ulluww al himmah

[Type the company name]
5/26/2012
[Edition 1, Volume 1]

ON MAINTAINING HIGH ASPIRATIONS IN THE FACE OF
COMMITTING SIN

Dear reader, if you have ever sinned, erred in your
nor to be too self-assured:
religion, made mistakes in your life, please say yes or no
"Certainty and despair both remove one from the
to yourself. I have sinned. Even the sahaabah, may Allah
religion, but the path of truth for the people of the
be pleased with them all, were human, and had sinned.
qiblah lies between the two (e.g. a person must fear and
They however persisted in going forward, working hard,
be conscious of Allah's reckoning as well as be hopeful
of Allah's mercy)." [Aqidah al-Tahawiyya by Imam
aspiring to the highest aspirations for themselves. This
Abu Ja'far al-Tahawi al-Hanafi (239-321 AH)
short essay seeks to address how we as believers have
translated by Iqbal Ahmad Azami]
been taught to manage ourselves when we have sinned,

through the examples of the Rasool, may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him, and the sahaabah, may
Allah be pleased with them all.
HAVING HIGH ASPIRATION IS NECESSARY TO
AVOID FALLING INTO STAGNATION OR EVEN
The Muslim is faced with multiple tests in this life, and
LAPSING INTO PERIODS OF EXCESSIVE SIN.
often when we sin, we dislike ourselves, to the extent of
EVEN SMALL STEPS LIKE READING AN EXTRA
doubting ourselves, may Allah protect us. When we do
PAGE OF QURAAN OR PRAYING AN
this sin again, and again, our lofty aspirations, turn into
ADDITIONAL NAFL OR SUNNAH PRAYER
despair of ourselves and our abilities, we lose hope, our
EACH DAY, EXEMPLIFIES AIMING HIGHER. TO
emaan weakens, our confidence is damaged, our self-
TRY AND BE GRATEFUL SERVANTS OF ALLAH
esteem is lowered, and Allah knows best as this may not
THE EXALTED, IT BECOMES NECESSARY TO
be true for some of you. In some instances if we feel
CONTINUOUSLY AIM HIGHER AND AVOID
our suffering is great, or we are too niggardly, we not
THE INHERENT ASSUMPTION AND
only doubt ourselves, but project this doubt onto Allah,
ASSUREDNESS TO THINK WE THINK WE HAVE
The Most Merciful, may Allah protect us from such an
DONE ENOUGH TO REPAY THE GRACE OF
incorrect path.
ALLAH. THIS IS MERELY ONE OF THE
It is of utmost importance that we do not allow such
REASONS WE MUST ALWAYS AIM HIGHER..
despair to detriment our emaan and belief in Allah, our
need to seek knowledge, our intentions, our himmah
To maintain and increase in having high aspirations for
(aspirations) and azeema (resolute determination) [See
ourselves, for our family, for our communities, and
lecture by Ustadh Alomgir Ali - Lofty Aspirations, for
ultimately for ourselves as an ummah or nation, I
why these last four are important]. Our deen requires us
thought it was important to learn how to deal with
not to despair as a point of belief in the Islamic doctrine,
sinning. Through learning how to deal with committing

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a sin, perhaps it will assist us to maintain and aspire
obstacle out of the path, we are aspiring highly, onwards
highly better. It is important to realise that our actions
to the loftiest of aspirations like attaining the status of
and aspirations as an individual can aid not only our
shaheed. Furthermore Ustadh Alomgir Ali mentions
own selves, but our family, our children, our community
that it is not necessary everyone have the same high
and our ummah or nation. Shaykh Haytham al Haddad
aspirations, as this is not something that is possible.
in his talk on lofty aspirations mentions that we as a
Furthermore he mentions high aspiration can be
nation should think lofty aspirations, because Allah
attached to worldly sciences as well as deen sciences, it
SWT has said:
is not necessary they be detached. In becoming a doctor
to help raise health standards in poorer countries, or

becoming an engineer to build the Muslim world, are
examples of high aspirations. Rather than sufool al
himmah (low aspirations), Shaykh Haytham al Haddad
mentions that scholars agree it is highly recommended
(sunnah mu-akkadah) to have high aspirations or that it
is obligatory (fard ayn) for a muslims to have uloow al
himmah (high aspirations).
You are the best of peoples ever raised up for
Knowledge of how to deal with sinning might help
mankind;... (3:110). Al Hafidh Ibn Katheer, may Allah
those of us whose aspirations have declined due to
be pleased with him, comments on this ayah in his
various circumstances. By the will of Allah To Whom
tafseer saying, The meaning of the Ayah is that the
Belongs Might and Majesty, I pray that perhaps some of
Ummah of Muhammad is the most righteous and
us whose himmah is affected by sins, due to lack of
beneficial nation for mankind. Hence Allah's description
knowledge in dealing with sin, might find true benefit
of them:
from this humble knowledge which I will share.

Whatever is good in what I written for you is from Allah
The Mighty, and whatever you find hard to understand
or is incorrect, is from my own error, please forgive me
for this.
What follows is my understanding on the matter taught
by Shaykh Hesham al-Awadi, which I learnt from a
lecture he delivered in the JIMAS conference in 2010.
;...you enjoin Al-Maruf and forbid Al-Munkar and
The title of the talk is called simply, What the sahaabah
believe in Allah (3:110).
used to do when committing sin. I strongly recommend
This means we should never think lowly of ourselves as
listening to the lecture as I have transcribed an abridged
an ummah, which is comprised of individuals, families,
version, the lecture is linked below. The lesson from it is
and communities. It is important to realise how
simple, and consists of five steps, which the Shaykh
dangerous falling into despair is, and Shaykh Haytham
argues the sahaabah practiced when committing sin.
therefore also mentions, Dont be defeated, once you
Firstly, ask yourself what you normally do when you
are mentally defeated, you will be defeated.
have sinned or list the things you think one should do?
A lesson to take from the above is that everyone is
Please compare your knowledge to what Shaykh
capable of lofty aspirations. Shaykh Haytham states it is
Hesham states, and test your knowledge as a means to
not merely in being a leader or scholar this is possible.
improve it.
From the very simplest of deeds, like removing an

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Firstly:
you." He asked, "What about my acts of
The first thing the companions, may Allah be pleased
treachery (gajaraati) and immorality
with them all, did was to never despair or lose hope
(fajaraati)?" The Prophet (peace and
when they sinned. They maintained hope, that if they
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Yes,
were to ask for forgiveness, Allah would forgive them.
(those too)." The man said, "Allaahu akbar
This does not apply only for 1 or 2 sins, but as the
(Allaah is most great)!" and kept glorifying
Shaykh explains, for even 2000 sins, and even for
Allaah (making takbeer) until he was out of
Kabira or major sins. Their hope never declines or
sight. (Al-Bazzar and Al-Tabarani)
decreases, despite the greatness or amount of sin they
Can you imagine this scene, where the sahaabah are in
committed. Although it is difficult to accept this initially,
the presence of the Rasool, witnessing this scene, and
the first point to take note of is this, committing the sin
given this knowledge of the mercy of Allah. How does a
says a lot that is bad about ourselves, but nothing about
companion feel frustrated with themselves, after hearing
the mercy of Allah. This is a distinction you need to
this hadeeth? Note in this hadeeth, Abu Taweel did not
make. Do not accuse Allah, The Most Merciful, of not
reveal which sins he did, which leaves us to imagine and
being kind and merciful enough to forgive what you did.
contemporise our own sins for the 21st century, even the
Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Jubayr reported from
really big ones...
Abu Taweel Shatb al-Mamdood that he
Another example is the story of Firawn, whose sin was
came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of
not only that he called himself god, may Allah protect us
Allaah be upon him) [another report states
from the whispers of shayateen. Did you know, on top
that a very old man whose eyebrows had
of this he murdered thousands of new born babies? Did
fallen over his eyes (i.e., he had sunken eyes)
you know that before the prophet Musa began his
came and stood before the Prophet (peace
mission, may peace be upon him, Firawn killed a baby
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
called Benaymin, a baby called Dawud, a baby called
supporting himself with a stick] and said:
Saleh, who committed no sin, but being male, and

because Firawn saw a dream threatening his power and
"What do you think of a man who has
position, he made all these babies suffer. Hearing of this,
committed every sin, not leaving out any sin,
does it not make your blood boil with anger, and hate
major or minor [according to another report:
Firawn for killing these thousands and perhaps millions
if his sins were to be divided among all the
of innocent babies alongside all his other sins, and Allah
people of the world, they would destroy
knows best? And yet, and yet...............
them]. Can such a man repent?"
Allah The Exalted says to Musa and Harun (Aaron),

may peace be upon them, in Surah Ta-ha:
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) asked, "Have you become
Muslim?" He said: "I bear witness that there

is no god except Allaah and that you are the
messenger of Allaah."



The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be


upon him) said: "Do good deeds and keep
away from evil deeds, and Allaah will turn

them all (you committed) into good deeds for

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(43. Go both of you to Firawn, verily, he has
aspirations after having committed a sin, bearing in
transgressed.) (44. And speak to him mildly,
mind that for near surety, 99% of sahaabah have never
perhaps he may accept admonition or fear (Allah).
murdered a single new born baby, and Allah knows best.
Which is a clear chance given by Allah The Most
Dear reader, this topic is not simply for those of us who
Merciful to Firawn, despite his sins. And again a similar
have sinned greatly, but for us all, to remind us to work
message is repeated in surah Ta-Ha, one of peace to
hard and continue striving in the path of Allah, to
those who accept guidance, and torment for those who
achieve peace, and not feel apathy, or despair, or
deny it, in the context of taking the message of Allah to
helplessness when we have erred or made mistakes. Can
Firawn:
you deny the Mercy of Allah, after having read the
above story? Is it perhaps a whisper of the shayateen

that some of us feel despair after having sinned?
Note: feeling sadness/regret/ remorse and feeling

despair are two different things which will be clarified.
Incidentally, this understanding is not just to do with
individual sins like in the case of Abu Taweel, but even a

community, even a group, even gangsters! Imagine if a
leader of a gang decided to repent! Even if one member
did murder, another drug trafficking etc....Allah will

forgive all of them. We knows this to be true, because
even the aspect of group forgiveness has been
mentioned in Quraan and ahadeeth! Note this verse

-

from Surah Burooj, which talks about those who torture

and put to trial believing men and women:




47. "So go you both to him, and say: 'Verily, we are
both Messengers of your Lord, so let the Children
of Israel go with us, and torment them not; indeed,
we have come with a sign from your Lord! And

peace will be upon him who follows the guidance!'')

(48. Truly, it has been revealed to us that the
torment will be for him who denies, and turns away.
(10. Verily, those who put into trial the believing
Perfection Belongs to Allah! Please contemplate on the
men and believing women, and then do not turn in
mercy of Allah for a second. How on Earth then could
repentance, then they will have the torment of Hell,
the Sahaabah, after witnessing such verses being
and they will have the punishment of the burning
revealed from the Rasool of Allah, ever feel frustrated,
Fire.)
or despair, or lack motivation to work towards high

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So, if such people turn in repentance, they will be
did, and even if you must hate yourself, make
forgiven, and perfection belongs to Allah!
this distinction.
In a hadeeth addressing the issue if groups of people
Note perhaps some of you will now think it is ok to
who had committed major sins:
commit sins and repent later, but this is incorrect
Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad al-Sarraj
entirely, and the greatness of Allah revealed from the
informed us> Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-
above lessons has been ignored and belittled, if you
Kazari> Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz> al-Qasim ibn
conclude such a thing. Fear Allah.
Salam> Hajjaj> Ibn Jurayj> Yala ibn
I had briefly considered in my ignorance that it was
Muslim> Said ibn Jubayr> Ibn Abbas who
perhaps harmful to reveal the above understanding,
related:
without further education. But rather, this knowledge
clarifies the principle that we should not feel despair
Ya rasoololah Murders, we murdered,
which I believe will strengthen our resolve better.
fornication we did, and we did a lot of it.
What you tell us (call to) is good, only if
If you should follow the entirety of the 5 steps to be
Allah accepts our repentance. (Upon this
outlined, including the first mentioned, you should
the following ayah was revealed in surah Az-
gradually notice that even and when you sin, may Allah
Zumar
protect us from all evils, you will have more direction,
strength and willingness to purify yourself through the

method to be outlined, by the will of Allah. This
eventually should lead you to realise that this advice aids
us in reducing our sinning (and not the opposite), by the

mercy and will of Allah.
The above lessons around Firawn, Abu Taweel, and the
group of murderers/adulterers make it clear that even if

we have sinned, it is rare we have sinned anywhere near
these people and especially Firawn... and even if we
have there is hope. Conversely, there is disaster
prepared for those who do not turn to Allah sincerely in
repentance, the lesson being ALWAYS TURN TO
ALLAH IN REPENTANCE! The 5 steps outlined in
this essay will assist you hopefully to awake and realise
53. Say: "O My servants who have transgressed
what it means to turn to Allah in sincere repentance,
against themselves! Despair not of the mercy of
which should be your general aim in reading this.
Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'')
Another message and lesson from the above is to keep

trying, work hard, knowing change and good things will
http://www.altafsir.com/AsbabAlnuzol.asp?SoraName
come to those who strive and set up high aspirations
=39&Ayah=53&search=yes&img=A
either in this life or the next. We can do this through
attempting to aspire highly in our thinking, to aspire
1) The first action to take therefore, is do not
feel despair. Sometimes when we sin, we hate
highly in our search of knowledge, to aspire highly in
ourselves; we believe Allah hates us too, that
our worship of Allah, and to aspire highly in our dawah
he will not forgive us - wrong. Do no accuse
and work to revive Islam. The Rasool of Allah realised
Allah The Most Merciful of not being kind
the need to be grateful and honour the countless
enough to forgive what you did, whatever you
blessings of Allah, even when Allah promised to forgive

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all his sins! Likewise the above ahadeeth and ayaat
What follows is the story of a companion called Abu
clearly outline how merciful Allah The Exalted is to
Lubaba, may Allah be pleased with him.
even us. We must attempt to repay this kindness of
"In the battle of the trench, the rasool of Allah
Allah The Exalted, although we can never repay it all,
entrusted Banu Qurayda (a jewish community in
and thus must at least show our gratitude as the Rasool
Medinah) to protect the backside of Medinah, as agreed
did:
upon and signed by Banu Qurayda in the Covenant of
"Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her)
Medina. The front of Medina was covered with the
reported: The Prophet kept standing (in
trench, so the disbelievers might encounter the trench.
prayer) so long that the skin of his feet
Banu Qurayda disobeyed their order and allowed the
would crack. I asked him: "Why do you do
disbelievers to enter Medina from the back. This
this, while you have been forgiven of your
enabled disbelievers to attack women from the back,
former and latter sins?" He said, "Should I
children from the back and to attack those at the front.
not be a grateful slave of Allah?"
Thereafter, because they knew they had betrayed the
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
order of The Rasool, they hid themselves in a fortress,
taking siege.
Lastly before we continue, the above does not mean we
should not feel remorse or guilt when sinning, or after
Ibn Hisham writes, "The Prophet and his people
sinning. However it is also important to be strong dear
surrounded and occupied the district inhabited by the
brothers and sisters, and not fall into despair. It is hoped
Jewish clan of Banu Quraydha, whereupon the
that with this knowledge you will become more resilient
beleaguered Jews defied the siege for twenty-five days,
and realise the method to manage your own affairs upon
finally succumbing up to the pressure and then offered
having sinned. One should feel some remorse upon
to surrender. Allah had thus, cast terror into their hearts."
having sinned, but this is not the same as falling into
(Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 235)
despair and hopelessness. The evidence indicates it a
"In the meantime, the Jews requested the Prophet to
part of the punishment and redemption from sinning, to
send them Abu Lubaba of Banu Amr Auf (who were
feel such remorse:
allies of the Aus) that they might consult him. The
Ibn Maqbal said: "I came with my father to
Prophet (peace be upon him) granted their request.
Abdullah and heard him say: "I heard
When Abu Lubaba showed up to the Jews, all of them
got up to receive him. Abu Lubaba was moved by the
Allahs messenger say "Remorse is
plight of the women and children who started bewailing
Repentance". My father asked him "Did you
and dissolving into tears at his presence. The Jews asked
actually hear the prophet say Remorse is
Abu Lubaba whether they should surrender to the
Repentance? He replied Yes [Sunan Ibn
judgement of the Prophet . Yes, replied Abu Lubaba,
Majah, authenticated by al-Albaani in
but he declared (or symbolised this) with his hand and
Sahih Sunan Ibn Maajah, Vol 2, No. 3429]
also pointed to his throat.
We can now continue with the remaining four actions
Abu Lubaba says that before he had left the place it
--------------------------------------------------------------
occurred to him that he had not been faithful to the
Prophet. He hastened back home instead of presenting
Secondly:
himself to the Prophet then tied himself to one of the
When sahaabah committed sins, they used to
pillars in the Prophet's mosque. He promised not to
spontaneously
leave
it
immediately,
without
leave the place until God had forgiven him. He also
procrastination or delay.
resolved neither to go back to Banu Quraydha nor to

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again visit the place where he had betrayed Allah and
that it was simply a misunderstanding, since he did not
His Prophet (peace be upon him).
even speak the words of their outcome, but rather
The repentance of Abu Lubaba eroded his guilt, as
symbolised it with gestures. Abu Lubaba did not make
evidenced by the following revelation that descended
this excuse to anyone.
from Allah from Surah At-Tawbah:
Secondly look at his determination, the loftiness of his
himmah, even in a situation where he has sinned. Where

rather than secretly ask the Rasool of Allah to seek
forgiveness on his behalf from Allah, he seeks to make a
direct connection with Allah the Exalted, by awaiting

for an ayah of the Quran to expiate his sin. Do you
know that what he was doing was putting himself into a
scandalised situation within the community; can you

imagine someone doing such a thing today? Why did he
do this? He could have quietly gone to the Rasool of
Allah, but did not. In modern times people incorrectly
may go to pirs and/or saints to ask them to intercede
on their behalf. Abu Lubaba is a reflection of a man
with lofty aspirations and steely determination.
(102. And (there are) others who have acknowledged
2) Therefore the lesson is DO NOT delay
their sins, they have mixed a deed that was righteous
repentance after sinning.
with another that was evil. Perhaps Allah will turn unto
And this does not apply simply to big sins of a
them in forgiveness. Surely, Allah is Oft-Forgiving,
sexual or drug related nature etc. If you had
Most Merciful.)
behaved badly or oppressed someone to the
slightest extent, seek their forgiveness or
Several persons rushed forward to set Abu Lubaba free
pardon immediately and re-establish your good
but he refused, saying, No! Not by God until the
connection with them. This is easier nowadays
Prophet of Allah release me with his own hands. The
with mobile phones, where you can call or text
Prophet removed the rope with which Abu Lubaba had
someone if you have oppressed them in any
tied himself with when he came out to perform the
way, do not delay and it will be better for you.
Morning Prayer. Abu Lubaba had remained bound to
the pillar of date-palm trunk in the Prophets mosque
Some additional points to be noted:
for about twenty days. At prayer times, his wife used to
a. Abu Lubaba vowed to never return to
untie him but he binded himself again every after prayer."
Banu Quraydah again, similarly we must
(Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp. 236-38)
vow to never return to the same sin
again.
Shaykh Hesham points out the following lessons to take
b. Abu Lubaba stayed in a stated self-
note of from this story. Firstly, Abu Lubaba did not
imposed confinement to help expiate his
delay at all in repentance upon realisation that he had
sin.
revealed secret state information to Banu Quraydah, and
c. Abu Lubaba made no pretence or excuse
that he hastened to the mosque of the prophet, to tie
to feign his error as a lesser mistake, and
himself to a pillar at the mosque. Keep in mind also that
not a sin. The importance of this side
no one noticed his error of revealing secret state
point will be made clear within the other
information to Banu Quraydah, since he was alone with
steps the sahaabah made when
committing a sin.
them, and hence there was even room for him to claim

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--------------------------------------------------------------
Consider this, there is likely an excuse Abu Musad had
Thirdly,
for why he was beating the slave, e.g. he could have
stolen, harassed a girl and so forth. Abu Musad could
I wanted to change the order and put this one second
have at least stated this to the Rasool of Allah, for his
due its pervasiveness in people I have seen when they
fear that Rasool would might consider him being
make mistakes. However I stuck to the order of Shaykh
temperamental, violent and aggressive thereafter. If the
Hesham. Namely, this is the occurrence of making up
same thing happened to one of us, it is likely we would
excuses, intellectual arguments, societal justifications,
make some excuse. But Abu Musad never said any such
saying our intention was good... etc. upon committing a
excuse. The lesson being, do not make excuses.
sin. The sahaabah did not make such excuses.
What is more dangerous is the act of making intellectual
There is a companion called Abu Masud
reasons as excuses, arguing or the act of justifying an
Ansaara. Once he was beating up his slave,
error or sin. For example some people blame society for
and suddenly he heard a voice behind him
their sins, stating we live in a corrupt society with much
saying, "You should know Abu Masud," he
fitnah, it is inevitable etc. Others may make other
said, "that Allah has more power over you,
intellectual excuses like I was abused in childhood, so I
than you have over this slave". Abu Masud
need drugs etc. Others more niggardly, may simply
trembled upon hearing these words of the
argue with others and themselves without any
Prophet. "Messenger of Allah" he said, "I am
intellectual prowess. Shaykh Hesham states, it is far
freeing this slave for Allahs sake". "If you
safer to be sorry than intellectualising, arguing for the
had not acted thus, the flames of Hell would
sin or error.
have engulfed you," the Prophet told him.
Secondly, not only did Abu Musad make no excuse, but
(Sunan Abu Dawud)
on top of that, he straight away did something about the
sin, by freeing the slave. For most people, it takes a
(
while to contemplate when they have done a sin, let
S
alone act upon and do something about it. For example,
u
let us take the example of when you have oppressed or
hurt the fee n
lings of your sister, brother, mother, father,
friend etc. M a
ost people will go through a vicious cycle
of thinking wn
hich firstly begins with hatred/anger for
the person t
hinking they deserved such, followed by
doubt of this A
hatred/anger, followed by the desire to
apologise but bdifficulty in doing so due to their ego or
pride. Finally u
if they can overcome their pride, they will
make up a
nd ask that person for forgiveness, and
restore their r D
elationship to a good status. However this
entire processa will take much time normally. For Abu
Musad it was w
instantaneous! And perfection belongs to
Allah.
u
Finally look h d
ow the Rasool acted upon seeing the slave
being beaten, )
he did not say something like, How dare
you! to Abu Musad. Simply all he said was, Allah has

more power over you.... The lesson being, do not be

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harsh to those who sin, try to remind them gently and
university there, that everywhere we go, we are
with good reminders.
committing sins. However, the issue is to not simply to
look at the smallness or size of that sin, but to consider
3) Therefore, the lessons from this step are i)
DO NOT argue, nor make any excuse or
the greatness of whom you committed the sin against, in
intellectual justification for your sin to
the sky and in heaven. Once again, Do not look at the
yourself or others. ii) do something about the
small size of the sin, but look at the greatness of that,
sin, if you can, and do it as immediately as
you can. iii)Lastly as a side lesson, remind
that you committed the sin against.
those who sin in a gentle manner, privately,
Sometimes it is not even about the sin, but about
with good reminders, as the Rasool did, in
order they may repent and remember Allah
whether such an action suites someone like you, a
------------------------------------------------------------
Muslim or Muslimah, who aspires to the loftiest of
aspirations. Imam Shafi says, If I know that drinking
Fourthly,
cold water is not appropriate, from a Murua point of
This is very simple. The Sahaabah took the sin seriously,
view, I will not do it (Murua is something that is not
even if it was a minor sin.
halal or haram, but not liked from a societal or
One time the Prophet of Allah saw one of the
traditional point of view). For example, it is like going
companions, wearing a golden ring. We do not know
to a formal meeting, where protocol dictates it is not
who it was, and this is deliberately left out, to cover his
haram to not wear a tie, but it is not appropriate to go
error, as Muslims should for one another. So the
without one. Sometimes the sin is small, but if your
Prophet spoke generally to anyone, without specifically
relationship with Allah is so sensitive, that even if the
addressing a specific sahaabah, and the Sahaabi who was
action was not sinful, it defies the appropriateness of
wearing the ring heard this and realised it, because he
how a gentleman or upright Muslim or Muslimah
was a sahaabi. The Rasool said, Why do some persist
should be, then dont do it, to preserve your relationship
on putting a coal that has fire in it, in their hand (put a
with AllahThe Exalted.
burning coal in their hand)? The companion then
4) Therefore take even minor sins seriously, do
straight away then took off the ring, and threw it away.
not overlook them as meaningless or trivial.
(This story was narrated at 42 minutes and 2
Your relationship with Allah is sensitive,
seconds during Shaykh Hesham's talk)
strengthen this relationship by treating minor
sins seriously.
Let us think about the lessons.

------------------------------------------------
Firstly, this sin is not a major sin (kabira), like
committing adultery;
Fifthly,
Secondly, we do not know if it was a 24 carrot
The Sahaabah when they committed a sin, they followed
ring or how expensive it was, but we know that
it immediately with a good deed. In the previous story
the sahaabi took off the ring and threw it away
look at how Abu Masud al Ansaari freed the slave
instantly;

immediately after realising he had sinned. He was not
Thirdly it is not certain the sahaabi knew it was
a lawful or unlawful act to wear the ring. As
required to free the slave, but he freed the slave, so he
such he was legitimately excused to sell the ring,
followed the sin with a good deed.
give it as a gift to his wife, or give it away as
Lastly Shaykh Hesham narrates the following hadeeth
sadaqah. Shaykh Hesham says it is hard to
which is agreed upon (meaning from included in both
understand this behaviour, unless we are talking
Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).
about the sahaabah.
A companion came to Rasool and said, I kissed a girl,
It is also apparent that many times for those of us who
purify me... (continued)
live in metropolitan areas and go to work, school or

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Now keep in mind that normally you dont kiss
The Sahaabah then asked, "Messenger of Allah, is this
someone in the streets, a kiss comes after a relationship,
for me (for kissing illegally)?" The Rasool said, "It is for
so one could assume this companion was in or entered a
every single one of my community." (Sahih Bukhaari
relationship, which means he saw her once, twice, and
and Muslim).
kissed her perhaps on the third or fourth time (keep in
5) The lesson therefore is to ensure you do a
mind we dont know who the companion is). Something
good deed after you have sinned. The good
also interesting to note is that normally when you do a
deed can be anything and the extent of it is
sin, you dont realise it is sinful until something bad
your choosing, as long as you do something,
happens, e.g. a death in a family may persuade a sister to
even small. An-Naafi'said if Ibn Umar missed
wear hijab. So it seems that after engaging in a series of
a salaah in congregation, he would fast for a
sinful acts, this companion reached a serious point
day, pray all night, and free a slave (U'loow al
where he realised he needed consultation, medication,
himmah, Muslims Research and
Development Foundation, formatted by
needed to speak with someone. So he went to the
www.islam21c.com).
Rasool of Allah:
But the Rasool left him without saying anything. The

companion is persistent, and goes to Rasool again and
Conclusion:
again. After his persistence, the Rasool calls him back
Be a companion when you commit sins. The
once he is leaving, and at the same time a verse is
companions used to sin because they were human
revealed (from Surah Hud):
beings, and some of them committed more sins than a
lot of Muslims today, and Allah knows best, but the
difference is they never despaired. They left the sin
spontaneously and immediately, without procrastination
or thinking of what the community will think or say


about them. They never justified or argued about their
sins. The never undermined sins committed even
-
smaller sins. They made sure, whenever they sinned,
they followed it with a good deed, believing this good
deed not only erased the bad deed but converted the

bad deed to the balance of good deeds.
References:
Ustadh Alomgi Ali, Lofty Aspirations,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoeBXvzndLs&list
=PL4CBA293411B2662E&index=1&feature=plpp_vid
(114. And perform the Salah, at the two ends of the day
eo
and in some hours of the night. Verily, the good deeds
remove the evil deeds. That is a reminder for the
Shaykh
Haytham
Haddad,
Lofty
mindful.)
Aspirations
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uIHEVN2pQ
So when you read this verse, remember it was because
U
of a kiss.
The Assault of Sins, JIMAS conference 2010

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