Have you considered the one who denied the religion?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Tafsir of Surah al Ma'un
Nouman Ali Khan

أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ

Have you seen the one who belies in the religion?

Here Allah is asking us to reflect but on who? Is it a particular disbeliever like Abu Lahab or is it referring to anyone who fits the description? The use of the word الذي will get people to think the surah is about them and make them feel guilty. Allah didn't say 'kufr' which is outright denial and rejection but He said 'تكذيب' which is when someone knows the truth but is lying against it anyway. In this case, the present tense is used (يكذب) because this person continues to lie against the religion
The importance of the word 'deen' here shows that after Islam, it refers to Islam itself but some mufasiroon have said that generally the word was understood in the literal sense. The biggest hurdle for people was the next life. Ash Shawkani said: They can't accept getting payback in the hereafter so they lie against the idea he'll have to get payback. In this speech rhetoric, there's omission. The denial of resurrection is the essence of rejection.

فَذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ

So that is the one who repels the orphan

There is allegory in this ayah by the use of ف It's proof of someone who doesn't believe in the afterlife pushes the orphan around. When you deny the akhirah your heart becomes hard and you lose mercy hence why the orphans don't matter. The ف is the one who lies against the religion AND acts unjustly towards the orphan. These are crimes against Allah and crimes against the human. Kufr makes it easy to push orphans around. One of the worst ways to displease and disobey Allah because Allah comes into the defence of the orphan a lot.

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ

And not exhorts from feeding the needy one

This is a direct blow to the leaders of the Quraish. In the previous ayat we learnt about their personal life and here we learn about their public life. They are supposed to feed the poor. This person doesn't even ENCOURAGE it because he doesn't even treat the orphan right. Allah didn't even say 'he doesn't feed the poor' but doesn't ENCOURAGE feeding. The singular for needy one is used (مسكين) so that they understand their immediate behaviour. Also Allah isn't talking about feeding the orphan with their own food but Allah says (عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ) which actually means that this person doesn't even encourage giving the needy THEIR OWN FOOD. The food is mudaf ilayhi; it belongs to the him. This illustrates the state of the heart of the one not allowing this.

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ

So Woe to the ones who perform prayers

Allah starts this ayah with the ف which already indicates they are in destruction. He mentions 'those who pray' first. What is the benefit?
One of the benefit is that anyone who prays is alerted. It should terrify everyone! We should wonder if we're the people being described here. If you're engaged in crime against the creation then you'll be involved in crime against the Creator, hence worst kind of prayer there is. This ayah is referring to those who pray REGULARLY. These are people who pray in public to show off. The crime of stealing from the prayer is the same as someone who wrote their own book and called it the book of Allah.

الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

Those who they from their prayers are negligent.

Continuing from the previous ayah, Allah is telling us how the people performing prayer committed the crime and it's because they were neglectful these are the people who say and think prayer is not important. Do we remember when Allah spoke to Musa and Allah said 'Establish prayer and remember Me'. This is what prayer means to Allah. In surah al Baqarah, Allah called Salah, imaan. The people in this ayah perform their Salah but not in their heart. Ash Shawkani said this ayah referred to those who pray sometimes but not other times, those who peck in their prayers, those who don't fulfil the pre-requisites

الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ
Those are they who show off

The repetition of الذين هم illustrates how angry Allah is - when these people DO pray, they only do it to show off! Allah is telling us that people are heedless but will improve a little because they want to show off. Guard your Salah! The Quran at Fajr will be a witness for you!
It is a mercy from Allah that He didn't say 'IN the prayer' because we are all guilty of that.
This ayah shows the hypocrisy of the believer and the hypocrisy of the kaafir. It's almost like 'don't leave the nawafil out of shame but don't make them to show off'. Go home and pray your nawafil so your kids can see.

وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ
And they withhold the small kindness (necessities)

Allah is talking about the crime against the people again. Allah doesn't separate the good towards Him and good towards the people.
ماعون
Can be something like zakat. The Sahaba said that Allah is asking very little from us - that which you can't possibly be cheap in BUT they are THAT cheap! They can't even see a smile on somebody's face. This is the hardness of the heart.

Teachings and Lessons

Two things that will keep your heart soft

1. How you pray
2. How much you give

The teacher concluded with: if our prayers are weak, that's a life project

All good is from Allah and all mistakes are from myself.

The Creed of Al Wastiyyah - Lesson 4

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

THE CREED OF ALWASITIYYAH BY SHAYKH’UL ISLAM AHMAD IBN TAYMIYYAH

Taught by Ustadh WasimKempson

Lesson  4

The lesson started offon page 45 on the topic of WILL

WILL (Mashiha)

You get the a) Will ofAllah b) The want of Allah

There are 4 versesmentioned in this section.

      1.       ‘Why , when you entered your garden, did younot say “It is as Allah wills, there is no strength but in Allah”’ (Kahf:39) ‘Shah-ah’ is the will of Allah (swt). When a person intends to dosomething then they should remember Allah (swt). ‘Jannah’ linguistically means‘something is hidden’  ﺝ ﻥ        together  mean something that is beyond our vision e.g.Jinn, Jannah are beyond our ability to see. So Allah is saying the persondidn’t say this nor say ‘ there is no STRENGTH’ except Allah (Swt)

      2.       If Allah had willed, those [generations]succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs hadcome to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of themdisbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other,but Allah does what He intends. (Baqarah:253).  This is clear refutation against those whodeny certain aspects of Qadr of Allah (swt) e.g. in Surah Takwir, Allah says ‘And you do not will except that Allah wills- Lord of the worlds.’ (Takwir:29). In the ayah first stated Allah willedthat they fight with each other. A person is responsible for his own actionsthus accountable for deeds BUT attribute matter of decree and creation to Allah(swt). Here Allah (swt) links action and His creation of you.

NB: There are

      a)     Attributesof Essence  - Where you cannot say Allahis described of this at any one time e.g. He is always Hearing and Seeing

      b)     Attributesconsidered his action – Ability to do at all time but chooses when to do it e.g.His rising over the throne.

      3.       O you who have believed, fulfill [all]contracts. Lawful for you are the animals of grazing livestock except for thatwhich is recited to you [in this Qur'an] - hunting not being permitted whileyou are in the state of ihram. Indeed, Allah ordains what He intends.(Ma’idah:1) Allahmakes lawful to you what He wills. E.g. Ali said: “The Messenger of Allah had forbidden Mutahon the day of Khaybar and had forbidden the eating of the meat of domesticdonkeys.” [Bukhari, Muslim] Also
“Twotypes of dead meat and two types of blood have been made lawful for ourconsumption: The two dead meats are: fish and locust, and the two types of bloodare: liver and spleen.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad, 2/97 andSunan Ibn Majah, no: 3314)
We take from this ruling of what and when. This is Allah’s LEGISLATIVEWILL.

NB: Allah has a UNIVERSAL WILL and aLEGISLATIVE WILL

     4.      ‘WhenAllah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam; when He desiresto misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and constricted as if he wereclimbing into the sky’ (An’am:125) Allah mentions about the one who He wants toguide.

Q: How can Allah want to guide/misguide some?

Answer:  Allah (swt) is the owner of thisuniverse and sustains the whole universe e.g. gives/takes life. Therefore if Hewills/wants certain things, does He not have the right to do so? Having saidthat, people still have an element of choice and Allah does not oppress. Theseverses are talking about Will of Allah and this verse is talking aboutguidance.

Du’a of Musa  – ‘Rabbi shahry Sadri’.Some people use this verse as an insight to the knowledge not known. Qur’an isa book of guidance, not a book of science. Fundamentally, science changes oftenso we cannot link the two but it has knowledge of science within it.

Muawiyyah narrated that the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“If Allah wants to do good to a person,He makes him comprehend the religion. I am just a distributor, but the grant isfrom Allah. And remember that this nation will remain obedient to Allah’sOrders and they will not be harmed by anyone who will oppose them till Allah’sOrder (day of Judgement) is established. (Bukhari;71)

Conditions of Seeking Knowledge.

1.            Sincerity – to Allah (swt) usingQur’an and Sunnah only so that He is pleased with you and you do it only forHis sake.

2.              Knowledge itself is based on Qur’an andSunnah, which are the two primary resources that He (swt) gave to us. This isthe ‘Universal will/want’ in Surah An’am: 125, above. He wants us to worshipHim, submit to Him but some may or may not. Those who may not will be in theHellfire. As for those who do submit there are ways it is done. But those firm in knowledge among them andthe believers believe in what has been revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and whatwas revealed before you. And the establishers of prayer [especially] and thegivers of zakah and the believers in Allah and the Last Day - those We willgive a great reward.(Nisa:162)

Love (Al Mahabba) (7verses)

      1.      ‘Anddo good; Allah love those who do good’ (Baqarah: 195).
It is establishedin the hadith that Gabriel asked the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam):“Tell me about excellence in faith (ihsaan).”
He replied: “It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and though you donot see Him, you know that He sees you.” [Bukhari and Muslim]  - Thus have perfection in our ibaadah. Firstly it is acommand of Allah (swt) to do good and do best we can when doing good. Sofirstly you show Ihsaan to Allah (swt) to worship and give Him His rights andthen doing good to creation and giving them their rights especially throughexamples like buying and selling.
NB: When submitting to Allah (swt) the manner and how is of course the way ofthe Sunnah, Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah,then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allahis Forgiving and Merciful." (Imran: 31)

      2.      ‘..and be even-handed;  Allah loves thosewho are even-handed.’ (Hujurat: 9) this is the opposite of oppression and anobligation upon everyone; demands justice from His creation, between themselvesand to Allah (swt). The greatest oppression is associating partners with Allah(swt). ProphetMuhammad (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Whoever wishes to be savedfrom Hell ad admitted into Paradise as desired, they should believe in Allahand the Last Day and treat other people the way they themselves would like tobe treated." [Muslim]
 

     3.      ‘Aslong as they are straight with you, be straight with them. Allah love those whohave taqwa’ (At Tawbah: 7) the one who places between him and what he is afraid of a barrier is thereal muttaqeen. E.g. he is scared of the hellfire so he will ‘ UPHOLD ALLOBLIGATIONS’ of Allah and stay away from what He prohibited, in the fear ofAllah and by having Hope and Love for Him. (All these must be present in all your affairs)
Talq Ibn Habib was once asked about Taqwa (piety)he replied: Taqwa is to act in obedience to Allah, with a light from Allahhoping for the Reward of Allah and to avoid and give up the disobedience ofAllah with a light from Allah fearing the punishment of Allah.

Categorizethose who deal with you.

·        Those who are true to you, wehave a covenant with them and are obliged to uphold that agreement

·        Then you get some form ofagreement and you know they’ll betray you thus is nullifies the agreement and you are not obliged Andif they break their oaths after their treaty and defame your religion, thenfight the leaders of disbelief, for indeed, there are no oaths [sacred] tothem; [fight them that] they might cease.(Tawbah:12)

·        They have an agreement with usbut whether they are going to carry it out or not due to deception, we do notknow so we don’t have to fulfill it. ‘Ifyou [have reason to] fear from a people betrayal, throw [their treaty] back tothem, [putting you] on equal terms. Indeed, Allah does not like traitors.’(Anfal: 58)

     4.       Allahloves those who turn back from wrongdoing and He loves those who purifythemselves’ (Baqarah: 222). This affirms love for those who repent to Allah (swt). The ulama havegiven CONDITIONS FOR TAWBAH. These are the following:
> Ikhlaas
> An Nadm (Have regret)
> Abstain from that sin.
> Depends on if you have taken the haqq from somebody then you have to giveit back to them e.g. if you stole from them then you have to return it. Howeverwe have the theory of ‘ Lesser of evils’ whereby if you know that by giving itback a great munkar will come to you then you can give it back via anothermean.
> Before the time of tawbah where it is not accepted e.g. when the sun risesfrom West to East and time of Death, it will not be accepted.
‘ Our nature is that we fall into sin and He loves forgiveness’ so purifyyourself physically and spiritually.

    5.      ‘Sayif you love Allah, then follow me and Allah loves you..’ (Al Imran; 31). Hasan Al Basri called this the ‘Verse ofthe Test’ to those who claim to love Allah and those who follow the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wa sallam.On the authority of the Mother of theFaithful, Umm Abdullah, 'Aaishah, who said that the Messenger of Allah, sallalahualayhi wa sallam, said, what translatedmeans,
"Whoever introduces into our matter (religion) that which is not a part ofit, will have it (his innovation) rejected." (Bukhari  and  Muslim)

    6.      Oyou who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion - Allahwill bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him[who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; theystrive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is thefavor of Allah ; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah isall-Encompassing and Knowing. (Ma’ida: 54).  Itfirstly starts off with whoever turns away; Allah will bring someone newbecause He is not in need of us. Then Allah (swt) goes on to say that if youare humble to the believers and stern to the disbelievers and struggle in thecause of Allah then that is the Grace of Allah which He bestows upon whom Hewills.

    7.      ‘Allahloves those who fight in His way in ranks like well built walls’ (Saff: 4). this chapter talks about many issuesespecially Jihad. So Allah says, fight in His cause, fight together and fightlike a building, together.

    8.      ‘Heis Ever Forgiving, the All Loving’ (Burooj:14). (Al Ghafoor, Al Wadud). He loves His awliyah andthose who submit to Him. Our love for each other is not the same as how we loveAllah (swt).

MERCY

      1.       ‘In the name of Allah, the All Merciful,the  Most Merciful’

     2.      ‘OurLord, You encompass everything in mercy and knowledge’ (Ghaafir: 7). this is the saying of the angels.
NB : His knowledge covers all of Hiscreation because this Mercy has let them live and also there is more specific mercy to some of His creationi.e. the believers. For example, He will give good life to the believers.  Whoever does righteousness, whether male orfemale, while he is a believer - We willsurely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward[in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do. (Nahl: 93).
Those who are most intent in gathering from this dunya are the Jews andMushrikeen.

Why them?
JEWS – They believe they are the ‘chosen people’ and because of thisthey think that they should be endeavoured with all the blessings and think thatthe hell-fire will never touch them therefore they can do whatever they wantthis life and thus they are miserly/herding people.
MUSHRIKEEN – For example the Hindus, they believe in reincarnation so theythink by the quality of life in this dunya is dependent on what they will comeback in.

     3.       ‘He is the Most Merciful to the believers’(Ahzab: 43). This isshowing Allah’s SPECIFIC Mercy on the believers. This is the Mercy of guidancein terms of recognizing all the blessings from Allah (swt).

     4.       ‘My Mercy extends to all things’ ( A’raf:156) Praising/GlorifyingHimself and that it extends to all things, even to non-Muslims.

     5.      ‘YourLord has made mercy incumbent on Himself’ (An’am: 54). Also from this mercy is that a personmay do wrong and not only when they do wrong, that person will repent to Allahand by His will He will forgive that person and change their repentance toHasanat (Good deeds) - Except for thosewho repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace theirevil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (Furqan: 70).BUT there are those who reject this because they see Mercy as a sign ofweakness because they have likened Allah’s mercy to that of creation. THIS ISREFUTED (further along).

     6.       ‘He is ever Forgiving, the Most Merciful’(Yunus: 107). Thisayah brings together both of His name (Ghafoor – we are in need of Him toforgive us & Raheem – The need of His mercy).
The Ulama have explained why these two names are together. The reason is.
>> We are sinful and need Him to pardon us therefore we are saved andalso at the same time we are in need of His mercy.  So, He covers up our sins. Ibn `Umar (May Allah bepleased with them) reported: I heard Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alayhi wa sallam) saying, "A believer will bebrought close to his Rabb on the Day of Resurrection and enveloping him in HisMercy, He (SWT) will make him confess his sins by saying: `Do you remember(doing) this sin and this sin?'He will reply: `My Rabb, I remember.' Then He(SWT) will say: `I covered it up for you in the life of world, and I forgive itfor you today.' Then the record of his good deeds will be handed to him".[Bukhariand Muslim]

     7.       ‘Allah is the Best of Guardians, He is the Most Merciful of themerciful’ (Yusuf: 64).  It was narrated that ‘Umar ibnal-Khattaab said: “Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah  andthere was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). Whenshe found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messengerof Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to us, ‘Do you thinkthat this woman would throw her child in the fire?’ We said, ‘No, by Allah,not if she is able not to.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘ Allah is more merciful to His slaves than thiswoman is to her child.’” (Bukhari, 5653; Muslim, 6912.). This showsthat Allah is most Merciful to His servants then a mother is to her child.

Those who denythe Mercy of Allah (swt) – REFUTATION

These people do ta’teel (deny) the mercy because theysay that intellect doesn’t prove that. It means the Mercy of Allah means to dogood or to grant a favour. The fact that Allah mentions all types of Rahmah, they still denyit because their naql doesn’t prove that.
ASWJ – Allah gives us naql but not to the extent that it starts to reject text.He chose those words because he chose the best of kalam.

‘We hear and we obey’ and we stay on the way of Qur’anand Sunnah.

The Prophet (sallalahualayhi wa sallam) said: "No one of you will enter Paradise by his deedsalone." They asked, "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?" Hesaid, "Not even me, unless Allah covers me with His Grace and Mercy"(Bukhari, Riqaq, 18; Muslim, Munafiq, 71-73).

PLEASURE AND ANGER

      1.      ‘Allahis pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him.’ (Ma’idah: 119). Allah is pleased with His creation. Realattribute related to His Will, pleased with those who are just and have taqwa.Sometimes you get people with blessings in this world.