Soul Purification, - The types and states of hearts

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To other organs, the heart is like a king in charge of his soldiers; they are subservient to him and his desires, and are guided or misled by him, as they follow him in all that he resolves to do or avoids. That is why the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body; if it is sound, the whole body is reformed, but if it is corrupt, the whole body is spoilt. Verily, it is the heart.”]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Hence, the heart is the king of the body, which executes all that it commands and takes its lead. The limbs are unable to do anything unless this particular organ wants and intends to. Since the heart reigns supreme, and is responsible for its wards, as is every guardian, it is essential that the righteous person prioritizes paying close attention to it and making it sound and upright. Further, investigating the diseases of the heart and their cures is the first thing sincere worshippers should undertake.
When Satan, the enemy of Allaah, realized that everything revolved around, and depended on, the heart, he began to whisper into it, expose it to temptations and adorn to it every condition and deed that strays us from the way of Allaah The Almighty. He also accompanied that with incentives to follow what prevents the heart from the causes of success.
Furthermore, Satan set various snares such that if they do not entrap the heart, it will at least be hindered by them. Therefore, a person cannot escape his plots and traps, except by continuously seeking help from Allaah The Almighty against him, acting in a manner that necessitates His Pleasure and by sincerely turning to Him at times of stillness and activity. Also essential is humiliating one’s self to Him in worship, so as to guarantee being included among those Allaah The Almighty mentions, when He Says )what means(:}Indeed, My servants - no authority will you have over them{]Quran 15:42[.
Categories of hearts
The heart is generally described as either alive or dead, but it can be divided into three types: sound, dead and sick.
·The sound heart: a person who possesses such a heart is the only one who will be saved on the Day of Resurrection, as Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}The Day when there will not benefit ]anyone[ wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allaah with a sound heart."{]Quran 26:88-89[.
A sound heart is safe from any desires or temptations that contradict the commands or prohibitions of Allaah The Almighty, and malicious allegations that distort His sayings. Such a heart is not a slave to any entity other than Allaah The Almighty and refers all its judgments to none other than His Messenger,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam.
Therefore, its servitude and worship are sincerely to Allaah The Almighty, out of volition, love, trust, humbleness, and in repentance to Him, and in fear of as well as hope in Him. This kind of heart acts only for the sake of Allaah The Almighty; when it loves, it does so for Him, and when it hates, it is for His sake alone; when it gives or alternately does not, it is only for Him. However, even these characteristics are not enough, for the heart must also be free from submission and referring judgment to any other than the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam; thus, a sound heart staunchly insists on following and pursuing his way alone.
·The dead heart: this organ is not truly alive, so it does not acknowledge its Lord and fails to submit to His command. It does not do what He likes, but rather follows lusts and pleasures, regardless of whether that results in the wrath or satisfaction of Allaah The Almighty. Such a heart is in servitude to and worships something other than Allaah The Almighty; whether in terms of love, fear, hope, contentment or displeasure, glorification or humiliation. It loves, dislikes, gives or perhaps deprives on whim, giving that precedence to the pleasure of its Lord.
The wants of the self become the master of a person with this type of heart; his leader is his desire, he is driven by his ignorance and his vehicle is indifference. He is overwhelmed with worldly aims and deceived by the gratification of his desires and love for the worldly life. He is called from afar to Allaah The Almighty and the Hereafter, but he does not respond to that adviser and follows every rebellious devil instead. This life is all that pleases or perhaps displeases people like him; lusts deafen and blind them to anything, except what is wrong. Hence, associating with them is endemic; living with them is poisonous and befriending them nothing short of destructive.
·The sick heart: this heart is alive, but contains some flaws, so it is made up of two different parts, each of which is instrumental, but only the dominating one is followed. Such a heart demonstrates love for Allaah The Almighty, faith in Him, sincerity to Him and reliance on Him, which constitute the essence of its life. However, it also has a love and preference for desires, and displays a keenness for them; it bears envy, haughtiness, ostentation, love of domination and corruption on Earth – all of which constitute the material of its ruin and destruction.
Such a heart is tested, torn between two callers: one that invites it to Allaah The Almighty, His Messenger and the Hereafter, and another that calls it to this worldly life. The positive response of this kind of heart is to the most convenient and nearer of the two.
In conclusion, the first category of hearts is alive and humble, while the second is hard and dead. The third category, though, is sick and may equally be close to either safety or destruction.

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Soul Purification, - The scale of morals

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All perfect praise be to Allaah, Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and messenger.
A sage once said,“Three types of persons are known only under three circumstances: a forbearing person is known only in times of anger, a courageous person is known only in times of war, and a brother is known only in times of need.”This is true because hardships reveal hidden morals and disclose real personalities. Therefore, the Arabs would say,“Travel is the scale of people”. This is because it reveals many of their morals and dispositions. Similarly, one cannot be known at times of agreement, but only at times of disagreement, which reveals his piety, forbearance and adherence to justice and other virtues which all people approve of at the time of agreement but differ about at the time of disagreement. Hence, Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}...And do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness...{]Quran 5:8[. Also, the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would supplicate to Allaah, saying:“Wa asa’luka kalimata al-haqqi fi al-ridha wal ghadhab.]And I ask You to make me utter words of truth at the time of satisfaction and at the time of anger.”]Ahmad and An-Nasaa’i, Al-Albaani and Al-Arnaa'oot -Saheeh[
Disagreement also reveals one’s mentality, the extent of his open-mindedness, the depth of his insight, and how comprehensive his vision is.
Demonstrating the correct notion which is disputed about, and correcting dubious methodologies are two requirements that should be fulfilled, but mercy and benevolence are two qualities that should not be overlooked when doing so. Moreover, thinking well of others, accepting excuses and asking for forgiveness for a person who has made a mistake are also indispensable manners for a person who seeks what is correct, as well as justice, advice and reform. Innate dispositions like irascibility, hot temper and stubbornness are hidden diseases which appear at times of disagreement to control one’s attitude and prevent him from seeing things as they really are. They make him misinterpret them, whether consciously or not, as a type of protective jealousy for the sake of justice or anger for the sake of Allaah The Exalted. However, this is not true for he is only acting in accordance with his hidden morals and dispositions, forgetting that protective jealousy for the sake of what is correct does not contradict with the forbearance and deliberateness which Allaah The Exalted and His Messenger,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, love. He also forgets that being angry for the sake of Allaah does not lead to oppression or exceeding the boundaries of theSharee'ahin forbidding evil. Hence, taming and disciplining one’s personal dispositions through long striving against one’s self in order to act in conformity with the texts ofSharee'ahis a form of piety. This is supported by theHadeethwhere the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:“A strong person is not the one who overpowers others; rather, a strong person is the one who controls himself at the time of anger.”]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
The validity of refuting a scholar who gave an incorrect opinion based on hisIjtihaad)personal effort( is in no way meant for oppressing, harming or scorning him, nor is it meant for disuniting theUmmah)Muslim nation(. Correcting the mistake of a person does not mean exposing or scolding him, especially if he is known for his honesty and trustworthiness. Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,
The people of the Sunnah, knowledge and faith know what is correct, follow the Sunnah of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, have mercy on people, treat them fairly and excuse those who make Ijtihaad to reach the right but fail. They only vilify those whom Allaah The Almighty and His Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, vilify. They vilify those who neglect truth-seeking due to abandoning their duties and obligations, and those who transgress and follow their desires without knowing that what they commit is prohibited. In other words, they dispraise only those who abandon the obligations and commit the unlawful. They punish them only after informing them of Islam beyond ignorance and doubt. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And never would We punish until we sent a messenger.{]Quran 17:15[This should be taken into consideration, especially in disputable issues that are not known to most people.
Many are capable of refuting mistakes; however, only a few are capable of elaborating the truth with mercy and pity and of helping the mistaken party to get back on track. Only the pioneers and the intelligent of theUmmahare capable of creating a balanced scientific environment and a serious intellectual atmosphere that appreciates scientific dialogue and revives the etiquettes of difference. Only these people are capable of restoring the balance to theUmmahthrough their patience and forbearance, especially when theFitnah)tribulations( of divergence appears and the low minded people - who speak about critical common issues - abound. These pioneers are responsible for correcting the wrong and clarifying the right with evidence. At the same time, they are keen on the unity and strength of theUmmah. They realize that neglecting any of these two pillars will result in disastrous fractures, disunity and loss of strength.
Disagreement and divergence represent the most devastatingFitnahamong the righteous. WhenFitnahemerges, arguments and gossip increase and it becomes the people’s habit to accuse each other of being wrong. When theFitnahbegins, the devil accompanies some of the irascible people to urge them to start its fire. Some of the rabbles and people of weak faith become full of joy upon hearing the call of dispute, and they try to follow the points of difference and dissention. You only hear from them the roaring of quarrels and arguments. They dispute and wrangle with people relying on their loud voice and clamor. They sometimes do so under the pretext of jealousy for the right and defending it as previously mentioned.
When theFitnahof disagreement intensifies, disputes increase, disunity emerges, old files are reopened, thoughts and desires are summoned and personal endeavors are interpreted from a suspicious and doubtful perspective until the banner of failure, which Allaah The Almighty mentioned in His book, is raised. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And do not dispute and ]thus[ lose courage and ]then[ your strength would depart.{]Quran 8:46[
Some people, when they differ with others, may become like the man from Banu Azd who jumped into the water to rescue another man who sought his help. This man swam until he became close to the drowning man and then asked him,“Where are you from?”he replied,“From Banu Tameem.”The man from Banu Azd said,“Go ahead, by Allaah!”He then said, later on,“I moved away from him only one cubit and he sank! By Allaah, had I had a stone, I would have hit his head with it!”
The pioneers of theUmmahstand on a firm ground of insight and piety. They are not provoked by arguments or moved by people’s desires. Rather, they follow the way of advice and exhort one another to truth and patience. Not everyone can see the consequences of matters, and not everyone who can see them can ward them off. A blessed man might see the sedition starting to agitate, and his Lord helps him to absorb it and extinguish its flames through the guidance, wisdom, and open-mindedness that He has granted him. Such a wise man does not judge by appearances; rather, he tries to reach the essence of the problem. Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, said,“The light of intellect illuminates in the night of desires, bringing what is correct in sight and helping the insightful to see the consequences of matters.”Though clarifying the right is obligatory and silence in the face of the wrong is a wrongdoing, a knowledgeable, sympathetic and pious adviser takes into consideration other interests, eliminates the evil that is likely to occur, and looks at matters with the eye of a reformer who considers theSharee'ahpurposes he is ordered to observe. After that, he gives priority to the worthiest of them and the nearest to what Allaah The Almighty wants and likes.
Hence, some of the Imaams would abandon some of their opinions andIjtihaadsfor the sake of uniting the Muslims’ word and thwartingFitnah. They would do so to follow the guidance of the Prophet,sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who abandoned building theKa’bahon the foundations laid by Ibraaheem )Abraham(, may Allaah exalt his mention, and told ‘Aaishah, may Allaah be pleased with her, about the wisdom behind that saying:“If your people were not new converts to faith, and I did not apprehend that their hearts would feel agitated at this, I would have definitely included ]the area of[ this wall in the House and would have brought the door to the level of the ground.”]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Muslims are in dire need of the kind of upbringing that concentrates on faith and discipline, one that refines the souls and leads them
to the insightful balance in theirIjtihaadsand guides them to moderation in their stances and reactions. The absence of this kind of upbringing makes us more vulnerable to disruption and disunity. We seek refuge with Allaah The Almighty from hidden and apparentFitnahs!

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Dought & clear, - Commentary on the hadeeth, “No one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will enter Hell”.

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I have heard that no one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will enter Hell, and that the one who has an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise. Is this true?
Praise be to Allah.
What is indicated by the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah, and the consensus of the early generations of this ummah is that no one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will abide in Hell for eternity. If a Muslim who was a sinner died without repenting from his sin, then his case will be decided by Allah: if He wills He will pardon him, and if He wills He will punish him, but he will not abide in Hell forever in any case.
Al-Bukhaari (44) and Muslim (193) narrated from Anas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of a grain of barley will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of a grain of wheat will be brought out of Hell, then whoever says Laa ilaaha ill-Allah and has in his heart goodness the weight of an atom (or a small ant) will be brought out of Hell.”
This idea is repeated in other hadeeths, the wording of which is similar.
With regard to your saying that no one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will enter Hell, this is also proven, but some of the scholars interpret it as meaning that such a one will not enter it as the disbelievers do, i.e., he will not abide therein for eternity, although he will may enter it. Thus this hadeeth may be reconciled with the many texts that say that some of the sinners among the believers will enter Hell even though they have faith in their hearts, then they will be brought out by means of intercession and so on.
At-Tirmidhi (1999), Abu Dawood (4091) and Ibn Maajah (59) narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:“No one will enter Paradise in whose heart is an atom’s weight of arrogance and no one will enter Hell in whose heart is an atom’s weight of faith.” A man said: What if I like my clothes to look nice and my shoes to look nice? He said: “Verily Allah loves beauty; rather arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi.
Imam at-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after quoting this hadeeth: Some of the scholars said, commenting on this hadeeth, that no one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart will enter Hell; the only meaning is that they will not abide in the Fire forever. This was narrated from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who said: “Everyone in whose heart there is an atom’s weight of faith will be brought out of Hell.” More than one of the Taabi‘een interpreted the verse (interpretation of the meaning), “Our Lord! Verily, whomever You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:192] as meaning: whomever You cause to abide forever in the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him. End quote.
With regard to the second sentence, in which you say, “that the one who has an atom’s weight ofarrogancein his heart will enter Paradise”, this is also proven, as in the hadeeth quoted above. It was quoted by Muslim (91), with this sentence only, from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who said:“No one will enter Paradise in whose heart is an atom’s weight of arrogance.” A man said: What if a man likes his clothes to look nice and his shoes to look nice? He said: “Verily Allah is Beautiful and loves beauty; arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”
What this hadeeth means is that no one will enter Paradise without being exposed to the possibility of requital or punishment; he may be punished or he may be pardoned, unlike the obedient believer who is free of this major sin, who will enter Paradise without being exposed to the possibility of entering Hell.
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said inSharh Muslim: Rather the apparent meaning is that which was favoured by al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad and other scholars, which is that he will not enter Paradise without bringing him to account and punishing him if He wills, or He may let him off. Rather it is inevitable that all of those who affirm the Oneness of Allah will enter Paradise, either initially or later on, after some of those who committed major sins and died whilst persisting in them have been punished. And it was said that he will not enter Paradise with the pious in the first group to enter.
End quote.
To sum up:
What you asked about is the text of one or two saheeh hadeeths, the meaning of which is as we have said. It is not correct for anyone to imagine that it is impossible for the one who has an atom’s weight of faith in his heart to enter Hell no matter what major sins he has committed, and he should not imagine that it is impossible for the Muslim in whose heart there is an atom’s weight of arrogance to enter Paradise, no matter how great his faith.
Two groups of people did not understand these texts corectly, the Khaarijis and the Murji’ah. The Khaarijis focused only on the texts that contain the warning, such as the second hadeeth, and the Mujri’ah focused only on the texts that contain the promise, such as the first hadeeth. But Allah guided Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah to the correct view, which reconciles between the texts.
And Allah knows best.

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