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Worship And Fear Allah Alone

[Allah’s Quran – 16:51] “Do not Worship two gods, He is One and only, and therefore, fear Me and keep in awe of Me alone.”

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has said:
[Bukhari, Book #2, Hadith#47] “Narrated Abu Huraira: One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people,
(The angel) Gabriel came and asked, “What is faith?”
Allah’s Apostle replied, ‘Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection.”
Then he further asked, “What is Islam?”
Allah’s Apostle replied, “To worship Allah alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat), and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan.”
Then he further asked, “What is Ihsan (perfection)?”
Allah’s Apostle replied, “To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you.”
Then he further asked, “When will the Hour be established?”
Allah’s Apostle replied, “The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.
1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.
2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah. The Prophet then recited: “Verily, with Allah (alone), is the knowledge of the Hour–.” (31. 34)

Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, “That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion.” Abu ‘Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith.”

[Muslim, Book #9, Hadith #1577] “[It is narrated on the authority of (‘Abdullah) son of ‘Umar, that the Holy Prophet (may peace of Allah be upon him) said: (The superstructure of) al-Islam is raised on five (pillars), i. e. Allah (alone) should be worshipped, and (all other gods) beside Him should be (categorically) denied. Establishment of prayer, the payment of Zakat, Pilgrimage to the House, and the fast of Ramadan (are the other obligatory acts besides the belief in the oneness of Allah and denial of all other gods).”

[Abudawud, Book #9, Hadith #1577] “Narrated Abdullah ibn Mu’awiyah al-Ghadiri: AbuDawud said: I read in a document possessed by Abdullah ibn Salim at Hims: Abdullah ibn Mu’awiyah al-Ghadiri reported the Prophet (peace be upon him) as saying: He who performs three things will have the taste of the faith. (They are:) One who worships Allah alone and one believes that there is no god but Allah; and one who pays the zakat on his property agreeably every year. One should not give an aged animal, nor one suffering from itch or ailing, and one most condemned, but one should give animals of medium quality, for Allah did not demand from you the best of your animals, nor did He command you to give the animals of worst quality.”

Temptations Of Worldly Life, Diversion From Remembrance Of God

[ALLAH’S Quran – 102:1] “(Mankind! your) vying with one another to excel in multiplying worldly possessions diverts you (from God and true values of life),”

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has said :
[Bukhari, Book #59, Hadith#374] “Narrated Uqba bin Amir: Allah’s Apostle offered the funeral prayers of the martyrs of Uhud eight years after (their death) as if bidding farewell to the living and the dead, then he ascended the pulpit and said, “I am your predecessor before you, and I am a witness on you, and your promised place to meet me will be Al-Haud (i.e. the Tank) (on the Day of Resurrection), and I am (now) looking at it from this place of mine. I am not afraid that you will worship others besides Allah, but I am afraid that worldly life will tempt you and cause you to compete with each other for it.” That was the last look which I cast on Allah’s Apostle.”

Blessed With Barakah​

‘Umaarah bin Hazm (rahimahullah) narrates the following incident from Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka’b (radhiyallahu ‘anhu):

On one occasion, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) sent me to collect the zakat that was due on the people’s wealth. While collecting zakat from the people, I passed by a Sahaabi who also needed to discharge his zakat. Accordingly, this Sahabi gathered all his camels and presented them to me so that I could calculate the zakat due on the camels. After examining the camels, I determined that his zakat on the camels amounted to a single one-year-old she-camel.

I thus said to him, “You need to discharge a single one-year-old she-camel as this is the zakat due on your camels.” Hearing this, the man replied, “A one-year-old she-camel neither gives milk nor can it be used as a conveyance (hence, there is very little benefit in it). Instead of a one-year-old she-camel, here is a young, strong, large, and fat she-camel. Take this camel..” I replied, “I cannot take that which I was not instructed to take. However, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is nearby. If you wish to go to him and present to him what you presented to me, you may do so. If Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) accepts your offer (to give a better camel in zakat), I will take the camel from you, but if he does not accept your offer, I will not take the camel.”

The man replied, “I will do as you suggest.” He thus accompanied me to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), bringing with him the superior camel that he wished to give in zakat. When we came to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he addressed him saying, “O Nabi of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! Your messenger came to me to collect the zakat due on my wealth. By the oath of Allah! Neither Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) nor the messenger of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has ever collected the zakat due on my wealth before (i.e. this is the first time that I am fortunate enough to discharge zakat on my animals). I thus gathered all my animals for your messenger who claimed that I only have to discharge a single one-year-old she-camel. However, such a camel neither provides milk nor can it be used as a conveyance. I presented him with a large, strong camel and asked him to take it, but he refused. Here is the camel, I have brought it to you, O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Please accept it from me.”

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, “It is only a single one-year-old she-camel that is compulsory upon you. However, if you wish to voluntarily give a better camel, Allah Ta‘ala will reward you for it and we will accept it from you.” The man said, “Here it is, O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), so accept it from me!” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) thus accepted it from him, gave the instruction for the camel to be taken from him, and made special du‘aa for this Sahabi to be blessed with barakah in his wealth.

Many years later, during the period of the rule of Mu‘aawiyah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), ‘Umaarah bin Hazm (rahimahullah) was sent to this very same Sahabi to collect his zakat. At this time, the zakat due on the camels of this Sahaabi was 30 three-year-old camels, as he now owned 1500 camels in total! (This was on account of the special du‘aa for barakah that Rasulullah [sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam] had made for him.)

(Sunan Abi Dawood #1583 and Musnad Ahmad #21280)

Lessons:
1. The sign of true love and devotion is that a person happily and wholeheartedly goes the extra mile. Imagine asking a person to lend you a pot to cook biryani, and instead, he gives you a pot of hot, steaming, fragrant biryani! At that moment, one will undoubtedly feel gratitude and develop a love for the person who ‘went the extra mile’. Similarly, we should not suffice merely fulfilling the faraa-idh (obligations). Rather, we should go the ‘extra mile’, as this draws the special love and blessing of Allah Ta‘ala.

2. When giving something in the path of Allah Ta‘ala, we should ensure that it is fit to be given in His path. It should not be rotten, broken, unusable, or tattered. The better the item that we give, the greater our reward will be.

3. When the Sahabi offered to give a better camel in zakat, Ubayy (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) refused to accept it as he did not know whether it was allowed or not. Hence, he insisted that they refer the matter to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Likewise, we should refer all matters in our Deen to the righteous, knowledgeable ‘Ulama so that we can get guidance and direction in our lives.

4. There is no value that can be attached to barakah. When a person is blessed with barakah, his life will be one of happiness and posterity. We should thus try to please Allah Ta‘ala at all times so that we do not deprive ourselves of His barakah.

Moral Excellence And Benevolence Of The Heart In Islam

Allah likes those who perfect their illustrious toils and turn their thoughts on moral excellence and benevolence.

[Allah’s Quran – 3:134 – Amatul Rahman Omar] “Those who spend (in the cause of Allah) in prosperity and adversity and those who suppress anger and pardon (the offenses of) the people. And Allah loves such doers of good to others”

The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has said “The best of the deeds are love and hate for the sake of ALLAH, The Exalted.”

[Sunan Abu Dawud, Book #40, Hadith #4664 ] “Narrated Abu Umamah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If anyone loves for Allah’s sake, hates for Allah’s sake, gives for Allah’s sake and withholds for Allah’s sake, he will have perfect faith.

[Bukhari, Book #2, Hadith #20] “Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, “Whoever possesses the following three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith:
1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle become dearer than anything else.
2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah’s sake.
3. Who hates to revert to disbelief (Atheism) after Allah has brought (saved) him out from it, as he hates to be thrown in the fire.”

[Muslim, Book #001, Hadith #0138 ] “Al-Bara reported it from the Apostle (may peace and blessing be upon him) that he observed with regard to the Ansar, None but the believer loves them, none but the hypocrite hates them. He who loved them loved Allah and he who hated them hated Allah. I (the narrator) said: Did you hear this hadith from al-Bara’? He said: To me, he narrated it.

Your Control Problems Are Caused By Your Weaknesses With Starting, Changing Or Stopping

Take Control
Fractiousness, helplessness, incompetence, inefficiency, and other undesirable factors in a job are all traceable to the inability to start, change, and stop things.

No business can succeed unless it has been properly started unless it is progressing through time or changing position in space, and unless it is capable of stopping harmful practices and even competitors.

Thus the secret of doing a good job is the secret of control itself. One not only continues to create a job, day by day, week by week, month by month, he also continues the job by permitting it to progress, and he is also capable of stopping or ending any cycle of work and letting it remain finished.

To improve your control, you strengthen the part of control that is most difficult for you. To do this, start by identifying your weakest part. Which is most difficult for you: starting, changing, or stopping?

Signs You Have Difficulties Starting Things
You have many ideas that you never implement. You make notes and even write down plans, but you never start them.

You may even obtain the material you need to do a job but do not start it. For example, you buy the tools and materials to build a dog house, but never actually start to build the dog house.

You might have big goals, great plans, or incredible dreams, but you never take that first step.

Signs You Have Difficulties Changing Things
You may take the first step on a work project, but you never get much done.

You might leave things incomplete. For example, you paint a wall with the first coat but never get around to putting on the second coat.

You might follow the same routine you learned in school or have had for years, even though you know a better way exists.

You possibly make big resolutions every New Year and do well for a day or two. Yet you never really make the change.

Signs You Have Difficulties Stopping Things
You probably have bad habits that you cannot break. You might say, “I just can’t stop myself.”

You may hate to throw things away, even if they are useless. Your closets are stuffed with worthless junk.

If you force yourself to finish a project, you are likely to leave your tools lying around as you hate to clean up after yourself.

If you are a boss, you take too long to fire employees, even though they deserve it. Stopping people, who are damaging your operation, may be difficult for you. You may also have a hard time ending bad relationships or forgiving people.

When you give a job or object to someone, you have a hard time leaving him or her alone. You can’t stop possessing the responsibility of the object.

Signs You Are Fixated on Start, Change or Stop
Control is also difficult if you are fixated or obsessed with starting, changing, or stopping things.

For example, you are constantly starting new programs or projects. Every week or so you start a new project or two. Unfortunately, they do you no good as you or your group cannot complete all the things you start.

Or you are constantly changing things. You do not like the way things are. You are never satisfied. Unfortunately, you end up changing things that should be left alone.

Or maybe you like to stop things a little too much. Your first reaction to any change is to stop it or end it. If you are a boss, you fire people too quickly. You throw things away you later need. Or maybe you feel like a police officer and constantly try to stop bad things from happening. Unfortunately, you end up stopping good things, as well.

Recommendations

  1. Determine your biggest problem: starting things, changing things or stopping things.
  2. Write down how you can improve this weakness this week.
  3. As you make these improvements, notice how your control improves.
  4. Keep working on your weakest areas until you enjoy more success.

When you can easily and effectively start, change, and stop things when they need to be started, changed or stopped, you are in control