. J i ? . .r--J i ? (cont.)

It is to be brought to your attention that during this year the people of Sham are in very difficult circumstances and are very Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi weak, due to the lack of rain, high prices, lack of crops, death of grazing animals and other reasons. And you [rulers] know that one must have sympathy for the ruler and the ruled. And one must advise them for his welfare and their welfare. Verily, the religion is sincere advice. Those serving the shareeah have written as a matter of advice to the sultan, in love for him. This is a letter reminding him to take care of the affairs of his citizens and to be gentle towards them. There is no harm meant by this letter. Instead, it is a sincere advice and complete act of sympathy. It is a reminder to those of understanding ... And it is spoken by pointing out the importance of being gentle with the ruled as then Allah will put in store for you a great reward: & & J):J @\) Jֆ @\ nop \qr/! "On the Day when every person will be confronted with all the good he has done, and all the evil he has done, he will wish that there were a great distance between himself and his evil. And Allah warns you against Himself [His punishment]" [ali­ Imraan 30]. This letter that the scholars have sent to the ruler is a trust and an advice to the Sultan, may Allah strengthen him. You are responsible and will be questioned about this trust. You have no excuse if you delay concerning it. There will be no proof for you in the sight of Allah if you fail in any way concerning it. You will be asked about it, "The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail" [al­ Shuaraa 88]. "That Day shall a man flee from his brother, and even from his mother and his father, and even from his wife and his children. Every man, that Day, will have enough to make him not care for others" [Abasa 34-37]. You, and praise is due to Allah, love goodness and are anxious to perform good. You, in fact, The Life of Imam al-Nawawi rush to it. And this is one of the best of good deeds and one of the most virtuous acts of obedience. You are qualified for it and Allah has delivered it to you. This is a bounty from Allah. We are afraid that the matters might get even worse if you do not look into dealing softer with the people. Allah has said, Ƞ ISG iJfa::G u'k:"Ď 1\ .:; j Tb ੇ \1\ iփք":r ਸ .:JT ৞ I 1· ; / ,.. , \" ҿ ; :_JA-J ਹ,.. ਺; "Verily, those who are pious, when an evil thought comes to them from Satan, they remember (Allah), and (indeed) they then see (aright)" [al-Araa/201]. Allah also says, "Whatever you do of good deeds, truly Allah knows them well" [ al-Baqara 215]. The group that wrote this letter are expecting its fruits. Whatever you do you will find it with Allah. "Surely Allah is with those who fear Him and the doers of good" [al-Nahl 128]. Peace, blessings and mercy of Allah be upon you.1 One can see from this letter that al-Nawawi had no intention to try to show up the ruler. He was not trying to demonstrate that he has more influence or power than the ruler. He was not insulting to the ruler nor did he use any bad language directed to the ruler, as many people do today. He was not trying to show how brave he was in standing in front of the ruler. Instead, his interest was the interests of the people. He spoke to the ruler in such a way that he believed he would get his message across and the people would be helped. Al-Nawawi would change his approach if kindness and politeness would not achieve his goal. If that did not work, he would put the fear of Allah into the ruler, while, at the same time, making it clear that he feared no one but Allah. After the above letter was sent to the ruler, the response was not positive. Indeed, the response was more of a threat than anything else. Apparently, in that response, the ruler claimed that he needed to collect those taxes for the sake of jihad. Here are portions of the letter that al-Nawawi sent to the ruler after receiving the ruler's response to the first letter: 1 For the text of this letter, see ibn al-Attaar, pp. 101-104; al-Suyooti, al-Minhaaj, p. 66-68; al­ Haddaad, p. 106; Salmaan, al-Rudood, pp. 304-306; al-Diqr, pp. 160-162. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi ... The response that has come is one of rejection, rebuke and threat. We understood from it that the jihad you mentioned in your response is not in accord with the shareeah. Allah has made it obligatory to explain a ruling when need calls for it.