Riyad Nadwi – 39. Ikhlas The Subtle Corruptions of Ikhas Shaytan and Nafs
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of perspective in formation of intention and the pleasures of Jannah beyond our imagination. The speakers emphasize the importance of change in our approach to labeling and feeling the joy of our hedonic experience, and stress the importance of following Shaytan and not being too obsessed with it. They also discuss the importance of following Shaytan's instructions in praying, cautioning behavior, and following Shaytan's guidance. The speakers emphasize the importance of protecting people from the tricks of sh mattered to individuals and the importance of seeing sh consequence and not thinking about the dress. They also discuss the importance of sh mattered to individuals and the importance of thinking about the dress.
AI: Summary ©
Hello, everyone.
For coming, especially in such a busy time
of term.
Today, we are in our 5th week 4th
week, sorry, of this term,
and we were continuing with
our series on.
So without further ado, I'll pass over to
Sheikh
Welcome to lecture
number 39
in our series on Ikhlas
and its related subjects.
Last week, we completed the
final
section on the chapter.
The explanation
of the fact that intention is beyond choice.
And in that discussion, there were several points
that we
were meant to keep in mind.
The first,
in summary, was that, the importance of perspectives,
in the formation of intention.
And,
another, as Imam Zizali says.
And if the perspective changes, then so will
the intention. So
working on our intention we're working working on
our perspectives
is part of the process towards intention
form formulation.
Point number 2 was that near
to
is the that obedience
that obedience to Allah
with the intention of glorifying
Allah
is the highest of intentions. There are no
intentions higher than that. It is the highest,
the most noble of intentions, the most honorable
and highest of intentions. And here, we took
a closer look at what it means in
terms of joy in this world
and to,
look at the,
the fact that the pleasures of Jannah are
beyond our imagination.
What we will never be able to imagine
in this world or no one has heard
and no heart has conceived.
And,
yet that joy
in Jannah will be eclipsed by the audience
with Allah
When we see Allah when we when we
are granted that experience of having presence of
Allah, so seeing,
Allah
then that will
eclipse all the joys of Jannah.
And, Rasoolullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam says
this, swearing, he said, for for Allahi ma'apahum
ma'apahum allahu shay'an
ahabbayilayhi
minan nadarihi.
That nothing I swear that there's nothing that
they would that they would have been given
in Jannah that would be more pleasurable than
seeing Allah than the than when the veils
are lifted. That that experience will be the
most,
pleasurable,
the most favorable, like, ex, experience we will
have in Jannah.
Point number 3 was that even in this
world, we are in this world where we
are veiled
from that level of joy of experience of
seeing Allah
We can still enjoy
the sweetness of
divine
proximity, which is al kurbo,
al kurbo il Allah.
Having kurb, having closeness to Allah
And we can attain this through
our iman and through our Ibadah, through obedience,
through worship, through taqwa.
Seeking Allah in our intention with love and
devotion
has the potential
for joys that are beyond all joys in
this world. And
I reflected, I quoted, and we
should constantly reflect on this,
that the scholars of the past used to
describe the joy and the the experience that
they were having was so great that they
said,
That if they knew what we were enjoying
from if if if the princes and the
kings if the kings and the princes knew
how what we were, what enjoyment we were
experiencing,
then they will fight us with swords to
take it from us.
And and and they used to pity those
who were deprived of this joy. They used
to pity people who were deprived of the
joy of, of proximity, joy of Korb,
And they used to say,
that they they said these
pit these how sad it is that these
people of the dunya, they leave the world
and they haven't tasted the most beautiful, the
most
pleasant, the most enjoyable thing in the world,
which is and,
when they ask
So that is how they used to see
these things.
Point number 4 was that of the reasons
people are denied this,
in this world is is because of our
sins. We are we are denied of this.
Our hearts are filled with the love of
the dunya. And as the great scholar,
Zunun al Masri said,
that
just as the body does not find the
sweetness of food
when it is ill, in a state of
illness,
and
so it is the heart does not taste
the sweetness of Ibadah
when it is
corrupted with sin.
And here, we also reflected on the research
that was done here in Oxford at the,
at
the,
at the Ratcliffe. Not the Ratcliffe. The Northfield
Centre For Neuroscience here,
on human,
hedonic experience
or experience of pleasant and pleasant things in
the world, which
are central to the regulation of motivational behavior.
Hedonic experience in the world
has,
a role, and it's it's influential in how
how we are motivated in our actions. And
in this hedonic value of the food, we
we are reflecting on on the words of
Zunun al Misri here where he's
he said that food is,
influences our behavior,
and,
our sensory the the sensory properties of food
are not the only thing that determines how,
how pleasant the food is or unpleasant it
is.
It is also based on perception, cognition, labeling
of the food in our minds.
How we label different foods
in the mind plays a significant role in
the way we experience this. And in the
study, it was shown that,
when people's foods are labeled as rich and
delicious,
it increases the actual taste of the food,
which was
determined from from the brain scan that they
did.
So we taste more sweetness and joy
in food when we receive when we perceive
it in a certain manner, when we when
it's labeled in a certain manner. And drawing
from that, we said that we we need
to change our approach to the our perspective
or or, another,
our approach to the way we consider and
label
a bada, a label acts of worship in
our minds,
because our acts of worship are labeled as,
you know, chores and duties,
as
tasks to be done valuable.
It it it it's it's not,
the kinds of things that would generate
the sweetness that we need from it. Whereas
if our if our Ibadah
is seen in our mind's eye as valuable
gifts,
as gifts of taqwa,
as opportunities to cherish,
then we will inshaAllah begin to taste the
sweetness of our Ibadah. Our prayers, our tilawa,
our dhikr should be seen as blessings and
as honor from Allah who has made it
possible for us to do it because there's
so many things that come into play
that allows us to do it. He's the
one who gave us the hands, the feet,
the body, the mind,
the the heart to to to contemplate the
opportunities, the space to pray. All kinds of
things could happen that would prevent us from
praying.
You know, there could be an earthquake. There
could be,
a rain, a storm. You wouldn't be coming
to the Masjid. All sorts of things are,
are are put into place. We make one
decision. We make one intention, but Allah fulfills
it in in in a whole,
variety of ways, and to see it as
opportunities.
This, we hope, inshallah, will help the experience
of what the scholars were saying, abdiabu mafiha,
the the, the greatest pleasures of this world.
The pleasure is of intimacy and proximity, kurba,
imid Allah, as being close to our creator,
close to Allah. We need therefore to change
the labels and perspectives in our minds
for our prayers,
that
we we need to give the label of
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has given it,
which is what we hear every before every
prayer. Well, how did Allah label it? He
said, haya alsalal salah, haya alal falah that
come towards success. That's the label. That this
is the real success. This is the place
that all the pursuits that we have that
we are pursuing in our daily lives is
of success in this world. But the real
success, the true success
is hada. This is Falah. Hayaalil Falah. So
when when Allah gives us an opportunity to
pray, we're the label in our mind is
that, look, yeah, I'm going to my real
Falah. This is my real success now, and
this is the place where I'll get real
success. So this is the thing that I
will do. Come to prayer, come to success.
In our mind's eye, we must see that
prayer is a prayer is the place of
success. When I recite Surah Al Fatiha,
I should have this it's labeled in the
mind that this is a conversation that I'm
saying it and Allah is saying,
Allah is responding when I'm reciting Surah Fatihah.
And when I'm in Sajda, that's a portal
that is.
That the closest you will be to Allah,
that kurb that we need, the blessings of
being close to Allah is when we are
in sajdah.
So there it is.
So if our perspectives, if our labels and
our minds change to appreciate
the value of Ibadah,
then we will, inshallah, taste the sweetness. We'll
begin to taste that the sweetness of our
Ibadah.
There is sweetness, as we said, to be
had in everything we do for the sake
of Allah. Starting from our belief, our Iman,
Rasool Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,
a person who has these three things will
will taste the sweetness of the iman. So
there is halawah in your iman, and
These three things, to love
Allah and his prophet more than everyone else,
and to love people for the sake of
Allah and to and to
to detest, to hate going going back into
Kufr, going back into disbelief as much as
you hate being thrown into the fire.
That will if you have these in your
hearts, then it will
facilitate
the the the tasting of the sweetness of
your ima, and you will start enjoying the
sweetness.
Number 6 was that while we lift our
aspirations and aim for higher levels
of intentions,
he Imam Al Zadhi comes here
and puts a word of caution
by saying we should not become
too despondent
if it's if this all seems like a
tall order. It seems like it's taking too
long. I'm trying, but it's not working. We
shouldn't be despondent. We shouldn't lose hope. So
he's saying don't fall into the trap that
you go into extreme
and then you burn out. You're suffering burn
out. You know, you you're praying tahajjud all
night, and then
you fall asleep for for salat al fajr.
So that doesn't so pace yourself, basically. That's
what he's saying. Towards the end of the
chapter, he may he he emphasizes these two
points
to pace yourself.
And and point number 7 was that this
path
this path of Taskea, of terbiyam, of training
the heart, is a battle with Shaytan. He
says,
Shaytan. It's it's a mustamir. Shaytan doesn't leave
you alone.
And so prepare for a long battle of
attrition. It's you you're going back and forth
with Shaytan. Shaytan is trying to get you.
And this was the last point he made.
So don't if you see your your sheikh,
he said,
you don't keep anything bad in your heart
for the person who are teaching you, your
teachers,
because you might not understand what they are
doing. Maybe they're in a battle with Chetan,
and they are,
doing a they they are they are
doing a a retreat
in order to strengthen themselves to fight Chetan.
That that was the last point he made.
Now this last point brings us, beautifully into
the next portion of the book that I
want to read or reread because we we
have touched on this. We have skimmed through
this chapter before.
But today, I want to dwell on it
in more detail because this is a chapter
that's very important to give you an
idea of the level of
attack that Satan
does when he realizes that you are going
to follow Allah, when he realizes that you're
going to practice, when he realizes that you're
insistent on doing what you on doing what
you're supposed to do, then he does not
give up. That he he keeps coming, and
he keeps trying.
And to see that because he as as
he said in the end of the chapter,
it was at Kitaluma Mustamir. This is a
kitalma shaitan. This is a
battle of attrition. You you you you have
to face this. And so to understand
the strategies, this is the,
tricks and
the schemes that he uses.
Imam al Zali has a chapter. It's called
bayanudaradayat
shawahibbu al fath al muqaddati
lil ikhlas, the explanation of degrees of impurities
and evils that
corrupt
and stain your sincerity. Because you wanna have
sincerity, but then you can have degrees of
corruption that happens at different levels, and that's
what this chapter is about, which we want
to read today.
So he
says,
That he says that there's some that know
that the,
evils that corrupts sincerity, some are apparent and
some are hidden, some are weak, some are
apparent and some are strong and hidden.
And it is hard to see the differences,
in the hidden and the apparent without an
example. So he's giving you an example. He
says,
So he's saying that the most,
manifest of
for for form of corruption, the most manifest
form of corruption of your Ikhlas is
what? It's riya, ostentation, showing showing off. Because
remember what we said is that the key
to
curing Ikhlas, we said, al mua'alaja to re
mua'alaja to,
a al ikhlasophy, mua'alaja to riya. That was
the simple form the the formula for for
producing Ikhlas, for getting Ikhlas, and and Ikhlas
will be more alleged to riyas. If you
cure your riya, if you cure your ostentation,
your your urge to show,
then you will get close to Ikhlas. That's
where it is. So he's using that example,
and he says that, look, I will, I
will explain what I just said
with misal, with with with an example.
And and here, he uses the example
of prayer,
to show
us the various degrees to which Ikhlas can
be corrupted. So he says,
shaitanu yadkulalaf,
yudkulalafataaalalmusali
mamakanamuklisanfi
salati. That shaitan that however much a person
is mukhles, a person is sincere in his
prayer,
shaytan
brings
some kind of calamity,
some kind of, corruption in his prayer in
in to his Ikhlas, at level. He he
he will come to that prayer no matter
how sincere. So he says that, some
he he says,
another
that if a person is praying and then
people happen to look at him and he
he becomes conscious of
that. What happens? Well, he says,
He said,
said, oh, beautify your prayer. Make your prayer
look good because people are looking at you.
You know?
Make your prayer good.
That let this that do that, make, you
know,
beautify your prayer, make your prayer look good
so that these people around you will look
at you with the eye
of respect, the eye of reverence and rectitude.
And then he adds an another bit. He
said,
that he that they will not belittle they'll
not look at you in a pejorative manner.
They will not look down upon you in
any way. So it's not about looking at
you high, but they they wouldn't look down
on you. And
maybe they might they might not ever do
a backbite against you.
So what happens is that by this these
thoughts coming in the mind, the person will
eventually his. The first thing that starts
to show piety is is the limbs. The
the hands will will will beckon. The head
will bow. It it his
his his organs will start.
And then his salah becomes very very beautiful,
very, very,
focused in with Khuzu.
And this is the ostentation. This is riya,
clear. This is the clear manifest
area. He said, and this is very clear
to anyone can see this and know that
this is and, of course, this comes this
is taken from the hadith that is,
reported.
I think it's.
Yes. It's, Abu Saeed al Khudri
who said
He said that we he came out and
we were, you know, talking about Dajjal. And
he said,
Should I not tell you what is more
worrying for me than Dajjal
than than the fitna of the jal? And
they said, yes. So,
The hidden shirk.
The hidden policyism
with hidden shirk.
That the person is praying and then he
beautifies his salah because he sees someone while
looking at him.
And by the way, we are living at
times where the appearance of Dajjal is near,
but that's
a discussion for another time.
So that was the first stage where we
all recognize that this is when Yevshatan comes
and tells you how you feel that thought
to beautify your prayer because people are looking
at you, then you know that that's that's
the first level. But he doesn't go away
there. He doesn't stop there. He doesn't end
there, and that's the point to bear in
mind.
The second level of attack according to which
he says, look,
That the novice, the person who is learning
now, he he understands this. Just like we
do here now, we understand what that is.
So he takes caution about it.
That he will not then follow Shaytan in
if Shaytan says that. And
then he continues in his salah as he
were as he was. You know, he doesn't
take that's it. He continues.
But then he comes with comes to him
from the perspective of khair, of doing good.
He comes to you and says, no. You
could do something good here. You're praying, and
these people are looking at you.
That you are a leader. You know? People
follow you.
People look at you and they they follow
what you do.
And, you know, they they they look up
to you.
You ask
that that what what
you
ask, you
know, and what you do, the people will
then follow and they will go after you.
And people, emulate you.
In accent. So you will get if they
follow you, if they see you praying very
nicely, they see you praying with Khushu,
and they they see how to pray while
you are praying,
then you will get the tawab. You will
get the reward of what of the of
their following of of you. That look, you
you're doing this and they'll follow you.
And, of course, if you if you don't
pray properly and they follow you, then you
will get the sin of it as well.
So be behave properly in your salah now
because they are here. They may learn something
from you while you are praying.
And he said,
So maybe they may, you know, follow you
in the way you are praying in your
Khushu and in the beautification of your salah.
And he says,
And this is more subtle than the first.
It is abstruse, this one.
Because wakadi and khadi arbihi
manlai and khadi arbilaawwal, and the person and
the person may fall fall into this trap
who may not fall into the first trap.
In this trap, he may he may succumb.
He may he may fall.
And he's done the verdict on this,
that this is clear, pure riya.
Even if you do it for those reasons
that Jaitan just said, it is pure riya.
And it's it it
undermines your ikhlas.
That if he thinks that Khosso if he
if this person now and this is the
analysis that one has to think now. We
have to look into themselves to think that
if he thinks that, look,
Khosso,
to have Khosso at this time
and Hosnal,
Ibadah have, to pray nicely
is good,
and no one should leave it.
These people should not leave it. They should
have it.
Then why is he agreeing for this for
himself?
He said, why why is he agreeing for
this
for this? Because he is leaving. He when
when he is in, he doesn't do it.
But then he's when now he's doing it,
when he's alone,
it it he prays however he likes. But
now suddenly, he's praying among people and he
changes his
his his way of praying.
So it is not possible that you can
you are more concerned for the peep for
the khair, for the good of others more
than you are concerned for the good of
yourself in this in in this way. Farhad
al Mahdud Talbis,
and he said, tablis. He said that this
is,
pure
confusion. This is pure deception.
Your labs
is where you cover things and turn them
around. So this is why,
you know, Iblis
is called the
Ibelis because he covers things up. The labs.
You have labs here. So it's
a.
And he said in the verdict, what will
happen is that the one who sees him,
he will follow and he will benefit, and
his heart will be enlightened.
So this and and others may follow him
as well.
And
then he will get reward. The person who
is following will get the reward.
For Amma Hadah, as for the one who
is doing the show,
he said,
He said he he gets nothing. He gets
the other. He he gets the wither. He
gets the sin of it. While, say, a
person can benefit
from something,
from from you, and they benefit and you
suffer from it because of the wrong intention.
Right?
And so whoever follows him will be benefit
will benefit.
For your will be tell for your will
be tell for your will be tablis.
So what he will be punished with is
for showing that which he does not
possess naturally
Because that those those things that he did
to show
were not natural.
He he
he went into extra
effort to to show it
and
to pretend that he has it, so he
will be taken to task for that. So
that's the second level.
And then
he is,
the the third level. Then there's a third
level above this.
And this is more subtle. It's deeper than
the first two.
And here,
this all applies also to leading salah and
reading where, you know, this with,
reading with
beautiful tune and,
shaitan comes and tells you, oh, yeah. You're
reading now and that people are really enjoying
what you're reading. And in fact, the whole
salah then becomes focused backwards instead of forward.
You're leading prayer, but the mind is focused
all on on the reactions of people
of what happens.
You know, I I how I read the
salah, and which tune did I reading, and
how did I
how how how did I pull my mads,
and how and
how, effective my
my salah was on on the people,
how I led.
And this is a problem. This is the
same problem.
So
so he's saying here,
here here here
so
so it is the person recognized that the,
you know, Shaitan comes and does this, so
so he he's okay.
And sorry.
Now this is a a third level where
a person knows
that if there's a difference between how you
pray in solitude on your own and how
you pray when you're among people, then that
is a sign of riyah. That's a sign
of ostentation. That's what you're showing off. If
if if your salah on your own is
different
from this
the salah when people are around is different
from when you are alone, then a person
knows that and, and they're,
wise to that fact.
And he knows that his prayer
in a gathering
should be like his prayer
in when he prays alone.
And salatahufil Khalwat is his his prayer in
solitude should be like his prayer in
in
in
an
audience.
And he's
ashamed from himself or woman in Rabihi and
from and in front of Allah.
And so that he should indulge it, that
he should project, project, project,
devotion
in the prayer in front of people, in
front of Allah's creation.
Anything more than he usually does. So a
person knows all this. Does shaitan leave him
alone? No. He doesn't. That is the the
third level of attack that shaitan comes. He
said yesterday.
So because he knows all of this now,
so what happens?
Then shaitan come door
of telling him that look, in order for
there not to be a difference
between
the prayer in audience and the prayer on
the alone,
then you should work on the prayer alone
so that it is like the prayer when
you are in the audience.
Right? So work on your prayer when you
are alone
so that so that it is. So what
happens here? He's projecting, he said, the
So he's working to
prepare his salah so that the salah that
he is praying in solitude
will be the same when he prays. So
he works on it in solitude. When he's
alone, he's working on it. But how can
a person have riya when they're alone?
And this is the trick that shaitan is
doing.
That you're alone and you're working on it.
You're alone and you're beautifying the voice and
at the back of the mind when you're
thinking that, yes, I will read like this
when I when I lead the prayer.
That and people will be very impressed then.
So
The final? The final goal is to impress
people. Yes. The final goal is to impress
people. That's the that's the reason. So it
is. Yes. The difference here, it says,
so that he may pray there.
This
is also
this is also ostentation
of an abstruse
type, about a very subtle type,
That he
he prepared his salah
he he he made his salah beauty be
beautified his salah in solitude.
He made his he perfected his salah in
solitude so that it may be beautified in
audience.
That's that's why he's doing it.
He did not.
He didn't that in
real terms, if you look at the prayer,
the prayer is the same in both cases.
But
so but the problem
is that while he is in solitude, his
mind is focused
on audience
outside of the Halwa.
So he's focusing beyond their.
And so what he's saying? He said that
Ikhlas is that
the view.
Ikhlas is the view
of your prayer,
the the appearance of your prayer
to a to an animal
and to a human being
should be the same. If somebody is praying
and a cat walks in, they don't change
their prayer for, you know, oh, I'm gonna
be the father. My prayer, the cat is
coming. You know, he might see me and
my dad or a little child or a
mad person. We don't do that because so
there's cognition involved
in
the formulation. We we run we we run
simulations
in our mind. We have a simulation
in what that person will think, what that
person will say, well, what they will say.
We don't have simulations for what the cat
will do. We don't have simulations in our
mind for what the cat will think
or what the mad person will think or
what the,
the bricks of the room will think. But
we are running simulations in the mind about,
oh, how impressed they will be, what they
will think of me. They will not they
they will see me as very good. They
will like my voice. They might speak about
me. They might so these are this is
a cascade of
things that will flow in the mind, and
that's what Imam Khazali is addressing here that
these are the subtle
bits
of tashwish that shaitan puts to corrupt your
Ikhlas.
So he's saying he's saying
he's saying that the view that the looking
at you, the vision of the,
of of of an animal, you know,
and human beings and the people looking at
it
should be. They should be the same. They
should be equal equal.
And and this is
this is the thing that pushes him to
practice in in solitude
for
audience,
is that he's he does not want to
allow
anything his his salah to be,
to fall short in front of people. So
he's doing it.
And then there's another big problem is that
that he is afraid
so that he may he may be seen
as an as a person of riya, that
he may be seen as a person of,
a show a person who is showing off,
a person of ostentation,
And he thinks that as long as the
prayer is equal in both places, then he's
he has a class. It's not. And we're
we're in fact,
He said, oh, no. And, of course, it's
not. That's well, it's not.
He said that this is
that there should be no
Iltifaat.
Iltifaat Iltifaat means to do this. You know,
you're looking at this person, you're looking at
that person. Iltifaat. This is what Iltifa said.
So Iltifa,
turning towards people, the attention towards people. That
is that is Iltifa, when you switch your
attention. Switching of attention, switching so
it's it's it's the switching of the attention
that is the problem. So you have to
That our attention is not is not drawn
to inanimate objects, you know. Okay. Well, this
portion is here or this table is here.
I'm, my attention is now to it it
doesn't draw your attention, this Jamadat. So he
said,
So this is from a person who is
still occupied
with the thoughts and with people in their
mind. So Satan uses this, Bilkalq. Filmarah I
ilkala jamyan.
Wahada min makayidil shay min makayidil kafi yati
lish shaitan. And this is of the subtle
tricks
of
Shaytan.
And the 4th level, no?
So then there is above this a 4th
level.
And that people will look at him, and
he's in he's praying now, and people are
looking at him.
And,
that Shabar is now in,
incapable of telling me. He he he cannot
tell him that, look, do for
the sake of these people. Alright? Do, you
know, beautify your salah for the sake of
these people because this is somebody who is
wise to all of this. He he's he
doesn't get into this, or she doesn't get
into this. So
for and Shaitan knows that this person is
now wise to this. He's not going to
fall into this trick.
So then Shaitan says to him
that, look. Okay. You know, these people are
watching and all this, you know, you're in
this audience. So the
fakkhar
Think
about the greatness of Allah and the might
of Allah and the might of Allah.
And think about it, you know, and and
do all of these things, you know,
be be become
ashamed of the fact that Allah might be
looking in your heart, and your heart is
is ghafil. So look at this. So you're
doing good things. He's telling you to do
all these good things.
But at the base of it, he's why
is he telling you to do this? He
he's predicating all of this good advice on
the fact that people are watching.
And then he thinks now the person does
does
accepts these things, does this, and then he
thinks that, yeah, I'm, you know, practicing Ithlas.
And this is
a deception as well. Shaitan comes and he
does.
And a deception.
That his kushu, if it was
for the his view of Allah alone,
then he would not need.
That this kind of
consciousness
should be there all the time for a
person, and it should not only it should
not only need to come when you're in
the audience, when people are around. So when
Shaitan comes and says, oh, these people are
all around, so you better go watch yourself,
pull this. There is a subtle he's telling
you to do good things. He's telling you
to put your heart, but this is something
that you should be. So he said,
That it it did not it should not
need
the apparent the presence of others for it
to happen. That's the point. Is that if
the reference to which Shaitan is telling you,
you know, all these people around to put
your heart there, that because these people are
around, then
that is also a trickery. That's a 4th
level trickery that he's telling you, you are
going to do this,
because people are around? No. Then but that's
a subtle one. It's he said,
and he said the sign
of
safety,
the sign of security
from all of these calamities, all of these
kinds of evils,
is that these sorts of thoughts
should be the same when you're alone,
like when you're among people.
The presence of people should not be the
reason
why you are doing this, and that's the
point, that you're doing it because of because
of people. No. He said,
fihudur al kathir. And you should not be
that the appearance of others,
the
audience,
should become the reason
for these kinds of thoughts.
This is not this should not be the
reason that you should have these thoughts, that
you should you should naturally be inclined to
these thoughts, and that's, of course, it's it's
of a level that one has to work
to to develop. We're not saying that everyone
is safe from this. You can and this
is easy.
That the the arrival of an animal doesn't
cause it. So why is the arrival of
a human being
necessitating this? The reason
is that we are running simulations of what's
going on in the minds of people's hearts.
So
So he said as as long as there
is a difference
in the heart, a difference in the quality
of
of his state
between being between the being in the
view of
human beings and the view of animals,
if there's a difference between these two, then
there's still a problem to be dealt with.
It's still something to be worked on. So
the view of the animal, if if, you
know,
a herd of sheep comes in, that's not
gonna have you well, it may probably startle
you, but it will not have,
an impact on your Ibadah.
And the same way, you're praying and, but
if human beings come, it's the simulation that
we run about what they will think and
what they should think and what I would
prefer them to think. That's the problem.
So you say,
That is this,
it's it's not within
the category
of Ikhlas or
and
it is it it it destroys in what's
inside.
It it it it stains it. It it
it it creates
encrustation.
And this is the shirkil
kafi that Rasoolullah salallahu alaihi wa sallam warned
us about. What did he say? He said
that
I'm I fear this more than I fear
dajjal.
And every nabi, every prophet that came warned
their
their followers about the coming of dajjal.
That this was such a great thing that
every nabi had to do it. That every
nabi, Allah told that warned them about dajjal,
that this will be a fitness so big.
Imagine that he's saying that that that I
worry about
this,
shirkil kafi, more than I worry about that,
he said.
More than I worry about the job, he
said.
And he's he's saying that this is this
is the shirk.
He said that this is the shirk
that is more subtle
that is more subtle
than
a black ant crawling on a black stone
in a dark night. This is the one
that Raul Sallallahu Alaihi described. This is the
kind of thing that happens
where so he's saying that this
And we're not we will not be protected
from the tricks of shaitan except the one
who spends time, who who looks into detail.
Wasaida,
and he's
granted
the protection of Allah.
The,
and Allah's
tawfiq and hidayah, his guidance.
But Shaitan
is
persistent in his he he wants to do
things over. He wants to take you to
Jahannam. As we said, you know, that has
the the letters you
will not find them.
I'll comfort them. We'll attack them from all
directions. So it is important to see him.
Take him as your enemy.
That he that those who are
pursuing Ibadah of Allah, those who are pursuing
Allah's,
worship,
shaitan is
constantly
attacking them.
And he does not
pull away from them. He does not become
negligent
about them, not even for a moment.
He wants to get
He wants to take you into riya. He
wants to take you he wants to corrupt
your action and everything you
do.
Even in using eyeliner, he will come and
tell you,
make some he will corrupt it, which we
discussed earlier and
you know, clipping your your your mustache your
mustache on,
and using perfume on the day of judgement.
I'm sorry.
Using perfume on on
on Fridays.
So you say,
well, ellipsis, you know, wearing of clothes. When
you wear clothes, he comes and talks to
you about it, you know. Instead of wearing
it for Allah and thanking Allah, being grateful
to Allah, we we project ourselves in the
eyes of people. That's the first thing we
think about. Remember we discussed that, you know,
that if you wear clothes in 1 to
to one wedding, then you don't want to
wear it to the other wedding because,
everyone has seen you.
Seeing then becomes and this happens a lot
with the sisters.
They they they say, no. We have to
buy new clothes. Why? Because everyone has seen
me in this clothes.
So what does that does the quality of
the clothes diminish? At the time of purchasing
the clothes, that was the best in the
shop. There was nothing better than that. It
was the best clothes. It has the best
design, the best cloth, the best
the best cloth, everything.
And but as soon as people have seen
it, then it's lost all its value. Then
we have to combine something else. And that's
Sharpen. That that's what the the it's it's
the simulation in the mind about about clothes
about clothes, the way clothes should be wear.
That that it's all about the value of
it is in the eyes of what people
are seeing.
If
if not, then you would easily wear 1
the same clothes to one wedding and another
wedding. But to say that, oh, I am
not wearing it to the other wedding because
everyone has seen me in this, that our
our sense of value is then rooted in
through the eyes of people rather than the
actual quality of the design and the clothes
we're getting. And this is already this is
a form of react.
Because what is riyat? Ostentation. It is show.
So if you decide that you're gonna show
that this is what you need, that, you
know, my clothes so he's saying this is
what he's saying here for.
And the reason he said that these are
Sunan, they are,
practices of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
in in specific times,
well, in nafs well, in nafsifi, he had
done kafi. And the nafs also has a
part to benefit from from this.
Because and then there's a connection
of the eye of people. People's eyes are
connected to this, and that's where the problem
where it's the and
the people are are comfort
find this,
agreeable,
that's their natural inclination towards these things
these things. So
so shaitan calls you to do it, and
then he corrupts the intention for which you
will do it.
And he says, oh, this is so sunnah,
you know, you you shouldn't leave this. But
and then what happens is that
he says
But then the heart then configures
these subtle urges
to satisfy
the simulations that we are making of people's
reaction towards to seeing you, to experiencing your
perfume, to say, oh, he has good smell,
or she has good smell, or this person
has beautiful clothes. We are we are running
these simulations in the mind
instead of thinking about Allah and thank thanking
Allah for the clothes, and thinking about hisab
that, you know, Allah has given me this
close.
Do I, am I justified in getting this
close? Did did,
did I thank Allah enough for it? Did
I connect a nama bilmunaim?
Did I connect the giver of it to
to the one who this thing that Allah
has given me? All of that is the
mind should be occupied with. But what Chaitan
does, he comes in,
pulls the mind into the simulation about what
kind of reaction. Oh, they will say I've
never seen such a clothes. I've never seen
such a dress. I've never seen this is
so beautiful. Where did you get it? I
wouldn't tell them. All of that is going
in the mind. You know? I wouldn't tell
them where I got it from. You know?
I'm the only one that should have such
clothes that will that will amaze everyone else.
These simulations are running in the mind,
and Shaitan is having a a a good
time. And we are,
losing out on
the ability
for our hisaab to give hisaab because you
will be you will have to hisaab.
Yes. Clothes is muba. It's it's allowed. It's
halal, but there is hisab. You know? So
what is hisab? Hisab is reckoning. Justifying it
in the eyes of Allah. Justifying it. Justifying
what we do,
what we take, what we spend of this
world. So it's important to
be aware, to be wise to these sorts
of simulations that are running in the mind.
And this is what Iman Ghazali is calling
us to be to become
a way
to build our,
repertoire
of recognition
for it. And this is the problem. And
this is why he's giving you this example,
the example of prayer, but with this, you
can extrapolate on others.
So he's saying,
And said these kinds of considerations and thoughts
affect your Ikhlas or it may stain it
to a degree, and that's why one has
to be careful.
And he said,
And the thing and what does not
what is, excuse me, what is not safe
from all of these corruptions,
then it's not Khalis. It's not Ikhlas because
Khalis is pure. And then he gives the
example,
A person is doing atkaafil Masjid, and he's
he has two choices.
There's a big, beautiful masjid with lots of
facilities, and there's the low local masjid with
not very much you know, it doesn't look
beautiful.
But he chooses the big one, to go
for Atikaf, and he says, you know,
that the Masjid is so beautiful.
That he feels nice in this big, beautiful
Masjid, but he doesn't feel.
And so then the Ikhlas
is corrupted in that. It's stained by that,
that he's that he's not every Masjid is
beautiful
in the Nur,
in the in the fact that angels that
this is the house of Allah. It's not
the walls and the bricks and the mortar
that makes a Masjid beautiful.
It is
the prayer in it. It is the zikr
in it. This is the Quran.
It is the angels.
It is the house of Allah. The most
beautiful Masjid ever
was Masjid Rasoolallah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, and
that was made of mud. They used to
do sajdah, and the mud used to stay
in their forehead. And that is the most
beautiful Masjid there was.
So for us, we have to see those
beauty, the beauty
in
the spirit of the place and not this.
So so he's giving this example.
So he said, yeah.
And all of these are things that are
corrupt, and they they they attack the,
the purity of your Ikhlas.
And he says and then he gives you
the example
of
counterfeit coins, you know, gold coins. He said
you have them on different levels of corruption,
of of count
of,
fake fake,
of,
counterfeit.
You'll have some some will be mixed with
less gold, some will be mixed with more
gold.
So you're saying
that
so there are some that that has more
in it.
And some has less.
And you will see the one that has
less. Less.
And there are some that looks really genuine,
but they're not that they're fake. They're they're
counterfeit.
That the
trickery,
the counterfeit, the deception of shaitan is more
subtle than this, than the the the the
counterfeit coin.
When he heard
the and he said it's for this they
say that a a 2 rakah of
of is better, is is more is is
more virtuous
than the bad of a whole of a
whole of a Jahil praying all year because
he might be doing all kinds of strange
things in his prayer,
or or being tricked by shaitan.
And what we mean here by an alim,
a scholar who is aware of these things,
who is who who has been trained in
this path, who who recognizes
the subtleties
of these calamities.
That he
protects himself.
Means that he has Ikhlas away from that.
But
the jahil, the ignorant person sees thinks that
all the things that he's doing on the
outside, that makes the salah perfect. I'm not
worried about the inside. Where am I gonna
put my foot? Make sure I trample the
person next to me, mare for,
you know, I stretch my foot out or
I
I I I put my hand in a
certain way.
That that is the thing. Of course, we're
not saying that this is not important, the
the outer form of the salah. But if
that is not the full extent of it.
So he's saying the
the just the outer form, way of and
then becomes deceived by it.
He
said, like, an an an ordinary person who
becomes deceived
by
the color of a fake coin
and and the roundness of it. So that
that's that's similar.
But it's it's all, makshush. It's all, you
know,
deception. It's all it's all deceptive. It's it's
fake.
He said just one carrot
of pure
salah, of one pure gold is good. Well,
that he wants
And so it is the
matter of Ibadah,
of our Ibadah
differs.
But it should do Adam,
and it is it is even more so
than counterfeit coins.
And the corruptions of calamities that come upon
our 'amal, upon our deeds
are
are of various
are are are so many of various
types and,
ways of happening that it is impossible to
encompass it all. You cannot do a definitive,
description of it all.
So we we will suffice with what we
have said so far. He's saying that, look,
this this much is sufficient for you to
understand,
and from this, you extrapolate on others. He
said,
well, well, Fattarib,
Yogenih Il Khalil,
the person intelligent person,
A'anil Kassir.
A little bit is sufficient.
And he said that the foolish person,
even long explanations does not do not benefit
them.
And so there's no need for further discussion
in this matter, and that's the end of
the chapter.
Let's
pray.