Moving to the mountains? Correct your intentions...

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

All praise is due to Allah ﷻ who revealed the final book for our guidance and sent the Final Messenger and best of all creation, Muhammad ﷺ as a mercy to all of mankind.

Alhamdulillah, we should be thankful to Allah ﷻ that he has guided us and given us the ability to heed the warnings and make steps to protect ourselves against the fitnah that is present and the greater fitnahs that are imminently on their way.

Nabi ﷺ said that the time will come soon when the most beneficial possessions of a Muslim will be sheep, that he takes into the mountains and the places of rain (fertile valleys), fleeing with his deen from the trials and tribulations, (Bukhari & Muslim)

and in another hadeeth, the people will definitely flee from Dajjaal (and his fitnah) until they settle in the mountains. (Tirmidhi)

In yet another hadeeth narrated by Imam Bukhari (RA), Nabi ﷺ was asked, who are the best of people? and Nabi ﷺ replied "A believer who strives his utmost in Allah's Cause with his life and property." They then asked, "Who is next?" He replied, "A believer who stays in one of the mountain valleys worshipping Allah and leaving the people secure from his mischief." (Bukhari)

We should be grateful to Allah ﷻ that He has opened our eyes to these ahadeeth and the guidance of Nabi ﷺ about what should be done, and worked towards, in these times of fitnah. Many are unaware, and of those that are aware, most are not taking action, and amongst those who wish to take action, it may become too late to do so, once the fitnah and control is overwhelming, and of those who have taken action, many are not of the right mindset and don't yet have the sifaat-e-aaliya, the good qualities and character that are essential so that people can be protected from their mischief.

Allah ﷻ alludes to this in the verse about provisions for Hajj when He says:

وَتَزَوَّدُوا فَإِنَّ خَيْرَ الزَّادِ التَّقْوَى

"And take provisions (for the journey), verily the best of provisions is Taqwa"

What are these good qualities and character that one has to take with into the mountains? We can learn them from the surah of Quran that is connected with protection from Dajjaal and going into the mountains, Surah Al-Kahf

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, said,

“Whoever memorizes ten verses from the beginning of Surah al-Kahf will be protected from the Dajjaal.”

(In another narration, the Prophet said, “From the last ten verses of Surat al-Kahf.”

Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 809)

Most think that it is only sufficient to "recite" Surah Kahf, on Fridays, or to recite the first ten, last ten or three verses.

However, we should consider something, if for example, anyone tells you to "read" a particular health book or article to protect yourself from a certain disease, then you would easily understand that what is required is that you read, understand and practice upon it in order to attain that protection.

While reciting the verses does most definitely impart the benefits mentioned in the hadeeth, a Muslim should be making tadabbur upon the meaning and purport of the verses being recited, and should be interested in the incidents and the instructions that are contained in Surah Kahf, and will then realise that in this Surah is the key to understanding the events of the Last Days and what our mindset and actions should be in order to be safe from the fitnah of Dajjaal, which we are already seeing around us in an ever increasing and compounding way.

There are many lessons to learn from Surah Kahf which are relevant to the time period we are in currently, and ان شاء الله ﺗﻌﺎﻟﯽٰ in another article I will attempt to enumerate them all, however in this article I want to focus on one aspect only.....

When the ashaab kahf, the people of the cave, made a decision to leave the town and go up to the mountain, and seek shelter in a cave, what was their primary motive?

It was not for seeking a better lifestyle

It was not about being off grid and self sufficient

It was not about taking advantage of an opportunity to make money off the others

It was not about moving to a place of recreation and merry making

It was solely for the protection of their Imaan.

These youth were amongst the believers in Allah ﷻ, but a tyrant king had come into power and taken over the city, he was an idol worshipper who began spreading immorality in the town and began persecuting those who believed in Allah ﷻ. He demanded that the people also obey idols and conform to his immoral and unjust ways or face difficulties, much like the situation the world is in today.

The environment in the town they were living in was becoming increasingly fitnah laden, and these boys feared for the destruction of their Imaan and Deen in this environment, so together they made a decision.

Allah ﷻ describes the action arising of this decision, in the 10th verse of Surah Kahf as follows:

إِذۡ أَوَى ٱلۡفِتۡيَةُ إِلَى ٱلۡكَهۡفِ

فَقَالُواْ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحۡمَةً۬ وَهَيِّئۡ لَنَا مِنۡ أَمۡرِنَا رَشَدً۬ا

(Recall the time) when the young men sought refuge in the cave, then they made duaa, 'Our Lord, grant us mercy from Yourself, and make arrangements for us in our matter what will have the best outcome.'

These boys did not fear death or persecution, rather, they feared the loss and degradation of their Deen & Imaan. The environment had become so overwhelming that the priority now became their own deeni protection.

The same will occur in the time of Dajjaal, that even a person with strong Imaan, can lose their Imaan. That is why the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed us not to face Dajjaal if he appears, and to rather flee from him, and if we are forced to encounter him then to recite the first verses of Surah Kahf upon him.

These youth, in order to protect their Imaan:

1. escaped as a group into the mountain and took shelter in a cave

2. immediately asked Allah for mercy and guidance as the next step

   
   

The above two acts are the most important aspects after intention, the act of going into the mountain and the reliance on Allah ﷻ for assistance and guidance on the best approach to every matter in this new life they had chosen.

Both are absolutely necessary for achieving their primary intention, leaving the fitnah laden, dangerous environment and relying in Allah ﷻ for His assistance and guidance on what to do next.

In these three aspects, are the key intentions and actions for those leaving the environment where Imaan is in danger and going into the mountains or other places where one can be safe from Dajjaal and his fitnah.

This is why:

• If a person's intention is incorrect, then there will be no steadfastness in the face of difficulty. This is in reality the quality of the munafiqeen, viz. when they see a worldly benefit in something they will go in that direction, an opportunity to make money, a chance to hustle someone and double up or triple up, a chance to be in authority, to throw their weight around, to get a bargain wherever they can.......but when things take a temporary turn, or there is a minor setback, a test from Allah ﷻ, to see who is sincere, and there has to be sacrifices made, or they fear a loss of dunya, then they run in the opposite direction and begin criticising, making complaints and excuses, and change their tune, like the munafiqeen did in the time of the Prophet ﷺ.

  
  

  While those whose sole intention is pleasing Allah ﷻ, by working for safeguarding and preserving their Imaan, will persevere, through the challenges and difficulties, even if they have to endure some loss, or spend a bit more to achieve their deeni goals, until Allah ﷻrelieves them of the difficulties and brings a period of ease, and sukoon and the "good life" that they were working towards, where their Imaan is protected, their children grow up in a pure and safe environment and they are able to practice on Deen without disturbance and difficulty. Allah ﷻ says in the Quran:

أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتۡرَكُوٓاْ أَن يَقُولُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمۡ لَا يُفۡتَنُونَ (٢) وَلَقَدۡ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِمۡ‌ۖ فَلَيَعۡلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ وَلَيَعۡلَمَنَّ ٱلۡكَـٰذِبِينَ

"Do the people think they will be left alone, just on the basis that they say "We bring Imaan" and they will not be tested? Without a doubt we have surely tested those who came before them, thus in this way verily Allah ﷻ knows those who are true and He surely knows who are the liars (in their claim)"

• If a person remains in the environment of fitnah and disobedience of Allah ﷻ, and corruption of the deen, then over time they eventually also get caught up in the fitnah, and their children end up going astray as we have seen in the western countries where entire generations went out of the fold of Islam, even though their grandparents were Shuyookh and Ulamaa.

  
  

• If there is no reliance on Allah ﷻ and instead, those doing this rely on their own wealth, intelligence, qualifications, 'experience' and other worldly asbaab, then they will fail miserably in their objective. Allah ﷻ used the preposition ف when saying that "then" they made duaa, and in the arabic language, this indicates that there was no delay in doing so, meaning they at once put their reliance in Allah ﷻ for the best plan, arrangements, and facilitation of their affairs and how they would now live in this new environment, in the mountainous cavern that they had sought shelter in, and chose as their new home.

This correct intention, and attitude of reliance of Allah ﷻ was the core reason for the success of this group. They worked together because their intention was the same, their fikr was the same, and all were on one mindset. There wasn't a case where a few of them formed a clique, and decided that they would do things differently, and make their own agendas and secret meetings, as is common today in the ummah, and has been the downfall of many good efforts and institutions becoming corrupted and wasted.

Instead, they were true and sincere and because of this Allah ﷻ granted them such a unique solution that no engineer, project manager, architect, agricultural expert, businessman or any other professional or person of experience could have done or even imagined.

Allah ﷻ accepted their collective duaa, and caused them to sleep for 300 years, or 309 according to the lunar calendar, and by the time they had woken up the conditions in the city had changed, the tyrant king was gone and the people of the city were on deen and Imaan and the fitnah had been eradicated.

In spite of them not having any type of worldly arrangement, Allah ﷻ had brought about not only the outcome of their Imaan being protected, but they had not needed to do a single thing from their own side. A person who did not trust in Allah ﷻ would have gone into a state of anxiety and worry, saying "how are we going to live?", "how will we survive?", "we should get this and this and that and then only will we be able to do things", and in fact they would not have even went into the mountain without any prior preparations.

But the reliance on Allah ﷻ and the correct intention and working together without khiyaanat, was the most important factor in their success and acceptance of the duaa of these youth.

These youth turned out to be amongst the mukhliseen, those who are sincere and do things solely for the pleasure of Allah ﷻ, and do not wait to first have the resources and everything in place before making the move and doing whats necessary.

Nabi ﷺ said regarding such people:

طوبى للمخلصين، أولئك مصابيح الهدى، تنجلي عنهم كل فتنة ظلماء

"Glad tidings to the sincere ones (those who do actions solely for Allah's pleasure), these people are the lanterns of guidance, because of them every dark fitnah is dispelled" - Bayhaqi

Nabi ﷺ also said:

إنَّ من الناس ناساً مفاتيح للخير مغاليق للشر، وإنَّ من الناس ناساً مفاتيح للشر مغاليق للخير، فطوبى لمن جعل الله مفاتيح الخير على يديه، وويل لمن جعل الله مفاتيح الشر على يديه

“Among people are those who are keys to goodness and locks against evil, and among people are those who are keys to evil and locks against goodness. So glad tidings to the one whom Allah has made a key for goodness at his hands, and woe to the one whom Allah has made a key for evil at his hands.”

To be amongst those who are keys to goodness, certain qualities are needed, not the qualities that people say are needed, but rather the qualities that Allah ﷻ praises and mentions in Quran, viz

1. Ikhlaas - Sincerity in doing things for the pleasure of Allah ﷻ, not having ulterior and worldly motives

   
   

2. Tawakkul - Relying on Allah ﷻ in all circumstances and especially when there are no apparent means, and not letting this stop you from taking action. The munafiqeen would often say, "we will only do when this is in place or that is in place", and they would often create despondency in the other muslims by highlighting the negative factors, such as the size of the opposing army and the lack of resources of the Muslims, like this they became locks to good and keys to evil

   
   

3. Sidq - Being truthful and direct, not conniving and deceiving and working slyly behind the scenes

   
   

4. Ilm of deen - Having the knowledge of shariat and carrying the light of Quran and hadeeth. The knowledge of deen is far more important than worldly knowledge in every branch, including medicine, architecture, agriculture, governance, project management, engineering etc. When preference was given to the knowledge of Quran and Sunnah, then Allah ﷻ caused the ummat to advance and lead in all the worldly sciences, but when the knowledge of deen was made secondary, and people disrespected the ulamaa and thought they know better and criticised the ulamaa for their deen based approach, then the ummat fell into the state it is in today and we lost that crown that Allah ﷻ had placed on our heads in the world. In the previous khilafats it was the ulamaa who were placed in positions of government and authority and because of this the cities flourished, but when those who had only worldly knowledge were put in these positions the ummah deteriorated.

   
   

5. Taqwa - Being cautious about matters so that Allah's commands are not broken and a person does not become a source of fitnah. This is perhaps the most important quality and is mentioned very frequently in the Quran, as the quality that Allah ﷻ loves and the quality of the people of Jannah. Taqwa is required in all matters, a muslim is cautious and has taqwa at all times, being careful not to do or say things that will displease Allah ﷻ. A person without taqwa does things carelessly and says things carelessly, and it is often the tongue of such a person which creates the most problems, for themselves especially. A hadeeth mentions that a person will do such actions that will take them right to the gate of Jannah, and then they will say something, that they regard as insignificant, by which they will be thrown into the depths of Jahannam. So, taqwa is also cautiousness in using our tongue, being careful what we say, as this can also cause a person to either be a key for good or evil.

   
   

   There are many other qualities that we all have to learn to build an ummah, a community or even small group, that will be worthy of receiving the special help of Allah ﷻ, but I am afraid that most will not take the time to read further so I have kept it to the most important ones.

   
   

   These essential ones and all the other required qualities, can be attained however, by sitting in the talks of the Ulamaa with respect and humility and learning from them and then inculcating them into our life with duaa and effort. This is also the method by which Imaan is preserved and passed on from generation to generation. May Allah ﷻ give us all the ability to develop such qualities that make us the keys to good, and locks for evil, and may Allah ﷻ grant us all the ability to make the effort to remove any khasaail of nifaaq, traits of hypocrisy that may be within us, which if not removed will cause us to be keys to evil and locks to good, without even realising it. May Allah ﷻ grant us all the taufeeq, myself firstly to introspect, to look inside of ourselves and assess our intentions, our motivations, our qualities and make an effort to correct them, by taking heed of the advice, Aameen. Allah ﷻ says the following about the people who welcome good advice and practice upon it in Quran:

   
   

   ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡتَمِعُونَ ٱلۡقَوۡلَ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ أَحۡسَنَهُ ۥۤ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَدَٮٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ‌ۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمۡ أُوْلُواْ ٱلۡأَلۡبَـٰبِ

   
   

   "They are the ones who listen with care and follow the finest (meaning) of what is said — these are the ones Allah has guided, and they are people of true insight" - Zumar:18

May Allah ﷻ make us all amongst the people of this verse. Aameen