Part 11

Exalted is Allah for differentiating those bestowed with divine sublime emotions from those with earthly elation, in order to distinguish between those who are expelled [from Allah’s Mercy] and the [true] servants [of Allah]. Indeed, He is above all defects and shortcomings; He sustains both types of individuals in this world, but only upon His [true] slaves shall He bestow honour and grace on the Day of Judgment.

By Allah, the love to hear the Qur’in of Satan and the love to hear the Words of the most Merciful shall never coexist in one heart, just as how the daughter of the enemy of Allah and the daughter of the Messenger of Allah (8) cannot be with the same

He refers to the state when a person listen to poems with the intention to easc his heart or to bring some benefit to his life for the sake of Allah.

4.1 al-Sama of the people of Trath

As the poet said:

“You shall die for the one whom you love... Therefore, find yourself the lover who is most favourable to you.”

4.1 al-Sama‘ of the people of Truth

When the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (4g) got together and wanted their hearts to be moved and to feel some ease and comfort to lighten their burden, they would ask one of them to recite the Qur’an while the rest listened to him with rapt attention. And so, their selves would be overwhelmed with tranquility and their eyes would overflow with tears, and theit hearts would taste the sweetness of iman, which is far beyond what those who listen to songs could ever experience.

“Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyAllahu ‘anbi) used to say to Abii Misa al-Ash‘ati (radiyAllabu ‘anh#) whenever he was in his company: “O Abii Misa, remind us of our Lord” and as soon as he would start reciting Qur’An, their hearts would be touched and deeply moved. ‘Uthmin ibn ‘Affan (radiyAllahu ‘anbu) used to say: if our hearts were pure, we would never have enough of the Words of Allah.

It is true, indeed. How can a petson ever be satisfied when it comes to the words of the one whom he loves and with whom his hopes and aspirations lie! How can a person be sufficient when it comes to Qur’an with which the salah is commenced, not with crass melodies and singing!

As the poet said:

INNER DIMENSIONS OF THE PRAYER

“When we fall ill we seek cure in your remembrance... such that whenever we cease it, we become more sick.”

‘The people of melodies and songs are segregated from the people of the Qur’an, as each group lives in a different domain of sphere.

‘Truly, the condition of the one who is enraptured by listening to songs is nothing compated to the condition of sublime elation and enjoyment that is experienced by the one listening to the Qur’an while his heart enjoys the sweet taste of iman. He experiences a state of tranquility, ease and amiability and a longing in his heart to meet His Lord, and a readiness to understand the meanings of His Words and to apply what he understands on himself. All this impels him to recite His Words beautifully and perfectly. You find him reciting:

Z eee eehte eee eet

FeAWNO ALIA CCO L OM GAME LOSES

4 hes eyes 447

OBE NTSE “Ta-Ha, We have not sent down to you the Qur’an that you be distressed, But only as a reminder for those who fear [Allah] - A revelation from He who created the earth and highest heavens. The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil. And if you speak aloud - then indeed, He knows the secret and

4.1 al-Sama' of the people of Truth

what is [even] more hidden.”

And other aydt of this theme, whose effect on the heart will be like the effect of communicating with the love of one’s life after a long absence - as long as the heart is sincere and is truly alive, and has smelled the fragrance of loving Allah and has tasted its sweetness. The effect (of reciting of listening to the Qur’an) upon him is like a drink of cold water after having felt severe thirst in very hot weather, or like land just after life-giving rains have fallen upon it after it had been parched and atid, causing the land to grow every nice variety of plant that stand tall in the land thanking and praising Him.

After all this, it should be clear that in the Sight of Allah, His Angels, His Messengers and His truthful and sincere servants, the rank of those listening to the Qur’an and the fecling they experience from it shall never equal the rank (i.c. they shall be far above the rank) of those listening to music and songs and what they experience out of it. This is because the people of music and songs are the servants of their own lustful souls and desires; they listen only to entertain their lustful souls and earn their share of falsehood. And whosoever is unable to distinguish the difference between listening to the Qur’an and listening to music and songs, and is unable to distinguish between the transcendent experience attained from the Qur’én and the base experience attained from music, should ask his Lord, sincerely and truthfully, to revive his heart and to grant him a light to illuminate the depths of his ignorance, and to bestow him with the ability to differentiate between the truth and the falsehood. Indeed, He is near and answers the prayers of His servants.

Additionally, there is a subtle sensation that only the people habituated to music and songs can perceive and experience after listening to songs and then departing from that environment. The state of elation and raptute that they experienced while listening to music and songs is always followed by a state of their heart feeling troubled, accompanied by feelings of desolation and darkness. However, it is only those whose hearts still retain a minimal level of life who will be able to notice this subtle change, as opposed to those whose hearts are completely dead, because the dead cannot feel the pain of wounds. And if they were ever asked about what provoked these uncomfortable feelings, they would not be able to tell because their hearts are steeped in their corrupt appetites and songs. In fact, not only are they unable to realise the root cause behind the pain they endure, they are also unable to comprehend how they ever came to have such corrupted heatts - although if they weighed what they experience from music and songs in the scales of knowledge, they would be able to grasp the causes and reasons. Nonetheless, I shall communicate the causes of such feelings of abnormality, constriction and desolation to you.

Consider under the best circumstances, listening to poems and songs consists of partaking in a mixture of truth and falsehood - a combination of desites and dubiety. And even in the best case, the condition of the one who engages in listening to songs and poems is that his soul takes it share of what might be deemed commended in religion, except that it has been adulterated by his whims and the whispers of Satan, effectively making what he acquires from his listening to be neither pure nor clean. In other words, the positive and beneficial aspect of listening to songs, that the Most Merciful deems acceptable, will be tainted with the negative and condemned aspect of it that is to Satan’s liking, UL timately, the heart ends up receiving a share of good and a share of evil. And this is the best possible scenario with listening to songs, as it is founded on lustful wishes, desires and Satanic inclinations, although it has a bit of goodness in it. It will be like a small amount of pure water dribbling down the valley of the heart that has encountered a torrent of impure water causing the impure to prevail, or at the very least having the divine inspiration to run alongside the satanic inspiration.

Despite the inability of the heart in which a modicum of sincerity still prevails in recognising the feeling of disquiet caused by listening to music and songs, particularly when the soul is submerged in music and songs and has been taken off-course from pursuing its objective -as soon as the heart awakes from this state of intoxication after having put a distance between itself and the enjoyment obtained from listening to music and songs it endures feelings of distress, isolation and annoyance. The mote sincere and truthful the heart is, the mote it is able to recognise this effect because the sentience of the heart dictates feeling the negative impact of listening to music and songs even without realising the cause behind these negative feelings.

INNER DIMENSIONS OF THE PRAYER

‘This situation has many parallels in real life; consider the example of a person, whose attention is focused on his beloved, or who sees something he fears, or is busy indulging in an activity that he enjoys, which overtakes his heart and senses -he will not feel any slap, bites or stings that he (might) receive while in this condition. Yet as soon as he emerges out from this state of focus or pleasure, he starts feeling the pain of the hit or sting as if he had just received it. This is due to him being in a state that prevented him from sensing pain, but when the reason preventing him from feeling pain was removed, he starts to expetience the pain.

‘This is the reason that compelled some of the truthful ones to rush to renew their repentance and seek Allah’s forgiveness as soon as they stopped listening to songs and music, and to look for the means to cure their state of aloofness (ftom Allah) and strangeness (that had resulted from their listening to songs and music). This state is perceived and recognised by those with sound reasoning and intellect and whose objective is to perfect their souls and learn the ills and remedies of theit hearts - And Allah is Whom we ask for help.

While it is undeniable that listening to poetry with the right intention might leave a positive and commendable effect on the heart, it would be akin to a person who drinks honey using a dirty cup. The truthful and sincere ones with lofty aspirations find themselves above drinking from a cup they find dirty, as their uprightness, purity and high endeavour makes them balk at the idea, and they only agree to drink in a clean cup, even if it means they have to wait for a long time. On the other hand, some people will drink in any cup they find, even if this cup is made of the bones of dead animals or pigskin or dog skin, ot even if the cup is normally