As we act usually ,Let us first try to have some knowledge about the meaning of some wards we will use under this topic Feeling if you look up in dictionary for the word feeling, You will find two meanings- one of them physical which is sensation involving perception by touch., The second is an emotional one , which it is the susceptibility to an emotional response just a reaction to an event happened to someone Chemistry is the branch of science which discuss and explain the composition, structure, properties and reaction of matter like heart beats for example , It is divided into sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions Do you see any relation between these three terms
Lets go back to heart again
Heart as an organ is full of blood also it is full of feelings. Blood as we
know is the elixir of life after water . It is a chemical( biological) substance , and there are a lot of chemical reactions that occurs to purify blood, So can we say that feelings act in the same way? for physical feelings like touch ,It is controlled through nervous system. There are chemical materials in nerve endings which control those feelings. But what about emotional feelings like fear, anger , love
Normal
& abnormal
There is a normal
physiological reaction which controlled
through some chemical materials like adrenaline which increases heart rate
for example if you face something so exciting. Also there is an abnormal one
like feeling guilty for unknown reason this is may be considered a pathological one
which needs psychiatric council
Depression
we just look for one example to understand this subject , Remember we are talking about - The abnormal reaction We can define depression by
change in personal mood that may be associated with insomnia , social withdrawal ,apathy ,fatigue , loss of interest , and feeling of hopelessness. It is a normal part of life . It is also emotional response to failure to achieve or maintain values Depression is due to imbalance of certain neurotransmitters which are chemicals in brain that transmit messages between nerve cells like serotonin and norepiephrine.Recently ,I attended a psychiatry conference, One of speakers was Prof. Ahmed Okasha the famous psychiatrist in The Middle East ,He said that Depression disorders of the human race. was discovered by Ancient Egyptians -six thousands years ago- And it was recognized that depression is one of the most ancient and common disorders , They think that the reason is located in the heart as shown in Eber's papyrus. WHO year 2000 Report showed that every year there is one million suicides and 70% of them were suffering from depression . Untreated major depression is an important risk factor in developing coronary artery disease through the influence of stress and subsequent increased sympathetic tone
Emotions
This
term commonly
used to
tell us about subjective feelings which dictate moods .in psychology ,
emotion is considered a response to stimuli that involves some physiological
changes- like increase in pulse rate. - Columbia encyclopedia-
The Emotional Brain If you are walking through farm and suddenly you see something coiled in shape lying across your path may be you even think that is a snake and your acts in fearfully way
Fear is an ancient emotion that is involved in a number of mental disorders ,Neuroscientist like Joseph le Doux ,Ph. D .,of New York University in his research and also other scientist ,reported at a lecture in the Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health on May1997 ,It was shown that the fear response has been tightly conserved in evolution , and probably follows much the same pattern in humans and other vertebrates
According to Le Doux ,he and others are making progress in tracing the brain circuitry underlying the fe
Human Emotions
Humans, like animals, have emotions. They may be pleasant such as joy or
unpleasant such as anger. Emotions involve both mental and physical aspects.
The mental aspects involve the human intellect, the reception and
interpretation of sensory signals and synthesis of all these into a
resultant emotional state. Physical effects follow the emotional state. One
of the physical effects is the way emotions are expressed. Humans have
developed very sophisticated ways of expressing their emotions using the
facial muscles, the eyes, a complex body language and least of all verbal
expressions. Humans are also adept at hiding or even suppressing their
emotions. They can also with some effort pretend to be in an emotional state
that is not true; however the effort can not be sustained for any measurable
length of time.
Animal drives
Humans, like animals, are motivated to take action by basic drives that are
almost instinctual in essence. These drives are all related to the basic need of
survival. The basic drives are hunger, thirst, sex, self-protection, and
security. Surat Quraish emphasizes food and personal security. The food and sex
are the strongest drives and are necessary for the preservation of the species.
The food drive is so strong that the Prophet recommended eating before prayer
(KS p. 315). The sexual drive in its purely animal form is mere lust, shahwat
(MB # 2110 p 989. There is disagreement whether the basic drives are innate or
are external (elicited by rewards and incentives). Our preference is for the
opinion that they are innate. It appears from many scientific observations that
there is a biologic basis for some of the drives. The hypothalamus and the
limbic system control rage and aggression. The cortex, the limbic system, the
hypothalamus, and the endocrine glands control sex behavior. Hunger is
controlled by the satiety and feeding centers. The thirst center controls
drinking.
Human Drives
Humans have drives more and above the animal drives described above. These
drives are higher and nobler; they are not elicited by hope for reward or fear
of punishment.
The main human drives are:
iithhar (altruism) (Quran 59:9; p 171 12:91,
20:72, 59:9),
iman (faith) (Quran 6:158, 10:100),
taqwah (consciousness of Allah) (Quran 91:7-8),
ridhallah (pleasure of Allah) (Quran 89:27-28),
ilm (seeking knowledge)
appreciation of esthetic beauty, and
self-actualization.
Relation between Drives and
Emotions
Drives are from inside but emotions are from outside. There is a close relation
between the two. Drives lead to and control emotions. Satisfaction of drives is
associated with pleasant emotions. Dissatisfaction of drives is associated with
unpleasant emotions. Many unpleasant emotions may result from conflict between
drives. Unpleasant emotions can also occur when the drive is unattainable or it
is in conflict with results of logical intellectual analysis. A drive could be
satisfied in more than one way. For example the sex drive could be satisfied
through legal marriage (Muslim # 3242) or through illegal sexual intercout
drives exist or to try to suppress them.rse.
The purpose of religion is to direct humans to correct control of their drives.
It is wrong to deny that Suppression will be successful for only a short time. It is
better to direct and channel the drives in a positive direction
Intentions and actions
Actions are based on and follow intentions. There are many ambivalent situations
when two contradictory drives are present at the same time. Humans differ from
animals in that they are above to control, their drives. This control is not
always perfect. It depends on the individual and the circumstances. Humans are
rewarded according to how well they control these drives. Rewards are given for
suppressing negative drives or redirecting them such that they become positive
and useful. Punishment is given when positive drives are not nurtured or are
expressed in the wrong context. In His mercy to humans, Allah rewards them for
good intentions and does not punish them for bad intentions. There is punishment
only if a negative intention is actually translated into a negative action
(Muslim #230, 231, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237).
PLEASANT EMOTIONS
Love (hubb)
Love of Allah is the highest level of love (2:165, 3:31, 5:54, 9:24).
Human love for Allah is reciprocated by Allah's love for humans. Allah's love is
denied to non-believers (2:276, 3:32, 22:38, 30:45).
Love of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) comes next to the love of Allah (Muslim
#70,71). Love of Allah and His messenger are part of faith (iman) (KS p. 179).
There is love for blood relatives (9:24), children (12:8), and the erotic love
for spouses (12:30).
Sexual love can be a disease if excessive and for the wrong reasons. It could be
positive such as the Prophet’s love for Aisha and negative such as the love of
Aziz’s wife for Yusuf (12:30). Excessive uncontrolled sexual love/passion (‘ishq)
can be a disease treated by marriage or fasting.
Love is also possible for unrelated people and friends.
Love of the material possessions of the earth, hubb al duniya is the opposite of
the love of Allah (2:165, 2:216, 3:14, 3:92, 3;152, 3:188, 9:24, 14:3, 16:107,
38:31-32, 41:17, 75:20, 76:27, 89:20, 100:8).
Hope (raja, amal)
MB # 2106 p 988. Hope has to do with good feelings about the future. Tomorrow is
better than today. Only those with iman can have a sense of hope. This is
because they have a larger picture and see a larger reality. Hope is from Allah
(Muslim #6875, 6877, 6878, 6880).
Elation (suruur, farah)
The Qur'an has mentioned happiness (suruur) 2:69, 3;120, 3;170, 3;188, 6:44,
9;50, 9:81, 10:22, 40:58, 11:10, 13:36, 19:26, 20:40, 23:53, 25:74, 27:19,
27:36, 28:9, 28:13, 28;76, 30:4, 30:32, 30:36, 33:17, 33:51, 40:75, 40:83,
42:48, 57:23, 76:11, 80:38-37, 84:9).
It is a state of good feeling that is temporary because the challenges of daily
life for adults preclude continuous elation. Elation could be due to material or
even non-material things.
UNPLEASANT EMOTIONS
Fear
The Qur'an discussed fear (20:67, 3;151, 8:2, 8:17, 22:35, 23:60, 28:10, 33:10,
33:26, 40:18, 59:2, 59:13). It was also mentioned in the hadith (MB # 2106 p
988). It is an emotion that arises due to real threats or sometimes for no
reason at all.
Rage and aggression
Anger, ghadhab al insan (9:58, 21:87, 7:154, 42:37, (KS 415
A person should be angry only for Allah (7:150, 7:154, 20:86
Rage and aggression are related to drives and emotions
Rage is natural (Muslim #6319) and cannot be avoided. What is needed is
self-control to avoid negative side-effects (KS p. 68, Muslim #6311, 6313, 6314,
6316, 6317)
Quarrelling, usually associated with rage, is discouraged (MB#1107)
Other ways of controlling rage are fasting (Muslim #2563) and recitation of the
Qur'an (KS p. 397)
Hate
Humans can hate for various reasons most of the time related to self-interest or
one of the diseases of the heart. It is unfortunate that the emotions of love
and hate are closely related. Humans normally hate those they loved before such
as wives (4:19) or those they are supposed to love such as female children
(16:57-59, 16:62, 43:17-18)
SUMMARY
Human behavior in the default state of fitra will be perfect. The human has both the good and bad drives. In the natural state the good will dominate over the bad. However humans do not always live in a natural state. Their upbringing and environment affects the balance between the bad and the good. The environment can suppress or reinforce either the bad or the bad
ar response .Research attention is now focused on the
amygdala, a small almond-shaped structure deep
inside the brain. A portion of the amygdala
known as the lateral nucleus appears to play a key a role in fear
conditioning -- an experimental procedure in which an animal--is taught to
fear a harmless stimulus such as a sound tone. The conditioning is
accomplished by pairing the tone with a mild electrical shock to the
animal's foot .After a few times 'the animal comes to exhibit defensive
responses whenever it hears the tone. These response include
freezing ( remaining motionless )and elevation of blood pressure
Can
we control our feeling
Athletes can control their heart rate to save effort, this can be done
through repeated training
Did you hear about people have got
supernatural phenomena
Psychosocial Influences in Heart Disease
Decades of research have helped to refine the TABP construct and to delimit its components, such as hostility and cynicism, that appear to be associated with the etiology of coronary artery disease CAD. Recent data suggest that depression also may be an extremely important psychosocial factor in the etiology of CAD as well as in mortality post- myocardial infarction MI. There is acknowledgment of the critical importance of environmental/interpersonal factors that may contribute to manifestation of coronary-prone behavior, as well as the importance of situational appraisal as an hypothesized modifiable link between stimulus and physiological response. The transactional model described by Smith26 posits that the hostile individual creates situations that are challenging and stressful. Although no studies have directly tested this model, it deserves further scrutiny to evaluate the full extent to which the hostile (or coronary prone) individual exerts control over both physiological responses and cognitive/emotional responses. In the treatment literature, it is assumed that individuals exert a considerable amount of influence over select aspects of physiology and cognition. However, the parameters of control must be further explicated to help direct future psychosocial interventions among patients at risk for cardiac disease.
Environmental influences also may affect the individual’s health-promoting behavior, thereby having an indirect influence on the development or progression of CAD. Although the research literature has addressed various psychosocial components related to CAD, studies have not addressed more complex models integrating psycho physiological, social, environmental, and personality variables. Thus, despite data suggesting the relevance of several psychosocial variables, there is minimal documentation of the way in which the variables interact or the relative importance of psychosocial variables. For example, recent data suggest that social support may have less impact than negative emotions on cardiac events among post-MI patients , but further research will help to clarify models describing the relative impact of psychosocial factors in CAD.
In clinical practice, the data suggest the importance of teaching relaxation skills, addressing psychological distress, especially depression and anger, and working with patients in identifying social and environmental sources of stress and support. Although none of these areas is easily addressed by the practicing cardiologist, recent data suggest that cardiac patients’ satisfaction with health-care providers’ support is associated with enhanced recovery times118. Thus, it is important for the
Cardiologist to attend to the patient’s concerns and provide support directed at those concerns, while encouraging the patient to make positive steps forward in recovery and health-behavior change. The cardiologist may help the patient view the illness as an opportunity to reevaluate priorities and set new goals, thereby encouraging the patient to remain future-oriented rather than dwelling on perceived past mistakes. Perhaps the most important role for the cardiologist is to help the patient identify specific individuals (e.g., spouse, child, friend) who will be supportive of the patient and of future behavioral changes. Toward that end, cardiac rehabilitation programs provide an excellent environment in which the patient may receive emotional and physical support from both staff members and from fellow patients, in addition to learning further strategies for exercise, nutrition, and stress management
And if any
one believers in God (God) guides his heart aright
The Four Poisons Of The Heart
al Ghazâl
You should know that all acts of disobedience are poison to the heart and cause its sickness and ruin. They result in its will running off course, against that of Allah, and so its sickness festers and increases. Ibn al-Mubarak said I have seen wrong actions killing hearts And their degradation may lead to their becoming addicted to them Turning away from wrong actions gives life to the hearts And opposing yourself is best for it Whoever is concerned with the health and life of his heart, must rid it of the effects of such poisons, and then protect it by avoiding new ones. If he takes any by mistake, then he should hasten to wipe out theireffect by turning in repentance and seeking forgiveness from Allâh, as well as by doing good deeds that will wipe out his wrong actions
By the four poisons we mean unnecessary talking, unrestrained glances, too much food and keeping bad company. Of all the poisons, these are the most widespread and have the greatest effect on a heart’s well-being
Unnecessary Talking
It is reported in al-Musnad, on
the authority of Anas, that the Prophet said
“The faith of a servant is not put right until his heart is put right, and his
heart is not put right until his tongue is put right.”[1]
This shows that the Prophet has made the purification of faith conditional on
the purification of the heart, and the purification of the heart conditional on
the purification of the tongue
At-Tirmidhî relates in a hadîth
on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar
“Do not talk excessively without remembering Allâh, because such excessive talk
without the mention of Allâh causes the heart to harden, and the person furthest
from Allâh is a person with a hard heart.”[2]
‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab, may Allâh
be pleased with him, said
“A person who talks too much is a person who often makes mistakes, and someone
who often makes mistakes, often has wrong actions. The Fire has a priority over
such a frequent sinner.”[3]
In a hadîth related on the
authority of Mu‘âdh, the Prophet said
“Shall I not tell you how to control all that?” I said, “Yes do, O Messenger of
Allâh.” So he held his tongue between his fingers, and then he said: “Restrain
this.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, are we accountable for what we say?” He
said, “May your mother be bereft by your loss! Is there anything more than the
harvest of the tongues that throws people on their faces (or he said ‘on their
noses’) into the Fire?”[4]
What is meant here by ‘the
harvest of the tongues’ is the punishment for saying forbidden things. A man,
through his actions and words, sows the seeds of either good or evil. On the Day
of Resurrection he harvests their fruits. Those who sow the seeds of good words
and deeds harvest honour and blessings; those who sow the seeds of evil words
and deeds reap only regret and remorse
A hadîth related by Abű Huraira
says
“What mostly causes people to be sent to the Fire are the two openings: the
mouth and the private parts.” ]
Abű Huraira also related that the
Messenger of Allâh said
“The servant speaks words, the consequences of which he does not realise, and
for which he is sent down into the depths of the Fire further than the distance
between the east and the west.”
The same hadîth was transmitted
by at-Tirmidhî with slight variations
“The servant says something that he thinks is harmless, and for which he will be
plunged into the depths of the Fire as far as seventy autumns.”
Uqba ibn Amîr said: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, what is our best way of surviving?’ He, may Allâh bless him and grant him peace, replied: ‘Guard your tongue, make your house suffice for sheltering your privacy, and weep for your wrong actions.’”[ It has been related on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa‘d that the Prophet said Whoever can guarantee what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I guarantee him theGarden
It has also been related by Abu
Huraira, may Allâh be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allâh bless him
and grant him peace, said,
“Let whoever believes in Allâh and the Last Day either speak good or remain
silent.
Thus talking can either be good,
in which case it is commendable, or bad, in which case it is harâm
The Prophet said: “Everything the children of Adam say goes against them, except for their enjoining good and forbidding evil, and remembering Allâh, Glorious and Might is He.” This was reported by at-Tirmidhî and Ibn Mâjah on the authority of Umm Habîba, may Allah be pleased with her
Umar ibn al-Khattâb visited Abű Bakr, may Allâh be pleased with them, and found him pulling his tongue with his fingers. Umar said “Stop! may Allah forgive you!” Abű Bakr replied; “This tongue has brought me to dangerous places.
Abdullâh ibn Mas‘űd said: “By
Allâh, besides Whom no god exists, nothing deserves a long prison sentence more
than my tongue.” He also used to say: “O tongue, say good and you will profit;
desist from saying evil things and you will be safe; otherwise you will find
only regret.”
Abu Huraira reported that Ibn al-Abbâs
said: “A person will not feel greater fury or anger for any part of his body on
the Day of Judgement more than what he will feel for his tongue, unless he only
used it for saying or enjoining good.”
Al-Hassan said: “Whoever does not
hold his tongue cannot understand his dîn.”
The least harmful of a tongues faults is talking about whatever does not concern it. The following hadîth of the Prophet is enough to indicate the harm of this fault: “One of the merits of a person’s Islâm is his abandoning what does not concern him.” ]
Abu Ubaida related that al-Hassan
said: “One of the signs of Allâh’s abandoning a servant is His making him
preoccupied with what does not concern him.”
Sahl said, “Whoever talks about
what does not concern him is deprived of truthfulness.”
As we have already mentioned above, this is the least harmful of the tongue’s faults. There are far worse things, like backbiting, gossiping, obscene and misleading talk, two-faced and hypocritical talk, showing off, quarrelling, bickering, singing, lying, mockery, derision and falsehood; and there are many more faults which can affect a servant’s tongue, ruining his heart and causing him to lose both his happiness and pleasure in this life, and his success and profit in the next life. Allah is the One to Whom we turn for assistance.
Unrestrained Glances
The unrestrained glance results
in the one who looks becoming attracted to what he sees, and in the imprinting
of an image of what he sees in his heart. This can result in several kinds of
corruption in the heart of the servant. The following are a number of them:
It has been related that the
Prophet once said words to the effect: “The glance is a poisoned arrow of
shaytân. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allâh, He will bestow upon him a refreshing
sweetness which he will find in his heart on the day that he meets Him.”[14]
Shaytân enters with the glance,
for he travels with it, faster than the wind blowing through an empty place. He
makes what is seen appear more beautiful than it really is, and transforms it
into an idol for the heart to worship. Then he promises it false rewards, lights
the fire of desires within it, and fuels it with the wood of forbidden actions,
which the servant would not have committed had it not been for this distorted
image.
“And do not obey anyone whose heart We have made forgetful in remembering Us -
who follows his own desires, and whose affair has exceeded all bounds.” (18:28
The unrestrained gaze causes all
three afflictions
It has been said that between the
eye and the heart is an immediate connection; if the eyes are corrupted, then
the heart follows. It becomes like a rubbish heap where all the dirt and filth
and rottenness collect, and so there is no room for love for Allâh, relating all
matters to Him, awareness of being in His presence, and feeling joy at His
proximity - only the opposite of these things can inhabit such a heart.
Staring and gazing without
restraint is disobedience to Allâh
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that is
more purifying for them. Surely Allâh is aware of what they do.” (24:30)
Only the one who obeys Allâh’s
commands is content in this world, and only the servant who obeys Allâh will
survive in the next world
Furthermore, letting the gaze roam free cloaks the heart with darkness, just as lowering the gaze for Allâh clothes it in light. After the above ayah, Allâh, the Glorious and Mighty, says in the same sűrah of the Qur’ân
“Allâh is the light of the
heavens and the earth: the likeness of His light is as if there were a niche,
and in the niche is a lamp, and in the lamp is a glass, and the glass as it were
a brilliant star, lit from a blessed tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of
the west, whose oil is well nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it. Light
upon light. Allâh guides whomever He wants to His Light. Allâh strikes metaphors
for man; and Allâh knows all things.” (24:35)
When the heart is a light,
countless good comes to it from all directions. If it is dark, then clouds of
evil and afflictions come from all directions to cover it up.
Letting the gaze run loose also makes the heart blind to distinguishing between truth and falsehood, between the sunnah and innovation; while lowering it for Allâh, the Might and Exalted, gives it a penetrating, true and distinguishing insight
A righteous man once said:
“Whoever enriches his outward behaviour by following the sunnah, and makes his
inward soul wealthy through contemplation, and averts his gaze away from looking
at what is forbidden, and avoids anything of a doubtful nature, and feeds solely
on what is halâl - his inner sight will never falter ”
Rewards for actions come in kind. Whoever lowers his gaze from what Allâh has forbidden, Allâh will give his inner sight abundant light
Too Much Food
The consumption of small amounts of food guarantees tenderness of the heart, strength of the intellect, humility of the self, weakness of desires, and gentleness of temperament. Immoderate eating brings about the opposite of these praiseworthy qualities
Al-Miqdâm ibn Ma’d Yakrib said: “I heard the Messenger of Allâh say: “The son of Adam fills no vessel more displeasing to Allâh than his stomach. A few morsels should be enough for him to preserve his strength. If he must fill it, then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink and leave a third empty for easy breathing ”
Excessive eating induces many
kinds of harm. It makes the body incline towards disobedience to Allâh and makes
worship and obedience seem laborious - such evils are bad enough in themselves.
A full stomach and excessive eating have caused many a wrong action and
inhibited much worship. Whoever safeguards against the evils of overfilling his
stomach has prevented great evil. It is easier for shaytân to control a person
who has filled his stomach with food and drink, which is why it has often been
said: “Restrict the pathways of shaytân by fasting ”
It has been reported that when a
group of young men from the Tribe of Israel were worshipping, and it was time
for them to break their fast, a man stood up and said: “Do not eat too much,
otherwise you will drink too much, and then you will end up sleeping too much,
and then you will lose too much.”
The Prophet and his companions,
may Allâh be pleased with them, used to go hungry quite frequently. Although
this was often due to a shortage of food, Allâh decreed the best and most
favourable conditions for His Messenger, may Allâh bless him and grant him
peace. This is why Ibn Umar and his father before him - in spite of the
abundance of food available to them -modelled their eating habits on those of
the Prophet . It has been reported that Aisha, may Allâh be pleased with her,
said: “From the time of their arrival in Madîna up until his death , the family
of Muhammad never ate their fill of bread made from wheat three nights in a
row.”[17]
Ibrâhîm ibn Adham said: “Any one who controls his stomach is in control of his dîn, and anyone who controls his hunger is in control of good behaviour. Disobedience towards Allah is nearest to a person who is satiated with a full stomach, and furthest away from a person who is hungry.”
Keeping Bad Company
Unnecessary companionship is a chronic disease that causes much harm. How often have the wrong kind of companionship and intermixing deprived people of Allâh’s generosity, planting discord in their hearts which even the passage of time-even if it were long enough for mountains to be worn away-has been unable to dispel. In keeping such company one can find the roots of loss, both in this life and in the next life
A servant should benefit from companionship. In order to do so he should divide people into four categories, and be careful not to get them mixed up, for once one of them is mixed with another, then evil can find its way through to him
The first
category are those people whose company is like food: it is
indispensable, night or day. Once a servant has taken his need from it, he
leaves it be until he requires it again, and so on. These are the people with
knowledge of Allâh - of His commands, of the scheming of His enemies, and of the
diseases of the heart and their remedies - who wish well for Allâh, His Prophet
and His servants. Associating with this type of person is an achievement in
itself.
The second
category are those people whose company is like a medicine. They are only
required when a disease sets in. When you are healthy, you have no need of them.
However, mixing with them is sometimes necessary for your livelihood,
businesses, consultation and the like. Once what you need from them has been
fulfilled, mixing with them should be avoided.
The third
category are those people whose company is harmful. Mixing with this type
of person is like a disease, in all its variety and degrees and strengths and
weaknesses. Associating with one or some of them is like an incurable chronic
disease. You will never profit either in this life or in the next life if you
have them for company, and you will surely lose either one or both of your dîn
and your livelihood because of them. If their companionship has taken hold of
you and is established, then it becomes a fatal, terrifying sickness.
Amongst such people are those who
neither speak any good that might benefit you, nor listen closely to you so that
they might benefit from you. They do not know their souls and consequently put
their selves in their rightful place. If they speak, their words fall on their
listeners’ hearts like the lashes of a cane, while all the while they are full
of admiration for and delight in their own words.
They cause distress to those in
their company, while believing that they are the sweet scent of the gathering.
If they are silent, they are heavier than a massive millstone-too heavy to carry
or even drag across the floor [18]
All in all, mixing with anyone
who is bad for the soul will not last, even if it is unavoidable. It can be one
of the most distressing aspects of a servant’s life that he is plagued by such
person, with whom it may be necessary to associate. In such a relationship, a
servant should cling to good behaviour, only presenting him with his outward
appearance, while disguising his inner soul, until Allâh offers him a way out of
his affliction and the means of escape from this situation.
The fourth
category are those people whose company is doom itself. It is like taking
poison: its victim either finds an antidote or perishes. Many people belong to
this category. They are the people of religious innovation and misguidance,
those who abandon the sunnah of the Messenger of Allâh and advocate other
beliefs. They call what is the sunnah a bid‘a and vice-versa. A man with any
intellect should not sit in their assemblies nor mix with them. The result of
doing so will either be the death of his heart or, at the very best, its falling
seriously ill.
What Gives the Heart Life and
Sustenance
You should know that acts of
obedience are essential to the well being of the servant's heart, just in the
same way that food and drink are to that of the body. All wrong actions are the
same as poisonous foods, and they inevitably harm the heart.
The servant feels the need to
worship his Lord, Mighty and Glorious is He, for he is naturally in constant
need of His help and assistance.
In order to maintain the well
being of his body, the servant carefully follows a strict diet. He habitually
and constantly eats good food at regular intervals, and is quick to free his
stomach of harmful elements if he happens to eat bad food by mistake.
The well being of the servant’s
heart, however, is far more important than that of his body, for while the well
being of his body enables him to lead a life that is free from illnesses in this
world, that of the heart ensures him both a fortunate life in this world and
eternal bliss in the next.
In the same way, while the death
of the body cuts the servant off from this world, the death of the heart results
in everlasting anguish. A righteous man once said, “How odd, that some people
mourn for the one whose body has died, but never mourn for the one whose heart
has died – and yet the death of the heart is far more serious!”
Thus acts of obedience are indispensable to the well being of the heart. It is worthwhile mentioning the following acts of obedience here, since they are very necessary and essential for the servant’s heart: Dhikr of Allâh ta‘Ala, recitation of the Noble Qur’ân, seeking Allâh’s forgiveness, making du‘â, invoking Allâh’s blessings and peace on the Prophet, may Allâh bless him and grant him peace, and praying at night.
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