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Rasool Allah SAW once said, "There is one particular oran in a person's body. If that part is functioning well, the whole body functions well, but if that part goes wrong the whole body goes wrong." Then Rasool Allah SAW further said that part is the heart.
Allah SWT has given us many injunctions which relate to our body. For example Salah (Namaz) is prayed by the movements of the body, in fasting we have to refrain from eating and drinking up to a certain time, Zakat is given by hand, and one has to perform a lot of physical movements during Hajj. In exactly the same way Allah SWT has given us a lot of injunctions which relate to the deeds of our heart, our mind, our spirit. For example, Allah SWT has ordered us to adopt Tawazu (تواضع), Ikhlas (اخلاص), Shukr (شکر)and Sabr (صبر), but these acts are not acتs of the body, they are acts of our hearts, our mind, our spirit.
Tawazu means that a person starts thinking that I am an ordinary mortal, I am at the mercy of Allah SWT, I am no better than anyone else, and has this thought most of the time. Ikhlas means that whatever good deed a person does, he or she does it only to make Allah SWT happy, and not to make other people happy or so that they will praise him or her. Sabr means that if something untoward and unpleasant happens a person reminds himself or herself that it was Allah's will, and no matter how hurtful it was for the person it was how Allah wished things to be, and does not complain about it. All these acts are as obligatory as praying Salah (Namaz), fasting, giving Zakat or performing Hajj. However, these acts are not acts of a person' body, they are acts of heart, of mind, of spirit.
Allah SWT has declared many physical acts to be sins, like telling lies, stealing, taking bribes, taking interest. These are all sins which are committed by our body. Similarly there are many acts which are not committed by our body, but are rather committed by our heart, our mind, our soul. For example Takabbur (تکبّر) is Hara'am (impermissible), Hasad (حسد)is Hara'am, Ujub (عجب) is Hara'am.
Takabbur means thinking of oneself as superior to others while thinking of other human beings as inferior to oneself. Ujub means thinking of oneself as good and praiseworthy though not necessarily thinking of others as inferior. Hasad means being so jealous of someone that not only the person wants to get what the other has, he/she also wants the other to lose those things. These are all sins of the heart, sins of the soul, but they are as Hara'am as drinking alcohol, eating pork or telling lies.
These internal attributes, some of which Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and some Allah has ordered us to stay away from, are called Ikhlaq. Ikhlaq doesn't just mean meeting people cheerfully and with a smile. The core of Ikhlaq is that a person develops those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and stays away from those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to stay away from, so that not just our body, but also our soul and our spirit gets moulded according to the wishes of Allah SWT.
Adapted from the talk "Ills of the soul and the need for a spiritual guide", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB
THE PREVIOUS DISCLAIMER ABOUT TRANSLATION OF AHADITH APPLIES HERE TOO
Rasool Allah SAW once said, "There is one particular oran in a person's body. If that part is functioning well, the whole body functions well, but if that part goes wrong the whole body goes wrong." Then Rasool Allah SAW further said that part is the heart.
Allah SWT has given us many injunctions which relate to our body. For example Salah (Namaz) is prayed by the movements of the body, in fasting we have to refrain from eating and drinking up to a certain time, Zakat is given by hand, and one has to perform a lot of physical movements during Hajj. In exactly the same way Allah SWT has given us a lot of injunctions which relate to the deeds of our heart, our mind, our spirit. For example, Allah SWT has ordered us to adopt Tawazu (تواضع), Ikhlas (اخلاص), Shukr (شکر)and Sabr (صبر), but these acts are not acتs of the body, they are acts of our hearts, our mind, our spirit.
Tawazu means that a person starts thinking that I am an ordinary mortal, I am at the mercy of Allah SWT, I am no better than anyone else, and has this thought most of the time. Ikhlas means that whatever good deed a person does, he or she does it only to make Allah SWT happy, and not to make other people happy or so that they will praise him or her. Sabr means that if something untoward and unpleasant happens a person reminds himself or herself that it was Allah's will, and no matter how hurtful it was for the person it was how Allah wished things to be, and does not complain about it. All these acts are as obligatory as praying Salah (Namaz), fasting, giving Zakat or performing Hajj. However, these acts are not acts of a person' body, they are acts of heart, of mind, of spirit.
Allah SWT has declared many physical acts to be sins, like telling lies, stealing, taking bribes, taking interest. These are all sins which are committed by our body. Similarly there are many acts which are not committed by our body, but are rather committed by our heart, our mind, our soul. For example Takabbur (تکبّر) is Hara'am (impermissible), Hasad (حسد)is Hara'am, Ujub (عجب) is Hara'am.
Takabbur means thinking of oneself as superior to others while thinking of other human beings as inferior to oneself. Ujub means thinking of oneself as good and praiseworthy though not necessarily thinking of others as inferior. Hasad means being so jealous of someone that not only the person wants to get what the other has, he/she also wants the other to lose those things. These are all sins of the heart, sins of the soul, but they are as Hara'am as drinking alcohol, eating pork or telling lies.
These internal attributes, some of which Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and some Allah has ordered us to stay away from, are called Ikhlaq. Ikhlaq doesn't just mean meeting people cheerfully and with a smile. The core of Ikhlaq is that a person develops those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to develop, and stays away from those internal attributes that Allah SWT has ordered us to stay away from, so that not just our body, but also our soul and our spirit gets moulded according to the wishes of Allah SWT.
Adapted from the talk "Ills of the soul and the need for a spiritual guide", by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani DB
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