D U A '
by Huma Ahmad
Dua is defined as any invocation or prayer addressed to
Allah (SWT). In our times, we find many reasons why people do
not make Dua; we forget, don't know how, or just do not think
it will be answered. Fundamental to this is the loss of
dependence and trust upon Allah. As Muslims there is
something very wrong when we believe our Duas won't be answered.
We do not turn to Allah in our times of need and instead put our
trust, dependence and hopes on worldly things that we think will
help us. Although these temporal things are the means through
which our Duas can be answered, the root of our being should be
trained automatically to turn to Allah and not anything or
anyone else. Through Dua, we strengthen our Imaan and our
relationship with Allah, as well as heighten our awareness of
cause and effect that can help inspire and motivate us to be
closer to Islam in our lives.
We find many reassurances throughout the Quran for those
who make Dua. Allah the Exalted, has said: "And your
Lord says: Pray unto me: and I will hear your prayer" (Quran
40:60), "Call upon your Lord Humbly and in secret" (Quran 7:55),
"When My servants question thee concerning Me, I am indeed close
(to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he
calleth on Me" (Quran 2:186), "Is not He (best) who listens to
the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and who relieves its
suffering." (Quran 27:62)
Aisha radhiallaahu anha said, "No believer makes Dua and
it is wasted. Either it is granted here in this world
or deposited for him in the Hereafter as long as he does not get
frustrated."
In fact, it is even wrong to never make Dua, "Whosoever
does not supplicate to Allah, He will be angry with Him."
[Saheeh Jaami`as-Sagheer #2414]
A Hadith says "Ad-Du'aa Huwal-3ibaadah",[Abu
Dawud,at-Tirmidhi, Hasan Saheeh], Dua is Ibadah so calling
upon anyone other than Allah in one's Dua is Shirk. This
is an important condition of having one's Dua accepted; the Dua
should not be directed to other than Allah alone. A second
condition would be sincerity or Hudoor alqalb, having the heart
present. Also, one's food, drink, clothes and lifestyle should
be Halal. One should avoid unlawful, impious or forbidden
sources or means of livelihood. Fourth, one cannot ask for
something sinful or Haram. Dua should not be made against
family and property (i.e. to sever the ties of kinship).
If one asks Allah to curse someone, it rises up to
heaven and goes to the person if they are deserving, if
not it returns to the person supplicating. Patience is another
condition. This perseverance in making Dua is important. One
should not say "Why hasn't Allah answered my Dua" or "I have
prayed and prayed so many times, but the same was not accepted"
and then become disappointed and give up praying. An example of
this is like a person who planted a seed or a sapling, and kept
looking after it and watering it and when its complete shape and
height was slow in coming, they left it and forgot about it.
Lastly one should have expectation, belief with
certainty only Allah can answer the Dua. Understanding
dependence on Allah and asking with absolute resolve and
believing with certainty that one's Dua will be answered is a
also a condition of acceptance. One should not say "O Allah do
this...if you wish..." because one should appeal to Allah with
determination, for nobody can force Allah to do something
against his Will. If one fulfills these conditions, Allah will
definitely answer the Dua, avert some equivalent evil or give
better in the Hereafter.
We can and should make Dua in every condition, i.e. in
hardship and in prosperity. There are also some special
times to make Dua where it is more likely to be accepted:
1. When one is oppressed
2. Between the time of Athan and Iqama
3. At the time of the call for prayer
4. At the time of fighting when warriors are engaged with
each other
5. When it is raining
6. When one is sick
7. The last third of the night
8. Ramadan (especially Lailatul Qadr)
9. After the Fard part of prayer
10. When traveling
11. When breaking fast
12. In Sujood
13. Fridays, some say on Friday after Asr prayer
14. While drinking the water from the well of Zamzam
15. At the start of prayer (Dua of Istiftah)
16. When one begins the prayer, i.e. with "all praise be to
Allah, the Pure and the Blessed one"
17. While one recites al-Fatiha (which is a Dua)
18. When Ameen is said in the prayer (also relating to Fatiha)
19. At the time of raising the head after the Rukoo
20. In the last part of the prayer after conveying blessings
unto the Prophet (SAW)
21. Before finishing the prayer (before Tasleem (saying the
Salaam to the angels))
22. At the end of Wudu
23. On the day of Arafah
24. On waking up from sleep
25. At times of adversity
26. Prayer after the death of a person
27. Dua when someone's heart is filled with sincerity and
when it is focused on Allah
28. Dua of the parent against or for his children
29. When the sun moves from its meridian but before the
Dhuhr prayer
30. The Dua of a Muslim for his brother without the latter's
knowledge
31. At the time the army advances to fight in the way
of Allah.
Dua can be beautified and perfected by certain actions:
1. Have Wudu, face Qibla, be neat and clean
2. Raise both hands up to the shoulder with palms open facing up
3. Use words of Allah and Muhammad (SAW)-
i.e. Duas found in Quran and Hadith
4. Ask by Asma alHusna- Allah's Beautiful Names
5. Ask Allah by your good deeds
6. Be insistent-repeat (i.e. 3x's)
7. Glorify Allah and recite Durud for the Prophet (SAW) at
both the beginning and end
8. Show humility, entreaty, desire and fear while making Dua
9. Repent and try to make amends where one has wronged
10. Confess mistakes, shortcomings, and sins
11. Keep voice between a whisper and speaking aloud
12. Show the need for Allah's help and implore Him for release
from weakness, hardship and tribulation.
13. Seize the opportunity of time, situation and circumstance in
which prayers are answered
14. Avoid rhymed prose to keep concentration
15. Crying when making Dua
16. The Dua of Dhun-Nun (Yunus) by which he invoked Allah from
within the belly of the whale was: "LAa ilaha illa
Anta, Subhanaka innee kuntu min aDH-DHaalimeen."
No Muslim ever makes Dua with it but Allah
answers it." [at tirmidhi in his sunan, ahmad
and hakim reported it and hakim declared it
authentic and adh dhahabee agreed]
17. End with "Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen"
We should ask for Dunya things, but not just for the
sake of Dunya itself and for Akhirah things. We should
not ask for punishment to be brought forward in this world or
for early death. We should not curse any particular human being
or animal, abuse a Muslim for no reason, abuse dead people
without cause and religious excuse, or abuse fever or the wind.
We should not make Dua by saying we have been given rain by this
or that star or what Allah willed, and so and so willed. We
should not make Dua against family and property or for sinful
acts and severing the bonds.
In the end there can be reasons why the Dua might not be
answered such as not fulfilling conditions like some of
the ones listed above or: Divine Wisdom, trying to hurry the
response of one's Dua, Dua for what is sinful or the breaking
off of relations, eating, drinking, or dressing from what is
Haram, not being resolute in making Dua, abandoning the duty of
enjoining what is good and shunning the evil, the dominance of
unmindfulness, lust and vain desires, not being submissive
during Salah, or committing particular sins (not divorcing a
vile woman, giving a loan without a witness, and a man who gave
his wealth to the foolish)
More information on Dua can be found in a book in
English, a translation of Kitaab ud-Du`aa' by Shaykh
al-`Awaa'ishah (published by Jam`iat Ihyaa Minhaaj al-Sunnah),
the Book of Supplications in Al-Bukhari and Riyadh us Saleheen
and Ajawab Alkafi by Imam Shams Adeen Mohamad bin AbiBakr Bin
Qayem Ajawyzeyah. Jazakamullahu khairan to those who corrected
and added to the above compilation. May Allah make us of those
that oft turn to Him in Dua. Ameen.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Our du'as & Allah subhana wa ta'ala assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah everyone, insha'allah, may this email find you all happy and with strong iman, ame
From: Syeda Fatima Naqvi
Subject: Our du'as & Allah subhana wa ta'ala assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah everyone, insha'allah, may this email find you all happy and with strong iman, ameen.
I want to share something that Sheikh Muhammed Yaqoobi told us when we were covering the section on the situations in which it is recommended to say the prayer on the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wassalam, from the book Ash-shifa by Qadi Iyad.
This section was, in general, about how when you are making a du'a it is highly recommended that you do so in the following manner:
".....when one of you prays, he should begin with praise of Allah and then pray on the Prophet and then make whatever supplication he wishes"
( part of a hadith)
" Umar ibn al khattab said, supplication and prayer are suspended between heaven and earth and none of it rises to Allah until you pray on the prophet" etc....
Sheikh Muhammed yaqoobi, you guys, was/is ma'shallah such an awesome person. Looking at him you can just see the nur on his face and his is an aura of tremendous sakina and piety. I really can't explain it but ma'shallah, it seems as if every single word he conveys to us carries with it such light and has such a gentle and healing quality. He comes from syria and is of a family which has been blessed with many 'ulema....infact, his father was the teacher of sheikh jamal, one of our other teachers....subhanallah, he would do the aqeeda and shifa sessions and the whole while, he'd have the tasbeeh in his hands....ma'shallah what a humbling experience it was to witness first hand the adab of all of our shuyukh...how much they taught by just their adab with us and amongst themselves, may Allah subhana wa ta'ala reward them with abundunt good!.....anyway, when we came to this section, sheikh muhammed yaqoobi gave us the following naseeha: (PLEASE NOTE:this is my own understanding of what he said, and is NOT a direct quote):
There are many times in our lives when we make du'as to Allah subhana wa ta'ala and find that they seem to remain "unanswered"....at other times, we start to feel this almost leaden sense of helplessness, as if there is no one in the world we can possibly turn to. When in such a state, it is altogether too easy to sit there and feel as if Allah subhana wa ta'ala doesn't hear us or has "abandoned" us...we feel so very alone....but when we make du'as they ARE all answered but in 3 different ways: 1) we make a du'a and we get exactly what we ask for...this, according sheikh yaqoobi is "the most naive way"....i guess he means in terms of our approach towards how a du'a is supposed to be answered 2) we dont get what we ask for but Allah subhana wa ta'ala averts a calamity from us instead, in porportion to the magnitude of what we had wanted....so if you ask for something small, He, subhana wa ta'ala, averts a small calamity from you instead...alhumdulillah what rahma!...and 3) ( and this one made me cry you guys) If you are among the blessedly fortunate people whom He loves ( can you imagine what that'd be like you guys?...to be loved by ALLAH subhana wa ta'ala???subhanallah may we be of them, ameen) then because He loves you so much, He doesnt answer your du'a in this life but He hides the treasures of these du'as for you till Qiyama when you actually get them, as if being given gifts..from Him! ......when sheikh yaqoobi told us this i thought of all those times when i had imagined that my own du'as had remained unanswered and felt oh so ashamed to think that I would behave thus when, in actuality, the whole while Allah subhana wa ta'ala had been showering me with His rahma...imagine what ingratitude it was to sit there and feel as if you weren't heard when you really were...how right Allah Subhana wa ta'ala is when He states in the Qur'an that man is an ungrateful servant......oh how merciful He is to us and look at how we ,His servants, behave towards Him, may Allah subhana wa ta'ala forgive us.....i wanted to share this with you to remind you to please just be thankful because even though you may not see the myriad of ways in which He watches over you and loves you, be assured, He does, for real....and about feeling helpless and alone, this, according to sheikh yaqoobi, is not a bad thing at all because when you feel as if there is no one on earth who can help you, you realize that the only being you can rely on is Allah subhana wa ta'ala...thus, if Allah subhana wa ta'ala loves you, He makes you experience such a state to teach you to rely upon Him and to help you come closer to Him....so next time any of you feel sad or feel as if you are alone, please dont feel as if you are caught in the depths of despair because your hardship and your pain is all a means for you to come closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala.....perhaps it is Allah subhana wa ta'ala's way of telling you that He loves you and subhanallah, what sadness can there be in that?...in our aqeedah session we were told that man has a higher makkam then the angels because of the fact that we do have takleef and must undergoe hardships...the angels worship as part of their nature where as we must constantly struggle and strive..thus, the very pain and sorrow and harships we go through all serve to make us more honored in the sight of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and are a means for us to be loved by Him......so dont bemoan your trials, they truly are blessings in disguise..insha'allah may these words comfort you and bring you solace, ameen. wassallam,
your sister
feiza
p.s TIMES WHEN DU'AS ARE ANSWERED:
when you see the ka'ba for the 1st time
when you drink of the waters of zam-zam
after the adhan, between the 'iqamah and salat
early, before dawn ( best time, especially for those in dire need).
according to sheikh yaqoobi, "yaseen is by intention" meaning, if you wish to make a du'a, read surah yaseen with that intention and insha'allah your du'a will be answered.
Subject: Our du'as & Allah subhana wa ta'ala assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah everyone, insha'allah, may this email find you all happy and with strong iman, ameen.
I want to share something that Sheikh Muhammed Yaqoobi told us when we were covering the section on the situations in which it is recommended to say the prayer on the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wassalam, from the book Ash-shifa by Qadi Iyad.
This section was, in general, about how when you are making a du'a it is highly recommended that you do so in the following manner:
".....when one of you prays, he should begin with praise of Allah and then pray on the Prophet and then make whatever supplication he wishes"
( part of a hadith)
" Umar ibn al khattab said, supplication and prayer are suspended between heaven and earth and none of it rises to Allah until you pray on the prophet" etc....
Sheikh Muhammed yaqoobi, you guys, was/is ma'shallah such an awesome person. Looking at him you can just see the nur on his face and his is an aura of tremendous sakina and piety. I really can't explain it but ma'shallah, it seems as if every single word he conveys to us carries with it such light and has such a gentle and healing quality. He comes from syria and is of a family which has been blessed with many 'ulema....infact, his father was the teacher of sheikh jamal, one of our other teachers....subhanallah, he would do the aqeeda and shifa sessions and the whole while, he'd have the tasbeeh in his hands....ma'shallah what a humbling experience it was to witness first hand the adab of all of our shuyukh...how much they taught by just their adab with us and amongst themselves, may Allah subhana wa ta'ala reward them with abundunt good!.....anyway, when we came to this section, sheikh muhammed yaqoobi gave us the following naseeha: (PLEASE NOTE:this is my own understanding of what he said, and is NOT a direct quote):
There are many times in our lives when we make du'as to Allah subhana wa ta'ala and find that they seem to remain "unanswered"....at other times, we start to feel this almost leaden sense of helplessness, as if there is no one in the world we can possibly turn to. When in such a state, it is altogether too easy to sit there and feel as if Allah subhana wa ta'ala doesn't hear us or has "abandoned" us...we feel so very alone....but when we make du'as they ARE all answered but in 3 different ways: 1) we make a du'a and we get exactly what we ask for...this, according sheikh yaqoobi is "the most naive way"....i guess he means in terms of our approach towards how a du'a is supposed to be answered 2) we dont get what we ask for but Allah subhana wa ta'ala averts a calamity from us instead, in porportion to the magnitude of what we had wanted....so if you ask for something small, He, subhana wa ta'ala, averts a small calamity from you instead...alhumdulillah what rahma!...and 3) ( and this one made me cry you guys) If you are among the blessedly fortunate people whom He loves ( can you imagine what that'd be like you guys?...to be loved by ALLAH subhana wa ta'ala???subhanallah may we be of them, ameen) then because He loves you so much, He doesnt answer your du'a in this life but He hides the treasures of these du'as for you till Qiyama when you actually get them, as if being given gifts..from Him! ......when sheikh yaqoobi told us this i thought of all those times when i had imagined that my own du'as had remained unanswered and felt oh so ashamed to think that I would behave thus when, in actuality, the whole while Allah subhana wa ta'ala had been showering me with His rahma...imagine what ingratitude it was to sit there and feel as if you weren't heard when you really were...how right Allah Subhana wa ta'ala is when He states in the Qur'an that man is an ungrateful servant......oh how merciful He is to us and look at how we ,His servants, behave towards Him, may Allah subhana wa ta'ala forgive us.....i wanted to share this with you to remind you to please just be thankful because even though you may not see the myriad of ways in which He watches over you and loves you, be assured, He does, for real....and about feeling helpless and alone, this, according to sheikh yaqoobi, is not a bad thing at all because when you feel as if there is no one on earth who can help you, you realize that the only being you can rely on is Allah subhana wa ta'ala...thus, if Allah subhana wa ta'ala loves you, He makes you experience such a state to teach you to rely upon Him and to help you come closer to Him....so next time any of you feel sad or feel as if you are alone, please dont feel as if you are caught in the depths of despair because your hardship and your pain is all a means for you to come closer to Allah subhana wa ta'ala.....perhaps it is Allah subhana wa ta'ala's way of telling you that He loves you and subhanallah, what sadness can there be in that?...in our aqeedah session we were told that man has a higher makkam then the angels because of the fact that we do have takleef and must undergoe hardships...the angels worship as part of their nature where as we must constantly struggle and strive..thus, the very pain and sorrow and harships we go through all serve to make us more honored in the sight of Allah subhana wa ta'ala and are a means for us to be loved by Him......so dont bemoan your trials, they truly are blessings in disguise..insha'allah may these words comfort you and bring you solace, ameen. wassallam,
your sister
feiza
p.s TIMES WHEN DU'AS ARE ANSWERED:
when you see the ka'ba for the 1st time
when you drink of the waters of zam-zam
after the adhan, between the 'iqamah and salat
early, before dawn ( best time, especially for those in dire need).
according to sheikh yaqoobi, "yaseen is by intention" meaning, if you wish to make a du'a, read surah yaseen with that intention and insha'allah your du'a will be answered.
The Four Poisions of the Heart-Ch.5 (The Purification of the
The Four Poisions of the Heart-Ch.5 (The Purification of the
Soul)-*-*-*-*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bismillahir*RaHmanir*RaHeem
"And keep yourself (O Muhammad *saaws* patiently with those who
call on their Lord (your companions who remember their Lord with
glorification, praising in prayers, etc., and other righteous
deeds, etc.) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face, and let
not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of
the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made
heedless of Our Remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and
whose affair (deeds) has been lost."
Al-Quran: Surah 18: Al-Kahf ayat 28.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five-The Four Poisons Of The Heart
Bismillaahir-RaHmaanir-RaHeem
You should know that all acts of disobedience are poision to the
heart and cause its sickness and ruin. They result in its will
running off course, against that of Allah, and so its sickness
festers and increases. Ibn al-Mubarak said:
I have seen wrong actions killing hearts,
And their degradation may lead to
their bcoming addicted to them. Turning away
from wrong actions
gives life to the hearts, And opposing
your self is best for it.
Whoever is concerned with the health and life of his
heart, must rid it of the effects of such poisons, and
then protect it by avoiding new ones. If he takes any by
mistake, then he should hasten to wipe out their effect by
turning in repentance and seeking forgiveness from Allah, as
well as by doing good deeds that will wipe out his wrong
actions.
By the four poisions we mean unnecessary talking,
unrestrained glances, too much food, and keeping bad
company. Of all the poisons, these are the most widespread and
have the greatest effect on a heart's well-being.
******************* Unnecessary Talking *******************
It is reported in al-Musnad, on the authority of Anas,
that the Prophet *saaws* said: "The faith of a servant
is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is
not put right until his tongue is put right."1 This shows that
the Prophet *saaws* has made the purification of faith
conditional on the purification of the heart, and the
purification of the heart conditional on the purification of the
tongue.
At-Tirmidhi relates in a hadith on the authority of Ibn
Umar: "Do not talk excessively without remembering
Allah, because such excessive talk without the mention of Allah
causes the heart to harden, and the person furthest from Allah
is a person with a hard heart."2
Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: "A person who talks too much is a person who often
makes mistakes, and someone who often makes mistakes, often has
wrong actions. The Fire has a priority over such a freqent
sinner."3
In a hadith related on the authority of Mu'adh, the
Prophet *saaws* said, "Shall I not tell you how to
control all that?" I said, "Yes do, O Messenger of Allah." So
he held his tongue between his fingers, and then he said:
"Restrain this." I said, "Oh Prophet of Allah, are we
accountable for what we say?" He *saaws* said, "May your mother
be bereft by your loss! Is there anything more than the harvest
of the tongues that throws people on their faces (or he said 'on
their noses') into the Fire?"4
What is meant here by 'the harvest of the tongues' is
the punishment for saying forbidden things. A man,
through his actions and words, sows the seeds of either good or
evil. On the Day of Resurrection he harvests their fruits. Those
who sow the seeds of good words and deeds harvest honour and
blessings; those who sow the seeds of evil words and deeds reap
only regret and remorse.
A hadith related by Abu Huraira says, "What mostly
causes people to be sent to the Fire are the two
openings: the mouth and the private parts."5
Abu Huraira also related that the Messenger of Allah
*saaws* said, "The servant speaks words, the
consequences of which he does not realise, and for which he is
sent down into the depths of the Fire further than the distance
between the east and the west."6
The same hadith was transmitted by at-Tirmidhi with
slight variations: "The servant says something that he
thinks is harmless, and for which he will be plunged into the
depths of the Fire as far as seventy autumns."7
Uqba ibn Amir said: "I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what
is our best way of surviving?' He, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, replied: "Guard your tongue, make your
house suffice for sheltering your privacy, and weep for your
wrong actions."8
It has been related on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd
that the Prophet *saaws* said, "Whoever can guarantee
what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I
guarantee him the Garden."9
It has also been related by Abu Huraira, may Allah be
pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "Let whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day either speak good or remain silent."10
Thus talking can either be good, in which case it is
commendable, or bad, in which case it is haram.
The Prophet *saaws* said: "Everything the children of
Adam say goes against them, except for their enjoining
good and forbidding evil, and remembering Allah, Glorius and
Might is He." This was reported by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Ma'jah on
the authority of Umm Habiba, may Allah be pleased with her.11
Umar ibn al-Khattab visited Abu Bakr, may Allah be
pleased with them, and found him pulling his tongue with
his fingers. Umar said "Stop! may Allah forgive you!" Abu Bakr
replied; "This tongue has brought me to dangerous places."12
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "By Allah, besides Whom no god
exists, nothing deserves a long prison sentence more
than my tongue." He also used to say: "O tongue, say good and
you will profit;desist from saying evil things and you will be
safe; otherwise you will find only regret."
Abu Huraira reported that Ibn al-Abbas said: "A person
will not feel greater fury or anger for any part of his
body on the Day of Judgement more than what he will feel for his
tongue, unless he only used it for saying or enjoining good."
Al-Hassan said: "Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot
understand his deen."
The least harmful of a tongue's faults is talking about
whatever does not concern it. The following hadith of
the Prohet *saaws* is enough to indicate the harm of this fault:
"One of the merits of a person's Islam is his abandoning what
does not concer him."13
Abu Ubaida related that al-Hassan said: "One of the
signs of Allah's abandoning a servant is His making him
preoccupied with what does not concern him."
Sahl said, "Whoever talks about what does not concern
him is deprived of truthfulness."
As we have already mentioned above, this is the least
harmful of the tongue's faults. There are far worse
things, like backbiting, gossipying, obscene and misleading
talk, two-faced and hypocritical talk, showing off, quarrelling,
bickering, singing, lying, mockery, derision and falsehood; and
there are many more faults which can affect a servant's tongue,
ruining his heart and causing him to lose both his happiness and
pleasure in this life, and his success and profit in the next
life. Allah is the One to Whom we turn for assistance.
******************** Unrestrained Glances ********************
The unrestrained glance results in the one who looks
becoming attracted to what he sees, and in the
imprinting of an image of what he sees in his heart. This can
result in several kinds of corruption in the heart of the
servant. The following are a number of them:::
It has been related that the Prophet *saaws* once said
words to the effect: "The glance is a poisoned arrow of
shaytan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allah, He will bestow upon
him a refreshing sweetness which he will find in his heart on
the day that he meets Him."14
Shaytan enters with the glance, for he travels with it,
faster than the wind blowing through an empty place. He
makes what is seen appear more beautiful than it really is, and
transforms it into an idol for the heart to worship. Then he
promises it false rewards, lights the fire of desires within it,
and fuels it with the wood of forbidden actions, which the
servant would not have committed had it not been for this
distorted image.
This distracts the heart and makes it forget its more
important concerns. It stands between it and them; and
so the heart loses its straight path and falls into the pit of
desire and ignorance. Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He, says:
--*< And do not obey anyone whose heart WE have made
forgetful in
remembering Us- who follows his own desires, and
whose affair has exceeded all bounds. (18:28)--<*
The unrestrained gaze causes all three afflications.
It has been said that between the eye and the heart is
an immediate connection; if the eyes are corrupted, then
the heart follows. It becomes like a rubbish heap where all the
dirt and filth and rottennes collect, and so there is no room
for love for Allah, relating all matters to Him, awareness of
being in His presence, and feeling joy at His proximity-only the
opposite of these things can inhabit such a heart.
Staring and gazing without restraint is disobedience to
Allah:
-*< Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and quard
their
modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely
Allah is aware of what they do. (24:30)--<*
Only the one who obeys Allah's commands is content in
this world, and only the servant who obeys Allah will
survive in the next world.
Furthermore, letting the gaze roam free cloaks the heart
with darkness, just as lowering the gaze for Allah
clothes it in light. After the above ayah, Allah, the Glorious
and Mighty, says in the same surah of the the Qur'an:
-*< Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth: the
likeness of His light is as if there were a niche, and
in the niche is a lamp, and in the lamp is a glass, and
the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a
blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the
west, whose oil is well nigh luminous, though fire
scarce touched it. Light upon light. 'Allah guides
whomever He wants to His Light. Allah strikes metaphors
for man; and Allah knows all things. (24:35)--<*
When the heart is a light, countless good comes to it
from all directions. If it is dark, then clouds of evil
and afflictions come from all directions to cover it up.
Letting the gaze run loose also makes the heart blind to
distinguishing between truth and falsehood, between the sunnah
and innovation; while lowering it for Allah, the Might and
Exalted, gives it a penetrating, true and distinguishing
insight.
A righteous man once said: "Whoever enriches his outward
behaviour by follwing the sunnah, and makes his inward
soul weathy thorugh contemplation, and averts his gaze away from
looking at what is forbidden, and avoids anything of a doubtful
nature, and feeds soley on what is halal-his inner sight will
never falter."
Rewards for actions come in kind. Whoever lowers his
gaze from what Allah has forbidden, Allah will give his
inner sight abundant light.
***Too much Food, Keeping Bad Company, and What Gives
the Heart Life and Sustence from this chapter, will be
sent tommorrow by the will of Allah***
************* Too Much Food *************
The consumption of small amounts of food guarantees
tenderness of the heart, strenght of the intellect,
humility of the self, weakness of desires, and gentleness of
temperament. Immoderate eating brings about the opposite of
these praiseworthy qualities.
Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'd Yakrib said: "I heard the Messenger
of Allah *saaws* say: "THe son of Adam fills no vessel
more displeasing to Allah than his stomach. A few morsels should
be enough for him to preserve his strength. If he must fil it,
then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink
and leave a third empty for easy breathing."15
Excessive eating induces many kinds of harm. It makes
the body incline towards disobedience to Allah and makes
worship and obedience seem laborious-such evils are bad enough
in themselves. A full stomach and excessive eating have caused
many a wrong action and inhibited much worship. Whoever
safeguards against the evils of overfilling his stomach has
prevented great evil. It is easier for shaytan to control a
person who has filled his stomach with food and drink, which is
why it has often been said: "Restrict the pathways of shaytan by
fasting."16
It has been reported that when a group of young men from
the Tribe of Israel were worshipping, and it was time
for them to break their fast, a man stood up and said: "Do not
eat too much, otherwise you will drink too much, and then you
will end up sleeping too much, and then you will lose too much."
The Prophet *saaws* and his companions, may Allah be
pleased with them, used to go hungry quite frequently.
Although this was often due to a shortage of food, Allah decreed
the best and most favourable conditions for His Messenger, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is why Ibn Umar and
his father before him-in spite of the abundance of food
available to them-modelled their eating habits on those of the
Prophet *saaws*. It has been reported that Aisha, may Allah be
pleased with her, said: "From the time of their arrival in
Madina up until his death *saaws*, the family of Muhammed
*saaws* never ate their fill of bread made from wheat three
nights in a row."17
Ibrahim ibn Adham said: "Any one who controls his
stomach is in control of his deen, and anyone who
controls his hunger is in control of good behaviour.
Disobedience towards Allah is nearest to a person who is
satiated with a full stomach, and furthest away from a person
who is hungry."
******************* Keeping Bad Company *******************
Unnecessary companionship is a chronic disease that
causes much harm. How often have the wrong kind of
companionship and intermixing deprived people of Allah's
generosity, planting discord in their hearts which even the
passage of time-even if it were long enough for mountains to be
worn away-has been unable to dispel. In keeping such company
one can find the roots of loss, both in this life and in the
next life.
A servant should benefit from companionship. In order to
do so he should divide people into four categories, and
be careful not to get them mixed up, for once one of them is
mixed with another, then evil can find its way through to him:
The *FIRST* category are those people whose company is
like food: it is indispensable, night or day. Once a
servant has taken his need from it, he leaves it be until he
requires it again, and so on. These are the people with
knowledge of Allah-of His commands, of the scheming of His
enemies, and of the diseases of the heart and their remedies-
who wish well for Allah, His Prophet *saaws* and His servants.
Associating with this type of person is an achievement in
itself.
The *SECOND* category are those people whose company is
like a medicine. They are only required when a disease
sets in. When you are healthy, you have no need of them.
However, mixing with them is sometimes necessary for your
livelihood, businesses, consultation and the like. Once what
you need from them has been fulfilled, mixing with them should
be avoided.
The *THIRD* category are those people whose company is
harmful. Mixing with this type of person is like a
disease, in all its variety and degrees and strengths and
weaknesses. Associating with one or some of them is like an
incurable chronic disease. You will never profit either in this
life or in the next life if you have them for company, and you
will surely lose either one or both of your deen and your
livelihood because of them. If their companionship has taken
hold of you and is established, then it becomes a fatal,
terrifying sickness.
Amongst such people are those who neither speak any good
that might benefit you, nor listen cloesly to you so
that they might benefit from you. They do not know their souls
and consequently put their selves in their rightful place. If
they speak, their words fall on their listeners' hearts like the
lashes of a cane, while all the while they are full of
admiration for and delight in their own words.
They cause distress to those in their company, while
believing that they are the sweet scent of the
gathering. If they are silent, they are heavier than a massive
millstone-too heavy to carry or even drag across the floor. 18
All in all, mixing with anyone who is bad for the soul
will not last, even if it is unavoidable. It can be one
of the most distressing aspects of a servant's life that he is
plagued by such person, with whom it may be necessary to
associate. In such a relationship, a servant should cling to
good behaviour, only presenting him with his outward appearance,
while disguising his inner soul, until Allah offers him a way
out of his affliction and the means of escape from this
situation.
The *FOURTH* category are those people whose company is
doom itself. It is like taking poision: its victim
either finds an antidote or perishes. Many people belong to
this category. They are the people of religious innovation and
misguidance, those who abandon the sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah *saaws* and advocate other beliefs. They call what is the
sunnah a bid'a and vice-versa. A man with any intellect should
not sit in their assemblies nor mix with them. The result of
doing so will either be the death of his heart or, at the very
best, its falling seriously ill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What Gives the Heart
Life and Sustenance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You should know that acts of obedience are essential to
the well being of the servant's heart, just in the same
way that food and drink are to that of the body. All wrong
actions are the same as poisonous foods, and they inevitably
harm the heart.
The servant feels the need to worship his Lord, Mighty
and Glorious is He, for he is naturally in constant need
of His help and assistance.
In order to maintain the well being of his body, the
servant carefully follows a strict diet. He habitually
and constantly eats good food at regular intervals, and is quick
to free his stomach of harmful elements if he happens to eat bad
food by mistake.
The well being of the servant's heart, however, is far
more important than that of his body, for while the well
being of his body enables him to lead a life that is free from
illnesses in this world, that of the heart ensures him both a
fortunate life in this world and eternal bliss in the next.
In the same way, while the death of the body cuts the
servant off from this world, the death of the heart
results in everlasting anguish. A righteous man once said, "How
odd, that some people mourn for the one whose body has died, but
never mourn for the one whose heart has died-and yet the death
of the heart is far more serious!"
Thus acts of obedience are indispensable to the well
being of the heart. It is worthwhile mentioning the
following acts of obedience here, since they are very necessary
and essential for the servant's heart: ---Dhikr of Allah
ta'Ala, recitation of the Noble Qur'an, seeking Allah's
forgiveness, making du'as, invoking Allah's blessings and peace
on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
praying at night.*
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
-------------------------
Notes:
1. Da'if hadith, Al-Mundhari, 3/234; and al-Iraqi in al-Ihya,
8/1539. 2. Da'if hadith, at-Tirmdihi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 7/92,
gharib; no one else has transmitted it other than Ibrahim ibn
Abdullah ibn Hatib, whom ath-Thahabi mentions, 1/43, stating
that this is one of the gharib hadith attributed to him. 3.
Da'if hadith, Ibn Hibban and al-Baihaqi, and al-Iraqi in his
edition of al-Ihya, 8/1541. 4. Sahih hadith, at-Tirmidhi,
al-Hakim, ath-Thahabi. 5. Sahih hadith, at-Tirmidhi and Ahmad;
also al-Hakum and ath-Thahabi. 6. Al-Bukhari in Kitab ar-Riqaq,
and Muslim in Kitab az-Zuhud. 7. At-Tirmdihi, Kitab az-Zuhud;
he said the hadith is hasan gharib. 8. At-Tirmdihi in Kitab
az-Zuhud with a slightly different wording; he said the hadith
is hasan. This wording is reported by Abu Na'im in al-Hilya. 9.
Al-Buhhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/308 and Kitab al-Hudud, 12/113.
10. Al-Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/308; Muslim, Kitab al-Iman,
2/18. The complete hadith is: "Let whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day either speak good or remain silent; and let whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour;
and let whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous
to his guest." 11. THe hadith is hasan and is reported by
at-Tirmdhi in Kitab az-Zuhud and by Ibn Majah in Kitab al-Fitan.
At-Tirmidhi classifies it as hasan gharib. We have no report of
it other than from Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Khanis. 12. Hasan
according to Abu Ya'la, Baihaqi and as-Suyuti. Musnad, 1/201;
as-Sa'ati. 13. Sahih, at-Tirmdhi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 6/607; Ahmad,
al-Musnad, 1/201; as-Sa'ati, al-Fath ar-Rabbani, 19/257; hadith
number 12 in an-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths. 14. Da'if, at-Tabarani,
8/63; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 4/314; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 5/264.
15. Sahih, Ahmad, al-Musnad, 4/132; as-Sa'ati, al-Fath
ar-Rabbani, 17/88; at-Tirmidhi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 7/51. 16.
Da'if; it does not appear in most of the sources of the sunnah,
but is mentioned in al-Ghazzali's al-Ihya, 8/1488. 17.
Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-At'ima, 9/549; and Muslim, Kitab az-Zuhud,
8/105. 18. Ash-Shafi', may Allah be pleased with him, is
reported to have said, "Whenever a tedious person sits next to
me, the side on which he is sitting feels lower down than the
other side of me."
-------=-The Purification of the Soul-=---------------------
from the works of Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbabli, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyaa, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
END
Soul)-*-*-*-*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bismillahir*RaHmanir*RaHeem
"And keep yourself (O Muhammad *saaws* patiently with those who
call on their Lord (your companions who remember their Lord with
glorification, praising in prayers, etc., and other righteous
deeds, etc.) morning and afternoon, seeking His Face, and let
not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of
the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made
heedless of Our Remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and
whose affair (deeds) has been lost."
Al-Quran: Surah 18: Al-Kahf ayat 28.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five-The Four Poisons Of The Heart
Bismillaahir-RaHmaanir-RaHeem
You should know that all acts of disobedience are poision to the
heart and cause its sickness and ruin. They result in its will
running off course, against that of Allah, and so its sickness
festers and increases. Ibn al-Mubarak said:
I have seen wrong actions killing hearts,
And their degradation may lead to
their bcoming addicted to them. Turning away
from wrong actions
gives life to the hearts, And opposing
your self is best for it.
Whoever is concerned with the health and life of his
heart, must rid it of the effects of such poisons, and
then protect it by avoiding new ones. If he takes any by
mistake, then he should hasten to wipe out their effect by
turning in repentance and seeking forgiveness from Allah, as
well as by doing good deeds that will wipe out his wrong
actions.
By the four poisions we mean unnecessary talking,
unrestrained glances, too much food, and keeping bad
company. Of all the poisons, these are the most widespread and
have the greatest effect on a heart's well-being.
******************* Unnecessary Talking *******************
It is reported in al-Musnad, on the authority of Anas,
that the Prophet *saaws* said: "The faith of a servant
is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is
not put right until his tongue is put right."1 This shows that
the Prophet *saaws* has made the purification of faith
conditional on the purification of the heart, and the
purification of the heart conditional on the purification of the
tongue.
At-Tirmidhi relates in a hadith on the authority of Ibn
Umar: "Do not talk excessively without remembering
Allah, because such excessive talk without the mention of Allah
causes the heart to harden, and the person furthest from Allah
is a person with a hard heart."2
Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: "A person who talks too much is a person who often
makes mistakes, and someone who often makes mistakes, often has
wrong actions. The Fire has a priority over such a freqent
sinner."3
In a hadith related on the authority of Mu'adh, the
Prophet *saaws* said, "Shall I not tell you how to
control all that?" I said, "Yes do, O Messenger of Allah." So
he held his tongue between his fingers, and then he said:
"Restrain this." I said, "Oh Prophet of Allah, are we
accountable for what we say?" He *saaws* said, "May your mother
be bereft by your loss! Is there anything more than the harvest
of the tongues that throws people on their faces (or he said 'on
their noses') into the Fire?"4
What is meant here by 'the harvest of the tongues' is
the punishment for saying forbidden things. A man,
through his actions and words, sows the seeds of either good or
evil. On the Day of Resurrection he harvests their fruits. Those
who sow the seeds of good words and deeds harvest honour and
blessings; those who sow the seeds of evil words and deeds reap
only regret and remorse.
A hadith related by Abu Huraira says, "What mostly
causes people to be sent to the Fire are the two
openings: the mouth and the private parts."5
Abu Huraira also related that the Messenger of Allah
*saaws* said, "The servant speaks words, the
consequences of which he does not realise, and for which he is
sent down into the depths of the Fire further than the distance
between the east and the west."6
The same hadith was transmitted by at-Tirmidhi with
slight variations: "The servant says something that he
thinks is harmless, and for which he will be plunged into the
depths of the Fire as far as seventy autumns."7
Uqba ibn Amir said: "I said: "O Messenger of Allah, what
is our best way of surviving?' He, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, replied: "Guard your tongue, make your
house suffice for sheltering your privacy, and weep for your
wrong actions."8
It has been related on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd
that the Prophet *saaws* said, "Whoever can guarantee
what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I
guarantee him the Garden."9
It has also been related by Abu Huraira, may Allah be
pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, said, "Let whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day either speak good or remain silent."10
Thus talking can either be good, in which case it is
commendable, or bad, in which case it is haram.
The Prophet *saaws* said: "Everything the children of
Adam say goes against them, except for their enjoining
good and forbidding evil, and remembering Allah, Glorius and
Might is He." This was reported by at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Ma'jah on
the authority of Umm Habiba, may Allah be pleased with her.11
Umar ibn al-Khattab visited Abu Bakr, may Allah be
pleased with them, and found him pulling his tongue with
his fingers. Umar said "Stop! may Allah forgive you!" Abu Bakr
replied; "This tongue has brought me to dangerous places."12
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said: "By Allah, besides Whom no god
exists, nothing deserves a long prison sentence more
than my tongue." He also used to say: "O tongue, say good and
you will profit;desist from saying evil things and you will be
safe; otherwise you will find only regret."
Abu Huraira reported that Ibn al-Abbas said: "A person
will not feel greater fury or anger for any part of his
body on the Day of Judgement more than what he will feel for his
tongue, unless he only used it for saying or enjoining good."
Al-Hassan said: "Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot
understand his deen."
The least harmful of a tongue's faults is talking about
whatever does not concern it. The following hadith of
the Prohet *saaws* is enough to indicate the harm of this fault:
"One of the merits of a person's Islam is his abandoning what
does not concer him."13
Abu Ubaida related that al-Hassan said: "One of the
signs of Allah's abandoning a servant is His making him
preoccupied with what does not concern him."
Sahl said, "Whoever talks about what does not concern
him is deprived of truthfulness."
As we have already mentioned above, this is the least
harmful of the tongue's faults. There are far worse
things, like backbiting, gossipying, obscene and misleading
talk, two-faced and hypocritical talk, showing off, quarrelling,
bickering, singing, lying, mockery, derision and falsehood; and
there are many more faults which can affect a servant's tongue,
ruining his heart and causing him to lose both his happiness and
pleasure in this life, and his success and profit in the next
life. Allah is the One to Whom we turn for assistance.
******************** Unrestrained Glances ********************
The unrestrained glance results in the one who looks
becoming attracted to what he sees, and in the
imprinting of an image of what he sees in his heart. This can
result in several kinds of corruption in the heart of the
servant. The following are a number of them:::
It has been related that the Prophet *saaws* once said
words to the effect: "The glance is a poisoned arrow of
shaytan. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allah, He will bestow upon
him a refreshing sweetness which he will find in his heart on
the day that he meets Him."14
Shaytan enters with the glance, for he travels with it,
faster than the wind blowing through an empty place. He
makes what is seen appear more beautiful than it really is, and
transforms it into an idol for the heart to worship. Then he
promises it false rewards, lights the fire of desires within it,
and fuels it with the wood of forbidden actions, which the
servant would not have committed had it not been for this
distorted image.
This distracts the heart and makes it forget its more
important concerns. It stands between it and them; and
so the heart loses its straight path and falls into the pit of
desire and ignorance. Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He, says:
--*< And do not obey anyone whose heart WE have made
forgetful in
remembering Us- who follows his own desires, and
whose affair has exceeded all bounds. (18:28)--<*
The unrestrained gaze causes all three afflications.
It has been said that between the eye and the heart is
an immediate connection; if the eyes are corrupted, then
the heart follows. It becomes like a rubbish heap where all the
dirt and filth and rottennes collect, and so there is no room
for love for Allah, relating all matters to Him, awareness of
being in His presence, and feeling joy at His proximity-only the
opposite of these things can inhabit such a heart.
Staring and gazing without restraint is disobedience to
Allah:
-*< Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and quard
their
modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely
Allah is aware of what they do. (24:30)--<*
Only the one who obeys Allah's commands is content in
this world, and only the servant who obeys Allah will
survive in the next world.
Furthermore, letting the gaze roam free cloaks the heart
with darkness, just as lowering the gaze for Allah
clothes it in light. After the above ayah, Allah, the Glorious
and Mighty, says in the same surah of the the Qur'an:
-*< Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth: the
likeness of His light is as if there were a niche, and
in the niche is a lamp, and in the lamp is a glass, and
the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a
blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the
west, whose oil is well nigh luminous, though fire
scarce touched it. Light upon light. 'Allah guides
whomever He wants to His Light. Allah strikes metaphors
for man; and Allah knows all things. (24:35)--<*
When the heart is a light, countless good comes to it
from all directions. If it is dark, then clouds of evil
and afflictions come from all directions to cover it up.
Letting the gaze run loose also makes the heart blind to
distinguishing between truth and falsehood, between the sunnah
and innovation; while lowering it for Allah, the Might and
Exalted, gives it a penetrating, true and distinguishing
insight.
A righteous man once said: "Whoever enriches his outward
behaviour by follwing the sunnah, and makes his inward
soul weathy thorugh contemplation, and averts his gaze away from
looking at what is forbidden, and avoids anything of a doubtful
nature, and feeds soley on what is halal-his inner sight will
never falter."
Rewards for actions come in kind. Whoever lowers his
gaze from what Allah has forbidden, Allah will give his
inner sight abundant light.
***Too much Food, Keeping Bad Company, and What Gives
the Heart Life and Sustence from this chapter, will be
sent tommorrow by the will of Allah***
************* Too Much Food *************
The consumption of small amounts of food guarantees
tenderness of the heart, strenght of the intellect,
humility of the self, weakness of desires, and gentleness of
temperament. Immoderate eating brings about the opposite of
these praiseworthy qualities.
Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'd Yakrib said: "I heard the Messenger
of Allah *saaws* say: "THe son of Adam fills no vessel
more displeasing to Allah than his stomach. A few morsels should
be enough for him to preserve his strength. If he must fil it,
then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink
and leave a third empty for easy breathing."15
Excessive eating induces many kinds of harm. It makes
the body incline towards disobedience to Allah and makes
worship and obedience seem laborious-such evils are bad enough
in themselves. A full stomach and excessive eating have caused
many a wrong action and inhibited much worship. Whoever
safeguards against the evils of overfilling his stomach has
prevented great evil. It is easier for shaytan to control a
person who has filled his stomach with food and drink, which is
why it has often been said: "Restrict the pathways of shaytan by
fasting."16
It has been reported that when a group of young men from
the Tribe of Israel were worshipping, and it was time
for them to break their fast, a man stood up and said: "Do not
eat too much, otherwise you will drink too much, and then you
will end up sleeping too much, and then you will lose too much."
The Prophet *saaws* and his companions, may Allah be
pleased with them, used to go hungry quite frequently.
Although this was often due to a shortage of food, Allah decreed
the best and most favourable conditions for His Messenger, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is why Ibn Umar and
his father before him-in spite of the abundance of food
available to them-modelled their eating habits on those of the
Prophet *saaws*. It has been reported that Aisha, may Allah be
pleased with her, said: "From the time of their arrival in
Madina up until his death *saaws*, the family of Muhammed
*saaws* never ate their fill of bread made from wheat three
nights in a row."17
Ibrahim ibn Adham said: "Any one who controls his
stomach is in control of his deen, and anyone who
controls his hunger is in control of good behaviour.
Disobedience towards Allah is nearest to a person who is
satiated with a full stomach, and furthest away from a person
who is hungry."
******************* Keeping Bad Company *******************
Unnecessary companionship is a chronic disease that
causes much harm. How often have the wrong kind of
companionship and intermixing deprived people of Allah's
generosity, planting discord in their hearts which even the
passage of time-even if it were long enough for mountains to be
worn away-has been unable to dispel. In keeping such company
one can find the roots of loss, both in this life and in the
next life.
A servant should benefit from companionship. In order to
do so he should divide people into four categories, and
be careful not to get them mixed up, for once one of them is
mixed with another, then evil can find its way through to him:
The *FIRST* category are those people whose company is
like food: it is indispensable, night or day. Once a
servant has taken his need from it, he leaves it be until he
requires it again, and so on. These are the people with
knowledge of Allah-of His commands, of the scheming of His
enemies, and of the diseases of the heart and their remedies-
who wish well for Allah, His Prophet *saaws* and His servants.
Associating with this type of person is an achievement in
itself.
The *SECOND* category are those people whose company is
like a medicine. They are only required when a disease
sets in. When you are healthy, you have no need of them.
However, mixing with them is sometimes necessary for your
livelihood, businesses, consultation and the like. Once what
you need from them has been fulfilled, mixing with them should
be avoided.
The *THIRD* category are those people whose company is
harmful. Mixing with this type of person is like a
disease, in all its variety and degrees and strengths and
weaknesses. Associating with one or some of them is like an
incurable chronic disease. You will never profit either in this
life or in the next life if you have them for company, and you
will surely lose either one or both of your deen and your
livelihood because of them. If their companionship has taken
hold of you and is established, then it becomes a fatal,
terrifying sickness.
Amongst such people are those who neither speak any good
that might benefit you, nor listen cloesly to you so
that they might benefit from you. They do not know their souls
and consequently put their selves in their rightful place. If
they speak, their words fall on their listeners' hearts like the
lashes of a cane, while all the while they are full of
admiration for and delight in their own words.
They cause distress to those in their company, while
believing that they are the sweet scent of the
gathering. If they are silent, they are heavier than a massive
millstone-too heavy to carry or even drag across the floor. 18
All in all, mixing with anyone who is bad for the soul
will not last, even if it is unavoidable. It can be one
of the most distressing aspects of a servant's life that he is
plagued by such person, with whom it may be necessary to
associate. In such a relationship, a servant should cling to
good behaviour, only presenting him with his outward appearance,
while disguising his inner soul, until Allah offers him a way
out of his affliction and the means of escape from this
situation.
The *FOURTH* category are those people whose company is
doom itself. It is like taking poision: its victim
either finds an antidote or perishes. Many people belong to
this category. They are the people of religious innovation and
misguidance, those who abandon the sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah *saaws* and advocate other beliefs. They call what is the
sunnah a bid'a and vice-versa. A man with any intellect should
not sit in their assemblies nor mix with them. The result of
doing so will either be the death of his heart or, at the very
best, its falling seriously ill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What Gives the Heart
Life and Sustenance ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You should know that acts of obedience are essential to
the well being of the servant's heart, just in the same
way that food and drink are to that of the body. All wrong
actions are the same as poisonous foods, and they inevitably
harm the heart.
The servant feels the need to worship his Lord, Mighty
and Glorious is He, for he is naturally in constant need
of His help and assistance.
In order to maintain the well being of his body, the
servant carefully follows a strict diet. He habitually
and constantly eats good food at regular intervals, and is quick
to free his stomach of harmful elements if he happens to eat bad
food by mistake.
The well being of the servant's heart, however, is far
more important than that of his body, for while the well
being of his body enables him to lead a life that is free from
illnesses in this world, that of the heart ensures him both a
fortunate life in this world and eternal bliss in the next.
In the same way, while the death of the body cuts the
servant off from this world, the death of the heart
results in everlasting anguish. A righteous man once said, "How
odd, that some people mourn for the one whose body has died, but
never mourn for the one whose heart has died-and yet the death
of the heart is far more serious!"
Thus acts of obedience are indispensable to the well
being of the heart. It is worthwhile mentioning the
following acts of obedience here, since they are very necessary
and essential for the servant's heart: ---Dhikr of Allah
ta'Ala, recitation of the Noble Qur'an, seeking Allah's
forgiveness, making du'as, invoking Allah's blessings and peace
on the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
praying at night.*
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
-------------------------
Notes:
1. Da'if hadith, Al-Mundhari, 3/234; and al-Iraqi in al-Ihya,
8/1539. 2. Da'if hadith, at-Tirmdihi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 7/92,
gharib; no one else has transmitted it other than Ibrahim ibn
Abdullah ibn Hatib, whom ath-Thahabi mentions, 1/43, stating
that this is one of the gharib hadith attributed to him. 3.
Da'if hadith, Ibn Hibban and al-Baihaqi, and al-Iraqi in his
edition of al-Ihya, 8/1541. 4. Sahih hadith, at-Tirmidhi,
al-Hakim, ath-Thahabi. 5. Sahih hadith, at-Tirmidhi and Ahmad;
also al-Hakum and ath-Thahabi. 6. Al-Bukhari in Kitab ar-Riqaq,
and Muslim in Kitab az-Zuhud. 7. At-Tirmdihi, Kitab az-Zuhud;
he said the hadith is hasan gharib. 8. At-Tirmdihi in Kitab
az-Zuhud with a slightly different wording; he said the hadith
is hasan. This wording is reported by Abu Na'im in al-Hilya. 9.
Al-Buhhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/308 and Kitab al-Hudud, 12/113.
10. Al-Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/308; Muslim, Kitab al-Iman,
2/18. The complete hadith is: "Let whoever believes in Allah and
the Last Day either speak good or remain silent; and let whoever
believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour;
and let whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day be generous
to his guest." 11. THe hadith is hasan and is reported by
at-Tirmdhi in Kitab az-Zuhud and by Ibn Majah in Kitab al-Fitan.
At-Tirmidhi classifies it as hasan gharib. We have no report of
it other than from Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Khanis. 12. Hasan
according to Abu Ya'la, Baihaqi and as-Suyuti. Musnad, 1/201;
as-Sa'ati. 13. Sahih, at-Tirmdhi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 6/607; Ahmad,
al-Musnad, 1/201; as-Sa'ati, al-Fath ar-Rabbani, 19/257; hadith
number 12 in an-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths. 14. Da'if, at-Tabarani,
8/63; al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak, 4/314; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 5/264.
15. Sahih, Ahmad, al-Musnad, 4/132; as-Sa'ati, al-Fath
ar-Rabbani, 17/88; at-Tirmidhi, Kitab az-Zuhud, 7/51. 16.
Da'if; it does not appear in most of the sources of the sunnah,
but is mentioned in al-Ghazzali's al-Ihya, 8/1488. 17.
Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-At'ima, 9/549; and Muslim, Kitab az-Zuhud,
8/105. 18. Ash-Shafi', may Allah be pleased with him, is
reported to have said, "Whenever a tedious person sits next to
me, the side on which he is sitting feels lower down than the
other side of me."
-------=-The Purification of the Soul-=---------------------
from the works of Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbabli, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyaa, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
END
Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness & Signs of Its
Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness & Signs of Its
Health-Ch.4
(The Purification of the Soul)
-*-*-*-*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bismillahir*RaHmanir*RaHeem
"He it is Who sent down As-Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity)
into the hearts of the believers, that they may grow more in
Faith along with their (present) Faith. And to Allah belong the
hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is Ever Al-Knower,
All-Wise."
Al-Quran: Surah 48: Al-Fath ayat 4.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four-Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness & Signs of Its Health
Bismillaahir-RaHmaanir-RaHeem
************************* The Signs of a Sick Heart
*************************
A servant's heart may be ill, and seriously
deteriorating, while he remains oblivious of its
condition. It may even die without him realising it. The
symptoms of its sickness, or the signs of its death, are that
its owner is not aware of the harm that results from the damage
caused by wrong actions, and is unperturbed by his ignorance of
the truth or by his false beliefs.
Since the living heart experiences pain as a result of
any ugliness that it encounters and through its
recognising its ignorance of the truth (to a degree that
corresponds to its level of awareness), it is capable of
recognising the onset of decay-and the increase in the severity
of the remedy that will be needed to stop it-but then sometimes
it prefers to put up with the pain rather than undergo the
arduous trial of the cure!
Some of the many signs of the heart's sickness if its
turning away from good foods to harmful ones, from good
remedies to shameful sickness. The healthy heart prefers what
is beneficial and healing to what is harmful and damaging; the
sick heart prefers the opposite. The most beneficial sustenance
for the heart is faith and the best medicine is the Qur'an.
**************************** The Signs of a Healthy Heart
****************************
For the heart to be heality it should depart from this
life and arrive in the next, and then settle there as if
it were one of its people; it only came to this life as a
passer-by, taking whatever provisions it needed and then
returning home. As the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said to Abdullah ibn Umar, "Be in this world as if
you were a stranger or a passer-by."1 The More diseased the
heart is, the more it desires this world; it dwells in it until
it becomes like one of its people.
The healthy heart continues to trouble its owner until
he returns to Allah, and is at peace with Him, and joins
Him, like a lover driven by compulsion who finally reaches his
beloved. Besides his love for Him he needs no other, and after
invoking Him no other invocations are needed. Serving Him
precludes the need to serve any other.
If this heart misses its share of reciting the Qur'an
and invoking Allah, or completing one of the prescribed
acts of worship, then its owner suffers more distress than a
cautious man who suffers because of the loss of money or a
missed opportunity to make it. It longs to serve, just as a
famished person longs for food and drink.
Yahya ibn Mu'adh said: "Whoever is pleased with serving
Allah, everything will be pleased to serve him; and
whoever finds pleasure in contemplating Allah, all the people
will find pleasure in contemplating him."
This heart has only one concern: that all its actions,
and its inner thoughts and utterances, are obedient to
Allah. It is more careful with its time than the meanest people
are with their money, so that it will not be spent wastefully.
When it enters into the prayer, all its worldly worries and
anxieties vanish and it finds its comfort and bliss in adoring
its Lord. It does not cease to mention Allah, nor tire of
serving Him, and it finds intimate company with no-one save a
person who guides it to Allah and reminds it to Him.
Its attention to the correctness of its action is
greater than its attention to the action itself. It is
scrupulous in making sure that the intentions behind its actions
are sincere and pure and that they result in good deeds.
As well as and in spite of all this, it not only
testifies to the generosity of Allah in giving it the
opportunity to carry out such actions, but also testifies to its
own imperfection and shortcomings in executing them.
*********************************** The Causes of Sickness of
the Heart ***********************************
The temptations to which the heart is exposed are what
cause its sickness. These are the temptations of desires
and fancies. The former cause intentions and the will to be
corrupted, and the latter cause knowledge and belief to falter.
Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamani, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: "The Messenger of Allah *saaws* said, "Temptations
are presented to the heart, one by one. Any heart that accepts
them will be left with a black stain, but any heart that rejects
them will be left with a mark of purity, so that hearts are of
two types: a dark heart that has turned away and becom like an
overturned vessel, and a pure heart that will never be harmed by
temptation for as long as the earth and the heavens exist. The
dark heart only recognises good and denounces evil when this
suits its desires and whims." 2
He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, placed
hearts, when exposed to temptation, into two
categories:::
---->First, a heart which, when it is exposed to temptation,
absorbs it like a sponge that soaks up water, leaving a black
stain in it. It continues to absorb each temptation that is
offered to it until it is darkened and corrupted, which is what
he meant by "like an overturned vessel". When this happens, two
dangerous sicknesses take hold of it and plunge it into ruin:
The first is that of its confusing good with evil, to
such an extent that it does not recognise the former and
does not denounce the latter. This sickness may even gain hold
of it to such an extent that it believes good to be evil and
vice-versa, the sunnah to be bida' and vice-versa, the truth to
be false and falsity to be the truth.
^^^^^^^^^
The second is that of its setting up its desires as its
judge, over and above what the Prophet *saaws* taught,
so that it is enslaved and led by its whims and fancies.
----->Second, a pure heart which the light of faith is bright
and from which its radiance shines. When temptation is presented
to pure hearts such this, they oppose it and reject it, and so
their light and illumination only increase.*
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---------------------------
Notes: 1. Al-Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/233. 2. Muslim, Kitab
al-Iman, 2/170 (with different wording).
--------=-The Purification of the
Soul-=---------------------
from the works of Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbabli, Ibn
Al-Qayyim al-Jawziyaa, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
END
Health-Ch.4
(The Purification of the Soul)
-*-*-*-*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bismillahir*RaHmanir*RaHeem
"He it is Who sent down As-Sakinah (calmness and tranquillity)
into the hearts of the believers, that they may grow more in
Faith along with their (present) Faith. And to Allah belong the
hosts of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is Ever Al-Knower,
All-Wise."
Al-Quran: Surah 48: Al-Fath ayat 4.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Four-Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness & Signs of Its Health
Bismillaahir-RaHmaanir-RaHeem
************************* The Signs of a Sick Heart
*************************
A servant's heart may be ill, and seriously
deteriorating, while he remains oblivious of its
condition. It may even die without him realising it. The
symptoms of its sickness, or the signs of its death, are that
its owner is not aware of the harm that results from the damage
caused by wrong actions, and is unperturbed by his ignorance of
the truth or by his false beliefs.
Since the living heart experiences pain as a result of
any ugliness that it encounters and through its
recognising its ignorance of the truth (to a degree that
corresponds to its level of awareness), it is capable of
recognising the onset of decay-and the increase in the severity
of the remedy that will be needed to stop it-but then sometimes
it prefers to put up with the pain rather than undergo the
arduous trial of the cure!
Some of the many signs of the heart's sickness if its
turning away from good foods to harmful ones, from good
remedies to shameful sickness. The healthy heart prefers what
is beneficial and healing to what is harmful and damaging; the
sick heart prefers the opposite. The most beneficial sustenance
for the heart is faith and the best medicine is the Qur'an.
**************************** The Signs of a Healthy Heart
****************************
For the heart to be heality it should depart from this
life and arrive in the next, and then settle there as if
it were one of its people; it only came to this life as a
passer-by, taking whatever provisions it needed and then
returning home. As the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said to Abdullah ibn Umar, "Be in this world as if
you were a stranger or a passer-by."1 The More diseased the
heart is, the more it desires this world; it dwells in it until
it becomes like one of its people.
The healthy heart continues to trouble its owner until
he returns to Allah, and is at peace with Him, and joins
Him, like a lover driven by compulsion who finally reaches his
beloved. Besides his love for Him he needs no other, and after
invoking Him no other invocations are needed. Serving Him
precludes the need to serve any other.
If this heart misses its share of reciting the Qur'an
and invoking Allah, or completing one of the prescribed
acts of worship, then its owner suffers more distress than a
cautious man who suffers because of the loss of money or a
missed opportunity to make it. It longs to serve, just as a
famished person longs for food and drink.
Yahya ibn Mu'adh said: "Whoever is pleased with serving
Allah, everything will be pleased to serve him; and
whoever finds pleasure in contemplating Allah, all the people
will find pleasure in contemplating him."
This heart has only one concern: that all its actions,
and its inner thoughts and utterances, are obedient to
Allah. It is more careful with its time than the meanest people
are with their money, so that it will not be spent wastefully.
When it enters into the prayer, all its worldly worries and
anxieties vanish and it finds its comfort and bliss in adoring
its Lord. It does not cease to mention Allah, nor tire of
serving Him, and it finds intimate company with no-one save a
person who guides it to Allah and reminds it to Him.
Its attention to the correctness of its action is
greater than its attention to the action itself. It is
scrupulous in making sure that the intentions behind its actions
are sincere and pure and that they result in good deeds.
As well as and in spite of all this, it not only
testifies to the generosity of Allah in giving it the
opportunity to carry out such actions, but also testifies to its
own imperfection and shortcomings in executing them.
*********************************** The Causes of Sickness of
the Heart ***********************************
The temptations to which the heart is exposed are what
cause its sickness. These are the temptations of desires
and fancies. The former cause intentions and the will to be
corrupted, and the latter cause knowledge and belief to falter.
Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamani, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: "The Messenger of Allah *saaws* said, "Temptations
are presented to the heart, one by one. Any heart that accepts
them will be left with a black stain, but any heart that rejects
them will be left with a mark of purity, so that hearts are of
two types: a dark heart that has turned away and becom like an
overturned vessel, and a pure heart that will never be harmed by
temptation for as long as the earth and the heavens exist. The
dark heart only recognises good and denounces evil when this
suits its desires and whims." 2
He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, placed
hearts, when exposed to temptation, into two
categories:::
---->First, a heart which, when it is exposed to temptation,
absorbs it like a sponge that soaks up water, leaving a black
stain in it. It continues to absorb each temptation that is
offered to it until it is darkened and corrupted, which is what
he meant by "like an overturned vessel". When this happens, two
dangerous sicknesses take hold of it and plunge it into ruin:
The first is that of its confusing good with evil, to
such an extent that it does not recognise the former and
does not denounce the latter. This sickness may even gain hold
of it to such an extent that it believes good to be evil and
vice-versa, the sunnah to be bida' and vice-versa, the truth to
be false and falsity to be the truth.
^^^^^^^^^
The second is that of its setting up its desires as its
judge, over and above what the Prophet *saaws* taught,
so that it is enslaved and led by its whims and fancies.
----->Second, a pure heart which the light of faith is bright
and from which its radiance shines. When temptation is presented
to pure hearts such this, they oppose it and reject it, and so
their light and illumination only increase.*
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---------------------------
Notes: 1. Al-Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/233. 2. Muslim, Kitab
al-Iman, 2/170 (with different wording).
--------=-The Purification of the
Soul-=---------------------
from the works of Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbabli, Ibn
Al-Qayyim al-Jawziyaa, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
END
TYPES OF HEART
TYPES OF HEART (Chapter 3)
The Purification of the Soul
compiled from the works of
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya,
and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TYPES OF HEART
Just as the heart may be described in terms of being
alive or dead, it may also be regarded as belonging to
one of three types; these are the healthy heart, the dead heart,
and the sick heart.
The Healthy Heart
On the Day of Resurrection, only those who come to Allah
with a healthy heart will be saved. Allah says:
"The day on which neither wealth nor sons will
be of any use,
except for whoever brings to Allah a sound
heart. (26:88-89)"
In defining the healthy heart, the following has been
said: "It is a heart cleansed from any passion that
challenges what Allah commands, or disputes what He forbids. It
is free from any impulses which contradict His good. As a
result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other
than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His
Messenger (saw). Its services are exclusively reserved for
Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all
matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it
loves, its love is in the way of Allah. If it detests, it
detests in the lght of what He detests. When it gives, it gives
for Allah. If it witoholds, it withholds for Allah.
Nevertheless, all this will not suffice for its salvation until
it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other
than His Messenger (saw)."
A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its
journey's end and not base his actions and speech on
those of any other person except Allah's Messenger (saw). He
must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds
over those of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace. Allah says:
"Oh you who believe, do not put yourselves above
Allah and His Messenger, but fear Allah, for
Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (49:1)"
The Dead Heart
This is the opposite of the healthy heart. It does not
know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands,
in the way which He likes, and with which He is pleased. It
clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are
likely to incur Allah's displeasure and wrath. It worships
things other than Allah, and its loves and its hatreds, and its
giving and its withholding, arise from its whims, which are of
paramount importance to it and preferred above the pleasure of
Allah. Its whims are its imam. Its lust is its guide. Its
ignorance is its leader. Its crude impulses are its impetus. It
is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. It is drunk
with its own fancies and its love for hasty, fleeting pleasures.
It is called to Allah and the akhira from a distance but it does
not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming,
cunning shayton. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes
it deaf and blind (1) to anything except what is evil.
To associate and keep company with the owner of such a
heart is to tempt illness: living with him is like
taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction.
The Sick Heart
Thisi s a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The
former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another,
and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it.
It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and
reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has
a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to
experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead
to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling
it to Allah and His Prophet (saw) and the akhira; and the other
calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds
to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over
it at the time.
The first heart is alive, submitted to Allah, humble,
sensitive and aware; the second is brittle and dead; the
third wavers between either its safety or its ruin.
Notes:
1. It has been related on the authority of Abu'd-Darda' that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "Your love for something that makes you blind and deaf."
Abu Daw'ud, al-Adab, 14/38; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 5/194. The hadith
is classified as hasan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Purification of the Soul
compiled from the works of
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya,
and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TYPES OF HEART
Just as the heart may be described in terms of being
alive or dead, it may also be regarded as belonging to
one of three types; these are the healthy heart, the dead heart,
and the sick heart.
The Healthy Heart
On the Day of Resurrection, only those who come to Allah
with a healthy heart will be saved. Allah says:
"The day on which neither wealth nor sons will
be of any use,
except for whoever brings to Allah a sound
heart. (26:88-89)"
In defining the healthy heart, the following has been
said: "It is a heart cleansed from any passion that
challenges what Allah commands, or disputes what He forbids. It
is free from any impulses which contradict His good. As a
result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other
than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His
Messenger (saw). Its services are exclusively reserved for
Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all
matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it
loves, its love is in the way of Allah. If it detests, it
detests in the lght of what He detests. When it gives, it gives
for Allah. If it witoholds, it withholds for Allah.
Nevertheless, all this will not suffice for its salvation until
it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other
than His Messenger (saw)."
A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its
journey's end and not base his actions and speech on
those of any other person except Allah's Messenger (saw). He
must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds
over those of Allah and His Messenger, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace. Allah says:
"Oh you who believe, do not put yourselves above
Allah and His Messenger, but fear Allah, for
Allah is Hearing, Knowing. (49:1)"
The Dead Heart
This is the opposite of the healthy heart. It does not
know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands,
in the way which He likes, and with which He is pleased. It
clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are
likely to incur Allah's displeasure and wrath. It worships
things other than Allah, and its loves and its hatreds, and its
giving and its withholding, arise from its whims, which are of
paramount importance to it and preferred above the pleasure of
Allah. Its whims are its imam. Its lust is its guide. Its
ignorance is its leader. Its crude impulses are its impetus. It
is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. It is drunk
with its own fancies and its love for hasty, fleeting pleasures.
It is called to Allah and the akhira from a distance but it does
not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming,
cunning shayton. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes
it deaf and blind (1) to anything except what is evil.
To associate and keep company with the owner of such a
heart is to tempt illness: living with him is like
taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction.
The Sick Heart
Thisi s a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The
former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another,
and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it.
It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and
reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has
a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to
experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead
to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling
it to Allah and His Prophet (saw) and the akhira; and the other
calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds
to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over
it at the time.
The first heart is alive, submitted to Allah, humble,
sensitive and aware; the second is brittle and dead; the
third wavers between either its safety or its ruin.
Notes:
1. It has been related on the authority of Abu'd-Darda' that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, "Your love for something that makes you blind and deaf."
Abu Daw'ud, al-Adab, 14/38; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 5/194. The hadith
is classified as hasan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE NATURE OF INTENTION
THE NATURE OF INTENTION (Chapter 2)
The Purification of the Soul
compiled from the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya,
and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE NATURE OF INTENTION
The intention of a person is not his utterance of the
words, "I intend to do so and so." It is an overflowing
from the heart which runs like conquests inspired by Allah. At
times it is made easy, at other times, difficult. A person
whose heart is overwhelmingly righteous finds it easy to summon
good intentions at most times. Such a person has a heart
generally inclined to the roots of goodness which, most of the
time, blossom into the manifestation of good actions. As for
those whose hearts inclide towards and are overwhelmed by worldy
matters, they find this difficult to accomplish and even
obligatory acts of worship may become difficult and tiresome.
The Prophet (saw) said: "Actions are only by intention,
and every man shall only have what he intended. Thus he
whose hijra was for Allah and was for Allah and His Messenger,
his hijra was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose hijra
was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in
marriage, his hijra was for that for which he made hijra."(1)
Imam ash-Shaf'i said: "This hadith is a third of all
knowledge." The words, "actions are only by intention",
mean that deeds which are performed in accordance with the
sunnah are only acceptable and rewarded if the intentions behind
them were sincere. It is like the saying of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Actions depend upon their
outcome."(2)
Likewise, the words, "every man shall only have what he
intended", mean that the reward for an action depends
upon the intention behind it. After stating this principle, the
Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying, "thus he the
Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying, "Thus he whose
hijra was for Allah and His Messenger, his hijra was for Allah
and His Messenger, and he whose hijra was to achieve some
worldly benefit or to take some woman I nmarriage, his hira was
for that for which he made hijra." So deeds which are apparently
identitcal may differ, because the intentions behind them are
different in degrees of goodness and badness, from one person to
another.
Good intentions do not change the nature of forbidden
actions. The ignorant should not misconstrue the meaning
of the hadith and think that good intentions could turn
forbidden actions into acceptable ones. The above saying of the
Prophet (saw) specifically relattes to acts of worship and
permissible actions, not to forbidden ones. Worship and
permissible actions can be turned into forbidden ones because of
the intentions behind them, and permissible actions can become
either good or bad deeds by intention; but wrong actions cannot
become acts of worship, even with good intentions.(3) When bad
intentsions are accompanied by flaws in the actions themselves,
then their gravity and punishment are multiplied.
Any praiseworthy act must be rooted in sound intentions;
only then could it be deemed worthy of reward. The
fundamental principle should be that the act is intended for the
worship of Allah alone. If our intention is to show off,then
these same acts of worship will in fact become acts of
disobedience. As for permissible deeds, they all involve
intentions -- which can potenitally turn them into excellent
acts which bring a man nearer to Allah and confer on him the
gift of closeness to Him.
The Excellence of Intention
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: The best acts are doing what Allah has commanded,
staying for away from what Allah has forbidden, and having
sincere intentions towards what-ever Allah has required of
us."(4)
Some of our predecessors said: "Many small actions are
made great by the intentions behind them. Many great
actions, on the other hand, are made small because the
intentions behind them are lacking."
Yahya Ibn Abu Kathir said: "Learn about intentions, for
their importance is greater than the importance of
actions."
Ibn Umar once heard a man who was putting on his ihram
say: "O Allah! I intend to do the Hajj and Umrah." So he
said to him: "Is it not in fact the people whom you are
informing of your intention? Does not Allah already know what is
in your heart?"(5) It is because good intentions are
exclusively the concern of the heart, that they should not be
voiced during worship.
The Excellence of Knowledge and Teaching
There are many proofs in the Qur'an concerning the
excellence of knowledge and its tranmission. Allah, the
Mighty and Glorious, says:
"Allah will raise up to high ranks those of you
who believe and those who have been given
knowledge. (58:11)"
And also:
"Are those who know equal to those who do not
know? (39:9)
Also , in the Hadith, the Prophet (saw) says, "When
Allah desires good for someone, He gives him
understanding of the deen."(6) He (saw) also said, "Allah makes
the way to the Garden easy for whoever treads a path in search
of knowledge."(7)
Travelling on the path to knowledge refers both to
walking along an actual pathway, such as going on foot
to the assemblies of the ulama', as well as to following a
metaphysical road, such as studying and memorising.
The above saying of the Prophet (saw) probably means
that Allah makes learning the useful knowledge that is
sought after easier for the seeker, clearing the way for him and
smoothing his journey. Some of our predecessors used to say:
"Is there anyone seeking knowledge, so that we can assist him in
finding it?"
This hadith also alludes to the road leading to the
Garden on the Day of Judgement, which is the straight
path and to what precedes it and what comes after it.
Knowledge is also the shortest path to Allah. Whoever
travels the road of knowledge reaches Allah and the
Garden by the shortest route. Knowledge also clears the way out
of darkness, ignorance, doubt and scepticism. This is why Allah
called His Book, "Light".
Al-Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of
Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (saw)
said: "Truly, Allah will not take away knowledge by snatching it
away from people, but by taking away the lives of the people of
knowledge one by one until none of them survive. Then the
people will adopt ignorant ones as their leaders. They will be
asked to deliver judgements and they will give them without
knowledge, with the result that they will go astray and lead
others astray."
When 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit was asked about this hadith he
said: If you want, I will tell you what the highest
knowledge is, which raises people in rank: it is humility."
He said this because there are two types of knowledge.
The first produces its fruit in the heart. It is
knowledge of Allah, the Exalted - His Names, His Attributes, and
His Acts - which commands fear, respect, exaltation, love,
supplication and reliance on Him. this is the beneficial type of
knowledge. As ibn Mas'ud said: "they will recite the Qur'an, but
it will not go beyond their throats. The Qur'an is only
beneficial when it reaches the heart and is firmly planted in
it."
Al-Hasan said: "There are two kinds of knowledge:
knowledge of the tongue, which can be a case against the
son of Adam, as is mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet (saw):
'The Qur'an is either a case for you or a case against you'(8),
and knowledge of the heart, which is beneficial knowledge. The
second kind is the beneficial kind which raises people in rank;
it is the inner knowledge which is absorbed by the heart and
puts it right. The knowledge that is on the tongue is taken
lightly by people: neither those who possess it, nor anyone
else, act upon it, and then it vanishes when its owners vanish
on the Day of Judgement, when creation will be brought to
account."
Notes: 1. Al-Bukhari and Muslim 2. Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Qadar,
11/499. 3. This is illustrated in a hadith recorded by Imam
Muslim in his Sahih, in which it is related on the authority of
Abu Dharr that the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "You will receive the reward for sadaqa
even when you have sexual intercourse with your wives." The
sahaba said, "Will we really be rewarded for satisfying our
physical desires?" He replied, "If you have haram intercourse,
you will be committing a sin; similarly, if you have halal
intercourse, you will be rewarded." Imam an-Nawawi said, "This
hadith clearly shows that permissible actions become acts of
obedience if there is a good intentino behind them; sexual
intercourse becomes an act of worship if it is accompanied by
any one of the following good intentions: keeping company with
your wife in kindness, as Allah ta'Ala has commanded; hoping to
hae, as a result of intercourse, good and righteous offsping;
guarding your chastity and that of your wife; helping to prevent
haram lustful glances or thoughts, or haram intercourse; and any
other good intention." 4. Tahdhib al'Asma' li-Nawawi, 1/173. Abu
Ishaq ash-Shirazi once entered the mosque to have something to
eat, as was his custom, and then realised that he had dropped a
dinar. He retraced his steps and found it lying on the ground,
but then left it where it was, saying, "Perhaps it is not mine;
perhaps it belongs to somebody else." 5. Sahih, Ja'mi 'l-'Ulum
wa'l-Hikam, p. 19. 6. Al-bukhari and Muslim. 7. Muslim,
21/17. 8. Muslim, Kitab at-Tahara, 3/99.
The Purification of the Soul
compiled from the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya,
and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE NATURE OF INTENTION
The intention of a person is not his utterance of the
words, "I intend to do so and so." It is an overflowing
from the heart which runs like conquests inspired by Allah. At
times it is made easy, at other times, difficult. A person
whose heart is overwhelmingly righteous finds it easy to summon
good intentions at most times. Such a person has a heart
generally inclined to the roots of goodness which, most of the
time, blossom into the manifestation of good actions. As for
those whose hearts inclide towards and are overwhelmed by worldy
matters, they find this difficult to accomplish and even
obligatory acts of worship may become difficult and tiresome.
The Prophet (saw) said: "Actions are only by intention,
and every man shall only have what he intended. Thus he
whose hijra was for Allah and was for Allah and His Messenger,
his hijra was for Allah and His Messenger, and he whose hijra
was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in
marriage, his hijra was for that for which he made hijra."(1)
Imam ash-Shaf'i said: "This hadith is a third of all
knowledge." The words, "actions are only by intention",
mean that deeds which are performed in accordance with the
sunnah are only acceptable and rewarded if the intentions behind
them were sincere. It is like the saying of the Prophet, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Actions depend upon their
outcome."(2)
Likewise, the words, "every man shall only have what he
intended", mean that the reward for an action depends
upon the intention behind it. After stating this principle, the
Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying, "thus he the
Prophet (saw) gave examples of it by saying, "Thus he whose
hijra was for Allah and His Messenger, his hijra was for Allah
and His Messenger, and he whose hijra was to achieve some
worldly benefit or to take some woman I nmarriage, his hira was
for that for which he made hijra." So deeds which are apparently
identitcal may differ, because the intentions behind them are
different in degrees of goodness and badness, from one person to
another.
Good intentions do not change the nature of forbidden
actions. The ignorant should not misconstrue the meaning
of the hadith and think that good intentions could turn
forbidden actions into acceptable ones. The above saying of the
Prophet (saw) specifically relattes to acts of worship and
permissible actions, not to forbidden ones. Worship and
permissible actions can be turned into forbidden ones because of
the intentions behind them, and permissible actions can become
either good or bad deeds by intention; but wrong actions cannot
become acts of worship, even with good intentions.(3) When bad
intentsions are accompanied by flaws in the actions themselves,
then their gravity and punishment are multiplied.
Any praiseworthy act must be rooted in sound intentions;
only then could it be deemed worthy of reward. The
fundamental principle should be that the act is intended for the
worship of Allah alone. If our intention is to show off,then
these same acts of worship will in fact become acts of
disobedience. As for permissible deeds, they all involve
intentions -- which can potenitally turn them into excellent
acts which bring a man nearer to Allah and confer on him the
gift of closeness to Him.
The Excellence of Intention
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him,
said: The best acts are doing what Allah has commanded,
staying for away from what Allah has forbidden, and having
sincere intentions towards what-ever Allah has required of
us."(4)
Some of our predecessors said: "Many small actions are
made great by the intentions behind them. Many great
actions, on the other hand, are made small because the
intentions behind them are lacking."
Yahya Ibn Abu Kathir said: "Learn about intentions, for
their importance is greater than the importance of
actions."
Ibn Umar once heard a man who was putting on his ihram
say: "O Allah! I intend to do the Hajj and Umrah." So he
said to him: "Is it not in fact the people whom you are
informing of your intention? Does not Allah already know what is
in your heart?"(5) It is because good intentions are
exclusively the concern of the heart, that they should not be
voiced during worship.
The Excellence of Knowledge and Teaching
There are many proofs in the Qur'an concerning the
excellence of knowledge and its tranmission. Allah, the
Mighty and Glorious, says:
"Allah will raise up to high ranks those of you
who believe and those who have been given
knowledge. (58:11)"
And also:
"Are those who know equal to those who do not
know? (39:9)
Also , in the Hadith, the Prophet (saw) says, "When
Allah desires good for someone, He gives him
understanding of the deen."(6) He (saw) also said, "Allah makes
the way to the Garden easy for whoever treads a path in search
of knowledge."(7)
Travelling on the path to knowledge refers both to
walking along an actual pathway, such as going on foot
to the assemblies of the ulama', as well as to following a
metaphysical road, such as studying and memorising.
The above saying of the Prophet (saw) probably means
that Allah makes learning the useful knowledge that is
sought after easier for the seeker, clearing the way for him and
smoothing his journey. Some of our predecessors used to say:
"Is there anyone seeking knowledge, so that we can assist him in
finding it?"
This hadith also alludes to the road leading to the
Garden on the Day of Judgement, which is the straight
path and to what precedes it and what comes after it.
Knowledge is also the shortest path to Allah. Whoever
travels the road of knowledge reaches Allah and the
Garden by the shortest route. Knowledge also clears the way out
of darkness, ignorance, doubt and scepticism. This is why Allah
called His Book, "Light".
Al-Bukhari and Muslim have reported on the authority of
Abdullah ibn Umar that the Messenger of Allah (saw)
said: "Truly, Allah will not take away knowledge by snatching it
away from people, but by taking away the lives of the people of
knowledge one by one until none of them survive. Then the
people will adopt ignorant ones as their leaders. They will be
asked to deliver judgements and they will give them without
knowledge, with the result that they will go astray and lead
others astray."
When 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit was asked about this hadith he
said: If you want, I will tell you what the highest
knowledge is, which raises people in rank: it is humility."
He said this because there are two types of knowledge.
The first produces its fruit in the heart. It is
knowledge of Allah, the Exalted - His Names, His Attributes, and
His Acts - which commands fear, respect, exaltation, love,
supplication and reliance on Him. this is the beneficial type of
knowledge. As ibn Mas'ud said: "they will recite the Qur'an, but
it will not go beyond their throats. The Qur'an is only
beneficial when it reaches the heart and is firmly planted in
it."
Al-Hasan said: "There are two kinds of knowledge:
knowledge of the tongue, which can be a case against the
son of Adam, as is mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet (saw):
'The Qur'an is either a case for you or a case against you'(8),
and knowledge of the heart, which is beneficial knowledge. The
second kind is the beneficial kind which raises people in rank;
it is the inner knowledge which is absorbed by the heart and
puts it right. The knowledge that is on the tongue is taken
lightly by people: neither those who possess it, nor anyone
else, act upon it, and then it vanishes when its owners vanish
on the Day of Judgement, when creation will be brought to
account."
Notes: 1. Al-Bukhari and Muslim 2. Al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Qadar,
11/499. 3. This is illustrated in a hadith recorded by Imam
Muslim in his Sahih, in which it is related on the authority of
Abu Dharr that the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said, "You will receive the reward for sadaqa
even when you have sexual intercourse with your wives." The
sahaba said, "Will we really be rewarded for satisfying our
physical desires?" He replied, "If you have haram intercourse,
you will be committing a sin; similarly, if you have halal
intercourse, you will be rewarded." Imam an-Nawawi said, "This
hadith clearly shows that permissible actions become acts of
obedience if there is a good intentino behind them; sexual
intercourse becomes an act of worship if it is accompanied by
any one of the following good intentions: keeping company with
your wife in kindness, as Allah ta'Ala has commanded; hoping to
hae, as a result of intercourse, good and righteous offsping;
guarding your chastity and that of your wife; helping to prevent
haram lustful glances or thoughts, or haram intercourse; and any
other good intention." 4. Tahdhib al'Asma' li-Nawawi, 1/173. Abu
Ishaq ash-Shirazi once entered the mosque to have something to
eat, as was his custom, and then realised that he had dropped a
dinar. He retraced his steps and found it lying on the ground,
but then left it where it was, saying, "Perhaps it is not mine;
perhaps it belongs to somebody else." 5. Sahih, Ja'mi 'l-'Ulum
wa'l-Hikam, p. 19. 6. Al-bukhari and Muslim. 7. Muslim,
21/17. 8. Muslim, Kitab at-Tahara, 3/99.
Purification of the Soul: Sincerity (Chapter 1)
Subject: Purification of the Soul: Sincerity (Chapter 1)
The Purification of the Soul
compiled from the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SINCERITY
Sincerity is the freeing of one's intentions from all
impurities in order to come nearer to Allah. It is to
ensure that the intentions behind all acts of worship and
obedience to Allah are exclusively for His pleasure. It is the
perpetual contemplation of the Creator, to the extent that one
forgets the creation.
Sincerity is a condition for Allah's acceptance of good
deeds performed in accordance with the sunnah of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah has
commanded this in the Qur'an:
"And they have been commanded to worship only
Allah, being sincere towards Him in their deen
and true. (98:5)"
Abu Umama has related that a man once came to the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
said, "What of a man who joined us in the fighting, his
intention being for fame and booty?" The Prophet said, "He
recieves nothing." The man repeated the question three times and
each time the Prophet said, "He receives nothing". Then he said,
"Allah only accepts actions that are intended purely for His
pleasure."(1)
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri related that the Prophet (saw) said
in his khutba during the farewell pilgrimage, "Allah
will bless whoever hears these words and whoever understands
them, for it may be that those who pass on this knowledge are
not those who will understand it the best. There are three
things concerning which the heart of a believer should feel no
enmity or malice: devoting one's actions to Allah, giving
counsel to the Imams of the Muslims, and being loyal to the
majority."(2)
What is meant here is that these three things strengthen
the heart, and whoever distinguishes himself in them
will have a heart purified from all manner of deceit, corruption
and evil.
A servant can only free himself from shaytan through
sincere devotion, for Allah tells us in the Quran that
Iblis said to Him:
"Except those of Your servants who are sincere.
(38:83)"
It has been related that a rigtheous man used to say, "O
self, be devout and you will be pure." When any wordly
fortune, in which the self finds comfort and towards which the
heart inclines, intrudes upon our worship, then it impairs the
purity of our efforts and ruins our sincerity. Man is
preoccupied with his good fortune and immersed in his desires
and appetites; rarely are his actions or acts of worship free of
temporary objectives and desires of this kind. For this reason
it has been said that whoever secures a single moment of pure
devotion to Allah in his life will survive, for devotion is rare
and precious, and cleansing the heart of its impurities is an
exacting undertaking.
In fact, devotion is the purifying of the heart from all
impurities, whether few or many, so that the intention of
drawing nearer to Allah is freed from all other motives, except
that of seeking His pleasure. This can only come from a lover
of Allah, who is so absorbed in contemplation of the next world
that there remains in his heart no place for the love of this
world. Such a person must be devote and pure in all his actions,
even in eating, drinking and answering the calls of nature.
With rare exceptions, anyone who is not like this will find the
door of devotion closed in his face.
The everyday actions of a person who is overwhelmed by
his or her love for Allah and the akhira are
characterised by his love and they are, in fact, pure devotion.
In the same way, anyone whose soul is overwhelmed by love for
and preoccupation with this world, or status and authority, will
be so overwhelmed by these things that no act of worship, be it
prayer or fasting, will be acceptable, except in very rare
cases.
The remedy for love of this world is to break the
worldly desires of the self, ending its greed for this
world and purifying it in preparation for the next world. This
will then become the state of the heart and sincere devotion
will become easier to attain. There are a great many actions
where a man acts, thinking they are purely intended for Allah's
pleasure, but he is deluded, for he fails to see the defects in
them.
It has been related that a man was used to praying in
the first row in the mosque. One day he was late for the
prayer, so he prayed in the second row. Feeling embarrassment
when people saw him in the second row, he realised that the
pleasure and satisfaction of the heart that he used to gain from
praying in the first row were due to his seeing people seeing
him there and admiring him for it. This is a subtle and
intangible condition and actions are rarely safe from it. Apart
from those whom Allah has assisted, few are aware of such
delicate matters. Those who do not realise it only come to see
their good deeds appearing as bad ones on the Day of
Resurrection; they are the ones referred to in Allah's words:
"And something will come to them from Allah
which they
had never anticipated, for the evil of their
deeds will become apparent to them. (39:47-48)"
And also:
"Say: Shall We tell you who will lose most in
respect of their
deeds? Those whose efforts were astray in the
life of this world, while they thought that
they were doing good works. (18:103-104)"
Yaqub said: "A devout person is someone who conceals
things that are good, in the same way that he conceals
things that are bad."
As-Sousi said: "True devotion is to lose the faculty of
being conscious of your devotion; for someone who
identifies devotion in his devotion is a person whose devotion
is in need of devotion." To contemplate devotion is to admire
it, and admiration is an afflication; and that which is pure is
whatever is free of all afflictions. This means that one's deeds
should be purified from any self-admiration concerning the
actions they entail.
Ayyub said: "It is much harder for the people of action
to purify their intentions than it is to execute any of
their actions."
Some people have said: "To be devout for a short while
is to survive for ever, but devotion is rare."
Suhail was asked: "What is the most difficult thing for
the self? He said: "Devotion, when the self does not
have the good fortunre of being endowed with it."
Al-Fudayl said: "Forsaking action for the sake of other
people is to seek their admiration. To act for the sake
of their admiration is to associate others with Allah. Devotion
is when Allah frees you from both of these states.
Notes: 1. Sahih, an-Nisa'i, Kitab al-Jihad, 6/25; al Hafidh ibn
Hajar, Fath al-Qadir, 6/28. 2. Sahih, Ibn Ma'jah; also Ibn
Hibban, Marwarid adh-Dham'an, p.47, on the authority of Zaid ibn
The Purification of the Soul
compiled from the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Al-Qayyim
al-Jawziyya, and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SINCERITY
Sincerity is the freeing of one's intentions from all
impurities in order to come nearer to Allah. It is to
ensure that the intentions behind all acts of worship and
obedience to Allah are exclusively for His pleasure. It is the
perpetual contemplation of the Creator, to the extent that one
forgets the creation.
Sincerity is a condition for Allah's acceptance of good
deeds performed in accordance with the sunnah of the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah has
commanded this in the Qur'an:
"And they have been commanded to worship only
Allah, being sincere towards Him in their deen
and true. (98:5)"
Abu Umama has related that a man once came to the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and
said, "What of a man who joined us in the fighting, his
intention being for fame and booty?" The Prophet said, "He
recieves nothing." The man repeated the question three times and
each time the Prophet said, "He receives nothing". Then he said,
"Allah only accepts actions that are intended purely for His
pleasure."(1)
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri related that the Prophet (saw) said
in his khutba during the farewell pilgrimage, "Allah
will bless whoever hears these words and whoever understands
them, for it may be that those who pass on this knowledge are
not those who will understand it the best. There are three
things concerning which the heart of a believer should feel no
enmity or malice: devoting one's actions to Allah, giving
counsel to the Imams of the Muslims, and being loyal to the
majority."(2)
What is meant here is that these three things strengthen
the heart, and whoever distinguishes himself in them
will have a heart purified from all manner of deceit, corruption
and evil.
A servant can only free himself from shaytan through
sincere devotion, for Allah tells us in the Quran that
Iblis said to Him:
"Except those of Your servants who are sincere.
(38:83)"
It has been related that a rigtheous man used to say, "O
self, be devout and you will be pure." When any wordly
fortune, in which the self finds comfort and towards which the
heart inclines, intrudes upon our worship, then it impairs the
purity of our efforts and ruins our sincerity. Man is
preoccupied with his good fortune and immersed in his desires
and appetites; rarely are his actions or acts of worship free of
temporary objectives and desires of this kind. For this reason
it has been said that whoever secures a single moment of pure
devotion to Allah in his life will survive, for devotion is rare
and precious, and cleansing the heart of its impurities is an
exacting undertaking.
In fact, devotion is the purifying of the heart from all
impurities, whether few or many, so that the intention of
drawing nearer to Allah is freed from all other motives, except
that of seeking His pleasure. This can only come from a lover
of Allah, who is so absorbed in contemplation of the next world
that there remains in his heart no place for the love of this
world. Such a person must be devote and pure in all his actions,
even in eating, drinking and answering the calls of nature.
With rare exceptions, anyone who is not like this will find the
door of devotion closed in his face.
The everyday actions of a person who is overwhelmed by
his or her love for Allah and the akhira are
characterised by his love and they are, in fact, pure devotion.
In the same way, anyone whose soul is overwhelmed by love for
and preoccupation with this world, or status and authority, will
be so overwhelmed by these things that no act of worship, be it
prayer or fasting, will be acceptable, except in very rare
cases.
The remedy for love of this world is to break the
worldly desires of the self, ending its greed for this
world and purifying it in preparation for the next world. This
will then become the state of the heart and sincere devotion
will become easier to attain. There are a great many actions
where a man acts, thinking they are purely intended for Allah's
pleasure, but he is deluded, for he fails to see the defects in
them.
It has been related that a man was used to praying in
the first row in the mosque. One day he was late for the
prayer, so he prayed in the second row. Feeling embarrassment
when people saw him in the second row, he realised that the
pleasure and satisfaction of the heart that he used to gain from
praying in the first row were due to his seeing people seeing
him there and admiring him for it. This is a subtle and
intangible condition and actions are rarely safe from it. Apart
from those whom Allah has assisted, few are aware of such
delicate matters. Those who do not realise it only come to see
their good deeds appearing as bad ones on the Day of
Resurrection; they are the ones referred to in Allah's words:
"And something will come to them from Allah
which they
had never anticipated, for the evil of their
deeds will become apparent to them. (39:47-48)"
And also:
"Say: Shall We tell you who will lose most in
respect of their
deeds? Those whose efforts were astray in the
life of this world, while they thought that
they were doing good works. (18:103-104)"
Yaqub said: "A devout person is someone who conceals
things that are good, in the same way that he conceals
things that are bad."
As-Sousi said: "True devotion is to lose the faculty of
being conscious of your devotion; for someone who
identifies devotion in his devotion is a person whose devotion
is in need of devotion." To contemplate devotion is to admire
it, and admiration is an afflication; and that which is pure is
whatever is free of all afflictions. This means that one's deeds
should be purified from any self-admiration concerning the
actions they entail.
Ayyub said: "It is much harder for the people of action
to purify their intentions than it is to execute any of
their actions."
Some people have said: "To be devout for a short while
is to survive for ever, but devotion is rare."
Suhail was asked: "What is the most difficult thing for
the self? He said: "Devotion, when the self does not
have the good fortunre of being endowed with it."
Al-Fudayl said: "Forsaking action for the sake of other
people is to seek their admiration. To act for the sake
of their admiration is to associate others with Allah. Devotion
is when Allah frees you from both of these states.
Notes: 1. Sahih, an-Nisa'i, Kitab al-Jihad, 6/25; al Hafidh ibn
Hajar, Fath al-Qadir, 6/28. 2. Sahih, Ibn Ma'jah; also Ibn
Hibban, Marwarid adh-Dham'an, p.47, on the authority of Zaid ibn
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