Warning against Rashness and Risk

[معاوية فهمي إبراهيم]

Warning against Rashness and Risk-Taking

Khutbah Topic

His Eminence Sheikh Saud al-Shuraim –May Allah protect him– delivered this Friday khutbah titled “Warning against Rashness and Risk-Taking” in which he talked about the mind which is among the greatest graces Allah bestowed on mankind. He opined that the nemesis of the mind is rashness, Risk-Taking and venture, and he warned against this perilous behaviour. Then, the Sheikh mentioned some examples of risk-taking, but excluded some risky acts that are not to be admonished, such as the decision by Abu Bakr –May Allah be pleased with him– to fight the apostates which cannot be described as rash or foolhardy.

Part One

Praise be to Allah! He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden Who created everything with infinite precision. We thank Him –May He be glorified– for the bounties and graces He bestowed on us. We cannot praise Him as He praised Himself no matter how hard we try. I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah alone with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, the Master of earlier and later generations of mankind and the Imam of those renowned for their unique devotion to Allah. He left us on the White Straight Path whose night is as bright as its day; none but the doomed will stray away from it. May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him, his pure and noble family, his wives –the Mothers of the believers‒ and may Allah be pleased with his righteous and blessed Companions and the tabi’in (the contemporaries of the Companions of the Prophet [May Allah's Salat and Peace be upon him] after his death) and upon those who follow in their footsteps until the Day of Judgement!

Now then,

O servants of Allah! Observe taqwa (fear of disobeying Allah), and let it be known to you that this life is nothing but a transient stopover rather than a permanent residence, and that Allah Almighty has entrusted it to you so that He may judge how you would fare therein.

then whosoever becomes pious and righteous, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. [Al-A’raf: 35]

O you Muslims!

Among the greatest gifts that might adorn man in his life are his religion and his mind, with which Allah has honoured him and preferred him by far over much of what He has created . With religion, man sublimates himself above all things that may incur Allah’s wrath including bad manners and trivialities, and with the mind, he protects himself from all that may corrupt his actions and decisions or undermine his sobriety, cautiousness and awareness of the beginnings and consequences of things.

It is preordained –O servants of Allah– that the vexing and annoying vicissitudes of life, the succession of incidents, calamities and the complications thereof can only be resolved ‒after Allah’s granted protection and success‒ by extreme caution and careful thinking about the beginnings and consequences of things and what should and should not be done.

The nemesis of all this and the malady that breeds intellectual degeneration and generates nothing but shame, pain and punishment instead of pride, safety, and reward is couched in risky undertakings, Rashness and foolhardiness or in putting one’s life on the line. All these actions in fact pivot around one thing: taking random, uncalculated risks –an act denounced by the sagacious and is against patience, caution, wisdom and perspicacity.

Yes, O servants of Allah!

It is rashness, fickleness and indifference in thought, politics, information, economy, and social life. As much as excessive eulogy makes one blind to one’s flaws, unfair dispraise changes good deeds into bad ones.

Yes, indeed! It is foolhardiness and Risk-Taking which give precedence to words and actions over the heart and mind, which push man to commit regrettable acts –physical or otherwise– that may be difficult to get rid of in a way that even patching up will be of no avail.

Many a slip-of-a-tongue which needed later long apologies, but they were useless when it was too late. The Prophet ‒May Allah's Salat and Peace be upon him‒ told the truth when he said: “Never say words today for which you may apologise tomorrow.” [Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Majah]

Because of their crossing the borders of reasonableness, risk-taking, rashness, and the like deserve only one thing: dispraise and chiding. It is regrettable to see images of risky and adventurous actions receive such wide-spread attention in the media for no other purpose than breaking a world record or gaining public admiration and fame.

How many are those who lost their lives trying to carry out their ambitions by recklessly racing their vehicles at deadly speed or by performing dangerous acrobatics that ultimately proved fatal. Let alone –O servants of Allah– jeopardising other people’s rights, money and business. Many a thoughtless entrepreneur risked people’s money in investments which he knew nothing about, or in business that outweighed his ex

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perience, or was beyond his area of specialization. He enticed those who trusted him into believing his promises of quick profits only to see their money evaporate in thin air thanks to his fickleness and rashness. No wonder ‒O servants of Allah– that risking something unknowingly is tantamount to risking it knowingly. The Prophet ‒May Allah's Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said: “He who takes people’s money with the intent of giving it back, Allah will give it back for him; he who takes people’s money with the intent of wasting it, Allah will destroy him.” [Reported by Imam Bukhari] O servants of Allah! Among social illnesses is the family obsession with appearances and show-. This kind of attitude makes the family take risks in affecting social traditions that entail financial burdens and legal commitments for no other purpose but to make others speak and think highly of it. Look at all those extravagant wedding parties and banquets! Many people fall victims to these traditions which have caused more harm than good. They have led to objectives other than those intended by the hosts, resulting in debts, divorce, and family disputes, not to mention committing the sin of extravagance, squandering, and vanity. Examples are not lacking in this context. The most ignominious forms of Risk-Taking –O servants of Allah– are the ones that undermine the dignity and rights of others through unsubstantiated suspicion or accusation of intentions –which are only known to Him Who knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden . They level groundless accusations against others without the least evidence, which proves not only banality and triviality of their tongues but also inconsiderateness towards other Muslims’ rights. Going on behaving thus without restraint or inhibition ‒O servants of Allah‒ would certainly be enough to throw its adherent into fatal immoderation and detested bigotry, which would, in turn, lead him into the trap of delusion and takfir (accusing others of disbelief) through foolhardiness that would render him blind to achieving its conditions and removing its obstructions. How many people have indeed gotten through that lethal door! However, if you ask one of them about the ‘iddah of a divorced woman, or the zakat of seventy camels or ten cows, he would not be able to give an answer. What is even more astonishing is the one who rashes into accusing others of unbelief while, in actual fact, he is ignorant of the conditions of embracing Islam. This is ‒by the everlasting existence of Allah‒ one of the harshest calamities. O Allah! How strange it is when a foolhardy person exposes himself to takfir?! For if his accusing others of unbelief is not right, he himself would incur such a lot. The Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ said: “Whoever says to his brother in Islam: ‘O you kafir (unbeliever), one of them will certainly carry it.” [An agreed-upon hadith] So, fear Allah, O you servants of Allah, and let it be known to you that everything is embellished by the presence of gentleness and marred by its absence. Ask Allah for perseverance (on the Straight Path), for pardon, and for well-being. O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. and do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allâh is Most Merciful to you (29) and whoever commits that through aggression and injustice, We shall cast him into the Fire, and that is easy for Allâh. [Al-Nisa’: 29-30] May Allah bless you and me by the Glorious Qur'an and the Noble Sunnah and may He grant us the benefit of the signs, the remembrance and the wisdom they contain! This is what I have said. If it is correct, it is so thanks to Allah, but if it is wrong, it is my own fault and Satan's. I ask Allah to forgive me, you, and all Muslims, males and females, our sins and wrong-doings. So do ask Him for forgiveness and repent unto Him, for our Lord is indeed All-Forgiving, All-Merciful! Part Two Praise be to Allah for His Beneficence, and thanks are due to Him for His granted success and Grace! Now then, Fear Allah ‒O servants of Allah‒ and let it be known to you that the best speech is that of the Book of Allah, that the best guidance is that of Muhammad ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ that the worst of matters are innovations (appended to religion), that every innovation is bid’ah (a type of worship not sanctioned by religion). So hold tight to the Muslim congregation, for Allah’s Hand is with the congregation, and whoever strays away from it, will have indeed strayed into Hellfire! Let it also be known to you ‒May Allah have mercy on you‒ that when Islam prohibited Rashness and risk-taking, it drew a line of distinction between them and decisiveness and determination. In fact, there are certain matters which cannot be conducted with slowness or lingering. In this case, decisiveness and determination cannot be considered Rashness or risk-taking. Rather, these are the appropriate places they should occupy. The fact that Abu Bakr ‒May Allah be pleased with him‒ fought against the apostates falls within decisiveness and determination. That was an answer to those who thought that fighting the apostates was foolhardy and hazardous. Clear matters ‒O servants of Allah‒ must be dealt with decisively and resolutely without delay or procrastination; for if you are a man with good sense and judgement, you must have to be resolute. To be of bad sense and judgement is to hesitate. Allah ‒Exalted and Most High be He‒ said to His Prophet ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him: Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allâh. [Al Imran: 159] Islam ‒O servants of Allah‒ is a moderate religion that is neither excessive nor negligent. If it prohibits Risk-Taking on the one hand, it encourages decisiveness on the other, and if it discouraged Rashness in many matters, it certainly encouraged it in certain other matters that cannot be delayed or neglected. Sometimes, Risk-Taking itself resides in abandoning decisiveness. The sane is the one who realizes what risk is and what decisiveness is. It would be a clear mistake to think that decisiveness and determination mean toughness and harshness. The truth is that each situation should be dealt with accordingly. Toughness has its place and so does leniency. What has caused the Muslim Ummah to suffer from adversities in many of its life affairs is its incapacity to distinguish between taking risk and being decisive. In fact, it has used leniency in place of decisiveness and Risk-Taking instead of leniency. It has made wrong estimates and it has, as a result, committed numerous errors and successive losses. This situation has compelled the Muslim Ummah to take detrimental remedial actions in order to make up for its previous losses. Indeed, days and incidents carry along lessons and advice, and the happy person is he who learns from others’ mistakes, so that his cleverness will ‒after Allah’s granted success‒ lead him to the straight path. And Allâh guides whom He wills to a Straight Path (i.e. to Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism) [An-Nûr: 46] Now, ask Allah –May He have mercy on you– to send His Salat and Peace upon the best creature of Allah and the purest of mankind, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, who is given al-Hawdh (a basin in Paradise) and is vested with Intercession (on the Day of Judgement). For Allah sent His Salat and Peace upon him and then ordered His angels, who are praising His sanctity, to do likewise, and called out to you, O believers, to ask Him to send His Salat and Peace upon him. Allah ‒Exalted and Most High be He‒ says: O you who believe! Send your Salât on (ask Allâh to bless) him (Muhammad may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islâmic way of greeting (salutation i.e. As-Salâmu ‘Alaikum) [Al-Ahzab: 56] O Allah! Send Your Salat and Peace upon Your Servant and Messenger, Muhammad, who was endowed with the most radiant face and the most luminous forehead! O Allah! Be pleased with his four Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, all the Companions of Your Prophet Muhammad ‒May Allah’s Salat and Peace be upon him‒ the tabi’in, and those who righteously followed them till the Day of Judgement! O Allah! Be also pleased with us all, along with them, by Your Pardon and Generosity, O You, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate of all! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims! O Allah! Grant glory to Islam and Muslims and fail polytheism and polytheists (who associate partners with You)! O Allah! Grant victory to Your Religion, Your Holy Book, Your Prophet’s Sunnah, and Your believing servants! O Allah! Put an end to the suffering of Muslims, rescue those in distress, and help those indebted pay back their debts! O Allah! Cure those of us and those of the Muslims who are ill by Your Mercy, O You, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate! O Allah! Grant us security in our homelands! Make good our leaders and those responsible for our affairs, and assign our leadership to those among us who are fearful of You, who observe taqwa, and seek Your *******ment, O You, Lord of the Worlds! O Allah! Guide our leader to say and do whatever You love and accept, O You, the Living, the Everlasting! O Allah! Set right his retinue, O You, the Lord of Majesty and Bounty! O Allah! Set right the conditions of Muslims everywhere! O Allah! Set right their conditions everywhere! O Allah! Be on the side of our brothers and sisters who are oppressed in their religion everywhere, O You, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Lord of Majesty and Bounty! O Allah! Be on the side of our soldiers who are positioned in the outposts, O You, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting! O Allah! Be with them and not against them! O Allah! Give them patience! O Allah! Back them up, O You, the Lord of Majesty and Bounty, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting! Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire! [Al-Baqarah: 201] Glorified be our Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! You are free from what they attribute unto You! May peace be upon the Messengers! The last of our supplications is all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!

perienza, o era al di là della sua area di specializzazione. Ha allettato quelli che si fidavano di lui nel credere che le sue promesse di guadagni rapidi solo per vedere i loro soldi evaporare nel nulla grazie alla sua instabilità e avventatezza. Non c'è da meravigliarsi, o servitori di Allah, che rischiare qualcosa senza saperlo *****ale a rischiare consapevolmente. Il Profeta - la Salat e la Pace di Allah su di lui - disse: "Colui che prende i soldi della gente con l'intento di restituirli, Allah lo restituirà per lui; Colui che prende i soldi della gente con l'intento di sprecarlo, Allah lo distruggerà. "[Riferito da Imam Bukhari] O servi di Allah! Tra le malattie sociali c'è l'ossessione della famiglia per le apparenze e lo spettacolo. Questo tipo di attitudine fa sì che la famiglia rischia di compromettere le tradizioni sociali che comportano oneri finanziari e impegni legali senza altro scopo se non quello di far parlare gli altri e di pensarci bene. Guarda tutte quelle feste di nozze stravaganti e banchetti! Molte persone cadono vittime di queste tradizioni che hanno causato più danni che benefici. Hanno portato a obiettivi diversi da quelli previsti dai padroni di casa, con conseguenti debiti, divorzi e controversie familiari, per non parlare del peccato di stravaganza, sperpero e vanità. Gli esempi non mancano in questo contesto. Le forme più ignominiose di Assunzione del Rischio - O servi di Allah - sono quelle che minano la dignità e i diritti degli altri attraverso sospetti o accuse infondate di intenzioni - che sono conosciute solo da Lui Chi conosce il segreto e ciò che è ancora più nascosto . Accolgono accuse infondate contro gli altri senza la minima prova, il che dimostra non solo banalità e banalità delle loro lingue, ma anche inconsistenza nei confronti dei diritti degli altri musulmani. Continuare a comportarsi così senza ritegno o inibizione - o servi di Allah - sarebbe certamente sufficiente per gettare il suo aderente in un'immoralizzazione fatale e detestare il fanatismo, che, a sua volta, lo condurrebbe nella trappola dell'illusione e del takfir (accusando gli altri di incredulità) attraverso l'infedeltà che lo renderebbe cieco nel raggiungere le sue condizioni e rimuovere i suoi ostacoli. Quante persone hanno davvero superato quella porta letale! Tuttavia, se chiedi a uno di loro l'iddah di una donna divorziata, o lo zakat di settanta cammelli o dieci mucche, non sarebbe in grado di dare una risposta. Ciò che è ancora più stupefacente è colui che irrompe nell'accusare gli altri dell'incredulità mentre, in realtà, è ignorante delle condizioni per abbracciare l'Islam. Questo è, per l'esistenza eterna di Allah, una delle più gravi calamità. O Allah! Com'è strano quando una persona temeraria si espone a takfir ?! Perché se il suo accusare gli altri di incredulità non è giusto, egli stesso incorrerebbe tanto. Il Profeta - la Salat e la Pace di Allah su di lui - disse: "Chi dice a suo fratello nell'Islam: 'O tu kafir (miscredente), uno di loro certamente lo porterà." [Un hadith concordato] Quindi, paura Allah, o servi di Allah, e sappia che tutto è abbellito dalla presenza della dolcezza e guastato dalla sua assenza. Chiedi ad Allah per perseveranza (sul sentiero rettilineo), per il perdono e per il benessere. O che credi! Mangiate ingiustamente la vostra proprietà tra di voi, salvo che sia uno scambio tra voi, per mutuo consenso. e non uccidervi (né uccidervi a vicenda). Sicuramente, Allah è Misericordioso verso di te (29) e chiunque lo commetta attraverso l'aggressività e l'ingiustizia, Lo getteremo nel Fuoco, ed è facile per Allâh. [Al-Nisa ': 29-30] Che Allah ti benedica ed io dal Glorioso Corano e dalla Nobile Sunnah e possa Egli darci il beneficio dei segni, il ricordo e la saggezza che contengono! Questo è quello che ho detto. Se è corretto, è così grazie ad Allah, ma se è sbagliato, è colpa mia e di Satana. Chiedo ad Allah di perdonarmi, tu e tutti i musulmani, i maschi e le femmine, i nostri peccati e le nostre cattive azioni. Quindi chiedigli perdono e convertitevi a Lui, perché il nostro Signore è davvero All-Perdonatore, Misericordioso! Parte Seconda: Sia ad Allah per la Sua Beneficenza, e grazie a Lui per il Suo successo e per la Grazia concessi! Ora, temete Allah - o servi di Allah - e sappiate che la migliore parola è quella del Libro di Allah, che la migliore guida è quella di Muhammad - Può essere Salat e Pace su di lui - che il le cose peggiori sono le innovazioni (aggiunte alla religione), che ogni innovazione è bid'ah (un tipo di culto non sancito dalla religione). Perciò tieniti stretto alla congregazione musulmana, perché la Mano di Allah è con la congregazione, e chi si allontana da esso, sarà davvero deviato nell'inferno del fuoco! Lascia che sia anche noto a te -Ma Allah abbi pietà di te- che quando l'Islam proibiva Rashness e assunzione di rischi, ha tracciato una linea di distinzione tra loro e decisività e determinazione. In effetti, ci sono alcune questioni che non possono essere condotte con lentezza o persistente. In questo caso, la decisione e la determinazione non possono essere considerate Rashness o assunzione di risch
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