Those who wear clothes for fame and arrogance

 An important aspect of religion that must be observed is the Islamic code of clothing for both men and women. The appearance is a symbol of what one has in his/her heart.

Sadly today’s modern society is madly and blindly running behind fashion.  In fact, vulgarity and un-Islamic values have been introduced and injected in our society in the name of fashion and style.

The design of our dress must avoid three grave sins: show off, arrogance, and self- indulgence. Also clothing should not be worn for the purpose of gaining reputation or increasing one's status in society.

Ibn 'Abbas RA said, "Eat what you like and wear what you like as but avoid two things: extravagance and arrogance." (Bukhari)

The Quran describes the purpose of clothing:

“O children of Adam! We have bestowed upon you clothing to cover your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember”. (Surah Al A’raf  verse 26).

Clothing worn by Muslims should be clean and decent, neither excessively fancy nor ragged. One should not dress in order to increase the admiration or sympathy of others.

The overall appearance of a person should be dignified and modest.

Our clothes should cover the body adequately with dignity and good looks. It should not fail to satisfy the requirements of adequate cover-up of the body. Nor should they be so ugly and awkward that instead of increasing beauty, it grades the person's appearance.

In today's brand and fashion conscious world, where people spend lots of money to make a "fashion statement" and impress others, we are forgetting that we are falling into grave sins and attracting Allah's punishment by trying to impress others.

Allah will punish those who wear clothes for fame and arrogance

Abdullah ibn Umar رضي الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ عنه reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever wears a garment of fame (to show it off), Allah will make him wear a garment of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection and then He will set it ablaze with fire.” - Sunan Ibn Majah 3607 (Hasan)

Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

“Whoever wears a piece of clothing in order to show off and that people look at it, Allah will not look at the person till he takes it off (Allah will not look at him so long as he is wearing them).” -Tabarani

Abu Hurairah رضي الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ عنه related: Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "While a man was walking, dressed in clothes admiring himself, his hair combed, walking haughtily when Allah caused the earth to swallow him. Now he will continue to go down in it (as a punishment) until the Day of Resurrection.'' [Sahih Muslim].

It has been narrated by Muadh Ibn-Jabal رضي الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ عنه that when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent him to Yemen he said to him:

"Beware of luxury, for the slaves of Allah do not live a life of luxury." [Ahmad]

Allah will reward those who abandon fancy, expensive clothing out of Humility

Anas ibn Malik رضي الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ عنه  reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever gives up fine clothing out of humility for Allah while he is able to wear them, then Allah will call him on the Day of Resurrection in front of all His creation and He will allow him to choose whichever garment of faith he desires.” -Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2481 (Hasan)

Sunnah Duas  while wearing a garment that help to avoid pride and showing off:

Reading the Duas of Sunnah and focussing on their meaning before wearing the clothes can protect us from developing sinful emotions of Arrogance and show-off.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, If anyone puts on a garment and says: "Praise be to Allah Who has clothed me with this and provided me with it through no might and power on my part," he will be forgiven his former and later (minor) sins. -Abu Dawud

Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri رضي الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ عنه  reported: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, wore a new garment he would name it, for instance, a turban or a shirt or a cloak, and the Prophet would say, “O Allah, praise is for you that you have dressed me with it. I ask you for its goodness and the goodness for which it was made. I seek refuge in you from its evil and the evil for which it was made.” -Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1767 (Sahih)

We should remember that the type of dress we wear is a personal choice to submit to Allah rather than the fashion of society. It is a choice to be beautiful in front of Allah, rather than to people. And it is a choice to cover and dignify the body Allah has blessed us with, rather than give in to a consumerist culture based on ego-worship, arrogance and self-gratification.

Patience (Sabr) in different situations & ways of acquiring it: Ibn Qayyim

Patience is required in the following areas of life:

1. In worshipping Allâh and following His commands,
2. In abstaining from wrong actions,
3. In accepting Allâh’s decree and ruling (qadâ’ wa qadr).

This is the advice given to Luqmân when he told his son:
“O my son! establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just and forbid what is wrong;
and bear with patient constancy whatever betide you; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs.” (Luqmân 31:17)

Enjoining what is just includes doing good oneself, and forbidding what is wrong includes abstaining from wrong action oneself.

To acquire Patience in worshiping Allah:

Patience in worshiping Allâh and carrying out His instructions means that you perform the prescribed acts of worship regularly and do so sincerely and with knowledge. Worship that is not performed regularly is of no value.

Even if worship is performed regularly, there are two dangers:
-Firstly, we risk losing our sincerity, if the motive for performing prayers is not to please Allâh and draw closer to Him. So to protect our worship we must make sure that we are sincere.

-Secondly, we must be sure never to deviate from the way of the Prophet (Peace be up on him), so we have to ensure that our worship is done according to the Sunnah.

To acquire Patience in abstaining from wrong actions:

This type of patience can be achieved through the fear of the punishment which follows the wrong action, or through a feeling of hayâ’ (shyness or shame) before Allâh for using His blessings in committing wrong actions.

That feeling of hayâ’ before Allâh can be strengthened through learning more about Allâh and knowing more about His names and attributes. Hayâ’ is a characteristic of people who are noble and possess good qualities, so the person who refrains from wrong action because of hayâ’ is better than the one who abstains because of fear. Hayâ’ indicates that a person is mindful of Allâh and His might.

The person whose deterrent is the fear of Allâh has his thoughts focused on the punishment. The fearful person’s main concern is himself and how to save himself from the punishment, whereas the “shy” person’s main concern is Allâh and His Glory.

Both have attained the status of îmân, but the “shy” person has attained ihsân, a higher status of îmân, in which he conducts himself as if he can see Allâh, and so his heart is filled with hayâ’.

The reason why it is so important for a believer to abstain from wrong action is because he must protect his îmân, as wrong action decreases îmân or extinguishes it. 
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it, and when a drinker of an alcoholic liquor drinks it, then he is not a believer at the time of drinking it, and when a thief steals, then he is not a believer at the time of stealing, and when a robber robs, and the people look at him, then he is not a believer at the time of doing robbery." (Bukhari)

The believer should abstain from many permitted actions in case they may lead to that which is forbidden.

To acquire Patience at times of trial and adversity:

Patience during difficult times may be achieved by:
1. thinking of the good reward that lies ahead. The more you believe in the rewards that are waiting for you, the easier it becomes to have patience. If it were not for the anticipation of the rewards, no goals or objectives pertaining to this life or the hereafter would have been achieved. Human nature loves instant gratification, but reason and maturity make us think of the long term outcome, which helps to strengthen our patience in enduring whatever faces us, whether there is no choice or otherwise;

2. expecting and hoping for a time of ease. This hope in itself offers a measure of immediate relief;

3. thinking of Allâh’s countless blessings. When we realize that we cannot enumerate the blessings of Allâh, it becomes easier for us to exercise patience in facing the current adversity, because the present troubles are like a raindrop compared to vast ocean of Allâh’s blessings and favours;

4. thinking of previous blessings of Allâh. This will remind us of Allâh’s care, and strengthen our hopes ad expectations of a time of ease to come.

-Extracts from: 'Patience and Gratitude' By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah
An abridgement of his original work entitled, “Uddat as-Sâbireen wa Dhâkirat ash-Shâkireen”

Neglecting Dhikrullah leads to the ultimate regret:

The only Regret in JANNAH: 

Mu`adh ibn Jabal (RA) said that the Prophet ﺻﻠﯽ الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ ﻋﻠﯿﮧ ﻭﺍٓﻟﮧ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ  said: 

"The People of Paradise will not regret except one thing alone: the hour that passed them by in which they made no Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah." 

(Narrated by Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman (1:392 #512-513) and by Tabarani. Haythami in Majma` al-zawa'id (10:74) said that its narrators are all trustworthy (thiqat), while Suyuti declared it hasan in his Jami` al-saghir (#7701).)

Abu sa’id رضي الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ عنه  narrated that the Prophet ﺻﻠﯽ الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ ﻋﻠﯿﮧ ﻭﺍٓﻟﮧ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ  said,

“ Whenever a group gathers and does not remember Allah during their meeting, it will incur sorrow on them on Judgement Day, even if they enter the Garden (JANNAH)”

(An-Nasa’ee in As-Sunan Al-Kubra, Kitab ‘amal Al-Yawm Wal-Laylah (Book of Actions done in the Day and Nights) no.10242)

May Allah give us the realisation of the importance of His Remembrance and save us from all such regrets. Ameen. 

Visiting MADINAH MUNAWWARAH

Visiting MADINAH MUNAWWARAH

Madinah played host to the Best of Creation (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) 1400 years ago, and today it still plays host to Muslims worldwide. Wherever you stay – in a five star hotel or in a modest apartment, - whatever you eat, and wherever you go in the Illuminated City, you are a guest of the Best of Creation.

Visiting the blessed mausoleum after the death of the Best of Creation (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) is an act of supreme loyalty and allegiance to the unseen Prophet with whom we have an unbreakable bond. Do we only speak over the telephone to our long-time overseas friends, or do we also yearn to meet them in person? Understand your visit to the Illuminated City in this light, and no other way. 

Madinah is becoming modernised day by day, but let not the sincere be discouraged. The Illuminated City can be modernised as much as it wants to, but our love and reverence for the Best of Creation (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam) will never diminish; the Hajj and Umrah packages can be exorbitant, but our salutations are still taken free of charge from anywhere in the world directly to the Best of Creation (Sallallahu ‘Alaihi Wa Sallam); the icy wind at the time of Tahajjud can chill our bones, but the hospitality of those offering iftaar in Masjid an-Nabawi at the time of Maghrib will warm any heart; the Persian rugs may wear out in the Masjid, but never the quality of our prayers; the landmarks of Islam can be bulldozed and sealed off in the City, but never will it check the progress of Islam; Jannatul Baqi can be closed most of the time, but our rewards will still reach the deceased; the Arabic language can be corrupted, but never will the Qur’an and Sunnah be altered; and lastly, the kurtahs and abayahs can become as fashionable and fancy as possible, but it will never alter the piety in our hearts.

Madinah makes the dream of Islam triumphing over the entire world once again, possible.

Extracts from an article "The Musk of Madinah" By Maulana Khalid Dhorat