To
other organs, the heart is like a king in charge of his soldiers; they
are subservient to him and his desires, and are guided or misled by
him, as they follow him in all that he resolves to do or avoids. That
is why the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Beware!
There is a piece of flesh in the body; if it is sound, the whole body
is reformed, but if it is corrupt, the whole body is spoilt. Verily, it
is the heart.” [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]
Hence,
the heart is the king of the body, which executes all that it commands
and takes its lead. The limbs are unable to do anything unless this
particular organ wants and intends to. Since the heart reigns supreme,
and is responsible for its wards, as is every guardian, it is essential
that the righteous person prioritizes paying close attention to it and
making it sound and upright. Further, investigating the diseases of the
heart and their cures is the first thing sincere worshippers should
undertake.
When
Satan, the enemy of Allaah, realized that everything revolved around,
and depended on, the heart, he began to whisper into it, expose it to
temptations and adorn to it every condition and deed that strays us
from the way of Allaah The Almighty. He also accompanied that with
incentives to follow what prevents the heart from the causes of
success.
Furthermore,
Satan set various snares such that if they do not entrap the heart, it
will at least be hindered by them. Therefore, a person cannot escape
his plots and traps, except by continuously seeking help from Allaah
The Almighty against him, acting in a manner that necessitates His
Pleasure and by sincerely turning to Him at times of stillness and
activity. Also essential is humiliating one’s self to Him in worship,
so as to guarantee being included among those Allaah The Almighty
mentions, when He Says (what means): {Indeed, My servants - no authority will you have over them} [Quran 15:42].
Categories of hearts
The heart is generally described as either alive or dead, but it can be divided into three types: sound, dead and sick.
· The
sound heart: a person who possesses such a heart is the only one who
will be saved on the Day of Resurrection, as Allaah The Almighty Says
(what means): {The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allaah with a sound heart."} [Quran 26:88-89].
A
sound heart is safe from any desires or temptations that contradict the
commands or prohibitions of Allaah The Almighty, and malicious
allegations that distort His sayings. Such a heart is not a slave to
any entity other than Allaah The Almighty and refers all its judgments
to none other than His Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam.
Therefore,
its servitude and worship are sincerely to Allaah The Almighty, out of
volition, love, trust, humbleness, and in repentance to Him, and in
fear of as well as hope in Him. This kind of heart acts only for the
sake of Allaah The Almighty; when it loves, it does so for Him, and
when it hates, it is for His sake alone; when it gives or alternately
does not, it is only for Him. However, even these characteristics are
not enough, for the heart must also be free from submission and
referring judgment to any other than the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam; thus, a sound heart staunchly insists on following and pursuing his way alone.
· The
dead heart: this organ is not truly alive, so it does not acknowledge
its Lord and fails to submit to His command. It does not do what He
likes, but rather follows lusts and pleasures, regardless of whether
that results in the wrath or satisfaction of Allaah The Almighty. Such
a heart is in servitude to and worships something other than Allaah The
Almighty; whether in terms of love, fear, hope, contentment or
displeasure, glorification or humiliation. It loves, dislikes, gives or
perhaps deprives on whim, giving that precedence to the pleasure of its
Lord.
The
wants of the self become the master of a person with this type of
heart; his leader is his desire, he is driven by his ignorance and his
vehicle is indifference. He is overwhelmed with worldly aims and
deceived by the gratification of his desires and love for the worldly
life. He is called from afar to Allaah The Almighty and the Hereafter,
but he does not respond to that adviser and follows every rebellious
devil instead. This life is all that pleases or perhaps displeases
people like him; lusts deafen and blind them to anything, except what
is wrong. Hence, associating with them is endemic; living with them is
poisonous and befriending them nothing short of destructive.
· The
sick heart: this heart is alive, but contains some flaws, so it is made
up of two different parts, each of which is instrumental, but only the
dominating one is followed. Such a heart demonstrates love for Allaah
The Almighty, faith in Him, sincerity to Him and reliance on Him, which
constitute the essence of its life. However, it also has a love and
preference for desires, and displays a keenness for them; it bears
envy, haughtiness, ostentation, love of domination and corruption on
Earth – all of which constitute the material of its ruin and
destruction.
Such
a heart is tested, torn between two callers: one that invites it to
Allaah The Almighty, His Messenger and the Hereafter, and another that
calls it to this worldly life. The positive response of this kind of
heart is to the most convenient and nearer of the two.
In
conclusion, the first category of hearts is alive and humble, while the
second is hard and dead. The third category, though, is sick and may
equally be close to either safety or destruction.
موضوع: hearts 
السبت فبراير 20, 2010 12:43 pm
