Purification of the Heart & Soul

Purification of the Heart & Soul
By: Hafiz Raakin Hossain & Rashad Abdullah


To mankind there are two devils. One is, of course, the Shaitan. To avoid his whispers, one would seek refuge in Allah from the Shaitan by the recitation of: audhoo billahi minashaytaanir Rajeem. However, there is a devil more powerful and persuading than the Shaitan. That is the lower/inner self. This lower self is embedded within each creature, dictating us towards our desires. To suppress these evil forces, one has to learn to control and obey.
Allah does not ask from us what is beyond our scope. For example, anger management is the path to success. However, the arousing of anger itself is not a sin. Rather, it is human nature, and to oppose it is not how Allah created us. On the other hand, to advocate and activate the effects of anger is a sin. Therefore, we are told to grasp and grip our desires and subject them in front of Allah. On the road to Eid Salah we are to say “Labbayk”. That word is meant to be repeated in every good deed performed, which means “Here I am, Ya Allah.” At all times should we be ready to sacrifice whatever we have in the path of Allah.

The true definition of sacrifice cannot be expressed in one word. Rather, the precise meaning can be given in an example of a mother who is willing to turn away the world for her child. A mother, who bore the child in her womb for nine months will obviously feel a different relation with her child than would the father or sibling. Furthermore, the love for one’s own child is restricted. Allah describes the day even a mother will reject her own child as “a day in which neither wealth nor children shall be of any benefit (to anyone), except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” The attainment of this “sound heart” is through spiritual cleansing. The room for improvement always remains.

The western society taught us that wisdom is attained through old age and knowledge. A pure soul is one who preaches what he teaches, and teaches what he preaches. This is wisdom; knowledge that is put in practice. To put something in practice, we must have pure conviction that this is the fact and truth of life and religion.

Wisdom is the soap to cleanse our spiritual selves. The two ingredients for wisdom are practice and knowledge. For knowledge, one needs proper upbringing and education in a proper environment. We have been endowed with the legacies and teachings of our ascetic and pious predecessors who have exemplified the path to success. Our constitution is the Qur’aan and Hadith. With those two wings, our spiritual success will soar further than our minds can imagine.

Apart from which has been mentioned, there are two traits: blameworthy and praiseworthy. Those two sections compile to the spiritual fruits or diseases.

These traits are the measurement scale of one’s character. The praiseworthy traits are the ones that should be sought for, ones which every believer desires and yearns. Blameworthy traits are the despicable characteristics which deserves contempt. The blameworthy traits in its original form are natural and not sinned, but if brought to a further level are sinful and should be avoided.

The praiseworthy traits include love for Allah, love for His Messenger, unity, sincerity, repentance, longing, fear, hope, abstinence, and trust. This category leans more towards conviction in Allah’s oneness (tauheed) and His books, messengers, and their teachings. If one has sincere conviction in Allah, he will long for his Lord and will never lose hope in His mercy.

The blameworthy traits include anger, malice, hatred, jealousy, pride, vanity, love for the world, love for fame, greed, and ostentation. Abul Hasan Nuri advises “Do not venture near one who lays claim to a condition that brings about transgression of the limits of the Shari’a.” As mentioned above, the natural and original form of these characteristics is no sin. However, acting upon its symptoms is a crime. To follow the desires of such cancerous diseases will eventually lead to one’s destruction both in this world and the next.

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EDIT: Just on the note, I think I made a few indenting mistakes during the copy/pasting.