The Cause of Deviation is…Insincerity!
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم, الحمد لله رب العالمين و صلى الله و سلم و بارك على نبينا محمد و آله و صحبه أجمعين, أما بعد
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful, All praises be to Allah, Lord of universe, peace and prayer of Allah and His blessing be upon our Prophet, Muhammad, his family, and all his companions.
After that,
One often whines, “Worshipping for a month, committing wrongdoing for a year.”
One often complains, “Obeying Allah for a week, but committing sin for a month.”
One often complains of not being steadfast in his faith, prayer, and obedience!!!
It turns out that one of it’s causes is insincerity.
One of it’s causes is a desire to be seen by other than Allah the Exalted, to be praised and flattered by other than Allah the Exalted.
Let’s pay attention to these noble verses below:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَلَّا تَخَافُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي كُنْتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ [فصلت: 30]
“Those who say “Allah is our Lord” and then remain steadfast, upon them descend angels (and say): “Do not fear nor grieve, and receive good tidings of Paradise which you were promised.”(QS. Fushshilat: 30).
Then look at the sayings of the scholars of Qur’an interpretation below, brought by Ibn Kathir -may Allah have mercy on him- in his Qur’an interpretation:
1. Abu Bakr Ash Shiddiq’s -may Allah be pleased with him- about this verse:
عن سعيد بن نمران قال: قرأت عند أبي بكر الصديق هذه الآية: { إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } قال: هم الذين لم يشركوا بالله شيئا
Sa’id Ibn Nimran -may Allah have mercy on him- said, “I read this verse in front of Abu Bakr Ash Shiddiq -may Allah be pleased with him-, “(Those are the ones who said) Allah is our Lord, and then remain steadfast (far) from sins.” he said,
{ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا }
“They are the ones who do not associate anything with Allah. “
قال أبو بكر، رضي الله عنه: ما تقولون في هذه الآية: { إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } ؟ قال: فقالوا: { رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } من ذنب. فقال: لقد حملتموها على غير المحمل، { قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } فلم يلتفتوا إلى إله غيره. وكذا قال مجاهد، وعكرمة، والسدي، وغير واحد .
Abu Bakr Ash Shiddiq -may Allah be pleased with him- asked, “What do you think of this verse:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا
They answered, “(Those are the ones who said) Allah is our Lord, and then remain steadfast (far) from sins.” Abu Bakr said, “Indeed, you’ve interpreted it by other than it’s meaning.” What he meant was, “They said, “Allah is our Lord, and then remain steadfast”, thus they didn’t turn to any god beside Him.”
2. Abdullah Ibn Abbas -may Allah be pleased with them both- explained this verse:
عن عكرمة قال: سئل ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما: أي آية في كتاب الله أرخص؟ قال قوله: { إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } على شهادة أن لا إله إلا الله
Ikrimah -may Allah have mercy on him- said, “Abdullah Ibn Abbas -may Allah be pleased with them both- was asked, “Which verse inside Allah’s book (The Qur’an) is the lightest?” He answered, “His decree,
{ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا }
Which means: “Those who say “Allah is our Lord” and then remain steadfast,” by the testimony of none has the right to be worshipped but Allah.”
3. Umar -may Allah be pleased with him- explained this verse:
وقال الزهري: تلا عمر هذه الآية على المنبر، ثم قال: استقاموا -والله-لله بطاعته، ولم يروغوا روغان الثعالب
Az Zuhri – may Allah have mercy on him- said, “Umar -may Allah be pleased with him- ever read this verse on the pulpit, and then he said, “By Allah, they remain steadfast by obeying Allah alone and they do not coil around like a snake.”
4. Abu Al ‘Aliyah -may Allah have mercy on him- said:
وقال أبو العالية: { ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } أخلصوا له العمل والدين
“And then they remain steadfast’, that is by performing their deeds and religion sincerely to Him only.”
5. Ibn Kathir -may Allah have mercy on him- said:
قول تعالى: { إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا } أي: أخلصوا العمل لله، وعملوا بطاعة الله تعالى على ما شرع الله لهم
Allah the Exalted’s decree:
{ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا }
It means that performing the deeds to Allah only, and obeying Allah the Exalted on what He had divinely ordered.”
Now the case study….
After this, don’t be surprised that a man could be the former of a righteous man…
Don’t be surprised that one could be the former worshipper of Allah alone,
Don’t be surprised that one could be the former follower of the pious predecessors
Don’t be surprised that one could be the former knowledge seeker
Don’t be surprised that one could be the former chaplain, religious leader, or even muslim,
Don’t be surprised, that one could be the former regular attendant of the mosque, of prayers, of fast, of charity, of pilgrimage, and all other forms of worship, and the former doer of all goodness and obedience to Allah the Exalted (Please do the study yourself, particularly on your own self!!)
And the cause of it all is insincerity….
And Allah knows best.
Author: Ahmad Zainuddin
Article of www.Whatisquran.com