Spiritual Health and Purification of the Soul (morals, punishment, reject)

[Cordoba]

Heal Yourself Through Forgiveness

According to recent research, American scientists established that those capable of forgiveness are healthier in both mind and body.

Dr. Frederic Luskin, who holds a Ph.D. in Counselling and Health Psychology from Stanford University, and his team, studied 259 people living in the city of San Francisco. The scientists invited the subjects to attend six one-and-a-half-hour sessions, and aimed to instruct the subjects in forgiveness during their conversations.

The subjects of the experiments stated that they suffered less after forgiving people who had wronged them. The research showed that people who learned to forgive feel much better, not only emotionally but also physically. For example, it was established that after the experiment psychological and physical symptoms such as stress-related backache, insomnia and stomachaches were significantly reduced in these individuals.

In his book, Forgive for Good, Dr. Frederic Luskin describes forgiveness as a proven recipe for health and happiness. The book describes how forgiveness promotes such positive states of mind as hope, patience and self-confidence by reducing anger, suffering, depression and stress. According to Dr. Luskin, harboured anger causes observable physical effects in the individual.

http://www.islamonline.net/english/science/2004/11/article02.shtml

All the best.

[Cordoba]

Spirituality - Two views

Australian Muslim convert Bilal Cleland contrasts Islam's holistic approach to the material and spiritual worlds with that of other philosophies and religions.

Islam is indeed a 'middle way'. It is a bridge between that 'spiritual religion' which demands what is beyond the capability of most human beings and the world of the material, what the 'spiritual' see as the world controlled by the forces of evil.

Islam teaches that, while we must spend our lives in a disciplined way and that we must observe the requirements of prayer and fasting, zakah and both inner faith and outward expressions of that faith, we can be confident that what is expected of us is not beyond our capabilities. We can also be confident that the world is a beautiful creation which is to be cared for and enjoyed, not something evil from which we must retreat.

Islam is not a way of life for a tiny devoted spiritual elite. It is a way of life that anybody can follow. It provides for both our inner spiritual needs and our needs for a decent and civilised life, free from fear of oppression, from fear of miserable poverty and from exploitation.

http://www.islamfortoday.com/cleland03.htm

[Cordoba]

The Spiritual Path

The body has been created with the sole object of allowing the soul to use it in the exercise of its authority and the fulfillment of its duties and responsibilities.

The body is not a prison for the soul, but its workshop or factory; and if the soul is to grow and develop, it is only through this workshop.

Consequently, this world is not a place of punishment in which the human soul unfortunately finds itself, but a field in which Allah has sent it to work and do its duty towards Him.

http://www.islam101.com/sociology/spiritualPath.htm

[Cordoba]

The Signs of a Healthy Heart

For the heart to be heality it should depart from this life and arrive in the next, and then settle there as if it were one of its people; it only came to this life as a passer-by, taking whatever provisions it needed and then returning home. As the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Abdullah ibn Umar,
"Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a passer- by." The More diseased the heart is, the more it desires this world; it dwells in it until it becomes like one of its people.

The healthy heart continues to trouble its owner until he returns to Allah, and is at peace with Him, and joins Him, like a lover driven by compulsion who finally reaches his beloved. Besides his love for Him he needs no other, and after invoking Him no other invocations are needed. Serving Him precludes the need to serve any other.

If this heart misses its share of reciting the Qur'an and invoking Allah, or completing one of the prescribed acts of worship, then its owner suffers more distress than a cautious man who suffers because of the loss of money or a missed opportunity to make it. It longs to serve, just as a famished person longs for food and drink.

http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=555&category=12

[Cordoba]

The Relief of the Heart


The heart cannot become firm, it cannot find satisfaction and it cannot find tranquillity except by reaching out to Him.


Everything that is loved and desired besides Him then it must be desired for other than His sake. The One Who is desired, the One Who is beloved in and of Himself, with Whom all matters find their final goal is only one. It is impossible that the final goal be to two destinations just as it is impossible that the beginning of the creation be from two sources.


http://www.missionislam.com/health/relief.htm

[Cordoba]

Allah's Greatness

Ibn Al-Qayyim described Allah's Greatness, saying, He governs the affairs of the various kingdoms and He commands and forbids, creates, sustains, gives death, gives life, gives power, strips power (to and from whom He wills) and alternates the night and day.

He gives varying fortunes to people and alternates governments (and states), destroying some and bringing some into existence. His Command and Power are dominant in the heavens and their zones, the earth and all that which is on and in it, in the seas and in the air.

His Knowledge has encompassed everything and He counted everything. He hears all types of voices and they do not confuse Him. Rather, He hears each voice in its distinct language and need, and no voice will make Him busy from fulfilling the need of another, and no need will ever escape His Perfect Knowledge (and His Power to deliver). He does not become bored because of the many needs of those who need. His Sight encompasses all that which there is.

He sees the movement of a black ant on a barren rock during a dark night. To Him, the Unseen is uncovered end the secret is secret no more, "Whosoever is in the heavens and on Earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every day He has a matter to bring Forth (such as giving honor to some, disgrace to some, life to (some, death to some, etc.)." [55:29]

He forgives an evil deed, makes depression vanish and brings reprieve from disasters, relief for whoever needs it, wealth for the poor, guidance for the misguided, light for the lost, help for he who is desperate, fullness for the hungry, cover for the barely clothed, cure for the ill and ease for he who suffers.

He accepts he who repents, gives reward for he who does good, gives aid for he who was dealt with injustice, destroys an arrogant person, covers mistakes, gives safety after fear end elevates some people and humiliates others. If those who inhabit His heavens and His earth and all those whom He created, whether mankind or the Jinns, had hearts similar to the most pious heart, His Kingdom will not increase. If all His creation, whether mankind or the Jinns, had hearts similar to the heart of the most wicked heart, this will not decrease from His Kingdom. Also, if all those who inhabit His heavens and His earth, all mankind and all the Jinns, the dead and the living, stand up on one strip of land and each asks Him for his need, and He then fulfils their needs, this will not decrease from what He has a bit.

He is the First, nothing is before Him, the Last, nothing is after Him, the Most High, nothing is above Him, and the Most Near, nothing is nearer than Him. He, Exalted and Ever High as He is, is the Best Whom one can and should remember, the only One Who deserves to be worshiped and thanked, the Kindest of all those who own and the Most generous of all those who are asked to give.

He is the King Who has no partner, the One Who has no competitor, the Samad (Self-Sufficient) Who has no offspring, and the Ever High, none like unto Him. Everything perishes save His Face and every kingship is bound to perish except His. He will only be obeyed by His Leave, and His Knowledge uncovers all disobedience to Him. When He is obeyed, He thanks for it, and when He is disobeyed, He grants forgiveness (for those who truly repent to Him). Every punishment from Him is just and every bounty is a grace.

He is the Closest Witness and the Nearest One with His Perfect Care. He controls the forelocks of everything and has the full records of all deeds end the books of all ages. The hearts are unmasked to Him and the secret is unveiled. His giving and punishing is merely a Command, "Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be, and it is!’" [36:82].

http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=237

[Cordoba]

Be content with whatever Allah has decreed for you. Fear Allah in your innermost being. Implement His commands. Once your heart complies with the Divine Decree, the Lord of Truth will grant you from sources you never imagined:

"And whosoever is conscious of Allah, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed Allah has sent a measure for all things." [65:2-3]

Beg of His mercy; turn to Him with a heart full of sincere repentance.
"O you who believe! Turn to Allah with sincere repentance." [66:8]

Stand before your Lord with humility, implore the Dispenser of Grace by His Most Beautiful Names and attributes of perfection. If He fulfills your wish, increase in your gratitude and servitude to Him. If He denies your request, then succumb to the Divine Decree of the All-Wise with a submissive heart. Do not argue or object to His will. Always remember:
"…Allah knows and you know not." [24:19]

Allah disposes of everything as He wills, and commands as He wills:
"He is not to be questioned about what He does, though they are subject to His questioning." [21"23]

http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=598

[Cordoba]

Make your deeds pure for His sake alone, and He will extend His mercy to you. Upload His religion, and He will extend His bounty to you. Follow the Sunnah of His beloved, and He will extend His love to you.

Look forward to your meeting with Allah. It will be very soon. Sooner than you can imagine! Make preparations for this meeting. Get rid of the love of this world from your heart; free it from everything other than the Lord of Truth. Do not buy the world and pay with the hereafter as a price. Do not sell the hereafter to acquire this world.

http://www.islaam.com/Article.aspx?id=598