Spiritual Disease and Its Cure by Imam Shams-ud-Deen Muhammad bin Abi Bakr bin Qayyim AlJ awziyyah

Supplication is one of the most beneficial cures. It is the enemy of affliction, challenging and treating it, by preventing it from occurring; it removes it or weakens it if it falls upon a believer. It is the weapon of every believer, as reported by Al-Hakim in his Sahih book, on the authority of Ali bin Abi Talib ~ that the Prophet ~ said: "Supplication is the weapon of a believer; it is the pillar of Islam, and the light of the heavens and earth." There are three situations in relation to this affliction or trial:

First, when it is more powerful than the affliction so it drives it away.

Second, when it is weaker than the affliction, however it reduces its effect.

Third, when they resist each other and so each one prevents the other from being effective.

Abu Khizamah said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, do the incantations that we invoke, the medicine that we apply, and the preventative measures that we observe avert, in any way, the Decree of Allah?' He~ replied: 'That is also a part of the Decree of Allah (al-Qadr)' ."1

Thawban ~ also reported that the Prophet ~ said: "Only supplication averts the decree, only kindness prolongs life, and a man is deprived of provision for a fault he commits."2.

This is one of the most beneficial medicines.

Ibn Maajah reported in his Sunan, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah ~ who said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'He who does not ask Allah, earns His Anger."3

Al-Hakim reported in his Sahih book, on the authority of Anas ~ that the Prophet ~ said: "Do not under-estimate supplication, for no one perishes with it." Al-Awza'i reported from az-Zuhari, from 'Urwah, from Aishah ,$, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'Allah ~ loves those who persist in supplicating to Him." In the book, Zuhd, by Imam Ahmad, on the authority of Abu Qatadah who said: "Muwariq said: 'I could not find a better example of a believer but that of a man clinging to a piece of wood at sea, praying: 'O Lord ... 0 Lord ... ' asking Allah ~ to save him." .

Among the impediments which prevent the effect of supplication from taking place are:

The feeling of hastiness in a person who considers the supplication to be slow to take effect, so he becomes distressed and abandons it. Such person is like one who plants some seeds and looks after them by watering them regularly, but if they grow slowly, he ignores them.

Abu Hurayrah ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said:

"Everyone's supplication will be answered, as long as one is not hasty, and says: 'I made my supplication but it was not answered."' 1

The Prophet ~ also said: "Whenever a Muslim supplicates to Allah, Allah grants him his supplication or averts some kind of evil from him, so long as he does not supplicate for something sinful or something that would cut off the ties of kinship." Thereupon someone said: "Then we shall supplicate plenty." The Prophet :i said: "Allah is more plentiful in responding. " 2

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri ~ said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'Any Muslim who makes a supplication, containing nothing which is sinful or which involves breaking ties of relationship, will be receive one of three things by Allah: He will give him a swift answer, or store it up for him in the next world, or remove from him an equivalent amount of evil.' Those who heard it said they would then make many supplications, so he :i replied that Allah 'M was more ready to answer than they were to ask. " 3 .

One's presence of heart should accompany a supplication for any request, and it is also more effective if it coincides with one of the six "times of reply" (times when a supplication is more likely to be responded to): the last third of the night, during the Adhan (Call to Salaah), between the Adhan and Iqamah, before the prescribed Salaah, when the Imam stands on the Minbar (pulpit) on Friday until the termination of Salaah on that day, and the last hour after 'Asr (afternoon Salaah). One should fear Allah inside one's heart, with total submission to Him~. facing the Qiblah4 in a state of purity (after having performed ablution). Then one should raise one's hands to the Lord, starting by praising Him, invoking His Mercy upon Prophet Muhammad :!i, requesting His Forgiveness and the acceptance of one's repentance. Then, this is followed by relentlessly asking the Lord to help you in a particular matter, remembering Him by all His Names and Attributes, and affirming one's firm belief in Islamic Monotheism; namely those supplications which include the Great Name of Allah ~- Such was mentioned in the Hadith of Abdullah bin Buraydah, on the authority of his father, who said that the Prophet ~ heard a man saying: "O Allah, I ask You that I testify that You are Allah and there is no god but You, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, Who begets not, nor was he begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him," to which he ~ replied: "He has asked Allah with the Name, which if used to ask Allah for something, He ~ gives, and if used to supplicate Allah for something, He ~ responds". In another narration, the Prophet ~ was reported as saying: "You have asked Allah~ with His Great Name."5

Asma', daughter of Yazid repored that the Prophet~ said:

"The Greatest Name of Allah is in these two Verses (Your ilah (god) is one ilah (Allah), (la ilaha ilia huwa) none who has the right to be worshipped but He, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) 1 and (Allah! (la ilaha ilia huwa) none who has the right to be worshipped but He.

Al-Hayyu-1-Qayyum (the Ever Living, the One who sustains and protects all that exists))2

. At-Tirmidhi said:

"This is an authentic Hadith." There is in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and the Sahih book of Al-Hakim, a Hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah, Anas bin Malik and Rabee'ah bin 'Amir :$>, that the Prophet ~ said:

"observe supplicating to Allah ~ with the expression: DhalJalal wal-Ikram (Owner of Majesty and Honour)"3

, meaning: adhere to this, supplicating to Allah constantly, using this expression.

At-Tirmidhi also recorded a Hadith of Abu Hurayrah 4, that when the Prophet ~ was concerned about a particular matter, he would raise his hands to the sky, and if he persisted in his supplication, he would say: "Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum!" (The Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists).

Anas bin Malik 4, also said: "When the Prophet ~ was anxious about a particular matter, he ~ would say: 'Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum, with Your Mercy I seek Your Help." In the Sahih of Al-Hakim, Abu Umamah 4, was reported as saying: "The Prophet ~ said: 'The Greatest Name of Allah is mentioned in three Surats of the Qur'an: Al-Baqarah, Al- 'Imran and Ta-Ha." Al-Qasim said: "I Searched, and found that it is (Al-Hayy, Al-Qayyum)." Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas ~ was recorded, in the Sunan of AtTirmidhi and the Sahih book of Al-Hakim, as reporting that the Prophet ~ said: "(As for) The Supplication of Dhun-Nun (Jonah), when he invoked Allah ~ through the darkness, inside the big fish: (None has the right to be worshipped but You (0 Allah), Glorified are You! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers) no Muslim invoked Allah ~ with this Supplication except that Allah ~ responds to him',4. AtTirmidhi said: "This Hadith is authentic." In another narration recorded by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said:

"Shall I inform you of a supplication that if anyone among you is in trouble should invoke Allah ~ with it? It is the supplication of Dhun-Nun (Jonah)." Sa'id also reported that the Prophet ~ said: "Shall I guide you to the Greatest Name of Allah ~ ? The supplication of Dhun-Nun. A man said: 'O Messenger of Allah, was there an exception for Dhun-Nun? He ~ said: "Don't you hear Allah ~ saying ( So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress, and thus We do deliver the believers)

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, therefore, if any stricken Muslim uses this supplication forty times during his sickness but (then) died (in his illness) he would be given the reward of a martyr, yet if he should be cured, his sins would be forgiven." Ibn 'Abbas ~ reported that the Prophet ~ used to say, in times of trouble: "There is no god but Allah, the Mighty, and the Most Forbearing. There is no god but the Lord of the Mighty Throne. There is no god but Allah, the Lord of the Seven Heavens, the Lord of the Earth, and the Lord of the Mighty Throne." In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, Ali bin Abi Talib ~ said:

"The Messenger of Allah ~ taught me to say, in times of distress: 'There is no god but Allah, the Most Forbearing, the Most Generous. Glorified is Allah, the Lord of the Mighty Throne. All Praise to Allah, the Lord of 'Alamin (mankind, Jinn and all that exists)." 1

Abdullah bin Mas 'ud ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said:

"When a person is in distress, and says: 'O Allah, I am Your Servant, son of Your Servant, son of Your Maidservant, my forelock is in Your Hand, Your Command over me is forever executed and Your Decree over me is just. I ask You, by every name belonging to You with which You named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or you have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Qur'an the life of my heart, the light of my breast, an end to my sorrow(s), and a release for my anxiety', Allah ~ will release him from all his worries, and replace them with happiness, instead." They replied: 'Shall we learn them?' He ~ said: 'Everyone who hears this should learn it. ' 2.

Ibn Mas'ud said: "No prophet endured a distress except that he sought the Help of Allah, by glorifying him (with tasbeeh)."

Often, we may find that certain supplications used by some people, may be answered. These supplications were usually made at times of stress or plight which lead a person to tum to Allah with sincerity; or in connection with a past good deed which Allah ~ accepted and then thanked him for by answering his supplication; or if it coincided with a time of response to supplications. The person would think that the secret behind the answer to his supplication (from Allah ~)

is simply the utterance of that supplication, without relating it to those issues which might have been connected to it.

If a weapon is complete, the effect would be powerful, and there would be no obstacle ahead of one, so the destruction of the enemy could be accomplished. However, if one of those aspects was missing, then the weapon would be less effective.

If the supplication is not practical itself, or if the person making the supplication has not linked his heart to his tongue, or if an impediment blocks the response ( of Allah ~)

to the supplication, then no effect would be seen to occur.

There is a popular question about supplication, which is related to fate and destiny: "It is likely that a request in a supplication may already have been preordained not to take place, whether a person makes the supplication or not, and if it had not been preordained at all, it would not take place anyway" Those who thought that this statement was valid, would abstain from making supplication, saying that it is of no use! Those people who believe in this statement are contradicting themselves, because their belief suggests the cancelling of all causes of effect. We tell them:

"If satiation and quenching were preordained for you, then it would be necessary that they should take place, whether you eat or not. However, if they were not preordained, then they could not take place whether you eat or not.

If it was preordained for you to have a baby, then you would definitely have a baby, whether you should have sexual intercourse with your wife or not, and if it was not preordained for you to have a baby, it would never take place, therefore, it is not necessary to get married; and so on.

But could this be accepted by any reasonable human being?

Even an animal naturally relates to the causes of effects, which are the basis of its life. Animals are more reasonable than these people ... " But smart people say: "Observing supplication is pure worship, which attracts the reward of Allah ~' without any effect on the things requested in the supplication!" Another even smarter group say: "Supplication is but a sign which Allah ~ has given to focus on the need of accomplishing something. When Allah ~ helps His Servant to make a supplication, then it is a sign that the Servant's particular need has come to an end." It is like when one sees dark clouds in the sky; they are a sign that rain may be coming. It has also been said that this is the same as the judgment of obedient acts by their reward, and the judgment of disbelief and disobedient acts with their punishment. They are simply signs of the occurrence of reward or punishment, and they are not causes of the effects.

They believe that it is a mere relation with no effect, and therefore, they have contradicted Islam, reason and the first natural order of existence.

The answer to this question is that the decree was already preordained with its causes, and the supplication was one of these causes that was also preordained and free of any further cause.

Whenever a person comes with the cause, the decree will take place. And when a person does not come with the cause, the decree will not occur. Thus, satiation and quenching was predestined together with eating and drinking; having a baby was predestined along with having sexual intercourse; reaping a harvest with farming; taking away the life of an animal with slaughtering it; and likewise, entering Paradise was preordained with doing good deeds, while entering the Hell-Fire was with doing bad deeds.

Therefore, supplication is one of the most effective causes.

The Companions of the Prophet ~, who were the most learned people in the Islamic Ummah, were rightly guided to use this cause in the right manner. 'Umar bin Al-Khattab ~ used supplication to seek help from Allah ~ so as to be victorious over his enemy; it was his greatest weapon. He 4, used to say to his companions: "You are not supported for victory with your big number; rather you are supported from the heavens." He used to say: "I do not worry too much about the reply to my supplication. I am only concerned about the supplication itself. If your supplication is sincere, the answer will come with it." Whoever is inspired to make a supplication, would receive a reply for his/her need; for Allah ~ said: ( Ask me for anything, I will respond to your invocation) 1 and (When My Servants ask you concerning Me, then, I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me) 2

Abu Hurayrah ~ reported that the Messenger of Allah :I said: "He who does not ask Allah will earn the anger of Allah", which shows that pleasing Allah ~ lies in both asking Him and obeying him. All good comes from pleasing the Lord, and all hardships and torments come from displeasing Him £.

Imam Ahmad reported, in his book, "Zuhd', a Hadith Qudsi in which Allah ~ said: "I am Allah. There is no god but Me.

If I am pleased, I bestow My Grace upon My Servant, and there is no limit to My Blessings. If I am Angry, I Curse, and My Curse reaches the seventh offspring of a person." .

Texts (from the Qur'an and the Sunnah), man's intellect and fitrah (primal nature), and the experiences of nations - despite the diversity of their races and religions - have all proved that seeking the pleasure of the Lord, and being good and dutiful to His Creation is one of the greatest causes of goodness, while its opposite is one of the greatest causes of evil.

Allah ~ has determined in His Book (the Qur'an) that the attainment of goodness or evil in this world and the Hereafter, is based upon the nature of one's deeds. It is organised such that the manner a reward is linked to its cause. This arrangement is mentioned in more than a thousand Qur'anic verses; indeed, Islamic judgment is based upon a proper description of this, as in the following Verses:

(So when they exceeded the limits of what they were prohibited, We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected) 1

( So when they angered Us, We punished them, and drowned them a11) 2

( As for the male thief and the female thief, cut off their hands as a recompense for that which they committed) 3

( Verily, Muslim men and women, believing men and women, obedient men and women, truthful men and women, the men and women who are patient, men and women who are humble, men and women who give sadaqat (charity), men and women who observe fasting, men and women who guard their chastity, and men and women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues; Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward)

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In other Verses Allah ~. Islamic judgment is shaped both by a condition and a recompense, as in the following Verses:

(If you obey and fear Allah, He will grant you furqan (a criterion to judge between right and wrong) and will expiate for you your sins, and forgive you)

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(But if they repent and perform Sa/at and give Zakat, then they are your brethren in religion) 6

(If they had believed in Allah, and gone on the Right Way, We would surely have bestowed on them water in abundance)7

Overall, the whole Qur'an, from its beginning to its end, clearly explains the notion of recompense for good and evil, and Islamic judgments and commands according to their causes. In fact, all judgments, in this world and the Hereafter; their benefits and their cause of corruptions, are based upon deeds and causes.

Whoever understands and perceives this issue would certainly benefit well in his/her life, and would not rely on destiny, with ignorance or negligence. A divine pre-ordainment is stopped by another divine preordainment, and man cannot escape this fact. Indeed, hunger, thirst and cold and all the other types of worries are part of destiny, yet people endeavour to stop this destiny with other aspects of destiny. And so, whoever is supported and inspired by Allah ~ would be able to stop the fate of the punishment in the Hereafter with the divine fore-ordainment of repentance, pure belief and good deeds, which is in conformity with our destiny in this world; because the Lord of the Hereafter and this world is One, and His Wisdom is One, and so none contradicts the other. This represents one of the noblest issues for a person who acknowledges its value and considers it properly.

Nevertheless, there remain two issues which one needs m order to achieve both happiness and success:

First, to know about good and evil, and to have an insight into events taking place in the world; through one's own experiences, news, and the history of ancient and modem nations.

The most beneficial way to do is to ponder on the different meanings of the Qur'an; for it provides such benefit in the most perfect way.

The Verses of the Qur' an contain all the causes of good and evil, in clear detail. There is also the Sunnah of the Prophet ~' which follows the Qur'an and is regarded as the second source of Divine Revelation. Whoever focuses on these alone would find it quite sufficient enough (without checking other sources). They show one good and evil and their sources. When you contemplate the nations' news and the divine decrees for both people who obey Allah ~ and disobey Him, you would realise that it conforms to what you have learnt in the Qur'an and the Sunnah, in every detail of what Allah ~ had already informed and promised us about. You would come to learn from the Signs of Allah ~ that the Qur' an is true, the Messenger (Muhammad :i) is true, and that Allah ~ in all ways fulfils His Promise. The study of history shows details of the reasons behind good and evil, about which Allah ~ and His Prophet :i have made this clear for us to understand.

Second, to be cautious not to deceive oneself about these causes, which is one of the most important. In fact, a person may know that a misdeed (and carelessness) is one of the most harmful causes in this world and the Hereafter, but one may be misled by relying upon the Mercy and Forgiveness of Allah ~ . or by declaring repentance with one's tongue only, or by arguing that these causes are divine foreordainment which human beings cannot challenge or change.

Many people believe that whatever sin they commit, it would be removed just by saying: "I seek forgiveness from Allah ~ ". A man who was concerned with Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) said to me: "I do whatever I do, then I say 'Subhanallah wabi-hamdih' a hundred times, and everything is forgiven, for it was authentically reported that the Prophet ~ said: "Whoever said in a day: 'Subhanallah wabi-hamdih' a hundred times, all his sins will be wiped, even if they were as much as meerschaum (sea-foam) 1.

A man from Makk.ah said to me: "When one ofus commits a sin, he would wash and do circumambulation around the Ka'bah for a week, and all his sins would be wiped out." Another man said: "It was authentically reported that the Prophet ;i said: "A man committed a sin and said: 'O Lord, I have committed a sin. Forgive me.' So Allah ~ forgave him. Then he stood (without committing anything wrong) as Allah wanted, and he again committed another sin. He said:

'O Lord, I have committed a sin. Forgive me.' So Allah~ forgave him. Allah~ said: 'My slave knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and also punishes for them, so I forgive My slave, and he may do whatever he wants." 1 The man said: "And I have no doubt that I have a Lord, Who forgives a sin and also punishes for it". These type of people have attached themselves to words of hope, and relied on them. When they are reprimanded for indulging in sins and misdeeds, they start quoting everything that they have learnt concerning the Vast Mercy of Allah~ and His Forgiveness.

These type of people have uttered some strange statements, such as:

"Seeking infallibility (from sins) shows ignorance of the Vast Mercy of Allah." "Abstaining from sins is disrespectful and shows insolence towards the Mercy of Allah." Muhammad bin Hazm said: "I have witnessed some of those saying in supplication: 'O Allah, I seek refuge in You from infallibility." Some people are deceived by their adherence to the doctrine of Jahr (predestination and the inescapability of fate); they are fatalists. They claim that man has no control over his actions and has no free will. He is therefore under compulsion to commit sins.

Some of them are deceived by the notion of Irja ', a doctrine which defines faith as a state of belief in the heart, without any importance in one's actions (religious obligations). The true definition of Faith is defined by "Ahlu Sunnah walJama 'ah" as: the testimony of faith declared by the tongue, the belief in the heart, and actions by the limbs (i.e. one testifies that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, believing in this testimony with his heart, and manifesting this belief in actions, by performing Salah, giving Zakat and Sadaqah, fasting Ramadan, performing Hajj if one is able, etc)

The Murji'ah (those who adopt the doctrine of Jrja') claim that only the testimony of faith is enough to enter Paradise, and so they consider that the faith of the most corrupted person is like the faith of the angels, Jibreel (Gabriel) and Michael ~\.

Some people are deceived by their love for the poor, the scholars and pious people. They often visit their graves, seeking their intercession, asking Allah ~ for their rights over them ... Some people are deceived into believing that their fathers and ancestors have a special, elevated status in Allah's Sight, and that they could help in securing Allah's Mercy for them.

This is witnessed in royal circles, where the closest people to the king/queen always intervene to seek mercy for their relatives, if they were involved in any bad incidents.

Some people are deceived by considering the idea that Allah ~·s Punishment would not add anything to His Sovereignty, and His Mercy would not reduce anything from His Kingship. So, these type of people say: I am in need of Allah's Mercy, and Allah ~ is the Richest of all. If any destitute person were in need of drinking water from a well, the owner of the well would not deny him so, and Allah ~ is the Most Generous of all His Creation. His Forgiveness would not decrease His sovereignty, while His Punishment would not add anything to it.

Some people are deceived by their corrupt understanding of some Verses in the Qur' an. They rely on the Mercy of Allah ~. while wrongly interpreting the Verse: (Verily, Allah forgives all sins) '. Certainly, polytheism is the basis of all sins, and there is no argument that this Verse is directed to the repentant; for Allah ~ forgives the sin of any person who repents from that sin. If the Verse were directed to the nonrepentant then all the texts declaring the punishment for sinners would become abrogated. This is due to the lack of knowledge of these people, for Allah ~ has used a general expression which conveys that He ~ meant repentant people. In Surah an-Nisa', He ~ restricted the meaning by saying:

(Verily Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives, except for that, whom He wills.)2 So Allah ~ informed that He ~ does not forgive associating partners besides Him, but forgives anything else.

Some people are deceived by their wrong interpretation of the Verse: (0 man! What has deluded you in respect of your Noble Lord)3

. They say that Allah~ may grant the argument a deceived person; which is pure ignorance of the meaning of the Qur'an. This Verse considers how man could be deceived by the deceiver (i.e. the Satan) and by the self, which always commands evil.

Some people are deceived by their intention for fasting the day of Ashura (the tenth day of Muharram) or the day of Ara/ah (the ninth of Dhul-Hijjah). Some of them say:

fasting the day of Ashura expiates for all sins of the year, while fasting the day of Ara/ah is an additional compensation. Such deceived people do not know that performing the five prescribed prayers and fasting the month of Ramadan is greater in compensation than fasting the day of Ara/ah and the day of Ashura. Fasting the last two days expiates the minor sins committed in between, if major sins have already been avoided.

Fasting the month of Ramadan with good faith can expiate minor sins, only if one avoids committing any major sin.

Therefore, how could fasting one voluntary day (Ashura) expiate for all major sins, committed by a person who did not repent for them? This is undoubtedly impossible, for Allah ~ said: (If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do, We shall expiate from you your (small) . )4 SIDS .

Some people rely on the Hadith of the Prophet ~ who reported that Allah ~ said: "I am as My Servant thinks good of Me. So he may think of Me whatever he likes."5

This means that whatever was in his thought, Allah would do that to him/her. There is no doubt that good opinion relates to Ihsan (perfection in worshipping Allah :m), for the Muhsin (the one who exerts perfection in his worship of Allah) has a good opinion of his Lord and believes that He would compensate him for his trying to perfect his worship, and therefore accept his repentance. As for the wrongdoer, who persists in committing sins and infractions, his loneliness in the world of sins and unlawfulness denies him of having a good opinion of His Lord. Al-Hasan Al-Basri ~ said: "A believer has a good opinion of His Lord, so he perfects his work. A wrongdoer has a poor opinion of his Lord, so he goes about his work in an evil manner." Those who have a poor opinion of their Lord are distant from Hirn £; they are under His Curse, for they think little of His Commands and Prohibitions. How could such people have good opinion of their Lord when they have shown enmity to His Supporters (the supporters of Allah) and allied with His Enemies?

They deny Allah's Attributes (claiming that He ~ does not talk, command, forbid, etc) which He ~ has already affirmed to Himself. He ~ said about them: (That thought of yours which you thought about your Lord, has brought you to destruction; and you have become of those utterly lost) 1

; their thinking that Allah ~ does not know much about their deeds is their poor opinion of Him ~. which would lead to their destruction.

This is the fate of everyone who denies Allah's Attributes, but describes Him in a different way from what He ~ has described Himself.

Reflect on this situation and one's firm need for Allah ~ :

How could it be that a person's heart is certain of his meeting with His Lord, and that Allah ~ hears his words, sees where he is, and knows his secrets, and that he will stand before Him ( on the Day of Judgment) to be asked about all his deeds, yet he insists on committing misdeeds, ignoring the Lord's Commands and Prohibitions, and pretends to think of his Lord in a good way. This is simply self-deception and self-delusion.

Abu Umamah Sahl bin Haneef ,$, said: "During the illness of the Messenger of Allah ~ . Aishah ~ had six or seven dinars on him which he ordered her to distribute, but she was kept busy ministering to his suffering. He asked her what had happened to the six or seven dinars, and when she replied she had done nothing about them, because she had been kept busy ministering to his suffering, he called for them, and, placing them in his hand, said, "What would Allah's Prophet think if he were to meet Allah, who is Great and Glorious, while possessing these?"2

What will oppressors and great sinners think of Allah ~ ' when they meet Him with all their acts of injustice?

Ibrahim (Abraham) ~' said to his people: ( Is it a falsehood (gods other than Allah - that you desire? Then what do you think of the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind,jinn, and all that exists)?)

3 i.e. what do you think He ~ would do to you when you meet Him, after having worshipped others besides Him tit.,?

Whoever ponders well over this matter knows that thinking good of the Lord is the way to perfect one's deeds. Indeed, one commits himself to perfect his actions, because one has a good opinion of one's Lord; that He would accept these and compensate for them, accordingly.

To have a good opinion of the Lord while following one's desires is a sign of inability, as highlighted in the Hadith reported by Shaddad bin Aws ~' that the Prophet ~ said: "A wise person is one who keeps a watch over his bodily desires and passions, abstaining from that which is harmful, and striving for that which will benefit him after death; while a foolish person is one who subordinates himself to his cravings and desires, and then expects Allah to fulfil his futile desires. " 4.