2015 07 17 Friday Prayer Sheikh Khalil Abdul Rashid

Taqwa in the Halal, the Haram, and the Doubtful

Whoever stands in suspicions, stands in haram. Whoever stands in suspicions, stands in haram.

We must return to the journey. Part of that return involves how we conduct ourselves and how we engage with the world around us. And so the Prophet ﷺ advised us that the things that are halal in life are clear, easy to recognize.

The things that are haram are also clear, easy to recognize. Therefore when it comes to the halal, we take it, we run to it, we accept it. When it comes to the haram, it's clear, no debate over it. We don't do it — we should stop, refrain, prevent ourselves from doing it.

Between those two degrees, those two situations and circumstances, there are several matters which should be had. And they're in the gray area. They're doubtful. Not sure whether you should do it or not. Not sure whether it's okay or not. Not only unsure about the action itself, but not sure regarding the consequence of the action as well.

Most people have no clue and no idea about the consequences and the ahkam and the rulings in these areas.

So therefore, for most of us, when we engage in a situation — whether it's in business, a transaction, or a situation at home, outside — we're confronted with a choice. We don't know the halalness or the haramness of that thing. There are two options. One: we can say, well we don't know if it's okay or not, so we can do it. There's no clear evidence that says it's wrong, so we can do it. That's one option. The other option is: well we don't know, therefore I'm not going to do it. I'm going to avoid that action — feeling the possible problems and the possibility that it may displease Allah.

And so the Prophet ﷺ advised us about the best course of action as we go through life and get into situations that are beyond our knowledge. What should we do?

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

Whoever has taqwa, and avoids those doubtful matters — eating that doubtful food, going to that doubtful place, engaging in that doubtful decision, choosing that doubtful course of action — that person absolves themself and frees themself, secures themself, protects their deen, the sanctity of their deen as a servant of Allah. In other words, they don't violate anything in the deen. They don't have to worry about: did I violate something according to the letter of the law? Did I violate something according to the spirit of the law? They don't have to worry — they are absolved of that questioning and that regret. That second thought, that constant second-guessing yourself.

And their honor — they can't be accused in the social and public realm of doing anything blameworthy and shady. They are absolved in the religious realm, they are absolved in the public realm. They are absolved in the akhira, they are absolved in the dunya. They get the best of both worlds.

The Meaning of Taqwa in Doubtful Matters

Taqwa in shubuhat. Whoever has taqwa of doubtful matters. Why taqwa? Usually we refer to taqwa as withholding and having a consciousness and awareness of Allah particularly in the haram matters. But here, we see that taqwa is referenced in the shubuhat, in the doubtful matters. That means that when we are confronted with these decisions, we still must maintain a constant awareness of Allah. Therefore in the halal, we remain aware — a constant awareness of Allah. In the haram, we maintain a constant awareness of Allah. And in between those two opposites, we still must maintain a constant awareness of Allah.

That means all of our decisions, all of our harakat and our sakanat — all of our actions and our inactions, all of our positive decision making and all of our negative decision making, all of our yes's and all of our no's — must be made and informed because of the consciousness of Allah and awareness of the presence of Allah. Taqwa.

Therefore, someone who is aware of Allah in the halal brings the halal because it is halal. And someone who has taqwa of Allah when it comes to the haram avoids the haram because it is haram. Then that person, in their decision making of halal and haram all the time, when it comes to the shubuhat, that same structured decision making will be there as well. The person is used to factoring in and considering how Allah would view them if they did that, and what are the ahkam and the rulings, and what is Allah's khitab — His speech — regarding those actions, both action and inaction, doing and not doing, saying yes and saying no.

Everything we do, we must intellectually, spiritually, faithfully consult Allah. Meaning, we must be aware of the consequence of that decision. If I do this, what is my standing with Allah going to be? Therefore, if we are good at that in matters that are clear — halal and haram — then that will automatically give us a precautionary stance to protect us from delving into doubtful matters.

The person who has taqwa, awareness of Allah, understanding and consciousness of Allah when it comes to those issues, will automatically say: my Rabb, I have a special standing with my Rabb — I don't want to jeopardize that. Therefore I must be very careful. It's an attitude of precaution.

That, brothers and sisters, is our next step as a community. Being aware of Allah in doubtful matters and taking the precautionary view, the precautionary opinion in matters where it's unclear. When we do that, we absolve ourselves of blame. We absolve ourselves of shame. We absolve ourselves of regret. And we increase and enhance our standing with Allah.

That aspect of taqwa — in matters that the halalness of it is not clear, and for that matter the haramness of it is also not clear — has a special name according to some of our scholars. It's called wara'. Taqwa in things that are not clearly haram. First there's taqwa in the haram — you avoid that completely. Then after that, taqwa in the makrooh — things that are disliked, that bring Allah's displeasure.

Also, the makrooh slows us down in the akhira on the sirat. For example, when the abdi is on the sirat, on the bridge, after hisab, what slows the abdi down in crossing the sirat — one of those things — is living and doing things that are makrooh. So taqwa in the makrooh is the next step. And then after that is taqwa in doubtful matters. That is a praiseworthy stance.

The Danger of Living in the Gray Area

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

Whoever delves in the doubtful area — they live by that, they thrive by that, they like those things, they hang out in the grey area — those grey areas in dealing with the family and the job and this and that — eventually, it's just a matter of time before it leads them to haram. In other words, when we let down our guard, when we start to develop the habit and the norm of forgetting Allah and abandoning consciousness and awareness of Allah in those doubtful matters, then what happens is it creeps into being a reality constantly. And that takes us to the prohibited area.

It takes us to the makrooh first. The makrooh is the border. The borderline. Something that's makrooh — it's permissible, but it's on the edge. You're on the border. Once you're on the border, crossing over is just a matter of time. That's the danger of losing that awareness of Allah. That's the danger of becoming lax and relaxed in the structure and method of our decision making — even casual decision making.

There is no decision in the hidden realm that is outside of being measured according to the standards of Allah — what pleases Him and what doesn't. In other words, there's no such thing as thinking about an act or an action that you and I could do where we can say, I don't have to think about pleasing Allah or not pleasing Allah with that action. That doesn't exist. Whether it's putting on a coat, brushing our teeth, wearing matching clothes, going out of our home and turning right as opposed to left, typing something on the computer, going to work, getting dressed, eating dessert or not eating dessert, adding salt or not adding salt, giving sadaqah, handing a little bit of sadaqah — there is no action that is outside of our ability to evaluate it in terms of how that action can or cannot help us reach Allah. But we have to choose to start thinking in those terms and then making decisions in those terms. That is a part of the meaning of taqwa.

The moment we start losing that — becoming, "I can make my own decision based upon my own standards, I'm an intelligent man, I've got a degree in this, that and the other, I can make my own decision" — that is the moment Shaytan really likes us. And that is the moment that Allah starts to become displeased with us because we forget Him. And then we make what's called rational decisions — rational to us. Not necessarily shar'i rational decisions.

The Parable of the Shepherd

We become like the shepherd the Prophet ﷺ describes. A shepherd who has a flock of sheep behind him that he's taking out to graze on the grass.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599)

The shepherd takes the sheep out to have their lunch, to graze. But what the shepherd does is keep carrying, keep guiding his flock, his sheep, close to the border of a property that doesn't belong to him. The king's property. And the king has said, don't go there. Under no circumstances must I find you here.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599) — "Every king has his sanctuary, and indeed the sanctuary of Allah are His prohibitions."

Every king has his boundaries. Every ruler has his rules. Every person in charge has their limits. Every system has their limits and rules. And the limits of Allah are the haram. Anything and everything that is haram — we have to avoid, we have to stay away from it. On this day forward, from this day forward, we have to make that commitment: that the haram is to us what poison is to the body. Would any of us willingly drink poison? Absolutely not.

In reality, haram is actually worse than poison to the body. At least with poison to the body, your body dies. But with haram, it may leave your body intact, but your ruh dies. Your qalb dies. Your standing with Allah, your position with Allah dies. It's ruined. So that boundary cannot be touched.

Each of Us Is a Shepherd

What's the purpose of the metaphor? The purpose is that there is something inside of us that takes the position of that shepherd. Each of us is a shepherd, and each and every one of us has a flock behind us. First and foremost, the flock — the sheep that follow us — are what are called our seven limbs, our seven body parts. These are the seven body parts that take a reckoning and a recording of what we do. They can commit sins or they can commit actions of good deeds. These are the eyes, the tongue, the ear, the hands — which symbolize power and authority — the stomach, the reproductive and sexual organs, and the feet. That's our first flock. And we as shepherds graze them in the proper boundaries, or we take them close to the king's boundary where he said don't go there, or we actually have them cross over those boundaries.

At the second level, we have a flock that we are responsible for. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1829) — "Every one of you is a shepherd and every one of you is responsible for his flock."

Every one of you is a shepherd, and every single one of you will be interrogated by Allah. Each one of you is responsible for your flock. Then he ﷺ went from that general principle into specifics to drive it home, to make it clear.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 893; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1829)

So the man is a shepherd and is responsible for his home, for his family, his wife, his children. Does he take them into an area where it's clean, where they can graze? Or does he leave them close to the boundary which eventually takes them outside of the boundary into a place Allah has said don't go there?

And the wife, the woman, is also a shepherd in the house of her husband. She is in charge of what goes on there — the management of that house, the upbringing of the children, etc. And she is responsible and will be asked about those matters under her care and under her supervision. She makes decisions also. She makes judgment calls also. She takes her flock into an area that's clean and clear to graze, or she drives them closer to that edge. And if she's not careful, they go into an area where the king has said don't go there.

Then he said: and the abdu is responsible. Even the slave is responsible. And in some common modern day applications of this hadith, one way to interpret the abdu — of course abdu means slave, but another way to understand it in modern day terms — is the employee. The employee is an abdu. Responsible. The abdu has a master; the employee has an employer. And what is given to the abdu is a task — a job to do. And the employee has a job to do. So the employee has a desk, a computer, laptop, staples, pens, pencils, chair, files — might have a car, a credit card, whatever. And it's given to that abdu, that employee, as a trust. A job to do. Job descriptions. Job expectations. Don't lie. Don't steal. Don't do this. Don't do that. An honor code.

If you're a student, then that's your job. As a student, you don't lie. You don't copy. You don't take somebody else's work and put your name on it and turn it in. SubhanAllah — we had the first Masters in Islamic Studies program, alhamdulillah, established at SMU. We just had our first group of students. We have about 18, all of them Muslims except one. Students doing Islamic Studies. Here at SMU. MashaAllah. We got a phone call a few days ago from the director of the program. She said to me, Imam Khalil, I'm very sorry to inform you about this. I know it's very embarrassing. One of your applicants — we were not able to accept them because we required a book essay. They had to read a book and do an analysis of it. She said this applicant plagiarized the entire essay. Just took it off the internet. The entire essay — just lied. Took it off the internet, put their name on it, and submitted it. Islamic Studies students.

We are responsible. We are responsible. Our snak — our dignity, our honor. And the other Muslims that might be lined up behind us — our decision makes it easier for them or makes it more difficult for them. We are responsible. Either our decisions allow others who monitor us to say, "These people do things the right way," or we let other people know, "These people operate on the edge. They're not honorable people. They operate outside the boundaries — lie, misrepresent, take the easy way out."

It was a big embarrassment. We cannot cut corners. We cannot operate on the edges. We cannot be happy and function in the gray area. Either we do it right or we don't do it at all. We live right or death is better. I'm telling you now. We live right or die. Because living wrong will put us in a state with Allah in the akhira where we wish we had died before we had done that wrong act.

The holy ayahs in the Qur'an — Allah said the person will say: I wish I had the opportunity to go back and do something right. We have the chance now. Take advantage of it now. Time and life and birth and energy and ni'am are given now. So we have to think of Allah now. Think of our consequences now. And not be where He said don't be there.

The Piece of Flesh — The Qalb

The Prophet ﷺ said: in every body there is a piece of meat. If that piece of meat is whole and good and right, then the person is upright. If that piece of meat is rotten, sick, diseased, run down, sloppy — then the person will be sick, rotten, run down, sloppy.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 52; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599) — "Verily, in the body there is a piece of flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Verily, it is the heart."

Externally they'll be whistling, internally they'll be trash. Externally they'll have a beard, internally they'll have no akhlaq. Externally they'll have hijab, internally they'll be the most disgusting person ever. Although they come to the masjid and they pray and they fast and taraweeh, zakat, etc.

Akhlaq. Akhlaq. Akhlaq. Our flock. Amanah. Amanah. Amanah. Ibadah. Ibadah. Ibadah.

A Call to Wake Up

It's time to wake up. It's time to get up. It's time to be upright. It's time to stand up. We must be better. We have to do things right or not at all. When we start something — when we embark on a project at home, at work, at school, in the community — once that project has begun, we never stop until it is done. We complete what we started. We labor hard whether it's something big or small, and we do it well or we don't do it at all. We do it well or we don't do it at all.

That, brothers and sisters, has to be who we start to be — starting now, coming out of Ramadan. It's about the qalb. We have to be strong here. We have to be whole here. We have to be right inside. But that starts with our decision. When we say: I'm not going to be who I was. I want to be better. Ya Rabb, I acknowledge my ignorance. Ya Rabb, make me and help me remember You. And if you ask Him, He will help you.

And the first step in helping you and me is that He will help us realize how much we forget Him. So first, what will come to our minds is: Wow, I forgot Allah. That's the first thing. And it is the biggest crime to forget the One who never forgets you and me. So when that forgetfulness kicks in and we remember we forgot, we have to say Astaghfirullah. I forgot You.

We don't forget our mothers. We don't forget we have children. We don't forget we have a job to go to. We don't forget the heat. We don't forget these things. So how do we forget the Khaliq of these things? How do we forget the Razzaq of these things? Not right. We are not right. I am not right. We must be better.

It starts with taqwa. It starts with awareness. It starts with an opportunity inside of us to be stronger. We ask Allah to make us better. We ask Allah to take us from the edge and put us in the center. We ask Allah to forgive us for our shortcomings. Forgive us for taking shortcuts. And forgive us for being cowards and being afraid to be in the center. And we ask Him to give us the inspiration to stay in the center no matter what the cost.

Closing Du'a and Salah upon the Prophet

Allah and His angels pray for the Prophet. O you who believe, pray for him and give him your blessings.

Allahumma pray for Sayyidina Muhammad and the family of Sayyidina Muhammad, as You prayed for Sayyidina Ibrahim and the family of Sayyidina Ibrahim. And bless Sayyidina Muhammad and the family of Sayyidina Muhammad, as You blessed Sayyidina Ibrahim and the family of Sayyidina Ibrahim. You are praiseworthy and glorified.

Allahumma guide us among those You have guided, and heal us among those You have healed, and take us under Your guardianship among those You have taken, and bless us in what You have given us, and protect us from the evil of what You have decreed. Indeed, You decree and it will not be decreed over You. Indeed, He does not humiliate those whom You have befriended, and does not honor those who have opposed You. You are blessed, our Lord, and exalted.

Allahumma pray for Sayyidina Muhammad and the family of Sayyidina Muhammad.

Indeed, Allah commands justice and goodness and giving to near ones, and forbids immorality and evil and transgression. He warns you so that you may remember.