Reformation of the Self

“The account for most punishable sins is delayed until the Day of Judgement except for parental indignance; this will be exacted during one’s lifetime.”—At-Tabaraani and Al-Haakim In the tribe of Bani Israel, there lived a pious person by the name of Jareeh, who used to engage himself in God’s worship, in his monastery.  One day, his mother approached him while he was busy in prayer and as a result, he did not respond to her.  She approached him for a second time but again Jareeh did not answer. When this happened for the third time, she became angry and cursed him saying , “I pray to God that He does not help you!” The very next day a prostitute came up to his monastery and giving birth to a child there, declared: “This is Jareeh’s child whom I have given birth to.” The scandalous issue created an uproar among the people, who thought:  “The very person, who used to rebuke us for fornication, has committed it himself.” The king or...

“When you are not greedy for this world, Allah {SWT} loves you, and when you don’t desire what people have, they love you.”—Ibn Majah Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari was one of the companions of the prophet {S} noted for his austerity and truthfulness. One day, he said:  “My provisions and savings during the time of the noble Prophet {S} had always been three kilograms of dates. As long as I live, I shall never seek to possess more than this quantity.” ‘Ata says: I noticed Abu Dharr offering prayers in an old garment. “O’ Abu Dharr! Don’t you have a better garment?” I asked him. “If I had one, you would have seen me in it,” he replied. “But for a period, I had seen you with two outfits,” I said. “I gave the other one to my nephew, who was in greater need than me.” “By Allah {SWT}! You are needy yourself,” I exclaimed. He raised his head towards the sky and implored, “Indeed! O’ Lord! I am in need of Your forgiveness.” He then turned to me and continu...

“The cure of contemplation is seeking advice.”—Abu Daud One of the companions of an Islamic scholar said to him: “I always tend to suffer losses in my business transactions. The guile and deception of the sellers or the purchasers act like magic and leave me cheated.” The scholar advised him to be patient and forbearing in the course of any transaction. “Do know that contemplation and patience are from Allah, while hastiness and impetuosity are from Shaitan.” The scholar continued. You can learn this important lesson from a dog. Notice that when you throw a piece of bread to a dog; the dog does not immediately begin to eat it but first smells it and only after finding it to be appropriate, begins the eating. Similarly, you should smell every matter that comes up before you {i.e. reflect and ponder over pros and cons of it and do not embark upon any undertakings without the necessary preliminaries}. You, with your intellect and wisdom, are no less t...

“The one who has an atom’s weight of pride in his heart will not enter Jannah.”— {Muslim} There lived amongst Banil Israil, a person who was so sinful and immoral that they eventually had him expelled from their midst. Once, while wandering around, he came across a pious worshipper, above whose head flew a pigeon casting its shadow over him {thus protecting him from sun}. He said to himself: “I am a banished person but this man is a pious individual; if I sit near him it is possible that due to his piety, Allah {SWT} may show mercy upon me too.” With this in mind, he approached the worshipper and sat beside him. On seeing the exiled man sit next to him, the worshipper thought to himself:  “I am the pious worshipper of this tribe whilst he is a disreputable, banished and despised sinner; how can he sit down beside me?” Turning his head away from the man, the worshipper ordered him to go away from him. Just as he had uttered these words, Allah {SW...

“The best of believers are those with the most beautiful character.”—Al-Haakim Some Muslims were travelling to a far distance.  The journey had been long and tiresome, until they reached an oasis, and every rider eagerly got off his animal to refresh himself, perform ablution and prepare to offer his prayers.  The great scholar of the time was accompanying these travelers. And he also dropped off his ride. After alighting from his camel, he moved towards the water.  After doing the needful, he began tying his camel. They were surprised, to see the great scholar of the time doing menial work in their presence. When he returned to his companions, he was accosted by cries from all sides: “O dear teacher! Why did you not let one of us perform the task for you instead of going all the way back to do it yourself? We are always on the lookout to do something for you and feel honoured, but you never give us a chance.” The scholar replied w...