(Ummul Baneen [rahimahallah] – Part Five)
On one occasion, a woman named ‘Azzah came to visit Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah). When ‘Azzah entered, Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah) asked her “Kuthayyir recites the following poetry regarding you. What debt is he referring to in this poetry?”
قضى كل ذي دين علمت غريمه وعزة ممطول معنى غريمها
Every debtor whom I know has fulfilled his debt to his creditor.
However, ‘Azzah is procrastinating and distressing her creditor.
Initially, ‘Azzah felt ashamed to discuss the matter and disclose what Kuthayyir was referring to, but when Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah) persisted, she said, “I had promised Kuthayyir that I would give him a kiss. However, (when I thereafter realized that it was a sin, I regretted making the promise and) I avoided fulfilling it.”
When Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah) heard this, she remarked, “Fulfill the promise! I will bear the sin of your action.”
After making this remark, Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah) realized that what she had said was absolutely impermissible. She thus sincerely repented to Allah Ta‘ala and even freed forty slaves to compensate for this sin. Her sincerity and remorse was such that whenever she remembered this incident, she would weep and lament saying, “If only I had been dumb and had not uttered that statement!”
(Sifatus Safwah vol. 2, pg. 431)
Lessons:
1. If a person decides to commit a sin, but thereafter has ‘second thoughts’, he should realize that this reluctance within him was inspired by Allah Ta‘ala Who is helping him to resist the temptation. If he then plucks up the courage and resists committing the sin, Allah Ta‘ala will reward him by recording a good deed for him. (Saheeh Bukhaari #6491)However, if one becomes indifferent and does not value this feeling of reluctance and continues to sin, a time may come when such inspiration will not come to him. Thereafter, he will plunge headlong into sin very easily without thinking twice.
2. To avoid falling into sins through our tongues, we must train ourselves to think before we speak. Before we utter anything, we should first think whether the statement is sinful or not, and also ponder over the implications and repercussions of the statement. Finally, we should also think whether it is even necessary to utter the statement. If there is no need or benefit in saying it, then why do so? Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah) expressed the same remorse, of not pondering before speaking, when she lamented saying,“If only I had been dumb!”
3. The sign of true repentance is that a person is overcome by remorse. If one makes taubah without remorse, his taubah will not be true taubah and he will not find any improvement or change in his life. The level of remorse that Ummul Baneen (rahimahallah) had can perhaps be gauged by the fact that she did not suffice on merely reciting “astaghfirullah” a few times, but also freed forty slaves as compensation. Hence, she was prepared to do whatever it took to make amends.
4. Sin and the displeasure of Allah Ta‘ala are extremely serious issues. We should never take them lightly and make remarks such as, “Never mind, I’ll bear the sin!” In doing so, we are implying that we are not afraid of Allah Ta‘ala’s punishment and it does not worry us. Making light of a sin is far more serious than the sin itself.