[4] Some of Islam’s Outstanding Characteristics


In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Imam As-Sadi [may Allah have mercy upon him] said:

There are numerous texts in the Qur’an and Sunnah that relate to what Allah obligated and encouraged in the matter of sound unity and harmony, prohibition, and warning against disunity and (blameworthy) disagreement. Every reasonable individual with even the slightest common sense knows the benefits of this topic, the outcomes of its religious and worldly welfare, and the harms and corruption that it repels. It is also well known that true moral strength revolves around this foundation, as it is well known that the circumstances of Muslims at the beginning of Islam in terms of their upright religious and worldly affairs, along with the honour that no one else was able to receive besides them, were due to their adherence to this principle, which they fulfilled as it should be fulfilled and were completely certain that it is the backbone of their religion. (footnote a)

Islam is the religion of mercy, blessing, and benevolence, and it directs toward benefiting humankind. Mercy, excellent mutual dealings, the call to benevolence, and the prohibition against everything that contradicts these (characteristics) are what make this religion light and radiance in the midst of the darkness of injustice, oppression, mistreatment, and violation of what Allah has made sacred. It is the religion that attracted the hearts of its fiercest foes before they were acquainted with it (but thereafter) they sought shelter under its shadow. It is the religion that offers compassion and affection to its adherents until mercy, forgiveness, and kindness began to flow from their hearts to their statements and deeds, and passed on to their opponents until they became its greatest allies. Some of them accepted it with good insight and conscience, and among them were those who submitted to it, desired its rulings, and preferred them over the rulings of the people of their faith because of its fairness and mercy. (footnote b)

Islam is the religion of (perfect) wisdom, the religion that complies with upright natural disposition, and the religion of sound reasoning, righteousness, and success. This principle makes clear what Islam contains in terms of (sound) fundamental and subsidiary rulings that are accepted by people endowed with sound intellects and upright natural dispositions who are motivated by the pursuit of truth and correctness, as well as what it is based on in terms of (perfect) rulings and good order that are (perfectly) appropriate in all circumstances and every place. All of its knowledge is wholesome truth, and its opposite can never be true. It is an absolute reality used in its ideal setting, just as it should be.

No knowledge has emerged and cannot emerge in the past or in the future that can accurately refute or contradict it; rather, all true sciences assist and support it, and this is the greatest evidence of its own veracity. Fair-minded, precise researchers have confirmed that the Qur’an unquestionably directs toward highly useful sciences, whether it be political, worldly, or religious. (footnote c)

Nothing in Islamic law would mislead rational people; rather, it contains things that the pure-minded would testify to their truthfulness, usefulness, and righteousness. Furthermore, all of its commands and prohibitions are founded on justice and contain no injustice. It has not given any commands other than that it is pure goodness or the best in comparison to other things. And it has not prohibited anything unless it is absolutely evil or its corruption is greater than its welfare. The more a person considers its rulings, the more they’ll believe in this principle or come to know that it is a revelation from the All-Wise, Worthy of All Praise (Allah). (footnote d) (1)

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Footnote a: An Exposition Of The Ikhwāni Principle Of Excusing Differences For The Sake Of Unity: “We excuse one another in that which we differ.” https://abukhadeejah.com/the-principle-of-ikhwan-we-excuse-and-overlook-one-another/
Listen to lecture by Shaikh Abu Khadeejah: Unity and a Dispraise of Splitting: https://www.salafisounds.com/unity-and-a-dispraise-of-splitting-by-abu-khadeejah/

Unity & Division Through the Eyes of the Salaf [the pious predecessors]: https://www.salafisounds.com/unity-division-through-the-eyes-of-the-salaf-khutbah-by-abu-khadeejah/

Differing in Matters Where there is Room for Ijtihād Should not be Allowed to Damage our Unity―Ibn Taymiyyah and Al-Fawzān: https://abukhadeejah.com/differing-where-there-is-room-for-ijtihad-should-not-damage-our-unity/

Differing in Matters where there is Room for Ijtihād Should not be Allowed to Damage our Unity―By Abu Khadeejah

Footnote b: Abu Hurairah [may Allaah be pleased with him] reported: “The Prophet sent a troop of fighters towards Najd and they brought a man from the tribe of Banu Haneefah who was called Thumamah bin Uthaal. He was then tied to one of the pillars of the Masjid. The Prophet went to him and said, “What have you got, O Thumama?” He replied, “I have got a good thought, O Muhammad! If you should kill me, you would kill a person who has already killed somebody, and if you should set me free, you would do a favor to one who is grateful, and if you want property, then ask me whatever wealth you want.” So, he was left till the next day when again the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him, “What have you got, O Thumama?” He said, “What I have already told you”. The Prophet (ﷺ) left him till the day after, and said to him again, “What have you got, O Thumama?” He said, “I have got what I told you. So the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Set him free”. Then Thumamah) went to a garden of date palm trees near the Masjid, took a bath, entered the Masjid, and then said, “I testify that None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, and also testify that Muhammad is His Messenger! By Allah, O Muhammad! There was no face on the surface of the earth most disliked by me than yours, but now your face has become the most beloved face to me. By Allah, there was no religion most disliked by me than yours, but now it is the most beloved religion to me. By Allah, there was no town most disliked by me than your town, but now it is the most beloved town to me. Your troops arrested me (at the time) when I was intending to perform the `Umra. And now what do you think?” The Prophet (ﷺ) gave him good tidings of good in this world and the next, and ordered him to perform the `Umra. So when he came to Makkah, someone said to him, “You have become a Sabian?” He replied, “No! By Allah, I have submitted to Islam with Muhammad, Allaah’s Messenger. No, by Allah! Not a single grain of wheat will come to you from Yamamah unless the Prophet gives his permission.”

The Prophet asked Thumaamah, “What have you got O Thumaamah?” He replied that he has good thoughts about the Prophet- Meaning, “You O Muhammad never oppress anyone, rather you are from those who pardon and do good”. So after he was set free, he entered Makkah to perform Umrah and then pronounced the Talbilya and he was the first to enter Makkah in that manner, so Quraish grabbed him and said, “You have the audacity to do this to us”, and they wanted to kill him; then a person amongst the Quraish said, “Leave him because you are in need of food from Yamaamah (i.e. from his land)”, so they released him. Then he said to them, “By Allah! Not a single grain of wheat will come to you from Yamamah unless the Prophet gives his permission.” Ibn Hishaam said, “Then Thumaamah returned to Yamaamah and prevented the Quraish from bringing any food to Makkah, so the Quraish wrote to the Prophet saying, “Indeed, you command people to keep good the ties of kinship”, so the Prophet wrote to Thumaamah to allow them to transport their food”. https://salaficentre.com/2023/06/22/an-illustration-from-the-seerah-of-how-unbelievers-weaponized-basic-necessities-of-life/

Footnote c: Qur’anic Proofs Which Show that the Religion of Islam Embodies the Beneficial Contemporary Sciences and Professions: https://salaficentre.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Quranic_Proofs_Pdf_final.pdf

Footnote d: Shaikh Abu Iyaadh [may Allaah preserve him] stated: The wisdom of the Islamic Shariah: Cut off evils and harms to society from their very roots and enjoy the resulting freedom, ease and wholesome life. In contrast: the barbarity and backwardness of commercialising corrosive evils– usurious banking, alcohol, gambling–in order to profit from the masses through affairs in which their ruin and impoverishment lies–and then managing this commercialisation through legislation, policies, guidelines and so on to “limit the harms”. The result? Inescapable enslavement, bondage, disease and ruin of the masses for the enrichment of the few who peddle these vices. Where is the intellect?! http://www.shariah.ws/articles/suokooj-there-is-no-safe-limit-in-the-consumption-of-alcohol-and-the-prohibition-of-alcohol-in-the-quran.cfm


[Ref 1: Ad-Durra Al-Mukhtasar Fee Mahaasin Deen Al-Islaamiy. pages 13-20. slightly paraphrased]

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