Knowing about Allah is the greatest means of purifying the heart. But in our hearts there are sicknesses like malice, hatred, envy, jealousy, pride, love for this world, greediness, stinginess, etc.
If you contemplate, you'll find that all our sicknesses of the heart revolve around worldly matters. People hate and fight each other for worldly things. They fight for land, properties, positions, love, etc.
When the heart is sick it is corrupted.
The description of the person whose heart is corrupted:
1) He is ignorant about the reality of this world
2) He is ignorant about the reality of the hereafter
Allah tells us that this world is متاع الغرور in the Qur'an. It is a deceiving enjoyment.
Ex. A person goes to the market to either buy or sell something. He pays 1000KD and when he comes home he discovers that it's only worth 1KD and there's no way to retrieve it. How does this person feel? He feels sorrow, regret, and deceived.
Or he sold something for 1KD and found out in the end that it was worth 1000KD.
The person who is deceived by this world is a person whom Allah has given life, good health, wealth, blessings, but instead of spending these blessings for the real life, he spent it all for this Dunya. He will come on the Day of Judgement as a loser. He didn't take advantage of everything Allah gave him.
In three verses in the Qur'an, Allah gave examples of this world. Rain comes from the sky, vegetation comes forth, and it will eventually dry out.
This world is nothing in the sight of Allah.
HADITH: Once the Prophet passed by a dead lamb with short ears. He held its ears and said, "Who will buy this for 1 dirham?" The companions said, "Even if it was alive none of us would buy it" The Prophet then offered it for free and no one accepted. The Prophet said, "the Dunya and everything in it is more contemptible in Allah's sight than this dead lamb"
This is the world everyone is hating and fighting each other for.
HADITH: A place the size of a whip in Jannah Is better than the entire world and everything in it.
The Prophet would say اللهم لا عيش الا عيش الآخرة
Whoever knows the reality of this Dunya and Aakhirah it will help him purify his heart.
HADITH: Everything in this Dunya is cursed except four things:
a) Remembering Allah
b) Any action Allah is pleased with
c) A learned scholar
d) A student of knowledge
Only these four are exempted from this curse.
This should make us not attach our hearts to this world. Don't let your heart be attached to any matters of this world.
Use what Allah has given you of wealth, blessings, children, husbands, to seek the next world. If you do good to the people do good because you want the reward on the Day of Judgement.
Don't be greedy coveting after this world.
HADITH: Don't crave for properties otherwise you will be absorbed by it.
People who love this Dunya are drowned in it and it is very difficult to bring someone like this back. You are in one zone and they are in another. You can talk to them for hours about the Day of Judgement but your admonition will have no effect on them.
Why are we attached to this world so much? Ownership. When Allah bestows any favour to any person, this person forgets that Allah is the real owner. He forgets that Allah is the one who granted him that blessing.
The problem with Qarun and Firaun was that Allah granted them power. They forgot that Allah was the real owner and that Allah is مالك الملك, and that the favours are temporary as a test to see how we'll deal with the blessings of Allah. In the end Firaun drowned and Qarun was swallowed by this earth.
(57:7)
"مستخلفين فيه"
This money belongs to Allah and it will go to someone else. Allah gave it to us temporarily to see what we will do with it, if we'll spend it in Halal or Haraam.
Ex. Allah gave a person position in this world. As soon as he gets this title he feels that he can do whatever he want and everyone is under his power, forgetting that on the Day of Judgement, Allah will take him into account.
This world, which the people fight for, will become a bread on the Day of Judgement, to become the first food for the people of Paradise. (Bukhari)
Think considerabley. This Dunya is nothing and will eventually go away.
Another thing which makes us attached to this world is excessive hopes.
The Prophet drew a square and a line extending through and past it. He said the square is death which encircles the human being, and this line represents our hopes. Our hopes exceed our life span. Then he drew small lines on both sides of the line, which are the hardships which affect us in life until we die.
Our hopes are unlimited. We will die before we fulfill these hopes.
A man told someone his life plans for twenty years and he died the next day.
HADITH: Two things will grow with the human being: Love for this World and Incessant hopes.
Don't think that when you grow older your love for this world will disappear. If you don't strive hard and struggle against yourself this love for this world will not leave your heart. You find old people still fighting, craving, and coveting for this world.
Love of this world grows and grows and they become more stingier and greedier.
If the person doesn't stop himself from running after this world he won't ever stop. It takes away the heart of the person.
Unless you take a decision now, and make dua, you will never stop.
This is not the state of the believer. He knows the reality of this world, and he is satisfied with what Allah gives him.
HADITH: Live in this world as a stranger or a traveller.
A stranger or a traveller will not look for permanent dwellings. He will not think of living in excessive luxury. The travellers prime concern is his destination.
HADITH: I am like a traveller who sat under the shade of a tree and will get up.
People have many hopes, wishes, plans for more and more. The believer does not amass pleasures, He wants to spend for the next world.
The greatest reason for the sicknesses of the hearts is love of this world. Take away the love of this world from your heart, and you will have space for love of the next world.
3) He is ignorant about Allah.
Those who don't know Allah live miserably in life.
The Sunnah of Allah with us is that we are in continuous affliction.
(67:2)
ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا
From morning until evening we go through tests.
The person who doesn't know Allah doesn't know the reason behind the affliction he goes through. When he has a problem he will seek people out and pour out their problems to them. They will seek people to console them, to mend their hearts, etc. and people may listen for some time but they will end up caring about their own problems.
This person will feel sad, disappointed, and depressed, because no one cares about her. She doesn't know that Allah is الجبار، القريب، المجيب, if you just asked and invoked him and begged him to mend your heart, console you.
Allah doesn't want from the affliction except that you invoke him. As you invoke him and humble yourself to him, help will come, comfort will come, sooner or later. This is what Allah wants from us. Don't prolong the affliction for yourself. As soon as you are afflicted go back to Allah.
Even the simplest things, like losing something, a broken computer, don't run to anyone except Allah. Only the believer who knows Allah will do this.
(12:86)
إنما اشكوا بثي و حزني الى الله و اعلم من الله ما لا تعلمون
His knowledge about Allah made him complain about his sorrow and grief to no one but Allah.
Learn from the stories of the Prophets and Messengers, how they behaved during times of calamities.
We are nearing the month of Ramadan, and in order to establish the days and nights of Ramadan with prayer and fasting we need a heart. We need a heart full of faith.
We need to work hard to bring out the love of the Dunya from our hearts, because we are approaching a month where all our past sins can be forgiven.
A heart full of hatred, malice, envy, sicknesses, what kind of fasting and prayer will that person have?
Belief in Allah is a means of reformation of our acts of worship and deeds.
Increase of faith is a means of remedy of the sicknesses of our heart.
Ex. The believer knows that Allah is الرزاق. Two people applied for a job. One got the job, and the other didn't. The believer understands that the رزق is in Allah's hand, but the ignorant person says this is magic, حسد, someone is plotting against me, etc. They will be suspecting people, thinking bad about people, forgetting that Allah is the true provider.
The believer lives in tranquility and at rest. He knows that if Allah has written something for it, it is preserved for him and he will definitely get it sooner or later. He does not push people or run and compete for things. The people are running and he is walking in peace.
Allah will bring the رزق to his Slave in a hidden subtle way, because He is الطيف.
Live in this world at rest. Don't envy people, fight people. Everything will come at the right time.
Ex. When the believer does good, he knows he is doing good for himself. ان أحسنتم أحسنتم لانفسكم
He knows Allah loves the محسنين. He doesn't remind the people of his favours. He does a little good deed and he doesn't underestimate it, because he knows nothing is lost with Allah, and that He is الشاكر الشكور.
Ex. The believer doesn't have delusive fears. Even if these kinds of fears come to their heart they know that Allah is الحافظ الحفيظ.
If he becomes sick, he knows Allah is الشافي، الطبيب. People may take all the precautions and yet they'll still become sick because they are relying on the means and not Allah.
They don't understand that the sickness is in the hand of Allah.
Doctors may say that there is no cure for the sickness, regardless, go to Allah and ask Him to cure you.
The believer knows that the sickness is an expiation of sins, a رحمة, a means of elevation in ranks. He is at rest and tranquil.
People don't feel at rest and tranquil due to their weak faith about Allah.
What should we do?
1) We need to learn about Allah's names and attributes from the Qur'an and Sunnah, and live and worship Allah by these names. This is obligatory knowledge. These names should have an effect on our life, thoughts, speech and behaviour. We need to apply it in our lives.
2) Notice the impact of Allah's name around us. Look into the universe, in ourselves, in our situations, and see the impact of His names and attributes. Look at the alternation of the day and night, the sun and moon, etc. Allah is manifesting His mercy, wisdom, knowledge, etc.
Look into the decrees that befall us.
إيمان بالله = To have firm and certain belief in all what Allah informed us about His noble self in the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Allah is unseen. We can't see Him in this world, but we can see the impact of His names and attributes.
We can see the impact of His perfection, of His power, and ability in this world.
Ex. العزيز. Allah shows us how he honours a believer and punishes a tyrant.
Everything that happens in this universe tells us about the impact of Allah's names and attributes. When we think considerably our faith will increase.
If you are truthful and sincere in knowing about Allah, Allah will make it easy for you to know about Him. The Qur'an is full about the knowledge of Allah, His names, and actions.
There is nothing you go through in your life except that you will find an answer for it, an explanation in the Qur'an.
Ex. There's a place full of corruption. Allah afflicts that place with an earthquake. During that time you find people running to mosques, invoking and praying to Allah. After the calamity finishes some people go back home and share their experiences, laughing at themselves. Other people have their faith increased and they become changed people.
(39:8-9)
Allah used his name الرب, because He is the nurturer, nurturing His Slaves through these calamities.
How many times have we gone through calamities and when Allah removed it from us we went back to our old ways?
Your كفر could be minor - which is ungratefulnsss. You will attribute the blessing to other than Allah. Even Muslims can fall into this.
Verse 9:
قل هل يستوي الذين يعلمون و الذين لا يعلمون
The difference between these two people is knowledge. The first person didn't know that Allah is nurturing Him.
When you want to explain any situation you go through, then go to the Qur'an.
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