The last advice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Part 2. English Translation of a talk by Mufti Taqi Usmani DB

The Holy Qur’an and Hadith are full of commandments about praying Salah. The commandment to establish Salah comes more than 60 times in the Holy Qur’an.   It has been narrated in a Hadith that in the Aakhirah (Hereafter) the first question we will be asked, will be about Salah. We will be held accountable for how many Salah we prayed, how many we have missed, and how many we prayed after their time had passed. When a person starts preparing for Aakhirah the first thing they need to do is to take account of their Salah, as to how many they have not prayed since it became incumbent upon them after attaining puberty.  

It is for the reason above it has been the practice of our wise elders that whenever someone came to them seeking to establish Islahi Ta’alluq (mentoring relationship for self-improvement), the first teaching they received was in performing Taubah (repentance) from previous sins. There is a general or in principle Taubah, and a specific or detailed Taubah.   For general or in principle Taubah, a person should pray two raka’t with the intention of Salah of repentance (صلوٰة التوبہ), and then with a humble heart should pray to Allah Ta’ala that “O’ Allah! I beg You for forgiveness for all the sins I have committed in my previous life. Please forgive me for all the sins I have committed, major or minor. Please forgive me for all the Faraid (compulsory commandments) and Wajibat (necessary commandments) that I have neglected or not performed. O’ Allah! Please forgive me and accept my Taubah.” This is general or in principle Taubah.   

Once a person has done general Taubah, the next step is to do specific Taubah. Specific Taubah means that they look at their entire past life critically as to what wrongs they have committed in that life. Then they should reflect on which of these wrongs they can atone for now. For example, they should make a list of all the people they have hurt in their past life. Then they should try to ask for forgiveness from all those people who are still alive and they can contact, and pray for forgiveness from Allah Ta’ala in favour of all those people who have passed away or they are unable to contact any more.  

In terms of Salah, a person needs to estimate how many Salah, if any, they have not prayed (done Qada) since Salah became compulsory for them. That time starts from the age when an individual attains puberty. If they do not remember the exact age, then they should estimate it from the age of 14 years as that is the age when children usually become mature. Then they should estimate how many Salah of which time (for example Fajr or Asr) they may not have prayed since then. If they do not remember exactly, then they should make a conservative estimate. If, for example, they estimate that they had not prayed all the five Salah for 3 years. They should write that down in a copy, and then start praying a Qada Salah with each regular Salah. This is called Qada-e-Umri (قضائے عمری).

This Hadith has been narrated by Hazrat Ali (کرم اللّٰہ وجہہ). In this narration he has described the events around the time of the Holy Prophet’s ﷺ last few days before he passed away from this mortal world. Hazrat Ali RAA has narrated that on the last day when the Holy Prophet ﷺ fell really unwell, he said to Hazrat Ali RAA, “Ali, bring a tray (تھال) in which I write that advice after which my Ummah (community) doesn’t go astray.” In those days paper wasn’t very common. Sometimes people wrote on leather, on leaves of a tree, on bones, and sometimes on clay pans.   

Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) says that at that time the Holy Prophet ﷺ was so unwell that I feared that if I went to get something to write on, he may pass away in my absence. That is why I told him that whatever you tell me, I will remember it and write it down later. Hazrat Ali RAA says that his revered head was in my arms. The words he was saying were, “Be mindful of Salah, be mindful of Zakat, be good to the slaves you own, and be steadfast to the witness of “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad (ﷺ) is His subject and Messenger.” Allah Ta’ala will declare Jahannam (Hell) Haraam for whoever remains steadfast to this testament.”   These were the advices the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave in his last moments of life.  

The real purpose of quoting this Hadith is to highlight those advices the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave at such a crucial time and what he emphasized. It seems like these advice are the essence of the commandments of Deen (religion) that the holy Prophet ﷺ preached his entire life. These are the summary of entire Deen.  

 There is another Hadith which has been narrated by Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) in which he said that during the last moments of the Holy Prophet ﷺ when the volume of his voice had become really low, when I put my ear to his mouth these were the words he kept saying till the very last moment;  “Be careful about Salah and be careful about your subordinates.”  

This Hadith tells us that among all the commandments and teachings of Deen the one among Huqooq Allah (rights of Allah) the Holy ﷺ Prophet placed the greatest emphasis on was Salah. In another narration, the words “Salah, Zakah, and rights of subordinates” have been mentioned. This tells us that among all the Rights of Allah the Holy Prophet ﷺ placed the greatest emphasis on two sorts of rights, one physical and one financial, the physical one being Salah, and the financial one being Zakat. And among the Rights of People (Huqooq al-Ibad) he placed the greatest emphasis on rights of one’s slaves, servants and subordinates.   The Holy Prophet ﷺ was worried whether his Ummah will falter in following these commandments of Shariah after him, and that being neglectful of these commandments will lead to Jahannam and wrath of Allah Ta’alah, and that is why he emphasized about following these specific commandments even in his last moments in this mortal world.

There is one more thing to know about taking or giving advice. First, we need to understand what the purpose of consulting someone is that we get an opinion from another person who has some experience and knowledge of that particular area. However, if someone has sought our opinion about a matter, he is not bound to act on our suggestion, he has full right whether he chooses to act on it, or not. If he feels that what we have suggested is not the best course of action to suit his circumstances, then, from the point of view of the Shariah, he is well within his rights not to act on it. Sometimes people feel upset and angry if they suggested something which wasn’t then acted upon. They feel that their opinion was devalued or ignored. This is not correct. The purpose of consulting someone is to find out their opinion about the matter. This opinion then doesn’t become binding on the person who sought it.  

There is another great lesson we learn from the event of Hudaibiyah. It is that Deen (religion) is not the name of fulfilling one’s own wishes, it is not the name of following one’s emotions and desires. In fact, Deen is the name of obeying the orders and commandments of Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Even when we are very emotional about something, and our emotions are tempting us to do something, Deen is the name of bringing our emotions under control at that time, and obey the will and command of Allah Ta’ala and the Holy Prophet ﷺ. Before the Treaty of Hudaibiyah was signed, the emotions of Muslims dictated that they fight the non-believers and do not accept the humiliating conditions that the non-believers were forcing on them. But once they saw what the Holy Prophet ﷺ was doing, their temperaments cooled down and they followed the example of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.

With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful. 

“…So, pardon them, and seek Forgiveness for them. Consult them in the matter and, once you have taken a decision, place your trust in Allah. Surely, Allah loves those who place their trust in Him.” (3:159)

Consulting other people is a very important aspect of Deen (religion). While describing the characteristics of Muslims in the Noble Qur’an, Allah Ta’alah says;

“…and whose affairs are (settled) with mutual consultation between them…” (42:38)

In the verse recited at the beginning, Allah Ta’ala has commanded the Holy Prophet ﷺ;

“…Consult them in the matter…” (3:159)

When a person of the stature of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is being commanded by Allah Ta’ala to consult his Companions (Sahabah), then it is much more incumbent for people like us to do so.

There are a few principles about consulting others.

1. The first principle is that we should only take an expert opinion from a person who has a full understanding of the matter we want their opinion on. When we consult such a person then Allah Ta’ala will Insha'Allah (God willing) grant us Barakah (blessing) in that matter.

2. The second thing to know regarding consulting others is what type of matters should one consult others about. We are not allowed to consult others about matters which have been Fard (compulsory), Wajib (necessary) or Haraam (unlawful) by Shariah. This is because we are bound to do what Shariah has declared Fard or Wajib, and we are required to abstain from matters that Shariah has declared Haraam. For example, it would be completely senseless if a person starts consulting other people whether he should pray Salah or not, or whether he should drink alcohol or not.

3. The third important point is that there are some duties of a person who is being consulted. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“The person whose advice has been sough, has been entrusted.” (Tirmidhi)

That is why, if a person is being consulted about something and he knows nothing about that area, he should clearly say that I know nothing about this matter and therefore I am unable to give you any advice. 

4. There is another meaning of the Hadith “the person whose advice has been sought, has been entrusted” which is that the person who has come to us to seek our advice, has made us his confidante. He has shared his personal secrets with us, has told us their personal difficulties. He has placed his trust in us. Now we must not start sharing his personals secrets with everyone and start telling everyone what he told us in private. When someone has entrusted us with his sensitive information, and made us his confidante, then his personal information is an Amanah (entrustment) with us, it is our duty to keep his secret private. Sharing that secret with others would be a breach of his trust and humiliating a person publicly, both of which are great sins.

Allah Ta’ala says in the Noble Qur’an;  

“…and those who control anger and forgive people. And Allah loves those who are good in their deeds,” (3:134)  

Allah Ta’ala tells us in the Noble Qur’an what the reward for those will be who do not take revenge and observe Sabr (patience);  

“…Certainly those who observe patience will be given their reward in full without measure.” (39:10)  

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said,  

“Silah Rehmi (fulfilling rights of one’s relatives) is not that one gives back what one receives. Silah Rehmi is that even if the other person cuts off relationship with him, he still fulfills the other person’s rights.”  

In a Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;  

“Allah Ta’ala does not like any sip a person drinks more than the sip of his own anger (meaning suppressing his anger and not expressing it)”  

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, 

"if a person harms someone, and then the person who was harmed forgives him, then Allah Ta’ala will forgive the forgiver on the day he will need forgiveness most, that is, in the Aakhirah (Hereafter).”

Imam Bukhari (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) has written a book in which he has collected those Ahadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which relate to Islamic etiquettes related to different walks of life which the Holy Prophet ﷺ has taught us through his own practice. One of these etiquettes, and a Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, is that a person keeps mingling with people and greets them with a smile.   

Even though the Holy Prophet’s (ﷺ) every Sunnah is lovable, but there is one particular Sunnah which has been reported in Tirmidhi Sharif which seems to be the most difficult to follow, even though it was his usual habit.  It has been narrated that when someone was talking to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, he never turned his face away from that person until he turned away first, and never cut him off while he was still talking.   When a person has hundreds of demands on his time, someone is asking him a religious question, someone is describing his difficulties, someone is making another demand, only then it is possible to appreciate how difficult it is to follow this Sunnah in one’s daily life.   Then there are some people who, once they start talking, never stop. While listening to such people, not moving away until that person finishes is a very difficult task. But the Holy Prophet ﷺ who lived only for 23 more years after he was granted Prophethood, had to perform Jihad, had to perform Tableegh (preaching), how to teach his Sahabah about Deen, who was sent for betterment of the whole world, even despite all of these demands on his time, if an old woman stopped him on the way, he did not turn his away from her until he had satisfied her fully.  

Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr bin al-Aas (may Allah be pleased with him), recited the following verses from the Torah;  

“He will come as a deliverer for the illiterate (امی)”. The Arabs of the time were called ‘illiterate’ because they did not have a tradition of reading and writing.    “And you are my subject and my Messenger”.  

Further on, Allah Ta’ala has described the characteristics of that Prophet;  

“Neither will he speak harshly, nor will he have a harsh temperament.”  

“And he won’t be one to make noise in the Bazar.”  “And he won’t respond to bad behaviour with bad behaviour.”  

“Rather, he will be forgiving and will let go of things.”  

“And God will not recall him to Himself until he straightens this misguided nation in that they say ‘There is no God but Allah’.”  “and through this kalimah of Tauheed (oneness of Allah) He will open their blind eyes, and will open their deaf ears, and those hearts which are covered in wraps will open through this kalimah.”

We should thank Allah Ta’ala who blessed us with a guide like the Holy Prophet ﷺ who has provided us with solutions for all our problems through his own Sunnah. If a person comes to realize that he has made many mistakes and violated many people’s rights in his past life, and wants to atone for it, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has shown us the way how to do so. One day he stood in masjid Nabvi in front of a gathering of Sahabah (his companions) and said;

“If I have hurt anyone or have caused anyone harm in any way, then I present myself before him. If he wants to take revenge for the hurt I caused him, then I am prepared for him to hurt me in return, if he wants any compensation against it, then I am prepared to pay him that compensation, and if he wants to forgive me, then I request him to forgive me.”

This pronouncement was made by the perfect being about whom Allah Ta’ala has said in the Holy Quran;

“so that Allah may forgive you of your previous and subsequent faults…” (48:2)

And about whom it was said;

“So, never by your Lord! Never shall they become believers, unless they make you the judge in the disputes that arise between them, then find no discomfort in their hearts against what you have decided, and surrender to it in total submission.” (4:65)

So, he is the person about whom such statements have been made in the Noble Quran, and about whom it has been clearly declared that he cannot cause any unjust harm or hurt to anyone, but despite all this he is standing up in Masjid Nabvi and making this declaration in front of all his companions that if he has hurt someone unjustly, they should come and take their revenge from him.

It has been reported in traditions that after listening to this announcement by the Holy Prophet ﷺ, one companion stood up and said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ! I want to take revenge.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ asked, “what sort of revenge?” He replied, “One day you had hit me on my back. I want to take revenge for that.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “I do not remember hitting you, but if you do remember, come and take your revenge.” The Holy Companion said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ. When you hit me, my back was not covered.” The Holy Prophet ﷺ removed his covering sheet from his back and the mark of Prophethood became visible. That Companion stepped forward, kissed the mark of Prophethood, and said, “O Prophet of Allah ﷺ! I had said this only to be able to kiss the mark of Prophethood.” Anyway, the Holy Prophet ﷺ presented himself before all his Companions so that they could take revenge from him if they wanted to.

Hazrat Thanvi (may Allah Ta’ala bless him) wrote a booklet on this topic, got it published, and then distributed it to everyone he knew. In this booklet he wrote, “Because I have come across and have been acquainted with numerous people in life, I do not know whether I violated someone’s rights, or did injustice to them. Today I present myself. If someone wants to take revenge from me for what wrong I did to them, then please do so. If I owe any financial rights to anyone, please remind me and I will pay it back. If I have caused any physical hurt or harm to anyone, then I am prepared for them to hurt me in kind. Otherwise, I request them to please forgive me.”

Along with this letter, Hazrat Thanvi RE also wrote this Hadith;

“The Holy Prophet ﷺ said that if a Muslim says sincerely to another Muslim that he had made a mistake and requests him to forgive him, then it is the duty of the other Muslim brother to forgive him. If he doesn’t forgive him, then in the Hereafter he should not harbour expectations towards Allah Ta’ala to forgive him.”

It has been narrated by Hazrat Sufyan ibn Usaid Hazrami (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Holy Prophet ﷺsaid;

“This is great Khiyanat (breach of trust) that you tell your brother something which he believes to be true, but you are lying to him.”

This is an act which leads to animosity, discord, and hatred between people. Telling a lie is a great sin anyway, but in this Hadith the Holy Prophet ﷺ is specifically mentioning that lie in which someone places their trust in you and believes that you will tell him the truth. But you breach his trust and tell him a lie. This act carries the sin of not just lying, but also of Khiyanat (breach of trust).

It is Khiyanat (breach of trust) because the person who is seeking your opinion is doing so because he believes you to be trustworthy and truthful. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“The person whose opinion is sought, has been entrusted.”

It means that the person who is seeking your opinion and advice is trusting you to tell him the truth and what you consider to be your best option. But you have deliberately lied to him, and knowingly misguided him, therefore, you have also committed breach of his trust.

Similarly, when a person applies for the citizenship of a country, he gives an undertaking that he will obey all the laws of that country, except for any laws that may force him to break any laws of Shariah.

For example, the government of UK gives an unemployment benefit. This is an allowance to support the unemployed till they can find a job. This is a great source of support for people who are struggling financially. However, some of our brothers who have gone there have made this unemployment into a profession. These people work covertly, hide their incomes, and also claim unemployment benefits. Even people who are quite religious and regularly perform Salah, are also engaged in this practice.

Once someone asked me whether this practice was permissible or not. I told him it is completely impermissible and Haraam (unlawful under Shariah). “First of all, you are telling a lie that you are unemployed when you are not. Second, you are breaking a law of the country you live in. When you have entered this country after vowing to follow its laws, then it is incumbent upon you to follow all those laws of this country which do not force you to do something in contravention of the Shariah.” That gentleman replied that this is a non-Muslim government and it is allowed to take money from a non-Muslim government by whichever means and spend it. (May Allah protect us). O’ brother. When you entered this country, you gave an undertaking that you will follow the laws of this country, therefore, it is not permissible for you to break the laws of this country. Just like it is not allowed to break a promise one has made to a Muslim, similarly, it is not allowed to break a promise one has made to a non-Muslim, and any money obtained as result of that breach of promise will be Haraam (unlawful).

The second commandment the Holy Prophet ﷺ has issued in this Hadith is;

“Do not joke with your brother.”

The joking that is referred to in this Hadith is that kind of joking which hurts someone’s feelings. If a person is making jokes which are within the limits of Shariah, being told with the intention of making the other person happy, and the listener is enjoying it too, then there is no harm in making such jokes. In fact, if that joke is not a lie, and the intention of telling that joke is making the other person happy, then the person will also get thawab (reward) on it.

One type of fun is having fun with someone. Another type of fun is making fun of someone. It is completely alright to have fun with friends. However, making fun of someone which includes ridiculing him, or saying things that he doesn’t like and which hurt his feelings, is Haraam (impermissible under Shariah). Some people identify other people’s weak spots and deliberately mention these again and again in front of that person so that he would become angry and they would enjoy it. It is this kind of jokes that the Holy ﷺ Prophet has prohibited.

It is narrated in a Hadith that once, while doing Tawaf of Baitullah (Masjid al-Haraam), the Holy Prophet ﷺ said;

“O Baitullah (house of Allah)! How exalted you are. Your status is so exalted that Allah Ta’ala deemed you His house on this earth. How grand your honour is. But O Baitullah! There is one thing the honour of which is even greater than your honour, that is a Muslim’s life, his property, and his honour.”

The third commandment the Holy Prophet ﷺ gave in this Hadith is,

“Do not make a promise that you cannot fulfil.”

The Holy Prophet ﷺ said,

“That person is a hypocrite who has these three attributes; when he talks he lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, when he is entrusted with something he breaches that trust.”