ource: ermon of Hafiz Muhammad Ihaq Zahid, compiled by: Tauheed.com
Brother in Ilam! Every Mulim mut have firm belief that the owner of profit and lo i only Allah Almighty. No one ele ha thi authority. Neither any aint nor any elder. Neither any piritual guide nor any prophet, even the Chief of the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who i the leader of all mankind and the Imam of all the Prophet and Meenger, wa the owner of anyone’ profit and lo, let alone hi own.
Command of Allah Almighty
﴿قُل لَّا أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ ۚ إِنْ أَنَا إِلَّا نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿١٨٨﴾
ay, "I do not poe for myelf any harm or benefit except what Allah hould will. And if I had knowledge of the uneen, I could have acquired much good, and no harm would have touched me. I am not but a warner and a bringer of good tiding to a people who believe."
Reference: urah Al-A'raf:188
In thi noble vere, conider that when the Imam of the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, doe not have control over benefit and harm, then how can anyone leer than him, whether a aint or a piritual guide, whoe grave people deliberately viit, have the authority to caue benefit or harm to anyone?
And regarding thoe from whom people hope to gain benefit and fear harm from, Allah Almighty ay:
﴿قُلْ أَفَرَأَيْتُم مَّا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ أَرَادَنِيَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ هَلْ هُنَّ كَاشِفَاتُ ضُرِّهِ أَوْ أَرَادَنِي بِرَحْمَةٍ هَلْ هُنَّ مُمْسِكَاتُ رَحْمَتِهِ ۚ قُلْ حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ ۖ عَلَيْهِ يَتَوَكَّلُ الْمُتَوَكِّلُونَ ﴿٣٨﴾
ay, "What do you think about thoe whom you call upon beide Allah? If Allah intend for me harm, can they remove Hi harm? Or if He intend for me mercy, can they withhold Hi mercy?" ay, "ufficient for me i Allah; in Him thoe who trut hould put their trut."
Reference: urah Az-Zumar: 38
In thi noble vere, it i a if Allah Almighty ha challenged that if anyone other than Allah ha the power to benefit or harm, then let thoe whom Allah wihe to harm protect them from that harm, or thoe whom Allah wihe to betow Hi mercy upon prevent that mercy! Meaning, they cannot do o. And when they cannot do o, it mean that they do not have the authority to benefit or harm anyone.
imilarly, Allah Almighty ay:
﴿مَّا يَفْتَحِ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ مِن رَّحْمَةٍ فَلَا مُمْسِكَ لَهَا ۖ وَمَا يُمْسِكْ فَلَا مُرْسِلَ لَهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٢﴾
Allah! There i no one to prevent Hi mercy from reaching people, and whoever He withhold it from, there i no one to grant it after Him. And He i All-Powerful, Mot Wie.
Reference: urah Fatir: 2
And for thi reaon, Allah Almighty ha forbidden calling upon anyone other than Him.
Allah Almighty ay:
﴿ وَلَا تَدْعُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُكَ وَلَا يَضُرُّكَ ۖ فَإِن فَعَلْتَ فَإِنَّكَ إِذًا مِّنَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿١٠٦﴾وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ اللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِن يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَادَّ لِفَضْلِهِ ۚ يُصِيبُ بِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۚ وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ ﴿١٠٧﴾
And do not call upon anyone beide Allah who neither benefit you nor harm you. If you do o, then you will be among the wrongdoer. And if Allah intend any harm to you, there i none who can remove it except Him; and if He intend any good for you, there i none who can withhold Hi favor. He betow Hi favor upon whom He will among Hi ervant. And He i the Mot Forgiving, the Mot Merciful.
Reference: urah Yunu:106-107
In thi noble vere, where Allah Almighty ha forbidden calling anyone other than Allah a 'the owner of benefit and harm,' and ha alo tated, "O Muhammad, if you do o, then (may Allah protect u) you will be among the wrongdoer," Allah Almighty ha alo made it clear that if anyone wihe to harm Hi beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), no one can remove that harm, and if He wihe to betow favor upon him, no one can prevent that favor. Thi i clear evidence that thi authority belong olely to Allah Almighty. And jut think! If the Imam of the Prophet, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), ha no protector from harm except Allah, then who among ordinary Mulim can protect anyone from harm except Allah?
Therefore, one hould neither hope for benefit from anyone other than Allah nor fear any harm from them, becaue fearing that anyone other than Allah can harm whom He will by Hi will and power i major hirk. That i why Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) aid:
﴿وَلَا أَخَافُ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ بِهِ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ رَبِّي شَيْئًا ۗ وَسِعَ رَبِّي كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا ۗ أَفَلَا تَتَذَكَّرُونَ ﴿٨٠﴾ وَكَيْفَ أَخَافُ مَا أَشْرَكْتُمْ وَلَا تَخَافُونَ أَنَّكُمْ أَشْرَكْتُم بِاللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ عَلَيْكُمْ سُلْطَانًا﴾
And I do not fear thoe whom you aociate with Allah, but only fear my Lord. And He encompae all thing in knowledge. Do you not then take admonition? And how hould I fear thoe whom you aociate with Allah while you do not fear that you have aociated with Allah that for which He ha not ent down any authority?
Reference: urah Al-An'am: 80-81
From thi vere, it i undertood that one hould not be afraid of any piritual guide, acetic, or elder, and one hould have firm belief that no one can caue harm to anyone except by the will of Allah Almighty. uch fear hould only be of Allah Almighty becaue He alone i the One who i capable of cauing harm by Hi will. And if He doe not intend to caue harm, then no elder, piritual guide, or hrine caretaker in the world can caue any harm.
Allah Almighty ay:
﴿قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَا إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَانَا ۚ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ﴿٥١﴾
ay, "Nothing will ever befall u except what Allah ha detined for u. He i our protector." And in Allah let the believer put their trut.
Reference: urah At-Tawbah: 51
imilarly, the honorable aying of the Meenger of Allah ﷺ i:
(( وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْأمَّةَ لَوِ اجْتَمَعَتْ عَلٰی أَنْ یَّنْفَعُوْكَ بِشَیْئٍ،لَمْ یَنْفَعُوْكَ إِلَّا بِشَیْئٍ قَدْ کَتَبَہُ اللّٰہُ لَكَ ، وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوْا عَلٰی أَنْ یَّضُرُّوْكَ بِشَیْئٍ لَمْ یَضُرُّوْكَ إِلَّا بِشَیْئٍی قَدْ کَتَبَہُ اللّٰہُ عَلَیْكَ ))
And be certain that if the entire Ummah were to gather to benefit you, they would not be able to benefit you except with what Allah ha already written for you. And if the entire Ummah were to gather to harm you, they would not be able to harm you except with what Allah ha already written againt you.
Reference: unan Tirmidhi:2516
Brother in Ilam! The fundamental belief we mentioned regarding profit and lo i related to thi: many people conider the month of afar to be an unlucky month and do not conider it appropriate to tart any work in it becaue they believe that any work tarted in thi month will have no goodne or bleing and will ultimately fail. That i, they fear thi month, thinking that it will only bring lo and damage. However, the belief we have jut mentioned in the light of the Quran and Hadith i that it i completely wrong to conider any month unlucky and fear tarting any work in it. All month belong to Allah Almighty, and profit and lo in every month come only from Allah.
Therefore, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) aid:
(( لَا عَدْوَی وَلَا طِیَرَۃَ وَلَا ہَامَةَ وَلَا صَفْرَ ))
No dieae i contagiou by itelf. Neither i it correct to believe in bad omen nor to conider any bird a unlucky. Nor i it correct to take bad omen from the month of afar.
Reference: ahih al-Bukhari:557
Therefore, Mulim hould not hold thi ignorant belief. On the contrary, there hould be trut and reliance only on Allah Almighty, that every kind of benefit and harm i in Hi hand. And benefit and harm have no connection with any month.
What i bad omen?
Bad omen mean that a peron ha firmly decided to do omething, but after eeing or hearing omething, he doe not do that work. In the time of ignorance, when a peron wanted to leave home for ome work, he would releae a bird and oberve it; if it flew to the right, he would proceed. And if it flew to the left, he would take it a a bad omen and return. The hariah ha prohibited uch bad omen, and even conider taking bad omen and fortune-telling a hirk (aociating partner with Allah). Becaue a peron who doe thi i not relying on Allah but i relying on omething that ha no tatu.
It i narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (RA) that the Meenger of Allah (PBUH) aid:
(( مَنْ رَدَّتْہُ الطِّیَرَۃُ عَنْ حَاجَتِهِ فَقَدْ أَشْرَكَ))
Whoever i prevented from doing omething becaue of bad omen ha indeed committed hirk. Munad al-Bazzar: 2316
ome people take bad omen from a peron. For example, if early in the morning while going omewhere for their work, they encounter a poor or a beggar, they ay, "I have met him early in the morning; today i not a good day." Or if ome lo occur at home, they ay, "Thi happened becaue of that unlucky woman," or taking bad omen from one of their children, they ay, "Thi i the reaon for the lo!" Thu, taking bad omen from a peron i not correct.
Allah Almighty, in the Holy Quran, where He mention the firt nation, ha informed that many nation ued to take bad omen from their prophet, and when any calamity befell, they would ay that it happened becaue of that prophet.
For example, regarding the people of Prophet Mua (Moe) عليه السلام, Allah Almighty ay:
﴿فَإِذَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْحَسَنَةُ قَالُوا لَنَا هَٰذِهِ ۖ وَإِن تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ يَطَّيَّرُوا بِمُوسَىٰ وَمَن مَّعَهُ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّمَا طَائِرُهُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١٣١﴾
o when they received any good, they aid, "We are indeed deerving of it." And if any harm befell them, they would take it a ill omen from Moe and thoe with him, even though their mifortune wa from Allah. But mot of them do not know.
Reference: urah Al-A'raf:131
imilarly, Allah ha mentioned the ame behavior regarding many other nation, that they took ill omen from their prophet and thoe who believed in them and conidered them unlucky.
In ummary, it doe not befit a believer to take ill omen from anyone or conider anyone unlucky in cae of harm. Rather, it hould be that even before harm occur, he firmly believe that no harm can happen without Allah' command. And after harm ha occurred, he hould ay that thi wa decreed by Allah and it wa detined to happen.
ome people predict fortune and take omen through tar. For example, they ay about omeone that your tar i uch-and-uch and it i currently in tranit, therefore the buine you tart now will incur a lo, or if you marry now, it will not be bleed... wherea a peron' fate or future matter have no connection with tar. That i why the Meenger of Allah, peace be upon him, aid:
(( أَرْبَعٌ فِیْ أمَّتِیْ مِنْ أَمْرِ الْجَاھِلِیَّةِ لَا یَتْرُکُوْنَہُنَّ : اَلْفَخْرُ فِیْ الْأحْسَابِ ، وَالطَّعْنُ فِیْ الْأنْسَابِ،وَالْإِسْتِسْقَاءُ بِالنُّجُوْمِ،وَالنِّیَاحَةُ))
Among the act of ignorance, there will be four among my Ummah which they will not be willing to give up: pride baed on lineage (tribalim), inulting omeone' lineage, eeking knowledge of fate through tar (or eeking rain through tar), and wailing.
Reference: ililat al-ahiha:944
In thi noble hadith, the Meenger of Allah, peace be upon him, counted eeking knowledge of fate through tar among the act of ignorance. That i, it ha no connection with Ilam. Therefore, Mulim hould avoid it.
imilarly, Hazrat Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani (may Allah be pleaed with him) narrate that the Meenger of Allah (peace be upon him) led the morning prayer after the night rain at Hudaybiyyah, then he aid:
(( ہَلْ تَدْرُونَ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّکُمْ ؟ ))
Do you know what your Lord ha aid today?
The Companion (may Allah be pleaed with them) aid: Allah and Hi Meenger know bet.
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) aid:
(( قَالَ :أَصْبَحَ مِنْ عِبَادِیْ مُؤْمِنٌ بِیْ وَکَافِرٌ ۔ فَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ:مُطِرْنَا بِفَضْلِ اللّٰہِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ فَذَلِكَ مُؤْمِنٌ بِیْ وَکَافِرٌ بِالْکَوَاکِبِ،وَأَمَّا مَنْ قَالَ:مُطِرْنَا بِنَوْءِ کَذَا وَکَذَا فَذَلِكَ کَافِرٌ بِیْ مُؤْمِنٌ بِالْکَوَاکِبِ))
Allah Almighty ha aid that today among My ervant, ome woke up in a tate of faith and ome in a tate of dibelief. o whoever aid that rain ha fallen upon u by the grace and mercy of Allah, he i a believer in me and denie the influence of the tar. And whoever aid that rain ha fallen upon u becaue of uch and uch tar, he ha dibelieved in me and believed in the tar.
Reference: ahih al-Bukhari:846
From thi hadith, it i proven that a peron who believe in the influence of tar on weather condition i one who dibelieve in Allah Almighty. imilarly, uch a peron i one who believe in the influence of tar on omeone' fate.
Regarding atrologer, the Meenger of Allah ﷺ clearly tated that thee people have no connection with Ilam and Mulim. Likewie, thoe who go to them and narrate their problem o that they find olution through tar, etc.
It i tated:
(( لَیْسَ مِنَّا مَنْ تَطَیَّرَ أَوْ تُطِیِّرَ لَہُ،أَوْ تَکَہَّنَ أَوْ تُکِہِّنَ لَہُ،أَوْ سَحَرَ أَوْ سُحِرَ لَہُ))
The peron i not one of u who bring bad omen or for whom bad omen are brought, or who practice divination (through atrology) or for whom divination i practiced, or who practice magic or for whom magic i practiced.
Reference: Majma' al-Zawa'id:8480
And that i why going to uch people and aking them about matter of fate i forbidden, indeed it i minor hirk, thoe who predict fate through tar or by looking at the line of the hand. Going to uch people and aking uch quetion i uch a grave in that the prayer of the one who doe o for forty day are not accepted by Allah Almighty.
The Meenger of Allah, peace be upon him, aid:
(( مَنْ أَتٰی عَرَّافًا فَسَأَلَہُ عَنْ شَیْئٍی لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَہُ صَلاَ ۃُ أَرْبَعِیْنَ لَیْلَةٌ ))
Whoever goe to a oothayer or atrologer and ak about omething, hi prayer for forty night will not be accepted.
Reference: ahih Mulim: 2230
And the peron who goe to uch people, ak them quetion, and confirm whatever they ay i like one who ha denied the revealed hariah of the Noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
The Noble Prophet, peace be upon him, aid:
(( مَنْ أَتٰی عَرَّافًا أَوْ کَاہِنًا فَصَدَّقَہُ بِمَا یَقُوْلُ فَقَدْ کَفَرَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلٰی مُحَمَّدٍ صلي الله عليه وسلم ))
Whoever goe to a oothayer (a practitioner claiming knowledge of the uneen) and then confirm hi word, ha dibelieved in the divine religion revealed to Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Reference: Munad Ahmad:9532
Therefore, one hould never trade their religion by going to uch people. For the protection of religion, it i neceary that we neither go to uch people nor ak them any quetion. Rather, in all matter, place complete trut in Allah Almighty and conider Allah alone a the owner of profit and lo. Thi i a very important iue of Ilamic belief in which many Mulim have gone atray today. May Allah guide everyone and grant u the ability to reform our belief and practice. Ameen.
Repected gentlemen! Having complete trut in Allah Almighty and conidering Him a the ole owner of benefit and harm i uch a great deed that the Prophet of Allah, Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ, included among thoe fortunate one who will enter Paradie without reckoning, a peron who doe not go to anyone for ruqyah (piritual healing) but recite Quranic vere and unnah upplication on himelf. He doe not believe in upertition and relie olely on Allah Almighty.
Hazrat Ibn Abba رضي الله عنه narrate that the Meenger of Allah ﷺ aid:
Previou nation were hown to me. I aw a prophet with only a few people (le than ten) with him. One prophet had only one or two people with him. And one prophet had no one with him. Then uddenly, I wa hown a very large group. I thought that perhap thi i my nation. Then I wa told that thi i Moe, peace be upon him, and hi people. You look toward that horizon. I aw a great multitude (a very large group of people). Then I wa told to look toward the other horizon. I aw another great multitude. I wa told that thi i your nation, and among them are eventy thouand people who will enter Paradie without any reckoning.
Then the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ tood up and went to hi houe. The people (the Companion, may Allah be pleaed with them) began to ponder over thoe eventeen thouand individual who would enter Paradie without any reckoning. ome of them aid that perhap they were the Companion of the Prophet ﷺ. Other aid no, they meant thoe who were born into Ilam and never committed hirk. ome expreed other opinion a well. uddenly, the Meenger of Allah ﷺ returned. He aked: What are you pondering about? The people told him that they were thinking about who thoe eventeen thouand individual might be who would enter Paradie without any reckoning. The Prophet ﷺ aid:
(( ہُمُ الَّذِیْنَ لَا یَرْقُوْنَ ، وَلَا یَسْتَرْقُوْنَ،وَلَا یَتَطَیَّرُوْنَ ، وَعَلٰی رَبِّہِمْ یَتَوَکَّلُوْنَ ))
Thee will be the people who neither practice ruqyah (piritual healing) nor have it practiced on them, nor do they believe in upertition, and they only place their trut in their Lord, the Exalted.
Upon hearing thi, Hazrat Ukaha bin Mihan (RA) tood up and aid: Pray to Allah to include me among them. The Prophet (PBUH) aid: You are among them. Then another man tood up and aid: Pray for me a well to be included among them. The Prophet (PBUH) aid: (( سَبَقَكَ بِہَا عُکَاشَةُ))
Reference: “Ukaha (RA) ha preceded you.”
In a narration in ahih Mulim, whoe narrator i Hazrat Imran bin Huain (RA), the Prophet (PBUH) decribed the characteritic of thoe eventy thouand people a follow:
(( ہُمُ الَّذِیْنَ لَا یَسْتَرْقُوْنَ، وَلَا یَتَطَیَّرُوْنَ،وَ لَا یَکْتَوُوْنَ،وَعَلٰی رَبِّہِمْ یَتَوَکَّلُوْنَ ))
They do not practice ruqyah, do not believe in upertition, do not mark their bodie with fire, and only place their trut in their Lord, the Exalted.
Reference: ahih al-Bukhari: 5705
Therefore, if we want Allah Almighty to admit u into Paradie without reckoning, then we too mut adopt thee great qualitie that the Noble Prophet ﷺ mentioned in thi Hadith. May Allah Almighty grant u all the ability to do o.
We conclude today' ermon with the prayer that Allah Almighty grant u all the ability to walk on the traight Path until our lat breath. Ameen
