Why: The Heart - Part 3?

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim. In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(please read part 1 and 2 before proceeding)

It’s the 17^th of February, Penang is saying bye while Melbourne is saying hi. My flight is on the 22^nd of Feb, trying to live the remnants of the days to the fullest, spending as much time as possible with family. Well, during the ~ 3 months of holiday, I suffered lots, discovered and learnt lots too. The following would be some of the beautiful things that I have learnt, and I am happy to share the gems with you all.

Hadeeth

Yahya related to me from Malik that Ziyad ibn Abi Ziyad said that Abu'd-Darda had said, "Shall I not tell you the best of your deeds, and those that give you the highest rank, and those that are the purest with your King, and are better for you than giving gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy and striking their necks?" They said, "Of course." He said, "Remembrance (dhikr) of Allah ta ala."
(Muwatta of Imam Malik, 15.7.24)

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, thus stated: I am near to the thought of My servant as he thinks about Me, and I am with him as he remembers Me. And if he remembers Me in his heart, I also remember him in My Heart, and if he remembers Me in assembly I remember him in assembly, better than his (remembrance), and if he draws near Me by the span of a palm, I draw near him by the cubit, and if he draws near Me by the cubit I draw near him by the space (covered by) two hands. And if he walks towards Me, I rush towards him.
(Sahih Muslim Book 035, Number 6471)

Quranic Verses
O ye who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. (33:41)

And when you have finished your prayer, remember God - standing and sitting and lying down; and when you are once again secure, observe your prayers [fully]. Verily, for all believers prayer is indeed a sacred duty linked to particular times [of day]. (4:103)

Lo! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are tokens (of His sovereignty) for men of understanding, (3:190)

Such as remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, (and say): Our Lord! Thou createdst not this in vain. Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the doom of Fire. (3:191)

Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do (29:45)

so remember Me, and I shall remember you; and be grateful unto Me, and deny Me not. (2:152)

And when the prayer is ended, disperse freely on earth and seek to obtain [something] of God's bounty; but remember God often, so that you might attain to a happy state! (62:10)

And do thou (O reader!) Bring thy Lord to remembrance in thy (very) soul, with humility and in reverence, without loudness in words, in the mornings and evenings; and be not thou of those who are unheedful. (7:205)

Remember thy Lord much, and praise (Him) in the early hours of night and morning. (Excerpt of 3:41)

Hence, bear with patience whatever they [who deny the truth] may say, and extol thy Sustainer's limitless glory and praise Him before the rising of the sun and before its setting; and extol His glory, too, during some of the hours of the night as well as during the hours of the day, so that thou might attain to happiness. (20:130)

For Muslim men and women,- for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in Charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise,- for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35)

“Guide us the straight way” (Al-Fatihah, verse 6). May we all be among those who are guided. Ameen.

-Wallahu a'lam-
Allah knows best
(Sorry for the late update, Was little bit busy. Sorry)

Why: The Heart? – Part 2

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabaraktuh.

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim. In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(please read part 1 first)

Initially, the plan was to write Part 1 on Friday, settle my problems during the weekend and then write Part 2 by Sunday. All went by the plan except for the ‘settling my problem’ part. The ~3 days allocated for it was insufficient. In the whole, I can say that it took me about two whole weeks to settle it. Alhamdulillah, now, my heart is much more relaxed.

A little on my worry and anxiety. I am currently on my ~ three months summer holiday, and during these times, students like me have almost nothing to do. With nothing keeping the mind occupied, it wanders a lot. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop’. This piece of wisdom proved to be true in the following days. It wanders and wanders, most of the time on stupid stuff. When I say stupid, I mean total crap with no basis whatsoever.

My mind then became filled with worries and anxieties. I could feel my heart palpitating most of the time, the intermittent rush of adrenaline and foolish thoughts clouded my mind. This started on the 15^th January. From that day onwards, the anxieties kept on getting worse while the ‘questions’ kept on getting more foolish yet more convincing.

The human mind is wonderful and crucial, but when it follows the devil’s way, it has an adverse effect. It is strange how I could come to believe the devil’s word and become convinced of the foolish thoughts.

The thoughts; my life has no purpose, I am doing everything the wrong way, I am neglecting my responsibilities, I shouldn’t go shopping as it is wasting time, I shouldn’t live in comfort as others are suffering, there is no fun in my life (nothing to look forward to), am I on the right track, is this right and such. One great trick that I was played upon what that, doubts regarding my responsibilities towards Allah began to emerge. I was with the thought that I am not doing what I was supposed to do. The only door for my salvation seemed closed at that point. It was getting very hard to concentrate on prayers, almost impossible to relax or have fun, and my face starts to show the war of thoughts that were occurring in my mind. My heart was restless.

At this point, I tried to look for answers to each of my question. Surfing the net and pondering for hours. It seems that as I answer one question, new ones keep popping up. I was anxious most of the time. It kept on getting worse for a few days. At times I feel like letting go, succumb to the pressure and admit failure. In the morning, I won’t want to wake up. Wished I could sleep forever, Haha. Well, the five wajib prayers were crucial in keeping me going. Though my concentration was disturbed, the prayers still proved to be beneficial.

Verily, the help of Allah is (always) near!
(Excerpt from verse 214, Al Baqarah)

On the 26^th January, help came. Alhamdulillah. The answer to my problem was right in front of my eyes, yet I missed it. I followed my dad to a zikr. It was just a group of people sitting down and remembering Allah. After the zikr, there were short talks. The zikr provided me with peace, while the talk revealed that my ‘thoughts’ were the work of the devil. One of the avenues of the devil is to plant the seed of doubt (was-was) in our heart. Make us worry and lose our way. Lose concentration in prayers, lose the will to make ibadah, fill our heart with worry and make us sad, depressed, anxious and ‘down’. "Don't entertain your foolish thoughts", I say to myself.

The zikr is the essence of peace in heart. But, this requires faith and action. Just the knowledge (faith), without action won’t give much benefit. Performing the zikr, the remembrance of Allah is crucial. InsyaAllah. I pray that Allah inspires me and everyone with the beauty of zikr.

Again, all these research is for me to correct myself and if possible to inspire others too. The following excerpt of the Quranic verses shall end my post, insyaAllah, Part 3 will feature more beautiful verses and if possible, some stories too.

Have no fear, for Allah is with us
(Excerpt from verse 40, At-Taubah)

It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his soul makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein.
(Verse 16, Surah Qaf)

-Wallahu a'lam-
Allah knows best