Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) – The Spiritual Doctor of the Ummah
Just as Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was blessed with the duty of reciting the verses of the Qur’aan Majeed and teaching its meanings and injunctions to the ummah, he was also commissioned with the duty of purifying the ummah through teaching them good character, reforming their ways and actions and cleansing them of all evil qualities and evil traits.
Purifying the ummah of evil qualities and traits is vitally important and critical as this is the means for people remaining firm and steadfast upon deen. It is a proven fact that as long as a person remains involved in sins and disobedience, the true noor of deen will not permeate his heart and life. He will not find any motivation within his heart to carry out righteous works. In fact, the love for wealth and worldly pleasures may drive him to the point where he will use the shariah as an instrument to obtain his worldly interests. At times, he will even be prepared to misinterpret the Qur’aan Majeed and Mubaarak Ahaadith to justify his personal agenda.
Hence, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was sent as a spiritual doctor to the ummah to cure them from all spiritual diseases and maladies and cleanse them from all evil qualities and evil traits. Purifying the ummah of evil qualities and traits is the way to keep them firm upon deen as well as a way to protect deen from adulterations and distortions.
It is in this regard that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “Indeed I fear for my ummah after me three things.” The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) asked, “What are they, O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)?” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, “The slip of an aalim, the desires of a person which he accedes to (against the commands of Shari’ah), and the decision of an oppressive ruler.” (Majma’uz Zawaa’id #883)
In this Hadith, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) mentioned three things which he greatly feared for his ummah.
The first thing which Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) greatly feared for his ummah is the slip of an Aalim. It is evident that through an Aalim erring in deeni matters, people will learn deen incorrectly and thus practise upon deen incorrectly. Hence, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) feared this for his ummah as this will be the cause for deen being distorted, and subsequently, the deen of the ummah being affected. Instead of the sunnah being revived and spreading, bid’aat (innovated practices) will come into existence and spread among the people.
The second thing which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) greatly feared for his ummah is a person obeying his base desires which drive him against the commands of shariah. When a person’s goal is the fulfilment of his carnal desires, he will be prepared to break all boundaries to obey his carnal desires and acquire whatever it wants. If his desires command him to break the command of shariah to acquire wealth, he will not hesitate to do so. Hence, this condition has the potential to destroy his spiritual progress as well as the spiritual progress of others. If one is in a leadership position, he will abuse his position to earn popularity or wealth. At times, the decisions which he will pass will be for his own selfish gain or monetary benefit rather than for the benefit of deen.
The third thing which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) greatly feared for his ummah is the decision of an oppressive ruler. If the ruler’s decision is one of injustice and oppression, the entire nation will suffer the consequences of his unjust decision. The deeni and dunya wellbeing of the ummah is subject to the decision of the ruler. His decision has the potential to destroy the people’s deeni condition as well as infringe upon their worldly condition.
In essence, the grievous outcome of all the above three aspects is that they will bring ruin to the deen of the ummah.
It is for this reason that Allah Ta‘ala sent Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) as a spiritual doctor to cure the ummah and vitalise their spiritual selves. When the ummah will be spiritually vitalised and rejuvenated, they will be spiritually motivated to practise upon deen and pass it onto the coming generations. Therefore, purifying the ummah of evil and wrongs is part of the establishment and preservation plan with which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was entrusted.
Hence, in the aim of fulfilling the obligation of amr bil ma’roof and nahy anil munkar, it is imperative for one to also be concerned about improving his character and reforming his life so that he will be able to guide people correctly to the straight path. It should not be such that outwardly, he is correcting them, but inwardly, he despises them, thus becoming sinful in the court of Allah Ta‘ala. Likewise, it should not be that the intention for correcting people is flawed and corrupt, such as wishing to disgrace the person or express his own greatness or knowledge before people, thereby becoming worthy of punishment in the Hereafter.
