Salaam wa alaikum everyone!
I know it has been awhile but I have been extremely busy al hamdililah! I will be drafting a post on my Umrah trip soon insha'Allah.
Right now my current beef is with the Virginia Muslim Community and it's social scene. I am from a small town, and I lived in Baltimore for a few years. I have lived in the city and in the "country" if you will. However, nothing has been similar to this Northern VA, DC community. That being said I have been in the area for over a year now, and would like to voice my opinion on some issues with the social community.
1. Why does everything have to be listed on facebook? I understand facebook is a great way to network, inform many people for free, and meet new friends, however.....why doesn't anyone use the telephone anymore? Or even email? I do not like my daily activities blasted all over the internet, however in this area I have no choice. No facebook event= no attendees.
2. Mixed events...are the ONLY events..... Ok, I don't mind Islamically mindful mixed events...and I understand that not everyone has the same viewpoints as me....but where are the girls nights?? HELLOO! I have been down here over a year and there have only been two...one I hosted! what's up with that? I'm sorry but everytime I go to mixed events I get hit on, and I only end up getting to know men. Women are so distracted at these events and are NOT interested in getting to know girls...I wish that there were more girl events....also I wear my hijab ALL day EVERYDAY...why do I want to go to social events where I have to do that as well???
3. Depth of friendship....why do people try to be friends with 203940239480293840 people? You are never going to be close with these people. You attend all of these gatherings, fundraisers, and networking events, only to come out with 12 business cards and only first names. I'm sorry but this is not my way of living. I want to know that I have people that would take me to the hospital, nurture me when I am sick, and actually notice if I dropped off the face of the planet.
4. Invite someone over your HOUSE. I understand it is stressful to host people (especially why you wouldn't if it was mixed) HOWEVER how are you really friends if you have never seen them without hijab, and have never broken bread together. I love having people over for dinner and feeding them! No one ever wants to come over my house though. I think people have ADD at NOVA because there are so many events to chose from that a normal dinner seems boring. Try it some time...trust me it is more rewarding than you think insha'Allah....
Well that just about wraps up my rant on NOVA...let me know what you guys think....
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Praying at Work
I have been at my current job for about a year now. This entire time I have been praying during my lunch hour in the chilly warehouse, and missing prayers because I have been too self conscious and afraid to ask my boss to put time in my schedule to pray. This was really affecting my feelings about my job. Everday when I got home exhausted from working, I would have generally three prayers to make up. I really started to resent my job and was seriously thinking about leaving. I longed for a Muslim workplace and a job where my hours were flexible. My job is extremely scheduled, down the the half an hour. Finally I got up the gall to ask my boss if he would consider letting me come in early or what have you so I could get my prayers in on time. At the current time I was working 9:30-6:30pm, which made me miss everything but fajr and dhur. I went in his office and spoke with him privately. I stated that it would be a huge burden off me, and that I would only need a break in the afternoon. He told me that he couldn't guarantee anything, but he would do his best. I felt worried, and dissapointed that he did not automatically say yes, but I went back to my cubicle hoping to get an answer.
Not only did he change my schedule from 8am to 5pm, I now have a break for Asr. Al hamdilillah. My boss is allowing me to pray every single prayer on time. I have been on this schedule since the new year, and I have never felt better. I feel at peace and at ease. My work performance has improved significantly, as did my feelings about my job. If you are having trouble at work, just ask. You never know how you might be heard.
Not only did he change my schedule from 8am to 5pm, I now have a break for Asr. Al hamdilillah. My boss is allowing me to pray every single prayer on time. I have been on this schedule since the new year, and I have never felt better. I feel at peace and at ease. My work performance has improved significantly, as did my feelings about my job. If you are having trouble at work, just ask. You never know how you might be heard.
Friday, January 14, 2011
My Analysis of Surah 33:35
~Bismillah Al Rahman Al Rahim~
For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God's praise -- for them has God prepared forgiveness and great reward. [ Quran 33:35 ]
From reading this surah, I have extracted (at least what I believe) to be important points. Anything good I have gained from Allah (SWT), anything bad is from my own humanity.
This surah contains the formula to create the “perfect Muslim” or “perfect human”. Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) showed us the perfect execution of each of these characteristics in life. Each of these characteristics is something we should strive to have within ourselves, and these are the standards we should live by. Each of these adjectives are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an and Hadith on numerous occasions, stressing the importance of these characteristics.
Patience
“Seek help in patience and in prayer” (2:45)
“Surely God is with the patient (2:153)
“If you have patience and guard yourselves against evil and disobedience, God will send to your aid five thousand angels having distinguishing marks, if they (your enemies) suddenly attack you (3:124) promises the believers Divine aid in return for patience.”
Constant
(29:45)Convey (unto others) whatever of this divine writ has been revealed unto you, and be constant in prayer (Salah) for, behold, prayer restrains (man) from loathsome deeds and from all that runs counter to reason; and remembrance of God is indeed the greatest (good). And God knows all that you do.
Humble
Surah 6. Al-An'am Verses 33-67
6:43 But, instead of being humble when Our Requital touched them, their selfish desire led their minds into rationalizing their actions. This is because their hearts had been hardened with arrogance and repeated rejection of the Truth. [2:74, 5:13]
"Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said:Pride is My cloak and greatness My robe, and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire.
[Abu Dawud (also by Ibn Majah and Ahmad) with sound chains of authority. This Hadith also appears in Muslim in another version.]
Charity
Hadith Qudsi
“Spend (on charity), O son of Adam, and I shall spend on you.”
It was related by al- Bukhari (also by Muslim)
Fast
[[Surat
[[1:184]] (Fasting) for a fixed number of days but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (With hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free will, it is better for him. And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew.
Verse 185: Ramadan is the [month] in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgement (btw right and wrong). So every one of you who is present(at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up ) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you. He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him. In that He has guided you, and perchance ye shall be grateful.
[[1:184]] (Fasting) for a fixed number of days but if any of you is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed number (should be made up) from days later. For those who can do it (With hardship), is a ransom, the feeding of one that is indigent. But he that will give more, of his own free will, it is better for him. And it is better for you that ye fast, if ye only knew.
Verse 185: Ramadan is the [month] in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (signs) for guidance and judgement (btw right and wrong). So every one of you who is present(at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (should be made up ) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you. He does not want to put you to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him. In that He has guided you, and perchance ye shall be grateful.
Chastity
“And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts) (23:5)
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts and not to show of their adornment except only that which is apparent…” (24:31)
God’s Praise
The Beneficent
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.[55.1] The Beneficent God,
[55.2] Taught the Quran.
[55.3] He created man,
[55.4] Taught him the mode of expression.
[55.5] The sun and the moon follow a reckoning.
[55.6] And the herbs and the trees do adore (Him).
[55.7] And the heaven, He raised it high, and He made the balance
[55.8] That you may not be inordinate in respect of the measure.
[55.9] And keep up the balance with equity and do not make the measure deficient.
[55.10] And the earth, He has set it for living creatures;
[55.11] Therein is fruit and palms having sheathed clusters,
[55.12] And the grain with (its) husk and fragrance.
[55.13] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.14] He created man from dry clay like earthen vessels,
[55.15] And He created the jinn of a flame of fire.
[55.16] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.17] Lord of the East and Lord of the West.
[55.18] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.19] .He has made the two seas to flow freely (so that) they meet together:
[55.20] Between them is a barrier which they cannot pass.
[55.21] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.22] There come forth from them pearls, both large and small.
[55.23] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.24] And His are the ships reared aloft in the sea like mountains.
[55.25] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.26] Everyone on it must pass away.
[55.27] And there will endure for ever the person of your Lord, the Lord of glory and honor.
[55.28] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.29] All those who are in the heavens and the earth ask of Him; every moment He is in a state (of glory).
[55.30] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.31] Soon will We apply Ourselves to you, O you two armies.
[55.32] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.33] O assembly of the jinn and the men! If you are able to pass through the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass through; you cannot pass through but with authority.
[55.34] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.35] The flames of fire and smoke will be sent on you two, then you will not be able to defend yourselves.
[55.36] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.37] And when the heaven is rent asunder, and then becomes red like red hide.
[55.38] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.39] So on that day neither man nor jinni shall be asked about his sin.
[55.40] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.41] The guilty shall be recognized by their marks, so they shall be seized by the forelocks and the feet.
[55.42] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.43] This is the hell which the guilty called a lie.
[55.44] Round about shall they go between it and hot, boiling water.
[55.45] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.46] And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens.
[55.47] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.48] Having in them various kinds.
[55.49] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.50] In both of them are.two fountains flowing.
[55.51] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.52] In both of them are two pairs of every fruit.
[55.53] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.54] Reclining on beds, the inner coverings of which are of silk brocade; and the fruits of the two gardens shall be within reach.
[55.55] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.56] In them shall be those who restrained their eyes; before them neither man nor jinni shall have touched them.
[55.57] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.58] As though they were rubies and pearls.
[55.59] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.60] Is the reward of goodness aught but goodness?
[55.61] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.62] And besides these two are two (other) gardens:
[55.63] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.64] Both inclining to blackness.
[55.65] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.66] In both of them are two springs gushing forth.
[55.67] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.68] In both are fruits and palms and pomegranates.
[55.69] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.70] In them are goodly things, beautiful ones.
[55.71] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.72] Pure ones confined to the pavilions.
[55.73] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.74] Man has not touched them before them nor jinni.
[55.75] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.76] Reclining on green cushions and beautiful carpets.
[55.77] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.78] Blessed be the name of your Lord, the Lord of Glory and Honor!
[55.2] Taught the Quran.
[55.3] He created man,
[55.4] Taught him the mode of expression.
[55.5] The sun and the moon follow a reckoning.
[55.6] And the herbs and the trees do adore (Him).
[55.7] And the heaven, He raised it high, and He made the balance
[55.8] That you may not be inordinate in respect of the measure.
[55.9] And keep up the balance with equity and do not make the measure deficient.
[55.10] And the earth, He has set it for living creatures;
[55.11] Therein is fruit and palms having sheathed clusters,
[55.12] And the grain with (its) husk and fragrance.
[55.13] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.14] He created man from dry clay like earthen vessels,
[55.15] And He created the jinn of a flame of fire.
[55.16] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.17] Lord of the East and Lord of the West.
[55.18] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.19] .He has made the two seas to flow freely (so that) they meet together:
[55.20] Between them is a barrier which they cannot pass.
[55.21] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.22] There come forth from them pearls, both large and small.
[55.23] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.24] And His are the ships reared aloft in the sea like mountains.
[55.25] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.26] Everyone on it must pass away.
[55.27] And there will endure for ever the person of your Lord, the Lord of glory and honor.
[55.28] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.29] All those who are in the heavens and the earth ask of Him; every moment He is in a state (of glory).
[55.30] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.31] Soon will We apply Ourselves to you, O you two armies.
[55.32] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.33] O assembly of the jinn and the men! If you are able to pass through the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass through; you cannot pass through but with authority.
[55.34] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.35] The flames of fire and smoke will be sent on you two, then you will not be able to defend yourselves.
[55.36] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.37] And when the heaven is rent asunder, and then becomes red like red hide.
[55.38] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.39] So on that day neither man nor jinni shall be asked about his sin.
[55.40] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.41] The guilty shall be recognized by their marks, so they shall be seized by the forelocks and the feet.
[55.42] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.43] This is the hell which the guilty called a lie.
[55.44] Round about shall they go between it and hot, boiling water.
[55.45] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.46] And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens.
[55.47] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.48] Having in them various kinds.
[55.49] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.50] In both of them are.two fountains flowing.
[55.51] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.52] In both of them are two pairs of every fruit.
[55.53] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.54] Reclining on beds, the inner coverings of which are of silk brocade; and the fruits of the two gardens shall be within reach.
[55.55] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.56] In them shall be those who restrained their eyes; before them neither man nor jinni shall have touched them.
[55.57] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.58] As though they were rubies and pearls.
[55.59] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.60] Is the reward of goodness aught but goodness?
[55.61] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.62] And besides these two are two (other) gardens:
[55.63] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.64] Both inclining to blackness.
[55.65] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.66] In both of them are two springs gushing forth.
[55.67] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.68] In both are fruits and palms and pomegranates.
[55.69] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.70] In them are goodly things, beautiful ones.
[55.71] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.72] Pure ones confined to the pavilions.
[55.73] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.74] Man has not touched them before them nor jinni.
[55.75] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.76] Reclining on green cushions and beautiful carpets.
[55.77] Which then of the bounties of your Lord will you deny?
[55.78] Blessed be the name of your Lord, the Lord of Glory and Honor!
"Allah (glorified and exalted be He) has supernumerary angels who rove about seeking out gatherings in which Allah's name is being invoked: they sit with them and fold their wings round each other, filling in that which is between them and between the lowest heaven. When [the people in the gathering] depart, [the angels] ascend and rise up to heaven." He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Then Allah (mighty and sublime be He) asks them - [though] He is most knowing about them: 'From where have you come?' And they say: 'We have come from some servants of Yours on Earth: they were glorifying You (Subhana llah), exalting you (Allahu akbar), witnessing that there is no god but You (La ilaha illa llah), praising You (Al-Hamdu lillah), and asking [favours] of You.' He says: 'And what do they ask of Me?' They say: 'They ask of You Your Paradise.' He says: 'And have they seen My Paradise?' They say: 'No, O Lord.' He says: 'And how would it be were they to have seen My Paradise!' They say: 'And they ask protection of You.' He says: 'From what do they ask protection of Me?' They say: 'From Your Hell-fire, O Lord.' He says: 'And have they seen My Hell-fire?' They say: 'No.' He says: 'And how would it be were they to have seen My Hell-fire!' They say: 'And they ask for Your forgiveness.'" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Then He says: 'I have forgiven them and I have bestowed upon them what they have asked for, and I have granted them sanctuary from that from which they asked protection.'" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "They say: 'O Lord, among then is So-and-so, a much sinning servant, who was merely passing by and sat down with them.'" He (the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "And He says: 'And to him [too] I have given forgiveness: he who sits with such people shall not suffer.'"
[Muslim (also by al-Bukhari, at-Tirmidhi, and an-Nasa'i).]
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Congressman Makes an Public Anti Muslim Statement
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/01/congressman-peter-king-suggests-that-muslims-are-not-american.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+feedburner%2FWDBc+%28Mondoweiss%29&utm_content=Twitter
Anti Muslim
Anti Muslim
Monday, January 3, 2011
Awesome Article on the Heart Masha'Allah
Purification of the Heart
From the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, and Imam Ghazali
Types of Hearts
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 judgment of no other except that of His Messenger (s). 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 light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah. If it withholds, 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 (s). Those who follow the Prophet (s) in observing his Sunnah and the Shari`ah are guides to those who had not met him (s).
A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its journey's end and 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 and those who are rightly guided, keeping the Prophetic example. 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 shaytan. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes it deaf and blind1 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
This is 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 (s) and the afterlife (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.
Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness and Signs of Its Health
"He it is Who sent down 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." The Holy Quran: 48:4
Four-Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness and Signs of Its Health
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 healthy 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."2 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 reaches 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 (dhikrullah), 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 (s) 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 become 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.3
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 (s) 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. 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.
2. Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/233.
3. Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, 2/170 (with different wording).
From the works of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya, and Imam Ghazali
Types of Hearts
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 judgment of no other except that of His Messenger (s). 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 light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah. If it withholds, 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 (s). Those who follow the Prophet (s) in observing his Sunnah and the Shari`ah are guides to those who had not met him (s).
A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its journey's end and 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 and those who are rightly guided, keeping the Prophetic example. 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 shaytan. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes it deaf and blind1 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
This is 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 (s) and the afterlife (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.
Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness and Signs of Its Health
"He it is Who sent down 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." The Holy Quran: 48:4
Four-Symptoms Of the Heart's Sickness and Signs of Its Health
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 healthy 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."2 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 reaches 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 (dhikrullah), 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 (s) 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 become 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.3
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 (s) 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. 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.
2. Sahih Al-Bukhari, Kitab ar-Riqaq, 11/233.
3. Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Iman, 2/170 (with different wording).
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