A reflection inspired by the words of Dr. Israr Ahmed on the essence of true righteousness.
I love these words by Dr. Israr:
"If you see someone in distress (dukh) and you are in a position to help or heal their hurt but you choose not to, then you may be a mufassir (interpreter of the Qur’an) or a muhaddith (scholar of Hadith), but you cannot be naik (righteous). You could be a zahid (ascetic) or an abid (devout worshipper), but not righteous."
It simply means that if you witness someone suffering and have the ability to ease their pain or help them, but you don’t, then no matter how knowledgeable or pious you appear, you’re not truly righteous in the eyes of the Almighty. True righteousness is not just about worship or knowledge — it is about compassion and action.
Righteousness is not a title earned through isolation, nor a robe worn through rituals alone. It is not sealed in books or proclaimed in sermons. It breathes in silent acts — the hand extended to the weary, the shoulder offered to the broken. If you can ease a burden, wipe a tear, or simply be present in someone’s moment of despair, and yet you choose indifference, then your worship becomes hollow — a shell without a soul.
Knowledge, when not translated into mercy, becomes arrogance. Worship, when detached from empathy, becomes self-serving. What value is there in reciting verses of compassion if your hands remain clenched while another suffers? What worth lies in fasting, if your heart stays starved of kindness?
To be “naik” (righteous) is to embody the teachings of the Holy Scripture you follow — not just in memorization, but in movement, in presence, in action. Righteousness walks into the pain of others, even when it’s inconvenient. It sees suffering not as someone else’s fate, but as an opportunity to be God’s answer to their prayer.
— Sadia Hakim // Letters Unsent