Fever: a blessing in disguise

Fever wipes out one’s sins and rids his body from dead substances and germs. It is a blessing in disguise.

The Prophet said: “When a believer gets sick or feverish, it is like metal when put on fire, the bad is gone and the good remains.” [Al-Bayhaqi]

He also describes the intensity of fever by saying: “Fever is coal from hell, get rid of it by using cold water.” [Ibn Maajah]

The Prophet forbade the cursing of fever by saying: “Do not curse a fever because it abolishes sins like fire abolishes dirt from iron.” [Ibn Maajah]

A bacterial or viral infection usually raises the temperature of a person, antibiotics are useless with viral infections, such as the influenza and the common cold, although the patient might sweat and have a very high fever.

Then what is the cure?

The Prophet tells us to reduce the fever with water. The same is still applied today. Putting cold pads on a patient’s forehead is still used in a lot of hospitals and by doctors even though fever reducing medicines are abundant, like aspirin, paracetamol (or acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in Tylenol) and others.

Using water to reduce fevers is not limited to using cold pads. Drinking a lot of fluids is also helpful. This is also understood from the wordings of the Prophetic narration: “cool it with water.” Water is either what the patient drinks, what is given intravenously or what the patient puts on his face or body to cool the fever.

We have seen a lot of patients where fever reducing medicines (antipyretics) were not effective with their rising fever. At the same time, cold water had an immediate effect. That’s why pediatricians advise parents to take a child’s clothes off and give a lot of fluids if a fever occurs. An antipyretic might also be give like paracetamol. Aspirin has been banned for children under 12 years of age.

What is fever?

Fever occurs when the body temperature rises above normal (37 C). There is an area in the brain (an area that lies over the pituitary gland in the front of the head) which is a temperature regulator.

When a germ enters the body, it starts secreting toxins. Toxins affect the temperature regulator causing its temperature to rise. The substances that cause this rise in temperature are called pyrogens. Pyrogens are caused not only by germs but also by the ruined tissues in the body after being affected with germs.

When the temperature rises in the temperature regulator, the rest of the body has to comply. It increases its temperature in response. Soon, the whole body feels feverish and the patient’s temperature rises. This explains the saying of the Prophet when he described the believers in their kindness and affections like the body. If a part of it suffers from a germ or a virus, like inflammation in the respiratory pathways or inflammation of the urinary tracts and others, all of the body suffers from fever and restlessness.

Yes the whole body suffers. The whole body has a rise in temperature and not only where it is affected. When the inflammation worsens, the germs increase and consequently ruin the tissues. The germs and the pyrogens will find the body’s defense system ready to attack and eat the by-products of the germs and rid the body of them. While doing this, it releases to the body fluids a substance called leukocyte pyrogens or endogenous. Therefore the fever remains while the body is cleansing itself from the by-products.

Didn’t the Prophet say, when a man cursed the fever: “Don’t curse it because it abolishes sins like fire abolishes dirt from iron.”

It is a cleansing of our sins, a cleansing of dead substances such as dead tissue and the by-products of the germs, like fire cleans the dirt from iron.

The famous book on physiology by Guyton, 1992 edition, stated that an amount equal to one over 10 billionth of a gram of endogenous is enough for a fever to occur.

Such a small amount of a substance secreted in the body due to a very small germ or a virus is enough to transfer a person form being healthy, to becoming sick, feverish and bed ridden.

Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “I remember once, when I was feverish, a poet cursing the fever, saying.

      The sin purifier has visited and left.

      How evil it is when visiting and when

                          leaving

       She asked while getting ready to leave What

                       do you want?

       I replied, to never come again.

I said, shame on him, he cursed what the Prophet forbade to be cursed. If he had said:

The severe-sin cleanser has visited.

Greetings to it while visiting and while

                       leaving

She asked while getting ready to leave What

                     do you want?

              I replied, to not leave.

It would have been better for him and it still would have left.”

Recent scientific studies have shown that this leukocyte pyrogens cause fever by making a substance called prostaglandin in the local glands in the area of the hypothalamus. When the growth of this kind of prostaglandin is inhibited, by using medicines, the fever is reduced. This explains how aspirin reduces fever. It inhibits the growth of prostaglandin and prevents its making.

The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wa sallam, said: “For every ailment, there is a cure. If the cure reaches the ailment, it is cured by the will of Allaah.” [Muslim]

That explains the known phenomena that aspirin does not reduce the temperature of a normal person who is not feverish. That is because he does not have these endogenous in his body to work on the hypothalamus.

How do chills occur and why?

The temperature level in the temperature regulator rises suddenly form its normal level to a higher level, due to damage in the tissues, due to the release of temperature generating substances or due to dehydration. When this happens, the body temperature rises within a few hours to attain the new temperature.

During this period, the patient shivers and feels cold, even though the body temperature is high, because blood vessels in the skin contract. The chills remain until the body temperature reaches the new level set by the temperature regulator.

When the body temperature reaches that level, the chills stop and the patient feels neither warm nor cold. As long as the infection continues and the reason for the rise in temperature continues, the body temperature remains at this new level until Allaah permits recovery.

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Purification Of The Soul 2– Mufti Ismail Menk

Cleansing your heart from malice, dirt and jealousy
My brother and sisters, life is too short. We cleanse our heart from malice, from dirt, from jealousy. Jealousy leads to that hatred, subhān Allāh. When you hate someone, you start planning their downfall. And what happens when you plan someone's downfall? You loose focus from your own life. Because now everything I do it's to do him down. “I'm going to fight this man, I'm going to do this to him. I'm going to do this to this sister or this woman, I'm going to make sure this happens and that happens.” Whether it is the young age, starting from the school rivalry that we have because of what someone looks like or how sharp they are, what type of friends they may have or how sociable they may be or may not be. These are all little problems we face in schools, primary as well as high school and so on. You know some people only flock around those who are wealthy. Others flock around those who are popular. Others flock around those who are intelligent. And we leave sometimes the best of people who have the best of character and conduct just because they are quiet sitting in one corner. Allāhu Akbar. Perhaps from them you may have benefited more. So don't make people's lives difficult. When you start making someone's life hard, you have lost focus from your own.
You know we are very fortunate that in Britain. I'm going to say something that really might be affecting some. We are very fortunate that in Britain the houses are small and there's a shortage of space. You know why? You have less problems of in-laws than we do back in Africa, because you have to live separately. Like it or not, in most cases. Why I say this is because when there are many people living together that can not be possible unless you have a very big heart. You need be a selfless person who loves Allāh and the deen and who allows people their freedom, subhān Allāh. Who respects and who serves. Otherwise it can not work, it doesn't happen. You're living with so many people subhān Allāh. Allāhu Akbar. So this is why I say you're lucky, you've got small homes. But I think the hearts are big, in sha'Allāh. Let's hope that, Allāhu Akbar.
Purifying the heart by being generous and selfless
At least we can, a heart is something you know when you exercise your muscles they inflate don't they? Mā shā'Allāh. The youngsters would like to look big you know, they'd like to look muscular. When you exercise your heart correctly, it also becomes big, mā shā'Allāh. Big in the right way, al-hamdulillāh. So we ask Allāh to grant us good hearts, big hearts, to be generous. Generosity is a good quality of the heart which stems from the goodness of the soul. But when we are stingy and miserly, everything goes wrong because then we begin to hate people. You don't spend on your own family? Come on my brother. You don't spend on your children, so where's your wealth going? Allāhu Akbar. Are you amassing it? The verses I read before you, Qāroon, that's what he did. He amassed the wealth and you know what his problem was? He had such a dirty heart, such a filthy soul that he related whatever he had to himself and not to his maker.
That brings me to a point. Whatever goodness you have is from Allāh. The evil and bad from yourself and shaytān. Allāhu Akbar. May Allāh safeguard us. So you recognize your own nafs and you recognize shaytān who is trying to work on you. And divorce yourself from the devil you'll find yourself getting closer to Allāh. It's like a seesaw, your soul within it. There is this seesaw type of a relation. You either move closer to the devil and further from Allāh or closer to Allāh and further from the devil. Simple. May Allāh  grant us purity.
My brothers and sisters, another bad habit is when we are selfish. We want everything for ourselves. Rather develop our hearts and souls to be selfless to the degree that we can share something known as al īthār. Look at Allāh  praising the Ansār. What did they do? They welcomed strangers, who were brothers in deen, into their homes by the instruction of Allāh. When Allāh instructed, they welcomed their brothers who were strangers. Had it not been for the link of īmān, there would be no other link. Welcomed into their home and shared their wealth fifty-fifty. Today we cannot share our wealth with the suffering souls in Syria or Somalia or anywhere else on the globe. And nobody's asking you to open your doors to let them live in your house and share everything fifty-fifty, but we're not ready to give out five percent without them coming even into our houses. That's why we're not sahābah. May Allāh  grant us purity of the heart so that at least we can become sahābah in the ākhirah. We'd like to be in the company of the Muhammad . They really had such good hearts. So much purification within the heart. They gave so much to their suffering brothers and sisters to the degree that life was made comfortable to for these people who had come, known as muhājireen and Allāh praises them by saying:
“Yuthiroona `alā anfusihim walaw kāna bihim khasāsah” [Surat Al-Hashr ; 9]
“They gave their brethren preference over themselves, even though they needed it a lot more.”
They were in dire need of what they were actually giving away. We are asking you for very little. Or your suffering brothers and sisters across the globe, perhaps in your neighborhood, perhaps in your masjid are not asking you to give up that which you are in need of. But that which you do not need. How many of us have wardrobes full of clothes that we've never worn for the last year? My sister, give it away. Do not let your heart cling to this worldly material items that are there. Allāhu Akbar. You may use them, you may enjoy them within the limits of Allāh. Nobody's saying no. You may make use of it, you may become happy whilst using it but remember don't let it be a waste.
Extravagance is a sign of the dirty heart and the dirty soul. Allāh says in the Qur'ān, such people who are extravagant and wasteful, they are brethren of the devil.
“Inna almubaththireena kānoo ikhwāna ashayāteen, wakāna ashaytānu lirabbihi kafoorā” [Surat Al-Isra ; 27]. Allāhu Akbar.
“Those who are wasteful, extravagant and so on they are the brethren of shaytān and shaytān is ungrateful”.
Which means wastefulness is a sign of ingratitude. You have so many pairs of shoes. Forty-five pairs of shoes, one for every occasion. The wedding coming up next week, you've already sown a brand new pair of clothing and you've got sixty pairs in your closet. Don't worry my sister they are not going to know that you wore this for the wedding that was ten weddings back. That's how we've got to speak and if you want to sow and you have the ability to sow something new for every function, make a promise to Allāh. For every one I get, I'm going to give one away. Make sure it is a cut within the pleasure of Allāh. Because if you give away a skirt with a slit that is going to expose a female whom you have given it to, you may be amassing a sin, rather than getting something in terms of reward. You think you are giving a charity.
One day we were given donations from somewhere in Zimbabwe and they told us please give this to the poor. Wallāhi when we took some of it out, not all of it, we were so embarrassed as to what it was and we decided this, we can not give it to anyone, no-one. Because we can not allow the people to wear it. They're going to think wow this guy must be a real, real, romantic dude giving it to me. Wallāhi akhī it's not from me. My sister what an embarrassment. We're giving it to someone and they might take it home and give it to their sister and they know there it came from and they have such a bad feeling in their heart about you. That this guy is actually someone besides what he is purporting to be. Yet it's not from me, it's from a donor. And when they donate it they're asking Allāh, ”O Allāh accept from us our sadaqah.” What sadaqah? What sadaqah are you giving? It's like giving a bottle of alcohol and saying “Ya Allāh accept it from me as a sadaqah.“ Not at all. It is harām. Why did you have that in the first place? You should be embarrassed of it and this is why we say my sisters buy clothes or sow clothes that in sha'Allāh one day you can give out as a sadaqah. By the will of Allāh, just the mere giving it out later on, even if you've used it and it's in good condition there are people across the globe who might not even have that much. But if you've given that it may be a means of your entry into paradise. So just sow it properly in sha'Allāh. Make sure it is within the obedience of Allāh . I know what the sisters are thinking “But I use it at home in my bedroom.” You see, sharp. They say very very quick thinkers today. Wallāhi my sister, what you do in your bedroom is none of our business. It's between you and your husband in sha'Allāh. The difficulty is we are talking of people who are not yet married sometimes. Allāhu Akbar. May Allāh safeguard us and may Allāh open our doors. And even if we are married, we need to understand and realize when you are giving someone something, you need to know what you are giving them. Especially as a mu'minah, we are supposed be tāhirat. May Allāh  open our doors.
I think this microphone is cutting every little while to remind us that it's not only about the sisters. It's about the brothers sitting in front of us as well. My beloved brothers, wallāhi, we are so grateful to Allāh. How do we show this gratitude that we are part of the ummah. We love each other for the pleasure of Allāh, wallāhi. Wallāhi, we see beautiful faces mā shā'Allāh. We see people whom we love solely for the pleasure of Allāh. You are trying to earn jannah and so am I. And I ask Allāh in this blessed gathering, in one of his houses “Ya Allāh unite us in jannah, the same way you brought us together here today. Ameen. So my brothers and sisters we need to become generous, we need to know that there are people across the globe suffering. Sometimes we throw away our food, not realizing there are others who actually do not have that food. Purify your soul and you'll realize the value of even the niʿmah of Allāh upon you.
We were speaking of Qāroon, do you know what he said? He said “Whatever I got is from my own intellect.” Allāh says “Oh, he doesn't even realize Our hand there. He doesn't realize where it came from.” Allāh says “We destroyed him and everything he had. And we let the earth swallow it up and there was nothing left the following day.” And there were people who used to wish they had like him. Oh they were reminded by the scholars, you can not wish for something of this nature which came by wrong doing and at the same time with arrogance. And when they saw what happened they said “Just as well, we did not get what he had because if we had got that we would have perhaps been swallowed by the earth just like he was.” This is why you want to ask Allāh. Ask him for jannah to start with. Ask him for thabāt, ask him for purification, ask him for the ability to remain steadfast, ask him to let the heart be inclined towards him, rather than to let it drown in the illicit love of this world sometimes. When I say illicit, I mean you get married, you protect your heart from depression and stress by the will of Allāh, so long as you've married the right brother or the right sister. But if you want to develop that love without having being married to someone, it will not result in anything but the dirtiness of your own heart.
An impure environment can have effect on the heart
“Every single child is born upon nature.”  The nature of the belief in Allāh alone, they will understand it and realize it. That heart which is pure, completely pure, but what happens over time the heart becomes impure because of the environment. The parents sometimes divert people this way, that way. Your friends can also make your heart dirty. Subhān Allāh.
Engaging in constant repentance and staying firm on tawheed
And when we speak of that type of purification, Allāh  speaks of the heart that is on the highest level, when he describes the day of judgement. He says, the day of judgement:
“Yawma lā yanfa`u mālun walā banoon. Illā man atā Allāha biqalbin saleem” [Surah Ash-Shu'ara ; 88-89].
“On that day, your wealth and your children will not help you. The only thing that will help you is the pure heart.”
The accepted correct heart, that heart which stood firm on the oneness of Allāh . On the obedience of Allāh . The heart that struggled to keep shaytān at bay and the heart that engaged in constant repentance. If you repent correctly, on its own it will help you abstain from sin. How does that happen? Because if you say “O Allāh forgive me in the morning for example. The Prophet  through the day said it up to a hundred times and if we are to do that, say for example whilst I'm walking, I've said it five-six times. As I'm entering for example a store and I say it another five-six times, bearing in mind what I'm saying. And then for example, whilst I'm coming out I say it a few times, bearing in mind what I'm saying. And throughout the day, I'm saying it, you know scattered through the day here and there; a few times here and there. What will happen? The minute there is a sin to be committed I will feel immediately, it doesn't go together with this tawbah that I've been engaging in through the day. The two don't come together. I'm on one hand saying “O Allāh forgive me” and on the other hand I'm busy gazing the wrong gaze. It won't come together. It won't. So this is why they say, engage in istighfār. That will protect you.
Protecting yourself through performing salāh
What else will protect you? Your salāh will protect you. Salāh when it is read correctly on time, when you are worried about the next one. That is when you're reading salāh correctly. That's a sign that your salāh is valid and correct. This is why the hadeeth describes ”A man whose heart is connected to the masjid, meaning connected to salāh, connected to the house of Allāh.” In the case of the sisters, connected to your salāh, when you read one you're worried about the next one. This is a gift of Allāh. How many of us, we fulfil salāh and already we are worried about the next one? Try and achieve that. You'll find that your heart will be cleansed. Wallāhi the sins will eradicate themselves because:
“Innassalāta tanhā `anilfahshāi walmunkar” [Surat Al-Ankabut; 45]
“Salāh itself prohibits and prevents you from immorality and evil.”
Allāhu Akbar. May Allāh  purify us, may he grant us goodness. So this is why we say subhān Allāh, this qalbun saleem, this pure heart should be the dream of every one of us.
Performing good and bad deeds in private
Save yourselves, remember Allāh a lot. Protect yourselves from jealousy, from envy. Protect yourselves from that which is bad. The love of sin that which you commit in private that is what destroys your heart. One sin in private is more dangerous than what you think. The reason is when a person commits a sin on his own between him and Allāh, although it may not be as bad as committing it openly with arrogance, but there is a difference. When you get used to doing something on your own that is bad, perhaps sometimes people might not correct you. When you commit it openly, sometimes, a person might correct you and this is why the hadeeth speaks of it from another angle. Where the Prophet  says there is hope for people, for as long as they are not proud of their sin and they don't openly commit it. So that angle, yes, it's in the hadeeth of Rasoolullāh  but that which you do in private it does not mean it's belittled. It is very dangerous, it is venomous, it is poisonous. It is something that may grow into roots of evil that are like the arteries around your heart. They've blocked it, sealed it. If you've ever seen the diagram of a heart, and you see all the veins and capillaries and arteries and various other blood vessels around the heart. They come so well around the heart that they form like a cage around it. Imagine if that was full of evil. What would happen to us? This is why, develop your link with Allāh silently. One of the means of purifying your heart “Engage in acts of worship when people are fast asleep.” Read your salāh at night when nobody's watching besides Allāh. Why is this going to purify your heart? Because you are doing it for the sake of Allāh. If committing a sin when you think nobody is watching is very very bad and evil and dirties you heart, then engaging in a good deed when nobody is watching will have the opposite effect. It will purify your heart and cleanse it. So this is why there are so many evidences to prove that a good deed that is done in private, is far more beneficial than the same good deed which may be done sometimes openly. Beneficial from a certain angle. That is purification of the heart.
Your link with Allāh is a secret between you and Allāh. Mostly, who knows my connection with Allāh? Only I know it. I know what water I'm swimming in. I know what hot soup I might be in and so do you. Subhān Allāh. It's only Allāh who knows this, so you need to know between you and Allāh what's your link. Develop it. Make Allāh your best friend. Give that love to Allāh. And the love of Allāh is known by your obedience. It is not known by mere statements of the tongue. Statements of the tongue are important but they need to be substantiated by action.
The tongue and its effect on the heart
Moments ago we promised ten pounds each, to do what? To upgrade the sound system here. It's easy to put up your hand. Whether or not you are going to take it out of your pocket and put it in the box, that's between you and Allāh. Subhān Allāh. This was just a statement to make sure it comes. I'm thinking moments ago, as soon as I'm gone I'm sure everyone would just say “As-salaam `alaykum,” out. Don't forget Allāhu Akbar. May Allāh  make us honest people. It's easy to say something, it's difficult to put your money where you mouth is. May Allāh  give us mouths that will not embarrass us.
We say “O Allāh we love you, O Messenger we love you. It's just like what we are getting in return. My sisters, I said a few days ago and I'm saying it again. When he says “I love you!” It's just like how he says “I love the Messenger.” Why do we say that? Because when he says he loves the Messenger, if he really did he would not be saying that to you illicitly. Allāhu Akbar. Did you here what I just said? If he's married to you it's fine. Yes, we're not talking about that. We're talking of illicitly. You want to say “I love you”, “I love you sister in Islām!” I love you and at the bottom we add FTP. You know what that means, “For the pleasure of Allāh”, FTPA. Yes, I've seen it happening. I love you! And they've got a big sign with the smooch, a little snog, mā shā'Allāh, astaghfirullāh. It's just a sign, they've got it going and this little emoticon that comes up “I love you” and at the bottom they say FTPA. What's that? Is that like a password to commit sin? Wallāhi it's not. Be careful. It's a password to dirty your heart. And my sister if you fall prey to that, you're equally guilty. Allāhu Akbar.
Don't fall prey to it. When you love Allāh and his Messenger you wouldn't be saying that to someone illicitly. It's a sign. This is why I say if such a person says I love the messenger, it's the same thing. Because they love the messenger they are not following him. So they love you and you probably aren't the only one that they say “I love you” to. And at the same time, they're probably using that statement just to get something out of you. May Allāh  purify us. Do no abuse one another. Never abuse the opposite sex. Never ever! Respect the opposite sex.
Guiding another is better for you than anything in this world
And remember if you are used as a means to guide someone, it is better for you than anything of material value in this world. If that is correct and it is correct because it's the hadeeth, then you need to remember the opposite is also true. If you are used to misguide someone it is worse for you than anything in this world. Than the loss of the biggest materialistic items of this world. Worst than that. Imagine if you are used to misguide someone, you encourage someone to commit a sin and they committed it. It's so bad and it's such a dirty spot on the heart. That what will happen is, it would be equivalent or even worse than if you had to loose your house and your car and your job and your clothing and everything. And driven out of completely everything. And your bank account gone, everything done. And you're sitting there bare. Why? Because you did something that is unacceptable. My brothers and sisters it's about time we cleansed ourselves for the sake of Allāh. May Allāh  grant us goodness. May Allāh open our doors.
Weeping for the sake of Allāh
Wallāhi we need to be worried for ourselves. When we die and we go into our graves we will be on our own. It is the warm tears that will come to our assistance. When we've cried for the sake of Allāh. Someone who remembers Allāh on their own, they remember Allāh in the darkness of the night or at any time of the day and suddenly a warm tear rolls down their cheeks. That warm tear will bear witness for you my brothers and sisters. May Allāh grant it to us. Some of us, we've never cried, except for that which was illicit. Girlfriend breaks up with you and you cry two buckets full. Allāhu Akbar. And when you break up your link with Allāh and develop a link with the devil. There's no tears coming up. When people remind you of your link with Allāh and how he is the owner of everything. He's the owner of your heart, He's the owner of your eyes, your nose, your existence, your breathing, your life, your sustenance, your happiness, then nobody cries or should I say some don't cry. This is why the Prophet  used to say “O Allāh I seek your protection from an eye that doesn't cry for your sake.” May Allāh open our doors. We cry over our sins “Ibkee `ala khateeatik” is a hadeeth of Rasoolullāh  he says you need to cry over the sins you've committed. Weep, it's a sign of acceptance, it's a sign that you have turned. It's a purification of the heart. The tears are used to purify the heart for as long as they have been released for the right reasons. Allāhu Akbar. May Allāh  grant us purity and goodness.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, I have only tapped on very few angles of purification of the heart and purification of the soul. There is much to be said, but as you know sessions of this nature will keep repeating themselves. It is your business, you need to make it your business to hunt for them, to make an effort to attend them and in sha'Allāh to be a part of them.
I want to end with one little point that comes to my mind and that is, back at home we see the churches full. They sit for hours, three, four times a week. Hours on end and the other places of worship. But when it comes to the Muslimeen very few people. Can we fill this masjid for salātul fajr tomorrow morning as it is today? Or any masjid we are closest to in terms of the brothers. Can we do that? By the will of Allāh, we hope that that is the case.
My brothers and sisters work on your hearts. May Allāh make me work on me as well. No matter what level you've got to, there is always room for improvement. Always room for improvement! Never ever think that I have arrived. Never ever think “I'm holy” because a person who thinks he's holy really has a few holes. You need to know that. You need to be worried about your piety. Piety is a level that really even the pious are worried. Look at `Umar ibn al-Khattāb  going to Huthayfa ibn al-Yaman  what a great man and he goes and he says “Ya Huthayfa, I just want to know something. The list of hypocrites that you have, is `Umar on that list?” Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar. One of the highest of the sahābah . Number two in the ranking and what happens? Allāhu Akbar, he's saying genuinely and seriously asking a question, worried and trembling. Is my name on that list, just let me know that. Did he ever think “I'm a pious man. I'm a sahābī and I was happy to be the companion of Muhammad , I was given glad tiding of paradise, so I'm pious?” They were given glad tidings of jannah and they were still worried about that issue. Are we hypocrites?
The Qur'ān says:
“An tahbata a`mālukum wa antum lā tash`uroon“ [Surat Al-Hujurat ; 2]
addressing the sahābah . Meant even more for us. That your deeds might be wasted without you knowing because of certain bad conduct and behavior. So what about us, we ask Allāh never ever to waste our deeds without us knowing. May Allāh  protect us all. In sha'Allāh we meet again for another dose. In sha'Allāh at some stage whether here or elsewhere. We ask Allāh  to bless us and grant us all paradise, help purify our hearts, love one another for the sake of Allāh  and remove the clinginess that is in our hearts of the material world that is around us. When it goes beyond a certain limit, remember it becomes detrimental. Until we meet again we say, wa sallallāhu wa sallam wa barika `ala Muḥammad, Subhan'Allāhi wa bihamdihi, Subhanak'Allāh hum bihamdik. Ash hadu an lā illāha illā anta, nastaghfiruka wa natūbu ilaik.

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Purification Of The Soul 1 – Mufti Ismail Menk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purification Of The Soul – Mufti Ismail Menk

Lecture by Mufti Ismail Menk | Transcribed by Hayley B.
[The following is the video and transcript of Mufti Ismail Menk's lecture entitled 'Purification Of The Soul.' The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity].

A`ūthu billāhi min ash-shaytānir rajeem. Bismillāhir Rahmānir Raheem.

[Surat Al-Qasas ; 76-78]
Introduction
We commence by praising Allāh , sending blessings and salutations upon Muhammad . We ask the Almighty to bless him and his entire household; those who supported him from day one. And we ask Allāh  to bless all his companions as well as every single one of us and our offspring to come up to the day of qiyāmah. Not forgetting those who have struggled and strove through the years, in order to preserve this deen in a way that today it has come to us. May Allāh use us to do the same for the future generations.
Beloved brothers and sisters in Islām, this evening we will be talking about the purification of the soul. The believer as you know is only successful if he develops his link with his maker and cleanses his heart. We refer to the heart, we refer to the soul. Allāh  speaks about cleansing oneself from the sins that are apparent as well as those that are hidden. So in the Qur'ān he says,
“Watharoo thāhira alithmi wabātinah” [Surah Al An'am ; 120]
“Leave and abandon all sins whether they are outward or inward.”
And I'm sure we all know that the outward sins are quite clear for everyone to see. Those which are inside are sometimes completely invisible to the rest. It is only through interaction that some of them can be picked up and sometimes even with interaction some of these sins can not be picked up. So it is up to us to purify not only the soul but the heart, knowing that some of the scholars refer to the heart and the soul using the same term and some have separated the two.
If the heart is pure and good, the whole body will be pure and good
What we do need to understand is that the heart is described in the hadith of halāl and harām which appears in Sahīh Muslim, narrated by an-Nu'man ibn Bashir  ”Halāl is quite clear and harām is also quite clear”. And between the two there may be a grey area where people may not know is this halāl or is this harām.” So the hadeeth continues to say “Whoever stays away from that which is doubtful has protected himself and his religion and whoever falls into that which is doubtful has fallen into harām.” If I can stop there for a moment and quickly explain. If a person were to be told that this particular piece of food that you're about to eat is poisonous and as soon as you put it in your mouth you will die. And twenty people are saying that to him and another twenty say “No don't worry it's fine, it's okay, we've checked it out and so on and you can eat it.” That is a very clear example of what we are saying today, meaning in this hadeeth. If you were to put it in your mouth, it's as though you've committed suicide. You're gone. You've killed yourself, because twenty are saying this and twenty are saying that. And if you were to leave it, you would save yourself completely. So there is no risk involved by leaving it and yet by taking it you are definitely risking your life. This is as far as a food stuff goes which may be poisonous. But when it comes to the deen and what Allāh has revealed and sent down, there are things that are clear, things that are not clear for some and the clarity is either this way or that way. You know this is permissible and this is not permissible. That is clear. But sometimes there is a debated issue in the center. If you are to protect yourself from it, perhaps you will be able to safeguard your deen. And in this particular narration some may say that this is speaking more about food stuff and so on, but the wording of Rasoolullāh  goes far beyond anything that can be termed halāl or harām is included in this particular narration.
Then the hadith continues to say ”Similar to a shepherd who has allowed his flock to graze upon the border of his land not knowing whether it has gone onto the land of the neighbor because the demarcation is not so clear.” So there is a point up to which he knows this is my land. Beyond that he is not so clear. Is this my land or is it not my land? So when he goes to that grey area, he doesn't know whether it's his or not. What a big risk. He is now grazing his sheep, as a shepherd, on land that may not be his. And this is why the narration continues to say “Behold every king has limits. Limits beyond which you are not allowed or you will not be allowed to cross. Every king has rules, regulations and indeed the limits of Allāh are those things he has made prohibited.” Don't go there! Subhān Allāh.
Then it continues making mention of the heart and this is what we are trying to get to “Behold in the body there is a piece of flesh. If it is pure and clean and good, the entire body will be pure and clean and good. And if it is dirty, impure and not good, then the whole body will be dirty, impure and not good. Behold, that organ or that piece of flesh is the heart.” Subhān Allāh. So if your heart is clean, everything else will be okay. If your heart is dirty, everything else will be dirty.
Accepting advice from others
And when we say clean heart, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are just a person who's non-judgmental. You see sometimes they say “Don't judge me” when you're giving them advice. You say “Brother you're not supposed to be go to the nightclub”, ”Hey stop judging me”, ”What are you talking about, we're just advising you.” So don't use the term “Do not judge me” in order to run away from advice. Sometimes it becomes difficult for the scholars or for those who want to advise others. “Sister your hair is supposed to be covered, sister you're supposed to be dressing in a proper way”, ”My brother you're not supposed to be bouncing around on the street with your backside half showing”. Allāhu Akbar. “Stop judging me”, “Well your backside's judging you!” Allāhu Akbar. And this happens and we get these answers on a daily basis. Well to be honest nobody's judging. But it does not mean that if a person has uttered these type of words that their heart is dirty. No brother, sister! They are advising you for your better.
Wallāhi moments ago I was listening to a clip in the Urdu language of one of the cricketers in Pakistan. I don't even know exactly who he is but I believe he is one of the top cricketers of the globe. And he was making mention of who his real friends are. You know what he said? He said “The real friends are the `ulamā'. My real friends are those scholars who keep reminding me what is my duty to Allāh, what is halāl and harām and the fact that I am going to go into my grave with nobody, no cricket bat and no ball and no score and nothing from the Guinness Book of Records, but just me and my own records; the deeds I've done.” Imagine a cricketer, a man who's one of the top on the globe confirming that those scholars who continue reminding me, telling me that I am a person who's going to go into my grave all alone. Those are my true friends. Subhān Allāh.
What about us? What do we have next to our names? Do we hate the people who remind us? If that's the case, purification of the heart and soul is required. We ask Allāh  to help us purify. Wallāhi it is a difficult age that we are moving in because people do not realize that when others are reminding you to purify your soul, your heart, they are not judging you. They are helping you. They are giving you a word of encouragement. Don't just give that answer. That is an answer that sometimes the globe gives in order to get away with murder, to keep on committing sin. “We will not judge you, we love you my sister but we don't love your bad habit. We love you my brother, we don't love your bad habit.” I was about to say we don't love your backside. Allāhu Akbar. Wallāhi it's true.
Thinking of people, wallāhi my brother we love you. We really want you, that's why we are telling you don't do that. We had an image doing its rounds on the internet, with some of the scholars had to say “Please don't, you know, send this around.” Because they were showing jumu`ah. I think it was two weeks ago in a masjid. Okay let's not say where it was in case you might recognize the brother, but they were showing him making his Sunnah as the khutbah is going on. And the people behind him was so harmed and hurt, they had to get up and some of them you know sharp enough to pick up their phones and say lets you know, tell the people what's happening around here. May Allāh safeguard us. We should not be exposing people but the people should not be exposing themselves. Allāhu Akbar.
Cleansing the heart of hatred
So my brothers and sisters, lets purify our souls for the pleasure of Allāh . How does this happen? We need to do something about it. Don't think that I just make a du`ā' ”Ya Allāh clean me, purify my soul” and it will. Du`ā' is a part of it, definitely. “Allāhumma yā muqallibal quloob, thabbit qulubee `alā deenik.” The Prophet  used to say “O Allāh in whose hands” or “O Allāh who is the owner of the movement of the hearts, move my heart towards the deen - on the deen. Keep it steadfast.” But that statement will be of no use if you do not have an intention to purify yourself.
Work hard on matters like hatred. Remove that hatred for your fellow brothers in the deen and have hatred for sin rather than the individual whom you are supposed to be looking at saying “This is my brother in Islām.” If you are supposed to be hating people because of a sin they may be committing, remember everybody will hate everybody because none of us can put up our hands and say “We are sinless.” Can anyone now, here, put up their hands and say “I'm spotless, sinless, I have not sinned?” Not one! Subhān Allāh. Not one! Not even myself because we are human beings. So the reality, we will hate the sin, we will hate the shirk, we will hate the bid`ah, but we will work on the brother or the sister in a way that we will try to help them come out of that shirk, come out of that bid`ah, come out of that sin for example. But at the same time remembering that this is a person who has declared the shahādah and I have as well. They may have sinned differently to me, but in the same way I want to be helped, I need them to be helped and I will try my best to do that or at least make du`ā' for them.
Making du`ā' and giving naseeha
This is why we say, you see a brother with a bottle in his hand. A bad Muslim would go around Tweeting that and go around Facebook-ing it and WhatsApp-ing it and so on-ing it. Subhān Allāh. Why? Because they want the world to know “I saw that man with a bottle.”
But a good Muslim will do one of two things or both. They will either go to the brother, say “Brother you know what this is something bad and you know you're a Muslim, come on you know insha'Allāh there's much goodness expected from you by the will of Allāh. You're such a great person, you have so much potential, this thing is not going to do you any good.” Engage them. Not swearing. Engage them properly to say look this is something that is unacceptable in the deen. You know, it will cause a lot of damage, a lot of harm. If you quit this I think there are a lot of good habits that you have. Just quit this and so on and Allāh  may open the brother's doors through your effort and you will be granted goodness. “For Allāh to use you to guide a single person is better for you than anything of the highest material value in this world.” May Allāh  bless us all. That is point number one. You either go to him or someone who has an effect or impact on him and perhaps tell them to talk to him if you can not talk to him.
And secondly make du`ā' for that brother. ”Ya Allāh, today I witnessed someone with a bottle. It hurt me, Ya Allāh. Ya Allāh, guide them, help them to remove the bottle. Help them to give up that bad habit and help me to give up whatever bad habits I have.” Allāhu Akbar. This is purity of the heart now. With that du`ā' and that naseeha, if Allāh wills that person's heart will come onto the right path within a matter of time. We know so many people who had very bad pasts, but now when they've come up straight, subhān Allāh, they've gone very far in life in terms of the deen and become closer to Allāh . So many of us, perhaps we are much better today than we were yesterday. May Allāh  grant us goodness.
Remaining patient when giving naseeha
This is why we say, brother when you have become religious, remember when you are inviting others towards religion, you also came about slowly. So give them a little bit of time. The problem with us, we come on the deen after fifty years and everyone else we give them five minutes. Wallāhi, it's a problem in the ummah. We are facing it, we are not patient. We are supposed to be patient as Muslimeen. It took you forty years to recognize your Maker. Why do you want to in four minutes create such a situation that remove a man from the whole fold of the deen. Kick him out, curse him to the degree that you've buried him alive and you haven't given him more than four minutes to repent. You took forty years my brother. Thank Allāh he showed you the light. Allāhu Akbar. Work on them, continue working on them. The Prophet's  nubūwwah was not twenty-three minutes, nor was it twenty-three days, nor was it twenty-three months. It was twenty-three solid years. Allāhu Akbar. 
So purify your heart when it comes to your relation with others because there is something known has huqooqul`ibād through which a lot of what your heart conceals becomes manifest. We hate for the sake of Allāh the deeds that are done in the displeasure of Allāh. We may hate for the sake of Allāh those who have absolutely no goodness in them and they have damaged the deen or they have caused lots of damage to those who follow the deen.
Giving da`wah - Every non-Muslim is a potential Muslim
But remember even the non-Muslims, every single non-Muslim is a potential Muslim. If you loose focus on that, you have lost the path. For as long as they are breathing there is hope. Who is ready to invite them in the proper way? Allāhu Akbar.
A very big statement that brings tears to the eyes. Every non-Muslim. When the Prophet  made a du`ā' for the enemies of Islām, one of the prayers were ”Allāhummah a`izzal Islāma biahadil `Umarain” “O Allāh, grant strength to this deen through the acceptance of Islām of one of the two `Umars.” One was known as `Umar ibn al-Khattāb  later to be known as, and the other one `Amr ibn Hishām who was known as Abu Jahl. No sooner was the du`ā' made, response came from Allāh . This man came marching into this house of al-Arqam ibn Abi'l Arqam  as the books of history have made mention.
So Rasoolullāh  knew that Allāh is the One who guides. Just like he guided me, he may guide you or anyone on the street. So remember, when we say cleanse your heart and do not be judgmental we need to understand what this statement means. May Allāh  make us people who realize that we would like to help one another to become steadfast on the deen. And that help can happen in so many different ways, depending on the authority that Allāh  has given you as well.
Cleansing the heart of envy
If we have hatred in our hearts. Now lets talk about general hatred, not necessarily whilst giving da`wah. But at the same time hatred in our hearts for someone, for some reason, normally it stems from jealousy. Not every time but a lot of the times. Because Allāh has blessed someone with more wealth, with more knowledge, with more acceptance, perhaps with greater looks. You know you have a woman who's extremely beautiful or a girl who's extremely good-looking and sometimes you have other girls who make her life so difficult and her crime is just that she is gorgeous. I would have told you to say mā shā'Allāh, but it's abstract. There's no one in particular we're talking about. Allāhu Akbar. So al-hamdulillāh, all you can say is “In sha'Allāh.” Allāhu Akbar. My brothers and sisters, wallāhi, do not become jealous of the favors that Allāh has bestowed others, just because you don't have it. Don't! It will result in the dirty heart. The heart will become unclean, filthy and it will require cleansing.
Cleansing the heart with Thikrullāh
Cleansing of the heart is also done through what is known as thikrullāh because everything has a detergent and the detergent of the heart is the remembrance of Allāh. But I'd like to interpret the term thikrullāh in its broader context. Thikrullāh starts with understanding the meaning of the Qur'ān. That's where it starts. That's the beginning of it. Because the thikr that is mentioned in the Qur'ān so many times, it directly refers to the Qur'ān and at times it refers to the Sunnah of Muhammad . So remember you need to know the message of Allāh, in order to have your heart purified. What did Allāh say to me? I always, always say it is a big insult. Some of us, how old we are, how regular we are with our salāh, yet we have not made an effort to understand the meanings of what we utter in salāh. Wallāhi it is an insult. We don't even know what is meant by
“Alhamdu lillāhi rabbi al`ālameen, Arrahmāni arraheem, Māliki yawmi addeen” [Surah Fathiha ; 2-4]
Some people do not know the meaning and some people do not think of the meaning when they are uttering these words. So what value do you have? How is your heart going to be impacted? Look at the hearts of those who were the sahābah . When they heard a single verse their lives changed. When they heard one verse, their hearts were purified! `Umar ibn al-Khattāb himself, who was an enemy of Islam, the opening verses of Surah Tāhā were read to him. Not more than a few lines were read to him. He began to tremble. Immediately his heart was cleansed because he had that sincerity in his heart. For a moment it was struck with sincerity and he said “Take me to Muhammad .” Guided from kufr to īmān in a split moment because of the Qur'ān. And this has happened to so many people. It has happened to people around us in our midst, perhaps some who might be seated here. Reverted immediately. Allāhu Akbar. Why? They read the Qur'ān and realized, this is the word of Allāh.
I always tell people, you know I have an MP3 disc in my vehicle, given to me by someone in Malaysia. A brother. Allāh grant him goodness. And on it, there is the entire Qur'ān just in the English language. So the `Arabic has been, you know separated. Now we know the importance of the `Arabic and the English and he says “This is extremely beneficial to those who speak the language.” And I thought to myself, look, to me the `Arabic is powerful, the English is fair enough trying to explain what the `Arabic is, but the word of Allāh is that particular `Arabic. You can not compromise it. So I thought to myself let me put it in and try and listen to what is being said. And I had a non-Muslim sit in my car once. One who had come to do some work and I was taking him back to his place. I saw tears in his eyes. Four of five surahs were read within a short space of time in the English language alone and he told me “What is this?” And I said “What do you think it is?” He said “It's something powerful!” He said “It has to be the book you guys follow” I said “It is” “Can I come to your place of worship?” “By all means brother.” Subhān Allāh. I think within a short space of time, may Allāh grant him guidance to the deen. Ameen.
That's when I realized, I said you know what? Sometimes when people are just going through even the meaning of it, because they understand it, it impacts differently. Without reducing the importance of the tilāwah in the `Arabic language. Because indeed that is on a level of its own. But at the same time remember the impact of that, if you understand what you're reading, is totally different. You need that as well. So your purification will start when you have made an intention to understand the word of Allāh. I said moments ago, they heard four verses of the Qur'ān, they embraced Islām. We have read what we know as khatmah upon khatmah upon khatmah once a month, sometimes once a week, sometimes once every two months. We've completed the entire mushaf, but brother you can not give up your pornography. A`oothu billāh.
Abstaining from Pornography
It did not move you. Pornography is the problem of the age, wallāhi. It's a difficulty. It affects your eyes, your brain, your mind, your organs, your reproductive system, the way you look at the opposite sex, your marriage. Absolutely everything is made rotten through a cancer because of your eyes perceiving some dirty sexual movements of the opposite sex. Totally harām, completely unacceptable but available on your phone.
Today I was speaking to some brothers on our journey back from Birmingham and I made mention of a very interesting point. Your mobile phone that you have my brothers, my sisters can take you to jannah or jahannam. Remember that. The way you use it. You have any scholar on the globe that Allāh has used to affect you and impact you at your fingertips. At the time of your convenience, in your bedroom, subhān Allāh. Perhaps, whilst you're lying down, you can click every night either on a scholar where you can listen to something regarding your deen and go to bed feeling a good Muslim.
Or you can click onto a pornographic site and perhaps you will be caught in that web which will take you very, very, far away. It's to do with how clean or dirty your heart is. If you want to purify yourself, you need to force yourself, before you go to bed. Click that phone, listen to a ten minute clip of a scholar of your choice, subhān Allāh, and then go to bed. Everyday that ten minute dose will wake you up but if you have a one minute dose of that which is pornographic or ugly or dirty or unacceptable, wallāhi it is like a seed that grows and when the tree grows big, it's going to be very hard to uproot it. My brothers, my sisters get rid of it now. Now! Make an intention here and now “Ya Allāh if you take me before I exit this masjid, let me be a pure person. I seek forgiveness for all my sins. I change my life.” Allāhu Akbar. How many more scholars would you like to hear before you change your life? Before you decide to purify that heart of yours. Without an effort from you, the heart is not going to be purified. When you have your own kitchen and you've cooked your food and your pans are dirty, you can not just look at the pans and expect them to become clean. Even if you've got a dishwasher, you've got to pick the thing up, put it in the dishwasher, chose the detergent, turn on the water, press the button. Then things happen. Subhān Allāh. We still don't have the eye control of the pan. And if you thought you did they'd take you to the hospital, believe me. May Allāh  safeguard us.
So these are powerful words of reminder for myself to begin with. My brother, my sister, how do you use your Twitter account?  What type of a profile do you have? How do you use your Facebook account? It can take you to paradise or it can drive you to hell, very easily. Believe me, it's up to you when you press click and when you press like and it's up to you to go home and dislike or to dislike it here and now whilst we're talking. Because I know there are brothers, perhaps maybe even sisters busy on their phones whilst we're talking. To be honest, I actually don't see a single one, mā shā'Allāh. Allāhu Akbar. So I need to swallow back my word.
But this is what it is. If your heart is dirty, it begins to show your own self. You can see it, your mind can figure it out. Why because you lead a life. What will happen to it? It will be full of bunk. You know it will be so narrow, full of depression, full of stress, full of lack of contentment. Where is my contentment gone? It's gone with the pornographic site. It's gone with the adultery that you can not give up. Adultery is a seed. Wallāhi if you sow it and you water it; watering means you return to it, and you water it more, you return to it more, it grows a tree. When the tree becomes big and strong, it becomes more difficult to uproot it. You become hooked onto it, to the degree that it's just like second nature. No regret thereafter until you die in a condition. May Allāh safeguard us.
We had some brothers who came to me some time back, telling me, you know what do we do, our father was looking like such a religious man and he died in the midst of two prostitutes with beer bottles. Do you want that to be the end of your life? May Allāh protect us all. A`oothu billāh. May Allāh safeguard us. Well if that's the case do not let that be a probability. Rather let salāh be a probability. If you engage in five salāh, the chances of you dying in salāh are very great. Do you know that? There are so many who have died in sujood and rukoo`. But if you don't read salāh there's no chance of that happening to you. Not at all. May Allāh  take us away whilst we're in His obedience and may he protect us really, that we are not disgraced, dying in His disobedience.

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