Between the soul and the mind (1)

Between the soul and the mind (1)

All praises be to Allah, the Mighty, the All-Forgiving, the Most Merciful, the Compeller, the Capable, the Prevailing. I bear witness that there’s no god but Allah, the One. He has no partner. There’s no affluence but by being needy to His mercy and there’s no honour but by being humble before His greatness. I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger, honest concerning His revelations and His ambassador between Him and His slaves. May a lot of blessings and peace be upon him, his family and companions. To proceed:
I advise you and myself of having the fear of Allah. The days of our life are the time of sowing and farming, and the harvesting will be on the Day of meeting Allah. Allah, the Exalted said: (The Day every soul will find what it has done of good present [before it] and what it has done of evil, it will wish that between itself and that [evil] was a great distance. And Allah warns you of Himself, and Allah is Kind to [His] servants.) [Aal-Imran: 30]
Slaves of the Most Merciful, if an important person swears thrice, the people will stretch their necks to know what he’s going to say, and most of the concerned persons will heed to it. I’m throwing before you, O’ slave of Allah, some questions: How long was the oath of Allah, the Glorious in the Quran? And about what it was? Eleven continuous oaths replied by: (He has succeeded who purifies it, And he has failed who instils it [with corruption].) [Al-Shams: 9-10]. The soul was among the things Allah swore of.
Dear audience, Allah created mind and soul in mankind. Allah created mind to tell, guide, think and show path. As for the soul, it’s been created to desire and like. So, it likes and dislikes, becomes glad and sad, becomes happy and angry. The mind shows it the right from the wrong and distinguishes good from the evil and the beneficial from the harmful, by their natures, desires and objectives.
Slaves of Allah, the souls of the people differ in the kind of what and how much they desire, but they are common in eagerness and seeking more, e.g., seeking the wealth. That’s why minds have been created and the divine laws have been revealed to exert check. So, the divine code of life is a general check in which all are common.
Mind is guided and lit up by revelation, like eyes which, even if they’re sound, do not see the things in darkness despite their presence. Mind strays in his worship without revelation, Allah, the Glorious said: (And is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom? Thus it has been made pleasing to the disbelievers that which they were doing.) [Al-Anaam: 122]. Allah, the Exalted said: (And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command [i.e., the Qur’ān]. You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith, but We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, [O Muḥammad], you guide to a straight path.) [Al-Shooraa: 52]
The slaves of the Most Merciful, Allah did not condemn the mind in itself, rather soul was condemned. So, when mind was mentioned, not using it in thinking was condemned. Allah, the Exalted said: (They have hearts with which they do not understand.) [Al-Aaraaf: 179], (Then will you not reason?) [Al-Baqarah: 44], (Look how We diversify the signs that they might understand.) [Al-Anaam: 65], (perhaps they will know [about you].) [Yusuf: 46], (Then will you not give thought?) [Al-Anaam: 50]. The condemnation is geared towards the soul because it instigates the mind for mistake and evil deed. Allah, the Exalted said: (Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy.) [Yusuf: 53]. An exemption has been included in it, because originally it enjoins evil. That’s why warning against the soul has been given frequently and the warning against the mind has not been given even once.
The prophet of Allah (PBUH) did not seek refuge from the mind, rather from the evil of the soul. The prophet said in the initial supplicatory part of the sermon: (We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves.). He also said: (I seek refuge in You from the evil of my soul, and from the evil of Satan.) [Transmitted by Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi and Nasai].
The soul may be bestowed goodness but it may refuse it. It may also beautify the evil. That’s why seeking refuge from the evil of the soul has been ordained. Allah, the Exalted said: (And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.) [Al-Maaidah: 30], Saamri said: (and thus did my soul entice me.) [Taha: 96], ([Jacob] said, "Rather, your souls have enticed you to something.) [Yusuf: 83], Allah, the Exalted said about the Jews: (Do you covet [the hope, O believers], that they would believe for you while a party of them used to hear the words of Allah and then distort it [i.e., the Torah] after they had understood it while they were knowing?) [Al-Baqarah: 75], So, the problem lies in their jealous and haughty souls. Ponder over the verse: (and then distort it [i.e., the Torah] after they had understood it while they were knowing?) [Al-Baqarah: 75], It’s been mentioned in another verse that jealousy is the reason of their disbelief: (How wretched is that for which they sold themselves - that they would disbelieve in what Allah has revealed through [their] outrage that Allah would send down His favor upon whom He wills from among His servants.) [Al-Baqarah: 90]. In the same way, the souls of the polytheists are afflicted with whim. So, they deny the prophethood of a mankind and worship a god made of a stone. Allah, the Glorious said informing about the reality of Pharaoh and his nation’s disbelief of the signs: (And they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof, out of injustice and haughtiness.) [Al-Naml: 14]
May Allah grant me and you blessing in the Quran.
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All praises are due to Allah. All His creatures and all His wonderful products are proof of His Lordship. I bear witness that there’s no god but Allah, the One. He’s no partner. I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. May a lot of blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, his family and companions. To proceed:
Difference in souls is a divine tradition regarding the universe, which causes check and balance. People interact among themselves accordingly. Had there not been differences in taste, the things would have turned stagnant.
The slaves of the Most Merciful, it’s a fvaour of Allah upon His slaves that the religious obligations are in unison to the natures of the souls. So, a maiden is shy by nature. Therefore, (her permission being her silence.). because her bravery in refusal is strong. As for agreement, it’s not. That’s the condition of “Wali” (guradian) has been imposed in the marriage so that there’s a man vis-à-vis husband at the time of negotiating the marriage who would protect her rights. That’s why there’s no condition of “wali” (guardian) when she refuses to marry a man she does not like. Unmarriageable person breaks the intensity of the soul’s weakness in privacy. It was also not proper to place a woman in places of difficulty, dispute and altercations not sue to any mental weakness but due to the governing psychological set-up. So, if she’s charged with establishing “hudood” (penal limits) and punishments, it’ll break down. The reason is that these obligations do not conform to her nature. All praises and glories are due to Allah. Allah said: (Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Aware?) [Al-Mulk: 14]
Slaves of the Most Merciful, the conflict of the soul with the mind emerges at the time of her desires. When the desires get stronghold in the soul, it deals with the mind to the extent it has knowledge, experience and belief, and tries to play trick on it until it achieves its objective. Its entries upon the strength of the belief are unlike its entries upon the weakness of the belief. If it fails to achieve its desires through open mistake, it mixes the incorrect with the correct.
We’ll talk more about the soul in another sermon, Allah willing.
Then, send out peace and blessings on the giver of the glad tidings and warner.