Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-39b
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
Then the author said, in what he quoted from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, from the narration of Abdullah ibn 'Utbah ibn Mas'ud, his uncle, the noble Companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We know, meaning, about whoever conceals a false secret during the time of the revelation, by what was revealed of the revelation, because some people in the time of the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) were hypocrites, showing good and concealing evil, but Allah the Exalted exposed them by what was revealed of the revelation to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), exposing them not by their names, but by their descriptions that identify their persons.
And the wisdom of mentioning them by their descriptions rather than their persons is that it becomes general, meaning, for everyone who possesses these characteristics, such as[At-Tawbah 9:75-77].
And such as:[At-Tawbah 9:58].
And from it:[At-Tawbah 9:79].
And this is much in al-Tawbah, in the Surah of al-Tawbah, which some of the Salaf named: "The Exposer, because it exposed the hypocrites".
But when the revelation ceased, people came to know nothing about the hypocrite, because hypocrisy is in the heart, and may Allah protect us from it.
He said (may Allah be pleased with him): "Whoever shows us good, we take him by what he showed us, even if he conceals a secret, meaning, an evil deed, and whoever shows us evil, we take him by his evil, even if he conceals a good intention, because we are only held to account for the apparent", and this is a blessing of Allah the Exalted upon us that we do not judge except by the apparent, because judging the hidden is among the difficult matters, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not burden a soul except with what it can bear, so whoever displays good, we deal with him by the good he displayed to us, and whoever displays evil, we deal with him by the evil he displayed to us, and we have no responsibility for his intention; the intention is entrusted to the Lord of the Worlds, the Mighty and Majestic, who knows what the soul of man whispers.
Then the author said (may Allah have mercy on him): "The Chapter of Fear": Fear of whom? Fear of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because the one who worships Allah must be one who fears and hopes; if he looks at his sins and the multitude of his evil deeds, he fears; if he looks at his righteous deeds and that something of pride and showing off to Allah may be mixed with them, he fears; if he looks at his righteous deeds and that something of showing off may befall them, he fears, so he fears; and if he looks at the pardon of Allah and His forgiveness, and His generosity, and His forbearance and His mercy, he hopes, so he is constantly between fear and hope.
Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Mu'minun 23:60]: fearful that it will not be accepted from them, .
So it is befitting, indeed it is obligatory, that the path of the person to Allah the Mighty and Majestic be constantly between fear and hope, but which of the two is to be predominant? Is hope to be predominant? Or is fear to be predominant? Or are they to be made equal?
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is befitting that his fear and his hope be equal", so whichever of the two predominates, its owner is ruined, because if the side of hope predominates, he becomes one of those who are secure from the punishment of Allah, and if he makes the side of fear predominant, he becomes one of those who despair of the mercy of Allah, and both are bad; it is befitting that his fear and his hope be equal.
And some of the scholars said, if one is in health:
Then the author said, in what he quoted from the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, from the narration of Abdullah ibn 'Utbah ibn Mas'ud, his uncle, the noble Companion Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We know, meaning, about whoever conceals a false secret during the time of the revelation, by what was revealed of the revelation, because some people in the time of the Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) were hypocrites, showing good and concealing evil, but Allah the Exalted exposed them by what was revealed of the revelation to His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), exposing them not by their names, but by their descriptions that identify their persons.
And the wisdom of mentioning them by their descriptions rather than their persons is that it becomes general, meaning, for everyone who possesses these characteristics, such as
(75) And among them are those who made a covenant with Allah, [saying], "If He should give us from His bounty, we will surely spend in charity, and we will surely be among the righteous." (76) But when he gave them from His bounty, they were stingy with it and turned away while they refused. (77) So He penalized them with hypocrisy in their hearts until the Day they will meet Him - because they failed Allah in what they promised Him and because they [habitually] used to lie.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ عَاهَدَ اللَّهَ لَئِنْ آتَانَا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ * فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُوا بِهِ وَتَوَلَّوْا وَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ فَأَعْقَبَهُم نِفَاقاً فِي قُلُوبِهِم إِلَى يَوْمِ يَلْقَوْنَهُ بِمَا أَخْلَفُوا اللَّهَ مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُوا يَكَذِبُونَAnd such as:
And among them are some who criticize you concerning the [distribution of] charities. If they are given from them, they approve; but if they are not given from them, at once they become angry.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُوا مِنْهَا رَضُوا وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَوْا مِنْهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَAnd from it:
Those who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning [their] charities and [criticize] the ones who find nothing [to spend] except their effort, so they ridicule them - Allah will ridicule them
الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ وَالَّذِينَ لا يَجِدُونَ إِلَّا جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْAnd this is much in al-Tawbah, in the Surah of al-Tawbah, which some of the Salaf named: "The Exposer, because it exposed the hypocrites".
But when the revelation ceased, people came to know nothing about the hypocrite, because hypocrisy is in the heart, and may Allah protect us from it.
He said (may Allah be pleased with him): "Whoever shows us good, we take him by what he showed us, even if he conceals a secret, meaning, an evil deed, and whoever shows us evil, we take him by his evil, even if he conceals a good intention, because we are only held to account for the apparent", and this is a blessing of Allah the Exalted upon us that we do not judge except by the apparent, because judging the hidden is among the difficult matters, and Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not burden a soul except with what it can bear, so whoever displays good, we deal with him by the good he displayed to us, and whoever displays evil, we deal with him by the evil he displayed to us, and we have no responsibility for his intention; the intention is entrusted to the Lord of the Worlds, the Mighty and Majestic, who knows what the soul of man whispers.
Then the author said (may Allah have mercy on him): "The Chapter of Fear": Fear of whom? Fear of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because the one who worships Allah must be one who fears and hopes; if he looks at his sins and the multitude of his evil deeds, he fears; if he looks at his righteous deeds and that something of pride and showing off to Allah may be mixed with them, he fears; if he looks at his righteous deeds and that something of showing off may befall them, he fears, so he fears; and if he looks at the pardon of Allah and His forgiveness, and His generosity, and His forbearance and His mercy, he hopes, so he is constantly between fear and hope.
Allah the Exalted said:
And they who give what they give
وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَا آتَوْاAnd their hearts are fearful
وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌThat they are returning to their Lord
أَنَّهُمْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ رَاجِعُونَSo it is befitting, indeed it is obligatory, that the path of the person to Allah the Mighty and Majestic be constantly between fear and hope, but which of the two is to be predominant? Is hope to be predominant? Or is fear to be predominant? Or are they to be made equal?
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "It is befitting that his fear and his hope be equal", so whichever of the two predominates, its owner is ruined, because if the side of hope predominates, he becomes one of those who are secure from the punishment of Allah, and if he makes the side of fear predominant, he becomes one of those who despair of the mercy of Allah, and both are bad; it is befitting that his fear and his hope be equal.
And some of the scholars said, if one is in health: