In Imam Ghazali’s Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, The Forty Principles of the Religion, the summary of his great work, Ihya Ulum ad-Din, he examines the concept of Following the Sunnah, in chapter 10. The key to happiness is following the Sunnah Itiba as-sunnah as-mifahu as-sa’ada We can write reams and reams on this topic…
In Imam Ghazali’s Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, The Forty Principles of the Religion, he examines the concept of commanding what is good and reprimanding others from doing what is wrong, amr bil marouf wa al nahil anil munkar. Condition 1: Gentleness vs the whip The one who commands good and forbids evil, is called…
Let there be a group among you who call ˹others˺ to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil—it is they who will be successful. (3:104) The believers, both men and women, are guardians of one another. They encourage good and forbid evil, establish prayer and pay alms-tax, and obey Allah and His…
Rule 19: Stay away from those who do not benefit your deen Distance yourself from people of ghaflah (heedlessness). People of ghaflah will impact your level of imaan. Their ghaflah will be reflected by you. The heart which is occupied with dunya casts shadows around it. It will blot out the light of your heart….
Rules 16-20 for dealing with people Rule 16: Supporting your brother or sister in their absence In Imam al Ghazali’s Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, the 40 Principles in Religion, he sketches the the 20 rules for dealing with people in chapter 8. The sixteenth rule is to support others even in their absence. The…
Rule 14: Hurry to fulfil the needs of others The Prophet (peace be on him) said: Intercede with me for one another and be rewarded; for indeed I want to do a thing but put I off so that you may intercede with me and be rewarded. (Abu Dawood) Shafa means to intercede for someone….
In Imam Ghazali’s Kitaab Al-Arba’in Fi Usul ad-Din, ‘The Forty Principles of the Religion’, he collates 20 rules of how to deal with people. Rule 12: Cover other people’s mistakes and sins It is one of principles of dealing with people is to cover their faults and sins, by not pointing them out to others…
Rule 9. Do good to everyone, whether they are worthy of it or not O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good – that you may succeed (22:77) Spreading goodness is part of our identity as an ummah of khayr, as Allah called us. The bottom line is…
Rule 7: Do not pass on gossip Ghazali says do not listen to rumours about others and do not pass them on. We need this very sound nugget of advice because we are flooded by rumours, fabrications, lies and fake news. The Quran and Sunnah gave us the formula for dealing with them. What should…
‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr reported: I met the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said to me: “O ‘Uqbah, reconcile with whoever cuts you off, give to whoever deprives you, and forgive whoever wrongs you.” (Musnad Ahmad) This hadith does not mean you put up with abuse but that you return…
Religion is a journey to Allah Ghazali defines religion (deen) as travelling to Allah. Hence Arabs have a saying as safaru yusfiru an akhlaq ar rijaal – travel (safar) reveals and exposes people’s character. If you give testimony, in order to establish how well you actually know someone, you are asked if have you travelled…