Sunday, April 17, 2011

"Be gentle and avoid being proud" - Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam Al Maliki







Bismillah.

Shaykh Fahmi Zamzam Al Maliki teaches Kitab At Targhib wat Tarhib at Ba'alawi KL. Continuing on with his class, he reminded the jemaah to not be takabbur and ujub (proud) but to be al hilmi (gentle).

Al hilmi is one who is not easily angered. He is one who is able to withstand any sort of intimidation that people might cause him to suffer. He is one who avoids being with people who are ignorant of religion.

There is a verse in the Qur'an (Surah Al-Qasas:83): "That home of the Hereafter We assign to those who do not desire exaltedness upon the earth or corruption. And the [best] outcome is for the righteous." - this verse clearly indicates the reward for those who do not wish to be glorified in this world and who do not cause harm. Shaykh Fahmi said it is almost impossible for anyone who seeks glory in this world to not cause harm to other people. While striving to achieve his desires he would be met with challenges and competition and he would do anything to overcome any obstacles that stand in the way of his ambitions. They are egotistical and overly ambitious.

By contrast, the mukmin are those who are tawaduk. They are polite and humble. They would rather give way to others over their own interests. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w gave us a good example of such good behavior (akhlaq). Leadership is neither a privilege nor an advantage. It is, in fact, a test from Allah to see if we belong with hafizun aleem - one who is good at administering the affairs of the people.

We learn from Lukman Al-Hakim a few good traits: we should not show a sour face to people as though we don't appreciate them; we should not turn a deaf ear to good advice and we should not walk with pride. One who walks proudly on this earth is one who is not grateful for the blessings from Allah. If he were to acknowledge the bounties of the Lord, he would realize that every single thing between the earth and the heavens belong to Allah. 

What is the cure for one who is arrogant? He should truly consider each blessing as belonging to Allah, even he himself (his existence). So be sure to say Alhamdulillah when you are being praised. We should understand the real meaning of the alif lam in alhamdulillah. It is istighraq meaning all-encompassing/everything. Know that there are three types of praise as follows:
* qadim praising qadim (eternal) - Allah praising His Essence
* qadim praising hadis (temporal) - Allah praising the Prophet
* hadis praising hadis - praises among creatures
* hadis praising qadim - creature (the temporal) praising the Creator (the eternal)

Takabbur or pride is an attribute of Allah (Al Mutakabbir). Allah warns us that we would be banned from entering the heavens if we had a speck of pride in our hearts. One who may already be in heaven could be chased out if he is proud as in the incident of Iblis.

A sahabi asked the Prophet: "O Rasulullah, what about one who likes to dress well, who likes to wear nice clothes and shoes? Is that takabbur?"

Rasulullah said: "No that is not takabbur for verily Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. Pride is one who denies the truth."

One who rejects the truth is one who has ego (sifat ananiyah/I-ness). We should instead be grateful like Prophet Sulaiman who said haza min fadhli rabbi - this is a blessing from my Lord. Imam Ghazali said shukur (gratitude) must be proven on three levels i.e. 'ilm (knowledge), hal (state) and amal (practice). Rightfully we must have knowledge that each part of our body from head to toe and our lives since the day we were born, we have been blessed by countless blessings. Hal is when you are conscious in your heart that it is all from Allah. One who doesn't know (does not have ilm) will not have hal. As an example, one who does not know that there is a tiger near him, will not feel scared by it. When we are truly conscious of Allah's bounties we would naturally do more amal (practice). Imam Ghazali said we cannot possibly be committing sins if we truly remember the bounties of Allah. Allah gives us eyesight, hands, etc. So if we are truly grateful we would not be using our eyes or hands to do what He forbids us. Instead, we would use them to do things that are pleasing to Allah. One who has shukur  [one who is grateful] will be freed of takabbur, ujub, riak  and sum'ah.

Takabbur is one who rejects the truth. Ujub is one who glorifies himself. Riak is one who does anything to show off, so that other people would know/see what he does. Sum'ah is one who does anything so that people would praise him, so that people would hear about his good deeds.

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Wallahu a'lam. To be continued in the next lesson Inshaallah. The majlis was hosted by:

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