Malfuzat – Volume III — Page 301
301 it is mealtime and when the host insists that they join them for food, they will say: ‘You eat, I will not eat. I must excuse myself,’ and what this really means is ‘I am fasting. ’ This is the state of affairs that have been written in their context. Hence, to do something for the sake of the world, and to feed one’s own esteem and renown, can never attract the pleasure of God Almighty. This is the state of the world even in the present era, inasmuch that everything has shifted from its prop- er place; worship and alms are offered as acts of show. A few traditions have taken the place of righteous deeds. Therefore, the purpose of uprooting non-religious customs is so that any action or statement that is at odds with the instruction of God or His Messenger may be abolished. When we call ourselves Muslims and all of our words and actions must be in accordance with the will of Allah Almighty, why should we care about the world? Any action, which goes against the pleasure of Allah Almighty and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, must be forsaken and abandoned. One must act within the limits set by God and act upon the counsel of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. This is what it means to revive the Sunnah. There is no harm in anything which does not contradict the exhortations of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and the commandments of Allah Almighty, and which is free from ostentation, but rather done to show gratitude to God and express His favours. In some cases, Muslim scholars will take such an extreme position that I have heard that one Muslim cleric has issued a religious edict pro- hibiting travel by train, and he would even say that it is unlawful to use the post office to send letters. Now can there be any doubt in the fact that such people are fools or at least half-mad? This is absurd. What a person ought to reflect upon is whether a particular action is in accordance with or against the directive of Allah Almighty, and whether their action is a self-invented religious practice, and whether the action encourages association of partners with God. If none of this is the case and the course of action does not corrupt one’s faith, then there is no harm in following through with the deed in question. One should just keep the following Hadith in consideration: ِ َعْمَال ُ بِالنِّیَّات ْ اِنَّمَا ال Deeds are based on intentions. I have also heard that some Muslim clerics forbid the study of subjects like syntax and morphology, and other fields of study. They class this as an innovation in p. 274