3.    Deprive people of serving their parents.

4.    Cause harm to others and lead to quarrels.

5.    Be a reason for violence and murder.

6.    Tempt one into theft, robbery, looting, and other unlawful activities.

7.    Push one into addiction.

8.    Encourage earning unlawful wealth.

9.    Harden the heart.

Reflect on the disasters and calamities—earthquakes, floods—that have caused countless deaths around us. Despite these wake-up calls, our hearts remain hard, unaffected even by the tremors of the earth. These events carry a message for us from those who lost their lives:

“O people who comment on our deaths! Learn from us with eyes of wisdom. Soon, you too will drink from the cup of death, taste its bitterness, and pass through its door. Why are you caught in such delusions? Wake up while there is still time!”

But we fail to take heed due to bad company and sins. When we feel the tremors of an earthquake, we rush out of our homes to safety. But have we ever reflected on this:

*     Did we, out of fear of the quake, take sincere steps of repentance and head towards the masjid for salah?

*     Did we increase our recitation of the Quran?

*     Did we genuinely repent for our sins?