The eleventh of the maladies of
the heart is “tama’”. Seeking to fulfill worldly pleasures through forbidden
means is called “tama’”. The worst kind of “tama’” is
expecting things from human beings. Performing supererogatory prayers (nâfila) is tama’ when it causes one to have conceit and pride. Also,
performing “mubâhs” is tama’ when it causes one to forget about the next world.
The opposite of tama’ is called “tafwîz”, which means striving to obtain
permissible and beneficial things and expecting that Allâhu ta’âlâ will let you have them.
The devil tries to deceive human beings by
showing
hypocrisy
as sincerity and tama’ as tafwîz. Allâhu ta’âlâ
has appointed an angel for the heart of each human being. This angel inspires
good thoughts (ilhâm) to that human being. The devil on the other
hand insinuates evil suggestions (waswasa) to a person’s
heart. Anyone who consumes permissible (halâl) food stuff can discriminate
between good inspirations and evil suggestions. Conversely, anyone who consumes
forbidden (harâm) food stuff will not be able to distinguish between the two. A
person’s nafs also insinuates evil thoughts or suggestions or desires into his
heart. These thoughts or desires are called “hawâ”. Inspirations
and evil suggestions are not continuous but the desires (hawâ)
are continuous, and they increase as time passes. Evil suggestions diminish and
finally disappear as you pray and make (dhikr). The desires of the
nafs could only decrease and finally disappear through strong self-fight (mujâhada).
The devil is like a dog. It runs away when it is chased but comes back later
from another direction. The nafs is like a tiger. Its attacks could only be
stopped by moderating it. The devil which gives evil suggestions to human
beings is called “hannâs”. If a human being does not follow an evil suggestion of
the devil, the devil gives up that suggestion and starts with another one. The
nafs always wishes to do destructive and evil things. In order to prevent the
accomplishment of a very useful and beneficial deed, the devil will insinuate a
person into doing a less useful deed. In order to coax him into a grave sin, it
will infuse into him the wish to do a trivial good deed. The trivial good deed
which is accomplished upon the suggestion of the devil will taste very sweet to
that man and he will wish to do it in a hurry. For this reason, Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’ said “Hurry is ignited by
the devil. Following five things are exceptions to this rule: hurry to marry
off one’s daughter, hurry to pay back one’s debt, hurry to make preparation for
the burial of the deceased, hurry to feed a guest, and hurry in repentance upon
committing a sin.” The following hadîth-i-sherîf
which is written in the section which expounds on the atrociousness of
postponing a daily prayer (termed namâz) (until its prescribed time is over),
of the book Eshi’at ul-lama’ât, reads as follows: “O Alî! Do not postpone
the following three things! Perform the ‘salât’ prayer in its early prescribed
time! Perform the ‘salât’ prayer for a dead Muslim immediately
when the corpse is
ready for interment! Marry a girl or widow immediately when someone with proper
qualifications proposes to marry them.” The phrase “with proper
qualifications” in this hadîth-i-sherîf refers
to a man who performs his (five) daily prayers (termed namâz or salât), who
doesn’t commit sins and who earns his money by permissible means. The good
things that are inspired by an angel must be done with the fear of Allâhu ta’âlâ without rushing, or contemplating the
results. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ states as follows in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“An
inspiration which comes through an angel will be compatible with Islam. The
evil suggestions ‘waswasa’ which are insinuated by the devil will cause one to
depart from Islam.” One should strive to do the inspired things
and fight against one’s nafs and the devil lest one should indulge in the evil
suggestions. A person who follows the advice of his nafs also follows the evil
suggestions of the devil. Alternately, it becomes very easy to carry out the good
thoughts inspired by an angel for those who do not follow the desires of their
nafs. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa
sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “The devil gives evil
suggestions ‘waswasa’ to the heart. When the name of Allah is made dhikr of,
(i.e. when Allâhu ta’âlâ is remembered and His
Name is mentioned,) the devil runs away. Otherwise, it continues with its suggestions.”
[This hadîth-i-sherîf shows us also that it is
necessary to make dhikr.] The thing which comes to the heart could be either an
evil suggestion of the devil or an inspiration of an angel. Which nature it is
of, can be judged by its compatibility with Islam. If this method fails, one
should resort to a true religious scholar, asking him whether it is a good
inspiration or an evil suggestion. One should never ask sham scholars who trade
their religion for money or for worldly ranks. One may also ask a real, devoted
“Shaikh” or a perfect spiritual guide (Murshîd al-kâmil)
whose teachers are all renowned and devoted perfect spiritual guides themselves
and their spiritual link like an unbroken chain reaches to Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’. The
friends of Allâhu ta’âlâ who are called “Qutb al-madâr”,
even though they are very few in number, will always exist until the time of
doomsday. Leader of enlightenment (Qutb al-irshâd)
who is an Islamic scholar of Ahl as-sunnat and a perfect spiritual guide does
not always exist
everywhere.
Scholars in this capacity are quite rare, and there is a long interval after each
of them. One should not presume that those sham leaders (fake shaikhs) who
exist everywhere at all times are like those true perfect spiritual guides. One
should be very wary lest one should be misled by one of these sham leaders (fake shaikhs)
and lose one’s happiness in this world and in the world to come. Things that
come to the heart will taste very bitter to the nafs if they are compatible
with Islam or if they are inspired by an angel. Otherwise, if the nafs finds
them very sweet and one wants to do them in a hurry, then it should be known
that they come from the devil and they are evil suggestions .
The devil has many tricks. Ten
of them are famous:
First: The devil says to a person that Allâhu ta’âlâ does not need their worships.
One should remember the sixty-second âyat of sűra Baqara of the Qur’ân al-kerîm which purports, “... And any who
believe in Allâhu ta’âlâ and the Last Day, and work righteousness,
shall have their reward...” (2-62)
Second: The devil says to a person that Allâhu ta’âlâ is Compassionate and Gracious
and that therefore He will forgive you and let you enter Paradise. One should
remember the thirty-third âyat of Sűra Loqman of the Qur’ân al-kerîm, which states, “Do not be swayed by
the Graciousness of Allah,”and the sixty-third âyat
of the Sűra Maryam of the Qur’ân al-kerîm which states, “We will allow into Paradise only those who have the fear
of Allah in their hearts.”
Third: The devil tells you that “your worships or
deeds are all defective and smeared with hypocrisy and therefore you cannot be
a person who fears Allah. Allâhu ta’âlâ in Sűra
Mâida of the Qur’ân al-kerîm says, ‘Allah only accepts the
worships of the people who have the fear of Allah in their hearts.’
So, your worships will not be accepted and you are doing all these for nothing
and you are suffering like an animal which is flogged by its owner for
nothing.” You should respond to the devil by saying that you are doing your
worships in order to avoid the punishments and in order to obey the
commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ, and that your
duty is to comply with what you are commanded, and that whether the performed
worships will be accepted or not is the business of Allâhu
ta’âlâ, and that it is guaranteed that the worships which are carried
out by
observing
its rules and its “fards” will be accepted. Not performing obligatory
duties is a grave sin. One should perform obligatory duties in order not to
commit the grave sin. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu
’alaihi wa sal-lam’ states in a hadîth-i-sherîf:
“Anyone
who has any intelligence will not indulge in the desires of his nafs and will
perform worships. Idiots, however, will yield to the desires of their nafs and
then expect mercy of Allâhu ta’âlâ.” The things that are
necessary for the next world should be prepared in this transitory world.
Fourth: The devil tries to stop a
person from performing worships by saying to him that he should use his young
energy for earning money now, and that later, after obtaining a comfortable
living standard for himself he can perform the acts of worship. One should
answer the devil by saying that no one knows when they will pass away.
Everyone’s time of death was determined by Allâhu ta’âlâ in eternal past. One’s death may be very near; therefore, one
must perform the worships immediately within their prescribed times. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “Halakal-musawwifun”, which
means that those who leave today’s work to tomorrow are losers.
Fifth: When the devil cannot stop a
person from performing his worships, it will say to him, “Hurry up! Don’t delay
the salât prayer!”, or “Don’t be late!” By doing so, it tries to prevent him
from performing his worships properly and with due strictness regarding their
precepts. One should answer the devil by saying that there are only a few
obligatory prayers. Therefore, one should perform them by observing all of its
proper conditions. One should go further and tell the devil that a relatively
small number of nâfila (supererogatory) prayers performed in a manner suitable
with their precepts is better than a much greater number of those not so
properly performed.
Sixth: The devil tries to make one commit
hypocrisy by suggesting to him that he should perform his prayers in such a
beautiful way that everyone should admire their beauty. One should answer these
suggestions by saying that “no one is capable of doing any goodness or harm to
one’s self. Since this is the case, doing any goodness or harm to others is out
of the question. It would be ridiculous, therefore, to expect something from
creatures, who are so powerless. Only Allâhu ta’âlâ,
alone, can give goodness or harm to people. Consequently, Allah’s
seeing
a person’s prayers is good enough for him.”
Seventh: When the devil realizes that it
can’t stop a person from performing his worships, it will suggest
self-admiration of his worships. The devil will tell him how smart and alert he
is as well as tell him that while everyone is unaware of the reality, he is
performing worships. He should answer it by saying that the intelligence,
alertness and awareness are not coming from himself but they are a favor of Allâhu ta’âlâ. If Allâhu ta’âlâ did not favor him with these,
he wouldn’t be able to perform any prayers.
Eighth: The devil wants to promote secret
hypocrisy in a person by suggesting to him that he should perform his prayers
secretly so that Allâhu ta’âlâ will place his love and honor into the hearts of others. A person
who receives these suggestions should answer the devil by saying, “I am a slave
of Allâhu ta’âlâ and He is
my Owner. He may either accept my prayers or reject them. It is not my business
whether or not He places my love into the hearts of others.”
Ninth: The devil suggests to a person
by saying, “Why should one perform the prayers? It is already determined in
eternal past whether a person will be a happy person (sa’îd) who will be delivered to Paradise or an unfortunate person (shaqî) who will be delivered to Hell. Hence, whoever is a happy person,
his wrongdoings will be forgiven when he commits sins, by not performing the
worships, and he will still go to Paradise. A person who is predetermined as an
unfortunate person in eternal past will surely go to Hell regardless of how
much worship he performs. Thus, do not tire yourself needlessly! Be
comfortable!” One who receives these types of suggestions should answer by
saying, “I am a slave of Allâhu ta’âlâ and the duty of a slave is to carry out the orders of his owner.”
If the devil counters by saying, “If there is a fear of punishment for not
performing the worships, in that case, it becomes a necessity for a person to
perform the worships. But there is no fear of punishment for the happy person.”
One should answer by saying, “My Lord knows everything and He does whatever He
wishes. He either gives goodness or troubles to whomever He chooses. No one has
any right to ask Him whyHe does this or that.” The devil showed himself to
Jesus (Îsâ) ‘alaihis-salâm’ and said to him, “Are you saying that those things
that are determined in eternal past will come to pass?”
Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ replied, “Yes, certainly that is the case.”
The devil then said, “If that is the case, go jump from the top of the mountain
if it is determined in eternal past that you will not be harmed, no harm will
come to you!” Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ replied, “O you, accursed one! Allâhu ta’âlâ tests His slaves. A slave has
no right to test his Owner.” One should say the following to oneself in order
to guard oneself against these types of suggestions: “If it is determined in
eternal past that I am one of the happy ones then it is necessary for me to
perform the worships in order to increase rewards and degrees. If I am one of
the unfortunate ones, I will perform the worships in order to avoid punishment
for them.” One should further say to oneself, “Performing worships do not bring
any harm to me. Allâhu ta’âlâ is absolutely Wise (Hakîm). Therefore,
it would not befit His Wisdom to punish a person who performs worships for His
sake. Even though not performing the worships would not harm a happy person, it
will not give any benefit to him, either. Hence, how could a happy person ever
prefer not to perform the worships? Anyone who has reasoning will perform
worships that are beneficial and abstain from those things that are harmful. If
it was determined in eternal past that I would be one of the unfortunate ones,
I would still prefer being an obedient slave who has been sent to Hell to being
one who has been sent there because of his disobedience to Allâhu ta’âlâ. Moreover, Allâhu ta’âlâ promises that He will place
those who perform worships into Paradise and punish, in Hell, those who do not
perform worships. Allâhu ta’âlâ certainly will keep His promise. It is reported by previous
scholars with unanimity that He will not renege on His promise.”
Allâhu ta’âlâ creates everything through causes. This is His ’Âdat-i-ilâhiyya
(Divine law of causation). He suspends His law of causation only in special
cases such as mu’jizât and karâmât.[1] He informs us that He has assigned worships as a vehicle for
entering Paradise. In other words, He created the
---------------------------------
[1] Allâhu ta’âlâ suspends His law of causation when He wills to reinforce His beloved prophets and Awliyâ with extraordinary events and wonders, or miracles. When a miracle happens through a prophet, we call it a mu’jiza (pl. mu’jizât); when it happens through a beloved slave of Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is called a Walî (pl. Awliyâ), it is termed karâmat (pl. karâmât).
blessings of Paradise as a reward for worships. Rasűlullah ‘sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sal-lam’
states in a hadîth-i-sherîf: “No one can enter Paradise owing to his performed worships.”
Something which is given as a
reward should not be mistaken for something deserved owing to one’s efforts.
Tenth: The devil says to a person, “If
it is determined in eternal past that a person will perform worships, then,
that person will perform worships. The Decree of Allâhu
ta’âlâ does not change. Human beings are forced to accept
the Decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ, so that they either perform the worships or don’t perform the
worships, depending on the eternal Decree of Allâhu ta’âlâ.” These suggestions of the devil are similar to the previous
suggestions. Accordingly, the ones who are determined as happy ones in eternal
past will be able to perform worships, and it will be necessary for those who
are determined as unfortunate ones in the eternal past not to perform the
worships. One should reply to the deceits of the devil by saying: Even though Allâhu ta’âlâ creates everything including
the good and evil actions of human beings, He gave small amounts of will power (irâda al-juz’iyya) to human beings and animals. This type of will power is exercised
by human beings, but this exercise of will power cannot be explained with the
statement that human beings created something, for will power does not exist in
the external universe (things other than human beings). It exists inside the
hearts of human beings. Creation takes place when something comes into being in
the external universe. By contrast, the Omnipotent Will of Allâhu ta’âlâ, (which is termed Irâda-i-kulliya,) exists as a self-standing entity. Allâhu
ta’âlâ has made man’s limited will power a means for
creating his actions. Allâhu ta’âlâ could create even without man’s will power but it is His Divine
Habit to create things through man’s will power. An oft-seen exception,
however, is that He has suspended this Habit of His for the sake of His beloved
prophets
‘alaihim-us-salawât-u-wa-t-taslîmât’ and His (darling slaves called) Awliyâ
‘qaddas-Allâhu ta’âlâ
asrârahum-ul-’azîz’, creating through those blessed people extraordinary events
quite unattached to His law of causation. These events are termed miracles.
Man’s (limited will-power called)
irâda-i-juz’iyya is not the sole factor effective in the materialization of his
actions. In other words, not everything that man wishes, comes into being. Nor
is
it
a customary method of Allâhu ta’âlâ to create
only as He wills. For this reason, human beings are not forced in their actions
in any way. Human beings use their will power for something they want to do. If Allâhu ta’âlâ also decrees it, that action
materializes. The devil tries to deceive human beings by saying, “A human being
performs worships if Allâhu ta’âlâ wills it, and
he does not do the worships if Allâhu ta’âlâ
does not will it. So, man is forced to do or not to do his actions. It does not
matter whether a human being works or not. The Decree ‘qada and qadar’ which is
given in eternal past will materialize.” It is true that actions of human
beings materialize according to the Decree given in eternal past but, for them
to materialize, human beings use their will power. In other words, a human
being uses his option of selection and selects and wants to do something or
chooses not to do something. The meaning of the eternal Decree is that Allâhu ta’âlâ knew with His infinite knowledge and
wisdom how a person would use his limited will power and decreed accordingly
and wrote these into (a special book called) the Lawh-il-mahfűz.
Since this is clearly the case, there is no problem of being forced to do
anything. If someone knows what another person will do during a given day and
decrees that he should perform those actions and write all his knowledge on a
piece of paper, the person who will perform those actions cannot claim that he
is forced to do those actions. He cannot complain by saying, “You knew what I
was going to do. You wanted me to do those actions. You even wrote them on a
piece of paper. Therefore, you caused all the actions I performed!” For, he has
done all the actions by using his own will power, not because the other person
knew them and wanted him to perform them and wrote them on a piece of paper.
Similarly, Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Knowledge and Decree
and His writing them in the Lawh-il-mahfűz does not constitute coercion over
His creatures. Allâhu ta’âlâ knew in eternal
past that a certain person would do a certain action and therefore decreed that
he should do those actions and wrote them in the Lawh-il-mahfűz. His knowledge
in eternal past depends on the actions that are carried out by the person using
his limited will power. So, the person’s actions materialize through His
Knowledge, Will and creation. If a person did not use his will power, Allâhu ta’âlâ would have known in eternal past that
he would not use his will power and thus He would not decree and would not
create,
which means to say that the knowledge depends on the known things. If human
beings did not have their will power and if their actions were only created by the
will of Allâhu ta’âlâ, then one could say that
human beings were forced in their actions. According to the (only true Islamic
school of credal teachings called the) Madhhab of Ahl as-sunnat, actions of
human beings are created through a process of two overlapping stages: the
(limited) power (of option) exercised by human beings; and the (infinite) power
(of creation) possessed by Allâhu ta’âlâ.
[The spiritual heart (qalb) of a human being is not made of matter. It is like electric or magnetic waves. It does not occupy a space. But, its power and effect are produced on the material heart which is located on the left side of the chest of a human being. ’Aql (wisdom), nafs, and rűh (soul), also, are separate entities like the spiritual heart (qalb). These three entities are connected to the spiritual heart. Sense organs of a human being such as eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skin, sense colors, sound, smell, taste and coldness or warmth, and transmit these impressions into the brain through the nerve system. Brain transmits these into the spiritual heart as soon as it receives them. The wishes and desires of wisdom, the nafs, the soul, and devil are also transmitted to the spiritual heart. The spiritual heart uses its will power and makes a choice from among them, and makes a decision. It either rejects and eliminates the alternatives suggested, or accepts them and relates its acceptance to the brain, and the brain transmits these through action nerves to the organs. The organs, in turn, will move and perform the decided actions if Allâhu ta’âlâ also wills and gives the power to these organs. Thus, the actions which are chosen or decided by the spiritual heart materialize.]