Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah

Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will substitute him with something better

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

All Praise is due to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, forgiveness and seek refuge in Him from the evils of ourselves and the evils of our actions, whomever Allah guides is not to be misled, and whomever He misleads is not to be guided. We testify that there is no god except Allah alone, Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, all the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him.

Lustrous desires have power over souls; they seize and manage hearts; hence to abandon or get rid of them is hard and difficult. However, whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, Allah will suffice him, and whosoever seeks His aid, He will help him: {And whosoever puts his trust in Allâh, then He will suffice him} [Surat At-Talâq: 3]
 

Transliteration: waman yatawakkal AAala Allahi fahuwa hasbuhu

He will find it difficult to leave them, who abandon familiar habits and conventions for other than Allah. But he who gives up them sincerely for the sake of Allah will not find it difficult to give them up except at the beginning. This is for him to be tested: is he sincere in giving them up or not, so if he bears this hardship for a short period patiently, the hardship turns into pleasure. The greater the desire for the forbidden, the greater the soul is desirous to do it, and the more the reasons are there to commit it; then, the greater the reward is when abandoning it. In fact applying self-restraint and getting rid of desires double the reward.

Piety is not in contradiction with the natural tendencies to lustrous desires, if they are not committed, and if one strives with oneself to loath them. Rather, this is the gist of jihad and piety. Moreover, whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will substitute for him with something better. The substitutes from Allah are various; the greatest of them is to be in the companion of Allah, and to love Him, the peace of heart when remembering Him, its strength and vigor, the satisfaction with his Lord Glorified and Exalted, together with the reward he receives in this worldly life and what he expects of the full reward in the Hereafter.

Examples of the things to be left for the sake of Allah and which Allah will better substitute for them:

1.Whoever leaves begging people, asking them humiliatingly, and attaches his expectations to Allah alone, Allah will compensate him by better than that he has abandoned. He will bestow upon him freedom of heart, self-respect and dispensing with people " he who seeks chastity, Allah will help him to be, and chaste he who seeks patience Allah will bestow patience upon him” [Al-Bukhari]
 

2.Whoever abstains from objecting to what Allah decreed, and acknowledges to his Lord in all his affairs, Allah will bestow upon him satisfaction and tranquility. He will show him good consequences, which may never come to his mind.

3.Whoever desists resorting to foretellers and sorcerers Allah will give him patience, and true commitment to Allah. He will get awareness with Allah’s oneness.

4.Whoever ceases to crave for the world’s benefits, Allah will recompose his affairs, make his richness in his heart, and the world will seek him forcedly.

5.Whoever stops fearing others than Allah, and singles Allah alone with apprehension, he will be protected from illusions, and Allah will provide him with security against any dangers, so his worries will be turned into safety, coolness and peace.

6.Whoever stops lying, and stick to truth in whatever he gets or leaves, he will be guided to Al-birr (piety, righteousness and each and every act of obedience to Allah) and he will be before Allah one of the Siddiqûn (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). He will be blessed with the tongue of truth among people, so they would confer honor and supremacy upon him and will lend hearing to what he says.

7.Whoever leaves argument, even though he is right, he is guaranteed a house in the middle of paradise. He will be saved from the bad effects of importunity and antagonism. He will maintain the serenity of his heart, and be safeguarded from exposing his defects.

8.That he who leaves fraud in sale and purchase shall increasingly enjoy public confidence and his merchandise shall be in great demand.

9.That he who leaves usury and gaining bad money, Allah will bless his living and open before him doors of all that is good and blessings.

10.That he who abandons looking at the forbidden; Allah will compensate him with true discernment, light and clarity, and a joy that he finds in his heart.

11.That he who desists avarice, and prefers openhandedness and generosity, people will love him. He will become nearer to Allah and to paradise, and will be safeguarded from worries, gloominess and depression. He will grow increasingly in ranks of perfection and virtuousness {And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful.} [Surat Al-Hashr: 9]
 

Transliteration: waman yooqa shuhha nafsihi faolaika humu almuflihoona

12.Anyone who gives up arrogance and stick to humbleness will increase in dominance, prestige, and importance. The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said, as narrated by Muslim in his Sahih: "and who humbly submits himself to Allah, Allah will elevate him."
 

13.That whosoever deserts the warmth and pleasure of sleeping and gets up to pray to Allah glorified and Exalted, Allah will compensate him with joyfulness, vitality and intimacy.

14.That whosoever gives up smoking, and all other intoxicants: alcoholic drinks and drugs, Allah will aid him and will provide him with His graces. Allah will compensate him with health and true happiness rather than that fake and transient happiness.

15.That whosoever leaves revenge and wreaking, despite his capacity to do so, Allah will bounty him with cheerfulness and ease in his heart, as forgiveness include tranquility, and self-honor, characteristics which are absent from revenge. The prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: "the slave of Allah who forgives, Allah elevates him in the estimation (of the people)", [Reported by Muslim]
 

16.That whosoever gets rid of bad companions whom he thinks that in accompanying them he will attain his utmost intimacy and pleasure, Allah will reward him with righteous companions, with them he will find pleasure and benefits, and by keeping their companion and association he will gain the best of this worldly life and the Hereafter.

17.Anyone who stops consuming much food will be saved from gluttony and other various diseases, because he who too eats much, drinks too much; hence he sleeps too much, the result is that he will lose a lot.

18.Whosoever quits procrastination in paying his debts Allah will help him paying them off. In fact he is really entitled to invoke Allah’s help.

19.That whosoever manages his anger will preserve his pride and dignity; and will keep away from the humiliation of apology and the consequences of remorse. He will enter in the company of the righteous {who repress anger} [Surat Al-'Imrân: 134]
 

Transliteration: waalkathimeena alghaytha

A man came to the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, and said: O Messenger of Allah, advise me. So he has said: "do not get angry", [Reported by Al-Bukhari]
 

Al-Mâwirdi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "the one who has sound mind and strong determination should receive the anger flurry patiently with his toleration so he can drive it away, and should meet his fits of anger resolvedly to drive them away; so that he would receive the most honorable goodness, and enjoy sound health.”

Abu 'Abla said: “One day 'Umar Ibn Abdul-Aziz was very angry with a man. He ordered him to be punished, so the man was brought, disrobed and pulled in ropes; and whips were brought, but then he said: 'let him go' and addressing the man, he said 'were it not for my anger I would have hurt you.' Then he recited the verse {who represses anger} [Surat Al-'Imrân: 134]
 

Transliteration: waalkathimeena alghaytha

20.Whosoever abstains from backbiting and slandering people and looking for their flaws will be compensated with safety from their evils and is provided with insight into himself.

Al-Ahnaf Ibn Qais, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "he who is fast in relating to people what they hate, they will say about him what they do not know".

A Bedouin woman, in recommending her son, said: "Beware of exposing the flaws of people, as in this case you will be taken as an aim. Surely an aim will not stand for many arrows .An aim which was afflicted alternately with arrows, immediately its force will be weakened.”

Al-Shafei, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

If a believer is pious, his piety will divert him from the shortcomings of people
Likewise, the pains of a sick man will distract him from the pains of all other people.

21.Whoever desists from imitating the fools, and turns away from the foolish will safeguard his honor, spare himself their trouble, and be saved from hearing what hurts him {Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e. don’t punish them).} [Surat Al-A'râf: 199]
 

Transliteration: Khuthi alAAafwa wamur bialAAurfi waaAArid AAani aljahileena

22.Whosoever leaves envy will be saved from its various harms. Envy is incurable disease, a lethal poison, an outrageous behavior and an evil moral. It is found in inferior relatives, peers, comrades, acquaintance, and friends.

A wise man said: "I have not seen an oppressor who is more resembling to the oppressed than the envier: permanent concerns, inseparable worries and a confused heart."

23.Whosoever is protected from having miss-suspicion of people will be saved from heart confusion and mind distraction. Miss-suspicion spoils affection, and brings about worry and embarrassment, therefore Allah Glorified and Exalted tells us to beware of suspicion: {O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicions are sins.} [Surat Al-Hujurât: 13].
 

Transliteration: Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ijtaniboo katheeran mina alththanni inna baAAda alththanni ithmun

The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: "Beware of miss-suspicion, as it is the most lying of all narratives". [Narrated by Al-Bukhari]
 

24.Whosoever discards laziness and embarks upon hard work, his ambition will soar up, and his time will be blessed; thus he will gain a lot of good in such a short time. And he who deserts pleasures will get his expectations, and who is addicted to them will regret.

25.Who abandons seeking fame and exhibitionism, Allah will uplift him and fame will come to him dragging its wake.

26.Who avoids being undutiful to his parents and becomes filial obedient, Allah will be pleased with him and will provide him with children, and He will let him enter paradise in the Hereafter.

Likewise, the one who avoids breaking off relations with his relatives, and maintain close and friendly relations with them, Allah will increase the means of his subsistence, and will extend his traces, and he is still supported by Allah as long as he continues keeping his relations with them.

27.Who abandons passionate love, and avoids the reasons leading to it; who bears the pangs and torment of the desertion and remoteness of the beloved, and turns wholly to Allah will be provided with consolation and comfort, self-dignity, he will be saved from the anguish, humiliation, and captivity of passionate love. His heart will be filled with freedom, and love of Allah Glorified and Exalted, a love that composes his heart and satisfies its hunger. As the heart is only pleased and content; it enjoys tranquility and serenity but with the worship and the love of its Lord and by returning to Him.

28.That one who quits frowning and sullenness, and is characterized with cheerfulness and smiling, becomes flexible and complaisant; and gains much loving friends and his enemies decrease.The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, has said: "smiling at the face of your fellow Muslim brother is an act of charity". [Narrated by At-Tirmizi
 

Ibn 'Aqîl al-Hanbali said: "Cheerfulness makes the minds sociable. It is of the reasons of acceptance, contrary to it is frowning."

Generally speaking, whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will substitute him with something better.

Award is related to and springs from the type of work. {So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it. [7]. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it.} [Surat Az-Zalzalah: 7:8]
 

Transliteration: Faman yaAAmal mithqala tharratin khayran yarahu (7) Waman yaAAmal mithqala tharratin sharran yarahu

This is an example that whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will substitute him with something better.

If you want a clear example, which clarifies that whoever gives up something for the sake of Allah, Allah will substitute him with something better; look into the story of Yûsuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, and the wife of Al-'Azîz. She has sought to seduce him, but he denied her firmly and sought refuge in Allah, though many reasons have combined for him to disobey Him. He has such reasons that others have not. If these reasons or some of them become possible for another person, he may respond to the seduction. Rather there is an individual who may go by himself voluntary to the positions of temptations, seeking his own destruction, and returning with manifest loss in this worldly life and the Hereafter, unless Allah saves him with his mercy.

As for Yûsuf, peace be upon him, many reasons to commit adultery have been possible for him:

1. He was a young man. Youth is a strong cause for adultery
2. He was single, and has no way to discharge his libido
3. He was a foreigner. It is known that a foreigner is not ashamed in the country of alienation, contrarily to his existence in his homeland, where he would be ashamed among his friends and acquaintance.
4. He was a slave, as he was sold cheaply with few dirhams (silver coins). The restraint of a slave is not like that of the free person.
5. The woman was beautiful
6. The woman has a high position.
7. She was his owner.
8. There was not any watcher.
9. She had dressed up especially for him.
10. She had closed the doors.
11. It was she who tried to seduce him
12. She was very keen in seducing him
13. She had threatened him if he did not do what she commanded him she would humiliate him.

Despite of all such reasons, he was patient, preferring and choosing what Allah has prepared for him. So he got happiness and power in this worldly life, and he would have paradise in the Hereafter. He had become the master, and the wife of Al-'Aziz had become his maid. It was reported that she had said: "Glory to Allah who had made kings into slaves due to their sins, and made slaves into kings because of their acts of obedience". It behooves the wise firm man to be patient and ponder matters and consequences, preferring not present transient pleasure to the future remaining one.

Prayers and peace of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions


Prepared by: Mohamed ibn Ibrâhîm Al-Hamad
Revised to agree with authentic hadeeth

Translated by wathakker.info website