Part 81

Moreover, both Sahih Muslim and Sahih al-Bukhari recorded that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever calls others to receive sure guidance will be granted the same reward as that of his followers; and whoever calls others to go astray will receive the same penalty as that of his followers.”

Abu Kabshah al-Anmari commented on this, saying: “They are alike in reward; and they are alike in penalty.” Al-Tirmidhi recorded the same hadith as follows: “The world is for four types of people: a man who is granted knowledge and wealth because of which he fears Allah, knows that Allah has a right to it, and gives some of it to his relatives; such a man will be granted the highest rank; as for the man who is granted knowledge but not wealth, he sincerely said: ‘If I had money, I would do like the first man,’ hence, he will be rewarded as much as him; as for the man who is granted wealth [but not knowledge] because of which he neither fears Allah nor gives-:some of it to his relatives, such a man will abide in the lowest rank; finally, the man who is granted neither knowledge nor wealth

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says: ‘If I had money, I would do like the third man;’ hence, he will receive as much punishment as the others.”

The version of this hadith as reported by Ibn Majah is: “This community may be likened to four different men. To the first of them Allah gave both wealth and knowledge; as a result, he demonstrated his knowledge by spending his wealth in the proper way. To the second man Allah gave knowledge, but not wealth. Thus, he said: ‘If 1 had what this other man has, I would do the same thing with my wealth.”” Commenting on this, the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Therefore, both men will receive an equal reward. The third man was given wealth without knowledge, as aresult of which he squandered his money, spending it foolishly. As for the fourth man, Allah gave him neither wealth nor knowledge; therefore, he said: ‘If I had that man’s wealth, I would do the same as him.’ Consequently, they will bear the same punishment.”

If two persons possess similar degrees of Iman in their hearts, they may be considered alike in their Iman, even if one of them undertakes physical actions that the other cannot because of his inability to do so, as in the following tradition: “The believer’s strength is in his heart, while his weakness is in his body, whereas the hypocrite’s strength is in his body, while his weakness is in his heart.” Therefore the Prophet (pbuh) said: “A strong man is not he who possesses a strong body to fight with; rather, he is the one who is able to suppress his passion when angry.” The Prophet also said: “I dreamt that I went to the qulayb, well, to get some water and [Abu Bakr] Ibn Abi Quhafah took the pail and lowered it into the well; when he had filled it once then twice, he felt tired [may Allah forgive him]. When ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab took the pail from him [Abu Bakr], it looked as if it were a big pail. And I did not see such a wonderful man among persons and he went on serving water to the people until they were fully satisfied and then they went to their resting place.” In this hadith the Prophet (pbuh) remarked that Abu Bakr was weaker than “Umar and that ‘Umar was [physically] stronger than him [Abu Bakr]. Ibn Mas‘id also said: “We became stronger the moment ‘Umar converted to Islam.” However, there is no doubt that Abu Bakr’s Iman was stronger than that of “Umar, and that the power of Iman is stronger and more perfect than the power of work. For the one who possesses Iman the reward of the work of the others will be granted for him. What ‘Umar did during his lifetime is similarly recorded for Abu Bakr, since he succeeded him in the Caliphate.

It was recorded that the Iman of the Prophet (pbuh) weighed more than that of the whole [Muslim] community, as did that of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. And during the life of the Prophet (pbuh) as well as after his death, ‘Umar used to be granted Iman and knowledge through Abu Bakr, who would call and help him to do righteous deeds. Hence, Abu Bakr would get as much reward as ‘Umar. For the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever outfits a striver for the Cause of Allah is considered as he who strove; and whoever [sincerely] stays with the family of a striver for the Cause of Allah is considered as he who strives; and whoever has guided others to the good will get as much reward as that of a follower of that guidance.” The Prophet also said: “Whoever fed a fasting person will get as much reward as he who fasted.”

Moreover, it was narrated on the authority of al-Tirmidhi that: “Whoever offers condolences to a hurt man will get as much reward as that of the person who was hurt.” There are many other sayings that iridicate that if two men seem alike with regard to their overt deeds, they may differ with regard to the Iman in their hearts. If this is the case, he who has stronger Iman in his heart will rank higher than he who has weaker Iman in his heart. For this reason, Allah favored some prophets over others, even if those favored [i.e., the best] were unable to do [overtly] as much as the unfavored [i.e., the good]. For example, Allah favors the Prophet (pbuh), whose Prophethood lasted for more than twenty years, over Noah, whose Prophethood lasted for one thousand years less fifty. Allah also favors the community of Muhammad, who worked from the ‘Asr prayer until the Maghrib prayer, over other communities who worked from the start of the day until the Zuhr prayer and those who worked from the Zuhr prayer until the “Asr prayer-—by granting the community of Muhammad double the reward of the other communities. This is due to the fact that the Iman of [Muhammad’s community] in their hearts was more perfect and excellent than that of the other communities, although the latter did more righteous works than the former. So it is with all those whom Allah favors over others.

Allah graciously grants them the means by which they can come to merit His favor. Allah may grant some people the ability to know, or to be patient, sincere, sure, and so on, by virtue of which He favors them over others with regard to their reward. Allah says: “A group of the People of the Book says: ‘Believe in the morning what is revealed to the believers, but reject it at the end of the day; perchance they may [themselves] turn back.’ ‘And believe no one unless he

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follows your religion.’ Say [Oh, Muhammad]: ‘True guidance is the guidance of Allah: [fear you] lest a revelation be sent to someone [else] like unto that which was sent unto you? Or that those [receiving such revelation] should engage you in argument before your Lord?’ Say (Oh, Muhammad]: ‘All bounties are in the hand of Allah . . .”” (3:72-73); and Allah also says: “. .. Allah knows best where [and how] to carry out His Message... .” (6:124); and “Allah chooses Messengers from Angels and from men . . .” (22:75); and “. .. He forgives whom He pleases, and He punishes whom He pleases . . .” (3:129).

In some verses of the Qur’an, Allah indicates the reasons behind His forgiveness as well as those behind His punishment. He also provides sustenance without limits to whom He pleases. He also indicates that He may grant wealth to whom He pleases.

If there is Iman that some people are able to attain while others are not, then this Iman is what Allah favors, and the former group is favored over the latter. And it is this Iman which is negated of the latter group for Iman is what is in the heart, and differs widely from one person to the next. This negation is not accompanied by dispraise. For dispraise occurs as a result of either abandoning an obligation or committing a sin. However, with regard to what Abu Talib al-Makki mentioned, it is said that such people are Muslims, but not believers in some respects; and are believers in others. Accordingly, Iman is negated for the person who fails to achieve the perfect Iman. Such Iman is negated for him, although it is neither obligatory nor desirable where he is concerned; it is, however, required from others. For example, the increase of one’s worship at midnight may be required of some people but not others. Moreover, it may even be undesirable for someone who is unable to do that. However, such a matter is not addressed by the Legislator [the Prophet]. Indeed, what the Prophet (pbuh) declared is that negation of Iman requires dispraise. For it will not be negated for anyone unless he commits asin, which indicates that the Prophet’s (pbuh) saying, “. .. ora Muslim,” was due to this person’s having neglected outward and inward obligations, which is the view of the general public.

Then there is a group of people who said that one might be a hypocrite without Iman. They also said that the desert Arabs, mentioned previously, are hypocrites with no Iman. This opinion was supported by others, such as Muhammad Ibn Nasr. The majority said that these desert Arabs were not hypocrites whose deeds

were not accepted. Although they possessed a kind of hypocrisy, they also had tasdiq, because of which their righteous deeds, deeds that were done for the Cause of Allah were accepted. Therefore Allah considers them Muslims, saying: “. . . That He has guided you to the belief, if you be true and sincere” (49:17). The same thing applies to the thief and the adulterer, who are said to have no Iman, although they have tasdiq. This is the most correct of the three views.

RESPONSE TO THE VIEW OF ABU TALIB AL-MAKKI

Abu Talib considered the person who is blameworthy for having neglected some duty to be among those whose hearts have been [recently] reconciled [to truth] and who have been given nothing. Moreover, he considered such a person to be a believer whose belief was inferior to that of others. As for the majority, they said that if someone is confirmed as a Muslim without being confirmed as a believer, he is blameworthy, but not simply because someone else is superior to him. As the Prophet (pbuh) said: “The most perfect believers are those with the best character.” However, he did not deny Iman to those who rank lower than the perfect believers. Allah says: “. .. Not equal among you are those who spent and fought, before the conquering [of Makkah]. Such are higher in degree than those who spent and fought afterwards. But to all, has Allah promised the best [reward]