Part 5

Surely the month of Ramadan bestows upon the Muslim home spirituality and satisfaction. It awakens its members to stand in prayer at nights, beckons them to fast in the day, and encourages them to remember Allah the Exalted.

‘It is they who [truly] follow God’s revelation, and are constant in prayer, and spend on others, secretly and openly, out of what We provide for them as sustenance ~ it is they

who may look forward to a bargain that can never fail, since He will grant them their just rewards, and give them yet more out of His bounty: for, verily, He is much-forgiving, ever-responsive to gratitude’ (35:29-30).

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We ask You Who is the most merciful of those who show mercy to fill our homes with faith, wisdom and tranquillity.

How does the heart fast?

‘And if anyone believes in Allah, (Allah) guides his heart

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The guidance of the heart is the basis of all guidance, the law of all success, the origin of every deed and head of every action. The Prophet & said: ‘Truly there is a piece of flesh in the body which, if it be wholesome, the whole body will be healthy and which, and if it be diseased the whole body will be diseased. Truly it is the heart.’

Thus the goodness of your heart is the guarantee of your happiness in this world and in the hereafter. Likewise, its corruption is the surest way to destruction, the extent of which only Allah knows. ‘In this, behold, there is indeed a reminder for everyone whose heart is wide-awake — that is [everyone who] lends ear with a conscious mind’ (50:37).

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Every creature has a heart. In reality though they are two hearts, a heart that is alive and pulsating with the light of faith. It is filled with intense conviction and Godconsciousness. The other is a dead heart, covered and diseased with every wreckage and rubbish.

Allah Almighty says concerning the hearts of the foolish folk: ‘In their hearts is disease, and so God lets their disease increase’ (2:10).

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‘But they say, “Our hearts are already full of knowledge.” Nay, but God has rejected them because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth: for, few are the things in which they believe’ (2:88).

Allah also says: ‘Will they not, then, ponder over this Quran? - or are there locks upon their hearts?’ (47:24).

“And so they say, [as it were:] “Our hearts are veiled from

whatever thou callest us to, [O Muhammad,] and in our ears is deafness”’ (41:5).

From all these verses we learn that the hearts can become ill, they can be covered, locked and they die. The enemies of Allah have hearts in their bosoms but they do not

perceive with these hearts. Hence the Prophet # used to say: ‘O dispenser of hearts make my heart firm in Your religion.’

The heart of the believer fasts during Ramadan and outside of Ramadan. The fasting of the heart is done by emptying it of all corrupt material such as destructive forms of polytheism, false beliefs, evil suggestions, filthy intentions and degenerate thoughts. The heart of the believer is adorned with the love of Allah. It knows its Lord by His names and His qualities as He has described Himself. This heart explores with a discerning eye the lines of His names and qualities and the pages of Allah’s making in the universe and the books of His creations.

The believer’s heart is filled with a brilliant light which does not allow any darkness to remain with it. It is the light of the eternal message, the divine teachings, and the omnipotent laws. To it is added the natural light upon which the servants of Allah were created. Thus two great lights come together. ‘Light upon light! God guides unto His light him that wills {to be guided]; and [to this end] God propounds parables unto men, since God [alone] has full knowledge of all things’ (24:36).

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The believer’s heart glows like a lamp, shines like the sun and sparkles like the morning light. It increases in faith whenever the believer listens to the verses of the Quran, it grows in conviction when it contemplates, and increases in guidance when it reflects. The believer’s heart abstains from pride because it breaks its fast. Pride does not reside in the heart of a believer because it is unlawful. The abode and dwelling place of pride is the heart. Hence, if it enters any heart, that person will become afflicted, foolish, arrogant and frivolous.

Allah Almighty says in a hadith Qudsi: ‘Pride is my upper garment and grandeur is my lower one, whoever contests with me for them I will punish him.’ The Prophet & himself said: ‘Whoever shows arrogance to Allah, He will humble him, and whoever is humble to Allah, He will raise him in station.’

The heart of the believer fasts and abstains from egotism. Egotism is when the individual sees himself as perfect, better than others and in possession of good qualities that are not found in anyone else. This is destruction in its most naked form. The Prophet # said: ‘Three things which are totally destructive: a person’s self-centredness and conceit, his reluctance to obey and his following of his desires.’ The cure for this self-importance is to look at one’s own faults, one’s many shortcomings, thousands of sins and misdeeds that one has committed, wrongs that one has done and forgotten but the knowledge of which are with Allah in a book. For Allah is not led astray nor does He forget.

The heart of the believer fasts and abstains from envy because it lowers righteous deeds, puts out the light of the heart and stops its progress toward Allah the Most High. Allah says in the Glorious Quran: ‘Do they, perchance, envy other people for what God has granted them out of his bounty? (4:54).

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And the Prophet & said: ‘Do not envy one another; do not inflate prices one to another; do not hate one another; do not turn away from one another; and do not undercut one another.’

The Prophet informed one of his companions three times that he would be among the people of Paradise. When

he was asked about what was it that earned him a place in Paradise, the man said: ‘I do not sleep with envy, grudge or deceit in my heart for any Muslim.’ Are there any hearts that would, therefore, fast like the learned. The fast of the learned has a yearning for the Most Merciful Lord of the worlds. Their hearts fast at all times and in the early hours of morning they seek forgiveness.

O Allah guide our hearts to the straight path and make it firm on faith, O Lord of the worlds.

How does the tongue fast?

The tongue has a special fast. It is well known to those believers who turn away from all that is frivolous. The fasting of the tongue is a permanent feature of Ramadan and out of Ramadan, though in Ramadan the tongue is disciplined and curbed. The Prophet 2& said: ‘Control this’ and he pointed to his tongue. In response, Mu’adh said: ‘Even if we start to speak about what we should. O Messenger of Allah?’ The Prophet replied: ‘Your mother would grieve for you O Mu’adh, will people not be thrown into the fire on their faces only because of the fruits of their tongues.’

The harm of the tongue is great and its danger is huge. Abu Bakr al Siddiq used to hold on to his tongue and say: ‘This is what landed me in this position.’ The tongue has seven injuries, the serpent bites and fire burns. Do not mention the faults of people with your tongues.For all of you have faults and the people have tongues.

Ibn Abbas used to say to his tongue: ‘O tongue! Say something good and gain, or abstain from evil and be safe.’

Allah had shown mercy to a Muslim who restrained his tongue from treachery, averted it from backbiting, prevented it from vain talk, and barred it from prohibitions. Surely Allah will be merciful to he who checks his utterances and weighs his words. He says in the Quran: ‘Not even a word can he utter but there is a watcher with him, ever-present’ (50:18).

Every expression is recorded and every word is counted. ‘And never does Allah the least wrong to His creatures’

AN A ect ee eee te 7 oe In this regard the Prophet said: ‘Whoever can protect for me what is between his jaws and between his legs, I will guarantee for him a place in Paradise.’

When the righteous predecessors disciplined themselves with the morality of the Quran and Sunnah, they weighed their utterances and respected their words. Their pronouncements were the remembrances of Allah, their looks were lessons, and their silence thought. When these righteous people feared the meeting with their Lord, the One, the Subduer, they used their tongues in His remembrance and gratefulness. And they refrained from treachery, obscenity and prattle. Ibn Mas’ud said: ‘By Allah, there is not anything more deserving than the extended control of the tongue.’ The righteous need words, they remember its consequences and results and they keep quiet.

How can someone fast and and give free rein to his tongue? How can someone fast and his tongue plays with him, his words deceive him and his logic misleads him? How can someone fast and lie, backbite, revile, abuse others and

forget the Day of Judgement? How can someone be considered to be fasting while he bears false witness and does not cease from hurting Muslims? The Prophet 2 said: ‘A Muslim is he from whose tongue and hands other Muslims are safe.” Is Islam anything other than deeds, practice, methodology, submission, behaviour and application? In the Glorious Quran Allah declares: ‘Tell my servants that they should speak in the most kindly manner [unto those who do not share their beliefs]: verily, Satan is always ready to stir up discord between men ~ for, verily, Satan is man’s open foe!”

Surely the ‘kindly manner’ encouraged here is the good word that does not hurt any individual or group. It is the excellent speech that does not violate the honour of a Muslim or the dignity of a believer. ‘And neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would loathe it!’ (49:12).