Between the soul and the mind (3) Purification of the soul

Between the soul and the mind (3)

Purification of the soul

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him. We seek His help. We seek His forgiveness.We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from our evil acts. Whomsoever Allah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allah leaves astray, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah (alone with no partners) and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. To proceed:
I advise you and myself of having the fear of Allah. Allah, the Exalted said: (O you who have believed, fear Allah and speak words of appropriate justice. He will [then] amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.) [Al-Ahzaab: 70-71]
Brothers in belief, last Friday we talked about the souls and some of their desires. Today, we’ll talk about their purification. So, Allah has made the paradise for the one who purifies his soul. Allah, the Glorious said: (Gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of one who purifies himself.) [Taha: 76]. Purification has two meanings: firstly, it means to cleanse and remove impurities. Secondly, it means increase in its goodness.
The slaves of the Most Merciful, the soul is blessed with increase by doing acts of obedience, by giving up acts of disobedience and repenting from them.Evidences regarding the purification of the souls have come concerning some acts of worship especially. Allah, the Glorious said concerning the charity: (Take, [O Muḥammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase.) [Al-Taubah: 103]. And regarding the remembrance of Allah and the prayers Allah, the Glorious said: (He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself. And mentions the name of his Lord and prays.) [Al-Aala: 14-15]. Regarding lowering the gaze and chastity, Allah, the Exalted said: (Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their visionand guard their private parts.2 That is purer for them.) [Al-Noor: 30]. Slaves of Allah, it’s important to mention the means of purifying the soul and overcoming its natures and desires. The most important among them are:
The strength of belief. If the belief is strong, it checks the urge of the soul and prevents it from domination over the mind, because the believer believes in the right of Allah on him with regard to His order and prohibition.
One of the means of overcoming the soul is knowledge and experience as these two suppress the urge of the psychological desires. The more a person is mindful of the consequences of his desires, the stronger he’s in preventing his soul from those desires.
One of the means of the purification of the soul is self-introspection. What helps in introspecting the soul and disobeying its desire when it’s in contrary to the truth, is the realisation that the more it strives today, the more it’ll have the rest tomorrow, and that the profit of this trade is the residence of the Paradise.
One of the greatest things that help overcome the soul is praying to and seeking assistance from the Creator of the soul to purify it and guard against its evil.According to a prophetic supplication: (O Allah! Grant me the sense of piety and purify my soul as You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protecting Friend.) [Transmitted by Muslim]. Abu Bakr said: O’ messenger of Allah, command me something to say in the morning and the evening. The prophet told him to say, “O God, who knowest the unseen and the seen, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Lord and Possessor of everything, I testify that there is no god but Thee; I seek refuge in Thee from the evil within myself, from the evil of the devil and his [incitement to] attributing partners [to God].”He instructed him to say it morning and evening, and when he went to bed. [Transmitted by Ahmad, Nasai, Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi]. The prophet said in the Khutba of need: (We seek refuge with Allah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds.).
One of the greatest means of purifying the soul is the good atmosphere and good company.According to a hadith, a person had killed hundred persons and then repented. A knowledgeable person said to him: (Go to such and such land; there (you will find) people devoted to prayer and worship of Allah, join them in worship, and do not come back to your land because it is an evil place.) [Muslim]. Thumamah bin Uthal was tied in a pillar of the mosque while he was still a non-believer. The prophet said to him: (What are you expecting, Thumamah?”. He replied “I expect good, Muhammad. If you kill (me), you will kill one whose blood will be avenged, if you show favor, you will show it to one who is grateful and if you want property and ask you will be given as much of it as you wish. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) left him till the following day and asked him “What are you expecting, Thumamah?” He repeated the same words (in reply). The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ)left him till the day after the following one and he mentioned the same words. The Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) then said “Set him free.” So, they set him free. Then, he went off to some palm trees near the mosque. He took a bath there, came back and announced his Islam.) Before accepting Islam, he lived in a good atmosphere replete with belief in mosque where he observed and heard the prayer, Adhan, remembrance of Allah, the Quran and supplication, etc.
O Allah! Grant us the sense of piety and purify our soul as You are the Best to purify it. You are its Guardian and its Protecting Friend.Seek the forgiveness of Allah. He’s the All-forgiving.
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All praises are to Allah on His favour. Thanks are due to Him for the powergiven by Him. 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 who called towards His pleasure. A lot of blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, his family and companions.
To proceed:
Friends, the nourishment of the body is food and water, and the nourishment of the soul is belief and supplication, the greatest one being the Quran. That’s why – And Allah knows the best – Allah Gave to the Quran the name of “Rooh” (soul). Allah, the Exalted said: (And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command [i.e., the Qur’ān].) [Al-Shoora: 52]. Allah, the Mighty, the Glorious said: (Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.") [Al-Raad: 28]. When the soul is empty and deviant from the remembrance of Allah, it gets depressed: (And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed [i.e., difficult] life.) [Taha: 124].
It’s the Mercy and Wisdom of Allah that He kept balance in His legislations and did not charge the soul beyond its capability. According to a hadith: (Your Lord has a right on you, your soul has a right on you, and your family has a right on you; so you should give the rights of all those who has a right on you.) [Al-Bukhari].
Friends, human being is commanded to preserve the peace of his soul and to keep it safe from evil symptoms, like anger and gloom which neither bring benefit not prevent harm. At many places in the holy Quran, the prophet has been asked not to be grieved: (And do not be grieved, [O Muḥammad], by those who hasten into disbelief.) [Aal-Imran: 176], (And let not their speech grieve you.) [Yunus: 65], (And whoever has disbelieved - let not his disbelief grieve you.) [Luqman: 23], Mary was called: (Do not grieve) [Maryam: 24]. Allah, the Glorious informed about the purpose of Satan behind private conversation: (Private conversation is only from Satan that he may grieve those who have believed.) [Al-Mujaadalah: 10. The stability of the soul is a blessing because the perfect functioning of the mind and body is connected with it. That’s why the removal of sorrow is a cause for thanking Allah: (And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has removed from us [all] sorrow.) [Faatir: 34]. The prophet sought refuge from sorrow as has been reported in Sahih. The prophet wished that Wahshi, the killer of his uncle Hamzah should be away from his sight so that his sorrow is not refreshed. And Allah knows the best.
He who is grieved but does not mix any prohibited act with his grief, is not a sinner, e.g., a person who is grieved on sufferings. According to a hadith: (Allah does not punish for the shedding of tears or the grief of the heart, but takes to task or show mercy because of the utterances of this (and he pointed to his tongue).) [transmitted by Bukhari and Muslim]. Allah, the Exalted said: (And he turned away from them and said, "Oh, my sorrow over Joseph," and his eyes became whitefrom grief, for he was [of that] a suppressor.) [Yusuf: 84]. Ibn Taimiyyah (May Allah have mercy on him) said: “sometimes, worry might have something which is the cause of reward and praise for the one having it. It’s commendable from this perspective, not from the perspective of worry, like the one worried over some problem in his religion and over the difficulties facing the Muslims in general. So, this person will be rewarded for the love of good and the hatred for the evil and its dependencies he’s in his heart. However, if worry over it leads to giving up a commanded thing, like patience, Jihad, bringing benefit and preventing harm, then, it’s forbidden.” [Al-Fataawaa: 10/p.: 16]. The poet said:
The soul is like a child, if overlooked, he’ll grow on
The love of breast-feeding, but if you wean him away, he’ll wean away
Be at variance with the soul and the Satan and disobey them
Remain suspicious even if they shower on you sincerity
Don’t obey them, be they an opponent or a judge
You’re aware of the trick of the opponent and the judge
I seek the refuge of Allah from speech without action
And if I do so, I’ll be like the one who attributes children to a childless person

Then, O slaves of Allah, send out the blessings and peace on the best of the creatures.