The essence of Islam has been eradicated over the centuries and what is left of the message is miniscule. Islamic values have been substituted with the cultures of the colonists, including their individualistic mentality and goal in life. This is the psychology that cultivates the diseases of the heart caused by attachment to dunia.
We forget that each of us is leaving this life, and that our eternal life actually begins after death. Wether Muslims or not, our souls are only travelling in one direction. Our lives on earth are a journey towards another transitional point in the grave. From this cycle we will then travel to our final residence, which is jannah or jahannam.
Allah gave us a gift, which is “la illahail Allah”, there is no God but Allah, and we should honour this gift.
Upon death, physical illnesses will never trouble us again. However, from the moment of death, the disease of the heart can be the cause of our agony, starting from the punishment of the grave to the punishment in jahannam. Our spiritual failings caused by the disease of the heart can make us suffer for infinity.
Today, we spend our efforts and money to treat our physical symptoms, but the more pressing sickness we should be concerned with is the sickness of our spiritual hearts.
The heart is the safety deposit box for the hereafter, and we should fill it with the appropriate treasures and safeguard it from corruption. The Qur’an states several times that it is not the blindness of the eyes, but rather the blindness of the heart, that is a barrier to our entering jannah.
If the diseases of the heart override the noor of Allah, a whole array of spiritual diseases will result. To name a few, these include arrogance, stinginess, kufr (denial of Allah’s bounty), shirk (association with Allah), anger and poor manners.
The Companions (RA) did not suffer from these diseases because they did not carry dunia in their hearts. They used to say that the attachment to dunia is not through possessions, but rather by what is contained in the heart. Hence it does not mean that every rich person is attached to dunia. One can be rich with no dunia in your his, or be poor but drowning in dunia,
Some of the Companions were extremely wealthy, but they spent all their earnings and even capital in the path of Allah. Abdul Rahman ibn Auf (RA) was recognized by his ragged clothing even though he was the owner of the biggest trade caravan at the time. When asked to support Islam, Umar RA once gave Rasulullah(SAW) half his capital. He was always in rivalry of good deeds with Abu Bakr (RA) and thought that this time, he had come out the winner. When he went to Rasulullah(SAW) he discovered that Abu Bakr(RA) had given his entire capital towards the path of Allah!
Zakat v Charity v Sacrifice
Many misunderstand the topic of spending and think that zakat (alms) suffices. To clarify, zakat is mandatory, as it constitutes one of the pillars of Islam. Zakat is compulsory in order to remain within the fold of Islam, whereas charity is a voluntary act of worship with potentially unlimited rewards.
The Qur’an challenges its readers to give Allah a goodly loan (spend in the way of Allah). If we give this loan to Allah, our repayment is guaranteed, and on top of that, it is repaid manifold by Allah. Abu Darda RA responded to these Qur’anic verses by donating his own private garden to Rasulullah SAW in order to support the message of Islam. The Qur’an states that spending for Allah is rewarded 700 times over. Today, we think we have struck gold if we find an investment opportunity which yields 18% profit a year, and yet fail to grasp the enormous returns of spending in the path of Allah.
When someone you care about expresses a request, don’t you go out of your way to please? It is not just by spending, but also by sacrificing the things you love or even the things you are short of. For example, you are wealthy from your career but someone you love is ill. What would that person appreciate more, your time in tending to him, or your money?
Similarly, sacrifice for Allah is demonstrated by sacrificing what is beloved to you. It is subjective from person to person.
Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love. And whatever you spend – indeed, Allah is Knowing of it. (Ali Imran verse 92)
These massive rewards cannot be earned by just donating the spare change in your pocket! You can hardly claim to have a deep love of a few coins. But when you push yourself to go further – a significant part of your salary, or using the money that you had been saving up to buy a treat for yourself, or even giving away a part of your capital, such that the amount makes you ache – that indicates sacrifice.
When you buy a car, the love for your money will be transferred to the love of the car. It is the same when you spend something of what you love for Allah, but the rewards in dunia and akhirah are far more abundant and meaningful.
The Amanah or Trust
What if we spent what we have been given in accordance with what Allah has commanded us to do? If all the Muslims spent our excess wealth to alleviate the suffering of the ummah, poverty can be eradicated overnight.
If you gave someone a bag to hold on trust, and that person opens the bag and takes its contents without your permission, how would you feel? And moreover, he becomes so fascinated by the bag and its contents that he forgets that you are the owner! This is exactly what happens when we abuse what Allah has given us, and we end up loving Allah’s gifts which He bestowed upon us on trust – be it a spouse, children, or material goods – more than we love Allah.
Love is the feeling and desire to achieve pleasure and benefit to you. Human beings love what benefits them. If so, is there a love more magnificent and beneficial than the love of Allah?
Conversely, we are also warned that when we love something more than Allah, we risk being in a state of associating something with Allah, it can make us a mushrik.
Anas bin Malik (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, “There are three qualities whoever has them, will taste the sweetness of Iman: To love Allah and His Messenger (SAW) more than anyone else; to love a slave (of Allah) only for (the sake of) Allah; and to hate returning to infidelity after Allah has saved him from it as he would hate to be thrown into the fire (of Hell).” (Bukhari and Muslim)
The life story of Ibrahim AS demonstrates the request for the greatest sacrifice to Allah – his beloved son. Allah has spared the rest of us from the burden of such a monumental sacrifice. Yet, in return, what are we willing to sacrifice for Allah?
Some scholars mentioned that zikrullah gets you close to Allah, whereas sacrifice grants you admission into Allah’s palace.
If your heart is connected to Allah it will be clean, and filled with the light of Allah. This happens to those who are detached from dunia and guard their relationship with Allah. The diseases of the heart begin when one feels that he is staying in this earth for infinity. This is what causes us to accumulate the accomplishments and properties of dunia. However, we will never be happy if our happiness is pegged on wealth and secular achievements. This will only cause us stress, misery and discontentment. Happiness comes from within, and is not associated with the material.
The Love of Dunia
Love of dunia is often misperceived as being the love of money, but the love of dunia can capture us in any form, by distracting, occupying and enticing us. It can be reflected in our pastimes and habits, or engulf us through money or spending excessive amount of attention on a time wasting hobby, sport or passion. It is the love of dunia that causes us to be glued to the television, spend wasteful amounts of money on a meal and even spend hours on a painstaking past time that does not benefit anyone.
When people love a piece of dunia above all else, then nothing matters above what they love. A man may be focused on being a top performer at work, channeling all his efforts on his career, travelling from meeting to meeting, working late nights to the point that he does not mind if his wife is having an affair!
To cleanse our love of dunia, we should remind ourselves that Allah is the Ever Living and the inheritor of this earth. Whatever worldly possessions we have will dissipate and turn to dust. We cannot bring them with us to the grave. Every time we accumulate dunia, we are challenging Allah’s eternal nature and denying our own limited lifespan on earth. The accumulation of dunia and the love of wealth, is similar to being a guest in someone’s house, where the guest starts renovating and building his own room in it! It is pointless and inappropriate.
If you forget this fundamental principle of existence, the diseases of the heart will fester and spread. This cultivates long hope, nurturing plans for the distant future, and not respecting one’s own mortality.
Normal sins take a few minutes or a few days to perform, but the sin of loving dunia can be a lifetime sin without you being aware of it.
Gaining the Love of Allah
If you wanted to gain someone’s love, you would do what pleases him, not what pleases yourself. You would cook the type of food the other person loves even if you don’t care for it too much yourself! These are the same actions we should perform for Allah. Allah has given us clear signals of what He wants, and we should comply in order to earn His love.
If we are eager to earn the love of Allah, we should go above and beyond. Let’s say you hire someone to clean your room daily. He does a decent job, but another employee not only cleans it, but polishes the furniture, puts some fragrance, decorates it with flowers and makes sure that even the spots that are hidden from view are well dusted. That extra service will delight us and we will favour the second person.
The more we are in servitude to Allah, the more it benefits us. The more we spend for Allah, the more iman we will receive from Allah, and the more pleasure and love of Allah we will gain.
Love of Allah v Love of Others
What of the love of our husbands, wives, children etc? What many of us define as love,is in reality physical attraction, possessiveness, obsession, dominance, addiction or ownership. So much of what we think is love is twisted – displayed in the forms of addiction, excessive control, dictatorial behaviour, interference in personal affairs and lack of compassion! That kind of love and control benefits no one and is only for satisfying our corrupted nafs.
The diseased heart inspires jealousy and interference in the wrong situations. A prime example is the meddling of the mother in law – how many marriages have collapsed because of the unwarranted prying and control by the mothers in law into the domestic affairs of her children? The jealous mother in law often tries to prescribe the issues of the married offspring, instigating rife and turmoil in the household. Very few, if any, encourage their children to be contented and thankful with the new household and to continue the journey of self development.
Many of us are spiritually blind, and riddled with diseases of the heart. The consequence is:
In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie. (Surah Al Baqarah v 15)
Another clear warning is in Surah Taubah, verse 115 which says:
And Allah would not let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should avoid. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of all things.
Thus the ones most at risk are the ones who already own the knowledge of Islam, but when a situation arises, disregard Allah’s message and obey the way of Shaitan and personal desires. How many of us, in order to make extra money or earn a promotion or please our children, will perform forbidden acts (such as haram investments, backstabbing our colleagues, or even trying to gain clients by buying them alcohol).
How many of us, when under financial strain, pray and vow to Allah that in return for wealth, we will spend in the way of Allah, but when the money starts rolling in, we stash it away for a rainy day, or spend it on ourselves? These are the dangerous building blocks of hypocrisy, and are far removed from the actions of someone who believes of his appointment with his Lord after death.
