Sunday 4 Feb 2018
✏️ Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 4: The Decree of Allah and free will of the slaves, the Effects of Shirk, and the Light of Eemaan
- Recap of Lesson 3:
- The believing slave of Allah has Love, Fear and Hope of Allah, what intensifies these things?
- How many types of Guidance are there? What are these?
- For Summary of Lesson 3 go to: Alhudabolton.com/2018/01/28/2147
- Guidance which a person receives from Allah (Guidance for Success and inspiration), what is an indication that a person has received this?
- Sincerity
- Following the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
- What are the signs that Allah has not bestowed success upon a person, and that Allah has misguided that person?
- The person will find in his chest great difficulty when he wants to fulfil the commandments of Allah
- He views the commandments of Allah as shackles from which he wants freedom
- These are signs that Allah has forsaken the slave
- Allah says: “Have We not opened your breast for you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him))?” [Surah Ash- Sharh (94) verse 1]
- What did Shaikh Uthaymeen mentioned about this verse and the meaning of an opened chest? (See Lesson 3), what did the Shaikh say about the two types of Allah’s Judgements
- The soul’s desires go against the commandments of Allah (e.g pray, fast, not to do haraam) and prohibitions and so it is important to strive against one’s desires and therefore having Allah’s help in opening your chest is needed.
- If a person finds it difficult do what Allah has commanded, he/she needs to run back to Allah
- If Allah does not grant a person success in running back to him, then this is an indication that Allah has caused you to become lost and astray
- The person who will be guided and the one who will not be guided, these are already written and decreed and is in the knowledge of Allah already.
- The Decree of Allah and free will of the slaves:
- The perfection of the world we live in and the other signs of Allah, the creator, show us that Allah has perfect knowledge of what happened, what is happening now, and what will happen. This comes from sound reasoning and a person will naturally know this (that this perfect and complex world could not have come about by chance)
- Yet also, when one does a deed, it is not by force and so everyone has a free will and a choice between doing good and evil. A person will know this from his/her senses, i.e. that the choices they make are theirs.
- The cause and means of Allah saving you from your own evil could be just one dua
- Ibn Al-Qayyim says therefore guidance and Tawhid are the greatest means of alleviating the tight and heavy chest
- Naturally, innately, you can know that you have a creator. This is tawhid rubuubiyya (Singling out Allah in his Lordship) in one’s reason and is the fitra of a person.
- However, having this alone is not enough to cause the chest of a person to be expanded
- One must also have tawhid al-uloohiyya (singling out Allah in his worship) in order for his chest to be expanded
- The greatest Means of bringing about tightness of the chest is Shirk:
- Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al- Jaami says the person who fears other besides Allah, calls others besides Allah, loves others besides Allah (in such a way only Allah should be loved) then his heart is distributed among the people. His heart is therefore in many places and is never in a state of peace and tranquillity. He is always in a state of uneasiness regardless of how calm or happy he may outwardly be. His love is fragmented, his fear is disseminated.
- The sinner, but who is a person of tawhid (Islamic monotheism) and worships only one God- Allah, his heart is in a state of peace in comparison to the one who worships many gods or calls on the dead (e.g. Buddhists, Sufis, Shia etc).
- Ibn Al-Qayyim says that the Noor (light) of Eemaan (belief) which Allah casts in the heart of a believer is from the avenues of bringing about peace and an open chest.
- This light only occurs when the Eemaan becomes upright and strengthened
- Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al- Jaami says Eemaan has a light, taste and a delight which is associated with it, when a person tastes this light a person becomes enlightened.
- NOTE: Eemaan is belief in the heart, statements from the tongue, and actions of the limbs and it increases and decreases. Some misguided sects have false understanding of Eemaan regarding this
- Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al- Jaami says these matters above are being related to the reader whereas Ibn Al-Qayyim he speaks with the speech of a man who has experienced it and sensed it