The Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) said,
"There is in the body a clump of flesh -
if it becomes good, the whole body becomes good and if it becomes bad,
the whole body becomes bad. And indeed it is the heart." [Bukhari]
There
are two ways a human being judges right from wrong. One element is the
Zaahir, which in this case is Knowledge of Halal and Haram and ther
other element is Baatin which is the state of the heart. If the heart is
good, then it makes good use of the knowledge and it avoids what is
prohibited. If the heart is bad, then the knowledge is of no benefit and
he will indulge in what is prohibited.
Allah (subhanahu wa taála) says in Quran,
Inna Akramakum Indallahi Atkaakum – Verily, the best among you is the one with taqwa.
And Prophet (peace be upon him) on Jummatul Wida, said among other things that ‘Taqwa is in the heart.’
We
see time and again that in Islam the stress has been made on the heart –
that the heart is the part of the body that Allah (subhanahu wa taála) has favoured over
other parts.
When your baby is sick, or you have an assignment
due that you have not started yet, or you have made a promise to someone
and you forget about it and realize later, a feeling of fear comes in
our heart. This feeling makes us realize that something is not right and
somehow we are responsible for it. This feeling is a system of Allah (subhanahu wa taála) to keep his slaves on the right moral path, a path where they have
some accountability. A person who has lost such a feeling is
disconnected with his responsibilties towards himself and others and
above disconnected from the responsibilities towards Allah (subhanahu wa taála).
Thinking
about and trying to understand meanings of the Glorious Quran, which Allah (subhanahu wa taála) has sent down for His slaves to clarify all things and as a
Light that He gives to whom He wills among His slaves. Indeed, the Quran
contains tremendous medicine for all ills of the heart, as Allah said,
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلا خَسَارًا
" And We sent down from the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe, and a loss for the unjust."
The
Quran contains clear instructions for us in the deen; Allah’s promises,
warnings and commandments; stories of previous nations; and codes of
the best conduct and behavior.
These various subjects in the Quran
have different effects on the heart. For the believer it is a mercy and a
healing and for the unjust it causes a loss in their life.
Some Surahs (chapters) of the Quran reveal more that might be frightening to us than others.
For instance Rasul Allah (peace be upon him) said, about Suah Hud, that "...it and its sisters have brought me white hairs before their due time." Hud
and its sisters brought white hairs to the Messenger of Allah because
of what they contain of matters of Iman. These Surahs, and the rest of
the Quran, showed their effect on the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his
companions, exactly as they were ordered in the Quran.
The
companions would also be deeply moved with emotions when they recited
the Quran. Abu Bakr, for example, who was a soft-hearted man, used to
cry while reciting the Quran when leading Muslims in prayer.
Once, Umar became ill as a result of his reciting the Ayah,
فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَنْ تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلا تَطْغَوْا إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
"Therefore
stand firm (in the straight Path) as you are commanded,- you and those
whom with you turn (unto Allah); and transgress not (from the Path): for
He sees well all that ye do.”
On another occasion, Umar wept when he was reciting the Ayah,
قَالَ إِنَّمَا أَشْكُو بَثِّي وَحُزْنِي إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَ
"I (Prophet Jacob) only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah."
and
he (Umar) was clearly heard (weeping) by those who were standing behind
him. This is the way to really understand the Quran in the deepest
sense. So much so that it effects the heart and the emotions. Take the
Quran personally. Let it seep into your deepest depths.
Furthermore, Uthman Ibn Affan said, "If our hearts were pure, they will never have enough from reciting Allah’s Speech (the Quran)."As for later generations, Ayyub said,
"I heard Sad Ibn Jubayr recite the Ayah,
وَقَالُوا
لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ
أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
"And
guard yourselves against a day in which ye will be brought back to
Allah...” repeating it more than twenty times, “...Then every soul will
be paid in full that which it hath earned, and will not be dealt with
unjustly.”
This is the last Ayah that was revealed to
the Messenger of Allah. (peace be upon him) It is both a promise and a warning for those of
us who believe and who consider its meaning. Also, Ibrahim Ibn Bashshar
said that,
وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ
وُقِفُوا عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُوا يَا لَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلا نُكَذِّبَ
بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“And
if you could see when they are made to stand before the fire, you would
hear them say: If only we were sent back, and we would not reject the
communications of our Lord and we would be of the believers” was the Ayah that Ali Ibn al-Fudhayl died while reciting.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said with regards to what one should do to cure his weak Iman using the Quran,
"First
you should remove your heart from the life of this world and settle it
in the Last Life. Then, pay your full attention to pursuing the meanings
of the Quran, and try to comprehend and understand them and what they
were sent down to accomplish. Then, offer these meanings to the sickness
that your heart feels, and when they touch the disease, they will cure
the heart, Allah willing."
My dear respected Brothers and
sisters, Pray to Allah (subhanahu wa taála) that he gives us the abilitity to guard our
hearts from the sharr and evil so that the rememberance of Allah (subhanahu wa taála) can
have effect on us internally in the form of our morals, judgement,
humility, humbleness, rahma, shafqa etc… and externally by our deeds and
dealings towards other people.
