Seeking Allah's assistance
Since 2012-12-06
Whenever your thirst for desires intensifies, just stretch your fingertips to He Who has all the irrigation. Say: should patience be overwhelmed in these dry years, I?d plead to You to hasten my rescue with water.
Ibn al-Jawzi said: “Whenever your thirst for desires intensifies, just stretch your fingertips to He Who has all the irrigation. Say: should patience be overwhelmed in these dry years, I’d plead to You to hasten my rescue with water”. If your desires intensify to the extent that you cannot fight them back anymore, you would turn to God & seek His assistance. Such assistance offers you, to begin with, the glory of this world & the honor of the hereafter in the end. How beautiful what the Al-Fadeel ibn Ayadd has said when speaking to a man trying to explain to him how to escape Satan’s enmity.
He said: “If you were attacked by a sheep dog, what would you do? The man said: I’d throw him with a stone. He said: And if he comes back at you? He said: I’d throw a stone at him. He said: And if he comes back at you again? He said: I’d throw a stone at him. Al-Fadeel said: This would take long. The man asked: What to do? So Al-Fadeel said: Go to the owner of the dog & ask him to keep his dog away from you. Al-Fadeel was referring to the verse of the Quran {Iblis (Satan)] said: "By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all, (82) "Except Your chosen slaves amongst them (faithful, obedient, true believers of Islamic Monotheism).} [Sad 38:82-83].
{قَالَ فَبِعِزَّتِكَ لَأُغْوِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ ﴿٨٢﴾ إِلَّا عِبَادَكَ مِنْهُمُ الْمُخْلَصِينَ} ص: 82-83
Transliteration: Qala fabiAAizzatika laoghwiyannahum ajmaAAeena (82) Illa AAibadaka minhumu almukhlaseena
He meant that Satan does not get bored or tired from trying to seduce you into sin. So, whenever this happens, just cling to Allah’s assistance in sincerity. Among those who seek Allah’s assistance in sincerity are two categories:
(1) The sincere ones:
Those who win a round & lose another with the devil. They may be beaten in several consecutive rounds, but in the end they are destined to win the battle. Fighting Satan’s seduction is not easy, one may sometimes get frustrated & desperate. He may succumb into doing a major sin which breaks his back for the rest of his life. He remains frightened being taken by such sin & being judged by it. Some of those sincere ones were companions of the Prophet who have committed some major sins. Ma’ez admitted to the Prophet that he slept unlawfully with some woman. Being dear to the Prophet, he tried to find a way for him to escape the severe penalty of adultery. He told him: May be you just touched her, or kissed her,…. The man insisted: I had full intercourse with her. So the Prophet ordered him being stoned to death. [Reported by Al-Bukhari].
«لما أتى ماعز بن مالك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال له: لعلك قبلت، أو غمزت، أو نظرت. قال: لا يا رسول الله، قال: أنكتها. لا يكني، قال: فعند ذلك أمر برجمه» رواه البخاري
And the woman whom he had intercourse with, she admitted her guilt to the Prophet & said she is undoubtedly eligible to the penalty as she became pregnant. The Prophet postponed executing her till she delivered her baby & then completed nursing him for 2 years & he was weaned. While being stoned, Khaled ibn Al-Waleed insulted her as the stone he threw on her injured her head & blood poured out to stain his clothes. The Prophet said: By God, she has sincerely repented. If her repentance was divided onto seventy of the inhabitants of Medina, it would have been more than enough to purify them of all sin. Her soul now rests in peace. [From a hadith reported by Muslim].
«يا رسول الله! إني قد زنيت فطهرني. وإنه ردها . فلما كان الغد قالت: يا رسول الله! لم تردني؟ لعلك أن تردني كما رددت ماعزا. فوالله! إني لحبلى. قال (إما لا، فاذهبي حتى تلدي) فلما ولدت أتته بالصبي في خرقة. قالت: هذا قد ولدته. قال (اذهبي فأرضعيه حتى تفطميه). فلما فطمته أتته بالصبي في يده كسرة خبز. فقالت: هذا، يا نبي الله! قد فطمته، وقد أكل الطعام. فدفع الصبي إلى رجل من المسلمين. ثم أمر بها فحفر لها إلى صدرها. وأمر الناس فرجموها. فيقبل خالد بن الوليد بحجر. فرمى رأسها. فتنضح الدم على وجه خالد . فسبها. فسمع نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سبه إياها. فقال (مهلا! يا خالد! فوالذي نفسي بيده! لقد تابت توبة، لو تابها صاحب مكس لغفر له). ثم أمر بها فصلى عليها ودفنت» رواه مسلم
So, a sincere believer may fall into a major sin, but this sin may be the guiding light that leads him to Paradise. The poet says:
So many a sin that has inflicted humiliation & disgrace; And so many a submission that has bequeath grandeur & arrogance
A person may commit some sin, but he keeps on recalling his flop thus driving him to behave righteously in order to rid himself of that sin. He keeps on ascending form one grade to a higher one, eventually meeting the Lord while in a high sublime stage. Conversely, another person who is always obedient may turn conceited thinking that he has done nothing wrong, so his boat would get hit & it drowns just before it is destined to board. So, he meets his Lord while on his way down.
(2) The loyal ones:
This is someone totally devoted to God & is so surrounded by His care & protection to the extent that Satan has no room at him.
Ibn al-Jawzi carries on: “Whenever your thirst for desires intensifies, just stretch your fingertips to He Who has all the irrigation: the Lord of all worlds, the most exalted”. When you are amidst the heat of desire, you cannot think much of intimidation. The whip of intimidation may not be able to deter you then. Instead, convincing may be the door to your heart. This differs from one person to the other. Someone reminded of torment in hellfire may abstain. Another may need just a simple word of guidance, for he is already filled with kindness & reverence for God. So, to which category do you belong? Is it intimidation or convincing guidance? But if you head towards the One who “has all the irrigation”, you will despise what wrong you were about to do. For example, take those who are overwhelmed by earthly matters looking forward to acquire much more than they need. Their goal is to get as much wealth as they can, whether it comes from legitimate routes or not. Look to those brokers in the stock market. I tell these people: to whom do you leave all this money? You are leaving it behind to ones who won’t even ask forgiveness for you. At the same time you will be held accountable in front of God for the ways you got your wealth & the ways you spent it. The Prophet said “The son of Adam will say: My wealth, my money. But the son of Adam does get out of that wealth with no more than what you buy to eat & then is disposed of, what you purchase to wear & then is worn out, & what you give out in charity” [Reported by Muslim].
«يقول ابن آدم: مالي. مالي (قال) وهل لك، يا ابن آدم! من مالك إلا ما أكلت فأفنيت، أو لبست فأبليت، أو تصدقت فأمضيت؟» رواه مسلم
He also said: “He who sleeps secure in his property, healthy in his body, having the food of one day has owned the whole world” [Reported as good by Al-Albani].
«من أصبح منكم آمنا في سربه، معافى في جسده، عنده قوت يومه، فكأنما حيزت له الدنيا» حسنه الألباني
Eat whatever you like, for you can’t fill more than your stomach. Dress whatever you like, for you only have one body in this world that is destined eventually to be buried.
There is this hadeeth of Obai ibn Ka’ab who said: “Food was given as an example to this world: look how delicious it looks before consumption & what it turns out to be in the end” [Al-Albani, authentic due to other narrations].
«إن مطعم ابن آدم جعل مثلا ، للدنيا ، وإن قزحه وملحه، فانظر إلى ما يصير» الألباني، صحيح لغيره
This food that you spice to make more appealing, & that you eat voraciously with extreme appetite, what becomes of it after that? Likewise, this world: when it approaches you it gives you the gifts/advantages of others, & when it leaves you it rids you of your own gifts/advantages.
I ask Allah to make what I said to you a supply to your eventual destiny, & of benefit on the Day you are witnessed by God. He is enough for us, our supporter & sponsor. Blessing of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad & Praise be to God the Lord of the entire universe.
Source: http://www.alheweny.org/
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