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

[Cordoba]

Hearts, Birds and Sheep

The example of the heart is like the example of a bird. Every time is ascends it becomes distant from the harmful things and every time it descends the harmful things hurt it.

In a hadeeth there occurs that Satan is like a wolf to people. Just as when a sheep has no protector and is in between many wolves, they are quick in causing damage and injury; likewise the servant who does not have guardianship from Allah, then his wolf [i.e. his desires, whims etc.] is to him a predatory animal. [Thus] there is no escape for the servant from having protection from Allah. Taqwaa is a safeguarding for him and a strong shield between himself and the punishment of this world and the Hereafter.

Every time the sheep is close to its shepherd it is more safe from the wolf and every time it becomes distant from its shepherd it is closer to destruction. So its sanctuary is when it is close to its shepherd because the wolf takes the lonely one from the flock and this is the one which is the furthest one of the flock from the shepherd.

The basis of all of this is is that every time the heart is distant from Allah the harmful things are quick in approaching it and every time it is close to Allaah the harmful things become distant from it.

Source: http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/purification/0015.htm

All the best.

[Cordoba]

A believer's heart and the love of God

"The heart is inherently dependent on Allah in two ways: from the point of view of worship, which is the ultimate goal, and from the point of view of seeking His help and relying upon Him, which are the means to that end.

The heart cannot be sound, or succeed, or find joy, or be happy, or feel pleasure, or be good, or be at peace, or find tranquility, except by worshipping its Lord, loving Him and returning to Him. Even if it attains all that it can enjoy of created things, it will not feel at peace or find tranquility, because it has an inherent need for its Lord, for He is the focus of its worship, love and seeking, and this is the only way to attain joy, happiness, pleasure, peace and tranquility …

For if a person is helped to attain what he loves, seeks, desires and wants, but he does not worship Allah, he will never achieve anything but sorrow, regret and suffering. He can never be free of the pain and hardship of this life except through loving Allah sincerely, so that Allah becomes his ultimate desire and he loves Him for what He is, and he loves anyone or anything else only for His sake, and he does not love anything for its own except Allah.

If he does not achieve this (level of love), he has not properly understood the true meaning of “La illaha ill Allah” (the declaration of faith) or of Tawheed or of Uboodiyyah or of loving Allah.

Source: http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/purification/0102.htm

[Cordoba]

Purification of the Heart

It is imperative of every Muslim that he starts with the purification and rectification of his heart and with having concern for it, before he concentrates with the rectification of his exterior, as no consideration is given to the rectification of the outer whilst the inner is corrupt.

In addition, when the Muslim does rectify his heart with purifying actions, sincerity, truthfulness and love for Allah and His Messenger, his limbs will turn upright as in the hadith of an-Nu'maan Ibn Basheer that is recorded in the two Saheehs. He said: "I heard the Messenger of Allaah - peace be upon him - say:

"... Indeed, and within the body is a morsel of flesh; if it is sound, then the whole body will be sound and if it is corrupt, then the whole body will be corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.""

[Al-Bukhari, (1/127 Fath) and Muslim, 3/1220]

This hadith contains the greatest indication that the rectification of the slave's outer movements is directly connected to the rectification of the activity of his heart and inner soul.

If his heart is pure, there being only love of Allah, love of that which Allah loves, fear of Him and of falling into that which He hates, the movements of his limbs will all become sound. This is in sharp contrast to a corrupt heart which is conquered by a love for desires, chasing lusts and placing the wants of the self first. Whoever is in such a predicament, the movements of his limbs will all be corrupt.

For this reason, it is said that the heart is the king of the limbs and that the rest of the limbs are its soldiers. In addition to this, the limbs are an obedient army to the heart; they race to its obedience and towards the execution of its commands, not opposing it in any matter whatsoever. Thus, if the king is righteous, this army will be a righteous one. If on the other hand, the king is corrupt, the army will, because of this resemblance, also be corrupt.

Only the heart that is pure is of benefit before Allah, as Allah says:

"The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, except for the one who comes to Allah with a pure heart." [The Qur'an, 26:88-89]

The pure heart is the one that is free of all diseases, blights and distasteful matters. It is the heart that contains nothing but love of Allah, fear of Him and fear of anything that will distance him from Allah.

Source: Causes Behind the Increase and Decrease of Faith (Eemaan)
http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/purification/0099.htm#7a

[Cordoba]

The Love of God

A heart filled with the love of Allah is a heart that finds peace and tranquility. Allah says: “Indeed, by the remembrance of Allah do the hearts find contentment.” [Sûrah al-Ra`d: 28]

Allah promises those who believe and work righteousness that he will give them a life of goodness. He says: “Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily to him we will give him a life that is good and pure.” [Sûrah al-Nahl: 97]

This life which is good and pure is by way of the radiance of one’s spirit, the coolness of one’s eyes, and the happiness of one’s heart towards Allah. Religion faith provides solace to the soul’s pain. It is the physician that cures our tears and our emotional wounds.

From our love for Allah stems our love for His Messengers, His Prophets, and His angels, Our love for Allah makes us love His righteous servants among our fellows. We want to be with those who love Him, associate with them, and adopt their good ways and manners.

From our love for Allah stems a desire to exhibit goodness to all of Creation. This desire manifests itself in our good words, our good deeds, our supplications, and our help. This in itself is a reason for happiness and contentment. Those who go forth to help others and fulfill their needs are the people with the most happiness and fulfillment in their lives.

Source: Islam Today web site

[Cordoba]

Forgive and Overlook

Learning to forgive our fellow men is a virtue that makes one magnanimous and is bound to lead to eventual triumph. It works wonders especially at times of disagreements, disputes, struggles and fights.

Just imagine the level of moral excellence you can instantly achieve by restraining yourself and forgiving the offender in such situations - especially when you have the power to retaliate.

God says in The Qur'an:

"And compete with one another to attain your Lord's forgiveness and to a Paradise as vast as the Heavens and the Earth, which has been prepared for the righteous; those who spend (in Allah's way) in the time of plenty and in the time of hardship, and hold in check their anger and pardon their fellow-men because Allah loves the doers of Good." (3:133-134)

Source: http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/tazkiyah/forgive_and_overlook.htm

[Cordoba]

The Essence of Intention and it's Virtue

Intention is not the saying of one " I intend..." but indeed it is the opening of the heart to what Allah requests from the individual.

This is why it can occur with ease sometimes and can be absent on other occasions. So whoever has a heart which is consistent on the Deed, then intention will be easy on the majority of cases, because his/her heart is totally favor of good. And whoever heart is deviant towards this near world will not be easy for him to bring his intention at times of need, even in times of obligatory actions.

This is why we realize the importance of the Hadith of Omar ibn Al-Khattab. He narrates that the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) said,

"Verily, actions are only by intention. And for every person is what he has intended. So whomsoever migrates for Allah and His Messenger, then his migration is for Allah and His Messenger. And whomsoever migrates for a worldly affair to gain, or for a woman to marry, then his migration is for what he has migrated for."

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/tazkiyah/intention_and_virtue.html

[Cordoba]

Rectification Begins with the Self

If we look at the world today, the tribulations, the trials, and every war that we have, we will see that every bit of human suffering is rooted in human hearts.

The reason people are aggressive against other people is due to diseases of the heart: covetousness, the desire to conquer, the desire to exploit other people, and the desire to steal their natural resources are all from diseases of the heart.

A sound heart cannot commit such acts. Every murderer, every rapist, every idolater, every fowl person, every person showing an act of cruelty has a diseased heart because these actions emanate from diseased hearts. If the hearts were sound, none of these actions would be a reality.

Therefore, if we wish to change our world, we cannot go about it by attempting to rectify the outward; rather, we change the world by rectifying the inward because it is the inward that precedes the outward.

http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/tazkiyah/alchemy_of_the_heart.htm

[Cordoba]

Words of Wisdom for Spiritual Progress

- Look upon the whole creation, and above all, mankind, with good will accepting, approving, forgiving, serving, and loving. Make that your nature in your dealings with the world.

- Listen to your conscience.

- Find the right friend, who will be a support for you, a good traveling companion on the path of truth.

- Look for the perfect teacher who will lead you on the straight path. In your search for a guide, be sincere, because sincer