The Effects of Sins and Repentance
When a person indulges in sins, in disobedience to Allah Ta’ala, the heart immediately connects with the fire of Hell. As such, one result of sins is heat.
The proof of this is drawn from a Masnoon Dua, which was brilliantly and inspirationally explained by Maulana Shah Abdul Ghani Phulpuri (rahmatullah ‘alayh), a great Shaykh of his time.
From the Ahadith we learn different Duas for different occasions. One Dua that was taught to us by Nabi (sllallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) is:
“O Allah, wash off my sins with the (melted) water of ice and snow, and purify my heart of sins, just as white clothes are cleansed of filth.”[1]
Let us consider the explanation and meaning of the Dua:
Maulana Shah Abdul Ghani Saheb (rahmatullah ‘alayh) related that on one occasion, he had a most respected guest present during his lesson of Bukhari Shareef. The guest was Maulana Dr. Abdul Hay Saheb (rahmatullah ‘alayh) who was a senior Khalifa of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rahmatullah ‘alayh).
During this lesson, Dr Abdul Hay Saheb posed a question to Maulana Shah Abdul Ghani (rahmatullah ‘alayh). He asked: “Why did Nabi (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) use the words ‘ice and snow’ in this particular Dua?”
Hazrat (rahmatullah ‘alayh) (through Ilham) was inspired with an answer from Allah Ta’ala, who replied:
“There are two major effects that follow the commission of sins.
1.) Darkness in the heart.Rasulullah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam explained:
“When a Mu’min (believer) sins, a black dot appears on his heart. If he repents and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, his heart becomes cleansed and polished. If he continues to commit more and more sins (without repenting), the spot continues to spread and ultimately covers all his heart.”[2]
2.) Heat.
By means of sins, a person links himself to the fire of Hell. As a result, such a person’s body also produces a kind of heat.
My Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) has mentioned that generally, when a person is committing a lot of sin, especially if he is entangled in illicit love, then the effect of his sins is so intense and severe, that even his head becomes heated.
Of course, this does not mean that every person whose head is heated is involved in sin. It may be that the person is ill, suffering from high temperature, etc.
So consequently, the second quality of sin is that it produces heat.
Maulana Shah Abdul Ghani Saheb (Rahmatullah ‘alayh) then explained that the attribute of ice is its coolness, and the apparent characteristic of snow is its whiteness.
Thus, the two effects of sins are removed with the two effects of snow and ice. The whiteness eliminates the darkness, and the coolness effaces the heat. SubhanAllah!
Moreover, why is ‘white’ cloth used in the Dua?
Because a black cloth will not disclose the spots and marks of dirt, even after being washed, a white cloth is sure to reveal the slightest trace of dirt.
These are explanations that should be most appreciated by students of Deen as well as Salikin.
My Shaykh had also explained that if we are deficient in our Love for Allah Ta’ala, and our hearts have become dark and heated due to the commission of sins, then an easy route to giving up our sins, sincerely repenting, purifying our hearts, and becoming the friends of Allah Ta’ala is to make friends with His Friends.
May Allah Ta'ala grant us the Taufiq of Ruju Ilallah and His Friendship, Aameen.