Love

Praise be to Allaah.

Islam came to close the doors that lead to evil and sin, and is keen to block all the means that may lead to corruption of hearts and minds. Love and infatuation between the sexes are among the worst of problems.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (10/129):

Love is a psychological sickness, and if it grows strong it affects the body, and becomes a physical sickness, either as diseases of the brain, which are said to be diseases caused by waswaas, or diseases of the body such as weakness, emaciation and so on. End quote.

And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (10/132):

Loving a non-mahram woman leads to many negative consequences, the full extent of which is known only to the Lord of people. It is a sickness that affects the religious commitment of the sufferer, then it may also affect his mind and body. End quote.

It is sufficient to note that one of the effects of love of a member of the opposite sex is enslavement of the heart which is held captive to the loved one. So love is a door that leads to humiliation and servility. That is sufficient to put one off this sickness.

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (10/185):

If a man is in love with a woman, even if she is permissible for him, his heart remains enslaved to her, and she can control him as she wishes, even though outwardly he appears to be her master, because he is her husband; but in fact he is her prisoner and slave, especially if she is aware of his need and love for her. In that case, she will control him like a harsh and oppressive master controls his abject slave who cannot free himself from him. Rather he is worse off than that, because enslavement of the heart is worse than enslavement of the body. End quote.

Attachment to the opposite sex will not happen to a heart that is filled with love of Allaah; it only affects a heart that is empty and weak, so it is able to gain control of it, then when it becomes strong and powerful it is able to defeat the love of Allaah and lead the person into shirk. Hence it is said: Love is the action of an empty heart.

If the heart is devoid of the love and remembrance of the Most Merciful, and is a stranger to speaking to Him, it will be filled with love of women, images and listening to music.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (10/135):

If the heart loves Allaah alone and is sincerely devoted to Him, it will not even think of loving anyone else in the first place, let alone falling in love. When a heart falls in love, that is due to the lack of love for Allaah alone. Hence because Yoosuf loved Allaah and was sincerely devoted to Him, he did not fall into the trap of love, rather Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, (guided) slaves"

[Yoosuf 12:24]

As for the wife of al-'Azeez, she was a mushrik as were her people, hence she fell into this trap. End quote.

The Muslim must save himself from this fate and not fall short in guarding against it and ridding himself of it. If he falls short in that regard and follows the path of love, by continuing to steal haraam glances or listening to haraam things, and being careless in the way he speaks to the opposite sex, etc, then he is affected by love as a result, then he is sinning and will be subject to punishment for his actions.

How many people have been careless at the beginning of this problem, and thought that they were able to rid themselves of it whenever they wanted, or that they could stop at a certain limit and not go any further, until the sickness took a strong hold and no doctor or remedy could help?

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Rawdat al-Muhibbeen (147):

If the cause happens by his choice, he has no excuse for the consequences that are beyond his control, but if the reason is haraam, the drunkard had no excuse. Undoubtedly following one glance with another and allowing oneself to keep thinking about the person is like drinking intoxicants: he is to be blamed for the cause. End quote.

If a person strives to keep away from the things that lead to this serious sickness, by lowering his gaze and not looking at haraam things, not listening to haraam things, and averting the passing thoughts that the shaytaan casts into his mind, then after that something of the evils of this sickness befalls him because of a passing glance or a transaction that is basically permissible, and his heart becomes attached to a woman, there is no sin on him for that in sha Allaah, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"Allaah burdens not a person beyond his scope"

[al-Baqarah 2:286]

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (11/10):

If that does not result from carelessness or transgression on his part, then there is no sin on him for what befalls him. End quote.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Rawdat al-Muhibbeen (147):

If love occurs for a reason that is not haraam, the person is not to be blamed, such as one who loved his wife or slave woman, then he separated from her but the love remained and did not leave him. He is not to be blamed for that. Similarly if there was a sudden glance then he averted his gaze, but love took hold of his heart without him meaning it to, he must, however, ward it off and resist it. End quote.

But he must treat his heart by putting a stop to the effects of this love, and by filling his heart with love of Allaah and seeking His help in that. He should not feel too shy to consult intelligent and trustworthy people for advice or consult some doctors and psychologists, because he may find some remedy with them. In doing that he must be patient, seek reward, remain chaste and keep quiet, and Allaah will decree reward for him in sha Allaah.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa (10/133):

If he is tested with love but he remains chaste and is patient, then he will be rewarded for fearing Allaah. It is known from shar'i evidence that if a person remains chaste and avoids haraam things in looking, word and deeds, and he keeps quiet about it and does not speak of it, so that there will be haraam talk about that, whether by complaining to another person or committing evil openly, or pursuing the beloved one in any way, and he is patient in obeying Allaah and avoiding sin, despite the pain of love that he feels in his heart, just as one who is afflicted with a calamity bears the pain of it with patience, then he will be one of those who fear Allaah and are patient, "Verily, he who fears Allaah with obedience to Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by performing righteous good deeds), and is patient, then surely, Allaah makes not the reward of the Muhsinoon (good‑doers) to be lost" [Yoosuf 12:90]. End quote.

And Allaah knows best.

http://www.islamqa.com/index.php?ref=82941&ln=eng

LOVE EVEN THOSE WHO REVILE YOU

Interview with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Q: The convenient response to those who revile your religion is to return the favor. The more virtuous position however is to forgive. Forgiveness as you know, while less in virtue when compared to love, nevertheless, can result in love. Love, by definition, does not require forgiveness. What many Muslims today seem to forget is that ours is a religion of love and our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, was the Habib, the Beloved. How did love, the defining virtue of our community, come to be replaced by an urge to redress wrongs, to punish instead of to forgive?

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf: It is the result of Muslims seeing themselves as victims. Victimization is a defeatist mentality. It's the mentality of the powerless. The word victim is from the Latin “victima” which carries with it the idea of the one who suffers injury, loss, or death due to a voluntary undertaking. In other words, victims of one’s own actions. Muslims never really had a mentality of victimization. From a metaphysical perspective, which is always the first and primary perspective of a Muslim, there can be no victims. We believe that all suffering has a redemptive value.

Q: If the tendency among Muslims is to view themselves as victims which appears to me as a fall from grace, what virtue must we then cultivate to dispense with this mental and physical state that we now find ourselves in?

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf: The virtue of patience is missing. Patience is the first virtue after tawba or repentance. Early Muslim scholars considered patience as the first maqam or station in the realm of virtues that a person entered into. Patience in Islam means patience in the midst of adversity. A person should be patient in what has harmed or afflicted him. Patience means that you don’t lose your comportment or your composure. If you look at the life of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, you will never ever find him losing his composure. Patience was a hallmark of his character. He was ‘the unperturbed one’ which is one of the meanings of halim: wa kaana ahlaman-naas. He was the most unperturbed of humanity. Nothing phased him either inwardly or outwardly because he was with Allah in all his states.

Read More Here

Focused on a Distraction

"Hast thou ever heard of a creature at once present and absent?
I am in the midst of society but my heart is elsewhere"

(Sa'di s.f. , p. 554).

Literalism is Illiteracy II

As he gave an addres from the pulpit, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, God be pleased with him, was interrupted by a number of Kharijites, or dissenters, who said, "There is no rule but the rule of God." 'Ali, may God be pleased with him, responded: "A truth, misinterpreted to support a falsehood. There are three things we owe you: not to keep you from mentioning the name of the Lord in the Lord's mosques, not to initiate a war against you, and not to deprive you of your share of fay' so long as you stick with us."

"Your call is now met . . ."

This thread is dedicated to the battles of the Sahabah (ra).

The Prophet (saw) consented to let his closest relatives, the Hashimites and Muttalibites, answer the challenges to single combat on the day of Badr, albeit grudgingly and with the utmost concern for their safety. In fact, he fought Ubayy in person at Uhud, and granted permission to 'Ali, may God grant him peace, to fight 'Amr ibn Wudd in the battle of the Trench even though the danger was more serious, and his concern, may God bless him and grant him peace, for 'Ali was greater. Thus, upon making the challenge on the first day and getting no answer, and on the second day with the same reuslt, then watching the men avoid and recoil from him as he repeated it for the third day, 'Amr said: "O, Muhammad, don't you claim your own killed would live and thrive in heaven in the company of their God, while ours would be tortured in hell? Why, then, doesn't any of your men seem to care to speed up his reward from God, or to offer an enemy to hellfire?" extemporising the following lines (in the kamil metre):

[i]And here am I upon their battalions to fight;
Won't anyone come forward?
Here stand I, as the mighty flinch, ready to do battle,
As ever eager to face heavy odds.
For all of the firtues he could have
Courage and generosity a young man best adorn.[/i]

At which point 'Ali, may God approve of him, got up and asked the Prophet's permission to fight the duel. The Prophet granted it, saying, "Go, 'Ali, protected and shielded by God's grace," and the latter came forth extemporising (in the kamil metre):

[b][i]Rejoice; your call is now met
By one who in trouble never falters,
One with a will and vision armed
Wishing to be a winner tommorow.
O, how I wish to dispatch you to the mourners
Who will furnish your funeral celebrate,
With a mighty blow
Enchanting to recall when the going is rough.[/b][/i]

[b]-Al Ahkam as Sultanniyyah by Imam Mawardi p 42-43-[/b]

Literalism is Illiteracy

A blind scholar was teaching a halaqa where he mentioned that the Qur'an and Hadith have to taken literally.

One of his students inquired about the verse "If you are blind in this life you will be blind in the next life."

The blind scholar was silent and didn't know how to respond.

The Truth

"At the time when the last of this Umma curses the first of this Umma, whoever hides knowledge from people, it is as if he hides what Allah has revealed to me."

"From every succeeding generation its upright folk shall carry this knowledge in turn. They shall repeal from it the distortions of the extremists (tahrif al-ghalin), the misinterpretations of the ignorant (ta'wil al-jahilin), and the pretenses of the liars (intihal al-mubtilin)."

What the Fiqh?

Fiqh is not merely a question of picking up rulings recorded in old texts and throwing them down on new realities. Rather, the application of fiqh, especially on more sophisticated matters, requires a sophisticated understanding of the texts of the fuqaha, as well as the primary sources, the general foundational principles and goals of the Shariah, and, very importantly, the time, place, and people the fiqh will affect. This is why fuqaha such as Imam al-Haskafi stated that, “Whoever does not understand the people of his times is ignorant.” (Durr al-Mukhtar, 1: 47)

-Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

We Live in an Age . . .

"You are living in an age in which scholars of jurisprudence are numerous, while those who recite [and memorize] the Qur'an are few, an age in which the limits set by the Qur'an are preserved in people's memories though its specific words may be lost. It is an age in which those who ask are few, while those who have answers to give are many, in which they prolong the prayer while keeping their sermons brief, and in which people show preference for [virtuous] action over whims and desires. However, an age is coming in which scholars of jurisprudence will be few, while those who recite and memorize the Qur'an will be many. The words of the Qur'an will be committed to memory while the limits it sets will be lost. Many will be those who ask, but few will be those who have answers to give. Their sermons will be lengthy and their prayers brief, while they show preference for their whims and desires over the virtuous actions they might perform."
-Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (ra) -