Riyadh Al-Salehin | Episode (57) | Chapter on the signs of God Almighty’s love for the servant

0:00 *Riyad al-Salihin* (The Meadows of the Righteous) from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

0:09 Chapter: Signs of Allah Almighty's Love for a Servant

0:16 And Encouragement to Adopt Them and Strive to Attain Them.

0:21 Allah Almighty said:

0:24 “Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah, follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (3:31)

0:34 "And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."

0:37 And He Almighty said:

0:39 “O ye who believe! Whoso of you becometh a renegade from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loveth and who love Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He giveth unto whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (5:54)

0:45 "Allah will bring forth a people He loves and who love Him,"

0:50 “O ye who believe! Whoso of you becometh a renegade from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loveth and who love Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He giveth unto whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (5:54)

0:55 “O ye who believe! Whoso of you becometh a renegade from his religion, (know that in his stead) Allah will bring a people whom He loveth and who love Him, humble toward believers, stern toward disbelievers, striving in the way of Allah, and fearing not the blame of any blamer. Such is the grace of Allah which He giveth unto whom He will. Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.” (5:54)

0:58 "and they do not fear the blame of a critic."

1:01 "That is the bounty of Allah; He gives it to whom He wills."

1:05 "And Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing."

1:09 On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

1:14 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

1:18 "Indeed, Allah Almighty has said:

1:21 'Whoever shows enmity to a loyal friend of Mine, I have declared war upon him.

1:26 And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than that which I have obligated upon him.

1:32 And My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts until I love him.

1:38 And when I love him,

1:40 I become his hearing with which he hears,

1:43 his sight with which he sees,

1:46 his hand with which he strikes,

1:49 and his foot with which he walks.

1:52 Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give him,

1:54 and were he to seek refuge in Me, I would surely grant him refuge.'"

1:57 Related by al-Bukhari.

2:01 The meaning of *adhantuhu* (I have declared to him):

2:03 I have notified him that I am at war with him.

2:06 And on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),

2:09 from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:

2:13 "When Allah Almighty loves a servant,

2:16 He calls out to Gabriel:

2:18 'Indeed, Allah Almighty loves so-and-so,

2:21 so love him!'

2:24 So Gabriel loves him,

2:26 and then Gabriel calls out to the inhabitants of heaven:

2:29 'Indeed, Allah loves so-and-so,

2:31 so love him!'

2:35 And the inhabitants of heaven love him, and acceptance is established for him on earth."

2:38 Agreed upon.

2:41 And in a narration by Muslim:

2:44 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

2:48 "Indeed, when Allah Almighty loves a servant,

2:52 He summons Gabriel

2:54 and says:

2:55 'I love so-and-so,

2:57 so love him!'

2:59 So Gabriel loves him.

3:01 Then he calls out in heaven,

3:03 saying:

3:05 'Indeed, Allah loves so-and-so,

3:07 so love him!'

3:09 And the inhabitants of heaven love him,

3:11 and acceptance is established for him on earth.

3:14 And when Allah hates a servant,

3:17 He summons Gabriel

3:19 and says:

3:20 'I hate so-and-so,

3:22 so hate him!'

3:24 So Gabriel hates him.

3:26 Then he calls out to the inhabitants of heaven:

3:29 'Indeed, Allah hates so-and-so,

3:32 so hate him!'

3:34 And the inhabitants of heaven hate him,

3:36 and hatred is established for him on earth."

3:40 "The inhabitants of heaven"

3:43 refers to the angels.

3:45 "Acceptance is established for him"

3:47 means that love for him is placed in the hearts of the people.

3:51 Among the benefits of this hadith:

3:54 The true standard in judging human love and hatred

3:58 belongs exclusively to the people of virtue and righteousness.

4:01 This is not undermined by

4:03 the wicked people's hatred for the righteous person,

4:06 nor their love for other wicked people like themselves.

4:09 For the believer sees with the light of Allah

4:12 and loves whoever Allah loves.

4:15 Affirmation of the divine attributes of Love and Speech for Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

4:21 The angels' obedience to Allah is absolute,

4:24 without any hesitation.

4:27 Gabriel (peace be upon him)

4:30 is the foremost among the angels

4:32 and the conveyor from Allah of the revelation He imparts to His servants.

4:36 Whoever Allah loves

4:38 is loved by the inhabitants of heaven and earth,

4:41 and whoever Allah hates

4:43 is hated by the inhabitants of heaven and earth.

4:46 Thus, one must strive to attain the love of Allah,

4:50 and that is by following the Messenger of Allah,

4:53 drawing near to Allah through what He has obligated upon him,

4:56 advancing in acts of obedience,

4:59 and abstaining from forbidden deeds.

5:01 And on the authority of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her),

5:06 that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

5:10 dispatched a man in charge of an expedition,

5:12 and he would lead his companions in their prayer

5:16 and conclude with *Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad* (Surah al-Ikhlas).

5:19 When they returned,

5:21 they mentioned that to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

5:26 so he said:

5:27 "Ask him why he does that."

5:31 So they asked him,

5:33 and he replied:

5:34 "Because it describes the Most Merciful,

5:36 and I love to recite it."

5:39 Thereupon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

5:43 "Inform him that Allah Almighty loves him."

5:47 Agreed upon.

5:50 Among the benefits of this hadith:

5:53 An expedition must have a designated commander,

5:56 and the commander of the people is their imam in prayer.

6:00 It is impermissible to disobey the commander

6:04 as long as it does not involve explicit disobedience to Allah,

6:07 and that is for fear of fracturing unity and causing discord among the people.

6:12 Lodging an objection against a commander

6:14 is brought before the supreme leader.

6:17 The Companions used to rush to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

6:23 asking for his ruling on any new matter whose ruling they did not know.

6:29 The virtue of Surah al-Ikhlas,

6:32 because it encompasses what is obligatory regarding the Oneness of Allah, Glorified be He,

6:37 and what is His due right over His servants,

6:40 in that all creation and their needs must be directed entirely to Him,

6:44 and that they must turn to Him in all their affairs,

6:47 as well as declaring Him transcendent above begetting anyone or being begotten.

6:53 Deeds are judged by their intentions;

6:57 thus, whoever draws near to Allah through an act that Allah loves, Allah Almighty loves him.

7:03 One should never belittle any act of obedience,

7:07 for among deeds are those that elevate one to the highest ranks,

7:10 even if they appear modest in the eyes of people.

7:13 The permissibility of repeating the same surah in prayer,

7:18 for this Companion used to recite the surah

7:21 *Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad* after every recitation.

7:25 Chapter: Warning Against Harming the Righteous, the Weak, and the Indigent.

7:34 Allah Almighty said:

7:38 “And those who malign believing men and believing women undeservedly, they bear the guilt of slander and manifest sin.” (33:58)

7:43 “And those who malign believing men and believing women undeservedly, they bear the guilt of slander and manifest sin.” (33:58)

7:47 And He Almighty said:

7:49 “Therefor the orphan oppress not,” (93:9)

7:52 “Therefor the beggar drive not away,” (93:10)

7:56 As for the hadiths on this subject, they are numerous;

7:59 among them is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)

8:02 in the preceding chapter:

8:05 "Whoever shows enmity to a loyal friend of Mine, I have declared war upon him."

8:09 And among them is the earlier hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him)

8:15 in the chapter on kindness to the orphan,

8:18 and his saying, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:

8:21 "O Abu Bakr,

8:23 if you have angered them, you have indeed angered your Lord."

8:27 And on the authority of Jundub ibn Abdillah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

8:33 The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

8:37 "Whoever performs the dawn prayer is under the protection of Allah,

8:42 so do not let Allah demand of you anything regarding His protection;

8:47 for whoever He calls to account for anything regarding His protection, He will seize him,

8:51 and then cast him on his face into the fire of Hell."

8:56 Related by Muslim.

8:58 Chapter: Judging People According to What Is Outward,

9:05 While Leaving Their Inward Secrets to Allah Almighty.

9:09 Allah Almighty said:

9:11 "So if they repent and establish prayer,"

9:14 “Then, when the sacred months have passed, slay the idolaters wherever ye find them, and take them (captive), and besiege them, and prepare for them each ambush. But if they repent and establish worship and pay the poor-due, then leave their way free. Lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (9:5)

9:18 On the authority of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both),

9:24 that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

9:28 "I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify

9:31 that there is no god but Allah

9:34 and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,"

9:37 “And they are ordered naught else than to serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, as men by nature upright, and to establish worship and to pay the poor-due. That is true religion.” (98:5)

9:40 "When they do that,

9:42 they have protected their blood and their wealth from me,

9:45 except by the right of Islam,

9:48 and their account rests with Allah Almighty."

9:51 Agreed upon.

9:54 *'Asamu* means: they have safeguarded and protected.

9:58 "Except by the right of Islam":

10:00 This is a severed exception (istiṯhnā’ munqaṭi‘), meaning:

10:04 however, after their lives and wealth are protected, it is obligatory upon them

10:08 to uphold the duties of Islam,

10:11 by fulfilling the obligations and abandoning the forbidden matters.

10:16 Among the benefits of this hadith:

10:18 Warfare in Islam is directed against idolaters

10:21 until they enter into Islam.

10:24 The proof of their entrance into it is

10:26 their pronunciation of the two testimonies of faith,

10:28 their establishing the prayer,

10:30 and their paying the zakat,

10:32 as well as their acknowledgment of the remaining pillars of Islam.

10:36 The reason the other pillars were not mentioned in the hadith

10:39 is either because they had not yet been made obligatory at that time,

10:42 or because what was mentioned was considered sufficient,

10:44 indicating the lesser duties by highlighting the greater ones.

10:47 Once they openly declare their entry into Islam,

10:50 their blood and wealth become inviolable,

10:53 and the reckoning of their inward states and the sincerity of their hearts rests with Allah Almighty.

10:57 As for us,

10:59 we treat them as Muslims

11:02 by applying the rulings of Islam to them in this worldly life.

11:05 In this is evidence for accepting outward deeds

11:10 and ruling in accordance with what is outwardly apparent.

11:13 And on the authority of Abu Abdillah,

11:17 Tariq ibn Ashyam (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

11:20 I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:

11:25 "Whoever says, 'There is no god but Allah,'

11:28 and disbelieves in whatever is worshipped besides Allah,

11:31 his wealth and his blood become inviolable,

11:34 and his reckoning rests with Allah Almighty."

11:37 Related by Muslim.

11:39 Among the benefits of this hadith:

11:43 The prerequisite of Tawhid

11:45 is disavowal of false deities and disbelief in the Taghut.

11:49 This is affirmed by verses of the Noble Qur'an,

11:53 as Allah the Exalted says:

11:55 “There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is henceforth distinct from error. And he who rejecteth false deities and believeth in Allah hath grasped a firm handhold which will never break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (2:256)

11:59 "he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold

12:02 that never breaks."

12:06 A Muslim's blood, property, and honor are inviolable;

12:09 it is impermissible to transgress against him or harm him.

12:13 We judge by outward appearances,

12:16 and Allah takes charge of hidden secrets.

12:19 On the authority of Abu Ma'bad, al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

12:26 "I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):

12:30 'What do you think, if I encounter a man from the disbelievers

12:34 and we duel,

12:36 and he strikes one of my hands with the sword

12:38 and cuts it off,

12:40 then he takes refuge from me behind a tree

12:43 and says: "I submit myself to Allah,"

12:46 should I kill him, O Messenger of Allah, after he said it?'

12:50 He replied: 'Do not kill him.'

12:53 I said: 'O Messenger of Allah!

12:56 He cut off one of my hands,

12:58 and only said that after severing it!'

13:01 He repeated: 'Do not kill him.

13:04 For if you kill him,

13:06 he will be in your position before you killed him,

13:09 and you will be in his position before he uttered that word of his.'"

13:15 Agreed upon.

13:17 The meaning of "he will be in your position"

13:20 is that his blood is inviolable and he is judged to be a Muslim.

13:23 The meaning of "you will be in his position"

13:26 is that your blood becomes lawful for retribution (qisas) by his heirs,

13:30 not that you share his status in disbelief.

13:33 And Allah knows best.

13:36 "What do you think" (ara'ayta)

13:37 means: "Inform me."

13:39 "He took refuge from me behind a tree"

13:41 means he shielded himself and sought shelter by it.

13:44 Among the benefits derived from this hadith:

13:49 A combatant disbeliever's blood and property are lawful by Islamic ruling.

13:54 Whoever demonstrates anything indicating an entry into Islam, whether by word or deed,

13:59 it becomes forbidden to kill him.

14:01 Whoever kills him knowing the prohibition of doing so

14:04 is subject to legal retribution (qisas).

14:06 But whoever did so out of ignorance or misinterpretation,

14:09 blood money (diyah) becomes obligatory upon him,

14:11 as occurred with some of the Companions

14:14 who killed certain individuals after they had displayed Islam,

14:18 assuming they only did so out of fear of death,

14:23 and thus killed them,

14:24 so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) paid their blood money.

14:30 The hadith also points to the obligation of steadfastness when facing the enemy,

14:35 even if the warrior is wounded.

14:37 For here the inquirer said to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him):

14:42 "He cut off one of my hands,

14:44 and then said that after severing it."

14:48 A Muslim must make his desires subordinate to the Sacred Law,

14:52 not driven by tribalism or revenge.

14:56 Riyad al-Salihin.

Riyadh Al-Salehin | Episode (57) | Chapter on the signs of God Almighty’s love for the servant

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