{"id":20494,"date":"2024-02-14T16:55:06","date_gmt":"2024-02-14T20:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/?p=20494"},"modified":"2024-02-14T16:55:06","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T20:55:06","slug":"15-the-means-for-self-reformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/?p=20494","title":{"rendered":"(15) The means for self reformation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">(15) <\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>The means for self reformation<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">A-\u00a0Self examination.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">B-\u00a0To make a pledge not to commit sins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>A- Self examination. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Self examinations means to look into oneself and to be sincere in the diagnosis of the disease which affects the Iman.the treatment of others and the ethics of the Muslim. The Muslim also needs to examine the different body parts including: the tongue, the eyes, the ears, the stomach, the private parts, and the brain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The Muslim needs to ask himself if these parts are on the right path.\u00a0 If they are not, then the Muslim needs to find the proper treatment for his shortcomings so that they can be dealt with swiftly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Allah (SWT) says:<\/strong> \u201cNay, man will be evidence against himself, Even though he were to put up his excuses.\u201d (Al \u2013 Qhiyamah, 9-10 ).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The wise person is the one who examines himself honestly and openly.\u00a0\u00a0 In the Hadith <strong>the Prophet (PBUH) said:<\/strong> \u201cthe intelligent is the one who accuses himself and prepares for the after death.\u00a0 On the other hand, the ignorant is the one who follows his desires and deceives himself by wishful thinking.\u201d ( At \u2013 Termezih, 2459).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Allah (SWT) has implanted in each human being a scale of nature which the person can resort to when in confusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u00a0In the Hadith narrated by Wabith Ibn Ma\u2019bad <strong>he said:<\/strong> \u201cI came to the Prophet (PBUH), and he said, \u2018did you come to ask me about Al-bir?\u2019 And I said: yes.\u00a0 The Prophet then said, \u2018ask your heart, Al-bir is what your makes you tranquility in your heart.\u00a0 And the evil is what contrives in your soul and vibrates in the heart, no matter what other people might say about it.\u201d \u00a0(Al \u2013 Nawavi fi Al- Azkar, 554 ).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">In Sahih Muslim there is a famous story of Handalah when he accused himself of hypocrisy when he felt an increase in his level of Iman whenever he was with the Prophet (PBUH).\u00a0 And he noticed a weakness whenever he was with his family.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>The Prophet (PBUH) said:<\/strong> \u201cHandala is not a Hypocrite, rather (the change in Iman occurs) from hour to hour, and if you stay on this state you will be able to shake hands with the angles.\u201d\u00a0 ( Muslim, 2750).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The Muslim is required to be honest in his examination if he is sincere about reforming himself.\u00a0 The Muslim should write down his shortcomings on a sheet of paper, because the correct diagnosis of the problem is the half way toward reformation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Here is a number of questions that aid in the self examination process: <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">1-\u00a0\u00a0Does the person examine himself in regards to his tongue, or Ghaiba and Namima?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">2- \u00a0Does the person examine his eyes, and ask himself about the forbidden things that they look at every day?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">3- \u00a0Does the person examine his hearing and ask himself if he is using it to spy on others or invading their privacy?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">4- \u00a0Does the person examine what he eats and ask himself if it\u2019s Halal of Haram?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">5- Does the person examine how he fulfills his sexual desires whether? Is the halal way or the haram way?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">6- Does the person examine what he thinks about? Does he think about working, building, and reforming or does he think about destruction and causing evil between people?<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>B-\u00a0To make a pledge not to commit sins. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">The second part of reforming oneself is to undertake an oath between yourself and Allah (SWT) to stay away from sins whether minor or major.\u00a0 And to Undertake an oath to fix your shortcomings, in order to be the best Muslim whom Allah (SWT) and his Messenger love.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Allah (SWT) says<\/strong> \u201cand fulfil (every) engagement, for (every) engagement will be enquired into (on the Day of Reckoning). ( AL \u2013 Isra, 34).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Allah (SWT) says:<\/strong> \u201cand any one who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allah will soon grant him a great Reward. ( Al Fath, 10).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Every time the Muslim feels weak against the desires of the Nafs, he should remember the oath between him and Allah (SWT).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">If the Muslim will be facing a great danger if he breaks his oath with Allah (SWT), in fact he will have one of the signs of a hypocrites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">In the Hadith, <strong>the Prophet (PBUH) said:<\/strong> \u201cThe signs of a hypocrite are three.\u00a0 If he talks he lies, if he promises he breaks his promise, and if he is entrusted with something he betrays the trust. (Muslim, 59).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">Finally, the road to self reformation is a difficult one.\u00a0 It is one of the forms of Jihad that requires patience and endurance. However, when the Muslim achieves a victory on himself he will feel internal happiness because of overcoming his desires and not allowing himself to be enslaved by his desires.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>\u00a0Allah (SWT) says:<\/strong> \u201cO ye who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear Allah. that ye may prosper.\u201d (Al \u2013 Imraan, 200).<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>We invoke Allah (SWT) to lighten our punishment<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 18pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>on the Day of Judgment<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<hr dir=\"ltr\" \/>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Written by: Dr. Ahmed A. S.\u00a0 Hammouda<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Professor in Al-Azhar University<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>And Islamic American University<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Translated by: Abdullah Zettili<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0(15) The means for self reformation A-\u00a0Self examination. B-\u00a0To make a pledge not to commit sins. A- Self examination. Self examinations means to look into oneself and to be sincere in the diagnosis of the disease which affects the Iman.the treatment of others and the ethics of the Muslim. The Muslim also needs to examine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2683],"tags":[2702],"class_list":["post-20494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-friday-sermons","tag-15-the-means-for-self-reformation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20494"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20495,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20494\/revisions\/20495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alrashedoon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}