Matters of the Heart & Soul
In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
| "It is He who sent to an illiterate people a messenger from amongst themselves, reciting to them His signs and purifying them and teaching them the Book and the wisdom even though before they were clearly in error." [Soorah al-Jumu`ah (62):2] |
33 Ways of developing Khushoo’ in Salaah
By Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid Salaah is the greatest of the practical pillars of Islam, and khushoo’ in prayer is required by sharee’ah. When Iblees, the enemy of Allaah, vowed to mislead and tempt the sons of Adam and said “Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left…” [al-A’raaf 7:17, interpretation of the meaning], one of his most significant plots became to divert people from salaah by all possible means and to whisper to them during their prayer so as to deprive them of the joy of this worship and cause them to lose the reward for it. As khushoo’ will be the first thing to disappear from the earth, and we are living in the last times, the words of Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) are particularly pertinent to us: “The first thing of your religion that you will lose is khushoo’, and the last thing that you will lose of your religion is salaah. There may be a person praying who has no goodness in him, and soon you will enter the mosque and not find anyone who has khushoo’.” (al-Madaarij, 1/521). |
I Want to Repent, But
By Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid based on the Noble Qur'an and the Honorable Sunnah, quoting many verses and hadiths confirming that Allah's mercy and forgiveness embrace all things, and are greater than all sins. |
Islam and Love
Abdullah Nasih 'Ulwan This book represents a concise review of Islam's viewpoint toward love. It explains the following questions that Muslims often ask: What is love?, Does Islam acknowledge this phenomenon called love?, What is the wisdom behind this phenomenon?, What are the various classifications of love? Which type of love is the most sacred in Islam? What is the Islamic stance toward Uzri or chaste love and flirting? These questions will be answered in detail in the pages of the book, without any confusion or ambiguity. Note: The translator made a mistake on page 124 when he said 'A muslim who follows the way of adultery and fornication is not a Muslim whether he fasts and prays', however this should read 'if he believes these actions to be halal then he is not a Muslim'.
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Weeping From The Fear Of Allah
Shaykh Husayn Al Awaayishah English Translation of al-Bukâ'u min Khashyatillâh Shaykh Husayn al-'Awâyishah publish by Al-Hidaayah UK. A guide and encouragement to soften our hearts and moisten our eyes through the rememberence of Allâh. This is a moving book, which has been presented at a time when crying is considered a weakness rather than a virtue - and this has lead to the hardness of hearts. The author refers to the verses of the Qur'an, sayings of the Prophet (saw) examples of the Companions and reports from the pious predecessors. We pray that the heart rendering narrations that have been carefully chosen will act as a means of softening our hearts Insha-Allah. |
Causes Behind The Increase and Decrease of Eemaan
Shaykh 'Abdul-Razzaak al-'Abbaad The greatest blessing Allaah, the Most High, can bestow upon a person in this world is the blessing of eemaan. It is as the author points out in his introduction the source to all the good in this world and H ereafter However; as the texts unequivocal show and as a simple glance at the various types of people will show, eema an is of levels. It is of degrees and forever fluctuating. This is a matter that a person can witness in himself: when he is a ctive and obedient, he senses a strength of eemaan and when he is falling short of the mark and disobeying Allaah he feels that his eemaan is weak. |
Weakness of Iman
Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid The phenomenon of weak faith has become very widespread among Muslims, and many people complain about the hardness of their hearts. So often we hear the words, “I feel hardness in my heart,” “I do not find any joy in worship,” “I feel that my faith has hit rock bottom,” “Reading Qur’aan does not move me,” “I fall into sin so easily.” The effects of this affliction can be seen in many people, and this problem is the cause of every disaster and adversity. |
Featured Article
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Your Heart is the Pillar of Your Worship "...the heart is the machine that drives all acts of worship. It is what moves the entire body! As long as the heart is alive, then the limbs will be alive, and the soul will open itself up to worship. However, if the heart becomes diseased, then worship will become too heavy on the soul, leading to it eventually disliking and hating - and we seek refuge with Allah from this - worship. Because of this, Allah - the Glorified and Exalted - said, regarding the prayer: {"...and truly, it is extremely heavy and hard except on those who are submissive..."} [al-Baqarah; 45]
The prayer is heavy, because one's legs and hands are not what get up for the prayer. What gets up for the prayer are the heart and the soul. {"Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who deceives them. And when they stand up for the prayer, they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah but little."} [an-Nisa'; 142] Because of this, it is the heart that stands up for worship. The limbs are simply slaves of this heart, carrying out what it commands them. If the heart is alive, then the soul will be alive, and worship will become beloved and sweetened to the hearts and the souls, and they will open up for it. However, if the heart becomes diseased, then worship becomes too heavy on it. The heart is like the digestive system: right now, the most beloved thing to you is meat. However, if you develop an ulcer somewhere in your digestive system, then the meat - along with its fat and oil - becomes the most hated thing to it, since it is diseased. Sweets are also something that are beloved to the soul. For example, if you were fasting right now and were to break your fast on some desserts, then your soul would become satisfied with that, right? However, if one were to be stricken with diabetes, then he would not be able to handle these sugary foods, even if they were beloved to him. The heart is like this: it must be strong so that it can handle worship that is strong. The stronger your heart becomes, then throw as much worship upon it as you wish. You would get up to pray at night, and you would cherish this prayer and consider sleep to be your enemy: {"Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope..."} [as-Sajdah; 16] He begins to forsake it because an enmity develops between him and his bed. He prays behind the imam, and he says to himself: "If only he would make the prayer longer," so that he would increase in his opening up to this worship, and his tasting of its sweetness. At times, I would pray a normal prayer with the people behind me, so I would elongate the prayer. The youth would then come to me and say (the hadith): "Whoever leads the people in prayer should go easy on them," - the youth! And there was an old man behind me who was between 90 and 100 years of age - his face filled with light - and he would say to me: "Keep making the prayer long and do not answer them." A man of 90 years getting pleasure out of a long prayer, and a youth of 20, who probably practices karate and judo, cannot handle the same prayer. Why? If he went to the soccer field and spent two hours playing there without becoming bored, then why would he become bored from hearing the Qur'an for five minutes? The difference between a short prayer and a long prayer is simply five minutes, so why does he become bored from these five minutes of Qur'an, yet he does not become bored from two hours of soccer? Why does he not get bored from standing for two hours staring at an inflated piece of leather, his heart attached to it? Because, what stands up to pray is the heart, and what stands up for sports are simply the body and muscles." [From a lecture given by 'Abdullah 'Azzam on June 15, 1988 entitled 'The True Preparation,' found in the collection 'at-Tarbiyyah al-Jihadiyyah wal-Bina''; 1/220] |
