“All of Creation are Allah’s dependents – and the best of them in the sight of Allah are those who provide the greatest benefit to his dependents.” [Mu`jam al-Tabarânî al-Kabîr (9891)]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized that we can attain Allah’s love by helping other people in their worldly needs. Since Islam calls upon its adherents to be actively engaged in making a contribution to the world and to human welfare, we find that it categorically prohibits monasticism. We must understand that monasticism is the idea that it is an act of devotion to renounce the world altogether and focus purely on spiritual concerns and the goal of the Hereafter.
Three of the Companions once asked the Prophet’s wife to describe to them the Prophet’s worship. When she did so, they found it to be less than they aspired to. They said:
“How can we compare our state to that of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? His sins, past and future have been forgiven.”
Then one among them said: “I will pray throughout the night, every night.”
Another among them said: “I will fast every day without break.”
The third among them said: “As for me, I will renounce women and never marry.”
Later, the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to them and said:
“Are you the ones who said those things? Whereas, by Allah, I am the most God-fearing and devout among you; yet I fast at times and at other times leave off the fast, I observe prayer and sleep as well; and I marry women. Whoever desires something other than my way is not of me.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5036) and Sahîh Muslim (1401)]
This balanced attitude between worldly and spiritual concerns, where devotion to Allah is not seen as antagonistic to worldly activities, is one of the reasons why Islamic civilization flowered in its early centuries.
As time went on, things changed. The extreme asceticism of certain Islamic mystical paths, over time, captured the popular Muslim imagination. When such deviant mystical ideas became entrenched in Muslim society, it lost its vigor and vitality. People began seeing piety towards Allah as being synonymous with the renunciation of the world. They sometimes went so far as to see righteousness in self-inflicted abuse and the complete denial of comfort.
They also twisted the beautiful idea of relying on Allah into something else by saying: “Leave the world’s concerns to its Creator.”
By turning away from the beautiful and balanced principles enshrined in Islamic teachings, the Muslim world fell into decline.
Source:
“O Messenger of Allah! Do we get blessings for indulging our lusts?”- Dr. Ghâzî al-Tawbah
The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized that we can attain Allah’s love by helping other people in their worldly needs. Since Islam calls upon its adherents to be actively engaged in making a contribution to the world and to human welfare, we find that it categorically prohibits monasticism. We must understand that monasticism is the idea that it is an act of devotion to renounce the world altogether and focus purely on spiritual concerns and the goal of the Hereafter.
Three of the Companions once asked the Prophet’s wife to describe to them the Prophet’s worship. When she did so, they found it to be less than they aspired to. They said:
“How can we compare our state to that of the Prophet (peace be upon him)? His sins, past and future have been forgiven.”
Then one among them said: “I will pray throughout the night, every night.”
Another among them said: “I will fast every day without break.”
The third among them said: “As for me, I will renounce women and never marry.”
Later, the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to them and said:
“Are you the ones who said those things? Whereas, by Allah, I am the most God-fearing and devout among you; yet I fast at times and at other times leave off the fast, I observe prayer and sleep as well; and I marry women. Whoever desires something other than my way is not of me.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (5036) and Sahîh Muslim (1401)]
This balanced attitude between worldly and spiritual concerns, where devotion to Allah is not seen as antagonistic to worldly activities, is one of the reasons why Islamic civilization flowered in its early centuries.
As time went on, things changed. The extreme asceticism of certain Islamic mystical paths, over time, captured the popular Muslim imagination. When such deviant mystical ideas became entrenched in Muslim society, it lost its vigor and vitality. People began seeing piety towards Allah as being synonymous with the renunciation of the world. They sometimes went so far as to see righteousness in self-inflicted abuse and the complete denial of comfort.
They also twisted the beautiful idea of relying on Allah into something else by saying: “Leave the world’s concerns to its Creator.”
By turning away from the beautiful and balanced principles enshrined in Islamic teachings, the Muslim world fell into decline.
Source:
“O Messenger of Allah! Do we get blessings for indulging our lusts?”- Dr. Ghâzî al-Tawbah
No comments:
Post a Comment