Source: Fiqh al-Awlawiyyat by Yusuf al-Qaradhawi. Second impression 1996. Maktabah al-Wahbah, Cairo.

“In recent times, the "complete" Muslim is sometimes considered to be the one who dedicates himself solely to worship and doesn't engage in anything else, staying in his place of prayer and not leaving it, keeping to the required dhikrs and wirds (prayer words). This image is absolutely unlike the image of the life of the Prophet and his companions who followed him. While worship was a part of the book of their lives, struggle for the sake of Allah filled its pages, struggle for freeing society from false beliefs and superstitions, struggle for establishing correct beliefs, freeing it from oppressors and tyrants, protecting the weak and establishing justice among people.

Similarly, the life of a Muslim who dedicates himself solely to struggle and social activism, if it lacks worship and a deep connection to Allah, is lacking and malformed in comparison to the picture of a wholesome Islamic way of life.

Muhammad al-Mubarak (d. 1981)

“A disputing group of Muslims asked him [the Imam Hasan al-Banna] about the taraweeh prayer (the voluntary prayer done on the nights of Ramadan), whether it is composed of 20 units, like it is common in Meccca and Medina and other places, and which is recommended by the Four Schools of Jurisprudence, or of 8 units, like some Salafi evangelists insist? The people of the village who asked this question were on the verge of fighting on this issue.

The Sheikh's ruling was that the taraweeh prayer is a voluntary act, while the unity of the Muslim community is obligatory, so how can an obligatory act be ignored for the sake of a voluntary act? [He advised that] it is better and more pious if they pray alone in their homes instead of disputing and fighting over the topic.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Umar [ibn al-Khattab] was asked about those who strongly desire to commit a sin but refrain from it. Umar said: "Those are the ones whose hearts Allah has tested for al-taqwaa (consciousness of Allah), for them is forgiveness and a tremendous reward." [Quran 49:13]

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Remembrance of Allah with the tongue is a good thing, and what is better is the remembrance of Allah when one is about to commit a sin, and this preventing him from committing it.

Maimun bin Mihraan

“Worshipers never performed an act of worship better than staying away from that which Allah forbade them.

al-Hasan bin Ali (Grandson of the Prophet ﷺ)

“Which one is better during times of trials and the spread of sin and corruption: mixing with society and attempting to reform it, or secluding yourself from it and saving yourself?

As for the Sufis, the majority of them chose the second road. But as for the scholars who dedicated themselves to the way of God and strove in His way, they chose the way of the prophets, which is to mix with poeople and strive and patiently endure society's hurtfulness.

Ibn Umar narrates from the Prophet ﷺ: "The believer who mixes with people and endures the harm that comes from them is better than the Muslim who does not mix with people and does not endure their harm." [Bukhari, Ahmad and others]

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“The people of Iraq are asking (me) about house flies (whether killing them is allowed in Islam), when they have killed the grandson of the Prophet [referring to al-Husain's death].

Abdullah ibn `Umar

“Imam al-Shafi`ee was asked: "What's better for the believer, to be tested, or to be given power (to do good)?" He said: "And how can one be given power for good without first being tested? Allah tested Yusuf, peace be upon him, then He gave him power."

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“al-Iman (faith) is that which puts man into motion; it directs him and creates in him tremendous powers that wouldn't manifest without it. It rebuilds him into a new creation, with a new spirit, a new mind, a new resolve, and a new philosophy in life. We saw this in the story of the magicians of the Pharaoh when they believed in the Lord of Moses and Aaron, challenged the tyranny of the Pharaoh, and with all the confidence in the world they said to him: "Then decide (regarding us) whatever you want to decide, your decision can only affect this worldly life." (Quran 20:72)

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him to allow him to go to serve in armed jihad. The Prophet said: "Are your parents alive?" He said "Yes". The Prophet said: "Carry out your jihad by taking care of their needs." [narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

“The scholars decided that those who dedicate themselves to worship will not be given a share of zakat (alms), as opposed to those who dedicate themselves to science (who do get a share), because there is no monasticism in Islam, and because those who dedicate themselves to worship are doing it for their own benefit, while those who seek knowledge benefit the entire nation.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“The most beloved good deeds to him [to the Prophet ﷺ] were the ones that the person performed continuously [without giving them up].

Aisha bint Abu Bakr (Wife of Prophet Muhammad)

“One of the criteria that we should refer to when deciding what is most deserving of attention and most deserving of prioritizing over other things: Giving something exactly the importance that the Quran gives to it.

Thus we should give priority to those things that it repeats in its chapters and verses, those that it stresses in its commandments and promises. We should give these things our full attention and base our lives upon them.

Of these things are, for example, faith in Allah, His revelations, the Afterlife and what it contains of reward and punishment.

As for the things that the Quran doesn't consider important, we should give them the same amount of importance and we should not exaggerate them, for example the night journey of the Prophet ﷺ, to which the Quran dedicates only one verse, as opposed to the campaigns and battles to which the Quran dedicates entire chapters.

And when it comes to the mawlid [birth] of the Prophet, the Quran does not give it any attention whatsoever, showing us that it is not a matter of importance in the Islamic life, for, unlike the birth of the Christ, there are no miracles related to it, and there are no deeds or acts of worship that are based upon it.

Thus the Quran is a criterion that never errs, for it is the pillar of the nation, the foundation of the religion, and the spring from which Islam flows. The hadith [Prophetic traditions and sayings] are only there to explain and elucidate it.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Umar bin Abdul Aziz, grandson of Umar ibn al-Khattab and the fifth well-guided Muslim leader after the Prophet ﷺ, said to his son who was urging him to carry out all of Islam's rulings forcefully on the Muslims of their time: "Do not hurry, my son, for Allah spoke negatively of alcohol twice, and then it prohibited it the third time, and I am afraid that if I force the truth upon people all at the same time, they will turn away from all of it, and from this a great age of strife could come about."

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz

“... in this age, we need to rethink things that were said, and opinions that were held, in the previous ages; maybe they were appropriate for their time and for their situation, but they haven't remained appropriate for this age, with the tremendous amount of new situations and conditions that did not occur to the minds of the previous scholars, and uttering their opinion today takes away from Islam and its nation, and defaces the call of Islam.

Among these [outdated opinions]: Dividing the world into dar-al-Islam [Home of Islam] and dar-al-harb [Home of War], and assuming that the principle in the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims is war, and that armed struggle is an obligratory act upon the nation, and so on.

The truth is that these sayings are no longer fit for our time, and there are no authentic Islamic texts that back them, rather, there are many texts that contradict them.

Islam speaks about [amiable] relationships between all humanity: "And we made you nations and tribes so that you may know each other" [Quran 49:13].

And Islam considers peace and the avoidance of war a blessing. And it followed the Battle of the Trench with the saying: "Allah sent back the unbelievers in their rage, and they gained no good. Allah spared the believers from fighting" [Quran 33:25].

And it considers the peace treaty of Hudaibiyyah a great victory and it expects gratitude from the Prophet and the Muslims in this sura that it prevents the two parties from fighting, thus it says: "And He it is who, in the valley of Mecca, stayed their hands from you, and your hands from them, after He had enabled you to vanquish them" [Quran 48:24].

And the Prophet ﷺ dislikes the word "war" so much that he says: 'The best names are haarith ["one who strives"] and humaam ["one who has great resolve"], and the ugliest names are harb ["war"] and marrah ["bitter"]'.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“A scholar may recommend elaborate and difficult acts of worship to those who are religious and desirous of attaining the best rewards, but when it comes to the general populace, it is more fitting to recommend to them what is simple and easy.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“In the best centuries of the Ummah-the first three- high status and fame were for the scholar who was endowed with great knolwedge, while in the ages of deviation and backwardness, high status and fame were for the haafidh (memorizer of Quran and hadith). [i.e. the focus shifted from learning and understanding to thoughtless memorization]

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“If one of you leads salah (formal prayer), then let him make it easy on them (by making it quick), for there are among them those who are ill, weak, or old. And if one of you prays alone, then let him make it as lengthy as he wishes.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

“And I have mentioned in other books and studies of mine: That statistics, planning and research before actions are all at the heart of Islam, for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) was the first who ordered an organized census of those who had believed in him after his hijrah (migration) to al-Madinah. And the effects of planning can be seen in his life story in several scenes and situations.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

“Sometimes many different rulings are narrated from Imam Ahmad regarding the same issue, and this is for no reason other than the fact that his rulings changed based on changes in situations and circumstances.

Yusuf al-Qaradhawi

Source: Fiqh al-Awlawiyyat by Yusuf al-Qaradhawi. Second impression 1996. Maktabah al-Wahbah, Cairo.

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