16. OBEDIENCE AMONG MANY IS A CUSTOM RATHER THAN AN ACT OF WORSHIP
I have seen the customs (‘adat) of people have overtaken the Religion in their actions. They are bewildered in doing an act because it is not part of the customs, and not because of the Law (Religion)!
How many times do you find a person who is described as good (,kbayr), yet when he acquires some broken pieces of gold, he sells it in return for a sound piece of gold and does not do taqlid (following a scholar in that matter); neither acting upon the permitted act. All this is done because of adherence to the customs of the people and finding it difficult to ask for a fatwa about it!
You will find an abundant number of people who adhere to performing a prayer called the prayer of al-Ragha ib, yet they slack the observance of the obligatory (fara’id) prayers.
Many Sufis do not feel bewildered by committing injustice (zulm) against the people, then they try to be charitable (sadaqah) to the poor (fuqara), while simultaneously being lax in giving the obligatory charity’ (zakat), slacking in actions by employing therein far-fetched interpretations.
After this, if any of them is present in a sermon, he weeps as if he is pretending due to the demand of the situation. Amongst them are those who take out some obligatory charity as a cover-up for the wealth they have not donated. Among them are those who know that their main wealth is prohibited (haram), yet they cannot bear its departure because of custom (‘add).
Among them are those who divorce (talaq) their wives, and then retract it as they find the separation hard (sa’b)
Sometimes they try to interpret or they slacken in the interpretation (tarnl), relying on the forgiveness of Allah and promising oneself about repenting (tau’bah).
Among them are those who see the use of the Law (Religion) as a cause of tightening their livelihoods (ma’ash), as they have become habituated with concessions, thus finding it hard to depart from leeway. Overall, customs are destructive (mahlaqa).
An octogenarian man came in my presence. I struck a deal with him and bought a shop from him. We departed and after a few days he deceived me. I requested him to attend court for judgement. He refused, so I brought him to the judge. He took a false oath stating, ‘I have not sold the shop’. I cursed him, saying, ‘may a year not pass for him’. He started to bribe those unjust men who were between me and him.
In this instance, I saw among the laymen those who have been overpowered by customs, who do not pay attention to the statement of a jurist, instead saying, ‘this man has not yet received the payment, then how can the transaction be valid?!’ The other stating, ‘is it permissible for you to take over his shop without his satisfaction?’ while the third exclaimed, ‘it is imperative for you to cancel the transaction?’ When 1 did not cancel the transaction, he and his family began to dishonour me. He thought he was protecting his kingdom, so he sought me to the Sultan (ruler), where he inflamed lies that shocked me and where he gave bribes to a number of unjust people.
By exaggeration they tried their best to put me in trouble, but Allah saved me from their evil plot. I furnished the evidence before the judge; some worldly person spoke out, ‘do not pass judgment in his favour.’ He retracted from passing the judgment even after the establishment of proof before him. I saw from this judge and from another judge, worse instances of giving up the execution of Truth (justice), all to protect their positions that made me look down on the actions of that old man, in the protection of his wealth, because of his ignorance and because of the knowledge of these men.
It became clear to me that the customs have overpowered the people and the Law (Religion) has been neglected. If the custom happens to be confirming the Law (Religion), then it is because of it being subsequently conforming or it’s because of the custom. If a person received lashes for not fasting in Ramadan, that is because it is a custom that has remained a status quo.
On the other hand, if he dishonours someone or misappropriates his wealth, then that is seemingly acceptable being a prevailing custom! How many times have I seen this old man praying and looking after his prayers, but when he felt his interests were at stake, he left the religion {din) aside!
How many times I have seen those judges adhering to the religious observances and seeking knowledge, yet when they feared the loss of their positions, they forsook a part of religion!
Then Allah helped me against the old man. The judge came to me to execute what was established before him. A year passed, the old man died in destituteness.
We ask Allah, the Almighty’ to grant us the ability to submit to his Law (Religion) and oppose our whims and desires.
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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