The following article was sent to me by a dear friend of mine. It illustrates the misconceptions of many Muslims that we should be aware of it and seek Allah’s help & protection. Many a good intention, when coupled with ignorance or a way ‘other than the way of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.)’ is found to be the tactic of Shaitan in an effort to lead us astray.
Consider the verse of the Quran from Surah Ar-Raad (Surah 13, Ayah 37):
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَنزَلْنَاهُ حُكْمًا عَرَبِيًّا ۚ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُم بَعْدَمَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلَا وَاقٍ
Approximate Translation: And thus We have revealed it as an Arabic legislation. And if you should follow their inclinations after what has come to you of knowledge, you would not have against Allah any ally or any protector.
This is an oft-repeated principle that Allah has made very clear in the Quran: If you neglect Allah’s laws in favor of the laws made by men, then none can protect you against Allah.
May Allah guide us all and protect us from the devious traps of our common enemy, Iblees, the accursed.
In this world in our pursuit of what we term as success, we are very careful in the steps we take to attain it. When it comes to things like applying for a job or to a university or in attaining immigration to a country we do our utmost to be within the guidelines. We find out our eligibility and the prerequisites, we fill out the applications with the utmost care. We submit the supporting documents and anything else we can find to improve our chances of acceptance to what we feel will lead to our betterment in this life.
But unfortunately it is the opposite when it comes to us fulfilling our religious obligations. When it comes to our acts of worship we do not bother looking into what would lead to their acceptance in front of Allah swt the most High. Nor do we give it the care; we normally would, when it comes to our worldly pursuits.
For our acts of worship to be accepted there are essentially 2 conditions that need to be met:
1- The right intention and sincerity for doing an act for the sake of Allah.
2- Performing the act as per the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW.
In most cases the first condition is present, for the fact that most people have the desire to please Allah. But the second one is missing most of the times.
This happens either due to our ignorance or due to the fact that we are trying to justify our action with the incorrect knowledge that we have. And in that case the first condition being present becomes questionable.
A lot of us would argue that it is only the intention that is needed and as long as that’s there then after that Allah swt would overlook our mistakes. This statement is true only if the knowledge is not available and the person does an act out of sheer ignorance. But then Allah swt has also put the obligation on us that before we do an act we seek the knowledge for it so that we are able to carry it out in the best manner.
It is true that Allah swt does reward us for our intentions and it is true that He overlooks our ignorance but it is also true that only Allah knows what the reality of our situation is and knows whether we made the effort to seek the knowledge or not.
One of the things that comes out of good intentions and lack of knowledge are the innovations in religion (bidah). And depending on how serious it is, can lead us to kufr.
If we look back in history, it is Iblis who came to the people and proposed the idea of commemorating their pious predecessors by building statues in their honor.
After that what started off as something noble with good intentions gave birth to shirk due to the ignorance of the people.
The same thing we see happen time and again as Allah swt sends a Prophet and then his message gets corrupted due to the people innovating and thus Allah out of His mercy would send us another messenger. This is what happened with the people of the book and is something that is happening to this ummah as well.
The followers of Isa (AS) for the sake of inviting people to his message incorporated the customs of the pagans and in the process transformed tawheed into shirk. Their intentions were good but they compromised on their methods and the results of which were disastrous.
Hence it is absolutely imperative for us to have the correct knowledge and understanding of this deen and also our adherence to this knowledge if we are able to save ourselves from the fate that befell the people before us.
All innovations in religion start with a good intention but it is the knowledge and the adherence of the Sunnah that saves us from falling into its traps. The Sahaba were very much aware of this fact and hence we find the following incident happening and this is how they dealt with it and should be an example for us to follow and Allah knows best.
Narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood by al-Daarimi in his Sunan, according to which Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari said to ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood: “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, I have just seen in the mosque something new that I was not sure about, but I think I have not seen anything but something good, praise be to Allaah.” He said, “What was it?”
He said, “You will see it tomorrow.” He said, “I saw some people in the mosque sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man and in their hands were pebbles. He would say, ‘Say Allaahu akbar one hundred times,’ so they would say Allaahu akbar (takbeer) one hundred times. Then he would say, ‘Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (tahleel) one hundred times, so they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times. Then he would say, ‘Say Subhaan Allaah (tasbeeh) one hundred times,’ and they would say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times.”
He said, “What did you say to them?”
He said, “I did not say anything to them. I was waiting for your opinion.”
He said, “Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and promise them that none of their good deeds would be lost?’ Then he went away and we went with him, until he came to one of those circles. He stood over them and said, “What is this that I see you doing?”
They said, “O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, these are pebbles with which we count the takbeer, tahleel and tasbeeh.”
He said, “Count your bad deeds, for I promise you that nothing of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad, how soon you have drifted into the way of doom even though the companions of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are still alive amongst you, and his garments and the vessels he used are still not worn out or broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, either you are following a way that is more guided than the way of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), or you are starting a way that is the way of misguidance.”
They said, “By Allaah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, we did not intend anything but good.”
He said, “How many of those who intend good never attain it.”
