The Evil Effects of Sins - Sheikh Muhammad Ali

The Evil Effects of Sins

I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and there is no partner for Him.

I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. He conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust. He advised the Ummah and left us on the white pilgrimage. Its night is like its day. Nothing escapes it but destruction.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak the truth. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has won a great triumph.

O servants of Allah! Glory be to the One who described the people of happiness with goodness and fear, and described the wretched with evil and security.

How the Companions Feared Allah

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the One that describes those who are the righteous ones, those who do good deeds, but at the same time they have so much fear — they do not feel safe when it comes to the torment of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Also Allah described those who are evil doers, those who are among the ashqiya — they feel safe from the torment of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And today, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, in our khutbah, we're going to look at how the companions, radhiyallahu anhum, used to feel. Did they used to feel proud of themselves or not?

Abu Bakr al-Siddiq

Let us take an example: Abu Bakr radhiyallahu anhu. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala told us in the Quran:

Abu Bakr was the one that migrated with the Prophet ﷺ, and we know the great things that Abu Bakr has done for Islam. The Prophet ﷺ has said — because of the time that we have in the khutbah I will not be able to elaborate the virtues of Abu Bakr radiyallahu anhu — but the Prophet ﷺ has chosen him and has said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3656; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2383)

"If I was to choose from my ummah — if I was to choose one person from my ummah to be my khalil, my dear friend — I would have chosen Abu Bakr. Except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the One that took me as khalil."

And the Prophet ﷺ said to the companions, when Umar and Abu Bakr had the argument, he said to them:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3661)

"Leave my friend alone." The Prophet ﷺ loved Abu Bakr so much. And Amr ibn al-'As radiyallahu anhu, when he asked the Prophet ﷺ who he loved most, the Prophet ﷺ answered and said Aisha. And Amr ibn al-'As said, "That is not what I mean — I mean from the men." And he said, "I love most the father of Aisha, who is Abu Bakr."

But how did Abu Bakr used to feel? We know that the Prophet ﷺ gave him the glad tidings that he is going to be among the people of Jannah. Yet:

Abu Bakr used to get hold of his tongue and say, "This is the one that is going to cause my destruction."

And when he used to stand up for Salah, he used to cry and weep so much — so much that Aisha said to the Prophet ﷺ: "Do not allow Abu Bakr to lead the prayer, because people will not be able to hear what he is going to say and what he is going to recite, because he is going to weep so much."

Umar ibn al-Khattab

And let us look at the life of Umar — al-Farooq, the second best of this Ummah. One day he was reading Surat al-Tur, the Mount:

Until he reached the verse where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said:

"Verily the torment of your Lord is going to come, and no one will be able to prevent it from happening." And Umar, when he read that ayah, he could not hold himself together. He wept and cried so much that he felt sick. We know from the history of Umar radiyallahu anhu, he used to have two black lines on his face — from the much weeping and crying that Umar used to do whenever he recited the Qur'an.

But let us look at how proud Umar used to be of himself — was he proud of himself? His son visited him when he was about to die, and he said to him: "Let my cheek be on the floor, maybe Allah will have mercy on me." And Ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhu came to him when he was about to pass away after he got injured. He reminded him and said to him:

"Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made you the reason why the Muslims have conquered so many lands through your hands, through your leadership. You don't need to be upset today. You don't need to be afraid of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You don't need to be afraid of the Day of Judgment."

But what did Umar say? Did he say, "You are right"? Umar radiyallahu anhu said:

"I wish that I could survive the Day of Judgment with no ajr and with no sin." A zero balance. But today, ourselves, when we do so little, we feel so safe in front of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, as if we are going to be the people of Paradise. But look at Umar — how much he has done for Islam — and all he was wishing for was to be raised on the Day of Judgment with no sin and no good deeds.

The Fear of the Companions

Definitely, my brothers and sisters, the amount of sins that we are committing is what makes us feel so proud. There is no doubt that the sins do have an effect in our hearts — they do have evil effects in our hearts — the same way that poison has an effect on the human body.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said in the Qur'an, and Allah always tells the truth:

"Whatever misfortune befalls upon you is only what your hands have earned. And Allah pardons much."

And the companions — look at the great companions — how much fear they used to have from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Abu al-Darda' radiyallahu anhu used to say:

"What I fear most is that on the Day of Judgment I will be raised and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will say to me: 'O Abu al-Darda', you have learned, you became a learned person — but what did you do with the knowledge that you have?'"

All of us who are sitting here today — thousands of us, alhamdulillah — we have a certain amount of knowledge. But what do we do with it? Do we understand what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has said in the Qur'an:

"O you who believe, why do you say the things that you do not practice?"

And this is what Ibn Abi Mulaika — one of the tabi'un — has said:

"I met with 30 of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, and each and every one of them used to fear that they might be among the hypocrites." If the companions are like this, what should our situation be today?

And we know the famous story of Umar. He used to ask Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, who was the keeper of the secrets of the Prophet ﷺ: "O please Hudhayfah, tell me — is my name among the names of the hypocrites?" Who is that? Umar ibn al-Khattab. How hypocritical are we today? Let us ask these questions ourselves, bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

The Warnings of Ibn Abbas

The sins that we are committing so much are making us blind, making us feel proud of ourselves. And I'm going to tell you something that Ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhuma has said:

"O the one who is committing the sin — do not feel safe from the evil effects of your sins."

First, he said: going to search for the sin is even worse than the sin itself. And look at ourselves today — how much do we go and search for the sin? We look for the sins. We go on Google and we are looking for evil images, surfing the internet, looking for evil things to do.

Second, he said: the lack of respect that you show towards the one on your right and the one on your left when you are committing the sin is actually bigger than the sin itself. Meaning the two angels. We need to remember, my brothers, whenever we want to commit a sin, we have two angels with us. And we do not respect these angels. The lack of respect that we have for the angels is actually greater than the sin that we are committing.

Third, Ibn Abbas said: your laughter and happiness, when you do not know what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is going to do to you — what plans Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has for you — is actually worse than the sin.

Fourth, the happiness and joy that you feel when you succeed in committing the sin — that is worse than the sin itself. Today, my brothers, when we commit the sin, we feel happiness deep down. We say, "Yes, I've done it." When you sign a contract that you know consists of interest — the happiness that you feel in your heart at that moment — that happiness is actually worse than the sin you are committing.

Fifth, the sorrow that you feel when you miss the sin and are no longer able to commit it — that is even worse than the sin. If you want to steal someone's money and that person has put a camera there, or a guard, or something that protects that wealth — when you find out the police is coming and you run away — that sorrow you feel in your heart is worse than the sin itself. The sorrow you feel when the haram contract doesn't go through — that sorrow, my brothers, is even worse than the sin itself.

Sixth, Ibn Abbas said: the fear that you have of the wind when it blows your door while you are committing a sin inside the room, and you feel that someone is going to catch you right now — that fear that comes into your heart is worse than the sin itself. Just look at ourselves, my brothers, when we are committing sins inside our rooms, privately, away from your father's eyes, away from your mother's eyes, away from your wife's eyes, away from your children's eyes — sitting there at two o'clock at night, surfing the internet — and somebody walks down the stairs, and you feel that your father is coming down, and you switch off the computer and jump out of your seat. That fear that comes into your heart — this is what Ibn Abbas said — that fear is worse than the sin itself.

Let us be truthful to one another, my brothers. Let us talk to our hearts, because our hearts are dead.

The Letter of Aisha to Muawiyah

Aisha radiyallahu anha wrote a letter to Amir al-Mu'mineen Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan radiyallahu anhu, advising him. She said to him: the servant of Allah, when he commits a sin and does not repent from that sin, what happens?

The people that used to praise him, that used to look up to him, that used to take him as a role model — from there on, they go and turn against him. They become his critics. My brothers, we need to look at ourselves properly and say: how many people used to look up to us, how many people used to praise us, but today they are criticizing us? It's not their fault — it's your own fault.

And Abu al-Darda' has explained what Aisha radiyallahu anha said even further. He said:

"A person should be warned that people's hearts might actually curse him when he does not know why. The human being commits a sin secretly, and when he commits that sin secretly, Allah is the One that places hatred of him into the hearts of the believers without him even realizing it."

Allah is the One that controls the hearts of the people:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2654)

Our hearts are between two of the fingers of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah is the One that changes them. Allah is the One that makes people love you. And Allah is the One that will make the people hate you. So when you commit a sin privately in your own house, the people will be against you, and Allah is the One who turned them against you and no one else.

The Second Part of the Khutbah: Side Effects of Sins

All praise is due to Allah for His benevolence and thanks to Him for His bounty and favor. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger, may Allah send peace and blessings upon him and upon his family and companions and those who followed them in goodness until the Day of Recompense. To proceed:

My brothers and sisters in Islam, we are going to go on and mention the side effects that the sins leave behind. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah counted them and there were too many of them, but we are going to choose some of them insha'Allah.

First: Deprivation of Knowledge

Number one — when you commit so many sins, your heart becomes dark and can no longer see anything. حِرْمَانُ الْعِلْمِ — you will not be given the opportunity to learn. How many of us today are learned people? Very few — and the number is getting less and less. Why? Because so many of us, if not all of us, are full of sins.

That is why Imam Malik rahimahullah ta'ala, when Imam al-Shafi'i came to him as a young student, Imam Malik said to him when he saw how clever Imam al-Shafi'i was from a young age: "I can see Allah has placed light in your heart — but do not switch off that light with sins."

And that is why Imam al-Shafi'i — we know how good his memory used to be — but at a certain time he was not able to memorize as well as he used to. He went to his sheikh Waki' ibn al-Jarrah and said to him:

"I complained to Waki' about my poor memory, and he directed me to leave sins, and said: 'Verily knowledge is a light, and the light of Allah is not given to a sinner.'"

Most of us today cannot memorize two verses from the Qur'an — we struggle. But we make excuses for ourselves: "I'm too old," "I'm too busy," "I've got so many kids," "I've got a 9-to-5 job — I can't memorize the Qur'an." These are all excuses. The reality is your heart is full of sins. That is the reality, my brother.

When Imam al-Shafi'i went to his master and said "My memory is not as good as it used to be," did Waki' make excuses for him? Did he say, "Maybe you are getting a bit old"? He did not say that. He said: Leave the sins you are committing. That was the advice of the master. He said: "Knowledge is nur, and the light of Allah will not be given to someone who is a sinner."

Second: Loneliness and Depression

One of the things that happens when we commit so many sins is that you will become a lonely person, under a lot of stress — someone who is always stressed out. That's why we have so many young brothers and sisters today who are so stressed out, so depressed — they can't come out of their houses, they can't learn anything, they don't go to the masjid, they don't want to do anything. They feel so stressed, so lonely — even when they go home they just stay in their own rooms and don't even talk to their own parents or their own brothers.

Most of the time we say, "Maybe they have psychological problems." There are no psychological problems here — it is just sins. Too many sins. That is why Imam Ibn al-Qayyim said: the person will feel so lonely when he commits so many sins, he will not even like his own self. You will hate your own self, you will hate your brothers, you will hate your parents, you will hate other people.

The young brothers who stand on the streets doing haram things — when they see the sheikh from the masjid, when they see someone who just prayed wearing a nice thawb and walking on the street — they are going to turn to the other side, they will run away. Why? They cannot withstand the noor that is coming out from the person who just came back from the mosque.

And that is why the ulama, the predecessors, used to say: "When I commit a sin, I will see the effect of that sin straight away — from how my wife treats me and how my animal behaves." And today, my brothers, we have so many conflicts between wife and husband but we don't know what the reasons are. The reason is the husband is committing so many sins, the wife is committing so many sins, everyone is committing sins, and therefore there is no understanding between the people.

The ulama, the predecessors, what did they used to say? "Whenever I commit a sin, I will see my wife will behave totally different." And today — a husband leaves the house happy in the morning going to work, and when he comes back, his wife, who was happy when he left, is now upset. Why? The reason is: you committed a sin during the day. You, the husband, committed a sin, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is punishing you, and this is why your wife, who was happy with you in the morning, is no longer happy with you in the evening. Or maybe your wife went to sleep at night happy with you, but when she woke up she was not happy with you — it depends on what you did during the night when she was asleep.

The Light of Good Deeds and the Darkness of Sins

I will conclude the khutbah, my brothers, with a few things. Ibn Abbas radiyallahu anhuma has said:

"Whenever you do a good deed, the light can be seen from your face." You also get body strength, and people begin to love you. And the sins are exactly the opposite.

Some of us have committed so many sins that the sins have now become halal to us — that is why we feel proud of them. Some of us will even do something haram in the evening and wake up in the morning and tell everyone what they've done last night. And the Prophet ﷺ, what did he say in the authentic hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6069; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2990)

"All my ummah will enter Paradise except al-mujahirun." It was said: "Who are they?" And he said: "These are the people that commit a sin in the evening and Allah keeps it secret, but in the morning they tell everyone — 'This is what I did last night.'"

The Story of Muhammad ibn Sirin

And I'm going to conclude, my brothers, with the story of an imam called Muhammad ibn Sirin — this is the evil effect of the sins. Muhammad ibn Sirin — look how righteous he used to be. He was one of the greatest of the tabi'un, and one of the great students of the companion Anas ibn Malik. We know how great Anas ibn Malik was and how long he lived after the death of the Prophet ﷺ.

In fact, when Anas ibn Malik was about to die, he asked the leader of that time: "Allow Muhammad ibn Sirin to come to my janazah so he can pray Salatul Janazah over me." That is how highly Anas ibn Malik used to regard him.

But look at what one single sin did to him. At the end of his life, Muhammad ibn Sirin was imprisoned. When he was in prison, he became stressed, he felt bad, he felt low. And he said to the people who were in prison with him: "I know why I am in this situation today." He said: "The sin that I am actually paying the price for right now is a sin that I committed 40 years ago."

SubhanAllah — 40 years ago. He knew the sin that he was being punished for right now, 40 years after he had committed it. And today, if someone asks me how many sins I committed within the last 5 or 10 minutes or the last hour, I would not even have a figure — that is how many they are. But Muhammad ibn Sirin knew exactly the sin for which he was being punished.

He said to the people: "I said to a man 40 years ago: ya muflis — 'O bankrupt one, the one who has got nothing.'" And look how Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala punished Muhammad ibn Sirin — He made him the bankrupt one. Muhammad ibn Sirin used to have wealth, but at the end of his life he ran out of money, became a man in debt, and when he could not pay his debt back, the people said: "If he can't pay, he has to go to prison." And so this great imam, this knowledgeable one, one of the great students of Anas ibn Malik, was imprisoned.

Today we are complaining: "Why is Allah doing this to us and that to us?" We are not looking at ourselves and saying: "Why? What is wrong with us? How many sins are we committing?"

And my brothers and sisters in Islam, we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to protect us from the sins, and may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from Shaitan and from the evil acts of ourselves.