Staying Away From La’yani

Memorise and practice a new hadeeth every week!

By Mawlana Junayd Makda Sahib

Staying Away From La'yani

مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ

Our Beloved Nabi ﷺ said, “It is from the excellence of an individual’s Islam that he leaves La ya‘ni (those things which do not benefit him)”
Tirmidhi

Explanation

A true believer is wise and only concerns himself with matters which are of benefit for him in the afterlife.

In this beautiful hadeeth, our beloved Nabi ﷺ very wisely informs us to detach ourselves from all those things which are of no concern to us. Meaning, all those things which are of no benefit in this world, nor in the hereafter.

What we learn from this hadeeth:

1) A Muslim does not just look at Halal (permissible) and haram (impermissible) but also looks at actions which are termed as lay’ani.

2) What is laya’ni? Laya’ni are all those things which bring a person no benefit in this world or the hereafter.

3) A believer does not just do things to pass time. He does things with a purpose which is to bring benefit in this world or the afterlife.

4) When deciding what we should do and not do, we need to prioritise in the following way:

Do the following:
A) Beneficial in the hereafter (reading salah, zikr, dua, reciting Quran, looking after parents, helping others etc)
B) Beneficial in this world and none harmful to our afterlife. (exercising, studying etc)

Don’t do:
A) Damages our hereafter (backbiting, gossip, disobeying parents etc)
B) No benefit in this world or the hereafter (many pass times such as game consoles, social media etc. which could be replaced with good activities and made profitable in the afterlife)

See below for an idea of how easily 90 minutes can be made valuable in the afterlife.

Things to help us save time:

1) Make a timetable and follow it

2) Spend free time learning deen, reciting Quran, performing salah and helping others

3) Engage in zikr whenever we have nothing to do. Simple words such as subhanallah, alhamdulillah and allahu Akbar will weigh very heavy in the hereafter

4) Spend time in the masajid and in the company of those who help us remember the afterlife

5) Avoid activities which are just to pastime. For a believer, every second is extremely precious and not to be just passed and wasted.

6) Make dua to Allah Ta’aala to help us to value every second of our life.

7) Learn about deen so that one is able to decide what to do and what to stay away from.

8) At all costs stay away from sin and disobedience.

9) Learn and follow the Sunnah practices and read masnoon duas at their appointed times

10) Aim to memorise or learn something new about deen each day (for example memorise a surah of the Quran, a Hadeeth, a masnoon dua etc).