THE FASTING HEART (QALB - E - SAYM)

ASSALAMUALAIKUM WA RAHMATULLAHI WA BARAKATAHU ,

Hey my lovely readers..How are you ?? Hope doing great with the grace of Allah. And How is your preparation for Ramadan ... I believe it must be going on in full swing Masha Allah. The homes must be spick and span by now, the food list made, the qaym al layl planner decided, iftar and suhoor timings checked and the list goes on and on. BUT one thing that we least take care or pay attention to is the cleaning of our HEARTS. It is very important for us to have a clean heart (free from all dirt and malice towards others, jealousy, hatred, anger, love of world, hypocrisy etc) before we enter Ramadan... and its high time now.




The question you may ask is why do I clean my heart, are not my good actions enough.. Let us know why.....

WHY SHOULD I CLEAN MY HEART?WHY SHOULD I TAKE IT SERIOUSLY?

• THE CONTROLLER OF OUR BODY:

Narrated An-Nu'man ibn Bashir رضي الله عنه  that Prophet Muhammed صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said: Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart." ( part of hadith from Al - Bukhari).

Every action we do depends on the heart. Always ask yourself,  Does my heart incline towards goodness or towards indecency. CHECK YOURSELF! CHECK YOUR HEART!!

• THE PLACE WHERE ALLAH LOOKS:

Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said: "Allah does not look at your appearances or your financial status, but He looks at your hearts and your actions." (Al-Bukhari)

When there is some guest coming to your house, you clean it and make sure it is pleasant, sweet smelling and beautiful, THEN imagine ALLAH SUBHAANAHU WA TAA'LA looks at your heart...Imagine ALLAH TAA'LA looking at your heart constantly, every moment ALLAHU AKBAR then how would you like it to be? Ask yourself, Do I just like to have my habits and nature good in front of people and let ALLAH TAA'LA look at my rusted heart??...CHECK YOURSELF!  CHECK YOUR HEART!!

• ALLAH VALUES A GOOD HEART:

     اِنۡ يَّعۡلَمِ اللّٰهُ فِىۡ قُلُوۡبِكُمۡ خَيۡرًا يُّؤۡتِكُمۡ خَيۡرًا مِّمَّاۤ اُخِذَ مِنۡكُمۡ وَيَغۡفِرۡ لَـكُمۡ​ؕ وَاللّٰهُ غَفُوۡر رَّحِيۡمٌ

'If Allah finds any goodness in your hearts He will give you that which is better than what has been taken away from you, and He will forgive you. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.' ( Al Anfal : 70)

Now this ayah was revealed in context of the captives of the Battle of Badr, who were non - believers, now THINK for a while ALLAH TAA'LA is saying to Rasool صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم that if there was any goodness even in the heart of a kafir (i.e his innate quality {fitrat} is sound despite being midst of all corruption) He will not let it go in vain, rather forgive and give better in return. THEN, if we as believers try to search for khair (goodness), how much of HIS pleasure can we get? Subhaan ALLAH. Here we are reaching Ramadan, let us spend it in cleaning our hearts and fill it with the desire to do and spread good.

• DUA FOR A STEADFAST HEART:

A believer always makes dua for the steadfastness of his/her heart. It is his most important dua as he knows that ALLAH TAA'LA is looking at him always.

The prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم said in an authentic hadith reported by Imams Ahmad and Al-Hakim, "The heart of the son of Adam is up to be more unstable than the boiling water in a pot." The prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم also said about it in another authentic hadith reported by Imam Ahmad, "It was called "al’qalb" (meaning the heart) from "Taqalub" because of its changing nature; the example of the heart is like a feather at the trunk of a tree that the wind keeps turning it upside down." 

For this reason, the prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم used to supplicate frequently for the steadfastness of heart. There are many duas we find from the Qur'an and the sunnah, I'll list 2 of them.

                              

Another dua is :

        رَبَّنَا لاَ تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ

[Who say], "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower. (Surah Ale Imran, Ayah 8)

• TOOL TO UNDERSTAND:

وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالأبْصَارَ وَالأفْئِدَةَ  لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُون

Allah brought you forth from the wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing, and He gave you hearing, sight and hearts so that you may give thanks (to Him). (Surah Al Nahl: 78)

ALLAH TAA'LA says in this ayah that He gave the sight (eyes), hearing (ears) and hearts so that we are grateful. If a person recites the Qur'an then he is using the two faculties of seeing and hearing, but its of no use until the message reaches the heart. If the eyes are the monitor and the ears are the speakers; then the heart is the electricity to it, which if is not there then the other two are useless. Hence, the tool to understanding is the heart and we need to clean our rusted heart to understand and be grateful to ALLAH TAA'LA in the best manner.

Ask yourself, when I recite the Qur'an do I feel happy on any goodnews like glad-tidings of paradise, endless reward? Do I feel scared of the hell fire? Does the Qur'an have an effect on me like it did on the Companions رضي الله عنهم? CHECK YOURSELF! CHECK YOUR HEART!!

• ACCOUNTABLE ON QAYAMAH:

إِنَّ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْبَصَرَ وَٱلْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْـُٔولًۭا............

Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allah). (Surah Al - Isra, Ayah 36)

Along with the sight and the hearing, the heart shall also be questioned. What filled our hearts : the love of  ALLAH TAA'LA or the world? The hope to spread goodness or evil? Doing good for the sake of ALLAH TAA'LA or for the sake of fame?? CHECK YOURSELF! CHECK YOUR HEART!!

• Last but one of the most important point, INTENTION MATTERS:

No good one does is beneficial if the intention is not sincerely for ALLAH TAA'LA.

 'Umar bin al-Khattab رضي الله عنه, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم say: "Actions are according to intentions, and everyone will get what was intended."  (Bukhari and Muslim)

Therefore, before we do any good we need to have a pure heart full of sincerity (ikhlas) and hope for reward only from ALLAH TAA'LA as only if our intention is right , it will be accepted. Renew your intention before any act you do. Ask yourself, Am i doing for ALLAH's pleasure or people's praise? CHECK YOURSELF! CHECK YOUR HEART!!

Just like if you have a dirty glass and you fill it with clean water ..what will be the result?? The water will get dirty too. Similarly,The dirt accumulated on our heart cannot be cleaned with one month's good. But if the same dirty glass, you overflow it with clean water, the glass will be clean even without washing it. In the same manner, however rusted our hearts are if we fill it with abundance of khair , purify it with seeking forgiveness and sincere efforts, make dua for its purification and steadfastness during the entire month (and even after that) then our hearts will be shining and crystal clear in the end of Ramadan In sha ALLAH.

Keeping these 7 points as criteria check the condition of your heart because that is how a fasting heart should be. Once the internal part is clear, the external (actions) are bound to be good too in sha ALLAH.
I'll take your leave now with the dua that hope ALLAH TAA'LA bless us with Ramadan in the best of our healths and Imaan. May HE bless us with the taufiq to earn HIS pleasure and forgiveness. May we turn into better muslims this Ramadan and remain steadfast on our righteousness....AMEEN!

Assalamualaikum!!

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