Memoirs - At the age of nineteen: part 2

“Memoirs of a Sufi Traveller in the West,
autobiography of Muhammad Sajad Ali”
At the age of nineteen: part 2

I want to make mention of an interesting topic that being what is the meaning or benefit of 40 hadith and will also go more into detail of meaning of Istafti Qalbak-(Consult your heart), also Shaykh Nazim mentions (istafti qalbak) in a suhba.

There are hadiths-(prophetic narration) about memorizing 40 of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Sunnah (traditions) and being admitted to Paradise or raised with the scholars, he will be written in the company of religious scholars and he will be resurrected with the group of martyrs. 

"Whosoever from my Ummah memorizes 40 Hadith which would benefit them in matters of religion, and then this person will be resurrected among the scholars on the Day of Resurrection. An ’Alim (scholar) is 70 degrees superior to an ’Abid (one who engages in worship). Only Allah knows the difference between these degrees." -Hadith

Also we should worth noting the Sunnah of mentioning a hadith and the the virtue of listening to the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and conveying it, even if it is just one hadith and that maybe the person who reads or listens to it may understand it better then yourself, as Allah is the one that gives actual understanding or Light in the heart. 

“May Allah bless a man who hears a hadith from us and memorizes it so that he can convey it to others, for perhaps he is conveying it to one who will understand it better than him, and perhaps the one who conveys knowledge does not understand it himself.” - Hadith

Imam Malik said, "Wisdom and knowledge are a light-Nur by which Allah guides whomever He pleases; it does not consist in knowing many things." and another version states: "Knowledge does not consist in narrating much. Knowledge is but a light-Nur which Allah places in the heart." And imam Shafi' said, "Knowledge is not what one has memorized, Knowledge is what benefits."

istafti qalbak-Consult your heart

A questioner asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, about righteousness. "You have come to ask about righteousness." "Consult your heart. Righteousness is what the soul finds peace and the heart finds peace in. Sin is what stirs in the soul and go to and fro in the breast even if the people pronounce it okay." 

istafti qalbak-(Consult your heart) we need to remember to consult your heart "The moral compass is within, your heart", In a meditative state, place two conflicting opinions or beliefs one at a time inside your heart. 

Shaykh Nazim's in a suhba starts of addressing the Salafi scholars; these are the closing words of that Subha in Lefke April 2010.

("istafti qalbak wa in aftuka 'l-maftoon,' "You must ask your conscience, even if learned people say you can do something."

Don't be happy with their permissions; you must ask your conscience! If your conscience is saying, 'good,' follow it. If it is saying, 'not good,' don't follow it. Therefore, all nations must ask their conscience in doing everything, if they are happy and in satisfaction then do it and if not, don't do it.) - End - 

So we have something within us, (a moral compass, the heart) and if we keep it clean or are aware of Allah then Allah is our Safinat an-Naja–(Ship of Salvation) If you submit to Islam, your body will say this is the right thing. Your body will feel wholesome and it feels good. We need realign ourselves through submission. The hadith istafti qalbak-(Consult your heart) is for someone who is aligned with revelation, who submits to the Will of God. That is the one whose conscience is his guide, remember “Knowledge is what benefits and Knowledge is Light-Nur placed in the Heart” and it is from that light-Nur can you “Consult your Heart”.

You then became that person, who the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to "Consult your heart." For example, if there is something inside you that feels uncomfortable with interest loans, even if there is a fatwa saying it is permissible to buy your first home with interest loan, you follow your heart. You don't follow the fatwa. This is righteousness.

Now to the question of whether or not a fatwa from one’s heart can be followed without qualification. It stands to reason that if muftis are required to undergo extensive training before issuing a fatwa that the heart likewise must be formed by some degree of wisdom and training before it is fit for fatwa giving. When commenting on this hadith, Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id, says of the people whose fatwa one resists when it conflicts with the heart’s fatwa are, “The most exemplary of them, not degenerates.”

Imam al-Nawawi says, “If a gift comes to you from a person the majority of whose wealth is unlawful and your heart fluctuates about the lawfulness of it, the mufti’s judgment that it is lawful to consume does not remove the doubt.” In other words, a thing may be deemed completely lawful before the outward teachings and scholars of law, while it may be unlawful to a single individual due to the fact that his/her heart is not comfortable with the matter. Otherwise, the individual would be guilty of committing a sin for which he/she will need to answer for on the Judgment Day.

You need to learn the balance of “Consult your Heart”, for there is a hadith that says, “Whenever you are without shame, do as you please.” And some will do, due to the egos overriding them with their whims and desires, There is some time I once heard on a movie “it’s the thrill is in the hunt not to kill” and that is true, for this is what actually the Nafs-Ego loves with Hawa-(Lust, passion) and nothing else.

We need to Know and learn our sense of right and wrong and that Nafs-Ego is in a constant flux. At one time, some things feels right and at another time, the same things feels wrong to us, we need some (Haya-shame) and we also need basic Islamic knowledge of halal and haram to guide, but that doesn’t mean everything is black-Haram or white-Halal for are a spectrum of colours and understandings to “Consult your Heart”, and light is but a spectrum of colours and its having light in one’ heart or spectrum of understanding to “Consult ones Heart”.

Finally a reminder to us all, as this actually me talking about (Salah-Prayer) then know that (Salah-Pray) is the first thing we will be questioned about on the Day of Judgement and if you fail that Then we are in major danger, below is about missing the salah and its danger;

“The person that performs his five daily prayers punctually and with complete purity will be surrounded by light on the day of judgment. The person that abandons and does not pray, his accounting will be with Fir’aun and Haamaan.” -hadith 

So this Hadith tells us that we will be surrounded with light, from the grave to the bridge (Pul Sirat)

“The first thing that will be looked at on the day of judgement will be a person’s (Salah-prayers). If they are complete his prayers and all deeds will be accepted. If his prayers are incomplete, then his prayers and all deeds will be thrown out.”

“The difference between us and them (the hypocrites) is prayer. He who intentionally misses prayers is a non-believer.” 

“The difference between us and them is Salah-prayer. The one that misses prayers has done the same work as infidels.”

Valley of Hell for Those that Miss Prayers

It is reported in Hadith that Rasul Allah sallalahu alayhi wasallam said, “The faces of those that do not pray will be blackened first of all on the day of judgement, then he will be put in a valley of Hell called Alam. There are snakes in this valley that are as large as camels and their length is the equivalent of one month’s travel time. They will bite the people and their poison will stay in the person’s body for seventy years, then their meat will rot”.

So make up you missing (Salah-Prayer) there is no excuse, and remind your souls of the dangers above if its lazy or stubborn. Al-Faitha.