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This content has been automatically translated. View original in Arabic
Peace be upon you. Imagine a young man drinking what is forbidden and dancing at a loud party. Suddenly, someone mocks religion or cites a verse sarcastically. He stops, throws what’s in his hand, and an unexpected spark of anger ignites in his eyes as he shouts, “Except for religion… I won’t allow you to insult it!”
Those around him may laugh and say, “My dear friend, you do all these things and now you’re jealous for religion?” The question is: Is this truly a funny contradiction? Or is it the last thread that might save him?
In the hearts of many sinners burns a hidden candle that the devil tries to extinguish with the phrase, “You’re ruined, ruined.” What is this candle? And how can it save you when all your defenses collapse?
I will explain a simple yet profoundly important concept that represents this candle: the “acts of the heart.” These refer to the feelings and beliefs within your soul. For a Muslim, acts of the heart include: love for God and His Messenger, reverence for God, hope in His mercy, fear of His punishment, sincerity in intention for God, certainty in Him and the Hereafter, contentment with His decree, and reliance upon Him.
It is crucial to understand that many of these acts have three ranks (or levels):
For example, love for Allah the Exalted has three ranks:
Someone who only has the “foundation of love” possesses a weak love for Allah that does not motivate him to fulfill all the obligatory duties or prevent him from falling into sins and wrongdoings. Is he a disbeliever? No, this weak love saves him from disbelief in the test of love specifically, but it does not save him from sin and punishment. Note that he does not hate Allah—God forbid—and he is not neutral toward Allah; rather, he loves Allah, but his love is weak.
To be saved from sin and punishment, he must have the “obligatory love” for Allah, His Messenger, and His religion. The Prophet ﷺ said, as recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his children, and all mankind.” Does this mean that someone who does not love the Prophet ﷺ to this degree is a disbeliever? No, rather, he has not attained the “obligatory faith.”
Allah the Exalted also says:
Say, [O Muhammad], “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, the wealth you have acquired, a trade you fear will decline, and the dwellings you love are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and striving in His cause, then wait until Allah brings about His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.” (Quran 9:24)
Note that whoever prefers the love of any of these worldly things over the love of Allah and His Messenger is “defiantly disobedient.” The test of love is obedience; if you disobey Allah and His Messenger for the sake of these things, you have failed to achieve the obligatory love, even if you still retain the foundation of love.
There is a higher rank: the “perfected love,” which motivates you not only to fulfill the obligatory acts but also to strive for the voluntary ones, placing them above your desires. This earns you the rank of nearness to Allah, about which He says in a sacred hadith: “Allah the Exalted says: ‘Whoever shows enmity to a close friend of Mine, I declare war upon him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the acts I have made obligatory upon him. My servant continues to draw near to Me through voluntary acts until I love him...’” (and the hadith continues).
Now let us turn to another critical act of the heart: “reverence for Allah the Exalted.”
Someone who only has the “foundation of reverence” does not mock Allah—God forbid—and he is not neutral; rather, he has reverence, but it is weak. This weak reverence does not make him respond to Allah’s commands as he should, nor does it prevent him from falling into many wrongdoings. He is unjust to himself and threatened with punishment, yet he remains a Muslim.
Whoever has the “obligatory reverence” will fulfill the obligatory acts, avoid major sins, and if he falls into minor sins, he repents and seeks forgiveness. He will not obey anyone in disobedience to Allah, nor will he befriend the enemies of Allah:
Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are believers. (Quran 9:13)
This is the person who will be saved from punishment on the Day of Judgment.
What benefit do you gain from all this? You gain immense benefit if you are among those who sin and fall short. Understanding these ranks protects you from a dangerous trap set by the devil.
When you are drowning in sins and neglecting many obligatory duties, the devil comes to lure you into a sin of disbelief (such as blaspheming Allah or mocking religious symbols like the hijab or Islamic rulings). When you hesitate, the devil says to you, “You’re ruined, ruined! You do all those sins—how dare you object to this?”
Here, you must understand: No, you are not “ruined, ruined.” Even if I do not have the “obligatory reverence,” I still have the “foundation of reverence,” and I will not allow any human or jinn to take it away from me.
Why is this difference so immense?
Remember the hadith narrated by Muslim about a woman who committed fornication. She passed by a dog panting, so she removed her shoe and gave it water to drink, and Allah forgave her. From the totality of texts, it is understood that she was a monotheist.
Guard the flame of the “foundation of reverence” and the “foundation of love” for Allah in your hearts. Nurture it, and do not allow anyone or any circumstance to extinguish it. Even if you are immersed in fornication, drinking alcohol, or dealing with unlawful wealth—God forbid—never say, “I’m ruined, ruined.”
If someone mocks something related to religion in front of you, rise up and say to him, “I won’t allow you to insult it; this is a red line.” If someone blasphemes against the Lord or religion, be angry. They may laugh at you and say, “You’re lecturing us about religion, you sinner?” Tell them, “Yes, I am not prepared to extinguish this candle, nor am I prepared to lose the foundation of love and reverence to enter the circle of disbelievers and abide eternally in Hellfire for your sake.”
You may be in a school, university, or a company gathering where your religiosity is not known, and someone makes a remark that belittles religion in front of you. Do not be embarrassed to be angry and reject it. Do not let anyone laugh at you by calling you “hypocritical.” Instead, tell them, “I am negligent, but this is a red line.”
Know that by taking such a stance, Allah may forgive you, guide you, and help you to obey Him. In a sound hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said: “A servant may speak a word that is pleasing to Allah, without giving it much thought, and by it Allah raises him many degrees. And a servant may speak a word that angers Allah, without giving it much thought, and by it he falls into Hell.”
Strive very much to uphold the prayer, for abandoning it contradicts the very essence of faith and may lead to disbelief, according to a considered opinion among scholars.
This advice is not only for the rebellious but also for the upright; understanding these distinctions prevents you from unjustly declaring someone a disbeliever. When you see someone immersed in sins, do not say, “Surely this person is a disbeliever because they do not honor God.” Instead, say, “Perhaps they have lost the required reverence, yet they still possess the original reverence that will save them from disbelief.”
In conclusion, tend to your candle, so that God the Exalted may bless it, magnify it, burn away the impurities of your life with it, and make it a light for you in this world and the Hereafter.
Peace be upon you.