Understanding Allah's Commands: Facilitation and Encouragement in the Quran

Opening

أَمَّا بَعْدُ — Allah says in His noble revelation, after seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan:

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ

Allah's Style in the Quran: Commands Paired with Facilitation

Allah — in the Quran, His style is that whenever He gives us a command that may outwardly seem difficult, then in the same context Allah provides us with different means to fulfill that command, to facilitate in fulfilling that command, and Allah gives us encouragement within the same ayah or the next ayah, so that it becomes easy for us to comply with this order of Allah.

One example that we commonly quote in the month of Ramadan:

"O those who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you." And in case we feel — how will we ever be able to fulfill this command — Allah says: do not worry, people prior to you were also obligated to fast and they fasted, they survived it, inshallah you can. And the question comes: what will I be able to achieve from this? What is in it for me? So Allah says that you will obtain taqwa, and taqwa will be the key to your salvation.

How long do I have to do that? A few days. What if I'm sick or if I'm traveling and it's difficult — keeping in mind not our air-conditioned travel in the jets of today, but traveling in the deserts of Arabia on camelback — so Allah says:

If you are traveling or if you are sick, you may make it up. What if I have a terminal illness and I'm not going to ever get better — at least that is not expected — then Allah Ta'ala says:

In that case you can give monetary compensation. So there are many such passages in the Quran where we see this.

The Command to Strive in Allah's Path

Such a big command — strive in the path of Allah — and then Allah Ta'ala didn't just leave it open-ended. He said حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ — the way it is the right of Allah that you strive in His path. Not up to your comfort and your ability, and whatever you are comfortable with, but rather the way it is the right of Allah.

Again, if we are wondering — Ya Allah, how can we strive in Your path the way it is Your right — then Allah Ta'ala says: no, you can do it. Look, He has selected you. So you are handpicked for this mission. You are selected for this mission. You have within you the ability, and you have within you the potential, and you have within you all the skills and talents required for this job, because you have been selected.

And if you feel that this is difficult, Allah Ta'ala says وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ — the objective of the deen is not to put you in haraj, in difficulty. There may be initial sacrifice, but the objective of the deen is to make your life enjoyable, pleasant, comfortable, easy — not in Jannah only but also in this very world: حَيَاةٌ طَيِّبَةٌ.

And then Allah encourages us: look, go back to your own family — مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ — this is the way of your forefather, either through blood lineage or spiritually. Either way, he is our father. For the children of Ibrahim — whether they are the children of Ismail or Ishaq عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ, بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ, بَنُو إِسْمَاعِيلَ — he is their biological father and grandfather. And for everyone else he is our spiritual father. So Allah says مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ — He calls him a father. Be inspired by your own family, by your own predecessors, by your own ancestors, by your own father and grandfather.

And then He says هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ — look at your name! He is the one who has given you the name of Muslim. And a Muslim is the one who submits. So read your own name. Allah has given this name through the du'a of Ibrahim — هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَٰذَا — in this scripture as well and in the previous scriptures. We know that Ibrahim made the du'a:

"From my progeny, O Allah, create a Muslim Ummah." So this Ummah is a result of the du'a of Ibrahim.

The Ayah of Today's Khutbah: Taqwa and Righteous Company

These were examples I wanted to give of the actual ayah I wanted to cover today, which is:

"O those who believe, inculcate taqwa of Allah Ta'ala."

What is Taqwa?

Taqwa of Allah is that level of consciousness of Allah — in the day and in the night, in happiness and in sorrow, in pain and also in good times, in health and sickness, in wealth and poverty, young and old, for men and women — in all conditions, to be cognizant of Allah, to be aware that Allah is with me. He sees me, He hears what I'm saying, He knows what I'm doing.

He hears everything we say, and He is aware of all that we do. He is watching us at all times:

"Verily, He is ever watchful over you." مِرْصَاد is like the hunter who is focused on his prey — lying stretched out with his rifle and his scope, focused on a very dangerous wild predator animal, and he has to get it in one shot, otherwise he is going to lose that animal. So مِرْصَاد is the one who is lying, waiting in ambush, with all his focus on his object. That is how your Lord is watching over you at all times.

That sense of awareness — that Allah is with me and recording everything I'm saying:

Anything that emanates from my tongue — any word that I utter — is being recorded. And the كِرَامٌ كَاتِبِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ — they know exactly what we are doing and they are recording everything. Nothing can escape them. Not only is it all being recorded, but then it will be replayed as well. And not only replayed — then we will be judged accordingly. Of course there is an option, and we hope for that, of forgiveness. Or there could be punishment.

So this entire reality of the existence of our life — to be aware of it at all times — that is what taqwa is. And Allah says اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ — all those who believe, inculcate taqwa in your lives. This is an enormous command. It is a huge command. It is such an order from Allah that may seem impossible — how are we ever going to be able to fulfill that?

The Key: كُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ — Remain with the Righteous

So Allah within the same ayah gives us one very key element in helping us in this path, that will make this path easy for us, that will make it possible for us to, inshallah, obtain that level of taqwa which is necessary for our salvation. And that is كُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ — remain in the company of the righteous ones, of the truthful ones.

So the صُحْبَةُ الصَّالِحِينَ — the companionship of righteous people — is essential to be able to develop taqwa and even maintain taqwa.

A Message to Those Returning Home

As we are now coming to the end of our academic year, and we have many of our beloved students who are here for the one-year program going back home — keeping them in mind and the rest of the general audience as well — you had an opportunity this year to be — inshallah, we hope — we never declare anyone to be pure in front of the eyes of Allah — but by and large, there was a good environment here. It was a righteous environment, the environment of the angels. Even if the human beings weren't so great here, at least we know for a fact that the masajid are populated by mala'ika, and you had the companionship of mala'ika.

Now when you're going back, you're going to be out of this bubble, and you will face a lot of different challenges. And those who are already out there — whether they're in universities or youth or those who are in the workplace — they're facing so many challenges. The environment is very toxic to one's iman, to one's haya, to one's adab, to all of the صِفَاتُ جَمِيلَة that we need. The entire environment is polluting that, depleting that. And we see all forms of spiritual diseases that arrive in the community at levels beyond epidemics and pandemics — pretty much everyone is dying from these diseases.

So we have to be alert. Just to be able to survive — it's not a matter of progress but rather survival — we have to actively keep on seeking righteous company and remain with them.

Hadith: The Gathering of Dhikr

Allah mentions this ayah, and additionally you find a hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ regarding this topic. Rasulullah ﷺ said that whenever people sit in any house of the houses of Allah, that they recite the Book of Allah and study it among themselves, and in another hadith, that they make dhikr of Allah — what happens is that the angels surround this gathering, the special rahma which is known as sakinah descends upon them, and Allah remembers them in the company of those angels who are near unto Him.

(Sahih Muslim, Book 35, Hadith 6588)

The key word here — there are many different lessons of course from this hadith and every hadith — but the reason it was mentioned in this context is the word qawmun. We see the group. We see the effect of the group. So a person is now not just — you could say, "Hey, I could do dhikr alone at home too. I could read the Book of Allah or I could study ilm by myself." That has its own benefits and is required — the munajat, when you pour out your heart individually to Allah and speak to Allah in the late hours of the night, early hours of the morning, and you make the du'a, the munajat, the nightly prayer — that has its purpose and is needed. But at the same time, there are significant benefits that are not able to be replicated through individual worship that we find in having righteous company. And that is what is highlighted here — to make the dhikr of Allah collectively and to study the Book of Allah collectively.

The Quranic Command to the Prophet ﷺ: Remain with the Righteous

Likewise, Rasulullah ﷺ was commanded by Allah in the Quran:

Nabi ﷺ came to the Masjid of Nabawi and he saw a group of Sahaba sitting there. He asked them: "For which purpose have you gathered here?" They said: "We gathered here to do the dhikr of Allah." He could have just taken their answer and moved on. But then he said:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 35, Hadith 6592)

He said: "I ask you by Allah — is there any other purpose for which you have gathered together here? Is there any other purpose for which you have gathered together here? Why are you sitting here?" So then they said: "No, we say by Allah, this is the only purpose why we are here." So then Rasulullah ﷺ said: "I'm not asking you by the name of Allah because I doubted your answer. I'm not asking you to swear because I'm doubting you — but rather because I've been commanded by Allah to go and sit in the company of those:

Not only sit — وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ means continually sit. Persevere in adopting the company and staying in the company of those people who are calling onto Allah — يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ — in the mornings and in the evenings, they are continually invoking Allah, making du'a to Allah. Continue to sit in their company.

وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ — "Do not even for a moment turn your glance away from them." That is how strong the command is — do not turn your glance away from them. Remain with them. And don't worry about the people who have the dunya — تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا — do not wish for worldly things. Those who are engrossed in worldly acquisitions — do not let that affect you. Keep your eye on the target.

So anyway, we see from these ayat that if Nabi ﷺ was instructed to remain in the company of pious individuals, then where do we stand?

Solitude is Better Than Bad Company

In the worst-case scenario, if a person cannot find righteous company, Rasulullah ﷺ said:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 20975; also reported by al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad)

If you are in a situation where you're away from the Muslim community and you're by yourself, and there are no righteous حَلَقَاتُ عِلْمٍ and dhikr taking place, then abstaining from evil company itself will be necessary for your salvation. Because the Prophet ﷺ said: الْوَحْدَةُ — staying alone, staying in solitude — is better than جَلِيسُ السُّوءِ, having bad companions. And of course جَلِيسُ الصَّالِحِ — having a righteous companion — خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْوَحْدَةِ — is better than remaining alone.

The Danger of Evil Gatherings

Our unfortunate situation is that instead of seeking out جَلِيسُ الصَّالِحِ — righteous companions — we are involved in such meetings at work which it's hard to get out of, we're involved in our social calendar, such events where the orders of Allah are flagrantly being violated, the sunnah of Nabi ﷺ is being trampled upon, and sometimes even objections are made against the commandments of Allah. People are mocking the commands of Allah, people are mocking the deen — and we are sitting there.

So it is not sufficient to abstain from such sins — it is also mandatory to avoid such gatherings. One is not to do the sin. For example, take wine — drinking wine. Of course everyone knows it is the mother of all evils. Allah says it is from the actions of Shaytan, so abstain from it. So if a person says: "I don't drink — if some other people are drinking I'm just with them — is that a big deal?" It is a very big deal. Because it is specifically been prohibited. Rasulullah ﷺ said — and it was said with emphasis and تَأْكِيد:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2801)

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day must never ever sit at a table on which wine is being served. So just being in a gathering where it's being served is itself prohibited — just as drinking is prohibited, sitting at a table where it's being served is prohibited.

Mocking the deen is of course prohibited. But sitting where people are mocking the deen is prohibited. Allah says:

If you are in such a gathering, if you are seeing people who are objecting against our commands and our ayat in the Quran, then you must abstain from sitting with those people. Turn away from that gathering until the topic of the discussion changes and they speak about something else — then it's okay, you can sit in that majlis. If you happen to be in such a party, in a gathering, and then you forget about it and the topic drifts to mocking the deen, then never continue to sit in that gathering after you recall and realize what's going on, with those who are doing this great zulm.

When One is Compelled

And of course there are situations where a person is compelled — there's no way to get out. Then there is one final hadith that can come to that person's aid to support him. So it is a comfort for the one who is caught up in the situation, but at the same time it is a warning, because it gives us the minimum level. What is that hadith?

(Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 186)

The hadith states: when a sin is committed on the earth, the one who may physically be caught up in that situation — but from the bottom of his heart he dislikes it, he's present there but he is feeling bad in his heart: "How is this happening and I'm stuck here?" — he really genuinely dislikes the sin. So in the court of Allah, in the books of Allah, he will be considered as not present there.

And then the flip side is mentioned — the one who is physically not present there, but he enjoys that sin or he's pleased with that sin or he wishes he could be part of that sin — whether it's dancing taking place, music, or all kinds of different haram things that happen — if he wishes he was there, he will be recorded as if he was present there.

So this is the bare minimum — to regard it evil in one's heart. If anyone sees a sin being committed, let him stop it with his hand if he has the authority to do so. If it's beyond his jurisdiction, he cannot do that — let him speak against it with his tongue, protest against it, speak out against it, try to warn the brother or sister to abstain from it. If he cannot even do that, then he must regard it to be evil in his heart.

That is the minimum level. But the warning is وَذَلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَانِ — that is the lowest level, the weakest level of iman. أَضْعَفُ is a superlative word — which means that there is ضَعِيف, it's weak, and there's أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَانِ, it's the weakest level of iman. So if something is the weakest level of iman, it means that there is no level of iman that is less than that. So if a person has no hatred for the sin — it's totally okay with them, it's like whatever — that is a very big deal.

The Crisis of Indifference in Our Time

This is a very big deal because we are living in such a time where the entire culture is indoctrinating us — consciously or subconsciously — the entire educational system, through osmosis, is soaking into our subconscious mind. Whether you take a philosophy class or not, whether you even know these terms — what is liberalism, what is secularism, what is postmodernism — you don't even have to have an idea. You already are thinking on those lines. It's all about: live and let live. You have the freedom — if you want to be religious, fine; if someone believes in God, that's fine; if someone believes in Muhammad, the Prophet of Allah, that's fine.

If this BJP goes on and says something nowadays about the Prophet — why are Muslims enraged? Some of these so-called practicing Muslims of this country are asking: "What is the big deal? Why are these Muslim countries getting so excited? The lady or the man — whatever happened in India — she just said something about the Prophet. So what? She doesn't believe in the Prophet. You believe in the Prophet? That's good. I believe in the Prophet too. But they have the right to say whatever they want." This is the attitude of the Muslims of this country. Because this is part of the whole psyche of this country — you can do whatever you want, anyone can say whatever they want.

So if a person is practicing at whatever level he's practicing and people around him aren't, he could care less. Whereas the deen is teaching us that even staying in such a gathering is sinful on your part.

Aspiring to the Highest Level of Iman

May Allah give us the ability to have not only the lowest level of faith — but we have to strive to have the highest level of faith. Our deen doesn't teach us: make du'a — there's a whole jama'at of Muttaqeen — grant me the ability to be admitted and be one of the Muttaqeen, somewhere I sneak into the Muttaqeen jama'at on the Day of Judgment, I just want to be one of them. That's not what the Quran teaches us.

What is the du'a? O Allah, make me the Imamul Muttaqeen. This du'a is not reserved for the Imam Sahib — this du'a is for everyone. Doesn't everyone want their spouses and their children? Look at the whole du'a:

"O Allah, make our spouses and our children the coolness of our eyes." Is that reserved for the Imam? Who doesn't want their wives — and their children — from the woman's perspective, their husbands and their children — to be the coolness of their eyes? Whoever does so, which should be all of us, they should also have the aspiration: "And make us the Imams of the Muttaqeen."

Closing Du'a

The lowest level is to regard sin as evil in the heart — we have to work on that. To have the love of iman:

"O Allah, make iman beloved to us and beautify it in our hearts, and make disbelief, disobedience, and sin hateful to us." Disliking kufr and disliking disobedience is part of iman — just as liking iman and liking righteous actions is part of iman, disliking disobedience — كَرِّهْ إِلَيْنَا الْكُفْرَ — is part of iman.

May Allah Ta'ala grant us a complete iman. Alhamdulillah.