Riyad Nadwi – 27. Ikhlas Which is better Action or Intention And Effects of Actions on the Heart
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AI: Transcript ©
For coming today.
Obviously, the the winter days, the,
days are quite short. It's dark out. So
thank you very much for taking the time
and making the effort to come. Inshallah, it's
a source of, benefit for all of us,
and Allah accepts it from all of us.
Today's a continuation again,
our 7th,
lecture this term on Imam al Zal I
Zahiya,
looking at sincerity,
and, intentions,
and how we can ensure that they're pure.
So with that said, I'll just hand it
over to Sheikh Nair, who will continue from
where we left off last week.
Allah says
that whosoever desires the life of this world
and his adornment alone,
we will fully repay them for their deeds
therein,
and they therein will not be deprived.
And those are the ones for whom there
is nothing in the hereafter
but the fire. And last is what they
did therein, and worthless is what they what
they used to do.
Brothers and sisters,
Welcome to
lecture number 27
on Ma'am Azali's Ahir,
in which we are
focusing on a class. Now last week, we
completed the rereading of, the chapter on hadikotuniyyah,
the chapter on the true nature of intention.
And we looked at the 4th configuration
of intention.
And
we looked at
this
configuration
of multiple intentions in which Imam Moseli
describes
where he described it as,
It is
a assistant, a complimentary intention.
And the fact that
he wanted us to focus
on
the
possibility
of multi multiplicity of motivations when you are
acting, and not to think that your intentions
are always singular.
That they can be multiple motives.
And he he categorized those, as you saw,
in various configurations. So the last one, the
4th configuration
was,
that of Morawena,
complimentary intention,
and with the example of a person who
is inhabit in the habit of doing a
particular good deed for reward. But then
he happens to
having to do it in the presence of
a of people, and suddenly,
he experiences the phenomena
known as tasil.
He experiences
a
the
act becoming easier to do. That tasil
is the presence of the eye.
In Tasil, which is a sudden reduction in
the required effort
to do a good deed. And that is
in a direct
effect of the presence of an audience or
the presence of eyes or the presence of
means through which
people
may observe what you are doing, such as,
you know, maybe streaming live on Facebook or
or something of that sort. That once it
is it's become
in the in the parameters of
view,
then that
creates that that facilitates that skill. And that
is a problem. As he said, he said
that that
that that it there is some sort of
contamination enters upon the motivation.
And in summary, the first
configuration
or the the first category was that of
singularity in the gold. The second was multiplicity,
which is possible and frequent.
And the third, which was,
the
the, the fact that these motives so these
were the three things we had to bear
in mind. 1 is that the singularity is
the goal, the to making your intention single.
The second was that multiplicity is actually the
norm. That that's what happens. You you are
having multiple,
motivations in it.
And that the third thing was that to
bear in mind was that these
varied configurations, these varied motives can have different
weights. They can have different strengths.
And it is those configurations, the of this
of the strength
that will determine
where this stands in terms of the final
ruling on the day of judgment
of the value of that for our Aqah.
Now
last week's session
was a an anchoring session in which I
linked the advice you were receiving in this
class
to Quranic verses and sunnah. Because I I
I wanted to provide you with verses,
of the Quran and Hadith so that you
can be reassured
that what you're learning here is not the
pontification of some, you know, scholars of from
the 5th century or wherever, you know, for
Imam al Zalis
or or even mine. The advice
is rooted solidly in the revealed guidance in
the Quran and Sunnah.
And that is why I went through all
those every advice and linked it to Quran,
linked it to hadith to show you.
And the reason I wanted to do that
is that today,
we are
there is a fit fit now,
a a corrupting scheme that we are faced
with, which is,
what what I like to call is
So there's a lot there's more on that.
I, I will talk to you about that
later on in the course, Insha'Allah.
What we need to know is that,
by,
by
overfixating
on
Hadith and
its,
status its its status,
according to the mohaddesin,
that can lead that can lead to a
deprivation
of your understanding
of Din. If if you overemphasize
and not maintain a balance with, first of
all, the opinions of the scholars about certain
hadith.
A hadith may be reported by one scholar,
and he may, according to the,
criteria of Imam Bukhari, that hadith would be
weak. Hadith you can find hadith in in
Sahih Muslim, which
according to the criteria of Imam Bukhari, does
not will be weak.
And likewise so every scholar has their own
set of criteria through which they,
and then there are agreed
criteria
among among the Mahabd al Seen. But that
is a science of its own. That's a
science of itself that one has to if
if you're studying that, that
you need to know all of that. And
you need to be able to take into
consideration
when you're using it when you're using it
for fit and for deriving rulings. But when
it comes to
the area of Terbia, the area of
training people in their in Tazkiya and building
their their Iman,
then the scholars have dropped the bar very
low for this one when it comes to
Hadith. They have not they have not insisted
on that high level of,
scrutiny
that the Mahaddesen would have. And this is
if you if you read the scholars of
Tarbiyyah throughout, you will find that this is
a standard practice throughout. So if someone comes
to you and says, oh, brother, you know,
that's hadith and that hadith and this hadith,
then which first of all, which field according
to whose criteria?
All of this needs to be taken into
consideration.
Now last week, we also added,
oh, one more point. I yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Last week, I, we added 2 more points
to
the discussion on eyes, which brings the tally
to 11 points.
The 2 additional points were,
1, our behavior can be affected by the
presence of eyes as long as they are
within the visual field, as we saw with
the experiment in the tearoom
in the university where people were changing their
behavior. And likewise, the posters that, police,
forces are using in
in various parts of this country. And point
number 2 was that you do not have
to see the eyes
looking at you to become conscious of being
watched.
Because our sense of being watched is innate,
and that is sufficient.
And that sense,
that is sufficient for you to mon to
modify your behavior just by being just by
having a sense of being watched. You do
not need to see the eyes or see
the person looking at you.
And that sense of,
innate,
acuteness
acute innate sense of being watched can easily
be focused on Allah
with the correct knowledge and thinking habits.
Recognizing Allah watching you. As, as as with
the verse in the in Surat Al Baqarah,
where if if you have that verse in
your mind,
where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, wa'alamu annallaha
ya'alamu mafi amfusikum
fazahu.
That know that Allah knows what is what
what you're hiding inside, what is within you.
So be be aware of it. Be aware
of him. And and the verse I asked
you to memorize,
the verse in Surah Yunus, wamatakunu fijayani, wamatat
lu minhoomin Quran,
That you will not be in any engage
in any matter
or reciting the Quran or doing any deed,
except that we are witnessing.
That when you are act when you are
in the act of doing something, then you
should know deep in your heart that Allah
is watching you. And not only that, the
fact that he has written it,
That he knows it. He not even an
atom's weight or smaller than that or larger
than that. So this was a
these were 4 verses of the Korahweel
to,
this one and the other and the following
three verses.
I think it's beneficial to memorize these verses
and read them in your salah and refer
to them regularly because
they will reinforce the fact that Allah is
watching you.
And when we when we have this the
this at the back of our minds, it
will facilitate
changes in our behavior.
Now at the end of the discussion with
this,
last week,
I ended it with a story about a
teacher and his favorite student.
This is a famous story that is mentioned
in many of the Tarvia books.
Now, I don't know if you remember the
story. The story was,
about a boy who
who was asked to slaughter a
a bird, and then when he
came back, he to slaughter a bird where
he couldn't be seen.
And
the
teacher gave him a lot of attention,
for his god consciousness. Now I did not
explicitly
mention the reason why the teacher favored the
students because I thought it would be obvious,
to an Oxford audience, especially after
learning what the,
what what the student had done,
and he revealed that, look, I am god
that I I couldn't find a place where
Allah did not see me. So and you
said to to slaughter the bird in a
place where no one could see
you. Now
but the reason I'm mentioning this is that,
at the end of the class, an old
lady came up to me and asked the
asked the question, you know, why did you,
why did this why did the stew why
did the teacher
give attention to the student who did not
explain it? And when I explained it to
her, look. This is it was
god consciousness. His god consciousness
was the reason. She could not understand the
reason.
She didn't she seemed a bit ambivalent.
And and and so I thought that probably,
I should make it I should I should
spell it out, to be on the safe
side for the purposes of clarity. So I'm
going to explain
why why the teacher gave
special attention to the student. And there there's
a there's a message in this also.
When you're a teacher in a regular school
and the student shows aptitude and potential for
progress,
progress that is beyond the level of his
peer group, you will find,
that the teacher
will make sure that that potential is not
wasted. That's the teacher's responsibility
when you're in a regular school.
And I remember when my son was in
the math class and the teachers
realized that he was doing far better than
the other students,
he made arrangements for him to have extra
classes,
in maths. So and
that is so that the potential is not
wasted in the child's,
career in his worldly life, in his in
his worldly career,
will succeed.
Now, when you're a teacher in a madrasah
and training students to become an Alim,
the goal is not the same. The student
who is studying to become an Alim is
in training to guide people towards success
primarily in the next life. Success in what?
Success in the next life, which is by
and large
linked
to God consciousness, to taqwa.
Taqwa in this world, you know, will cultivate
success in the next. The cultivation of taqwa
is the supreme goal.
It is for this
Allah explains that the Quran is aimed at.
The book is revealed for the people who
will eventually
have Taqwa or who will who are learning
or aiming for Taqwa.
And the love of Allah,
divine love is reserved
for Muttaqeen.
That the love of Allah is with those
who fulfill his commitment and fear of Allah,
then indeed the love the the love of
Allah is for those who have Taqwa. And
then the ultimate prize.
The ultimate prize, which
is Jannah, is also prepared for muttaqwa.
So that is the the the cultivating taqwa
in a student and identifying
a student with potential for taqwa is a
teacher's job. That's why he does it. Now
when a teacher finds a student with elevated
level of taqwa, high level of god consciousness
or potential for it, he has a duty
to give that student extra attention.
Just the the teacher in a maths class,
you know, because of,
because of taqwa
at a at a young age
when you see taqwa in a young age,
it is a sign for the potential for
success in the career as an island, as
a career as a guide, in as a
in a career
as an inheritor of the Prophets. Inna luulamaa
waratatulambiyyah.
That the ulema are the inheritors of the
Prophets
and that's their role. Their role is to
help people to be successful
in the in the next life. And therefore
it is not surprising or odd or discriminatory
discriminatory
to for a student
who shows potential to be given extra attention.
So I hope that clarifies the matter and
clears any doubt in your mind about the
story.
And there's one more thing I I have
to clarify in regarding to the method of
teaching of this course, that those of you
attended the first session would have seen that
would have heard what I said is that,
I will be recapping for two reasons. 1,
is because we have new students,
this term. This is we have freshers.
And also,
it is also to assist everyone
to consolidate because we don't get time to
consolidate. We don't get time to go over
what we are doing, so that's why. And,
of course, our minds in the modern world
is in a constant frenzy,
you know,
dragged in all different directions,
every day
in hundreds of different directions.
You know, if there's one difference I've noticed
between
the Oxford students of 30 years ago and
the Oxford students of today
is the difference in state of mind.
And there's a reason for it. You know?
It takes about 12 to 14 minutes for
a wholesome thought to settle in the mind.
That's,
in cognitive science, they've
they've done some computations
about if you had a if you have
a wholesome thought and you want it to
settle in the mind without being affected,
between 12 to 14 minutes. And on average,
we are affected
we are interrupted on 8 between 8 to
10 minutes, with our social media connections.
So things aren't getting
time to settle in our minds. We don't
get time to our streams of thought are
interrupted,
regularly. And we are we are having to
multitask
more and more, and that has consequences for
the state of mind.
And
the sad truth about multitasking
is that the more you do it, it's
the less competent you become.
That we we we think that, you know,
I'm I'll I will multitask and I will
get, but,
I will get better at it. But
the the this is a con con intuitive
finding about multitasking.
When they test people in multitask they give
them multitask tasks. The people who are who
rarely multitask
are
routinely performing better than those who regularly multitask.
You will find that. That that's the results.
So,
anyway, that's another lecture. Now,
what I want to do today is to,
so, anyway, to help you move beyond the
clutter and internalize the ideas and themes we
are covering,
I I've been summarizing, repeating, extending the content
because
of our objective here is not information. It's
not information gathering
exercise. It's, it's about internalizing guidance in a
way that it begins to influence your thoughts
and behavior.
So please don't allow anyone to put you
off by claiming that it's just regurgitating the
same thing over and over.
Now let us move on with the text,
and read the next chapter,
which,
is better now? If I if I had
asked you this question, which is better? Intention?
The intention of the believer or the action
of the believer?
Everyone, after a little reflection, will say, yes.
Intention is better. Now, Imam al Zali, bearing
in mind what we have just covered, the
chapter that we have just covered, we've learned
that intention is
that there's a possibility of it being multiple,
and that these multiple motivations in your mind
can have different weights. And the idea of
weights and strengths
is being
dealt with now. He's he's he's taking that
further.
So this chapter is aiming aiming on building
your knowledge of of multiplicity and intention and
the variation in strengths and weight of motives
by helping you to in engrain the
preponderance of intention,
over action through an increase in attention on
intention.
The chapter is centered around 1 hadith. The
statement of the prophet, sallallahu alaihi wa sallam,
which is reported by Tabrani, where he says,
niyatul mumini khairum mina amalihi. That's a hadith
in reported by Imam Tabrani.
That
the intention of the believer is better than
his action. And the title of the chapter
is
The exposition of the secret in the statement
of the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
That intention
of that the intention of the believer is
better than his action.
Now, building on the idea of strengths and
weights,
strengths and weights in motives,
where one motive can be heavier than the
other,
we're going to take a journey into the
variation in meaning or variety in meaning of
this Hadith. This is what he does. He
takes you and and he's engaging you in
thoughts about the meanings
so that you can reinforce this idea that
intention is more important. Because when I ask
you about which is important,
well, which is more important, intention or action,
you will say yes, intention is more important.
But
when it comes to doing things, we spend
more time
thinking about actions than of intention. And you
remember what I said about the Sahaba? They
they used to study intention,
study the the configuration of intention, just as
they study the the configuration of actions, how
to do things.
So
the first meaning that Imam Ghazali cites
is is the obvious one. He says, in
the neart
sirun, intention is a secret.
That no one sees our intention except Allah.
So that's the first reason. No one sees
your intention whereas actions are observable by others
and that makes intention more
valuable.
The second meaning is,
wali amalisidmi
fadlun.
That
actions that are that are done in secret
has a virtue over actions that are done
in public.
So the secret of good actions are more
virtuous. And for this, we have the hadith.
It's Mutafakids in Bukhari and Muslim Mira and
Abiurath Radi Allah, Radi Allah, and who said,
That 7 people of the 7 people who
will be given the shade on the day
of judgment,
when there will be no shade, who will
be under the shade of Allah, they will
be,
That the person who gives sadaqah
with his right with,
with his right hand. That
he he his right his left hand does
not know what it is right hand has
given. He's he's concealed his his his charity.
So hidden good deeds are better than those
that are made public.
The third meaning is that is that niyyah,
intention, is in itself
something in which there is no riya.
It cannot no one can see your intention.
If your intention is correct,
then you cannot put it on display for
people to see where whereas your actions
can be put on display.
And in the Hadith of
Abu Musa Al Ashari, which is he he
he says that,
that niya has no riya in it. It
has no ostentation in show.
That intention
has ostentation in it. Has no ostentation in
it. You cannot show your intention. You can
claim. You can make claims about your intention.
Say, oh, I am,
I'm doing it for x, y, and zed.
But that would have no bearing on the
true intention.
If the intention is true, then you can't
the sincerity of your intention cannot really be
put. You can make claims, and people may
believe you or may not. But when it
comes to what it actually is,
that is
secured from riya. You you cannot show it.
Just as you show and that is a
reason why intention is also
greater, is also more important, is better, and
it has more higher in it. But
in each of these explanations, Imam Ghazali is
also offering a counter, which I'm not going
into because,
the idea is to get you engaged in
these in the in the actual meanings.
The 4th meaning, he says, in the the
reason for intention being more valuable,
that the near intention can remain continuous throughout
the deed, whereas actions are sporadic and frequently
interrupted. So there's a continuity in your intention
when you think you're doing things.
And Imam
Zubairi, in his commentary of the ahiya says
here that,
That with the Niya, they with the intention
they remain continuous in Tawhid, and the people
of Tawhid, that continuity has led them into
Jannah. And with the nia,
with with the intention with shirk
and continuity
has led them into Jahannam.
And then the 5th meaning,
is that nia on its own, an intention
on its own is better,
than an than an action on its own.
And the reason for this is that a
nia to Minjal El Amal. That intention
are tension are are conditions for actions.
In other words, without intention, actions cannot be
valid. But intentions can be valid
without action. That's it. The person may make
an intention for something,
and he's sincere in it, and the angels
writes it as if he has done it.
And if he if he fulfills it, then
it then the reward of for doing it
10 times is written for him. But if
he if something comes and blocks him from
doing it, something
beyond his control
prevents him from doing it, then that person
will get the reward anyway. So niyyah niyyah
from this perspective, intention,
is is
better than action
because
it is valid. It can be valid on
its own. Whereas actions cannot be valid without
intentions, dependent on intentions.
Imam Ghazali with his
razor sharp wit here, argues that this is
not really what is meant by the Hadith.
He says that because it speaks of good
being in both, he said Khayru min min
amalihi.
He's talking about Khayru that there's Khayru in
both, but there's a preponderance of Khayru in
one. So it's not so he says, this
is not what is actually what it means.
So he says, whereas, Al Amalu billa Niya
tin ala raflatin la khayrafiya
aslan.
When Niya to be Mujarradiya khayrun.
Mujarradiya
khayrun.
Actions without Niya has no khayr in them,
and they are no good whatsoever.
Whereas, niyyah on his own has khair, has
good in it. Therefore,
That every good act, every act of worship
is accomplished through intention and action.
So
that if if intention is is is good,
then the deed is also good. And
that intention is also an act of worship.
So from this perspective,
even intention is an act of worship. Having
good intention, configuring
your intention is a is a good is
an act of worship. And it has a
greater degree of but it has a greater
degree of good, for it is more effective
and superior in acts of worship to the
deed itself.
Therefore,
the real meaning of the Hadith, and niyatul
mumilikayrum
minamalahi, that the intent intention of the believer
is greater than his than than his action,
is that a believer's niyyah, a believer's intention
in his or her
in in his or her act of worship
is better and more effective
than the deeds in it. And the servants
has a freedom to make a choice. Do
you you the choice that you make in
terms of action.
And he said, as for
why it is
so,
in order to understand this, you have to
understand
the purpose of deen, the purpose of religion.
Watarikuhu.
And in order to understand this, the reason
for the superiority
of intention over action cannot be understood,
except if one understood prop understood properly
the purpose of Din and the path towards
it,
such that one can distinguish between competing ways
on the basis of the ultimate goals. You
have to understand the goal,
understand the maxa, the purpose of it, and
then and here he employs an example
of someone who says that
bread is better than fruit.
Yeah.
If a person says that, look, bread is
better than fruit,
then
they would mean that
it's better in terms of nourishment,
which has a certain purpose. What does nour
what's the purpose of nourishment?
It's health and survival.
So for one to make an informed judgment
about nutrition, health, and survival,
one must be aware of
these kinds of food and the effects of
e of the food and the effects of
the food on each other and the effects
of the food on the human body.
Now, fataat
giza ul kudub.
So acts of worship are nourishments
for the heart.
The purpose and and the purpose of this
nourishment,
well, maksu'd,
the purpose of this nourishment
that we will get. Acts of worship
are there to fortify, to nourish the heart.
And the purpose of this nourishment,
The purpose of the purpose
of this nourishment is
the curing, and the survival, and the security
of the heart in the akhirah
with the pleasure and happiness of meeting Allah.
And no one will find that joy of
meeting Allah
except those who
leave this world in the love of Allah.
Live in a state of love for Allah
and in knowledge of Allah, knowing Allah and
recognizing Allah.
Walayee yuhimbahu
illaaminarifa
aarafahu.
That the one who will love Allah is
the one who recognizes Allah. You cannot love
something that you do not recognize. So you
will you have to recognize Allah.
And here, Imam Zubairi adds a sentence, he
says, in in the Sharah, in the commentary,
he says,
that,
no one can love
Allah except those who have knowledge and who
have a special knowledge,
gnosis.
And none none will become you wouldn't develop
this
affable,
this affinity and this intimacy with Allah to
love Allah,
except the one who remembers him in abundance
over a long periods of time.
And the one who does dhikr in abundance
over a long period of time. And here,
Zubayd says in all his states, you know,
al Uns.
So Uns will lead
to that ability.
That this
this intimacy
is a fruit of dhikr. It's a fruit
of remembrance. A fruit of marifa. A fruit
of gnosis,
which fosters love, and the heart will not
find a space for dhikr and dhikr. The
heart will not find a space for remembrance
and med meditation,
except if he
disengages
from the clutter of worldly occupations.
The heart has to disengage.
You you need to have space in the
heart. It has to disengage
from the clutter of worldly act worldly occupations.
That no one will no one can,
that one cannot become disengaged from the clutter
of worldly occupations unless one cuts one's desire,
from the worldly cattles and become inclined towards
good and seeking it, disinclined from evil and
disliking it.
That a person will be inclined
to doing good deeds, to doing acts of
worship,
if he has a firm knowledge in the
benefit of it. That that that his success
in the earth
is suspended with this. It's it's attached. It's
dependent on this.
It's the same way a person will be
lenient towards having lancing of a boil or
or hijama
for what he knows of the benefit that
he will get from it. That if you
say to somebody, I will I will cut
your skin now and take blood out, then
that if he doesn't know what hijama is,
then he will see that as a problem.
So you having,
making sacrifice
and doing things for the sake of Allah,
if you know the benefit that you will
get.
That when the inclination is rooted
through knowledge,
it is strengthened with a
with continuous and dedicated effort in the direction
of the incline. So if you if you
if the knowledge is certain, if you're clear
in your knowledge that look, this thing is
beneficial for me,
and
your
that first thought of it being beneficial
requires you to act in accordance with that
knowledge. And how do you act in accordance
with that knowledge? You
follow you you pursue it. Right? You pursue
it. You pursue it through persistence. You have
to go you have to be you have
to dedicate effort
towards that incline. The inclination
will
spark
a urge to do something,
an urge to act in a certain way.
But
you have to follow that urge. You have
to follow it based on the knowledge. As
the dedication increases, the characteristic inclination
also is strengthened. It becomes stronger and stronger
serving as food and nourishment for the inclination,
so that it gains influence with with strength.
Inclination towards studying
and seeking leadership in the beginning is usually
very weak. You know, a person starts off
to study, well you know, I'm I'm not
really,
they they experiment.
You know, I can become leader. You know,
maybe I can become president. But once you
start working on it, once a person
That as this will become or they will
have it will have.
But as one follows the demands of the
initial incline,
as in pursuing the knowledge
or of studying leadership courses and activities pertaining
to it, then speed and strength develops in
the inclination.
And then and then, A'asara 'arihi and Nuzar.
And he will it will become difficult to
retracting himself from it. You know, once a
person is in is in the full flow
of seeking leadership,
once he once he starts
attending leadership courses and all of that, to
take him out of it becomes difficult. But
once he tastes
the,
the attraction to it, it it it then
takes.
It then it it it becomes embedded. It's
like you you set a groove now and
and the incline the inclination and the incline,
speed develops in it. And then you're you're
going you're you're no longer in control.
So he he's saying
and but
but in the first instance, if he had
rejected it, if he had go gone against
it, not follow the demands
of that first inclination, that first thought, then
it
it and he ignores it or rejects it,
then
that it will it would it would have
been weakened
and maybe even uprooted.
He's giving an example now. He says, look,
Hasan, in a person who looks at a
beautiful face. Right? Masran,
he's saying, for example,
that, you know, he will
a slight attraction will begin. He will see.
He will be attracted to it slightly.
There will be,
some sort of attraction because it's it's it's
a beautiful face, so you like to look
at it.
But if he follows it, if he if
he increases
the
the steering of it and follows the demands
of the urge to look at it.
But when one looks at that beautiful his
inclination,
he he he starts to he he follows
the demand to stare continuously,
and indulges in sitting, and mixing, and mingling
with the carrier of that face.
Then the inclination will quickly deepen,
and he will
slowly lose control,
and then he will not be able to
withdraw himself from the attachment. It will become
so strong.
Right?
But
if in the first instance he had pulled
away, then
That if in the first instance you he
had,
pulled away,
then that would be
as the example of cutting the food and
nourishment
for the inclination.
Then that would be the,
rejection and stopping of it. So much so
that it will die out. Because these things
come, they're flowing into your minds all the
time. So it is it is if you
pursue it, if you follow it, then this
happens.
So he will not be able to remove
himself from it and,
and if he had weaned himself off in
the beginning and resisted the demand of the
inclination, then
that would have been like the denial of
food and sustenance.
Okay.
Now
and so now after explaining all of this,
he's telling you now that look,
that the that these qualities in the heart
are all like that. That's how they are.
That
and and
the good deeds and good actions, acts of
worship,
they are all here here leti, they are
all they're all
that
that all good deeds and acts of worship
are those with which the akh akhira is
thought, with which
life beyond this life is thought. For good
deeds in the akhira and all evil deeds,
and he's saying that, look,
That
all evil deeds are those with which the
dunya are sought for the sake of the
dunya, not akhirah.
Akhirah.
And the inclination towards good deeds in the
akhirah and diversion away from deeds,
for worldly gain,
it is that
that provides affordances for dhikr and fiqr, for
remembrance and contemplation.
And that,
and, for for remembrance go,
ago. And this will not be reinforced except
with the persistence in good deeds and the
avoiding of sin with the organs of the
body because there is a
connection between the heart and the organs of
the body. And here, in Arabic, we they
they,
they use the word
to mean
organs and to mean
other
organs other than the heart. So the the
the heart, even though it's an organ, it
it has its own category.
So the body, the the, the limbs and
all of that falls under Jawareh.
So he's saying there's a connection, and they
both influence each other. And this is, an
interesting,
point that Imam Ghazali is making here because
it it has echoes to modern
discoveries.
Now he's he's saying that, look, if you
see if you see,
if a
when
you see the heart suffers when when a
limb is injured. Right? The heart suffers. You
feel the pain. And
that you'll see it when the heart feels
pain over the death of a loved one
or from the fright of an attack,
the limbs and the organs are also affected.
You said you see saying,
that you will see that
the the organs, the limbs of the body
also are affected. They you'll you'll find the
trembling and change of color. And, of course,
the heart is the root.
Everything follows.
It's
the,
and, It is like the it is like
the leader and and and and the guide.
And they are like servants.
They are servants to the heart. The limbs
are servants to the heart.
These are and
that the
aim is
these qualities in the heart. Where where because
remember what we said, that intention is what?
Intention is
a state in the heart. It is a
condition in the heart, and this condition is
from the from is is achieved through
the qualities of the heart. These various
conditions in the heart are configured because of
the types of qualities that you have in
the heart. So he's saying here that that
it it is it is Al Maqsood. It
is the goal.
Well,
And the
and
and the other organs, these are tools towards
getting to the heart.
Said, that if if if the heart that
verily, there's
a lump of flesh in in in the
body, which is,
if it's sound, then the entire body is
sound. And if it's corrupted, then the entire
body is corrupted.
And this is it is the heart, obviously.
So
and
there's another hadith called,
the
the,
Allah
the Rasool Allah
is saying that they,
that Allah that the
guide, the shepherd, and those who are being,
being guided there that
they
Allah is asking them asking Allah Allah sallallahu
alaihi wasallam is asking Allah
to bless and to guide
the Ra'i, the one who is guiding and
those who are being guided, and meaning the
heart and the rest of the body.
Now,
Allah says in the Quran,
and that Allah will
that Allah the the blood
and the flesh
of your sacrifices will not reach you, but
this will not reach Allah. It is the
taqwa. It is the god consciousness that will
reach him.
It is what is in the heart.
And from from all of this that we
have said, it is clear that
the actions of the heart are, are more
valuable, are more are more virtuous.
And so the niyyah is there. It is
must be from among that.
Okay.
Now our goal in actions with limbs of
the body is to habituate
the heart
in doing good and to reinforce
inclinations in it.
From this perspective,
it what we what we need to understand
is that it flows both ways.
From the body, from the heart to the
body, and the body to the heart.
And this is where I'm saying it's a
it's a thoroughly modern idea,
that
we tend to think that, okay, what's in
the heart? That's that's what's in the brain?
That's what we are we are doing. But
our actions that we
do with our body also has an effect
on
our heart.
And if
Imam Abu Zali is,
nearly a 1000 years,
ahead
of the findings that we are now finding
in, in cognitive science
for the effect of bodily movements
on people's
mind and brain.
You can see this.
And he gives,
2 beautiful examples.
Idal Matlub bin Huttahir al Kalb. He said,
what what is necessary from the good good
actions is that we want reward, but we
also want to reinforce because reinforce
the the good qualities in the heart
and
eradicate the bad qualities in the heart. And
one way is that and and and the
way this happens is that is that it
gets reinforcement
from our actions. The heart also gets reinforcement
from the action.
And he said
that we should not envisage
the effects that it that by placing
the,
our,
our head on the ground is to create
a connection between the ground and our head.
When we prostrate, when we do sejda,
he said we should not think that this
is just to create a connection between the
it that's not the purpose. What is the
purpose? What is the purpose of putting the
head on the ground?
Then if you think about that, you will
see.
That it is,
it is following
the customary rule of humility.
Of humility because you're putting
that the most,
the most honored part of your body to
the post to the lowest
part of the lowest ground. You're putting the
to the lowest place you can find, the
most,
honored part of your body. You're putting it
to the lowest place you can find. That
is
a in in in the customary understanding of
how people,
how how we relate to each other is
humility. Is it sign of humility?
Right? So and humbleness.
So what that does is that it puts
it puts humility in the heart. You're saying
it confirms the
for for
So when he uses his body to reinforce
this humility in his mind,
then that
causes a reinforcement
of humility in his heart. When when his
body
assumes
the form of humility,
that
reinforces
what goes on in the heart.
And another example he gives. He says that,
look, a person finds an affection in his
heart for an orphan.
Passes his hand over the
orphan's head and kisses him.
The
affection and compassion
will then feed back through his hand into
his heart that, look, I've done this, and
so that will reinforce
the affection, the compassion in his heart.
And so he's saying,
And this is why intention is important.
If you if he
rub the head of a,
of a
orphan and then thinks that he's he's touching
a a piece of cloth
in his mind, then that would have no
effect on his heart.
So the there is nothing
that will affect the heart
except
the ones that have that that has that
intention first in the beginning that why you're
doing it, but then it reinforces. And it
it reinforces the quality, as in humility for
sejda, humility when, humility when you do sejda,
and also when you do acts of compassion,
it feeds back into the heart. So this
is what he's saying, that there's an embodiment
of what you do
into the heart. That that embodiment,
there's a two way process. Now this two
way process,
as I said, it's it's a thoroughly modern
idea
where we have now discovered that,
actions that you do with your hands,
are,
generally have effect on on on on what
you think and how you behave.
They the people who design these,
slot machines, you know, who where you,
the gambling machines, they they put a large
lever on it for you to pull,
which is completely unnecessary.
And it's totally psych for psychological reasons that
by moving something close to you, you
your your your brain is telling you that
you're receiving something.
And it was for the same reason the
side the cognitive scientists that help the people
design,
these apps
have
upset the
receiving of
feeds on your on on your mobile phone
to come downwards. When you when you scroll
downwards,
your brain is telling you that you're receiving
things, you're getting things.
If it was the other way around, then
you wouldn't be as hooked to it as
you are now.
Your your body. Insha'Allah, next week, we will
talk more about,
embodiment. Embodiment is a fascinating,
area of study
where your actions, what you do,
the way we make dua is is the
opening the hand as a beggar does. That
has an impact on the heart.
The way we pray.
The the things you do when you walk
around the Kaaba. When you say when what
you say. The the the forms of humility
that you apply, that that that you approach
has an impact on your heart. And that,
we have been created with that. That so
it's a two way process. Your heart and
then when it's reinforced in your heart, then
it causes it it it
causes
those good qualities to flourish in your heart.
So not only where where our hearts are
not only affected by what we see, we
have gone through all of these,
series of influences that come through the eye
or the visual effect on our hearts. But
there are physical effects on the heart depending
on what you do, the position you, you
the
postures you take, the actions you do. You
know, there have been studies about people
who,
the cognitive performances
based on how they sit, based on what
they do.
Their cognitive,
perspective,
performances
change on the basis of of how they
sit.
So
in in conclusion for today,
the points to bear in mind is that
in addition
to multiplicity of intention,
strengths of motives,
there is
another
point to bear in mind is that my
actions
will have a bearing not only on my
on my akhirah, but it will have an
action. It will have a bearing
on my heart. That's the point he is
making here with all of this discussion. He's
telling you that, look, your heart will be
affected by the things you do,
and
just as it will be affected by the
things you see.
That is the message for tonight.
Let us pray.