Falling into Sin
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Subject: character
Title: Falling into Sin
Created on: Wed Dec 26 14:11:22 -0500 2007
Updated on: Wed Dec 26 14:11:22 -0500 2007
Version: 1
Abstract: ... Messenger warned. Abdullah bin Mas'ood said, "Beware of viewing the sins as little for they gather upon a person till he is devastated and Allah's Messenger, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam, has coined a similitude for it as a group of people stopped in a desert and the cook among them arrived. So a person would go and bring one stick, and another one would go and bring one stick till they gathered many of them, lit a fire and brought to ripeness all that they have thrown in it." (Authentic, Ahmad) Arrogance and pride are traps These two attributes are among the worst for man to acquire. Arrogance and pride led Iblis (Satan) astray, although he was in the company of the angels. That happened because, Allah tells us, "I (Iblis) am better than him (Adam). You created me from fire and him You created from clay." [7:12]. If one does not rid himself of arrogance and pride, an end similar to that of Satan is a sure result. But even a little part of them-especially if related to how one views one's worship-can very devastating to one's emaan: -Claiming perfection leads one to not feel the need to improve himself through good deeds and other means of nurturing his emaan. But emaan as stated by scholars either increases or decreases. Therefore, it will certainly decrease when one does not work hard to increase it with a lot good deeds. -Admiring one's own deeds results in the gradual relinquishment of worshipping Allah, because worship is based on humbling oneself to Him and acknowledging that all the gratefulness is to Allah and to Him alone. How could one be proud of his deeds while Allah's Messenger, sallaallahu alayhe wa sallam, used to say, "None of you will be saved because of his deeds." They asked, "Not even you Oh Allah's Messenger?" He said, "No, not even me, except that Allah bestows me with His mercy." (Bukhari and Muslim) -When one loses the fear of requital it becomes easy to forget about falling from the straight path. A sense of security in this aspect can be the first step towards falling a victim to it. Would such an arrogant person continually beseech Allah for guidance and seek steadfastness on his path? -Vanity leads to backbiting and rumor mongering. Moreover, whomever mocks his brother about a particular sin will not die till he himself succumbs to it. As the little sister grew, she continued to work at healing and finally, through salah, good deeds and study was able to rid herself of much of the scars of the past. Though it was painful, she admits she learned some valuable lessons that helped shape her deen and character, strengthen her emaan and define her sense of humanity. Tackle Tarbiyah with Joy After a person has turned to Allah in repentance, he leaves behind an enormous amount of evil ideas, perceptions and habits. It is not possible to get rid of all the past by a mere repentance to Allah. A personal training effort (Tarbiyah) is required to erase all the effects. An effort that ingrains the right emaan and sufficient Islamic knowledge to further pave the road with a firm foundation. Taking a quick look at the apostasy events that occurred in the days of the Prophet, sallaallahu alayhe wa sallam, much evidence supports this fact. Was there any among the Muhajireen or Ansaar who defected? Were there any defectors among those who witnessed the battle of Badr? Or the Ridwaan Pledge? Or those who accepted Islam in its initial phase? Were there any of those among the apostates about whom Allah says, "Only those are the believers who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not but strive with their wealth and their lives for the cause of Allah. Those, they are the truthful." [49:15]. Most of the apostates/defectors comprised those who had just recently entered the circle of Islam and had not yet received the type of training that would instill emaan and its branches in their heart. Mere repentance and an apparent change are neither the first step nor the last. In fact, it is only one step in the right direction, which is followed by putting in an effort to attain emaan and taqwa. To attain emaan and taqwa, find a group which assists through regular encounters. One cannot be expected to experience the fruits of brotherhood and sisterhood, when isolated and not practically involved with others. Find an appropriate example that can help one stand up against daily challenges by holding tight to the rope of Allah altogether. However, the being within a group must hinder one from developing his own formidable relationship with Allah in the form of deeds far away from the sight of people. One must spend the effort in worship at night, charity, siyaam, seeking knowledge and so on. One must try to create an intuition of individual responsibility within himself as it is established in the Qur'an, "Whoever goes right, then he goes right only for the benefit of his own self. And whoever goes astray, then he goes astray to his own loss. No one laden with burdens can bear someone else's burden." [17:15]. Furthermore, Allah's Messenger, sallaallahu alayhe wa sallam, explains how a person is responsible and accountable for his own deeds by saying, "There is none among you but his Lord will speak to him without an interpreter. He will look to his right and will find only his deeds. He will look to his left and will find only his deeds..." (Bukhari & Muslim) All this and much more must make a person aware that his being in a group is good and recommended, but still it does not exempt him from the individual responsibility he has to account for on the Day of Judgment. Predominance of desires Deviation from the right path is caused by one of the two factors- either doubt which has mixed with clarity and truth, or desires which predominated a persons heart and hence, deviated and obstructed him from the truth and obeying Allah, a factor clearly noticed in our days. The ones who repent and turn to Allah are just as human as any one else- they desire as others do. The problem of lustful desires begins primarily with an evil look or idea and ends with flooded actions or an erupted volcano-leading a person to perversion. You find a person following the path which pleases Allah but once he sights something forbidden (e.g., a beautiful woman), a struggle in his heart begins; the light of emaan is kindled within him calling him to repent and turn to Allah. Eventually, the pitch of this call is reduced and the call of the desire rises. In this way, an immense struggle within begins. At one stage, the call of emaan might predominate and he overcomes this hurdle, even if the dust of the sin might have touched him, which he immediately washes off with repentance and good deeds. On the other hand, he might respond due to a weakness in emaan and the light of desire rises and predominates, ensnaring his heart and obstructing any chances of turning to Allah. As a result, he falls victim to the sin and can not turn to Allah in repentance, which would raise him from this downfall. At this moment, he would say to himself, "You have already been affected by the dirt of sin, so you might as well keep on going. So many times you have tried to repent, but to no avail. You are weak, there remains no hope for you to repent, and your way is different from that of the pious!" The ugly gut of excessiveness Whenever Allah commands us to do something, Satan incites us to fall into either extreme-either exaggerating the act on one hand or be negligent and careless about it on the other. Even though the latter is a common phenomenon with many, Satan chooses to incite one towards the opposite extreme of exaggeration and immoderation. Accordingly, we have been warned against taking such an approach as Allah says, "Say, O people of the scripture, exceed not the units in your religion." [5:77]. And Allah's Messenger, sallaallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "Beware of ghulow (excessiveness) in religion, for indeed, what devastated those before you was ghulow in religion." (Nisaai) In another hadeeth he said, "Those who go to extremes (in preaching their religion) were killed and destroyed." (Muslim). Being immoderate in worship is a deviation in itself, but nevertheless, it is not the end of the road. When a person takes the first step towards immoderation, he overloads himself in a manner while an easier... [Full Article...]
