Friday, March 29, 2024
Assalam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatahu

Al-Istiqaamah (Steadfastness) of the Deen

In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon You"

Praise be to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

  Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

As-Salaam Alaikum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakatuhu

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Al-Istiqaamah (Steadfastness) of the Deen

After the Khutbatul Haajah the Sheikh mentions our subject tonight deals with: The means of getting sustenance and the doors towards sustenance. This subject in which everyone likes it, however many of them went wrong in the way of going about it. So, the Muslim knows the legislated means and doors towards attaining sustenance of which Allaah has mentioned in the Qura’an and of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم has mentioned and carried those legislated means out he would have gained what has been promised to him. And sometimes these means are called ‘Abwaabur Rizq’ or ‘Abwaabul Furaj’ i.e doors towards relaxation and relief or if you wish to say ‘Abwaabul Rizq’ – doors towards obtaining sustenance or if you wish then say ‘Asbaabur Rizq’ i.e the means of sustenance. So the first means insha-Allaah (the students of knowledge should write these down in the notebooks with the proofs which we will mention from the Qura’an and the Sunnah). The Sheikh continues with the first door of means is :

1. Al-Istiaqaamah (Steadfastness on the Deen of Allaah) : Al-Istiqaamah of the Deen is a door from the doors of relief from difficulty and a door from the doors of sustenance and a means from the means of sustenance. Allaah (subhana wa ta’ala) says,

‘and if only they had believed in Allaah and had Istiqaamah on the right way, We would surely have bestowed upon them water (rain) in abundance.’

So Istiqaamah on the Book and the Sunnah and holding onto them wholeheartedly without increasing in them or taking away from them, this is a door from the doors of relief from discomfort, and a door from the doors of sustenance and a means from its means. On the contrary it is from the greatest means of Rizq in the Dunya and the Aakhirah. And if you knew the following means you would have known how much the people had gone away from them these days except whom Allaah has had mercy on. They want Rizq but they went wrong in the ways of attaining it and the doors towards it and its means except who Allaah has had mercy on them and they are very few. Even to the point where it might come to the thought of a person that if he wants rizq all he has to do is engross himself in pursuing the dunya and leave off the ‘Asbaab-al-Shar’eeah’ – (that is the means designated by the Shariah). So he doesn’t find except adverse hardship and you ofcourse know what rain has of benefits for the Ummah. The Sheikh mentions the ayah in Surahtul Anbiah :

‘We made all things living from water.’

When rain comes, i.e the rain that has the mercy of Allaah with it, all of the good in turn comes – the earth vegetates fruits and various herbs and waters in rivers become plentiful and the cattle and the riding beasts benefit and the good of humans and animals become abundant and agriculture becomes successful and ghee and honey becomes abundant, and sheep, cattle becomes abundant and the market prices become lower. And even the heat it gets lowered a great deal from the people. The Sheikh mentions the ayah again :

‘and if only they had Istiqaamah on the right path, We would have given them water (rain) from the sky in abundance.’

And Istiqaamah as you know as Allaah (subhana wa ta’ala) says :

‘That is verily those who say, “Our Lord is Allaah, then they have Istiqaamah, the angels descend upon them saying, ‘have no fear and do not be sad and have good tidings of Jannah (Paradise) that you have been promised. We are your protecting friends in the Dunya and in the Aakhirah. ‘

And whomsoever has Allaah as his wali or his protecting friend and has the angels as his awliyaah, his protecting friends, will Allaah leave that person to be by himself without any protection? Whoever thinks that Allaah will let go to waste his awliyaah, the ones that are close to Him, that hold firm to the Book and the Sunnah – then he has thought negatively about Allaah. So, the first door from the doors of rizq is Istiqaamah upon the Deen. And visualize the time that the people were Mustaqeemeen – when they had Istiqaamah upon the Book and the Sunnah.

Ibn al Qayyim (rahimahullah) he mentioned in his book ‘Zaad al-Maad’ that he found a grain of wheat the size of a date stone. The Sheikh reiterates : a grain of wheat the size of a date stone. And a cucumber the length of it being such and such … This is barakah from Allaah. So then Istiqaamah would probably lead to having a tomato that would need two people to hold it, a water melon which needs 5 or 6 people to hold it – i.e if there is present holding to the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah, no bid’ah, no khurafaath (superstitions & folklore), no sheer foolishness, no magic, no taking of intoxicants, no ribaa and no zinaa, no ‘liwaath’ — no sodomy and no lying and no fujoor – witness evil doing and no ‘shahaadatuz zoor’ — bearing witness to falsehood, and no wicked oath and not putting off of the prayers.

With Istiqaamah there will be present an abundance of good by the permission of Allaah. Our forefathers mentioned to us (May Allaah forgive us and them and all the Muslims) that they used to sell a young sheep for a Riyal. So, they eat its meat and sell its skin for a Riyal. So he slaughters it, he eats it with his family, his neighbours and whoever comes and at the end of it he sells the skin for a Riyal. He didn’t lose anything. So Isthiqaamah its affair is great in this Dunya and Aakhirah, in your Deen and dunya and in your Barzaakh, in your Aakhirah if you held on to the Kitaab and the Sunnah.

From : Means of Sustenance: Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab al-Wassaabee. May Allaah  reward the sister who Transcribed from the Audio 

https://abdurrahman.org/category/islam/steadfastness-istiqaamah/

Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif, www.thekhalids.org

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