Grand Islamic Center

of St. Louis, MO

3415 S Grand Blvd
St Louis, MO 63118
ph: 314-771-3311
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Helping Sinners Repent or Insulting Them?

It has been relayed that Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh - may Allaah bless and preserve him - said:

From the sayings of Aboo ad-Dardaa' - may Allaah be pleased with him - :

Once when Aboo ad-Dardaa' passed by a man who had committed a sin and the people became aware of it and were insulting him because of it - and Aboo ad-Dardaa' was so keen and insightful in helping people recovering from their religious ills and reviving sickened hearts - so he said:

Had you found him at the bottom of a well, wouldn't you be helping him up and out of it?

They said, "Of course!"

So he replied:

Then praise Allaah who has excused you (from his trial), and do not insult your brother!

He said, "Praise Allaah who has excused you (from his trial) and do not insult your brother!" Look at this parable - that the believers would surely help someone in sin and they would not abandon him like how people would naturally help someone stuck in a well. Would believers insult someone who is in physical need and say to them, "Why have you gone into this well? or such-and-such situation?" No, they would only struggle and try their best to help such a person!

Thus, insulting someone is negativity, and it is not permissible in the Sharee'ah (Islaamic legislation). Instead, we ask Allaah to guide our brothers and we praise Allaah for excusing us (from what they are being tried with), and then we work to save them from the evil of their sins and disobedience. They have only sinned due to their giving in to the plots of Iblees, Allaah's enemy and our enemy.

So this admonition - dear believer - is a great one! When you see someone who has committed a sin, you must work to help him!

Dear brothers, if we were to think about our times, we would find that many people speak about others' sins. They say, "This guy did such-and-such, that one travels and does such-and-such, this family has gone through such-and-such..." You find them extremely critical and insulting, perhaps even mocking people, and Allaah's Refuge is sought. When you ask them what they have done to help your brother stop these sins, they say: Nothing.

As a result, he has actually become one of Shaytaan's devices (to keep people sinning) as well, since the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Whoever says that the people are destroyed, he is the one who destroyed them.

Meaning: He has become a reason for their destruction. And the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) forbade use from speaking about everything we hear. He (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Whoever speaks about everything he hears is one of the two liars (or one of the liars)."

So we must work hard to fix mistakes, advise sinners and conceal their (hidden) sins, and spread good reports. When we see someone who has done good, we say, "He has done such-and-such good thing," since, by behaving this way, we spread good behavior, and the people will follow each other's good leads. However, if we were to spread evil, then people would be lenient in their approach to those things and in doing them, saying, "Yea, So-and-So has done this sin, and this guy has done such-and-such, and that guy has done such-and-such!" People would then be led to assume that there is so much more evil than good, and thus weaken their stance against bad things and begin doing them.

May Allaah be pleased with Aboo Ad-Dardaa' and reward him well for his dealings with his companions and the Ummah after him!

Source: A recording entitled: Admonitions of Aboo ad-Dardaa' (a khutbah by Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh)

In Arabic: http://www.sahab.net/forums/showthread.php?t=376019

Shawwaal Prayer Schedule Added

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The Salah (Prayer) and its Effects upon abandoning Sins

by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Allaah, the Sublime said:

Indeed prayer restrains from the obscene and evil deeds. Soorah al-Ankaboot [(29:45)].

Allaah has explained in this aayah that a correct prayer, performed with humility and submissiveness (khushoo’ ) undoubtedly prevents its performer from obscene and evil deeds and leads him to goodness. Therefore, you will see that the people of the mosque are the most superior of mankind and the best amongst them. The sins and shortcomings of others are many times more than the sins and shortcomings of these people.

If the prayer does not prevent us from obscene and evil deeds then it is necessary to carefully scrutinise the deficiency within it and to correct it. There is no escaping from correcting one’s prayer and there is no fleeing from bringing about khushoo’ within it. So let us look at the causes and let us strive to treat them with the cure, just as we treat our bodies for their diseases. However the treatment of the souls is more appropriate and comes first, and this is what will help us to understand the saying of the Messenger (PBUH),

“The first thing for which a servant will be held to account is his prayer. If it is correct and sound, all the rest of his actions will be correct and sound, and if it is corrupt then all the rest of his actions will be corrupt.” [Reported by at-Tabaraanee in Al-Awsat and Ad-Diyaa from Anas . It is also in Saheehul-Jaami no. 2570].

So in the correction of the prayer lies the correction of all the other actions. The position of the prayer (relative to all the other actions) is like that of the head to the body. This is because the servant is nearest to his Lord during his prayer. He calls upon his Lord and seeks forgiveness from Him. He returns to Allaah and cries to Him, the Sublime.

The prayer cannot be corrected except with the correction of the creed, being observant of Allaah, having fear of Him, bringing oneself to account in front of Him, and trembling out of fear of His Fire. When he finishes his prayer and is put to trial with sins and disobedience, he finds strength in his heart to repel them. This is because he looks at the temporary and vanishing pleasures and then at the bliss and joy which never ends and the happiness which is never cut off. So he puts the good which will remain (and last forever) ahead of that which is only transitory and vanishes.

The prayer of the servant is corrupted due to lack of the careful observance of Allaah and weakness in taqwaa ^[1].A person is, therefore, not able to produce such awe as will come between him and his acts of disobedience.
There also occurs in the hadeeth,

“Indeed, there is in the body a morsel of flesh, if it is sound and wholesome, then the whole body will be sound and wholesome and if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt. Indeed it is the heart.” [Reported by Bukhaaree, Muslim and others from an-Nu'maan ibn Basheer ].

In the correction and purification of the heart lies the correction of the whole body and in the corruption of the heart lies the corruption of the whole body. If the heart is corrected, the hand will be corrected so that it does not steal or strike anyone or commit zina by touching what is unlawful. The feet will also be corrected so that they do not walk towards what is unlawful. The ears will be put straight so that they do not listen to musical instruments, slander or backbiting. The situation of the tongue will improve so that it does not speak except what is good. If the heart is corrupted, the whole body becomes corrupt and the limbs will not depart except towards evil conduct and mischief.

The matter of the heart is either set aright or corrupted by the prayer. If the prayer is good it is an indication that the heart has benefited and that it is sound and wholesome. If it is not good, it is an indication of the heart receiving little benefit and of its corruption. Evil deeds then become manifest and overtake the limbs. Know that every prayer which is performed with awe and humility enlivens the heart and stimulates it to do good deeds and also makes it adapt to good deeds, just as every good action which is performed outside of the prayer increases ones khushoo’ within the prayer. In a hadeeth there occurs,

“Upon you is the Night Prayer (Tahajjud) as it was the habit of the righteous people before you. It is a means of nearness to Allaah, the Exalted, a prevention from evil deeds and an expiation for sins.” [Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad, at-Tirmidhee and others. It is also in Saheehul-Jaami, no. 3957].

The Messenger (PBUH) has made it clear that the Night Prayer is a prevention from sins in that it stops the one who performs it from evil deeds and incites him to do good deeds. Therefore, it is necessary for us to establish the prayer and to increase in it. Likewise we must perform the Night Prayer, standing awestruck, humble and submissive to Allaah, the Sublime, our hearts weeping over what we have neglected and fallen short of while hoping for the mercy of our Lord. We seek nearness to him by calling Him by His Names and Attributes, asking Him by them that he establishes us (upon His path) and that He gives us benefit from our prayer and standing at night.

When the prayer of the servant reaches its goal in preventing him from sin and disobedience it is written for him in Iliyyeen as is mentioned in the hadeeth,

“If a prayer is performed after another prayer and there is no foolishness (vain talk) between them, it is written in Illiyyeen.” [Reported by Aboo Daawood and others. It is also in Saheehul-Jaami, no.3731].

Therefore, the performance of prayer with earnestness and bringing together the elements of love, fear, hope, awe and reverence, all of which are constituents of khushoo’ is a necessary and vital matter. As is well known, the difference between an accepted prayer and a rejected one is khushoo’. Ibn al-Qayyim mentions in Al-Madaarij, “

Two people pray in the same row, behind the same Imaam-and the difference between the prayers of the two is like the distance between the heavens and the earth.”

And this is because in one heart is khushoo’ and in the other heart-which is dead and has found more pleasure in escaping to the valleys of the world-there is the darkness of heedlessness.

1 The taabi’ee, Talq ibn Habeeb was asked to define taqwaa. He said, “Taqwaa is to act in obedience to Allaah, hoping for His Mercy upon a light from Him. And taqwaa is to abandon acts of disobedience to Allaah, out of fear of Him upon a light from Him.” Reported by Ibn Abee Shaibah in his Kitaabul-Eemaan, no. 99. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) explained the phrase, “… upon a light from Him …” to mean pure and correct faith, that nothing but pure faith initiated the servant to perform the action. [Transl. note]

2 Reported by Ahmad, Bazzaar and others. Shaikh al-Albaanee declared it authentic in Silsilatul-Aahaadeeth ad-Da’eefah, vol.1, p.16, in relation to the false hadeeth, “Whoever is not prevented by his prayer from committing obscene and evil deeds does not increase except in distance from Allaah.“

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3415 S Grand Blvd
St Louis, MO 63118
ph: 314-771-3311
fax: 314-771-3311
admin@grandmasjid.com

Grand Islamic Center

Home

Shawwaal Prayer Schedule Added Test Your Knowledge and Ability to Reasearch by seeing if you know "Who Was This Man?"

The Salah (Prayer) and its Effects upon abandoning Sins

Shawwaal Prayer Schedule Added

Test Your Knowledge and Ability to Reasearch by seeing if you know "Who Was This Man?"