| PEOPLE WHO ARE HEADED
TO HELLFIRE Shaikh Prof. Dr.
Mahmud Es'ad Cosan Eůdhu billâhi
minash-shaytŕnir rajîm. Bismillâhir rahmânir
rahîm. Elhamdu lillâhi haqqa
hamdihî, was-salatu was-salamu alâ khayra khalqihî
sayyidinâ muhammadin wa alâ âlihî wa sahbihî wa men tebiahű bi-ihsânin
ejmaîn... Emmâ ba'd. Praise is to Almighty Allah
who is truly to be praised. The blessings of Allah be on our master
Prophet
Muhammad, his family, his companions and his sincere followers all. My Dear beloved Muslim
Brothers and Sisters! O blessed congregation of Muslims! May Almighty Allah accept
our fasts, prayers and supplications. May He grant you the
desires of
your hearts in this life and in the hereafter. In this brief time period
after the Isha prayer, I would like to explain few verses and a Hadith
Qudsî. Dear Brothers and Sisters!
In many verses of the Qur'an, Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala orders taqwa on us.
"Be muttaqî servants! Hold
on to taqwa! Make taqwa your
principle." You
hear these verses often. In Surah Hashr, before the "Huwallŕhulledhî
lâ ilâha illâ hű" verse
that we often read, Almighty Allah says, bismillâhir-rahmânir-rahîm:
يا ايـهــا
الذين اۤمــنوا اتـقــوا الله ولــتــنــظــر نـفـسٍ ما قدمت لغدٍ،
واتقوا الله، ان الله خبيرٌ بما تعملون (الحشر:١٨) (Yâ
eyyuhelledhîne âmenuttaqullŕha waltenzur nafsun mâ qaddemet lighad,
wattaqullŕh, innallŕhe khabîrun bimâ ta'malűn.) (Qur'an 59:18) This verse means, (Yâ
eyyuhelledhîne âmenű) "O you who
have believed, o Muslims! (Ittaqullŕh)
Fear Allah, have taqwa! (waltenzur nafsun
mâ qaddemet lighad) Let
every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow." Each of us must
consider what we are preparing for tomorrow. "Today" is our
life in this world, our present life. "Tomorrow" is the life in
the hereafter. Let each person look at what he is preparing for
the
hereafter. What is he preparing? What will he present? The Prophet SAS has explained
the matter with a simile for everybody to understand: الدنيا
مزراعة الآخرة (Ad-dunyâ mezrâ'atul âkhirah) "This life is the arable
field
for the hereafter." You are going to plant crops here to harvest
them in the hereafter. You harvest whatever you plant.
Nobody would
plant wheat and harvest cotton instead. What ever you do in this life,
you will
get it in the hereafter. This is a simple fact that everybody,
from the
most illiterate to the top scholar, could understand easily. It
is a fact
just like two plus two equals four. Our lord is ordering us
"Let each person look at what he is preparing for the
hereafter." Then we must look at what we do everyday. We
turn
back and look at what we have done. Every evening we must
evaluate our
deeds and look at our losses and gains. Some great personages had
done that very seriously. They took a sheet of paper and a pen
and listed
their good deeds and bad deeds so that they would not repeat the bad
deeds and
maintain the good ones. They questioned themselves: "How did I
miss
that one?" Hadrat Omar ibn-i Khattab
RA recommended: حسبوا
انفسكم قبل ان تحاسبوا (Hŕsibű anfusakum qabla an tuhŕsabű) "Interrogate
yourselves
before you are interrogated in the hereafter. Do an analysis
here!"
A store owner would examine his records before the end of the year to
see where
he is headed. How much does he owe? How much is he going to
receive? What is the overhead? Each person would pay
attention to
such things; otherwise, he would not know how much deficit or loss he
will have
to face at the end of the year. Every evening the account is
checked. That is why we ought to ask
ourselves: "What I am preparing for the hereafter?" Before
going to sleep, each person should remember the events of the day:
"What
did I do in the morning? When did I leave the house? Which
places
did I go? What things did I do?" He should get answers to these
questions. There was a man living in
Madinah al Munawwarah. He was a good Muslim. Whenever he
visited
the grave of the Prophet, he would greet: "As-salaâtu
was-salâmu 'aleyke yâ Rasűlallah!" He would
hear a response of the Prophet, too. What a great state! Once he
had
visitors from his hometown. He inquired about his neighbors and
relatives
who are living in his hometown. With the longing for his
hometown, they
had a conversation for a while. Then at the prayer time, this man
went to
the Masjid-i Nabawî (the masjid of the Prophet SAS) and greeted
him. This
time he did not hear a response from the Prophet SAS. He felt so
sorry:
"What I have done! I must have committed an offense!" He
thought of what he had done that particular day. He traced back
what he
did since the morning. "O Lord! What did I do? Why did the
Prophet
ignored me when I greeted him?" He kept thinking and
pondering. He thought of the conversations and finally he found
his
fault. He uttered the words: "The yoghurt in our home town is the
best. The yoghurt made here is not even comparable. It is not
good at
all." How dare you utter such
words indicating the displeasure of the conditions of the place that is
identified with the Prophet? That costed him a fall in his
spiritual
rank. He repented in tears and corrected himself to gain the
previous
state he was in. If a person looks back, he would see his good
deeds (khayr) and mistakes and faults (sherr)
he has committed. Khayr is something
that is pleasing to the heart. The sin is something that is heavy
on the
heart and unpleasant. This is a simple criterion, easily
understood. Coming back to the verse: اتـقــوا
الله (Ittequllŕh)
"Be aware of Allah, have taqwa!"
We have to look at what we are presenting for tomorrow. The first
word is
"ittequllŕh"; it means to
be aware of Allah, to fear Allah. In this month of Ramadhan, this
blessed
worship of fasting has been ordained for us so that we may learn how to
have taqwa. It is stated in the Qur'an:
يا ايها
الذين اۤمنوا كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب على الذين
من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون (البقرة:١٨٣) (Yâ
ayyuhelldhine âmenű kutibe alaykumus-siyâmu kemâ kutibe 'alelledhîne
min
qablikum le'allekum tetteqűn) "O you who have believed! Fasting is prescribed on you as it
was prescribed on those who lived before you so that you may learn how
to be
aware of Allah, have taqwa." Let me read the whole of
the verse I recited earlier: Bismillâhir
rahmânir rahîm: يا ايـهــا
الذين اۤمــنوا اتـقــوا الله ولــتــنــظــر نـفـسٍ ما قدمت لغدٍ،
واتقوا الله، ان الله خبيرٌ بما تعملون (الحشر:١٨) (Yâ eyyuhelledhîne âmenuttaqullŕha waltenzur nafsun mâ
qaddemet lighad)
"O you who have believed. Be aware of Allah! And let every
soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow. (wattaqullŕh)
And be aware of Allah! (innallŕhe khabîrun bimâ ta'malűn.)
Indeed, Allah is Acquinted with
what you do." He knows everything you do, hidden or
obvious.
He has the absolute knowledge of all. Now we have to be aware of
Allah--have taqwa. We must make ittiqŕ.
Ittiqŕ means to be aware of, to
avoid, to fear. What are we going to be aware of, avoid or fear? (Ittequllŕh) "Be aware of Allah,
fear Allah!" Yes, but, hasn't the Prophet SAS stated following: ان الله
جميلٌ يحبُّ الجمال (راموزالاحاديث:١١/٨٧) (Innallŕhe jemîlun yuhibbul jemâl) "Allah is the most
beautiful
and loves beauties." One could love Allah; why would we
fear?
We have to avoid the wrath of Allah; we must fear the hellfire.
We have
to keep ourselves from falling into the hellfire. "O
believers! Protect yourselves from going to hell." How are we going to protect
ourselves? We will avoid hellfire by not committing
offenses. Hell
is a terrifying place that is hard to describe. The Prophet SAS
said,
"If a drop of zaqqum--that is
the drink that sinners will be given in hell--fell to the oceans, it
would make
the whole hydrosphere bitter. Woe to those who will be punished
with such
a drink!" Can you imagine how potent
it is? One small drop will poison all of the oceans on
earth. What
will happen to people who would drink that? يغلى فى
البطون. كغلى الحميم (الدخان:٤٥-٤٦) (Yaghlî fil butůn. Keghalyil hamîm) The drinks will be
boiling and
the torment will be immense. The Prophet SAS said:
"O believing brothers and sisters! O believers! O Muslims!
Try
not to fall into hell." Some people utter words here that I
cannot
say. Hell is an important abode because once a person falls in.. It is
hard to
imagine how terrible it is. There will be some believers who will
fall
into Hell that they are listed in a Hadith Qudsi that we are going to
look at. There will be some
believers who will fall into Hell. Who are they? The sinners;
those who
do what Allah prohibited. A believer, but disobedient. He
had to
obey, but he disobeyed. He had to avoid hellfire, but he did
not!
He was not supposed to enter hell as a believer, but he will be
punished there.
"Try not to get in to
Hell!" said the Prophet SAS because one who enters there will stay
there
for a while: لابثين فيها
احقـابًا (النساء:٢٣) (Lâbisîne fîhâ ahqŕben) "They will stay there as long as huqubs." Huqub is a time period in
Arabic. How much does it equal in
our understanding? One huqub is
about 80 some years, i.e., a lifetime. Ahqŕben
means "lifetimes." What is the minumum
number? (Eqallul jem'u thelâtheh)
"the minumum of the many is three," say Arabs. Plural for
"two" has a different form in Arabic. The minimum is three
lifetimes--in numbers 3 x 83 = 259 years. It is some 250
years! One
who falls in hell will stay there at least 250 years even if he is a
believer. Is that it? No! The
calculation is not over yet. We are going to use our math
knowledge. In the Qur'an, Almighty Allah says--may He have mercy
on us
and forgive us. وان يومًا
عند ربك كالــف سنــةٍ مما تعدُّون (الحج:٤٧) (Wa inna yawman inde rabbike ke-elfi senetin
mimmâ te'uddűn) "A
day in the sight of Allah is a thousand years of your time, be aware!" A calendar year is 365
days. Each of these days in the hereafter is 1000 years. One year
will be
like 365 000 years of our time. 250 x 365 000 years make a very
long
time. You go and calculate it then see how terrible it is.
The best
thing is not to enter Hell at all! Even a believer will spend
millions of
years in Hell before he gets out. Almighty Allah has wisdom; He
would not
state these in vain: واتقوا
النار التى اعدَّت للكافرين (اۤل عمران:١٣١) (Wattaqun
nâralletî
u'iddet lil kâfirîn) "Protect yourselves from the hellfire which is
prepared for disbelievers." Almighty Allah has mercy on believing
servants. That is why He is ordering us to be aware of the
hellfire,
avoid it and fear from it. In many verses of the Qur'an, Allah subhanahu
wa
ta'ala orders us to avoid the hellfire. Almighty Allah not only
orders us to stay away from the hellfire, but also He teaches us how to
do
it. Do you know how He teaches us? Are you aware how He
does
that? Many people are not aware of it as a poet put it: Ol mâhîler ki deryâ
ichredur, deryâyi bilmezler. The fish lives in the ocean,
yet does not know what the ocean is. It is unaware that it lives
in the
ocean. Similarly, we are in a month-long taqwa training course in
Ramadhan. Every year each Muslim undergoes the training course on
taqwa. If a person receives thirty
days of training, he would be a "professor" of it. If an old
person with a hump undergoes training one month every year, he would
beat
anybody in wrestling. As it continues year after year, people
would
hesitate to mess with him: "He has a trained body--like elastic. He may
overpower us." Every year we receive a
month of the taqwa training. Fasting is for the taqwa
training.
With fasting we learn how to be aware and how to avoid. "How does Almighty
Allah teach us?" Can you survive without
water? It is not possible. We need water, so do the plants,
flowers and
trees, and crops. If Almighty Allah does not send water, life
stops. قل ارايتم
ان اصبح ماؤكم غورًا فمن ياتيكم
بماءٍ معين
(الملك:٣٠) (Qul
ara'eytum in asbaha
mâukum ghawren femen ye'tikum bimâin maîn) (Qur'an 67:30). If
Almighty
Allah withheld the rain, and the ground water were to become sunken
into the
earth, what would people do? Who would bring flowing water? Then there is
nourishment. We could not survive without food. We live for
a
while, but then we loose strength. 365 x 250 000 = Ninety-one
million two hundred fifty thousand years... This is the minimum length
of time
a Muslim who has fallen into hell will spend three. Would you
still get
close to the offenses and disobey? Can you tolerate the intense
fire for
this long? You cannot even tolerate the heat of sun and seek a
place in
shade, put a hat or something else on your head. Ninety-one
million two
hundred fifty thousand years is not a short time period. Dear Brothers and Sisters,
we have to do our fasting as it should be done, in a complete way. Fasting does not mean a
training of the stomach, a tolerance towards poverty, hunger, and
thirst.
The control of the sexual desires is required, too. Fasting
teaches to be
patient in that aspect, too. It is an important feeling. Water is a must; food is a
must. Almighty Allah has given the other feeling in mankind,
too.
It is a very strong feeling. Many people are disgraced and
humiliated
because of that feeling. The sexual desires could make and a
person
humiliated and disgraceful and take to hellfire. Our beloved Prophet SAS
stated it in a polite manner: Mostly these two things lead people to
hellfire: 1. The organ between two
lips, i.e., the tongue. A person may utter improper words that
make him a
rebel or a disbeliever. His words take him to hellfire. The
organ
between two lips could lead a person to hellfire. 1. The organ between two
legs. A person could lead himself to disaster with that
organ. Many
publishers who have no shame or fear of Allah make a business out of
it. There
are films, theatres, bars, nightclubs that thrive on this matter.
Businesses
are established on it. These businesses are established on the bridge
over Hell
or in Hell. They have glittering lights, attractive windows, and
alluring
views. They sell all kinds of liqueur. They all try to take
people
to hellfire. Look at the audacity of the
mankind! He has no fear of entertaining himself on top of Hell.
How
ignorant, how stupid, how unaware, how insensitive, how blind this man
can be? We must appreciate this
month of training and benefit from the fasting. We must succeed
in the
training, get our certificate and be on the honors list. We have
to learn
taqwa in this course. Taqwa is not mere avoiding
food and water. It is not mere staying away from sexual desires,
either.
There is also the taqwa of the heart which is to avoid looking at
haram.
Our beloved Prophet SAS said, الــعــيــنـان
تـزنــيــان (راموزالاحاديث:١٠/٢٢٤) (El'aynân
tezniyân)
"Eyes commit adultery, too." Can a person commit adultery while
fasting? If he does, what would happen to his fast and taqwa? If
eyes
commit adultery, if they look at haram, the rewards of our fast are
lost.
That is why you shall not look at haram. Then there are the diseases
of the tongue. You have to protect it from sins, too. There
are the
diseases of the ears; one has to protect them from haram.
The
tongue has to be protected from haram; the hands should not reach
haram.
The feet shall not walk towards haram. When all of your body,
physically
and spiritually, learns taqwa, then your fast is accepted. Imam Al Ghazzâlî talks
about three levels of fasting: 1. The fast of the layman (awâm):
It is the fast of masses; simple avoidance of food, water and
sexual
intercourse. That is all. 2. The fast of the elite (hawâs):
in addition to avoiding food, water and sex, eyes are saved from
looking at
haram; ears and tongue are saved from haram, too. His hand does
not reach
haram, nor do his feet walk to haram. Total abstinence from haram
is
observed. That is the true fast. If the eyes are not
prevented from looking at haram; tongue, from lies and backbiting, then
the
fast of the elite is broken. He loses all the rewards. Our
beloved
Prophet SAS said: ربَّ صائمٍ
ليس له بصيامه الا الجوع والعطش
(Rubbe
sŕimin)
"There are many people who fast, (leyse lehű bi siyâmihî il-lel jűi
wal
atash) yet they do not benefit from it. They remain hungry
and
thirsty till the evening." That is the fast of the masses which
is
not favored because they look at haram, listen to haram, uttered haram,
or
reached haram. That is why this kind of fast is not acceptable. 3, There is the fast of the
elite of the elite (hâssul hawâs). They keep themselves
away from
the mâsiwallah (anything other than Almighty Allah). They enjoy
the
beauty of Allah. Their fast is to disconnect themselves from the mâsiwallah.
Of course that is beyond
our comprehension. We can understand the second kind of fasting:
hunger,
thirst and staying away from all kinds of sins. Then our fasting
is
accepted. Suppose that in this month,
we keep ourselves away from offenses during the day, yet commit them at
night. That would not be acceptable. As the poet put it:
"Could a person promise in the evening and change his mind in the
morning?" Here is another one: "He tells the truth at the
police station yet gets confused in the court house." One fasts
the
whole day--mâshaAllah! Then you look at him in the evening, when
he
breaks his fast, he heads to the places of offences. That is not
acceptable. What was the purpose of fasting? What happened
to your
training? Mehmed Akif RhA has a story in his Safahat: A drunkard decided to give up drinking: "I promise, I repent. I am not going to drink wine again!" As he walked on the street of the bar, his heart started pounding. As he walked by the entrance of the bar, the excitement peaked. He consoled himself: "You promised! Don't get excited. Do not look at the entrance. Go on. Walk away!" He paused at the entrance. Nevertheless, he continued walking on the street encouraging himself. He looked forward, but his mind was still at the bar. He moved away. He wanted to drink. He managed to reach the end of the street. He stopped there and said: "Congratulations! You did it! Let me reward you with a glass of drink!" He returned to the bar. What happened? What happened to the repentance? What happened top the promise? Is this how one repents? Dear Brothers and Sisters! Would it be acceptable to fast during the day and commit sins in the evening? Our beloved Prophet SAS said: "Allah Almighty made an obligation on you to fast during the days in this blessed month, and He made praying at night a voluntary but very rewarding worship for you." You will fast during the day and get up at night to offer tehejjud (night vigil) prayers. You shall spend your nights in prayers. It is not proper to fast during the day and go for dancing at night. One should not go for drinking at night having fasted the whole day. I see some of the elderly people who light a cigarette as soon as the call for maghrib is heard or the cannon is fired. O blessed man, dear brother, beloved brother, pupil of my eye! Haven't you been patient throughout the day? Why don't you continue being patient in the evening, too? Why do you break your covenant in the evening? Smoking is makruh [according to most tolerant opinions]. Our scholars have studied the matter and classified smoking as kerahat-i tahrimiya (close to haram). Okay, makruh; we accept the opinions of the scholars. Yet there are scholars who classify smoking as "haram." They prove their points: "Wasting resources is haram. Consuming something that is harmful to health is haram. Smoke is harmful to body. Therefore, smoking is haram." When I was a college
professor, I went to the Sahaflar Bazaar in Most people in The scholars of the four schools of thought were asked about smoking, and the author collected the answers in that booklet. All of them stated that it was haram. The matter is controversial; there are scholars who classify it as haram, yet there is no person who says it is good and useful. The medical doctors say: "If you are a smoker, you are committing suicide slowly." In the hospitals there are signs: "Please do not smoke here. Smoking is prohibited." Some establishments have the sign: "We thank you for not smoking here." Smoking is prohibited in motor vehicles, buses, and airplanes. It is harmful for health. It is also harmful for the nonsmoker. The smoke hurts nonsmokers, too. Man fasts during the day and smokes in the evening; he even breaks his fast by smoking. O blessed person! Almighty Allah has given you an opportunity; you were patient during the day, You should be patient in the evening and tomorrow! Then you quit smoking all together. Save yourself from this bad habit, and get your good health back. A friend of mine who was a professor of law told me about an incident. We had classes at the same school. He started out his profession as a public prosecutor. He had to present at the scene of the death or crime. The official procedure is started with his order. He said: "Once I was called for an incident that a national swimmer got drowned in water." The swimmer was 18-20 years old. The prosecutor was called. There was a German professor in the mortuary. During the autopsy, somebody suggested: "The swimmer had a cramp and got drowned." The German Professor objected: "No No! If he had a cramp, he would keep himself floating. He would not have been drowned. They asked the professor: "How did he get drowned, then?" "Look at his fingers!" said the professor. "He is a chain smoker." The smoke and the tar of the cigarette had stained his fingers. "How did he get drowned then?" In the post mortem, they opened up his chest and removed his lungs. My friend said: "They had latex gloves. They got the lungs out and lifted up. The lower parts of the lungs were black, turning dark-brown moving up. When the German professor squeezed the lungs, black tar came out like beads." He said: "His lungs were full of smoke. When he swam, his body needed the oxygen for the muscles. His lungs could not provide necessary oxygen. He swam and died of lack of oxygen." In brief, smoking is harmful. Doctors are against it, the scholars of jurisprudence are against it. One has to give it up. If there are smokers among you, let them learn a lesson from this. Dear Brothers and sisters! We shall learn how to stay away from sins, bad deeds and makruhs in this month of Ramadhan. It is stated in a Hadith Qudsî: "When you commit an offense, do not look at if it is a minor or major offense; look at whom you have committed it against." If something is done against the order of Allah, then you cannot say it is a minor offense. We would not dare to commit an offense before Almighty Allah. In Ramadhan, we must learn staying away from major and minor offenses. Today I intended to deliver a short talk, but it got longer as we do mathematical calculations and explain taqwa. Before I end my talk, let me read the rest of the Hadith Qudsî as I promised: This Hadith Qudsî lists people who are headed to Hell. Let me tell you the list, so you will be aware. If someone close to you or a relative has these shortcomings, inform him or her, too. You also correct yourselves if you have the traces of these shortcomings. يا ابن
اۤدم! ما هذا النيران الا لكلّ عاقِّ الوالدين. و لكل بخيلٍ،
ونمَّامٍ، ومراءٍ، ومانع الزكاة، واۤكل الربا، وشــارب
الــخمــر، وظالم الــيــتــيــم، والاجــيــر الــغــادر، و النايحة،
وجامع الحرام، وناسى القراۤن. ولكل فاجرٍ، ومـؤ ذى
الجــيـران. الا من تاب و اۤمـن وعـمـل عـمــلاً صالحًا
فاولـئك يبدِّل الله سـيـئاتهم حسـناتٍ و كان الله غــفــورًا
رحــيــمًا. فارحمـوا انـفـســكم يا عـــبادى! فانَّ الابدان
ضــــعــيــفـــةٌ، والسـفـــر بــعــيدٌ، والــحمــل
ثــقــيــلٌ، والمــنـــادى
اسـرافــيـــل، والـــنــار تــلــظَّى، والــقــاضــى ربُّ الــعــالمــين،
ويحذّركم الله نــفــســــه.
(Yebni âdem) "O son of Adam!" We all are the children of Hadrat Adam. We all are brothers and sisters in fact. Hadrat Adam is our great grand father. (Mâ hâzen nîrânu) "This fire is for these: --Here the offences are listed; you pay attention and keep them in mind!-- 1. (Illâ likulli ŕqqil walideyn) "for those who disobey their parents." If there is anybody among you who is not in peace with his parents, he should go to his parents, kiss their hands and make peace with them. If you have disobeyed your parents, go and make them happy because those who disobey the parents will end up in Hell. There is a hadith of our
beloved Prophet SAS: As the prophet was climbing up the pulpit to
deliver
a sermon, What do we understand from
this hadith? Those who disobey the parents incur the wrath of Did you know that the money spent on the parents is rewarded in seven hundred folds? Is is a valuable as the money spent in Jihad. That is why you ought to make them happy. Do not be rebels against your parents. If you have a situation like that, go and make peace with them. When I was a faculty member at the university, a student knocked at my door. We tried to maintain some distance between us and the students [so that they maintain the respect for the professors], yet when it is necessary, we would talk with individual students. He said, "Professor, could I come inside?" I responded: "Yes, please come in." The student had a beard. He said, "I want to talk to you." "Go ahead." "Sir, my father has kicked me out of the house. He said that I am no longer his son." "O dear! Why?" "He did because I keep a beard." "What does he do for living?" The father produced musical instruments. He did not like his son keeping a beard or becoming a religious person. He kicked him out of the house. "Where and how do you live now?" I wanted to help him. "I am well financially. I live in an apartment. I do not need any financial support. However, this is the situation." I told him the following: "The consent of the parents is very important. You should write them a letter." These were the words that Almighty Allah had me utter. "Write with a peasant style. Say, 'My Dear beloved respectable mother and father! I kiss your hands and feet. My belief, Islam, orders me to be a good child to you. I want to do that. Please provide me that opportunity. You got angry at me and expelled me from your house. Allow me kiss your hand and feet and serve you. Let me be a good son to you. This is what I want. However, please do not ask me to disobey Almighty Allah. Do not ask me to deviate from the path of Allah. Do not ask me to disregard the orders of Allah. Then I would prefer the path of Allah while my heart cries because He is the Lord of the Universe, my Creator; you are nothing compared to Him. In that case, I follow the orders of Allah and disobey you. Please do not let me be in that difficult situation. I want to serve you.'" I am sure the student came to me with a sincere intention, and Almighty Allah had me say these words. He said, "Yes Sir!" and left. Several moths passed. The student appeared at my door. He was with a young lady who was in hijab--head to toe covered in loose overcoat. She had gloves, too. He asked, "Professor, could we come in?" I took them in. I thought the student was getting married: the young lady next to him was his fiancée. He asked, "Sir do you know this girl?" "No I do not. This is the first time I saw her. How would I know her?" "This is my sister. Remember, you told me to write a letter to my parents. I wrote it the way you told me. The letter had an impact in the house like a bomb! My mother cried, so did my father and my sister." Due to the sincerity in the letter, the father changed his mind and took the child home. They made peace alhamdu lillâh. Some months later, the student appeared at my door again: "Sir, could I come in?" "Come on in!" "Sir, good news!" "May it be real good. What happened?" "My father, mother, my
brothers and sisters, we all are going for Hajj." Alhamdu lillâh! How nice! If you have a conflict with your parents, try to eradicate it in this manner. It is possible that sometimes the parents are wrong. "I am going to serve liqueur in the restaurant!" says the father. "Why, Dad?" "Son, there are not many customer. If there is liqueur, we will get more customers and get their money. The regular restaurant has not produced much money." "Dad! If you are going to serve liqueur in the restaurant, let me move out of your house because I cannot accept sustenance from haram sources. I would not put haram food in my mouth. If you are going to sell wine, let me leave the house. If you do not want me to leave, then do not bring liqueur to the restaurant." Sometimes the fathers are on the wrong path. Then the children correct them. Sometimes the children are rebellions and on the wrong path, the parents try to bring them to the straight path. Yet the child becomes a rebel not listening to anybody and causing great distress on the parents. This is called âkkul walideyn: the disobedient child that hurts the parents. He is headed to Hell. 2. (Wa likulli bakhîlin) "And the stingy." The avaricious and miserly people will go to Hell. You may say: "Not everybody could give things away. Money is warm and hard to get it out of the hands. Everybody wants some money in his pocket. What is the measure of stinginess? What is the limit?" My response would be: "The limit of being free from the stinginess is paying zakah. One who pays his zakah is not stingy. One who does not pay zakah is stingy. One who pays zakah fulfils the obligation and cleared off the stinginess. The minimum is the zakah." You should pay your zakah in Ramadhan and do not neglect it! If you pay your zakah in Ramadhan, you get 70-fold rewards. Also keep one thing in mind: Paying zakah is also the minimum border of generosity, the lowest level of it. "What is the upper limit?" "The upper limit is giving everything for Allah." "Who would do something like that? Is there an example?" "Sure. Hadrat Abűbakr as-Siddiq RA gave everything for Allah." Hadrat Omar ibn-i Khattab RA gave half of waht he had. He thought that he would be giving more that Hadrat Abubakr RA did thus beat him in competition. When he arrived to the masjid, he learned that Hadrat Abubakr RA gave everything he had. The Prophet SAS asked Hadrat Abubakr RA: "What did you leave for your family O Abubakr?" His response was, "I left Allah and his Messenger." Isn't Allah the Razzaq (The Sustainer), Ghanî (The Rich), Mughnî (The Enricher) and Mu'tî (The Giver of all things)? Allah provides the wealth, the sustenance. When the Prophet SAS is consent, would a person be deprived of anything? When a person is "siddiq," when the faith of a person is at that level, he would give all he has for Allah including his life. He would give it willingly. 3. (Wa nemmâmin) Nemmam is a backbiter. He takes somebody's words about somebody else and spreads it. That created mischief among people. The backbiter will go to hell. 4. (Wa murâin) Murâi is a person who does worship for people to see; thus he expects a worldly benefit from it. He has no sincerity. He is after fame and worldly benefits. The consent of Allah is not his concern; he wants to affect people with his worship. His worship is not acceptable; he will go to Hell. 5. (Wa mâni'iz-zekâti) One who prevents the payment of zakah, one who does not pay zakah, will go to Hell. It is possible that a person interferes with the payment of zakah. For instance, one of our brothers donated a large sum of money for the local branch of our foundation. The next day a friend of his father chastised him: "This generosity is too much; it is unacceptable." Our brother responded: "Sir, you were a close friend of my father. You had a good understanding of one another. You know he is dead now." He meant: "Death could come at any time. One has to accumulate good deeds for the hereafter. My father is dead, and you were friends. You could die soon, too. You should spend on charitable causes, too." "Do not threaten me with death! Do not scare me with death!" That is the response he got. Almighty Allah has mysterious ways of handling His servants. Several days passed. The city administration decided to buy a lot in the middle of downtown that belonged to the man. The payment was much below the market value. That was somehow a punishment for him because he wanted to prevent a spending on good cause. That was an example of people who try to prevent spending for good a cause. 6. (Wa âkilur-ribâ) One who is involved in interest. One who receives interest, one who pays interest, one who "eats" interest are headed to hellfire. 7. (Wa shâribil khamr) One who drinks liqueur. He will end up in Hell. 8. (Wa zŕlimil yetîm) One who maltreats the orphan, takes advantage of him, and gets his property. He is headed to hell, too. 9. (Wal ejîril ghŕdir) One who employs people but does not pay them properly. He will go to Hell. There are some people who
do that. I know of many brothers who undertook projects as
subcontractors
in Those who have the employees work but do not pay them at all or properly will go to Hell. There are some rootless people who chase the workers away when it is time to pay them. The workers are intimidated, so they do not seek justice in the courts. Yet, in the hereafter, almighty Allah will question the employers who do injustice to his employees. 10. (Wan-nâyihati) Professional wailer who cry, scream and praise for a deceased person. There used to be some women who were invited to house of the deceased person. They would scream, pull her hair, tear her clothes, say good words about the person and cry. 11. (Wa jâmi'il haram) Those who gather haram wealth and property. Such people are headed to hellfire. 12. (Wan nâsil qur'ân) One who forgets the Qur'an will go to hell, too. Forgetting the Qur'an could be in two ways: a. He had memorized the Qur'an in the past, yet neglected repeating and reciting. He had forgotten what he had memorized. This happens often. To forget what one had memorized is a major sin. Forgetting would mean not paying enough attention to the Qur'an. "Do you know the surah Ar-Rahman by heart?" "I used to, but I cannot recite by heart now." "You knew Tabaraka (Surah Mulk), recite that." "I forgot." It is a sin to forget the part of the Qur'an that was memorized before. b. Another forgetting is the orders of the Qur'an. A Muslim has to carry out the orders of the Qur'an. He has to comply with them. He has to follow the orders of Allah and stay away from haram. 13. (Wa likulli fâjir) Those who commit sins [openly]. 14. (Wa mu'zil jirân) One who creates problems for his neighbor. In one of the towns we visited, somebody complained: "Khawaja! I live in a neighborhood. My neighbors threaten me with guns." "May Allah protect you form their evil. I pray that Almighty Allah correct then, take you away from them, or take them away from there." Those who create problems for the neighbors are headed to hellfire. Let me give you the list of people who are headed to hellfire: Those who are rebellious towards their parents, the stingy, the backbiter, those who do the worship for worldly benefits, those who do not pay zakah, those who indulge in interest, those who drink liqueur, those who do injustice to orphans, those who mistreat their employees, the professional wailers, those who accumulate haram wealth and property, those who forget the Qur'an, those who commit sins openly, and those who create problems for the neighbors. These are the people headed for the hellfire even if they are believers. You may ask: "Khawaja, what are we going to do if we have part of what you have listed? What if we are just a bit stingy? What if we had some backbiting? What if we have showed of when we prayed? What if we failed to pay the zakah in full? It is not easy not be a backbiter." There is a way of escape: الا من تاب
و اۤمـن وعـمـل عـمــلاً صالحًا (Illâ men tâbe) "Except for those who have repented. " Repentance (tawba) means "returning." If a person gave up such offenses and returned to Allah's path, he is exempted from going to hellfire. Hadrat Ali RA said: "Mere utterance of the words 'Astaghfirullah al azîm wa atubu ileyh' is the repentance of liars. If one continues committing the same offences, utterance of these words is the repentance of liars. The true repentance is abandoning the offences. One has to repent, give up the offenses. Sometimes we say, "This person made a turn. She was an actress, singer, dancer, and she repented. Now she observes hijab, tries to practice Islam in full. He was a drunkard; he made a turn. He was a murderer, made a turn in the prison and became a good person. First, one should repent. Then (wa âmene wa amile amelen sŕlihan) one must have strong faith and do righteous deeds. He should do deeds that are pleasing to Allah. Those who repent and do good deeds to save their faith are exempted from the hellfire. What else will happen to them? فاولـئك
يبدِّل الله سـيـئاتهم حسـناتٍ (Feulâike yubeddilullŕhu seyyiâtihim hasenât) "Almighty Allah converts their offenses to good deeds." He forgives them, wipes out their sins and converts the sins into good deeds. He does that for the repentance of the servant. The sins of the person who has repented are erased. وكان الله
غفورًا رحيمًا (النساء:٩٦) (Wa kânallŕhu ghafuran rahîmâ) "Allah Almighty is Ghafűr and Rahîm. Ghafűr means the most Forgiving. Rahîm means very much Merciful. Almighty Allah forgives and is the most Merciful towards his servants. If a servant repents, strengthens his belief, becomes a good person, and does righteous deeds, Almighty Allah forgives him and converts the bad deeds to good deeds because Almighty Allah is the most Forgiving, the most Merciful. فارحمـوا
انـفسـكم يا عبادى! فانَّ الابدان ضــعـيفــةٌ، والسـفـر
بــعــيدٌ، والــحمــل ثــقـيلٌ، والمــنادى اسـرافــيل، والــنــار
تــلــظَّى، والــقــاضــى ربُّ الــعــالمــين، ويــحـذّركم الله
نــفــســــه.
(Farhamű
anfusekum yâ ibâdî!)
"Then, o My servants, have mercy on you. (Fe-innel abdâne daîfetun)
because your bodies are weak," they cannot withstand the
hellfire.
Have pity on yourself! (Was safara baîdun) "The journey towards
the
hereafter is long, (wal hamla sekîlun) your burdens and
responsibilities
are heavy." Tour bodies are weak, the destination is far and your
loads are heavy. (Wa munâdiye isrâfîl) "One to call people is (Wan nâra telezzâ) "The flames of the hellfire gush out." In a hadith the Prophet SAS said that the Hell will be brought to the place of resurrection. It is something colossal, yet angels will bring it. It will be restless and anxiously waiting for the sinners. The sinners will be thrown into Hell. Almighty Allah will ask, "O Hell! Are you full? Do you have any room left?" Hell will answer: "Is there more, O my Lord? Send them to me." (Wal qŕdiy, rabbul ŕlemîn) ['The judge will be the Lord of the Universe."] Almighty Allah will establish his colossal court and interrogate people. A good work of an atom's weight will be rewarded, and a bad work of an atom's weight is punished. (Wa yuhazzirukumullŕhu nafsahű) "Almighty Allah is warning you from Himself ahead of time." This is the Hadith Qudsî. Our beloved Prophet SAS informed us, and I conveyed to you, too. You do not speak Arabic; you must not have heard this Hadith before. That is why I explained to you. It addresses both me and you. May Almighty Allah make us believers who do deeds that are pleasing to Allah. May He free us from the hellfire. اوله رحمةٌ،
واوسطه مغفرةٌ، واۤخره عطقٌ من النار. (الترغيب والترهيب ٩٤/٢) What is the beginning of the Ramadhan? (Awwalu rahmatun) "The beginning of Ramadhan is the time Allah Almighty showers His mercy on His servants. (Wa awsatuhű maghfiratun) Its middle part is the time for the servants to be forgiven. (Wa âkhiruhű 'itqun minan-nâr) Its latter part is the time to be free from hellfire." Muslims will be given a certificate: "O My servant! I have forgiven you your sins. You are not going to enter Hell. Here is your certificate of freedom from Hell." To whom will these spiritual certificates be issued? It will be issued for those who spend the Ramadhan as pleasing to Allah Almighty. Dear Brother and Sisters! It is not too late! The Ramadhan has not ended yet! There is still time and means! Fear Allah! Be aware of Him! Take taqwa as your principle in life and observe taqwa in everything you do! Fast during the day, but do not commit offenses at night! Walk steady on the path of Allah. Be knowledgeable, wise, sagacious and obedient servants! Do not miss the certificate of freedom from Hellfire! Do not miss the opportunity of Ramadhan; some may not make it to the next Ramadhan. You may not get the same opportunity. May Almighty Allah awaken us from the sleep of unawareness. May He enable us to do deeds that are pleasing to Him. May He keep us on His path and busy us with His remembrance. May He receive us as His beloved servants. [I end my talk] with the
respect for His beloved Prophet Muhammed the
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