09-Adab: The Proprieties of Fridays- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Out of His pure grace, Allah Most High has blessed the Muhammadan community (umma) with a day as special and sacred as Friday. The Noble Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, remarked that Allah has made it “an Eid for the believers.” (al-Muwatta) A day of joy, then, blessings and magnificent rewards from an all-Generous Lord, if only we took some moments to pause and reflect. It behooves us to recognize that Friday is not like any other day, but rather the chief (sayyid) of days, so we should endeavor to treat it differently. It is the day in which much good and righteous work, which may be otherwise lost or missed throughout the week, maybe made up and surpassed. It is the day in which the bounties of Allah will continue to reach us in the hereafter, the day in which our sins from the previous week are expiated for, and the day for which the scholars have listed over a hundred virtues. As the moments of our collective lives pass, we should strive to present ourselves before the sweet, graceful winds of Allah’s Mercy as they pass us weekly. And what better state than to greet them with complete gratitude (shukr) and full propriety, or adab, so that we can sow our humble seeds of sincere worship in hope of a momentous harvest in the next life. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
Adab 08: The Proprieties of Travel- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
True, meaningful journeying is found in spiritual wayfaring. In other words, the journey from sin and disobedience to righteous acts and Godfearingness, from heedlessness to presence, from distance to proximity, and from everything which Allah hates to everything Allah loves. This is the kind of journey that we will be deeply grateful for when we cast a backwards glance, to here, from the next life. This life is a time of planting the seeds, and the next is when we’ll harvest. Allah Most High says, “It will be as if they had stayed in the world no more than one evening or its morning.” Sura al- Nazi'at: 79:46 If things seem bleak for us, then let us be optimistic, as was the prophetic sunna, and make a change for the better today. In an instant, the turmoil and degradation of life in disobedience can be transformed, by His Grace, into something tremendous and everlasting. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, as part of a lengthier tradition (hadith), “One of you would observe the works of the people of the Hellfire until there is only a cubit between him and it, but then the register would forestall him and he would perform an act of the people of Paradise and consequently enter it.” (Bukhari) Whoever strives for Allah will find Him before him, and whoever traverses an upright, trodden, prophetic path will find great blessing, or baraka, in his life journey. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
Adab 07: The Proprieties of Earning a Living- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Ustadh Tabraze Azam dives deep into the proprieties of earning a lawful income, its virtues, and its rewards in this life and in the life to come. The trustworthy, honest trader will be with the prophets, the truthful, and the martyrs [on the Day of Judgement], said the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. (Tirmidhi) When we live up to the ideals and deep, moral standards of the religion, we can be hopeful of something tremendous from Allah in the hereafter. After all, this life is merely a means to the next and not an end-goal in and of itself. Earning a livelihood is something that most of us can probably relate to, but our fast-paced lives, however, can sometimes hinder our ability to simply pause for a moment and review our trajectory into eternity. Seldom is a moment of contemplation void of any lasting benefit when it is for Allah. As we try to reconnect with our faith and live it more faithfully, with propriety, we should recall the words of Allah in which He informs us that He “made the day for livelihood.” (Sura al Naba’ 78:11) Thus, it is Allah’s favor upon us by which we are blessed with days in which we can fulfill the purpose of that time. A believer is a “son of his moment,” namely, somebody concerned with being in the right places at the right times, and doing what will be most pleasing to Allah therein. With gratitude, we can come to appreciate the most menial of tasks, and with gratitude, Allah increases us in ways we couldn’t otherwise imagine. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
06- Adab: The Adab of The Mosque Part 2- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Ustadh Tabraze Azam reminds is of the honor Allah has bestowed upon the mosque as a place of worship and the importance of right conduct in it. Proper manners take time to inculcate. But the more sacred the space or setting, the greater the emphasis is in maintaining a high bar. Each time we display something of a higher level of religion and thank Allah for it, He increases us out of His generosity. Each time we apply ourselves to a deeper level of excellence, it only shows Allah Most High that we truly care and that His religion is certainly something very dear to us. “And whoever honors the symbols of Allah, it is certainly out of the piety of the heart.” (Sura al Hajj 22:32) A heart stationed between regular gratitude for Allah’s blessings and a look to the eternal life is the kind of heart that is moved to work righteous deeds, even if only seemingly slight. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
05- Adab: The Adab of the Mosque Part 1- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
The most beloved of places to Allah are the mosques. (Muslim) Indeed, the greatest of places on the face of the earth in the sight of Allah Most High is the mosque. What does it mean for a place to beloved to Allah? It means that He inscribes tremendous good for the people therein. And why are they beloved? Because they are places where the most supreme form of worship occurs, namely, scores of believing men and women planting their faces humbly in the ground before their All-Powerful Lord. In another hadith, the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, stated that the meadows of Paradise are the mosques themselves because they are the places where sincere, worshipful devotion occurs – the kind of devotion which leads to ultimate felicity. The centrality of the mosque to everyday life for a Muslim can be ascertained from one of the first matters the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, engaged in upon reaching Madina, specifically, the founding and subsequent building of Masjid Quba’, and thereafter his own mosque, Allah bless him and give him peace. The mosque, then, should be a beacon of light for the community: a haven in times of religious and worldly need, a shelter and refuge for the underprivileged and needy, a gathering-place for worship and devotion, a means of strengthening community ties and a place to beseech and long for the Divine. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
04- Adab: The Adab of Homes – Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Ustadh Tabraze Azam writes on the adab or etiquette of the home – a blessing from Allah Homes are havens of serenity and comfort. They are a shelter from the heat and cold. They offer privacy from the gaze of others, safety for belongings, protection from harmful animals, insects and the like, and many other benefits. They are truly a blessing. Allah Most High reminds us at the end of the subsequent verse, “This is how He perfects His favor upon you, so perhaps you will fully submit to Him.” Sura al Nahl 16:81 Namely, acknowledge the one who blessed you with all that you have and worship Him alone with sincerity as He fulfilled even your most basic human needs by His Grace. The famed Egyptian master of the inward and outward sciences, Ibn ‘Ata Illah al Sakandari, stated in an aphorism (hikma): Whosoever isn’t grateful for His blessings makes himself liable to losing them. And whosoever is grateful for them has tied them down by their reins. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
03- Adab : The Etiquette of Allah’s Elect – Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Ustadh Tabraze Azam writes on the adab or etiquette of Allah’s elect among the scholars and students of knowledge as attested to by various sources. In our desire to become true students, we have to uphold the kind of adab, or right etiquette, that colors Allah’s elect. People of knowledge are chosen by Allah Most High, and we cannot do anything more but to aspire to the way of those whose scholarship is recognized by one and all in the hope that we may become of them in our own distinct ways. It is reported that Imam Abu Hanifa said, “If the jurists (fuqaha) aren’t the elect (awliya’) of Allah, then Allah has no elect servant (wali).” The one who acts according to his knowledge with sincerity is the true faqih, even if he knows only a little. What we see from the righteous, godfearing scholars is that they had a tremendous amount of adab in their seeking of sacred knowledge. Imam al Halwani, a giant of the early Hanafi tradition, famously remarked, “I’ve never touched even a piece of paper without wudu.” This was his state with that which will [eventually] contain knowledge, so what then of the knowledge itself? Being true students is a tall order, and we can only hope that if we traverse in the right direction with the right attitude, that Allah will complete this matter for us. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
02- Adab: Seeking Sacred Knowledge- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Ustadh Tabraze Azam delves into the necessary adab for the student seeking sacred knowledge based on Revelation, Hadith, and advice from Scholars and sages of Islam. “Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim,” said the Prophet(peace be upon him). Namely, learning specifically that by which you can validate your religious obligations is a duty which none are exempt from. Beyond that, however, we enter the realm of those who want to learn and apply the Divine Address more fully. In doing so, there are duties and manners which need to be upheld in order to truly benefit from a share of the prophetic inheritance. The famous sage and scholar, Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah al Iskandari, may Allah sanctify his secret, remarked in an aphorism: “If sacred knowledge is accompanied with reverential awe (khashya) [of the divine], it will be for you. Otherwise, it will count against you.” Knowledge, thus, brings about a weighty responsibility and essentially entails carrying something of the prophetic message. Naturally, the expectation for those who carry it and have been honored with it isn’t the same as that for others. For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
01 Adab : The Art of Doing Things Right – Introduction- Ustadh Tabraze Azam
In this new podcasts, Ustadh Tabraze Azam discusses the meaning of adab and what it means for a Muslim to do things in the right way. Zakariyya al Ansari, the great polymath, Shaykh al Islam of his time, and teacher and guide to generations of scholars, wrote in his masterful commentary on Qushayri’s: Epistle of Tasawwuf“The goodly life (al hayat al tayyiba) is only attained by bringing the heart to life,” pointing to the Qur’anic verse: Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds. Qur'an 16:97 Hearts come to life when they are watered with the divine breezes and revelatory springs of guidance embodied by the beloved Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace. From the tremendously grand to the seemingly mundane, our religion teaches us how to live a life pleasing to Allah Most High. And herein lies the ultimate goal of those nigh unto Allah Most High: the desire to respond, “O believers! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.” Qur'an 8:24 For more SeekersGuidance podcast shows, visit seekersguidance.org/podcasts. Help SeekersGuidance reach millions around the world through reliable knowledge and guidance from qualified scholars, completely free: become a monthly supporter – www.seekersguidance.org/donate
