Friday Nasiha

Al Muminun (The Believers)
Chapter 23: Verse 51

Messengers, Partake of the things that are clean, and act righteously.

Commentary:

Meaning of al-Tayyibat

The word al-tayyibat used in the Quran signifies things that are at once clean in themselves and which are obtained through clean and lawful means.

Balance between two extremes

The directive to partake of clean things strikes at the two extremes of monasticism (refraining from worldly pleasures) and epicureanism (devotion to a life of pleasure and luxury) and brings into relief the moderate and balanced approach which characterizes Islam. A Muslim should neither deny himself lawful things, nor should he hanker after everything of the world without distinguishing between that which is lawful and that which is not.

First condition of being righteous

The directive to partake of clean things precedes the directive to act righteously. This suggests that righteous behaviour becomes absolutely meaningless if it is not accompanied with the lawfulness of what one eats and the lawfulness of the earning that enables that eating. The very first condition of being righteous is that man should subsist on what is lawful.

Prophet Muhammad's Reminder

According to a Hadith, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that God is pure and likes pure things. He followed this statement by reciting the above verse, adding: ‘A person undertakes a long journey, his clothes are ridden with dirt and his hair is dishevelled, while the food that he eats is unlawful, the drink that he drinks is unlawful, the dress that he wears is unlawful, and his body has been nourished on what is unlawful, and then he raises his hands to the sky and prays: “O my Lord! O my Lord!” Whence can his prayer be answered?’ [Muslim]

[compiled from "Towards Understanding the Quran" by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, Vol 6. p. 103]

Bring Back Honesty

Narrated Hudhaifa radiallaahu 'anhu:

Allah's Apostle related to us, two prophetic narrations one of which I have seen fulfilled and I am waiting for the fulfillment of the other. The Prophet told us that the virtue of honesty descended in the roots of men's hearts (from Allah) and then they learned it from the Qur'an and then they learned it from the Sunna (the Prophet's traditions). The Prophet further told us how that honesty will be taken away: He said:

"Man will go to sleep during which honesty will be taken away from his heart and only its trace will remain in his heart like the trace of a dark spot; then man will go to sleep, during which honesty will decrease further still, so that its trace will resemble the trace of blister as when an ember is dropped on one's foot which would make it swell, and one would see it swollen but there would be nothing inside. People would be carrying out their trade but hardly will there be a trustworthy person. It will be said, 'in such-and-such tribe there is an honest man,' and later it will be said about some man, 'What a wise, polite and strong man he is!' Though he will not have faith equal even to a mustard seed in his heart."

No doubt, there came upon me a time when I did not mind dealing (bargaining) with anyone of you, for if he was a Muslim his Islam would compel him to pay me what is due to me, and if he was a Christian, the Muslim official would compel him to pay me what is due to me, but today I do not deal except with such-and-such person.

YMFN Editors note: Honesty is a gift from Allah that can be learnt from the life of the Prophet. We should always pray to Allah that we be among those very few who are blessed with honesty. Every night before going to bed We should pray for the increase of our honesty.

[Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9 - Book 88 - Number 208]

Barzakh

Literally means partition or barrier. In Islamic terminology it usually means the life in the grave, because the life in the grave is the interspace between the life on earth and the life in the Hereafter. Life in the Barzakh is real, but very different from life as we know it. Its exact nature is known only to Allah Ta'ala. It is during our life in the Barzakh that we will be asked about Allah, our faith and the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him. We will also be shown the Jannah (the Heavens) and the Nar (the Hell) and which of these two places we will occupy after we are judged.

Bid'a

Any innovated practice introduced in the religion of Allah. the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that every Bid'a is a deviation from the true path and every deviation leads to Hellfire.

[Taken from SoundVision.com's "Glossary of Islamic Terms"]