Ways to fill the heart with life

The keys to the life of the heart lie in reflecting upon the Qur’an, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving sins.

– Ibn Al-Qayyim (Hadi Al-Arwah Ila Bilad Al-Afrah, pg.45)

Allah said: “A Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may take heed.” (Qur’an, 38:29)

So Allah informed us that He sent down this Great Qur’an, blessed in its wording, meaning, commands, prohibitions and regulations. Among its blessings is that whoever recites even one word of it has a reward, and this reward is increased tenfold, as mentioned in the Hadith reported by Al-Tirmidhi. Also, the one who reads it and acts upon it will not be misguided in this world, nor will fall into distress or misery in the Hereafter, as Ibn Abbas said so in the commentary to the following verse:

“Whoever follows My guidance shall neither go astray nor fall into distress and misery.” (Qur’an, 20:123)

Among the blessings of the Qur’an is that whoever learns it and teaches it, is from among the best of people, as mentioned in the Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari: “The best of you is the one who learns the Qur’an and then teaches it.” (Al-Bukhari, 6/501 no. 545)

The Qur’an will also be an intercessor on the Day of Judgement for its companions who used to act by it in this world as mentioned in two narrations of Sahih Muslim (2/385, no. 1757-59).

Allah informed us that He revealed the Qur’an so that its meanings, commands and prohibitions may be reflected over. If one were to come across a verse commanding something, he should obey the command; if the verse forbids something, he should desist from it; if it was concerning the Mercy of Allah then he should hope for this Mercy and ask for it; if the verse threatened with a punishment then he should fear it and seek refuge with Allah from it; if the verse was about glorification of Allah then he should glorify Allah. By doing so, faith, knowledge, guidance and piety will increase.

Allah said about the believers:

“And when His verses are recited unto them, they increase their faith.” (Qur’an, 8:2)

Allah also said:

Do they not ponder over the Qur’an or are there locks upon their hearts? (Qur’an, 47:24)

Among the ways of giving life to the heart is to be humble to Allah in secret. Meaning to desire and long for Allah through du’a, seeking forgiveness, turning to Him, asking for help and support, Paradise and shelter from Hellfire at the time when Allah descends to the lowest Heaven in the last third of the night, as mentioned in the authentic Hadith:

“Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven when a third of the night remains, saying: Who is supplicating to Me that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me that I may give him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me that I may forgive him?” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

This Hadith contains encouragement to stand in the last part of the night, praying, making du’a, and asking for forgiveness, Paradise and release from the fire of Hell. Indeed Allah commanded us to make du’a and promised to accept Allah, who is far removed from imperfection, does not violate His promises.

Leaving sins is also another way of giving life to the heart, as mentioned in the Hadith:

“When the servant performs a sin a black spot appears on his heart, and if he seeks forgiveness this black spot is removed, and if he returns to sin the black spot grows until his heart becomes black, and this is the ‘Raan’ about which Allah said, ‘Nay! But on their hearts is the covering of sins (raan) which they used to earn.’” (Qur’an, 83:14) (An-Nasa’i and Al-Tirmidhi)

A poet said, “I saw sins killing the hearts, breeding ignominy due to their addiction. And in the desisting from sins lies its life and it is best for your soul that you preserve it.” – Al-Hidaayah.


- By Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Abdullah Al-Hazimi

SOURCE:
Islamic_Group

THE IDEAL MUSLIMAH: The Believing Women is Alert

One of the most unique features of the Muslim woman is her deep faith in Allah and her heartfelt certainty that whatever happens in this world and whatever happens to human beings, only happens through the will and ruling of Allah; that whatever happens to person could not have been avoided, and whatever does not happen to a person could not have been made to happen. A person has no choice in this life but to strive towards the right path and to do good deeds- (acts of worship etc.) by whatever means one can, putting all his trust in Allah, submitting to His will, and believing that he is always in need of Allah’s help and support.

The Story of Hajar
This story offers the Muslim woman the most marvelous example of deep faith in Allah and sincere trust in Him.

Ibrahim (peace be upon him) left Hajar at the Ka’bah in Makkah, above the well of Zamzam, at the time when there was no people and no water in the place. Hajar had no-one with her except her baby, Ismail. She asked Ibrahim (peace be upon him), calmly and with no trace of panic: “Has Allah commanded you to do this, O Ibrahim?” Ibrahim (peace be upon him) replied, “Yes”. She then replied, “Then He is not going to abandon us.”

Her response reflected her acceptance and confidence. Ibrahim (peace be upon him) left nothing with her but a sack of dates and a skin filled with water. Were it not for the deep faith and trust in Allah that filled Hajar’s heart, she would not have been able to cope with such a difficult situation; she would have collapsed straight away, and would not have become the woman whose name is forever remembered night and day by those who perform Hajj and ‘Umrah at the Ka’bah, every time they drink the pure water of Zamzam, and run between the mounts of Safa’ and Marwah, as Hajar did on the most trying day.

Hajar’s deep faith reminded Muslim men and women that Allah witness and knows every secret, and that Allah is with a person wherever he may be.

The story below is a good example of being aware of Allah and fear of Allah at all times.


The story of the young Muslim girl
“Narrated Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: ‘When I was accompanying Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), on his patrol of Madinah at night, he felt tired, so he leant against a wall. It was the middle of the night, and (we heard) a woman say to her daughter, “O my daughter, get up and mix that milk with some water.” The girl said, “O Mother, did you not hear the decree of Amir al-Muminin (chief of the believers) today?” The mother said, “What was that?” The girl said, “He ordered someone to announce in a loud voice that milk should not be mixed with water.” The mother said, “Get up and mix the milk with water; you are in a place where Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) cannot see you.” The girl told her mother, “I cannot obey Him (Allah) in public and disobey Him in private.”

Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this, and told me: “O Aslam, go to that place and see who that girl is, and to whom she was speaking, and whether she has a husband.” So I went to that place, and I saw that she was unmarried, the other woman was her mother, and neither of them had a husband. I came to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and told him what I had found out. He called his sons together, and said to them: “Do any of you need a wife, so I can arrange the marriage for you? If I had the desire to get married, I would have been the first one to marry this young woman.” Abdullah said: “I have a wife.” Abdul-Rahman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I have a wife.” Asim said: “I do not have a wife, so let me marry her.” So Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) arranged for her to be married to Asim. She gave him a daughter, who grew up to be the mother of Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz.

This is the deep sense of awareness that Islam had implanted in the heart of this young woman. She was righteous and upright in all her deeds, both in public and in private, because she believed that Allah is with her at all times and saw and heard everything. This is true faith, and these are the effects of that faith, which raised her to the level of ishan. One of the immediate rewards with which Allah honoured her was this blessed marriage, one of whose descendants was the fifth rightly-guided khalifah, Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him).


SOURCE:
Al Hashimi, A. M. (Dr). 1999. The Ideal Muslimah. International Islamic Publishing House, Saudi Arabia.