Obedience Trust And Subtleties

Man does not believe in or obey what he does not know. Knowing something and living according to what you know refers to the point where faith and action intersect. Knowing Allah requires iman, and iman requires good obedience.

Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) stated: “Allah has divided the mind into three parts. Anyone who has these three can be said to have had his mind reach perfection. He who is deprived of these has no perfect mind. These are:

• To know Allah well,

• To serve Him well and

• To be patient with His orders." (Tirmidhi, Nawadiru'l-Usul, 2/395; Abu Naim, Hilyatu'l-Awliya, 1/21)

The Integrity of Faith and Action

Mind is the most important blessing bestowed upon man. With it, man has been made superior to other creatures. The first and most important condition for reaching the truth is the perfection of the mind. So, how does the mind reach perfection? The hadith states that the way to do this is to properly place faith, worship, and moral virtues in a central position in human life.

The first and fundamental element that determines the perfection of the mind is "husn al-marifah,” in other words, knowing Allah very well, and believing in Him. Husn al-marifah is knowing and firmly believing that the Almighty Allah is the one and only Godin His entity, attributes, and actions. Again, it is to affirm that His divine personage is free from all kinds of negative attributes, deficiencies, flaws, and similarities to anything in existence.

This is a great blessing that Almighty Allah bestowed upon His distinguished servants. In order to preserve this blessing, it is necessary to comply with divine orders and prohibitions. Compliance with orders and prohibitions is called "worship and obedience" in general terms.

Worship and obedience come after knowing and believing in Allah properly because man does not believe in or obey what he does not know. Knowing something and living according to what you know refers to the point where faith and action intersect. Knowing Allah requires iman, and iman requires unfaltering obedience.

The transformation of knowledge into belief and belief into action shows the inner and outer integrity of a person, that is, their honesty, which is the moral principle that every rational individual needs the most. Being honest makes a person genuine and grants them a better chance for growth in all their relationships including the one they have with Allah the Almighty, as well as those with their own nafs and others.

The unity of faith and action is attained by the combination of three elements. There are signs of these elements in the expression "serving Allah properly," stated in the hadith. These are:

• To obey orders and prohibitions without hesitation and to implement them properly,

• To surrender fully to qada (ordainment) and qadar (fate),

• To entrust all one’s affairs, circumstances, and life events, be it good or bad, to Allah (tafwiz).

Sedition of Extremism

To obey Allah's orders and prohibitions without hesitation and to implement them properly means to serve Allah away from ifrat and tafrit, in other words, extremeness and laxity, and without letting our guard down.

The damage those who go to extremes in religion inflict and the fate that eventually catches up to them are clear in history. Kharijites harmed both themselves and others with their extreme and strict attitudes and abandoned the righteous path of Islam. The Murjiah group also underestimated the orders and prohibitions, ignored the provisions, went astray, and consigned themselves to destruction. One should stay on the middle path of Ahlu’s-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaah and reach salvation without falling into ifrat (extremeness) and tafrit (negligence)like these.

Compliance with the following criteria, which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) expressed in his hadith, is a sign of good servitude to Allah the Most High:

“Indeed this religion is unshakable. Walk upon it (this path) with softness. Do not exasperate your nafs in the worship of Allah (and thus grow cold towards it). Indeed the traveler (who wanders day and night without any rest) will not cover any distance, nor will his mount have any strength left.” (Bayhaki, Shuabu'l-Iman, 3/18)

Abu Umama al-Bahili (radiyallahu anh), from the Companions of the Prophet, relates that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “My intercession does not reach two classes of people from my ummah. One is an unjust tyrant (a cruel ruler), and the other is someone who goes to extremes and goes astray.” (Tabarani, Jamiu'l- Kabir, 8/281)

Based on a report from Abu Huraira (radiyallahu anh), Imam Kalabazi (rahmatullahi alayh) conveys the following: In the early days of Islam, when everything was as it should be and the religious principles were in a pure and clear state as established by the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), the groups known as Qadariyah and Murjiah emerged. They confused people and caused unrest. Through the prophets, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) has cursed such sects that cause unrest in terms of belief and worship, and cast a shadow on the unity and solidarity of the ummah. (Zahabi, A'lamu'n-Nubala, 8/286; Tabarani, al-Mujamu'l-Kabir, 20/117)

The Qadariyah/Mutazila group crossed the line in terms of fate and sin; they declared those who committed major sins excommunicated from the circle of believers and ruled that if they died without repentance, they would go to Hell forever. They were cursed due to their extremism. The Murjiah group, on the other hand, underestimated religious orders and prohibitions. They had the idea that committing a sin is not harmful to faith and that anyone who believes, even if he is a sinner, will not suffer the torment of Hell. They claimed that those who have never performed prayer will not be punished provided that they are in the circle of faith. This extremism deprived them of divine mercy, and they were cursed.

Although these two extreme groups are now nothing more than footnotes buried deep beneath the pages of old records in history books and have no roots left in the mainstream Islamic belief, some circles, knowingly or unknowingly, continue their superstitious ideas, especially today. The truth of the matter is as Ali (radiyallahu anh) stated: "The best of people is the one who adopts the middle path as his principle. Such a person is the door (reference point) to which those who go to extremes and go beyond the limits, and those who stay behind and lose their way will stop by and mend their ways." (Ibn Abi Shayba, al-Musannaf, 7/100)

Those who follow the middle path are afraid of all sins, big and small, in terms of the consequences. Persistence in minor sins is also a major sin. For those who commit major sins, hope still exists in Allah's forgiveness and mercy.

Deed, Intention, Loyalty

Another principle of obedience to orders and prohibitions is intention. Deeds are judged with intentions. Intention is defined as the "will" that determines the purpose of the action. Intention is the essence of deed, the secret of servitude. Worship and obedience should be done only because it is the order and consent of Allah and one should not confuse the masiwa (everything except Allah) and interests of nafs with it. Otherwise, the deeds will be in vain, and Allah forbid, they will fall into shirk. As a matter of fact, Allah Almighty stated the following in a qudsi hadith:

"I am so self-sufficient that I do not need an associate. Thus he who does a thing for the sake of someone else beside Me, I shall abandon him with one whom he associates with Me." (Muslim, Zuhd, 4/2289)

The righteousness of intention is reflected in words and actions, which is called “sidq” (truthfulness, righteousness). Another principle required in worship and obedience is loyalty. What a person says and what he does complement each other. In a hadith narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (radiyallahu anh), the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:

"Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the Fire (Hell), and the person tells a lie until he is recorded as a liar." (Muslim, Birr, 4/2012)

“And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evil-doing), and al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah as a liar.” (Bukhari, Adab, 69)

'If you had put your trust in Allah’

The perfection of the mind also requires complete surrender to decree and destiny. This is to be content with Allah's discretion and the responsibilities He has entrusted to us, and to put trust in Him properly. It is to be content with everything that happens, whether it is for or against, sad or happy. It is reported in the Holy Qur'an as follows:

· “Put your trust in Allah if you are believers.”(Al-Maidah, 23)

· “And why should we not rely upon Allah while He has guided us to our [good] ways.”(Ibrahim, 12)

· “...Those to whom people [i.e., hypocrites] said, "Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them." But it [merely] increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs. So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them. And they pursued the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is the possessor of great bounty.’”(Ali Imran, 173, 174)

The result attained by those who truly put their trust in Allah and seek help only from Him is His blessings and rida. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “If you were to rely upon Allah with the reliance He is due, you would be given provision like the birds; they go out hungry in the morning and come back with full bellies in the evening.” (Tirmidhi, Zuhd, Tawakkul, 4/073)

Everything mankind has is the gift of Allah Almighty. His life and death depend on Him. Submitting to the fate and decree that He has ordained by putting one’s trust in it requires surrender, and surrender requires a person to delegate their life, property, and every aspect of their being to their original owner. Almighty Allah says, “Allah has indeed purchased from the believers their lives and wealth in exchange for Paradise.” (At-Tawbah, 111)

The seller must first deliver the item to be sold to the buyer in order to receive a payoff. Let's remember the submission of Ibrahim (alayhissalam). His submission was so complete when he was thrown into the fire that when they threw him into the fire, Allah Almighty said: “We ordered, ‘O fire! Be cool and safe for Ibrahim!’” (Ibrahim, 69)

It is Allah, the musabbibu'l-asbab (the causer of causes), who gives effect to and removes effects from causes. The fire did not burn Ibrahim (alayhissalam) because, like the whole universe, it surrendered to the order of its creator and did not take effect. The fire’s ability or inability to burn was not ultimately an inherent part of its existence but accorded to it by its creator, Allah (jalla jalaluhu). This is the result of complete surrender. Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: "Before you sleep, pray to Allah like this: O Allah, I have surrendered myself over to You, I have turned my face towards You (your consent), and leave all my affairs to You." (Tirmidhi, Daawat, 5/468)

The Meaning of Surrender

After adhering to the causes by observing the rules of cause-and-effect in life and acting accordingly, meaning taking necessary precautions and doing due diligence in every step of every endeavor, deferring the outcomes of events to Allah the Exalted and accepting whatever He saw fit and however He deemed it fitting to reach its conclusion is a sign of the extraordinary beauty of one’s submission to His decree and destiny. It is not to say "I wish things had turned out differently," or to object to what He chose. Every thought exercise beginning with “what if” is little more than wishful thinking and is not grounded in the reality Allah has chosen to create. Allah Almighty says, “Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wills—the choice is not theirs.” (Al-Qasas, 68)

In this sense, the best thing to do is to say what one of the members of Pharaoh’s inner circle, who believed in Musa (alayhissalam) and became exposed while trying to protect him, said, and to delegate the affairs to their owner: “I entrust my affairs to Allah. Surely Allah is All-Seeing of all His servants.”(Al-Ghafir, 44)

Allah Almighty saved this person, together with Musa (alayhissalam), from the oppression of Pharaoh, and Pharaoh and his followers were drowned and destroyed. Such is the reward attained by those who entrust their affairs and endeavors to Allah and seek help from Him.

For this reason, Our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) surrendered and turned to Him in all his worship and obedience, and he always emphasized this for his ummah. He used to say, “Oh my Allah, I have entrusted myself to You, I have committed my back to You.” (Tirmidhi, Daawat, 5/468)

Let's end with the following prayer that our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) frequently said: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from weakness, and laziness, and stinginess, and cowardice, and old age, and I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave. O my Allah! Grant taqwa to my nafs and purify it as You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protecting Friend, O Allah! I seek refuge in You from a heart which does not fear you, and from a nafs which is not satisfied, from the knowledge which does not benefit, and from prayer which is not granted an answer." (Muslim, Dhikr, 73)

Nejdet Aslan