Purifying the Heart

A few weeks back I went to Solitude in the hope of finding some Islamic children’s readings for my niece’s up coming birthday. I ended up buying some books for myself instead! hehe.

This one particular book immediately caught my attention when I entered the shop.

“Glimpses of the Lives of Righteous People.”

I think its title is pretty much self explanatory but it is the very first story written in the book that made me immediately fell in love with it. The story is extremely short – in fact it is only one paragraph long. But after reading it, a thousand emotions washed over me.

Allah, please keep me and those around me on the right path.
Allah, please save us from takabbur (Arrogance).
Allah, please save us from ujub (self-pride).


*******************************************************************************

Sincere Advice

It is reported that a man was closely watching Bishr As-Sulaimi (RadiAllahu anhu), who was prolonging his prayer and performing it well.

When Bishr completed his prayer, he said to the man, “Do not be deceived
by what you have seen from me. For indeed, Iblis the Devil – may Allah curse him- worshipped Allah for thousands of years and then ended up being what he is now!”

*******************************************************************************

MasyaAllah, I learned so much from that one paragraph.

Indeed, it was takabbur that made the syaitan a deviate. And he had prayed a thousand of years before that!

Take a look at ourselves. How many years have we prayed? Is our iman strong enough? The chance for us to go ashtray is always there. The syaitans will not stop working hard to bring us with him.

Hence we need to be in constant vigilance. We need to constantly think over our conceptions of life and mend them accordingly to what is right. Never be content with what we have done so far when it comes to our faith. There is always ways for us to make it better. Always.

What else did I learn from that one paragraph?

The dangers of Takabbur. The dangers of ujub.

They are amongst the most difficult diseases to cure.

Takabbur is when a person thinks he is better than the rest. It is when a person thinks he is more intelligent than another just because he is from a foreign university and the other is from a local one. It is when he thinks he is a better person just because he is the son of so-and-so. It is when he thinks his opinions matter more just because he is older. Someone with takabbur does not accept advice and criticism from others easily as he truly thinks that he is high above others beyond reproach.

Ujub is when a person looks at herself with pride. It is when she looks at herself in the mirror and she feels amazed at how beautiful she is. It is when she thinks she is the most intelligent person in the room. It is when she thinks she can never do wrong as she is perfect, free from weaknesses and mistakes. A person with ujub likes to boast and show that she is better than the rest. She is most definitely not happy if others do not accept her opinion.

Allah Ta'ala says:"Verily, Allah does not love the proud ones."

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said:"He who has a grain of pride in his heart will not enter Jannat."

Do not lie to ourselves. I’m sure in one way or another, we have felt ujub or takkabur in the past. They are amongst diseases that recur. They are like those flies that we need to keep on swatting.

How do we cure ujub? By remembering that Allah can just simply snatch away all the gifts He bestowed on us within the blink of an eye. We need to ponder upon our faults and remember our dependence on Allah to even breathe. How dare we feel ujub when all that we have is not even ours in the first place.

To cure takabbur is to see others as being better than ourselves in the eyes of Allah. If you see someone much older than us, we should think that he had prayed to Allah far longer than us. Therefore he becomes better than us. While if we see someone younger, we should think that he has never committed sins while our sins are uncountable, then why should we be proud of ourselves?

When we see someone who is jahil and ignorant, we acknowledge that he is committing sins. But he commits his sins in ignorance. We are aware that something is sinful, and yet, we do it. With our 'Ilm, how are we to answer for our actions in front of Allah?

These are the questions and reminders that we must remember always to protect ourselves from the feelings of takabbur and ujub. These reminders goes out to me first and foremost.


Let me leave you with Ayah:

فَٱدْخُلُوۤاْ أَبْوَابَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا فَلَبِئْسَ مَثْوَى ٱلْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ

Surah An-nahli ayat 29 : Tafsirnya: Oleh itu, masukilah pintu-pintu neraka, tinggal kekallah kamu didalamnya, maka sesungguhnya neraka itu seburuk-buruk tempat bagi orang-orang yang sombong takabbur.

Surah An-Nahl verse 29: And it will also be said to them: So enter the gates of Hell, to abide therein! Evil indeed is the lodging, the abode, of the arrogant.



May Allah protect us from the diseases of the heart. Amin.

...Hayatilah....Fahamilah....Renungilah...