O you who has been overtaken by grief and sorrow!

  بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد  

Contemplate, how many sins have we committed because of which sorrow and grief have been multiplied in our lives?!

Because of one sin – that he ate from the forbidden tree - Aadam عليه السلام was expelled from the Jannah. And yet see how many sins we commit in our daily lives which keep us out of the Jannah of this world?! There is Jannah in this world!

From the Jannah of this world is:

1) when Allaah is pleased with us,

2) doing deeds to seek nearness to Him,

3) engaging in His remembrance,

4) offering the obligatory Salaah (prayers) are all part of the Jannah of this world.

Whoever refuses to enter the Jannah of this world, is like the one who is refusing to enter the Jannah in the Hereafter.

As Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said: ❝There is no (true) comfort for man, or enjoyment, or pleasure (or satisfaction), or perfection except through knowing Allaah تعالى and loving Him (as such), and when feeling calm and tranquil while making His Dhikr (remembrance), and when finding joy and pleasure in trying to get nearer to Him (through obedience and worship) and yearning to meet Him. This is the Jannah (Paradise) of this worldly life, like how there is no comfort for him in the Hereafter nor success except by being in His (Allaah's) company, in the House of Delight, in the Jannah of the next life. For a man there are two Jannah, he will not be able to enter the second one if he does not enter the first one. I heard Shaikh al-Isaam Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله saying: ❝There is a Jannah in this world, whoever does not enter it will not be able to enter the Jannah of the Hereafter.❞❞

📚 [Madaarij al-Saalikeen (1/452)]

Do you not see that a person may have lost his whole family in a car accident, yet he is patient and calm, and pleased with the Decree of Allaah, whereas, if just the car of anyone of us were to break down, we would lose our mind; or if any harm were to befall us, we would be on the verge of losing our Deen, and we quickly start thinking bad about Allaah – that Allaah only intends bad for us and not good. As Allaah تعالى mentioned:

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ حَرْفٍ ۖ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَيْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ بِهِ ۖ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ انقَلَبَ عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةَ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَانُ الْمُبِينُ

{And among mankind is he who worships Allaah as it were, upon the very edge (i.e., in doubt); if good befalls him, he is content therewith; but if a trial befalls him, he turns back on his face (i.e., reverts back to disbelief after embracing Islaam). He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss.}

📚 [Surah al-Hajj (22): 11]

Why is it that this person was tried severely and yet is patient and pleased, whereas we might not even face a fraction of what he has suffered, and we are already falling apart? It is because of the sins that the hardships increase, and griefs become more severe.

It was one act of disobedience which got Aadam عليه السلام expelled from the Jannah.

It was one act of disobedience which made Yunus عليه السلام to be thrown in the sea, and to be swallowed by a whale (or a big fish), and to be covered with three layers of darkness - the darkness of the night, the darkness of the sea, and the darkness in the belly of the whale.

It was one act of disobedience on the day of Uhud and the victory was changed into defeat.

It was one act of disobedience and Banee Israaeel were made to wander aimlessly for forty years through the land.

So, do not belittle the sins. Sins are a burden which weigh us down in the battle against hardship and grief. Our shield against all the hardships and sorrows is in the obedience of Allaah and His worship.

So, O you who is overwhelmed by grief and sorrow! Search your book of deeds! Is your book of good deeds heavier than your book of evil deeds? I do not know about your sins, and you do not know about my sins, but each one is aware of his own sins that he has done - secretly and openly. We know well the reason for the punishment, we know the reason for these hardships, we know the reason for the sorrow and grief. So, stop blaming others and blame your own sins for your miseries.

We commit sins which create havoc in our lives! Example, there might be in our midst someone who has cut off the ties of kinship with his sister, or brother, or parents, or cousin, or uncle, or aunt, or a woman who breaks the ties between her children and their father (her ex). Even if it is just one tie of kinship which you sever unjustly, Allaah will cut you off from His Mercy.

وَالَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِن بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۙ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمُ اللَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ

{And those who break the Covenant of Allaah, after its ratification, and sever that which Allaah has commanded to be joined (i.e., they sever the bond of kinship and are not good to their relatives), and work mischief in the land, on them is the curse (i.e., they will be far away from Allaah's Mercy); And for them is the unhappy (evil) home (i.e., Hell).}

📚 [Surah al-Ra`d (13): 25]

فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَن تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ ‎*‏ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فَأَصَمَّهُمْ وَأَعْمَىٰ أَبْصَارَهُمْ

{Would you then, if you were given the authority, do mischief in the land, and sever your ties of kinship? Such are they whom Allaah has cursed, so that He has made them deaf and blinded their sight.}

📚 [Surah Muhammad (47): 22-23]

Abu Bakrah رضي الله عنه reported the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ as saying: ❝There is no wrong action which Allaah is swifter to punish in this world – in addition to the punishment which He has stored up for the wrongdoer in the Hereafter – than oppression and cutting off ties of kinship. [The swiftest of good deeds in retribution is the (act of) fulfilling the ties of kinship. So much so, that it is possible that a family can be evil, but their wealth and their numbers will increase if they fulfill the ties of kinship.]❞

📚 [Saheeh Ibn Hibbaan (440). Part of the Hadeeth is narrated by Abu Dawood in his Sunan (4902), Ibn Majah (4211), al-Tirmidhee (2511), Adab Al Mufrad of Imaam al-Bukharee, and al-Tabaraanee and authenticated by Shaikh Al-Albaanee in as-Saheehah (918). The second part was also authenticated by Shaikh al-Albaanee in Saheeh al-Jaami` (5705)]

The one who cuts off the ties of kinship is cursed, is removed from the Mercy of Allaah, and part of this punishment is that the tranquility is removed from the heart. The one who is under the curse of Allaah, how can he live a good life? Rather, his will be covered by grief, his sorrow and distress will only multiply, and his heart will only harden, and he will not find any peace or tranquility.

Our sins have put a barrier between us and Allaah, then how do we expect to find solace during hardships and losses?!

Shun the sins, turn to Allaah in obedience and repentance, supplicate to him using the Duaa taught by the Prophet ﷺ to be said during hardship and anxiety, and patiently wait for the relief from Allaah.

The relief and help from Allaah is not far from us, but we have blocked its path with our sins!