Pride and its cure

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “No one who has an atom’s-weight of Pride in his heart will enter Paradise.” A man said, “O Messenger of Allah, what if a man likes his clothes and his shoes to look good?” He (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty, Pride means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”

[Sahih Muslim]

Commentary:

The word or the name for arrogance/pride in Arabic is ‘Kibr’. This is the inner quality of pride. The name of the outward quality is ‘Takabbur’ which means arrogance.

Arrogance is a blameworthy characteristic which is the feature of Iblees and his followers in this world, those on whose hearts Allah has placed a seal.

Signs of a Person Having Pride/Arrogance:

He doesn’t like others to have what he has. He cannot avoid anger. He cannot avoid being jealous of others. He doesn’t accept advice from others. He doesn’t want to listen or accept advice from a learned person or even attend lessons. When advising people he always puts them down When speaking he will say good remarks about himself. When he speaks he speaks with pride to let people know he has knowledge. He deals with people in bad way. He walks in a bad way. He looks down at people because he is wealthier, or has a better appearance.

The cure for arrogance involves Knowledge and Action which involves the following remedies:

Firstly, you should know and recognise your Lord and know and recognise your own self as you should be recognised, and that you are not worthy of greatness and that true greatness and pride are only for Allah.

Secondly, you should think of yourself as being just like other people and realize that they are like you; they were born from a mother and a father just as you were, and that taqwa (piety, fear of Allah) is the true criteria of righteousness.

The Seeker

In relation to your effort will you reach lofty ranks? One who aspires to reach high stages should burn the midnight oil.

You yearn for honour and respect and you spend the night asleep. Do you not know that a person looking for pearls will have to dive deep into the Ocean?

Then how can one aspire to obtain knowledge in such comfort? A person can only obtain lofty ranks if he makes a firm resolve, to stay awake at night is a means of attaining honour.

If one thinks he can obtain eminence without difficulty and hardship then this is an impossible dream which will consume ones entire life without attainment.

'Words of an Anonymous Scholar'

A Bedouins prayer

Sufyan Al Thawri said that he heard a Bedouin saying at 'Arafah:

My God, who is more entitled to slips and falling short than me since I have been created weak? And who is more entitled to pardon me than You since You knew me before and Your command encompasses me?

My God, I did not do good until You gave me permission to do so and I didn't do wrong until You decreed it for me. I obeyed You and You blessing and the favour is Yours, and I disobeyed You by Your knowledge and the proof is Yours!

I ask You by the obligation of Your proof, the ending of my proof, my need of You and Your lack need of me, pardon me and show mercy to Me!

My God, You are kind to those who are kind to Your friends and the closest of them with sufficiency to those who rely on You. You witness them in their secrets and are aware of their inner consciences. O Allah, my secret is disclosed to You and I am eager for You. 

When sins alienate me, remembering You delights me. 

When worries burn me, I seek refuge in You, knowing that the reins are in Your hands and they issue from Your decree and determination. 

Ameen Ya Rabb!

The illusion

The Dunya is short lived, it will eventually come to an end, it is not everlasting. Dunya is an illusion. We think the Dunya is real but when reality strikes we see it is nothing. 

Certainly we know that our life on earth is not forever and that we are not here for eternity. This world is to end and our life is to soon finish. Death will reach us wherever we are and whomever we may be. Death is inevitable. 

As Muslims we all know this but the question is, "Exactly what are we doing to prepare for our death, to prepare for our questioning and accountability?" 

None of us are guaranteed that we shall live until old age, nobody is ever too young to die. We must take our time for granted and use it wisely whilst we can, because before we know it will be too late and we shall have Death knocking at our door. We mustn't allow ourselves to have any regrets.

If there is any bad habit we have, any sin that we commit we must stop now for death is around the corner and after we breathe our last we cannot come back and amend our ways. This is impossible and we know it.

Imam Ghazali (Rahimullah) gives a beautiful example, he says:

'A man was walking in the jungle when suddenly, a lion began to chase him, As he ran away he fell into a well and as he fell he grabbed onto a rope. He thought he was safe but below him there was a huge serpent with its jaws wide open waiting for him to fall. Whilst he was holding onto the rope, a black mouse and white mouse began to nibble away at it. The man began to panic and became very scared until he spotted a honeycomb on the side of the well. He dipped his finger into it and then placed it on his tongue. For a second, he forgot about the situation he was in and enjoyed the taste. His worries had become momentarily disappeared but reality soon came crashing back to him... he was going to die.'

Imam Ghazali (Rahimullah) mentions that, the lion represents death that we all run away from. The serpent is the grave which we must all fall into. The rope signifies our life and the black mouse and white mouse are the night d day which nibble away at our existence. Finally, the honeycomb is the Dunya which we are in. It is so fruitful in our eyes that we expect to live forever but as Allah (swt) says in the Quran;

"Every soul has to taste death. It is on the Day of Judgement that you shall be paid your reward in full. So whosoever has been kept away from the Fire and admitted into Paradise has really succeeded. The worldly life is nothing but an illusionary enjoyment." [Surah3;186] 

So think about it, What have you done in your life? What is on your CV to present Allah - the Employer of Jannah? What makes you think you have earned yourself a high ranked position?

May Allah give us the ability to remember death always, and prepare for our hereafter and Qiyam in front of Allah on the day of Judgement. May Allah keep us on the straight path and admit us into Jannatul Firdous.

Ameen, thumma Ameen. 

Change and Intention

Allah says in the Quran;

"Has the time not yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and for the truth that has descended? They must not be like those to whom the Book was given before, but a long period passed on them (in which they did not repent), therefore their hearts became hard, and (thus) many of them are sinners." [57;16]

Essentially the change of a person is truly down to the person themselves, the change can only be done by them. No other is able to affect the heart and intentions of the person. No other person is able to control this persons actions and speech. No other person is in control of this persons gaze and hearing. It is only up to this person himself'/herself to change their way. 

It is down to this person themselves to make a firm resolution that they will change and rectify their previous life. The intention needs to be strong as temptation can very easily cause this person to drop their goal. 

One important piece of advise is that this person should forget everyone and everything else and do what they are intending to do. They must ignore remarks from others, and temptations of desires. They should do that which only Allah and His messenger (Saw) has asked of him to do. 

A person must sit back and think, when will I change? For how long will I change? Will I commit the same sins again? How will I face Allah on Judgement day, how will I stand before Him whilst he tells my sins? What face will I show Rasulullah (Saw) on that day? ..... If the answers to these are something the person worries about then the change must be made now to avoid the torment later. 

Many intend to play hard, chillax, sin and then plan to worship Allah in their later years, some even think in a few years they will perform Hajj and their sins will not be accounted for - they will come back sin free. Such a person has definitely erased the reality of death from their minds, such a person is playing with his own mentality. Does he ever think, what if I die before then? Will I reach my old age? If he aims to please Allah, and truly loves Him then on hearing such reminder of Judgement day he will definitely change. 

Nothing in this life is certain, a person must fight his temptations now so that he can be raised up in front of Allah as those who did good, those who made an effort to please Allah. This is why change is important, Now!

For any difficult goal to be achieved or any change to become successful, a person needs to firstly have determination.
The Prophet Muhammad (Saw) has said in the well known Hadith,

'Indeed actions are according to intentions and for every man is what he intended..'

The Hadith makes it clear that not only will a person be judged on his intentions, but rather he will also only go as far as his intention. If his intention was firm and with it he had huge determination, then he will continue to reach the goal despite any various hardships or distractions along the way. On the contrary, if a persons intention is weak and his determination fades away then his resolve will crumble at the very first distraction or hardship. As a result he will fail to reach his goal and may go back to his old ways or find other unsuccessful ways to reach his goal. 

The reality is every human in the world knows that when it comes to battling the diseases of the heart and mind, nothing is easy. But although the hardship and fear of success one must carry on with all hope and not lose courage. With the will of Allah he shall reach the end, if his intention is strong. One must keep on going forward even if it feels like a mountain climb. The light after the mountain will surely make this trek full of hardship worth it. 

Throughout this journey a persons attention will slowly fade away from worldly needs and they shall begin to focus on Allah. Allahs focus will also be upon this slave who will be resulting in mass progress, InShaaAllah. When desires of the world begin to cloud the mind with his intention firm and strong he will now be able to overcome them. During the time of frustration feelings of the past (before the change) may surround him but with his intention he will stand firm on his feet and ignore them. He will pick himself up and try again even if he fails. His intention will be unchanged, he will think to himself 'even if death comes to me throughout this change, I will be in the midst of getting the impurities out of my heart'. 

Such a strong resolve is much loved by Allah. Allah loves a servants effort and struggle to become closer to Him and change. Thus Allah gives His slave the ability to fulfill his task. 

May Allah guard the gates of our heart and fill our hearts with only the Love of Allah and His messenger. May Allah accept all our repentance, and efforts to please Him. May He grant us success in this life and salvation in the hereafter. Oh Turner of hearts, make our heart firm on your Deen. Ameen, Thumma Ameen.

The Inner rust

Todays era is of technology such as computers, laptops and mobiles. We often take out time to sort out, tidy and clear our technology from Junk mail and unused files. We delete unimportant messages to keep them from cluttering our inboxes and notifications.
Although we spend time to empty our techological devices from cluttering why is it that we neglect our hearts? Are our hearts not far more worthy of special care and attention than any gadget or tool existing today??
It is neccessary that we cleanse our hearts from the overwhelming of sin and that we spiritually malnourish them often.
Abu Hurairah narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Saw) has said, "When a believer commits a sin a black dot appears on his heart. If he repents and seeks forgiveness, his heart becomes purified. If he advances in the sin, the black dots increase until they overcome his heart. These black dots constitute the encrusted pollution that Allah Almighty refers to in the Quranic verse; 'No indeed! But, encrusted over their hearts is what they have earned.' (Qurán 83:14) [Hadith mentioned in Tirmidhi]
If one allows the sins to accumulate on their heart in the form of this inner 'rust', the heart gradually becomes blind and unreceptive to spiritual realities.
Cleansing the heart is acheived through the remembrance of Allah (Dhikr), (Tawbah) repentance, (ístighfar) forgiveness, and humbly turning to Him.
The Messenger of Allah said, "Every Son of Aadam is a sinner and the best of sinners is he who repents." [Sunnan al-Tirmidhi]
May Allah give us all the ability to purify out hearts from sins and may Allah accept our sincere repentance to Him.

Shukr; Be thankful for Allahs many blessings!

Allah has mentioned in the Quran; 

(( And )remember) when your Lord proclaimed "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshiping none but Allah), I will give you more (of my Blessings), but if you are thankless, Verily! My punishment is indeed severe.)) [Ibrahim 14;7]

Allah informs us to be thankful for what He has given us whether it may be; health, wealth, family, youth, life, Islam etc. 

Here is a short story relating to the topic.

This is story is narrated by Abu Hurairah (Ra), that he heard the Prophet (Saw) saying; 

Allah willed to test three people; a leper, a blind man and a bald headed man. So He sent down an angel.

This angel came to leper and asked him "What would you like the most?"

 The leper replied, "I would like a good complexion and good skin, for people have considered me unclean." So the angel passed his hand over him, and his illness disappeared from him, he acquired good complexion. 

Now the angel said, "What would you like to have most (i.e in terms of wealth/property)?" The man said, "Camels." So he was given a pregnant she-camel. He said "May God bless you for this."

The angel then came to the bald man and asked him, "What would you like most?" 

The bald man said, "I would like nice hair for due to this condition people dislike me." So the angel passed his hand over him, and his baldness disappeared, he acquired a full head of hair.

Now the angel said to him, " What would you like to have most (i.e in terms of wealth/property)?" The man said, "Cattle." So he was given a pregnant cow. He said "May God bless you for this."

The angel then came to the blind man and asked him, "What would you like most?" 

The blind man said, "That God may restore my vision so I might see people." So the angel passed his hand over him, and Allah restored his eyesight.

Now the angel said to him, " What would you like to have most (i.e in terms of wealth/property)?" The man said, "Cattle." So he was given a pregnant cow. He said "May God bless you for this."

Now the angel said to him, " What would you like to have most (i.e in terms of wealth/property)?" The man said, "Sheep." So he was given a pregnant sheep. He said "May God bless you for this.

Time now passed and each of the animals gave birth, eventually one of the men had a valley full of camels, one a valley full of cattle and the other a valley full of sheep.

Then the angel came to the Leper in disguise and said, "I am a poor man, at the end of my rope on my journey, none can help me this day except to God and to you. I ask you, by the One who gave you good complexion, good skin and great wealth for help so I may make it to the end of my journey."

The man replied, "But I have many obligations."

The angel then said, "I seem to know you. Were you not a leper, known by society as unclean? And did God not give to you what you wanted?"

The man replied, "No, I have simply inherited this wealth from my fathers and fore-fathers"

The angel said, "You are a liar. May God make you as you were."

The angel then came to the bald man in disguise and spoke to him as he did to the leper. The bald man replied as the leper did. So the angel said you are a liar. May God make you as you were."

Then the angel also came to the Blind man and said, "I am a poor man, on the road, at the end of my rope, with no resort this day but to Allah and you. I ask you by the One who gave you vision for a sheep to help me on my way."

The Blind man replied, "I used to be blind, but God restored my eyesight. Take whatever you want, and leave what you will. For by Allah I will give you no trouble about anything you take today for the sake of Allah."

The angel said, "Keep what you have; for you were being tested by Allah. Allah is pleased with you and displeased with the others." 

[Story narrated in Sahih Bukhari]

Moral: This story shows that we must always be thankful of what we are given. Shukr as well as Sabr are essential in the life of a Muslim.

 We must look at those who are lower than us in materialistic things, this will help us to be grateful for every little thing we are granted as the Prophet (Saw) said:

  "Look at those below you and not those above you. It is better for you do not deny Allahs blessing on you." [Bukhari]

 It is only when looking at those lowers than us we will realise how blessed we actually are. We must be thankful for what we have it rather than us being sorry once it is taken away. 

Another hadith which comes to mind where the Prophet (Saw) has advised us to value five thing before five is as follows; 

"Take advantage of five matters before five others: your youth, before your old age; and your health before you fall sick; and your wealth before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life before your death." [Tirmidhi]

We must all make the most out what we have and be thankful for what we have whilst we have it. We do not know what tomorrow will bring so be thankful while you can. Do Shukr. 

May Allah give us all the ability to do Shukr and be thankful for what we have whilst we have. May He give us the ability to act upon words as advice and make the most of today. I pray that Allah grants us all beneficial knowledge. 

To end with, I praise Allah the Almighty and ask Allah to bless all readers. May Allah accept all efforts. Ameen.