Explanation of the Author's Statement: The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : ... ؟
The Shaykh : ... what he cares about, meaning ... for others, what he cares about.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes ... and perhaps it does not concern him at all afterwards, yes.
The reader: "The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed, and the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Hud 11:15-16]"
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
He said, may Allah have mercy on him: "The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed". The word "of" here indicates partiality, meaning: that some of associating partners with Allah is a person intending [the world]. And his word "the world" is the object of the intention, because intention is a verbal noun added to its doer, the intention of the person. And if you know the verbal noun added to its doer, then convert it to a verb accompanied by "that" so that it becomes clear to you. For example, if we say: The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah is that a person intends the world with his deed, what is the person?
The student: Active subject.
The Shaykh : The doer. So in that case, intention is added to the doer, and the world is the object. So if you want to know whether the verbal noun is added to its doer or to its object, convert it to a present tense verb accompanied by "that" so that its type becomes clear to you.
And his saying: "The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed". Is this chapter repeated with the one before it, or is it another independent type, or is it broader than the one before it? Here there are three possibilities: is it repeated with the one before it, or is it broader than it, or is it an independent type other than the first? Did you understand?
As for it being repeated, it is unlikely that the author would write two consecutive headings with the same meaning. As for it being part of it, meaning that the first is a part of this and this is broader, that is possible. And as for it being another independent type, that is also possible. And it remains to look at the preference between it being an independent type, or it being broader than the first.
This becomes apparent by knowing showing off (riya') and knowing the reality of this chapter, meaning by knowing the reality in both chapters. What does the one who shows off want?
The student: He wants the world.
The Shaykh : He wants the world? Meaning he wants money? No, he does not want money. He wants to be praised for his worship, so that it is said: he is a worshipper. So he wants to be praised for his worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. He does not want people to benefit him, he does not want them to benefit him, nor to benefit from them materially. But he wants them to praise him for his worship of Allah. And does his worship of Allah benefit them or not? It does not benefit them. But here, to intend the world with his deed, the person worships Allah sincerely for Allah, he does not show off to people at all, and he does not want people to see him to praise him. But he wants something of the world with his deed. He wants money, he wants a rank, he wants health and well-being for his family and children, yes, and the like. So this person wants a purely material thing. Its example: he calls to prayer to take the salary, he becomes an imam to take the salary. His intention is not to draw near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with this, but he wants the money. He performs Hajj for others for the sake of money. This is the one who intended the world with his deed. He wanted a rank. He studied in this college or this school in order to obtain the certificate and be in the sixth or seventh or fifth or tenth or hundredth rank, the important thing is according to the ranks. This person also intended the world with his deed. He drew near to Allah and worshipped Allah wanting Allah to reward him for his deed with something in the world, such as the love of creation for him and the repelling of evil from him, and the like. He does not want the Hereafter, he wants benefit in the world, because righteous deeds have an effect in worldly life, so he wants that[Al-A'raf 7:96] so he wants this worldly blessing only.
So now the difference between the first chapter and this chapter is clear. And it appears that it is a division of it, meaning: that it is an independent type, and not a part of it, nor that it is broader than it. This is what appears.
Then the author said: And the saying of Allah the Exalted. Good. Intending the world, we mentioned three forms: to want money, to want a rank, what is after that? To want the repelling of diseases and calamities from him. All of these are a person intending the world with his deed.
The student: To want fame.
The Shaykh : Fame is included in rank. It remains to be said to those who are studying in colleges now, perhaps we have put them in difficulty. They will say: So what do we do? And some of them are now on the verge of graduating, so what do we say? We say: They intend by that not to obtain this worldly rank, but to obtain a certificate that qualifies them to work in their field, because jobs now, as you see, are based on what? On certificates. A person comes holding the card, perhaps he does not know how to read it, but it is written on it D-K-T-W-R-A-H, that is enough ... perhaps he does not know how to read it, they put him in this rank. And a genius, a knowledgeable, clever person comes, but where did you graduate from? He says: By Allah, I graduated from the mosque circles. Wait, we will see if we need you or not. So what do people do? Meaning, they cannot reach the benefit of creation except with this document. So they have taken it as what? A means in order to work in the fields that benefit creation. And in this way, the intention is sound. He says: I do not care to be in the seventh financial rank or the eighth or the ninth, for example, but I care to work in the field that this card qualifies me for. They say that al-Shanqiti, may Allah have mercy on him, and he is a scholar as you know, said: "I am not one whose knowledge is in a bottle". What is a bottle?
The student: The certificate.
The Shaykh : The certificate, he keeps it in a glass bottle so that neither sound nor echo reaches it ... Good, yes?
The questioner : ... he wanted knowledge for its own sake ...
The Shaykh : This is good, this is good, this is also good. Meaning: for example, one might say: By Allah, I do not find this knowledge in the mosques, and I want to learn. This is good, this is good, they are all sound. But suppose some people say: The fruit of knowledge in colleges is little. Meaning, the blessing of knowledge in the mosques, in what we have experienced and what others have experienced, is much better, more blessed, and more beneficial for the heart. So he says: I am able to obtain this knowledge that is in the college or more of it in the mosques, but I want to reach this rank that qualifies me to work. But if he wanted knowledge and said: I perhaps will not obtain this knowledge in the mosques, then this ...
The Shaykh : ... what he cares about, meaning ... for others, what he cares about.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes ... and perhaps it does not concern him at all afterwards, yes.
The reader: "The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed, and the saying of Allah the Exalted:
(15) Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments - We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived. (16) Those are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do.
من كان يريد الحياة الدنيا وزينتها نوف إليهم أعمالهم فيها وهم فيها لا يبخسون، أولئك الذين ليس لهم في الآخرة إلا النار وحبط ما صنعوا فيها وباطل ما كانوا يعملونThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
He said, may Allah have mercy on him: "The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed". The word "of" here indicates partiality, meaning: that some of associating partners with Allah is a person intending [the world]. And his word "the world" is the object of the intention, because intention is a verbal noun added to its doer, the intention of the person. And if you know the verbal noun added to its doer, then convert it to a verb accompanied by "that" so that it becomes clear to you. For example, if we say: The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah is that a person intends the world with his deed, what is the person?
The student: Active subject.
The Shaykh : The doer. So in that case, intention is added to the doer, and the world is the object. So if you want to know whether the verbal noun is added to its doer or to its object, convert it to a present tense verb accompanied by "that" so that its type becomes clear to you.
And his saying: "The Chapter on Associating Partners with Allah: A Person Intending the World with His Deed". Is this chapter repeated with the one before it, or is it another independent type, or is it broader than the one before it? Here there are three possibilities: is it repeated with the one before it, or is it broader than it, or is it an independent type other than the first? Did you understand?
As for it being repeated, it is unlikely that the author would write two consecutive headings with the same meaning. As for it being part of it, meaning that the first is a part of this and this is broader, that is possible. And as for it being another independent type, that is also possible. And it remains to look at the preference between it being an independent type, or it being broader than the first.
This becomes apparent by knowing showing off (riya') and knowing the reality of this chapter, meaning by knowing the reality in both chapters. What does the one who shows off want?
The student: He wants the world.
The Shaykh : He wants the world? Meaning he wants money? No, he does not want money. He wants to be praised for his worship, so that it is said: he is a worshipper. So he wants to be praised for his worship of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. He does not want people to benefit him, he does not want them to benefit him, nor to benefit from them materially. But he wants them to praise him for his worship of Allah. And does his worship of Allah benefit them or not? It does not benefit them. But here, to intend the world with his deed, the person worships Allah sincerely for Allah, he does not show off to people at all, and he does not want people to see him to praise him. But he wants something of the world with his deed. He wants money, he wants a rank, he wants health and well-being for his family and children, yes, and the like. So this person wants a purely material thing. Its example: he calls to prayer to take the salary, he becomes an imam to take the salary. His intention is not to draw near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with this, but he wants the money. He performs Hajj for others for the sake of money. This is the one who intended the world with his deed. He wanted a rank. He studied in this college or this school in order to obtain the certificate and be in the sixth or seventh or fifth or tenth or hundredth rank, the important thing is according to the ranks. This person also intended the world with his deed. He drew near to Allah and worshipped Allah wanting Allah to reward him for his deed with something in the world, such as the love of creation for him and the repelling of evil from him, and the like. He does not want the Hereafter, he wants benefit in the world, because righteous deeds have an effect in worldly life, so he wants that
And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth
ولو أن أهل القرى آمنوا واتقوا لفتحنا عليهم بركات من السماء والأرضSo now the difference between the first chapter and this chapter is clear. And it appears that it is a division of it, meaning: that it is an independent type, and not a part of it, nor that it is broader than it. This is what appears.
Then the author said: And the saying of Allah the Exalted
Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornment
من كان يريد الحياة الدنيا وزينتهاThe student: To want fame.
The Shaykh : Fame is included in rank. It remains to be said to those who are studying in colleges now, perhaps we have put them in difficulty. They will say: So what do we do? And some of them are now on the verge of graduating, so what do we say? We say: They intend by that not to obtain this worldly rank, but to obtain a certificate that qualifies them to work in their field, because jobs now, as you see, are based on what? On certificates. A person comes holding the card, perhaps he does not know how to read it, but it is written on it D-K-T-W-R-A-H, that is enough ... perhaps he does not know how to read it, they put him in this rank. And a genius, a knowledgeable, clever person comes, but where did you graduate from? He says: By Allah, I graduated from the mosque circles. Wait, we will see if we need you or not. So what do people do? Meaning, they cannot reach the benefit of creation except with this document. So they have taken it as what? A means in order to work in the fields that benefit creation. And in this way, the intention is sound. He says: I do not care to be in the seventh financial rank or the eighth or the ninth, for example, but I care to work in the field that this card qualifies me for. They say that al-Shanqiti, may Allah have mercy on him, and he is a scholar as you know, said: "I am not one whose knowledge is in a bottle". What is a bottle?
The student: The certificate.
The Shaykh : The certificate, he keeps it in a glass bottle so that neither sound nor echo reaches it ... Good, yes?
The questioner : ... he wanted knowledge for its own sake ...
The Shaykh : This is good, this is good, this is also good. Meaning: for example, one might say: By Allah, I do not find this knowledge in the mosques, and I want to learn. This is good, this is good, they are all sound. But suppose some people say: The fruit of knowledge in colleges is little. Meaning, the blessing of knowledge in the mosques, in what we have experienced and what others have experienced, is much better, more blessed, and more beneficial for the heart. So he says: I am able to obtain this knowledge that is in the college or more of it in the mosques, but I want to reach this rank that qualifies me to work. But if he wanted knowledge and said: I perhaps will not obtain this knowledge in the mosques, then this ...