Part of Milestones on the path to stability (series completed)
· Lesson 13 of 23
Milestones on the path to stability | Episode (13) | One of the means of steadfastness: remembrance of God
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Landmarks on the path of steadfastness.
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The remembrance of Allah.
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Among the means of steadfastness
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is the frequent remembrance of Allah, the Exalted.
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Allah has commanded frequent remembrance,
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for He, the Exalted, says:
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"O you who have believed,
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“O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance.” (33:41)
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and exalt Him morning and afternoon."
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Even in the context of battle,
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Allah commanded frequent remembrance,
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for He, the Exalted, says:
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"O you who have believed,
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“O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful.” (8:45)
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“O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful.” (8:45)
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that you may succeed."
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Remembrance is the believer’s fortress
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against Satan.
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It is narrated from al-Harith al-Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him)
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that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
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said:
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"Indeed, Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He,
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commanded Yahya ibn Zakariyya
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with five words."
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The hadith...
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And among these words,
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he said:
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"And I command you to remember Allah,
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for the likeness of that
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is like a man pursued by an enemy
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following him swiftly,
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until he comes
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to a fortified stronghold
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and protects himself from them."
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Likewise, the servant
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does not protect himself from Satan
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except through the remembrance of Allah.
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Ibn al-Qayyim said
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in *al-Wabil al-Sayyib*:
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"If there were no other virtue in remembrance
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than this single quality,
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it would be fitting for the servant
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that his tongue never ceases
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from the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted,
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and that he remains constantly engaged
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in His remembrance.
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For he does not protect himself
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from his enemy
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except through remembrance.
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The enemy does not enter upon him
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except through the gate of heedlessness.
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He lies in wait for him,
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and when he is heedless,
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he pounces upon him and devours him.
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But when he remembers Allah, the Exalted,
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the enemy of Allah, the Exalted, shrinks away,
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becoming small and suppressed,
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until he becomes
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like a sparrow or a fly."
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This is why he is called
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the *Waswas al-Khannas* (the whisperer who retreats),
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meaning he whispers in the hearts,
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but when Allah is remembered,
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when Allah, the Exalted, is remembered,
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he retreats—that is, he desists and shrinks back.
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Ibn 'Abbas said:
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"Satan is perched
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upon the heart of the son of Adam;
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when he becomes forgetful and heedless,
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he whispers,
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but when he remembers Allah, the Exalted,
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he retreats."
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In *Sahih al-Bukhari*,
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from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
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The Prophet
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(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"The likeness of the one who remembers
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Allah and the one who does not remember his Lord
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is like the living
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and the dead."
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And in the two *Sahihs*,
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from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him),
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he said:
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The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
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"Allah, the Exalted, says:
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'I am
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as My servant expects Me to be,
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and I am with him
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when he remembers Me.
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If he remembers Me to himself,
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I remember him to Myself;
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and if he remembers Me in a gathering,
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I remember him in a gathering
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better than them.
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If he draws near to Me by a span,
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I draw near to him
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by a cubit;
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if he draws near to Me by a cubit,
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I draw near to him by an arm's length;
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and if he comes to Me walking,
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I come to him running.'"
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And in *al-Tirmidhi*,
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from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
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from Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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that He says:
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"Indeed, My servant—the true servant—
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is the one who remembers Me
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while he is meeting his opponent."
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This hadith
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is the decisive word
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and the distinction between the one who remembers
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and the one who struggles (in jihad).
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For the one who remembers while struggling
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is better than the one who remembers
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without struggling.
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And the one who struggles while heedless,
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and the one who remembers without struggling,
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the latter is better than the heedless struggler
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who is heedless of Allah, the Exalted.
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The best of those who remember are the strugglers,
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and the best of the strugglers are those who remember.
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Allah, the Exalted, says:
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"O you who have believed,
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when you encounter a force,
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stand firm,
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stand firm,
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and remember Allah much,
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that you may succeed."
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He commanded them to have frequent remembrance
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and to struggle simultaneously,
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so that they may be in hope,
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in hope of success.
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Allah, the Exalted, has said:
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"O you who have believed,
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remember Allah
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with much remembrance."
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And the Exalted said:
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"And the men who remember Allah
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often and the women who do so,"
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meaning often.
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And the Exalted said:
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"And when you have completed
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your rites,
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remember Allah as you remember
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your forefathers or with greater
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remembrance."
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It contains the command for remembrance
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in both frequency and intensity,
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due to the servant's intense need for it
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and his inability to be independent of it
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for even the blinking of an eye.
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For any moment
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in which the servant is heedless
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of the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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is against him, not for him,
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and his loss in that moment
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is greater than what he gained in his heedlessness
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of Allah.
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There is no doubt that the heart rusts,
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just as silver and other metals do,
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and its polishing is through remembrance.
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It polishes it
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until it leaves it like a mirror,
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bright and clear.
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If he abandons remembrance, it rusts;
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if he remembers, he polishes it.
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The heart rusts due to two things:
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heedlessness and sin.
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Its polishing is through two things:
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seeking forgiveness and remembrance.
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Whoever is heedless for most of his time,
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the rust will accumulate
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upon his heart,
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and it will rust in proportion to his heedlessness.
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When the heart rusts,
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it does not reflect
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the images of realities as they
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truly are;
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he sees falsehood in the image of truth,
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and truth in the image of falsehood.
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This is because,
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when the rust accumulates upon it,
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it darkens,
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and the image of truths does not appear in it
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as they truly are.
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When the rust accumulates upon it
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and the *ran* (covering) settles over it,
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his perception and understanding
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become corrupted;
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he neither accepts the truth
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nor rejects falsehood.
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This is the greatest punishment of the heart,
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and the root of this
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is heedlessness and following
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one's desires.
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For they extinguish the light of the heart
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and blind its vision.
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Allah, the Exalted, says:
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“Restrain thyself along with those who cry unto their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His Countenance; and let not thine eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, who followeth his own lust and whose case hath been abandoned.” (18:28)
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"his heart from Our remembrance,
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and he followed his desire,
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And his affairs were in a state of neglect.
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So, if a servant intends
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to take a man as a role model,
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he must observe:
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Is he among the people of remembrance,
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or among the heedless?
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And is that which governs him
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his own desires or divine revelation?
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For if the one who governs him
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is his own desire,
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and he is among the people of heedlessness,
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and his affairs are in a state of neglect,
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then he should not take him as a model nor follow him.
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As for the meaning of "neglect" (fart),
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it has been interpreted as squandering;
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meaning, the affairs that he is obligated
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to uphold and fulfill,
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and upon which his guidance and success depend,
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are lost, for he has neglected them.
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It has also been interpreted as excess,
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meaning he has gone to extremes.
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It has been interpreted as ruin,
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and it has been interpreted as opposition to the truth.
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All of these
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are closely related interpretations.
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The point is that Allah,
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glorified and exalted is He,
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has forbidden obedience to one who embodies
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these characteristics.
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Therefore, a person should examine
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his teacher, his role model,
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and the one he follows.
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If he finds him to be as described,
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he should distance himself from him.
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But if he finds him to be someone who is dominated by
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the remembrance of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic,
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and the following of the Sunnah,
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and whose affairs are not neglected
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by him,
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but rather he is resolute in his affairs—
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for there is no difference between
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the living and the dead except through remembrance—
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then the likeness of the one
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who remembers his Lord and the one
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who does not remember his Lord
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is like that of the living and the dead.
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These are milestones on
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the path of steadfastness.