Wasaa’il al-Thabaat – Means of Steadfastness: Standing Firm in Islam
Praise be to Allaah; we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides cannot be led astray, and whomsoever He leaves astray cannot be guided. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Steadfastness in the religion of Allaah is a basic requirement for every sincere Muslim who wants to follow the Straight Path with determination and understanding.
On the authority of Abu `Amr - and he is also called Abu `Amrah - Sufyan ibn `Abdullah Ath-Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam which I can ask of no one but you." He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Say: ‘I believe in Allah’, and then be Steadfast". (Muslim)
Explanation of the Hadith:
The meaning of `Abdullah Ath-Thaqafi’s statement "tell me something about Islam which I can ask of no one but you" is that he is asking the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to teach him a comprehensive statement about the meaning of Islam, that is clear in and of itself, and does not require any further elaboration by anyone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), such that he may act upon it and protect himself (from the Fire) with it. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied to his question with his statement: "Say: ‘I believe in Allah’, and then be Steadfast".
The hadith is from the complete and comprehensive speech that has been given to Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), for verily he has combined, for the questioner, in these two phrases the complete meanings of Islam and Iman. These brief words instruct one to renew his Iman through the tongue and to remain steadfast (have istiqamah) upon performing the actions of obedience and to refrain completely from all the actions of disobedience, since it is not possible to establish steadfastness while at the same time having some element of crookedness and disobedience, as this is its opposite.
This prophetic advice is similar to the Qur’anic verse: {Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allah”, and then they remain steadfast upon that,} (Fussilat 41: 30) which means that they believe in Allah alone, and then they remain steadfast until their death. `Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "They are steadfast upon the obedience of Allah, and they do not swerve away from that with the evasions of the fox".
Again, the above hadith is similar to the statement of Allah Almighty: {So stand (O Muhammad) firm and straight (on the religion of Islam) as you are commanded.} (Hud 11: 112)
Commenting on the above Qur’anic verse, Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that no other verse from the entire Qur’an was revealed upon the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that was harder upon him than this verse. And due to this he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "(The surah of) Hud and its companions have made my hair white". And Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "My hair has been made white by (surahs) Hud, Al-Waqi`ah, Al-Mursalat, `Ama yatasa`alun, and Idha sh-Shamsu Kuwirat".
Abu al-Qasim al-Qushaire (may Allah’s mercy be upon him) said: Al-istiqamah is a condition by which is achieved the perfection of the affairs, and their completion, and with its presence one attains all that is good and in order. And he who does not attain istiqamah in his endeavor then he has lost that endeavor and all good fortune.
Al-Wasite (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Al-istiqamah is a trait with it all the good qualities are perfected, and without it they are all disfigured.
Summary:
That only the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fully understood the essence and worth of worshipping Allah truly.
That one must truly believe that Allah is his Lord whom he worships, and then stay upright and steadfast upon that belief, and that covers the whole religion.
That keeping upright /steadfast is following the injunctions that have come from Allah in Whom one trusts and Whom he worships and Whom he takes as the highest authority.
Praise be to Allaah; we praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own selves and from our evil deeds. Whomsoever Allaah guides cannot be led astray, and whomsoever He leaves astray cannot be guided. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
Steadfastness in the religion of Allaah is a basic requirement for every sincere Muslim who wants to follow the Straight Path with determination and understanding.
On the authority of Abu `Amr - and he is also called Abu `Amrah - Sufyan ibn `Abdullah Ath-Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam which I can ask of no one but you." He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Say: ‘I believe in Allah’, and then be Steadfast". (Muslim)
Explanation of the Hadith:
The meaning of `Abdullah Ath-Thaqafi’s statement "tell me something about Islam which I can ask of no one but you" is that he is asking the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to teach him a comprehensive statement about the meaning of Islam, that is clear in and of itself, and does not require any further elaboration by anyone other than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), such that he may act upon it and protect himself (from the Fire) with it. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied to his question with his statement: "Say: ‘I believe in Allah’, and then be Steadfast".
The hadith is from the complete and comprehensive speech that has been given to Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), for verily he has combined, for the questioner, in these two phrases the complete meanings of Islam and Iman. These brief words instruct one to renew his Iman through the tongue and to remain steadfast (have istiqamah) upon performing the actions of obedience and to refrain completely from all the actions of disobedience, since it is not possible to establish steadfastness while at the same time having some element of crookedness and disobedience, as this is its opposite.
This prophetic advice is similar to the Qur’anic verse: {Verily, those who say: “Our Lord is Allah”, and then they remain steadfast upon that,} (Fussilat 41: 30) which means that they believe in Allah alone, and then they remain steadfast until their death. `Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "They are steadfast upon the obedience of Allah, and they do not swerve away from that with the evasions of the fox".
Again, the above hadith is similar to the statement of Allah Almighty: {So stand (O Muhammad) firm and straight (on the religion of Islam) as you are commanded.} (Hud 11: 112)
Commenting on the above Qur’anic verse, Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that no other verse from the entire Qur’an was revealed upon the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that was harder upon him than this verse. And due to this he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "(The surah of) Hud and its companions have made my hair white". And Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "My hair has been made white by (surahs) Hud, Al-Waqi`ah, Al-Mursalat, `Ama yatasa`alun, and Idha sh-Shamsu Kuwirat".
Abu al-Qasim al-Qushaire (may Allah’s mercy be upon him) said: Al-istiqamah is a condition by which is achieved the perfection of the affairs, and their completion, and with its presence one attains all that is good and in order. And he who does not attain istiqamah in his endeavor then he has lost that endeavor and all good fortune.
Al-Wasite (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Al-istiqamah is a trait with it all the good qualities are perfected, and without it they are all disfigured.
Summary:
That only the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) fully understood the essence and worth of worshipping Allah truly.
That one must truly believe that Allah is his Lord whom he worships, and then stay upright and steadfast upon that belief, and that covers the whole religion.
That keeping upright /steadfast is following the injunctions that have come from Allah in Whom one trusts and Whom he worships and Whom he takes as the highest authority.