Monday, February 13, 2012

What is Qalb? part-9: Causes of Ihya of the Qalb

Causes of Revivification (Ihya) and Enlightenment of Qalb- Dr Rafiq Ahmed

1. Firm faith in Allah Ta’ala.
2. Avoidance of pollution of Qalb by the filth of sins.
3. Remembrance of Allah Ta’ala.
4. Recitation of the Quran with Aadâb (etiquettes and pre-requisites).
5. Remembrance of Death and sense of accountability on the day of Judgement.
6. Following of the Sunnah (Tradition) of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) strictly.
7. To have the noble company and the guidance of Ahle-Dil (whose hearts are receiving-stations of the Divine Light).

1. Firm faith in Allah Ta’ala
This has already been described to some extent. This is the first and the foremost prerequisite for revivification and satisfaction of heart. The darkest and biggest stain which ruins the capability of pure and live heart is Kufr (not believing in Allah Ta’ala and His Messenger).
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) described such a heart as dead. Such a dead heart can neither appreciate nor enjoy the ultimate Reality. It is also unaware of its most pitiable and miserable condition, hence feels false happiness which is illusory with no comparison to the real one.

2. Avoidance of pollution of Qalb by the filth of sins
If a piece of wood is taken near the fire, it will burn, whether one intends to burn it or not. Similarly, when one commits a sin, it stains the heart and makes it impure whether he wishes it or not. If a person misuses his eyes, i.e., gazes at those ladies whom he is not allowed to look at as per Shariah, even without bad intentions, will cause a stain on his Qalb, thus making it impure. Similarly if a person talks ill about others, this will ruin his heart. These sins are like cyanide, anybody taking it will die, whether he intends to die or not. Those people whose spiritual sense of smell (extra sensory perception of smell) is functioning do feel the awful bad (repugnantly foul) smell of sins. The angels having much finer perception of things feel the foul smell of sins, hence most of the angels of mercy leave the company of such a person and curse him.
A great man in Islamic History Hadhrat Imâm Abu Haniefah (RA) had such an inner vision that he could see the sins of people which were getting washed off from them while performing ablution (Wudhu). He therefore decreed that the water falling down from the parts of body being washed during Wudhu, is not pure. Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said in a Hadith that Allah Ta’ala does not see towards the external appearance of people but towards their hearts and their intentions. When hearts are impure and filled with filth, they cannot receive the pure Eternal Light (Nur) necessary for understanding the divine revelation—the Holy Qur’ân and for perceiving the ultimate Reality.
After having firm faith in Allah Ta’ala, it is imperative to avoid all sins, major or minor, in order to protect the capability of Qalb to understand the Qur;an. One may read thousands of books including great commentaries of the Qur’ân, he cannot even smell the fragrance of the purest Divine revelation of al-Qur’ân.

3. Remembrance of Allah Ta’ala (Zikrullah):
Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) says in a Hadith that:
 "The Qalb which is in the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala is live and the Qalb which is careless of it is as good as dead”. (Bukhâri & Muslim Sharief)
Allah Ta’ala says in the Qur’ân:
فَوَيْلٌ لِلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ مِنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُولَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
"Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala! They are manifestly wandering (in error)!” (39:22)
Hafiz Ibn Taymiya (RA) says that Zikrullah is so much necessary for heart as water is necessary for fish. Imagine the condition of a fish without water. It has already been mentioned that the receptors for appreciating the divine light and the Ultimate Reality are in the Qalb and that they get fogged by the sins, and totally blocked by the dark clouds of Kufr (Atheism). To remove this fog or dark clouds from the receptors of Qalb one needs two things:
1) Irrigation by the water of Zikr.
2) Heat of Muhabbat (Love).
One needs these two things in the same way as one needs them for a tree from which one wants to have fruits. The tree to flourish and to bear fruit, needs enough irrigation and the sunlight.

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