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How Does the Heart Fast?
by
Shaykh Sa`id `Abdullah al-Qarni
[And
if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart (aright)]
(At-Taghabun 64:11).
The
guidance of the heart is the basis of all guidance, the law of all
success, the origin of every deed, and head of every action. The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Truly
there is a piece of flesh in the body which, if it be wholesome, the
whole body will be healthy and which, and if it be diseased, the
whole body will be diseased. Truly it is the heart.”
Thus
the goodness of your heart is the guarantee of your happiness in
this world and in the hereafter. Likewise, its corruption is the
surest way to destruction, the extent of which only Allah knows.
[In
this, behold, there is indeed a reminder for everyone whose heart is
wide-awake — that is [everyone who] lends ear with a conscious
mind]
(Qaf 50:37).
Every
human has a heart. In reality though, they are two hearts. One is a
heart that is alive and pulsating with the light of faith. It is
filled with intense conviction and God-consciousness. The other is a
dead heart, covered and diseased with every wreckage and rubbish.
Allah
Almighty says concerning the hearts of the foolish folk:
[In
their hearts is disease, and so God lets their disease increase]
(Al-Baqarah 2:10).
[But
they say, “Our hearts are already full of knowledge.” Nay, but
God has rejected them because of their refusal to acknowledge the
truth: for, few are the things in which they believe]
(Al-Baqarah 2:88).
Allah
also says:
[Will
they not, then, ponder over this Qur’an? — or are there locks
upon their hearts?]
(Muhammad 47:24).
[And
so they say, [as it were:] “Our hearts are veiled from whatever
thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness”]
(Fussilat 41:5).
From
all these verses we learn that hearts can become ill, they can be
covered and locked, and they die. The enemies of Allah have hearts
in their bosoms but they do not perceive with these hearts. Hence
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say:
“O
Dispenser of hearts, make my heart firm in Your religion.”
The
heart of the believer fasts during Ramadan and outside of Ramadan.
The fasting of the heart is done by emptying it of all corrupt
material such as destructive forms of shirk (associating
others with Allah), false beliefs,
evil suggestions, filthy intentions, and degenerate thoughts. The
heart of the believer is adorned with the love of Allah. It knows
its Lord by His names and His qualities as He has described Himself.
This heart explores with a discerning eye the lines of His names and
qualities, and the pages of Allah’s making in the universe, and
the books of His creations.
The
believer’s heart is filled with a brilliant light which does not
allow any darkness to remain with it. It is the light of the eternal
message, the divine teachings, and the divine laws. To it is added
the natural light upon which the servants of Allah were created.
Thus two great lights come together
[Light
upon light! God guides unto His light him that wills [to be guided];
and [to this end] God propounds parables unto men, since God [alone]
has full knowledge of all things]
(An-Nur 24:36).
The
believer’s heart glows like a lamp, shines like the sun, and
sparkles like the morning light. It increases in faith whenever the
believer listens to the verses of the Qur’an, it grows in
conviction when it contemplates and increases in guidance when it
reflects. The believer’s heart abstains from pride because it
invalidates the heart’s fast. Pride does not reside in the heart
of a believer because it is unlawful.
Allah
Almighty says in a hadith qudsi:
“Pride
is My upper garment and grandeur is My lower one, whoever contests
with Me for them I will punish him.”
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself said:
“Whoever
shows arrogance to Allah, He will humble him, and whoever is humble
to Allah, He will raise him in station.”
The
heart of the believer fasts and abstains from egotism. Egotism is
when the individual sees himself as perfect, better than others, and
in possession of good qualities that are not found in anyone else.
This may cause one to be totally destroyed. The Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said:
“(There
are) three things which are totally destructive: a person’s
self-centeredness and conceit, his reluctance to obey, and his
following of his desires.”
The
cure for this self-importance is to look at one’s own faults,
one’s many shortcomings, the thousands of sins and misdeeds that
one has committed, the wrongs that one has done and forgotten but
the knowledge of which are with Allah in a book. For Allah is not
led astray nor does He forget.
The
heart of the believer fasts and abstains from envy because it lowers
righteous deeds, puts out the light of the heart, and stops its
progress toward Allah the Most High. Allah says in the Glorious
Qur’an:
[Do
they, perchance, envy other people for what God has granted them out
of His bounty?]
(An-Nisaa’ 4:54).
And
the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Do
not envy one another; do not inflate prices one to another; do not
hate one another; do not turn away from one another; and do not
undercut one another.”
The
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed one of his
Companions three times that he would be among the people of
Paradise. When he was asked about what was it that had earned him a
place in Paradise, the man said, “I do not sleep with envy,
grudge, or deceit in my heart for any Muslim.”
Are
there any hearts that would reflect on this?!
O
Allah guide our hearts to the straight path and make it firm on
faith, O Lord of the worlds.
Taken
from the book: Thirty Lessons for Those Who Fast (published
by Message of Islam)
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