‘Abdullah bin Salaam (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) was one of the most leading Jewish rabbis belonging to the clan of Banu Qaynuqaa’. He had clearly seen in Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) all the predictions that were prophesised in the Taurah regarding Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). There was no doubt in his mind and he had no reason not to accept; everything was clear. One of the main things that come as impediments in the path of the truth is pride and arrogance, but it comes in different ways. Sometimes it comes like how it came to Shaitaan that I have to submit myself to someone that I consider as inferior. He is not looking at the command from this dimension that the command is coming from Allah Ta‘ala, rather he is looking at it from this dimension that I have to lower myself to someone who is inferior. The right thing will be to examine whose command this is. If he had to examine this he will come to the conclusion that I do not need any further analysis or reasoning. If it is the command of Allah Ta‘ala then let it be.
Sometimes people are unable to differentiate between the reason and the wisdom. They are two different things. The reason is what the ‘Ulama will call ‘illat. For example the Quraan speaks about riba – usury and interest. It says, “Don’t consume interest doubled and multiplied.” In this prohibition there will be one thing which we will refer to as the reason and the other is the wisdom. We could say that the wisdom in this verse is “doubled and multiplied” because generally in that time the one who was in financial constraints would take a loan on interest. It would not be a commercial interest like what we have today. A multi-millionaire wants to start off a new business venture and in order to start it off he will need to take a loan. When we look at this aspect of interest, when the Quraan says that don’t take it doubled and multiplied, then one is the reason for the prohibition and one is the wisdom or perhaps the philosophy behind it. The philosophy behind it will be ‘doubled and multiplied’ because as the period of repayment increases it will keep increasing. It is now 5 percent, it will go to 20 percent and as you procrastinate and delay it will go to 50 and then to 100 and 200. This is not the actual reason, but the philosophy. The person was in constraints and you took out the blood from him. This is not the actual reason, rather it is the philosophy. The reason is an increase without an exchange on account of time. This is the actual definition and reason of interest. So the definition and reason is something else and the philosophy is something else. The difference between them is that the reason does not change, but the philosophy can change. It can be that the interest is not multiplied and doubled, it is only 5 percent but can you say that because it is not doubled it is now halaal? It is still haraam. The reason is that it was an increase in lieu of time. Now people did not understand the reasoning and philosophy. When they did not understand the difference they went on and created confusion and said that the commercial interest that we have nowadays is permissible. They made a mess up of things.
If you look at Yusuf Ali’s translation then this is more or less what he is talking about. So we cannot doubt the person’s integrity; he is good in his translation, but when a person is specialised in a certain field then he should not go beyond that field. If he is good as a translator, then we will take him as a translator. But then if he looks into jurisprudence or hadeeth then this is a different branch altogether; it is not his field. It is not something that he has specialised in. So when he went into it he made a mess up of things. When you look at the translation it is a good translation, but when you look at the footnotes then he has confused himself and others as well. If he had just stuck to the translation then he would not have made these types of errors. Now what fascinates the general reader is the English presentation. The English is presented in such a beautiful way that very few people can present material like how he presented. Hence, because the material is presented so attractively you are getting affected with the presentation, but then you are getting confused with substance and presentation.
Look at a simple example. To control the traffic there is a thing like the robot and traffic lights. It will tell you to move and it will tell you to stop. If someone comes with his own reasoning and analogy and says that the robot is there to prevent an accident, hence if I am travelling at one ‘o’ clock at night and the road is absolutely quiet without any traffic then there isn’t any possibility for me to get involved in an accident, therefore let me disregard the robot and continue. Will this be regarded as an offence or not? So the reason does not change. The philosophy can change. They can say that we got this in place to avoid accidents; this is the philosophy. The reason will not change. At any time of the day or night you will have to conform to these regulations. So one is called ‘illat and the other is called hikmat. The ‘illat does not change. Like in interest it did not change there. Now you have situations where people bring about their own philosophy and reasoning. This is the challenge of the time that they have mixed up the both, the reason and philosophy. That is why you have to make du‘aa repeatedly, again and again for these Aimmah-e-Mujtahideen. They showed the difference between the hikmat and ‘illat. Whenever the ‘illat and reason is found, the command will apply. Whenever you see the red robot the command will apply, you will stop irrespective of the circumstance. If you are going to shoot the robot they will issue you with a fine. You cannot argue with them that there was no traffic at that time, therefore you shot the robot, and hence you don’t have a right to impose a penalty on me. If you defend yourself in that manner they will throw it out. So people come up with their own reasoning.
In the hadeeth there is an incident of two Sahaabah who had a problem. When they would have any problem their final port of call was Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). We will have our differences and our own reasoning but obviously we will have to get a closure to this, and we will not employ our reasoning beyond the reasoning of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), whether it appeals to our understanding or not. We will say in our minds that the decision of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is final we will not counter it. Although at the beginning the mind may not be so clear but we will have to settle the mind.
There was a female singer by the name of Sarah. She had come down to Madeenah Munawwarah and came to Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) asked her whether she had come for the purposes of emigration and she said no. He asked her that have you come seeking asylum and she said no. So he then asked her that what is your reason for coming. She replied that my profession is singing and my livelihood depends on singing, but now my business has gone right down. When asked why, she said that in the Battle of Badr and Uhud you had killed the youngsters and there is gloom over the whole of Makkah. So they are not interested in songs and dancing and drinking. Now they are shaken up. They cannot afford me, as I am entertainment and recreation. When there is a war looming over us we cannot think of entertainment. With a war looming it is a battle of survival. Hence, I cannot sustain myself. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Ok, you have come for assistance?” She says yes. She is a non-Muslim that has come for assistance, but look at the character, ways and mannerisms of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) instructed his family people to support her with clothing and wealth and he let her go back. See the generosity, kindness, character and akhlaaq of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) for a Muslim and non-Muslim. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) could have told her that the profession you are involved in is haraam and that is why Allah Ta‘ala’s stick is hitting you. If it was one of us then this is what we would have said. She is not yet ready to accept; she is still in her own chakkar and problems. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) instructs his own family people to help and support her. As she is returning, Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) instructs Hazrat ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), Abu Marthad (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and a third Sahaabi that move on and you will find this woman in a place called Roudhah Khaak and she is taking a secret letter to Makkah Mukarramah. You need to intercept her and take the letter. This was after the truce and treaty of Hudaibiyyah. The Quraish had violated and broken the truce. They went and killed the alliance of the Muslims. They killed them and supported the killing. So there was no treaty left. When it has been violated you don’t expect me to remain still. The truce and treaty is supposed to be from both sides.
Islam is not just namaaz and just correcting of beliefs. Hazratjee Moulana Maseehullah (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) used to say that people have not understood Islam. Even politics is Islam. Politics without Islam is no politics and Islam without politics is not Islam. Unfortunately, when we use the word politics in this time and age we feel that there is something treacherous that is behind the scenes. But the Islamic concept of politics is totally different. The Islamic concept is to have a smooth and nice administration; to do things in a beautiful manner that is acceptable. Sometimes you have to do it discreetly and sometimes you have to do it openly. Whatever the occasion demands you will do it without cheating and robbing. Once someone came and complained to Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) that his neighbour was hurting him all the time. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) perhaps must have been encouraging him to tolerate the inconvenience and he kept on complaining. Like we have it when our people are living in any street and we have a da’wat and 50 cars are parked there. Some are parked correctly and some are parked incorrectly. Then you will have someone hooting at an odd time. This will bring a disturbance to the whole street. There may be someone who has a heart problem and he needs some rest or someone needs a peaceful and calm environment. Now you have disturbed the whole environment, yet we feel proud of ourselves that if you want to vacate the whites from an area then let one or two Indians pull in and have some da’wats. They will become so allergic that they will leave and move away. But this is not a true reflection of Islam where you create a disturbance and cause people to leave the area. This is not Islam. Even if it is a non-Muslim, but how do we maintain the peace in the area? What do we do? We don’t know that it may be a small stroke of kindness, courtesy and respect and it may just attract the person to Islam. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was advising this person but this neighbour would never correct himself. So Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) tells him that take out all your goods and furniture and leave it on the street. This Sahaabi is not asking the reason; it is a command of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to just leave all my stuff and luggage on the street. Now people are watching and they are walking past and asking what happened. He tells them that my neighbour is troubling me and Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has asked me to take out my stuff. As the people are passing, someone is swearing him, someone is shouting him and cursing that what type of a neighbour he is that he is hurting his neighbour. In the meanwhile this news is filtering through to him that everybody is cursing you. So he comes out to his neighbour and tells him that come back and you will not have this problem anymore. This is called politics. In other words, in the administrating of affairs you are not causing any ripples. In a smooth way you are getting things sorted out. This is what Hazratjee Moulana Maseehullah (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) used to say that people feel that politics are not part of Islam.
One person went to buy a watermelon. He saw something very good and big; he offered the price and purchased it. When he went home and sliced it he found that it was rotten. He went back to the person who sold it but he says that you already cut it. What can I do with it? Many a times the reason for the failure in business is because of these types of practices. We are not truthful, we are not honest and considerate, and we do not respect the client. Then one thing begins to fall, the second thing begins to collapse and the whole thing will then collapse. For some time it will maintain but it will get at you. People will say that this person is robbing, he does not keep to his word, he is dishonest, so they will pull away from you. Anyway, this person brought it to the attention of the seller but he said that you cut it already so I cannot refund you. He did not argue with him. Now this is siyaasat and politics; how do you manage the situation. As is customary in India, people carry their shawl with them, some have it on their heads, and some let it hang on their shoulders. So he opened out his shawl and spread it out in front of this fruit shop and as the customers are going pass he is asking them, “Do you want to buy watermelons? First taste this one and then buy.” Before the second customer could come the seller came out and said that here, take your money before you chase away all the customers. Now he is not robbing or cheating, but he is not getting his money back. Hence, he had to try something to make this person understand that what he is doing is wrong and it is a corrupt way of doing business. But see the husne tadbeer, to put a good plan in place to sort things out and get things in perspective.
Coming back, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) gave the instruction to ‘Ali (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) that go to that particular place and you will find this woman and she has a letter; get it from her. They reach this place and find that woman. They ask her for the letter and she says that she does not have it. Now again, husne tadbeer; the right stroke at the right time. They threaten her that if you don’t give us the letter we will strip you. For a woman this is the worst thing. So she pulls out the letter and gives it to them. They then bring it to Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam). Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) reads the contents. It is a time when the kuffaar had violated the truce and Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) wanted to launch a secret attack against the people of Makkah Mukarramah. Perhaps he wanted to keep it a secret for he did not want them to make any preparations for it, and also so that there will be no bloodshed. And as Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) had foreseen, there was hardly any bloodshed. One or two people perhaps may have been killed who had confronted them; otherwise the whole of Makkah Mukarramah was taken over with complete peace. It was something highly unimaginable that it will ever happen, but they came in with such dignity and in such a pleasant manner; it came as a surprise. Thus, Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is planning to attack Makkah Mukarramah and he wants to keep it a secret; nobody must leak it out to the people of Makkah Mukarramah. The content of the letter was that Haatib bin Abi Balta‘ah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) wrote to the people of Makkah Mukarramah that Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is planning to attack you and the army that he is coming with is like the night; just as the night covers the whole world, it will cover you completely. Not a single person will be spared. So I am just warning you. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) sees this letter and then looks at Haatib bin Abi Balta‘ah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) and asks that why did you write it? He replies, “Yaa Rasulallah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! I do not deny that I wrote the letter, but listen to me first and then take whatever decision you need to take. My muhaajir brothers have got their families and clans in Makkah Mukarramah, who will respect their children whom they left behind in Makkah Mukarramah and they will safeguard them. They are from Makkah Mukarramah and their womenfolk are also from Makkah Mukarramah. Thus, they are well protected and guarded. I am a foreigner; I am coming from Yemen. I have no security for my wife and children. Therefore, I thought that in order to secure them I have to do some act of kindness or a favour and in turn they will be considerate to my wife and children.
In the meanwhile, Hazrat ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) is already fuming and says, “Yaa Rasulallah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! Allow me to chop the head of this munaafiq.” How can he divulge the secret of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)? Hence, how can he be a Muslim? Let’s behead him. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said no. This man has spoken the truth so leave him. There is no dishonesty in what he said. He was sincere in what he did. He was not conspiring against Islam and the Muslims, for he even said that I knew that this letter will not save them from any type of danger, but I felt that on account of the letter they will be considerate to me. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) also says that this person is a Badri Sahaabi and Allah Ta‘ala has announced that He has forgiven the last of them. Now look at the response of ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) when the decision of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was passed. First he said that we need to finish him. But then when Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said with a little bit of firmness that this is a Badri Sahaabi and Allah Ta‘ala has forgiven him, he begins to weep and he says that Allah Ta‘ala and His Rasool (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) know best. There was a mistake in my reasoning, but what Allah Ta‘ala and His Rasool (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) say, that is final. Sometimes our reasoning may be off, hence we have to put a closure to our reasoning. The only way to put a closure to the reasoning is to refer it to Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) – “fa ruddoohu ilallahi war-rasool”, for our minds will take us to one reasoning and then a second reasoning, and each person will be giving his two pence and you will never get a closure to it. That is why I say that we have to keep making du‘aa for the A’immah-e-Mujtahideen, the Imaams of fiqh, for what they say is like the law in the constitution. And everybody’s interpretation in law will not be accepted in court. It has to be from a senior counsel and only if he has conformed to certain standards then only will the court accept it. You can well imagine if the Imaams had not interpreted it and not recorded their deductions and rulings, then what confusion these people would have caused nowadays. They will make a mess-up of things. They interpreted it and recorded it, and they did not give anybody the chance to reinterpret thereafter. You cannot find any flaw in it. Look at Imaam Abu Haneefah (rahmatullahi ‘alaih). For one mas’alah he has got an expert in language, an expert in the field of hadeeth, an expert in tafseer of the Quraan Shareef, he has got a person who is a great Allah wala; he will not tolerate the least nonsense. Now you have all these calibre of people sitting together and extracting the mas’alah. Is it possible for them to go off track; it is very difficult. We cannot say that they are like a nabi, but practically it is very difficult for such a huge group with so many specialists around to go off. They are putting their minds together and then extracting one mas’alah. Imagine forty brains of the time giving their time and sweat for this and then they come up with some answer. You will not be able to counter them. It is going to be very difficult. You are a one man show and they are forty experts. Thus they interpreted and recorded it and it was such a blessing for this Ummah. Otherwise each person will be interpreting and will create such a great confusion.
A person was on the plane and seated next to him was an Arab professor. This person ordered a halaal meal so they gave him some fruit etc. and this Arab person was eating all the meat and steak etc. Now he could not get direct to the point, as in the jamaat style you will ask the person his name, where is from, his profession etc. and you will slowly get to the person. So he then asks him that how do you explain the permissibility of consuming this meat? He replied that the Quraan says that – “fa kuloo mimma zukirasmullahi ‘alaih” – eat from that on which the name of Allah Ta‘ala has been taken. Now this is the literal translation. So I opened the package I passed my finger over and I read bismillah. So why is this food not halaal for me. If we had to go by this reasoning and pork was being served and a person said bismillah then will it be permissible for him to consume. Now if the Quraan Shareef was left open for everyone to interpret, then look at what confusion it would have created. Now he had to explain to him that the correct meaning is that at the time of slaughtering a halaal animal, if the name of Allah Ta‘ala is taken then the animal is halaal. You cannot generalise it as you have taken it to mean. Therefore, the importance of seeing the context and then interpreting correctly together with seeing the counter reasoning, in the hadeeth and Quraan Shareef. Hence, they closed all doors of reinterpretation. Any person who will try to reinterpret will make a fool of himself.
Look at a situation, the government imposes a tax on a townspeople and they said that they have to pay a 100 000 and this is a zulm (oppressive) tax for which they have no right to levy. Can you challenge the government? Now from the 100 townspeople one person said that since this is zulm, I am not paying. This will result in the 99 covering the 1000 of this person. Thus, because of this person’s refusal his burden goes on to the 99 people. Hence, is he a zaalim or not, because he is the cause of these people paying an additional tax? Now you get an additional interpreter and he interprets and offers an explanation. So Ibnu Taimiyyah (rahmatullahi ‘alaih), though he was a great person, but this was not his port of call. He was good in other respects. He says that this person is doing zulm by refusing to pay. Imaam Abu Haneefah (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) says that he is not a zaalim because he is guarding himself against zulm. Therefore the sin is on the person who levied that tax. To reach to the level of these A’immah is quite impossible. Therefore, the simple thing is to just go by their reasoning and you will not fall. Firstly, one is that their reasoning is so precise and immaculate, and secondly they have 12 centuries of success. You don’t even have a single year of success. There are so many ‘Ulama and muftis that have been supporting them and condoning them and you are just a one man show. So you cannot stand against 12 centuries of people. The whole Ummah was sailing and had a direction and they were moving constructively and positively; compared to them you are just starting. You will still have to be tried and it has to be seen whether it works out or not. It is a different story altogether.
In the old days when travelling for hajj there used to be those small stops which they used to call mastoorah, the rest stop, like how you get Shell Ultra. In the older days they used to serve fried fish and rice and a few other things. Some of the older Arabs would have their hookahs and circulate it around and some will be ‘pulling’ the hookah and ‘pushing’ the qahwah at the same time. So this was the type of things going on at that time. Then you will find one person coming to entertain the crowds for whatever reason. Like in India, in the train you will find someone coming to sing and after he sings he will say, “Bhayya give me something. “Someone will then give him five rupees and he will move on to the next coach. So someone came to sing at this mastoorah looking for some tip. Now there is an Indian singer that came for hajj and they stopped over at the mastoorah while the Arab singer is entertaining the crowd. When he saw the singer entertaining the crowd with his croaky voice and no style, he says, Yaa Rasulallah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! You prohibited music and singing because of these types of people. He has got no style, no tune and he does not know how to balance the song. Had you only listened to my singing you will say that it is halaal. Now he has got his own reasoning. If everybody’s reasoning is going to be added to the sharee‘ah you will make it worse than a kachumber (chopped salad); the kachumber at least you can eat it and the doctors will advise that you must eat kachumber. But this is worse, it is not even edible.
When pride and arrogance overtakes you then there is no hidaayat for such a person. See Shaitaan; it was because of his pride and arrogance that the road of hidaayat has been blocked off. Therefore he is not guided. Shaitaan heard that Moosa (‘alaihis salaam) is kaleemullah – the one who talks to Allah Ta‘ala. So he says to Moosa (‘alaihis salaam) that when you talk to Allah Ta‘ala then ask Him whether there is any way for my forgiveness and acceptance. Is there any way for me to reconnect? A nabi’s heart is flowing with compassion and love for anybody and everybody. He wants everybody to be blessed with Jannah. And why won’t he be such when he is the manifestation of hidaayat. Anyway, Moosa (‘alaihis salaam) goes to talk to Allah Ta‘ala. While talking, Moosa (‘alaihis salaam) forgot about Shaitaan’s message. Hence, Allah Ta‘ala reminds him about Shaitaan’s request. Allah Ta‘ala then says that there is a way for him to reconnect. He had refused to prostrate to Aadam (‘alaihis salaam). Now he should at least prostrate before his grave. When it is the command of Allah Ta‘ala you will not call it qabar pujaari (grave worship). Moosa (‘alaihis salaam) conveys the message to Shaitaan. He replies saying that if I could not prostrate before him in his lifetime, how can I prostrate to his grave? So the whole road to hidaayat has been blocked for him. His mind has been sealed and jammed up. The thing that jammed it was his arrogance. It is such a dangerous thing. We cannot accept, but we don’t realise that if we need to progress then we will have to cross that same bridge.
Hazrat Shah Abdur Raheem Sahib (rahmatullahi ‘alaih), a great muhaddith of India had taken a bath, put on clean clothes and was on his way for jumu‘ah. On his way there was a small bridge to cross, which could only accommodate one person at a time. As he came halfway he finds that there is dog coming from the other end and both of them are stuck. He communicates with the dog in whichever way it may have been, telling it to jump off. So the dog replies and says that why should I jump off? What excellence do you have over me? Shah Abdur Raheem says that yes, I would have jumped and got myself messed but I have the obligation of jumu‘ah and for it to be valid my clothes have to be clean. Otherwise I will have to go back home and get myself changed and in the process I may get delayed. So you rather jump off as you have no obligation and you are not mukallaf (responsible). The dog talks back that well if you mean what you say and you are saying it from your heart then there is no problem. But if there is an iota of contamination of the nafs then I am better.
We normally read Surah Hashr in a qiraat. Allah Ta‘ala instructs us: “Yaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanut taqullah…” In this aayah, the command of ittaqullah is repeated. It comes at the beginning and again towards the ending. Guard yourself against the displeasure of Allah Ta‘ala. What is the reason for repeating this command? Allah Ta‘ala already spoke of it in the beginning so why is it repeated. Did we ever reflect over this? It is like I say to you, “Read your namaaz,” and I tell you again, “Read your namaaz.” The other commands in the Quraan Shareef are just said once, and here this is repeated. So why? They give different reasons. One is that you will not only take care of the external actions, but you will take care of the inner actions as well. Like you will take care of namaaz, you will take care of your intention, you will take of your pride, you will take care of sabr. The other reason for the command being repeated is that after you have done an action then also be careful to preserve that action. You did an action, but did you take the pain to preserve it. There are certain things that will come and destroy those actions. You did an act of kindness for example and then you began giving reminders of your generosity to those you were kind to, that I did this for you and I did this for you. Allah Ta‘ala says: “Laa tubtiloo sadaqaatikum” – don’t destroy your actions of generosity. Or you did an act of kindness and generosity and you then began to extort and oppress that person, that I did so much for you and you people got no time for me. You did the good but in the same breath you destroyed it because of the pain that you caused after it, though not physical but it was in the mind.
Look at Hazrat Shaikhul Hind (rahmatullahi ‘alaih), how did he practise on this? He is imprisoned in Malta and he is old and weak, and in the severe cold of Malta. In the prison they were kept in their separate cells but there were given some time when they could be together. On one such day Hazrat seemed to be worried. Since he was such a great personality, nobody had the heart to ask him. So one person who was a little more informal took the initiative to ask. Hazrat (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) replied that didn’t you hear that they are talking of hanging us. This person replied that this is what we came for, so that we can become shaheed. Hazrat Shaikhul Hind (rahmatullahi ‘alaih)’s answer shook the whole crowd. He said, and his approximate words were, “Kya maloom nafs ka makhfi kayd usme mudhmar ne ho?” What do I know that in this whole exercise, whatever we have done, perhaps there must have been the contamination of the nafs? Outwardly it may have seemed that we were busy in jihaad etc. but there is the possibility of the nafs having a small part in it with show and ostentation etc. If we get into trouble for that, this is what I am worried about. The whole crowd burst out crying. At no time should a Muslim feel complacent of himself. At the beginning of the work ittaqullah and after doing that work don’t feel over confident, look within yourself perhaps there must have been something wrong, make istighfaar and fear Allah Ta‘ala.
The dog says to Shah Abdur Raheem (rahmatullahi ‘alaih) that if what you are saying is true then I need to jump. But if what you are saying is false and you feel that you are better than a dog and you have pride then there is such filth in your heart that even if you were to take the water of all the seven oceans then too it will not be sufficient to wash out the filth. Hearing this answer he was so thrilled that he jumped off and let the dog pass as a token of appreciation that this is a great knowledge I have acquired through this dog. One is that I say that I am nothing, but this level of realisation has come through this dog. Really, when I compare myself to this dog then there is no reason for me being more virtuous or significant or worthy of respect, because what is going to determine respect is the last moment which we have no knowledge of. And there is no accounting and Qiyaamat for the dog. It is dead and gone. We will have to go through all the procedures. So on which side am I landing I don’t know? Arrogance and pride is the thing that jams up the road. May Allah Ta‘ala clear our systems and mind of this.
