Originally posted 2020-01-15 11:51:56.
Self is like a child…
In the shade of Aqidah, life has taught me,
that the human soul is just like a child,
If you discipline it, the soul will become upright
And if you neglect it, the soul will go astray and lose.
It is like a camel; if you feed them good food, they will become calm, reassured and active.
And if you left them, they would repel and stray
The human soul is naturally inclined towards desires, pleasures and whims
and seeks evil and immorality
If it is not bound by a great religious fear, it proceeds to failure and loss
And your soul is like a child; if you did not wean it, the child will grow old while loving suckling. But if you wean it, the child will get cut off it.
So, do not follow the soul or the Satan, disobey them. If they pretend to give true advice to you, still look skeptically.
My dear, how can you reform your soul?
By striving oneself!
Almighty Allah says, “And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways.” (Al-`Ankabut 29:69)
Thabit Al-Bunani (may Allah have mercy on him) said,
“I felt struggled myself for prayer for 20 years,
He strived himself for 20 years to pray for Allah at the houses of Allah.
He said, “Then I enjoyed it for another 20 years.”
By Allah, when I join prayer, I bear the burden of leaving it.
The greatest striving is in intentions.
The Prophet said, “The (reward of) deeds depend on intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he intends.”
Almighty Allah says, “So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord – let him do righteous work and not associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.” (Al-Kahf 18:110)
One of the Salaf said, “There is no deed, whether minor or major, except two questions arise:
How? And Why?
Why did you do it? What is the motivation for it? Is it for worldly matters? To bring benefit? To ward off harm?
Or to achieve the worship of Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him Exalted be He?
Did you commit that deed merely for Your Lord or for your desires and fancies?
And how did you commit that deed? Do Allah and His Messenger ordain it?
Or does it contradict the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said,
“He who does something contrary to our way (i.e., Islam) will have it rejected.”
Hence, the best thing to make your soul upright is striving intentions.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri said: “I have not handled anything that was more difficult to me than my intention.”
O soul, be sincere to get saved. Being Sincere for an hour is an eternal survival. But sincerity is precious.
Glad tidings to the one who takes a sincere action for the sake of Allah.
Here is Ibn Al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him)
who always strived his intention, when he tried the agonies of death,
he was crying so hard. Those around him said,
O Imam! Have good thoughts of Allah. Are not you who did such and such?
He said, ‘By Allah I fear not but Allah’s saying: “And there will appear to them from Allah that which they had not taken into account. And there will appear to them the evils they had earned, and they will be enveloped by what they used to ridicule.” (Az-Zumar 49: 47-48)
I fear what I neglected, mixed bad deeds with good ones or I was a hypocrite.
It seems to me now that I did not count, and it seems to me the evils I had earned.
Yet, he said about himself in his book Said Al-Khatir:
More than two hundred thousand people repented from their sins in my spiritual sessions. However, if you’re just starting out with spirituality, then you have to first get a trustworthy psychics review about your techniques and then proceed.
And more than two hundred people embraced Islam with me.
Many a hard-hearted man’s eye wept while listening to my sermons that never wept before.
Anyone blessed with these blessings can rightly hope for the good in the hereafter, but I have a vision of my own slips and aberrations, and I am filled with fear and dismay.
One day, as I was sitting surrounded by a host of men whose hearts had softened and who were weeping.
I said to myself, “What a great misfortune it would be if all these people are saved and I am admitted to the hell?
Then he cried, “O Allah, My Lord, if I am predestined to punishment in hell, I pray You not to tell these men sitting here of the punishment,
lest they say ‘the one who guided others has been flung into hell.’
O my Lord, You are the Most Noble and Merciful of the Merciful,
Do not disappoint one who places his hope on You, and submit to Your authority,
He called people to Your religion while he is not worthy to enter the door of Your mercy,
But he is hope in Your great benevolence and mercy. You are the Most Generous.
Be sincere to get saved.
Glad tidings to one who take a sincere action for the sake of Allah.
