الأحد، 29 ديسمبر 2013

Working for Allah's sake


The third basis:
Working for Allah's sake

Whoever works and expects rewards from people, he broke his contract with Allah, he shouldn’t expect any rewards from Allah, so what does Allah wants from us?
"All that was asked of them was to worship GOD, devoting the religion absolutely to Him alone." (Surat Al-Bayenah, verse 5)
At every deed even if I bought something for my wife to eat, I shouldn’t say: "I bought you so and so." Because I do it firstly for Allah's sake not for her and I want the reward for this deed from Allah.
The apostle of Allah said:
"Man can get rewards even when he puts a bite in the mouth of his wife."[1]
If he brings this bite for her and said: "I get it to you to stop asking for it or to be silent." Then this is his reward nothing else, but it should be for Allah's sake, so I only buy her legal things as I don’t seek her satisfaction only but I seek Allah's satisfaction then hers after that because I deal with Allah. Even when man makes love with his wife, the completion of the previous Hadeeth is: "Even when you do sex with your wife, you get favor." So make yourself a truthful intention for Allah even in your legal desires.
The woman who gives presents to her neighbors and relatives at different occasions and write down that she gave so and so fifty pounds and so and so a bottle of oil and a kilo of sugar, then she expects the same, if they don’t do the same she complains and talk badly about them. Was her work for Allah's sake? If so, she shouldn’t wait for rewards from anyone.
And so in bringing up my children, spending money for my kids, the mother who brings up her children and does housework, all should do such things for Allah's sake and seeking His satisfaction, not for a benefit or a wish I expect from them. What do they have to give or grant you? So you shouldn’t boast by what you spend as some fathers or mothers say to their children: "We did so and so for you, we spent our lives serving you in vain, is this your answer for what we did for you?"
Such words spoil these great deeds and by this you loose them, why? Because all the deeds of believers are Ibadah (acts of worship), by them they seek Allah's face and ask for His satisfaction not from anyone else. A righteous man used to deal by these conditions, he used to say to his brothers teaching and urging them:
"I never go out of my house unless I think of seventy intentions for Allah's sake."
The more good intentions you have, the more grants and rewards you get. The companions of the apostle of Allah (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) were like this, he trained them to this great condition in which they are loyal and sincere to Allah and seeking His satisfaction.
Once they were opening a town in Persia called Nahawend, it was the last bastion of Persian kings, there was a big castle around it, they continued for two months and couldn’t open it due to this castle, one day while one of the companions of the apostle of Allah was thinking about this, he wasn't thinking about having the medal of courage or the Nile Medallion, but he wanted to have the Medal for Merit from The Lord of mankind and the decoration from the master of all people.
He got up, wore his clothes, went to a group of soldiers who didn’t know him and said to them: "You will lift me and through me over the wall beside the door among the enemies." They asked him: "Who are you?" He said: "It's none of your business."
They carried him and threw him over the wall among the enemies, their swords rained to him, he used his sword and could kill them by Allah's help and he opened a part of the door and called other Muslims, they went in and they could open the town by the blessing of that man, the leader announced a big reward for that man, but he didn’t know him, the man didn’t appear and no one reported about him, the leader waited three days.
At the end, the man went to him and said that he knew the man who opened the fortress and that he wanted to meet him but on three conditions, the leader asked about his conditions, he said the first one not to tell Ameer Al-Mo'meneen (the caliph Omar) about him, the second one not to give him any reward because he wanted his reward from Allah and the third condition not to make him known to the army. The leader agreed to his conditions and asked about the man, he said: "I am." He left him and went out.
This is the covenant and those are the men of chastening? Who are they? Allah says:
"Among the believers there are people who fulfill their pledges with GOD. Some of them died, while others stand ready, never wavering." (Surat Al-Ahzab, verse 23)
Those men used to care most for Allah's satisfaction because they knew from the very beginning that the contract was with Allah, what is the contract that concerns all of us? Allah says: "GOD has bought" Who has bought? Allah. From whom? "From the believers" Who were at the time of the prophet only or all of them? All believers to the Day of Judgment, what has He bought from them? "Their lives and their money" What does Allah mean by "Their lives"?
He means that all their movements, their stillness their deeds are for Allah's sake and they spend their money according to the orders of Sharia and the book of Allah seeking Allah's satisfaction, he doesn’t spend it and say: "It's my money and I am free to spend it."
If it is your money, then why does Allah question you about it?
But He asks you to do everything devotedly to Allah, firstly you legally gain your money then you spend it according to Sharia, during all this you seek Allah's satisfaction, thank Allah for it, give out His right in it and you never forget that you are only a successor and the real owner is Allah, this is loyalty to Allah.
You want to satisfy your wife and your children, this is a big disaster, Allah says:
"That is the day when neither money, nor children, can help. Only those who come to GOD with their whole heart (will be saved)." (Surat Asho'araa, verses 88, 89)
If I say: "Oh my children, I bought you two buildings and put you balance in the bank." Can they be useful to me there? Can anyone of them give me a reward there if I need it? No, never, but Allah says:
"That is the day when one flees from his brother. From his mother and father. From his spouse and children. Each one of them, on that day, worries about his own destiny." (Surat Abas, verses 24-27)
At that day, he (your son) will ask Allah to take his right from you and take from your rewards, kids (boys and girls) are the mites of rewards as righteous people said and as the beloved (May the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said in his Hadeeth, he said:
"The first people who stop and attach man at the Day of Judgment are his wife and children they stop him in front of Allah and say: Oh Allah get us our right from him, he didn’t teach us what we don't know and he illegally fed us while we don’t know, and Allah retaliates from him."[2]
So, a  smart man is that who deal with Allah not with people and he is devoted to Allah, this is the contract as Allah says:
"GOD has bought from the believers their lives and their money" What is the price: "In exchange for Paradise." How do they pay their lives and their money? "Thus, they fight in the cause of GOD, willing to kill and get killed." Is this contract registered? Yes. "Such is His truthful pledge" Where are the registration offices? "In the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran - and who fulfills His pledge better than GOD? You shall rejoice in making such an exchange. This is the greatest triumph." (Surat At'tawbah, verse 111)
Allah also says:
"Those who violate such a pledge, commit the violation to their own detriment. As for those who fulfill their pledge with GOD, He will grant them a great recompense." (Surat Al-Fat'h, verse 10)
We all announced this pledge or contract when we said: La Ilaha Illa Allah Mohammed Rasool Allah, this means that me, my soul, my money, my time, my life, my age and all my life are for Allah, that is to have them according to the orders of Allah and my intention through all this is to seek Allah's satisfaction, this is the contract of righteous people.
Whoever forgets this, he is lost, misled in this life and exposes himself for questioning, Allah will say to him: "You made a contract with us and you didn’t fulfill." What a questioning, it is followed by great events.
So Imam Abdel-Wahab Asha'rany, who was one of the greatest righteous people, wrote a great book dealing with this pledge, he called it: "Al-Ohood Al-Mohammedeya", (the pledges of Mohammed). This pledge is synopsized so he wrote a marginal date as he is a lawyer in the office of Mohammed.
This righteous man wrote that marginal date for this pledge of Allah, when we read it we find him saying: Allah and the apostle of Allah took our pledge to say the truth and not to tell lies even if we are kidding or having fun, he cited by the texts that support this, the apostle of Allah took our pledge to do so and so and he mentioned everything we have to do, so we should know the items of this pledge?
They are the orders of Sharia, the manners of Koran, the dealings of Islam and the deeds of Mohammed, we are asked to fulfill this in our lives seeking Allah's satisfaction. This is the difference between slaves of Allah who work for Allah's sake and those who muddle on this life and forgot their covenant with Allah and they do only for themselves or for people, dissemble, trick and betray.
Why? Because they forgot that they deal with Allah, Allah reminded them saying : If you think you trick so and so in buying or selling or speech, you don’t trick him or her because your contract is with me, Allah says:
"In trying to deceive GOD and those who believe." (Surat Al-Bakarah, verse 9)
He began by Allah first, so whoever thinks that he deceives a believer, he deceives Allah and so that who betrays, lies or dissemble.
Imam Abul-Aza'em said:
"Leave people behind you and deal truthfully with your Lord."
If other people are traitors, its not my business, I want to keep my covenant to Allah because I deal with Allah and try to be loyal to Him not to people, a believer will be expostulated by Allah about the deeds that he did for people, because Allah took his pledge to be a loveable model, presenting Allah's beloved and chosen prophet among people, following the orders of Sharia and decorated in his life and behavior by the decoration of what Allah says:
 "Muhammad - the messenger of GOD - and those who are with him." (Surat Al-Fat'h, verse 29)
When people see him, they remember the conditions of the noble prophet, his guidance, his manners, his appearance and his dealings, he attracts people to Allah. but now we say that we are with Allah only when we are in the mosque, when we go out of the mosque we wear the mask of Satan, the mask of a lion, the mask of a ram, the mask of a monkey or other things. Is this the loyal deed or the deed for Allah's sake? Without loyalty to Allah, a follower couldn’t do jihad or chastening or achieve his goal even if he spends years and years.
As loyalty to Allah is very important in chastening the soul, I'll tell you a secret of true men's secrets by which Allah grants them this favor and benevolence.
Whoever wants to follow their way, guided by the lights of their chastening to their souls and take their grants, he should surely know that they reached this condition because they made their deeds and their chastening of their bodies, souls, money and everything for Allah's sake, they didn’t get a price for this in this life even if it is all the treasures of life, following the prophets and the apostles of Allah.
The secret is loyalty in all deeds for Allah, nothing else, as Allah says:
"O my people, I do not ask you for any money; my wage comes only from GOD." (Surat Hud, verse 29)
They don’t ask anyone for wage because they taught him, guided him, directed him, explained something ambiguous in knowledge for him or granted him hidden wisdom even if this wage is respecting or ennoblement for that, they are not contented by that, their hearts don’t change or disturbed if they found revulsion or denying by those whom they guided because they teach and do for Allah and not want grants from anyone else for a twinkle of an eye or less.
But those of low or mean souls, if one of them taught three or four people and one of them passes him without giving him ennoblement, he says: "Why does he do this, I taught him so and so." And he makes a newscast and spread it everywhere, do you expect wage from him? Does he have anything to give you? If you expect wage from him, you are heedless because any amount of the treasures of life or hereafter doesn’t equal a word of guidance leads to good or prevents from bad. Does it equal a million dollars? No, by Allah.
If a single glorification or praise in the paper of a believer as it was narrated in the trusted books, is better and greater than all apparent and hidden treasures of life, what you think about a word of guidance, how much is it? They only want from Allah, they don’t ask anyone else, and they deal with Allah and teach people for Allah's sake.
That who says: "How I taught so and so and he left me and went to so and so?" We ask him: "Did you teach him in order to follow you? What do you do by him? If all people followed you, could they benefit or promote you? They might make you go astray or occupy you, what do you want then?"
Allah, nothing else as Allah says:
"Those who worship their Lord day and night, seeking Him alone." (Surat Al-Kahf, verse 28)
Oh brothers, if all the troubles of people in this life is caused by life among them, most troubles of people in the way of Allah is because everyone of them boast to his brother saying that he caused him to inter the way of Allah and taught him, he wants him to follow him permanently, oh brother, why can't a follower exceed a guide and he himself becomes the guide, nothing can stop Allah's favor.
Some brothers sometimes ask and say about themselves: "I come to this town for more than fifteen years and find no fruit for my call to Allah and no one wants to come with me to the way of Allah." In this case I say to him: "Do you call people to yourself or to your Lord, if you call them for Allah, why do you want them then?"
You tell them that this is the religion of Allah, the mosque, the acts of adoration or worship and the Koran, and you tell them to follow this and rely and seek Allah. But you want to call them for yourself to respect you, ennoble and make you great sheikh, this is one of the greatest problems that make man has no fruit in life or at the Day of Judgment. Make a trial and make your call for Allah, call people to Allah, they will come as Allah says:
"When triumph comes from GOD, and victory. You will see the people embracing GOD's religion in throngs." (Surat An'nasr, verses 1, 2)
This is because he calls them for Allah, but that who calls them to himself in order to esteem or respect him, it is the prudence of Allah and His regard for him that they don’t gather to him because if they gather to him, they will ruin him and make him go astray, Allah wants him to review and look back at himself, think about the matter and recognize his mistake and make it right, but if they come to him he will think that he is right but he really has nothing.
The men of grants, when people come to them, they say to them: "We don’t have time and we are occupied by Allah but come with us and we will show you the way."
What will you do by people? Is there a space in the heart for both people and Allah? No, either this or that, the heart that is occupied by Allah has no space for people.
So the righteous man whose heart is occupied by Allah, when someone comes to him to complain, he tells him that he has no time and at the same time he asks Allah to suffice him, Allah does because he asks Him. The other one who is occupied only by the desires of his soul, he says to him: "Why didn’t you come to me. If you come, I will supplicate for you." He goes to him and he supplicates for him but there is no response because he supplicates by his soul. But the first one who is chastening his soul and who seeks Allah relies on his Lord because all his deeds are for Allah, such man, Allah always contents him as he makes himself altogether for Allah.
What you think of that who asks for the price of a lecture? He makes a contract with his host and asks about how they receive him and what they prepare for him, this is what he wants and what he wishes, so he is among the people who are interested in this life because he seeks wage not works for Allah, if he doesn’t get the money, he won't go, if they don’t entertain him, he won't come back to them even if they invited or needed him.
But the people of Allah who truthfully go in the hard way of chastening always train their souls that their aim is the face of Allah and they are always loyal to Him.
So Imam Malik hesitated a long time about the rightness of the prayer of Imam who takes wage for his prayers, when they asked him he said: "If he thinks that his wage is for his prayers, then his prayers are invalid or worthless." Imams stop taking wages and asked: "What should we do then?" He said: "The prayers are for Allah and he should think that the wage is just a gift or present from people." He shouldn’t look forward to it or ask for it even by his condition without talking, but the prayers should be for Allah to be accepted and worthy.
And so in all religious deeds, there should be sincerity and loyalty for Allah, or his chastening even for a breath is worthless, then he won't leave his place or go forward, he might think or imagine that he goes forward but he is still as he is with those who sit.


[1] Saheeh Al-Bokhary and Muslim after A'mer Ibn-Sa'd after his father.
[2] Ihyaa Oloom Eddeen, Tafseer Hakky and Tanweer Al-Azhan (enlightenment of minds) by Ismail Al-Brosawy.

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