Fear and grief for those who follow guidance

Summary

Sha'rawi holds that whoever walks the path of guidance that God showed him loses no good he could grieve over, since all good lies in God's method, and no evil he cannot ward off comes to him to fear ¹. See al-Baqara 38 and Muhammad 17.

Guidance as signpost and increase

He notes that guidance has two senses: pointing to the way of good, and helping faith and increasing it ¹.

Fear and grief

For him fear is expecting an evil that is coming and that one cannot ward off, and grief is losing what one loves and desires ¹. He holds that the upright do not live in fear, because the wrongdoer fears that his deed will be exposed ².

Acceptance and wisdom

He holds that one who obeys God's will has his will submitted to that of his Creator, and that the universe hears from him only glorification and obedience, so he is at peace with himself, his Lord and society ². He cites the Prophet ﷺ's weeping at the death of his son Ibrahim, who said that the eye weeps and the heart grieves but only what pleases the Lord is said ² ³. The hadith is in the two Sahih collections, as the scan's footnote says.

The doctor

He gives the example of a bone-setter who breaks a bone to mend it, so pain does not prevent the act from being good ³.

Not yet checked

This is Sha'rawi's reading. The hadith is in the scan's footnote and not yet checked against its collection. No academic or other-tradition view is set out here, and none is checked.

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)

Paying a debt in the form owed is obligatory by consensus. A debt due now must be paid on demand when the debtor can pay; a deferred debt is not due before its term. Payment is made in like items, with value owed where there is no like; a better payment is allowed when unconditioned. Remission, gift, assignment, set-off and settlement take the place of payment. A solvent debtor who refuses is compelled, imprisoned and his apparent property sold; the majority hold that a bankrupt is put under interdiction and his property divided among creditors, against Abu Hanifa. The insolvent is given respite, and his debt may be paid from zakat if he borrowed for himself in a lawful matter. A dead person's debt attaches to his estate and takes precedence over bequests and inheritance.

Fear and grief for those who follow guidance

At a glance