Before the Boat Drowns
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Creator: Muhammad Alshareef
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Identifier: http://www.khutbah.com/en/soc_issue/boat.php
Language: en
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Subject: character
Title: Before the Boat Drowns
Created on: Tue Jan 29 11:05:24 -0500 2008
Updated on: Tue Jan 29 11:05:24 -0500 2008
Version: 1
Abstract: ... ey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise (At-Taubah 9/71). The second group of people are those who encourage others towards evil and stop them whenever they see them doing acts of virtue. These are the munaafiqoon and munaafiqaat, the hypocrite men and women who Allah shall shun. The hypocrites, men and women, are from one another; they enjoin (on the people) al-munkar (evil) and forbid (people) from al-ma'ruf (good) and they close their hands (from giving alms in Allah’s cause). They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. Verily, the hypocrites are the fasiqun (rebellious, disobedient to Allah) (At-Taubah 9/67). The Qur’an tells us that the winners, those that attain success, are those Muslim men and women who command the good and forbid the evil. And Allah teaches us that He cursed nations before us because they lost this characteristic of encouraging good and forbidding evil: Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dawud (David) and Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). That was because they disobeyed (Allah and the Messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bound. / They used not to forbid one another from al-munkar (evil), which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do (Al-Ma’idah 5/78 -79). When a nation fails in their duty to command the good and forbid the evil, their invocations will cease to be accepted. Rasul Allah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said: “(I swear) by He who holds my soul in His Hands, you shall indeed command the good, and you shall indeed forbid the evil, otherwise Allah shall rain down upon you a punishment. Then you shall attempt to invoke Him and your (invocations) shall be unanswered” (An authentic hadith narrated by Ahmad and At-Tirmidhi). Our Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam, lived his entire life commanding the good and forbidding evil. Abdullah ibn Salam narrates the scene of when he, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, first arrived in Madinah and the very first words he said to the Ansar and Muhaajireen as they gathered to see his noble face sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam: “When Rasul Allah sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam came to Madinah, the people raced to greet him. I went in the crowd to see him and when I saw his face I knew that that face was not the face of a liar. The first thing he said when he spoke was, ‘O people, spread salam, feed the hungry, and pray at night when others are sleeping - you’ll enter Jannah in peace’” (An authentic hadith narrated by Ibn Majah). Our Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam would command the good and forbid the evil in all categories of the community. We see him with the young Muslims advising them, as in the following hadith where Umar ibn Abu Salamah said, “I was a young boy under the care of Allah’s Messenger sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam when my hand was jumping here and there in the (food) plate. Allah’s Messenger sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said to me, ‘O young boy, say bismillah (first), eat with (your) right hand, and eat from what is in front of you.’” Ibn Abu Salamah continued, “After that I always ate in that manner (which I was taught)” (Bukhari and Muslim). And our Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam would encourage good amongst the Muslim women. As Zaynab, the wife of Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood said, “Allah’s Messenger addressed us, ‘O women! Give charity, if even with your jewelry’” (Bukhari and Muslim). Even if it came to his own wives, our Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam would forbid. Aisha radi Allahu anha herself narrates that she once said to him, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, “Watch out for Safiyyah!” Meaning that she was short. So Allah’s Messenger sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “You said a word that if it were to be mixed with (all) the water of the sea it would overcome (the water)” (Narrated by Abu Dawood). Aisha said that after that that she would never have loved to mention someone (in a manner that they would dislike) no matter what anyone would give her. This is what the deen is all about – encouraging the good and forbidding the evil. This is what the early Muslims pledged allegiance to. Ubaadah ibn As-Saamit radi Allahu anhu said, “We pledged allegiance to Allah’s Messenger sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam to listen and obey in what we like or dislike, and that we would not fight the ... [Full Article...]
