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The Bitter Consequences of Sins

By Imaam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

It is essential to know that sins and acts of disobedience are, necessarily, veryharmful. Their harm effects upon the heart are akin to the harmful effects of

poison upon the body, though the effects vary in their levels and intensities.

So is there any evil or harm in this world, or in the Hereafter, except that it isdue to sins and disobedience?

So what was it that expelled the two parents [i.e. Adam and Eve] from Paradise;

the home of delight, bliss, splendour and joy; to the home of pain, sorrow andmisfortune?

What was it that expelled Iblees [i.e. Satan] from the heavenly realms, causinghim to be rejected and cursed; transforming him both inwardly and outwardly,

so that his form became ugly and hideous - his inner form more hideous than hisouter - replacing his nearness with remoteness, mercy with curse, his beautywith ugliness, from being in Paradise to being in the blazing Fire, from having

faith to being an unbeliever, from having the patronage and friendship of Allah,the Praiseworthy Guardian, to being the greatest enemy and opponent, fromglorifying and praising Him to committing acts of unbelief, shirk, lies,deception and shamelessness, from being adorned with faith to being clothed in

the garment of unbelief, sinfulness and disobedience, causing him to reach thedeepest depths of despicability, plunging down in the sight of Allaah as far as it

is possible to plunge; causing the anger of Allaah the Exalted to be upon him,

making him an outcast - despised and humiliated - so that he became a leaderfor every sinner and criminal, becoming pleased with leadership for himself,

after having reached the station of worship and nobility?

O Allah, we seek refuge in You from opposing Your command and falling into

what You have forbidden.

What was it that caused the people of the earth to drown, to the extent that the

water rose above even the mountaintops?

What was it that caused the violent winds to overcome the people of Aad, suchthat it flung them down dead upon the face of the earth - as if they were lopped-off palm trunks - and it destroyed whatever dwellings and crops it came across,

thus making them an example for nations until the Day of Resurrection?

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What was it that caused the piercing shrieks to be set loose upon the Thamood

people, such that their hearts were severed within their very bodies, by whichthey all perished?

What was it that caused the town of the homosexuals to be raised up and turned

upside down, such that they were all destroyed? Then stones from the sky pelteddown upon them so that they suffered a combined punishment, the like of which

was not given to any other nation! And for their brothers will be its like; and itis not far off from the transgressors!

What was it that caused the clouds of punishment to overcome t he people of

Shuayb, such that when these clouds were above their heads it rained scorchingfire upon them?

What was it that caused the Pharaoh and his people to be drowned in the ocean,

and caused their souls to be transported to the Hellfire, so their bodies drownedand their souls burned?

What was it that caused Qaaroon, his dwelling, wealth and family to sink down

into the earth?

What was it that caused the destruction of those generations after Noah, and

how they were afflicted with various punishments that caused theirannihilation?

What was it that caused the destruction of the companions of Yaa Seen, with the

clamorous shout, which destroyed them?

What caused there to be sent against the Children of Israaeel enemies of greatstrength and might, plundering their homes, killing their men, enslaving their

women and children, burning their dwellings, seizing their wealth, and the nreturning again a second time, destroying what was rebuilt after the first

onslaught?

What was it that caused the various types of punishments to be set loose upon

the Children of Israaeel? Killing them, enslaving them, destroying their land

and at times causing them to be oppressed by kings, whilst at another timecausing them to be transformed into apes and swines - and finally the Lord took

an oath that: He would certainly keep on sending against them, until theDay of Resurrection, those who will inflict them with a humiliating

torment. [Soorah al-Araaf 7:167]

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Imam Ahmad said: al-Waleed ibn Muslim related to us; that Safwaan ibn Amr

related to us; that Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Jubayr ibn Nufayr related; from hisfather, who said:

When Cyprus was conquered and its people were dispersed and they started

weeping to each other, I saw Abud-Dardaa sitting alone and weeping. So I saidto him: O Abud-Dardaa! What makes you weep on this day that Allaah has

granted strength and honor to Islaam and its people? So he said: Woe be to youO Jubayr! How insignificant the creation becomes to Allaah when they turn

away from His command. In front of us is a nation who were evidentlypowerful and who had dominion, yet they abandoned Allaahs command, solook what has become of them.

[2] Alee ibn al-Jad said: Shubah ibn Amr ibn Murrah informed us; I heard

Abul-Bukhtaree say:I was informed by someone, who heard the Prophet

(sallalalhu alaihi wa-sallam) saying:

The people will not perish, until they have no excuse left for themselves.

[3] Imaam Ahmad reports in his Musnad, from the hadeeth of Umm Salamah,

who said: I heard Allaahs Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) saying:

When acts of disobedience become widespread in my ummah, then Allaah

may send punishment upon them all from Himself So I said: 0 Allaahs

Messenger! Even if there are righteous people amongst them that day? So hereplied: Indeed! So I said: How will that be? He replied: They will be

afflicted with what afflicts the people, then they will move on to theforgiveness of Allaah and His good pleasure. [4]

Consequences of Sinning: By Imam Ibinul Qayyim

If you have ever truly wondered what lies ahead for the sins

you commit, read on.

Sin and disobedience make a great impact on the lives ofpeople, and on their hearts and souls. It was none other than

sin that resulted in Adam and Eve being ousted from the

dwelling of bliss, delight and happiness in Heaven. Sin is whatforced Satan out of the realm of Heaven, to be expelled and

cursed. His sins replaced his closeness with remoteness, mercy

with curse, beauty with hideousness and Heaven with Hellfire.Sins caused the people of Noah to drown when the flood had

risen to cover mountain peaks.

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Sins were the reason why a howling wind blew the people of Aad until they werethrown dead on earth as if they were hollow trunks of palm trees. Sin was also thereason why the people of Thamoud were afflicted by the dreadful, awful cry thatsplit their hearts, causing them to die. And what about the people of Lot, who used

to practice sodomy? The highest part of their city became the lowest, and stones ofclay were rained upon them, destroying all of them. What other than sins caused

the people of Shu'aib to be seized by an earthquake and struck dead in their

homes? Sins were the reason why Pharaoh and his people drowned in the sea andtheir souls transferred to Hellfire. They caused Quran, his house, money and his

family to be destroyed and swallowed by the earth.

The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said, "A man may be deprived

of sustenance because of a sin (he has committed)." (Ahmed). Moreover, Safiyyahalso said, "During the reign of Umar, Medina was shaken (with an earthquake).Omar then said, 'O, people! What is this? How fast you committed a sin. If this

happened again, I would never live among you.'" (Ahmed). Also Bin Omar said, "Iheard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, saying: 'If people refrain

from paying a Dinar or even a Dirham (become stingy), deal with riba (interest),follow the cows' tails (busy themselves with worldly matters), and abandon jihad for

the sake of Allah, Allah will afflict them with a trial that will not be redeemed until

they return to their religion (Islam)." Jareer narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu'alayhe wa sallam, said, "If sins are committed amongst people--even if the number

of those who do not commit such sins is more than the number of those who

commit them-and if they do not stand against these" sins, all of them will beafflicted with torment." (Ahmed).

Finally, the servant of Allah should be minutely aware of the cost of disobedience.Many people may not realize the consequences of a sin immediately and then tend

not to worry, forgetting all about it. Glory be to Allah ! How many people did this

matter destroy? How many trials did it bring about, and how many blessings did itruin? Sin is the deceiver of a great number of people, including scholars and

eminent persons, let alone the common man. Sins may lie dormant for a time forboth believers and non-believers alike; however, the price of sin is high, and it is a

debt that will never been forgotten, and one day-not necessarily immediately-it will

surely be collected.

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Traps of Iblees

by Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah rahimahullaah

from At-Tafseer Al-Qayyim of Shaikh Ibn Al-Qayyim [Al-Hijra magazine]

It is not possible to encompass one of Iblees' evils, let alone all of them. Since Iblees' evil is

of six types, Iblees remains behind the son of Adam until he gets him to do one or more ofthese six evils.

THE FIRST EVIL IS THE EVIL OF KUFR AND SHIRK and enmity to Allh and His

Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. If he gains this from the son of Adam, his moaningis eased, and he rests from his ordeal with this man. Further, this is the first thing Iblees wants

from al-'Abd (the worshipper). If Iblees gains this, he makes this person part of his army, one

of his soldiers, and he appoints him as a deputy or agent against other human beings. Then,

this person becomes one of the deputies or callers of Iblees.

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If he despairs of enticing him with the first evil, and if this person is one of those for whom itwas written that he would be a Muslim in his mother's womb, Iblees tries the SECOND

CLASS OF EVIL. THIS IS BID'AH (innovation). Iblees loves Bid'ah more than debaucheryand disobedience because the harm of Bid'ah is in the essence of the religion. Moreover, it is

an unrepentable sin and is against the call of the messengers and is a call to a message

different from the one conveyed by Ar-Rasool. Bid'ah is a gate to Kufr and Shirk. Therefore,

if Iblees gains the performance of Bid'ah from a person and makes him one of the people ofBid'ah, he also becomes one of his agents and a caller of his.

If Iblees fails and is unable to trap Al-'Abd at this class, and if he is one of those who were

granted by Allh the gift of As-Sunnah and hatred of the people of Bid'ah and error, he

proceeds to the THIRD CLASS OF EVIL, which is the class of MAJOR SINS in their

various forms.

Iblees is very covetous of letting a person fall into major sin, especially if he is a scholar who

is followed. Iblees is covetous of that, so that he may repel people from him and spread his

sins and disobedience amongst the people. He uses some people as his agents to spread this

person's sins under the false pretence that this will help them to get closer to Allh. But in

fact this person is the deputy of Iblees without knowing it. For those who would likeabomination to be spread amongst the believers there is a great torment in this life and in the

Hereafter especially if they take charge of spreading about enormities, not out of advice, butby obeying Iblees and being his agent. All this is to repel people from the Scholar and from

his benefit.

Furthermore, the sins of this person (scholar), even if they reach the sky, are less to Allh

than the sins of those who would like to spread his sins about. The scholar's sins are

wrongdoing to himself. If he seeks forgiveness from Allh and repents, Allh will accept his

repentance, and He will change his bad deeds to good deeds. However, the sin of those who

spread about abominations are doing wrong to the believers by looking for their mistakes and

by intending to expose them. Allh is in close observation, and He knows about thisambuscade. Nothing hidden in the chest or soul is hidden to Allh.

If Iblees is unable to snare Al-'Abd at this degree he moves him to the FOURTH CLASS, or

the MINOR SINS. These sins may ruin a person if they accumulate. That is why Ar-Rasoolsallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, Be aware of the minor sins, because the simile of the minor

sin is like the people who went to a desert. Then he sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam mentioned aHadeeth the meaning of which is that every one of them brought a stick of wood until they

had kindled a huge fire (just as the minor sins add up little by little until they become a major

sin). The person continues taking the matter of minor sins easily until he considers them

inconsequential. Therefore, a person who commits major sins but fears their effect is in a

better condition than he is.

If the Al-'Abd has prevented Iblees from trapping him at this level, he moves him to the fifthlevel. The FIFTH LEVEL IS TO OCCUPY HIM WITH PERMISSIBLE THINGS that do

not gain him reward or punishment. However, the punishment of this level is caused bypassing the reward missed by being occupied with these deeds. If Al-'Abd has kept Iblees

from succeeding at this level, and if he is careful about his time, being covetous with it,knows the value of moments, and knows the value of what comes of comfort or torment,

Iblees transfers him to the sixth level. The SIXTH CLASS is to OCCUPY HIM WITH

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DEEDS OF LESSER REWARD to keep virtue away from him and to prevent him fromattaining the reward of the favoured deed.

Therefore, he orders him to do a good action with less reward if that includes leaving a better

action. Very few people are aware of this. Because if a person feels a strong urge to some

kind of obedience, he does not doubt that it is true obedience and that he is getting closer to

Allh. He never thinks that this call is from Iblees because he believes that Iblees never callsone to do good. Therefore, he thinks that this call is from Allh. Actually he is excused

because he never knew that Iblees would call one to seventy doors of good deeds either to get

him to one door of evil or to let a better deed than these seventy deeds pass away from him.

This cannot be known except by a light from Allh, a light he instils in the heart of Al-'Abd.

The source of this type of knowledge is following the way of Ar-Rasool sallallaahu 'alayhi

wa sallam and taking care of the levels of deeds with Allh, the deeds of His favoured ones,

the deeds more pleasing to Him, and those more beneficial to Al-'Abd, and deeds that have

more Naseehah (guidance) from Allh, His Rasool, His Book, and His believing worshippers.

No one has this type of knowledge except the inheritors of Ar-Rasool sallallaahu 'alayhi wa

sallam, his deputies in the Ummah, and his successors on earth. In addition, most of the

creation is screened from this. This call does not come to their hearts. Allh gives His favourto whomever He wills from among His worshippers.

If Al-'Abd prevents Iblees from trapping him at any of these six levels, and if it becomes

difficult for Iblees, he empowers his party of jinn and human beings with different kinds of

harm, IMPUTING DISBELIEF TO HIM, CALLING HIM MISGUIDED AND AN

INNOVATOR, WARNING PEOPLE AGAINST HIM, and intending to weaken him and to

disturb his heart. Iblees, by using this method, tries to confuse this person's thinking and tries

to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM BENEFITING FROM HIM. Therefore Iblees expends his

utmost effort to empower the defenders of falsehood, from human beings and from jinn,

against him. Then the believer is at war until death. Whenever he gives up, he is hurt or is

taken captive. Hence the believer is in Jihad until he meets with Allh.