Perfect shyness

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

Abdullah Bin Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him,. said that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said, “Be shy of Allah (in a manner) that shyness should be”. They said, “We do feel of Allah, and all praise and thanks be to Allah”. The prophet said, “It is not like that; rather the one who is truly shy of Allah, let him safeguard his head and what it carries; safeguards the stomach and what it carries; remembers death and affliction. And he who wants the Hereafter should do away with the adornments of this life, then indeed he is truly shy of Allaah [The Mighty and Majestic]”.

Al-Allamah Al-Mubaarakfooree, may Allah have mercy upon him, commented on statement of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, “Be shy of Allah (in a manner) that shyness should be”– Meaning, “A firm, abiding and truthful shyness”.

Regarding the statement of the companions of the Prophet, “We do feel shy of Allah”, Al-Allamah Al-  Mubaarakfooree, may Allah have mercy upon him, said, “They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! We do feel shy of Allah and all praise and thanks be to Allah’, but they did not say, ‘We are truly shy of Allah’ due to their acknowledgement of the fact that they are unable to do so”. And regarding their statement, ‘And all praise and thanks be to Allah’ – Meaning, all praise and thanks be to Allah for blessing us with the guidance and ability to act.

Regarding the statement of the Messenger, “It (i.e. shyness) is not like that”, Al-Mubaarakfooree said, “Meaning, true shyness is not what you think; rather it is to safeguard all the limbs from what is not pleasing to Allah”.

And regarding the statement of the Messenger, “Rather the one who is truly shy of Allah, let him safeguard his head and what it carries, safeguards the stomach and what it carries, remembers death and affliction. And he who wants the Hereafter should do away with the adornments of this life, then indeed he is truly shy of Allah, The Mighty and Majestic”. Al-Mubaarakfooree said, “Meaning, safeguard the head by refraining from utilising it in disobedience to Allah – do not prostrate to other than Allah and refrain from showoff whilst praying. Neither lower your head (in humility) for other than the sake of Allah nor raise it out of pride. Regarding what the head carries, such as the tongue, the eyes and the ears, do not utilise them for Haram. Safeguard the stomach by refraining from eating Haram as well as safeguarding what is connected to it – such as the private parts, the legs, the two hands and the heart- (from what is Haram)”.

And regarding the statement of the Prophet, “Remembers death and affliction”– Meaning, “Remember death and your abode in the grave”.

And regarding the statement, “And he who wants the Hereafter should do away with the adornments of this life”– Meaning, “Because the two cannot be combined in a perfect manner, even those who are strong (in Iman) cannot do so. [Footnote a] Therefore, whoever does this, indeed he is truly shy of Allah. [1]

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Footnote a: Abu Sulayman, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: “Abstinence from the worldly life is to abandon that which preoccupies you away from (the remembrance and obedience to) Allah.” He also said: “Everything that preoccupies you away from (remembrance and obedience to) Allah, be it family, wealth and children, it is misfortune.” [2]

Imam Ibrahim Bin Ad’ham, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: Abstinence from the worldly life is of three types: obligatory abstinence, the abstinence that is of a superior virtue and the abstinence that is safety. As for obligatory abstinence, it is to abstain from the unlawful; the abstinence that is of superior virtue is to abstain from the lawful worldly things that are unnecessary, and the abstinence that is safety is to abstain from the doubtful matters. [3]

Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: Many of the latter people associated Zuhd with poverty, but Zuhd can be present alongside wealth and poverty. Amongst the Prophets and those foremost in embracing Iman were those who were wealthy and Zahid. [4]

[1] An Excerpt from “Tuhfah Al-Ahwadhi. 7/131
[2] Jami ul Uloom Wal-Hikam. page 315-316
[3] Jami-ul Uloom Wal-Hikam. page 310
[4] Majmoo 11/28