In fact, if he feels bad, it is because he is no longer in his “skin”. If we remove a fish from the water to put it in a living room with oriental rugs, from which aromas of noble leather and precious woods rise, or to place it on a tablecloth where delicious dishes are arranged, and from where we can distinguish, through huge bay windows, magnificent landscapes, will this fish jump for joy? Will it start to sing? Or, on the contrary, won’t it eventually perish after a long agony?
We can perfectly imagine its horrible end. But why? Quite simply because it is no longer in its natural environment and has been removed from the environment which Allah has specially intended for it, from its living space. He is out of his “skin” because out of the water. By analogy, we may wonder what we are talking about when we talk about the natural environment, the living environment or even the “skin” of human beings, and especially of Muslims. It is easy to understand that it is about living according to the divine prescriptions, that is, according to the Sharia, and therefore, to do what is commanded and to refrain from what is prohibited.
Speaking of which, sin is one thing that plagues the life of a Muslim. The harms it entails are so endless that it would be difficult, even impossible, to list them all. However, those mentioned in the Hadiths and the Holy Quran are undoubtedly sufficient for us to think and act accordingly.
First of all, it is easy to see the negative effects, in this world, by the difficulties that arise from it and which end up assailing us. In fact, there are so many that we cannot list them in their entirety. Everyone is aware of the many stories contained in the Holy Quran about sinners.
So what was that thing that took Ibliss out of heaven and threw him down to earth? It was his disobedience that destroyed him and caused him to be cursed. Its appearance was made ugly and its interior destroyed. He received the curse of Allah and this intimate and special bond which he had with his Lord was broken; moreover, Allah removed him from Him, and instead of praise and honour he obtained infidelity, Shirk, lies and sin.
What was it that caused all creatures to be drowned in the Flood in the days of Nuh (as)? Why were the Aad people destroyed by a strong wind, which threw them all to the ground? What is this thing again, because of which a terrifying cry tore the sky apart, shattering the faith and the livers of the people of Thamoud, killing them all to the last?
And why were the towns of those of Lut (as) [Sodom and Gomorra] were lifted up into the air, turned on themselves as a rain of stones poured down upon them? What caused a terrible retribution, in the form of a mass of clouds, to befall the people of Shuaib (as)? And what caused the deaths of Pharaoh’s followers in the Red Sea? Why was Carun buried in the earth, covered with his house and his goods?
What is this thing that caused all kinds of calamities to befall the people of Israel, once [when they were] decimated, once again [when they were] imprisoned or even helpless in the face of the destruction of their dwellings, another time oppressed by a tyrant and finally driven from their country?
The answer to all these
questions, the cause of all these punishments, is nothing other than sin, man’s
disobedience to his Creator.
It should be clarified that if these accounts are found in several passages of the Holy Book, Allah does not elaborate on the reason for the calamities which befell these peoples; he quotes it each time, without going into details, very succinctly. Allah tells us in the Holy Quran: “Allah is not unjust to them; they were unjust to themselves”. [Yunus 10:45]
It is therefore undeniable that these people endured these punishments by the mere fact of their sins.
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hambal (ra) relates: “When Kypros fell into the hands of the Muslims, Zubair Ibn Nazer (ra) saw Abu Darda (ra) sitting in a corner, weeping; Zubair (ra) said that he addressed Abu Darda (ra) in these terms: “O Abu Darda! How can you cry on this blessed day when Allah honoured Islam and Muslims, granting them victory?” The latter replied: “Alas! You do not understand! When a people trample on the commandments of the Lord, do you know how much that people becomes degraded and fall in His eyes? Look! These people held absolute power but they abandoned Allah’s orders and were humiliated, as you are witnessing now.” [Ahmad bin Hanbal]
This Hadith confirms us
the starting hypothesis: “Verily, man is deprived of food by the sins he
commits.”
In another compilation of Hadiths, in this case “Ibn Majah”, Abdullah Ibn Umar (ra) relates the following account: “We were gathered with ten people around the prophet (pbuh), when he declared to us: “I ask for the Allah’s protection against five plagues, so that you do not have to encounter them:
1. When a people begin
to commit immoral acts in full view of all, they will be afflicted with an
epidemic.
2. It will also have to
endure illnesses that did not exist before.
3. When a nation
defrauds on weights and measures, it will suffer drought, indigenousness, and
be oppressed by unjust rulers.
4. When people will
stop paying Zakat and Allah deprives them immediately of the blessed rain.
Besides, if animals did not exist, so would rain.
5. If a people break
their promises, God will send them foreign enemies who will seize their goods.”
In another Hadith,
Hazrat Aisha (ra) specifies that: “When people start to commit adultery
without any fear, as if it were a permitted action, to consume alcoholic
beverages or to gamble or to play music, then Allah will be offended and order
the earth to shake them up.”
As for Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz (ra) [the first Mujaddid of Islam], he sent the following warning to many cities; here is the summary:
After praising Allah
and sending blessings upon the Prophet, he gave them the following message: “Earthquakes
are a sign of the wrath of Allah; I have already communicated this to the
inhabitants of other towns, so that they meet on such and such a date [on a
specific day], in a plain, to beg, pray to their Lord and do charity, if they
have the means.”
It is also reported that when Allah wants to chastise His servants, He kills their children and makes their wives sterile.
Malik Ibn Dinar [who
was one of the Tabe’ins] said: “I have read in the wisdom books that it is
written this [where Allah testifies]: ‘I am Allah, the King of Kings; their
heart is in My hands; I will make them obey Me. As for the disobedient; they
will be oppressed by these same kings. So don’t spend your time blaming the
rulers but turn to Me and I will soften them [i.e. the hearts of those
rulers]’.”
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (ra) writes that Wahab (ra) said: “Allah addressed the people of Israel in these terms: ‘When I am obeyed, I am satisfied then I send prosperity; My prosperity has no limit. Otherwise, I get angry and curse the disobedient; the effects of My curse are felt until the seventh generation’.”
Imam Ahmad (ra) also relates these words of Hazrat Jabir (ra) by addressing (orally or in writing) to Hazrat Muawiyah (ra): “When the servant does not obey the commandments of his Lord those who praised him end up blaming him.”
There are still many Hadiths mentioning the difficulties and evils affecting men in this world because of their sins.
If we analyze this:
1. The deprivation of
religious knowledge is one of the immediate consequences of sin; knowledge is
an interior light that sin extinguishes. Imam Malik (ra) gave the following
advice to Imam Shafi (ra): “I see that Allah has put a light in your heart,
do not quench it with sin”.
2. Decrease in food is another.
A kind of fear vis-à-vis God is born in the heart of the sinner; in fact, one who has a minimum of love for Allah can understand this.
The following account illustrates this fact: A man complained to a Saint about his fear of Allah. This Saint answered him as follows: “Sins have thrown you into the ditch of anguish, so abandon them and come out as you wish”.
Sin also causes people to fear people, to fear pious people and to no longer like to frequent them. However, the further away one gets from their teachings and blessings, one ends up being deprived of them.
A pious man said that when he happened to do a bad deed, its negative consequences were felt in the behaviour of his wife and his animals, who at that time no longer fully obeyed him.
The sinner encounters difficulty in what he undertakes. The doors to ease close for want of Taqwa (piety) just as they open when a man is a zealous servant.
Sin brings a kind of darkness to the heart. If we meditate a little on this subject, we can feel it perfectly. May Allah allow us to understand all of this and keep us away from sin and its evils. Insha-Allah, Ameen.
---Friday Sermon of 17 December 2021~12 Jamadi’ul Awwal 1443 AH delivered by Imam- Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Khalifatullah Munir. A. Azim (aba) of Mauritius.