WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:08.929 A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah. 00:00:08.929 --> 00:00:12.859 Defining asceticism (zuhd) and scrupulosity (wara'). 00:00:12.859 --> 00:00:16.859 Among the best definitions given for both asceticism and scrupulosity. 00:00:16.859 --> 00:00:19.859 The statement of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. 00:00:19.859 --> 00:00:23.859 Asceticism is abandoning what does not benefit one in the Hereafter. 00:00:23.859 --> 00:00:27.859 And scrupulosity is abandoning what one fears will cause harm in the Hereafter. 00:00:27.859 --> 00:00:31.980 Therefore, asceticism is a higher station than scrupulosity. 00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:36.979 Because one who possesses scrupulosity might still engage in things that do not benefit him in the Hereafter, 00:00:36.979 --> 00:00:38.979 provided there is no harm in them. 00:00:38.979 --> 00:00:40.979 Based on this, 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:42.979 every ascetic is scrupulous, 00:00:42.979 --> 00:00:45.979 but not every scrupulous person is an ascetic. 00:00:45.979 --> 00:00:50.719 Scrupulosity and asceticism require intention. 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:57.329 Both asceticism and scrupulosity must be accompanied by an intention. 00:00:57.329 --> 00:01:02.329 For mere abandonment, without regard for its relationship to the Hereafter, 00:01:02.329 --> 00:01:05.329 is not called asceticism or scrupulosity. 00:01:05.329 --> 00:01:10.329 A person might abandon certain worldly matters out of a desire for rest or laziness, 00:01:10.329 --> 00:01:14.329 not because those things distract him from the affairs of the Hereafter. 00:01:14.329 --> 00:01:16.329 Whoever is in this state, 00:01:16.329 --> 00:01:20.329 does not benefit from his leisure for the sake of his Hereafter; 00:01:20.329 --> 00:01:22.329 rather, he suffers the greatest corruption, 00:01:22.329 --> 00:01:26.329 for he neither builds his worldly life nor his Hereafter. 00:01:26.329 --> 00:01:31.260 Asceticism and what aids one in obedience. 00:01:31.260 --> 00:01:36.180 Everything that aids one in the obedience of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:39.180 is not considered part of asceticism to abandon. 00:01:39.180 --> 00:01:45.180 So, whoever enjoys permissible things without excess that would distract him from the Hereafter, 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:49.180 and intends by that to gain strength for the obedience of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:52.180 has not departed from the description of the ascetics, 00:01:52.180 --> 00:01:56.180 because this is something that benefits him in the Hereafter. 00:01:56.180 --> 00:02:00.140 Can there be asceticism alongside wealth? 00:02:01.140 --> 00:02:03.659 Asceticism can exist alongside wealth, 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:05.659 just as it exists alongside poverty. 00:02:05.659 --> 00:02:08.659 Among the prophets and the foremost of the early believers, 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:10.659 were those who were wealthy, 00:02:10.659 --> 00:02:14.659 yet that did not remove them from being among the ascetics, 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:18.659 because they were not distracted by their wealth from the Hereafter; 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:21.659 rather, they utilized it for their benefit therein. 00:02:21.659 --> 00:02:24.659 Imam Ahmad was asked about a man 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:26.659 who possesses a thousand dinars: 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:28.659 Can he be an ascetic? 00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:31.659 He replied: "Yes, 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:34.659 on the condition that he does not rejoice if it increases, 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:37.659 and does not grieve if it decreases." 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:42.840 Scrupulosity is not merely a matter of abandonment. 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:44.990 It is a mistake 00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:48.990 to believe that scrupulosity is only a matter of abandonment; 00:02:48.990 --> 00:02:51.990 rather, it also pertains to action. 00:02:51.990 --> 00:02:55.990 Performing obligatory duties is considered part of scrupulosity, 00:02:55.990 --> 00:02:59.990 because failing to perform them causes harm in the Hereafter. 00:02:59.990 --> 00:03:02.990 Thus, part of scrupulosity is maintaining obligatory kinship ties, 00:03:02.990 --> 00:03:06.990 enjoining good and forbidding evil, 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:09.990 fulfilling the rights of the poor and the neighbor, 00:03:09.990 --> 00:03:13.990 and the rights of the general body of Muslims, and so on. 00:03:13.990 --> 00:03:17.759 There must be a legal basis 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:20.759 for exercising scrupulosity regarding any matter. 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:24.530 Scrupulosity in any matter should be based, 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:27.530 whether in abandonment or action, 00:03:27.530 --> 00:03:30.530 upon evidence from the Qur'an or the Sunnah. 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:33.530 There is no scrupulosity based on whims or corrupt conjecture, 00:03:33.530 --> 00:03:37.530 such as the state of those prone to obsessive doubts regarding purity and impurities, 00:03:37.530 --> 00:03:40.530 where they think this obsession of theirs 00:03:40.530 --> 00:03:44.530 is a form of scrupulosity and concern for the validity of worship, 00:03:44.530 --> 00:03:47.530 even though it is blameworthy in the eyes of the Shari'ah. 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:50.530 Likewise, for those who exercise scrupulosity by abstaining from marriage, 00:03:50.530 --> 00:03:54.530 or from sleeping at night, or from breaking their fast during the day; 00:03:54.530 --> 00:03:57.530 the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, condemned this, 00:03:58.530 --> 00:04:01.530 and said regarding it: "Whoever turns away from my Sunnah, 00:04:01.530 --> 00:04:04.530 is not of me." (Agreed upon). 00:04:04.530 --> 00:04:08.810 Part of the perfection of scrupulosity is knowing 00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:11.810 the better of two good things and the lesser of two evils. 00:04:11.810 --> 00:04:15.699 Part of the perfection of scrupulosity is knowing 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:18.699 the better of two good things and the lesser of two evils. 00:04:18.699 --> 00:04:21.699 When there is a conflict, 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:24.699 one prioritizes the better of the two good actions and the lesser of the two evils. 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:27.699 Otherwise, a person might fall 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:30.699 into a type of false scrupulosity. 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:33.699 For example, one who abandons prayer 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:36.699 behind imams who are innovators, 00:04:36.699 --> 00:04:39.699 or abandons Friday prayers and congregational prayers, 00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:43.470 thinking that this is a form of scrupulosity. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.560 The reality of luxury (taraf). 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:50.560 Luxury is the most intense factor that diverts a person 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.560 from scrupulosity and asceticism in this world. 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.560 It does not simply mean enjoying blessings. 00:04:57.560 --> 00:05:00.560 The one who is immersed in the pleasures of the world 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:03.560 and its desires— 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:06.560 for the one whom blessings have made "mutraf" (luxurious/arrogant), 00:05:06.560 --> 00:05:09.560 is the one whom blessings have made insolent and ungrateful. 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:12.879 Ingratitude (batr) is the rejection of the truth. 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:15.879 Luxury has never been mentioned in the Qur'an except in a blameworthy context, 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:18.879 as in the saying of Allah the Almighty: 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:21.879 “If only there had been among the generations before you men possessing a remnant (of good sense) to warn (their people) from corruption in the earth, as did a few of those whom We saved from them! The wrong-doers followed that by which they were made sapless, and were guilty.” (11:116) 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:24.879 "And they were criminals." 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:27.879 “And We sent not unto any township a warner, but its pampered ones declared: Lo! we are disbelievers in that wherewith ye have been sent.” (34:34) 00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:30.879 "But their affluent ones said: 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.879 'Indeed, we are disbelievers in that with which you have been sent.'" 00:05:38.509 --> 00:05:41.509 Among the most important things that aid in scrupulosity 00:05:41.509 --> 00:05:44.509 and asceticism in this world is shortening one's hopes, 00:05:44.509 --> 00:05:47.509 which is the realization of the nearness of departure 00:05:47.509 --> 00:05:50.509 and the swift passing of life. 00:05:50.509 --> 00:05:53.509 Allah the Almighty said: 00:05:53.509 --> 00:05:56.509 Whoever realizes the swift disappearance of this world 00:05:56.509 --> 00:05:59.579 and its transience, 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:02.579 along with what accompanies its acquisition 00:06:02.579 --> 00:06:05.579 of pains, griefs, and distresses, 00:06:05.579 --> 00:06:08.579 and then realizes along with that 00:06:08.579 --> 00:06:11.579 the inevitability of the coming of the Hereafter 00:06:11.579 --> 00:06:14.579 and the swiftness of its approach, 00:06:14.579 --> 00:06:17.579 along with what follows it of permanence 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:20.579 and the nobility of the goodness it contains— 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:24.579 whoever realizes all of that 00:06:24.579 --> 00:06:27.579 will shorten his hopes in this world, 00:06:27.579 --> 00:06:30.579 and his scrupulosity and asceticism therein will be realized, 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:33.579 and he will be among those who are truthful in their preparation 00:06:33.579 --> 00:06:36.579 for the meeting with Allah. 00:06:36.579 --> 00:06:39.579 This is the key to all righteous deeds 00:06:39.579 --> 00:06:42.639 and the barrier against evil deeds. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.639 Shortening one's hopes is the first of the means 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:48.639 that aid in asceticism in this world. 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:52.639 Among the means that aid in asceticism in this world, 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:56.980 in addition to the aforementioned shortening of hopes: 00:06:56.980 --> 00:06:59.980 First, 00:06:59.980 --> 00:07:03.879 frequently remembering death, 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:06.879 visiting the sick, 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:09.879 attending funerals, 00:07:09.879 --> 00:07:12.879 and visiting graves. 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.879 Second, 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.009 keeping company with the righteous 00:07:19.009 --> 00:07:22.009 whose sight and speech remind one of the Hereafter. 00:07:22.009 --> 00:07:25.009 Third, 00:07:25.009 --> 00:07:28.139 frequently reciting the Qur'an and reflecting upon it. 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:31.230 Fourth, 00:07:31.230 --> 00:07:34.230 frequently remembering Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, 00:07:34.230 --> 00:07:37.230 supplicating to Him, and beseeching Him. 00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:40.329 Fifth, 00:07:40.329 --> 00:07:43.329 constantly holding one's self to account, 00:07:43.329 --> 00:07:46.459 and thinking about the purpose of its creation and its final destination. 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:49.459 Sixth, 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:52.459 reducing social mixing with people 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:55.459 except in what is beneficial, 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:58.459 and setting aside times for the servant to be alone with his Lord, 00:07:58.459 --> 00:08:01.459 such as I'tikaf during Ramadan, 00:08:01.459 --> 00:08:04.459 sitting for dhikr from after the dawn prayer until sunrise, 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:07.459 and from after the afternoon prayer on Friday until sunset. 00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:11.220 Among the fruits of asceticism and scrupulosity: 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:14.959 Scrupulosity and asceticism in this world 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:18.959 protect a person from falling into the desires of this world. 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:21.959 For the scrupulous person who is an ascetic in this world 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:24.959 is the furthest of people 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:27.959 from seeking status and leadership therein, 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:30.959 and from envy and hatred because of it. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:33.960 Just as he is the furthest of people 00:08:33.960 --> 00:08:36.960 from the trials of showing off and boasting, 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:39.960 concealing the truth and mixing it with falsehood, 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:42.960 and using trickery against the law of Allah, 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.960 and the sins 00:08:45.960 --> 00:08:48.960 that stem from attachment to the desires of this world. 00:08:48.960 --> 00:08:52.659 Asceticism and scrupulosity 00:08:52.659 --> 00:08:56.240 facilitate the journey on the path to Allah. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:59.240 That is the general benefit 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:02.240 of scrupulosity and asceticism in this world: 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:05.240 facilitating the journey on the path to Allah 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:08.240 and the sincerity of preparation for meeting Him, the Almighty and Majestic. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:11.299 For whoever wishes to reach his destination 00:09:11.299 --> 00:09:14.299 with his message, 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:17.299 let his heart be lightened of the burdens of the world, 00:09:17.299 --> 00:09:20.299 just as one who travels on foot 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:23.980 lightens the burdens on his back.