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Advice of Scholars - THERE IS MUCH OSTENTATION IN SUPEREROGATORY WORSHIPS

Hadrat Imâm-i Rabbânî says in the  82nd letter of the second volume of his Maktûbât:

First of all, it is necessary to learn the belief which the Ahl-i-sunnat savants – may Allahu ta’âlâ give them many blessings for their ceaseless efforts – communicate and write in books, and to correct the îmân in accordance with it. Then we should learn the rules of fiqh (the commandments and prohibitions of the Sharî’at). We should adhere to doing the fard and be careful about the halâl (permitted) and avoiding harâm (forbidden).

Supererogatory worships are worth nothing when compared to the fard. The Muslims of our time abandon the fard and give their utmost to supererogatory worships; they value doing supererogatory worships [e. g. reading mawlîd, sitting together with men and women, building mosques, giving alms and doing favours], while they deem it unnecessary and unimportant to do the fard [e. g. performing the five times of namâz each day; fasting in the month of Ramadân; giving zakât; giving ’ushr; paying one’s debts, learning what halâl and harâm is; girls and women covering their heads, hair, arms, and legs; not listening to the words of those men on the radio or television who are the enemies of our religion and who try to corrupt our beliefs and good morals.

Nevertheless, they do not understand that to give one cent of zakât to the proper people (declared in the Qur’ân) is more blessed than giving thousands of dollars as alms. To give zakât is to do Allah’s command. But alms and favours are mostly intended to earn fame, reverence and the sensual desires of the nafs. When one does the fard, hypocrisy or ostentation do not get mixed with the action. But there is a lot of ostentation in supererogatory worships. It is for this reason that zakât should be given publicly. In this way one will be safe from being slandered. The supererogatory alms should be given secretly, which will increase the probability that it will be accepted [by Allah].

In short, to be safe from the harm of the world, there is no other way than doing the rules of the Sharî’at. Those who cannot cease from worldly pleasures completely should relinquish them at least supposedly, that is, they should think of themselves as having forsaken the world. And for doing this, one should adapt one’s every action and each word to the Sharî’at.