Dhulm

"As-salāmu ʿalaykum, may I join you all?" Starling greeted. Parrot said, "Please come forward my brother!" Starling said, "I heard your conversation. May I joint to share what I've heard" Parrot said, "Of course, tell us, please!" Starling said, "On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifaari, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (ﷺ), from among the sayings he relates from his Lord, Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala, that He, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, said, "O My servants, I have forbidden wrongdoing for Myself and I have made it forbidden for you. Therefore, do not wrong one another. O My servants, all of you are lost except for those whom I have guided. Therefore, seek guidance from Me and I will guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those whom I have fed. Therefore, seek food from Me and I will feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those whom I have clothed. Therefore, seek clothing from Me and I will clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins. Therefore, seek forgiveness from Me and I will forgive you. O My servants, you will not be able to harm Me so as to bring any harm to Me, and you will not be able to benefit Me so as to bring any benefit to Me. O My servants, if the first and last of you and the human and jinn of you were as pious as the most pious heart of anyone among you, it would not add anything to My dominion. O My servants, if the first and last of you and the human and jinn of you were as wicked as the most wicked heart of anyone among you, it would not decrease anything from My dominion. O My servants, if the first and last of you and the human and jinn of you were to gather together on [the same sector] of land and all asked of Me and if I were to give everyone of them what he asked, that would not decrease what I have any more than a needle decreases what is in the ocean when it is put into it. O My servants, it is but your deeds that I reckon for you. Then I recompense you for them. The one who finds good is to give praises to Allah. The one who finds other than this should not blame anyone but himself."

This hadith is authentic. It was recorded by Muslim, al-Bukhari in his book al-Adab al-Mufrad, ibn Khuzaima in his book al-Tauheed, al-Tabaraani in al-Dua and Musnad al-Shaamiyeen, al-Baihaqi, al-Haakim and many others through the chain of Saeed ibn Abdul Azeez from Rabeeah ibn Yazeed from Abu Idrees al-Khaulaani from Abu Dharr. It was also recorded, with slightly different wording, by Muslim, Ahmad, al-Tayaalisi and ibn Khuzaima in al-Tauheed from Humaam from Qataadah from Abu Qilaabah from Abu Dharr. Abdul Razzaaq also records it from Mamar from Ayyoob from Abu Qilaabah from Abu Dharr. Al-Tirmidhi, ibn Maajah, ibn Abu Shaibah and others recorded it from Shahr ibn Haushab from Abdul Rahmaan ibn Ghanam from Abu Dharr. 

"This hadith is a qudsi hadith." Flamingo asked, "Wait, what is Qudsi hadith?" Starling said, "Qudsi hadith are those hadith that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) related from the Lord. Mullah Ali al-Qaari has given the following excellent definition for hadith qudsi. He wrote, "It is that which is related by the foremost of relaters and the most reliable of authorities, the best of blessings and salutations be upon him, from Allah, may He be glorified, sometimes through the medium of Gabriel, upon whom be blessings and peace, and sometimes by revelation, inspiration and dreams. Allah having entrusted to him the expressing of it in such words as he wished. It differs from the Quran in that the revelation of the latter was only through the medium of the Upright Soul [Gabriel] and is restricted to the wording specifically revealed from the Preserved Tablet..." 

Such hadith usually take one of the following forms: first, some begin with, "The Prophet (ﷺ) says from among the sayings he related from his Lord..."; second, sometimes they begin with, "Allah the Almighty has said, from among the sayings related from Him by the Messenger of Allah..."; third, or, "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said that Allah has said..."; fourth, the words of Allah may be referred to as written instead of spoken; fifth, sometimes the words from Allah are between or introduced by a statement of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). And, finally, an indirect but clear reference may be made to a statement of Allah in the words of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). 

Allah begins His statement by calling to human beings with the term, "My servants". This is significant for a number of reasons. First, from the point of view of the human, it highlights the relationship between the ones being addressed and the speaker. Allah is their Lord and Master. They are His servants and slaves. Reminding the listeners of this fact at the beginning should make them very attentive to what is about to be said. It is not coming from just anyone but it is coming from their Master and Lord. Second, it also demonstrates the relationship between Allah and humans. He is the Master and Lord of the Creation. He is not in need of them. They cannot benefit Him at all. They are simply His slaves that He created that if He willed, He could make them all believers or all disbelievers. Indeed, if He willed, He could do away with all of them. This aspect is directly related to the message that is given in this hadith. Furthermore, as Taataay points out, this address is general for all of mankind. It is not specific to any time or place. All of mankind are Allah's servants. The following prohibition of dhulm is not something that is specific to the Nation of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Indeed, it was something that was taught to all of mankind and passed on in all of the genuine religions. 

In numerous places in the Quran, Allah has denied that He has ever or would ever commit any wrongdoing or injustice toward anyone. Allah never has and never will commit any form of wrong. The phrase, "I have forbidden oppression (dhulm) for Myself," is to say that dhulm is something that was theoretically possible for Allah but that He has himself forbidden it for Himself and has removed its possibility. But if everything in this creation actually belongs to Allah and there is no authority greater than Him that He could wrong, what kind of dhulm could Allah have possibly committed? Allah has denied that He would ever commit dhulm in this hadith and He has specifically denied that He would ever commit that specific form of dhulm. The matter is not simply a denial of dhulm. It is also and more importantly, according to ibn Taimiya, an affirmation of its opposite, justice, on the part of Allah. Even when Allah punishes a people, it is solely based on what is just, according to their deeds. When He rewards a people, however, it is a grace and mercy from Allah. Hence, as ibn Uthaimeen points out, all of Allah's acts are either acts of justice or grace. 

Allah, in His Mercy and by His Wisdom, has decreed for Himself that He will commit no injustice. It is not the case that "by His nature" it was impossible for Him to have committed injustice. He definitely has the ability to commit many forms of injustice but He, no one else, has determined that He would not commit them. Allah alone has determined for Himself to act in this manner.Understanding this fact should increase the believers' love for Allah. It should also increase their glorification and praise of Him. 

The word dhulm is often translated as "oppression" and this gives some people the impression that it refers only to, for example, the relationship between a ruler and his subjects. However, although that is obviously a type of dhulm, that is not the proper complete understanding of the word dhulm. To avoid that misunderstanding, it has been translated in a much more general sense as "wrongdoing" instead of "oppression," while oppression is simply one form of dhulm. In this hadith, Allah has forbidden dhulm in a general sense, including all of its various forms. 

Lane's Lexicon defines ظلم (Dhulm) thusly: “ظَلَمَ [Dhalama] when intransitive usually means: he did wrong; or acted wrongfully, unjustly, injuriously, or tyrannically: and when transitive: he wronged; or treated, or used, wrongfully, unjustly, injuriously, or tyrannically.

الظُلم [adh-Dhulm] signifies the putting a thing in a place not its own; putting it in a wrong place; misplacing it;... and it is by exceeding or falling short, or by deviating from the proper time and place: or the acting in whatsoever way one pleases in the disposal of the property of another: and the transgressing the proper limit. There are three major different forms of dhulm. First, the dhulm that the person commits to himself by acts of disobedience to Allah: This type of dhulm comprises many acts but the most heinous of them, as mentioned above, is to ascribe partners to Allah. In addition to this, any kind of sinful behavior is a type of dhulm against oneself. The sinner is harming himself and not behaving properly toward his own soul when he commits a sin. This is why Allah describes going beyond the limits He has set as a kind of dhulm.
Second, the dhulm that a person commits toward others: Any kind of harm that a person does to another is a form of dhulm and is forbidden. A Muslim may not harm another's honor, wealth or life.
A third type of dhulm is that committed toward the other creatures Allah has created or toward creation in general. For example, if a person kills an animal just for sport or play, he has committed dhulm. If a person mutilates an animal, he has committed dhulm and is deserving of being cursed. Al-Bukhari records from ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the person who mutilated animals.

Another important way of categorizing dhulm is into the following three divisions, as done by al-Hakeemi, first, the dhulm that is not forgiven by Allah (unless one repents), which is shirk. Second, dhulm that will not be overlooked until it is reconciled in either this life or the next, and that is the wrongdoing toward other humans. This kind of wrongdoing cannot be left without it being resolved — either by forgiveness from the wronged person or punishment in this life or the Hereafter. Third, dhulm that Allah may either overlook or punish one for. These are the sins, other than associating partners with Allah, which a person commits and which only affect himself.
The one who commits dhulm must realize that Allah is not unaware of what he is doing. Allah will take him to task even though Allah may be giving him some respite at the present moment. One of the reasons that a people are destroyed by Allah is the dhulm that they commit. There are also numerous hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ)that condemn and censure dhulm. The one who commits dhulm must be especially fearful when he realizes that the supplication of the one he is wronging will be responded to by Allah, even if that wronged person were an unbeliever. On the other hand, Allah praises the opposite of dhulm, which is thecharacteristic of justice and integrity."

Flamingo asked, "How to keep oneself from committing dhulm?" Starling said, "In the Quran, Allah has described mankind as apt to committing a great deal of dhulm to itself and others. It is easy for man, given his nature, to commit dhulm and he is prone to committing dhulm often. When a Muslim realizes this fact and he also realizes how dangerous dhulm is to his religion and well-being, he will seek the means that will help him avoid dhulm as much as possible. Sultaan mentions the following means that may help a person in preventing himself from committing. First, the person must develop taqwa within himself. Taqwa will help the person remain away from dhulm as dhulm is an act that is very displeasing to Allah and He has forbidden it. Second, the person should try to develop humility within himself. Sultaan mentions this point because he says that humility is the opposite of pride and arrogance, which are two of the factors that lead many people to commit dhulm. Third, the person should try to free himself from any feeling of hasad (envy) because hasad is also a major cause behind much dhulm. Fourth, the person should read about the great reward for being just and righteous (the opposite of dhulm) and how pleasing that is toAllah. In other words, he should read those verses in the Quran and hadith, that will incite him to take on those praiseworthy characteristics. Fifth, he should turn to Allah and pray for guidance and help in purifying his soul of this great evil. Sixth, the person should think about and take seriously the evil results of committing dhulm. He should realize that no real success or prosperity will ever come to those who are dhaalimeen (wrongdoers). He should reflect upon the fact that committing dhulm may keep one from getting guided by Allah. In his prayers, while reciting surah al-Faatiha, he may ask Allah to guide him to the straight path but he may not be so guided because of his acts of dhulm which are a barrier to his complete guidance. He should also consider the punishment for the wrongdoers. He should recall that the punishment for the wrongdoers is not just in the next life but, one way or another, they will receive some punishment in this life."

Starling then said, "O my brothers and sisters, this is one of the most important hadith; it is a must to memorize it and ponder over its meanings as it has uncountable important points to it. It prohibits all forms of injustice and oppression, thus leading to justice, which is one of the main goals of the shariah. Furthermore, it encourages one to pray to Allah for guidance and one's worldly needs, for supplication is one of the greatest forms of worship. The hadith also discusses some of the attributes of Allah, such as His being free of any need of this creation.

One of the characteristics that must distinguish the true believers from all others, is their justice, or 'adl, even with respect to people they hate. Their hatred for a people does not allow them to swerve from justice in any way. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, understood well that the establishment of justice was one of the key goals of the religion of Islam. When asked by the Emperor of Persia what brought the Muslims to their lands, two different Companions answered in similar terms, "Allah has sent us to take whoever wishes from the servitude of mankind to the servitude of Allah, and from the tightness of this world to its expanse, and from the injustice of the ways of life in this world to the justice of Islam.

The opposite of dhulm is 'adl or justice. 'Adl is to put something in its place. So, the point is, that mankind must establish justice, or 'Adl.  However, justice is only established by following what Allah has revealed. The polytheists established some of their own practices and forbid many things without any authority from Allah. Allah revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to tell them that such are not the just matters that Allah has ordered him to do.
The greatest justice is tawheed and the greatest injustice is shirk (associating partners with Allah). Allah is the only One with attributes that make Him worthy of worship. Allah also created every human and bestowed upon each numerous bounties. For humans to then turn to others and worship others alongside Allah is the greatest form of injustice. Allah bestows on them bounties and then they worship and thank others. This is like a person doing a favor for someone and then that person goes and thanks a third person for the favor. Such is not proper or just behavior by any means.

The true source of justice and truth is to be found in what Allah has revealed. The greatest source of evil and injustice is the ignoring of what Allah has revealed. Allah describes those who do not abide by what He has revealed as the wrongdoers and oppressors.
Allah knows what is truth and justice. In His mercy, He has revealed the Books and sent Messengers to establish that true justice. However, ignorant humans actually turn their back on Allah's revelations in the name of justice. They believe that they can establish justice through their own man-made laws and systems. Democratic movements, liberal slogans, secularist philosophies, women's liberation movements and so forth are all, they claim, meant to bring about justice. But they can never bring about justice. They can never bring about justice because their very foundation is an extreme case of injustice or dhulm. Their very foundation is to ignore Allah as the source of guidance and  to replace Him by man himself. This is putting man in the place of God and  there can be no greater injustice than that. This is the reality although they may  not realize it or they may claim to be calling to what is just and good.
And do you know, my brothers and sisters, if justice is enforced, what follows it?" Shama said, "Prosperity!" Starling said, "That's right my brtother! And Allah knows best."

"O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted." - [QS.4:135]

Bahasa

Reference :
- Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Commentary On The Forty Hadith Of Al Nawawi Volume 2, Al-Basheer Publications

Fitrah

"Assalamualaikum," Peacock greeted. "Waalaikumussalam!" the birds responded. "May I join?" said Peacock. Parrot happily answered. "Of course, please, come forward!" Peacock then came forward and said, "O my brothers and sisters, the first principle of 'aqeedah is belief in Allah. This is the most important principle of belief and action, and it is the focal point of Islam and the essence of the Qur'an.
We can say that belief in Allah is the basis of all other principles, the foundation of the religion. The more a person has faith in Allah, the more he is progressing in Islam. Therefore, one must examine the evidence that Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala exists, and must know about Allah, which is achieved in two ways in the Qur'an: first, understanding the wonders in creation which point to the greatness of Allah's power and the perfection of His creation; second, studying the verses of the Qur'an which speak directly of Allah, His essence, His Names, His attributes and His actions. He must affirm that Allah alone is the only One to be worshipped, with no partner or associate, and reject anything else that is worshipped instead of Him.

The Qur'an does not discuss at length the matter of proving the existence of Allah, because it states that sound human instinct, and minds that are not contaminated with the filth of shirk, affirm His existence without any need for further evidence. Not only that, Tawheed or the affirmation of Divine Unity, is something which is natural and instinctive. It is called fitrah.
From a sahih (authentic) narration of Ibn 'Abbas, radhiyallahu 'anhu, collected by Ahmad, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When Allah created Adam, He took a covenant from him in a place called Na'man on the day of 'Arafah, then He extracted from him all of his descendants who would be born until the end of the world, generation after generation, and spread them out in front of Him in order to take a covenant from them also. He spoke to them face to face saying: 'Am I not your Lord?' and they all replied, 'Yes, we testify to it.' Allah then explained why He had all of mankind bear witness that He was their creator and only true God worthy of worship. He said, 'That was in case you (mankind) should say on the Day of Resurrection, 'Surely we were unaware of all this. We had no idea that Thee, Allah, were our God. No one told us that we were supposed to worship You alone." Allah went on to explain that it was also in case some people would say: 'It was our ancestors who made partners (with Allah) and we are only their descendants; will You, then destroy us for what those liars did?'

This was the Prophet's explanation of the Qur'anic verse in which Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala said (Qur'an Surah Al-A'raf[7]:172-173): "When your Lord drew forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendant and made them testify concerning themselves, [saying]: 'Am I not your Lord?" they said, 'Yes, we testify to it.' [This] in case you say should say on the Day of Judgement, ' We were unaware of this.' Or in case you should say, 'It was our ancestors who made partners [with Allah] and we are only their descendants. Will you then destroy us for what those liars did?'"
The verse and prophetic explanation confirm the fact that everyone is responsible for belief in God and on the Day of Judgement excuses will not be accepted. Every human being has the belief in God imprinted on his soul and Allah shows every idolator, during the course of his life, signs that his idol is not God. Hence, every sane human being is required to believe in God beyond His creation and not manifest in it.

From an authentic (sahih) narration of Abu Hurayrah, radhiyallahu 'anhu, collected by Tirmidhi, the Prophet (ﷺ) then went on to say, 'Allah then placed between the two eyes of every human a flash of light showing their Eeman and showed them all to Adam. Adam was awed by the sight of all these countless numbers of beings with flashes of light between their eyes so he asked Allah, 'O' Lord, who are they?' Allah told him that they were all of his descendants. Adam then began looking closely at one whose flash of light amazed him, then he asked who he was and Allah said, 'That is a man called Dawud from the last of the nations among your descendants.' Adam then asked how old he was and when Allah informed him that he was sixty, he said, 'O' Lord, increase his age by taking forty years from my age.' But when Adam's life span reached its end and the angel of death came, he said, 'Is there not forty more years of my life still remaining?' The Angel replied, 'Did you not give them to your descandant Dawud?' Adam denied that he had done so and his descandants denied their promise to Allah. Adam later forgot his covenant to Allah and so did his descendants and they all fell into error."
Adam ate from the forbidden tree due to his forgetting his promise to Allah and Satan's deceptive prodding, and most of mankind have ignored their responsibility to believe in Allah and worship Him alone, and have fallen into the worship of the creation.

Following that, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah then pointed to some of the descendants that He had extracted from Adam and his children and said, 'I have created these people for Paradise and they will do the deeds of the people of Paradise." He, Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala, then pointed to the rest and said, 'I have created these people for the Hellfire and they will do the deeds of the inhabitants of Hell.' When the Prophet (ﷺ) said that one of his Companions asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, what then is the point of doing good deeds?' The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, 'Verily, if Allah created one of His servants for Paradise, He helps him do the deeds of the people of Paradise until he dies doing one of their deeds; then He places him in Paradise because of it. But if He created a man for the Hell-fire, He helps him do the deeds of its inhabitants until he dies doing one of their deeds; then He puts him in the Fire because of it.'"
This statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) does not mean that people have no free will or choice between good and evil, for if that were so, the Judgement, reward and punishment would all be senseless. Allah's creation of a person for Paradise simply means that Allah knows full well before his creation that such a person will be among the people of Paradise due to his choice of faith over disbelief and good over evil.
If someone sincerely believes in Allah and tries to do good, Allah will give him many opportunities to improve his belief and increase his good deeds. Allah will never cause sincere belief to be wasted even if the believer falls off the path, He will help him get back on it. Allah may punish him in this life when he goes off the right track to remind him of his errors and wake him up to make amends. In fact, Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala, will be so merciful as to take the life of the sincere believer while he is doing a good deed, thereby insuring that the believer will be among the fortunate dwellers of Paradise. If someone, on the other hand, disbelieves in Allah and rejects righteousness, Allah then makes evil deeds easy for him. Allah gives him success when he does bad and that encourages him to do more evil until he dies in such a sinful state and is flung into the everlasting Fire because of his evil deeds. 

Since Allah made all human beings swear to His Godhood when He created Adam, this oath is printed on the human soul even before it enters the fetus in the fifth month of pregnancy. So when a child is born, it has with it a natural belief in Allah. This natural belief is called in Arabic the "fitrah." This fitrah, calls man to turn towards his Creator, but man is surrounded by many other influences which make him deviate towards the worship of other gods. If the child were left alone, it would grow up aware of Allah in His unity, but all children are affected by the pressures of their environment whether directly or indirectly. Parents, writers, teachers and others instil into children's minds ideas which change and contaminate this fifrah, placing a veil over the fitrah so that they are not able to turn towards the truth. However, because it has been imprinted in the soul of every human being, usually, this fitrah will appear when difficulty perceives. When a person feels trapped in calamity, he would scream for His name.
The Prophet (ﷺ) reported that Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala said, "I created My servants in the right religion but the devils made them go astray." Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, thatThe Prophet (ﷺ) also said, "Each child is born in a state of "fitrah", but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian. It is like the way an animal gives birth to a normal offspring. Have you noticed any (young animal) born mutilated before you mutilate them?"

So just as the child's body submits to the physical laws which Allah has put in nature, its soul also submits naturally to the fact that Allah is its Lord and Creator. But, its parents try to make it follow their own way and the child is not strong enough in the early stages of its life to resist or oppose its parents. The religion which the child follows at this stage is one of custom and upbringing, and Allah does not hold it to account or punish it for this religion. When the child matures in youth and clear proofs of the falsehood of its religion are brought to it, the adult must now follow the religion of knowledge and reason. At this point the devils try their best to encourage him to stay as he is or to go further astray. Evils are made pleasing to him and he must now live in the midst of a struggle between his fitrah and his desires in order to find the right road. If he chooses his fitrah, Allah will help him overcome his desires, even though it may take most of his life to escape, for many people enter Islam in their old age, although most tend to do so before that.
Because of all these powerful forces fighting against the fitrah, Allah chose certain righteous men and revealed to them clearly the right path in life. These men, whom we call prophets, were sent to help our fitrah defeat its enemies. All the truths and good practices present in societies around the world today came from their teachings, and if it were not for their teachings, there would be no peace or safely in the world at all.
Thus, it is man's duty to follow the way of the Prophets since it is the only way which is truly in harmony with his nature. He should also be very careful not to do things simply because his parents and their parents did them, especially if knowledge reaches him that these practices are wrong. If he does not follow the truth, he will be like those misguided people.

The covenant which every man made to Allah during pre-creation was that he would recognize Allah, the Almighty, as his Lord and not direct any form of worship to others besides Him. This is the essential meaning of the shahadah (declaration of faith) which everyone must make in order to become a full-fledged Muslim; La ilaaha illallah (There is no god but Allah) also known as Kalimah at-Tawhid, the statement of Allah's Unity. Bearing witness to God's unity in this life is only a confirmation of the primordial declaration made in the spiritual state.
Those who are fortunate to be born in Muslim families must be aware that all such "Muslims" are not automatically guaranteed Paradise, because the Prophet (ﷺ) warned that a large part of the Muslim nation would follow those who have brought down wrath, and those who wander astray, so closely that if they entered a lizard hole, Muslim would climb in after them. He also said that before the Last Day some Muslims would actually worship idols. All of these people will have Muslim names and consider themselves Muslims, but it will be of no benefit to them on the Day of Judgement.

Cendrawasih, the bird-of-paradise, asked, "How is the covenant to be fulfilled?" Peacock said, "The covenant is fulfilled by sincerely believing in Tawhid and putting that belief into practice in daily life. Tawhid is put into practice by avoiding all the acts of shirk (setting up partners with Allah) and by closely following the last messenger (ﷺ) whom Allah sent as a practical and living example of life based on the principle of Tawhid. Because man has declared that Allah is his Lord, he must then consider righteous deeds to be only those defined by Allah and His Prophet as being righteous, and evil deeds likewise. In so doing, the principle of Tawhid is put into practice mentally. This method is important because a deed may seem good when it is in fact evil. For example, it has been said that when a poor man wants a king to do something for him, it is better for the poor man to get a prince or someone near to the king to speak on his behalf. Based on that it is further said that if one really wants Allah to answer his prayers, he should pray to the Prophet or a saint to ask Allah on his behalf, since he is dirty with the many sins he commits daily. This may seem logical, but both Allah and His Prophet (ﷺ) have clearly told man to pray directly to Allah without any intermediaries."

Then Peacock said, "O my brothers and sisters, belief in Allah, the One, the Only, the Supreme, is the very core of the Islamic Creed. All aspects of Islamic life, socio-economical, political, international relations, etc., revolve around the belief in One Illah, Allah, may He be praised and exalted. And Allah Knows best."

"Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?" - [QS.23:115]"

Bahasa

References :
- Umar S. Al-Ashqar, Believe in Allah-In the Light of the Qur'an and Sunnah, IIPH
- Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, The Fundamental of Tawheed, IIPH

Why are We Here? (2)

The Parrot asked, "Why Did Allah Create Mankind on Earth? Why Did Allah Create the World?" The Shama said, "The answer to this question can easily be found in the final revelation, in Surah al-Mulk[67]:2, "[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving."
And in Surah al-Kahf[18]:7,"Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in deed."
Thus, the purpose for the creation of human beings in this world is to test their conduct. This world of life and death, wealth and poverty, sickness and health, was created to sift out the righteous souls from the evil souls. Human conduct in this world is the measure of faith. However, the tests of conduct are not to inform Allah about humankind, for He knew everything there was to know about them before He created them. The tests serve to confirm on the Day of Judgment that those going to hell deserve it and those going to paradise only got there by Allah's grace. With regard to human beings in this life, the test of conduct serves two basic purposes: one, human spiritual growth, and the other, punishment or reward.

The tests of this world are primarily for the spiritual growth of human beings. Just as an intense fire separates pure gold from the rough ore to which it is bound in nature, tests purify the moral character of the believers. They force the believers to choose their higher spiritual qualities over their lower desires. Although not every test is passed, even in failure the believer grows by learning spiritual lessons to help him or her in future tests.
Tests of this life can be in the form of 'misfortune' and calamities which contribute to the spiritual growth of the true believers and purify them of sin. Conversely, life's tests of misfortune remind errant believers to return to the correct path, and they punish disbelievers in this life before the next.
Calamities are the foundation on which the higher spiritual quality of patience is developed. Consequently, it is not surprising to find that the righteous are subject to many tragedies and difficulties in their lives. Man is tested according to the level of his faith. If his faith is firm, his trials increase in severity, and if there is weakness in his faith, he will be tried accordingly.
True patience is the product of complete trust in Allah at the time of calamity. Trust in one's Lord is an important aspect of worship and the natural consequence of real faith. Since belief in Allah means accepting that nothing takes place in the universe without His permission, then only Allah deserves humankind's complete trust. For, it is only Allah's promise that is never broken. No matter how righteous a human being may be, he or she is capable of error. Humans will always let each other down due to their erring nature.

The trials by which Allah tests human beings are specifically tailored to their own individual needs and circumstances. Allah creates trials for each person according to their abilities in order to bring out the best in them. It would be unfair and unjust for human beings to be tried beyond their capacities and then be punished for their failures. If Allah is truly just, it means that the trials human beings face in this life are not beyond their ability to handle: In order to reassure humankind.
Furthermore, Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala promises that the difficult situations which humans face in life will not be without intervals of rest. If trials were continuous they would certainly become unbearable. Consequently, every test is followed by a period of relief.
The divine promises of justice and mercy fill the believers with the confidence necessary to patiently face the difficulties of this life. Consequently, hope in the mercy of Allah is an essential part of faith. Those who believe in Allah and patiently strive to do what is right have the right to hope for His mercy, for He has promised to help and support those who are patient. Of course, paradise is the reward for patience based on sincere belief in Allah. Patience is also based on the belief that whatever befalls mankind is fundamentally a consequence of their own evil deeds.

The fact is, Allah has excused humans for much of their evil. Were He to punish them strictly according to their deeds, they and all on earth would be destroyed. Consequently, both the trials of good and the tests of evil benefit the believer. The lives of the true believers are balanced between the extremes of human behavior. They neither become so happy with life's successes that they forget Allah, nor do they become so depressed with life's difficulties and failures that they lose hope in Allah. Instead, they remember their Lord and Benefactor, and trust in His decisions.
On the other hand, if the believers experience a life devoid of any problems, it should be taken as a sign that something is wrong. Under such circumstances, the true believer must take time out and reflect on the realities of his or her life. Either the tests are not obvious and they are unaware of them or they have deviated from the right path. Allah informs the believers that the apparent enjoyment which the disbelievers take from their great wealth and children is only a prelude to their punishment.
This is not to say that the believers should yearn for problems and calamities in their lives, for Allah has taught them to pray, in Surah al-Baqarah[2]:286, "Our Lord, do not put on us a burden like what you placed on those before us." Instead, they should thank Allah for whatever trials He has spared them. However, in times of ease they must remain vigilant and not become oblivious to tests, for success and happiness often blind people to the trials of life.

Tests sometimes serve as a punishing reminder to those who have gone astray and an encouragement for them to return to the correct path. When people deviate, they seldom listen to the advice of those around them. However, when a calamity strikes them or those near and dear to them, it jolts those who still have some faith into recognizing their error.
Those who transgress the limits set by Allah expose themselves to punishment in this life and the next. The punishment may come in a variety of different ways. Throughout the Qur'an, Allah describes numerous past nations who rejected divine guidance and were subsequently destroyed. These stories serve as warnings to humanity of the consequences of rebellion against the commandments of Allah. 

Finally, the purpose for which the world and its contents were created, relative to humankind, is specifically defined in the Quran. In Surah Ibrahim[14]:32-33, "It is Allah who created the heavens and the earth and sent down rain from the sky and produced thereby some fruits as provision for you and subjected for you the ships to sail through the sea by His command and subjected for you the rivers. And He subjected for you the sun and the moon, continuous [in orbit], and subjected for you the night and the day." In also in Surah Al-An'am[6]:96-97, "[He is] the cleaver of daybreak and has made the night for rest and the sun and moon for calculation. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing. And it is He who placed for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darknesses of the land and sea. We have detailed the signs for a people who know."
The contents of this world were created for the service of humankind. Whether they are products of man's invention, like ships, or they are nature itself, all have been granted by Allah for the benefit of human beings. However, such gifts are not without responsibility. Humans are required to recognize Allah's bounties and mercies and give thanks to Him and glorify him.
Human beings also carry the responsibility to govern the creation according to the laws of Allah. This is man's purpose relative to the rest of creation. They are commanded to utilize the contents of this world according to the laws of Allah. In Sahih Muslim, Aboo Sa'eed al-Khudree quoted Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying, " The world is beautiful and green, and Allah has made you governors over it to see how you will act." Human beings are not free to do with the world as they please.

According to the final revelation, killing animals for sport is forbidden and sinful in the sight of Allah. Taking the life of any living animal is prohibited unless it is for food, for protection of human life, or for clothing. Killing for fun and enjoyment is fundamentally evil. And, even when the life of a human is taken for crimes against society, or the life of an animal is taken for food, it must be done as painlessly as possible. Caring for animals is enshrined in the divine law, even in the case of dogs, which are generally barred from Muslim homes. Harming animals is a major sin according to Islamic law.
There are circumstances where it is necessary to inflict pain on animals, such as hitting animals to get them to move and branding them for identification. However, even in these situations, Allah gave instructions to protect them. Jaabir reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited striking animals in their faces or branding them on their faces.
Humankind's responsibility of looking after this world does not stop at serving animals. The vegetable kingdom is also highly regarded in divine law. So much so, that Muslims engaged in war are forbidden to destroy fruit trees, and even
the planting of trees is considered an act of charity. Human beings have a responsibility to look after all aspects of the environment in which they were created as a sacred duty to Allah. This requires an active opposition to the massive pollution and destruction of natural habitats."

Then the Shama said, "O my brothers and sisters, without knowledge of the purpose of the creation, human beings wander aimlessly through life, like ships at sea without rudders. Therefore, essential for their own well-being that they know why Allah created them. Fundamentally; Allah created in order to manifest His attributes. Consequently, creation is the consequence of His being the Creator, paradise manifests His Mercy and Grace, hell His Justice, humankind's errors His Forgiveness, living
and non-living beings His Generosity, etc. The significance of knowing that creation is a means by which Allah manifests His attributes is that human beings can then correctly recognize Allah and accept His decree and their destiny. However, it is of even greater importance that human beings know the purpose for which they were created. The final Revelation, the Quran, teaches that it is to worship Allah because humankind must worship Him in order to attain righteousness and the spiritual status necessary to enter paradise. The significance of this knowledge is that human beings understand that worship is as much a necessity as eating and breathing and that it is not a favor they are doing for Allah.
It is also essential that human beings grasp the importance of this world's bounties and trials. Without knowledge of the purpose behind their creation, humans tend to look at this world as being hostile to them. However, Allah created it primarily for their benefit. The tests of good and evil are designed to bring out the higher spiritual qualities of the human being. However, humans are not able to benefit from the tests unless they put complete trust in Allah and have patience in what He has destined for them. For those who reject Allah, the trials of this world become a punishment for them in this life prior to the eternal punishment in the next world.
Knowledge of the purpose of the world also makes the believer environmentally conscious. Humankind is responsible to utilize the bounties of this life justly. The creatures of the earth and seas, the vegetation and the atmosphere have been put in his care. Consequently, humans should take great care to preserve the environment and the living creatures within it as a means of giving thanks to Allah. With such a comprehensive consciousness of purpose, human beings become whole. They are transformed into guides for humankind, showing the way to righteousness. And Allah knows best."

"I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength." - [QS.51:57-58]"

(Part 1)

Bahasa

Reference :
- Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, The Purpose of Creation, IIPH

Why are We Here? (1)

The Parrot then said, "After all of this our discussions, there is something I want to ask you about." The birds said, "Try us!" The Parrot said, "I wonder you can anwer some questions that are always in my mind. Why are we here? What are we doing in this world? Why did Allah create us?" The Shama said, "These questions, are questions which each and everyone of us reflects on at some point during their life. We have some answers, which are given generally, but usually these answers don’t satisfy us, they seem somewhat simplistic. We still wonder. "Why me? Why here?"

For human beings, it is extremely critical to know the answer. Without knowledge of the correct answer, human beings become indistinguishable from the other animals around them. For a Muslim, when we go in to this topic, we have to find our understanding in divine revelation and not human speculation. Because human speculation has no bounds, we can imagine all kinds of things, and is any of you have studied philosophy of religion, you can see how many opinions exist about the creation of man and existence. Because of the variety of philosophies, which are out there, no one can say this one is correct or that one is incorrect, because there is no guidance behind it. No divine revelation. It is only from divine revelation that we can determine the reality of our creation, because it is Allâh who has created us and he knows the purpose of our creation. We can hardly understand ourselves, much less try to understand the essence of things.

So it is for Allâh to inform us through the revelation in the Qur'ân and the Sunnah which was brought by his last Messenger (ﷺ) and the Messengers before. Now if we are to look, initially into revelation, to determine why was man created, there is a deeper question that we should be asking before that. "Why did Allah create?" Before we even get to man, why did Allah create, because man is not the greatest act of creation that we should be so focused on why man. No, because Allâh says in Sûrah Ghâfir, verse 57, ""The creation of the Heavens and the Earth is indeed greater then the creation of mankind; yet, most of mankind know not."

Man is not the greatest act of creation, this universe is far more complex and far more magnificent then man. So the issue of creation should then go to why create? As opposed to simply why create man? Fundamentally, we can say that the creation is the natural consequence of the attribute of creator. Allâh is the creator. That is one of His attributes. That is what He has informed us. That being His attribute, the Creator, the natural consequence or the product of this attribute is His creation.

A painter, if we are to draw a similitude on a lower level, who tells you that he is a painter, if you ask him where are his paintings and he replies I don’t have any. What kind of painter is this? The concept of a painter who doesn’t paint, there is some thing not quite gelling together here, of course Allâh is beyond this. But if we are to understand on the simplest level, the two go together. The perfection of a painter lies in his paintings. His quality and his ability to paint, is manifest in his paintings. And Allâh, beyond all that, as creator, this quality of creation is manifest in the creation itself. Allâh didn’t create out of a need. No, the fact that he is the creator, is manifest in the creation.

Furthermore, consider the act of creation, this act, with regards to Allâh is unique. Though we use the term i.e. So and so created a table etc, actually it is in a limited sense. Human beings don’t really create, they manipulate, because they can only "create" what already exists. When we make a chair or a table, we didn’t create the wood, we had to take it from a tree, we didn’t create the metal, which makes the screws etc, we had to melt down rocks and take the metal out. So we are not creating from nothing. We are manipulating things which Allâh has already created in to different shapes and forms which are useful to us. We call it "creation" but the real act of creation, is creation from nothing, and this is unique to Allâh alone.

The problem is, we always try to interpret Allâh’s creation like the way we create, then we have made Him like His creation and it leads us ultimately to shirk. This is a product of the inability to understand the concept of creation from nothingness, which is unique to Allâh. Allâh says in Surah ash-Shuraa[42]:11, "There is nothing like Him, and He is the Hearer and Seer of all."
Allâh is the creator and everything besides Him is His creation, which He created from nothing. It is not Him, nor is He it. This is the pure concept as taught by the Prophet (ﷺ), his companions, and the early generations of righteous scholars, the students of the companions and those who came after them. The best of generations. That is how they understood this matter. There was no confusion in their minds.

What we have in front of us, is that Allâh created this universe out of nothing, and everything that is in it was created. This is the reality. This is stressed for us, in order for us to realize that ultimately, all good, all evil, that takes place in the world, only takes place by the permission of Allâh. Therefore we should not seek any other channels to protect ourselves from evil, or to gather for ourselves good, as people commonly do today. They will go to fortunetellers, this is big business today, all the magazines have various forms of fortunetellers like dial a horoscope etc. in a society that has lost touch with Allâh, this is what is open to them. Allâh has stressed for us that no calamity will befall us except by Allâh’s permission. What is required of us is to depend on Allâh, put our trust in Allâh. This is what we have to draw out of this attribute of Allâh being the creator. This creation exists because of that attribute. Its practical significance to us lies in putting our trust in Allâh.

From the perspective of humankind, the question "Why did Allâh create man?" implies "For what purpose was man created?" In the final revelation, this question is answered without any ambiguity. Humans are first informed by Allâh that every human being is born with an innate consciousness of Allah. In Surah AlA'raf[7]:172-173, Allah says, "And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware. Or [lest] you say, "It was only that our fathers associated [others in worship] with Allah before, and we were but descendants after them. Then would You destroy us for what the falsifiers have done?"

The Prophet (ﷺ) explained that when Allah created Adam, He took from him a covenant at a place called Na'maan on the 9th day 27 of the 12th month. He then extracted from Adam all of his descendants who would be born until the end of the world, generation after generation, and spread them out before Him to take a covenant from them also. He spoke to them, face to face, making them bear witness that He was their Lord. Consequently, every human being is responsible for belief in Allah, which is imprinted on each and every soul. It is based on this inborn belief that Allah defined the purpose of humankind's creation in Surah ath-Thaariyaat[51]:56: "I did not create the jinn and the humankind except that they should worship Me."
Thus, the essential purpose for which humankind was created is the worship of Allah. However, the Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala is not in need of human worship. He did not create human beings out of a need on His part. If not a single human worshipped Allah, it would not diminish His glory in any way, and if all of mankind worshipped Him, it would not increase His glory in any way. Allah is perfect. He alone exists without any needs. All created beings have needs. Consequently, it is humankind that needs to worship Him."

The Parrot asked, "What is meant by the term 'worship'?" The Shama said, "The English term 'worship' comes from the Old English weorthscipe meaning 'honor.' Consequently, worship in the English language is defined as 'the performance of devotional acts in honor of a deity.' According to this meaning, man is instructed to show gratitude to Allah by glorifying Him. In Surah an-Nasr[110]:3, Allah says, "Glorify the praises of your Lord." In glorifying Allah, man chooses to be in harmony with the rest of creation which naturally glorifies its Creator.
In Arabic, the language of the final revelation, worship is called 'ibaadah, which is closely related to the noun 'abd, meaning 'a slave.' A slave is one who is expected to do whatever his master wills. Consequently, worship, according to the final revelation, means 'obedient submission to the will of Allah.' This was the essence of the message of all the prophets sent by Allah to humankind. Consequently, obedience to divine law is the foundation of worship. In this sense, glorification also becomes worship when humans choose to obey Allah's instructions regarding His glorification."

The Parrot asked, "Why do human beings need to worship and glorify Allah by obeying the divinely revealed laws?" The Shama said, "Because obedience to divine law is the key to success in this life and the next. The first human beings, Adam and Eve, were created in paradise and later expelled from paradise for disobeying the divine law. The only way for human beings to return to paradise is by obedience, to the law. Divine laws represent guidance for humankind in all walks of life. They define right and wrong for them and offer human beings a complete system governing all of their affairs. The Creator alone knows best what is beneficial for His creation and what is not. The divine laws command and prohibit various acts and substances to protect the human spirit, the human body and human society from harm. In order for human beings to fulfill their potential by living righteous lives, they need to worship Allah through obedience to His commandments.
All of the various acts of worship contained in the divine laws are designed to help humans remember Allah. It is natural for human beings to sometimes forget even the most important things. Humans often become so engrossed in fulfilling their material needs that they totally forget their spiritual needs. Regular prayer is ordained to organize the day of the true believer around the remembrance of Allah. It interweaves spiritual needs with material needs on a daily basis. The regular daily need to eat, work and sleep is linked to the daily need to renew man's connection with Allah. With regard to regular prayer.

The believers are encouraged to remember Allah as much as possible. Although, moderation in all spheres of life, whether material or spiritual, is generally encouraged in divine law, an exception is made regarding the remembrance of Allah. It is virtually impossible to remember Allah too much. Consequently, in Surah al-Ahzaab[33]:41, Allah encourages the believers to remember Allah as often as possible, "O believers! Remember Allah often."
Remembrance of Allah is stressed because sin is generally committed when Allah is forgotten. The forces of evil operate most freely when consciousness of Allah is lost. Consequently, the satanic forces seek to occupy people's minds with irrelevant thoughts and desires to make them forget Allah. Once Allah is forgotten, people willingly join the corrupt elements. Allah, through Divine law, has prohibited intoxicants and gambling primarily because they cause human beings to forget Allah. The human mind and body easily become addicted to drugs and games of chance. Once addicted, humankind's desire to continually be stimulated by them leads them into all forms of corruption, and violence among themselves.
Consequently, humankind need to remember Allah for their own salvation and growth. All humans have times of weakness in which they commit sins. If they have no means of remembering Allah, they sink deeper and deeper into corruption with every sin. However, those who follow the divine laws will be constantly reminded of Allah, which will give them a chance to repent and correct themselves.

In the Islamic system, each and every human act can be transformed into an act of worship. In fact, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala commands the believers to dedicate their whole lives to Him. However, for that dedication to be acceptable to Allah, each act must fulfill two basic conditions: first, the act must be done sincerely for the pleasure of Allah and not for the recognition and praise of human beings. The believer also has to be conscious of Allah while doing the deed to insure that it is not something forbidden by Allah or the last Messenger (ﷺ). In order to facilitate this transformation of mundane deeds into worship, Allah instructed the last Prophet (ﷺ) to prescribe short prayers to be said before even the simplest of acts. The shortest prayer which may be used for any circumstance is, 'Bismillaah (In the name of Allah).' There are, however, many other prayers prescribed for specific occasions.
The second condition is that the act be done in accordance with the prophetic way, called in Arabic the Sunnah. All of the prophets instructed their followers to follow their way because they were guided by Allah. What they taught were divinely revealed truths, and only those who followed their way and accepted the truths would inherit eternal life in paradise. The only acceptable way to worship God is according to the way of the prophets. That being the case, innovation in religious affairs would be considered by God among the worst of all evils. Innovation in the religion is forbidden and unacceptable to God. The Prophet (ﷺ) was reported to have said, "The worst of all affairs is innovation in religion, for every religious innovation is a cursed, misleading innovation leading to the hellfire."

(Part 2)

Bahasa

Hayaa'

"Anybody else?" asked the Parrot. All birds werre silent, untill the Dove stepped forward, and said, "I'm glad that we are not waste our time talking about some useless things, but sharing our religious knowledge, I wanted to share something." The birds said, "Please, tell us!" The dove said, "On the authority of Abu Masood Uqbah ibn Aamr al-Ansaari, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "From the words of the previous prophets that the people still find are: If you feel no shame, then do as you wish."
This is an authentic hadith. It was recorded by al-Bukhari, Abu Dawood, ibn Maajah, Ahmad, al-Baihaqi, ibn Abu Shaiba, ibn Hibbaan, al-Tabaraani and numerous others from the chain of Mansoor ibn Mutamir from Rabi ibn Hiraash from Abu Masood.
If this hadith and another hadith that states, "Leave that act which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt," applied together, one can understand that if a Muslim has no doubt about an act, then he is free to perform it. Similarly, if an act has no shame connected to it, then, again, the person is allowed to perform it. Hence, a Muslim's actions should be free of doubtful matters as well as shameful matters.

Shama asked, "What is the meaning of this hadith?" Dove said, "In order for this hadith to be understood in a complete sense, the concept of hayaa must be understood well. The word hayaa can be understood as shame, modesty, shyness and moral conscience. The word hayaa' is derived from the word al-hayaah, which means life. Rain, for example, is called hayaa' because it brings life to the earth and vegetation. It is said that the one who has no hayaa' is like a dead person in this life. In fact, his heart can be considered dead. If he possesses modesty and shame, his heart will be sound and healthy. The more modesty he possesses, the healthier his heart is. The less modesty a person has, then the less life and health his heart possesses.
In essence, it is the feeling in the heart that keeps the person away from performing evil deeds. It is directly related to what is commonly called "one's moral conscience". If a person has no moral conscience, he will do whatever he pleases. He does not care what anyone might think or say about him. Indeed, he does not even care about what he thinks about himself. This is because his heart is truly dead and he has no feeling of shame whatsoever. On the other hand, a person's conscience may bother him even if nobody witnessed the act that he is ashamed of. His heart is uneasy and unhappy because he is ashamed of what he did.

Hayaa' (modesty and shame) is something that every human being naturally possesses. One of the aspects of hayaa" that is naturally found in mankind is the feeling to cover one's private parts. Like all natural characteristics, this quality may be nurtured and allowed to grow or it may be stunted to the point that the person completely loses this quality. Al-Muqaddam points out that hayaa" is the attribute that truly distinguishes a human from an animal. In general, animals follow their desires or instincts without any feeling of whether what they did is right or wrong. They do not feel any shame in their actions. Hence, the less hayaa' a person possesses, the closer he comes to the level of the animals rather than being a moral human being.
Beyond the natural feeling of hayaa', there can be an acquired aspect that is directly related to the strength of one's faith. This is the hayaa" that comes about by realizing that Allah is always present and He sees everything that one does. There is no escape from Allah. When a person realizes this, he will be ashamed to perform any act that is displeasing to Allah. This remembrance of Allah is one of the most important means by which one increases his hayaa'. If a person thinks about all of the blessings that he has received from Allah, he becomes very shy to use the blessings that Allah has given him in ways that are displeasing to Allah. For example, if he really thinks about how great a blessing his eyesight is, he will be ashamed to use this blessing from Allah in ways that are displeasing to Him.
Another way by which one may increase his hayaa is to associate with the people of hayaa'. One can learn from their example and behavior. More importantly, in their presence, one will be too embarrassed or shy to do anything shameful. This feeling of shame and modesty, Allah willing, will develop and grow in the person to the extent that even in the presence of others, he will continue to have that characteristic.

There are several interpretation about this hadith. First, some scholars say that although this phrase is in the form of an imperative, it is actually not meant to be an order. Instead, it is a form of threat or warning. Its meaning is, in other words, "If you have no shame or modesty, then do whatever you wish and Allah willrecompense you—punish you—for what you do."
The second interpretation for this hadith also states that the imperative or command is not what is meant by this statement. Instead, it is a case of an order being used as a statement of fact. In other words, the meaning is, "If a person does not have any shame, then he does whatever he wishes." Hayaa (shame or modesty) is one of the most important factors that keeps a person away from committing a lewd or sinful act. If a person has no feeling of shame or modesty, then there is nothing to prevent him from doing most anything. He would do almost anything because he has nothing inside of him telling him that such is not good behavior and that he should be ashamed to act in that fashion.

The third interpretation is that the command here is in the form of displaying permission. 4 In other words, "If you are contemplating an act and it is an act such that there is no reason to be ashamed of it in front of Allah or the people, then you may do that act." Hence, according to this interpretation, modesty or shame becomes the standard over whether or not one should do the act. If there is nothing to be ashamed of concerning the act, then there is no harm in doing the act. However, if there is reason to be ashamed from that act, either with respect to Allah or others, then the person should not perform that act.
The fourth Interpretation for this hadith is a form of encouragement to have the characteristic of modesty and indirectly points to the virtues of modesty. In this way, the hadith is understood to say, "Since it is not allowed to do any act you wish, it is not allowed to leave having modesty and shame."
All of the four interpretations stated above have meanings that are excellent and acceptable. It is difficult to determine which is the strongest of the above interpretations. Each interpretation, with the possible exception of the last one, has evidence to support it. Since all four are viable, perhaps each of them should be kept in mind and applied in one's life. 

There are many different ways in which hayaa should show itself. Most importantly, however, one should have hayaa" with respect to Allah. A person should be ashamed to have Allah see him doing something that is displeasing to Allah. He should be ashamed in front of Allah, for example, when he does not perform his prayer in the proper time and in the proper manner. If a person has a complete hayaa of Allah, he would not perform any act that is displeasing to Allah. He would be too ashamed of ever doing something of that nature. In fact, he should have more hayaa' toward Allah than toward any of the creation. This is because everything he possesses has come to him as a blessing from Allah and He knows that Allah is aware of everything that he does.
Besides having hayaa with respect to Allah, one should display hayaa toward the angels and other humans. Indeed, one should even have hayaa toward oneself. Humans having hayaa toward one another is an essential characteristic that keeps people from harming each other and from performing indecent acts that others may become aware of.
The angels are noble and dignified creatures. They witness the acts that humans perform. Every human has angels with him that witness everything he does. The angels are harmed by the same things that humans are harmed by. Therefore, Muslims should be aware of their presence and be shy to perform shameful deeds in front of them in the same way that they are shy to perform shameful deeds in front of other humans.
A person must also have hayaa' toward himself. This is akin to having self-respect. A person should be ashamed of himself when he performs acts that are shameful. He should not even like to live with himself. It is almost as if he is two people and the one is ashamed of the other and does not wish to be associated with him. This would not occur if the person has no feeling or understanding of hayaa'. In general, the more respected or dignified a person is, the more others will be shy to behave improperly in front of him.

There are many acts that people perform in the name of shyness and bashfulness that do not fall under the Islamic definition of hayaa'. The Islamic definition of hayaa' differs slightly than the natural concept of hayaa'. Islamic hayaa' leads one to avoid evil deeds and to fulfill others' rights. A basic difference between the two types of hayaa" is that being silent or afraid to speak in the presence of falsehood or oppression does not form part of Islamic hayaa'.
If a person goes to an extreme concerning hayaa', such that it keeps him from speaking the truth, then he no longer has hayaa" toward the Creator. He only has hayaa' toward the creation. Such a person has been prevented from attaining the benefits of hayaa'. He is characterized by hypocrisy and acting for show. Having hayaa' with respect to Allah is the foundation and basis. Allah has the most right that one be shy toward Him. One must protect and guard this foundation, since it is beneficial.
Therefore, hayaa' cannot be used as an excuse for not ordering what is good or preventing what is evil. If a person does not do these acts on the basis of hayaa', then, he has the wrong form of hayaa'. He does not have the proper hayaa' toward Allah although he may have some form of hayaa toward mankind. If a person notices that he does not naturally have hayaa' he must work on himself to develop this characteristic as it is one of the most important characteristics of a believer.

Hayaa' is a sense of shame in reverence of Allah or of men which is uniquely human in contrast with all sub-species. Haya' is one of the best, most remarkable and fruitful moral qualities; it is, in fact, the cardinal human trait - any human devoid of this moral quality has no more of the human being than the outer appearance and physique; he has no trace of goodness about him. Without this trait, no hospitality would be shown to a guest, no promise would be honoured, no pledge would be fulfilled, no helpless person would be helped; one would not distinguish goodness from evil, holding the former in high esteem and avoiding the latter; a human would not hide his misdeeds or hold back from a sin. It is true of many people that it is only al-haya' that stimulates them to undertake what they are supposed to do; without it, they would not honour anybody's right, would not observe the rights of kinship and would not respect a parent. The stimulus for all these deeds is either religious, expecting a favourable recompense; or worldly, the doer's fear of what other people will say. It can be said that without al-haya' (fear of the Creator, or of His creatures) man would cease to do any good.

Then the Dove said, "O my brothers and sisters, hayaa' is a sign that a person's soul is healthy. His soul cares about what he is doing and is distressed when he is doing something harmful or sinful. This is the person who has a real conscience, who does not accept from himself the doing of wrong or evil. And Allah knows best."

"Indeed, those who inject deviation into Our verses are not concealed from Us. So, is he who is cast into the Fire better or he who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection? Do whatever you will; indeed, He is Seeing of what you do." - [QS.41:40]

Bahasa

Reference :
- Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Commentary On The Forty Hadith Of Al Nawawi Volume 1, Al-Basheer Publications

Qalb

Falcon continued, "O my brothers and sisters, know that this hadith also demonstrates the importance of the heart, as the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "In the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be sound, all the body is sound and which, if it be diseased, all of the body is diseased. This part of the body is the heart." One must strive to purify his heart as it is the true key to behaving properly in this life and gaining Allah's pleasure and Paradise in the next life.
In the Quran, Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'Ala uses three words to describe our hearts: qalb, fu’aad and sadr. We know that every Arabic word is chosen for a reason, yet all three of these words for the most part are translated as “heart.” Shama asked, "So, what is the difference?" The Falcon said, "Qalb is the general word for heart. It comes from the root which means something that turns around and about and upside down. It is the nature of hearts that they are constantly changing, this is the normal state of our hearts. When Allah refers to emaan and diseases of the heart, qalb is used.
Fu’aad is from the verb fa’ada meaning burning or a flame and lahmun fa’eed means a roasted meat on a fire. Fu’aad is used when the heart is inflamed with emotion, as they say, “in the heat of the moment.” Fu’aad is used in the Qur’an to describe the heart when it is engrossed in emotion: happiness, sadness, lust, frustration, anger or regret. When Allah strengthened one's heart out of His Mercy, when he regained his emaan, patience and trust in Him, his fu’aad became qalb.
Sadr takes the meaning of chest, and when Allah eludes to motives or secrets, He uses sadr because it gives the illusion literally of a treasure chest: something hidden and boxed up. Shaytan does not make waswas (whispers) into our quloob, but rather he whispers in the chests of the people. There is a distinction because Allah ta’ala created the qalb as pure. The example of the heart is like a fort and the eyes,tongues,ears,hands are gates to the opening. Shaytan waits outside of this fort, attacking the openings trying to get in. Out of Allah’s mercy, He did not give Shaytan access to our quloob, but rather to our sudoor. It is us who let the gates open.

Just as the heart may be described in terms of being alive or dead, it may also be regarded as belonging to one of three types; these are the healthy heart, the dead heart, and the sick heart. The first heart is alive, submitted to Allah, humble, sensitive and aware; the second is brittle and dead; the third wavers between either its safety or its ruin. On the Day of Resurrection, only those who come to Allah with a healthy heart will be saved."
Parrot asked, "What is the healthy heart?" Falcon said, "In defining the healthy heart, the following has been said, " It is a heart cleansed from any passion that challenges what Allah commands, or disputes what He forbids. It is free from any impulses which contradict His good. As a result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His Messenger Its services are exclusively reserved for Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it loves, its love is in the way of Allah, if it detests, it detests in the light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah. If it withholds, it withholds for Allah. Nevertheless, all this will not suffice for its salvation until it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other than His Messenger (ﷺ).
A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its journey's end and not base his actions and speech on those of any other person except Allah's Messenger He must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds over those of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace."

Shama asked, "What is the dead heart?" Falcon said, "This is the opposite of the healthy heart. It does not know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands, in the way which He likes, and with which He is pleased. It clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are likely to incur Allah's displeasure and wrath. It worships things other than Allah, and its loves and its hatreds, and its giving and its withholding, arise from its whims, which are of paramount importance to it and preferred above the pleasure of Allah. Its whims are its imam. Its lust is its guide. Its ignorance is its leader. Its crude impulses are its impetus. It is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. It is drunk with its own fancies and its love for hasty, fleeting pleasures. It is called to Allah and the akhira from a distance but it does not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming, cunning shay tan. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes it deaf and blind to anything except what is evil.
To associate and keep company with the owner of such a heart is to tempt illness: living with him is like taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction.

Parrot asked, "And, what is the sick heart?" Falcon said, "This is a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them, and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling it to Allah and His Prophet (ﷺ) and the akhirah; and the other calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over it at the time. 

There are signs that one can notice within himself to be able to determine whether or not his heart is pure and wholesome. Many of these signs demonstrate that the pure and healthy heart is not inclined to this world but, instead, it is attached to Allah and the Hereafter.
These signs have been discussed by ibn al-Qayyim and they include the following: firstly, the person considers himself to be belonging to the next world and not this world. He is a stranger in this world and cannot wait to reach his abode in the Hereafter; secondly, the person continues to be upset with himself any time he commits a sin until he finally and completely repents to Allah; thirdly, If the person misses his daily recitation of the Quran and dhikr, he is more upset and unhappy than if he had lost his wealth; fourth, the individual finds a pleasure in worshipping Allah that is much greater than any pleasure he finds in eating or drinking; fitth, when the person begins his prayer, his worries and concerns about this world leave him; sixth, his only concern and worries are concerning Allah and acting for the sake of Allah; seventh, e is more concerned with wasting time and more stingy about wasting his time than a greedy person is with respect to his wealth. Time is one key element that everyone must use for the worship of Allah. Unfortunately, often Allah blesses people with free time and yet they have no idea how to use it, so they simply waste it; finally, the person is more concerned with the correctness of his deed than he is with the performance of the deed itself.

At the same time, there are many signs that a person's heart is impure or diseased. It is important to take note of these signs and cure the heart. Many people are concerned with the physical health of their hearts. If their blood pressure rises, they immediately seek help. However, the more important aspect is not the physical health of the heart but the spiritual health of the heart. This does not mean that one neglects the physical health of his heart. It does, though, mean that if one is only taking care of his heart's physical health, he is neglecting the more important factor, the factor that is more important for his health in this life and the Hereafter.
Ibn al-Qayyim also discussed the signs that indicate that there is an illness in the heart. These signs include the following: first, the person does not feel any hurt or pain when he commits evil deeds and sins; second, the individual finds both pleasure in committing acts of disobedience to Allah and rest after performing them; third, the person looks after the less important matters and does not care about the more important ones. Obviously, if a heart is sound, it will look after the person's best interest. When the heart does not care about essential matters, it is clearly a sign that it is not only sick but perhaps dead; fourth, the person dislikes the truth and has difficulty accepting or submitting to it; fifth, the person does not find comfort in being among the righteous people but finds a great deal of solace and peace while among the evildoers and sinful people; sixth, the person is susceptible to be affected by misconceptions and doubts. He is attracted to discussions, debates and arguments that surround such misconceptions rather than to reading the Quran and other such beneficial acts. This aspect can truly be seen nowadays among Muslims. Today, a Muslim may spend hours discussing, for example, whether or not hijaab is part of Islam or if riba (interest) is forbidden and so forth. Those who love this type of discussion and who get affected by it must be aware that this could be a sign of a sickness in their heart; seventh, the person may not be affected by any kind of admonition whatsoever. Some people, for example, can listen to Friday khutbah after Friday khutbah — even excellent khutbahs — and there is never any affect on them. This is another sign that the heart is diseased or truly dead."

Falcon then said, "O my brothers and sisters, each Muslim must make sure that his heart is pure and wholesome. The heart is the key to all of one's actions and behavior. If the heart is pure and wholesome, the person's deeds will be pure and wholesome. If the heart is ill, then that will be reflected in the deeds. Excessive heartiness, such as lazy and weak, sadness, selfish and stubborn, negative thinking, anxious, and the like, comes from the sickness of heart, which causes the body to feel the pain. Staying away from the forbidden and doubtful matters is one of the best ways to protect the heart from becoming diseased or ill. And Allah knows best. And Allah knows best."

"And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." - [QS.20:124]

Bahasa

References :
- Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Commentary On The Forty Hadith Of Al Nawawi Volume 1, Al-Basheer Publications
- Ahmad Farid, The Purification of the Soul, Compiled from the works of Ibn Rajab, al-Hanbali, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Al-Firdous Ltd, London

Clear

"Thank you sister!" said Parrot. "Onyone? Anybody to share knowledge?" said Parrot to the birds. The Falcon hesitated, but finally he stepped forward. He said, "I have nothing, but take something from what I have heard." The birds asked, "So, tell us!"
The Falcon said, "On the authority of Abu Abdullah al-Nu'maan ibn Basheer, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, "That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear and between the two of them are doubtful [or ambiguous] matters about which not many people are knowledgeable. Thus, he who avoids these doubtful matters certainly clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor. But he who falls into the doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Verily every king has a sanctuary and Allah's sanctuary is His prohibitions. In the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be sound, all the body is sound and which, if it be diseased, all of the body is diseased. This part of the body is the heart."

This hadith is sahih. It was recorded by al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, ibn Maajah, al-Nasaai and numerous others. This hadith lays down some of the most important principles of Islam. Abu Dawood, the scholar of hadith, once stated that Islam is built upon four hadith, this being one of them. Indeed, this hadith covers all of the possible acts: the permissible, forbidden and doubtful. It also shows how to protect one's religion and honor. Finally, at the end, it points out the key to following the permissible and remaining away from what will harm a person.
There are innumerable acts that are clearly permissible and sanctioned by the Islamic Law. In some cases, they are explicitly mentioned as being permissible while in other cases it is clear that they fall under the general guidelines of the Quran and sunnah. In the same way that some acts are very clearly stated to be permissible, other acts are very clearly stated to be forbidden. The clarity of the proofs concerning such acts is very clear.

The Parrot asked, "What exactly are the doubtful matters?" The Falcon said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) set the sample for all Muslims when it comes to avoiding doubtful matters. For example, Adi ibn Thaabit asked about when he is hunting and sends his dog after the prey. Upon finding the prey, he finds another dog there and he does not know which dog actually killed the prey. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him, "Do not eat [that prey], for you have mentioned the name of Allah over your dog but you did not mention it in the case of the other dog." (Recorded by al- Bukhari and Muslim.) Again, the Prophet (ﷺ) decided the matter due to the doubt that was present and told Adi not to eat the prey as he feared that the animal had been killed by the other dog and would have been a type of meat that is not permissible to eat. This example, and show that the Prophet (ﷺ) decided cases according to this principle of avoiding the doubtful matters. This, of course, is perfectly consistent with a statement of Abdullah ibn Masood that is recorded by al-Nasaai. In that statement, Abdullah said, "Verily, the permissible things are clear and the forbidden things are clear. And between them are some matters that are doubtful. Therefore, leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt."
There are many factors that may lead to people being uncertain about a certain act, whether it is permissible or not. One of those reasons is that the evidence related to a particular point may seem to be contradicting. One hadith, for example, may show an act to be permissible while another one shows the same act to be forbidden. The possible causes for confusion and difference of opinion are many. However, as this hadith demonstrates, the correct view on a particular question is one and not many. Unfortunately, though, many people may be unaware of the correct opinion.

In general, confusing cases may be divided into three types. The first type is where there is something that the person knows is forbidden but then he has some doubt about whether the forbidden aspect has been removed. An example is the meat of animals. It is forbidden for the Muslim to eat meat unless it has been slaughtered in the proper manner. If he does not know or has no reason to believe that it has been slaughtered properly and by acceptable people, then he should not eat it as it then becomes like the doubtful matters that he should avoid. Actually, in this case one can say that it is forbidden to eat as the original ruling is such meat is forbidden unless one has reason to believe otherwise.
The second category is the opposite of the first: something is definitely permissible for someone and then he has some doubt about whether or not its permissible nature has been removed. In a case like this, the person should consider the matter permissible until he is certain that it has become forbidden.
The third category is where the person has some doubt about something and he has no idea if it is permissible or forbidden as both are possible and there is no overwhelming evidence for either conclusion. In this case it is better for the person to avoid the matter completely.

The Prophet (ﷺ) has stated a parable concerning the acts forbidden by Allah. It was the custom of the Arabs that the noble among them would have a specific land for only their animals to graze on, that is, a private grazing land. If another shepherd would bring his sheep too close to this private grazing land, it would be very easy for some of his sheep to cross over the boundary and to start to eat from the private grazing land. Therefore, the shepherd would always set some distance between his sheep and the private grazing land, in order to make sure that his animals did not unintentionally eat from the private grazing land. In this parable, the private grazing land of Allah refers to the acts that Allah has forbidden. The Muslim must be very careful not to tread close to these acts as he may accidentally take part in them. He must set some distance between him and these forbidden acts. In other words, the person must avoid everything that leads to these forbidden acts as, otherwise, he may be caught in a tide and swept into the forbidden acts.
Notice how beautifully the Prophet (ﷺ) described this situation. One can imagine having some animals and setting them out to graze. They are grazing in lands that are used by many other animals. The land may be trampled upon and the vegetation eaten up. Then the animal sees a portion of land close by that is very green because not many animals are allowed to feed there. How tempting this must be for those animals. How will the shepherd keep all of his animals from straying over to that land that looks so inviting. He has two choices. He can either avoid getting close to that private land in the first place. In that case, he does not have to fear that his animals may stray into that inviting land. Second, he can keep a constant watch on all of his animals to make sure that none of them stray. Which option is easier and more productive? Suppose he loses sight of just one of his animals. Suppose he needs to rest just for a little or break for food. Who will be watching the animals then? The Prophet (ﷺ), in a very beautiful and moving way, has shown that the wise person will not take such a risk. He will realize that his only sure way of success is to stay far away from that private pasture. When he does so, he will protect his religion and his honor."

The Falcon then said, "O my brothers and sisters, the Prophet (ﷺ) clarified all matters of the religion. However, some matters are much clearer than others or clearer to some than to others. Hence, with respect to any individual, all acts can be divided into three categories: things that are clearly permissible, things that are clearly forbidden and things that lie in between them concerning which a person cannot determine or know if they are permissible or forbidden.
This hadith demonstrates that there is only one correct opinion concerning the permissibility or non-permissibility of a specific act — an act cannot be both permissible and impermissible at the same time. The correct view is one and only one. The pious person will avoid doubtful matters. Hence, his religion or his honor stay above and beyond any kind of suspicion. Forbidden acts are Allah's private pasture. Everyone should do his best to make sure that his "flock" remains away from that private pasture. The only way to ensure that is to remain far away from the private pasture. And Allah know best."

"Say, [O Muhammad], "Shall we [believers] inform you of the greatest losers as to [their] deeds? [They are] those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing well in work." Those are the ones who disbelieve in the verses of their Lord and in [their] meeting Him, so their deeds have become worthless; and We will not assign to them on the Day of Resurrection any importance. - [QS.18-103-105]

Bahasa

Reference :
- Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, Commentary On The Forty Hadith Of Al Nawawi Volume 1, Al-Basheer Publications