Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Chapter 10: On the Adab of the Lavatory

1. From Shahid al-Thani in Sharh al-Nafliyyah: Nobody ever saw the Holy Prophet (S) urinating or relieving himself.1

2. In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from his fathers from ‘Ali (as): Whenever the Holy Prophet (S) wanted to expectorate, he would first cover his head and then (after expectorating) bury it (the phlegm). When he visited the lavatory, he would (also) cover his head.2

3. In al-Majalis al-Akhbar: Narrated from Abi Dharr from the Holy Prophet (S) (that) in his counsel, he said: O Aba Dharr! Be ashamed in the presence of Allah, for by Allah when I go to relieve myself, I hide and cover myself with my clothes out of shame from the angels who are with me.3

4. From al-Mufid in al-Muqni’ah: Covering the head, if it is open, is asunnah from thesunnah of the Noble Prophet (S).4

5. In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from his fathers from ‘Ali (as): The Holy Prophet would pull the urinary tract thrice after urination.5

6. In al-Kafi: Narrated from al-Husayn ibn Khalid from Abi al-Hasan al-Thani (as) saying: I said to him: “It has been narrated to us in the hadith that the Holy Prophet (S) would purify himself (after relieving himself) while his ring was still on his finger, and this was also the case with Amir al-Mu’minin (as); and the inscription on the ring of the Holy Prophet (S) was ‘Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah‘ (is this correct)?” He (as) said: “They have spoken the truth.” I said: “So should we do (the same)?” He replied: “They used to wear their rings on the right hand whereas you wear your rings on the left hand.”6

Note: A similar narration is found in al-Makarim quoting from Kitab al-Libas of al-’Ayyashi from al-Husayn ibn Sa’id from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) and also in al-Ja’fariyat.7

7. In al-Khisal: Narrated from al-Husayn ibn Mus’ab from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: Three things that were practiced by al-Barra’ ibn Ma’rur al-Ansari became part of thesunnah : In the beginning, people used to clean themselves with stones so al-Barra’ ibn Ma’rur ate a pumpkin which softened his bowels and he cleansed himself with water; and Allah (SwT) revealed about him

“Surely Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who purify themselves. ” (Surat al-Baqarah: 222)

And it became asunnah to cleanse oneself with water.

When he was on his death bed, he was out of Madinah, so he ordered that his face be turned toward the Holy Prophet (S) (who was in Makkah) and bequeathed one third of his wealth; and so it was that the law regarding (facing) the Qiblah was ordained and bequeathing of one third (of one’s wealth) became thesunnah .8

8. In al-Tahdhib: In his narration from ‘Abdullah ibn Maskan from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: The Noble Prophet (S) was the most cautious about urine. When he wanted to urinate, he would find a place that was elevated from the ground, or an area where there was a lot of soil, out of aversion to being splattered by urine.9

9. In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from Ja’far ibn Muhammad, from his father (as) who said: My father (‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (as)) said: “O my son, get for me clothes for (use in) the lavatory. I saw a fly sitting on something impure and then it sat on me.” He said: I brought it to him so he said: “Neither did the Holy Prophet (S) nor his companions have any clothes (for this purpose) other than their regular clothes,” so he did not take it.10

Addendum to this Chapter

1. In al-Hidayah: Thesunnah for entering the lavatory is that one should enter with his left leg before his right and should cover his head and remember Allah (SwT).11

2. In al-Kafi: In his narration from Abi Usamah in a hadith from Abi ‘Abdillah (as): A man asked him (among other things): “What is thesunnah regarding entering the lavatory?” He (S) said: “Remember Allah, seek protection from Allah against the cursed Shaitan and when you have finished (relieving yourself) say:

أَلْحَمْدُ لِلٌّهِ عَلـى مَا أَخْرَجَ مِنِّي مِنَ الأَذى فِي يُسْرٍ وَ عَافِيةٍ.

“All praise be to Allah for what he has removed from me of that which is harmful (to my body) with ease and well-being.” 12

Note: al-Barqi has narrated this in al-Mahasin as has al-Saduq in al-’Ilal13

3. In al-Tahdhib: In his narration from Zurarah from Abi Ja’far (as) who said: There is no prayer except with purification. It is permissible for you to cleanse yourself with three stones (after relieving yourself) as this was from thesunnah of the Holy Prophet (S). As for urination, however, it is a must to wash oneself (with water after urinating).14

Note: He has also narrated it in al-Istibsar.15

4. In al-Tahdhib: From Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from some of our companions quoting from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: It was (from) thesunnah to use three clean stones for cleansing oneself, followed by water.16

5. In al-Da’aim: ‘Ali (as) said: Thesunnah with regards to cleansing oneself with water is to start with (washing away) the urine and then the stool and not (to wash) both at once.17

6. Also: When he (S) wanted to relieve himself during a journey, he would move far away (from the people) and find a hidden place.18

7. Also: They (the Imams (as)) narrated: When the Holy Prophet (S) entered the lavatory, he would cover his head and veil himself and nobody ever saw him.19

References

1. Fawa`id al-Milliyyah fi Sharh al-Nafliyyah: 17, ‘Awarif al-Ma’arif: 261, Da`aim al-Islam 1:104

2. al-Ja’fariyat: 30, Da`aim al-Islam 1:104, al-Mustadrak 1:248

3. Amali al-Tusi 2:147, Majmu`at Warram: 307, Makarim al-Akhlaq: 465

4. al-Muqni`ah: 39, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:24

5. al-Ja’fariyat: 12, al-Mustadrak 1:260

6. al-Kafi 6:373, `Uyun Akhbar al-Rid’a 2:55

7. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 92, al-Ja’fariyat: 186

8. al-Khisal: 192

9. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:33, ‘Ilal al-Shara’i: 278, al-Faqih 1:22

10. al-Ja’fariyat: 14

11. al-Hidayah: 15

12. al-Kafi 3:69

13. ‘Ilal al-Shara’i: 276, we have not found this in al-Mahasin.

14. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:50

15. al-Istibsar 1:55

16. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:46

17. Da`aim al-Islam 1:106

18. Da`aim al-Islam 1:104, al-Mustadrak 1:249, ‘Awarif al-Ma’arif: 261

19. Da`aim al-Islam 1:104

Chapter 11: On the Dead and anything related (to Death)

1. In al-Makarim: Whenever the Holy Prophet (S) saw a pustule on his body, he would seek refuge with Allah and submit him self and cry out to Him in supplication. He would be asked: “O Prophet of Allah! What is the cause of your distress?” He would reply: “If Allah (SwT) willed a small (matter) to become a big one, it would become big and if He willed a big matter to become small, it would become small.”1

2. In the book al-Tamhis: From Abi Sa’id al-Khudri (who said) that he placed his hand on the Noble Prophet (S) and he (found that he) had a fever, and he noticed this (while his hand was) above the blanket, so he said: “How intensely has it (the fever) effected you O Prophet of Allah?!” He (S) said: “This is how we are made to undergo intense trials and our reward is (thereby) doubled.”2

3. In al-Kafi: Narrated from Jabir from Abi Ja’far (as) who said: Thesunnah is that the bier should be carried by its four sides and anything in addition to this is voluntary.3

4. Also: Narrated from al-Fad’l ibn Yunus from Musa ibn Ja’far (as): The (method of) carrying the bier with the dead body, according to the practicedsunnah , was to start by (lifting) the side of the right hand (of the dead body), then the right leg, then the left leg and finally the left hand, until it was raised from all sides.4

5. From ‘Abdillah ibn Ja’far in Qurb al-Isnad: From al-Hasan ibn Dharif from al-Husayn ibn ‘Alwan from Ja’far from his father (as): al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (as) was sitting with his companions when a funeral procession passed by, so some of the people stood up but al-Hasan (as) did not stand up, and when the procession had passed, some of them said: “Why did you not stand up - may Allah grant you well-being - when the Holy Prophet (S) used to stand for the bier when it was carried past?” al-Hasan (as) said: “The Holy Prophet (S) only stood up once and this was when the bier of a Jew was being carried and the place was narrow, so the Prophet stood up because he disliked that the bier should pass over his head.”5

6. From al-Qutb in his Da’awat: When the Noble Prophet (S) followed a funeral procession, he would be overcome by grief and would contemplate more and talk less.6

7. In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from his fathers from ‘Ali (as): The Holy Prophet (S) used to throw three handfuls of dust on the grave (of a believer).7

8. al-Kafi: Narrated from Zurarah from Abi Ja’far (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) would perform something special when someone from Bani Hashim passed away; something which he never performed for any other Muslim. After he prayedsalat al-mayyit for the Hashimi and sprinkled water on his grave, the Noble Prophet (S) placed his hand on the grave until his fingers were seen to be in the soil, and when a person would return (home from a journey) or a traveler from Madinah (would come), he would see a new grave with the Holy Prophet’s (S) hand-print and say: “Who has died from the family of Muhammad (as)?”8

9. Also: Narrated from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi ‘Abdillah who said: I asked him about the placing of one’s hand on the grave - what is it and why is it done? He replied: The Holy Prophet (S) performed it on (the grave of) his son after sprinkling the water (on his grave). I asked him: How should I place my hand on the graves of the Muslims? He showed me by placing his hand on the ground and then raised it (and this was) while he was facing the Qiblah.9

10. From Shahid al-Thani in Musakkin al-Fu’ad: From ‘Ali (as): When the Noble Prophet (S) gave condolence he would say:

آجَرَكُمُ اللٌّهُ وَرَحِمَكُمْ.

“May Allah recompense you and have mercy on you”

And when he congratulated someone he would say:

بَارَكَ اللٌّهُ لَكُمْ وَ بَارَكَ َاللٌّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ

“May Allah bless you and keep you blessed.” 10

11. From al-Qutb in his Da’awat: Zayn al-’Abidin (as) said: There was never a time when Amir al-Mu’minin (as) was faced with an affliction but that he would pray a thousand rak’ahs on that day, give alms to sixty beggars and fast for three days. He (as) said to his children: “When an affliction befalls you do as I do, for I saw the Holy Prophet (S) doing this, so follow in the footsteps of your Prophet and do not contravene it for Allah (will thereby) be against you. Allah (SwT) has said:

“As for him who endures patiently and forgives, that is indeed the steadiest of courses. ” (Surat al-Shura (42): 43)

Zayn al-’Abidin (as) said: I still perform this action of Amir al-Mu’minin (as).11

Addendum to this Chapter

1. In al-Makarim: From Anas ibn Malik who said: The Holy Prophet (S) used to visit the sick and attend the funeral processions.12

2. In al-Majalis of Shaykh al-Tusi: In his narration from al-Harith from ‘Ali (as) who said: When the Noble Prophet (S) visited a sick person he would say:

أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ رَبَّ الْبَأْسِ وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي لاَ شَافِيَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ.

“Remove the affliction O Lord of affliction, and cure him for You are the Healer, there is no other Healer but You.” 13

Note: A similar narration is mentioned by al-Tabarsi in al-Makarim.14

3. In Tibb al-A’immah: From Jabir from al-Baqir (as) who said: When the Holy Prophet (S) or someone from his family or (close) companions was afflicted with inflammation in the eyes, he would recite the following supplication:

أَللٌّهُمَّ مَتِّعْنِي بِسَمْعِي وَ بَصَرِي وَ اجْعَلْهُمَا الْوَارِثَـيْنِ مِنِّي وَانْصُرْنِي عَلـى مَنْ ظَلَمَنِي وَ أَرِنِي فِيهِ ثَأْرِي.

“O Allah! Cause me to enjoy my hearing and my sight and make them continue with me until the day I die, and help me (to gain victory) over the one who oppresses me and take my vengeance from him.” 15

4. In al-Makarim: From Ibn ‘Abbas who said: The Holy Prophet (S) would teach us (to recite this) for all types of pains, fever and headache:

بِسْمِ اللٌّهِ الْكَبِيرِ. أَعُوذُ بِاللٌّهِ الْعَظِيمِ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ عِرْقٍ نَعَّارٍ وَ مِنْ شَرِّ حَرِّ النَّارِ.

“In the name of Allah the Great. I seek refuge with Allah the Almighty from the evil of all that gushes in the veins and from the evil of the heat of the Hellfire.” 16

5. In Majmu’at Warram: Whenever the Noble Prophet (S) was saddened by something, he would take recourse in fasting and prayer.17

6. al-Shahid al-Thani in Musakkin al-Fu’ad: Whenever an affliction befell the Holy Prophet (S), he would stand, perform ablution, and pray two rak’ahs and say:

أَللٌّهُمَّ قَدْ فَعَلْتُ مَا أَمَرْتَنَا فَأَنْجِزْلَنَا مَا وَعَدْتَنَا.

O Allah! I have done as you commanded, so fulfill for us what you have promised us. 18

7. In al-Kafi: From ‘Ala’ ibn Kamil who said: I was sitting in the company of Abi ‘Abdillah (as) when (suddenly) a woman’s scream was heard from the house, so Abu ‘Abdillah (as) stood up then he sat down and regained his composure and returned to his talk until he had completed it, then he said: “We (the Ahl al-Bayt) like the well-being of our selves, our children and our possessions but when there is a divine ordinance, it is not for us to like something which Allah does not like for us.”19

Note: al-Kulayni has narrated two other ahadith with similar a meaning and al-Saduq has also narrated this in al-Faqih and Ikmal al-Din.20

8. In al-Kafi: From ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim from his father, from (the Imam (as)) who said: Thesunnah with regards to ‘Hunut’ (camphor used in the embalmment of the dead) is (to use) the equivalent of (the weight of) thirteen and one third dirhams. Then he (as) said: Jibra’il descended on the Holy Prophet (S) with ‘Hunut’ weighing the equivalent of forty dirhams, so the Noble Prophet (S) divided it into three (equal) portions, a portion for himself, a portion for ‘Ali (as) and a portion for Fatimah (as).21

Note: This has also been narrated by Shaykh Tusi in al-Tahdhib and by al-Saduq in al-’Ilal, al-Faqih, Fiqh al-Rid’a and al-Hidayah.22

9. Also: In his narration from Zurarah and Muhammad ibn Muslim who said: We said to Abi Ja’far (as): “Is the turban of the dead body a part of the shroud?” He said: “No. The obligatory shroud is made up of three pieces of cloth or in the very least, (if these cannot be procured) one complete cloth that shrouds the entire body. Anything more than this issunnah until it reaches five cloths, and anything more than that is an innovation and the turban issunnah .”23

10. In al-Tahdhib: Using the ‘Jarid’ (palm branches - stripped of the leaves - which are buried along with the dead body) is also from thesunnah .24

11. Shaykh Tusi in his book ‘Ghaybah’: From Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-’Alawi and others in a long hadith from Musa ibn Ja’far (as) who said: We the Ahl al-Bayt - the dower of our women, the pilgrimage of those from among us who have not been for pilgrimage, and the shrouds of our dead are (all) from our purest wealth; and I have my shroud with me ...25

12. In Ja’fariyat: In his narration from ‘Ali (as): When the Holy Prophet (S) prayed over a dead body, if it was a man, he would stand next to his chest and if it was a woman, he would stand next to her head.26

Note: This has also been narrated in al-Da’aim, and in al-Tahdhib from Jabir from Abi Ja’far (as).27

13. In ‘Awali al-La’ali: From Abi Sa’id al-Khudri: He (S) never rode a mount on (the day of)‘eid or (while attending) a funeral - ever.28

14. In al-Kafi: In his narration from al-Sakuni from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: Amir al-Mu’minin (as) said: It became thesunnah from the Holy Prophet (S) that none should enter the grave of a woman except those who (were allowed to) see her in her lifetime.29

15. Also: In his narration from ‘Ali ibn Yaqtin who said: I heard Aba al-Hasan (as) saying: Do not go down into the grave wearing a turban, cap, scarf or shoes and undo your buttons (before going in) as this was thesunnah of the Noble Prophet (S); and seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan and reciteFatihatal Kitab (Surah al-Hamd): ‘al-Mu’awwadhatayn’ (Surah al-Nas Surah al-Falaq): ‘Qul huwAllahu Ahad’ and Ayat al-Kursi.30

Note: This has also been narrated by al-Saduq in al-’Ilal and al-Shaykh al-Tusi in al-Tahdhib.31

16. Also: In his narration from ‘Umar ibn Udhaynah who said: I saw Aba ‘Abdillah (as) throw dust over the dead body (in the grave). He held the dust in his hand for some time and then threw it and he never threw more than three handfuls. So I asked him about this. He replied: “O ‘Umar! I was saying:

هٌذَا مَا وَعَدَ اللٌّهُ وَرَسُولَهُ وَ صَدَقَ اللٌّهُ وَ رَسُولُهُ وَ مَا زَادَهُمْ إِلاَّ إِيـمَاناً وَ تَسْلِيماً.

“... this is what Allah and his Prophet promised and Allah and His promised spoke the truth - and it only increased them in faith and submission.” (Surat al-Ahzab (33): 22)

This is what the Holy Prophet (S) used to do and it thus became thesunnah .”32

17. In Qurb al-Isnad: From ‘Ali (as): It is (from) thesunnah to sprinkle some water on the grave.33

18. In al-Tahdhib: In his narration from Musa ibn Ikil al-Numayri from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: Thesunnah with regards to sprinkling water on the grave is that one should face the Qiblah and start sprinkling water from the side of the head to the side of the legs, then go round the grave to the other side, then sprinkle water on the middle of the grave; and this is thesunnah .34

19. In Fiqh al-Rid’a: Thesunnah is for the grave to be raised (to the height of) four opened fingers from the ground, and if it is (raised) more than this there is no problem; and the grave should be leveled and not rounded.35

20. In al-Kafi: In his narration from Hashim ibn Salim from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: When Ja’far ibn Abi Talib (as) was martyred, the Holy Prophet (S) told Fatimah (as) to take food to Asma’ bint ‘Umays for three days and to come to her with her womenfolk and stay with her for

three days, thus it became thesunnah to provide food to the grieving family for three days.36

Note: A similar narration is mentioned by al-Barqi in al-Mahasin and by al-Saduq in al-Faqih and Fiqh al-Rid’a, and by al-Shaykh al-Tusi in al-Amali.37

21. Also: In his narration from Hariz or someone else who said: Abu Ja’far (as) bequeathed eight hundred dirhams for his obsequies and he considered this to be from thesunnah because the Noble Prophet (S) said: “Take food for the family of Ja’far (ibn Abi Talib) for they are preoccupied (in mourning).”38

22. In al-Faqih: al-Sadiq (as) said: Eating at the house of the grieving (family) is a practice from the age of ignorance and thesunnah is (only) to send the food to them.39

References

1. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 357

2. al-Tamhis: 34, Bihar al-Anwar 16:275

3. al-Kafi 3:168, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:453

4. Ibid.

5. )DQurb al-Isnad: 42, al-Tahdhib 1:456 (with another chain of narrators mentioning it from al-Husain

6. al-Da`awat: 256

7. al-Ja’fariyat: 202

8. al-Kafi 3:200, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:460

9. al-Kafi 3:200

10. Musakkin al-Fu`ad: 108

11. al-Da’awat: Mustadrak al-Da’awat: 287

12. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 15, al-Manaqib 1:146

13. Amali al-Tusi 2:252

14. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 392

15. Tibb al-A`immah: 83

16. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 401

17. Majmu’at Warram: 255

18. Musakkin al-Fu’ad: 56

19. al-Kafi 3:226

20. al-Kafi 3:225-226, al-Faqih 1:187, Kamal al-Din wa Tamam al-Ni’mah 1:73

21. al-Kafi 3:151

22. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:290, ‘Ilal al-Shara’i: 302, Fiqh al-Imam al-Rid’a: 168, al-Faqih 1:149

23. al-Kafi 3:144, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:292

24. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:326, al-Muqni’: 18, al-Faqih 1:144

25. al-Ghaybah: 23, al-Mustadrak 2:231, Tuhf al-’Uqul: 412

26. al-Ja’fariyat: 210

27. Da`aim al-Islam 1:235, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 3:190

28. ‘Awali al-La`ali 2:220, al-Mustadrak 2:300

29. al-Kafi 3:194, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:325, al-Ja’fariyat: 203

30. al-Kafi 3:192

31. ‘Ilal al-Sharai’: 305, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:313

32. al-Kafi 3: 198

33. Qurb al-Isnad: 72, al-Ja’fariyat: 203

34. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:320

35. al-Fiqh al-Mansub li al-Imam al-Rid’a: 175, al-Mustadrak 2:335

36. al-Kafi 3:217

37. al-Mahasin: 419, al-Faqih 1:182, Fiqh al-Imam al-Rid’a: 172, Amali al-Tusi 2:272

38. al-Kafi 3:217

39. al-Faqih 1:182

Chapter 12: On the Adab of Medication

1. In Qurb al-Isnad: In his narration from Husayn ibn Dhareef from, al-Husayn ibn ‘Alwan, from Ja’far from his father (as): The Holy Prophet (S) got the center of his head cupped.1 Abu Dhabiyyah performed the cupping with his special instrument and the Holy Prophet (S) gave him onesa’ (three kilos) of dates. He (also) said: The Noble Prophet (S) would introduce sesame-seed oil nasally (putting it in his nose) when he had a headache.2

Note: al-Kulayni has also mentioned a similar narration.3 It has also been mentioned in the section on cleanliness, he (S) would (also) put oil on his eyebrows (to get relief) from headaches.

2. In al-Kafi: Narrated from Bakr ibn Salih, al-Nawfali and others, attributing it to Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) did not use any medicine for the common cold, saying: “There is nobody who is not susceptible to leprosy, so when he catches the cold, it subdues the leprosy.”4

3. Also: Narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Fayd’ who said: I told Abi ‘Abdillah (as): “A person from among us became sick so he was ordered by the healers to (stick to a certain) diet.” He said: “But we, the Ahl al-Bayt, do not diet except from dates, and we use apple and cold water as remedies.” I said: “And why do you diet from dates?” He replied: “Because the Holy Prophet (S) prescribed this diet for ‘Ali (as) when he was ill.”5

Note: al-Saduq has narrated this in al-’Ilal6 and similar narrations have also been narrated by others.7

Addendum to this Chapter

1. In Ma’ani al-Akhbar: From Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: The Noble Prophet (S) would perform cupping on this head and would call it ‘al-mughithah’ (the reliever) or ‘al-munqidhah’ (the rescuer).8

2. In al-Makarim: From al-Sadiq (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) would perform cupping on Mondays after the ‘Asr prayer.9

Note: This is also narrated by al-Saduq in al-Khisal.10

3. In al-Bihar: Zayd al-Nursi said: I heard Aba al-Hasan (as) saying: Washing the head with marsh mallow on Fridays is from thesunnah . It brings abundance in sustenance and averts poverty. It improves the hair and skin and prevents headaches.11

4. Also: From one of our companions who said: I heard Aba ‘Abdillah (as) saying: The Holy Prophet would wash his head withsidr (lotus jujube) saying: “The one who washes his head withsidr , Allah will ward off from him the temptations of Shaitan; and the one who is not plagued by the temptations of Shaitan does not sin, and the one who does not sin shall enter paradise.”12

Note: The first section has been narrated by al-Saduq in Thawab al-A’mal.13

5. Ibna Bastam in Tibb al-A’immah: Narrated from the chain of ‘Ammar from Fudhayl al-Rassan who said: Abu ‘Abdillah (as) said: From the remedies and medicines of the prophets (as) are cupping, depilatory and (medicinal) snuff.14

6. al-Qutb al-Rawandi in his Da’awat: From the Noble Prophet (S) who said: “Should I not teach you about the medicine that was taught to me by

Jibra’eel - after which you will not need any physician or cure?” They said: “Yes, O Prophet of Allah!” He said: “Take rain water and recite on itFatihat al-Kitab (Surah al-Hamd) seventy times: ‘Qul A’udhu Birabbi al-Nas’ (Surah an-Nas) seventy times: ‘Qul A’udhu Birabbi al-Falaq’ (Surah al-Falaq) seventy times,Salawat seventy times and‘SubhanAllah’ seventy times and then drink from this water in the morning and at night for seven days consecutively.”15

7. In al-Kafi: In his narration from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) complained to his Lord (SwT) of back pain, so He ordered him to eat cereal with meat - meaning ‘al-Harisah’ (a dish made from mixing bulgur with meat).16

8. In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from ‘Ali (as): Whenever the Holy Prophet (S) suffered from any pain (in his body) he would perform cupping.17

9. Ibna Bastam in Tibb al-A’immah in his narration from Abi Usama who said: I heard Aba ‘Abdillah (as) saying: Our grandfather used nothing but the weight of ten dirhams of sugar mixed with cold water - on an empty stomach - to treat fever.18

Note: It is apparent that when he said ‘our grandfather’ he was referring to the Noble Prophet (S).

10. In Tibb al-A’immah: In his narration from Abi Basir from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) used to perform cupping on the (veins of the) neck, so Jibra’il was sent to him by Allah (SwT) with (the instruction that he should perform the cupping on) the upper back (instead).19

11. Also: In the narration from Shu’aib who said: I mentioned (the narration about Amir al-Mu’minin (as) taking a bath after cupping) to Abi ‘Abdillah (as). He said: When the Holy Prophet (S) performed cupping, his blood got stirred up so he took a bath with cold water, and when Amir al-Mu’minin (as) entered the public baths, his body temperature rose so he poured some cold water to cool off.20

References

1. Cupping was a traditional medical practice that was used to increase blood supply to an area of the body. (Tr.)

2. Qurb al-Isnad: 52,53

3. al-Kafi 6:524

4. Ibid., 8:382

5. Ibid., 8:291

6. ‘Ilal al-Shara’i: 464

7. al-Mustadrak 16:452, al-Ja’fariyat: 199

8. Ma’ani al-Akhbar: 247,248

9. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 74

10. al-Khisal: 384

11. Bihar al-Anwar 76:88

12. Ibid., 76:88

13. Thawab al-A’mal: 37

14. Tibb al-A`immah: 57

15. al-Da’awat: 183

16. al-Kafi 6:320

17. al-Ja’fariyat: 162, al-Mustadrak 13:77

18. Tibb al-A`immah: 50

19. Ibid., 58

20. Ibid.

Chapter 13: Siwak (brushing teeth)

1. In al-Kafi: Narrated from Ishaq ibn ‘Ammar from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: Brushing teeth is from thesunnah of the prophets.1

2. In al-Khisal: In his narration from ‘Ali (as): Brushing teeth is liked by Allah (SwT) and is asunnah of the Noble Prophet (S) and a means of cleansing the mouth.2

Note: There are numerous similar narrations from various sources.

3. In al-Makarim: The Holy Prophet (S) would brush his teeth thrice every night. Once before sleeping, once when he woke up for the nightly worship and once before leaving for the Fajr prayer.3

4. In al-Kafi: Narrated from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from Hammad from al-Halabi from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: When the Holy Prophet (S) had performed the ‘Isha prayer, he would ask for a basin to perform ablution and hissiwak and (when they were brought) he would cover them and place them next to himself and sleep for some time - for as long as Allah willed - then he would wake up and brush his teeth, perform ablution and pray four rak’ahs after which he would go back to sleep. Then he would wake up (again) and brush his teeth, perform ablution and pray. Then he (as) said:

“Certainly you have in the Apostle of Allah an excellent exemplar.” (Surat al-Ahzab (33): 21)

At the end of the hadith he said that he (S) would brush his teeth each time he woke up from his sleep.4

5. From al-Saduq in al-Muqni’: The Noble Prophet (S) would brush his teeth before every prayer.5

6. In al-Makarim: When the Holy Prophet (S) brushed his teeth, he would brush them widthwise.6

7. Also: He (S) would brush his teeth with (asiwak from) ‘al-Arak’ 7 as this is what Jibra’il (as) told him to do.8

Addendum to this Chapter

1. In al-Mahasin: From Muhammad al-Halabi from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) used to brush his teeth a lot.9

Note: This has been narrated by al-Saduq in al-Faqih, Ibn Abi Jamhur in Lubb al-Lubab and al-Qadhi in al-Da’aim.10

2. In al-Faqih: Brushing teeth at the time ofsahar (i.e. the final hours of the night), before performing ablution, is from thesunnah .11

3. In al-Kafi: It has been narrated that it is (from the)sunnah to brush one’s teeth at the time ofsahar .12

4. From al-Qutb al-Rawandi in Lubb al-Lubab from the Noble Prophet (S) who said: “The bestsiwak is that of the blessed olive tree. It sweetens the breath and prevents cavities; and it is mysiwak and thesiwak of all the prophets before me.”13

5. In Jami’ al-Akhbar: In a hadith from ‘Ali (as) from the Holy Prophet (S): The one who brushes his teeth twice a day has perpetuated thesunnah of the prophets (as).14

References

1. al-Kafi 6:495

2. al-Khisal 2:611, Makarim al-Akhlaq: 51, al-Kafi 6:495, al-Ja’fariyat: 15, al-Mahasin: 562, Tuhf al-’Uqul: 101

3. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 39

4. al-Kafi 3:445, Majma’ al-Bayan 2:555, Tahdhib al-Ahkam: 35

5. al-Muqni’: 8

6. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 35

7. A type of tree. (Tr.)

8. Makarim al-Akhlaq: 39

9. al-Mahasin: 563

10. al-Faqih 1:53

11. Ibid., 1:481

12. al-Kafi 3:23

13. Quoted by al-Nuri in al-Mustadrak 1:369 from Lubb al-Lubab

14. Jami’ al-Akhbar: 68

Chapter 14: The Adab of Wud'u

1. In al-Faqih: The Holy Prophet (S) would renew hiswud’u 1 for every compulsory act of worship and everysalah (ritual prayer).2

2. From al-Qutb in ayat al-Ahkam: From Sulayman ibn Buraydah from his father: The Noble Prophet (S) would performwud’u for everysalah and when the year of the conquest (of Makkah) came, he would perform thesalawat 3 with onewud’u so ‘Umar said: “O Apostle of Allah! You have done something which you have not done before?” He (S) replied: “I did it knowingly.”4

3. In al-Ja’fariyat: In his narration from Ja’far ibn Muhammad from his fathers (as) (who said that): ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (as) used to performwudhu for everysalah and he would recite the ayah:

“When you stand for prayer wash your faces ...” (Surat al-Ma`idah (5): 6)

Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (as) said that he would do this to attain excellence. The Holy Prophet (S), Amir al-Mu’minin (as) and the companions of the Holy Prophet (S) would (also) combine the prayers with onewud’u .5

4. In al-Kafi: Narrated from Zurarah who said: Abu Ja’far (as) said: “Should I not tell you about the Holy Prophet’s (S)wud’u ?” We replied: “Yes.” He said: “Bring me a bowl with some water.” Then he placed it in front of him and rolled up his sleeves. Then he dipped his right hand (in it) and said: “This (is done) if your hand istahir (clean from what is deemed impure).” Then he scooped a handful of water and placed it on his forehead and said‘bismillah’ and let it drip down to the edges of his beard.

Then he passed his palm on his face and forehead once. Then he dipped his left hand and scooped out a handful of water and placed it on his right elbow and passed his palm over his (right) arm until water had reached the edge of his fingers. Then he scooped a handful of water with his right hand and placed it on the left elbow and passed his palm over his (left) arm until the water reached the edge of his fingers. He then wiped the front part of his head and the back of his feet with the wetness of his left hand and the remaining wetness of his right hand.

Abu Ja’far (as) said: Surely Allah is single and he likes singularity. It is sufficient to performwud’u with three handfuls (of water), one for the face and two for the arms, and (then) wipe the front of your head with the wetness of your right hand and with what remains of the wetness of your right hand wipe the back of your right foot and with the wetness of your left hand wipe the back of your left foot.

Zurarah said: Abu Ja’far (as) said: A man asked Amir al-Mu’minin (as) about thewud’u of the Holy Prophet (S) so he described it to him in this way.6

Note: There are many similar narrations from Zurarah and Bukair. These have been narrated by al-Saduq, al-Tusi, al-’Ayyashi, al-Mufid, al-Karajiki and others, and the ahadith from Ahl al-Bayt in this regard are numerous.7

5. From Mufid al-Din al-Tusi in his Amali: Narrated from Abi Hurayrah (that): When the Noble Prophet (S) would performwud’u , he would always start with his right side (before his left).8

6. In al-Tahdhib: In his narration from al-Husayn ibn Sa’id from Ibn Sinan from Ibn Miskan from Abi Basir who said: I asked Aba ‘Abdillah (as) aboutwud’u and he said: “The Holy Prophet performedwud’u with amudd (of water) and he performedghusl with asa’ 9 (of water).”10

Note: There is a similar narration from Abi Ja’far (as) with a different chain of narrators.11

7. In al-’Uyun: Narrated by two chains of narrators, from al-Rid’a from his fathers (as) - in a lengthy hadith: The Holy Prophet (S) said: It is not permissible for us - the Ahl al-Bayt - to accept charity, and we have been ordered to perform the ritual purification perfectly; and we do not mate donkeys with mares.12

8. In al-Tahdhib: In his narration from Husayn ibn Sa’id from Qasim ibn ‘Urwah from ‘Abdillah ibn Sinan from Abi ‘Abdillah (as) who said: rinsing the mouth and putting water in the nose (while performingwud’u ) were from thesunnah of the Holy Prophet (S).13

Addendum to this Chapter

1. In al-Khisal: From al-Sakuni from Abi ‘Abdillah from his fathers from ‘Ali (as) who said: The Holy Prophet (S) said: There are two things which I would not like anyone to participate in with me - mywud’u as it is part of mysalah and my charity as it is placed in the hands of the Most Merciful.14

2. In al-Manaqib: He (S) would keep his water forwud’u himself at night.15

3. In al-Ikhtisas: From ‘Abdillah ibn Abi Rafi’ from his father from his grandfather who said: When the Noble Prophet (S) performed hiswud’u forsalah , he moved his rings three times.16

4. In Majma’ al-Bayan: The Holy Prophet (S) would wipe the front part of his head (while performingwud’u ) and this would be approximately one fourth of the head (span).17

5. In Amali of al-Shaykh al-Tusi: From Abi Ishaq al-Hamadani in a hadith from ‘Ali (as) who said: Rinse your mouth three times, put water in your nose three times, wash your face, then your right hand and then your left hand, then wipe your head and your feet, for I saw the Apostle of Allah (S) doing this.18

References

1. Ritual ablution performed before acts of worship esp. salah. (Tr.)

2. al-Faqih 1:39, Da`aim al-Islam 1:100, al-Mustadrak 1:294

3. Plural of salah - ritual prayers. (Tr.)

4. Fiqh al-Qur`an 1:12

5. al-Ja’fariyat:17, al-Mustadrak 1:295

6. al-Kafi 3:25

7. al-Faqih 1:36, Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:55, al-Istibsar 1:58, Tafsir al-`Ayyashi 1:298 - Surat al-Ma`idah, Kanz al-Fawa`id: 69

8. Amali al-Tusi 1:397

9. An old measurement - Mudd is equivalent to about 750 ml and Sa` is equivalent to 3 liters. (Tr.)

10. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:136, al-Istibsar 1:121, al-Ja’fariyat: 16

11. Tahdhidb al-Ahkam 1:136

12. ‘Uyun Akhbar al-Rid’a 2:28, Sahifat al-Imam al-Rid’a: 46

13. Tahdhib al-Ahkam 1:79, al-Ikhtisas: 36, Usul al-Sittata ‘Ashar: 157

14. al-Khisal 1:33, Tafsir al-’Ayyashi 2:108 - Surat al-Tawbah, al-Ja’fariyat:17

15. al-Manaqib 1:146

16. al-Ikhtisas: 160

17. Majma’ al-Bayan 3:164 - Surat al-Ma`idah (5)

18. Amali al-Tusi 1:29

Community Building, Part 3

This seriesis based on a nine-session course conducted by the author on Community Building at the Islamic Centre of England in London in 2009.

Abstract

It is crucial for a community to have a shared identity and to work towards a joint cause. Regardless of whether it is on a worldwide or lesser scale, establishing a community is currently becoming more crucial, and successful community involves specific requirements and qualities.

This series of papers studies the importance ofcommunity-building and Prophet Muhammad’s efforts to implement it. Prioritized qualities such as truthfulness, trustworthiness, justice, unity, persistence, moderation, humbleness, enjoining good and forbidding wrong, and maintaining a healthy balance in working for this worldto eventually lead to a blissful hereafter were expounded on.

This part further builds upon the concept of truthfulness in Islamic theology and is moral system; of Allah as the true being, revelation as the truth, the prophets’ mission to serve the truth, and the importance of communities striving to become truthful. Thusfar we have listed some of the major characteristics of an Islamic Community, a community which is pleasing to Allah (swt ), such as being balanced and moderate, calling towards good and in particular enjoining good and prohibiting bad. In what follows, we will refer to some other characteristics of an Islamic community.

Commitment to the truth

This is an immensely important quality both for individuals and for communities. The subject of truth is so important from theQur’anic perspective that firstly we will expand on it a little and then focus on the role of truth in the community. One of the notions on which great emphasishas been put in the Qur’an is the notion of truth and the True (al-Haqq ).

Qur’an describes Allah as the True

In the Qur’an, Allah describes Himself as being ‘the True’ or the ‘the Truth’ (al-haqq ). The Qur’an tells us that the reason why God should befollowed, worshipped and obeyed is that ‘Allah is the True.’ Thus, we can understand that for Allah, to be the True is more important than to be, for example, Self-Sufficient,Self - Existent, etc. For example, the verse 22:62 reads as follows:

True, and what they invoke besides Him is nullity, and because Allah is the All-exalted, the All-great. (22:62)

Indeed, this is a sound argument for the necessity of worshipping Allah and not worshipping idols and false gods. Allah says that the reason for asking us to worship Him only isbecause He is al-Haqq , the True and the Real; and what they call on other than Him is false. The major deciding factor is whether something is true or false and so we worship Allah and follow Him because He is the True.

Two verses that expand on the meaning of being true are as follows:

1. The chapter al-Hajj, verse6 , Allah says:

That is because Allah is the True and it is HeWho revives the dead and He has power over all things. (22:6)

2. The chapterYunus , verse 32:

That, then, is Allah, your true Lord. So what is there after the truth except error? Then whereare you being led away? (10:32)

Allah is the True and real basis of everything

So Allah is al-Haqq , the True and the Real. However, we may say that we are also true and real and thateverything which exists is also true and real. For example, we could say that everyone and everything we know and everything in this world ishaqq . For example, inZiyarah AleYaseen weread “Heaven is true, hell is true, reward and punishment are true.” So if these are also true, then what is the difference between them and Allah beingTrue ?

The difference is clear. There are uncountable real things thatare all created . Allah is al-Haqq in the sense that not only is He True and Real but Heis also the Source and the Origin of everything else that is true and real. So ‘al-Haqq ’ means the ‘True One’Who is the Origin and the Source of everything else1 .

Allah alone is the True

Allah alone is al-Haqq ; we cannot say ‘I am al-haqq ’ or ‘you are al-haqq .’ Of course, some mystics likeHallaj said: ‘ana alhaqq ’. Although they meant something else e.g. being a manifestation ofGod which is al-Haqq , personally I think we should refrain from calling anyone ‘alhaqq ’ since this might be misleading. It is only AllahWho in reality is the One who is absolutely True in the fullest sense of this concept. Everything else in existence, including ourselvesare only true as far as we are related to Allah. This is similar to the concept of light. Allah is al-Noor , the real and original Light and the basis of every light such that every other light that is not Allah comes from Him2 .

The truth observed in the creation of the world

The creation of the world also takes place observing the Truth. For example, out of many verses dealing with this subject, inSurah An’am , verse 73, Allah says:

It is HeWho created the heavens and the earth with the truth. (6:73)

Allah has created the heavens and the earth with Truth, truthfully, or observing the Truth. There is no falsity in the creation of the skies and of the earth.

Revelation, divine books, and prophets are true Revelation

For example, inSurah Baqarah , verse 147, Allah says:

“This is the truth from your Lord; so do not be among thesceptics .” (2:147)

Similarly, inSurah AleImran , verse 60, we read:

This is the truth from your Lord, so do not be among thesceptics . (3:60)

Thus the Truth comes from our Lord, or the Truth is from our Lord, so we should not have doubts and should not be one of those who doubt. What isthis Truth that has come from our Lord? It is the Revelation, the Message, and because it comes fromAllah it is True.

Then again in verse 62 of the sameSurah we read:

“This is indeed the true account, for sure. There is no god but Allah, and indeed Allah is the All- Mighty, the All-Wise.” (3:62)

The Qur’an

This idea is expounded upon in the Qur’an, and in particular regarding its own revelation, the carrying of the Revelation by Angel Gabriel, and the reception of the Revelation by Prophet Muhammad, describing them as all true and truthful. For example, Allah says inSurah Israa , verse 105:

“With the truth didWe send it down, and with the truth did it descend, and We did not send you except as a bearer of good news and as awarner .” (17:105)

Thus, since the Qur’an comes from Allah, and when it is issued by and originates from Allah then it is complete Truth, containing no falsity (batil ) becauseit is initiated by Allah .

The Prophet

So when it reaches the Prophet it is still pure and true because Gabriel does not do any mischief nor does he make any mistake in between the truth being issued by Allah and received by the Prophet.So everything comes down in a pure and truthful form:

With the truth didWe send it down and with the truth did it descend. (17:105).”

Often it happens that a person sends a message and on theway the message is lost or distorted so that even if and when people receive the message it differs from the original. However, this is certainly not the case with Allah. When Allah sends a message, the messageis also received with purity and truthfully.

InSurah Nahl , verse 102, Allah says:

Say, the Spirit has brought it down duly from your Lord. (16:102)

So Allah sent down the Qur’an, Gabriel brought it down and the Prophet received it, all these things being done truthfully. Furthermore, in verses 41: 41 and 42, Allah says:

“Indeed it is an august Book: falsehood cannot approach it, from before itnor from behind it, a [gradually] sent down [revelation] from One all-wise, all-laudable.” (41:41-42)

Mission of Prophet to serve the Truth

In the Qur’an, Allah talks about the mission of the Prophet. What was that mission? We find that the mission of the Prophet was again to serve the truth.

InSurah al-Baqarah , verse 119, we read:

“IndeedWe have sent you with the truth, as a bearer of good news and as awarner and you will not be questioned concerning the inmates of hell.” (2:119)

Thus, Allah explains that He has commissioned, dispatched, and sent the Prophet to give good tidings and warnings and has reassured him that he is not responsible for the dwellers of Hell who will bear the consequences of their own deeds. The Prophet then conveyed and delivered the message of Allah truthfully, without adding or hiding a single word to the message.

Furthermore, inSurah Haqqah ,verses 44 to 46 Allah says :

“Had he faked any sayings in Our Name, We would have surely seized him by the right hand and then cut off his aorta.” (69:44-46)

Though the verse is specifically regarding the Prophet, it is indeed a warning to us;certainly the Prophet did not do this. This must be a warning to all of us; if the Prophet had fabricated something from himself, adding or deleting a few words and attributing that to Allah, then Allah would have seized him by force and cut the artery of his heart. Fromthis we understand that He would have destroyed him.Thus it is certain that not a single word was added by the Prophet, nor was it hidden by him.

Implementation of the divine message in a truthful manner

Implementation of the Qur’an inparticular, or of the divine message in general, must be done in a truthful manner. InSurah Saad , verse 26, we find the example of David, a prophet whowas then raised to the level of being the vicegerent of Allah (khalifatullah ):

“O David!Indeed We have made you a vicegerent on the earth. So judge between people with justice and do not follow desire, or it will lead you astray from the way of Allah.” (38:26)

Allah is telling Prophet David that He has appointed him a vicegerent, a deputy-like guardian on the earth. Prophet David is then advised to judge and rule truthfully amongst the people and avoid following his lower desires, lusts and appetites because as this would lead him away from the path of Allah.So he mustendeavour to discover who is in the right; that is, whose claim is justified and whose claim is not.

Thus we must not be biased and consider the claims of the people in ourfavour to be right because of our love for them whether they be brothers, friends, relatives, or people of same city or country. The only criterion thatmust be observed is the truth. Follow our desires and feelings will mislead us, taking us far from the path of Allah. We should also take care to hear both sides of a story, to gather evidence from all parties in a dispute so that we can judge truthfully in full knowledge of the facts.

This contrast between observing the truth and following one’s desires is of utmost importance. The historyof mankind is a history of conflict between the truth and peoples’ desires, whereby either people have been following and observing the truth, and humbled when confronting it, or they were following their personal desires.

Disregarding the truth leads to destruction of creation

InSurah Mu’minoon , verse 71, Allah states an important principle that could have far-reaching and devastating consequences:

“Had the Truth followed their desires, the heavens and the earth would have surely fallen apart (along) with those who are in them.” (23:71)

Allah says thatthe whole creation – the heavens, earth, and whoever lives in them, would be damaged and corrupted if the Truth were to depend on people’s desires. If it were the case that inreality there was no absolute Truth and people’s desires became the only criteria, then the entire creation would be destroyed.

This is why we mentioned that the whole of history is the history of the conflict between the Truth on the one hand and the desires, lusts, and appetites of people on the other. The historyof mankind is nothing other than this, whether it be in personal, social, national, or international sphere.

Individuals and communities must strive to be truthful

If Allah is indeed the True, the Book was revealed truthfully, the Prophet delivered the message truthfully, his words and actions was in compliance with the Truth, and everyjudgement is to be made observing the Truth, what should we do as individuals and as communities?

We are to try our utmost to be truthful, toobserve and commit ourselves to the Truth, which is not merely telling the truth. That is only one aspect of it. Truthfulness must become a quality of the heart and soul, rather than mere truthfulness as a quality of our speech.

What is a true or false statement? According to the commonly held view called the correspondence theory, this means that either the statement corresponds to an independentreality which exists outside the statement or it does not correspond. So, for example, if someone says that the weather is presently warm, the truth of that statement depends on a reality which is independent from the statement; therefore, we can compare what has been said with that independent reality to see whether it corresponds to that reality or not. If the statement corresponds to the independent reality, it is true. If not, it is false.

However, relatively speaking, this kind of truthfulness is very trivial. Being truthful in every sense of the word is actually much more than this. It is quite possible that sometimes people make a true statement but infact they are still liars. The Qur’an gives an example of this when Allah talks about the hypocrites (munafiqeen ):

“When the hypocrites come to you they say, ‘We bear witness that you are indeed the apostle of God.’ God knows that you are indeed His Apostle, and God bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed liars.” (63:1)

When the hypocrites visited the Prophet, they told him that they bore witness that hewas sent by Allah as the Apostle of Allah.But then Allah says:

“And surely Allah knows that you are His Apostle. But Allah bears witness that these people are liars.” (63:1)

Allah called them liars because although what they said was indeed true, they did not actually believe in what they were saying as they did not say it with honesty.

Thus, sometimes truth or truthfulness is the quality of the statement and sometimes it is the quality of the speaker. If we say something we believe, the statement may be correct although we are not being honest because we are deceiving others by telling them something we do not accept. This is not honesty because true honesty is to say what we actually believe and to say what we ourselves accept.

Therefore, truthfulness is not only about factual statements about, forexample, the weather, the natural world, or about what others have said and done . It also concerns the advice that we give people and the way we preach. It is a true statement when we say it is good to be humble; however, if we do not believe that being humble is good, then we are not being honest, and even if we believe so withoutpractise , then we are not being honest.

Truthfulness is not a matter of making true statements or a matter of saying what we believe; it is most importantly a matter of saying what we ourselvesare whole-heartedly and sincerely committed to.As the English saying goes: “Practise what you preach.”

Examples of the most truthful people

Thus an honest person is not only someone who does not lie; his words, beliefs, and actions all confirm and conform to the truth, called ‘siddeeq ’ or ‘most truthful’ inQur’anic terminology, and is deeper than ‘sadiq ’ or ‘truthful’. It is such a high position that Allah praises Prophet Abraham for being ‘Siddeeq ’ and both Lady Fatimah and Lady Mary as ‘Siddeeqah ’, because everything that they believe, say, or do,is in compliance with the Truth. There is not an instance when they say something and act differently to their statements.

Neither will they say something whilst inactual fact they believe something else. Indeed these people would not even say they intended to do something while intending something else butwere prevented by circumstances from carrying out their intended action.

Their entire reality, soul, andspirit, is in compliance with – and committed to – the Truth.

Why be entirely committed and in compliance with Truth?

We should be entirely committed and in compliance with the Truth because Truth is nothing other than Allah, and all thatis created or legislated by Him .So anything True is either created by Allah or legislated by Him. True servants of Allah are those who are truly committed to the Truth. Servitude to Allah is nothing other than commitment to theTruth which in the first place is Allah Himself and in the second place is whatever is created or legislated by Allah.

Having said this, it now becomes clear why amu’min must be truthful. It is not simply a matter of how much we pray or fast although these are important duties as Allah asks us to do so. However, what is of utmost importance is how committed we are in giving up our own ideas, and ways of thinking and living to adapt ourselves to the Truth. If weare servants of Allah then no matter who tells us something true, we would accept it without hesitation.

For example, if we have said something wrong and someone tells us this, then we should accept it, no matter who is telling us, even if it is a child. Truth does not belong to the person who mentions that Truth. Truth comes from Allah Alone. We should not think that if we accept something true from someone that it means that we are somehow doing a service to that person.

On the contrary, we are in fact doing a service to ourselves because, wherever itmay be found , Truth is from Allah. In fact, even if our enemies tell us something true we must be able torecognise and decide whether it is true or not; and if it is true, we must accept it. This is the truemu’min .

The truemu’min searches for and welcomes truth and wisdom

A realmu’min is constantly in search for true ideas and wisdom. They do not wait for others to approach them with the true; they search for it. Some people simply continue with their daily lives and if someone comes along and tells them something, then finally think about whether to accept it or not. However, themu’min is constantly searching for the Truth, looking for people to come and correct him. They want to find people who can present their mistakes and errors to them to improve themselves.

ImamSadiq said: “My best brothers are those who offer to me, who present to me as gift, my faults, my mistakes, my deficiencies.” Of course, the Imam himself is ama’soom ; this for our benefit.So we must ask every brother, sister, or child to inform us if they observe any mistake in us or know anything about us that can assist in our self-improvement. Then, if someone for any reason mentions a negative trait, we are to appreciate it.

A long timeago I once read an interesting and informative story which I have not found in any other book. Apparently, in the early days of Islam, when people were sitting in themasjid in rows, before or after congregational prayers, one of the things some people did was walk up and down the rows, just as people do so today with a collection bag for donations. However, in those days, they did not ask for money; rather they asked everyone to tell them if they knew anything about them. This was the way theywere tried to improve themselves.

However we are usually far from behaving in a similar manner. Often we become angry even if someone very nicely and politely comes and tells something in private. In fact, even if we do not become angry, we may not take their words seriously.

One ofmy teachers gave a very beautiful example. He asked us what we would do if someone came and told us that we had a spot of mud or something similar on our face. Of course, we would immediately go and check in the mirror, try to remove it and thank that person for telling us. We would not think about things such as whether that person was our friend or not, whether they were young or old, rich or poor. We would appreciate and thank whoever had told us this, go in front of a mirror and try to remove that mud.

So what is it that prevents us from accepting and appreciating what people tell us about any bad quality or bad habit that they have seen in us, which is like a black spot on our heart?Indeed we should be more thankful for that information.

Real servitude is to give priority to Allah and the Truth that comes from Him

We cannot judge or measure whether someone is a good servant of Allah simply by seeing how muchthey pray, fast, or recite the Qur’an, although of course these are all very important. Real servitude is to give priority to Allah, to give priority to the Truth which comes from Allah and to be always ready to change oneself for the better, giving up our own ways of thinking or doing things for the sake of Allah. This is the real test and challenge.

Furthermore, we shouldendeavour to cultivate this habit when we are young because as one becomes older, and perhaps acquires more, whether it is talent, fame, wealth, and so forth, it becomes more difficult to do so.

Truthfulness and the community

It is obvious that a community must also implement truthfulness in the full sense of the word. Two verses from the Qur’an thatwere mentioned previously can now be reflected on:

Verse 159 ofSurah A’raf reads:

“Among the people of Moses is a group who guide (the people) by the truth and do justice thereby.” (7:159)

Allah is saying that amongst the nation of Musa there are people, a group or a community, who invite and guide people truthfully; they also rule, judge and make decisions truthfully.

In this verse, ‘bihi ’ means ‘bilhaqq ’ so the phrase means “yaduna bil haqq wa bil haqqi yadiloon .” ‘Yadiloon ’ means ‘to judge’ or ‘to rule’ but mostly itis interpreted as ‘to judge’.

When they judge, such people judge by observing the truth, and when they talk to and invitepeople they also observe the truth. They do not, for example, consider what they would like or what better serves their own selfish interests. Neither do they consider what would please their superiors, their group leaders, and so on. They only consider the Truth. Actually, this is one of the beauties of the Qur’an. The Qur’an contains no sense of rivalry in its words.

If it merely consisted of the words of a human being, then we would not expect to find passages where one religion gives credit to and praises another religion or the followers of another religion. However, the Qur’an is the divine Word of Allah; so in it Allah praises a group of followers of Prophet Musa for observing the truth.

InSurah A’raf , verse 181, Allah makes this into a generalprinciple which is no longer only about a group of Jewish people. Now we find something more general:

“Among thoseWe have created are a nation who guide by the truth and act justly thereby.” (7:181)

Allah is saying that amongst the people He has created, amongst His creation, there is such a group of people tobe found . Theycan be found in various different religious communities and throughout the ages. So there have always been some people who ‘yaduna bil haqq wa bihi adiloon ’, who guide truthfully and judge truthfully.

Who are these people?

The greatAllamah Tabatabai prefers the view that this group orcommunity who guides and judges truthfully are theMa’sumeen , that is, the Prophets and Imams. Another view is that ofAyatullah Makarim Shirazi , which maybe seems to be more acceptable, that such people are not necessarily only the Prophets and Imams; they could also be their true followers. Therefore, even amongstnonma’sumeen , amongst people who are not infallible, there can always be true followers of theMa’sumeen who try to observe the truth when they guide and judge.

Conclusion

So truthfulness must be our standard; and those who are the most truthful must be our role models. It is irrelevant whether we are a mere group of 5-10 members; or a larger organization such as an Islamic centre or an Islamic party; or if we are citizens of an Islamic state or are a Muslim community living as a minority in a non- Muslim country. Whatever our circumstances, we must continuously give priority to being truthful and to committing ourselves to following the truth in its fullest sense by following only what is really created and legislated by Allah.

Insha’Allah we can reach the state that every one of us and our communities would be so very truthful that when other people hear us, listen to us, and observe ourjudgements , they would have full trust in us. This is what a Muslim individual and community must be like. When people hear something from a Muslim, they must be able to be 100% sure and certain that that Muslim is speaking truthfully to the best of his or her knowledge.

Of course, we arenot infallible , but at least other people should be assured that to the best of our knowledge, we are speaking with full honesty. We cannot and should not accept being called Muslim if we are dishonest, orindeed if we do not have a full commitment to the Truth. This is notsomething which we can call Islamic.

Notes

1. In Islamic terminology we find something similar to this when, if we want to reach the core and the depth of an idea, we say that we want to reach thehaqq , meaning the foundation and the very real basis of the thing.

2. For further explanation, one may refer to the paper: “The Supreme Light and Created Lights: AQur’anic Perspective” in Message ofThaqalayn , vol. 14, no 4. Online at:

https://www.al-islam.org/message-thaqalayn/vol-14-no-4-winter-2014/supre...

www.alhassanain.org/english

Community Building, Part 3

This seriesis based on a nine-session course conducted by the author on Community Building at the Islamic Centre of England in London in 2009.

Abstract

It is crucial for a community to have a shared identity and to work towards a joint cause. Regardless of whether it is on a worldwide or lesser scale, establishing a community is currently becoming more crucial, and successful community involves specific requirements and qualities.

This series of papers studies the importance ofcommunity-building and Prophet Muhammad’s efforts to implement it. Prioritized qualities such as truthfulness, trustworthiness, justice, unity, persistence, moderation, humbleness, enjoining good and forbidding wrong, and maintaining a healthy balance in working for this worldto eventually lead to a blissful hereafter were expounded on.

This part further builds upon the concept of truthfulness in Islamic theology and is moral system; of Allah as the true being, revelation as the truth, the prophets’ mission to serve the truth, and the importance of communities striving to become truthful. Thusfar we have listed some of the major characteristics of an Islamic Community, a community which is pleasing to Allah (swt ), such as being balanced and moderate, calling towards good and in particular enjoining good and prohibiting bad. In what follows, we will refer to some other characteristics of an Islamic community.

Commitment to the truth

This is an immensely important quality both for individuals and for communities. The subject of truth is so important from theQur’anic perspective that firstly we will expand on it a little and then focus on the role of truth in the community. One of the notions on which great emphasishas been put in the Qur’an is the notion of truth and the True (al-Haqq ).

Qur’an describes Allah as the True

In the Qur’an, Allah describes Himself as being ‘the True’ or the ‘the Truth’ (al-haqq ). The Qur’an tells us that the reason why God should befollowed, worshipped and obeyed is that ‘Allah is the True.’ Thus, we can understand that for Allah, to be the True is more important than to be, for example, Self-Sufficient,Self - Existent, etc. For example, the verse 22:62 reads as follows:

True, and what they invoke besides Him is nullity, and because Allah is the All-exalted, the All-great. (22:62)

Indeed, this is a sound argument for the necessity of worshipping Allah and not worshipping idols and false gods. Allah says that the reason for asking us to worship Him only isbecause He is al-Haqq , the True and the Real; and what they call on other than Him is false. The major deciding factor is whether something is true or false and so we worship Allah and follow Him because He is the True.

Two verses that expand on the meaning of being true are as follows:

1. The chapter al-Hajj, verse6 , Allah says:

That is because Allah is the True and it is HeWho revives the dead and He has power over all things. (22:6)

2. The chapterYunus , verse 32:

That, then, is Allah, your true Lord. So what is there after the truth except error? Then whereare you being led away? (10:32)

Allah is the True and real basis of everything

So Allah is al-Haqq , the True and the Real. However, we may say that we are also true and real and thateverything which exists is also true and real. For example, we could say that everyone and everything we know and everything in this world ishaqq . For example, inZiyarah AleYaseen weread “Heaven is true, hell is true, reward and punishment are true.” So if these are also true, then what is the difference between them and Allah beingTrue ?

The difference is clear. There are uncountable real things thatare all created . Allah is al-Haqq in the sense that not only is He True and Real but Heis also the Source and the Origin of everything else that is true and real. So ‘al-Haqq ’ means the ‘True One’Who is the Origin and the Source of everything else1 .

Allah alone is the True

Allah alone is al-Haqq ; we cannot say ‘I am al-haqq ’ or ‘you are al-haqq .’ Of course, some mystics likeHallaj said: ‘ana alhaqq ’. Although they meant something else e.g. being a manifestation ofGod which is al-Haqq , personally I think we should refrain from calling anyone ‘alhaqq ’ since this might be misleading. It is only AllahWho in reality is the One who is absolutely True in the fullest sense of this concept. Everything else in existence, including ourselvesare only true as far as we are related to Allah. This is similar to the concept of light. Allah is al-Noor , the real and original Light and the basis of every light such that every other light that is not Allah comes from Him2 .

The truth observed in the creation of the world

The creation of the world also takes place observing the Truth. For example, out of many verses dealing with this subject, inSurah An’am , verse 73, Allah says:

It is HeWho created the heavens and the earth with the truth. (6:73)

Allah has created the heavens and the earth with Truth, truthfully, or observing the Truth. There is no falsity in the creation of the skies and of the earth.

Revelation, divine books, and prophets are true Revelation

For example, inSurah Baqarah , verse 147, Allah says:

“This is the truth from your Lord; so do not be among thesceptics .” (2:147)

Similarly, inSurah AleImran , verse 60, we read:

This is the truth from your Lord, so do not be among thesceptics . (3:60)

Thus the Truth comes from our Lord, or the Truth is from our Lord, so we should not have doubts and should not be one of those who doubt. What isthis Truth that has come from our Lord? It is the Revelation, the Message, and because it comes fromAllah it is True.

Then again in verse 62 of the sameSurah we read:

“This is indeed the true account, for sure. There is no god but Allah, and indeed Allah is the All- Mighty, the All-Wise.” (3:62)

The Qur’an

This idea is expounded upon in the Qur’an, and in particular regarding its own revelation, the carrying of the Revelation by Angel Gabriel, and the reception of the Revelation by Prophet Muhammad, describing them as all true and truthful. For example, Allah says inSurah Israa , verse 105:

“With the truth didWe send it down, and with the truth did it descend, and We did not send you except as a bearer of good news and as awarner .” (17:105)

Thus, since the Qur’an comes from Allah, and when it is issued by and originates from Allah then it is complete Truth, containing no falsity (batil ) becauseit is initiated by Allah .

The Prophet

So when it reaches the Prophet it is still pure and true because Gabriel does not do any mischief nor does he make any mistake in between the truth being issued by Allah and received by the Prophet.So everything comes down in a pure and truthful form:

With the truth didWe send it down and with the truth did it descend. (17:105).”

Often it happens that a person sends a message and on theway the message is lost or distorted so that even if and when people receive the message it differs from the original. However, this is certainly not the case with Allah. When Allah sends a message, the messageis also received with purity and truthfully.

InSurah Nahl , verse 102, Allah says:

Say, the Spirit has brought it down duly from your Lord. (16:102)

So Allah sent down the Qur’an, Gabriel brought it down and the Prophet received it, all these things being done truthfully. Furthermore, in verses 41: 41 and 42, Allah says:

“Indeed it is an august Book: falsehood cannot approach it, from before itnor from behind it, a [gradually] sent down [revelation] from One all-wise, all-laudable.” (41:41-42)

Mission of Prophet to serve the Truth

In the Qur’an, Allah talks about the mission of the Prophet. What was that mission? We find that the mission of the Prophet was again to serve the truth.

InSurah al-Baqarah , verse 119, we read:

“IndeedWe have sent you with the truth, as a bearer of good news and as awarner and you will not be questioned concerning the inmates of hell.” (2:119)

Thus, Allah explains that He has commissioned, dispatched, and sent the Prophet to give good tidings and warnings and has reassured him that he is not responsible for the dwellers of Hell who will bear the consequences of their own deeds. The Prophet then conveyed and delivered the message of Allah truthfully, without adding or hiding a single word to the message.

Furthermore, inSurah Haqqah ,verses 44 to 46 Allah says :

“Had he faked any sayings in Our Name, We would have surely seized him by the right hand and then cut off his aorta.” (69:44-46)

Though the verse is specifically regarding the Prophet, it is indeed a warning to us;certainly the Prophet did not do this. This must be a warning to all of us; if the Prophet had fabricated something from himself, adding or deleting a few words and attributing that to Allah, then Allah would have seized him by force and cut the artery of his heart. Fromthis we understand that He would have destroyed him.Thus it is certain that not a single word was added by the Prophet, nor was it hidden by him.

Implementation of the divine message in a truthful manner

Implementation of the Qur’an inparticular, or of the divine message in general, must be done in a truthful manner. InSurah Saad , verse 26, we find the example of David, a prophet whowas then raised to the level of being the vicegerent of Allah (khalifatullah ):

“O David!Indeed We have made you a vicegerent on the earth. So judge between people with justice and do not follow desire, or it will lead you astray from the way of Allah.” (38:26)

Allah is telling Prophet David that He has appointed him a vicegerent, a deputy-like guardian on the earth. Prophet David is then advised to judge and rule truthfully amongst the people and avoid following his lower desires, lusts and appetites because as this would lead him away from the path of Allah.So he mustendeavour to discover who is in the right; that is, whose claim is justified and whose claim is not.

Thus we must not be biased and consider the claims of the people in ourfavour to be right because of our love for them whether they be brothers, friends, relatives, or people of same city or country. The only criterion thatmust be observed is the truth. Follow our desires and feelings will mislead us, taking us far from the path of Allah. We should also take care to hear both sides of a story, to gather evidence from all parties in a dispute so that we can judge truthfully in full knowledge of the facts.

This contrast between observing the truth and following one’s desires is of utmost importance. The historyof mankind is a history of conflict between the truth and peoples’ desires, whereby either people have been following and observing the truth, and humbled when confronting it, or they were following their personal desires.

Disregarding the truth leads to destruction of creation

InSurah Mu’minoon , verse 71, Allah states an important principle that could have far-reaching and devastating consequences:

“Had the Truth followed their desires, the heavens and the earth would have surely fallen apart (along) with those who are in them.” (23:71)

Allah says thatthe whole creation – the heavens, earth, and whoever lives in them, would be damaged and corrupted if the Truth were to depend on people’s desires. If it were the case that inreality there was no absolute Truth and people’s desires became the only criteria, then the entire creation would be destroyed.

This is why we mentioned that the whole of history is the history of the conflict between the Truth on the one hand and the desires, lusts, and appetites of people on the other. The historyof mankind is nothing other than this, whether it be in personal, social, national, or international sphere.

Individuals and communities must strive to be truthful

If Allah is indeed the True, the Book was revealed truthfully, the Prophet delivered the message truthfully, his words and actions was in compliance with the Truth, and everyjudgement is to be made observing the Truth, what should we do as individuals and as communities?

We are to try our utmost to be truthful, toobserve and commit ourselves to the Truth, which is not merely telling the truth. That is only one aspect of it. Truthfulness must become a quality of the heart and soul, rather than mere truthfulness as a quality of our speech.

What is a true or false statement? According to the commonly held view called the correspondence theory, this means that either the statement corresponds to an independentreality which exists outside the statement or it does not correspond. So, for example, if someone says that the weather is presently warm, the truth of that statement depends on a reality which is independent from the statement; therefore, we can compare what has been said with that independent reality to see whether it corresponds to that reality or not. If the statement corresponds to the independent reality, it is true. If not, it is false.

However, relatively speaking, this kind of truthfulness is very trivial. Being truthful in every sense of the word is actually much more than this. It is quite possible that sometimes people make a true statement but infact they are still liars. The Qur’an gives an example of this when Allah talks about the hypocrites (munafiqeen ):

“When the hypocrites come to you they say, ‘We bear witness that you are indeed the apostle of God.’ God knows that you are indeed His Apostle, and God bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed liars.” (63:1)

When the hypocrites visited the Prophet, they told him that they bore witness that hewas sent by Allah as the Apostle of Allah.But then Allah says:

“And surely Allah knows that you are His Apostle. But Allah bears witness that these people are liars.” (63:1)

Allah called them liars because although what they said was indeed true, they did not actually believe in what they were saying as they did not say it with honesty.

Thus, sometimes truth or truthfulness is the quality of the statement and sometimes it is the quality of the speaker. If we say something we believe, the statement may be correct although we are not being honest because we are deceiving others by telling them something we do not accept. This is not honesty because true honesty is to say what we actually believe and to say what we ourselves accept.

Therefore, truthfulness is not only about factual statements about, forexample, the weather, the natural world, or about what others have said and done . It also concerns the advice that we give people and the way we preach. It is a true statement when we say it is good to be humble; however, if we do not believe that being humble is good, then we are not being honest, and even if we believe so withoutpractise , then we are not being honest.

Truthfulness is not a matter of making true statements or a matter of saying what we believe; it is most importantly a matter of saying what we ourselvesare whole-heartedly and sincerely committed to.As the English saying goes: “Practise what you preach.”

Examples of the most truthful people

Thus an honest person is not only someone who does not lie; his words, beliefs, and actions all confirm and conform to the truth, called ‘siddeeq ’ or ‘most truthful’ inQur’anic terminology, and is deeper than ‘sadiq ’ or ‘truthful’. It is such a high position that Allah praises Prophet Abraham for being ‘Siddeeq ’ and both Lady Fatimah and Lady Mary as ‘Siddeeqah ’, because everything that they believe, say, or do,is in compliance with the Truth. There is not an instance when they say something and act differently to their statements.

Neither will they say something whilst inactual fact they believe something else. Indeed these people would not even say they intended to do something while intending something else butwere prevented by circumstances from carrying out their intended action.

Their entire reality, soul, andspirit, is in compliance with – and committed to – the Truth.

Why be entirely committed and in compliance with Truth?

We should be entirely committed and in compliance with the Truth because Truth is nothing other than Allah, and all thatis created or legislated by Him .So anything True is either created by Allah or legislated by Him. True servants of Allah are those who are truly committed to the Truth. Servitude to Allah is nothing other than commitment to theTruth which in the first place is Allah Himself and in the second place is whatever is created or legislated by Allah.

Having said this, it now becomes clear why amu’min must be truthful. It is not simply a matter of how much we pray or fast although these are important duties as Allah asks us to do so. However, what is of utmost importance is how committed we are in giving up our own ideas, and ways of thinking and living to adapt ourselves to the Truth. If weare servants of Allah then no matter who tells us something true, we would accept it without hesitation.

For example, if we have said something wrong and someone tells us this, then we should accept it, no matter who is telling us, even if it is a child. Truth does not belong to the person who mentions that Truth. Truth comes from Allah Alone. We should not think that if we accept something true from someone that it means that we are somehow doing a service to that person.

On the contrary, we are in fact doing a service to ourselves because, wherever itmay be found , Truth is from Allah. In fact, even if our enemies tell us something true we must be able torecognise and decide whether it is true or not; and if it is true, we must accept it. This is the truemu’min .

The truemu’min searches for and welcomes truth and wisdom

A realmu’min is constantly in search for true ideas and wisdom. They do not wait for others to approach them with the true; they search for it. Some people simply continue with their daily lives and if someone comes along and tells them something, then finally think about whether to accept it or not. However, themu’min is constantly searching for the Truth, looking for people to come and correct him. They want to find people who can present their mistakes and errors to them to improve themselves.

ImamSadiq said: “My best brothers are those who offer to me, who present to me as gift, my faults, my mistakes, my deficiencies.” Of course, the Imam himself is ama’soom ; this for our benefit.So we must ask every brother, sister, or child to inform us if they observe any mistake in us or know anything about us that can assist in our self-improvement. Then, if someone for any reason mentions a negative trait, we are to appreciate it.

A long timeago I once read an interesting and informative story which I have not found in any other book. Apparently, in the early days of Islam, when people were sitting in themasjid in rows, before or after congregational prayers, one of the things some people did was walk up and down the rows, just as people do so today with a collection bag for donations. However, in those days, they did not ask for money; rather they asked everyone to tell them if they knew anything about them. This was the way theywere tried to improve themselves.

However we are usually far from behaving in a similar manner. Often we become angry even if someone very nicely and politely comes and tells something in private. In fact, even if we do not become angry, we may not take their words seriously.

One ofmy teachers gave a very beautiful example. He asked us what we would do if someone came and told us that we had a spot of mud or something similar on our face. Of course, we would immediately go and check in the mirror, try to remove it and thank that person for telling us. We would not think about things such as whether that person was our friend or not, whether they were young or old, rich or poor. We would appreciate and thank whoever had told us this, go in front of a mirror and try to remove that mud.

So what is it that prevents us from accepting and appreciating what people tell us about any bad quality or bad habit that they have seen in us, which is like a black spot on our heart?Indeed we should be more thankful for that information.

Real servitude is to give priority to Allah and the Truth that comes from Him

We cannot judge or measure whether someone is a good servant of Allah simply by seeing how muchthey pray, fast, or recite the Qur’an, although of course these are all very important. Real servitude is to give priority to Allah, to give priority to the Truth which comes from Allah and to be always ready to change oneself for the better, giving up our own ways of thinking or doing things for the sake of Allah. This is the real test and challenge.

Furthermore, we shouldendeavour to cultivate this habit when we are young because as one becomes older, and perhaps acquires more, whether it is talent, fame, wealth, and so forth, it becomes more difficult to do so.

Truthfulness and the community

It is obvious that a community must also implement truthfulness in the full sense of the word. Two verses from the Qur’an thatwere mentioned previously can now be reflected on:

Verse 159 ofSurah A’raf reads:

“Among the people of Moses is a group who guide (the people) by the truth and do justice thereby.” (7:159)

Allah is saying that amongst the nation of Musa there are people, a group or a community, who invite and guide people truthfully; they also rule, judge and make decisions truthfully.

In this verse, ‘bihi ’ means ‘bilhaqq ’ so the phrase means “yaduna bil haqq wa bil haqqi yadiloon .” ‘Yadiloon ’ means ‘to judge’ or ‘to rule’ but mostly itis interpreted as ‘to judge’.

When they judge, such people judge by observing the truth, and when they talk to and invitepeople they also observe the truth. They do not, for example, consider what they would like or what better serves their own selfish interests. Neither do they consider what would please their superiors, their group leaders, and so on. They only consider the Truth. Actually, this is one of the beauties of the Qur’an. The Qur’an contains no sense of rivalry in its words.

If it merely consisted of the words of a human being, then we would not expect to find passages where one religion gives credit to and praises another religion or the followers of another religion. However, the Qur’an is the divine Word of Allah; so in it Allah praises a group of followers of Prophet Musa for observing the truth.

InSurah A’raf , verse 181, Allah makes this into a generalprinciple which is no longer only about a group of Jewish people. Now we find something more general:

“Among thoseWe have created are a nation who guide by the truth and act justly thereby.” (7:181)

Allah is saying that amongst the people He has created, amongst His creation, there is such a group of people tobe found . Theycan be found in various different religious communities and throughout the ages. So there have always been some people who ‘yaduna bil haqq wa bihi adiloon ’, who guide truthfully and judge truthfully.

Who are these people?

The greatAllamah Tabatabai prefers the view that this group orcommunity who guides and judges truthfully are theMa’sumeen , that is, the Prophets and Imams. Another view is that ofAyatullah Makarim Shirazi , which maybe seems to be more acceptable, that such people are not necessarily only the Prophets and Imams; they could also be their true followers. Therefore, even amongstnonma’sumeen , amongst people who are not infallible, there can always be true followers of theMa’sumeen who try to observe the truth when they guide and judge.

Conclusion

So truthfulness must be our standard; and those who are the most truthful must be our role models. It is irrelevant whether we are a mere group of 5-10 members; or a larger organization such as an Islamic centre or an Islamic party; or if we are citizens of an Islamic state or are a Muslim community living as a minority in a non- Muslim country. Whatever our circumstances, we must continuously give priority to being truthful and to committing ourselves to following the truth in its fullest sense by following only what is really created and legislated by Allah.

Insha’Allah we can reach the state that every one of us and our communities would be so very truthful that when other people hear us, listen to us, and observe ourjudgements , they would have full trust in us. This is what a Muslim individual and community must be like. When people hear something from a Muslim, they must be able to be 100% sure and certain that that Muslim is speaking truthfully to the best of his or her knowledge.

Of course, we arenot infallible , but at least other people should be assured that to the best of our knowledge, we are speaking with full honesty. We cannot and should not accept being called Muslim if we are dishonest, orindeed if we do not have a full commitment to the Truth. This is notsomething which we can call Islamic.

Notes

1. In Islamic terminology we find something similar to this when, if we want to reach the core and the depth of an idea, we say that we want to reach thehaqq , meaning the foundation and the very real basis of the thing.

2. For further explanation, one may refer to the paper: “The Supreme Light and Created Lights: AQur’anic Perspective” in Message ofThaqalayn , vol. 14, no 4. Online at:

https://www.al-islam.org/message-thaqalayn/vol-14-no-4-winter-2014/supre...

www.alhassanain.org/english