Trendsetters, Revivers, and Strangers The Firsts
By Omar Suleiman | 2026-01-06T18:03:35.489024+00:00 | Topic: Muslim Identity
Trendsetters, Revivers, and Strangers | The Firsts
Dr. Omar Suleiman
Introduction
I want to welcome you all to this alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, it's been a very long time since we've had our weekly classes and so tonight inshallah we embark on one of those journeys. I told myself that the next class that I would do would be an eight week or a ten week. But this one's probably gonna be about three years so inshallah brace yourselves, and I hope that we are all consistent.
And it's really a I want to frame the series in this first class that we have tonight inshallah I'm framing it in different ways. Framing it because if we only study history to admire people then we're never going to be a part of making history ourselves. And if we see a Hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) where he talks about these amazing distinguished human beings on the Day of Judgment and we don't aspire to be amongst them, then we're not reading those ahadith properly.
And so what is this idea of the firsts and this idea of السابقون forerunners, which is only one category of firsts.
The Concept of "The Firsts"
So what we're going to do inshallah throughout the next couple of years at least I would say is we're going to take different people and different groups and study them only in the context of them being the first. So what does that mean? So if we do a halaqa on Bilal (رضي الله عنه) the first muezzin, we're not going to do the biography of Bilal but only the implications of him being the first muezzin and diving deep into that. If we do a halaqa on Nuh (عليه السلام) the first messenger of God, then we're only going to study the implications of him being the first rasool and so on so forth.
If we talk about the firsts in regards to those that did incredible things throughout Islamic history, we're going to talk about them within that context we might talk about groups at times. So if we talk about the first muhajireen, the first to migrate to flee with their religion then we will talk about them in that context and there are also firsts that exist in the Qur'an and the Sunnah as categories for us to aspire to.
So the first person to enter into paradise with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم),the first person to be dressed on the day of judgment, the first people to be brought near to Allah on the day of Judgment. All of these different types of firsts as they exist within the ahadith as well as categories that we can aspire to.
Also, so it's a long series and we're not going to go chronologically but instead diversify inshallah to out of the different ways in which we talk about these firsts and with the night out.
I pray that it will be beneficial and so we start off first and foremost asking Allah for for this to be a blessed series and for us to benefit from it and as we hear the first that we cannot become we ask Allah to allow us to follow in their footsteps. And as we hear of the first that we can become we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.
And so tonight we're gonna do five categories of firsts as they exist within the Qur'an and the Sunnah. And yes you have to take notes if you weren't intending to to get the full benefit of the series.
Category 1: The Forerunners (As-Sabiqoon)
And so the first group that we have within these categories are As-Sabiqoon As-Sabiqoon As-Sabiqoon, the forerunners and so let's start off with them and how Allah talks about them. These are people that are forerunners to good. They rush towards the good when they hear about it or when they see it. They don't wait for anybody else to lead them that way. They don't drag their feet. They don't look around. They immediately rush to do good and there are different ways in which Allah talks about these people in the Qur'an.
Allah says:
These are the people that rush and compete for good. They are in constant competition with one another and in constant competition with themselves challenging themselves to get to higher levels.
And the Prophet said:
(Muslim 118)
Rush to do good deeds.
And so this is generally the category that the scholars refer to as اولي الهمم people that have higher ambitions that are driven that do not wait for an environment to drive them. Nor do they wait for anyone else to outdo them. But instead they are self-motivated and driven because they know that this is pleasing to Allah. And so they rush to be amongst those who would be the first to please their Lord and they're described in two ways.
The Double Mention: As-Sabiqoon As-Sabiqoon
And the scholars talk about why the Qur'an mentions:
The forerunners the forerunners verily they are the ones who are closest to their Lord on the day of judgment.
So, why would Allah mention the sabiqoon twice and what's the difference between them and اصحاب اليمين the people of the right hand? See there are three different categories that Allah mentions in regards to people on the day of judgment: Allah mentions the people on the left, not all of you the people on the left as in on the day of judgment, the people on the right, insha'Allah all of you may Allah make it all of you and you as well, the people on the right. And Allah says that the majority fall within these two the people on the right, the people on the left.
And then Allah mentions this small group of people of as-sabiqoon of forerunners. They are not to the right or to the left, but they are directly under the shade of Allah. They're directly under his throne and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) mentioned seven groups of people who Allah would shade under his throne on the day of judgment and you know, we're not going to go into detail but the point is is that there's this small group of people that outdo everybody else and they are chosen amongst اصحاب اليمين so they are necessarily part of the believing group of people but at the same time they have excelled even beyond the majority of the believers and those that would enter into jannah.
So from the mercy of Allah is that every every mu'min will eventually enter into jannah. Every mu'min will eventually enter into jannah. But these are the people that are the first to Allah's shade on the day of judgment. And these are the people that are the quickest to their maratib to their stations in paradise.
So Allah mentions them twice as-sabiqoon, as-sabiqoon. To the forerunners the forerunners and the scholars talked about this usage of language: the forerunners the forerunners. Some of them said they rush to Allah in this dunya. Hence they will be rushed to Allah in the akhira. They rush to Allah in this life and so they will be rushed to Allah in the hereafter.
And so you think about the people getting out of their graves on the day of judgment and the angels that drive them to their place that literally the sa'iq and the shaheed, the driver and the witness amongst the angels that take you to your place. No one wakes up on the day of judgment and you know is able to pull up an app that tells them where to go. There's no Waze or Google Maps on yawm al-qiyamah. You wake up and you are taken to your place.
And so these people, may Allah make us amongst them. They are driven to Allah right away meaning the angels just immediately escort them and they rush them to Allah quickly. Right, and so they find themselves immediately in the protection of Allah and they know it and so in this dunya they rush to Allah in this world. They rush to Allah in the hereafter. They are rushed to Allah. Okay, so it's a beat. That's one way of looking at it.
Two Types of Sabiqoon
Very beautiful a very beautiful way of looking at in a practical sense. Some of the scholars divided it into two. They said sabiqoon are of two types the forerunners are of two types. One of them is that they are the first to respond to good. So it refers to ijabah, it refers to the response time and So Allah mentions in the Quran:
That those of you that embraced the faith early on before the fath before the conquest, and fought alongside the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) were driven out of their homes with the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) spent their money in the cause of Allah lost everything for this. Those of you that joined first are not like those of you that joined afterwards that the muhajirun, the early believers are unlike anyone else and Allah has reserved the special rank for them.
But Allah does not exclude anyone. Everyone has their own customized reward from God. So even you know, some someone might say well, that's not fair. I wasn't in Mecca and you know, I couldn't be like Hamza. Well, you might have been like Abu Jahl. So say alhamdulillah that you know Allah knows where he put you what time he put you in and how he put you in this time, but the point is that there are these people that immediately accepted the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) or were very early on in accepting faith and facing the consequences of that.
For us that also means when you hear of a good when you hear of a good when someone calls you to good whether that someone comes in the form of a human being or it is the angels that prompt you towards good or it is hearing the verses of Allah or hearing that internal pull that fitra inside of you that calls you towards good that natural disposition towards good. What is the wait time? That it takes for you to answer. How long does it take for you to actually activate? Right when you when you hear it, do you run or do you hesitate?
The Difference in Movement
And one of the beautiful things that we find from the pious predecessors that they mentioned when Allah talks about dunya when he talks about the worldly life in the Quran Allah mentions:
Walk patiently walk on the surfaces the way that Allah has decreed for you to do when Allah talks about the khair though:
They are people who rush towards that good.
The Believers vs. The Hypocrites
So what's the hesitation time? Is there taraddud? Is there hesitation in that same surah in surah al-hadeed because you might say well I couldn't be from amongst those who were who were from اصحاب المهاجرين . I couldn't be from amongst those first believers. So, where do I stand when Allah talks about the believers and the hypocrites on the Day of Judgment Allah mentions the believers responding to the hypocrites that are asking them:
Wait for us and give us some of your light. They tell them go back to where you're coming from and find a light over there. And most of the scholars say that means go back to the dunya go back to the world if you want and try to kindle your light there because you kindle your lights for the hereafter in this world.
And so when whenever they are wondering they're calling out and they're saying:
Wait a minute. Weren't we all together? We were all sitting in the same places. We belonged to I mean we knew each other, right? We were all we were all mu'mineen. What happened?
It's really interesting the order:
You corrupted yourselves. You spoiled yourselves. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) when he made the call initially in Mecca people some people thought about you know, I need to respond because this is truth some people thought about well, wait a minute what about my idols my businesses my prominence my corruption my authority? So it wasn't about a recognition or a failure to recognize the truth in the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). It was about what are the consequences of actually accepting this truth?
And so you know you had the Abu Bakr's and you had the Abu Lahab's who were like hold on if I submit
to this that means my money my prominence my corruption my subjugation of people in the name of these idols.
All of that is gone. And so:
Refers to the holding back you hesitated. So (فَتَنتُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ) refers to the act of corruption of self. (تَرَبَّصْتُمْ وَٱرْتَبْتُمْ) means you were just about to accept it and then you held back. You got cold feet.
So the hesitation is condemned as well and Allah when he taught in the beginning of surah al-hadeed Allah talks about people that corrupt themselves and then Allah talks about the difference in rank in accordance with how quickly people responded to the call then when Allah talks about fast forwards to the day of judgment and Allah talks about this conversation between believers and hypocrites Allah mentions two reasons that the believers give to the hypocrites that they corrupt themselves which refers to the evil or they hesitated to the good.
The Importance of Quick Response
They thought you know what I'm gonna do this tomorrow. So there can you imagine there were people in Mecca when they heard the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) there were people who probably went to bed at night and said you know what tomorrow I'm gonna go to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and accept faith and I'm gonna I'm gonna change this. I'm gonna leave this and then they woke up in the morning and said no never mind and because of that they never became sahaba. They never they're forgotten or put behind there aren't companions. There are people that existed like that in the ranks of abu jahl. Right, there are people that were swaying between two and they would hesitate.
Imagine if Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) when he when he heard the message that that next time when he read surah Taha right in the house of his sister and recognized this as divine revelation. If Umar would have said you know what this is I'm gonna go home take some time think about this for a few days he might have decided tomorrow to go kill the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) again. But Umar (رضي الله عنه) said that I'm going to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). No, I'm gonna respond so the head the lag time in responding to good is what's actually being spoken about in terms of sabab in terms of a sabiqoon sabiqoon.
If you're in a race you can you know pace yourself run a little bit slower so that you can end it and you know in the right way. But if you decide to just sit it out for a little bit and say I'm gonna take a break for ten minutes I'm just gonna sit on the side. You're not winning that race. You know and you might just quit so constantly in that pursuit of Allah. So this is the first one in regards to ijabah sabiqoon in regards to response time.
The Second Type of Sabiqoon
The other one the scholars say sabiqoon sabiqoon they said the first one sabiqoon ilal khair the second one sabiqoon who run away minashar who run away from evil so the first group are the forerunners to good? The second group are the first to run away from evil. Okay to abandon an evil.
And that's why some of the scholars say the forerunners are mentioned twice Allah says in the Quran and surah al-a'raf:
That verily those who are pious when they feel an impulse from the shaitaan they immediately remember (تذكروا فاذا هم مبصرون) and so their vision is sharpened. They have deep insight. They say no. I'm not falling for that.
So the shaitaan strikes him for a moment (مسهم) you know some some people the shaitaan gets in and (تذكروا فاذا هم) an impulse strikes him shaitaan says look and they go no no (مسهم طائف من الشيطان مبصرون) and they remember God and so they remember Allah and so suddenly they can see properly right so they're able to overcome that and they are able to remain focused and so they are sabiqoon away from evil. Right forerunners to good. Forerunners away from evil.
Other Beautiful Interpretations
Some of the scholars mentioned some other beautiful interpretations just for the benefit of it. Ibn Sirin rahimahullah ta'ala said:
The forerunners the forerunners those who prayed towards Jerusalem and Mecca because they're a special group of people and he expanded that concept of muhajireen because he said the best of the muhajireen or the best of the people of Mecca are those who accepted the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) right away the best of the ansar the best of the people of Medina are those who sacrificed in the first 16-17 months of Medina, which is when the Muslims were still praying towards Jerusalem.
So he said (السابقون السابقون) both of these people if you think about the early converts of Mecca and the early converts of Medina they're both sabiqoon is what he's saying they're both forerunners because both of them sacrificed everything both groups sacrificed everything.
So if you're in Mecca and Islam has grown now okay, fine after the conquest after fatah Mecca if you're in Medina and you're the ansar maybe if you're one of the later converts in Medina, you're waiting this out a little bit to see how it goes. But those that accepted within the first 16-17 months of Medina, which is when the Muslims were still praying towards Jerusalem (السابقون السابقون)
Some of the scholars said (السابقون السابقون) those the forerunners being the first who get to the masajid the first ones to the masjid and that'll be a category that we talked about and they said that the (اولهم خروجا في سبيل الله) and those the first ones to go out in the path of Allah. So the first as you know is a practical way for us as well. Okay, so these are As-sabiqoon, the forerunners.
Category 2: The Trendsetters
The second category of Firsts are the trendsetters the trendsetters. Jabir ibn Abdullah (رضي الله تعالى عنهما) reports that there were some desert Arabs poor Bedouin Arabs that showed up in front of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the companions and they had you know, they were barely clothed they only had a little bit of wool to cover themselves they had no food they clearly were were malnourished and you know think about the site right here in Medina communities getting established and then you have these group of people there the assumption from the hadith is they're not Muslims they are unknown to anyone not from any prominent tribe.
So, you know how if you're from Syria and there's a Syria fundraiser if you're from Pakistan there's a Pakistan fundraiser from Palestine or from Somalia, but then it's like another group we always struggle with. The Sahaba they saw this group of people the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) looked at them and he and he told the companions:
Hurry up and spend on them in charity. Jabir (رضي الله عنه) says that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saw the hesitation and the slowness in the pace of the people. So he said the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was disappointed his face looked clearly disappointed now this wasn't zakat or mandatory but the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) was he expected a quick response. He said look at these people there there in need quick go run spend on them and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saw that they weren't really that motivated. So he he he looked disappointed (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
Then he said one of the Ansar came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) with a purse full of silver and he put it in front of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) so some of the companions saw that so then they all started to go home and they started to grab their bags and put jewelry and put their coins in and come to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). He said until you could see the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) sadness turn into joy on his face. He went from disappointment to being pleased (صلى الله عليه وسلم). I'm seeing suddenly the pace that he's used to from the companions like this is what I expected of you. This is the pace that we're used to.
If you're at a fundraiser you know, there's always that you know, if you've never done a fundraiser, you might not really get the implications of this. But if you're doing the fundraiser and you're looking out at people's faces and then you start off with that amount people like man who's gonna be that guy? Who's gonna do that and then the first hand goes up and then other people okay, you know, it's it's natural
human instinct, right but there's something about this. So this person was not just a sabit. He set the trend because the implication of the hadith people were doing what he did when they started to come and they started to bring their their their their gold and their silver.
The Hadith of Setting Good Trends
So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) captured the moment and he said:
(Muslim 1017)
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said whoever introduces a good practice in Islam now in Islam here does not mean introducing a foreign practice into Islam. It means a practice that's already within Islam right sadaqah is an established practice in Islam. So he introduces a practice that is already within Islam in that he's the initiator of it. Okay (فعمل بها بعده) and it was followed after that person now (بعده) can mean in that moment ten seconds later can mean ten minutes later.
It can mean ten years later. The point is you did something and someone after you came after you and said I'll do the same thing was motivated by your doing and did the same thing the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that they would have the reward of the one who followed it without the reward being diminished in any respect. And so both the initiator the one who set the trend as well as the one who did it after that person have the same reward and it does not diminish the reward of the follower in any way whatsoever.
So this means that if you are looking in the lifetime of the companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and someone did something good and we do it as a result of that we use that practice as a trend that was set within the faith that that person gets the reward every time. So if someone cleans up the masjid and they remember the woman that used to clean the masjid if someone removes something harmful from the road and they remember the unnamed person in the hadith that removes something harmful from the road if someone gives water to a thirsty animal remembering the story of that unnamed person who did so that person till nothing about how amazing that is tens of thousands of years later sitting in their grave and is receiving a reward from Dallas, Texas because someone did it and remember thought about that person see how amazing and that's why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said it does not diminish that person's reward in any way whatsoever.
Okay, so it's it's just this this idea of continuing that reward. There are other forms of trendsetters that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) mentioned within the same category. He said in another hadith from Ibn Mas'ud (: رضي الله تعالى عنه)
(Muslim 1893)
Whoever guides others to an acts of goodness will have a reward similar to that of its doer. The scholars here mentioned that this is a person who is who is not even you know who is suddenly who's setting an example in a very subtle way. It's not setting a trend in a very obvious way but in a subtle way, but someone sees that and someone starts to act upon that good.
Finally the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
Whoever calls people to good. Meaning you actually call people to good. So you're the one to actually preach it, right? And you call people to do something good.
That he would have the reward equivalent of all who follow that guidance. So if you if you you know:
(Bukhari 5027)
The best of you are those who learn the Quran and then teach it. So you learn something good and then you speak that good you actually say it and people take that advice that (نصيحة) from you. You set the trend you get the reward, of course you have to try to practice it yourself but it started and initiated from the guidance that came from your mouth from from from calling people. دل means example دعا means you actually called and the point is is that you set the trend and so the people follow you in that trend. And you have the reward of that as well.
Category 3: The Strangers (Al-Ghuraba)
So those those are the first two categories. The first ones are the forerunners. Second ones are the trendsetters. The third group are the strangers (الغرباء الغرباء) the strangers and the strangers are described in different ways within the within the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said:
(Muslim 145)
That Islam started off as something strange and so it will return back to being something strange so glad tidings to the strangers glad tidings to the strangers.
The strangers are people who follow unpopular truths. The strangers are people who adopt unpopular truths. Okay, so it's actually bucking a trend. You're actually the trendsetter is the one who sets the trend in good the stranger most of the explanations of this (الَّذِينَ يُصْلِحُونَ إِذَا فَسَدَ النَّاسُ - allatheena yuslihoona idha fasada annasu) those who who rectify themselves when everyone around them or when people around them are becoming corrupt. So they don't actually follow the trend of corruption.
So think about this in a systematic way you think about the forerunners, forerunners to good, forerunners away from evil. And then you think about the trendsetters they set good trends and people follow them and then you think about the strangers they stay away from negative trends that have become dominant. Okay, and so they too are rewarded by virtue of that.
Abdullah bin Umar رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمَا he narrates that the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ took me by my shoulder and he said to me:
(Bukhari 6416)
"Be in this world as though you are a stranger or a traveler."
As though you are a as though you were a stranger or a wafer وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا يَقُولُ and so Ibn Umar رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا would say you go to sleep at night, then do not expect the morning and if you wake up in the morning then do not expect the evening.
And so it does refer to this idea of urgency as well that typically people follow popular corruption out of pressure and because they do that in a way to fit in or to go with the flow in regards to what they feel like will give them what will rectify their worldly affairs or give them a smooth sailing in regards to their dunya. But if you're thinking about your hereafter and you're putting that in front of you then you will not be afraid or intimidated or pressure to sacrifice something that will elevate you in the hereafter because of something that is dominant in this in this life. Okay, so these are the the strangers.
Additional Hadith about Strangers
There are different hadith the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that indeed the religion will creep into the Hijaz just like a snake it will return back into the Hijaz referring to al-madinah that when people end up in their in corruption that the religion will return in its pure form and creep into that and the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said that the religion will cling to it just like the female mountain goat would cling to them the peak of the mountain and then the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says:
(Tirmidhi 3058)
"Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers."
Inna deena badaa ghareeba wa yarji'u ghareeban fatoobaa lil ghurabaa allatheena yuslihoona maa afsada an-nasu min ba'di min sunnati
This hadith is in Tirmidhi and there is some debate about it, but it still establishes secondary evidence and gives some explanation to the concept of ghareeb here the concept of being strange. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said indeed the religion began as something strange and it will return to being something strange and so a valley in paradise for the strangers who correct what the people have corrupted from my sunnah after me.
And so the ghuraba here refer to people that that rectify that corruption as well. So there is an act there is an activity to that as well and Allah mentions this idea that the majority is not always good. That this idea of the majority is not always good. And there are two ways to look at the majority the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned the majority in regards to the majority of what the ummah is upon. Okay, and the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ talked about this idea of clinging to the jama'ah clinging to the group. But the majority as in popular trend:
"And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah."
Allah mentions that if you follow the majority of what the people are upon what is found on this earth يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ then they will lead you astray and so this group is the strangers and they are number four and the last group are I'm sorry.
They're number three.
Category 4: The Revivers (Al-Mujaddid)
So what are the three categories now? Forerunners trendsetters strangers forerunners trendsetters strangers. Okay, the fourth one now are the revivers Al-mujaddid the one who revives and it's it constructs itself on the previous hadith that I just mentioned this idea of a person who corrects and rectifies what is lost from the Sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and brings it away from corruption.
The reviver is a very interesting concept in the deen because the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says:
(Abu Dawud 4291)
"Allah will send for this ummah at the beginning of every one hundred years someone who will renew its religious understanding."
That Allah sends at the top of every 100 years at the top of every century a reviver that revives from the religion. What is lost of it that revives from the religion? What is lost of it?
This is interesting because number one is this one person? Is it a fard or is it jama? Is it plural? Is it singular or is it plural? And there's some people that have tried to you know, restrict it to the singular and
so you know, there've been books written and so you try to identify who's the reviver of each century and in the Arabic language here.
This this hadith is not restricted only to the singular and so it could be that there are mujaddideen, that there are revivers that exist in one century and the scholars mentioned in two ways. Number one, they revive different elements of the religion that are lost. Different elements of the religion that are lost and so Umar ibn Abdulaziz rahimahullah who is the only agreed-upon Mujaddid in history in the sense that you know no one assigns a mujaddid other than Umar ibn Abdulaziz those that consider this a singular person.
No one revives a mujaddid other than him in his century. Umar ibn Abdulaziz revived notions of justice that were lost in this religion. He revived al-adl. He revived the sense of justice, right? he revived the practices of his grandfather Umar ibn al-Khattab رَضِيَ اللهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ in establishing justice in the ummah and bringing it back to a very to a very special place right after it had lost its way.
But there are two ways here. There could be different revivers in different lands and there could be different people that revive different elements of the religion the point is is that you find things that are lost amongst the people that are good practices from the Sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and a person can actually revive something of it.
So Salahuddin rahimahullah ta'ala for examples, no one would argue he's not a mujaddid but is he the only mujaddid of his time, right? and there's some some general and this is where you get madhabism at its strongest if you if you call a Shafi'i a mujaddid but not Ahmed or Abu Hanifa, but not Malik. What are you suggesting right? And so this idea of Tajdeed this idea of revival are people that notice things that are missing from the Sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and they bring it back to life and as a result of that they bring the they bring the religion back to life in that region or in amongst their people and guiding something good and guiding towards something good.
And this is actually subhanAllah something that we should all look towards by the way. This idea of Tajdeed this idea of revival in the macro sense but also the micro sense if you find a Sunnah missing in a context and you decide to revive that good practice right then that is a form of Tajdeed you find something missing that could be conceptual or it could be something very basic to be something very basic, right? But the point is is that you take that initiative to say let me revive one of the Sunnahs of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in my context. Okay something simple or something macro something conceptual or something that's very practical, but let me take it upon myself to be amongst those Mujaddedeen to be amongst those revivers.
Category 5: The Distinguished (Al-Muhsineen)
The last category are the distinguished Al-MuhsineenAl-Muhsineen are not people that necessarily lead because they're the first to do something. Nor are they reviving something that's necessarily lost. But they
do something so well that they are distinguished in that good deed. They're distinguished in that good and as a result, they are chosen amongst a people because of how well they do something because they set themselves apart.
And this is sort of the the opposite of the Ghurabaa in terms of you know, you know the Ghurabaa are people that don't buckle to popular trends when that popular trend is in opposition to truth as they as they as they know it. Al-Muhsineen are people that aspire that aspire in ways that other people would not and so they always go the extra mile with that good.
Ibn Al-Qayyim's Beautiful Connection
Ibn Al-Qayyim has a very beautiful way of tying the Ghurabaa to the Muhsineen in this regard the strangers to the distinguished. Ibn Al-Qayyim said that when a person would have embraced Islam, the Muslims the Muslims become Ghurabaa in the sense of the broader of a broader humanity, right? So they they especially if we're talking about in the context of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ but the point is is that Aslamu, they submit themselves they end up, you know, they embrace what what alienates them or they embrace this religion as a result, they're persecuted. So the Muslims become Ghurabaa in that sense.
And then he said that the Muttaqeen, people of piety become Ghurabaa amongst the Muslims. The Muttaqeen become Ghurabaa amongst the Muhsineen when they stay away from because Taqwa refers to tarkul ma'asi. It refers to leaving off sin when they stay away from sins that have become popularized amongst the Muslims, isn't that interesting? So they become Ghurabaa and you know this if you're in a you know in a Muslim context at times even amongst your families, right? If you don't do things out of consciousness out of out of you know, truly feeling like this is sinful then the pressure sometimes that you'll get from other Muslims is more severe than anything that you'd get from people that aren't Muslim because it's like what are you trying to say about our culture? What are you trying to say about our practices? What do you mean? Are you are you implying it's like threatening them because are you saying my Islam is insufficient your Islam is sufficient? Right, and so that pressure sometimes that you get for not doing things that that have been popularized even amongst Muslims that take you from not from from from disbelief to to to belief but from Islam to Taqwa from the from from the external declarations and practices to a place of piety and God consciousness that no, I'm I'm not I'm not comfortable. It doesn't mean you're a jerk. It doesn't mean that you're rude with people. It doesn't mean that you are condescending or judgmental develop develop pride. It's that I'm I'm not okay with this and I'm going to abstain because Taqwa refers to abstinence abstaining from sin I'm gonna abstain from this. So you become a Gharib even amongst the Muslims.
And then Ibn Al-Qayyim said and the Muhsineen those who excel the distinguished are Ghuraba even amongst the Muttaqeen. They become strangers amongst the Muttaqeen because they go above and beyond in doing good that other people will not. And so they they set themselves apart.
The Foundation: Taqwa Before Ihsan
You can't become a Muhsineen without being a Muttaqeen right and by the way, this is it sounds very basic, right? But some people really miss this in practice how because they excel in some ways and then you know the sins of the tongue so if you think about that that woman the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ mentioned who was the companions came to her and they said about her that this woman prays her night prayers. She fasts extra days all these different things what I can took the but she's she has an abusive tongue to her neighbors so she had Ihsan in one way, but she didn't even have Taqwa with her tongue and some people think that having Ihsan in some things absolves them of having Taqwa in everything. You can't to become a true Muhsineen you have to become a Muttaqeen first.
So you reach a level of Taqwa and then out of that Taqwa the same drive that caused you to stay away from what has been popularized causes you to long for what has been neglected of good.
See that it's the same thing because it's Allah that makes me when other people say go ahead and it's Allah that makes me long for what other people are not even longing. And so the Muhsineen set themselves apart with good deeds distinguish themselves with good deeds even amongst the Muttaqeen.
Quality Over Quantity
And you know, I'll end with this concept and Hafidh Ibn Rajab rahimahullah comments on this very beautifully. He says and this has nothing to do with quantity. Nothing to do with quantity. The distinction here has nothing to do with quantity but it's all quality because he says Allah says in the Qur'an:
"[He] may test you [as to] which of you is best in deed."
That Allah may test you to see who amongst you are the best with their deeds not the most with their deeds. أحسن is different from أكثر
Umar Ibn Abd Al-Aziz only prayed two rak'ahs every single night in Qiyam Al-Layl. He did not pray more than two. He never exceeded two. But as his wife said his two were nothing like all of your Qiyam put together. The two rak'ahs of Umar Ibn Abd Al-Aziz were just out of this world literally out of this world. So it's not the quantity but the quality then that longing that longing and so the المحسنين then become distinguished even amongst the مؤمنين
May Allah make us amongst them.
Conclusion: The Five Categories
Allahumma ameen. And so what are the five categories? Let's go through them inshallah ta'ala:
1. The forerunners (السَّابِقُونَ)
2. The trendsetters
3. The strangers (الغُرَبَاءُ)
4. The revivers (المُجَدِّدُونَ)
5. The distinguished (المُحْسِنُونَ)
Okay, so these are the five ways in which you become one of the first. May Allah make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. And inshallah ta'ala from this week onwards we'll start to actually go through names and categories and things that we can start to implement in our lives and I pray that it's a benefit to us all.
All content from the original lecture has been preserved while correcting Arabic texts, adding proper Islamic references, and organizing the material with clear headings and subheadings for enhanced readability. The complete discourse on the five categories of "The Firsts" remains intact.