Part 1
One day, we will all depart from this world. People share memories and cry. Then eventually everyone forgets but people remember those who left a legacy. Make your time in this dunya worthy and leave behind a legacy in which people benefit. A legacy which helps you in the hereafter. A legacy due to which you are remembered in a positive way and people pray for you.
To have concern of leaving a legacy was the sunnah of Ibrahim a.s, ‘(O My Lord) Give me a good name among later generations'[26:84]1
Imam Dahhak r.a and Imam Mujahid r.a said the verse refers to people speaking good of an individual after his death. Imam Qurtubi r.a said; There are some people who have died but alive in the community (Because of the good work they left behind).
Below are three things to adopt in order to leave a legacy behind;
Remember the mnemonic HIS; Humility, Ikhlaas and Sabr. مَنْ كان لِلّٰه، كان اللّٰهُ لَهُ Whoever is for Allah, Allah will be for him. Therefore, become HIS.
1. Ikhlaas (sincerity) – Nothing remains if done without sincerity, always do for the sake of Allah, this is where barakah lies. The work of our pious predecessors has reached far and wide, they were people of sincerity.
The great jurist and muhaddith; Imam Malik r.a was born in 93 AH. No fatwa of others would be given in Madinah whilst Imam Malik was present. A great lesson he taught was never be ashamed so say I do not know.
Mulla Ali Qari r.a mentions an incident; Once a person went to Imam Malik with forty questions, he travelled far to be in the presence of the scholar. From the forty questions he asked, Imam Malik only answered 4 questions and the reaming 36, he said; ‘I do not know’. Shocked at this, the person said, ‘I have travelled far to come to you, I collected these questions from my community and I said I am going to the greatest Imam, What will I say to them now?’ Imam Malik r.a replied, ‘Go back to your community and say I do not know, what is so shameful about this!’
One of the first famous compilation of authentic hadith was the book Al-Muwatta, this was by Imam Malik r.a. After this, many wrote books with the same title, Al-Muwatta title became very common. Seeing this, a person approached Imam Malik and said; So many are creating books Al-Muwatta. Imam Malik replied; مَا كَانَ لِلّٰهِ بَقِي Whatever is done for the sake of Allah, will remain. Today when we hear Al-Muwatta, the first thing that comes to mind is the Muwatta of Imam Malik r.a. When done with sincerity it will last.
Another example is Imam Bukhari r.a. He was very sincere. His dedication was for Allah. Almost 1300 years have passed, and he is still remembered. This is because of his work left behind done with Ikhlaas.
When Aaisha r.a would give gifts to anyone, she would tell her servant to go and hear the response. The servant would return narrating the praise and duas of the recipient. Thereafter, Aasiah r.a would give the same dua back and would say; What I have given, I only want reward from Allah. I do not want reward from the creation of Allah. This was the level of sincerity she had! Today, we help others, do favours, or fulfil obligations e.g give zakat and in return we expect praise and gratitude from people and if that isn’t there then we don’t give again. How is this done for the sake of Allah?
The difference between Islam and Iman is quantity – That is doing good deeds
The difference between Iman and Ihsan is quality – That is sincerity
Imam Raghib Al-Isfahani r.a defines the word Ihsan; You give more than you need to give, and you are content to receive less than you deserve.
To leave a legacy does not happen over few days, it requires effort and time. We still have this time.
To be continued …
Above is a summary from Shaykh’s jumuah speech on 16/10/20 in Harlow Islamic Centre. Click here to listen to the full audio (Audio no.87)
