لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ لَفِي ض
َلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ
“Certainly did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [i.e., the Qur'an] and wisdom, (the prophet's sunnah) although they had been before in manifest error.”
(3:164)
And living our lives the way the Prophet (SAW) lived, who is the best example anyone can have. Allah said to him:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
And indeed, you are of a great moral character.
(68:4)
The prophet (SAW) emphasised on the necessity of ihtisab or self evaluation. 'Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin' (Muslim)
Umar (RA) also said 'Judge yourself before you are judged, evaluate yourself before you are evaluated and be ready for the greatest investigation.’
We should implement as much fard (if not done so already) and sunnah acts as possible and try to be like the Prophet (SAW) In character and manners.
Narrated `Abdullâh bin `Amr رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُما : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was neither a Fâhish nor a Mutafahhish (never used bad language). He used to say, ``The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character.'' (Bukhari)
Abu Ad-Dardâ' narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: ``Nothing is heavier on the believer's Scale on the Day of Judgement than good character. For indeed Allah, Most High, is angered by the shameless obscene person.'' (Sahih)
(Tirmidhi)
The truth is no one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Self reflection can be used for many things in our life e.g. Sincerity of intentions of deeds but we will be using it as a tool for purifying the heart and to learn about ourselves so that we know what makes us act in a certain way. This would be the first step to purifying yourself.
Firstly, Reflect on how you can be a better servant of Allah by doing extra good deeds, purifying yourself from bad habits, staying away from things that have been forbidden by Allah.
Self reflection is a must if you wish to purify your heart, so that you know what you can improve on and what diseases of the heart you need to get rid of.
In the next few weeks/ months In'shaa'Allah I'll put up a few diseases in the heart and how it can be cured by the help of Allah.
Some of the diseases are:
-Kufr, Shirk
-Relying on other than God
-Showing off
-Arrogance
-Jealousy/ Hatred
-Controlling the tongue
-Animal desires
-Anger
-Greed
-Ungratefulness
-Love of the world
-Boasting
-Fantasising
-Fear of poverty
-Displeasure with divine decree
-Seeking reputation
-Negative thoughts
I would recommend that people write down which diseases you need to get rid of and your strengths as well and how you think you can improve both strengths and weaknesses.
Tools needed:
• Plenty of dua to Allah to seek His aid in your purification.
• The Qur'an (try to implement a verse in your life every week. E.g. Allah says the successful ones are those who fear Him in Surah Baqarah. So try to fear Him. I'll be putting a post up about that. And remember some verses may take longer to implement)
• Be sincere - do it only for the sake of Allah and know that He is watching you and knows your intentions.
• Be humble, once you feel that a certain disease is gone, praise and thank Allah and know that without His help you would not have succeeded in doing so.
• Start keeping a book and write your experiences in it. The diseases, what you have learnt, your strengths and weaknesses. Go back to it at least once a week and review.
• Some diseases will take longer to be cured so patience is needed. "And Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast (As Sabirin - The patient) (3:146)
• Speak to someone you trust and ask them what habits they noticed that you can get rid of and do not get offended even if you think you don't do a certain thing, instead take it as a learning experience.
"The day when there will not benefit (anyone) wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart." (26:89,90)
May Allah make us among those who return to Him with a sound heart. Ameen.
(A reminder to myself first and foremost)
“Certainly did Allah confer [great] favour upon the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from themselves, reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book [i.e., the Qur'an] and wisdom, (the prophet's sunnah) although they had been before in manifest error.”
(3:164)
And living our lives the way the Prophet (SAW) lived, who is the best example anyone can have. Allah said to him:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ
And indeed, you are of a great moral character.
(68:4)
The prophet (SAW) emphasised on the necessity of ihtisab or self evaluation. 'Everyone starts his day and is a vendor of his soul, either freeing it or bringing about its ruin' (Muslim)
Umar (RA) also said 'Judge yourself before you are judged, evaluate yourself before you are evaluated and be ready for the greatest investigation.’
We should implement as much fard (if not done so already) and sunnah acts as possible and try to be like the Prophet (SAW) In character and manners.
Narrated `Abdullâh bin `Amr رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُما : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was neither a Fâhish nor a Mutafahhish (never used bad language). He used to say, ``The best amongst you are those who have the best manners and character.'' (Bukhari)
Abu Ad-Dardâ' narrated that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: ``Nothing is heavier on the believer's Scale on the Day of Judgement than good character. For indeed Allah, Most High, is angered by the shameless obscene person.'' (Sahih)
(Tirmidhi)
The truth is no one is perfect. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Self reflection can be used for many things in our life e.g. Sincerity of intentions of deeds but we will be using it as a tool for purifying the heart and to learn about ourselves so that we know what makes us act in a certain way. This would be the first step to purifying yourself.
Firstly, Reflect on how you can be a better servant of Allah by doing extra good deeds, purifying yourself from bad habits, staying away from things that have been forbidden by Allah.
Self reflection is a must if you wish to purify your heart, so that you know what you can improve on and what diseases of the heart you need to get rid of.
In the next few weeks/ months In'shaa'Allah I'll put up a few diseases in the heart and how it can be cured by the help of Allah.
Some of the diseases are:
-Kufr, Shirk
-Relying on other than God
-Showing off
-Arrogance
-Jealousy/ Hatred
-Controlling the tongue
-Animal desires
-Anger
-Greed
-Ungratefulness
-Love of the world
-Boasting
-Fantasising
-Fear of poverty
-Displeasure with divine decree
-Seeking reputation
-Negative thoughts
I would recommend that people write down which diseases you need to get rid of and your strengths as well and how you think you can improve both strengths and weaknesses.
Tools needed:
• Plenty of dua to Allah to seek His aid in your purification.
• The Qur'an (try to implement a verse in your life every week. E.g. Allah says the successful ones are those who fear Him in Surah Baqarah. So try to fear Him. I'll be putting a post up about that. And remember some verses may take longer to implement)
• Be sincere - do it only for the sake of Allah and know that He is watching you and knows your intentions.
• Be humble, once you feel that a certain disease is gone, praise and thank Allah and know that without His help you would not have succeeded in doing so.
• Start keeping a book and write your experiences in it. The diseases, what you have learnt, your strengths and weaknesses. Go back to it at least once a week and review.
• Some diseases will take longer to be cured so patience is needed. "And Allah loves those who are firm and steadfast (As Sabirin - The patient) (3:146)
• Speak to someone you trust and ask them what habits they noticed that you can get rid of and do not get offended even if you think you don't do a certain thing, instead take it as a learning experience.
"The day when there will not benefit (anyone) wealth or children. But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart." (26:89,90)
May Allah make us among those who return to Him with a sound heart. Ameen.
(A reminder to myself first and foremost)
