Ch. 2 Recognizing the Sickness of the Heart Know that just as the soundness of the body, hands, feet, and eyes lies in that each one of them is able to do completely that for which it was created--so that the eye sees well and the foot walks well--so that the soundness of the heart lies in that its special quality that is part of its originate innate nature and the reason for which it was created. It is to be the loving friend of that which is the basis of its original innate nature and this should be easy for the heart. 2-I The Signs of a Hearts Soundness This is found in two things: one in will and the other in power. (1) As for the will: in it there is nothing more preferred than God Most High, for the gnosis (marifat) of God Most High is the nourishment of the heart, just as food is the nourishment of the body. A body from which the craving for food has departed or in which it has grown weak is sick. A heart from which the love for God Most High has departed or in which it has grown weak is sick. It is for this that God Most High said: Say: if your fathers and your sons. . . (Q. 9:24) If you love your fathers, your sons, your wives, your kinsfolk, and that which you possess more than God Most High, be patient until the command of God Most High arrives and you shall see! (2) As for the power, it is that obedience to God Most High has become easy and one finds no need to coerce oneself in that. Rather, it is in itself ones pleasure. As the Messenger said: Formal prayer has become the light of my eyes. Therefore, for a person who does not find these two qualities in himself, this is a certain symptom of his hearts sickness: he must attend to its treatment. It may be that he think that (his spiritual heart) is of that character, while it is not; for a person is (often) blind to his own faults. *Tomorrow, inshaaAllah: The Defects of the Heart* Imam Al-Ghazzali; On Disciplining the Self, the Alchemy of Happiness (translation)
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 17:29:35 +0000
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