Essential Reflection on Our Sins and the Need for Self-Examination

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allāh have mercy upon him, stated regarding ascribing the due magnitude to an offence (or crime):

If one treats it lightly, he will not be regretful about it. The extent to which he considers it a grave thing determines the level of his regret for perpetrating it. For example, the one who considers the loss of a copper coin insignificant will not regret losing it, but if he knows that it was actually a gold dinar, his regret will intensify, and the loss becomes greater in his sight. Considering an offence (or crime) as a grave thing (based on proof) arises from three matters: Exaltation of a command, exalting the One Who gave the command and belief in the recompense.

[I] Exaltation of the Command: Occurs through recognising that the prohibition of the offense is from Allah, The Most High, and that Allah has clarified it in His Book or through the words of His Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus, one knows that this prohibition is of great magnitude, its danger is grave, and it is not permissible for a sane person to take it lightly.

[II] Exaltation of the One Who gave the Command occurs through drawing one’s attention very close to Allāh’s Greatness, The Most High; and that He is Al Jabbar – The Exalted and Almighty Compeller. The One to Whose Might everything in the creation submits. The Exalted One Who rectifies the affairs of His creation for them, and Who restores the weak and the broken-hearted], able to avenge the wrongdoers, and that had He willed to hold people accountable for their sins, He would not leave a single creature upon the earth.

And that He, Glorified be He, free from all imperfections, is Al Malik – The King. The sole, absolute and true sovereign King. Complete and Perfect in His Kingship. The One Who there is no kingship above His Kingship, nor anywhere near it. Everything being incomparable to Him, and beneath Him. The sovereign Owner of everything, Who does whatever He wills with regards to the creation, with nothing to prevent or hinder Him, Whose commands are completely effective within His dominion. The King of all kings.

Al Adheem – The Tremendous One, or The Magnificent. The One Tremendous in Greatness, and The Only One deservingly held in awe and venerated by the creation for His Greatness in every sense], Al Quddoos – The Pure and Perfect. The Pure and Exalted One. High above every impurity. The One Whom the noble angels venerate. The One free of any opposites, rivals, consorts, and children. Having Perfection as His attribute. The One declared free of all deficiencies and imperfections. And free of having anyone with the like of His Perfection, or anyone close to it];

Ar Rabb – The Lord and Nurturer. The Lord and Master Who has none like Him in His Lordship. The One Who nurtures and rectifies the affairs of the creation by the favors which He showers upon them. The sovereign Owner Who alone creates and commands. The One Who controls the affairs and grants blessings. The One Who nurtures. The Creator. The Provider. The One Who aids. And The One Who guides];

Al-Karim [The Bountiful, The Generous One. Abundant in good. The One Who causes and makes easy every good. And Who bestows generously. The One so generous that He even bestows favors upon those who reject His favors, and use them as a means to disobey Him], and the Bestower of blessings and favours.

Therefore, neither is it befitting (permissible) for a servant (of His) to disobey Him nor use His blessings in acts of opposition against Him. Due to this, it is said: “Do not look at the smallness of the sin, but rather look at the greatness of the One you have disobeyed”. Whenever a person’s exaltation of his Lord and being shy in His presence increases, he restrains himself from disobeying Him.

[III] Belief in the Recompense: Belief in the recompense is that the person is certain of what Allah has ordained as recompense for sins in this world and the Hereafter, as if he can see it with his naked eyes. Thus, he knows that its recompense is the Fire, and that the heat of the fire cannot be endured, and that a single immersion in it would make one forget every pleasure and comfort of this worldly life, and there is no good in a pleasure whose final ending is the Fire.

He knows that from the recompense for disobedience is being deprived of nearness to Allah, The Most High, and what a grave punishment that is. Among its recompense is hardship for the sinner’s affairs, distress in his life, the hardness of his heart, a sense of inner isolation, and being afflicted with humiliation, as Ibn Abbas, may Allāh be pleased with him, said:

“Indeed, a good deed has a light in the heart, radiance on the face, strength to the body, increase in provision, and love (Allah places in) the hearts of creation (for the doer of good). And indeed, a bad deed brings darkness to the face, darkness in the heart, weakness in the body (to carry out good deeds etc), a cause of decrease in provision, and hatred (placed in the) hearts of creation (towards the sinful one).” [1]

The Imam, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

Sins breed similar sins, and they give rise to one another, making it difficult for a person to abandon them, as some of the pious predecessors said, “Indeed, one of the punishments for an evil deed is to commit another one after it, and one of the rewards for good deeds is doing a good deed after it. When a servant of Allah does a good deed, another good deed says, “Let me be like that one.” The third one does the same, and so on, leading to an increase in rewards and a multiplication of good deeds, and the same applies to evil deeds, until good deeds and sins becoming essential traits and established habits. If a person who does good neglects obedience, they will feel constricted and uneasy, much like a fish out of water until it returns to its natural environment to find peace. If a sinner turns away from wrongdoing and embraces righteousness, they may feel a sense of inner turmoil, leading them to revert to their old ways. Many wrongdoers engage in sinful acts not out of pleasure or desire, but rather due to the discomfort they experience when trying to abandon those actions. [2]

He, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

There are two (types) of strengths within the soul: The strength of abstinence and the strength of courage. The reality of patience is that one makes the strength of courageousness a means of action in what benefits him and the strength of abstinence a means of action in refraining from what is harmful to him. Among the people, there is one whose patience in carrying out what benefits him and being firm upon it is stronger than his patience in refraining from what is harmful to him; thus, he exercises patience in facing difficulty whilst carrying out acts of obedience, but he does not exercise patience in refraining from urges towards what he is forbidden. Among them, there is one whose patience in refraining from things that are in opposition to the religion is stronger than his patience in carrying out acts of obedience, and among them there is one who does not exercise patience in both affairs. The best of people are those who fulfil both affairs. Many people patiently bear the hardship of praying Tahajjud during hot and cold nights, and the difficulty in fasting; but they do not exercise patience in refraining from looking at forbidden things. Many people exercise patience in refraining from looking at the forbidden things and inclination towards (forbidden) images, but they do not exercise patience in commanding good and forbidding evil. [3]

Reflection to Assist Us to Give Precedence to Obedience and Truth

Al-Allamah Abdur Rahman Bin Yahyah Al-Mu’allimee, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated:

Contemplate the fact that truth is noble and falsehood is lowly. Contemplate the Greatness of Allah, The Mighty and Majestic- the fact that Allah is the Lord of the entire universe, Allah loves truth and hates falsehood, and that the one who follows truth is deserving of the Pleasure of the Lord of the universe. Allah, Glorified be He, will be his protector in the worldly life and the Afterlife by choosing for him everything that is good, better, more beneficial, more perfect, more noble and loftier until Allah removes his soul whilst being pleased with him. Then Allah raises him, brings him close and makes him dwell in paradise with honour- in permanent bliss and eternal nobility which no imagination can fully conceive its greatness. He should contemplate the fact that the one who clings to falsehood is deserving of the displeasure, anger and punishment of the Lord of the universe, and if he receives anything of worldly bliss, then that is only a means of humiliating him in order that he is increased in being distanced from Allah, so that the painful torment of the afterlife is multiplied for him, which no imagination can fully conceive its severity. He should contemplatethe bliss of the worldly life [i.e. temporary] as compared to the pleasure of the Lord of the universe and the bliss in the afterlife [i.e. eternal], compare the misery of the worldly life to displeasure of the Lord of the universe and the punishment in the afterlife [i.e. the severest punishment in this life is nowhere equal to punishment in the afterlife]. He should contemplate the statement of Allah, The Mighty and Majestic:

وَقَالُواْ لَوۡلَا نُزِّلَ هَـٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡقَرۡيَتَيۡنِ عَظِيمٍ

أَهُمۡ يَقۡسِمُونَ رَحۡمَتَ رَبِّكَ‌ۚ نَحۡنُ قَسَمۡنَا بَيۡنَہُم مَّعِيشَتَہُمۡ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ وَرَفَعۡنَا بَعۡضَہُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ۬ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬ لِّيَتَّخِذَ بَعۡضُہُم بَعۡضً۬ا سُخۡرِيًّ۬ا‌ۗ وَرَحۡمَتُ رَبِّكَ خَيۡرٌ۬ مِّمَّا يَجۡمَعُونَ

وَلَوۡلَآ أَن يَكُونَ ٱلنَّاسُ أُمَّةً۬ وَٲحِدَةً۬ لَّجَعَلۡنَا لِمَن يَكۡفُرُ بِٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ لِبُيُوتِہِمۡ سُقُفً۬ا مِّن فِضَّةٍ۬ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيۡہَا يَظۡهَرُونَ

وَلِبُيُوتِہِمۡ أَبۡوَٲبً۬ا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيۡہَا يَتَّكِـُٔونَ

وَزُخۡرُفً۬ا‌ۚ وَإِن ڪُلُّ ذَٲلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۚ وَٱلۡأَخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ

And they say: “Why is not this Qur’an sent down to some great man of the two towns (Makkah and Ta’if)?” Is it they who would portion out the Mercy of your Lord? It is We Who portion out between them their livelihood in this world, and We raised some of them above others in ranks, so that some may employ others in their work. But the Mercy (Paradise) of your Lord (O Muhammad) is better than the (wealth of this world) which they amass. And were it not that all mankind would have become of one community (all disbelievers, desiring worldly life only), We would have provided for those who disbelieve in the Most Beneficent (Allah), silver roofs for their houses, and elevators (and stair-ways, etc. of silver) whereby they ascend, and for their houses, doors (of silver), and thrones (of silver) on which they could recline, and adornments of gold. Yet all this (i.e. the roofs, doors, stairs, elevators, thrones etc. of their houses) would have been nothing but an enjoyment of this world. And the Hereafter with your Lord is only for the Muttaqun”. [Az-Zuhkruf. 31-35] [4]

[1]Excerpts from Madarij As-Salikin 1/202 and 1/423

[2] Ad-Da’u Wad Dawa 60-61. Publisher: Dar Al-Hadith Al-Qahira 1430H (2009)

[3] An Excerpt from Uddatus Saabireen. page 37

[4] An Aathaar Ash-, Shaikh Al-Allamah Abdur Rahmaan Bin Yahyah Al-Mu’allimee 11/309