Friday 22 April 2016

Consult Your Heart


The Prophet said:

استفتِ قلبك، البر ما اطمأنت إليه النفس، واطمأن إليه القلب، والإثم ما حاك في النفس، وتردد في الصدر، ولو أفتاك الناس وافتوك

"Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels at ease and the heart feels tranquil. And wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and causes uneasiness in the breast, even though people have repeatedly given their legal opinion [in its favour].'"

And he said:

"Righteousness is in good character, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul, and which you dislike people finding out about."

Righteousness is in good character. It is not in the number of prayers you perform, nor in the length of your beard - it is in your behaviour. It is in your dealings with people, justice, kindness, love, empathy, charity, generosity and help to your fellow man, no matter who they are or what religion, race or nationality.

Sin however is what wavers and trembles in your soul. Wrong actions cause an aversion or dislike in the heart - and the heart here is a metaphor for our conscience, our mind and our nature. When we do something wrong, unjust, or hurtful it hurts our own being. Our inner conscience feels its pain and it is ashamed to let others know of it. We feel uneasy and troubled. This is because our nature - Fitrah - is naturally inclined towards good and feels an aversion to that which is wrong.

We must consult our heart. Which as I say is our conscience, our reason and our mind. Our inner being. We need to follow that inner nature that speaks to us from within. The natural, innate disposition we were born with, but sometimes gets lost or buried as we go through life. The inner nature that inclines towards love, empathy, truth and justice and shuns hate, oppression and lies.

Morality and ethics can be a very confusing subject. There aren't always clear cut right or wrong answers. Sometimes what is right in one situation is wrong in another and visa versa. There is no simple list of rules or absolutes one must follow whenever life throws up a road block. In fact life has a habit of confronting you with the dilemmas that have no straightforward answer at all. Of course you will find plenty of people telling you what you should do in their opinion. They will even insist that their way is the only correct way and often justify it using religion - quoting Quran or Hadith. But you alone are responsible to God for your actions - not them. God tasked you to solve the situation he confronted you with and wants to see how you deal with it. If he wanted to hand you a detailed walkthrough with all the answers on it, he would have given it to you. But what he did give you is your heart and mind. It is there that you will find the answers.

Just as your body is affected by that which you eat so your heart is affected by your actions. The more we stray into wrong actions the more confused we will become. This is why it is important to always check ourselves. If the heart is tranquil and at ease, that is an indication we are on the right path, but if our heart is uneasy, agitated or anxious then we should think twice. Remember that when we talk about the heart we are talking about the conscience and the mind. Reason as well as inner feelings. They should work together. Do not exclude one for the other. Yes we can make mistakes. But if we apply our reason and conscience in all we do, then we will more often than not be on the right path. Of course sometimes there are no right or wrong answers. Other times we will make mistakes. But using the mind and conscience God gave us is always the right thing to do. We must never suppress our mind, our reason and our conscience when it conflicts with what others are telling us to do - even if they claim it is a religious verdicts - as the prophet said -  ولو أفتاك الناس -  even if people give their legal opinion [in its favour].

Even if other people over and over again tell you their opinion, yet you still have that feeling in your heart that it is wrong, despite their badgering or reassurance. The fact that they keep pushing you, and your soul still waivers, is proof that there is something wrong. 

These two hadith reveal a significant aspect of Islam: Our internal guiding system. The heart & mind each and every individual is born with, is our best guide.

4 comments:

  1. I am so glad to have this website! Thank you for the Khutbahs, and I hope you realize that you reach more people than you might think. Your words truly make a difference.

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  2. This is kind of related to what you are talking about in this khutbah, so I'd thought this would be the right place to voice my opinion.
    This question has become important to me because of the recent hate crime committed in the gay bar in Orlando, I assume you haven't been living under a rock (- haha) and are aware of what happened. I doubt that Islam/Islamic culture-rooted homophobia hasn't been a factor here. It is so ubiquitous. Which brings me to what has increasingly occupied me since the incident:
    I am a "LGBT proponent" (as dumb as it may sound) at heart, also being pro-relationship and sex and so on. I also have read different interpretations (maybe superficially). The anti-LGBT camp partially seems to be really so filled with hate and noncritical, while the other side seems to cherry-pick verses. I'm sorry, but the first thing I understand when I read this: "...For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women..." (7:80-84) is an anti-homosexuality sentiment.
    And I know that I am approaching this with a bias, that is, that there is nothing wrong with having feelings for your own sex and expressing them. I would never be able to accept homophobic Islam. But also, I don't want to twist and bend something so it could fit in my perfect little world as well as possible.
    I'm asking for your opinion, since you have, judging from your blog, proved yourself to be able to question the status quo and reason, unlike a, sorry, shitload of other Muslims. Or do you maybe have like a good source I can read in about this?
    This is kind of related to what you are talking about in this khutbah, so I'd thought this would be the right place to voice my opinion.
    This question has become important to me because of the recent hate crime committed in the gay bar in Orlando, I assume you haven't been living under a rock (- haha) and are aware of what happened. I doubt that Islam/Islamic culture-rooted homophobia hasn't been a factor here. It is so ubiquitous. Which brings me to what has increasingly occupied me since the incident:
    I am a "LGBT proponent" (as dumb as it may sound) at heart, also being pro-relationship and sex and so on. I also have read different interpretations (maybe superficially). The anti-LGBT camp partially seems to be really just so filled with hate and noncritical, while the other side seems to cherry-pick verses. I'm sorry, but the first thing I understand when I read this: "...For ye practice your lusts on men in preference to women..." (7:80-84) is an anti-homosexuality sentiment.
    And I know that I am approaching this with a bias too, that is, that there is nothing wrong with having feelings for your own sex and expressing them. I would never be able to accept homophobic Islam. But also, I don't want to twist and bend something so it could fit in my perfect little world as well as possible, if that makes sense.
    I'm asking for your opinion, since you have, judging from your blog, proved yourself to be able to question and reason, unlike a shitload (sorry for this not-halal wordchoice) of other Muslims. Or do you maybe have like a good source I can read about this? What's your opinion on the "gay agenda", also from an Islamic perspective?
    P.S. Sorry for this unorganized mess, and blessed Ramadan. :)

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