The heights of dignity and the foundations of happiness

Preface In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the one sent as mercy to the worlds, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and companions altogether. To proceed: Indeed, the greatest blessing of Allah upon His servants after the blessing of creation and existence is the blessing of the Prophethood of Muhammad and the revelation of the Noble Quran; in which there is guidance and light, and through it success and prosperity, and the rectification of the states of the servants, and the righteousness of their religion, their worldly affairs, and their Hereafter; whoever speaks by it is truthful, and whoever acts by it is rewarded, and whoever judges by it is just, and whoever follows and calls to it is guided to a straight path. Allah the Almighty said: "This is a Book which We have sent down to you, so that you may bring people out of darkness into light, by the permission of their Lord, to the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy." [Ibrahim: 1] And Allah the Almighty said: "Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most suitable and gives good news to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a great reward." [Al-Isra: 9] And Allah the Almighty said: "There has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book. With it Allah guides those who seek His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out of darkness into light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path." [Al-Ma'idah: 15, 16] And on the authority of Abi Shurayh Al-Khuza'i who said: The Messenger of Allah came out to us and said: "Glad tidings, glad tidings! Do you not testify that there is no deity but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah?" They said: Yes. He said: "Indeed, this Quran is a cause, its one end in the hand of Allah, and its other end in your hands, so hold fast to it, for you will not go astray nor will you be ruined after it ever." (1) The guidance, benefits, and rulings are more than one hundred and seventy, recorded as a series of scientific and educational pauses, which I have compiled and recorded within the folds of my interpretation "Help from the Most Merciful" in the interpretation of the Quran, and in explaining what it contains of the conclusion of one hundred and forty advice, benefits, lessons, and poetic meanings. All of which are practical applications for those wishing to be guided and enlightened by them personally, or to direct a group of his mosque, or his students, or others. To facilitate and ease their handling and to expand their benefit and benefit from them, I decided to dedicate them in this book and named it "Steps of Honor and Pillars of Happiness." I arranged them according to their order in the interpretation, in homage to the Book of Allah the Almighty, as follows: 1. A pause on the obligation of good dealings with all people. 2. Two pauses on the general statement of abrogation. 3. Four pauses on: funerals. 4. A pause on the obligation of good companionship between spouses. 5. Six pauses on prayer. 6. A pause on: resolving conspiracy knots. 7. Two pauses on: the virtue of forgiving and pardoning, patience, and suppressing anger. 8. A pause on: the greatest trusts, advising Allah, His Book, His Messenger, and the Imams of Muslims and their followers. 9. Three pauses on congregational prayer. 10. Two pauses on: fearing Allah. 11. A pause on the danger of extremism in religion. 12. Two pauses on the blessing of clothing and taking adornment for prayer. Pauses of Quranic and scientific benefits, and educational insights from Shaamiya. Four pauses on: supplication. Four pauses on: rectifying between people. Six pauses on: fitan (tribulations) and their danger to religion, servants, and lands. Six pauses on: raising children. Three pauses on: visions and their interpretation. A pause on: "Keep Allah, He will keep you." Fourteen pauses on: the obligation of thanking Allah for His blessings. Three pauses on: the prohibition of disbelief in Allah’s blessings. A pause on: the people of Paradise, between removing hatred and removing sorrow. A pause on the virtue of humility. A pause on: the essence of happiness and a good life. Three pauses on: filial piety. A pause on: the obligation to preserve hearing, sight, and heart. Three pauses on: Ruqyah (spiritual healing). Four pauses on: friends and companionship. Six pauses on: the importance of time and the obligation to preserve and organize it. Two pauses on: the safety of the heart and the openness of the chest. Three pauses on: the Arabic language, between disobedience and ignorance of its children, and the inability of its scholars. A pause on: taking firm resolve and decisiveness in all matters. Two pauses on: the trustworthiness of responsibility in the affairs of the nation. "Steps of Honor and Pillars of Happiness" Five pauses on: contemplating the Quran and forbidding neglect of it. Three pauses on: assigning people their proper ranks. A pause on: witnessing the limbs against the servant on the Day of Resurrection, and the necessity of guarding against it. Six pauses on: the obligation of maintaining kinship ties. A pause on: the rights of Muslims upon each other. Nine pauses on: forbidding tribalism and its blame. Five pauses on: the virtue of the tongue, its dangers, and the obligation to preserve it. Three pauses on: generosity. A pause on: the importance of the Friday sermon and the great responsibility of the preacher. Five pauses on: optimism. Five pauses on: good manners. Two pauses on: the legitimacy of endowment (Waqf). A pause on: justice and fairness to oneself. A pause on: the virtue of the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, and the virtue of good deeds therein, and the acts whose legitimacy is confirmed in them. A pause on: tuman (doing good with good intention). A pause on: contemplating the meanings of Surah Al-Asr. A pause on: preparing to meet Allah the Almighty. Two pauses on: envy. A pause on: Satan’s whispers to humans of various types and levels. A pause on: what humans seek refuge in from Satan. Quranic pauses and scientific, educational, and pedagogical benefits. This, and I ask Allah the Almighty, by His grace, generosity, and nobility, to grant acceptance, to benefit from it, and to make it purely for His Face. All praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his companions. Abu Ibrahim