Islamic Establishment
View RSS Feed

ummitaalib

Vigilance over the Heart

Rate this Entry
3 Comments
by
ummitaalib
, 03-05-2012 at 12:27 PM (1546 Views)
Constant vigilance over the heart is necessary because Riyaa (To be Ostentatious) can creep in stealthily. One should beg Allah subhaanahu wata’ala for Iklhlaas (Sincerity of intention) as one would beg for the life of a beloved whose life is in danger due to cancer.

One should not perform any good deed for show and neither should one give up good deeds just because there are people around. Keep performing good deeds in front of others, but solely for Allah subhaanahu wata’ala.

“Makhlooq ke liye ‘amal ko karo bhi mat
Awr makhlooq ke liye ‘amal ko chorho bhi mat”

Not for the creation should one perform any deed
And neither for the creation should one avoid a deed

A person will be rewarded according to his intention. Take the example of three different men, who pick up a stone from the path while on the way to the Masjid. The first one picks it up without any intention while the second man does so for the sake of Allah subhaanahu wata’ala and the third picks it up for show. Then comes a fourth man who had seen the others pick up a stone and makes the intention of doing the same for the sake of Allah subhaanhu wata’ala however there is no stone lying in the path for him to pick up. Each man is rewarded according to his intention i.e. the third man would be liable for punishment for his intention of show while the fourth man would be rewarded without even performing the deed because of his intention.

From the teachings of Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat (Hafizhullah)

Submit "Vigilance over the Heart" to Digg Submit "Vigilance over the Heart" to del.icio.us Submit "Vigilance over the Heart" to StumbleUpon Submit "Vigilance over the Heart" to Google

Tags: None Add / Edit Tags
Categories
Islaahi Teachings of Mashaikh

Comments

  1. ankaboot's Avatar
    Assalamu Alaikum JazaakAllahu Khairan sis. UT, a very nice reminder......... I would like to share with you and the others one thing though, sometimes a person tries and does something solely for the pleasure of Allah, makes a lot of astaghfaar and asks Allah for forgiveness a lot but because the nature of what he/she is doing (meaning it is something which is open to one and all). People tend to come and praise them day in and day out and sometimes it becomes very embarrasing and sometimes it plays tricks on their Ikhlaas.

    No wonder we are not supposed to praise people on their face.

    May Allah protect us all from Pride and May Allah accept our actions by overlooking our faults, ameen.

    Assalamu Alaikum.
  2. ummitaalib's Avatar
    Wa'alaykumus salaam ww
    Aameen aameen sis ankaboot, we beg Allah ta'ala's refuge!
    Alhamdulillah that we have been shown a du'a for this i.e. when someone praises us we should recite the following du'a...also words of wisdon from Shaykh Abdul Hayy 'Aarifi...thing is to remember it immediately on being praised...theres a thread about it on the main forum but here it is:

    What to do when some one praises you - Mufti Taqi Usmani

    (reported from Imam Auza’i in Shu’ab al -iman of Imam Baihaqi)
    Imam Baihaqi reported in Shu'ab al-Iman from Imam Auza’i (R.A) “When some one praises a person in front of him, he should say:





    Allahumma anta a’alamu bee minnafsee wa ana a’alamu binafsee minan naas Allaahumma laa tu'aakhidhnee bimaa yaqooloona, waghfir lee maa laa ya'lamoona”

    " Oh Allah! You know me better than myself and I know about myself better than what the people know about me. Oh Allah do not call me to account for what they say & forgive me for what they have no knowledge of (i.e. my faults and defects)."

    The praise of people is not less than a fitnah for those who serve the deen by speech or writing. So, praising in front of the person is prohibited as it gives rise to the disease of vanity. Imam Auza’i has prescribed this du’a to cure it.

    Shaykh Dr. Abdul Hai Arifi (R.A)'s advise:

    Shaykh Dr. Abdul Hai Arifi (R.A) used to say that if someone praises you, then say in your heart, “Oh Allah! All thanks be to you that you have shown only my virtues to this person, for if you were to expose my weaknesses and defects, he would hate me.”

    He would also say, “Desire for fame and praise cannot be satisfied by one’s own effort but it is up to others to fulfil it. Even if it is fulfilled, it is very short lived. Man should think, “What is the benefit achieved from this praise”?
  3. ankaboot's Avatar
    Alhamdulillah, SubhanAllah our Deen is so complete, there is a solution for everything. JazaakAllah for sharing the words of wisdom of our Buzurgs.

    Most of all JazaakAllahu Khairan for understanding what I meant.

    Salaams.