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

Sins extinguish the light of ghaira (the sense of honour) in the heart. The sense of honour is to a person ' s life like the basal temperature is to the rest of the body; it removes all aspects of wickedness and bad attributes in one's personality. The most dignified people are the ones who observe a strong sense of honour in themselves, their families, and others. The Prophet ~ had more ghaira than anyone else towards the Ummah, and Allah ~ has more ghaira than him, as confirmed in the Hadith, in which the Prophet ~ said: "Do you wonder at Sa' d's sense of ghaira (ardour)? Verily, I have more sense of ghaira than Sa'd, and Allah has more sense of ghaira than I." 1 The Prophet ~ also said in the sermon about the eclipse: "O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! There is none who has more ghaira (self-respect) than Allah as He has forbidden that His Servants, male or female, commit adultery (illegal sexual intercourse). " 2 He ~ also said: "No one has more ghaira than Allah. There is none who has a greater sense of ghaira than Allah, and for that reason He has forbidden shameful sins, whether committed openly or secretly. And there is none who likes that people should repent to Him and beg His pardon more than Allah, so for this reason He sent (us) warners and bearers of good news. And there is none who likes to be praised more than Allah does, so that is why He praises Himself. " 3 He ~ combined, in this Hadith, the sense of honour, the basis of which is a dislike of all that is evil, and love of apology and forgiveness, which suggests the perfection of justice and mercy. People should seek forgiveness from Allah ~ , Who has the Most sense of ghaira, for He ~ pardons those who repent to him. Allah ~ never held His Servants to account for their misdeeds until He ~ had given them a chance to seek His Pardon. It is for this reason that He ~ dispatched His Messengers ~ and sent down His Revelation as a warning, for this shows the utmost Glory and Perfection. There are many people who hastily proceed to punish others, once their sense of honour intensifies, without allowing them to make any excuses. Their extreme ghaira does not let them accept any excuse. On the other hand , there are other people who accept any excuse, because they have a week sense of honour. The Prophet ~ said: "There is jealousy which Allah loves and jealousy which Allah hates. That which Allah loves is jealousy regarding a matter of doubt, and that which Allah hates is jealousy regarding something which is not doubtful. " 4 What is recommended is to combine ghaira with excuse. One should exert his sense of honour in the right circumstances, and excuse others at a time for excuses. Allah ~ possesses the complete Attributes of Perfection. Therefore, He ~ is the One truly deserving All Praise. None should praise in their manners, except in the manner in which He ~ has praised Himself. The one who observes a good sense of honour is indeed in harmony with one of Allah's Attributes, which will draw him/her closer to Allah's Mercy, and make him/her dearer to Allah ~' Who is All-Merciful and loves the merciful among His Servants; He ~ is the All-Generous and loves the generous among His Servants; He ~ is the All-Knower and loves the scholars among His Servants; He ~ is the All- Powerful and loves the strong believer more than the weak believer. Sins and all evil acts prevent a person from assuming these attributes; a small thought turns into a devilish whispering; a whispering turns into a will, which turns into a strong determination and becomes an action. The sinful act later becomes an established practice in the life of the sinner, and then it becomes difficult to give it up. As the sinner becomes intensely attached to his evil acts, his sense of honour weakens towards himself, his family and the rest of people. It weakens to such extent that he no longer sees the evil in his actions, which is the final stage of his destruction. In fact, many of such people encourage others to do the same, and this is the reason that a cuckold is the most repulsive of Allah's creation, and why Paradise is forbidden for him. This proves that ghaira is a basis of religion; and he who has no ghaira, has no religion. Ghaira protects the heart and the limbs, and block all aspects of sins. The ghaira in the heart is like the power of immunity which resists to any incoming ailment.

Sins take away from the sinner all sense of modesty which is the living substance of the heart. Modesty is defined as the basis of all good, and its removal is the elimination of all that is good. The Prophet ~ said: "Haya ' is all good." 1 He ~ also said: "A part of that which people understood from the speech of the earlier prophets is: 'If you have no shame, do what you want. "'2 This Hadith has two interpretations: First, it threatens and warns of punishment, because the one who has no shame does all evil acts, due to the lack of modesty and shame, which was the interpretation of Abu Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him. Second, if the action does not exceed the boundaries of shame from Allah, then do it, and what should be avoided is the action which is too shameful to do before Allah. This was the interpretation of Imam Ahmad according to the narration of Ibn Hani'. The first is a warning or a threat as in the Verse: (Do what you will)3, while the second is in the form of permission. If it is said: Is there any possibility to assume both interpretations? I say: No, because there is a great difference between permission and warning; however, considering one of the interpretations suggests considering the other. Sins weaken all factors of modesty in a person, to an extent that one becomes careless, despite knowing that other people are aware of his sinful life. The majority of the sinners are not ashamed to discuss their evil deeds, because they possess no sense of decency or modesty.