Prophetic Hadith- Explanation of the Prophetic Hadith- At-Targheeb wa Tarheeb by Imam Al-Muntheri- Lesson (091-116): Book of business transactions- discouraging deception and encouraging the giving of advice in trade and other transactions (2)

Passive attitute towards others is rejected in Islam:

Dear brothers, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:
((Whoever does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them, and whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger, His Book, the leaders of Muslims and their masses in not one of us.))

[At-Tabarani, narrated by Huzaifah bin Al-Yaman]

The passive attitude is rejected in Islam:
(And your lord would never destroy the towns wrongfully while their people were right-doers)

[Hud:117]

Allah did not say (righteous), for even if they had been righteous he would have destroyed them. It was reported in the relic that Almighty Allah wanted to destroy the town:
((Almighty Allah sent some angels to destroy the people of a particular town. When the angels reached there, they found a worshiper engrossed in worship. The angels said, "O our Lord! Your particular slave is busy in worship, how can we send punishment on this town?" The reply came, "Start with this man, because he has never been angry for Our sake and never behaved curtly with the sinners."))

[Reported in the relic]

It is a passive attitude to say that the people have been ruined.
((When a person says: 'People have been ruined', he is the one to be ruined the most))

[Muslim, narrated by Abu Hurairah]

They have not been ruined, but he is the most ruined among them:
((When a person says: 'People have been ruined', he is the one to be ruined the most))

It means that he is the most destroyed one because of his passivity. Having a passive attitude, saying "This is not my concern" withdrawing from the community, caring only for yourself, being selfish, fulfilling your needs, being careless towards Muslims around you, letting them do whatever they want without giving them advice, guiding them to Allah, helping them obey Allah or clarifying things to them represent passivity, which is unacceptable in Islam.
((Whoever does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them...))

[At-Tabarani, narrated by Huzaifah bin Al-Yaman]

Faith is a very high rank:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, referred to the major sins (Kaba'ir) in some Ahadeeth by denying the belonging of whoever commits them to Muslims. Some of these major sins are mentioned in the following Ahadeeth:
((Whosoever cheats us is not one of us))

[Muslim, Abi Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, narrated by Abi Hurairah]

Whosoever deceives people is not one of us, and whosoever makes a woman
leave her husband has nothing to do with us:
((He who (on befalling a calamity) slaps his cheeks, tears his clothes and follows the ways and traditions of the Days of Ignorance is none of us))

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim, narrated by Ibn Mas'ud]

((He who summons others to party-spirit does not belong to us; and he who dies upholding party spirit does not belong to us.))

[Abu Dawud, narrated by Jubair bin Mut'im]

((Whoever pillages, steals or even hints to stealing is not one of us))

[Al-Hakim, narrated by Ibn Abbas]

There are some Ahadeeth in which the phrase "has nothing to do with us" is mentioned indicating that so and so sins are major ones, and thus the Prophet, peace be upon him, said that the punishment for whoever commits them is being denied as a Muslim. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((The believer may acquire all sorts of characteristics))

[Imama Ahmad, narrated by Abi Umamah Al-Bahili]

Faith (Iman) is a great thing indeed and a very high rank, and those who have Iman differ from each other. For instance, you know a believer who is open-minded, another who is narrow-minded, a believer who is socially active, another one who is not that social, a believer who spends a lot, another one who does not spend that much, a believer who is cautious, another believer who is less cautious, a believer who is very elegant, another one who is less elegant, a believer who has a temper, another one who is even-tempered and so on. All these characteristics prove the individuality of man. However, the believer never lies to others nor does he betray them. If he does so, he is not a believer:
((The believer may acquire all sorts of characteristics except treachery and lying))

A believer does not lie. There are morals which do not contradict Iman and they are all accepted to be acquired by the believer even though there are some morals which are higher in rank than others. Unlike these morals, lying contradicts Iman, so the believer should never lie:
((except treachery and lying))

Whoever does not care about Muslims' affairs does not belong to Islam:

When you read a Noble Hadith in which the phrase "has nothing to do with us" or "is not one of us them" is mentioned, this means that it is a Kabirah (a major sin) which gets man out of Islam making him not a member of this great religion. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Whoever does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them.))

He is the one who is not concerned about their concerns, who is not saddened by what saddens them, who is not hurt by what hurts them or, who is not happy about what makes them happy. You may find a person who has great capabilities, a rare specialty and sufficient income. Yet, his heart has been hardened, so he does not care whether the youth are financially able to marry or not, whether they find jobs or not or whether they are able to fulfill their needs or not.
The Muslim society sometimes suffers from serious problems, and if you do not care about these problems, not even the least care, or do not help relieve or remove these problems, you are not a Muslim. The least you can do is to care about, worry about, be hurt by or pay attention to the problems which the Muslim society faces, but if you do not see that there is a problem at all, then you are the biggest problem. Thus, whoever is content and sees no problem, yet he says that the people are doomed, he is the most doomed among them, or he is the one who expects their destruction although they are not destroyed as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said in the Hadith I mentioned previously:
((Whoever does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them, and whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger, His Book, the leaders of Muslims and their masses in not one of us.))

Religion is to give advice:

The Muslim should advise people to get acquainted with Allah, to obey Him, to reconcile with Him, to repent to him and to approach Him:
((spends the day and the night))

His Da'wah should be in the morning and evening; it should be continuous:
((And whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger…))

He should advise people to go back to the Sunnah, implement it, and make the Prophet, peace be upon him, the role model and the example, be guided by his guidance, follow his footsteps, apply his teachings, act upon his commands and refrain from what he forbade and reprimanded:
((His Book))

Also, he should advise them to return to the Noble Quran and act upon its Halal and Haram.
Imam Ibn Abbas said, "The Quran has three sections... One of them is the section about Halal and Haram to which man should never be oblivious as it pertains to his fate." I mentioned a couple of days ago that the parachute jumper may not know much about parachutes, but he could reach the ground safely. He may not know the size of the parachute, its shape whether it is square or round, its color, the type of fabric it is made of, the length or thickness of its cords or their color. However, he can descend safely, but if he does not know how to open the parachute, he will fall dead. Similarly, if man does not know (Halal and Haram), he will be doomed.
((…and whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger, His Book…))

He should advise the servants of Allah to know Him, to make peace with Him, to repent to Him and to return to Him. Moreover, he should advise people to know the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to make him a role model, to make him always in the minds of every Muslim, to tell them how he used to deal with his household, neighbors, children and friends, how he acted in times of peace and in times of war and how he acted in his travels and at home:
((His Book))

This Quran is the sound and precise Method, and it contains Halal and Haram, commands and prohibitions, truth and falsehood, the news about earlier nations and the signs of the universe.
One should advise others politely and sincerely:
((…the leaders of Muslims...))

During the battle of Badr, and due to the great profound Divine Wisdom Allah did not reveal to the Prophet, peace be upon him, the right location where Muslims had to camp. Therefore, the Prophet, peace be upon him, suggested a location to his Companions, and when they agreed upon it, the noble Companion Al-Hubab Ibn Al-Mundhir asked, "O Messenger of Allah, was this location revealed to you by Allah? [If so they did not have the right to give their opinion, but rather they had to obey him] or can we give our opinion and advice?" The Prophet, peace be upon him said, "You can give me your opinion and advice." Al-Hubab said, "O Allah's Messenger, it is not the right location to camp." He went on explaining to him why it was not appropriate, "Those men (the Kuffar) are skillful archers, so when they hit their targets, their arrows can reach us because we are on the lower part of the ground while they are on the higher one. Thus, if they keep hitting us with their arrows, they shall wipe us out." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Which location do you suggest for us to camp?" Al-Hubab told him about the best location, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "This is the right place to camp." He, peace be upon him, ordered his Companions to relocate. The believer certainly should advise others with wisdom, fair preaching and good manners.
If you are a teacher at school, and you know that the principle did not know the truth about something, you should go and advise him politely. You could be a doctor in a hospital, a teacher at a secondary school or an employee in an establishment; if you can advise the person who is assigned to make decisions politely and sincerely, you will be elevated in the Sight of Allah the Exalted.
The true Muslim is always concerned about the welfare of others:

((and his Imam and all Muslims))

((…the leaders of Mulsims…))

You may see a person who makes a deadly mistake in the street, such as parking his car in the wrong place, and so causing it to be towed away, but the believer will come closer to him and advise him that parking is prohibited there. Doing this is a good Islamic attitude. The believer advises his fellow brother to park his car in the proper place, tells him what to do while selling and buying and advises him to ask for the invoice of the goods which require customs fees. Furthermore, the believer is concerned even for the common people, so he does not keep silent when he sees someone who needs help.
A brother once told me after I had bought a refrigerator from him, "If you transport the refrigerator in a horizontal position (lying on the side), do not turn it on when you get home, because the motor will burn immediately as the oil inside it will be in a certain position. You should leave it standing for five to six hours before turning it on."
After a period of time, I saw a man leaving an establishment in Al-Hariqah (in Damascus), with a small cooler he had just bought. The man seemed to be poor, but he was very happy with his cooler. He brought a car and laid the cooler in it. By Allah, when I saw him, I followed him from a sidewalk to another in order to tell him what to do once he got home. I told him, "Do not turn it on immediately, but let it stand for five to six hours first and then operate it."
The true believer gives advice about certain medicine. For instance, if he notices that someone buys a medicine that is out of date, he tells him that and asks him to return it to the pharmacist. Hence, the believer never keeps silent when advice is needed:
((…and whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger, His Book, the leaders of Muslims and their masses in not one of us.))

Thus:
((Whoever does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them, and whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger, His Book, the leaders of Muslims and their masses in not one of us.))

[At-Tabarani, narrated by Huzaifah bin Al-Yaman]

The believer is positive in nature:

The Hadith, "Religion is sincerity" is a comprehensive and distinctive phrase as religion embraces this positive attitude; the attitude which includes devotion and concern. Our master Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, was looking for a governor to appoint a high ranking position, so he said, "I want a man who when he is among men, he should look like a leader even though he is not, and when he is appointed a leader, he should look like as if he is one of the ordinary men." It means that his modesty, selflessness and austerity make him look like one of the ordinary men, and his concern about the welfare of Muslims over his own and the efforts he exerts to be a successful leader make him look like a leader. This measure of appointing leaders is very accurate; he should look like other men because of his modesty, and he should look like a leader because of his concern about others.
The believer is positive, so saying, "This is not my business", "Let them do whatever they want; I do not care" are satanic words. Everyone has a family and relatives; nephews and nieces, so he should direct, advise and help other people. His attitude towards other people should be positive, not negative because negativity has nothing to do with Islam. In the following Hadith Allah ordered the angels to destroy a town, and when they said that there was a righteous man in it, He ordered them to start with him:
((Almighty Allah sent some angels to destroy the people of a particular town. When the angels reached there, they found a worshiper engrossed in worship. The angels said, "O our Lord! Your particular slave is busy in worship, how can we send punishment on this town?" The reply came, "Start with this man, because he has never been angry for Our sake and never behaved curtly with the sinners."))

If man is righteous but not a reformer, Allah shall destroy him. You should be a reformer, and you should contribute in one way or another in spreading this religion, in making people hold firmly to this religion, in awakening them and in guiding their conduct. Never ever say, "It is not my concern", and if every person says that, we are finished. Basically, falsehood grows (expands), and when the bearers of the truth remain silent and falsehood grows, there will come a time when the truth is finished.
A taxi-driver, whose education was poor, used to offer his services from Beirut to Damascus. One day he drove a young man and woman from Beirut to Damascus, and when they got into the car, the young man said to him, "Wait a minute; a man shall come with a suitcase." They waited long, and the driver asked them how long they had to wait for that person, but then a 70 -year-old man appeared carrying a suitcase. When he came closer, the young man hit his head saying, "Why are you so late?" The old man was silent. They put the suitcase in the trunk, and the taxi-driver started driving. The young woman said to her husband, "How do you dare to hit your father?" Upon hearing that the driver stopped the car and said, "Was that man your father? Get out of the car." The taxi driver did not allow him to stay in his car, and despite his limited education, his reaction made the young man look like a criminal; as if he said to him, "You are a criminal, so get out of my car."
A brother once told me, "By Allah, a taxi-driver was the reason behind my guidance to the truth". I asked him, "What did he do?" He said, "I was drinking alcohol and had a bottle of wine in my hand while I was in his car, so when he saw the bottle, he stopped driving and threw me out of the car. It was 2.00 pm, and there was traffic jam, so I waited for an hour and a half, and no taxi stopped to pick me up. It was so humiliating, and since then I repented, and my repentance was because of that driver.
Those who favor their safety over the truth will be afflicted:

Let me give you some simple examples: In some cases the son is rude with his parents. Yet, he is warmly welcomed by his relatives who know very well about his misbehavior. Courtesy can sometimes corrupt a person's religion. You see someone who has committed a major sin, who drinks alcohol and who speaks badly about Islam. Nevertheless, he is welcomed and invited to banquets. As long as Muslims have reached this level of carelessness, and they abstain from showing disapproval of Al-Munkar, Allah destroys them:
(And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial, etc.) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people.)

[Al-Anfal: 25]

When man keeps indifferent, never takes action, never gives advice or never shows disapproval of wrongdoings, he deserves to be ruined. In fact, enjoining Al-Ma'ruf and forbidding Al-Munkar is the fifth obligation. Thus, keeping silent is not part of Islam. If we all enjoin Al-Ma'ruf and advise other people, the circle of falsehood will become narrower.
If a meeting begins before maghrib (sunset) and goes on for a long time, and none of the attendants goes to pray, Allah the Exalted is displeased with such a meeting. When an attendant goes to pray, two or three attendants will follow him, and then all the attendants will follow them and will all pray. The attendant who goes to pray first will have taken an action. Sometimes, people keep silent when they are invited to a banquet in which there are intoxicants, or when they are invited to a meeting where men and women mix together. The person who keeps silent favoring his safety over speaking the truth is not considered a Muslim. There are exceptions of course; Allah does not impose upon you a duty but to the extent of your ability. There are rare cases in which forbidding Al-Munkar causes fitnah (temptation, trial; sedition, civil strife) that is worse than that Munkar. In such cases, it is better to keep silent and withdraw. In most cases the relatives, such as the nieces and the nephews violate Shari'ah rulings, commit sins and commit wrongdoings, so you are supposed to direct them and be responsible for guiding them since their father is dead. Saying, "This is not my business" is not an Islamic attitude.
A believer cares about Muslims' welfare:

This Hadith is very crucial, so I would like to repeat it to you. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
((Whoever does not care about the affairs of Muslims is not one of them, and whoever spends the day and the night without being sincere for Allah, His Messenger, His Book, the leaders of Muslims and their masses in not one of us.))

[At-Tabarani, narrated by Huzaifah bin Al-Yaman]

In another narration he, peace be upon him, said:
(("The deen (religion) is naseehah (advice, sincerity)." We said "To whom?" He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk."))

[Muslim, narrated by Tameem Ad-Dari]

If you want to drive your car safely, you should follow the instructions, lest you will pay a lot of money. Some of these instructions are changing the battery, changing the oil and so on. Sometimes, a doctor writes a prescription and that's it. As a pharmacist, you should explain to the patient when he has to take the medicine (before he has his meal or after it), that if he takes so and so medicine, he should stop taking that one in order not to have a shock, that he should undergo allergy testing to determine if he can take such a medicine or not, etc. You should explain things to others and make them clear, because one of the characteristics of the believer is that he is deeply concerned about the welfare of all Muslims, and he loves all people considering them his brothers in humanity; he loves for them what he loves for himself and hates for them what he hates for himself.