2. SAFEGUARDING ALLAH
The saying of the Messenger of Allah, “Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you,” means to safeguard the limits of Allah, His rights, His commands and His prohibitions. These are preserved by meeting His commands with compliance, His prohibitions with avoidance, and His limits by not overstepping or transgressing them such that one leaves what has been prescribed and encroaches on the proscribed.
Hence this sentence covers the performance of all obligations and the abandonment of all prohibitions just as is mentioned in the hadith of Abu Tha’labah that the Prophet said, “Allah has obligated various duties so do not be lax in them, He has prohibited various things so do not encroach on them, and He has set limits so do not transgress them.
All of the above is included in the term, ‘preserving the limits of Allah’ and as such is subsumed by the sayings of Allah,
“…those who preserve the limits of Allah”2
“This is what you were promised; it is for every penitent and heedful one: those who fear the All Merciful in the Unseen3 and come with a contrite heart.”4
The term, heedful one in this verse has been explained to mean one who safeguards the commandments of Allah and it has also been explained to mean a person whose solicitude for his sins leads him to repent and desist. The verse encompasses both meanings and, moreover, anyone who safeguards the legacy of Allah to His servants and follows it is also included. within the scope of the verse. All of these aspects revolve around one and the same fundamental meaning.
One of the wordings of the hadith concerning the Day of Increase in Paradise mentions that ”when Allah, Most High, will summon the inhabitants of Paradise to visit Him, and after He has removed the veils for them, He will say, ‘Welcome O servants of Mine: those who safeguarded my legacy, tended to My covenant and feared Me in secret; those who, in every circumstance, remained in dread of Me.”‘
Therefore his commanding ibn Abbas to safeguard Allah comprises all that has been mentioned above.
1.1 Safeguarding the Prayers
One of the greatest of matters that require safeguarding is the five daily prayers. Allah,Most High, says,
“Safeguard the prayers – especially the middle one.”9
“…those who safeguard their prayer.”10
The Prophet said, ”Whoever safeguards them has a promise from Allah that He will grant him entry into Paradise.”
Another hadith has, ”Whoever safeguards them, they will be a light, a proof and a deliverance for him on the Day of Rising.”
1.2 Safeguarding Purification
The same applies to purification for it is the key to prayer.The Prophet said, “None safeguards the ablution save a believer.
This is because a servant could well invalidate his state of purification without even being aware of it, therefore safeguarding the state of ablution for prayer is a proof that faith has settled firmly in the heart.
1.3 Safeguarding Oaths
Amongst the things that Alahl has commanded to safeguard is oaths. When He mentioned the expiation of breaking oaths, He said,
“That is the expiation for breaking oaths when you have sworn them. Keep your oaths.”15
People frequently make oaths and the consequences of breaching them vary: sometimes it will be the expiation for breaking oaths, other times a severe expiation is required (kaffarah mughallazah), and at other times it requires divorce or the like to take effect. Faith has entered the heart of a person who takes care of his oaths.
The Salaf would carefully safeguard their oaths. Some of them would never take an oath by Allah, others would be so guarded that they would give expiation for oaths they thought they may have broken. Imam Al:imad, on his death bed, enjoined that the expiation for breaking an oath be given saying, ‘I think I might have broken an oath that I made.’
It is reported that when Ayyub (‘alayhis-salam) passed by any two people swearing an oath by Allah, he would go and give expiation on their behalf lest they sing without realising. This is why when he made an oath to lash his wife one hundred times, Alahl granted him leeway because of his safeguarding his oaths and the oaths of others. The scholars have differed as to whether this leeway applies to others besides Ayyub.
Yazid ibn Abi Habib said, ‘It has reached me that, amongst the Carriers of the Throne, there is one whose eyes shed tears that flow like rivers. Then when he raises his head, he says, “Glory be to You, You are not feared as befits You.” Allah says, ”Yet those who make oaths in My name falsely do not know this!”‘
A severe threat has been recorded concerning taking false oaths. Frequent oaths in the name of Allah, or false oaths in His name, arise from ignorance of Allah and lack of reverence in the heart.
1.4 Safeguarding the Head and Stomach
Some of the things that the believer must safeguard are his head and stomach. lbn Mas<iid reports that the Messenger of Allah said, “Being shy before Allah as is truly deserving is to safeguard the head and what it retains and the stomach and what it contains.” It is recorded by Ahmad and Tirmidhi.
Safeguarding the head and what it retains includes safeguarding the hearing, seeing and tongue from falling into the prohibited. Safeguarding the stomach and what it contains includes safeguarding the heart from persisting in the proscribed. Allah has mentioned all of this in His saying,
“The hearing, the sight and the heart – each of these will be questioned.”18
Safeguarding the stomach and what it contains includes safe-guarding it from consuming unlawful food and drink.
1.5 Safeguarding the Tongue and Private Parts
It is also obligatory to safeguard the tongue and private parts from infringing on the proscribed. Abii Hurayrah reports that the Prophet said, ”Whoever safeguards what is between his jaws and what is between his legs will enter Paradise.” It is recorded by Hakim.
Bukhari also records it on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa’d from the Prophet with the wording, ”Whoever guarantees me what is between his jaws and legs, I will guarantee him Paradise.”
Ahmad has the hadith of Abu Musa that the Prophet said, “Whoever safeguards what is between his jaws and his private parts will enter Paradise.’’
Allah, Most High, has specifically ordered the safeguarding of the privates and has praised those who do so,
“Say to the believers that they should lower their eyes and guard their private parts.”22
“…men and women who guard their private parts••. “23
“…those who guard their private parts – except from their wives or those they own (as slaves), in which case they are not blameworthy…”24
It is reported that Abu Idris al-Khawlani said, ‘When Adam descended to earth, the first thing that Al enjoined upon him was the safeguarding of the privates and that he should only ever put them in that which was lawful.’
By ibn Rajah al-Hanbali
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