Dars e Imam-Manners

“Bismillahir Rahmannir Raheem””Al-Hamdu Lillaahi Rabbil ‘Aalameen was Salaatu was- Salaamu ‘Alaa Sayidinaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Asabihi Ajma ‘een (tauheed- risalat- ahkirat and islam-iman-ihsan)

Some seek knowledge for worldly reasons and fame, hence it is important to purify our intentions, before acquiring, or seeking knowledge.It has been narrated that Imam Ahmed (رحمة الله عليه) would have had up to 5000 attendees at his gatherings, maybe 500 would write and learn; the rest (4500) would simply learn from his actions, his adab. Looking at other classical examples from our pious Ulema; the mother of Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه) would place an imama on his head and send him to his teacher Rabi’ah ibn Abdurrahman (nicknamed: Rabi’ah Ar-Rai’), to learn first from his manners, his adab and then his knowledge.

It is all well and good for us to be devoted Muslims, praying 5 times a day, fasting, giving charity etc, but these are just a few branches of Islam, it’s our akhlaaq, our mua’malat (acts of welfare or good with our fellow Muslims) that really define our characters, and our true identity as believers. Islam does not separate ‘ritual’ from life; rather it is a comprehensive way of life. Religion is that which is part-time, followed by the non-muslims. The Muslims, take from Islam, the teachings for every matter, both private and social for every aspect of life.

It is the Muslims, the Muhsinun that will enter Janaah with no fear or grief.Adab holds much greater value than ‘amal (actions). We should increase our efforts in adab, so as to insure that our ‘amal are not in vain. Many of us hold status, pride, arrogance in our hearts; we think it is “below us” to help those below us in status.

Adab hence includes all that is good; every noble characteristic, habit, or trait that is included within the scope of adab.Adab is natural, it isn’t really taught, or learnt, but it is naturally developed.

We may have much knowledge but lack adab and we may have much adab but lack knowledge; but it is adab that holds the greater value and importance.

A Muslim should be distinguished from the disbelievers in all ways: manners, characteristics, appearance, purity, and cleanliness; in short their way of life.

Rasulullah ﷺ said: There is none heavier in the scales of the Hereafter than good character (Hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Daud).

Ibn Al-Mubarak said, “Mukhlid Ibn al-Husayn once said to me,‘We are more in need of acquiring adab than learning Hadith’. This highlights that knowledge alone is insufficient to build a sound and balanced Islamic personality.

Imam Zakariya al-Anbari once said:‘Knowledge without Adab is like fire without wood, and Adab without knowledge is like a spirit without a body’.

Indeed the deen of Islam is itself manners, where anyone that surpasses you in manners, is better than you in deen (Ibn al-Qayyim).

Al-Walid ibn Numayr said that he heard his father say: “They used to say, ‘Righteousness is (a gift) from Allah, but adab (right conduct) is from the parents”.

Imam al-Qarafi said: “You should know that a little of good manners is better than a lot of good actions”.

Ruwaym the righteous scholar told his son;“Oh my son, make your deeds salt and your manners flour”.

All the books of Hadith have chapters on Adab. For example:
1. Muwatta’, Imam Malik: The book of good behaviour
2. Sahih al-Bukhari: The book of manners
3. Sahih Muslim: The book of dutifulness, ties of kinship and manners.
4. Sunan Abi Dawud: The book of manners
5. Sunan at Tirmidhi: The book of manners, and the book of dutifulness and ties of kinship.
6. Sunan Ibn Majah: Chapters on Manners.

Fearing Allah means avoiding sins /disobedience.

Loving Allah means following sunnah of rasoolAllahﷺ

When I want to talk to allah I say prayers and when I want that he talk to me I recite quran- Hazrath Ali(ra)

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