Explanation of the Three Fundamenta Principles

Do Not Get Conceited with Humans or with Allah

No matter how much you apply of your knowledge, do not ever self conceited. Do not get conceited with humans and do not get conceited with Allah, do not let that false pride get to you, do not have an exaggerated sense of self importance, do not automatically think you are granted Firdaws, just for a couple of words or things you did or a couple of acts that you applied your knowledge in. You know Silah, in Siffat as-Safwah for Ibn al-Jawzi, I mentioned him the Ultimate Pleasure of a Believer, Qiyaam, he was the man who wild animals used to free from him when he was praying at night, he would do his Qiyaam in the forest, he had such fear in Allah, Allah the Almighty placed fear of him in the hearts of wild animals in the dark nights and in the deep, dark forest. Wild animals would flee from him and here, did he get conceited? Did he say I pray all night and look at me and who I am? The man who used to pray all night and then run back to where the army is so they will not figure that he was praying all night, he pretended like he was sleeping all night long. Did he get conceited that he was blessed with a miracle from Allah that wild animals used to run away from him at his sight when he was praying? When he finished his Salah he would say:

يَا رَبِّي أَجِرْنِي مِنْ النَّارِ أَوَ مِثْلِي يَسْأَلُ الْجَنَّةُ

He felt as though he was not worthy of asking Allah Jannah. He said oh Allah, save me from Hell, is someone like me worthy of asking Allah Jannah, just save me from Hell. No matter what you do of application, of your deeds, never get swell headed with Allah. Ibn al-Jawzi in Sayyid al-Khaatir said, I seen some who worshipped Allah and then after a time frame, they paused, and then they would boast saying I worshipped Allah so much that no one worshipped like me but now I am weak. Umar al-Farooq, granted a place in Heaven, terrorised the Shaytaan, Qur’an comes in accordance to what he says many times, a man the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam dreamed of, a man who gave justice to a sheep, to a Jew, to a Christian under his rule, to a Muslim, Umar says I wish I get resurrected with nothing for me and nothing against me.

Sufyaan ath-Thawri, the man of Hadith, Ali Ibn Fudhayl said I walked around the Ka’bah seven times and Sufyaan ath-Thawri was in Sujood, the span of his Sujood, one Sajdah, is walking around the Ka’bah seven times. Ibn al-Mubaarak said, I wrote about one thousand, one hundred Shuyookh, Sufyaan was the best with no comparison. Ameer al-Mu’mineen, his name is Ameer al-Mu’mineen in Hadith. Yahya Ibn Ma’een said he is Ameer al-Mu’mineen in Hadith, Yahya Ibn Ma’een is equivalent nearly to Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal; he said Sufyaan ath-Thawri Ameer al-Mu’mineen bil-Hadith. Did he get swell headed? Did he get conceited? On his death bed, he asks Hammaad Ibn Salamah who was visiting him on his death bed, he says to Hammaad, you think someone like me will be rescued from Hell? You think someone like me will be rescued from Hell? Do not ever get conceited or swell headed, no matter what acts you do.

Class Seven

The Third Introductory Matter: Calling People Unto It

This is our seventh class on Al-Usool Ath-Thalaathah. We talked about the first introductory four fundamental principles, these are the introductory principles. First one was knowledge and he defined knowledge as knowing Allah, the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the religion of Islam. The second one was to apply your knowledge, which we finished off last week. The third one today is, calling people unto it.

اَلْمَسْأَلَةُ الثَّالِثَهُ: الدَّعْوَةُ إِلَيْهِ

What Does the Dhameer Refer To?

Calling people unto what? What does the Dhameer go back to? What does the Dhameer refer to? What does the pronoun it, refer to? Calling people unto it. Calling people unto it usually refers to the last matter. What the last matter is, applying it, calling people to applying it. We already explained though, that applying knowledge does not come without you knowing knowledge. So in reality, calling people unto it means calling people unto knowledge and its application, because they come side by side, they are inseparable.

Is Da’wah Fardh ‘Ayn or Fardh Kifaayah?

An important issue many discussed, is Da’wah Fardh ‘Ayn or Fardh Kifaayah, is it a personal obligation or a personal obligation? The answer to that is a twofold answer. Da’wah is ordaining the good and forbidding the evil, that is Da’wah.

Attaining the Detailed Knowledge is Fardh Kifaayah

The first answer, the first fold of the answer is, there needs to be a group of people devoted to ordaining the good and forbidding the evil, they got to be devoted for that task. That part here, is Fardh Kifaayah, communal obligation. If a group does it, it is sufficient for the Ummah. Every individual of this Ummah does not have to be a Khateeb, we do not need 1.6 Billion Khateebs, or master the elucidation of all the Hadith of Bukhari, or break down the chain of narrations of the Hadith. A group of this Ummah have to go get the classical, detailed, in depth knowledge in Hadith, Mustalah, in Seerah, in Tafseer, in Faraa’idh, the laws of inheritance; that in itself, all that is Fardh Kifaayah. Allah in the Qur’an says:

وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُ‌وا كَافَّةً...

It is not proper for all the believers all to go out in Jihad.

...فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ‌ مِن كُلِّ فِرْ‌قَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُ‌وا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَ‌جَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُ‌ونَ ﴿التوبة: ١٢٢﴾

A party should stay behind and get the instructions, get the lessons on Islamic knowledge, so that they can warn their people when they return to them. A group of this Ummah has to be in the forefront of Da’wah, they have to take on the challenge. When people bring misconceptions, they got to respond to them. When governments spread Kufr, someone has got to stand up to it. Someone needs to respond to all that, someone needs to respond to the Rawaafidh, to the Khawaarij, to the Murji’ah. Someone needs to lead Jumu’ah, someone needs to lead Salah, someone has to have the detailed knowledge of Jarh and Ta’deel, someone has to have the detailed knowledge of inheritance, but that is not something everyone is able to do and in fact it is impossible to burden the whole Ummah with such detailed knowledge.