We listen to bayaans on the importance of Salaah; or how to perform Haj or other topics. Seldom do we listen to a bayaan, which informs us that we have to abstain from sin. Abstaining from sin is an absolutely necessary part of our Deen. In fact, it is so essential, that our Sheikh  Rahimahullah was returning from New York to Karachi when he had composed a poem about the importance of abstaining from sin whilst in transit at Damascus airport.

The poem is,

لا  الہ مقدم ہے کلمہ توحید پر

غیر حق جب جائے  تب حق آجائے

The words La Ilaha is brought first in the Kalimah of Tauheed

When falsehood will disappear then truth will enter the heart

 The first part of this Kalimah which is  لا اله is negative. You negate every other diety. Thereafter is

 الا الله , that is there is no other diety except Allah Ta’ala.

Therefore, the first part signifies that you should empty your heart of everything besides Allah Ta’ala. Take out the dirt, the filth from your heart. That is the first part, the removing of sin; this is the first element of our Deen.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REALISING THAT WE ARE INVOLVED IN SIN IS THE FIRST STEP TO ISLAAH

Firstly, a person has to recognise and accept that he is in sin. Normally we don’t think of ourselves being involved in any sin. How many of us have ever said, “O Allah, I am the biggest sinner.” Sometimes to show our humility in front of people we say, “I am the worst in the world. I am the biggest sinner.” But really, within ourselves have we ever found the courage to say to Allah, “I am really the worst and without doubt the biggest sinner.”

We are all extremely particular that we perform our five times Salaah. We ensure that we recite the Quraan Sharif regularly.  We make sure that we fast (nafl or Sunnah fasts). We try to be steadfast on these actions. We feel that once our Topee, our beard, our Kurtas or jubbahs are all in order then we are all right. However, we don’t see the wrong that we are doing. We ignore the sins that we are committing.

One friend, who came to the Jalsah by plane said that AIhamdulillah he didn’t touch the in-flight magazine in the plane because there could have  been images of naked women in there.”  In his case, did he see if he performs his five times Salaah with Jamaat or not all the time?  Does he recite the Quraan Shareef daily or not? Does he see the wrong he does? If you go to doctor and you tell the doctor, “My eyes are perfect, my head also is perfect, I never suffer from headaches, my spine is also perfect, etc...” the doctor will ask, “Why did you come here? What work do you have here, if your health is so perfect?”  You will have to explain your problem to the doctor whether it be arthritis, boils, etc. If we sing our own praises as many people do then will they ever get help? First, recognise and acknowledge the problem that you have.

Many of us are involved in sin but they are of different types and different levels. If we can understand that first, then we can start with our Islaah (i.e. our reformation). To acknowledge the wrong you are doing is the first step towards reforming your evil habits.

A GREAT DECEPTION

The deceiving factor in our lives is that we think that we are perfect as we are performing our five times Salaah, or we are reciting Quraan. What happens now is that Shaytaan shifts our focus towards other people’s wrong actions. We find ourselves thinking that, “How many other people are not performing Salaah?” Shaytaan deceives a person by making him feel that you are making your five times Salaah so you’re a pious person. He makes one think, “How many other people haven’t got beards, haven’t got topees, don’t wear kurta and I’m dressing according to Islam, so I ‘m living a righteous life.”  Our ladies get fooled by shaytaan, that they are in their burqa and they are wearing hijaab, so they are alright.

Our titles have also become a great, great source of deception, of hindering us from making our Islaah such as, “I’m a Moulana or I’m a Sheikh, I am a Haafiz, I am a Hajee, therefore I’m alright and a perfect person.” Just those titles and outward appearances are not the reality. At the time of Maut, what is concealed in the recesses of the heart and what is by Allah will become apparent.

وَحُصِّلَ مَا فِي الصُّدُورِ

And whatever lies within the chest will be exposed

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Regarding this point, I will relate to you a beautiful example, which Hazrat Moulana Muhammad Umar Saheb Palanpuri (RA) would narrate.  A man owns a beautiful parrot. He has taught his parrot some inspiring and meaningful words. The parrot is trained to make Salaam or some Dhikr etc. When the parrot is in the safety of its cage, in its comfort zone, it would repeat all the words the owner trained it to say. The man was very happy. He would show off the parrot to visitors and they would be highly impressed by the parrot’s speech. However, the day that parrot finds itself in the clutches, in the claws of a cat or the paws of a dog, it will forget all the words it was trained to say. Now when fear hits it and it faces death, it will forget everything the man had taught it and what will it utter? Its original words, which are recorded in its heart which is “teh, teh , teh!” It will forget completely the beautiful Salaam and Athaan and Thikr that it was trained to say.

Simarlarly, when we will come in the clutches of Malakul Maut, at that time we will forget the superficial words, which are on our tongues. What is in our hearts will be expressed. If we have the love of Dunya; love of women; anger; our business; whatever was predominant in our life, all that will be expressed at the time of maut. What was outwardly on our tongue or our imaginary piety will be of no avail. It is important to remember this.

CLEANSE THE HEART

Coming back to the poem which Hadrat had composed, he explained that the first portion in our Kalimah is ‘La ilaha’. That is to purify and cleanse your heart. If the glass that I am holding is dirty, nobody will serve water in it. Similarly nobody will serve water in a glass that is dirty on the outside. They won’t give you water in a dirty glass, they will feel it’s wrong. Moreover, if they did offer you water in a dirty glass, you will feel offended and say, “They gave me water in a dirty glass.” If you want to drink water or give somebody in a dirty glass then one should wash the glass first. If you dirty yourself by working in the garden or under your car then your wife will tell you to wash yourself outside before entering the house. She will say, “I’m not allowing you to come in the house like this with your dirty, greasy clothes etc.”

 If you don’t want to bath and clean yourself but you want to put on clean clothes and apply itr, perfume etc, then everyone will tell you that it doesn’t work that way. First, you have to clean yourself, before you can perfume yourself. So that is the starting point of our Islaah, that we must clean ourselves.

THE BENEFIT OF ABSTAINING FROM SIN

When all the dirt has been taken out from your heart and you have cleansed you heart, now you don’t have to invite Allah Ta’ala to come into your heart.  Allah Ta’ala Himself will want to come into a clean heart. If a glass that is dirty only on the outside, you won’t want to drink water nor will you want to give somebody else to drink water. When the heart of a person is dirty, how do you expect the pure being of Allah Ta’ala to come into such a heart? So, the first step is to cleanse the heart.

غیر حق جب جائے  تب حق آجائے

When falsehood will disappear then truth will enter the heart

Once all falsehood, evil,  shirk, kufr, nifaaq (hypocrisy) , bid’aat (innovations), conceit, pride, jealousy and anger will leave the heart, then only will Allah Ta’ala come into that heart. You won’t even have to say,

اب تو آجا اب تو خلوت ہوگئی

Now enter my heart O Allah, Now my heart is clean.

When your heart is clean, you won’t have to make a strenuous effort to give up sin, sins will leave you. Just like in the season of autumn, the leaves fall off the trees. You don’t have to take a stick and hit the trees for the leaves to fall down, in fact your back breaks picking up the leaves. You pick it up in the morning and by the afternoon again so many leaves have fallen down. You will instruct your gardener to clean up the leaves but you will come in the evening and ask him, “What were you doing the whole day? I told you to clean up the leaves.” He will respond by saying, “I did clean but it has fallen again.” Similarly when Allah Ta’ala enters the heart then sin will automatically leave a person. We make Dua that Allah Ta’ala grants us the Taufeeq to give up all forms of sins so that we may enjoy a strong bond and relationship with Allah Ta’ala.