Sin

It is a sin to disobey Allah Ta’ala. And anything that implies the disobedience of Allah Ta’ala is a sin. This degrades a person in the eyes of Allah Ta’ala. No honour will be of any avail to a person when he is degraded in the eyes of Allah Ta’ala. He may get great titles but he will not have any dignity if he is sinning. The more a person remains in obedience, the more honourable he becomes. And the most honourable is the one who is most obedient. The dignity and honour that a person acquires when he remains in the obedience of Allah Ta’ala, remains intact. Many a time one may denigrate such a person, however one only causes misfortune to oneself. The status of that person will remain intact. When a person speaks ill of an honourable person in the eyes of Allah Ta’ala, he endangers his own future. It is as if he is banging his head against a stone whereby his head may be fractured but the stone will remain intact. According to Al Yawaaqeet of Sheikh Abdul Wahhaab Ash-Sherani (Rahmatullahi alayh), Abu Abdullah Al-Quraishi (Rahmatullahi alayh) used to say: 

"Whoever denigrates a Wali of Allah Ta’ala, Allah Ta’ala will stab his heart with a poisonous arrow. And this person will not die until his Aqeedah is corrupted. And it is quite possible that his life will end badly."

The effect of sin

A person renders himself very miserable by disobeying Allah Ta’ala. And in general, the difficulties that people face are due to their bad deeds. Allah Ta’ala said in the Qur’an-e-Kareem:

"The misfortunes that afflict you are a result of the actions you earn, and Allah Ta’ala pardons a great deal. He forgives a lot." (S 42: V 30)

That is, all the difficulties that a person faces are the effect of his bad deeds. According to the scholars of Tafseer, this verse applies particularly to people, whose lives are in disarray and who transgress the law of Allah Ta’ala. As for the good people, the difficulties that they face, become a means to raise their rank in Aakhirah. This verse shows that a person can have problems and difficulties if he does not behave well. And in general, when people commit sins, Allah Ta’ala descends His punishment on earth in several forms. Just as there are sins that attract diseases and all kinds of epidemics that did not exist before, there are also sins that causes drought. According to the meaning of a Hadith, leaders are the reflection of what the public is. That is, if we are good, our leaders also will be good leaders and if we disobey the commandments of Allah Ta’ala, we should not expect to have good leaders. 

... And the solution

The solution lies in abstaining from disobeying the commandments of Allah Ta’ala and following the Deen. The Deen of Allah Ta’ala guarantees success in Dunya and Aakhirah. It guarantees the success of individuals and the society in general. It is a national and an international success. Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’an-e-Kareem: 

"If the inhabitants of the towns believe and adopt Taqwa, We will open to them multitudes of blessings from the heavens and the earth. However, they denied, so We seized them on account of what they earned." (S 7: V 96)

This verse shows that obedience to Allah Ta’ala and living according to Deen brings blessings in the life of people. Thus, a life without Deen, is a very miserable life. And it will be even more miserable in Aakhirah. 

In another place in the Qur’an, Allah Ta’ala said:

"As for that male or female who does good and is a Mu’min, We will certainly grant them a good life and most surely reward them for the good that they do." (S 16: V 97)

This shows that every effort that a person does to enjoy his life by disobeying Allah Ta’ala, is in reality, an effort to ruin his life. The true joy of life lies in living according to the commandments of Allah Ta’ala only.

[English version of "Péché " – Al Jamiat – Vol. 4 No.6]