Anger, Lust and Forgetfulness; The Traps of

Shaytaan
Posted by iloveAllaah.com Team • January 10, 2011 • Printer-friendly
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Adapted from a talk by Ehsaan ibn Abdillaah

“…Shaytaan can persuade a person to come and use one of these three doors to make a person
slip. It is like he is ambushing them. So even the most complete of people can fall into moments
of anger, doing something based on anger, based on lust or based on forgetfulness.

So when it comes to us, Shaytaan has far more chance because there are many other doors for
him to enter by. But the point here is that if the Shaytaan thinks that he has made you go through
one of those doors, and makes you think you have done such a terrible thing, that you will never
be the same Muslim again. You shouldn‟t ever think that. You should know that Allah‟s
subhanahu wa ta'ala mercy is at hand. And it could be that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
wisdom behind the fact that you fell into that sin. Yes, sin leads to the hell-fire, but perhaps that
sin breaks you, makes you realize your other sins and that you cannot guide yourself.

And remember that if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala leaves you to guide yourself foe a twinkling of
an eye then you would fall into the hands of Shaytaan. And you remind yourself that if Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala freed you to follow yourself for the twinkling of an eye, or a fraction of a
second, that you cannot guide yourself because the self is a source, a well of evil prompts. So
every time you walk and reflect, you should think to yourself, and hope that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala is giving you the tawfiq, the ability to do good, and to stay on the sunnah of Rasoolullah
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam in all aspects of religion. But at the same time, you have the fear
that you are left to follow yourself and that the rope of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the rope from
the heavens to the earth has been disconnected. The rope of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the
Qur'an. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah, and be not divided amongst
yourselves..." [Surah al-i-Imran 103]

The rope of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is interpreted by the Ulama to be the Qur'an. So if you let
go of the commandments of the Qur'an, and the commands of Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, whom the Qur'an has commanded us to follow, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"And whatsoever the Messenger gives you take it, and what ever he forbids you then
abstain from it." [Surah al-Hashr 7]

And He subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"Say (O Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam to mankind); if you truly love Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, then follow me, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will love you, and
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will forgive you your sins and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the
Oft forgiving, Most merciful." [Surah Al Imran 31]

Forgiveness, Mercy and the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala are all dependent on how much
you follow the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgiveness,
Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala mercy and Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala love are dependent on how
much you follow the prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.

So it is important to bring up this issue now, which is that after the times of Rasoolullah
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam many Hadeeth were fabricated and laid down in this Ummah to
deviate people from the right path. As one of the heretics said as he was about to be executed,
“...what are you going to do when I have fabricated in this Ummah a hundred thousand
Hadeeth?”, to which the Amir replied, “What do you really think you have achieved when we
have the likes of Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Yahbi Maeen?”

Ulama who had memorized hundreds of thousands of Hadeeth and would always be purifying
the true Hadeeth form the false ones. It is a very important point that in our time we go back to
those books where the Hadeeth have been purified. Another thing, which can be falsely ascribed
to Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is a wrong understanding, an understanding of a
practice of Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam which none of the companions had. That
there maybe a Hadeeth which speaks about the virtues of sitting together and remembering Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, but we know that there is not one evidence from the companions which
shows that they ever did this. This shows that the meaning of remembering Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala there is that every one remembers Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is his own individual voice,
not in one voice, or in gatherings of knowledge. Things can be attributed to Rasoolullah
sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, which are fabricated textually or they have a fabricated meaning
attached to them. The point here is the importance of obeying the commandments of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala and the commandments of Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. If you
fall from that and you think you have done something really terrible then, whether it is with your
heart, your eyes and ears, your privates parts or limbs, don‟t let Shaytaan make you think that
you can never be the same Muslim again because Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala mercy could be
behind all of that. It could be that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed you to fall into that sin
because he knows that this will break you. Break you into to recognizing your sins and to
thinking about the past. First of al think about your sins, secondly think about all the times you
have been ungrateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and then thirdly think about he good actions
that you have done, but you do not know if they have been accepted or not. So it makes you
think to yourself, „O Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if you leave me to myself then I cannot be guided
and I cannot achieve salvation, indeed, ultimately the one I rely on is you.‟

Do not let Shaytaan make you think that you are destroyed. When he takes you to a limit of
thinking that you cannot be guided or that year by year you have been sinking and now you are
at the lowest you have ever been at, since I have embraced Islam, how can I ever achieve that
ascent again. Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala mercy is at hand. That could be Allah's subhanahu wa
ta'ala mercy in disguise.

Ibn al Qayyim mentions, “If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants good for someone, he gives him a
test which is going to break him.” To make him remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and bow
down his neck and so he will become small once again to himself. The human being becomes
proud and his ego starts to command him and he starts to say „I did this…‟ and „I did that…‟ and
you will notice it in the conversations of people, that all they see is themselves and not Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala behind every good action. That person deserves to be broken. In fact he
needs to be broken, otherwise, step by step, he is being set-up for punishment. Outwardly he is
doing good, but his intention is evil and he or she ma not realize it. This shows the importance of
correcting the intention and purifying whom you ascribe your actions to. If you ascribe them to
yourself, that every good action you have done was because you were good or was it because
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala didn‟t lave you to yourself, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sent
guidance from above the skies into your heart. And didn‟t allow anyone to remove that guidance
from your heart and created the guidance in the your heart, and did nit allow that guidance to be
removed. So no matter how much you try, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who gives the
ultimate will, and therefore with every good action, your love for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
increases because you have now witnessed that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has sent down
guidance to you.

The same way that when a person, when they witness rain, after periods of dryness, they feel
relieved and happy. And the person can see the rain coming down from the sky, from Allah
(azawajul) to us. Likewise when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives you mercy, a person should
feel happy. When you feel the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, guidance, you feel you have
done something good insha-Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then you feel that if it was good, then it is
from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and if there is evil in it then it is because he has left me to my
self. With every aspect of worship, think to yourself, as you are praising and glorifying Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, that this from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and o Shaytaan do not lie to me
and say that this is from myself. If anyone follows the self, then he will be misguided, because
the self is being continually programmed by Shaytaan, and whispered into by the Shaytaan. The
nafs wants things that are easy, which are initially appealing. It does not want to go through
hardship and then experience ease. The nafs wants ease, even if it has hardship afterwards, and
pleasure, even if afterwards there is sorrow. The nafs does not tell you the truth. The nafs
deceives, because the Shaytaan is talking into the nafs.

So if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn‟t wish good for someone, he will allow that person to be
proud of themselves. So here, O Muslims we must understand a really important point. You can
deviate in two ways; you can be corrupt and not “Islamic” and be destroyed. But you could also
be, in the eyes of others, “practicing”, “on the right path”, outwardly upon Islam, better then that,
outwardly upon the Sunnah of Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, the next great favor of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to be in obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in everything,
outwardly though. Inwardly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has left you to follow yourself, so all you
increase in as you are doing deeds is vanity. A person has to be aware of this, otherwise for days,
weeks or even years, a person could be doing actions, thinking that you are righteous, wishing
praise from other people, whereas in fact you are not getting an once of reward.

So if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants good for someone then he opens the doors for humility
and brokenness, so that person continues to seek from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and feels poor
in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, visualizing the weaknesses and faults (the ignorance and
the enmity of the self) in the self. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants good for you, he will make
you realize that within your ego, there is evil, there is ignorance, and enmity for your true well
being. You will witness this, and feel this with certainty, that if I am left to follow myself then I
am following ignorance. If I am left to follow myself, and I don‟t know whether if I am on
guidance or not, then the anger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will be upon me, and I will be
following something based on faults, meaning my nafs grows on faults.

The nafs, if you feed it with goodness, shrinks, and feels so small in front of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, so fearful before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, loves Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so much and
feels so timid. But if the nafs starts to get big, then it is breeding on filth, the najasah, impurity of
sin and on pride.

So if Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants good for you, then he gives you those two things;
continually witnessing that you cannot depend on yourself and to witness Allah's subhanahu wa
ta'ala grace upon you, that he is the one who is always sending down those graces, those guided
acts of kindness. Every act of worship is from him. Single him out. Make Tawheed in this. Make
Tawheed in this visualization, this witnessing. This Tawheed is so important, if you can
understand this Tawheed; you will increase in strength in your eeman. It will give rise to strength
in your Tawheed ul Uboodiyah. When you reflect on Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala lordship
(Tawheed al Roobubiyah), that he is the giver of everything, whether they are worldly things or
things which will benefit you in the here after, it increases your worship. Even though the people
of Makkah (who were non-Muslims) believed in Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala lordship, it didn‟t
make them Muslims, but that it doesn‟t mean that believing in Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala
lordship doesn‟t benefit. The more you strengthen your belief in Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala
lordship, your worship will increase as well. Reflecting on the things which are happening in the
heavens and the earth, and within yourselves, the sounds we hear and the colours we see. So
make this tawheed, of whenever some goodness comes to you, a favour, don‟t ascribe it to
anyone besides Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Make that tawheed. Make that part of your
Uboodiyah. First there is Roobubiyah, witnessing the lordship, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is
the only lord, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has no partner in that, or are you going to make
yourself a partner in Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala lordship? Or are you going to make some else a
partner in Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala lordship? Yes, if that goodness comes to you via someone,
then feel that it is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, believe it from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
thank Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but via that person, and thank that person. Because one who
doesnt thank the people hasn‟t truly thanked Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, since Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala chose that thing to come to you through that particular person.

Those two principles again; those are the two wings upon which the worshipper has to travel. We
are all journeying towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, day by day.

"The Day of Judgement draws near, none besides Allah can avert it (or advance it, or delay
it)." [Surah an-Najm 57 and 58]

It is getting closer. The meeting is close. If you don‟t have those two wings, you are not
journeying towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

You know the hadith of Sayid al-Istighfar, the best way of seeking forgiveness, a Hadeeth in
Bukhari where the prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

"The master of (Or the best way to) seeking forgiveness is for the servant to say;

O Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you are my Lord. There is nothing worthy of worship except you.
You created me, and I am your slave, I try my best to fulfill your promise and the covenant. I
seek refuge in you from the evil, which I have done. I admit to you, your favors upon me, and I
admit to you my sins. So forgive me, verily none can forgive sins except you."

In this we see something really important. The fact that Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam
said in this du‟a, “ …I admit to you, your favors upon me…” which is a witnessing of Allah's
subhanahu wa ta'ala favors, and there is tawheed in that. Even in the acts of worship, especially
in the acts of worship rather, you must ascribe them back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, “…and I
admit to you my sins…” which is a witnessing of the faults of the self. The self is not a source of
guidance. Never make the self a source of guidance. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the guide, no
one can give tawfeeq except for him.

So what does it give rise to then. Witnessing Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala mercy, witnessing
Allah's goodness, gives rise to love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, praising Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, thanking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, true happiness and good feeling towards Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. That you can never ascribe any evil to him, you know if any evil comes to
you, if was because you were left to yourself for a twinkling of an eye. If hardship comes your
way, and you lose your sabr, it is because you were left to yourself. If hardship came your way,
and you had sabr, and you felt the sweetness of eeman, that is because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
didn't leave you to follow yourself.

So the closest door, by which any person can enter to get closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, is
absolute poverty. You are nothing by yourself, you have nothing and you do not possess any
station. You haven‟t made yourself a middle man, between other people and Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, thinking that you are a guide. If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wills, you say something to
benefit someone else. But you are not in any other station except the lowest. As we said, the
lower you become before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the higher your love for Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, and the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intensifies for you.

So you don‟t feel that you can create a path between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You
believe Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the one who creates the path between yourself and Him.
You work hard and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the creator of that path between you and him.

There is no path towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala except that poverty is the Ubudiyah. Again,
that deep worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in hardship and ease, revolve around two poles,
absolute love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and absolute humility before Him.

Absolute love, as we mentioned before is based on witnessing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala‟s

goodness to you.

Absolute humility is based upon witnessing the faults of the self.

If a person does have these two poles, if every single person here thinks to himself, I am going to
love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala more then anything, and be humble to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
because I cannot guide myself, and if I look to myself I see sins, secondly things which I have
not thanked Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala deserves thanks
constantly, and thirdly, the good which I have done, how much effort and adoration for Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala was there in it. You know that by yourself you have not achieved anything.
If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blesses you, then he can pull you towards him.

If you do have those two principles then soon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will replenish you, and
refresh you. You will fee that in any difficulty, there is a great chance, not only a great chance,
but you feel that you have advanced more then you would have done had you not gone through
that particular hardship.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"And the slaves of the the Most Beneficent are those who alk on the earth in humility and
sedateness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with mild
words of gentleness." [Surah Al Furqaan 63]

and Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

"Never did a person humble himself before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, except that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala raised him."

If you were you give love to someone, just to an individual, without humility, then you would
love and admire that person, but you would not obey them. If you are humble before someone
but you don‟t love them, then you may perform whatever they want you to do, but not with full
enthusiasm. If that is for a person, then what about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

How can a day go past and person hasn’t tried to increase his love for Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala?

But those two things, absolute love and humility, can only become mature, if you hearts and your
bodies become upright and righteous. If your heart becomes righteous and your body becomes
righteous then in that case, you will achieve love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But it is not just a
wish that you have, or a thought. You have to rectify your heart.

Now, how do we make our hearts righteous?

The love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala should take precedence over and more importance then
the love of anything else. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will test you on that. When you love Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala more then anything, which is the meaning of la illaha illa Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, that I will not love any one more then I love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when you
achieve that, then your heart starts to become pure and righteous. Every time you prefer your
own love over the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala or something Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
loves, your heart will decrease in love for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and humility, and increase
in arrogance, pride and vanity. In other words you never gain anything if you sin. If you sin, you
have immediately reduced your love for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and given some of that love,
which you had for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to something else. And you decrease in humility
and grow in pride. That humility you had before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you have given
some of it to Shaytaan. So a person can never gain from sin. That is why some of the Ulama
mention, the pain involved in being patient and refraining from a sin, is far less then the pain
after the sin. After the sin, the person thinks, I have lost the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
and I have given it to something, which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created. The humility I
had before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, because of my sins, has decreased. I have increased in sin,
and I have given some of my humility to Shaytaan. This will cause chaos and confusion in the
heart of the person, and that is why a muslim, when he sins, he doesn‟t feel at peace, as
Rasoolullah sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

Sin is whatever waivers in your soul.

It doesn‟t give you peace, because you have given some humility, which is only for Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala to Shaytaan, you have given some Love, which is only for Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala to one of the creation.

The principle was to put the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before anything, but isn‟t that
easy to say o people, isn‟t that easy to claim. But when we are put to the test, we find that the
true honour of Ubudiyah isn‟t upon us. When we are put to the test, the true honour of being a
real follower, a real believer, a real mumin isn‟t confined. A person deserves, according to that,
punishment and a prolonged stay on the Day of Judgement. May Allah save us from this.

So it is easy to claim, an talk about, but it can only benefit you, if you implement it. So if you
truly want to love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and be intense in your humility before Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, you have to practically put the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before
everything. No matter how many talks are done on it, no matter how many discussions you have
on it, it will never increase, it will always remain a theory. So many times a person does put his
or her desires before the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. For example, there is an elder,
someone you respect, a sheikh, or someone in your family, because of those things, a person puts
the love of those things before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In other words, the love of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala isn‟t the authority over the heart, isn‟t the absolute kingdom which has been
established in the heart. It is a kingdom of loving Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, but allowing the
enemy inside as well, and giving some authority to an enemy, who does not want any good for
you and has never wanted any good for you. As soon as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala cursed him
and took him outside Jannah, he hated Adam (as) for that. He, Iblees said, as Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala mentions;

"Iblees said: Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human
beings) on Your straight Path. Then I will come from before them and behind them, from
their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones." [Surah
Al Araf 16 and 17]

And straight away after this, and this clearly shows how much he hates and despises Adam (as),
he puts on the face of piety, of friendship and says;

Then Satan whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that which was hidden from
them of their private parts (before); he said: "Your Lord id not forbid you this tree save you
should become Angels or become of the immortal. And he (satan) swore by Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala to them both saying: “Verily, I am one of the sincere well-wishers for
you both." [Surah al-Ar'aaf 20 and 21]

And he swore to him that I am just an advisor to you. Your enemy will never come to you as an
enemy. Iblees will never come to you as an enemy, but as a friend. That is why some many
people have allowed him into the kingdom, which is only meant for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
He comes in as a friend, like he is benefiting you. But you should know, but you think that I will
find a way out, or I will kick him out soon. The Shaytaan, when he finds a way in side the
kingdom, doesn‟t rest. Now he is inside, he works like a virus, continually attacking. Every
second is vital to eliminate him, or remove him and his authority from your heart. And his
authority over you is according to how much you have Ubudiyah and devotion to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. You leave the devotion and he enters through that door.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has decreed a matter, which cannot be repelled, that “whoever
loves something other then for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, or other then Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala…”, (when we say “putting the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala before
anything”, it means. Loving Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and loving for the sake of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala) “…then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will punish that person through that
thing…” You will feel chastisement in the world, whether that is mental or physical
chastisement. Love something other then for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and you will
see that it will become your enemy, and soon you will not be able to harness it for your use.
Initially Shaytaan says it is for your use, so use it for other then the sake of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, but soon it will work against you. It is up to the person who believes in Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala, to use his faculties, which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given him, to realise this
before hand, and not go to those things, which incur the anger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You
have nothing to win then, by sinning, because soon you are going to be punished by that sin. A
person will continue to sin until he finds no joy in that sin anymore. Then they will start looking
for greater sins. A person leaves obligations, until they leave greater obligations.

The decree continues, “…and whoever fears something, other then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
then that thing will have authority over you eventually.” If you fear some thing other then Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, or other then for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then thing will
eventually achieve authority over you. Whoever preoccupies themselves with something other
then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, (again other then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala includes other then
the cause of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.) that thing will be cursed. The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi
wa sallam said:

The world is cursed. Everything that is in it is cursed, except for the remembrance of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that which is similar to it, or whatever contains it, and the Scholar, and
the one who is learning.

The whole world is cursed except the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, anything
connected to the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the scholar, who spreads the
remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and the student, who is learning the remembrance of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So whoever preoccupies him self with other then the remembrance of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will be cursed. And we see this from experience, people find
frustration and difficulty in doing things because they find that their heart has gone away from
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Their heart is not with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when they are doing
those things. And whoever prefers something other then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala will not put any blessing in that thing. Prefer something over the commands
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and there will be no blessing in that thing. There will be that quick
enjoyment and then there will be dryness, like a barren land, devoid of any fruit and goodness.
And whoever tries to please someone else by making Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala angry, then he
will earn the anger or the hate of that person as well. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has decreed these
things.

We mentioned that absolute love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and humility before Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, is founded upon the hearts and bodies becoming righteous. Righteousness
of the heart depends on two things. One, that the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is given
precedence over all things. It is easy to think that you have that, but in reality most people fall
into preferring the love of other over the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and thus allowing
Shaitan in to the kingdom reserved for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The second matter is magnifying the commands and the prohibitions. It is as if you can imagine
the book above your head, and you never think of raising any command or any prohibition above
the commands and prohibitions in the Quran and the Sunnah. It is according to your attitude to
that, that you will be rewarded. Your respect, honour and magnification of the commands and
prohibitions of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reflect your respect and awe of the one who has
commanded and prohibited. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"What is the matter with you (that you fear not Allah, His punishment and you hope not
for His reward)?" [Surah Nur 13]

That tafseer of this is, why is it that you do not fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, his magnificence?
Nuh (as) is rebuking his people because they do not fear Allah's subhanahu wa ta'ala
magnificence, of who He is and that magnificence of His commands. To truly magnify the
commands and prohibitions you have to attain three things;

Firstly, whenever there is an exemption in the Shariah, like combing the prayer, tayumum, or
delaying the zhuhr prayer because of the excessive heat, you do not become consistent in those
exemptions. Otherwise you have not magnified the initial command.

Secondly, you should not go to excesses. If the Shariah says that in wudhu you have to wash
each part of the body three times. Then don‟t go and say I will wash it five times. That person is
going to do wudhu before the paryer and I want to beat him, so I will do ghusl.

The third pillar is, whenever you submit to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, do not submit because of
the wisdom behind the action. If you submit because you found out a benefit of the action, if you
forget the wisdom, you are not going to submit and do the action. This is prohibited because it is
bad for your health, if scientists prove that it is not bad for your health, you may fall in to that
prohibition. These things can help you and strengthen you in your submission but the actual
essence of the submission should never be based on that.