Class08-Staying away from Sins

Class 8

‘Staying away from Sins’

Beyond Ramadan

Ramadan is one of the most beautiful times we experience in the year. There is a spiritual high in its true communal sense. However, soon after this month is over and we return to our daily life routines, many times we quickly lose the good practices we gained in this month. However, Allah ‘azzawajall sent Ramadan as a beneficial gift to us through which we can attain a higher level of God-consciousness (taqwa) in our daily lives, to be continued even after Ramadan. Therefore, it is of great importance that we reflect on the ways we can maintain our taqwa in a sustainable manner even after Ramadan.

One of the key ways to gain taqwa is through leaving sins. This is because sinning is an obstacle between the slave and Allah. We will study the ill effects of sins below. The less sins a slave is involved in, the more he can enjoy doing good deeds and get closer to Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said: “A person is certainly deprived of provisions because of a sin that afflicted them.” [Ibn Majah- Hasan]

And from the greatest of provisions is the closeness to Allah and feeling the sweetness of emaan in our hearts. Apart from losing other provisions, sins will rip us off this great provision of being close to Allah. Therefore, one of the easiest ways of maintaining our taqwa even after Ramadan is to deliberately stay away from sins that we know we easily tend to fall into. It can be sins of the tongue like backbiting, sins of the body like missing prayers, or sins of the heart like constantly assuming bad of other people.

The ill effects of sins

1. The  Prevention  of  Knowledge:  Knowledge  is  a  light  which  Allaah  throws  into  the  heart  and disobedience extinguishes this light.

ImaamShaafi’ee said: I complained to Wakee’ about the weakness of my memory So he ordered me to abandon disobedience, And informed me that the knowledge is light And that the light of Allaah is not given to the disobedient.

2.The Prevention of Sustenance: Just as Taqwaa brings about sustenance, the abandonment of Taqwaa causes  poverty.  There  is  nothing  which  can  bring  about  sustenance  like  the  abandonment  of disobedience. The Messenger of Allaahﷺ  said: ‘A man is deprived of provision because of the sins that he commits.’ (Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4022, classed as hasan/sound by al-Albaani)

3.Sense of alienation  that comes between a person and his Lord, and between him and other people. One of the righteous predecessors said: “If I disobey Allaah, I see that in the attitude of my riding beast and my wife.”

4.Things become difficult for him/her, so that he does not turn his attention towards any matter but he finds the way blocked or he finds it difficult. By the same token, for the one who fears Allaah, things are made easy for him.

5.The sinner will find darkness in his heart, which he will feel just as he feels the darkness of night. So this  darkness  affects  his  heart  as  the  physical  darkness  affects  his  vision. For obedience is light and disobedience is darkness. The stronger the darkness grows, the greater becomes his confusion, until he falls  into  innovation,  misguidance  and  other  things  that  lead  to  doom,  without  even  realizing,  like  a blind man who goes out in the darkness of the night, walking alone This darkness grows stronger until it covers the eyes, then  it grows  stronger until it covers the face, which  appears dark and is seen  by everyone. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas said: “Good deeds make the face light, give light to the heart, and bring about ample provision, physical strength and love in people’s hearts. Bad deeds make the face dark, give darkness to the heart, and bring about physical weakness, a lack of provision and hatred in people’s hearts.”

6.Deprivation of worship and obedience.  If sin  brought  no  punishment other  than  that  it  prevents  a person from doing an act of worship which is the opposite of sin, and cuts off access to other acts of worship, that would be bad  enough. So the sin  cuts off a third way and a fourth way and so on, and because of the sin he is cut off from many acts of worship, each of which would have been better for him  than  this  world  and  everything  in  it.  So  he  is  like a  man  who  eats food  that is  bound  to cause  a lengthy sickness, and thus he is deprived of many other foods that are better than that. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek.

7.Sin breeds sin until it dominates a person and he cannot escape from it.

8.Sin weakens a person’s willpower. It gradually strengthens his will to commit sin and weakens his will to repent until there is no will in his heart to repent at all… so he seeks forgiveness and expresses repentance, but it is merely words on  the lips, like the repentance of the liars, whose hearts are still determined to commit sin and persist in it. This is one of the most serious diseases that are most likely to lead to doom.

9.He will become desensitized and will no longer find sin abhorrent, so it will become his habit, and he will not be bothered if people see him committing the sin or talk about him.

For the leaders of immorality, this is the ultimate shamelessness in which they find great pleasure, such that they feel proud of their sin and will speak of it to people who do not know that they have done it, saying, “O so and so, I did such and such.” Such people cannot be helped and the path to repentance is blocked for them in most cases. The Prophet ﷺsaid: “All of my ummah (followers) will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, and that includes cases where Allaah conceals a person’s sin, but the following morning he exposes himself and says, ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night, so he shamelessly exposes himself when all night his Lord had concealed his sin.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5949; Muslim, 2744).

10.  When there are many sins they leave a mark on the heart of the person who commits them, so he becomes one of the negligent. As one of the salaf said, concerning the aayah (verse)–“Nay! But on their hearts is the Raan (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn”(al-Mutaffifeen 83:14 –interpretation of the meaning) this means sin after sin.

How this starts is that the heart gets stained by sin, and if the sin increases then the stain grows bigger until it becomes the raan(covering of sin and evil deeds), then it increases until it becomes a seal, and the  heart  becomes  covered  and  sealed.  If  that  happens  after  a  person  had  been  guided  and  had understood, then his heart is turned upside down, and  at that point the Shaytaan  gains control over him and directs him as he wants.

Keeping away from sins

Have Taqwa of Allah

Taqwa means consciousness, awe or fear of Allah, which inspires a person to be on guard against wrong action and eager for actions which please Allah and stay away from those actions which displease and anger him. 

The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it (when they recite it or hear it). Then their skin and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah.“ [39:23]

Seeking refuge with Allah

Allah has instructed us to seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytan and his evils in the Qur’aan, “And if an evil whisper comes to you from Shaytan then seek refuge with Allah.” [Soorah al-A’raf (7): 200]“ And say, ‘My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions) of the Shayateen. And I seek refuge with You, My Lord! lest they may attend (or come near) me.” [Soorah al-Mu’minun (23): 97-98] 

Imam Ibn Katheer writes, ‘Isti’adhah (seeking refuge)  means, ‘I seek refuge with Allah from the cursed Shaytan so that he is prevented from affecting my religious or worldly affairs, or hindering me from adhering to what I was commanded, or luring me into what I was prohibited from.’

Indeed, only Allah is able to prevent the evil of Shaytan from touching the son of Adam. This is why Allah allowed us to be lenient and kind with the human devil (i.e., an evil doer) so that his soft nature might cause him to refrain from the evil he is indulging in.

However, Allah required us to seek refuge with Him from the evil of Shaytan because he neither accepts bribe nor does kindness affect him because he is pure evil. Thus, only He, Who created Shaytan, is able to stop his evil.”[See, Tafseer Ibn Katheer] Islam teaches us to seek refuge with Allah in certain situations, such as those mentioned in the following:

• a) Dispelling Shaytan anytime of Day or night

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever says in the morning, (the below Dua) ...has indeed gained the reward of freeing ten slaves from the children of Isma’eel and ten of his sins are wiped away and he is raised ten degrees and he has found a safe retreat from the Shaytan until evening. Similarly, if he says in the evening, he will be protected until the morning.” [Saheeh Ibn Majah]

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

Lāilāhaillallāh, waḥdahulāsharīkalahu, lahul-mulkuwalahul-ḥamdu, yuḥyīwayumītu, wahuwa `alākullishay’inqadīr

“None has the right to be worshiped except Allah alone. He has no partners. To Him belongs the Dominion, to Him belongs all praise and He is over all things Omnipotent.”

• b) Dispelling Shaytan from the House (Recite Surah Baqarah)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

• “Do not make your houses into graves, for the Shaytan flees from a house in which Surat al-Baqarah is recited.” (Muslim).
• “Read Surat al-Baqarah, for reciting it regularly is a blessing and forsaking it is a cause of regret, and the magicians cannot withstand it.” (Muslim).
• c) Dispelling Shaytan before food, drink & entering house (recite the Duas)

The Prophet ﷺ said, “If a person mentions the Name of Allah (i.e. say Bismillah) upon entering his house or eating, Satan says, addressing his followers: `You will find no where to spend the night and no dinner.’ But if he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says (to his followers); `You have found (a place) to spend the night in, and if he does not mention the Name of Allah at the time of eating, Satan says: `You have found (a place) to spend the night in as well as food.”’ (Sahih Muslim)

• d) Dispelling Shaytan before going to bed. (Recite the recommended Ayahs &Adhkar)
• e) Dispelling Shaytan before entering the Washroom. (Recite the dua)

The Prophet ﷺ said, A’udhuBillahi min al-khubthiwa’l-khabaith (I seek refuge with Allah from the male and female devils).” (Abu Dawud; classed as sahih by al-Albani)

• f) Dispelling Shaytan upon leaving the house.
• g) Dispelling Shaytan when Calamity befalls.
  
  

Recite the Qurán with its meanings

We should read the Qur’an with its meanings and try to understand what Allah is telling us in the Qur’an. Contemplate and ponder over the meanings of the verses of the Qur’an and act upon what you learn for learning something beneficial without acting upon it is of no use. We should read each verse of the Qur’an with humility and submissiveness. 

Recite the Noble Qur’aan as much as we can for It will come as an intercessor for its reciter’ on the Day of Judgement [Muslim]

Many of the sahaba used to take a long time finishing reciting the Qur’an because they wanted to reflect, ponder, contemplate and act upon each verse of the Qur’an. We should also do the same so that we can gain maximum benefit from each verse of the Noble Qur’an.

 

Keeping busy with Dhikr

It is narrated in a hadeeth that Allah commanded Yahya to enjoin five things upon the Children of Israel, one of which was, ‘I command you to remember Allah, for this is like a man who is being pursued by the enemy, then he comes to a strong fortress and saves himself from them. Similarly, a man cannot save himself from his enemy except by means of dhikr.” [Narrated by al-Hafiz Abu Moosa al-Madani in al-Targheebfi’l-Khisaal al-Hameedahwa’l-Tarheeb min al-Khilaal al-Murdiyyah. IbnilQayyim said: Shaikhul-Islam used to highly regard this hadeeth’ (al-WaabilalSayyib, 60)]

The Qareen of a believer, who keeps his tongue wet with the remembrance of Allah, is very lean, weak and hungry because the more the believer remembers his Lord, the more Shaytan suffers and is tormented.

Whereas the Shaytan accompanying an evil doer who does not remember his Lord, rests in peace and is therefore strong and powerful and thus more capable of overcoming Him.

 

Adhering to the main body of the Muslims (THE JAMA’AH)

Adhering to the main body of the Muslims (i.e., the Jama’ah) by living amongst believers and choosing righteous friends who will help him to do good. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever among you wants to attain the best part of Paradise, let him adhere to the main body of the Muslims, for the Shaytan is with the one who is alone but he is farther away from two.” [at-Tirmidhee (2254)]

It should be noted that the Jama’ah counts for nothing if it does not adhere to the truth, i.e., the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is reported to have said, “The People of the Book who came before you split into seventy-two sects, and this nation will split into seventy-three sects, seventy two will be in Hell, and one will be in Paradise – that is the Jama’ah.” [SaheehSunan Abu Dawood (3/869,no.3842)]

 

Be with Good Company

This is very important because we are who our friends are. If we involve ourselves with the wrong crowd then whether we like it or not then their bad influence will rub off on us and we will end up thinking like them and doing the sins that they do.  

The Prophet ﷺ said:

• “A man follows the religion of his friend; so each one should consider whom he makes his friend”. (Abu Dawood, classed as Hasan)
• “The example of a good companion (who sits with you) in comparison with a bad one, is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith’s bellows (or furnace); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof.” (Bukhari)

Bad company is like poison so we MUST keep away from it. It is better to be alone than with bad company. we should avoid taking as friends those who speak too freely, who miss Salah, who do not dress modestly, who backbite, slander etc. 

Instead we should seek out pious friends who fear Allah taala and who have the qualities of humility, charity, compassion, modesty and knowledge. If we sit with them we will always benefit and they will be a means for us to get closer to Allah!

Remember: “All friends will be enemies of one another on that Day (Day of Judgment) except those of the virtuous.” (al-Qur’an 43:67) 

 

Knowing the tricks of Shaytaan & the means of defeating him

This is to know the plots of Shaytan mentioned in the Qur’aan and the Sunnah and Shaytan’s conspiracies against the believers 

For example, how he tempts people into committing sins, distracts one in his prayer and from good deeds, how he tries to make one think that his Wudhu is invalidated and how he plants discord between husband and wife, and how he instills doubts in a man’s heart by whispering to him, “Who created such and such? Who created such and such?” until he says, “Who created your Lord?”

One, who recognizes these plots of Shaytan and their remedies, can effectively dismiss him and his whispers by implementing the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ

 

Please join our free online certificate course THE PROTECTOR & THE CLEAR ENEMY, to learn details about tricks of Shaitaan.

“THE PROTECTOR & THE CLEAR ENEMY” :https://learn-islam.org/the-protector-and-the-clear-enemy

Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.

 

LEARN ISLAM

Try to acquire as much knowledge as is possible and act upon everything you learn for learning without acting upon that knowledge is of no use and we will be accountable for the knowledge we had that we never acted upon. Spend time with the learned and sit with them and take wisdom from them. Go to Islamic courses and involve yourself with learning about the deen as much as you can as we should continue to acquire knowledge of Islam until our very last breath. 

A person without knowledge is like someone walking along a track in complete darkness. Most likely his steps will wander aside and he easily can be deceived by shaytaan. This shows that our greatest danger lies in our ignorance of Islamic teachings and in our unawareness of what the Qur’an teaches and what guidance has been given by the Prophet ﷺ. But if we are blessed with the light of knowledge we will be able to see plainly the clear path of Islam at every step of our lives. We shall also be able to identify and avoid the dangerous paths of Kufr, Shirk and immorality, which may cross it. And, whenever a false guide meets us on the way, a few words with him will quickly establish that he is not a guide who should be followed.

Every one of us, young or old, man or woman, should at least acquire sufficient knowledge to enable ourselves to understand the essence of the teachings of the Qur’an and the purpose for which it has been sent down. We should also be able to understand clearly the mission, which our beloved Prophet ﷺ came into this world to fulfil. We should also recognize the corrupt order and system, which he came to destroy. We should acquaint ourselves, too, with the way of life which Allah has ordained for us.

No great amount of time is required to acquire this simple knowledge. If we truly value Imaan, it cannot be too difficult to find one hour every day to devote for our Imaan.

Fasting

Fasting trains the will to avoid desires and keep away from sin; it helps a person to overcome his own nature and to wean himself away from his habits. This can be understood from the hadeeth of the Prophet ﷺ where he recommended a person who cannot get married to fast. We have previously studied the voluntary fasts that we can keep during the week/month/year.

Remember DEATH! 

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:”Remember often the destroyer of pleasure.“ (Sunan al-Tirmidhi and Sunan al-Nasa’i)

Know that it can strike at ANY second and be aware that if it were to strike whilst you were committing a sin then how will you be raised in that state and what will be our state in the grave and on the day of judgement? What will you answer to Allah when you were fully aware of the implications and consequences of our actions? For man is heedless. 

Therefore remember death much and make it a habit to visit the graveyard at least once a week so that you may be reminded of death and know that you may end up in the grave alongside the others at ANY second and the next grave dug could be yours or mine.

OTHER TIPS TO ATTAIN TAQWA AND STAY AWAY FROM SINS

• Never consider yourself as higher and better than anyone else.
• Long for Allah’s pleasure and satisfaction in all affairs.
• Renew the fountains of your Imaan by studying and reflecting on Allah’s creation.
• Fear of worldly punishment
• Hope for rewards in this life
• Hope for rewards in the Hereafter
• Realization that God sees you
• Being thankful for His blessings with obedience
• Observe the sunnah whenever possible.
  
  

Is Ramadan a temporary break from sin?

Brothers & sisters in Islam, to fast during the month of Ramadan would have meant you had undergone training in how to avoid regular sins like gossips about your fellow brothers and sisters such that after the month you would become busy not with other people’s infirmities but your own inadequacies.

Some Muslims might start to relish the prospect of returning to some of the sinful things they have abandoned during Ramadan. You might see some who return back to sins immediately after Ramadan with a renewed vigour to make up for the lost days. If you ask them, they might say it was a temporary abandonment and that they were too used to it to completely abandon it. Muslims

Ramadan is not a break-away from of things Allah has condemned. Rather it is to show that that sinful lifestyle that seems so impossible to let go can actually be suspended and ultimately done away it. The one month period is a sort of a tutorial or a dress-rehearsal that with dedication, focus you can live the life of a true Muslim.

One question every Muslim should ask himself is that is it only during Ramadan that you require Allah’s blessing? Don’t you want the same blessing all year round? Is Allah not deserving of your servitude? Shouldn’t you build on your dedication during Ramadan during other periods? Don’t you feel a sense of satisfaction dedicating more time to Allah and knowing you are on the right path?

Let those who have gone back to sins after Ramadan know that Allah is always pleased with those who obey Him regardless of the month the obedience takes place and is angry with those who disobey Him irrespective of the month the disobedience takes place. The essence of prosperity lies in long life and good deeds, and a person’s continuation of good deeds without restricting it to a certain period, particular month or special place is a sign of one’s righteousness and acceptance of his good deeds. So be mindful of that and use as a motivation to not go back to sins.

Please join our free online certificate course(s) mentioned below , to learn to learn more about Major Sins, Sins Taken Lightly, their effects, repentance and more.

• “MAJOR SINS” :https://learn-islam.org/major-sins
• “SINS TAKEN LIGHTLY” :https://learn-islam.org/sins-taken-lightly

Note these are not part of the ongoing course, it is an independent course that can be done at your own pace and at your own convenience.

May Allah make us of the most fearful of Him (through out the year) and may He bring us closer to Him and guide us to the straight path. May He save us from the torment of the grave and the fire of hell. Ameen