Ways To Fill The Heart With Life
The keys to the life of the heart lie in reflecting upon the Qur’an, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving sins.
– Ibn Al-Qayyim (Hadi Al-Arwah Ila Bilad Al-Afrah, pg.45)
Allah said: “A Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may take heed.” (Qur’an, 38:29)
So Allah informed us that He sent down this Great Qur’an, blessed in its wording, meaning, commands, prohibitions, and regulations. Among its blessings is that whoever recites even one word of it has a reward, and this reward is increased tenfold, as mentioned in the Hadith reported by Al-Tirmidhi. Also, the one who reads it and acts upon it will not be misguided in this world, nor will fall into distress or misery in the Hereafter, as Ibn Abbas said so in the commentary to the following verse:
“Whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray nor fall into distress and misery.” (Qur’an, 20:123)
Among the blessings of the Qur’an is that whoever learns it and teaches it, is from among the best of people, as mentioned in the Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari: “The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and then teaches it.” (Al-Bukhari, 6/501 no. 545)
The Qur’an will also be an intercessor on the Day of Judgement for its companions who used to act by it in this world as mentioned in two narrations of Sahih Muslim (2/385, no. 1757-59).
Allah informed us that He revealed the Qur’an so that its meanings, commands, and prohibitions may be reflected over. If one were to come across a verse commanding something, he should obey the command; if the verse forbids something, he should desist from it; if it was concerning the Mercy of Allah then he should hope for this Mercy and ask for it; if the verse threatened with punishment then he should fear it and seek refuge with Allah from it; if the verse was about the glorification of Allah then he should glorify Allah. By doing so, faith, knowledge, guidance, and piety will increase.
Allah said about the believers:
“And when His verses are recited unto them, they increase their faith.” (Qur’an, 8:2)
Allah also said:
Do they not ponder over the Qur’an or are there locks upon their hearts? (Qur’an, 47:24)
Among the ways of giving life to the heart is to be humble to Allah in secret. Meaning to desire and long for Allah through du’a, seeking forgiveness, turning to Him, asking for help and support, Paradise and shelter from Hellfire at the time when Allah descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of the night, as mentioned in the authentic Hadith:
“Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven when a third of the night remains, saying: Who is supplicating to Me that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me that I may give him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me that I may forgive him?” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
This Hadith contains encouragement to stand in the last part of the night, praying, making dua, and asking for forgiveness, Paradise, and release from the fire of Hell. Indeed Allah commanded us to make dua and promised to accept Allah, who is far removed from imperfection, does not violate His promises.
Leaving sins is also another way of giving life to the heart, as mentioned in the Hadith:
“When the servant performs a sin a black spot appears on his heart, and if he seeks forgiveness this black spot is removed, and if he returns to sin the black spot grows until his heart becomes black, and this is the ‘Raan’ about which Allah said, ‘Nay! But on their hearts is the covering of sins (raan) which they used to earn.’” (Qur’an, 83:14) (An-Nasa’i and Al-Tirmidhi)
A poet said, “I saw sins killing the hearts, breeding ignominy due to their addiction. And in the desisting from sins lies its life and it is best for your soul that you preserve it.” – Al-Hidaayah.
– By Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Abdullah Al-Hazimi
Nabi e Akram (Salallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) Ka Pasandida Istighfar
Angels Ask Forgiveness For The Believers
AlQuran..Surat..AL-MU’MIN (“The Believer”)
Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those around it exalt [ Allah ] with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], “Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire. (7)
Our Lord, and admit them to gardens of perpetual residence which You have promised them and whoever was righteous among their fathers, their spouses, and their offspring. Indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise (8)
And protect them from the evil consequences [of their deeds]. And he whom You protect from evil consequences that Day – You will have given him mercy. And that is the great attainment(9)
Indeed, those who disbelieve will be addressed, “The hatred of Allah for you was [even] greater than your hatred of yourselves [this Day in Hell] when you were invited to faith, but you refused..(10)
They will say, “Our Lord, You made us lifeless twice and gave us life twice, and we have confessed our sins. So is there to an exit any way?” (11)
[They will be told], “That is because, when Allah was called upon alone, you disbelieved; but if others were associated with Him, you believed. So the judgment is with Allah, the Highest, the Grand.”(12)
Hafze Ki Mazboti Ki Dua
Remembrance Of Allah
002.063 And [recall] when We took your covenant, [O Children of Israel, to abide by the Torah] and We raised over you the mount, [saying], “Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that perhaps you may become righteous”
004.142 The Hypocrites – they think they are over-reaching Allah, but He will over-reach them: When they stand up to prayer, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance;
005.007 And remember the favor of Allah upon you and His covenant with which He bound you when you said, “We hear and we obey”; and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of that within the breasts.
005.011 O you who have believed, remember the favor of Allah upon you when a people determined to extend their hands [in aggression] against you, but He withheld their hands from you; and fear Allah . And upon Allah let the believers rely.
005.020 And [mention, O Muhammad], when Moses said to his people, “O my people, remember the favor of Allah upon you when He appointed among you prophets and made you possessors and gave you that which He had not given anyone among the worlds.
005.091 Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?
007.069 “Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively. So remember the favors of Allah that you might succeed.”
007.074 “And remember when He made you successors after the ‘Aad and settled you in the land, [and] you take for yourselves palaces from its plains and carve from the mountains, homes. Then remember the favors of Allah and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.”
007.171 “And [mention] when We raised the mountain above them as if it was a dark cloud and they were certain that it would fall upon them, [and Allah said], “Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that you might fear Allah .”
007.201 Indeed, those who fear Allah – when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight.
007.205 And remember your Lord within yourself in humility and in fear without being apparent in speech – in the mornings and the evenings. And do not be among the heedless.
008.045 O you who have believed, when you encounter a company [from the enemy forces], stand firm and remember Allah much that you may be successful.
011.114 And establish prayer at the two ends of the day and at the approach of the night. Indeed, good deeds do away with misdeeds. That is a reminder for those who remember.
011.120 And each [story] We relate to you from the news of the messengers is that by which We make firm your heart. And there has come to you, in this, the truth and an instruction and a reminder for the believers.
013.028 “Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured”
018.028 And keep yourself patient [by being] with those who call upon their Lord in the morning and the evening, seeking His countenance. And let not your eyes pass beyond them, desiring adornments of the worldly life, and do not obey one whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance and who follows his desire and whose affair is ever [in] neglect.
018.101 Those whose eyes had been within a cover [removed] from My remembrance, and they were not able to hear.
020.042 “Go, you and your brother, with My signs and do not slacken in My remembrance.”
020.113 And thus We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur’an and have diversified therein the warnings that perhaps they will avoid [sin] or it would cause them remembrance.
024.037 [Are] men whom neither commerce nor sale distracts from the remembrance of Allah and the performance of prayer and giving of zakah. They fear a Day in which the hearts and eyes will [fearfully] turn about –
026.227 Except those [poets] who believe and do righteous deeds and remember Allah often and defend [the Muslims] after they were wronged. And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.
029.045 Recite, [O Muhammad], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.
039.021 Do you not see that Allah sends down rain from the sky and makes it flow as springs [and rivers] in the earth; then He produces thereby crops of varying colors; then they dry and you see them turned yellow; then He makes them [scattered] debris. Indeed in that is a reminder for those of understanding.
043.036 And whoever is blinded from remembrance of the Most Merciful – We appoint for him a devil, and he is to him a companion.
057.016 Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth? And let them not be like those who were given the Scripture before, and a long period passed over them, so their hearts hardened; and many of them are defiantly disobedient.
058.019 Satan has overcome them and made them forget the remembrance of Allah. Those are the party of Satan. Unquestionably, the party of Satan – they will be the losers.
062.009 O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu’ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you if you only knew.
063.009 O you who have believed, let not your wealth and your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. And whoever does that – then those are the losers.
069.012 That We might make it for you a reminder and [that] a conscious ear would be conscious of it.
072.017 “So We might test them therein. And whoever turns away from the remembrance of his Lord He will put into arduous punishment.”
073.008 And remember the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him with [complete] devotion.
074.055 Let any who will keep it in remembrance!
074.056 And they will not remember except that Allah wills. He is worthy of fear and adequate for [granting] forgiveness.
080.012 Therefore let whoso will keep it in remembrance.
089.023 And Hell, that Day, is brought (face to face),- on that Day will man remember, but how will that remembrance profit him?
Note: Reading of the Arabic Quran is necessary, translations do provide general awareness but cannot hold all the dimensions of any verse.
Bad Mazhab
Modern Stress And Its Cure From Qur’an
Stress is the most common aliment of the modern age. It has been implicated in the causation of peptic ulcer disease, coronary heart disease, depression, autoimmune disease, hypertension, diabetes, and even cancer. In a milder form, it manifests in the form of unrest, violence, at work, school, and home. Common medical problems like tension headache, insomnia, and obesity are also attributed to unusual stress. None of us are free from stress but some deal with it better than others.
Stress results from the following factors:
a. Fear of the unknown and trying to see through and control destiny.
b. Losses in our life of people and things dear to us and our inability to recover those losses.
c. Inner conflict between our heart and mind between what is known to be the truth and our failure to accept it as truth. Acceptance of truth may require changing our habits and way of life which we may adhere to for some reason like pleasure, joys, taste, pride in race or heritage, etc.
Let us examine how the Quran deals with such situations.
Our losses are a trial for us:
“Be sure we will test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives, but give glad tidings to those who are steadfast, who say when afflicted with calamity: To God we belong and to Him is our return. They are those on who (DESCEND) blessings from God and mercy and they are the once that receive guidance .” 2:155
Thus in Islam, we do not have the concept of the ownership of goods and life. Everything belongs to God and returns to him. So if we don’t own that thing why mourn our loss?
a. Our destiny is predetermined. We do not have control over that part. What we have control over is a limited free will, that is our actions, our choice to do good or bad, to believe in God or not to believe in Him, but we have no control over tomorrow’s event not related to our actions i.e. whether my wife will have a son or daughter, whether his/her eyes will be brown or black, or whether I will have an accident or not tomorrow. worrying over such things is of no use.
b. Rejection of faith in the Quran is called a disease. This denial of truth is due to arrogance.
“In their heart, there is a disease and God has increased their disease and grievous is their penalty because they lie to themselves.” 2:10
Therefore after lying to ourselves, we set up an inner conflict – between heart and mind. In order to contain that conflict, the mind sends signals to glands for secretion of hormones like adrenaline which leads to rapid heart rate, perspiration, tremor, the basis of lie detector test.
This lying conflict could be due to “SMALL” crimes like theft or adultery, or big crimes like the rejection of God.
Three stages of spiritual development of soul age:
a. Nafsul Ammara: – The Passionate soul “I do not absolve myself Lo the (human) soul is prone to evil, save that whenever my Lord has mercy. Lo, Lord is forgiving; merciful.” 12:53 (Surah Yusuf)
This soul inclines toward sensual Pleasure, passion and self-gratification, anger, envy, greed, and conceit. Its concerns are the pleasure of body, the gratification of physical appetite, and ego.
Hadith “your most-ardent-enemy is your evil self which resides within your body” (Bukhaii).
If this evil soul is not checked will leads to unusual stress and its resultant effects.
b. Nafsul Lawanunah (The Reproaching Soul). “Nay, I swear by the reproaching soul” 75:1
This soul is conscious or aware of Evil, resists it, asks for God’s grace, and pardon, repents and tries to amend and hopes to achieve salvation.
“And (There are) others who have acknowledged their faults. They mix a righteous action with another that was bad. It may be that Allah will relent toward them. Lo! Allah is relenting, merciful.” 9:102
Hadith “These are two impulses within us. One spirit which calls towards good and confirms the truth. He who feels this impulse should know that it comes from Allah. Another impulse comes from our enemy (Devil) which leads to doubt and holds untruth and encourages evil. He who feels this should seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil.”
This soul warns people of their vain desire, guides, and opens the door to virtue and righteousness. It is a positive step in spiritual growth.
c. The satisfied soul (Nafsul Mutmainnah). “O (you) soul in (complete) rest and satisfaction. Come back to your Lord, will pleased (yourself) and will pleasing unto him. Enter you then among my devotees, enter you in my heaven.” 89:27-30
This is the highest state of spiritual development. the satisfied soul is the state of bliss, content, and peace. The soul is at peace because it knows that in spite of its failures in this world, It will return to God. Purified of tension, it emerges from the struggle with obstacles blocking the peace of mind and heart.
What should we do in panic and despair? In a panic, non-believers behave differently than believers. They have no one to return to, to ask for mercy and forgiveness, their life is this life, which they cannot control, thus get more depressed and increase in their state of wrongdoing. Then we will see that if they are used to casual drinking will start drinking more and become alcoholic, or a barbital criminal.
On the other hand, a believer should do the following:
a. Increase dhikr (Remembrance of God)
“who have believed and whose heart have Rest in the remembrance of God. Verify-in the remembrance of God, do hearts find rest.” 13:28
b. Increase their prayer.
“O you who believe, seek help with steadfastness and prayer. For God is with those who are steadfast.” 2:153
c. Ask forgiveness
“And I have said: seek forgiveness from your Lord. Lo He was ever forgiving.” 71:10
In addition to above, we are also asked to continue to struggle to up-grade ourselves.
” Surely God does not change the condition in which a people are in until they change that which is in themselves.” 13:11
In summary, stress results from a lack of inner peace due to conflicts within us and leads to external disturbances in our behavior and health. Inner peace can only be achieved by believing in God, the All-Mighty, and remembering him frequently and asking for his help and forgiveness in times of difficulties.
Mout Death Ki Sakhti
Why Is Iblis Eager To Mislead Mankind?
When Allah willed it for Iblees to stay alive until the Day of Resurrection, pride came back to Iblees once again and he sensed that this was an ideal way to take revenge from Adam and his offspring. He hates mankind, who are the children of Adam (alaihis-salaam), and he is hostile towards them because he is cursed and has been banished from the Mercy of Allah due to his refusal to prostrate to their father, Adam. ‘(Iblees) said (to Allah), ‘Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left, and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (i.e. they will not be dutiful to You).’ [(7): 16-17] Ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhu) commented on, ‘Then I will come to them from before them’ raising doubts in them concerning their Hereafter, ‘and (from) behind them’, making them more eager for this life, ‘from their right’, causing them confusion in the religion, ‘and from their left’ luring them to commit sins.’ This is meant to cover all paths of good and evil. Shaytan discourages the people from the path of good and lures them to the path of evil. Al-Hakam bin Abban said that Ikrimah narrated from Ibn Abbas concerning the Ayah, ‘Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left,’ ‘He did not say that he will come from above them, because the mercy descends from above.’
Iblees is certain that he is one of those who are doomed, and in addition to this, he is cand ungrateful to his Lord, he thus, resolved to mislead whomever he could of the slaves of Allah. He is eager to mislead and corrupt, so as to increase the number of his followers to share in his fate. Iblees knows that his destination is the Fire, and he hopes to take everyone else with him to Hell, out of envy, hatred, Kufr and stubbornness. ‘Surely, Shaytan is an enemy to you, so take (treat) him as an enemy. He only invites his Hizb (followers) that they may become the dwellers of the blazing Fire.’ [Soorah al-Fatir (35): 6] Imam Ibn Katheer writes, ‘he only wants to misguide you so that you will enter the blazing Fire with him.’
Seeking Refuge with Allah from the Lures of Shaytan from all Directions
Imam Ahmad narrated that Abdullah bin Umar said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (sallalalhu alaihi wa-sallam) used to often recite this supplication in the morning and when the night falls,
O Allah! I ask You for well-being in this life and the Hereafter. O Allah! I ask You for pardon and well-being in my religion, life, family, and wealth. O Allah! Cover my errors and reassure me in times of difficulty. O Allah! Protect me from before me, from behind me, from my right, from my left and from above me. I seek refuge with Your greatness from being killed from below me.’ Waki commented (about being killed from below), ‘This refers to earthquakes. ‘ [Abu Dawood, An-Nisaee, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban and Al-Hakim collected this Hadeeth, and Al-Hakim said, ‘Its chain is Saheeh.’] [Quoted from Tafseer Ibn Katheer]
We ask Allah the Highest, the All-Powerful, to teach us that which will benefit us, and to benefit us by that which we learn. May Allah grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions! (Ameen)
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid