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Friday, 18 Sha'bân 1431 AH
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Knowledge > Tazkîyah
Symptoms of Weak FaithA hard hearted person remains indifferent when he does not perform some good deeds and misses those times of worship that have more reward in them. A person with a sick heart does not react to the needs of Muslims by making supplications, giving charity, or offering assistance. He does not care if his brothers and sisters are afflicted by a hardship in any part of the world such as being overwhelmed by the enemy, being persecuted, or being stricken by disasters. A believer feels pain for the believers, just as the body feels distress over what is troubling the head. A believer sees his sins as if he were sitting under a mountain, fearing it might fall upon him, while a sinner sees his sins as a fly passing over his nose, so he gets rid of it with his hand. A person sick at heart belittles small deeds of righteousness. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "Do not belittle any small act of kindness even if it is to pour water from your bucket into the vessel of the one who asks for it or to talk to your brother with a cheerful face." and "One who removes a stone from the way has a good deed written for him, and one for whom a good deed is written shall enter Paradise." Although this article uses 'he' in discussing symptoms, it applies to both Muslim male and female and to other peoples.
Committing SinsSome people insist on committing the same sins over and over again. As a result, repugnance of sins is slowly withdrawn from their heart to the point that they commit these sins openly as described in this Hadith:
Hardening of the HeartThe person reaches a stage where he feels that his heart has turned into a solid rock that is not affected by anything. Allah says:
A hardened heart is not affected by anything - even seeing people die and attending funerals would not move it. The person with a hardened heart may even carry a corpse and bury it, yet, he walks in the graveyard as if he were strolling between pine trees! Performing Acts of Worship PoorlySuch a person remains absent-minded during prayers and while reciting the Qur’ân. He also does not contemplate upon the meaning of the supplications he is making. As a result, he recites them in a monotonous tone void of any reflections. He does not think for a moment about the value of these supplications. He forgets that:
His acts of worship are reduced to hollow movements with no spirit behind them. Allah describes the hypocrites:
A hard hearted person remains indifferent when he does not perform some good deeds and misses those times of worship that have more reward in them. His lack of interest to earn rewards is obvious. Delaying Hajj when he is capable of performing it, missing congregational prayers in the Masjid, and even the Jumu'ah prayer are a few examples of this. The Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam [pbuh] said:
Furthermore, he does not feel remorse if he misses obligatory duties and does not try to perform the different Sunnah prayers or invocations that he misses. He ignores them, convincing himself that they are only Sunnah! Lack of TranquillityHis breast gets tightened, his mood changes, he feels as if he is carrying a heavy load, and he becomes annoyed quickly because of minor things. He gets pestered by the behavior of the people around him and he does not forgive them easily. He harbors malice towards fellow Muslims over insignificant issues. The Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam has described Imân to be forgiveness: " Imân is patience and forgiveness." (Related by Al-Tirmidhi). In another Hadith, the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam described the believer in the following manner:
Verses of the Qur’ân Have No Effect Upon HimThe promises, warnings, commands, prohibitions, and descriptions of the Day of Judgment do not make his eyes flood with tears, or his heart quiver, or his soul shiver. Consequently, he gets bored and tired when he listens to the recital of the Qur’ân!He is Negligent in Remembering AllahThis simple act of devotion becomes heavy upon him to the point that when he raises his hands in supplication, he hastens to fold them up quickly to conclude it. He is not eager to repent to Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, and to make invocations to Him for his needs. Allah describes the hypocrites:
He Does Not Get Angry When the Commandments of Allah Are ViolatedThis is because the glowing light of honor in his heart has been extinguished and as a result, his limbs have become numb to repudiate evil. So he does not bother to enjoin good or forbid evil. This is due to a weak heart as indicated by the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam:
So the desire of enjoining good and forbidding evil disappears from a sick heart. Good and evil are the same to it. Rather, the person may even be happy to hear about the corruption that is being committed on earth. His unfortunate soul forgets that the sin upon him is the same as the sin upon the person who witnessed the evil and approved of it, as the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
Since being pleased with the sin is a deed of his heart, it makes the sin upon him equal to the sin of the one who witnessed it. He loves to be in Gatherings and be Engrossed in TalkingHe tries to impose his views on others and likes the discussion to center around him. Gatherings in which idle talk takes prominence are considered like slaughter houses from which the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam warned us when he said:
He is ArrogantHe likes people to stand up for him when he enters to meet them because feeling great gratifies his diseased soul. the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
Mu'awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan entered upon two companions of the Prophet, Ibn 'Amir stood up and Ibn Zubayr sat down. Seeing this, Mu'awiyah said to Ibn 'Amir: "Sit down, because I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
A similar example is that he will get angry at a person who applies the Sunnah and starts shaking hands with people on his right hand side. Also, when he enters a gathering, he is not satisfied unless someone else, already sitting, gets up so that he may,sit in his place despite the fact that he is forbidden to do so by the Prophetsallallahu alayhe wa sallam:
Stinginess and GreedAllah subhanahu wa ta'ala has praised those who spend their wealth for good causes and at the same time blamed those who are miserly. In the Qur’ân Allah has praised the Ansar for the way they gave preference to the Muhajirun (Muslims who migrated from Makkah) over themselves:
Allah has clarified that the successful ones are those who protect themselves against stinginess. Without doubt, weakness of Imân is born from stinginess as the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
Concerning the dangers of stinginess and its effects upon one's soul, the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam explained it to be:
A greedy person also has a weak Imân. He scarcely spends anything for the sake of Allah even if he is called to donate in charity when his Muslim brothers are hungry and afflicted by hardships. There is nothing clearer in this matter than the Book of Allah:
He Falls into Doubtful MattersWhen he performs an action, he does not ask if it is an act of righteousness, but rather will it earn him any sin or not. This is exactly what the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam informed us of:
When such people ask for a fatwah (Islamic ruling) about something, and find out that it is forbidden, they do not give up. They want to know how severe the prohibition is. How many sins does he earn if he commits it? He is not concerned to stay away from evil and sinful deeds, rather he is inclined to take the first step towards haram things by belittling the burning effects of sins which run him the risk of committing haram, and remove the screen between him and the sin. This is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
So, you will find him engulfed in forbidden things without any protection or shielding, and this is more evil than the one who commits them but with some reluctance. These people commit sins with ease as a result of their ailing Imânand do not see their act to be an evil one. This is how Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud radhiallahu anhu described the way a believer and a hypocrite perceive sins:
Belittling Good DeedsThere is lack of concern on the part of the sick at heart to perform small deeds of righteousness contrary to what the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam has taught us when he said:
So, acts that appear to be minor should not be underestimated. Hence, meeting a fellow Muslim with a smiling face and removing trash and dirt from the Masjid - even as little as a straw - entails great rewards. It may be that a small deed becomes a reason for the forgiveness of major sins. Allah thanks His slave for these small deeds and forgives him. The Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
Mu'adh Ibn Jabal was once walking with someone. He removed a pebble from the way. The man asked Mu'adh why he did that. Mu'adh answered him: 'I heard the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhe wa sallam say:
Not Caring About the Affairs of MuslimsA person with a sick heart does not react to the needs of Muslims by making supplications, giving charity, or offering assistance. He does not care if his brothers are afflicted by a hardship in any part of the world such as being overwhelmed by the enemy, being persecuted, or being stricken by disasters. It is enough for him that his conditions are good! This is because of his ailing Imân; A believer is the opposite of that as described by the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam:
He is Deprived of the Friendship of BrothersThe Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
This is a proof of the evil effects of sins: it breaks the ties of brotherhood. This alienation that a person finds between himself and his brothers is sometimes the result of a decline in Imân which results from committing sins. So the love others have for him dwindles. Showing Grief and Fear When Afflicted by a Hardship or When in DifficultySuch a person is often found to be shaky in offering obligatory duties, unbalanced, absent minded, lost, and fidgety. He is not able to face reality with unwavering limbs and a firm heart. All of this is due to ailing Imân.If the Imân were strong, he would have been firm and faced the greatest of hardships with strength and steadfastness. Disputing and Arguing UnnecessarilyMuch engagement in these habits hardens the heart as the Prophet said:
So, argumentation without proof and proper intention takes one away from the Straight Path. These days, most people argue falsely and without knowledge or guidance. It is enough for them to leave this bad habit after knowing what the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam said:
Attachment to Worldly LifeHe is so materialistic that he feels anguish when something of this life, like wealth, honor, status, etc, is taken away from him. He feels as if he has been injured badly because he did not get what others did. His feeling of injury becomes stronger and he feels rejected on seeing his Muslim brother get something of this world which did not reach him. Envy takes root in his heart so he wishes that this bounty be taken away from his brother. This is what the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa sallam warned us against:
His Speech is Void of the Etiquette of the Qur’ân and SunnahThe signs of Imart are absent from him. You will barely find in this person's speech quotations from the Qur’ân, or Sunnah, or the sayings of the early pious generations of Muslims. These are some of the symptoms of a weak faith. By becoming aware of the symptoms, one has made the first step towards the remedy. |
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