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Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is best to find a person, the person who will be your mirror. Remember, only in another person’s heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you.

Elif Şafak - The Forty Rules of Love (via adesperatedaydreamer)

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5. Liberate The Heart

The Arabic word for beginning is bad’u. If one is to literally reverse the word bad’u in Arabic, the word becomes adab, which is the term of courtesy. Courtesy is understood to be the portal (or the starting point) to purification of the heart.

One must have courtesy with regards to God – be in the best of manners if he or she wishes to purify the heart. The two requisites associated to courtesy include modesty (haya) and humility (dhul).  Haya in Arabic also conveys the meaning of shame.  The word shame nowadays has such a negative connotation that parents are advised never to “shame a child,” by correcting their behaviors.  Instead, the current wisdom teaches people to make the child feel good regardless of his or her behavior. As a result of this, the child is disabled to naturally occurring guilt of misbehaviors.

Anthropologists divide culture into shame (outward) and guilt (inward) cultures. Most primitive cultures are shame-based, which is rooted in the fear of bringing shame upon oneself and family. Islam on the other hand honor the concept of shame and takes it to another level altogether, where one feels a sense of shame before God.  When someone acknowledged that God is fully aware of everything one is involved in (i.e. does, says, thinks, etc.), he or she also knows that there is no cover between God and oneself.  The nurturing of this realization prevents one from engaging in acts that are displeasing and vulgar in and of itself.

The Prophet said, “None of you fully believes until his desires are in accordance with what I have brought.” This involves the struggle to free oneself of tendencies of doing things for selfish reasons and seeking only from the Creator, not His creations (i.e. human beings). When one realizes the qualities of shame and humility and vacates the heart of shamelessness and arrogance, one achieves true dignity, wealth and freedom. 

Dignity with God comes to those who are humble before Him and primarily concerned about how they are being perceived by their Maker and not how they are perceived or judged by the norms of people.  Dignity and honor are gifts from God:

You exalt whomever You will, and You debase whomever You will (Qur’an, 3:26)

There are many accounts of people who were once in positions of authority and wealth who later find themselves completely stripped of their former glory. 

Freedom in essence is when a situation of temptation arises and one remains God-fearing, steadfast, and in control of one’s actions.  Imam al-Ghazali said that if one can control his or her stomach and the genitals, then all other desires are kept in check.  

The tongue is another formidable obstacle on our path to freedom because many people find it difficult to refrain from speaking ill of others. The tongue is the interpreter of the heart.  Hypocrites on the other hand are wretched because the hypocrite says with his tongue what is not in his heart. He wrongs his tongue and oppresses his heart. However, if the heart is sound, the condition of the tongue follows.  According to the prophetic tradition, each morning, when the limbs awaken in the spiritual world, they say to the tongue, “Fear God concerning us! For if you are straight, then we are straight; and if you deviate, we too deviate.”

Most importantly, there is no salvation like the heart’s salvation, given that all the limbs respond to its desires. If one’s heart is safe, so too are the limbs, for they carry out the deeds inspired by the heart.  The limbs of the corrupt heart become the instruments through which corruption is carried out.

Note: This is a summary of “Purification of the Heart” by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

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4. The Affairs Of The Heart

If we examine the current affairs of the world and all the injustices that are taking place, we will find that they are all rooted in the heart. Every criminal, miser, abuser, embezzler and hateful person does what he does due to a diseased heart. Our societies will fail to overcome their shortcomings if we don’t cure our hearts.  The only way to improve our condition is to first improve the condition of our hearts.     We, the modern inhabitants of the world, are generally reluctant to ask ourselves why all these terrible things are happening in today’s world. If we did in fact ask this question, we will easily realize that it is but the result of our own doings. We brought it upon ourselves. In this regards, here is what the Qur’an says,  We put some oppressors over the other oppressors because of what their own hands have earned (Qur’an, 6:129) This implies that, if a people oppress others, God will send another people to oppress them.  However, as it relates to tribulations, this is not the case because people are in fact tried. These people will be victorious if they respond to tribulations with patience - the beautiful patience. An example of that is Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his followers - they were oppressed by Quraish in the most inhumane ways but the Prophet (peace be upon him) practiced patience. Within 23 years, the Prophet, not only became free of oppression but also became the leader of the Arabian Peninsula. He forgave all those oppressors despite all their brutality and admitted them in brotherhood of faith.  

Essentially, this is where a sound heart and a corrupt heart differs.  The corrupt heart oppresses, but the sound heart forgives and embraces.

Note: This is a summary of “Purification of the Heart” by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

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3. The Severed Heart

The diseases of the heart fall into two categories:

1. Shubuhat – disease due to impaired understanding. 2. Shahawat – disease related to the desire of the self – it is when people live merely to satisfy their urges. The heart is designed to be in a state of tranquility, which is only achieved through the remembrance of God –

Most surely, in the remembrance of God do hearts find tranquility (Qur’an, 13:28)

We enter this world in the state of fitra, which is our original and inherent nature to accept faith and prefer morality.  Hence, the heart longs for remembrance of God. When one forgets God, the heart falls into the state of turmoil. At this point, the heart is undernourished and thus becomes vulnerable towards disease. Eventually, the spiritual heart dies due to the lack of remembrance of God.   Islam provides methods by which our hearts can become sound again. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Actions are based upon intentions.” And all intention originates from the heart. Therefore, the cure of the heart is indispensable.

Note: This is a summary of “Purification of the Heart” by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

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2. Don't You Sever That Heart

There are essentially three types of people in this world:

1. Al - Mu’minun (i.e. believers) - their hearts are alive and full of light 2. Al - Kafirun (i.e. scoffers or atheists) - their hearts are in darkness 3. Al - Munafiqun (i.e. hypocrites) - their hearts are diseased

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said, “The difference between the one who remembers God and one who does not is like the difference between the living and the dead.”   The heart starts beating before the brain is fully formed. Although the dominant theory is that central nervous system controls entire human being - but we also know that nervous system does not initiate the heart beat. It is actually self-initiated. We also know that even if the heart loses all connection with the brain, it continues to beat.  John & Beatrice Lacey conducted a study in which they discovered, when the brain sent messages to the heart, the heart didn’t obey by default. Sometimes it slowed down or sped up - indicating heart has its own intelligence.  The Prophet (pbuh) said - “Heart is the repository of knowledge and a vessel sensitive to the deeds of the body.” Thus, when one commits a crime, the crime itself becomes punishment because the criminal has to live with the guilt of committing the crime. At that point, the person enters into a spiritual agitation and tries to suppress it - mediums of which are alcohol, drugs, wealth, arrogance, pursuit of fame, etc. As a result, the person cuts off relationship with the heart and creates a distance with the heart. The more distant one is from the heart, the sicker the heart gets.  Furthermore, when one is completely taken over by the idea that this world is all that matters and that they are not accountable for their actions, the heart experiences a spiritual death. Before the heart dies, it shows some symptoms. Sheikh Hamza Yusuf discusses those symptoms and the respective cures in his work, Purification of the Heart.

Note: This is a summary of “Purification of the Heart” by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf

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1. Sound Heart

The Day when neither wealth nor children shall be of any benefit to anyone, except one who comes to God with a sound heart. (As-Shu'ara - 88:89)