بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
"O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts, etc.) and as an adornment, and the raiment of righteousness, that is better. Such are among the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, that they may remember (i.e. leave falsehood and follow truth)."
"So the Nafs (self) of the other (latter one) encouraged him and made fair-seeming to him the murder of his brother; he murdered him and became one of the losers."
"They said: "We broke not the promise to you, of our own will, but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh)] people, then we cast them (into the fire), and that was what As-Samiri suggested."
"Then he took out (of the fire) for them a statue of a calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your ilah (god), and the ilah (god) of Musa (Moses), but [Musa (Moses)] has forgotten (his god).'"
"Did they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good?"
"(Samiri) said: "I saw what they saw not, so I took a handful (of dust) from the hoof print of the messenger [Jibrael's (Gabriel) horse] and threw it [into the fire in which were put the ornaments of the Fir'aun's (Pharaoh) people, or into the calf]. Thus my inner-self suggested to me."
"Musa (Moses) said: "Then go away! And verily, your (punishment) in this life will be that you will say: "Touch me not (i.e.you will live alone exiled away from mankind); and verily (for a future torment), you have a promise that will not fail. And look at your ilah (god), to which you have been devoted. We will certainly burn it, and scatter its particles in the sea."
"So they raced with one another to the door, and she tore his shirt from the back. They both found her lord (i.e. her husband) at the door. She said: "What is the recompense (punishment) for him who intended an evil design against your wife, except that he be put in prison or a painful torment?"
"He [Yusuf (Joseph)] said: "It was she that sought to seduce me," - and a witness of her household bore witness (saying): "If it be that his shirt is torn from the front, then her tale is true and he is a liar!"
"So when he (her husband) saw his [(Yusuf's (Joseph)] shirt torn at the back; (her husband) said: "Surely, it is a plot of you women! Certainly mighty is your plot!"
"O Yusuf (Joseph)! Turn away from this! (O woman!) Ask forgiveness for your sin. Verily, you were of the sinful."
"And women in the city said: "The wife of Al-'Aziz is seeking to seduce her (slave) young man, indeed she loves him violently; verily we see her in plain error."
"Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish."
"Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart"
-> Taqwa is a Provision
In [2:197]:
"The Hajj (pilgrimage) is (in) the well-known (lunar year) months (i.e. the 10th month, the 11th month and the first ten days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, i.e. two months and ten days). So whosoever intends to perform Hajj therein by assuming Ihram), then he should not have sexual relations (with his wife), nor commit sin, nor dispute unjustly during the Hajj. And whatever good you do, (be sure) Allah knows it. And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness, etc.). So fear Me, O men of understanding!"
And it isn't something you take once, and leave it. You need to have it all the time during your journey - like people who carry their medicines around and swallow it as soon as they have an attack.
-> Taqwa is a Clothing
In [7:26]:
Taqwa covers and beautifies you better than any other clothing.
-> "كلمة التقوى"
In [48:26]:
"When those who disbelieve had put in their hearts pride and haughtiness the pride and haughtiness of the time of ignorance, then Allah sent down His Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity) upon His Messenger ﷺ and upon the believers, and made them stick to the word of piety (i.e. none has the right to be worshipped but Allah), and they were well entitled to it and worthy of it. And Allah is the All-Knower of everything."
In the treaty of Hudaibiya there were negotiations between the Prophet ﷺ and the disbelievers, because the believers had gotten ready to go for Umrah, but the Quraish stopped them.
In the contract, the Prophet ﷺ ordered Ali Ibn Abi Talib to write بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم. The disbelievers said we don't know that, write بسمك اللهم. The Muslims didn't get angry or react.
Then when the Muslims wrote محمد الرسول الله, the disbelievers ordered them to write محمد ابن عبد الله. The Muslims didn't argue about it. Allah sent tranquility upon their hearts and "كلمة التقوى" - to say nothing with desire, even if they were on the truth. Because if they acted with desire, they would have gotten angry.
Continuation:
Sick Characters in the Qur'an
4) The Son of Adam عليه السلام
Surah AlMaaidah is about covenants (العقود). And then Allah mentions the first murder on earth, committed by one of the sons of Adam.
In [5:27-31]:
"And (O Muhammad ﷺ) recite to them (the Jews) the story of the two sons of Adam [Habil (Abel) and Qabil (Cain)] in truth; when each offered a sacrifice (to Allah), it was accepted from the one but not from the other. The latter said to the former: "I will surely kill you." The former said: "Verily, Allah accepts only from those who are Al-Muttaqun"
One of the brothers had cattle, the other had a garden. One of the brothers gave the best of what he had as a sacrifice, and the other gave the worst of what he had. If a thunderbolt touched the sacrifice, it meant that it was accepted. Allah accepted from the former, and didn't accept from the latter.
When the latter saw this, he threatened to kill his brother. You learn your sicknesses through your utterances and reactions. His utterance shows us that he was jealous of his brother - not with regards to the Dunya, but the Deen. الحسد is a painful, bitter sickness in the heart.
The brothers reply shows that it's not a competition, the problem is in your Taqwa. If you want to fight, fight with yourself. We're fighting with everyone else because we're not fighting within ourselves.
"If you do stretch your hand against me to kill me, I shall never stretch my hand against you to kill you, for I fear Allah; the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns, and all that exists)."
If you fear Allah, you'll have Taqwa.
And Allah will not lead someone astray until after He shows him how to practice Taqwa. Allah taught him through the advice of his brother. Then, when the knowledge comes, there's an inner battle:
His self dictated and he submitted to his self. The fight within was giving himself excuses to commit the sin. If a sickness of a heart isn't cured, it can lead to killing your own brother.
And we find a similar example with the sons of Ya'qoub عليه السلام. They lied, deceived their father, threw Yusuf عليه السلام in a well, all because of jealousy.
5) As-Samiri
In [20:85-89]:
"(Allah) said: "Verily! We have tried your people in your absence, and As-Samiri has led them astray."
"Then Musa (Moses) returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said: "O my people! Did not your Lord promise you a fair promise? Did then the promise seem to you long in coming? Or did you desire that wrath should descend from your Lord on you, so you broke your promise to me (i.e disbelieving in Allah and worshipping the calf)?"
What was Samiris problem?
In [20:96]:
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Part of the perfection of someone’s Islam is his leaving alone that which does not concern him.” [Tirmithi]
The beginning of Samiris problem is stretching his eyes and looking at things which he shouldn't have looked at, and touching things which he shouldn't have touched. Why start doing things which you don't know the consequences of?
When you get involved in things you shouldn't it opens the doors to problems of pride, jealousy, and other sicknesses of the heart, even if you take it lightly.
What was his punishment?
In [20:97]:
And this is a suitable recompense for his actions.
And this is the way of hypocrisy - playing around; going wherever your interests revolve around.
6) The Wife of Al-Aziz
In [12:23-29]:
"And she, in whose house he was, sought to seduce him (to do an evil act), she closed the doors and said: "Come on, O you." He said: "I seek refuge in Allah (or Allah forbid)! Truly, he (your husband) is my master! He made my stay agreeable! (So I will never betray him). Verily, the Zalimun (wrong and evil-doers) will never be successful."
She put so many locks on the doors. And this is how the person who has مرض العشق acts - they want to put the person in a cage where no one else can go. And then she exposed herself to him by expressing her feelings with these actions and words. She's embarrassing herself.
And Allah shows her how to practice Taqwa through the call of knowledge from Yusuf عليه السلام. But she refused.
"And indeed she did desire him and he would have inclined to her desire, had he not seen the evidence of his Lord. Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves."
Allah saved Yusuf عليه السلام. For a beautiful woman of position to come to a man, it's not easy. He's a man and has feelings too, but Allah protected him, because of his sincerity. And on top of that he's a slave living in her house.
And look how the intensity increases. If you don't listen to Taqwa and surpress your feelings, it'll increase and increase. If you don't stop it'll make you crazy in the end. Her sickness increased until she ran after him:
And this show us that obsession can make a person violent, and can end up hurting the object of obsession. And in the end she turned against him, because he refused. This excessive desire turned into hate, because she didn't get what she wanted. She started blaming him and wishing bad for him.
"But if it be that his shirt is torn from the back, then she has told a lie and he is speaking the truth!"
And مرض العشق is a type of Shirk. It's when you are violently in love with someone else, where you're always around them, want their pleasure, are afraid if they leave, etc.
And she was attracted to his beauty - عشق الصور
7) The Women in the City
In [12:30-32]:
Her sickness was exposed. When someone is in love, it'll be made apparent on them. It'll affect their brain, body, the balance of the person - they'll spend hours and hours thinking and waiting for that person.
"So when she heard of their accusation, she sent for them and prepared a banquet for them; she gave each one of them a knife (to cut the foodstuff with), and she said [(to Yusuf (Joseph)]: "Come out before them." Then, when they saw him, they exalted him (at his beauty) and (in their astonishment) cut their hands. They said: "How perfect is Allah (or Allah forbid)! No man is this! This is none other than a noble angel!"
When the wife of Al-Aziz heard about what they said, she invited them and prepared food for them. They didn't know Yusuf عليه السلام, and she wanted them to feel what she felt.
They cut their hands and hurt themselves and this shows us that they lost their minds. This is what العشق does.
And when a person has this sickness, they don't see the flaws and defects. They only see that the person is an angel; perfect. And they don't see anything other than the person in their life.
"She said: "This is he (the young man) about whom you did blame me (for his love), and I did seek to seduce him, but he refused. And now if he refuses to obey my order, he shall certainly be cast into prison, and will be one of those who are disgraced."
If the object of desire doesn't respond to the one who desired him, the one who loves will take revenge by punishing and hurting him. And most of the time the object of desire doesn't respond, because Allah wants to teach the one who loves.
What is the solution? العشق is in the heart and very difficult to remove. The best solution is to remove the person from your eyes for many years, until you're healed and you don't see the picture of that person in your mind anymore.
True love is love for Allah; where you pardon, forgive, give excuses for them. You feel good. But when you have العشق you aren't happy.
أمراض القلوب
The Sicknesses of the Heart
Sicknesses of the heart disable a person from worshipping Allah. We need to practice Taqwa with these sicknesses.
How? By knowing:
1) The name and meaning of the sickness
2) Its Symptoms
3) How to practice Taqwa with it
1) Shirk
The worst of all sicknesses is الشرك. And no one is born with this sickness, it's adopted.
What does Shirk mean?
1) To associate partners with Allah regarding His actions
E.g. You believe that someone else gives, provides, etc.
2) To associate partners with Allah through your actions
E.g. You give your complete love, attachment, worship, magnification to someone else
It is negating لا اله الا الله.
What makes people commit Shirk? They want something tangible.
And people don't commit Shirk with something normal. They first magnify the object until it becomes high and then attach themselves to it.
What are the symptoms of the person who has Shirk in his heart?
It can be shown through worshipping someone other than Allah, invoking to other than Him, prostrating to other than Him, etc.
But it begins with the heart:
Attaching yourself to other than Allah out of love and magnification
You love, hope, and fear to lose this object
Ask yourself what you're always thinking about, what your concerns are, what you think of when you wake up and before you sleep. What do you revolve around? It should be Allah.
How do I practice Taqwa with this sickness?
Through قال الله و قال الرسول, taking out verses which talk about Shirk, the defects of everything other than Allah, the perfection of Allah, the parable of the Mushrik, etc.
E.g.
-> In [4:116]:
"Verily! Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with Him, but He forgives whom he pleases sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allah, has indeed strayed far away."
-> In [31:13]:
"And (remember) when Luqman said to his son when he was advising him: "O my son! Join not in worship others with Allah. Verily! Joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zulm (wrong) indeed."
-> [19:42]:
"When he said to his father: "O my father! Why do you worship that which hears not, sees not and cannot avail you in anything?"
-> In [55:26-27]:
"And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will abide forever."
-> In [22:31]:
"Hunafa' Lillah (i.e. to worship none but Allah), not associating partners (in worship, etc.) unto Him and whoever assigns partners to Allah, it is as if he had fallen from the sky, and the birds had snatched him, or the wind had thrown him to a far off place."
Don't ever ignore the sickness, you have to talk to yourself with knowledge.
Then, open the curtains, and take an action.
E.g. Say:
The solution for Shirk, and specifically Shirk of العشق, is to remember Allah more, so you don't remember other than Him.
And if it's Shirk with idols, remove them.
2) Ar-Riyaa
This is a form of Shirk.
What does it mean?
1) Doing good deeds seeking the praise of people, regardless if you get it or not.
2) Doing good deeds to avoid the blame or dispraise of the people.
It's not a painful sickness, a person feels good when they feel it.
What are the symptoms of Riyaa?
-> When people see you, you become active doing good deeds. When people don't see you, you become lazy.
-> Your emotions revolve around it. If you don't receive praise, you might get sad or angry. You fear what people will say.
How do I practice Taqwa with this sickness?
We have to admit our sicknesses.
-> Remind yourself of قال الله و قال الرسول
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ أَخْوَفَ مَا أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ الشِّرْكُ الأَصْغَرُ . قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ : وَمَا الشِّرْكُ الأَصْغَرُ؟ قَالَ :الرِّيَاء . إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى يَقُولُ يَوْمَ تُجَازَى الْعِبَادُ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ اذْهَبُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ كُنْتُمْ تُرَاءُونَ بِأَعْمَالِكُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا فَانْظُرُوا هَلْ تَجِدُونَ عِنْدَهُمْ جَزَاءً "
The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: “The thing that I fear most for you is minor shirk.” They said: “O Messenger of Allaah ﷺ, What is minor shirk?” He said: “Showing off, for Allaah will say on the Day when people are recompensed for their actions: ‘Go to those for whom you were showing off with your deeds in the world, and see what reward you find with them.’” [Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah #951.]
Renew your intention. You like the feeling of being praised, but you fight yourself; tell yourself that you don't want it in this world, but in the hereafter.
-> And go against the sickness.
E.g. Your desire wants to do deeds in front of people, so you do it secretly.
3) Hypocrisy
What is hypocrisy? To display the opposite of what is inside your heart. To externally be righteous, while internally hating it. Hypocrites are like chameleons; changing color depending on the environment.
What are the symptoms of hypocrisy? There are over 50 mentioned in Surah At-Tawbah alone, excluding the other Surahs in the Qur'an.
Some of them are:
-> Lying
-> Giving false excuses
-> Swearing excessively
-> Wanting to please people
-> Are lazy to prayer
-> Not remembering Allah much
-> Waiting for the destruction of others
-> Are upset when they lose matters of the Dunya
-> Rejoicing at the destruction of others
How do I practice Taqwa?
-> Be truthful with yourself.
If your self gives false excuses, don't give it. If your self wants to please people, then it's better to be in the bad books of the people than to be a hypocrite. Go against all the characteristics of hypocrisy.
-> And remember; in [4:145]:
"Verily, the hyprocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them."
-> Seek refuge from hypocrisy:
-> Always be afraid of hypocrisy.
قال الحسن البصري – عن النفاق - : مَا خَافَهُ إِلَّا مُؤْمِنٌ ، وَلَا أَمِنَهُ إِلَّا مُنَافِقٌ
Al-Hasan al-Basri said of hypocrisy: No one fears it but a believer, and No one feels safe from it but a hypocrite.
4) Thinking Evil
This is of two types:
a) Thinking evil of Allah. And this is a Major Sin.
The cure for this is to know Allah. He is الرحمن، الرحيم، الودود.
b) Thinking bad about people.
People are a فتنة for each other.
One of the Salaf said:
"If I saw a man whose beard is dripping with wine, I'd say that someone poured it on him.
And if I saw a man standing on a mountain saying, "أنا ربكم الأعلى" I'd say he's reciting the verse"
Even if you see people doing bad, don't think evil or negative of them. Everything is a test from Allah.
E.g. You are in the Masjid and there are naughty children playing. You think bad about the mother, the children, the Imam of the Masjid, etc. and think you're pious.
How do I practice Taqwa?
-> In [49:12]:
"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful."
Everything around you is a test. Even the mistake of someone else is a test for you. Everything happens for a reason.
-> Give your brother/sister seventy excuses.
If someone doesn't come, there's no need to ask, "Why didn't you come?" even. You're not a policeman. Give them excuses in your head instead. You might even pressure others to give false excuses, and practice a characteristic of hypocrisy.
Or if someone says not to come, don't even ask, "Why?"
Some reasons are too embarrassing to mention.
-> Don't spy and track people
If you do this, for sure you'll see the faults of that person, and think evil of them.
These make you appreciate the verses in [26:88-89]:
"The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail,"
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