Fasad – The Corrupter of Hearts

Mufti Kamaluddin discusses Fasad and offers tips for purifying the heart.

Although there are differences of opinion on several matters, strangely, every single human being on earth agrees upon one thing - today the whole world is affected by Fasad: unhappiness, discord, unease and corruption. However, different people offer different solutions to this Fasad.

         

The educated people say that the reason for Fasad is the lack of education. However, if education was the solution, then countries with a literacy rate of over ninety percent should not have any problems. But, if we go to any of those places, they tell us that they also have problems.

An economist will say that the reason for Fasad is poverty. People do not have enough wealth to fulfill their bare necessities, and, hence, this poverty is the cause of unhappiness in the world. If wealth were the solution, then people living in wealthy countries should be living lives of ease and contentment. However, if we go to them, they will also say that they are unhappy.

The Deen of Islam reveals the reason behind this unhappiness and discord. The Prophet (sa) said that in every son of Adam there is an organ, that if it is sound, the whole body will be sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt and spoilt. That organ is Qalb - the spiritual heart of a human being. (Bukhari) This Hadeeth clearly tells us that if the heart is spoilt, the human being will be spoilt, and if the heart is pure, the human being will also be sound and pure. Therefore, all the worries and problems in the world are due to problematic people.

Fasad in the world exists because there are individuals, who have Fasad in them. Only that human being, whose heart is impure, will have corruption in him. So the reason why there are so many problems and difficulties in this world is simply because there are so many human beings, who have lost their lesson of humanity and who have corrupted, impure hearts. If the heart becomes pure, the human being will be pure; the family will be pure; the community will be pure; the society will be pure - consequently, the world will be pure.

Precisely for this reason Allah (swt) sent prophets and messengers, so that they purify the hearts of human beings and teach them, how to live pure lives. Through the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (sa) ,we see that he first worked on the hearts of people, then he formed a community in Madinah and only afterwards they were able to change the society of the whole Arabian Peninsula. This is precisely, what Allah (swt) wants - that we submit our hearts to Him.

The Prophet (sa) said that Allah (swt) does not look at our bodies or at our faces, but He looks at our hearts. (Muslim) Allah (swt) looks, which of His servants has embedded His love and remembrance in his heart. Hence, we should beautify our hearts so that they look pleasing, when Allah (swt) gazes upon them.

Thus, there are two types of hearts: the purified and sound heart (Qalb-un-Saleem) and the corrupt and polluted heart (Qalb-un-Saqeem). Qalb-un-Saleem is that heart, which inclines a person towards good and everything that is pleasing to Allah (swt). A person with a pure heart is wonderful to live with, wonderful to look at and is able to see not only with his eyes but also with his heart. Qalb-un-Saqeem, however, is that heart, which invites a person to actions and thoughts that are corrupt and prohibited. The person with such heart does not view good as good and evil as evil. His heart keeps him occupied with unlawful thoughts and lustful desires. Such a heart will not allow a person to listen to counsel or to accept advice for changing its ways.

How can we purify our hearts? If we enter into a room full of dust, we immediately realize that some window must have been left open, through which pollution has entered. In the same way, the dirt comes into our hearts, because we have left some window open, which is bringing that corruption inside.

There are four windows to the heart.

The first window is a person’s eyes. If we we do with our eyes things that are good, such as look at our parents with love, look at the Quran with love, then these actions cast Noor into our heart. However, if we look at unlawful things, for instance a woman, who is impermissible to look at, then that will bring darkness into our heart. So the eye is like a window into the heart. Allah’s (swt) has made it very easy for us to protect our gaze – He has given us a shutter called our eyelid. It is extremely easy to close our eyelids and save our eyes from seeing bad things. All we have to do is intend, and our eyes will close immediately.

The second window to a person’s heart is a person’s ears. Everything that we hear will affect our heart. If we hear something that is good - recitation of the Quran, good advice, good teachings - then that will have a positive effect on the heart. However, if we listen to lies, bad talks or music, then that will naturally have a negative effect on our hearts.

The third window is a person’s tongue. If we speak good things - recite the Quran, speaks the truth, talk about Allah (swt) and Deen - the Noor of these words will come into our heart. However, if we say things that are bad, for instance unlawful speech or backbiting, then darkness will come into our hearts. So we should always try to use our tongue in good speech and for mentioning the majesty and blessings of Allah (swt).

Lastly, the fourth window into the heart is our mind. Whatever thoughts we think will affect our heart. If we spend our free time thinking about good things and actions that are pleasing to Allah (swt), then such thoughts will cast a light into our hearts. If we spend our time thinking about bad things and engage in unlawful fantasies, then such thoughts will definitely have a very negative effect on our heart.

We have to guard all these four windows and prevent anything corrupt from entering and affecting our heart. If the heart becomes pure, everything in the world will change. For this reason, we must start purifying our hearts from its spiritual illnesses, so that Allah’s (swt) love can come into our hearts. We should make Dua to Allah (swt) to grant us such a heart, which is the abode of His love.

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Late Dr. Israr Explains the Difference between Deen and Madhab

By Dr. Israr Ahmad

The words Deen and Madhab are entirely different from each other with regard to their underlying concepts. Although in our part of the world we generally refer to Islam as Madhab (religion), yet what is interesting indeed is the fact that the word Madhab has never once been used in the entire treasury of the Quranic text and Ahadeeth literature! Instead, the word that has almost always been used for Islam in the original sources is Deen. 

The fundamental difference between the two terms must be understood. Madhab, or religion, is a term used for a set of beliefs and rituals of worship. On the other hand, Deen refers to an entire way of life that pervades all aspects of life. In other words, as compared to Madhab, Deen is a far more comprehensive, all-encompassing reality. With this backdrop, it will perhaps not be entirely correct to say that Islam is not a Madhab (religion), because all of the elements of a Madhab are certainly part and parcel of Islam - it includes the articles of belief, spirituality, the etiquettes of worship (Salah, Saum, Zakah and Hajj). Hence, it would be more accurate to say that Islam is not merely a Madhab, but an entire code of life (Deen). It not only offers whatever constitutes religion, but is endowed with the elements of a complete way of life. Hence, Islam is, essentially, Deen.

In this context, it must also be understood that while several religions can co-exist at a time in a particular region of the world, but there can only be a single Deen (way of life). It is not possible, for instance, for capitalism and communism to coexist in a country at the same time. Only one will be dominant and prevail over others. Similarly, monarchy and democracy cannot simultaneously be established in a country. A system can either be based on the law of Allah (swt), or it will be against the law of Allah (swt). There cannot be two parallel systems, although there can be several religions co-existing at a time in a certain place. The only exception can be made in the case of a single dominant system ascendant above all, subservient to which, all shrunken up and sidelined, may exist other systems. Allama Iqbal said: “In a state of enslavement, it is reduced to a single, small droplet / The very same life which, when freed, becomes a ceaseless, shoreless torrent!”

When Deen is subjugated, it is reduced to mere religion. Just as at the high point of Islamic history, Islam was the single dominant system, under which existed Christianity, Judaism, Magianism and other creeds as religions. They were given this allowance on the clearly laid out condition to pay a nominal tax (Jizya) and accept their subservience to the ascendant system, as said in Surah At-Taubah: “Fight... until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” (At-Taubah, 9:29) 

The law of the land shall be Allah’s (swt), and the dominant system will be Islam, but as far as personal law and private life was concerned, they were free to live according to their own beliefs and practices. However, during the period of the decline and downfall of the Islamic state, the situation was entirely reversed. It will not be wrong to say that in the Indian subcontinent, the dominant system of life belonged to the British. Hence, Islam in the subcontinent was reduced to mere religion - Muslims could pray as they wished, and the British never objected to that; they could declare the call for prayer from the mosques, and they could marry and inherit according to their religious laws, but the state law had to be none other than British, according to the dictates of the British Crown, without interference from the local people. This is exactly what Iqbal expressed in his verse: “Since the Mullah (cleric) in India is allowed to prostrate in prayer / He foolishly thinks it implies his freedom.”

In other words, Islam was not free, but had shriveled up and been reduced to the level of a mere religion among many. 

Deen is essentially that which dominates and pervades. If it is subjugated, it will no longer remain Deen, but will be reduced to Madhab. Its true character will be distorted. If studied from this angle, it becomes clear that no matter how great a system, if it is presented merely as a vision and idea, or presented in the form of a written treatise, it can at best be an idealistic utopia, but can never truly be a criterion, a standard, a benchmark. It can become a decisive criterion for the whole of mankind to judge and live by only when it is brought into practice, established and fully implemented. 

Translated and transcribed for Hiba Magazine by Maryam Sakeenah