Tazkiya, Purification of the Heart n Soul

[iLoveAllah]

[glow=red,2,300]PURIFICATION OF THE HEART: TAZKIYA
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Surah Ash-Shams

9. Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds).

10. And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds).


Surah A'la

14. Indeed whosoever purifies himself (by avoiding polytheism and accepting Islamic Monotheism) shall achieve success

You'll find a series of talks on this topic conducted by Shaykh Kamaluddin below.

[Ummati]

There are 8 lessons in all.

Below you will find the new link:

www.islamicspirituality.org/lectures/classical/purification

[Ummati]

Victim to Ghaflah, Heedlessness

O man! What has deceived you about your generous Lord?
Who created you, shaped you, and made you well-proportioned
and set you in whatever form He pleased?

(82:6-8)

Let us consider. Let us reflect.

Not only did Allah create man, but He also perfected his creation and proportioned his body, limbs and organs. Every limb and organ is well placed. The body, height, length and breadth of every limb are kept in harmony, symmetry and balance. Any deviation from the symmetrical construction of the human body, the organs will become dysfunctional. Man is granted such symmetry, harmony and balance that no other animal in the world is granted to that degree.

Thereafter: He composed you in whichever form He willed .... 82:8. This is to indicate that since the basic structure of all human beings is the same, it was expected that the zillions of members of the human society would have shared the same shape, size and features, but the perfect mastery and the wonderful acumen of the Supreme Creator has created them so differently that each one of them has its own unique features that make him clearly distinct from all others, and no one is confused with another.

Then Really:

0 man! What has deceived you about your Gracious Lord??

Allah has endowed man with such natural faculties and abilities that every limb and every joint of his body was enough to remind him of His Creator, and to make him obedient. But he is lured away from his gracious Lord, has forgotten Him and disobeyed Him. The question is: How did he forget his Lord, how did he become heedless of Him, and how is he lured away from his Lord? From the Lord who is Al Kareem- The generous?

Perhaps then- we have deluded ourselves. Allah SWT is the Most Gracious and Generous. He does not punish man immediately after his committing a sin. Rather, his sustenance, welfare and well-being, and worldly comforts[and pleasures] are not curtailed.

Are we then misinterpreting Allah's magnanimity, and thus falling into deception?

'How many humans are there whose faults are put [by Allah] under cover, (i.e. He did not disgrace them), yet they do not appreciate.' (Hasan Al-Basri)

Surah Hadid:

Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and spend out of that (wealth) in which He has appointed you as deputies. So, for those of you who have believed and spent (in Allah's way), there is a big reward.

And what is wrong with you that you do not believe in Allah, while the Messenger invites you to believe in your Lord, and He has taken your covenant, if you are believers? He is the One who reveals clear verses to His slave, so that He brings you out from layers of darkness towards the light. And to you, indeed, Allah is Very-Kind, Very-Merciful.

And what is wrong with you that you should not spend in the way of Allah, while to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth? Those who spent before the Conquest (of Makkah), and fought (in Allah's way), are not at par (with others). Those are much greater in rank than those who spent later and fought, though Allah has promised the good (reward) for each. And Allah is well aware of what you do.

Who is the one who advances a loan, a good loan, to Allah so that He multiplies it for him, and he may have a noble reward?

Has the time not yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be
humble for the remembrance of Allah and for the truth that has descended (through revelation)?

~*~

There are two sets of factors that make man unmindful of Allah and the Hereafter:

[1] wealth, comfort and other luxuries of this world; one's over-involvement in such luxuries makes him neglectful of Allah.

[2] calamities, problems and other hardships that cause one to be hopeless and in turn neglectful towards Allah.

But,

No calamity befalls the earth or your own selves, but it is [pre-destined] in a Book before We bring it into being .... 57:22)

Allah thus informs us of His encompassing knowledge, recording all things before they occur and creating all things in due measure known to Him, so that we may know that what has met us would never have missed us, and what has missed us would never have met us. Therefore, we are commanded not to over-grieve on the good things we have missed, nor to over-exult on the comforts or wealth we enjoyed in this life, and in turn be neglectful about Allah and the Hereafter.

[iLoveALLAH]

muslimmatters.org/2011/08/17/my-lord-my-lord-but-do-we-deserve-an-answer/

[iLoveALLAH]

Ending our error, consciously making lifestyle changes to protect us from returning to the error again and sincerely regretting our sin, evidenced through our repatriation of belongings to their owners is tawbah in its most broad sense.

Reformation is contriteness. Reformation is optimism. Reformation is life-long. It is the awe of the Majesty of the Creator of all that exists that compels the pious to possess an element of fear.

The fear of Allah is the fear of not worshiping Allah as He deserves. It is a fear of being insincere and rendering our deeds worthless. It is the fear of setting a bad example for others and leading them away from Allah. It is a fear of knowing and not doing, of hearing and not responding, of advising but not implementing ourself. It is fear that our love of Allah is not complete and that the love of the dunya is greater than our attachment to its Creator. It is a fear of standing before Allah the All-Knowing

[Ummati]

Those whispers...



I don't know what to say but sometimes I get these really terrible ideas in my head. I think things that istagfirAllah really are wrong and I worry that I'm not even a Muslim. I'm always doubting myself and thinking I am a hypocrite. I'm scared to meet Allah with these thoughts. Sometimes also I get these doubts in the middle of my prayer and I think about just stopping my prayer right then and there..like how can I pray to Allah with these thoughts and also I get so confused what part of salah I did and didn't do. Please help.


Dear In Need of Help,

First of all, sis, it sounds like you're suffering waswas. But, let me give you some really good good news. You, inshaAllah, are on the right path.

Muslim (132) narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “Some of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to him and said, ‘We find things in our hearts that none of us would dare to utter out loud.’ He said, ‘Do you really find that?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘That is clear faith.’”

Yes, darling. You read that sentence right. Allah has given you this test because inshaAllah you are among those with real faith. Don't think otherwise. You see, if you had been for example a 'hypocrite' you wouldn't even be scared of the Hereafter or scared about your faith. Being scared about your faith is a sign of a real believer, inshaAllah

Think of this as jihad. This is your struggle. Maybe it is your ticket to paradise. InshaAllah you will be rewarded for all that you are patiently going through.

Shaykh al-Islam (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 7/282) explaining the hadith about 'this is clear faith' said: “In other words, the fact that this waswaas was happening and they disliked it so much and pushed it away from their hearts is clear faith, like the mujaahid to whom the enemy comes and he resists him until he defeats him, and this is the greatest form of jihad. Clear (sareeh) means pure, like pure milk. It becomes clear and pure because they hated those devilish whispers and warded them off, so their faith became pure and clear.”

What do you have to do? Keep pushing these thoughts away. Keep ignoring them.

And don't EVER EVER give up ibadaat because of this. Shaytaan does this to scare you--- he tries to convince you to leave your salaah. Don't listen to him. Remind yourself that this is a trick of Shaytaan. He doesn't want you to bow down to Allah. Just keep praying and tell Allah that you are struggling to please him.


Let's take a look at some other hadiths:

Muslim (3203) narrated that ‘Uthmaan ibn Abi’l-‘Aas came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, the Shaytaan is coming between me and my prayer and making me confused in my recitation.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “That is a devil called Khanzab. If you feel his presence, then seek refuge with Allaah from him and spit drily to your left three times.” [‘Uthmaan] said: “I did that and Allaah took him away from me.”

Al-Bukhaari (3276) and Muslim (134) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The Shaytaan comes to some of you and says, “Who created such and such? Who created such and such?” – until he says, “Who created your Lord?” If that happens, then let him seek refuge with Allaah and stop thinking about that.’”

Al-Bukhaari (1231) and Muslim (389) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘When the call for prayer is given, the Shaytaan runs away, breaking wind loudly so as not to hear the adhaan. When the adhaan ends, he comes back. When the iqaamah is made, he runs away, then when the iqaamah ends, he comes back to distract a man from his prayer, saying, “Remember such and such,” things that the man did not remember, until he does not know how many rak’ahs he has prayed. If one of you does not know how many rak’ahs he has prayed, whether it is three or four, then let him do two prostrations whilst he is sitting.”

Ibn Taymiyyah also said:(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 14/108):

“This waswasah is something that enters the heart not by a person’s choice, and if a person hates it and shuns it, this hatred of it is clear faith.”

And he said in Dar’ al-Ta’aarud, 3/318:

“This waswaas may be gotten rid of by seeking refuge with Allaah and ignoring it, so that if [the Shaytaan] says, ‘you did not wash your face,’ you should say, ‘Yes, I did wash my face;’ if he thinks that he did not form the intention (for prayer) or say Allaahu akbar, he should say in his heart, ‘Yes I did form the intention and say Allaahu akbar.’ He should cling steadfastly to the truth and ward off the waswaas that goes against it, so that the Shaytaan will see how strong and steadfast he is in adhering to the truth, and will leave him alone. Otherwise when he [the Shaytaan] sees that he is influenced by doubts and responsive to waswaas, he will send him more waswaas until he will be unable to resist and his heart will become receptive to the seductive whispers of the devils of the jinn and of mankind, and he will move from one thing to another until the Shaytaan drives him to his doom.

Based on the above, we may say that a man will be rewarded for resisting this waswaas and for striving against the Shaytaan for a number of reasons:

1 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) praised the feeling of hatred towards the waswaas that had to do with doubts concerning belief (‘aqeedah), when he said, “That is clear faith.” One of things implied by the hatred of this waswaas is that one turns away from it and does not get carried away with it.

2 – Obeying the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Let him stop it.”

3 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning the prostration of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw): “They will annoy the Shaytaan.” This implies encouragement to annoy and humiliate the Shaytaan. Annoying him here means turning away from this waswaas and not paying any attention to it. This is in addition to the fact that Allaah and His Messenger have taught us to seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan, etc.

4 – The difficulties and distress that the believer may suffer as a result of this waswaas may be included in the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “No Muslim suffers tiredness, exhaustion, worry, grief, annoyance or distress, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allaah will expiate some of his sins thereby.” (al-Bukhaari, 2573; Muslim, 5642).

5 – Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah – may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “like the mujaahid to whom the enemy comes and he resists him until he defeats him, and this is the greatest form of jihad.” The fact that he likens him to a mujaahid and describes this as the greatest form of jihad may be understood to mean that he will be rewarded for that.
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad and all his family and companions.


Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid


May Allah ease your situation, sis.


from Dear Little Auntie's Blogspot.

[Ummati]

[Ummati]

Advice to those who wish to soften their hearts...

[Ummati]

The story of Shaykh Abdullah Al-Andalusi (rah)

Adapted from Aap Beeti

This is a story filled with lessons and warning, we will learn that it is of utmost importance for one to avoid thinking of others as being inferior to him. We should always remember the advice of Shaykh Shahabuddin Suhrawardi (rah), the spiritual guide of Shaykh Saadi (rah): "Never become self-conceited and never look down upon anyone else."

This story takes place at a time when piety, trust and righteousness was quite prominent in the lives of the people. In every town there were numerous Ulema and pious men, especially in Baghdad, which at the time was the seat of the Islamic State. It was a gathering place for the jurists, scholars of hadith, and the saints. In this city among all these pious people, was one Abu Abdullah Al-Andalusi (rah), who had thirty khanqahs (spiritual retreats) in Baghdad. In addition he was a well-known scholar and muhaddith and it said that the number of his disciples was 12,000. He knew 30,000 hadith by heart, and could recite the Quran in all the various 'Qiraats'.

On a certain occasion he was going on a journey and was accompanied with a large crowd of attendants among whom were the well-known Junayd Baghdadi (rah) and Shibli (rah).

Hadrat Shibli (rah) continues the story: "Our caravan was travelling along quite nicely, safely and comfortably until we passed by an area where Christians were residing. It was already time for Salaah, but because of the unavailability of water, we had not performed it yet. When we reached the Christian village, a search was made for water. We went about the village and discovered the town had many temples, sun-worshipping altars, synagogues and churches. Some of them worshipped the sun, some were worshipping the fire, and some were directing their pleas at the cross. We passed all this and reached the outskirts of the town, where we found a well and a few girls drawing water for people to drink."

Shaykh Abu Abdullah's (rah) eyes fell upon one of the girls who stood out from the rest through her exquisite beauty. She was dressed in beautiful clothes and adorned in jewelry. The Shaykh (rah) asked the other girls who she was. They replied: "This is the daughter of our chief". The Shaykh (rah) replied: "Then why did her father degrade her to such an extent that she has to sit by the well and give people water to drink?"

The girls replied: "He does not want her to sit around and be proud and boastful of her father's possessions". Hadrat Shibli (rah) says: "The Shaykh (rah) sat down with his head bent forward and remained silent like that for three days. At the time of Salaah he would perform his Salaah." On the third day becoming despondent with his situation, I decided to speak to him. I said: "O Shaykh, your mureeds (disciples) are very worried and perplexed at this continued silence of yours. Please speak to us. What is the problem?"

The Shaykh (rah) replied: "My beloved friends! For how long can I keep my condition hidden from you? My heart has become filled with love for the girl we saw the day before yesterday. So much has this love filled me that it is in control of all my limbs. It is not possible for me under any circumstance to leave from here." Hadrat Shibli (rah) replied: "Our leader! You are the spiritual guide of all Iraq. You are known for your piety, knowledge and virtues. Your disciples number over 12,000. I beg you through the Holy Quran not to disgrace us." The Shaykh (rah) replied: "My beloved friends, your lot and my lot has already been sealed by fate. The cloak of sainthood has been removed from me and the signs of guidance have been taken away from me. What has been predestined has come to pass, now I am nothing." Saying this the Shaykh (rah) started weeping bitterly.

When the people heard of our return, they turned up in large numbers at the outskirts of the city to come and meet the Shaykh (rah) . They saw that he was not with us and asked about it. We told them the entire story. They was a lot of sorrow and crying. Many fell down in prayer begging Allah to guide the Shaykh (rah) to the right path and return him to his former position. In the meantime all the khanqahs were closed down. We were still talking about the Shaykh's (rah) tragedy one year later when we decided to visit that town again and find out how he was. A group of us set forth and after enquiring were told that he was in the woods looking after pigs. We said: "Allah protect us! What has happened? The villagers told us that he had proposed marriage to the daughter of the village chief. The girls father had accepted the proposal on the condition that he would look after the pigs."

"With tears streaming down our eyes, we went to the woods where he was rearing pigs. We saw him with a string of sacred beads around his neck. He stood leaning on a staff as he watched the pigs, standing in the same way in which he stood when he used to deliver the Khutbah for us. This was like rubbing salt into our open wounds."

When he saw us coming towards him he bent his head in shame. We came nearer and said "Assalamu Alaykum." He replied: "Walaykumus salaam". Then Hadrat Shibli (rah) asked: "Shaykh (rah) inspite of your knowledge and virtue what is this that has happened to you?" The Shaykh (rah) replied: "My brothers! I am now no longer driven by my own choice and will. Whatever Allah has desired for me, He has done with me. After having brought me so near to His door, He has now thrown me very far away from Him. Who is there that can overturn the decree of Allah? O my brothers, fear Allah's power and wrath. Never become proud and arrogant regarding your knowledge and virtues. Then turning towards the heavens he said: "O my Lord, I never expected that You will make me so disgraced and despised and send me away from Your door." Then he began crying bitterly and appealing to Allah.

Seeing the Shaykh (rah) in such hopelessness, they left for Baghdad. However on the way they saw the Shaykh (rah) in front of them coming out of a river, where he had just performed a bath. In a loud voice he said: "I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship besides Allah and I bear witness that Muhammad (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) is the Messenger of Allah" The Shaykh (rah) asked us for pure clothing to wear. He then started performing Salaah after which he was asked the reason why he was put through such an intense trial?

The Shaykh (rah) replied: "When we arrived in the village and saw the temples, synagogues and churches and we saw fire-worshippers busy worshipping things other than Allah, a pride overtook my heart. I thought that these people were so foolish to worship lifeless things. At that time I heard a voice inside me saying: 'This Iman that you have, in not part of your virtue or good qualities. All this is merely Our favors upon you. Do not consider your faith to be of your own choosing, that you can now look down upon these people with despising eyes. And if you so wish, We will test you now.' At that moment I felt has if a dove had left my heart and flew away. That was in fact my Imaan."

Hadrat Shibli (rah) relates: "Thereafter our caravan arrived in Baghdad with great joy all around. All of his mureeds were extremely happy that the Shaykh (rah) had reverted to Islam. He resumed his activities in Tasawwuf, Tafseer and Hadith. The Khanqahs were reopened and in a short while, his mureeds numbered over 40,000."

[Ummati]

[Ayesha]

[Ummati]

[Ummati]

Fasad – The Corrupter of Hearts



By Mufti Kamaluddin

Although there are differences of opinion on several matters, strangely, every single human being on earth agrees upon one thing – today the whole world is affected by Fasad: unhappiness, discord, unease and corruption. However, different people offer different solutions to this Fasad.

The educated people say that the reason for Fasad is the lack of education. However, if education was the solution, then countries with a literacy rate of over ninety percent should not have any problems. But, if we go to any of those places, they tell us that they also have problems.

An economist will say that the reason for Fasad is poverty. People do not have enough wealth to fulfill their bare necessities, and, hence, this poverty is the cause of unhappiness in the world. If wealth were the solution, then people living in wealthy countries should be living lives of ease and contentment. However, if we go to them, they will also say that they are unhappy.

The Deen of Islam reveals the reason behind this unhappiness and discord. The Prophet (sa) said that in every son of Adam there is an organ, that if it is sound, the whole body will be sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt and spoilt. That organ is Qalb -the spiritual heart of a human being. (Bukhari) This Hadeeth clearly tells us that if the heart is spoilt, the human being will be spoilt, and if the heart is pure, the human being will also be sound and pure. Therefore, all the worries and problems in the world are due to problematic people.

Fasad in the world exists because there are individuals, who have Fasad in them. Only that human being, whose heart is impure, will have corruption in him. So the reason why there are so many problems and difficulties in this world is simply because there are so many human beings, who have lost their lesson of humanity and who have corrupted, impure hearts. If the heart becomes pure, the human being will be pure; the family will be pure; the community will be pure; the society will be pure – consequently, the world will be pure.

Precisely for this reason Allah (swt) sent prophets and messengers, so that they purify the hearts of human beings and teach them, how to live pure lives. Through the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (sa),we see that he first worked on the hearts of people, then he formed a community in Madinah and only afterwards they were able to change the society of the whole Arabian Peninsula. This is precisely, what Allah (swt) wants – that we submit our hearts to Him.

The Prophet (sa) said that Allah (swt) does not look at our bodies or at our faces, but He looks at our hearts. (Muslim) Allah (swt) looks, which of His servants has embedded His love and remembrance in his heart. Hence, we should beautify our hearts so that they look pleasing, when Allah (swt) gazes upon them.

Thus, there are two types of hearts: the purified and sound heart (Qalb-un-Saleem) and the corrupt and polluted heart (Qalb-un-Saqeem). Qalb-un-Saleem is that heart, which inclines a person towards good and everything that is pleasing to Allah (swt). A person with a pure heart is wonderful to live with, wonderful to look at and is able to see not only with his eyes but also with his heart. Qalb-un-Saqeem, however, is that heart, which invites a person to actions and thoughts that are corrupt and prohibited. The person with such heart does not view good as good and evil as evil. His heart keeps him occupied with unlawful thoughts and lustful desires. Such a heart will not allow a person to listen to counsel or to accept advice for changing its ways.

How can we purify our hearts? If we enter into a room full of dust, we immediately realize that some window must have been left open, through which pollution has entered. In the same way, the dirt comes into our hearts, because we have left some window open, which is bringing that corruption inside.

There are four windows to the heart.

The first window is a person’s eyes. If we we do with our eyes things that are good, such as look at our parents with love, look at the Quran with love, then these actions cast Noorinto our heart. However, if we look at unlawful things, for instance a woman, who is impermissible to look at, then that will bring darkness into our heart. So the eye is like a window into the heart. Allah’s (swt) has made it very easy for us to protect our gaze – He has given us a shutter called our eyelid. It is extremely easy to close our eyelids and save our eyes from seeing bad things. All we have to do is intend, and our eyes will close immediately.

The second window to a person’s heart is a person’s ears. Everything that we hear will affect our heart. If we hear something that is good – recitation of the Quran, good advice, good teachings – then that will have a positive effect on the heart. However, if we listen to lies, bad talks or music, then that will naturally have a negative effect on our hearts.

The third window is a person’s tongue. If we speak good things – recite the Quran, speaks the truth, talk about Allah (swt) and Deen -the Noorof these words will come into our heart. However, if we say things that are bad, for instance unlawful speech or backbiting, then darkness will come into our hearts. So we should always try to use our tongue in good speech and for mentioning the majesty and blessings of Allah (swt).

Lastly, the fourth window into the heart is our mind. Whatever thoughts we think will affect our heart. If we spend our free time thinking about good things and actions that are pleasing to Allah (swt), then such thoughts will cast a light into our hearts. If we spend our time thinking about bad things and engage in unlawful fantasies, then such thoughts will definitely have a very negative effect on our heart.

We have to guard all these four windows and prevent anything corrupt from entering and affecting our heart. If the heart becomes pure, everything in the world will change. For this reason, we must start purifying our hearts from its spiritual illnesses, so that Allah’s (swt) love can come into our hearts. We should make Dua to Allah (swt) to grant us such a heart, which is the abode of His love.