Part 8

(0 al ‘Imran 3:19 (1 4l-Bagarah 2:8

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“Faith consists of more than seventy branches...etc.’”""!

A. The faith, which is creed, has six fundamental principles, which are those mentioned in the Hadith of Jibril, peace be upon him, when he asked the Prophet #2 about faith and he said:

“Faith is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Last Day and to believe in Al-Qadar, the good and the bad of it.”.! As for the faith which includes actions and their categories and types, that has more than seventy branches and this is why Allah, the Most High called prayer as faith in His Words:

225 By scl Ai oy Key etd HN ‘And Allah would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered towards Jerusalem). Truly, Allah is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind."*! The scholars of Tafsir said:

“your faith.” means: your prayers towards Jerusalem, because before they were commanded to turn towards the Ka‘bah, the Companions,

may Allah be pleased with them, used to pray towards Masjid AlAqsa (Jerusalem).

"1 Reported by At-Tirmithi in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter: What Has Been Related Regarding Perfecting Faith (2614) and by Ibn Majah in the Introduction (57).

'2] The details of where it is to be found have been mentioned under question no. 9.

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Q. 11. Is a man’s faith proved simply by his customary attendance in the Masjid, as it has been mentioned in the Hadith?

A. Yes, there is no doubt that the attendance of one who comes to prayers in the Masjid is an evidence of his faith, because nothing persuades him to leave his house and undertake the walk to the Masjid, except belief (faith) in Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.

As for the saying of the questioner: as it was mentioned in the Hadith, it refers to what was reported from the Prophet #:

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“If you see a man who regularly attends the mosques, then testify

to his faith.("! But this Hadith is weak and is not authentically reported from the Prophet #2.

Q.12. There is a man who suffers from the whispering of Satan. He whispers things to him that are great sins concerning Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful and he is very much afraid of this; what is the advice of Your Eminence?

A. Regarding what has been mentioned concerning the problem of the questioner, which is that he fears the result of it, I say to him: Rejoice at the good news that there will be no result from it except a good result. This is whispering by which Satan assails the believers in order to upset the sound belief in their hearts and to cause them spiritual and mental agitation

_ and disturb the serenity of their faith, indeed the serenity of their lives, if they are believers.

"1 Reported by At-Tirmithi in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter: What Has Been Related Regarding the Sanctity of Prayer (2617).

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He is not the first among the people of faith to be confronted by this situation, nor is he the last, for it will continue as long as there is a believer in the world; and this same situation confronted the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, . for it has been reported on the authority of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: Some people from among the Companions of the Messenger of Allah came to the Prophet ## and said to him: “Verily we perceive in our minds that which every one of us considers too grave to express.” He said: poe ez

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“Do you really perceive it?’ They said: “Yes.” Upon this he remarked:

“That is true faith."

In the Two Sahihs, it is also narrated from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet #% said:

1s GE is os FE ys OS S51 beet oho “Satan may come to anyone of you and say: ‘Who created such and such? Who created such and such?’ until he says: ‘Who created your Lord?’ So, when he inspires such a question, one should seek refuge with Allah and give up such thoughts.’"?!

"] Jt was reported by Muslim in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter: Explanation of the (Evil) Whispering Regarding Faith (132).

!21 Reported by Al-Bukhari in the Book of the Beginning of Creation, in the Chapter: The Description of Iblis and His Legions (3276) and it was reported by Muslim in the Book of Faith, in the Chapter on the Description of the (Evil) Whispering Regarding Faith (134).

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It is reported on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that a man came to the Prophet #¢ and said: “Oh, Messenger of Allah! One of us has thoughts of such a nature that he would rather be reduced to charcoal than speak about them.” The Prophet # said:

‘All praise and thanks be to Allah Who has reduced his matter (ie. Satan's guile) to (evil) whispering.”"") Shaikhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said in the Book of Faith: The believer is put to trial by the whispering of Satan, the whispering of disbelief which causes him distress, as the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, said: “Oh, Messenger of Allah! One of us has thoughts

within himself of such a nature that he would rather fall down from the heaven than speak of them.” The Prophet #¢ said:

(QUAN! fo Sth “That is true faith.”

And in another narration: ‘he considers it too grave to express.” He said:

‘All praise and thanks are Allah’s Who has reduced his (i.e. Satan's) intrigue to (evil) whispering.” That is, the occurrence of this whispering along with this great hatred for it and repelling it from the heart is a part of true faith, like the warrior in Allah’s Cause who met the enemy and fought him until he overcame him, for that is a great Jihad up to - his words: This is why the seekers of knowledge and worship

"1 Tt was reported by Abu Dawud in the Book of Good Manners, in the Chapter: Regarding the Response to (Evil) Whispering (5112) and by Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad (1:340).

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are assailed by whispering and uncertainty which do not afflict another, because he (i.e. the other) does not follow the Law of Allah and His way; rather, he follows his own desires, heedless of the remembrance of his Lord and this is the goal of Satan, as opposed to those who turn towards their Lord with knowledge and (acts of) worship, for he is their enemy and he seeks to prevent them from (worshipping) Allah, the Most High. This was mentioned on page 147 of the Indian printing.

So, I say to this questioner: Once it is clear to you that this whispering is from Satan, then you must struggle and stand against it, and know that it will never harm you as long as you undertake the necessary struggle, reject it and cease thinking about it. The Prophet # said:

‘allah has forgiven what is whispered in the hearts of my

followers, unless they put it into action or utter it.”"") And if it is said to you: Do you believe what is whispered to you? And do you think it is the truth? And is it possible to describe Allah, the Most Glorified by it? You would say: It is not for us to speak of this; Glorified are You (Oh, Allah), this is a great lie! You would reject it with your heart and by your words; and of the people, you would flee further than any of them from it. Then it is, only whispering and perils displayed to your heart, and a window to polytheism from Satan, who courses throughout the human body as blood courses through it, in order to destroy and to obscure your religion for you.

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This is why you find that Satan does not place doubt or rejection about trivial things in your heart, so you hear for example, of the existence of large and important cities filled with residents and buildings in the east and the west and yet doubt of their existence never once crosses your mind, nor regarding their faults, such as that their buildings are destroyed or are unfit for habitation or that there are no occupants in them and so on. There is no goal for Satan in making mankind doubt such things. But Satan’s important great goal is destroying the faith of the believer, so he strives by his horse, and on foot, to extinguish the light of knowledge and guidance in one’s heart and to cause him to fall into the darkness of doubt and uncertainty.

The Prophet #% explained the beneficial medicine which contains a cure for this:

“Then let him seek refuge with Allah and cease doing it.””

If a person ceases doing that and continues to worship Allah, seeking and desiring that which is with Allah, it will stop troubling him, by Allah’s Power. So, avoid all suppositions which pass through your heart on this subject and worship Allah, supplicate to Him and glorify Him, and if you heard anyone describing Him with what was whispered to him, you would kill him if you could.

Therefore, what is whispered is not a fact; rather it is simply thoughts and whisperings which have no basis. Like in the case of someone wearing a clean garment which he has just washed,

_ and then he is assailed by thoughts that maybe it is impure, and maybe it is not permissible to pray in it, but he should pay no heed to this.

And my advice may be summarized as follows:

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1. Seek protection with Allah and completely stop these suppositions as the Prophet ## ordered us to do.

2. Mention Allah, the Most High and restrain yourself from this whispering.

3. Wholehearted dedication to worship and acting in accordance with the Command of Allah and seeking His Pleasure, for when you give worship your undivided attention with earnestness and striving, you will forget about occupying yourself with this whispering, if Allah wills.