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