ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍۢ وَلَـٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ٦
Allāh does not intend to make difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favor upon you that you may be grateful. [Al Maidah: 4]
Isnt it interesting that the fourth chapter is named women and the fifth the fully laden table. In our discussion about the heart, these two refer to the two dominant ones – the mouth (in this case referring to the stomach) and the private parts are controlled, all other aspects of desire can be kept in check. Alhamdulillah, for the blessing of Ramadan which helps control both.
Believers need to realise the quality of humility and shame and empty themselves of their opposites (shamelessness and arrogance) to achieve true freedom, wealth and dignity. People may claim to be free but cannot control themselves from their desires.
Batar (wantonness) is excessive, unbridled desire. It can also mean the inability to bear blessings and reckless extravagance. A sign of this is the ease with which people enter into debt and live contentedly with it – living beyond their means.
When searching for a treatment, we must take care that we don’t attempt to address the disease by making it worse like an addict taking more drugs to dull the pain. The treatment of wantonness acccording to the scholars is to wilfully experience hunger and reflect seriously on death and the Hereafter. Alhamdulillah for the blessing of Ramadan.
SAW said “There is no heart except that it has a cloud like the clouds of the moon: while the moon is shining, it gets covered with a cloud and it gets dark. But when the cloud leaves it, the moon goes back to its shine” [Tabarani al Awsat]
Qadi abu Bakr(rh) said that the secret of Muslims following th lunar calendar rather than the solar one is that the sun is used for worldly benefits while the Moon is for other-worldly
Sufyan reported: Wahb ibn Munabbih, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Verily, in the wisdom of the household of David it is written that it is a duty upon a wise person to not neglect four moments:
– a time in which to privately converse with one’s Lord Almighty,
– a time to hold oneself accountable,
– a time to come to his brothers who tell him about his faults and tell him the truth about himself,
– and a time for himself to spend in recreation, lawfully and appropriately.”
Source: al-Zuhd wal-Raqā’iq 313
The seeker of this world is like the drinker of sea water: the more he drinks, the thirstier he gets until it kills him. [Al Zuhd 151 by ibn Abi Dunya]
Ibn Mas’ud (RA) said “Indeed Allah grants wealth to the one He loves and the one He does not love, but He only grant Iman to those who He loves.” [Bukhari al Adab al Mufrad, 209}
In 333 BC, Alexander the Great, on his march through Anatolia, reached Gordium, the capital of Phrygia. There he was shown the chariot of the ancient founder of the city, Gordius, with its yoke lashed to the pole by means of an intricate knot with its end hidden. According to tradition, this knot was to be untied only by the future conqueror of Asia. According to the ancient chronicler Arrian, the impetuous Alexander was instantly “seized with an ardent desire” to untie the Gordian knot. After wrestling with it for a time and finding no success, he stepped back from the mass of gnarled ropes and proclaimed, “It makes no difference how they are loosed.” He then drew his sword and sliced the knot in half with a single stroke.
Malik bin Dinar narrates his story in the following way: “I was a policeman and very fond of drinking. I led a care-free life. I bought a beautiful slave girl whom I loved dearly. I had a daughter from her, a lovely child called Fatimah. When my daughter began to walk, I loved her all the more and she remained with me all the time. The innocent child had a strange habit. When she saw a glass of wine in my hands, she would snatch it and spill it on my clothes. Being fond of her, I never scolded her. As fate would have it, my child died when she was two years old and I was shocked and sorely grieved.
“One the night of 15th of Shaaban, I was drunk and went to sleep without performing Isha prayers. I had a horrible dream. I saw myself among those bring driven to the assembly of people on the Day of Resurrection. I heard a noise and felt something following me. When I looked back, I saw a huge snake chasing me. Ah! It was a horrible sight; the snake had blue catlike eyes, its mouth was wide open and it was rushing toward me furiously! I ran faster in terror, desperate for my life, the horrible snake still running after me and drawing closer.
“I saw an old man, dressed in elegant clothes with rich perfumes wafting all around his person, I greeted him saying, “Assallam-o-Alaikum” and he returned my greetings. I said, “For the sake of Allah, help me in my misery”. He said “I am too weak to help you against such a mighty foe; it is beyond my powers. But you must go on running; perhaps you may find some help”. Running wildly I saw a cliff in front of me and climbed it, but on reaching its top, I saw, beyond it, the raging fire of hell. Meanwhile, I heard a voice calling aloud, “Get back, for, you are not one of them (the dwellers of hell).
“I turned and began to run in the opposite direction. The snake also turned around and came after me. I saw again the old man in white robes and said, “Old man, can’t you save me from this python.” The man began to cry and said, “I am too weak to help you against such a mighty snake, but I can tell you that there is a hill nearby where they keep the ‘sacred trusts’ of the Muslims. If you go up that hill, you might find something of yours, kept in trust, which might save you from the snake.” I rushed toward the hill, which was round in shape, with a large number of open curtailed casements. The casements had golden shutters studded with rich rubies, and most precious jewels; on each shutter hung a curtain made of the rarest silk.
“When I was going to climb the hill, the angels called aloud, “Open the windows and raise the curtains and come out of your closets! Here is an unfortunate man in misery; may be you have with you some ‘trust’ of his, that might help him in his distress.” The windows opened at once, the curtains went up, and there issued forth from the casements a host of innocent children, with faces bright as the full moon. By this time I was utterly despondent, for the snake had drawn very close to me. Now the children called their friends, “Come out quickly, all of you, for the snake has come very close to him.”
Hearing this, more children came out of their windows, in large crowds, and among them I saw my own dear daughter who had died some time ago. She also espied me and began to weep, exclaiming, “By Allah! He is my own dear father.” She jumped on a swinging cradle, which seemed to be made from heavenly light (Noor) and darted across to me. Next moment, she was standing by my side and I took her to my bosom; she lifted her left hand towards me and with her right hand motioned the snake away.
The snake went away immediately. Then she gave me a seat and sat in my lap and began to stroke my beard with her right hand saying, “My dear father, ‘Has not the time come for the believers (who indulge in sins) that their hearts should submit in all humility to the remembrance of Allah and to the truth which is revealed’ (Al-Hadeed:16)”.
۞ أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ فَـٰسِقُونَ ١٦
I was moved to tears and asked her, “My daughter, do all of you know the meanings of the Qur’an? She replied “We understand the Holy Quran even better than you.”
I asked her “My dear child, what was this snake?” She said “It was your own evil deeds which had made it so strong that it was about to push you into Jahannam”. I asked “And who was that white-robed old man?” She replied “That were your good deeds and you had made them so weak with your scanty good deeds that he could not help you against the snake (though he suggested to you a means of escape.)”
I asked “What are all of you doing on this hill?” She replied “We are children of Muslims, who died in infancy. We shall live here till the Day of Resurrection, waiting to be reunited with you when you come to us at last and we shall intercede for you with our Lord”. And then I awoke from the dream, with the fright (of the snake) still heavy on my heart. I turned to Allah in repentance, as soon as I arose; and abandoned all my evil ways. [al-Tawābīn li-Ibn Qudāmah 1/124]
Malik then woke up screaming, crying out, “O my Lord! Right now! [I repent] right now my Lord! Yes,” So he got up, made wudu (ablution), and headed out to pray Fajr in the masjid, seeking to repent and to come back to Allah.
So Malik entered the masjid, and he found the Imam reciting the very same verse.” Indeed, Allah is well aware of those who want to turn back to Him, and out of His Mercy, gives them continuous opportunities to seek His Forgiveness.
After his repentance, Malik was known to stand in prayer, weeping to Allah throughout the night, saying, “O Allah, you are the Only One Who knows the inhabitants of Paradise and the inhabitants of the Hellfire, so whichever of the two men I am, o Allah, make me of the inhabitants of Paradise, and do not make me of the inhabitants of the Hellfire.”
It is Malik ibn Dinar (rh) who is credited with bringing Islam to Kerala, India, and perhaps the reason for many from that area being Muslim today. Look at how Allah(SWT) turns the hearts, SubhanAllah. He had many experiences which include a visit from a thief.
A thief scaled the wall of Maalik Bin Dinar’s house one night and easily managed to get inside. Once inside the house, the thief was disappointed to see nothing worth stealing. Maalik was busy performing prayer. Realizing he was not alone, he quickly ended his prayer and turned around to face the thief.
Without showing any signs of shock or scare, Maalik calmly extended greetings of peace and said, “My brother, may Allah forgive you. You entered my home and found nothing worth taking, yet I do not want you to leave without taking away some benefit.”
He went into another room and came back with a jug full of water. He looked into the eyes of the burglar and said, “Make ablution and perform two units of prayer, for if you do so, you will leave my home with a greater treasure than you had initially sought.”
Humbled by Maalik’s manners and words, the thief said, “Yes, that is a generous offer indeed.”
After making ablution and performing two units of prayer, the burglar said, “O Maalik, would you mind if I stayed for a while, for I want to stay to perform two more units of prayer?”
Maalik said, “Stay for whatever amount of prayer Allah decrees for you to perform now.”
The thief ended up spending the entire night at Maalik’s house. He continued to pray until morning. Then Maalik said, “Leave now and be good.”
But instead of leaving, the thief said, “Would you mind if I stayed here with you today, for I have made an intention to fast?”
“Stay as long as you wish,” Maalik said.
The burglar ended up staying for a number of days, praying during the late hours of each night and fasting in the day. When he finally decided to leave, the burglar said, “O Maalik, I have made a firm resolve to repent for my sins and for my former way of life.”
Maalik said, “That is in the Hand of Allah.”
The man did mend his ways and began to lead a life of righteousness and obedience to Allah. Later on, he came across another burglar who asked him, “Have you found your treasure yet?”
He replied, “My brother, what I found is Maalik Bin Dinar. I went to steal from him, but it was he who ended up stealing my heart. I have indeed repented to Allah, and I will remain at the door (of His Mercy and Forgiveness) until I achieve what his obedient, loving slaves have achieved.”
[Al-Mawaa’idh wal-Majaalis: 85]
