Tuhaf Al-uqul ( the Masterpieces of the Mind )

The Commandment of the Prophet For Me'aath Bin Jabal

when he assigned him as the governor of Yemen

O Me'aath, teach them the Book of God and the high traits. Treat each according to his rank, whether good or evil. Carry out God's orders regarding them and never be negligent in this regard. Do not favor anyone in the questions regarding (the fair distribution of) the estates of God. They are not yours or your concern. Fulfill their trusts disregarding how big or small they are. Show clemency and pardon on condition that you will not neglect the right. The ignorant may say that you have neglected the right of God. Offer apologies in every act in which you expect a fault would fall, so that people will acquit you (of negligence). Deaden the pre-Islamic customs except those that Islam ordained.

Show the whole affairs of Islam, whether small or big. The prayer should be the most important matter that you care for, because it is the head of Islam after the confession of the religion. Remind people of God and the life to come. Pursue the admonitions because they are the most affective in the field of urging (people) doing actions that God favors. Distribute the educated ones among people. Worship God to Whom you will be taken and do not care for any blame in doing matters that He pleases.

I command you to fear God, say the truth, fulfill the pledges, give the deposits back to their possessors, avoid treason, show lenient wording, begin in greeting people, regard the neighbors, compassionate the orphans, work hard, neglect hopes, long for the life to come, worry about the Final Judgment, adhere to the faith, learn the Quran, suppress your rage, and behave with humility.

Beware of reviling at any Muslim, complying with any sinful, disobeying any just leader, belying any truthful, and believing any liar. Mention your Lord in any situation and show repentance whenever you commit any sin. Show secret repentance for the secret sins and open repentance for the open sins.

O Me'aath, I will shorten my commandments if I am certain we will not meat each other until the Day of Resurrection, but I see we will not meet ever again. Surely, the most favorable of you to me is that who will meet me while he bears the same beliefs and qualities on which I left him.

Some Words of the Prophet

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) sermonized:

Everything has its honor, and the honor of sessions is that in which the direction of Kiblah is taken. He who wants to be the mightiest of people should fear God, he who wants to be the most powerful of people should depend upon God, and he who wants to be the wealthiest of people should trust in what is in God's hand more than what is in his hand. May I inform of the evilest of people? The attendants said: "Yes, you may, God's Messenger." He (peace be upon him and his family) said: The evilest of people are those who live alone, whose charity does not reach people, and who whip their servants. May I inform you of the people that are eviler than the previous?

The attendants said: "Yes, you may, God's Messenger." He (peace be upon him and his family) said: The people that are eviler than the previous are those whose favor is not expected and whose evil is not secured. May I inform you of the people that are eviler than the previous?

The attendants said: "Yes, you may, God's Messenger." He (peace be upon him and his family) said: The people that are eviler than the previous are those who dislike people and people dislike them. Once, Jesus (peace be upon him) orated before the Israelites. He said:

"O children of Israel, do not speak words of wisdom before the ignorant so that you will not wrong these words. Do not prevent the wise people from receiving the wisdom lest, you will wrong those people. Do not reward the unjust ones otherwise, your favors will be null. O children of Israel, matters must be one of three: a clearly right matter that you should follow, a clearly wrong matter that you should avoid, or a confused matter that you should commend to God." O people, you have definite marks and identified ends: therefore, you should stop at your marks and reach at only your ends. A faithful believer should live between two points of fear: one is his past deeds that he ignores what God will do about them and the second is the remaining life that he ignores what God has arranged for it. The servant (of God) should take from himself for himself, his worldly life for his life to come, his youth for his old age, and his life for his death. By the Prevailing of my soul I take the oath, no blame will be after death. Except for Paradise and Hell, no abode will be there after this worldly life.

The Prophet's Reference to Knowledge, Intellect, and Ignorance

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) instructed:

Learn the knowledge, for to learn it is an advantage, to study it is (a feature of) glorification of God, to search for it is (a sort of) jihad, to teach it (to the ignorant ones) is charity, to instruct it freely is a pious act because it is the sign of the halal and haram. It leads its seekers to Paradise, entertains in loneliness, and associates in estrangement. It is a guide in joy, a weapon against the enemies, and the beauty of the friends. By knowledge, God raises some people to make them the guides to goodness to the degree that their conducts are taken as examples and their practices as lessons and the angels desire for befriending them. Knowledge is the life of the hearts and the light of the sights. It is the power of the weak bodies. God takes the bearers of knowledge to the ranks of the beloved ones and grants them the association with the virtuous one in this world and the life to come.

Through knowledge, God is obeyed, worshipped, acknowledged, and confessed of His being One. Through knowledge, likewise, relations are regarded and halal and haram are realized. Knowledge is the leader of the intellect. God grants the intellect to the happy ones and deprives the unhappy of it. The character of the intelligent is that he overlooks the ignorant, pardons the wrongdoers, behaves modestly with the lower-rank ones, and competes with the higher-rank ones for seeking charity. The intelligent thinks before he utters: he will win when he speaks good wording and will be saved when he abstains from speaking evil. He clings to God firmly when he has to encounter a seditious matter; therefore, he stops his hand (deeds) and tongue (words). He hurries to the virtue wherever he notices it. He never leaves shyness and never shows acquisitiveness. These ten characters distinguish the intelligent.

The ignorant wrongs his who associates with him, oppresses him who is less than he is, and attacks (wrongly) him who is higher than he is. He utters without thinking in what he says. He commits sins whenever he speaks and forgets when he keeps silent. He hurries to every seditious matter that would certainly befall him and neglects and slows down for the virtue. He does not care for the past sins and does not refrain from committing new ones. He slows down from doing charitable acts. He does not care for what passed and what he had lost. These ten characters distinguish the ignorant.

An Advice

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said:

Why do I notice that the fondness of this world has overcome most of people as if death has been afflicted to other than them and the right in this world has been ordained on other than them? You are not eternal after those whose news of death reach you and you are just like traveling people who will soon return home. You have put the dead ones in their graves and seized their heritage. Do you think you will be eternal after them? Too far it is! Too far it is! Will the present not learn a lesson from the past? They ignored and forgot every lesson in God's Book and trusted the evil of every bad result. They did not expect the falling of a catastrophe or misfortune.

Blessed are those whose fear of God engages them from fearing people. Blessed are those whose earnings are acceptable, inner and outer selves are sound, and morals are straight. Blessed are those who give the surplus of their money as alms and prevent the surplus of their speech. Blessed are those who behave modestly for God's sake, renounce the worldly pleasures without refusing my Sunnah , refuse the delight of this world without the desire for ignoring my practices, follow my pious progeny after me, associate with the people of knowledge and wisdom, and treat the poor kindly.

Blessed are those who earn money from the believers without need to act disobediently to God, spend it in fields that do not cause acting disobediently to God, give it to the poor, and leave the proud, the arrogant, the greedy, the heresiarch, and the changers of my Sunnah. Blessed are those who treat people with good mannerism, provide support, and save them from evil.

The Prophet's Sermon of the Farewell Pilgrimage

In the Farewell Pilgrimage, The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) sermonized:

All praise is due to God. We praise Him, seek His aid and forgiveness, and repent to Him. We seek His guard against the evils of our wrongdoings and ourselves. No one will be able to deviate those whom God guides and no one will be able to guide those whom God causes to deviate. I declare there is no god but Allah exclusively without any associate, and declare that Mohammed is His servant and messenger. O slaves of God, I command you to adhere to God-fearing and urge you obeying Him. I begin with God Who is the source of every good. O people, listen to what I will show to you. I do not know whether I will meet you the next year in this situation or not. O people, your souls and honors are as sanctified as this day in this country among you up to the day on which you will meet your Lord. Have I conveyed? O Allah, Be the witness.

He whom is trusted with a deposit should fulfill his trust. The usury of the pre-Islamic age is revoked. The first usury that I will revoke is Al-Abbas bin Abdil-Muttelib's.

The revenge of the pre-Islamic age is revoked. The first revenge that I will revoke is the Aamir bin Rabi'a bin Al-Harith bin Abdil-Muttelib's. The whole traditions of the pre-Islamic age are canceled except the custody -of the Holy House of God- and the watering (of the pilgrims). Retaliation is the judge of the premeditated murder. The ruling of quasi-murder, such as those whom are killed by a stick or a stone unintentionally, is a one hundred camels -to be paid as blood money-. Any additional number is a part of the pre-Islamic practices. O people, the Shaitan despaired of being obeyed on this land, but he accepted to be obeyed through your insignificant evildoings. O people, "Postponing (of the sacred month) is only an addition in unbelief, wherewith those who disbelieve are led astray, violating it one year and keeping it sacred another, that they may agree in the number (of months) that Allah has made sacred." The time has rotated as same as the day on which God created the heavens and the earth. "Surely the number of months with Allah is twelve months in Allah's ordinance since the day when He created the heavens and the earth, of these four being sacred;" three are consecutive and one is odd. They are Dhu'l-Qa'da, Dhu'l-Hijja, Muharram, and Rajab, which falls between Jumada and Shaban. Have I conveyed? O Allah, Be the witness.

O people, your women enjoy obligations that are imposed upon you, and you enjoy obligations that are imposed upon them. The obligations that are imposed upon them are that they should never take anybody to your beds, should never let anybody that you hate enter your houses before they take your permission, and should never commit any evildoing. If they do so, God has permitted you to prevent them, leave them alone in the sleeping-places, and beat them, but not so harmfully. If they desist and obey you, you should assume their livelihood and clothing adequately. You have taken them by the trust of God and they have been lawful to you by the Book of God. Therefore, fear God in the questions regarding women and advise each other for their good.

O people, "the believers are each others' brothers." It is illicit for anyone to behave in (someone's) money before he obtains the owner's permission. Have I conveyed? O Allah, be the witness.

After me, do not return to atheism by killing each other. I have left among you what will protect you against deviation if you only adhere to. It is the Book of God and my family-my household. O Allah, be the witness. O people, your Lord is one and your father is one. You all are from Adam and Adam was created from dust. "The best of you to Allah is the most God-fearing." Except by means of God-fearing, no Arab person is preferred to a non-Arab. Have I conveyed? The witness must convey this to the absent.

O people, God has constituted the share of every heir. It is illicit for any testator to will more than one third of the estate. The baby is for the owner of the bed, and the share of the prostitute is the stone. The curse of God, the angels, and all of people be upon those whoever claim of being the sons of other than their fathers and those who claim of being the subjects of other than their masters. God will not accept from such individuals any excuse or compensation.

Peace and God's mercy and blessings be upon you.