The first piece of advice is to correct the belief in accordance with the tenets which the Ahl as-sunna savants communicate in their books. For, it is this madhhab only that will be saved from Hell. May Allâhu ta’âlâ give those great people plenty of rewards for their toil! Those scholars of the four madhhabs who reached up the grade of ijtihâd and the great scholars educated by them are called Ahl as-sunna scholars. After correcting the belief (îmân), it is necessary to perform the acts of worship taught in the branch of fiqh, i.e. to do the commands of the Sharî’at and to abstain from what it prohibits. One should perform namâz five times each day without reluctance and slackness and in compliance with its conditions and ta’dîl-i arkân. He who has as much money as nisâb should pay zakât.[1] Imâm-i a’zâm Abû Hanîfa says, “Also, it is necessary to pay the zakât of gold and silver which women use as ornaments.”
We should not waste our valuable lives even on unnecessary mubâhs. It is absolutely unwarrantable to waste it on harâm. We should not busy ourselves with taghannî, singing, musical instruments, or songs. We should not be deceived by the pleasure they give our nafses. These are poisons mixed with honey and covered with sugar.
We should not commit giybat. Giybat is harâm. [Giybat means to talk about a Muslim’s or a Zimmî’s secret fault behind his back. It is necessary to tell Muslims about the faults of the Harbîs, about the sins of those who commit these sins in public, about the evils of those who torment Muslims and who deceive Muslims in buying and selling, thereby helping Muslims to beware their harms, and to tell about the slanders of those who talk and write incorrectly about Islam; these are not giybat. (Radd-ul-Muhtâr: 5-263)].
We should not spread gossip (carry words) among Muslims. It has been declared that various kinds of torments would be done to those who commit these two kinds of sins. Also, it is harâm to lie and slander, and must be abstained from. These two evils were harâm in every religion. There will be very heavy punishments for them. It causes great blessings to be secretive about Muslims’
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[1] Please see Endless Bliss, V, 1, for zakât.
defects, not to spread their secret sins and to forgive their faults. One should show compassion for one’s inferiors, those under one’s command, [such as wives, children, students, soldiers], and the poor. One should not reproach them for their faults. One should not hurt or beat or swear at those poor people for trivial reasons. One should not violate anybody’s property, life, honour, or chastity. Debts to everyone and to the government must be paid. Bribery, accepting or giving, is harâm. However, it would not be bribery to give it in order to get rid of the oppression of a cruel one, or to avoid a disgusting situation. But a person who receives it will have committed a harâm. Everybody should see their own defects, and should every hour think of the faults which they have committed towards Allâhu ta’âlâ. They should always bear in mind that Allâhu ta’âlâ does not hurry in punishing them, nor does He cut off their sustenance. The words of command from our parents, or from the government, compatible with Sharî’a, must be obeyed, but the ones incompatible with Sharî’a should not be resisted against so that we should not cause fitna. [See the 123rd letter in the second volume of the book Maktûbât-i Ma’thûmiyya.]
After correcting the belief and doing the commands of fiqh, we should spend all our time remembering Allâhu ta’âlâ. We should continue remembering, mentioning Allâhu ta’âlâ in a manner taught by the great men of religion. We should feel hostility towards all the things that will prevent our heart from remembering Allâhu ta’âlâ. The more you adhere to the Sharî’at, the more delicious it will be to remember Him. As indolence, laziness increase in obeying the Sharî’at, that flavour will gradually decrease, being thoroughly gone at last. What should I write more than what I have written already? It will be enough for the reasonable one. We should not fall into the traps of the enemies of Islam and we should not believe their lies and slanders.