Nasihah

All praise belongs to ALLAH and Peace and Salutations be upon Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Our Nabi (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has said, “The Deen is Nasihah!” In other words, Islam means to wish well for others. The origin of the Arabic word ‘Nasihah’ is ‘nash’ which has two meanings. One meaning is ‘purity’ and ‘sincerity’. It is said in Arabic; nasahal asla i.e. he cleaned and purified the honey of all impurities and dirt. The second meaning of ‘nash’ is ‘to repair or mend’ as in Arabic nasahas sawba i.e. to mend clothing that has become torn.

Deen in reality is that a Muslim should be sincere and wish good for others. When Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said these words, He was asked, ‘Towards whom?’ He replied, “Towards ALLAH, HIS Book, HIS Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and the general body of the Muslims”.

So, to be sincere and good towards ALLAH means to believe in HIM, to consider HIM as HE is with all HIS attributes and to love HIM. It also means being grateful to HIM for all the bounties HE has granted us, to fear HIM and not to disobey HIM.

And this is also the meaning of Nasihah or goodwill towards Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم); that we should love Him, follow His Sunnah, promote and propogate His way of life and stand up against those that oppose His Sunnah and the Shari’ah. Nasihah (i.e. sincerity and goodness) towards the Book of ALLAH entails believing in it, and promoting and propagating it by the means of Ta’leem and Tabligh. When the learned and the leaders of the Muslims take any measures to spread or support the Deen, they should be assisted, and if they veer off the straight path, ways should be sought to rectify them, while keeping in mind their honour and respect. To deal with sincerity and be good towards the general body of Muslims means to provide material and Deeni benefit to them. This includes assisting them and making an effort for them to practice the whole of Deen.

This Hadith is very significant. The entire Deen can be attained by acting on this Hadith alone. This is what Imaam Nawawi (Rahimahullah) has mentioned. This periodical has been initiated with the same purpose in mind. May ALLAH TA’ALA accept it and grant it every success and fulfillment of purpose, AAMEEN!

By Shaikhul Hadith, Hadhrat Maulana Fadlur Rahmaan A’zami (May ALLAH lengthen his shadow upon us)

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