I usually like to start with this Hadith, which I like to remind you of from time to time to nurture our hearts; “Allah has some angels who look for those who celebrate the Praises of Him on the roads and paths. When they find some people celebrating the Praises of Allah, they call each other, saying: “come to the object of your pursuit.” Then the angels encircle them with their wings up to the uppermost sky.” (Feel the mercy, as the shadow of these angels is lying between earth and heaven to calm and soothe the souls). After those people celebrated the Praises of Allah, and the angels go back, their Lord, asks them -though He knows better than them- “What do My slaves say?” The angels reply, “they say: Subhan Allah, Allahu Akbar, and Alhamdu-lillah,” Allah (SWT) then says “Did they see Me?” The angels reply, “No! By Allah, they didn't see You.” Allah (SWT) says, “How it would have been if they saw Me?” The angels reply, “If they saw You, they would worship You more devoutly and celebrate Your Glory more deeply, and declare Your freedom from any resemblance to anything more often.” (Imagine yourself now in a mosque as angels gather in those sessions of invocation) Allah (SWT) says (to the angels), “What do they ask Me for?” The angels reply, “They ask You for paradise.” Allah (SWT) says (to the angels), “Did they see it?” The angels say, “No! By Allah, O Lord! They did not see it.” Allah (SWT) says, “How it would have been if they saw it?” The angels say, “If they saw it, they would have greater covetousness for it and would seek it with greater zeal and would have greater desire for it.” Allah (SWT) says, “From what do they seek refuge?” The angels reply, “They seek refuge from the (Hell) Fire.” Allah (SWT) says, “Did they see it?” The angels say, “No By Allah, O Lord! They did not see it.” Allah (SWT) says, “How it would have been if they saw it?” The angels say, “If they saw it they would flee from it with the extreme fleeing and would have extreme fear from it.”

Do you fear Hell? Is it your main concern in life? Observe this verse that can be translated as, “Whoever is moved away from hell and enters Heaven would be a winner” (TMQ, 3:185)[1].

Then Allah (SWT) says, “I make you witnesses that I have forgiven them.” (Alhamdu-lillah; praise to Allah) Allah's Apostle added, “One of the angels would say, There was so-and-so amongst them, and he was not one of them, but he had just come for some need.” Allah would say, 'These are those people whose companions will not be reduced to misery.”

After talking about Adam (AS), we will start now with the story of his two sons in the Holy verses. We have already spoken about the creation of Adam in three lessons, and how he was created from soil; and also about Eve. In the last lesson I said that the offspring of Adam and Eve existed through reproduction and I thought that it would be better if I explain to you the different types of creation of Man which Allah (SWT) has chosen. Allah has created mankind in four different ways: sometimes from a male, but without a female, from a female without a male, from a male and a female, or from neither of them. Allah created Adam from neither a female or a male, he created him from soil. Eve was created from a male but no female (from Adam’s rib). Moreover, Allah (SWT) created Isa “Jesus”, the son of Maryam “Mary” from a female without a male. The rest of mankind is from both: a male and a female. So why then is this diversity? It was indeed to know that he is The Almighty Who is able to do everything and it was for us to believe that the creation of mankind is one of Allah’s miracles. If the creation of Man was in one single form, one might say it is due to coincidence or nature, etc. Hence, the diversity of the forms of creation is to make us recognize the extent of Allah’s power and might, so that we admit that this creation is indeed a miracle. Isn’t every new born baby a proof of Allah’s miracles? Every baby is a testimony of the Oneness of Allah, and that he is The Almighty. This fact should not only be known, but it should also be fixed in your inmost conscience that Allah is the Almighty, The Able, The Protector; that Has everything in His hands. That is a fact that all people should know, but do you feel it? Is it fixed in your heart; in your innermost feelings? Are you really dependant on Allah? Do you really love Him? Is it fixed in your mind that everything in your life is due to His power? Conceive Allah’s Wholeness through observing the diversity of the creation of mankind.

Back to the story of the two sons of Adam; that we find in Surah Al-Ma’idah. You should find it easy by now to deal with the Holy Qur’an. This is the main target we aim at as we narrate the stories of the prophets; to find Qur’an clear, easy and accessible. The least you should know is to find out the verses. Let me say to every one present today: learn the Qur’an. I keep stressing this point in every lesson as no Muslim should ever be imperfect in reciting Qur’an; it is our tradition and basic structure. Moreover, Allah (SWT) wants us to have our copies of the Qur’an open in our hands and in our hearts as well.

In Surat Al-Ma’idah Allah says what can be translated as, “And (O Muhammad; recite to them (the Jews) the story of the two sons of Adam (Hâbîl and Kâbîl) in truth;.” (TMQ, 5:27). One would ask, Why do we refer to this story when it took place long time ago? Well, if we go back to Egypt's statistics twenty years ago, we find that twenty million people lived here. If we go back a hundred years farther we find that they were about five millions. Let us go centuries and centuries now. Who will we reach? We will reach those two sons of Adam. What I want to say here is that life is too short. The story is very simple; two people were married, mankind began to reproduce, and the days passed by quickly. Life is short, no matter how grand we see it. By Allah, do not let life trick you; never make it your single concern. One hundred years ago, people lived on this earth, yet they do not exist anymore. The great names, the famous men and women, all passed away. The same will happen to us, we will all pass away, and the story will repeat itself after a hundred years from now, when none of us would any longer stay around.

Earth itself changes its skin every one hundred years; the people and the places all change. Thus, when I read “And recite to them,” I always remember how simple the whole thing is. So the story is very old, but reminds us how short life is. Now back to that story, but before I recite the verses, I will tell you what they are all about. The story is that Eve had twins each time she gave birth (a male, and a female). That was for a great purpose, so that reproducing starts to take place in order to amplify the number of mankind. Allah (SWT) ordered Adam not to let the male marry his twin, but to marry another sister; a twin of one of his brothers. Marriage was a must for reproduction, and that system was Allah’s command to Adam to regulate it. Among the twins Adam had were Kabil and his sister, and Habil and his sister. Kabil was older than Habil, yet, we do not have a proof whether Kabil was Adam’s eldest son or not. Kabil’s twin was very beautiful, while Habil’s was far less beautiful than her. Following Allah’s command, Kabil should marry Habil’s twin sister (who is not beautiful), and Habil should marry Kabil’s twin (the prettier one). Kabil wanted to have his own twin sister as his wife, so Adam ordered him to abide by the rule. However, Kabil was so resolute in his demand, that Adam (AS) decided to take care of the problem himself. He asked both of them to offer a sacrifice, then, the one whose sacrifice is eaten up by fire, as a sign of acceptance, can be the husband of Kabil’s twin. Kabil, who was a farmer, sacrificed a bunch of dry plants, in spite of the fact that he was the one who wanted to marry his twin. On the other hand, Habil who was a shepherd sacrificed one of his best cows. The fire took Habil’s sacrifice and did not come near Kabil’s who became furious and denied what happened. He even threatened his brother that he would kill him, so that he would not marry his twin. He remained determined to do so till he eventually killed Habil. That is the story.

There is no exact evidence of the authenticity of this story in Qur’an or in Hadith, yet it is approved by all the scholars and interpreters of both. Most of you would say, we already know this story which is merely the murder of a man by his brother. However, we will analyze it in detail.

The first crime that took place on earth was murder. What was the reason behind such a crime? Some would say the motive was competing to win a female. But I do not agree with that. It is true that it was more or less related to the female, but let us put it in a more general way and say the temptation of women. Let me repeat that my aim is not to narrate the story, but rather to learn from it. We will discuss today some critical issues from that story and decide how to avoid them. The first problem we find is the seduction of women, which led to murder. This is how serious it is. If I ask the young men present here about the temptation they find hardest to face, they will answer: it is that of women. Same for women, the most serious temptation they undergo is that of men.

That was a point that I know that I should not merely mention without discussing thoroughly, as it is closely related to our story. I wish every body here could give me their full attention.

Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, much of gold and silver (wealth), branded beautiful horses, cattle and well-tilled land. This is the pleasure of the present world’s life; but Allâh has the excellent return (Paradise with flowing rivers) with Him. Say: “Shall I inform you of things far better than those? For Al-Muttaqûn (the pious) there are Gardens (Paradise) with their Lord, underneath which rivers flow” (TMQ, 3:14). You see, the first temptation here is that of women. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women.” (Bukhari). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also said, “The world is sweet and green (alluring) and verily Allah is going to make you as vicegerent in it in order to see how you act. So avoid the allurement of women: verily, the first trial for the people of Israel was caused by women” (Muslim). This does not mean to avoid dealing with women, but to simply be conscious of their temptation. It is as if it was not enough for Satan to persist on bareness and exposure, as we have mentioned before. Now he is stressing a different aspect, i.e. temptation, in order to complete the circle of seduction. The female focuses on exposure only to have the male absorbed in images, misguided thoughts, and lust. That guarantees the end of both, man and woman, indeed. That was Satan’s plan from day one, to spotlight these two aspects; exposure and temptation. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “The Evil One threatens you with poverty and bids you to conduct unseemly” (TMQ, 2:286).

I will start now to pose some of the forms of female temptation we face in our daily lives, and the danger of each. You will see that every one of us suffers one way or another from one or more of these forms.

One of the forms of female temptation is the Haram (prohibited) look. For example, you leave your home, and walk down the street with the intention of obeying Allah (SWT), abiding by his rules, and saving your self from all sorts of temptation. However, after two or three hours, things change. Why? You did not lower your gaze. Later on you are overwhelmed by what you see since it is not accessible to you. Lust starts to control and overpower your heart that Satan starts laughing at you. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “The gaze is one of Lucifer’s arrows.” Can you imagine what that arrow can do? It hurts and sometimes digs deep into the heart. It is one gaze, but never underestimates its consequences. Can you tell how many arrows are there in your heart till this moment? Thousands, or even millions. Can you allow those arrows to keep hurting you?

That was one of the temptations. One more form of seduction is viewing online pornography sites. How could you look at a naked person? How did you dare? How did you allow your fingers to search for them, or your eyes to view them? How could you let that seduction control you? How could you actually pay money to watch such pornography on satellite or cable channels? How is it possible that some young people do that on daily basis? At the time of Kabil, the problem was that he defied Allah’s law and wanted to marry his twin sister. But nowadays, the temptation has so many different forms; so did you ever attempt to lower your gaze or to stop watching or viewing pornography?

Another form of seduction is the telephone chitchat between young men and women. They exchange such forbidden and dishonorable talk that if the girl’s father picked up the phone and listened to what his daughter is saying, she would breakdown with shame and humiliation. Have they ever considered that Allah (SWT) is watching them? Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Knows he not that Allâh does see (what he does)?” (TMQ, 97:14). You think that you are safe and that nobody can tell what you are doing, when Allah (SWT) is watching: “...verily I am with you both, hearing and seeing” (TMQ, 20:46). Have you seen how seduction can be implemented in various ways?

One more type of these is what we see nowadays of “women who would be dressed but appear to be naked”. I want to focus on the dangers of this phenomenon. There are a lot of women and young ladies who are wearing hijab (veil) and we keep making dua’a (supplication) for them to put it on Insha’ Allah. However, what kind of clothes will they put on till they do? Wearing hijab is an important issue and what is similarly important is the kind of clothes that ladies who are not putting on hijab wear. They sometimes put on too tight clothes that show the details of their bodies to the point that they are almost naked; tight jeans, bathing suits, revealing clothes, etc. I direct my words to the ladies now, when seduction takes place, rest assured that it is because of what you put on. The prophet (PBUH) said, “Two are the types amongst the denizens of Hell whom I did not see…They will not get into paradise and they would not perceive the odor of paradise, although its fragrance can be perceived from such and such distance” Since paradise’s odor can be smelt, how come is it that we do not sense that odor? This is due to the hundreds of temptations and afflictions that exist nowadays and that stand between us and that odor. One of the companions, for example, said that he could smell the scent of paradise coming from the direction of Uhud (a mountain in Makkah). Scholars affirm that this was not said figuratively, but it was rather a fact that he could actually smell it. Back to our hadith now, one of the two types that will not enter paradise, as the other type is not our issue today, is “the women who would be naked in spite of their being dressed, who are seduced (to wrong paths) and seduce others with their hair high like humps.” (Muslim) I want to focus here on an important point, which is that I do not mean to talk about the unveiled. My talk is about those who are actually covered, but with very tight clothes. If such sisters come to our gathering, they might risk losing the reward of it. Furthermore, they might be responsible if the young men of our gathering lose their reward as a result of being attracted to them. These women are seduced by others to dress so and are consequently seducing others to deviate from Allah’s path. Their heads are like the humps of camels because of the manner in which women style their hair, or even with the false hair they add to theirs. These will not perceive the scent of heaven. I am talking about the different forms of temptation here, not to trouble or bore you, but to give you advice and to draw your attention to their dangers.

Another form of temptation is what happens nowadays between engaged couples. There are a lot of sins that take place in that period of engagement. The engagement might be cancelled as a result of the absence of Allah (SWT) blessings, due to the terrible sins that took place in that phase. Thus, if you want to save your engagement, do not disobey Allah in it.

One more form of the afflictions is the increase in adultery which is one of the signs of the Day of Judgment. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) tells us a Hadith narrated by Bukhari which is so serious and threatening, which I have to mention to encourage the chaste ones to protect themselves and to be aware of Satan’s tricks that might allure them to wish trying that way. On the other hand, there should be a solace for those who have been there when they know that they can always repent. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “I had seen (a dream) last night that two men came to me, caught hold of my hands, and … told me to proceed on; so we proceeded on and passed by a hole like an oven (of fire); with a narrow top and wide bottom, and the fire was kindling underneath that hole. Whenever the fire-flame went up, the people were lifted up to such an extent that they about to get out of it, and whenever the fire got quieter, the people went down into it, and there were naked men and women in it. I said, 'Who is this?'… (Who are they?) They said “Those you saw in the hole (like oven) were adulterers (those men and women who commit illegal sexual intercourse). Can you imagine such a torture?

Some young men and women may say that they would never commit adultery, but they find it ok to date, without having sex. That is why I will quote the following Hadith. I must add that I have to be honest and clear on this as I narrate to you these Hadith so that they shall remind you and be a barrier that lies between you and Satan, to eliminate any chance of being trapped in his tricks. “A man kissed a woman (unlawfully) and then went to the Prophet and informed him.” The prophet (PBUH) looked away and got angry avoiding any eye contact with him while the man kept repeating time and again what he said in desperation, till Allah revealed what can be translated as, “And perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât ), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salât (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice).”(TMQ, 11:114). This kiss needs a lot of praying day and night indeed in order to be erased.

A further form of seduction is that of harassments. They also used to take place in the time of the prophet (PBUH). A delegation once came to pledge allegiance to the prophet (PBUH). They came still not conceiving the matters of Islam fully. A young man, whose faith was not yet strong enough, accompanied them. He harassed a girl in one of Al-Madinah's roads by pulling her to him, grabbing her clothes. On the following day, the delegation went to the prophet (PBUH), and he started to take their pledges by shaking their hands till he reached that young man only to withdraw his hand saying: “Aren’t you the one who pulled the girl?” The young man was silent when he knew that the prophet (PBUH) would not shake his hand. The young man said, “O messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah that I will never do it again after this day. When the prophet (PBUH) heard that he said, “If so give me your hand.” The man said “Then I put my hands in his and by Allah, I never did it after that.”

Can you relate this incident to what takes place nowadays in the streets? What happened to people? How will they meet Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on the Day of Judgment? How will they dare to look at his face? Is he not dear to them? When he meets you on the Day of Judgment, he will look away and say, “Away from me” Could we be from his Ummah (Islamic nation) if we keep doing what we do? How could a young woman accept to have a man date her, and does what he feels like to her, when it is Haram and prohibited? Where have their chastity and femininity gone?

An additional form of seduction is abandoning hijab. It is true, that we got used to seeing women showing their hair and parts of their bodies. But compare this to the fact that hijab is fard (religious obligation)! So seeing a woman’s hair is not accepted in the first place. Imam Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal was once walking in the street when some wind lifted the jilbab (long covering dress) of a woman and revealed her heels. When he saw that, Imam Ahmad covered his face and said, “It is indeed an era of affliction!” What would he do if he could see what is happening nowadays?

The last form of affliction is infidelity in marriage; a serious and a grave one. Abdullah narrated: I asked the Prophet, “What is the greatest sin in the Sight of Allah?”(the sin which makes Allah most angry?) He said, “That you set up a rival unto Allah though He Alone created you.” I said, “That is indeed a great sin.” I then asked, “What is next?” He said, “To kill your son lest he should share your food with you.” (out of poverty) I asked, “What is next?” He said, “To commit illegal sexual intercourse with the wife of your neighbor.” That of course includes a neighbor, a relative, etc.

These different forms of affliction and seductions must terrify us. Steady gazes at forbidden things, sins, etc. This is what Satan has done to us form Kabil’s time till now. How shall we be rescued from these trials? Some may wonder that we have moved away from the main story of Kabil and Habil. On the contrary, the temptation of women is the main objective of this story. This is how we could eliminate these afflictions:

1) Lower your gaze. Young people should resist, and should prevent themselves from that. The man who has passed the 40s or the 50s, and is still doing this sin must try to stop immediately. The young people should not do it with the false excuse that they are too young to resist or that they are still single. I have known a young man, who was still in high school when he told me, “I start my battles with Satan once I wake up in the morning as I wonder how many times I will overcome him, and how many times he will win over me? I keep counting throughout the day, and at night I review the score. Sometimes I win and the score is 12 to 10, and I keep asking for forgiveness for those 10 times.” Some people’s score gets as bad as 0 to 10000 and thus they have been overcome by Satan thousands of times without being able to beat him a single time. Their hearts are wounded by Satan’s arrows that they become unable to resist. In a Qudsi Hadith (divine Hadith), Allah (SWT) says that, “whoever lowers his gaze for Allah’s sake will be rewarded with a sweetness of faith that he will find in his heart”. Thus Allah (SWT) will fill your heart with true faith. By Allah, try it for one week and you will start to feel that sweetness of faith in your hearts. This was the first step to avoid the seduction of women.

2) Close the doors of seduction. The heart is like a house with doors. If you have left them open, seduction would enter. Watch where seduction comes from in order to close that door. Sometimes it is a friend that insinuates you to Haram acts. In that case stop that relationship at once. Some of us use the internet, which is halal (permissible) and a necessity nowadays. Yet if pornography is the problem, you can always use filters that shut that door. Do not subscribe to the so and so pornographic channel, and shut that door. If you still keep the phone number of your forbidden friends (girl or boy friends) stored in your phone, erase them, and shut that door in a moment of sincerity and obedience to Allah.

3) Resort to fasting as a way out. The prophet (PBUH) said: “O young people! Whoever among you is able to marry, should marry, and whoever is not able to marry, is recommended to fast, as fasting diminishes his sexual power” The best way to secure yourself from the seduction of women is to fast three days a month, or Mondays and Thursdays, or to fast like prophet Dawud “David” who used to fast every other day.

4) One more way that helps you in combating the seduction of women is to know the reward of resisting it. Listen to this Hadith “Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His” Of these seven: “a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah”. For example, if a young man or a young woman had a relationship then they repented, they will be among those who Allah (SWT) will shelter on the Day of Judgment. Imagine that reward! Can you imagine the angels’ happiness when you are obedient to Allah (SWT) and your own happiness when you say “No” to sins for the sake of Allah (SWT)? Can you imagine what Allah (SWT) has prepared for you in paradise, where you will enjoy all sorts of blessings? Can you imagine the moment when Allah (SWT) calls for you in Paradise saying where are my subjects who obeyed me without seeing me? And you say, “I did. O Allah, I repented, and I regretted my sins for your own sake.”

5) Repent promptly. You can always repent by abandoning all bad deeds, and by being resolute not to go back. Only then would sins be erased. Repent by fearing Allah (SWT), by regretting your deeds, by feeling the shame of committing sins, by weeping, etc. Only then will Allah (SWT) forgive you.

6) Your final resort to combat female seduction is to learn the examples of people who succeeded in such efforts. The best example is Yusuf “Joseph” (AS). He was a young man, single, very handsome, a stranger, a slave, that had to encounter the continuous seduction of the Aziz’s (governor’s) wife who surrounded him, shut all the doors, and said what can be translated as, “Come on, O you” (TMQ, 23:12), as he kept repeating what can be translated as, “I seek refuge in Allah” (TMQ, 23:12).

Redefine your manhood. Being a man does not mean that you date women and commit sins. A man resists temptations. Let me speak to those who never committed such sins. Satan will keep tempting you to try and to imitate others. But always remember that real character and strength is in refraining from imitating others.

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