IBADUR RAHMAN Ibadur-Rahman is an institute for the general Muslims who are dedicated to cultivate true and deep
Islamic knowledge and practice through meticulous observation of the Holy Quran, and the Blessed Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad. In the final 14 verses of Surah al-Furqan (The Standard), Chapter 25, verses 63-76, Allah describes 13 characteristics which adorn the lives of the `Ibad ur-rahman. The characteristics are: 1. They walk on the earth with humility: This implies that they do not walk arrogantly just because they are physically or materially better than other people. Servants of Allah keep in their minds that whatever good they have is given to them by the mercy and blessing of Allah. Thus, they are humble and modest in their manner. 2. Their response to the ignorant is peace: When people ignorant about Islam taunt and attack them verbally, the servants of Allahs response is peace. We dont want to fight you. We just want to spread the message of peace. Servants of Allah should not get drawn into fights even if others taunt or verbally abuse them. Through such manners, they will be able attract others to the beauty of the belief they have; as Allah (SWT) ordered His prophet (pbuh) in Surah Fussilat (41:34-35) to act: And (O Prophet), goodness and evil are not equal. Repel evil with what is best. You will see that he with whom you had enmity, has become your closest friend. 3. They spend their nights in worship: They spend their nights worshiping God standing and prostrating. Since night worship is voluntary this automatically implies that they are already fulfilling their mandatory five prayers. And besides these five prayers they are working on voluntary worship. Because of the many good virtues that voluntary (Sunnah) prayers have, one should try to perform them as much as possible. Some scholars say that if one did not worship or pray the whole night because of decent responsibilities, and he prayed the Isha (Night) and Fajr (Morning) prayers in congregation, then this could be considered as worshiping the whole night.
4. They ask for safety from Hell- Fire In spite of their performance of both voluntary and mandatory prayers they do not feel that they have done enough and they still fear the punishment of Allah. They are so humble, before Allah, that they do not say, Allah give us Heaven for the good deeds we have done, rather they ask for safety from Hell- Fire for the evil deeds they might have done knowingly or unknowingly. No one should ever think that he deserves Heaven by his deeds. One can never pay back a small
portion of the blessings of Allah in this life only, even if he spent all his life in worship. This is why the prophet (saaw) said in a Hadeeth: "No one shall enter Heaven by his deeds"; when his companions replied "even you, o messenger of Allah", he said "even me; unless Allah bestow his mercy on me" 5. They spend their money wisely: That is they behave in neither a miserly nor extravagant manner. This is because they know that whatever wealth they have is blessing from Allah, and He has given it to them as a trust. Thus, they spend their wealth in a manner pleasing to Allah, neither hoarding their money away so that no one can benefit from it, nor spending it in a wasteful and unproductive manner. A Muslims first obligation is towards himself and his family. Once a Muslim has satisfied the needs of his family then, whatever wealth is left, can be spent in the cause of Allah. 6. They do not make partners with God: This is the most important quality. Without this one, the others are all useless. The real servants of God do not associate anyone with God. There are two main types of association. First, the obvious type of association is when a person includes people or other gods with Allah. The second type of association is less obvious, and it is when a person allows worldly pursuits to interfere with his worship of God. Some examples of this are: neglecting required religious duties for the sake of a job; or fearing people more than you fear Allah. Servants of Allah do not worship anyone or anything other than one and only one God. 7. They dont kill without reason: They dont kill or destroy any life, which Allah has made sacred, without a valid religious reason. The only reasons in which a life may be taken are a) If a Muslim judge orders someone to be killed as a punishment for a certain crime which deserves such a punishment, like killing an innocent soul; b) During war, while fighting for a Muslim army, in which only fighters are killed but not innocent civilians; or c) while defending the life, property, or honor of oneself or ones family. 8. They do not commit adultery: They only have intimate relationships with their spouses and do not indulge in such acts with others. They preserve their honor and sanctity; and restrain themselves from the lust and desire which might seem good for a short period of time, but ultimately destroys the the person and the society by spreading all types of social and physical diseases. This is in addition to the grave punishment of Allah in the hereafter.
9. They do not witness any falsehood: They do not become part of ignorant acts nor witness them. If, by chance, they come across such situations, then they should restrain themselves and honorably walk away. 10. They do not drop deaf and blind on the signs of God: According to the scholars this has two meanings. First, that the servants of Allah dont feel bored and close their minds when someone mentions the signs of God in front of them. Nor do they pay no heed to the person trying to guide them. Second, they dont follow anyone blindly. Rather they use the wisdom Allah has given them to understand His message and then they follow it with strength and perseverance. 11. They pray for righteous wives (and women pray for righteous husbands) and children: They pray for God to grant them righteous spouses and children who are a coolness for their eyes, and bring about peace and satisfaction to their souls. They pray that their spouses and children help them on their journey towards Heaven and not be a burden. The Prophet (PBUH) mentioned in a Hadeeth that the joy of this world is a righteous wife. Spouses support each other and they are the cornerstone of any family. Thus, a righteous spouse will help you face the difficulties of this world, resist its temptations, and raise, God willing, righteous children. 12. They wish to be the leaders of the pious believers: That is, they ask Allah to invoke such good qualities in them that they be fit to be the leaders of the good believers. Here, an important thing has to be mentioned. According to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) it is strongly prohibited to seek leadership. In fact leadership should not be given to those who ask for it. It should be given to those who are of excellent religious qualities and are reluctant to become leaders. Thus, in this verse, the servants of Allah are praying to Allah (not asking other people) to give them a chance to be so good that they would be considered as leaders of the already good Muslims.
13. They are patient and consistent: This is one of the most important features. Servants of Allah are patient for whatever burdens they have to bear for the sake of Allah. They are also persistent with their good deeds. Even if these good deeds are few one should not stop doing them. The Prophet (PBUH) said that a small good deed done with consistency is better than a big good deed that is done inconsistently. In the end of the verses Allah says that the reward for Muslims in which these thirteen qualities exist is the highest level of Heaven. There they shall live forever in perfect peace.
CONCLUSION
Based on the survey that we have made, mostly people know what is Ibad-ur-rahman. Some of them may not know as well. In conclusion, The Holy Quran has awarded the title of 'Ibad-ur-Rahman to such special servants of Allah Ta'ala, which is indeed the highest honour. Although all creatures are governed by His will compulsorily, but here the voluntary worship by free will is eluded. That is to surrender completely before Allah and to make all deeds and desires conforming to His pleasure with one's own choice. In these last verses of the Surah the special servants of Allah are described whom He has Himself called as His servants to grant them unique honor. Their traits and characteristics are mentioned in the last verses until the end of the Surah. In between this description repentance from infidelity and sins and its effects are also referred to. By calling these pious persons as His own slaves, Allah Ta'ala has given to them a great title of honor. But by selecting the name Rahman (the All-Merciful) for Himself, out of all His Beautiful Names and attributes, the hint is perhaps given to the fact that these pious people, being the slaves of the All-Merciful, should reflect and demonstrate the quality of mercifulness through their general behavior. Hopefully we can become good servants of Allah.
'Ibad-ur-Rahman
GROUP MEMBERS: 1. NURSYAZANA WAFA BT ALIAS (1228598) 2. AQILATUL MUNA BT RAHIM (1223518) 3. MAFIRAH BT SABINI (1226804) 4. NAN SOFIAH BT LONG AHMAD BURHANUDDIN (1225200)
SECTION: 30
DATE OF SUBMISSION: 22th NOVEMBER 2013
