Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Al-Shams (The Sun)
Chapter 91: Verse 10

Corrupt Soul
"And he fails who corrupts it."

The Arabic word al-khaibah has many aspects to it, including:

1) weakness in one's soul, as the soul does not have the strength and courage to follow what it knows is the truth;

2) hesitation and confusion as every time it wants to do good, the soul drags it back down and fights it;

3) true psychological humiliation as he is worshipping something that has no benefit to it and it is not worthy of a human being to be worshipping something of that nature;

4) cowardice and stinginess as his soul knows that he is disobeying his Lord and he cannot look forward to anything positive; hence, he has to hang on to his life and everything that he possesses in the strongest fashion;

5) loss of modesty and dignity as his soul drives him to do shameless acts to the point that he accepts them, supports them and loses all shame concerning them.

This is all part of the reality that happens to him in this world. And that is all much less than the disgrace that he will face in the Hereafter.

Compiled From:
"Purification of the Soul: Concept, Process and Means" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 478, 475

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Physical Complaint

The Last of the Prophets, upon him be peace, was indeed endowed with exceptional physical and intellectual powers in order to assist him in the most onerous mission ever undertaken. But his nightly vigils in tahajjud prayer and recitation of the Quran, his daily exertion in worship and labour, in unending Jihad, in bearing the problems of others, and all of this continuously for a full quarter century, increasing all the while and never subsiding, in addition to an amazingly light ration of food and drink - all of these factors contributed to wearing down his sturdy body and its decline in health.

In an authentic hadith it is related that whenever the Prophet, upon him be peace, had a physical complaint, he would recite over himself the last two chapters of the Quran and sufflate. Imam Zuhri, one of the narrators of this hadith, was asked how the sufflation was performed. He answered that the Prophet, upon him be peace, would blow into his hands and then rub his face with them.

Compiled From:
"Remembrance & Prayer" - Muhammad Al-Ghazali, pp. 116, 117

Blindspot!

Fighting Vanity

Be modest; adopt humility. You cannot say anything about yourself with certainty until Allah exonerates you on the Last Day and accepts your good deeds. If He were to reject you, who shall be more contemptible than yourself? What could be more foolish than to consider yourself superior to fellow criminals in the prison that this world is! Until the Lord of the Day of Judgment pronounces His verdict, consider every Muslim better than yourself. Keep your gaze on the virtue of others, not on their shortcomings. Only mention their good points, not the bad ones. At the same time, do not go about openly announcing your own faults or disparaging your own self. Be humble and modest in your manner of living and conduct before Allah as if you are an abject and degraded slave. Do not raise your voice like an ass. Do not display arrogance. What a folly it is to be haughty over your body which is destined to turn into pus and become a meal of insects and germs!

Compiled From:
"Dying and Living for Allah" - Khurram Murad, pp. 51, 52