Within the Heart

[madeenahsh]

By Imaam ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisee (d.620H)

The heart is the most honourable part of a mans body, for it is the part that knows Allaah, works for Him, seeks to draw near to Him, and feels the value of His bounties and favours. The other organs are only followers of the heart, which utilises them as kings utilise their slaves.

Whoever knows his heart, knows his Lord, yet most people are ignorant of their hearts and souls. Allaah, Most High, comes in between a man and his heart, and this “coming in between” is represented in His preventing him from knowing Him and being conscious of Him. Thus, knowing the heart and its qualities and functions is an integral part of the religion and a basis for those who seek the right way to Allaah.

The heart is prepared to accept guidance, with regard to its nature but it may not accept it with respect to its desires and wishes. In this way, the heart remains a field of struggle between angels (the soldiers of good) and devils (the soldiers of evil) until it chooses either of them and then the chosen party settles therein, while the heart still has to resist the other party. The only way to get the devils, the soldiers of evil, out of the heart is to mention Allaah, as they cannot remain in a place where Allaah is mentioned. Allaah, the Almighty, states:

“From the evil of the whisperer (devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in one’s heart after one remembers Allaah).” (An-Nas 114:4)

The heart is like a fort and the devil is like an enemy who seeks to enter this fort to own and control it. The best way to protect a fort is to safeguard its gates, and none can safeguard its gates except a person who is well aware of them. By the same token, no one can push Satan away except one who knows the means that Satan uses to penetrate the fort of his victim. Satan’s means of penetration are mans qualities, which are so many, but we are going to mention only the odious means, which are much and always used by the soldiers of Satan.

Among these heinous means are envy and covetousness. Once a man covets something his desire blinds the light of his heart with which he would recognise Satan’s evil means of penetration. Satan finds more support if the covetous person is envious, as this enables the former to make good in his eyes everything that may help him to satisfy his desire, no matter if it is abominable or offensive.

Anger, craving, and wrathfulness represent other evil means of Satan against man. Anger destroys recognition, and once a man is no longer able to recognise things, Satan attacks him with his evil whispers. It is reported that Satan said: “When a man becomes heedlessly angry, we play with him as boys play with a ball.”

Eating ones fill constitutes an evil means of Satan, for it strengthens mans desire and distracts him from obedience to Allaah.

There is also haste, about which the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Haste is from Satan and deliberation is from Allaah, the Almighty.” (Reported by at-Tirmidhee)

Love of wealth is another means, which, if inculcated in a mans heart, ruins it and drives him to seek wealth even through unlawful means and makes him stingy and afraid of poverty. He, in turn holds the due rights of others.

Another Satanic means against man is fanaticism, especially on the part of the common people, regarding schools and doctrines, without acting according to their good requirements. Moreover, the common people may be interested only in thinking about Allaah’s Entity and Attributes as well as matters that are beyond the ability of their minds, and thus they may doubt the origins of the religion.

Thinking ill of Muslims is another destructive means of Satan. This is because when a Muslim thinks ill of his Muslim brother he may despise him, say and spread evil things about him, and believes that he is better than him. Still, the believer does not think ill of his Muslim brother because he always seeks excuses for him, but the hypocrite seeks defects and flaws of others. Man should keep away from suspicious situations so that others may not think ill of him.

These are only some examples of the means that Satan uses to lead man to the way of evil. The remedy of these flaws is to block the means that lead to them, by purifying the heart from all dispraised qualities. These qualities will be discussed later in detail, Allaah willing.

When a mans heart is void of these evils, which represent the main instrumentality of Satan against man, nothing significant remains to support Satan against him, so he is driven away just be mentioning the Name of Allaah. Adversely, if a man whose heart is controlled by vain desires and lusts remembers Allaah, his remembrance does not settle in his heart, as Satan has already established himself therein.

A man may experience the truth of this by observing his own Salaah and how Satan keeps reminding him while he is performing it of worldly matters, such as the market, clients’ accounts, and the like. However, mans inner discourses are forgiven, including evil things that he has intended to do. So if he does not do an evil thing that he has intended to do out of fear of Allaah, it is written down for him as one good deed, but if he has made up his mind to do it, it is a sin, as the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

“When two Muslims meet each other with swords (i.e. fight each other), both the killer and the one killed are in the Fire.”

The Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was then asked: “What is the sin of the one killed?” He answered:

“He was keen on killing the other one.” (Reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

Determination and keenness are condemned here because mans actions are judged according to his intentions; is it not that pride, hypocrisy, and ostentation are inner matters? That is why if a man saw in his bed a woman that he thought of to be his wife and copulated with her, he did not commit a sin by this copulation, but if he saw his wife and thought her to be a foreign woman he would commit a sin if he cohabited with her. All this refers to the intention of the heart.

It was reported in a hadeeth that the Prophet (sall-Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) used to say:

“O You Who turns hearts, keeps our hearts adherent to Your religion! O You Who guides hearts, guide our hearts to (showing) obedience to You!” (Reported by at-Tirmidhee)

And in another hadeeth:

“The likeness of the heart is as the likeness of a feather that the wind is turning over in a desert.” (Reported by Ahmad ibn Hanbal)

With regard to their compliance with good and evil, the hearts are of three categories:

First: a heart that is filled with consciousness of Allaah, purified with obedience to Him, and void of bad morals, so it is apt to receive Divine guidance.

Second: a forsaken heart that is charged with vain desires and stained with evils and bad morals, so it is ready to be supervised and controlled by Satan who turns it to a blinded heart that is unable to recognise the truth or be affected by admonition.

Third: a heart that is being seduced by evil thoughts and desires, but in the mean time faith orientated thoughts and wishes are calling it to the way of good.

To illustrate this, Satan may wage an attack against mans mind to seduce it and strengthen the vein desires within him, giving examples of people who are enjoying such desires freely and specifying some scholars of that kind; so he inclines to the Satanic seduction. Then the caller to the way of good within him wages a counter attack and reminds him how destruction goes only to those who forget the Hereafter, advising him not to be seduced by people’s heedlessness. The caller to good keeps admonishing him in this way until this mans soul inclines to his advice and admonition. By then, the heart becomes hesitated between the soldier of good and that of evil, until it is completely attached to the side of which it is worthier. Thus, whoever is created for good, the way of good is made easy for him, and whoever is created for evil, its way is facilitated for him:

“And whomsoever Allaah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allaah puts the wrath on those who believe not.” (Al-An’am 6:125)

May Allaah guide us all to that which He likes!

Taken from: Mukhtasat Minhaj al-Qasidin, Pgs. 161-166 (translated into English as ‘Towards the Hereafter’ by Wa’il A. Shihab, revised by Sa’id Faris and published by ‘Dar al-Manarah’)