Spiritual Health and Purification of the Soul

[Cordoba]

The Reality of the Soul

The soul continuously calls its owner to transgression, preference of the world, the desires and love of the delights and pleasures.

But Allah calls His servant to fear of Him, awe of Him and forbids the soul from its whim. He has prepared a mighty reward for the one who follows His command. The Exalted said:

And as for the one fears the standing in front of His Lord and restrains the soul from impure evil desires and lusts, verily, Paradise will be his abode. [79:40-41]

The soul in its essence calls and commands the evil. Allah the Exalted said:

Verily the (human) self is inclined to evil, except when my Lord bestows His Mercy (upon whomsoever He wills). Verily, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful. [12:53]

The soul was originally created ignorant and given to transgression. Knowledge, guidance and righteousness are things that befall it due to inspiration from its Lord and then by the struggle against it by its owner and his nurturing it and engaging it in an internal struggle. Allah the Exalted says:

And those who strive in Our way We shall guide them to our paths and verily Allah is with the doers of good. [29:69]

Allah guaranteed the one whom He found trying and striving (against his soul) that He will be with him, will help him and will bring into reality his wish or desire (of domination over his soul). What then can a man desire after that?

And Ibn al-Qayyim (a famous Muslim scholar) said: “The travellers to Allah, in all their different paths and diversity of their ways are agreed that the soul is a barrier between the heart and Allah and that it (the heart) will not come close to Him, the Sublime, or arrive to Him except after killing his soul, abandoning it by opposing it and being victorious over it”

For this reason, it is obligatory upon us to fight and strive against it in order to travel (by this striving) in the straight path and to the clear success which Allah has prescribed for us and which the best of the creation of Allah, Muhammad has explained to us.

Know that striving against the soul does not occur except by four ways. Whoever follows them and applies them to his soul will have fought against it and protected it with the help of Allah. Ibn al-Qayyim has mentioned these ways and they are as follows:

Firstly: By holding the soul to account
Secondly: By opposing it and not following its whims and desires
Thirdly: By making it patient in Allah’s obedience
Fourthly: By making it patient in refraining Allah’s disobedience

http://www.angelfire.com/al/islamicpsychology/tazkiyah/fight_my_soul.html

 

[Cordoba]

Tazkiyah: Taking Oneself to Account

It is necessary for an individual to pause at the end of each day that has passed, in order to check himself and run through his achievements: What has he done in the course of the day? Why has he done it? What has he omitted? Why has he omitted it?

How excellent it would be if this self-criticism were to take place before one retired to bed.

This period of self-criticism and appraisal should certainly be counted among man's moments of progress; it is a moment when man impartially sits as a judge over himself and reviews his yearnings and inclinations, his instincts and motivations.

It is a moment when the believer appoints, out of his conviction, a policeman to watch over himself, an investigator to probe him, and a judge to condemn or acquit him. In this way he progresses from the state of "the soul that incites to evil" to the state of "the self- reproaching soul" which reproaches its owner whenever he plunges into sin, or falls short of expectation.

http://www.macnet.ca/national/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=15

 

[Cordoba]

Thanking God

Thankfulness should be expressed in three ways: with the heart, with the tongue and with the limbs.

Thankfulness of the heart consists in actually being consciously aware of the immeasurable gifts and blessings of Allah and in attributing them to Him and no one else.

It lies in understanding that existence in all its varied manifestations is a continuous outpouring and overflowing from a compassionate and generous Creator. It is understanding the sixth pillar of Iman, Acknowledgement of the Decree, both its good and its bad, and understanding that, in reality, even its bad is a blessing.

http://muslim-canada.org/thankfulness.htm

 

[Cordoba]

Hope, by Al-Ghazali

Hope and fear are two wings by means of which those who are brought near fly to every commendable station, and two mounts on which every steep ascent of the paths of the next world is traversed.

And nothing but the reins of hope will lead to the vicinity of the Merciful and the joy of the Gardens the man who is distant from hoping and heavy with burdens, who is encompassed with what the heart abhors and with toils of members and limbs. ...

Hope is a commendable thing, because it is a source of incentive, and despair is reprehensible and is the antithesis of hope, because it distracts from work. Fear is not the antithesis of hope, rather it is a companion to it, as its exposition will bring out. More, it is another source of incentive, impelling along the path of awe just as hope impels along the path of inclination.

Hence the state of hope produces sustained spiritual combat through actions, and perseverance in obedience, however fickle circumstances may be. Among its effects are finding pleasure in unbroken acceptance with God, contentment in private prayer with Him and fondness for deferring to Him.

Source: The Revival of the Religions Sciences, by A.H. Al-Ghazali

http://www.ghazali.org/site/ihya.htm

 

[Cordoba]

"Take care of your soul!!

Perfect it, give it good qualities.

Give it virtuous qualities of ... learning, of depth, of profundity, of care, of compassion, of seriousness in your life!"

(Sheikh Hamza Yusuf Hansen - California)
Talk Titled "Be Great People"

 

[Cordoba]

Dangers of the lower self (Nafs)

"The more you give the [lower-self], that's the downhill road; you lose spiritual potential energy.

And that's why... when we give the [lower-self] more of what it wants, it becomes difficult to be patient, it becomes difficult to do good, it becomes difficult to obey Allah.

http://www.meccacentric.com/284.html

 

[Moses the God Archetype*]

Dangers of the lower self (Nafs)

"The more you give the [lower-self], that's the downhill road; you lose spiritual potential energy.

And that's why... when we give the [lower-self] more of what it wants, it becomes difficult to be patient, it becomes difficult to do good, it becomes difficult to obey Allah.

[url="http://www.meccacentric.com/284.html"]http://www.meccacentric.com/284.html[/url]

This is very true beloved, it is funny that we call our God by a diffrent name but the beliefs are very much in accord with our own, many blessings to you.

 

[Cordoba]

Hello Moses, and thank you for your post.

One clear example to illustrate this point is the danger of eating too much when one is hungry, as that leads to too much sleep, thereby loosing time and energy for prayers, reading and reflection.

One of the advantages of fasting (in Ramadan and on other occasions) is that it helps strengthen the "spiritual batteries".

 

[Moses the God Archetype*]

Hello Moses, and thank you for your post.

One clear example to illustrate this point is the danger of eating too much when one is hungry, as that leads to too much sleep, thereby loosing time and energy for prayers, reading and reflection.

One of the advantages of fasting (in Ramadan and on other occasions) is that it helps strengthen the "spiritual batteries".

Yes beloved this is also true, for if we eat to much it can cause lazyness and sleep and that in itself strengthens the tamo-guna of materal nature, which does not help in the process of trying to abtain enlightinment and return home, it only binds us to this materal world stuck in the vast ocean of samsara the great wheel, many blessings to you beloved.:hug:

 

[Cordoba]

The Love of God

"Of all the follies, the greatest is to love this world"

(Ali ibn Abi-Talib - The Prophet's cousin)

What he means is that the love of this world fills the heart, leaving no room for the love of God. It does not mean that we should abandon worldy matters, but that a believer should have the world in his hands, not in his heart.

 

[Cordoba]

Prayer

Prayer is that which enables the soul to realize its divinity.

Through prayer, human beings worship absolute truth, and seek an eternal reward. Prayer is the foundation-stone of religion, and religion is the means by which the soul is purified of all that pollutes it.

Prayer is the worship of the first cause of all things, the supreme ruler of all the world, the source of all strength.

Prayer is the adoration of the One whose being in necessary.

(Ibn Sina - Known also as Avicenna), (980 - 1037)

Background articles on Ibn Sina:

- Ibn Sina's writings on Beauty:
http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=521
- Contribution of Ibn Sina in the development of Earth Sciences
http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=319
- Bone Fractures in Ibn Sina' Medicine
http://muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=546

 

[Cordoba]

Love and Human Perfection

Love is the most essential element in every being, and it is a most radiant light and a great power which can resist and overcome every force. Love elevates every soul which absorbs it, and prepares it for the journey to eternity.

A soul which has been able to make contact with eternity through love, exerts himself to implant in all other souls what he gets from eternity. He dedicates his life to this sacred duty, for the sake of which he endures every kind of hardship to the end, and just as he pronounces ‘love’ in his last breath, he also breathes ‘love’ while being raised on the Day of Judgement.

A soul without love is impossible to be elevated to the horizon of human perfection. Even if he lived hundreds of years, he could not make any advances on the path to perfection. Those who are deprived of love, since being entangled in the nets of selfishness, are unable to love anybody else and die unaware of love which is deeply implanted in the very being of existence.

http://en.fgulen.com/a.page/books/towards.the.lost.paradise/a562.html

 

[Cordoba]

To Care for Others

A nurse escorted a tired, anxious young man to the bed side of an elderly man. "Your son is here," she whispered to the patient.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. He was heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack and he dimly saw the young man standing outside the oxygen tent.

He reached out his hand and the young man tightly wrapped his fingers around it, squeezing a message of encouragement. The nurse brought a chair next to the bedside. All through the night the young man sat holding the old mans hand, and offering gentle words of hope.

The dying man said nothing as he held tightly to his son. As dawn approached, the patient died. The young man placed on the bed the lifeless hand he had been holding, and then he went to notify the nurse.

While the nurse did what was necessary, the young man waited. When she had finished her task, the nurse began to say words of sympathy to the young man.

But he interrupted her. "Who was that man?" He asked.

The startled nurse replied, "I thought he was your father."

"No, he was not my father," he answered. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?" asked the nurse.

He replied, "I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, I knew how much he needed me..."

http://www.geocities.com/mutmainaa/story/care_others.html

 

[Cordoba]

The heart in its journey to Allah, Majestic is He, is like a bird; Love is its head, and fear and hope are its two wings.

When the heart and two wings are sound, the bird flies gracefully. If the head is severed, the bird dies. If the bird loses one of its two wings, it becomes a target for every hunter or predator.

(Ibn Al-Qayyim)

http://www.geocities.com/mutmainaa/pearls.html

 

[Cordoba]

Alchemy of the Heart - 1
(Sheikh Hamza Yusuf - California)

The Heart

Allah says:

"On that day nothing will benefit the human being, neither wealth nor children, only the one who brings Allah a sound heart."

A sound heart is one that is free of defects and spiritual blemishes. Though the spiritual heart is centred in the physical heart, the heart being referred to here is the spiritual heart, not the physical heart.

In ancient Chinese medicine, the heart houses what is known as "chen" which is "a spirit." The Chinese character for "thinking," "thought," "love," "virtue," and "intending to listen" all contain the ideogram for the heart. In fact, in every culture in the world, people use metaphors that deal with the heart; in English, we call people who are cruel, "hard-hearted people."

There is also the idea of having "a cold heart" and "a warm heart." People who do not hide their emotions well "wear their hearts on their sleeves." When deeply affected, we say, "he affected me in my heart" or "in my core." In fact, the English word "core" means "inner most," and in Arabic, the equivalent "lub" comes from the Latin word, meaning "heart."

Thus, the core of the human being is indeed the heart. The word "courage" also comes from the same root word as for "heart" because courage is centred in the heart. The most ancient Indo-European word for heart means "that which leaps." The heart leaps or beats in the breast of man. For example, people say, "my heart skipped a beat" in reaction to seeing somebody. Many such metaphors are used for the heart.

http://muslim-canada.org/alchofheart.html

 

[Cordoba]

Alchemy of the Heart - 2

Three Types of People

The ancients were aware of the spiritual diseases of the heart, and this is certainly at the essence of the Islamic teaching.

One of the first things the Qur’an does is define three types of people: the mu'minun, the kafirun, and the munafiqun. The mu'minun are people whose hearts are alive while the kafirun are people whose hearts are dead.

The munafiqun are people who have a disease or a sickness in their hearts; thus, Allah says, "In their hearts is a disease, and they were increased in their disease." This is also in accordance with another verse: "When their hearts deviated, Allah made them deviate further." When somebody turns away from Allah, Allah causes them to deviate even further from the truth.

http://muslim-canada.org/alchofheart.html

 

[Cordoba]

The Heart and the Brain

The actual physical heart in our breast beats about 100,000 times a day, pumping two gallons of blood per minute, 100 gallons per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for an entire lifetime!

The vascular system that sends this life-giving blood is over 60,000 miles long: it is more than two times the circumference of the earth. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the heart starts beating before the brain is formed; the heart begins to beat without any central nervous system.

The dominant theory was that the central nervous system is what is controlling the entire human being from the brain, yet we know now that in fact the nervous system does not initiate the heartbeat. It is actually self-initiated; we would say, it is initiated by Allah subhanahu wa t'ala.

The heart is the centre of the human being. Many people think the brain is the centre of consciousness, yet the Qur’an clearly states, "They have hearts that they are not able to understand with." According to the Muslims, the centre of human consciousness is the heart and not the brain itself, and it is only recently that human beings have learned there are over 40,000 neurons in the heart; in other words, there are cells in the heart that are communicating.

Now, it is understood that there is two-way communication between the brain and the heart: the brain sends messages to the heart, but the heart also sends messages to the brain. The brain receives these messages from the heart, which reach the amygdala and the thalamus. The cortex receives input from the amygdala and thalamus that it processes to produce emotion; the new cortex relates to learning and reasoning. These processes are recent discoveries, and although we do not fully understand them, we do know that the heart is an extremely sophisticated organ.

According to the hadith, the heart is a source of knowledge. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said that wrong action is what irritates the heart. Thus, the heart actually knows wrong actions, and this is one of the reasons why people can do terrible things, but, ultimately, they are affected negatively. In Crime and Punishment, the brilliant Russian author Dostoevsky indicates that crime itself is the perpetrator's punishment because human beings have to live with the result of their actions: their souls are affected.

When people do something against the heart, they act against the soul, and that actually affects human beings to the degree that they will go into a state of spiritual agitation, and people will use many ways to cover this up. This is what kufur is: "kufur" means "covering up." To hide their agitation, people use alcohol, drugs, and sexual experimentation; they also seek power, wealth, and fame, taking themselves into a state of heedlessness, submerging themselves into the ephemeral world which causes them to forget their essential nature and to forget their hearts. Thus, people become cut off from their hearts.

http://muslim-canada.org/alchofheart.html

 

[Cordoba]

Wrong Actions Sicken the Heart

One of the things about being cut off from the heart is that the more cut off from the heart one becomes, the sicker the heart grows because the heart needs nourishment, and heedlessness starves the spiritual heart.

When one goes into a state of unawareness of Allah and the Hereafter, one becomes unaware of the infinite world in relation to the finite world, unaware that we are in this world for a temporary period. When we look at the infinite world in relation to the finite world, suddenly our concerns become focused on the infinite world and not on the finite world.

On the other hand, when people are completely immersed within the finite world, believing that they will be here forever, believing that they will not be taken to account for their actions, this action in and of itself ultimately leads to the spiritual death of the hearts. However, before it dies and becomes putrid and completely foul, the heart will show many symptoms. These are the spiritual diseases of the hearts.

http://muslim-canada.org/alchofheart.html

 

[Cordoba]

Two Types of Heart Diseases

There are two types of diseases of the heart. The first are called shubahat, and these are diseases that relate to understanding.

For instance, if somebody is fearful of his provision from Allah, afraid he will not get his food for the day, then there is a disease in his heart because a sound heart has complete trust in Allah, and a sick heart has doubt.

For this reason, a sound heart does not worry. It is the nafs (ego), shaytan, hawa (caprice), and dunya (the love of this ephemeral world) that lead to this state of fear or of anxiety. The heart in [and] of itself is an organ designed to be in a state of stillness, but the stillness will only come about by the remembrance of Allah.

The Qur’an states, "Isn't it by the dhikr of Allah that the heart is stilled?" This is what the heart wants: it wants to remember Allah. When Allah is not remembered, the heart goes into a state of agitation: it goes in a state of turmoil, and it becomes diseased because it is not being fed.

Just as we need to breathe because cells need life-giving oxygen and if we stop breathing, cells die, similarly, the heart also needs to breathe, and the breath of the heart is the remembrance of Allah.
Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah) is what feeds and nourishes the heart.

The company of good people is the food and exercise of the heart. All of these things are necessary for the heart to be sound and healthy, and this is basically the purpose of Revelation. The Qur’an has come to remind people that our hearts need nourishment. Thus, Allah tells us that the human being who will be in a good state in the next world is the one who brings a sound heart.

When we are born, we enter the world in a state of fitra: the original inherent nature of the human being; then we learn to be anxious. We learn anxiety from our mothers, fathers, and society. Thus, the Qur’an says that the human being is created in a state of anxiety (hala'), and the one group of people who are removed from this state of anxiety are the musallin: the people of prayer.

This "prayer" is not the five daily obligatory prayers; rather, it is the prayer of people who are always in a state of prayer (dhikr); they are always in a state of connection with Allah, and this is the highest station. This is the station of people who are not diverted from the remembrance of Allah by buying, commerce, or anything else. They are the ones who remember Allah, as the Qur’an states, "standing, sitting, and reclining on their sides." These are the people who are not the people of heedlessness (ghafla).

The second type of the diseases of the heart is called shahawat, and these are the base desires of the self. For instance, food and sex are shahawat; they are appetites. These become diseases when they grow out of proportion from their natural states.

In Islam, we have a method or a means by which our hearts can be remedied and return to their sound state again. The dhikr that the Prophet did more than any other dhikr was "Oh Turner-Overer of the hearts, make my heart firm on your deen (faith)," and it is important that Muslims be reminded of this.

http://muslim-canada.org/alchofheart.html

 

[Cordoba]

Rectification Begins with the Self

If we look at the world today, the tribulations, the trials, and every war that we have, we will see that every bit of human suffering is rooted in human hearts.

The reason people are aggressive against other people is due to diseases of the heart: covetousness, the desire to conquer, the desire to exploit other people, and the desire to steal their natural resources are all from diseases of the heart. A sound heart cannot commit such acts.

Every murderer, every rapist, every idolater, every foul person, every person showing an act of cruelty has a diseased heart because these actions emanate from diseased hearts. If the hearts were sound, none of these actions would be a reality. Therefore, if we wish to change our world, we cannot go about it by attempting to rectify the outward; rather, we change the world by rectifying the inward because it is the inward that precedes the outward.

In reality, everything that we see outside of us comes from the unseen world. The phenomenal world emerges from the unseen world, and all actions emerge from the unseen realm of our hearts. Thus, if we want to rectify our actions, we must first rectify our hearts.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the famous American preacher and civil rights activist, said that in order for people to condemn injustice, they have to follow four stages: the first stage is that they must ascertain that injustices are indeed being perpetrated. People must point out the injustices, and in his case, it was injustices against the African-American people in the United States.

The second stage is to negotiate: people must go to the oppressors and demand justice. If the oppressors refuse, then Dr. King said that the third stage is self-purification. He said that we must ask ourselves, are we ourselves wrongdoers? Are we ourselves oppressors? The final stage is to take action once we have looked into ourselves.

http://muslim-canada.org/alchofheart.html