1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,939 Our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her. 2 00:00:09,939 --> 00:00:12,009 “O ‘Aishah, 3 00:00:12,009 --> 00:00:18,519 beware of the sins that are considered trivial.” 4 00:00:18,519 --> 00:00:23,879 The lofty status that ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, enjoyed 5 00:00:23,879 --> 00:00:26,920 in the eyes of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 6 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:30,920 facilitated for her a magnificent Prophetic upbringing. 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,240 ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, capitalized on this status 8 00:00:35,359 --> 00:00:39,159 by frequently asking the Prophet, peace be upon him, 9 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:41,679 about everything that was unclear to her, 10 00:00:41,679 --> 00:00:44,960 and then she translated that into a practical reality, 11 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,679 adhering to this upbringing 12 00:00:47,679 --> 00:00:51,859 so as to be a role model for the women of the worlds. 13 00:00:51,859 --> 00:00:55,579 Among the aspects of the upbringing of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 14 00:00:55,579 --> 00:00:58,219 for ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, 15 00:00:58,219 --> 00:01:01,939 was his warning to her against taking minor sins lightly. 16 00:01:01,979 --> 00:01:03,539 This warning 17 00:01:03,539 --> 00:01:08,340 stems from the far-sighted vision of an educator regarding those he educates; 18 00:01:08,340 --> 00:01:12,099 he elevates them from the rank of merely avoiding major sins 19 00:01:12,099 --> 00:01:14,859 to the rank of being cautious of minor ones, 20 00:01:14,859 --> 00:01:18,140 which could potentially destroy their perpetrator. 21 00:01:18,140 --> 00:01:21,099 ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says 22 00:01:21,099 --> 00:01:25,859 that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to her: 23 00:01:25,859 --> 00:01:27,500 “O ‘Aishah, 24 00:01:27,500 --> 00:01:30,500 beware of the sins that are considered trivial, 25 00:01:30,500 --> 00:01:34,700 for they have a seeker [who will hold you accountable] from Allah, the Almighty.” 26 00:01:34,700 --> 00:01:36,579 Narrated by Ahmad. 27 00:01:36,579 --> 00:01:39,060 Al-‘Ayni, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 28 00:01:39,060 --> 00:01:42,019 “The ‘trivial sins’ (muhaqarat) is the plural of ‘muhaqarah,’ 29 00:01:42,019 --> 00:01:45,819 which are the sins that the one who commits them deems insignificant.” 30 00:01:45,819 --> 00:01:48,620 The reason the perpetrator deems them insignificant 31 00:01:48,620 --> 00:01:51,140 is that he views them as minor sins, 32 00:01:51,140 --> 00:01:53,659 while he is [already] avoiding major sins, 33 00:01:53,659 --> 00:01:58,900 so he reassures himself that they will be forgiven by his avoidance of the major ones. 34 00:01:58,939 --> 00:02:02,819 This is one of the ways Satan approaches a human being. 35 00:02:02,819 --> 00:02:04,819 Ibn al-Qayyim illustrates 36 00:02:04,819 --> 00:02:09,460 how Iblis approaches the Muslim by making minor sins seem trivial to him, 37 00:02:09,460 --> 00:02:11,060 by saying to him: 38 00:02:11,060 --> 00:02:15,930 “What harm is there if you avoid major sins, regardless of the minor ones you commit?” 39 00:02:15,930 --> 00:02:21,449 Or, “Do you not know that they are expiated by avoiding major sins and by performing good deeds?” 40 00:02:21,449 --> 00:02:24,129 He continues to make the matter seem trivial to him 41 00:02:24,129 --> 00:02:26,530 until he persists in them. 42 00:02:26,530 --> 00:02:33,020 Thus, the one who commits a major sin while being fearful, anxious, and remorseful is in a better state than him. 43 00:02:33,020 --> 00:02:35,939 For persistence in a sin makes it worse than the sin itself, 44 00:02:35,939 --> 00:02:39,180 and there is no major sin with repentance and seeking forgiveness, 45 00:02:39,180 --> 00:02:41,900 and no minor sin with persistence. 46 00:02:41,900 --> 00:02:44,979 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 47 00:02:44,979 --> 00:02:48,180 “Beware of the sins that are considered trivial.” 48 00:02:48,180 --> 00:02:53,500 Then he gave an example of a group of people who landed in a barren land, 49 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:55,580 and they were in need of firewood. 50 00:02:55,580 --> 00:02:59,699 So one began to bring a stick, and another brought a stick, 51 00:02:59,699 --> 00:03:02,740 until they gathered a large amount of firewood, 52 00:03:02,740 --> 00:03:06,580 then they lit a fire and baked their bread. 53 00:03:06,580 --> 00:03:09,819 Likewise, the sins that are considered trivial 54 00:03:09,819 --> 00:03:13,699 accumulate against the servant while he underestimates their significance, 55 00:03:13,699 --> 00:03:15,909 until they destroy him. 56 00:03:15,909 --> 00:03:18,550 Thus, the Prophet, peace be upon him, 57 00:03:18,550 --> 00:03:22,150 in his upbringing of ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, 58 00:03:22,189 --> 00:03:25,830 wanted her to be mindful of these trivial sins 59 00:03:25,830 --> 00:03:27,949 so that she would not fall into them. 60 00:03:27,949 --> 00:03:30,789 And if she did fall into any of them, 61 00:03:30,789 --> 00:03:34,819 she would remedy it by abandoning them and seeking forgiveness for them. 62 00:03:34,819 --> 00:03:37,419 Ibn Battal, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 63 00:03:37,419 --> 00:03:39,699 “Trivial sins, when they accumulate, 64 00:03:39,699 --> 00:03:44,689 become major sins through persistence and continuing in them.” 65 00:03:44,689 --> 00:03:49,250 Upon this, the Prophet, peace be upon him, raised the Companions, 66 00:03:49,250 --> 00:03:52,210 and this upbringing bore fruit among the Companions 67 00:03:52,210 --> 00:03:55,689 in the form of a refined sense of self-accountability, 68 00:03:55,689 --> 00:03:59,409 to the point that Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 69 00:03:59,409 --> 00:04:02,090 “You perform deeds 70 00:04:02,090 --> 00:04:05,210 that are finer in your eyes than a hair, 71 00:04:05,210 --> 00:04:10,050 [yet] we used to count them during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 72 00:04:10,050 --> 00:04:11,969 among the destructive sins.” 73 00:04:11,969 --> 00:04:14,110 Narrated by al-Bukhari. 74 00:04:14,110 --> 00:04:16,550 Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 75 00:04:16,550 --> 00:04:19,550 “He means by that the destructive ones.” 76 00:04:19,550 --> 00:04:24,910 The Companions used to discuss the subject of minor sins and view them as grave, 77 00:04:24,910 --> 00:04:28,500 despite them being the furthest of people from major sins. 78 00:04:28,500 --> 00:04:31,379 Ibn Battal, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 79 00:04:31,379 --> 00:04:35,259 “They only counted minor sins among the destructive ones 80 00:04:35,259 --> 00:04:37,740 due to their intense fear of Allah, 81 00:04:37,740 --> 00:04:40,819 even if they had no major sins.” 82 00:04:40,819 --> 00:04:45,180 This perspective on the level of sins that a Muslim falls into 83 00:04:45,220 --> 00:04:48,420 stems from the level of faith he possesses. 84 00:04:48,420 --> 00:04:50,699 For the more his faith increases, 85 00:04:50,699 --> 00:04:52,939 the more he views disobedience to Allah as grave. 86 00:04:52,939 --> 00:04:55,139 And the more his faith weakens, 87 00:04:55,139 --> 00:04:59,019 the more he views sins as trivial, even if they are major sins. 88 00:04:59,019 --> 00:05:01,220 The difference between the two states 89 00:05:01,220 --> 00:05:03,500 is that in the state of faith, 90 00:05:03,500 --> 00:05:05,819 one looks at the greatness of the One he has disobeyed, 91 00:05:05,819 --> 00:05:07,740 so he views the sin as grave. 92 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:10,060 And in the state of weak faith, 93 00:05:10,060 --> 00:05:14,180 one looks at the size of the sin, so he views it as trivial. 94 00:05:14,180 --> 00:05:19,540 The Prophet, peace be upon him, described this state, saying: 95 00:05:19,540 --> 00:05:24,180 “The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting under a mountain, 96 00:05:24,180 --> 00:05:26,540 fearing that it might fall upon him. 97 00:05:26,540 --> 00:05:31,259 Whereas the wicked person sees his sins like a fly that passes by his nose, 98 00:05:31,259 --> 00:05:33,740 and he waves it away like this.” 99 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:35,910 Narrated by al-Bukhari. 100 00:05:35,910 --> 00:05:38,589 We are today in a virtuous month, 101 00:05:38,589 --> 00:05:43,550 in which Muslims are keen to perform good deeds and increase them, 102 00:05:43,550 --> 00:05:47,829 just as they are keen on the validity of their fasting by avoiding things that break it. 103 00:05:47,829 --> 00:05:50,470 They ask about the minutiae of matters, 104 00:05:50,470 --> 00:05:54,819 until it sometimes reaches the degree of obsessive questioning. 105 00:05:54,819 --> 00:05:57,339 Yet, some are negligent— 106 00:05:57,339 --> 00:05:59,860 I do not say only in minor sins, 107 00:05:59,860 --> 00:06:02,220 but even in major ones. 108 00:06:02,220 --> 00:06:04,779 Is it not time for our women 109 00:06:04,779 --> 00:06:10,459 to hold themselves accountable in matters of dress and adornment outside the home? 110 00:06:10,459 --> 00:06:13,019 And is it not time for our men 111 00:06:13,019 --> 00:06:17,139 to hold themselves accountable in their financial dealings, 112 00:06:17,139 --> 00:06:20,819 with the prevalence of usury and gambling in our time? 113 00:06:20,819 --> 00:06:23,540 And is it not time for all of us 114 00:06:23,540 --> 00:06:26,740 to scrutinize the harvest of our tongues, 115 00:06:26,740 --> 00:06:32,069 protecting them from backbiting, slander, and belittling others? 116 00:06:32,069 --> 00:06:35,589 We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills. 117 00:06:35,589 --> 00:06:40,779 And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. 118 00:06:40,779 --> 00:06:44,300 Our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her.