Ramadan Reflection Day 10 Politeness

Day Ten of Ramadan. A reading from the book "The Call of Allah" by Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi. Today we talk about Politeness and how the Prophet (saws) taught the importance of being polite with Allah, yourself, and others.

Transcript

Welcome to the University of Sufism's Ramadan reading of Rosina Fawzi al-Rawi's book,

The Call of Allah,

A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.

Today I will be sharing day 10 about good manners in Islam,

Otherwise known as adab.

For behold thou,

Muhammad,

Keepest indeed to a sublime way of life.

Quran 68,

4.

Thus does Allah describe his beloved prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

In the Quran.

Our greatest teacher,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said,

I was only sent to perfect good character.

To develop a good character,

Husna al-akhlaq,

Was one of the major obligations of the prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

To his fellow human beings and to all the generations that followed.

When Aisha,

Mother of the believers,

Was asked about the character of the prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

She said,

The character of the messenger of Allah was the Quran.

The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Demonstrated to us through his own life how to integrate the commands of the Quran into our life.

In his gentle kindness,

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Showed us how to transform our weaknesses and negative traits and find the path to God's love.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Showed us and set an example to us of how we can develop inner unity and form a peaceful unity in society by practicing trust in God,

Goodness,

Creativity,

And generosity,

By acquiring knowledge through self-control,

By being attentive,

And by listening to our fellow human beings and to all of creation.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Was not interested in power,

Fame,

Or money.

His life was and remains an example for us,

Which shows us how we can please Allah and experience his love here on earth.

The prophet,

Muhammad,

Alayhu as-salam,

Taught us the manners and traits of character which lead us to our true being and to Allah.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Also showed us how to bring together purification on the inside and surrender on the outside.

For example,

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said two traits are not combined in a believer.

Stinginess and bad manners.

Al-Amin,

The trustworthy,

Taught us the importance of sincerity.

The worst amongst the people are those who are two-faced.

They come to some people with one face and to others with the other face.

His,

Alayhu as-salam,

Teachings dealt with everyday life because this is where we practice transforming our character.

This is how he,

Alayhu as-salam,

Showed us good eating manners,

As in the hadith transmitted by Umar bin Abi Salama.

When I was a boy,

I was under the guardianship of the prophet.

Once I was sitting in his lap,

My hand went distractedly around the dish.

Then the messenger of Allah said to me,

Oh boy,

First say in the name of Allah and then eat only with your right hand and always eat from the dish which is closer to you.

Allah says in the Quran,

Eat and drink freely,

But do not waste.

Verily,

He does not love the wasteful.

Quran 7.

31 The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Explained to us how to act accordingly.

It is sufficient for the son of Adam to only eat what will support his back.

If he absolutely wants to have more,

Then he must divide the quantities as follows.

A third for food,

A third for drink,

And a third for his breath.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Also said,

Eat together and do not eat separately,

For the blessing is in being together.

Al-Mustafa,

The chosen one,

Alayhu as-salam,

Taught us time and again how to attain God-consciousness and the outer rules that make it possible for us to express our love for Allah and the prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

In our life.

Quran 4.

86 Allah says,

When you are greeted with a greeting of peace,

Answer with an even more beautiful greeting,

Or at least with the like thereof.

Quran 4.

86 The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Gives us an explanation of the deep meaning of the greeting of peace.

By the one in whose hand is my soul,

You will not enter paradise until you believe,

And you will not believe until you love one another.

Shall I not tell you of something which,

If you do it,

You will love one another?

Spread the greeting of peace amongst yourselves.

To spread the greeting of peace among the people is the basis of love and trust among them.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Also showed us rules such as,

The rider should greet the pedestrian,

The pedestrian should greet the one who is seated,

And the small group should greet the larger.

The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Always had refinement,

Mindfulness,

Dignity,

And the strengthening of our God-consciousness at heart.

The Quran tells us,

Who spend in his way in time of plenty and in time of hardship,

And hold in check their anger and pardon their fellow men.

Quran 3.

134 Allah's messenger,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said,

Strength does not show itself in skillful wrestling.

They said,

Messenger of Allah,

Who is strong then?

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said,

The one who can control his anger when he has a fit of rage.

The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Also said,

Fasting is a shield.

When one of you fasts,

He should neither be indecent or behave stupidly.

When someone quarrels with him or deliberately annoys him,

He should say,

I am fasting,

I am fasting.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Explained to us that fasting is a shield because in this state we are reminded that our love to Allah is stronger than our urge to retaliate.

He,

Alayhu as-salam,

Showed us how essential it is in Islam to respect the sensitivity of our fellow human beings,

Not to hurt their hearts,

To strengthen one another,

To be there for one another,

And to live out the innate generosity God has given us because being generous is to express our trust in Allah and to surrender to Him.

Kindness,

Rizq,

Is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty.

It is not withdrawn from anything,

But it makes it ugly.

The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said,

Learning to listen to the one who speaks without interrupting them until they are finished is a way to honor them,

And it also teaches us dignified self-control.

On the day of the farewell pilgrimage,

Our beloved prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Told one of his companions,

Tell the people they should listen.

Our beloved prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Taught us that it is not acceptable to take someone else's seat just because they have gone to the wrong side.

It is not acceptable to take someone else's seat just to get something.

The prophet,

Alayhu as-salam,

Forbade that and said,

No one may ask another person to get up to sit in their place.

Instead,

Make space for one another and enlarge the circle.

If someone stands up from their place and returns to it,

He has an even greater right to it.

Showing compassion and kindness,

Taking time for others,

Is to experience paradise on earth.

For the messenger of Allah,

Alayhu as-salam,

Told us,

The one who visits the sick remains in paradise and enjoys its fruit as long as he stays with the sick.

We all make mistakes,

But we should never gloat over others' weaknesses and mistakes.

Neither should we disclose them because it might make us look better for a moment.

Such is the attitude of the believer.

The messenger of Allah,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said,

Whoever conceals the faults of others in this world,

Allah will conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.

The messenger of Allah,

Alayhu as-salam,

Explains to us what a great responsibility it is to do.

We carry when we lead other people or when we are in charge of them,

For instance,

In a business.

Every human being to whom Allah has granted the authority to lead other human beings and who does not honestly take care of them will never feel the fragrance of paradise.

May we never forget that he,

Alayhu as-salam,

Said that we are all connected.

The believers and their mutual kindness,

Compassion,

And sympathy are just like one body.

When one of the limbs suffer,

The whole body responds with fever and sleeplessness.

All these instructions can be summed up in the concept of adab.

Adab is good behavior.

It is an attitude of bowing deeply in front of Allah which expresses itself on the outside by endeavoring to respect self and creation.

It is a way of being with God in our deeds and our conduct to bring our love and gratefulness to Allah,

Into our daily life,

And into the way we deal with ourself and others.

Of course,

There are also limits to adab.

Our tradition says that we should cover other people's mistakes if they do not lead to any harm for the community and keep our admonition confidential.

However,

Those errors and mistakes which are likely to be contagious or mislead others must be disclosed.

May the beloved of Allah,

Alayhu as-salam,

Always live in our hearts as a guiding star,

Especially during the blessed month of Ramadan.

May we never forget our polite conduct.

Adab.

Practice suggested for today.

Today,

Take time to listen to the following supplication two or three times if you can,

Inshallah.

I have turned my face sincerely towards him who has brought forth the heavens and the earth.

And I am not of those who associate others with Allah.

Indeed,

My prayer,

My sacrifice,

My life,

And my death are for Allah,

Lord of the worlds.

No partner has he.

This I am commanded and I am of the Muslims.

O Allah,

You are the sovereign.

None but you has the right to be worshipped.

You are my Lord and I am your servant.

I have wronged my own soul and have acknowledged my sin.

Forgive me all my sins,

For no one forgives sins except you.

Guide me to the best of characters,

For none can guide to them other than you.

And deliver me from the worst of characters,

For none can deliver me from them.

Other than you.

Here I am,

Answering your call,

Happy to serve you.

All is good in your hands and evil does not come from you.

I exist by your will and to you I shall return.

Blessed and high are you.

I seek your forgiveness and repent unto you.

Ameen.

One more time.

I have turned my face sincerely towards him who has brought forth the heavens and the earth.

And I am not of those who associate others with Allah.

Indeed,

My prayer,

My sacrifice,

My life and my death are for Allah,

Lord of the worlds.

No partner has he.

This I am commanded and I am of the Muslims.

O Allah,

You are the sovereign.

None but you has the right to be worshipped.

You are my Lord and I am your servant.

I have wronged my own soul and have acknowledged my sin.

Forgive me all my sins,

For no one forgives sins except you.

Guide me to the best of characters,

For none can guide to them other than you.

And deliver me from the worst of characters,

For none can deliver me from them.

Other than you.

Here I am,

Answering your call,

Happy to serve you.

All good is in your hands and evil does not come from you.

I exist by your will and to you I shall return.

Blessed and high are you.

I seek your forgiveness and repent unto you.

Ameen.

Thank you for joining us for Day 10 and have a blessed day.