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Useful Counsel

Extracted from

Al-Wasaya al-Nafi'a (Useful Counsel)

of: Imam 'Abdallah ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad
Rady Allahu 'Anhu

Translated by: Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, Madina

 

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

May the blessings of Allah and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the trustworthy Messenger and upon his pure Family and noble Companions.

To proceed. I counsel myself, and you also, O possessor of love and yearning, and every believing man and woman whom these counsels may reach, to have faith in Allah, His Messenger and the Last Day.

Faith in Allah the Exalted means to have certainty, and to testify, that He is your God and Lord , besides whom you have no other god or lord, and that He is God and Lord of all created things, and that there is no god or lord other than Him.

Faith in His Messenger who is Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), means to believe and testify that Allah sent him with the truth and guidance for all of creation, that he was truthful and trustworthy, and that Allah supported him with revelation and sent down the Qur'an upon him, making it obligatory for His creatures to believe in him and follow his way.

Faith in the Last Day means to believe in death and what comes after it, including the Questioning, the Punishment, or Felicity of the Grave, the Resurrection after Death when the Horn is blown, the gathering before Allah the Exalted at the standing-place of the Day of Rising, the Judgement, the Scales, the Sirat, the Hawd, the Intercession, the Garden and the Fire. You must know and be certain that all these things are undoubtedly true. Anyone who does not believe in them is one of the people of kufr and misguidance.

I counsel you to have taqwa of Allah the Exalted, and to obey His commandments, avoid what he has prohibited, and observe the Five Salats which are the pillars of religion, to perform them in jama'a at the beginning of their times whenever possible, and to observe the regular additional and sunna prayers which attach to them.

I counsel you to maintain a state of reverence and presence of heart in the Salat, for Allah does not accept the Salat of the distracted.

I counsel you to give zakat which Allah has imposed on His slaves. Give abundant charity, do good, feed the poor and the destitute, and comfort the weak and the needy.

I counsel you to fast the month of Ramadan, and to preserve your fasting from futile talk and levity. Fast three days in every month, and fast frequently at other times also, for this illuminates the heart and disciplines the nafs.

I counsel you to perform the Hajj to Allah's Sacred House. Although it is obligatory to perform it only once in a lifetime, voluntary performances of it are among the most noble acts.

You should recite the Qur'an abundantly, with proper reflection and intonation, and remember Allah in a collective and attentive fashion.

I counsel you to become loyal to your parents, and to respect ties of kinship. Be a gracious neighbor and friend; enjoin what is good and forbid evildoing. Have a clear heart towards all Muslims, so that you harbor neither hatred, resentment, nor deceit towards them. Those things which you like to happen to yourself you must also like to happen to them, while you should hate it if they are afflicted by things which you hate to happen to yourself.

Be merciful and caring to all Muslims, especially the weak, the destitute, widows, orphans, and those with disabilities.

Protect each and every Muslim from harm, but persevere patiently whenever they harm you.

Beware particularly of wronging people, however trivially, for "injustice turns to shadows on the Day of Arising."

Scrupulously avoid every prohibited thing, whether it be significant or not. Among the mortal sins which necessarily lead one to the Fire are magic, murdering the life which Allah has rendered sacrosanct, save in the course of justice, (6:151) adultery, fornication, homosexuality, the drinking of wine and all other intoxicants, riba, expropriating the property of an orphan, and severing family ties. You should beware exceedingly of all these things, and of everything else which Allah has prohibited.

I counsel you to repent to Allah the Exalted of all sins, and to ask frequently for His forgiveness and to fear Him and to hope for His favor.

And I counsel you to have tawakkul, and to be abstemious in this world, and to be content with what provisions Allah has allotted you, and with His decree.

You should harbor love for Allah the Exalted, and for His Messenger (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and for his Family and the righteous (salihin) and all believers. Similarly, loathe the unjust: avoid them and keep your distance from them.

I counsel you to make ready for death, and to remember it abundantly, and properly, to assemble taqwa and good works for the Abode of the Afterlife. For Allah the Exalted has said:

Whatsoever good you do is known unto Allah. And take provision, for the best provision is taqwa. So have taqwa of Me, O men of understanding! (2:197)

This is my counsel to myself, and to you, O loving one, and to all believing men and women.

We seek Allah's forgiveness and assistance. We call down blessings and peace upon our Master Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

Source: Imam 'Abdallah Ibn 'Alawi al-Haddad, Al-Wasaya al-Nafi'a, traslated by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, in Muslim Word, Vol 3, No. 1, Dhu'l Qa'da 1419 / March 1999, Toronto, p. 10


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