4.

٤. عَنْ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ:

«قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَرُزِقَ كَفَافًا وَقَنَّعَهُ اللّٰهُ بِمَا آتَاهُ».

4. Abdullah Amr b. al-As reported Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) as saying:

“He is successful who has accepted Islam, who has been provided with sufficient for his want and been made contented by Allah with what He has given him.” (Muslim, Zakat, 125.  Also see Tirmidhi, Zuhd, 35/2348)

Explanations:

The most important need of human beings who were sent to this world for being tested is to find peace and salvation in the eternal life.  Thus, their ultimate goal should be finding peace in this world and reaching eternal happiness in the Hereafter by glorifying the spiritual life in this world.  However, due to the impediments of the human inner self and tricks of Satan, it is very difficult for a man to find salvation in the Hereafter by using his intelligence and potential.  For this reason, Allah the Almighty showed mercy to His servants and sent His prophets and books. Humanity can find salvation only by following the enlightened teachings of these blessed divine guides.

The real salvation that the humankind needs is giving the last breath in faith, thus entering into the Paradise and avoiding the hellfire.  In other words, it is to receive eternal bliss by gaining the consent of Allah.  This could only be possible by first accepting Islam and then following a lifestyle in accordance with the limits of the Qur’an and Sunnah; because “Islam is the beginning of all works.”^[1] Going through all kinds of difficulty, trouble, and suffering, the Prophet (pbuh) invited human beings to the straight path.  For the salvation of the entire world, he sent messengers to the rulers of the neighboring countries inviting them to “Accept Islam; Find Salvation.” ^[2]

Since converting to Islam is the fundamental condition for salvation, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) strongly wanted for a person to choose Islam and became extremely happy for them if they find the straight path. For example, nothing made him as happy as Abu Bakr’s conversion to Islam.  (Ibn Kathir, el-Bidaya, III, 80)

Again, when other servants of Allah such as Abu Dharr,^[3] Khalid b. Zayd,^[4] Hubayb b. Yasaf,^[5] and Rayhanah bint-i Amr^[6] found salvation by choosing Islam, signs of great happiness, good news, and smiles were seen on his face.

Adi b. Khatim (r.a.) expressed the happiness of our Master as:

“When I became a Muslim, I saw the face of the Messenger of Allah brightened with great happiness.” (Ahmad, IV, 378)

Another example regarding the importance of converting to Islam is that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked from a man who came fully equipped to fight at the most difficult moment of a war to convert to Islam before everything else.  This is because, in order for our good deeds to mean something in the sight of Allah being Muslim is the necessary condition.  Otherwise, good deeds do not benefit us in the Hereafter.  For the good deeds done without faith, only some kind of worldly benefits are given due to the justice and mercy of Allah. (Muslim, Munafiqin, 57; Haythami, III, 111)

Islam is the Religion before Allah.^[7]  If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be among those who are disappointed. ^[8] This is because Allah has chosen Islam as the religion for His servants. ^[9] Therefore, the salvation of humans will be only through Islam.

One day, Umar (r.a.) saw Abu Talha sad.  When he asked for the reason, Talha (r.a.) said:

“One day the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Verily, I know a phrase that whoever says it at the deathbed, it will surely become a divine light for his book of deeds, and his body and soul will gain the consent of Allah, will receive His mercy and find peace.”

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) passed away before I had a chance to ask him what that phrase was.  This is why I feel sad.”

Upon that, Umar (r.a.) said:

“I know that phrase. It is the phrase of testimony that there is no god but Allah (La ilaha illallah) which Allah’s (pbuh) Prophet wanted from his uncle (Abu Talib) to utter it on his deathbed. And if there was another phrase better than this phrase, he would ask his uncle to say it.” (Ibn Majah, Adab, 54. Also see Ahmad, I, 6)

Conversion to Islam cleanses a human by removing all previous mistakes and sins.^[10] For this reason, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) forgave even his biggest enemies for the sake of saying the words of testimony (La ilaha illallah) and cautioned his friends to avoid reminding these newly converts their previous cruel behaviors. ^[11] For example, just because they uttered the word of testimony (kalima-i shahada), Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) forgave Habbar b. Aswad who was responsible of the death of Prophet’s daughter Zaynab by causing her to fall from her camel; Wahshi who martyred Prophet’s beloved uncle Hamza; and Ikrima (r.a.), the son of Abu Jahl who had oppressed believers for many years.

However, saying the word of testimony is not enough for a complete salvation.  In other words, after converting to Islam, there are some liabilities that one must fulfill. These can be briefly expressed as obeying the commands of Allah and avoiding His prohibitions.

In fact, once Wahb b. Munabbih was asked:

“Isn’t “La ilaha illallah” the key to Paradise?”

He replied:

“Yes of course, but there is no key without teeth. If you bring a key which has teeth, it will open for you. If not, it will not open for you.” (Bukhari, Janaiz, 1)

In other words, religion is a whole. For this reason, it is necessary for us to accept all of its commands and reflect them in every aspect of our lives. When Abu Bakr (r.a.) became the caliph, he announced that he will declare war against those who does not pay their zakat (obligatory alms). This was done to protect the religion. Otherwise, there would be nothing left but only a system of thought that is separated from worship and practice, just like today’s Christianity, and this would mean nothing. Therefore, arguments like historicity which would harm the meaning of religion could not be applied to Islam. Islam presents a complete picture with its belief system (creed), acts of worship, morals, and substantial rules.

Now let’s remember some of the rules that resemble the teeth of a key: The above mentioned third hadith informs us about the fundamentals upon which Islam is built: These are the testimony of faith, daily prayers, zakat (obligatory alms), Hajj (pilgrimage), and fasting.  Islam has brought other commands apart from these five requirements. The following narration of Umar (r.a.) concisely presents some of them:

When a revelation came to the Prophet (pbuh), a sound similar to the sound of buzzing bees used to be heard. One day, he received a revelation. We waited for a while, and after receiving the divine revelation, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) turned towards Ka’bah and prayed raising his hands up:

“O Allah, increase Your blessings and our numbers; do not decrease. Bless us; do not make us despicable.  Bestow upon us; do not deprive us. Prefer us; do not prefer others over us.  Make us contented and be content with us!”

Then he said “I received ten verses of Qur’an.  Whoever practices them enters Paradise” and recited the first ten verses of the chapter al-Muminun:

“The believers must (eventually) win through, those who humble themselves in their prayers; who avoid vain talk; who are active in deeds of charity; who abstain from sex, except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess, for (in their case) they are free from blame.  But those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors.

Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants and who (strictly) guard their prayers; these will be the heirs, who will inherit Paradise: they will dwell therein (forever).” (Al-Muminun; 23:1-10) (Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 23/3173; Ahmad, I, 34; Hakim, I, 717/1961)

As a matter of fact, this essentially was the morality of the Prophet. Indeed, when a group of people asked Aisha the mother of believers:

“O the Mother of Believers! What was the character of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) like?” and she answered:

“His character was the Noble Qur’an.”

Then she said to one of them:

“You have read the chapter al-Muminun, haven’t you? Recite starting from the verse “The believers must (eventually) win through…” and keep reading!”

When the person reciting the verses came to the tenth verse, Aisha (r.a.) said:

“That was the character of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh).” (Hakim, II, 426/3481; Bukhari, Al-Adab al-Mufrad, no: 308)

Indeed, Qur’an formed the character of the Messenger of Allah. Then, those who want salvation must follow all the principles of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.  This is the sole condition to be a noble and perfect human being by improving our character. As Qatadah said:

“Qur’an has brought the best of morals that human beings can reach.” (Ibn Sa’d, I, 364)

Some of the characteristics mentioned in the Qur’an and the Sunnah about those who found salvation can be listed as:

• To believe in the Unseen, to be steadfast in prayer, to spend out of what is provided for them, and to believe in the Books sent to prophets and the Hereafter, (Al-Baqarah; 2:2-5)

• To invite people what is good and to forbid what is wrong, (Al-i-Imran; 3:104)

• To stay away from interest (riba), (Al-i-Imran; 3:130)

• To stay away from traps of Satan such as intoxicants and gambling, and games such as (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, (Al-Maidah; 5:90)

• To stay away from cruelty and injustice, (Al-An‘am; 6:21, 135; Yusuf; 12:23)

• To strive and fight with one’s wealth and life in the way of Allah, (Al-Tawbah; 9:88)

• To fulfill one’s responsibilities to Allah and to perform good deeds, (Al-Hajj; 22/77)

• To live a modest life and to pledge for one’s sins, (Al-Nur; 24:31)

• To purify ourselves from all kinds of spiritual sicknesses such as profanity and insurgency, (Al-A’la; 87:14; (Al-Shams; 91:9)

• To follow the way of Prophet Muhammad, (Ahmad, II, 188)

• To stay away from mischief. (Ahmad, II, 441)

Those who become Muslims by complying with these conditions and those who are provided with sufficient daily bread and who accept it with contentment find salvation and live a peaceful life both in this world and in the Hereafter.

Our fourth hadith expresses that Islam comes before everything else, and the necessity of having sufficient permissible (halal) daily bread and a contented heart for it comes right after that. At this point, regarding daily bread, the issue of being halal is extremely important. That is because the religious and spiritual lives depend on it. Neither worships nor prayers are accepted from those who earn their lives through impermissible (haram) way. Such people deserve to be punished by the fire. It is also extremely important to be satisfied with the earned permissible daily bread once it is sufficient. Those who combine these two aspects will find salvation. Acting greedily, neglecting to worship and to be prepared for the hereafter, collecting money without differentiating between halal and haram, and getting deceived by material goods is the worst disaster which can happen to a human being. Such people’s hope for salvation would be very slim. They must pull themselves together immediately and hold on the prescription of “salvation” stated in the above mentioned hadith.

For the believers who are blessed with Islam and live according to the commands of Allah, there is only one important issue left, which is to pass away with faith.  Indeed, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:

“Deeds are assessed according to their outcomes.” (Bukhari, Riqaq, 33)

 Ali (r.a.) said that:

“To attain the whole benediction is to die in the state of Islamic belief.” (Baidawi, I, 201, [in the exegesis of Al-Baqarah; 2:150])

For this reason, one must try and pray to die complying with the command of Allah as “O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam!”^[12] As a matter of fact, since it is unknown in what state someone will die, Muslims always live between fear and hope and pray Allah for good endings.  For example, under the tortures of the Pharaoh of Egypt, the magicians who believed after witnessing the miracle of Moses (pbuh) prayed saying:

“Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and take our souls unto you as Muslims (who bow to Your will)!”^[13]

Joseph (a.s.) prayed as:

“O my Lord! Take my soul (at death) as one submitting to Your will (as a Muslim), and unite me with the righteous.” ^[14]

These are beautiful examples that Allah gives the believers.  Our duty is to find salvation by living according to Islam and dying in the state of Islam.  Some of the divine statements that guide us on this issue are:

“O you who believe! If you will aid (the cause of) Allah, He will aid you, and plant your feet firmly.” (Muhammad; 47:7)

“Do they not then earnestly seek to understand the Qur’an, or are their hearts locked up by them?” (Muhammad; 47:24)

“O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Apostle, and make not vain your deeds!” (Muhammad; 47:33)