An Evil Way

Was published in Arabic in October 9, 2015

Translated by Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

 This email message was received by us, and we will answer it in the following article. The message of the young man has been written as follows:

   "I am about to write about my problem though I feel ashamed of myself. Please bear with me and try to alleviate my suffering. I work in the field of tourism. I used to know a female work colleague for four months. We used to date and hang out in many cafés and drink alcoholic beverages. Later on, we reached the holy month of Ramadan. I told my friend that we should not drink wine during the holy month in our outings. We drank eventually. I felt I fell in love with her; I felt very attracted to her. She asked me to make love to her. I did. This has happened during the holy month. A month ago, problems occurred between us, and I discovered her abnormal     character; she has not been brought up properly, and she lacks manners and morals. We broke up eventually. I feel now bangs of remorse. My psychological state has deteriorated; I no longer feel any taste or desire for anything in life. I know God promised fornicators of poverty, both spiritual and material, in life. My major problem, apart from remorse due to my sins, is that I still miss my girlfriend; our outings, our talking, our laughs...etc. I never had sex before I knew her. I felt I must preserve my body for my beloved within marriage. After committing the sin of fornication, I feel my life is no longer the same as before. My life has stood still; nothing feels important, valuable, or exciting. I feel now that life is useless and pointless. Pangs of conscience are killing me. God is punishing me, right? Please, Father, let me call you as my father; I can never talk with my own Dad that way. He never listens to me. Please tell me the way out of the living hell I am in now. How I shall be saved from the torment of breaking up, my sins, and my deterioration?"

Firstly: My dear son, please allow me to tell you the following:

1- There is nothing in the Quran as you have told me to the meaning of promising fornicators of poverty both spiritual and material. This is an Egyptian moral phrasing that reflects people's rejection of fornication. What you mean actually is the following verse: "Satan promises you poverty, and urges you to immorality; but God promises you forgiveness from Himself, and grace. God is Embracing and Knowing "(2:268). Your problem is that you should have avoided fornication: "And do not come near adultery. It is immoral, and an evil way."(17:32).

2- What I see in your email message is the seed of goodness. This seed has led you to reject alcohol and adultery at first. That is why God orders us to avoid whatever steps leading to both sins by not coming near such steps. This good seed made you feel and expect the divine punishment. In your heart, you believe in God and fear Him. God has created this seed inside your heart: ''heart'' here means one's soul: "And the soul and He who proportioned it. And inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness. Successful is he who purifies it. Failing is he who corrupts it. "(91:7-10) 

3- People are subdivided into three types:

3/1: Your type that contains the seed of goodness that can be developed inside the soul by sincere repentance and good deeds. This good type is mentioned in the following verses: "And those who, when they commit an indecency or wrong themselves, remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins-and who forgives sins except God? And they do not persist in their wrongdoing while they know. Those-their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. How excellent is the reward of the workers" (3:135-136).

3/2: Another type of people is those who take pride in committing sins so frequently until their death. This is disobedience has nothing to do with earthly or divine religions. The sinners here do not justify their sins via certain creeds and their notions.

3/3: The third type is the sinners who justify their sins until they reject faith, the divine revelation, and the Day of Judgment. Sins are like black spots that cover the heart; i.e. the soul, and sins frequently committed via justifications and religious legislature prevents one from repentance. Sins in the hearts of such sinners spread like rusty material: "…Their hearts have become corroded and rusty by what they used to earn."(83:14). This Quranic style makes us easily imagine the rusty material spreading over innate pure nature and instinct covering it totally. Cover in English reminds us with the Arabic root "Kufr": unbelief and covering. In (83:14), this description comes in the context of describing those who refute the divine truths in the Quran: "Woe on that Day to the deniers. Those who deny the Day of Reckoning. But none denies it except the sinful aggressor. When Our revelations are recited to him, he says, "Legends of the ancients." Not at all. Their hearts have become corroded by what they used to earn."(83: 10-14). In the same vein, God tells us about such type of people: "Then, evil was the end of those who committed evil. That is because they rejected God's revelations, and used to ridicule them."(30:10). Accordingly, addiction to sins leads one to reject and ridicule divine revelation. Hence, if we are to remind a sinner who is addicted to sin with torment in the Afterlife, this sinner will mock us and reject the Quranic verses.

4- The aggravation of sinning is exemplified in the earthly creeds fabricated by men and attributed forcibly to Islam justify and legislate sins by making them a notion in religion. Sufis committed this crime by making fornication and same-sex relations and addiction to drugs part of their creeds. We have explained this in our book on immorality and ethical deterioration in Sufism during the Mameluke Era in Egypt. As for mortal gods of the Wahabi/ Sunnite creeds, they have made killings of people, rape, stealing, and robbing as their religious notion of jihad! The Quran tells us about such bad persons: "And when they commit an indecency, they say, "We found our parents doing this, and God has commanded us to do it." Say, "God does not command indecencies. Are you attributing to God what you do not know?" Say, "My Lord commands justice, and to stand devoted at every place of worship. So call upon Him, and dedicate your faith to Him alone. Just as He originated you, so you will return.""(7:28-29).

5- Anyway, those addicted to committing sins are slaves to Satan and the devils: "Satan promises you poverty, and urges you to immorality; but God promises you forgiveness from Himself, and grace. God is Embracing and Knowing."(2:268). It is impossible for those who are deceived by the Devil to see their bad deeds as good to repent; they have chosen misguidance intentionally: "What of him whose evil deed was made attractive to him, and so he regards it as good? God leads astray whomever He wills, and He guides whomever He wills. Therefore, do not waste yourself sorrowing over them. God knows exactly what they do."(35:8).

6- All of the above-mentioned points explain the verse (17:32); fornication or adultery is a bad way in anybody's life: we lose our corporeal and psychological health as well as losing one's eternal life in Paradise. One cannot have salvation except by real and sincere repentance. 

7- Repentance should occur as early as possible, especially during one's youth. Those who are dying cannot repent and their repentance be deemed acceptable to God. "Repentance is available from God for those who commit evil out of ignorance, and then repent soon after. These-God will relent towards them. God is Knowing and Wise.But repentance is not available for those who commit evils, until when death approaches one of them, he says, "Now I repent," nor for those who die as disbelievers. These-We have prepared for them a painful torment. "(4:17-18). Early repentant persons will find enough time to make up for the lost days; their sins will be replaced by good deeds when done after repentance: "And those who do not implore besides God any other god, and do not kill the soul which God has made sacred-except in the pursuit of justice-and do not commit adultery. Whoever does that will face penalties. The punishment will be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will dwell therein in humiliation forever. Except for those who repent, and believe, and do good deeds. These-God will replace their bad deeds with good deeds. God is ever Forgiving and Merciful.Whoever repents and acts righteously-has inclined towards God with repentance. "(25:68-71). Repentance will be deemed acceptable when it occurs early and when one purifies oneself with good deeds to reform one's soul. God says in the Quran: "When those who believe in Our revelations come to you, say, "Peace be upon you, your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself. Whoever among you does wrong out of ignorance, and then repents afterwards and reforms-He is Forgiving and Merciful." "(6:54) and "But towards those who do wrongs in ignorance, and then repent afterwards and reform, your Lord thereafter is Forgiving and Merciful."(16:119).

Lastly: My dear son, I tell you the following:

1- You are still in the prime of your life, with a good seed in your soul. Please repent as soon as you can and keep this up. Joy of adultery or fornication are few minutes, but it destroys a human being internally for a long time. Addiction to this sort of sin worsens one's life and makes one suffers eternally in Hell if one dies without repentance. Fornication has dire consequences in this transient life: so many diseases and loss of sexual ability and/or desire due to sexual addiction. Sexual desire should be used in marriage with a good sort of wife. Such a marriage would confirm your repentance. Take a pledge upon yourself to remove all sinful thoughts of fornication from your mind. Never take a girlfriend. Never befriend sinners and fornicators of both genders. Try to enjoy higher, elevated enjoyments: such as prayers in piety and fear of God, asking for His forgiveness and mercy. Glorify God sincerely during prayers. Your will certainly fell the joy of faith in God' protection.

2- I hope that God will guide you and us to the righteous path and forgive our sins in the Day of Judgment. Remember the following verses: "Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves: do not despair of God's mercy, for God forgives all sins. He is indeed the Forgiver, the Clement." And turn to your Lord, and submit to Him, before the retribution comes upon you. Then you will not be helped. And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord, before the punishment comes upon you suddenly, while you are unaware. So that a soul may not say, "How sorry I am, for having neglected my duty to God, and for having been of the scoffers.  "Or say, "Had God guided me; I would have been of the pious." Or say, when it sees the penalty, "If only I had another chance, I would be of the virtuous." "(39:53-59). God says nothing but the truth.