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Man’s Four Enemies And How To Deal With Them

When Abu Bakr Siddique (may Allah be pleased with him) was once asked about man’s enemies in this life, he answered “Satan, human nature, life, and caprice.” I intend to throw some light on these four enemies hoping to know them well will help us discover how to overcome them.

As for Satan, he was the first one to commit a sin when he refused to prostrate to Adam as Allah ordered him. Allah says in the Qur’an: “And (remember) when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ And they prostrated except Iblis (Satan), he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers.” (2:34)

Satan also instigated Adam and Eve to eat from the Forbidden Tree and as a result, they were dismissed from Heaven. “But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, “O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never wastes away?” Then they both ate of the tree and so their private parts became manifest to them: and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Paradise for their covering. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray.” (20:120-121)

Then Satan vowed to instigate the progeny of Adam to commit sins in moments of passion, weakness, temptation, and seduction. However on the Day of Judgment, Satan would let his followers down by claiming that they were fully responsible for their mistakes, that is, his role was only tempting and alluring them. “And Satan will say when the matter has been decided: ‘Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except that I called you and you responded to me: So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I deny your former act in associating me (Satan) as a partner with Allah. Verily, there is a painful torment for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers).” (14:22)

As for the second enemy, namely, human nature, it can be said that since his birth man lives in the midst of a conflict, a conflict between good and evil and it is his human nature to make the choice. Also, it is his deep faith in Allah that makes him able to resist the weakness of human nature and look down upon the transient pleasures of life.

Life is man’s third enemy. Life here simply means all the worldly pleasures that tempt man to move away from the path of Allah. The most tempting pleasure that may make a man commit sins is money. A lot of people think that money talks, money walks, meaning that money can do anything. They simply see the bright side of money but they forget or tend to forget that money is the root of all evil. However, this does not mean that people should not earn money or try to be rich. They simply have to strike a balance between earning money and abiding by values and principles.

Caprice is man’s fourth enemy; it refers to the whims and fancies that lead man to go astray in this life. Man has to remember what Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib said: “Life is short, spend it in obeying Allah and your human nature is greedy, teach it to be contented.” In this respect, Al-Hasan Al-Basri also said: “Your life is just a number of days, once a day passes, part of your life is taken away.”

Hazrath Umar raziallahu anhu

The Messenger of Allah (saw – may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “God has placed truth upon Umar’s tongue and heart.”

‘Umar’s  (may Allah be pleased with him) Life
During his last illness, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had conferred with his people, particularly the more eminent among them. After this meeting, they chose ‘Umar as his successor. ‘Umar was born into a respected Quraysh family thirteen years after the birth of Muhammad  (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Umar’s family was known for its extensive knowledge of genealogy. When he grew up, ‘Umar was proficient in this branch of knowledge as well as in swordsmanship, wrestling, and the art of speaking. He also learned to read and write while still a child, a very rare thing in Mecca at that time. ‘Umar earned his living as a merchant. His trade took him to many foreign lands and he met all kinds of people. This experience gave him an insight into the affairs and
problems of men. ‘Umar’s personality was dynamic, self-assertive, frank, and straightforward. He always spoke whatever was on his mind even if it displeased others.

‘Umar was twenty-seven when the Prophet Muhammad proclaimed his mission. The ideas Muhammad was preaching enraged him as much as they did the other notables of Mecca. He was just as bitter against anyone accepting Islaam as others among the Quraish. When his slave-girl accepted Islaam he beat her until he himself was exhausted and told her, “I have stopped because I am tired, not out of pity for you.” The story of his embracing Islaam is an interesting one. One day, full of anger against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), he drew his sword and set out to kill him. A friend met him on the way. When ‘Umar told him what he planned to do, his friend informed him that ‘Umar’s own sister, Fatimah, and her husband had also accepted Islaam. ‘Umar went straight to his sister’s house where he found her reading from pages of the Qur’an. He fell upon her and beat her mercilessly. Bruised and bleeding, she told her brother, “Umar you can do what you like, but you cannot turn our hearts away from Islaam.” These words produced a strange effect on ‘Umar. What was this faith that made even weak women so strong of heart? He asked his sister to show him what she had been reading; he was at once moved to the core by the words of the Qur’an and immediately grasped their truth. He went straight to the house where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) was staying and vowed allegiance to him.

How To Prevent Family Disorders

To prevent family disorders, married men and women need to keep certain points in mind and practice them in their lives, as below:

1) One of the basic points for successful family life is self-knowledge. Every man and woman has certain capabilities and limitations, which they need to discover within themselves. The husband and wife, who are clearly aware of their good and bad points and the reality of their personalities, will have fewer disputes in their family lives. Then it is necessary that the husband and wife accept one another and love one another with all his/her faults and finer points.

2) The husband and wife should respect one another and should not do anything to cause disrespect or hate in the other party. Married couples should hold themselves and their spouses in high regard and should be aware that if they want or like their spouses to be or act according to their own opinions, it is only going to be a waste of time and effort. People are all different. Married couples should accept one another as they are, and not try to compare one another to others because this only inflicts psychological injury.

3) Married couples should foster their talents. Couples can become acquainted with their particular talents in various fields, for example, sports, physical expertise, interest in study, and other fields. The more that couples study and read about different topics, on a daily basis, the more valuable their lives will become.

4) Couples need to form close relationships with others. The reason for many family disputes lies in separation and seclusion from others. A husband and wife, who like others are part of society, need the support, calm, and assurance that come from others – ( e.g., family members, friends, neighbors, etc.). For this reason, it is necessary to have close, active affectionate, and at the same time healthy and well-rooted relationships with others in order to prevent family disputes.

How Do We Cover Our Mistakes?

It’s interesting how we correct our mistakes while scribing with different tools of writing. What’s even more interesting are the different ways we employ to correct our mistakes.

For instance:

  • Some of us would simply strike out the mistake and continue with writing.
  • Some would use the correction pen and rewrite it.
  • Some would tear off the whole page and rewrite the whole thing from the beginning.

This perhaps to some extent tells us about the way we correct the mistakes we make in our lives.

There is no doubt that man by his nature is compelled to correct himself and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. What is fascinating is the way one adopts to do it.

Those among us who would simply strike off a mistake leaving it noticeable for others to see it clearly are perhaps those who believe ‘to err is human.’

Although, some would cover up their mistake with the ink of the pen so much so that nothing can be seen or understood from it except the knowledge that there was a mistake. What was it will remain a mystery.

Those who use the correction pen are one step ahead and are more organized i.e. their mistakes should not be seen while their correction should be clearly seen.

The strangest of all are those who would tear off the whole page on realizing that somewhere while writing they made a single mistake.

Now, if life were to be substituted with paper and our actions were words written on it then which type of a person will we prefer to be?

Without a doubt, we won’t want others to know the mistakes we’ve made. The words that Islam has stipulated to seek forgiveness certainly make sense in this nature. We say ‘Astaghfirullah’ (I seek Allah’s forgiveness) when we commit a mistake. The word ‘Ghafara’ linguistically means ‘to cover’ and by saying “Astaghfirullah” we’re asking Allah to cover up our sins!

Seek Allah’s Forgiveness, for when Allah covers up none can expose it!

How To Perform Tawaf

One must begin Tawaf of the Ka’bah (circumambulation) with one’s right shoulder uncovered, (for men only) and the Ka’bah on one’s left side, while facing the Black Stone, which you should kiss, if possible, touch with one’s hand, or point in its direction. In this regard, we cite what Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq states in his well-known book Fiqh As-Sunnah: One must begin Tawaf (circumambulation) with one’s right shoulder uncovered, (for men only) and the Ka’bah on one’s left side, while facing the Black Stone, which you should kiss, if possible, or touch with your hand, or point in its direction, saying, Bismillah wallahau akbar Allahumma imanan bika wa tasdiqan bikitabika wa wafa’an bi ahdika wa ittiba’an li sunnati nabbiyyika sallalahu alaihi wa sallam (In the Name of Allah. Allah is the Greatest. O Allah! [I begin this Tawaf] believing in You, affirming the truth of Your Book, fulfilling my covenant with You, and following the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him).”

It is encouraged to jog slowly through the first three rounds around the Ka’bah. One should walk quickly, keeping close to the Ka’bah as much as possible, while taking short steps.

During the next four rounds, one should walk at a normal pace. If one is unable to jog or get close to Ka’bah, because of the area being overcrowded, one may perform one’s Tawaf in any way possible.

Touching the Yemeni corner (Ar-Ruknu Al-Yamani) is encouraged, and so is kissing or touching the Black Stone in each of the seven rounds of Tawaf, if possible.

Remembering Allah and supplicating to Him as much as possible is also encouraged. For this purpose, one may choose any supplication that one feels comfortable with, without restricting oneself to any particular supplications or repeating what others may be saying. There are no set supplications prescribed for this purpose.

The supplications that some people consider to be prescribed for various rounds of Tawaf are not authentic. There are no such supplications reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him).

One should pray for oneself, for one’s family, and for the Muslims for anything that is good in this life or in the Hereafter.

Tips To Make Better Use Of Time

Identify your goals
You must identify your goals in order to spend time on the most important matters in your life. Your goals should be specific, measurable, and documented for frequent review. Also, every goal should have a specific deadline. Your goal should not be “to memorize some of the Qur’an”, for instance; rather it should be something like “memorize Surah Al-Anfal by August 15, 2017”. Other goals could be losing 20 pounds in three months, or reading an identified list of eight books during the year 2017. At the beginning of every year, review your achievements and set yearly goals.

Also, your long-term goals are part of the bigger picture – your mission in life. Your mission is the answer to the question: “What do I really want in life?” “What is the purpose of my existence?” “Why did Allah create me?” As a Muslim, you have a mission in life. Your goals must be focused on this mission.

Plan ahead
Planning offers two elements that bring order to your life. First, it tells you how to get from where you are to where you want to be. Second, it identifies the required tasks and resources to get you there. Planning is the key to controlling events in your life. Through planning, you can be proactive in achieving your goals. Set a course for your future and lay out a well-structured plan of action. Form the habit of starting each day with a planning session. During this time you should set a ‘to-do list’ and focus your attention on it throughout the day. This daily planning should be part of your long-term planning aimed at achieving your goals. Monthly and yearly reviews of your plans are a must to stay on track, modifying your behavior accordingly.

Set your priorities
Prioritizing is the key to relieving the stress of too little time. Because what we want to do requires more time then we have, we must decide what to leave undone. To do so, you have to identify the ‘must-do’, ‘should-do’, and ‘nice-to-do’ tasks. Then, you have to start with the ‘must-do’ tasks and complete them before doing any of the other two priority levels. This is because once we choose to make an investment in one task, we automatically delay all others. The process of prioritizing is deciding which task will produce the greatest return on investment for a specific period of time, to justify saying ‘No’ to all other tasks. Prioritizing is a way to focus your energy on the most important tasks until they are complete.
– AlJumuah magazine

Life Without Faith

Can anybody imagine this life without faith? The answer will be very hard to accept because our life will be meaningless, futile, and absurd. In other words, it is faith that gives meaning and substance to this life.

All of us have heard of mercy killing (scientifically called euthanasia) which refers to some people’s desire to put an end to their life because they suffer from an incurable disease. It is legalized in some countries such as Holland, where the patient signs an agreement with the doctor or the hospital to put an end to his life.

These patients seem to have no faith at all. They think of disease as a kind of physical torture and they would like to put an end to this torture. In contrast to them, people who have faith have a different point of view on disease. They think of it as a kind of tribulation. Allah is testing their faith: how forceful and strong it is, “Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested?‘ (Qur’an, 29:20)

Although there are some people who seem not to believe in Allah, yet they have inborn, inner faith. This is so apparent when a natural disaster takes place, you find all people crying “O, God.” So in times of distress and disasters, they turn to Allah because deep inside them, they know that He is the only one who can help them. We read in the newspaper that the highest rate of suicide, according to official statistics, is in Sweden, the country that enjoys the world’s highest standard of living and individual income.

What is so shocking is that more than 90% of those who commit suicide are young people aged between 15 and 25, although Swedish law provides all types of freedom including sexual freedom (it is legalized for a man to ‘marry’ another man and for a woman to ‘marry’ another woman). What is so ironic is that there are a lot of companies working in the field of suicide organizations!

This can be easily explained because most of, if not all, these young people do not believe in Allah. This absence of faith makes their life empty, boring, and aimless and this is why Satan moves them as the player moves the pieces of chess on the chessboard.

There is an American psychologist who wrote a book entitled Back to Faith, in which he comes to the conclusion that, after his long experience with patients, he found that it is faith that has the healing effect. A man without faith will never be able to get rid of his psychological problems.