The qualities of the righteous and the qualities of the corrupt
In Surat Nur, Allah Almighty stated:
فِی بُیُوتٍ أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرۡفَعَ وَیُذۡكَرَ فِیهَا ٱسۡمُهُۥ یُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ فِیهَا بِٱلۡغُدُوِّ وَٱلۡـَٔاصَالِ
(Such light shines) in houses which Allah has permitted to be raised up and in which His name is remembered. Highly exalting Him therein, mornings and before sunset, (24:36)
رِجَالࣱ لَّا تُلۡهِیهِمۡ تِجَـٰرَةࣱ وَلَا بَیۡعٌ عَن ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِیتَاۤءِ ٱلزَّكَوٰةِ یَخَافُونَ یَوۡمࣰا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِیهِ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ وَٱلۡأَبۡصَـٰرُ
are men whom neither bargain nor sale distracts them from Allah’s remembrance or from establishing the prayers or from paying zakat, fearing a day when hearts and sight(s) are overturned, (24:37)
لِیَجۡزِیَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ أَحۡسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا۟ وَیَزِیدَهُم مِّن فَضۡلِهِۦۗ وَٱللَّهُ یَرۡزُقُ مَن یَشَاۤءُ بِغَیۡرِ حِسَابࣲ
(in the hope) that Allah may repay them according to the best of what they have done and increase them from His grace. For Allah provides for whomever He wills without measure. (24:38)
In these verses, Allah is talking about the special qualities of men (rijaal) who are committed to Him. The word rijaal has been mentioned in many verses in different contexts. One of these contexts is regarding the early believers, who established the first mosque in Madinah – which was either Quba, which many scholars say was the first mosque, or the Prophet’s mosque (peace be upon him), and here Allah used the word rijaal for those who like to purify themselves through salah:
لَا تَقُمۡ فِیهِ أَبَدࣰاۚ لَّمَسۡجِدٌ أُسِّسَ عَلَى ٱلتَّقۡوَىٰ مِنۡ أَوَّلِ یَوۡمٍ أَحَقُّ أَن تَقُومَ فِیهِۚ فِیهِ رِجَالࣱ یُحِبُّونَ أَن یَتَطَهَّرُوا۟ۚ وَٱللَّهُ یُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُطَّهِّرِینَ
Do not stand in it, ever. Surely, a mosque founded upon mindfulness (of God) from the first day is worthier of your standing in it. In it are men who love to purify themselves, and Allah loves those who always purify themselves. (9:108)
In Surat al Ahzab, Allah used the word rijaal again regarding men who have been true to their promises:
مِّنَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِینَ رِجَالࣱ صَدَقُوا۟ مَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَلَیۡهِۖ فَمِنۡهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحۡبَهُۥ وَمِنۡهُم مَّن یَنتَظِرُۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا۟ تَبۡدِیلࣰا
Of the believers are men who have been true to what they have covenanted with Allah: so of them is one who fulfilled his obligation, and of them is one who still waits, and they have not changed in the least. (33:23)
The word rijaal is not exclusive for men, but used in the general sense, as we use the word mankind to refer to both genders. Allah is highlighting the quality of those who stand firmly for goodness and do not compromise their principles. They are not distracted by the world. They may run their own businesses, but their businesses do not distract them from fulfilling their duties to Allah. All those who leave their jobs to go and pray jummuah are the ones who prioritise their duty over their works. Allah is drawing our attention to these qualities so we can be one of them.
In another verse, Allah mentions that these people love to purify themselves, which has the dimension of physical cleanliness through wudu and ghusl, as well as spiritual purity. Allah is praising them for purifying their hearts and seeking purity in every aspect of their lives. If you want to be loved by Allah, the key is in your hands – emulate these men.
In the last verse, Allah mentioned the best quality of these men, which is being faithful to the covenant they made with Allah – which means they follow the commands of Allah.
Scholars said there are four archetypes of righteous people:
1. The first is the devout worshipper.
2. The second is the knowledgeable scholar, who acts upon his knowledge, advises, and commands good while forbidding evil without compromise or fear of criticism.
3. The third is the just ruler, who governs fairly and protects the rights of the people.
4. The fourth is the righteous wealthy person, who earns lawfully and spends generously in the path of Allah.
If you have these people in your community, it is a sign of a righteous community, but if you have the opposite then you have corruption.
The opposite of these good men are the following:
1. The counterpart of the righteous worshipper is the confused and hypocritical worshipper.
2. The counterpart of the knowledgeable scholar is the immoral scholar who compromises the truth for fame, power or political convenience.
3. The counterpart of the just ruler is the tyrannical ruler who abuses power and does not take care of his subjects.
4. The counterpart of the righteous wealthy person is the corrupt wealthy person who accumulates wealth unjustly, withholds it from its rightful owners, and spends it for wrongful purposes.
The four who cause the world’s corruption and turmoil
Around us, we can see fatwas parachuting on us from abroad, telling us what we should or should not do, which are not appropriate for us.
Every scholar should deliver fatwas related to their locality. It is not acceptable for a scholar not living in London to deliver a fatwa for people in London, as he is not familiar with our lives and issues. The fatwas are not accurate, especially when they are related to circumstances, rather than fixed areas of our religion.
Among the four types are the wealthy who utilise their wealth for good causes, as Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) and Abdur Rahman ibn Awf did, while others utilise their wealth to cause oppression.
We need to review these qualities and check to see where we are on the scale of these qualities.
Our families and ourselves will be on the straight path if we follow these qualities. If we allow the opposite of these, it will cause damage to our ourselves and our families.
The crash in our economy is because we have lost these qualities, and oppressive rulers and atrocities prevail. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) said the Ummah is like one body, which suffers when any part of it is ill. The earthquake we are experiencing in our Ummah is forcing the Ummah to wake up and do its duty and fulfil its obligations by recognising that we are one body and helping and supporting one another.
In order to do this, we need to sharpen the qualities we have or establish them if we don’t have them. We need to fight back against corruption in our community, and then the ripple effect will start.
We ask Allah to make us truthful trustworthy men of justice and goodness and those who bring reform. Ameen.
Based on the khutbah delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 11th April 2025.