| TO BE A MAN OF WARA Our Prophet said, "Allahu ta'ala declares: 'O My born servant! Do the fard [1] I command; you will be the most devoted of human beings. Avoid the haram [2] which I prohibit; you will be a man of wara' [3]. Be contented with the sustenance that I give you; you will be the wealthiest of human beings; you will not need anybody."
Our Prophet said to Abu Hurayra 'radiy-Allahu anh': "Be a man of wara' so that you may be the most abid [4] (devoted) of human beings." Hadrat Hasan-i Basri [5] 'rahmatullahi aleyh' says, "Ataining wara' as much as a mote is more useful than a thousand superogatory fasts and salat." Abu Hurayra 'radiy-Allahu anh' said, "On the Day of Resurrection, those who are valuable in the presence of Allahu ta'ala are people of wara' and of zuhd [6]." Allahu ta'ala said to Hadrat Musa 'alaihis-salam': "Among those who approach Me and who attain My love, there will not be anyone who approaches as close as people of wara do."
Some great savants said, "If a person does not know the following ten things as fard for himself, he will not be a man of perfect wara': he should not backbite; he should not feel su'izan for Muslims, which means to distrust them and to think of them as bad persons; he should not make fun of anybody; he should not look at women and girls (that are forbidden for him by Islam); he should tell the truth; he should think of the gifts and blessings which Allahu ta'ala has endowed upon him so that he will not be self-conceited; he should spend his possessions on the halal [8]; he should not spend them for the haram; he should desire rank and posts not for his nafs [8] nor for his comfort, but because he knows them as positions for serving Muslims; he should know it as his firt duty to perform the five times of salat in their due time; he should learn well iman [9] and the deeds communicated by the Ahl-i sunnat [10] savants and adapt himself to them. O Allah! Increase the light of the right way which you have endowed upon us! Forgive us! You can do everything!"
| | GLOSSARY | [1] fard: an act or thing that is commanded by Allahu ta'ala in the Qur'an al-karim. Fard (or fard) means (any behaviour or thought or belief which is) obligatory. Islam's open commandments are called fard (pl. faraid).
[2] haram: an action, word or thought prohibited by Allahu ta'ala.
[3] wara': (after avoiding harams) abstention from doubtful things (mushtabihat).
[4] abid: one who performs much 'ibada.
[5] Hadrat: title of respect used before the names of great people like and Islamic scholars.
[6] zuhd: not setting one's heart on worldly things; abstention from (even) mubahs.
[7] halal: (act, thing) permitted in Islam.
[8] nafs: a force in man which wants him to harm himself religiously; an-nafs al-ammara. A negative force within man prompting him to do evil. (Nafs-i ammara). Nafs is ammara by creation, that is, it always wishes evil and harmful deeds to be done. It is reluctant to obey the Shari'at. The nafs of a man who obeys the Shari'at and makes progress in the way of tasawwuf becomes mutmainna. It wishes to obey the Shari'at.
[9] iman: faith, belief, beliefs of Islam; kalam, i'tiqad.
[10] Ahl as-Sunna (wa'l-Jama'a): the true pious Muslims who follow as-Sahabat al-kiram. These are called Sunni Muslims. A Sunni Muslim adapts himself to one of the four Madhhabs. These madhhabs are Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali.
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