Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends online whom Allah has blessed, we often see people who are diligent in worship, yet their tongues still hurt their neighbors. Some stand in the front row for prayer, but in business they still mix the doubtful and the ḥarām. Why does this happen? Because of the loss of balance between understanding Sharī‘ah, religious rulings, and adab. Religious knowledge is not merely memorizing what invalidates and what validates an act legally. It is a complete whole that permeates daily behavior through the beauty of adab. A person who understands religious rulings will worship with full submission, and a person who has adab will adorn that worship with noble character.
Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā praised the Messenger of Allah ﷺ precisely for the lofty foundation of his manners and character:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
“And indeed, you are of a great moral character.” (QS. Al-Qalam: 4)
Sharī‘ah and religious rulings teach us how to worship Allah, while adab teaches us how to behave before Allah and before His creation. If we worship without knowing the rulings, our worship is flawed. If we worship without adab, its reward can vanish.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said about the importance of placing things according to ruling and adab:
إِن مِنْ أَكْمَلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا أَحْسَنُهُمْ خُلُقًا
“Indeed, the most perfect of the believers in faith are those best in character.” (HR. Tirmidhī)
2. Lessons and Message
The lofty moral message of this topic is: Adab is above knowledge, and knowledge precedes action. Studying religious rulings (fiqh) makes us know the boundaries of ḥalāl and ḥarām, but studying adab makes that knowledge beautiful and soothing. Don’t let us become people who are quick to speak about ḥalāl and ḥarām on social media, yet whose manners in correcting others are harsh and full of insults. Let us take a lesson from a deeply touching example in Al-Masjid An-Nabawī. One day, a Bedouin who did not yet know the rulings and manners of the mosque came in. Without hesitation, he urinated in one corner of the mosque. Seeing this, the Companions shouted angrily and were about to strike the man. But the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, with his gentleness and vast knowledge, immediately stopped them: “Do not interrupt him; let him finish urinating.” After the Bedouin finished, the Prophet instructed the Companions to pour a bucket of water over the spot. Then he approached the Bedouin with a smile and advised him very gently: “Indeed, this mosque is not fit for urinating or defecating. It was built for the remembrance of Allah, prayer, and reciting the Qur’an.” The Bedouin was so moved by the Prophet’s adab that he prayed: “O Allah, have mercy on me and on Muḥammad alone, and do not have mercy on anyone else besides us.” The combination of the Prophet’s Sharī‘ah knowledge and noble adab opened the heart to guidance without violence. Sharī‘ah/religious rulings are like the foundation and walls of a house, while adab is the paint, interior, and fragrance inside it.
If you build a house with only a foundation and rough cement but no paint and no proper door—meaning you have Sharī‘ah but no adab_—the house may legally stand, but no one will want to live in it because it is dry and uncomfortable. Conversely, if you only busy yourself painting without solid walls—meaning you have _adab but do not know the rulings—the house will collapse when strong winds blow. Both must be united! Today’s phenomenon is that many netizens suddenly become “Muftīs” or experts in religious rulings in the comment section, but forget Islamic adab.
There’s the type of netizen who, when they see their brother make a small mistake in an act of worship on video, immediately comments aggressively: “Waduh Akhī, you pray like that? Definitely bid‘ah, your prayer is invalid, straight to Hell via the fast lane!” That’s an example of someone who may know a ruling but lacks adab in conveying it. Instead of making a person aware and repent, such harsh correction only drives people away from the religion. Remember, da‘wah embraces, it does not strike; it invites, it does not mock!
3. Conclusion and Closing
Brothers and sisters , the correctness of worship and true deeds is built on three pillars: we know the Sharī‘ah—its rules; we adhere to its rulings—what is valid and invalid; and we adorn it with adab and noble character. Without understanding the rulings, our deeds go astray. Without adab, our deeds lose their spirit. Be a Muslim who is firm in Sharī‘ah and captivating in adab. Dear friends, let us keep learning. Don’t just study the fiqh of worship, but also read the books of adab written by the scholars of the past. Let us adorn our social media timelines with gentle speech, constructive criticism, and knowledge that soothes the soul. May Allah Subḥānahu wa Ta‘ālā grant us deep understanding of the religion, guide our Sharī‘ah to be upright, and adorn our hearts and conduct with noble adab until we meet Him
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
