١٢٤. عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:
«وَيْلٌ لِلْعَرَبِ مِنْ شَرٍّ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ فِتَنًا كَقِطَعِ اللَّيْلِ الْمُظْلِمِ يُصْبِحُ الرَّجُلُ مُؤْمِنًا وَيُمْسِي كَافِرًا يَبِيعُ قَوْمٌ دِينَهُمْ بِعَرَضٍ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٍ. اَلْمُتَمَسِّكُ يَوْمَئِذٍ بِدِينِهِ كَالْقَابِضِ عَلَى الْجَمْرِ».
124. Abu Huraira (r.a.) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Woe to the situation of Arab (humanity) due to widespread turmoil that is coming soon! A person reaches the morning as a believer but becomes nonbeliever in the evening. People will change their religions in exchange for a little bit of worldly benefit. Those who stick to their religion in such a difficult time will be like holding a fire ball with bare hands.” (Ahmad, II, 390; Also see Muslim, Iman, 186; Tirmidhi, Fitan, 30/2196)
Explanations:
Fasad means turmoil, chaos, disorder and going astray. It refers to all kinds of rebellious behavior starting with disbelief. We can also describe fasad as the act of separating humans from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. The most dangerous kind of fasad is to appear like someone in favor of the religion but to be someone spreading views causing confusion in the minds about the religion.
Those who rebel against Allah and who encourage others to do so as well are the ones who cause disorder in this world. As a matter of fact, the improvement of the heavens and the earth can be achieved through obedience to Allah.
Those people who listen to their carnal soul and Satan cause corruption in this world under the influence of their bad traits such as greed, desires, and naughtiness. Allah the Almighty says:
“… and do no evil or mischief on the (face of the) earth.” (Al-Baqarah; 2:60)
After commanding Muslims to obey Him by being pious, He says:
“And follow not the bidding of those who are extravagant, who make mischief in the land, and mend not (their ways).” (Ash-Su‘ara; 26:151-152)
As it can be seen Allah the Almighty does not like mischief and those who cause it. (Al-Baqarah; 2:205) (Al-Maidah; 5:64)
That is because the trouble that they cause for Muslims is huge. For this reason Allah the Exalted taught us to pray as Prophet Lot (pbuh) did:
رَبِّ انْصُرْن۪ي عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْمُفْسِد۪ينَ
“O my Lord! Help me against people who do mischief!” (Al-Ankabut; 29:30)
Those who cause mischief on earth do not like religion and religious people. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to practice the religion of Allah in a society in disorder caused by them. In such an environment, as acts of worship, belief is also wanted to be under control. People who are placed under such pressure retire into themselves in time and be afraid of worshipping.
On the other hand, since the religious and moral values of people get weak, everyone starts to follow values of this world. Some people try to benefit from chaos and obtain some temporary gains from the situation. The number of those who are interested in spirituality decreases. In conclusion, Muslims find themselves in a lonely situation as they were in the first days of Islam.
Trying to practice the religion of Allah and worship Him under such difficult circumstances becomes as valuable as the extent of their difficulty. As a matter of fact, in our first hadith, we are told that worshipping during the periods of widespread turmoil is like emigration towards the Messenger of Allah, in other words, it is like a travel towards his world.
As it is known, until the conquest of Mecca, emigration (hijrah) was a very virtuous and desirable act. Those who emigrated at that time are praised and showed as an example in various places of the Noble Qur’an. Worshiping during the periods of widespread turmoil is a must and praiseworthy deed just like emigration. Distancing oneself from the turmoil and experiencing the climate of peace through worshipping, evaluating the situation from the point of Islam and acting accordingly is like a moral and spiritual emigration to blessed city of Medina, the city of the Messenger of Allah. As it was possible to save oneself from the darkness of infidelity by immigrating to Medina, it is possible to save oneself from the darkness of mischief by practicing Islam and immigrating to Sunnah.
As a matter of fact, the reason for emigration was to get away from the evil and practice the commands of Allah. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“A real Muhajir (emigrant) is the one who gives up (abandons) all what Allah has forbidden.” (Bukhari, Iman, 4; Riqaq, 26)
Muslims should avoid sins in periods of mischief and seek refuge in Allah from their evil environments, and should gain strength against chaos and disorder by practicing the acts of worship commanded by Allah. Worshipping Allah in good days but showing weakness in this respect and inclining to objectionable acts in difficult times is not a desirable approach for the servants of Allah. The real servanthood is to practice the commands of Allah during the hard times as well. Therefore, a conscious believer should save his eternal life by protecting his religion and obeying the commands of Allah in periods of mischief as well.
In our second hadith, Muslims are warned about the future mischiefs and informed that practicing the religion at those times will be as difficult as holding a fire ball in their bare hands. As a matter of fact, in such times people may change their religions in return for a small worldly benefit and become a nonbeliever in the evening while they were believers in the morning. And during such times everything will become measured by its worldly benefits. No more respect is paid to faith. Believers will feel themselves not wanted in the society since people who cause mischiefs will worry that believers will cause trouble to their life styles. It will be very difficult for believers to live in such a society where no one knows who is who. There is no doubt that its rewards will be in the extent of its difficulty.
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“In the period when my followers are subjected to mischief, those who practice my sunnah are given the rewards of being a martyr.” (Haythami, I, 172; Abu Nuaym, Hilya, VIII, 200; Suyuti, al-Jami, no: 9171)
In the reports of Baihaqi, this hadith is recorded as “the rewards of a hundred martyrs.” (Baihaqi, al-Zuhd al-kabir, s. 151/209)
As a matter of fact, it is very difficult to find people who practice the Sunnah in periods of fasad. On the contrary, there will be many people who belittle the Sunnah and try to destroy it during such periods of time. Those who want to practice Islam will be persecuted and face with troubles. Since such believers practice the Sunnah no matter what kind of persecutions they face with, they will be elevated to the levels of martyrs.
In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) gave the good news to those believers who worship in the period of fasad as:
“Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being strange as it were, so give glad tidings to the strangers! They are the ones who correct my sunnah which has been corrupted by the people after me.” (Tirmidhi, Iman, 13/2630. Also see. Muslim, Iman, 232-233; Ahmad, I, 184; IV, 73)
The meaning of correction here is tha they try to practice the sunnah of our Prophet and teach others as much as they can at a time when the number of Muslims decreases and they are seen as stranger by others. As a matter of fact, in Baihaqi’s narration, when he was asked:
“Who are those strangers, O Messenger of Allah?” he replied:
“Those who practice my sunnah and teach it to others.” (Baihaqi, al-Zuhd al-Kabir, p. 150/207)
Therefore, the strangers who were praised by the Prophet (pbuh) are the ones who protect their religion by sticking to the commands of Islam in periods of mischief and try to direct others to the straight path as well. (See. Ahmad, I, 184; IV, 73)
Another day the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Give glad tidings to strangers! Give glad tidings to strangers! Give glad tidings to strangers!”
It was asked “O the Messenger of Allah, who are those strangers?”
Our Master the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“They are a small group of people among a large population of evil people. Those who oppose them are more than those who follow them.” (Ahmad, II, 222, 177)
In periods of turmoil, great rewards are given even to small deeds. Even if they are few in numbers, good deeds performed in a corrupt society and despite the obstacles of the evil and dark-spirited people of the society are very valuable. Thus, ultimate salvation for Muslims becomes easier during such periods of time.
For this reason, one should serve even more in the way of Islam in difficult times for believers. As a matter of fact, it is very profitable to utilize such periods od time when Allah the Almighty gives many rewards to even few good deeds.
With that being said, one should stay away from the evil things that take place in such times of mischief. In such a period of time, a person who sits is better than who stands up, who stands up is better than who walks, and who walks is better than who runs.[1] In other words, one must prefer to be inactive, show effort only on the issues that are possible to be corrected but stay away from the evil in other matters and spend time with worship.
That is because people then would abandon the right path all together. They would not listen to those who warn and call them to the right path. When Muslims who fight for the ultimate wisdom during such times think that they cannot influence anyone, they should at least try to protect themselves and their families from the mischief and disorder.
Therefore, a Muslim should fight against the evil in the society as much as he can and try to correct them. That is because this is the only way to practice all the commands of Allah. However, if one sees that the evil in the society is growing and will eventually influence him and his family, then he should retire from active life and practice the religion with his family. As a matter of fact, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) advised believers to go aside and worship Allah and protect their religion from the evil things. (See Bukhari, Iman, 12; Jihad, 2; Bad’ al-khalk, 15; Riqaq, 34; Muslim, Imara, 122-123)
Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas (r.a.) is a nice example for this subject:
Umar (r.a.) appointed Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas (r.a.), who was one of the first Muslims, to the six-men-committee to elect the caliph after him. When there were disagreements choosing the next or the following caliphs, Sa’d (r.a.) got very sad. He found the solution to retire to his barn outside Medina. When Abi Waqqas was taking care of his camels and sheep, he saw his son Umar was coming. Sa’d understood the intention of his son and said:
“I seek refuge in Allah from the mischief of this rider.”
And when his son got down and said:
“Father, are you busy with your camels and your sheep while people are contending with each another to get the political power?” Sa‘d (r.a.) struck his chest and said:
“Be quiet! I heard Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) as saying:
“Allah loves the servant who is God-conscious and is free from want and is hidden (from the view of people).” (Muslim, Zuhd, 11)
Because of this and other similar sayings of the Prophet, Sa‘d b. Abi Waqqas (r.a.) retired from the active life completely and stayed away from the complicated things when Uthman (r.a.) was martyred and disorder emerged in the society.