By Haneesa Latif
How wonderful it is to be living in a time such as the 21st century, in an age of scientific advancement as well as economic improvement, where freedom of speech takes precedence over all other things and women’s rights are finally on the up. We’ve come a long way in such a short space of time. It seems we’re living ideal lives.
“Pop!” I hate to burst your bubble, but it seems that all we’ve managed to do in the rat race for the highest paid jobs, the biggest houses and the flashiest cars, is let our eeman take a back seat. Our arrogance and selfishness has blinded us to the extent that we don’t even care, let alone realise that our behaviour affects not only own ourselves, but others also. Incase you’re confused and wondering, “what the hell is she on about now!” I’m talking about the diseases of the heart.
“Diseases of the heart? But I’m fine-my doctor’s given me a clean bill of health, and anyway I’m always at the gym!”
As good as that is to hear, the diseases I’m talking about are not physically visible, well, not in their early stages anyway. How many of us can honestly say that we love for out Muslim brother what we love for our self? And that doesn’t just mean that you would give him your last rolo if he asked for it; it goes much deeper than that.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said that, “surely in the breasts of humanity is a lump of flesh, if sound then the whole body is sound, and if corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. Is it not the heart?” Our emotions originate from this piece of flesh; if they are good then the rest of the body will follow, if not then the disease will spread, causing our defence systems to deteriorate; our legs will begin walking towards sin, our tongues will begin lying as well as swearing and indulging in idle talk about others, our hands will touch that which is forbidden by Allah the All Mighty, and the worst part is that for most of us, it doesn’t even register with our brains that what we’re doing is wrong.
The most common disease of the heart is that of hatred. For one reason or another, you feel so bitter towards another, that you find yourself ridiculing them at any given moment-whether it be to their face or worse still, behind their back, adding gheebah (back-biting) to our misdeeds. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that “when a person sins a black dot is dotted on his heart. Then if that person gives up that deed, begs Allah to forgive him, and repents, then his heart is cleared; but if he repeats the sin then that covering is increased till his heart is completely covered with it.” Now, how many of us, after committing this sin, have turned to the Oft-Forgiving in repentance? How many of us have continued in it? Here’s an idea-the next time you find yourself overcome with feelings of hatred for another Muslim, seek forgiveness from Allah and then make du’a for this person; the least this will do is humble you insha Allah.
Interlinked with hatred is the emotion of envy; Imam al-Mawlud suggests that if ‘you were to describe your desire that someone lose his blessing as “envy,” then your description will be accurate.’ Don’t you just wish the brother with the flash BMW would downgrade to a Toyota Corolla-maybe that would wipe the grin off his face! It’s not uncommon to wish such things, but that does not make it right. As Muslims we are a part of a larger family-the Ummah; The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that this family (the Muslims) “are like the limbs of a man, where if the eye hurts the whole body feels pain and if the head hurts the whole body feels pain and suffering.” Surely such envy should not exist in the first place; if your brother has something that benefits him then it benefits you as well because he is your family. Furthermore, the envy seems to be focused on materialist issues; how far will that BMW get you in the hereafter? Your deeds, and not the vehicle, will be with you in the grave. The most effective defence against this is the fear of Allah, for if you fear Him and mention His Name before you act, it will make you think twice.
One of the worst diseases, without a doubt, which causes the others to emerge, is anger. When a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “What is the worst thing one incurs concerning God?” The Prophet replied, “His wrath.” The man then asked, “How do we avoid it?” To which the Prophet replied, “Do not become angry.” In all honesty, most if not all of us experience anger at least once every day, and it always seems to be about trivial matters. The next time you lose your temper assess the situation and reflect on why you actually became hot-headed in the first place; because somebody called you a ‘chief’! Remember that “Anger comes from the devil, who was created from fire”, and if you give in to him you have displeased Allah. Would you rather be ungrateful to your Creator for the sake of looking ‘macho’ in front of your mates, or would you prefer to be the better person and bite your tongue? The Messenger of Allah informed us that the best way to extinguish fire, i.e. anger, is to perform wudu and recite “I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed shaytaan”.
Reflection on the following hadith will show that practising the deen outwardly is not enough-it must be done inside and out: The Prophet was informed of a certain woman, who kept fasts during the day and prayed during the night. Unfortunately, she caused her neighbours pain with her sharp tongue. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that “her place is the fire”, and said that, “bad habits destroy the good deeds as vinegar polluted the honey.” So let us strive us treat the disease, before it spreads and contaminates the rest of our body and we too become no different from the woman in this hadith.
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