Adherence to the Words of Allah and His Messenger (3/5)

The Relationship between Obedience and Disobedience with Regard to Iman

Muhammad Ibn Nasr al-Marwaz! said that some acts of disobedience can be classified as unbelief but others cannot. Three kinds are noted: kufr, unbelief; fusuq, sin, but not kufr; and ‘Isyan, rebellion, which is neither unbelief nor sin. All these are made hateful to believers. And since all acts of obedience comprise one's belief, they are not divided into kinds. Allah endears belief, obligations, and all acts of obedience to believers. Indeed, He combines them all by saying: ". . . Allah has endeared belief to you. . ." (Surah Al-Hujuraat, 49:7). Here, the word belief implies all acts of obedience. For example, Allah endears prayer, zakah, and all acts of obedience to the believers. He says that He endears belief to them and has made it beautiful in their hearts: ". . . Allah endears belief to you . . .” (Surah Al-Hujuraat, 49:7). He also makes hateful to the believers all acts of disobedience, whether unbelief or sin. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "Whoever's good deed pleases him and his bad deed displeases him is a believer." For Allah endears good deeds and makes bad deeds hateful to believers.

Concerning this, the author remarks: making all kinds of disobedience hateful requires liking all kinds of obedience. Thus, abandoning acts of obedience leads to disobedience. It is inevitable that the heart should have a will. If one hates all evil, then he must love the good. Whatever is a lawful act through good intent is good, and by bad intent is evil. Thus an act is performed willingly and by one's own desire. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "The most beloved names to Allah are ‘Abd Allah and ‘Abd al-Rahman, and the most sincere names are Harith and Humam, and the ugliest of names are Harb and Murrah, as these two names mean war and bitter respectively."

The reason that the Prophet said that Harith and Humam are sincere names is because every human being is Harith or Humam. The literal meaning of Harith is the one who works and earns, and the literal meaning of Humam is the generous and heroic one. Every person is considered sensitive by his own will. If one does a lawful deed, he must have an ultimate goal related either to himself or to others. For if his ultimate goal is worshiping none but Allah and if Allah is dearer to him than anything else, then this will lead him to the love of Allah. Consequently, a person is rewarded for his lawful deeds, through which he aims at obeying Allah, as recorded in Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari from the Prophet (Peace be upon him), who said: "What a man spends on his family is recorded by Allah as charity." When the Prophet visited Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas,[1] who fell ill in Makkah, he said to him: "Whenever you make an expenditure for the sake of Allah, you will be raised to a higher degree, even when you place a morsel in the mouth of your wife."

Mu'adh Ibn Jabal [2] said to Abu Musa: "Indeed, I am reckoning when I go to sleep and I am reckoning when I get up." A certain tradition also stated that the sleep of a religious scholar is reckoning to [praising] Allah.

Nevertheless, if one's basic goal is worshiping anyone other than Allah; good things are not made lawful for him. For Allah makes good things lawful for the believers among His servants. Indeed, unbelievers, criminals, and the sinful will be questioned on the Day of Judgment about every kind of joy they indulged in, without being grateful to Allah or worshiping Him. Allah says: ". . . You received good things in the life of this world, and you took your pleasure out of them; but today you will be recompensed with a penalty of humiliation: for you were arrogant on earth without just cause, and that you ever transgressed" (Surah Al-Ahqaf, 46:20).

Allah also says: "Then, you will be questioned on that Day about al-na’im, the pleasure, you indulged in!" (Surah At-Takaathur, 102:8); that is, you will be questioned about praising Allah. The unbeliever does not praise Allah for the pleasure he indulges in; therefore, he will be punished. By contrast, Allah makes these pleasures lawful for believers to indulge in and commands them to praise Him for this. He [Allah] says: "Oh you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah . . ." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 172).

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "May Allah be gracious to a servant of His who praises Him when he eats food and praises Him when he drinks" (recorded in Sahih Muslim). Similarly, in the Sunun of lbn Majah and others, it is said: "The grateful eater is in the same status as the one who fasts patiently."

Allah says to the Messengers: "Oh Messengers! Eat all good things and do righteous deeds . . ." (Surah Al-Mu'minun, 23:51). Allah also says: ". . . Lawful for you [as food] is any livestock animal, with the exceptions named. What is not permitted are animals of the chase while you are in the state of pilgrimage . . ." (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:1). Al-Khalil, [the Prophet Abraham] said that Allah says: ". . . And feed His people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day . . ."(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:126); and Allah says: ". . . As for the one who rejects belief, I will grant him his pleasure for a short period, but will soon drive him to the torment of Fire, an evil destination indeed!" (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:126). Thus, al-Khalil prayed that Allah would grant good things, particularly to the believers; Allah permits livestock for food but forbids game. The believers were ordered by Him to eat good things and to be thankful to Him. In this saying, Allah distinguishes between addressing people in an absolute sense and addressing the believers specifically. Allah says: "Oh, you people! Eat from what is on earth, lawful, and good; and do not follow in the footsteps of Satan, for he is to you an avowed enemy. For he commands you to do what is evil and shameful, and that you should say of Allah that of which you have no knowledge. When it is said to them: 'follow what Allah reveals,' they say: 'No! we shall follow the ways of our fathers.' What! Even though their fathers were void of wisdom and guidance?" (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 168-70). These verses indicate that Allah permits people to eat what is on earth on two conditions: if the food is good and if it is lawful. Then, He adds: "Oh, you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him you worship. He has only forbidden you maytah, a dead animal, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name has been invoked besides that of Allah . . ." (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:172-73).[3] Allah makes it permissible for the believers to eat the good things and does not place a condition on disbandment. Nothing was prohibited except what is specified above. Thus, other than what has been specifically prohibited, the believers are permitted to eat everything else. Even though He did not specify what is permissible in His words, it falls in the realm of excuse [to eat what they desire]. As reported in the hadith of Salman: "The permissible is what Allah makes permissible in His Book, the prohibited is what Allah prohibits in His Book, and what He is silent about is what He places in the realm of excuse." This hadith is reported as mawquf, and may be marfu’.

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