Being Prophylactic

Whoa, it’s been so long. Uh, I left this long period of inactivity on here  so you guys can thoroughly absorb the previous content. Now you are ready for the next lecture…

Listen Here: “Being Prophylactic” by Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar

Prophylactic means to prevent against diseases. The way people react to physical diseases can be divided into three groups:

1. The first group of people is preventative. They wash their hands constantly, get flu shots, go for regular checkups, etc. This group is easiest to treat because if they have any disease, it is caught quickly.
2. The next group of people regularly monitor themselves and report to a doctor as soon as they notice any abnormality. They are easy to treat as well.
3. The last group will not visit a doctor until the very end, at which point treatment becomes very difficult if not impossible.

The same concept applies to spiritual diseases:

1. The first group is proactive about their spirituality. They constantly make astaghfar. In fact, they make astaghfar for their deficiency in making astaghfar. They stay in the company of the pious. If they know there is a place that will make it difficult for them to protect their gaze, they will avoid it altogether. They give sadaqah everyday.
2. The next group constantly scans themselves like the first group. They look for deficiencies within themselves. If they find a malady in their heart, they go to a shaykh for treatment immediately.
3. The last group of people will ignore their problems until the very end. If a person has an anger problem, he will let it escalate until it ruins his relationships with his children, his wife, his parents etc. If he had treated it at the start, it would not have seeped into every part of his life making it nearly impossible to resolve.

We have to strive to be people who are proactive about our religion, who constantly monitor ourselves and analyze our behavior. We cannot afford to be among the last group of people. If we have weird thoughts or doubts in our minds, we should not mull over it for years until it becomes a huge problem. We should seek the help of the scholars. If a person does not seek treatment for a physical disease, the worst thing that will happen is death. However, if we do not treat our spiritual diseases, we risk eternity in the worst of abodes.