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| The Human Being Has a Great
Capacity For Self-Delusions Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah From Al-Jawâb al-Kâfi li-man sa’al `an al-Dawâ’ al-Shâfi There are two things one should take heed
of if one wishes to attain success and felicity: 1) To know the details of the means of
attaining good and evil, and to be clear about these through witnessing
them in the world around, through one’s own experience and that of
others, as well as through reports one has heard about earlier and latter
nations. One of the most effective means for attaining this is pondering
over the Qur’ân, for along with the Sunnah; it clearly explains the
paths to good and evil. If you turn your attention to them, they will
suffice you. They will inform you of Allâh’s treatment of the obedient,
and of the sinners. Moreover, apply what you read to practical experience,
and you will see the illustration of this – that Allâh is true, the
Messenger is true, the Qur’ân is true, and that Allâh fulfills His
promise. History contains details of the paths to good and evil mentioned
in the Qur’ân and sunnah. 2) Beware of deceiving oneself with regard
to these paths. This is very important, for the servant knows that sin and
heedlessness are harmful to him in his world and the Hereafter, and yet he
may deceive himself: Through relying on Allâh’s pardon and
forgiveness, by procrastination of repentance, by performing istighfâr
only verbally, by doing good deeds [after impetuously sinning], by
knowledge, by justifying his sins by the argument of destiny, by citing
examples of people committing similar sins, or by following in the
footsteps of ancestors and elders. Many people think that they can perform
some sin, and then if they say “Astaghfirullâh” the sin will
disappear. Or, they may deceive themselves with ahâdîth such as:
“Whoever says ‘SubHânallâhi wa-biHamdih’ one hundred times in a
day, his sins are taken off from him, even if they be like the foam of the
ocean.” Or “A servant committed a sin and then said, ‘O Lord! I have
committed a sin, so forgive me,’ and so he was forgiven… then Allâh
says, ‘My servant knows that he has a Lord Who forgives sins, and takes
[to task] for them. I have forgiven My servant, so let him do as he
wishes.’ ” Such people cling to the texts of hope, and
hold fast to them with both hands, and put [all] their reliance in them,
such that if they are reprimanded for committing some sin, they will
recite all that they known about Allâh’s mercy and forgiveness. Some
went to excessive limits in this, such that they claimed that to remain
free of sins is being ignorant or under-estimating Allâh’s mercy and
pardon. Some deceived people cling to the notion of
fatalism; that the servant has no free will and that he is compelled to
commit sins. Other cling to the notion of irjâ’ (false hope), claiming
that faith is merely affirmation, and that deeds are neither a part of
faith nor have any effect upon it. According to their claim, the îmân of
the most sinful of believers is just like the îmân of the angels Gabriel
and Michael. Some are deceived by their fathers and
elders, thinking that they have a rank before Allâh, such that they would
not leave them to perish. They take this by analogy from the behavior of
worldly kings, who might grant a favor or pardon to someone based on the
merits of his father or relatives. Such people are used to being taken out
of difficult situations by their fathers, and are under the impression
that this may happen in the Hereafter too. Others deceive themselves by reasoning that
Allâh has no need of punishing them since He gains nothing from it, and
He does not lose anything by showing them mercy. Such a person may say,
‘I am in dire need of His mercy, and He is not at all needy of
[anything]. if a poor, thirsty person were in dire need of a drink of
water from someone in whose premises there flows a river, he would not be
denied it, and Allâh is more generous, and more expansive in mercy.’
Others are deceived by ridiculous misinterpretations/misunderstandings,
e.g.: “Your Lord will give you, so that you
become pleased.” [Sűrah Duhâ, 5] He says: I am not pleased to enter the
Fire. This is despicable ignorance, and clear lies, for he should be
pleased by what Allâh is pleased by, and it is not against Allâh’s
pleasure to punish the oppressors, wrong-doers, evil-doers, traitors and
those persistent on major sins. “Allâh forgives all sins.” [Sűrah
Zumar, 93] This is also despicable ignorance, for this
verse refers to those who repent; otherwise it would imply invalidation of
the verses threatening punishment for the sinners. This is specified by
another verse, “Allâh does not forgive that partners be
associated with Him, and He forgives anything beneath that to whomever He
wills.” [Sűrah Nisâ, 48] Also, “None will burn in it except the
most miserable one who rejected and turned away [from the truth].” [Sűrah
Layl, 15-16]. This is a specific fire from among the various levels of
Jahannam, and moreover the fact that only the rejecters will burn in it
does not rule out that others may enter it. “[Hell] has been prepared
for the unbelievers.” [Sűrah Baqarah, 24]. The fact that it has been
prepared for the unbelievers does not rule out that sinful Muslims may
also be punished in it, just as the fact that Heaven “has been prepared
for the pious.” [Sűrah Ali-‘Imrân, 133] does not rule out that
people with the smallest grain of faith may enter it even if they were not
pious. Some are deceived by fasting the days of
‘Ashura and ‘Arafah, such that some may even say that the fast of
‘Ashura' expiates the whole year, and the fast of ‘Arafah remains as a
surplus of reward. Such people have failed to realize that the fast of
Ramadân and the 5 daily prayers are greater and more noble than the fasts
of ‘Arafah and ‘Ashura, and that [it is understood that] sins are
[only] forgiven as long as major sins are avoided. So, [fasting] from one
Ramadân to another, [praying] from one Jumu‘âh to the next, act in a
mutually strengthening manner to achieve forgiveness of minor sins,
provided major sins are avoided. So, how then can an optional fast expiate
every major sin of a person while he still persists upon the sins, and has
not repented from them? Also, it is possible that these two optional fasts
expiate all sins in totality, but that this has certain prerequisites and
conditions, such as avoidance of major sins, or that the expiation is
achieved in conjunction with other good deeds, much the same as the 5
daily prayers and the fasting of Ramadân expiate minor sins in
conjunction with the avoidance of major sins. “If you abjure the major things which you
are prohibited from, We shall expiate you your evil deeds.” [Sűrah Nisâ,
31] Some are deceived by the hadîth Qudsi,
“I am according to the good expectation/ thought of My servant., so let
him think of Me as he wishes.” i.e. that whatever he thinks I will do to
him, I will. But, good expectations can only be with good conduct, for one
who does good expects that his Lord will deal with him well, will not
break His promise, and will accept his repentance. As for the one of evil
conduct, who persists upon major sins, oppression and other evils, the
desolation of sin, wrongdoing and [other] prohibited things prevent him
from having good expectations of his Lord. This is something we witness in
everyday life. A disobedient employee who has run away with company
property will not have a good expectation of his boss. The evil of wrong
deeds cannot coexist with good expectation. The best in expectation of his
Lord’s mercy is the most obedient to Him. Hasan Basrî said, “The
believer has good expectation of his Lord, so he make his deeds good. But,
the evil person has bad expectation of his Lord, so he does evil.” How can someone claim to have good
expectation of his Lord when he is like a runaway, and is doing things
that displease and anger his Lord, and has abandoned His orders, and is at
war with Him? How can one
have good expectation of his Lord if he thinks that He does not see him? “And, you used not to conceal yourself,
lest your hearing, sight and skin testify against you, but you thought
that Allâh does not know much of what you used to do. And that, your
expectation which you entertained about your Lord, has destroyed you, so
you have become among those lost/ruined.” [Sűrah Fussilât, 23] So,
these people, who thought that Allâh did not know much of what they did,
actually had ill- expectation of their Lord, and that destroyed them. Such
people are deceived if they think they will directly enter Heaven; they
are fooling themselves; Satan is leading them astray and beguiling them. Ponder over this. Consider: how is it possible for one’s
heart to be certain that one is going to meet Allâh, that Allâh sees and
hears all that he does, and knows his secret open affairs, and that he
will be made to stand before Allâh, answerable for all his deeds – how
can one be certain and aware of all of this, and yet persist upon things
which displease Allâh; persist upon abandoning Allâh’s orders,
neglecting His rights, and yet claim that he has good expectation of Allâh?!! Abű Umâmah Sahl ibn Hanif reports:
‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr and I entered upon ‘A’ishah and she said : If
only you had seen the Messenger of Allâh in one of his illnesses; [when]
he had 6 or 7 dinârs. The Messenger of Allâh ordered me to distribute
them [in charity?], but the pain of the Messenger of Allâh kept me from
doing that, until Allâh cured him. Then, he asked me about them: “What
have you done? Had you distributed the 6 dinârs?” I said, “No, by Allâh.
Your pain had kept me from doing so.” He asked for them to be brought
[to him], and put them in his hand then said, “What would be the
expectation of Allâh’s prophet if he met Allâh with these in his
possession?” What, then would be the expectation of the
people of major sins, and the oppressors, if they were to meet Allâh with
these sins and forfeited rights of people on their backs? If their claim that they entertained good expectations
that Allâh would not punish evil and wrongdoing people, were to benefit
them, then everyone could do as he wished, doing everything that Allâh
has forbidden, provided he kept good expectation of Allâh, thinking that
the fire will not touch him. Subhanallâh! How deceived can
one be? Prophet Ibrâhîm said to his people, “Is it a lie, gods
besides Allah, that you desire? What then is your expectation of the Lord
of the Worlds?” [Sűrah Saffat, 86] i.e. what is your expectation of Allâh,
what do you expect He will do to you if you meet Him having worshipped
other than Him? So, if we reflect over this, we will
realize that good expectation of Allâh is equivalent to good deeds, for
one is moved to good deeds by good hope of Allâh, that He will reward him
for his efforts and accept them. Otherwise, good expectation along with
pursuit of whims and desires and lusts is incapacity. In short, good expectation can only occur
if the means for salvation are pursued. Pursuit of the means to
destruction cannot accompany good expectations. Someone might claim: It might, based on the
expansiveness of Allâh’s mercy and forgiveness and generosity, and that
His mercy exceeds His wrath, and that punishing does not benefit Him, nor
does forgiveness harm Him. The reply is: Allâh is indeed most
generous and merciful, but this is in the appropriate place. Allâh is
also described as possessing wisdom and might and inflicting retribution,
seizing with might, and punishing those deserving punishment. So, if the
good expectation is based merely on some of Allâh’s attributes, then
the righteous and the evil, the believer and the unbeliever, would equally
be candidates for it. But, the names and attributes of mercy do not
benefit the unbeliever or similarly one who has neglected his duty and
exposed himself to Allâh’s curse. Rather, good expectation of Allâh
is for one who repents, regrets his sins and desists from them. This is
good expectation, whereas the first is deception. “Those who believe, and those who perform
hijrah and jihad in the path of Allâh – they are hopeful of Allâh’s
mercy.” [Sűrah Baqarah, 218] So, these people are the ones who can be
truly hopeful of Allâh’s mercy; not the evil and sinful people.
“Then, your Lord is, to those who make hijrah after they have been
persecuted, and then perform jihad and are patient/steadfast - indeed,
your Lord is, after that, Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Sűrah Nahl,
119] So, the knowledgeable one is he who puts hope in its correct
place, whereas the deceived one is he who puts it elsewhere. Source: |
