MUHAMMADAN COVENANT - 3

IMAM AL-SHA'RANI'S LAWAQIH AL-ANWAR AL-QUDSIYYAH FI BAYAN AL-'UHUD AL-MUHAMMADIYYAH
COMMANDMENT NO. 3	MUHAMMADAN COVENANT	pp. 19-22

PERFORMING GOOD DEEDS BEFORE OTHERS

A general oath of allegiance was taken from us by the Messenger of Allah (ص) that we will be foremost in performing good deeds by beginning with ourselves before others in hastening to do the good and to be a pattern for others, and that is just like if we see a person seeking [help] from people and none of them give him anything so we give him in front of the people [thereby] provoking them to give and we will not give in secret. Likewise we endeavor to keep vigil to witness the early occurrence of Divine effusion [as mentioned in the famous hadith qudsi]

وينادي الحق تعالى هل من سائل فأعطيه سؤله  ، هل من مستغفر فأغفر له  ، هل من مبتلي فأعافيه 

The Truthful (ت) calls out "is there any seeker so that I can grant him his request, is there any seeker of forgiveness so that I can forgive him, is there any one who is in distress so that I can relieve him [from his distress] to the end of what has been narrated in respect of that from the beginning of the last one-third of the night in respect of the [occurrence of] most of the Divine effusions which he (ص) used to [receive] when he does the tahajjud in its time, as it has been indicated in His (ت) saying: 

  [Indeed, your Lord knows, [O Muhammad], that you stand [in prayer] almost two thirds of the night or half of it or a third of it...] [73(al-Muzzammil):20]

And that is done to let our brothers and neighbours follow our example, for perchance one of them might may perform his tahajjud when he sees us thereby we and him will have reward written. 

In this category as well is the display of patience over the test and tribulation in this time so as to make people follow us in respect of patience and non-resentment, for when we see the patience reaches its limit we display the weakness such that it rises [in magnitude] just as it has occurred to [Prophet] Ayyub (ع), then he knew that it is incumbent on each and every doer (عامل) to hide his actions as far as possible except in place where it is emulated (either) through its performance or the manner of doing it. Allah (ت) is Most Knowing.

I heard my master 'Ali al-Khawwas (رض) as saying: it is not a must to demonstrate (the performance of an) act except for the greater personalities among the 'Ulama' and the pious ones who are immersed in plotting against the self (دسائس النفوس), while as far our likes, perhaps one among us may demonstrate his action as a show-off and credit-seeking, whereas his self deceives him by saying to him "You are, by the Praise of Allah, among the sincere ones". Certainly these 'ibadah is demonstrated to make people emulate you, therefore it is pertinent for this kind (of people) to examine his self according to what if anyone performs that goodness and people emulate him likewise or more than it, then if that (act of goodness) is openly accepted then he is sincere,  but if it affords dissatisfaction then he is a hypocrite (مراء - mura'in) with clear proclamation. If he had been sincere he would have certainly felt extremely happy about it which Allah (ت) has foreordained to him in exchange of adequate provision. Thereafter if his self said to him, "indeed you have confused to let go of the greatest goodness which you were about to acquire by virtue of it being good", then let him say to it (i.e. the self) "indeed I depend on the grace of Allah (and) not on the actions, therefore, if I enter the heaven then it is because it being the mercy of Allah (and) not through my action". Therefore, it is important for the servant not to pay attention to the (false) claim of his self in respect of sincerity and let him examine the shaykh or the mudarris (teacher) himself so that if a group in its entirety ran away from him to a person among his contemporaries and he remains alone without finding anyone to make him function as a shaykh (yatamashayyakha) for him and he accepts it then he is a sincere one even if he acquires in his self hatred then it is obligatory on him to make use of a shaykh who will extricate him out of the darkness of eyeservice (riya'), if not he will die a sinner and will go to the hereafter with hand empty of any goodness, for certainly Allah did not accept his action.

I heard him also saying: "it is a must for the 'alim if he teaches in institutions like al-Azhar university to clear up his intention before that, even if he spent years without teaching till he finds for him a pious intention, and that is due to the increased meddling of the notables (akabir) who let their selves inclined towards seeking attention for them from the rulers and the rich to the university. (Imam) al-Nawawi, when he was teaching at the Madrasah al-Ashrafiyyah in Damascus, used to advise the students not to come at one go fearing from magnifying the studying circle (halaqah).And if he was teaching he used to sit in the blind alley (or dead end) of the masjid by saying: "certainly the self seeks delight in letting people see it while it is teaching in the centre of the masjid or its main area. and it has reached him one day, while he was teaching at the Banu Umayyah masjid that the King Zahir was determined to perform his salat in the masjid, so he left the teaching and did not attend the masjid on that day. therefore be careful, O, my brother in convening for you a session for seeking knowledge or reciting Dhikr of Allah, or reciting salawat on the Messenger of Allah (ص) in such a way that people see you, except that you being safe from (falling into) these defects and slips.

Once I was present (when) the learned and pious 'alim Shams al-Din al-Laqqani, the mufti of Maliki school at the university of al-Azhar saying to our master the learned Nur al-Din al-Shuni, the host (shaykh) of the salawat session: "By Allah, O, my brother, I am afraid of you in you (occupying) the centre (i.e.: the main part) of the masjid in (conducting) this session at the night of Friday, and its days, while the rulers and the notables seeing you, and they believe you and they say something to Allah for assistance, then perchance your self will incline towards love and its happiness over it. Thus your this worldly and the other worldly efforts will be lost.

I heard him in another occasion saying: "if the people finish performing the salat al-jumu'ah, be patient in reading the surat al-kahf until the people are dispersed, thereafter commence the recitation, for certainly the self seeks to enjoy people looking at it (particularly) during that great gathering. Therefore, know, O, my brother, that and act according to it and (may) the guidance of the Truthful one guide you (so) follow it, and Allah will take charge of your guidance.

(Imam) Muslim, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and others narrated that a group of people from (the tribe of) Mudir came to the Messenger of Allah () cloaked in striped clothes: that is wearing the striped woolen long gown ('aba') and the face of the Messenger of Allah () became pale, when he saw from them poverty, then he entered and then came out commanding Bilal to call for salat and perfromed his salat and thereafter addressed (the people) by saying:

 

 "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul" to His saying and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. "Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer". (4:1)

and the verse in (surah) al-Hashr

O you who have believed, fear Allah . And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow - and fear Allah . Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (59:8)

تصدق

[(let) a man give in charity (anything) from his dinar, dirham, cloth, handful of dates until he said even if it is half of a date]

من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها من بعده من غير أن ينقص من أجورهم شيئ 
[whosoever