Introduction (cont.)

ഺ J .,.,.. .,. ,.,,,,.. .,"" ଚp ଛ..)) O)஝- ,,\) 9; "Say: I am but a human being like yourselves. But it has been inspired to me that your God is one God. So take the Straight Path to Him (fastaqeemoo lahu) and ask for His forgiveness. And woe to the polytheists" (Fussilat 6). Ibn Rajah points out that in this verse is a sign that everyone will be deficient in his istiqaamah or his taking of the Straight Path to Allah. This is why, immediately after giving that command, Allah has ordered that His forgiveness be sought. 1 Quoted in al-Qaari, vol. l , p. 85. 2 Quoted in al-Qaari, vol. 1, p. 85. There is a problem with quoting al-Ghazzaali and others like him who were influenced by Sufi thought. The problem is that what they are describing in their statements, although they use the same term, may be a different concept than what is mentioned in the Quran and sunnah. In this particular case, it seems that al-Ghazzaali was referring to the same or something similar to the concept of istiqaamah as discussed in this commentary. 3 Siddiqi, Sahih, vol. 1 , p. 29, fn. 89. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi His forgiveness is to be sought with respect to one's shortcoming in istiqaamah. 1 A hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) makes this point clearer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 1 ' · t 1 => ·. "Be straight on the path or be close to it." In this hadith, in essence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was saying, "Hit the mark or be close to the mark." What the Prophet (peace be upon him) meant by this statement is that a Muslim must be in one of two situations for every belief, statement and deed: The first state is where the belief, statement or deed is correct and along the Straight Path. This is what is meant by "hitting the mark". It is like a person who has taken aim at something and has actually hit his target. The second state is where the person intends to do what is right and correct but falls a little short. In this state, it must have been the case that the person intended and wanted to hit the target but he simply missed due to his own inability. This is what is meant by, "getting close to the mark". However, at no time would a Muslim intentionally not hit the mark or not aim at the mark. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned these two cases and these two only, and they are the only acceptable cases.3 Hence, what is required upon the person is either to be fully following, adhering and sticking to the Straight Path or to be doing his best to adhere to that Straight Path, although he may fall short of that Straight Path. Since a person is bound to fall short of the Straight Path on occasion, this further implies that a person's deeds can hardly be sufficient to earn him entrance into Paradise. Indeed, it is only by the mercy of Allah that a person will be granted entrance into Paradise. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated in the remainder of the hadith just quoted from al-Bukhari and Muslim, 1 Ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 1, p. 510. 2 Recorded by Abu Dawood. According to al-Albaani; it is hasan. See al-Albaani, sahih Sunan Abi Dawood, vol. 1 , p. 204. 3 Ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 1, p. 5 1 1 . Hadith #21 : Say, "I believe in Allah and Remain Steadfast" ..: O "' IP ,, ,; ,,.. OJ ,,.. ,,; J, ,,, ,,,. ,,.,. o J ,,., ,,,. "' J_J:.;NJ7 0i IO Ll IJ I Jli SI J\] 4 ^i IJ l}Li WI _ l`i .}=-a J 1;.JliJ \JHIi' ,j b]J ଘ ai1 / { / "No one's deeds shall enter him into Paradise." They said, "Not even you, 0 Messenger of Allah?" He answered, "No, not even me, unless Allah covers me with grace and mercy. Therefore, hit the mark or be close to the mark."1 The Requirements of Jstiqaamah According to ibn al-Qayyim, proper istiqaamah does not come about unless one has met the following six conditions:2 ( l) Performing the required deeds. (2) Exerting oneself to perform those deeds. (3) Restricting oneself to what is lawful while performing those deeds. (4) Acting on the basis of knowledge. (5) Singling out Allah alone with respect to one's intention; in other words, one must have purity or ikhlaas in one's action. ( 6) Performing the deeds in the manner that they have been ordered; in other words, one must perform the deeds in accordance with the sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Ibn al-Qayyim states that if any of these requirements are missing, one is either totally or partially lacking in istiqaamah. What conditions (2) and (3) imply is that a person must make sure that his actions are within the proper bounds.