Part 37

And He, the Almighty said,

which means, “Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.” (Taha, 20:123)

Therefore, guidance is the means of preventing evil and disobedience, and mercy is the means of preventing distress, and this is what He mentioned at the beginning of Ta-Ha, by saying,

4 GES opal tle WIL i ab >

which means, “Taha [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an, and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings.] We have not sent down the Qur'an unto you (O Muhammad) to cause you distress.” (Taha, 20:1-2)

He combined the revelation of the Qur’an and the means of overcoming distress regarding him, as He said concerning His followers,

which means, “shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.” (Taha, 20:123)

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Therefore, guidance, favor, grace and mercy are all correlated; just as aberration and distress are inseparable. Allah, the Almighty said,

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which means, “Verily, the Mujrimdn (polytheists, disbelievers, sinners, criminals, etc.) are in error (in this world) and will burn (in the Hell-fire in the Hereafter).” (Al-Qamar, 54:47)

The word "Sa’ar' is the plural of “Sa‘fr' which means the last degree of torture and distress. Allah, the Almighty also said,

Nee eG Gy BS oa Wee Gt 2 7a tee et rae AS Cy ogy Vol A oly GAT in eee egal Ug aly > Pe 7 ae ee ne . 28 tHE Salil Jel ae Uy EVE OIG, Oster Vidi as Gy ena Sel 4B) Slit pe

which means, “And surely, We have created many of the jinns and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones.” (Al-A’raf, 7:179)

Allah, the Almighty said again, CD ig SU Uae TES Sy LNs 3

which means, “And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!" (Al-Mulk, 67:10) Allah, the Almighty connects guidance and relief of the heart and a good life, as He connects aberration and constriction of the heart and a hard life. Allah, the Almighty says,

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doe ae gg Eg ge, Veep 8224 2 ate be 2 Fags 8 ee 20) Uses val en ul 2 od a 20) dye ars 4adgs Yl abl 22 oe > which means, “And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens

his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted." (Al-An’4m, 6:125)

And He, the Almighty says, 4B) 5 of pF Je 4h ao 510 HG il

which means, “Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in light from His Lord (as he who is non-Muslim)?” (Az-Zumar, 39:22)

In the same way, Allah, the Almighty connects guidance and returning to Allah in repentance, as He connects aberration and harshness of heart. Allah, the Almighty said,

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which means, “Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills, and guides unto Himself who turns to Him in repentance and in obedience.” (Ash-Shiira, 42:13)

And He, the Almighty also said, = Loic a gy pee tap | atc reer

which means, “So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah! They are in plain error!” (Az-

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Chapter: Bestowing and Preventing

Guidance, mercy and what follows them like favors and gifts are all elements of the attribute of bestowing. Aberration, punishment, and what follows them are all elements of the attribute of preventing. He, the Exalted, manages His creation between His Bestowing and Preventing, and all these are based on perfect wisdom, perfect authority, and perfect praise and therefore, there is no god but Allah.

The Intelligent Person does not Cling to this Material World

People cling to this worldly life because of the corruption in their hearts. The hearts of such people are completely centered round this life and they have no real desire for the Hereafter. It is not possible in such hearts to implant the deeds that will lead to the Hereafter. They remain firm in this material world, while they are cut off from the Hereafter. This is a kind of torment for them according to the degree to which they cling to this material world. Therefore, their desires remain stuck to it, and a barrier is set between them and that which they desire, to the extent that they lose hope to enjoy their pleasure.

Therefore, the intelligent person will remove the means of this pain and regret, and will cease to hold onto this worldly life, just as he takes the initiative to put an end to the causes of corruption. In spite of this, he will still receive his share of the world, while his heart is attached to the highest aim. (the Hereafter). It is only Allah whose Help should be sought.

Chapter: The Evil of Falsehood

Beware of falsehood because it spoils your natural ability to gain information, and it spoils your formation and your ability to teach people. The liar describes that which does not exist, and that which exists he says it does not exist, just as he describes truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, and good as evil and evil as good. It spoils his conception and his knowledge,

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which become a punishment. Then he describes what is not true to the person who trusts him. The heart of a liar is far removed from the truth, and is inclined to that which does not exist and he prefers falsehood. When his ability to perceive has been spoiled as well as his knowledge, which is the basis of every voluntarily deed, these deeds would also be spoiled and the principle of falsehood would come into force. Therefore, it would proceed from him just like falsehood proceeds from the tongue, and so, he would not benefit from either his tongue or his deeds.

This is the reason why falsehood is the foundation of evil, just as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a truthful person. Falsehood leads to Al-Fajur (i.e. wickedness, evildoing), and Al-Fajur (wickedness) leads to the (Hell) Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies until he is written before Aliah, as a liar.” *

When falsehood proceeds from the heart to the tongue, it spoils it, and then it goes to the body, and spoils the good deeds, just like it spoiled the words of the tongue. Then falsehood prevails in his words, deeds and state. Therefore, corruption would become firmly embedded in him and its disease would extend to a state of destruction if Allah, the Almighty does not cure him with the remedy of truthfulness, which cuts off evil at its source.

That is why the origin of all the good deeds of the hearts is truthfulness, and their opposites such as ostentation, conceit, arrogance, pride, haughtiness, ingratitude, merrymaking, weakness, laziness, cowardice, disgrace and so on, have falsehood as_ their origin. Therefore, the origin of every good

** Recorded by Al-Bukhary, Kitéb Al-Adab, section of the word of Allah, the

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deed, done secretly or openly, is truthfulness. And the origin of every evil deed, done secretly or openly, is falsehood.

Allah, the Almighty, in return, rewards the liar by frustrating his interests, and rewards the truthful by helping him achieve his interests concerning this world and the Hereafter. Therefore, nothing can make us benefit more in this world and the Hereafter like truthfulness, and in the same way, nothing can make us earn more evil in this world and the Hereafter like falsehood. Allah says,

Kg eee ab eaee fete ge mn aes a CQ Steel els SLE on = li ely y

which means, “O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be with those who are true (in words and deeds).” (At-Tawbah,

Allah, the Almighty said again, which means, "This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from

their truth.” (Al-Ma’idah, 5:119) He, the Exalted, said again,

4p as ON MI gie Gi TU oe 185...

which means, “And when the matter (preparation for Jihad) is resolved on, then if they had been true to Allah, it would have been better for them.” (Muhammad, 47:21)

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which means, “And those who made excuses from the Bedouins came (to you, O Prophet) asking your permission to exempt them (from the battle), and those who had lied to Allah and His Messenger sat at home (without asking the permission for it); a painful torment will seize those of them who disbelieve.” (At-Tawbah, 9:90)

Chapter: “And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you"

Allah, the Almighty says,

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which means, “And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.” (Al-Bagarah, 2:216)

In this Quranic Verse, there are several judgments, meanings and benefits for the servant. If the servant knows _ that misfortune can produce a desirable thing, and that the desirable thing can produce a misfortune, he would not feel secure against the harm that can come from delight, and he would not lose hope of delight to come from harm, for he does not know the outcomes of things. Verily, it is Allah Who knows about that which the servant does not know, and in this context the following issues must be noted:

Nothing is more beneficial for him than abiding by the judgments of Allah, even if it is difficult for him at the beginning, because all its outcomes are good, delightful, and pleasurable. In the same way, nothing is more harmful for him than committing what is forbidden, even if he loves it. All its outcomes are pain, grief, evil and misfortune.

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Furthermore, the mind bears little pain in comparison to the great pleasure and abundant good that it will experience, and likewise man is expected to avoid little in exchange for great rewards and preventing great pain and long term evil.