Preaching What You Don't Practise

Preaching What You Don’t Practise.

Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

Bismillah walhamdulillah was salaatu was salaamu 3ala Rasoolillah wa 3ala Aalihi wa Sa7bihi wa sallam, wa ba3d,

Qaalallahu Ta’aala:

أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلا تَعْقِلُونَ

Ata’muroonan naasa bil birri wa tansawna anfusakum wa antum tatloonal kitaab, afalaa ta3qiloon?

Do you command people with Birr (righteous deeds) and forget yourselves (do not practice it yourselves) while you read the kitaab (the torah), have you not any sense? (Surah Baqarah ayah 44)

Allah Ta’aala says: how is it possible for you - oh people of the book, that you command people with Birr, which is all good deeds - that you forget yourselves, and do not practice that what you command people with, and despite that you have the torah which you read and you know what it says about those who do not fulfill Allah’s commandments.

Are you not aware of what you are doing to yourselves, so that you might become aware of your slumber and restore your sight from blindness.

And this is like what Abdur Razzaaq narrated from Ma’mar who heard Qatadah Rahimahumullah say regarding this ayah: Bani Israeel used to command people to obey Allah and to fear Him, and to do good deeds, but they used contradict this (by not doing it themselves), So Allah Azza Wa Jall reminded them of this. Sudi Rahimahullah (another mufassir) also said the same.

Ibn Jurayj Rahiamhullah said regarding this ayah: The people of the book and the hypocrites used to command people to fast and make salaah, but they did not practise what they commanded the people to do, so Allah Ta’aala reminded them of this (by revealing this ayah). So whoever commands people with good let him be the first one to implement that command.

And Muhammad Bin Ishaaq narrated from Muhammad who heard from Ikramah or Saeed bin Jubayr who heard from Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Abbaas Radhiallahu Anhu say regarding this ayah: “and you forget yourselves” means “you forget to practice it yourselves”. “while you read the kitaab (the torah), have you not any sense?” means you forbid people from rejecting the Prophethood and the covenant which you have mentioned by you in the torah, yet you have forgotten it. Meaning you have rejected my covenant that I made with you that you will accept my Messenger. You have broken my covenant and rejected what you know is in My book (the torah).

And Dhahak narrated from hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Abbaas Radhialalhu anhu regarding this ayah: You command people to enter into the religion of Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam, and your other commands besides that like establishing Salaah, and yet you forget yourselves.

Abdur Rahman Bin Zaid bin Aslam said about this ayah: this is about the jews, when people used to ask them about something without any bribery or anything (i.e. ask them to make up a new ruling for them) then they used to give them the truth, then Allah Ta’aala said: Do you command people with Birr (righteous deeds) and forget yourselves (do not practice it yourselves) while you read the kitaab (the torah), have you not any sense?

And the purpose of Allah reprimanding them for this action of theirs that they command with goodness but don’t do it themselves, is to inform them of their wrongs that they are doing to themselves, Allah is not reprimanding them for commanding with righteousness, but rather at their leaving off of following that command themselves, because commanding with righteousness is waajib (obligatory) upon every aalim (a person who knows), however it is required for the aalim to adhere to that which he commands others with, and not to contradict it, like Hadhrat Shu’ayb Alayhis Salaam has said:

{ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَى مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ إِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلا الإصْلاحَ مَا
اسْتَطَعْتُ وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلا بِاللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ }

Wa maa ureedu al ukhaalifakum ilaa maa anhaakum anhu, in ureedu illal islaa7a mastata3tu wa maa tawfeeqee illa billah, 3alayhi tawakkaltu wa ilayhi uneeb.

I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you. I only desire reform to the best of my power. And my guidance cannot come except from Allah, in Him I trust and unto Him I repent (Surah Hud ayah 88 )

So both commanding with righteousness and acting upon it are waajib, one does not fall away because of the leaving off of the other, which is the chosen view of the ulama of the salaf and the khalaf. One group of ulama held the view that one who is involved in sin cannot forbid someone else from doing it, but this is weak, and the weakness is because they try to use this ayah (ayah 44 of surah baqarah) as proof, because there is no proof for them in it. And the correct (chosen) view is that the aalim commands with righteousness, even if he doesn’t do it himself, and he forbids evil, even if he is involved in it.

And Malik narrates about Rabeeah: I heard Saeed bin Jubayr say to him: if people were not supposed to command with righteousness and not forbid evil until he is free from it (sin), then no one would command with righteousness nor would anyone forbid evil. And Malik said: And it’s true, who is free from it (sins)?

But the reprimanding (in the ayah) is for the one who leaves off following it (what he preaches) and being involved in sin, with his knowledge of it, and his contradicting of it, because the one who knows is not like the one who doesn’t know, and this is why the ahadith came about this subject, like how Imam Abu Qaasim al Tabrani rahimahullah said: Ahmad bin Ma’la Al Dimashqi and Husayn bin Ali Al Ma’mari narrated to me, who heard from Hisham Bin Ammaar, who heard from Ali bin Sulaiman Al Kalbi, who heard from A’mash, who heard from Abi Tameemah Al Hujaimi, who heard Hadhrat Jundub bin Abdullah Radhiallahu Anhu say, Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam said: the example of an aalim that teaches people good but doesn’t do it himself is like a lamp (candle) that gives light to people but burns itself out. (Tabrani)

And another hadith: Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal Rahimahullah says in his Musnad: Wakee’ Narrates, Hammad bin Salamah narrates from Ali bin Zayd (he is Ibn Jud’aan), who narrates from Hadhrat Anas Bin Malik Radhiallahu Anhu that Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said: On the night of Israa (ascension to Jannah) I passed by a group of people whose lips were being cut off with scissors of fire, then he (rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: I said: who are these people? It was said: (they are) the preachers of the people of the dunya who used to command people with righteousness and forget themselves, do they not have any sense? (Musnad of Imam Ahmad)

Ibn Marduyah narrated it in his tafsir from the hadith of Yunus bin Muhammad Al Mu’addab, and Hajjaj Bin Minhaal, both of them narrated this hadith from Hammad Bin Salamah.

Ibn Marduyah then said: Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Ibrahim, Moosa bin Haaroon, Ishaaq bin Ibrahim Al Tastari Bablakh, Makki bin Ibrahim and Umar bin Qays narrated to us from Ali bin Zayd from Thamaamah who heard Hadhrat Anas Radhiallahu Anhu say: I heard Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam say: On the night of Israa (ascension to Jannah) I passed by some people whose lips and tongues were being cut off with scissors of fire, I said: who are these people oh Jibreel? He said: these are the preachers of your Ummah, the ones who commanded people with righteousness but forgot themselves.

And another Hadith: Imam Ahmad reported that Abu Wa'il said, "While I was riding behind Usamah, he was asked, ‘Why not advise Uthman' He said, Do you think that if I advise him I should allow you to hear it I advise him in secret, and I will not start something that I would hate to be the first to start. I will not say to a man, You are the best man,' even if he was my leader, after what I heard from the Messenger of Allah . They said, `What did he say' He said, `I heard him say, A man will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and thrown in the Fire. His intestines will fall out and he will continue circling pulling them behind him, just as the donkey goes around the pole. The people of the Fire will go to that man and ask him, `What happened to you did you not used to command us to do righteous acts and forbid us from committing evil, he will say, Yes. I used to enjoin righteousness, but refrained from performing righteousness, and I used to forbid you to perform from evil while I myself did it. (Musnad of Imam Ahmad)

And it comes in a narration: That Allah will forgive the ignorant person seventy times and forgive the aalim once, (because) the one who knows is not like the one who doesn’t know.

And Ibn Asakir narrates in the tarjuma of Waleed bin Uqbah that Rasoolullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said: Some people from the inmates of Jannah will come to know about some people in Jahannam then they (the people of Jannah) will say to them: what made you enter the fire? Because By Allah we did not enter Jannah except because of what we learnt from you. Then they (the people of Jahannam) will say: verily we used to say things but didn’t do it ourselves. (Mukhtasar Taareekh Dimashq of Ibn Manzoor)

And Dhahak narrates that a man came to Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Abbaas Radhiallahu Anhu and said: oh Ibn Abbaas, I want to do amr bil ma’roof wa nahi anil munkar (command with goodness and forbid evil), He said: are you capable of doing it? He replied: I hope so. He (Hadhrat Ibn Abbaas Radhiallahu Anhu) said: if you are not afraid of being disgraced by three ayaah then do it. He said: And what are those (ayah)? He replied: the saying of Allah Azza wa Jall “Ata’muroonan naasa bil birri wa tansawna anfusakum” (do you command people with righteousness and forget yourselves) have you done this? (i.e. are you free from this) He said: No. He said: and the second ayah is the saying of Allah “lima taqooloona maa laa taf3aloon, kabura maqtan 3indallhi 3an taqooloo maa laa taf3aloon” (why do you say that which you do not do, most hateful it is to Allah that you say that which you do not do (Surah Saff Ayah 2-3)) He said: have you done this? (this is the same meaning as the previous one, i.e. are you free from this) He replied: No. He said: And the third one is the saying of the pious slave of Allah, Hadhrat Shu’ayb Alayhis Salaam “wa maa ureedu an ukhaalifakum ilaa maa anhaakum anhu” (I wish not, in contradiction to you, to do that which I forbid you. (Surah Hud Ayah 88 ) have you done this? (this is the same as the previous two) He replied: No. He said: Then start with yourself (Tafsir Ibn Marduyah)

And Imam Nakha’i Rahimahullah said: I dislike narrating stories because of three Ayaah, the first is “Ata’muroonan naasa bil birri wa tansawna anfusakum” and “yaa ayyuhallazeena aamanoo lima taqooloona maa laa taf3aloon, kabura maqtan 3indallhi 3an taqooloo maa laa taf3aloon” and the saying of Hadhrat Shu’ayb Alayhis Salaam “wa maa ureedu an ukhaalifakum ilaa maa anhaakum anhu, in ureedu illal islaa7a mastata3tu wa maa tawfeeqee illa billah, 3alayhi tawakkaltu wa ilayhi uneeb”

And what can be better than the poem of Muslim bin Amr,

ما أقبح التزهيد من واعظ ... يزهد الناس ولا يزهد ...
لو كان في تزهيده صادقا ... أضحى وأمسى بيته المسجد ...
إن رفض الناس فما باله ... يستفتح الناس ويسترقد ...
الرزق مقسوم على من ترى ... يسقى له الأبيض والأسود ...

Maa aqba7ut tazheedu min waa3izi…. Yuzhidun naasu wa laa yazhadu…
Lo kaana fee tazheedihi saadiqan…. Adh7aa wa amsaa baytuhul masjidu…
In rafadhan naasu famaa baalahu…. Yustafta7un naasu wa yastarqidu…
Ar rizqu maqsoomun 3ala man taraa…. Yusqaa lahul abyadhu wal aswadu…

What is an uglier tazheed from a preacher …. Who commands people with zuhd but doesn’t do it himself….
If he was true in his tazheed…. He would turn his house into a Masjid….
If the people refuse then what does he think…. He initiates people but he ignores himself...
Everything that you see its sustenance is stipulated, he sustains black and white with it…

Abu Uthmaan Al Khayry Az Zaahid sat down silently once for a long period, and then said,

وغير تقي يأمر الناس بالتقى ... طبيب يداوي والطبيب مريض ...

Wa ghayrut tuqaa ya’murun naasu bit tuqaa... Tabeebu yudaawy wat tabeebu mareedh…

An impious person commanding people with piety (is like a sick doctor)… the doctor heals people but the doctor himself is sick…

And Abu ‘Ataahiyyah Ash Shaa’ir (a poet) said:

وصفت التقى حتى كأنك ذو تقى ... وريح الخطايا من شأنك تقطع ...

Wasaftat tuqaa 7atta ka’annaka zoo tuqaa… Wa ree7ul khataayaa min sha’nika taqta3u…

You act like a pious person until it’s as though you are a pious person, but the smell from your sins destroys it (your impersonation)…

And Abul Usood Ad Du’ly said:

لا تنه عن خلق وتأتي مثله ... عار عليك إذا فعلت عظيم ...
فابدأ بنفسك فانهها عن غيها ... فإذا انتهت عنه فأنت حكيم ...
فهناك يقبل إن وعظت ويقتدى ... بالقول منك وينفع التعليم ...

Laa tanahu 3an khalqin wa ta’ty mithluhu… 3aara 3alayka izaa fa3alta 3azeem…
Fa bada’a binafsika fa innahaa 3an ghayhaa… fa izaa intahat 3anhu fa anta 7akeem…
Fa hunaaka yuqbalu in wa3azta wa yaqtadi… bil qawli minka wa yunfa3ut ta3leem…

Do not forbid people from something and then do it (what you forbade them from) … it is a disgrace upon you if you do something that big…
So start with your nafs because it is inclined towards sin… and when you have completed it (conquered your nafs) then you will be a healer (a hakeem)
Then the people will accept and follow you if you preach … and they will benefit from your teachings and your sayings ….

So to summarise, yes commanding people to do something while you do not do it is a form of hypocrisy and a big sin, however keeping quiet and not saying the truth is a bigger sin, that is why people are commanded to speak the truth even though they are contradicting it themselves, obviously if you know for certain that say you’re with your brother and knows the truth as well (and does not contradict his words) and will tell the questioner the true ruling, then it would be better that you keep quiet and let your brother do the talking, but if he doesn’t know it, and by you not speaking up the questioner will leave and continue sinning or find someone who will say that the sin he’s committing is not a sin etc then you are compelled to speak up, however we should all strive not to be among those people who don’t practice what they preach so that we are not faced with such situations.

We ask Allah to make us among those who practice what they preach… Ameen, and this advice is directed at myself first before anyone else.

Wa aakhiru da3waanaa anilhamdulillah Rabbil 3alameen.

Was Salaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.

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