A Muslim Convert Once More

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is my answer to a Quora question: “ Is working at an insurance company haram or halal ? ” To claim anything is haram in fiqh al-mu’amalah , there has to be a good reason.   Insurance is a means to mitigate risk by pooling risk.   A contract is created, represented by the individual policies, where legal persons attain financial reimbursement for losses incurred that are covered within the schedule of the policy.   In what manner would that be contrary to the shari’ah ?   Some people make the claim there this is riba’ , but riba’ entails an element of zhulm , oppression, to create wealth out of nothing, through some form of financial manipulation or creating an undue advantage through a skewed system or unfair contract.   Unless the insurance contract was made in bad faith and involved some form of undue advantage, and people are defrauded, there is no claim to it being haram .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh Shahab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Mursi ( q.s. ) said, “Whoever has no shaykh in this business has no joy.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Abu Muhammad Sahl ibn ‘Abdullah at-Tustari ( q.s. ) said, “Beware of the company of three sorts of people: heedless tyrants, reciters who flatter, and ignorant false Sufis.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali said, in Uswul ath-Thariqa’ , “Anyone who has one of five qualities is not valid to be a shaykh : ignorance of the diyn , failing to respect the Muslims, being involved in what does not concern him, following passion in everything and bad character without concern.”   So the company of someone like this is pure harm.   He indicates this: “It may well be that you are in a bad state - but to keep company with someone worse than you would allow you to see good in yourself.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ One of the reports states that Jesus ( a.s. ), son of Mary ( a.s. ) passed by a sleeping man while the people were worshipping.  Jesus ( a.s. ) said to him, “Rise and worship with the people.”   He replied, “I have worshipped, Spirit of Allah.”   He asked him, “And what was your worship?”   He replied, “I left this world to its people.”   He told him, “Sleep.  This is an excellent worship!”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   A man asked Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ), “Why do I see that people esteem you when I do not see that you perform a lot of action?”   He replied, “For one year, Allah Obliged it on His Rasulullah ( s.a.w. ) and I clung to it.”   “What is it?” he asked.   He replied, “Turning from you and from your worldly things.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Ahmad ibn Ahmad az-Zarruq ( q.s. ) said, “The ascetic has three reasons for this virtue.   One is what it contains of the freedom of the heart from occupations and distractions.   The second is because it attests to the existence of truthfulness in love since this world is beloved and is not abandoned except for what one loves more.   The Prophet ( s.a.w. ) said, ‘ Swadaqah is a proof.’   It was said, ‘Of the love of a slave for his Lord.’   The third is because it is an indication of gnosis of Allah and reliance on Him because he spends what exists with trust in the One he worships and the one who refuses does so because of a bad opinion of the One he worships.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shadzili ( q.s. ) said, “My Beloved Commanded me, ‘Do not move your feet except where you hope for the Reward of Allah and do not sit except where you are generally safe from disobeying Allah and do not choose for yourself other than the one who provides you with certainty.   And they are very few indeed.’”   He also said, “Do not accompany the one who prefers his nafs to you.   He is blameworthy.   Do not accompany the one who prefers you to himself.   He is rarely constant.   Rather keep the company of the one who, when he remembers, remembers Allah.   Allah Enriches by him when he is present and Represents him when he is absent.   His dzikr illuminates the hearts and his witnessing is the keys of the unseen worlds.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Shaykh ‘Ali al-Jamal ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Umrani ( q.s. ) said, in his book, “Know that the seeker of Allah does not draw near to Allah by anything like his sitting with a gnostic of Allah if he finds him.   If he does not find him, he must remember Allah night and day, standing and sitting, while in retreat from the people of this world by not sitting with them, speaking to them, or looking at them because they are an encroaching poison.   Nothing puts someone far from Allah like sitting with an ignorant faqir .   The ignorant faqir is a thousand times worse than the heedless common person.   Sitting with a gnostic is better than retreat, and retreat is better than sitting with the heedless common people.   Sitting with a heedless common person is better than sitting with the ignorant faqir .   There is nothing in existence which blackens the heart of the murid like sitting with the ignorant faqir .   Just as the gnostic of Allah can join t

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is an extract of a Letter, from the discourses of Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ): “On cause and effect.”   “We have seen two examples in this dunya that lead us to bear witness to the statement if the cause is multiplied, then the effect too, is multiplied.   The first example is the cause of provision in the life of this world.   Everyone who works will find that it is the cause of his finding sustenance, and everyone who does not will find that to be the cause of his not finding sustenance.   سُوۡرَةُ النّجْم وَأَن لَّيۡسَ لِلۡإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ (٣٩)   That man can have nothing but what he strives for; (Surah an-Najm:39)   It is for this reason that you find lots of sustenance in the dunya .   The second example are the many causes for death.   One person dies because of this cause and another person expires due to that cause.   There are no end to the different causes of death and th

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is an extract of a letter, from the discourses of Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ): “Three types of fana’ .”   “There are three types of fana’ : fana’ fi af’al , annihilation in the Acts of Allah; fana’ fi asw-swifat , annihilation in the Attributes of Allah; and fana’ fi adz-dzat , Annihilation in the Essence of Allah.   Many of the believers have attained the station of annihilation in the Acts of Allah.   Whosoever knows that there is no ‘doer’ in existence except Allah, this is the one who is annihilated in the Acts of Allah.   Indeed, many of the common believers have obtained this degree of annihilation.   I told my students, in one of the lessons on Arabic grammar, that the grammarians say, ‘The Doer in reality is Allah, even if He engenders the action metaphorically by means of an agent, for the One Who engenders the action is inseparable from the action performed.’   That is because it all is Alla

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The following is an extract of “From Points of Light”, by Shaykh Harun Michael Sugich.   He wrote, “Muhammad ‘Amir Ahmad Khan was the Raja of Mahmudabad, one of the richest estates of the Awadh in what is now Uttar Pradesh.   Born in 1914, ‘Amir Ahmad succeeded his father as Raja in 1931.   He was a deeply devout Muslim, an ascetic and, in his youth, a great idealist active in the All-India Muslim League.   He formed the All-India Muslim Students Federation in 1937 and supported the Pakistan Movement.   He was, however, adamantly against the creation of an independent state.   Muhammad ‘Ali Jinnah, who was a family friend, eventually won him over but he did not immigrate to Pakistan until 1957 and then he was almost immediately disillusioned by the country’s political turmoil.   He left Pakistan two years later to settle in Iraq and later in England, where he became the director of the Regent’s Park Mosque, a position he held until his death in

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ It is acceptable to feel down and lost, once ins a while.   Consider Moses (a.s.), when he had to flee Egypt.   He was bereft, where once, he was a man of power and authority.   Allah (s.w.t.) Stripped him of everything: power, material wealth, comfort and family.   He crossed that desert alone and ended up in Madyan.   Remember his du’a :   سُوۡرَةُ القَصَص … رَبِّ إِنِّى لِمَآ أَنزَلۡتَ إِلَىَّ مِنۡ خَيۡرٍ۬ فَقِيرٌ۬ (٢٤)   ... “O my Lord!   Truly am I in (desperate) need of any good that You do Send me!” … (Surah al-Qaswasw:24)   And then, he went down and helped some women water their camels.   He went and he served for the sake of Allah ( s.w.t. ), a single deed without thought of gain, true sincerity.   That is the swadaqah of one who has nothing left but his deeds.   And it is the best swadaqah .   Whatever was Taken Away was Replaced with something better because Allah ( s.w.t. ) can do that.   And He Did.   And He Does all th

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Abu al-Faraj ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn ‘Ali ibn al-Jawzy ( r.a. ) wrote, in Thib ar-Ruhani , ghamm occurs due to misfortunes that happened in the past while hamm occurs due to an expected misfortune in the future.   When someone has the feeling of grief in regard to his past sins, his grief will benefit him, because he is Rewarded for it.   Whoever worries about a good deed he wishes to do, his worry will benefit him as well.   However if someone grieves for something that he missed from this world, then that the missed thing will not return and that grief harms, so practically he is adding harm to harm.   A resolute person should protect himself from what brings about grief, and that is losing an object he loves.   Therefore, whoever has many objects that he loves, his grief increases, and whoever decreases his objects of love his grief decreases accordingly.   Someone may say, “When I have no objects of love I also still have grief,” we aff

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) recorded, in his Risalah al-Qushayriyyah , Shaykh Abu al-Hasan Sirri ibn Mughallis as-Saqathi ( q.s. ) was Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi’s ( q.s. ) maternal uncle and teacher and a disciple of Shaykh Abu Mahfuzh Ma’ruf ibn Firuz al-Karkhi ( q.s. ).   He was unique in his age as regards pious scrupulosity and the knowledge of the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) custom and Divine Oneness.   Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ( r.a. ) say, he heard Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Ali ath-Thusi ( r.a. ) say, he heard Shaykh Abu ‘Amr ibn ‘Alwan ( r.a. ) say, he heard Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas ibn Masruq ( r.a. ) say, “I heard that Sirri as-Saqathi was plying his trade at the bazaar, while he was a companion of Ma’ruf al-Karkhi.   Once, Ma’ruf came to him with an orphan boy.   He said, ‘Clothe this orphan!’   Sirri said, ‘I clothed him.’   Ma’ruf rejoiced at this and said, ‘May God Make thi

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   Imam Abu al-Qasim ‘Abd al-Karim ibn Huzan al-Qushayri ( r.a. ) recorded, in his Risalah al-Qushayriyyah , Imam Abu Muhammad Sahl ibn ‘Abdullah at-Tustari ( r.a. ) was one of the greatest Sufi masters.   He had no peers in his age in regard to devotional acts and pious scrupulosity.   He performed many miracles.   He met Shaykh Dzu an-Nun Abu al-Faydh Tsawban ibn Ibrahim al-Miswri ( q.s. ) during the year when he came to Makkah on a pilgrimage.   It is said that he died in the year 283 AH, although some say that it was in 273 AH.   Imam at-Tustari ( r.a. ) said, “When I was three years old, I used to stay awake during the night watching my uncle Muhammad ibn Sawwar perform his prayers.   He kept vigil during the night.   He used to tell me, ‘Go away, Sahl, and sleep.   You are distracting me!’”   Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ( r.a. ) said, that he heard from Shaykh Abu al-Fath Yusuf ibn ‘Umar az-Zahid (r.a.), who heard from Shaykh ‘Abdullah

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is an extract of a Letter, from the discourses of Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ): “Observing Allah ( s.w.t. ) in everything.”   “We advise each of you again, just as we began this speech, to have conscious awareness Allah, in private and in public, and to observe Allah with each breath.   The possession of these two traits will enable you to benefit from everything heard in this gathering and everything you hear from the people of goodness, as they did not achieve any goodness except by means of taqwa and muraqabah .   Again, taqwa is to obey the commands and to avoid the prohibitions of Allah, outwardly and inwardly.   Muraqabah is the state of observing Allah in everything and this will eternally connect you to Allah until you achieve the spiritual state described by the Messenger of Allah ( s.a.w. ) when he said, ‘ Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state i

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The following is an extract of a Letter, from the discourses of Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi ( q.s. ): “Reality of the diyn and the importance of swalah .”   “The diyn of Islam is shahadah , swalah , swawm , zakat , and haj .   Zakat and haj are not made obligatory except on the one who is financially able to perform them.   As for swalah and fasting, they are two obligations upon every mukhalif , male or female, free or slave, until death comes to them.   It is not permissible to ever abandon these two pillars, so I advise each of you to hold to swalah .   In this stressful and hectic time of ours, we see that many of the youth who claim to be Muslim are abandoning swalah .   Swalah is such an important pillar of the diyn , that whosoever leaves it, has left the diyn altogether.   Allah Commanded us to establish swalah , to perform it in congregation, in its correct time, with humility and reverence.   In Surah al-Mu