The Correct Uprightness

[taebah]

Bismillah-hir-Rahmaan-nir-Raheem
Assalamu'Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh

The Correct Uprightness
Shaykh Saud Ash-Shuraym

Makkah - 9, Muharram 1426 (18, February 2005)

All praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims! Allaah says,
"O you who believe! Fear Allaah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. (Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always), and die not except in a state of Islaam (as Muslims (with complete submission to Allaah))."
(Aal 'Imraan 3:102)
"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Hawwâ (Eve)) and from them both He created many men and women; and fear Allaah through Whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allaah is Ever an All-Watcher over you."
(An-Nisaa 4:1)

"O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allaah and fear Him, and speak (always) the truth. He will direct you to do righteous good deeds and will forgive you your sins. And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and will be admitted to Paradise)."
(Al-Ahzaab 33:70-71)
Fellow Muslims! Man's happiness, balance, well-being and stability lie in his truthful adherence to his religion and to the law of his Lord and his tenacious upholding of its teachings, far from deviations and doubts and any inclination towards extremism or negligence.

The Muslim, in his balance, is keen to live a pleasant life full of uprightness in his religion and firm upon it, in the face of the successive storms that come every now and then.
"In order that Allaah may distinguish the wicked (disbelievers, polytheists and doers of evil deeds) from the good (believers of Islaamic Monotheism and doers of righteous deeds), and put the wicked (disbelievers, polytheists and doers of evil deeds) one over another, heap them together and cast them into Hell."
(Al-Anfaal 8:37)
What spurs the truthful believer amid these heaps of changes is the saying of Allaah,
"And worship your Lord until there comes unto you the certainty (i.e. death)."
(Al-Hijr 15:99)
And His saying,
"Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is (only) Allaah," and thereafter stand firm and straight on the Islaamic Faith of Monotheism, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."
(Al-Ahqaaf 46:13)
Muslim reported on the authority of Sufyaan ibn 'Abdullaah who said, "I asked the Messenger of Allaah to tell me a word in Islaam that I would have no need to ask any other person besides him and he said, "Say: 'I believe in Allaah', and then remain steadfast [upon that]."

Ponder over this comprehensive advice, may Allaah protect you! The Messenger of Allaah explained the identity of a Muslim upon which he should live and die: It is remaining truthfully upright without crookedness or deviation. He should have real uprightness without capitulating or compromising. He should have the real and comprehensive uprightness that entails its three pillars which are: uprightness with the tongue as derived from the Prophet's saying, "Say: I believe in Allaah"; and uprightness with the heart and the limbs as derived in his statement, "Then remain upright." This is because mere claiming to be upright with the tongue with no corresponding deeds is not regarded uprightness at all as claiming to be upright with the limbs is not regarded real uprightness if the heart is devoid of this uprightness.

That is why Allaah rebuked those who claimed to be upright upon the faith and that they had attained a level higher than their actual level. Allaah says,
"The Bedouins say: "We believe." Say: "You believe not but you only say, 'We have surrendered (in Islaam),' for Faith has not yet entered your hearts."
(Al-Hujuraat 49:14)
Dear brethren! Know that one of the greatest kinds of uprightness is to remain upright upon the pure belief of Islaamic monotheism. That is by knowing Allaah, worshipping Him, fearing Him, revering Him, having hope in Him, calling upon Him, depending on Him and not to associate any partner with Him or to direct one's attention to anyone besides Him.

Aboo Bakr as-Siddeeq, in his commentary on the saying of Allaah, "Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is (only) Allaah," and thereafter stand firm and straight", said, "They are those who do not pay attention to anyone or anything besides Allaah."

Fellow Muslims! Remaining upright upon the religion of Allaah is a great matter, though doing so is surrounded with dangers from all sides. There are around that trials and temptations that incite with a great incitement and thrust a believer with a violent thrust.

All this makes remaining firm upon righteousness and tenaciously upholding it look like holding a like life coal with a naked hand. It is for the reason that the Prophet used to frequently seek protection against temptations and trials and say in his supplications, "O Allaah! If you want to put people to trial, invite me unto Yourself, unaffected with the trial."

Brethren in Islaam! There is no doubt in the fact that if someone is successively afflicted with trials and he and his society frequently experience them, this may make the person somewhat negligent or flawed. And this is something that no Muslim is free of. For, he who is not afflicted with the trial may at least be afflicted with its impact. But Islaam does not leave a Muslim to randomly keep falling into the trials without providing him with something that can guard him or mend the defect and obliterate it.

Allaah directs His servant to istighfaar that necessitates a sincere repentance and going back to the path of uprightness; in order that that may serve as solace in the face of the storming wave. Allaah says,
"Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "I am only a human being like you. It is inspired in me that your Ilâh (God) is One Ilâh (God - Allaah), therefore take Straight Path to Him (with true Faith - Islaamic Monotheism) and obedience to Him, and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe to Al-Mushrikûn (the polytheists, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allaah)."
(Fussilat 41:6)
It is in the light of the above that the Prophet told Mu'aadh, "Fear Allaah wherever you are. Follow up an evil deed with a righteous one in order to erase it and relate with the people in the best manner." (At-Tirmidhee) Allaah says,
"Indeed, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice)."
(Hood 11:114)
Dear brethren! While real uprightness upon the religion is being made clear and encouraged, we surely know its difficulty and the struggle against the soul one has to make in order to attain it. We are also not oblivious of the many obstacles in the way of attaining real uprightness. Nevertheless, all this does not excuse any Muslim or any society from striving to achieve it and exerting all possible efforts in putting it into practice in real life, though one must maintain moderation and justness in doing so. The Messenger of Allaah said, "Remain upright as much as you can though you can never attain the highest level of uprightness. Know that the best of all your deeds is prayer. It is only the one who upholds the observation of ablution that is a real believer." (Ahmad and Ibn Maajah)

Fellow Muslims! If there is anything that needs to be realized here, it is the fact that calling to uprightness or claiming to be upright while the reality is totally different is a grave defect and a serious deficiency. Deluding oneself of a fake perfection and that the individual or the concerned society needs no reform or correction is a great manifestation of imperfection. This is because perfection and moderation are only found in a situation where sayings correspond with deeds and the inward corresponds with the outward. Allaah rebukes those who fail to attain balance in their lives where they say much more than what they do. Allaah says,
"Enjoin you Al-Birr (piety and righteousness and each and every act of obedience to Allaah) on the people and you forget (to practice it) yourselves, while you recite the ure (the Taurât (Torah))! Have you then no sense?"
(Al-Baqarah 2:44)

Aboo Dardaa said, "Woe, once, unto him who did not know and did not act, and woe, three times, unto him who knew but did not."

Al-Hasan Al-Basree said, "Recognize people with their deeds and disregard their words. For Allaah did not make a word except he makes with it a deed that confirms it or denies it. So if you hear a good word look at the one who says it. If that saying corresponds with his deeds, it is excellent."
Imaam Maalik mentioned that he informed that Al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad said, "I met the people who are not impressed with words but with deeds."

Fellow Muslims! Fear Allaah and know that the greatest shame is when a man's deed opposes his words or when his actual and real situation opposes his outward appearance. For the one who claims to be upright in obedience to Allaah should not be in his real life fraudulent or deceitful. He should not tell lies or show off. He should not steal or commit adultery or fornication. He should dealt unjustly with or commit aggression against others. He should not violate people honours or break promises. He should not seek to reverse the law of his Lord or marginalize it. This is because traits like these only bring about disorders, lack of trust, spread of killings, acts of sabotage and assassinations, violation of rights and aggression against the religion, lives, properties, honours and minds.
There is no way out of these calamities except by going back to Allaah, upholding His laws and searching for the causes of imperfections and then correcting that. This will enable us live a peaceful and pleasant life, free from turmoil and perdition. Allaah says,
"Only those are the believers who have believed in Allaah and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not but strive with their wealth and their lives for the Cause of Allaah. Those! They are the truthful."
(Al-Hujuraat 49:15)
Allaah also says,
"And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become pious."
(Al-An'aam 6:153)
Dear Muslims! One of the things that help in remaining upright and firm upon the religion of Allaah is performing much acts of worship. Among those acts of worship is observing supererogatory fasting. The Messenger of Allaah said, "Whoever observes fasting for a day seeking by that the pleasure of Allaah, Allaah will keep his face away from hell for a distance of seventy years." (Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim)

Among the recommended kinds of fasting is fasting in Muharram, the month of Allaah. Observing fasting in this month is regarded the best after fasting in the month of Ramadaan. The Messenger of Allaah said, "The best fasting after that of the month of Ramadaan is fasting in the month that you call Muharram."

Then the best day of fasting in the month of Muharram is the tenth day about which the Prophet said, "I hope that Allaah will make it erase the sins of the previous year." (Muslim)

Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim reported on the authority of Ibn 'Abbaas who said, "I have never seen the Messenger of Allaah observe fast on any day on which he was so keen in attaining its merit except this day –meaning the day of 'Aashooraa– and this month –meaning Ramadaan."
The Messenger of Allaah also said, "If I live till the next year, I certainly will observe fasting on the ninth day as well." (Muslim) But he died before the following year.
The Muslim therefore has an option of performing fast on the 10th day only or the 9th and the 10th, which is the best or the 9th, the 10th and the 11th, according to the opinion of some scholars because of a hadeeth in which there is a difference in its wordings. Taking to the third option can be considered in order to be on the safe side. This is the view of Ibn Seereen and a group of scholars.
As for the means of recognizing the 10th day, it is based on the known and agreed-upon Islaamic principle: If the crescent is seen, it is the sign of the commencement of the month; but if it is not seen, the previous month will be counted up to thirty days. In this, there should be no need for doubts, much argument or differences in fatwas. The matter is very clear and definite; all praise is due to Allaah.
May Allaah make us all succeed in doing what He loves and He is pleased with of words and deeds! He is All-Hearing, All-Responding. A'ameen