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{ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ }
{ O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Apostle when he calls you* to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered. } (8-24)

mhmd_2012

Man is not what he thinks he is. Forgetful is he, heedless for the most part.
Does he not hear the call of the inner voice? Will he not listen ?
... but what does it say and - what is the meaning of it anyway?
What has happened to man, where went his good intentions and his great ideas?
They say this life is but a past time, a place of worldly gain and play,
… or is there ever more to it?

The souls of men are not free from blame. This is why the men of insight and understanding were distrustful of their souls and have always opposed it in all states and dragged it towards what it dispises [ ~ to raise]. How could one agree to the demands of the soul (nafs), when even a Prophet (Yusuf - peace upon him) exclaimed:

{ وَمَا أُبَرِّئُ نَفْسِي إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لَأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبِّي إِنَّ رَبِّي غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ }
{ And I do not declare my soul free (from blame), indeed (man's) self (soul) is wont to command (him to do) evil, except such as my Lord has had mercy on, surely my Lord is Forgiving, Merciful.} (12-53)



Man’s Innermost Reality, The Center Of Consciousness

About The Pure Heart

And What It Keeps Alive


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About The Pure Heart


2. What is Meant by "The Heart"

2.1.1 The Term Heart

The term “heart” has different and multi-levelQuestion connotations in the Islamic tradition. It is not simply the organ of emotions, “feelings” and desires, or decisions and opinions, but goes to encompass the soul, knowledge, bravery and more. When purified it is the seat of the intellect, i.e. the ray of the Divine within the creatures.

This is why it is called the “true essence of a human being” (Al-Jurjani), containing “all levels of inner being” (al-Hakeem al-Tirmidhi), and for the Prophets (pbut) it is the place of revelation. Question

At first the “heart” (qalb) is something unstableQuestion, unreliable, easily changing. In short it can either be sick or sound, dead or alive, due to its beliefs and certainty and due to the person's actions. Question

Concerning God-consciousness, the Prophet ﷺ  said, while pointing to his heart:
"God-wariness is right here" (al-taqwā hāhunā). [fn1]
And as an unstable organ, it is continually influenced and turned by - and eventually inspired and re-turned to - Allah s w t Most High:

{ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ }
{ Allah intervenes between man and his heart } 8-24

Allah s w t has informed us in the Holy Quran about the “heart” (qalb). For example nās or “people, men” is used 241 times, but as a comparison “heart” not less than 137 times, which is indicative of the importance of this term!


2.1.2 The Heart And The Intellect

Although the heart is not the same as the intellect, it is nevertheless where the intellect would ideally reside and govern over our emotions and passions. Then it will be the place for faith (al-imān), mercy (rahmah)[2.1.3] and certainty (yaqīn).

The reason for this intimate relationship between heart and intellect is the authenticity and directness of 'Heart-knowledge' compared to 'mind-knowledge' [WSUF52]. It is dhauq (taste), or intellectual intuition, what is sought for.

Other words for heart (except for qalb) used in the Quran:
- sadr, sudūr: the chest (heart) where Shaytan tries to gain access.Question (25 times)
- fuād, af'idah: the heart engrossed or inflamed in emotion: happiness, sadness, lust, frustration, anger or regret. [fn2] F. ex. in (28-10) (16 times) and:

- lubb, albāb: the innermost place where the light of tawhīd resides[fn3], always used together with “the folk of” albāb: the people of understanding, or intellect (16 times):

{ وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلَّا أُولُو الْأَلبَابِ }
{and none receives admonition* save men of understanding.} (2-269)
*Tafsīr: none takes the lessons conveyed by the Divine Book to heart, except for the people of of understanding and intellect.[fn4]


2.1.3 Merciful Hearts

About “the mercy which Allah has put in the hearts of His slaves”: the merciful slaves to others;
“wa innamā yarHamu-LLahu min ʿibādihi-rruHamā” A sound hadith Question

2.2 The Human Condition

2.2.1 Be Distrustful oF Your Own Soul!

The human condition is one of utter dependance on the All-Mighty, it means that man (or woman) can do nothing if His Lord and Master, Allah All Mighty does not wish so, or does not let it be.Question HE is the Guide (Al-Hadi) and Al-Qayyum (The Self-Subsisting Sustainer) of the universe. He guides the heart of man, ever turning it:

{ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَحُولُ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَأَنَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ }
{ Know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart } 8-24

This means: HE is nearer to him than man is to his inmost self. [fn5] So that man can be faithful or a disbeliever only by God's decree. [fn6]

This is why men (and women) of insight & understanding were always distrustful of their own souls and opposed it in all states and dragged it toward what it hates. How could one agree to the demands of the soul (nafs), when even the Prophets (peace upon them) knew this state of affairs, of their souls not being free.

On the other hand, hearts can be vast and generous: (story)
“ʿAli karrama-LLahu wahahu held my hand once, and he walked with me in the direction of the cemetery. When we reached the open desert, he soughed a deep breath before he said to me,
“'O Kamīl son of Ziyād, hearts are like vessels, the best are exceptionally conscious and vast. Learn from what I am going to tell you. There are three types of people ...” [fn7]


2.2.2 The Breast oF The Disbeliever (kāfir)

”As for the breast of the disbeliever (kāfir) and the hypocrite (munāfiq), it is filled with the darknessQuestion of unbelief (kufr), association [of others with God] (shirk), and doubt (shakk), and has expanded to them, so that no place remains in it for the light of Islam…” [3EST p.17] Allah says:

{But those whose breasts expand to unbelief, on them is the wrath from God.} Sura 16, 106

Therefore, ”there is nothing more wicked, more putrid, or more impure than the heart of one whom God has forsaken, and whose care He has not assumed, but has entrusted to Satan…
The root of all sins is hardness of heart (qasāwat al-qalb) The wise man. (Luqman al-Ḥakīm ?) said: ’The heart, should it harden, is not concerned if it does harm.’” [3EST p.25]
May Allah protect us from this situation!
May Allah guide us towards the heart filled with light!

2.3 The Aim And The Goal

2.3.1 The Aim Is The Healing Of The Heart

When man has a 'presentiment of his higher states', and being 'haunted by the thought of God' [WSUF52], he will seek to repair his situation:
First step then is tawbah - repentance, together with avoidance of sins and disobedience.[2.4.2]
→ Tawbah “is to confess to Allah swt  one's sins and to regret committing them. It is the firm resolve to discharge all the rights of others and other duties that are obligatory, but which have not been rendered.” [PTP80]. An additional definition of tawbah:Question


2.3.2 Directing The Heart Towards The One

Then eventually it is the turning of one's heart (in spiritual concentration - tawajjuh) to Allah Most High to reach the (nearness or knowledge of) Al-Haqq (The All-Truthful - Ultimate Reality) and the Ar-Rahmān (The All-Merciful) with a heart disposed and at peace with HIM, purified and sound. Allah Quran 12-53 says in the Holy Quran:

{ The day on which property will not avail, nor sons; except him who comes to Allah with a sound heart.} (26-88/9)

Al-Ghazali on purifying the hearts.Question

There is this longing for (greater) nearness to God is what the learned, pious predecessors in Islam called “a great thing of God” (amrun ʿazīm) which never ends.


2.3.3 The Unity Of The Inward And The Outward

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ   also used to say:
“Truly, Allah does not look at your outward forms and wealth, but rather at your hearts and your works.”
Outward forms (and standard of living) are not alone important, but the care-taking, repair (taubah) and inspiring (Quran…) of our hearts are all-important, because without a sound heart, our worship (ʿibādah) is compromised, even endangered.Question


2.3.4 The Aim Is A Conscious Heart

Conscious i.e. God-consciousness: “After the devotee develops a 'conscious heart', he finds in himself the strength to be patient while tribulations are inflicted upon him. He is resigned to the Will of God, abstains from lust of the self, and is ready to receive the cuffs of God on his cheeks.” [CDS70]

“Resignation to the Will of God is the cure of the disease of the heart.” Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib link-green18 link-green

2.4. The Medicine And Treatment For The Heart

“The Prophets (a.s.) are (among other functions which they have) the doctors of (the diseases of) the hearts. The use of (our) rationality is, to understand this fact.” [MD57] Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  is the best (documented in the remedies) of all of them.


2.4.1 Advice Of The Prophet ﷺ

It is said that a certain man complained to the Prophet ﷺ , about the hardness Question of his heart, when he ﷺ  replied, “stroke the head of an orphan, and give him something to eat.” The same complaint was once made to Abu Daw'ud, who said, “Visit the sick, go to funerals, and visit tombs.” link-green

Undoubtedly, hearts get rusted like metal gets rusted when water goes over it. So the people asked, “How can they [hearts] be cleaned?” The Prophet replied, ﷺ  “To remember death in abundance and to recite the Holy Quran.” link-green

These are just a few examples for the treatment of hearts out of a wealth of prophetic remedies and advice. The following is a fundamental one.


2.4.2 Avoidance Of Sins And Disobedience

First of all it is absolutely necessary to despise and avoid all sins and to follow the LAW.Question Sins are committed and God is forgotten through Satanic inspiration (waswas)Question, by following the nafs (ego), the passions and because of the love of this worldly life (dunyā).

Instead it is far better for the servant (devotee: ʿabd) to love Allah and His Messenger ﷺ and tread the straight path (sirāt), while being on his guard (warāʿ)Question. Allah swt  created the qalb as pure, but every sin, minor or greater, will create a spot or rustQuestion on it, until when more and more “rust” settles on this spiritual and physical organ, it will become impure and dim, unable to perceive the divine light. NB: One heartQuestion
As a matter of fact “most men are veiled by innumerable levels of (rubbish) and darkness, so that in practice their consciousness or heart is their animal spirit or ego.” [fn9]

Advice by Sh Muhyiddin Ibn ʿArabi: “Occupy yourself with following that which God has commanded you: practicing obedience to Him, examining (murāqaba) the thoughts that occur to your heart, shame (hayā) before God, halting before His bounds, being alone (infirād) with Him, and preferring His side over yourself, until the Real is all your faculties, and you are { upon insight } (12-108) in your affair.link-green


2.4.3 Detachment From The World dunya

This does not mean going to extremes. But “your heart will not become clear of the mad ravings of the world except by distance from (people and their society.)” Question

Sahl Al-Tustari radiyaa said: “Allah does not open the heart of a servant if it still contains three things: loving to remain [in the world], love of wealth, and concern about tomorrow.” link-green


2.4.4 Resisting And Training The nafs (Ego)

Allah s w t says in the Holy Quran:

{ وَأَمَّا مَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ }
{ And as for him who fears to stand in the presence of his Lord and forbids the soul from low desires,} (79-40,41)

And the Prophet ﷺ  said: “What I fear most for my community, is that they follow their desires and have long hopes. To follow desires diverts from the truth, and to entertain long hopes lets you forget the Afterlife.” Jābir b Abdallah


2.4.5 The Discipline Of Love

For the Divine Love of Allah s w t and His Prophet ﷺ.

This discipline of the nafs requires its own article. Suffice to say that the religion of Islam is (among other things) the vehicle for the nafs to take on a higher discipline, i.e. not pig-like, but angelic.

→ Nothing is more pleasant to God, the Most High, than the servant approaching Him with normal acts of worship, first of all with the obligatory acts (farīdah), for which he is rewarded, if they performed out of obedience to Him. Then extra acts - according to the words of Most- High s w t :

“My servant draws near to Me through nothing I love more than that which I have made obligatory for him. My servant never ceases drawing near to Me through supererogatory works until I love him. Then, when I love him, I am his hearing through which he hears, his sight through which he sees, his hand through which he grasps, and his foot through which he walks.” (Famous Hadith Qudsi)

Imam Ali link-green18 said: “Enlighten the heart with prayers.” link-green


2.4.6 Invocation & Recitation Of The Name Of Allah

Allah s w t says in the Holy Quran:

{ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ }
{ For without doubt in the remembrance (i.e. in the invocation & recitation of the name) of Allah do hearts find comfort.} (13-28)


2.4.7 Keeping Company With The People Of Dhikr

It is following of what is better and best:
- in doctrines to follow the Salaf Question;
- in rulings fiqh;
- in meritorious deeds (al-fada'il) the scholars of hadith; and
- in high manners (al-ādāb) all that is conducive to the wholeness of hearts.link-green

“Companionship (suhbah) is nessary for the beginner in order to take good example from those who preceeded him in the Way, and to encourage him to pass through it, feeling that there is someone who shares with him his aspirations and interests.” [ZS173]

Sufyan al-Thawri radiyaa  said: “I found the redressQuestion of my heart between Makka and Madina ...”

More on dhikr: link-green


2.4.8 Keeping Company With The Prophet ﷺ

And - not the least - keeping company with the Prophet ﷺ  himself, who used to pray:
“O Transformer of hearts!
Make firm our hearts in Your Religion.”
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We as Muslims always pray:
May Allah's peace and blessings be upon Sayyiduna Muhammad,his family and his companions.
O Transformer of hearts!
Make our hearts firm in Your Religion!


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Muhammad



1.1 On The Science Of The Heart

At the end of a longer hadith the Prophet ﷺ said:

أَلَا وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ

“Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it be sound, all the body is sound and which, if it be diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart.”

Imam Ali link-green18 said: “The disease of the heart is worse than the disease of the body.” link-green

Al-Nawawi said: “This hadith was used as proof that the seat of the mind is the heart (al-ʿaql fi al-qalb) and not the head.” link-green

[The hadith refers to the close relationship a.) between the bodily organs and the subtle psychic organs of the human soul, and b.) specifically between the heart as the center of human consiousness and reality and the bodily, physical heart, both are interrelated.]

Therefore as An-Nawawi (rahimahu-LLah), explained in al-Majmuʿa “as for the knowledge of the heart, it is knowing the diseases of the heart, such as envy, conceit and the like.” Imam al-Ghazali (rahimahu-LLah) said: “Knowing the definition of these diseases, their causes and their cures, and remedies how to fix them, is personally obligatory (fard ʿayn) on every Muslim.”

It is to realize what is going on in your heart (your passing thoughts, your rationizations, excuses, plans) and how to cure oneself from (any of) those diseases. And he continues: "If he is not safe from these diseases, he looks if he is able to purify his heart without learning such things.

→ And if so - he is obliged to purify himself. Just as he is obliged to leave off fornication, and other sins without learning the proofs of doing so.Question

→ But if he is not capable to leave it, except by learning their definitions, their causes and remedies, at that time it becomes personally obligatory (fard ʿayn) for you to rectify your state concerning those sins. And evil and jealousy are sins in (of) the heart.

And what does that mean, read the verse concerning Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.):

{ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ }

{ except the one who comes to Allah with a pure heart.}
Sura 26-89

When and how are you going to do something about having that qalb salīm? The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Inna-l hasada yakulu-l hasanāt kama takulu-n nār al hatab”, Verily envy and jealousy [which reside solely in the heart] devour your good deeds just like fire devours wood!
And think about it: it's not an action, it's not a statement, but it's still a sinful thing and it's stripping you of your good deeds!

And in another hadith the Prophet ﷺ told us that there will be this person who comes on Yaumu-l Qiyama (Day of Judgement) with mountains(!) of good deeds, BUT [what he did is that] he hit this person, and he talked ill and cursed that person, and hurt all those people - in tongue and also physically. Then what will happen? The good deeds of this person will be taken away, and the bad deeds of the other people will be put on him and he will be going off to the fire.

So we have to think about the states of the heart, we have to work on it. And one of the best ways to work on it is through dhikr, as it says in the Qurān:

{ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ }
13-28

Indeed by the remembrance (dhikr, i.e. in the invocation & recitation of the name) of Allah do hearts find tranquility and satisfaction. Surah Ar-Ra'ad (13) verse 28

1.2 Purification of Intention, Self & Heart

Polish the heart by means of tazkiyya - purification.link-green The polish for this rust is the dhikr (i.e. in the invocation & recitation of the name) of Allah. It polishes the heart like a shiny mirror, it is an ongoing process, inshah Allah.

Allah Most High declares in the Qur'an that He accepts acts of worship only if they are based on:

- purification of the self (qad aflaha man zakkaha)Question
- soundness of the heart (illa man ata Allaha bi-qalbin salim)
- an humble spirit (wa-innaha lakabiratun illa ʿalal khashiʿin)

Intentions have to be clear and correct,
important and hadith of the Prophet ﷺ :
"Actions count only according to intention." link-green

Thus those that claim there is no jihad al-nafs in Islam have imperiled their Islam and might make their shahada, salat, zakat, sawm, hajj, AND jihad worthless. Allah is our refuge from this.
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1.3 Notes & Quotes

answer A1: What can imperil the state of the heart:
There are many things which can threaten the pure heart, today probably more than in former epochs. For example for Muslims contemporary with Al-Junayd it were theological disputations (among other things) about Allah and His Attributes, which he hated, and he used to say: “The least [peril] that lies within kalam is the elimination of Allah's awe from the heart. And when the heart is left devoid of Allah's awe, it becomes devoid of belief.”
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answer A2: “Do not let length of time harden your hearts as were hardened the hearts of those before you.” This is a reference to Surat al-Hadid (57:16): { but the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened} . In other words, Abu Musa is saying, be patient and strive to your utmost until death without changing. link-green
and:
Sahl Al-Tustari radiyaa  was asked in what consisted the solace of hearts, he replied: “The coming of revelation: { Woe unto those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah } (39:22).” link-green   back to text

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answer A3: This Book of the Holy Quran was revealed to the heart of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ : { And lo! it is a revelation of the Lord of the Worlds which the True Spirit hath brought down upon thy heart.} (26-192--194).link-green   back to text

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answer A4: “The Sufi path (tasawwuf) consists in cleansing the heart from whatever is other than Allah... I concluded that the (mutasawwifūn) are the seekers in Allah's Way, and their conduct is the best conduct, and their way is the best way, and their manners are the most sanctified. They have cleaned their hearts from other than Allah and they have made them as pathways for rivers to run, carrying the knowledge of Allah.” Imam Al-Ghazalī, al-Munqidh min al-Dalal link-green

He wrote in his Iḥyā',ʿAjā'ib al-Qalb:
”To whatever extent the heart is cleansed and made to face the Truth, His realities shine within it.”
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answer A5: “I found the redress of my heart between Makka and Madina with a group of strangers - people of wool and cloaks - (ashāb sūf wa ʿabāā).” Sufyan al-Thawri as cited from Khalaf ibn Tamim by al-Dhahabi, Siyar Aʿlam al-Nubala' (Dar al-Fikr ed. 7:203).link-green   back to text

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answer A6: There are levels to the heart. Hence, the heart, the mind, and the nafs are terms used interchangeably or exclusively of each other depending on a variety of contexts and according to positive and negative meanings. Regarding accessibility (it is said ...) that shaytan has access only to the surface which they called qalb (heart) - in which sense it coincides to the nafs al ammara as indicated by the hadiths on the rusting of the heart or its blotting by a black spot upon sinning (we seek refuge in Allah from the death of the heart) - but not to the other levels such as sirr (secret), sirr al-sirr (most secret), khafa (hidden), and akhfa (hiddenmost).
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answer A7: Ibn ʿAbbas related that the Prophet said while in prostration: “O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight, light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me, light above me, light below me, and make light for me,” or he said: “Make me light.” link-green   back to text

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answer A8: One heart: Stating that 'the two opposites [belief and disbelief] can be found in a single heart' in violation of the verse {Allah has not assigned unto any man two hearts within his body} (33:4).
This and the previous four concepts are fundamental to understand the Wahhābī propagation of mutual suspicion among Muslims. Muh.ammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, Kitāb al-Tawh.īd, is replete with strange statements and doctrinal errors such as the above.link-green   back to text

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answer A9: About the Prophet's ﷺ h.adīth: "There is no heart except it lies between the two fingers of the Merciful. If He wishes, He will set it aright; and if He wishes, He will lead it astray."15
It means that the hearts are under his power and dominion. They were mentioned specifically because Allāh Almighty has made the heart the seat of passing thoughts, will, resolutions and intentions, which are all the introductories of actions. Then He made all the limbs dependent on the heart in their motions and stillness, thereby showing that our actions are all measured out by Allāh and created, and that nothing happens without His will.
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answer A10: Sh Muhyiddin Ibn ʿArabi warned: “And everyone who 'withdraws' in his house and opens the door to people visiting him is a seeker of leadership and esteem, driven from the door of God Most High; and for someone like this, destruction is closer than the shoelace of his shoe. For God's sake, for God's sake, protect yourself from the deceit of the ego in this station, for most of the world is destroyed by it. So shut your door against the world; and thus the door of your house will be between you and your people.”

And occupy youself with dhikr, remembrance (i.e. in the invocation & recitation of the name) of God, with whatever sort of dhikr you choose. The highest of them is the Greatest Name; it is your saying “Allah, Allah,” and nothing beyond “Allah.”
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answer A11: “Tawbah (repentance) is to turn away from everything condemned by Sacred Knowledge and return to that which is praised by Sacred Knowledge.” Abū Yaʿqūb al-Sūsī radiyaa [SSK]
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answer A12: The Law and the lawful: Sahl radiyaa  was asked about the lawful. He replied: “The lawful is that which is not used to disobey Allah; the pure-lawful is that which does not cause one to forget Allah.” [SSK]   back to text

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answer A13: Shaytan does not make waswas (whispers) into our qulūb, but rather he whispers in the chests of the people. →(Sura 114-5) There is a distinction between sadr (heart) and qalb, qulūb (heart) because Allah swt created the qalb as pure. The example of the heart is like a fort and the eyes/tongues/ears/hands are gates to the opening. Shaytan waits outside of this fort, attacking the openings trying to get in. Out of Allah's Rahmah, He did not give Shaytan access to our qulūb, but rather to our sudoor. It is us who let the gates open, not Shaytan.
(seekershub.org) [Difference Between 'Heart' (Qalb), 'Kindling Heart' (fuaad), & 'Pure Intellect' (lubb)?]
back to text :2.1.2 &  back to text :4.2

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answer A14: Scrupulousness (warāʿ):
The Sayyid, Al-Jurjānī said: “It is to turn away from doubtful matters out of fear of falling into the unlawful.”[RES]   back to text

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answer A15: Salaf: 'The Predecessors':
A name specifically applied to the righteous Muslims of the first three centuries of Islam.
NB: Not to be confounded with the modern misnomer 'Salafi'; a name which has been usurped by a movement which seeks to impose its own narrow interpretation of Religion towards a re-fashioning of the teachings of Islam. To call oneself "Salafi" is baseless, since the true Salaf knew of no such school nor even called themselves by that name; the only general name they recognized for themselves was that of Muslim.”
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answer  A16: The dying grandchild of Allah's Apostle ﷺ was brought to him ”while his breath was disturbed in his chest ... On that the eyes of the Prophet ﷺ started shedding tears. Sad said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is this?" He replied,

hadhihi_rahmatun


“It is mercy which Allah has put in the hearts of His slaves, and Allah is merciful only to those of His slaves who are merciful (to others)."
wa innamā yarHamu-LLahu min ʿibādihi-rruHamā.”

Al-Bukhari, B2-373
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answer  A17:Imam Ali link-green18 On The Heart
He said:
“I am amazed at the heart of man: It possesses the substance of wisdom as well as the opposites contrary to it ...
   ... for if hope arises in it, it is brought low by covetousness: and if covetousness is aroused in it, greed destroys it. If despair possesses it, self piety kills it: and if it is seized by anger, this is intensified by rage. If it is blessed with contentment, then it forgets to be careful; and if it is filled with fear, then it becomes preoccupied with being cautious. If it feels secure , then it is overcome by vain hopes; and if it is given wealth, then its independence makes it extravagant. If want strikes it, then it is smitten by anxiety. If it is weakened by hunger, then it gives way to exhaustion; and if it goes too far in satisfying its appetites, then its inner becomes clogged up. So all its shortcomings are harmful to it, and all its excesses corrupt it.”

“There are four things that make the heart die:
-- wrong action followed by wrong action,
-- playing around with foolish people,
-- spending a lot of time with women, and
-- sitting with the dead.
Then they asked Imam Ali link-green18: 'And who are the dead, O Commander of the believers?' He replied: 'Every slave who follows his desires.'”
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answer A18: “If, however, the heart is illuminated with the light of God and the light of faith (nūr al-īmān), God assumes its care, and fills it with love and fear…
Know [in this respect], may Allah have mercy on you, that the power of God is effective and that no one is cognizant of His intention (murād) and will (mashī`ah) with respect to His creation or the consequences (khawātim) of His acts except a number of the prophets, for that is His sign of the truth of their prophethood.” [3EST]
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2.5 The Blessings Of The Way Of The Heart

2.5.1 Healing The Heart

“Among the blessings of prayers: healing of the heart, mind, and body; taming the dragons that nest in the breast; purification; concentration; discipline; connection with our Lord and the Highest Assembly, the angels; obedience of our Prophet MHMD  ” link-green


2.5.2 Knowing Oneself

Sahl ibn ʿAbdallāh radiyaa said, “The life of the heart is in the knowledge of God alone ( not of another).” Abu ʿUthmān al-Hīrī and Abu Turāb al-Nakhshabī said, “One who is ignorant of God's decrees (ahkām) cannot be one knowledgeable of God.” link-green


2.5.3 The Love Of Learning Sacred Knowledge

“The lack of respect for learning today in the Muslim world is surely a sign (and cause) of Allah's anger with us. I ask Him to rekindle in our hearts the love of learning and respect for those who pursue it.” Sh. Gibril F Haddad link-green
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi said: “hadith learning is not by mere instruction for it is none other than a type of knowledge Allah Most High swt  creates in the heart.” link-green



2.5.4 Divine Openings

On The Inadequacy Of Rational Consideration... “When the heart is safe from reflective consideration, ... then it is receptive toward the divine opening (fat'h.). “Through this knowledge, the degree and plane of faith (imān) is perfected.”
“The greater part of this affair [of knowledge] lies beyond (the stage of) reason (and its scale) ... though not beyond fiqh, since ... it is identical with sound fiqh and genuine knowledge.” (see story of Musa & Khidr - a.s.) link-green

Imam Malik radiyaa  said: “What comes to my heart is that wisdom is superlative understanding (al-fiqh) in the Religion of Allah.” link-green

Sh Muhyiddin Ibn ʿArabi declared: “When God opens the gate to the possessor of this heart, he actualizes a divine self-disclosure which gives to him that which accords with its own properties.

And he said: “Sound knowledge is not given by reflection, nor by what the rational thinkers establish by means of their reflective powers. Sound knowledge is only that which God throws into the heart of the knower. It is a divine light for which God singles out any of His servants whom He will, whether angel, Messenger, Prophet, friend, or person of faith. He who has no unveiling has no knowledge (man lā kashf lahu lā ʿilm lahu).link-green

Allah sheds His light on her court,
and something of His light appears in the heart.
Shaykh Muhyi al-Din Ibn ʿArabi, Tarjuman al-Ashwaq link-green

The Prophet MHMD prayed: "Make me light." Question


"In any case, what Westerners call civilization, the others would call barbarity, because it is precisely lacking in the essential, that is to say, a principle of a higher order."
René Guénon, East And West, 1924

صلّى الله على سيّدنا محمّد و على آله و صحبه و سلّم

The blessings and peace of Allah on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions, ( sallAllahu `aleihi wa sallam ) .




AlHambra


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Related texts
link-in What Is Within Themselves, A Research Into Important Quranic Verses; OmarKN
link-in On the Science of the Heart



fn1: God-wariness, not God-weariness:

- - wariness |ˈwɛːrɪnəs|
a. caution about possible dangers or problems: her mother's wariness of computers.
b. lack of trust; suspicion: they had all regarded her with wariness.

- - weariness |ˈwɪərɪnɪs|
a. extreme tiredness; fatigue: he began to feel weariness.
b. reluctance to see or experience any more of something: growing war-weariness. (Apple Dictionary)
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fn2: [muslimmatters.org]
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fn3 (seekershub.org) What is the Difference Between the 'Heart' (Qalb), 'Kindling Heart' (fuaad), and the 'Pure Intellect' (lubb)?
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fn4 Tafsir-ul-Quran; M. Abdul Majid Daryabadi
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fn5 A Muslim Saint Of The Twentieth Century; Martin Lings, p.129
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fn6 Jalal ud-Diin as-Suyuti (Tafsir al-Jalalain) in H. Gätje, Koran und Koranexegese, S.298
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fn7 ʿAli Bin Abi Tālib's Advice To Kamīl Bin Ziyād
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fn9 RUM37
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fn10 RES: Warning From The Abandonment Of Remembrance; Realities Of Sufism; Sh. `Abd al-Qadir `Isa; p.126
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3EST Three Early Sufi Texts; A Treatise On The Heart; Al-Hākim al-Tirmidhī [see also below]
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SSK The Scholars of the Sufis; by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Hadi Kharsa, [about the author]
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RES Realities Of Sufism; by Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir ʿIsa, [about the author]
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PTP The Path The Perfection, by Shaykh Masihullah Khan, California 2005
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CDS Contemplative Disciplines in Sufism, Dr. Mir Valiuddin, London 1980
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MD Al-Munqidh min-ad-Dalāl, Al-Ghazālī; Erretter aus dem Irrtum, Hamburg 1988
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ZS
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WSUF What Is Sufism, Martin Lings
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Further reading:

• Three Early Sufi Texts; A Treatise On The Heart;
Bayān al-farq bayn al-ṣadr wa-l-qalb wa-l-fu`ād wa-l-lubb;
attrib. to Al-Hākim al-Tirmidhī, trnsl. N. Heer & 2 other texts on the heart by al-Sulamī, trnsl. K.L. Honerkamp; Fons Vitae 2003


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* Living Islam – Islamic Tradition *