(Al-Birr) Righteousness is not (just) that you turn your faces toward the east or the west,

but (true) righteousness is (the quality of)
• the one who believes in Allah,
• the Last Day,
• the Angels,
• the Book,
• the Prophets and

• gives his wealth, in spite of love for it to
- the kinsfolk,
- to the orphans,
- and to the poor
- and to the wayfarer,
- and to those who ask,
- and to set slaves free

• (and) performs as-Salat,
• and gives the Zakat,
• and who fulfill their covenant when they make it,
• and who are the patient ones in extreme poverty and ailment and at the time of fighting (during the battles).

Such are the people of the truth and they are Al-Muttaqun (the pious, those who fear Allah).

[Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:177]

The more that a woman stays in the home and lessens her trips (to the) outside, except for a need, the closer that is to her Lord and attaining His mercy.

[A Piece of Advice and Admonition for the Women by Shaykh 'Abd Ar-Razzāq Ibn 'Abd Al-Muhsin al-Abbād (hafidhahullāh), pg. 28]

The worst type of generosity is being generous in gifting your good deeds to others due to backbiting, tale-carrying, lying, swearing and insulting.

[Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah), Majmoo’ al-Fatawa, v. 8, pg. 303]

Shaykh Sālih al Fawzān (hafidhahullāh) said:

Among (the types of) knowledge is that which is an individual obligation upon every Muslim to know, and no one is excused of being ignorant of; this is to have knowledge of the matters which the servant’s religion cannot be correct except by (learning) them,

such as the matters of his ‘Aqīdah (i.e. belief), the rulings of his Salah (i.e. prayer), his giving of Zakāt (i.e. obligatory charity), his Sawm (i.e fasting), and his Hajj (pilgrimage).

Therefore, this area of knowledge - or this portion of knowledge - is obligatory upon every Muslim to know thoroughly, and no one is excused from having ignorance of it.

This is because it is not possible that a person’s religion be correct except with it.

[Book: A Comprehensive Guide for the New Muslim, pg. 15]

Enjoin Good and Forbid Evil to Have Your Du’as Answered

Hudhaifa ibn al-Yaman (raḍiyAllāhu ‘anh) reported: The Prophet (ṣall Allahu ʿalayhi wa-’ālihi wa-sallam) said:

By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will enjoin good and forbid evil or else Allah will soon send the punishment upon you.

Then you will supplicate to Allah and He will not accept it from you.

[Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2169, Graded Hasan]

وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَٰئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا

And follow not (O man i.e., say not, or do not or witness not, etc.) that of which you have no knowledge (e.g. one's saying: "I have seen," while in fact he has not seen, or "I have heard," while he has not heard). Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah).

[Suratul Israa’, 17:36]

Giving Charity on Fridays

● Ka'b al-Ahbar (rahimahullah) said:

The sun has neither risen nor set on a day greater than the day of Friday,

and charity given on it is greater than on other days.

[Sahih Musannaf of 'Abd Ar-Razzaq (rahimahullah), 5558]

● al-A‘mash narrated from Mujahid, from ‘Abdullah ibn Damrah,

from Ka‘b (rahimahumullah) who said:

Charity is multiplied on Friday.

[Musannaf ibn Abi Shaybah, 2/57, no. 6, Maktabah Islamiyyah]

● Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said:

Giving charity on Friday has a special merit compared to other days,

just as giving charity during the month of Ramadan has a higher merit compared to the rest of the year.

I witnessed Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah)

when he would go out for Jumuaah,

he would take whatever he found at home—be it bread or anything else—and give it as charity in secret on his way.

I heard him say:

“If Allah commanded us to give charity before consulting with the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) (58:12),

then giving charity before consulting with Allah is even more virtuous and deserving of merit.”

[Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah), Zaad al-Maad, 1/399]

● Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) said:

If the one giving charity

knew

that his charity landed in the Hand of Allah,

before the hand of the poor person,

the pleasure of the giver would be greater than the pleasure of the receiver.

[Ibn ul-Qayyim (rahimahullah), paraphrased from al-Wabil al-Sayyib, al-Madarij as-Salikeen, 1/26]

Abu Huraira (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) reported Allah's Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) as saying:

No one gives sadaqah (charity) of a date out of his honest earning, except that Allah accepts it with His Right Hand, and then fosters it as one of you fosters the colt or a young she-camel, till it becomes like a mountain or even greater.

[Sahih Muslim, 1014b, Book 12, Hadith 80]

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said:

“Charity (sadaqah) reaches (lit. falls into) the Hand of Allah before it falls into the hand of the one who asks for it.” (i.e., Allah Ta’ala accepts it), he (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) then recited the Verse:

{(Do they not know that Allah) accepts repentance from His servants and takes their charities”} — Surah Tawbah, 9:104

[Tafsir at-Tabari (rahimahullah); Jami’ul Bayan, Surah Tawbah, Verse: 104, vol. 11, pg. 666, see also: Majma az-Zawaid, vol. 3, pg. 111, Hadith: 4677]

Abu Hurairah (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) narrated that :

the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

"Indeed Allah accepts charity, and He accepts it with His Right (Hand) to nurture it for one of you, just like one of you would nurture his foal, until the bite (of food) becomes as large as Uhud."

[Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 662, Chapter 28: What Has Been Related About the Virtue of Charity, Graded: Hasan Sahih]

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (radiyAllahu ‘anhu):

"Indeed, charity* (sadaqah) reaches (lit. falls into) the Hand of Allah before it reaches the hand of the one who asks,"

then he recited:

{And He it is Who accepts repentance* from His servants} — ash-Shura: 25, the verse.

[al-Muj’am al-Kabir at-Tabarani (rahimahullah), 8571]

Imam Shafi’ee (rahimahullah) used to say,

I love to send plenty of salat (salutations) upon the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ʿalayhi wa ’aalihi wa sallam) all the time and I love it more so on the day of Jumu’ah.

[Kitabul Umm, ash-Shafe’e (rahimahullah), 1/546]

"Spend, and do not keep count, lest Allah keep count against you."

This is a profoundly remarkable hadith about generosity and spending, especially in an age when every expense is carefully calculated.

Asma' bint Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her and her father) said:

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to me:
"Spend, and do not keep count, lest Allah keep count against you. Do not withhold, lest Allah withhold from you."
In another narration:
"Do not tie up (or tightly store) your wealth, lest Allah tie up His provision from you."
And in another narration:
"Give as much as you are able."

Agreed upon (recorded by both al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Explanation:

Do not keep calculating or counting what you spend, lest you begin to see it as too much and become reluctant to give. Do not burden yourself with tracking the exact amount of your spending, and do not count what you give in charity. Otherwise, Allah may measure what He gives you in return and withhold the blessing and growth in your wealth.

This hadith indicates that charity causes wealth to grow and is a means for bringing blessing (barakah) and increase into one's wealth. Conversely, hoarding money in containers and tightly fastening its opening with a cord—used here as a metaphor for excessive withholding and miserliness—is among the greatest causes of cutting off the flow of blessing.

[Dr. Abdulaziz al-Shayi' (hafidhahullah)]

The devils try to block people giving charity

Buraydah ibn al-Hasib (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) reported:

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

Charity does not part with a man until it is freed from the jaws of seventy devils.

[Musnad Ahmad, 22962, Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to as-Suyuti (rahimahullah)]

Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) said:

satan is like a bandit; every time a person wants to travel towards Allah, he tries to intercept him!

[Majmoo' al-Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah), 22/608]

Busying Oneself with Unimportant Matters — Sheikh al-Albani (rahimahullah)

The Prophet (sallAllahu ʿalayhi wa ’aalihi wa sallam) said:

خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ

The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.

[al-Bukhari and elsewhere]

This hadeeth contains direction to learn the Qur’an, and that the best of teachers is the teacher of the Qur’an, and also that the best thing a person can learn is learning the Qur’an.

How I wish that the students of knowledge would know this, for this is a tremendous benefit.

For there is a terrible condition that has become widespread in this age of ours that you find many of the du’aat and beginning students of knowledge who put themselves forward for da’wah, giving fataawaa and responding to people’s questions when they have not yet become proficient in reciting surah al-Fatihah with the correct pronunciation and articulation of each letter.

So sometimes he might pronounce the letter seen as ṣaad, or ṭa as ta, or dhal as zay, or thaa as seen, and they commit gross errors in pronunciation, not to mention less obvious ones.

But what is obligatory – obviously – is to become proficient in reciting the Qur’an from memory, such that one is proficient in articulating the ayaat and utilizing them in one’s admonitions, lessons, and da’wah.

So sometimes you see these types becoming preoccupied with what is saheeh versus what is dha’eef, refutations of the scholars, and weighing the various different statements of the scholars.

And you always hear such a person saying things which are above his level, for instance you see him say, “I think this” and “I say this”, “My position on this matter is such-and-such”, “In my view, the correct opinion is such-and-such”.

One of the amazing things is that you find these types of people never speak about any issue which is not disputed (i.e., they don’t speak about things which everyone is in agreement with)

Instead, these people – except for those whom Allah protects – are always talking about the matters of differing so that he can insert himself into the discourse (as an authority to speak and argue), or if he can’t do that, then to select whichever one of the positions he prefers.

I seek refuge with Allah from insincerity and seeking fame, and I advise myself first and these people secondly that the best thing for the student of knowledge to begin with is the memorization of the Quran just as Allah said:

فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ

But remind those who fear My threat with the Qur’an [50:45]

[Sheikh al-Albani (rahimahullah), al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, no. 1173]

News reached ‘Umar ibn Abdul-‘Aziz (rahimahullah) that his son had purchased a ring for a thousand dirhams.

He wrote to his son: Sell it (the ring) and use the money to feed a 1,000 hungry people.

And for yourself, buy a ring made of iron for one dirham, and inscribe on it the words:

“May Allah have mercy on a person who knows his worth!”

[Tafsir al-Qurtubi (rahimahullah), v. 13, pg. 301]

Sins Make You Forget to Work for Yourself (The Welfare of Your Afterlife)

From the punishments (of sinning), is that it leads to one forgetting himself, and if one forgets himself he becomes neglectful (of working for the hereafter), corrupted, and causes the destruction of his soul.

Allāh (azza-wa-jall) said:

‎﴾and be not like those who forgot Allāh, so He made them forget themselves. those are the defiantly disobedient.﴿

- Sūrah Al-Hashr, Ayah 19
‎
Here, the punishment of Allāh is twofold, one is that He (azza-wa-jall) forgets this individual, and the second is that He (azza-wa-jall) causes the individual to forget himself.

‎As for the meaning of “forget themselves”, it is to make the individual forget the lofty recompense (in the hereafter for his patience and good deeds), (and forget) the reason for his true happiness, success, rectification, and all that perfects an individual... he forgets all of this to the point that it never crosses his mind (how much he has lost) and not for a single moment does he think of his affair.

He (azza-wa-jall) also causes him to forget his own faults, shortcomings, and deficiencies... and due to this, he never thinks about ridding himself of them, nor once to rectify himself (before death reaches him).

[Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah), Purification of the Heart and the Soul, Chapter: Sins Make a Person Forget Himself]

‘Awn ibn Abdullah (rahimahullah) said:

There is nobody who has free time to look at the people’s faults except due to negligence of himself.

[as-Samt Ibn Abee ad-Dunya (rahimahullah), 198]

Ibn Mas’ood (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said:

There will be Hannaat (hardship, calamities, corruption) and issues that are dubious. So you must be patient and refrain from hastiness. It is better that you are a follower in good than a leader in evil.

[Musannaf of ibn Abi Shaybah, 37188, al-Ibaanah of Ibn Battah (rahimahullah), 176]

In another narration it is… ‘It is better that a man is a follower in good than a leader in misguidance.’

[al-Ibaanah of Ibn Battah (rahimahullah), 177]

Whoever sets his tongue free to slander and speak about the honour of the Muslims, and seeks their faults, Allāh will hold back his tongue from professing the Shahādah (at the time of death).

[Ibn al-Jāwzī (rahimahullāh), Baḥr ad-Dumūʿ (Sea of Tears), 1/124]

Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) reported:

“Aaishah (radiyAllahu ‘anha) would give 70,000 coins in charity while her own clothes were covered in patches.”

[al-Zuhd wal-Raqa’iq, 754]

Abdullah Ibn Zubayr (radiyAllahu ‘anhu) said:

"I have never seen two women more generous than Aaishah and (her sister) Asmaa (radiyAllahu ‘anhouma).

Their generosity was different; Aaishah would gather things and after they had been collected together, she would share them out; Asma would not keep anything for the next day.”

[al-Adab al-Mufrad Book 14, Hadith 280, Authenticated by al-Albani (rahimahullah)]

Purpose of Seeking Knowledge

Whoever seeks knowledge to apply it, is humbled by it and cries over himself.

And whoever seeks knowledge for schools and fatwa and as a reason to boast and show off is stupid and conceited and has contempt for the people.

They are destroyed by pride and hated by the people.

He has succeeded who purifies it (the soul), and he has failed who gratifies it (with corruption)

[Siyar an-Nubula 18/192, 91/9-10, Imam adh-Dhahabi (Rahimahullah)]

Shaykh al-Albani (rahimahullah):

So aspire, O Muslim, to know your Islaam from your Lord’s Book and your Prophet’s Sunnah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

And don’t say, ‘So and so said.’

For verily, the Truth is not known by the men — nay! know the Truth, and you will recognize the men (who are upon it)!

[Shaykh al-Albani (rahimahullah), as-Saheehah, 5/350]

قُل لَّوْ أَنتُمْ تَمْلِكُونَ خَزَائِنَ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّي إِذًا لَّأَمْسَكْتُمْ خَشْيَةَ الْإِنفَاقِ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ قَتُورًا

Say, "If you possessed the treasure of the Mercy of my Lord (wealth, money, provision, etc.), then you would surely hold back (from spending) for fear of (being exhausted),

and man is ever miserly!"

[Suratul Israa’, 17:100]