We should continuously assess our situation, our mistakes and sins prior to our accounts taking place in the Hereafter via death. This ongoing concern will prove very beneficial in the Hereafter. When an individual makes effort, then Allah ta'ala assists him as He loves this concern.
When a person fails to self-analyse, he becomes lost in this world and then Allah ta'ala causes him to become worried and overly occupied with worldly things. This is a form of punishment for him. He considers himself pious, yet, he is foolish for not preparing for the Hereafter.
The best time to perform self-analysis is at night. When retiring to sleep, we should reflect over what sins we performed during the day and what we lacked in. We should assess whether we committed any mistakes, left out any compulsory deeds or were lazy in anything. We should make this a habit before sleeping every night. Thereafter, we should seek forgiveness from Allah ta'ala and recite the following Dua.
باسمك ربي وضعت جنبي، وبك أرفعه؛ إن أمسكت نفسي فارحمها، وإن أرسلتها، فاحفظها بما تحفظ به عبادك الصالحين
"With Your Name, my Rabb, I place my side (upon the bed) and with Your Grace I will raise it up. If You withhold my soul (cause me to die), have mercy on it but if You let it go (let me live), guard it against which You guarded Your pious slaves." [Bukhari & Muslim Shareef]
This practice is from amongst the Sunnah and this habit will enable us to be cautious of how we spend our day. If we live our life cautiously in such a manner, we will be protected in the Hereafter. Through this dua, Allah ta'ala will grant us the company of righteous people.
Our duty in life is to protect ourselves. We will face hurdles on the path to Paradise, but we must break these obstacles. If we become stuck, we will deviate off the route and be destined for Hellfire.
What prevents us from earning Paradise?
We should contemplate and identify the barriers preventing us. The biggest hurdle is committing sins. A sinful life is full of barriers which prevents us from attaining Paradise. This is a big test for us in this world as we are constantly surrounded by sins.
This world is a place which makes us forget. Thus, Allah ta'ala sent us reminders through Messengers and the Quran containing the events of the past.
Whenever we recite the Quran, it delivers us messages, although we bypass it. If the Quran was for mere recitation, Allah ta'ala would not have allowed it to be translated in every language. We should recite the Quran in such a way whereby we are absorbing its messages. The Quran also gives us the solution to our problems. We must correct our intentions in order to receive benefit from it.
Our desires destroy us and incline us towards abundant worship instead of focusing on abandoning sins. When we focus on abundant worship, we forget about abandoning sins which is the real objective of life and we consider ourselves forgiven. Our desires make us content with our worship and gives us false hopes in achieving Paradise through it.
The main target of life is to eliminate all sins and protect ourselves from it. Worship is beneficial, however, even a single sin destroys our deeds. We should keep analysing ourselves, otherwise, we are wasting our good deeds. It doesn't matter how much we worship, if our sins are present, no worshipper can enter Paradise.
The definition of deen is to practice the laws of Allah ta'ala. Ihsaan refers to Imaan and Islam. When we commit a sin, our Iman and Islam are impacted because we have gone against the principles. This causes our faith to fluctuate.
Ihsan is when a believer perceives Allah ta'ala whilst He is worshipping. His heart is present in the court of Allah ta'ala.
If we cannot feel the presence of Allah ta'ala, then we should at least acknowledge that Allah ta'ala is watching us. A believer should never be distant from Allah ta'ala. If we do not develop these emotions, we become lost in the world and we fall prey to our desires and Shaytan. We will end up sinning and our worship will become futile. This will take one to Hellfire.
Our objective of life is to attain Ihsaan - to live as though Allah ta'ala is seeing us and we are seeing Him. Without this, our worship is deficient.
The way to develop Ihsan is to refrain from sin. If one develops Ihsan and acknowledges that Allah ta'ala is watching him, he will not commit sins. He will fear Allah ta'ala. There is no other solution to leaving sins.
If you do not acknowledge Allah ta'ala's presence, then your desires and Shaytan will continue to make you sin and if you continue sinning then even your worship can never cause you to enter Paradise.
The way to eliminate sins is by repenting sincerely at the hand of a Sheikh otherwise, we will not be able to achieve Paradise.
How to develop Ihsaan?
We must fight the enemy within us which is our desires. This is not a difficult test. The true believers are those who fight their desires and do not co-operate with their desires. The desires are the greater enemy over Shaytan. It will make us commit sins and then it will abandon us afterwards. When we fight against our desires, Allah ta'ala shows us the path to His nearness and love and He is with us.
How to remove sins?
Eliminating sins is the way to strengthen the connection between a servant and His Lord. We will only gain the rewards of our worship once we have abandoned sins. This will make us truly deserved of reward.
The Awliyah Allah reached the heights through sacrifice and constant effort, not through worship and worship is not accepted whilst we are committing sins alongside, for example, backbiting.
Those who make excuses and justify their sins have accepted Hellfire as their destiny. If we make excuses, we are co-operating with our enemy.
The path to Paradise is to abandon sins. Engage in worship but do not trust your deeds to lead you to Paradise. Rather, abandon the disobedience of Allah ta'ala.
We should fill our sheets regularly and our Sheikh will help us to remove the sins. We should inform him of our sicknesses so that he can help eliminate the sins.
If we give in to our desires, we should impose a punishment upon ourselves. This is the method to extract the sins and this is an example of Mujãhadah - striving.
All sins will be exposed in the Hereafter. However Allah ta'ala will hide the sins of the person who tried to eliminate his sins and fight his desires. He will be given the light of forgiveness and be sent to Paradise.
Allah ta'ala loves it when we strive to refrain from sin. This should be our target every moment of life. We should never be satisfied with our worship. We should always focus upon our sins and remind ourselves of the punishments.
We must eliminate the root cause of the sin in order to stop the habit and fight our desires. A person who has not worked hard can never leave sins and one who can not leave sins can never attain the level of Ihsan and he cannot enter Paradise.
To assess whether we acknowledge Allah ta'ala's presence and possess Ihsaan, we should see how much our family complain against us and what others say about our character. Whether we have broken anyone’s heart or consumed another's wealth.
We should forgive those who oppress us and maintain ties of kinship. This is better than a million prostration and is the essence of Islam. This is deen for which the Prophet ﷺ was sent for.
The best profession is that which connects a person to the creation. For example, a businessman who works with customers or someone who works in the medical field treating patients. This is why an honest trader is given the rank of a martyr in the Hereafter. Through their professions, they intend to serve humanity and they have excellent character. This is a great job one can have.
You can find Allah ta'ala wherever you are even through your job in which you are serving mankind. You may help someone in difficulty and this is the greatest form of worship. Through serving His creation, you will be granted abundant blessings in your wealth.
The greatest worship is to serve humanity.
Whichever human being gives benefit to another human being, he is the greatest human being. He is pleasing the creation of Allah ta'ala and bearing difficulties along the way. When you assist and serve human being, Allah ta'ala keeps you healthy, refreshed and alert.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen
31st Jan, 2025
Narrated Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه :
The Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said,
“When anyone of you go to bed, he should shake out his bed with the inside of his waist sheet, for he does not know what has come on to it after him, and then he should say:
“Bismika Rabbî wada’tu janbî, wa bika arfa’uhu, in amsakta nafî farhamha, wa in arsaltaha fahfazha bima tahfazu bihi ‘ibâdakas-sâlihîn.”
O my Lord! In Your Name I put my side over this bed and with Your Name I will lift it up therefrom. If You take my soul, bestow mercy on it, and if You release it, protect it as You protect Your righteous slaves.
We should continuously assess our situation, our mistakes and sins prior to our accounts taking place in the Hereafter via death. This ongoing concern will prove very beneficial in the Hereafter. When an individual makes effort, then Allah ta'ala assists him as He loves this concern.
When a person fails to self-analyse, he becomes lost in this world and then Allah ta'ala causes him to become worried and overly occupied with worldly things. This is a form of punishment for him. He considers himself pious, yet, he is foolish for not preparing for the Hereafter.
The best time to perform self-analysis is at night. When retiring to sleep, we should reflect over what sins we performed during the day and what we lacked in. We should assess whether we committed any mistakes, left out any compulsory deeds or were lazy in anything. We should make this a habit before sleeping every night. Thereafter, we should seek forgiveness from Allah ta'ala and recite the following Dua.
باسمك ربي وضعت جنبي، وبك أرفعه؛ إن أمسكت نفسي فارحمها، وإن أرسلتها، فاحفظها بما تحفظ به عبادك الصالحين
"With Your Name, my Rabb, I place my side (upon the bed) and with Your Grace I will raise it up. If You withhold my soul (cause me to die), have mercy on it but if You let it go (let me live), guard it against which You guarded Your pious slaves." [Bukhari & Muslim Shareef]
This practice is from amongst the Sunnah and this habit will enable us to be cautious of how we spend our day. If we live our life cautiously in such a manner, we will be protected in the Hereafter. Through this dua, Allah ta'ala will grant us the company of righteous people.
Our duty in life is to protect ourselves. We will face hurdles on the path to Paradise, but we must break these obstacles. If we become stuck, we will deviate off the route and be destined for Hellfire.
What prevents us from earning Paradise?
We should contemplate and identify the barriers preventing us. The biggest hurdle is committing sins. A sinful life is full of barriers which prevents us from attaining Paradise. This is a big test for us in this world as we are constantly surrounded by sins.
This world is a place which makes us forget. Thus, Allah ta'ala sent us reminders through Messengers and the Quran containing the events of the past.
Whenever we recite the Quran, it delivers us messages, although we bypass it. If the Quran was for mere recitation, Allah ta'ala would not have allowed it to be translated in every language. We should recite the Quran in such a way whereby we are absorbing its messages. The Quran also gives us the solution to our problems. We must correct our intentions in order to receive benefit from it.
Our desires destroy us and incline us towards abundant worship instead of focusing on abandoning sins. When we focus on abundant worship, we forget about abandoning sins which is the real objective of life and we consider ourselves forgiven. Our desires make us content with our worship and gives us false hopes in achieving Paradise through it.
The main target of life is to eliminate all sins and protect ourselves from it. Worship is beneficial, however, even a single sin destroys our deeds. We should keep analysing ourselves, otherwise, we are wasting our good deeds. It doesn't matter how much we worship, if our sins are present, no worshipper can enter Paradise.
The definition of deen is to practice the laws of Allah ta'ala. Ihsaan refers to Imaan and Islam. When we commit a sin, our Iman and Islam are impacted because we have gone against the principles. This causes our faith to fluctuate.
Ihsan is when a believer perceives Allah ta'ala whilst He is worshipping. His heart is present in the court of Allah ta'ala.
If we cannot feel the presence of Allah ta'ala, then we should at least acknowledge that Allah ta'ala is watching us. A believer should never be distant from Allah ta'ala. If we do not develop these emotions, we become lost in the world and we fall prey to our desires and Shaytan. We will end up sinning and our worship will become futile. This will take one to Hellfire.
Our objective of life is to attain Ihsaan - to live as though Allah ta'ala is seeing us and we are seeing Him. Without this, our worship is deficient.
The way to develop Ihsan is to refrain from sin. If one develops Ihsan and acknowledges that Allah ta'ala is watching him, he will not commit sins. He will fear Allah ta'ala. There is no other solution to leaving sins.
If you do not acknowledge Allah ta'ala's presence, then your desires and Shaytan will continue to make you sin and if you continue sinning then even your worship can never cause you to enter Paradise.
The way to eliminate sins is by repenting sincerely at the hand of a Sheikh otherwise, we will not be able to achieve Paradise.
How to develop Ihsaan?
We must fight the enemy within us which is our desires. This is not a difficult test. The true believers are those who fight their desires and do not co-operate with their desires. The desires are the greater enemy over Shaytan. It will make us commit sins and then it will abandon us afterwards. When we fight against our desires, Allah ta'ala shows us the path to His nearness and love and He is with us.
How to remove sins?
Eliminating sins is the way to strengthen the connection between a servant and His Lord. We will only gain the rewards of our worship once we have abandoned sins. This will make us truly deserved of reward.
The Awliyah Allah reached the heights through sacrifice and constant effort, not through worship and worship is not accepted whilst we are committing sins alongside, for example, backbiting.
Those who make excuses and justify their sins have accepted Hellfire as their destiny. If we make excuses, we are co-operating with our enemy.
The path to Paradise is to abandon sins. Engage in worship but do not trust your deeds to lead you to Paradise. Rather, abandon the disobedience of Allah ta'ala.
We should fill our sheets regularly and our Sheikh will help us to remove the sins. We should inform him of our sicknesses so that he can help eliminate the sins.
If we give in to our desires, we should impose a punishment upon ourselves. This is the method to extract the sins and this is an example of Mujãhadah - striving.
All sins will be exposed in the Hereafter. However Allah ta'ala will hide the sins of the person who tried to eliminate his sins and fight his desires. He will be given the light of forgiveness and be sent to Paradise.
Allah ta'ala loves it when we strive to refrain from sin. This should be our target every moment of life. We should never be satisfied with our worship. We should always focus upon our sins and remind ourselves of the punishments.
We must eliminate the root cause of the sin in order to stop the habit and fight our desires. A person who has not worked hard can never leave sins and one who can not leave sins can never attain the level of Ihsan and he cannot enter Paradise.
To assess whether we acknowledge Allah ta'ala's presence and possess Ihsaan, we should see how much our family complain against us and what others say about our character. Whether we have broken anyone’s heart or consumed another's wealth.
We should forgive those who oppress us and maintain ties of kinship. This is better than a million prostration and is the essence of Islam. This is deen for which the Prophet ﷺ was sent for.
The best profession is that which connects a person to the creation. For example, a businessman who works with customers or someone who works in the medical field treating patients. This is why an honest trader is given the rank of a martyr in the Hereafter. Through their professions, they intend to serve humanity and they have excellent character. This is a great job one can have.
You can find Allah ta'ala wherever you are even through your job in which you are serving mankind. You may help someone in difficulty and this is the greatest form of worship. Through serving His creation, you will be granted abundant blessings in your wealth.
The greatest worship is to serve humanity.
Whichever human being gives benefit to another human being, he is the greatest human being. He is pleasing the creation of Allah ta'ala and bearing difficulties along the way. When you assist and serve human being, Allah ta'ala keeps you healthy, refreshed and alert.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement. Ameen