Generally, people protect things that they value. The more valuable the thing is, the higher and better the protection. Take for example the gold reserves of the United States. They value it so much that they store it in a place called Fort Knox, a fortified building completed in 1937. In Fort Knox the gold is kept in a steel and concrete vault beneath the building. This underground chamber is 18 m (60 ft) long and 12 m (40 ft) wide, resting on solid rock, with walls more than 61 cm (2 ft) thick. It holds gold bullion worth more than $6 billion. The security of the place is better imagined, do you blame them, gold is valuable isn’t it? And for most people, gold, or its paper equivalent called money or anything that money buys is very valuable, something More Valuable? Is there something more valuable than money? To the infamous question, your money or your life; most sane people would definitely prefer to lose their money and preserve their life. But is there anything that is more valuable than this life? Yes and that is our life after this life: it IS the life of the Hereafter. Why? It is because it is an everlasting life while the life of this world is temporary; lasting at most a century or so.
In contrast to the life of this world, a moment in the life of the Hereafter is so intense in its feeling that one completely forgets whatever he has been through in this world. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"One amongst the denizens of Hell who had led a life of ease and plenty amongst the people of the world would be made to dip in Fire only once on the Day of Resurrection and then it would be said to him: O, son of Adam, did you find any comfort, did you happen to get any material blessing? He would say: By Allaah, no, my Lord. And then that person from amongst the persons of the world would be brought who had led the most miserable life (in the world) from amongst the inmates of Paradise and he would be made to dip once in Paradise and it would be said to him. 0, son of Adam, did you face, any hardship? Or had any distress fallen to your lot? And he would say: By Allaah, no, O my Lord, never did I face any hardship or experience any distress. "(Muslim)
But the hereafter is not a place of work, it is not the place where protection is sought for that phase of existence itself. Rather this our present life is the place of work, it is the place where we work towards what our hereafter would be; would it be the bliss of Paradise or the pit of Hell-Fire, (may Allaah save us from that). Wing of a Mosquito What actually is the value of this world? The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"If in the sight of Allaah the world had the value equal to that of the wing of a mosquito, He would not have allowed a disbeliever even to drink a mouthful of water out of it." (Tirmidhi).
This tells us that this our very beautiful world, if it is worth anything at all in the sight of Allaah, Allaah would never allow a disbeliever to take any part of it. But we know that disbelievers have some portion of this world; so how so worthless for someone to dedicate his whole existence in pursuing something that is not up to the weight of a mosquito! Weight of Belief However, there is something in this world that is however valuable in the sight of Allaah; that is the believer! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"The perishing of this world is lighter in AIlaahs Sight that the killing of a Muslim man" (Nasaai).
This statement of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) points to only one thing. We know that it is not just the flesh, bones and blood of the believers body that Allaah holds in esteem, rather it is the faith in these bones and flesh. This faith in Allaah is what Allaah holds in so much esteem that He does not give much weight to the loss of the whole world over the loss of one just one believing soul. The life of a believer is so valuable that even if a disbeliever were to turn into a believer in the heat of a battle, shedding his blood becomes impermissible. The Weight of the Kalimah Narrated Jundab ibn Abdullah al-Bajali "Verily the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a squad of the Muslims to a tribe of the polytheists. Both armies confronted each other. There was a man among the army of polytheists who (was such a fanatic that), whenever he intended to kill a man from among the Muslims, he killed him.
Amongst the Muslims too was a man looking forward to (an Opportunity of) his (the polytheists) unmindfulness. He (the narrator) said: We said that he was Usamah ibn Zayd. When he raised his sword, he (the soldier of the polytheists) uttered: "There is no god but Allaah, (Laa ilhaha ilia Allaah,)" but he (Usamah ibn Zayd) killed him. When the messenger of the glad tidings came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) he asked him (about the events of the battle) and he informed him about the man (Usamah) and what he had done. He (the Prophet of Allaah) called for him and asked him why he had killed him. He (Usamah) said: Messenger of Allaah, he struck the Muslims and killed such and such of them. And he even named some of them. (He continued): I attacked him and when he saw the sword he said: There is no god but Allaah.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) said: Did you kill him? He (Usamah) replied in the affirmative. He (the Prophet) remarked: What would you do with: "There is no god but AIlaah, " if he came (before you) on the Day of Judgment? He (Usamah) said: Messenger of Allaah, beg pardon for me (from your Lord). He (the Prophet) said: What would you do with: "There is no god but Allaah" if he came (before you) on the Day of Judgment? He (the Prophet) added nothing to it but continued to say: What would you do with: "There is no god but AIlaah, "if he came (before you) on the Day of Judgment?" (Muslim)
So this is what is valuable in the sight of Allaah, it is the faith in you. It is so valuable in Allaahs sight that even someone who has committed great sins like killing Muslims, once he professes this faith, his blood becomes inviolable immediately. Something this valuable is indeed something to be treasured and guarded, because just as Allaah has given it so much value, shaitaan has made it his primary target, Seeking to destroy it by all means Possible. First protection point: Dua to Allaah. Seeking assistance from Allaah is necessary because, He is the only One who guides to the right path and preserves us on that right path. Allaah says:
"AII the praises and thanks be to Allaah, Who has guided us to this, never could we have found guidance, were it not that Allaah had guided us!" (Q7:43).
That is why we should not be surprised that people that are otherwise smart (in worldly matters) seems not to be able to see through the fog of misguidance. Rather we should give thanks to Allaah for counting us amongst those who has received guidance. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him), who is the best in the matters of belief amongst the creatures did not just rely on his own ability. He knew and he taught that the best of assistance is from Allaah. He taught us to supplicate O Allaah, set right for me my religion which is the safeguard of my affairs.
And set right for me the affairs of my world wherein is my living. And set right for me my Hereafter on which depends my after-life. And make the life for me (a source) of abundance for every good and make my death a source of comfort for me protecting me against every evil." (Muslim) Our prayer is not limited to Allaah guiding us to true faith, but also to keep us steadfast in it so that our last deeds will be the best of our deeds. Allaah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"A person may do deeds that seem to the people as the deeds of the people of Paradise while in fact, he is from the dwellers of the (Hell) Fire: and similarly a person may do deeds that seem to the people as the deeds of the people of the (Hell) Fire while in fact, he is from the dwellers of Paradise Verily, the (results of deeds -done, depend upon the last actions. "(Bukhari)
Second protection point: Knowledge after being guided, it becomes incumbent on us to protect that guidance. One of the best means of protecting the faith is to know what poses danger to it so that one can avoid it. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Whoever seeks knowledge in order to compete with the, scholars or to prove himself superior to the ignorant or to make people look up to him, Allaah will cause him to enter Hell." (Nasai)
It is with knowledge that we know that shirk is the greatest danger to our faith. If one is not aware of the text of the Quran nor is he aware of the hadeeths of the Messenger of Allaah about this issue, then how can he know that shirk is very dangerous, how can we know about the other shades of shirk that are not so obvious but they nullify our faith all the same? Some of them are what we will exam here. Shirk: This is associating partners with Allaah in worship, and it is the greatest sin that one can commit. Allaah says:
"Verily! Allaah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with Him, but He forgives whom he pleases sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship with Allaah, has indeed strayed far away." (Q4:116).
What this means is that if a person falls into shirk and does not repent, then Allaah would not forgive such a sin. In fact joining partners with Allaah in worship renders all the works the person has done null and void. Allaah says:
"If you join others in worship with Allaah, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers. "(Q39:65)
Setting up intermediaries between oneself and Allaah: There are other several ways people commit shirk with Allaah. Some people take other beings, living and non-living as intermediary between them and Allaah. They direct their acts of worship to these intermediaries they have set up for themselves. Some do this with people they consider to be very pious and close to Allaah, and they call on these intermediaries during the time of need. Allaah says, "And they worship besides Allaah things that hurt them not, nor profit them, and they say:
"These are our intercessors with Allaah. " Say: "Do you inform Allaah of that which He knows not in the heavens and on the earth?" Glorified and Exalted be He above all that which they associate as partners with Him!" (Q10:18)
Hatred of What The Messenger of Allaah brought: This is also another nullifier of one’s deed. Allaah says:
"That is because they hate that which Allaah has sent down (this Quran and Islamic laws, etc.), so He has made their deeds fruitless. (Q47:9).
And if one were to practice that which he hates, it is of no effect and his deeds will still be nullified. So it is not permissible to hate the prayers or the punishment for crimes such as stoning for adultery.
Mocking anything that Islaam came with, this is one of the most common ways one can easily fall into nullifying ones good deeds. Most of us are not careful when we joke and we ridicule people for doing what Islaam demands of them. You simply get carried away and you begin to mock someone for his beard, her hijab etc.. These are dangerous jokes that should be avoided. Allaah says,
"If you ask them (about this), they declare: "We were only talking idly and joking." Say: "Was it at Allaah, and His Ayat (signs, revelations, etc.) and His Messenger that you were mocking?" Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed. (Q9:65-66)
Believing that the Prophets guidance is not complete or some other guidance is better: This Usually comes in the form of "You know, times have changed, and what was sufficient for them at that time may not be ok for us now." And several other statements and beliefs like that. What those who say these things forget is that it the same Allaah who made the laws then that is still the lord of today and tomorrow and forever! Not only that, He is also All-Knowing, so all these changes that they are now talking about has been known to Allaah, even before their creation, and yet He decided that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) would be His last Prophet, the Quran the last revelation from Him. If there is need for a new book or Prophet, Allaah is the one who is most aware of the situation. This belief not only runs contrary to verses of the Quran, it also implies that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be Upon him) did not complete his assignment of delivering the message completely to mankind. Allaah says:
"This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. (Q5:3)
Then, He says "O Messenger! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allaah will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allaah guides not the peopleWho disbelieve. (Q5:67).
So in matters of the religion, the Messenger has delivered the Message completely and Allaah has completed the religion, leaving no room for alteration from anybody. In our worldly affairs like medical sciences, engineering etc then this is a sphere of constant refinement and improvement, showing further that our knowledge at any given time cannot be said to be complete.
This is not so with Allaah, He is All-Knowing and nothing happens to increase Him in knowledge.
Sorcery: This is because the sorcerer, whose magic comes by way of the devils; no doubt must implement some acts of shirk towards the devils jinn for the devil to then assist him. So the serving of one another becomes mutual between the two of them. The jinn does not serve the sorcerer unless he commits shirk, such as supplicating to it instead of Allaah, offering a sacrificial animal to it. Or the devil may command him to trample upon the Mus-hat with his feet or to urinate on the Mus-hat or to stain it with some impurity. Allaah says:
"And neither of the two (angels) would teach anyone (sorcery) until they had first said to them: We are only trial to (for the people), so do not disbelief. II (Q2:102)
The above actions and others that can nullify our most precious possession should be avoided. We should learn and continuously learn what is going to affect our faith negatively and do the only wise thing: avoid them seeking the help of Allaah.............
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited