SURAH AL-BAQARAH:137

"SO, IF THEY BELIEVE IN THE LIKE OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN, THEY HAVE CERTAINLY FOUND THE RIGHT PATH..."

In this verse the immediate addressee of the phrase "you believe"  are the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his blessed Companions. So this verse lays down the fundamental principle that the only Iman acceptable to Allah is the one which was adopted by the Holy Prophet SAW and his Companions, and that any doctrines and beliefs that deviate from it in the least are neither valid nor acceptable to Allah. That is to say, one should believe in Allah and His attributes, in the angels, in the books of Allah, in the messengers and prophets of Allah and in their teachings exactly in the same manner as the Holy Prophet SAW and the blessed Companions did, without adding anything to it, or taking something out of it, and without interpreting it differently from how it has been interpreted by Rasool Allah SAW.

From Ma'ariful Quran, Interpretation of Surah Al-Baqarah, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi RE

IT IS OBLIGATORY TO FULFIL HUQOOQ-UL-IBAD (RIGHTS OF PEOPLE)

Hazrat Thanvi RA said that fulfilling Huqooq-ul-Ibad (Rights of People) is much more important than reciting Tasbeeh (doing Nafil [non-obligatory] recitation of Allah's name). On the Day of Judgment people will have to answer for for not fulfilling rights of other people but they won't be questioned for not doing Nafil Ibadat (prayers). People ignore compulsory duties to spend time on non-obligatory ones.

EXPLANATION:

There are three stages of virtuous acts for which one earns Thawab (eternal reward).

1. Faraez and Wajibat: Faraez are those injunctions of Shariah about which a clear explicit order has been made in the Quran or the Hadith like praying Salah (Namaz), paying Zakat (obligatory charity), obeying one's parents, looking after one's family, etc. Wajib refers to those injunctions of Shariah about which a direct order did not come in Quran or Hadith by itself, but when Rasool Allah SAW was asked about it he ordered to do it, or when it was mentioned in front of him that somebody does not do it he expressed displeasure about it. Missing Faraez or Wajibat without a genuine reason, like serious illness, is a major sin.

2. Sunnah: As everyone know Sunnah refers to the practices of Rasool Allah SAW. There are two main categories of Sunnah; Moukadah which Rasool Allah SAW always performed regularly, and Ghair-Moukadah which Rasool Allah SAW sometimes performed and sometimes didn't. Sunnat Moukadah is close to Wajib, and Sunnat Ghair-Moukadah to Mustahib (non-obligatory Ibadat).

3. Mustahib: These are those virtuous acts which can bring great Thawab when performed but are not obligatory, it does not incur a sin if one doesn't perform them.

There are two reasons why we need to know these different degrees or stages of virtuous acts. The first is that the higher an act in obligation, the more important it is to perform it, and if there is ever a clash that two acts of varying degrees need to be performed at the same time then the act belonging to a lower stage would be given up in favour of the act belonging to a higher stage. For example, when people turn towards Deen they sometimes become too engrossed in Nafil (non-obligatory) Ibadat (prayers) and start enjoying Nafil Ibadat so much that they start neglecting their other duties and their family. What one needs to remember is that it is Farz (obligatory) to fulfil the needs of one's family, and if a person becomes so engrossed in Nafil Ibadat that he is neglecting his family's genuine needs, then not only will he not get any reward for those Nafil prayers, but he will incur a major sin because he is failing to carry out a Farz.

The second reason is that if someone neglects Faraez and Wajibat without any genuine reason, then a person who he listens to can try to persuade him to carry those out those (though one must never use harsh words or language because that often makes people antagonistic, and if they then say something bad the sin of that will be borne not only by the person who said it, but also by the person who incited it by putting too much pressure on him). However, if a person does not wish to do some Mustahib Ibadat for example, if he does not wish to contribute to a non-mandatory charity or do some Nafil prayer, it is not allowed to put pressure on him to do so.

(In this post a lot of words are the writer's own. Even though I hope I have accurately reflected what i have read, heard and understood, please feel free to correct me if I have made a mistake. May Allah SWT forgive me for any unintended errors. Ameen)

IS IT HALAL T TAKE G.P. (PROVIDENT) FUND?

(I generally very strictly avoid writing about matters of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), partly because I am no religious scholar, and partly because Tableegh (preaching) should be of principles (اصول) of Deen only, and not of details (فروع). There is a specific reason to write this post. I know some very pious Muslims, who are not religious scholars, who believe that Provident Fund is Hara'am (impermissible) and don't take it for that reason. Please remember that just like it is a great sin to start thinking of something as Halal (permissible) which Allah Ta'alah has declared Hara'am (impermissible), in exactly the same way it is a great, if not greater, sin to declare something as being Hara'am which Allah Ta'alah has declared Halal. For people who wish to follow religion but have not studied it systematically, the safest route is to follow a religious scholar (Alim) who not only has great knowledge, but is also completely trustworthy.)

A person once asked Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RA that government deducts a small amount from the salary every month and then when a person retires, gives him more than was deducted from his salary, as G.P (Provident) fund. Some people think this additional amount is interest (usury) so don't take this fund. Is it permissible to take it?

Hazrat Thanvi RA said, "It is completely permissible to take that money and the additional sum. It is only interest when someone loans money that is in his possession, to someone on the condition that he will take back more than he gave. It is not the situation here because until an employee receives the salary at the end of the month, that money is not in his possession and doesn't belong to him. Only that amount of salary that he received at the end of the month, is in his possession, and the part that has been deducted is not in his possession. It will only become his possession once he has received it. So if he gets more than had been deducted, then it is a kind of a gift. However, if he had obtained possession of the money, then deposited it, and then taken back more than he had deposited, that would have been interest.

Adapted from Malfoozat-e-Ashrafiya 

NEVER LOOK DOWN UPON ANYONE

Hazrat Thanvi RA said that a person narrated to him that there was a Muslim in the army of Gawalyar who used to shave his beard. People used to criticise him a lot for it but he persisted with it. One day the Raja of Gawalyar passed a law that all army personnel would be required to shave their beard from then on. People said to him that you must be happy now. We used to criticise you for shaving your beard but now everybody would be like you. He asked what had happened. People told him about the new law. He said, previously I used to shave my beard because my Nafs (inner self) told me to do so. But now a non-Muslim Raja has ordered me to do it. I will not disobey Shariah because of a non-Muslim Raja's order and I will not shave my beard. I will quit my job and will find some other means of surviving even if I have to cut grass. Everyone saw that he quit his job but didn't shave, and everyone who used to look down upon him and criticise him shaved their beards to keep their jobs.

(There is a Hadith of Rasool Allah SAW that if a person criticises another person with derision for a wrongful act, he will not die until he has himself committed the same act.)

Hazrat Thanvi RA further said that when people looked down upon him who knew how pure his heart was. And Allah SWT gives more weightage to what is inside a person's heart.

Adapted from Malfoozat-e-Ashrafiya

IMPORTANCE OF BEING SOFT SPOKEN

A buzurg (holy man) once said, "There are three ways of communicating. The first is that a person speaks clearly and truthfully but the tone is harsh. The second is that the person speaks softly but the content is vague. The third is that the person speaks clearly and truthfully but the one is soft. That is the best way of communicating and that was the Sunnah of Rasool Allah SAW."

Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi RA