Origins of Sin

25: Hesitating to Respond to Allah and the Messenger of Allah

A
great evil occurs whenever a Muslim is summoned to the truth
and then they ignore it.

            

      

O you who believe! Answer Allah and (His) Messenger when he calls
you to that which will give you life, and know that Allah comes in
between a person and his heart. Al-Anfâl: 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 person’s heart away
from the truth.

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

truth exists within a person’s 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 time…An-An‟âm: 110

Commenting on this verse, Sa’adi 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

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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 out
with me, nor fight an enemy with me; you agreed to sit inactive on the
first occasion…Taubah: 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 Allah’s 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 your
homes," very few of them would have done it; but if they had done
what they were told, it would have been better for them, and would
have strengthened their (Faith); And indeed We should then have
bestowed upon them a great reward from Ourselves. And indeed We
should have guided them to a Straight Way. An-Nisâ: 66-68

2. Look at what Allah has prepared for the obedient servant. The
Messenger of Allah said: “The most difficult prayers for the
hypocrites are Salatul-Fajr and Salatul-Isha. But if they knew the
(reward) for the both of them, they would crawl to them.” Bukhari
and 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 be

thwarted 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, it’s simple for the believers whom Allah has made
it easy.

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 Origins of Sin
26: 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 links
adultery/fornication (zina) to the greatest sin, shirk because zina opens
the doors to the association of partners to Allah. He said: The
adulterer marries not but an adulteress or a Mushrikah and the
adulteress none marries her except an adulterer or a Mushrik
(polytheist, pagan or idolater, etc.) Such a thing is forbidden to the
believers. An -Nûr: 3

2. Islam maintains that committing small sins will eventually lead that
person to committing major sins, according to what Allah wishes. The
Prophet said: “Aware that it‟s 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 of
the hand is the (unlawful touch); zina of the legs is walking toward
it; zina of the tongue is talking about it; the heart commits zina 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 ḥaram just as the actual sin itself is ḥaram. Allah
said: And come not near to the unlawful sexual intercourse. Verily,
it is a Fâhishah [i.e. anything that transgresses its limits (a great
sin)], and an evil way. Al-Isrâ: 32

Take alcohol for example. Allah The Most High said: O you who
believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al-
Ansâb[], and AlAzlâm (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an
abomination of Shaitân's handiwork. So avoid in order that you
may be successful. Al-Mâ‟idah: 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 disobedient
person from a lesser, minor sin to a greater, more harmful sin. Allah
says: O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaitan. And
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 whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaitan then, verily he
commands Al-Fahshâ' [i.e. to commit indecency] and Al-Munkar
(i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds) An-Nûr: 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 Islam
noose by noose, loop by loop, just as a noose is unfastened while
the people hold on to the next one. The first knot to be undone is
wisdom and the last knot is prayer. If the Muslim doesn‟t untie
wisdom, the prayer remains fastened.”

5. Allah has revealed that he repays evil with more evil. In their hearts
is 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 don’t 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 that their sins
have 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 bid’ah, to say nothing
of apostasy? Due to some Muslim’s ignorance of this danger
and others’ choice to turn a deaf ear to it, many renounce or
abandon the truth. They say, “Oh religion is easy. Grant a
moment for your heart and a moment for your Lord. And days
later, we’ll 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 don’t, 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 hate

all acts of immorality, party zealousness, and disobedience
that oppose the Quran and Sunnah.

3. Muslims must close the doors to the acceptance of minor

sins. Many evils enter our domain through this door. (Like
the major sin,) minor sins are ḥaram and we are obligated
to avoid them.

4. Whenever a Muslim falls into sin, he or she must turn

quickly to Allah in order to keep the sisters of their sin
from clinging to their soul. And those who, when they
have committed Fahishah (illegal sexual intercourse
etc.) or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah
and ask forgiveness for their sins; - and none can
forgive sins but Allah - And do not persist in what they
have done, while they know. Âl-'Imrân: 135

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 Origins of Sin
27: Relying on Allah’s Mercy without Repentance

Brothers (and sisters), if you closely examine the state of the Muslim
ummah, 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 in
which 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 person’s commitment to obey Allah is

damaged. 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 repent
hurriedly 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 Allah’s forgiveness either.

There is protection from this deviation:

1. Yes, it is true that Allah’s mercy is extensive. But, He

created and prepared it for the righteous, god-fearing
servant who follows the guidance of Muhammad, The

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 Messenger of Allah. Allah‟s Mercy is (ever) near unto
the good doers. Al-„A‟râf: 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 you
possess good deeds? If you do, then the glad tidings are for
you. Allah says: Your Lord has written Mercy for
Himself, 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-
An‟âm: 54
This verse informs the Muslim of Allah’s 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 Muslim’s fear must overcome their hope. For

this 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) Allah‟s
punishment, he would not expect protection from
anyone.” [Bukhari and Muslim] In the next life,
especially when death comes, hope must overcome the
Muslim’s fear – the fear of abandoning all hope of Allah’s
mercy. The Messenger of Allah said:
“None of you should feel confident unless he has a good
opinion about Allah.” [Muslim]