إيمان = Believing in the Unseen News
What is the relation between attending study circles and the increase of faith?
When you attend you receive information. If you believe in this information with certainty such that it affects your feelings and pushes you to take the correct action then know that this is faith.
The beneficial knowledge is the one is the one that affects your heart. You need to go home, review, repeat the information to yourself such that it affects your feelings. Did it affect your heart, change your way of thinking?!
Many people may receive the information but it has no effect on their faith. This is because of something in their heart.
You can't pour water in a dirty cup. You have to empty and clean it first. Similarly, we need to clear our hearts from excessive worldly occupations, heedlessness, etc. before we receive the knowledge.
You can't pour water in a dirty cup. You have to empty and clean it first. Similarly, we need to clear our hearts from excessive worldly occupations, heedlessness, etc. before we receive the knowledge.
The effect of the knowledge is gradual. We need to continuously acquire it until death.
- The Description of the Student of Knowledge -
1) Sincere
2) Patient
What helps a person be patient when acquiring knowledge?
a) Wanting Allah to be pleased with Him
b) Loving the Knowledge
How can I love knowledge?
-> Knowing that the Knowledge is the inheritance of the Prophets and Messengers.
-> Knowing that Allah, al-Aleem, loves knowledge and the knowledgeable people
c) To know that Knowledge helps a person obey Allah
d) When you know about the virtues of knowledge, the seekers of knowledge, the assemblies of knowledge, the teachers of knowledge, etc.
3) He is never satisfied with the knowledge he has.
The Prophet said, "The believer is never satisfied with the goodness he hears until he reaches Paradise" (Tirmidhi)
(There is a doubt in its authenticity, however the meaning is correct as there's another hadith {mentioned below} that supports its meaning)
When the scholars commented on this Hadith, they said, "This is the description of the believer"
The believer is always eager to acquire all types of goodness and to do good. He is never tired of struggling to attain good and implement it in his life.
An-Nawawi put this Hadith in Kitab Al-Ilm to indicate that the best virtue the believer can acquire is learning and teaching religious knowledge because it enables a person to distinguish between good and evil.
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said, "Musa asked his Lord about 6 characteristics which were particular to him and the 7th of which he didn't like:
He said, 'O Lord who is the most righteous amongst your Servants?' Allah said, "The one who remembers and never forgets"
He said, 'O Lord who among your Slaves is the most guided?" Allah said, "The one who follows the guidance"
He said, 'O Lord who is the wisest among your slaves?" Allah said, "The one who judges for people as he judges for himself"
He said, 'O Lord who is the most learned amongst your slaves?" Allah replied, "He who is never satisfied with knowledge. He gathers the knowledge of people in addition to his knowledge"
He asked, 'O Lord who is the most honoured amongst your servings?" Allah said, "He who if given the power, pardons"
He said, 'O Lord who is the richest amongst your Slaves?" Allah said, "He who is content with what he is given"
The 7th Characteristic which Musa disliked, 'O Lord who is the poorest amongst your Slaves?' Allah said, 'The owner of deficiency"
Musa was the most honoured and learned person of his time, yet he still travelled to seek knowledge from Al-Khidr. Many people think they have reached the pinnacle and there's no need to learn anymore, however knowledge is something that we need to continuously seek until death.
The Prophet said, "The richness is the richness of the soul, and If Allah wills to do good to His slave, He will make his richness in his self and Taqwa in his heart, and if Allah wills to do evil to a slave, He will make his neediness between his two eyes" (Al-Silsilah As-Saheeha #3350 Isnad Hasan)
Advices for the Student of Knowledge:
1) Lower your worldly hopes, wishes and desires.
2) Don't run after everything you want and respond to the desires of your self all the time.
3) Don't be the person who doesn't know the resemblance the Prophet made of the Dunya: The food of the son of Adam. As much as you make it tasty and add spiced and salt look at it's end. The life of this next world will remain forever.
When Allah mentions the descriptions of the believers in the Qur'an he mentions that the remembrance of the hereafter is in their hearts.
When the Sahabah performed good deeds the hereafter was in their hearts, but we do good deeds while the Dunya is in our hearts. This is why they excelled us. Don't distract yourself with the worldly matters. Keep your vessel clean, don't fill it with the occupations of true Dunya.
Guard the following three things:
1) Don't respond to the worldly thoughts.
2) Take care of your acts of worship. Take care of your prayer. It will help you be patient when acquiring knowledge.
3) Take care of your companion.
Your companion is very important in life. Don't be the person who comes on the Day of Judgement and says, يا ويلتى ليتني لم أتخذ فلانا خليلا
- The Importance of Knowing Allah -
Weak acts of worship are due to weak faith and weak faith is due to weak knowledge.
When we learn about Allah it will affect our faith and accordingly our worship. The core of our acts of worship is belief in the unseen.
Perfect worship indicates perfect belief and perfect belief indicates correct knowledge.
Knowledge of Allah will help you repel the whispers of the Shaytan. Waswaas is a common sickness which many people don't know comes from the Shaytan. It is a hidden voice prompting evil thoughts again and again in the heart of the person. This is a plot of the Shaytan. Allah called it الوسواس الخناس in Surah Nas.
When we learn about Allah it will affect our faith and accordingly our worship. The core of our acts of worship is belief in the unseen.
Perfect worship indicates perfect belief and perfect belief indicates correct knowledge.
Knowledge of Allah will help you repel the whispers of the Shaytan. Waswaas is a common sickness which many people don't know comes from the Shaytan. It is a hidden voice prompting evil thoughts again and again in the heart of the person. This is a plot of the Shaytan. Allah called it الوسواس الخناس in Surah Nas.
Allah warned us about the plots of the Shaytan in many verses in the Qur'an.
In (2:208):
يا أيها الذين آمنوا ادخلوا في السلم كافة ولا تتبعوا خطوات الشيطان إنه لكم عدو مبين
يا أيها الذين آمنوا ادخلوا في السلم كافة ولا تتبعوا خطوات الشيطان إنه لكم عدو مبين
Allah is commanding us in this verse to obey all the Islamic Legislation's. Don't leave one or two because it opposes your desire.
The He warns us not to follow the footsteps of the Shaytan.
The relation between the beginning and end of the verse: The Shaytan will prevent you from obeying Allah's commands little by little. He won't immediately command you to disbelieve in Allah, He will take you step by step. We need to be aware of the plots of the Shaytan.
The Shaytan is our enemy and we need to treat him as such. When we disobey Allah we are obeying the Shaytan. He comes to a person and mixes all matters such that the person cannot recognize the truth, save him whom Allah has protected.
As it is mentioned in the Musnad: If a man intends to become Muslim, Shaytan will come to him and say, "Are you going to forsake the religion of your forefathers?" And the man disobeys him and embraces Islam.
Then he will come to him when he intends to emigrate and says, "Are you going to leave your land, etc" and he disobeys him and emigrates.
And when the Slave intends to go for Jihad he will come and say, "Are you going to kill yourself and your wife will marry another man..." And the man disobeys him and goes for Jihad."
This Hadith indicates that the Shaytan is always waiting for man at the times of obedience.
The Shaytan cannot come from above, because Allah is above both us and the Shaytan. He has no power over the believers and those who trust Allah. The ones whom he has power over are those who listen and surrender to his whispers.
Some of the attributes of the people the Shaytan can easily overpower easily are:
1) Stubbornness
2) Perfectionism
3) Excessively Self-Reproaching
4) Tough Personalities
5) Insecure
6) People who, although intelligent, don't behave properly in certain situations.
This is either an inborn quality, due to experiencing incidents that made them like that, or are brought up by parents with these sicknesses.
- The different kinds of the Waswaas of the Shaytan -
1) Obsessional Thoughts وسواس الأذكار
The same re-occuring thought. This is either due to excessive attachment or fear.
E.g. A woman who is scared her husband will have a second wife. She is obsessed with that thought. The Shaytan knows your weak point and will use that to whisper.
Sometimes he takes the form of an adviser. He'll bring evidence from the Qur'an and Sunnah to stop you.
2) Whispering of Images وسواس الصور
This is when one particular image constantly flashes up in your head you either due to a personal horrifying experience or your imagination.
E.g. A person had a sick relative and accompanied him during all the stages until death. Shaytan may use this situation to haunt him.
E.g. An elevator door closed while a child was inside. When the parent comes home Shaytan may play with his thoughts, bringing up questions like, "What IF such-and-such happened...etc, etc."
You should say الحمد لله, just as Allah protected this child here, He will protect him later. Don't surrender to these thoughts.
Because of these thoughts many people are afraid of going in lifts, travelling on planes, etc.
Because of these thoughts many people are afraid of going in lifts, travelling on planes, etc.
3) وسواس الاجترار Excessive Rumination
A re-occuring doubt that the person can't find the answer to.
E.g. We don't know the reality of Allah's attributes. The Shaytan will come to a person and say, 'Allah created everything, Who created Allah?'
Allah is the first and there is nothing before him. If someone asks this or similar questions you need to answer the doubt in order to eradicate it, not tell them to stop ask such questions, otherwise it'll grow in their hearts.
4) Whisper of Impulsion
E.g. A person may get impulses to throw themselves from the window, etc.
People don't commit suicide out of the blue. These thoughts come until they get obsessed with it and take an action.
5) Whispers of the Actions
This is the most common.
E.g. A person is making ablution, the Shaytan makes them forget that they washed a certain part of their body.
- Remedies -
1) The most important means of remedy is استعاذه. It is an act of worship that will not be effective unless you know who Allah is by His names and attributes.
Allah tells us in Surah Nas that we need these three particular names in order to repel the whispers of the Shaytan: رب، ملك ، اله
2) Guard the morning and evening supplications and say them while being attentive of their meanings.
3) Immediately repel the whispers of the Shaytan.
4) Accompany Good people
5) Invoke Allah profusely. Be certain that Allah will help you against the Shaytan and will not let you down.
6) Recite, Understand, and Ponder over the Verses of the Qur'an.
When Allah talks about the Shaytan, He uses his name الوكيل.
In (3:173):
الذين قال لهم الناس إن الناس قد جمعوا لكم فاخشوهم فزادهم إيمانا وقالوا حسبنا الله ونعم الوكيل
After many Muslims were injured and killed in the battle of Uhud, they were told that Abu Sufyan was gathering his soldiers to fight them again. Instead of being afraid and disheartened they increased in faith and said حسبنا الله و نعم الوكيل
Say this whenever the Shaytan puts fear in your heart.
What will happen if you do?
In Verse 174:
فانقلبوا بنعمة من الله وفضل لم يمسسهم سوء واتبعوا رضوان الله والله ذو فضل عظيم
فانقلبوا بنعمة من الله وفضل لم يمسسهم سوء واتبعوا رضوان الله والله ذو فضل عظيم
Verse 175:
إنما ذلكم الشيطان يخوف أولياءه فلا تخافوهم وخافون إن كنتم مؤمنين
إنما ذلكم الشيطان يخوف أولياءه فلا تخافوهم وخافون إن كنتم مؤمنين
The Waswaas is a test from Allah. Allah is afflicting us with the Shaytan to see where we will run to when we are afraid.
As soon as the whisper of Shaytan came to them,they ran to Allah. They knew Allah by His names رب، ملك، اله.
They used their fear as a means of seeking nearness to Allah and as such were rewarded.
As soon as the whisper of Shaytan came to them,they ran to Allah. They knew Allah by His names رب، ملك، اله.
They used their fear as a means of seeking nearness to Allah and as such were rewarded.