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

[Cordoba]

Real Freedom

We sometimes spend our whole lives struggling with the weight of this baggage and never manage to break free of it.

The idols in our hearts are like this, they drag us down, destroying our real humanity, which is given to us by Allah alone. The idols that seem to please us and bring us fleeting happiness cannot answer the deepest need of our heart — the need for Allah alone.

http://www.islamonline.net/English/Family/GenderIssues/Emotions/2006/06/02.shtml

[Cordoba]

Allah allows those who do good to have a good life

Apart from His promise that we will have happiness and peace of mind if we surrender to Him and to the fate that He has determined for us, Allah also promises us that He will allow those who have faith and trust in Him and perform good actions to have a good life in this world:

Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer, We will give them a good life and We will recompense them according to the best of what they did. (Surat an-Nahl: 97)

... There is good in this world for those who do good, and the abode of the hereafter is even better. How wonderful is the abode of those who guard against evil… (Surat an-Nahl: 30)

There are many good things in this world. In order to have a good life, one thing we need is friends we can trust and with whom we can enjoy a relationship of mutual affection and real intimacy. Allah lends His support to His servants who have sincere faith in Him and who trust Him by giving them friends who are good Muslims like themselves-trustworthy, honourable people who are friends of Allah.

That is why a Muslim is never lonely. One of Allah's greatest gifts to the faithful is to ensure that they always have friends with them - fellow-Muslims whom they can trust, whom they love and respect and whom they hold in greater honour than they hold themselves.

http://www.islamandkarma.com/contentment.html

[Cordoba]

Scoring Goals and Setting Goals

Allah wants us to enjoy the fruits of our hard work. He wants us to work hard to enjoy a nice car and a nice home in a nice neighborhood, but not so much as to distract us from worshiping Him.

Some religions teach that in order to grow spiritually, you must deny yourself the pleasures of this world. You may have to spend time in a monastery or become an ascetic.

Islam is unique among all religions in that it teaches life fulfillment, not life denial. Islam teaches that the worlds of the body and the spirit should live in harmony, not in conflict. In our daily prayers, we supplicate Allah saying, "Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of the Fire."

We have to get the balance between our work, family, home, community, and leisure right.

http://www.islamonline.net/English/Living_Shariah/RefinementOfTheHeart/advice/2006/07/01.shtml

[Cordoba]

There Is Good in Every Event

People should seek goodness and beauty not only in ordeals, but also in daily routines. For example, burning the food one has painstakingly prepared may lead one to take numerous measures that would, by the will of Allah, prevent a more serious accident in the future. A young person might fail the college admission test on which all hopes for the future had been pinned.

People should, however, know that there is goodness in their failure, too; they should be able to think that Allah might have willed them to avoid some adverse circumstances or people and thereby feel pleased with the result. Alternatively, by thinking that Allah has placed in every event many other blessings that are either obvious or beyond the imagination, believers see the beauty of full submission to the guidance of Allah.

People may not always see the goodness and divine purpose behind every incident. Even if this is the case, they know for certain that there is goodness in all events. They offer prayers for Allah to discover the goodness and divine purpose hidden behind everything that happens.

Those who are aware that everything has a purpose in Allah's creation never use phrases such as "I wish I had not done this" or "I wish I had not said that" and so on. Mistakes, defects, or seemingly unfortunate events essentially include blessings, and each one of them is the trial of destiny. Allah gives important lessons and reminders to humans in the destiny He creates individually for each person.

http://www.islamonline.net/English/Living_Shariah/RefinementOfTheHeart/advice/2006/06/02.shtml

[Cordoba]

The Process of Self-Development

The path to God is only illuminated when a person recognises the central place of God in his life and strives to develop his self accordingly. The Messenger of God said:

If someone wants to know what position he enjoys in the eyes of God, he has only to look at what place he gives to God (in his heart and life.)

The term nearest in meaning to self development in the Quranic vocabulary is tazkiya. Tazkiya means purification and refers to the cleansing of the human self from all that is unwholesome, undesirable and unwelcome.

It also refers to the nurturing and strengthening of all the qualities within the human self that are essential for growth and development, for blossoming and flowering.

[Cordoba]

THE GOAL IN LIFE


Success and happiness in this world and the Hereafter depend on tazkiya, the purification and nurturing of our personality. The Quran states that true success is only reserved for those who seek to purify themselves:

Successful indeed is the one who purifies his whole self [ash-Shams 91:9]

Our personality comprises not only the physical body but also the mind and the heart, feelings and attitudes, character and behaviour. Proper nurturing and development of these elements of the personality will achieve desirable goals. When goals are desirable, the process of aspiring to, working towards and achieving them also become desirable. This is part of human nature. It is critical, therefore, that we recognise and understand the true nature of our ultimate goal in life.

For the Believer, the most coveted goal in life is to seek the good pleasure of Allah and Janna or Paradise. Our Creator has set this goal for us: And surely Paradise - it is the goal [an-Naziat 79: 41]; Indeed the Next abode - it is truly the life! [al-Ankabut 29: 64]; The companions of Paradise - they are the triumphant ones [al-Hashr 59: 20].

You will only be rewarded fully for all your good deeds on the Day of Resurrection, and [on that Day] whoever will be drawn away from Hellfire, and admitted into Paradise, will indeed have triumphed [Ali Imran 3:185.]

[Cordoba]

Towards Spiritual Health (Tazkiya)

Tazkiya or this new programme for self-improvement that you now find yourself in, is a process that unfolds itself step by step. You cannot expect to change all at once. This is against the laws of nature.

The Prophet was always aware of this when he was dealing with his Companions. Whenever someone embraced Islam, the Prophet would not ask that person to do everything immediately. Instead, he would teach and expect that person to start fulfilling his obligations only as much as he could bear at a time.

This gradual process of change is also clearly reflected in the manner in which the Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years. In all your efforts towards becoming a better Believer, you must bear in mind this principle of gradualism, otherwise you may try to attain the impossible, and when you do not achieve it, you may become frustrated.

[Cordoba]

PREREQUISITES OF TAZKIYA

As you proceed on your journey along the new path, in quest of the ultimate goal of Paradise, you will encounter difficulties and hardships. These may often seem insurmountable. Overcoming them may be made easier by a good early grasp of the prerequisites of tazkiya. These are as follows:

1. Tazkiya -Your Personal Responsibility


You must accept that tazkiya is a highly personal process and that it demands taking personal responsibility for carrying it forward. You can only see the results of tazkiya through your own realisation, your own personal efforts and your own exertions. No one else can perform tazkiya for you. No organisation, no leader and no teacher can replace your own responsibility.

God says: And no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's burden; and if one weighed down by his load calls upon [another] to help bear carry it nothing thereof may be carried [by that other], even if it be one's near of kin. [35:18 ]