Excuses
Part I
(First Khutbah)
What
Will Your Excuse Be Tomorrow Before Allah?
Praise be to Allah Who has created us to worship Him and has prescribed His religion and Shari'ah for us to adhere to, and Who accepts our excuses for our mistakes and for what we forget or are forced to do.
Allah has commanded us to adhere firmly to His religion, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Hold
fast to that which We have given you” [al-Baqarah 2:63].
Religion is a serious matter that distinguishes truth from falsehood, it is not a thing for amusement [cf. Al-Tariq 86:13].
Many people do not take the matters
of their religion seriously, and they offer feeble excuses. This is one of
the signs of the Munafiqun (hypocrites), who take their religion for mockery
and fun
[cf. Al-Ma'idah 5:57],
and when they are rebuked or advice is offered to them, they come up with
excuses which in fact are worse than the sin for which they are offering these
excuses.
Often
we hear strange responses from people when we seek to offer advice or confront
them about their evil actions and sins. For example:
Why
do you not give up this sin?
- These are difficult times, and everyone is like this.
- I have not been guided yet.
The joke you told is a serious matter, and it is making a mockery of Islam.
- My intention is sound, and I only meant to have some fun.
How
can you work in this haraam job?
- I can’t find any other job. Do you want me to die of starvation?
How could you shake hands with a woman who is a stranger to you (non-mahram)?
- My heart is pure.
Why
do you not wake your child up to pray Fajr?
- Poor kid, he didn’t get enough sleep and he has to go to school.
Your daughter has passed the age of ten and she is still wearing short clothes; why don’t you tell her to wear hijab?
- She is still young. When she reaches the age of puberty we will tell her to wear hijab.
Wear the correct Islamic hijab.
- It doesn’t look good on me. What will people say about me? The cover restricts my breathing.
Fear Allah and do not wear abaayahs (outer garments) that are colorful or have patterns.
- This is what is available in the stores.
How can you bring the means of forbidden entertainment (TVs etc.) into your home?
- Our wives and children put too much pressure on us.
Why
don’t you pray in the mosque?
- The Imam's voice is off-putting, and there are too many offensive smells.
Why
do you shave off your beard, my brother?
- Because it doesn’t look nice, I can’t grow a full beard.
Thus
people come up with excuses one after another, for major and minor sins alike,
in a failed attempt to avoid feeling guilty and avoid the advice of sincere
people. In order to find out the rulings on this matter and to learn more
about this dangerous phenomenon, we will refer to the Book of Allah and the
Sunnah of His Messenger 
(peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), and the words of the scholars.
Some of the incidents of false excuses referred to in the Qur'an:
Allah has mentioned in His Book some examples of false excuses, many of which were made by the Munafiqun, such as their excuses for failing to perform obligatory duties, the chief of which was jihad for the sake of Allah, and other duties.
(1)
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They (the hypocrites) will present their excuses to you (Muslims), when you return to them. Say (O Muhammad) ‘Present no excuses, we shall not believe you. Allah has already informed us of the news concerning you. Allah and His Messenger will observe your deeds. In the end you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, then He (Allah) will inform you of what you used to do." - [At Taubah 9:94]
Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Here
Allah states that when the Muslims returned to Madinah, the Munafiqun would
offer excuses. “Say (O Muhammad)
‘Present no excuses, we shall not believe you” means, we will
not accept it as true. “Allah
has already informed us of the news concerning you” means, Allah
has already told us about you. “Allah
and His Messenger will observe your deeds” means, your actions
will be made known to people in this world. “In
the end you will be brought back to the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen,
then He (Allah) will inform you of what you used to do” means,
and He will inform you of your deeds, both good and bad, and will requite you
accordingly.
Ka’b
ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) explained what happened when he
stayed behind from the campaign to Tabuk. He said:
“When
I heard that (the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) was on his way back from Tabuk), I was filled with
remorse and I began to think of a lie that I could tell so as to escape his
anger and I consulted some of my relatives to ask for their advice. But when I
heard that the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) was close at hand, thoughts of falsehood left
me and I knew that I would never find a way out by lying, so I resolved to
tell the truth. In the morning, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered (Madinah), and whenever he
returned from traveling he would always go to the mosque first. So he prayed
two rak’ahs there, then sat down to await the people. When he did that,
those who had stayed behind came and began to make excuses, swearing oaths.
There were eighty-odd of these men. The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) accepted their public declarations
and oaths of allegiance, and prayed for forgiveness for them, referring their
secret thoughts to Allah. Then I came to him and greeted him with salaam, and
he smiled as a person who is angry smiles, then he said: ‘Come here.’ So I
came and sat down before him. He said, ‘What kept you back? Did you not buy
a mount (riding animal)? I said, ‘Yes. By Allah, if I were sitting with
anyone else in this world, I would think that I would be able to escape his
wrath by making some excuse, for I am skilled in argument. But by Allah, I
know that if I told you a lie that you would accept, then soon Allah would
provoke your anger against me. But if I tell you the truth, which will make
you angry with me, I hope that Allah will forgive me for it. By Allah, I had
no excuse. I have never been stronger or richer than when I stayed behind.’
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said: ‘As far as that is concerned, he has told the truth. Get
up (and wait) until Allah decides concerning you.’ So I got up, and some men
from Banu Salimah got up and followed me, saying, ‘By Allah, we have never
known you to commit any sin before this. How come you were unable to offer an
excuse to the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) as the others who stayed behind did?
It would have been sufficient if the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had asked for forgiveness for your
sin.’ By Allah, they kept at me until I wanted to go back and give the lie
to myself. Then I asked them, ‘Is there anyone else who is in the same
position as I am?’ They said, ‘Yes, there are two men who said something
like what you said, and the same answer was given to them. I said, ‘Who are
they?’ They said: ‘Muraarah ibn al-Rabee’ al-‘Amri and Hilal ibn Umayyah
al-Waaqifi.’ They had told me the names of two righteous men who had been
present at Badr and who were exemplary characters. I remained silent when they
mentioned them to me.”
(Narrated
by al-Bukhari, 4066).
When
Allah mentioned those who told lies to the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and offered false excuses for
staying behind, He mentioned them in the worse way that they could ever be
mentioned: “They (the hypocrites) will
present their excuses to you (Muslims), when you return to them. Say (O
Muhammad) ‘Present no excuses, we shall not believe you. Allah has already
informed us of the news concerning you. Allah and His Messenger will observe
your deeds” [al-Taubah 9:94 – interpretation of the meaning].
(2)
Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
when a party of them said: ‘O people of Yathrib (Al-Madinah)! There is no
stand (possible) for you (against the enemy attack!) Therefore go back!’ And
a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet saying: ‘Truly, our homes
lie open (to the enemy).’ And they lay not open. They but wished to flee.”
[al-Ahzaab 33:13]
This
is the excuse that the Munafiqun used when they wanted to stay behind from the
campaign of al-Ahzaab and go back to their houses, claiming that the houses
were unprotected. Their excuse was unacceptable, because they did not really
want to protect their houses; what they actually wanted to do was to run away.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And
they lay not open. They but wished to flee.”
“And
a band of them ask for permission of the Prophet.” It was
narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that they said:
“We are afraid that our houses may be robbed.” This was stated by more
than one (of the scholars). They used the excuse of going back to their
houses, claiming that they lay open (to attack), i.e., there was nothing to
protect them from the enemy, so they were scared that the enemy may attack
their houses. Allah said (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
they lay not open” – it was not as they claimed. “They
but wished to flee” – i.e., to run away from battle.
(Tafseer
Ibn Kathir).
(3)
Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
among them is he who says: ‘Grant me leave (to be exempted from Jihad) and
put me not into trial.’ Surely, they have fallen into trial. And verily,
Hell is surrounding the disbelievers.” [al-Taubah 9:49]
Ibn
Kathir (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: Allah says, and among the Munafiqun
are those who will say, O Muhammad, Grant me leave to stay behind and do not
put me into trial by making me go out (to fight) with you, because of the
young women of the Romans. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Surely,
they have fallen into trial” meaning, they have fallen into trial
(fitnah) by their saying that. Muhammad ibn Ishaq narrated that Az-Zuhri,
Yazeed ibn Roman, ‘Abd-Allah ibn Abi Bakr, ‘Aasim ibn Qutadah and others
said: One day, when he was preparing to go out [to fight the Romans], the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said to Al-Jadd ibn Qays, the brother of Bani Salimah, “O Jadd,
how do you feel about going to fight Bani’l-Asfar (the Romans)?” He said,
“O Messenger of Allah, will you grant me leave to stay behind and not expose
me to trial (fitnah)? For by Allah, among my people there is no man who is
more tempted by women than I am, and I fear that if I see the women of
Bani’l-Asfar I will not be able to control myself.” The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
turned away from him and said, “I give you leave (to stay behind).” Then
there was revealed concerning al-Jadd ibn Qays the following words
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And
among them is he who says: ‘Grant me leave (to be exempted from Jihad) and
put me not into trial.’…”
i.e., because he feared the temptation of the women of Bani’lAsfar. But this
is not the case. The trial into which he fell by staying behind from
accompanying the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) and preferring his life to the life of the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) was a far greater trial… “And
verily, Hell is surrounding the disbelievers” means, they will
not be able to find any way out or means of escape from it.
(4)
Allah
also says concerning the excuses of the Munafiqeen (interpretation of the
meaning):
“If
you ask them (about this), they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and
joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allah, and His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?’
Make
no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed. If We pardon some of you,
We will punish others amongst you because they were Mujrimun (disbelievers,
polytheists, sinners, criminals).”
[al-Taubah
9:65-66]
Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
If
a person says words of kufr or divorce (talaq) in jest, his wife is thereby
divorced and he is counted as a kafir, even if he was only joking, because
when he said it he meant to say it. The fact that he was joking is not an
excuse. This is unlike the case when a person is forced to do something, or he
makes a mistake, or he forgets – all of which are excused. A person who is
forced to say something is excused, and what he said may be deemed as
allowable, but the one who jokes is not allowed to utter in jest words of kufr
or of divorce. When he said the words, he meant to say them, and he cannot
claim that he was forced or that he made a mistake or said it out of
forgetfulness or ignorance. Allah and His Messenger do not accept joking as an
excuse that will ward off the punishment; indeed, the one who jokes is more
deserving of punishment. Do you not see that Allah accepts the excuse of the
person who is forced to speak words of kufr if his heart is filled with true
faith, but He does not accept any excuse from the one who jokes. On the
contrary, He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If
you ask them (about this), they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and
joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allah, and His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were
mocking?’” Make no excuse; you disbelieved after you had believed” [al-Taubah
9:65-66]
(I’laam
al-Muwaqqi’een, 3/63)
We
say to every heretic and hypocrite who propagates kufr and clearly makes
statements of kufr in works of fiction or journalistic articles and song
lyrics, then gives that excuse that he did not intend to insult religious
symbols or the things that Islam holds sacred or the person of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we say to these Munafiqeen in
every place and time: “Present no
excuses, we shall not believe you” [al-Taubah 9:94 – interpretation of the
meaning]. We say to them: wait until the Day comes when it will be
said to you:
“O
you who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah — Islamic Monotheism)! Make no
excuses this Day! You are being requited only for what you used to do”
[al-Tahreem 66:7 - interpretation of the meaning].
(5)
Another of the foolish excuses of which Allah has told us in His Book, is that which the Children of Israel made to their Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) when he was leading them towards the Holy Land (Palestine).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning these Jews: One of the ways in which the Shayton played with them is when Allah had saved them from the tyranny and oppression of Pharaoh, and had parted the sea for them, and had shown them the signs and miracles, and had helped them and protected them and granted them glory, and given them what He had not given to any other among the ‘Aalameen (mankind and jinns, in the past) (cf. Al-Ma'idah 5:20),
Then He commanded them to enter the town which Allah had decreed was to be theirs. This included the glad tidings for them that they would prevail and conquer the land, and that that town would be theirs, but they refused to obey his orders, and they responded to this command and these glad tidings by saying:
"So you and your Lord go and fight you two. We are sitting right here." [Al Ma'idah 5:24 - interpretation of the meaning]
Think about how kind the Prophet of Allah Musa (peace be upon him) was towards them, and how gently he treated them, and how he reminded them of Allah's blessings towards them and His promise that the town would be theirs. He told them not to disobey him by turning on their heels, and warned them that if they disobeyed him, they would be losers. So he combined commands and prohibitions, glad tidings and warnings, encouragement and threats, and a reminder of previous blessings. But they responded in the worst manner and rejected the command of Allah by saying:
“O Musa! In it (this holy land) are a people of great strength” [al-Ma'idah 5:22 – interpretation of the meaning]. They showed no respect to the Messenger of Allah, the one with whom Allah had spoken, and they even addressed him by his first name, instead of saying “O Prophet of Allah”. They said that there were strong people dominating that town, and they forgot the power of the One Who dominates the heavens and the earth, Who could subjugate those tyrants to the people who obeyed Him. Their fear of those tyrants, whose forelocks were in the Hand of Allah, was greater than their fear of the Compeller, the Most High, may He be exalted, and they had more fear in their hearts of them than of Him.
Then
they clearly stated their disobedience
and their refusal to obey:
So, they confirmed their disobedience in several ways:
(1) They stated the reason for their disobedience: “In it (this holy land) are a people of great strength”.
(2)
They stated that they would not obey; the sentence starts with
the word “inna” which
signifies affirmation (e.g., verily, indeed), followed by the word “lan”,
a negation which implies “never”, i.e., we will not enter it now or in the
future.
Then they stipulated a condition for their entering the town, which was that the tyrants should leave. Then “Two men of those who feared (Allah and) on whom Allah had bestowed His Grace” [al-Ma'idah 5:23 – interpretation of the meaning] – by obeying His command, from among those who feared Allah – this is the view of the majority and this is correct. “[They] said: ‘Assault them through the gate’ [al-Ma'idah 5:23 – interpretation of the meaning], i.e., the gate of that town: attack them, for they are filled with fear of you.
“for when you are in, victory will be yours” [al-Ma'idah 5:23 – interpretation of the meaning].
Then they guided them to that which would bring them victory, namely putting their trust in Allah. But the people’s response was to say:
"O Musa! We shall never enter it as long as they are there. So go you and your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here. [Al Ma'idah 5:24 interpretation of the meaning]
Glory be to the One Whose patience was so great that when they responded to His command in this manner and addressed His Messenger in this way, He was forbearing towards them and did not hasten to punish them. His patience and kindness was so great that the worst punishment He gave them was to make them wander in the desert for forty years, with the clouds shading them from the heat and with manna and quails sent down for them.
(Ighaathah
al-Lahfaan, 2/313).
Having read the ayat in which Allah mentions the false excuses and responds to them, we should go back and think about our duties and what is required and expected of us. We should think of our own shortcomings and the excuses that we have in mind or that we give to others.
Allah has sent down His Book to us Muslims and He has obliged us to obey Him and follow His commands. We have no excuse not to follow the Shari'ah, and we have no option when it comes to Allah's commands.
Let
us remember what Sa’d ibn al-Rabee’ said to Zayd ibn Thabit with his dying
breath: “Tell my people the Ansaar that they have no excuse before Allah if
some harm reaches the Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and their eyes are still blinking (i.e.,
they are still alive).” Then his soul slipped away; may Allah be pleased
with him.
People’s excuses for not
adhering to Islam
There are many things that a lot of people say to excuse themselves for not obeying the commands of Allah and His Messenger:
“The rulings are too difficult; these are difficult times; I haven’t been guided yet”… and other examples such as those given above. Another thing that they say is: we are afraid of people!
They fear the people, but Allah is more deserving of being feared. Is He not the One Who says to us (interpretation of the meaning):
"So fear them not, but rather fear Me" [ Al Ma'idah 5:3]
“Therefore
fear not men but fear Me” [al-Ma'idah
5:44]
Is
it not a form of Shirk for a
person to fear other people as he fears Allah or even more so?
Mu’aawiyah
wrote to ‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen (may Allah be pleased with her)
saying: “Send me a letter and advise me, briefly.” So ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah
be pleased with her) wrote to Mu’aawiyah saying: “Peace be upon you. I
heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) say, whoever seeks to please Allah by making
people angry, Allah will protect him from people; whoever seeks to please
people by making Allah angry, Allah will leave him to the people. Peace be
upon you.” (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 2414).
People
come up with many foolish reasons for not implementing the commands of Allah
and His Messenger, in an attempt to make excuses so that they will not feel
guilty, and in order to justify what they are doing by saying that they are
under pressure or by misinterpret ting things to suit themselves. Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, refuting that:
No one
has any excuse whatsoever for disobeying Allah and going against His commands
when he knows of them and is able to do what he is commanded and avoid what is
forbidden. If there (really) was an excuse, he would not deserve to be
punished and blamed, either in this world or in the hereafter.
(Madaarij
al-Saalikeen, 1/189)
Blame
yourself, done not blame someone else * and die of regret, for you have no
excuse.
Some
people use the Shayton as an excuse.
Some
people use al-qadaa’ wa’l-qadar
(divine decree) as an excuse.
This is
the worst kind of excuse.
Allah
connected the adornment of this world and sin to the shayateen, as He said
(interpretation of the meaning):
“and
Shayton (Satan) made fair-seeming to them that which they used to do” [al-An'am
6:43]
“And
so to many of the Mushrikun (polytheists) their (Allah's so-called)
‘partners’ have made fair-seeming the killing of their children” [al-An'am
6:137]. This
does not contradict the ayah (interpretation of the meaning):
“Thus We have made fair-seeming
to each people its own doings” [al-An'am 6:108]
– because when this is connected to Allah, it means that it is the matter of
al-Qadaa’ wa'l-Qadar
(divine decree), but when it is connected to the Shayton it means that he is
the means by which it happens. Moreover, when sin is made attractive, this is
a punishment for them liking and accepting that which the Shayton made
fair-seeming to them, because the punishment for sayi'aati
(bad deeds) is more bad deeds, and the reward for hasanaat
(good deeds) is more good deeds.
What is meant is that using al-qadar as an excuse contradicts the idea of repentance, and it is not an acceptable excuse at all. In some reports it is stated that if a person commits a sin, then says, 'O Lord, this was Your Decree and this iswhat You ordained for me,' Allah says, 'You did this, you earned it, you wanted it and you worked for it, and I will punish you for it.' If he syas, 'O Lord, I did wrong and I erred and I transgressed,' Allah says, "I decreed it and ordained that if would happen, and I wll forgive you for that.' If he does a good deed and says, 'O Lord, I did it and I gave in charity and I prayed and I fed others,' Allah will say, 'I helped you and I guided you.' And if he says, 'O Lord, You helped me and supported me and blessed me,' Allah will say, 'You did it and you wanted it and you earned it.'
So
there are two kinds of excuses: those in which a person does not admit that he
was wrong – which contradicts the idea of
repentance, and those in which a person does admit that he was wrong
– which makes repentance complete.
(Madaarij
al-Saalikeen,
1/184)
Some
people may have some kind of excuse, but it is very slight and it will not be
of much use if they want to use that excuse before Allah.
If you want to know how valid an excuse is, ask yourself, will this be of any
benefit to me before Allah?
And fear
“The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to Zaalimoon (polytheists, wrongdoers and disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah). Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode (i.e. painful torment in Hell-fire)” [Ghaafir 40:52 – interpretation of the meaning]
Each person knows best about himself and whether his excuses are genuine or false. On the Day of Resurrection all matters will become clear, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Nay! Man will be a witness against himself [as his body parts (skin, hands, legs) will speak about his deeds], Though he may put forth his excuses (to cover his evil deeds)” [al-Qiyaamah 75:14-15]