Matters of the (Muslim) Heart

In a metaphysical sense, we use our hearts in a variety of interesting ways. We love, hate, shed tears, feel happy, etc. based on the beliefs and understanding of various matters that we hold in our hearts. In general, our behavior is largely driven by the world that we build in our hearts. Mankind are known to go to great lengths to perform acts that range from being heroic to being absurd, all based on the value that one places on various matters – people and things – in one’s heart.

It is no wonder therefore that Allah mentions the “heart” in various contexts in more than 100 places in the Quran.

Consider what the prophet said in a hadith:
“There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoiled, the whole body gets spoiled – and that is the heart.” [Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 49: Part of the Hadith Narrated by An-Nu'man bin Bashir]

If what we hold in our hearts drives us to act – sometimes pushing us to extremes – then it’s only prudent that we feed the right beliefs and knowledge to the world of our hearts.

Without proper knowledge and religious understanding, we can’t expect to build the levels of our faith and without faith there can’t be devotion in our actions. Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “..if actions were useful without devotion, He (Allah) would never have dispraised the hypocrites.” He also said, “Allah will never purchase any good (deed) that has not been refined by faith.” (Al Fawwaid)

It should come as no surprise therefore that we will be questioned about the knowledge that we acquire and how we use that knowledge to build the worlds of our hearts.

Consider the following verse:
“And follow not (O man, i.e., say not, or do not, or witness not) that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allâh)” [al-Israa’ 17:36]

We know that the foundation of our religious understanding is based on our upbringing and our continued efforts to acquire knowledge. The weaker the foundation, the more difficult does it become to live Islam. It also lets a carefree attitude take root in our hearts making us even more negligent of our priorities. One of the pious and knowledgeable salaf ‘Ata’ al-Sulaymi was asked about his fear of Allah and his concerns and he said: “…. Death is close at hand, the grave is my house, on the Day of Resurrection I will stand and my path is over a bridge across Hell, and I do not know what will become of me.”

Obviously, if our knowledge and understanding is weak, our minds wouldn’t worry about such matters.

Unfortunately, in such a state many don’t even care to know what they don’t know and what they need to know.

On the contrary, when we invest in building the foundations of our knowledge and religious understanding, we become more cognizant of Allah and fear Him accordingly.

For those of us who feel better about their levels of knowledge, understanding and faith, we need to be careful about not developing a false sense of ‘Iman’ (faith). This is because we live in a world where it is common to find religious understanding founded on superficial knowledge garbled with philosophies of the day (that abound) and bits of personal viewpoints.

Sometimes that religious understanding is also tainted with cultural norms giving rise to Islamic viewpoints that are not in line with what was revealed by Allah on our prophet Muhammad (SAWS).

We, therefore, should be wary of falling into such traps of distorted enlightenment.

Consider the example of Umar Al-Khattab (the second Caliph of Islam). The prophet had said that if there was going to be a prophet after him, it would have been Umar. It was the same Umar who on his death bed asked for his head to be put on sand and he kept saying that “…May God be merciful on me. Oh you whose kingship never deviates have mercy on the one whose kingship has just deviated.”

If Umar – one of the very few who had been promised paradise in his life – was so worried and anxious about getting Allah’s mercy, how can we become complacent about the levels of the faith and ‘Iman’ that live in our hearts?

Elevating our knowledge and religious understanding thus should get a renewed sense of urgency. Let’s remind ourselves that the excuses that we may have today for not enhancing or correcting our religious knowledge and understanding, won’t pass the test of time. They have not for anyone in the past.

ibn Al-Qayyim said, “The person who is profoundly knowledgeable of Allah would be interested in consolidating the foundation and strengthening it. And the ignorant person would be interested in constructing but without taking care of the foundation, and in no time, his establishment would collapse.”

Allah says in the Quran:

“Is it then he, who laid the foundation of his building on piety to Allah and His Good Pleasure, better, or he who laid the foundation of his building on an undetermined brink of a precipice (steep rock) ready to crumble down, so that it crumbled to pieces with him into the Fire of Hell?” (At-Tawbah, 9:109)”

Getting the right knowledge will also elevate our positions in front of our Creator. As Allah says:

“Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge” [Part of the verse in al-Mujaadilah 58:11]

Finally, a useful Dua that we can make to inculcate the fear of our Creator is the one taught to us by the prophet. He (SAWS) used to make the dua:

“I seek refuge in you, O Allah, from knowledge that does not benefit and from a heart which does not fear.”

Let’s therefore spend our time to acquire the knowledge that can correct the condition of our hearts and make our lives a bit more meaningful. Let’s also be wary of what we are not feeding our hearts. Ultimately, we are in front of people and in front of our Creator based on what’s in our hearts.

By:  Ibn Uthman Muhammad Zaharaddeen

The Dangers of Being Praised

Praise or not to praise?

 

For many Muslims involved in da’awah work or Islamic studies, one of the biggest struggles they face is praise and fame from their communities and peers. It is the nature of humans to praise what they see of people, but we are taught in our Deen that too much praise can harm a person.

Once, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) heard a man praising another, and he responded to him, “”May Allah ‘s Mercy be upon you! You have cut the neck of your friend.” [Bukhari]

My teacher used to say, “praise is poison”, because of how it can ruin a good intention into a corrupt one. When we are constantly praised, our weak souls begin to rely and covet this praise, so good deeds are then done solely to hear those words of praise. A person’s nafs may rely so much on this praise that they begin seeking it for what they did not do. Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) describes in the Qur’an:

لَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَفْرَحُونَ بِمَا أَتَوا وَّيُحِبُّونَ أَن يُحْمَدُوا بِمَا لَمْ يَفْعَلُوا

“Think not that those who rejoice in what they have done, and love to be praised for what they have not done…” (3:188)

The scholars and righteous of the past would find ways to keep this praise away from themselves and remind those around them to not over praise others. This is why we find many narrations where they humiliate or speak lowly of themselves - it is to keep their nafs in check.

This supplication was not taught to us by the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam), but it is one that his best friend, Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) would make after being praised (some narrations state that it was a duaa of Ali radi Allahu anhu).

It is reported that he would say,

اللهمَ اجْعَلْنِى خَيْرًا مِمَّا يَظُنُّونَ وَاغْفِرْ لِى مَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ وَلَا تُؤَاخِذْنِى بِمَا يَقُولُون

Allahumma-ja’lni khayran mima yadhunoon wa-ghfir li ma la ya’lamoon wa la tu’akhidhni bi ma yaquloon.

O Allah, make me better than what they think of me, and forgive me for what they do not know about me, and do not take me to account for what they say about me.

Selected Word Analysis

yadhunnun – dhann is supposition. Notice here that Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) did not say, “ya’lamoon“, “what they know” but rather, what they THINK about me. He is showing us through the use of this word that what people think is not always true, and supposition can never equal actual knowledge.

tu’akhidhni - aakhadha means to reproach or blame someone. It means to hold someone accountable for something. Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) is asking that he not be held accountable for what is said about him, because it is not in his control.

Points of Benefit

Being praised is something that even giants struggle with. Abu Bakr (radi Allahu anhu) was the giant of this Ummah, the greatest man after the Prophets, yet he struggled with hearing the praise of others. Struggling with praise does not mean you are weak, rather it means you are human.

Be careful in overpraising others. Sometimes we praise people in an extravagant way, and this only hurts the person more. As the Prophet (alayhi salaatu wa salaam) said, “you are cutting the neck of your brother”- you may think you are benefiting the person but it may only be hurting them more.

It is important to be balanced when praising others. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “If it is necessary for any of you to praise someone, then he should say: ‘I think! that he is so and-so‘, if he really thinks that he is such. Allah is the One Who will take his account (as He knows his reality), and none can sanctify anyone before Allah.” [Bukhari]

Once a man was praised by another, so he responded to him and asked him, “Have you seen me while I was angry, and found me forbearing?” The man who praised him said no. He then asked, “Have you traveled with me and saw that I had good character (during travels)?” He said no. Then he asked, “Have you found me trustworthy with regards to fulfilling the trusts?” He said no. The man concluded, “then it is not allowed for you to praise someone if you have not seen his behavior with regards to these situations.”

Make duaa for those who are faced with popularity, fame and praise. It is a great inner struggle for them.
Being praised for an action you did secretly for the sake of Allah is a good thing. It was said to Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him): What is your opinion about the person who has done good deeds and the people praise him? He said: It is glad tidings for a believer (which he has received in this world). [Saheeh Muslim] This is not the same as someone acting out of seeking praise or changing their deeds afterward for praise, but this when someone is praised for what they’ve already done such as people finding out they were feeding the poor or praying during the night.

If you are praised, then be careful not to let praise and self-admiration overcome you. Praise makes people content with their deeds so they do not worship or do good as much because they are happy with their situation.

Some sayings of the Salaf regarding praise/fame:

Al-Kuraybi said, “They used to prefer that a man hide his righteous deeds, (to the extent), that his wife or anyone else wouldn’t be aware of it. (Al-Siyar: 9/349)

Abu Hazim said, “Hide your good deeds more than you hide your bad deeds.” (Al-Musannaf: 7/195)

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad said, “Whosoever is saddened by loneliness and feels tranquil around the people, is not safe from riyaa.” (Al-Siyar: 8/436)

Sa’eed ibn Al-Haddad said, “Nothing hinders from the path of Allah like seeking praise and status.” (Al-Siyar: 14/214)

Sufyan ath-Thawri said, “Safety is that you don’t desire to be known.” (Al-Siyar: 7:257)

Bishr ibn al-Harith said, “The (person) that loves fame has not feared Allah. Don’t act in order to be mentioned, and hide your good deeds like you hide your bad ones.” (Al-Siyar: 10/476)

May Allah make us among the sincere ones and may He purify our hearts from seeking praise and being affected by it.

By: Shaz Yusuf