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Element of Steadfastness
Shaykh Saalih bin Muhammad Aal Taalib [(Rabee'uth-Thanee 13, 1424 (June 13, 2003)]
All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the
worlds. Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the Messenger, his household and
companions.
Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah as He should be feared and hold fast unto Islaam
which is the most trustworthy handhold. Know that your bodies cannot bear the
heat of Hell-Fire. Allaah says,
“Oh you who have believed, fear Allaah and believe in His
Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy and make for
you a light by which you will walk and forgive you; and Allaah is Forgiving and
Merciful.”
(Al-Hadeed 57:28)
Remember that you are now in the abode of action where you are tested. Allaah
says,
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to
worship Me.”
(Adh-Dhaariyaat 51:56)
Therefore, do good deeds in order to get reward, for there is nothing tomorrow
but recompense with Paradise or punishment with Hell. O Allaah, bless the hearts
that fear You and seek for Your mercy; open for us the gates of Your blessings
and sustenance and forgive our sins.
Fellow Muslims! There are certainly impediments and problems that lie ahead for
those who seek the way to their Lord and call to His religion and to the
adherence to His straight path. It is only those whom Allaah wills that are
saved from the effects of these impediments.
A keen observer of the history of Islaam will realize that there are periods in
which the Muslims prevailed and periods in which they were weak and suffered
loss and conquests at the hands of their enemies, as it is happening in our
contemporary times. The pitiful state of the Ummah these days has reached a
point where some Muslims have almost lost hope and the confused among them are
asking, “Has Allaah not promised this Ummah victory and glory, and has He not
promised the disbelievers defeat and humiliation? Those who ask questions like
these has forgotten the saying of Allaah that goes thus:
“[He] Who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in
deed – And He is Exalted in might, the Forgiving.”
(Al-Mulk 67:2)
This verse and similar ones clearly tell us that the abode of this world is that
of tribulations for the believers, not that of reward and perpetuity. They also
show that good and bad times are given in turns and that attaining success does
not mean living a comfortable life but to work righteousness in times of ease
and difficulty. Allaah says,
“And We will surely test you until We make evident
those who strive among you [for the cause of Allaah] and the patient, and We
will test your affairs.”
(Muhammad 47:31)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “Giving the disbelievers and the sinful people authority on
the earth is to afford the friends of Allaah the opportunity to attain
perfection through their Jihaad against the disbelievers, their regarding people
as friends or enemies for His sake and their sacrificing their lives and
strength in His cause. If He had not given authorities to His enemies over His
friends and had not put His friends to trials, they would not have sincerely
worshipped Him, they would not have treated people as allies and enemies for His
sake, and they would not have loved and hated, and given and denied for His
sake.”
Brethren in faith! If it is a pre-decree of Allaah that a Muslim generation
should live a period of its life in the state of political weakness and
subjugation, it is then incumbent on such a generation to cling to those things
that will make it remain steadfast in its religion. This is because; Islaam in
itself is a power that is capable of guaranteeing the steadfastness of its
adherents. This is the time of trials in which Allaah distinguishes the wicked
from the good and the truthful from the liar, for the longer the trial, the
greater the number of hypocrites and the higher the possibility of their
revealing what is in their hearts.
Brethren in Islaam! Among the elements of steadfastness is to renew one’s faith
and to fill one’s heart with complete certainty that we are on the truth. He who
has a complete faith in his religion and is convinced of the correctness of his
path, such would never be swayed by tribulations or sorrows. This was the stand
of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when he was antagonized by his
close relatives and he was expelled, besieged, forsaken and an attempt was made
on his life. Even a confederation was formed to fight him. But all this never
prevented him from working towards achieving his goal until the religion of
Allaah was brought to perfection. Some of his companions were shackled with iron
chains; some had their limbs cut and some were severely persecuted. They were
all touched with difficulties and calamities and they were shaken, but all that
only increased them in faith and steadfastness. Allaah says about them,
“Among the believers are men true to what they promised
Allaah. Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow [to the death], and among
them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of their
commitments] by any alteration.”
(Al-Ahzaab 33:23)
This is the result of faith and certainty; and this is the effect of having
trust in Allaah, and that is the way followed by the righteous predecessors who
follow the companions.
Let me give you the stand of Imaam Ahmad during his trial as an example. He was
able to stand firm due to his deep-rooted belief in his cause. As for those who
are doubtful of their cause and those who have weak faith, they are those,
whenever any calamity comes upon them, start blaming their religion and they
start casting doubt on its fundamentals. If only they were wise, they would have
tried to review their way of practicing their religion, they would have known
that the religion of Allaah is complete and that there is no real reform in any
place, at any time and in any circumstances without it. Allaah says,
“This day I have perfected for you your religion and
completed My favour upon you and approved for you Islaam as religion.”
(Al-Maaidah 5:3)
Allaah also says,
“And whoever desires other than Islaam as religion –
never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the
losers.”
(Aal Imraan 3:85)
The problem however lies in either ignorance and inability to implement Islaam
properly, or in the desire and whims that prevent the implementation of that in
all aspects of life. These are the two things that make the hypocrites attack
Islaam and Muslims at a time in which the Muslims are in dire need of being
steadfast in their religion and upholding to their identity and unity. It is
therefore a blessing of Allaah that the leaders of this country do proclaim
whenever there is a calamity and crisis that the country shall always adhere to
the correct religion of Islaam and refuse to compromise on its fundamentals, as
they also emphasize its readiness to defend these basics with souls and
valuables.
Fellow Muslims! The entire society needs to demonstrate a greater interest in
affirming the fundamentals of this religion far from extremism and negligence.
The proper affirmation of the meanings of faith, certainty and trust in Allaah
leads to righteous deeds, allegiance to the religion of Islaam and steadfastness
how severe the calamities are.
The Islaamic countries had undergone many calamities and trials like the fall of
the rightly guided caliphate, the fall of Abbasid and Umayyad caliphates and
other political setbacks, but all that never caused the Muslims to have doubt in
the truthfulness of their religion and did never cause them to look up to the
ideologies and ways of life of their enemies, which contradict their religion.
They saw the truth as regards the faith, the conduct and the way of life only in
the religion of Allaah. This is the real meaning of superiority that is
mentioned in the Word of Allaah:
“So do not weaken and do not grieve, and you will be
superior if you are [true] believers.”
(Aal ‘Imraan 3:139)
This means, you will have glory and upper hand through faith and steadfastness
not true conquest. Allaah says,
“Then We put you [O Muhammad], on an ordained way
concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the
inclinations of those who do not know. Indeed they will never avail you against
Allaah at all. And indeed the wrongdoers are allies of one another, but Allaah
is the Protector of the righteous.”
(Al-Jaathiyah 45:18-19)
Brethren in faith! Among the elements of steadfastness on the religion of Allaah
is adherence to the injunctions of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. The Messenger of
Allaah said, “I am leaving two things for you, if you adhere to them you will
never go astray: the Book of Allaah and my Sunnah.” Allaah says,
“And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allaah
and His Messenger, if you should believe in Allaah and the Last Day. That is the
best [way] and best in result.”
(An-Nisaa 4:59)
This verse means that you should let the Qur’aan and the Sunnah be the judge
among you. This basic principle also entails emulating the righteous
predecessors of this Ummah such as the companions of the Prophet the leaders of
whom are the rightly guided caliphs: Aboo Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Alee and
those who followed their path. The Prophet said, “Adhere to my way and the way
of the righteous and the rightly guided successors after me. Hold on to that
tenaciously.”
The above also implies giving support to the righteous scholars and sincere
callers to the way of Allaah. The scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets
they are the light in the darkness and they are the most guided people. So
adhere to their company.
Among the elements of steadfastness is staying with the congregation of the
Muslims and staying away from the crises. That was the Prophet’s admonition to
Hudhayfah bin Al-Yamaan as reported by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.
Verification of information, shunning rumors, guarding your utterances and
keeping away from issues that are not of any concern to you are also qualities
that should be adopted at all times, particularly during crises. “It is enough a
sin for a man to narrate all that he hears.”
Finally, making frequent and incessant supplication to Allaah helps to remain
steadfast, for man is always in need of his Lord. One of the supplications that
the Messenger of Allaah used to make is, “Yaa Muqallibal-quloob, thabbit qalbee
‘alaa deenik”, meaning: “O You Who moves hearts, make my heart remain firm on
Your religion.” When he was asked about this supplication, he said, “There is no
man without his heart being between two of the Fingers of Allaah. So He keeps
whomever He wants straight and He lets whomever He wants deviate.”
We must also do a lot of remembrance of Allaah, for the remembrance of Allaah
has wonderful benefits. Allaah says,
“O you who have believed, when you encounter a company
[from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allaah that you may be
successful.”
(Al-Anfaal 8:45)
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