OUTWARD SINS ARE FOUND REPUGNANT
WHILE INNER SINS GO UNNOTICED
Brothers and sisters,
There are external, outward sins, such as gambling, drinking, fornication, stealing and the like. But there are also inner sins. These outward sins can be seen and found repugnant, but not much importance is attached to inner sins.
To begin with, pride: The root of pride is to be found in Hellfire. We all came to this world in a state of nothingness. We did not come with any inherent virtue. It is Allah Almighty Who is the Bestower of all of these. There is no “I”.
There is no “I” in the life of the Messenger of Allah. The servant, too, is not to say, “I”. They must constantly say, “You, O Lord!”
Allah Almighty declares:
fasabbiḥ biḥamdi rabbika wa-is’taghfir’hu
“Then glorify your Lord with His praise, and ask Him for forgiveness,” even during times of prosperity and success (110:3). This goes to say that a character trait such as pride or arrogance is not to be found in a Muslim. The servant is to be modest and humble.
There is to be no destructive jealousy (hasad). What is destructive jealousy? It is a person’s not being pleased with Allah. Perhaps that which Allah has given you is that which is best for you? Maybe you were to go astray if you had more. Do you know the unseen? This means that there is to be no hasad.
A person is to say, “O Lord, this current state, situation of mine is assuredly that which is best for me.” And they are to strive to fully experience that state.
There is to be no anger. Anger is powerlessness. It is the partial impairment of a person’s mental balance. It is an expression of a person’s weakness and inadequacy. In fact, it is giving credence to the carnal self.
Allah Almighty declares:
“…ever-restraining their rage…” It refers to the God-revering, the pious, as “…ever-restraining their rage…” (See 3:134)
There is to be no pretence. You should not relate to others every act of goodness that you perform, if you don’t have to. If such a necessity exists, this is different. Then you need to (do good) by protecting yourself and your heart. Belief in the Divine Oneness and Unity has no room or tolerance for partnership. Allah Almighty does not want pretence or self-display.
He does not at all want stinginess. A servant’s taking refuge in their wealth when they should in fact be taking refuge in Allah is – may Allah protect us from this – a very bad thing.
Waste. This is not at all wanted either. A person spends the bounty bestowed upon them by Allah only on themselves. Allah Almighty commands us to spend in His way. “Spend (out of what God has provided for you,) both in ease and hardship.”(See 3:134) What, then, is waste? It is the effort to suppress a sense of inferiority. It is a person’s attempt at self-display with wealth and possessions. In sum, this waste has unfortunately increased a great deal in our day.
We must not forget that divorce rates are increasing and waste and consumption is wearing away the family. There is, therefore, a frustration and disappointment that comes as a consequence of dissatisfaction and greed.
There is to be no prying, no seeking the faults of others. Look at your own situation!
Allah Almighty declares: walā tajassasū “…Avoid suspicion…” (49:12)
walā tafarraqū
“…and never be divided…” (3:103) There is to be no dissension, no discord. Especially in our day – God forbid.
There is to be no backbiting. What is backbiting? It is your gossiping about another person and thus belittling them. Allah Almighty does not want the ‘Ibad Allah (the worshippers of Allah) to be looked down on. Backbiting is one of the biggest sins.
Violating the rights of others, spreading malicious stories or gossip…
Lying: Expressing something that is groundless as though it were truth. This only increases the sickness in a person’s heart, Allah Almighty states. (See, 2:10)
Immodesty: may God protect us from this – this is another catastrophe.
That is to say, our Lord wants for us to exude a Muslim character, a Muslim disposition.
And so, dear brothers and sisters, the verses from the Qur’an continue. Allah Almighty constantly presents cautionary scenes to us in the Qur’anic verses.
He tells us of scenes from the Day of Judgement.
That terror…
In another verse it is stated that the servant says on that day:
yaqūlu l-insānu yawma-idhin ayna l-mafaru
“On that Day [on the Day of Judgement, that difficult Day] the human being will say: ‘Where is the escape?'” (75:10) From that consternation… Allah Almighty declares:
kallā lā wazara
“By no means! No refuge (to flee to)! To your Lord the journey’s end will be on that Day.”(75:11-12)
And so, difficult days constantly…
“Human will be made to understand on that Day all (the good and evil) that he forwarded (to his afterlife while in the world), and all (the good and evil) that he has left behind. Indeed, human will be an eye-witness (providing evidence) against himself.”(75:13-14)
Their eyes are a witness, the ears are a witness, their skin is a witness, and their deeds are a witness. “Indeed, human will be an eye-witness (providing evidence) against himself.” (75:14)
Allah Almighty declares:
“Even though he puts forth his excuses.” (75:15)
Another Qur’anic verse is in chapter Fatir:
“And therein they [the wrongdoers] will cry aloud:
‘O our Lord! Take us out, we will do good, (righteous deeds), not (the wrong) we used to do before.'” We will perform deeds of righteousness instead of wrong deeds, they will say.
Allah Almighty will ask two things:
“Did We not grant you a life long enough for whoever would reflect and be mindful to reflect and be mindful?”
Why did you come to the world, Who created you, in Whose dominion are you, to what destination are you headed?
Second:
“Did not a warner come to you?”
“Yes, O Lord, they will say. “We had both.”
Then Allah Almighty will say:
“Taste then (the consequences of your heedlessness); for the wrongdoers have none to help them (against it).” (See 35:37)
All excuses will be null and void.
“I was well-off, I was wealthy, death came upon me right when I was about to make a change…”
Allah Almighty will say:
“Were you wealthier than Prophet Solomon, upon him be peace?”
“I had a boss, etc. etc… he did not allow me…”
“Where you in a more difficult predicament than My servant Joseph?“
Or:
“I was ill. I had no strength…”
“Where you in a more difficult situation than My servant, Job?“
In other words, Allah Almighty will close all doors of excuse on the Day of Judgement. He provides examples from the world.
Everything that a person can live through in the world, the Messenger of Allah lived through in different ways.
“That Day, We will set a seal upon their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will bear witness to what they earned (in the world).”(36:65)
When this verse was revealed, the Messenger of Allah immediately began repeating it so that he could memorise it. Allah Almighty says:
“(O Prophet!) Move not your tongue to hasten it (for safekeeping in your heart). Surely it is for Us to collect it (in your heart) and enable you to recite it (by heart).” (75:16-17)
Just think: Someone who could not read or write memorises 6600-odd Qur’anic verses, constantly communicates these to others, puts these into practice and enables others to do so also. This is one of the miracles of Allah’s Messenger. And a miracle of the Qur’an.
And so, to sum up, esteemed brothers and sisters!
From time to time, we are taken with fear at great disasters that take place. An earthquake is coming, they say, and we are gripped by fear. We tremble in the face of a murder. We are afraid that a flood will take place. In other words, yes, we fear these as human beings. But what we really need to fear are our sins. We should be afraid of our sins:
We should be afraid of the wrong words that fall from our lips.
We should fear being deprived of compassion and mercy.
We should fear not being able to exude the disposition and character of Islam. For Allah Almighty declares: “You will most surely be questioned!” (See 102:8; 43:44)
We should fear not being able to show that radiant countenance of Islam.
We should fear these so that these can be glad tidings for us at our last breath, and (security against) fear and sorrow: lā khawfun ʿalayhim walā hum yaḥzanūn (“…They will have no fear (both in this world and the next, for they will always find My help and support with them), nor will they grieve.”) (10:62) Allah willing, let us be protected against these.
Of course, the verses here continue. In other words, brothers and sisters!
Allah Almighty gives an example of the creation of the human being. How were you created out of nothing? How did you pass from one stage to another in the mother’s womb? A fertilised ovum, a clot clinging (to the womb wall), bones, clothing the bones in flesh, etc. How did you become the most beautiful human being from that formlessness? (See 23:14)
Allah Almighty tells us of life in this world:
waman nuʿammir’hu nunakkis’hu fī l-khalqi afalā yaʿqilūn
“Whomever We cause to live long, We may also reverse him in nature (so that he returns to weakness after strength, to ignorance after knowledge, to forgetting after remembering). So will they not reason and take heed?” (36:68)
Health and strength at the beginning, followed by old age, if one lives to old age…
afalā yaʿqilūnafalā yaʿqilūnafalā yaʿqilūnafalā yaʿqilūn
“…So will they not reason and take heed?”(36:68)
Does the human being not reason? To what place is their journey?
News of the Last Day is conveyed. News of the grave is given. That is to say, there is no excuse whatsoever.
In ending our discussion…
What does Islam want from us? What does the religion want from us? It wants us to each be a believer with character. For Allah, glorified and exalted be He, declares in a Qur’anic verse:
“(O Community of Muhammad!) You are the best community ever brought forth for (the good of) humankind, enjoining and promoting what is right and good, and forbidding and trying to prevent evil…” (3:110)
To be a propitious community, to represent Islam…
And in order to do so, to be people possessing a balance of heart and knowledge, “enjoining the good and trying to prevent evil.”
The most (important) characteristics of this state: For our hearts to be filled with spiritual illumination. Especially in the middle of the night. To be able to protect ourselves from sin. Generosity, humility, to be compassionate, to be self-sacrificing.
In other words, to be closely acquainted with the Messenger of Allah.
Again, it is stated:
The believer is to be “ahsan” (of perfect goodness). That is to say, they are to do everything that they do in the best possible way and, as such, constantly exude beauty to their surroundings. (So much so) that it ought to be said, “This precisely is the undertaking of a Muslim.”
They are to be “ajmal” (beauteous); they are to be mature. They are to offer solace, exude grace and refinement.
They are to be “akmal” (perfected) and there is to be maturity.
Allah Almighty says:
illā man atā l-laha biqalbin salīm
“But only he (will prosper) who comes before God with a sound heart (free of all kinds of unbelief, hypocrisy, and associating partners with God).” (26:89)
He invites us to His Paradise with a purified and taintless heart.
Attention to acts of worship, attention to night worship, attention to servanthood. Being in the company of the righteous, with the truthful. Avoiding the company of the wrongdoers.
Most importantly, there is the problem of our children on the Day of Judgement. Allah Almighty gives our children to us as a trust. The rights of parents cannot be forgotten, the greatest right. However, on the Day of Judgement, if parents have not raised their child in the way of Allah, if they have not instructed them in Islam, if they have not conveyed this beautiful religion of Allah to them, then that child will be claimants against their parents.
Here, everybody is together. But there will also be a yawm al-fasl, a Day of Separation.
salāmun qawlan min rabbin raḥīm
“‘Peace!’ is the word (of welcome for them and of safety from any trouble) from the Lord All-Compassionate (toward His believing servants).” (36:58) On that Day, those to be admitted into Paradise will be received with great ceremony.
wa-im’tāzū l-yawma ayyuhā l-muj’rimūn
“And you, O disbelieving criminals! Get you apart this Day!” (36:59)
Perhaps husband and wife will be separated from each other there. Child will be separated from father. The closest person to you here, the one with whom you keep most company, will be separated from you there. This day, then, is the most difficult day.
For this reason:
“(O Community of Muhammad!) You are the best community ever brought forth for (the good of) humankind, enjoining and promoting what is right and good, and forbidding and trying to prevent evil…” (3:110)
Reforming ourselves first and foremost. Our children are a trust from Allah. Raising them, these children, in the way of Allah, will be a perpetual charity (sadaqa al-jariya), an act of goodness for us. On the contrary, if we raise them in line with worldly interest for the sake of “joining the crowds,” then there we will be called to account for this. This will have a heavy reckoning. The child will then raise complaint against their mother and father.
To begin with, being able to recite the Qur’an. Reciting the Qur’an properly, in adherence to its rules of pronunciation: madd muttasil, madd munfasil, madd ‘arid, madd lazim, iqlab, etc…
But this is not enough because Allah Almighty reveals three categories in the Qur’anic chapter Fatir:
First: “those who wrong their own selves“: They have learned the Qur’an and recited it, but they do not put the Qur’an into practice, and there is no Qur’an in their lives. They lead a carnal, worldly existence.
Again, the Messenger of Allah refers to those “who recite the Qur’an but it does not penetrate beyond their throats.”
Second: “those who follow a moderate way”.
And thirdly, “those who, by God’s leave, are foremost in doing good deeds.” (See 35:32)
You will be a propitious community, by God’s will. Your parents are also a great blessing for you. Your parents will also benefit from your deeds.
Brothers and sisters!
We did not have a Qur’an school when we were young. There were only a few colleges. But Allah Almighty has brought forth such a time that children can both go to high school and be preoccupied with the Qur’an at the same time. How blessed are such parents! [Otherwise], we will experience a lot of difficulty on the Day of Judgement. If, with Allah’s permission, we raise our children in the way of Allah and adorn them with the Qur’an, then many rewards will come to us through them, Allah willing.
Parents must be self-sacrificing. Great rewards come from self-sacrifice. Allah willing, our children will add rewards to ours on the Day of Judgement, again by His leave.
The Messenger of Allah says:
“The parable of my community is like that of (abundant) rain, the good of which is not known to lie in its beginning or end.” (See (Tirmidhi, Adab, 81)
The world experienced a period of ignorance to begin with. There was no law, justice and a belief in the Hereafter. Today, we have unfortunately entered into a second age of ignorance. The Messenger of Allah informs us of this in his Fitan Hadith, or his Traditions about Trials [toward the end of time]. A drop of rain at the beginning and a drop of rain at the end also – this we cannot know. Here, if we can enable ourselves and our children to lead lives of piety and God-consciousness, then – Allah willing – Allah Almighty will reward us at the end of time as a drop of rain, a person of mercy.
In sincere entreaty for the acceptance of our supplication, let us each recite al-Fatiha.