Praise be to Allah
Allaah has created man in a world of
trials and tests, and He has made Paradise the abode of His friends and beloved
ones, who preferred His pleasure over their own and preferred obedience to Him
over their physical comfort. And He has made Hell the abode of those among His
slaves who disobey Him and preferred their own whims and desires to the
pleasure of their Lord. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
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“Such is the Paradise which We shall give as
an inheritance to those of Our slaves who have been Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”
[Maryam 19:63]
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“But as for him who feared standing before his Lord, and
restrained himself from impure evil desires and lusts. Verily, Paradise will
be his abode” [al-Naaz’i’aat 79:40-41]
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And He says concerning the people of
Hell (interpretation of the meaning):
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“Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have given up
As-Salaat (the prayers) [i.e. made their Salaat (prayers) to be lost, either
by not offering them or by not offering them perfectly or by not offering
them in their proper fixed times] and have followed lusts. So they will be
thrown in Hell” [Maryam 19:59]
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And He says (interpretation of the
meaning):
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“That shall be their recompense, Hell; because they
disbelieved and took My Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,
revelations, etc.) and My Messengers by way of jest and mockery” [al-Kahf
18:106]
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“Then for him who transgressed all bounds, (in disbelief,
oppression and evil deeds of disobedience to Allaah). And preferred the life
of this world (by following his evil desires and lusts), Verily, his abode
will be Hell-fire” [al-Naazi’aat 79:37-39]
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So the Muslim must strive to worship
Allaah and keep away from that which angers Allaah, for Allaah will not cause
the reward the
one who does good to be lost:
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“As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will
surely guide them to Our paths (i.e. Allaah’s religion — Islamic Monotheism).
And verily, Allaah is with the Muhsinoon (good-doers)” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:69 –
interpretation of the meaning]
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One of the fitnahs (temptations) with
which we are tested is the fitnah of women, as the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have not left behind me any fitnah (temptation)
more harmful to men than women.” There follow some of the methods by which we
can avoid this temptation. We ask Allaah to set the affairs of the Muslims
straight.
Faith in Allaah and fear of Allaah
provide a safety valve and protect a person against committing haraam actions
and following his own whims and desires.
If the believer becomes aware that
Allaah is always watching and if he ponders the meanings of His names and
attributes, such as the All-Knowing, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the
Watchful, the Reckoner, the Preserver, the All-Encompassing, that will generate
fear of Him in secret and in public, and will put a stop to disobedience
towards Allaah, and will reduce the strength of desire that leads many people
to commit haraam actions.
The gaze can generate bad thoughts in
the heart, which then lead to ideas and then to desires, then to will and
resolve, and then inevitably to doing haraam things. Think about the meaning of
this verse which makes a connection between the first steps towards haraam and
the end result. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
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“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at
forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual
acts). That is purer for them. Verily, Allaah is All-Aware of what they do”
[al-Noor 24:30]
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Ibn Katheer said:
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This
is a command from Allaah to His believing slaves, to lower their gaze and
avoid looking at that which is forbidden to them so that they only look at
that which they are permitted to look at. If it so happens that a person’s
gaze accidentally falls upon something haraam, he should turn his gaze away
from it quickly
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Bad thoughts pose a danger to the
heart… If a person dwells on them and does not push them away, they will
develop into an idea, then into will and resolve, then this will inevitably
lead to haraam actions. Beware of dwelling on passing thoughts; rather what you
must do is to ward them off and crowd them out with good thoughts.
The treatment, then, is to ward off
these passing thoughts and keep yourself busy with beneficial thoughts.
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
Mas’ood said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
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“O young men, whoever among you can afford it, let him get
married, and whoever cannot, let him fast, for it will be a shield for him.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5065.
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– because of the hadeeth quoted
above, in which it says,
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“…and whoever cannot, let him fast, for it will be a shield
for him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5065.
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Al-Qurtubi
said:
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The
less a person eats, the weaker his desire becomes, and the weaker his desire
is, the less sins he commits.
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The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:
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“A man will follow the way of his close friends, so let each
one of you look at who he takes as a close friend.” Narrated by Abu Dawood,
8433; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 4046.
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It is obvious that we are living in a
society that is filled with temptation – media of all types, magazines,
flirting in the marketplaces, satellite TV, the internet, etc… So you have to
flee from all of these in order to keep your religious commitment sound.
Make your house a reminder of
obedience, not of sin. If a room is connected to sin for example, that will
make a person commit sin repeatedly, because every time he enters that room he
will remember the sin and may be provoked to commit the sin again. So he should
make his room and his house a reminder of obedience to Allaah, so when he
enters he sees the Mus-haf which he reads, and he remembers praying qiyaam
al-layl for Allaah, and the regular Sunnah prayers that he offers in this room.
Doing a lot of acts of worship in your house will make a connection in your
mind between the house and doing good deeds, so you will do more and will think
less of sin, and the calls of desire will grow less.
Time is
one of the great blessings that Allaah has bestowed upon His slaves, but there
are many who are not making the most of it. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas
(may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:
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“Two blessings which many people do not make the most of: good
health and spare time.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6412.
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Particularly appropriate in this
context is remembering al-hoor al-‘iyn and their attributes, whom Allaah has
prepared for those who are patient and steadfast in avoiding sin. This can help
the Muslim to look at these transient haraam pleasures which only lead to
regret and loss.
We ask Allaah to help us to avoid
temptation, both obvious and hidden. Praise be to Allaah the Lord of the Worlds
.
Taken from Islam QA