Part 6

Sse, “Indeed, I am your brother” ,

O you who constantly makes mistakes, when will you prostrate the forehead of

“and indeed we have been sinners”?

Turning to Allah (in repentance)

When the firm will of truthfulness and sincerity descends into the heart of the repenting slave, the King becomes pleased, and He writes off the written [bad deeds] and reveals to the earth; conceal the faults of my slave.

Before you, there was a man who took a hundred lives, but then he repented and set forth [from his evil town to another good town] but death overtook him on the way. Thereupon, Angels of mercy disputed with Angels of punishment [as each side wanted to take this man’s soul]. Allah sent to them an Angel to arbitrate between them, who said: measure the distance between the two towns, then Allah commanded the town of evil to recede back further and the town of the good to come closer. When they measured the distances, they found the man closer to the town of the good, and thus he was forgiven,'

Neither the judge nor the adversaries realise the wisdom of

“thus we plan for Yiisuf”

[Allah pledges that] if a sinner repents sincerely, He will accept him and revive him and,

4 Eyesroes oe See

EngbtEs a3 I IE

“made for him light by which to walk among the people.”

O you who repent

' See Bukhari (3470)

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

“fulfill [all] contracts” [al-Ma’idah 5: 1)

And honour [your contract] with the One with Whom you made a contract,

“and do not break oaths after their confirmation.”

If you slip after having become upright, then return again to the house of Generosity [where] “Allah shall not tire [of forgiving you] until you are tired [of seeking forgiveness]’*

2 Reported by Bukhari (5861

overpower your desires with the whip of endeavor and

strong will, because when it becomes awate of your earnestness and seriousness of purpose, it will surrender to your command. And, prevent it from enjoying what it desires from the lawful things, so that it agrees to abandon the unlawful. Therefore if it endures leaving the lawful and permissible then you have the choice

@) YOU WHOSE [DESIROUS] SELF has subdued him,

“either [confer] favour afterwards or ransom.” (Muhammad 47: 4]

This worldly life and Shayfan ate enemies who have come out against you, and await you from outside, whereas your base self (ie. own desires) is your inner enemy with a closer vantage point, therefore [you should know that] from the etiquettes of Jihad (i.e. fighting and struggling against ones inner desires) is to

“fight those adjacent to you.”

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND RBFORM

That said, when your [desirous] self inclines towards desires, lusts and whims, you should restrain it with the reins of piety, and when it neglects acts of worship and obedience, you should discipline it with the whip of self-struggle, and when it enjoys the drink of inadvertency and likes wearing the garment of indolence, you should yell at it with the voice of firm, strong resolve, and when it views itself through the eyes of arrogance you should remind it of its base origin fie. coming from sperm]. By Allah, if you do not endure the bitterness of medicine in your throat you shall never be assured of even a tiny bit of good health in your body. The troops of your desires have housed themselves inside yourself, fortifying the fortress of lassitude and negligence. So charge with the soldiers of piety with the swords of strong willpower drawn out, and storm their gates!

The example of the self of mankind is like a worthless dog; when it is full it sleeps, and when it is hungry it ogles around wagging its tail. The civilised is approached politely whereas the uncouth barbarian is approached by force.

One of the righteous predecessors used to walk with a spring in his step whenever he succeeded in subduing his desires, like a marksman who feels pride upon hitting his target. Strengthen your will and your endeavor in the struggle against yourself, because in this struggle enemies always exist, even if there are no wars. The success of the struggle of our Prophet (42) reached such a high level of strength that its effect extended to teach and influence even those who showed enmity against him; thus even the [evil]

spirit (garin') that followed him, embraced Islam.

O Allah direct us to [the means with which we can] subdue our evil garin for they are the closest of our enemies, and exert the most influence over our selves.

O you, stop paying attention to your [desirous] self, and steal from it what may benefit you afterward, for life is very short. Thus, complain to Allah about the injustice that your [desirous] self causes to yourself, and seek the Creator’s aid in order to achieve victory over it, for He commands you with worship and work, while you go the opposite way.

Though you rush to join the fight, but you are not actually taking a side in the battle. You would like to reach the loftiest ranks, though you have not yet taken one step upon the staircase of struggling and striving! How is that you wait for the harvest, when you have not even planted any seeds? If [Prophet] Yusuf (‘a/ayhi as-salam) had not opted for

“prison is more to my liking”

He would have not came out of it to the comfort [and enjoyed the consequences] of

“And thus We established Yiisuf in the land.”

' Bach person has two kinds of Qarin, an Angel that suggest goodness to the person, and a devil that suggests evil to the person.

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

Indeed, speed in travelling might come about when the journey is under the wings of the night, wealth might be attained after suffering, and a face might radiate with light after paleness.

When the believers habituated themselves to upright conduct through discipline, they effectively signed a contract with Allah;

Ag Hcl utc, cop STG, 4 ics EIA ISI <i if “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise.” [al-Taubah 9: 111]

However, you should know that the [desirous] self is never pleased unless it is satisfied, because it is like a rebellious dog, therefore what should be sought is a hunting dog, not a common stray.

Woe to you, the limbs of body are like water channels reaching water to the trees, and should the water be impure it will affect the fruits. You start the day by unleashing your body’s extremities to hunt for idle pastime and distractions, and when the time of prayer commences you bleat at your limbs to answer the call, but they never respond to you because they have not been trained to do so. How far is the state of a limb from feat and humility [to the Almighty] that had never been straightened and disciplined by [the command]

as TN BE ale BS

“Tell believers to lower theit gaze and guard their private patts....”

And how fat is the state of a heart from reflection, when it is not even agitated by the fear of [the fact that Allah],

Osco “He knows the secret and what is [even] more hidden.”

The dispraise of Dunya

OU ARE MORE ELOQUENT in your rhetoric than

Sabhan! when the conversation revolves around the worldly

life, whereas when the mention of the hereafter is brought

up you become more incoherent than Baqil.? You march forward to (ie. seek possession of) the transitory and mortal with more courage than Ibn Ma’dy karib’, but as for seeking the immortal and everlasting, you show more cowardice than the cowardice of Hasan.’ Woe to you, this worldly life only impresses those with

' Sabhan ibn Wail: An eloquent Atab speaker who embraced Islam during the time of the Prophet ($8) but has not met him at all.

? Baqil: An eloquent Arab speaker, > “Amt ibn Ma’id ibn Yakrub a known brave knight.

* Hasan Ibn Thabit, the poet of the Prophet (#8). Though he was the most influential poet which he employed to serve religion and defend the Prophet (88) yet he lacked the courage when it comes to physical fights. However, his courage showed up in his poetry made the Prophet (4) praise him. It is also important to note that though he lacked the courage it is out of good manners

The dispraise of Dunya

no intellect, similar to how vain dreams please the sleeper; imaginary games are perceived as reality by a child, whereas a sensible person cannot be deceived by such delusion.

How often has this worldly life brought to tuins one’s love for it, then disposed it in the expanse of the efforts to acquire it, and how often has this worldly life halted people from reaching the land of comfort (i.e. the hereafter). How many have made endeavors that were as determined and strong as the strength of the rook, but despite that, worldly life repelled them and reduced them to a humiliated state. O seekers of this worldly life; know that it is dispraised in all revealed divine laws. It is known that the child belongs to the mother, as the Islamic jurists state; therefore whenever your body grows and nourishes from unlawful means, then what it earns will be like oil fuelling a fire.

and politeness as well respecting his service for the religion and defending the Prophet (3g), that one never call him as such. When scholars mention it they do sojust to describe a state of courage and not to defame him as may some think or do today.

5 ‘The Prophet (3g) informed Hudhayfah of the names of all hypocrites so “Umar due to his extreme piety and fear of Allah was always inquiring from him whether he was one of these names. However, Hudhayfah assured him he

6 The youngest brother of Prophet Yusuf (‘alayhi as-salém).

SEEDS OF ADMONISHMENT AND REFORM

that I have finished being questioned and judged; I am amazed how my judgment lasted more than the years I ruled!“ Is this not enough of a wakeup call for those as heedless as the asleep person, in their desire?