Modesty In Front Of Allah - Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

Modesty In Front Of Allah

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger and the Seal of the Prophets, and upon his pure and good people, and upon those who follow them with kindness, and call upon them, and follow their Sunnah until the Day of Recompense.

My dear respected brothers and elders, respected sisters and youngsters in Islam, peace and blessings be upon you. Allah, the Exalted, has honored us with the wealth of Islam, with the wealth of Iman. And this is the greatest blessing we are enjoying from Allah, the Exalted. And we can never ever thank Allah, the Exalted, for all His favors upon us.

And amongst the beautiful attributes of our Deen, and the qualities that we develop as Muslims — and that are part of our tradition, part of our legacy — that are very quickly leaving the Ummah, and we are losing out on these qualities and traits based on the current environment and society and culture. These are two qualities the scholars have pointed out, and have laid great emphasis upon us to revive them, to strengthen them, to maintain our Deen. One is Adab, and the second is Hayā.

Adab — Genuine Respect

Adab is having genuine respect for Allah, starting with Allah Himself — how glorified He would be with His beautiful names and attributes. Respect for Allah, respect for Rasulullah ﷺ, respect for the Book of Allah, the Sha'ā'ir of Allah, the signs of Allah, the Deen of Allah. Respect for our elders, respect for the House of Allah, respect for the Book of Allah. Respect for anything that is attributed to Allah. This respect of those that deserve respect — respect of the teacher, respect of sources of knowledge, places of knowledge, books of knowledge, the pen from which we acquire knowledge — He taught us through the pen — institutes of learning in general.

This is an Adab which is part of our Deen, part of our culture, part of our tradition, and our legacy — which is vanishing from the Ummah.

Hayā — Modesty

The second attribute which is very quickly leaving us is Hayā. Hayā is modesty. Hayā, whenever it is added to anything, Rasulullah ﷺ said it adds beauty to whatever it is in — wherever it is found. Modesty is not only that you are embarrassed about what people are going to say or what people are going to think, but rather, most importantly, a person is embarrassed in front of Allah. As Hayā has been defined:

That you are afraid that your Allah should not see you in such a condition that you are disobeying Him. Not that people shouldn't see you in such a condition that you are going against the norms of society, what the dictates of society are, what people are going to say — but rather, you are embarrassed in front of Allah. That Allah, who is Samī' and Baṣīr, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, should not see you in such a condition that you are disobeying Him.

Obviously, there is no condition you can be in where Allah is not watching over you, Allah is not seeing you, Allah is not looking at what you are doing.

Verily your Lord is very closely watching you.

Do you not know that He is ever watchful, He is completely observant at all times of what is going on? So therefore, this Hayā in front of Allah, this modesty a person feels with Allah, will prevent a person from disobeying Allah at all times, if it is to its fullest quality.

Hayā with Respect to Rasulullah ﷺ

And beyond having Hayā in front of Allah, the second level is Hayā with respect to Rasulullah ﷺ — how will I face Ḥabībul Muṣṭafā ﷺ, the Beloved of Allah, the Chosen One of Allah, the Master of all the creation, the Sayyidul Awwalīn wal Ākhirīn, the leader of those who came before and those who will come after, the best of the creation of Allah, Sayyidul Rusul, the leader of all the Prophets, Sayyid Wuldi Ādam, the leader of all of the creation — our master, our benefactor, our greatest Muḥsin, to whom we are indebted for all of his favors upon us. Through him we recognize who our Creator was, and through him we learn our Deen, upon him Allah sent the revelation. How will I face him on the Day of Judgment? How will I be able to show my face to him on the Day of Qiyāmah, when he will be by the pool — the water of Jannah — on the Day of Judgment?

Some people, when he will see them, he will embrace them, he will hug them, he will be excited to see them, he will welcome them and give them a drink — such a drink that the one who drinks from it will never know what thirst is ever again in their life. On the other hand, some people — may Allah protect us from being amongst them — he will say, "Go away from me, go away from me, turn away from me, I cannot see your face," as they had abandoned his ways after him. So the fear of that meeting, facing face to face with Rasulullah ﷺ — that is a form of Hayā, that is modesty.

And then that modesty moves on forward with respect to human interactions with each other as well. We do not want to be in a compromising situation, we do not want to be in a revealing situation where we expose ourselves. That which Allah has commanded us to hide, we do not expose in front of others. We dress modestly, we act modestly, we have Hayā in our interactions with others.

These are the qualities which are very rapidly vanishing from the entire Ummah, on a global scale — both Adab and Hayā. And they are very closely linked with each other.

The Quranic Proof for Adab

With respect to Adab, Allah says:

Whosoever shows respect for the signs of Allah and genuinely has reverence in his heart, shows veneration for the Sha'ā'ir of Allah, for the signs of Allah — فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ — this is a sign that they have taqwā and fear of Allah in their heart.

This is not something which we can just give a lecture on and it will be created within the hearts. But rather, this is something that is gained through ṣuḥbah, through companionship. A person soaks this in. He learns through osmosis — when he sees the practice of Adab, then he will learn Adab.

The Adab of how to enter the House of Allah, the Adab of how to treat elders, the respect that is shown to those whom Allah has granted knowledge or granted seniority — these are the etiquettes that we have to learn, we have to practice, and we have to teach our children so that they can also be on the right track and be safe from being led astray and being deprived.

It is not only something commendable and rewarding to have Adab — at the same time, we have to realize that lack of Adab, lack of respect will lead to a person being deprived. A person can become maḥrūm, thrown out from the mercy of Allah, due to showing disrespect. Disrespect is such a crime.

Habaṭul A'māl — The Cancellation of All Good Deeds

Disrespect of Rasulullah ﷺ, for example, is such a major crime that it can lead to the severest penalty possible. What is the most severe penalty that is humanly possible for us to fathom and imagine? This is known as Ḥabaṭul A'māl. Ḥabaṭul A'māl means that all of one's good deeds that he has accomplished in his entire life — every ṣalāh a person performed, every dhikr a person may have done, every dollar and cent that he gave in charity, if he went for Hajj then his Hajj, all the nawāfil, every single good deed — can be cancelled out, made zero, made null and void, rejected, due to disrespect.

If you are surprised and saying, "How can you make such a bold statement like that? On which authority can you make such a bold claim?" This is part of the problem — that when we talk about Adab and etiquettes and having respect, many of our youngsters, because it is summer and we are off from school, have this attitude that this is what the old people talk about, that this is not necessarily part of the Deen, that these are just traditions of the East, that everything is okay.

This is something that is proven from the Quran itself — not only the command of showing respect to Rasulullah ﷺ, but the severe penalty of showing disrespect. Pick up Sūrah al-Ḥujurāt and check it out.

O those who believe! Do not raise your voices over the voice of the Prophet ﷺ, and do not call out to him loudly as you call out to one another — lest all your good deeds be wiped out while you do not even realize it.

These āyāt were revealed regarding the Bedouins who came to Masjid Nabawi. Even though they had a sincere desire to learn, because they did not have the proper etiquette, they did not have the education of politeness and how to approach Rasulullah ﷺ — who was always, around the clock, in the service of the Ummah, taking care of their spiritual needs, educational needs, emotional needs, and even financial needs. As a human being he had some physical needs of his own. He just went into his home for a moment. And that is when these Bedouins entered into Masjid Nabawi and knocked loudly on the door of Rasulullah ﷺ — which is right next to the Masjid — and they said:

"O Muhammad, come out and solve our problem, take care of us." This is when these āyāt were revealed. Allah says: He hears what you are saying and He knows your actions.

Those who lower their voices in the presence of Rasulullah ﷺ — they are those whose hearts Allah has tested for taqwā. They have forgiveness from Allah and a great reward.

Whereas on the other hand — those who call out to you from behind the chambers — had they been patient until you came out to them of your own accord, having fulfilled your needs, it would have been better for them. And Allah is the Forgiving and the Merciful.

Adab Elevates — Lack of Adab Deprives

So we have to show Adab to Allah. We have to show Adab to Rasulullah ﷺ. We have to show Adab to the Book of Allah. It is a sign of the taqwā of the hearts. If we do not have this ta'ẓīm, we do not have this reverence in our hearts — and we do not just say, "Oh, it's hidden in the heart, it's in my heart." It has to manifest itself through outward actions.

There are examples of those who showed irreverence, and they fell from the height of spiritual closeness to Allah. The knowledge that they had was taken away from them, and Allah threw them far away from Him. And the opposite is true as well. There are many examples of pious Salaf who became great Awliyā of Allah — beautiful friends of Allah, sources of guidance for multitudes, great scholars, Ahlul Qulūb, people who had hearts in which Allah manifested His greatness — and they became beloved servants and friends of Allah. And if you go back in their history, you will see that they used to be sinners. Some of them were flagrant violators of the orders of Allah. Some of them were drunkards. Some of them were highway robbers.

There are many stories — there are whole books in which these stories have been collected. Fuḍayl ibn 'Iyāḍ, Abdullah ibn Mubārak, Junayd al-Baghdādī, Bishr al-Ḥāfī — all of them. You find that what was the turning point in their life? How did they end up leaving their life of sin and becoming so close to Allah? It all started from when they showed respect for the Deen of Allah.

The Story of the Drunkard and the Name of Allah

The example of one drunkard — in a drunken stupor he is returning back home, stumbling on the street in the dead of the night. But then he finds something lying on the ground — a piece of paper. He looks at it closely and finds that the name of Allah is written on it:

That's it. When is the last time he prayed? Allah knows. When is the last time he fasted? His 'ibādāt may be zero. His Mu'āmalāt are zero. He is drunk himself. But then he had that respect in his heart — that this is the name of Allah lying on the street. He picked it up. He kissed it. He purified it. Took it home. Put it in a nice place.

By no means am I saying that's sufficient and you don't have to pray. But I'm saying this respect that he showed to the word of Allah, the name of Allah, was so beloved to Allah that Allah made that a turning point in his life. Based on that respect he showed to the word of Allah, Allah blessed him with the tawfīq to make tawbah from his sins, repent from his evil ways, and start studying the Deen of Allah. And he became a great scholar and a Walī of Allah.

The Story of Queen Zubaydah

When we go to Makkah al-Mukarramah and you take the historical tour of the different sites, even till today they show you the archaeological remains of the canal that was dug — Nahr Zubaydah. Zubaydah was the Queen of the Abbasid Khilāfah, the wife of Hārūn al-Rashīd. From her own funds she commissioned a famous canal — she paid for all the laborers and the material for the service and khidmah of the Ḥujjāj and Mu'tamirīn, those who go for Ḥajj and 'Umrah. A beautiful canal of water, for miles from Madīnah to Makkah and beyond, so that those going for Ḥajj and 'Umrah could have a steady source of water supply — not just one well, but a continuous flow of water. The bricks and the dried canal are still present till today where we can see that this is where the Nahr Zubaydah used to flow.

After she passed away, one of her acquaintances saw her in a dream and asked: "What did Allah do to you, O Queen Zubaydah? How did Allah treat you after you passed away?" This is a common thing you see all the time — whenever someone passes away and you see them in a dream, this is the first question that is asked. That's the most important question. Just like when someone is having a baby the big question is whether it's a boy or a girl — when someone dies, it's not a matter of boy or girl anymore. Shaqiyyun am Sa'īd? Is he fortunate or wretched? Shaqī is the one who is deprived of the mercy of Allah, who is wretched. And Sa'īd is the one who is fortunate — that Allah has forgiven that person. That is what counts now.

So the person asks, "How did Allah deal with you after you left?" And she said that Allah has forgiven me. Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned that the revelation from Allah is terminated — he is the Seal of the Prophets — but Mubashirāt, glad tidings from Allah, will continue in the form of true dreams. Not every dream is from Allah; they could be from Shayṭān as well. But Rasulullah ﷺ did affirm that true dreams do exist and will continue as a means by which Allah communicates with His servants. So it does have its value, but to a certain extent, the limits of which the scholars can define for us.

In any case, in this particular story, she said: "Allah has forgiven me." Then the person who saw the dream asked her: "Is it because of your greatest accomplishment — the canal, the Nahr Zubaydah — because all the Ḥujjāj for years and centuries to come are going to drink from the water? Is that what Allah accepted?"

She replied: "Allah said, 'O Zubaydah — the water belongs to Me, the earth belongs to Me, and the river is known as Nahr Zubaydah, your name. I didn't give you any reward for that whatsoever. Zero.'" Allah says in the Quran, sometimes you will bring mountains of good deeds and Allah will turn them into dust.

"Allah forgave me because one day I was sitting with some royal members of the court, some noble women, on our terrace in the palace in Baghdad. We were enjoying a beautiful afternoon tea together, relaxing. Then in the middle of our conversation, the Adhān started. When the Adhān started, even though I was in the middle of a conversation, I told those around me, 'Let us be quiet — this Adhān is going on, let's respect the Adhān and be quiet for a few moments.' And I told everyone to be quiet. I myself remained quiet and I answered the Mu'adhdhin. This respect I showed to the name of Allah, to the Adhān — the call of Allah to His Ṣalāh — was so beloved by Allah that Allah forgave all the rest of my sins."

Conclusion

So Adab is what elevates the status of a person, and not having that Adab is what deprives a person.

Your good deeds will be cancelled out, and you will not know.

We ask and pray to Allah that Allah grants us Adab — respect for elders, respect for the Book of Allah, the Word of Allah, respect for Allah and the Rasul, respect for the Sha'ā'ir of our Deen. And allow us to realize, and allow our youngsters to realize, that this is not just bedtime stories that our elders talk about — this is a genuine part of our Deen. This is not just culture and tradition; this is genuinely taught in our Deen.

Our job here from the pulpit is just to create general awareness regarding this. But at the same time, I can assure you that it is not sufficient just to speak about it. This Adab will come into existence when we see people who practice Adab. We have to bring it into life, we have to implement it, and we have to teach our youngsters through our own practice. When they will see us having that genuine Adab and respect, then they will be able to, inshāAllah, follow in our footsteps and hold on to this beautiful tradition of our Deen.

All praise is due to Allah, the Most High.