The Rising and the Hereafter
Allâhu ta’âlâ pities all the people on the earth, and sends them the useful things He creates. He has taught the entire humanity how they should act and behave so that they may lead a life of comfort and peace in the world and in the Hereafter. Choosing some of the people whose deserved destination in the Hereafter is Hell, He will magnanimously forgive them and bless them with Paradise....
Allâhu ta’âlâ pities all the people on the earth, and sends them the useful things He creates. He has taught the entire humanity how they should act and behave so that they may lead a life of comfort and peace in the world and in the Hereafter. Choosing some of the people whose deserved destination in the Hereafter is Hell, He will magnanimously forgive them and bless them with Paradise....
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<strong>The</strong>capitalis<strong>the</strong>(compulsoryactstermed)farz.<strong>The</strong>profitis<strong>the</strong><br />
(supererogatoryactstermed)sunnat<strong>and</strong>nâfila.And<strong>the</strong>lossis<strong>the</strong><br />
sins(committed).Asapersonwouldsettlehisaccountswithhis<br />
businesspartner,likewise,heshouldalwaysbeon<strong>the</strong>lookoutwith<br />
his nafs. For, <strong>the</strong> nafs is an extremely deceitful <strong>and</strong> mendacious<br />
creature.Itwilldisguiseitsowndesiresintobenefits.Itmustbe<br />
questionedevenonitsmubâh(permitted)acts,<strong>and</strong>askedwhyit<br />
hasdonethat.Ifithasdonesomethingharmful,itmustbemade<br />
to pay for it. Ibn-as-Samed was one of <strong>the</strong> great Awliyâ <strong>and</strong><br />
scholars. He calculated his past lifetime, sixty hijrî years, i.e.<br />
hundred <strong>and</strong> twenty-one thous<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> five hundred (121,500)<br />
days.“Alas,”hethought.“SupposingIhadcommittedasinglesin<br />
daily,<strong>the</strong>totalsumwouldbeahundred<strong>and</strong>twenty-onethous<strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong> five hundred sins. However, <strong>the</strong>re were days when I<br />
committedhundredsofsins.HowcanIeverredeemmyselfwith<br />
all <strong>the</strong>se sins!” He collapsed with a sharp exclamation. People<br />
aroundhimsawthathewasdead.<br />
People,however,donotcall<strong>the</strong>mselvestoaccount.Ifaperson<br />
putagrainofs<strong>and</strong>intohisroomeachtimehecommittedasin,<strong>the</strong><br />
room would be filled with s<strong>and</strong> in a couple of years. If <strong>the</strong><br />
recordingangelsonourshoulderschargedusapenny foreachsin<br />
wecommitted,wewouldhavetopartwithourentirepropertyto<br />
pay for <strong>the</strong> total sum. Paradoxically, we who count <strong>the</strong> meagre<br />
numberofwordsofprayersasweclick<strong>the</strong>beadsofourrosary<strong>and</strong><br />
say,“subhânallah,”inapensive<strong>and</strong>obliviousmood<strong>and</strong><strong>the</strong>nsay<br />
toourselves,“Oh,Ihavesaidahundredprayers,”are<strong>the</strong>same<br />
peoplewhonevercount<strong>the</strong>somanyemptywordsthatweutter<br />
daily.Werewetocount<strong>the</strong>m,<strong>the</strong>ywouldexceedthous<strong>and</strong>s.And<br />
yetwestillexpectthat<strong>the</strong>scalewithourthawâbs(gooddeeds)will<br />
weighheavier.Whatkindofreasoningisthat!Itisforthisreason<br />
that’Umar‘radiy-Allâhu’anh’said:“Weighyourownactsbefore<br />
<strong>the</strong>yareweighed!”’Umar‘radiy-Allâhu’anh’wouldwhiphisown<br />
feet<strong>and</strong>say(untohimself),“Whydidyoucommitthatacttoday,”<br />
every evening. Ibni Salâm ‘rahmatullâhi ’alaih’ was carrying<br />
firewoodonhis back,whensomepeoplesawhim<strong>and</strong>asked,“Are<br />
youaporter?”“Iamtryingmynafstoseehowitfeels,”washis<br />
reply.Anas(orEnes)‘radiy-Allâhu’anh’[d.91h.]relates:“One<br />
day I saw ’Umar ‘radiy-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anh’. He was saying unto<br />
himself,“Shameonyou,mynafs,whoissaidtobe<strong>the</strong>Amîr-ulmu’minîn!Ei<strong>the</strong>rfearAllâhuta’âlâorgetreadyfor<strong>the</strong>torment<br />
Heisgoingtoinflict onyou!”<br />
4– <strong>The</strong>fourthstepistopunish<strong>the</strong>nafs.If<strong>the</strong>nafsisnotcalled<br />
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