Diseases of the heart
In order to fight the diseases we must be aware of them, I'm going to dedicate a few posts that summarise the diseases as mentioned it the book "Purification of the heart" by Hamza Yusuf.
Miserliness
What is miserliness?
Miserliness has two aspects:
Miserliness has two aspects:
1) The first is regarding the sharia law (rights due to God and to His creation). Zakat is the annual charity distributed to the needy. Miserliness in not paying the Zakat is forbidden, haram. Also one needs to support his wife and children, even after a divorce the man must pay child support.
2) The second aspect is in terms of valor. One should never create difficulties over paltry matters. A creditor should not be demanding especially if the debtor is not able to pay the credit back yet. An understanding creditor is one who has valor.
The muslim tradition in regards to charity is to give away from what one loves. Generosity is one of the highest virtues of Islam, the Prophet (saw) was known as the most generous of people..
"You will not attain to righteousness until you spend of what you love" (QUR'AN, 3:92)
The ethology of miserliness is love of the material aspects of the world. A miserly person clings to his wealth and hoards it.
How to treat it?
The treatment for miserliness is realising that it takes a lot of exhaustion to achieve the wealth one seeks. This can occupy a person for his whole lifetime. In the end, life will end some day. Death awaits everybody, old or young, poor or rich.
Also nobody likes a miser, not even misers like each other. This hatred should also help in treating the disease.
One should intentionally experience hunger and reflect seriously on death to treat this disease. To experience hunger one can either keep a voluntary fast or reduce the amount what one eats. Traditional medicines also stated that too much food harms the spiritual heart. It was believed that people who eat too much become "hard-hearted".
Scholar of various religions say that hunger is an important factor if one wants to grow spiritually. Feeling emptiness in the stomach is excellent for the body and the soul.
"Remembering" death, does not mean merley recalling it. It means one should reflect upon the state of the grave.
The muslim tradition in regards to charity is to give away from what one loves. Generosity is one of the highest virtues of Islam, the Prophet (saw) was known as the most generous of people..
"You will not attain to righteousness until you spend of what you love" (QUR'AN, 3:92)
The ethology of miserliness is love of the material aspects of the world. A miserly person clings to his wealth and hoards it.
How to treat it?
The treatment for miserliness is realising that it takes a lot of exhaustion to achieve the wealth one seeks. This can occupy a person for his whole lifetime. In the end, life will end some day. Death awaits everybody, old or young, poor or rich.
Also nobody likes a miser, not even misers like each other. This hatred should also help in treating the disease.
Wantonness
What is wantonness?
Wantonness is a desire to need and want more. Particularly vulnerable are the world's most affluent societies. Those societies are very pleased with their standard of living and the extravagance. People even live beyond their means to be part of a certain lifestyle. A product of wantonness is that people fall willingly into debt in order to achieve a certain standard of living.
"God does not love those who exult" (QUR'AN 28:76)
How to treat it?
Wantonness is a desire to need and want more. Particularly vulnerable are the world's most affluent societies. Those societies are very pleased with their standard of living and the extravagance. People even live beyond their means to be part of a certain lifestyle. A product of wantonness is that people fall willingly into debt in order to achieve a certain standard of living.
"God does not love those who exult" (QUR'AN 28:76)
How to treat it?
One should intentionally experience hunger and reflect seriously on death to treat this disease. To experience hunger one can either keep a voluntary fast or reduce the amount what one eats. Traditional medicines also stated that too much food harms the spiritual heart. It was believed that people who eat too much become "hard-hearted".
Scholar of various religions say that hunger is an important factor if one wants to grow spiritually. Feeling emptiness in the stomach is excellent for the body and the soul.
"Remembering" death, does not mean merley recalling it. It means one should reflect upon the state of the grave.
Hatred
What is hatred?
Hatred in itself in
not necessary a negative thing. One should hate corruption, evil, murder and
anything that God has exposed as despicable. The disease of hatred is the strong dislike or hatred of a person for no legitimate reason.
Do you want to see a man of paradise? A man then passed by and the Prophet (pbuh) said, "That man is one of the people of a paradise." So a Companion of the Prophet (pbuh) decided to learn what it was about with this man that earned his such a commendation from the Messenger of God, Muhammed (pbuh). He spent time with this man and observed him closely. He noticed he did not perform the night Prayer vigil (Tahajud) or anything extraordinary. He appeared to be an average man of Madinah. The Companion finally told the man what the Prophet (pbuh) had said about him and asked him if he did anything special. And the man replied, "The only thing I can think of, other than what everybody else does is that I make sure that I never sleep with any rancour (a feeling of hate, resentment, enmity, hostility) in my heart towards another" (Hadith)
How to treat it?
One should pray for the person towards he feels hatred, asking God to give him good in this life and the next. When you do this with sincerity, hearts mend. The disease of hatred is one of the most devastating forces in the world, but the force that is even more powerful is love. Hate is the absence of love, and only love can cure hatred.
Iniquity
What is Iniquity?
Iniquity is defines as "harming anything in creation without just case". The problem is desiring things to the point of transgressing the rights of others to get it. "Love of position" is the main motivator for people to wrong others. It is not allowed to seek the pleasure of people through trickery, religiosity or hypocritical flattery. Do not expect the pleasure of God when you seek the pleasure of His creation!
How to treat it?
The cure for this is to "Remember the destroyer of pleasure (Hadith)." Remembering death is a spiritual practise that cleanses our hearts. Always remember that the thing that ultimately counts is how God sees you. Attaining nearness yo God is very important, and it does not involve wronging others. Be a person that is selfless, compassionate and sensitive to the rights of others.
Picture source: http://findyourline.tumblr.com/post/17094757338/cardiovascular-disease-statistics-and-paleo-diet
