooh for him to pray until he has answered the “callof nature”, whether he fears that he will miss the prayer in jamaa’ah or not.

What this means is that if he stands up to pray and there is something that willdistract him from having the proper attitude of humility and presence of mind, andhe goes against that and prays anyway, his prayer will still be valid. This is the case

in this situation (the need to pass urine or stools) and in the situation referred toabove (when food is ready and one is very hungry).

The sixth excuse: when one feels very drowsy

Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (al-Mumti’, 4/447) said: If a person feels verydrowsy, he is excused if he does not attend Jumu’ah or a prayer in jamaa’ah. Anexample of that is a man who is very tired because of work or travelling, and he isovercome with drowsiness. He can do one of two things: either he can go and pray in

jamaa’ah even though he is so sleepy and does not know what he is saying, or hecan sleep so that the drowsiness will pass and then he can pray in a refreshed andrelaxed manner. We say, do the latter, because you have a valid excuse.

For some people, doing wudoo’ gets rid of the drowsiness and refreshes them; inthis case a person should not miss the prayer in jamaa’ah. The hadeeth is talkingabout overwhelming drowsiness.

The seventh excuse: strong cold winds on a dark night.

There are two conditions attached to this excuse:

1. The wind should be so cold that it is difficult to go out in it.

2. It should be a strong wind, because a gentle breeze does not cause anydifficulty.

The excuse of ignorance

Islam excuses the person who is ignorant just as it excuses a person who forgets, ormore so. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) excused a personwho did not pray well because he did not know how to pray with the propercomposure, and he did not order him to repeat his past prayers. He excused apregnant woman who was experiencing istihaadah (irregular non-menstrualbleeding) because she did not know that prayer and fasting were obligatory upon her



even though she was bleeding [because it was not menstrual blood], and he did notorder her to make up what she had missed. He excused Udayy ibn Haatim for eatingin Ramadaan when he thought that he could distinguish between the (black andwhite) threads which he had placed beneath his pillow (to determine when the timeto start fasting had come), and he did not command him to make up what he hadmissed. He excused Abu Dharr for not knowing that it was still obligatory to pray

even when there was no water; he commanded him to do tayammum but he did notorder him to make up what he had missed. He excused those who rolled in the dustlike animals when they heard the command of tayammum, and he did not orderthem to repeat those prayers. He excused Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam for speakingdeliberately during the prayer, because he did not know that this was forbidden, andhe did not order him to repeat the prayer. He excused the people of Qubaa’ forpraying in the direction of al-Quds after this had been abrogated because they wereunaware of this abrogation, and he did not order them to repeat their prayer. TheSahaabah and the imaams after them excused people for committing anything thatwas haraam if they were unaware of it being forbidden, and they did not impose anypunishment for that.

(I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een, 1/273)

Allaah excused the man whose joy, when he found his camel in a desolate land afterhe had despaired of seeing it again, was so great that he said, “O Allaah, You are myslave and I am Your lord!” He did not count him as a kaafir because of that, becausehe made a mistake that was due to his great joy.

(Shifaa’ al-‘Aleel, 1/138)

But we must note here that the ignorant person does not have a permanent excuse.Whoever is able to learn and does not do so, or is able to ask and seek fatwaas anddeliberately does not do so, has no excuse.

After looking at these excuses made by sinners and hypocrites, I thought that tocomplete the benefit (of this discussion), we should look at some of the excuseswhich good people make for not taking part in or doing things that are mustahabb,or even waajib. Some examples of that are:

In the field of da’wah and seeking knowledge:

Some people give excuses for not attending worthwhile gatherings of good peopleand lessons by saying things such as the following:

1. Study and homework

2. Boredom

3. Not feeling comfortable with the other participants

4. Travel

5. Fear of making an ongoing commitment

6. These gatherings and activities are viewed as being like going to school



7. Conflict between the time of the activity and something else that a person likesto do

8. Poor leisure program

9. Distractions at home

10. No variety in the program

11. Too many people attending the activity

12. The presence of new students whom the person does not know

13. Parents do not let the student go out

14. Attending to family needs

15. There is no one available to take care of youngersiblings

16. Family visits

17. Attending courses for work

18. Have to do overtime at work

19. Do not want to stay overnight outside the home

20. Sickness

21. Vague excuses such as “I have some problems”

22. No means of transportation

23. Emergencies

24. Not convinced that the activity or class matters

25. Busy with private tuition

26. Sleep

27. Watching sports matches

28. Appointment to meet a friend

29. Do not feel that there is any benefit in the class

30. Has friends who are not involved in the activity and does not want to leave them

31. Needs of one’s wife and children

32. Claim that the class is a repeat



33. The sports/exercise program is limited and is not enough

34. Too few contests and cheap prizes

35. Not interested

These excuses vary in strength and validity. Some of them are valid, such as #s 14,20 and 22; some of them are feeble, such as #s 9, 27, 32.

The problem is that many of those who do not attend do not appreciate how muchthey have missed and how much reward they have lost by not being there. If theyunderstood what they have missed, they would do their utmost to resolve theirsituation and strive to remove the obstacles that are preventing them fromattending.

Problems must be dealt with according to each individual case.

1 – In the case of those who have weak excuses:

They must be confronted, advised and dealt with according to the level of theirexcuses. Some people’s excuses may be accepted straight away, whilst still pointingout to them how much they are missing. Others may need to be questioned furtherin order to make them realize that their excuses are flimsy. Sometimes keeping quietwhen a person makes an excuse may be the best response. It may also be useful tocombine clear statements with hints.

It is also necessary to advise adults such as businessmen and employees who keepaway from lessons and meetings for the purpose of worldly gains, and remind themthat that which is with Allaah is better and more lasting. They should be remindedthat Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Nay, you prefer the life of this world, Although the Hereafter is better and morelasting” [al-A’laa 87:16-17]

They should be told how dangerous it is to be distracted by worldly things:

“Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, much of goldand silver (wealth), branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is thepleasure of the present world’s life; but Allaah has the excellent return (Paradise withflowing rivers) with Him” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:14 – interpretation of the meaning]

“Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealththat you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in

which you delight are dearer to you than Allaah and His Messenger, and striving hardand fighting in His Cause, then wait until Allaah brings about His Decision (torment).And Allaah guides not the people who are Al‑Faasiqoon (the rebellious,disobedient to Allaah).” [al-Tawbah 9:24 – interpretation of the meaning]

They should be reminded that being too busy with their family and children to learnthe religion of Allaah is a great loss. Allaah has warned us against that: “O you whobelieve! Verily, among your wives and your children there are enemies for you (whomay stop you from the obedience of Allaah); therefore beware of them! But if you



pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive (their faults), then verily, Allaah isOft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Taghaabun 64:14 – interpretation of themeaning]

We have to be frank but polite. We can say to them, “If you wanted to come youwould have prepared yourself and removed all obstacles. Pray to Allaah that you will

not be one of those whom He discourages and forsakes and to whom it will be said ‘Sit you among those who sit (at home)’ [al-Tawbah 9:46].”

2 – Those who have valid excuses

There has to be cooperation between the daa’iyahs and those whom they arecalling, between the teachers and those whom they are teaching, in order to removeand overcome the obstacles. There are different things that may be done toovercome the problems, including the following:

1- Explaining the importance of time and how to make the most of it. “And He itis Who has put the night and the day in succession, for such who desires toremember or desires to show his gratitude” [al-Furqaan 25:62 – interpretation of the

meaning].

2- Always having a plan to help achieve a balance between the various interestsof sharee’ah as far as possible, because sharee’ah is based on achieving interestsand achieving a balance between them as far as possible.

3- Paying attention to priorities. Things which are fard ‘ayn [obligatory for eachindividual] come before those which are fard kafaayah [obligatory upon thecommunity, and if some people fulfil them the others are not held accountable];things which are fard kafaayah come before those which are generally recommended(mustahabb). We should know which things are more important than others so thatwe can give priority to those which are greater in virtue and reward when there is

too much to be done.

4- Convincing parents that Islamic activities do not conflict with studies, bystriving to achieve a high level in one's studies.

5- Helping students to overcome their shortcomings in their studies so that theywill be able to attend activities.

6- Trying to bring forward or delay some family commitments so that one canattend Islamic activities.

7- Appropriate direct intervention on the part of the teacher or daa’iyah with theparent or guardian of the student, and intervening by seeking permission for the

child to attend.

8- Coordinating timetables and seeking to reconcile family commitments withIslamic activities, such as taking a student to the activity after a family commitmentor bringing him back from the activity before the commitment starts, so thatalthough he may miss part of it he does not miss all of it.



9- Convincing the student that time is too precious to be wasted in gatherings inwhich there is no benefit, and that he should teach the people around him about howimportant time is to him so that they will not distract him with things that are of nobenefit to him.

10-Explaining that attending these activities is a form of relaxation and a means of

dispelling boredom, in addition to the benefits of increased faith and knowledge thatthey bring.

11-Preparing programs well and filling them with useful lectures and lessons andmoving talks so that the people who attend will feel that they are really benefitting.

12-Using means of motivation in the program such as telling stories, giving examplesand paying attention to exciting things that are permissible.

13-Striving to organize a schedule that will leave no room for excuses, such asreducing the number of days that the activity takes up, e.g. making it three or fourtimes a week instead of every day.

14-Not going to extremes by making things obligatory that are not obligatory insharee’ah, and accepting valid excuses.

15-Striving to resolve sensitive issues among friends and promoting an atmosphereof love. Teaching the participants about the brotherhood of faith by exhorting themand by setting the example.

16-Turning to Allaah and asking Him to make things easy and to help us.

O Allaah, we seek refuge in You lest on the Day of Resurrection we may be amongthose who will not be permitted to put forth any excuse (cf. Al-Mursalaat 77:36). Weask You to make us adhere firmly to Your commands and to follow Your guidance

resolutely. May we make the most of all good activities and be safe from sin. Grantus the victory of Paradise and save us from the Fire.

May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family andcompanions, and grant them peace.

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