EXCUSES, EXPECTATIONS AND TAUWBA

EXCUSES, EXPECTATIONS AND TAUWBA

Mandated Excuses: Excuses of this type are characterized as dispensation, or those acts that are omitted or modified due to excessive hardship. Examples: eating pork if on the verge of starving to death, etc. This is a part of Deeni teachings as all possibilities and eventualities are covered in the shariah. “…Allah places no burden greater than you can bear.” (7:42) The standard interpretation of this ayat is “…that belief and virtues which will bring out a mighty reward in the Hereafter are not difficult things that may be beyond the capacity of man. It means salat, sawum, zakat and hajj and other obligations are not beyond the power of man”. Tafsir-Usmani (The Noble Qur’an), by Allama Shabbir Ahmad Us’mani Vol. 1 pg. 674 This explanation shouldn’t be misinterpreted to mean there is no difficulty in fulfilling one’s duty, it is the excessive hardship that would make it, “…impossible for them to continually endure because they would be cut off, unable to go on, and damage and harm would affect their persons, possessions, or other concerns.” Reliance of the traveler translated by Noah Hamim Keller. Pg 42

On the personal level, to truthfully access one’s motivation introspectively by thinking ‘why did I do that’ or ‘I shouldn’t have done that’ and ‘I will not do that again’ by the mandate of Islam are forms of istigfar/seeking Allah’s forgiveness and repentance/tauwba. Ethics of Islam by Muhammed Hadimi pg. 153 This is an important religious principle that connects striving against sinfulness by acknowledging sins and the character flaws that may lead to/motivate them without excuses. The opposite of this is most often reflected in the common phrases ‘people are people’, ‘nobody’s perfect’ or ‘that’s the way he/she is’ are examples of the flawed reasoning that leads to excusing one’s sinful behavior starting with the diseases of the heart. In principle, this action is similar to the niyyah preceding an obligatory or good religious act but from the opposite/sinful direction. Simply stated, it is another type of jahiliyah baggage, the antithesis of introspection, I’tibar (self-admonishment) and ultimately tauwba.

When the above religious and moral prescriptions for self-improvement and the development of taqwa are treated with indifference or characterized as slightly more than a personal or unnecessary idiosyncratic ‘expectation’, a priority area of Islamic teaching will be undervalued, neglected and ultimately abandoned. This sequence effectively reduces the self-reformation aspect of Islam to slightly more than lip-service instead of an important element of the ethical/moral teaching of Islam. When such thinking and the behaviors based on it are allowed to settle in the soul by repetitive habit the corresponding damage is the potential for the destruction of any incentive for personal reformation along with the actual methodology for its implementation. It is in this light that our scholars remind us of the two qualities needed to maintain the moral/spiritual health of the individual as well as the Muslim social order based on the religious principles of Maroof/Munkar (enjoining good/forbidding evil). First is accepting Irshad (guidance) and then Istima’ (receptivity), the ability to admit one’s errors and accept good advice. Mahmud Shaltut and Islamic Modernism by Kate Zeberi pg. 50

Among the important adab (etiquette) of brotherhood Muslims are required to maintain is being compassionate and forgiving. “Accepting excuses and forgiving shortcomings are attributes of Allahu ta’ala.” Ethics of Islam by Muhammed Hadimi Thus, when an excuse is remorsefully expressed, brother or sister Muslims are required to accept it and incline to forgiving someone. On the other hand, excuses that are intended to deceive or tainted with the arrogance of Iblis “I am better than he” (7:12) similar to the above phrases are disliked or haraam for several reasons: 1) untruthfulness is a type of moral dishonesty. Whereas Muslims are exhorted to be truthful in all things; which is emphasized when related to one's behavior and inner condition. This is why in a serrah or ahadith report the Prophet (pbuh) spoke of Abu Bakr’s (rah) excellence due to what ‘resides in his heart’, meaning his strong belief in Allah, His Messenger, and introspective insight. 2) Although excuses presented to conceal faults are allowed, there is always the danger of deceit evolving into self-deception leading to another antitheses of faith—hypocrisy. 3) Untruthfulness not only sets in motion the denigration of one’s moral core but Iman as well because of not acknowledging/accepting responsibility for one's sinful actions. Muslim scholars explain this as opposite the meaning and effect of two of the beliefs that are often mentioned together in the Qur’an: Belief in Allah and the last Day/Hereafter.  

All Muslims, particularly those of us who are indigenous, should begin to look at our environment, upbringing and the cultural norms based on the Judeo-Christian tradition as reasons why such ideas and thinking remain after accepting Islam. The truth of this perception shouldn’t be hard to grasp considering the belief of ‘original sin’ that translates into humanities inherent sinfulness, requiring a savior.* Despite Muslims openly rejecting the latter, the former seems to be alive and well. Another contributing factor is neglect of qualified teachers/scholars based on the above presumption of sinfulness or ineptitude. This accounts for the scapegoating blame placed on the religious scholars whenever the issue of the ignorance of the rank and file among the Ummah is raised. The primary charge is their abandoning the work of educating the masses. Some years ago a brother gave this same argument and presented the Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) daw’ah work during the Meccan phase of his mission as proof. 

     Upon historical review of certain incidents and the revelation of several Qur’anic ayats along with prophetic statements should put such claims or ‘charges’ in perspective. First: when           Rasulullah (pbuh) announced his Mission it started with condemning the evils of Shirk   (polytheism) and preaching Allah’s Tawheed. The believers who responded to His call were     given more information on this priority belief, his status as Allah’s messenger and reminded of           the fortitude true faith develops in response to the hardships and oppression encountered by             the Prophet’s and believers in times past. Second, it was the Medinan period of the prophetic   mission that scholars universally acknowledge as the legislative era that made teaching         necessary as new laws, practices and prohibitions were first revealed that would later become    established norms: Sunnat-Rasul/Muslimeen. Third, the problem of mass education was    addressed by Allah (shwta) in the last phases of the prophetic mission. 

     “THE ARABS OF THE DESERT ARE THE WORST IN UNBELIEF AND HYPOCRISY,      AND THE MOST FITTED TO BE IN IGNORANCE OF THE COMMAND WHICH      ALLAH HATH SENT DOWN TO HIS PROPHET, BUT ALLAH IS ALL-KNOWING,      ALL-WISE (9:97).  "NOR SHOULD ALL THE BELIEVERS GO FORTH TOGETHER,      IF A CONTINGENT FROM EVERY HABITATION REMAINED BEHIND THEY      COULD DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO STUDIES IN RELIGION AND ADMONISH      THE PEOPLE WHEN THEY RETURN TO THEM THAT THEY MAY LEARN TO      GUARD AGAINST EVIL.” (9:122) According to the Mufassireen the above ayats were      revealed after the Tabuk expedition which took place in the 9th year after Hijra.  This was the      22nd year of the Prophet's mission, and one year prior to its end.  Islam at this time had been      accepted by most of Arabia, which proved to be a blessing and a trial.  The blessing was entire      tribes or clans embracing Islam, effectively increasing the numerical strength of the Ummah.  The trial was that many of the tribes lived outside of Medina and could not (or in some cases    would not) attempt to commute to it on a regular basis, preventing them from acquiring more detailed knowledge of the beliefs and practices of Islam after its acceptance.

     The previous ayats actually go together in presenting the overall picture, for while verse 97      diagnosed the symptoms (ignorance), verse 122 gives the remedy. Some commentators believe      this verse is the first command given to the Prophet (pbuh) regarding mass education to deal   with the problem of uneducated converts and followers.  The crux of the argument in the above      verse concerning the outlying tribes was their refusal to come to Medina and learn from the      Prophet (pbuh) resulted in the perpetuation of erroneous practices and habits carried over from      the Days of Ignorance. Here we see the interconnection between religious knowledge, faith, and      taqwa; specifically religious knowledge developing taqwa. Equally important is the matter of      acquiring religious knowledge from credible and authoritative sources, for if this was not a      major concern why does verse 122 indicate the basic protocol of education meaning to seek it      “from those who know” given the background of continued military actions at that time?      Excerpted From an unpublished article by the author, ‘The purpose of knowledge’.

“Expecting something without doing any action which would produce that expected result is called wishful thinking”…On the other hand, expecting something after doing actions that would produce the result is called hope or expectation”…Wishful thinking leads to laziness. Expectation…is the cause of work and production”. Ethics of Islam by Muhammed Hadimi, pg. 39 The scholar’s explanation/assessment of wishful thinking and expectation shows the connection between the theoretical/abstract and action that rings true for most human behavior reflecting the meaning of several prophetic statements on ‘fear and hope’ and the perfection of Islam, i.e. faith and action directed by revealed knowledge. Similar in principal is the reasons for the descriptions of believers given in both Qur’an and Sunnah serving a two-fold purpose: 1) providing a standard or criteria of what believers should aspire or ‘measure up’ to. And 2) to access their actions within the parameters’ of halal and haraam which indicates either distance from or proximity to the Serat-tal-mustaqeem. On the other hand the descriptions of unbelievers, hypocrites/fassekeen given in the religious texts indicate the actions/beliefs that are to be avoided or abstained from as the antithesis of Iman and taqwa. Therefore, assessing one’s behavior and expectation regarding the actions of believers based on Islamic teachings in principal is neither overtly judgmental or unimportant. However, when this principle is distorted by a prideful motivation to fault-find, slander or throw aspersions on someone’s character or work without credible proof from the shariah it becomes a violation of a brother Muslim’s honor/reputation and thus haraam.    

The beliefs of hell and the Jennat/paradise being attainable by striving to implement virtuous acts based on correct beliefs reflect the value and necessity of expectation as a part of faith. Would Allah promise reward if unattainable or threaten Hell if sinfulness was unavoidable?  And what greater motivation would there be without the expectation of the Jennat and fear of An—Nar/Jahannum as some scholars believe fear of Allah is actually fear of His punishment.  In short, Muslims are always obliged to obey Allah (awj) while consistently seeking His guidance and mercy to fulfill their duties.  

*A detailed examination is in my pending book.