3. ANTICIPATING THE CONSEQUENCES GUARANTEES SAFETY
He who observes the end of a matter at its beginning will reap its benefits and be saved from its evil. Whereas the one who does not observe the consequences [of his actions], as his own desires has control over his decisions, will harvest pain from where he sought safety and will endure discomfort from where he sought comfort (raba).
If a person is therefore interested in understanding the outcome, his past should be recalled i.e. it is a fact that in your lifetime you must have disobeyed Allah or obeyed Him! However, neither the pleasure that you obtained from your sin nor the efforts that you exerted for performing the good deed still exist (at this point in time)!
This is because each act you performed in your lifetime is gone carrying with it all of what you had experienced at that time. Indeed, sinful desires never leave a person in a state of comfort as it brings forth nothing but regret and grief afterwards.
To elaborate further about this point, imagine that your time to depart the world has come and that it is the moment of your death.
Observe how much bitterness and grief you will have for neglecting your dudes and overlooking any good deed during your lifetime. I, however, do not intend to address how such bitterness dismisses the taste of sweetness (halawa al-ladhat) you had when you had fulfilled your sinful lusts and desires because such sweetness is apt to become a taste of bitterness, and it is the bitter regret that remains and lasts without anything to negate it (even after your death). Are you not aware that a matter is judged based on its consequences? You should heed the consequences [of your actions] in order for you to be safe, and do not incline towards your sinful desires {hawa) so you do not become regretful.
(source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.