WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.939 Our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her. 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:12.009 “O ‘Aishah, 00:00:12.009 --> 00:00:18.519 beware of the sins that are considered trivial.” 00:00:18.519 --> 00:00:23.879 The lofty status that ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, enjoyed 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:26.920 in the eyes of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:30.920 facilitated for her a magnificent Prophetic upbringing. 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:35.240 ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, capitalized on this status 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:39.159 by frequently asking the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:41.679 about everything that was unclear to her, 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:44.960 and then she translated that into a practical reality, 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:47.679 adhering to this upbringing 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:51.859 so as to be a role model for the women of the worlds. 00:00:51.859 --> 00:00:55.579 Among the aspects of the upbringing of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:00:55.579 --> 00:00:58.219 for ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:01.939 was his warning to her against taking minor sins lightly. 00:01:01.979 --> 00:01:03.539 This warning 00:01:03.539 --> 00:01:08.340 stems from the far-sighted vision of an educator regarding those he educates; 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:12.099 he elevates them from the rank of merely avoiding major sins 00:01:12.099 --> 00:01:14.859 to the rank of being cautious of minor ones, 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:18.140 which could potentially destroy their perpetrator. 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:21.099 ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:25.859 that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to her: 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:27.500 “O ‘Aishah, 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:30.500 beware of the sins that are considered trivial, 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:34.700 for they have a seeker [who will hold you accountable] from Allah, the Almighty.” 00:01:34.700 --> 00:01:36.579 Narrated by Ahmad. 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:39.060 Al-‘Ayni, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:42.019 “The ‘trivial sins’ (muhaqarat) is the plural of ‘muhaqarah,’ 00:01:42.019 --> 00:01:45.819 which are the sins that the one who commits them deems insignificant.” 00:01:45.819 --> 00:01:48.620 The reason the perpetrator deems them insignificant 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:51.140 is that he views them as minor sins, 00:01:51.140 --> 00:01:53.659 while he is [already] avoiding major sins, 00:01:53.659 --> 00:01:58.900 so he reassures himself that they will be forgiven by his avoidance of the major ones. 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:02.819 This is one of the ways Satan approaches a human being. 00:02:02.819 --> 00:02:04.819 Ibn al-Qayyim illustrates 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:09.460 how Iblis approaches the Muslim by making minor sins seem trivial to him, 00:02:09.460 --> 00:02:11.060 by saying to him: 00:02:11.060 --> 00:02:15.930 “What harm is there if you avoid major sins, regardless of the minor ones you commit?” 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?” 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.129 He continues to make the matter seem trivial to him 00:02:24.129 --> 00:02:26.530 until he persists in them. 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. 00:02:33.020 --> 00:02:35.939 For persistence in a sin makes it worse than the sin itself, 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:39.180 and there is no major sin with repentance and seeking forgiveness, 00:02:39.180 --> 00:02:41.900 and no minor sin with persistence. 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:44.979 The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:48.180 “Beware of the sins that are considered trivial.” 00:02:48.180 --> 00:02:53.500 Then he gave an example of a group of people who landed in a barren land, 00:02:53.500 --> 00:02:55.580 and they were in need of firewood. 00:02:55.580 --> 00:02:59.699 So one began to bring a stick, and another brought a stick, 00:02:59.699 --> 00:03:02.740 until they gathered a large amount of firewood, 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:06.580 then they lit a fire and baked their bread. 00:03:06.580 --> 00:03:09.819 Likewise, the sins that are considered trivial 00:03:09.819 --> 00:03:13.699 accumulate against the servant while he underestimates their significance, 00:03:13.699 --> 00:03:15.909 until they destroy him. 00:03:15.909 --> 00:03:18.550 Thus, the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:03:18.550 --> 00:03:22.150 in his upbringing of ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, 00:03:22.189 --> 00:03:25.830 wanted her to be mindful of these trivial sins 00:03:25.830 --> 00:03:27.949 so that she would not fall into them. 00:03:27.949 --> 00:03:30.789 And if she did fall into any of them, 00:03:30.789 --> 00:03:34.819 she would remedy it by abandoning them and seeking forgiveness for them. 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:37.419 Ibn Battal, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:39.699 “Trivial sins, when they accumulate, 00:03:39.699 --> 00:03:44.689 become major sins through persistence and continuing in them.” 00:03:44.689 --> 00:03:49.250 Upon this, the Prophet, peace be upon him, raised the Companions, 00:03:49.250 --> 00:03:52.210 and this upbringing bore fruit among the Companions 00:03:52.210 --> 00:03:55.689 in the form of a refined sense of self-accountability, 00:03:55.689 --> 00:03:59.409 to the point that Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said: 00:03:59.409 --> 00:04:02.090 “You perform deeds 00:04:02.090 --> 00:04:05.210 that are finer in your eyes than a hair, 00:04:05.210 --> 00:04:10.050 [yet] we used to count them during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:04:10.050 --> 00:04:11.969 among the destructive sins.” 00:04:11.969 --> 00:04:14.110 Narrated by al-Bukhari. 00:04:14.110 --> 00:04:16.550 Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 00:04:16.550 --> 00:04:19.550 “He means by that the destructive ones.” 00:04:19.550 --> 00:04:24.910 The Companions used to discuss the subject of minor sins and view them as grave, 00:04:24.910 --> 00:04:28.500 despite them being the furthest of people from major sins. 00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:31.379 Ibn Battal, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:35.259 “They only counted minor sins among the destructive ones 00:04:35.259 --> 00:04:37.740 due to their intense fear of Allah, 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:40.819 even if they had no major sins.” 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:45.180 This perspective on the level of sins that a Muslim falls into 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.420 stems from the level of faith he possesses. 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:50.699 For the more his faith increases, 00:04:50.699 --> 00:04:52.939 the more he views disobedience to Allah as grave. 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:55.139 And the more his faith weakens, 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:59.019 the more he views sins as trivial, even if they are major sins. 00:04:59.019 --> 00:05:01.220 The difference between the two states 00:05:01.220 --> 00:05:03.500 is that in the state of faith, 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:05.819 one looks at the greatness of the One he has disobeyed, 00:05:05.819 --> 00:05:07.740 so he views the sin as grave. 00:05:07.740 --> 00:05:10.060 And in the state of weak faith, 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:14.180 one looks at the size of the sin, so he views it as trivial. 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:19.540 The Prophet, peace be upon him, described this state, saying: 00:05:19.540 --> 00:05:24.180 “The believer sees his sins as if he is sitting under a mountain, 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:26.540 fearing that it might fall upon him. 00:05:26.540 --> 00:05:31.259 Whereas the wicked person sees his sins like a fly that passes by his nose, 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:33.740 and he waves it away like this.” 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:35.910 Narrated by al-Bukhari. 00:05:35.910 --> 00:05:38.589 We are today in a virtuous month, 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:43.550 in which Muslims are keen to perform good deeds and increase them, 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. 00:05:47.829 --> 00:05:50.470 They ask about the minutiae of matters, 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:54.819 until it sometimes reaches the degree of obsessive questioning. 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:57.339 Yet, some are negligent— 00:05:57.339 --> 00:05:59.860 I do not say only in minor sins, 00:05:59.860 --> 00:06:02.220 but even in major ones. 00:06:02.220 --> 00:06:04.779 Is it not time for our women 00:06:04.779 --> 00:06:10.459 to hold themselves accountable in matters of dress and adornment outside the home? 00:06:10.459 --> 00:06:13.019 And is it not time for our men 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:17.139 to hold themselves accountable in their financial dealings, 00:06:17.139 --> 00:06:20.819 with the prevalence of usury and gambling in our time? 00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:23.540 And is it not time for all of us 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:26.740 to scrutinize the harvest of our tongues, 00:06:26.740 --> 00:06:32.069 protecting them from backbiting, slander, and belittling others? 00:06:32.069 --> 00:06:35.589 We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills. 00:06:35.589 --> 00:06:40.779 And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. 00:06:40.779 --> 00:06:44.300 Our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her.