Defining the Hadith "The Deen Is Naseehah," That Comprises One-Fourth of Islamic Teachings
By Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi, New Age
Islam
22 August 2022
What Does It Mean
To Practise Islam As Naseehah For Allah, His Book, His Messenger (Peace
Be Upon Him), Muslim Leaders, And Common Muslims?
Main Points:
1.
The Islamic ‘Deen (Religion) is Naseehah’,
a hadith which, according to Imam Abu Dawood, covers the entire Islamic Fiqh.
2.
Naseehah generally refers to
excellent counsel, advice, or precept, such as speaking good words. In this
view, Naseehah for Allah involves admonishing people about Allah, which entails
instructing them to believe in one God, obey His commands, and refrain from His
prohibitions, among other things.
3.
Naseehah in Arabic refers to
seeking action or a word that contains goodwill and sincerity. In this sense, Naseehah
for Allah denotes the servant's sincere commitment to believing in Allah,
obeying His commands and refraining from disobeying Him.
4.
This is a hadith with a small word
count but a wealth of wisdom and insight.
5.
The Naseehah for Allah means
sincerely believing in the Oneness of Allah and describing Him with the
Attributes of Divinity…. This Naseehah is
meant to guide oneself and others to the path of Allah.
6.
The Naseehah for the Book of Allah
refers to Believing in the Quran as Allah's speech in due respect….
7.
The Naseehah for the Messenger or
the Prophet of Allah refers to faith in the Prophet (peace be upon him) and in
all that he brought as being divinely inspired.
8.
The Naseehah for Imams or leaders
of Muslims refers to following their orders in conformity with Islamic
principles,
9.
The Naseehah for the common Muslims
refers to guiding them to what is good for them in this life and the next,
teaching them about religion and other subjects with kindness, sincerity, and
compassion for them…
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Islam
contains more than just worship, zikr (remembrance of Allah),
or specific rites; it also includes respect for the rights of the servants,
being kind to them, and wanting the best for them. It is unacceptable in Islam
to treat others harshly, disrespectfully, or in any other manner that might be
detrimental to the happiness and goodness of others. Muslims should not treat
others cruelly, degrade them, or cause them damage since doing so is against
the principles of their faith.
Such beautiful
messages have been conveyed to Muslims countless times in the Quran and Ahadith.
In this essay, we'll focus on a Hadith about which some
scholars commented that even if hundreds of hadith were lost,
this one would still be able to provide Muslims with guidance. The entire Fiqh,
according to Imam Abu Dawood, revolves around this single hadith.
This hadith is said to make up one-fourth of Islamic
teachings, according to other scholars, signifying that it covers Islamic
guidelines as a whole.
That
beautiful hadith has been narrated by Tameem Daari that
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The Deen (Religion
of Islam) is Naseehah (sincere goodwill).” We said, “For
whom?” The Prophet said, “[Naseehah] For Allah, His Book, His Messenger,
the leaders of the Muslims, and their common people.” (Sahih Muslim, Kitab
al-Iman, Book 1, Hadith 103)
This belongs to
the class of hadiths called "Jawami ul-Kalim,"
which are hadiths with a small word count but a wealth of
wisdom and insight. The narrator of the hadith is Hazrat Tamim
Dari (may God be pleased with him). He converted to Islam in the ninth Hijri.
He was one of the companions who used to worship Allah for the majority of the
night, a devout follower, and an ascetic. Additionally, he was the first to
turn on the mosque lamp.
In this hadith,
the Prophet (peace be upon him) made the insightful statement that the entire
religion is Naseehah. This is so because Naseehah is
a concept that includes Imaan, Ihsan, and everything of
Islam. What is Naseehah then?
Definition of
Naseehah
Al Khattabi and
Ibn Hajr say that Naseehah is the most comprehensive term in
Arabic. This word is particularly challenging to translate into English and has
a much deeper meaning even though it is most usually interpreted as
"sincerity", "sincere goodwill”, or “seeking goodness for others”
There are 2 basic
linguistic connotations for the word "Naseehah":
(1) Removing
impurities from something in order to make it better.
(2) Putting
back together what has been broken or separated.
Taking into
account both the linguistic connotation and the Quranic usage,
Raghib Isfahaani has produced a Sharia definition for Naseehah that
reads, "Naseehah is a seeking of an action or a word that
contains goodwill and progress for the other person."
Therefore, if you
give someone Naseehah, your intentions and actions are sincere in
your desire for their well-being.
The hadith calls
Muslims for doing Naseehah for Allah, Naseehah for
the Qur'an, Naseehah for the Prophet of Allah, Naseehah for
the Imams, and Naseehah for the common believers. What does Naseehah mean
in the context of the hadith?
The Naseehah for
Allah
The
interpretation of the Hadith narrated by Hazrat Tamim
Dari (may Allah be pleased with him) has been written by the scholars as
follows:
Naseehah for Allah
means sincerely believing in the Oneness of Allah and describing Him with the
Attributes of Divinity and considering Him free from imperfections and desiring
to do what He loves and refraining from doing what causes His Wrath.
When it comes to
actions, Naseehah for Allah entails as follows:
• Honestly
obeying His commands, abstaining from His prohibitions, doing what is best to
remember Him at all times,
• Being sincere
in all of your dealings, maintaining excellent relationships with those who
obey Him, and showing compassion to as many people as you can in response to
this call,
• Loving what He
loves and hating what He hates, whether they be things, people, actions,
sayings, or deeds,
• And
acknowledging the blessings He has bestowed upon us and properly thanking Him
for these blessings.
You won't be able
to do Naseehah for Allah until you love Allah more than
anything or anyone else.
It should be
realized, of course, that Allah does not need Naseehah, nor it is beneficial
to Him because He is self-sufficient. Imam Khattabi states that while Allah
does not require Naseehah from the one performing it, the
reality of this attachment refers to the servant being faithful to himself. A
believer benefits from performing Naseehah for Allah by
cleansing and enlarging his or her relationship with Allah. This naturally
increases our sincerity in our interactions with others and in our actions,
which increases the likelihood that our actions will be accepted.
The Naseehah for
the Book of Allah
This refers to as
follows:
• Believing that
the Quran is Allah's speech and His revelation and that nothing from among the
creatures can compare to it,
• Giving the
Quran the respect it deserves by correctly reciting its verses and putting them
into practice and doing so with decency and submission,
• Defending the
Quran from assault by those who attack it as well as from misinterpretation by
those who corrupt and alter it,
• Believing in
the Quran, accepting its teachings, comprehending the signs of the universe,
creation, and evolution, and pondering over examples and facts leading to the
recognition of Allah Almighty,
• Pondering over
the intriguing details and topics it presents while paying attention to its
warnings,
• And Observing
the obvious commands and demonstrating faith in whatever Allah has meant by the
ambiguous commands.
Naseehah for the
Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah Almighty
The Naseehah for
the Messenger or the Prophet of Allah refers to faith in the Prophet (peace be
upon him) and in all that he brought as being divinely inspired. This also
includes:
• Obeying him,
supporting him, and standing up for him by upholding his honour and treating
him with respect,
• Loving him more
than we love ourselves and our families, respecting and cherishing his Sunnah,
• Defending him
by defending his honour and respecting his status,
• Expelling any
doubt that is raised against him and his teachings,
• Accepting
his Sunnah as a yardstick for evaluating things, deeds, and
statements,
• Adoring for
people who love him, loving his family (Ahle Bait) and his companions (Sahaba),
• Sending peace
and blessings upon him whenever his name is mentioned,
• Following his
instructions and abstaining from his prohibitions,
• And
resurrecting his Sunnah through its study, comprehension,
teaching, and dissemination.
It is imperative
to keep in mind for the sake of the Naseehah for the Messenger of Allah that we
must employ non-violent and peaceful methods rather than violence or extremist
attitudes in order to disseminate our message and defend the sunnah of our
Prophet. Extremist behaviour will draw people away from Islam, and indulging in
fruitless and acrimonious disputes will make them hostile to the Sunnah and
ultimately Islam. We must refute errors or disprove falsehood in an
intelligent and friendly way because Our Messenger was sent as a mercy to
mankind. This can help people avoid getting the wrong idea that Islam is excessively
extremist or unacceptable to others.
Naseehah for the
Imams of Muslims
The Naseehah for
Imams or leaders of Muslims refers to following their orders in conformity with
Islamic principles, not disobeying them, and correcting them when they are wrong.
If the Naseehah for the Imams refers to the learned and
intellectual groupings of Imams, then it entails abiding by their rules,
honouring them, and helping them with their needs.
Naseehah for the
Common Muslims
The Naseehah for
the common Muslims refers to guiding them to what is good for them in this life
and the next, teaching them about religion and other subjects with kindness,
sincerity, and compassion for them, helping them, meeting their needs, covering
up their faults, advising them to do good, and discouraging them from doing
evil. It also refers to removing what is harmful to them, bringing what is
beneficial to them, loving what is good for them, hating what is bad for them,
protecting their lives, property, and reputation, exhibiting respect for
the elderly and mercy toward the young, and not injuring them.
All that is
pleasant and joyful in religion, as well as the knowledge and sciences of the
cosmos, its creatures, and the Creator and His Messenger and their rights, are
all successfully encapsulated in the few words of this hadith. May
Allah guide us and enable us to act upon the Naseehah!
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A
regular Columnist with NewAgeIslam.com, Ghulam Ghaus Siddiqi Dehlvi is a
Classical Islamic scholar with a Sufi background and English-Arabic-Urdu Translator.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/hadith-deen-naseehah-islamic-teachings/d/127766
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