Habits denied by Islam!

 

 

Islam is the religion of human nature. Its codes and morals care for maintaining the pure nature and coping with it in one way and one goal. Perhaps this distinction is the cause for the eternity of Islamic Shari`ah: a religion that copes with the original human natures there were not affected by any deviation. Therefore, it does not ordain something that is contradictory to the human nature or contradict the natural dispositions. Allah (Glory be to Him) says: "So set you (O Muhammad peace be upon him) your face towards the religion (of pure Islâmic Monotheism) Hanîf (worship none but Allâh Alone). Allâh’s Fitrah (i.e. Allâh’s Islâmic Monotheism) with which He has created mankind." [Surat Ar-Rum: 30].

 

Going easy with things without complications is the main feature of Islam. It was mentioned in the Glorious Qur'an that the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Say (O Muhammad peace be upon him): “No wage do I ask of you for this (the Qur’ân), nor am I one of the Mutakallifûn (those who pretend and fabricate things which do not exist)." It was also mentioned in the description of the Glorious Qur'an: "And We have indeed made the Qur’ân easy to understand and remember; then is there anyone who will remember (or receive admonition)?" [Surat Al Qamar: 17].

 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was not factitious in anything: not in delivering his message, delivering the Qur'an, nor in his private or public life.

 

Affectation is the closest thing to hypocrisy, inability, haughtiness, and psychological emptiness where affectation at that time will be coverage for things that a person feels.

 

As for simplicity and coping with the natural dispositions, it is the sign of truthfulness in a person concerning his works and messages that he delivers to people. In this case, he shall not be afraid, if he let himself open and his character clear, and does not fear of his secrets and defaults to be exposed. Therefore, it was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "I am and the pious of my nation are free of affectation." Look how he excluded affectation from his character (peace be upon him) and from the traits of the pious people of his nation. He also explained that affectation is a vice which pious people abstain from; is not piety but a truthfulness with oneself, with the Shari`ah, and with Allah and sufficing with having a good relationship with Allah and showing sincerity in dealing with Him rather than resorting to inventing tricks and decorating behaviors in peoples' eyes.

 

He (peace be upon him) showed sincerity and humbleness in his dealings with others. He (peace be upon him) used to sit with the poor, eat with the servants, carry stuff from the market by himself, did not distinguish from his Muslim brothers, and he did not take neither for himself nor for his house a cover from people. He used to walk with the people, let others antecede him in paths, and prevented the people to stand up for him, and from kissing his hands; moreover he used to describe that with the action of non-Muslims. He also indicated that kissing the hands of people is one of the actions of old tyrant civilizations that used to humiliate people.

 

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that young slave girls of Medina used to hold the hand of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and go with him —wherever they wanted— until they fulfill their needs.

 

As for claiming to have a character and a noble personality, it is one of the worst kind of affectation and cheat. There is no image worse than a person who shows something opposite to his reality, claiming qualities for himself without having any, and asking the society to treat him according to that fake bases. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "The one who attributes for himself qualities which he does not possess is like a person who wears two garments which are not his."

 

From the wonders of the Glorious Qur'an is describing those twisted people analytically, where it  warned against them in general. Allah says: "They (think to) deceive Allâh and those who believe, while they only deceive themselves, and perceive (it) not! * In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy) and Allâh has increased their disease. A painful torment is theirs because they used to tell lies. " [Surat Al Baqarah: 9.10]. No doubt that the hearts of those people contain diseases and perhaps that disease has been discovered recently by psychologists and called it "inferiority complex or psychological complex."

The Qur'an has also cautioned them against the qualities which never leave them, such as deception, cheat, earning ill-gotten money, and gaining fame from the shortest way and by the ugliest means. Allah says: "Think not that those who rejoice in what they have done (or brought about), and love to be praised for what they have not done, - think not you that they are rescued from the torment, and for them is a painful torment. " [Surat Al `Imran: 188].

However, those who like to be praised for things that they never did and think they can trick and cheat the people shall have the opposite and their cheat and deception shall turn against them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever claimed falsely to gain something more, Allah shall increase him more need." Moreover, the grown up nation which seeks glory, construction, and promotion cannot adopt any other way but truthfulness, seriousness, and sincerity which take it away from hypocrisy and propaganda.

Nonsense and Idle talk:

From the bad habits which usually bring discontent and damage to a person and to the people is chatter and idle talk. Most people who have free time and who are free from liabilities engage in chitchat in a way leads at the end to a brain damage, psychological diseases, the loss of a person's personality, his speech shall have no value, and leads at the end to interruption of intimate relationships and kind treatment from the people.

 

The hoppy of chitchat always leads to idle talk which always is away from the teachings of religion and could cause harm and incur wrath and hatred among people.

There is no doubt that the desire for idle talk is the strongest desire for a person because a person always uses speech to support his position, enforce his personality, and express his feelings, ideas and wishes. From this point comes self-control to prevent oneself from enjoying this habit and makes a person abide by the Shari`ah to the extent that one of the codes of previous nations was to abstain from speaking.

Allah (Glory be to Him) says about Mary (may Allah be pleased with her): "So eat and drink and be glad. And if you see any human being, say: 'Verily, I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious (Allâh) so I shall not speak to any human being this day. " [Surat Maryam: 26].

Allah also says: "Successful indeed are the believers. * Those who offer their Salât (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness. * And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allâh has forbidden). " [Surat Al Mu`minun: 1-3]: Idle talk and excessive words and actions.

Allah (Glory be to Him) explained that abstaining from idle talk is one of the reasons of the believers' success, as it is reason for submission in Salah. As you know, Salah is the corner stone of religion and the greatest Dhikr of Allah which shows the great importance of abstaining from idle talks which, in turn, achieves success.

We may also understand that when Salah was considered a basis for the validity of relationship with Allah, likewise was the status of abstaining from idle talk which is the criteria for dealing with people.

As the Qur'an forbade a person from involving in idle talks, it mentioned the opposite characteristic when it described the servants of the Most Merciful as: "And those who do not bear witness to falsehood, and if they pass by some evil play or evil talk, they pass by it with dignity." [Surat Furqan: 72].

Allah Almighty forbade approaching chitchat. Moreover, the purified Sunnah confirmed this when the Messenger (peace be upon him) said: "Will people be thrown on their noses in the fire of hell but because the harvest of their tongues?" He also said: "A person may speak one word from the pleasure of Allah, which he does not know what status it will reach, but Allah will decree that the speaker would have the pleasure of Allah (because of that word) until he meets Allah. However, a person may speak a word from the wrath of Allah, which he does not know to which status it reached, but Allah would decree his wrath (because of that word) until he meets Allah."

The statement "from the wrath of Allah" refers to that idle talk which people enjoy it here and there but it incurs hatred and evil among people. Perhaps the people who always amuse others with idle talk shall find a severe threat in these words to stop what they are doing, get back to Allah, and fear Him.

Let the people who say jokes, chat with people, and use idle talks know that having intimacy with people and gaining their pleasure cannot be done through disobeying Allah nor the harm of people, and whoever does that shall gain nothing but wrath and failure because the hearts of people are between the fingers of the Most Gracious Who changes them as He likes. So, peoples' hearts are not in our hands and we cannot affect them as we want but they are in Allah's Hands: if He wants to direct people to love someone, they will love him and if He directs them to hate so

 

 

one, they will hate him.

It was narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever seeks people's pleasure by disobeying Allah, Allah shall not be pleased with him, moreover He shall incur people's wrath on him. However, who asks for the pleasure of Allah by the disobedience of Allah, Allah will be pleased with him and make the people pleased with him."

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "A person says a word to make his companions laugh, but he does know that he would fall deeper than the fall of a star from the sky." In another wordings: "A person says a word without paying attention to it which causes him to fall seventy years in Hell."

The meaning is: an idle word may be a big crime that casts its speaker into Hell.

It was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said: "How lucky is the one who stops saying excessive words and spends the excessive money that is beyond his need."

The Pious Predecessors used to avoid idle talks to the extent that it was reported from some of them that they stopped talking from `Isha' until the morning and kept on that for 40 years.

Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) used to put a pebble in his mouth to stop himself from saying excessive words until he was sure of what he wanted to say, he would say it. Those Pious Predecessors are the model example to follow.

Let us get used to self-control, control our tongues, and avoid idle talks as Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) warned us. "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak of good or to remain silent."