And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided. (Al Quran, 16:15)

Concept of Virtue in Islam - Part 2

 

Transcript of the Friday Sermon delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Sept 23, 2016

 

Brothers and sisters! Today’s khutba is a continuation (i.e., Part-2) of my previous khutba on the concept of virtue in Islam. The main topic of discussion is the tafsir of ayah 177 of Surat al-Baqarah, which explains the concept of real virtue as against lifeless formalities, and non-effective beliefs that lead to a superficial and limited notion of virtue. The ayah says,

لَيْسَ الْبِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَلَكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَالْمَلائِكَةِ وَالْكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآتَى الْمَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ذَوِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلاةَ وَآتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي الْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ الْبَأْسِ أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُتَّقُونَ ()

“Virtue does not consist in whether you face towards the East or the West; virtue means believing in Allah, the last day, the angels, the book and the prophets; the virtuous are those who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth to relatives,  orphans, the poor, stranded travelers, beggars,  and to free slaves, and who establish salah and pay the zakah, and who keep their pledges when they make them, and show patience in hardship and adversity, and in times of distress. Those are the people who are true. They are the people who have taqwa.” (al-Baqarah, 2:177)

The first requirement to attain real virtue or piety is to have iman in Allah (SWT). This was discussed in a previous khutba. Insha’Allah, today’s khutba will discuss the second prerequisite for acquiring virtue, and that is to have iman in al-Akhirah or the hereafter. Numerous verses of the Qur’an as well as the ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) speak of life after death. It is significant to note that two-thirds of the Qur’an, which was revealed before the Prophet’s hijrah to Medina speaks mainly of the concept of al-Akhirah and of al-Ghayb—the unseen.  In fact, all the articles of faith—belief in Allah, the angels, the scriptures, the messengers, the last day, and the divine decree are beyond the sphere of the ‘seen,’ and constitute a part of the ‘unseen.’ One of the fundamental qualities of a believer is to believe in the unseen. Belief in al-Akhirah constitutes believing in all these things of the unseen. We have in Surat al-Baqarah,

ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ () الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ ()

“This is the Book in which there is no doubt, containing guidance for those who are mindful of Allah, who believe in the unseen, keep up the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them” (al-Baqarah, 2:2-3).

In one of his moving sermons, the Prophet (SAW) said, “I swear by Allah that all of you will certainly die, just as you go to sleep at night. Then surely you will all be raised again as you wake up in the morning. Then you will definitely be judged for the deeds you had been doing. You will get rewards for good deeds and punishment for the evil ones; it will either be the everlasting life of Paradise or the endless torment of Hell-fire.” The Qur’an tells us,

كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى () أَنْ رَآَهُ اسْتَغْنَى () إِنَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ الرُّجْعَىٰ

“No indeed, man exceeds all bounds; when he thinks he is self-sufficient. Truly, to your Lord is the return” (al-‘Alaq, 96:6-8).

We should know that our world is governed by physical laws and not moral laws. No harm comes to man immediately for the moral choices he makes. If some good deeds are seen not to get full appreciation and credit in this life, they will receive full compensation and be widely acknowledged on the Day of Judgment. If some people who willfully commit sins, neglect God’s commands, and indulge in immoral activities seem superficially successful and prosperous in this life, they will be held accountable on the Day of Judgment and judged accordingly. God will justly decide every human being’s ultimate destination. People with good records will be generously rewarded and blessed with Heaven. People with bad records will be fairly punished and cast into Hell. Those who believe in life after death are not expected to deliberately disobey God. They are conscious that God is watching their actions and the angels are recording them.

Believing in the angels is an integral part of our faith, and an essential part of believing in a world that is beyond human perception. Angels are a creation of God. They are purely spiritual beings that require no food, drink or sleep. They do not have any physical desires or needs. Angels spend their time praising, glorifying, and worshiping God. In contrast to human beings, angels do not have free will. As such, they can only obey God and do not have the ability to disobey Him. They are in no way related to God and have no share in His divinity. Muslims are forbidden from worshipping angels or seeking any help or any intercession from them. Each angel is charged with a certain duty.

Believing in the book and the prophets means to attest without reservation to the truth, honesty, and integrity of all the revealed books in their original forms, and all the prophets and messengers of God commissioned to deliver them at various times of human history. This leads to a belief in the unity of the human race, serving God alone, and adhering to one universal divine order. This outlook has a profound effect on the personality of the believer, who is seen as a custodian of the heritage of God’s messengers and the divine messages revealed to them. The manifestation of real virtue or al-Birr was practically demonstrated by the prophets and messengers of God who were the models of real virtue and piety. They were the best human beings of their times, having the most balanced personalities. Speaking about the last and final messenger of God, the Qur’an says, 

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الآَخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

“The Messenger of Allah is an excellent model for those of you who put your hope in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah very often.”(al-Ahzab, 33:21).

Real virtue requires maintaining a balanced personality and not letting virtue grow out of proportion lest it turns into evil. This is how the institutions of monasticism or asceticism (rahbaniyyah) crept into the religious thought of Christianity. The monks in their desire to seek God’s good pleasure adopted asceticism. Monks would lead a life of celibacy, isolation, and extreme austerity. Their path made them transgress the limits of human nature. Consequently, this perverted their own nature and gave way to many social problems such as secretive sexual relationships, child abuse, and homosexuality. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) once asked a companion: "Is it true that you fast all day and stand in prayer all night?" The companion replied that the report was true. The Prophet (SAW) then said: "Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave it at other times. Stand up for prayer at night and also sleep at night. Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you." 

It is noteworthy that the first and foremost manifestation of iman and testimony of faith (shahadah) should normally be prayers (salah). Yet in ayah 177 of Surat al-Baqarah, it is not salah but al-Birr or real virtue. This is because when there is a discussion about the pillars of Islam or the modes of worship, then it is salah that is mentioned as the link or immediate manifestation of iman. But when the discussion is about virtue, then iman is followed by mentioning charitable deeds and acts of kindness.

According to this blessed ayah, the first manifestation of piety after iman in Allah, in the hereafter, and in the unseen, is to have kindness, sympathy and mercy toward fellow human beings. According to a hadith, “He who is deprived of kindness is deprived of good.” There is another hadith that says, “Whoever relieves a believer from one of the hardships of this world, Allah will relieve him from one of the hardships of the Day of Judgment. And whoever eases a difficult situation of a believer, Allah will make it easy for him in this life and the hereafter; and whoever covers a believer, Allah will cover him in this life and in the hereafter. Allah is at the assistance of the slave (of His) so long as the slave is at the assistance of his brother…” 

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Brothers and sisters! Describing the qualities of virtuous people, the ayah says,

وَآَتَى الْمَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ“And who, despite their love for it, give away their wealth.” The spending of wealth has been tied up with ‘despite their love for it (’ala hubbihi). This has three possible meanings. Firstly, the pronoun in hubbihi may refer to Allah (SWT), in which case, it would mean that in spending wealth one should not be guided by material motives or the desire to show off. Such spending should rather be done out of love for Allah (SWT) whose Majesty requires that this be done with perfect sincerity. The second possibility is that this pronoun refers to wealth, in which case it would mean that, while spending in the way of Allah, only that part of one’s wealth and possessions which one loves will be deserving of merit. The third possibility is that the pronoun refers to the verbal noun آَتَى (‘to give’) which emerges from the word   إِيتَاءِ  (giving), in which case, the meaning could be that one should be fully satisfied in the heart with what one spends. The Qur’an also tells us,

لَن تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّىٰ تُنفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا مِن شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ

“You will never attain virtue (piety) until you spend out of what you hold dear, and whatever you may spend of anything, Allah indeed knows it” (Aal ‘Imran, 3:92).

It may be understood from this ayah that a person who is miserly and without kindness of heart, or who has no sympathy toward his fellow human beings cannot be virtuous according to this verdict of the Qur’an, even though he might otherwise appear to be religious. Virtuous and pious believers have the right attitude. They love doing good to others not for worldly gains or praise, but for the sake of pleasing Allah (SWT) and to be successful in the hereafter. This notion is beautifully reflected in the ayah, which speaks of true believers as saying,

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنْكُمْ جَزَاءً وَلَا شُكُورًا () إِنَّا نَخَافُ مِنْ رَبِّنَا يَوْمًا عَبُوسًا قَمْطَرِيرًا

“We only feed you for the sake of Allah; we do not desire from you any reward or thanks. We fear from our Lord a Day, which will be horrible and difficult" (al-Insan, 76:9-10).

The significance of such praiseworthy act of charity and sacrifice is that it liberates man from stinginess, selfishness, greed and excessive love of wealth, which cripple his tawfiq and ability to give and help those who are in need. It is an act of liberation for the human soul when man rises above worldly desires and materialistic instincts. It is an admirable achievement, which Islam praises and values very highly.

InshaAllah, we’ll continue with part 3 of the concept of virtue in a subsequent khutba. 

Thursday the 21st. Our website runs on electricity generated by wind power. - Joomla Templates