SIFARISH (RECOMMENDATION: ASKING SOMEONE TO DO A FAVOUR FOR SOMEONE ELSE)

Translation of selected abstracts from a sermon of the same title by Mufti Taqi Usmani RA.

"And whoever makes a good recommendation, there shall be for him a share from it (in the Hereafter). And whoever makes a bad recommendation, there shall be for him a share from it." Surah Al-Nisa:85

Hazrat Abu Musa Ash'ari RAA narrates that when a needy person came to Rasool Allah SAW (Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him) and requested for some need to be fulfilled Rasool Allah SAW would turn to the Sahaba (Holy Companions of the Prophet SAW) sitting in his presence and would ask them to request Rasool Allah SAW to fulfil that person's wishes so that they would get the thawab (reward) of Sifarish. Rasool Allah SAW would further say that he would not make the wrong decision because of Sahaba's sifarish. He will make the decision according to Allah SWT's dictates but the Sahaba would still get the thawab of doing sifarish.

In this Hadith (saying of Rasool Allah SAW) the idea is to point it out that trying to help another human being is very virtuous and that we should try to help other people as much as we can. However, Sharia has dictated some Do's and Don't's when it comes to doing sifarish. We need to know what sifarish actually means, when is it permissible to do it and when is it impermissible, and what might be the outcome of sifarish. It is because of not knowing and not acting upon these things that something which was supposed to be virtuous and to bring thawab has become a curse and a source of injustice for our society.

DOING SIFARISH FOR SOMEONE WHO IS NOT SUITABLE FOR A POST
Sifarish is only permissible when the favour being asked for is justified and correct. It is never permissible to do sifarish for something which the person doing sifarish knows to be unjustified and improper. For example, if someone comes to us wanting our support for a post he is not eligible or suitable for, if we then do sifarish for him only considering that he is needy or we know him but ignoring the fact that he does not meet the criteria for that post and is not eligible for it, then this sifarish would be hara'am (impermissible).

SIFARISH IS LIKE GIVING EVIDENCE
While doing sifarish most people say that they are only trying to help someone but sifarish also has a status of endorsing or recommending someone, or giving evidence in favour of someone. So recommending someone for a job is like giving evidence that he is eligible for that job. If we know in advance that this is not the case then it is giving false evidence which is a sin and hara'am (impermissible). In fact if someone gets a post unjustly because of someone's knowingly giving wrong recommendation, and then if because of his incompetence he does something wrong or harms people the person who knowingly gave the wrong recommendation would also get a portion of the sin, as per the ayet above.

WHEN IS SAFARISH IMPERMISSIBLE?
Sometimes people do sifarish to an examiner asking them to judge someone's paper more favourably than it should be under the false belief that they are doing someone a favour and it is a virtuous act. Similarly sometimes people go to a judge doing sifarish for a party in a case. Both of these are hara'am because this is influencing the examiner or the judge to decide an outcome on the basis of who this person knows rather than on the merits of the paper or the case.

SIFARISH IS ONLY A RECOMMENDATION, NOT AN ORDER
While most people know that sifarish in impermissible in some situations like recommending someone for a job he is not qualified to do, many people don't understand that even when sifarish is allowed it is only a way of bringing a matter to someone's attention e.g. to make them aware of another option. It is not permissible to put undue pressure on someone that they must do something even if it is against their practice or their rules. When there is more than one right option it is not allowed to put pressure on someone to make a decision they would not have made following their own rules. That is not sifarish, that is exerting undue influence and pressure which is not permissible in Sharia.

IT IS NOT RIGHT TO COLLECT DONATIONS IN PUBLIC
Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RA used to say that it is not right to collect donations even for a good cause publicly in a gathering because in that situation even if someone doesn't want to contribute they may feel pressured to do it because of fear of embarrassment in front of everyone and Rasool Allah SAW has said that it is not halal to take money from a Muslim unless he is happy about it. Even if he verbally allows it but in his heart he is not happy about it it is not halal to take that money.

WHAT WORDS TO USE WHEN DOING SIFARISH
When making a recommendation Hazrat Thanvi RA used to write, "I think this person is suitable for this favour. If it is within your power, and it is not against your practice or principles please do this favour."Mufti Taqi Usmani RA said that once someone asked him to make a recommendation he wrote the words above. But the person asking for the favour got upset and said, "Why did you write, 'if it is not against your principles', you should have just written, 'please do it'." However, Mufti Taqi Usmani RA said that when doing sifarish one must try to balance the rights of and be fair to both the parties.

GETTING UPSET WHEN SIFARISH IS NOT ACCEPTED
People today misunderstand that if they have done a sifarish then the other person is somehow obligated to accept it, and get upset or angry when it is not accepted. At the beginning you would have noticed that Rasool Allah SAW said, "Make sifarish to me, but it is not obligatory that I will accept it. I will decide what Allah SWT says is the right thing to do." Today people feel that if their sifarish or suggestion is not acted upon, somehow they have been insulted. That is not correct. Religiously the meaning of sifarish is to do one's part in helping someone in need. Once they have done that they get thawab (reward) for it regardless of whether it is acted upon or not.

Many Muslims have heard the story of Hazrat Bareerah RAA and Hazrat Mughis RAA when Hazrat Bareerah terminated her nikah with him. When Rasool Allah SAW asked her to reconsider it she asked if it was his suggestion or an order from him. When he said it was just a suggestion she said that in that case her decision was not to accept it and Rasool Allah SAW didn't express any displeasure at all.

In summary, one must remember a few things when doing sifarish. First, safarish should only be done in situations where it is permissible. It should not be done in circumstances where it is hara'am like for court cases or when someone is checking exam papers. Second, sifarish should only be done when one knows that favour itself is permissible, for example if you know that someone has the qualifications required to do that particular job. Third, it should be made as a suggestion, and no undue pressure or influence should be wielded. Fourth, if someone rejects our sifarish we shouldn't get upset and angry and should remember that it was just a suggestion which the other person had the full right to accept or reject. If these four principles are adhered to then InshaAllah safarish will lead to getting thawab and will not lead to causing unfairness and injustice in society.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

(Translated from Urdu by me so I ask for forgiveness for any unintended errors)

Rasool Allah SAW (Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him) once said, "Hurry to do good deeds before seven things come," and then mentioned these seven things in a different manner:

1. ARE YOU WAITING FOR POVERTY?
What it means is that if we are financially well off, we have no worries about money, and we are living a comfortable life, and still we are not engaging in good deeds, then (God forbid) are we waiting for that time when we will become poor and then we will engage in good deeds? What Rasool Allah SAW is pointing out is that generally when people develop financial problems then they become so preoccupied with them that they are even less likely to engage in virtuous activities. So don't wait for poverty to come, start doing virtuous activities while you are still living comfortably.

2. ARE YOU WAITING TO BECOME RICH?
Are you waiting that now that you are not well off, or even if you are well off you are waiting to become even richer and then you want to start doing good deeds? Remember that sometimes when people become very rich they think even less about Allah SWT and get involved in all sorts of activities they couldn't do before. So don't wait for that time and start doing whatever good deeds you can do today.

3. ARE YOU WAITING TO BECOME SICK?
If you are healthy now and have no illnesses but are not engaging in good deeds are you then waiting to become sick before you will engage in good deeds? Generally people find it much easier to do good deeds when they are healthy and much more difficult to do so when they become sick. So don't wait to become sick before you start doing good deeds.

4. ARE YOU WAITING TO BECOME OLD?
Are you not engaging in good deeds because you are still thinking that you are too young to become pious, are you thinking that you will have a bit more fun and enjoyment in life, and that you will turn towards prayers when you are a bit older? What Rasool Allah SAW is hinting at is how do you know that when you are older your senses won't go away and you would be able to do things that you may want to do? That is why one should start engaging in good deeds before old age comes.

The other thing is that Thawab (reward for virtues) is dependent upon ability to commit a sin and then staying away from it. The highest degree of reward is received when someone is young, has all the opportunity to commit a sin, has a desire to commit a sin, and then stays away from it because Allah SWT has said so. In old age slowly and gradually one loses capacity and ability to commit sins. When the senses start going then there isn't even a desire to commit a sin. If one doesn't commit a sin then there is no thawab in it as the person has to make no effort or offer any resistance to stay away from a sin. It is the Sunnah of the prophets to abstain from sins when young. This is what Rasool Allah SAW is saying that the best time to do good deeds and abstaining from sins is when you are young. Don't wait to get old before you will turn towards good deeds. How do you know you will live long enough to get old, or even if you do live long enough you will get the opportunity to turn towards good deeds?

5. ARE YOU WAITING FOR DEATH?
Rasool Allah SAW is asking that if you are not engaging in good deeds when you are alive, are you then waiting for death before you will engage in good deeds? We all know we are going to die some day but none of us knows when we are going to die. Sometimes death comes after a warning like severe illness or a serious accident that a person survives for a period of time. But we see all the time that death comes suddenly and completely unexpectedly to people without any warning. There are so many accidents every day and there are so many illnesses that can cause sudden death that none of us know whether we will get any warning at all or whether we will just drop dead suddenly. That is why Rasool Allah SAW is warning that we should start engaging in good deeds immediately while we still have the chance, because once death comes our opportunity of doing good deeds will be gone for ever.

6. ARE YOU WAITING FOR DAJJAL?
Are you thinking that the time is not suitable for good deeds now and will be more suitable once Dajjal has come? The time of Dajjal will be a time of Fitnah (general disturbance). Who knows what sources of misdirection and going astray would there be then and what sort of misdeeds people may get into then. That is why Rasool Allah SAW is saying start engaging in good deeds before that trying time comes.

7. ARE YOU WAITING FOR QIYAMAH (THE DAY OF JUDGMENT)?
Rasool Allah SAW has said that when Qiyamah has come it will be time of so much distress and worry that there will be no opportunity to do any good deeds. Therefore, engage in good deeds before that time has come.

The summary of the whole hadith is that the best time to engage in good deeds is now. If you get an intention of doing a good deed don't postpone it for tomorrow. Who knows what sort of condition a person is going to be in tomorrow or whether they would even be alive or not. That is why if you get a desire to do something good do it immediately.

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Moulana Mehmood ul Hasan RA was the first student of Darul Uloom Deoband. After graduation he spent his entire life teaching there and was eventually appointed to the eminent post of Sheikh ul Hadith. When he was working as Sheikh ul Hadith the administration of Darul Uloom felt that his salary was too low relative to his status, his contributions and his knowledge, and also that he had no other source of income and his needs were increasing. So the administration increased his salary and a notice was issued to that effect.

The person who took this notice to Moulana must have thought that he would be happy to hear it. To his surprise Moulana got distressed after hearing this and wrote a letter to the Darul Uloom admin which said; "I have come to know that the Darul Uloom is increasing my salary. This is a source of worry to me as because of my increasing age and other commitments my hours of teaching have been reduced. What should have happened is that the administration should have considered reducing my salary rather than increasing it. I am requesting that this salary increase please be reversed and consideration should be given to reducing my salary in accordance with my reduced hours."

In this day something like this is unthinkable but Moulana genuinely believed that the increase in salary would be unjustified considering his reduced teaching hours. Because there used to be many people in those days who were very conscientious about their duty hours because they believed that as they were being paid for that time it was not permissible to use that time for any other activity.

In the Madrassah established by Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi in Thana Bhawan if any teacher got a personal visitor during teaching hours they noted the duration of their visit in their diary. At the end of a month they summed up all those times and requested admin to deduct that much pay from their salary.

Today we have all sorts of associations and unions for getting Rights for different groups of people. Everyone wants to ensure that they get as many benefits as possible in the name of their rights. But most people don't realise that rights are always complementary to Responsibilities. One person's rights are almost always someone else's responsibilities, for example an employee's rights are the employer's responsibilities, a child's rights are the parent's responsibilities, a citizen's rights are the government's responsibilities. But no association or union has ever been formed to ensure that its members discharge their responsibilities fully towards another group of people.

Islamic teachings are different in the sense that rather than focusing on rights they focus on responsibilities and make people focus on whether they are fulfilling their responsibilities to others fully. It is a whole belief system. If I believe that there is a God and that there is going to be a Day of Judgment (Aakhira) when I will have to answer for all my responsibilities and to atone for those I didn't fulfil, then it automatically leads to the thought that even if I hide my failure to fulfil my responsibilities in this world, or simply don't care whether I have carried them out or not, still there is going to be a day when I will have to answer for my unfulfilled responsibilities. Once this thought becomes sufficiently strong then a person's whole focus changes from whether he has received all his rights to whether he has discharged all his responsibilities. That is when people become careful that what they receive in compensation for their responsibilities does not overweigh the responsibilities they have carried out as that excess income would be hara'am (impermissible) for them. This is the thought that makes people ask for reduction in salary or deduction for time spent in personal activities.

If this thought process become prevalent in society then everyone would automatically start getting their rights and we will see far less abuse of rights. One person's rights are some other person's responsibilities, when the first person discharges their responsibilities fully then the rights of those related to him will be secured automatically. If a husband fulfils his obligations to his wife then the wife would get all her rights, if the wife fulfils her obligations the husband would get his rights, if a boss fulfils his obligations his subordinates would get their rights, and if the subordinates carry out their responsibilities the boss would have his rights fulfilled.

But as stated above this balance of rights and responsibilities depends on a firm belief in Allah SWT and the Day of Judgment. If I can usurp someone's rights to my own advantage and believe I can get away with it, what is there to stop me from doing it? But if I believe that there is a higher being who is watching me and knows everything that I am doing, even when no one else in the world knows about it, and that one day I will have to answer to that higher being for everything I have done then it is likely that I will behave quite differently.

Based on a write-up of the same title by Mufti Taqi Usmani RA.

JUDGING OTHERS

A buzurg once said, "Don't look down upon other people's sins as if you are God and they are disobeying one of your orders."

RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

Part translation of an article by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB. As the translation is mine I apologise and ask for forgiveness for any unintended mistakes or inaccuracies.

"Islam has strongly advocated for showing tolerance and kindness to non-Muslims. Especially for non-Muslim minorities who live in a Muslim country the protection of their lives, their assets, their respect and dignity, and their rights, has been made obligatory for the government of that Muslim country. It is also obligatory that not only they have full autonomy to practice their own religion, but they should also enjoy equal opportunities in terms of employments, education, and receiving justice. They should be treated with kindness and respect. In fact Sharia scholars have stressed this point to the extent that they have written that if someone called a non-Muslim as "you Kafir" which hurt his feelings then the person who did this would have committed a sin.

The Holy Quran says that; "Allah (SWT) does not forbid you that those people who have not fought wars with you on the matter of religion, and have not ousted you from your homes, you treat them with kindness and justice. Certainly Allah (SWT) likes people who are just." On this basis the books of Ahadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him), Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence), and Islamic history are full of injunctions and encouragement to Muslims to treat non-Muslims with tolerance, kindness and equality of human rights. But tolerance, kindness and justice do not extend to obliterating differences in religious beliefs and practices, in that to demonstrate tolerance Muslims start participating in other religions' purely faith-based customs and practices, or that they show solidarity by adopting their religious customs and practices as their (Muslims') own. The clear guidance provided by Islam in this regard is, "your religion for you, my religion for me"...

NEVER THINK OF ANY VIRTUOUS ACT AS TOO SMALL OR INSIGNIFICANT

A buzurg (holy man) once said that the impulse of doing a virtuous act (neki) is like a guest from Allah SWT. If you honour and respect that guest and look after it well it will come again and again and agin. But if you disrespect or ignore it it will stop coming.

The buzurg also said that sometimes we get the impulse of doing a neki that we don't usually do. At that time we get thoughts like "what is the point of doing it this one time, I am never going to do it again anyway", but what really happens is one neki brings another neki with it and another neki and so on. Similarly, sometimes we have a thought of committing a sin and we think "it is a minor sin anyway, what is the harm if I do it once". But committing one sin makes it easier to do another sin and so on.

The buzurg said that if you get a thought of doing a neki like helping a poor man just once, and even if you know that you are never going to do it again, don't ignore it and just do it. Who knows what that poor man's prayers will bring for you in the future.

TOLERATING DIFFERENCE

There was a buzurg (holy man) about whom another Aalim (religious scholar) had given fatwa of kufr (being a disbeliever) because of some difference in opinion about a religious matter. There were some people sitting with he buzurg when he heard the news of that Aalim having passed away. As soon as he heard the news the buzurg raised his hands for prayer of maghfirah (deliverance). People who were sitting there got very surprised and asked, "Hazrat (Sir)! This Aalim kept calling you a kafir all his life and now you are doing dua (prayer) of maghfirah for him?" The buzurg replied, "Yes, I am aware that he had given a fatwa (religious edict) of kufr against me but I also know that he did out of his love for Rasool Allah SAW. What I think is that if in Aakhirah (day of judgment) I say to Allah SWT that, "Ya Allah. This Aalim had declared me a kafir, and Allah SWT replies that I know and he was wrong but he did this because of his love for My prophet (SAW) so I forgive him, then what would I be able to say in reply?"

THE FIVE FACETS OF ISLAM

A buzurg (holy man) once said that Muslims these days have limited Islam to a few rituals. If they start praying 5 times a day, they start thinking that they have fulfilled their religious duty, if they start paying Zakat they start thinking that they have become Waliullah (Allah's friends) and if they have performed Hajj too then they start waiting for the divine revelation to come. The buzurg  said that there are so many other parts of Islam which Muslims today are not even aware that they also need to be practiced if one wants to become a complete Muslim.

The buzurg further said that there are five main facets of Islam.

The first is Aqai'd (beliefs). This include believing for example that Allah SWT is the only one and true God and Muhammad SAW is his last prophet. Most Muslims are aware that this is an essential part of Islam.

The second is Ibada't (prayers). These include offering salah, fasting, paying Zakah and performing Hajj. Again most Muslims know that these are an integral part of Islam.

The third is Ma'amlat (financial transactions). Most Muslims today are not even aware that Islam has very clear rules about which financial transactions are halal (permissible) and which are not. They don't know that in the famous Fiqh book Hidayah, only one third of the chapters are about Aqai'd and Ibada't, and two thirds are about Ma'amlat. One regularly sees overtly quite religious people lying easily to take someone else's money, not returning other people' money, lying in business to increase their profits, doing second jobs in times which they have contracted to do one job, and not even realising that the money they are earning this way is haram (impermissible) and that Rasool Allah SAW has said something like that there is a person whose body is fed with food bought from income of haram, he is wearing clothes which have been bought form haram income, and yet he wonders why Allah SWT does not answer his prayers.

The fourth is Ma'ashrat (ways of living). These include clear rules about how to relate to other people and how to do one's best to never cause undue physical harm or emotional distress to any human being, regardless of their religion, social class or status.

The fifth is Akhla'q (internal attributes). Just like their are Do's and Don'ts for the body like pray salah, do not lie or steal, similarly there are Do's and Dont's for the mind for example develop Tawazu (opposite of Takabbur which means thinking of oneself as higher than everyone else), do not develop Takabbubr. There are clear Quranic and Hadith injunctions about these internal attributes too and these are as obligatory as praying salah  and not eating pork.

Until a Muslim begins to learn and to try to practice all these facets of Islam he/she can not become a complete Muslim.

PREACHING BY ACTIONS RATHER THAN WORDS

A buzurg once said, "Best tableegh (preaching) is that which is done by actions, not by words." In the past Muslims' character used to be so high quality that people used to say, "If this is how Muslims behave, then Islam must be a very good religion."

Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RA

ABOUT BEING SOFT SPOKEN WHILE PREACHING

A buzurg once said that in the Quran when Allah SWT told Hazrat Moosa AS (Moses) to go to the Pharaoh's court and preach to him He said, "When you (Hazrat Moosa AS) go to Pharaoh's court speak softly to him. May be he will listen to you."

The buzurg  then said, "Now think about this. The people we are preaching to can not be a bigger kafir than Pharaoh who claimed that he was god. None of us can be a better preacher than Hazrat Moosa AS. And yet Hazrat Moosa AS is being told to preach kindly to Pharaoh as that may be more effective. What right have any of us got to be harsh when preaching about Islam to any human being today?"