AvoiDing DoubTful MatteRs..

Assalamualaikum..

Avoiding doubtful matters.. or in Malay.. Menjauhi perkara yang syubahah..

On the authority of Abdu ‘Abdullah Al- Na’man Ibn Bashir, who said that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) say,

“That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which not many people know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah’s sanctuary is His All prohibitions. Truly, in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be a whole,all the body is a whole, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the HEART.”

Well, this is quite a famous hadith, probably moast of us had heard it, had even discuss the value lies in this hadith.  This is the second character a muslim in the modern world should have.  The first character is sincerity in action, the first hadith in Hadith 40.

I think that this hadith states clearly its meaning and i not need to give the meaning for every word.

The hadith obviously indicates that Muslim should make use of what is Halal to him and avoid at all cause what is stated as Haram in the Quran or from the sunnah of the prophet.

I myself admit that sometimes, in this modern world it is so hard to refrain ourselves from so many materials that are commercialized. However, this had also been one of the far most common question we asked. Take an example, when you reach in India.. try to retrace your steps.. what was the commonly asked questions?

“Akak, kat sini kan macam mana kita nak tau kedai ni halal ke tak?”

“AKak.. kedai ni halal tak.. tengok macam ramai senior selalu g je….”

Hm… Yup.. I myself asked the question. Sometimes, we strictly steer away from what is obviously Haram. But the other important part of this hadith is steering away from the DOUBTFUL matters. This, we always neglect.

Throughout the years, people had asked me similar questions above, for the ones that I was sure I can say yes. It is halal. But to those that, I myself have not tried, encountered, I can’t give my comments. Personally, if I feel that the subject of being questioned falls into the “doubtful” category, I would try to avoid it.

Why so much fuss?!! WHy do we need to avoid this doubtful matters.?

The successful muslim refrains from the doubtful items for two reasons:

1. To reach the station of the righteous ones. Nabi Muhammad s.a.w said, ” A servant (of Allah) will never reach the degree of the righteous and upright persons until he refrains from that which is permissible lest he may fall in that which is probihited”.

2. To set oneself as an example and model for people.

Based on this book, here are some of the doubtful matters we should avoid:

smoking

Going frequently to places of amusement

Extravagance in playing games

Reading immoral magazines, newspaper.

Corrupt companions

Food and drinks which are from unknown sources.

Well, here I would like to add.. Not to be harsh or anything, but a thought for us to ponder. All these while, I hoped that we notice that our fellow muslim brother and sisters in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places are being torment, treated like they are not human beings. I not need to explain who did these.. But the important part is are we a part of the agenda? Did we supply our money to these cruel people? I strongly had tried to for go the favorite things that I use to like.. So, if I can, so can you..

Again? You might think that all this might be a small thing.. not important. Again, it is on our judgement.

BUT, remember, the last part of the hadith.. is very important…

“… truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be a whole, all the body is a whole, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly.. it is the HEART…”

“.. Sesungguhnya di dalam badan kamu ada seketul daging, sekiranya ia baik, baiklah seluruhnya, jika ia kotor, maka kotor lah seluruhnya. Sesungguhnya,.. ia adalah HATI…”

Do we really one to donate to the people who kill our brothers and sisters??

So, what ever we do, we want to try to keep our heart clean. If we want to discuss the disadvantages of having a diseased heart, that will need another topic.

A whole heart.. is the one is filled with reverence, love, hope, fear towards Allah.. He does anything for the sake to please HIs Creator. That is why to keep our hearts clean, we have to steer away from doubtful matters. Problems of feeling lazy to go for solat, fasting, wake up for Qiyam is due to our diseased heart…

Before ending this post, I would like to share a story, it is about I myself, which had made me realized that I myself need some discipline in control my likings.

“Kak fien… cantik kasut.. kasut baru ke…?” x said.

“Haah.. cantik ke.. terima kasih.. terima kasih…” I said.

” Kenapa kak fien beli nike tp?..”

“EH… Nike..? Erm.. Nike kita tak boikot kan? Nike macam bukan antara yg kt boikot tuk Israel…?”

“hm… tu X tak tau la.. tp yg pastinya Nike tuh org US yg kuarkan..”

“erm… ALa… barang US pun tak leh beli ke…?”

“ntahlah.. kak fien pike la sendiri…”

Hm… I thought about it. I really thought about it. As I said before, change is Hard. So, as a mutaba’ah to diri sendiri, I will try at my utmost best to refrain myself from doubtful matters.. It is a good thing actually.. we can lose weight. save more money, etc… haha..And again, I’m not trying to condemn others but it is all depend on our judgement. Don’t get me wrong… Like X said.. “fikir la sendiri..”

So, if you see me being zalim to myself.. do tegur/advise me.. like X did..

FAraH InanI

….. StrIve For MarDHatillah….