Clothe Not Our Beliefs with Wrong

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is a transcript of a discourse given by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad.

Allah (s.w.t.) Says: 

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴنعَام

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَلَمۡ يَلۡبِسُوٓاْ إِيمَـٰنَهُم بِظُلۡمٍ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡأَمۡنُ وَهُم مُّهۡتَدُونَ (٨٢) 

“It is those who believe and mix not their beliefs with wrong ― that are (truly) in security, for they are on (right) guidance.” (Surah al-An’am:82) 

Allah (s.w.t.) Warns against clothing our beliefs with zhulm, wrong, as it will inevitably lead to distress.  To clothe one’s belief means to cover it up with something, and in this case it is covering it with wrongful deeds and actions.  This has a greater spiritual implication as opposed to the theological.  All the varying categories of zhulm will cover the qalb and will bring about grief and misery.  The Christians, for example, believe in the Oneness of God, but worship Jesus (a.s.). 

Allah (s.w.t.) Talks about the signs of the Day of Judgement.  We must understand that this world is His, and He Allows what He Wants to take place.  It is not our business to question His Workings.  Our goal is to find peace and tranquillity.  How can this be achieved?  We do as Allah (s.w.t.) Says in the ayat mentioned above; and confuse not our beliefs with wrong.  On the Day of Judgement, Allah (s.w.t.), through His Divine Capacity to Forgive, will Pardon whomever He Wants, but we should not wait for that Day while we possess the capacity and ability to wash away our blemishes with tawbah.  We are taught to pray:

Allahumma asthurrnaa bi satrik al-jamiil 

“O Allah!  Cover us (our faults) with a beautiful covering” 

Our mission in life is to leave here with a shinning qalb.  Yes, we may do wrong, but whenever we do, hasten to wash it away.  This is how life is; we are not angels.  We sometimes falter along the path. 

One day, the swahabah, Sayyidina Hanzhalah ibn Rabi’ al-Usaydi (r.a.) met Sayyidina Abu Bakr ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utsman asw-Swiddiq (r.a.), and confessed to him that he was convinced he was a hypocrite because he felt divided between contradictory feelings.  In Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) presence, he almost saw Paradise and Hell, but when he was away from him, his wife and children and his affairs caused him to forget.  Sayyidina Abu Bakr (r.a.), in turn, admitted that he experienced similar tensions.  They both went to the Prophet (s.a.w.) to question him about the seemingly dismal state of their spirituality.  Sayyidina Hanzhalah (r.a.) explained the nature of his doubts, and Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) answered, “By He Who Holds my soul in His Hand, if you were able to remain in the state in which you are when in my company, and remember Allah (s.w.t.) permanently, the angels would shake your hands in your beds and along your paths.  But it is not so, Hanzhalah: there is a time for this and a time for that.” 

We have entered the blessed month of Rajab, which means Ramadhan is fast approaching and the beauty of Ramadhan is that if we keep the fast and pray to our Lord all our sins will be Forgiven.  So start training ourselves from now so that when Ramadhan arrives, we will be able to fully benefit.  Remember that no amount of money can buy peace and tranquillity.  The greatest thing we can achieve in this world is peace and tranquillity.  We do not want to clothe our beautiful bright shinning ruh with zhulm.  If we can maintain this, insha’Allah, we will find peace, and on the Day of Accountability, we will find ourselves amongst those whose personality will be bright and shining.