Purification of the Soul

Have fear and consciousness of Allah, the Most High, and ponder over events that happen around you. Learn lessons from them and remember, for the intelligent one is he who remembers and takes admonition.

The topic of this khutbah is the destructive earthquake that hit part of Turkey. The earthquake which caused thousands of people to die, caused loss of wealth and properties, and forced people to seek refuge outside of their dwellings, now being without their home and their wealth, and without food and drink. The earthquake which turned security into fear, richness into poverty, caused joined families to depart, and turned life into death. Without doubt, in it is a lesson for those who take lessons and a reminder for those who remember, so that they may return to their Lord and their Creator.

The Truthful, the Chosen one (as-Sadiq al-Mustafah), peace be upon him, has informed us that a multitude of earthquakes is a sign of the proximity of the Hour. He informed us that they would be many at the end of the time.

Ahmad relates in a hadith (tradition) narrated by Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, upon whom be peace, said:

"The Hour will not happen until knowledge is taken out, time passes quickly, earthquakes increase in number, fitan (tribulations) appear, and al-harj increases in number."

It was said, "What is al-harj, O Messenger of Allah?" He said:

"Al-qatl, al-qatl (killing)."

A lot of what is mentioned in this hadith has already materialized.

Happenings of earthquakes and the like from other destructive and disastrous events are the greatest evidence of the astonishing power of Allah, the Most High. Earthquakes are from among the soldiers of Allah, the Exalted, subjected to His order. He, the Most Just, causes fear in the hearts of those whom He wills, teaches lessons whom He wills and punishes whom He wills.

"And none can know the forces of your Lord, except He." [Al-Qur'an 74:31]

"For to Allah belong the forces of the heavens and the earth." [Al-Qur'an 48:7]

If this ummah (Nation) leaves Allah's shari'ah (law), ignores the din (religion) of Allah, the Most High, and follows its enemies, Allah will subjugate it to His armies, which no one knows except He. From among these armies are the earthquakes.

"Such is the Seizure of your Lord when He seizes the towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His Seizure is painful and severe." [Al-Qur'an 11:102]

"When We decide to destroy a town, We (first) send a definite order (to obey Allah and be righteous) to those among them who are given the good things of this life. Then, they transgress therein, and thus the word (of torment) is justified against (them). Then we destroy it with complete destruction." [Al-Qur'an 17:16]

Allah, the Most High, with this earthquake makes clear to His servants a plain reality, that the kingdom of the heavens and the earth is in His Hands and that He is the Irresistible and Dominant over His servants.

Some people may be astonished by what the West has from the materialistic power, from various weapons, aircraft carriers, bombs, satellites etc., and they forget that Allah, the Most Merciful, allowed that piece of land to move and shake, being able to shake the force of the West and the East. Everything is in His Hands, He has power over all things, and no one in the Heavens and the Earth can weaken Him, the Most High. Appearance of the earthquakes therefore points us to a different reality that may be absent in the minds of some people, those who are busy with this world and who are servants of materialism.

This earthquake also reminds us of the Day of Judgment. The Day when all of the Earth will shake, and not only one part of it. Allah says:

"O mankind! Fear your Lord and be dutiful to Him! Verily, the earthquake of the Hour is a terrible thing. The Day you shall see it, every nursing mother will forget her nursling, and every pregnant one shall drop her load, and you shall see mankind as in a drunken state. Yet they will not be drunken, but the Torment of Allah will be severe." [Al-Qur'an 22:1-2]

Look what is left after the earthquake from destroyed buildings and houses, deaths of thousands, and families seeking refuge outside of their homes. What state is that in which everyone is running away, caring about nothing? So what do you think of the Day of Judgment?

"That Day shall a man flee from his own brother, and from his mother and his father, and from his wife and his children." [Al-Qur'an 80:34-36]

"One the day (when the first blowing of the Trumpet is blown), the earth and the mountains will shake violently." [Al-Qur'an 79:6]

Allah, the Most High, warns His servants with this earthquake to learn a lesson and be admonished, and to be ready and prepare themselves for the Day of sorting out, the day of the great earthquake, that will shake all of the earth.

Allah has placed in this universe sunan, fixed and manifest laws, neither do they change nor are they replaceable. He does not have any kinship with anyone, He is the sole Creator and Ruler, and He will question and hold accountable everyone, including prophets and messengers.

"Then surely, We shall question those to whom it (the Book) was sent and We shall question the Messengers." [Al-Qur'an 7:6]

From among the established sunan of Allah is that He does not send punishment except due to sin and He does not remove it except after repentance. Allah says:

"Whatever misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned." [Al-Qur'an 42:30]

Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says:

"Evil and mischief have appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned, that Allah may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allah)." [Al-Qur'an 30:41]

Every disaster and every calamity that befalls the servants is due to their sins and wrongdoing. So know, servants of Allah, what wrongdoing does to its doers.

What has taken Adam and Eve from Jannah (Paradise) except wrongdoing, and what Has drowned all of the people on the earth at the time of Nuh (Noah), to the point that water reached the peak of mountains, except wrongdoing?

Who is it who sent the furious violent wind upon the people of 'Ad, so that they were seen lying overthrown and destroyed, as if they were hollow trunks of palm-trees? Who is it who sent the awful cry upon the people of Thamud until it cut their hearts inside their bodies, and they all fell dead without exception? Who lifted the villages of the people of Lut (Lot) till the angels heard barking of their dogs, then turned them upside down, and then rained upon them a rain of stones?

That is the immediate punishment for wrongdoing: drowning, fire, earthquakes, destruction, famine, raging wind ...

"And the torment of the hereafter is far more severe and more lasting." [Al-Qur'an 20:127]

Do we not take admonition and lesson? Allah, the Most High, says:

"Did We not destroy the ancients? So shall We make the later generations to follow them. Thus do We deal with the mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers, sinners.). Woe that Day to the deniers (of the Day of Resurrection)!" [Al-Qur'an 77:16-19]

The earthquake of Turkey is just a warning from Allah, the Most Beneficent, not only to the people of that country alone, but rather to the Muslims in general, in all lands - that they may return to their Lord and their din. Otherwise a punishment will come upon them. Allah, the Most High, says:

"So We seized each of them for his sins." [Al-Qur'an 29:40]

Many of the Muslims today have gathered many sins. We see those who delay and neglect prayers, eat haram (that which is forbidden), deal with riba (interest), do not fulfil their trusts, order the evil and forbid the good. Those who indulge in mixing, display of awrah, listening to music and songs, and those who have abandoned the Qur'an. All these exist in our society. Let us fear Allah and preserve what we have from the blessings, for wrongdoing removes blessings, rather it changes it to a curse. And let us be warned of an evil end, for Allah gives us a chance but is not neglectful. What has happened to the previous nations and some of the current ones will happen to us if we obey the Shaytan (Devil) and go far from the path of the Most Merciful. These are the sunan of Allah that will never change.

"Or do you feel secure that He, Who is over the Heaven, will not cause the earth to sink with you, then behold it shakes (as in an earthquake)? Or do you feel secure that He, Who is over the heaven, will not send against you a violent whirlwind? Then you shall know how (terrible) was My Warning." [Al-Qur'an 67:16-17]

Let us pause and ask ourselves what has been the tangible impact on us since we have heard and seen this earthquake, and what it has left from the mighty and scary destruction that makes the hearts bleed. The happy one is one who learns from the calamity of others, and the sad one is by whom these calamities pass while he takes no lesson from them.

Just recently the sun eclipsed, then followed the floods, then the strong wind, and then this earthquake happened. The people are still as they were before, you see no change. You do not see people going back to the path of Allah and you do not see any crowds in mosques. It is unfortunate that the explanation offered for these events is that they are normal natural disasters, and that they do not link it to what happens to people due to their wrongdoing. Theirs is clearly an incorrect interpretation.

"And We sent not the signs except to warn, and to make them afraid (of destruction)." [Al-Qur'an 17:59]

(s) A khutbah (sermon) delivered by the Shaykh, given on 27th August 1999 after a major earthquake in Turkey

The second characteristic that everyone has to be cautious of, but especially those people who are studying the 'ilm, who have been given by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who have been blessed by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to have knowledge and to be making da'wah, these people have to be very careful about a disease that comes to people of this nature many times, unfortunately, and this is the disease of kibr, of arrogance and pride. And sometimes the way this is reflected is where the person refuses and does not want anyone to correct him, or at least he will not accept correction from certain people. Ya'ni he may accept correction or be told that he is wrong by someone who is from his group, someone who is a close friend of his, but anybody else, he will look down upon anyone else, and he will not accept any kind of criticism from anybody else, and this is kibr. This is pride and arrogance, as described in the hadith of the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said that no one who has even a mustard grain seed weight of kibr in his heart, no one who has this in his heart will enter Jannah.

Someone asked the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, he said that a man loves to have nice clothing on, put nice shoes and he understood this is maybe kibr; the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty," ya'ni this is not kibr, but kibr is "to reject the truth and to look down upon the people", to reject the truth for example when it comes to you from the source you do not like, when it comes to you from someone perhaps who is not as much upon the right path as you think you are, and to look down upon other people and to disgrace them, this is kibr.

You have to realize that, I don't care if you are the biggest 'alim in the world, you could make a mistake sometimes, that some child could come up to you and say, you know, that was a mistake. Al-Bukhari was just 11 or 12 years old the first time he corrected his shaykh.

This is something that we have to be very careful about especially as I said when we are involved in da'wah and in giving knowledge. Because it is really when one gets knowledge that he feels, who are you to talk to me, ... don't talk to me, you have a problem with me ..., go talk to the ulama', and have the ulama' come and talk to me. This is a problem, and it is very dangerous unfortunately.

(s) Short transcription from a lecture on tape

"The religion is nasihah." The people asked, "To whom?" The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, replied, "To Allah and to His Book and to His Messenger and to the leaders of the Muslims and the common folk." [Collected by Bukhari and Muslim]

It lurks in the deepest, darkest parts of ourselves and waits expectantly for opportunities to strike. It attacks our defences of iman, strategically tears down our walls of taqwa and ruthlessly diminishes our ihsan, or perfection of worship. Struggling against the evil that is inherent in all of us, is a battle that is fought on a daily, even hourly basis, and like most wars it is seldom won alone. Allah, through His Eternal Mercy, has given the believers the most powerful weapon available to assure victory in this constant struggle between good and evil - each other.

How many of us have looked to our brothers and sisters in Islam and have seen them straying from the path of Allah, and have turned our faces away? How many of us have seen our brothers erring and said to ourselves, it is none of my business? Well, it is our business for the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, has made it our business. In the hadith related by Tamim ad-Dari, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said, "The religion is nasihah." The people asked, "To whom?" The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, replied, "To Allah and to His Book and to His Messenger and to the leaders of the Muslims and the common folk."

The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, has equated the entire religion to giving nasihah, but what exactly is nasihah? Nasihah is an Arabic word that is usually translated to mean sincerity or sincere advice, but actually embodies every type of virtue. As believers, this statement of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, must be taken to heart. By learning what nasihah is, we can then act on it and bring about positive changes in ourselves and each other. Nasihah is a wonderful weapon, but like most weapons, if the user does not know how to use it properly, it can cause more harm than good.

How is Nasihah Given to Allah?

1. By establishing His worship by offering the obligatory deeds with perfection.
2. By believing in Him; negating partners from Him; not denying any of His qualities; describing Him with all the qualities of beauty and perfection; and declaring Him to be far removed from faults and qualities of imperfection.
3. By establishing His obedience and turning away from His disobedience.
4. By loving and hating for His sake; befriending and making allegiance to those who obey Him and taking as enemies those who disobey Him; and turning toward what He loves and distancing oneself from displeasing Him.
5. By appreciating His blessings, bounties and thanking Him for them by obeying Him out of love and drawing closer to Him through the heart.
6. By calling to all of the above, teaching it and being sincere in it for His sake.

How is Nasihah Given to the Book of Allah?

1. By firmly believing in the heart that it is the Speech of Allah and His Revelation; it is not like the words of the creation; and none of His creation is capable of producing something similar to it.
2. By respecting it.
3. By learning and teaching it; reading, reciting, and writing it properly; understanding its meaning; staying within its bounds; acting upon what is contained in it.

How is Nasihah to the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, Given?

1. By affirming his prophethood.
2. By firmly believing in the heart in everything he came with; obeying him in what he commanded and what he forbade.
3. By aiding him while he was alive and after his death; taking his enemies as one's enemies, and befriending those who take him as a friend.
4. By realising the greatness of his right upon us, honouring him, and reviving his Sunnah.
5. By practising his Sunnah by spreading and affirming it; refuting those who cast doubts upon it; spreading its knowledge and its understanding; not arguing about it without knowledge; calling others toward it; teaching it with gentleness; showing its greatness and the greatness of those who adhere to it by attaching oneself to them; and showing it its due respect when studying it.
6. By loving the Ahlul-Bayt (his family) and his companions; turning away from those who belittle his family or revile his companions.

Nasihah to the Leaders of the Muslims

It is wajib (obligatory) to give nasihah to the leaders of the Muslims, since they have faults and are not protected from committing errors, but who are the leaders of the Muslims? They are the Caliphs and others responsible for the affairs of the Muslims and they are religious scholars.

As for giving nasihah to the rulers of the Muslims, it includes:

1. Assisting and obeying them in the right.
2. Reminding them if they err or forget.
3. Making Jihad with them.

Giving nasihah to the scholars includes:

1. Spreading their knowledge.
2. Spreading their virtues.
3. Having good opinion about them.
4. Accepting their rulings if they give sound proofs for their decisions.
5. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, or making excuses for them if they make mistakes.
6. Honouring and respecting them.

Nasihah to the Common Muslims

The following includes giving nasihah to ALL Muslims, be they black, white, Arab or Pakistani; be they sinful, ignorant or heedless. It also includes giving nasihah to Muslims, no matter which organisation or group they belong to or if one likes them or dislikes them.

How is Nasihah Given to the Common Muslims?

1. By guiding them to what will bring them benefit in this life and in the Hereafter.
2. By removing harm from them and bringing them benefit.
3. By teaching them what one loves for oneself and hating for them what one hates for oneself.
4. By teaching them what will benefit them.
5. By commanding them what is right and forbidding them what is wrong with gentleness and sincerity.
6. By being soft with them, honouring the elderly, loving and being merciful towards the youths.
7. By not being deceptive and jealous toward them.
8. Protecting their honour and wealth.

Manners of Giving Nasihah

Seeking the Pleasure of Allah by Giving Nasihah

It is necessary that a person has the intention of seeking the pleasure of Allah when giving nasihah. Only such an intention deserves reward from Allah and acceptance from His slaves.

If the intention is other than that, then that person deserves the anger and wrath of Allah as well as the hatred and rejection of the people - including the one being advised.

Not Slandering the One Being Advised

This is an affliction that has befallen many Muslims. Many times, after taking a closer look, we find that the person giving nasihah actually wants to slander the person he is advising because of personal hatred. This does not befit the one being advised and may lead to a worse situation with no benefit resulting from the nasihah.

Nasihah is to be Given in Secret

Nasihah is most likely to bear its fruit when given to a person when he is by himself, for in such a situation the person is less likely to be affected by the thoughts of others. The sincere advisor should not aid the Devil over his brother by publicly rebuking him and letting Shaytan beguile his brother into not taking the nasihah. This closes the doors of goodness and acceptance, and reduces the chances of the nasihah from being accepted.

This is why our pious predecessors used to give nasihah in secret. Al-Hafidh ibn Rajab writes, "When the righteous predecessors intended to give nasihah to someone, they admonished him privately, to the point that some of them said, 'The one who exhorts his brother between him and himself , then it is nasihah. The one who exhorts him in front of people, then it is merely scolding!' "

Fudayl ibn Ayadh, one of the pious scholars from our predecessors, said, "A believer covers up and gives nasihah, whereas an evildoer exposes and humiliates." Ibn Rajab commented on Fudayl's saying, "It is nasihah if it is with a cover, while humiliating is with broadcasting."

Nasihah is to be Given with Kindness, Gentleness and Softness

A sincere advisor must be kind, soft and well-mannered in giving nasihah to others, as this might get the desired response from the one he is advising. One must understand that accepting nasihah is like opening a door, and that the door will not open without the proper key. The one who is given nasihah has a heart that has a lock in some matter - for he has abandoned something that Allah has demanded from him, or has committed something that Allah had forbidden him from. There is no better key to unlock the heart than kindness in giving advice, gentleness in exhortation and softness in speech as the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, has said, "Kindness is not to be found in anything but that it adds to its beauty, and it is not withdrawn from anything but it makes it defective." [Muslim]

Do not Compel Others to Follow One's Nasihah

It is wajib (obligatory) on the advisor to render sincere advice to others, but it is not his right to compel others to follow his advice as well. That is the right of the Muslim ruler upon his subjects or a Muslim Qadhi (Judge) in his jurisdiction. A sincere advisor is one who guides toward goodness, but he is not to command others to act upon it.

Ibn Hazm writes that one should not give nasihah on the condition that it must be accepted, otherwise if one goes beyond this, he will be oppressing not advising, and seeking obedience and control. In another passage, Ibn Hazm writes that if a person is mistaken in his advice, he would be expecting people to follow him in his mistake.

Choosing the Proper Time to Give Nasihah

The one giving nasihah must choose the right time to give his advice, since a person is not always ready to receive nasihah. A person may be angry about something, upset about not getting what he wanted, grieved for something he may have lost, or there may be some other reason that might prevent him from responding to the nasihah.

Abdul-Hamid Bilali writes, "Choosing proper time and place is one of the greatest causes for the acceptance of nasihah and eradicating evil", and as 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "Hearts (sometimes) yearn and are attentive, but (sometimes) they go through lapses and feed repulsion. So take from them when they are (in a state of) yearning and are attentive, and leave them alone when they go through lapses and are feeling repulsion."

Nasihah that is Against Islam is Not to be Followed

Giving nasihah is part of Shari'ah. Therefore, if someone gives advice to leave a deen demanded by the Shari'ah or to perform a forbidden deed, then it is not called nasihah. The one giving such should quit doing that and the one being advised should not accept it. For instance, if someone tells you to shave your beard, to expose some part of the body by taking off the hijab, to shake hands with women on job interviews, to date the girl you are interested in, to take a job at a gas station that sells alcohol, or to go see the latest movie, then you should not obey. These matters are not counted as nasihah which the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, made part of the religion.

Factors Affecting the Acceptance of Nasihah

1. Nasihah must be given according to the proper manners which have been described above.
2. One of the most important factors that contribute in one's rejecting a fellow Muslim's nasihah is arrogance. Arrogance prevents one from accepting nasihah and acting upon it. Whereas, the one who continuously strives to take arrogance out of his heart, finds it easy to accept nasihah. This is because the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said, "Arrogance is to reject the truth and despise the people.""

Nasihah is from the truth and the advisor is from the people. The arrogant person, on the other hand, is one who rejects the truth and looks down on the people. As a result, neither the nasihah nor the one giving it suits him. On the contrary, a humble person will accept nasihah from others with an open heart, no matter where the advisor comes from, because he knows that a wajib (obligatory deed) is being conveyed.

Unfortunately, many are tricked by Shaytan in this matter to accept nasihah only from those who are from the same country, or are of the same race, or hold affiliations with the same Islamic organisation / party as they do. The situation gets very sad when some of our brothers and sisters will not take nasihah because the one giving it has not been a Muslim for very long, or has not lived in America for very long, or is too young to be "telling people what to do." They pay no attention to the nasihah itself, or try to determine whether the nasihah itself is according to the Qur'an and Sunnah. Rather they are quick to reject their fellow Muslim's nasihah due to such baseless reasons. We must realise all these subtle forms of looking down on others and rejecting their beneficial nasihah. Remember that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, has said that anyone with an atom's weight of arrogance in their heart will not enter Paradise.

Benefits of Nasihah

1. It purifies the one being advised from some weakness. When one sees a fellow Muslim negligent in performing a good deed, or committing some wrong, he should take it upon himself to mend the shortcoming. The shortcoming may pertain to the rights of Allah or to the rights of His slaves.
2. When a believer gives nasihah to his brother in Islaam, he helps him in a matter in which his brother has erred because the believer loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
3. When a believer gives nasihah to his brother, he is disposing of the right that his brother has upon him. Just as you would not like to see a fault in yourself, and would work to remove it, likewise, you should not like to see that fault in your brother. You must hate to see in him what you hate to see in yourself, hence, you should give him nasihah to remove that fault as you would have liked to receive nasihah to have that fault removed from you. Give your brother nasihah and guide him toward goodness, and take him away from harm.

Giving nasihah is a sign of true brotherhood, a way of bringing the hearts closer, and of closing the doors of hatred and suspicion. This is why 'Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz said, "The one who grants nasihah to his brother in matters of this his religion and concerns himself with mending affairs of this life; then, he has granted an excellent gift and fulfilled a wajib that was due on him ... " If someone were to ask, "How is nasihah a right of brotherhood, when one's faults are mentioned?" the answer is not to feel apprehension when your brother informs you of your faults. He may know something that perhaps you are unaware of, and is compelled to tell you about it out of sheer compassion. It is a way of winning over the hearts of those who are endowed with insight.

Shaytan has declared war on all of humanity, and Allah has given the believers the tools necessary to win this war. Informing each other of ugly deeds we perform, or about loathsome characteristics that we may have is like pointing out where the land mines are on a battlefield. By pointing out these hidden dangers, we help to keep each other from destruction. In this war of conquering the self, the help, aid and guidance of our brothers and sisters is needed to assure that ultimate victory, insha'Allah, of true success in this life and in the Hereafter.

(s) Al-Jumuah Magazine

"Allah will give shade to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His."

These seven persons are:

1. A just ruler;
2. A youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sincerely from his childhood);
3. A man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. he offers the five compulsory salat (prayers) in the mosques);
4. Two persons who love each other only for Allah's Sake and they meet and part in Allah's Cause only;
5. A man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illegal sexual intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah;
6. A man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity); and
7. A person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes become flooded with tears.

[Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim. The text is that of al-Bukhari: Sahih al-Bukhari, V.1, Hadith #629]

If you contemplate about the seven whom Allah will shade in the shade of His 'Arsh wherein there is no shade but His, you will find that they deserved that shade because of their opposition to al-hawa. Indeed the Imam having authority and power will not be able to establish justice except by opposing his hawa. And with respect to the youth who prefers the sincere worship of Allah over the urge of his youthfulness, had it not been for the opposition of his hawa, he would not be able to accomplish this state of worship. As to the person whose heart is attached to the mosques, the thing that drove him to this condition is the opposition of al-hawa which invites him to the places of lusts.

Concerning the person who gives charitable gifts secretly so that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given, had it not been for his subduing of his hawa, he would not have been able to attain this state. And the person who was invited by a charming woman of noble birth (to have illegal sexual intercourse with her), feared Allah and opposed his hawa. As to the one who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes become flooded with tears for fearing Him, the thing that made him reach this state is the opposing of his hawa. Consequently, they were saved from being affected by the intense heat of the al-mawqif on the Day of Resurrection and the sweating therein. The people adhering to al-hawa will experience the utmost degree of intense heat and sweating while they are waiting to enter the "prison of al-hawa".

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is the One to be petitioned to grant us protection from the ahwas (pl. of hawa) of ourselves which are inclined to evil, and that He makes our hawa in accordance with what He loves and is acceptable to Him. He has power over all things, and He is most worthy of answering our petition.

(t) Dr. Saleh as-Saleh

(p) Daar al-Bukhari

Miserliness and jealousy are sicknesses that lead to the soul hating that which would benefit it, and its loving that which would harm it. This is why jealousy was mentioned alongside hatred and resentment in the preceding ahadith. As for the sickness of desire and passionate love then this is the soul loving that which would harm it and coupled with this is its hatred of that which would benefit it.

Passionate love is a psychological sickness, and when its effects become noticeable on the body, it becomes a sickness that afflicts the mind also. Either by afflicting the mind by the likes of melancholy, or afflicting the body through weakness and emaciation. But the purpose here is to discuss its affect on the heart, for passionate love is the fundament that makes the soul covet that which would harm it, similar is the one weak of body who covets that which harms it, and if he is not satiated by that then he is grieved, and if he is satiated then his sickness increases. The same applies to the heart afflicted with this love, for it is harmed by its connection to the loved, either by seeing, touching, hearing, even think about it. And if he were to curb the love then the heart is hurt and grieved by this, and if he given is to the desire then the sickness becomes stronger and becomes a means through which the grievance is increased.

In the hadith there occurs, "Indeed Allah shelters His believing servant from the world just as one of you shelter your sick ones from food and drink (that would harm them)." {qluetip title=[1]}A similar hadith to this reported by al-Bayhaqi and it is a da'if hadith. Refer to Fayd al-Qadir.{/qluetip}

In the hadith concerning the saving of Musa reported by Wahb{qluetip title=[2]}Wahb ibn Munabbih is a noble tabi'i, but this hadith is reported from him directly to the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and is not authentic.{/qluetip}, which is recorded by Imam Ahmad in az-Zuhd, "Allah says: 'Indeed I drive away My friends from the delights of this world and its opulence and comfort just as the compassionate shepherd drives away his camel from the dangerous grazing lands. And indeed I make them avoid its tranquility and livelihood, just as the compassionate shepherd makes his camel to avoid the resting-places wherein it would be easy prey. This is not because I consider them to be insignificant, but so that they may complete their portion of My Kindness in safety and abundance, the delights of the world will not attract him and neither would desires overcome him.' "

Therefore the only cure for the sick lies in his removing the sickness by removing this blameworthy love from his heart.

People are divided into two opinions concerning passionate love: One group says that if falls into the category of intentions and wishes, this being the famous opinion. Another groups says that it falls into the category of imagination and fantasies and that it is a corruption of the imagination since it causes one to depict the one who is loved in other than his true reality. This group went on to say: "And this is why Allah has not been described with passionate love (ishk) and neither that He passionately loves (ya'shik) because He is far removed from this, and one cannot be praised who has these corrupt thoughts."

As for the first group, then from them are those who said: "He is described with passionate love (ishk) because it is a complete and perfect love and Allah loves (yuhib)." And it is reported in the narration of 'Abdul-Wahid bin Zayd that He said, "The servant will always continue to draw closer to me, loving Me and I loving him (a'shiquhu)." This is the saying of some of the Sufis but the majority do not apply this word to Allah, because passionate love is a love exceeding the proper bounds, as for the Love of Allah then it has no end and cannot exceed the proper bounds. Passionate love is to be considered blameworthy without any exceptions, it is not to be praised when it is directed towards the Creator or created because it is a love that exceeds the proper bounds.

This is also true because the word 'passionate love' is only employed with regards to a man loving a woman or child (or vice versa), it is not employed in things such as the love of one's family, property or status, just as it is not employed with regards to the love of the Prophets and the righteous. Commonly, you will find this word being mentioned alongside a forbidden action, such as loving the woman who is not lawful for him, or loving a child joined with the unlawful glance and touch and other such unlawful actions.

As for the love of a man for his wife or slave-girl which leads him out of the folds of justice such that he does unlawful things for her and leaves what is obligatory – as commonly happens – even to the extent that he may oppress his son born of his old wife due to this love of his new wife, or to the extent that he will do things to keep her happy that would harm his religion and worldly life. For example his singling her out for inheritance that she does not deserve, or that he gives her family authority and property that exceeds the limits set by Allah, or he goes to excesses in spending on her, or he makes unlawful things possible for her which harms his religion and worldly life. This passionate love is forbidden with regards to one who is permissible for him, so how would it be with regards for one who has passionate love for someone who is unlawful or with regards to two men? For this contains a corruption the extent of which none can assess except the Lord of the servants; it is a sickness that corrupts the religion and objectives of the one who possesses it, then it corrupts his intelligence and then his body. Allah, the Most High, says:

"Then do not be soft in speech, lest in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner." [Al-Qur'an 33:32]

There are some whose hearts contain the disease of desire and whose perceptions are only skin deep. When the object of the desire submits, the sickness is satiated, and this satiation strengthens the desire and pursuit of the object and hence strengthens the sickness. This is in contrast to the one whose objective is not met, for this failure results in removing the satiation that would strengthen the sickness and thereby the desire is weakened as is the love. This is because the person definitely intends that there be action accompanying his desire, for otherwise all his desire would be is just whisperings of the soul, unless there is some speech or looking accompanying this.

As for the one who is afflicted with this passionate love but holds back and is patient, then indeed Allah will reward him for his taqwa as occurs in the hadith: "That the one who passionately loves someone yet holds back, conceals this and is patient, then dies you this, will be a martyr." {qluetip title=[3]}A da'if hadith. Refer to the discussion concerning its inauthenticity in al-Jawab al-Kafi and Rawdah al-Muhibbin of Ibn al-Qayyim and Silsilah ad-Da'ifah of al-Albani.{/qluetip} This hadith is known to be the report of Yahya al-Qatat from Mujahid from Ibn 'Abbas from the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam but it is problematic and such a hadith is not to be depended upon.

But it is known from the evidences of the Shari'ah that if one were to hold back from performing that which is unlawful, be it looking, speaking or acting, and he conceals this and does not articulate it so as not to fall into that which is prohibited and he is patient in his obedience to Allah and keeping away from disobedience to Allah, despite the pain that his heart feels due to passionate love, (similar to the case of the one who is patient through a calamity), then indeed this person would gain the same reward as those who have feared Allah and been patient.

"Verily, he who fears Allah and is patient, then surely Allah makes not the reward of the doers of good to be lost." [Al-Qur'an 12:90]

This holds true for the disease of envy and all other sicknesses that afflict the heart. So when the soul pursues that which would anger Allah, and the person prevents himself from this, fearing Allah, then he is included in His saying:

"But as for him who feared the standing before His Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts. Verily, Paradise will be his abode." [Al-Qur'an 79:40-41]

When the soul loves something, it will do all that it can to attain it, so the one who does this out of having a blameworthy love or hatred then this action of his would be sinful. For example his hating a person due to envying him and thereby harming whosoever is linked to that person – either by preventing his rights or by showing them enmity, or his doing something that is commanded by Allah but he does it due to his desires and not for the sake of Allah.

These types of sicknesses are commonly found in the heart. The person can hate something and due to this hate, love a great many things due to mere whims and fancies. As one poet affected by this said:

"For the sake of a Sudanese girl he loved Sudan to the point that he loved the black dogs due to his love of her."

So he loved a black girl, and therefore loved all types of black even the blackness of dogs! All of this is a sickness in the heart with regards to its imagination, fantasies and desires. We ask Allah that He eliminate all of the illnesses from our hearts, and we seek refuge with Allah from evil manners, desires and sicknesses.

The heart has only been created for the worship of Allah, and this is the natural disposition (fitrah) upon which Allah created His servants as the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Every new-born child is born upon the natural disposition and it is his parents that make him a Jew, Christian or a Magian, as an animal produces a perfect young animal, do you see any part of its body amputated?" Then Abu Hurayrah, radiallahu 'anhu, said, recite if you wish the saying of Allah:

"The fitrah of Allah with which He has created mankind. No change is there in the creation of Allah." [Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim. The ayat is Al-Qur'an 30:30].

So Allah has made the natural disposition of His servants to love Him and worship Him Alone, so if the natural disposition was to be left as it is without corrupting it, then it would be cognizant of Allah, loving Him Alone; but the natural disposition does become corrupted due to the sickness of the heart – such as the parents making it a Jew or a Christian – even though this be by the Will and Pre-decree of Allah, just like the body is altered by amputation. But even after this it is possible for the heart to return to the natural disposition if Allah makes this easy for the one who does his utmost to return it to the natural disposition.

The Messengers were sent to affirm and re-establish the natural disposition and to perfect it, not to alter it. So when the heart loves Allah Alone, making the religion sincerely for Him, it will not be tried with this passionate love (directed to him) his love of Allah Alone, making the religion sincerely for him, did not allow him to be overcome by this, rather Allah said:

"Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely he was one of Our chosen, guided slaves." [Al-Qur'an 12:24]

As for the wife of al-'Aziz, it was because she was and her nation were polytheists that she was afflicted with passionate love. No one, and no one is afflicted with passionate love except that this diminishes his singling out Allah Alone for worship and his faith. The heart that repents to Allah, fearing Him, has two routes by which it can remove this passionate love:

1. Repenting to Allah and loving Him, for indeed this is more satisfying and purer than anything else, and nothing will be left to love along side Allah; and
2. Fearing Allah, for indeed fear is the opposite of passionate love and removes it.

So everyone who loves something, with passion or otherwise, then this love can be removed by loving that which is more beloved to compete with it.{qluetip title=[4]}Refer to Rawdah al-Muhibbin of Ibn al-Qayyim for he has a beautiful discussion concerning this.{/qluetip} This love can also be removed by fearing the occurrence of a harm that is more hateful to one than leaving this love. So when Allah is more beloved to the servant than anything else, and more feared by him than anything else, then he will not fall into passionate love or find any love that would compete with his love of Allah, except in the case of negligence or at a time when this love and fear has become weak by his leaving some of the obligatory duties and by performing some of the prohibited actions. For indeed faith increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience, so each time a servant obeys Allah out of love and fear, and leaves a prohibited action out of love and fear, his love and fear becomes stronger, and any love or fear of anything else besides Allah will disappear from his heart.

The same is true for the sickness of the body; for the health of the body is preserved by the same, and the sickness is repressed by the opposite. The correctness of the faith in the heart is preserved by its like, meaning that which would breed faith in the heart from the beneficial knowledge and righteous action for these are its nourishment as occurs in the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, reported as his saying and as a hadith of the Messenger sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, "Indeed every host loves that people come to his table spread, and indeed the table spread of Allah is the Qur'an."

So the Qur'an is the table spread of Allah.

From those things that nourish the heart are supplication at the end of the night, the times of adhan and iqamah, in his prostration, at the ends of the prayers{qluetip title=[5]}These are the times in which Allah answers the supplications, there are authentic ahadith concerning these.{/qluetip} – add to this repentance. For indeed the one who repents to Allah and then in turn Allah forgives him, He will then give him enjoyment for an appointed time. That he takes to reciting the reported adhkar for the day and at the time he sleeps. That he bears with patience what he is enticed with that would divert him from all of this, than Allah will immediately aid him with a spirit from Him and write faith in his heart. That he be eager to complete the obligatory duties such as the five prayers inwardly and outwardly for they are the pillars of the religion. That his words of recourse be 'la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi' {qluetip title=[6]}The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, "Indeed it is a treasure from the treasures of Paradise." Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim from the hadith of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari.{/qluetip} for by them the heavy burdens can be born, horrors can be overcome, and the servant be gifted up the supplication and seeking help from Allah, for the servant will be answered as long as he is not hasty, saying: "I have supplicated and supplicated but I have not been answered." {qluetip title=[7]}Reported by Muslim{/qluetip} That he should know that help comes with patience, that relief comes after anxiety and distress, that after every period of difficulty there follows a period a period of ease.{qluetip title=[8]}A hasan hadith reported by Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas{/qluetip} That he knows that no prophet or one less than him was rewarded with a good end except as a result of his being patient.

And all praise and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of Creation. To Him belongs praise and grace for guiding us to Islam and the Sunnah, a praise that would suffice His favours to us outwardly and inwardly, as in required for the nobility of His Face and might of His Magnificence. Abundant peace and blessings be upon our master, Muhammad sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and upon his family, Companions, his wives – the mothers of the believers, and all those that follow them in good until the Day of Judgement.

(s) Diseases of the Hearts & their Cures, compiled by Ibrahim bin 'Abdullah al-Hazimi

You should know - may Allah have mercy upon you - that when the slave [of Allah] leaves his house to go to the mosque, that he is going to face Allah, the Irresistible, the One, the Omnipotent, the Exalted in Might, the Oft-forgiving, in the knowledge that nothing is hidden from Allah, wherever it might be, and that nothing is hidden from Allah and that even something as small as a mustard seed is not concealed from Him, nor even something smaller, nor larger - in the seven earths or the seven heavens, in the seven seas or the lofty mountains, fixed and firm. And verily, the mosque to which he comes is one of the Houses of Allah. He desires only Allah and he sets out to one of Allah's Houses, which:

"Allah has permitted to be raised to honour, for the celebration in them of His Name: In them He is glorified in the mornings and the evenings [over and over] by men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the practice of regular charity: Their [only] fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed." [Al-Qur'an 24:36-37]

So when anyone from amongst you sets out from his house (for the mosque) he should say quietly to himself words of remembrance [of Allah] - words unconnected with the affairs and business of this world. He should set out calmly, somberly, for this is what the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, ordered us to do; he should set out with (his heart full of) longing and desire [for Allah's pleasure] and fear and apprehension [of Allah's anger] and with humility and meekness towards Allah. For the more humble, the more meek, the more submissive he is to Allah, the more virtuous and righteous does he become in salah and the greater becomes his reward, and the more noble and nearer to Allah becomes the worshipper. But should he be filled with pride, Allah will destroy him and will reject his deeds, for the deeds of the proud are never accepted. It has been narrated in a hadith concerning Prophet Ibrahim, 'alayhis salam, Allah's Khalil, that he spent the night in worship and remembrance of Allah, and in the morning, he was pleased with the night's worship and he said: "How Good is the Rabb (Lord), and how good is the slave, Ibrahim ('alayhis salam)." On the following day, finding none to share his food with him - and he loved to share his food - he took his food outside to the road and sat, waiting for any passerby to eat with him. Then two angels descended from the heavens and approached him.

So he invited them to eat with him and they accepted. Then Ibrahim 'alayhis salam suggested that they approach a nearby garden which contained a fresh water spring. They agreed to this and approached the garden, only to find that the spring had run underground, so there was no water. This was a severe blow to Ibrahim, 'alayhis salam, and he was embarrassed by what he had said (because there was no spring in evidence) and so the angels said to him: "Ask your Rabb to return the spring." He did so, but the spring did not appear, and this was a great blow to him and so he said to the angels: "You ask Allah." So one of them asked Him, and behold, the water returned, then the other supplicated Allah and the water flowed near to them. Then they informed him that his being impressed by his own standing in prayer the previous night had caused his supplication to be rejected. So beware - may Allah have mercy on you - of pride, for no deed will be accepted if it is accompanied by pride. Be humble in your salah. Should any of you stand in salah before his Rabb, he should know Allah, in his heart by the great blessings which He bestows upon him and the abundant favour which He grants him, for Allah has honoured him with great goodness, but he has saddled himself with sins. Therefore it is incumbent upon him to be excessive in his humility and meekness towards Allah.

It is reported from Abud-Darda that he said, "That may face be covered in dust for my Rabb (is most loved by me) - for that is the best kind of worship for Allah." So let none of you fear the dust, nor find it distasteful to make sujud in it, for there is no doubt that every one of you comes from it (i.e. mankind was created from dust). Nor should any of you fear an excess of it, for verily, it is by this means that one attempts to attain freedom from slavery and salvation from the Hellfire - a fire before which the fixed lofty mountains which were placed as pegs (holding the earth) could not stand, nor the seven strong heavens, built one above another, which are placed as a well graded canopy over us, nor the earth, which was placed as a dwelling for us, nor the seven seas, of which none knows their depths or their size except the One Who created them. Then what about us, with our feeble bodies, our delicate bones, our flimsy skin? We seek refuge with Allah from the Fire!

So should any of you stand in salah - may Allah have mercy on you - then let him be as if he sees Allah before him, for though he may not see Allah, verily, Allah sees him. It is narrated in a hadith that Allah's Messenger, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, advised a man, saying:

"Fear Allah as though you see Him, for verily, though you may not see Him, He sees you." [Something similar to this wording is quoted in the hadith in which the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam spoke to Jibril, 'alayhis salam, informing him about the meaning of ihsan, as reported by Bukhari and Muslim]

This then, is the advice of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, to the slave in all his affairs, so what about when he performs salah, when he stands before Allah, in a particular place, a sacred place, desiring Allah and turning his face towards Him? Does not his standing, his situation in salah merit the same ihsan as all his affairs? It says in a hadith:

"Verily, the slave, when he starts his salah, should turn his face to Allah, and he should not turn it away from Him until he leaves or turns to right and left." (That is, when he makes taslim at the end of the prayer) [Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and an-Nasa'i]

It is also narrated in a hadith:

"Verily, the slave, as long as he is in salah, possesses three qualities: Blessings are showered upon his head from the heavens above, the angels sit around him, from his feet to the heavens and a caller says: 'If the slave knew the One Who hears his whispered utterances, he would never leave his salah.' " [This narration was mentioned by Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Mirwazi in Kitab as-Salah from the hadith of al-Hasan al-Basri in a mursal form (an incomplete chain of narrations, in which no Companion is mentioned)]

Allah showers His Mercy upon the worshipper who approaches prayer in a state of humility and meekness towards Allah, in fear and supplicating Him with desire (for His Pleasure), and in hope (of His Mercy), making salah to his Rabb, his most important consideration, dedicating his whispered utterances to Him and his standing erect in worship and his ruku' and his sujud, poring out his heart and his feelings and struggling to perfect his acts of worship, for he knows not whether he will perform another prayer after it, or whether he will be overtaken (by death) before he can perform salah again. He stands before his Rabb, earnestly, with deep feelings, hoping for its acceptance and fearing its rejection, for verily, its acceptance is a cause for joy, while its rejection is a cause for misery and wretchedness. Nothing could be more important to you - O my brother - in this salah, or indeed in any of your actions [i.e. that Allah should accept them]. What is more deserving of your distress and misery, your fear - indeed your terror - you know not whether your salah will find favour with Allah at all, nor whether any of your good deeds will be accepted.

Do you know if your sins will be forgiven at all? After all this, you have no assurance that you will be spared from it (i.e. the punishment of the Hellfire). So who is more deserving of your tears and sadness [than Allah] - that He may accept from you (your deeds)? In addition to this, you know not whether or not you will awaken in the morning, nor if you will still be here in the evening - will you be given the good news of Paradise, or the bad news of the Hellfire? I only desire to warn you - O my brother - of this terrible danger. It is not fitting that you should be happy because of your family, your wealth or your children. It is a most amazing thing that you should continue to be unmindful, chasing after vain desires, wasting your time in disregard of this most important matter, for you are being driven at a fierce pace (towards death) day and night, hour by hour, like the blink of an eye. You should expect - O my brother - that your time may come at any moment and do not be unmindful of this great danger which may visit you. Most assuredly, you must (eventually) taste death.

Your time may come in the morning or in the evening. You will be separated from all that you possessed - either (to be rewarded with) Paradise or (to be punished in) the Hellfire. Descriptions and stories of them (have become) superfluous. Have you not heard - O my brother the words of the pious slave: "I am amazed concerning the Hellfire - how does the one who could flee from it sleep? And I am amazed concerning the Jannah - how does the one who desires it sleep? For by Allah! If you neither desire Paradise, nor fear the Hellfire, then you are destroyed and grievous will be your sorrow, interminable your sadness and without limit your tears; you will be amongst the wretched, the punished ones. So if you claim that you are amongst those who seek refuge from the Fire and desire Paradise, then strive for that which you seek and do not be misled by your worldly desires."