Muslim

Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: By "the strong believer" is meant that believer who is firm of resolve and experienced, who carries out every task with full determination and courage. And by "the weak believer" is meant the one who is faint-hearted, who does not find the courage to act, and does not perform tasks with full enthusiasm, zeal, and activity. For it is necessary for a person that he should perform beneficial worldly and hereafter-related deeds with full effort, striving, courage, and determination. He should not adopt laziness, indolence, or faint-heartedness, nor should he lose heart, and for this he should seek help, support, and success from Allah Ta'ala. However, due to being a believer, in every situation there is good in both cases, and in the matter of trials and hardships, while relying on means and resources, he should not say: "If I had adopted this strategy or device, I would not have been afflicted by this calamity or difficulty," because destiny cannot be changed by planning. Yes, if the "if" is not related to changing destiny, but rather to removing one's own shortcomings, or to express one's ignorance, and there is complete faith in Allah's decree and the execution of His will, then there is no harm in it. For example, without effort, a person can say: "If I had worked hard, I would not have failed. If I had known about this thing beforehand, I would not have done this. If the enemy gains control over us, he will humiliate and disgrace us."

Benefits and Issues:
(1)
A strong believer spends his mental and physical strengths in performing good deeds, promoting virtues, and preventing evils, whereas a weak person cannot do many of the things that a strong person can accomplish. In this regard, a strong believer is better than a weak one.

(2)
It is commendable to strive, through lawful means, to develop one’s physical and mental abilities.

(3)
It is necessary to avoid using physical and mental strengths for oppression and excess; otherwise, such a strong person will not be more beloved to Allah than a weak one, rather Allah will be displeased with him.

(4)
It is good if a believer works hard for worldly benefits, because he will use them in virtuous deeds.

(5)
It is necessary to make every effort to achieve a good objective, but one should have trust in Allah. If success is achieved, gratitude should be shown to Allah; otherwise, it should be understood that some shortcoming of the person contributed to the failure, or that the sought-after thing is not beneficial for the person, and not attaining it is better for him and a favor from Allah.

(6)
When the flaw in a failed plan becomes apparent, one should not impose regret upon oneself, nor say: “If only this had been done in such-and-such a way instead.” However, it is necessary to identify the flaw and try to avoid it in the future.

(7)
It is the work of Shaytan that he magnifies failure, which leads to despair of Allah’s mercy or to a state of displeasure and complaint against the Most Noble Essence of Allah. Both of these things destroy a person’s Hereafter.

(8)
Sometimes a person holds another human responsible for his own failure, and then, under the influence of jealousy and malice, tries to harm or defame him. This too is a satanic act.

For further details, see the benefits and issues of Hadith: 79.

Commentary:
(1)
Physical, mental, and financial strength is a blessing from Allah; this blessing should be used in virtuous deeds.

(2)
A person who is lesser than others in any kind of strength is not deprived of goodness. It is possible that a person weak in one strength may be strong in another; therefore, whatever ability Allah the Exalted has granted to someone, he should express gratitude to Allah for it and use it for attaining and spreading goodness, and for avoiding and preventing evil.

(3)
Striving to attain worldly benefits is not contrary to reliance upon Allah (tawakkul); however, to adopt unlawful means for this, or to become so obsessed with the desire for worldly benefits that most of one’s attention is directed towards them, is not correct.

(4)
It is not required in the Shariah that a person, instead of working hard to earn and benefit others, should become a burden upon others. To call this attitude reliance upon Allah (tawakkul) is incorrect. However, a person who, due to a genuine excuse, cannot earn a livelihood is excused, and it is the duty of the Muslim society to fulfill his needs.

(5)
Before undertaking any task, one should reflect and consider the various aspects of the matter and consult others; but if, for some reason, the results turn out contrary to expectations, then leave the matter to Allah and understand that there is some wisdom of Allah in it as well. Saying “if only” or “but” implies a denial of divine decree (qadar), and this is a satanic act that causes a person to regret unexpected outcomes and leads him to deny destiny.

(6)
After the result of a task turns out contrary to expectations and it is no longer possible to make amends, becoming engulfed in negative thoughts is not only useless but also harmful. There is no benefit in saying afterwards: “If only I had done such-and-such, if only I had not done such-and-such.” However, it is correct to critically review one’s actions so that the mistake made is avoided in the future.

Takhrij:
[مسلم القدر/34],
[تحفته الاشراف 159/01], [219/01], [214/10]
Vocabulary:
«احْرِصَ - حَرَصَ يَحْرِصُ» is the imperative form from (daraba yadribu). Sometimes it also comes from the form «سمع يسمع».
«وَلاَ تَعْجَزْ» with a fatha or kasra on the letter jim.

Benefits:
➊ The strong believer is better than the weak believer:
From this hadith, it is understood that a strong believer is better than a weak believer and is more beloved to Allah, even though the weak believer is not devoid of goodness, because he possesses faith, and faith itself is a great good. In addition to this, he may possess trustworthiness, knowledge, piety, and other qualities. However, the strong believer is able to practice the religion with greater strength.
Enjoining good, forbidding evil, striving in the path of Allah (jihad fi sabilillah), prayer (salat), fasting (sawm), pilgrimage (hajj), and other rights of Allah and His servants—the strong believer can fulfill these in a way the weak believer cannot, because the performance of the weak is also weak. Allah, the Exalted, has narrated the statement of the host girl of Musa alayhis salam:
«إِنَّ خَيْرَ مَنِ اسْتَأْجَرْتَ الْقَوِيُّ الْأَمِينُ» [28-القصص:26 ]
“The best person you can hire is the strong and trustworthy one.”
Allah, the Exalted, also demands that His revealed law be practiced with full strength. He commanded the Children of Israel:
«خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ» [2-البقرة:63 ]
“Hold fast to what We have given you with strength.”
And He said to Yahya alayhis salam:
«يَا يَحْيَى خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ» [19-مريم:12 ]
“O Yahya! Hold fast to the Book with strength.”
➋ What is meant by strength?
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah said that strength varies according to the nature of each task. For example, in battle, strength depends on the courage of the heart and military experience. When judging between people, strength means having firm knowledge of the Book and Sunnah, strong decision-making ability, and the power to enforce one’s rulings.
It is also necessary for strength to be accompanied by trustworthiness, but these two qualities are rarely found together in one person. When assigning responsibility, if both qualities are found in a person, then that is ideal; otherwise, depending on the nature of the responsibility, either strength or trustworthiness will be given preference. For example, for military leadership, strength is especially considered, and for financial responsibilities, trustworthiness is prioritized. However, when it comes to collecting zakat and other funds from people, both strength and trustworthiness are necessary.
Temporarily giving preference to either strength or trustworthiness is a necessity. Despite this, efforts to reform people’s conditions should continue so that those who possess strength also acquire the quality of trustworthiness, and those who are trustworthy overcome their weakness and become strong. [السياسة الشرعيه لابن تيميه]

Takhrij:
«أخرجه مسلم، القدر، باب في الأمر بالقوة وترك العجز...، حديث:2664.»©Explanation:
➊ In this hadith, the use of the word "law" (which means "if") is prohibited, whereas in some other ahadith, its usage appears to be permissible. Therefore, this prohibition is of a discouraging (tanzihi) nature, not an absolute (tahrimi) one.
This is also the opinion of Qadi Iyad rahimahullah and others.
However, some scholars have said that if one holds the belief regarding "law" that, "If I had done such-and-such, then certainly the result would have been such-and-such," then in this manner, the use of the word "law" is forbidden (haram).
And if one believes that only what was destined to happen has occurred, and whatever will happen is only what is in Allah's decree (taqdir), then in such a case, the use of the word "law" is permissible and not prohibited.

➋ Similarly, if one says "law" out of regret or sorrow for not following the religion of Islam, or for doing a deed with lesser reward and missing out on a deed with greater reward, then this is also permissible.
The Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: « لَوِ اسْتَقْبَلْتُ مِنْ أَمْرِي مَا اسْتَدْبَرْتُ مَا سُقْتُ الْھَدْيَ» "If I had known earlier what I came to know later, I would not have brought the sacrificial animal with me."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Tamanni, Hadith: 7229) That is, he would have become halal after performing ‘umrah, and then on the 8th of Dhu al-Hijjah, he would have entered into the state of ihram for Hajj anew, i.e., he would have performed Hajj tamattu‘.

➌ Likewise, from this hadith it is understood that a strong and powerful believer is more beloved to Allah ta‘ala than a weak and feeble one, because strength and power are needed in jihad.
A healthy and fit person can serve the religion more than a sick and weak person, and can exert more effort in worship; likewise, he can serve the poor, the needy, and those in want more.
However, despite having strength and determination, a person can only do something when Allah ta‘ala’s help is with him; therefore, in this hadith, there is the command to always seek help from Allah ta‘ala.
He alone is your Helper.

Benefit:
Several important matters mentioned in this hadith are as follows:
➊ The virtue of a strong person is established; from this, it is understood that a person should pay attention to his diet and health. If he pays attention, then, insha Allah, he will become strong. And it is a fact that a person who works (no matter what kind of work he does) will be strong and have firm nerves; only then will he be able to accomplish any task. And it is well known that a sound mind is in a sound body. Allahumma aj‘alna minhum.
➋ It is also mentioned in this hadith that one should be eager in those matters which are beneficial for a person. If there is no benefit in a particular task, then it should be left and another should be undertaken, and one should not consider oneself weak. Due to effort and sincerity, a person does reach his intended goal.
➌ This hadith also contains the point that if one does not achieve success in some matter in life or suffers a loss, then at that time one should avoid uttering polytheistic or blasphemous statements, and should say: «قدر الله وما شاء فعل».
(4) When a person is saved from some loss, he immediately says, “If I had not done this, I would have suffered a loss.” Similarly, if an accident suddenly occurs, he starts saying, “If I had not left the house, I would not have had an accident.” If both of these examples are considered, it becomes clear that the phrase “if” is a useless phrase, a satanic phrase, and it weakens faith. When there is benefit, Allah’s praise should be declared at all times, and if there is loss, then «انا لله وانا اليه راجعون» should be said, because benefit and loss are not in the control of any human being.
We are simply commanded to live our lives in adherence to the Qur’an and Hadith; all other matters should be left to Allah Ta‘ala. Whatever He does, He will do better, even if that matter appears undesirable in our eyes.