asalamualikum...
*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 fear*and 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.
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