Rana Rais Khan – Founder Hiba Family Resource Centre
What is Hayaat e Tayyabah? A pure life? How is it related to the aliveness of our heart? And why is it non-negotiable?
In Islamic understanding, the life of the heart comes from the divine connection with the Creator of the heart. Simply put, our heart instantly comes alive when it recognizes, understands and worships Allah (swt), just like a dead cell phone charged to function efficiently.
The heart’s primary and fundamental function is to know Allah (swt). The mind, limbs and senses were granted as tools to connect the two – our heart with Allah (swt).
Hence, our heart’s true pleasure, serenity and ecstasy lies in knowing the purpose of its creation and acting upon it. There is no greater blessing for a believer in Dunya other than that. Here his faith (Iman) and Rizq (blessings) are imperfect. In the hereafter both will be perfected by Allah (swt) in the form of granting him Jannah.
Allah (swt) states: “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life and We will surely give them their reward (in the hereafter) according to the best of what they used to do.” (An Nahl 16:97)
It is our heart that decides our behaviours after different experiences. Obedience to Prophet Muhammad (sa) and Allah (swt) grants a believer true happiness and success.
Allah (swt) gives glad tidings: “O You who have believed respond to Allah and to the messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart and that to Him you will be gathered.” (Al Anfal 8:24)
Have you noticed how when you are happy at heart, your face lights up, your eyes shine, your whole being lifts up, etc. The entire body speaks a different language. Your limbs follow the state of your heart. This is more evident in believers who connect well with their Lord experiencing a natural high by worshipping Him.
And this is not meditation or a trance. Islam talks about mindful, alert and deliberate glorification and prayer by means of interacting with Allah’s (swt) physical creations scattered all around us in the universe and pondering upon the Divine Scripture – the Holy Quran.
How is the lifeline of our heart enhanced?
- By carrying small worldly expectations
- By pondering upon the Holy Quran
- By protecting it from corruption
1. Carrying small expectations
This relates to the knowledge based on reality that we are here in the world for but a short while. Our journey might end soon meaning our stay is temporary. When this knowledge is internalized in the heart it develops our correct world view.
Just when we embark on a trip, we carry selective and very significant baggage. If the hotel room doesn’t offer us a very comfortable pillow, we don’t go to the market to buy one for ourselves. We adjust with many inconveniences, ignore and bear hardships. Why? Because we know that we are on the go. Our permanent destination is somewhere else. This is not home. Our eternal and perfect home is in the Akhirah in Jannah with Allah (swt). Our heart is not too sensitive or desperate about missed worldly pleasures.
The believer, like a passenger lives his numbered days detached from the world and leaves when it’s time to depart. And during his stay he acts with firm determination clutching to his most precious belongings such as his pure worship, good actions, correction of mistakes, prevention of sins, anticipation of the next life in Jannah.
Allah (swt) consoles the Prophet (sa) over worldly losses, injustices and oppression: “So be patient, (O Muhammad) as were those of determination among the messengers and do not be impatient for them. It will be – on the day they see that which they are promised – as though they had not remained (in the world) except an hour of a day. (This is) and will (any) be destroyed except the defiantly disobedient people?” (Al Ahqaf 46:35)
On the contrary, if this essential knowledge does not become our world view, it causes unlimited pain. Expectations are illegitimate. Dunya is perceived as a place of permanence hence it must be perfect as there is nothing beyond to look forward to.
For those who love Dunya immensely, Allah (swt) states: “Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire – of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return (i.e. Paradise). Say, ‘Shall I inform you of (something) better than that? For those who fear Allah will be gardens in the presence of their Lord beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally and purified spouses and approval from Allah and Allah is Seeing (i.e. aware) of (His) servants.’” (Al Imran 3:14-15)
2. To ponder upon the Holy Quran
It means to have your heart focused upon the meaning of the Quran in the correct context. Allah’s (swt) divine scripture has the miracle to enable us to place ourselves in those times and circumstances when the Quranic Ayahs were being revealed. The connection builds and forms a deeper and personalized understanding. The outcome is contentment, liberation and clarity which is indescribable. When the heart comes alive, it inspires the way a believer thinks. That is the game changer as his behaviour, speech and insight all alter due to an internal motivation and do not require outward incentive anymore.
But when majority of us recite the Quran, it lacks our attention and deliberate thinking. Quran is the only book of the world that states the true reality about our existence, the purpose of our life and how to develop coping skills for a successful life and end. No other best seller, highly acclaimed author, thinker, philosopher, etc. can claim reaching into our heart and turning our lives around.
Allah (swt) states: “[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, (O Muhammad) that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.” (Saad 38:29)
Pondering upon the Quran is a worship that is mandatory upon each Muslim. We have had Sahabah such as Abu Dardah (rta) who were known for their deliberation upon the Quran and have been praised for it.
Why is a focused study and understanding of the Quran so critical? It grants salvation to believers from a doomed end in the Aakhirah. It builds a shield against sins and defends the faith of the believer on a daily basis. It brings forth good fortune and beneficial knowledge that becomes a means of happiness. It takes us back into times and talks about the nations and individuals that perished and the ones whom Allah (swt) honoured. We understand Allah’s (swt) Fazal (blessings) and Adl (justice). We are introduced to Allah’s (swt) beautiful names and His Majestic attributes.
The bounties are endless.
3. To protect it from corruption
What corrupts our heart? Here’s a list:
- Too much socialization (personal and virtual)
- Over eating
- Excessive sleeping
- Following desires
- Giving preference to the creation over the Creator
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Too much socialization (personal and virtual)
Gossip, idle talk, vain discussions, arguments, false praise, unlimited comments, unnecessary posts, tik tok videos, etc. We cannot even part from our screens before and after our worship or prayer. It has robbed us off the sweetness of faith.
Over socialization has become an addiction today. Smart phone users are laughing, crying, engaging by themselves for hours over screens. The chaos of information has bred mindlessness, distracted hearts and divided attention.
It is critical to mindfully build solitude in your schedule. Fajr or pre-dawn, is the best time prescribed for it. Solitude is not loneliness. It is your ‘me time’ to evaluate your life decisions and growth. The pause in life is to be with your Creator only, to talk to Him, which is impossible in a crowd.
- Over eating
It becomes a barrier between you and your heart. The stomach is a vessel that should not be filled to the brim. Its optimum functionality is in it being light. It only needs pure and timely sustenance. Over eating not only ails the physical body but weakens the soul too.
- Excessive sleeping
The best example that Allah (swt) has granted to every human being in terms of an ideal sleep pattern is that of the birds chirping around us. For millions of years we have observed a consistent behaviour. How they rise with the sun and settle with the sun set. If only humans could take inspiration from Allah’s (swt) perfectly synchronized universe.
- Following desires
Desires are like a wild and untamed mount that will eventually throw off its rider into the pit of fire. They are a doorway of the Shaitan. They blow out the light of reason and Noor of the heart that Allah (swt) granted it to perceive the world and decide rightly. They snatch away the good fate attached to a believer in delayed gratification.
- Giving preference to the creation over the Creator
Allah (swt) states in the Quran: “But they have attributed to Allah partners – the Jinn, while He has created them – and have fabricated for Him sons and daughters without knowledge. Exalted is He and high above what they describe.” (Al Anaam 6:100)
Shirk weakens the strength of the heart. The tranquility from Allah (swt) is blocked.
Conclusively the success of our life depends upon the excellence and soundness of our spiritual heart (Qalb Saleem). We can enter Jannah through it in this world too as it grants pleasure. But the heart that did not experience the first Jannah in the world will not experience the ultimate Jannah in the Aakhirah either. Take care of your heart!
Partially adapted from Fiqhul-Quloob, by Muhammad Ibrahim At Tawejri and taught by Safiya Khan.
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