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Origins of Sin25: Hesitating to Respond to Allah and the Messenger of Allah

great evil occurs whenever a Muslim is summoned to the truthand then they ignore it.

O you who believe! Answer Allah and (His) Messenger when he calls

youto that which will give you life, and know that Allah comes inbetween a person and his heart. Al-Anfl: 24

After Allah commands the believers to respond to Him and the Messenger

of Allah, He threatens any who refuses to obey. Allah comes between a

servant and his heart. Out of the countless number of punishments

inflicted on the body, this one is the most dangerous. There is no

protection from Allah should He decide to steer a persons heart awayfrom the truth.

Allah knows the heart of His servant. Consequently, if an aversion to the

truth exists within a persons chest, The Almighty is capable of

intervening between them and their heart, causing the person to refuse the

truth a second time. Or even worse, Allah might place a seal on their heart,

which will distant them even further. Allah said:

And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance),as they refused to believe therein for the first timeAn-Anm: 110

Commenting on this verse, Saadi said:

When a caller invites a people to the truth, the first

time, and they refuse, their hearts are twisted. Allah

places a barrier between them and faith. They are

A

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rendered incapable of following the straight path.

Indeed this is a wise and just compensation for servants

who run for cover and refuse to enter when the doors

are opened for them. A pathway is cleared for them, but

they choose not to take it.

Addressing the people of the Book, Allah said:

And be not the first to disbelieve therein. Al-Baqarah: 41

With regard to the hypocrites, He stated:

If Allah brings you back to a party of them (the hypocrites), and they

ask your permission to go out (to fight), say: "Never shall you go outwith me, nor fight an enemy with me; you agreed to sit inactive on the

first occasionTaubah: 83

Three things result from refusing to answer Allah and the Messenger of

Allah:

1. Jubilant and delighted, Shaitan gains authority over the servant.2. Division grows between Allah and the individual.3. Hesitating to answer the call to the truth causes wavering and

indecisiveness in the person. One day they might accept the truth, the

next day they reject it. All this stems from weak determination. We

seek Allahs assistance.

What is the protection from this danger?

1. Total surrender to Allah without any resistance to the truth.

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And if We had ordered them (saying), "Kill yourselves or leave yourhomes," very few of them would have done it; but if they had donewhat they were told, it would have been better for them, and wouldhave strengthened their (Faith); And indeed We should then have

bestowed upon them a great reward from Ourselves. And indeed Weshould have guided them to a Straight Way. An-Nis: 66-68

2. Look at what Allah has prepared for the obedient servant. TheMessenger of Allah said: The most difficult prayers for thehypocrites are Salatul-Fajr and Salatul-Isha. But if they knew the(reward) for the both of them, they would crawl to them. Bukhariand Muslim. Look at the loss suffered by the hypocrites because of

their ignorance.

3. If a servant decides to obey Allah sincerely, their obedience will not bethwarted by difficulty as in the case of someone who hesitates and

wavers. Most Muslims who are slow to respond and act on the truth

remain like that because of their own belief that the religion is difficult

especially face-to-face encounters with people. Abandoning cultural

traditions is very difficult for fainthearted people. It requires a lot of

bravery. However, its simple for the believers whom Allah has made

it easy.

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Origins of Sin26: Disobedience Leads to Disobedience

Many Muslims are ignorant of the fact that evil begets evil:

1. Some evil acts are tied to other evil acts. For example, Allah linksadultery/fornication (zina) to the greatest sin, shirkbecausezina opens

the doors to the association of partners to Allah. He said: Theadulterer marries not but an adulteress or aMushrikah and theadulteress none marries her except an adulterer or a Mushrik(polytheist, pagan or idolater, etc.) Such a thing is forbidden to thebelievers. An -Nr: 3

2. Islam maintains that committing small sins will eventually lead thatperson to committing major sins, according to what Allah wishes. The

Prophet said: Aware that its unavoidable, Allah has preordained

for His servants (a certain degree of)zina.Zina of the eyes is the(unlawful) look;zina of the ears is (the unlawful) listening;zina ofthe hand is the (unlawful touch);zina of the legs is walking towardit;zina of the tongue is talking about it; the heart commitszina by

desiring it and the private part affirms the act or denies it.Bukhari and Muslim on the authority of Abu Huraria.

3. Approaching sin is aramjust as the actual sin itself is aram. Allahsaid: And come not near to the unlawful sexual intercourse. Verily,it is aFhishah [i.e. anything that transgresses its limits (a greatsin)], and an evil way. Al-Isr: 32

Take alcohol for example. Allah The Most High said: O you whobelieve! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling,Al-Ansb

[], andAlAzlm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are anabomination ofShaitn's handiwork. So avoid in order that youmay be successful. Al-Midah: 90.

Drawing near to sin can cause the man or woman to fall into its snare.

4. Allah has stated in the Quran that Shaitan moves the disobedientperson from a lesser, minor sin to a greater, more harmful sin. Allah

says: O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps ofShaitan. And

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whosoever follows the footsteps ofShaitan then, verily hecommandsAl-Fahsh' [i.e. to commit indecency] andAl-Munkar(i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds) An-Nr: 24

In the hadith collected by Ahmad, on the authority of Abu Huraria, the

Prophet of Allah said: For certain you undo the bond of Islamnoose by noose, loop by loop, just as a noose is unfastened whilethe people hold on to the next one. The first knot to be undone iswisdom and the last knot is prayer. If the Muslim doesnt untiewisdom, the prayer remains fastened.

5. Allah has revealed that he repays evil with more evil. In their heartsis a disease and Allah has increased their disease. Al-Baqarah: 10

The evidence is clear. Sin leads to sin. Consequently, the person who

commits one sin never continues with just one. If they dont repent to

Allah, they seek out other evil deeds to perform. In light of this, some of

the scholars have said:

Sin is a desire for kufr and looking at women is a wish for zina. Urwah

said: Whenever you see someone committing sins, know thattheir sinshave sisters.

The Quran and the Sunnah, scholars, and callers to the religion

have made it clear that sometimes a Muslim might apostate

from Islam. Who is it that is safe from bidah, to say nothing

of apostasy? Due to some Muslims ignorance of this danger

and others choice to turn a deaf ear to it, many renounce orabandon the truth. They say, Oh religion is easy. Grant a

moment for your heart and a moment for your Lord. And days

later, well repent. I worship my Lord to the extent that I fear

for my soul. These are clearly the words of a person living in

a state of decay.

How do we protect ourselves from this threat?1. A believing man or woman must busy themselves with the

truth. If they dont, they will busy themselves with

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falsehood. To immerse oneself in the truth is to spend time

reflecting and struggling to possess its essence, inwardly

and outwardly.

2. So that we can preserve our religion, a Muslim must hateall acts of immorality, party zealousness, and disobedience

that oppose the Quran and Sunnah.

3. Muslims must close the doors to the acceptance of minorsins. Many evils enter our domain through this door. (Like

the major sin,) minor sins are aram and we are obligated

to avoid them.

4. Whenever a Muslim falls into sin, he or she must turnquickly to Allah in order to keep the sisters of their sin

from clinging to their soul. And those who, when theyhave committed Fahishah (illegal sexual intercourseetc.) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allahand ask forgiveness for their sins; - and none canforgive sins but Allah - And do not persist in what theyhave done, while they know. l-'Imrn: 135

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Origins of Sin27: Relying on Allahs Mercy without Repentance

Brothers (and sisters), if you closely examine the state of the Muslimummah, you will discover that many Muslims are steeped in evil,

deviation, and neglect of Islam. All of this causes you to worry about the

consequences even more.

You hear statements within our midst that are based on false principles:

Allah is the one who accepts us. But what this person is really saying is

that they want Allah to accept their evil because of His generosity and

mercy. Is there anything more disgusting than the depths of ignorance inwhich their misguided souls have sank?

Some of these foolish people say, When my evil acts reach The Most

Generous, He will see them as actions that I had no control over. Others

say, I am too embarrassed in the sight of Allah to stop sinning. But

when we abandon our evil deeds who does our Lord forgive?

What is the end result? The persons commitment to obey Allah isdamaged. This category of Muslims is content with mere righteousness,

but is not bothered by neglect, defective faith, an increase in their sins, and

a decrease in their regard for the truth. They possess a growing disdain for

those who are trying to distant themselves from disobedience, which is

apparent in their mockery of them.

These foolish people are their own worst enemy. What they need most is

to be whipped until they see the evil of their actions and to repenthurriedly to Allah. However, in spite of their condition, we do not

abandon the hope that Allah will forgive them. But we do not give them

glad tidings of Allahs forgiveness either.

There is protection from this deviation:

1.

Yes, it is true that Allahs mercy is extensive. But, Hecreated and prepared it for the righteous, god-fearing

servant who follows the guidance of Muhammad, The

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Messenger of Allah. Allahs Mercy is (ever) near unto

the good doers. Al-Arf: 56

Are you among these righteous? Are you are a servant that

worships Allah as though you see Him knowing that you

cannot, but well aware that Allah sees you? Do youpossess good deeds? If you do, then the glad tidings are for

you. Allah says: Your Lord has written Mercy forHimself, so that, if any of you does evil in ignorance,and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds,then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Al-Anm: 54

This verse informs the Muslim of Allahs promise of

forgiveness and mercy on the condition that the person

repents and performs good deeds. Good deeds are for the

benefit of their own soul and repentance without good

deeds is of no benefit.

2. In this life, a Muslims fear must overcome their hope. Forthis reason, there are many illustrations in the Quran and

Sunnah that point to things a believer should dread. Fear of

Allah drives the servant toward Allah. On the authority of

Abu Huraria, The Messenger of Allah said:

If the believer knew (the extent of) Allahs

punishment, he would not expect protection fromanyone. [Bukhari and Muslim] In the next life,

especially when death comes, hope must overcome the

Muslims fear the fear of abandoning all hope ofAllahsmercy. The Messenger of Allah said:

None of you should feel confident unless he has a good

opinion about Allah. [Muslim]