Virtues of the Righteous

Virtues of the Righteous

Know that one who knows Allah will never consider himself to be a participant in the commission of any action; on the contrary, he will see himself only as a body through which the Lord manifests His deeds. This is because acts are also qualities manifested only through bodies. And parts of the body act as gates for actions, like the doors through which people exit and nothing more. After all, people who pass through these gates are not born of them and have no direct relation to them.

So, if the essence of a slave is the creation of Allah, then how and when can a slave do anything without the participation of the Almighty Creator and still expect Allah to accept this act? Indeed, the nafs themselves, together with all their deeds, belong only to Almighty Allah and do not for a moment leave His power!

One who acknowledges this will not take any enjoyment from the largest number of good deeds manifested through him and will not be saddened if they are decreased [1]. Sheikh ash Shazali said,

“I saw myself in a dream sitting with a certain person in front of my spiritual mentor. He told me, ‘Remember these four axioms: one concerns this person, and three concern you personally:

1. Do not choose for yourself affairs of any kind but rather choose the lack of choice. Flee from any sort of choice and even from this flight itself. Flee from everything to Almighty Allah [2], for He said: «Your Lord creates all He desires and chooses what is good for them.

All that the Sharia chose together with its order is the choice of Allah and you have nothing to do with it. At the same time, you cannot dispense with the Sharia it is the choice of the Creator. Listen and obey! And if people engage you in litigation, tell them, ‘Allah knows all that you do.’

2. Maintain detachment from worldly delights and rely on Allah in everything. Because having hope in Allah is the foundation of every situations and condition. Make Allah your witness and rely on Him in words, deeds, morals and spiritual situations.

3. Beware of doubt, guard against attributing a companion to Allah (shirk), against striving to obtain what is in the hands of others, as well as objection to the Almighty in anything at all. Worship Almighty Allah with complete sincerity (ihsan).’

The mentor further added, ‘Two qualities have wounded and destroyed the soul of this poor thing [3]: he engaged worldly affairs at his own discretion, relying on himself alone, but regarding the affairs of eternal life proceeded with doubt in the gifts that Almighty Allah confers.

Turn to the Almighty at the commencement of the ordering of your affairs and receive from Him the grace of alleviation. Remember that any misconduct, following the commission of which you have a fear of Allah and you resort only to Him, will not be counted as a sin. Accept your destiny (provision) as Allah has sent it down to you, employing your knowledge and following the Sunna of the Prophet e. ‘Do not attempt to raise yourself in degree (of self improvement) independently until you yourself are raised, otherwise you will stumble.’”

For he who is contented with Allah, his contentment is predetermined

Almighty Allah said that one of the signs of His satisfaction with His slave is the contentment of a slave in His Lord. Almighty Allah also said (meaning), “Allah is satisfied with them and they are satisfied with Him” (Sura Al Bayyinah, ayat 8).

CHAPTER 3 SHAME

The essence of shame

the Arabic word “haya” is shame and embarrassment of the soul arising from the realization of the unacceptability of an act. And in Sufi terminology “haya” is embarrassment, modesty and bashfulness of the heart. The imam of the Sufis, Junaid alBaghdadi , gave shame the following definition:

“This is awareness of the blessings of the Allah, as well as recognition of negligence in worship, on account of which a state of shame arises. Shame is also the renouncing of any pretense that one fulfills all one’s obligations to the Almighty.” Shame is of several kinds:

1. Shame arising from disobedience. It is told that after the prophet Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he started to flee to Paradise. Then Almighty Allah asked him, «Do you do this because you want to run away from Me?» Adam answered, «No, it is because of shame before You.»

2. Shame arising from negligence and omissions. Thus the angels addressed Allah, «We have not worshipped You as You truly deserve!

3. Shame arising from aggrandizement; like the angel Israfil who covered himself with wings and felt ashamed before Almighty Allah.

4. Shame arising from noblemindedness. After marrying Zainab, the Prophet organized a wedding feast at which the companions sat up until late in the night and he was embarrassed to ask them to leave. Then the following ayah was sent down (meaning): “O those who believe! Do not enter the house of the Prophet unless you are invited to a meal and do not go to him expecting one.

However, enter his house when you are invited, eat and then leave without having engaged in conversation just for amusement. After all, such behavior may inconvenience and bother the Prophet and he will be ashamed to tell you so but Allah is not ashamed of the truth .” (Sura Al Ahzab, ayah 53).

This ayah indicates that it is necessary to show decorum and respect towards the Prophet ; thus a visit to the Messenger of Allah requires particular ethics and choice of the appropriate time. This ayah says that such dining is only permissible upon an invitation. That is, when you are permitted to enter the house of the Prophet and are invited to partake of a meal, then enter his house with propriety, observing the necessary requirements and Sharia norms in relation to the Messenger of Allah .

In the book “At Tawila anNajmiyya” it is said, “When all required has been done, depart without doing anything remiss. And may the Prophet’s good nature not deflect you from being deferential towards him and may his sense of great modesty not induce you to impose on the Messenger of Allah . It is probable that the Prophet's gracious manners tempted those who came to visit him to be inconsiderate to the Messenger . That is why the Almighty sent down this ayah.”

They say that the obligation of a thinking person who visits people of respect is brevity in speech and a timely leave taking, and that the sign of a fool is an untimely and inappropriate arrival and staying as a guest more than is necessary.

About shame arising from noblemindedness, the Almighty said (meaning), “And one of two girls approached him with a shy demeanor .” (Sura Al Qasas, ayah 25). In this ayah is described the bashfulness of one of the two daughters of the prophet Shuaib regarding the prophet Musa because she had invited him to visit and was embarrassed that he did not respond to her invitation. And indeed such modesty is an obligatory quality for someone receiving guests. This modesty is related to shame arising from noblemindedness.

5. Shame arising from decorum. Because of his shame, Ali ibn Abu Talib , being the husband of Fatima , the Prophet’s daughter, could not ask the Messenger of Allah a question about the Sharia determination regarding secretion from the sexual organ when excited and so asked Miqdad ibn alAswad about it.

6. Shame arising from powerlessness. Once the Prophet Musa turned to Allah with the words, “Verily, when I have any kind of worldly need, I am embarrassed to ask anything of you, O Lord!” And then the Almighty said, «Ask Me for salt for dough and even food for sheep.»

7. Shame before the Most Pure Lord as expressed in His mercy. When a slave crosses the bridge of Sirat, he will be handed a letter with a seal on which will be written: «You did what you did, but I am ashamed to disgrace you by revealing your deeds. So go on to Paradise, truly, I have forgiven you! ”.

The Prophet described the essence of shame thus, «O people, exhibit shame before Allah with true shamefulness!» The people answered, “Verily, we are full of shame before Allah, O Prophet ! And praise be to Him Almighty Allah! ” The Prophet said, “The mere pronouncement of these words is not true shamefulness.

He who is ashamed before Almighty Allah with true shamefulness protects his head and all its parts: eyes, ears, tongue and so on, as well as his trunk and that connected with it: heart, legs, arms, genitals, etc. And let one who is truly ashamed often remind himself of death and the corruption of his body. One who prefers eternal life to earthly life acts as one who is truly ashamed before Almighty Allah.»

A wise person said, “Revive your shame by being close to those who are truly ashamed of.”

[1] For he did not make them. Ed.

[2] That is, you do not choose anything for yourself, but follow the choice of Allah.

[3] That is, the third person present in the dream of ash Shazali.

FROM THE BOOK “VIRTUES OF THE RIGHTEOUS”

by sheikh Ahmad-afandi Mufti Dagestan