Ask Allah for Well-Being


Part One


Praise be to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, the Forgiver of sins, the Accepter of


repentance, the Mighty in strength and Severe in punishment, the Donor of every gain


and grace, the Up-lifter of every horrendous calamity and distress! I praise Him ()


for His abundant graces, great generosity and ample bounties ; and I bear witness that


there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah firstly and lastly, explicitly and


implicitly; and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah's Servant and Messenger. He


sent him both to the Jinn and Humans as a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, and as


one who invites to Allah by His Leave and as a lamp spreading light. May Allah send


His Salat (Graces, Honors, Mercy, and Peace) on him, on his noble and pure family,


on his Companions, and on the tab'în (the contemporaries of the Companions of the


Prophet  after his death) and those who followed them righteously till the Day of


Judgment


Now then:


O people! I advise you and myself to fear Allah (), for in this life you are merely


ordered and charged (with a great responsibility) by Him. Ordeals afflict you and


death pierces you; graces come to you in succession; however, you do not get one


grace except by leaving another, and no effect of yours continues except by another


one departing; and no new thing can be renewed except by another new thing


decaying, some origins of which we are but branches have gone away. So (O you


wise) tell me what kind of existence can branches enjoy without origins! whereas


the life of this world as compared with the Hereafter is but a brief


passing enjoyment. [Ar-Ra'd: 26]


O people!


People in general are naturally disposed for toil and hard work. Allah has created


man in toil “… all people go back and forth, and one either sells himself in order to


save it and set it free or to destroy it.”


People can be either hard workers who enjoy what they do or ones who suffer


because of it. They might weaken in front of difficulties and hardships disgracefully;


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and they might be entranced by benefits tyrannically; the good one among all those is


he who does not deviate (from the right path) or become oppressive, and remain calm


and composed in both cases. He is one who pushes himself hard to stand at the door


of his Creator and Master asking Him for pardon, good health and well-being in his


religion, worldly affairs, family, and wealth, since preference of good health and wellbeing


is a natural disposition that Allah has created man with. Indeed, no one likes


ordeals and pains except one who is insane.


The only one who knows the value of well-being is he who has missed it in his


religion and worldly affairs; for if well-being lasts, it is ignored, and if it is missed, it


is recognized. The dress of well-being is the most beautiful dress for worldly life and


religion. Well-being in religion and worldly affairs makes life enjoyable, and leads to


a good result in the Hereafter.


Thus, the advice of the Chosen One (Prophet Muhammad) () to his nation was a


sign of mercy and care when he said: "Ask Allah for pardon and well-being, for no


one has ever been given after firm faith better than well-being." [Narrated by


Ahmad]


The Prophet () did not only say this to his nation, but supplemented it with


repeated action so that his nation will sense the importance of this great grace. That is


why he () used to say "O Allah! I ask You for well-being in this worldly life and


the Hereafter; O Allah! I ask You for pardon and well-being in my religious and


worldly affairs, in my family and my wealth… (Cf. the Hadith)." [Narrated by Abu


Dawud and others]


Ibn Al-Jazari (may Allah bless his soul) said: "whoever is given well-being will


absolutely win all he desires and likes, and will be protected against what he fears in


both worlds", (i.e. this world and the Hereafter).


Well-being, O servants of Allah, is an absolute value that does not admit partition


or relativity. Therefore, one will be wrong if he thinks that it only means physical


well-being (good health) excluding religious well-being; and whoever seeks only


physical good health excluding religious well-being would have definitely deviated


from the Right Path; and whoever seeks religious well-being and excludes physical


well-being would have done himself injustice, and would probably have weaken his


religion by the weakness of his physical health. The strong believer is better and


dearer to Allah than the weak believer.


The happy one, O servants of Allah, as Ibn Al-Jawzi said, may Allah bless his


soul, is a person who submits to Allah and asks for well-being; for well-being is not


granted unconditionally. There has to be an ordeal; the sane person keeps asking


Allah for well-being in order to overcome all of his human conditions.


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Every sane person, O servants of Allah, prefers to be in a state of well-being and


thank Allah for it rather than to be in a state of trial (affliction) and be patient, as Abu


Bakr () said.


O servants of Allah!


Every attentive observer notices with his mind's eye that the public takes care of


physical good health; to obtain this grace, they dedicate their time, effort,


remembrance, and supplication, while simultaneously they are oblivious to the value


of well-being (good health) in religion and its being free of defects and ordeals,


because ordeals and defects in religion weaken the individuals who make up society.


Whenever a person neglects securing well-being in his religion, he definitely leads


himself to ruin and loss. This ruin and loss intensify when he discloses to the public


his disobedience of his Lord. Allah covers his sins, while he discloses them! The


Prophet () has rightly said “My entire nation’s sins are forgiven except the sins of


those who disclose them publicly."


Lack of well-being in religion exists when there is a deviation from Allah's


religion (Islam). This happens either when a bestial desire dominates a person and


turns him down to a pit where he drinks deeply of desires like animals do, or when a


doubtful matter in religion dominates him and leads him away to be like those who sit


at every path menacing believers and driving them away from the Path of Allah,


wishing that matters be crooked. The Prophet () warned us against the piercers (i.e.


destroyers) of well-being in religion; he () said: "There will be afflictions (in the


near future) during which a sitting person will be better than a standing one, and


the standing one will be better than the walking one, and the walking one will be


better than the running one, and whoever will expose himself to these afflictions,


they will destroy him." [Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]


The Prophet () taught Al-Hassan Ibn Ali (may Allah be pleased with both of


them) to say the following in his supplication: "O Allah, lead me to the true faith


with those You have guided, and grant me good health and well-being among those


You have granted good health and well-being … (Cf. the Hadith)." [Narrated by


Ahmad and all the compilers of Sunan1]


The most serious loss of well-being in religion happens when a person becomes a


corrupter not a reformer, a scoffer not an earnest one, a destructive axe of his society


not a building agent of its established tower; you never find him except in places of


scoffing, or innovating what scratches and injures religion and the Fitra (natural


disposition) which Allah has created people with, in order for him to carry his own sin


as well as the sins of those who acted according to his innovation till the Day of


Judgment.


1 The Sunan are the six major hadith collections compiled by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Al-Nasa’i, Abu


Dawud, Al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Maaja.


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The Sunnah (the Prophet's tradition) has indicated that actions are normally


attributed to their agent and that the agent carries his sin till the Day of Judgment as a


consequence of leading others to violate Allah's way and religion. The Prophet ()


has said: "Whenever a person is murdered unjustly, there is a share from the burden


of the crime on the first son of Adam for he was the first to start the tradition of


murdering." [Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]


Imam Malik (may Allah bless his soul) said in advising one of his students: "Do


not carry people on your back" i.e. do not carry people’s sin due to what they invent


(in religion) "and if ever you want to play around with anything, don't play around


with your religion."


Yes, O servants of Allah!


Let those who spread afflictions and corruption in religion beware that they will


carry their own burden in full on the Day of Resurrection as well as some of the


burden of those whom they mislead without knowledge.


Let them beware those of us who may have been wronged by the lure of falsehood


and the adornments of fitnah (temptation, sedition, etc.) and enchantment. Verily,


truth is so clear and manifest no matter how hard one strives to conceal it, whereas


falsehood is tantamount to a mirage amidst the desert that tempts the thirsty but falls


short of quenching their thirst. If we only watched the road ahead of us as we walked,


we would never tread on thorns or stumble over holes.


(The sheikh quotes a poet who says):


Watch out, that you may be saved, for there is a hole ahead of you!


How many a man, before you, therein has fallen!


Whoever is blessed with well-being should praise Allah. (To this effect, the sheikh


again quotes other lines of poetry):


It is only right to seek safety.


For it is a fortress in hard times


Neither human being, nor any resolute person can get,


After Yaqin2, any better well-being.


May Allah bless you and me by the Glorious Qur'ān and make its verses and wise


sayings beneficial to you and me! 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 seek forgiveness


from Almighty Allah. Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving!


Part Two


2 It is an Arabic word meaning certitude, certainty, and unswerving religious conviction.


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Praise be to Allah for His beneficence, and for the success He granted us and the


indebtedness we owe Him, and –by way of exalting and glorifying Him– I bear


witness that there is no deity but Allah alone with no partner and I bear witness that


Mohammad () is His Servant and Messenger, the one who calls upon us to seek His


satisfaction.


Let it be known –may Allah protect you– that man’s desire to accomplish safety


and well-being in his religion must not be construed as one of contentment and failure


to do good; for toning down obligations is by no means a permissible practice. Safety


and well-being in religion are indeed better appreciated within the oft controversial


context of temptation and hypocrisy where truth and falsehood are confused together,


thereby prompting decisiveness to set them apart and do away with all that is


suspicious and take on solely what is not. Whoever guards himself against suspicious


acts will have cleared himself from wrongdoing towards his religion and honour, and


whoever falls into suspicious acts will have fallen into the sphere of haram3.


Imam Ahmad (may Allah bless his soul) says: “I do avoid what is permissible for


fear that I would fall into that which is not.” Judge Al Jurjani (may Allah bless his


soul) did well indeed when he highlighted, in a few lines, the value of well-being in


view of the complaints he had about his time4:


I did not, for knowledge sake, degrade my soul


So as to serve whom I met but to be served.


I would not do justice to knowledge if,


Whenever I sensed covetousness, I made it my ladder (to heights)!


Whenever I was told, ‘This is a spring’, I would respond, ‘It may well be’,


But a free soul would prefer to withstand thirst.


I would hold it back even from some of what would not disgrace it


Lest my foes would say ‘What for’ or ‘why on earth (did he do that)?’


Hence the argument of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah5


on the issue of fitnah and


tenebrous adversities has always been that safety has no equal and that inaction is a


safer alternative unless truth is manifest to them by means of clear, explicit and


irrefutable jurisprudential evidence. In this case, they would support it and endorse it


without hesitation.


3 It is an Arabic word strictly used in religious context (the opposite of Halal, i.e. lawful) which means


unlawful or that which conflicts with the provisions of Islamic law.


4 It is worth noting that the Sheikh did not quote Al-Jurjani’s verses in their original order (Cf. the


whole poem).


5 Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah are those who adhere to the Sunnah and who unite upon it, not


turning to anything else, be it in matters of belief (‘aqeedah) or matters of actions which are subject


to shar’i rulings. Hence they are called Ahl al-Sunnah because they adhere to it (the Sunnah), and they


are called Ahl al-Jamaa’ah because they are united (mujtami’oon) in following it. (retrieved from:


h􀆩p://islamqa.info/en/ref/10777)


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A few Islamic scholars have quoted some scholars of the Holy Qur’an exegesis in


their interpretation of the story of Ahl Al Kahf 6: “This story bears evidence that


whoever runs away with his religion from fitan7, Allah will surely save him from


them; and whoever earnestly seeks well-being, Allah will grant it to him; and whoever


seeks shelter in Allah, He will grant him shelter. That is the case when ordeals (fitan)


take root.”


What we also need to beware of is the common misconception among certain


‘passive’ believers as to the real meaning of ‘well-being’; they wrongly infer it from


Allah’s () following words: O you who believe! Take care of your


ownselves[1]. If you follow the (right) guidance [and enjoin what is


right (Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm orders one to do) and


forbid what is wrong (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islâm has


forbidden)] no hurt can come to you from those who are in error.


[Al Maeda: 105]. Here, such believers wrongly read the verse as an outright directive


to abandon the enjoining of good and the forbidding of evil, and to refrain from


reforming people’s minds and giving the right explanations at the time of ordeals


(fitan). However, this is not what Allah () intended to say in His Book, as Al


Siddiq8 () confirmed.


The above verse rather means that a man would not be harmed by someone else’s


aberrance as such provided that he carries out the orders of Allah () vis-à-vis the


others including showing them what is right and warning them against what is wrong;


as true guidance lies in the Hands of Allah () alone; for man’s duty is only to


convey His Message. Allah alone is the Guide to the Right Path.


This is said, send (O you Muslims) ‒may Allah have mercy on you‒ your Salat


(Graces, Honours and Mercy) upon Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (), the best of Allah’s


creatures, the most honest human being, and the sole possessor of the blessed basin


and the only interceder in the Hereafter. For Allah ordered you ‒O believers‒ after


beginning by Himself and then His angels, who are praising His sanctity, saying: O


you who believe! Send your Salât[1] on (ask Allâh to bless) him


(Muhammad صلى لله عليه وسلم ), and (you should) greet (salute) him


6 This is the name of the eighteenth Surah (chapter) in the Holy Qur’ān that relates the story of “the


people of the cave”.


7 Arabic plural of fitnah: ordeals, afflictions, trials, etc.


8 Abū Bakr as-Șiddīq ( أبو بكر الصدیق ) was a senior Companion and the father-in-law of Prophet


Muhammad (). He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632–634 CE when he became the first


Muslim Caliph following the Prophet’s death (retrieved and adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsiddiq)


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with the Islâmic way of greeting(salutation i.e. As-Salâmu


‘Alaikum.[Al Ahzab: 56]


O Allah! Send Your Salat (Graces, Honours and Mercy), Peace and Blessing upon


Your Servant and Messenger, Muhammad! O Allah! Be pleased with his four Caliphs,


Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali, all of his Companions, on the tabin and those who


righteously followed them till the Day of Judgment. O Allah! Be also pleased with us


all, along with them, by Your Pardon and Generosity, O You, the Most Merciful, the


Most Compassionate!


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 glory to Your religion, Your Book and the Sunnah of Your Prophet, and


Your believing servants!


O Allah! Relieve the distressed among Muslims, alleviate their anguish, pay off


the debts of those indebted, and cure our patients and theirs, with Your Mercy, O


You, Most Merciful!


O Allah! We ask You for pardon and well-being! We ask You for pardon and wellbeing


in our religion, property, and families, O You the Lord of Majesty and Honour!


O You, the Living, the Everlasting!


O Allah! Grant us safety in our homelands, and set right our Imams and Guardians.


O Allah! Make our leadership from among those who fear You, guard taqwa and seek


Your satisfaction, O Lord of the Worlds!


O Allah! Guide our leader to say and do whatever You love and please, O You, the


Living, the Everlasting! O Allah! Set right his retinue, O You, the Lord of Majesty


and Honour!


O Allah! Grant victory to our fellow Muslims, who are defenseless in their


religion, wherever they may be! O Allah! Grant them victory wherever they may be!


O Allah! Grant them victory against all of those who oppressed and failed them! O


Allah! Make them triumph over Your enemies and theirs! O Allah! Make their


enemies the lowest and turn their affairs into scourge and disaster! O Allah! Speed up


their victory and relief, O You, Most Merciful, the Lord of Majesty and Honour!


O Lord! You are Allah, and there is no deity worthy of worship but You! You are


the Self-sufficient while we (humans) are destitute! Do send down rain on us and save


us from despair! O Allah! Send down rain on us and save us from despair! O Allah!


Send down rain on us and save us from despair! O Allah! We are but creatures of


Yours! We implore You not to make our sins stand in the way between us and Your


grace, O You, the Lord of Majesty and Honour!


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… 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 Honor and Power! You are free from what they


wrongly attribute unto You! May peace be upon all the Messengers! And the last of


our supplications is “praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!”