How to Clean The Heart

[ummtaalib]

How to Clean The Heart

 

The sin of malice and discord is serious. Even on auspicious occasions despite Allah’s abundant mercy, we always find one particular class of people that are deprived; those who harbour ill-feelings in their hearts towards others. In addition to this, some narrations state that such people’s salah is not accepted by Allah. (At-Targheeb, vol.3 pgs.455-462)

 

 

Hereunder are a few prescriptions (from the hadith and advice of seniors) to remove ill-feelings from the heart:

 

1. Recite the following ayah in abundance:

“Rabbanagh fir lana wa li ikhwaninal lazheena sabaquna bil iman, wala taj’al fee quloobina ghillal lillazheena amanu Rabbana innaka Raoofur Raheem”

(Surah: 59 Ayah: 10)

 

2. Rasulullah (sallallahu’alaihi wasallam) said: “Offer gifts to each other, for this creates affection and removes the anger of the hearts”

(Muwatta Imam Malik, see Al-Tamheed, vol.15 pg.85-91 & Takhreejul ihya, hadith: 1453)

 

3. Greet each other with Salam and shake hands. This is also a way of bonding the hearts.

(Sahih Muslim, hadith: 192)

 

4. Rasulullah (sallallahu’alaihi wasallam) said: “By fasting during the month of Ramadhan and 3 days of every other (Islamic) month, the rancour of the heart is removed”

(At-Targheeb, vol.2 pg.121)

 

5. Make du’a for the the person from whom one is disillusioned.

 

6. Praise him in his absence.

 

By implementing the above with the sincere intent of freeing ourselves from ill-feelings, Allah Ta’ala will cleanse our hearts Insha Allah.

 

 

Inspiration from a Sahabi (radiyallahu’anhu)

 

Sayyiduna Anas (radiyallahu ‘anhu) says:

 

“We were sitting with the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu’alaihi wasallam) when he said: “A man who is from the inmates of Jannah is about to arrive.” Soon thereafter, a Sahabi (radiyallahu’anhu) came in, with his shoes in his left hand and the water of wudhu dripping from his beard. When the gathering ended, Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn ‘As (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) followed this person (with the motive of learning the reason for him being blessed with such a glad tiding)

 

He said to him: “I have taken an oath that I will not go home for 3 days. Is it possible for you to accommodate me for this time?” The Sahabi agreed. Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr stayed with him for 3 days, but noticed nothing extraordinary in his routine. i.e, he never engaged in additional voluntary deeds as expected.

 

However, whenever this Sahabi (radiyallahu ‘anhu) would go to bed at night, he would recite some form of dhikr, then sleep till fajr. Furthermore, during these 3 days he did not hear him utter any word besides good.

 

Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) says: “After three nights I almost deemed his deeds as “nothing so special”. I approached him and explained that my real motive for staying with him was to discover the special act that he may be engaging in, which warranted his guarantee of Jannah.” Then I asked him: “How did You achieve such a rank?” He said: “I have no special deeds beside whatever You have seen during your stay.” I accepted this and was about to leave when he exclaimed: “O, Yes! there is something. I do not harbor any evil or malice in my heart against any fellow Muslim. I am not jealous over whatever good Allah bestows upon any of them.” Sayyiduna ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) said: “That is precisely the reason for You reaching such a lofty status.”

 

(Musnad Ahmad & Nasaai. Hafiz Ibn Katheer -rahimahullah- has declared the chain of Nasaai as authentic, in accordance to the standards of Imams Bukhari & Muslim. refer: Tafseer Ibn Katheer, surah:59, Ayah: 9)

 

We often look for extraordinary deeds to acquire success, when the solution lies in the basics…

 

May Allah Ta’ala guide us all. Ameen.

 

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