NOT TO NEGLECT TO REMEMBER ALLAH
(Surat as-Saff; 2-3)
"You were bandying it about on your tongues, your mouths uttering something about which you had no knowledge. You considered it to be a trivial matter, but, in Allah's Sight, it is immense."
(Surat an-Nur; 15)
NOT TO NEGLECT TO REMEMBER ALLAH
Do not be like those who forgot Allah so He made them forget themselves. Such people are the deviators." (Surat al-Hashr; 19)
Negligence in remembering Allah distances one from Him. People who do not live by the Qur'an fail to remember Allah for extended periods of time, and so commit sins of every sort. For them, ignoring the commandments of the Qur'an becomes a way of life.
Believers, however, should remember Allah at every moment of their lives, in their words, deeds and thoughts. Failure to remember Allah out of carelessness leads even people of faith to commit sins and mistakes deliberately or inadvertently. In the absence of Allah's remembrance, a person may have problems in understanding the events around him and practicing sound judgment. He may be devoid of the consciousness that will let him observe Allah's limits in his speech and conduct.
Such heedlessness is the major basis underlying all sorts of attitudes that deviate from Qur'anic standards. One who loses his sensitivity toward Qur'anic injunctions may commit such unbecoming errors that once he's made aware of them, even he himself is amazed. Such mistakes should remind him of the importance of keeping one's mind occupied with remembering Allah. The frequency and gravity of anyone's sins and errors is in direct proportion to his heedlessness. Continued negligence in remembering Allah seriously threatens one's faith.
On the other hand, keeping the mind occupied with the remembrance of Allah and reflecting upon the verses in the Qur'an provides one with consciousness and wisdom and makes him meticulous in complying with Allah's commands and prohibitions. A person who remembers Allah continually is more aware of his own weaknesses and realizes that he has no power except through Allah. Subsequently, he constantly prays to Allah, asks for His help, depends upon Him, and submits himself to Him alone. Never does he consider himself independent of Allah, and thus he never becomes arrogant. His behaviors, attitudes and words come under Allah's protection; at every moment Allah inspires him how to conduct himself. He grants him "a light by which to walk" (Surat al-Hadid; 28) and helps him attain moral perfection.
In contrast, failure in remembering Allah leaves a man alone and helpless, diminishing his ability to reason and judge. He will fail at his tasks, since no one can manage without Allah's help. He cannot cope with any problem by his own will and power. Moreover, without Allah's help, he can never attain the kind of faith praised in the Qur'an, because he has committed the gravest mistake in failing to remember Allah.
Remembering Allah is a vital act of worship for any believer throughout the rush of daily life, and in this way he keeps his spiritual bond with Allah intact. Otherwise, he is aware that he will come face to face with the hardships mentioned above.
In the Qur'an, Allah states the importance of remembering Him through His words to Prophet Moses (as):
[He said,] ‘Go, you and your brother, with My Signs and do not slacken in remembering Me.' (Surah Ta-Ha; 42)
When commissioning them to invite Pharaoh to the true path, Allah reminded Moses (as) and his brother Aaron (as) not to be negligent in remembering Him, because it is He alone who would grant them success against Pharaoh.
And neglecting to remember Allah is a characteristic peculiar to hypocrites:
The hypocrites think they deceive Allah, but He is deceiving them. When they get up to pray, they get up lazily, showing off to people, and only remembering Allah a very little. (Surat an-Nisa'; 142)
Allah also reveals the importance of remembering Him in the following verses:
. . . And remembrance of Allah is greater still. Allah knows what you do. (Surat al-‘Ankabut; 45)
Remember Me—I will remember you. Give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful. (Surat al-Baqara; 152)
DEEP-SEATED RESPECT FOR THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH (saas)
In the Qur'an Allah reveals that it is obligatory to obey the messengers of Allah and to harbor deep-seated respect for them. Presently, obedience to Allah's final Messenger (saas) is realized by following his sunnah. A conscious and meticulous adherence to the sunnah can be possible only through a true perception of the importance attached to the prophets in the Qur'an. For that reason, believers of all ages are encouraged to learn the Qur'anic rulings related to the prophets and messengers of Allah. The following sections will dwell on rulings showing the attitudes and behavior that should be shown toward our Prophet Mohammad (saas).
- Not Preferring Oneself to the Messenger (saas), But Supporting and Defending Him
In the Qur'an, Allah states that His messengers have a distinguished status among believers. A messenger is an appointed representative of Allah on Earth, a standard of the morality of Islam, and a leader of the believers. Among His servants, messengers are the ones who display the code of ethics most pleasing to Allah. They fear no one but Allah, unconditionally obeying and submitting to Him. They are men of the highest morals, who set the best examples for believers in every matter. They are very important in Allah's Sight and He keeps them under His protection.
Allah made prophets and messengers superior in rank to others. In the Muslim community; therefore, they assume a privileged and central role. For this reason, a believer must prefer Prophet Mohammad (saas) to himself. The related verse is as follows:
It was not for people of Madina, and the desert Arabs around them, to remain behind the Messenger of Allah nor to prefer themselves to him. . . (Surat at-Tawba; 120)
Owing to this distinguished status, Allah commands believers to defend and support His Messenger (saas):
Those who believe in him and honor him and help him, and follow the Light that has been sent down with him, they are the ones who are successful. (Surat al-A‘raf; 157)
We have sent you bearing witness, bringing good news and giving warning so that you might all believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor Him and respect Him and glorify Him in the morning and the evening. (Surat al-Fath; 8-9)
Allah and His angels call down blessings on the Prophet. You who believe! Call down blessings on him and ask for complete peace and safety for him. (Surat al-Ahzab; 56)
Not Putting Oneself Before Allah's Messenger (saas)
As Allah describes in the Qur'an, the messengers are gifted people in terms of intelligence, reasoning, comprehension and wisdom, and thus superior to other believers. They display the attributes of a believer in the best manner. Muslims should in this respect be aware of their own standing in humility and in the face of the apparent superiority of the Messengers, show them great respect and honor, and support and follow them. Allah expresses this in the Qur'an as follows:
O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] before Allah and His Messenger but fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing and All-Knowing. (Surat al-Hujurat; 1)
Putting oneself before Allah's Messenger (saas) takes various forms, such as implying the superiority of one's own intelligence or disregarding his words. It is unlikely that any believer would deliberately dare to commit such undesirable acts. Yet he should always be on guard so as not to transgress Allah's limits thoughtlessly.
Not Raising One's Voice Above the Prophet's
As noted before, the Messengers have a special and privileged status among the other believers as described in the verses of the Qur'an. Indeed, Allah makes clear every detail of conduct regarding Allah's Messenger (saas), including speech and tone of voice, as the basis of a sincere and correct understanding of respect:
You who believe! Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet and do not be as loud when speaking to him as you are when speaking to one another, lest your actions should come to nothing without your realizing it." (Surat al-Hujurat; 2)
Allah reminded believers not to speak loudly to the Messenger of Allah (saas) as they did to one another. The point that deserves attention here is that beyond being good manners, it is a commandment of Allah. Indeed, the mention of a contrary attitude that would nullify good deeds marks the importance of this issue. It's incorrect to consider this commandment to be an ordinary encouragement of good manners rather than an absolute command. The same mistake is often made with other Qur'anic rulings as well.
The fact is that honoring Allah's Messenger is actually honoring Allah. In like manner, an adverse attitude toward the Messenger (saas) reflects one toward Allah, and deliberate to fail in respect for His Messenger (saas) is most displeasing to Allah. However, the absence of intentional disrespect or discourtesy would not absolve a believer who spoke above or contradicted the Messenger (saas), in that it would be an explicit indication of inferior consciousness, wisdom and character. This is compared to correct conduct in the following verse:
Those who lower their voices when they are with the Messenger of Allah are people whose hearts Allah has tested for heedfulness. They will have forgiveness and an immense reward. (Surat al-Hujurat; 3)
In a similar manner, Allah reveals in the Qur'an that addressing the Messenger (saas) from outside his rooms was a sign of imprudence:
As for those who call out to you from outside your private quarters, most of them do not use their intellect." (Surat al-Hujurat; 4)
Not Entering the Prophet's House Without Invitation
All forms of behavior that burdened or inconvenienced the Messenger of Allah (saas) were forbidden in the Qur'an. Inconsiderate conduct such as visiting without invitation, waiting in hopes of being invited to dine or staying late for conversation was behavior that inconvenienced and caused difficulties for the Prophet (saas) and thus was prohibited in the Qur'an:
You who believe! Do not go into the Prophet's rooms except when you are invited to come and eat. Do not wait there while the food is being cooked. However, when you are called, go in, and when you have eaten, disperse, not remaining there to chat with one another. Doing that causes annoyance to the Prophet, though he is too reticent to tell you so. But Allah is not reticent with the truth. . . . (Surat al-Ahzab; 53)
A believer must do everything he can to support a messenger, make his task easier and relieve his load, let alone wearing him out with such matters and being a burden for him. This is among the greatest duties of a believer revealed in the Qur'an.
Not Considering the Messenger (saas) Indebted for One's Islam or Service to the Religion
Allah may commission anyone, even unbelievers, to serve His religion. That Allah subjected devils to the service of Prophet Solomon (as) is indeed a fact related in the Qur'an. Be he a believer or unbeliever, everyone is merely a means for the accomplishment of Allah's decree. It is Allah Who possesses the will and power, and essentially, He will make Islam victorious through His means.
In the Qur'an, Allah mentions those who, unaware of such facts, presented their acceptance of Islam and their services as a favor to the Messenger (saas):
They think they have done you a favor by becoming Muslims! Say: ‘Do not consider your Islam a favor to me. No indeed! It is Allah Who has favored you by guiding you to faith if you are telling the truth.' (Surat al-Hujurat; 17)
The verse shows that the truth is otherwise; a person who embraces the religion does not do Islam any honor; rather, Islam grants honor to him.
In several verses, Allah states that He will replace people who reject His ordained way of life with others:
If you turn away, He will replace you with people other than yourselves and they will not be like you. (Surah Muhammad; 38)
More than anyone else, people of faith should take this admonition to heart. Allah will certainly give rewards to a believer who seeks His good pleasure with a sincere heart and pure intention.
Complying with the Prophet's Words Willingly and Sincerely
A believer is obedient to the orders of Allah and His Messenger (saas); while complying with the Prophet's judgments, he feels not a speck of distress or discomfort in his heart. He knows that everything that Allah and His messenger command is the truest, the best and the most beneficial. Sometimes Satan gets in the way of a believer to deter him from the right path. Yet, aware that every commandment of Allah and His Messenger (saas) is best for him, a believer complies willingly. This sincere and submissive approach emanates from the faith of a believer.
On the other hand, an obedient appearance that lacks heartfelt submission could point to weakness in faith:
No, by your Lord, they are not believers until they make you their judge in the disputes that break out between them, and then find no resistance within themselves to what you decide and submit themselves completely. (Surat an-Nisa'; 65)
Fear of the dominance of Islam or of Muslims may motivate a hypocrite to display apparent obedience and meticulously observe certain commandments. Yet it is not true faith, so long as one does not obey with ardent submission. Hesitation reveals that a person still harbors some doubts and concerns about Allah and His Messenger (saas). The lack of a deep and inner obedience and submitting only physically to Allah, vitiates a person's deeds. Pretended submission can leave one bereft of rewards in the Hereafter. This being the case, any believer—even though it might go against his worldly interests—will welcome a commandment from the Messenger (saas) with inner joy and happiness and relish the feeling of compliance. Sadness or disappointment over any just decision are attitudes incompatible with faith.
