Televised Lectures and Symposiums- Jordan- Masjid At-Taqwa- Lesson 063: Characteristics of Clean Heart.
- Seminars and Lectures abroad / ٠01 Masjid At-Taqwa- Morning lectures 1
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- Masjid At-Taqwa- part 1
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
"Strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than weak believer":
Dear noble brothers, Allah, may His Glory be glorified, says in the following Noble Ayah:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
BillGates, is one of the wealthiest people in the world, the founder of Microsoft, and whose fortune is about 92 billion dollars. What did he do when he was 42 years old? He donated a third of his wealth to the African children to pay for their education. What do you do with your money? The gaining of the worldly life is limited and what you really own is mentioned in this Hadith:
(( …But your wealth is what you eat and consume, or what you wear which wears out, or what you give in charity and send on ahead (for the Hereafter). ))
The fact is that if you leave behind you, hundreds of millions after your death, you will be called to account for this money even if you do not benefit from it. What did you benefit from that? It is:
(( …What you eat and consume, or what you wear which wears out, or what you give in charity and send on ahead (for the Hereafter). ))
I met a person in Milano who is considered one of the richest people in Mauritania. He donated 600 million Dollars to charitable projects. Bear in mind that Allah the Almighty gives someone wealth to let him be elevated to the highest rank of Jannah (Paradise) by his wealth. Also, Allah the Almighty gives someone power to help him reach the highest rank in Jannah, and He gives someone knowledge to help him reach the highest rank of Jannah through this knowledge. This point is indicated in the following Hadith:
(( It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said, attributing it to the Prophet (peace be upon him): "stronger believer is better and more beloved to Allah than weak believer…" ))
Why is that? Because the choices the strong person has are more than the ones the weak man has in the sense that the strong person may use the power of knowledge, the power of wealth, or the power of a high position he has, in good deeds and helping others. The one who occupies a high social position can stop a wrongdoing, encourage performing a good deed, and strengthen a weak group of people with his words, making use of his influence.
Money plays a key role, but Allah the Almighty decrees for someone to be rich, so that he will reach the highest rank in Jannah, He decrees for someone to be a knowledgeable scholar, so that he will reach the highest rank in Jannah and Allah the Almighty decrees for someone to be powerful, so that he will reach the highest rank in Jannah.
Using power according to the way of life which Allah the Almighty has put for man, enables him to achieve many things. Man should be strong, because the purpose of his existence is to perform a good deed, and the chances of performing good deeds by the rich person are innumerous. For instance, he can help young people get married by supporting them financially, and he can construct an institute for Islamic teachings, which help students know the truth about religion and Faith.
Glory be to Allah! There are uncountable choices before the rich person by which he can help others. By Allah, wealth could be the main reason of admitting someone to Jannah. Yet, some rich people waste their money in fulfilling their pleasures, so when they die their wealth is given to the heirs. A man left behind a tremendous wealth to his children after his death, and one day a friend of the deceased saw his son in a terrible state, so he asked him, "Where are you going?" the son replied, "I am going to drink intoxicants for the soul of my dead father." Pardon me for saying his exact words although they are annoying. The father left behind hundreds of millions, but they were wasted, so never depend on the heirs to do good deeds after your death.
I, the poor servant, have 30 verified wills of people, but none of them has been executed yet. So, never leave a will for your heirs to execute, but rather spend money in charitable projects while you are alive, because the heirs will spend nothing. One of my brothers in faith left to his heirs four buildings, and each building is four stories and each story has four apartments. He wrote a will asking his heirs to give 25.000 Liras to charity, but after his death no Lira was donated. Oddly enough, he left four buildings, and each building is four stories, and each story has four apartments, but the heirs did not pay 25.000 for his soul! Never leave a will for your heirs to give money in charity, but rather pay it yourself, and you will be relaxed.
Happiness is performing a good deed and having a clean heart:
Dear noble brothers, pay attention to the following Ayah, please:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
Before I explain what the clean heart means let me tell you this. The person who constructed the red 12 km bridge in Istanbul, which is the second longest bridge in the world after San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, was a Japanese engineer. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the engineer who was standing next to the Turkish President, committed suicide by throwing himself in the Bosphorus. When the authorities went to his room in Sheraton, they found a note written in it, "I tasted everything in life, but I found them tasteless, so I just wanted to taste death."
Let me tell you this: a young man whose income is limited, but he knows Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and he works hard to guide people to Him, is happier than that engineer. Happiness is gained by performing a good deed, because it gets you closer to Allah the Almighty and makes you feel your value in Allah's Sight.
When you handle things other than your own affairs, such as your household, income, sons and daughters, position, picnics, travels and entertainments of life, your position will be higher in Allah's Sight. For instance, when you care about the public affairs manifested in the problems of Ummah, and you try to solve them, like helping the illiterate, the sick, the weak, and the suffered, you will be valuable in Allah's Sight. On the other hand, when you care about your private life only, then you are worthless in Allah's Sight.
Performing a good deed is the purpose of man's existence in life:
Dear noble brothers, the purpose of our existence is to perform a good deed. Furthermore, your value in Allah's Sight, your happiness, and your prosperity are based on your good deeds. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
What is the clean heart? The most impressive definition of the clean heart is: "It is the heart that never yearns for a forbidden lust", such as Zina (adultery), or unlawful money. So, the clean heart never runs after fulfilling a prohibited lust which does not please Allah the Almighty.
In engineering, there is a 180-degree phase shift that can be divided into shifts, but if we assume that man's lusts are shifts, then his lust for a woman is a 180-degree phase shift and his lust for money is a 180-degree phase shift, and his lust for high position is a 180-degree phase shift. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, allows you to fulfill 100-degree phase shift of every lust, which means that there is no deprivation in Islam. In other words, you are allowed to be rich lawfully, to eat and drink all the lawful things according to Shari'ah rulings, to have an affair with women in the framework of marriage and to collect money lawfully.
Every lust Allah the Almighty has installed in man has a lawful way through which man can fulfill it. I will liken lust to a petrol tank which has power, and it is placed in the vehicle in sealed warehouses. Because of this power you can drive your vehicle to Al-Aqabah. The question is: Where does the driving power come from? It comes from the petrol tank, and you know that petrol is an explosive liquid, but it turns into power with which you can drive for 450 kilometers.
When you drive for a long distance, the amount of petrol will be over even if the warehouse has three tanks, because the petrol will turn into a moving power. What I am discussing has to do with physics, but the main point is whatever you have can be turned into useful moving power if you know how to make use of it and preserve your moral and psychological balance.
Bill Gates, whose fortune is about 90 billion Dollars and who is the founder of Microsoft, donated third of his fortune to the poor people in Africa, in order to keep his moral and psychological balance. To sum up this issue, you will never be balanced but by performing good deeds, because only then, you will feel that you are valuable in life, and that you have a good reputation after your death.
Once, I asked my students, "Who can give me the name of a famous merchant who used to work in Damascus in 1883, and I will give him a full mark?" They started to think about the answer, but none could give me an answer, so I said, "I do not know the answer either, but is there anyone who does not know who Salah Ad-Din is or who our Master Umar is? In fact the great scholars, leaders and social reformers are well-known.
If you do not leave a good reputation after your death, you are in big trouble. How many people are there who left this world without being noticed or remembered? There are billions of people like those. How many women are there who lived, got married, had children and died without being noticed? However, Lady Maryam, Lady Fatimah, and Lady Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with them, were pioneers. Hence, your success is to live in this life and leave it having done a good deed that will immortalize your remembrance.
Due to Allah's Favor upon me, my father was well-known, but when he died, I was only 5 years old, so I do not remember him. I am not boasting about that, but whenever I met someone, he would ask Allah to send his blessings upon my father's soul and would praise him. This is the great fortune my father left for us after his death.
Man may leave children, a good reputation or lawful money after he leaves the worldly life. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
The characteristics of the clean heart:
The clean heart never longs for a forbidden lust that displeases Allah the Almighty, it is the heart that never does anything that contradicts Allah's Revelation, it is the heart that never worships other than Allah, and it is the heart that never believes any piece of news that is not authenticated and supported with decisive proofs.
Thomas Robert Malthus said, "There will be a collective famine", but this is not true, and his statement does not have a solid ground. For example, the arable area in Syria is a quarter of its entire area, and the rest area is wasteland. The arable area is a quarter and only the quarter of such area is planted, i.e. one of sixteen is planted in Syria. However, sometimes the harvesting wheat season is six million tons, while the demand for it is one million tons, so there is five times extra production, and wheat is considered the largest national income. Well, when Allah the Almighty gives His servants, He makes them amazed!
Once, while I was in a wheat field, I took a spike, and I was surprised that it has 35 tiny branches. One grain of wheat could produce about 50 spikes and if each spike has about 35 tiny branches which contain wheat grains, then the total amount of the grains is 1.750. Some crop production is about six million tons, three million tons, or 600.000 tons. This is how Allah's Bestowal makes man speechless.
Man's position in Allah's Sight is based on his good deeds:
When you realize the purpose of our existence, you will believe that you have been created to be admitted to Jannah for eternity, but the price for Jannah is the good deed.
I would like to repeat what I said earlier in this lecture: Your position in Allah's Sight is based on good deeds. Therefore, before you go to bed, consider the things you do during your day, such as giving Sadaqah, teaching someone, giving a piece of advice to someone, helping a sick person and so on. Do not think of the habitual activities that all people do, such as eating and drinking.
There are impoverished people whose situation is very painful. I remember a poor man who needed a heart surgery, and the cost at that time was about 450.000 Liras. He did not have that amount, but a benevolent man donated money to him to go under the operation. I know this man, and I still remember the gloomy and melancholic atmosphere of his household before he had the operation. He had five children, and he was an employee with a limited income. He suffered from myocardial infarction, and praise be to Allah, his operation was successful, and after it, his household was full of happiness, and his children were on cloud nine.
Do you know what the good deed is? By Allah, the purpose of your existence in the worldly life is to perform a good deed. Most people do nothing but their daily life activities, like eating, waking up, going to work and going to bed. How monotonous this life is! Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth… ﴿
The wealth is left to the heirs. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …Nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
Never say that some people may not be able to perform a good deed, because one can at least feed a cat, which is a valuable good deed. Also, man can sit with his son to ask him about his affairs while they are having their meals, for instance. He can ask him about his teacher or about Salat whether he performed it or not.
The prudent man considers his eternal destiny:
In your household, you should pay attention to the food your wife cooks, the way she gets dressed (whether she covers her beauty or she shows it), and so on, because you are responsible for all these matters in addition to a million issues.
Do you not have a goal to achieve in this life? Why has Allah the Almighty created you? How could you live your life without a goal? Whoever wants to have the designation of Dr. before his name should first complete the elementary, preparatory and secondary education, then he should go to university to get a bachelor's degree, general diploma, special diploma, M.A degree, and an international PhD degree. He should have at least 13 certificates, and he should study till he becomes 33 years old or so to deserve this designation "Dr.". Yet, when death comes to him, he leaves this life in seconds.
The father of my friend used to have a huge fortune and died on a rainy day. I attended his funeral, and on the day of burial, there were black sewage water filling the grave, and there was no way to remove it. Those who were supposed to bury him asked his son what to do, and He said, "Bury him. We cannot do anything." At that moment I thought to myself, "He used to live in a 450 million house, but now he will be buried in the grave which is full of sewage water!"
Think of the future, particularly, your death. Everyone talks about his present, telling people, for instance, that he is an engineer who got his scientific degree from America. Other people talk about their achievements in the past, but how about future? In future, you will leave this life for good. If someone used to work in a Gulf country, but the authorities decide to deport him from the country, stamping that in his passport upon leaving the country, he will be extremely worried. The same goes for those whose residence cards are cancelled. Well, all of us will leave this abode forever.
Man uses to get back home while he is standing on his feet for about 83 years, but one day, he will leave it while carried by other people when he dies. Getting out of your house standing (while you can walk and stand on our feet) is not a serious issue, but think of the lying departure from your house; when you are carried by other people. Where will people carry your coffin to? They will carry it to the grave. What is in the grave? These are the questions all of us should consider, because this is our inevitable destiny. Ponder over this serious issue since after death, we will be in endless abode; either living in eternal bliss or suffering from eternal misery. This explains why Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
