Protecting Oneself in the Time of Fitnah

[ummtaalib]

Protecting Oneself in the Time of Fitnah

Hazrat Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Daamat Barakaatuhu) mentioned:

In this time of fitnah (trial), there seems to be evil prevailing everywhere. Hence, how will one protect himself from the fitnah? One will be able to protect himself from the fitnah by creating a safe-haven for himself. This will be possible by doing three things as explained in the hadeeth:

1. Control the tongue at all times. Controlling the tongue is not confined to speech, but also includes writing which is also a form of communication.

2. Do not leave the home unnecessarily. Though it is not haraam, but if one knows that a certain place is infested with malaria, will he go there unnecessarily?

3. Focus towards your weaknesses and cry over your sins.

[Bint e Aisha]

Adopting good company is vital in protecting oneself from fitna. Allah says in Surah Kahf:

وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ ۖ وَلَا تَعْدُ عَيْنَاكَ عَنْهُمْ تُرِيدُ زِينَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَاهُ وَكَانَ أَمْرُهُ فُرُطًا

"And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect."

[Bint e Aisha]

وأما الحديث المروي عن عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص أنه قال:بينما نحن حول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذ ذكر الفتنة فقال: إذا رأيتم الناس قد مرجت عهودهم، وخفت أماناتهم، وكانوا هكذا وشبك بين أصابعه قال فقمت إليه فقلت: كيف أفعل عند ذلك جعلني الله فداك؟ قال: الزم بيتك، واملك عليك لسانك، وخذ بما تعرف، ودع ما تنكر، وعليك بأمر خاصة نفسك، ودع عنك أمر العامة. رواه أحمد وأبوداود والحاكم وصححه ووافقه الذهبي. 
 

Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: 

When we were around the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), he mentioned the period of commotion (fitnah) saying: When you see the people that their covenants have been impaired, (the fulfilling of) the guarantees becomes rare, and they become thus (interwining his fingers). I then got up and said: What should I do at that time, may Allah make me ransom for you? He replied: Keep to your house, control your tongue, accept what you approve, abandon what you disapprove, attend to your own affairs, and leave alone the affairs of the generality.