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A Heart Unmoved, a Spirit Uninspired
By Yasmin Mojahed
We grew up in a
world of video games, music, songs, commercials and movies. All these were aimed
at one thing: to capture out attention and entertain. Those who make such things
spend their lives studying how to take hold of the hearts of even those
uninterested viewers.
This constant bombardment with stimulation of every kind has, in a sense, made
our hearts lazy. In order to be moved, there must be flashing lights,
charismatic speech, or something otherwise dramatic. The result: our younger
brothers and sisters suffer from attention deficit disorder (ADD). We suffer
from what the Qur'an calls: qaswatal qalb or hardness of heart.
This hardness of the heart has, unfortunately, left us with a huge empty space
in our chest. And this emptiness, we seek to fill with what first seizes our
hard-to-hold attention. Often times this may not be what is most deserving of
attention but rather, simply what is most readily available and most openly
attractive and alluring. Some of us may turn to music or painful obsessions,
disguised as love. Even those youth who search for an Islamic solution to their
emptiness have tended to prefer such Islamic speakers whose speech is more
entertaining and captivating to those whose actual message may hold more
substance.
This tendency to seek what is on display is discussed in the Surah of Al-A'raff
(7:169). Allah describes those who came after the Prophets, alayhemus-salam, and
die by saying that they chose "that which is on display" or "that which is lower
or closer". Thus one of the causes of their ruin was that they chose what was on
display even if it was lower. They preferred that which was closer and easier,
rather than searching for that which was truer, purer, and more lasting.
The Qur'an does not come with the same flashing lights as does the entertainment
and advertisements that surround us today. The Qur'an captures only the hearts
of those open to its message, and those willing to strive for the Truth
expounded in it. Allah says, "This is the Book about which
there is no doubt, a guidance for those who have Taqwa (piety)." (2:2)
We know that it requires a great deal of hard work and struggle to embark on the
only straight path. And so we often search for easy answers, quick fixes for our
painful ailments. We look to other than Allah to fill our emptiness. Allah knows
us far better than we know ourselves. He knows the diseases that overtake our
hearts. He knows the emptiness that fills our lives. Allah says,
"And We have already created man and know what his soul
whispers to him, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein."
(50:16)
And so Allah, in His ultimate mercy and kindness, has also given us the cure.
Allah says, "Oh mankind, there has come to you instruction
from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for
the believers. Say, 'in the bounty of Allah and in His mercy-in that let them
rejoice; it is better than all that they accumulate.'" (10: 57-58).
The true pleasure of the heart, which comes only through the remembrance of
Allah, is greater than all else that we can accumulate. It is Allah who calls
man to the home of peace. It is crucial to mention here that this is the only
home of peace, i.e., the one in the Hereafter with our Creator. The only source
of peace is Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala (SWT).
It is vital to understand that there can be no other source of true happiness
and fulfillment, in this life or the next. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah explains that the
one who does not partake in the Paradise of this life will not partake in the
Paradise of the Hereafter!
It is clear to most of us what the Paradise of the Hereafter is. Yet the
question remains as to what the Paradise of this life is! How does one achieve
true happiness in this life? The truth is, in this life; unless one's heart is
full with the remembrance of Allah, nothing else can fill them or provide them
with true pleasure.
It must become clear to us that a life lived in any other way, for any other
cause, with any other goal, is not life, but is death. Allah (SWT) tells
mankind, "Oh you who believe answer Allah and His Messenger
when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah comes in
between a man and his heart, and that it is He to which you shall (all) be
gathered." (8:24)
We must, therefore, understand that all of us are dead except those who believe
and truly understand the Reality. Those who are heedless to the truth will face
this Reality, and then what they call death will actually be an awakening to the
truth that they did not see in their death here on earth.
Thus our hearts will continue to be dead, our lives will continue to be empty so
long as we do not understand this truth and continue to search for easy answers
in places other than those mentioned by Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (sallallahu
alayhe wa sallam).
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