How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII | Part XIX | Part XX

Sometimes it feels like it’s just too much – these fluctuations in our iman, the repeated sinning, the feeling that “I just don’t deserve Allah’s mercy.” The tests always feel like punishments. There is a constant worry about the future: my marriage, my money, my career, my ummah (community)… And some difficulties just feel like they are too great to overcome. We know we’re not supposed to ask this, but the question at the back of our minds is, “Why me?”

We have all heard that we should never despair of Allah’s Mercy. And on the surface, we try not to, but Shaytaan (the Devil) has a trick. We tend to despair of ourselves and our incapacity to change things, especially the inner turmoil that we feel. And the effect of this is basically the same as despairing of Allah’s mercy. We do not always accept that Allah can take us out of the situation we are in and we don’t need to ‘deserve’ the trouble; Allah isn’t punishing us and we don’t need to be perfect.

This doesn’t mean, however, that we shouldn’t strive, or take ourselves to account when we do mess up. The key is to develop our relationship with Allah during that trouble. If we know Allah, no situation is too hopeless. No sadness is ever permanent. We perceive trials as they are meant to be perceived – as tests of our trust in Allah, forcing us to put our knowledge into practice and bringing us closer to Him. These trials could potentially be a punishment too, that is if we let it affect us negatively by completely turning away from Him because of our sadness. But our awareness of our own state and our understanding of Allah’s Mercy allows us to turn the punishment into something positive that is manifested through repentance to Allah, alongside increasing in hasanat (good deeds) in order to erase the bad deeds.

The first exercise is for us to consciously realize that Allah knows. Whatever grief we go through, whatever hardship we endure, we must understand that we are never alone. Even if we feel abandoned by the world and those closest to us, Allah is there. He reminds us in the Qur’an,

“Fear not. Indeed, I am with you [both]; I hear and I see.” (20:46)

As long as we begin by recognizing that Allah is with us and He is close to us, there remains a solution to our inner worries. There are things we need to know in order to develop our relationship with Allah. Then there are things we need to do in order to maintain that closeness to Allah. And finally, there are things we need to aspire for to achieve the ideal relationship with our Lord. We pray that by the end of the series, we will all have developed a stronger relationship with Allah.

Note: some of us suffer from clinical depression or similar medical conditions, and this needs to be dealt with by a professional. Working on our relationship with Allah no doubt helps, but sometimes more than a spiritual fix may be needed.

We have often heard from our parents stories from their childhood that seem completely fantastic to us. The endless number of miles that they had to walk to get to school or the fact that they were given one pencil to use for the entire year and the unbelievable trouble that they would get into if they lost that one pencil! More fantastic than those stories of struggle and frugality were the times that we were informed about the degree of respect that they had for their parents. How they were not allowed to speak in the presence of most elders and the thought of talking back to a mother, or father, or grandparent never crossed their minds. Disobeying an adult, even a neighbor, was a punishable offence at home and completely unacceptable socially.

The stories seem so fantastic because the majority of parents now days seem to spend their time negotiating with their children and are plagued by the “why?” questions. On every little thing the kids seem to roll their eyes and ask: Why do I have to do my school work? Why do I have to do the dishes? Why do I have to make my bed? Why can’t I play on the Xbox for 20 hours straight? Why do I have to listen to you? But why? A question that got someone into eternal trouble when he asked, “Bow down! But why? I am better than him.”

Parents seem to be sweating under the blaze of these interrogating questions even as their homes and their hearts shake to the sound of slamming doors. This attitude of disrespect becomes truly dangerous when it is brought to compliance on religious matters. Then the question becomes why do I have to pray? Why do I have to fast? Why can’t I wear the super tight skinny jeans? The questions are sometimes driven by a sincere desire to understand and sometimes they are used as tools to chip away at the patience of the worn out parents. Some parents repeatedly buckle under the pressure of society that their child seems to have on his/her side.

Apart from teaching the ritual aspects of the religion, it is our responsibility to inculcate in our youth the love of Allah and His Messenger. The ability to obey Allah and carry out His commands comes only if this love is foremost in the heart. It cannot be created by bombarding them with lists of haram (forbidden) and halal (permissible) that they disregard because in the greater society almost everything is permissible.

“. . . But those who believe, love Allah more (than anything else) . . .” (Qur’an 2:165)

Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (Qur’an 3:31)

It is difficult to convey this emotion of love and reverence to a generation that is essentially being taught that respect to any authority figure is ‘un-cool.’ In order to reach across this generation gap we need to couch these terms in language and place them in contexts that they can relate to.  For example in most well known commentaries of Surah Al-‘Asr a quote from Imam Razi is mentioned. Imam Razi has cited a scholar as saying, “I understood the meaning of Surah AI-`Asr from an ice-seller, who was calling aloud for the attention of the people repeatedly in the bazar: ‘Have mercy on the one whose wealth is melting away!’ Hearing what he was crying I said to myself: this then is the meaning of Wal- asr-i innal-insana la-fi khusr-in. In order to contextualize this in modern terms you could take the name of the person who sells snow cones at the masjid (mosque) every time there is an event and ask your child how would Uncle so and so get his money if no one bought the snow cones and all his ice melted away. Our time is running out just like his ice is melting so we should also do good and tell others to do good or we will also be in loss. Br. Nouman’s Tafseer of Surah Al-Asr is outstanding, especially the analogy of the drowning man which he presents at the end of Part 1.

Abdullaah ibn Hishaam said: “We were with the Prophet ﷺ (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and he was holding the hand of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab. ‘Umar said to him: ‘O Messenger of Allah, you are dearer to me than everything except my own self.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘No (that is not right), by the One in Whose hand is my soul, until I am dearer to you than your own self.’ ‘Umar said to him, ‘Now, by Allah, you are dearer to me than my own self.’ The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Now (you are right), O ‘Umar.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 6632)

This ideal of a profound love where Rasulallah ﷺ  is more beloved than even one’s own self was something that Hazrat Umar radi Allahu anhu (May Allah be pleased with him) initially found difficult to grasp. But at the Prophet’s gentle reminder he agreed that indeed he loved Rasulallah ﷺ more than he loved himself. Contrast this with the attitude of the Muslims today. There are those who take their reverence too far so as to almost deify him and then there are others who are completely apathetic towards his personality. There are those of our youth masha’Allah (God has willed it) whose hearts are imbued with the love of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (Glorified is He) and his Messenger ﷺ and, insha’Allah (God willing), we pray that Allah (swt) keeps them on guidance and they can lead us in the future. But there are others who flippantly pass judgment on his character or relegate him to a time 1400 years ago even though Allah (swt) called him a Mercy to all of Mankind. They make snide, disrespectful remarks about his family life as if they have the right to do so even though Allah (swt) warned the believers that were with him that the slightest hint of disrespect to the Messenger ﷺ could destroy their deeds:

O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet or be loud to him in speech like the loudness of some of you to others, lest your deeds become worthless while you perceive not. (Qur’an 49:2)

Imagine that you are walking with a friend and someone holds the door open for you. You might smile at the person and say a polite thank you and move on. If it is your habit to pass comments on other peoples clothing you might say, “Did you see what he was wearing?”

Now imagine that you are hiking in a mountainous region with a group of people. The air becomes crisp as the altitude increases. You are enjoying the magnificent scenery when suddenly you lose your footing and begin to slide down the steep precipice. The person behind you lunges and grabs your hand and without a care for his own safety he hangs on to you, literally for dear life. (Yes, I know it sounds like a cheap movie but bear with me.) When they finally haul you up to safety you thank your savior profusely and say that you are indebted to them forever. No one would be so low as to pass comments about the appearance of the person who had just rescued them from near certain death. You would probably do something special to express you gratitude, possibly try to repay the favor by sacrificing something for their sake and developing a close relationship in the process.

We are also on the treacherous path of life and we are constantly losing our footing. The danger is not that we will fall to a certain death in some valley but the fear is that we will fall in the eternally blazing pit of hellfire. The Prophet ﷺ is the person who reaches out to save us. He has no selfish motives, no greed for recompense and no desire for gratitude. His only concern was to convey the message that Allah (swt) had entrusted him with so that he could save us from the hellfire. This was his one consuming concern even as he suffered persecution at the hands of his own people and was driven out of his beloved city.  Allah (swt) comforts him with the words:

Perhaps, [O Muhammad], you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers. (Qur’an 26:3)

I used the word “us” because he spoke of you and me to his companions:

Anas bin Malik (ra) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “I wish that I could meet my brothers.” The Sahabah (companions of the Prophet ﷺ ) asked: “Aren’t we your brothers?” He replied: “You are my Companions, but my brothers are those who will believe in me without having seen me.”
(This version is found in Musnad Ahmad and Al-Albani graded it saheeh in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah#2888)

He worried about us when he was on this earth and he will worry about us on the Day of Judgment when the people will plead with the Prophets to intercede so that the accounting can begin. Every other Prophet will cry ‘nafsi, nafsi’ (‘myself, myself’), only Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ will say ‘ummati, ummati’ (‘my people, my people’).

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “All of my Ummah will enter Paradise except those that refuse.”

Those who were with him (the Sahabah) said, “And who will refuse?”

He ﷺ said, “Whoever obeys me will enter Paradise, and whoever disobeys me will have refused.” (Bukhari)

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is still reaching for us as we travel through the slippery slopes of our existence. His words, deeds and his character, which were the embodiment of the teachings of the Qur’an, beckon to us through the ages. Maybe the ‘why’ question that we should be asking ourselves is, “Why do I not love the Messenger of Allah ﷺ more than I love myself? He cared so deeply for my well-being why am I not willing to sacrifice anything in his obedience? Why do I brush aside his example and clutch at the straws of culture and fashion as if they are going to save me from the fire? The truly fantastic thing is that salvation is within our reach and we are saying, “It’s ok, I don’t wish to be saved.”

May Allah (swt) fill our hearts with the love of Allah and his Messenger ﷺ and make us worthy of his company in Paradise.

Part I | Part II | Part III

In Sahih al Bukhari, Saad ibn Abi Waqas mentions a story about a bone. He was using the restroom and urinated onto a camel’s bone.  He took that bone, washed it, took it home, and made soup out of it – all because of the difficult situation that they were in.

I want you to try to visualize things. When Umar radi allahu `anhu (may Allah be pleased with him) became Muslim, there were only 41 other men and 11 women who were Muslim.

When the Prophet ﷺ migrated to Medina, there were about 65 muslims.  So being a Muslim in Mecca wasn’t like shopping at Old Navy. It wasn’t popular, man! (I don’t know if Old Navy is even popular any more.)

It wasn’t popular and it was very difficult for them, but Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He) strengthened them with the Qur’an.

There were two important things that happened in Mecca. Number one is their creed, their tawheed (belief in the Oneness of Allah swt); their relationship with Allah (swt) was made pure and strong. Number two was their behavior, the way Allah (swt) trained them. The people that came out of Mecca were really remarkable and excellent examples.

As Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (ra) said, if the companions of the Prophet ﷺ were his only miracle, the transformation of his companions would be enough to prove that he was a prophet.

The people of the Quraysh sent two people to Medina to ask the Jews of Medina about Muhammad ﷺ. When the people got there and met them, they described the Prophet ﷺ and what he was calling to. The Jews said, ask Muhammad about three things; nobody knows about these things – they are only known to Allah (swt). If he can answer you regarding these three issues, he is a prophet.

1. Ask him about the youth, ashab al-kahf (the people of the cave).

2. Ask him about this king who ruled a large portion of the world who was just and honest and so on.

3. Ask him about the ruh (spirit).

They went back to the Quraysh and told them: “These are the questions they told us to ask him. If he can answer these questions then he is a prophet.” The Quraysh asked the Prophet ﷺ and he said, “Come to me tomorrow and I will answer your questions.”

The next day they came but the Prophet ﷺ didn’t have an answer. The following day, they came, the Prophet ﷺ didn’t have an answer. For around fourteen days, there was no answer, and the Prophet ﷺ started getting upset and saddened because they started to say that the Prophet ﷺ was breaking his promises.

Then Allah (swt) sent Jibril to reveal Surat al Kahf (Qur’an, 18). That’s why in Surat al Kahf Allah (swt) says:

“And never say of anything, ‘Indeed, I will do that tomorrow,’ except [when adding], ‘If Allah wills.’” (Qur’an 18:23-24)

So we learn adab (manners), reliance on Allah (swt), and trust in Allah (swt).

Verse number one has 8 points. Allah (swt) says:

“[All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance.” (Qur’an 18:1)

This hamd (thankfulness) found in Surat al Kahf is not the same as the hamd in Surat al Fatiha (Qur’an 1). One is called jumlah insha’iya, the other is called jumlah khabariya.

Jumlah khabariya is a declarative sentence, so the sentence in Surat al Kahf is declarative in nature. Allah (swt) is informing you of something! The meaning of al hamd in Surat al Kahf is different. Allah (swt) is telling you “Look! I’m the one who deserves all praise, for a reason.” So it’s different now. He’s informing you, that’s called khabr.

Whereas in Surat al Fatiha, the hamd is insha’iya, or imperative. According to the scholars it means that Allah (swt) is ordering you to say alhamdullillah (all priase is to Allah). “If you want to thank me, if you want to praise me, say alhamdulillah.” This is the meaning in Surat Al Fatiha.

The first sentence in Al Fatiha is like an order: if you want to praise me, Allah (swt) is saying, if you want to magnify me, say alhamdullillah. In Surat al Kahf, this verse is not an order by Allah (swt) to say alhamdullillah. It is a declarative sentence, this means he is informing you, that he is the one who has the sole right to be praised, and for a reason!

What do you think that reason is?

All praise is due to Allah (swt) or what? Who sent the Qur’an? Can you imagine if you had no Qur’an?

Can you imagine if there was no subhanAllah (glory be to Allah) in your life, can you imagine if there was no salah (prayer)?

I go through that; believe me, we are all the same, brothers!

We are all the same, brothers, there is no difference; we are all in the same boat. Even in Al-Azhar! When I’m studying sometimes, I think, man, I’ve gotta pray but I really enjoy this book of tafsir (translation and interpretation of the Qur’an)! See how Shaytan (Satan) works? It’s the same game just a different means!

So all of us struggle, we struggle and sometimes salah feels heavy. Worship Allah (swt), and we might feel some heaviness. That’s all part of our struggle.

One of the ways to combat that is to imagine life without salah. Imagine life without any connection to Allah (swt). Life without the feeling in your heart that you get when you pray fajr (the pre-dawn prayer) in the masjid, or the feeling that you get when you give sadaqah (charity) or the feeling that you get when you do well in school or at work for the sake of Allah (swt).

Then we can value the worship and the wonderful relationship that Allah (swt) has blessed us with.

Ibn al Qayyim (ra) said the charity that Allah (swt) gave us Muslims, nobody can fathom this charity! Such benevolence from Allah (swt)!

Allah (swt) said:

“Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?”

“Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.” (Qur’an, 76:1-2)

You weren’t even known and Allah brought you out of the wombs of your mothers, created you, formed you and gave you sight and hearing!

Today in my hotel room, there was a strange channel. The only thing they do is show people killing others and catching people who kill others. Really, who would watch this hour after hour from 3 to 5? It was all about the secrets of serial killers! Who would watch that? I don’t want to know how serial killers live their life!

I want to know how Ibn al Qayyim lived his life, how Ibn Tamiyyah lived his life, and I want to know how the Prophet ﷺ lived his life!

Then from 5 to 8:30, it was about the history of the Bloods and the Crips. So what’s next? We have to be very careful what we are putting into our minds. And Allah (swt) gave us this Qur’an and our worship as our Norton Antivirus. We use it to clean us out; this is our dialysis!

So Allah (swt) blessed us, and I can tell you, you don’t know how lucky you are to be born Muslim, wallahi (by God)!

You don’t know how thankful you should really feel. Even though you might be young and you’re in high school and you don’t mind being called a Muslim, having to fast for 30 days, and wearing baggy clothes. Clear all that up and think about what it would be like not to have Islam. Then you can really taste how lucky you are!

In Egypt, I lived with people in poverty, but they don’t kill each other. They still invite you for tea and coffee! That faith causes people to transcend the difficulties that they live in and still be decent people. Here, if one economic crisis hits, it has a devastating impact on the people!

So the lesson we can take tonight is Allah (swt) says alhamd (praise) be to the one who sent the Qur’an! How much of a blessing it is to have the Qur’an and Islam. Alhamdulliah rabb alameen (all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds)!