This letter, written to Muhammad Murâd, gives advice and praises
warâ’ and taqwâ.
Hamd be to Allahu ta’âlâ and salâm to the
people whom He chooses and loves! I am afraid that my dear friends might have
been deceived by the decorated and ornamented sins of the world. I get worried
thinking that they might fall for its pretty and sweet appearance, like
children. I feel anxious that with the prodding of the accursed devil and the
human satans they may cease from what is mubâh (permitted) and do what is
dubious or dive into the harâm, thus falling down to a shameful state in the
presence of our Owner. It is necessary to repent and ask for Allah’s pardon and
entreat Him. Things that are harâm or dubious should be known as fatal poisons.
Couplet:
In short, what is there to tell you but,
You are a child, and the way is dreadful.
Being very bounteous, generous and
merciful, Allahu ta’âlâ made many things mubâh (permissible) for His born
servants; He gave us permission to do many things. So wretched and poor are
those who, not being satisfied with the mubâh because of their sick souls and
corrupt hearts, exceed the borders of Islam and go as far as to do the dubious
or harâm things, leaving off so many inexhaustible mubâh choices. It is
necessary to observe the borders of Islam and not to go beyond it. There are
many people who perform namâz and who fast customarily and habitually. But
those who observe the borders of Islam and who pay attention so as not to fall
into the harâm and dubious activities are very few. The distinction that
differentiates those who worship correctly and sincerely from those who worship
habitually and insincerely is observing the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ. The
sincere namâz and fast are outwardly the same as those that are done
insincerely. Our prophet declared: “The basic pillar of our religion is warâ.” He
declared in a hadîth: “Nothing can be compared to warâ.”
[While describing the conditions for being
an imâm, Ibni Âbidin says,
“It is called warâ’ to abstain from the dubious. It is called taqwâ to
abstain from the harâm. It is called zuhd to abstain from the majority
of the mubâh for fear that they may be dubious.”
At the end of the book Hadîqa it
says, “In our time having
warâ’ and taqwâ is very difficult. At
present, those who keep their hearts, tongues and other organs from the harâms
and those who do not torture humans nor animals and who do not take away
others’ possessions without paying for them and those who know that everything
which belongs to others is their halâl property are said to have taqwâ.
Property is said to be halâl, unless it is known for sure that specific goods
were usurped, stolen, acquired by way of interest, [gambling, bribery],
torture, treachery, or that the items themselves are harâm. This is the case
even if it is known that a certain person has a history of acquiring property
by harâm means. If one gives it to another party, accepting it is jaiz, though
the property is tainted (mulk-i habis). If the gifted property is known to be
harâm in any case, it will not be jâiz to accept it. If one mixes all of the
harâm goods taken from various people with one’s own halâl property of the
things left in a trust, and if one cannot easily distinguish the harâm ones
from the others, this mixture becomes one’s own property. This mixture is
called mulk-i
habis. However, if one is able to distinguish the harâm
goods, one should give them back to their owners or their heirs. But if one is
unable to do so, one should reimburse the owner(s). Compensation is possible by
giving back its mithl (similar, equal) from one’s halal zakât goods. If one
does not have the mithl, one should pay the value of the goods at the time when
one usurped them. After indemnification, it becomes mubâh for one to use. [The
zakât of it should be given. But, in case one knows the owner, one cannot use
it before reimbursing the owner, or one can give it as alms or as a present.
And it is not necessary to add it to the amount for zakât. If one does not know
the owner or his heir, it will become wâjib to give away all the harâm property
and the tainted mixture as alms. If the owner happens to come forth later, the
owner should be compensated as well.]. It won’t be jâiz (permissible) if one
knows that the property is harâm itself to get it from the owner who gives it
away by selling, gifting, renting, loaning, paying debts, or any other way. If
a poor person, whom one gave the harâm good as alms, gives it back to one as
present, one can use it as well. It is not jâiz to acquire any dirty goods when
the owner is known, by way of buying or renting, nor is it jâiz to receive them
as alms or as donations. The tainted property won’t become halâl by these methods.
One who has got tainted items, money for example, if the owner is known, one
should give it back to him. If the owner is unknown the item should be given to
a poor person as alms. It will be a sin to give it to anyone else.
Accepting this item is not jâiz for
anybody, except the poor. It has been judged that inheritance could be accepted
by a heir who knows that it is harâm property. Please see the beginning of the
seventy-eighth chapter in the Turkish version. For practial purposes in buying and
selling, the fatwâ was given according to Imâm-i Karhî’s inference. That is,
after an item has been sold, if the seller is paid with harâm money, but he did
not know the buyer would pay him with harâm money, in this case the seller can
accept it, and that item will be halâl for the buyer to use. If the buyer says
before buying something that he will give something harâm or entrusted, and the
seller promises that he will accept it, in this case the item bought won’t be
halâl for the buyer to use. If the buyer says he will pay for an item with
something harâm, but he pays with something else, or if the buyer says that he
won’t pay with something harâm, but he actually pays with something harâm, in
this case, the thing bought won’t be harâm or tainted.” While explaining
usurpation, Ibn Âbidîn (rahmat-Allâhu ta’âlâ ‘alaih) says, “Usurpation is to
take someone’s property by force, or to deny the thing entrusted. Usurpation is
a grave sin. If the item changed its form, the owner can ask to be given his
property together with the amount of value changed, or to be paid its real
value. One should give it back at the place where one usurped it. After
compensation, it is jâiz for the usurper to use the item, but the profit which
he obtained by selling it won’t be halâl. The profit should be given as alms.
If the goods userped from various individuals were mixed with each other, or
with usurper’s own property, and if they cannot be separated, all of them will
be the usurper’s tainted property. But, it is not halâl for him to use them
unless he compensates for them. Compensation does not cause that sin to be
forgiven.” In the commentary of the book Durar, Sharnblâlî says, “If the cruel
man mixes the usurped goods with his own goods, they become his own property.
If his own halâl property left is to equal the amount of nisâb after he has
given them for compensation, he should give zakât for all the mixture before
the compensation. If the mixture equals the amount of nisâb, or his own halâl
property is not enough to compensate for it, or the amount left after
compensation is not equal to the nisâb, zakât will not be necessary.”]
Though there are beloved ones interested
in sweet meals and smart dresses, real pleasure is in what the people of warâ’
eat and wear.
Couplet:
He who gave that to rank occupiers
Gives this to the men of warâ’.
The difference between ‘that’ and ‘this’
is very great. For Allahu ta’âlâ does not like ‘that,’ but He likes ‘this.’
Moreover, on the Day of Resurrection the accounting for ‘that’ will be difficult,
while the accounting for ‘this’ will be easy. O Allah! Have mercy upon us! Do
not allow us to deviate from the right way!