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Shaykh Saleem Dhorat

How to Acquire Husn Al-Khatimah


11th Safar 1438 AH ~ Friday 11th November 2016

By Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

If we study the lives of the pious servants of Allāh ta‘ālā, i.e. the Ambiyā, Sahābahradhiyallāhu ‘anhum, the Muhaddithūn, Fuqahā, Awliyā, we will find one common factor in their lives, and that is their concern for securing Husn Al-Khātimah so that they are successful in the Court of Allāh ta‘ālā. Despite their lives being full of virtue, they would worry and pray for death in the state of īmān and Islām. 

Allāh ta‘ālā quotes the du‘ā of Yūsuf ‘alayhis salām in the Glorious Qur’ān:

…O Creator of the heavens and the Earth, You are my guardian in this world and the Hereafter. Make me die a Muslim and make me join the righteous. (12:102)

This is because a single word of disbelief at the time of death can erase the benefits of a lifetime of virtue and obedience. On the other hand, a person may live a life of sin and vice, and then be granted the blessing of īmān in the final moments of his life, thereby securing the success of both this world and the Hereafter. Through His infinite Grace and Mercy, Allāhta‘ālā inspired me with six points, which will secure Husn Al-Khātimah and a good death for ourselves, which in turn will result in a good outcome in the Hereafter, Inshā’allāh.

1. Adopt Taqwā (fear of Allāh ta‘ālā). Taqwā holds the power to repel all the forces which weaken one’s īmān and at times snatch it away. This can be understood from the verses wherein Allāh commands the believers to adopt Taqwā. We understand from them that once a person becomes a believer, the method of safeguarding that belief is adopting Taqwā. And Taqwā simply means to create a barrier between disobedience to Allāh and ourselves. Another name for this Taqwā is Istiqāmah (steadfastness), because when a person, after accepting īmān, remains steadfast upon the Commands of Allāh, he will not disobey Him. Allāh ta‘ālā mentions:

Surely, those who have declared: ‘Our Lord is Allāh’, then remained steadfast, on them the angels will descend, saying, ‘Do not fear, and do not grieve; and be happy with the good news of Jannah (Paradise) that you had been promised. We have been your friends in the worldly life, and (will remain as such) in the Hereafter. And for you here is whatever your souls desire, and for you here is whatever you call for.’ (41:30)

So when one accepts īmān by saying, “My Lord is Allāh”, and thereafter safeguards this īmān by remaining steadfast in carrying out the Commands of Allāh and staying away from every disobedience, then Allāh will reward him with a good death, as is indicated in the verse above, that the angels will descend with special mercy at the time of his death. The commentators of the Qur’ān have mentioned that the angels of mercy are always with those who are steadfast on Dīn; however, the special indication given in this verse is that at the time of their death, the angels become visible to them, who give them the glad tidings of Jannah from their Lord.

2. Love the pious and spend time in their company. The pious people are the people of Taqwā. The effect of loving them will create in one the desire to spend time in their company, and in doing so the effect of their taqwā will rub onto one’s self. Allāh ta‘ālāmentions: 

O you who believe, adopt taqwā, and be in the company of the truthful. (9:119)

We need to firstly accept īmān, which alhamdulillāh we all do, and thereafter safeguard our īmān by adopting Taqwā, which can be acquired by staying in the company of those who already have it. The term ‘The Truthful’ used here is another name for those who have Taqwā, as mentioned in another place in the Qur’ān:

…Those are the ones who are truthful, and those are the God-fearing. (2:177)

Similarly the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam states in a hadīth:

On the Day of Judgement, a person will be with whom he loved. (At-Tirmidhī)

If a person entertains love for the pious, he will be with them in the Hereafter, and the pious people will be granted entry into Jannah, for which īmān is a prerequisite. Thus, we can deduce that such a person will die in the state of īmān.

3. Giving in charity. Spending in the path of Allāh ta‘ālā cools the Anger of Allāh. If Allāhta‘ālā is angry with a person, what chance is there for him to have a good death? Therefore, charity paves the way for one to die in the state of īmān, as indicated by the Prophetsallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam: 

Sadaqah (charity) extinguishes the anger of the Lord and prevents an unpleasant death. (At-Tirmidhī)

An unpleasant death could either mean death without īmān or death in an undesirable state, i.e. as a victim of a tsunami, hurricane, or earthquake. Inshā’allāh, a person will be saved from both types of death.

4. Carrying out acts upon which the intercession of the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallamis guaranteed. In various narrations, the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam has encouraged carrying out certain good acts, the virtue of which is that the intercession of the Prophetsallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam will become incumbent for the doer. One should inquire about and learn such acts from reliable, authentic sources and act upon them. The intercession of the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam is of two types. The first being that on the Day of Judgement, when every human will be gathered in the Plain of Resurrection, every soul will be in a state of extreme worry and fear regarding its fate in the court of Allāh ta‘ālā. At this tense moment, the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam will intercede on behalf of the whole humankind and request Allāh ta‘ālā to begin the reckoning. The reckoning will thus begin, and this is known as the ‘general intercession’. Thereafter, once the process of reckoning begins, the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam will specifically intercede on behalf of many individuals of his ummah, with the permission of Allāh. Only a person who dies in the state of īmān will be worthy of receiving this ‘special intercession’ of the Prophet sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam. The glad tidings of intercession upon various good actions is this ‘special intercession’ which is exclusively for people with īmān. It can be therefore understood that those carrying out these good acts will die with īmān, as only they will be worthy of this ‘special intercession’. One example of such an act is reciting the du‘ā after the adhān.

5. Repeatedly thank Allāh ta‘ālā for the great bounty of īmān, for Allāh ta‘ālā promises: 

If you express gratitude, I shall certainly give you more. (14:7) 

It should be kept in mind that gratitude should be expressed in 3 ways:

  • By acknowledging and contemplating over this great bounty in one’s heart and mind that Allāh has granted this to me through His Grace only without my deserving it.
  •  By verbally expressing one’s gratitude.
  • By fulfilling the Commands of Allāh in regards to this bounty.

If we acknowledge the bounty of īmān with our heart and mind, express praise for Allāh verbally and carry out the demands of this ni‘mah (blessing), i.e. adopt Taqwā, then Allāh will increase this ni‘mah of ours inshā’allāh.

6. Make du‘ā for a good death and for a pleasant abode in the Hereafter. You may do this in your own words or by using supplications from the Qur’ān and ahādīth, for example: 

O Allāh, forgive our living and our dead, those present from among us and those absent, our young and our old, our males and our females, O Allāh whoever you keep alive from among us, keep him alive on Islām, and whoever you give death to, give him death upon īmān. (Ahmad)

Allāh ta‘ālā mentions the supplication of the knowledgeable people: “Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate from the right path after You have given us guidance, and bestow upon us mercy from your own.” (2:8)

If we strive to do the above and ask Allāh ta‘ālā sincerely, then inshā’allāh, He will grant us this great bounty of death in the state of īmān.

May Allāh ta‘ālā grant us the true understanding of the reality of the Hereafter and grant us the tawfīq to adequately prepare for it. Āmīn.

© Riyādul Jannah (Vol. 21 No. 2, Feb 2012)

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Shaykh Saleem Dhorat

Safeguarding our Īmān

By Hadrat Mawlānā Muhammad Saleem Dhorat hafizahullāh

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَكُونُواْ مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ

O you who believe, fear Allāh and be with the truthful. (9:119)

There are three commands given in this verse: īmān, taqwā (safeguarding oneself from sin) and adoption of the company of truthful, god-fearing people. In this verse Allāh ta‘ālā teaches us that if we want to safeguard our īmān we have to save ourselves from sin by adopting taqwā. After accepting faith, failure to safeguard ourselves from sin means our īmān will not strengthen, and instead will weaken. And by continually weakening, the chances are that īmān will be lost altogether and be replaced by disbelief. So the rule is this: in order to safeguard your īmān, it is necessary to protect yourself from sin. And in order to be able to stay away from this, we need to adopt the company of the pious. Through the company of the pious, a person attains the ability to refrain from sin and becomes a Walī of Allāh ta‘ālā. Thereafter, the company of pious, god-fearing people assisits towards more progress in taqwā.

So Allāh ta‘ālā is telling us that if we wish to safeguard our īmān, we need to protect ourselves from sin, and if we wish to integrate the practice of refraining from sin into our lives and if we wish to illuminate our hearts with the light of taqwā then we must remain connected with the pious, i.e. those who are truthful in word and deed, and whose inner condition and external condition are the same. If the company of the pious is not adopted, then the standard of taqwā that is required will not be achieved. And if the standard of taqwā is not achieved, then the standard of īmān that is required will not remain. And it is possible that as the level of taqwā decreases, and sinfulness continues to increase, a time will come when īmān itself will diminish. (May Allāh ta‘ālā save us all. Āmīn)

This is an extract from the booklet ‘Time to Change’ published by At-Tazkiyah.

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Muslim men

Reviving our Sense of Gheerah

We live in societies in which most men and women have lost their sense of modesty, women are obsessed with their appearances and wear clothes to be seen by others and to attract the attention of other men even if they are married! They have lost their sense of shame. Marriage is often looked upon as old-fashioned and short-term affairs and frivolous relationships are the norms, everyone waiting to attract a better partner and feeling totally justified to dump one partner for another at the drop of a hat. Feminism too has reached its peak and men and women are told to suppress their natural emotions. Men are not even embarrassed when their wives are dressed up and attract the attention of other men, they don’t mind if another man sees, chats laughs and even dances with their womenfolk and if they do mind, they are told not to be so possessive!

In Islam, we have a concept of gheerah. Gheerah is an Arabic word which means protectiveness or jealousy. It is a good type of jealousy, like when a man feels jealous or protective over his wife or sisters and other-womenfolk and doesn’t like other men to look at them. It is a natural inbuilt feeling Allah has given men and women. The Prophet (peace be upon him) had the most gheerah for his wives and all of the companions were known for their gheerah. All Muslim men should have a collective sense of protectiveness for Muslim women as Allah says in the Qur’an, the meaning of which is:

“The Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…”  [1]

Men who do not care about how their women behave and appear in front of other men and don’t enforce hijaab upon their wives or women-folk are called dayyooth. Being a dayyooth is a major sin and a detailed description of this evil characteristic can be found in al-Dhahabi’s Book of Major Sins.

A story of Gheerah

To further understand the quality of gheerah, we can look at an incident that Asma’ (may Allah be pleased with her) the daughter of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) and sister of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), relates about herself. Abu Bakr was a wealthy merchant and married his daughter Asma’ to the great companion Az-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him) who was a very poor man but a man of great piety and one of the companions who was promised Paradise. Asma’ relates:

“When Zubayr married me, he had neither land nor wealth nor slave…” so Asma’ had to work very hard kneading dough, going far off to get water. “And I used to carry on my head,” she continues, “the date stones from the land of Zubair which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) had endowed him and it was a distance of two miles from Madinah. One day, as I was carrying the date-stones upon my head, I happened to meet Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), along with a group of his Companions. He called me and told the camel to sit down so that he could make me ride behind him. I felt shy to go with men and I remembered Zubair and his gheerah and he was a man having the most gheerah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) understood my shyness and left. I came to Zubair and said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) met me as I was carrying date-stones upon my head and there was with him a group of his Companions. He told the camel to kneel so that I could mount it, but I felt shy and I remembered your gheerah.” So Asma’ declined the offer made by the Prophet (peace be upon him). Upon this Zubair said: “By Allah, the thought of you carrying date-stones upon your head is more severe a burden on me than you riding with him.”[2]

Look at the sense of dignity and modesty of Asma’! See how she felt shy in front of men? See how careful she was about her husband’s feelings? She knew that her husband had a lot of gheerah so she didn’t want to upset him by accepting the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) help even though the Prophet was the purest of men and even though it meant bringing hardship on herself! And look at Zubair (may Allah be pleased with him), even though he had a lot of gheerah, he didn’t want to inconvenience his wife. What a beautiful relationship they had!
 Nurturing our sense of Gheerah

Sometimes Muslim women don’t understand if their menfolk want them to cover their faces or if they ask them to change something about the way they dress or speak in public, thinking that the men are being over-protective. But my dear sisters! If your husband asks you not to wear a certain colour of khimar because it brings out the beauty of your eyes or if he wants you to cover your face – be thankful! Be proud of the fact that your husband has a sense of gheerah for you and that he values you and cares for your hereafter. He knows what men can be like more than you do and so never try and suppress his gheerah in these types of matters. And his concern for you should incite your own sense of honour! Why should any man be able to see your beauty and think indecent thoughts about you? We must nurture our own and our menfolk’s sense of gheerah by behaving and dressing modestly ourselves and paying attention to their valid opinions. We expect certain behaviour from them and they expect it of us. And besides, if our husband asks us to do something that is not haram, we must do it.

Brothers! How can you allow your wife or sister to walk around attracting the attention and evil-thoughts of other men? How can you not mind if she smiles as she talks to other men? Nobody has the right to enjoy her and her company but you and her Maharim men. You are not overbearing if you first encourage and then enforce the hijab on your womenfolk because YOU will be asked about it on the Day of Judgement and it is also a major sin upon you! It is upon the men to enforce these things in their homes and you cannot use the excuse that your wife didn’t want to. Women need a firm, balanced, guiding hand from their men, so with wisdom, you must enforce hijab in your home. You are a shepherd and are responsible for your flock!

Allah reminds us all in the Qur’an, the meaning of which is:

“O you who believe, Protect yourselves and your families from a fire whose fuel is men and stones.”[3]

There is a big difference between how Islam values and protects women and how cheaply women are treated outside of Islam. As Muslims, we have to be careful that our sense of modesty, shame and gheerah don’t wear out in a society in which people have lost it.

 

Notes:
Islam21c requests all the readers of this article, and others, to share it on your facebook, twitter, and other platforms to further spread our efforts.
Ibn ‘Umar RA said:
Abu Moosa Al-Ash’ari RA gave a mat to ‘Umar’s RA wife ‘Aatikah Bint Zayd RA, and I think that it was one cubit and a handspan. ‘Umar saw it with her and said, “Where did you get this from?”
She said, “Abu Moosa Al-Ash’ari RA gave it to me.”
‘Umar RA took it and hit her with it, then he said, “Bring Abu Moosa to me.”
So he was brought to him and he (Abu Moosa Al-Ash’ari) said, “Don’t be hasty, O’ Ameer Al-Mu’mineen (Leader of the believers).”
‘Umar RA said, “What made you give gifts to my womenfolk?” Then ‘Umar RA took it and hit him with it, and said, “Take it, we have no need for it.”
[Taken from ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab, His Life And Times, By ‘Ali Muhammad As-Sallabi, Vol. I, Pp. 134-135 & 251]

 

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: إني غيور وإن إبراهيم كان غيورا وما من امرئ لا يغار إلا منكوس القلب

Imam Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah (rahimahullah) has recorded this Hadith [mursalan] with a weak chain.

(Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah with annotations of Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwamah -hafizahullah-, Hadith: 18009)

Translation

Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Most certainly I have a sense of possessiveness [over my wives] and Ibrahim (‘alayhis salam) also had a sense of possessiveness over [his wife]. None except a [cuckold] is void of this quality.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best.

Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala