Shaytan committed a sin through disobeying
Allah with his arrogance; he thought he was
better than Adam so he refused to obey Allah's
command that he bow to Adam. Hence, he
incurred Allah's Wrath. Instead of becoming
humble, admitting his sin to Allah and seeking
His (swt) repentance, he became even more
stubborn, shameful, arrogant and revengeful.
He blamed his misguidance on Allah and then
asked Allah to delay his punishment so he could
lead us astray. This is how he vowed to do so;
shaytan said: "I will surely sit and wait for
them (referring to humans) on your straight
path, then I will come at them, from in
front of them and behind them, from their
right and from their left...'. (Quran Surah al-
A'raf, Ayahs 11-18)
So do you see, it is Shaytan's goal to lead us
astray. He knows that fulfilling one's sexual
desires is a basic human need, and he also
knows it is a sin to fulfil this need with anyone
but our spouse, so he fuels our desire in order
to blind us and make us fall. It is reported that
some of the Prophets said to Iblis, "By what did
you defeat the son of Adam?" He said, "At
the time of anger and at the time of desire".
Allah warns us in the Quran (Surah Ibrahim,
Ayah 22) by telling us that Shaytan has vowed to
entice us and will then turn his back on us when
we are held to account on the Day of Judgement
by saying: "...Verily, Allah promised you a
promise of truth. And I too promised you,
but I betrayed you. I had no authority over
you except that I called you, so you
responded to me. So blame me not, but
blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor
can you help me. I deny your former act in
associating me (Shaytan) as a partner with
Allah (by obeying me in the life of the
world). Verily, there is a painful torment for
the Zalimoon (polytheists and wrong-doers,
etc.)."
So, I ask dear brothers and sisters - why oh why
are we intent on pleasing Shaytan when he is
out to deceive, destroy and betray us? Do we
hold such little self importance that we will
lower ourselves to something that will damage
us so greatly?
The million dollar question: How can we
prevent ourselves from giving into our base
desires?
1] Seek protection with Allah from Shaytan,
through verbal recitation and establishing
prayer:
Allah says in Surah An-A'raf: 201: "Indeed
those who fear Allah when an impulse
touches then from Shaytan, they remember
Him at once and they have insight."
Allah further says in Surah Fussilat, Verse 36:
"And if it comes to you from Shaytan an evil
suggestion, then seek refuge in Allah.
Indeed He is the All Hearing, All Knowing".
So say: "I seek refuge with Allah from
Shaytan the accursed."
Strengthen your relationship with Allah, through
establishing your obligatory acts of worship, five
Salaah, Fasting in Ramadan, giving Zakah etc.
Allah advises us in Surah Al-Ankabut, Verse 45,
to establish Salaah as doing so will protect us
from immorality: "Recite, [O Muhammad],
what has been revealed to you of the Book
and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer
prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and
the remembrance of Allah is greater. And
Allah knows that which you do".
2] Remember Allah is watching you:
Next time you have an urge to go into a closed
off area to commit your sin, remind yourself of
this hadith stated by the Prophet (saw)
regarding 'Ihsan' (true righteousness): "[Ihsan
is] to worship Allah as though you see Him,
and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He
sees you." (Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim).
Would you feel embarrassed on doing such
shameful disgusting deeds if you knew that
Allah was watching? Well Allah is watching you
and can see and hear your every sinful thought
and sinful action. Allah warns us in Surah 43,
Verse 80, "Or do they think that We hear not
their secrets and their private counsels?
Indeed (We do), and Our messengers are
beside them to record".
3] Do not belittle the sin, remember the
enormity of it:
Remind yourself again and again that anything
that leads to a sin is a sin itself: looking, flirting,
sweet talking, touching, hugging, intimacy. Do
not belittle these seemingly smaller sins: all of
them are sins, leading to bigger sins and will
cause grief, destruction and doom.
The Prophet (saw) said to Aisha (ra), "O
'Aishah, abstain from the sins which are
looked upon as trivial, for they too will be
enquired about by Allah." (Ahmad)
Also another saying, "Beware of minor sins,
for they will gather together on man so
much so that they will kill him." (Ahmad)
Furthermore, if you try to console yourself by
thinking, 'Oh well, a bit of flirting, hugging,
kissing etc is not actually the real act of zina, so
it won't hurt to do them', then you are doing
nothing but creating a false sense of security for
yourself and living in delusion! As remember
Allah warns us against coming anywhere near
to zina as they lead to the evil way! "And come
not near to the unlawful sexual intercourse.
Verily, it is a Fahishah [i.e. anything that
transgresses its limits (a great sin)], and an
evil way (that leads one to Hell unless Allah
forgives him)." (Surah Al-Isra,Verse 32)
Some scholars say that the 'other' haraam
physical intimacies of the relationship are in fact
classified as 'zina'. In a hadeeth narrated by
Muslim, the Prophet (saw) warns us: "The zina
of the eyes is looking, the zina of the ears is
listening, the zina of the tongue is speaking,
the zina of the hand is touching and the zina
of the foot is walking. The heart wishes and
and longs and the private part confirms
that or denies it." Ibn Battaal (ra) also said:
"Looking and speaking are called zina
because they invite one to true zina. He
then said: "the private part confirms that
or denies it."
4] Remember you are a disbeliever at the
time of committing adultery!
The Prophet (saw) said: "No adulterer is a
believer at the time when he is committing
adultery." Narrated by Al-Bukhaari (2475) and
Muslim (57).
He (saw) also said: "If a man commits zina,
faith comes out of him and hovers over him
like a cloud, then when he stops, faith
returns to him." Narrated by Abu Dawood
(4960) and al-Tirmidhi (2625); classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
So you are in a state of disbelief when
committing adultery! Furthermore, the acts
leading to it have also been labelled as zina in
the above hadiths, so even during committing
those 'other' acts, your iman is in a state of
doubt. That leads on to the next frightening
point, what if....
5] Imagine, 'what if' your soul is taken while
you are in that state of disbelief?!
Allah warns us in the Quran (Surah As-Sajdah,
Verse 11): "...The Angel of Death, who is set
over you, will take your souls, then you
shall be brought to your Lord".
There are angels who torture the wrongdoers at
the time of death: "If only you could see,
when the angels take the souls of those
who disbelieve, the angels are beating their
faces and their backs." (Qur'an Surah Al-Kahf,
Verse 50)
6] Think of what the grave consequence of
your sins could be:
You will have displeased Allah greatly, thereby
losing out on multiple blessings during your life
on earth. You may have to face shame and
dishonour. You may lose close friends. Upon
realising your sin, you will feel pain, shame,
grief, depression; you will experience negativity,
loneliness and bitterness. You may have to live
with knowing you broke someone’s marriage,
thereby incurring the curse of the ex wife, or
you may catch a sexually transmitted disease.
And these are just some of the worldly
consequences. The pain in the Hereafter to
come will be incomparable to anything you
could ever imagine.
7] Warn yourselves, there is no hiding; the
angels are recording our every action, word
and thought:
Allah Most High also tells us, "For each
(person) there are angels in succession in
front of him and behind him, who guard
him by Allah's command." (Qur'an, Surah Ar-
Ra'd, Verse 11).
"And We have already created man and
know what his soul whispers to him, and
We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein
when the two receivers [i.e. recording
angels] receive [record each word and deed]
seated on the right and on the left. He does
not utter any word except that with him is
an observer prepared [to record]. (Qur'an,
Surah Qaf, Verses 16-18)
"And indeed, [appointed] over you are
keepers (angels who preserve the deeds of
men in records) noble and recording, they
know whatever you do." (Qur'an, Surah Al-
Infitaar, Verses 10-12)
8] Warn yourselves, that on the Day of
Judgement, all our sins will be laid bare for
all to see:
"Every person is held responsible for his [or
her] deeds. On the Day of Resurrection We
shall bring out for him a scroll which he will
see spread open. (He will be ordered): Read
your own record; It is sufficient that you
judge yourself today." (Surah Bani Israel
17:13-14)
We will feel embarrasment and shame
comparable to none we have ever felt on earth.
Imagine our family and friends seeing all the
sins we have committed, imagine them seeing
the zina that has been indulged in, all the sins of
our bare flesh, every evil taken on by every
limb, every look, every thought. It will be as
though our personal autobiographies have been
caught on film from puberty till this day with our
intentions displayed on a high definition cinema
screen.
What are you thinking? Is your body not
shivering with fear at the thought? I am sure it is
and yet you have no idea how much you will be
exposed on that day, unless Allah accepts your
repentance through His Immense Mercy. If you
are not shivering with fear, then my dear
brother/sister, you are most definitely suffering
from a spiritual disease of the heart and need
help. (There is a cure though: turn back to Allah).
9] Fear the Sirat, The Bridge on the Day of
Judgement:
The Messenger of Allah(sws) said about the
bridge: " So the hooks over that bridge will
be like the thorns of As-Sa-dan except that
their greatness in size is only known to
Allah . These hooks will snatch the people
according to their deeds. Some people will
be ruined because of their evil deeds, and
some will be cut into pieces and fall down
in Hell, but will be saved afterwards, when
Allah has finished the judgments among His
slaves, and intends to take out of the Fire
whoever He wishes to take out from among
those who used to testify that none had the
right to be worshipped but Allah.” (Sahi
Bukhari- Volume 8, Book 76, Number 577)
Also: Narrated by Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: "We, the
companions of the Prophet said, "O Allah's
Apostle! What is the bridge?' He said, "It is a
slippery (bridge) on which there are clamps
and (Hooks like) a thorny seed that is wide
at one side and narrow at the other and has
thorns with bent ends. Such a thorny seed
is found in Najd and is called As-Sa'dan.
Some of the believers will cross the bridge
as quickly as the wink of an eye, some
others as quick as lightning, a strong wind,
fast horses or she-camels. So some will be
safe without any harm; some will be safe
after receiving some scratches, and some
will fall down into Hell. The last person will
cross by being dragged over the
bridge." (Sahih Bukhari- Volume 9, Book 93,
Number 532)
If thats not bad enough, what if apart from
wronging yourself, you have wronged someone
else through your sin, and have not sincerely
sought their forgiveness or they have not
forgiven you? You will have to face them on the
bridge in the Hereafter, as one of the questions
we will be asked when crossing this bridge will
be about the rights of humans, the rights of
parents, and whether one took care of one’s
relatives. So what if you used someone sexually
and dumped her/him, what if you destroyed
someone's marriage, what about his/her ex?
Have you sought their forgiveness?
10] Remember that in the court of Allah
Most High we will not only receive our
books with our deeds present but our
bodily organs will also testify against us on
that Day:
Allah says in Surah An-Nur, Verse 24: "On the
Day when their tongues, their hands, and
their legs or feet will bear witness against
them as to what they used to do".
"Till, when they reach it (Hell-fire), their
hearing (ears) and their eyes, and their
skins will testify against them as to what
they used to do. And they will say to their
skins, "Why do you testify against us?" They
will say: "Allah has caused us to speak, as
He causes all things to speak, and He
created you the first time, and to Him you
are made to return". And you have not been
hiding against yourselves, lest your ears,
and your eyes, and your skins testify
against you, but you thought that Allah
knew not much of what you were doing.
And that thought of yours which you
thought about your Lord, has brought you
to destruction, and you have become (this
Day) of those utterly lost!" (Qur'an, Surah
Fussilat, Verse 20-23)
11] Remember the punishments that await
those who have committed these sins:
The Prophet (saw) warned: "If one of you were
to be stabbed in the head with a piece of
iron it would be better for him than if he
were to touch a woman whom it is not
permissible for him to touch." (Reported by
al-Tabaraani; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 5045).
This refers to the punishment for just touching,
so how about worse deeds, such as embracing
and kissing, and even worse kinds of illicit
activity? Shudder at the thought!
Punishments liable for the one who confesses or
is proven guilty of committing zina: The first
revelation concerning the punishment of zina
was that a woman guilty of zina was to be
confined to her home until she died: "And
those of your women who commit illegal
sexual intercourse, take the evidence of
four witnesses from amongst you against
them; and if they testify, confine them (i.e.
women) to houses until death comes to
them or Allah ordains for them some
(other) way". (An-Nisaa, Verse: 15).
The next ayah says: "And the two persons
(man and woman) among you who commit
illegal sexual intercourse, punish them
both". (An-Nisaa, Verse16).
Allah (s.w.t) then revealed in Surah An-Nur,
Verse 2 (which is known to be an abrogation of
Ayah 15 in Surah an-Nisa): "The woman and
the man guilty of illegal sexual intercourse,
flog each of them with a hundred stripes.
Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a
punishment prescribed by Allah, if you
believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a
party of the believers witness their
punishment."
The Messenger of Allah (sws) clarified this
injunction by saying: "Take from me; Allah has
made a decree for them. A virgin
(committing zina) with a virgin: one
hundred lashes (for each) and exiling for
one year (for the man). And a married
(committing zina) with a married: one
hundred lashes and stoning."(Saheeh
Bukhari)
What are you thinking? That you can take the
lashing? Just a few whips and that is? Wake up
Oh Muslim, the shame and the pain would be
unbearable! And the stoning would be the end
of you!
All that is just a drop in the ocean, compared to
the punishments for the sinner in the next life:
The Prophet (sws) has told us of the
punishment that those who commit zina
will receive in their graves before the Hour
begins, and that they will be punished with
fire; narrated by al-Bukhaari (1320).
Allah Most High says in Surah Al-Furqan, Verses
68-69: "And those who invoke not any other
ilah (god) along with Allah, nor kill such life
as Allah has forbidden, except for just
cause, nor commit illegal sexual
intercourse - and whoever does this shall
receive the punishment. The torment will
be doubled to him on the Day of
Resurrection, and he will abide therein in
disgrace".
12] Lower our gaze and cover our
adornment in front of non-mahrams:
Allah advises us in Surah An-Nur, Verse 30-31:
Verse 30: "Tell the believing men to lower
their gaze (from looking at forbidden
things), and protect their private parts
(from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer
for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what
they do."
Verse 31: "And tell the believing women to
lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden
things), and protect their private parts
(from illegal sexual acts, etc.) and not to
show off their adornment except only that
which is apparent (like palms of hands or
one eye or both eyes for necessity to see
the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves,
head-cover, apron, etc.), and to draw their
veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies,
faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to
reveal their adornment except to their
husbands, their fathers, their husband's
fathers, their sons, their husband's sons,
their brothers or their brother's sons, or
their sister's sons, or their (Muslim) women
(i.e. their sisters in Islam), or the (female)
slaves whom their right hands possess, or
old male servants who lack vigour, or small
children who have no sense of the shame of
sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as
to reveal what they hide of their
adornment. And all of you beg Allah to
forgive you all, O believers, that you may be
successful".
The Prophet (saw) said, "...do not let a second
look follow the first. The first look is
allowed to you but not the
second." [Ahmad, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi].
What this means is that the first look is by
accident. If this happens then do not take a
second look.
The Prophet (saw) also said that, "the eyes
also commit adultery by looking at
someone with lust." [Bukhari]
13] Do not make our voices seductive or
sweet in front of non-Mahrams:
This is done by lowering the voice and not
flirting. As Allah tells the wives of Prophet
Muhammad (saw) in Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 32:
"...do not be pleasant of speech, lest one in
whose heart there is a disease should feel
desire for you..."
14] Do not ever be alone with a non-
mahram:
The Prophet (saw) forbade men and women
from being alone together. He (saw) said:
"Never is a man alone with a woman except
that Satan is the third party with them".
This refers to unnecessary talking via email, text
and phone aswell.
15] Have faith in Allah that He will help us:
This is one of the most important points, but I
purposely left it till the end as I wanted to
remind you that the Prophet(saw) said 'tie your
camel first then put your trust in Allah'.
Meaning, make the effort to implement the
practical advice Allah has given you through the
Quran and Sunnah, then have faith that He(swt)
will help you through. So do not think to
yourself: 'I'll just go watch a movie with my
boyfriend Sami one more time, I can control
myself, nothing will happen, I'm strong enough,'
and then expect nothing to happen - because
you know it will and you'll have no-one to blame
but 'yourself'. So do the right thing and avoid
being alone with Sami in the first place and then
make dua for Allah to make you strong to be
steadfast in this.