Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
This reminds me of a question I thought of recently:
Why is it thought in Islam that it is the woman's fault for tempting the man? It teaches that a man is not responsible for his actions.
Ask a Muslim
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This reminds me of a question I thought of recently:
Why is it thought in Islam that it is the woman's fault for tempting the man? It teaches that a man is not responsible for his actions.
Ansar
Détente avec l'été
Don't you enjoy seeing some more (like legs or arms)? Or do you prefer your women only revealing their face, hands, and feet?
Salah-Al-Din
Vanguard of Islam.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 460
Hello, Mr. Cheezy.
In Islam, both the woman who shows off her body and the man who lusts after her revealed body is to be punished in the next life, unless Allah forgives them. Such a woman has been promised to be thrown into a cauldron of fire that will burn her bare skin, and such a man has been promised to have molten lava poured into his eyes.
There is no truth to the idea that males are 'let off the hook' in Islam and that all the blame is on the females. The blame is on both the female who exposes herself and also upon the male who lusts after her.
Muslim men are strongly commanded to lower their gaze (i.e. avert their glances) from women, as Allah says in the Quran:
"And tell the believing men to lower their gazes..." (Quran)
If your question is: why do women have to cover then if men are to lower their gazes?
The answer is simple: not everybody is a practising Muslim. There are many Non-Muslims in this world who do not find anything wrong with checking out women and in fact they love to do that.
The Hijab of the Muslim woman is like the bullet-proof vest of a police officer. A police officer wears a bullet-proof vest to protect himself against bad guys who shoot bullets at him. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot possibly remove all the bad guys in the world, so instead he wears a bullet proof vest to at least protect himself. Likewise, it is impossible to eliminate all the sinful men who lust with their gazes towards women, so a Muslim woman should at least wear her protective vest to protect atleast herself. Muslim women cover themselves to protect their honor and prevent themselves from being "shot" with the dirty looks of sinful men.
Take care.
Hello, Brother Ansar.
My nufs (lower self, carnal desires, etc.) would very much enjoy to lust after semi-naked women. But if I let my nufs control myself then I would also steal money and even rape women. Good thing that my nufs is kept in check by my morality. So from a purely instinctual point of view, women showing skin would be great. But from a moral point of view, I cannot accept that as sound.
As for my own wife or daughters, I wouldn't be a man if I enjoyed them going outside semi-naked, Naudhobillah! In Islam, we believe that every man has a sense of Gheerah (protective jealousy) over his women, and that any man who does not have this is considered effeminate. It is part of the natural Fithrat (innate self) of men to be protective of their own women, and the man who is not so is considered a lowly Dayooth (pimp, i.e. he pimps out his women) in Islam.
Practising Muslim women flock to men with Gheerah, as it is considered a great virtue in our culture and the one who does not have it is considered effeminate. The lack of Gheerah in some "men" is considered unattractive to practising Muslim women.
Even Western men have some Gheerah, since it is a natural component of men. Western men will get angry if you say to them that you had sex with their daughter or their wife or their mother or their sister. A man who does *not* get mad at such things is not a man.
Take care.
Gogf
Indescribable
I have a personal question. Do you think that the Islamic system is fair? Are the punishments for sins just?
Cheezy the Wiz
Socialist In A Hurry
Hello, Mr. Cheezy.
In Islam, both the woman who shows off her body and the man who lusts after her revealed body is to be punished in the next life, unless Allah forgives them. Such a woman has been promised to be thrown into a cauldron of fire that will burn her bare skin, and such a man has been promised to have molten lava poured into his eyes.
There is no truth to the idea that males are 'let off the hook' in Islam and that all the blame is on the females. The blame is on both the female who exposes herself and also upon the male who lusts after her.
Muslim men are strongly commanded to lower their gaze (i.e. avert their glances) from women, as Allah says in the Quran:
"And tell the believing men to lower their gazes..." (Quran)
If your question is: why do women have to cover then if men are to lower their gazes?
The answer is simple: not everybody is a practising Muslim. There are many Non-Muslims in this world who do not find anything wrong with checking out women and in fact they love to do that.
The Hijab of the Muslim woman is like the bullet-proof vest of a police officer. A police officer wears a bullet-proof vest to protect himself against bad guys who shoot bullets at him. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot possibly remove all the bad guys in the world, so instead he wears a bullet proof vest to at least protect himself. Likewise, it is impossible to eliminate all the sinful men who lust with their gazes towards women, so a Muslim woman should at least wear her protective vest to protect atleast herself. Muslim women cover themselves to protect their honor and prevent themselves from being "shot" with the dirty looks of sinful men.
Take care.
So why then do men not also dress in the same way?
Salah-Al-Din
Vanguard of Islam.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 460
deleted............computer going crazy......
OK this thread is about to be closed probably when the mods notice; there's a 1000 post in a thread limit, so put up a new thread once you have got permission from Mathilda for a new ask a thread; there's life in this thread yet I think.
Just a reminder
Just a reminder
Salah-Al-Din
Vanguard of Islam.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 460
OK, Brother Sidhe, I will PM Sister Mathilda then, Allah Willing.
One last thing which I forgot to add to my last post, which is the following:
The true Believer lives in a state between fear and hope. Allah says:
"They hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment" (Quran 57:17)
One last thing which I forgot to add to my last post, which is the following:
The true Believer lives in a state between fear and hope. Allah says:
"They hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment" (Quran 57:17)
Salah-Al-Din
Vanguard of Islam.
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
- Messages
- 460
Computer going crazy...won't let me edit my previous post which seems to have been eaten up. So I'll reproduce it here:
Allah is Most Just. As for being fair, I think He is more than just being fair. If Allah were 100% fair, then nobody would ever enter Paradise, since none would deserve the eternal bliss promised therein. If good deeds are currency, then even the best of us will not have enough wealth to purchase Paradise on our own. The actual price and worth of Paradise is far too much. Instead, Allah will "grant us financial assistance" in this matter and His Mercy will "lower the price" of Paradise. We will be granted Paradise even though we can't really afford it (i.e. we are not deserving of such a great honor as we do not have enough good deeds to be entered into Paradise). Allah will grant us His Mercy and this will be the reason we enter Paradise, even though we aren't really deserving of it.
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Receive good news because one's good deeds will not make him enter Paradise." The people asked him: "Even you, O Allah's Messenger?" The Prophet (s) replied: "Even I, unless and until Allah protected me with His Pardon and His Mercy."
Any man who claims that he earned Paradise through his own two hands (i.e. his own good deeds) is a liar, because nobody's good deeds are so numerous that they could deserve Paradise, which is worth way more than that. Instead, it will be Allah's Mercy which will over-encompass us and forgive us our sins and multiply our good deeds--and only then will we enter Paradise.
One day, this person supplicated to Allah that, “Oh Allah, bring my death while I am in the state of prostration.” Allah accepted this prayer of his. Whenever Arch-Angel Gabriel (as) came down to the Earth, he found this man prostrating to Allah. Arch-Angel Gabriel (as) said that on the day of Judgement, Allah will tell the angels to take this individual to Paradise through His mercy. However, this man will insist that he should enter paradise through the good deeds that he had performed.
Then, Allah will tell the angels to compare his good deeds with the blessings that were given to him in the world. It will be seen that 500 years of his worship does not even equal to the gift of eye sight that was given to him by Allah. The angels will be asked to take him towards the hell fire. Then the man will plead, “Oh Allah! Enter me into Paradise only through Your mercy.” At that point, the following discussion will take place between Allah and that man.
Allah: Oh my servant, who created you?
The worshipper: Oh Allah, You have created me.
Allah: Were you created because of the good deeds you have done or because of My mercy?
The worshipper: Because of Your mercy.
Allah: Who granted you the ability to worship for 500 years?
The worshipper: Oh the Almighty! You have granted me that ability.
Allah: Who placed you on the mountain surrounded by the ocean? Who caused a stream of sweet water to flow in between the salty water? Who caused a pomegranate tree to grow for you? Who granted you death while in the state of prostration?
The worshipper: Oh the Sustainer of the Worlds! You have done all of these.
Then Allah will say, “All these have happened due to My mercy and you too will enter Paradise only through My Mercy.”
-----------------------------------
As for the punishments, you are no doubt aware of many of the dreadful punishments that will be given to the sinners, such as molten lava poured into their eyes, cauldrons of fire in which men are thrown, etc.
However, there are a number of levels at which Allah forgives sins and grants clemency and pardon.
Think about it as a criminal being given the sentence of death by execution. But at the last minute the governor calls to grant clemency to the criminal and save his life. Or how a criminal is sentenced to so many crimes, but then the President of the United States will rescue him by granting that man absolute clemency and exoneration.
And Allah is much more merciful than any of these people, and it will be Allah who will grant clemency in profound leniency. It is said that even the whore will be granted clemency because she once fed a hungry cat. People will be forgiven for vast crimes based on menial good deeds that they have done. Allah will search all their hearts for even one grain of faith in their hearts, and if even one IOTA of such faith exists, then such a person will be entered into Paradise.
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Allah will have ransomed some people from the Fire, and that happens every night (in Ramadan)."
So Allah will be "ransoming" people out of the Hell-Fire that they themselves earned with their own hands and actions.
Allah says in the Quran:
"O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (in sin)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran, 39:53)
"...those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Quran, 25:69-70)
Allah says:
"O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me, I will forgive you no matter what you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach up to the clouds of the sky, (and) then you were to ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive you and I do not mind."
Allah says, "O My slaves, you commit sins by night and by day, but I forgive all sins. So ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you."
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Allah stretches forth His hand by night to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the day, and He stretches forth His hand by day to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the night."
The Prophet (s) asked the people about a mother: "Do you think that she could throw her child into the fire?" They said, "No." He said, "Allah is more merciful towards His slaves than this woman is towards her child."
Allah says in the Quran:
"And whoever does evil or wrongs himself (by sinning) but afterwards seeks Allah's Forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran, Al-Nisa: 110)
Prophet Muhammad (s) taught the following prayer: "O Allah, You are The Effacer of sins and You love effacing sins, so efface mine."
The Prophet (s) also said about the one who sins: "Allah will forgive his sins even if they are as much as the foam in the sea.”
Allah says: "Does My servant know that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and helps him? (Verily) I forgive My servant."
--------------------------------
The basic principle in Islam is that certain severe punishments are proscribed for sins, and that on the Day of Judgement if you demanded fairness, then you would have to be punished for those things. But Allah will then grant clemency left and right, pardoning your sins by finding any possible "loophole" to let you off the hook, or rather, these loopholes are any possible good deeds that He can find in your name. If ANY goodness can be found in you, then you will be forgiven. Allah will search every nook and crany of your heart to find goodness and faith inside your heart. Allah says:
"Thereafter We were clement towards you even after that (i.e. your sins), that possibly you would thank Us." (Quran, 2:52)
Allah says:
"It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens (of Eden) underneath which rivers flow." (Quran, 66:8)
The only people who will be left to face the Wrath of Allah will be those Who even after every measure has been taken to lighten their scale of evil, it is still overweight. (It is like the person who fails an exam even after he cheated on it; such a person is so stupid that he can't even pass a test by cheating.) These people will be TRULY deserving the Hell-Fire and even they themselves will admit that. These will be people like Pharaoh who were tyrants, oppressors, and mass murderers.
-------------------------------
You may ask: What is the purpose of doing good deeds if one's good deeds are not what grants a person Paradise but rather it is Allah's Mercy that does?
Answer: Allah will *multiply* your good deeds. If you have no good deeds in the first place, then zero multipled by anything is zero. On the Day of Judgement, we will be looking for every good deed we ever did, since its worth will be so much on that Day, due to Allah's multiplication of it. Furthermore, the worth of good deeds will be great because Allah will remit our bad deeds with our good deeds. If we have a lot of good deeds, then we can have our bad deeds remitted. But if we have no good deeds, then we will be punished for our bad deeds.
You may also ask: What is the purpose of Allah promising so many dreadful punishments if in the end He is going to grant clemency anyways?
Answer: There are many reasons for this. I shall name a few, as follows.
Firstly, Allah wants us to be in a state of asking for forgiveness. Islam adores the man who is always seeking penance, from not only Allah but also of others that he has wronged. This is a state of piety and goodness to be in such a modest and humble state all the time by continually asking for forgiveness throughout the day.
The Fifth Caliph said: "Ask for Allah's forgiveness frequently in your homes, at your tables, on your roads, in your markets, at your meetings, wherever you are..."
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "I swear by Allah that I supplicate for Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."
Therefore, the fact that we know that we have so many punishments lined up for ourselves will cause us to be in a state of repentance throughout the day. Imagine that you have forgotten to do a homework assignment. If the penalty for forgetting to do this assignment were minor, and if it wasn't worth much of your grade, then you wouldn't really be bothered with it nor would you beg your teacher to give you more time to do it. You would just shrug it off. But imagine if that homework assignment was so important that if you don't turn it in, then you would fail the class and even fail the entire year or even be kicked out of your school. Then, imagine how much you would be inclined to beg your teacher to grant you extra days to complete the assignment. And when you would complete your assignment, imagine how diligently you would do that and with how much added care.
Likewise, the believer is inclined towards begging His Lord for forgiveness only because He knows how great the punishment is for his sins. He knows that His Lord will forgive him if he assumes a state of repentance, and this is what Allah wants. The believer is humbled in such a way. And like the student who works hard to make up for it, likewise the believer will endeavor hard to do good deeds in order to make up for his goof.
The second reason why Allah has promised such vast punishments is so that people will be grateful when He grants them clemency and saves them from such punishment. The nature of the human being is such that no matter how many good things he is given, he is never grateful. Today, people complain so much and are so ungrateful, despite the fact that Allah has given them eyes to see with, ears to hear from, sustenance to nourish themselves with, shelter to protect themselves, etc. And yet, the human being is such that he forgets these things and is always whining.
People only remember Allah in times of despair and trial. They are only grateful during times of tribulation after they are rescued from that. The same is the case with human beings towards other human beings. As they say, a friend in need is a friend indeed. But after a person gets help from that friend, and after time has passed and he no longer needs that friend, then the person forgets his friend.
Based on this psychology of the human being, Allah has created it such that He will grant clemency to us in our time of desperate need, in hopes that we will at least then be grateful. Allah says:
"Thereafter We were clement towards you even after that (i.e. your sins), that possibly you would thank Us." (Quran, 2:52)
And Allah says elsewhere that He doesn't need your thanks Himself, because it does no good for Him. But this thanks only benefits human beings, as it makes them humble and takes away their arrogance.
So Allah wants us to be thankful when He grants us clemency and saves us from very grievious punishments. Imagine that you are a criminal about to be executed by the state, but then at the last minute, the president grants you clemency and frees you. Imagine how much thanks you would give the president then. And yet that is only because he saved you from death, but Allah will save us from even worse things that would make death seem pleasant in comparison.
The THIRD reason for the greatness of the punishments is to serve as a strong deterrent. We do not know who will be forgiven and who will not be forgiven, and therefore, this makes us stay away from sins. If we knew for a fact that EVERYBODY would be forgiven, then we would become lax and lenient knowing full well that we will be forgiven. However, Allah leaves us in a state of doubt and uncertainity as to our eventual destination.
This is like a high school which says that two students will be randomly tested for drugs every day. Just this announcement itself will cut down the usage of drugs, because there is always the chance that you will be one of the students selected randomly. This announcement is therefore a deterrent. Shaikh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari gives another analogy:
"An example of this which comes to mind is that we see speed cameras being placed on many roads and streets in order to deter people from speeding in their vehicles. The idea behind these speed cameras is not to catch people speeding, rather to prevent people from speeding and causing accidents. If the aim was to catch people speeding, there would be no warning signs indicating that a camera is present. However, we see that whenever a speed camera is placed, many warnings are given that 'beware this road has a speed camera'. Many of the times, the camera is not even in operation, hence, the idea is to stop people speeding rather than catch and punish them."
Allah even refers to His verses in the Quran as "Signs" and "Warnings". So the punishments mentioned in the Quran serve as deterrents just like the sign that says "beware this road has a speed camera."
Then you might ask: why would it serve as a deterrent if people know that it is likely to be forgiven?
The answer is that Allah will not forgive the one who takes his sins lightly or who does not aspire for forgiveness. Indeed, the one who has a big sin but who seeks forgiveness for that is superior to the one who has a minor sin but who does not seek forgiveness for that and is instead haughty about it.
And Prophet Muhammad (s) cautioned: "Do not look at the insignifance of your sins, but consider the greatness of The One you are disobeying."
And there are many more reasons why Allah has promised great rewards and great punishments. If you notice, Allah has gone to the extreme in both His rewards and His punishments. This is to tap into the psychology of the human being: the carrot and the stick is the best way to promote the proper action in people. The giant stick makes people fear straying, and the yummy carrot entices people to do good. But it should be noted that Allah's "stick" is smaller than His "carrot." Or rather, the more appropriate way to put that is as Allah says Himself:
"My mercy shall surpass My wrath."
The true Believer lives in a state between fear and hope. Allah says:
"They hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment" (Quran 57:17)
Take care.
Allah is Most Just. As for being fair, I think He is more than just being fair. If Allah were 100% fair, then nobody would ever enter Paradise, since none would deserve the eternal bliss promised therein. If good deeds are currency, then even the best of us will not have enough wealth to purchase Paradise on our own. The actual price and worth of Paradise is far too much. Instead, Allah will "grant us financial assistance" in this matter and His Mercy will "lower the price" of Paradise. We will be granted Paradise even though we can't really afford it (i.e. we are not deserving of such a great honor as we do not have enough good deeds to be entered into Paradise). Allah will grant us His Mercy and this will be the reason we enter Paradise, even though we aren't really deserving of it.
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Receive good news because one's good deeds will not make him enter Paradise." The people asked him: "Even you, O Allah's Messenger?" The Prophet (s) replied: "Even I, unless and until Allah protected me with His Pardon and His Mercy."
Any man who claims that he earned Paradise through his own two hands (i.e. his own good deeds) is a liar, because nobody's good deeds are so numerous that they could deserve Paradise, which is worth way more than that. Instead, it will be Allah's Mercy which will over-encompass us and forgive us our sins and multiply our good deeds--and only then will we enter Paradise.
One day, this person supplicated to Allah that, “Oh Allah, bring my death while I am in the state of prostration.” Allah accepted this prayer of his. Whenever Arch-Angel Gabriel (as) came down to the Earth, he found this man prostrating to Allah. Arch-Angel Gabriel (as) said that on the day of Judgement, Allah will tell the angels to take this individual to Paradise through His mercy. However, this man will insist that he should enter paradise through the good deeds that he had performed.
Then, Allah will tell the angels to compare his good deeds with the blessings that were given to him in the world. It will be seen that 500 years of his worship does not even equal to the gift of eye sight that was given to him by Allah. The angels will be asked to take him towards the hell fire. Then the man will plead, “Oh Allah! Enter me into Paradise only through Your mercy.” At that point, the following discussion will take place between Allah and that man.
Allah: Oh my servant, who created you?
The worshipper: Oh Allah, You have created me.
Allah: Were you created because of the good deeds you have done or because of My mercy?
The worshipper: Because of Your mercy.
Allah: Who granted you the ability to worship for 500 years?
The worshipper: Oh the Almighty! You have granted me that ability.
Allah: Who placed you on the mountain surrounded by the ocean? Who caused a stream of sweet water to flow in between the salty water? Who caused a pomegranate tree to grow for you? Who granted you death while in the state of prostration?
The worshipper: Oh the Sustainer of the Worlds! You have done all of these.
Then Allah will say, “All these have happened due to My mercy and you too will enter Paradise only through My Mercy.”
-----------------------------------
As for the punishments, you are no doubt aware of many of the dreadful punishments that will be given to the sinners, such as molten lava poured into their eyes, cauldrons of fire in which men are thrown, etc.
However, there are a number of levels at which Allah forgives sins and grants clemency and pardon.
Think about it as a criminal being given the sentence of death by execution. But at the last minute the governor calls to grant clemency to the criminal and save his life. Or how a criminal is sentenced to so many crimes, but then the President of the United States will rescue him by granting that man absolute clemency and exoneration.
And Allah is much more merciful than any of these people, and it will be Allah who will grant clemency in profound leniency. It is said that even the whore will be granted clemency because she once fed a hungry cat. People will be forgiven for vast crimes based on menial good deeds that they have done. Allah will search all their hearts for even one grain of faith in their hearts, and if even one IOTA of such faith exists, then such a person will be entered into Paradise.
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Allah will have ransomed some people from the Fire, and that happens every night (in Ramadan)."
So Allah will be "ransoming" people out of the Hell-Fire that they themselves earned with their own hands and actions.
Allah says in the Quran:
"O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (in sin)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran, 39:53)
"...those who repent and believe and do righteous deeds; for those, Allah will change their sins into good deeds, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Quran, 25:69-70)
Allah says:
"O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me, I will forgive you no matter what you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach up to the clouds of the sky, (and) then you were to ask Me for forgiveness, I will forgive you and I do not mind."
Allah says, "O My slaves, you commit sins by night and by day, but I forgive all sins. So ask Me for forgiveness and I will forgive you."
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "Allah stretches forth His hand by night to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the day, and He stretches forth His hand by day to accept the repentance of those who sinned during the night."
The Prophet (s) asked the people about a mother: "Do you think that she could throw her child into the fire?" They said, "No." He said, "Allah is more merciful towards His slaves than this woman is towards her child."
Allah says in the Quran:
"And whoever does evil or wrongs himself (by sinning) but afterwards seeks Allah's Forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran, Al-Nisa: 110)
Prophet Muhammad (s) taught the following prayer: "O Allah, You are The Effacer of sins and You love effacing sins, so efface mine."
The Prophet (s) also said about the one who sins: "Allah will forgive his sins even if they are as much as the foam in the sea.”
Allah says: "Does My servant know that he has a Lord Who forgives sins and helps him? (Verily) I forgive My servant."
--------------------------------
The basic principle in Islam is that certain severe punishments are proscribed for sins, and that on the Day of Judgement if you demanded fairness, then you would have to be punished for those things. But Allah will then grant clemency left and right, pardoning your sins by finding any possible "loophole" to let you off the hook, or rather, these loopholes are any possible good deeds that He can find in your name. If ANY goodness can be found in you, then you will be forgiven. Allah will search every nook and crany of your heart to find goodness and faith inside your heart. Allah says:
"Thereafter We were clement towards you even after that (i.e. your sins), that possibly you would thank Us." (Quran, 2:52)
Allah says:
"It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens (of Eden) underneath which rivers flow." (Quran, 66:8)
The only people who will be left to face the Wrath of Allah will be those Who even after every measure has been taken to lighten their scale of evil, it is still overweight. (It is like the person who fails an exam even after he cheated on it; such a person is so stupid that he can't even pass a test by cheating.) These people will be TRULY deserving the Hell-Fire and even they themselves will admit that. These will be people like Pharaoh who were tyrants, oppressors, and mass murderers.
-------------------------------
You may ask: What is the purpose of doing good deeds if one's good deeds are not what grants a person Paradise but rather it is Allah's Mercy that does?
Answer: Allah will *multiply* your good deeds. If you have no good deeds in the first place, then zero multipled by anything is zero. On the Day of Judgement, we will be looking for every good deed we ever did, since its worth will be so much on that Day, due to Allah's multiplication of it. Furthermore, the worth of good deeds will be great because Allah will remit our bad deeds with our good deeds. If we have a lot of good deeds, then we can have our bad deeds remitted. But if we have no good deeds, then we will be punished for our bad deeds.
You may also ask: What is the purpose of Allah promising so many dreadful punishments if in the end He is going to grant clemency anyways?
Answer: There are many reasons for this. I shall name a few, as follows.
Firstly, Allah wants us to be in a state of asking for forgiveness. Islam adores the man who is always seeking penance, from not only Allah but also of others that he has wronged. This is a state of piety and goodness to be in such a modest and humble state all the time by continually asking for forgiveness throughout the day.
The Fifth Caliph said: "Ask for Allah's forgiveness frequently in your homes, at your tables, on your roads, in your markets, at your meetings, wherever you are..."
Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "I swear by Allah that I supplicate for Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."
Therefore, the fact that we know that we have so many punishments lined up for ourselves will cause us to be in a state of repentance throughout the day. Imagine that you have forgotten to do a homework assignment. If the penalty for forgetting to do this assignment were minor, and if it wasn't worth much of your grade, then you wouldn't really be bothered with it nor would you beg your teacher to give you more time to do it. You would just shrug it off. But imagine if that homework assignment was so important that if you don't turn it in, then you would fail the class and even fail the entire year or even be kicked out of your school. Then, imagine how much you would be inclined to beg your teacher to grant you extra days to complete the assignment. And when you would complete your assignment, imagine how diligently you would do that and with how much added care.
Likewise, the believer is inclined towards begging His Lord for forgiveness only because He knows how great the punishment is for his sins. He knows that His Lord will forgive him if he assumes a state of repentance, and this is what Allah wants. The believer is humbled in such a way. And like the student who works hard to make up for it, likewise the believer will endeavor hard to do good deeds in order to make up for his goof.
The second reason why Allah has promised such vast punishments is so that people will be grateful when He grants them clemency and saves them from such punishment. The nature of the human being is such that no matter how many good things he is given, he is never grateful. Today, people complain so much and are so ungrateful, despite the fact that Allah has given them eyes to see with, ears to hear from, sustenance to nourish themselves with, shelter to protect themselves, etc. And yet, the human being is such that he forgets these things and is always whining.
People only remember Allah in times of despair and trial. They are only grateful during times of tribulation after they are rescued from that. The same is the case with human beings towards other human beings. As they say, a friend in need is a friend indeed. But after a person gets help from that friend, and after time has passed and he no longer needs that friend, then the person forgets his friend.
Based on this psychology of the human being, Allah has created it such that He will grant clemency to us in our time of desperate need, in hopes that we will at least then be grateful. Allah says:
"Thereafter We were clement towards you even after that (i.e. your sins), that possibly you would thank Us." (Quran, 2:52)
And Allah says elsewhere that He doesn't need your thanks Himself, because it does no good for Him. But this thanks only benefits human beings, as it makes them humble and takes away their arrogance.
So Allah wants us to be thankful when He grants us clemency and saves us from very grievious punishments. Imagine that you are a criminal about to be executed by the state, but then at the last minute, the president grants you clemency and frees you. Imagine how much thanks you would give the president then. And yet that is only because he saved you from death, but Allah will save us from even worse things that would make death seem pleasant in comparison.
The THIRD reason for the greatness of the punishments is to serve as a strong deterrent. We do not know who will be forgiven and who will not be forgiven, and therefore, this makes us stay away from sins. If we knew for a fact that EVERYBODY would be forgiven, then we would become lax and lenient knowing full well that we will be forgiven. However, Allah leaves us in a state of doubt and uncertainity as to our eventual destination.
This is like a high school which says that two students will be randomly tested for drugs every day. Just this announcement itself will cut down the usage of drugs, because there is always the chance that you will be one of the students selected randomly. This announcement is therefore a deterrent. Shaikh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari gives another analogy:
"An example of this which comes to mind is that we see speed cameras being placed on many roads and streets in order to deter people from speeding in their vehicles. The idea behind these speed cameras is not to catch people speeding, rather to prevent people from speeding and causing accidents. If the aim was to catch people speeding, there would be no warning signs indicating that a camera is present. However, we see that whenever a speed camera is placed, many warnings are given that 'beware this road has a speed camera'. Many of the times, the camera is not even in operation, hence, the idea is to stop people speeding rather than catch and punish them."
Allah even refers to His verses in the Quran as "Signs" and "Warnings". So the punishments mentioned in the Quran serve as deterrents just like the sign that says "beware this road has a speed camera."
Then you might ask: why would it serve as a deterrent if people know that it is likely to be forgiven?
The answer is that Allah will not forgive the one who takes his sins lightly or who does not aspire for forgiveness. Indeed, the one who has a big sin but who seeks forgiveness for that is superior to the one who has a minor sin but who does not seek forgiveness for that and is instead haughty about it.
And Prophet Muhammad (s) cautioned: "Do not look at the insignifance of your sins, but consider the greatness of The One you are disobeying."
And there are many more reasons why Allah has promised great rewards and great punishments. If you notice, Allah has gone to the extreme in both His rewards and His punishments. This is to tap into the psychology of the human being: the carrot and the stick is the best way to promote the proper action in people. The giant stick makes people fear straying, and the yummy carrot entices people to do good. But it should be noted that Allah's "stick" is smaller than His "carrot." Or rather, the more appropriate way to put that is as Allah says Himself:
"My mercy shall surpass My wrath."
The true Believer lives in a state between fear and hope. Allah says:
"They hope for His Mercy and fear His punishment" (Quran 57:17)
Take care.
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