The Mixed Nature Of Human Character And The Importance Of Fair Judgment

The Nature of Human Character

Respected audience, dear brothers and sisters, and honorable esteemed guests of Allah, we as human beings naturally possess many traits and characteristics. At times those traits and habits can be good, and at other times they could be bad, and they can be extremely toxic and harmful to the individuals that are in our lives, and also it can be harmful to us as well. And there has never been a person on the face of the earth who has been all bad, all evil, nor has there ever been an individual who has been made up of complete goodness and has no flaws whatsoever.

Whenever you find someone labeling an entire people as dirty and disgusting, you always think about it, and you know that it's not true from the bottom of your heart. You cannot just point at a specific race and say all of them are bad. All the people belonging to a certain nation, a certain culture, or who speak a certain language are all bad and evil.

We know that never happens. Most of us are familiar with the famous Urdu saying in which we say that five fingers are never equal. If I were to translate it, it would make no sense, but I'll still do it. What they're essentially trying to say is that the five fingers of the hand are never of equal length — that nobody is ever going to be the same. No one is all evil, neither are they all good.

And when we live with each other, that's why it's highly recommended that before you pass judgment on an individual or a human being, you should at least spend some time with them. Spend some time with them, a few days, eat food with them, and see how they conduct themselves in private and public. Because people have a public side to their life, and they have a private side to their life as well. Then maybe you're able to pass judgment on them, and that judgment will be considered sane and sound. You're not able to pass judgment before you have spent time with an individual.

Good Qualities Even in the People of Pre-Islamic Makkah

And when we look at the people who at times are sometimes dubbed as the worst of the people — these are the people who were the inhabitants of Makkah pre-prophethood, before the arrival of Rasulullah ﷺ on the scene. And it's mentioned in the books of history that you name any sin that existed, that has existed in the past, and that is probably going to come in the future, that sin existed amongst the inhabitants of Makkah. Just to give you a short idea:

That the daughters that were buried alive — there were people who would bury their daughters alive, because they would consider their daughters a burden upon them. This is just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with.

Even they had qualities. And when Islam came, Islam encouraged their good qualities. There is a famous shi'ar, a famous form of poetry, where the poet says:

The poet has just finished war with a group of people, and he is saying that even though we have inflicted damage upon them — we have taken lives from them, we have taken their wealth, we have taken slaves from them — but at the same time now you'll notice that we have big pots on fire. And what we are trying to do is we are trying to ease the pain that they have suffered at our hands, and we are going to feed them food. So they were very generous people, a people who realized that they may have done something wrong, and now they're trying to nullify or undo the wrong that they have done. They were mushrikeen, but at the same time, very generous.

And these qualities have been mentioned. You notice that Allah mentioned a specific quality of the Ahlul Kitab, the Jews and the Christians. He said:

That amongst the people of the book, you will find a person that even if you were to entrust him with a large amount, he will make sure that he pays you back. You know when you owe someone a few cents and you try not to give those few cents, or there are a few dollars above the hundred dollar, and you try to shy away from giving that individual. Allah mentioned — even though they are not Muslims — the Qur'an still mentioned the good quality that they bear.

There is a famous saying by Mufti Shafi'i rahimahullah, who is the father of Mufti Taqi Uthmani rahimahullah. He mentioned that in the current era, in the current day and age, we notice that the West has advanced. And at times you find them to be at the height of dunya. They are rich, they are influential, they have every luxury of life that you could name. And he said that there is something behind it. This has not happened out of its own accord. Maybe it is the truthful aspect of their lives, or the fact that they don't cheat other people. So he says that you will find some quality behind the reward granted to them by Allah.

My point here being, that you will find good qualities in every human being, and then you will find evil traits and characteristics in every individual and every human being. No human being on the face of this earth is flawless and without fault.

Introduction to Surah Al-Ma'un

And when we look towards the book of Allah, we specifically find one surah which highlights the evil characteristics and traits that can be found in a human being. Now, the way the surah starts — it is Surah al-Ma'un, and it is a surah that each and every single one of us knows. We may know it by heart, but sadly many a times we don't understand even the last ten surahs of the Qur'an. And then we complain that whenever I am offering salah, I feel there is a disconnect. I don't feel connected to Allah. I don't feel like praying. When I am praying, what am I thinking about? The moments I will be spending outside of salah. So the moment I start my salah, I am already imagining myself leaving the masjid.

We all complain about this. Why is that so? Because we did not even try to learn the basic meanings. One could argue that the tafsir of the entire Qur'an is very very difficult — it is not up to every individual to master the sciences of tafsir or to understand the Qur'an. But what we could have tried was at least to learn the meanings of Surah al-Fatiha, or the last ten surahs of the Qur'an, so we have some inkling of what is going on. The meanings are not considered the tafsir of the Qur'an, but at least we will have an idea of what we are saying in our salah.

Salah happens to be a form of direct communication — this is a side point, but bear with me for a moment. And when a person is engaged in salah, that happens to be a form of direct communication between Allah and His servant. There is a famous hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Book 4, Hadith 395)

When a person is offering his salah and he says الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ, there is an answer which comes from Allah: "Indeed My slave has glorified Me." And it goes on with every verse of Surah al-Fatiha. So salah happens to be a form of direct communication, and to learn the meanings of the basics of salah — the duas that we recite, the Qur'anic recitation that we recite — we should try our best to at least learn the meanings of what we are reciting, and it will give us that necessary devotion and concentration, the khushu' and the khudu' aspect of salah.

Going back to the point: in this surah, Allah highlights some of the evil traits and characteristics of the mushrikeen of Makkah and the disbelievers. But once we go through the surah, we may start to realize that some of those evil habits and traits exist within us as well. And that is why this serves as a warning for us as Muslims, that even though we may not face the same punishment — because at the end of the day, we did believe in Allah — even the worst Muslim on the face of the earth who has never done anything good in his life, but he believes in Allah, he takes Rasulullah ﷺ to be his messenger, he believes in the basics of deen — a day will come when he will be taken out from the fire of hell and he will be made to enter into jannah. But at the same time, we will have to face punishment for the sins that we have committed.

The First Trait: Denying the Day of Judgment

So Allah starts off the surah by saying:

Have you seen the individual? Have you paid heed and attention to the individual who does not believe in the Day of Judgment? يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ — here Allah specifically stated one of the names of Yawmul Qiyamah, the Day of Judgment, which is known as deen. And the reason why it is called deen is because it is Yawmul Jaza', a day in which everything will be decided. Abdullah ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhu says: إِنْ خَيْرٌ فَخَيْرٌ وَإِنْ شَرٌّ فَشَرٌّ — a day in which your goodness, your eternal success will be decided, or a day in which your eternal loss will be decided.

Now we notice here that Allah specifically mentioned one aspect. He did not say, "Have you seen the individual who does not believe in Allah?" Nor did He say, "Have you seen the individual who does not believe in Rasulullah ﷺ, in the prophethood of Rasulullah ﷺ?" Neither did He say, "Have you seen the individual who does not believe in the angels?" Now all of these things that I am stating, these are considered ضَرُورِيَّةُ الدِّينِ — meaning, they are the basics of our faith. If a person does not believe in a single one of these things, is he a Muslim? No, he is not considered a Muslim.

I believe in Allah, I believe in His angels, I believe in all the books that were revealed by Allah, and the prophets of Allah, and the Day of Judgment and resurrection after death. These are all things that are considered the basics of our faith. If you deny a single one of them, you exit the fold of Islam. So these things are called ضَرُورِيَّةُ الدِّينِ.

Now, in this surah, the aspect of believing in the Day of Judgment, in the hereafter, was highlighted — why? Because this surah was revealed in Makkah. And you find that there were many individuals who at times would claim to be followers of Ibrahim alayhi salam, and they would say that we believe in the same God that Ibrahim alayhi salam believed in, even though they would ascribe other partners unto Allah. But they specifically denied the existence of resurrection after death and the existence of the Day of Judgment.

We know the example of Abu Jahl. He would frequently try to find Rasulullah ﷺ in public places. At one instance, he came with a brittle bone. He dug it out of a grave and he said:

How is it possible that you see this bone here which is turning to dust, that Allah is going to resurrect us from this? So this was a specific part of their problem which was highlighted in the book of Allah where He said: أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ — have you seen the individual who does not believe in the Day of Qiyamah, in the Day of Judgment?

Now we here collectively can say, Alhamdulillah, we all believe in the presence of a Day of Judgment, a day when we will be resurrected and we will stand in front of Allah. The hadith recited at the beginning of the khutbah where Rasulullah ﷺ says:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 554; Sahih Muslim, Book 5, Hadith 1886)

That day will come upon you, O you who believe, when you will stand in front of Allah. You will see your Lord openly, just like you see the moon on the 14th — it is apparent, it is visible. There is no doubt whatsoever about the existence of the moon. That is how you are going to stand in front of Allah.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1395)

There will be no interpreter, no translator between you and Allah. It is you and Allah, and you are giving your account to Allah. May Allah grant us a speedy entry into Jannah without any account, because that is something that we are not capable of bearing.

The Second Trait: Mistreating the Orphan

Then Allah highlights another aspect of their lives, another evil trait or character of theirs. And it is something that can be found within us as well.

This individual — crime number one, he does not believe in the hereafter. And when he does not believe in the hereafter, everything else has been cancelled automatically. What does this individual do? He looks down upon people, specifically the weaker parts of society. Here Allah specifically mentioned the yateem, the orphan. He looks with scorn and disdain upon the orphan, and he does not feed him.

Now, many a times you find individuals who may be inclined towards feeding the needy individuals or the poor people, but there are people in their lives that prevent them from doing so. You want to give something to someone as sadaqah, and the other person will say to you, "Why are you giving it to him? He may end up using it to buy something that is not halal." At times that can be true. But at other times, you should take someone at face value and believe what they are saying, and spend for the sake of Allah. As long as you have the correct intention, that sadaqah will come out of your hand and fall directly into the hands of Allah, and hopefully you will be rewarded for that on the Day of Qiyamah.

There is a famous lengthy hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ, that three individuals made a pact with themselves that they would most assuredly give sadaqah that night. The first individual went out and he ended up giving his sadaqah to a rich individual who did not deserve sadaqah, and his sadaqah was accepted by Allah. The second time, he gave it to someone who was not so pious, and the answer was given that the sadaqah had been accepted by Allah. And in the end it was mentioned that maybe these individuals may take some shame and become ashamed of their actions — the rich individual may be compelled to spend for the sake of Allah because of the action of this individual.

And we notice in the Qur'an, great emphasis has been placed when it comes to the rights of the orphans and the yateem.

They fall in the direct care of the society. And Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5304)

He made a sign with his finger and said that a person who takes care of an orphan, who takes an orphan under his care — me and him will be like this on the Day of Qiyamah, we will be standing together, we will be close to each other on the Day of Judgment.

The Third Trait: Not Feeding the Needy

So the first trait hopefully will not be found in us as Muslims, but the second one can be there. Many a times whenever you travel to specifically third world countries like India, Pakistan and other parts of the world, you notice how people ridicule the poor individuals. Yes, a person if he has been given the capability by Allah should use his two hands and work hard to earn his sustenance. There is a hadith:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 2138)

That the best form of sustenance that a son of Adam can earn is by the hard work of his two hands. But we don't know the scenario and situation behind why this person was compelled to come out and beg from people. It takes a lot of courage on their part. There is a lot of self-respect that you have to crumble and crush before you put your hands out in front of other individuals. And this is the system which has been created by Allah — there are ups and downs; some people are rich, other people will be poor. This is the system which was created by Allah.

Then moving on, Allah highlights a third aspect:

So this individual does not believe in the Day of Judgment, he is also not compelled to spend on the orphans. What else does he not do? He does not feed the needy individuals — not just the orphans now, but generally he is not inclined to spend on anyone, and he looks down upon anyone who is in need.

Remember, a time was there in your life where you may have been in need as well. Most of us immigrated from countries where we know what the scenario and situation is like. You know, when you travel to other parts of the world, you realize that the amount of money you spend on your snacks — chips and cookies — could be someone's entire livelihood, or it could be someone's salary for the entire month. I studied in Pakistan for about ten and eleven years. The security guard who would sit outside the doors of our madrasah — his monthly salary was 6,000 rupees. And if you were to convert 6,000 rupees — I don't know what the current exchange rate is, but two years ago when I made the estimate, it was about 35 dollars. And he had 6 kids, 3 daughters and 3 sons. He was supporting them. And still at the end of the day, what does he say? Allahu Akbar, shukran. Alhamdulillah. And a person just ends up marveling at the state of their iman. Who are these people? How do they survive? And how are they still happy? They sleep in a sound way without a single worry in their life. Each and every single child of theirs is well fed, well taken care of by Allah. So if Allah is using you as a source for the sustenance of someone else, why are you holding back?

The Fourth Trait: Heedlessness and Showing Off in Prayer

And the fourth thing which was highlighted is very very dangerous, because it is very very common. Allah says:

That destruction and ruination be for those who pray. Now you will think, what is going on here? Why is this being mentioned? You are praying — why is this happening? Because Allah describes the condition of the prayer. When these people are compelled to pray, they stand in such a lazy way, as if a burden is being thrown upon them. And at times, that is the condition we also feel on the inside. And this is a trait which is specifically found in the munafiqeen, and it is very very common nowadays.

Now the mufassireen have stated multiple things under this ayah — it could also mean the individual who delays his salah. At times you end up in a gathering where you are busy socializing with other people, and it gets very late at night, and you keep on delaying and delaying your salah until sometimes you just end up missing it altogether. Or at times you reach home and you are so tired, so lazy — with a heavy heart you go, you make wudu' in a few seconds, and you quickly finish your salah, as if you want to pick up the burden and throw it off your body. Is this how you want to fulfill the obligation of Allah? So this type of salah can become a burden upon the individual, it can become something which will harm you on the Day of Qiyamah.

So they are very lazy, and this is a character of the munafiqeen which was mentioned in the Qur'an. And then the second aspect was mentioned — that even when they are compelled to offer salah, they will do it in public, just to show other people, just to save their face. This is a common occurrence. You find people come for salatul janaza — they do not want to sit in the back, so they just pray for the sake of praying. If you were to look at the statistics of the amount of the ummah that prays, it is a very bleak number. So they will pray in a public place to save their face, but when they are in private, they will not pray. Because this becomes a bigger problem:

They are just showing the people that they are Muslims and also devoted to the service of Allah. But when Allah is watching them in the darkness and confinement of their homes, they are not mindful of being watched by Allah.

The Fifth Trait: Withholding Even Small Favors

And they are so stingy, and so extremely petty, that they would not part with something which has no significance whatsoever. The mufassireen have actually mentioned some petty objects that you have in the house, like bread, or oil, or other belongings that are very easy to part with and have no value whatsoever. At times they come very cheap. You know, when a neighbor knocks on your door and asks you for some bread or for some tomatoes — that also becomes a burden upon that individual. And this highlights the importance of becoming a generous individual and spending for the sake of Allah. If Allah is mentioning this in the Qur'an, it has a lot of weight in the eyes of Allah. So وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — when someone comes seeking that little petty thing from him, it becomes a burden upon him, and he does not want to give it.

The Disease of Stinginess and the Virtue of Generosity

And there is a hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ in which he mentioned the condition of a bakheel, a stingy individual:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1961)

A stingy individual is far away from people. Because he is a person who shuns other people, just because he is scared that they might ask him to spend. A lot of times you find people with this problem — they do not want to socialize with other people. Why? Because they think, "I might end up paying if I go out to eat with them, or if I call them over to my house." وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ — it will become a burden upon me.

And to be honest, we pick it up from the society that we grow up in — specifically first generation, second generation. We live in a society which is extremely selfish. What is good for you? So you will forsake everyone that exists in your life: your mother, your father, your wife, your children. Astaghfirullah. You have individuals in your life whose happiness is your happiness. If you are the caretaker for them, the fact that you give them something and they become happy should be your happiness. Let alone being sad and grieving at the fact that something has departed from you. So it is that selfishness that lies within us — it is a disease of the heart, something that should be worked upon.

So the bakheel is far away from the sight of the people because he does not want to socialize. And he is also far away from Allah. Why? Because generosity happens to be a character of Allah. And it is mentioned in the hadith:

Try to adopt some of the characters of Allah. So if Allah is generous when it comes to giving you, you should in return be generous with the creation of Allah. And there is a hadith:

(Musnad al-Bazzar; also reported by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman)

Know that the entire creation is the family of Allah, and the most beloved individual is the one who is the best with the creation of Allah.

One last point I would like to mention before I conclude — Rasulullah ﷺ highlighted the importance of the generous individual, a person who spends for the sake of Allah even though he may have very little:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1961)

The generous individual is very very close to Allah. He is close to Allah and he is also close to the creation of Allah. Because naturally when you give someone something, his heart is connected with you.

The Generosity of the Salaf

And we notice from the incidents of the people of the past, the salaf as-saliheen, that they were not rich people. If they had lunch, they would not have dinner. If they had breakfast, they would not have lunch or dinner. They did not have sustenance for the upcoming day. Aisha radiyallahu anha says:

Three moons had passed and no fire was kindled in the house of Rasulullah ﷺ — nothing was cooked. And the person who was hearing this was amazed. He said, "How did you survive?" She said, "Aswadayn — two black things.

We would eat dates. And even dates were few, so we would keep them in our mouths and lick them — just like we chew on candy or gum. And then we would drink the water. And that was the source of our nutrition." But they were still considered generous. Because they gave whatever they had for the sake of Allah.

There is a famous incident of Abdullah ibn Ja'far radiyallahu anhu, and Hasan and Husayn, the grandsons of Rasulullah ﷺ. They were traveling through the jungle and came upon a very old, frail lady who had a single goat. They told her, "O mother, we are extremely hungry and we don't have anything." So the only thing she had in her possession was that little goat. She slaughtered it then and there and fed it to them. The incident is very long, but what ended up happening — because they were Bedouins and nomads, when they faced extreme hunger and poverty, they headed towards the city and came across Hasan and Husayn radiyallahu anhuma. So they gave her about 25,000 goats in return for that one goat. So this highlights the generosity aspect.

So in the beginning days of Islam, they were very poor — dirt poor — but they would still give whatever they had for the sake of Allah. In the later days of Islam, during the Khilafah of Umar radiyallahu anhu, when Muslims were conquering territory left, right, and center, jewels and money and currency would come into the city of Madinah. So they would still spend whatever they had — they would give it away, leave nothing for themselves. They did not have the concept of saving. Whatever they had, they would give it for the sake of Allah.

May Allah give us the tawfiq to adopt the lifestyle and the generosity of Rasulullah ﷺ and the Sahabah, Ridwanullahi ta'ala 'alayhim ajma'een.

Aqulu qawli hadha wastaghfirullaha li wa lakum wa li sa'iril muslimeen, fastaghfiruhu innahu huwal ghafurur raheem.

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