The Heart and its Treatment: Adapted From Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn al-'Arabi26

Facilitating Action Based Upon True Knowledge

Action has two modes:

As for the heart, there are two concerns:


Belief

Sound belief is accomplished by removing any doubtful matters from the heart. This is easy by the success of Allah and His gift, and many people have accomplished it in every age of Islam.


Sincerity or Ikhlas

Sincerity of the heart in the actions that are established by the limbs, by Allah, is extremely difficult and the entire creation froze when it heard the words of Allah: "And they were only commanded to worship Allah, sincerely, with the Din solely for Him."

And also in His words: "Isn't the only Din for Allah, the sincere Din."

Khulus means purity. The Arabs say laban khalis which means "pure milk", only when it is free of impurities. This is the milk that comes initially from the cow's udder before it is contaminated with anything.

Purity of the heart is contaminated by wrong actions and thus can be purified by tawba and remorse. Therefore ikhlas is a great station in the Din, just as fornication is a precipitous fall into wrong action.

The scholars of the heart have enumerated from both aspects of the heart wonders. I will indicate those things from them that will facilitate the path to purity and draw near the way of struggle with the commanding soul. Moreover, I will clarify those matters that will edify for you the way in which your intention is freed from any contingencies that cause action to be for other than Allah's sake.

The likeness of the one who acts for other than Allah's sake, is like the one who bought a servant from his own wealth and said to him, "This is my abode and this is my work, so do everything for my sake." And yet despite that, the slave works for someone else. So tell me, who would be content with that condition?

How then can we perform our actions and remove from them the self's portion? If, for instance, you wore perfume, don't say, "This is for me and my family." Rather, say, "This is for the angels of my Lord and in adherence to my Prophet's Sunnah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him." Likewise, food should not be merely for pleasure, but one should intend the strengthening of the body, in order to worship Allah well.

The following hadith emphasizes the importance of intending, in our actions, the sole pleasure of Allah: "The first people to be judged on the Day of Standing are the following: a man who was martyred and he is brought into the Divine presence and shown his blessings and he admits to them and then he is asked, ‘What did you do with all of these blessings?’ He will reply, ‘I fought for Your sake and was martyred.’ Allah, the Exalted, will say, ‘You lie! You fought to be called a courageous man. And it was said about you (and thus you have been recompensed.)’ It is then ordered that he be taken to the Fire."

Then someone who studied the Qur'an and taught it is brought into the Divine presence and shown his blessings and he acknowledges them and then is asked what he did with them. He responds, "I studied knowledge and transmitted it, and I read the Qur'an for Your sake." It is said to him, "You lie! Rather you desired to be called learned and it was said about you." And it is ordered that he be taken to the Fire, and he is dragged along his face and thrust into it. The same is said of the generous man."


Achieving Sincerity

One of the most beneficial things that will help you in achieving sincerity and the removal of blemishes from your intentions is truthfulness. You must realize that you will be asked about your knowledge in this life and the next. If you fail to recognize your inward reality's impoverishment and disparity from its outward appearance, then you are despised and you have despised your own soul just as the hadith has indicated.

The first step in moving towards sincerity of the heart is to protect your tongue from lying. Know that your tongue is what expresses your inward state. It expresses for you your knowledge and your practice. It has only one noble quality, and that is truthfulness. Yet, it has over twenty destructive qualities, but their sources are only four. If you are able to overcome these four, then the others are removed with ease.


Four Sources of the Destructive Qualities of the Tongue


Enumeration of the Enormities

There are four that relate to the heart:

Four relate to the tongue:

Three relate to the stomach:

Two relate to the genitals:

Two relate to the hands:

One relates to the feet:

One relates to the whole body:

One can look at it from another aspect and that is to avoid all the wrongs that relate to Allah's servants, because they are enormous and often impossible to rectify. As for what remains between you and Allah, this is less harmful and easier to rectify.


More Recommendations for Reaching Sincerity

An excellent practice is recitation of the Qur'an with reflection. If you are unable to contemplate, at least simply recite it. But the difference between the two is illustrated in this brief anecdote:

A king sends a letter to his governors. In it, he commands them to fortify their capitols, guard the boundaries of the kingdom, be just to their constituents, judge with equity between them, and to give every man his due right, and all of the other matters that concern governance.

When the letter arrives to the various governors there are two responses: some receive it with great respect and reverence and they read it with excellent understanding and set about implementing its injunctions and fulfilling its commands. The others receive it with respect and reverence and place it at the foremost of their concerns but they don't understand it and they don't implement its contents. Let us imagine the difference between the two groups when they are called before the King.

In addition to recitation of the Holy Qur'an, concern yourself with the appropriate supplications and dhikrs in their respective times and places and use only the sound transmissions concerning those matters. Don't look at those dhikrs that do not have a strong foundation. Indeed, Shaytan if he is unable to occupy you with other than the remembrance of Allah, then he will attempt to get you to use formulas that are innovative and have no foundation.

If you follow all of these matters, then by Allah He will open the doors to you of His Mercy. Wisdom will flow from your tongue, and the ability to obey Him in what remains of your responsibilities will be made easy and near for you, and you will be called great in the dominion of the heavens.

May Allah make us of those who seek knowledge and wisdom and who concern themselves with the Book of Allah and respect what it contains and who transmits it to others and causes them to understand it, for the best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and transmit it.


Next: Exercises for Attaining Taqwa