Giving up Sins: An Easy Prescription

by Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (daamat barakaatuhum)

There are many, many Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world who due to various negative influences and bad elements, find themselves de-railed from Deen. Many others sit on the fence, wanting to enjoy or benefit from both sides of the fence engaging in sins as well as being practical on certain teachings of Deen. However, deep in their hearts is the desire to get back on track, and once again become good, practical Muslims; to jump off the fence and enjoy the green pastures of Islam. So they write, e-mail, phone, fax seeking guidance and direction.
The main weakness is indulgence in sins; sometimes many sins and excessive indulgence in those sins. A standard prescription that I give as a reply, is as follows. Alhamdulillah, many who followed through with the prescription have found a whole new life of peace, happiness, blessings and mercy. On tasting the sweetness that comes with obedience, there is no desire to return to any form of disobedience.

The ideal is that we abstain from sins, out of love for Allah Taala. He has granted us so much He has granted us everything and it is the nature of human beings that we love the person that is kind and generous to us. Then what of Allah Taala who has provided us with plentiful with everything? The sight, hearing, speech, the organs that are functioning in such an amazing manner, the limbs - all in our service for eating, drinking, walking, sitting, etc. The gifts of wealth : the clothing, shelter, transport, food, drink, and so many other comforts. We use them all, but do we keep in mind, the Generous Benefactor ? Do we give thanks for these bounties or show any appreciation to the Giver ?

Developing the conscious awareness that Allah Taala is with us : He is watching us, He is hearing us, He knows all and everything about us; We cannot hide from Him; We cannot conceal our actions from Him. Then should we not feel ashamed that in His Presence, we are disobeying Him? Are we not showing ingratitude to the Benefactor, when engaging in sins in His very Presence ?

Keep in mind that the angels too are witness to all our actions; that the earth is recording our behaviour and that all of it is also noted in our books of deeds that we are accountable to Allah Taala on the Day of Judgement. Added to this, our actions are also presented to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), so we should give thought to whether our actions are a source of joy or grief to him. In this manner, we will develop that shame and modesty

which will make it easy to restrain from Haraam. Muraqabah is meditating on the actions engaged in during the day : We should reflect over our deeds for the day and seek forgiveness for shortcomings and resolve not to return to those bad deeds. We should also express gratitude on good deeds and make dua for an increase in them.

Ponder over the fact that the Angel of Death does not give respite. It must not be that whilst obeying the nafs in sinful pleasure, the Angel of death visits; and departure is in disgrace, and return to Allah Taala is at a time when He is angry, and that death is an embarrassment to the person, family and community who find out that death came in sin. May Allah Taala protect us all from death in a state of transgression, but this is very much a reality. Death visits more often, very unexpectedly, and no true Muslim would want to be seized by the Angel of death when Allah Taala is displeased. I often say : We now have instant tea, and instant coffee, and instant cereal and instant pudding and so many other things on the market are instant we are also living in times when death is just as instant. So any sin is too much of a risk in the face of the reality of death. The Hadith is explicit : That we will be resurrected on the day of Judgement as we have died and we will die as we have lived. Would any Muslim want to rise up on the Day of Judgement in sin, for all of mankind to witness what kind of life he led?

Ponder over the fact that Allah Taala has blessed us with the gift of sight, hearing, health, wealth, and so much else and has also granted us the gift of respect. However, what He gives, He can also take away. He has explicitly stated that ingratitude for His Gifts will draw very severe punishment. So is sin not abuse and ingratitude for the gifts of sight, of heart, of mind, of limbs ?

A little contemplation on the consequences of such behaviour and a little bit of mujahada which entails not doing and Alhamdulillah, the sicknesses are cured. Together with this :

Attend the talks of the learned Scholars of Islam whenever possible, or listen to recordings of their talks and read their books to gain benefit of pious, righteous company. Join and participate in the Deeni activities with those who follow the Qur`aan and Sunnah. One will, Insha-Allah, find a great improvement in ones condition by keeping the right company. Make the effort to read Salaah punctually. Men should make every effort to read their Salaah in Jamaat.

Read good, Islamic literature. Abstain from magazines or books that have filthy and indecent contents and pictures.

Give up television viewing. 90% of the content is Haraam. If a person offers a full glass of clean and pure water, and mentions that there is just one drop of urine, would any sensible person, drink it?

Then when the major content of television is Haraam, what would we then say? When the gaze, heart and mind are consuming and digesting so much of Haraam viewing, what else would be the end result except indulgence in the same Haraam.

Lower the gaze from the opposite sex.

Dress as a Muslim should Wearing the pants above the ankle and keeping the beard, one fist in length must not be considered as insignificant actions. These are teachings of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) which he has emphasized. Although it is permissible to wear the shirt and pants, the dressing of the righteous (i.e. the kurta) has a speciality which benefits in different ways. A person with this appearance will think a hundred times before engaging in an open sin, when he is being recognized as someone who must be very pious. So this attire and appearance will offer a protection, Insha-Allah. Women too should dress modestly as is prescribed by Shariah.

By doing these few things, you have won more than half the battle. And it is not as difficult as Shaytaan and nafs will whisper. A little courage, a little effort and a little sacrifice are all that is required.

Of course, these are just basic aspects of Deen, which everyone can implement immediately and easily. There is a need to fulfill the Obligatory Injunctions such as Salaah, Zakaat, Fasting in the month of Ramadaan, etc. and to fulfill the rights of family, neighbours and others. There is a need to read the Qur`aan Sharief regularly, together with some authentic commentary a little at a time, as well as giving time to studying some book on Islamic Jurisprudence and reading the life and teachings of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) , etc. A reading of the books of virtues of actions such as Salaah, Fasting, Haj, Sadaqaat, Zikr, etc. by Shaykh Zakariyyah Saheb (Rahmatullah alayh) will create enthusiasm in the heart for action. May Allah Taala grant us His Love and the Love of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) , such that it becomes easy to give up all sins and submit to His Obedience. May He protect us all from the mischief of nafs and Shaytaan. May He fill our hearts with Love for this beautiful Deen and inspire us in being a practical and good Muslims and be true role-models to our community.

Haraam Fantasizing
by Hazrat Maulana Yunus Patel Saheb (daamat barakaatuhum) There is no shortage of complaints when it comes to giving up sins and the struggle which ensues between individuals and their nafs, as well as Shaytaan. This battle is inevitably on-going till our dying day. There is no other way out, except to show the courage and bravery that every Muslim does have when it comes to Pleasing Allah Taala. Yet another widespread weakness is that of Haraam fantasizing. Young and old, married and unmarried thousands upon thousands, succumb to their runaway imagination when it comes to fantasy world and this in turn leads to even graver sin. Allah Taala granted us the power of Imagination for a beautiful purpose; but most people today utilize this imagination in filthy thoughts. The following is actually drawn from my Malfoozaat. It is an extract from one of the kitaabs. It is a prescription which I have given to many who have complained of the same. Alhamdulillah, it has been a means of cure for many. May Allah Taala make it a means of cure for all that have this ailment. Haraam fantasizing is the spiritual disease of almost every person. It is abuse of the great, wonderful and amazing gift of imagination. Why did Allah Taala give us this gift of imagination ? The imagination has been given to us so that it may be used to ponder over the Qur`aan Sharif, which entails stories of past nations and verses upon verses of Jannat and Jahannum and accountability. This is imagination was to be used for the purpose of taking lesson and strengthening our Imaan. It was to be used as a catalyst towards Aml (action). The imagination was not given to us so that we may indulge our nafs in filthy thoughts. One of the main reasons why both men and women have this problem plaguing them, is due to their indulgence in lustful gazing. After having cast filthy gazes at ghair-mahareem , or watching porn movies or paging through porn magazines, or reading explicit romance novels, there is desire and craving for more. Since more is generally not possible since the person may be married, or the object of ones desire is a film star or supermodel or a Miss Universe or Mr. Universe, and there is zero chance of meeting the person, the person tries to satisfy these shahawaat (desires) by fantasizing. But fantasizing is not going to satisfy desire. It will only increase desire. The persons sickness will increase. His physical health will inevitably also suffer. When the desire to indulge in Haraam fantasizing comes into the heart, then take your imagination to the Day of Judgement; stand before Allah Taalas Seat of Judgement and begin accounting for all your actions in this world. Think of how you will account for and what you will say to Allah Taala when all these filthy thoughts will be presented to you. Allah Taala states in the Qur`aan Sharif : WHEN THE SCROLLS ARE LAID OPEN. [SURAH TAKWEER 81 :10]

THIS OUR RECORD SPEAKS ABOUT YOU WITH TRUTH : FOR WE WERE WONT TO PUT ON RECORD ALL THAT YOU DID. [SURAH JATHIYA 45 :29] Even though Allah Taala is All-Knowing and well aware of all our actions, He has established a law whereby every action and every detail of every action be recorded and thereafter presented to us on the Day of Reckoning in favour of us or witness against us. Otherwise take your imagination for Haj : Picture yourself at the Multazam, making Tawaaf, making Sa`ee; picture yourself at the Raudha Mubarak, conveying Salaam to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), or take your imagination to your Qabr and the events which unfold in the grave after death. Insha-Allah, this will a means of defeating nafs and Shaytaan as well as obliterating a filthy habit. If you find yourself still weak against the demands of nafs and whisperings of Shaytaan, then immediately occupy yourself in that which is mubaah (permissible). Begin conversation with your parents, or with brothers and sisters, or phone a good, pious friend, or listen to some Qiraat or Deeni talk Occupy yourself in that which is Halaal and mubaah; otherwise nafs will ravage your heart and destroy your peace of mind and lead you to even suicidal tendencies. Added to this, consider filthy thoughts as pigs. Just as we show aversion and absolute disgust on seeing a pig, so should we be disgusted with dirty thoughts which fall in the same category as pigs. Both are Haraam (forbidden). Furthermore, Haraam fantasizing leads to the evil habit of self-gratification, because there is no Halaal avenue to satisfy ones desires. This is a rather disastrous weakness amongst the youth and one should ponder over the various harms which are too many, and these harms are spiritual, physical and psychological harms. Satisfying ones desires by masturbating is not permissible even if a person does not have the means to marry. Allah Taala mentions that those who do not find the means to marry should remain chaste. And those who do not find the means to marry, should remain chaste until Allah gives them resources by His Grace. Remaining chaste is thus a Divine command which is compulsory to comply with therefore we will find the Ahadith presenting prescriptions to remain chaste (lowering the gaze, fasting, etc.). As a prescription, the following harms should be read and re-read if need be, until it is understood that the harms long term are not worth the gratification that comes with the sin. Some Spiritual Harms : 1. 2. 3. 4. Taufeeq of doing good deeds is taken away. The person is deprived of Tahajjud, of Tilawat of the Qur`aan Sharief, of associating with the pious, etc. The person is deprived of knowledge and finds an aversion to people The most dangerous is that the person will not be able to remain steadfast on Deen. (Allah Taala protect). Besides this, a person who satisfies his evil desires in this manner is cursed according to Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam).

Some Physical harms : The following physical harms have been recorded by highly qualified Hakims, the equivalent of specialist doctors. 1. The bladder becomes weak and this leads to problems in respect to taharah Wudhu/ salaah and other Ibaadah. There are many that are suffering with involuntary urinary and seminal discharges due to the indulgence in this sin, and they write mentioning the difficulties that are 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. thereafter encountered. It also weakens the nerves. It causes some limbs like the legs to shake and shiver. It causes pain in the vertebra column, the spinal column from which semen is ejaculated. This pain creates crookedness and twisting in the back. It creates weakness in the brain and weakness of memory. It weakens the sight and reduces the normal limit of vision. It causes a person to become old before time. It decreases the natural resistence of the body. It causes harm to the four principle organs in the body : the heart, brain, liver and stomach. It weakens the fine nerves and veins of the sexual organs, resulting in impotency. Excessive loss of semen is in reality excessive loss of blood. In later years, it can be that such a person will not have the ability to father any children.

12. It causes an excessive loss of sperm by way of nocturnal emission (wet dreams). Some Psychological Harms : It leads to 1. 2. 3. 4. agitation and irritation over trivial matters, lack of confidence, disinterest in studying and desire for isolation.

Much more can be stated in respect to the harms of this sin. So contemplating the above, should give every incentive to give up the sin. No one would like to contend with any one of the above problems and yet just one evil deed and the person has invited waves of calamities upon himself. If evil desires still get the better, then Nikah is a simple solution. Where the evil desires are so difficult to suppress that the person engages in Haraam then Shariah says that it is Fardh for the person to marry. This is, of course, for those who the ability.