slip-sliding away…..

Continuing our Ramadaan series, this post continues the book entitled “Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart” – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson‘s translation and commentary of Imam Muḥammad Mawlūd’s didactic poem “Matharat al-Qulub” (purification of the heart). The Imam was a 19th century Mauritanian scholar. For notes on the copyright status of the book, as well as links to purchase your own copy, please see the introductory post of the series.

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Hatred

POEM VERSES 32–33

Another disease is hatred for other than the sake of [God,] 
the Exalted. Its cure is to pray for the one despised.

This is with the understanding that you have not done 
wrong if you are repulsed by the hatred you harbor and do 
not act in accordance with it [to harm the person].

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Definition and Treatment

The next disease is hatred (bughḍ). In itself, hatred is not necessarily negative. It is commendable to hate corruption, evil, disbelief, murder, lewdness, and anything else that God has exposed as despicable. The Prophet  never disliked the essence of anything, but only what something manifested.

Hatred or strong dislike of a person for no legitimate reason is the disease of bughḍ. The Prophet  once said to his Companions, “Do you want to see a man of Paradise?” A man then passed by, and the Prophet  said, “That man is of the people of Paradise.” One of Companion of the Prophet  wanted to find out what it was about this man that earned him such a commendation from the Messenger of God , so he decided to spend some time with this man and observe him closely. He noticed that this man did not perform the night prayer vigil (tahajjud) or do anything extraordinary. He appeared to be an average man of Medina. The Companion finally told the man what the Prophet  had said about him and asked if he did anything special. The man replied, “The only thing that I can think of, other than what everybody else does, is that I make sure that I never sleep with any rancor in my heart towards another.” That was his secret.

The cure for hatred is straightforward. One should pray for the person toward whom he feels hatred, making specific supplications

that mention this person by name, asking God to give this person good things in this life and the next. When one does this with sincerity, hearts mend. If one truly wants to purify his or her heart and root out disease, there must be total sincerity in carrying out the treatments and conviction that these cures are effective.

Arguably, the disease of hatred is one of the most devastating forces in the world. But the force that is infinitely more powerful is love. Love is an attribute of God; hate is not. A name of God mentioned in the Qur’an is al-Wadūd, the Loving One. Hate is the absence of love, and only through love can hatred be removed from the heart. In a beautiful hadith, the Prophet  said, “None of you has achieved faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” The thirteenth century scholar Imam al-Nawawī comments on this hadith:

When the Prophet  says “brother,” we should interpret this as universal brotherhood, which includes Muslims and non-Muslims. For one should desire for his brother non-Muslim that he enter into the state of submission with his Lord [Islam]. And for his brother Muslim, he should love for him the continuation of guidance and that he remain in submission. Because of this, it is considered highly recommended and divinely rewarding to pray for a non-Muslim’s guidance. The word “love” here refers to a desire for good and for benefit to come to others. This love is celestial or spiritual love and not earthly or human love, for human nature causes people to desire harm to befall their enemies and to discriminate against those who are unlike them [in creed, color, or character]. However, men must oppose their nature, pray for their brothers, and desire for others what they desire for themselves. Moreover, whenever a man does not desire good for his brother, envy is the root cause. Envy is a rejection of God’s apportionment in the world. Thus, one is opposing how God meted out sustenance in accord with His wisdom. Therefore, one must oppose his own ego’s desires and seek treatment for this disease with the healing force of acceptance of the divine decree and prayer on behalf of one’s enemies in a way that suppresses the ego [nafs].