The Dangers of Fitnah
Alhamdulillahi wa kafaa, was-Salatu was-salamu
alaa `ibaadihi-lladheena Stafaa
Wa Ba’d:
O you who believe! The most dangerous disadvantage of committing Fithnah is the destruction of the spiritual personality of a Fithnah monger. Those who violate the natural path of their thought will most certainly lose their thinking balance and their excellent behavioral system; in addition to harming the reputation and feelings of others by committing Fithnah against them. Fithnah destroys the throne of human morality and deprives man of his dignity and noble qualities with amazing speed. In fact, Fithnah burns the veins of morality in the hearts of the slanderer to ashes. Those who indulge in committing Fithnah waste their efforts in manners unacceptable to reason of law.
When we reflect about the harm of Fitnah to society, we discover that it has done irrepairable damage to its members. Fithnah plays a devastating role in bringing about enmity and hatred among the different members of society. Fithnah diverts pure thoughts to the point that the gates of reason and understanding come to a dead end. It is unfortunate to acknowledge that committing Fithnah has today found its way into all social classes. Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala informs us in verse 12 of Surahtul Al Hujurat:
“O you who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for
suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other, nor
backbite each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to
eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it…but
fear Allah; for Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.”
Beloved people of Imaan! There is a great lesson to be learnt in the above verse. Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala has forbidden slandering others or scoffing at them.It denounces snooping, maligned suspicion, backbiting, and defamation. If only we all were to avoid these negative traits in our dealings with one another, I assure you that we would spend half our lives in silence! Fithnah must be avoided since none of us would like to even think of eating the flesh of our dead brother, when the flesh is carrion, abomination is added to abomination. In the same way we are asked to refrain from hurting people’s feelings when they are present; how much worse is it when we say things, true or false, when they are absent! Hazrat Abu Hurayrah R.A. narrated that our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said (and I quote from Sahih Muslim):
“Do you know what backbiting is? They said: “Allah and His
Nabee know best.” He then said: “It is to say something about
your brother that he would dislike.” Someone then asked: “O
Beloved Nabee of Allah, but what if I say is true?” The Nabee
S.A.W. said: “If what you say is true, then you are backbiting
him, but if it is not true than you have slandered him.”
A major reason for committing Fithnah is a direct result of envy, jealousy, anger, conceit, self-righteousness and suspicion. One of the reasons that Fithnah is so widespread is that Fithnah-mongers are heedless of its dangerous after-effects. We see people who refrain from most other sins but will not think twice about committing this heinous crime. Such individuals remove themselves from reality by refusing to bear the least bit of pain in the path of obtaining happiness. In this way, they fall prey to the rule of their lowly lusts. Islam considers any encroachment on the borders of morality a great and reprehensible sin. Our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam said:
“I have not been sent save to perfect noble manners.” and also:
“He who defends his brother’s honour in his absence, then it is
his right upon Almighty Allah to safeguard him from the Fire.”
Alal Muslimeena Jami’ah! When we intend to fight an undesirable habit we must first recognize its evil results. We should acknowledge the habit and finally reflect on the incidents which made us victims of such a terrible habit. If we acquaint ourselves with the stages of this habit, we will Insha’Allah become triumphant over the inspiration of that habit by feeling the great joy of eradicating it. Poor quality of manners originates from weak Imaan, and manners are a result of faith. A society which lacks the blessings of noble traits is surely distanced from life’s real characteristics. In order for us to bring our souls out of darkness into light, we must strengthen all noble thoughts in our minds to counter any destructive ideas or inspirations.
By guarding our tongues against committing Fithnah, we take the first step towards happiness. We can do this by observing the rights of others which in turn will cause the roots of humanity and spirituality to grow, thus taking another step towards advocacy of noble traits on which the survival of every society depends. One of the major behavioral weaknesses of man is the ignorance of his own faults. When a person becomes the slave of his or her ignorance, such a person kills the spirit of morality. The first requirement for the salvation of a Fithnah monger is to realize his or her shortcomings. The Most Holy and Noble Qur’an cautions us about the evil actions of committing Fithnah:
“Woe to every slanderer, defamer.”
Imaam Ghazali said: “The tongue is a beneficial gift. It is a delicate creature, which regardless of its small size performs an extremely important function when it comes to obedience and disobedience. Both disbelief and faith are manifested with the tongue, and they are the ultimate worship or disobedience. Only those who can confine their tongues to religion are able to avoid evil. These people never set their tongues free unless it is beneficial to their lives, faith, and eternal place of rest.”
Life today is like a magnificent river which runs down a very steep slope, washing our hopes and dreams into the sea of corruption and deviation, for the sake of satisfying immediate desires and instant needs. Many people have devised new needs and now struggle to fulfill these needs. In addition to these needs, there are other things that bring temporary happiness to them, such as slander and backbiting, etc., which are in fact very harmful to their Imaan.
Those who earnestly struggle to avoid pains and end up intoxicated with indulging in Fithnah and in search of refuge in the lap of lowliness in order to seduce their spiritual pains and anxieties. Yet, the shining sun of felicity shall never beam its bright rays on their lives. These are the people who have deceived themselves by believing that they have become free of all restrictions and rules; and are now competing in the fields of lowliness and failure. In conclusion, in order to develop good traits, we must observe ourselves and maintain pure intentions. We must start with ourselves, so that we can obtain appropriate grounds for our happiness and the happiness of our society in all fields.
And all Praise is ultimately Almighty Allah’s, at the beginning and the end, and may His benedictions and everlasting Blessings be upon His Beloved Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah – Rahmatul Liel Ala’meen Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam. The Wisdom and Plan of Allah are beyond all Praise: And Mercy and Truth proceed from Him, and there is no other – none – besides Him.
And Almighty Allah knows best and to Him Belongs all Praise and Glory.
The Truth is from Allah, the errors are mine and I stand to be corrected.
Baarak Allaahu Feekum wa sal-Allaahu wa-salam ‘alaa
Nabiyyinaa Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhim Wasallam
Was Salamualakum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhoo
Abdul Hamid Lachporia
Please be advised that you are more than welcome to use and share
my Khutbah’s for propagational purposes without my prior consent.