O You Who Believe Enter Into Islaam Wholeheartedly

Assalamualikum...

O You Who Believe Enter Into Islaam Wholeheartedly 

http://albaseerah.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3187

by Shaykh 'Ali Abdur-Rahmaan Al-Hudhayfi حفظه الله 

on Sunday, June 25th, 2005

AL-ISTIGAATHAH – TO SEEK DELIVERANCE

From the acts of eebaadah is al-istighaathah (استغاثة) with Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. Istighaathah is more specific than du'aa. It means to request deliverance and safety in times of severity, calamities and misfortunes, as Allaah سبحانه وتعالى mentions:

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ

{(Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you…} [al-Anfaal 8:9]

And, from the hadeeth of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم reported in the Saheehayn (Bukaaree and Muslim) where he supplicated: "O Allaah give us assistance, O Allaah give us assistance, O Allaah give us assistance"[10] He صلى الله عليه وسلم used the word :aghithnaa" (أغثنا) – in times of difficulty, this expression is used. So whoever seeks this type of assistance from the creation when these difficulties befall him, whether from a grave, a Jinn, an angel or like that, he is similar to one who is drowning seeking help from someone who is drowning as he cannot respond and answer his request. In so doing he has committed shirk by directing this act of worship to other than the Lord of all creations. Allaah سبحانه وتعالى says as mentioned above: {(Remember) when you sought help of your Lord and He answered you…} (al-Anfaal 8:9), referring to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم when he supplicated to Allaah for deliverance and safety at the Battle of Badr, and Allaah سبحانه وتعالى granted him safety. So when some difficulty, misfortune or calamity befalls an individual, it is upon him to seek help with Allaah سبحانه وتعالى and to ask Him to remove it. Allaah سبحانه وتعالى said:

أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاء الْأَرْضِ أَإِلَهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ قَلِيلاً مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ

{Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations? Is there any ilâh (god) with Allâh? Little is that you remember!} [an-Naml 27:62]

KHAWF - FEAR

From the acts of eebaadah is khawf (خوف) i.e. fear. This has a tremendous position and lofty station in the areas of worship. It is to be directed only to Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. It is categorized into one of two categories:

• Fear which is considered shirk and this is what is called secret fear. It is to fear someone in affairs over which only Allaah سبحانه وتعالى has power. For example, to fear that one of the creation would prevent him from completing his lifespan, or to fear that he would remove his sustenance, or to fear that he will not enter him into paradise. This is the type of fear which an individual directs to a created being, believing that he has the ability to do these things when only Allaah سبحانه وتعالى has the power and ability to do them. It is secret fearand it is considered shirk. 
  
  
• There is another type of fear which is an act of disobedience. For example, a person fears another individual and because of his fear of him, he refrains from speaking the truth, or enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong. His fear of him is an act of disobedience.

Fear then, is an act of worship and it should only be directed to Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. Allaah says in the Qur'aan:

فَلاَ تَخَافُوهُمْ وَخَافُونِ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

{…so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are (true) believers.} [aal-Imraan 3:175]

Allaah سبحانه وتعالى also mentions in another verse:

فَلاَ تَخْشَوُاْ النَّاسَ وَاخْشَوْنِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِآيَاتِي ثَمَناً قَلِيلاً

{…Therefore fear not men but fear Me (O Jews) and sell not My Verses for a miserable price…} [al-Maa'idah 5:44]

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Seven people shall receive shade from Allaah when there is no shade except His shade…(one of them is) a man who is called by a charming lady of noble birth and he says 'I fear Allaah'."[11]

RAJAA' - HOPE

Of the aspects of Eebaadaat is rajaa' (رجاء) i.e. hope. This is a person having hope regarding Allaah's Pleasure and His rewards along with having eemaan and righteous deeds. It is waiting for Allaah's reward and seeking His Pleasure. Hope is the opposite of despair; a person despairing of Allaah's Mercy is one of the major sins. However, hope is an act of worship which is beloved to Allaah. Allaah سبحانه وتعالى mentions in the Qur'aan:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُواْ وَجَاهَدُواْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ يَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَ اللَّهِ

{Verily, those who have believed, and those who have emigrated (for Allâh's religion) and have striven hard in the way of Allâh, all these hope for Allâh's Mercy...} [al-Baqarah 2:218]

The opposite of hope is despair and hopelessness in the Mercy of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. He said:

إِنَّهُ لاَ يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللّهِ إِلاَّ الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ

{…Certainly no one despairs of Allâh's Mercy, except the people who disbelieve.} [Yoosuf 12:87]

And in another verse:

وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلاَّ الضَّآلُّونَ

{…"And who despairs of the Mercy of his Lord except those who are astray?"} [al-Hijr 15:56]

So hope is a quality or an aspect of tawheed whereas despair, its opposite, is not. It is an act of disobedience. Allaah سبحانه وتعالى mentioned in the above verses, that despair is a characteristic of those who are astray and who disbelieve.