Announcing Sins - Comment From A Reader

In my last entry a reader writes..

"Assalamualaikum bro

May Allah grant you goodness in this life and the next...

bro i dont know...maybe you are writing this to help others take heed ...since Islam is about naseeha/sincere advice, i wanted to say that it's better to keep your sins to yourself and turn in repentance to Allah.. i dont know maybe im wrong but this is what came to my mind when i read some of your entries especially this one
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: All the people of my Ummah would get pardon for their sins except those who publicise them. And (it means) that a servant should do a deed during the night and tell the people in the morning that he has done so and so, whereas Allah has concealed it. And he does a deed during the day and when it is night he tells the people, whereas Allah has concealed it. Zuhair has used the word hijar for publicising.
Sahih Muslim"

Walaikum Salaam Warahmatullah,

I'm glad somebody raised this. Glad because we still have people here that are willing to speak for the good. Glad because our thoughts and actions are reflections of one another. Before I begin, May Allah reward the brother with his good intentions. As that's what they are.

However, there's a small problem. 

"i wanted to say that it's better to keep your sins to yourself"

I haven't in this post nor any other talked about my sins nor have I glorified them in any way.

"i dont know maybe im wrong but this is what came to my mind when i read some of your entries especially this one"

I would be interested to hear 'what these other entries' are. As always, I'm always open minded to discussion and debate. Especially Naseeha anybody has to share. 

Here's my irk. As a more generalised point. We have a become a nation of people that point fingers. And we lack the core qualities of Muslims in this process. A reminder to myself. We point without confirming evidence. More importantly we point without listening.  

Without listening?! Who needs to listen? That's stuff normal people do. We need to get our point in first.

I didn't finish my entry off. To call what I've done a sin, lets be careful when we say things like this. I haven't  finished off what happened. To make that assumption based upon key words such as sex, women, tight dress and curvy is just nonsense. These words are not a sin. The context is not a sin.

Here's the crack. As Muslims we pretend like these things don't happen. Maybe in some people's world, it doesn't. I hate to break it to you, but this is real. And so is the context. Perhaps the next part might bring some more light. 

A super important reminder for us all to keep brotherhood and relationships intact as believers:

Hamdun al-Qassar said, “If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for them. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.” [Imam Bayhaqi, Shu`ab al-Iman, 7.522]

We struggle to make one excuse. +69 more please? 

“A believer is a mirror of the believer.” [Abu Dawud]

What you see in someone is reflection of what is within yourself. Super important. Especially in a marriage. A spouse reflects the qualities of their other half. If there's something wrong, look at yourself.

“None of you believes until they wish for others as they wish for themselves.” [Tirmidhi]

And not forgetting directly from the all wise, the all knowing himself:

“Believers! Leave much doubt, for most doubt is sinful.” [Qur'an, 49.12]

Why? Because we all have assumptions based on people. Even on those people that we may not even know. We may sometimes either:

1. Look for mistakes.
2. By default, assume they are sound and free of error. 

Both dangerous. 

If we are looking to find something wrong, we can win this game all day long. Why? Humans are by definition imperfect. Fallible and prone to making many mistakes.

By doing the opposite -In assuming they're perfect, we're opening ourselves up for doubt. We'll be sure to find something that leaves room for doubts. Allah has commanded us above to leave doubts. 

Take the middle path and remember that success alone, is from Allah.

I want to finish off with a reminder for ourselves from Surat At-Tur. In the earlier ayahs Allah (swt) talks about the proofs of qiyamah, describing the day. He continues by giving glad tidings to the believers and he talks of the rewards the believers will have in Jannah. The place of all things happy and full of smiles.

 

From V23 to V27 here's the low down. 

All the dwellers will be handed cups of pure white wine. Cheers everyone! However, it will be very different from what we know. This won't be branded nor will it be made by yukky human beings. This will be from creation of Allah. It won't contain any intoxicants nor will it make the dwellers tipsy, drunk or hungover. This will be a drink of pure pleasure. Yum! There will be servants, lots of them. These guys will be clean in appearance and beautiful like untouched pearls. Perfection.

The believers are going to gather and speak to each other. "Yo, remember the time we did [...] on the dunya" and they will continue talking about those things they did in the life of this world, and within our families. Then they will say that they were afraid of Allah and fearful of his punishment whilst they were here.

فَمَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَيْنَا وَوَقَـنَا عَذَابَ السَّمُومِ

"So Allah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire."

He did us a favour. A favour from his compassion and his mercy. He saved us from what we feared. 

Happy place, is it not? Ah, I can't stop smiling. It makes me smile because that should be our goal insha'Allah but if we want in, we need to start reflecting. Change starts here. Change starts today. And change starts now. Time for us all to start looking within.

Truly, Allah knows best. 

Peace.