Hadith of the Guarantee (part 1)

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As Salaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh!

Insha Allah this finds you in the best of health and Iman.
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Today’s talk will be about a word which is very famous amongst the people. The people have given it much concern. This is the word known as a Guarantee (ضمان – to guarantee something). We all know that a guarantee has a great status amongst the people. They use it in their buying, selling and in general in all of their business. When you find a product that is guaranteed, you find that the people want to buy this product. They are more interested in buying this product than one that does not have a guarantee. The one who is going to buy something first asks if there is a guarantee on the product, how long is the guarantee, who is the one who is guaranteeing the product? These are the types of questions that the people may ask when they go to buy something. This is especially when the one who is giving the guarantee is known for his truthfulness and he is known to fulfill his promise if he guarantees his products that he is selling. So, what I want you to pay attention to is these three things:

1. When buying something the person looks for the product that has a guarantee.

2. He looks at the individual who is offering the guarantee.

3. He looks at what he has to do in order to obtain the guarantee – how much money he has to pay etc.
If the guarantee can be acquired with only a few easy things then this is one of the things that make the guarantee that much better.

A Blessed Guarantee

We will now enter into a discussion about a blessed guarantee – a guarantee which has very great significance. It is a guarantee that unfortunately many of us have not been concerned with, even though we have a great concern and care about the guarantees as they relate to trade and business transactions in worldly affairs.

This guarantee today inshaa Allaah, that we are going to live by (implement in our lives), is one guaranteed by the Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم, who did not speak of his own desires rather it is only revelation that has been revealed to him and he صلى الله عليه و سلم is the one who is truthful and the one who is believed.

وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى

Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only a Revelation revealed.

[An-Najm 53:3-4]

The reward of this guarantee is the Jannah of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى, which its width is like that of the Heavens and the Earth, in which there is what no eyes have seen and what no ears have heard and what has never crossed the hearts of mankind.

The things with which this guarantee is acquired are extremely easy things for one to do; it does not require much effort from the servant. The text of this guarantee will follow:

Hadith of the Guarantee

The text of this guarantee is mentioned in the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad and declared to be Hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani رحمه الله in Saheeh al-Jaami’[1]. It is narrated on the authority of Ubaadah ibn Saamit رضى الله عنه who said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said: Guarantee for me six things from yourself and I will guarantee for you the Jannah:

1. Tell the truth when you speak

2.  Keep a promise when you make it

3. When entrusted fulfill the trust

4. Protect you private parts

5. Lower your gaze

6. Guard your hand (from hitting people)

Notice, the guarantee is based on another guarantee. The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said “you guarantee me six things, I will guarantee for you the Jannah”. These six things are very easy and are from the doors of goodness that are lightweight i.e. they do not require from the servant too much action or stress. Whoever does them in his life and he protects them, then when he dies Jannah will be guaranteed for him and the path to it will be emphasized and easy.

Terms of the Guarantee

1. Tell the truth when you speak
The individual must have the characteristic of telling truth when he speaks. The believer is always truthful when he speaks. Lying does not know the believer and the believer does not know it. He must continue to be protective of his truthfulness throughout his life until his truthfulness leads him to the Jannah, as comes in the hadith collected by Bukhaari and Muslim that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said: “It is upon you to be truthful, be truthful, for indeed truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to the Jannah, and a person will continue to tell the truth and to be conscious about telling the truth until he will be written with Allaah سبحانه و تعالى as a siddiq – an extremely truthful person.”[2]

2. Keep a promise when you make it and stick to your contracts
This is from the characteristics of the Believers. It is a sign from the signs of those who have taqwa; that is because the people who believe and have taqwa do not break their promises or break their contracts. The keeping of one’s promise is a fundamental characteristic in the building of the Muslim community because every type of interaction between the Muslims relies on this characteristic. All interactions and relationships are communal relationships between the Muslims, and likewise their promises and contracts all rely upon this characteristic of fulfilling them and not breaking them and making good upon them. If one does not make good on his promises and he breaks them there will be no confidence amongst the Believers and the interaction between them will not be good.

3. When entrusted, fulfil the trust
This is from the greatest of characteristics that Allaah سبحانه و تعالى has praised the people who are adorned with this characteristic. It is also from the completion of one’s Eemaan and from the goodness of his Islaam that he has this characteristic. By fulfilling the trusts the Deen is protected, and likewise the honour of the individual, his wealth, his body, his spirit, his knowledge and other than that. As comes in the hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم where he صلى الله عليه و سلم said: “A Believer is the one who the people are safe from as it relates to their wealth and their self.”[3] If this characteristic known as Amaanah (fulfilling one’s trust) is spread in the community then the community will be strong and tightly knit.

4. Protect the private parts
This means to protect the private parts from falling into that which is haraam or impermissible. Allaah سبحانه و تعالى said in His praising of the Believers:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ {5} إِلَّا عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ {6} فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ
{And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts) Except from their wives or (the slaves) that their right hands possess, – for then, they are free from blame; But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors;}
[Al-Mu’minoon 23:5-7; al-Ma’aarij 70:29-31]

In protecting one’s private parts there is the protection of the lineage and it is a purification for the Community as a whole; and in it there is Salaamah i.e. one stays far away from falling into that which is impermissible and from the evil.

5. Lower the gaze
This is a very great characteristic – to lower the gaze i.e. to not look at the haraam. Allaah سبحانه و تعالى commanded in the Qur’aan:قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ
{Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)…}
[An-Nur 24:30]

وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ
{And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)…}
[An-Nur 24:31]

One lowering his gaze has great benefits – it is that which allows the servant to taste the sweetness of Eemaan, it enlightens his heart and gives it strength, gives his soul purification and makes it upright, protects and corrects it, and in it is a protection from falling into that which is haraam and in desiring that which is impermissible.

6. Guard your hand from hitting people
This is to restrain one’s hand from harming other people or from transgressing upon them, or doing anything evil to them. The one who is harmful to the servants of Allaah عز و جل, Allaah سبحانه و تعالى hates this person and the people also hate him and he is one who is rejected by his own community. Not being able to restrain one’s hand against harming others is evidence that points to the evil characteristic of an individual and that he is not one of high moral standard, and he has low character.
As it relates to the opposite of this, if an individual would restrain his had from harming others then this is evidence that points to his noble and generous characteristics and points to his beautiful interactions with the people. He is one who has gained the promise of Allaah سبحانه و تعالى in that. So, what about the one whose character is raised above that – and his character becomes greater than that such that he does not only restrict himself to not harming the people, but rather he removes harm from the path of the Believers. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah رضى الله عنه who said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said: “There was a man who walked by a branch of a tree that was in the path, so he said ‘By Allaah I will move this out of the path of the Muslims in order that it would not harm them’ and so Allaah سبحانه و تعالى entered this man into the Jannah.”[4] – Collected by Imaam Muslim رحمه الله.The Shaykh حفظه الله concluded by saying: “Dear brothers, these are the terms of this contract, and these are the doors of Jannah that have been opened for you. The light is clear from it and the path to it is easy, so you should take advantage of these things before the end comes. Also, seek to increase in doing good before the time comes where there is no time to do good i.e. when we die. We ask Allaah سبحانه و تعالى for ourselves and for you all, to aid us in doing these great actions and that He guides us to every good and May Allaah سبحانه و تعالى send His peace and blessings upon our Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم.”

by Shaykh Abdur-Razzaq bin Abdul-Muhsin Al-Abbaad حفظهما الله