The Trap of "Khurbana Khurbana": Satan's Snare for Sinners
Peace be upon you. Imagine a young man drinking something forbidden and dancing at a loud party, then suddenly he hears someone mocking the religion or mentioning a verse with ridicule. He stops, throws what he's holding, and a spark of unexpected anger ignites in his eyes as he shouts, "Enough with the religion... I won't allow it!"
Those around him may laugh and say, "Yes, my dear! You do all this and then you're angry about the religion?" The question here is: Is this really a funny contradiction, or is it the last thread that might save him? In the hearts of many sinners, there is a hidden candle that Satan tries to extinguish with the phrase "Khurbana Khurbana." What is this candle, and how can it save you when all your defenses collapse?
The Concept of Heart's Deeds
I will explain to you a simple but very important concept that represents this candle, which is "the deeds of the heart." What do we mean by the deeds of the heart? They are the feelings and beliefs within yourself; for example, a Muslim's deeds of the heart include: loving Allah and His Messenger, glorifying Allah, hoping for His mercy, fearing His punishment, sincerity of intention towards Allah, certainty in Him and the Hereafter, contentment with His decree, and reliance upon Him.
It is important to know that many of these deeds have three levels:
- The root of the deed.
- The obligatory deed.
- The perfection of the deed.
Levels of Loving Allah
For example, loving Allah has three levels:
- The root of love: This saves you from disbelief.
- The obligatory love: This saves you from sin.
- The perfection of love: This places you in the rank of the righteous predecessors.
Whoever has only "the root of love" means he has a weak love for Allah; a love that does not drive him to perform all the obligations and duties, nor does it prevent him from falling into sins and abominations. But is he a disbeliever? No, this weak love saves him from disbelief in the test of love, but it does not save him from sin and punishment. Notice that he does not hate Allah - Allah forbid - and is not "neutral" towards Allah, but he loves Allah, albeit weakly.
For a person to be saved from sin and punishment, he must achieve "the obligatory love" for Allah, His Messenger, and His religion. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) says, as in al-Bukhari, "None of you has believed until I am more beloved to him than his father, his son, and all the people," it does not mean that whoever does not love the Prophet (peace be upon him) to this extent is a disbeliever, but rather that he has not achieved "the obligatory faith."
Similarly, Allah says: {Say, "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah comes with His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."} Notice that whoever prefers the love of any of these worldly things over the love of Allah and His Messenger is a "defiantly disobedient," and the one who puts love to the test is obedience; if you disobey Allah and His Messenger for the sake of these things, you have failed to achieve the obligatory love, although it is possible that you may still have "the root of love."
The highest level is "the perfection of love," which makes you not only perform the obligations but also strive for voluntary acts and prioritize them over your desires, thus attaining the rank of sainthood that Allah mentions in the hadith qudsi: "Whoever shows enmity to one of My friends, I will be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than what I have made obligatory upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts until I love him..." to the end of the hadith.
Levels of Glorifying Allah
Now let's move to another important heart's deed, which is "glorifying Allah."
- Whoever has only the root of glorification: He does not mock Allah - Allah forbid - nor is he neutral, but he has a weak glorification that does not make him respond to Allah's commands as he should, nor does it prevent him from falling into abominations. This person is a wrongdoer to himself and threatened with punishment, but he is a Muslim.
- Whoever has the obligatory glorification: He will perform the obligations, avoid major sins, and not insist on minor sins. If he falls into any sin, he will repent and seek forgiveness, and he will not obey anyone in disobeying Allah. {Do you fear them? But Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are [truly] believers.} This saves him from punishment on the Day of Judgment.
Beware of the Trap of "Khurbana Khurbana"
What do we gain from all of this? You gain a great benefit; if you are among those who commit sins and fall short, understanding these levels protects you from a dangerous trap among Satan's traps.
You are drowning in sins and neglecting many obligations, then Satan comes to lure you into a sin of disbelief, such as blaspheming Allah - Allah forbid - or mocking religious rituals like hijab or Islamic rulings. When you hesitate, Satan says to you, "Khurbana Khurbana! You do all those abominations, and now you're standing up for this matter?" Even the devils among humans may use the same tactic with you.
Here, you must understand: No, it is not "Khurbana Khurbana." Even if I do not have the obligatory glorification, I still have "the root of glorification," and I will not allow anyone from humans or jinn to take it away from me.
Does this make a difference?
Of course, it makes all the difference!
- As long as you are a Muslim, you are promised Paradise, even if after purification in the Fire or through the trials of this world, while losing "the root of glorification" means disbelief and eternal punishment in the Fire.
- As long as you are a Muslim, your righteous deeds are counted for you, and on the Day of Judgment, the scales will be set, while disbelief means "the nullification of deeds" and the loss of all their rewards.
- As long as you are a Muslim, you are in Allah's will; perhaps Allah will forgive you with the slightest of deeds.
In the hadith narrated by Muslim, a prostitute passed by a dog panting, so she removed her "mukh" (shoe) and gave it to him to drink from, and Allah forgave her. It is understood from the collection of texts that she was a monotheist.
A Message to Those Drowning in Sins
Take care to keep the flame of "the root of glorification" and "the root of love" for Allah in your hearts. Nurture them, and do not allow anyone or any circumstance to take them away from you, even if you are falling into fornication, drinking alcohol, or dealing with unlawful money - Allah forbid. Do not say "Khurbana Khurbana."
If someone makes a joke about something from the Quran, the Sunnah, or religious rituals in front of you, react and say to him, "I won't allow you, this is a red line." If someone blasphemes the Lord or the religion, react and get angry. They may laugh at you and say, "You talk about religion, you who commit sins?" Say to them, "Yes, I am not ready to extinguish this candle, and I will not lose the root of love and glorification to transition into the circle of disbelievers and dwell in Hellfire just to please you."
You may be in school, university, or a work meeting, and someone says something in front of you that mocks the religion; do not refrain from anger and denial, and do not let anyone laugh at you with the claim of "contradiction," but say, "I am deficient, but this is a red line." Know that with the blessing of such a stance, Allah may forgive you, guide you, and help you in His obedience.
In the authentic hadith: "Verily a man may utter a word from the goodness of which he thinks little, but for which Allah raises him to degrees of Paradise... And verily a man may utter a word from the evil of which he thinks little, but for which Allah casts him into the Fire." May you strive greatly for prayer, because abandoning prayer is something that negates the root of faith and may lead to disbelief according to a considered opinion among scholars.
A Message for the Righteous
Is our speech only for the disobedient? No, even for the righteous; your understanding of these ranks prevents you from excommunicating someone unjustly. You may see a person deeply immersed in sins and say, "Certainly, this person is a disbeliever, for one who loves God does not do this." Do not rush to judgment; one who has the "obligatory love" does not do such things, but there may be in him the "root of love" that saves him from disbelief, even if it does not save him from sin.
In conclusion, take care of your lamp, perhaps Allah the Almighty will bless it, enlarge it, and with it burn the impurities of your life, making it a light for you in this world and the hereafter. Peace be upon you.