What will your excuse be tomorrow before Allaah?
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Title: What will your excuse be tomorrow before Allaah?
Created on: Tue Jan 29 10:37:49 -0500 2008
Updated on: Tue Jan 29 10:37:49 -0500 2008
Version: 1
Abstract: ... e 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 obeying the 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: we are afraid of people! They fear the people, but Allaah is more deserving of being feared. Is He not the One Who 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 even more 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 be pleased with her) wrote to Mu’aawiyah saying: “Peace be upon you. I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say, whoever seeks 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 feel guilty, and in order to justify what they are doing by saying that they are under pressure or by misinterpretating things to suit themselves. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, refuting that: No one has any excuse whatsoever for disobeying Allaah and going against His commands when he knows of them and is able to do what he is commanded and avoid what is forbidden. If there (really) was an excuse, he would not deserve to be punished 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 no excuse. 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’aam 6:108] – 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 that he is the means by which it happens. Moreover, when sin is made attractive, this is a punishment 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 that if a person commits a sin, then says, ‘O Lord, this was Your decree and this is what You ordained for me,’ Allaah says, ‘You did this, you earned it, you wanted it and you strove for it, and I will punish you for it.’ If he says, ‘O Lord, I did wrong and I erred and 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 and I gave in charity and I prayed and I fed others,’ Allaah will say to him, ‘I helped you and I guided you.’ And if he says, ‘O Lord, You helped me and supported me and blessed 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 he was wrong – which contradicts the idea of repentance, and those in which a person does 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 how valid an excuse is, ask yourself, will this be of any benefit to me before Allaah? And fear “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, and theirs 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 or false. 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) will speak about his deeds], Though he may put forth his excuses (to cover his evil deeds)” [al-Qiyaamah 75:14-15] Acceptable excuses On the other hand, there are some sincere people who Allaah knows that they did not do some of the things that were enjoined upon them because of something that prevented 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: “There are some people in Madeenah and we did not travel through any valley or mountain pass but they were with us, and they were prevented from coming with us for a genuine reason.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2627). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And those who made excuses from the Bedouins came (to you, O Prophet) asking your permission to exempt them (from the battle), and those who had lied to Allaah and His Messenger sat at home (without asking the permission for it); a painful torment 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 and who 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 out for 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 Allaah then 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 offer excuses. Then Allaah warned them of a painful torment and said: “a painful torment will seize those of them who disbelieve”. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer). It was reported from Ibn Abi Maleekah that Ibn ‘Abbaas recited (interpretation of the meaning): “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 excuse of 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 be upon him) used to pray, and I had already missed one rak’ah. When I entered the mosque, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) noticed the smell of 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 come near us until the smell has gone away.” When I finished my prayer, I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, give me your hand.” And I put his hand inside the sleeve of my shirt so that he could feel the wrapper around my chest. He said, “You have an excuse.” (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 would place 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 to misinterpretation. An example of this is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah which states that 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 up with Subh, and whoever catches up with one rak’ah of ‘Asr prayer before the sun sets has caught up with ‘Asr. (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah is a saheeh hasan hadeeth). This is the hadeeth on which our companions and al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad and Ishaaq based their opinion. They interpreted this hadeeth as referring to a person who has an excuse, such as a man who sleeps and misses the prayer, or forgets it and then wakes up and remembers it just before the sun rises or sets. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 545; al-Tirmidhi, 171 – this version was narrated 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 Allaah be upon him) said: “I nearly decided to tell my servants to gather firewood, then I would have told them to give the iqaamah and start praying, then I would have burned 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 was also narrated from other companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that they said: “Whoever hears the call [to prayer] and does not respond, 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 those who 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 the following: 1. Sickness. Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: I do not know of any difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the fact that the sick person may 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 or sickness, otherwise the prayer that he performed will not be accepted.” (Narrated by Abu 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 is excused from doing acts of worship or may make them up later. In al-Bukhaari it was 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): the sickness which excuses a person from attending prayers in jamaa’ah and Friday prayers is the sickness which will cause him great hardship if the person goes to pray. The evidence (daleel) for that is as follows: 1. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “So keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him as much as you can” [al-Taghaabun 64:16] 2. The aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Allaah burdens not a person beyond 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, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would to tell the muezzin to give the adhaan, then immediately afterwards he would say: pray where you are. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 596). It was reported that Jaabir said: we went out with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on a journey, and it rained, so he said, “Let whoever 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 his muezzin 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 when someone who is better than I did that? – meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – Calling people to pray Jumu’ah is emphatically obliged, but I 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 it says “ (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 fear for 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 the like, or he fears that his house may be robbed or burned down etc., or he has bread in the oven or something cooking on the stove and he fears that it may burn if he goes and does something else, or he has some good which he left with another person, and if he does not catch up with him, he may disappear with his good. These and similar cases are valid excuses for not attending Jumu’ah prayers or prayers in jamaa’ah. ... [Full Article...]
