ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله، ألا وهي القلب

Alas, In the body, there is a piece of flesh; If it is sound, the whole body is sound; and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt... Alas, it is the heart... Hadith

إلا من أتى الله بقلب سليم

Except he who comes to God with a sound heart... Quran

The heart has two dimensions to it... both complementary. The physical dimension and the spiritual dimension.

As for the physical dimension: Healthy food in proportion, Regular exercise and regular fasting will make it healthy.

As for the spiritual dimension, it is a house of emotions - so powerful that it can affect the heart physically if not taken care of. Emotions are 100% linked to thoughts. Think good, feel good (and vice versa). "I am as my servant thinks I am" (Hadith Qudsi) or a more literal translation of the divine narration is "I am in the thought of my servant"

Most of us don't realise the power of thoughts - and the power of good thinking... The most common poison we plant in ourselves or the most common form of self-harm are bad opinions of others. Or bad thoughts of others.

If only we realise the reality of a bad opinion... or a bad thought... A bad opinion or a bad thought can be likened to a rotten fruit with worms and maggots coming out of it... its smell is so putrid that it can be smelt from miles away... it looks so disgusting that the mere sight of it is enough to induce vomiting. And the mere thought of consuming it, is enough to make one sick!

Now, here is the catch... whenever you have a bad thought/opinion of another person, the bad thought lives in you... yes YOU! It grows in you and it is nourished by you... It is not transferred to the other person except through physical actions that grow from this thought. The proportion of the thought to the action is usually a 90 - 10 one... Now, if I were to ask you to hold the fruit described above in your hands for a few minutes, you would angrily reject the very proposition of such a request... yet, you gladly plant, host, welcome, grow and nurture bad opinions of others on a regular basis... thinking that these opinions reach the person you are thinking of...

This is the most common form of self-harm... What is worse is when the opinion you have is based on one moment (or a few moments) in the person's life...  A very small proportion of the person's overall life... What if the person has reformed themselves... what if the moment is one of the worst moments in the person's life... would you love to be defined by your worst moments?

It is better to have a good opinion of a bad person than to have a bad opinion of a good person... And most importantly, don't disfigure your face to spite your enemies... don't destroy your heart in order to pay someone back for what they did to you...Your heart is the most precious thing you have - do not destroy it with bad opinions or bad thoughts of others...

Similarly, a good opinion is like a good fruit... with an amazingly nourishing and satiating taste that one never gets tired of. Its fragrance is so nice, it radiates beyond its house and can be smelt from miles away... It beautifies its host and everything that surrounds it... It is so precious a fruit, most kings would fight wars over it.. if only they knew its worth...

So, why is it so hard to replace bad opinions with good ones... why not "make 70 excuses for your brother" (Hadith). Why not "love for the other what you would love for yourself" (Hadith) and most importantly, why self-harm by insisting on planting something so rancid and putrid in your heart...?

Luckily, the choice is yours... and it is never too late to plant well... or uproot bad plants... Every thought or opinion dictates your emotion... and your emotion dictates your health, well-being and eventually your life... So, give yourself a break, take hold of your thoughts... plant well so that you will harvest well and live (love) well.

Layer 1: The peel / skin:

This is the most visible part of the orange...

It is the part that draws people towards the orange or repels people from approaching the orange

It protects the whole orange... without it, the orange rots in no time...

Its benefits are numerous... can never be underestimated... but how many people buy oranges due to the skin of the orange? How many will be satisfied with just the orange skin... those who are only interested in spices might be.. but those who want to taste something special will dig further - beyond the skin... beyond the peel... into the next layer... Only those who patiently peel the orange attain the next level with satisfaction...

Layer 2: The flesh / The pulp:

This is the flesh... the pulp, where the taste of eating an orange lies... no matter how much you might like the skin, its taste is incomparable to that of the actual flesh/pulp of the orange... it nourishes... Anyone who has tasted this will only refer to this as "orange" and will simply refer to the peel as either orange peel or just peel... this is the inner dimension of the orange that the skin spends its whole life preserving... For those who have only tasted the orange peel, they would be gazing in denial at those who are eating the actual pulp and would be surprised at the ecstasy and delight seen on the faces of those consuming the pulp...

However, no matter how much the enjoyment of the orange pulp is, those who limit themselves to this will never be able to make new oranges, new tastes and will only remain on the taste and nourishment level of the orange... never to get to the innermost core of all oranges...

Level 3: The innermost core... the seed...

Those interested in this are those who are not deluded by taste - because they know that the taste of an orange doesn't determine the types of oranges that grow from the seed. They know that seeds cannot be eaten, they can only be planted in fertile lands to grow into amazing orange trees... they know that a million oranges can come from one seed... regardless of the taste of the orange... when those at this level tell others that the orange pulp and the peel they are consuming comes from a single seed, they call them idiots and superstitious people... for ignorance of a thing is the most common reason for its opposition. Most seeds are identical in shape... but the fruits that emanate from them are varied... The seed doesn't carry out the tasks of the peel... neither does it nourish like the pulp... but both the pulp and the peel owe their existence to it...

Islam has a peel, pulp and seed... Islam, Iman and Ihsan. Shariah, Tariqah and Haqiqah. All inseparable and all to be observed in their rights...

ﻗﺎﻝ الشيخ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻋﺠﻴﺒﺔ ﻗﺪﺱ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺳﺮﻩ : ﻭﺍﻟﻨﺎﺱ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺼﻼﺓ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﻋلى ﺛﻼﺛﺔ ﺃﻗﺴﺎﻡ

ﻗﺴﻢ ﻳﺼﻠﻮﻥ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺗﻪ ﺍﻟﺒﺸﺮﻳﺔ , ﻭﻫﻢ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍﻟﺪﻟﻴﻞ ﻭﺍﻟﺒﺮﻫﺎﻥ -

                                       ﻭﺭﺑﻤﺎ ﺗﺘﺸﻜﻞ ﺭﻭﺣﻪ ﺍﻟﻜﺮﻳﻤﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺓ ﺟﺴﺪﻩ ﺍﻟﻄﻴﺐ, ﻓﻴﺮﻭﻧﻪ ﻓﻬﻢ يشخصونها ﻓﻲ ﻗﻠﻮﺑﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺣﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﺼﻼﺓ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ , ﻓﺈﺫﺍ ﺃﻛﺜﺮﻭﺍ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺼﻼﺓ ﺑﺎﻟﺤﻀﻮﺭ ﺛﺒﺘﺖ ﺍﻟﺼﻮﺭﺓ ﺍﻟﻜﺮﻳﻤﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻠﻮﺑﻬﻢ , ﻓﻴﺮﻭﻧﻪ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﻨﺎﻡ ﻛﺜﻴراً أو ﻳﻘﻈﺔ

 ﻭﻗﺴﻢ ﻳﺼﻠﻮﻥ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺭﻭﺣﻪ ﺍﻟﻨﻮﺭﺍﻧﻴﺔ , ﻭﻫﻢ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍﻟﺸﻬﻮﺩ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﺎﺋﺮﻳﻦ , ﻓﻬﻢ ﻳﺼﻠﻮﻥ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻮﺭﻩ ﺍﻟﻔﺎﺋﺾ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﺠﺒﺮﻭﺕ , ﻓﻴﺸﺎﻫﺪﻭﻧﻪ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺎﻟﺐ ﺃﻭﻗﺎﺗﻬﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﺪﺭ ﺣﻀﻮﺭﻫﻢ ﻭﺷﻬﻮﺩﻫﻢ .

 ﻭﻗﺴﻢ ﻳﺼﻠﻮﻥ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻮﺭﻩ ﺍﻷﺻﻠﻲ , ﺍﻟﺬﻱ ﻫﻮ ﻧﻮﺭ ﺍﻷﻧﻮﺍﺭ , ﻭﻫﻢ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍﻟﺮﺳﻮﺥ ﻭﺍﻟﺘﻤﻜﻴﻦ ﻣﻦ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍﻟﺸﻬﻮﺩ ﻭﺍﻟﻌﻴﺎﻥ , ﻭﻫﺆﻻﺀ ﻻ ﻳﻐﻴﺐ ﻋﻨﻬﻢ ﺍﻟﻨﺒﻲ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ ﻃﺮﻓﺔ ﻋﻴﻦ , ﻭﻟﺬﻟﻚ ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﺃﺑﻮ ﺍﻟﻌﺒﺎﺱ ﺍﻟﻤﺮﺳﻲ-

ﺭﺿﻲ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻨﻪ : ( ﻟﻮ ﻏﺎﺏ ﻋﻨﻲ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﻃﺮﻓﺔ ﻋﻴﻦ ﻣﺎ ﺃﻋﺪﺩﺕ ﻧﻔﺴﻲ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ ) ﺇﺷﺎﺭﺓ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺭﺳﻮﺧﻪ ﻭﺗﻤﻜﻨﻪ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﺤﻀﺮﺓ , ﻭﺭﺟﻮﻋﻪ ﺇﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﺒﻘﺎﺀ ﺑﺸﻬﻮﺩ ﺍﻟﻮﺍﺳﻄﺔ , ﻭﻫﺆﻻﺀ ﺃﻓﻜﺎﺭﻫﻢ ﺗﺠﻮﻝ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻟﻤﻠﻜﻮﺕ , ﻭﺃﺭﻭﺍﺣﻬﻢ ﻣﺘﺼﻠﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﺠﺒﺮﻭﺕ , ﻓﻘﺪ ﺍﺟﺘﻤﻊ ﻓﻴﻬﻢ ﻣﺎ اﻓﺘﺮﻕ ﻓﻲ غيرهم .

اللهم صل على سيدنا محمد النور الذاتى والسر السارى فى سائر الاسماء والصفات .

If Jibreel ﷺ in his full form filled the whole horizon, then how vast is the Muhammadan reality ﷺ? 

كتب الشيخ إبراهيم إنياس رضي الله عنه

ناصحا مريديه

إجتهدوا ان تتقوا الله عزوجل فهي مفتاح لكل مطالب العبد

( تقوي الله هي مفتاح كل خير)

فمن اراد المدح والثناء..فعلية بتقوي الله...

(فيقول المولي عز وجل)

(وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الأُمُورِ)

ومن اراد الحفظ والحراسه من الاعداء فعليه بتقوي الله..

(قال تعالي)

(وَإِنْ تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا لا يَضُرُّكُمْ كَيْدُهُمْ شَيْئًا)

ومن اراد الغلبه والنصر..فعليه بتقوي الله..

(قال تعالي)

(إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ مُحْسِنُونَ)

ومن اراد النجاة من الشدائد والرزق من الحلال..فعليه بتقوى الله..

(قال عزمن قائل)

(وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مَخْرَجاً*وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لا يَحْتَسِب)

ومن اراد غفران الذنوب واصلاح عمله..فعليه بتقوي الله

(قال تعالي)

(يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا . يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ)

ومن اراد محبه الله فعليه بتقوي الله..

(يقول عز من قائل)

( إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ)

ومن اراد القبول في كل اعماله...فعليه بتقوي الله

(قال تعالي)

(إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ)

ومن اراد العزة والكرامه..فعليه بتقوى الله

(قال تعالي)

(إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ)

ومن اراد البشارة عند الموت..فعليه بتقوي الله

(قال تعالي)

(الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ لَهُمُ الْبُشْرَى فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ)

ومن اراد النجاة من النار..عليه بتقوي الله

(قال تعالي)

(ثُمَّ نُنَجِّى الَّذِينَ اتَّقَواْ وَّنَذَرُ الظَّـلِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيّاً)

ومن اراد الخلود في الجنة ..فعليه بتقوي الله..

(قال تعالي)

(وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَوَاتُ وَالأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ)

ومن اراد ان يسوق الخير اليه..ويدفع عنه الشر..فعليه بتقوى الله

(قال تعالي)

(وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ يُسْراً)

ومن اراد ان يكفر عن سيئاته..فعليه بتقوى الله

(قال عزمن قائل)

(وَمَنْ يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِ وَيُعْظِمْ لَهُ أَجْراً)

ومن اراد العلم الالهي..فعليه بتقوي الله..قال تعالي

(قال تعالي)

(اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللّهُ)

صدق الله العظيم

كلمة اخيرة

اخي الكريم ... تآمل هذة النصيحة الغاليه ..جعل

الله تبارك وتعالى لك نورا يغمر قلبك العامر بالمحبه والايمان

( قال تعالي)

(يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ وَءَامِنُوا بِرَسُولِهِ ... يؤتكم كفلين من رحمته ويجعل لكم نوراً تمشون به ويغفر لكم والله غفور رحيم)

و( قال عز من قائل)

( يا أيها الذينءَامَنُواْ إَن تَتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّكُمْ فُرْقَانًا وَيُكَفِّرْ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ)

نعم

(يا أيها الذين ءامنوا إن تتقوا الله) بطاعته وترك معاصيه (يجعل لكم فرقانا) ... ( ويكفر عنكم سيئاتكم ويغفر لكم) بالعفو عن ذنوبكم (والله ذو الفضل العظيم)

The science of letters and their associated numbers is something that is no longer taught and learnt in many societies... The "Abjad" order of the Arabic alphabets is the original order - and their associated numbers carries the weight of each letter...

I confess my pain, No cure do I desire

For true love without pain, delusion – I don’t require

As I travel through these emotions, I do not seek a cure from them. Nor do I seek any change in my state. Anything that distracts me from my beloved or tries to lessen the emotions connected to my beloved is not welcome.  I will neither live nor die by these emotions... But my beloved will eternally flow through my essence.

True Love is a combination – Belittling and Magnification

And at its culmination – Total Annihilation

True love involves belittling every thought / emotion / action of the lover (by the lover) and magnification of every action, perception or thought of the beloved. This belittling is totally unintentional as the lover sees all his actions deficient when compared to the emotions he is experiencing. The continued belittling of his actions coupled with the magnification of all that is associated with the beloved eventually leads to a total annihilation of the self.

In a story about Majnun & Layla, it is said that someone once presented Majnun a calligraphy - which had "Majnun and Layla" written on it. Upon receiving it, Majnun tore off the layla part, threw it away and started hugging the detached "Majnun" inscription of the calligraphy. Onlookers were startled and asked him whether he is no longer obsessed with Layla as his actions seemed to suggest. He looked at them in amazement and casted another glance at the calligraphy and said:

"This is Layla"

The pain of separation, the struggle for perfection

An imperfect soul – striving for unification

No matter how close a true lover is to his beloved, he is never close enough. Whilst this pain continues, the lover continues to prepare himself for his beloved. Trying all that is possible to perfect himself... In order to be accepted by his beloved. In fact, the only definition of perfection for the lover is the beloved. Hence, the struggle for perfection is nothing but a striving for unification from an imperfect soul . The lover will be satisfied with any tribulation - as long as it is not accompanied with distance from his beloved... As Ibn Al-Farid once said in one of his collection of poems (Diwan):

"Punish with whatever thou like, other than distance from you"

True love shall be tested – by its endurance of pain

The sweetness of love, when true – makes the worst pain – bearable

For those whose love is only lip-service, they will be exposed before the sunset of love as the intense sun's heat becomes unbearable. They will complain of being hurt, confused, uncertain - and eventually their hypocrisy will be laid bare when they decide that the pain is too much to bear. However, true lovers will never complain about their pain, as they are oblivious to it. They are so focussed on the sweetness of yearning and striving towards their beloved, that pain will either be bearable or normalised. Those already extinct in love will no longer feel the pain as they are overwhelmed by the sweetness of gazing at their beloved or harbouring the emotions they harbour for their beloved. These people no longer perceive themselves and as such everything that emanates from the beloved is beautiful and sweet. On the Day of Judgement, we are told that faces will be brightened, glowing and gleaming - because of the reflection of looking at their Lord.  Those faces are bright and glowing in this world as they are unable to divert their gaze away from their Lord and His remembrance.

"Men that neither trade nor commerce can divert from the remembrance of Allah..."

True love and pain - two sides of a coin:

Usually the sweet and pleasurable part of love is the most visible and most celebrated. As a result, people dive into love with unreal expectations and a lack of understanding of its reality. The word 'love' (Al-Hubb) in arabic comes from the root word 'seed' (Al-Habbatu) and in the same way not many people see the pain involved in turning a seed into a beautiful plant / produce (the pain of planting, weeding and harvesting). Love is the same as not many people see the pain accompanied with love - especially if you think love is what is purported by Hollywood / Bollywood movies 🙂

Hence the announcement: O strangers to love - prepare for a painful toil.

This is because the only way to attain the reality of love is to mentally prepare for a long (sweet and) painful journey. Some of the 'pain' experienced by those in love will be expounded upon below:

True love at its inception is always accompanied with pain

When true love enters the heart, despite the immense pleasure that comes with it, there is the ‘pain’ of carrying it without being able to share it with everyone – especially the object of your love.  The burden of love is often compounded by certain situations – for example when the one you love isn’t aware of your love or when the one you love loves someone else. Imam Shafi once said in a poem –

A type of tribulation is that you love…

And the one you love, loves other than you…

No matter how this love is ‘shared’ an intense lover will never be content with the amount he is able to share. This is like trying to share something that cannot be quantified. No matter how many sweet words and actions that the lover says or does to his/her  beloved, it will never measure up to the love contained in his/her heart.

However with Allah, the pain and the burden of this love starts when you consider what triggered your love for Allah and you find it selfish (whether it is His generosity or your pleasure in His contemplation). Also, you find that your love is so little compared to His love for you!. In fact, you only love Him because He Loves you. At its inception, there is a concept of realization of who you are in relation to your Lord. This realization is a very painful one because it exposes your insincerity and your ungrateful nature. It often causes the beloved to go through moments of sadness when he looks at how he has reacted to the innumerable blessings that His lord has continually bestowed upon him. This pain is so intense and far beyond perception that it is felt by every vein – hence the statement:

Far beyond perception, felt by every vein

Every aspect of the lover's essence hurts beyond words - the pain of experiencing something that is impossible to share - that no one can understand or empathise with... Lonely nights that end in tears and smiles become a norm. All objects start to point towards the beloved. All starts to remind one of the beloved. Food and drink becomes a distraction - hence undesirable. Words cannot convey these emotions. But mere description of it's states can provides a small glance of the pain felt by the one afflicted by love - especially for the 1st time..

True Love and pain – two sides of a coin

O strangers to love, prepare for a painful toil

True Love at its inception, always accompanied with pain

Far beyond perception, felt by every vein

The pain of separation, the struggle for perfection

An imperfect soul – striving for unification

True love shall be tested – by its endurance of pain

The sweetness of love, when true – makes the worst pain – bearable

I confess my pain, No cure do I desire

For true love without pain, delusion – I don’t require

True Love is a combination – Belittling and Magnification

And at its culmination – Total Annihilation

The lover becomes extinct, Only seeing its beloved

Nothing else exists, even words….

The language of love knows no eloquence

Only know through experience – with everlasting consequence