Be Keys to Goodness, Not Keys to Evil – By Abu Ukkashah ‘Abdul-Ḥakīm حفظه الله

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation—and may He extol the Messenger in the highest company of Angels, and grant him peace and security—likewise to his family, Companions, and true followers.

[10/01/2024] Be Keys to Goodness, Not Keys to Evil – By Abu Ukkashah ‘Abdul-Ḥakīm حفظه الله. Lesson at Masjid Salafi, Small Heath, Birmingham, UK.

Some points discussed during this lesson:

• Benefits from the ḥadīth, “Certainly, from amongst the people are those who are keys to goodness and closers to the doors of evil; and from amongst the people are those who are keys to evil and closers to the doors of goodness. So glad tidings (of Paradise) to those whom Allāh places the keys of goodness in their hands and woe to those whom Allāh places the keys of evil in their hands.”
• Personal rectification and accountability regarding how we can be from the keys of goodness.
• Imām al-Ajurrī (رحمه الله) on the purpose of seeking knowledge and what it means for a person to be a sincere advisor to themselves.
• The meaning of goodness and evil.
• Clear signs that a person is upon goodness.
• Asking ourselves, are we a cure to those around us, or are we a disease? 
• Imām as-Sa’dī (رحمه الله) on the āyah, “And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Ṣalāh (prayer), and Zakāh, as long as I live.” [Sūrah Maryam 19:31]
• How the Prophet ﷺ connected belief in Allāh and the Last Day to personal accountability.
• Benefits from Imām as-Sa’dī (رحمه الله) regarding the āyah, “(And remember) when Allāh took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) to make it (the news of the coming of Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and the religious knowledge) known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it, but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! And indeed worst is that which they bought.” [Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān 3:187]
• Protecting ourselves from the snares of Shayṭān by purifying our hearts.
• Benefits from the āyāt, “The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, except him who brings to Allāh a clean heart.” [Sūrah ash-Shu’arā’ 26:88-89]
• An example of how the Salaf cultivated themselves and others upon truthfulness and were not affected by the praise and embellished speech of the people.
• Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) on what it means to have understanding of the religion. 
• The true reason we study the dīn, and the head of knowledge.
• Shaykh Fawzān (حفظه الله) on the reason why Ahlul-Bid’ah are not considered to be from the people of knowledge.
• Imām an-Nawawī (رحمه الله) on the reality of what it means to be an advisor to yourself and those around you.
• Shaykh al-Luḥaydān (رحمه الله) on what it means to truly be brothers to one another.
• The best of the Muslims.
• Statements from Imām al-Barbahārī, Aḥmad b. Sinān al-Qahṭān and Abū Ḥātim ar-Rāzī (رحمهم الله) regarding signs of Ahlul-Bid’ah. 
• Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (رحمه الله) on the effect of knowledge upon a person.
• Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) on the āyah, “And when it is said to him, ‘Fear Allāh’, he is led by arrogance to (more) crime. So enough for him is Hell, and worst indeed is that place to rest!” [Sūrah al-Baqarah 2:206]
• From making dhikr and counting stones in the masjid to fighting with the Khawārij against the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ.
• Benefits from the āyāt, “Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dāwūd and ‘Īsā b. Maryam. That was because they disobeyed (Allāh and the Messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bounds. They used not to forbid one another from the munkar (wrong, evil-doing, sins, polytheism, disbelief, etc.) which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do.” [Sūrah al-Mā’idah 5:78-79]
• Imām as-Sa’dī (رحمه الله) on the ill effects of not warning against evil you witness while having the ability to change it.
• The importance of companionship in solidifying the keys of goodness in our hands and being far removed from the keys of evil. 
• Ibn Ḥibbān (رحمه الله) on the best of brothers. 
• Imām ash-Shawkānī (رحمه الله) on the āyah, “Close friends, that Day, will be enemies to each other, except for the righteous.” [Sūrah az-Zukhruf 43:67]
• Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) on the keys that open various affairs of good and evil. 

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