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The
Way to Soften the Heart
There
are many ways through which one can become deeply devout and
pious and have a soft heart. The best and most important of
such ways is to have deep faith in Almighty Allah. True
believers who deeply understand Almighty Allah's Attributes
and Names revere Allah with all their hearts and show
complete obedience to His teachings.
Whenever
they hear a verse of Almighty Allah's Book or a hadith of
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they hasten
to abide by the teaching implied therein, uttering in deep
faith Almighty Allah's words: [We
hear, and we obey. (Grant us) Thy forgiveness, our Lord.
Unto Thee is the journeying.]
(Al-Baqarah 2:285)
Things
that help one attain piety and devotion:
1.
Understanding Almighty Allah's Attributes and Names
2.
Contemplating Almighty Allah's Book
3.
Remembering the Day of Judgment
1.
Understanding Almighty Allah's Attributes and Names
When
believers contemplate Almighty Allah's Names and Attributes
and believe that only in Almighty Allah's Hand is the
dominion over all things and that only He Almighty can
protect them but none can protect against Him Most High,
they will do their best to vie in doing good and avoiding
evil.
Understanding
Allah's attributes is the best and most important step that
fills one's heart with reverence for Almighty Allah and
draws one closer and closer to Him Most High.
When
one is in such a state, one is ever mindful of Allah
Almighty, and in every moment of one's life, whether a
moment of blessing or trial, one's faith in Allah's
greatness and bounty is asserted. He who truly knows Allah
Almighty, his heart is filled with awe of Him Most High.
On
the other hand, he who never cares about knowing Allah
Almighty is far away from understanding His attributes Most
High. He who is in such a state is hard hearted and never
beholds how severe Almighty Allah's punishment may be and
how limitless His mercy and bounty are.
He
who finds in himself no concern for knowing Almighty Allah
deviates from the right path and is not bothered by
violating Allah's laws and teachings. The only aim he lives
for is to get his worldly pleasures.
Moreover,
he keeps deviating from the right path, despairing of
Allah's mercy, for he is ignorant of Allah’s boundless
forgiveness that He Most High grants to whoever returns to
Him in repentance.
2.
Contemplating Almighty Allah's Book
It
helps one become more pious and devout to contemplate
Allah's Book, whose verses guide one to the right path. Mind
what Allah Most High says about His Book (the Qur'an ): [(This
is) a Scripture the revelations whereof are perfected and
then expounded. (It cometh ) from One Wise, Informed.]
(Hud 11:1)
When
believers deeply contemplate the verses of Almighty Allah's
Book, their eyes fill with tears and their hearts turn unto
Allah Most High in deep penitence. Their hearts in such a
state are like a barren land that has bloomed after being
watered with Allah's illuminating words. They find
themselves then thirsty for doing good for Allah's sake and
wholeheartedly willing to do what pleases Him Most High.
A
true believer who reads Almighty Allah's Book in deep
contemplation feels great awe of Him Most High. Allah
Almighty says in that respect: [Allah
hath (now) revealed the fairest of statements, a Scripture
consistent, (wherein promises of reward are) paired (with
threats of punishment), whereat doth creep the flesh of
those who fear their Lord, so that their flesh and their
hearts soften to Allah's reminder. Such is Allah's guidance,
where with He guideth whom He will. And him whom Allah
sendeth astray, for him there is no guide.]
(Az-Zumar 39: 23)
The
influence of the Qur'an on its attentive listeners is
amazing. There are some Companions of the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) who embraced Islam immediately after
listening to some of the Qur'anic verses. When they listened
to these verses, they promptly believed in the truthfulness
of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and
gave up worshiping the idols, declaring faith in Almighty
Allah alone.
We
are to bear in mind that the Qur'an is the speech that the
Only Lord directs to His creatures of mankind and jinn, and
thus, its teachings are to guide them to His right path.
Allah Almighty guides the one who is keen to comprehend its
words and contemplate its meanings. Allah Most High says: [And
in truth We have made the Qur’an easy to remember; but is
there any that remembereth?]
(Al-Qamar 54:22)
3.
Remembering the Day of Judgment
One
of the things that help one get closer to Almighty Allah and
hasten to return to Him Most High in repentance is to
remember the Day of Judgment.
One
must bear in mind that there is an end to every beginning,
that after death there is no chance to reform one's
mistakes, and that one's abode after this world is either
Paradise or Hell.
When
one deeply realizes that the life of this world is temporary
and that its pleasures will inevitably come to an end, this,
certainly, will lead one to despise this world and return to
Almighty Allah in sincere repentance.
He
who visits graves and reflects on the conditions of its
dwellers, and how, sooner or later, he will join them, will
realize the ineffectiveness of running after the worldly
gains, and will, in deep awe, submit, heart and soul, to
Almighty Allah's will.
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