Class 1
IMPORTANCE OF ADVISE IN ISLAM
All praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow his guidance! To proceed:
It is one of the fundamental and best acts of worship that Muslims exchange advice, guide to goodness and enjoin one another to truth and patience. A Muslim should warn others against committing the violations of Islam and what displeases Allah (Exalted be He) or whatever distances one from His Mercy. I implore Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) to purify our hearts and set aright our deeds and that of the Muslims.
In the Qur'an, Allah SWT has commanded the believers to continue reminding others. He said:"And continue to remind. For certainly reminders benefit the believers." (Al-Qur'an: 51:55).
The giving of sincere advice enjoys a sublime and exalted position in Islam, and how could this not be so? The Prophet ﷺ said: “Religion is giving sincere advice.”
A person would give sincere advice to others when he loves and sympathizes with them, when he wishes goodness for them, and when he wishes to thwart evil and harm from them. Thus, it is said that giving sincere advice is an indication of the advisor's wish to bring about goodness for the one advised.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) gave an oath of allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ that they would sincerely advise the Muslims: Jareer ibn ‘Abdullah R.A. said, “I gave the oath of allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ that I would perform prayers, pay the Zakah, and give sincere advice to every Muslim.”
In fact, a person who sincerely advises people, seeking goodness for them, is one of the vicegerents of Allah The Almighty upon the earth. Al-Hasan said, “There still exist persons who give sincere advice for the sake of Allah - The Almighty. They sincerely advise people for the sake of Allah and educate them as to what is due to Him. They implement the order of Allah upon the earth by giving sincere advice - and these are the vicegerents of Allah upon the earth.”
It is one of the Rights of a Muslim over another
Providing a sincere counsel to fellow Muslim brothers and sisters is a noble act and a Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. It's also one of the six rights a Muslim has over his fellow Muslim. In a a hadeeth in Sahih Muslim the Prophet ﷺ said in a Hadith in Sahih Muslim: 'The Muslim has six rights over another Muslim. It was said to him: 'O' Allah's Messenger, what are these?' Thereupon he said:
When you meet him, offer him greetings;
When he invites you to a feast, accept it;
When he seeks your counsel (advice), give him sincere advice;
When he sneezes and says: "All praise is due to Allah," you say "Yarhamuk-Allah" (may Allah show mercy to you);
When he falls sick, visit him
And when he dies, follow his bier (Janazah).
Umar Ibn Abdul Azeez (rahimahullaah) said: Whoever advises his [Muslim] brother to rectify affairs related to his Deen and gives him insight in a worldly affair of his, then indeed he has perfected their relationship and fulfilled his obligation towards him. [Taareekh At-Tabari 6/572]
Giving advice could be an essential tool of genuine and faithful feedback. We perform our actions without the ability to observe our deeds objectively as we do them, and hence Prophet Muhammad ﷺ reminded us, “A believer is the mirror of his brother. When he sees a fault in it, he should correct it.” (Abu Dawood & Bukhari in Adab Al Mufrad; classed as Hasan by Albani).
Mission of the Prophets
Teaching/reminding people is one of the greatest good deeds whose benefits spread to others. It is the educators’ share of the heritage of the Prophets and Messengers. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allaah and the angels, and even the ant in its nest and the whale in the sea will pray for the one who teaches people the ways of good.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi)
Reminding others was the part of the stated mission of all previous prophets who were sent by Allah to guide humanity, as mentioned in the following verses of the glorious Qur'an.
Prophet Nuh (Noah) (alaihis salam), for example, explained his mission objectives to his people in the following words: "I convey to you my Lord's messages and give you sincere advice. And I know from Allah what you do not know". (Al-Qur'an 7:62)
And Prophet Hud (alaihis salam) said to his people: "I convey to you the messages of my Lord, and I am to you a trustworthy advisor" (Al-Quran 7:68)
Another example comes from Prophet Saleh (alaihis salam), who said to his people: "O my people! Surely, I conveyed to you my Lord's message and gave you sincere advice, but you do not like sincere advisors." (Al-Qur'an 7:79)
And describing the virtues of giving sincere advice, our beloved Prophet ﷺ said: "Religion is Naseeha” (Sunan An-Nasa'i).
Surah Asr
Surah Al Asr. A beautiful surah, that is so short that it amazes me how it carries the huge amount of wisdom on its shoulders. Allah says, “By Al-’Asr (the time). Verily, man is in loss, except for those who believe and do good deeds, advise one another to the truth and urge one another to patience.” (Quran 103)
We are at loss unless we do all of these four acts. To believe is first, with faith comes action and so the second is to do righteous deeds. After doing good deeds yourself the next most important thing is to advise others to also do good and adhering to it and patience in the face of trials and tribulations are important qualities that we should possess.
Allah is telling us to remind each other and encourage each other to be faithful to the truth, and to let it stand out clearly by striving for justice. To recommend one another to sabr is the fourth trait and establishing a commitment to haqq would not be possible without sabr. Being steadfast in following the commandments of Allah requires patience, staying away from sins requires patience, and not despairing in times of calamities requires patience.
Ubaidullah Ibn Hisn reported whenever two companions of the Prophet met, they would not depart until one of them recited Surah Al Asr.
Imam Shafi said, “If people recited Surah Al Asr in its entirety , it would be enough for their guidance”
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: [In this surah,] Allah, may He be exalted, divided humanity into two categories, losers and winners. The winner is the one who does what is beneficial to himself, by believing and doing righteous deeds, and shows sincerity to people by advising them to hold fast to the truth, which includes teaching them and trying to show them the right path. And he advises them to be patient, including himself in this advice. Thus the surah refers to showing sincerity towards oneself and towards others, and striving to perfect oneself and others, and to attain a perfect level in adhering to both truth and patience, in the most concise and elegant words, beautifully put together, reflecting a gentle approach.
The two types of sincerity are sincerity to one’s own self and to one’s brother in advising adherence to the truth and patience in doing so.
The two types of perfection are perfecting one’s own self and perfecting one’s brother.
As for attaining a perfect level in adhering to both truth and patience, that should be based on knowledge and proper understanding, and that is to be perfected through faith, willpower, love and striving in doing righteous deeds, and that cannot be done except through patience.
Here we have six components:
Three that a person should strive to attain himself and enjoin others to attain them: perfecting his knowledge through faith, perfecting his actions by doing righteous deeds, and persisting in that by means of patience.
He should enjoin others to do these three things too, so he complies with them and tells others to comply with them. Thus they become part of his character, and he teaches them to others and calls people to them.
This is the ultimate winner, and whatever he misses out on of winning is commensurate with what he missed out on with regard to these qualities, and he will incur losses. Allah is the One Whom we ask for help and on Him we rely."(Al-Kalam ‘ala Mas’alat as-Sama‘ 279).
Wanting your brother to win as well
The Prophet ﷺ said:
None of you has faith until he loves for his brother or his neighbor what he loves for himself. (Sahih Muslim)
Whoever would love to be saved from Hellfire and admitted into Paradise, then let him meet his end with faith in Allah and the Last Day, and let him treat people the way he would love to be treated. (Sahih Muslim)
The golden rule, i.e., treat others the way you want to be treated, is an all-embracing principle of good conduct in Islam. Al-Nawawi comments on this hadith, saying, “This is among the comprehensive sayings of the Prophet ﷺ, his marvelous wisdom, and an important rule. It deserves to be given close attention: that the human being must not treat people except in a way he would love to be treated by them.”
Adherence to the golden rule is not simply something to be encouraged in Islam. As these hadeeths suggest, this principle is integral to faith in Islam and salvation in the Hereafter. Consequently, it was included in the pledge that the companions gave to the Prophet himself. They understood it is part of goodwill (al-nush) that one should not be pleased for his brother to have except what pleases himself. They did not believe it was [merely] virtuous and an increase in [spiritual] ranks. Rather, they believed it was a condition of Islam within their pledge to him.
Reward of calling to Good
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever calls others to guidance will have a reward like that of those who follow it, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest. And whoever calls others to misguidance will have a burden of sin like that of those who follow it, without it detracting from their burden in the slightest.” (Sahih Muslim).
“The one who tells another about a good deed is like the one who does it.” (Sahih Muslim).
“Whoever sets a good precedent in Islam will have the reward for that and the reward of those who do it after him, without that detracting from their reward in the slightest.” (Sahih Muslim).
“When a man dies, all his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity (sadaqah jaariyah), beneficial knowledge, or a righteous son who will pray for him.” (Sahih Muslim).
These hadiths indicate that the one who teaches someone beneficial knowledge will have reward like that of the one who benefits from this knowledge, and that that reward will continue, uninterrupted, for everyone who learns this knowledge through him.
In the upcoming classes we will learn about
Enjoining Good & Forbidding Evil, warnings of abandoning it
Etiquette of Advising.
Accepting advice & Warnings against rejecting it.
Difference between advising and condemning.
Rules of arguments and discussions.
TIPS FOR THE TEST
Do not have to memorise the ayahs or hadeeths word for word and their references, but remember their meanings and the msg being given.
Remember the rights of a Muslim.
Remember the virtues & importance of advising.
ASSIGNMENT
There will be an Assignment Question asked in the Test. Marks will be given based on the following: -
I. Invite atleast 10 people to the course (can invite via WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, telegram or word of mouth) 4 Marks. (check the note below for exceptions)
Note:
Those who have already invited whether on Whatsapp, Email or FB, do not need to invite again.
It does not matter, whether people join or not, our job is to invite.
II. Talk to 5 people (friends or family) about any three topics from the course - (5 Marks)
III. Pray for the Ummah, pray for the ease of all the poor & oppressed Muslims and Maghfirah of the Muslims who passed away. Pray that Allah make us all strong in imaan and give us the hidayah to work for the aakhirah and to help each other. - 1 Mark
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