[ Part Five of a series of inspiring articles from a recorded lecture entitled, “Min Ma’een al-Imaam Ahmad” (“Benefits from the Life and Works of Imam Ahmad”) by Shaykh Saalih Aal ash-Shaykh (may Allaah preserve him) ]

Loving and Hating for the Right Reasons

From the noteworthy sayings of Imaam Ahmad about the scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah is his statement, “Love the people of the Sunnah according to the degree that they are upon the Sunnah.” This means that your love should be based on the Sunnah, that you do not love for petty reasons, nor for some worldly reasons. Real love is for those who are upon the Sunnah.

It could be that a person of the Sunnah, a person of the correct ‘aqeedah, does some evil things. However, due to his correct ‘aqeedah, his clarity, and his submission to Allaah’s Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam), you find that he is a person whose heart is free of innovation and doubts.

He said, “Love the people of the Sunnah according to the degree that they are upon the Sunnah.” What is understood from this also is that a man hates the people of innovation according to the degree of their innovations. This means that if they perform some acts of worship, or they are known for their distance from worldly things, or they have conveyed some important knowledge, then they are not to be hated for these things. Rather they are to be hated because they have gone against the Sunnah of our beloved one, Muhammad (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam).

Similarly, Aboo Ad-Dardaa’, may Allaah have Mercy on him and be pleased with him, used to say, “O how great is fasting!” mocking them, “Rather how great are the people who sleep deeply at night and do not fast in the daytime! How could you be so unfair about the fool and how he stays up at night and how he fasts in the daytime?! For verily an atom’s weight of righteousness along with taqwaa and conviction is greater than a mountain’s weight of worship performed by conceited people!”

The scholars have said, explaining these words of Aboo Ad-Dardaa’, that he was encouraging the people to love the one who sleeps all night without praying, as well as the one who does not fast any optional days. Why? They said that this kind of person, upon the Sunnah with conviction, his affair is good. He said, “An atom’s weight of righteousness along with taqwaa and conviction is greater than a mountain’s weight of worship performed by conceited people!”

If a person is upon the Sunnah with conviction, then verily Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted, will bless his small efforts. A person may perform a lot of worship, be he is haughty and self-righteous about his worship, his lengthy recitation, or his many days of fasting. He looks at the people as if they are nothing. He does not even realize the effects of his behavior, nor does he know how his actions will be at the time of his death.

The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) said:

“Verily a man may perform the deeds of the people of Paradise until there remains only a handspan’s distance between him and it, and then what is written for him overtakes him, and he performs the deeds of the people of the Hellfire, and thus enters it.”

“And verily a man may perform the deeds of the people of the Hellfire until there remains only a handspan’s distance between him and it, and then what is written for him overtakes him, and he performs the deeds of the people of Paradise, and thus enters it.” [1]

Because of this hadeeth, many of the Salaf used to cry upon thinking about the book that contains what is written for them, saying, “My heart in suspended, what has preceded me? (What is written for me?)” Others, when they used to think about their final actions as mentioned in this hadeeth, that what is written for him will overtake him, they would say, reflecting over these final deeds, “Our hearts are suspended according to our final actions, what will we be taken upon?”

Therefore, when a person worships, he must worship with fear, fearing that perhaps Allaah will not accept that deed from him. Some of the Salaf said about this, “I only wish that I could offer two rak’ahs that I know would be accepted.” Why? That is because Allaah, the Mighty and Exalted, says [2]:

( Verily it is only the deeds of the people of taqwaa that Allaah accepts )

We see here that Imaam Ahmad was establishing the relationship between every Muslim and Ahlus-Sunnah, between every Muslim and those of the correct beliefs in towheed, those who do not contradict the Sunnah with their intellects, nor do they contradict the Sunnah with their desires.

If something from the speech of the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) reaches you, that which gives details to the Qur’aan, or if something reaches you from the actions of the Companions (may Allaah be pleased with them) or their speech, then it is the truth. The scholars are those who sufficed themselves with the reports of the Companions, acted by their way, and lived according to their guidance. Whoever takes from other than this is on the brink of destruction.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] from the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him), collected by Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

[2] the meaning of Soorah Al-Maa’idah (5):27

Continue reading… Part Six – Identifying Religious Innovations and Staying Away From Them & the Importance of Hadeeth

Or go to the Index of articles in this inspiring series.

Translation, Titles, and Footnotes by: Moosaa Richardson

Originally published on Bakkah.net: 1423-05-16