Facts
making us realize our reality
Dear Islamic brothers! There are
grave lessons to be learnt from the aforementioned parable. The more delicious
the food is, the worse its consequences are. The more flavoursome and oily food
man eats, the more smelly and disgusting his waste is. To the contrary, the
waste of the animals that merely eat grass is far less filthy than that of a
human being. Perhaps, on reading or listening to this text, some people may
become infuriated or feel disgusted. I would say to them that their anger is
useless. Their anger also has a lesson for them.
Calmly ponder on the fact that in
spite of being sinners, we brag and show off without even thinking about our
reality. We are so despicable that even the most delicious foods turn into a
disgusting and foul smelling waste owing to remaining in our stomach for a
short while. Even we resent the mentioning of it.
Seeing someone walk arrogantly,
Sayyidunā Ṭāūs said to him, 'This should not be the gait (the manner of
walking) of the person whose stomach is full of filth.' Sayyidunā Muṭarrif once
saw Muĥallab, the commander of the army of Ḥajjāj Bin Yusuf.
Muĥallab, dressed in clothes made of
silk, was walking arrogantly. Seeing him, Sayyidunā Muṭarrif objected. Muĥallab
looked at him and asked, 'Do you not know who I am?' The great saint replied,
'I know you very well. In the beginning, you were an unclean droplet (semen)
and at the end you will be a rotten corpse and everyone knows that you are
walking carrying filth in your belly.' When Muĥallab heard these frank and
blunt sentences, he became embarrassed and immediately stopped walking
arrogantly. Sayyidunā Muṣ'ab Bin Zubayr has stated, 'It is astonishing that man
indulges in vanity whereas he has twice come out of the place of urine.'
صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ
تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد
Do
you want to eat less?
If you would like to remain
steadfast in applying the Madanī guard to your stomach, i.e. eating less, then
act upon my Madanī suggestions which will prove to be very beneficial, اِنْ شَآءَاللّٰه عَزَّوَجَلَّ. Make up your mind
according to the advice given by Ḥujjat-ul-Islam, Imām Muhammad Ghazālī .
Therefore, he has stated, 'Eating food to a full stomach is one of the causes
of severity in accountability in the Hereafter and torment at the time of
death.' He has further stated, 'Eating in abundance causes the rewards to
decrease in the Hereafter. Hence the pleasure will decrease in the Hereafter
equal to the pleasure you attain in the world.'
(Minĥāj-ul-'Ābidīn, pp. 94)
Food
and drink of people of Hell
Dear Islamic brothers! Ignoring such
horrific matters for a few moments of pleasures of the tongue is not a wise
act. It is safer to apply the Madanī guard to stomach by reducing the intake of
food. If one desires eating delicious cuisine, having cold drinks and thus
stuffing himself, he should recall the terrible food and drink of the people of
Hell, which has been prepared for the unbelievers.
Describing the food of the dwellers
of Hell, Almighty Allah says in part 25, Sūraĥ Ad-Dukhān, verse 43 to 46:
اِنَّ شَجَرَتَ الزَّقُّوْمِ طَعَامُ
الْاَثِيْمِ
كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِيْ فِي الْبُطُوْنِ كَغَلْيِ الْحَمِيْمِ
Verily,
the tree of Zaqqum (cactus) is the food of the sinners. Like molten copper, it
boils in the bellies. Like the boiling of scalding water.
[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Quran)] (Part
25, Sūraĥ Ad-Dukhān, verses 43 to 46)
Pertaining to the drink of the
people of Hell, Almighty Allah says in part 26, Sūraĥ Muhammad, verse 15:
وَسُقُوْا مَآءً حَمِيْمًا فَقَطَّعَ
اَمْعَآءَ هُمْ
And
they will be made to drink boiling water so that it would cut their intestines
into pieces.
[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Quran)] (Sūraĥ Muhammad, verse 15)
Bowl
of poison
Mughīš Bin Samī has stated that when
someone will be brought into Hell, he will be told to wait until he is given a
gift. He will then be given a bowl of snake poison. When he brings it close to
his face, the flesh and bones of his face will cut into pieces and fall.
(Al-budur-us-Sāfiraĥ
fil-Umūr-il-Ākhiraĥ, pp. 442)
Severe
accountability for luxuries
If there is a consensus amongst all
the members of the family, then reduce the quantity of spices and oil used in
the food by half. There is a possibility that the food will become less tasty –
when the flavour is less appealing, one will be less inclined to eat. In this
manner, it would become easier to apply the Madanī guard to the stomach and eat
less. On the Day of Judgement, there will be no accountability for the simple
piece of bread which was consumed to satisfy hunger.
Remember! The more delicious food
one will eat, the more severe its accountability will be on the Day of
Judgement. For example, accountability of a simple dish like Kĥichřī¹ would be
relatively easier than that of a tasty food like Biryānī². Further, the thing
which a person likes more will be considered a big bounty for him. For example,
if a person likes Kĥichřī more than Biryānī, then Kĥichřī will be considered a
bigger bounty for him – thus (in this case) the accountability of Kĥichřī will
be more severe as compared to Biryānī. Likewise, the accountability of cold
water in comparison to the ordinary one (not cold), and that of delicious food
in comparison with simple one, will be more severe. Similarly, the accountability
of hot food will be severe compared to the cold one. As cold food becomes
tasteless and our Nafs also does not like it, its accountability will not be
severe. We will be asked about every bounty on the Day of Judgement.
صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ
تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد
¹ A very simple food made of rice,
lentils, salt and some oil.
² A sub-continental cuisine made with rice, oil, meat or chicken and spices.
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