Soul Purification, - The Arrows of Satan

Share::-

Satan readies himself and chooses his prey carefully. He is determined as he shoots the arrows of looks to go through your eyes, tearing the veils of modesty and chastity. This arouses the desires of the weak heart, which commands the body to pursue the satisfaction of such desires. The tongue speaks, the legs walk, and thus, unlawful acts are committed and the soul falls into the mire of sin.
“That is purer for them”
In order to ward off this Satanic cycle, Allaah The Almighty instructed his believing slaves, both men and women, to lower their gaze. He told them that this would purify them. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Tell the believing men to reduce ]some[ of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allaah is acquainted with what they do. And tell the believing women to reduce ]some[ of their vision and guard their private parts.{]Quran 24:30-31[
Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in Al-Fawaa’id that Sahl ibn ‘Abdullaah, may Allaah have mercy upon him says, "Abandoning the order is greater than committing the prohibition in the sight of Allaah because Aadam )Adam(, may Allaah exalt his mention, was forbidden to eat from the tree and when he ate from it Allaah accepted his repentance, but Satan was ordered to prostrate to Aadam, when he refused and Allaah did not accept his repentance."
Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in Ad-Daa’ wad-Dawaa’, “Look at the accuracy of the Quranic expression in the order to lower the gaze, as if Allaah The Almighty reminds us that not lowering the gaze causes the doom of the doer and his suffering in this life and in the Hereafter. Failing to lower one’s gaze is the basis for the problems that afflict man. An unlawful look generates thoughts, then thoughts generate ideas, then ideas generate desires, then desires generate will, which develops into resolve and determination, then the action inevitably takes place if there is nothing to prevent it.”
This is the destructive cycle of Satan, which traps the one who does not lower his gaze, then records the images and scenes seen by his treacherous eyes. Satan waits for the moment of weakness in man's faith to release these images and scenes in his mind and soul, igniting his sexual desire, which dominates the heart that commands the body to disobey Allaah The Almighty, and so on in a consecutive sequence. The more the images vary, the easier arousal and falling into sin will be. On the other hand, the less the images and scenes, the weaker their impact and influence on the heart will be. According to a saying, "Patience over lowering the gaze is easier than patience over the pain of its consequences."
O Muslim who does not lower his gaze, if your eyes roam around looking at the charms of beautiful women, you would plant in your heart thorns of loss and regret.
“Allaah knows that which deceives the eyes”
Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}He knows that which deceives the eyes and what the breasts conceal.{]Quran 40:19[ This is a great verse and the interpreter of the Quran, Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, tells you its meaning, "It refers to a man who enters a person's house where there is a beautiful woman among them, or that a beautiful woman passes by them, and while they do not notice him, he looks at her; when they see him, he lowers his gaze. However, Allaah The Almighty knows that he inwardly wishes to see her private parts."
The great scholar, Al-Ameen Ash-Shinqeeti, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said in Adhwaa’ Al-Bayaan, "The verse contains a warning for the one who betrays with his eyes by looking at what is unlawful for him. The slave of Allaah will stand before Allaah and be questioned about his senses. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those ]one[ will be questioned.{]Quran 17:36[
If you will be questioned on the Day of Resurrection about your stares and looks, have you prepared an answer for this?
The fornication of the eyes
To make this act more repugnant to the souls, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, called it adultery of the eyes. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"Allaah has written for the son of Aadam his inevitable share of adultery. The adultery of the eye is looking )at what is prohibited(, the adultery of the ears is listening )to what is prohibited(, the adultery of the tongue is uttering )what it is unlawful to utter(, the adultery of the hand is doing )what is prohibited(, the adultery of the legs is walking )to what is prohibited( and the heart desires and wishes for )adultery( and the private parts affirm that or contradict it."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim )this is the wording of Muslim, may Allaah have mercy upon him([
In Sharh Saheeh Muslim, An-Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, “The meaning of the Hadeeth is that a share of adultery is written for the son of Aadam. Some people commit actual adultery by entering the male genital organ into the genital organ of a female who is unlawful to him. Other people commit adultery in the figurative sense by looking at the prohibition or listening to adultery and its relevant affairs, or by touching with the hand a non-Mahram )marriageable( woman or kissing her, or by walking to commit adultery, seeing, touching, or forbidden talking with a non-Mahram woman, or by inner thoughts. All these things belong to metaphoric adultery. By"The private parts affirm that or contradict it" it means that adultery might actually happen through the private parts or might not take place by entering the male genital organ into the female genital organ even if he is close to doing it. Allaah knows best.”
Public corruption
Giving free rein to the gaze has corrupted most human beings; the display of beauty no longer has limits, and indulgence in luxury no longer has restraints. Adornment, clothing and fashion have penetrated our minds, surpassed all the restrictions and barriers, and has become like a sea of chaos where good taste is drowned and the pure, chaste heart is spoiled.
Destruction of homes
It is noticeable that one of the most important causes of problems in many homes is failing to lower the gaze. When the husband releases his gaze, a comparison will seep into his heart between his wife and the corrupting programs made by some people to tempt others. This comparison causes many problems in homes, when the husband asks his wife to give him what he sees from dissolute women and provocative images are imprinted in his mind.
It is also noticeable that releasing the gaze is one of the main reasons for the delay in marriage. That is because the young man already has in his mind multiple examples of beautiful girls, especially those whom he watches on television and searches hard to get one like them. Yet, he will not get what he wants, because what he sees on television is generally deceptive beauty and false femininity, and thus leads him to delay his marriage and affects the marriage of Muslim girls with him.

PUBLISHERNajimudeen M

google.com/+NajimudeenM

Soul Purification, - To win the satisfaction ofyour Lord

Share::-

Praising Ismaa‘eel )Ishmael(, may Allaah exalt his mention, Allaah The Exalted Says )what means(:}And mention in the Book Ismaa‘eel )Ishmael(. Indeed, he was true to his promise, and he was a messenger and a prophet. And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and Zakaah and His Lord was satisfied with him.{]Quran 19: 54-55[
Do you want your Lord to be satisfied with you?
While the satisfaction of Allaah The Almighty is an aim that one can achieve, gaining the satisfaction of people is an ambition that is rarely achieved.
Sahl bin Abu Sahl Al-Hanafi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, the prominent Shaafi‘i scholar of Khuraasaan, said,"If people's satisfaction is something difficult which can be achieved, the satisfaction of Allaah The Almighty is easy ]to gain[ and ]the pursuit of[ it should not be abandoned. Indeed, we need true brothers in times of hardship."
When you are negligent regarding people’s rights, they get angry; when you act badly towards them, they do not forgive; and when you commit a misdeed, they never forget!
Ibn Hazm, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,"You should know that the one who showed pure love and affection towards me in times of hardship and prosperity, abundance and distress, and anger and satisfaction, suddenly changed in the worst way after twelve consecutive years of pure love and affection. The reason behind that change was very trifling, which I never thought could have a similar effect on any human. The relation never returned to its past status. This severely troubled me for many years."
If you do your best to obtain people's satisfaction, they would consider you foolish and naïve. Or, they would think that you want something for yourself.
If people want something from you, they would never accept any excuses from you. When they ask you for something, you are under a compulsion to do it; otherwise you would be considered useless and of no consequence.
Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,"Most people want to fulfill their needs from you even if this is harmful either to your religion or life. Their sole purpose is satisfying their needs even by means of harming you. However, your Lord, The Almighty, wants good for you and wants to do good to you, with no need for you. Then, how do you entertain hopes and wishes from some people and fear others?"
Your Lord, however, wants something easier than this from you. He wants you for you. As a pious scholar said,"He wants you for yourself, for your benefit, and for your need, in order to be satisfied with you. He wants you to worship Him and not associate others with Him."
In aHadeeth)narration(, it was narrated that Allaah The Almighty will say to the person who will receive the least punishment in Hell:"‘If you had things equal to what is on earth, would you ransom yourself )from the punishment( with it?’ He will reply, ‘Yes.’ Allaah will say, ‘I asked you something easier than this while you were in the backbone of Adam, that is, not to worship others besides Me, but you refused and insisted upon worshipping others.’"]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Allaah The Almighty wants you to say a few words every day to be satisfied with you. In aHadeeth, the Messenger of Allaah,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:"The person who says each morning and evening, 'I am satisfied with Allaah as )my( Lord, Islam as )my( religion and Muhammad as )my( Messenger, it will be incumbent on Allaah to satisfy him on the Day of Resurrection."]Ahmad, Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, Ibn Maajah and An-Nasaa’i[
What is easier than this is to drink some water and then praise and thank Allaah The Almighty for it, or eat something and praise Allaah The Almighty for it. The King of kings and The Owner of the Day of Resurrection will be satisfied with you.
In anotherHadeeth)narration(, the Messenger of Allaah,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:"Allaah is satisfied with the slave when he eats something and praises Him for it and when he drinks something and praises Him for it."]Muslim[
Let us reflect on the characteristics that Allaah The Almighty mentioned when He described Ismaa‘eel )Ishmael(, may Allaah exalt his mention.
The first is that he was true to his promise. He fulfilled his promise with Allaah The Almighty as well as with people.
You should contemplate why Allaah The Almighty mentioned that characteristic before mentioning how he performed prayers and gaveZakaah)obligatory purifying alms( and enjoined them on his people.
Allaah The Exalted Says )what means(:}Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive, And they who turn away from ill speech, And they who are observant of Zakaah, And they who guard their private parts…{]Quran 23: 5[
Clarifying the characteristics of the true believers, in these verses Allaah The Almighty mentioned turning away from ill speech before the observance ofZakaahand guarding the private parts.
This indicates the importance of these beautiful meanings and noble morals in the IslamicSharee‘ah)Islamic legislation(.
You have to seek the satisfaction of the one who when satisfied with you, rewards and satisfies you in turn.

PUBLISHERNajimudeen M

google.com/+NajimudeenM

Soul Purification, - Idle talk

Share::-

Praise be to Allaah The Almighty Who created man in a balanced form, inspired and adorned him with the beautifying light of faith, taught him eloquence and therewith, made him a pioneer and superior being, providing him with a tongue to articulate what is in his heart.
Truly, the tongue, from among the greatest blessings of Allaah The Almighty, is one of His most sophisticated and unique creations of all organs in the body. Although small in size, its impact is paramount. Faith and disbelief, which stem from obedience and disobedience, respectively, can not be known except through the testimony of this very organ.
Moreover, those who keep their tongues unchecked, fall prey to the devil’s influence, who will cause them to say evil things and lead them to an edge of a bank that is about to collapse, forcing them to fall down. Truly, no one escapes the evil of the tongue except who restricts it to the constraints of Sharee'ah, using it only to utter what is of benefit to him or her in this life and the Hereafter, while preventing it from uttering anything that may bring any harm, sooner or later.
That is why the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, as narrated by Mu'aath, may Allaah be pleased with him:“Could anything cast people in the Hellfire face down”– in another version,“on their noses”–“except the harvests of their tongues?”The phrase“harvests of their tongues”refers to the recompense and punishment for uttering what is prohibited. Each one of us plants good and evil acts with our words and actions; and then, we reap them on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever plants a good word or deed will harvest dignity, and whoever does the opposite only reaps regret. Thus, as the Hadeeth apparently indicates, the most common cause of people entering Hell is the sinful utterance of their tongues.
That includesShirk)associating partners with Allaah(, the gravest sin in the sight of Allaah The Almighty, as well as what is connected to it: ignorantly speaking of Allaah The Almighty. It also encompasses false testimony, doing magic, slander, and other major and minor sins like lying, backbiting and talebearing. In fact, all sinful deeds are mostly associated with utterances that support them.
That is why many Hadeeths refer to the virtue of silence. On one occasion, Sufyaan ibn ‘Abdullaah Ath-Thaqafi, may Allaah be pleased with him, asked:“O Messenger of Allaah, what is the most serious thing you fear for me?”The Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, held his tongue and said,“This.”Similarly, another Companion, ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir, may Allaah be pleased with him, says:“I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, how can I obtain salvation?’ The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied,‘Control your tongue ]from idle talk[.’”
Under the chapter entitledEemaan)faith( inSaheeh Al-Bukhaari, it is stated that the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“A Muslim is the one who avoids harming other Muslims with his tongue and hand.”He,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, also said:“Whoever believes in Allaah The Almighty and the Last Day should utter good words or remain silent.”Perhaps one of his more eloquent and concise sayings, this not only bears a command to say what is good, but provides the only alternative as keeping quiet. For, indeed, as Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared ]to record[.{]Quran 50:18[
In fact, the stakes are higher; Sahl ibn Sa‘d, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrates that the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“He who guarantees for me what is between his jaws and what is between his thighs, I guarantee him Paradise.”This means that the one who uses his or her tongue only regarding relevant matters and restrains it from what does not concern him or her, and guards his or her private parts against illicit acts, is promised Paradise by the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Ibn Battaal, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,“This Hadeeth indicates that the greatest trial for man in life is ]the responsibility of[ his tongue and private parts. Therefore, whoever is protected from their evil is protected from the gravest evil.”
Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him, related that the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned:“One might utter a word thinking it to be trivial and sinks ]because of it[ in Hell further than the distance of the east”; the wording reported by Muslim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, states:“farther than the distance between the east and west.” Ibn ‘Abdul-Barr, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said, that an example of such a word“is what a person utters before an unjust ruler ]in order to please him[.”
In another version of the Hadeeth, the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, mentioned that it may be“a word that he does not understand”, meaning he is unaware of whether it is good or bad, as explained by Shaykh Al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abdus-Salaam, who added,“Hence, it is prohibited for a Muslim to speak any ]such[ word.”Commenting on this Hadeeth, An-Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,“]It[ encourages a man to watch his tongue. If a person wants to say something, he should think of, and fully grasp, what it is before he utters a word. If he finds that there is benefit in it, he should say it, otherwise, he should hold his tongue.”
‘Abdullaah Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, would reportedly say:“By Allaah, nothing needs prolonged confinement more than my tongue.”He also used to say,“O my tongue, say good words and you will succeed, and speak no evil and you will be secure; otherwise, you will regret.”Another Companion, Abu Ad-Dardaa’, may Allaah be pleased with him, said,“Protect your ears from your mouth; indeed, you have two ears and one mouth, in order to hear more than you talk.”
Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allaah have mercy upon him, also said,“They used to say that the tongue of the believer is behind his heart; when he wants to say something, he contemplates it with his heart and then utters it. Whereas, the tongue of the hypocrite is in front of his heart; when he intends to say anything, he utters it before deliberating it in his heart.”He, may Allaah have mercy upon him, went a step further, saying,“He who does not watch his tongue does not understand his religion.”
If you ask why the virtue of silence is so great, it is because the tongue, with hardly any effort may lead to evil, lies, backbiting, talebearing, ostentation, hypocrisy, obscenity, dispute, self-praise, indulgence in falsehood, controversy, distortion, harming people and a violation of their privacy and honor. Moreover, it has a charm that affects the heart, and is motivated by a person’s temperament and is influenced by Satan. Those who indulge in idle talk can barely control their tongues so as to utter what they like and restrain it from what is not pleasing to them. It is one of the ambiguous facts that danger lies in idle talk, whereas safety, in silence, thus its enormous virtue.
Furthermore, keeping quiet strengthens a person’s zeal, maintains his or her gravity, helps him or her focus on meditation, remembrance of Allaah The Almighty and worship, and keeps him or her safe from the ill-effects of idle talk in the worldly life and its punishment in the Hereafter. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Man does not utter any word except that with him is an observer prepared ]to record[.{]Quran 18:50[
Speech can be divided into four categories:
1-Purely harmful – one should remain silent instead of indulging in such talk.
2-That which includes both harm and benefit – such speech must also be avoided, because the elimination of evil takes precedence over the realization of benefit.
3-That which has neither harm nor benefit – this is idle talk and keeping oneself busy with it is a waste of time, which, in itself, is nothing short of a great loss.
4-Purely beneficial – after three-quarters of all categories of talk have been dismissed, it is only this that one must indulge in; however, a threat looms here, as well, since such talk may be subtly tainted with ostentation and self-praise, which is a grave risk.
In the coming articles, we will thoroughly detail some of the errors of the tongue that have become widespread among people.

PUBLISHERNajimudeen M

google.com/+NajimudeenM