Why Do People Sin? Not Knowing the Ill effects of Sins

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Sin, big or small, is bad news for the one who does it. One of the reasons why many people sin, or care little about their sins is their failure to see the impact that sins can have on their lives in this world and in the Hereafter. Every single person (alive, dead and to be born) is also affected by your sin no matter how miniscule your sin might be. Reflect on what Allah says,

فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّ‌ةٍ خَيْرً‌ۭا يَرَ‌هُۥ ﴿٧﴾ وَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّ‌ةٍ شَرًّ‌ۭا يَرَ‌هُۥ ﴿٨

So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, (7) And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it. (8)

Remember that you and I are part of a society. When sins become rampant, we all suffer.

If we don’t understand the ghastly nature of sins, we wouldn’t stay away from them. That's why we need to seek knowledge.

Consider a sample of the ill effects of sins that Ibn Al-Qayyim had explained:

1. Sins deprived of knowledge for knowledge is light that Allah causes to reach the heart, and sin extinguishes that light. When Imam al-Shaafa’i sat before Imam Maalik and read to him, he admired him because of the intelligence, alertness and understanding that he saw in him. He said, “I think that Allah has caused light to enter your heart, so do not extinguish it with the darkness of sin.”

2. Sins deprived of provision. In Musnad Ahmad it is narrated that Thawbaan said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘A man is deprived of provision because of the sins that he commits.’” (Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4022, classed as hasan/sound by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah).

3. Sense of alienation that comes between a person and his Lord, and between him and other people. One of the salaf (righteous predecessors) said he could see the impact of disobedience to Allah (in some aspects of his daily life). He said, “If I disobey Allaah, I see that in the attitude of my riding beast and my wife.”

4. Things become difficult for him, so that he does not turn his attention towards any matter but he finds the way blocked or he finds it difficult. By the same token, for the one who fears Allah, things are made easy for him.

5. The sinner will find darkness in his heart, which he will feel just as he feels the darkness of night. So this darkness affects his heart as the physical darkness affects his vision. For obedience is light and disobedience is darkness. The stronger the darkness grows, the greater becomes his confusion, until he falls into innovation, misguidance and other things that lead to doom, without even realizing, like a blind man who goes out in the darkness of the night, walking alone This darkness grows stronger until it covers the eyes, then it grows stronger until it covers the face, which appears dark and is seen by everyone. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas said: “Good deeds make the face light, give light to the heart, and bring about ample provision, physical strength and love in people’s hearts. Bad deeds make the face dark, give darkness to the heart, and bring about physical weakness, a lack of provision and hatred in people’s hearts.”

6. Deprivation of worship and obedience. If sin brought no punishment other than that it prevents a person from doing an act of worship which is the opposite of sin, and cuts off access to other acts of worship, that would be bad enough. So the sin cuts off a third way and a fourth way and so on, and because of the sin he is cut off from many acts of worship, each of which would have been better for him than this world and everything in it. So he is like a man who eats food that is bound to cause a lengthy sickness, and thus he is deprived of many other foods that are better than that. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek.

7. Sin breeds sin until it dominates a person and he cannot escape from it.

8. Sin weakens a person’s willpower. It gradually strengthens his will to commit sin and weakens his will to repent until there is no will in his heart to repent at all...so he seeks forgiveness and expresses repentance, but it is merely words on the lips, like the repentance of the liars, whose hearts are still determined to commit sin and persist in it. This is one of the most serious diseases that are most likely to lead to doom.

9. He becomes desensitized and will no longer find sin abhorrent, so it will become his habit, and he will not be bothered if people see him committing the sin or talk about him.

For the leaders of immorality, this is the ultimate shamelessness in which they find great pleasure, such that they feel proud of their sin and will speak of it to people who do not know that they have done it, saying, “O so and so, I did such and such.” Such people cannot be helped and the path to repentance is blocked for them in most cases. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wassallam said: “All of my ummah (followers) will be fine except for those who commit sin openly, and that includes cases where Allah conceals a person’s sin, but the following morning he exposes himself and says, ‘O So and so, I did such and such last night, so he shamelessly exposes himself when all night his Lord had concealed his sin.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5949; Muslim, 2744).

10. When there are many sins they leave a mark on the heart of the person who commits them, so he becomes one of the negligent. As one of the salaf said, concerning the aayah (verse),

كَلَّا ۖ بَلْ ۜ رَ‌انَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿١٤

No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning. (14) [Qur'an, al-Mutaffifin 83:14]

this means sin after sin.

Let us remember that for us to stay clear from sins we need to constantly work at building a strong internal frame of reference that is reinforced with knowledge of the truth. This must be coupled with a living conscience that can help us recognize sins when we see them and to have it poke at us should we get inclined to indulge in those sins. It is critical that we live in a good society with good friends and good family. You cannot have a good society without good friends and family. You cannot have good friends without good family. And if you don't have a good family, everything falls apart. That's why there is so much emphasis in keeping and protecting silaturrahim (familial ties/ties of the womb) in Islam...

Let us strive to keep the burden of our sins light when we meet Allah, so that our faces are Nadirah (shining and radiant) rather than Basirah (dark, gloomy, frowning, and sad) and let us reflect on these verses from the Qur'an,

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ نَّاضِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿٢٢﴾ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّهَا نَاظِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿٢٣﴾ وَوُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍۭ بَاسِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿٢٤﴾ تَظُنُّ أَن يُفْعَلَ بِهَا فَاقِرَ‌ةٌ ﴿٢٥

Some] faces, that Day, will be radiant, (22) Looking at their Lord. (23) And [some] faces, that Day, will be contorted, (24) Expecting that there will be done to them [something] backbreaking. (25) [Qur'an, Al-Qiyamah 75:22-25]

May Allah help us to avoid sin and forgive all our sins, and make us among those whose faces, that Day, will be radiant, looking at their Lord. Ameen.

And Allah knows best and He alone grant success.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wassallam.

Wassalaam

Resource: Islamqa.com