LANALLAH __Islamic BlogZine__: RISKS INVOLVED IN TREATING SINS TOO LIGHTLY

LANALLAH __Islamic BlogZine__

Sunday, February 20, 2005

RISKS INVOLVED IN TREATING SINS TOO LIGHTLY

You should know, may Allah (Azzawajal) have mercy upon you and me,
that Allah (Azzawajal), glorified be He, has made repentance
obligatory saying:

"O you that have believed, turn to your Lord in a
goodly way." (Al-Tahrim:8),

and has granted us time to repent until the Scribes register the sin in our names.

The Prophet (SAWS) has said: "The
Scribe on the left hand delays registering the sin of a Muslim for six
hours. If he repents (within these six hours), and seeks Allah's
forgiveness, they drop if off. If he doesn't, they write is down as a
single sin."

That is the first respite.

The second respite, even if it is registered, is until the appearance
of death before our eyes. (If a man repents sincerely before that
hour, it is taken off the records then).

But the problem with most people, is that they estimate not the
Majesty of the Lord as they should. They disobey Him in multiple ways
- day and night. To make things worse, there are some that are misled
by the notion of what they call "minor sins", so that you will see
them treating certain sins as inconsequential saying, for instance:

"Of what harm will be a look (at that woman), or of what consequence a
hand-shake with her?" In consequence, they stare freely at pictures of
women in the magazines, or those appearing in the television. Some of
them, when told about the sin in it, go a step further and inquire
amusingly: "O.K. What's the magnitude of the sin involved? Is it a
major one or minor?"

Compare this attitude with that of the Companions of the Prophet(SAWS) , on
whom be peace, as recorded by Bukhari in his Sahih: 1.

Said Anas, may
Allah be pleased with him (to one of the followers): "You imagine
certain sins to be more insignificant than a straw. But, at the time
of the Prophet (SAWS)we used to count them among those that can destroy a
man."

2. Ibn Mas'ud says: "A believer treats a sin as if it is a
mountain over his head that may fall on him any moment. Whereas a
regular violator looks at them as a fly that perked on his nose and he
waived it away with his hand."

Will these people then learn something from the above, and from the
hadith of the Prophet(SAWS) who said: "Beware of the minor sins. For the
example of the minor sins is like that of a group of travelers who
broke their journey in a valley. Then one of them brought in a straw.
Another came up with another (and a third with one more) until with
their collection they were able to gather enough t o cook their food.

Remember! If a man is held for questioning (on the day of Judgment)for
his minor sins, surely they will destroy him." In another version he
is reported to have said: "Beware of minor sins. For they add on until
they destroy the man."

The scholars say therefore that when minor sins are committed without
any remorse, without the fear of Allah, and accompanied by contempt
then they there is all the fear they will be counted as major sins.

Hence the saying: "There isn't a minor with persistence, and there
isn't a major with repentance." Hence we say to him who commits minor
sins: 'Do not look at the sins if they are small or big. Look at Him
in whose defiance you are committing them.'

It is hoped that these words about taking sins lightly will benefit
those who are true in their faith, are not seduced by their
delinquencies, nor are of those that insist upon their wrongs. These
words will in fact benefit those who believe in the following words of
Allah:

"Tell My slaves: that I am very Forgiving, very Kind,"
(Al-Hijr: 49), and those who believe in: "But My chastisement is a severe chastisement indeed." (Al-Hijr: 50)

¶ 3:50 PM