It is narrated by Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Umar RAA that Rasool Allah SAW said that everyone amongst you has been made responsible and accountable for some things, and on the Day of Judgment they will have to answer for what they were made responsible for. A ruler is responsible for everyone living under his rule and on the Day of Judgment they will be asked about how they behaved with these people, what did they do for their learning, and how well did they look after their rights. A husband is responsible for his family members. He will be asked about what did he do for their learning and development, and how well did he look after their rights. A wife is responsible for her husband's household and belongings. She will be asked about the things and people she was responsible for, as to how well she looked after them. An employee is accountable for the material goods and money that he has been given responsibility for, for example if he has been put in charge  of some funds then they are an Amanat (being entrusted with something) for him. On the day of Aakhirah (Day of Judgment) he will be asked about how well did he discharge his responsibilities towards that Amanat.

So everyone is responsible for something or someone and on the day of Aakhirah he/she will have to answer for how well did they carry out this responsibility.

Hazrat further said that there is no doubt that these days everyone is very busy. But everyone can dedicate at least 5-10 minutes of their time each day, to educate those people who are in their sphere of influence, something about religion. He can read a page from a book, or a sermon, or translation of one Hadith, so that they keep learning something about religion each day. That way one would InshaAllah (God willing) be able to discharge their obligations under the Hadith mentioned above.

Adapted from the talk "Character Building of One's Children" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.

SAVING ONE'S FAMILY FROM FIRE

"O those who believe, save yourselves and your families from a fire, the fuel of which is human beings and stones, appointed on which are angels, stern and severe, who do not disobey Allah in what He orders them, and do whatever they are ordered to do." (Surah Al-Tahrim:6)

These days one often comes across people who are very pious, who pray regularly, fast regularly, and are very mindful of Hara'am and Halal. Yet when one sees their family members the family is going in a very different direction. They do not care much even about the mandatory Ibada't (prayers) and are not careful about refraining from sins. When these people are counselled about bringing their children closer to Deen (religion) their answer often is, "we have tried very hard to bring them close to religion but the overall environment and society are very corrupt these days. They do not listen no matter how hard we try. We have discharged our duty. Now they are are responsible for their own deeds."

By using the word "fire" in this verse the Quran has hinted about to what extent a person should go to save his family from sins. If there is a fire and someone's young child, who doesn't have full understanding, is advancing towards that fire would the parents be satisfied preaching from a safe distance, "My child! Don't go into that fire. You will get burnt." If they are real parents they would never be able to just keep giving advice from a safe distance. They would be so anxious that they would do anything to remove the child away from the fire.

The Quran has hinted that just like you can't bear the thought of your child getting burnt from fire in this world, make at least as much effort to save your child from burning in fire in the next one.

Adapted from the talk "Character Building of one's children" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

HOW TO DEVELOP TAQWA?

Sometimes people ask the question, how to obtain Taqwa (fear of Allah SWT), how to turn our Duniya (material world) into Deen (eternal rewards)? These questions have been answered in the following verse of the Quran:

یا ایھا الذین آمنو اتقو الّٰلہ و کونو مع الصادقین

"O those who believe! Fear from Allah and be with those who are righteous." Allah SWT is so kind to us that he just doesn't order us to do something, but also takes into consideration our human weaknesses, our limitations, and our needs, and then shows us the easy way of doing it. So Allah SWT has told us that the easy way of obtaining Taqwa is to seek the Suhbat (company) of those who already have Taqwa, and who are righteous. It is human nature that we absorb the influence of people we spend most time with.

Allah SWT has not sent a single Holy Book without a Prophet. There are many Prophets who came without any books, but there is not a single Holy Book which came without a Prophet. The reason is that for bringing about a significant and consistent change in a human being a book alone is never enough. If a person starts believing that as all the medical science books are freely available in bookshops now, he can become a doctor and start treating people once he has read and understood those books by himself, all he will end up doing is killing people. To become a doctor it is absolutely essential that a person, besides reading books, also goes through systematic training under the supervision of an (in fact many) expert doctor. Similarly, these days cooking books are easily available. But if a person who has never learnt to cook at all tries to prepare Biryani in his first attempt at cooking, just by following instructions given in a book, and without taking any input from an expert cook, goodness knows what kind of end product he would end up with. 

The situation with religion is exactly the same that to guide a human being on the right path a book alone is not enough. What is the meaning of the word Sahaba (the Holy Companions of Rasool Allah SAW)? They are known as Sahaba because they learnt Islam not through books but spending time in the Suhbat (company) of Rasool Allah SAW. And they taught it to people (تابعین) who sat in their Suhbat, who then taught it to the next generation of Muslims (تبع تابعین). This is how the true spirit of Islam has reached us. So Allah SWT has taught us that the easy way of developing Taqwa is to spend time in the company of someone who has already developed Taqwa. We will then InshaAllah (God willing) develop Taqwa as a result of their Suhbat (companionship). 

Adapted from the talk "Doing trade is both Deen and Duniya" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB. 

WHAT IS AMANAT (BEING ENTRUSTED WITH SOMETHING)?

The third sign of a Munafiq (duplicitous person), as described by Rasool Allah SAW in a Hadith mentioned in a recent post, is breach of Amanat (being entrusted with something), meaning that it is not worthy of a Muslim to breach trust when he is entrusted with something. This has been emphasised so strongly that Rasool Allah SAW has said that a person who does not have Amanat does not have Iman (faith). It means that Amanat is an essential part of Iman.

WHAT IS AMANAT?
Today we have a very narrow view of Amanat. Most Muslims think that if a person comes to us and asks us to hold some money or valuables for him for a certain time, then that is Amanat. Similarly people think when the person asks for his money back and we have already spent it or refuse to give it to him, then that is Khiyanat (breach of Amanat). No doubt this is also included in the meaning of Amanat but Islam's concept of Amanat is much wider than this.

In Arabic language Amanat means trusting a person about some matter. If a person entrusts another person with either some duty, or some valuables, or some matter, and believes that that person will discharge that responsibility properly, and will not be careless about it, then this is known as Amanat. If we keep this definition of Amanat in mind then the concept of Amanat becomes much wider than the narrow example given in the previous paragraph.

OUR EMPLOYMENT HOURS ARE AN AMANAT
If a person has signed a contract for employment and has made a commitment to work for 8 hours a day for a specific salary, then he has sold his time for money. Now his 8 hours a day become an Amanat from the person who has employed him. If he now spends even a minute of this time doing things he is not allowed to do in those 8 hours by his employer, for example if his friends come and he is spending time within those 8 hours gossiping with them, then he is committing Khiyanat (breach of Amanat).

OUR OFFICE STATIONERY IS AN AMANAT
When we are working in an office everything that has been provided to us to do our job properly is an Amanat. If that stuff has been given to us with clear instructions and expectations that it is to be used for office work only, then using that stuff for personal chores is a breach of Amanat. Some people think that what difference does it make if we utilise that stuff for our personal use as it is not too expensive, but Khiyanat of things both big and small is still Hara'am and a major sin. We must try to avoid both as getting engaged in both runs the risk of incurring the wrath of Allah SWT.

PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS ARE AN AMANAT
In a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW has said that what is said in private gatherings is an Amanat with the listeners. For example, if a few people get together and share some private matters in an atmosphere of trust, then sharing of that private information with outsiders without the permission of other people in that private gathering is Hara'am and breach of Amanat. Sometimes a person hears something confidential in a private meeting, then he goes to a second person and tells him all the confidential stuff while warning the second person not to share this confidential information with anyone else, and then the third and the fourth person do the same, each person warning the next person about not sharing the information with anyone else. Each person thinks that by repeating this warning about not telling anyone else they have discharged their duty about keeping the information confidential, while the truth is that if the matter was confidential and it had been emphasised in the meeting that it should not be shared with anyone outside of that meeting, then no one should have shared it outside of that meeting, and doing it even with the warning about keeping the information confidential constituted breach of Amanat.

In summary the concept of Amanat is so broad that there is hardly any part of our life in which we have not been ordered to observe Amanat and to refrain from Khiyanat in some way. We must keep this Hadith in our minds all the time that there are three signs of a Munafiq; when he talks he lies, when he makes a commitment he breaks it, and when he is entrusted with some matter he breaches that trust. May Allah SWT keep us safe from these three undesirable habits. Ameen

IT IS WAJIB (OBLIGATORY UNDER SHARIAH) TO OBEY THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRY ONE LIVES IN

Every Muslim is obligated under Shariah to obey all the laws of the country they live in, regardless of whether they live in a so-called Muslim country or a non-Muslim one, with the sole exception of those laws which may force them to commit a sin or inflict unbearable pain or suffering on another human being.

When illustrating this point Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi RA used to give the example of Hazrat Musa (Moses) AS who had caused the death of one of Pharaoh's people by punching him, when he used to live in Pharaoh's kingdom before becoming a Prophet. Hazrat Musa AS used to do Istighfar (begging Allah SWT for forgiveness) and, as narrated in the Quran, used to say that I have committed a sin and a crime against their people. Mufti Muhammad Shafi RA said that Hazrat Musa AS did not intend to kill that person, he was only trying to defend one of his people and had no idea that the person would die as a result of Hazrat Musa punching him. Therefore, it wasn't murder in that sense, but because it resulted in the death of a person, he saw it as a sin and used to do Istighfar to be forgiven for that sin.

The question that arises from this story is that the person Hazrat Musa AS had caused the death of, was a non-believer, and belonged to a people Hazrat Musa's people were at war with. Even if he had deliberately killed that person why would it have been a sin, because he belonged to the category of a combatant non-believer? Hazrat Mufti Shafi RA said that the reason was that because Hazrat Musa AS was living in Pharaoh's lands it meant he had implicitly made a commitment to obey all the laws of that kingdom, and because under their laws it was unlawful to kill that person, what Hazrat Musa AS had done was in violation of that law and that is why he interpreted it as having committed a sin and always did Istighfar for it. What this suggests is that when a person is living in a country, regardless of whether it is a so-called Muslim country or a non-Muslim one, he has implicitly made a commitment to abide by all the laws of that country, except those which may force him to commit a sin.

Adapted from the talk "Breaking a promise" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.

NOT FOLLOWING TRAFFIC RULES IS A SIN

Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi RA used to say that a commitment is not just verbal, it is also practical. For example, if a person is living as a citizen in a country then he is making a practical commitment to the government of that country that as long as he lives in that country he will abide by the laws of that country. Fulfilling that commitment is Wajib (mandatory) under Sharia, as long as the laws of that country do not force him to commit a sin.

For example traffic rules dictate that a person drives either on the right or the left side of the road, or that he should stop at red light and go at green light. Now as a citizen a person has made a practical commitment that he will abide by these rules, and if he breaks those rules he would be breaking a promise, and that would constitute a sin. People sometimes think that there is nothing wrong with violating traffic rules. Please remember that it is a sin in more than one way. First, it is a sin because a person is breaking a promise to abide by the laws of the country. But also, these rules have been made so that there is discipline on the roads and people can travel safely on the roads. If someone breaks these rules and it results in harm to another human being than the person breaching the rules will be accountable for it both in this world and the Hereafter.

Adapted from the talk "Breaking a promise" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

BREAKING A PROMISE 2

Hazrat Ma'awiya RAA was at one time governor of Syria. He was off and on at war with the Roman kingdom. Rome was one of the superpower at that time. At one point Hazrat Ma'awiya entered into a peace treaty with them that they wouldn't go to war until a certain date. Before that date came Hazrat Ma'awiya thought of a plan to place his army near the border. He thought that while he would respect the armistice date, he could attack immediately after the armistice came to an end. As the Romans would not be expecting an attack immediately after that date as they would not be expecting the Muslim army to mobilise so soon, they could be defeated quickly.

Hazrat Ma'awiya RAA placed his army on the border, and some of it even across the border, and prepared to attack. As soon as the sun set down on the last date of the treaty the Muslim army attacked. As the Roman Army was not prepared for such a quick attack the war tactic worked very well and the Muslim army started capturing towns and cities. All of a sudden they saw that a horse rider was coming from the direction of Arabia. Hazrat Ma'awiya stopped to find out if there was any message from the Caliph. When the rider approached hazrat Ma'awiya saw that it was Hazrat Amr Bin Absah RAA.

When Hazrat Ma'awiya asked him what the matter was Hazrat Amr Bin Absah RAA said, "It is the characteristic of a Muslim to be faithful, not to lie and not to break a promise." Hazrat Ma'awiya said, "I have not broken any promise. I attacked after the treaty had expired." But Hazrat Amr Bin Abash said that as Hazrat Ma'awiya had started preparing for war, and had also placed some of his army inside the Roman border before the treaty had expired, he had breached the treaty. Hazrat Amr then said that he had personally heard Rasool Allah SAW say that if you have a treaty with another nation do not breach it and do not alter it until the treaty has expired, or you clearly warn them that you want to end the treaty, and because Hazrat Ma'awiya RAA had started preparing for war without warning the other party that the treaty had ended, or before the treaty had officially ended, therefore what he had done was not in accordance with the teachings of Rasool Allah SAW.

Now imagine that there is a victorious army which is making advance and winning battle after battle, but as soon as Hazrat Ma'awiya RAA heard what Rasool Allah SAW had said he ordered his army to retreat and return all the conquered land to Romans. Why? Because the primary objective was not expanding one's empire, or conquering new lands, the primary objective was to please Allah SWT. So as soon as he found out that what he had done was breaking a promise, and breaking a promise would displease Allah SWT, he immediately returned the conquered land and went back to his own territory. This is what keeping one's promise should be like, that once one's word is given it should be kept, no matter how high the cost.

Adapted from the talk "Breaking a Promise" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB.

BREAKING A PROMISE

The second sign of a Munafiq (duplicitous person) that Rasool Allah SAW described in the Hadith (which was mentioned in full in the previous post) is that:

"و اذا وعد اخلف"

"When he makes a promise, he doesn't keep it". When a true Muslim makes a promise he fulfils it. The rule of Sharia is that if a person made a commitment or a promise, but subsequently circumstances changed and he was unable to keep that promise, then he must let the other person know that he can not fulfil his promise. For example, if a person promised someone that he will give him a certain amount of money on a certain date, but nearer the time some unforeseen circumstances happened and he doesn't have that much money to give, he must let the other person know immediately. But in the absence of a genuine reason he must keep his promise and fulfil his commitment.

Rasool Allah SAW kept his promises in such dire circumstances that it is difficult to come up with such examples in the present day. Hazrat Huzaifa Bin Yama'an RAA was a famous companion (Sahabi) of Rasool Allah SAW. When he and his father Hazrat Yama'an RAA converted to Islam they set out for Medinah to meet Rasool Allah SAW. On the way they were caught by Abu Jehel and his army who were going to fight Rasool Allah SAW and his companions at the venue of Badar. Abu Jehel asked them where they were going. They told honestly that they were going to Medinah to meet Rasool Allah SAW. Abu Jehel said that in that case he wouldn't let them go because they would join in the battle against his army. Hazrat Huzaifa RAA and his father said that their sole purpose of going to Medinah was to visit Rasool Allah SAW and that they had no intention of joining the battle against Abu Jehel and his army. Abu Jehel made them promise to it and then let them go.

By that time Rasool Allah SAW had left Medinah for the Ghazva (battle in which Rasool Allah SAW personally took part) of Badar and met them on the way. Hazrat Huzaifa RAA told him the story of how Abu Jehel's army had caught them and only let them go after he made them promise that they wouldn't participate in the war against his army. Hazrat Huzaifa RAA then asked for Rasool Allah's (SAW) permission to join the battle of Badar saying that Abu Jehel had extracted the promise from them with a knife against their throats, and that they had made the promise not to join the battle under duress because otherwise he wouldn't have let them go.

Had it been any other commander at that time he probably would have rationalised that he had 313 people with 8 swords between them against a fully equipped army of a 1000 warriors so they needed every body they could get, and that because the promise had been extracted under duress so it was okay to break it under the circumstances. But Rasool Allah SAW said that because you gave your word that you would not fight against them so you must keep your word, and you are not permitted to join the fight.

Why did Rasool Allah SAW refuse to let them join the battle when they desperately needed people to fight? Because he was not fighting to occupy a country, or to spread his kingdom, he was fighting the battle to please Allah SWT and one can not please Allah SWT by committing a sin which in this case would have meant breaking a promise. That is why Hazrat Huzaifa RAA and his father weren't allowed to join Ghazva of Badar because they were not allowed to break their promise to not joining the battle against Abu Jehel's army. This is what keeping a promise truly means.

Adapted from the talk "Not keeping promises" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

THE PRESENT DAY FORMS OF LYING

Lying is Hara'am (forbidden) and it is such a great sin that there hasn't been a single nation, single Sharia in which lying was not forbidden. Even in the days of ignorance before Islam lying was considered wrong. Unfortunately in our society these days lying has become quite common, to the extent that people who are otherwise of a religious predisposition and do differentiate between Hara'am and Halal, do not consider that there is anything wrong with lying to get what they want. There are many forms of lying in the present day which it seems people have excluded from the definition of lying, and do not even consider that there is anything wrong with telling those lies. This kind of thinking incurs two sins, one of lying, and the other of not considering a sin as sinful.

FALSE MEDICAL CERTIFICATES
A person who appeared to be quite religious, who regularly prayed Namaz (Salah) and fasted, who recited Zikr and Tasbeeh, and who remained in contact with religious persons for his own betterment, who lived outside Pakistan, came to see me. I asked him when was he going back. He said that he would stay for about 8-10 more days, and then made a comment that even though his leave period had ended he had sent a medical certificate. I asked him, "What sort of certificate?" He said a certificate stating that he was too sick to travel. I asked him, "Does Islam comprise of only Namaz (Salah) and Roza (fasting)? You keep contact with Buzurg (spiritual teachers). Then why are you submitting a false certificate?" He said that it was the first time he had heard that there was anything religiously wrong with submitting a false medical certificate. I asked, "Are you not making a false submission? (saying that you are too sick to travel when you are not)." He asked, "Then how do I take more leave?" I said, "Take only as much leave as you are entitled to. If you want to take more leave then take leave without pay. But it is absolutely Hara'am to submit a false certificate for that purpose."

UNTRUTHFUL RECOMMENDATION
Another overtly religious person sent me a recommendation letter. At the time I was in Jaddah. It said that Mr So and So is coming to see you. He is from India and wants to visit Pakistan. Can you please recommend to the Pakistani Embassy that he is a Pakistani and can they please issue him a new Pakistani passport as he has lost his Pakistani passport in Saudi Arabia.

Now imagine, a person is doing Hajj, doing Umrah, doing Tawaf (going round the Ka'aba), and at the same time he is quite happy to lie and cheat to get his wishes fulfilled. People have started thinking that lying and cheating has nothing to do with Islam. May be people think that it is a lie only if you tell it with a deliberate intention of lying, otherwise getting  false medical certificate from the doctor, getting an untruthful recommendation, or filing cases on others knowing that it is based on a lie, these are not lies. Allah SWT says:

ما یلفظ قول الا لدیہ رقیب عتید: سورة ق ۱۸

Every word that comes out of your mouth is being recorded.

FALSE CHARACTER CERTIFICATE

These days getting a false character certificate to fulfil some requirement has become a norm in our society. For example someone needs a character certificate for a job or some other purpose. They would just go to someone they hardly know and they would issue a false character certificate saying that I know Mr So and So for five years, he has a very good moral character, he is very honest, etc. It doesn't even occur to either of them that if what is being written is not true then they are committing a major sin. In fact the person issuing the certificate believes that he is doing something good for which he would be getting thawab (eternal reward) because he is fulfilling someone's needs, while in fact if he didn't fully know about the character of the person he is writing the certificate about then it is Hara'am (unlawful under Sharia) for them to issue such a certificate. In these circumstances both the person who asked the other to issue such a certificate, and the person issuing it, would be committing a sin.

Remember that issuing such certificates is like giving evidence (گواہی) and according to this verse of the Holy Quran 

"الا من شھد بالحق و ھم یعلمون" ( سورة الزخرف۔۸۶)

it is only permissible to give evidence when a person is fully knowledgable about something and firmly believes it to be true. Giving false evidence is such a major sin that Rasool Allah SAW has mentioned it next to Shirk (believing that someone else shares Allah's characteristics or powers) in a hadith. 

An epidemic of lying has spread in our society and it has become so acceptable that even people who are otherwise religious, who pray Namaz, give alms, and do Zikr, have started believing that there is nothing wrong with obtaining or giving a false certificate, and that it is not a sin. Rasool Allah SAW has said, "اذ احدث کذب"  and all forms of lying are included in it. All of this is an essential part of Islam and to think of these as something which has nothing to do with Islam is the gravest form of ignorance.

Adapted from the talk "The present day forms of lying" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

THE THREE SIGNS OF A MUNAFIQ (DUPLICITOUS PERSON)

THE PREVIOUS CAUTION ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES.

Rasool Allah SAW said that there are three signs of a Munafiq (duplicitous person); when he speaks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when someone entrusts him with something valuable (Imanat) he breaches that trust. In another narration of this Hadith there is a further addition that even if that person prays Salah (Namaz) and fasts in Ramadan and claims that he is a Muslim, he still doesn't deserve to be called a Muslim because he has let go of the basic tenets of Islam.

It is difficult to understand why people have come to believe that Islam comprises of just Namaz (Salah) and Roza (fasting). If someone starts praying Namaz and start fasting they start believing that we have become perfect Muslims and now Islam doesn't require them to do anything further. So after praying when they go to the real world they have no hesitation in lying, defrauding and stealing to make money, and there is not even a consideration whether the money they are earning is Hara'am (forbidden) or Halal ( permissible). No one can trust what they say. If they are entrusted with something valuable they breach that trust. They do not keep their promises. So this concept that Islam comprises of only Namaz and Roza is a very wrong and in fact dangerous concept.  Rasool Allah SAW has said that a person who engages in such behaviours doesn't deserve to be called a Muslim even if he prays Namaz and fasts. Even though formally he may not be labelled a Kafir (non-believer), because it is a very grave matter to label someone a non-believer, but all the behaviours he is displaying, are not the behaviours of a Muslim.

Adapted from the talk "The different forms of lying", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

HOW TO TURN YOUR DUNIYA (WORLDY POSSESSIONS) INTO DEEN (ETERNAL REWARDS)?

"And seek the (betterment of) the Ultimate Abode with what Allah has given to you, and do not neglect your share from this world, and do good (to others) as Allah did good to you, and do not seek to make mischief in the land. Surely Allah does not like the mischief-makers." Surah Al-Qasas 77. 
Translation copied from the English translation of Ma'ariful Qur'an.

If a person is using his duniya (material possessions) for the purpose of making Allah SWT happy then this duniya does not remain duniya but turns into deen (religion), and becomes a way of earning thawab (virtue). In a verse (translation above) of the Holy Quran Allah SWT has guided us how to turn our duniya into deen.

"And seek the (betterment of) the Ultimate Abode with what Allah has given to you"
In this verse Allah SWT has given an advice to Qaroon who was an extremely rich man in the days of Hazrat Musa AS. It has been mentioned in the Quran that he was so rich that he needed many servants just to carry the keys of his treasures. In this verse Qaroon has not been advised to throw away or give away all his money. Rather he has been advised that use the wealth and the riches that Allah SWT has granted to you to make your eternal life better.

By saying "what Allah has given to you" Allah SWT has pointed out that regardless of however intelligent, however smart, however skilled a person is, his material success is dependent upon Allah's blessing. How many people we see who we know to be intelligent and smart but they never succeed in making money.

"do not neglect your share from this world"
Now the question is how do we turn our duniya (worldly possessions) into deen (eternal virtues)? Does it mean we give away, everything we possess, in charity? Some people believe that the only way of turning your wealth into deen is to give it all away in charity. But that is not correct as in this sentence Quran Karim is clearly saying that do not give away your share from this world, but to keep it and use it.

"do good (to others) as Allah did good to you"
But Quran has further advised that the best way to use that wealth is to share it with people who are less fortunate than us and remember to be kind to others just like Allah SWT has been kind to us.

"do not seek to make mischief in the land"
What it means is that there are certain means of gathering wealth that Allah SWT has declared Halal (permissible), and there are certain ways that Allah has declared Hara'am (forbidden). If a person uses Hara'am methods to gather wealth then, according to Quran, he/she causes Fasaad (anarchy) in this world. Stealing, dacoity, taking another person'e money using illicit means, defrauding someone out of money, are all Hara'am. If people start using these Hara'am means to get rich it eventually leads to anarchy in the world. That is why Quran is telling us that by all means we can try to earn more, but we should always consider whether  that particular form of making money is Hara'am or Halal. If it is Hara'am then stay away from it no matter how tempting it is. And acquire your wealth through Halal means.

The message is that when trying to make money avoid Hara'am means, and carry out the financial duties that have been imposed upon you, whether it is obligatory Zakat or non-obligatory Sadaqah or Khairat (alms). Be kind to others as Allah SWT has been kind to you. If a person adheres to these principles, and says Shukr (thanks) to Allah SWT for all the blessings Allah SWT has showered on them, then all the blessings and wealth of this world will turn into deen.

Adapted from the talk "Is financial wealth just duniya (material)?" by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

IS IT NECESSARY TO GIVE UP ALL WORLDLY COMFORTS TO LIVE A LIFE ACCORDING TO DEEN (RELIGION)?

"And seek the (betterment of) the Ultimate Abode with what Allah has given to you, and do not neglect your share from this world, and do good (to others) as Allah did good to you, and do not seek to make mischief in the land. Surely Allah does not like the mischief-makers." Surah Al-Qasas 77. 
Translation copied from the English translation of Ma'ariful Qur'an.

Hazrat said that these days a misconception which is commonly found even in well educated people is that, in this day and age, if someone wants to live their life according to the dictates of Sharia and laws of religion then they must give up the material world altogether, they must give up all worldly comforts, all worldly possessions, and that one can not live a life guided by our religion unless we give up everything that belongs to this world.

The truth is that Allah SWT and his Holy Prophet SAW have never asked us to give up the material world altogether. Rasool Allah SAW never said that we should stop working or earning, we should stop doing business, we should stop building houses, we should stop spending time with our family, or we should stop eating. There is not a single edict like that in the entire Sharia. However, it has been said that this world is not the end of our life, that this is not our ultimate goal. It is wrong to think that whatever efforts we make in this life should be exclusively focused on making this life better. What we have been told is that while living in this world and enjoying all its comforts, we should also continue to focus on the next part of the journey which is the life hereafter, and we should also do things in this life that would help make the next life comfortable for us too. While we engage fully in this life we should never forget that this life is temporary, and the next one would be ever lasting, and that whatever good or bad happens to us in that life, would be solely dependent on what we do in this life.

(Further details of this topic and the interpretation of the verse at the top will InshaAllah follow in the next post)

Adapted from the talk "Are all material possessions purely worldly?" by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

Hazrat said that a human being must ponder about how long is he going to live in this world. Would he live in it for a day, a month, or a year? The greatest scientist, the greatest philosopher, the mightiest king can not say  with certainty how much longer he has got to live. And yet human beings are striving all the time to gather more wealth and are spending every waking moment to earn more and more of it. But the moment their time on this earth is up they would leave everything here and would not take a single thing to the next world.

That is why this verse of the Quran:

 "وما الحیوٰة الدنیا الّا متاع الغرور" (سورہ حدید ۲۰)

is telling us that this worldly life is a trap. Do not fall into this trap to the extent that it makes you forget about the life hereafter. Do use what this world offers you but do not let it make you blind to the Aakhirah. Once a person becomes fully cognisant of this fact, then regardless of whether they have bungalows, or mills, or a big bank balance, if they are not in love with their material possessions then they have the attribute of Zuhud (زہد). 

Imam Ghazali RA used to say that the greatest loser is the person who did not make any money and is poor, but his heart is full of love for the material world. That person does not have the attribute of Zuhud because even though he doesn't have money and material possessions his heart is full of love for them.

Adapted from the talk "Don't fall in love with the material world" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Sheikh Fareed Uddin Atta'ar (perfume seller) was a very successful businessman of Greek medicines and perfumes. In his early days he had a big shop of medicines and perfumes and was a worldly man at that time. One day he was sitting at his shop which was full of bottles of medicines and perfumes. A dishevelled man entered his shop and started staring at all the different medicine and perfume bottles. Sometimes he would look up, sometimes down, sometimes right, sometimes left, but he just kept staring at the bottles in shelves and didn't say a word. After a long time had passed Sheikh Fareed Uddin asked him, "What are you looking at? What are you trying to find?" He replied, "I am just looking at these bottles." Sheikh Fareed Uddin asked, "Do you want to buy something?" He said, "No. I don't want to buy anything. I am just looking at these bottles." He then just kept looking at different bottles. After a while Sheikh Fareed Uddin asked again, "Brother what are you looking at?" The man replied, "Actually I am wondering that when you are dying how would your spirit escape from this place. You have got so many bottles here. When you are dying your spirit would go into one bottle, then it would go into another bottle, how would it be set free from here?"

Sheikh Fareed Uddin was a worldly businessman at that time. Upon hearing this he got angry and said, "Why are you worried about how my spirit would be set free? My spirit would be set free the same way your spirit you spirit would be set free." The man said, "I am not worried about my spirit leaving here. I have no business, no shop, no bottles. My spirit would be set free just like this." The man went out, lied down on the ground, recited the kalimah ""اشھد ان لا الہ الا الّٰلہ و اشھد ان محمّدً ا رسول الّٰلہ" and passed away.

Sheikh Fareed Uddin was really struck by this scene that he was so preoccupied by his business that he had never thought about going to Allah Ta'alah and here was this man who had gone to his Creator so easily and peacefully. The same day he handed over his business to others and left home in the way of Allah and eventually became one of the most famous saints of his time.

Moulana Taqi Usmani further said that for people like us the moral of this story is not that we all give up what we are doing and leave home in the way of Allah. The true lesson of the story is that if a person's heart and mind are completely preoccupied with material comforts and worldly affairs, and everything he does in life is to make more money for the sake of making money, then there will be no place for Allah SWT in that heart.  On the other hand if a person has Allah's love in his heart then even though he does have material possessions his heart is not exclusively preoccupied with them.

Adapted from the talk "Do not fall in love with the material world" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

WHAT IS MEANT BY ZUHUD (زہد)?

Zuhud is one of those positive internal attributes which is mandatory for every Muslim to try to achieve. Zuhud means having no love for the material world. A person who is not preoccupied with material things all the time, who is not always occupied with earning more money for the sake of earning money, whose all time while awake is not spent in planning and scheming about how to increase his material wealth, is said to have achieved Zuhud.

The problem is that all of us have to live in this material world and benefit from it. When we are hungry we need food. When we are thirsty we need water. We need a roof over our heads. We need to earn money for our everyday expanses. How is it possible then that while we benefit so much from this material world and need it all the time, we do not fall in love with it?

Maulana Rumi has explained this by using an analogy. He said that a human being is like a boat and the material world is like water. A boat needs water to sail on it. If someone tries to sail a boat on dry land they would fail. Similarly a human being needs material things to survive. They need food, money, water, clothes, house, and all of this belongs to the material world.

But just like water is beneficial for a boat only as long as it is underneath it, and will sink it and destroy it if it gets inside the boat, similarly as long as the material world is around a person it is not harmful, but if he/she develop a love of material things and it gets inside their hearts it will destroy them. Maulana Rumi has expressed that beautifully in a verse;

آب اندر زیرِ کشتی پشتی است

آب در کشتی ہلاک کشتی است

Meaning as long as the water is around and and underneath the boat it helps it sail, but if the same water enters the boat it sinks it.

Adapted from the talk "Do not fall in love with the material world" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

TASAWWUF IS A PART OF SHARIA

People think that Tasawwuf is something separate from Sharia. Please understand that Tasawwuf is a part of Sharia. The laws of religion that apply to a person's outward deeds (physical acts) are called Sharia. The laws of religion that apply to a person's internal deeds and attributes are called Tareeqat or Tasawwuf. The correction of internal attributes is important because without it sometimes the external acts also become meaningless. Suppose a person does not have Ikhlas. Ikhlas means that whatever a person does he or she does it purely to make Allah SWT happy. It is a deed of the heart. So because he doesn't have Ikhlas he is praying so that people would think he is very religious and pious. In that case even though his outward deeds are correct, in reality they are useless or even sinful because in a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW has said that if a person prays to impress people he is doing Shirk with Allah Ta'alah.

This is the reason why purification of heart is essential for correction of one's outwardly deeds. Otherwise if the internal attributes are not correct the external deeds also become useless.

Adapted from the talk "Ills of the heart and need for a spiritual guide", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

WHAT IS MEANT BY IKHLAQ (اخلاق)?

 FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

THE PREVIOUS DISCLAIMER ABOUT TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES HERE TOO

Rasool Allah SAW once said, "There is one particular oran in a person's body. If that part is functioning well, the whole body functions well, but if that part goes wrong the whole body goes wrong." Then Rasool Allah SAW further said that part is the heart.

Allah SWT has given us many injunctions which relate to our body. For example Salah (Namaz) is prayed by the movements of the body, in fasting we have to refrain from eating and drinking up to a certain time, Zakat is given by hand, and one has to perform a lot of physical movements during Hajj.  In exactly the same way Allah SWT has given us a lot of injunctions which relate to the deeds of our heart, our mind, our spirit. For example, Allah SWT has ordered us to adopt Tawazu (تواضع), Ikhlas (اخلاص), Shukr (شکر)and Sabr (صبر), but these acts are not acتs of the body, they are acts of our hearts, our mind, our spirit.

Tawazu means that a person starts thinking that I am an ordinary mortal, I am at the mercy of Allah SWT, I am no better than anyone else, and has this thought most of the time. Ikhlas means that whatever good deed a person does, he or she does it only to make Allah SWT happy, and not to make other people happy or so that they will praise him or her. Sabr means that if something untoward and unpleasant happens a person reminds himself or herself that it was Allah's will, and no matter how hurtful it was for the person it was how Allah wished things to be, and does not complain about it. All these acts are as obligatory as praying Salah (Namaz), fasting, giving Zakat or performing Hajj. However, these acts are not acts of a person' body, they are acts of heart, of mind, of spirit.

Allah SWT has declared many physical acts to be sins, like telling lies, stealing, taking bribes, taking interest. These are all sins which are committed by our body. Similarly there are many acts which are not committed by our body, but are rather committed by our heart, our mind, our soul. For example Takabbur (تکبّر) is Hara'am (impermissible), Hasad (حسد)is Hara'am, Ujub (عجب) is Hara'am.

Takabbur means thinking of oneself as superior to others while thinking of other human beings as inferior to oneself. Ujub means thinking of oneself as good and praiseworthy though not necessarily thinking of others as inferior. Hasad means being so jealous of someone that not only the person wants to get what the other has, he/she also wants the other to lose those things. These are all sins of the heart, sins of the soul, but they are as Hara'am as drinking alcohol, eating pork or telling lies.

These internal attributes, some of which Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and some Allah has ordered us to stay away from, are called Ikhlaq. Ikhlaq doesn't just mean meeting people cheerfully and with a smile. The core of Ikhlaq is that a person develops those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and stays away from those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to stay away from, so that not just our body, but also our soul and our spirit gets moulded according to the wishes of Allah SWT.

Adapted from the talk "Ills of the soul and the need for a spiritual guide", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

Allah Ta'alah is watching

FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

Once Hazrat Omar RAA was travelling. On the way he felt hungry. Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam RAA tried to find a village nearby but couldn't find any. During his search for food and people he saw a herd of goats grazing. He thought of asking the shepherd to give him some milk to quench his thirst. Hazrat Farooq-e-Azam said to the shepherd, "I am a traveller, I am very hungry, could you please sell me the milk of one goat and I will pay you for it." The shepherd said, "Sir! I would have happily given you the milk but these goats are not mine. I am someone's employee who has hired me to look after these goats. I can not give you the milk until I take permission from the goats' owner."

Hazrat Omar Farooq RAA also used to test people. He said to the shepherd, "I will suggest something which will be of benefit to both of us. You sell a goat to me and I will pay you for it now. My benefit would be that I will get milk to drink, and if need be I can slaughter the goat and eat its meat. Your benefit would be that you keep the money and spend it yourself. If your employer asks about the missing goat just lie to him that a wolf ate it. Wolves eat goats all the time any way. There would be no way your employer can check whether it actually happened or not. This way it would be a win-win situation for us."

As soon as the shepherd heard this he exclaimed, "O Master! What about Allah?" Meaning you are telling me to lie to my employer and tell him that a wolf ate the goat. Indeed my employer is not here and is not watching me but Allah Ta'alah is watching us all the time. How can I lie when he is watching me all the time.

When Hazrat Omar RAA heard this he said, "As long as there are are people like you in this Ummah (nation) no harm will come to this Ummah."

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

THE IMPORTANCE OF HUQOOQ-UL-IBAD (RIGHTS OF HUMAN BEINGS)

FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

Causing hurt and distress to any Muslim is a major sin (Gunahe-Kabirah). It is a sin of the same magnitude as drinking alcohol, robbing someone, or stealing from someone. It is narrated in a Hadith that Rasool Allah SAW was once doing the tawaf of Ka'aba. He was accompanied by Hazrat Abdul Ibne Masood RAA on that occasion. Hazrat Abdullah Ibne Masood said that I saw Rasool Allah SAW addressing the Ka'aba at one point and saying, "O Allah's house! How holy you are, how prestigious you are, how respected you are!" Then after a short while Rasool Allah SAW addressed the Ka'aba again and said, "But I know that there is one thing that is even more holy and prestigious than you." Hazrat Abdullah Ibne Masood says that he got startled wondering what could be holier than the Ka'aba. Rasool Allah SAW said, "A Muslim's life, their possessions, and their reputation are even holier than you."

What does it mean that a Muslim's life, their possessions and their reputation are holier than the Ka'aba? It means that if someone attacks a Muslim physically; this includes physically hurting them, taking their life, injuring them, or if someone does something to take away their possessions unlawfully, or tarnish their reputation, then it is the same as if that person damaged or demolished the Ka'aba.

Today we have limited Islam to a few rituals. When we start praying Salah (Namaz), start fasting, start giving some Zakat even if not all, and get the opportunity of doing Hajj and Umrah, then we start thinking that we have become perfect Muslims. While these prayers are very important, Islam is not limited to these rituals alone. The knowledge body of Sharia which is called Fiqh (Jurisprudence) consists of four parts. One part of this relates to Ibadat (prayers) and the other three-fourths relate to Huqooq-ul-Ibad (rights of people) but totally we have totally divorced Huqooq-ul-Ibad from Islam. When we hurt someone unduly we don't even think about it that we have committed a sin, or done something against the Sharia, or done something that makes Allah SWT angry. We don't even realise that if we breach someone's rights, and then at some later date we want to do Taubah (repentance) from it, the Taubah would not be accepted until the person whose rights were breached has forgiven us.

NB. THERE ARE VERY SIMILAR INJUNCTIONS ABOUT BREACHING THE RIGHTS OF NON-MUSLIMS WHICH WILL BE ADDRESSED IN FUTURE POSTS

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB

NOT HURTING OTER HUMAN BEINGS

FOR THOSE OF OUR WHANAU WHO CAN NOT READ URDU

During a speech in a Madrassah Hazrat once said, "I just went upstairs to look at the Madrassah. MashaAllah a lot of good work is being done here. However, the volume of the loud speaker was so loud, both upstairs and outside, that it was very noisy. I requested to lower the volume of the loud speaker. I also suggested that the rule of Shariah is that if people gather to listen to a talk somewhere the volume of the speaker or the loud speaker should only be as loud as would be sufficient for the people gathered to hear the speaker clearly. It is not permissible under Shariah that the volume be so loud that the whole neighbourhood, or the entire city, starts getting disturbed by it.

The most important reason is that if a person in his home nearby was sick, he would not be able to sleep because of the loud volume, and his illness may become worse because of it. Or there may be another person who may not be sick but just wants to sleep, he would be unable to sleep because of this loud noise. We are very happy that the whole neighbourhood is listening to our talk but in Aakhirah (Day of Judgment) Allah SWT would ask us that one of my creations was in pain and distress because of you, what was your justification for doing so?

In a Hadith Rasool Allah SAW said that a Muslim is one whose hand and tongue other Muslims are safe from. He doesn't hurt anyone physically and he doesn't say anything which hurts other people. We believe we are preaching religion to other people, but Sharia has told us the proper way of doing it. It is impermissible under Shariah that if a person does not want to listen to what we are saying, we put a loud speaker right over his ear and make him listen to us forcefully."

Adapted from the talk "The greatness of the knowledge of Quran Karim" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB