Enjoy Your Life

People are like the minerals of the earth

After some time, he thought about repentance once again. He enquired about the most knowledgeable person he could ask, and the people referred him to a scholar. When he visited the scholar, he found him to be sedate and god-fearing.

The murderer came forward and asked, "I have killed a hundred people. Could I still repent?"

The scholar instantly replied, "SubhaanAllah! What could prevent you from repenting?"

What a wonderful response! Who could prevent a person from repentance? The Lord is in the heavens and there is no power on earth that can prevent a person from repenting to Him submissively.

This scholar, who had made his statement based on knowledge and upon Allah's Law as opposed to his whims and emotions, said to the man, "However, you are in an evil land." Strange! How did he know that? He gathered this by knowing the magnitude of the man's crime and the absence of anyone to forbid him. He realised that murder and oppression had become a norm in that city, so much so that nobody had any concern for the plight of the oppressed.

He said, "You are in an evil land." Meaning, you must leave here and go to such-and-such a land where there are people worshipping Allah and join them in worshipping Him.

The man set out for that land but died before reaching it. The angels of mercy and those of punishment descended to take his soul. The angels of mercy argued that he had been on his way to repenting and returning to Allah. The angels of wrath argued that he had not done any good in his entire life. Therefore, Allah sent an angel in the form of a man to settle their dispute. He judged that the distance between the two cities be measured, and that the man be judged according to whichever of the two he had been closer to. Allah inspired the city of mercy to be closer and the city of disobedience to be farther. It was thus discovered that he had been closer to the city of virtue. The angels of mercy therefore took the man's soul.

Unfortunately, many of those who pass verdicts in Islamic matters as well as some who seek them are often carried away by emotion. I recall one of my neighbours who often had arguments with his wife. One day he had a terrible one due to which he divorced her once, and then took her back. After that, he had another one due to which he divorced her again, only to take her back again. Each time I would meet him, I would remind him of the seriousness of divorce as well as of his responsibilities towards his small children. I would often say to him, "You only have one divorce left – the third one. If you were to divorce her again, she would no longer be yours and would not be allowed to marry you again except after having married another man and then being divorced from him, so fear Allah and do not destroy your household."

One day, he came to me again in a worried state and said, "Dear Shaykh, we had an argument again and I have divorced her for the third time!" Although I was not surprised at this, I was shocked when he continued, "Would you happen to know of a beloved Shaykh who can pass a verdict allowing me to take her back?"

On reflection, I came to realise what we have just mentioned above, that many people's views – or even legal rulings – vary due to their nature and emotional state. Some people are known to love wealth by nature. One should not be surprised to see them humiliating themselves in front of the wealthy. Such people would neglect their own children in order to accumulate wealth and would hardly spend on those under their responsibility. This should come as no surprise, bearing in mind their greedy nature, as the fact is that most of the decisions they make and opinions they hold are based on their nature.

If one wishes to deal with a person of this nature or make a request of him, then he should bear in mind, before speaking to him, his love for wealth, and then endeavour to not conflict with his nature in order to attain success with him. An example will illustrate this point: Suppose one bumps into an old university colleague and therefore invites him home for lunch, which he agrees to; one would then need to go shopping in order to purchase the required foods as well as time and effort in order to prepare the lunch. Suppose he then phones up some of his other old friends asking them to come around to meet this colleague... Amongst these friends may be a miser whose heart is captured by the love of wealth. He may be delighted to hear the voice of the caller, but would say when he hears about the lunch appointment, "Oh! How I wish I could come and meet so-and-so, but I am too busy with other things right now. Please do convey my greetings to him though. Perhaps, I will see him another time." It is known by this person's nature that he did not wish to come, fearing that he too would have to invite this colleague for lunch, which would cost him!