The Heart - Part 2

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Last Friday we crystallized the position of heart and the attributes of the dead heart. Today we will pursue this discourse and why not when it is the place where Allah looks, as stated in the hadith in which the prophet –peace be upon him – said: “Verily Allah does not look at your appearance, but rather looks at your hearts and deeds.” Moreover the heart is among the things that we will be held accountable for in the hereafter.
Praise be to Allah, whose help and guidance we seek and may Allah’s peace, blessings and mercy be upon His prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions and those who follow his guidance until the Day of Judgment. Last Friday we crystallized the position of heart and the attributes of the dead heart.

Today we will pursue this discourse and why not when it is the place where Allah looks, as stated in the hadith in which the prophet –peace be upon him – said: “Verily Allah does not look at your appearance, but rather looks at your hearts and deeds.” Moreover the heart is among the things that we will be held accountable for in the hereafter. Allah said: “And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge; Lo! The hearing and the sight and the heart – of each of these it will be asked.”

In the Qur’an Allah states that the real blindness is not of the eyes but rather of the hearts. Allah said: “Do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts.”

Brothers and sisters, whoever looks after his heart and purifies it will be saved. On the authority of Huthaifah Ibn AL-Yaman, the prophet – peace be upon him- said: “Intrigues are shown to the heart as clear as the straws of a straw mat. If a heart soaks the intrigues, a black dot will be places thereon, whereas if it denies them a white dot will be placed thereon. So the hearts become of two classes; namely black heart and white heart. The black heart does not enjoin good nor forbid evil. It only recognizes the desires it soaked. But the white heart cannot be harmed by any intrigue so long as the heavens and the earth are there.” For this reason we talked about the signs of the sick heart. It is an admitted fact that sickness suspends the function of the infected organ or at least it disables its perfection. Likewise the sickness of the heart forms a hurdle so huge that it prevents man from performing his mission and recognizing his aim specified in the Qur’an. Allah said: “I have created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me. No Sustenance do I require of them, nor do I require that they should feed Me.

”Hence the one whose heart is sick or dead has severed his relations with Allah even though he may perform some acts of worship or even perform them all but willingly and in a lazy way. Allah said: “When they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance”. Moreover they abandon the Sunnah and tread a way other than the way of the believers. The early Muslim predecessors did not feel tranquility except in the remembrance and love for Allah. Allah said: “Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.” Imam Al-Warraq said: “The life of the heart lies in the remembrance of the Ever-Lasting and the happy life is the life teeming with the remembrance of Allah.”

On this basis the non-remembrance of Allah, for the Muslim predecessors, was harder than death, since the non-remembrance meant severance form the Truth and death meant severance from the creatures. How huge the difference is. Ibn Al-Qaiam said: “Among the signs of the sound heart is that when man commences his prayer all his worldly burdens will be removed and quitting his prayer will be so difficult for him. In prayer he finds the delight of his eye, comfort and the pleasure of his heart. The prophet –peace be upon him – said: Prayer has been made the delight of my eye. Among the signs of the dead or sick heart is disintegration and burdens of a wide range. His desires are directing him to all directions. Brothers and sisters, the sound heart has only one burden.

On the authority of Zaid Ibn Thabit, the prophet –peace be upon him- said: “Whoever makes this world his interest, Allah will cast him in a whirl and place his poverty in front of his eyes and he will attain, in this, naught but what Allah destined him. But the one whose intention is directed to the hereafter, Allah gathers his affairs for him and place his richness in his heart and this world comes to him nellingly.” Brothers and sisters, in the heart there is a thirst that cannot be quenched except with the remembrance of Allah. In the heart there are affairs that cannot be gathered save by dedication to Allah. Early Muslim predecessors said: “The one whose heart is satisfied with Allah, people’s hearts will be satisfied with him. But the one whose heart is not satisfied with Allah, it will be torn with regret and grieve.”

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