LEVELS OF WARA (III)

Third level is the wara’ of (those people who are called) muttaqîs (because they fear Allâhu ta’âlâ very much); it is to avoid things that are feared to be harâm or doubtful although they are halâl and not harâm or doubtful. Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam’ stated: “A Muslim cannot be a muttaqî unless he avoids something dangerless for fear of something that is dangerous!” ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ’anh’ stated: “For fear of falling into harâms we refrained from nine-tenths of halâls.” It was for that reason that a person who was owed a hundred dirhams of silver would accept only ninety-nine dirhams of it (from the debtor). He would not accept more than that less he should (by mistake) be paid back more than the amount due to him. ’Alî bin Ma’bed ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (d. 218 [833 A.D.], one of the disciples of Imâm Muhammad ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’,) relates: I was a tenant in a house. One day I wrote a letter to someone. It occurred to me that I should dry the ink by using the dust on the wall. But I hesitated, thinking that I should not do so since the wall was not my property. At last I decided that so little an amount would not harm anyone. I took some dust from the wall and dried the ink. That night I dreamed of someone who was saying to me, “Those who say that the dust from the wall will not harm anyone will see it on the morrow, when the Judgment Day comes.