How to Live a Simple Life - Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

الحمد لله، الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا المرسلين وخاتم النبيين، وعلى آله الطيبين الطاهرين، ومن تبعهم بإحسان ودعا بدعوتهم إلى يوم الدين

Sadaqallahul Azeem. My dear respected brothers and sisters, young friends and respected elders, assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

These three ayahs that are recited in front of you — these are known as the ayahs that Rasulullah ﷺ would most frequently recite in the beginning of his khutbahs, Khutbatul Hajah. Any particular need that would arise and Nabi ﷺ would address that situation and would speak, then he would begin by reciting these three ayahs. They are not limited to nikah. If you have been attending a lot of weddings in this nikah season — which has been squeezed now due to Ramadan coming in between the summer, frequent nikahs — then you might have heard these ayahs.

But that is another issue — that at the actual nikah, very few people are there participating in the du'a, and the rest of the festivities and rituals, some that may be sanctioned and some that may be against the orders of Allah and the Rasul, that is where everyone is present. But if you have been attending nikahs, you would be hearing these ayahs. They are not limited to nikah.

These ayahs were recited by Rasulullah ﷺ — for sure — whenever he performed any nikah in his entire life. In the entire seerah, in the hadith literature, we find every single nikah Rasulullah ﷺ ever performed between the Sahabah and Sahabiyat, he would recite these same ayahs. And what is noteworthy is that it is the same order of Allah which is repeated four times in these ayahs. None of the ayahs have anything directly dealing with nikah — even though there are many ayahs that deal with nikah in the Quran: the rights of women, the rights of men, the rights and obligations, and how to treat each other with kindness.

Your Rasulullah ﷺ would not recite those ayahs; he would save them for other occasions. At this important juncture he would recite these same ayahs. And what is the same command that is repeated throughout these ayahs? It is amr bi taqwa — it is an order from Allah to inculcate taqwa in one's life.

The first ayah: ittaqullaha haqqa tuqatih — inculcate taqwa in your life, the way it is the right of Allah that you inculcate taqwa. And in Surah An-Nisa, the first ayah, it comes twice: ya ayyuhal nasu ittaqu rabbakumu alladhi khalaqakum min nafsin wahida, and then moving on: wa ittaqullaha — it comes twice. And the third one is from the end of Surah Al-Ahzab: ya ayyuhal ladheena amanuttaqullaha wa qulu qawlan sadida.

So we can see that on important occasions — whether it is a nikah, whether it is a khutbah of Eid, whether it is a khutbah of Jumu'ah, whether it was addressing the Ummah at an important juncture — Rasulullah ﷺ would keep on reinforcing the commandment of taqwa.

What is Taqwa? A Definition by Ali ibn Abi Talib

Taqwa is such a broad subject that we can discuss it at great length, but just for today's discussion, I would like to limit it to one definition of taqwa — a very early and very beautiful description of what taqwa is — given by one of the greatest scholars of this Ummah. Rasulullah ﷺ himself has testified to his knowledge, and he said:

"I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door."

Ali ibn Abi Talib كرم الله وجهه رضي الله تعالى عنه — the fourth khalifah of Islam, the cousin of Rasulullah ﷺ, and the great alim of the Quran and the Sunnah — has given a very beautiful definition of what taqwa is. This term that we hear thrown around all the time, he has broken it down in a very simple manner. And as he was not only the master of Quran and the master of the uloom of Sharia, he was also a master in the Arabic language. So he mentioned the definition of taqwa in a very poetic way, in a very rhyming fashion, with words that rhyme.

He gives four words. He said — and this is Ali radiyallahu anhu's definition:

(Attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib, radiyallahu anhu)

Four things: al-khawfu minal jaleel, wal-amalu bit-tanzeel, wal-qana'atu bil-qaleel, wal-isti'adadu liyawmir raheel.

The Four Elements of Taqwa

1. Al-Khawfu Minal Jaleel — Fear and Awe of Allah

The first of the four elements is al-khawfu minal jaleel: to have true fear and to remain in awe of Allah, the most powerful and supreme. And he chose the word jaleel — the Most Majestic. What type of fear? Not the fear of a person who is terrified and shivering in a closet. Rather, he is not afraid that Allah will be unjust with him — that Allah will oppress him.

Allah does not do any oppression on anyone. Wala yudhlamuna naqira, wala yudhlamuna shay'a — they will not be oppressed to the slightest degree. Allah will establish adl — justice — on the Day of Judgment. There will be adl, and that is as serious as it can get. But beyond adl will be fadl — the grace and bounty of Allah. A person will receive rewards for actions he has not done. His sins will be forgiven without any due cause. But no one will be punished without due cause.

One beautiful representation of this is the symmetry in the creation of Allah. Symmetry is something that we appreciate — if you look at this masjid, alhamdulillah, there are two beautiful minarets, not one and a half. May Allah protect the masjid. So this is the symmetry that we appreciate in our small creations as human beings.

Allah, when He created the heavens and the earth, He created symmetry:

He has created seven heavens, and like the seven heavens, He has created seven earths. So when it comes to Jannah and Jahannam, you would imagine that there would be symmetry as well. When it comes to Jahannam, Allah says:

Jahannam has seven doors, and for each door of Jahannam, there is a group that has been assigned. This is the door of those who commit shirk. This is the door of those who commit nifaq — hypocrisy. This is the door of those who commit moral crimes and fahsha. Every door has a specific category of sinners.

And when it comes to Jannah, naturally if you had to fill in the blank, you would imagine that Jannah also would have seven doors — because Jahannam has seven doors. But Allah and Rasulullah ﷺ mention in a hadith that a person who recites the following du'a after making wudu:

Then all eight doors of Jannah will be opened for him. The hadith is about the eight doors of Jannah. Rasulullah ﷺ said that if a person has any one door of Jannah open for him, it is sufficient for salvation — he just rushes through before it closes. But imagine: there will be a person for whom all eight doors of Jannah will be open.

So Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu asked, "Ya Rasulullah, is there any way I can hope to be amongst them — the one for whom the eight doors of Jannah will be open?" Rasulullah ﷺ said: Arjoo an takuna minhum — "I believe you are the one." The eight doors of Jannah will in fact be vying with one another, competing with one another for the honor that Abu Bakr has entered through it.

So the point has been established: there are eight doors of Jannah, whereas there are seven doors of Jahannam. So why this discrepancy? Why is there one extra door in Jannah? There are seven different sins, and for the seven different sins, there are seven different doors of Jahannam. Likewise, maintaining the symmetry, there are seven beautiful good deeds, and for the seven beautiful good deeds, there are seven doors in Jannah. Like Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned, those who perfect their fast — who do not only abstain from eating, drinking, and relations, but also abstain from lying, cheating, speaking ill, and backbiting — and who fast Nafl fasts throughout the year, including the six fasts of Shawwal, Mondays and Thursdays, the 13th, 14th, and 15th of the lunar month — for those people, they will enter Jannah through Bab ar-Rayyan. Rayyan is the one who is fresh — the feeling of hydration and refreshment after drinking a cool glass of water. That is rayyan. So they will enter Jannah through the Rayyan gate.

Likewise, Rasulullah ﷺ said: the father is a door of Jannah. You may honor your father and secure your entry through the door of the father, or you may disrespect your father and deprive yourself of entry through that door. So there are seven good deeds. Then the eighth, extra door in Jannah — which has no corresponding door on the Jahannam side — is for those people who have no good deeds to their credit. They are entering Jannah purely through the fadl and grace of Allah, without any istihqaq, without any right, without deserving in the least. Can there be any such corresponding gate on the Jahannam side — that those people who do not deserve to enter Jahannam, purely through the anger of Allah, are sent to burn in Hell? No, there is no such eighth door. That is why Allah, to establish this, kept the difference between eight doors of Jannah and seven doors of Jahannam.

So when we say al-khawfu minal jaleel, we are not afraid of any injustice from Allah. We are not afraid that He will wrong us in any way. Rather, we fear that Allah — who is honoring us, who is bestowing so many favors upon us, who is so Kareem and so Raheem, so loving, so merciful — who is addressing us and saying:

"O human being, what has beguiled you and made you turn away from your benevolent Lord?" — Who is telling us Fafirroo ilallah, "Turn towards Me, turn towards Me." Who is al-Mun'im al-Haqiqi — the true Benefactor — who has given us so many blessings:

If you try to fully thank Allah for one ni'mah, one blessing, you will not be able to do so. In the Arabic language, the plural of blessings is ni'am. Allah did not say wa in ta'uddu ni'amallahi la tuhsuha — "if you try to count the blessings of Allah, you will not be able to." He used a singular word: ni'matun. Wa in ta'uddu ni'matallahi — if you try to thank Allah for one blessing only, you will not be able to do so. Because if you single out one blessing and try to thank Allah for it, then the tawfiq that you were granted to thank Him is a separate blessing. So Allah deserves to be thanked for granting the tawfiq to recognize His blessing and thank Him in the first place. That is a second blessing on its own that deserves to be thanked for. And then, to be able to recognize that the tawfiq of shukr is another blessing worthy of being thankful for — that is yet another blessing. This is silsilatul laa nihaya laha — a continuous, unending cycle. It will never end. That is what it means: la tuhsuha. You can never thank Allah for even one blessing. The most we can do is come to the realization that we are incapable of thanking Him.

So what does al-khawfu minal jaleel mean? It means that we are afraid that those blessings might stop — that the pleasure and happiness of Allah might turn into anger and disappointment because of that which we deserve through our own actions. Such a fear of Allah will prevent a person from disobeying Him. This is what Rasulullah ﷺ has asked for in his du'a:

"O Allah, grant us such khashiyah — such fear of You — that will prevent us from disobeying You." So a person has to have that much fear of Allah, that much fear of the just retribution of Allah, that if He chooses, He may take me to task — and what will I do? How will I face Him? That level of shame has to be there. That is al-khawfu minal jaleel, the first part of Taqwa.

2. Al-Amalu Bit-Tanzeel — Acting Upon the Revelation

The second element is al-amalu bit-tanzeel. To the best of our ability — as Allah, when He talks about taqwa, He says:

Fear Allah and inculcate taqwa to the best of your ability. Al-amalu bit-tanzeel: to act upon that which has been revealed by Allah in the Quran. We fear Allah, we do not disobey Him, we abstain from His disobedience. And number two is al-amalu bit-tanzeel — we comply with His orders.

Recognizing the very simple, basic, elementary logic — it is not rocket science. He is our Master, we are His slave. We must do as He bids us. It is as simple as that. We do not have to make it more complicated. He is our Rabb. He is not only our Rabb, He is the Rabbul Aalameen.

Like our forefather Ibrahim, when he was asked, "Submit!" he said, "Why not? How can I not submit to the Lord of the worlds?" This is number two, al-amalu bit-tanzeel — to act upon the injunctions of Allah. Naturally that would include: to learn what those injunctions are, and to implement them to the best of one's ability. This is a part of Taqwa.

3. Al-Qana'atu Bil-Qaleel — Contentment With Little

Number three is al-qana'atu bil-qaleel: to remain content with whatever Allah has provided, even though relative to others, it might be considered less — qaleel. Qaleel is a relative term, a subjective term. It means whatever a person has depends on who he is comparing with.

What we learn in our deen is that when it comes to worldly blessings, we should compare with those who are less blessed than ourselves. This will create shukr and thankfulness within us. And when it comes to the deen, we should compare with those who are ahead of us. This will create the desire and the urge to further our efforts in the deen.

Our situation is 100% exactly the reverse. The person who is on the street wishes he had an apartment. The person who has a one-bedroom apartment looks at the two-bedroom apartment. The one who has a two-bedroom apartment looks at a condo. The one who has a condo looks at the townhouse. The townhouse looks at the ranch house, independent. The one who has a ranch looks at the double storey. The double storey looks at the triple storey. Then he looks at the one who has a mansion. The one who has a mansion looks at the one who has multiple mansions and palaces. So we are always looking at the one ahead of us in worldly matters.

When it comes to the deen, the one who is performing five times daily salah with jama'ah says, "These people don't even pray in jama'ah." Those who perform it individually look at those who don't even perform, and say, "At least I am performing my salah." Those who perform few prayers perform Jumu'ah and say, "Look at those people — they don't even perform Jumu'ah." Those who perform Eid look at those who — can you believe it — even though Eid was on Sunday, they didn't make it for Eid. Everyone is looking at the one below him in deen. And what happens when you look at the person below you in deen? This creates complacency. Everyone is happy at whatever level they are at.

Allah knows our nature — that we have within us the nature of competition. Allah does not want us to change our nature entirely. Like Rasulullah ﷺ, when he came upon the Sahabah, he did not change their natures. If Umar radiyallahu anhu was strict and severe — before Islam against Islam, he remained strict and severe — but for Islam. Ashadduhum fi amrillahi Umar — the severest and strongest in the matters of Allah is Umar. He remained strong. After he accepted Islam, he didn't become weak and meek. He remained strong — but instead of going to assassinate Rasulullah, he was ready to confront the munafiq who dared object against the order of Rasulullah.

So Islam comes to change our perspective, our priority, but does not necessarily mean that we have to change our entire nature. Allah knows we have within us a spirit of competition. Allah says: keep that, but compete in righteous deeds.

"In acquiring the blessings of Jannah, those who want to compete — let the competition begin."

Sari'u — Race! Compete in a race to acquire the forgiveness of your Lord! See who can be the finalist, who can cross the finish line first. Race to the forgiveness of your Lord and a Jannah whose width — not its length, just its width — is greater than the distance between the heavens and the earth. Allah wants us to compete in righteous deeds, and wants us to be content with whatever we have in this world. This is al-qana'atu bil-qaleel — the third element of Taqwa.

4. Al-Isti'adadu Liyawmir Raheel — Preparing for the Day of Departure

Number four — and final — is al-isti'adadu liyawmir raheel: to prepare for the time of departure. This is confirmed — it is confirmed that we have to depart from this world. We are all on a journey. It is just that the time is unknown. It is like traveling at the airport, and there is a technical fault in the plane, so they are changing the plane. The departure is confirmed, but the exact time is not known. So what do the airline personnel announce? They say, "Please remain close to the gate, because we do not know exactly when the plane will be ready, but once the plane is ready and our mechanical crew gives the okay, we are going to be ready to take off." If you are so heedless and oblivious that you wander off and fall into the trap of the materialistic propaganda of duty-free shopping — where there is no duty but the actual price is so much higher — and you are lost in there, then you might miss your flight.

So likewise, Ali radiyallahu anhu is reminding us:

The journey is confirmed, the time is unknown — be prepared for that day before it comes.

I conclude with one example from the Salaf, which comes under the tafsir of the same ayah I recited earlier:

Make sure you do not die except in a state of Islam. What does that mean? Do we control the time of our death? No. So Allah is telling us:

(Reported by al-Munawi in Fayd al-Qadir, traced to various narrations)

The way you live now, that is how you will die. The way you die, that is how you will be raised. So if you live now in the present as a true Muslim, insha'Allah you will die as a Muslim.

So one person was making a study — a survey of different mashayikh — not just to collect data and publish it, but rather to reflect on it and implement it in his own life. And the standard survey question he asked was a beautiful, thought-provoking one: "If you knew for certain today was the last day of your life, what would your schedule be? How would you live your day? What activities would you do?" Different mashayikh gave him different answers, and he was gathering that information to implement it. But the most unique answer he got from one of the mashayikh is mind-blowing if we truly understand what he is saying.

When asked, "If you know for a fact today is the last day of your life, how would you change your schedule?" he said: "I would make absolutely no change in my schedule. Every single day, this is my intention and this is my perspective — that today could be the last day of my life. That is how I lead every day of my life. There would be no change in my schedule whatsoever."

This is what taqwa is. Al-isti'adadu liyawmir raheel — to prepare for the day. If we ask, "Who is ready to help pick up the musallas in the lobby?" several brothers would raise their hands. "Who is ready to help for the donation for the parking lot?" Brothers would raise their hands. But if we ask, "Who is ready to die after Jumu'ah Salah?" — then how many of us would be ready to raise our hands? This is a serious question we have to ask ourselves.

How many people do we owe money? Outstanding debts. The shaheed — who gives his life for the sake of Islam — his matter is still pending:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1886)

Everything is forgiven for the shaheed — except for what he owes others. This is huququl ibad. What about huqooqullah — the rights of Allah? How many salah have we missed and not made qada? How many years of zakat have we missed and not made up? How many fasts have we missed and not made up? When we were students, we said, "It's exam time, so I don't have to fast" — and we missed fasts. So many things are outstanding. We have to go back over our books and be ready. Whenever the call comes from Allah and the Malak ul-Mawt knocks on our door, we are ready to say: labbayk, labbayk — we are present, we are ready.

In fact, not only are we ready, but Rasulullah ﷺ said:

Al-mawtu tuhfatul mu'min — death is the gift for the believer. Yusirul habeeba ilal habeeb — it takes the lover to his beloved. Al-mawtu jisrun — death is a bridge. It is intiqal — a movement, not an end. It takes the lover to his Beloved. The believer is looking forward to enjoying his investments that he has sent forth to Jannah, to meet his Creator Allah. The avenue for that is death. Through death he reaches Allah. It is not something we shy away from or are afraid of, but rather something we prepare for and look eagerly forward to.

We do not bring it upon ourselves:

Do not kill yourself. Do not bring destruction upon yourself. But when it comes — when the decree of Allah comes — we are ready for it. That is the condition of a mu'min, a true believer. So al-isti'adadu liyawmir raheel — preparing for the time of departure, whenever it comes.

Conclusion

May Allah make us all among the muttaqeen and grant us all four of these elements of taqwa in their reality before we meet Him.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَم