Let us return to the cure of this ailment, which if it continues, would damage our potential in both this world and the Hereafter. It should be known that sins harm the doer; its harm to the heart is like the effect of poison on the body, according to the degree of the damage done. In fact, all evil and harm that one faces, in this world and the Hereafter, are caused by one's sins and misdeeds. What ousted our parents (Adam and Eve ~I) from Paradise, the place of pleasure, blessings and delight, to the dwelling of pain, torment and misfortune? What was the cause for the Satan to be kicked out of heaven , and have his external and internal forms distorted? Allah ~ disfigured him to a most horrible shape, and made him possess the most evil intentions. He ~ withdrew His Mercy from him and made him live under His Curse. He ~ replaced Satan's dwelling from Paradise to Hell , because Satan disobeyed Him ~ and turned to polytheism. He was despised in the Sight of Allah ~ . because he followed his own desires and rejected the Command of Allah ~ ' and so earned His Anger. Who as it who made all the people of the Noah drown until water reached the top of mountains? Who was it who set the wind on the people of 'Ad and destroyed them, their dwellings and property, until they became an example for other nations until the Day of Resurrection? Who was it who sent the awful cry to tear the hearts of the disbelievers and destroy them all? Who was it who lifted the villages of the homosexuals up in the sky, until the Angels heard the barking of their dogs , and then turned them upside down and destroyed them all with marked stones from the heavens, to give them a punishment not seen by any other nation before? Who was it who sent upon the people of Shu'aib ~\ punishing clouds like shades, which, once above their heads, rained down a blazing fire upon them? Who made Pharaoh and his people drown in the sea, and took their spirits to Hell? Who destroyed Qarun (Korab), his property and family? Who destroyed all the nations after Noah with different forms of punishments? Who dispatched slaves, who were given to terrible warfare, to the Children of Israel, entering the very innermost parts of their homes, killing their men, abducting their women and children, burning their properties and plundering their wealth? Who afflicted the Children of Israel with several different punishments: the destruction of their homes, setting oppressive rulers to them, transforming them into monkeys and pigs, and lastly by vowing: (to keep on sending against them, till the Day of Resurrection, those who would afflict them with a humiliating torment) ? 1

Imam Ahmad said: "Al-Waleed bin Muslim reported that: Safwan bin 'Amru narrated (from) Abdu-Rahman bin Jubayr bin Nafeer, who narrated from his father, who said: 'When Cyprus was conquered, families were separated (those who embraced Islam from those who did not), and left crying due to their separation. I saw Abu Darda' weeping on his own, and asked him: 'O Abu Darda', what makes you cry on a day when Allah ~ has made Islam and its people victorious?' He replied: 'Woe unto you, 0 Jubayr! How worthless are people in the Sight of Allah after they rejected His Command, when once they were a sovereign nation. They turned away from the Command of Allah, so this was their fate." Ali bin Al-Ja'd said: "Shu'bah reported to us from Amru bin Murrah who said: "I heard Abu Al-Bukhturi saying: "I was told that the Prophet :I said: 'People would not be destroyed until they (try to) plead their case."'2 Umm Salamah ~ said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: 'When sins spread amongst my Ummah, Allah ~ will set His Punishment upon them.' I asked: 'O Messenger of Allah! Would there not be among them some pious people, at that time?' He :I replied: 'Yes, there would be.' I said: 'So, what will Allah ~ do with such people (the pious ones)?' He :I replied: 'They would suffer the punishment, like the other people, but then they would benefit from the Mercy of Allah."3 Al-Hasan ~ reported that the Prophet :I said: "This Ummah would stay under the protection of Allah ~' as long as its scholars do not support its leaders, and its pious people do not vindicate the condition of its wrongdoers, and its righteous people do not disregard its evil people. (But) if they do that, Allah ~ will remove His Assistance from them, and set against them oppressive regimes to afflict them with a horrible torment." Thawan ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said: "A man 1s deprived of a blessing because of a sin he commits."1 He ~ also reported that the Prophet ~ said: "People would soon summon one another to attack you, as people do when eating, inviting others to come and share their dish. Someone asked: 'Would that be because of our small numbers, at that time?' He replied: 'No, you will be numerous, at that time: but you would be like the scum and rubbish that is carried down by a torrent, and Allah will remove the fear of you from the breasts of your enemy and placed lasting wahn (enervation) into your hearts.' Someone asked: 'What is wahn ( enervation), 0 Messenger of Allah?' He ~ replied: 'Love of the world and dislike of death. "'2 Anas bin Malik ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said: "When I was taken back to earth during my Nocturnal Journey, I passed by some people who had nails made of copper, with which they used to scratch their faces and chests. I asked: 'Who are they, 0 Jibreel?' he replied: 'Those are slanderers who used to report about other people in a libellous manner and disclose their private lives." Abu Hurayrah ~ reported that the Messenger of Allah ~ said: "In the last days, men would come forth who would use the religion fraudulently, for worldly ends, and wear sheepskins in public to appear meek. Their tongues would be sweeter than sugar, but their hearts would be as the hearts of wolves. Allah will say: 'Are they trying to deceive me, or are they acting presumptuously towards me? I swear, by myself, that I shall send a trial upon those people, which would leave the intelligent man among them confounded. ,,,4 Ibn Abi Dunya reported, on the authority of Ja'far bin Muhammad, (reporting) from his father, (reporting) from his grandfather, who said: "Ali ~ said: 'There will come a time with people when nothing would be left of Islam, except its name, and (nothing) of the Qur'an, except its caligraphy. Their mosques would be full, but they would be void of right guidance. Their scholars are evil people; a fitnah (tribulation) would originate from them, and return to them." Sammak bin Harb reported, on the authority of Abdu- Rahman bin Abdullah bin Mas'ud, from his father, who said: "When fornication and usury spread through a country, Allah~ gives the order for its destruction." Al-Hasan reported in one of his letters: "When people show that they possess knowledge, but waste that action (implementation of that knowledge); and express their love for each other, while their hearts hate each other; and cut their ties of kinship; then they would be subjected to the Curse of Allah, Who will make them deaf and blind (to His Guidance)." Umar bin Al-Khattab ~ said: "I was the tenth (person among) a group of Emigrants who went to see the Prophet ~- He ~ came to us and said: 'O group of emigrants, there are five attributes from which I seek refuge in Allah that you might attain them: ( 1) When illegal sexual intercourse spreads openly among people, they would be afflicted with some diseases which were never witnessed by anyone before them. (2) When people cheat in giving short measure (with the scale), they would be afflicted by hardships and be oppressed by their ruler. (3) When people refuse to pay their Zakat, if it were not for the animals, they would be denied rainfull. (4) When people break their promises, Allah will set their enemy upon them. (5) When rulers do not govern with the Laws revealed by Allah, in His Book, Allah will make misery and misfortune prevail among them." 1 Amru bin Murrah reported from Salim bin Abi-Al-Ja'd, from Abi Ubaydah bin Abdullah bin Mas'ud, from his father, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'The first defect that permeated Banu Israel was when one man (from them) met another man and said: 'O so-and-so, fear Allah, and abandon what you are doing, for it is not lawful for you. But then he met him the following day and (saying) that never prevented him from eating, drinking and sitting with him. So when they did this, Allah mingled their hearts with each other. He ~ then recited the Verse: '( Curses were pronounced on those among the children of Israel who rejected Faith, by the tongue of David and Jesus, the son of Mary, because they disobeyed and were even transgressing beyond bounds)'. He~ then said: 'By no means, I swear by Allah, you must enjoin what is good and prohibit what is evil; prevent the (wrong of the) wrongdoer; steer him to conform with what is right, and limit him to what is right."2 lbn Abi Dunya reported from Ibrahim bin 'Amru as- Sana' ani, who said: "Allah~ revealed to Yusa' bin Nun: 'I am destroying forty thousand of your best people and sixty thousand of your evil people.' He replied: 'O Lord, those are evil people, but why should You destroy the good people?' He ~ said: 'Because they were never angry, when I was Angry, with those who disobeyed Me, but instead they used to socialise (eat and drink) with them." Abu Umar bin Abdul-Barr reported from Abu 'Imran, who said: "Allah ~ sent two angels to a village with the order to destroy everything therein. The angels found a man praying in a mosque, so they said: 'O Lord, There is Your Servant so and so, who is praying.' So Allah ~ said: 'Destroy all the village including him, for his face has never shown any sign of anger for My Sake." Al-Hameedi reported from Sufyan, from 'Uyaynah, who said: "Sufyan bin Sa'id reported from Mas'ar that an angel was ordered to destroy a village. He said: 'O Lord, there a worshipper so and so there.' So Allah ~ revealed to the angel: 'Start with him, for he has never shown any sign of anger for My Sake." Ibn Abi Dunya reported from Wahb bin Munabi, who said: "When Prophet Dawud ~I committed a sin, he said: 'O Lord, Forgive me' Allah~ said: 'I forgive you, but I assign its disgrace upon the Children of Israel.' He replied: 'O Lord, how ( could this be possible) while You are the Just Judge, Who never wrongs anyone; I committed the sin yet You assign (disgrace) to others?' So Allah revealed to him: 'When you committed the sin, they never showed their immediate disapproval of your deed." Ibn Abi Dunya reported that Anas bin Malik ~ said: "I went with another man to see Aishah ~ ' and he asked her: 'O Mother of the believers, tell us about the earthquake? She said: 'When they authorize fornication, drinking of wine, the use of musical instruments, Allah ~ commands the earth: 'Tremble with them so that they might give up and repent.' Otherwise, He ~ would destroy it upon them.' The man asked: 'O Mother of the believers, is it a punishment for them?' She replied: 'Rather it is some advice and mercy for the believers, but a punishment and curse for the disbelievers.' Anas said: 'I have never heard a Hadith, after the death of the Messenger of Allah ?i, which made me happier than this Hadith." Ibn Abi Dunya reported a Mursal Hadith of the Prophet ?i: "That the earth trembled during the lifetime of the Prophet ~. so he ?i placed his hand on it and said: 'Keep still, for it is not your time yet.' Then he ~ turned to his Companions and said: 'Your Lord wants you to please Him, so seek His Pleasure.' When the earth trembled during the leadership of 'Umar bin Al-Khattab ~. he said: 'O people, this quake would not have taken place unless it was for something that you have innovated (in the matter of religion)! By the One in Whose Hand my soul is, if this quake returns again, I should not live among you in this land." Umar bin Abdul-Aziz wrote to all the states in his reign : 'This quake is a censure from Allah ~ to His Servants. I have written to all the states to give charity on such a day, in such a month, for Allah ~ said: (Indeed whosoever purifies himself shall achieve success, and remembers the Name of his Lord and prays) • 1

You should say what Adam said: ( Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. If you do not forgive us, and do not bestow upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers)2 and you should say what Yunus ~ I (Jonah) said: ( La ilaha ilia anta (None has the right to be worshipped but You Allah), Glorified are You! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers)3 Imam Ahmad said: "Aswad bin Amir reported from Abu Bakr, from Al-A'mash, from 'Ata' bin Abi Rabah, from Ibn Umar, who said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah say: 'When you enter into an inah transaction (interpreted by the scholars as another transaction of usury), hold the tails of oxen, are pleased with agriculture, and give up conducting Jihad (struggle in the way of Allah). Allah will make disgrace prevail over you, and will not withdraw it until you return to your ( original) religion."4 Al-Awza'i reported on the authority of Yahya bin Abi Kathir, from Abu Salamah from Abu Hurayrah ~ who said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'If a sin is discretely committed, it harms none but its owner, but when it is committed publicly, and is not reprimanded, it would harm everyone." Imam Ahmad reported on the authority of Umar bin Al- Khattab ~ who said: "States are on the verge of destruction whilst they are populated." He was asked: 'How could they be destroyed whilst they are still inhabited?' He ~ replied: 'When its wrongdoers outnumber its righteous people, and its villages are ruled by its hypocrites." Al-Awzai reported, on the authority of Hassan bin 'Atiyyah, that the Prophet ~ said: "Evil people from my Ummah will rule its righteous people, until a believer will hide himself, exactly in the way a hypocrite hides among us today." lbn Abi Dun ya reported, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas ~ . that the Prophet ~ said: "There will come a time when the heart of a believer will melt in the way that salt dissolves in water.' He was asked: 'What is the reason, 0 Messenger of Allah?' He ~ replied: 'Because of (all) the evil deeds (objectionable things) that he sees yet does not change." Imam Ahmad reported, on the authority of Jarir, that the Prophet ~ said: "(Concerning) any people around whom sins are committed in their society, whilst are they numerous and stronger than those who commit them yet never tried to forbid them (the population) from doing so, Allah would punish all of them."5 Usamah bin Zayd ~ said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah ~ say: 'A man would be brought on the Day of Resurrection, and thrown into the Fire. His hunch would be spilled on the Fire, turning like a donkey which turns (a millstone) in a mill. So, the people of Hell would gather around him and ask: 'O, so and so, what is your matter? Were you not enjoining good among us, and forbidding us from doing evil?' He replied: 'Yes, I was, but I used to enjoin good amongst you, yet never did it myself; and I used to forbid you from doing evil, yet did it myself."' 1 Abdullah bin Umar ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said: "A woman was punished because of a cat she imprisoned until its death, so she entered the Hell-Fire. The woman neither fed nor gave water to the cat, nor ( even) let it eat the insects of the land."2 From this perspective, the scholars have said that sins lead to polytheism, just as kissing leads to sexual intercourse, singing leads to fornication, an unlawful look (at a non- mahram person) leads to infatuation, and illness leads to death. Imam Ahmad said: "Al-Waleed reported: "I heard Al- Awaza'i saying: 'I heard Bilal bin Sa'd saying: 'Do not look at the smallness or insignificance of a sin, but look at the One you have disobeyed."' Allah ~ revealed to Musa ~1 (Moses): "O Musa, the first who died among My Creation was Iblis (Satan), because he disobeyed Me; for I consider the one who disobeys me among the dead." Al-Fudayl bin 'Ayyad said: "As much as you underestimate a sin, it becomes great in Allah's Sight, and as much as you consider it great, it becomes small in Allah's Sight." Abu Salih reported, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah ~. that the Prophet ~ said: "When a believer sins there is a black spot (placed) on his heart, yet if he repents and asks pardon his heart is polished; but if he does more, it increases till it gains ascendancy over his heart. That is the 'rust' mentioned by Allah ~. Most High: ( Nay, but on their hearts is the Raan (covering of sins and evil deeds) 3" 4 Imam Ahmad reported, on the authority of Wahb, who said: "The Lord ~ said, in some of His Revelations, to the Children of Israel: 'When I am obeyed, I am pleased. When I am pleased, I bestow My Blessing and there is no end to it. When I am disobeyed, I am Angry. And when I am Angry (with My Servant), I curse him, and my Curse reaches his seventh child." Abu Nu'aim reported from Salim bin Abi Al-Ja'd, from Abi Darda', who said: "A man should be careful that the hearts of the believers do not curse him from where he is unaware.' Then he asked: 'Do you know the reason why?' I answered:

'No.' He replied: 'A man continues to commit sins, privately, so Allah ~ sets hatred towards that man, in the hearts of believers, from (a direction) where he could not sense." Abdullah bin Ahmad reported, in the book, Az-Zuhd, that Muhammd bin Sirin felt so apprehensive because of an old debt, so he said: "I know that the cause of this anxiety is a sin which I had committed forty years ago." Here we have an important concept regarding sins, which people continue to underestimate: as they do not see the effect of a sin, immediately. Its effect could be delayed, and so people would forget it, and believe that they are not really in the wrong, and therefore do not need to change themselves. Subhanallah! This misconception has caused so much torment to many people; it deprived them of many blessings, and caused them misfortunes. This misunderstanding may be found among some scholars, let alone ignorant people! Imam Ahmad reported, on the authority of Abi Darda ~·, who said: " Worship Allah as if you could see Him , and know that a little (wealth) which makes you rich is better than much which destroys you. You should know that piety never decays , and that sins are never forgotten ."