When Allaah Intends Good for a Servant...

When Allah intends good for a servant, He takes away looking at his righteous deeds from his heart and informing people about it with his tongue, and preoccupies him with his own sins. So he will always direct his attention to it until he enters  Paradise. The deeds that will be accepted are those devoid of the servant’s looking at it and informing people about it with his own tongue. 

One of the pious predecessors said: “Indeed a servant may commit a sin by which he enters Paradise; and he may do a good deed by which he enters the Fire.” It was asked, “How is that?” So he replied, “He commits a sin and constantly directs his attention to it; whenever he remembers it, he regrets, avoids it, humbles himself to Allah, hastens towards erasing it, submits himself to his Lord, and his pride and conceit leaves him. But he may perform a righteous  deed, constantly direct his attention to it, look at it, transgress and become proud of it until he enters the Fire!”

See :Tareeq al-Hijratayn wa Baab as-Sa‘aadatayn, p. 169-172 by Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)

Abu Bakr and ‘Umar are Superior to al-Khidr

The Muslims are unanimously agreed that Moosaa is superior to al-Khidr. Those who say that al-Khidr is superior have disbelieved. According to the majority of scholars he was not a Prophet. In fact, the Israelite Prophets who followed the Tawrah and were mentioned by Allaah, such as Daawood and Sulaymaan, were superior to al-Khidr.

In fact, based on the view of the majority of scholars that al-Khidr was not a Prophet, Abu Bakr and ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) are superior to him. The fact that he knew about issues that Moosaa was unaware of does not mean that he was superior to him absolutely, just as when the hoopoe said to Sulaymaan, “I have grasped (the knowledge of a thing) which you have not grasped,” (Soorah an-Naml :22), that did not mean that he was superior to Sulaymaan.

There were those who pollinated the palm trees, as they had more knowledge of the benefits of pollination than the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) but that did not make them superior to him. He said to them: “You know best about your worldly affairs, but when it comes to matters of your religion, then I am the one to whom you should refer.”[1] Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan and ‘Alee (may Allaah be pleased with them) would learn from people who were lower in status than them the religious knowledge that those people had. And the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “There is nothing left of Prophethood after I am gone except true dreams.”[2]  

It is well known that their status in knowledge is superior to that of the one who sees a good dream. The highest level that al-Khidr could attain was having some knowledge of the future, which is only one of the parts of Prophethood, so how could he be superior to a Prophet, let alone a Messenger or a Messenger of Strong Resolve (as Moosaa was) ?

Source: al-Mustadrak ‘ala Majmoo’ Fataawaa Shaykh al-Islam Ahmad Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), vol. 1, p. 113-114

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[1] A similar narration was recorded by Muslim from Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)

[2] Recorded by Muslim

Ten Useless Matters

Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

There are ten useless matters:

1.   Knowledge that is not acted on.

2.   The deed that has neither sincerity nor is based on following the righteous examples of others.

3.   Money that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life nor obtain any reward for it in the Hereafter.

4.   The heart that is devoid of Allaah’s love nor long for Allaah, and does not want to be close to Him,

5.   A body that does not obey or serve Allaah,

6.   Loving Allaah without following His orders or seeking His pleasure.

7.   Time that is not spent on expiating sins or seizing opportunities to do good deeds.

8.   A mind that thinks about what is useless.

9.   Serving those who will not bring you close to Allaah nor will benefit you in your life.

10.                Hoping and fearing whoever is under the authority of Allaah and is in His Hand; has no authority over himself either to do good, bad, bring about death, life or to resurrect himself.

Source: al-Fawaa’id, p. 179-180 by Imaam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allaah have mercy on him)