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

Sins leave disturbing and damaging effects, on the body and soul, which have consequences both in this world and the Hereafter, which Allah ~' Alone, knows. Some of these effects are: Deprivation of knowledge: As knowledge is a light that Allah ~ places inside the heart of His Servant, however ( committing) a sin extinguishes such a light. Withdrawal of blessings: The Prophet ~ said: "A Servant of Allah is denied blessings because of a sin he has committed." Just as having awe for Allah and being righteous attracts His Blessings, not having awe for Allah leads to poverty. Loneliness: A sense of isolation, which a sinner feels in his/her heart, towards Allah ~ - Yet, this loneliness cannot be compared to all the passion and appetite ones has for this worldly life. Also there is the alienation one may feel between oneself and others, especially righteous people. When one's isolation intensifies, one is deprived from benefiting from those good people of knowledge, and so one is drawn ever closer to the party of Satan. This isolation may even affect one's relation with one's spouse, children and relatives, as it prevents one from seeing one's true self. One scholar of the past has said: "When I disobey Allah, I see its effect in the conduct of my wife and my (riding) camel towards me. Facing hardship: Whenever someone sets out to achieve something, he/she may face mounting difficulties; and this goes to show that whoever obeys Allah ~ finds ease in conducting all his/her matters. Feeling anxiety: One may feel overcome by depression and sadness, because one's sin leads to darkness in one's heart. Indeed, obedience to Allah is light, but disobedience to Allah is darkness . When one's darkness increases, one's confusion intensifies, until one falls blindly into the world of innovation and misguidance, just as a blind person walking alone, at night. This darkness may become deeper and gradually shows up as dullness in the face of a sinner. Abdullah bin 'Abbas ~ said: "A good deed brings illumination to the face, light in the heart, power in the body, and love in the people's hearts. A bad deed shows as dullness in the face, darkness in the heart, weakness in the body, shortage of blessings, and hatred in people's hearts." Prevention from doing other obedient acts: The punishment which comes from a misdeed is that it leads to other misdeeds, thus preventing someone from being obedient, which would attract the Blessings and Grace of Allah ~- It is like a person with food poisoning, deprived of many delicious meals. The shortening of one's lifespan: Indeed, sins shorten the life of a sinner by denying him/her Allah's Blessings. However, people have differed regarding this matter (the shortening of one's life): One group say: The shortening of the life of a sinner is the removal of the blessings in his/her life, representing some effects of sins in his/her life . Another group say: Sins truly shorten the life of a sinner, just as they reduce one's blessings; for Allah ~ has many reasons for increasing the blessings in one's sustenance, including the blessings of one's lifespan or age. Another group say: The effects of sins in shortening the life of a sinner is related to the fact that the reality of life is that of the life of the heart, which is the reason why Allah ~ considers the disbeliever as dead, for He ~ said: ((They are) dead, not alive. ) 1 Life, in reality, is that of the heart, so the age of a person is the duration of his/her proper life . Therefore, one's age is the time in one ' s life that one devotes to Allah ~ - Piety, righteousness and obedience increase at those times, which represent the reality of his life, and there is no life except this . In effect, when a person turns away from Allah, and dedicates him/herself to committing sins, he/she would waste his/her real life here, about which he/she would say one day : ( Oh! If only I had prepared for this life of mine) 2 The life of a person is the duration of his/her life, for there is no life except that of devotion to the Lord; praising Him, remembering Him and pleasing Him.