Muslim Schools: Whose Responsibility?

Muslim Schools: Whose Responsibility?

by Brother Muhammad al-Sharîf 
 

 

What do you give to your son on his wedding night as a gift? A Mitsubishi lancer or a Honda accord or do you give him the ever useful toaster? 
When Ibn Al-Qayyim’s son was getting married, he found himself in this gift dilemna. He thought and thought, and decided upon a gift that would not only benefit his son, but all the Muslims. He lighted his candle, dipped his blessed pen, and began writing. The gift, you ask? A book dedicated to his son and daughter in law about marriage and the rights of children. He named the book, Tuhfatul Wadûd, bi Ahkâ m al-Mowlûd. The value of the gift? Priceless.

Many times we hear about the respect due to the parents – because it is often the parents who are speaking. Yet how often do we hear about the rights of children? Indeed, they have many rights that go further back than 9 months before their creation – they have the God given right that their future mother or father choose a spouse that will teach them about Allâh (The One & Only God) and be an excellent example for them.

Ibn Al-Qayyim has a chapter in the book he wrote for his son: Chapter 25 – Regarding the obligation of teaching the children, disciplining them, and being just between them.

One of their rights which we would like to speak about today is the right of our children to an Islamic education.

Allâh (The One & Only God) commands us:

[O you who believe, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones …] SûrahAt-Tahrîm 66/6

We are commanded by Allâh (The One God) to save ourselves from Hellfire. But it does not end there. The commandment extends to our family, we must save them also – using all our resources – we must save them from Hellfire. And the biggest weapon we have to protect them is knowledge of what Allâh (The One God) and His Messenger require from them. For verily, a human is enemy to that which he does not understand.

In another verse, we see the example of Luqmân with his son.

[But if they endeavor to make you worship others with Me – that of which you have no knowledge, then do not obey yet accompany them in (this) world with appropriate kindness.] Sûrah Luqmân 31/15

Notice how Allâh (The One & Only God) mentions the Shirk that the child is being called to as something which ‘he has no knowledge of’. Meaning, no knowledge of it’s divinity, for there can be no knowledge about something which is non-existent and untrue.

And yet in another situation, Allâh (The One God) describes the exchange between Nuh (Noah) and his son.

[And Nuh called to his son who was apart (from them), “O my son, come aboard with us and be not with the disbelievers.” (But) he said, “I shall take refuge on a mountain to protect me from the water.” (Nuh) said, “There is no protector today from the decree of Allâh except for whom He gives mercy.” And the waves came between them, and he was among the drowned.] Sûrah Hûd 11/42,43

It has been said that about 90% of everything a child learn, he learns it within the 1st 5 years of his or her life. It that is not enough cause for concern, the children at that fragile age are ever so keen to please the adults in their lives, especially the ones that see day after day. Subhan Allâh , it is a survival skill that Allâh (The One God) created in humans. For had they not had this desire to please the ‘teacher’, they most likely would not develop intellectually.

If you went to public school, imagine back to your public school kindergarten class or grade 1 and how you used to act with the teacher. Did you try to please him or her at every chance you got? Would you do things just to win her pleasure? I know for me, when our school play for the Christmas concert was coming up, the teacher chose me to play one of the lead roles because of how good an actor I was (smile). Mind you, I disliked the part and when a boy offered me a handful of corn puffs to switch parts with me, I readily accepted. I took him to Mrs. Mitchell and proudly announced that Jason would be taking my part. She was disappointed and said how much she wanted me to do the part. I could not bear to see her disappointment, so I continued with the part. At that time, I was in kindergarten.

The horror story now happens when the child is put in the lap of a non-Muslim, in the lap of someone who does not know nothing about our obligation to Allâh (The One God) and His Messenger, someone who are Muslim children are so eager to please.

There once was a little girl in a public school in a Muslim country who’s teacher was not practicing Islam. The little girl, following the blessed example of her mother, would go to school with her Hijâb on. The Hijâb, however, was something displeasing to her teacher, subhan Allâh , so she told the girl to take it off and not dare come back to school with it on tomorrow or she would suffer the consequences.

Home this girl went and told her mother of how the teacher did not want her to wear Hijâb in school and how she did not want to displease her teacher. Her mother calmly said, “Who do you want to please then, your teacher or Allâh ?” The little girl looked in the eye and said,“Allâh !”

The next day, the little girl returned with her Hijâb on, defiant. When the teacher saw her, she exploded in chastisement. “How dare you disobey me!”

The painful words kept coming and coming until the little girl lowered her head, sobbing. Then she shouted back, “I don’t understand, who am I supposed to please – you or Him?”

“Who’s him?” asked the teacher.

“Allâh !”

Her eyes widened and a chill ran through her. The teacher stopped talking. From behind her tears, the little girl said, “No, I shall please Allâh and Allâh alone, and let happen happen.”

That day the teacher sent a letter home to the little girls mother with the words, “Today your child taught me who I was and truly who is Allâh (The One & Only God). Thank you for raising such a blessed daughter.”

These television sets and the public schools are spreading a subtle devastating poison through the bloodstream of our youth. If you don’t believe me, take a random class of Muslim high school students from public school and reflect on their habits and their knowledge of Islam. If a parent has chosen the public school for his son, in the final year when you look over the school yearbook and see a picture of your son standing hand in hand dancing with a Kafir (unbeliever) woman, at that time it will be too late to question your upbringing. Now is the time to question it, now, before it’s too late.

Al-Hasan ibn Alî – Radi Allâ hu ‘anhu – used to say,

“Educate yourselves today, for today you are the youth of the community but tomorrow you shall be the seniors.”

Alhamdulillah (All praise is for God), I have met many exceptionally smart adults in my travels for Hajj. When I sit with these brothers and marvel at their intellect, I wonder to myself ‘What could this person had done for Islam and the Muslim community had his parents educated about the Dîn?’ Dear brothers and sisters, we have a student here in grade 3 who knows almost 7 Juz’ of Qur’ân . He is 8 years old! I don’t think I would be wrong if I claimed that he knew more Qur’ân than 95% of the adults in this Khutbah. He is 8 years old. I have seen students just as smart as him thrown to public school – their intelligence squandered on Inca and the pyramids, while they cannot recite the very letters of their mother tongue.

Yahya ibn Humayd said:

We went to Imam Hammad ibn Salamah once and found him sitting with children narrating hadith to them. When he completed and the children left, we approached him and said, “O Abu Salamah, we are the seniors of your tribe we have come to you to learn. Why do you leave us and turn instead to these children?” He replied, “I once saw in a dream that I was sitting on the banks of a river, bending over with a bucket to get water to drink. After drinking, I turned around and saw these children standing there, and so I gave them the bucket of water after me.” Kitâ b al-Ayâ l by Ibn Abî Ad-Dunya

As a poet once said:

Young trees, if you raise them firm, they will grow straight, They will not slouch if kept firm with a stick Perhaps discipline for young ones brings benefit But that same discipline will no longer bring results in a senior.

Part II

Sa’îd ibn Rahmah Al-Asbahî used to tell his students: I used to camp out in the Masjid in the hopes of getting the best seat in the halaqah of Abdullâ h ibn Al-Mubâ rak. I had friends of my age, but none of them would do as I did. When the time for the Halaqah would arrive, Ibn Al-Mubâ rak would come and with him would be the seniors. They would complain to him, “These children have overcome us at the Halaqah, there is no place near you for us.” Ibn al-Mubâ rak would reply, “These children are more dearer to me than you. You – how long shall you live? These children, however, perhaps Allâh (The One God) shall carry them far.” 
Sa’îd would then say to his students, “Today there is no one alive from that halaqah of Ibn al-Mubâ rak except me.”

When children do a science experiment, an instrument that they might use is a thermostat. This is a device that reflects that heat coming from an object or area. But have you ever thought about how spoiled we are at home? There is this thing called a thermostat. When we are too hot, it cools us down. And if we get cold it warms us up. Not only does it reflect the heat, it does something about it.

When we look at the Muslim Ummah, we will see that many of our communities are nothing more then thermostats. When there is heat coming from Bosnia it registers a reaction in our Salâh , our duas, and our checkbooks. And when there is heat in Chechnya it registers a reaction in our Salâh , our duas, and our checkbooks. But this is the action of a thermostat. What we must become is thermometers, cooling things down when they get too hot and warming things up when they get too cool.

Today everyone is looking to our brothers and sisters in Philistîn and pulling their hair because they cannot seemingly do anything. Dear brothers and sisters, don’t let the things you cannot do stop you from doing what you can do.

By Allâh (The One & Only God), the long term goal is in these children. If we do not stand up to the challenge of educating them in Islâm and raising them as best we can, we – with our own hands – are paralyzing the future of Islam in this country.

[All of you are shepherds and all of you shall be questioned regarding your flock.]

But never think that the work you do for the betterment of our children’s Islamic education goes in vain. The Christians have an English word called sacrifice. Some Muslims when translating the idea of Sadaqah may incorrectly use this concept of sacrifice. A more correct word is ‘to deposit’. We are not spending these dimes hoping for nothing in return. Nay, we are investing it for an enormous return, we are depositing it in the hereafter.

What’s in it for me, we always ask. Of the many blessings…

Firstly: Allâh ta’ala will protect your children because of your piety.

The example given to us in the Qur’ân is that of Khidr when he built the wall without any compensation, he told Musa (Moses) why:

[And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure for them, and their father had been righteous. So your Lord intended that they reach maturity and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord.] Sûrahal-Kahf 18/82

Secondly: By educating and protecting the Muslim children, you would be fulfilling the Amânah (trust) that Allâh has placed upon you. And in the fulfillment of one’s trust lies success and a  plan in paradise.

Allâh (The One & Only God) says:

[Certainly successful are the believers … they who to their trusts and their promises attentive / And they who carefully maintain their payers – Those are the inheritors / Who will inherit al-Firdaus wherein they will abide eternally.]

In conclusion, I would like to pose the question: who is responsible for these Islamic schools? Look to the brother on your left. Now look to the brother on your right. Now look at me … then look at yourself. We are all responsible – every one of us. This school everything in it is our ‘ra’eyyah’ and we shall be questioned for it. 

The Importance of good companionship

Choosing and having good companions is extremely important for many reasons and from many aspects. 



1. Mankind cannot live alone; every individual must live and interact with others, and when interacting with others one either influences or is himself influenced.


2. Those people whom you sit with and make your friends are inevitably going to fall into one of two categories. They will either be good individuals - who guide and encourage you towards what is good and help you to accomplish that which Allah (The One & Only God) has ordered, or they are going to be bad - encouraging you to do what is pleasing to Satan (Devil), that which misleads you, and leads you to the Hell-Fire. 



3. When the Holy Prophet, salla Allahu alihi wa sallam, was sent with the mission to establish Islam, he did not do it on his own. Rather, Allah (The One God) chose for him companions who accompanied him and who carried the Message until it was complete. 



These three aspects show the importance of having good companions, companions who are righteous. Such a companion will help you to do what is good and remind you of Allah (The One God), subhanahu wa ta'ala, he will enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil. These aspects also show the importance of avoiding befriending bad companions, because such a companion will have a bad effect upon you, they help you to do those deeds which are displeasing to Allah (The One & Only God) and which lead to the Hell-Fire. 



The Holy Prophet, salla Allahu alihi wa sallam, gave a good similitude regarding this. He, salla Allahu alihi wa sallam, said: "The case of the good companion and the bad companion is like that of the seller of musk and the blower of the bellows (iron-smith) . As for the seller of musk, he will either give you some of the musk, or you will purchase some from him, or at least you will come away having experienced its good smell. Whereas the blower of the bellows will either burn your clothing, or at least you will come away having experienced its repugnant smell." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim] 


The Holy Prophet explained the matter of good companionship, so that no room is left for doubt or confusion, when he said: "A person is upon the religion of his close friend, so beware whom you befriend." [Abu Daawood and At-Tirmithi] 


This means that a person will be upon the same methodology as his friend, the same path as his friend, the same nature, manner and behavior as his friend. So we must be careful whom we befriend. There is an Arabic saying: 'Your companion is what pulls you to something.' So if your companion is good, he will pull you towards that which is good. He will order us with what is good and forbid us from what is evil. If he observes us committing sins he would warn us, if he becomes aware of our shortcomings he would advise us, and if he finds a fault in us he would cover it and not disclose it to others. About this, the Holy Prophet, salla Allahu alihi wa sallam, said:  “…Whoever conceals (the fault of) a Muslim, Allah will conceal his fault on the Day of Judgment.”  [Abu Daawood] 

So should you see a fault in your brother, you should wish to remove that fault from him and not expose it to the people. This is what is required by brotherhood and again stresses the importance of choosing friends who are upon the correct way, who are loyal, and who hide your faults whilst ordering you with good and forbidding you from evil, who stand beside you and support you, and co-operate with you upon all that is good. 



This principle is important from the standpoint of how the religion is to be established, and from the standpoint of what brotherhood is and what it does. Indeed, the reason that one takes a companion is to help him establish Islam, and to help him worship Allah (The One God). We find a good example in the Prophet Moosa (Moses) the one whom Allah (The One God) chose and spoke to. When Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, sent him to Pharaoh, he (Moosa)  said as Allah (The One God) informs us saying: "And appoint for me a helper from my family, Haroon - my brother; increase my strength with him, and let him share my task (of conveying Allah's Message and Prophethood) , that we may glorify You much and remember You much." [Quran; 20: 29-34] 



Moosa (Moses) wanted his brother to support him and help him, protect him and accompany him. This is exactly what the believers do for one another. For the thing that binds the believers together and makes them brothers is the bond of faith. The Holy Prophet said: "There are three characteristics; whoever has them will taste the sweetness of faith: That Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than all else, that he loves a person and does not love him except for the sake of Allah, and that he would hate to revert to unbelief just as he would hate to be thrown into the Fire." [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]


Thus the connection between the believers is based upon faith and sincere brotherhood. Beware against taking any companion if such companionship is based upon other than this, for if you were to do that you would then bite your hands in grief. Just as the unjust ones will bite their hands in grief. Allah (The One God), subhanahu wa ta'ala, Says: "And (remember) the Day when the wrong-doer (oppressor, polytheist etc.) will bite at his hand, he will say:  ‘Oh! Would that I had taken a path with the Messenger. Ah! Woe to me! Would that I had never taken so-and-so as a friend! He indeed led me astray from the Reminder (the Quran) after it had come to me….’" [Quran; 25:27] 



And Allah (The One & Only God) Says: "And whosoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allah), We appoint for him Satan to be a Qareen (intimate companion) to him." [Quran; 43:36] 



So all of the physical togetherness that you see around you, which is based upon other than faith will be wiped away on that Day, and it will be a source of misery and torture for them. Allah (The One & Only God), subhanahu wa ta'ala, Says:  “Friends on that Day will be foes one to another except the pious." [Quran; 43:67]

Some people asked Allah's Apostle (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam), "Whose Islam is the best? i.e. (Who is a very good Muslim)?" He replied, "One who avoids harming the Muslims with his tongue and hands." [Bukhari]

Jabir heard the Holy Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) say: A Muslim is he from whose hand and tongue the Muslims are safe. [Sahih Muslim: Book 1, Number 0065.]

Narrated Malik:  "Who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet." (i.e. abstain from dirty and evil talk, and should think before uttering). [Sahih Bukhari: Volume 8, Book 73, Number 157.]

A New Year Gained or a New Year Lost ??

A New Year Gained or a New Year Lost ??

Zoom!

Before we knew it, last year passed by like a flash and the new year is here...whether it is 2016 CE or 1437 of the Hijri Calendar.
For some people, the beginning of the new year is marked by excited countdowns, popping of firecrackers, partying till the wee hours of the morning and dancing.
And for some, it is a time for somber thoughtfulness and self accountability.

Instead of celebrating, they are worried and scared.
Instead of partying, they think and reflect.
Their hearts tremble and their skins shiver.


Because each year that passes means a year LESS from their lifetime.... .

Each year that passes by is bringing them closer to their death....
Because, they know that with each passing year....each passing month....each passing day.....and each passing second...they are that much closer to that inevitable event when they meet their end,
that much closer to their meeting with their Lord, when they will have to stand in front of Him and answer regarding all that they did.

They are aware that whatever time has passed will never come back.
They know that if they did not make the most of their time, and if they did not use their time wisely, in the obedience of Allah (The One & Only God), then surely, they are the losers.


That is because, the Holy Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) said: "On the Day of Resurrection the feet of the son of Adam (man) will not move till he is questioned about four things: how he spent his lifetime, how he spent his youth, from where he acquired his wealth and how he spent it, and what he did with his knowledge." (Tirmidhi)

So they take account of themselves and their deeds at the end of a year....and at the end of a month.....and at the end of a day. They are not heedless of the passage of time or day. They are conscious of every second of their lives and how important it is to spend it usefully.
You see, your life is like the pages of a calendar. As the months go by, you flip its pages, never to flip the pages back. Those months that have passed will never come back.


Similarly, as the days and weeks and months of your life go by, they too, will never come back.

What is gone, is gone.


That is why the righteous Salaf were so careful about their time and how they spent it. They made sure that no time, however short it was, passed without doing something useful, like acquiring useful knowledge, doing good deeds, helping others, or advising the Ummah (Muslim nation).

Describing the Salafs care for time, Hasan al-Basri said: "I saw those people and how they were more careful about their time than about their Dirhams and Dinars (meaning, their money).

Regarding Imam Hammad ibn Salamah, someone said: "It is unbelievable! I have never seen Hammad laugh at all. He was always busy explaining hadeeth, praying, reading or praising the Lord. This is how he spent his day." And:" If you were to tell Hammad, You are going to die tomorrow', there would be nothing he could add to what he is already doing."






Subhaan Allaah! (Glory be to God) What consciousness of the value of time!
Ibn al-Qayyim says: "The year is like a tree, months are its branches, days are the branch sticks, hours are its leaves, and the breaths are its fruits. Therefore, if one's breaths are in obedience [to Allah and His Messenger], the fruits of his tree are good. If they are in disobedience, his fruits are bitter. The harvest is on the Appointed Day, when one's fruits are found out to be either good or bitter."

The Holy Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) said:
“Make the most of five things before five others: life before death, health before sickness, free time before becoming busy, youth before old age, and wealth before poverty.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’)
This Hadeeth, like so many other ahaadeeth of the Holy Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam), is brief, yet it is so comprehensive and loaded with meaning. Not only does it point out the value of time, but it also points out the importance of its proper utilization during our youth, and health. It urges us to take the initiative, and not to delay good deeds.


The Holy Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa sallam) also said:
"Lose no time to do good deeds before you are caught up by one of seven calamities awaiting you: a starvation which may impair your wisdom; a prosperity which may mislead you; an ailment which may damage your health; an old age which may harm your senses; a sudden death; the Dajjal; or Doomsday, which is indeed the hardest and most bitter." [at-Tirmidhi]

In fact, we see that the Sahabah (Companions of Holy Prophet) were not only careful about wasting their time; rather they would compete with one another in good deeds.

The noble and commendable competitions that occurred between Abu Bakr and Umar is well-known to all.
"Umar saw that as an opportunity to outstrip Abu Bakr and he said: Today, I am going to surpass Abu Bakr.
He said: So I came with half of my property.
The Messenger of Allah asked: What have you left for your family? I answered: As much as this.

Then Abu Bakr came with all that he has and the Messenger of Allah said: What have you left for your family?
He replied: I left for them Allah and his Messenger.
It is then that I said: I shall never compete with him on anything again.” (At-Tirmidhee) .

And Allah (The One & Only God) says: "So race in goodness." (Holy Quran Surah Baqarah: 148) 
Some Ulemaa (Scholars) while commenting on the above verse said: “Whoever beats others to the righteous deeds in this world will be the foremost on the Last Day and the foremost people are the highest in position.”

Dear brothers and sisters, man's life is not free from impediments, obstacles and calamities, which can prevent him from accomplishing what could have been done earlier. Wise are those who grab available opportunities before being handicapped by obstacles.



Let us leave those people moving aimlessly in their fake pleasures and ponder over a better and sublime competition. ...... a competition that is encouraged by the Glorious Quran.


It is a race towards the Pleasure of Allah (The One & Only God) and the Paradise.... a competition in the field of righteous deeds.

It is a competition in which the participants are wise people who are aware that this live is short hence they compete with one another in investing their lives in acts of obedience to Allah (The One& Only God).

"Therefore, race for forgiveness from your Lord, and for a Garden as wide as heaven and earth, prepared for those who believe in Allah and His Messengers. Such is the Favor of Allah; He gives it to whom He will. Allah is the Owner of great favor."

(Holy Quran Surah Hadeed: 21)

THE TRUTH OF DESTINY

 

 

THE TRUTH OF DESTINY

But you will not will unless Allah wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (Holy Qur'an, 76:30)

As a result of experiments he performed in 1973, Professor Benjamin Libet, a neurophysiologist at the University of California, revealed that all our decisions and choices are set out beforehand, and that consciousness only comes into play half a second after everything has been determined. This is interpreted by other neurophysiologists as meaning that we actually live in the past and that our consciousness is like a monitor which shows us everything half a second later.


Therefore, none of the experiences we perceive are in real time, but are delayed by up to half a second from the real events themselves. Libet carried out his research by making use of the fact that brain surgery can be performed without the use of narcosis, in other words while the subject is fully conscious. Libet stimulated the brains of his subjects with small electrical currents, and when they experienced a perception that their hands had been touched the subjects said that they had felt that "touch" almost half a second before. As a result of his measurements, Libet arrived at the following conclusion: All perceptions are normally transmitted to the brain. As these are subconsciously evaluated and interpreted, the ego is unaware of anything. The information that appears before our minds, in other words that we can be aware of, is transmitted to the cortex, the seat of consciousness, after a certain delay.


The conclusion from this may be summarised as follows: The decision to move a muscle takes place before that decision reaches the consciousness. There is always a delay between a neurological or perceptual process and our becoming aware of the thought, feeling, perception or movement it represents. To put it another way, we can only be aware of a decision after that decision has been taken.
In Professor Libet's experiments, this delay varies between 350 and 500 milliseconds, although the conclusion that emerges is in no way dependent upon those figures. Because, according to Libet, whatever the length of that delay-it makes no difference whether it is great or small, whether it lasts an hour or a microsecond-our material life is always in the past. This demonstrates that every thought, emotion, perception or movement happens before reaching our consciousness, and that proves that the future is entirely outside our control.


In other experiments, Professor Libet left the choice of when the subjects would move their fingers up to them. The brains of the subjects were monitored at the moment their fingers moved, and it was observed that the relevant brain cells went into action before the subjects actually took the decision. To put it another way, the command "do!" reaches the individual, and the brain is readied to perform the action; the individual only becomes aware of this half a second later. He or she does not take a decision to act and then performs that action, but rather performs an action predetermined for him or her. Yet, the brain makes an adjustment, removing any recognition that the individual is actually living in the past. For that reason, at the moment we refer to as "now," we are actually living something determined in the past. As already discussed, these studies manifest the fact that everything happens by the will of Allah (The One & Only God), as revealed in Chapter al-Insan 30 of the Holy Quran.

 

 

 

 

Whoever directs someone to a good, then he will have the reward equal to the doer of the action

On the authority of Abi Mas'ood 'Uqbah bin 'Amr al-Ansaaree al-Badaree -may Allah be pleased with him- he said: The Messenger of Allah -sallahu 'alayhi wasallam- said: Whoever directs someone to a good, then he will have the reward equal to the doer of the action. Muslim (1893)
Ash-Sheikh 'Abdullah bin 'Abdur Rahman Al-Bassaam -may Allah have mercy upon him- says: That which is extracted from this hadeeth:
[ Taken from: Towdeeh al-Ahkaam min Bulooghil Maraam by Ash-Sheikh 'Abdullah bin 'Abdur Rahman Al-Bassaam.
Compiled and Translated by: Abu Fouzaan Qaasim]


1- That the Believer is the one who is an example and a leader in doing righteousness and performing goodness, the Most High says: "And those who say: Our Lord! Bestow upon us from our wives and our offspring that which is pleasing to the eyes, and make us leaders for the Muttaqoon." (25:74) And the Most High says: And We made them leaders guiding (mankind) by Our command.... (21:73)

It comes in Muslim (1017) from the hadeeth of Jarir bin 'Abdillah -may Allah be pleased with him- that the Prophet -sallahu 'alayhi wasallam- said: Whoever introduces a good practice in Islam which was followed after him (by people) he will have the reward like the one who has done it, without their rewards being diminished in the least.*


2- The hadeeth in this chapter indicates that the person who directs someone to a good whether it be pertaining to the good of the Worldly Life or Hereafter: he will have a similar reward like the one who performed it without their being any decrease from the reward of the doer of the action (the one who is actually doing the act), rather it is a (full) reward because of him being a good model and exemplar in doing beneficence.


3- From the most excellent of righteous actions that are considered to be of benefit (to mankind) and the fruits of those actions remaining: Beneficial Knowledge; which is (knowledge) of the legislation of Allah the Most High from its fundelmentals and subdivisions and whatever assists one in attaining understanding of it (the legislation of Allah).

So whoever disseminates this knowledge then he has earnestly participated in being a good example, and a guide towards the straight path and he has removed people -by the permission of Allah the Most High- from the murkiness of ignorance to the light of knowledge, right guidance and integrity of conduct.

And he has attained by this a mighty reward from Allah the Most High, for indeed he -sallahu 'alayhi wasallam- has said: Verily if Allah guides by way of you one man it is better for you than the red camels. Bukhaari (3009) and Muslim (2406)
Taken from: Towdeeh al-Ahkaam min Bulooghil Maraam by Ash-Sheikh 'Abdullah bin 'Abdur Rahman Al-Bassaam.
Compiled and Translated by: Abu Fouzaan Qaasim


*Compilers note: Ash-Sheikh Muhammad Al-'Uthaymeen mentions in his explanation of this hadeeth as it comes in Riyaad as-Saaliheen: "The intent by 'introduces a good practice in Islaam' refers to the one who begins by acting upon a sunnah that has been forsaken and not the one who actually invents something into the religion. Because the one who invents something into the religion that is not from it then it is rejected and it is not considered as something good. However the intent by 'introducing something' means: He becomes the first to do it after it has been left off and abandoned by the people.


So breifly, whoever introduces into Islaam a good practice (whether it is the revitalization of an abandoned sunnah or just good practices in Islaam), and there is no such thing as a good practice in Islaam except that which the legislation has come with, he will have the reward of it and the reward of the one who does it after him."