Good living
Translated by Dr. Faheem Bukhatwa
In the name of Allah
most Gracious most Merciful.
Thanks be to Allah, the
Lord of the worlds. Peace and prayers be upon the
most honorable of all messengers Mohammad; and all his folks, companions, and
followers to the day they are all summoned together.
This Friday talk is about the
good living. The talk is summarized in four axis, they are:
First: Good living
is sought after by all people.
Second: Peoples’ concept
and view to good living differ greatly.
Third: The truthful
meaning of the good living.
Fourth: How the
companions understood living.
Good living is a good aim and
a demand by people. They all seek it, and for it they spend and give
sacrifices. Every human strives to obtain and fulfill a good life. For that
all people seem to agree. But, they disagree on the meaning of good life, the
type of this good living and consequently, they differ in the routes and means
which leads them to this living. If they ever get their.
They differ either as
nations, countries or societies, even at the level of the single family. What
a good living means to the father in a family may differ to the son’s
understanding of good living. Two brothers may have completely different views
of good living. Husbands’ and wives may differ too, and may argue a lot
because of that.
Some people interpret good
living as having a lot of money. Thinking money brings good living. Indeed for
some money becomes their goal and the goal verifies the means. For example one
does not care if he/she deals in (Reba) or in interest even when reminded with
what the messenger (PPUH) said: {Allah curses this who takes interest (Reba),
who gives it, who writes it and who witnesses it.}. Some would seek money even
if it was taken as a bribe. The messenger PPBU said: {Allah curses the one who
gives a bribe, who takes it, who is given it and the go between in a bribe.}.
Some collect money even if it is unlawfully taken from the money of an infant.
Some take money from people wrongly, or through cheating, or falsely
testifying, or forbidden tricks. Eventually he may become like those that
Allah and his messenger PPBU warned us against when said: {Don’t be impressed
by their wealth and off springs. For Allah wants to punish them with, in this
worldly life. And their soul exterminate when they are being unbelievers.} Aya
55-Toba.
Few people are those who make
money in Halal, and they are very careful to spend it in Halal, and make it
assist him in obeying his God, so He would not test them in their belief.
The majority care too much
about money to the point that they may get very sick if shares in the money
market go up of down. They car more about taking more of other peoples money
than they fear Allah.
Another class of people view
the good living is in status and higher positions in the job.
They become so attached to
those higher positions such that they love who encourages them and dislike who
gives them the sincere advice. For such goals they don’t mind disobeying the
creator in order to obey some human.
Another type of people see
that good living is in satisfying their urges in any way possible, even if it
was through the disobeying of Allah (may he be exulted). Just like animals
seeking their pleasures. They travel from one country to another in pursuit of
their satanic urges.
They get taken away by the
health and physical well being, with the security and safety of their country,
and the wealth in their living. But instead of being thankful to their Lord,
that becomes unbelief, though they see other nations round them suffering from
sickness, wars, natural disasters, dying in starvation and yet that does not
become a lesson to them. Allah said: {They are like animals, in fact they are
lost even more. They are the unaware}
Another class of people views
good living in disobeying Allah. They are proud of that and practice it
openly, and they make fun of others. They disobey Allah, they are unbelievers,
they see their life as the good life, and think they are free. They are people
of big sins. They go from one sin to the next.
Listen to Allah describing
the good living: {Any one man or woman who does good while they believe, we
shall give him/her a good life, and who is more truthful than Allah} aya
97-Na7l.
This good life is based on
two great maters which are easy to those for whom they are made easy:
The first is believing in
Allah may he be honored and exulted.
The second: is doing good
deeds according to Allah’s guidance and his messenger.
The first to be happy with
this life and the first to know its essence are the prophets and messenger of
Allah led by the last of them, Muhammad (PPBU). Next come the other
messengers, then the messenger’s companions and their companions. The first of
them are Abu-Baker, then Omar, then Othman and all those who followed them
with good deeds until the last day.
Ali ben Aby Talib used to say
in his late night prayers holding his beard talking to this worldly life: {you
tried to allure me and seduce me. But never ever, go and lure someone else. I
have you disconnected in three, for your taste is awful, your company is
dangerous and your danger is so eary. Go and allure someone else, Never ever.
What a petty the supplies are limited, the distance to travel is far, and road
is in the wilderness}.
Dear brothers, this is the
real meaning of life, look after it, get ready for it. And don’t be fooled by
the large number of losers and those who are not aware of the situation. Fear
Allah and remember that it is the way which will lead you to Allah’s
satisfaction with you.
Notes:
-
Aya (or Ayah): is a verse
of the Koran.
-
Arafa (or Arafa or Arafat): is a
mountain
that represents the climax of the Hajj worship. All doing Hajj must stay at
this location on the same day.-
Duaa: a prayer
in the form of
talking to Allah; praising him and asking him for help.
Ferdose:
is the highest
level of the all the gardens of Eden or paradise.
Hadeeth:
is something
reported
that the messenger said. It includes all the speeches and ceremonies he
gave. It is usually narrated or told by
one
of
his companions. There is a list of hadeeths approximately 14000 that are
reported and checked to be genuine.
No more hadeeths are acceptably added to
this list.
Hijra:
the event of the immigration of the messenger from Mekkah to Madina. This
event marks the start of the Islamic calendar. the Islamic calendar has 12
months based on the lunar cycle. Hijra is also used as a name for the
Islamic dating system.
Iman:
belief
Jihad:
is striving in the
line
of Allah in many forms. Includes a very wide scope varying from improving
oneself to fighting a defensive war in protection
of Allah's word.
Khalifa: is the Muslim ruler. Head
of the Islamic empire. Exact translation: "Successor".
Madinah: A city in the Arabian
peninsula
(known now as Saudi Arabia). A city where the messenger had to immigrate to.
Mekka:
is the holiest Mosque for Muslims. Some say it was first built by Adam, and
some say Ibraham. It is where all Muslims face in their daily prayers.
Nafilah:
a voluntary prayer
other than the five obligatory prayers; performed by a believer.
Ommah:
is the Arabic word for a
nation. It usually refers to the
Islamic nation unless otherwise specified.
PPBU:
Peace and Prayers Be Upon him.
Qadr (night of Qadr):
The night when the
first revelation of the Koran took place. Most likely it happened during in
the ten nights of the month of Ramadan.
Sunna: is the way the Messenger PPBU lived, did or said. It includes the way
he dressed, ate, drank, prayed, interacted with other people and fought.
Basically, sunnah is the life style of the messenger PPBU. It is considered
the second source of legislation in Islamic laws and it is considered an
important reference to be used for concluding arguments and disputes
.
