Matters That Help One to Abandon Sin
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Honorable Shaykh! What are the matters that help a person to abandon sin?
The most important thing that helps a person to abandon sin is the fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic),And that he repeats in his mind the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Inshiqaq: 6] and that he believes and is certain that any deed he does, he will meet his Lord with it.
Second: That he thinks about the outcome; what is the outcome of sin? The consequences of sins are bad; because they make the disobedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) seem light to the servant, so he continues with Shaytan until he leads him to shirk (associating partners with Allah),For this reason, some of the scholars of knowledge said: Indeed, sins are the messenger of kufr (disbelief).
Meaning: That a person travels from it stage by stage until he reaches his goal -seeking refuge in Allah-And indicating this statement is the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): [Al-Mutaffifin: 13-14] So when sins settled upon the heart -seeking refuge in Allah- it made the verses of Allah, the Great Qur'an, seem to him like the legends of the former people, meaning: nonsense. So if a person reflects on the consequences of sin, then this is among the causes of abandoning it.
Third: That he knows that sin does not increase him in anything from Allah except distance, and if he distances himself from Allah, people distance themselves from him, because if a person distances himself from Allah -seeking refuge in Allah- there becomes in his heart a sense of alienation, and it becomes as if there is a page in front of him that people read with his faults and sins, and he finds that humiliation has been written upon him, so he reflects on such things, and this is what strengthens him to abandon sin.
Fourth: And among the causes of that also: if the sin is due to the company of some of the people of evil, let him distance himself from them and avoid them; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared the companion of evil to the bellower of the bellows,He said: (Either it burns your clothes, or you find from it a foul smell) .
The most important thing that helps a person to abandon sin is the fear of Allah (Mighty and Majestic),And that he repeats in his mind the saying of Allah the Exalted:
O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it.
يَا أَيُّهَا الإِنْسَانُ إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَدْحاً فَمُلاقِيهِSecond: That he thinks about the outcome; what is the outcome of sin? The consequences of sins are bad; because they make the disobedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) seem light to the servant, so he continues with Shaytan until he leads him to shirk (associating partners with Allah),For this reason, some of the scholars of knowledge said: Indeed, sins are the messenger of kufr (disbelief).
Meaning: That a person travels from it stage by stage until he reaches his goal -seeking refuge in Allah-And indicating this statement is the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He):
(13) When Our verses are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the former peoples." (14) No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.
إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ آيَاتُنَا قَالَ أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ * كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَThird: That he knows that sin does not increase him in anything from Allah except distance, and if he distances himself from Allah, people distance themselves from him, because if a person distances himself from Allah -seeking refuge in Allah- there becomes in his heart a sense of alienation, and it becomes as if there is a page in front of him that people read with his faults and sins, and he finds that humiliation has been written upon him, so he reflects on such things, and this is what strengthens him to abandon sin.
Fourth: And among the causes of that also: if the sin is due to the company of some of the people of evil, let him distance himself from them and avoid them; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) compared the companion of evil to the bellower of the bellows,He said: (Either it burns your clothes, or you find from it a foul smell) .