Keeping Seven Limbs from Hellfire
(Summary of the Study Bidayatul Hidayah Book by Imam Ghazali)
By: Ustadzjauhar Ridloni Marzuq, LC. M.A.
In the afterlife, Allah will provide heaven and hell as a reward for what they do in the world. In an atsar it is stated, "The world is the field of the hereafter." That is, what we do in this world, that is what we will get the results of in the hereafter.
As believers, we all hope for heaven and want to avoid hellfire. Obtaining heaven can be obtained by doing what is commanded, and avoiding hell can be done by abandoning what is forbidden. Those are two important sides of this Islamic religion.
Nevertheless, Imam Ghazali said, leaving what is forbidden is much more difficult than enforcing obedience. Because, everyone can do obedient deeds. Meanwhile, leaving lust can only be manifested by those who are classified as shiddiqun (people who are honest in their faith).
Rasulullah SAW. said, "People who emigrate are those who leave evil, while people who jihad are those who struggle against their desires."
When we commit immoral acts, we actually commit immorality with our limbs. In fact, limbs are a blessing and a mandate from Allah that was given to us for us to use in obedience to Allah.
Therefore, said Imam Ghazali, using Allah's blessings to act against Him is the peak of kufr, and betraying the mandate that Allah has entrusted to us is an act that transcends limits.
Our limbs are like our people or our pastors. So, we have to pay close attention to how to control and regulate the members of the body. Rasulullah SAW said: "Each of you is a leader and every leader is responsible for what he leads." Allah SWT said: "And do not follow what you have no knowledge of. Verily hearing, sight, and heart, all of these will be asked to be accounted for. " (Surah Al Isra: 36).
We must realize that all members of our bodies will be witnesses against us on the Day of Judgment. He will reveal all the secrets that we have been hiding in the presence of all beings. Allah SWT. said, "On the day their tongues, hands and feet bear witness to what you have done." (Surah an-Nur: 24). Allah Most High said, "On this day, We shut their mouths while their hands speak to Us and their feet bear witness to what they do." (Surah Yasin: 65).
Therefore, we must always protect all members of our body from immorality. And, of all the members of that body, there are seven members of the body through which the gates of Hell are opened. The seven limbs, namely the eyes, ears, tongue, stomach, genitals, hands and feet.
Keeping Eyes
Allah created the eye so that it can guide us in the dark. Also so that we can use it to see all the miracles and signs of Allah's greatness in the heavens and the earth.
There are four immoral eyes that we must guard and avoid: 1. seeing what is not a mahram, 2. looking at a picture with lust, 3. looking at a Muslim with disdain, 4. and seeing the shame and ugliness of a Muslim.
Maintain Ears
The ear is also among the blessings of Allah which we must use well. Allah created ears so that we can use them to hear the goodness around us.
Allah's ears created so that we can hear the words of Allah, the sunnah of the Prophet, and the words of wisdom of the saints, and so that we can use them to reach a paradise full of pleasure, eternal eternal in the side of God the Lord of the universe.
If we use our ears for something that is hated by Allah, it will become a burden or our enemy in the hereafter. He will reverse direction from what should be able to lead us to salvation, to lead us to destruction.
Of course this is a big loss. Do not think that when hearing bad words the sin is only inflicted on the speaker. But even so, the sin is also inflicted on the listener because the listener is the speaker's ally. It is here in one of the narrations of the Prophet Muhammad said: "He is one of the two people who are gossiping (gossiping)."
Regarding ears, Imam Ghazali mentioned that there are several immoralities that we must avoid, namely hearing the words and sayings of heresy, gibah, heinous words, fear of evil, or the ugliness of people.
Guarding Oral
As for oral (mouth), it was created so that we can make a lot of dhikr to Allah SWT, read His Holy Scriptures, give instructions to other Allah's creatures, and reveal the needs of our religion and our world.
If we use word of mouth not for the stated purpose, it means that we are already kufr towards Allah's blessings. Our tongue is the most dominant limb in us. Many people are thrown into hellfire because of what their tongues have done. So to avoid hellfire, let us maintain our mouths with all the strength we have.
A history says, "Truly a man speaks one word with which he wants to make his friends laugh, but because of which he falls to the bottom of hell for seventy seasons." In another narration, it is stated that a martyr was killed in battle during the time of the Prophet. Then someone said, "Congratulations to him who has obtained heaven!" But Rasul Saw. then said, "How do you know? Maybe he said something useless and hunksy about something that could never be enough. " [continued]
Presented at the Hong Kong Expatriate Study, Friday, November 13, 2020.
