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" A True Believer Would Not Take Part in Such Matters The Maliki jurist ibn al-Arabi once said that a person is not able to fulfill all of the necessary matters that he must take care of, why then should he get into the unnecessary, extra matters that are of no real concern to him?' If a person starts getting involved into matters that are of no real concern or benefit to him, he will be wasting and losing valuable time. He will be losing time that he will never be able to regain. For a true believer, the only matters of concern or benefit to him are Islam, Imaan, good deeds, the necessary acts that one needs to do to survive in life, such as eating, drinking, earning a living and so forth. These aspects are enough to take up every moment of his life. When will he have time to tum to trivial, useless or harmful pursuits? A common problem today among Muslims is the endless pursuit and study of matters with very little benefit while, at the same time, ignoring the most important matters that are of great benefit. This is a sign that a person's Islam is not complete or perfect. In fact, this is a sign that the person himself may not truly understand Islam. How much time do Muslims today spend studying and learning the Quran and hadith? Compare that to how much time they spend watching television, gossiping about others, debating on trivial points and reading numerous books on detailed political information which neither benefits nor harms them. If a person truly understood and applied this hadith, he would realize that every moment of his life must be spent only in those things that are beneficial to him in both this life and the Hereafter. Al-Hasan al-Basri once said, "A sign that Allah has turned away from a servant is that He makes him busy with matters that are of no concern to him."2 When a person reaches such a point, he must repent and ask Allah to guide him to those matters that are important and beneficial. Other Points Related to this Hadith • A true believer is heads and shoulders above the petty, useless activities that so many people get involved with in this world. If something is not beneficial to him in this life or the Hereafter, he avoids it. This is part of the completeness and perfection of his faith. • Islam protects society as a whole from any kind of harm. Much of the harm that inflicts society is when people spend their time involved in matters that are of no concern to them. This includes meddling into the affairs of others when it is neither one's responsibility nor one's right. In all societies, these types of practices usually lead to great evil. In this one 1 For the quote from ibn al-Arabi, see Muhammad al-Zarqaani, Sharh al-:ZUrqaani ala Muwatta al-/maam Maalik (Beirut: Daar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah, 1990), vol. 4, p. 3 17. 2 Quoted in al-Haitami, p. 145, and al-Zarqaani, vol. 4, p. 3 17. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi short sentence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) recommended a way to avoid all these kinds of societal problems. • If a person truly worships Allah as if he sees Him, or at least knowing that Allah sees him, he would not allow himself to be seen by Allah indulging in useless and possibly harmful pursuits. Instead, he will spend all of his time in doing things that he knows Allah would be pleased with. This is a sign of true Imaan and ihsaan, or as the hadith states, the completeness and perfection of one's Islam.1 • A believer should train himself to avoid useless or harmful pursuits and, instead, concentrate on the truly beneficial and important matters. At first, it might sound easy to avoid matters that are of no concern and not beneficial. However, in reality, many times the situation is different. That is why this is a sign of a true Muslim. The person must realize this fact and work on himself to improve his Islam in this direction. 2 • The believer must realize that he has been given this life for a very important purpose: to worship Allah. When a person remembers that he is going to be standing in front of Allah one day, he realizes that there is no time to waste and no energies to be used for the wrong purposes. Allah has reminded mankindwho loves to toil and playin the Quran, / J. .... ... J ,,,. ;:;; ,... ,,,. ; , ; P ,_ ,, I ". P t I Ր"'·'1; \ ,{• "C. p;_ -- ': ࢂ I ; ··1 , P ; "·'1 Uƈr ;;t ࣟ J -. I • \..-' ࣠ ; ; "Did you think that We had created you in play (without any purpose), and that you would not be brought back to Us" (al-Muminoon 1 15).