With the Noble Prophetic Hadith
Five words ... to act upon!!
We greet you all, dear listeners, everywhere. We meet you in a new episode of your program "With the Noble Prophetic Hadith," and we begin with the best greeting and the purest peace. So, peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you. And after:
Al-Tabarani narrated in Al-Awsat from Abu Hurairah, may God be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Who will take these words from me and act upon them, or teach them to those who will act upon them?” Abu Hurairah said: I said: I, O Messenger of God. So the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, took my hand and counted five in them, and said: “Avoid the forbidden, and you will be the most worshipful of people, and be content with what God has allotted you, and you will be the richest of people, and be good to your neighbor, and you will be a believer, and love for people what you love for yourself, and you will be a Muslim, and do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter kills the heart.”
Dear listeners:
These words from the beloved Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, are enough to dispense with explanation and detail; They are easy to understand and have a strong impact!! Islam has not left any good but guided us to it, showed it to us, and commanded us to do it!! And it has not left any evil but warned us against it, forbade us from it, and commanded us to avoid it!! Who among us does not like to be the most worshipful of people? Who among us does not like to be the richest of people? Who among us does not like to be a believer? Who among us does not like to be a Muslim? Who among us does not like his heart to be alive? There is no doubt that each of us loves these five words:
1- The first of them: “Avoid the forbidden, and you will be the most worshipful of people.”
Al-Bayhaqi narrated in Al-Adab from Al-Nu'man bin Bashir who said: I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: “The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between them are doubtful matters that many people do not know. Whoever avoids doubtful matters has cleared himself in regard to his religion and his honor, and whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into the unlawful, like a shepherd grazing around a sanctuary, he is about to fall into it. Verily, every king has a sanctuary, and verily, God’s sanctuary is His prohibitions. Verily, in the body there is a piece of flesh which, if sound, the whole body is sound, and if corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and that is the heart.”
2- And the second: “And be content with what God has allotted you, and you will be the richest of people.”
They say: Contentment is an inexhaustible treasure!! So what is contentment? What are its levels? What are its effects? And what are the means that lead to it? To answer these questions, we say, and with God is the granting of success: Contentment: It is satisfaction with what God has allotted, even if it is little. It is not looking forward to what is in the hands of others, and it is a sign of the truthfulness of faith. As for its levels, there are three: upper, middle, and lower. As for the upper, it is that a person is content with what is enough for him from his worldly life and turns himself away from being exposed to anything else. As for the middle, it is that contentment leads him to sufficiency, and he removes excesses and additions. As for the lower, it is that contentment leads him to stand on what is available, so he does not hate what God has given him, even if it is much, and he does not seek what is impossible, even if it is little.
As for the effects of contentment, there are many, including: the filling of the heart with trust in God Almighty, and satisfaction with what He has decreed and allotted, so a person lives a good life in which he is grateful for God’s blessings. And success and glad tidings to the one who is content because he protects himself from sins and misdeeds that destroy the heart and take away good deeds, such as envy, backbiting, gossip, and lying. And the contented person’s soul turns away from the debris of this world, desiring what is with God. And the contented person is loved by God and loved by people. And contentment spreads affection and love among members of society. And the truth, which is beyond doubt or argument, is that wealth is the wealth of the soul, and that honor is in obedience and contentment, and that humiliation is in disobedience and greed.
And among the reasons that lead to contentment are: seeking help from God, relying on Him, and submitting to His decree and destiny. And to value the world according to its value, and to put it in its place, and to make our concern for the Hereafter and competition in it. And to look at the condition of the righteous, their asceticism, their sufficiency, and their turning away from the world and its pleasures. And to contemplate the conditions of those who are below us, and to strive ourselves to be content and sufficient. And to know that in contentment is peace of mind, soundness of the chest, and tranquility of the heart, so we train the heart on it. And to have certainty that sustenance is written and man is in his mother’s womb. And to ponder the verses of the Great Qur’an, especially those that speak about sustenance and earning. And to know that sustenance is not subject to human standards of strength of intelligence, frequency of movement, and breadth of knowledge. And to know that the consequence of wealth is evil and disaster for its owner if the earning and spending of it are not done in legitimate ways.
3. And the third: “And be good to your neighbor, and you will be a believer.”
Al-Bayhaqi narrated in Shu'ab al-Iman from Abi Shuraih al-Ka'bi, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “By God, he does not believe, by God, he does not believe, by God, he does not believe” three times. They said: Who is that, O Messenger of God? He said: “The neighbor whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evils.” They said: What are his evils? He said: “His evil.” And Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Aisha, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Gabriel kept enjoining me about the neighbor until I thought he would make him an heir.”
4. And the fourth: “And love for people what you love for yourself, and you will be a Muslim.”
Ibn Hibban narrated in his Sahih from Anas bin Malik, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “None of you believes in God until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”
5. And the fifth: “And do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter kills the heart.”
Ibn Hibban narrated in his Sahih from Abu Hurairah who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, passed by a group of his companions while they were laughing and said: “If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and cry much.” Then Gabriel came to him and said: God says to you, why do you make My servants despair? He said: So he returned to them and said: “Be upright, be moderate, and rejoice.”
Abu Hatim, may God Almighty be pleased with him, said: “Be upright” means be guided, and guidance is adhering to the path of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and following his Sunnah. And his saying: “Be moderate” means do not burden yourselves with excessive strictness that you cannot bear. And his saying: “Rejoice” means that you will have Paradise if you adhere to my path of guidance, and are moderate in your actions.
Dear listeners: We thank you for your good listening. Our appointment with you is in the next episode, God willing. Until that time, and until we meet you always, we leave you in God’s care, protection, and security.
And peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
Written for the radio of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir
Professor Muhammad Ahmad Al-Nadi - Jordan Province -
12/9/2014 AD
