Remedying the heavy and tight chest

Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest

Introduction: What is the Basis of a Relaxed Heart?

Sunday 21 Jan

✏️ Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 2: Causes of weakness or strength in Eemaan, what happens to the heart when one sins? 

•	Brief Recap of lesson 1
•	Without Tawhid the heart cannot experience true tranquillity
•	No amount of wealth will grant tranquillity
•	How is it possible for a heart to have relaxation without that heart recognising the lord which has created it? How can one have peace without knowing the purpose for which he/she is created?
o	Anecdote of one waking up on an aeroplane, not knowing where he/she is going or why he/she is on that plane to begin with, the first thing one would want to know is “why am I here?” even before wanting to know how
•	Tawhid increases and decrease and this is affected by knowledge and patience
o	Your chest will be expanded in proportion to how strong your tawhid is and vice versa
•	Ibn Qayyim mentioned in another book concerning which group of people have the most perfect of Tawhid
o	NOTE: Tawhid has a basis/foundation, what is this?
o	NOTE: after the foundation of tawhid, there is the perfection of Tawhid, brief recap (see Lesson 1)
o	NOTE: the importance of staying away from the major sins, not persistently committing minor sins and accompanying that with seeking forgiveness
o	Recap of who are the best of the people in perfection of Tawhid, (see Lesson 1)
•	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says the above (i.e. Tawhid and Eemaan increasing and decreasing) is something a person is aware of by himself from own experience
•	Ibn Qayyim states a person’s soul fluctuates between commanding with evil, self reproaching and commanding with good. These are symptoms of strength or weakness of Eemaan
•	Causes of a person’s Eemaan and Tawhid becoming weak:
o	Turning away from Allah subhaanahu wata’aalaa. 
o	Allah will test you with situations where you have an option to obey or disobey Allah with your hand, eye, speech etc
o	NOTE: after disobeying Allah, the soul of a believer becomes regretful and tight
•	Causes of a person’s Eemaan and Tawhid becoming strong:
o	Obeying Allah
o	NOTE: this must be done in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Performing Bidah is not obeying Allah.
•	Note: in the above, when mentioning strength or weakness of Tawhid, Eemaan is also mentioned, why is this? Are the identical?
o	This is because the essence of Eemaan is magnifying and glorifying your Lord and having Love for your Lord
o	These qualities (i.e. magnifying and loving Allah), if they are present in the heart it will naturally produce Tawhid
•	Ibn Qayyim mentions the verse: “Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in light from His Lord (as he who is non-Muslim)? So, woe to those whose hearts are hardened against remembrance of Allah! They are in plain error!” [39:22]
o	This is a favour and a blessing from Allah
o	This type of person, whom Allah has opened his chest to Islam and being conscious of Allah, he/she worships Allah as though he sees him (although one cannot see Allah in this world)
o	The one in whose heart Allah places light, then Allah gives him/her the sense of being close to Allah
o	When this type of person experiences sinning and weakness of eemaan, then this person will experience symptoms in his/her heart of a sense of loneliness as he/she has sinned against the one who was close to him/her and who placed light in your heart. The One you escape back to in such a situation is Allah as he is the only one who can save you from the evil of your own sin and the one who can restore that light in your heart.

For rest of Summary please go to AlhudaBolton.com

Lesson 2: Causes of weakness or strength in Eemaan, what happens to the heart when one sins?

Sunday 28 Jan
✏️ Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 3: What is Muraaqabah? What things cause a servant to be forsaken by Allah?
•	Brief Recap of lesson 2, what things weaken or strengthen a person’s Tawhid?
•	Recap of why Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami mentions Tawhid alongside Eemaan
•	What is Muraaqabah?
o	It is to worship Allah being conscious of him watching you, as though one sees Allah and so finds closeness to Allah and his chest feels opened
•	When a person sins or commits a mistake, the heart of a believer has certain symptoms
o	Every Human commits mistakes and sins
o	When the person who has Muraaqabah commits sins, he feels alone
o	Such a person as above should run back to Allah when that occurs
o	Why does he/she run back to Allah? = So Allah can save him/her from the evil of the person’s own self and own desires
•	Where are the acts of worship manifested?
o	The heart (e.g. fear, love)
o	The tongue (e.g. reciting the qur’an)
o	The limbs (e.g. prayer, hajj, fasting etc)
•	The acts of worship of the heart (e.g. fear, love etc), do they have levels or are they absolute/discrete?
o	The actions of the heart can increase and decrease and have levels#
o	How can the acts of worship of the Heart be increased?
	Ibn Qayyim says: Whenever Muraaqabah (Being conscious that Allah is watching you) increases, then this brings about shyness, shame, tranquillity, fear, hope and submission before Allah that is not attained by anything other than it (i.e. Muraaqabah)
	Therefore increasing Muraaqabahn will increase the acts of worship of the heart
•	Allah Says: “And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam, and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not.” [Surah An’aam (6):125]
•	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami mentions that there are two types of guidance:
o	Guidance of directing and making things clear for a someone 
	Does this type of guidance mean a person is a Muslim? = No. This is because this type of guidance can occur by Allah but can also occur by others e.g. prophets and messengers etc.
o	Guidance of Allah granting success and inspiration
	This is when a person’s chest is opened to Islam as Allah mentioned in the verse above. This guidance can only occur by Allah and so if someone finds this in their heart, then this means Allah has guided him/her
	This type of guidance must come after the first type
	In this guidance the chest of a person is opened to sincerity in performing the worships and in accordance to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) 
	NOTE: Some Muslims say, “Muslims in the world are in a dire state, lets unite as a large umbrella group and not concern ourselves with what we believe (e.g. Sunni, Sufi, Shia, etc), let’s just get together”. This is FALSE and goes AGAINST the Sunnah of our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم).
•	The opposite of the above is one whom Allah misguides and so his chest becomes tight as though he is ascending in the heavens, see above verse.

For rest of Summary, please go to AlhudaBolton.com

Lesson 3: What is Muraaqabah? What things cause a servant to be forsaken by Allah?

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:
o	The believing slave of Allah has Love, Fear and Hope of Allah, what intensifies these things?
o	How many types of Guidance are there? What are these?
o	For Summary of Lesson 3 go to: www.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?
o	Sincerity
o	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?
o	The person will find in his chest great difficulty when he wants to fulfil the commandments of Allah
o	He views the commandments of Allah as shackles from which he wants freedom
o	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]
o	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
o	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
o	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:
o	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)
o	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.
o	However, having this alone is not enough to cause the chest of a person to be expanded
o	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:
o	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.
o	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).

For more of this summary go to AlhudaBolton.com

Lesson 4: The Decree of Allah and free will of the slaves, Effects of Shirk, and the Light of Eemaan

Sunday 18 Feb 2018
✏️ Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 5: The Light of Eemaan Prevails over the difficulties of this World
•	Recap of Lesson 4:
o	The cause and means of Allah saving you from your own evil could be just one dua 
o	Tawhid is the greatest cause for alleviating the tight chest
o	Shirk is the greatest cause for tightening the chest
o	The noor (light) of Eemaan (belief)
o	For Summary of Lesson 4 go to: http://alhudabolton.com/2018/02/04/lesson-4-remedying-heavy-tight-chest/
•	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami (may Allah have mercy on him)  says the light of Eemaan expands the chest and as a result of that, a person does not attach significance to this world and isn’t worried by the toils of it nor does he/she take delight in its luxuries
o	However, this must be correct Eemaan, free from shirk
o	Eemaan must be based on what the prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught us
•	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami continues that perhaps there is a person who has Eemaan but is in a state of poverty or does not have much wealth, or perhaps he has enemies whom Allah has placed in a state of authority (as Allah has done in the case of many Prophets, Messengers and those who strive to bring about rectification in order to test them). Such people, Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says, they find within themselves love of Allah and being in a state of happiness
•	Shaykh Ibnul-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says the believer has an expanded and alleviated chest in this world despite the difficulties he faces, and when his Eemaan becomes intensified, then he will have an more expanded chest when facing the difficulties of life more so than what expansion he would find in a state of ease.
o	When such a person departs this world (dies), his/her heart becomes even more expanded, just as one who leaves a state of confinement as, in reality, this world is a prison for the believer
o	When the believer dies, he/she will experience bliss in the life of Al-Barzakh. However, when Allah raises him on the day of resurrection he/she will experience such a degree of relaxation which cannot be compared to what came before it
•	Allah may cause the enemies of those who strive to bring about rectification (e.g. the Propehts) to overpower them as a trail 
o	Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH may Allah have mercy on him), the teacher of Ibnul-Qayyim, was tested greatly however despite these difficulties Allah provided him with bliss, happiness and an expansive chest
o	Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (when imprisoned) said: “What can my enemies do to me? My garden is in my chest, wherever I go it goes with me, it does not leave me, my imprisonment is seclusion, my being killed is martyrdom, and my being driven out of my land is tourism”
o	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says can your enemies do any more than this (to imprison, to kill, or to expel)?
o	Ibn Qayyim reports regarding the imprisonment of Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah in the fortress of Damascus that he said “If I was to spend this fortress worth of gold, it would not equate to the gratitude and thanks I wish to give for this blessing (of being imprisoned in this fortress)” 
•	Regardless of what others may do, if a person has the light of Eemaan then his/her heart is protected from the difficulties of this world
o	Ibn Qayyim says that he had not seen anyone live a life happier than Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah despite the difficulties he endured. Whenever fear increased with them they would go to Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, seeing him and listening to him speak would replace the fear with relaxation, certainty and tranquillity
•	Shaikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah: “Indeed in the world there is a paradise, whoever does not enter into this paradise, he will not enter into the paradise of the Hereafter”
o	The paradise of this world is the delight of obeying and worshipping Allah.
•	Eventually such a person who obeyed Allah will die and his/her soul will be in bliss

Lesson 5 The Light of Eemaan Prevails over the difficulties of this World

Lesson 6:  The World is not a Yardstick, Who is the Shrewd person? and the Example of the 3 Brothers

Sunday 04 Mar 2018
✏️ Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 7:  What are the signs of having the Noor of Eemaan? Preparing for death before it arrives
•	Brief recap of previous Lesson (Lesson 6):
o	When the Noor (light) of Eemaan (Belief) departs from the heart, the heart becomes constrained
o	Some may be in an apparent outward appearance of luxury, but in reality, they live a life with a constrained heart:
	Allah gives the world (comfortable lifestyle, luxury) even to the non-believers, therefore it is not something to be used as a yardstick or measurement of how content and expanded someone’s heart is.
o	When Noor enters the heart, the heart becomes expanded and alleviated
o	The Worldly life is a delusion
o	A Muslim should see the worldly life as a path towards the hereafter and his/her heart is not attached to it, therefore its luxuries do not tempt him/her nor do its difficulties worry him/her
o	Recap of Imam Nawaawi’s poem
o	Ibn Qayyim’s Example of the three brothers
•	What are the signs of a person having the Noor of Eemaan?, Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says:
o	Returning back to Allah in repentance
o	Keeping away from the abode of Delusion, i.e. withdrawing from the Worldly life
o	To Prepare for death before it arrives
•	How does a person prepare for death? Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says
	By making Taubah (Repentance)
	By Turning back to Allah
	By going over and revising the pages of your deeds. Review your actions and take your soul into account.
•	By turning back to Allah and making Repentance for your sins, your soul will feel regret for that sin, as well as fear and apprehension as you do not know what your end will be and in what state you will depart this world
•	This fear and apprehension allows a person to prepare for death by examining their actions and making repentance
•	By preparing for death, the heart becomes relaxed.
•	The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to regularly ask for forgiveness, and he was the best of creation (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
•	Verse: “And I swear by the self-reproaching person (a believer).” [Surah Al-Qiyaamah (The Day of Resurrection) verse 2]
o	Allah takes an oath by the self-reproaching soul i.e. a soul which examines its actions and blames itself for sins
o	Shaikh Hassan Al-Basri said concerning this, that you will not find a believer except that he blames his soul and tasks it to account for its sin, however the sinner continues to move forward in his sin and does not contemplate or become worried about where her is headed.
•	How the Salaf reproaching themselves?


For rest of Summary go to AlhudaBolton.com

Lesson 7:  What are the signs of having the Noor of Eemaan? Preparing for death before it arrives

Sunday 11 Mar 2018

Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 8: Importance of having a Balance between Fear and Hope, Knowledge expands the chest
•	Recap of Lesson 7:
o	Signs of a person having the noor of Eemaan in their heart
o	What did Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami say about preparing for death
o	How the companions and Salaf would take their self into account
•	Ibn Al-Qayyim said that the believer has good opinions about his brothers and sisters (Husnudhan), but holds negative opinion regarding himself (Suu’udhan), this is so that he does not become complacent and content with his actions. 
•	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami mentions to us the importance of having a balance between fear and hope
o	This is one of the ways of preparing for death
o	We have hope in the mercy of Allah and also fear his punishment
o	What will happen if one has just fear of Allah and no hope?
o	What about a person who has nothing but hope for Allah’s mercy and has no fear, “Allah will forgive me whatever I do”
o	What is the measuring stick for having fear of Allah, how does one know if his fear of Allah is lacking or extreme?
	The criteria are the companions of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)
	At the time of death what did Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) say on his deathbed?
	What did ‘Amr bin Al-‘as (may Allah be pleased with him) say on his deathbed?
•	Ibn Al-Qayyim mentions the principal cause of expanding the chest, i.e. Tawhid
o	NOTE: when we mention “Noor (light)” we do not refer to what the Sufis talk about when they say “noor”, rather we are referring to the Noor (light) of Eemaan.
o	NOTE: Where did Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami deliver this talk?
o	The light of Eemaan illuminates and relaxes the heart just as how the physical light relaxes a person as it expands his vision whereas darkness creates unease
o	The stronger that the Noor of Eemaan is, the greater the relaxation and expansion of the heart
•	Ibn Al-Qayyim says from among the means of bringing about relaxation of the Chest is “Al-‘Ilm”, The Knowledge.
o	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami comments that when Ibn Qayyim says “Knowledge”, he uses the definitive article “Al-(The)”, therefore the meaning of this statement is Knowledge of the Religion is intended, not any knowledge. 
o	Why is this the case? Why is this Knowledge special?
o	Just as knowledge brings about relaxation to the chest, Ignorance regarding this knowledge of the Religion brings about tightness’ of the chest. This is because one who is ignorant of the religion does not know about Allah, the rights of Allah, who the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) is, the manners of how to deal with other Muslims and with the non-Muslims and how to live life. Therefore, he follows anyone and everyone and so becomes a “yes-man” to whomever calls to him and remains ignorant of the essential parts of his religion. This type of person who has no knowledge and seeks no knowledge, he may eventually take a right which belongs only to Allah and give it to other than Allah (Shirk).
o	NOTE: The knowledge being discussed here is the “Essential” and mandatory knowledge which a Muslim has no excuse to be ignorant of. We are not intending by this Arabic grammar, or detailed fiqh, but rather we are talking about knowledge which Every Muslim must know, knowledge of Allah, his Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the pillars and their rulings, rulings regarding marriage and other things which may affect a person and the Aqeedah which is essential. For example, see “The Three fundamental principles” and “The Book of Tawhid” by Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahhaab, these books are short and easy to memorise.

For rest of Summary go to AlhudaBolton.com

Lesson 8 Importance of having a Balance between Fear and Hope and Knowledge expands the chest

Sunday 18 Mar 2018

Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest
Lesson 9:  To Love Allah with all the heart, different types of love, and a statement of Imam Muqbil
•	Recap of Lesson 8:
o	Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami’s advise on how to prepapre for death
o	Balancing between love, fear and hope
o	The example of how physical light illuminates a room and expands the vision, likewise the light of Eemaan expands the chest. The opposite is also true
o	Ibn Al-Qayyim says from among the means of bringing about relaxation of the Chest is “Al-‘Ilm”;The Religious Knowledge.
o	Essential vs supererogatory knowledge
•	Ibn Al-Qayyim says from among the means of bringing about relaxation of the Chest is Inaaba (turning to Allah in repentence) and to love Allah with all your heart; 
o	To love Allah such that your heart does not love anyone else alongside him
o	NOTE 1: Love is of two types. Loving for the sake of Allah and Loving someone alongside Allah. The latter is prohibited as it is Shirk (associating partnes with Allah) and this nullifies one’s Islam.
o	NOTE 2: Besides the above two types of Love, there is also the love that comes from the natural inclination someone has e.g. for his/her family, their wealth etc. However, this type of love is not considered Shirk as long as it is not submissiveness and humility
o	NOTE 3: Love for the sake of Allah is a righteous deed, and Loving the awlia (allies) of Allah is considered good, however we do not call the awlia of Allah those sufi leaders who claim to have “Kashf” (pretend to know the unseen), or those who instruct their followers to make dhikr a thousand times in one sitting, or those who believe they have control over the affairs of the world etc. We find that sufi followers love their Imams with submissiveness and humility
o	NOTE 4: It is better to love the one who is a faasiq from the people of sunnah than the worshipper from the people of innovation
•	Ibn Al-Qayyim says we love Allah with all the heart, the type of love of worship which carries humility and submissiveness, this should only be directed towards Allah
o	Therefore, we should find enjoyment in worshipping Allah
o	This will alleviate the chest


For rest of Summary go to AlhudaBolton.com

Lesson 9:  To Love Allah with all the heart, different types of love, and a statement of Imam Muqbil

Lesson 10: The One who loves a thing/person besides Allah becomes imprisoned and tortured by it

Brief recap of previous lesson:
Ibn Al-Qayyim says from among the means of bringing about relaxation of the Chest is Inaaba (turning to Allah in repentance) and to love Allah with all your heart;
Different forms of Love, which is permissible and which is impermissible?
Love for Allah expands the chest in spite of the difficulties one may face in life
Look at the example of the life of Ibn Taymiyyah, see Lesson 5
Look at the statement of Shaikh Muqbil, see Lesson 9
Ibn Qayyim says a person in whose heart the love of Allah has settled, then such a person's chest becomes tight only when he sees the people who are idle, lazy and heedless in returning to Allah, those who do not relish in his Worship become an eye sore and mixing with them troubles him as though he has been struck by a fever.
Everyone makes mistakes, the type of heedless people mentioned here are those who do not turn in repentance to Allah
Why do such righteous people feel like this? because they realise it is not possible to guide everyone and so their heart becomes uneasy
For that reason you will find that prison was a form of seclusion for the likes of Shaykh ul Islam Ibn-Taymiyyah
Ibn Qayyim says from the greatest causes of suffocation of the chest is to turn away from Allah and the heart being attached to someone/something other than him, and being heedless of his remembrance
Whoever loves something besides Allah in a manner only befitting Allah (or in an impermissible form), then his heart will be agonised by it, his heart will be imprisoned by it and as a result of this no one will be in a more bitter and ill-tempered state than him
Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami  says Ibn Qayyim mentions a disease in order to describe the cure
Turning away from Allah could lead to apostasy
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahhaab mentions that among the nullifiers of a person’s Islam is him/her turning away from the religion (NOTE: there are different levels of turning away, not all of them lead to Apostasy)
The proof for the above is the verse : “And who does more wrong than he who is reminded of the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of his Lord, then he turns aside therefrom? Verily, We shall exact retribution from the Mujrimun (criminals, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners, etc.).” [Surah Sajdah (The Prostration) verse 22]
Turning away from the religion of Allah to the extent that someone does not raise his head to study it may form  a basis for apostasy
Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami  says the one who becomes infatuated with his Imam (e.g. sufi “pir”), to such an extent that this love carries humility and debasement, then this is Shirk (associating partners to Allah, Polytheism) as only Allah deserves to be loves in this way
Shirk is the greatest sin of all in Islam
This is because Shirk decreases and makes imperfect the love of Allah
A person who does Shirk such as this, but claims to have eemaan, then this is merely superficial eemaan
Ibn Qayyim says that the one who loves someone/something, at the expense of being obedient to Allah, and turns away from Allah, then he will be tortured by it, grief and sorrow will eat away at his/her soul. Why is this the case?

Lesson 10: The One who loves a thing besides Allah becomes Imprisoned and Tortured by it

Saturday 22 Rajab 1439/8 April 2018

Remedying the Heavy and Tight Chest

Recap of Lesson 10:
Ibn Qayyim says a person in whose heart the love of Allah has settled, then such a person’s chest becomes tight only when he sees the people who are idle, lazy and heedless in returning to Allah, those who do not relish in his Worship become an eye sore and mixing with them troubles him as though he has been struck by a fever.
Ibn Qayyim says from the greatest causes of suffocation of the chest is to turn away from Allah and the heart being attached to someone/something other than him, and being heedless of his remembrance
Permissible forms of love, e.g. loving one's spouse, child or loving someone for the sake of Allah
However, it is possible that permissible love can go beyond bounds such that a person end's up loving something/something more at the expense of loving Allah, then it becomes impermissible. E.g. someone loving his business or someone at the expense of his duty to Allah. This is impermissible but not shirk.
There is another degree of impermissible love where someone loves someone or something and shows lowliness/humility, then this becomes shirk (Associating partners with Allah).
Why is shirk the greatest of crimes?
Because Shirk decreases love of Allah, and love of Allah is the spirit of Eemaan (Belief) and without Eemaan the heart becomes dead
A person who commits shirk has shared the love that was only belonging to Allah, he has divided it amongst others
Ibn Qayyim says that love is of two types:
One form is the love that is paradise on earth, delight and nourishment of the heart, life and cure of the soul, indeed this is loving Allah with all of one’s heart
The second form is the torture of the soul, the sadness of the spirit, the imprisonment of the heart and the tightness of the chest. Indeed this is to love others besides Allah, with love that belongs only to him
Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami says that whoever has been given love for Allah with all his heart, then he is the one who is in a paradise in this world and will enter the Paradise of the Hereafter. Whoever dies upon that state then it is hoped that he is upon good.
When a person loves Allah with all his heart, then the creation becomes like inanimate objects since he/she realises nothing can harm or benefit him in and of themselves. He/she realises that the command is ONLY in the hand of Allah and turns ONLY to Allah for whatever need.
When a person loves someone/something other than Allah (in an impermissible way), then his heart becomes weary, bitter, and tight.
NOTE: This is referring to impermissible love, whether or not shirk is present, see above.
Ibn Qayyim says that Allah has created the sons of Adam and has given them a state of completion to each of their faculties and organs (e.g. the eye and sight), and that when such a part of him loses its completion, then the person feels uneasy about that. Ibn Qayyim says the king of all the organs is the heart and was created in order to recognise and remember its creator, to love and hate for its maker, and that when it loses its completion and perfection such a heart becomes agonised.
So how do we cure the heart?
Shaikh Muhammad Amaan Al-Jaami this is via the Prophetic medicine and that ordinary medical knowledge (anatomy, physiology etc) is not sufficient as medical doctors themselves are sometimes afflicted with diseases of the heart.
The cure is to become preoccupied in the remembrance of Allah
One can learn about and study his religion, the sayings and life of the Prophet (), what dua to make when you eat food or go to the mosque etc.
Making dhikr (remembrance) often means you will not forget Allah

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Lesson 11: Curing the heart, the effect of making Dhikr of Allah often and Importance of being kind

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Lesson 12: The Kind and Generous vs the Miserly

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Remedying the heavy and tight chest

Umm.Layth